Biz Buzz: Revenge

So there’s this gaudy society seeker who insists to his A-List targets that he now disdains fast-food restaurants. So much so that he even famously ordered his colleagues once never to be seen in such “cheap” places lest his reputation with the in-crowd be sullied.

He then proceeded to shame one of his top generals for wearing low-end shoes to a fancy dinner and repeatedly called him a serial cheapskate (we weren’t sure if he was kidding or not, but it certainly made people around them squirm with discomfort).

Recently, this very same general leased out his perfectly located property right across Mr. Gaudy’s office to an establishment that paid handsomely.

What kind of establishment? None other than a fast-food joint. It would seem that “revenge served cold” is on the menu for this particular fast-food chain branch. Daxim L. Lucas

‘Carmageddon 2’

Holiday travel can be a major hassle when one considers the volume of travelers wanting to, first, head to the provinces and then return to the metropolis at the end of the long break.

And it doesn’t matter if you’re traveling by sea, air or land nowadays. The story is the same: holiday congestion is here to stay.

So in the case of the Metro Pacific-run North Luzon Expressway and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, its managers have decided to put out an early advisory to prevent a repeat of last week’s traffic armageddon that saw motorists stuck in traffic for more than 12 hours in some cases.

“Motorists (traveling on) the NLEx and SCTEx are advised to carefully plan their trips from and back to Manila during the long holidays to avoid the inconvenience of heavy traffic volume along the expressways,” management said.

Volume is expected to peak at NLEx northbound on Wednesday, Dec. 31 and southbound on Saturday, Jan. 3, and on Sunday, Jan. 4.

Tollways Management Corp. (TMC), operator of both the NLEx and the SCTEx, said traffic updates would be posted on the NLigtas app, @NlexTraffic, and at www.tollways.ph.

NLEx Bocaue southbound volume is forecasted to exceed 52,000 vehicles per day from Dec. 31 to Jan 4. This is also 30 percent higher than last year’s volume and as much as 50 percent more than the normal average daily volume of vehicles.

TMC is advising motorists to pack an extra dose of patience, especially if they are traveling from the North to Metro Manila.

Travel safe, and… good luck! Daxim L. Lucas

‘Sobrepeña special’

People have many reasons to not like Robert Sobrepeña, but the fruitcake that he and his family give out during the Christmas holidays is definitely not one of them.

Called “Fruited Bliss Cake,” it is not one that the recipient will recycle and give out to another hapless person, but one that is coveted and savored and definitely kept for consumption.

Prepared and baked the traditional way, the Sobrepeñas’ “Fruited Bliss Cake” is vacuum packed to retain the full flavor courtesy of the generous use of rum, nuts and glazed fruits. Handled carefully, the fruitcake can last up to a year.

Bob and his wife Lisa have been producing the “very special” fruitcake from their home kitchen for the last 32 years and they are proud to say that the fruit cake “with everything” is “not just any other fruit cake” as their friends and family gleefully attest to.

To make the most of the experience, the couple suggests that the fruitcake be served with thin slices of edam cheese and paired with a glass of wine or a cup of coffee. Tina Arceo-Dumlao

DFA reassurance

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday reassured the public that the issuance of passports for Filipino travelers will continue despite the reported expiration of a contract between the department and a firm for the printing of so-called data pages on the Philippine travel document.

In fact, the DFA wrote Tuesday that “there is no existing deal between the department and a private entity” that would expire by the end of the year (that being tomorrow).

“Technical support is in place for the ePassport system and it will continue during the lifetime of the said system,” the department said, even as it reassured the public that “the technology being used is not 1990s-era programming.”

“A special software is being used for the ePassport system which is current and secure,” it added.

In his letter, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis also pointed out that manual intervention on the data page was not possible.

“The software being used was designed to secure personal data from the point of capture to the personalization site,” he said. “The DFA assures (the public) that there will be no service disruption in the issuance of passports after Dec. 31, 2014.” Daxim L. Lucas

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