Being Blunt

My manager and a peer were discussing their project this morning and joking about it while I was staring at my PC when I thought I heard my name mentioned again so I peeked behind my monitor and asked them what it was they're discussing. They were telling me, as a kind of joke, that my manager should first convince me about something (I didn't really catch what it was) because I am hard to convince, as I am an atheist. My manager said, "but he is not an atheist" and turning to me repeated it, "you are not an atheist" and I replied: "What is it to you? Is it relevant to your project?" Yes was my peers reply. I asked them again, "how is my lack of belief relevant to your discussion or project?" My manager insisted that I am not an atheist. But I stood firm and asked him again "why is my belief a relevant subject in our work environment?" Sensing that I was serious, they changed the subject. Sometimes, you have to be blunt in order to deliver the message.

PhilippineAtheists.Org Is Offline

It will be back soon. Apologies.

Rebranded!

I have renamed the blog from Pinoy Infidel, Inc. to Kapanalig Sa Wala to give it a more Pinoy flavor. Also, I have revived a dead blog to separate my posts that are not about atheism.

Voter registration

I was able to vote in the last election but not without a slight snag. My name was still in the voters' list but when I was to cast my vote, my name was crossed out already in the list inside the precinct (not the one posted just outside). The chairman (I don't know her) was for a moment at a loss. I insisted that I be allowed to vote and she relented.

My question is, how does the COMELEC decide who should be struck out from the list and who decides? What are the criteria used? I have been abroad for over seven years now but I always make it a point to come home to Laguna at least three times a year. I am building my residence in Laguna and am planning of opening up my business very soon, right in the same barangay where I am a registered voter. I have vested interest in the future of Laguna and have as much the same right to vote as anybody who is staying in Laguna.

Inefficient utility company or deliberate?

I was in the Philippines during the last election. During the ballot counting, as this is not without precedent in in my hometown, power was cut-off many times, and at least in one instance, only in the portion where ballot counting was happening. This happened in the second level of the public market which is temporarily converted into public high school classrooms. I posted this in the community forum, just to ask the question since it seems it has not been mentioned at all:

I am wondering why the brownouts were never mentioned at all? Is it not important?

I was in Ibaba and in the upper palenke during the ballot counting and in one instance, the brownout hit only the upper palenke while in the heat of counting the ballots. After sometime, Ibaba had the power restored but the upper palenke continued to have no power for some time. It's totally irrational. It makes one think that it can only be explained as a purely deliberate action by somebody playing tricks on our townfolks as it happened a couple of times. I am not saying it's this or that camp. It could very well be just a prank but I am not sure if any effort has been made to find out why power was lost only in the upper palenke during the crucial moment of ballot counting. I have never seen anything like it before.

Just wondering.

I am waiting for the first ad hominem I'll get with this post. Pinoys are very sensitive and always resort to ad hominems as if it's always the best argument.

Freethought discussion group

I will be experimenting on organizing an informal group of freethinkers or with people interested in what freethought is about. When on vacation in the Philippines, I spend most of my time in my hometown in Laguna so I think it's better to have a local group there where it will be more convenient for me. So far, I have received no email. I will keep the thread alive in case somebody notices, or maybe it will take off one day. One day may be months and months ahead. I'll be waiting. Anyway, my library is still not setup. I would like to have a plan of the library to be built soon. I will be stuffing it with books on history, philosophy, science, and religion. I envision a cafe+library style venue where there are few coffee tables next to the bookshelves. I already shipped many books but they are languishing in the stockroom waiting to be re-discovered. I will make sure the library will be available by the end of this year.

Updated PA.org Forum

I took advantage of the Golden Week holidays to update the Philippine Atheists forum consolidating forums and posting initiating a few new topics. Hopefully, I can sustain this for some time until it becomes self-sustaining.

Re-organizing Pinoy atheists

There is again an initiative to register a truly atheist organization for and by Pinoys. This time, it's being started by somebody new to the Pinoy Atheists mailing list. If you are interested, please visit the Pinoy Atheists for details.

Priest as drinking buddy

This article from the Inquirer reminded me of an occasion many many years ago. When a HS friend of mine had his son baptized, one of the godfathers was the Paete parish priest of the time, also named Tony. He was a drinker and being the priest that he was, he can really sing (I always think priests are good singers) likes to sing as well. In fact, he had his own karaoke machine to bring along with him. While drinking, he told us stories and anecdotes about sex. Yes, he was a priest; a Catholic priest. I wonder where he is now?