Cheap Gas Alert: Shell & Caltex Stations (along the open canal), Mandaluyong

businesspundit.com - Gassing Up! Ouch.

You got that right. Or at least, the cheapest gas in Mandaluyong.

Ever since gas prices started skyrocketing, my sister and I have always been out on the hunt for the cheapest gas in our area. So where have I been gassing up for the past week? At either the Shell or Caltex gasoline stations situated along San Francisco St. (the open canal) in Mandaluyong. Lucky for you if you regularly take this route from Makati (and pass thru the Makati-Mandaluyong bridge), it’s at that road which goes straight to the Boni Circle. If you’re coming from Boni though, you’d have to turn right at that corner after BDO Boni Circle, go straight, then make a U-turn at the last U-turn slot.

Right now, Unleaded and E10 are at a cheap price of 37.45 per liter.

I’m not quite sure when the next price hike will be but I hope not soon. Good grief.

Beep beep!

-kai

P.S. Where do you live, and for how much do they sell fuel in your area?

P.P.S. Here’s the location on Google Maps.

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Kalye: Valero Street, Makati

Valero St. (taken in front of the Ayala Carpark Bldg.)

A not-so-busy afternoon in Valero. Don’t you wish that everytime you drove thru Makati’s streets traffic was as stress-free as this?

Poppy Seeds Make for False-Positives

akakestrel.com - Poppy Seed Bagel with Cream Cheese

Breakfast isn’t usually my thing; but when I do feel like grabbing something to eat, I buy bagels with cream-cheese at Country Style. Assuming they haven’t run out of it yet, it’s the poppy seed bagel I get.

Is it true though that consuming bagels with poppy seeds, or any type of food with poppy seeds, result to false-positives in opiate tests?

Apparently, this MYTH has been Confirmed.

Opiate tests or even regular drug tests can detect 300 to 1,200 nano grams codeine in the human body. Now how many bagels would it take to fail a test? The Mythbuster guys worked on this in one episode where Jamie consumed three bagels and Adam, one whole poppy-seed cake. Quoting from a fan site, “Adam tests positive after a half hour, but it takes two hours before Jamie tests positive.” It would take a total of 18 hours after food consumption that they would once again be tested, and get a negative result. Cool, huh?

I’m not exactly sure if the tests being administered by LTO-recognized centers test for the same levels of chemicals as those in the US but it wouldn’t hurt to keep this in mind when you have you license renewed.

No poppy-seed anything at least 24 hours before you take the test. Unless, you’re a risk-taker and would want to see if the myth’s for real. Duh. Good Luck!

Beep beep!

-kai

Free WiFi at JSP Car Klinic

JSP Car Klinic - Free Wifi!

Had my car cleaned (washed, vacuumed & auto glazed) last week at one of Mandaluyong’s more popular local car wash shops and was surprised with the new and more importantly FREE service: WiFi! Posted on one of the airconditioned waiting room’s walls was this sign (see pic above) with the tagline “Work while you wait!“

I give it two thumbs up! Whenever my vehicle needs some spiffing up, I go to this shop. It really helps that their attendants are generally polite and friendly, too. The rates are fine, considering the service that you get. They have several packages available, the cheapest of which was what I availed of – Wash, Vacuum & Auto Glaze – priced at Php 220. I had my newly-washed seat covers put on, too – and that cost me an additional 50 pesos. All in all, I shelled out Php 270 (exclusive of the tip).

Sayang lang, ’cause until now, they still haven’t put up their own website. Here’s their contact info though on 88db. (Which I hope is still updated…)

Beep beep!

- kai

I Don’t Like Wednesdays

So, what’s not to like about Wednesdays? Well, my car’s plate ends with a 5 so I guess you’d have surmised why.

The Number-coding Scheme is to blame (fondly referred to locally as color-coding).

To quote Wikipedia:

“The Number Coding Scheme, officially named the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP), is a traffic management program in the Philippines that aims to reduce the amount of vehicular traffic in Metro Manila, the metropolitan area of the country’s capital.^[1] The program is enforced by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.”

WHEN you can’t bring your car out is pretty easy to remember. Cars with plates ending in 1&2 can’t rock and roll on Mondays, 3&4 on Tuesdays, 5&6 on Wednesdays, 7&8 on Thursdays and 9&0 on (Yikes!) Fridays.

A word of caution: Although it says in the Memorandum that these vehicles are barred from roaming the metro’s streets during traffic’s peak hours of 7am-10am, and 3pm-7pm – there are certain cities which have their own ruling, so to speak. Makati for example, does not recognize the window hours of 10am to 3pm. This means that for you to be able to bring your car into, and get it out of Makati, you would have to be at your office before the clock hits seven, and time out by7:01pm respectively.

I know. That kinda sucks. But considering the volume of vehicles that tread the streets of this Busy Busy Busy Business Center, you would have to understand.

Trapik.com provides a copy of the UVVRP scheme on their website.

And here’s a lengthy albeit comprehensive thread on Tsikot discussing the UVVRP as well.

Beep beep!

-kai
P.S. Please hit me up if you come across a dead link so I can update. TIA!

Beep beep!

Ten minutes into a short drive around the streets of Manila, one can surely observe the distinct manner in which Filipino drivers honk their horns. And it goes something like “Beep beep!”

Those two short honks are understood well as if it were some driver Morse Code, more than S-O-S even. It can have several meanings depending on how it may be applied in the sit, the most common of which are as follows:

1. It’s a green. Please move. Now.
2. Stop straddling, make up your mind and choose a lane!
3. Hello, pedestrian. Just to remind you: Car, metal. Human, skin and bones. In short, unless you want to hurt yourself, better get out of my way, moron.

So basically, the two may be defined in Pinoy Driver Sound Language as Move. To determine whether it means to the left, to the right, or forward is left up to You.

Good luck, and cheers to a safe ride!

P.S. I know it sounds as if Filipino drivers don’t really care but we do – Really. Beep beep!