pagpapakitang gilas.

while watching the Philippine team, I dont feel good seeing them like this,
the international basketball world will not remember the us, the Philippines
after a few more days. cuteness doesnt win games, they're not seasoned players
at least draft a team from the all-filipino cup, and we need to train hard and
have a good coach, not a clown asking a center to do the job of a pointguard!
the team lost their composure, and they are unable to execute plays, Shoot the crucial points
and cant even beat the shot clock!
thats more hrtbrking than seeing them lose the game eventually!

but hey, Philippines, its 2014, not 1941! This is not war. This is not Bataan or Corregidor.
This is just a basketball game. for crying out loud!  It's not the end of the world!

But honestly, it felt like it was. huhuhu. no hope for the Philippine team since I was a child
I know, because the Basketball Talent belongs to America, as the Boxing Talent belongs to the Philippines
the wushu , acrobatic floor exercises crown is on China, as the wightlifting is for Russia.
Were just not bred to play ball like what our US counterparts do.

I could not say we have improved in the way we play basketball compared to  21 years ago!
our players then are all retired right now.

We still play the same way, we still miss freethrows, our big men are not trained to hit the winning
long range 3 point shots at will, the team still has the wrong notion of pride. more effort should
have been put into preparation and not rely on guts to win. the government should invest more
in sports. and the worst part is we still need to hire an import to help us! geez!!!

We have to wake up and realize that if we truly want to win, GO BACK TO BASKETBALL SCHOOL and learn the fundamentals and master them.
Because sports is not just all heart. sports is not "PUSO" , because the puso wont win games!

we have the "Puso para sa Gilas" but they just cant do it! the team went all the way to España just to get swept away.  the team of Gilas will go home from FIBA2014 still looking cute for the girls. but wont bring pride here. sad to say.

am sorry, Im just Airing my insights.

this is your loverboy DENNIS saying ingat sa biyahe Gilas. go back to Pinas, the girls are waiting for you.

riding the LRT is at pasenger's risk.

The Manila Light Rail Transit System Line 1 is the first metro line of the Manila Light Rail Transit System. Presently, the line contains twenty stations and runs on 19.65 kilometers (12.21 mi) of fully elevated route. The line is colored yellow (old) and green (new) on all LRT maps. SOURCE: wikiperia

start tagalog recording: "Paalala sa mga pasahero, Safety Reminders lang po. Ugaliin po nating humawak sa mga safety handrails, at iwasang sandalan ang magkabilang pintuan ng tren. Huwag po nating gagalawin ang anumang emergency devices na matatagpuan sa ibabaw ng mga pintuan ng tren. Mahigpit pong ipinagbabawal ang pagkain, pag-inom, at paninigarilyo sa loob ng tren, istasyon at mga terminal. Paki double-check lang po ang ating mga gamit, lalung lalo na po ang mga bag, cellphone, at wallet, at paki-ingatan po natin ang magnetic card na gagamitin natin sa paglabas ng istasyon. Maraming salamat sa inyong pag-tangkilik sa ‪LRT‬, at magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat" end -tagalog recording. NOW WE KNOW.


Thats the very message every commuter knows by heart, its repeatedly announced since I was young,
 I rode the LRT a a couple of decades ago, same goes with the MRT. during Edsa 2, Edsa 3, I rode the MRT to ortigas Station meet  someone special then and to bring her home safe.  Safe. SAFE back then.
over time, a few major mishaps and accidents have happened, like the Dec 30, 2000  Rizal day LRT bombing, and a umber of accidents, even reports of doors opening while the train is moving

I live in Monumento area, I know how it feels to commute using the LRT, and the MRT
I wish the MRT line here in Monumento would connect to the ones in North Ave Station.

LRT/ MRT commuters have long complained of long queues, congested train coaches, frequent MRT breakdown, numerous accidents and overall inefficient service. This belies the usual refrain that privatization solves the inefficiencies of public utilities. Instead of looking for new investors, government should use this opportunity to build a genuine mass transport system, dba Rence?

thsi scene was a reminder of the sorry state of mass transport in Metro Manila. While the Department of Transportation and Communication’s (DOTC) investigation pointed to human error as the main reason for the accident, the statements from DOTC  on the accident raises more questions than the answer that he provided.

LRT is called the metrorail during the Marcos times, safe a safe (during that time).
The Metro Rail Transit Corporation is a private consortium responsible for the maintenance of the Manila Metro Rail Transit System. It is also the original contractor for the MRT-3 project. It runs the MRT-3 in coordination with the DOTC. 

efforts have been made to make commuters feel "safe" like placing bomb sniffing doggies(who sleep most of the time) they are not  doggies by the way, they're Belgian Malinois, only sleeping on duty.
heres another one, CHECK THIS OUT brothers, live cctv!  

MRT CCTV broadcasting live

http://dotcmrt3.gov.ph/cctv.php

The problem with Filipino bureaucrats, regardless of which govt agency they manage, everytime they are interviewed by media, they almost always know what the problem(s) is and then they go on to say things like “…dapat this dapat that, (and they go on to describe some form of solution to fix the problem)…”.  they pretend to know what the problem is because they are in national TV, they pretend to be the know it all, and the solution needed to address the problem – then how come the problems keep persisting and in most cases is getting worse! Mass rail system here in the Philippines sucks, traffic in Metro Manila sucks, the squatter (do not try to sell me that bs term “informal settlers” as that is only for the idiots) situation, and public service from all levels of govt sucks. Therefore life as a commuter in the Philippines .. (sorry again for the term).. SSSSSsucks! oh by the way, informal settlers are the voting community, they cant be gone, they're always there. for more votes, and there is a big syndicate operating within the circle, and its a big Billion peso business.

The government has funds, as the PDAF and DAP issues have shown us. It has also shown that it can allocate billions of pesos on transport with its 2014 and 2015 budgets. Why can’t it then think beyond looking at government as a business and start looking at government as providing genuine services?

sorry for the early morning rants , this is your loverboy DENNIS signing out. 

biking vs driving who wins?

Commuting to work Biking vs. driving

I’m not a cyclist,  but I know a lot of people would prefer to use their  Bike to commute to work.  The Bike always gets the peoples vote. But I beg to disagree. Because we don’t live in a country where Bikes dominate. We live in a country where most  riders of motorcycles are showoffs and doesnt care about fellow motorist as long as they can rev hard and arrive fast.

It's common to see Brits in London riding their bike to work instead of commuting,avoiding the traffic whilst keeping them fit..in  LONDON, in CHINA, in other parts of the globe, where there is a safe bike lane. Not here , specially in Manila, not here!

Driving is feasible. Don’t use your bicycle. Specially when you want to ride  with your family. The car is the best option. Even if it rained, just wash your car.

If the commute is from this village to the other village a few kms away, it’s a good exercise specially when there is traffic. But if the commute is from Talisay Batangas to a BPO company in BGC its not feasible.

Buying a good quality bicycle that can  do this ‘stunt’ will be equivalent to buying a  second hand car, (a lancer, a sentra  or a corolla) , most modern cars gives you 18 kms/liter or above  so if there is no traffic and its raining, 

Driving is feasible. Don’t use your bicycle. Specially when you want to ride  with your family. The car is the best option.

If you live in a village, with no pollution no bad truck and bus drivers, You should try e-bike. No need to use expensive gas for transportation just electricity. You can exercise through it and you can feel comfort if you're tired.

Cycling is relatively cheaper, but also makes you more vulnerable. Cars are safer, but at the cost of fuel.

the Only thing expensive about cycling is building your bike.

 Biking is more fun if there is clean air and safe area.  Wearing a mask while riding a bike or riding a motorcycle its a good way to save your lungs. 

Our car burns on gas, the bike burns on fat. just be careful because its very dangerous at night. wear high visibility clothing and night LED lights or take a risk to be taken down with bad effects. Include the long term bad effect of inhaling deadly toxins as one take the roads of EDSA, Makati or QC. The hospital bill on respiratory illness is higher than owning and driving a car even for 5kms trip unless one uses a totobobo mask which is P50 per mask per 30mins of ride travel. 

Driving to work has its bad effects, the cost of gas, specially in traffic, the risk of getting into a road rage, or a traffic minor accident when other drivers refused to give way. The cost of repairs can set you a few thousand in a week.

If you cycle  to work everyday the only problem that you have is the bad (bed) weather. You got no gas, no parking and most importantly no traffic.  A Cyclist would  rather sweat it out while riding his bike to work rather than waiting around 20 mins in line for a jeepney ride or risking his life riding a bus and gets robbed by just 2 armed men,  or taking the #MRT Challenge at rush hour!   (which includes staling MRT coaches, if you're unlucky enough and get late for work) I strongly recommend this over any public transport we have now in the Metro.

TRAFFIC THEN:  Escolta traffic 1900  pic taken from the Paterno collection

TRAFFIC NOW: pic taken from last month's edsa traffic caused by an accident on C5

 That is if EDSA is on a bumper to standstill like whats happening during rush hour and every Friday and payday.

if you factor in everything, it will boil down to which is better for humanity and the answer is obvious.

if everyone does the bike for short trips, car for long trips,  there would be no traffic, a lot less air pollution and probably no more heart attacks. 

If your office has a shower room, lockers and a place to park bikes, you need to bike to work everyday and drive only on the weekends. biking is fun. But…..

Can you include these factors?  (1) sweat - pawis, (2) (dust) - alikabok, and (3) dust+rain = a little mud, (putik) factor, especially when you wear a blazer, polo, tie, and leather shoes to work? 

If your office has a shower room, lockers and a place to park bikes, id bike to work everyday and drive only on the weekends. biking is fun.

this is your loverboy DENNIS signing out

Is this Social media journalism now?

This is not about my hobbies or activities, this is just an observation. as I woke up social media gives me these newsfeeds. violence, war, beheading and... the ALS (no donation) ice bucket challenge! I mean why? why do some people pour cold bucket of ice on their head to make a joke out of themselves on social media? and do you think ALS gets to use all the donated money ?? No. if you want to help, just donate. and do not accept the challenge. another is MRTChallenge. do you think our govt officials will take the Mrt on rush hour at 6am-7am? again,  No. I still salute Senator Poe for her effort, thats without media, without bodyguards or personal assistants.

how about the traditional media? are they getting most of their news relying on social media?

We live in dangerous times today.
1. you ride the MRT and youre not guaranteed safety, you ride at your own risk.
2. you took the aircon bus and you can be robbed all it takes are 2 armed men and a lot of cowardly big guys.
3. you take a cab and you're 95% safe to arrive at your destination, that is if you possess that intimidating stare, ex. if you are more criminal looking than the driver.

grabbed from the net

indeed we live in dangerous times, election time is near, rampant kidnapping

4. you drive you own unarmored  car, suv and theres a 2% chance that you can randomly be caught in this scene.

A photo showing men pointing guns at an suv vehicle along EDSA went viral yesterday after a witness posted it on Fb and Twitter. the witness' photo is now taken down, and her twitter account deactivated for now.

by the way, a civilian armored car is a security vehicle which made by replacing the windows of a standard vehicle (typically a limousine or SUV) with bulletproof glass and inserting layers of armor plate into the body panels. so unless you drive a stock Mercedez S600 GUARD or a $450,000 armored suv, (Girkha F5)
the german presidential benz w220, the QUEEN mother's Bentley State Limo, the US President's Caddilac- the Beast are some expensive stealth armored cars.

Civilian armored cars  in stock form like the  Lincoln Town Car BPS, Audi A6 and A8,  Hyundai Equus, BMW High Security series, benz s600 guard etc.  A security vehicle is made by replacing the windows with bulletproof glass then inserting layers of armor plate under the outer skin of the car, a high cost, labor-intensive process that generally takes a few weeks and most often costs upward of 4M or above.

 The makers usually leave the external appearance of the car unchanged, in order that it look as inconspicuous as possible. In most cases materials like Aramid (e.g. Kevlar), HMPE (e.g. Dyneema), composites or ballistic stainless steel plates are used, and the increased mass is offset by a more powerful engine and brakes and stronger shock absorbers. The increased weight means that the mechanical parts of an armored car are subjected to higher forces than normal, which in turn reduces the service life of the car.




Armoring passenger cars has become big business, especially in places such as Brazil, where the murder rate is five times that of the big, bad U.S. of A. Although automakers have tiptoed into the bulletproofing game—BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and for a time, Ford




The first step is to remove all of the components from the car’s body (from interior trim, wiring, carpet, seats, everything as if you want to paint the whole car). Then the doors and all other cavities (such as the pillars) are cut open so various materials can be stuffed or welded into those voids. Depending on the level of protection desired, the doors and pillars might be bolstered with steel plates, a combination of ballistic nylon and Kevlar (same as bulletproof vests),  If the doors get too heavy, a third hinge is added. The fire wall can be steel-plated, too,  the floor and ceiling are generally lined with ballistic fabrics. The stock bumpers, designed to crumple and absorb energy during major impacts, can be reinforced to allow the armored car to, bash through a roadblock without damaging the vulnerable part -the car radiator. bulletproof armoring has one goal : to make the car appear to as stock and as unmodified, inside and out.

bulletproof glass pic from IAG

FOR THE GLASS
Car glass is referred to as “transparent armor.” Its not a thicker version of the safety glass found in the side windows of standard cars but rather a sandwich of polycarbonate and leaded glass. The thinnest option is .08 inch and will stop subsonic rounds such as those from the popular 9mm handgun, while the thickest glass is 2" inches and should emasculate a single shot from a high-powered  riffle. If necessary, the electric window motors can be replaced by beefier ones.

FOR THE TIRES

Conventional run-flat tires can’t stand up to gunfire because bullets could shred the stiff sidewalls these tires rely on for support. a Hutchinson-made Composite Run Flat tire, which is a polymer donut custom-built for each application. It is clamped around the center line of a wheel, inside the tubeless tire, and the working principle is similar to the Michelin PAX System’s: If the pneumatic tire loses pressure, the polymer ring provides support that allows 80-Kph speeds for more than 80 Kms.

POWER TO WEIGHT RATIO during escape.

Even the lightest armoring adds at least 500 pounds to a large sedan. With the greatest level of protection for a large sedan adding 1400 pounds, it is necessary to modify the chassis and occasionally the drivetrain. To maintain drivability, damping and spring rates rise, so engine modification is needed. Three-quarter-ton trucks and SUVs are the only vehicles with underpinnings capable of bearing the roughly 2000 pounds of the highest level of protection without any modifications.

to be safe, I would rather stay at home.
this is your loveboy DENNIS signing off. stay safe on the road.