Ondoy’s Spartans

I came across the cute picture above being circulated in Tumblr. Enjoy!

MIT project on Facebook could determine whether you’re gay

A 2007 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) project has found that you can reliably determine whether a guy on Facebook is gay. The project was dubbed “Gaydar” and it is essentially an analytic application of the adage “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.” You can read all about it from this recent Boston Globe article, an excerpt of which is found below:

Using data from the social network Facebook, they made a striking discovery: just by looking at a person’s online friends, they could predict whether the person was gay. They did this with a software program that looked at the gender and sexuality of a person’s friends and, using statistical analysis, made a prediction. The two students had no way of checking all of their predictions, but based on their own knowledge outside the Facebook world, their computer program appeared quite accurate for men, they said. People may be effectively “outing” themselves just by the virtual company they keep.

Now before you go “unfriending” all of your gay friends on Facebook, Friendster, Multiply, and other social networks, take note that this project only looked at a small sample of MIT students on Facebook and that they verified their hypothesis with only a small fraction of that. Their study might not be applicable to us because of our different social culture and norms.

That said, I think there’s some truth to their findings. I was able to guess that a college acquaintance of mine is gay (let’s call him X) when I noticed that X started hanging out a lot with this other guy (whom I’ll refer to as Y) based on posts on Y’s blog. I suspected that Y is gay, though I have no definite proof. My only evidence for Y is that he commented on MGG several times, which is pretty incriminating, right? I confirmed my suspicion when I ran into X and asked him about it. Turns out he and Y became boyfriends. Well, I confided to X that I was PLU too.

You can actually infer quite a lot based on one’s circle of friends. So if you’re the ultra-discreet PLU, I suggest covering all of your tracks, especially online (use proxies!), if you value your closet.

Donate your gimik money to Ondoy victims

Here’s an idea: instead of spending your money at gay clubs, bars, or bathhouses this week, why not donate the money instead to the victims of Ondoy? The 350-peso entrance fee you would pay to get inside Bed this Saturday would go a long way towards relief efforts in this unprecedented flooding. In fact, probably the quickest way to spend that P350 is to donate it to the Philippine National Red Cross via text message. Just type “RED <space> <amount>” then send to 2899 for Globe and 4483 for Smart. Valid denominations are 5, 25, 50, 100 and 300.

For other ways to help, check out this Google Typhoon Ondoy page, which seems fairly comprehensive.

I do hope you are all safe and sound. I have several friends who lost their house or their belongings but at least they are all alive and safe.

PinoyG4M is back!

Wow! Bringing PinoyG4M.com back online took a shorter time than I expected. This is probably old news for some of you, but there you go: PG4M is back up! The unofficial G4M successor was taken offline early last month due to web hosting issues and if I’m not mistaken the site administrators managed to bring it back up about 10 days ago. I actually learned about the news a few days after.

Poking around, I think most, if not all, of the data was restored. I’m just a casual lurker in the site so I’m not sure if there were any changes in functionality or if there were any added features. I plan to be just a bit more active since I saw an interesting thread in the forums.

How things work in Club Bath

I’ve already told you guys how to get to Club Bath and how it’s layed out inside, so, just like what I did for Epitome, I’ll do the same for Club Bath and give you a rundown of what to expect and how to conduct yourself in this bathhouse. Before we continue, you should review Club Bath’s website since it already provides quite a lot of information. I’ll just elaborate or fill in the missing details.

Club Bath’s entrance along Valhalla St. is manned by the hired security guard. He can also help with parking if ever you’re bringing a car. Just inside the gate, you just need to go straight ahead to the end and enter the registration area. If there is already somebody else at the counter, you need to wait your turn.

Once at the counter you then need to register and pay for your entrance. If you’re registering for the first time, the registration fee is 250 pesos while for renewal, it’s 100. To register, you only need to provide them an ID and to fill out a membership form. You can probably get away with providing minimal information in the form, but the name you write must match the one on the ID.

Unlike in Epitome, the membership fee does not serve as your entrance fee. (This is probably why Club Bath has this high-end, pricey air about it.) You need to pay for the entrance separately and you need to tell the attendant whether you’re availing of a locker or a private room. Also, you and a friend cannot share costs by availing a room (or locker ) for both of you. Each has to avail a locker or a room. The rate for a locker is currently 200 pesos during weeknights and 230 pesos for weekends, holidays, and the nights before them (e.g., Friday). The rates for a private room are 350 and 400 pesos respectively. When you hand the payment (and your ID and membership card if you’re a returning member), the attendant will then give you a card where you need to write your name and sign it. Then he will ring up your fee on the cash register, give you change (if any), staple the receipt from the cash register to the card from earlier then have you sign that receipt. Only then will the attendant press a button unlocking the inner door to the bathhouse. Just pull the door to open and get inside.

Just past the door, there is a smaller counter where you can get your bathhouse stuff and deposit your bag. If you availed of a private room, another attendant will escort you to it. If you got a locker, the attendant will usher you to your locker. Unlike in Epitome, you don’t need to deposit your valuables with the staff—you keep them in your locker or your room. Each room has a safety deposit box for your use. The aforementioned bathhouse stuff consists of a bath towel, a face towel, a pair of slippers and the key(s) to your locker or room/deposit box. Like in Epitome, the key(s) are attached to a wristband.

By policy, cellphones are not allowed in the common areas. But since you did not deposit them with the staff, you are free to check it anytime in your locker or room. Just don’t bring them out or the staff will reprimand you when caught.

Stripping down and wearing the towel is the norm, but you can get away with wearing just your briefs or boxers. I’ve even seen some people roam around in jeans (but shirtless) and a guy who wears a black tank top over his briefs. So the attire is quite lax, but expect guys to look at you askance if you go around in full street clothes.

Smoking is not allowed in the air-conditioned areas, but there are two balconies on the second floor, a dark room and lanai on the third floor and the open area at the back of the ground floor for that. Free biscuits/candy is available on the first floor (by the gym area) as well as free coffee and drinking water. If you want heartier snacks, you can buy cup noodles or chips; just ask the staff at the registration area. The available snacks can be found in the display cabinet at the back of the TV area near the Internet cafe room. Speaking of Internet, there is free Wi-Fi available though I haven’t seen anyone use it.

When you’re ready to leave, just change back into your clothes then proceed to the third registration counter facing the gym area. This is where you will drop your bathhouse stuff. Then exit at the door to your right and wait for your ID and membership card (and bag). You will also need to sign the back of the card from earlier to signify that you received your things. Leave the premises and come back again next day!

Shown above is how Club Bath’s membership card looks like. Unlike Epitome’s, Club Bath’s card is a classy plastic card. Anyone who looks at it might think that it’s for a swanky gym or spa. The back side of the card has a space for the member’s signature, the expiry date, a barcode, and some legalese text which states:

Signer agrees to abide by all club rules. This card remains the property of the issuer and must be surrendered upon request. This card is not transferable and additional photo ID is required.

It’s a good thing that the card now features a nice gold-tinted gradient. I’ve seen an older card with garish rainbow colors!