More than ample "coverage"

One thing I don't like about local channels showing live events is how they cover the event: they literally cover or hide footage with so much commercials. The live coverage by Solar Entertainment of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics at Beijing is a prime example. During the early part of the ceremonies which featured performances, the commercials were tolerable. But the network simply went too far during the parade of athletes into the stadium: three minutes of live footage would be followed by nearly eight minutes of commercials! I got so fed up I surfed around for another channel and settled on an Indonesian channel showing the same thing. Not only were there just short one minute commercials every thirty minutes or so, they made sure that they got back to where they left off before the commercial break so that one didn't miss a thing! It makes me wonder why we are encouraged to "Buy Filipino" if it often means patronizing poor quality and service.

Olympic fever

My throat started feeling sore yesterday morning and when I developed a fever (37.8C) by the early evening, I felt at once that this was something bad. It reminded me of the flu I came down with just a little over eleven years ago that kept me out of work for nearly two weeks. I took paracetamol and an antitussive right away which thankfully allowed me to get some rest. But while I stopped coughing and my temperature went back down to almost normal, my nose decided to get into the Olympic spirit this afternoon: it started running. Sigh.