Ah, the periodic events dump of not-much:

1. Oh, and yes, I got a bit spiritual this weekend and prayed a little bit that all the work gets magically done. It didn't! Sigh.

2. But at least I had time to steal away for a movie. The new X-Files movie is okay. Spoiler alert: no aliens, kissing, and post-postmodern rhetoric.

3. Power bill is lower by 38% year-on-year. That's because we moved to an office, dummy!

4. Slightly more amazing is me: "I'd like to buy some guitar accessories. Do you have some for less than P1,000?" Salesperson: "NO!!! NO!!! Guitars start at P8,500, but you might want to look at our accessories."

5. Also: the government spent a lot of money in "goat raising" last year. I asked, could it have been "goat racing"?

6. I started a Facebook group for Fans of Good Burgers. GET IN!

7. In case you didn't know, leaving the fluorescent lamp switch on to save power is a myth. The amount of energy needed to start up a fluorescent bulb is not more than the amount to keep it switched on for 24 hours. It's more like 24 seconds. So, switch it off.

8. Is Michael Phelps the greatest athlete ever? Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong should be in contention. And, Muhammad Ali. Or the guy who keeps winning this sport.

9. I was thinking about the set-scoring system used in volleyball and tennis, and how it's employed by most sports with nets. I thought if basketball (they have nets!) would switch to that format, it might make it more exciting. No clocks! And put in injury time!

10. The concept of a "day spa" in the Philippines is completely defeated by the amount of traffic you will need to go through to get there.

I got a hold of the short seven-page position paper of the U.P. School of Economics professors unequivocal support for the bill, in particular it's main thrust to "enable couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information and means to carry out their decisions."

So much snarkiness, and downright buffoonery, has been levied against this bill, mostly from the Church's hard-line stance against modern methods of family planning.

Such as:

Palanca also stressed she opposes the Reproductive Health Bill being pushed in the House of Representatives, also admitting that she has not even read it 'but I don't care."

Oh, and this is what is supposedly written on the petition against the bill being signed all over the country:

The bill is a deceptive ploy used to entice the people to accept the New World Order, a worldwide spiritual warfare aimed to destroy life and family to spread the culture of death.

Culture of death. Sigh. These people need a moral revision, at the very least. If you, however, are on the fence, then you must know:

1. Controlling population is a critical complement to sound economic planning and poverty reduction. If you want a better country, this bill is not just helpful, it is key.

2. Family size is closely related to poverty incidence at all levels. The latest data show that poverty incidence is less than 10% for a family with one child; but it rises steadily with the number of children to 57% for a family with nine or more children. Larger families also make less investments per child in human capital, investments that are crucial in breaking the chain of intergenerational poverty.

3. Poor families WANT TO PLAN THEIR FAMILIES. On the average, among the poorest ten-percent of women of reproductive age, 44% of pregnancies are unwanted. Among the poorest families, 22% of married women of reproductive age express a desire to avoid pregnancies but are still not using any family planning method. Among the poorest women who want to avoid pregnancy, at least 41% do not use any contraceptive method because they lack information.

This bill isn't "anti-life" as some Catholic groups have claimed. This bill does not promote abortion, rather contraception. Really, if you can't tell the difference, then you shouldn't be making claims.

It's important to note that this may be last chance to make this change -- one that is long, long overdue. Allow our women and their families to receive from their government, proper information, means, and use of modern contraceptive methods. They will be healthier, happier and so will their children.

Wala ng agawan ng textbook sa eskwela!

(Another blogger here. Download bill here.)