The monster killer called IFRIC 15

For the past few months, a lot of developers who knew about IFRIC 15, a new accounting reporting system scheduled to be implemented on January 1, 2009, with a retroactive application, were really worried. I was also very surprised to learn that very few developers have even heard of this issue.

The Clark Airport–the only hope

Whenever I travel internationally, I decide to closely observe the airports of those countries in comparison with the Manila International Airport. When I fly in an international airline, I got to depart from Terminal 1. The experience was humbling and I am certain that any Filipino who has flown in some countries would agree with me that the Philippine Terminal 1, which all international carriers use, is a shame to the country. This is the only terminal I have seen to have a reused plastic container serving as the rainwater control device in the middle of the departure lounge covered by dirty and stained carpet. The dirt and the disrepair for an international passenger terminal is unacceptable.

Busy bodies

Build and they will come.
From merely nothing flying out of the Clark international airport after the cataclysmic eruptions of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, the succeeding secondary explosions that emitted fine volcanic ashes and the dreaded lahar flows—the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport has metamorphosed into one of the busiest airports in the Asian region. Back then, we only had migratory birds visiting the two 3.2-km parallel runways, a contrast when the US military might is felt by the presence of the F4 phantoms lined up in front of the DMIA tower.

The Return of GI Joe

The sonic booms coming from the twin engines of F-18 Hornets and British-made Harrier jets suddenly reverberated from the azure skies where once GI Joe lorded it over for nearly a century. For the nth time, our Big White Brothers are back with their war machines under the auspices of the annual Visiting Forces Agreement.

Tendering Dysfunction

When public bidding (or tendering) fails, and sadly, this has become the rule rather than an exception, one cannot help but feel being pulled at the edge of despair for whatever ills this process.

US: Resiliency in times of crisis

I was in New York City, and then in parts of Eastern Pennsylvania, from mid- to late-October to observe up close the 2008 US presidential campaign. The trip, hosted by the US State Department, involved 26 other foreign journalists from Asia, Africa, the former Russia and the Middle East, and included coverage of the third presidential debate in Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, on October 15 (October 16 morning in Manila).

Focusing on food production

Several years back, the biggest instant noodle maker in Thailand launched the Mama Noodles Index, which essentially reflected the sales of its Mama Noodles. The index was reportedly relatively steady since Thailand’s recovery from the East Asian financial crisis that began in 1997. But it was in 2005 that a significant increase in noodle sales was reported. That increase, while seemingly indicative of greater purchasing power, was actually viewed as a shift in preference for cheaper food. Instant noodles were reportedly regarded as a more inferior food, and since people could no longer afford more expensive food, ramen purchases thus increased.