Chirstmas 2008

Friday, December 26, 2008



Here's a gift from my sister this Christmas, thank you! Ever since I could remember,we celebrated Christmas and Christmas Eve, but what I notice the most is that our celebration changes every year, and if I could turn back time, I would swear the later years were far better. But despite the things that I missed, we may not have as much as before, nor was our house packed with relatives, or even waited long after Noche Buena or Christmas eve dinner, not even the exchange of gifts, but there are still a lot of things to thank about. We are still together, alive, healthy and despite thebad economy, we still manage to keep our way of living, minus the luxuries...

Here's something that I cooked for Christmas, a nice, juicy ham, I just don't know if I over did it, but by the time I figured it out, the plates all clean. Something didn't change though, that's our Christmas is always celebrated with the family, specially now that this Christmas might be the last Christmas we would have together, because soon they could be leaving and live with my father back at the states.

This Christmas was less dramatic than our previous years but still memorable since we were still all together despite our problems. But most especially, this Christmas was still memorable because we celebrated Christmas, like all true christians should, a time to give and share our blessings and a time to remember to embrace and accept Jesus as out savior.

Cloud Computing another Google Market

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

I was browsing through the internet and checked a favorite news site and noticed an article about "cloud computing". According to www.wikipedia.org, cloud computing is defined as:

"refers to the delivery of computational resources from a location other than your current one. In its most used context it is Internet-based ("cloud") development and use of computer technology ("computing"). The cloud is a metaphor for the Internet, based on how it is depicted in computer network diagrams, and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals. It is a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided "as a service", allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the internet ("in the cloud") without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. According to a 2008 paper published by IEEE Internet Computing "Cloud Computing is a paradigm in which information is permanently stored in servers on the Internet and cached temporarily on clients that include desktops, entertainment centers, tablet computers, notebooks, wall computers, handhelds, sensors, monitors, etc.""

As a IT person, I cannot help but tell something, the news said that this technology would reduce operating cost with google (as usual) to take the lead role, with $36 billion market this year, representing roughly 13 percent of global software sales, this is a market that has huge potential.

I think one of the real purpose of cloud technology is to bleed software giant Microsoft and other big IT companies with reduced operating cost as its main bait in a financially unstable era. Google which is a big player is now the taking the markets off Microsoft, who knows someday Google might even launch its own Hardware to compete with IBM or other hardware makers. Toppling any rival in its path, its not hard to predict that Google would further dominate the IT industry, shoving away today's giants.

But cloud computing still needs a bit of thinking, If your applications would run on the internet then, your primary concern would be having an ultra fast connection, and that might add a bit of cost, and if connections go sluggish even for a moment you might have a bit of a problem. Unlike stand alone software applications, where you can work without any connection anywhere around the globe.

Cloud computing might also need more deliberation as to control the information being controlled, with cloud computing information would be vulnerable, specially of you do not take good care or take your security for granted. The big question would now be " are you willing to sacrifice your information at a very volatile environment? "the internet".

Theory about Happiness

Friday, December 19, 2008

Someone once asked, what is the ultimate goal of man?

I answered with a mixture of embarrassment and uncertainty, "to be happy..."

all of my classmates laughed, except my professor, which smiled at me and said "correct"...

Ever since that day up to this day, I always remembered that our real goal in life is actually to be happy. But that leaves more questions than answers, such as, What makes us happy? When will we be happy? Why should we be happy? Where can we find Happiness? etc... I have always thought of those questions and for a brief period of my life time, I could attain a certain level of happiness, sometimes, physical, material, emotional even spiritual. But these happiness came at a price, a price than can sometimes be similar to one of Isaac Newton's law of Motion: "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".

I really don't know if this applies to other people, and I don't ask anyway but the point is, every time something happens to me, there's always a catch. Say, for one whole week, I felt like hell at work, then by next week I would receive news that a friend of mine just forgave me from a mistake that I unintentionally did, something like that...

I dont know if there is a connection or if its just how life goes, but my theory is simple. "Everybody deserves to be happy, the only question is at what price".

and the price isn't just monetary, its anything in exchange of what would make you happy. Sometimes you felt like you lost nothing and that you are simply blessed,but look around you, maybe there is a reason for you to be happy. Everything has a price, everything has an equivalent and opposite value and for me that includes happiness.

Parody of Life: Lost in the midst of longing memories

Friday, December 5, 2008

Another day, just like any ordinary day, except for an invitation, digital and electronic in nature but still a rare occasion is brewing.

Its been a few years since the last opportunity arrived, but the question remains, will the invitation be answered? or will it be another waste and wait for another invitation, maybe I guess in that next moment a better position would help make the answer, or the big possibility that this is the last invitation.

Will the answer renew lost bonds? or will it just bring awkwardness? Will ignorance forever break the great memories? Or will understanding prevail?

I've seen my reason to smile in different people's faces, smiles which can never be mine, but still I find reason to hope, just hope, it's all i've got, all i can have.

Twilight the Movie

Monday, December 1, 2008


One of the most anticipated movies of 2008, Twilight tells about a teenage girl who has just moved in with his father and fell in-love with a vampire. The movie is a screen adaptation from a novel with the same title by Stephenie Meyer, you can click here to check my previous blog about the book.

The movie adaptation was fairly nice, but I just can't help to notice some points that really made this movie less that what it supposed to be. First was the choice of characters, while I liked Kristen Stewart as Bella and Robert Pattison as Edward Cullen, some of the supporting characters just made me think, for example, why did they made laurent a black jamaican dude, and why did they choose a chinese teenager as Eric. I've heard rumors that Kristen isn't beautiful enough for Bella but, the book doesn't state Bella to be a beauty queen, not until she becomes a vampire herself.

Another point was that the movie made a lot of emphasis on the scenery of Washinton state which kinda made it look like a film from a wildlife channel. I also didn't liked the way the vampires move, since they looked liked moves from Power Rangers or something. And the last, the movie looked more like a soap opera or a TV series rather than a movie.



But the movie also has a few points, while it's expected that the movie adaptations would be different from the book, this movie still sticked to the book with few minor changes for effects but still acceptable, since you can clearly hear the characters say the famous lines from Meyers book. I also think the characters portrayed their role pretty well just as it was told in the book.

In all, the movie should have been great if it were just made just like say, "Underworld" or "Interview with the Vampire", films that feel like a movie and not a TV series. I'm no director but I think the angles which the movie was shot could have been in a better position.

I like twilight, and thanks to the book, this movie is still a great film to watch. A modern Vampire lovestory and putting a new definition to vampires.

The best gift

Friday, November 28, 2008

Christmas is very near and most of us would be thinking about the best holiday gifts this yuletide season. I'm not much of a gift giver but I do at times give something for someone. Before I would really like to receive gifts, and even get envy if someone gets what I want, not until I got to work did I really appreciate giving to be more rewarding than receiving.

Everytime before I give something I always ask what he or she wanted, so that I would know what to give,I never really bothered the surprise thing, for me what matters is that the person that I'm giving would appreciate whatever I give.

There was one experience during my lowest days, when someone special to me is going to have a birthday. While our family was experiencing, what you may call a financial breakdown, I gathered what money I had just to be able to give something, anything...Surprisingly I was able to get a whopping twenty pesos, like I said we were experiencing a financial breakdown.

After my college class I got home and bought what my money can buy along the way, twenty pesos worth of brittle nut. Honestly I got excited, happy even that I could give something, when I got home I gave her my gift with a big smile in my face. What I got in return was something unexpected. A frown and shout in my face, I shouldn't have bothered giving the gift, and it hurt me so bad. I didn't ate just to save money, I skipped class just to be home early but got disappointed.

It's an experience I will never forget, but it taught me one good lesson. If you don't have anything to give then don't bother giving anything. Instead, just be with the person you love, and show him or her that he or she is special without giving presents.

The best gift is yourself, no matter what the occasion and best thing is, it will never go out of time.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Breaking Dawn is the fourth book from the twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer. As it trails through the life of Bella and Edward, you may also try my blogs on Twilight Book 1 of Stephenie Meyer, New Moon Book 2 of the Twilight Saga and Eclipse Book 3 of the twilight Saga.

In this novel, the cullen family including Edward to turn Bella into a vampire with a few conditions, started with the marriage of Edward and Bella. After the marriage the couple spent their honeymoon in an island in Brazil which was owned by the cullens. Amazingly Bella finds herself pregnant with the confirmation of Carlisle. Edward initially wants the child aborted for Bella's safety but Bella insisted on having the baby and goes back to the US.

At their house the ware wolves found out about Bella's condition and fearful on what the baby could bring wanted the baby to be destroyed. After hering this Jacob, protested and separated from his pack and creating his own with Seth and Leah as part of the new pack. Jacob's pack vowed to protect Bella and her baby providing protection while the vampires cannot see when and where the ware wolves will attack.

Bella soon gives birth, and during the process, her condition worsens,in order to save her life Edward makes her into a vampire and after healing finds herself enjoying her new life, while Jacob soon finds out that his soulmate is actually Bella's daughter Renesmee, this outrages Bella but soon accepts Jacob as a son-in-law.

A vampire named Irina saw Renesmee and mistook her as an immortal child went to the Vulturi a power vampire clan who controls the actions of vampires. Knowing this fact the cullens prepare themselves and gathered vampires from around the world to stand witness and show that Renesmee is not an immortal child, Bella also soon discovers her unique ability to shield others from attacks of other vampire abilities. As the vulturi clan came in force, the cullen proves that Renesmee is not an immortal child but the volturi has not decided whether to let the cullens live, Bella protects the cullens and their allies while the Voluri deliberates their faith.

Jasper and Alice soon came with them is a 150 year old half-vampire which proves that Renesmee is not a threat and there is no reason for such a confrontation. After hearing and seeing this the Volturi left the Cullens and their allies in peace, ending the fourth book of the twilight Saga.

The fourth book despite its good story I'm afraid isn't as good as the first or third book in the sense that there is few action involved and everything seemed I think it just lacks a bit more suspense. But none the less, this still a great book, fresh story, and a good way to end the twilight saga, or is it...

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Sunday, November 2, 2008


Here's the third addition to Meyer's Twilight Saga. Click here for my blog on book one twilight and here for book two New Moon. Following the story from the second book,Edward is now back in town together with his family of vampires unfortunately he also discovers that her love Bella is befriending a pack of ware wolves which incidentally are vampires greatest enemy (aside from themselves...). Alice,Edward's adopted sister who sees visions saw that Victoria a vampire who wants Bella dead is hunting her in near proximity at their town. Despite Edwards hatred of warewolves, Bella convinces Edward that she will be safe with her warewolf friends.

Bella now convinced to be one of Edward's kind tries to make love with Edward but he refuses, making sure that he does'nt hurt Bella in the process. Instead Edward made a deal to make love with Bella as soon as Bella becomes a vampire making her stronger, Bella agrees since all she wanted was to be with her Love for all enternity.

A few moments passed and the cullen family realizes that Victoria has created an army of vampires and is posing an attack.The cullens realizes this threat and made an alliance with the warewolves and fought againts Victoria and her army of vampires (That was my favorite part, all action...).

This book perhaps remedies the second book in the sense that it has more action, with a bit of twist to the love triangle between Edward, Bella and Jacob, this bookis definitely more interesting than the second and made me wanting more for book four Breaking Dawn. I think what I liked about the twilight saga is it's closeness to reality, something believable. And, Bella and Jacob's character is really close to what you would expect in a real person, in the case of Edward,I think his character is almost a perfect gentleman.


New Moon by Stephenie Meyer


New Moon by Stephenie Meyer is the second book to the twilight saga, the story follows the trail of events started during twilight. While I felt in-love with the story of twilight, my feeling on New Moon seemed different. You can see my blog about the first book here.

During Bella's eighteenth birthday celebration at the Cullen's she accidentally injured herself. The Cullen's being a family of vampires have been restraining themselves from human blood but the scent of Bella blood suddenly drives one of Edward's brother Jasper to attack Bella. Edward manages to save her but the Cullen family decides to leave their house and move to a different location for Bella's sake.

Bella obviously didn't like the idea but she can't do anything about it since they left. The worst part was she was longing for her Edward, she loves Edward very much and became so involved with their vampire family that missing him drove her to be lonely.

This loneliness was filled in by Jacob, a large part of the book was about the bonding between Jacob and Bella and I just don't like the idea but hey' I guess everybody loves a love-triangle. Bella soon found out that Jacob and his tribe are actually a bunch of ware wolves, and just like modern vampire stories ware wolves and vampires always try to kill each other.

Alice Edwards brother soon came to visit to convince Edward to stop his suicide attempt in Italy after getting information that Bella might be dead due to an accident. While at Italy Bella manages to stop Edward but their actions brought them to confront the Volturi a powerful vampire family. The Volturi felt a suddent interest with Bella as she knows too much and for her not to be killed she has to be transformed into a vampire and that she is the only person whose mind can't be read by Edward and Aro one of the members of the Volturi.

I think the story of twilight is better than New Moon but still it excites me because new characters are comming up and how the story is made close to reality, while still bringing a new color to being a vampire.

Off to book 3 and 4 of the twilight saga.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Monday, October 20, 2008

A lot of friends told me about a new book about vampires, and since I'm a fan of Anne Rice and Lestat, I scoured the book stores to look for this particular book. I was amazed that I actually had a hard time looking for the book, that alone made me conclude that this book is really something, but eventually I found a copy and so I started.

The story is about a teenage girl named Isabella "bella" Swan and her love affair with Edward Cullen. Teenage love stories are pretty usual but this one is very much different since Eward is actually a vampire, Bella doesn't know this fact at first but even when she knew, she couldn't deny what she felt for the hundred year old teenage looking vampire.

Bella seemed a pretty ordinary girl with extraordinary skill in being at the wrong place moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington, to live with her Father Charlie, since her mother Renee can be with her new husband. At forks she eventually adapted herself at school and quickly made friends with her classmates.

At first Edward being a classmate was being rude and shows a bit of agression with her, but as time passes, this turned to friendship and Edward even saved Bella from a freak accident that made Bella think about who Edward really was. After a bit of flirting with a friend, she concludes that Edward and his family are a bunch of vampires.

Despite this fact they both fell in-love with each other since to Bella's satisfaction Edward and his family are actually resisting to drink human blood, specially Edward who finds Bella's blood to be very attractive. Everything seemed to be doing well until they encounter another group of vampire with one particularly interested with Bella.

The family of vampires hid Bella and tried to stop the vampire thats interested with bella which they eventually did using their vampire skills.

For me Stephenie Meyer is like a lighter side of Anne Rice when it comes with vampire stories. I'm really not a fan of love stories but I liked this one since the story is new and puts a new description to vampires. Stephenie's vampires are not your usual vampire's and for me her vampires are much cooler that your usual Bram Stoker Dracula's.

It seems I'm on the hunt for Book 2, 3 and 4 of her series.

Joomla! CMS Review

Thursday, October 9, 2008


Joomla! is a Content Management System (CMS) Introduced to us at the Department of Science and Technology to easily manage the websites of the Department. I was reluctant at first to try this system since I was more of a static type of person, who always want to have full control of the website, but I soon found out that I might need a little upgrade.

Installing Joomla in my opinion might need an intermediate knowledge in IT since it entails a few tinkering to your server, if this is the first time for you install an open source CMS, I suggest you seek a little help just to make sure. Luckily for me, it's not the first time, and I already have some of the requirements in my server such as Apache, Mysql, etc..., you may also use XAMPP, you search XAMPP at any decent search engine and follow the instructions at their site.




Working with Joomla isn't really that difficult onceyou get the hang of it, if you've tried editing your profile at your favorite social site, then you've probably have little difficulty using this CMS. You may also need a little background in HTML and CSS, specially if you want to make changes to the codes of the templates.

Joomla uses CSS templates, and can use various modules, mambots and components which are readily available at a search of a button, and there are lots to choose from. I however uses, components for Galleries, modules for login menu, mambots for text editors just to name a few.

Creating articles is also fairly easy, you can cut/copy text directly from MS word and paste it to your text editor. It also alows you to create an info text to be placed at the front page of your website.

Over all, Joomla! is a great way to improve your website specially if your moving out from the old statict website management and administration, but might just have to get a little technical background on a few stuff, and most specially you'll need a bit of patience learning the tools. And as far as security is concerned, Joomla! seems to be good enough to keep those nasty beings from tinkering the website.

Tips in public speaking

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Dragon Blogger is a friend of mine from Social Spark and made a spark on some tips in public speaking. Speaking in front of an audience is a bit difficult but that doesn't mean you can't make it a bit easier for yourself. I got my experiences in public speaking way back in college and I've been using the same tricks now that I'm working for the government. I'm no expert but I think these tips might help.

1. NEVER! memorize your speech unless you can do so flawlessly-Memorizing is hard work and the worst part of it is that it would take eat up a lot of your time, and during your presentation if you miss a word you might end up missing the entire paragraph or even get lost at all, just make sure you know your topic.

2. Make an outline of your speech or presentation-It won't hurt bringing an outline of what you have to say, just to give you a guide if your a bit lost at the flow of your presentation. Never write everything in your outline, remember it's just a guide on what comes next so you wont miss anything and know what you will say next.

3. Unless necessary make your presentation brief, simple but complete-This makes your job a bit easier, you should use simple words and tackle only the main points, branching topics will make your presentation longer and might end up being boring and confusing.

4. Make sure you have ample time in preparing for your topic with enough rest before your presentation - never cram a presentation, you'll mostly end up missing a few important details, and have a good night sleep before you present. Not only will you need your energy, it will make you look and feel better as well.

5. Know your audience, anticipate questions and prepare your answers- you need to know who your audiences are, what they might know or concerns are about. This gives you an idea on what they might ask for you to prepare ahead of time and maybe impress them a bit.

6. Dress accordingly-packaging is very important, ask people on what clothes you should wear if your unsure. But regardless of what you wear make sure they are not only appropriate but comfortable as well.

7. Before presenting, remember to relax and breathe- for obvious reasons, you can't expect to deliver a presentation being nervous, you don't want to have a mental block-out in the middle of your presentation. This helps you to be confident.

8. Look at your audience while presenting or just look at their hair-you need to look confident, and if you have trouble looking at the audience...simply look at their hair. Yes, their hair, this gives you the impression that your looking at their faces.

9. Use clear well modulated voice-I think in order to be effective you need to make sure you can clearly say what you need to say, and that everybody understands you.

10. Try to be lively-once in a while you can crack jokes, tell experiences, use visual aides, etc., anything to keep your audience attention to you. Everybody hates a boring presentation.

To know more about Dragon Blogger you can check out his site at http://www.dragonblogger.com/

bluerayer.com: Latest in Gadgets and Technology

Sunday, September 21, 2008


Being an IT professional I usually browse and search for the latest news in IT. and the gadgets that pop up every now and then. As you know the IT industry is a very fast paced industry with technologies and innovations appearing suddenly from nowhere, supplying the hungry demand for new ways to make life a little bit simplier and better.

Here is a place that suites those needs, bluerayer.com features some of the latest news in Gadgets and Technology, with categories ranging from Accessories to News, bluerayer provides good information not only to individuals like myself, but even to ordinary individuals who just want to know about something.

I honestly and simply like the fact of putting gadgets and technology into one space, I love gadgets and I need to be informed. You can check out bluerayer at www.bluerayer.com.


Google: Chrome Web Browser

Sunday, September 14, 2008


Being a google fan myself, I felt excited when google finaly released it's own web browser and it it's pretty obvious how they really wanted to dominate the internet industry.

After downloading the browser I installed it immediately and installing was a breeze without much to thinker about, after installation, the next best thing to do is actually use the browser. looking at how google presented the new browser, I was impressed to see how much space my 14" inch LCD monitor really was. With Chrome you only get to see whats actually important...a lot of space for your internet life.

The address bar which also acts as a search box is a good way of thinking out of the box, saving space and getting all those searches for you, and for google to indulge in, this feature removes other search engines to be used, since its already part of your browser, pretty neat. Tabs are a bit of a standard in todays browers and all the rest of your options are packed in the corner, I guess this is also a part of cleaning up the browser.

downloading items seems to be faster but in terms of opening sites, I'm not that impressed yet, some sites still open just like you would when using other browsers, specially to heavy sites that use a lot of videos and stuff. Another thing that I really don't like is the lack of customizing the browser. It's just a plain blue clean browser for me, but I guess that's just fine considering it's just a beta version.

I hope that next version would be a lot better.

A night to remember: Bus ride

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

I guess its just one of those day's when you expect things to go nicely but went horribly bad, and all you wanted to do is to make someone happy. It's like when you have a really bad migrane and even if its killing you, you still have the strength to smile do something that you think special, and all of a sudden a big wall slams into your face, and you can't help yourself pull together for a brief moment. 


It's 8:00 pm and all you wanted to do was to go home, take some rest, and thank the lord for the blessings that he gave you. All of a sudden the angels in heaven decided to play bowling and it seems someone is loosing pretty badly. The rain seems endless and the road has turned into a river with cars floating like boats, good thing I have an umbrella and a tough pair of shoes.

As soon I step into the bus, I felt calmer, with my cellphone as my music companion I tried to sleep the night at the bus. After an hour I woke up and I noticed I was still at the same road with only a few meters from where I took the ride, I never felt sleepy again. It was still raining, another hour past and another until it took me five hours at the bus just to get home, five which normally would only take two or three hours at most.

It's 1:00 Am and my body feels numb, at last I can savour my bed and sleep my thoughts behind, and hope for a pleasant day when I wake up.

Web Development Training: Joomla!

Monday, August 11, 2008


After a few years of existence of the DOST website the Department decided to refresh its old website and create a new updated version. A call for a webmasters consortium was made and create under the eDOST-Infosys project, which was handled by the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI).

As the meetings progressed, it was set that the new website would be using a Content Management System (CMS) and in this case we used Joomla!, and in order to manage administer the website, a week long training was scheduled on 19-23 May.

Our group was comprised of staffs from the different offices from the Central Office of the Department. I was not very familiar with CMS and was used to static web development and management, but CMS proved to be easy to use and learn as long as you have basic knowledge with HTML or CSS and know how to use and understand basic commands, it's just like editing your profile at your social network website.

The experience wasn't the best with regards to training but it was very memorable and helpful to my job and myself personally. There are a lot of CMS, and based on what I learned I think other CMSs wouldn't be to difficult to handle, with a bit of time of course.

The perfect dream

Monday, August 4, 2008


"You will be different, sometimes you'll feel like an outcast, but you'll never be alone"
Superman Returns

There always comes a time when we feel alone, and it's one of those moments when we just want to disappear, but I guess it's also a good time to see who your real friends are, that is if you have any, for a true friend will never leave you, no matter what you've become. I once thought I had an army of them, but now I'm not so sure.


As superman said, I'll never be alone, and I wasn't. I have my entire family and my Girl Friend who is always there despite the rare occasions of misunderstandings. In that instant, I knew, I'll never be alone. No one is ever alone, only the feeling of being alone,a feeling that can be easily forgotten, you just have know what to look.

Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon

Friday, August 1, 2008


I know this novel is a bit old (so was my copy...), but still the angel in the title gave me a feeling that this seemed special. I know Sheldon is a great writer but this is the first time for me to actually like a novel with a sad ending, kinda weird, but hey, its Sidney Sheldon...

Its a story about a lawyer named Jennifer Parker and her struggle for her career and personal life. At first everything seemed well, fresh from college with all the eagerness to be successful until she got entangled in a mafia case. What I liked about the personality that Sheldon gave her, she seemed to be strong and never gave up, she worked her way out with the help of several friends and a special someone in the person of Adam Warner, whose personality was similar to Jennifer only that his situation was a bit complicated.

Jennifer became one of the top lawyers of New York and Adam whose initial case with Jennifer was her disbarment for her being at the wrong place at the wrong time, became lovers, despite the fact that Adam was already married. Life became more complicated as Jennifer got pregnant and so was Adam's wife in a time when Adam was running for a senator. Jennifer went away with her pregnancy and even attempted to abort the child but her love for Adam and her baby prevailed. She raised the child in a bit of secrecy for the benefit of everybody, and everything seemed well when she got involved with the mafia. Soon Jennifer was in the arms of the mafia's top leader Micheal Moretti, and to make matters worse her beloved son died. As Michael new about Jennifer and Adam who is now Senator and is running for President, Michael tried to kill both of them, who only ended up being killed himself by the police.

I think the main characters have similarities to real persons, Jennifer seemed to be a strong person, a very good lawyer who handles her career very well but she's also a weak person, letting herself drown in search for love. Adam being the good person we all love and know but keeps a secret, and Michael whose reason for being in a crime syndicate and worked hard to be in the top was his thirst for money and power.

a very good story indeed.

Here Comes the rain again fallin' from the stars...

Wednesday, July 23, 2008


here comes the rain again

falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends


Lines from one of my favorite songs from one of my all time favorite bands, When September Ends by Linkin Park. It's been a while since I last posted, let's just say, I took some days off on-line, except for work related research and e-mails. Everything seemed to be back to normal (depending on your definition of normal...), and I now can do some of the things I used to do. But things aren't all great, I did had my losses, I guess I over spent, over ate (as usual...) and wasted a few minutes of my life here and there.

Well, everythings done and all we can do is remember the past, make the best of the present and hope for the future.

8th ASEAN Science and Technology Week (ASTW)

Sunday, July 13, 2008

The 8th ASEAN Science and Technology Week (ASTW) is a more than a week long event held last 01-11 July and hosted by the Philippine Government through its Department of Science and Technology to promote and extend Science and Technology within the ASEAN region (ASEAN stands for the Association of South East Asian Nations). The ASTW is divided into several meetings the Sub-Committee meetings, Committee on Science and Technology (COST) meetings, S&T Conferences, Ministerial Meetings, Exhibits and Youth Summit.


The Sub-Committee meetings (i.e. Sub-Committee on Biotechnology, Sub-Committee on Microelectronics and Information Technology (SCMIT), etc...) , COST meetings, and Ministerial Meetings were attended by delegates from different countries within the ASEAN and talked about issues concerning S&T collaboration. There were also conferences participated both by local and international delegates whose topics include Capacity Building, Alternative Energy, etc... The exhibit showcased the various S&T projects of the different countries, most specially by member countries of ASEAN. The Youth Summit provided a venue for future S&T leaders to talk about relevant scientific and global issues.

In my opinion the 8th ASEAN S&T Week is an important stepping stone to enhance the level of S&T in the Philippines, one cannot deny that Science and Technology is a force that can improve lives of every person not just physically but also economically. International S&T collaboration is a good way to help improve the level of S&T in our country and could help solve not only local but global issues as well.

Peace at last, or so I thought...

Friday, July 11, 2008

One of the biggest event for our Department has just ended and all that's left is cleaning the mess we have just made. Almost everybody took a time out as soon as they could, including me. I took a day off the first day that I could, I missed myself and now is the time to go forward and face another challenge. The last few days left me battered, drained and wasted, but it also gave me memories that could last a life time, an exprience that only a handful of people could get and new realities that only few people had the blessing to discover.

By the time I came home after ten days I felt it was just yesterday that I left. Everything was normal, too normal. All my stuff were still in same place as they were ten days ago, and my family greeted me as if I wasn't gone for a long while. One part of me felt relief, because nothing happened nothing needed my attention, but one part also felt lonely, it wasn't like before when I was only gone for a few hours and yet when I came back they greeted me as if I was gone for a year. Maybe they have become mature and self sufficient, I'd like to think about that and nothing more.

It took almost a year to prepare for that event but problems still arose, problems that could have been prevent but we can't change that anymore, what's done is done and all we could do is either repair the damage done or minimize the impact. After a long while I felt a bit of peace, now I can visit my special someone, be with my family and most especially be myself again. The person who at times wants to be with himself but at the same time enjoys the company of love ones, the person who loves to laugh and yet keeps a serious side close by.

I want to relax but I guess we can't have all that we want, and sometimes we might even have to sweat blood just to have it, but no matter what, the most important thing is for us to be happy, and despite the mistakes, problems, headaches, and all things worse, I still am happy. Happy for the accomplishment, for the experience, for the lessons learned, and most of all, I'm happy because it's over and finally we can take on new challenges.

The Gift of Language




dinner with some of the foreign delegates who attended the ASTW

Truly language is one key in uniting different countries. I have witnessed this during the 8th ASEAN Science and Technology Week (ASTW) held last 01-11 July 2008 here in Manila, Philippines. The event became an opportunity for member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations - Committee on Science and Technology ASEAN-COST to meet and discuss matters that relate to the advancement of Science and Technology in the South East Asian region. It also became an opportunity to meet with other nationalities within the ASEAN Region.


I believe that one factor that contributed to the success of the event was the elimination of the language barrier. English became the language of choice and even if no native language within ASEAN was used, the discussion went well since english provided a unified medium of communication. I think it doesn't matter what language you use, as long as we understand each other and be able to express our ideas and help in contributing to the advancement of humanity, and in this case that language came in the form of english.

I don't think I'm that good in grammar, accent nor in figures of speech but that didn't matter during the ASTW, because they still understood me and everybody spoke in english some even provided interpreters, but still that didn't matter as long as we could speak and be understood.

Language is truly a gift, something that needs time to learn, but once learned can become a force that can drive ideas into reality, bridge barriers and unify far away lands.

Nice Scenery

Wednesday, July 9, 2008








I'm always interested in various sceneries, seeing nature or beautiful landscapes, and last 30 June to 9 July I had that small opportunity. I took the camera then simply took some pictures, and these are some of them. I guess one of the things that I might fancy is a professional camera, and see what I can do with it, given of course I get to see things that deserve a click from that kind of camera. I think it's nice to see these things specially if your usually locked on the four corners of your office every single working day.

Pay Per Post: Earning while blogging

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Since college I wanted to have my own site hence, I took my computer subjects a bit seriously than other classes. But unfortunately I wasn't able to do so, not that I cant create one since even back then there were some sites that offer free domain and hosting, but because I don't really know what to put in it. Then came the social networking era, I signed up to these sites and quickly made new friends, found the old ones and most specially strengthened the present one's. One part of social networking was blogging, though I never understood what was it for but still I made several blogs.

Then I realize, I'm not getting anything for my time and effort so I said to myself why bother blogging. I took that question until I started working, only then did I realize that It was a great past time, and a nice way to earn cash without doing much. I started searching and the first result was pretty obvious because I'm presently writing something about it. Payperpost is great because you get to earn while you blog, which is like a normal activity nowadays. Earning while doing something you like is simply great. Another thing I like about the site is that it's simple to sign up, very straight forward, fast and clear.


I signed up not only because I can release stress while earning, I can also practice my literary, artistic and keyboard skills. I haven't made any new friends yet but I think I'll be finding a hand full simply because it's great to meet new acquaintances. As a computer engineer I'm really fond of gadgets like mobile devices (i.e. laptops, cellphones, etc...) , and I think Payperpost can help me acquire the latest gadget without worrying on even how to produce the money needed to buy what I want, for now I set my eyes on two things, a high end cellphone or an Ultra mobile PC. both can help me increase my ability to blog and simply feel cool...



8ASTW Hell Week First Encounter

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

As the preparation for the 8th ASEAN Science and Technology Week progresses, one might expect problems and issues to arise, and soon enough it came true. At the last week of preparation we expect to wrap up things as soon as possible and settle all the things that needs to be settled, but we can't expect things to always go as planned. More and more changes to the original game plan arose and even extending considerable working hours per day isn't enough to create havoc at our small but never the less reliable office.


One of these incidents came when I was totally at a loss, all but one of my transactions were failing, and I was behind schedule but the irony was that it was at a time when help was being extended to us and I would be lifted with one of my duties. A message was sent to me, telling that I am to give up one of my failing duties and let another office handle it, I was for a moment relieved, but that moment was short lived.

By time I handed over the materials, I felt a bit of hell had been released and that a rush of cold air had blown on every corner of my body. I thought I was relived, but it seemed I had a new boss, and my priority had quickly made a sharp turn to accommodate my thought of a relieved duty. I felt stressed and less than a person, but still a sense of respect and duty prevailed and kept myself together even just for the night. The release of duty was actually a fast track of what I was actually doing, I never felt that I was helped, due to the fact that I already canceled the transaction a few minutes before what they call help arrived.


though my description is unclear, I knew it would be an unforgettable experience. They say it is just a tip of the ice berg but hey, its one hell of an ice berg, for now I just want to get over with everything, nothing more, nothing less.

Forecasted Hell Week: Pre-8th ASEAN Science and Technology Week

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Back in college before every term ends we would have what we students would call "Hell Week". It's literally a week of Hell for us students, and for the professors, its what they call exams. The reason why its called Hell week is that we have to endure for one week all the final exams for all our subjects, and these exams aren't easy, well I guess it's not supposed to be one, but the point is these exams are difficult for the majority of students, also it's our the last chance to pass all our unfinished projects and prove to our professors that we are worthy of passing grades, this is the time that usually spell life and death for our college life.

After graduation I thought I would never have to endure the same hardships similar to hell week, but then it seems I spoke to soon, by the end of June our office will be experiencing what I would imagine as Hell week, office style. By the third week of June my boss already gave us a hint that we should brace ourselves on the last few days of preparation for the 8th ASEAN Science and Technology Week with which our office is the secretariat. All of us are preparing our request for over time and we are also preparing our mind and bodies to endure tremendous pressure and stress.

I have not yet to experience this and maybe I might write something about it but for now all I now is that, our office will be very toxic soon and all hell could break loose. I have prepared myself just like college for this might spell life and death for my working life, this event could make me if things worked flawlessly or break me if things went bad, though I'm confident that I'll get over this event.

Or maybe I'm just over reacting like I always do. But then It wouldn't be bad to be extra careful and expect the unexpected, after all I do expect that some things will go wrong eventually like someone is playing on us. Just like a game, I guess I'll just have to think of a strategy for every eventuality on the spot.

A fresh new look on my cell phone






I have already tried a number of phones but this phone stood up the most. Its a nokia 5200 mobile phone, It's not high-end but definitely reliable and dependable. I have this phone for over a year and I'm a bit surprised that it lived that long, considering the kind of battering that I do. Its a bit late for me to make a review about this phone since this phone has been in the market for quite some time, and I would simply like to make a tribute to the phone and to the company that made it (not that they needed one...)

The nokia 5200 is a mediocre compared to its cousin the nokia 5300, it only has a VGA camera, symbian OS, long battery life, can play mp3's and radio. These are the exact features that I was looking for when I bought the phone, and after more than a year, I got more from my money.
First was the type of battering that I did in a list and the result

1. fallen from two (2) meters high - minimal damage to exterior, phone operation has not changed

2. over charged, and emptied the batteries - battery life is still amazing, at full charge the battery can stay for 4 days, with texting, calling and gaming included.

3. played games, - free and trial symbian games only, still works perfectly

4. Used as a back up memory - works just like my thumb drive

5. Thrown around - still works perfectly

off all these punishments the 2 meter fall made the biggest impact, and I decided to buy new housing for my phone and the results are from the pictures above. From the original blue and red strips I got an all black rubberized housing and partnered it with a fresh new theme I got from the Internet (free ofcourse...) and look I think my phone got a bit younger...

Office Clutter

Wednesday, June 18, 2008


I always knew that in order to work efficiently one has to have a conducive environment. That I knew until I actually worked, in the real world having a nice well maintained work area isn't really your priority once you think about it (for me I guess).

My table is full of clutter and that everything is either for priority or urgently needed, and by the time I finish one task, another comes in to fill the space, and these tasks come in bundles. I barely have room for my mug and even my computer is having a heart attack. How to manage such a mess, simple, extend your working hours and I'm not talking about minutes here, but in hours.

Since highschool I always wanted to be busy, accomplishing things, having the feeling of fulfillment, but sometimes, you just can't finish them all, and that no matter what you do, no matter how badly you want things to work out perfectly, things go wrong. I really don't want to blame my clutter, because no matter how confusing it looks, it's actually arranged and organized in such a way that only I can see where things needed to be.

But I guess it won't hurt to have a neat environment...

Just a thought: how I wish

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

There always come a time when you get unsatisfied with something even everything, from the clothes you wear, food you eat, salary, your work and even on how things go in your life. It just doesn't feel right to everything you wanted and yet that's just all there is to it, just seeing things.


I've always thank for all my blessing and sometimes misfortunes and hard lessons learned, but sometimes you just get frustrated for not having more. It is not about being greedy, but the feeling of having what you want, being proud of yourself and not having the feeling of being deprived of the thing you really want and instead get the things you didn't actually wished but still great.


I sometimes ask, why do I see these things, why do they show them to me?...I guess it's a way to motivate me to be more of myself, or it might also say that you don't deserve such blessings. I have no regrets (so far...) in my life, but I've always wanted more. That, maybe is how I was raised or how I just think of myself. Is really possible for me to be what I wanted to be?...That is a question no one can answer, but that would be one question whose answer will not be decided by my hands alone but will also be decided by faith, by my surrounding's and by eventualities that cannot be controlled by any man .


Everyman wishes for more, the only difference is that everyman has it's own definition of the word "more".

The Incredible Hulk

I'm always amazed on how they make movies out of comic without making it cartoon like. The incredible Hulk is a very well made film, though it wasn't as spectacular as I'd hope for.

the story is like the continuation of the first movie, but I'd really like to know why it's title isn't called The Incredible Hulk part 2. The story goes after Bruce Banner played by Edward Norton whose experiment for the US military used himself as a guinea pig on gamma rays and ended up being a rampaging green monster killing people and destroying properties. After avoiding detection for a long time he ended up in Brazil and not only that he was able to find a job and learn Portuguese.

At first I thought the factory girl he saved from a bunch of factory bullies would be his partner, but then she never left Brazil. Unlike Bruce whose blood has dropped into one of the bottles and ended up in a US consumer in America (played by the legendary Stan Lee) gave the US military a hint on where to find the elusive green giant. As soon as the military was tailing Bruce he ended up in a tight situation with the factory bullies and with the military, as a result, Hulk emerges destroying everything in its path.

Bruce then finds himself in Guatemala and works his way to the United States to find her partner the lovely Betty Ross played by Liv Tyler. As soon as they met they worked to find a cure to the green menace but again the military was tailing them, this time of the military officers Emil Blonsky took some of experiment of Bruce to become a supper villain but still his exposure to the gamma rays was low and sure enough one kick from the hulk and his bones became crushed gravel.

Bruce and Betty after eluding the military finds Mr. Blue who helped Bruce suppress the green giant within him, but after a successful experiment, the military ever persistent came to ruin everything and this time Emil took Mr. Blue and asked him to inject more gamma rays and the result was an abomination, another green giant and this time gave the hulk a fairly good match. But then the Hulk still prevails after a few hits here and there plus a few damaged property.

At the end of the movie Gen. Ross (father of Betty and the guy responsible for making and chasing Bruce) was found drinking in a bar and all of a sudden Tony Starks shows up, and we all knew him, he's the Iron Man, and he tells Gen. Ross that they are building a team! Hhmm... wonder what that was all about but I guess if all the Marvel super heroes would show in one movie, that would be a blast.

The movie was great and I think the story was fairly nice, but there was a lot of talk and the hulk seemed to be more timid and in control of himself, not like the one we knew that rampaged everything in sight. The hulk in the movie was also more controlled by Betty and though the green giant still gives a nice scream, there were a lot of times he looked rather calm. It's also nice to know that the hulk uses his signature moves in the movie.

The movie was great and is a good addition to other great marvel movies.

Simple Home-Made Pizza

Saturday, June 14, 2008

My family asked me to do something special since I was always out of the house, so I decided make myself and my family some pizza. I didn't have time to go to the supermarket to buy the ingredients I needed so just went to a local grocery store and bought alternatives.

The ingredients were:

Quick melting cheese
Parmesan cheese
Hotdogs
Spam
Pizza Sauce
bread

I didn't indicate the amount because for me that usually depends on how you like your pizza, for me I just wanted two different types of cheese to add texture and just the right sauce and a lot of meat into my pizza

Procedure:

1. Cook your hotdogs and spam in a nice non-stick pan
2. Cut your hotdogs and spam into bite size pieces and set aside
2. take a piece of bread, and cut in half
3. Spread your pizza sauce just to cover the top
4. spread the hotdogs and spam on top (depends on how much you like your meat)
5. Spread your quick melting cheese first before the Parmesan on top of your meat (again, depends on how much you like)
6. Dump it into your oven
7. A few minutes (5 to 8) until the cheese melts
8. eat...eat...eat... and enjoy!





now that was simple, I satisfied my pallet and saved a few bucks. The pizza was great specially for kids, and since our house has plenty of them everyone enjoyed the snack. I once added shrimps, pine apples, you know the usual stuff you'd fine in an ordinary pizza parlor, but the difference is that this one is home made and imagination as your only limit.



Maze

Friday, June 6, 2008


This about a dream of mine which I find rather weird. I know people sometimes get wild dreams or fantasies but there are times when I can't really decipher what they mean or should I really bother trying, honestly...

The setting is a damp, maze of apartments, whose rooms were small and looks very old and dirty, its like an old dungeon cell with modern amenities. One weird thing was the to get to these apartments, you need to go through stairs that at first glance, doesn't seem to direct you to any room at all, until you try one.

I'm not alone in my dream, I was with my old buddies from high school. I know our group was complete, but then some of them seemed to be lost in the maze and the few of us who were together seemed to have a silent understanding to look for them, until one by one I'd loose my buddies.

We looked room after room until I was alone, I didn't notice how my buddies disappeared, all I know was I was left alone inside the maze, standing and trying to think, what the hell happened. Then I woke up, late for work, still thinking what was that all about, I guess I'll never know, but at least It made me think.

Another day at the Office



Since mid-May our office was one hell of place to work, but it wasn't always that way. Before everything was pretty much laid back, not much to think about, not much to do, everything was a bit peaceful and a few laughs here and there, but then, a long awaited event changed everything. Bit by bit our work load suddenly increased and the joy of having new faces to work with suddenly disappeared, we are now expecting when the day comes that all hell will break loose.

But, I'm not about to talk about that, its the result of doing so much work. Honestly, I kinda like working more than I used to do, I feel that I'm improving myself even though it's tiring at times. But sometimes it just gets into you that you soon forget the little things that no matter how small, is just as important. One very good example literally is brushing your teeth, I usually brush my teeth after meals, but because I do so much work, I tend to use even my lunch break time to finish a few tasks just to get home early, tsk...


I tend to eat more since I burn more energy, (or I guess that's how I feel...) so I gain a bot more weight, darn! I forget things, I do clumsy things, not to mention I sleep a lot. But after all the hassle I still like it, I like the feeling of fulfillment, the joy of being commended for a good job despite the difficulties.

Manila Ocean Park

Monday, June 2, 2008











After a long and tiring week my Girl Friend and I decided to have a date last week end just to get away from it all and at the same time that our next date be different, while I stumbled upon a program on the Discovery Channel about marine life, I decided to look for an overgrown aquarium. Good thing we now have the Manila Ocean Park located along Roxas Blvd., here in Manila, Philippines. We got on our rubber shoes and off we went.

Upon entering I got my camera to take pictures but unfortunately I forgot the batteries so good bye digital camera, good thing my camera phone saved me from my embarrassment. Thats not all I forgot, I also forgot to withrew extra cash! Good thing this ocean park is very very nice, guess what?...They accept credit cards!!!, Thank you plastic!

Now, The Manila Ocean Park isn't fully finished but they opened some portions to the public which though was still largely undone but very nice. My girl friend and I thought we'd saw a lot of fish, unfortunately we saw a lot of kids...The tanks were like three to four maybe even five inches thick yet we can still see the wonderful marine life clearly as though we were swimming right next to it, specially at the transparent walkway.

The Manila Ocean Park is a must and the price isn't that bad for Php 400 (adult) and Php 350 (children) , Ive been to Hong Kong's Ocean Park and I can say that the guys behind our Manila Ocean Park did a great job and I hope they continue that. Me and My Girl Friend plan to visit the MOP when its fully completed and hopefully we'd be more amazed.

 
 
 
 
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