I guess I'm going to have to bear with this new layout for a while. It's standard on Blogger and its written in Glish. It comes with the new Blogger. I have no idea why my old template isn't working right with it. But I will haev to bear with it. This design is actually quite pleasing. That is, until the novelty wears thin.

Problem is, where do I put my links and my shoutbox?

Steve Jobs is a man of vision. That fact will be recognized long after he has stopped walking this parched piece of galactic rock we call a planet. He's the prophet of Tech.

Apple just came out with the new Power Mac G5 that runs on 64-bit processors. This thing seriously churns a lot of bandwith. It's even designed to run quieter than any other PC in the market. This is literally way cool

Hihintayin ko 'tong isang ito.

Hey! I could use one of them hoodies. But wait! Wouldn't it lend itself useless in this humid tropical country? Awwww, what the heck. We have our rainy days anyway. Besides, the airconditioning in the office has improved considerably.

Give me a hoody and a Blogger Tshirt and you'll make me a happy man... Hmmm... Lemme re-phrase that. You'll make me a happy blogger - Heheheee. Oh, and my size is Xtra Large, in case you're wondering ;-)

Could you use a little peace and quiet? Them call in an have your number listed in the Do-Not-Call List.

This telemarketing trend actually started an employement trend here in the Philippines. The ban list on telemarketing could mean their near demise. Does that mean they'll turn to the local market to continue operations? OMG -- my home number is listed! Imma target :-(

Brain food, anyone?

DAYAMMMMM! I've lost my template! Everything was alright until I published using the new Blogger interface. My blog resembled a bullet-riden Chevy Impala that came from a driveby shooting. It was all messed up. I will have to figure out how to get my blog to its old template. The new Blogger uses Glish templates. The HTML and Java on my old template just don't agree with it for some reason.

Habang nakasakay ako ng jeep kanina, bigla kong naalala yung madalas na biro ng isa kong tiyuhin nuon. Bunso siyang kapatid ng tatay ko, at talaga namang talamak na babaero. Madalas niyang sabihin nuon (lalu na kapag nag-iinuman kami!) na kung mahuli ka daw ng misis mo kasama ang kabit mo, kahit na makita ka pang nakapatong huwag kang aamin. Tanong naman namin, paano n'ya lulusutan 'yun? Kapag nahuli raw s'ya sa ganung sitwasyon, tatanungin daw n'ya ng buong lakas ng boses ang sarili n'ya ng ganito: "Sino ako??? Bakit ako naririto??? Sino kayo (sa chick at sa misis)???" Nakakatawa 'yun birung 'yun nung una. Hindi na ngayon.

Baket? Kasi iba na ang buhay ko ngayon. Mas kumplikado, mas masalimuot, mas maraming inaalala. Ang totoo nyan, nagiging seryoso na ako ngayon kapag natatanong ko sa sarili ko ang unang dalawang tanong sa lumang joke na 'yan.

Sino nga ba ako? Ano ang katuturan ko sa mundo? Bakit ako naririto? Maaring ganito:

"You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should..."
(Excerpt from Desiderata)

Sino ako? Ano ang katuturan ko sa mundo? Bakit ako naririto? Mga simpleng tanong na nangangailangan ng kuplikadong sagot. Ika nga nung kaibigan kong professor, "Truth is relative." Walang iisang sagot na maaring sabihing totoo para sa lahat. Hindi ba't 'yang mga tanong din na 'yan ang tinatanong ng mga taong nagpupunta sa Tibet? Hmmmm... Hindi kakayanin ng bulsa ko ang byaheng papunta ng Tibet.

Ano na nga ba ang kalimitang sagot ng mga monks dyan? 'Di ba't meditation? Look for the universe within you and be one with it? Napaka-profound, 'di ba? Mahirap yatang gawin 'yun. Ano kaya mag-Aikido na lang ako? Hehehe. May meditation ka na, may isports ka pa! Nyahahahaha!

Yesterday morning, was looking for a small picture frame I hid in my filing cabinet. I have this huge metal filing cabinet I sorta inherited from my father. When my dad died, I moved out all his stuff and stored a miscellany of my things. As I sorted through the mess yesterday, I took the time to clean out some old notebooks and lectures I wasn't going to use anymore. I came across a lot of half-finished poems, most scrawled in pencil. The handwriting was awful. Hmmm...It still is, actually -- LOL!

I reminisced about the good ole college days, when I always scribbled away poems on any piece of paper that I happened to have. It wasn't good stuff, but it wasn't half bad either. I wallowed in the mediocrity of my prose, so to speak. I haven't written anything recently though. I now lack the emotional drive to write new poems. You see, emotion has a lot to do with creating poems -- weaving the words, I call it. Emotion gives you the necessary "feel" for the poem. And I believe that there are only 2 human emotions that produce truly exceptional pieces -- love and grief. I'll type one of them tomorrow, just to lay creedence to my point of view.

Hey, anyone out there willing to buy me a shirt. If the thought crosses your mind, buy me one of these, will 'ya.

Damn! The site promised FTP was free. Turns out it isn't. I'm getting an error that says I'm supposed to be on a paid account to FTP. I'll give it a few more days. If I can't find a workaround, I will have to abandon my plans for a move.

Meanwhile, take a look at the future of the wireless internet. Check out the FAQ. If my foresight is correct, this is the direction the internet is going -- more freedom, less corporations controlling access to it.

Wow! It's been a fast week for me. Been doing nothing but work. Well that and rearranging the furniture. I finally moved the TV and stereo right next to the wall I share with my very loud neighbor. At least I can go tit-for-tat now -- LOL. I also moved the office desk out of our bedroom and into the living room. Our bedroom looks more peaceful now. I used to think that interior designers were talking bull when they said TV's and office stuff don't belong in the bedroom. N;ow I'm inclined to believe them. And by far, moving was not an easy task considering our bedroom is on the second floor.

Anyway, busy as I was, I still thought about my blog. I think I also needed a respite to clear my head. My blogging was getting less spontaneous. Blog burnout? Maybe. I think I should consider blogging less often and enjoying it more. I feel the need to, "suck the marrow" out of blogging, to borrow the phrase.

A decision has been reached though. I will be moving my blog. Since the new site is free, it 's only offering 20mb. So, I will have to leave my blog here and start anew to save space. It will be a continuation of sorts, but on another space on the web. I'm not in a hurry though. I'm still testing the darn thing. Wish me luck :c)

In uncertain times, only one thing remains hauntingly constant-- fear. . . Soccer Moms Become Security Moms

Another quick quiz, this time for the ummm..uh...for people who are a little unwell (with apologies to Matchbox 20)... Which Personality Disorder Do You Have?

Hackers -- one of the reasons I'm afraid of moving my blog elsewhere. I feel safer having my site on Blogger. While I admire people like Adrian Lamo, I fear the Net for less enobled hearts. You could say Adrian's a modern-day incarnation of the ronin of old, masterless and principled.

Have time? Visit Adrian Lamo's site at http://adrian.adrian.org/

The other night, I was eating the last bar of chocolate that my wife brought home. There was but one Baby Ruth left. I couldn't bear looking at it, sitting there in the cold fridge, all by its lonesome. My wife has never liked them so I started eating the lone bar.

I could understand why she didn't like them. I mean Baby Ruths have got to be the most contorted pieces of chocolate you'll ever see. But it still chocolate. I couldn't resist. Lately, I've been binging on sweets. It's been 5 months since I quite coffee and cigarettes. I guess my subconscious is fixating on sweets to compensate for the loss.

Speaking of coffee and cigarettes, I recall a few times in my life when they were indenspensable. It was when I was working for a bakery. Actually, it was our practicum. Our whole class embarked on a business venture as a last requirement of our Entrepreneurship course. Coffee and cigs were abundant, even late into the night and in the early morning hours that preluded the actual baking of bread. While we waited for the dough to rise, the boys would often gather into a circle and play pusoy dos or some other card game, pitting spare change against pure skill. Often, the amount of money didn't matter as much as the camaraderie the game inspired.

Which was more than you could say for the old folks I knew then who gambled all night and on through the middle of the next day. These people were so into gambling that they only left their chairs for a quick pee and nothing else. They usually paid 'tong' to the owner of the house where they played. Gambling (that is, without a franchise from the government) is illegal, so they resort to hiding in residences. If the 'tong' is high enough, the owner of the house provided free coffee or even meryenda (often pansit or some other light snack). The freebies provided the convenience needed to keep the high-rollers playing all-night long.

There are always the moderates, though. Some players of the local game called Kwaho never really gamble for money. Money is a secondary concern. Often, they exchange gossip about celebs and their neighbors while they play. They traded recipes while they joke about how much one player is losing. There are even times when you would catch them giggling like little children when they try to guess how many Copas or Oros they have in each other's hand. It's an uncanny form of bonding for the old folks. Hmmmm.....Come to think of it, Baby Ruths kinda have a strange semblance to the club wielded by the Sotang Bastos. :::giggle, giggle::: If you know what I'm talking about, then you know why I snickered (pun intended).

Im reading the Labor Code of the Philippines. I've always wanted to read this thing from beginning to end but have never had the time to read the book. Now that it's online, I'll try to read it a little at a time. Maybe I'll get to finish it this time around.

Great article on weblog writing. The guidelines can also be useful non-bloggers. Read it.

A lengthier article can be found at The Bradlands. Read it if you have the time to spare. You'll enjoy reading about one blogger's birth into the world of blogging.

Did 'ya hear about Martha Stewart? She's been indicted. She even resigned from her own company. She was indicted for unloading $40,000 in shares before the stock plunged. Hmmm..... Makes you wonder why they haven't indicted ENRON's Kenneth Lay or the WorldCom Execs.

The press is questioning why Stewart was singled out. Read more here:

• Atlanta Journal Constitution I Stewart's Case is Small Potatoes.




• St. Petersburg Times I A Smelt Gets Fried While Big, Crooked Sharks Swim.

At least modern technology allows Martha to tell her side of the story. They even set-up a special website for her. Superstardom sure has its perks.

For the past few days, I've been over-hearing two of the young ladies I share the ride to work with. We have a shuttle service that takes us to the office. It's not often that these two chat. I initially thought they were talking about a new anime series. I happen to have a minor interest in Japanese anime. So, I decided to lsiten more closely. Eventually, one of them reacted to a song being played on the radio and she said that it was from "Meteor". Since the Net is the number one source of knowledge (the net knows all!) I decided to start a search on Meteor and ABS-CBN (the radio station's owned by ABS-CBN). The DJ sound like he was promoting the show a lot.

Alas, after countless hours scouring the Net, I found what they were talking about. I wasted my time trying to find out what it was they were talking about and found out it was nothing but a crummy new soap. Now I know what they mean by "curiosity killed the cat." - @#*&%#@&^&^@$

It's common for people to be so brazen and rude on the Net. Perhaps because the internet provides them with a means to hide thier faces. Whatever the reason, if you recognize yourself as part of the human race, you should consider yourself bound by ethics. Here's a short informative article on how to avoid acting sub-human online.

Here's an interesting feature on Wired.Com about the approaching demise of the mouse as the pointing device of choice. I found this through Pia's blog. BTW, check out her blog's lay-out. I am amazed by the creativity of some people. It's but only natural for one who is not as gifted in visual artistry and not as deft in the language of the web (that would be HTML, to you and me).

Speaking of geeks, why don't ya try this Geek Test -- found through Your Conspiracy Advisor. If you finish this looooooooooooong quiz, I'll bet 10:1 you're a geek.

The other night I watched a National Geographic Channel feature on Dean Kamen. I've never heard of the guy, but since I was just channel surfin' anyway I deciced to stick around and see it the feature was interesting. This guy is some piece of work. Read this short feature story about him to get to know him more: Wired.Com's Breakout Artist.

Dean Kamen was a college drop-out, but he educated himself in physics and became an inventor of practical gadgets. His first invention was a the first portable infusion pump. He even showed the camera crew from NatGeo a few of his very first prototypes. He says he baked the PCB's for them right in his mother's old oven.

Now a millionaire many times over, he has over 150 different patents in his name. He owns his own company, DEKA Research. Two of his more famous inventions are the Segway and the iBot. He's the talk of the Internet, so much so that months before these two inventions were even seen by the public, there were millions of netheads logging into bulettin boards all over the Net to get the latest speculation on them. When finally unveiled, all the Segway got was disappointed glances. The iBot fared better. In this article by Bob Metcalfe, the iBot is given a rave review.

When he's not busy laboring away secretly in his DEKA office, he's a philantropist with innovation still in his head. In 1993 he founded US First, which sponsors an annual robotics competition for high-schoolers all over the US. It's kind of like the Olympics of juvenile robotics innovation. He fought hard to find corporate sponsors to provide contestants (ordinary high school kids) with industry-grade components worth thousands of dollars. Kamen is quoted to have said, "You have teenagers thinking they're going to make millions as NBA stars when that's not realistic for even 1 percent of them. Becoming a scientist or engineer is." --taken from the DEKA website. It's the geeks versus the jocks all over again -- LOL! Only this time around, the geeks will fare better with a benefactor like Kamen. In this interview by the Futures Channel he describes what he aims to accomplish with US First.

This guy is just remarkable. What's in store for the future? The stirling engine. Critics say nobody can make it viable. Kamen says he'll make it viable(!) to provide poor households around the world with the means to produce electricity and purify water. Why isn't the world filled with more Kamen's and less Bush's and Gates' ? It would've been better that way.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but here it is. I sure hope they don't kill Netscape. I would hate to see that. Netscape was the pioneer in the browser market. They still have a great product, owing to the fact that they've tapped a community of hardcore grassroots web developers in an initiative that's now called Mozilla.Org. I wonder if Mozilla will be affected Netscape goes under?

• Microsoft, AOL Bridge Digital Divide
  
• In Agreement With Microsoft, AOL Gets Cash and Flexibility


• Clock Ticks for Netscape After Microsoft Pact


• AOL-Microsoft Deal Bodes Ill for Netscape

Any violent reactions, Petrol old buddy?