When people present themselves as the country’s only solution to its most pressing problems, when they claim they alone are capable of ending poverty and corruption, expect to see more of those social evils once they are in power.

When politicians claim they are one of and are from the masses wallowing in abject poverty, when they present themselves as miracle workers who can weave magic and make everybody’s dream of rising above their squalid existence, expect them to rob the poor blind and steal the littlest that the people have left.

When candidates swear they are only after the people’s interest and the country’s welfare, when they present themselves as saviors, redeemers, and knights in shining armor rolled into one, expect them to rape and pillage, and steal the people’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations for tomorrow.
We as a people have been robbed, murdered, and abused for so many times and for the longest time. May we finally learn that true power rests upon us, and we alone can and should chart our tomorrow.

PlayStation 3 Blues

Sony tried to reassure the millions of owners and users of older versions of the PlayStation 3 video game console. The Japanese electronics giant said that it had fixed a system bug that caused problems on non-Slim versions of the PS3. (I wonder, is Sony trying to tell us that it is not cool to be fat?)

Earlier, PS3 users had been experiencing problems with their gaming consoles. Some users even claimed that a “leap year” bug might have caused the PS3 console’s problems, referring to the transition from February 28 to March 1.

Some PS3 owners complained of problems while playing games online. There were also reports of players losing “trophies” earned for completing game levels.

Sony, for its part, said that all symptoms of the problem or problems have been resolved, and that users are now able to play games on their PS3.”

Compact But Powerful

For consumers who cannot afford or hate carrying those professional-level digital SLR cameras, being stuck with point-and-shoot digital cameras used to mean coping with small LCD preview screens and weak, short zoom lens. This may not be true for long, however.

Manufacturers, ever on the lookout for new markets that could bring them more money, are introducing compact cameras that come with large preview screens and zoom lenses. While these compact cameras are likely to cost more than their older, more timid siblings, they are capable of taking photos with higher quality even in low-light situations.

And they would have these SLR-like features and capabilities without the SLR prices, which usually start at around 30,000 pesos.

For example, Samsung’s TL500, which costs about $449 (or about 20,000 pesos), has a wide lens (f/1.8) that would enable the camera to capture photos with higher quality at fast-moving scenes (such as sports events).

New cameras from Olympus, meanwhile, will have built-in user’s manual.