Prudential

Prudence is a virtue that isn’t prized too highly these days. After the 60’s it’s all been about “daring” and “risk-taking” and “out of the box” and “radical” and “cool.” But prudence is still prized in industries where lots of money is taken and spent. And with what happened recently in Wall Street, I’m pretty sure prudence and fiscal conservatism is winning over a lot of people again. “High-risk high-return” isn’t as appealing as “steady and stable.”

“Prudential” is a term that isn’t used a lot in casual conversation, having been co-opted by dozens of insurance firms. In the Philippines alone there are at least three players with “prudential” in their trade names. Any book on entrepreneurship will advise you to find a name that is unique, but what can you do if your choice of acceptable adjectives is limited?

Philippine Prudential Life is a Filipino insurance company that has been around since 1963. Prudentialife Plans is a pre-need company that was established in 1978. While technically they are in different industries,* to the ordinary person they are companies that take your money regularly and give you something in return when something happens (like an accident, or college).

Filipinos, who are used to “brand extension” companies owned by the same people entering a different business, would assume that the two companies with “prudential” in their names are connected -- Philam Life and Philam Plans come to mind.

Which is fine until something bad happens to one of the companies.

The Legacy mess affected Prudentialife Plans and, because of the name, hit Philippine Prudential too. Now the latter is fielding calls and taking out ads and talking to the media reassuring everyone that they have absolutely nothing to do with the former.

Which could have been avoided had both companies dealt with the branding issue from the start. Given that the name of the pre-need had already been approved, Philippine Prudential should have taken steps to differentiate their brand.

It would’ve been the prudent thing to do.

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*“Pre-need” is a weird animal invented here that isn’t supervised by the Insurance Commission. They actually sell securities.

Free Science Centrum Tour Again

You see those funnel-like things at SM malls and wonder what they're for. Or better yet, you know exactly what it is and are looking for the small signboard that explains Kepler's laws of planetary motion. Well, SM seems to miss the point, thinking that (like most of the stuff they do) it's just another way of getting you to part with your money. 

Anyway, here's the sciencey explanation for that, taken from the exhibit at the Philippine Science Centrum. 

I first encountered that exhibit at the Philippine Science Centrum back at their old Padre Faura location. The place has since moved to better digs in Marikina and we've conducted a free tour for bloggers and internet writers there last year. 

This summer we're doing it again. 

May 16th, Saturday, 3pm at the Science Centrum in Riverbanks Mall Marikina. Will post details later. Email bloggers@pfst.org (that's the Philippine Foundation for Science and Technology) for inquiries or reservations. 

Dictating copy over the phone...

... bad idea.

  

What's wrong with the passive voice?

“Strunk and White said so” is not a sure-fire defense in a style argument.

SaysGrammar Girl  in a piece for the NYTimes on the anniversary of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style." I used to do that back in high school when I first began to use it but I've mellowed down since. I still read it from time to time, like most of the other people in the NYT special, but tend to use my own style in writing. 

I think Strunk and White's value is in erasing almost all traces of style, leaving one with an almost-blank state to begin with. As long as one remembers that language and the rules of grammar aren't set in stone (and even stone crumbles and weathers after a while), using the book is fine. 

Just don't quote it like a (or worse, THE) bible of writing style. 

J.G. Ballard 1930-2009

There is no other writer but J.G. Ballard, and Michael Moorcock is his prophet. 

Ballard ushered in the "New Wave" of science fiction. From the antiseptic fiction of the big three (Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke) came a new kind of speculation that dealt with the not so lofty goals. Not quite cyberpunk but getting there, the british "New Wave," like the French one happening at around the same time in cinema, brought things down to pavement level. 

My favorite Ballard story is not one of the dark ones but a lovely gem called "The Garden of Time." Enjoy until someone tells me to take it down.   

Kalamansi

I've yet to eat in a restaurant with a decent kalamansi policy.

Anywhere in Manila you order a sisig or a pancit or anything that requires kalamansi, the cooks / waiters always plop the thing right in the middle of the food. Picking it up greases your fingers or, in case of sisig) burns it. I usually resort to using a napkin to pick it up, else I fish it out with a fork and then wipe it with a napkin before squeezing. 

Why can't they just serve the kalamansi separately?

Answer 4!

Science Fiction blog io9 has a poll regarding the term "nerd." A glitch in the software put up the following choices:

You’re dead wrong man, keep the faith! Cool stuff is still happening! Nerd4Life!
You’re way late guy; it was all over by The Phantom Menace, or maybe that Hackers film with Angelina Jolie.
Let’s keep it alive anyway for what’s still valuable. Future generations of misfits will thank us.
Answer 4
Answer 5

"Answer 5" is winning (especially with the extra pharyngulation), with the "Answer 4" people putting up a good fight. 

Which kinda settles the issue. Nerds it is, then.