Oct 04
ErinTop of my head, Work life, musings, Work
I am not stingy when it comes to sharing knowledge. I always say to my team members that I have a 3-strike (or 3 chances) rule when discussing a topic and mentoring at work. Anyone can ask me anything tech-related, soft-skill , or maximizing a loophole three times and I will gladly do it.
- I will discuss a topic the first time, normally with fervor if its an interesting topic.
- I will discuss the topic the second time because the concepts may not have been clear or entirely alien to the target audience such that details wasn’t properly absorbed the first time.
- I will discuss the topic for the third and final time, because I may not be explaining it properly or the “recipient” was not really paying attention.
There is no fourth time. If there is a need for a fourth discussion then it means we have a problem.
Jul 20
ErinTop of my head musings
Looking out of the building glass facade of the 26th floor office I can see two spiders building their webbed home. I was admiring their resilience and courage because they are doing this in restless winds (based from the violent vibrations of the web) and the fact that I get dizzy looking out of the window. If I feel that then what more for a creature that is about a hundred times smaller than me?
Then I realized that these webs are meant to capture prey. Do other insects fly at this height and winds? Aren’t these two spiders doing a futile activity if they cannot catch any food?
Or am I the fool for missing out what might be crystal clear with these two spiders?
Apr 21
ErinGarbage Leadership, musings
I prefer training my team using the pavlovian conditioning, with a slight bias in negative reinforcement. This has drawn the ire of the Human Resources department in the past.
The reinforcement that I usually employ is done via penalties. The penalties are monetary in nature, and increases in severity if the infraction happens close to each other. An example is a first violation is worth Php50, but any violation in the next 2 weeks will incur a higher penalty of Php100, and so on until a set limit (normally Php500 per infraction). If there is no violation after 2 weeks then the penalty goes back to Php50 as the next violation will be treated as a first offense. The reinforcement is only effective if the team sees that I have my skin in the game too. If the violation is something that applies to me then the same penalties cover my violations. Usually I also sweeten the pot wherein if there is no violation for 2-3 consecutive periods then I automatically contribute the highest penalty amount to the collected funds. I “lose” either way but my goal is not to collect funds but to make the team learn a certain behavior.
The funds collected do not go to my own pocket. The team decides what to do with it. Normally the team spends it on a lunch-out or a series of snacks. I had one team donate the collected funds to charity.
The whole point of negative reinforcement is to make sure that the subjects do not deviate on the prescribed behavior as it will be too inconvenient. Positive reinforcement on the other hand makes it pleasant to meet the prescribed behavior. I just prefer the former because I find it more effective in getting results in a much shorter time.
ciao!
Nov 03
ErinTop of my head life, musings
For sometime now I have opted to play with my responses to the mundane question of “how are you doing (today)?” in the office. My response admittedly has turned dark lately but the canned response usually are:
- Better than I deserve! (credits to Dave Ramsey)
- Same-old, same-old.
- SSDD 😉
- Can’t wait for the week to be over.
- Looking forward to the weekend.
- Still breathing.
- Dying a little bit every day.
The last one is a play in the saying that one of these days death will come to our doorstep. It is a reflection of the common reality that all of us will need to pass through that milestone in our lives. The question however is that given of that inevitable reality, how much of that time can we comfortably say we have lived; and not just along for the ride and surviving? Can we look back at the end of each day or week and say “it was worth it”?
May 30
ErinGarbage, Work musings, Work
You probably have heard of “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” or “you cannot make omelette without cracking eggs” but company business optimism is taking this a bit further. They are thinking ahead and in what I would assume to be pursuit of cost cutting the powers that be has shifted to “why bother making lemonades and omelette in the first place? let us take away the lemons and eggs so you wont have that problem” mentality.
Ingenious, yes.
Devilish, yes.
Practical? It depends on whose perspective.
I like lemonade and omelette. I also like having the choice whether I will or I will not have them.
ciao!
Jun 12
ErinTop of my head emo, musings, sentiments
Ito ay kwento ng isang batang matigas ang ulo.
Nangarap, naghirap, bumuo ng mga plano.
Nagsimula sa baba, nagtyaga sa trabaho
Nagsunog ng kilay; puyat at pagod ay inilako.
Di pagmamayabang, may angking kagalingan
May tereng ang isip kung ano-ano ang napagbalingan
Pero ang di maatim ay ang sumunod sa lakaran
Iwanan ang nakagisnan, sa agos ay magpatianuran.
Sa pagdaan ng panahon, binantayan ang sariling pwesto.
Sa mga paanyayang umakyat di laging umaamo.
“Kayo na lang, masaya na ako dito
Di naman ako sasaya sa iyong mga pangako.”
Ngunit di namalayan na sa oras na tumatakbo
Ang sistemang hinindian ay di naman humihinto
Unti-unting nilulukuban ang kanyang pagkatao.
Isang umaga ay nagising na lang ang batang katoto
Tumingin sa nadaanan,nagiisip kung nasaan na ako.
Di naman dito nagtatapos ang kwento
Pero kung ano kakahitnan, di ko pa napagtatanto.
Bitin. 🙂
May 12
ErinGarbage Garbage, general politics, musings
Philippines is the prime example of a modern day Babel.
Calls for unity is a running and expensive gag. Political opinions are like assholes, 99.99% of the people have one; most of them different in varying degrees; and each group hell bent in believing that they are in the right. The best we can aspire for is a ruling majority as even consensus is too far fetched of a goal.
Make no mistake that I love my country. Its people, not as much. But the weird part is that we make good citizens but only if it is in a foreign land. I am still puzzled if it means those who have the qualities of being a good citizen tend to migrate out of frustration, or if the endemic political system in the country is really an engulfing viral machine immune to vaccinations. Maybe it is both?
Patriotic but tribalistic; the combination is a bitter sweet pill to swallow. It is like mixing oil and water which is possible with the right emulsifier. If only we can agree on what that is.
Nov 24
ErinGarbage Garbage, general politics, human nature, life, musings
I saw this phrase in a social media comment : “idealistic and gullible”
Two words that are dangerous when put together. These words are what mobs are made of. The gullible aspect will feed the idealistic side with enough high the same way that adrenaline can mask pains and injury that would have triggered the common sense to stop the body from hurting itself.
It is not a matter of age but more of experience. Be idealistic. Don’t be gullible. Learn to recognize and keep the two apart. I know it is not easy as it took me a while to recognize it myself.
Oct 29
ErinTop of my head, Work emo, life, musings, Work
Kahit may kurot, may pait na di ko mawari
Aalis ako na mayroong mga aral na maiiwanan
Mga kaalamang naibahagi, mga karanasan na pinagsamahan.
Lilisan akong may pagmamayabang
Dahil ang pangkat na sinimulan ay di na pwedeng daan-daanan.
Matatag na sila, kaya ng tumayo
Kaya ng mag-isip, kaya ng gumawa ng sariling desisyon.
Di na mga bata na animoy laging nakanganga
Naghihintay ng utos mula sa kanilang mga ate at kuya.
Alam ko na malayo pa para maging perpekto
Madadapa ulit, minsan dahil sa mismong kagagawan mo
Ngunit alam ko na di kayo papasupil, hindi susuko
Babangon sa pagkakalugmok na may napulot na bagong talino.
Tatlong buwan ipapamalagi na naging limang taon.
Di ko inakala o inasaahan ang bilis ng panahon.
Dinatnan, iniwan, naghubog at nagpakawala.
Parang inang lawin sa kanyang mga inakay na alaga.
Pero hindi, di yata bagay na ako ay ihambing
Sa isang nilalang na mapagkalinga at malambing
Mas maganda siguro na ikumpara sa isang sarhento
Hinahanda ang mga kadete sa mga hamon ng trabaho.
Sa tagisan ng talino, tibay ng loob at galing.
Ngunit may nakaabang na tapang na hindi pwedeng salingin.
Lilisan na ako dahil ito na ang tamang oras.
Bibitbitin ang aking mga gamit at sarili.
Panahon na para magsimula ulit maghanap ng mga bagong kasapi
Uulitin ang pagbuo ng isang grupong katangi-tangi.
Aalis na ako, pero hindi ako mamamaalam.
Dahill maliit lang ang mundong ating ginagalawan.
Nais ko na sa muling pagkurus ng ating mga daan.
Kwentuhan mo ako ng iyong mga natatanging karanasan.
Ipabatid mo sa akin na wala kang oras na sinayang
Gusto kong mamangha sa mga problemang nilampasan
Mga bagong kakayahan… O luma man pero iyong nilinang….
Mga hindi pinalampas na oportunidad at pagkakataon
Na sana kung iisipin, dahil ako ay yumao.
Salamat UPEM.
https://goo.gl/photos/zBZ1L6suECJU7hSY6
“Once UPEM, always UPEM”
– Pansol battlecry
Jul 21
ErinGarbage life, musings
Every working day I usually have a 30-minute walk from my workplace to my wife’s office where our car is parked. I pass through a busy intersection under a criss-crossing elevated highway. I saw something today that made me think of the paradox that asks “What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?”
Let me try to describe the scenario to set it up.
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