Last Shelter: Bane Blade

After what seemed like an eternity of gaming, I finally completed my first Bane Blade 6-part set. How long did it take for a free to play player like me? Seems like it took more than two years. And when I tested the set against the same hero formation I was using, the increase in damage didn't seem to be that big a deal. Nowadays, it's the heroes you have and the abilities you get from hopeness lab that spell the difference in matches. Still, that's one more item off the bucket list of things I want to accomplish in this game.

Thank You, Arwind Santos

 As a long time fan of SMB's Beeracle Team - the only team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a finals match, I would just like to say...

Thank you, Arwind Santos.

Today, the news of the trade between SMB and Northport came out. Arwind Santos for Vic Manuel. I know that Arwind's game has been on the decline. I don't remember if it started when the PBA banned his Spiderman - feet on the backboard - dunk... or when Standhardinger came into San Miguel and started eating away at Arwind's minutes at the 4 spot. And imports during the Commissioner's Cup and Governor's Cup also took away from Arwind's minutes. SMB tried to play him at the 3, like Marcio Lassiter, but Arwind was slower than other players on the opposing team, at this spot.

Santos was really perfect for SMB at the 4 position, especially during the All-Filipino Cup. There was a time when Jun Mar could pick 4-three point shooter spots from the post. Cabagnot, Lassiter, Ross, and Santos all were three-point threats. This strategy has even been copied by TNT, and modified so that their Center can shoot the three. But SMB was so deadly when it's three-point game was on, I really think that this was one of the keys why they dominated from 2014 to 2018. I even heard one PBA commentator say that the only constants in this world are death, taxes, and Arwind Santos threes.

Arwind was also an excellent shot blocker. And with him and Jun Mar manning the post during their prime, you could expect a block party for SMB. Even during this year, 2021, there were glimpses of Arwind's brilliance at blocking during some of the PBA games.

But Arwind was not just good at threes and blocks. His dunks used to give SMB energy, much like Troy Rosario does now for TNT. But ever since his Spiderman dunks were banned, he started going for this akward layup that - in my opinion was too low and blockable. And he would even miss the layup at times instead of it being a sure finish. But this was when his game was already on the decline.

I'm not sure if Vic Manuel will be as good a replacement for Arwind Santos. Maybe SMB tried to make a play for Jaime Malonzo, but failed, so they went for whoever could fill their weakness at the 4 position. Vic Manuel doesn't have a consistent 3 like Santos. Maybe he will develop that at SMB.

But this habit of letting go of good players to become better by SMB... it's something I've seen since the Gabby Espinas trade. The Ganuelas-Rosser trade and the Heruela trade are some of the trades I wish SMB didn't go through. MGR would have been a decent replacement for Santos. Heruela was the best guard against Jason Castro. I guess it's inevitable that SMB ran out of good role players to trade, and now, the members of the death squad are no longer untouchable. Cabagnot and Lassiter might be next on the trading block since they are no longer averaging double digits in their output.

Perhaps this trade signifies the death of the death squad era. And maybe it is time for SMB to invest in good support players that will help prolong the remnants of their aging core. So while we fans await the return of SMB to the finals stage, I can just watch replays of the death squad's glory days on YouTube. And one of the reasons why they were so good was Arwind Santos.

TNT Finally Ends Title Drought in 2021

I wrote this post more than three years ago, ending with this statement "Castro, Romeo, Pogoy and Rosario could be the best local core that TNT can use to match up against SMB."

With the exception of Romeo, who by the way, ended up with SMB, Castro, Pogoy, and Rosario are still part of the TNT team that won this year's Philippine Cup. But they wouldn't have done it without the additions of Rookie of the Year, Mikey Williams, and the best local center who can match up against Jun Mar Fajardo, Poy Eram.

Mikey Williams was simply incredible for a rookie. His consistency beyond the arc is just stunning. Magnolia could not find anyone to guard against his three point shots. Small players cannot match his three-point jump shot. Tall players who try to guard him are slow to get to him, and he can opt to drive to the basket. TNT may have lost Ray Parks Jr., but who cares. Mikey Williams might just inherit Jason Castro's mantle, unless he also ends up in Japan like most of the young Filipino players nowadays.

Poy Eram showed his potential against Jun Mar Fajardo long ago when he was still with Blackwater. In one of their matches, he showcased that he could hit the three-point shot, forcing Jun Mar to defend the perimeter, freeing the paint for other TNT offensive players to operate. That's why the MVP group wanted Eram bad, and he might have had to go through NLEX for a few seasons, but eventually landed in TNT.

You could see the hunger in Pogoy, Castro, Rosario and Eram. Even vets like Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes had renewed vigor. And with the return of Coach Chot Reyes, this had to be the year TNT finally overcame SMB. Now that they know how to win over the Beermen, we might just see a new dynasty for the next few seasons.

LTO Car Registration Renewal 2021

This has been the 5th time I've gone through the car registration renewal process of the LTO. I was expecting the usual steps.

1. Get emission testing certificate
2. Get CTPL insurance
3. Go to LTO and have a technician help accomplish the MVIR form
4. Have documents assessed
5. Pay the Cashier
6. Claim your OR/CR

Left the house at around 9:00 A.M. and arrived at the emission testing center at around 10:00 A.M. Testing was done in around 15 minutes. The test center even offered insurance coverage so I was done with steps 1 and 2. 

At the LTO, after finding a suitable parking spot, the technician was able to stencil the required info to our MVIR form in around 20 minutes. I then had to check out a checklist of required documents and leave this with the security guard who attached a number to my documents.

This is when my 5-hour wait began. This was amazing considering I had gone through the same registration process when the country was already experiencing COVID-19. And I also experienced what is was like before COVID-19. And this was the first time I've had to wait this long. Before, my worst experience was probably around 3-hours of waiting time.

There were multiple times when different people would go to the cashier's window and ask if their name was already called. This was very different from my experiences before. Maybe, it is high time that the Quezon City government help the LTO improve their queuing system. Not having any kind of tracking number, and completely surrendering your documents without any proof that you've already submitted all of these to the LTO, for me, creates anxiety. What if the documents were lost in the process? How do I prove that I've submitted them already? How do I track where the documents are in case I want to leave? etc. etc.

So, when people go to the Cashier window and ask if their name was already called, this further causes delays in the process. The cashier personnel has to act as customer service and re-check the documents that have been called to verify if the person was already bypassed. They then have to direct the person back to the assessment window.

There were also cases wherein an LTO representative would call out the name of a person who was already waiting at the cashier's area and inform that person that some of his documents were missing. This could have been avoided if the documents were assessed properly at the time of submission.

I can also understand why some of the people waiting were worried. The waiting area can be considered an enclosed area, and during the time of COVID-19, nobody wants to be stuck in a room full of people, even if the room is at 50% capacity. So some people would rather wait in open-space areas than in that room, and this was the reason why they'd have to pester the cashier every so often.

After what seemed like an eternity, my name was finally called and I had to pay 1,610 pesos. Combine this amount with 500 pesos for emission testing, 1,000 pesos for the insurance and the 50 pesos tip to the technician, and the total amount spent was around 3,160 pesos.

The cashier issued the new printed OR which looks like a photocopy of some receipt. There was no CR issued. According to the LTO personnel, this was part of the new system. And this was also the reason why it took a long time for registration. (Sounds fishy, since a black and white print-out on regular bond paper should take less time and resources than a more elaborate colored OR and CR. But that's life in the Philippines)

So, the next time you have the car's registration renewed, you might want to take along a book, or your mobile phone for entertainment. Expect a long time of waiting.

Dell Latitude 3410 No Audio Dummy Output

Was helping out a friend with their Dell Latitude 3410 not having any sound. To check, just play any video on YouTube on a browser. You see the video playing but can't hear any sound even though the sound control isn't muted. The laptop had Ubuntu 18.04 installed. When you check the Sound under Settings, you only see Dummy Output so you can't even test. Tried a lot of fixes suggested online. But the only one that seemed to work for this particular situation was the following. You have to edit the "alsa-base.conf" file as a super user using the following command on a terminal. sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf When the text file opens, add the following lines at the very bottom options snd-hda-intel model=auto options snd-hda-intel dmic_detect=0 Save your changes by clicking on "Save" then reboot your laptop. I tried playing the same YouTube video and sound was now present.

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.