verging_on_random

No more skid marks

I’ve always been a bit ambivalent about toilet paper. Scientists have yet to find the ideal balance between strength and comfort and in certain circumstances it seems that no matter how many times one wipes, traces remain.

Visiting the Philippines was a bit of an eye-opener. My friends were too polite to say anything, but clearly they were a bit put off by the thought of someone relying on nothing more than a wipe with paper. A Filipino comfort room may not have hot water but it does have copious amounts of soap and water and is set up to splash it all around liberally. It only took me a couple of days to realise that it was a much cleaner and more comfortable system than anything Sorbent can manufacture.

Ive adopted the same method back home and recommend it strongly. Conserve the forests!

Iloilo woes

Remember Rex? I wrote about him a while back. Here I am with him and his parents:

Rex and his family live in Iloilo, which copped the full force of Typhoon Frank that ripped through the Philippines over the weekend. They have an apartment in Iloilo City, which is on the coast. They are in Jaro - this was it on Saturday:

I’ve only had this message from Rex since then, left offline on Yahoo instant messenger:

rex (23/06/2008 7:34:25 PM): have a flood here in aprtment

rex (23/06/2008 7:34:48 PM): my computeris broken right now

rex (23/06/2008 7:34:51 PM): im here in cafe

rex (23/06/2008 7:35:04 PM): i dont have any dreass

rex (23/06/2008 7:35:15 PM): all my dreass is wet

rex (23/06/2008 7:35:36 PM): and my parents house house in province borken already

rex (23/06/2008 7:35:42 PM): dont have roof

rex (23/06/2008 7:35:53 PM): becos of typhoon

rex (23/06/2008 7:36:07 PM): i relly need your help

rex (23/06/2008 7:36:11 PM): plsss help me

rex (23/06/2008 7:36:38 PM): pls send me some message if read my message

rex (23/06/2008 7:38:45 PM): my computer broken have block out here

rex (23/06/2008 7:38:52 PM): im here in caffe

rex (23/06/2008 7:39:08 PM): ill talk to you soon

rex (23/06/2008 7:39:21 PM): if i can go to caffe

The ironic thing is that Rex was supposed to be here in Australia this week, sussing out study options for next year. Our embassy in Manila refused to give him a visa on the grounds that he couldn’t convince them he would not overstay his visa. Apparently the only way you can get a tourist visa if you are a Filipino is to be married, own your own home and have a few million pesos in term deposits in the Philippines.

Anyway that’s all by the bye for the moment. You’ll see Rex says his parents’ house has lost its roof. The house is directly opposite the school that we gave some help to earlier this year, so I fear the school might be a bit of a mess too. This was no ordinary typhoon damage:

At least 59 people have been killed in the central Philippine province of Iloilo and the death toll could rise further after flash flooding from Typhoon Frank (international codename Fengshen) washed out communities, the local governor said on Sunday.

“Iloilo is like an ocean. This is the worst disaster we have had in our history,” Neil Tupaz told local radio.

Needless to say I’ll be sending as much help as I can, first to my friends and then to the school. If anybody wants to kick in a few dollars that would be much appreciated. I guarantee every cent will get to people who are in desperate need. Send to a St George Bank account, branch number 112-879, account number 057536543, in the name of Kenneth Alan Lovell Raxos Elementary.

UPDATE:

This today (24/6) from Yahoo group LivingInThePhilippines:

14a.

Re: How bad is the damage in Iloilo?

Posted by: “Paul Agey” oneiloilojeepney@yahoo.com.ph   oneiloilojeepney

Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:23 am (PDT)

List website and to Join this List, Livinginthephilippi nes3
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The Living in the Philippines Community

Over 70% of the baranguays flooded. It was a flash flood that hit us in the middle of the night with no warning. Over 120 dead as of last report on the radio. 1 of my houses flooded about 2 ft worth and left behind 6 inches of mud for me to clean up, but otherwise undamged thank god. The other house I live in in Lapaz was one of the fortunate few spared this time. Just got power back after 4 days 30 minutes ago. City watermains busted in 2 places with no etr. Bottled drinking water in short supply and supermarket shelves picked bare. My jeepney in lewdesco was flooded to the roof along with many other cars. State of Calamity is how I describe Iloilo right now. Latest estimate is 1,800 familiys displaced and over 500 homes lost that were completely destroyed and about the same number partially damaged. I just hope things get better soon.

Paul in Iloilo

Better than Nintendo

Here are some new friends of mine.

They’re in a little road side eatery in Navotas City, Metro Manila, Philippines. That’s a microphone, because they’re singing to a videoke machine.

Here’s another view.

See the television thingie? It’s like a jukebox … put in one peso (about three cents) and it plays a song you pick from hundreds of popular songs - music minus the words - while the lyrics track across the screen.

These things are HUGE in the Philippines. In some neighbourhoods (not the one I stayed in, fortunately) people stay up until 4 or 5 am singing along. Moreover, they do it without the assistance of intoxicating liquor, believe it or not. Maybe that’s why they usually sing in tune (these kids were just awesome).

It’s a pretty childish past-time of course, not something that serious Western grown-ups would bother with.

Still … my version of ‘That’s Why the Lady Is a Tramp’ blew them away … and I hadn’t even had breakfast. That came next … fried noodles with bacon and egg, with extra egg on top and a glass of water. 27 pesos (70 cents) please .

GM foods

When it comes to genetically modified crops I’m a bit of an apathetic bystander. Having spent many years growing much of my own food I know that a lot of romantic nonsense gets peddled about the alleged virtues of ‘heirloom’ vegetables compared to the supposedly inferior hybrids developed by evil corporations.

However, something very strange has been going on with Australian tomatoes. I fear we are well beyond simple GM techniques and into a new era of tomatoes that are frankly not of this planet.

Witness exhibit A:

I bought this along with half a dozen of its siblings about six weeks ago. Since then it’s been sitting in my kitchen. The rest got eaten - despite being bright cheery red they were tasteless with the consistency of a fresh apple, so no surprises there - but for one reason or another this one got overlooked. In six weeks it hasn’t changed one iota. Long after any tomato I ever grew in the garden would have collapsed into a stinking soggy mess, this alien fruit just sits there … exactly the same colour and texture as it had when it left the factory warehouse.

It’s freaking me out.