The Most Expensive Camera

This must be the most expensive camera around.  Can you tell why?

Taxis and Buses: What is SULIT?

Sorry, I just can't help it.  Call me paranoid but I guess once you start spending money you worked hard for, you always want gain the most out of it. 

My wife and I take a cab after doing our grocery and I would always take my sweet time waiting for a brand new looking taxi to flag.  My reasoning is that, "mag babayad ka na din lang ng mahal, e di pumili ka na ng maganda na mabango ang amoy at malamig ang aircon."  It just ticks me when I see an old and dilapidated taxi still plying its route!  My God, they're health hazards already!  The alone can already kill you!

I have the same philosophy when it comes to buses.  Dun na ako sa maganda, malamig at mabango!

Pizzas: What is SULIT?

I feel like Kris Aquino's son Bimby asking this question.  Let me assure you though that this entry is not all about milk. 

I was in a discussion with a collegue yesterday about the new pizza dough of Greenwich.  I am a pizza lover and I have come to taste most, if not all, of the leading pizza brands in the Philippines:  Greenwich, Pizza Hut, Yellow Cab, Shakey's, Sbarro, and Papa John's.  Taste-wise they have their own unique delectable taste.  Price is more or less the same also.  But are they filling to eat?  That's where the debate arose.  For me, it has got to be both delicious and filling to make it spending money on.  You should come out of the joint with a smile on your face and a full stomach.  That's SULIT!

My position in this discussion is that the Greenich thick crust pizza does not have heft to tank me up like the other pizza brands previously mentioned.  I once attended a meeting with Greenwich as the food sponsor.  We were served four 18" pizzas and honestly, if decorum did not get the better of me, I could have devoured a whole box in a wink!  Oh, it's delicious alright!  But if I were the one paying, I would have ordered from another and paid for three instead of four.  Now why is that?

Value for money is something that I always look for.  If you're the one toiling for the money, you'd always want to get your money's worth in everything you spend on.  You'd always look for durability, after sales services, long warranty, and other add ons that will provide you something extra.  Well, I can splurge on something (specially if it's a new eatery) just for taste but I won't do that on a regular basis. 

Greenich's dough is like pandesal in terms of texture and brawn.  In other words---it looks good but there ain't that much to eat.  I suggest you pick on their chicken instead.

Boss: The New TV Series to Watch

After tow decades playing Dr. Frazier Crane in the sitcoms "Cheers" and "Frazier", Kelsey Grammer is back---but this time in a political drama series "Boss" under Starz cable.

At first, it was hard for me to accept seeing Mr. Grammer in a dramatic role but after watching the first episode of "Boss", he really is a convincing political figure with his gruff look, deep voice, and conniving disposition.  He kind of reminds me of Richard Nixon (except for the conniving disposition which is debatable).

In this series, he plays the role of incumbent Chicago mayor Tom Kane diagnosed with a degenerative neurological  disorder.  Determined to hold on to his office, he then keeps his illness from the public and is only known to his physician Dr. Ella Harris.  His closest political advisors Kitty O'Neil and Ezra Stone notices that something is wrong with the mayor but respects him too much to ask questions. 

On the personal front, Tom Kane is estranged from his wife Meredith and is with him only as a political show.  He has a daughter, Emma, a nun, who seemingly has her own demons to overcome.

The Continuing Saga of Senior vs Junior

Many people think that after Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr. settled the lawsuit that they were locked in for two years, father and son would let bygones be bygones and eventually kiss and make up---WRONG!  To this day, father and son remain estranged. 

Recent episodes of American Chopper:  Sr. vs Jr. now includes an aftershow interview with the Teutuls on both side of the fence, OCC and PJD, and every once in a while the touchy subject of reconciliation comes afore.  Apparently, Senior is more keen on reconciling with Mikey than Junior.  Why is that?

Well, I could think of a couple of reasons:

1. Mikey is obviously Senior's favorite (in terms of having fun with).
2. Mikey is the only Teutul who can actually hit Senior in the balls (literally) and get away with it.
3. Mikey makes Senior laugh (even during his many blowouts).

Senior admitted to the third one in last Monday's episode.  As for the other two, you can go back to the earlier episodes of the show and decide for yourself.

I have just finished reading Senior's business memoir "Ride of a Life Time:  Doing Business the Orange County Chopper Way" and in there you can surmise that Junior is his least favorite son. 

The primary premise of the book is HARD WORK.  Senior pictured himself as a workaholic, who, despite of any carousing the previous night, never missed a day of work.  As a father, Senior wanted to impart the same value to his sons.  He favored his second son Dan to whom he gave the reigns of his ironworks business as someone who is "willing to learn" and had the work ethics to succeed. 

Although he did cite Junior's innovative fabrication genius, he sees him as a know-it-all "who hasn't had to work for much in his life".  About this Senior says:

Not because he's lazy, but because he seems to have a natural ability to do almost anything he wants to do.  When Paulie played football, he was the best player on the team.  Whe ran trace, he was the fastest guy on the team.  When he was competitively weightlifting, he was always the best.  It all came naturally to him.

For Senior, Juniors natural abilities to excel in anything he does prevents him from committing to any endeavor.  Personally, I think Senior is so fixated in his philosophy of hard work that he does not see the natural talent of Junior.  I also believe Senior resents the fact that he is unable to teach Junior anything. 

Before Jason Pohl came to OCC, Junior was the designer.  He'd design bikes out of the fly.  No drawings.  We have all seen what kind of a custom bike designer Junior is in creations like the Fire Bike, Liberty Bike, Jet Bike, Gillette Bike, I Robot Bike, Comanche Bike, Army Bike and a lot more.  Every thing was done in his head.  Of course, to make his vision happen he had a team of excellent fabricators such as Vinnie and Rick to work with him.  Such is the world of CUSTOM bike that OCC was known for. 

Senior also questions Junior's commitment to deliver based on punctuality.  This is discounting the fact that OCC has not missed a deadline while Junior was there. 

Junior's problem with punctuality could have been addressed by counseling.  As a part owner of the company, Senior could have explained the effects of Junior's tardiness with the business.  First, owners should set an example to the workers.  Secondly, tardiness means loss of money.  With the desing all in his head, workers cannot work without Junior's presence.  If he reports for work 2 hours late, that would mean total hours late x hourly rate x number of workers on the project.  This is further compounded by the number of times overtime is needed to compensate for the tardiness.  Third, rules need to be enforced.  A logical consequence to Junior's tardiness should have been being charged with the non-productive hours of the employees affected and the overtime.  This way, there is no money loss to the company and Junior learns his lesson.  Unfortunately, Senior's counseling equivalent are blowouts that is reciprocated by resentment from Junior.  No wonder he screwed up his relationship with his children.  

I'm also under the impression that Senior doesn't have plans of reconciling with Junior.  I base this on his interviews in the show where he keeps on saying negative things about his eldest son.  How can Junior be inclined to opening the doors of reconciliation when you hear your old man lambasting you publicly?  If Senior keeps on stoking the fire of hate reconciliation is virtually impossible.

House Season 8

After last season's house crashing last episode, season 8 begins with House incarcerated for a year and parole eligible.  Of course, even in prison House still steers up a commotion with the inmate big wigs.  His genius however delivers him from another 6 months of jail time when a case in Princeton‑Plainsboro Hospital comes up and the new Dean of Medicine brokers for his parole and his medical reinstatement.  Ironically, House's new boss is Foreman. 

House come back with a shanty of an office and Dr. Chi Park, a Filipino-Korean doctor,  who now comprises his "team".   With no clout and with his ass tied to the hospital and his home (due to an ankle monitor), House tries to bully his way through hospital utilities and conspiring to get his old team back.

Enter Dr. Jessica Adams (played by Odette Yustman) as the doctor whom House got chummy with while inside prison.  She is now unemployed (afte she sides with House's diagnosis in the opening episode) and is now working for House in a voluntary basis.  And then comes 13.  Boy oh boy, I'm thinking this is going to be one interesting season---until House fires 13 after episode 3.  Yeah, BUMMER!

Well, the season is still young and many things are still to unfold. 

Vacationing in Boracay on a Limited Budget

It’s not cheap going to Boracay so you have to know where you can get free grub. So don’t pass up on hotel presentation invites. The come on: a buffet lunch or dinner in exchange for a 90 minute presentation. Well, we got two invites so me and my wife got free buffet lunch and buffet dinner at the Astoria Boracay and the Canyon de Boracay, respectively. Not a bad deal, right?

I’ve heard everything about the hotel pitch countless times already that I was the one leading the presentation just to hasten things up. Unfortunately, his presentation will need to be no less than 90 minutes and his notes fully filled up for him to earn his keep for the night. So we kinda cheated on time a bit and talked more of the other good stuff to be done in Boracay.

My free Starbucks coffee from HSBC also helped get us going with all the sight seeing and walking that we were doing.

Unfortunately, our free accomodations I got from a car show did not pan out.  I'll reserve that for next time.