From http://ronjie-engg.blogspot.com/2009/04/engineering-misconceptions-part-2.html#comments:
daicee said: "Good day sir! I'm a civil eng'g student. I just want to ask about the list of provinces in each wind zone here in the Philippines. Can you help me where to find it? Thank you."
My reply:
You are a CE student from where? You can find the Philippine wind zone map in NSCP 2001. Then just buy a regular map of the Philippines to see which provinces (or portions thereof) are in which zone by comparison with the Philippine wind zone map. The new NSCP may have the provincial political borders shown for easier use.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
We're a religious country and yet natural disasters still occur here? Can't PAGASA predict weather accurately?
a friend asks
"WTF? We're ranked 3rd (most religious country in the world) and we still got hit this hard (referring to Typhoon Ondoy of 2009)? Please someone explain this to me like I'm a 3 year old. http://www.diaryofatraveler.com/review/info/top-10-most-religious-countries-in-the-world/"
ronjie's reply:
here's what i would tell a 3-year old: "when you GROW UP, you'll understand." ehehe (peace to my friend who asked this.)
two things: first, our country is in a highly typhoon-prone area therefore typhoons and flooding should be expected here (duh). this is PHYSICS. this is NATURE.
BUT we built our cities in these flood-prone areas. not GOD. "successful people take responsibility. unsuccessful people always have someone to blame." some people blame PAGASA (the local weather bureau). some people tend to blame God.
second: this event just goes to remind us who is God and what kind of power he has. if we think we can be God and control what God actually wills to happen by what we "ask for" in our prayers, guess again.
that blog post says only 68% here are church-goers. i can tell you that of those 68%, only a very few actually understand their religion well enough to not question it or even other religions. of those few who actually understand, only a handful are willing to teach and to become really religious and become priests or nuns. we actually need more religious people and more priests and nuns. i hate people who can't lead but criticize leaders. i don't like to criticize the (real) religious people (like priests and nuns) because i can't be one. so be one first, then let's see what you have to say.
one more point: by the way, kawawa naman ang PAGASA actually. (poor PAGASA.) people think they're God. then of course PAGASA falls short of the people's expectations so the people are always angry at PAGASA. NO ONE CAN PREDICT WEATHER!
"WTF? We're ranked 3rd (most religious country in the world) and we still got hit this hard (referring to Typhoon Ondoy of 2009)? Please someone explain this to me like I'm a 3 year old. http://www.diaryofatraveler.com/review/info/top-10-most-religious-countries-in-the-world/"
ronjie's reply:
here's what i would tell a 3-year old: "when you GROW UP, you'll understand." ehehe (peace to my friend who asked this.)
two things: first, our country is in a highly typhoon-prone area therefore typhoons and flooding should be expected here (duh). this is PHYSICS. this is NATURE.
BUT we built our cities in these flood-prone areas. not GOD. "successful people take responsibility. unsuccessful people always have someone to blame." some people blame PAGASA (the local weather bureau). some people tend to blame God.
second: this event just goes to remind us who is God and what kind of power he has. if we think we can be God and control what God actually wills to happen by what we "ask for" in our prayers, guess again.
that blog post says only 68% here are church-goers. i can tell you that of those 68%, only a very few actually understand their religion well enough to not question it or even other religions. of those few who actually understand, only a handful are willing to teach and to become really religious and become priests or nuns. we actually need more religious people and more priests and nuns. i hate people who can't lead but criticize leaders. i don't like to criticize the (real) religious people (like priests and nuns) because i can't be one. so be one first, then let's see what you have to say.
one more point: by the way, kawawa naman ang PAGASA actually. (poor PAGASA.) people think they're God. then of course PAGASA falls short of the people's expectations so the people are always angry at PAGASA. NO ONE CAN PREDICT WEATHER!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Why does God sound condemning in Matthew 7:21-23
version2.0!
A brother asked:
"Kuya, what do you think of Matthew 7:21-23? It says:
My reply:
This is what I think...
1. During our time here on earth, God is a very forgiving God. And though we stray many times, he forgives us in as many times. But when our judgment day comes - like a thief in the night - that's it. If you are a good fruit and you have borne good fruit, God welcomes you to heaven. Otherwise, the gates remain closed.
And God cannot forever remain forgiving - or evil will only thrive!
We should look at his forgiveness as a blessing, as a gift from God. God forgives us because he loves us. He wants to give us second, third, fourth, etc. chances. He knows very well that following his will is difficult. We should not expect forgiveness from him nor should we demand it from him. It is his choice to forgive, and more often than not he will choose to forgive us. And he will do so also as an example on how much we should forgive others.
If judgment day comes and we still expect God to forgive us - we are mistaken! Again, by then, how many chances he must have already forgiven us?
"Kuya, what do you think of Matthew 7:21-23? It says:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'"Does this mean if we do wrong, we go to hell right away? I wish it was so easy to be good in the eyes of God! Why does God sound like a condemning God in these verses?"
My reply:
This is what I think...
1. During our time here on earth, God is a very forgiving God. And though we stray many times, he forgives us in as many times. But when our judgment day comes - like a thief in the night - that's it. If you are a good fruit and you have borne good fruit, God welcomes you to heaven. Otherwise, the gates remain closed.
And God cannot forever remain forgiving - or evil will only thrive!
We should look at his forgiveness as a blessing, as a gift from God. God forgives us because he loves us. He wants to give us second, third, fourth, etc. chances. He knows very well that following his will is difficult. We should not expect forgiveness from him nor should we demand it from him. It is his choice to forgive, and more often than not he will choose to forgive us. And he will do so also as an example on how much we should forgive others.
If judgment day comes and we still expect God to forgive us - we are mistaken! Again, by then, how many chances he must have already forgiven us?
2. We should also look at the context of the verse. In some Bibles, like the one I have, it is as if it is a different topic from the paragraph before it, which appears to be a different topic from that before it, and so on. But it may be that it is a continuation of that previous paragraph, the one about false prophets.
He may be talking about 'false prophets.' People who may be doing his work in his name, but at the very core of their being, are evildoers. In front of many (of us), they may personify a totally different person from that the Father sees. Saying "I love you, God," singing his praises, praying the Rosary, prophesying, doing miracles, and everything else "for God's glory," is all good. But that is not enough to get into heaven without a focus on Christ, a foundation of faith in him and love for him and others.
Matthew 7:15-20 suggests if we look closely enough at the fruit, we will see what type of tree they come from. Good fruit comes from good trees. Bad fruits come from rotten trees. It cannot happen the other way around. Do some of the "prophets" around us love others and are good Christian examples? How does their flock turn out? Or are they just merely worship leaders who say and do so many things but, really, who are they at the core of their beings?
Anyway, if we know of any such people, let us just pray for them and let us try to avoid the one thing that only God can do: judging.
God bless you, brother.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Welcome
Mission
I only hope to be able to help people with love, life, and their finances. From what I know from the books I've read or teachings I've listened to, and from the things I've learned, experienced, or observed, I will answer questions that any of you may have and wish to get your Kuya's opinion on. Actually you can ask me anything and everything under the sun. "What's a good place to visit in Coron?" (Because I've been there and I know some places.) Try asking even silly questions (e.g. "What is Love?") - let's see if I have an answer for them. :-)Language
This blog will be mostly in English but some Filipino words might be used here and there but I will try to translate to English as much as I can.
Disclaimer
I do not pretend to know everything! Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, or to contribute to the discussions!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
2 Answers to 2 Questions: Are some groups of people really manipulative? How do we deal with them?
========= original e-mail slightly edited =========
bro,
do you by any chance know if there's an opening for elementary teachers or lifestyle writers? please let me know..
it's just that i feel so bad. i've requested a two week vacation leave from my office. they said yes but they are holding my salary. i don't think they'll take me back after two weeks. sorry to say this, but koreans s**k! (sorry for the language). they are very manipulative and they break, always break their promises..
anyway, il keep on searching..thanks! so if you want to work for koreans, DON"T even think about it.
take care!
sis
========= Kuya Ronjie's reply =========
sis,
the koreans i've met (outside of the country) are all very nice. this is just opinion but i think many koreans, japanese, chinese, americans, british, etc. people who set up their businesses here are generally like how you have described them. their being far away from their hometowns and having to work, work, work and meet the expectations of their superiors and peers back at home (i.e. they need to "prove" and/or "provide") puts a lot of pressure on them (and perhaps meanwhile they do not need to meet any kind of expectations to us here) and sometimes what happens is they "share" the pressure with the pinoys who work for them here. but i think this happens more here in our country (try working abroad in their country and i believe it is not like that at all). i think this happens because most filipinos allow it. it happens i think because we all need jobs and there are more filipinos than jobs so the competition for jobs is quite fierce. so, many resort to "accepting" these "unacceptable" practices by foreign employers. some people, just to keep their jobs, would accept very low salaries which in turn creates a ripple effect in the employment market. "accept this low salary under these very harsh conditions or don't get a job at all" is what is happening.
actually it's not just these foreigners who resort to such "unacceptable" practices. because pinoy employees "accept" these practices here, even some pinoy employers do the same things also.
to some of them, foreign or pinoy employers alike, they "cannot afford" employees taking a vacation leave; i.e. employees who are to them give high production output compared to their salaries. if they will hire a new person to replace you, those new employees would be paid less but their production output would not yet be so high as that you were providing. or, maybe their business will just come to a halt if you do go on a holiday - but they can't afford to pay you or treat you better even if you really deserved it, just so you won't want to go on a holiday.
i think the right thing for pinoys to do is to stop working for these employers who practice such "unacceptable" practices. i think God does not want us to be miserable in our jobs. if we were in miserable jobs, it is because it is our choice to stay there.
likewise, God does not want employers to do such "unacceptable" employment practices. but we can't do anything about others - what we can just do is when we are in that position, when we are the boss or the employer, we should remember what is good and what is not good, and do only what is good. that is actually even more difficult, without prayer and faith and friends (i.e. a community) who shares the same faith and prays for you.
a friend of a friend became a city youth leader and so he automatically became a councilor of the city. he told himself he will not give in to the corrupt practices that many in the generation before us is considering as if it is normal and acceptable practice. after a year he told my friend that he can't do anything but give in and join the bandwagon of corruption.
i think in that situation, as well as in our situations, the key is faith. in this sense, this also means knowing what is good and what is not, and sticking to doing only the good.
although you may have just tried to resign instead, congratulations to you as you have taken the choice of not tolerating such "unacceptable" employment practices by choosing not to work for that company. it's not because they are koreans or whoever. for example, i've heard of some other non-filipinos (and non-koreans) who employ people for just P50 a day at a time when the minimum wage was P250 a day. why do these employers do that? because the employees accept that wage! it is everywhere, and not just with certain korean employers, and so on.
again, know what is good and what is not good in the eyes of God (i.e. what does God want for you?), and then make your choice. hopefully, you and every other filipino make the right choice. we'll include that in our prayers. :-)
Remember:
1. Are some groups of people really manipulative? No. But some people are, therefore...
2. How do we deal with manipulative people? Make your choice. The right choice is to not accept the unacceptable.
God bless us all!
bro,
do you by any chance know if there's an opening for elementary teachers or lifestyle writers? please let me know..
it's just that i feel so bad. i've requested a two week vacation leave from my office. they said yes but they are holding my salary. i don't think they'll take me back after two weeks. sorry to say this, but koreans s**k! (sorry for the language). they are very manipulative and they break, always break their promises..
anyway, il keep on searching..thanks! so if you want to work for koreans, DON"T even think about it.
take care!
sis
========= Kuya Ronjie's reply =========
sis,
the koreans i've met (outside of the country) are all very nice. this is just opinion but i think many koreans, japanese, chinese, americans, british, etc. people who set up their businesses here are generally like how you have described them. their being far away from their hometowns and having to work, work, work and meet the expectations of their superiors and peers back at home (i.e. they need to "prove" and/or "provide") puts a lot of pressure on them (and perhaps meanwhile they do not need to meet any kind of expectations to us here) and sometimes what happens is they "share" the pressure with the pinoys who work for them here. but i think this happens more here in our country (try working abroad in their country and i believe it is not like that at all). i think this happens because most filipinos allow it. it happens i think because we all need jobs and there are more filipinos than jobs so the competition for jobs is quite fierce. so, many resort to "accepting" these "unacceptable" practices by foreign employers. some people, just to keep their jobs, would accept very low salaries which in turn creates a ripple effect in the employment market. "accept this low salary under these very harsh conditions or don't get a job at all" is what is happening.
actually it's not just these foreigners who resort to such "unacceptable" practices. because pinoy employees "accept" these practices here, even some pinoy employers do the same things also.
to some of them, foreign or pinoy employers alike, they "cannot afford" employees taking a vacation leave; i.e. employees who are to them give high production output compared to their salaries. if they will hire a new person to replace you, those new employees would be paid less but their production output would not yet be so high as that you were providing. or, maybe their business will just come to a halt if you do go on a holiday - but they can't afford to pay you or treat you better even if you really deserved it, just so you won't want to go on a holiday.
i think the right thing for pinoys to do is to stop working for these employers who practice such "unacceptable" practices. i think God does not want us to be miserable in our jobs. if we were in miserable jobs, it is because it is our choice to stay there.
likewise, God does not want employers to do such "unacceptable" employment practices. but we can't do anything about others - what we can just do is when we are in that position, when we are the boss or the employer, we should remember what is good and what is not good, and do only what is good. that is actually even more difficult, without prayer and faith and friends (i.e. a community) who shares the same faith and prays for you.
a friend of a friend became a city youth leader and so he automatically became a councilor of the city. he told himself he will not give in to the corrupt practices that many in the generation before us is considering as if it is normal and acceptable practice. after a year he told my friend that he can't do anything but give in and join the bandwagon of corruption.
i think in that situation, as well as in our situations, the key is faith. in this sense, this also means knowing what is good and what is not, and sticking to doing only the good.
although you may have just tried to resign instead, congratulations to you as you have taken the choice of not tolerating such "unacceptable" employment practices by choosing not to work for that company. it's not because they are koreans or whoever. for example, i've heard of some other non-filipinos (and non-koreans) who employ people for just P50 a day at a time when the minimum wage was P250 a day. why do these employers do that? because the employees accept that wage! it is everywhere, and not just with certain korean employers, and so on.
again, know what is good and what is not good in the eyes of God (i.e. what does God want for you?), and then make your choice. hopefully, you and every other filipino make the right choice. we'll include that in our prayers. :-)
Remember:
1. Are some groups of people really manipulative? No. But some people are, therefore...
2. How do we deal with manipulative people? Make your choice. The right choice is to not accept the unacceptable.
God bless us all!
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