A Subic Bay washout

A week earlier, I had been diving down in Bohol just as the weather turned inclement, the Philippines can turn pretty nasty weather wise with a multitude of typhoons ravaging the islands frequently. This wasn't a total lock-down typhoon, there was still a chance of getting some diving in so I decided to head up to Subic Bay as the harbour is fairly protected; as it turns out, it was a wasted bus trip.

The week I was down in Bohol a ferry sank with a major loss of life and a day or two later some Korean divers were swept away in strong currents resulting in more loss of life. Notwithstanding, the coastguard were somewhat apprehensive about allowing dive boats to depart in rough conditions and you can't complain about the coastguard being ultra-conservative. 

Hence, local shipping was restricted with the coastguard requiring clearance to set to sea. I wasn't going to get any diving in, I just sat around the shop waiting for a coastguard permission that wasn't forthcoming so it was back on the bus and back to Manila - such a waste.

Hanging in Ortigas

The central business district of the Philippines is Makati; located north east of Aquino International Airport, the Philippine stock exchange is located on Ayala Ave. The major financial institutions are based in Makati as well as major international corporations.

While people think of Manila, that is really the greater Manila area made up of the various sub-districts extending east of Manila Bay, north to Quezon City and south to Parañaque. You can still head over to the rundown and shabby old central Manila area, but it really isn't a worthwhile experience unless you want to photograph outdated and rundown infrastructure.

An area gaining both influence and affluence is Ortigas, on weekdays the area is buzzing with workers in this business district; yet on weekends, the locality had the atmosphere of an out-of-hours business district where all the office workers had headed home - it's empty. Major businesses are investing in the area, large property developments transformed the district including commercial retail property, residential hi-rise apartments, commercial office property and naturally for the Philippines - multiple large shopping complex.

The nightlife is improving, many consider Manila nightlife to consist only of go-go bars, massage parlors and other establishments of ill-repute. The fact is, many reputable bars, restaurants and cafés flourish in the area. This is not a bad area to hang out during the work day as the vibe is pretty good, the area is clean and everything seems to work. 

Internet Explorer - still around but why?

Way back in the mid 1990s when Windows 95 was introduced to the public, Netscape's Navigator was the dominant web browser. Microsoft's Internet Explorer then dominated the internet browser market as a free add on to Windows operating systems. At work, Internet Explorer is still the default browser to connect to the company intranet, as soon as we require internet browsing capabilities, most switch to their favoured browsers as most people have their preferred product. 

The introduction of Safari in 2003, Firefox in 2004 and Chrome in 2008 saw Internet Explorer's dominant market share decimated. Although Internet Explorer still maintains just below a 15% market share slightly behind Firefox's 16%: Internet Explorer dwarfs Apple's Safari browser at slightly over 4% with Microsoft Edge trailing Opera at around 2% market share.  

Now that Windows 10 replaces Internet Explorer with Microsoft Edge: this effectively spells the end of Internet Explorer as an operating system. Technical support will apparently continue for the latest version for each operating system for an undetermined period as each product life cycle differs - it's almost gone.

Command & control management

According to Sanjay, the business of command and control is dead. Unfortunately for me, my employment in the state government tends to contradict modern views found in contemporary business enterprises. The unleashing of potential does not exist my workplace, instead we resort to cronyism and nepotism including other outdated and unsavory tactics to manipulate workers.  

Trust, this is a foreign concept discussed in textbooks that I am yet to be exposed to during the hours of work, I am guessing we will not be seeing people's potential unleashed. Instead, the manipulation of the workplace to meet the needs of the few to the detriment of the many still exists. We don't trust the manager and his circle of cronies who actually have are at the same level as the rest of the workers in a flat organisation.  

Berkshire Hathaway

Legendary investment vehicle of Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated is a diversified multi-national company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Berkshire Hathaway Inc owns Dairy Queen, FlightSafety International, GEICO, Lubrizol, BNSF, Fruit of the Loom, NetJets, Helzberg Diamonds and 26% of Kraft Heinz. More recently, Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased The Free Lance-Star a Virginia newspaper.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc holds significant minority share holdings in The Coca-Cola Company, John Deere, Wells Fargo, Munich Re, Mars Inc, Goldman Sachs, American Express, The Procter & Gamble Company, Wal-Mart, Moody's Corporation, Restaurant Brands International, The Washington Post and IBM among others.

Buffett began purchasing shares in Berkshire Hathaway in 1962 after learning his trade as an investment salesman, securities analyst and stockbroker. Originally a textiles business, Buffett transformed the company into an investment vehicle that now has diverse range of businesses that ironically moved back into clothing manufacturing, distribution and retail of clothing and footwear.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc has phenomenal share price growth under Buffet's leadership, a $1000 invested in Berkshire Hathaway Inc in 1964 would be worth $11.6 million in 2015 according to Business Insider, now that's a return on investment.

The Nescafe red cup machine

In what must has to be one of the dumber inventions on offer, the Nescafe red cup machine attempts to turn instant coffee into barista style coffee.

I can't profess to ever using such a machine so I can't report on the quality of the drink, I just won't force myself to drink instant coffee. Really, I am asking what is the point? The whole purpose of instant coffee is exactly that, just add hot water. Now if you are going to the effort of making a crema, why not just just purchase beans and a coffee machine capable of creating a half decent coffee. 

Championing against fraud

The financial scandals rocking the corporate world undermine confidence in the how businesses are run. The 2007/08 financial meltdown has affected just about everyone in the developed world and an increasing number of people in the developing world. 

I have a real issue with the privileged few who are paid outrageous amounts of money in the form of salary, bonuses and stock options who take no financial risk of their own to run a business into the ground. Adam calls for individuals to speak out against corporate fraud, whilst this is great in theory, most organisations do their best to cover up fraud and dishonest dealings whilst creating an environment of fear and distrust for those who feel strongly enough to speak out.