The Typewriter

The typewriter is a writer's best friend. It's his partner for whatever accomplishment he needs to be done. Typewriters are a thing of the past. It is the ancestor of the modern computer.

The computer is man's greatest gift to humanity (thanks Bill Gates for coming up with Windows!). It had made things simpler, efficient and effective. It had minimized the use of paper use which had contributed to the depletion of forest lands, had lessened the noise typing makes and most of all, it gave our fingers a lighter touch on the keyboard. No more frustrations with erasers and paper fluids (white ink), having neat and well edited paper works.

In a third world country like the Philippines, typewriters are still in use in a lot of private and government offices. It is considered as the cheapest form of creating documents. This reason may have bearing to its purpose, but it seems not able to justify on how far the typewriter can compare itself to the computer and printer. It is far behind what the computer and printer can do. It is a symbol of the past that needs to be changed. It is a sign of incompetence, a sign of no progress at all.

Typewriters in government offices need to be shelved, or better yet, placed inside a museum to remind us and our future generations on how our predecessors handled their paper works.

Lets give the typewriter a break it deserves. Let us give our country a favor by upgrading our system from an old inefficient typewriting system to an efficient and more effective computer network system.

Where are the Entrepreneurs?

Last month, thousands of job seekers, trooped to job fairs conducted by the government and private companies in different areas within the city and the country in celebration of labor month. I went there to observe. What I observed was that everyone was in a hurry to fill up forms to get in long lines for an on the spot job interview for a possible good paying job, with no guarantee of being hired. Conversing with different people in search for a probable cause of decent living and feeling their sentiments, made me realize how hard life really is, especially in these times of global crisis. And I felt the feeling of being jobless, how it feels to be in search for a job.

I started asking myself, why am I here? Where will my education as an entrepreneurship graduate end up, am I worth being called an entrepreneur with me lining up with the unemployed? I felt a feeling of remorse, sympathizing with these people who wanted to work to earn a living to survive, a feeling of regret of not having the power to help them. It made me ask further, where are the entrepreneurs needed to augment such shortage of employers? Where are the entrepreneurs who would employ even the lowest educated individual.

It is easier said than done, that’s what a lot of people say, but with entrepreneurial mindsets being ignored, and the lack of capital and financial support to brilliant ideas formulated by aspiring entrepreneurs, and the government's inadequate support to small and medium scale entrepreneurs, the prophecy of having 113M Jobless Asians Seen would come to reality, and if this pursues, God forbid chaos.

Healers of Depression

The world economy is at its worse, since the great depression of the 20th century. Nations around the world can feel this impending crisis that could result to a catastrophic world disorder. And the Philippines is no exemption to this shocking reality.

What the world needs now are entrepreneurs, individuals with the ability to come up and determine the proper combination of the resources available in his environment transforming this into an output of either goods or services obtaining a fair profit at the price he fore sees. He uses several factors (factors brought about by his education and his keen observation and interaction with his social and natural environment) turning his ideas into profitable products or service for the good of humanity.

* Entrepreneurs turn problems into something positive, analyzing them and turns them into something profitable, discarding the problem and creating a demand that had not existed before.

* Entrepreneurs are people with creative ideas, innovators, change advocates that deals with social problems, converting them into profitable ventures uplifting society’s way of living leading to productivity and progress.

* Entrepreneurs apply total quality management on all his works, he ensures to have something done right the first time. He organizes, manage and combine all the factors of production.

* Entrepreneurs are risk takers. He carefully calculates risk and is willing to invest his resources in an idea that he formulated, confident that his idea – brought about by an intensive research and development- would help uplift human living conditions.

* Entrepreneurs desire to make profit and makes use of additional resources for expansion and diversifying into other endeavors.

* Entrepreneurs are business administrators, team players, opportunity seekers, creative individuals, who are independent, self confident, and with ethical values that understand every human ethical standards, without discrimination of religion, race or social status.

* Entrepreneurs generate employment, they eradicate poverty, hunger and ensure social balance.

* Entrepreneurs are visionaries, they believe in what they do.

What the world need right now are people with entrepreneurial mindsets, builders of society, creators and innovators of modern culture and science. The world economy is sick, and it needs immediate attention. And entrepreneurs can help solve this crisis.

Apay Ngata? ( Why? )

Filipinos are a race of deversified cultures that has a mix of oriental and western culture. A paradise rich in natural resources and a habitat fit for a king seeking refuge in times of wandering and escape from his kingly choirs.

Spain for more than 300 years settled and dominated the culture and social attitudes of the Filipinos, converting them into catholics of which the impact still continues up to now, the Philippines being a Christian dominated population.

Americans liberated the Philippines from Mother Spain and influenced the Filipinos with their westernly attitudes, introducing them to a world of innovation and civilized social upliftment until now.

Japan, although having a short stint as invaders of the Philippines, somewhat influenced Filipinos with their ethical values and way of living.

Chinese, Malaysians, Indonisians, Paskistanis, Koreans, Canadians, Africans, Swedes, Australians, Germans.... the list go on, name a nation and you see their influence in the Filipino way of living.

Mentioning this scenario, the Filipino people have all the qualifications of being a rich, super power nation just like Japan and the rest of the Global Group of 7. It is like a perfect soup having all the ingredients. A nation filled with races from different nationalities, a mixture of oriental and western civilization.

The Philippines have supremely rich environmental and human resources. We have the vast lands for agricultural production, feeding our nation without depending from outside sustainance. We have brilliant minds and innovators, harnessing the power of renewable energy such as the sun, the wind and water to eliminate the glitch in our current power crisis, not mentioning geothermal and oil reserves that can be of good use for a nation aiming at attaining economic progress. These are the pillars of an economically and socially balanced society.

So why then is the Philippines poor?

Apay ngata?

Why Is The Philippines Poor ?

Dear Friends,Here is a good article sent by Dr. Arsenio Martin of Fort Arthur , Texas ...Enjoy reading.

THE DIFFERENCE: The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country:

This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt , that are more than 2000 years old, but are poor..

On the other hand, Canada , Australia & New Zealand , that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries, and are rich.

The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.

Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw materials from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.

Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate in the world. In its little territory they raise animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality! It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world's strongest, safest place.

Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference..Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.What is the difference then? The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education & the culture & flawed tradition.On analyzing the behavior of the people in rich & developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives:

1. Ethics, as a basic principle.
2. Integrity.
3. Responsibility.
4. Respect to the laws & rules.
5. Respect to the rights of other citizens.
6. Work loving.
7. Strive for savings & investment.
8. Will of super action.
9. Punctuality.
10. and of course...Discipline

In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life.The Philippines is not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us. In fact, we are supposedly rich in natural resources.We are poor because we lack the correct attitude. If you love your country, let this message circulate so that many Filipinos could reflect about this, & CHANGE, ACT!

My 38th Birthday

April 6, 2009, my 38th birthday, a Maundy Monday.

Waking up sweating at my sister's place down in the lowlands, I got greeted by a lot of people dear to my heart. Too many, that I had to reload my line  to reply in different ways of thanking these people who touched and shaped my life. Among the messages in my inbox was a message from my good old American pal. It was not a birthday greeting, it was bad news. He informed me that somebody died at  dawn of my birth date within our neighborhood, it involved the kids whom we know. Faces and names started shuttering in my mind. Who were the culprits? Who were the victims? Who are to blame for these crimes committed by our youth? Why do they commit such acts of violence?

LIVING WITH GENERATION Y

I have known majority of them boys and girls roaming our fast urbanizing community. My 2 lovely angels jive amongst them. I advise them things regarding good living, sharing the ethical theories of having a good life I learned as a Louisian. I taught them how to work in a printing press, dirtying their hands to earn a living, sharing the knowledge and skills I know. Majority of the boys within the neighborhood, both in and out of school, took part in handling printing press machinery and operations inside our family owned print shop. They developed their skills in these line of work, which I concluded that there really are no dumb people, only lazy people tend to be dumb. I now enjoy the benefit of having an abundant resource of manpower for our printing press business, which before was a scarce resource.

After a hard days work, we sometimes boozed our self up celebrating the fruits of our labor. As a responsible guardian I never let them leave our house once they had been intoxicated by the spirits hard drinks delivers, I let them sleep until the demons leave their fragile minds. I know who they are, and what havoc they might do to the community once released in such a destructive state. I ask them questions an inquiring parent myself will inquire. Seeking answers why they act so rebellious both in society and within their family. I knew them well like brothers, a way of earning respect from these young people.

We all went through our very own younger days. Wily, out of control, being young offered experiences that goes beyond the realms of legal discipline. Depending on the youth's socialization among the factors that affect his upbringing, he metamorphoses from a child to a young adult either as a law abiding individual or otherwise.

Neighborhood kids tend to be fraternal. They're an all for one, one for all gangsters of hot burning lava ready to blow off anytime, once provoked. A sense of brother hood, a kill or be killed attitude, that is what a neighborhood gang is made of. 


Knowing the youth of today, they tend to be responsive with what ever threat that befalls them. They get easily annoyed once a rival group threatens any member . I recall a movie entitled City of God. Ironically the title doesn't fit the movie's story, it is exactly the opposite. In the movie, young adults and children tend to find refuge not in their families. They find security and stability with their peers who held guns, used drugs and into prostitution. They don't believe in the power of education and parental control. But they do believe in God, and they were mislead that God had a purpose for them, kill or be killed to survive, a creed taught to every new member by the gangs big bosses. The toughest among the brood was their saviour, protector from the threats that awaits them in every corner of their territory. They didnt believe in the law, law did not exist. This isn't just a movie, it was based on real situations, real people. And it is happening now, a problem every neighborhood within the city needs to address immediately before hell breaks lose.

THE BLAMING GAME

Blaming others for the result of failure have always been the scapegoat of a lot of people. It is a way of saving face, delegating the failure to some other person or thing, a sign of incompetence and cowardice. Who then will we blame for the damage brought about by youthful offenders? Who should take the ire of parents who lose a dear son or daughter inflicted upon them by their fellow youth?

Living in a country with good laws assures a citizen of a safe and secure society to live in. However, laws remain as mere written doctrines embedded in books and records without implementation, lacking its true purpose, social order. It needs fangs to bite on offenders, it should be implemented to its maximum, with no exemption or whatsoever. We have laws requiring the youth to clear the streets of Baguio after 9 p.m., ensuring the safety of our children and the community as well. Republic Act No. 9344, an act establishing a comprehensive juvenile justice and welfare system, creating the juvenile justice and welfare council under the department of justice, appropriating funds therefor and for other purposes, is just one law among a premise of other similar laws already implemented.

But on the dawn of that Maundy Monday of April 6, 2009, there was no order, law enforcers failed law implementation resulting to violence that could have been deterred if laws were implemented. Was it circumstantial? I guess not. A family lost a son and a son shall be leaving a family who is in dire need of his services to augment their everyday living, he is about to suffer the consequence of his rude act of violence. 


Are the law enforcers liable and should be blamed for their negligence? They came upon the group,reeking with liquor, hours before the incident happened, they should have implemented the law by bringing those present to the police station for their parents to be informed and let them go fetch their children, safe and sound. Merely shooing them won't take effect, they're tough and words ain't enough to rattle them. 


Parents too have obligations to be aware of every activities their children undergo, but on that night, parents seem to had been immune of the daily routines their children do. Can we blame the parents? Nearby neighbors who in one way or another could have prevented the incident, daring to go out from a distance from where the incident happened, warning them or even calling up the police before things got worse. Are they to blame too?

Thousands of incidents similar to what had occurred on the dawn of that Maundy Monday happens, everyday. Blaming each other won't solve the problem, it just worsens the situation. Laws are made to establish order in society. It should be implemented to the maximum. If only law itself can do what it was mandated for, if it could only roam and apprehend those who violates;implementing it's power; humanity in a civilized society will enjoy the benefits it offers. Blaming the law is absurd, but blaming society for creating lost young souls is justifiable.

There are two sides of every coin, and I do not generalized Generation Y, there are of course good
breeds among them.

Society must act fast, before our millenials take over, in chaos and not in peace,they are growing fast.... and in numbers.

I seek for a moment of your time upon reading this blog to pray for the soul of one young man who died on the dawn of that Maundy Monday of April 6, 2009, may he rest in peace with his creator,  Pray for justice for both victim and suspect , that their acts of violence influenced by a society that has created them be justifiably  served and that suffering  must not extent to life imprisonment for this young wasted man.  

Too Late of a Hero

Printers have been visited by political personalities lately. Printers do expect them to come, for sure. It's election fever once more and printers are as fragrant as the blooming roses in the garden, prone to the nectar thirsty bees from the political hive. I had a taste of political aspiration at it's lowest level (I Lost 3 times!), my dad was once a politician and we got to roam around campaigning for political stalwarts during election times. We both had been keen observers, monitoring each politician's move. We often times picked the majority of the winning candidates during the final count.

A lot of changes in political campaigns have arisen. Those who are in the disadvantage, lacking almighty cash and a political machinery, have found technology an equalizer, the answer to their ambitions of attaining political success. Barrack Obama was against all odds, yet he found his way to the arena of political victory. His eloquence and down to earth approach to the people, and his team of internet wizards proved, along with his armory of stimulus package plans took him to the realms of the White House . Having a well planned campaign run by high tech gadgetry, alliance with the common people, and a campaign for change, can topple down a Goliath. Politics in the Philippines is not way behind. It is being tailored made, mimicking the styles of our American counterparts. The right to information technology and the increased voting population of the youth, is the best weapon for every candidate targeting a slot in a political victory. Election's fast approaching, and be prepared for a battle of high tech information dessimination.

We now know who deserves to be chosen, and we know who are playing too late of a hero. Let us not be blinded by prettty faces and politicians with sweet talks having pockets filled with bribe and deceit. Let us consider what our conscience dictates. Exercise your right to information, get involved and don't be fooled no more.