Friday, July 18, 2008
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Friday, July 18, 2008
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Believe me, I really entertained the idea of scribbling my own the-end-of-the-world-is-here letter and distributing it through e-mail, similar to the "chain messages" we receive on our cellphones. Many Filipinos believe in this kind of mumbo jumbo, don't we? I might as well kill my time sharing things like this when I get bored.
"Pass this message to all your friends or you're gonna die in 7 days."
"Pass this message to all your friends or something bad will happen to you in 50 hours."
"Recite Hail Mary 77 times and Our Father 98 times and you will receive the grace that god will give to you in 3 days. Ignore this and something bad will happen to your loved ones..."
I'm tired of hearing people saying wala naman mawawala sa'yo kung susundin mo. Actually, there is. If you know for yourself that superstitions are not true, why still do it? It's like you're fooling yourself. Respeto mo sa sarili mo ang isa sa mawawala sa 'yo. How many superstitions are you willing to follow? Imagine if you are going to follow all of them, you'll be wasting a lot of time and energy which could be channeled instead to doing some REAL and positive things.
We're living in a 21st century world now. It's about time we wake up from sleeping through stone-age period.
Posted by
Nutty Boy
Labels:
law of nature,
superstitions
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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Eraserheads? Eraserheads? Yes! Your eyes don't fool you! Eraserheads, the legendary, critically-acclaimed, best-selling Filipino pop/rock band, will be reuniting for a one-night concert to be held at the CCP Open Grounds on August 30, 2008! Talk about reminiscing, woohoo!
The fuzz about the reunion has actually been hovering like wild airborne virus over the blogosphere and cyber communities for a week now. And it just needed one brush of confirmation from none other than ELI BUENDIA himself, no less, to seal the spreading gossips off with an ultraelectromagnetic yes!
 Eraserheads Reunion. At last.
This will be a one-night only concert, and they may never have another reunion in the future, so it's really wise to try attending this one. My only complaint is that the concert is for free, which means the venue will easily be swarmed with uncontrollable number of people from all walks of life who may create tensions while moshing, slam dancing and headbanging to the tunes. It's going to be a wild circus.
 Each to get around P5 million? Hmmm...
But, well, a good music always comes with a bang.
For more info, visit http://philmusic.com/main/content/view/165/7/
Friday, July 4, 2008
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Friday, July 04, 2008
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College days came back to me when my officemates inadvertently brought up philosophy subject to lunch a while ago. I remember my own adventure in the world of nothing-can-come-out-of-nothing stuff. It was both funny and draining. Funny because you wouldn't know whether what you and your philosophy professor are talking about makes sense. Draining because all those seemingly stupid questions would tire you out and you would still not come up with convincing answers. What is life? Does god exist? Is mankind morally good? What is a priori?
It's not that I really don't care to really find out the answers to all these questions. My opinion is that life, which I want to enjoy, is too short to be used and spent to answer questions that may remain unanswerable forever.
This is not to say that philosophy doesn't have value. It does have value. And admit it or not, we learned from this philosophy. In fact, many of us have some sort of philosophy in the sense of a personal outlook on life, as we all know it. Even a man who claims that contemplating on philosophic questions is a waste of time is actually expressing what is important or worthwhile. Hating philosophy is STILL a philosophy.
Through studying philosophy, I discovered that not all truths are truths, and not all lies are lies. In philosophy, I learned to think critically and logically. Through it I discover the ways to expand what I can think of. By "philosophizing," I learned to prove or disprove things by arguing. I jumped from the "quagmire of ignorance" to the hills of knowledge, so to speak (although I must say I sometimes wish I were still ignorant on some matters like religion). As philosophers say, every institution of society is based on philosophic ideas, whether that institution is the law, government, religion, the family, marriage, industry, business, or education. What you are today is a product of some philosophical ideas surrounding you.
Talk about this philosophy makes me really miss my college days. I almost made a "treatise" about the value/existence of free will! That's how serious I was.
So much for philosophy. It's been a while since I last saw my professor. I wonder how would he tell the students that the "chair" really doesn't exist...
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Here is an old philosophy joke that made me really laugh. I still find a lot of this kind in many discussions and forums:
Two freshman philosophy students see the following bulletin posted on the wall of their lecture hall:
CRASH COURSE IN LOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS
Saturday, September 26, 1998, All Day
Neither of them knows what it means and they are both curious. The pair decide to find the professor and ask some questions. When they locate the professor's office, the bolder of the two enter the building while the other remains outside.
Student: "Uh...Sir..What does Crash Course in Logical Assumptions mean?"
Professor: "Well, it involves taking information that you have, forming assumptions using logic, and then creating new information. Let me try to answer your question by asking you a question. Do you own a car?"
Student: "Uh...Yes, I do."
Professor: "Well, then I can now logically assume that you drive."
Student: "Yes, I drive. "
Professor: "Then I can logically assume that you drive on weekends."
Student: "Yeah, I drive on weekends, I go out on dates."
Professor: "Then I can logically assume that you have date partners."
Student: "Well, yes, I have a girlfriend."
Professor: "Then I can logically assume that you are heterosexual."
Student: "Uh...hell yes! OK, I think I understand what this course is about now. Thanks a lot for your time."
Once back outside, his friend asks him: "So, what's it all about?"
"Its about using information and stuff...Let me answer your question by asking you a question. Do you own a car?"
"No."
"Uh...Then you're homosexual, dude!"
LOL.
Posted by
Nutty Boy
Labels:
philosophy
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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Tuesday, July 01, 2008
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After blaming God, Sulpicio Lines is now suing PAGASA for a wrong forecast. Isn't that great? I mean, wow, the Sulpicio's lawyers are really keeping their asses focused on the job. They are trying everything to reduce the weight of guilt by passing it to somebody. If only they would just accept their mistakes and rectify it by helping the dead people's relatives, they might still be able to earn the forgiveness of the victims.
Posted by
Nutty Boy
Labels:
pagasa,
sulpicio
Friday, June 20, 2008
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Friday, June 20, 2008
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Magic doesn't exist. Only tricks.
Magic (or tricks) is obviously not just for kids. I have watched a lot of stage magic shows on TV, and it's pretty clear most of the audience are adults. David Copperfield. Florian Zimmer. Lance Burton. Criss Angel. Dai Vernon. You name it. Even David Blaine shows many of his tricks to adults.
Okay, okay, so what am I trying to say? People can't just dismiss magic as some sort of a lousy only-for-kids stuff. There's really more to it than meets the eye.
Sadly, lots of people has done little more than mock it. Why? Because they can't figure out how it is done. Because they think they are being fooled by some sleight of hands and illusion. Because they know it's not true.
Of course it's not true, idiots. Of course they are being fooled. Hahaha! Would any magician dare say what they do is unnatural?
Magic doesn't exist. Only tricks. Half-witted dullards should know it, stupid.
Many magicians do not believe in supernatural occurrences. Paranormal. Psychokinesis. Telekinesis. Any thing that denotes the purported ability of the mind to influence matter, time, space, or energy by means outside the currently known laws of physics. I don't believe them, either. Until a scientific findings prove them to be true, they will remain craps for me. Craps.
Magic, well, you know that it is not true. The challenge actually is to find out HOW they work. It makes you think, as well as wonder, when the magician does it smoothly. How did the freakin card disappear? How did the coin break?
It's completely logical. No crazy, out-of-the-world rituals. It's just the things he uses, the speed of his hands and the illusion you get.
Posted by
Nutty Boy
Labels:
magic,
tricks
Friday, June 13, 2008
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Friday, June 13, 2008
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To those who are planning to purchase laptops, be forewarned. First, I am no Steve Wozniak. Second, I am a Journalism graduate, not computer science. I am basing this review on the assumption that every product sold and every service rendered deserves feedback. It's my first time to own a laptop, so I figured I might as well say something about it in the spirit of sharing knowledge and experience.
For a couple of weeks, Kuchi and I had been window-shopping for a nifty and respectable laptop. Being a (lousy) writer and a graphic artist, we both knew the importance and the necessity of having a full-featured computer that could be easily used anywhere. Actually, practically every electronic equipment that can be miniaturized and optimized for mobile use and efficient power consumption is very effective at present (there are some disadvantages, but they are considered minor). We just wanted to own an inexpensive laptop on which I can write and store my articles/stories, and on which Kuchi can edit, design and save her graphic art works. We had literally craned our neck and peeped through window panes for a couple of weeks until we singled out a sleek, scratch-free laptop named Neo Basic B2165N. In other words, we bought it.
The Neo Basic B2165N laptop comes with many features. It uses an Intel Pentium Dual-Core technology with 1.73 Ghz processor speed, 1 GB DDR2 memory, 1 MB L2 cache and 667 Mhz FSB. When we first used the laptop, we were impressed. It's fast enough to handle six windows with different programs at a time (using both Windows XP and Linux Ubuntu Version). I wonder how faster it can run if it were using a Core Duo technology. We haven't installed Photoshop and other related graphics software yet, but I "guestimate" the laptop can handle it as well without trouble (although a little slower, I presume). You might even have second thought about purchasing a more expensive but similar Pentium Dual-Core laptop once you get to try the fast processing ability of Neo Basic.
 Neo Basic Laptop: Scratch-free
 Pretty
I've tried watching DVD on the Neo and I can say it's fairly neat. It's almost as clear as watching DVD on a real Philips or Sony player. I don't know if it has something to do with pixel or anything but I could almost see the transparent rope used by the cast in a Chinese martial art flick I watched using the laptop. Neo Basic's graphics is VIA VN896CE + VT8237A with WXGA LCD (any idea what it means? LOL). Neo Basic also comes with a 120 GB SATA hard disk drive! That's pretty big in today's standard (remember, it's 2008. I don't know how big a 120 GB after 10 years from now). So big you could almost store considerable amount of MP3s and AVIs files and still have a lot of free space. Not bad for a relatively unknown laptop. Before, only Dell XPS and Toshiba Satellite users can brag about their hard disks' capacity.
 With a Dual-Core Processor
 Almost as pretty as Lenovo Thinkpad
Internet is no problem, either, as the laptop also comes with WiFi. It has 7-in-1 card reader, although I still don't know how it works. There's also a webcam, a nice feature for closet camwhores and exhibitionists (LOL). It has bluetooth, too. It runs on a 6-cell Lithium-ion battery. And the weight? It's 2.4 kg. Not that light, but not heavy, either (I have friends who have 3 kg. laptops).
 With card reader, bluetooth, WiFi, etc.
By no means I am saying that Neo Basic laptop is the best laptop around. Hardly. There are still a lot of laptops out there which are WAY better than this one. In fact, compared to other branded laptops like Thinkpad, XPS, HP Pavilion and Satellite, there's actually nothing "special" about Neo Basic. Except, perhaps, its sleek look, its being scratch-free and the cost. Any other features can also be found in other laptops, particularly the branded ones. In addition to those, there are some things in Neo Basic that can get on the nerves of anybody. For example, its CPU runs hotter in no time than in most laptops, something we tend to hate since we all know overheating easily damages one's computer or any electronic stuff for that matter (good for you if you are in an air-conditioned room). So it's wise to buy a fan to help it cool down. The bad news, however, like some laptops, it can't avoid airborned dust and debris, so as many users have attested, the laptop might eventually run hotter and louder as the years pass. Let's say after 5 years or so, you may have to disassemble it for thorough cleaning — or burn your pocket big time. That is, assuming your laptop at the time is still running.
Another problem is that Neo's customer service is allegedly not that good, with reports saying they take a lot of time to have your laptop fixed (I wish it's not true for other customers). Even if your laptop comes with a one-year warranty (like mine), if the service is bad, it's almost useless. If these are true, then the only consolation one can get is that Neo laptops are relatively cheaper and is fit for people with meager budget. Unfortunately, consolation can also become synonymous to low quality. I just wish some of the controversial problems circulating over the net were just isolated cases.
Anyway, since I've just been into a month of using our Neo Basic laptop, it's premature to say it's really good... or really bad. There are still issues to be raised, like durability. For now, I'll stick with it and give it the benefit of the doubt. In any case, I've had good time using it and so far, not a single problem has surfaced. I hope this goes on until my one-year warranty is up.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
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Thursday, June 05, 2008
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The myth has it that when the pregnant wife steps over the husband's body, the latter will also get to experience pregnancy symptoms. Many people I know actually subscribe to that belief. I never believed that "feeling pregnant" could really happen to a husband until I found myself feasting on sour foods.
Kuchi does step over me in the bed every time she needs to get to the toilet to pee or whatever. Lately, the peeing has become more frequent as she goes through her second trimester pregnancy stage. Her habit of sleeping in the bed right after drinking plenty of water has made the peeing even more frequent, making her wake up in the wee hours. Of course, the stepping over a body is nothing but as it is — a myth. Although symptoms can seem very real.
A husband feeling pregnant is most likely due to a psychological desire of a husband to become "united" with what his wife feels. Perhaps that's what I feel. Or maybe things have become even more stressful for Kuchi. Since she became pregnant, we've been undergoing lifestyle changes together. As she eats more, I eat more as well. As she sleeps longer, I sleep longer, too. As she craves for sour fruits, I crave for sour fruits, too. Thank goodness, Kuchi hasn't had those crazy mood swings — yet. But I've got a feeling she will have those sooner or later.
That's why I have already entertained precautionary measures. You can never guess what's in the mind of your wifey until it's too late and you're already outside the kulambo.
Posted by
Nutty Boy
Labels:
dengue
Monday, June 2, 2008
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Monday, June 02, 2008
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Kuchi is pregnant! Wow! The thoughts of becoming a father and having a family are really overwhelming. Am I really going to be a daddy? The pregnancy test kit and our doctor couldn't lie. I've been asking myself this question a couple of times now while getting the same answer over and over. I just couldn't digest it. I know having a baby is pretty normal, but it's really unbelievable to me. My feeling just doesn't make sense, does it?
The idea of fatherhood is sometimes exhilarating, other times daunting. I know it's a fact of life, but thinking about having your own baby, knowing that a new life is starting to be created out of your own flesh and blood makes you feel so blessed and complete. It's a heaven-made fulfillment, especially to a wife who goes through difficult and sensitive stage of pregnancy. It is daunting at the same time as you are now given a responsibility of rearing a human being, and most of what he or she is going to be in the future rest on your shoulder. But who won't really become responsible after seeing, feeling, kissing and hearing that little life that will ultimately consume your life as a father? Who won't?
 Positive!
Our doctor said that the baby is due on around December and January based on ultrasound scanning. It was incredible seeing the 8-week old baby moving on the monitor! It's just so wow... I couldn't get my eyes off the screen. The head and arms were gradually forming and the heart was beating fast. I wished I could hear it. I really wanted to hear it. So this is what a would-be-father feels on seeing his yet-to-be-born baby? I asked myself. Damn, I wouldn't trade that moment for something else.
The dos and donts of pregnancy are, honestly speaking, not that really hard to follow. In fact, we were surprised to find out that Kuchi can virtually eat almost all kinds of food, although she needs to cut back on drinking caffeine-filled beverage like sodas and coffee and on eating too much salty, fried and junk foods. Instead, the doctor said, she should eat more fruits and veggies. She would be taking prenatal vitamins as well. Basically, it's just like you're going into a healthy lifestyle.
Everybody's excited. Our parents, sisters, cousins and friends are looking forward to touching our first-born baby, the first real grandchild of our parents. We all have dreamed of the time when we can hold the baby in our arms, when we can feel the warmth of her breath and frailty. It's just so amazing and inspiring. The baby isn't coming out yet but it's already making the 1000-watt smile in our face really brighter. Indeed, the saying is true. A baby will really make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank account smaller, home happier and the future worth living for...
Posted by
Nutty Boy
Labels:
baby,
pregnant
Friday, May 16, 2008
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Friday, May 16, 2008
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I'm starting to play chess again. I don't know what's getting on my head. But I feel like I need to exercise my brain more often. And chess would be the best way to do so since I'm already familiar with its rules. Although I know the rules, I didn't play the game as a sport or a hobby before. If my guess is right, I've just played more or less 50 chess games in 15 years since I first learned it when I was 13. It was my father who taught me the basics. I only played against high school friends who, like me, were very amateurs and didn't even know the rules of the game in a real tournament. No time control, no Reti or Sicilian opening, not even some special tactics. Nothing at all. Just plain capturing and checkmating. I beat almost all of them, and almost all of them beat me in return, much to my chagrin.
When I realized that I was neither gifted nor talented in the game to even become a decent amateur player, I simply gave it up and played no more of it. But now it's all coming back to me. Not the idea of becoming a master, but of beating the damn chess program in my computer and lording it over my friends. I simply figured that if there are many masters out there, there are even more low-level players like me around.
I started playing the game again last Wednesday. The first three games were very frustrating, I nearly cursed the chess software. I lost them all in no more than 30 moves. After the third game, I immediately looked into some of Grandmaster Wesley So's games in the Internet archives (particularly those of him being up against GM Susanto Megaranto and GM Ahmed Adly) and check their openings and tactics, and guess what? I improved! Well, at least that's what I thought of myself. I 'almost' managed to salvage a draw with my fourth and fifth games against the computer, but being a computer capable of knowing thousand to million possibilities of a winning game, I eventually lost the end games, another proof that some time in the future computers will outwit us. Remember when a computer chess program of IBM defeated then world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997?
It might be a little too late to study chess to improve my playing, but that's exactly what I'm planning to do. I don't know, but it kinda challenged me. As of now, I have learned the algebraic chess notation. Next in line will be the openings. Sounds ambitious. They said that during the Renaissance, chess was a part of noble culture and it was used to teach war strategy. Well then, it's applicable to life challenges, as it is about evaluating possibilities. It's nice being two to three steps advanced. It's like you have some power to read what your opponent thinks.
Friday, May 9, 2008
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Friday, May 09, 2008
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The prices of goods and commodities have been soaring sky high lately. And coming from a lower middle class background with a roughly average standard of living, we're feeling the pinch. Veggies, meat, oil, cement — even pandesal! Life isn't as easy as I anticipated when I got married. Our plan of saving up a certain amount of money in the bank every month isn't likely to materialize in a time like this. Thankfully, we don't have to get frantic over apartment rental yet, since we decided to live under one roof with my parents for a while. Of course, we're no freeloaders. I'm still paying for our electric bill, sack of rice (now amounting to P1,700 — up from P1,200 two months ago) and LPG (now amounting to P700) once in a while, though we don't eat much in the house. Speaking of electric bill, we paid over P3,000 last month, 15% more than what we had paid the previous month. That's still what we paid for after almost burying our refrigerator in oblivion.
Whatever the motives of the Malacañang in criticizing the biggest power supplier in the Philippines that is Meralco — forcing them to reduce the price of power will be much appreciated. It would surely help us make both ends meet. Too bad oil price is also out of control and it seems that there is nothing we can do about it, except to cross our fingers and hope that OPEC will stop manipulating oil production rate. Ironically, the standard of living in the country is rising. I remember two years ago, we used to buy a cup of meal (meat) at a price of P25. Now it's P40. Even veggies can't be called "alternatives" now, since its now costly, too. After TV and laptop, I don't know if Kuchi and I will still push through the plan of purchasing a light motorcycle, an underbone (probably, a Honda Wave 125cc), which we can use around the town. We're wondering whether it is still practical, although we're not just after the practicality thingy (we don't want to miss the fun part).
There's so many things we wanna buy, but have little money to spend on. Even the thought of rearing a healthy baby — and bringing up a well-provided family for that matter — gives us some worries. Wish we could come up with ideas that would give us some fat checks. Because whatever jobs we have at this moment are simply not enough to chase the dreams we had envisioned a decade ago when still in college. But that's life. Who knows what's in store for us in the next 10 years?
Posted by
Nutty Boy
Labels:
economic crisis,
meralco,
underbone
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Eraserheads Reunion. At last.
Each to get around P5 million? Hmmm...
Neo Basic Laptop: Scratch-free
Pretty
With a Dual-Core Processor
Almost as pretty as Lenovo Thinkpad
With card reader, bluetooth, WiFi, etc.
Positive!
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