NU12 by Jaime Mendejar Rent a Costume

Rent a costume

Right after Halloween, my Facebook page was flooded with (of course) people with costumes attending Halloween parties left and right.  Makes me wonder, where do these people actually get their costume?  Do they have it custom-made? For a 1 time-event I don't believe its practical, unless you really have the means.  If you're big on Halloween parties, you would probably need 1 new costume per year. What if you just got invited and aren't ready? Do you borrow from a friend? Got me thinking, what if there is just 1 place where you can all figure this out without spending too much money?

A Rent a Costume shop can be in order. I know there are already a lot of novelty shops that may cater to this, but I don't believe they offer a 'rent' option or at least I haven't seen one.  All you need is a small space within the business district, Makati or Ortigas where most yuppies and fresh grads may easily go or see your shop.  A tailor or designer to construct the costumes ranging from superheroes, cartoons to local and foreign celebrities etc. The price can be varied depending on the duration of the rent similar to a VHS/VCD back in the day as well as the cost of making the costume. The only things you need would be to make sure that hygiene is in place and making sure that your inventory is kept clean and damage-free after someone uses or rents it.  You can always sell it at a reasonable price if a customer wants to keep it for himself and you can just design another one for rent. 

All in all, costumes are not just needed during Halloween parties, but also in typical birthday parties or Christmas parties or any event that requires a special theme.  Thus, I believe the rent a costume idea is very feasible.  3

By Jaime Mendejar

NU12 - by Jaime- Mendejar free wifi in Barangays

Barangay Wi-fi

The recently concluded Branagay Elections where you elect a Brgy Captain and 7 'Kagawads' just finished and it was interesting atleast for our Barangay to see what the candidates plans were.  Most of them focused on yellow cards for senior citizens, and CCTV cameras on major streets (for crime).  But opn reviewing some of the candidates, none of them touched on a vision of mine which is free wi-fi for all the residents.  Might sound too big a goal to think about but here's how I think it can happen.

1st is selecting a provider, for example you choose Globe (installing the maximum speed), you can install 1 global router per Zone. Since our Barangay is divided into 7 zones, you would need 7 routers.  2nd, where do you place the routers?  This can be either by creating a small office per zone to place it, or placing it in a central house with the resident's decision where the main responsibility is of course to keep it operable at all times.  I believe this would be easy since Brgy. Captains or Kagawads should have a strong connection with people in each zone (that's why they got elected).  3rd, once routers are in place, you need to install repeaters in key areas across the Barangay to amplify signals to reach even the remote areas.  This may be tested by surveying the signal from 1 point to another, if a signal is still weak the another repeater needs to be installed.  If you have the means, then you can install your own repeater.  4th, the password.  You may think that you have 7 routers then you have 7 passwords, if everyone knew the passwords for all routers then the speed may be compromised.  So I suggest that passwords should only be given to residents per zone (for home-use), the incentive for people not to give out their passwords to friends or relatives in other zones is because if they use it (eg. zone 6 overlaps with the signal of zone 7) it would be Zone 7's loss because their speed might be too slow for all the users.  So 1 password per zone, and keep it to yourself.

Overall, if a Barangay wi-fi is installed, the benefits would be for students not to go to computer shops anymore to pay just to do their research.  People would be more knowledgeable with information and news that can be accessed thru the net increasing literacy specially for those who have not finished formal education.   3.5

By Jaime Mendejar

NU12 -by Jaime Mendejar - fuzzy logic traffic lights

Auto-Detect Traffic Light

Now-a-days, we see traffic lights that are more evolved in terms of making motorists aware of traffic light timings.  Specifically, most traffic lights are now equipped with a timing LED device which shows us how many seconds before red goes to green or before green goes to yellow then yellow to red.  This is key because it increases awareness in drivers on whether they should speed up or slow down in beating a light or to prepare to engage to drive when the clock is set to trigger the green light.  But sometimes, we end up watching the clock even though there are no cars on the lane that is green, so sometimes its inefficient.  At night, we just see yellow lights blinking meaning its anyone's ballgame, first come/first go.  But what if we had an auto-detect traffic light?  A traffic light that detects current volume of cars via video imaging.  If a queue is longer than the other lanes, the green light should go there, if there is traffic seen on the other side, meaning even if the queue is long but the crossing road is full, the traffic light would not set to green.  These are just a few scenarios that the traffic light can address, it would be more time efficient because it will trigger a constant green for a lane that have more vehicles and have a more continuous flow.  If the other lanes suddenly pile up or even if just 1 vehicle comes, the traffic light would compute the certain timing son when the right time to slow the active lane down and trigger the go on the other lane.  Once the lane is emptied, the other queue can now trigger again. This eliminates manual labor for traffic enforcers to  adjust to traffic flow, in fact, this is what they do when traffic jams are piling up during rush hours.  If the video imaging in traffic lights can do this for them, then they can focus their attention on more pressing matters such as traffic violators, smoke belchers etc.  (some traffic lights are time activated, some are cctv counter activated, maybe we have the timer based;   aha, when they switch to manual, te make apprehensions and more money.  that is more entrepreneurial, more MBA)  3.5

By Jaime Mendejar  

By Jaime Mendejar

NU12 - by Jaime Mendejar - getting hot pop corn idea

Repacked Popcorn

I was at the movies last night to watch the Hunger Games and I saw the typical line for the tickets and the line for the snacks, particularly for popcorn.  Gave me an idea, since whenever we buy popcorn, we rarely consume the whole pack even if we just get the smallest one.  I believe 1 factor would be the repetitive taste and chewing of the same flavored popcorn which may not be hot anymore as the movie goes along.  So I thought, why can't there be a repacked version?  You would still cook it the same way, but instead of putting it into small to large tumblers of popcorn, place it in a recycled plastic similar to what you buy with a balut vendor (except its chicharon).  You may sell it cheaper but still gaining profit, even more than what 1 tumbler can earn because you pack it into smaller parts, people won't notice that what they are getting is less than what they could when getting a tumbler.  But it will 'satisfy' the usual craving without the usual waste.  3.5

By Jaime Mendejar

NU12 - by Jaime Mendejar - pillows for rent at theaters

Movie - Pillow -Rental

Similar to my earlier post on the repacked popcorn, my NU idea would be related to the movies again.  My family and myself watch movies every Sunday after going to mass, well at least most Sundays. So it follows that even if the movies are not so great, we still watch them as family bonding.  And since not all movies are great, some end up making you sleep inside the movie house (specially my dad).  So again, it gave me an idea, what i there were pillows for rent?  We don't really see people bringing in pillows, since the chairs are supposed to be comfortable enough to lean on and sleep still.  But wouldn't it be more comfortable having a pillow? Regardless if you'll end up sleeping or just watching, a pillow wouldn't be too shabby.

So how about a pillow rental for a reasonable price? I'd imagine about 30-40php per movie? similar to 3d glasses you'll be getting it upfront and returning it after.  Hygiene? Conscious that the pillow you'll be using was just used by someone who might have drooled, coughed or sneezed in it?  No worries.  The pillows would be used just once a and be placed on the laundry container right after.  Similar sciences related to hotel pillows or airport pillows would be applied to clean them for re-use. 3.5 

Have a great time at the movies! 

By Jaime Mendejar

NU12 by Jaime Mendejar - standardize EC tags for NLEX and SLEX

National Expressway Pass

I was travelling with some friends to Tagaytay last weekend and we passed by SLEX.  In the tollgate, you have options on whether you pay Cash or E-Pass.  E-pass, as we all know, gives you the fastest option by just passing thru the gate and it will automatically open for you by scanning your e-pass reader.  The e-pass costs 2100 to get a unit and subsequent loads after. One of my friends had to go to Bulacan right after our trip so it's a trip from south to north in 1 weekend.  But even if he has the e-pass, he will have to go thru the normal line in NLEX since what they have is the EC-TAG.  I  believe it's a little pointless to have 2 readers applicable for motorists, it serves the same purpose anyway so why can't we just have 1 National Expressway pass and use just 1 transponder. <they are not same companies> Regardless if you're going north or south, whichever way you most frequently go to, the same transponder should be able to provide you convenience.  Getting an EC-TAG would entail you another 2,000 pesos if you get it.  I believe the government should standardize these functions instead of having it handled by private sectors who have a separate market for NLEX and SLEX passes.  tama  3.5

By Jaime Mendejar

NU12 - Entrep - Mendejar - Food Track (food store along the riles)

Food Track

A fellow Entrep student in class mentioned a Food Truck in one of our sessions and I instantly recalled where I saw one.  It's an emerging business that is slowly becoming mainstream and I made sure to mention this to my fiancee.  When I was telling her about the Food Truck, she misheard me and thought I was talking about a Food Track.  

A Food Track she imagines this would be similar to a railroad track.  You have several stalls spread thru a lane and you have a makeshift train which loads passengers ala-MRT/LRT station to station depending on what cuisine or type of food a consumer wants.  You need a medium sized lot to begin with to build the railroad track as a start.  Once the track is in place and a back and forth route has been determined, you need to select the stalls that you wish to be included in your Food Track.  You may advertise the food track or have franchises approach you to be included.  These may be simple kiosks  (eg. master siomai) or a bigger stall maybe andoks/chooks-to-go.  All in all, once you've completed your track and determined the stalls that would be selling the food, you can now invite customers/passengers to ride your Food Track.  4

By Jaime Mendejar

NU12 - ENTREP by Jaime Mendejar- flash mob in weddings

Flash Mobs in Weddings

I attended a wedding last Tuesday and as normal custom, there was a speciall number by the couple which they practiced prior to the event.  During the couple's first dance, instead of having your typical slow dance while swaying back and forth, the couple engaged in a 'classical' dance where they started away with each other coming closer and twirling and ending with the guy holding the girl in a lying pose (not really sure what this is called).  It was a nice twist to the wedding where the program may be all too familiar to guests, but with the special dance number, it caught people's attention.  

Go me thinking, what can be more special than a surprise number by the couple?  I thought, maybe a special number with a group of people and pull off a flash mob.  It's pretty hard to do if it would be planned by just the couple and working with their entourage or sponsors. Thus, it gave me the idea that maybe there can be a service that offers flash mobs in weddings.  I figured this can be set-up with theater actors/actresses or dance studios where members are professional and know what they are doing.  So basically, if you approach the flash mob service, they would setup the routine for you and you just simply practice with them and at the wedding day, you can just pull it off.  The dancers can play as pretend guests, waiters, coordinators etc.  Maybe I would just pull this off myself :) 4   ("Entrepreneurs are those who see the beauty of their NU 12 and pursuit it!"  a new definition eh?)

By Jaime Mendejar

NU12 by Jaime Mendejar follow the sun hand over work process

New processes at work

As a brief background, I am currently employed with Hewlett-Packard as a SAP Technology Consultant wherein I support the daily operations of P*G plants in asia particularly for their material movement control systems in the SAP environment.  Basically, if a particular delivery does not come to or sent by P&G successfully, my team would be responsible to determine why this occurs.

My team currently is considered a 'Global' team, global in a sense that we support the global operations of P&G but not global in a way that everyone can support the operations of the different regions regardless of who is on shift.  So the current-set up is that there is an Asia team that covers 9AM-6PM, an EMEA team that works from 3PM-12MN, an NA team working from 6PM-3AM and lastly an LA team that works from 10PM-7AM.  These different teams have different solutions that it doesn't follow that if you know how to support the system in Asia, it doesn't mean that you can do the same for EMEA and NA. This means that whenever an incident or problem happens in an Asia plant or with an Asian user, the responsibility of handling such even if it is outside of our 9AM-6PM shift, we would still need to handle it instead of handing it over to EMEA or NA/LA team.

What's the proposal? 

Create a scenario wherein our team can follow-the-sun and handover from 1 region to another any pending or newly opened issues across the global support system. How  do I intend to do it?  First, it would involve granting access to all required specialists to be able to support all regional systems, second, I would propose that key specialists mainly those who have more experience on the application and how to support it, would go on a 3 month rotation across the different regions to train and document the different processes that is required per region. Lastly,  After the 3 month program, the rotated specialist may now begin supporting different regions as a pilot run to see how much of the training can be applied.  Once the documentation has been established, he or she can then perform the training across the original region that he/she supports.  Though, it sounds like it may take a long time to establish and familiarize ourselves with but I believe that once this is in place, the work life balance of everyone involved would be much better as it would not require work outside of the usual office hours.  3.5

NU 12 by Jaime Mendejar: What pisses you off at the neighborhood?

What pisses you off at the neighborhood? What do you suggest?

Before I begin, I would like to define what 'neighborhood' actually means for me which are basically my neighbors or the people surrounding where I live.   First I don't live in a fancy neighborhood, we don't have security guards who get your information before you enter, basically anyone can get in or out without anyone noticing. In short, since anyone gets in and out its not impossible for someone to do something and you're clueless as to who did it.  For example, our house got robbed and no one even noticed. Our car, parked in the street since we don't have a garage, suddenly has either a dent or a huge scratch in the morning.   To be fair, there have been a couple of measures that they have performed to try and control it.  They implemented a curfew system, after 10pm only 1 main road can be passed thru by vehicles, they installed CCTV cameras on some streets and they have night security on posts across the barangay.  

So what pisses me off about my neighborhood?  They cannot follow-thru on their implementation. The curfew though they say have been implemented only limits people to 'stand-by' in areas outside of their houses - so what do people do? Hold drinking sessions inside their houses instead.  The CCTV cameras, though installed, have been reported not to be even running or working.  The night security watch, don't even roam around to see if anything is strange or happening unless someone reports it.  In short, its only for show.

So what needs to be done? I honestly think that there should be an iron hand that implements these rules, someone needs to take over and ensure that the rules are not only made, but implemented religiously.  My only suggestion is a change in leadership, as much as I want to take matters into my own hands, the resources and authority are not with me to use. Although, as a citizen I can push for these matters to the right authorities by having a petition from the general consensus and hope that the authorities act and listen.   3   (leadership is weak)

By Jaime Mendejar

NU12 - Serendepity Walk - by Jaime Mendejar

I was rather bored this afternoon and too tired to do anything productive (before this post) and I thought to buy myself merienda in our local talipapa or market in Kalayaan Makati.  A lot of things have changed since I was a kid growing up in the same streets, the roads and drainage for one have been much better than my flood-stricken childhood.  The same old suspects are roaming the streets, shirtless, jobless, day in and day out. One big difference though is the abundance of entrepreneurial vibe that I found in the streets, I used to just see small carinderias a bakery and sari-sari stores when I was a kid, but now, left and right you would see computer shops, sit down tapsilog and pares places, a couple of siomai stores, a hardware, banana cue, ginataan, palabok, lumpia and all kinds of merienda, I even saw a walk-in videoke room charging 5 pesos per song.  And all these in just 1 busy street, you tend to think how these businesses actually survive given that their only market are those who live in our barangay.  Got me thinking, if I were to start something here, what could it be?

- party needs store (chair rental, balloon making, clowns)

- cellphone repair shop

- motoryclcle/tricycle repair shop (for the TODAs)

- coffee vendo machine

- travel agency

- basketball/intrams jersey making

- mr quickie (the services eg. key duplicate but not a franchise)

By Jaime Mendejar  3

NU12 # 1 by Jaime Mendejar - new security checkpoint at malls

What Pisses you off at the mall? What do you suggest?

How many times would you encounter a mall with a so called 'security checkpoint' where you find male and female guards attempting to do a 'search' of everyone who enters the mall?  Often, these checkpoints just create a long line of people that causes inconvenience while people wait for their turn only for the guard to pretend to look at your bag or feel your pockets for any dangerous weapons or objects. Next thing you know, people are still able to enter even with restricted objects, evidence of this is a recent Megamall robbery of a Jewelry shop where guns were used. What happened to the checkpoint? Why were they able to get in with their weapons?

What do I suggest? I suggest a check similar to the airport where people would just enter their bags thru an xray scanner where an officer or guard can easily see if there are unusual things inside via cross-matching of prohibited materials to the images seen in the xray monitor.  The manual search would still be continued but the guards can now focus on what can be concealed instead of just touching people entering as if they had a disease.  By using an xray monitor, the line flow would be more fluid because the bags would continuously pass thru the machine 1 after the other.  Although it would be expensive to implement specially for smaller malls, I believe this is a necessary investment for other malls which have huge foot traffic not only for the line convenience but more importantly for security. We've had too many incidents where persons are able to slip pass by these checkpoints and abuse the people in the malls for casual hold ups and robbery.  The mall can invest in a number of xray machines and just limit the actual entrance points where people can line up and enter, while keeping exits the same. Although this might be inconvenient for some, I believe the results would be more important and the machine would still help the faster flow of the line compared to manual looking of humans that can easily account for an error.

Just my opinion, if the guard wont even look at my bag or search me properly, then what's their purpose to begin with? Sadly, there was a bill that tried to require xray machines in malls which has not materialized - http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/09/28/house-bill-requires-x-ray-machines-malls-banks-182027.

by Jaime Mendejar  3.5