Beggars In Manila

Haven't been to Manila in quite a while. The last time I spent a lot of time in Intramuros was way back in 2012. So I was surprised to see a lot of beggars in Manila. At the front of a Jollibee restaurant alone, I encountered four individuals asking for alms. Had to give them all something, lest they scratch the vehicle I was riding in. 

Also walked through the underpass between Intramuros and the Manila Post Office. There were around eight homeless individuals sleeping on improvised cardboard box beds in the underpass. And malnourished dogs could also be seen in the area.

I do not remember Manila being as poor as this in 2012. Yes, there were beggars and homeless people, but not as much as there are now. Maybe the new Mayor should focus on providing these individuals with programs that can teach them skills that will allow them to work and be productive. Their initial salary could be warm healthy meals. If malnourished, these individuals won't be able to work well.

Also concerned that these individuals are not wearing face masks or face shields that the government should be providing for those below the poverty line. I have seen street dwellers and beggars with face masks in other parts of Metro Manila. But at this point, these individuals would probably die of starvation and malnourishment than of Covid-19. 

Cousin Mike To The Rescue

Back when I was a kid, we visited one of my Aunts in the province. She lived in an elevated Nipa Hut with a fish pond below her house. The floors of her house were made of bamboo, and you could see the pond water through the spaces between the bamboo pieces used for her flooring.

That day, I brought along a toy which I probably got from a cereal box or chocolate drink as a prize. It was a tiny pay loader which had wheels that you could take apart, like LEGOs. I guess the manufacturer made it in this way so that the wheels could spin freely when you gave the pay loader a push while on the floor.

I don't remember why the wheels came off the toy. But I remember them dropping through one of the flooring spaces and into the pond below. I started crying. (I was probably less than 5 years old then).

To a kid, a toy was like gold. It is his or her most prized possession. So losing one or even just a piece was causing me great distress. Although the adults around me knew better, and probably offered to replace it, that didn't stop me from crying.

Enter my cousin Mike, who was only a few years older than me. (Perhaps about 4 years older). He volunteered to Wade in the muddy fish pond and search for the missing plastic wheels which were probably smaller in size than a button or bottle cap.

When I saw him wading through the pond, I think I stopped crying. Here was a person who cared enough to help me in my time of distress. Maybe he also knew the value of a toy since he was only a few years older than me, unlike the adults who were with us who have long forgotten about their childhood treasures.

After some time of wading and searching the pond floor, he was able to feel the piece of plastic and triumphantly accomplish it's rescue. But it would cost him. When he emerged from the pond, he asked for first aid assistance because there was a cut on his big toe.

I saw his toe as the adults examined him. Blood was gushing out. He probably suffered a cut from the stones in the murky pond. Looking back, I would never have allowed him to compromise his health and safety for a small piece of plastic that a kid would soon forget about.

I no longer have that toy. I don't even think it survived a few more weeks. And once a kid gets a shiny new toy, he usually forgets about the older ones.

But even to this day, I remember that act of kindness by my cousin Mike. I don't know if he still remembers that day, but I do. Life didn't turn out to well for cousin Mike. But I hope that the Lord helps him out, and gets his life on track. 

Spend My Life With You by Eric Benet and Tamia Guitar Chords

Here's my attempt at guitar chords of "Spend My Life With You" by Eric Benet and Tamia. Hope it helps you out.

Spend My Life With You

Stanza
C                               G
I never knew such a day could come
C                              G
And I never knew such a love could be inside of one
C                               G
And I never knew what my life was for
E                   Am               Dsus - D
But now that you're here I know for sure

Repeat Stanza Pattern
I never knew til I looked in your eyes (oh baby)
I was incomplete til the day you walked into my life (um, hm)
And I never knew that my heart could feel so precious and pure
One love so real, real

Chorus
G
Can I just see you every morning when (every morning, babe)
E
I open my eyes
Am                                           Cm7
Can I just feel your heart beating beside me every night (every day)
G                               F                               E
Can we just feel this way together til the end of all time
Am                         Dsus - D                       G 
Can I just spend my life with you (um, hm)

Stanza Pattern
Now baby the days and the weeks and the years will roll by
But nothing will change the love inside of you and I
And baby I'll never find any words that could explain
Just how much my heart, my life, my soul you've changed

Chorus
Can you run to these open arms when no one else understands
Can we tell God and the whole world I'm your woman and you're my man
Can you just feel how much I love you with one touch of my hand
Can I just spend my life with you

Bridge
Dm7              G7          CM7         F       
No touch has ever felt so wonderful (you are incredible)
Dm7              G7          CM7         F
Not a deeper love I've ever known (never let you go)
Dm7              G7          CM7         F                          Dm7        G
I swear this love is true (now and forever to you, to you, oh, oh)

(Chorus is now half a step higher)
Ab                                                           F
Can I just see you every morning when I open my eyes
Bbm                                           C#m7
Can I just feel your heart beating beside me every night
Ab                               F#                               F
Can we just feel this way together til the end of all time
Bbm                         Ebsus - Eb                       Ab 
Can I just spend my life with you

Repeat new Chorus Pattern
Ab                                                           F
Can you run to these open arms when no one else understands
Bbm                                                                                             C#m7
Can we tell God and the whole world (You're my woman) and (you're my man)
Ab                                         F#                               F
Can you just feel how much I love you with one touch of my hand
Bbm                         Ebsus - Eb                       Ab  - F
Can I just spend my life with you
Bbm                         Ebsus - Eb                       Ab  - F
Can I just spend my life with you
Bbm                         Ebsus - Eb                       Ab  - F
Can I just spend my life with you (forever here with you)
Bbm                         Ebsus - Eb
Can I just spend my life
Ab                                                          C#m7  -  Ab
Can I just see you every morning when I open my eyes
Oh oh

Last Shelter: Eden Rising

It's been a day since Eden Rising has started.

When you enter Eden, you get transported to a new state (Storywise, it is a time in the past). Here, the player population comes from different states. This alone means that the power level discrepancies between players is vast. Players in the older states usually have a huge advantage over players in newer states so it is easier for these older advanced players to put younger players in a fallen state.

So, as a newbie, you probably don't want to start a tile grabbing war early unless the area you are in is filled with plenty of guild allies. Guilds are like alliances except that players come from different states. The ranks are still there (R5 down to R1). And I guess the R5 will determine who gets what rewards, assuming the Guild gets a good ranking at the end of the season. There's also an additional chat window - the guild chat - but it made my phone freeze a lot. This can be difficult if you're trying to find out what are the directions or instructions of your guild leaders.

Initially, your base is shielded when you enter Eden. But once you decide to occupy a tile that is already occupied by another player, you have to drop the shield. Perhaps a better strategy is to maximize the hours that the shield is initially active. Only occupy vacant tiles while in this state. (Probably easier said than done. Players only has a few hours edge over me, and some could already occupy a level 7 tile while I was only about to start. So sometimes, if most of the tiles in the area you find yourself in are already occupied, you are forced to attack a tile just to go through the usual tile levels. You can't occupy a higher level tile unless you've occupied the level before it. And you can't occupy a tile if you haven't developed the infection immunity level needed to surpass it.

A bunch of players attacked me the moment I was unshielded. (And because I occupied their guild's tiles). After the attack, I was in a "fallen state". While in this state, I cannot occupy other players' tiles. I also have to shell out a bunch of resources to get out of this state - resources, mind you, that I didn't even have because I just started in Eden. Maybe developers should pay attention to disadvantages like these that could set back the progress of other players. (I was at a point where I was thinking of boycotting Eden Rising). But the other good thing about having no contaminated resources yet was that when those players attacked me, they did not get any loot. I did suffer a lot of damage, being attacked by players with power levels of 100M and 50M while I was a mere 15M player. The 100M player even had maxed three sisters in his APC. In my mind, I was like - wtf dude, why are you even doing Eden Rising when you already have the prizes for it.

There are cities and gates. And you can just think of them as high level tiles that you need to attack as a group. The infection immunity levels you need to develop to attack them are high. (I think the starting gate is like a level 9 tile). And you can't just teleport to a gate like before. You have to tile near it. You have to occupy 4 tiles in a 2x2 formation so that you can create a teleportation platform on it. And you have to spend refined resources to teleport. So moving around in Eden needs some preparation and planning.

I still haven't been part of a group trying to take down a gate or city. Once I've experienced what it is like, maybe I'll be able to write about it. Till then, hope this serves as an early guide for those who are just starting out in Eden Rising.

Revelation 13 and COVID-19 Quarantine

As I was reading through Revelations chapter 13, some ideas came to my mind as the world goes through home quarantine due to COVID-19. Below are the verses that struck me.

¹⁴ This second beast fooled the people living on earth by using the miracles that he had been given the power to do for the first beast. He ordered people to make an idol to honor the first beast, the one that was wounded by the sword but did not die. ¹⁵ The second beast was given power to give life to the idol of the first beast. Then the idol could speak and order all those who did not worship it to be killed. ¹⁶ The second beast also forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a mark put on their right hand or on their forehead. ¹⁷ No one could buy or sell without this mark. (This mark is the name of the beast or the number of its name.)

¹⁸ Anyone who has understanding can find the meaning of the beast’s number. This requires wisdom. This number is the number of a man. It is 666.

The first beast is the Antichrist. He was wounded by the sword but did not die. He might imitate Jesus Christ's resurrection to fool the world into believing that he is the chosen one, the one people should follow.

The second beast is the false prophet of the Antichrist. He is given power to give life to the idol of the first beast. With technology today, and shows like West World, it is not hard to imagine how an individual can produce an idol of a person and give it power to speak. With animatronics and computer programming, you could easily program a robot to order the killings of people who will not worship it. Or instead of a robot, this could be a hologram - like that of Whitney Houston which is performing long after her death.

Verses 16 and 17 are something we can now all relate to after this worldwide quarantine. For the first time since I was born, my rights to purchase basic necessities have been restricted. I could not do it without a quarantine pass. In a way, I could not buy without a 'mark'. Now, this mark is not yet on my right hand or forehead. But it gives you an idea why COVID-19 had to happen. The Antichrist will need to have a system of control. How do you control people? You have to have an international identification system so that you could easily restrict their purchase of basic necessities. If you deprive people of the basic things they need to live - for example, food and water - you can easily sway them into doing whatever you want - including worshiping you. People who reach desperation are bound to do anything to survive. To have an international I.D. system, you probably need a national I.D. system which is what our leaders are pushing for. While people might be swayed into the benefits of having such a system, they should also be wary for it will hasten the plans of the Antichrist for control and domination. Easy identification means easy capture, persecution and deprivation. No wonder some have resorted to doomsday prepping. Perhaps they can live a little while longer under the radar.

An international I.D. system might also be the key to identifying who the Antichrist is. If this system already existed, would it be possible that the individual with I.D. 666 is the Antichrist? 

Last Shelter: How to split heroes with the new hero interface

It's Hero Development day as of this writing. And I was about to split my green heroes to get through COZ when I realized, the splitting button is gone with the new updated hero interface.

Luckily, we just finished Doomsday Season 2 and my alliance was lucky enough to get season 2 heroes as rewards. So this splitting method should work if you have Orange heroes with a 4th skill that has not been leveled up yet. (4th Skill counting from the left, top row).

The 4th skill requires 10 purple hero medals and 5 blue hero medals to unlock. When you click on UNLOCK, you should see an option to CHOOSE hero medals that are already available or to do a Hero Split. If you have heroes available for splitting, then they should appear on the bottom half of the screen.

In the same way, Orange Heroes can also be split, but this time, by using 7th or 8th skills of an Orange Hero that have not been leveled up yet. (3rd or 4th skill counting from the left, bottom row).

Another drawback of the interface update is that you can no longer split Green Heroes as of this writing. There are rumors that the developers will remedy this in the future since a lot of gamers are unhappy with this update. But in the meantime, you can still upgrade your Blue Heroes' skills in the same manner, then split and repeat to get through your Gold Boxes in COZ. Hope this helps you out.

COVID 19 Death Per Population

Meaningful data is important in trying to solve any problems. I was looking at the number of deaths per country at worldometers.info and thought that if we wanted to know how each country was handling their COVID 19 cases well, we should measure it against their population. This made me come up with the following sheet.

I didn't even know of the country San Marino. But their deaths of 20 compared to their small population of 33,931 gives them an unusually high Death Per Population statistic. Does this mean that their country is not handling / containing the COVID 19 threat properly? Upon using Google Maps, their figures made much more sense.

San Marino is located above Italy, which as of this time, is the country with the highest number of COVID 19 related deaths.

It was also interesting to find out that despite having more than 500 cases of COVID 19, Saudi Arabia has zero deaths due to this virus. Qatar, South Africa, Estonia, and Armenia are doing a great job of keeping their COVID 19 cases alive. Contrast Qatar (501 cases, 0 deaths) with the Philippines (501 cases, 33 deaths). Based on that data, one might conclude that Qatar is doing a better job than the Philippines.

Armenia is also a curious case since it is similar to San Marino in that it is located above Iran, one of the countries with a high number of COVID 19 cases, and yet it has zero deaths as of this writing.

Perhaps the countries with zero deaths should share their best practices in fighting COVID 19 with the rest of the world. Maybe their residents also have the best anti-bodies at fighting this viral global threat. At this time, everyone must help out in any way they can so that our generation survives this global pandemic.