More a Park than a Mall

I wonder if those that have set up shop at the Bonifacio Hi-Street at the Fort Bonifacio Complex are making money.

I wonder because my family goes there not to buy stuff, but to have our daughter play in a semblance of a park , without the fear of getting held up by unsavory characters.

No Kissing

I saw this 'no kissing' sign while surfing the Net and of course, it got my attention. It looked ridiculous and reading the literature further confirmed my opinion.

It seems the sign was put up at the Warrington Bank Quay railway station in England by Virgin Rail, which manages the station. Yeah, a virgin put up the no kissing sign. It follows.

What virgin was trying to do was to reduce train delays. It seems that when saying their goodbyes at the drop-off point, drivers and their passengers blocked access to the station. Well, good luck. I don't know any British national well so I do not know if they really deserve their image of being cold-blooded humans but if they put up any more signs like these, then I suppose there is some truth to the "stiff upper lip".

I do know that if they try it in the Philippines, someone will just take the sign home as a joke. That, or have their picture taken with it. That's how ridiculous it is.

Green Mobile Award

Mobile Communications is one of few industries where the Philippines shines in the global arena. For the others, I can think of fashion (think Michelle Lhuillier) and entertainment (Lea Salonga) and even tourism (Boracay).

So I was particularly happy when I read about how Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) won the very first GSMA Green Mobile Award for its alternative power for cell sites program. It seems that the company has already installed some 68 eco-friendly cell sites in remote or "off-grid" locations nationwide. I guess it makes sense to use renewable energy in remote locations where gensets and diesel plus hauling can be pretty expensive -- especially since our country is an archipelago. This is a business decision that paid off for the company -- not only in terms of savings but also in terms of reduction of carbon emission.

It may not have been an entirely green decision, but it's still laudable that the company is exploring green alternatives to provide communications in remote areas. Other companies focus on urban and populated areas for quick returns, forgetting entirely that communications is even more vital for hard-to-reach areas.

Congrats to SMART for its Green Mobile Award.