Eating out with dogs

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 08/29/2023

It was International Dog Day last Saturday, which got me thinking of today’s topic: the way people are taking their dogs to restaurants to eat out. For the Philippines, that’s such a change away from eating dogs.…

Wet bulb temperatures

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 05/16/2023

Last May 2, I wrote a column about the heat index, which measures both air temperature and relative humidity for a more accurate assessment of the possible risks coming from heat. Over the weekend, I learned about…

Pensions: Gray and grayer

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 05/09/2023

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno has sounded the alarm on “unsustainable” pensions for our military and other uniformed personnel (MUP), warning of an imminent fiscal collapse if reforms are not initiated soon. The MUP includes the Armed Forces…

Farmers’ cats

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 04/25/2023

It had been a long time since I visited Farmers Market (yes, without an apostrophe). During my most recent visit, right as I entered the market and walked past its fruit stands, I saw a cat sitting…

Rabbits

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 01/17/2023

Next Sunday is the lunar new year, which gives an excuse to those who haven’t given year-end and Christmas holiday gifts yet to catch up. Then, too, it’s always a topic for conversations around the Chinese zodiac…

Driving under the influence

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 01/10/2023

Last weekend, right before New Year’s, I received news about an acquaintance who ran over and killed someone on the highway in Tagaytay at 2 o’clock in the morning. He was DUI, driving under the influence of…

World Cup to UAAP

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 12/20/2022

I’ve told the story many times over about how, until I became UP Diliman chancellor in 2014, I was your typical nerd who knew virtually nothing about sports. I have to admit it wasn’t just ignorance, but…

Forced retreat

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 12/06/2022

It was my first, and I hope the last, time to get COVID, more than two years into the pandemic. I was going to title my column “To hell and back” but no, bad as it was,…

Grief and closure

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 11/01/2022

This was a terrible time last year, the COVID-19 death toll climbing since its start early in 2020, and peaking, in the Philippines, around the month of September with the deadly Delta strain. COVID-19 raised a new…

Apir and proof of life

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 10/25/2022

I first got my GSIS (Government Service Insurance System) retirement pension after I turned 65 in 2017. At that time, I opted to get a five-year lump sum since I was still serving as UP Diliman chancellor…

To mask or not to mask

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 09/13/2022

I recently stumbled on a YouTube post showing a government press conference. Sitting shoulder to shoulder were several officials to be interviewed. None had masks on. It was a classic example of a common misconception around COVID-19…

Data leaks: More than SIM cards

Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet 09/06/2022

I recently received a text telling me that my account had been put “temporarily on hold” and that I needed to verify my account. There was a link given, which I dutifully clicked and which brought me…

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