2021 September
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Just another week. A quote: "Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants." – Epictetus The world: As of the 16th, we are now piloting this "alert level system with granular lockdowns" in Metro Manila. The alert level system is basically changing the ECQ/MECQ/GCQ nomenclature to numbered alert levels (a sensible move, which took them more than a year to figure out). Granular lockdowns have been implemented by LGUs even before (like QC's "special areas of concern"), though I guess these are now standardized maybe? In any case, some implementation details: the lockdowns will not be -
Today is the second Sunday of September, which apparently is Grandparents Day in the Philippines. A quote: My physics prof told me: "Math is the study of all possible worlds. Science is the study of the world we happen to live in. Someday we may find out whether those are different studies." -- Noah Smith The world: So we were supposed to ease lockdowns in Metro Manila last Sep 7, with restaurants being open again (at reduced capacity) and so on. At the last minute, the night before the lockdown was supposed to ease, the IATF walked back the announcement -
A quote: “Man is only fully human when he plays!” - Friedrich Schiller The world: Our MECQ period is due to end on the 7th, after which NCR is going to enter an experimental phase of "granular lockdowns" where people in certain areas will not be allowed to come and go at all. Presumably food and other supplies will be brought to them, and if they have to leave for work because they are essential workers, they can't come back - employers need to either provide temporary lodging or allow them to WFH. As if those things are easy! We'll
2021 August
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It's August's end, which means Philippine "Christmas season" is about to begin. This year feels like it went by quickly, but really, who has a proper sense of time anymore. A quote: "Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." -- Howard Thurman The world: Once again we hit record-breaking case numbers, positivity and death rates towards the end of the past week. MECQ was originally scheduled up to end up Aug, but now it's extended up to Sep 7. Are -
A quote: "And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it." -- Roald Dahl (via swiss-miss) The world: We hit record-breaking case numbers and death rates towards the end of the 15-day ECQ period. In spite of this, the IATF in their wisdom has decided to loosen our quarantine level to "MECQ". People note that the described restrictions in this flavor of MECQ are mostly the same as with the just-ended ECQ, except the supposedly -
A quote: "Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it." - Eckhart Tolle The world: We are one week into the current NCR ECQ lockdown. Covid19 and the Delta variant continue to rampage through the country; the DOH reported 14k+ new cases today, the 2nd highest daily rate since the pandemic started, the positive testing rate staying above 20% for more than a week (signaling not enough testing - WHO recommended rate is 5%). The hospitals are starting to fill up again. Rumors are already circulating that the -
A quote: "Ask yourself: Why am I seeing and feeling this? How am I growing? What am I learning? Remember: Every coincidence is potentially meaningful. How high your awareness level is determines how much meaning you get from your world." – Ansel Adams via Nitch via Swiss-Miss The world: Metro Manila is back under Enhanced Community Quarantine, this is season 3. The delta variant continues to spread, and the case counts over the past couple of days have reached peaks not seen since April. And the response from congress is to... investigate an independent research group that provides covid data -
I read this article about how a US Democratic representative says his Republican colleagues are like WWE wrestlers (excuse me, they're called "Superstars") who behave differently in private versus in public. Basically their politics are performative, they act a certain way in public to appeal to their bases, but in private they don't actually really believe in many of the things they say in public. It speaks to a certain lack of integrity and deceptiveness. It's the kind of laying and salesmanship that I really dislike. Reading this article reminded me of supporters praising Duterte back during the 2016 campaign
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It's August! A quote: "Here's the thing: there is no real life. There is no full, meaningful, "best life." There are, at best, more and less meaningful pursuits, from your perspective, based on your upbringing, imprinting, and your own specific cocktail of longings. It is natural for us to feel anxiety about how we spend our limited time. No matter how happy you convince yourself to be, you will sometimes feel the vague ache of other possible lives." -- SandwichBear via Amy Hoy The world: Some good news for the country last Monday, and it wasn't the old man's last
2021 July
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A quote: "I just wanna keep being proof that good people with no hidden agendas still exist in this world." - @diorkenn on Twitter The world: This past week in Metro Manila was very cold and rainy, which came with the attendant problems like flooding and such. There's a typhoon nearby, but I don't think it's in the PAR; instead it's just doing this thing where it drags in rains and winds via the Habagat monsoon. The feared delta variant is here in the PH and has been since May. The DOH confirms local transmission. And the response in Metro -
A quote: "The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men." - George Eliot The world: Fitch downgrades PH credit rating outlook to "negative" Pacquiao ousted from PDP-Laban by an opposing faction, just as he's preparing for his upcoming fight. Covid-19 delta variant has been detected in the PH, let's hope the government can keep it under control. Valve has announced the Steam Deck, a handheld PC for playing Steam games Links of interest: Hobson's Browser: How Apple, Facebook, and Google Broke the Mobile Browser Market by Silently Undermining User Choice The
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A quote: "You are the books you read the films you watch, the music you listen to, the people you meet, the dreams you have, the conversations you engage in. You are what you take from these. You are the sound of the ocean, the breath of fresh air, the brightest light and the darkest corner. You are a collective of every experience you have had in your life. You are every single second of every single day. So drown yourself in a sea of knowledge and existence. Let the words run through your veins and let the colours fill
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During a company holiday party in the mid-2000s our theme was "statement shirts" and I decided to jokingly go with a somewhat tight-fitting purple shirt with the caption "ROY TANG FOR PRESIDENT": (This was the best picture of the shirt I could find; It's probably still in the house somewhere, but it probably wouldn't fit me anymore.) Eventually, this phrase became a running joke among my friend groups, especially since I tended to be opinionated and to comment a lot on current events on social media and such. It was not uncommon for me to post some rant about something -
I was on a Twitch chat for a local streamer yesterday and someone bought up the term "comsat", popular in local computer shop or "compshop" (also called "internet cafes") culture. In the context of multiplayer games, it means to spy on what your opponent is doing by peeking at his screen. I've never heard this term used other than by Filipino gamers, so I have reason to believe it's a local thing. There is an Urban Dictionary entry, but the submitter might just be a Pinoy as well. Some of the younger gamers weren't familiar with the origins of the -
It's the Fourth of July, which really only means something in the US. Over here it used to be "Philippine-American Friendship Day", but apparently that was phased out while I was still in grade school. A quote "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts" - W. Churchill The world: Our current president and one of our possible future presidents, who are ostensibly allies / partymates have been feuding over the past week. Just another sign of how tenuous political alliances in this country are; they are no match for ambition. The
2021 June
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It's almost July, which means 2021 is just about halfway done, and yet here we still are in pandemic mode. A quote "Each year that passes rings you inwardly with memory and might. Wield your heart, and the world will tremble." - Doran the Siege Tower The world: Last Thursday, former PH President Noynoy Aquino III passed away quietly. This led to the usual condolences and accolades from across the political spectrum, although many noted the delay in the palace issuing a statement (I suspect it was because the current president was still asleep). Many of his friends and supporters
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Today is father's day. If you're lucky enough to have a good father in your life, be sure to show your appreciation. Today's weeknotes are shorter than usual for some reason. A quote "My goal is to build a life I don't need a vacation from." - Rob Hill Sr. The world: The International Criminal Court is proceeding with a probe into Duterte's drug war. The admin is all like "ha ha we don't care, you have no basis, we won't cooperate, etc etc", but despite the posturing, it kind of feels like they're a bit scared. On the pandemic
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You are not required to accomplish anything at any age.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
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Ah, excellent. Kahit yung 1 and 3 lang siguro. I'll DM you my email address. Thanks!
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Posted on r/Philippines: I'm looking for an old Pugad Baboy strip
Baka merong may copy. In the strip, Patrolman Durugas has stopped Mang Dagul for a traffic violation, tapos pinilisopo sya ni Dagul, so binigyan sya ng ticket, nakasulat "violation: pilosopo"
I would guess it's from the early books, kasi I remember medyo raw pa yung art style. Probably somewhere in books 1-3, kasi I have book 4 here, parang mas polished na yung art.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!
(Bakit walang flair na "Question"? Sige na nga, "Culture" na lang)