I drive a 2003 Toyota Corolla Altis. It's 17 years old but it is as reliable as it is reputed to be. I got the car 2nd hand and aside from the major airconditioner which cost about 1/3 of the value of the car to fix, the car just goes. Compared to newer cars age has made the car a bit noisier with some clunks here and there but nothing that would be of a big issue in terms of the reliability and drive-ability of the car. Toyota might not be the coolest brand in the world even of it's one of the top 10 biggest. But they are considered the king in terms of reliability. Some people are afraid to buy 2nd hand cars but our family mostly buys 2nd hand. It may be a gamble to some to buy 2nd hand but if you know what you are doing you can get great value from the 2nd hand market. It does seem that older cars are more reliable than the newer ones which are packed with technology but time will tell if my perception on this will hold true. I believe that most cars built in the 90s onwards are really built to last. With a lot of TLC you can make these cars last a lifetime even as a daily driver.
Because I drive a Toyota. I'd like to reinforce my belief in their reliability by reading or watching content about how bullet proof they are. Scotty Kilmer is a Toyota believer and I've probably watched several of his videos on how reliable Toyota cars are. I was pleasantly surprised with this video which is not exactly about cars but about the brand Toyota. I found a lot of interesting bits of knowledge about the brand and the history of the company which is why I felt the need to share it. It's a bit long but I found it fascinating.
The 2019-2020 NBA season was the first sports league that stopped due to the pandemic. After three months they are now about to play the first official game this Friday, July 31. They will be playing in a "bubble" where all personnel involved in the games will have to go through quarantine protocols and regular testing throughout the remainder of the season.
Here's and interview with LA Clippers guard Patrick Beverly where he talks about his goal setting techniques which brought him to the NBA and how he copes with the pressure of playing in the worlds greatest basketball leagues in the world. Post it notes, meditation and visualization are all part of his daily routine to do his battles. Watch below and learn from the beast!
Sadly, I was right. Just a few months after I posted all went downhill. It makes me wonder how people behind Softbank and probably other venture capitalist firms looked at the business models so highly even it it wasn't even that unique in the first place. It does seem that the start up industry can easily be charmed or duped by very charming and ambitious CEOs like Adam Neumann. Other epic charmers are Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos and Billy McFarland of Fyre Festival. These people seemed to get capitalist money easily and burn it to the ground. Adam Neumann even got rewarded for his futility and got about $1.6B exit for his efforts.
The startup industry is poised to take advantage of the opportunities of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some will inevitably not survive but others will thrive. Being mostly technology companies my expectation is most will thrive. Those who survive will learn it's lesson and become stronger as the economy improves. Those with similar profiles like We Work though and built on charm will hopefully disappear.
I came across this YouTube video about the first Filipina F16 fighter pilot. Anybody doing great with a bit of Filipino heritage is usually hyped here in the Philippines, so it does seem like a great topic to write about.
Based on an article she migrated to the US when she was young. She lived in Pasay and Olongapo before her family migrated to the US. For a first generation immigrant this is a great feat. Adjusting to the culture is not easy. Having the drive and ambition to reach her goals is quite an achievement.
I find it quite sad though as a looked at the comments that some of my fellow Filipinos have somewhat disowned her saying saying that she is an American and no longer a Filipino. The fact that she was born and raised here even for a short time makes her a Filipino. There are just some things that you can't take away from people. Pinoys born and raised on other countries still identify themselves as Filipinos because you can't simply take away who you are and where you came from. On the other hand if you look at the likes of Jordan Clakson and other Fil-foriegners who don our flag for sports, people easily embrace them. While there were some initial issues with Fil-foriegners before it seemed to have waned.
The US Embassy does a good job to highlight military personnel with Filipino roots and I think they make an effort to deploy them here in the Philippines when given an opportunity. While the US does not seem to embrace it. They are a land of immigrants.
I don't think it's bad to highlight a Filipino or Filipina for their achievements. Being the first Filipina-American to fly an F16 is something you can't take away from Captain Monessa Catuncan Balzhizer.
I would be remiss if I don't mention 2nd Lieutenant Catherine Mae Emeteria Gonzales who was sent to train for the Aviation Leadership Program in the US. She played her part in the Marawi Siege in 2017. See a short article about her here.
I think it always good to highlight Filipina achievements worldwide and support them as much as we can.
As I watched Micheal Jordan's "The Last Dance" where sports pundits gobbled the content and squeezed it for all its worth - mainly because there's no sports in this time of pandemic. The 'greatest of all time" conversation once and will always come into question. I personally believe the Jordan is the GOAT in basketball even if Lebron James eventually (big IF) surpasses all his accolades. Here's just some of my reasons why I think he is the GOAT:
- one team built around him to win all his championships
- he went through "the process" of getting those championships
- the competition and type of basketball during the era, I felt this was a more difficult era to play in. Analytics is there for a reason, to make basketball more efficient. In a time where analytics says the game wasn't efficient he was winning dominantly over all the competition
My gripe with Lebron is that he teamed up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to win his. While building a team of superstars is now accepted, I still put a lot of value in organically built championship teams just like version of of the Golden State Warriors (v1 didn't win multiple times though).
This is not about basketball though. It's about Muhammad Ali. I started with the GOAT argument because I think he is the GOAT athlete ever. I'll place links of the rankings of ESPN and Bleachers report as reference.
While it's going to be hard to cut across the type of sport played what the list highlights is how these athletes dominated their particular sport. It's also hard to compare because just like my comparison with Jordan and Lebron these people lived in different times and circumstances. I think this actually skewed my perception on why I think Ali was the greatest ever. He may also have influenced my thought because he always declared himself as the greatest ever.
As I watched the video about him I was surprised that during that during the decades of his popularity mainly the 70s and early 80s he was a worldwide phenomenon. Ali had boxing matches around the world and having one done here "The Thrilla in Manila" and he seemed to have a big crowd wherever he went. In this time of the internet and social media I was surprised how popular he was when TV was probably at it's 'teenage years' black and white broadcast and his fights probably wasn't broadcast live.
Another thing which is admirable is his character and conviction to stand up for what he believes in. He sacrificed his boxing career because he didn't want to fight a war he did not believe in. This was also in a time racism was still (and still is sadly) a flashpoint in American society. He used his larger than life charisma to talk smack to his opponents and to stand strong when defending his convictions. Just like what Jordan did to basketball in the 90s he also seemed to bring boxing to the world stage in the 70s.
Sting like a bee dance like a butterfly is how I remember his actual quote "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee..." but I also remember him always saying saying that we was the greatest. I'll just pull this quote from an article from The Guardian on Ali's best quotes.
"I'm not the greatest. I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round. I'm the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scientific, most skillfullest fighter in the ring today"
His absolute confidence and belief in himself and his continuous bragging and reinforcing this belief of him made us remember him and made Muhammad Ali the greatest athlete ever ever in my eyes.
In times of difficulty it's sometimes good to look at how athletes have a this belief in themselves and backing it up to help them brush through their opponents. We should take inspiration from them that we to can take a look at ourselves a believe that we can pull through anything.
