Friday, July 19, 2002

John Gokongwei's Speech at the Ateneo on Entrepreneurship

I am John Gokongwei, Jr. I am not an Atenean but I feel at home with you. Today, at least. Sixty-two years ago, I could not have dreamt of appearing before the Jesuits and their students to tell the story of MY life. I was no more than a student then, at San Carlos University in Cebu, when my father died suddenly. It left me, the eldest, the responsibility of taking care of my mother and five siblings. That was tough for someone who was 13. Creditors had just seized our home and business and I had no experience with earning a living.

But here I am - not all on account of my good looks or charming personality but because I somehow survived. And when I look back, I know now that I did so because I recognized CHANGE when I saw it. Continued...

[more]

Posted by Manuel [John Gokongwei's Speech at the Ateneo on Entrepreneurship]

The History Buff - www.historybuff.com
Rick Brown learned about history from newspaper accounts 100, 200, or even 300 years ago. It's amazing how far back into the past The Newspaper Collectors Society of America can reach.

(Who said that "there's a sucker born every minute" ? Well, it wasn't P.T. Barnum.)

I wonder if we have something similar here in the Philippines. The Manila Times is the oldest newspaper in the Philippines, according to CPJ.org

TheFreeman Online claims to be the oldest community newspaper in the Philippines (Cebu, 1919) but it seems to have disappeared online in 2001.

The Manila Bulletin is touted as the oldest daily newspaper in the Philippines, according to Goldsea Intelligence.

But that's the great thing about paper -- it lasts. At least probably longer than web sites. I wonder who was it who said that the more technologically advanced we become, the more fragile we are. Especially when we talk about information and history.

Like what would happen if this site's webserver suffers a hard disk crash. Will I take the time to restore the back-up copy? Or will I just spend my time on something else? Afterall, there's always The Wayback Machine.

Posted by Manuel [Site > The History Buff]

Chance lunch partner Alan shared with me a few tidbits...

Food-related expenditures rose only about 2% annually, while spending on communication and cellphone prepaid cards rose 15%. It looks like some folks would rather txt or send SMS than eat out.

Some household helpers, after excitedly gaining access to an old cellphone and engaging in nightly texting marathons with their families in the province, their boyfriends or their barkada, ended up funneling their monthly wages to prepaid card sellers.

Yep, lots of folks have been bitten by the text bug.

Brand new cellphones go for P4,000 and upwards, so stolen cellphones easily sell for around P2,000 to P2,500 -- ask a number of factory workers and you'll discover that they'll still buy such "cheap" goods.

Sheesh. Wat r s dis wrld cmng 2?

Posted by Manuel [Lunch Science, Cellphone-napping]

If you ever feel the urge to put up your own online discussion board or forum, check out the following:

http://forum.snitz.com/
http://www.phpportals.com/index.php

(Angel, I put up these "strange" posts so I remember in the future where to look when friends request for online tools at their web sites...)

Posted by Manuel [Tech > Online Discussion Boards or Forums]

Wednesday, July 17, 2002

So little time, so much to read...

Build your own Web Service with PHP and XML-RPC
"The concepts behind Web Services are remarkably simple, and in this article we'll be taking a deeper look at what's involved. Then, with a little help from our good friend PHP, we'll set up our first Web Service."

Amazon Webservices
"We at Amazon.com want to see Web services work. We believe they are important to the future of the Internet. To help stimulate Web service innovation, we now offer software developers the opportunity to integrate Amazon.com features and content directly into other web sites using either SOAP or XML over HTTP. Partner with the leader in e-commerce and join the Web services revolution today!"

Posted by Manuel [Tech > DIY Webservices]

Some say less is more. Others counter just enough is more. Whatever.

Here is the Minimalist Web Project. Visit it and see other web sites that look great even with a minimalist design.

Posted by Manuel [Just Enough Is More]

Tuesday, July 16, 2002

Another day. Another round of elections. Another set of officers.

Sometimes I wonder where all this is leading to. You go to work, you take care of the kids, then they grow up and go to work and take care of their own kids. Your own parents build memories and so do you. And so do your children.

You go through your life writing, erasing, re-writing, flicking away the eraser bits...

And then what?

Oh well. That's what happens to me when I look at things like "The Industorius Clock" (sic).

Posted by Manuel [The Usual Life]