Wunder Boner

I wonder if it really works as advertised?

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86,400 seconds Question

What is the true significance of New Year's Day? Or birthdays for that matter. After all, when you think about it, New Year's Day or your birthday are each just but another day in our lives. Like any other day, each has 24 hours, or 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds - for us to use or to waste.

Maybe that's it. Special days serve as milestones in our lives to make us reflect on what we have done with the time given us so far. To make us realize whether we have make full use of the ticks tocks or just wasted them.

So, what have you done with the previous 86,400 seconds given you?

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Quick Connection Tip for Globe Pre-paid Visibility Users

I just learned a new trick today. If you are using Globe's prepaid visibility modem - you know, the one with the white Huawei modem, you can force lock your WCDMA/HSDPA connection (if you are lucky to get one at all) by setting it up in the Mobile Partner.

Go to Tools > Options > then select Network. For Network Type select WCDMA only. This will prevent the program from automatically sliding down to using GSM signals in the even it detects them. But keep in mind when you select this option, the modem will not indicate it has detected GSM signals and will instead reflect a no signal status. That means you won't be able to connect at all. Actually since the top speed is about 50kbps, it is doubtful if you would want to connect in that situation as you would probably end up paying P5.00 for every pageload.

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One year in Two Minutes

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A Matter of Inches

What really got me into blogging was when I got the original Asus Eee PC 701. It was just the right size and weight for me to bring it anywhere. Without a fragile hard drive, I did not have to think twice about literally tossing it into my bag or the front seat of my car. And with free wifi in a lot of places, I could do my blogging on the go.

Since then newer models, most with hard drives, have been introduced. And just before Christmas, prices were dramatically slashed. I got my sis an Astone UMPC for her birthday/Christmas present. It is almost the same size as the Asus Eee PC, has a similar 7" touchscreen display but has 1GB RAM and a 60 hard drive (compared to 512MB and 4GB SSD on the Asus). But at P9,995, it is nearly half the price of the Asus when I first got it. Actually the Asus now sells for P9,995, too. And so does the Blue H1 - a similar sized unit.

But I am beginning to feel the 7" screen is too small for me. Especially whenever I switch from my 17" desktop screen. So I am considering getting a bigger unit. But I find the 10" screen units too big - although the screen size is just perfect for me. I have yet to play around with an 8.9" unit. My hesitation is that the lowest price I have seen for a 10" unit is about P16,000 while the cheapest 8.9" is about P14,000. The small difference in price makes me want to go with a 10" unit. But its size seems a bit too big for me to bring it anywhere like I do with my Asus Eee PC. Also, there are some 8.9" models that are just as large as the 10" - like the MSI Wind U90 which shares it chassis with the 10" MSI Wind U100.

So, I am having a difficult time deciding. I wonder if any of you out there has the same dilemma as I do.

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Using Speed Cameras to Punk Someone

I came across a story at The Sentinel, a Maryland, USA-based site, about high schools using speed cameras to punk their enemies.

Basically they print out fake license plates on glossy paper and tape it on similar-looking cars of their intended victims. Then they intentionally break the speed so that they are recorded by speed cameras. Bingo! The real owner of the license plate then receives the ticket in the mail.

Considering where we are, I think it is one of the few times we ought to be thankful we are not that advanced in technology. Because given our mentality, I won't be surprised if this will become prevalent in the event our situation allows pranksters to pull the trick.

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A Green Christmas Commercialized

As part of its "green" consciousness, a major membership-type shopping club has been providing free reusable bags for its shoppers.

But just this Christmas, it was selling freshly cut little pine trees - perfect for those ignorant non-environmentalists looking for a Christmas tree for their happy homes.

I guess some kind of green (bucks) are always prioritized by some businessmen.

So much for being truly green.

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Anonymous Christmas text messages

One thing I don't like about Christmas are the text greetings I get from people I don't know. Like just about know, I am beginning to receive Christmas messages from unknown numbers. They are obviously unknown to me as instead of a familiar name in the sender's box, an unfamiliar number listed.

Of course, it would be embarrassing to text back "Hu r u?" or "Hu s dis pls?" especially if it turns out the sender is a superior or someone is supposed to be closed to you. After all, why bother sending personal messages to acquaintances?

At the same time, I don't feel right replying "Merry Christmas 2" to someone I don't even know. Somehow the spirit of the season just doesn't seem there.

So I just don't reply. And I go crazy wondering who the sender is...grrrrrr....

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The unnecessary 8 km detour at SCTEX Subic Tipo exit

If you take the Subic exit of the SCTex and want to go on to Tipo, you can not make a U-turn right before the Tipo tollbooths. Instead you are forced to go through the tollbooths, pay the P18 toll fee (for Class 1), travel approximately 4 kilometers and make the U-turn just before you reach the SBMA Tipo gate. Then go back the 4 kilometers, pay the P18 toll fee again at the Tipo tollbooth to exit so that you can continue on to the Tipo exit.

And if you are coming from Tipo and want to get on the SCTex, you pretty much have to take the same route - travel an unnecessary 8 kilometers and pay an additional P36 pesos.

Why cars are not allowed to make the U-turn just before the Tipo tollbooth is beyond me. What is the difference between making the U-turn there and making the U-turn at the SBMA gate? While the road leading to the SBMA gate is physically wider, the U-turn radius is actually smaller because plastic cones have been semi-permanently placed on one lane of the other side. SoWhoever designed/planned the Tipo exit of the SCTex most probably took a page from Sec. Neri's friends. Here's why -

If you take the Subic exit of the SCTex and want to go on to Tipo, you can not make a U-turn right before the Tipo tollbooths. Instead you are forced to go through the tollbooths, pay the P18 toll fee (for Class 1), travel approximately 4 kilometers and make the U-turn just before you reach the SBMA Tipo gate. Then go back the 4 kilometers, pay the P18 toll fee again at the Tipo tollbooth to exit so that you can continue on to the Tipo exit.

And if you are coming from Tipo and want to get on the SCTex, you pretty much have to take the same route - travel an unnecessary 8 kilometers and pay an additional P36 pesos.

Why cars are not allowed to make the U-turn just before the Tipo tollbooth is beyond me. What is the difference between making the U-turn there and making the U-turn at the SBMA gate? While the road leading to the SBMA gate is physically wider, the U-turn radius is actually smaller because plastic cones have been semi-permanently placed on one lane of the other side. So what is really the difference?

Well, if just 100 Class 1 vehicles have to take the detour each day, that is P3,600 daily or an annual undeserved P1,314,000.00 additional revenue for somebody.

But at what costs - aside from the additional time travel it takes to to make the U-turn?

If we assume the same vehicles use an additional 1 liter of gasoline to make the 8 kilometer detour, a total of 100 liters is being consumed unnecessarily on a daily basis. At P36 per liter, that's P3,600 daily or P1,314,000.00 annually being wasted.

So why is this being allowed?

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No Therapeutic Claims

Anyone else notice the glaring glut of TV commercials of herbal supplements - you know, the ones that claims to prevent diabetes, liver diseases, cancer, etc.?

It seems the manufacturers are successful in convincing TV viewers that lately, there appears to be even more herbal stuff being promoted on TV. I don't think it is any coincidence these commercials appear on shows whose target viewers are the oftentimes less educated masses. Worse some of the commercials are edited to make them appear as if they are part of the show, with the spokesperson being an emcee of the show in which the commercial appears.

But what takes the case is that after boasting repeatedly all the therapeutic claims a product has, including testimonies from alleged actual users, the commercial would end with a "NO THERAPEUTIC CLAIMS" disclaimer.

Obviously the manufacturers must think the pinoy TV viewer is stupid. But you know what? Apparently they are right. Because it seems they, the so-called herbal supplement makers, are laughing all the way to the bank.

So what does this say about the pinoy TV viewer?

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Life is a Three Ring Circus

An oldie but still very nice song -



The lyrics -

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls
Children of all ages
Welcome to the big top
See the ferocious lions
Thrill to the fabulous monkeys
Laugh along with the hilarious clowns
See them, life is a three ring circus

The whistle blows as he makes his rounds
Hes seen every town west of Mississippi
Hes just a face painted all in smiles
Jumpin' up and down and makin' people happy

Though deep inside a shadow grows
He could laugh and no one knows
There's a lonely man inside

Life is a three ring circus
All of the ups and downs of a carousel
That I know so well
Life is a three ring circus
Just one little ride on a merry-go-round
Goin' round and round and round and round and round

He does the best like the minstrel did
Just to please the kids and keep the people laughing
But no one knows that beneath the clothes
And his turned up nose lies a lonely beggar

He needs the love he spreads around
Bu tin life hes just a clown
Till they bring the curtain down

Life is a three ring circus
All of the ups and downs of a carousel
That I know so well
Life is a three ring circus
Just one little ride on a merry-go-round
Goin' round and round and round and round and round

He needs the love that cant be found
But you're just too blind to see
That the clown is really needy

Life is a three ring circus
All of the ups and downs of a carousel
That I know so well
Life is a three ring circus
Just one little ride on a merry-go-round
Goin' round and round and round and round and round

Goin' round and round and round and round and round
Goin' round and round and round and round and round
Goin' round and round and round and round and round
Goin' round and round and round and round and round

Goin' round and round and round and round and round
Goin' round and round and round and round and round

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Love Amplifies

Why does love tend to amplify everything? Even the smallest of mistakes you make will hurt most the one person you love the most. Yet the same issue wouldn't even so much as bring a teardrop out of other people.

Why is there such a straight exploding line between loving and hurting?

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Hyprocritical

I just want to share with you what I read in the Inquirer today in Mon Tulfo's On Target column -

"...You want to know how hypocritical some Pinoys have become?

You see them take Holy Communion every Sunday (or every day); you hear them utter “Praise God” in conversations with friends.

But they treat their pets much better than they treat their househelp, office employees, or subordinates.

They don’t pay their subordinates the right amount or don’t pay them at all.

If they’re public officials, they rob their constituents blind..."

It is one reason why I am so turned off about going to Mass. Try attending a mid-morning or early evening service. You are bound to see girls in sexy attire in their flirtatious best (or is it worst?) looking for potential prey. And vice-versa.

Outside, you will also see drivers cutting each other off just to get a parking space near the church. After the service, they scramble after each other to get out faster.

And don't get me started about chapels in shopping malls. How can one possibly be in the right spiritual mood amidst all the commercialism and materialism? It is like placing a clean white hankie in a pool of mud and expecting the hankie to remain clean. A trip down an isolated beach or up a mountainside would do a much better job for a silent moment with God.

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Being Nice on Christmas

What is the fuss about being nice during Christmas? Why can't people be nice all year round? It is as if come December, people have a switch that they turn on so they are always smiling. But the rest of the year the switch is turned off and they are back to their mean old selves.

Me? I would rather be a grouchy humbug all year round - at least I am sincere. Well, not that I am a regular grouch. It is only these days when I meet people who greet me with frozen smiles who would otherwise not even acknowledge my presence the rest of the year. Bah!

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Precious Water

I went with my parents today to buy a water tank. It cost P20,000. Kinda hard to justify spending that amount just to hold water when water is everywhere. Kinda ironic.

During my parents' time, or so I am told, water was available everywhere. You can even drink it from the tap. Not that I would try it today. Or in the future. But given how things are progressing, I doubt if water will come out of the tap in the future.

'cause it will probably be more precious than oil.

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Are Entertainers More Valuable than Teachers?

I bumped into my old high school teacher earlier today and was disheartened by the news that like most public school employees, she is having a difficult time making ends meet in these hard times.

Then I remembered reading about Wowowee emcee Willie Revillame making at least P700,000 per day - that's per day. That's an insane amount by any standards - even American standards. With her salary now, my former teacher will have to work at least 20 years just to come close to what the guy earns in a day.

I don't have anything personal against Mr. Revillame. For all I know, he deserves the whole amount from ABS-CBN's financial perspective. But when public school teachers are paid such lowly wages and entertainers compensated so dearly, something must be terribly wrong with our society. After all, public school teachers are the ones responsible for shaping our youth, and therefore our country's future. There is something to said about our country's priority if they are paid such lowly wages, and therefore, deemed dispensable.

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Love Question of the Day

In a relationship, who would you prefer to be - the one who is loved more or the one who loves more?

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Dreaming Ain't Free

Bummer. I didn't win in yesterday's 6/49 lotto draw. Prize was over P170 million. I think I overheard on the radio there were seven winners. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. Not even the consolation prizes.

Not winning makes me wonder why some people bet regularly. Me - I only bet when the pot is over P100 million. Then I heard the radio talk host said, "Dreaming is free, after all. That is what makes the lotto so attractive."

Boy, he really got that wrong. My dreaming cost me P100. 5 picks at P20 each. I am out P100 because I dreamed. If P100 isn't real money, then I don't know what is.

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TV Commercials of TVs

I don't know about you but every time I see a commercial on TV for a TV set, it makes me wonder why the manufacturers even bother.

I mean, if my present TV set is good enough to show the clarity of the model being advertised, why bother change?

And if it is not good enough to show the clarity of the model being advertised, then I won't see the clarity at all. Isn't that right?

Am I missing something or what?

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