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Haven't been blogging nor bloghopping lately. Somehow I just don't feel like it. Have had a lot of things to do and and lot on my mind lately, so I haven't had that much time for anything else, it seems. I guess its just one of them days.

Ironically, there are a lot of things that I would like to blog about, and in fact I have several unfinished posts still in the draft stage. Somehow, I never got around to finishing them. Maybe in the next few days or so. If I ever get around to them.

So now, I'm just typing whatever comes to mind, which isn't much actually. I just feel tired and spent, which is really no surprise given the circumstances. I shouldn't complain though. Better I just get used to it.

And I oughtta stop thinking that much, and just do what I have to do. Thinking about it won't make it go away, so might as well put my all into it.

Its just too draining sometimes...

But I'll live.

Jeremy
Pearl Jam

At home
Drawing pictures
Of mountain tops
With him on top
Lemon yellow sun
Arms raised in a V
Dead lay in pools of maroon below
Daddy didn't give attention
To the fact that mommy didn't care
King Jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world
Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today
Clearly I remember
Pickin' on the boy
Seemed a harmless little fuck
But we unleashed a lion
Gnashed his teeth
And bit the recessed lady's breast
How could i forget
He hit me with a surprise left
My jaw left hurtin
Dropped wide open
Just like the day
Like the day i heard
Daddy didn't give affection
And the boy was something mommy wouldn't wear
King jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world
Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today
Try to forget this...
Try to erase this...
From the blackboard.

The Raven
Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
`'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more,'

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'
Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
`Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more!'

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as `Nevermore.'

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
`Doubtless,' said I, `what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore
Of "Never-nevermore."'

But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking `Nevermore.'

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
`Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -
`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

Sus ginoo! Kamahal pala ng mga librong pang-abogasya ngayon...

I can't believe how much law books cost nowadays. They now seem to cost up to four times as much when I was still in school. You'd think that slim volumes would be cheaper, but even they routinely cost up to P500.00 or even more. And the thick volumes can cost up to P1,500.00. Hay naku. I wonder how "professional students" can afford the latest texts. That probably explains why photocopiers are having a heyday coming up with "authenticity-challenged" copies. The demand is just there. I'd rather save up for the real deal though. Mahirap na, baka ma-karma. :-)

Oh well. Just grin and bear it... Maybe I'll just wait until the paperback edition comes out. Then again, maybe not. :-)

When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.

- Desiderius Erasmus

Ain't that the truth.

If you listen closely to the song Sugod by local alternative band Sandwich, you'll notice that the bass line is similar to that of the punk classic Whip It by Devo. The vocalization in the refrain is also reminiscent of the Pinoy rock classic Teacher's Enemy No. 1 by the Juan dela Cruz Band.

You'll also notice that in the song Walang Kadala Dala, the rhythm guitar riff during the interlude sounds like the intro riff from the song Damaged Goods by Gang of Four.

Clearly, Sandwich's music is heavily influenced by classic Pinoy rock, punk and post-punk music.

Don't mind me. I just tend to notice things. :-)

Of course, I seem to be drawn to their music as well - Pinoy alternative rock with a touch of punk. Sweet. :-)

Earlier this morning, in a scene perhaps haunted by memories of last year's botched impeachment attempt, oppositions solons filed a new impeachment complaint consisting of 150 pages and signed by at least 200 complainants against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, accusing her of willful and culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust.

The charges cover alleged violations ranging from electoral fraud, vote buying and cheating during the 2004 elections, condonation of illegal gambling, unconstitutional issuances, to violations of human rights.

This time, it seems the opposition has learned its lessons, and is not taking any chances with alleged administration "plants" beating them to the punch by filing bogus impeachment complaints ahead of them.

So what happens next? You're guess is as good as mine. With Congress seemingly rendered ineffective by stalemated talks of charter change, term extensions and such, the new impeachment complaints represent a possibility of achieving true closure for last year's various political controversies, not to mention a chance to hold the President accountable for unconstitutional executive measures such as Executive Order No. 464 and Proclamation No. 1017.

The point is, it doesn't really matter if you're pro-GMA or anti-GMA. Despite her position as President of the republic, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not above the law. She should be made to answer the accusations against her in a forum sanctioned by law...and that is nothing else, nothing less than impeachment.

What really ticks me off over last year's impeachment attempt was that the majority of the members of Congress voted not in favor of getting to the bottom of things, but rather as a matter of political convenience and blatant suppression of any attempt to uncover the truth. It is not as if they were voting to convict the President, but only to investigate her, to determine if there is indeed truth to any of the accusations. And yet, the complaint was dismissed, despite the plethora of prima facie evidence, which even included an admission and an apology. Truly a travesty any way you look at it.

Well, this is a chance set things straight once and for all. If the President truly is innocent, she should step up to the plate and face the charges. Nothing else will do if she wants to salvage whatever credibility she has left. And if her political lackeys do her another favor and kill the complaint again, it would just be a confirmation of what we have possibly known long before - that Congress has ceased to be truly representative of the sentiments of the people, and that has degenerated into an institution solely concerned with the furtherance of political wheeling and dealing.

I'm still hoping for the best. What else can we do?

Related Posts:

Emergency over...or is it?
Tell it to the marines....
State of emergency....
End of days?
The fishy smell of EO 464....
In search of the truth....
The final nail in the coffin....
The truth always prevails....
Safety in numbers....
Mea culpa....

Links:

Blog Lecture No. 6: Impeachment

A number of colleagues of mine are scheduled to take the written examinations for Career Executive Officer Eligibility (CEOE) later this morning.

In case you didn't know, the CEOE is a requirement for all third level officers in government service, and serves as a replacement of sorts for the older CESO and CSEE qualifications previously required. It consists of four stages, with the written examination phase being the first. It has a reputation for being notoriously difficult. Out of the first batch of 4,751 examinees who took the tests last year, roughly only about 10% passed. I can personally attest to its difficulty. I was among those in the first batch, and I was fortunate enough to squeak through by the skin of my teeth (see previous post here).

Good luck people! Do your best, and God will do the rest. :-)

Links:

Civil Service Commission

Four weeks, four days, and fifteen hours after I first registered a complaint with PLDT myDSL regarding my excrutiatingly slow internet connection, I'm finally getting the bandwidth I'm paying for. It took them so long to fix it that it all feels so surreal...like emerging from the fogginess after waking up from a bad dream.

It seems so anticlimactic, especially after numerous phone calls to their 172 hotline, and emails to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). It would seem that PLDT only got off its ass when they received a copy of my complaint addressed to the DTI, a copy of which was in the possession of the technician who dropped by our house. He jokingly remarked that his unit was stirred into action when they received a copy of my complaint. I certainly didn't think that a month of lousy service was anything to laugh about.

The technician even mentioned that my allotted bandwidth should be around 256 Kbps. I had to open PLDT myDSL's site to show him that the correct allocation is 384, not 256 Kbps. While I conducted myself pleasantly during the entire exercise, I couldn't help but be annoyed with the technician's ignorance with the packages offered by PLDT. He even offered to replace my ADSL modem, which wasn't even broken to begin with. What was that all about? My present modem (a Siemens SpeedStream 5100) allows me to login via PPPoE automatically. The modem he was offering in exchange was a bulkier unit that required that I login manually. I can't help but think that he was trying to screw me into accepting an inferior modem, especially since there was nothing wrong with the one I have.

I just hate it when technicians assume that I'm a tech ignoramus, when they come up with stupid explanations and propose even more stupid solutions. Especially since in all probability I know more than them. Hey, I'm not bragging. I used to work in our MIS department, and I have received certified training in systems development, programming, systems, network and database administration. Suffice it to say, that I know my way around computers and networks.

So, how did they resolve the problem? They ended up giving me a new login name and password. Entering the new login name and password immediately gave me a faster connection speed. That simple. And yet it took them more than a month to come up with a solution.

I'm still wondering if PLDT deliberately screwed up my first account when I requested a downgrade without paying the P5,000.00 downgrade fee they were initially requiring. Considering that the solution to my problem seemed so simple, I can't really figure out why it took them so long to fix it in the first place. It would seem that they are either technically incompetent, or that they maliciously and deliberately screwed my account of the bandwidth it was entitled to. I don't know really. Take your pick. Well, good faith is always presumed, so they're probably incompetent. Either way, its inexcusable.

Its so inexcusable, that I'm not done with my tirade just yet. My DSL line may be working as it should be now, but there's no way I'm paying for the previous month's DSL subscription without some sort of rebate. I'm not paying full price for a month's worth of lousy DSL service, when I received less than half the bandwidth I'm entitled to.

So this entry marks the end of one chapter of my (mis)adventures with PLDT myDSL, and the start of a another one.

*sigh*

What has the world come to? It has come to a point that if you're too nice, or too timid to complain, there are always people (or companies) who will take advantage of you. Too bad for PLDT. I'm not one of them nice people.

Given my rather frustrating experiences, I find it difficult to recommend PLDT myDSL to anyone looking for broadband internet service. Too bad there aren't that many other choices though.

Related Posts:

Enough is enough....
What the....
No end in sight....
When will it all end?
Finally....
PLDT myDSL's idiotic policies....

The following is an advertisement for those looking for real estate investment opportunities north of Metro Manila. Located near SM Fairview, and fueled by rapid growth, land values in Colinas Verdes have risen more than 14% during the past year alone. Check this out if you want a piece of the action. I can refer you to a contact of mine who's as cute and cuddly as a Pokémon. If that isn't inducement enough, I don't know what is. :-) Photos to follow. No, not of the Pokémon, of the real estate, silly. :-)

Seriously, please don't hesitate to let me know if you're interested. It's a buyer's market nowadays, so you really can't lose.

The New Urbanism

Today, San Jose del Monte boasts of one of the most prestigious urban developments north of Metro Manila - >COLINAS VERDES. It is located in Baranggay Tungkong Mangga, just at the edge of the metropolis.

The community is bounded by Bulacan province on the north, by Kalookan City at southwest, and by Quezon City on the south. Its proximity and accessibility to EDSA makes it a natural catch basin for Metro Manila's northern growth.

The New Township of Bulacan

San Jose del Monte holds the distinction of being the very first city in the province of Bulacan.

The city is named after its patron saint, San Jose, with "del Monte" pertaining to its rolling terrain, located northeast of the Sierra Madre Mountains. Chartered in the year 2000, San Jose del Monte is known as the Evergreen City, blessed as it is with abundant greens and forests. Its location high above most other towns has also earned it the name, "Balcony of the Metropolis."

Nestled at the foot of the Sierra Madre Mountains, COLINAS VERDES supports a planned environment of lush greens and trees. The rolling terrain rose gently from the southwest entrance to the northeast tip, reaching 280 meters at its highest point, where one has a commanding view of Quezon City and Manila Bay farther out in the distance.

Running along the eastern and southern boundaries of the property is the Marilao River, in the middle of the Angat and La Mesa watersheds. This unique location helps maintain a pollution-free environment for residents of COLINAS VERDES.

San Jose del Monte provides the peaceful environment that enhances urban development, and new facilities continue to be built within the vicinity.

The University of San Agustin and the San Agustin Church will soon rise beside COLINAS VERDES to provide facilities for education and religious worship.

The COLINAS VERDES Commercial Center will rise along Quirino Avenue as an ideal venue for shopping and dining or to simply meet up with friends and clients. Designed to serve residents of Colinas Verdes as well as surrounding communities, the Commercial Center is envisioned to become an important landmark in the vicinity.

This cat reminds me of a friend I had way back in college. He would always pass out on car hoods after several drinks.


Too much caffeine.


Not enough caffeine.


What did I do?

If you feel like it, check out this video my son took of one of our cats. :-)

Blue Sky
Hale

When do stars fade their light?
Does the moon and the sun make it right
For you the world maybe
Like an endless storm chasing a mystery

Is there hate in your heart?
Does your body drop and tell you to stop
Loving you or loving me
When it all falls down you just sing with me

Coz there’s a blue sky waiting tomorrow
Waiting tomorrow shining and shimmering
A blue sky waiting tomorrow
Waiting tomorrow
Maybe it’s all we need

Oh don’t you wash away that smile
You just look out the window and see the light
It’s beautiful to be alive
It’s wonderful to live a life

The sun is sure to shine
For you and me for everyone
So don’t be sad it’s just the start
Of a new beginning in your life

Rain will keep on pouring
Some things you can’t control
And while the sun seems far and hard to hold
It will unfold

There will always be a blue sky
A blue sky waiting tomorrow

I started being an AMD fan since about seven years ago. Until that time all of the computers that I have owned or built (except for a rather ancient Apple II Plus) were Intel based. Then again, during those times almost all PCs were Intel-based. I remember owning an XT (8088) clone, an AT (286) clone, a DX4 (486) based computer, followed by a PC with a Pentium and later on with a Pentium MMX.

It was in 1999 when I first built a system based on an AMD processor. The chip that I used was a 350 MHz K6-2 which plugged into a Super Socket 7 motherboard. It was not the fastest processor on the market at the time, since the first slot based Pentium IIIs and Athlons were already being introduced, but it was by far the most powerful chip in its price range.

Even then I was a dyed-in-the-wool PC gamer, and my setup reflected that. Aside from the aforementioned K6-2 processor, my PC was equipped with 128 MB of PC100 SDRAM, a 32MB NVIDIA TNT2 AGP video card, an 8 GB hard disk drive, and a Labway Xwave QS3000A PCI sound card with A3D, running Windows 2000. This was during a time when your average PC had a Pentium MMX or lower processor, 64 MB of memory, an S3 ViRGE or Trio3D PCI video card, a 6 or 4 GB hard disk, an ISA-based Sound Blaster compatible sound card, and Windows 98.

About two years later, I pulled out the 350 MHz K6-2 and replaced it with a 400 MHz K6-III, so it could keep up for a while with the high-end CPUs of that era, which included the socketed Pentium III and Athlon, which were both locked in a race to break the the 1 GHz mark. Pentium IIs were now at the lower-middle range of the market, with Celerons taking up the lower end, facing off with K6-2s.

Two years after that, I went on to build a PC with an Athlon XP processor. After three more years, and I would be using a PC with an Athlon 64 processor.

Why have I preferred AMD over Intel during the past seven years or so? AMD processors have always had a better price/performance ratio compared to CPUs made by Intel. During the last few years, Intel has even lost the performance crown to AMD, with the Athlon 64 and FX series lording it over the Prescott Pentium 4, and the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition. That will probably change in the next few weeks or months, with Intel scheduled to release a new line of processors based on its much awaited Core 2 technology. But for now, AMD's K8 architecture is still at the top of the roost.

(To be continued...)

I just spent the last 45 minutes or so working out, and I'm writing this post while cooling down. In a while I'll be taking a nice, refreshing shower, after which I'll probably be spending an hour so hitting my books, then off to bed.

Before I went on leave, I told myself that I'll be making the most of this time and get into shape, in addition to studying. So far I seem to keeping that promise to myself.

It's hard to keep in shape nowadays (unless you count round as a shape you're happy with). It always seems as if there's never enough time to exercise. Unless you make it of course.

Well, I hope to hit two birds with one stone the next few months or so. If I don't succeed in the other one (though I hope I do) at least I'll be physically fit, and with any luck I'll be able to get rid of my protruding gut, hopefully before I start considering liposuction (assuming I can even afford it). Its small consolation, but like they say, health is wealth.

Sometimes I envy those rich celebrities...okay, not sometimes, but all the time. :-) It's easy to be healthy and look good if you have the dough. You can hire personal trainers and dieticians to make sure that you exercise and eat right. If you're a poor slob like me, you're your own personal trainer and nutritionist. In my case, I seem to be doing a piss poor job of it. Add to that my recent binging on caffeine and nicotine in an attempt to stay up longer hours and to keep my alertness levels up. While it works, thus helping me burn both ends of the candle, I've only succeeded in giving myself the occassional shakes. Oh well. We can't have it all now, can we?

I think I spent enough time cooling down, and its about time I hit the shower. I guess that's it for this installment in the boring saga known as Ronald Allan's life.

Sometimes I ask myself why I even bother doing this. And then I forget, then write an entry anyway. Oh well. :-)

I've had this idea stuck in my head for some time now.

If you're a regular visitor to this blog, by now you would have figured out that computer gaming is one of my main hobbies. I've been gaming on computers since I was still using an old Apple II Plus, and while I have diversified a bit by gaming on various consoles as well, I still consider myself, first and foremost, a PC gamer.

All of the PCs I've built for my own use reflect this proclivity, and I get my info on what particular parts to buy from various magazines, books, and technical/review sites on the web.

I've noticed that there aren't any local web sites posting really in-depth reviews of PC hardware. Oh, there are some magazines which post a couple of such reviews now and then, but most aren't really that technical, aimed more at a general audience, too shallow for hardcore PC technophiles and gamers. More often than not, the reviewers are "too nice" and don't really say if a particular piece of hardware is good for gaming, or merely a piece of proverbial crap. Reviews of this sort aren't really helpful, and even confusing.

Also, there doesn't seem to be any "boutique" computer assemblers specializing in assembling custom modded PCs or PCs especially spec'd for running games here in the Philippines. In the United States, a lot of brands cater specifically to this niche, including such well-known brands such as Alienware, Voodoo, Falcon Northwest, ABS, etc.

I've seen a lot of purported gamer PCs being advertised on different local PC mags, but except for having top-of-the-line processors or over-the-top case designs, these computers are particularly poor gaming PCs, often due to anemic video cards and miniscule amounts of system RAM. Hell, I've hardly ever even seen a local PC being sold with surround speakers, and virtually all modern games take advantage of surround sound.

While some may think that high performance video cards, sound cards, surround speakers, and the like are expensive, it need not necessarily be. There are a lot of inexpensive components out in the market which nonetheless significantly enhance the gaming experience. And besides, on the other end of the spectrum, there are always people for which cost is no object. I envy those people. :-)

If you're the type of person who's familiar with such terms as dual-channel DDR, HyperTransport, pixel pipelines, vertex shaders, DirectX 9.0c, dual core, or cryptic acronyms like SLI, HTT, SSE, AMD64, RAID 0, SATA or EAX, you can probably relate.

I think this is a void just waiting to be filled locally. Also, if you consider the growth of the gaming industry, I also think its inevitable. Yet, no one is stepping up to the plate.

I'm thinking of setting up some sort of retail company specializing in PCs for gamers. Of course, it'll sell individual components as well, and provide support and sound technical advice, unlike those huge warehouse-type outlets where most of the technical support people don't know jack (like this one time when a sales clerk was insisting that an Athlon 64 had a 333 MHz FSB, hell, an Athlon 64 doesn't even have a FSB). Given the access to various PC components, I think it should also have a website of its own, giving no-nonsense reviews and recommendations. In other words, a local PC company and website by gamers, for gamers. Has a nice ring to it, no?

It could even sell customized PCs online. I don't think that has happened here yet.

Alas, such a company will probably require a sizeable investment, and that I don't have.

So, I was wondering, does anyone else think this is a good idea? Does anyone want to finance it? :-) Or at the very least, if you're planning on setting up such a company, would you like to hire me? I could be a good visionary when it comes to technology. :-)

“Well, I won't lie... Fatherhood isn't easy. Like motherhood. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. Except for some mag wheels. Oh man that would be sweet!"

"Anywho the key to fathering is don't overthink. Because overthinking is um.... what were we talking about? Ooh, a clown! Hehehe!"

- Homer Simpson

Links:

The Simpsons :: Last Exit To Springfield

Have a good weekend everyone! :-)

I know as much as anyone that smoking is bad for your health, but lately I've had to resort to it (well, along with coffee, tea and cola) as a means of maintaining my concentration and keeping my mind alert as I read what seems to be pages and pages of text.

While it does help in this regard, it doesn't really change the fact the excessive smoking can be hazardous to your health. Is there a way to get the stimulant effects of smoking while eliminating the potential health hazards? Probably not. Smoking is dangerous however which way you cut it. But if you must smoke, I recommend you try using minifilters. Minifilters are the small plastic devices you attach to the end of cigarettes which trap tar and nicotine from the inhaled smoke.

While I doubt that such filters will make smoking a safe activity, it does seem to work as far as significantly reducing the tar and nicotine in every puff. Take a look:

Here's a David Ross branded minifilter, fresh out of the box.


Here's how the minifilter looks like, after going through about a pack of West Ice cigarettes.

To ensure that you do benefit from using minifilters, avoid smoking more than you usually do. Otherwise, you'll be compensating for the decrease in the inhaled tar and nicotine by just smoking more cigarettes.

Of course, I'm not by any means recommending that people smoke. If you're a smoker, and if you want to lower your nicotine and tar intake, perhaps as a stepping stone to quitting altogether, minifilters may be of help. If you don't smoke, do yourself a favor and don't learn.

As for me, I'll be quitting in a few months time. By that time I would have gotten my readings and exams out of the way. Until then, perhaps this is a way I could have my cake and eat it too.

Warning: Cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health.

Happy International Weblogger's Day!

Since the very first InWeDay was celebrated on June 14, 2004, blogging has continually grown into a social, political, quasi-journalistic, and literary force to reckon with in today's modern society. This trend still continues, and shows no sign of abating anytime soon.

Technorati, the largest and most popular blog tracking service on the internet, tracks approximately 44.4 million blogs, and about 2.5 billion blog related links. That's a whole lot of bloggers sharing their ideas and opinions. And the numbers are still growing, as more and more people take to this activity.

Why has blogging become so popular? While there are so many ways to answer this question, I guess the easiest answer is that it addresses one of man's most inherent needs, and that is the need to express one's self. Blogging has made self-expression as easy as logging on the internet, and with a potential audience consisting of nothing less than the entire planet, the possibilities are just about limitless.

Truly, bloggers are starting to pull their weight not only in the ether of cyberspace, but also in the real world, with their ability to influence popular opinion through the unbridled exchange of ideas.

Blogging has indeed gone a long way from being a mere pastime for computer nerds, and it'll continue evolving as technology advances, and as it makes more and more inroads in our society.

And all of us bloggers have a ringside view of this phenomenon. We're at the tip of the spear. :-)

Happy International Weblogger's day everyone!

And let us all keep on blogging. :-)

Related Posts:

International Webloggers' Day

Low Rider
War

All my friends know the low rider
The low rider is a little higher

The low rider drives a little slower
Low rider, is a real goer

Hey

Low rider knows every street, yeah
Low rider, is the one to meet, yeah

Low rider don't use no gas now
The low rider don't drive too fast

Take a little trip, take a little trip
Take a little trip and see
Take a little trip, take a little trip
Take a little trip with me

Today, the Philippines celebrates its 108th Independence Day. 108 years have passed since that fateful day when General Emilio Aguinaldo waved the Philippine flag from the balcony of his residence in Kawit, Cavite. 108 years. And what do we have to show for it?

An exchange rate of P53.034 to a US dollar;

A population of 85.2 million Filipinos;

A poverty incidence of 24.4% (as of 2003);

2,840,000 people of employable age without work (as of January 2006);

A central government domestic debt of P2,167,916,000,000.00 (as of February 2006);

A central government foreign debt of P1,796,472,000,000.00 (as of February 2006);

An international external debt of $54,186,000,000.00 (as of Q4 2005);

A trade deficit of $12,000,000.00 (as of March 2006);

Gasoline at more than P40.00 per liter;

Doctors and lawyers taking up nursing or caregiving courses;

Citizens who would rather work abroad than stay here if given the opportunity;

A growing industry in the field of answering phones and making medical transcripts;

An executive department which lacks credibility and moral ascendancy;

A legislative department tied up with issues of charter change and impeachment;

A judicial department rife with alleged "errors";

Media practitioners and alleged leftists being killed left and right.

Of course, we're free and independent.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Related Posts:

Independence Day....

Links:

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
National Statistical Coordination Board

On September 7, 1994, a 38 year-old housepainter by the name of Leo Echegaray was convicted of the crime of rape and sentenced to suffer the ultimate penalty, death. He was the first Filipino in 23 years to be meted out that sentence after its reinstatement through Republic Act No. 7659 on December 13, 1993.

Almost five years later, on February 9, 1999, the sentence was finally carried out. A series of drugs were injected into his bloodstream, resulting in unconsciousness, paralysis, and finally, death. He died at exactly 3:00 PM, the customary time of executions here in the Philippines, the hour that Jesus Christ also died on the cross.

His last words were:

Sambayanang Pilipino, patawarin ako sa kasalanang ipinaratang ninyo sa akin. Pilipino, pinatay ng kapwa Pilipino.

Translation:

Filipino people, forgive me for the crime you have accused me of committing. Filipino, killed by fellow Filipinos.

Despite opposition by certain sectors to the death penalty, Echegaray's execution through lethal injection was hailed as a triumph of law and order over criminality (see then President Joseph Estrada's statement on the execution here).

Fast forward seven years.

For a supposed error of sorts committed by the Supreme Court during the automatic review of Leo Echegaray's conviction, the State, through the government, is being called upon to compensate his kin for "wrongful death" (see this article on INQ7.net).

The crux of the purported "mistake", is the application of the alternative circumstance of relationship, which was considered aggravating in this instance. The rape victim was the then ten year-old daughter of Echegaray's common-law-wife. She was not Echegaray's biological nor adoptive daughter, but the Court ruled this circumstance as aggravating, leading to the imposition of the penalty of death. If it wasn't considered as such, the penalty to be imposed would have been reclusio perpetua (read the decision of the Supreme Court here).

Now, because of the alleged "wrongful death", Senator Aquilino Pimentel is supporting the payment of a 5-10 million peso compensation package to Echegaray's family. Even Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales seems to agree.

If this indeed happens, this has got to be probably one of the weirdest acts of state that I have ever heard of.

Without going to the pros and cons of the death penalty, this recent development is a prime example of how weak-willed the government is, as well as its wishy-washy attitude towards the ever sensitive and controversial issue of capital punishment.

The fact is, Echegaray was given his day in court, and his conviction was affirmed after being reviewed by the Supreme Court. As far as the law is concerned, there is no "mistake" to speak of. He was sentenced to die for raping a ten year-old girl, the daughter of his lover. Maybe the lawyers who defended Echegaray could be to blame for not being able to convince the Court of the alleged lack of parental ascendancy over the convict and the victim. Maybe the Regional Trial Court who imposed the sentence and the even Supreme Court who reviewed the case could have misappreciated the facts. Its definitely not impossible. We are only human, after all.

This would not be the first time the Supreme Court would be accused of botching a decision. A lot of decisions of the Supreme Court have met with criticism in recent years, most notable of which was its affirmation of the ascent into the Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, when former President Joseph Estrada was swept out of Malacañang through a popular revolt in 2001.

Which leads us to the question: who do we turn to when the highest court in the land is "wrong"? Precisely my point. Right or wrong, the buck stops with the Supreme Court. And who are we to say that their appreciation of the law is "wrong"? They are the authority when it comes to interpreting the law. Our Constitution has made sure of that.

I'm not really sure what to make of this myself. Whether we agree or not, we should respect the decisions of the Supreme Court. What other choice do we have? The Supreme Court is not within the disciplining power of any other body in the government. There's always impeachment, but it doesn't really seem like a responsive nor appropriate remedy when all we're talking about is a mistake in the appreciation of the facts of a case.

Maybe that's something for those advocating charter change to consider. The present framework of government as it now stands doesn't really address the issue.

As for Echegaray, let us let sleeping dogs lie. He was a convicted criminal after all, and while he may not have deserved to die, he certainly deserved to be punished for his crimes.

If anything else, his death should serve as a reminder that crime doesn't pay. Our institutions may be flawed, but that doesn't change the bottomline. To question his execution seven years after the fact doesn't really do anyone any good, and neither does it send a good message to criminal elements. All it does is reinforce the belief that we have a government which lacks the political will to execute its own laws.

If the death penalty truly is a needless and cruel form of punishment, then the legislature should concentrate on repealing the death penalty law instead of second guessing ourselves for executing criminals sentenced to death after undergoing due process. We can't bring them back. But we can prevent others from suffering the same fate, is that is indeed what needs to be done.

Related Posts:

Lex Talionis - On enforcing the death penalty

Solitaire is ok, but I could never figure out how to play Freecell manually. :-)

After the preceding post, for the sake of balance, here's another forwarded email this time attacking the book and the movie The Da Vinci Code. Author is also unknown. It's a bit ironic that you read all these forwarded emails supposedly defending or attacking a belief, and yet they're all anonymous.

The Da Vinci Code Lie Exposed

The movie "The Da Vinci Code" staring Tom Hanks, directed by Ron Howard will soon be released this year.

This movie will have the potential to deceive billions of the world's population. The story line attacks the very heart of the Gospel and attempts to destroy the very nature and character of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

(Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,against the Lord, and against His anointed? Psalm 2:1, 2)

Satan knows his time is about up and now he will attempt to take one of his best shots by enlisting all of hell to belch out its worse deception in that of stripping Jesus Christ of His Divine nature and turning him into a mere man who secretly marries Mary Magdalene.

To add insult to injury the story depicts the idea that certain shadowy Christian groups for 2,000 years have purposely and secretly hidden this so called "fact" behind the scenes and thus it is finally revealed in a coded message buried in Leonardo Da Vinci's painting.

Even the movie trailer for this story presents it as "the truth" finally revealed about Jesus! (this is just what the Islamic Fascists need to give added credence to their bloody, destructive campaign of global terror!) It is time for Christians (the Body of Christ) everywhere to rise up and expose this lie from the pit of hell that will be perpetuated on the whole world in just a couple of short months.

This is no time to back down in the "day of battle". It is a time to pray and fast like never before that God will raise up a standard against the enemy as he comes in like a flood. Satan always "overplays his hand" and once again he is about to overplay it big time because as usual he overplays it right into God's plan to present the "truth" to the whole world. "..and this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come". Matthew 24:14

Oswald Chambers states in his timeless writing My Utmost For His Highest, "Our calling is not primarily to be holy men and women but to be proclaimers of the Gospel of God. The one all-important thing is that the Gospel of God should be recognized as the abiding reality." Yet we have to ask ourselves today when this abiding reality comes under direct attack who will defend it? The answer can only be that those of us who have been transformed by it's truth for eternity will and must defend it here and now.

Pray that Christian lay people, prayer leaders, writers, pastors, and all those in Christian media outlets will get the message out and expose this deception of hell and reveal the lie this movie will present before it ever hits the theaters. We can only say about Tom Hanks & Ron Howard "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" but to the enemy of the cross we can only declare to him, "go ahead take your best shot because your time is up and you will soon be cast into the lake of fire"

Email this on to everyone you know (don't delete, give it feet) and lets expose this lie for what it is because the hour is late and much later than we think.

What do I think? I think that this debate is already old news. Despite fears that the ideas in the book (and the movie) could damage the reputation and credibility of the Church beyond repair, the Church is still the institution it always was. I for one, never doubted that the Church would be able to weather these controversies. It would take more than a book or a movie to shatter 2,000 year-old beliefs. And it's always a difficult thing to make people believe one thing, after believing something else for so long.

Does that mean that I think the ideas in the book are all hogwash? Let's just say that while the book suffers from some historical fallacies, there is merit and historical basis for at least some of the theories presented. Well, that's what I think. At the very least, it encouraged me to learn the truth for myself, and that's what I suggest you do too.

At the end of the day, it will all just boil down to what you truly believe in. And that is what matters most.

As for emails like this one, and the one before, read them, but take them with a grain of salt. What's important is that you decide for yourself what you want to believe, and don't let other people make that choice for you.

Received the following through email. It makes some pretty bold declarations about the Church, as well as history as we know it. Author is unknown.

I'm unable to validate the claims, since I'm hardly a biblical scholar nor a historian. It is quite interesting though, and perhaps you'd like to read it yourself.

The fact that I'm posting this doesn't mean that I necessarily believe it though. It does however, make you think...

The myth of Christ serve as well.

- Pope Gregory IX

The DaVinci Code is not about the humanity and divinity of Jesus. We respect and believe in him as the begotten son of God (and we are all sons and daugthers of God) but it's about the lies perpetuated by the Catholic church that started at the 1st council of Nicea.

For almost two thousand years powerful religious institutions with the backing and support of the governments since Emperor Constantine had exercise arbitrary authority over the lives of individuals. These institutions has stood against equality of women and the advancement of science. From Pythagoras to Galileo the Christian church would not accept their scientific findings and inventions. The Vatican insisted that the Earth, being created by God, is the center of the universe only to find later on that they were wrong. The scientists and other intellectuals at the time were harrassed forcing them to go underground to do their experiment. Even Nostradamus was forced to write his prophesies in quatrain so that the church will not understand them.

It has not changed. Look what is happenning with human genome, the genetic engineering, the cloning, and the space exploration to find life in other planets. The churches and the governments are screaming! Luckily, they cannot charge them as heretics and murder them or burn them at the stakes like what Pope Gregory IX did with the Cathars during the first Catholic Inquisition of 1231. The Cathars were also Christian, the true followers of Jesus Christ like the Gnostics but not following the doctrines of the Roman church. And the church believed that they possessed the documents containing the "Sangraal" (Royal Blood) the bloodline of Jesus and so they were murdered by the Vatican without mercy. How many people, especially the Knights Templar, the true follower of Jesus Christ and the real keeper of the Covenant, did Pope Clement V with the sanction and support of King Philippe IV of France murdered on Friday 13 October 1307 (now known as Friday the 13th). The Knights Templar were almost wiped out. Few who escaped took refuge under the wings of Freemasonry. That is why the Catholic Church hates Freemasonry, branding the organization as evil. The Knights Templar are well and alive walking amongst us.

Don't be a blind follower. Educate yourself about the history of our religion. Read the books; Bloodline of the Holy Grail and Genesis of the Grail Kings both by Lawrence Gardner a Knight Templar of St. Anthony. Also the Dead Sea Scrolls found in the Qumran cave and the Nags Hamadi documents found in Egypt including the Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and the Gospel of Phillip that were not included in the New Testaments. Also the new findings, written in papyrus, the Gospel of Judas Escariot. The only disciple favored by Jesus, who understood Jesus and who did Jesus' will so that the prophesy will be fulfilled!

Some facts you should know:

1. The Last Supper (the Lord's Supper) was held at Qumran on March 19, AD 33.

2. Crucifixion: - Friday, March 20, AD 33.

3. Gethsemane - "Valley of Oil" the garden in the Mount of Olives.

4. Jesus birth date: Sunday, March 7, 7 BC. Change to Dec. 25 by Constantine the Great.

5. Greek: Christos means King - Jesus Christ means Jesus the King or King Jesus. The rightful heir of the Davidic dynasty (King David to King Solomon to the rightful descendants).

6. Jesus' brother by blood: James, Thomas, Jude, Joses.

7. Tamar (Damaris) - Mary Magdalene's daughter born in late AD 33. Sarah, mentioned in DaVinci Code, was not her daughter but an Egyptian handmaiden.

8. Gaul - is Southern France where Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea and other companion travelled after the crucifixion.

9. Mary Magdalene died in AD 63, aged 60 in Saint Baume, Southern France.

10. Knights Templar - The protectors of the pilgrims to Jerusalem and the first international bankers and as the result became very rich, the envy of King Philip and the Vatican. Also believe to possessed the Ark of the Covenant and documents containing the writings of Jesus himself found deep beneath the temple of King Solomon. These assets are damaging to the existence of the Catholic church and the very reason why the Vatican would resort to murder in order to acquire them.

Continue your search, The truth will set you free!

Two men were sitting next to each other at a bar.

After a while, one guy looks at the other and says, "I can't help but think, from listening to you, that you're from Ireland."

The other guy responds proudly, "Yes, that I am!"

The first guy says, "So am I! And where abouts from Ireland might you be?"

The other guy answers, "I'm from Dublin, I am."

The first guy responds, "Sure and begora, and so am I! And what street did you live on in Dublin?"

The other guy says, "A lovely little area it was, I lived on McCleary Street in the old central part of town."

The first guy says, "Faith & it's a small world, so did I! And to what school would you have been going?"

The other guy answers, "Well now, I went to St. Mary's of course."

The first guy gets really excited, and says, "And so did I. Tell me, what year did you graduate?"

The other guy answers, "Well, now, I graduated in 1964."

The first guy exclaims, "The Good Lord must be smiling down upon us! I can hardly believe our good luck at winding up in the same bar tonight. Can you believe it, I graduated from St. Mary's in 1964 my own self."

About this time, another guy walks into the bar, sits down, and orders a beer.

The bartender walks over shaking his head & mutters, "It's going to be a long night tonight, the Murphy twins are drunk again."

Sighted in a cellphone stall in Ever Gotesco Commonwealth:

Do you think God uses one of these?

Please pardon the blurriness of the picture, I had to use maximum digital zoom, hence the poor image quality. :-)

Can you say Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia? I can't. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is defined as a morbid fear of the number 666. So how is that relevant? Well, today, the date is June 6, 2006. The sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of the first century of the new millenium. 6/6/06. 666. Sescenti sexaginta sex.

This is what the Bible has to say about the number 666:

Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six. - Revelations 13:18

While many associate the number with a beast, an entity of pure evil known as the Antichrist, foretold to be the bringer of death, war, disease and famine to the world, several scholars have suggested that the number 666 is merely a reference to the Roman Emperor Nero (decoded using Hebrew letters and Gematria), who was known for his persecution of early Christians. There are even some who claim that the number 666 is a mistranslation. In fact, it should be 616, as it is indeed written in some texts.

So today is 6/6/06. Does that mean that this day is more evil than most? It doesn't seem that way. In fact, it seems just like any other day, except for the numerical play on a date which happens only once in a hundred years.

I guess its safe to say that I don't have hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. Oh, I have phobias of my own, but the fear of the number 666 ain't one of them.

But what about all those calculations proving this person, or that place, or that thing, is the Antichrist by devising some numerical code, applying it to a person's name, and getting the total 666? Like for example, HITLER (applying a numerical cipher where A=100, B=101, C=102, and so on, and adding all the numbers up) or US OF AMERICA (where A=6, B=12, C=18, and so on, and adding all the numbers as well)?

Actually, any name (or word for that matter) can be mathematically converted to the number 666 by using linear equations known as diophantine equations (don't quote me on this, I only read it somewhere). For example, you could always start with a simple algebraic equation ax+bx+cx...+zx=666 where a, b, c, etc. represent the letter sequence themselves and x is the multiplier to come up to a total of 666. Did I explain that correctly? I did poorly in higher mathematics in college so you have to bear with me...

Here's one I came up with, using the above equation. I have to admit, I'm not sure if the equation above always works though...haven't tested it fully. Nor should I probably spend the time testing it lest you think me as some sort of weirdo. :-)

Using a cipher based on multiples of three, where A=3, B=6, C=9, and so forth, the full name of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Gloria M. Macapagal-Arroyo (I take it not many of you know Gloria's middle name is Macaraeg) comes out as follows:

G=21
L=36
O=45
R=54
I=27
A=3
M=39
M=39
A=3
C=9
A=3
P=48
A=3
G=21
A=3
L=36
A=3
R=54
R=54
O=45
Y=75
O=45

TOTAL=666

Why multiples of three? Well because it adds up. Or perhaps we can come up with some absurd convoluted reason. She first became President in 2001. 2+1=3. She's the 14th President of the Philippines. 4-1=3. She was born on April 5, 1947, 4/5/1947. 4+5+1+9+4+7=30. 3+0=3. Or EDSA Tres. Take your pick. It doesn't necessarily have to make sense.

So, does that mean that President Arroyo is the Antichrist? Hardly, but for some people, especially those in the political opposition, it probably makes sense. Hell, it even makes a little sense to me. :-)

If I had the time or inclination, I can probably come up with a specific code to make any name add up to 666. So what does that mean? Simply that those ciphers and conversions don't mean jack, and unlikely to be a reliable indicator of who the Antichrist is, assuming one exists, or that its even a person.

All in all, 666 is just a number, and nothing else, well, at least as far as today is concerned. I could be wrong though, and I wouldn't be surprised if I were. Suffice it to say that today is a day just like any other, and except for the rare combination of numbers making up the date, there isn't really anything unusually evil about today. Unlike, perhaps, a date like 9/11.

That's enough on this. I'm going back to my books. I still have tons to read.

Postscript:

Come to think of it, maybe President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is the Antichrist. :-0

Links:

666 - The Number of the Man Antichrist
Jim Loy's Pseudoscience Page - 666
666 wrong number of prophetic beast?

Summer vacation was over and Little Johnny returned back to school.

Only two days later his teacher phoned his mother to tell her that he was misbehaving.

"Wait a minute," she said. "I had Johnny with me for three months and I never called you once when he misbehaved!"

:-)

He ordered one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. He then carefully counted out the French fries, dividing them into two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife.

He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them. As he began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the people around them kept looking over and whispering. You could tell they were thinking, "That poor old couple - all they can afford is one meal for the two of them."

As the man began to eat his fries a young man came to the table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple. The old man said they were just fine - They were used to sharing everything.

The surrounding people noticed the little old lady hadn't eaten a bite. She sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink.

Again the young man came over and begged them to let him buy another meal for them. This time the old woman said "No, thank you, we are used to sharing everything."

As the old man finished and was wiping his face neatly with the napkin, the young man again came over to the little old lady who had yet to eat a single bite of food and asked "What is it you are waiting for?"

She answered:

"THE TEETH."

From my inbox. :-)

Virtual Insanity
Jamiroquai

Oh yeah what were living in (let me tell ya)
It a wonder man can eat at all
When things are big
That should be small
Who can tell what magic spells well be doing for us.
And Im giving all my love to this world
Only to be told
I cant see, I cant breathe
No more will we be
And nothings gonna change the way we live
Cos we can always take and never give
And now that things are changing for the worse,
See, its a crazy world were living in
And I just cant see that half of us immersed in sin
Is all we have to give these

Futures made of virtual insanity
Now always seem, to be governed by this love we have
For useless, twisting of our new technology
Oh now theres no sound for we all live underground

And Im thinking in what a mess were in
Hard to know when to begin
If I could slip the sicly ties that earthly man has made
And now every mother can choose the color of her child
Thats not natures way
Well thats what they said yesterday
Theres nothing left to do but pray
I think its time I found a new religion
Waoh its so insane to synthesize another strain
Theres something in these futures that we have to be told.

Futures made of virtual insanity
Now always seem, to be governed by this love we have
For useless, twisting of our new technology

Oh now theres no sound for we all live underground
Now theres no sound if we all live underground
And now its virtual insanity
Forget your virtual reality
Oh, theres nothing so bad, I know yeah

Oh, this virtual insanity, were living in,
Has got to change, yeah
Things will never be the same
And I cant go on
While were living in oh, oh virtual insanity
Oh, this world has got to change
Cos I just, I just cant keep going on, it was virtual,
Virtual insanity that were living in, that were living in
That virtual insanity is what it is

Futures made of virtual insanity
Now always seem, to be governed by this love we have
For useless, twisting of our new technology
Oh theres no sound for we all live underground

Living - virtual insanity
Living - virtual insanity
Living - virtual insanity
Living - virtual insanity

Virtual insanity is what were living in

I've finally forwarded a complaint against PLDT myDSL with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

If you're a PLDT myDSL subscriber and you are grossly dissatisfied with the service they're giving you, I recommend that you lodge a complaint yourself. Consumers like us shouldn't have to take crap from companies who shortchange us on the services they should be giving.

You can call the the DTI at their hotline at 7513330, or call them directly at 8118231 local 1229, or email them at dtincr4@info.com.ph.

So what happens now? I don't know. Let's see. In the meantime I'm shopping around for another provider.

I needed a break. So yesterday, on a whim, my son and I sought out the La Mesa Eco Park which I was told was located close by, in Fairview in Quezon City. Little did I know that it was only about a ten minute drive from our house.

The way to the park is a bit unassuming, since you have to enter East Fairview, which is actually a private residential subdivision. Though we haven't been to the place before, it wasn't actually that difficult to locate. We traversed the main street named Marlboro street (all of the streets in this subdivision are named after cigarette brands) and after following the signs, we ended up crossing the top of the La Mesa Dam before going downhill to the park area itself.

For some reason, picture taking wasn't allowed along the length of the dam itself. Of course, that didn't really deter us. :-)


One of the reservoir's risers.


Current water elevation.

The Eco Park is situated at the foot of the dam, smack dab in the middle of the La Mesa watershed which consists of about 2,700 hectares of forest and reservoir. The reservoir is the principal source of water for Metro Manila, supplying 1.5 million liters of water a day, and the forest area is so large that it spans well into Caloocan City in the north and Rizal Province to the south.

Admission isn't free, though it isn't that expensive at P50 a head. However, you're entitled to a P10 discount if you can show an ID proving that you're a Quezon City resident.

Main entrance.


To get to the park itself, you have to go downhill a long path surrounded by heavy forest growth.


In the middle of the park is a huge lagoon.


I wonder how deep the water is.


A man fishing. You can rent fishing poles and pay for the fish you catch at P80 per kilo.


My son at the foot of the flower terraces.


Nice view.


I handed my son a digital camera and told him to let loose. Here he is composing a shot. Check out the pictures he himself took on his blog here.


Not many places as pretty as this in Quezon City.


Lilies in bloom.


Statue in the middle of the lily pond. A man and a woman on a turtle. I don't really get it though.


Sunset. Time to head on home.

The pictures in the preceding post were also taken in the Eco Park. The park is actually a good place to practice your photography, if you're into that sort of thing.

If you're interested in visiting the La Mesa Eco Park one of these days, just follow the map and directions here. If you're into nature, or if you simply want a break from the hustle and bustle of urban life, I'm sure you'll find a visit to this park a welcome experience. We certainly did. :-)

Photos taken at the La Mesa Eco Park. Full post and more pictures to follow.

I think I'm getting too highly strung for my own good. Probably the steady diet of cola, coffee, tea and cigarettes I've been on for the past several weeks. I guess all the caffeine and nicotine are finally taking their toll.

But then again, how else can I keep my mind alert enough to absorb the pages and pages of text that I have to still have to read for the next few months? Well, caffeine and nicotine are the only legal psychotropic substances that I know of, and I don't think I'll be crossing over the line towards illegal narcotics anytime soon.

I better just grin and bear it.

A cup of hot java with a smoldering cigarette in hand can be one of the most pleasant experiences known to man. Not counting experiences while lying down of course. :-)

Just as long as I don't overdo it. Anything taken to excess can definitely wreak havoc with your health. But you already know that, don't you?

I just have to pace myself. I still have a some ways to go. I wouldn't be doing myself any favors if I burn out this early in the going.

Maybe a cup of tea sweetened with some honey will calm my nerves. :-)

Check out this site: http://www.subservientchicken.com/.

For some reason, it actually works.

It refuses to remove it's mask, though. :-)