Today, iOS 6.1 was released. Aside from a bunch of hoohum fixes, it brought along the activation of Long Term Evolution (LTE). I truly hope Smart and Globe would simply just bump up everyone’s data connection up to LTE if you have a data plan and a compatible devices. Globe has indicated that it will do so. But Smart so far has only offered it free till March 30.
UPDATE: Smart will be offering it as an add-on (with corresponding add-on charges) to existing data plan subscribers. Sad sad sad.
In a span of two days robbers staged a jewelry heist at a mall and a businessman was shot dead after withdrawing money from a bank. A few days before a mayor was shot dead. This during a gun ban in preparation for the election period. Supposedly this was put in place to lower the incidence of election-related crimes (including extra-legal “fund-raising” activities by nefarious politicians). Unfortunately, only law abiding citizens follow the gun ban. For criminals, it’s business as usual. Or, it seems, better than usual.
Last night, Michelle, Jeanne, and I were having dinner at Gumbo, SM Mega Mall, when I heard what sounded like falling water or breaking sheet glass, I looked and saw people running, stopping, then looking back at the source of the sound, then running again. I figured there was some huge pipe leak or someone going amok or even a pet gone wild. We stayed on our seats but I watched out just in case the situation gets worse.
Then more people passed by running and I heard the word “shootout”. Michelle grabbed our stuff and we quickly moved back deeper into the restaurant along with the other diners. Images of Newtown in my head, I stayed close to the entry hall to block entry and looked for something to use as a weapon just in case the shit hits the fan. I don’t have even just a folder and all I could see was this huge rolling pin on the kitchen counter. Yeah, funny now when I think about it. Someone grabbed a fire extinguisher.
After quite a while, things sort of quieted down so I sat down. The manager asked us if we still want our order. I asked how things are going and he said it’s still ongoing. After some thought, we decided to just stay and eat. We had oysters and jambalaya. Either we didn’t have the appetite or the cooks we’re cooking under stress or it was really the food. Whatever the case, it didn’t taste good.
After eating, paying and a few more minutes of waiting, the manager informed us tentatively that it’s clear and that they were closing shop. We and the other customers filed out of the store and out a nearby fire exit.
Outside, we saw a spectating crowd. We moved away as fast as possible, a panicked stampeding crowd is often more deadly than the cause of the panic, and headed to the parking. Good thing we were parked outside. We quickly got in the car and drove home.
Back home, we learned that robbers had struck at the jewelry section of the department store, fired a few shots to start a panic, and escaped along with the running crowd. It had been all over in the first few minutes.
Cooked tinola for lunch today. I had the usual stuff: chicken, chayote, ginger, onion, garlic, and fish sauce. I also have my favorite green leafy vegetable for tinola: moringa, locally known as malunggay. It is a superfood: The leaves are rich in protein, calcium (4x that of milk), potassium (same as a banana), vitamin A (same as a carrot), vitamin B, vitamin C (3x that of an orange) and minerals. The seeds contain 30 to 40% oil that is high in oleic acid which has its own set of healthy benefits. And get this, crushed moringa seeds can be used for water purification to settle out sediments and undesirable organisms! The tree grows quickly in many types of environments and has great potential as one of the weapons in the fight to eradicate hunger. Makes you appreciate it more, yeah?
Read this interesting article Opposite sex friendships: Is it possible?. I suppose the article is referring to special friend(s) as opposed to casual friends. So essentially, if your relationship with your spouse is good and with some ground rules, it certainly is possible. But if your relationship is bad or there are no ground rules, it may not be possible, it may worsen your relationship with your spouse, or may even be the reason for your bad relationship in the first place! Something to think about.