Thursday, December 28, 2006

Mindy Christmas and a Longish Post to Everyone

So the missus and I spent Christmas with my folks. She prepared samosas and pasta. Yummy! And somehow it has become tradition for several years now for my mom to cook beef casserole during Christmas, especially if I'm coming over. Shame that she only cooks it during Christmas dinners. But I guess that's what makes it special.

It was a very nice evening. Good food, good company. It would have been better to have my brothers and their families there but one's in the province and the other was with his wife's family. But we did meet a new friend: Mindy! She is a Yorkshire terrier puppy (I think), otherwise known as 'the cutest thing'. One of our guests brought her over. I would love to have one of these but they cost a few months pay so I'll settle for borrowing other people's dogs.

So, I took pictures of the food and the dog but forgot the people. Shows you where my attention was at :P If the missus is reading, I have a picture of you too!

By the way, if you didn't already know, the Internet is broken. I definitely noticed my connection at home slowed down. There were even a few sites I couldn't access.

I have finished reading Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice. Now comes the hard part, waiting for the sequels. I was surprised to find that the story was told in the first person perspective. That poses a lot more challenge to the author. Can you imagine? To speculate what might have been Jesus' thoughts? Anyway, I enjoyed it. The pace is slow, but the writing is good. It's like listening to your parents tell a story about their life. You're invested in it. Of course, hardcore Christians might want to stay away as they may find it blasphemous. Good thing they don't have the Inquisition no more :P

So now I'm moving to Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris. This is the story of Hannibal's childhood, his origin. I bought this during the month of the missus' birthday. Because she was a Powerbooks member, she gets 40% off on the month of her birthday, so I got me a present. Yup, I realize it was her birthday. Believe me, she took advantage of that 40% off. This will be the first book I read by Thomas Harris. I haven't read any of the Hannibal books but I have seen the movies. Thomas Harris fans might cringe at that. They've already started filming Hannibal Rising. This time Anthony Hopkins is out of the picture though.

***Geek Alert on the remaining paragraphs***

Microsoft is giving away Ferrari 1000s Laptops to bloggers as a marketing strategy in anticipation of the MS Vista launch next year. Hey! Where's mine? I'm a blogger! Some bloggers who received the gift are now questioning the ethics of it all. Well, all I can say is that it's a smart move. Judging from the list of bloggers who received the gift, they must have based it on the volume and return traffic these bloggers get. So basically these bloggers have a lot of loyal readers. As to the ethics questions, well, people who received the unit also got a note saying they are not required to blog about it. They can keep it either way, give it back if they choose, or even give it away on their site. So if you're conflicted, give it away - to me. This is called a "Win - Win" situation. You solve your moral dilemma, I get a new kick ass laptop. Of course, MS would never send me one :P I only get two or three hits a day on average, not to mention the rampant piracy over here. If you haven't been to Manila, we all greet each other with "Ahoy there matey!" and wear an eye patch. Shiver me timbers!


Posted here is an excerpt of the going out of beta Blogger announcement. I've never played Warcraft but I love the Battlestar Galactica metaphor. Yes yes, it's geeky. If only my high school english teacher came up with this kind of examples during the figures of speech lessons, I would have done a lot better.







Sunday, December 24, 2006

Monday, December 18, 2006

How Long Have We Had That?

Phrase of the Day: Monetary Morale Boosters

Hmmm. Tricky. I know the individual words but when you put them together like that, they kind of blur. My brain is apparently rejecting this concept. It cannot be true. It's so alien and unfamiliar. It's like seeing a unicorn. Somebody must have heard these words from a meeting of the NASA Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous and just mashed them together. Those NASA guys do that you know. Remember that carbon dioxide filter in Apollo 13? Anyway, I digress.

You know what it feels like when you walk into a middle of a conversation and you just catch a word that makes you go 'huh?'. Then you try to ask them what they were talking about and they say 'nothing'. Well, that's kind of what it felt like when I first heard the phrase.

Phrase Definitions:
1. something that I do not get.
2. a currency fueled rocket for the depressed.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

So You Think You Can Write

A couple of days ago I received an email from Poetry.com. I submitted the Sandcastle poem I wrote to their site and basically forgot about it. The email says that after being reviewed by their committee my poem was now a 'semi-finalist' in their poetry writing contest. Also, by getting to this stage, my poem will included in a book, "Immortal Verses", to be published next year along with other poems written by other 'semi-finalist'. I got excited at that thought, and that I actually wrote something worthy of publication. Wow. But then, I got to the part where they offer me to buy the book, of course, at a special "contributor's discount". After reading that, the day dream bubble went *puff*. Red flags rose, and alarm bells rang. So I went on Google and searched the key words 'poetry.com' and 'scam'. Sure enough I got relevant hits. Among them was this article. So basically, everyone who submits a poem to their site gets the email I got. Ouch. That's a big 'you wrote nothing special'. The site makes money off people who buy the books wanting to see their stuff printed. They're offering the book for $49.95 a pop. And when you buy the book, they offer you to buy the audio book version, plaques, mugs, and whatnot. They even invite you to attend a convention with other finalist. You pay for your own plane ticket, hotel, and probably the privilege to attend the convention as well. So there. For a couple of minutes I was flying high only to fall hard back on the ground :) Last week our office had a social club activity where people dress-up to show what their alternate careers might be. Maybe I should have gone as Shakespeare or a drunken bum, same difference I suppose :)

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Blog Interrupted

Last week was a good week. The missus had her birthday last week and she wanted to go bowling. So bowling it was. Some people would go skydiving on their birthday or something like that, but that is so passé :) Bowling is the new skydiving, for the sake of this post at least.

It was fun, specially since I won. The missus would claim it was a draw, but I had a bigger accumulated score, so I won.

The missus: uhm.....don't believe a word he prints!


See, in some cultures it would be considered rude to interrupt someone typing. Don't ask me which culture, I just know there are some out there.

The missus: Not in this house!

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get an internet connection at home or at least to be blogging at home. Before she would only read my entries after I post them, not while I type them. Besides, I've been online so much this weekend I think my brain has turned to goo. I think I can hear sloshing in my head.

As I was saying, before being rudely interrupted, I won. Birthday or no birthday, fact is fact.


The missus: Sympathy votes for the missus! He's being mean...again!

I think people are generally more discerning than that. Plus, I'm not mean, I'm nice.


The missus: ooooo so defensive

I think someone should get their own blog :p I think I'll end it here before people are witness to a full on domestic event. Kidding! I love the missus (translate: I hate sleeping on the couch)! And just to remind the missus:

Monday, December 04, 2006

Sing The Low Budget Monday Blues

Monday. Monday. Monday. What a dreadful day. When you're out with friends and you go "it's Monday tomorrow", you all just let out a collective sigh. Everyone understands what you mean and how you feel.

I'm so glad that "Narda" won Best Song of the Year in the NU Rock Awards. Congrats! Some people might think it's 'corny' to be singing about a fictional character. But when you listen to the song, you can tell it's inspired. The song evokes the feeling of longing in both music and the vocals. I love it. Great, great, great news. It brightens up the Monday blues a bit.

When I heard that Kamikaze won for Narda, it reminded me of one Sunday night about two weeks ago that I spent with the missus. Since Christmas was coming and because it was one of my all time favorite songs, I asked the missus to listen to 'Pasko Na Sinta Ko' by Gary Valenciano. Cheesy, yes, but that's me :) She listened to it with me and because she couldn't understand all the words (she didn't grow up in the Philippines so her Filipino is mostly colloquial) to the song, I translated the words or explained the meaning to her. Since she enjoyed that, I played her a few more Filipino songs I had. I kept a play list of the songs we listened to that night (including 'Narda'):

Gary Valenciano - Pasko Na Sinta Ko
Sharon Cuneta - Sana'y Wala ng Wakas
Kamikaze - Narda
Eraserheads - Kailan
Eraserheads - Minsan
Rizal Underground - Bilanggo (acoustic)
Cooky Chua - Pers Lab
True Faith - Muntik ng Maabot ang Langit
Color It Red - Pagli
san
Orange and lemons - Yakap Sa Dilim
Apo Hiking Society - Batang-bata Ka Pa
Apo Hiking Society - Awit Ng Barkada

I love classic Filipino love songs especially those that have that old Kundiman feel to it. Of course, I like the new ones too (like Narda!). But the classic Filipino songs remind me how beautiful the Filipino language is, but at the same time it shames me that I don't use it as often as I should. Since I graduated college, I don't remember writing a paragraph of straight and proper Filipino. Everything I've written since has been in either English or Taglish (side comment: isn't it cool that
Taglish has a definition in Wikipedia? And it comprehensive too. ), which is even more horrendous.

Anyway, that Sunday night was beautiful. It reminded me of the things we used to do during our first few years together. I would write her love letters and take her for a stroll in CCP and watch the sunset. Yes, we went for strolls in CCP's breakwater. Yes, baduy, but I didn't have much money to take her to movies and fancy restaurants. Yes, I'm getting defensive. Most of the time we took public transportation when we went out. And during times that we did manage to borrow a car, she would drive because she had a driver's license and I didn't. Yep! I was a regular prince charming. Sometimes we even go Dutch treat on dates. And when she got a job teaching while I was still in college, she paid for everything. Of course I would protest, but that was just for show. That was a cool year too! She was teaching and I was a student. I was a student dating a college teacher, I have to say I got some satisfaction out of that :P Fine, I'm shallow.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Bailing Out of the Vellum

*sigh* I didn't want to do it but I stopped reading Vellum midway. It's the ultimate offense you can ever do to a book, and I've only ever done it a handful of times. But it's been more than two weeks since I started reading Vellum and I'm lost and uninterested in the story. I guess it's just not for me. Well, to be honest, I just couldn't keep up with the multiple story lines, different realities, and flashbacks. It's just too much for my feeble mind. Might be a good movie though :P

But every book deserves a good home. So I'm putting Vellum up for adoption. If you're interested, you can read about the book here. But don't bother if think you'll get it for half the price, I've offended the book once, I won't do it again :P

So after that experience, I'm gonna have to go back to one of the heavy hitters. Next on deck is Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Thanksblogging

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends in the west :)

Happy 2nd Month of Blogging to me :)

Nothing really to say except I want! Shortest blog post yet. Just didn't want the week to go by without updating it :P

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

A Bit Of A Hiccup

The missus and I were driving around last weekend running some errands when they played "5 years" by Sugar Hiccup on the radio. I haven't heard the song in a while. I think it's been more than ten years since the song was released. But I do remember that made an impression on me when I first heard it. Since then it invokes a lot of imagery in my mind when I hear it. It's very haunting. I thought I should capture those images by writing them down. Just like the song, I tried to keep it abstract:



Sublime anguish, forlornness, ever present, ominous, and looming. To forget, she immerses herself in the mundane. Keep busy and distracted, that is the routine. But once in awhile a glimpse of other people's lives wakes a memory; a moment in her own life, of that life, of what used to be. The memory triggers another. Happy though they may be, they now overwhelm her, and sadden her. "He will never be back", a chant that echoes in her mind during these moments. It abates the surge of memories, plunging her back into despondency. He didn't leave willingly, it was not his choice, not within his power to avert. He was taken. He would never have left her of his own accord.

What I like best about the song is that it is mostly formless and raw, you can mold it so that it fits your experience.


On a lighter note, I wanted to record a momentous event. My credit card has a zero balance:
I've paid everything up! I'm so happy I could cry! I wanted to record this event for posterity's sake. Show my future children that it is possible, that it can be done. Let it be known that on this day, November 16, 2006, I am debt free! That is, just until the bills come in a week or two :P

But since I used up all my money paying off the credit card, here is the Christmas shopping list this year:

1. Mom - Pot Holder
2. Dad - Neck Tie
3. Brothers - Socks
4. Wife - Chocolates, with a hug and a kiss to make it extra sweet
5. Everyone Else - Christmas Cards
*please note that all items in this list are prefixed with "cheap". It was removed for brevity.

I remember this list. I think I had it when I was back in college.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Cause We're Sly

As if not hearing them when they're pretending isn't annoying enough, somebody invents this. And the researchers have pictures of a demonstration here, just so you can see how 'cool' they are. Great. Can you imagine being in a train with a guy wearing 'em?

So they've started promoting the Rocky Balboa movie that is coming out Dec. 22, 2006 in the US. Wow. The original Rocky movie came out in 1976. Imagine that, Rocky VI. Stallone's not done though. They've already started work on Rambo IV: The Serpent's Eye and it is scheduled to come out next year. So all the old movie series is coming back I guess. This after Terminator 3 and the Star Wars prequels came out in recent years. How about Police Academy 7? You never know.

For those who hate making excuses (pun, yes), there's a new service out there that will make them for you: The Alibi Network. Here's Top 3 of my favorite services:

Having a Discreet Affair?
We invent, create and provide customized alibis and excuses for attached adults involved in discreet relationships.

Rescue Call Services
The phone call from us to communicate any information you desire or to help you escape any situations such as dull meetings, bad dates or other unnecessary commitments that need to be cut short or cancelled.

Virtual Employment
Are you embarrassed to be unemployed? Do you have a critical life situation that requires you to have a job? Would you like to create an impression that you have your dream job? With your own virtual office, executive assistant and business cards?

You know, if you need help lying to your wife, you might not be smart enough to have an affair. Oops, just in case the missus is reading this, let me re-phrase that: You shouldn't be having an affair in the first place. That is a bad bad thing. You shouldn't even be thinking or looking at other women. In fact, all the women in the world were taken by aliens when you got married, except your wife. Oh yeah, and you should never lie to your wife. I myself have never done it, because I love her very much and not because I fear physical and mental punishment. Clear? Right. Glad we got that straightened out.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

An Inconvenient Truth

I've been looking for "An Inconvenient Truth" since earlier this year, when I first heard about it. I wanted to get it on DVD when I was back in Colorado through Amazon but found that it was not released at the time and was still running in limited theaters. Well, they're finally releasing it this November.

Global warming is fact, not a theory. The consequences are dire, maybe especially more so for us Filipinos. We live in an archipelago, a lot of people live in the coast, and a majority of our people depends on agriculture for their livelihood. In a decade our proud number of 7,107 islands might have to be revised and our Miss Universe contestants will have to learn a new number. See the film and spread the message. It might be the most important film you'll ever see. For those who need opinions other than mine, here's a link.

"Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced."

Sounds like something you would see in a movie poster doesn't it? Nope, this is reality folks. You can forget about the popcorn when this show starts.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Who's the Bitter Blogger?

Miss IMSHO, I'm putting you front and center :)
imnsho said...

ei mr. sandcastle (hehehe syempre referred to you in online name),

i keep forgetting to buzz you, that you remind me of Zach na TJ sa 5Takes... hehehe sa Discovery Travel and Living... but off the record you are a better blogger than he is.. hehehehe =)
You know, that sounds really weird. Mr. Sandcastle, nah, that simply doesn't work. Sounds really wimpy. Wow, and I have been using it for a while now. I think I'll just start using my nickname for my display name :P I wanted some element of anonymity, but my pic does appear in this blog, so I guess I'm not fooling anyone :P

I checked out the site you linked to. All I can say is I hate them. I hate them because they have my dream job. To be able to travel and then report about it. I hate them. I'm so bitter you can use me as fish cracker dip. But as you say, I'm a better blogger that he is, so there. The world will probably disagree. All I can say is they can kiss my...cute and lovable little puppy...if I ever get one :)

Acquisitions this week:

Vellum: The Book of All Hours
By Hal Duncan

This book has one hell of a good blurb on it. I'm crossing my fingers that the book lives up to it. Ayyyyyeee! Just saw the three star rating on Amazon when I was linking to it. Shucks, I didn't want any preconceptions about the book before reading it. Well, I have loved books that weren't popular with critics before. Hopefully, this is one of those.

Oh yeah, I just finished reading Manfredi's Empire of Dragons. As usual, Manfredi does not disappoint. Loved it. Whenever I get tired or bored reading, I pick up a Manfredi book. Depending on how much I like a book, I can take a few days or a a few months to finish one. Empire of Dragons I finished in a week (a busy work week!). I was also able to finish Alan Moore's The Watchmen during the weekend. I wish I had read it 10 years ago. Too many people have 'borrowed' his idea since then, and having seen those second hand interpretations first, the story no longer had the same effect on me. *sigh* But still, I enjoyed reading it.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Because We Can

Funny how this product both exemplifies how advanced and how backward we are as a society.

I looked-up titanium to find out why anyone would want to have a titanium spork. The notable characteristics of titanium are:

- Excellent resistance to corrosion
- Withstands attacks by acids
- High strength-to-weight ratio
- High melting point

So, if you need a titanium spork to eat your food, forget about it. It will probably kill you or, at the very least, give you bad case of gas. Just say no.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Drill Happy

Wow, it's been a week since my last entry. Longest lull so far in my first month of blogging :)

I've been dreaming of getting myself an IPod, HD DVD and TV, a PC upgrade, a new phone, and sound system for the car. But it just feels like a waste of hard earned money. Plus I don't really earn that much to begin with :P So, toys for the big boys are basically out. Sensibility sucks.


We've been doing some finishing work in the house for the past few weekends; putting up shelves, catches for the closets, and hanging things on the wall. So I had myself a good excuse to go get a power drill. I got an 'okay' from the missus as she must have figured if I was going to buy it, it would at least mean I would be doing some work in the house for the short time I was excited to use it :P Actually, she was pretty psyched about it as well. In fact, we gave it a test run at around 10pm at night. We probably woke the people next door, but hey, we both probably could not have slept peacefully without doing it.

So it was that I got myself my first power tool and started poking holes on our walls. I guess it's a different set of toys from now on, the kinds that cat either kill you or amputate a few limbs and appendages.
Now, if I propose to build some cabinet drawers you think I can get myself a nail gun, sander, and power saw?

After several cancellations due to busy schedules and natural disasters, we were finally able to go on our well deserved team activity. We went bowling Monday night and I really had a good time playing, especially since our group won. I'm pretty sure the other team had fun losing too *snickers*. Of course, I'm only teasing. Well, mostly teasing :P

Afterwards we had dinner. Everybody got a free stuff toy with his or her order of drink. You had a choice of getting a giraffe or a dog. I suspect there must have been some hanky panky going on in that pile of stuff toys cause the dogs' necks are just as long as the giraffes'. Dogaffes or Giraffadogs hybrids. They would make interesting pets. For one thing, the dog wouldn't have to climb up your lap to lick your face.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Banana In My Mind

I was in a kind of stupor the whole day yesterday as I only got a few hours of sleep. A zombie; just lagging around and moaning every now and then. And like any good zombie, I had a one-track mind. Only it wasn't about eating brains. Solving a client's billing problem, that was all I had in mind. That is, until the 'lunch lady' came and I got myself a meal. She gave me a banana as part of the meal I bought. From then on I had a banana and billing in my mind. I don't know why the banana stuck but here are a few things that popped in my head:

- Put a banana in that billing engine.
- Have a banana!
- If MacGyver had a banana, he could fix this.
- Bananarama
- Banana zombies, instead of coming after your brain, it comes after your banana! Mwahahahaha!! *screams*

I don't actually like bananas. In fact, I wasn't able to eat the banana or my lunch. I took it home and gave it to the missus – “Sorry I'm late, I brought you a banana *smile* ". I usually brought chocolates for these occasions, but I already had the banana at hand, so I went with it. I guess you could say I was going bananas. My blog. My jokes. Deal with it.

Strange things you find on the internet. While writing this entry, I wondered what I would get if I googled "Banana Zombie". Didn't think I would get any relevant results, but I got the picture posted here. Apparently he's a Dancing Banana Zombie, what could get better than that? A Dancing Banana Split Zombie! And if you want to get all intellectual, I also got this result.

There are exactly 20 bananas in this blog entry. Yup, 20, don't forget the one trying to grab you.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Deliver Or Die Trying

A quickie. A lot of blog days have gone to waste and topics are piling up. Work just gets in the way of blogging :P I've been staying really late in the office past couple of days. Well, later than usual. The wife says I should stay here since I like it so much. Said lovingly, of course (she might be reading).

We received one of those pieces of work that fall under "the world will end if you don't finish it ASAP!" category. So, because misery loves company, I involved a few other people in it. To them, thank you and I'm sorry :P I wish I could say I won't do it again. We've sent the client a reply, hopefully we never hear from again about that particular issue. But that is wishful thinking at best! I dread reading my Inbox tomorrow morning.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Working Late

I gotta learn my lesson. Never utter the sentence "looks like it's going to be a slow week" in reference to work. It always comes back to bite you in the ass.

We were finally able to do a team activity. For a while there it seemed like fortuitous events were conspiring to stop us from having any kind of team activity. But we kinda snuck this activity in. Didn't really announce it to
everyone, just went "let's go!" and we did. Went and had ice cream crepes at Crepes and Cream, what rebels we are!

So, one of the project groups has 5,000 hours worth of work to complete in one month. Wow. And I was complaining about 1,400 hours worth work to be completed in two and half months. Well, stock up on the coffee and red bull people, long nights ahead.


Acquisition this week:
The Tower - Valerio Massimo Manfredi

Well actually, I didn't buy it myself. It was a gift from the missus for our 2nd anniversary. That makes the gift almost a month overdue :P But I love it, she really thought about this one.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Ode to a sand castle

Thought I should modify my blog description. A sand castle signifies mortality or temporal existence. I didn't feel that the tag line "the only constant is change" had the same message. So I just wrote something new:
the tide comes in
we crumble
returned to whence we came
the act is not malevolent
it is natural and peaceful
the surf stirs us
drifting across the abyss
glimpses of a foreign shore
dreams of building once more

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Better than sliced bread

Actual email excerpt ->
"You just need to bring-up a CC&B screen and type in the new file name. Easy as pie. Although I know how to use the idiom, I was never quite sure of its origin. I've seen my mom make pie and it's not easy at all. Now eating a pie, that's easy. Well, a slice of pie, cause eating a whole pie isn't easy. It also has to be good pie, terrible tasting pie is hard to consume and might not go down well. So, to be clear -> Easy as eating a really good slice of pie. *whew!*"

Came the reply ->

"You crack me up................ who would have thought that one simple pie saying could cause so much thought! What other crazy stuff do you think about? What about the saying "better than sliced bread?" have you heard that one?"
Answered back ->
"The question is probably rhetorical but I'll reply anyway, cause it's fun. Also, people watching see I'm writing an email and they think I'm working.

I'm familiar with the expression but I'm a baguette person myself. Good bread and you can use it as a weapon for self-defense in case somebody tries to mug you on the way home from the bakery. And if the mugger ends up in a hospital:

Doc: What's the injury?

EMT: Blunt force trauma.

Doctor: The cause?
EMT: A day old baguette.

Doc. Nurse, get me 20mg of pate, stat!

Sliced bread is great. Who wants to spend half their breakfast time slicing bread? So I say it's a valid expression :P
P.S. - I hate baguettes. Tough bread. I just thought a baguette was funnier than regular sliced bread :P"

Not very business-like exchange, but hey, I had fun. Put this down to improving client relations. Oh yeah -> Disclaimer: To protect the identity of paties involved, names, dates, and places might have been changed.

New look for the blog, more "sandish". Trying out Blogger Beta, more user friendly I think.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Easy as pie

I was writing an email to a client and I used the idiom "easy as pie". Although I know how to use it, I was never quite sure of its origin. I've seen my mom make pie and it's not easy at all. Now eating a pie, that's easy. Well, a slice of pie, cause eating a whole pie isn't easy too. It also has to be good pie, terrible tasting pie is hard to consume and might not go down well. So, to be clear, next time use -> Easy as eating a really good slice of pie.

But really, this link, makes this entry pure blabber :P

Thursday, October 05, 2006

A Week of Blogging

So, blogging for about a week now. Hooray for me. Where's the parade? Confetti? Aw shucks, blogging is not all it'’s hyped up to be... :P

A friend and I came up with a concept for a website more than a year back. We got excited discussing it so we actually went and purchased a URL - http://www.eReklamo.com. I only have it until the end of this month, so I decided to play around with it. I got it to point to my blog :P So for a couple of weeks at least, my blog's URL address is not a mile long. Shame I didn't think of it sooner.

Headline: Arroyo concerned over rising peso
I have to say I share your concern Madam President. It's only going to get lower as Christmas comes in. I would do my usual rant that prices keep going up, but gas prices actually went down. So there goes my rant.

Headline: Scientists’ teleport two different objects
So, what excuse will you have now when you're late for something?
"Sorry, the re-materialization process is a bit sluggish today. "
But it doesn't look like Scotty is beaming up anyone anytime soon, unless that someone is only composed of a few million atoms. Everywhere geeks are holding their breath.


Wouldn't you want to see the police line-up for
this?
"Doctor, can you identify the perpetrators?"

"Ah, yes officer, the lady with the double D's..."


Collegiate Champions League is now on. Can't wait to see the match-up between San Beda and UST. Colleges from all over the country from different leagues nationwide battle it out. Including the "Webmasters" from Cebu University. Guess what? They have their own website, what a coincedink.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Several Battles (sports, policy, tv, financial, personal)

Congratulations to the UST Growling Tigers!
UAAP Season 69 Senior Men's Basketball Team Champs!


What a season for UST! I guess they just like doing it the hard way :) They had to beat UE twice in a row to get into the Championship round and they overcame that task. Game 1 of the Championship they lose to Ateneo by 1 point. They now had to beat Ateneo twice in a row to win the crown. And guess what? They did. What a season. Specially if you consider they almost didn't get pass the elimination round. This Cinderella team won't have to go home at the stroke of midnight, enjoy the party guys!

"Our Aim Is To Keep This Bathroom Clean. Gentlemen, your aim will help. Stand closer, it's shorter than you think. Ladies, please remain seated for the entire performance."

Following is an article from a Norwegian, Aftenposten, newspaper on October 2, 2006. It should serve as a warning for the boys:
Urination will go to committee
A local decision that schoolboys must sit on toilet seats when urinating has provoked political debate.

The head of The Democrats Party, a splinter group of former Progress Party hardliners, Vidar Kleppe, is outraged that boys at Dvergsnes School in Kristiansand have to sit and pee.

Kleppe accuses the school of fiddling with God's work, and wants the matter discussed at the executive committee level of the local council, newspaper Dagbladet reports.

"When boys are not allowed to pee in the natural way, the way boys have done for generations, it is meddling with God's work," Kleppe told the newspaper.

"It is a human right not to have to sit down like a girl," Kleppe said.

Principal Anne Lise Gjul at Dvergsnes School would not comment on Kleppe's plans to make political waves and regretted if anyone was offended by the ban on standing and passing water.

Gjul told NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) that the young boys are simply not good enough at aiming, and the point was to have a pleasant toilet that could be used by both boys and girls.

(Aftenposten English Web Desk/NTB)

I especially like the quote:
"It is a human right not to have to
sit down like a girl,"

I wasn't aware that the U.N. ratified such matters. But as a male, I have to say I'm glad it's in there. Of course, that doesn't mean I wave my right to pee sitting down. And yeah, I agree, sounded like they were quoting an eight year old boy "I don't want to sit down like a girl! I don't wanna get cooties!"

So boys be warned, improve your aim lest you be forced to "pass water" sitting down. Maybe instead of a ban they should consider issuing licenses. Once you've been certified to hav
e passed potty training, you are issued a license and you may pee standing up. Of course, a special action force will need to be assembled to regulate such training centers and enforce these toilet related laws. They can call themselves S.Q.U.A.T. (Special Quality Urination Action Team). Catchy huh?

Yey!!! Battlestar Galactica Season 3!!! Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point!!! Odama kicks Cylon a**!


Final note: To my dear co-workers, we are screwed. I hope you find solace in the fact that George Michael is also screwed.

Friday, September 29, 2006

The Day That Was Milenyo

So, yesterday was something.

Storm Signal Number 3 and Manila took a direct hit. It's the first time a work day was called off due to a storm. I was kind of bummed as the OSS Team was supposed to have a team building activity. But of course, Mother Nature had other plans.

When I got the message that there would be no work I thought 'Well, I can catch up on those DVDs.' Little did I know I would be catching up on my reading instead.

I was sitting by the window watching the storm outside. Trees were flailing all around. It was kinda like watching a mosh pit in one of the Ozzfest concerts; a lot of head banging and slamming action going on. Right, drunk and rebellious trees. That explains why they were splayed all over the streets of Manila the next morning. Apparently some billboards got into the action :P


When the winds calmed down a little, emphasis on little, I went out to make sure our car w
as not under a tree or if it was still in the parking lot at all. When I got outside everything was covered in leaves. There were also few branches poking out of the pile here and there. In the backyard several trees were uprooted. Including a large one. Fortunately, it didn't fall on anyone's house.

I have a newfound respect for LBC Delivery. Around noon, when the winds were at its strongest, we heard someone calling out at the front door; the doorbell wasn't working as the power was now out. It turned out to be an LBC Delivery guy. And guess what? He was on a motorcycle. How about that? Take that Fedex! UPS? Who's that? Maybe they should change their name to -> LBC Extreme Delivery: "We'll deliver or die trying!". Hey, I should copyright that.

Of course, after receiving that delivery, Milenyo was not about to be outdone. It made a delivery of its own: a piece of corrugated plastic roofing delivered with attitude right at our doorstep, literally. That's Milenyo saying 'I can do better than that! And oh yeah, I can bring down your house too.’ Who's the man?!'


One of our neighbors in Paranaque called to say that the wind blew our garage doors open. It was thrashing around and making a lot of noise in the process. They had gone and tied it down. So we had to go out and drive right after the storm around 3 or 4pm from Diliman to Bicutan. Almost all the trees planted in the road's "island" were uprooted. Ads that were not taken down from their billboards were ripped, and pieces of it were scattered on the road. Light post were down and some were leaning precariously on electrical cables over the road and passing cars. A lot of MMDA people was already on the road by then, chopping up trees blocking the roads and removing debris. Side streets were cleared by people living in the shantys beside it. Of course, they were now asking money from drivers trying to use those same streets.

So we got to our house. There was some damage but they were minor. The garden was a mess though. We locked up and started heading back. Driving back in the dark was dangerous. All the streetlights were out. I don't remember passing a place where they had electricty. The whole of Manila was now drowned in darkness. Listening to the radio, reports of stranded, missing, and dead people were coming in. Houses were blown away by the wind, destroyed by mudslides, and washed away by overflowing rivers.

What a grim reminder how fragile things we are.