A Possible Solution To The MRT Problem

With the MRT trains failing frequently, why is the government in such a rush to build another MRT project from Quezon City to Bulacan? Shouldn't the government address the current situation and stabilize it first before beginning a new endeavor? Otherwise, you'll have another mess when the new MRT project starts failing after a few years of operations.

People want the current MRT fixed, but also want uninterrupted service. Sometimes, you have to shut the system down to overhaul a system. If a car breaks down, you have to use other means of transportation while the car is being repaired. But in a capital which is heavily reliant on the MRT for its commuters, shutting down this mode of transport might only happen if no trains are no longer available. And with 7 trains remaining in operation, that day might come sooner than expected.

Perhaps a long term solution to this problem is developing our own competency in train operations. I think U.P. Diliman tried doing this when they built a mini-MRT model on their campus, but I've yet to see a train going around the campus - perhaps because the line has not even come full circle yet. But if the premier university in the Philippines cannot do it, perhaps it should be done by schools and private institutions collectively. Bring the best and brightest minds from the academe, government, and private sector and build a Fellowship of the MRT (ala Fellowship of the Ring). And we might have some experts in the PNR and LRT systems that might also be able to lend a hand in this mess.

Develop local competency in building our own trains - because you can't fix what you don't know how to build. This will take a lot of time, perhaps decades, to achieve. But if we become experts in the train transport field, then maybe we can export our own train technology to other countries in the future. We should not continue relying on foreign countries for materials and spare parts to fix our problems. We could initially ask them for help in education, but we should learn to develop our own technology.

I've seen old steam locomotive trains still running in Japan up to this day. Those trains are decades old, but they have been reliably maintained. If Japan and other countries can do it, I think Filipinos can do it, too.

San Miguel Beermen Loses to Black Water Elite

Learning from Ginebra's strategy of throwing multiple big men at Jun Mar Fajardo, Magnolia tried to do the same, and would have won if not for the heroics of Chico Lanete. Black Water Elite utilized the same strategy, throwing Eram, Marcelo, and Sena at Fajardo, with the occasional double team from a guard or small forward. And this time, it appeared to have worked. Or has it really?

I would say Fajardo is tired. Perhaps fatigue from the game is setting in considering he is part of the Gilas pool cramming for a showdown against Australia and Japan later this month. The four-time MVP wasn't churning out the usual numbers.

San Miguel is also missing Alex Cabagnot due to an injury. With Cabagnot on the floor along with Lassiter, Santos, and Ross, the Beermen have four potential three-point shooters well spaced on the floor. This is probably the reason why Lanete was effective against the Magnolia game. The three-point shot is an integral part of the Beermen's offense. But if shooters like Pesumal, Lanete, and Heruela are missing their shots, then it becomes more difficult for Fajardo to operate in the paint. The double teams will keep coming since they know that the Beermen have no reliable outside threat. Only Santos and Lassiter made shots from the perimeter. Black Water actually used the Beermen's strategy against them, with Eram being the inside threat, and DiGregorio, Maliksi, and Palma shooting from the outside. Palma appears to be a promising new comer, with a shooting touch and an ability to slash to the basket.

Ganuelas-Rosser should develop his three-point shooting ability. I actually thought they would develop him as another point guard like Ross. But it seems they are utilizing him as a power forward, due to the Beermen's lack of depth at the 4 position. Espinas is still out, so they have to put someone else at that spot for the Philippine Cup.

Santos is better at the 4 spot than at the 3 spot when Rosser is playing. So, I would rather see three additional guards with Santos and Fajardo, then subbing Mamaril or Rosser for Santos. Hopefully, this loss will teach the Beermen a lesson. Better to lose now than get knocked out of the playoffs.

Credit Card Calculations

Tried crunching some numbers using a spreadsheet. At a monthly interest of 3.5%, and assuming you only borrowed money at the beginning, and only paid the minimum payment per month (here, assumed at 4% of the outstanding balance), it would take 77 years for you to reduce the borrowed amount by 99%. 77 years to nearly pay-off the original money you borrowed. It takes more than the average lifespan of a human being to pay-off a debt. And by that time, the bank would have earned about 693.18% or nearly seven times the amount you initially borrowed off monthly interest charges.

Also, during the first year, the bank would have earned more than 40% of the borrowed amount just because of interest charges, and you would have only reduced the balance by roughly 6%. Compare 40% with 0.1%, the annual interest rate that depositors charge banks to lend the banks their money. That gives the bank a net profit of 39.9% by simple being the middle man.

By the second year, the bank has already earned about 80% of the borrowed amount via interest charges and you would have only reduced the outstanding amount by 11%.

The lesson here is that it's unwise to only pay the minimum required payment per month. Try to reduce the outstanding balance to zero by the end of every month if you want to utilize a credit card effectively. Otherwise, you are better off with cash because credit card interest rates are oppressive. I would advice my friends against using credit cards at all.

Yaman Ko'y Pag-ibig Mo Chords

Here's my attempt at guitar chords for Yaman Ko'y Pag-ibig Mo by Arnel De Pano. Hope you like it.

YAMAN KO'Y PAG-IBIG MO
By Arnel De Pano
Intro
EbM7 Dm
EbM7 Dm Gm7
Cm Dm EbM7
Cm Dm EbM7 F7

I
Bb           BbM7      EbM7
Ang mithi ng buhay na aba
Bb           BbM7      EbM7
Kayamanang pansamantala
Dm7          Gm7       Cm7      F7sus - F7
Gamit ay panandaliang dulot na tuwa
Dm7          Gm7       Cm7      F7
Bakit kung hayaan ang hatid ay pinsala
II
Minsan may nais akong kamtin
Ang maging tanyag at magningning
Ngunit ang tuwa't galak ay di maging ganap
Dahil ang ngiti na nasa akin ay huwad

Chorus
Bb         Cm7          Dm7          EbM7
Pagyamanin mo ang aking buhay kaylan man
Bb          Cm7      Fm7       Bb7sus - Bb7   
Pagningasin mo ang init ng iyong pagmamahal
EbM7      Dm       EbM7      F       Bb 
Wag ng mawalay sa paglingap mong tunay
Cm7 - Dm7 - EbM7 Cm7 - Dm7 - EbM7 - F7
Ang yaman ko'y pag-ibig mong alay

Repeat Intro

II
Bb           BbM7      EbM7
Yamang yaman kong pag-ibig mo
Bb           BbM7      EbM7
Puso ko'y punan mo ng husto
Dm7          Gm7       Cm7      F7sus - F7
Yamang kung sa sukat ay hindi magkukulang
Dm7          Gm7       Cm7      F7
Yamang kung sa lawak ay sadyang walang hanggan

Chorus
Bb         Cm7          Dm7          EbM7
Pagyamanin mo ang aking buhay kaylan man
Bb          Cm7      Fm7       Bb7sus - Bb7   
Pagningasin mo ang init ng iyong pagmamahal
EbM7      Dm       EbM7      F       Bb 
Wag ng mawalay sa paglingap mong tunay
Cm7 - Dm7 - EbM7 Cm7 - Dm7 - EbM7 - F7 (Bb)
Ang yaman ko'y pag-ibig mong alay

Bridge
EbM7       Dm7        Cm7         F7sus - F7
Akin ngang nababatid mithiing di matuwid
EbM7       Dm7        Cm7         F7sus - F7  G7sus - G7
Bakit nga nagpipilit Naaakit sa di wastong hatid

Transition to Chorus one step higher

Chorus
C         Dm7          Em7          FM7
Pagyamanin mo ang aking buhay kaylan man
C         Dm7         Gm7       C7sus - C7   
Pagningasin mo ang init ng iyong pagmamahal
FM7      Em       FM7      G       C 
Wag ng mawalay sa paglingap mong tunay
Dm7 - Em7 - FM7 Dm7 - Em7 - FM7 - Em - Asus - A
Ang yaman ko'y pag-ibig mong alay

Dm7 - Em7 - FM7 Dm7 - Em7 - F - G
Ang yaman ko'y pag-ibig mong alay

Outro
FM7 Em
FM7 G7 CM7

AVISION 32 inch LED TV Product Review

Got the AVISION 32 inch as a family Christmas gift and so far, I am quite pleased. We were able to get it from Lazada for a price of around 7,000 pesos. I've tried attaching it to various sources. The PS4 works well with the HDMI port. An old antenna could be hooked up to the cable input to get local channels - although the reception isn't as good as if the TV was hooked up to a cable provider like Sky Cable. I've also tried attaching it to a laptop via the PC VGA input. This set up works fine if your laptop has loud audio or speakers attached. But the most useful port for me is the USB port where we could attach either a USB key or a portable hard drive and play .mp4 or .mkv files.

I remember helping a friend buy a Samsung 24 inch TV about 3 years ago for about 8,000. Now, the same sized TV is about 11,000 pesos. So, for a bigger TV screen at a lesser price, the AVISION is a bargain. The Samsung TV still works until now. I am hoping the AVISION will last as long if not longer.

If there's one thing I could ask manufacturers to change about their design, it would be port accessibility. Having to reach behind the center of a wall mounted TV can be a challenging task at times, and hopefully, ports like the USB could be placed near the sides or edges of the screen so that attaching USB keys would be a breeze.

Is Andre Blatche Still Good For Gilas?

After watching yesterday's game of Gilas vs Chinese Taipei, I began to wonder whether or not Andre Blatche is still a good fit for Gilas Pilipinas. Sure, the Philippines won, but it was not an easy win. And if you compare the way Australia erected a near 40 point lead over Chinese Taipei, you'ld have to wonder if the Philippines has a chance by February next year.

The Philippines would have lost yesterday if Chinese Taipei didn't get into foul trouble. And the Philippines had a lot of turnovers made mostly by Blatche. I would attribute it to old age, and perhaps with unfamiliarity with the new batch of Gilas Players.

There were many times when Andre would make an errant pass. He also settled for threes and I don't remember him making any. But what really made my blood boil was how a lanky Chinese Taipei import who was smaller than Blatche was able to get through his defense most of the time in the 1st Quarter, allowing Chinese Taipei to erect a 10 point lead.

Blatche scored six points in that game. Six points for an import? I don't know if that will be enough to beat Australia. He needs to get in shape if the country even wants a slim chance at beating the Aussies.

Visiting Mang Larry's Isaw 2017

Mang Larry's Isaw was featured recently on an article of Entrepreneur. According to the article, what started out as a simple barbecue grill meant to augment a janitor's income in order to send his kids to school has grown into a business with six outlets.

I actually remember eating at Mang Larry's when I was a student in the nineties. They used to be a small food cart. And they only carried a few simple barbecue skewers with them - products that are all too familiar to students on a budget. But they had a huge following. And I think the secret was in their vinegar dip. It was delicious. So, no matter what type of skewer you purchased, once you dipped it in that "secret dip formula", what you were eating turned from ordinary to extraordinary. And during that time, all they carried was buko juice for drinks. So, a student who is trying to keep his costs down could easily eat a lot if his allowance was 20 pesos. So, it was no wonder that there were probably about 50 students flocking around that stall. And that was amazing, considering there were other fish ball vendors in the area who probably enjoyed having 5 customers.

When I visited a branch of Mang Larry's this year, It was very different. They now have a permanent branch. They now have outdoor chairs and tables under umbrellas. They now have freezers to store varied cold beverages, and fryers to cook any order on the spot. They now have a staff of about four people and a building to house their operations. They still have the different types of skewers, but a more elaborate menu - with meals that would rival a typical restaurant. But there were only about 10 customers this time - not 50. And I spent around 85 pesos to enjoy roughly the same amount of food I ate when I was a student. Each skewer was now priced at 5 pesos. And the branded beverages will also eat a huge chunk of your budget.

What changed? I think one major turn-off are the flies. There were plenty of flies in the area, you would think you were near a garbage dump. Next would be the vinegar dip. I think the flavor has changed compared to the nineties. It's like having a winning Coca-Cola formula and turning its flavor into Coke Zero. And finally, the pricing has changed. Having a menu displaying all the high-priced items could be a turn-off to students on a budget.

Has Mang Larry lost focus? Sometimes, that's what happens when your small nimble venture turns into big business. You try to be all things to all people, forgetting what made you successful in the first place. The good news is that Mang Larry's can re-adjust (if the margins require re-adjustment, only the ones doing the books can really say). Does he cater to a mass market on a budget, or to a mid-level market with varied pricing? If the bottom line is healthy, then don't mess with your business formula. But if it is suffering, refocus on your strengths and deal with your weaknesses.