The Great Conspiracy Theory

The phrase conspiracy theory is used to point out an account genre that comprises an expansive assortment of points of view for the subsistence of majestic plots. The term is usually used by intellectuals and in popular culture to identify secret military, banking, or political actions aimed at stealing power, money, or freedom, from the people. Conspiracy theories are based on the notion that complex plots are put into motion by powerful hidden forces. Less illustrious uses refer to folklore and urban legend and a variety of explanatory narratives which are constructed with methodological flaws or biases. Originally a neutral term, it has acquired a somewhat derogatory meaning, implying a paranoid tendency to see the influence of some malign covert agency in events. The term is sometimes used to automatically dismiss claims that are deemed ridiculous, misconceived, paranoid, unfounded, outlandish or irrational.

A recent mishap in one of the departments led to the ousting of a high-ranking official due to the misuse of funds. It was later found out that the tampering of documents and misappropriation of funds led to the discovery of an official to overhaul millions of pesos.

The administration became furious and, being caught unaware of the situation, hired an internal auditor and established management information system on internal audit and oversee the system for safeguarding the company assets and determine whether the procedures for control are being followed or not. However, another official had been silently lurking through the accounts even before the incident. The personnel managed to send money to “dead” accounts and forged signatures just to get a hand on them. In spite the talent, the management tracked down and found out that hundreds of thousands of pesos were maliciously taken.

I don’t know what really the real score is. I cannot elaborate. Still, I believe there are other great conspiracies happening. They can be more than what we can fathom and may not be ours to consume.

Wrath of the Mobile Industry Giants

last august 2010, apple lawyers went to south korea after samsung launched its galaxy smartphone. steve jobs, the late co-founder of apple, informed samsung that the galaxy s, running under android operating system, was an illegal copy of the iphone. samsung, being a provider to apple, felt that a solution can be made from their ties. apple said that android operating system imitate the iphone design and usability.

the meeting between the two companies was not good and so samsung was accused of copying and producing their own patents without the permission from apple. their battle was brought into courts; there was war for multi-country patent. the court’s verdict favored to apple and had samsung pay for $1.05 billion worth in damages, which can be tripled in amount. there was a sudden dive of the company’s revenue and wiped out $12 billion over its market value.

in great disbelief, samsung says that apple should not be allowed to claim the patent particularly the design like the form of a rectangle and the front flat surface of the iphone. however, apple considered the design to be high up on the intellectual property and showing such was very critical.

apple revolutionized the world of mobile by launching iphone in the market last 2007. in the same year, google which is an ally of the apple company, wowed the market with its open handset alliance by dispensing the android operating system.

now, the battle became bitter when the galaxy tab 10.1 was released by samsung, which is a clear manifestation of a rip-off of the ipad; samsung how no intention whatsoever of modifying its products. thus, apple sued samsung for copying the design interface. a judge issued the bans on the sale against galaxy tab 10.1 and the galaxy nexus phone. as for the table, samsung has the right to compete, but does not have the right to compete unfairly.

samsung now would like to claim to have set the essential standards for the 4g. however, courts are not likely to block such standards other than intellectual property rights. many documents can prove that samsung modified its products to run more like an iphone.

samsung kept on with the war by promising to deliver modified products in the market.

as for my end, a samsung is really a copy-cat of the iphone especially the tablets that are out in the market. i believe there should be fair practice particularly on the design interface. the idea of solving the complexity is more than just an intellectual property. designs have to respected and protected.

i have tried both technologies; apple has marveled me with the simplicity of their interface. samsung may be doing the same but still cannot outdo in terms of speed, simplicity through its user-friendly features and many others.

i am looking forward to seeing more wars between the companies mentioned. without wars, there shall be no improvement and development of its products, features and services!

Plant Your Own Garden

after a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't always mean security.

and you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises, and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead, with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child.

and you learn to build all your roads on today  because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

after a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much, so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

and you learn that you really can endure, you really are strong, you really do have worth, and you learn and you learn. with every goodbye, you learn.

Hilas Gamay'g Otin

man will be forever obsessed with his penis, whether big or small. obsession would mean completely and totally in love with it. his penis is everything and the size is basically the most important in his life.

however, when there was a downpour of dicks from the sky, men who were not able to wake up just in time to catch the big ones will always try to find means in trying to escape from the prying eyes even the shadow of his dick. he tries to tell the world that he is endowed with a horse's dick when in fact, it's just mongol #2!

there's a number of ways to compensate to his micro penis. read on...

1. you may think that lead guitarist or drummer of a local or national band are really sexy and well-endowed. however, he is just telling the world that he is well-hung with his guitar skills. in fact, he is not!

2. men who ride hummer or harley-davidson motorcyle or flames sticker on their motorcycle. many of them do modifications and it is just one of the ways to tell the world they have big dicks!

3. and how about those who get involve with fistfights in bars who felt their girlfriends are abused? since they have microscopic members, they have to make it up for being macho and tough! obviously, violent men are assholes with super tiny dicks!

4. guys who spend most their time in gyms lie by telling everyone that it is for health reasons by building massive muscles.

5. guys who always brag about their accomplishments ranging from being a business executive, professional athletes, and the like.

6. there are plenty of men who are kiss-and-tell type. that is, they brag about a number of women they slept with and tell everyone how great they are. nice try, but not entirely true!

7. men who spends most of his time ridiculing other men by projecting an image to make him bigger for comparison. he can mock others who are wearing pink shirts, being friends with women, dancing, being a homosexual and driving small, practical car.

however, men who are just secure with their masculinity can almost do anything without the expense of other persons!

All About Food

i love food. yes, i love food. my body says it all.

i have always wanted to enroll with the culinary school associated with the holiday gym and spa. i heard that the beginner's track costs around 60,000 pesos. i can afford that! they will teach how to handle knife, proper cutting of meat, etc...then 60,000 would be too expensive! hell, no!

being blessed with parents who are gifted with skillful hands, creative minds and unabashed taste for dishes, i too have explored cooking. whenever i throw parties at home, people always believed i hired the services of expensive caterers. nope! i cannot afford their taste. it's just to bland...

below are some of the preparations i did, whenever i have time. all of them were based on experiments and of course, experiences from cooking.

 beef with stir-fried veggies...the secret? oyster sauce!

 from top to bottom: my personal favorite, fresh garden salad; rice, the one i did not cook;

the green on the top left is a gelatine salad made from seaweeds topped with pomegranates;

penne pasta with cherry tomatoes and garden salads from eden;

spring rools (a.k.a. lumpia); beef and veggies;

instant blueberry cheesecake topped with peaches;

mango float with cinnamon; and,

salad with some fruits mixed.

 this is one of my comfort foods, bihon mixed with chorizo bilbao

and my favorite of all desserts, blueberry cheese cake baked to perfection!

Bangkok Dangerous

bangkok, the capital city of thailand, boasts of its sights and sounds with over 20 million tourists each year. the city is laden with wats or temples, modern infrastructures and many others. bangkok experience is dubbed as "truly asia" in all its essence.

however, traveling around the city of bangkok proposes problems. it seems to have double standards for the locals and the tourists, which is common with the rest of the developing world. tourists are treated differently due to prejudice, necessity and the worse, out of greed.

 the blogger as a tuk-tuk driver

this separation between the tourist and the locals is on the use of public transportation like taxi and the tuk-tuk. there is so much scam that is going around. while it is so hard to communicate with the people around for they know very little english, scammers are always on the lose. in many cases, before you get inside the cab, you would always ask, "do you speak english?" if the answer is no, take another cab. it happened to us that when drivers do not speak english, communication is at its worse. drivers can tour you around, and of course, your meter rates soar high.

the house of the king of thailand inside the grand palace

also, taxi drivers during late hours would normally hire their taxis at fixed rates. waving your hand at them would mean not doing business with them. but in the event of necessities, you should negotiate with the taxi drivers that toll fees are already part of the deal. in bangkok, it is the passengers that pay whooping toll fees!

another instance is my experience with a tuk-tuk driver. being an adventurous person, i toured bangkok alone and left my friends at the hotel without knowing the danger it might bring me. i was off to the biggest, high-end mall of bangkok, the siam paragon just to have a good view and maybe a little shopping. i took the taxi and paid 50 baht. upon reaching the mall, americans are supposed to hire the taxi after i get off. i told them not to take that taxi because the driver doesn't understand english. when i left the mall, i took a tuk-tuk for taxis are nowhere to be found. the driver was speaking to me in thai and assuming that he was asking me where to drop me off, i said, "juldis hotel, pratunam. how much?" learning that i am a foreigner, he said, "500 baht!" wow! that's 750 pesos. so i said, "no! that's too much!" he said, "okay, 300 baht!" using my best carabao english, i yelled at him. "no! i took taxi! paid 50 baht! your tuk-tuk, non-aircon! many dusts! not comfortable!" he yelled back, "traffic! pay me 300 baht!" i yelled back, "no! put me down! i will tell the poo leet near the poot opeet (i will tell the police near the post office)!" upon reaching the central mall, traffic lights turned red and i jumped down from the tuk-tuk without paying the driver. he shouted, "pay me!" i shouted back, "f*ck you! f*ck you!" and ran towards the mall. thanks for the free ride, man!


i went inside the mall to give me ample time to vent out with the situation. i bumped into a guy where almost everyone's staring at him. little i did know that it was mario maurer who was doing shopping with his girlfriend. i went out of the mall and took the taxi instead.

later that night, we went to patpong, bangkok's red light district. the show's fee was 500  baht and features women doing outrageous tricks using their vaginas. there were instances when pingpong balls are inserted into the vagina, pops them out and a few meters from them, a bowl that catches the balls. some stunts include strings being pulled where flowers pop up. the worst part that came out were blades! it was an underground activity and hence, cameras are strictly covered with stickers. the last part of the show was a live sex show. being a meter away from the performers, i was wowed with their performance and maybe, just maybe...they were able to beat the positions in the book of kamasutra!

to avoid scammers, insist on the driver to turn the meters. if he says no, wave him off and take another taxi. when dealing with the tuk-tuk drivers, be firm. if you are not getting what you want, get away from the scene. take other tuk-tuks. if you waved off a lot of them, this would show that you really mean business with them. as a general rule of thumb, cut the price into half and haggle.

for many, the thai people believed that fair-skinned people have good jobs and of course, much money. if you are dark-skinned, you must be poor.

bangkok is a great city, but in many places in the world, double standards and scams are to watch for. a traveler just have to be smart and be firm so that your travel will all be worth it.

Haters Gonna Die

people will always have something to tell against them, whether they know the people personally or not. people will always assume things that are negative. our chance for survival in this very hostile environment is the only way to outgrow them. people of this kind has no place in this modern, civilized world.

like for instance, my ex-wife's friend first came to know me during our wedding. when she had the moment with my ex-wife, she asked, "is your husband a tambay? does he have any work?" die, bitch! of course, my wife told me. and when i got the chance to corner that bitch, i said, "i might have achieved so little but compared to yours, you have not achieved anything!"

just a word:

doing this doesn't substitute for cold hard facts about people. start by looking at how many times people said things about you that weren't true. analyze how they based their comments about you on assumptions they had about the group of people of which you were a part, perhaps.

think back at a time you were guilty of doing the same to someone. ask yourself how true your assumptions were when you finally got to know the individual whom you you did the same. chances are that your assumptions were proven wrong.

determine what causes you to apply the stereotyping criterion that you use. for example, not all conservatives are religious, nor do all liberals want higher taxes. understand that there are always several empirical facts that prove your stereotyping reasons wrong. attempt to rid yourself of prejudices and biases that lead you to stereotyping people.

adopt logic, critical thinking and application of actual facts in place of stereotyping people. let people prove themselves to you. let them define themselves. this gives better, more accurate data on someone than what you get when stereotyping them. for example, don't assume that the bookworm is a boring person.

and please, do not assume that i am a broken person because of the contents of my blog!

my blog doesn't say it all.

Crabs, Crabs and Lots of Crabs

just recently, i submitted my doctoral dissertation in an international research committee for scrutiny under the scientific committee. good thing my paper on multiple and logistic regression analyses was accepted for oral presentation as a concurrent speaker. i'd be one of those speakers who will be coming from the philippines. the rest were from europe and the north america.

it took me a great deal of preparation for this summit though i know that in the letter of acceptance, my talk would only last for 12 minutes. what?! that means i have to recapitulate everything from my thick dissertation in 12 minutes!

the room was full of audience, mostly from the other countries. i was the last one to present my paper from the last group of presenters. i was hoping nobody would question the statistics, research design and all. who wouldn't be enthralled if your audience were very accomplished individuals with doctoral degrees, chairman emeritus status, etc?

when it was my turn to speak, i was above my average speed when i talk. remember, i was given only 12 minutes. i was too conscious of my grammar because most of my audience are native english speakers. my presented ended very well.

now, the question and answer portion...just hoping nobody will ask me.

the previous speakers were not asked. i was the one bombarded with a multitude of questions. a friend told me that if people are interested with my study, then they will really ask about your study. however, the foreigners did not ask anything. instead, they praised me of the accuracy and the study's contribution to the society.

i only fell when two filipinos made comments to put me to shame.

of all nationalities, it is the filipinos who tend to put you down! why can you not just be happy with your kababayan?

little did i know that the filipinos who asked me were just merely audience, and not presenters!

i love to kill these crabs and make a good dinner out of them!

Memento Mori

humans have conquered the vastness of space, the depths of the oceans and soared high in many inventions to make our live easier. however, only one thing man cannot fathom: death -- inevitable, inescapable.

we will never know when death would knock into our doorsteps to claim back the lives our Creator has given us. only one thing can be explained from this circumstance: pain. while it is painful to see our love ones bid goodbye, all we can do is to accept this sad reality. i remember entering a cemetery in capiz in one of my trips going to boracay. the big arc, instead of the usual welcome greeting, says "kami karon" and the other side of the arc says, "kamo ugma." so creepy but a reality!

 

i remember a handful of relatives who have already gone ahead of us makes me think of how i would look like when i'll be in the coffin. i usually make comments about the makeup: powders are just too thick; blush ons too pale; and, lipstick too pink. and when my time comes, i don't wanna end up in the coffin with the funny makeup. i don't want to be the object of ridicule for those who will be visiting my wake. my friends would die laughing instead of crying if they see me in the worst makeup one should be.

but of course, what is important is the outfit one should wear. every time a relative dies, it is my barong tagalogs that are donated. i have already given out a lot of them. as of this writing, a relative's husband who died in a car crash a week ago is wearing my barong right now. my relatives would always remember me when a relative dies because of my barongs that will donate.

they would always tell me that whenever you donate something to the dead, you will be rewarded and will live longer. i just hope so.

when my time comes, i wouldn't be wearing any barong as i have already exhausted my collection. i might be in my underwear where the mourners would say, "salad oh!"

remember the dead!

Saigon Blues

one of my hobbies is traveling. yes, you heard it! i am not rich but i can afford it. traveling gives you the benefit of bonding with your family and friends and of course, getting to know the differences in cultures, mores, traditions and customs.

vietnam is one of the exciting countries i've been to. in fact, it never pictured in my mind that it is a growing city with the promise of elevating the lives of its people; what was on my mind is that it is a war-torn country.

after passing through the immigration in ho chi minh city (saigon as its old name), we headed directly to the money changer. so funny for vietnamese to pronouce them as "chain mah neeeh". upon exchange from dollar to dong, i was shocked and became dumbfounded when my dollar was exchanged to 20,000 dong! so, my $50 was literally changed to 1,000,000 dong! i'm a millionaire in an instant!

downtown saigon's notre dame cathedral along district 1

for northface fans, shopping around saigon is great. the bags you get to see along SM's northface could make you pay around 6,000 to 8,000 pesos but in saigon would only cost you $15 (700+ pesos only) for northface factories are scattered in many areas in vietnam.

one thing exciting about vietnam is that they serve the best coffee, far better than starbucks. they are just served along the sidewalks and are very, very cheap. what i don't like about the place is the way the people handle the food. very unsanitary! there was an instance when i complained about my soup containing human hair. instead of replacing it with another serving, she instantly removed the hair using her fingers in front of us and said, "no more hair!" die, bitch!

i remember one of the staff of pres. noynoy aquino who went to vietnam and complained about seeing only ugly people... yeah, it's true. hahahaha! the most handsome person in vietnam could be just one of those faces of a stranger you meet along bangkerohan public market! i wonder "handsome" genetics did not make its way to vietnam. ***peace***

but as i traveled along, despite being a communist country, i learned to love the culture and of course, the honest people. my day tour was surely a hit!

i left my heart in saigon.

3rd Person Pronouns

you might be wondering why my blog never use HE, SHE, HIM and HER. i am protecting their identities, their genders, etc.

and if in case i misunderstood the gender, i combine HE, SHE, and IT to SHIT. so please bear with me.

just like in many technical papers like thesis or dissertation, i do not use third person pronouns.

you do not deserve to be called by your gender.

Karma Chameleon

karma chameleon is a song by the british new wave band, the culture club. the song was featured from the group's 1983 album, colour by numbers.

however, this song has a different meaning for me. whenever a person did something bad at me, i never retaliate.  i am not the warfreak kind of person. others say that revenge is a dish best served cold. hell, no! i have always believed in karma.and when karma gets in, it so lucky that i am able to witness back the things these people did.

for instance, i thought life is there. life starts there and ends there. i thought everything is in perfect shape and the promise of growth and development as an individual and as a professional being is just out there for grabs. i was just so blinded for it was just like a screensaver showing nude pictures, only to find out later that it is already formatting your harddrive. cheaters!

people in the administration always play godly roles. their principles, no matter how crooked, could bend to those they prefer. they always set double standards. they always think that their positions are lifetime; only death can remove them from their positions.

the adhoc committee who decided to cease my employment made relentless, inexorable and ruthless remarks; they were so happy upon my exit. yes, i was terminated for reasons of giving a failure to one of my imbecile students who happened to be the niece of an administrator. 

however, little they know that the things they did will come back and haunt them. the people who pushed me out of the corners were kicked out by the same person who they think is on their side.

God was so good that He let me see the same things these people did to me three years ago. the fat-ass-bitch was kicked from its post without it knowing about it. the social climber was terminated. one more person left, the cinema god, who lurks in moviehouses to have a taste of "heaven" from the marginalized masses.

i will really see your downfall. really...

karma, karma, karma chameleon... you come and go, you come and go...

Sexually-Transmitted Diseases

it is so surprising when students ask me what medicine to take whenever they have "leaking pipes" or sexually-transmitted diseases acquired from meeting women from the bars of the city's limits. of course, being educated about these diseases (note: i do not have STDs if you think i can relate to the situation mentioned). i always tell them ABC - Always Bring Condom, whenever necessary. it may not be the best way to protect yourself with the bacteria or virus, but somehow having sex with an unknown partner would be great if you have protected yourself from the destruction: the risk of contracting diseases or HIV and the risk of pregnancy on your partner.

i even showed them the calendar method. yes, i showed them how it works. it may not be 100 percent effective but somehow would give my sexually active students the idea when and when not to have sex or when to be protected during an intercourse.

i have always marveled how much information you can give to your students should i be teaching family planning, drug addiction and matters relating to sex and sex problems. i have always wanted to become a psychiatrist with specialization in sex education and sociology. however, the wind blew in a different direction and brought me here in the field of computers. but then, knowledge in other areas are always welcome as we are always educated in any possible way we can. i remember last summer of 2011 when dr. margie holmes became one of my teachers in the short-term post-graduate study in cebu. she wowed the crowd with her immense knowledge regarding sex and marital problems explained the most acceptable, scientific way.

life as a computer science professor does not end with lectures and laboratory sessions regarding programming. we can be reached by our students in any manner they can, whether on topics involving  computers or sexually transmitted diseases!

Yearbooks

i always look forward to seeing the yearbook every year for i whenever i see my previous students graduate from their respective course, i feel i have always been part of their lives in shaping and molding of what they have become as an individual and as a professional.

to make myself look good in the yearbook, i always see to it that i get a good haircut at the best salon i could afford. i have to see to it that i to put a little makeup to give the photoshop editor effortless editing. wearing the school's prescribed uniform worn with ID tied to a sling would be tasking on my part; however, the results always turn great.

it is every year that i have to groom myself in preparation for the yearbook. however, when i looked at this year's yearbook, my name and my picture were never actually included for this batch of graduates. i scanned a handful of pages, thinking i was placed together with the security guards, maintenance and all. to my disappointment, i was not included. what becomes more depressing is when you get to see name with their pictures who are not even connected with the college anymore; they were already dismissed or have resigned many years ago.

so, what is now the purpose of putting up people for the yearbook? what is now the purpose of putting up editors, layout artists, etc? you were given the authority by the institution of creating what you think is best for the graduates, which turned out to be full of errors.

paying 3600 for the yearbook is not a joke. yes, most of the parts were colored but when i looked at the activities, i was shocked to see them in black and white. these pages should be vivid so as to create life in the memories the graduates created while they were still students with the institution. black and white pictures made me think that there is corruption going on as the pages are paid less compared to the colored ones.

i am just hoping that my efforts of making the best of what i can visually show to the yearbook in the next edition would be scrutinized at its best before publishing it. i understand that humans as we are who are bound for errors, but a certain degree of error in many of the pages would mean what? NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF THOSE WHO MADE THE YEARBOOK!

i sounded so bitter but hey? medicines are bitter but they make people well.

On Red Horse Bill

red horse bill, as i call it, typifies a bitter solution with strong kick of reactions both from the learned elites, the hypocrite religious and the marginalized societies (read: poor)! it created concentric waves of never-ending reactions as to whether the bill should be passed or not.

in my point of view, i am for RH bill. having sex is never wrong. it is a gift from God. instead of family planning, the event became family planting. but then again, there's nothing wrong with mass production of children for the family. what becomes wrong or sinful is when the parents could not give the basic needs to their children: food, clothing, education, etc.

RH bill is never killing an unborn child. the religious groups claim that the use of condom during intercourse should never be practiced as it kills of what is supposed to be born. in my end, there was no killing because there was no conception that happened in the first place! it is not abortion as there was nothing conceived.

if manny pacquiao is anti-rh bill, then let him be. he could afford to raise hundreds of children and send them to exclusive schools and more-so could give better future to his siblings. but how about the poor? statistically, it is the poor who produces more offsprings! it is a very sad reality that the marginalized societies only made themselves go to the brink of devastation.

again, i am pro rh bill. not only it protects a woman in terms of health, but it protects the children who will be our future leaders. i am pro rh bill but it doesn't mean i am into abortion. these are two different things.

however, in the battle between the pros and cons, let me place myself in the middle of this tragedy at this time. let the people continue what they feel like doing -- producing more children and staying poorer than ever. no one is allowed to complain. no one should ask the government for support!

if you are a con, never blame the government. you blame yourself. the government did not asked you to have sex and produce more offsprings but in the end, will question the government as to why they are poor.

damn stupid poor people belonging to species of lower life forms!

Premarital Sex

premarital sex... i never involve myself with this. why? because im into extramarital relationships with benefits! hahahaha!

pun intended, premarital sex among teenagers and even young consenting adults is okay. being a technology-driven individual, premarital sex is just as okay as taking a bath. well, that's my point of view. i was never conservative in any modest way possible.

however, let me show you real statistics about engaging into premarital sex:

1. sex outside of marriage only complicates things.
2. those who engage in premarital sex are more likely to get annulment. according to one study, they have more than 50 percent higher annulment rate.
3. those who engage in premarital sex are likely to break up. i remember a "friend" who is always involved in this whenever the person is into a relationship. they just break up easily.
4. those engaged in premarital sex before marriage are more likely to have extramarital affairs. does that count myself?
5. those involved in premarital sex experience a devastating blow to their self-worth. many sacrifice their self-worth on the alter of sex and get nothing in return.

so, what is the solution?

premarital sex is OKAY if you do not plan to marry the person you just fucked up!