Monday, October 24, 2011

PacMan scores KO!

 click for image source: 
The PacMan once again scores a KO (or in Tagalog nakascore kay KO). The latest 'victim' is a 22-year old culinary arts student Kat Ordonez (her initials are KO, see?).

News reports say that the PacMan attended the baptism, actually he was the godfather, of KO's son. Gossip flew that PacMan was really the child's father. Immediately, denials were quicker in coming than Pac's 1-2 combos.

I'm sure Pac has stood as ninong to countless children. But why is the paternity of this one being attributed to him? And why does the issue refuse to die despite the denials of all concerned?

It could be one or any combination of the following:
  1. Filipinos are by nature gossips.
  2. The PacMan has done it before. In 2003, he admitted having a one-night stand that led to a love child, and a legal battle.
  3. The more they deny, the more are revealed. They denied the Krista affair, but now Jinkee said "I trust him, because he promised he will not get involved with anyone anymore after Krista [Ranillo]." So, there was really a Krista affair!
  4. Jinkee offered a Hermes bag as reward for proof that there's another woman. She seemed so cocky sure no one can prove anything. But now with preponderance of circumstantial evidence, she says she was joking.
  5. Jinkee reacts by saying "Suwerte ko I'm the original, not the other woman.". So there is another woman!
  6. The baptism (and the reception) was a hush-hush affair, even to Jinkee, who was not made ninang.
  7. The boy is named King. PacMan has daughters named Princess and Queenie.
  8. The other ninongs are PacMan's close friends, Lito and Phillip.
  9. Filipinos are quick to notice Pac's resemblance to the children (I can't tell, though).
  10. This is all just a ploy to distract Pac in his preparations for the Marquez fight.
  11. Add your reason here.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

White hair chronicles - Dennis M. Ritchie, RIP

Dennis M. Ritchie passed away just a week after Steve Jobs died. In a week's span, the world lost two giants of the computing world. But Ritchie's death almost came unnoticed. Maybe the world was still mourning for Steve. But most likely, the world hasn't heard of Dennis M. Ritchie. Who is he anyway? To the non-techie, the low-profile Ritchie is the creator (along with Ken Thomson) of Unix and the C programming language (with Brian W. Kernighan). Unix, of course, is the precursor of Linux and MacOS (there's the connection to Steve); while C is the language which is perhaps the most widely used programming language.

I tried to learn C back in the old days, when the world has not yet heard of Linux. I had the C Programming book which was cheap, thin and printed on newsprint unlike today's expensive, thick, glossy computer books. It was simple, but elegant. I also had the similarly printed C-Answer book.

I originally thought that Kernighan was the father of C, since he got top billing in the book (K&R C). Through wikipedia, we later learn that Kernighan actually attributes the design of C entirely to Ritchie.

No doubt Dennis Ritchie was low-profile, as indicated in the billing of their book. Despite his legendary contributions, few knew about him. I read somewhere that if Gates or Jobs are the Buzz Aldrins of IT, then Dennis Ritchie is a Michael Collins. His role was equally important even if he stayed away from the limelight. Now, the young ones will ask who the heck are Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin? But that's another story.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Goodbye, Steve. RIP

"Death is very likely the best invention of life. All pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important." - Steve Jobs (1955-2011)
Goodbye, Steve. RIP.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

The Ten Most Hated Jobs

A recent article at CNBC draws on a survey of hundreds of thousands of employees which determined the 10 most hated jobs. Despite the hard job put in by teachers and nurses, it may be surprising that they didn’t make the list. The jobs in the list are not the low level jobs. The survey found that limited growth opportunities and lack of reward caused more dissatisfaction than the low pay, long hours, and thankless tasks.

The pain then, is psychological. It’s the lack of direction and meaning in what they do that is the problem. People know that they are capable of contributing more but the hierarchical bureaucracy prevents them from doing it.

The Ten Most Hated Jobs:
  1. Director of Information Technology 
  2. Director of Sales and Marketing 
  3. Product Manager 
  4. Senior Web Developer 
  5. Technical Specialist 
  6. Electronics Technician 
  7. Law Clerk 
  8. Technical Support Analyst 
  9. CNC (computer numerical control machines, e.g., lathes) Machinist 
  10. Marketing Manager
I know a friend who though not from an IT department, performs IT tasks for his group. He can claim to perform four (maybe more) of the jobs listed above. He must hate his job, I thought. When asked about it, he said the respect of his peers and co-workers keep him going. The top heavy bureaucracy bears down on the staff and only the deep camaraderie and the common desire to contribute make the employees function. Wow, their director of IT must be hating his/her job more, I assumed. On the contrary, my friend says the managers love their jobs as much as the staff hate them. The clueless supervisors/managers can go on leave full time and it won't make a difference. My friend hopes they give it a try.