Traffic Tip: España Boulevard

España Boulevard, which other people call as España Avenue, is one of the worst roads in Metro Manila in terms of traffic. This short stretch of road starts from the end of Lerma Street, which is known by commuters as Morayta, and ends at Welcome Rotonda, which is the boundary of Manila and Quezon City. Popular bus stops for this road are Blumentrit, San Vicente Street, Lacson Avenue, University of Santo Tomas, and Morayta. Buses and jeepneys from all over Metro Manila use this road.

Vehicular traffic in España Blvd. is heavy any time of the day. Commuters experience heavier traffic during rush hours which are the hours around 8 AM and 5 PM. Normally, the traffic is bearable since it takes about 30 minutes to reach both ends of España Blvd. By 5 PM, the traffic in España is compounded by the traffic in Quezon Avenue. Worst traffic usually happen during and right after heavy rain since España Blvd is easily flooded.

Thus, during heavy rains, commuters are recommended not to pass through this road. For many times, I experienced long hours of being trapped inside the traffic in España Blvd. During these situations, buses and jeepneys are forced to take the side streets to no avail. Thus instead of suffering from irritation, the wise steps for commuters is to take other route that will bypass España and reach their destination faster.

For commuters going to Fairview, Commonwealth Avenue and similar places in Quezon City, it is advised to take the LRT 3.

Manila to Fairview, Novaliches, Commonwealth Ave and similar places in Quezon City:

Step 1: Go to LRT 3 Recto Station

Step 2: Go up to second floor of the station and buy LRT card from ticket booths or dispensers. Buy ticket that will take you either to LRT Cubao Station or to LRT Anonas Station.

Step 3: Put your card in the card slot to get pass the train entrance. Don’t forget to take your LRT card after you passed through since you will need it when exiting the station later

Step 4: Go up to the third floor of the station and board the train there.

For those who want to go down to the LRT Cubao station, take the following steps:

Step 5: Go out of the train at Cubao Station then go down to second floor of the station.

Step 6: Put your card into the card slot to exit the station then go to Gateway mall.

Step 7: Pass through Gateway Mall, then to Ali Mall to reach EDSA. To avoid getting lost, it is advised to follow the large crowd walking from LRT to MRT station at EDSA.

Step 8: Upon reaching EDSA, navigate through MMDA pink fences and choose the bus that you desire so as to reach SM Fairview.

For those who go down at LRT Anonas Station, take the following steps:

Step 5: Go out of the train at Anonas Station.

Step 6: Go out of the station. The exit that you should choose is the exit on the side of Saint Joseph’s Church.

Step 7: Walk to the back of the church. There you will find jeepneys that are going to Fairview and Lagro.

For commuters going to SM North and Trinoma Mall, it is advised to take the LRT 2

Step 1: Go to LRT 2 Recto Station

Step 2: Go up to second floor of the station and buy LRT card from ticket booths or dispensers. Buy ticket that will take you to LRT EDSA Station.

Step 3: Put your card in the card slot to get pass the train entrance. Don’t forget to take your LRT card after you passed through since you will need it when exiting the station later

Step 4: Go up to the third floor of the station and board the train there.

Step 5: Go out of the train at EDSA station.

Step 6: Put your card into the card slot to exit the station then go to the MRT Taft Station. Navigate your way towards the station. You may follow the crowd toward the station since many LRT riders take the MRT, but be careful since there are also many people who walk toward the MMDA footbridge. If you reached the footbridge, you could either go back or just cross EDSA and walk to the station on the pedestrian lane.

Step 7: Buy MRT card, and put your card in the card slot to get pass the train entrance.  Don’t forget to take your MRT card after you passed through since you will need it when exiting the station later.

Step 8: Go down the ground floor and board the train there.

Step 9: Go out of the train at North EDSA Station, walk towards Trinoma Mall exit to exit the station.

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Eragon

"Eragon" by Christopher Paolini, Knopf

“A boy and a dragon and a wonderful, but dangerous, set of adventures”

Those are my words for the book Eragon that I have just finished reading recently. Eragon is a poor farm boy who luckily found a shiny stone in a magical forest near their hometown. Food for the table that would last for the whole winter, these are thoughts of this poor farm boy as he carried the stone back to his dilapidated house. The stone is more valuable than food, however, as a dragon came out of the stone and chose Eragon as its rider, opening up a new life and opportunities for to become the person who will save the world or continue its destruction.

This book is the latest of the novels in the genre of fantasy that I had read. Though very far away from the works of J.R. Tolkien, this novel is quite refreshing to read and will keep the readers in turning the pages until the end. Novels in this genre are flooding the bookstores and some of the characters and creatures seem to repeat from one fantasy novel to another. In spite of this, Eragon managed to create its own unique world that are different from the other ones in other fantasy novels. Although some of the creatures like elves, dwarves, and humans are still present. One of the villainous creatures in this book are called Urgals, which somewhat represent the Orcs of Tolkien's novels. What set this book apart are its plot and the possibilities that may arise in this novel.

So if you are hungry for a fantasy novel, then Eragon is recommended for you.


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Pocket Tanks

Once in a while, when I get bored in office I play the usual desktop games on my office computer. The games that I usually play are spider solitaire, space cadet pinball, and the classic minesweeper. Recently, I discovered this cool game from my officemate. The name of the game is “Pocket Tanks.”

Pocket Tanks is a simple game and anyone can easily learn the basics of the game in few seconds. The game is a battle between two tanks that fire at one another with various cool missiles. Each missile has their special effects and power. Each tank gains score by hitting the opponent tank. The tank that has the higher score at the end of the game wins. It is a turn based game and the game ends if both of the tanks have no more weapons at their disposal.

Weapons

The weapons in pocket tanks can be categorized into three, namely, (1) weapon that cause destruction, (2) weapons that bury your opponent, and (3) weapon that remove the earth or terrain in the game.

The first category is composed of missiles that cause damage to the enemy tank. The damage will come into the form of scores being added to your tank. My favorites in this category are the Chain Reaction, Pineapple, and Napalm for the great damage that they bring. Homing Missiles and the Heat Seeker hunts the enemy even if it not well targeted by your tank.

The weapons in the second category include the Magic Wall, Dirtball, and the Dirt Slinger. The last two weapons are my favorites in this category because I use it to bury the enemy tanks. Burying the enemy tank is useful, especially if it has no weapons of category three. The enemy will be forced to incur damage when it tries to use category one weapons.

Dirt mover and Earth Mover fall to category three. These weapons remove the earth that was used to bury the tank. Earth Mover, in particular, is also useful in clearing the terrain where the enemy tank is located so as to disorient the enemy when the position of your tank is already on target.

Techniques

The game is played by approximating the trajectory that should be used to hit the enemy tank. The trajectory is made by selecting the right angle of the trajectory and the power for your weapon. For the first salvo, I usually use the Homing Missile to gauge the angle I should use in hitting the enemy. Homing Missiles are no-miss weapons. After that, I pummel the enemy with various weapons so as to increase my score.

Another technique that I use is hitting the enemy with Pile Driver. This weapon creates a pit where the enemy tank will fall, making it ideal for the Hailstorm weapon to create maximum damage.

If the enemy has no weapon like the Earth Mover or Dirt Mover, then I use the Earth Pile and Dirt Ball to trap the enemy and make it damage itself with its own weapons.

Other Good Things

Pocket Tanks can be downloaded for free from Blitwise. The free version has no time limit for the play unlike the games downloaded from Popcap. The Pocket Tanks free version already has assorted weapons that can fill your boring time in office.

If you are bored playing against the computer, then you can also play against your officemate via two – player or via LAN. The game can also be played via different difficulty levels, from level one up to ten.

Pocket Tanks is developed by Blitwise. Full version is also available for purchase. The full version has additional 30 weapons that have more interesting and wacky effects. To download the free version or buy the full version, visit Blitwise now.

The Verdict

Pocket Tanks is a nice game to play to while away time or to remove office boredom. The game is challenging enough to at least wake you up. Thinking of strategy and the best trajectory also makes your mind ticking. So if you are tired of Spider Solitaire or Minesweeper, then Pocket Tanks may be a good game for you.

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You could download Pocket Tanks at the website of Blitwise.