Cory's death further isolates GMA

When I woke up last Saturday, I was expecting the GMA-friendly press to harp on the meeting between GMA and Obama. The TV news last Friday night was already half-agog with the success of the meeting. It is no secret that GMA was angling for a meeting for the longest time.

To many's sad surprise what instead greeted us was the news of Cory's death. She had a tough battle with cancer and we knew she'll be gone soon, but the news still jolted the Filipinos. The beloved former president, the symbol of democracy, the brave widow of a martyred hero, is gone. And with that whatever trumpeting of the GMA-Obama meeting was trumped. Even in death Cory spoiled GMA's glory.

In no time at all, the networks pulled all the plugs and flooded us with profuse praise for the former president. It was people-power relived even for a short while. We are again united. But as if to validate Imelda's rehabilitation two decades hence their ignonimous exit, little mention was made about the former first lady and her excesses. The Inquirer's report on her 80th birthday last July seemed like a report from a martial law controlled paper. Yes, today even Imelda enjoys better press than Gloria.

In an interview at her mother's wake, Kris Aquino thanked the Marcoses for their prayers for Cory. Later she also thanked Erap. But she expressed hurt feelings about the present administration's withdrawal of the security detail for her mother. She also effectively refused the offer of a state funeral. Cory's family is not even  keen on seeing GMA at their mother’s wake or funeral. Meanwhile, a coup plotter during Cory's presidency salutes (click here video) the dead president. Col. Ariel Querubin said "It is no secret that I was one of those who led the coup against her administration in 1989 and I am glad that 20 years then, the wounds brought about by that exercise have begun to heal. At this time of national grief, and in her honor, I give my former Commander-in-Chief my snappy salute. Farewell, Mrs. President."

Healing the wounds of EDSA is one of GMA's priorities. That may be happening but no thanks to this administration. GMA's increasing isolation hastens the healing process. And as soon as she is gone, the nation will again become as one.

My women's tennis album

I love women's tennis. Apparently many others share the same liking for the sport, orgasmic grunts, clingy linen, eye threatening nipple pokes and all. Notwithstanding the so-so quality of play. So to all lovers of the sport, here's my album. Click on the thumbnails for a larger view. Enjoy!









Update: Album 1, Album 2, Album 3, Album 4, Album 5

Some things that drive your users crazy

Although I'm not from the IT department, I work in a unit that can be called 'embedded' IT. As such, we provide IT support within the department. Our unit deals with users and their systems more than the actual IT department itself, whose dealings with users are limited to hardware issues. 

Here is one of the lists found at a top IT resource center, summarized for easy reading and infused with some personal experiences.

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Users also have certain buttons that should not be pushed. It's a good idea to learn to recognize and avoid as many potential annoyances as possible. Here are 10 of the more common user buttons we should be aware of.

1. Being talked down to - Many users cannot cope with the rapid change in computer technology. Do not make them think that you think they're idiots too lazy to learn.

2. Being talked up to - On the other hand, don't overwhelm them with technical information. Maybe all they really want to know is how long it will be before they can get going again. Anything else, even if important in solving the problem or preventing its recurrence, is secondary. Saying less may be better.

3. Hearing that what they want can't be done - Don't make them think you don't know how to do it or you're just too lazy to do it, qualify your response and give them one or two plausible reasons why what they want might be prohibitively expensive or difficult. This way, they will not think you're ignoring them and gives you time to work out the reasons. The key nos. 1-3 is communications. Try to sort out the kind of user you are dealing with. That will determine the communicating style you need for them.

4. Dealing with people they can't understand - Users are not as experienced in IT as we are. We don't speak the same jargon. If you don't understand the user, or the user does not understand you, do what you can to lessen the problem. If there's someone available who might be a better linguistic match for the user, get them. In my personal experience, I try to nurture or mentor someone from the users' group who is more technically savvy than the rest. That person can be a great help in implementing changes. And more often than not, he is willing to take up the challenge.

5. Having their input ignored - A little patient and nonjudgmental listening can help you tease out (a) what actually happened and (b) what they actually want from the tangle of frustration, misunderstanding, and exaggeration that often greets you.

6. Being treated arbitrarily - Some users can be particularly sensitive to it when they have a computer problem because they already feel like they're being treated arbitrarily—by the computer. Day after day, their computers do incredibly complicated tasks routinely and flawlessly until—for no apparent reason and with little if any warning—they don't. Although, we know there's almost always a reason, and often some warning, users don't see that and may vent their frustration to you. Give reasons for your actions or instructions and explain why the thing you're suggesting will help fix their problem.

7. Being told the problem is "incompatibility"- Blaming incompatibility for the user's problem might be the right answer, but explain more, for example, that it's like the two programs speak different languages. Without translation, it's never going to work. You still mean it's the incompatibility but the user might understand it better.

8. Being asked to change without adequate input, warning, or explanation - IT people are frequently agents of change. And change can be bothersome. Users may be too much in a comfort zone already that changing procedures might be painful for them. The only good reason for them to change is anticipation of future benefits. If you can, try to solicit their input and give them plenty of warning.  Connect the dots for them - show them how the change will benefit them. If you can't, reconsider the change.

9. Being scolded for how they use their computer - Let their boss do the scolding for this.

10. IT people messing with their stuff - Ask permission to open users e-mail or look at their folders or files. Show respect for other people's privacy. Users have that proprietary feeling about "their" computer and "their" stuff (see #9).

As I've said above, communication is the key. Couple that with the honest desire to serve the users, then you will notice that they will come to you more for technical support than the others in your group. That will make you the star and better noticed.

It wasn't a SONA, it was SANA

There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.--Maya Angelou

To be persuasive, one must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful.--Edward R. Murrow

The most dangerous of all falsehoods is a slightly distorted truth.--G. C. Lichtenberg 

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People are still wondering what country was described by Gloria in her SONA last Monday. Maybe she thought she would be delivering not a SONA but a SANA or Statement of Activities Not Accomplished. Sana is the Tagalog word used to express unreal futurity in the past or doubtful futurity in the present; it is also used to express uncertainty; or to mean "if only" or "I wish".

Sure she can boast of the nautical highway as roll-on roll-off ports were built. But the other claims are dubious. The claims on the poverty reduction are belied by statistics from her own agency that measure those stats. NSCB data shows poverty incidence to be about the same since she assumed office. Moreover, the Social Weather Stations released on the same day as the SONA survey results indicating that hunger is rising under her watch.

The PCIJ assessed GMA's accomplishments and they came out with a two part report. The report gave her a grade of conditional failure. And riddle me this, she claims foreign direct investments grew by leaps and bounds in her term but still her partymates want to tinker with the constitution in the guise that doing so will attract foreign investments. If GMA can boast that investments are coming in, why change the constitution at all?

Lies + verbal jabs + fashion statements + patutsadas = Twitter top trend

As expected, many find the SONA as a pack of lies. The Philippine twitter scene was abuzz. Jim Paredes was impressed but wondered what country GMA was describing. I pity her ghost writers now. She must miss the previous ones who managed to give her speeches some tone of credibility. Or it must be simply that her credibility has gone down south so much that anything she says sounds like lies.

I will let the experts dissect and analyze the details. I found the fashion statements and the patutsadas more interesting. The first photo (from the GMANews) shows Rep. Liza Maza in a white katsa (flour sack) gown. The gown is hand-painted with a golden image of GMA, who is shown weaving an embroidery of the constitution (Con-Ass), while the people below her are strangled by its thread.

The second photo (also from the GMANews) shows Rep. Riza Hontiveros celebrating GMA's last SONA in a white pearl-scale gown embellished it with a red floral accent and a yellow ribbon for Cory.

But the real eye catcher is Sen. Loren Legarda's gown. That ensemble made Sen. Miriam Santiago look like her alalay.

Based on what I heard at the SONA, I think Sen. Manny Villar may yet end up as the administration candidate. Understandably, GMA will not hit his partymates at the SONA. But she swung at her opponents. So in her potshot at Erap, who still dreams of returning to Malacanan, - "Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there." - touche. She was just being her taray self.

Even her party mate, former president Fidel Ramos, received a joust. She said "the noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it." It can be remembered that Ramos attempted charter change during his term.

She had some advice to presidentiables - "To those who want to be President, this advice: If you want something done, do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Just do it. Don't say bad words in public." It is an obvious dig at Sen. Mar Roxas who once cursed publicly in disgust. And where does Mar Roxas post his reply? In Twitter, where else - "Gloria, I have to say bad words in public because of bad deeds done in secret."

So why do I think Villar may yet be GMA's candidate? Despite his lead in the surveys (he was ahead of Erap and Mar), he was spared from the patutsadas as if he were a partymate.