brownout

Checking Out GenSan {8}

GenSan Veranza

I got to take another short trip this month. This time I went to a city I’d passed through before but not had time to stop and visit. General Santos City, or GenSan as it is most commonly called, is in the Soccsksargen region of central Mindanao. It is the southernmost city in the Philippines, with a population of 538,086 according to 2010 census.

On my previous pass through, I had noticed that the streets were mostly occupied by tricycles and jeepneys, not so many taxis and cars. That appealed to me, as Davao is getting more congested by the week. I’m not sure what it’s going to be like in a few years, but I’ve gotten glimpses of what I suspect, and that doesn’t appeal to me. So I’m looking to see if there might be an option down the road that would be more appealing.
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Last modified: 14th October, 2013

By Category: Transportation, Travel Tags: , , , , , , ,

Internot Philippines {8}

Internot Philippines

While the rest of the world has this thing called the internet, the Philippines has their very own version, which I have dubbed the Internot. Not cheap, not fast, and not at all reliable. Even when it is working it’s not robust enough to handle much of what the internet is being used for and where the net is going.

I had high hopes, and still do I suppose, that things would improve with regards to the internet in the Philippines by the time I were to retire there. Well, things have improved, at least in theory, since I’ve first started visiting there, but in many ways they really haven’t.
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Last modified: 14th October, 2013

By Category: Development, Electricity, Internet, Samal Island Tags: , , , , ,

Brownout {0}

Electric Meter Davao

If you’ve been to the Philippines, you know what a brownout is. If you’ve spent any amount of time here at all, you’ve experienced them.

For those that don’t know, and can’t guess, a brownout is when the electricity goes out. We called them blackouts back home. I’ve seen some try to explain the difference between the two, but to me you either have electricity or you don’t. It doesn’t matter what you call it, or how you explain it.
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Last modified: 14th October, 2013

By Category: Davao, Electricity, Internet, Samal Island Tags: , , , ,