How to detect BS

I came across a nice article written by Scott Berkun on the topic of detecting BS (bullshit).

He starts with a philosophy of lies... and points out three reasons why people do it:

1) to protect themselves
2) sometimes it works
3) people want to be seen as better than how they see themselves

and then he shares some BS detection tools to help sniff it out:

1) Question: How do you know what you know?
2) Question: What is the counter argument?
3) Time and pressure
4) Never agree to more than your trust allows

Typically if someone ignores these things there's a high chance that BS is present.

More on the detail subject at http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/53-how-to-detect-bullshit/

Taytay Falls (Majayjay, Laguna)

I spent last Saturday on a daytrip to Majayjay, Laguna to have a look at the not-so-rarely visited Taytay Falls. The first big mistake we made was leaving past 7am that day because the traffic was already heavy from SLEX all the way to Calamba Exit. Both the Alaminos and Los Banos routes were moving very slowly so it didn't seem to make any difference from this point. We headed east through Los Banos, Bay, Calauan ... then got directions from locals to a secondary road that skips San Pablo and goes straight to Nagcarlan. From Nagcarlan we drove to Liliw (some confusing roads as we went through this town) and then Majayjay.

There were small road signs that pointed to the falls, and the roads were narrow for about 7kms until we reached the entrance where we were charged 10 pesos for bringing in our vehicle. A few more kilometers of very narrow two-way roads... and we were at the registration point. Each person had to pay 20 pesos (I think it's more if you stay overnight) and sign on some logbook.

We took our backpacks and walked for about 1km. The path was safe and easy, they had a narrow cemented walkway and handrails, and very little obstacles. It was weekend so there were A LOT of people in the area. Some of them even had tents and cookware.

There were some people above the falls area and a path going up from the left side where a small grotto stood, so we thought there would be less people and cleaner water in that area. There was a warning sign though that people shouldn't go up here, but I think they didn't mind the danger to get a good view from above. Along the steep path was a small gate which was sealed with chickenwire, and a very narrow space on one side where one person could barely pass through (really very dangerous because the rocks there are slippery and the chickenwire is the first thing you will hit if you slip).

The water was ice cold up there, actually, enough to make my hands numb... it took a short while to get used to the cold water. We were the only ones there for some time until a few more stopped by, but it wasn't enough to crowd the area.

We spent about an hour up there until the sky turned dark. I had my camera with me and could sense heavy rains so we started to pack up and leave before it gets damaged (I just paid off the first installment so it's going to be painful) and the situation becomes too dangerous to go back down.
The rain started pouring when we got down so we had to rush back to the jump-off point for cover. Fortunately, we had our stuff waterproofed so only the bags got wet. I still had to run because I was afraid some moisture might get into the electronics I carried with me.
More bad luck on our way back -- we got semi-flat tires! We had to drive another 7km back to town before we totally run out of air on the tires (we didn't check the spare so it wasn't an option during the heavy rains). At the vulcanizing shop we just found out that there were no holes, so we knew it just wasn't inflated properly from our last gas stop.
After that, we decided to head to Tagaytay for dinner. It was past 6 when we stopped at a gas station (in Sto Tomas, Batangas) and found out that if we headed east from here, it would be unsafe because the route was mountainous and sparsely populated. A passerby also suggested that we take Sta. Rosa to get there. The traffic was still bad by the time we crossed SLEX so we decided to go back to Manila.
Just less than a kilometer from the exit to the expressway we saw Leslie's (where we were supposed to eat in Tagaytay). They say this restaurant was popular for their Bulalo. Well, it wasn't bad, the soup was fine, but I think they have to find a way to make the beef less chewy. That was it... we paid and headed home through heavy traffic again.
Next time we'll plan to do travels way before sunrise. I think I got so used to easy driving on holidays.

Happy Mothers' Day!

Happy Mothers' Day :)

[Exclusive!] Cutest Dog On Earth Smiles

I think we own one of the most fake-looking dogs on this planet. It looks more like a toy than a dog. You can actually program some stuffed toy to imitate its actions since most are really no-brainers -- barking, panting, running, eating, sitting, jumping and producing all sorts of nasty excretions -- and still end up with the same stupid dog we named Bruce. ... until one day... he did something unusual in front of the camera...

We tried to take a few pictures of Bruce. He was snobbish at first, just looking everywhere as if no one was around. We kept moving to the spot where Bruce was looking until he noticed we were trying really hard to get his attention...


The camera sends him a strange signal and Bruce starts to stick out his tongue, really weird (if a dog isn't sweating, panting, or yawning this shouldn't normally happen)...


we removed his harness ... then he smiles like he could appear in "How Much Is That Doggie In the Window" if it had an MTV in 1952 -- what the hell?? He does it again and again so I caught one.


After that I tied him up, "Bruce, what you did today was wrong, it was wimpy and sucky. This doesn't really match your macho image and the Arnold Schwarzenegger power-moves you showed last week when you bit my brother's hand." I posted this entry to humiliate him.

Barbie Almalbis Photo Ops in Edsa

I've been trying take a good shot of Barbie - in that very nice Bayo poster - along Edsa - every morning - for 3 days already - using my phone camera...


... until I found out that this picture was just a click away, crystal clear and in full-color in Bayo's website. Now I don't know what to do with it so I paste it here. OK, end of story.

Well... nothing, just one of my little nothings (wrong grammar?) to get some fun out of my boring daily drive to office.

Here's another useless one... a really creative way of disposing your gum and its wrapper... I couldn't keep my eyes off it while it was in front of me.


This is the most meaningless post I have done in my entire blogging experience. Sheeesh.

Tahong (Mussel) Chips

I am not sure if this one is new, but I was too curious to try this product after I saw the small banner on a Collette's store somewhere in Tagaytay -- Tahong Chips. They looked like nachos, but they were brownish and had dark spots (probably the crushed tahong). It also came with a small pouch of vinegar so I was already thinking chicharon and salt & vinegar flavored Tostitos (or is it Doritos?) I have never seen anything like it, but tried it anyway -- 20 pesos to kill my curiosity.

On the first few bites they were OK and tasted like dried seaweed or Nori, the one used for wrapping sushi. The vinegar somewhat helped to add to the taste, (it wasn't really bad) but after a few pieces I couldn't finish it anymore. I think the mussel flavor is too strong because just a few minutes later I could feel the ocean fresh aftertaste and was burping musselbreath already. I got the same result when I brought it home for the others to try... it was tough to finish this bag of chips.

Another site says this product is gaining popularity, but personally I found it weird for my taste.