My February 10 post covering exchange rates was right on to the target bordering to being prophetic, for want of a better word. See how political instability affects trading and currency valuation? It surged to a low 52.20 last Friday at the wake of The State of National Emergency declaration by the president. It's a good thing that the peso is really getting stronger attibutable to fiscal reforms that had been implemented over the last few months. To be able to close at 51.96 today means some greater force is pulling the currency up amid the stirring at Malacañang. As the song goes, some good things never last, referring to the low 51.48 valuation the peso had against the US dollar on February 10.
Speaking of last Friday, with the building I work at being in the heart of the now dubbed Freedom Park in Ayala, and seeing the protesters and hearing news of what is happening remotely in the Camp Aguinaldo area in Quezon City had my heart do several back flips. Most companies in the building had sent their employees home at 1400h while most employees from where I work at are still asking whether we could leave earlier than usual. It was only in 1615h that we were told to vacate our work stations at 1630h.
Flashback: 1530h, Friday. We looked out our office window towards Ayala and saw policemen barricading the main road in front of the Makati Stock Excange from rallyists marching towards the Ninoy Aquino Shrine along Paseo De Roxas. Several colleagues would hoot, scream, and whistle in approval when a group of protesters would seem to taunt the policemen. The noise lends a festive air to entire floor amid visible tension from far below. More than 2 dozen storeys from where we are. We then heard that Kraft whose office is in Sucat will be sending theirs home at 1600h. I asked, "aren't we going to do the same thing?" Calls were made to and from directors' offices asking of situations elsewhere while still not getting anything solved. Hearing news from the GMA 7 area that protesters are convening in the Aguinaldo area and that military troops are also already pouring in stirred a more convicted consciousness in me that made me say the following towards two of our directors:
"The question is not whether the lobbyists below will get dispersed. What you have right there (pointing at the shrine) is a freedom park and these people have permits issued by the Local Government of Makati. If anything happens, it will not be from there. If the security did not inform you yet, protesters are convening at Camp Aguinaldo. And so are the military. If we wait much longer on sending these people home, it might be too late. Too late for them to head home if they live farther north from Camp Aguinaldo.
"This is not personal interest that I'm pushing for here. I live nearby and I intend to stay even if everybody else were sent home because I still have to catch a deadline and I'm not done here yet. It is them that I'm worried about."
Now, isn't that just heroic?
(pa-epal, in street slang) Come to think of it, I felt blood flushing my face while talking to the bosses primarily because my opinion was not called for. What more, it seems to overpower the opinion of our security guys.
Good thing nothing really tragic happened or they would not have forgiven themselves for not acting fast enough. In times like those, it should be life above business. That's the priority.
Had the company been mine to lead, I would have declared the second half of daytime Friday a holiday. That simple.
Photo by Reuters from Yahoo! News
It is overwhelming that certain people could have so much convincing power over a large group of audience. Oprah Winfrey is as good an epitome as any of that rare breed. Everything she features on her show, her magazine, and even her bookclub instantly becomes phenomenal. She is popular not only in the US but in almost every household that has privilege to the viewership of her long running television program. That despite satires done by SNL.
The entire week last week, a preview of a prime time weekend episode of Oprah is repetitively shown at Star World and it covers the seemingly bah topic of Birdflu. Albeit boring, it was her reaction on what her guest speaker had shared that made me anticipate its airing. Something to the tune of, "what you just shared gave a whole new light to my idea of avian flu," and also something that if I recall correctly seems to make the topic a cause for serious worldwide concern.
I watched it for my much needed inner peace. The episode title itself has a hint of impending gloom being Bird Flu: The Untold Story. Expert on infectious disease Dr. Michael Osterholm guests. He discussed that humans are currently not able to pass the birdflu virus yet onto other humans. The frightening thing is when the strain mutates. It is said that the disease could spread over key cities across continents and all over the world in a matter of days.
[The following is fiction and is in no way connected with the Oprah program] Let's just say an infected person goes in a mall. He enters a jam-packed public comfort room and fights the urge to sneeze but lost. The airborne virus escapes the carrier at the speed of 100Mph possibly infecting every one in the room. He goes out of the john, fishes out his wallet and goes to the nearby ATM. He, again, sneezes, cursing the blasted air conditioning unit in the LRT for not working full blast in time for the afternoon rush hour. Tiny specks of saliva splatter the screen and the keys of the machine. He takes a side glance while descriptly wiping the screen with the back of his long sleeved shirt. He takes his cash and goes his merry way leaving a long line behind him for the ATM. Already becoming light headed with several sneeze episodes. He makes a mental note to drop by the pharmacy after he grabs a quick bite at McDonalds. Just his luck, he thought, only one person before his turn comes at the takeout counter and the girl in front of him sure is cute. If only his sinuses could cooperate and stop being a pain just this one moment. Too late. He lets out another heartfelt sneeze. 97Mph this time. Now, the pharmacy. Sh*t, is it elderly-person's-trun-to-fill-in-the-first-aid-cabinet day or what? Either that or they opened a Veteran's Bank branch near by. So many elderly people buying stuff. Gotta excuse himself. Feeling more light headed than ever. Gotta get home soon. After a couple of minutes, he dashes for the MRT. Crowded. Shit. Gotta squeeze himself in or get stranded. His choice. He went for the squeeze. And out went the sneeze. 37 people all within 5 feet from him. Another 148 to well over 15 feet from him. Not counting those in the mall, the comfort room, the ATM, McDonalds, the pharmacy, the counter clerks, the LRT, and that sampaguita vendor at Taft. All possibly infected now. He didn't even have a clue. Not until the next day. The outbreak was described in the news as spreading exponentially all over. All around the world.
The show aims to educate. A wakeup call, if you may, to leaders of nations to be on their toes because this is some serious shit. It is one thing to be aware of your opponent before the start of a battle even if you know for a fact that your chance of winning is marginally slim. Who knows, with a head start and collective effort, the pandemic may really really hopefully never ever happen. Let us just pray it doesn't.
I provide here a link to Oprah's site that has the full article on the subject. Spread the news to your friends and loved ones.
Great games for your Pocket PC
As promised, I said we'll feature some Pocket PC games that are currently out in the market that's sure to satisfy the kid in you. On-the-go and at your convenience, any time, anywhere. Similar to choosing a simple gadget like a mobile phone, everyone has different game requirements depending on a pre-set need. Should your urges be simple, satisfyable by non-complicated applications like the very popular Text Twist, then you could go and visit Astraware, Xi-Art, and PDAmill for their latest offerings of games for both your PC and Pocket PC. Within the next paragraphs, I will be featuring games that I happened to have already finished and had fun with.
If you already find puzzle and trivia games boring, do try the following, if you haven't yet. First up, let me take you to a wild ride via the Tornado GTX at Flux Challenge (fanalist to the 2005 Best Software Awards also from PDAmill). Set in the future, all races are done in magnetic levitation tunnels where you get to choose one ship to race with of the six that are available. At first, you will only get to use one of them six ships. Navigate your space craft throught the tunnel courses using your stylus, making sure to pass through bonus speed-up spheres scattered around the circuit. Win more races and you get to have more cash in bank to participate in more complex race opens. Graphics wise, this game is a spectacle that would put anyone at awe. TIP: you may edit a script found in the game folder to jack-up prize moneys for simple circuits. That way, you could play every ship on every circuit in no time.
Next up, for an easier take on role playing games (RPGs), try Arvale: Jourey of Illusion and Arvale II: Ocean of Time. Both games take place in Arvale but on separate time periods. In Journey of Illusion, you take on the character of Duncan Forsythe, son of the Royal Gardener at the Entoque Castle and destined Hero of Legend. As the story unfolds, you will need to combat opponents thereby leveling up your character in order to take on even stronger beasts and enemies. The entire game gives you 15 solid hours of teeth-gnashing game play. Click here for the plot of the story. TIP: edit the story script in the game folder upon installation and jack up your character's strength, defense, and money to high heavens. This will make killing monsters as easy as hitting them once with your garden spade. No need for level-ups.
Arvale II: Ocean of Time also takes place in Arvale. This time, you will get to travel through different time periods as dictated by artifacts you get a hold of along the way known as the Idols of the Past, Present, and Future (I have taken the liberty of naming all idols for the periods they represent: Kelly Clarkson for the past, Carrie Underwood for the present, and Katharine McPhee as the future Idol). You will do your exploits in the character of John DeMenchev who apparently is a "genius inventor, scholar, scientist, writer, and part-time adventurer" all rolled into one. Talk to the villagers, take personal effects from their homes, and talk to wheelbarrows along the way for great game tips. Pay attention to the dialogue during John's interactions as some of them are really funny (Click here for more of the story of Arvale II). TIP: go the forums at the PDAmill site and copy the walkthrough given by one contributor to get to easily finish the game. Took me 17 hours to do so even with the walkthrough. A great alternate ending awaits those who does really well.
Can't get enough of Lara Croft? Here's a chance to play the first Tomb Raider game from Eidos Interactive (copyrighted by Core Design and developed by Ideaworks3D) formatted to fit onto your Pocket PC's platform. Be sure to have screen protection on your PPC, though. I had to practically change mine as soon as I finished with the game because of the pressure the screen had to endure from my instense gameplay. Remember the underwater scenes and the one with the T-Rex? Get to see and play them once again in all their 3D rendered glory and know what first made the guns-and-boobies-wielding millionaire heroine Lara popular, complete with cut scene movie clips. TIP: search for the game walkthrough of the Playstation version and let it guide you through your travels. It works much the same way.
I have read that the Riven and Myst games are also now out. I just haven't played them yet to warrant a piece of personal input to help you gain more gaming pleasure.
Lastly, if you miss the good old games you have had fun with in your Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and SNES, get yourself Morphgear. Morphgear is an open-source software project that simulates the hardware systems of your old game consoles. This translates to hours of gameplay reminiscent of Super Mario and the Legend of Kage. Click here for screenshots.
I think I have now gotten you convinced that the Pocket PC is the ultimate gadget of choice when it comes to range in functionality over all other mobile phones.
Have fun playing!
I got the following from an email that prompted me to do a research on the subject. Searched the web for the exact source of the article but googling just didn't help. I found another link in its stead. For a shorter version of the (linked) article, please read the following paragraphs (am very much sorry for the author but my searches did not point me to your direction).
Higher Tax Exemptions For Salaried Workers Okayed
The House Committee on Ways and Means approved higher personal tax exemptions for millions of salaried workers. The higher exemptions would effectively exempt those receiving the minimum daily wage from paying any income tax.
Tax exemptions would be increased from P20,000 to P30,000 for a single taxpayer, from P25,000 to P37,500 for a head of family, from P32,000 to P48,000 for each spouse, and from P8,000 to P12,000 each for a maximum of 4 dependents. For a family of 6, the increase in exemptions would amount to P48,000 (P16,000 for each working spouse, plus P16,000 for up to 4 dependents). Thus, this family would enjoy exemptions totaling P144,000 under the proposed higher exemptions, compared to P96,000 at the present rates.
The committee also revised the tax rate brackets to which income exceeding the exemptions would be subjected, reducing them from the present 7 to 6.
The tax reform on an individual's tax on wages is thankfuly still subject to the scrutiny of the House (upper and lower). This version differs from another proposal being pushed by Sen. Enrile that IMHO puts the interest of all wage earners at heart. For one, it prompts to move up the old maximum bracket on taxable income from the P500,000 threshhold to P2M (meaning those who have less than P2M taxable compensation incomes are not going to be subject to the highest tax rate, unlike the current situation where a lot of us are paying 32% on incomes over P500,000). Note that the P500,000 max has been in place even before the peso to the US dollar exchange rate reached P7 to US$1. In those times, the dollar value of P500,000 goes to around US$70,000 and is thus somewhat comparable to the tax rates covering US individuals earning the same income.
Please see the comparison table I have prepared below (based on the text of the PhilStar link I gave above) for the new tax brackets and personal and additional exemptions:
Tax Brackets:
Personal and Additional Exemptions:
Focus on the higher tax rates for those individuals whose annual taxable incomes go beyond the
P500,000 threshhold
(from 32% to 35% for the excess, and from P125,000 to P134,700 for the first P500,000).
After doing so, let us all hold hands and hope for this proposal version to burn in freakin hell. It would take away more of our earnings' purchasing power and will thus not be beneficial to the economy in the long haul. Why? It is not the way a healthy economy works. The Hong Kong model proves this. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this fact out. Sure, the personal exemptions have increased but, man, look at the rates on our taxable incomes. Preposterous beyond comprehension.
In the passage of the recently passed Tobacco Regulation Act, representatives from leading cigarette manufacturing firms have lobbied at the senate and the congress until the bill has been ratified ensuring that their and the country's interest are considered and weighed side by side. They policed their turfs ensuring of a healthy business environment that is sustainable in a regulated economic climate. In the drafting of the proposed revamp on individual's wage taxes, who, I ask, is looking after the best interest of the salaried workers? Who will serve as a reality check to our legislators?
I would not mind working in a high-tax country for as long as I could see and feel that the government is using the proceeds in something viable and visible.
With the current situation, I'm only thankful for freedom of speech that still lets me write freely to hopefully make a ripple in the consciousness of others.
Greetings, earthlings!
If you had been using Pocket PCs running in Windows Mobile platform in its straight-out-of-the-box state without any enhancement via third-party developed software then you are truly missing out.
As is, and if you are a first time user, you may find some functionalities awkward like its built-in file explorer and the bare Today screen (aka Desktop if you are to compare it to your PC), to name two. In time, you will ultimately have the need for programs to view smut-on-the-go in all its file formats, be it in mpeg, mp4, asx, avi (or divx), rm, or mov.
In light of the pity I have for lesser mortals who do not have a clue as to the extent of their Windows mobile's almost surreal capabilities given the right plug-in here and there, I present to you Man Blog's definitive guide for your Pocket PC's make-over.
For starters, lets get an upgrade for that crappy file explorer. I had in mind a utility that gives me that Windows Explorer feel, complete with a recycle bin, when managing my files. And the heavens, or Resco, rather, gave us Resco Explorer 2005 to address this particular need. This application even has the added functionality of encrypting/password protecting your personal files (read: nude self-pics or your dirty deeds captured on video) from prying eyes. Damn you Microsoft for not coming up with this first!
Next, that Today screen could pack up more than a few lines from your calendar reminders, messages, and the date. Believe me. Just check out SPB Pocket Plus and you will know what I mean. SPB Pocket Plus will give your PPC screen a much welcomed face-lift, so to speak. With the tons of downloadable extended Today themes, you will also get to enjoy what for me makes this application indispensable: the taskbar bettery indicator. It's that thin but visible line in the topmost part of your screen that stays seen even if you have other applications running and opened. It helps you keep track of your battery life at a glance. Icons showing disk space free/used, brightness level/adjustment, and battery status in percentage helps you manage you PPC in one look."My Pocket PC feels naked without it!" Says me.
Ever felt the growing need to remember website passwords, ATM and credit card PINs, personal bank account and insurance policy numbers, and numbered combinations for locks? Flex Wallet 2006, as I saw it, offers the perfect solution to protecting your most confidential data using 128-bit encyption algorithms for optimum security. It is easy and convenient to use. You even get to specify what icon to use for each entry/account for easy identification. Once installed, you will only ever have to remember one password. Makes life easy. Just don't leave home with a near-drained phone battery or populating your password database would have been for naught.
As for your media file viewers, below is a listing of what to have in order to read each file type (note that these players are not limited to playing the file types I will specify):
- Real One Player (from Real Networks - FREE): plays ra, rm, and ram files.
- Pocket DivX Player 0.8 (from the now defunct Project Mayo - FREE): DivX, OpenDivX, MPEG-4, MPEG-1, avi videos and MP3 audio files.
- PictPocket Cinema (from Digisoft - FREE TO TRY): Quicktime files among other media file types. Mine doesn't play audio sounds for mov files, though, but there is no other application that claims to play Quicktime formats other than this one for now.
- iMusic v2.10 (from Cardinal Info Tech - FREE TO TRY): much like the WinAmp player that almost everyone is familiar with, this application could play MP1, MP2, MP3, ogg, wma, wav, etc, complete with equalizer presets, skinnable application, and playlist generation.
Windows Mobile 2005 (aka Magneto) is the latest OS for newer models of Pocket PCs. The programs suggested are downward compatible to suit your older Windows Mobile 2003 and 2003 SE requirements. Do back your license codes and cab-file installers up as you purchase or get them. Store them onto your phone's SD cards in case of emergency. I hope to cover great PPC games in the next installment of this article. Now, spread the love!
The stongest peso since three and a half years ago is what last Friday's (February 10, 2006) closing rate to the US dollar says, at 51.48. It promises cheaper goods, Mar Roxas predicts. President Arroyo also "predicted that the peso would soon hit the 50 to the dollar mark" for want of a better forecast. Well, that depends on the market actually. You see, a strong peso-to-the-dollar at several cents is already more than the 2% VAT increse that has been added to consumer goods just this month. Let's take a concrete example by way of simple mathematics:
[WARNING: NUMBERS AND EQUATIONS AHEAD. IF YOU GET NAUSEATED AND IF YOUR VERTIGO GETS TRIGGERED BY COMPUTATIONS, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK OR SKIP TOWARDS THE LAST 4 PARAGRAPHS OF THIS POST]
In January 26, 2006, the PDS rate is US$1=PHP52.44, the difference being PHP0.96 to last Friday's.
To compare, a Filipino shells out PHP51.48 now that there's 12% VAT to buy, let's say, food. Let's put that side by side to shelling out PHP52.44 with 10% VAT and see what effectively is the cost of commodities, VAT excluded.
- At PHP51.48 with 12% VAT, cost of item before VAT is PHP45.96.
- At PHP52.44 with 10% VAT, cost of the same item before VAT is PHP47.67
The difference is
PHP1.71 for the consumer, granting the price of commodieties has not increased. Now, if the price of goods increased by 2%, that would be a different scenario but still on the favor of the Filipino. See the following example:
At PHP51.48 with 12% VAT but
with a 2% price increase (at PHP52.51 after VAT), cost of item before VAT is
PHP46.88. It is still cheaper than the cost of goods in the previous month at PHP47.67.
Mar Roxas has a point. We may all enjoy cheaper stuff should the manufacturers of goods give us the much anticipated roll-back on the prices of their commodities, if at all. That is, if the peso sustains it's value and if the government could at least control the current "peaceful" situation in the country. Everything that are about to happen is crucial as one more bus bombing,
"hello, Garci" scandal,
coup-d-etat attempt, political destabilization in any form, catastrophe, tragedy, tempest,
force majeure, or plague could make it scamper back to the PHP58 to the US$1 rate it had been forecasted to reach several months before.
Observe the increase in PHP value and you could readily see as to what this is attributable to just by knowing what is happening around us. At one point when Manny Pacquiao won in LA, our peso value increased. At our winning in the SEA games, it also did a climb. At the implementation of the new VAT reform act, again, it went it's merry way up.
The only aspect eveyone is anxious for is when will we feel the improvements. When the impact could be felt as an impact, to give the term justice. When do we enjoy a better life on the general? When to we eventually pay off half our foreign debt? When will poverty lessen?
We can only hope. Hope that it continually improves for all of us and hope for our leaders to know how to take us where we need to go.
Speaking of last Friday, with the building I work at being in the heart of the now dubbed Freedom Park in Ayala, and seeing the protesters and hearing news of what is happening remotely in the Camp Aguinaldo area in Quezon City had my heart do several back flips. Most companies in the building had sent their employees home at 1400h while most employees from where I work at are still asking whether we could leave earlier than usual. It was only in 1615h that we were told to vacate our work stations at 1630h.
