Answers in take home are as follows:
ANSWERS for a, b, c (scrambled): 10.85N, 8.71N, 12.63N
Also, take note that 200-gm is 200 grams.
Archive for August, 2009
31
Aug
09
Correction
30
Aug
09
Cat Face (Ep. 15)
More at http://www.weebls-stuff.com/
29
Aug
09
Cellphone retailers
Many of us have prepaid phones. But have you encountered a problems with having your account loaded? Here are some problems which one may encounter as you load your account:
1.) Delayed load sending – At times, sending load to your account may take some time because (as most retailers say), the system or “connection is slow or bagged down.
2.) Paying more than you actually owe – All retailers earn even if their customer loads to the minimum amount. What some retailers do is let the customer pay one(1) to three(3) pesos more than the actual amount you want to be loaded. For example, you want P15.00 to go into your account. The retailer can ask a peso or two (or three) more than that. So you end up paying at most P18.00 for a P15.00 when the retailer has already “made” money.
3.) Minimum load is steep for the average consumer – Some consumers can only spend ten(10) or fifteen(15) pesos a day and they end up going to a retailer and loads up for only that amount. But some retailers do not want that (Maybe because they earn little in smaller load amounts?). Some retailers therefore ask for example a P30.00 minimum loading amount and MAY charge you extra for “sending the load”.
4.) Offline – It is not always that a computer and a whole mobile service provider can stay up 24/7 for a whole year. There will be days when they have to do maintenance. So sometimes you cannot send load to your account because the system becomes offline.
There are so many problems I haven’t discovered. Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section.
16
Aug
09
Pyramid/Networking Schemes
I am not a fan of business schemes but I do know one thing–never fall for a pyramid/networking scheme. But imagine you are in one. (Or you are already in one)
DEFINING PYRAMID/NETWORKING SCHEMES
Networking/pyramiding schemes is a “business scheme” relying on recruiting others into the business and per recruit, the recruiter receives financial incentives. However, most of these schemes today are not exactly focusing on recruitment but they also try to add the selling of products (which brings in more flair to the business). These products merely hide the networking scheme though, as said by Debra Valentine in her speech on May 1998 in Washington DC. She also said these businesses will tell the recruits that their products sell “like hotcakes” but they don’t really sell well among the public consumers. It means that those products sell like hotcakes within their own company/business.
This type of scheme is similar to the Ponzi Scheme.
HOW IT WORKS
Simply put, networking/pyramiding schemes are able to deliver sums of money from their “promoter” by getting money from the people they recruit. These recruits are usually called “downlines” and each promoter must be able to get a considerable amount of downlines to get his “membership fee” back (the membership fee may also include products fee where the member will have to buy products to join the business).
Once a person is in the scheme, he must recruit. Now, many will argue that you DON’T HAVE to recruit. If you won’t recruit, it is as if you are just buying and reselling products. Why not join other small business that do the same? Be a retailer. The real money lies in the downline of that person.
Note that there is always a person/group at the top. That person/group will always earn much more than you do no matter how much work you put into it because he/she/group is above the pyramid/network. Take not that some businesses will tell you the highest person (let us say 3 levels up) will not earn starting from, say, 4th level and downwards. How will you check?
Now, imagine that you are at the bottom.
SUSTAINABILITY OF THESE SCHEMES
These types of schemes are considered illegal (in some countries) and are hard to recognize because of the veil it is illusioning itself. This veil can be “legal” selling of products, “legal” recruitment…etc. These schemes lure you into the promise of an income aside from your job/studying which can be bigger than other legitimate businesses. Here is a quote from Debra Valentine’s speech:
Both Ponzi schemes and pyramids are quite seductive because they may be able to deliver a high rate of return to a few early investors for a short period of time. Yet, both pyramid and Ponzi schemes are illegal because they inevitably must fall apart. No program can recruit new members forever. Every pyramid or Ponzi scheme collapses because it cannot expand beyond the size of the earth’s population.(3) When the scheme collapses, most investors find themselves at the bottom, unable to recoup their losses.
At first, you may find yourself at the top of the chain especially if the business is just starting. That would be great, wouldn’t it? But what if you were at the bottom already and you cannot attract more people to join? Some will argue that there are ALWAYS people who can become interested if you only recruit. WRONG. Mathematically, it does not add up. So let us say you are at the top. You are 1. You get 3 downlines. Let the 3 downlines get their own downlines. Continue by multiplying it to the power of 2. You would reach BEYOND the world population by then. Some will argue again that you wouldn’t reach the population. WRONG. You are alone not at the top of the pyramid. You can share that with 6 initial partners or 10 or 20. And that is the ultimate goal of these schemes–to recruit as many as they can (until the bottom downline cannot find anymore people who are interested thus the whole thing collapses and later starts anew with a different business name).
OPINION
In a poorer economy, these businesses are the way to go because these schemes are viewed as “get-rich-quick-schemes” providing instant money with instant work. Most of the businesses which follow this scheme are often taught salesmanship in order to sell the products they have and mainly because they want to let these people see that they are focused ALSO on their products. Most will show you videos of “happy” moments in a poor person’s life because he was once poor but once he joined and recruited different people into the company, he got the money he wanted (argumentum ad misericordiam). Yes, he did get his money short term. But what about long term?
Many will argue that you cannot recruit the whole population. Well, you can. It is just the same as saying “you can find interested people to join the company and it’s impossible not to find them (unless you don’t want to).”
Many will argue that the money you receive is long term. Well, it isn’t. It may seem that way because the recruitment process can be slow especially if you are doing this part time.
Many will argue this business is legitimate. Well, in some countries it is not illegal. But that doesn’t mean it’s legal.
Many will argue that there is money in the business and that those who bad-mouth the pyramiding/networking businesses are failures of that company. No. It is like being a parent and looking out for the economy. Are we all going to just sit here and accept it? Perhaps those people found the “malice” that is in networking/pyramiding.
In the end, it is up to you. If you find that it does give you the income you want which you cannot find at your regular job, who should stop you? It is only yourself.
There are more sources out there for you to read. All you have to do is type “pyramid scheme” into the search engines of Yahoo or Google. If you do not trust those sites, try using the sites which have a domain of .gov.
SOURCES:
Ponzi Scheme
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme]
Read up on those “pyramid schemes” or “networking schemes” which follow this principle
[http://www.sec.gov/answers/pyramid.htm]
Pyramid Schemes (Debra Valentine, May 1998 in Washington DC [FTC]
[http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/other/dvimf16.shtm]
Pyramid Schemes by Australia’s ScamWatch (Bullet style)
[http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/PyramidSchemes]
14
Aug
09
Taking a Ride
I took out my bike today out for a long ride and it made me realize how unsafe it can be. As a rider, you have to rely so much on your side mirrors and at times you have to reinforce it by looking back (although if you have bigger side mirrors, this may be unnecessary). Also, going in between cars can be risky especially if you don’t know how to estimate. Clothing also became an issue whenever you feel warm or cold.
The experience I had today made me remember why Dumaguete City is a good haven for motorist. The streets there are more “biker friendly” than Cebu streets. You don’t have to worry so much about cars in Dumaguete but you do have to watch out for the pedicabs (tricycles) and unskilled riders.
Too bad I can’t ride as always as I used to because of safety. How I wish Cebu riding environment got infected with Dumaguete’s “ecosystem” (minus the reckless drivers).
