Does This Not Suck?

Especially when you only have less than P1000 in your account and almost all the ATMs in the mall already ran out of P100 bills and you really, really need the cash and you don't have any left in your pockets.

I'm Back, Beaches!

Had a wonderful at Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin! I'm currently in LB..

Now I have to go back to work -- will be at the office in around 3 hours.. >_<

It's My Day!

I'm still awake!

And I need to be up and ready by 3am!

It will be my first time on an airplane.

CDO and Camiguin, we're coming for you!

(Maybe I should try NOT to sleep anymore.. :p)

Would You Like To Know..

..my current address?

*hint hint*

Maybe you'd like to send me something?

*hint hint*

I'd be happy to receive something..

..when I get back next week!

Rightfully Mine

I HAVE RECLAIMED CONTROL OVER MY ORIGINAL YAHOO! ACCOUNT!!!



YAHOOOOOO!!!

ToyCon 2008!

Went to ToyCon 2008 last Saturday, June 14.

Link list for pics 'n stuff! :D

• Few, few pics from my cellphone: http://picasaweb.google.com/necramirez/ToyCon2008


• From Andrew:
  
  
  
  • toycon 08 - ias peeps
  
  
  • toycon 08 - skewed peeps
  
  
  • toycon 08 - the toys
  
  
  
  


• From Clemen:
  
  
  
  • blog entry
  
  
  • TOYCON 2008
  
  
  
  


• From Dani:
  
  
  
  • (pics c/o Tin): ToyCon
  
  
  • blog post: ToyCon Post
  
  
  
  


• From Gino:
  
  
  
  • Toycon 2008 (Album 1- Toys)
  
  
  • Toycon 2008 (Album 2 - Cosplay)
  
  
  
  


• From Arnold: ToyCon 2008

Immensely enjoyed myself, though I can't say much now.. was occupied for the rest of the weekend until a bit earlier -- yeah, I didn't go to work today.. :p

---

UPDATE (2008-06-24 1:34PM)!

More pics!

• From Tin: Philippine ToyCon 2008


• From Seth: Skewed Meet @ ToyCon

---

UPDATE (2008-06-29 2:35AM)!

• From Tonet: toycon

---

UPDATE (2008-07-06 2:46AM)!

• From Fred: 7th ToyCon and Ice Skating


• From Ryan:
  
  
  
  • Toycon pics ni toks
  
  
  • Back to the toycon!
  
  
  • Tokyo2 Lunch and Ice Skating
  
  
  • Toycon Morning Session
  
  
  • Kulitan before the toycon =p
  
  
  
  

Heavy Rain

I welcome you!

COME! SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT!

Some Holiday

In Dependence Day, huh?

=p

Hey, Araneta..

..guess what?

You just got RICKROLLED!

No To Plastic

Maybe one of you guys might know who to give a heads up to, coz I don't know.

Kei and I had lunch at Food Choices at Gateway earlier. We noticed that most of the shops served their food on STYRO. We hadn't been there for months, so we decided to go for a safe choice: Jumbo Japs. We saw right away that they had stacks of styro bowls, which they handed to us for our rice. We asked for plates instead --- they gave us styro plates. Kei asked for a spoon and a fork and they gave us plastic spoons and forks. We asked if they had stainless steel utensils, but they said that they didn't. We were surprised.

We hadn't started eating yet when we noticed that some other shops also served their food on styro plates and bowls.

After eating, we walked around and saw that most of the shops had stacks of styro plates and bowls.

Was it a policy of Food Choices? Were they trying to save water and were willing to splurge on plastic instead?

Wasn't it only around 3 years ago when Gary Granada was heading a movement for McDonald's to reduce their styro usage?

Not that I've turned environmental activist, but I REALLY HATE EATING ON STYRO and I REALLY HATE PLASTIC SPOONS AND FORKS.

---

P.S. I cringe at the sight of the website GaryGranada.com, but I was curious about what he has to say when I saw a link to an article "How come some songs in this site are freely downloadable?" and I found it witty when he said at the end of it, "So why are the mp3s in this site accessible and some even downloadable for free? No, they’re not. We're just charging zero pesos."

It's Magic!

Cel showed be a very interesting toy of his. It's a plastic ball that MORPHS and changes colors when you toss it!

We learned that it's called a Hoberman Switch Pitch -- toss it with a spin, and it turns inside out!

Hours and hours of amusement!

Kicked Out..

..of my PC!

Times like these, I am thankful for the pampering I allowed myself.

PSP + Wi-fi router = relief

I am still wanting, though..

(posted via e-mail)

Mice Can't Draw

Or, rather, I can hardly draw with mice..



(Yeah, nose is red: optical mouse)

Death Note Live Action Movie 3?

There is one?!

L: Change the World

Definitely non-canon, but I still wanna watch it!

It's..

..June! =D

New Writer To Stalk!

Sam Hughes' writing is brilliant.

Pieces of note are his on-going novel Fine Structure, Ed Stories, his other short stories and even his commentary (on mass media, math, video games, etc)!

Just read the whole darned site!

Also: Take that terrorism! How to fight terrorism

TEKKEN MOVIE NEWS!!!

YES.

The Tekken movie has reportedly finished filming and is now in post-production. It's due next year, 2009.

First Tekken Movie Images! (via SDTekken)

They listed the cast as:

• Jonathan Foo as Jin Kazama -- don't know this guy, but he looks.. young for Jin; did a wushu movie


• Luke Goss as Steve Fox -- seems alright.. this guy played Nomak in Blade II so, I guess, he can be vicious :p


• Gary Daniels as Bryan Fury -- don't know this guy, but the nets say that he's a real-life kickboxer, which Bryan is (sort of)..


• Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Heihachi -- wahahaha! Shang Tsung!


• Darren Henson as Raven -- don't know this guy.. (Wikipedia says: Darrin Dewitt Henson (born May 5, 1972 in Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.) is an American choreographer, dancer, and actor.) he's a.. dancer? they really should've gotten Wesley Snipes..


• Ian Anthony Dale as Kazuya -- an American plays Kazuya?! oh, he's half-Japanese.. whew! I thought they casted this guy on account of his eyebrows..


• Cung Le as Marshall Law -- THIS GUY, I'VE SOMETHING TO WRITE ABOUT LATER


• Kelly Overton as Christie Montiero -- don't know her.. IMDB says she was an athlete, so, okay..


• Candice Hillebrand as Nina Williams -- a singer?


• Marian Zapico as Anna Williams -- don't know her..


• Roger Huerta as Miguel -- a top UFC lightweight contender, yeah!

I've scanned through the comments and someone mentioned that two other major characters were listed in other sites:

• Chiaki Kuriyama as Ling Xiaoyu (from IMDB) -- the girl from Kill Bill


• Nathan Jones as Craig Marduk (from the Tekkenpedia site) -- bad-ass strongman!

Here's a page that puts the actors' pics side-by-side with images of the characters they play: http://pc.pcgames.com.cn/movie/news/movies/0804/1044428.html (Chinese site)

I'm loyal enough to the Tekken name to not take it against them that King isn't hinted anywhere.. =p

---

Now. Cung Le.

Cung Le (which I've heard pronounced as "Lee") is a relatively new mixed martial artist. He's a kickboxer of some sort, and he now has a mixed martial arts record of 6 wins and 0 losses. His last match was with Frank "The Legend" Shamrock. Yes. Shamrock. And Cung Le won. Because he freakin' broke Frank Shamrock's arm with his kicks.

Fight fans, you gotta watch this:

Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le (VIDEO)
Cage Cam! (camera on referee)

Here are post-match interview vids:
- with Cung Le
- with Frank Shamrock

AWESOME.

The Hobbit Movie News

Mortensen, McKellen & Serkis Returning for Hobbit?

Viggo Mortensen? Aragorn wasn't in The Hobbit! But I read the comments and someone pointed out that the article said "The Hobbit and its sequel". Oookay.

This would be fine, I guess, with Peter Jackson and friends back behind the scenes. Guillermo del Toro? *shrug*

Akalain Mo 'Yun?!

Graduate na si Paransis!

CONGRATS, MEYN!!! =D

Gmail Error

(Just wanted to document this. =p)

UPDATE: After 5 minutes or so, Gmail is up again. Was it just me?

Mean And Green

"Which Superhero are you?"

2006

2007

2008


*drumroll!*


Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 80% Spider-Man 65% Catwoman 60% Robin 50% Supergirl 48% Superman 45% The Flash 45% Iron Man 45% Wonder Woman 43% Hulk 40% Batman 35%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test


At least, I'm more Spider-Man now than Catwoman..

(Re-)Got this from Mike.

I Was About To Post Something Else (Useless), But This Called For Some Urgency

Balisawsaw == Strangury, Strangury, Strangury, etc.

That's for the benefit of some poor soul trying to research the term. Because I know how much it hurts.

Testing Tekken 6

Am at Glorietta and I went to Timezone to try out some Tekken 6. I didn't really study for this, but I could still recall the stuff I wanted to try, albeit only for King.

King didn't change much!

Of course, having a Bound-juggle is cool, especially if it's the f+2+3 shoulder ram! =D My basic juggle is uf+4 (new hop knee! =p range nerf what-the-hey), df+2,1, f+1, b+2,1+2, (B!) f+2+3.

I'm not really a fan of the new df+4,3 string, but it's nice to have additional okizeme options.

I played against a Wang player, "ImpongButen" (Wang with baseball cap, talisman on forehead, powdered face), losing 2 games then winning the next 2. He didn't seem to want to play with me. =(

My next opponents were.. kids. I made that we won alternate rounds. Until I tried using Yoshimitsu, and I inadvertently won 3 rounds straight, because I was just mashing, and trying out whatever came out. I lost the next game on purpose.

What surprised me was that those kids, they were rich! The first kid I played against had a data card for Lili, and when he swiped his Powercard for his second game, I saw that he had 800+ pesos left. Ugh. The next kid--errr.. a teen-ager, a girl, had P1400+ on her Powercard! Another kid (the one I beat in straight rounds) had 300+ on his. *sigh* I'm just really surprised.

Taga-UPLB Ka Kung...

At dahil Ginawang Sarbei ito ni Seth ay sasagutin ko na diiin!

[X] 1. Kilala mo si Mang Pogs.
[X] 2. Nalilito ka kung saan nakalagay ang banga ni Mariang Banga.
[_] 3. Tubig na lang ang tingin mo sa gin.
[_] 4. Ginamit mong reviewer ang mga old exams para sa mga midterms, prefi at finals sa bio, math, stat, chem, physics, eco etc.
[_] 5. Hindi ka sumasagot ng UP (yupeee) kapag tinanong ka kung saan ka graduate.hahaha! sagot mo elbi.
[X] 6. Taga-elbi ka kapag kilala mo yung professor na nagbi-bike ng naka-barong na kupas. (Si climax! kalahating albert einstein, kalhating mang pandoy)
[X] 7. Ok lang pumasok sa mga klase kahit naka pambahay/pantulog attire ka.
[X] 8. Pag nagtanong si manong driver ng “may animal ba dyan?”, at may sumagot ng “meron po” ay di ka natawa.
[X] 9. Pag nagtanong uli si manong driver ng “may mens ba dyan?”, at may sumagot uli ng “meron po” ay di ka natawa.
[X] 10. Di ka nahihiyang magbitbit ng malaking payong.

iskor so par: 7

[X] 11. Taga-elbi ka kung pagkatapos mong magbakasakali kay Mang Pogs, diretso ka na kay Mr. Midnight
[X] 12. Bumibili ka ng blue book sa Coop.
[X] 13. Alam mong hindi pwedeng ibato ang Batong Malaki.
[_] 14. Nung pinanood mo ang movie ni aga at regine na shot at elbi (sa may gaygay gowns) at nagtawag ng taxi si regine e nagtawanan kayo ng mga taga-LB at clueless ang iba. [di ko napanood yung movie, pero nadaanan namin yung shooting! dun pa kasi sa Lopez nakatira sina Cel nun.. =p --nik]
[X] 15. Alam mo kung nasaan ang White House.
[X] 16. May tanline ka ng tsinelas.
[_] 17. Alam mong mas masarap ang pancit canton na niluto sa ‘heater cup’
[X] 18. Sanay ka maglakad.
[_] 19. Thursday night ang gimik night mo.
[X] 20. Alam mo na ang pinakamalaking banyo ay ang Ellen’s Fried Chicken, at Sizzler’s ang initingalang kainan.

iskor so par: 14

[X] 21. Kilala mo sina Saniano Boy at Saniano Girl. [hindi by face tho -> ako din --nik]
[X] 22. Alam mo kung nasaan ang “Johnson”.
[X] 23. Alam mo ang kaibahan ng dalawang Flatrocks.
[X] 24. Kaya mong pumasok ng hindi naliligo.
[X] 25. Alam mong si Carasus at Pegabao ay iisa.
[X] 26. Alam mong okey lang na pumunta sa Maahas.
[_] 27. Tumatambay ka sa APEC para mag inom.
[X] 28. Alam mo kung nasaan ang Fertility Tree, Kwek Kwek Tower, at ang Templo ni Bruce Lee.
[X] 29. Tuloy ang klase kahit signal number 3 na.
[X] 30. Alam mo kung saan ang pilahan ng jeep papuntang IRRI, Forestry, o kaya ay Jamboree

iskor so par: 23

[_] 31. Hindi ka kumakain ng buko pie.
[X] 32. Alam mo na bago pa man nauso ang unli rice sa Tokyo Tokyo, marketing strategy na ito ng Salad Country.
[X] 33. Hinahanap-hanap mo ang chocolate cake sa Mer-Nel’s.
[X] 34. Alam mong bawal tumawid sa UPLB Gate(main), mula Guard House papuntang harap ng Carabao Park [nahuli na ako dito once -> ako din! =p --nik]
[X] 35. Alam mong may oras lang na pwede kumain sa IRRI pag di ka IRRI employee.
[X] 36. Sanay ka maglagay ng Knorr Seasoning sa kanin.
[X] 37. Alam mong ang hanging bridge ay di talaga naka-hang.
[X] 38. Alam mong hindi lang dalawang pulgada ang layo ng Bayog sa Anos.
[X] 39. Kapag nate-take mo na di magpalit ng pants hanggang ilang araw.. hehe..
[X] 40. Alam mo kung nasaan ang tatlong Ellen’s fried chicken sa LB.

iskor so par: 32

[_] 41. Apektado ka sa pagsasara ng ic’s.
[X] 42. Pag may sakit ka, hindi ka pupunta “infirmary” except lang pag kukuha ka ng excuse slip. [mm.. hindi nga dinako kumukuha ng excuse slip, e.. --nik]
[X] 43. Marami kang alam na ghost stories, sa ilag’s, sa men’s dorm, sa faculty village, sa may social garden etc…
[_] 44. Pag umihi ka na sa gilid ng SU (tuwing feb fair).
[_] 45. Alam mo na ang tunog ng pillbox. (rambol!)
[X] 46. Taga lb ka kapag kilala mo si “Manang slow”..
[_] 47. Hindi mo na naabutan ang Vega mall at Robinson’s.
[X] 48. Taga elbi ka kapag mas gusto mong tumambay pag feb fair kesa manood ng kung anuman sa stage.
[_] 49. Kaya mong i-identify ang species at subspecies ng bawat punong nadadaanan mo.
[X] 50. Alam mo na ang shortest way sa papuntang St. Therese chapel from Humanities ay ang dirt road

iskor so par: 37

[X] 51. Taga-elbi ka kapag alam mo kung baket maraming natatalisod sa raymundo gate.
[X] 52. Hindi mo kailangan ng rason para uminom … hindi mo na rin keilangan ng mesa pag iinom (… hindi mo na rin minsan kailangan ng baso ).
[X] 53. Alam mo kung nasaan ang Soils.
[X] 54. Mas trip mo mag-redhorse kesa mag San Miguel Light.
[X] 55. Kung di man natuloy ay binalak mong umakyat ng peak two ng Mt Makiling.
[X] 56. Taga elbi ka pag nakakita ka ng snow pag summer (yun yung bulak na nagkalat sa campus… kapok).
[_] 57. Taga-elbi ka rin pag handa mong gawin ang lahat pag nag-peprerog ka makakuha ka lng ng slot sa subject na yon (lalo na pag GE). [nyaha! hindi ako desperado sa subject! =p --nik]
[X] 58. Alam mo kung saan makakabili ng masarap na proven at chicken skin–> dun malapit sa white house. (PROVEN!!!!!! =P~)
[X] 59. Alam mong ang devcom ay dating under ng CA.
[X] 60. Mas enjoy mo ang gimik sa apartment compared to bars and restos.

iskor so par: 46

[X] 61. Alam mong ang “audi” at DL Umali Hall ay iisa.
[X] 62. Alam mong may gasolinahan sa loob ng campus (sa likod ng CEAT).
[X] 63. Sineryoso mo na kailangan may kasama kang date pag drill night.
[X] 63. Alam mo kung nasaan ang Ilag’s, Raymundo’s at Catalan.
[X] 64. Dismissed ka na pero sa elbi ka pa rin nakatira. [opo.. na-dismiss ako once.. pero sa LB talaga ako nakatira =p --nik]
[X] 65. Alam mo kung nasaan ang Batcave.
[_] 66. Gusto mong pasabugin ang PhySci building.
[X] 67.Alam mong ang LB Square ay dating vacant lot na puro talahib.
[_] 68. Nakapanood ka na ng sine sa Agrix.
[X] 69. Hindi ka gumamit ng calculator nung in-add mo yung iskor nito.

tutal iskor: 54

w00t!

Defensive?

Mike shared a news article: House panel OKs bill criminalizing mimicry

The article reports:

A bill that seeks to criminalize mimicking or imitating a person's way of speaking particularly his peculiar accent or diction in an insulting and degrading manner has been approved by a committee at the House of Representatives.

Now, this, I find reasonable:

Dumarpa's bill seeks to prohibit religious or racial discrimination against Muslim and other members of the cultural minorities.

...

Aside from mimickry or imitation, the proposed legislation also penalizes those who would subject any person to "unnecessary, unjustified, illegal and degrading search because of his manner of clothing, religion, color, creed, and ethnic identity."

"Discriminating a person who is applying for a job just because of his name, religion or ethnic background might also be a ground for imprisonment," Dumarpa said in a statement on Thursday.

But the part that says "seeks to criminalize mimicking or imitating a person's way of speaking particularly his peculiar accent or diction in an insulting and degrading manner" is a bit too vague.. I can already imagine this being used against comedians copying some popular/political personalities.

Crash And Burn

I'm getting really annoyed at how Firefox (2.0.0.12/13 on both WinXP and XUbuntu ) has crashed on me more frequently this past couple of weeks.. What annoys me the most is that most of the crashes occur when I'm cleaning up my current session and I'm actually closing a lot of tabs.

Newly-discovered Skype Icons

I forgot to post this right after we discovered it.

Skype has special animated icons for typing status! Before, we were already amused that it didn't just have the scribbling pencil icon, but also a flipped-over pencil erasing!

A few days back, we discovered:


which appeared when you just hold down keys, and:


when you hold them down a bit longer!

=p

Another Fanboy Wish Comes True!

I learned from Jamie that there finally is a Blade of the Immortal animé!!!

This deserves another: "IT'S ABOUT TIME"

Update:

It's yet to start on April 27. I also forgot to note that the manga is still ongoing (at least, the English version being published by Dark Horse)..

Brainwashed

Saw this in the bus this morning, on my way home from Makati..



Young Jennifer Connelly FTW!


The vid in the bus had subtitles of the lyrics -- which somehow mesmerized me into nodding to the beat.. and almost lip synching! @_@


Maybe it was because they sounded like girls, and I had trouble putting it together with the sight of the blonde mullet guy's creepy smile..

A YouTube comment: "Can u get more g-- then that ? like lord of the g--?"

The limp arm waving a pointed finger (1:06)


"Brother Louie, Louie, Louie! Oooh, Doin' what he's doin'.." ..this guy has a creepy smile.. (1:22)


"Forever.. EVER.." ..creepy stare! (1:59)


Tag team creepiness.... ..and blonde mullet guy is still doing his fist-thing.. (2:48)



While taking screenshots, I didn't try to seek to the exact frame.. I went back for, not just a couple of, but several seconds before and re-played it again and again and again... gaaaaaahhh!

I have it on Firefox, on IE and on a downloaded FLV version at the same time....

@_@

Laughing Out Loud

DM of the Rings!
http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=612

A moderately-long running webcomic, this is one of those rare ones that never failed to make me laugh at almost every other strip (I embarass myself when I laugh uncontrollably and I'm alone!)! The only other ones I could recall is SMBC and XKCD..

I Will Spoil You!

*** SPOILER ALERT! (expires at around 2pm later today) ***

Pacquiao won his rematch over Marquez on a surprising split decision!

We at home were quite relieved that Pacquiao still won, after his very shaky performance and his lack of aggression in the 12th round. Marquez's cut over his right eye was ugly, but it was started by a headbutt. We thought Pacquiao's attempt to "counter [punch] the counter [puncher]" failed miserably! Marquez was obviously the more accurate puncher, landing punches on Pacquiao's cut with great timing. I was actually scared for Pacquiao after his cut opened up, and especially when he seemed to careful about it.

We also sympathize with Marquez when he expressed disappointment that Pacquiao did not want a rematch. And I winced a lot during Pacquiao's interview (an extra wince for Chavit's presence).

We watched the match on our local cable provider's channel, live with no commercial breaks! Aaand I don't think I'm spoiling it for anybody else, since I'm expecting those who are watching the delayed telecast to still be glued to your TV sets.. or not.. =p

Dumbing Down..

I really need to kick my brain and get it started..

I couldn't load my Blogger Dashboard a while ago, and kept getting this page. So I clicked on the link to the Help Page, and I deleted the browser cookies from blogger.com.

I refresh the page a dozen times.

Until I look at the URL and realized that I am indeed reloading the same gosh-darned page!

Ashamed and defeated, I click on the Blogger logo..

What is your..

..short term goal? Finish Patapon and God of War. =p

..mid term goal? Get started on my pet project!

..long term goal? Uhhmm.. get rich?


From JAm!

*feel free to answer the same questions on your blog. (yes meme time!)

YouTube Gripe

There is no immediately available RSS feed for my own favorites?! What the hey! My first idea was that it should be really simple and therefore it might just be a particular way of constructing a URL.

And in my searching, there are a lot of other users who are looking for this same feed. I found several solutions that go deep into parsing the XML result of a REST request using the YouTube Developer's API or *gasp* the actual My Favorites page!

Fortunately, I found a solution done using Yahoo! Pipes. I took a peek into how it was done. And it WAS simple!

http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/users/<insert username>/favorites

Now I just have to test if it works on the PSP's RSS Channel! =D

(UPDATE 2008-03-10 7:52PM -- Awww, man! It's an Atom feed, not RSS!)

(UPDATE 2008-03-11 12:03AM -- Before Jaemark posted his FeedBurner comment, I was already playing with Yahoo! Pipes plus a bit more research.. aaand it seems that you just can't get video direct from YouTube onto the PSP.. there are a lot of PSP-compatible video sites, but YouTube still has the bulk of the videos worth sharing.. oh, well..)

Something Wrong..

..in my head?

I.. I don't have Tekken in my PSP..

(In the rush of packing my stuff, I moved Tekken out of my memory stick in favor of God of War: Chains of Olympus and Patapon..)

CAPTCHA Is Broken?

Says this article: CAPTCHA is Dead, Long Live CAPTCHA!

The most reliable CAPTCHA implementations were announce to have been defeated.

I don't know much about CAPTCHA, but couldn't they somehow mimic the "salting" done in password hashing? Maybe split the CAPTCHA images into random partitions: "gh9p3845" for example could be posted as two images with "gh9" and "p3845", or maybe even 4 partitions with "gh" + "9" + "p38" + "45" or, better yet, one image per letter -- what's important is the partitioning being random.

The article suggests "Distinguish pictures of dogs from cats". Since this might boil down to a somewhat a multiple choice question, bot could possibly get lucky. I'm thinking we could extend the salting to use a picture: CAPTCHA phrase "lk2s" + dog picture + some instructions that it should be typed as "lkDOG2s"..

Dunno..

Jump!

Jump! Jump! Jump!

Cheap?

"iPod shuffle. Now just $49.", says Apple. Cool. I was willing to buy the thing when it was twice as expensive.

I hope they drop iPhone prices again soon! >:)

Time Lapse

I did a double take on my personal time logs.

I've been tagging the dates since Feb. 15 with the year 2005.

@_@

Blank Stares..

..are what my monitors get from me..

Yeah, monitors. I have two workstations here at work (WinXP and XUbuntu), and I like it! Supposedly, my teammate and I should be working on Linux, but our old Windows machines haven't been revoked yet. I hope we do keep them. The load per machine has considerably lessened, and it feels really great to no longer wait for Eclipse or Aptana to respond!

Anyway, my brain doesn't want to work. I try to rev my figurative engines, but all I get are sputters.

My teammate and I are expecting a bulk of work to be assigned to us in a while. I would have enjoyed it last week, when I could still think.

I hate it when I can't work despite wanting to.

Yyyyyup, Still Alive

Almost 3 months since I last posted. =p

Most bloggers try to avoid bullet points -- but I don't! Bwahahaha!

What's up?

» Mark mirrored his blog in Multiply?!

Although I already reacted (quite aversely -- his Blogger blog had over 300 posts and my Multiply account had email notifications turned on, so just at the time when I was checking my mail on my cellphone, I had 369 new messages in my Inbox! A dozen of those notifications actually fell into Spam.. Nice one.. =p), I haven't asked him why. I don't think stuff like that needs to be justified.. Hehehe..

» Mike shares A LOT OF STUFF from the intarwebz..

His blog is quiet -- his Google Reader Shared Items ROOAAARRR!!!

» I have a new job. I started way back in November, marked by a very annoying, almost negligible and lame post. =p

• I finally convinced Caesar to give our company a chance! =D


• Randell, whom I worked with in my previous job, is back to being my officemate! =p


• When I first joined the company, I was the only one from UPLB. Now there are 4 of us! =D


• I've been into Java since way back in college. This year, I'm hitchhiking on the Ruby on Rails bandwagon. =p


• PhRUG (Philippine Ruby Users' Group) held their last meet-up at our office! It was cool! There was pizza even! =D

» With the new job in Bonifacio Global City, I actually survived 2 months of commuting to work -- from LB! >_<

And after those 2 months, I finally have a place to stay in Makati!

» A-ha! I join the likes of Mike, Kaye and Randell..

I bought a PSP last week! Serves me well, since I'm away from my PC at home.. =p Free wi-fi at Burger King Glorietta, yey!

» I still like (fake) tennis..

But the live action Prince of Tennis movie was disappointing (except for seeing the special moves "in real life"..).

So, I reeeaaally like Virtua Tennis 3 for the PSP.

• Federer was beatable in the World Tour compared to a Very Hard Exhibition match.


• Juan Carlos Ferrero was a nightmare for my player! I couldn't beat him! His description in the game was Strong Forehand, if I recall correctly, but it should have been Technical Player! I hate his drop shots and stupid lobs. Despite my animosity, I learned a lot from his play style.


• My preferred doubles partners were Nadal and Hingis. Because I also prefer them in real life. =p


• I like how the game had special dialogue to the player I beat the most (Nalbandian, who emphasizes that he hasn't beaten me yet =p).

» Tekken 6 was released in the Philippines -- earlier than in North America and Europe!

Thanks, Namco! =D I've only tried the game one night/three games, but the only thing I didn't like was how the characters were too shiny. But Nap said that that was how we saw the PS2 version of TTT, so we would probably get used to it soon. Yoshimitsu (punch costume) scared me!

» I have a new nephew!

Ate gave birth to Ash last week! =) (I didn't bother visiting during the long weekend?! :-o)

» New puppy!

Ma named her Jenny. She's hyper!

» This is an old pet peeve: I can't post on Blogger on the Opera Mini!

So when I wanted to post something, I had to do so via email. Not that I've been blogging much recently. =p

These aren't even good bullet-points!

I KNOW I missed a lot of stuff (intentionally? subconsciously? =p), but this is already a lot for a comeback post! Not a lot of details but still a lot of: BULLET-POINTS!

Yarrr..

Tekken 6 Released!

Tekken 6 has finally been released (in Japan =p)!

The TZ headline notes the revelation of the new Final Boss -- a new monster, Azazel!

link: http://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com/news/index.php?mode=article&newsid=470

Adjusting..

..to the new office..

38 questions

Tagged by Kei!
---
1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? Ex-officemate Kaye. =D

2. What were you doing at 0800? Going to my ex-office with my ex-officemates in my ex-office service! =p

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Re-reading posts for our current game in our Mafia mailing list -- I AM SCUUUM!!!

4. What happened to you in 2006? Someone liked me back! =D I submitted my first resignation letter -- which I also withdrew. =p I also gave away Christmas presents! =)

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? "What the heck was that?!" -- while playing Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection on ex-officemate Kaye's PSP and I couldn't understand Lili's moves!!!

6. How many beverages did you have today? 1 glass and 1 bottle of water.. Oh my! :-o

7. What color is your hairbrush? I have a comb instead, black.

8. What was the last thing you paid for? Bus fare from Buendia to Los Baños, P84.

9. Where were you last night? Ex-office's staffhouse!

10. What color is your front door? Brown.

11. Where do you keep your change? Both in my coin purse and in my watch pocket.

12. What’s the weather like today? Right now, the rain has already passed. Earler, the rain came down hard.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Quezo Real? The only flavor I don't get tired of.. =p

14. What excites you? Tekken! =p

15. Do you want to cut your hair? No.

16. Are you over the age of 25? *gasp* Yes.

17. Do you talk a lot? No. (chuckle)

18. Do you watch the O.C.? No.

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? No.

20. Do you make up your own words? Yes! But not in front of my friends.. =p Terrible traffic = Terraffic!

21. Are you a jealous person? Actually, I don't know. =)

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Arian Lisbog (copied from Kei who copied from Sarah =p) -- without outside influence, my answer would have been Alekos. =D

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kei! =D

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Kei! (last night) =D

25. What does the last text message you received say? From Kei: "Condo n pla kami ni Sarah. Ü" =)

26. Do you chew on your straw? No.

27. Do you have curly hair? It used to be wavy, but it doesn't show it now, since I've been having my hair cut shorter than I used to. =p

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? I'll be meeting with Kei and company tomorrow at LB Square for their yearbook launch! =D

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? I sometimes find myself rude.. =p I can't recall anyone else.. Hmmm.. Ah! I know a group of people who are rude to a particular personality. =p

30. What was the last thing you ate? Pininyahang manok and fried rice! =D

31. Will you get married in the future? Yes. :->

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Thank You For Smoking is tied with Hot Fuzz! =D My brothers and I watched these last weekend. =)

33. Is there anyone you like right now? Yes! -- Hi gelps! =P

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Last night.

35. Are you currently depressed? No. I used to get depressed so often, but I rarely get depressed now. =)

36. Did you cry today? No.

37. Why did you answer and post this? It's been so long since I did something like this and I kinda missed it! =D

38. 5 people you tag next? Ah, wala. =p

Ah, Envy

Mike and Kaye already bought PSPs.

"No, Not Yet"

My (now ex-)officemates and I are hooked on.. Prince of Tennis!

The anime looks great, even with the exaggerated moves. I've also read that the manga, which began in 1999, is only set to finish later this year! 8 years running?! So cool!

Nap also mentioned that there's a live action version! Of course, I looked it up. I was a bit disappointed that it was only a movie (not a series). I also checked YouTube, and I got to watch the movie trailer -- I liked it! I'm still undecided whether to watch the movie from YouTube, or wait for a higher quality version (probably from Mike)..

---

I used to watch a lot of tennis back in high school. I was introduced to it by no less than Noel Singidas! Haven't played the sport yet, though..

Anyway, I was prompted to post something like this because I wouldn't pass up on this:

Nalbandian knocks off Federer again
(Davydenko's serving draws rebuke from chair umpire)
(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/tennis/11/01/paris.masters.thursday.ap/index.html)

I don't watch any tennis now, so I'm not familiar with the players, but how the current No. 1 lost consecutive matches with a particular player IS COOL!

Another thing worth pointing out is that subtitle -- a player "was fined $2,000 by the ATP for "lack of best effort"". Whoa. Tennis is hardcore!

Can't Get Rid Of This Creepy Feeling

Woke up past 3:30am to the feeling of a cockroach creeping over and
biting my thigh. I flail my limbs around.

After surveying the area, I tried to get back to sleep. I figured I
might've just imagined it -- despite finding some mark under my thigh
that resembled a cockroach bite. It felt like one, too. But I did have
to wake up at 7am, since I'm meeting with Nap at 9am. I just wondered
whether one can have nightmares about feelings of touch. I shiver.

Just a couple of minutes later, I hadn't even closed my eyes yet, I
feel something crawl up my knee. More flailing of limbs. I look around
again and I actually find a medium-sized cockroach! I ran out of the
room to get the spray can of Baygon I had just near our doorway. I got
the roach in a single spray. Relief. For me.

I put back the spray can. As I turned around to get back into the
room, I see an almost identical cockroach! But it was different. It
was bathing in Baygon, but it just kept crawling away. It was able to
fall off six stair steps, withstanding five more sprayings, before
turning turtle. Not much relief for me.

I am now in another bed, in another room in the staffhouse, still
trying to ignore this feeling I have under my skin.

Funk

Daft Punk + Charleston Dance == Daft Charleston

Got this from Ctrl-Alt-Del..

Lonely Dog

One of our dogs died last September 13.



Mag-isa na naman si Janvit..

Considering

After Mark told me about the news that Apple is releasing the iPhone SDK (and me looking around for smartphones), I am sooo tempted to get an iPhone for myself.. next year. =p

Damn You..

..you freakin' terrorists.

Manuel L. Quezon III's round-up of blogger accounts of the event.

Inquirer.NET's special section.

Commuter's Survey

(copied from Sarah =p)

1. Ano'ng byahe ng jeep ang madalas mong sakyan?
"Crossing-Calamba <-> UP College" =p Pero hindi na masyado, dahil sa Metro Manila na ako pumapasok para sa trabaho. =D

2. Ano'ng oras ka bumibyahe?
Dati, iba-iba, kung kelan ko trip -- kahit hapon na. =p Pero simula nung mag-staffhouse na kami, sabay-sabay na kami pumapasok. Sabay-sabay na tanghali. =p Hanggang nagka-service naman kami. =p

3. Magkano pamasahe mo?
Ngayong may service na, wala na. =p

4. Gaano katagal ang byahe mo?
Ngayong may service na, mga 1 hour.

5. Saan ka madalas umupo sa fx?
Dati, sa pinaka-likod, dahil alam kong huli naman ako bababa (Dasma <-> Calamba). Ngayon, kahit saan na. =D

6 . Mahilig ka ba sumakay sa "patok"?
Di ko alam yung "patok"..

7. Bakit?
N/A

8. Habang nasa byahe, paano ka nagpapalipas ng oras?
Natutulog! =p Pero kung hindi ako makatulog, tingin-tingin sa scenery.. Kahit paulit-ulit ko nang nakikita, di naman ako mabilis magsawa, dahil laging may bagong makikita. =)

9. Nakakatulog ka ba sa byahe?
Lagi! Kahit jeep, kahit trike! =p Sa ordinary bus lang sa Metro Manila ako hindi nakakatulog dahl sa usok..

10. Anong radio station ang madalas mong ma-tyempuhang pinakikinggan ng driver?
Double-R.

11. Gusto mo ba ng loud music?
No. Well, most of the time. =p

12. Ano'ng sinasabi mo kapag bababa ka na?
"Sa tabi lang ho!"

13. Naranasan mo na bang di magbayad sa driver?
Madaming beses na. Dahil minsan, di pa ako nakakapagbayad, tulog na ako agad! =p Pinaka-malaki kong hindi nabayaran, bus mula Cubao hanggang LB! Kasabay ko si Frank, tapos akala nya, nagbayad na ako, baka hindi lang nya napansin. E, tulog na nga ako.. =p

14. May nakaaway ka na ba sa jeep?
Wala pa. "Mapagbigay" ako pag sa public transport. =p

15. Mahilig ka bang manlibre ng pamasahe?
Yup. =D Basta si Kei! =p

16. Mahilig ka naman bang magpalibre?
Syempre! =D Basta hindi kay Kei.. =p

17. Paano ka nagre-react kapag biglang nagpreno?
*kunot noo*

18. Naranasan mo na bang di masuklian?
Yup. Pag sinabing "mamaya na yung sukli, wala pang barya", minsan nawawala na rin sa isip ko na ipaalala. Pinakamalaki ko pa lang naman na di nakuhang sukli, P35 sa P50 na binayad ko mula Crossing-Calamba hanggang Anos.

19. Nakalampas ka na ba sa biyahe?
Madalas! Umabot na ako sa Megamall, kahit sa Ayala lang ako bababa mula Laguna.. Umabot na ako sa Bay, kahit sa LB lang ako bababa.. At least, di pa ako umabot sa Sta. Cruz -- pero may kakilala ako na umabot na.. :-"

20. Sa anong dahilan?
Dahil nga tulog ako.. Kahit sobrang nakapagpahinga na ako bago bumyahe, nakakatulog pa rin ako sa byahe!

22. Naranasan mo na bang hindi pagbayarin ng mismong driver ng jeep?
Yup. Kakilala ni Kei yung driver! =D

23. Naranasan mo na bang ma-stranded sa daan?
Yup. Madali ma-stranded pag madaling araw. =p

24. Na-hold-up ka na ba?
Hindi pa naman. Pero nadukutan na ako. Twice na.

25. Nasuka ka na ba sa biyahe?
Nung bata pa ako, dalawa kaming magkapatid na mahina sa byahe. Pero nung high school, kelangan ko na masanay. At nasanay naman. =p

Loyal Shopper

Galing ako sa supermarket kanina, at napangiti ako nung may narinig ako:

"Wag na yang imported na de lata, ha. Yung Pilipino na lang."

=)

Yarrr..

I be resigned..

Find Your Dream Home

Got this from Sarah..

Your home is a Spawn-camping Coder's Headquarters Your kitchen consists of dilithium-powered food replicators, manned by obedient robot slaves, who are sure to never, ever rebel. I mean, it's preposterous to even consider it. There's a pantry with emergency backup caffeinated beverages. You also have some breakfast cereals in there, but you haven't had breakfast since last Spring. Your master bedroom has blankets printed with images of Mario and Link. Your study has every language reference book ever written, including now-useless titles like Learn Javascript 2.0! and C++ Programming for Windows 95. (Why are you keeping those?) One of your garages contains a life-sized X-Wing fighter, and KITT. (KITT was a gift from a well-meaning uncle.) Your home also includes a robot repair bay, where your mechanized servants are routinely fitted with new restraining bolts. (It's just a precaution.) Your guests enjoy your animatronic replica of the cantina at Mos Eisley. Outside is your radio telescope, listening constantly for alien transmissions. Especially invaders. They'll come eventually, even if nobody believes you. (Nobody does.) And, you have a pet -- a taun-taun named "Padme". Below is a snippet of the blueprints:

Find YOUR Dream Home!

Online Again!

Finally!

For one-and-a-half days, our office -- the entire building (maybe even the whole block!) was disconnected from the net! Well, if everybody was connected via PLDT.. I don't know the details, but it still sucks, anyway!

Just Really Realized Something New

I can live without net access.

Haha.

---

I waited for yesterday for the entire year, and when yesterday arrived, I'm offline!

Yesterday, September 19, was Talk-Like A Pirate Day!

---

In lieu of net access, I ENJOYED my entire day. I didn't go to work again! Today, a Thursday, is my first day here in the office this week! *evil grin*

...

Gotta work.. A module of mine is supposed to be released -- today?! Sucks to be them!

Lotsa News About Me

1) New work location

We've been going to work at the Port Area in Manila for almost 2 months now! We're on-site for a project, and our clients didn't believe us when we said that WE DIDN'T NEED TO BE THERE.

2) New temporary residence

As a result of #1, during weekdays, I'm staying at our "staffhouse". It's an OLD condominium unit owned by the president of our company and, from what I heard, the company is renting it from him. Smart guy.

3) Getting used to the metro

Although the commute from our staffhouse to work is quite easy (20-minute LRT2 + 20-minute jeepney ride), I'm still not used to the city atmosphere: the vehicle fart on the streets, the slight consolation of air-conditioned establishments to pass through which is still far from fresh and, most notable of all, the (unforgivable!) stench of the air at the Port Area!

I really miss the (relatively) fresh air in Los Baños.

Aside from that, I'm getting more and more familiar with Makati. =) I've been enjoying more dates with Kei!

4) Trying to get into the metro

I've already mentioned before that I don't care anymore whether the higher-ups at work read my blog.

Since we've moved to Manila, I've become more active in looking for a job near Makati. The only thing our office had that kept me from moving to Makati was that it was located in Laguna -- and they've taken that away! We were promised that we would be on-site in Manila for only around 2 months. If that was the case, then why the heck did they pull-out all our stuff in our Laguna office and bring it to our main office in Pasay?!

---

That's it I guess.. not a lot, after all.

Oh. I got fatter.

---

I REALLY had to post somtehing. Especially since I didn't go to work today and stayed at home in LB (FTW!).. =p

Can't Let This Pass Without Notice

Sarah recently posted this in her photo-blog: Move over, Kyla!

^_^

Moar Linkz

Got this from Ruben (http://rubendevela.deviantart.com/journal/14185630/):

A ‘fun’ experience for Tarantino aboard a ‘pedicab’ (http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=82788)

---

Believe it or not, this came from our big boss! ("break from work" pala, ha.. Sarap tuloy bawian ng 400 links! "Ma'am, break from work lang po!" *evil grin*)

20 USB Gizmos That Have No Place in the Enterprise (But You'll Love Just the Same) (http://www.cio.com/article/print/130554)

---

Can't remember where I got this:

The Future is Past! (http://macenstein.com/default/archives/759)

---

Move Over “Transformers” Here Comes “Voltron”! (http://www.thegamegods.net/2007/08/12/move-over-transformers-here-comes-voltron/)

Comment listing more 80's shows being made into movies (http://www.thegamegods.net/2007/08/12/move-over-transformers-here-comes-voltron/#comment-2430 )

LOL @ The Rock as Johnny Bravo -- spot on!

Re: Alvin and the Chipmunks -- I saw a poster of it a few weeks back, and Dave was going to be portrayed by Jason Lee! I can already imagine him yelling, "Aaalviiiin!" *chuckle*

---

Something I'd like to show to Ed:

MS Paint Car - Pixelgod II (http://youtube.com/watch?v=vUWqRhReaZk)

Galing Talaga, Eh!

Michael Jackson Dance Clips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKcfAQB7sjM

Moonwalk at the 5:08 mark is INSANE!

I Just Noticed Something New From Google..

..while I was pimpin' Google to my elder brother:

Google Labs > Experimental search
http://www.google.com/experimental/

Keyboard shortcuts -- me likes!

Animé Pet Peeve

DragonBallification, noun.

Using the combination of the following techniques -- IN A SINGLE ANIMÉ EPISODE:

1. Pointless repetitive animation (a.k.a. stock footage) to lengthen a particular scene (most commonly, fight scenes)


2. Scenes with excessive silence and *gasp* silent staring, probably to achieve a certain dramatic effect through supposed non-verbal understanding between characters


3. Severely stretched out moments, most obvious in chase sequences where both parties are able to think or speak long lines during the chase (sometimes in several non-contiguous scenes) and the surroundings never seem to change, despite supposedly moving in insane speeds (and not going in circles)

Most associated with: Major fight scenes of Dragon Ball Z
Last observed in: Naruto Shippuuden Episode 24 ([1] Gai and Co.'s battles, Sakura's battle with lame geometric shapes; [2] Sakura's battle; [3] Naruto and Kakashi's chase)

---

I left out some other animé pet peeves (awkward poses/positioning of limbs is one other) since they aren't really attributed to Dragon Ball Z, but to animé in general.. Now I see that having a list of just 3 items is a bit awkward..

Anyway, I think these things are merely the result of poor translation of the scenes from the manga..

Geeeek

• http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=070707 -- I've forgotten about sharing this last month: Here's what Brian Clevinger's says about the new Transformers movie:
  

  So the new Transformers movie is better than it had any reason to be. Sure, there were plot holes big enough for Optimus to drive through, but when your premise begins with the phrase, "There's an interplanetary civil war between an alien race of super robots," you kind of go with it.
  
  My one complaint is that the movie lacked the phrase "Decepticreeps." And, similarly, though Ironside stole every scene where he spoke, the noted absense of his rallying cry -- "...bust some Deceptichops" -- did not go unnoticed. But, hey, that's why they make sequels.

  
  


• http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=070801 -- On Civ IV.. =p


• http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_andrew.shtml -- Online version of the text-based adventure game, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy


• http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/ironicpseudonym/Amastersguide.jpg -- Drawing: A Master's Guide ------ reminds me of Ed and his uber pixel art! =D


• http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/24/pug-vader/ -- Pug Vader


• http://www.instructables.com/id/EUS0W80F2XW9PF4/ -- How to make a Green Lantern ring- including a glowing version!


• http://catb.org/esr/jargon/html/magic-story.html -- A Story About 'Magic'


• http://catb.org/esr/jargon/html/koans.html -- Some A.I. Koans


• http://cre.ations.net/creation/webvnc---remote-desktop--vnc-on-your-iphone -- WebVNC - Remote Desktop / VNC on your iPhone


• http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Ewwu/1337/code.shtml -- 1337 code


• http://arbroath.blogspot.com/2007/07/meet-david-bowies-of-dog-world.html -- Meet the David Bowies of the dog world


• http://flickrfy.com/blog/2007/07/24/batman-on-a-budget/ -- Batman on a Budget

Tekken 5: DR Online!!!

http://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com/news/index.php?mode=article&newsid=456

Top-caliber fighting game ONLINE??!!

*inggit*

Reunion Dream

I dreamt of Noel Singidas. It went like this.

After another superhero dream, I dreamt I was in our kitchen, where I noticed a stack of old pamphlets, about one foot high. I don't know why I did, but I started scanning the pamphlets looking for "Singidas". An inch from the top of the stack, I got a glimpse of the name. Shock.

Suddenly, I was in a place that looked like Glorietta's Activity Center. People swarmed the place. I was approaching a bench, where a group of people where exchanging earphones. Among them was Noel Singidas.

Non-chalantly, I sat beside him, but we hardly talked. He was talking with his companions, and I noticed that, while the others had portable CD players and small MP3 players, Noel was clutching -- you wouldn't guess this -- a VHS tape. Someone I didn't quite recognize but surely was a common friend, pointed at the VHS. Noel said that it contained MP3s, converted. I silently chuckled, thinking of ways to help him improve his portable audio situation.

I almost interrupted him when I said that I remember the time when we had to edit VHS tapes manually, when we had to snip the tape and put it back together with Scotch tape. He just had a blank stare. I said that we were groupmates back in first-year high school with Selwyn Bantang. Then he smiled. He said that he did remember that. I felt relieved. (That didn't actually happen, the part where we snipped VHS tapes)

We were now lying down on the length of the bench, and we had a clear view of the people going down an escalator. I recognized PAL and Joshua Trocino and I called out, waved at them and pointed at Noel beside me. They didn't react until they were almost at the foot of the escalator, and I saw PAL's eyes shoot wide open. It was a great effort to keep myself from crying.

It seemed like a reunion, when I looked around. I could see almost every clique from high school. Batchmates kept coming to see Noel. Edsel Uy even gave him a big, big hug.

Out of nowhere, Noel caught a basketball in his hands. I looked around to see where it came from, and I noticed that we were by some beach. Puzzling.

Then, I woke up.

...

Finally?

Did I actually stumble on a lead to the whereabouts of Noel Singidas?

I won't post any details yet.. Just that I already asked for his contact details from someone.. I just hope that that person knows the same Noel Singidas that we do..

...

If I was right.. If I really FINALLY got in contact with Noel Singidas.. What then?

More Google Fun!

Q: Like making videos? Love Gmail? (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/like-making-videos-love-gmail.html)

A: Help make a Gmail video (http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/help-make-gmail-video.html)

Challenged

Someone challenged some artist who posted reasonably good cartoons to make:

200 Bad Comics (http://nedroid.com/bcpage1.html)

Horror-ific

John Dies at the End (http://www.johndiesattheend.com/)

"An experiment in horror. You shouldn't read it."

Railgun Demo!

Awesome!

A missile punch at bullet prices (http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2007/012007/01172007/251373/index_html?page=1)

...

On second thought, it's not that awesome..

They Fly!

Nap's in Cebu again for the entire week. (It's his birthday today, by the way..)

Kei is going to Boracay this coming weekend! Questionable timing, but still..

I have yet to get on an airplane!

Tiny Step

Right now, I think I don't care whether my bosses actually stumble upon this blog post:

---

Your Job Satisfaction Level: 41%

Your job is about average. There are some parts you really enjoy, and some parts that stress you out. It's possible that you need a small change. Maybe you should switch companies or positions. It's also possible that you're simply burned out. No job is perfect, even a great one. Give yourself a personal day to think about your career goals - and if your current job is helping you achieve them.

Should You Get a New Job?

Lucky Mom!

Sigbritt, 75, has world's fastest broadband
(http://www.thelocal.se/7869/20070712/)

40Gb per second... Ennnnnvvyyyyyy...

Why?!

I don't have a clue why that web clip sponsored link came up while viewing my inbox..

A Tinge Of Geekiness

Greg Costikyan writes:

It really irritates me when people say things like "we don't need stars in the game industry." What they generally mean is "so-and-so acted like an idiot and I don't like that," or alternatively "I don't want to have to pay you more."

The fact is that, we have stars. We just don't acknowledge them. Which is why this is both hilarious and sad.

Follow the link (http://www.youhaventlived.com/qblog/2007/QBlog240607B.html)! It's an anecdote about the creators of MUD showing off to a kid gamer at a store -- 5w337! Now that is one thing I would just love to do..

---

Lots of quotes, some good, some bad: http://www.witty-quotes.com/all_1.html

The AlphaGrip AG-5 (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1949084,00.asp): Nap and I were conceptualizing something like this a decade ago, but it was a general-purpose humanoid robot controller (read: mech/a) and not a keyboard replacement -- this is nothing, though: with what we had thought of then, you could twist the controller and it could represent something like pitch or yaw in a flight simulation and you still had something like the PlayStation controller's analog joysticks. This AlphaGrip thing is still kinda cool, if what the makers claim is true, where with around 30-60 hours of touch-typing practice, you could still reach 60 words-per-minute with it! =D

---

Review of a book about funny signs, with some examples: http://blog.garethjmsaunders.co.uk/archives/2006/03/31/its-a-sign/

How Much Of The Philippines Have You Visited?

My Lakbayan grade is D!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

---

Here's my map.

I know I haven't been to a lot of places, so no surprise here. =p

---

UPDATED 2009-07-07 17:30

My Lakbayan grade is D!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Plus my map...

Someone Just Got Older Again!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Greetings to Mark and Hannah, too!

Keyboard Pet Peeve No More!

The stock keyboard that came with my PC has this annoying extra button labeled "Macro" just beside the Right Shift button. However, due to this extra button, the Right Shift button is now shorter. Not only that, but the darned Macro button was mapped to type a Backslash! Whenever I miss the Right Shift button, I get something like "\please" or " \instead".


Earlier today, I have finally found a free utility to remap any keyboard button!

Enter AutoHotKey (http://www.autohotkey.com/).

It's a cool utility that manages all standard input devices: keyboard, mouse and joystick. With it, you can create macros and can auto-expand abbreviations (ala programming IDE templates). It runs on plain-text script files, but it also has a compiler which generates a script's corresponding executable (.exe) file that can be used on computers that don't have it installed.

Now that darned Macro key has been re-mapped to Right Shift. =D

So cool. I definitely have no other use for it, but it's still pretty cool. =)

Transformers Post

Well, I have yet to watch the new Transformers movie, so I had to quell the (surprisingly faint) fanboy urges in me by settling with the following online videos:

Costumes Transformers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akNJ6S2UqsE)

I already posted a (different) link to this video before, but this had to belong to a dedicated Transformers post. These are the BEST and COOLEST Transformers I have ever seen! It really looked like they took their time designing them, except for the first one -- and Starscream -- errr, maybe just Optimus Prime. I was surprised when I saw the transformation: the front of the legs unfolded forward, the torso also folded out! the arms locked into place at his side -- and he rolled! I silently chuckled in admiration when he had to shrug his shoulders to set his arms loose. =)

Real Transformer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STQ3nhXuuEM)

A video of a remote-controlled car which suddenly opens up and transforms into a two-legged humanoid robot that walks! And it can transform back into a car, too!

Robo-One 9: Robot Competition - LAYERED-X (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m_cCP1wn94)

Its description reads:

One of the most surprising robots that appeared at the 9th Robo-One competition held here in Tokyo on March 18-19th, 2006, was LAYERED-X developed by Asurada. Its unique design allows it to reconfigure and transform itself into some amazing shapes. At first it looks like a short tower, then becomes a carousel, then a walking spider, then into a tall biped battle robot. It can even transform an arm into a new leg and keep on fighting. Really amazing. For the latest robot news, information, hacks, photos, and videos with special on-site coverage from Japan, see Robots Dreams at http://www.robots-dreams.com

Japanese ingenuity.

Robot Chicken Clip - Optimus Prime gets Prostate Cancer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWYOQoui6Ks)

I've watched a couple of other Robot Chicken episodes, and it's actually cool!

The Rude Awakening of Optimus Prime (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq1_6D9QS9Y)

Description:

Optimus Prime is brought back to life in the year 2006 to find that many things have changed since his death.

Totally hilarious mutilation and re-dub of the Generation-2 episode where Optimus Prime was resurrected.

Not The Usual Way..

..of link-spamming. =p

---

The Most Beautiful Machine (http://www.kugelbahn.ch/sesam_e.htm)

Funny! It's a trunk/chest, and when you press the button that opens it, a while later, a prosthetic arm/hand comes out and closes it! Would like to see this in a "haunted" house.. =D

If Fire Were Water (http://www.boredstop.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=124&Itemid=37)

Really cool pics showing stuff usually afire, now a-water. =p I really liked the high-level of detail, especially the fine ripples. You could easily imagine the water flowing (upward, in this case). The condensation on the Zippo lighter was a nice touch. =)

Is the Sun from another galaxy? (http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/06/27/is-the-sun-from-another-galaxy/)

This article debunks the article from a previous link I posted (http://viewzone.com/milkyway.html) claiming that our Solar System actually came from another galaxy, and the Milky Way just stole it. =p

Pit Bull vs. Porcupine (http://www.boredstop.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=122&Itemid=31)

Can't add any more words. =p

Link Flood

Ten predictions about climate change that have come true
(http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article1984755.ece)

Scientists Now Know: We're Not From Here! -- Solar System not originally part of the Milky Way Galaxy?!
(http://viewzone.com/milkyway.html)

Cool designs
(http://www.tranism.com/weblog/_design/7.html)

OpenSky 2.0 Exhibition -- Nausicaa's glider, for real!
(http://www.tranism.com/weblog/2007/02/opensky_20_exhi.html)

Geek culture -- misc pics
(http://thirdeyedumb.com/2007/04/geek_culture_awesome.html)

I Like The Way you Think -- old joke, but still funny =p
(http://www.thealders.net/humour/school/sch04.html)

Enunciation is so important
(http://humour.200ok.com.au/image_toyoda.html)

First Atomic Clock Wristwatch
(http://www.leapsecond.com/pages/atomic-bill/)

Proposed Democratic Military Cutbacks
(http://www.keithwhite.us/cutback.html)

Demotivational Posters
(http://www.theburningbiscuit.com/Demotivational%20Posters.html)

Tetris cartoon
(http://www.kenart.net/misc_tetris.htm)

Read Print -- free online library
(http://www.readprint.com/)

In Case of Zombies..
(http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2736/e851293f472c3cd62ff7a37fm0.jpg)

http://www.freetechbooks.com/

Crazy Japanese Pitching Technique
(http://www.linkinn.com/wiki_101.php?add=wiki&id=6886&select=All)

Coolest Transformers Costumes Ever!!11
(http://www.linkinn.com/wiki_101.php?add=wiki&id=5819&select=All)

Can you believe this is a painting?
(http://www.linkinn.com/wiki_101.php?add=wiki&id=4813&select=All)


How awesome is this for getting a test back from a professor??
(http://www.linkinn.com/wiki_101.php?add=wiki&id=2299&select=All)

Someone (Else) Just (Likewise) Got Older (Too)!

Happy Birthday, Cel! =D

I Has..

..a LCD monitar!

Before:


After:




Will anyone believe me when I say, "Really, it's not that impressive."

>_<

Link Spam!

Transformers - Then & Now (http://www.revproject.com/transformers/default.html)

Chuck Norris - Google Search (http://clients.arranschlosberg.com/chuck/index.htm)

Pepsi Ice Cucumber (http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news-14109-Pepsi+ICE+CUCUMBER%E2%80%A6+they+did+it%21.html)

Nintendo Jewelry (http://thirdproject.net/shineys.html)

Science's 10 Most Beautiful Physics Experiments (http://physics-animations.com/Physics/English/top_ref.htm)

http://www.barrettcustomknives.com/japanese_swords

Ten Reasons Why Mandarin Chinese Will Kick Your Ass (http://shanghaied.vox.com/library/post/ten-reasons-why-mandarin-chinese-will-kick-your-ass.html)

You Said It Was Dead!

Yup, monitor's still dead. Still posting at home, though.

How?

TV output, FTW!



...

Well, not for the win.. it was just a nice save. TV resolution is CRAPPY! I'm typing in 640x480 and the text is still blurry!

Twist!

Hokay.

This post is a bit overdue.

*ehem*

My birthday almost began badly. Monday, June 18, I wasn't able to get out of the office early. June 19 was a holiday. Despite the announcement that we were still requested to go to work, they wouldn't be able to force me. So, our boss just told me to finish some stuff, just so it could be put under QA during the holiday. I only finished at around 10:30pm.

I went home a bit spent and, as I said, my birthday almost began with me feeling not-so-good. Fortunately, I was already talking with Kei on the phone since before midnight. So, I started my birthday with a smile on my face. :)

Tuesday, June 19. My day. :) I woke up at around 9:30am. Finalized some of my plans for the morning, in my head. I got up and out to the dining room/kitchen to see the table already set.

After (a late) breakfast, I turned the PC on. Surfed and chat a bit. The monitor display was flickering. Ma says that she would go next on the PC. Pa called for me, so I momentarily switched to Ma's user account. Had a lengthy conversation with Pa. It was nice. Even before our conversation ended, Ma said that the monitor blacked-out. When I went back to the PC, I found that the monitor was indeed dead. Minor set-back. I was pondering whether to buy the LCD monitor that I had wanted to get since two weeks before. I decided that it would depend on the time I would be able to go to Metro Manila.

The dead monitor wasn't really a big deal. I began preparing to go out to buy my lunch treat. I was thinking: shorts or jeans? slippers or shoes? I settled to wearing shorts and slippers. I went out and walked to Pannie's, my current choice of barber shop (Pannie's is a beauty parlor, but they had barbers on one side. That day and time, there was only one barber, and two others were waiting in line. I had no time to waste, so I went out and walked some more heading for the BPI branch at Lopez Avenue. I withdrew some cash, not too much -- I thought that, if I would need to, I could withdraw some more when I get to Makati.

From BPI, I rode a jeep to KFC. I was surprised to see a lot of people in KFC. Lots of well-off students nowadays. I bought a Fantastic Four bucket meal, and hurriedly headed home. I got on a jeep to Bayan with hardly any passengers, so I could put the food on the seat. However, starting from LB Square, the jeep gradually picked up more passengers. I was sitting behind the driver and, eventually, the jeep was filled-up. The guy to my right kept shifting. When the jeep stopped for a while at Junction, I checked my right hip pocket for my wallet. It was still there. My cellphone and coin purse were on my left side. I was distracted, passing several passengers' fare to the driver, and their change back to them. Suddenly, the guy to my right called for the jeep to stop in front of the market, the jeep in the middle of the road, caught between changing lanes. He quickly got off -- he hadn't even paid! I was distracted once again when I had to pass someone else's fare. I shifted in my seat a bit and I noticed: my wallet was GONE! I looked on the seat, looked under the seat. Quite panicked, I also got off the jeep. I thought I saw him ride behind a motorcycle. I scanned the passing jeeps. The motorcycle I was suspicious of moved. I looked at the passenger, and it wasn't the guy I was looking for. Still, I followed the motorcycle, when it went slowly. It stopped in front of a nearby pawnshop, where the passenger went to. I stood in front of the motorcycle, looking around, but I kept looking back to the motorcycle's driver. He had a bandanna wrapped over his face, so I got more suspicious when he intentionally avoided looking in my direction. I almost wanted to confront him. I weighed my options and I finally gave up. I walked home, stomping my feet, driving my umbrella to the ground every other step.

On my way home, I tried to recall the contents of my wallet. I kept mumbling, "Company ID, Suki card, Company ID, Suki card, Company ID, school ID, Company ID, ..." I was simply furious!

When I got home, I called Kei. After a while, she already had my ATM account blocked, and she had already calmed me down. I will not have my day ruined any more than it was!

Fortunately, my habit of keeping money in several places kicked in earlier. Back in KFC, I placed the change for the bucket meal in another pocket. It was quite a relief! I could still meet with Kei in Makati!

My mis-adventures ends there! The rest of my day was GRRRRR-EAT! :D

Everything was Kei's treat: the expensive (but worthwhile) dinner, the tickets to Fantastic Four and the fare on our way to their place. She even loaned me some cash for the week! Well, the movie tickets were a loan, too, since we usually share expenses on our dates. :p

My birthday? It was one of the HAPPIEST EVER! :D

To quote Cel's txt greeting:

"Birthdays are healthy for you. The more you have, the longer you live. Ü"

Profound, yeah! :p

B-Day

Pickpocket!

Am I Too Old?

Am I already washed-up as a developer?

I had almost the entire day to spend on my PC.

I played with Ubuntu a bit. I finally got WarCraft 3 to work fine with Wine. Before, it didn't render well, and was very slow. It turned out that 3D acceleration wasn't turned on. I don't know why I thought that it would be enabled by default. Now I know what to do at the newly set-up Linux box at the office. =p

For most of the day, I decided to actually do something productive with my PC. I wanted a PC at home primarily because I wanted to have free PC time to learn new stuff as a developer and maybe do a project on the side, if I feel like it. However, since I bought the PC, all I did with it was read comics and manga, watch stuff, play and chat. I didn't even get back to blogging regularly.

So, I started with reading about the very popular Spring Framework. I have already been introduced to its core concepts, and I can pretty much describe what it can do. However, what I knew was very shallow. I wouldn't be able to visualize a project using it, much less build one. Right now, I'm still at the level of introductions to its core components. I have four pieces of reading material open, since whenever I get stuck in a paragraph, I look for another article which I hope would be simpler to read -- but, alas, I would get stuck in a paragraph as well.

It's getting frustrating, because I don't think the problem is about Spring, but instead about me learning new technical stuff.

But, for now..

Why can't I think in Spring??

Jackie Chan and His Master Plan..

Yeah!

Funny commercial and song! =D

Weirdness

Since Mark RUDEly tagged me with this meme (weird pala, ha..), I'm reluctantly (but secretly eagerly) complying. :p

Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. As much as possible, when eating out, I make sure that I wouldn't order meals already ordered by my companions. If I already wanted something on the menu, I try to shout out my order first before someone else does.


2. I used to like telling inside jokes -- where the only person "inside" is me. Worse, I leave my audience hanging and refuse to explain the joke while visibly chuckling.


3. Sad endings never make me cry -- happy endings do.


4. I have to eat that last grain of rice, wipe away that last smear of sauce and scoop up that thin remaining layer of soup on my plate.


5. I am an extreme packrat. I have to think thrice before throwing something that can be kept away. I'm trying to get over this -- around half-a-year ago, I was able to throw away all the ATM receipts that I collected since college. I still keep some of my grade school notebooks, though.


6. Although my stuff looks like a mess to someone else, everything is in order!

The tagging stops here (ala JAm)!

Chuck Norris For President!

Chuck Norris For President!

And:

"If I am elected president" by Chuck Norris himself!

Yeba.

What The Heck?!

I was on my way to work and, as I've mentioned before, I am now somewhat too cautious when trying to cross the road.

So, there I was, waiting for the traffic to ebb. I noticed that the far side of the road was already clear, despite the near side still being packed with a variety of vehicles. I waited for some more, and during a lull in traffic, I crossed half-the-road.

I took a peek to the right and, indeed, it was clear. I step over the line in the middle of the road when, suddenly, I had this strange feeling and I looked to my left -- and I had to step back, with a grimace and a silent curse in my head:

Damn you counter-flowing motorcycles (with a passenger, even)! Damn you all to hell!

Cartoon Nostalgia

Transformers, tapos eto:

"Warner purrs for Thundercats"

Nabanggit pa yung He-Man remake na gagawin. Ayus.