We joined millions of people last night on a small contribution against global warming by turning off our lights and my computers and other electronic devices for one hour.
March 30, 2008
Earth Hour 2008
March 29, 2008
March 27, 2008
Waking up Early
I had to wake up at 4AM to support a project in Sydney. Called up the PM and asked if they're ready for me to join the bridge. He said, no, you're not needed at this time, we'll just call you if there's an issue.
Darn! They should have told me that earlier so I shouldn't have to wake up this early. My body's no longer used to be up earlier than 8.
Back to bed then.....
March 9, 2008
PBA Legends at Arco Arena
Today I had the chance to watch and meet the Philippine Basketball legends at Arco Arena in Sacramento.
Here's my favorite -- atoy Co.
We all knew him by the monicker Fortune Cookie, but the Mapua Institute of Technology will always remember him as the Fortune Rookie when he joined the team in 1970.
He first played in the PBA on April 22, 1975, scoring 34 points and leading Crispa to a 113-102 win over CFC, the team's first victory after starting the season with three (3) straight defeats.
He was by far the best shooter there ever was in the Philippine Basketball Association long before the arrival of Allan Caidic. He was the main proponent of the famous fade-away shot and his patented “stop on a dime” jumper was unmatched in his storied career. A great scorer, he was the first player to score 5,000 points achieving it after four years, one month and five days after his debut on April 22, 1975. In 1984, he also became the first player to score 10,000 points in the PBA’s history. Had the PBA introduced the 3-point shot in 1975, he would have been the first to record 1,000 3-point shots, way ahead of Caidic and Ronald Magsanoc. Dubbed as the Fortune Cookie, he was named MVP in 1979 and a 9-time Mythical Team member. He ended his career as the PBA’s No. 4 in All-Time Scoring with 12,994 points behind fellow pioneers Ramon Fernandez and Alberto Guidaben and Alvin Patrimonio of batch 1988 as well as holding the distinction of being the first PBA player to have scored 5,000 and 10,000 points. He also was a career 78.6% FT shooter having converted 1549/1970 FT attempts and dished-off 2,640 assists (3.5 apg) in 14 seasons in the PBA from 1975-1988 in a grand total of 749 games in 24395:05 minutes.
In 2000, he was named as one of the PBA's 25 greatest players of all-time in elaborate awards ceremonies that highlighted the 25th year anniversary of the league.
More pictures here:
February 9, 2008
Helped a Friend Move
This morning I helped a friend move from her old house in Pleasanton to a newer, bigger house in one of the most expensive cities in Silicon Valley -- San Ramon. I'm jealous.
Darn, that place is so beautiful. As we exit the freeway, a nice park is on the left side. I saw a basketball court and a place for skateboarders. And the baseball field (or maybe a soccer field) even had an electronic score board -- in the outdoors.
Just a mile away down the road was a golf course. And beautiful (and huge) man-made water fountains.
The weather was good this morning so there were a lot of people jogging.
And I noticed the cars were mostly european made. And I saw a stretched limo.
The new house was nice. It's 4 years old but the previous owner used it only on weekends. So it's practically new, and really smells brand new. 4 bedrooms (plus a bonus room) and 2 baths, pretty decent. I liked it.
Shops and grocery stores are just a few blocks away. I really loved it there. But I couldn't afford it. A million dollar is too much.
February 5, 2008
February 1, 2008
Lakers Get Gasol
Yeah Baby!
Finally the lakers have a chance to compete for the championship! My friends and I, BIG BIG Laker fans, were very very upset when bynum got hurt. Ironically, he got hurt while playing against pau's grizzlies.
Now, the team got help from an all-star caliber. come playoff time, when bynum is back, they really have a big chance of getting that championship ring!
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Pack your bags, Pau. You're going to the bright lights of Los Angeles.
Kobe's got help on the way. The Lakers have acquired Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in a deal surrounding Kwame Brown. Story
• Bucher on Gasol deal 
| TrueHoop | Trade Machine: Make a deal
January 13, 2008
My Boy Bynum Has Been Injured
Bynum leaves game vs. Grizzlies with injured left knee
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Lakers center Andrew Bynum was helped off the court with an apparent injury to his left knee early in the third quarter of Sunday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The 20-year-old Bynum, a key factor in the Lakers' excellent start this season, came down on teammate Lamar Odom's left foot while going for a rebound under the Memphis basket and dropped to the floor in obvious pain, clutching his knee.
Lakers spokesman John Black said X-rays of Bynum's knee were negative, but an MRI would be taken Monday and Bynum wouldn't travel to Seattle for that night's game against the SuperSonics.
Bynum had 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists and the Lakers led 66-55 when he was injured. Teammates Kwame Brown and Ronny Turiaf carried him to the locker room, and the 7-footer wasn't putting any weight on his left leg as he left the court.
Bynum, a third-year pro taken by the Lakers with the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft, is averaging 13.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.12 blocked shots. He entered the game tied with Golden State's Andris Biedrins for the NBA lead in field goal percentage at 63.4, and was the league's 11th-leading rebounder and ninth-leading shot-blocker.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
December 25, 2007
A Message for Christmas
God is Love
Christmas is all about love
Christmas is thus about God and Love
Love is the key to peace among all mankind
Love is the key to peace and happiness within all creation
Love needs to be practiced - love needs to flow - love needs to make happy
Love starts with your partner, children and family and expands to all world
God bless all mankind
From my family to yours
December 19, 2007
Young Filipina Diva
In her first appearance on American television, 15 year-old Charice Pempengco from the Philippines performs an incredible version of, “And I Am Telling You.”
Watch her video here : Ellen Show
December 18, 2007
Dan Fogelberg - May you rest in peace
My deepest sympathy goes to the family of Dan Fogelberg. We have lost a great man. He will live on in our hearts and through his music. The pop-rock singer best known for his songs "Longer," "Same Old Lang Syne," "Hard to Say," and "Leader of the Band" from the 80's, has passed away at his home in Maine at the age of 56 due to prostate cancer.
Dan Fogelberg created powerful songs in simplest form which mostly dealt with emotional issues in personal relationships. "Same Old Lang Syne," which details the events surrounding a surprise reunion with an old lover, is a good example of Fogelberg's gentle approach to potentially heart-wrenching personal events.
I remember the first song I learned to play in guitar with plucking technique was "Leader of the Band." That was over 20 years ago. I chose it because of the beautiful melody and I found the piece easy to play. I didn't pay too much attention to the lyrics or to what it meant. Only now that I watched him in youtube perform it, just him and his guitar, did I realize how personal it was for him. He sang it with so much passion and true emotion that you feel each word comes out of his heart and soul. This song brings back memories of time with my father, who has passed on. Most of us often don't realize how precious time is with the people in our life until we lose them. However, memories never fade away, and songs like this bring them right to the surface.
Just a few months ago I got hold of another piece by Dan. It's the song "Longer". Very beautiful song. I didn't think I could do it but it was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
Dan, your beautiful songs are the best gift we have ever received. They offer so much solace and comfort. You will always be remembered.May you rest in peace.
Here are some of his songs:
Leader of the Band
December 13, 2007
Cna yuo raed tihs?
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
December 12, 2007
iPhone's 1.1.3 Firmware Update
I have been waiting for this release for weeks now.
According to afterdawn.com, rumors on the internet seem to indicate an iPhone firmware 1.1.3 release on December 11. The original rumor indicated a release of December 8th, however, so it is hard to say how accurate this could be. CNET France weighs in on the update, saying that they think that the new firmware will include a new disk mode for storing general files, and a voice memo feature to record your own voice reminders. The disk mode will work in the a similar fashion as the iPod, and will prevent drag and drop of playable music files to the iPhone.
Of course, this latest update, whenever it does come, will break the Jailbreak software that allows users to install third party software onto their iPhone, and so anyone using this software should probably wait for a patch. An official 3rd Party Developer SDK comes out from Apple in February.
via [AfterDawn]
December 7, 2007
No Balut in Winter
I have been craving for balut for weeks now but the store I go to seems to always run out. This surprises me because they usually have a bunch of them in the fridge. So one day I asked.
How come you're always out of balut? Because it's winter. The lady replied. Typically, ducks lay more eggs in summer when the days are longer and fewer in the winter when days are shorter.
Ahh... Maybe that explains why they put lights on a poultry.
Anyways, I guess I'll have to wait until spring or summer. Or try to call the store everyday :-)
For someone who has not heard of balut, it is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside. We boil it and eaten in the shell. They are considered delicacies of the Philippines and some other Asian coutries like Cambodia and Vietnam. Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors at night in the regions where they are available. They are often served with beer. The Filipino and Malay word balut (balot) roughly translates to mean "wrapped".
Most people prefer to eat balut with a pinch of salt. Others like to dip it with vinegar with chili. We usually start out by sipping the broth surrounding the embryo from the egg before the shell is peeled and the chick and yolk inside can be eaten. Nothing but the shell is wasted.
Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:
In the Philippines, balut have recently entered higher cuisine by being served as appetizers in restaurants: cooked adobo style, fried in omelettes or even used as filling in baked pastries.
Today, balut production has not been mechanized in favor of the traditional production by hand. Although balut are produced throughout the Philippines, balut-makers in Pateros are renowned for their careful selection and incubation of the eggs.
Fertilized duck eggs are kept warm in the sun and stored in baskets to retain warmth. After nine days, the eggs are held to a light to reveal the embryo inside. Approximately eight days later the balut are ready to be cooked, sold, and eaten. Vendors sell cooked balut out of buckets of sand, used to retain warmth, and are accompanied by small packets of salt. Uncooked balut are rarely sold in Southeast Asia.In the United States, many Asian markets occasionally carry uncooked balut eggs, though their demand in North America is not very great. The cooking process is identical to that of hard-boiled chicken eggs, and baluts are enjoyed while still warm.
Duck eggs that are not properly developed after nine to twelve days are sold as penoy, which look, smell and taste similar to a regular hard-boiled egg. In Filipino cuisine, these are occasionally beaten and fried, similar to scrambled eggs, and served with a vinegar dip.
The age of the egg before it can be cooked is a matter of local preference. In the Philippines, the perfect balut is 17 days old, at which point it is said to be balut sa puti ("wrapped in white"). The chick inside is not old enough to show its beak, feathers or claws and the bones are undeveloped. The Vietnamese prefer their balut matured from 19 days up to 21 days, when the chick is old enough to be recognizable as a baby duck and has bones that will be firm but tender when cooked. In Cambodia, most people prefer to eat it while it is still warm in its shell. Served with nothing more than a little garnish, it is widely popular. Usually, it is accompanied by a mixture of lime juice and ground pepper.
December 5, 2007
Journey's Discovery of Arnel Pineda
JOURNEY WELCOMES ARNEL PINEDA WITH "OPEN ARMS" TO THEIR FAMILY
AS THE BAND'S NEW LEAD SINGER
JOURNEY--Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), Deen Castronovo (drums)--is proud to introduce fans all over the world to their new lead singer, Arnel Pineda ("pin-eh-da" ). He replaces Jeff Scott Soto, who parted ways with the band earlier this year after stepping in for Steve Augeri, who had to leave the band in 2006 for medical reasons.
Arnel hails from Quezon City in the Philippines and has been singing Journey songs--in addition to original material--with his band, The Zoo, for the past couple of years in clubs all over his homeland. Joining the legendary band is a dream come true for him.
"It's so exciting to sing with one of the best bands in the world. It'll be a lot of hard work on my part and I'm actually looking forward to the scrutiny I'll get from the hardcore JOURNEY fans. I know they'll expect me to sound exactly like 'the voice' (Steve Perry), but that will never happen. I know there's only one Steve Perry in this world."
When it was time for JOURNEY to look for a new lead singer, the internet came to their rescue. Guitarist Neal Schon wanted someone new to the music business, so he turned to YouTube. After finding Arnel singing "Faithfully, " he knew he had found the perfect frontman.
"I was frustrated about not having a singer," explains guitarist Neal Schon, "so I went on YouTube for a couple of days and just sat on it for hours. I was starting to think I was never going to find anybody. But then I found The Zoo and I watched a bunch of different video clips that they had posted. After watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true. I thought, 'he can't be that good.' But he is that good, he's the real deal and so tremendously talented. Arnel doesn't sound synthetic and he's not emulating anyone. I tried to get a hold of him through YouTube and I finally heard from him that night, but it took some convincing to get him to believe that it really was me and not an imposter."
Arnel Pineda picks up the story: "My friend Noel picked up the message on YouTube and told me it was from Neal. I thought it was a hoax so I ignored it. Noel said, 'what if it really was Neal and he wanted to offer you the chance of a lifetime?' So I e-mailed Neal back and the rest is history."
"Arnel brings a soulful and passionate voice to JOURNEY," continues keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "His personality is very well-suited to our music. He's a sincere, authentic person with a great smile and a big heart. I think fans are really going to love him. With Arnel's soaring tenor, Journey returns to our heritage sound."
Schon agrees, "We feel reborn. I think there's a lot of chemistry between the five of us. At first we were going to go into the studio and just write 4 songs, but now it's escalated to a lot of great new and diverse material. The stuff sounds tremendous. Everyone's so stoked about it. We feel very fortunate to have found Arnel."
JOURNEY is currently working on a new album with legendary producer Kevin Shirley, which they hope to release by spring/summer 2008. Details will be announced early next year.
December 4, 2007
New Breed of Elves
A friend of ours just sent us this comedic wonderful online holiday greetings from OfficeMax's elfyourself.com. The site allows visitors to upload a photo. The face is then attached to an animated elf body which dances to the tune of Jingle Bells.
Click on the picture to see my family's version of it.
Here's the captured video on YouTube:
December 1, 2007
Shall I Sell ?
(this post is incomplete! -- will update it later....)
Last summer I tried to sell my wife's car because we needed the money and I didn't wanna spend more on maintenance.
It's a great car but we thought it was right to let it go. Unfortunately, no-one made a good offer at the time.
So, I'm thinking of putting it back on the market next spring.
Here are some pics:
November 29, 2007
Meeting Showbiz Personalities
This evening was special because we met some celebrities from PI. Didn't know most of them, but hey, they're popular back home. Or at least some of them are.
The girls are from a group called Viva Hot Babes. The group popularized the songs bulaklak and sayaw kikay. They've also been casted on movies. These girls are sexy hot. So most of the movies they played on were not suited for the young ages.
Let me start with who I think is the cutest of them all. Singer, actress, and hotty Cherry Hazel “Sheree” Bautista. I think she's one of the original member of the Viva Hot Babes. I found some interesting facts about her on the web. She has been in the cover of MAXIM and FHM Philippines. She began her career lounge-singing in her hometown of Cagayan de Oro at 16. Her debut single, which I actually like was "Heaven Knows."
Sheree on MySpace
Sheree on Friendster
Here's the "Heaven Knows" video:
The other girl was Michelle Bayle. Just as hot and just as sexy. Whew! But she's more likeable. She reminded me of Bernadette Sembrano when I met her for an episode in "Nagmamahal Kapamilya." Michelle is as friendly and down-to-earth as ate B. She welcomes any conversation and she can talk for hours. She was one of the last ones to come but the first one to accept to have her photos taken.
Michelle used to be a high school cheerleader in Canada. Cheered for the Toronto Argonauts, who are part of the National Canadian Football in 2000. We almost had the same birth day. She was on movies and tv series like Panday, Beautiful Life, Otso-otso pamela-mela wan, Lastikman, Bestman: 4 Better, Not 4 Worse, Jologs, Basta't kasama kita, Forevermore, I Think I'm in Love, Sanggano't sanggago, and Pangako sa 'yo.
Michelle's Website
Michelle on Friendster
Now here's the fun girl -- Myles Hernandez. She stood up before I could ask her for a photo. She smiled, with her cute dimple, and said "do you even know who I am?" All I could do was smile in shame because I had no idea who she was. hahahaha. But she was cool with it. We talked for while. She was the jokester on the group. She tried to guess how old I was and she was off by 5 years (younger). So that made me happy. We took a lot of pictures together. She kept asking if I'd watch their concert and I just answered with a smile :-)
Miles' Website
But there were times that she herself would joke around and say "puro lang kayo pakuha ng pictures, wala naman kayong mga tickets!" And then she said "mga epal kayo!" What the hell does that mean? First time I heard that word.My friend reminded me of which film she was in. My friends and I once had a boys' night out which ended up watching a movie in a friend's house. The movie was "Boso." And she was in it. It was a boring movie but perhaps the alcohol made us enjoy it.
We met these guys in a restaurant promoting their concert tomorrow. There were two more celebrities who came with them. These two were legends.
Rico J Puno and Willie Nepomuceno. I don't think I need to write anything about these two guys. Everyone knows who they are. I just wanna say they were really nice and funny when they were with us. Especially the funny but green remark he made to my friend who has both arms missing (since birth). Lagi raw parang tinitigasan! hahahaha!
November 23, 2007
Black Friday
There are only two days in a year I anticipate most for big sale shopping. July 4th and Black Friday.
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, where it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season.
The term "Black Friday" has been traced back only to the 1970s. "Black Friday" was originally so named because of the heavy traffic on that day, although most contemporary uses of the term refer instead to it as the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit).
In many cities it is not uncommon to see shoppers lined up hours before stores with big sales open. Once inside, the stores shoppers often rush and grab, as many stores have only a few of the big draw items.
Electronics and popular toys are always on the top of my list.
I set my alarm at 3:45 this morning so I could have a big chance of being one of the first persons in line. My plan was to be at best buy and grab one of the 12 available 22 inch Samsung flat screen monitor.
I got there shortly after 4:00am but the line was already all the way at the back of the building. There were probably over 500 of them lined up. Some of them camped out. Of course I backed out. There's no way I could get that monitor with the limited number of items they have. So I drove up to my second choice of shop -- Staples. But not without grabbing a free coffee from Best Buy. At least I got something out there.
I believe this would be my 3rd Black Friday at Staples. They always have great deals on electronics. I bought 3 items.
Here's what I got from them this year:
1) TomTom One 3rd Edition GPS ($104.99 after $20 Gift Card)
I wasn't really planning on buying this one but I mentioned it to my wife when I was browsing the Staples Ad. Of course she wasn't interested. But everyone in front of the line kept talking about the GPS on sale. There were Navicon, Magellan, and TomTom on sale. I was behind an old couple who were browsing the Ad, and I asked if I could take a look. Navicon was on sale for $99 and TomTom for $129.99. I thought to myself that this could really be a good deal. And then the old guy asked me what items I'd buy. I said the items on my list plus the TomTom. He talked me into buying the Navicon because of the better features than TomTom. I told him I've never heard of Navicon but I'd buy it based on what he told me. However there's only 6 available in the store and I was 7th in line. The first 6 on the line were planning to buy it. So it's a matter of who gets to them first.
The door opened and we all raced to the GPS station. But there was no Navicon. Only TomTom and Magellan. So I grabbed one empty TomTom box because there's only 3 left. Then we proceeded to the register only to find that it's packed with people. People that were behind us in the line. People that were lucky. Lucky to have grabbed the limited stock of Navicon.
I ran back to the GPS station and got another TomTom box and gave it to the old couple. We lined up in the register to get the GPS. But they were giving the GPS even to those people who do not have an empty box. Now we're all pissed! The old couple was able to grab one. The last one in stock. And I was next in line. That meant no GPS for me. So, I thought I probably wasn't meant to have a GPS. But the old couple was really nice enough to offer me the GPS. I wasn't gonna accept it but they insisted.
Well, I'm glad I took it. This GPS is really nice. It's very easy to use and startup is really quick. And it's handy and fits in my pocket so I can take it anywhere -- even indoors. I love the night mode color too. I'll write more review later....
2) Maxtor 500GB OneTouch 4 External Drive ($79.98 after $20 rebate)
Now this was on the top of my list. I needed an external drive because my 250Gb is filling up fast. And this drive is the cheapest external drive I could find. Another good feature here is the one touch backup feature. I haven't used it so I can't write a review on this one yet.
3) Altec Lansing PC Speaker VS4121 ($19.98 after $20 rebate)
Ain't that a thing of beauty? Wait 'til you hear its sound. It's amazing! This was on sale for 75% off the regular price.
Each satellite contains 2 x 28 mm full range drivers, as well as a 3” mid-bass driver that points downward. The satellite is rated for 6 watts per channel, but those 6 watts are used very wisely. The subwoofer contains a single 6.5” long throw woofer rated at 19 watts. The total continuous power is rated at a meager 31 watts RMS.
These speakers do not exhibit any hiss at elevated sound levels by themselves.
The bass is very pronounced and crisp and not boomy or indistinct. The music is very clear and neutral without any shrieking highs or boomy lows. This was well worth my twenty bucks.
Now, the only item left on my list was a flat screen LCD monitor. I was pretty sure Best Buy ran out of this so I headed to WalMart because they have a 19 inch Acer Monitor for $150. They still have a few lying around so I grabbed one. As I walked to the Register ready to pay for it, I bumped into a friend. He was just at Best Buy and told me that they still have the Samsung 22 inch monitors. But we both thought that they would run out pretty soon, so I went ahead and paid for my Acer Monitor. Afterwards I drive to Best Buy hoping that I could still get a Samsung. I was really aiming for that one because I've had a Samsung 19 inch for a while now and I just love every bit of it. I got there at around 7:30 AM and voila! They had like 6 more available.
The main reason I wanted to buy a flatscreen is for my daughter. She always use the computer but the PC she's using has this bulky 20 inch CRT monitor which emits too much radiation and I'm really worried about her because her face is like inches away from it.
SAMSUNG SyncMaster 22 inch LCD Monitor ($199.00)
- Ultrafast 5 ms response time
- 1,000:1 contrast ratio; 300 cd/m² brightness
- 1680 x 1050 pixel resolution for rich, vibrant image clarity; displays up to 16.7 million colors
November 22, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)