PacMan scores an offset

That’s right folks, PacMan scored an OFFSET not an UPSET. Our pambansang kamao Manny Pacquiao won via a hairline against the reigning WBA and IBF Super Featherweight Champion Juan Manuel Marquez last March 16 in Mandala Bay Las Vegas.

MELEE NUMBER 1
In May 8, 2004, a then boxing newbie PacMan knocked out slugger Marquez thrice in the first round alone. The intelligent boxer Marquez recovered to score a questionable draw. Boxing analyst says that the win should have been Pacmans. Apparently, politics is prevalent in the boxing world.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
In their second encounter, PacMan KOd Marquez in the 3rd round which left him stunned and attempted to share the corner with his opponent. As in the first meeting Marquez, recovered in the later rounds to give PacMan a good fight. Personally, I thought the fight went to Marquez.

And the new Super Featherweight Champion is Manny Pacquiao! The Pinoys went wild. Half thought it was divine intervention at work. The other half thought it was the boxing official’s way of giving the victory to the real champ. It just took 24 rounds and 46 months to settle the score.

Moody Thursday

We expected traffic to be bad last Maundy Thursday but we didn't expect it to be THAT BAD! The average travel time from Makati to Tarlac is about 2 hours but this a special day so the travel time reached 5 hours.

CHOKE POINTS
The expected choke points for the 125 kilometer journey includes EDSA, NLEX approach, Mabalacat intersection and McArthur Hway in San Miguel, Tarlac. We passed by Nagtahan to avoid the EDSA traffic and that gamble paid off. The next chokepoint was NLEX approach in Valenzuela but good thing the ever reliable EC tag got us off the hook.

UN-EXPRESSWAY.
The gas stations northbound were filled to the hilt. Good for business, not so good for those who regularly use the expressway as it means abnormally heavy vehicle volume. This is when the nightmare began: traffic started in Sta Rita Bulacan until Angeles City Pampanga. That's right folks, what normally takes 20 minutes took almost 3 hours.

MAYOR AT 22.
After exiting NLEX via Angeles, traffic was light. It was a path least likely to take by a normal northbound traveler because it means almost 20 km additional road to travel. I'm the type of driver who will take the road less traveled but traffic free than a shorter traffic filled ride. En route to Tarlac, we passed by Ninoy Aquino's hometown. The guy who is a threat to Jose Rizal's throne became mayor of this small town when he was 22 years old.

We reached Tarlac City just a little past 1PM. That is officially the second longest travel time from Manila to Tarlac.

FN: The longest was in the 90s when we traveled from 6PM to 2AM during All Saint’s Day holiday break.

Ni Hao Mandarin

Yi. Er. San. Si. Wu! Countdown 10 days before my Mandarin classes start at Luke and Wendy’s Language School in Legaspi Village, Makati. Since Y2004 after my life changing thyroidectomy, I’ve wanted to learn to speak Chinese. I bought a Learn Chinese PC CD but I actually haven’t touched it yet so it’s just a waste of resource.

Life changing.
The thyroidectomy was life changing literally and figuratively. When I learned that after the surgery, I would be on medication for the rest of my life, I was extremely sad and in fact was very emotional. Imagine a person like me who hates taking meds and now I have to take it daily forever is a tough pill to swallow. The doctor who took care of me during the operation was Dr. Ang of St. Luke’s. Obviously he was Chinese, spoke to me in Chinese and said that I should learn to speak Chinese so here I am.

Awni Na.
I’ve been shopping around Makati for a good and reasonable school and I’ve learned of Berlitz which charges P7,500 and Speak and Write which charges P4,800. Finally, I saw an ad for Luke and Wendy’s Language school for P3,500 for 30 units. Classes is during Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00 to 8:00PM and a 20 minute walk from our office. The class size is 6 students and one of the students is a fellow Kapampangan, good friend and officemate. That makes it more interesting as I get to practice the language with him. By the way, Awni Na is “here goes” in Kapampangan.

Three more words.
It’s Ni Hao (Hello) to Mandarin class on March 24, Zai-Jian (good bye) to this blog entry but not before I say Sheng-r Kuai le (Happy Birthday) to myself!

Top Ten Digital Camera Tips

Even though I have progressed to an entry level SLR digital camera, the point and shoot digital cam that we own still comes in handy. It still serves certain purposes because of its size and un-still camera features like the short movie. Some of the techniques that I use when taking shots with my latest toy, the Nikon D40 are holdovers from our first digicam, a Sony Cybershot T1. Here are my top ten tips:

1. Clean as you go. The top tip is to “clean the frame” before shooting. This means removing obstructions or objects that won’t look pretty on picture like a trash bin on a portrait shot or twigs on a landscape shot. Of course, this excludes not so pretty people J
2. Red Dot. This phenomenon seems to be irreversible on earlier compact digicams but I read that there are models which reduce red eye without any need to remove it using a software. You may use MS Office picture manager to fix the red dot.
3. Let there be light. Natural light is still the best. When shooting outdoors, it’s best to harness the power of sunlight hence avoid using the flash. Just a word of caution: there may be occasions when you still need to use a flash even when outdoors. This is done to highlight the foreground.
4. Set it up. A typical camera has prefix settings like landscape, portrait, sports mode, etc. Landscape’s almost universal symbol is the 2 uneven mountains; portrait is that of 2 to 3 uneven face silhouettes and sport is signified by 1 to 2 persons in running position. Use the mode that is applicable for the shot however when all else fail, stick to the trusty AUTO mode.
5. Angle's galore. Shoot the same subject from different angles. From the top, bottom, left, right, diagonal, horizontal, vertical. You’ll be surprised of the outcome!
6. Lens is your friend however... A lens is extremely helpful if you want to take a closer shot of the subject without moving an inch from your current position. But try taking the same shot this time move nearer the subject. You will not immediately notice it until you download the picture or print it out. Using the zoom lens uses less kilobytes therefore more chances your picture will be noisy when printed out. Remember, the heavier is the file size, the clearer it will be.
7. No cleaning after the shot policy. This does not conflict with the first item. A natural shot is still the best. If you have all the time in the world to take the shot and you have gigabytes of storage space, take multiple shots with different settings and scenarios. A cleaning agent in photography includes MS Office Picture Manager, Adobe Photoshop and a dozen of other software which can be found in the net.
8. No crop policy. Similar to number 7. For “not so photo buffs,” cropping means cutting the sides, top or bottom for “dirty” objects. My personal philosophy is that you should crop only if time in not on your side.
9. Different Strokes. A picture from a digicam’s viewfinder may seem the same compared to a PC monitor output but there are subtle differences. At most the digicam’s viewfinder is 2.5 to 3 inches while a PC monitor normally ranges from 14 to 21 inches. The difference is magnified tenfold. Pls. take careful notice of the little things.
10. Practice makes perfect. I’m sure you’ve heard about this adage and it applies to taking pictures as well. Practice taking shots of different subjects with different scenarios so when game time comes, you’ll know what is the best shot for a particular situation.

The beauty of the digital cam is that it is cost effective as long as you don’t regularly print pictures so go practice and take thousands of pictures. As the saying goes “A picture paints a thousand words.”

KENAN INSIDE

If you work in a telecommunications company, the biggest adjustment that one has to make is the dynamism of the industry. Telco people have to put up with fast turnaround of cellular phones, new promos released almost every week, services launched every so often and software entries, exits and modifications.

ICMS’ demise
The Integrated Customer Management System (ICMS) was introduced in 1999 in congruent with the entry of the GSM service of Smart. It is a database that primarily manages the postpaid subscribers. Originally designed for wired service (landline), it has evolved to accommodate wireless service (cellular phones). Almost a decade old, it has served its purpose hence time to retire this aging system.

Kenan’s entry
Comverse (http://www.comverse.com/) is a software company based in Wakefield, Massachusetts, USA that offers a billing solutions software called Kenan. It was created as a convergent software for wired and wireless service and this seems like the software database that can handle the challenges of the postpaid service of both Smart and PLDT. In the worldwide setting, Kenan users include VOXmobile (Luxemburg), China Telecom (China), GCI (Alaska, USA) and Euskaltel (Spain). Smart purchased its backend system and intends to use the homegrown Customer Solutions Platform as its front end tool.

CRM’s match
The Customer Solutions Platform was renamed to One Customer Relation Management to give it a holistic theme. Currently, the CSP is being used as a front end tool for the prepaid service. You can’t find CSP in the internet as this is purely a home grown system. Credit should go to our IT guys; if they can’t find a software solution in the market to meet the company’s requirement, they’ll create one for you. The software was borne out of a need which was specific to the Filipino subscriber, the ultimate texter.

The CRM – Kenan system tandem is expected to be in place next year. The fact that it will integrate numerous systems translates to operational efficiency. For the users of this software system, you may see a familiar screen in the guise of CSP however at the back end, Kenan is doing all the dirty work. It is analogous to a personal computer CPU where the computing part is done by Intel (remember the Intel inside branding). In this case, the computing will be done by Kenan hence the branding - Kenan Inside.

Small Sedan Surprise

The new Toyota Corolla 9th generation is out. I checked it today at the showroom in Bel Air. It's the typical utilitarian Corolla, nothing spectacular. Looks more like an oversized Vios than an undersized Camry. I still like the exterior styling of the Honda Civic 8th generation or the soon to be released 8th gen Mitsubishi Lancer better. Then again I am sure the Corolla will still sell like hotcakes, kelan ba naman hindi? Just a quick survey conducted at a nearby parking area, 4 out of 10 vehicles is a Corolla, just 1 Civic.

Surprise! Surprise! It's not the Corolla nor the Civic and not even the Lancer who won Consumer Reviews Best Car 2008 (small sedan class), it's the Hyundai Elantra.

Corporate RPG: Lessons from a Greenhorn

I got a valuable advice from a new kid on the block during our weekend in Dakak. He said that in basketball, you should play your role, stick to it and give it your best.

IN THE GAME
During the last BBall tourney that I joined, I was a complete failure. That is my personal assessment. I never bothered to ask my teammates or the coach their thoughts. If they invite me again this season, that's probably a clear sign I met their expectation. In that tournament, I set a goal of contributing 10 points per game (ppg) and 5 assist per game (apg). The actual performance was probably 2 ppg and 2 apg. In the next season, I'd like to target a more realistic 4 ppg and 4 apg. The bigger contribution would most likely be in defense more than offense. That will be my role to the team if invited again.

CORPORATE LIFE
After proving that I can compete with the best managers in our org through 3 consecutive model region awards, I was tapped to fill in an unfamiliar role. Initially, handing a project team then eventually handling a small team with a big responsibility. It’s basically a support team so I’m still feeling my way as I’m not used to playing a supporting role. When you’re in the front lines, you’re touted to be a SUPERSTAR. Total control is within your hands and as Spidey said “With great power comes great responsibility.” On the other hand, being in support is BIG CHALLENGE. Just suggesting to replace a step in dusty process flow will take meetings and meetings of debates and you will surely collect more foes than friends.

ROLE PLAYING GAME
The in thing for the net generation is RPG or Role Playing Games. The most famous all time RPG is Dungeons and Dragons. If you’re a net gen guy, you probably don’t know this. And if you’re a gen Xer, you probably thought I meant Commando arcade game. Anyway, my current personal professional vision is to be a role player. I can’t be a star in my current role but can definitely contribute to make our organization a star. I’ll do this by playing my role, sticking to it and give it my best. Thank you, greenhorn Glenmarc.

Boston versus Lakers dynasty part 3?

The two NBA’s winningest team include Boston Celtics from the eastern division and LA Lakers from the western division.

BOSTON CELTICS
Boston has 16 world champ rings, the most by any NBA ball club. They accumulated this mostly in the 50s through the 60s during the Bill Russell era. The Larry Bird era of the 80s added more rings for the franchise. The Paul Pierce lead team was not enough to give Boston a title but the recent addition of Ray Allen from Seattle and superstar Kevin Garnett from Minnesota increases their odds of winning the Larry O’Brien trophy this year. This is best proven by the 47 – 12 win loss standing which is the best record in the NBA this season.

LA LAKERS
Breathing down Boston’s neck is arch rival LA Lakers with 14 world champ rings. They earned this during the Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaq O’ Neal or Kobe Bryant led eras. KB is the new his airness, scoring at will and bringing his team to victory every night. His Scottie Pippen is in the guise of Lamar Odom but with the recent addition of Pau Gasol from Memphis, they just acquired a third superstar. They own the best record in the west and the second best record in the NBA with a 45 – 18 win loss standing.

They are at it again. Boston won the two games they played but that was pre- Pau Gasol trade. While I’m rooting for LA Lakers, my assessment is that this is Boston’s year.

Titanic: Who is Jack Phillips?

I just finished reading a book for children called Titanic written by Will and Mary Pope Osborne from NY, USA. It was relatively a short story but fact filled. It was enough to get my undivided attention last Sunday for at least an hour.

Now about Jack Phillips- the book says he was the wireless man or in layman's term, was responsible for the telegraph. On the night the SS Titanic sank, he received several warnings about icebergs in the ship's path but he choose to set aside the vital communication info, did not escalate to the bridge of the captain and instead focused on sending telegrams for passengers. You may argue that he was just doing his job and doing this effective however he may have a priority disorder. In the weigh in between saving more than a thousand lives and bragging about being in the maiden voyage of a luxury liner, I guess it's a no brainer.

NB: To the family of JP, I'm not portraying his role in the disaster negatively. Read the book and see for yourself. I'm just taking off from the author’s message.