an online blogsite of Michael Barcoma

Drinking. It's more fun in the Philippines

2012-02-23T23:29:00.002-08:00

I stumbled upon a picture when I was just randomly browsing my facebook. Drinking beer - more fun in the Philipines. At the left of the picture is a beer that costs $3.50 and at the right the equivalent of how many beers that $3.50 can purchase if you're in the Philippines.

We all know that we Filipinos always drink beer every time there is a gathering or spending our time together with friends in a bar or even at our own house. We also add a little more spice to our drinking sessions by adding pulutan such as sisig, fries, calamares etc.

Pretty much I can relate to the picture. I know that drinking too much beer is not healthy but in the Philippines beer is pretty much affordable which is exactly the opposite here in Singapore. Soberness — more fun in the Philippines, but here in Singapore you need to have lots of money in order to get sober. So just to give you an idea, the average price for a can of beer here in Singapore is 3-4 SGD (which amounts to 100 - 150 in Philippine peso). So how many beers can you purchase with your 150 pesos in the Philippines? Three? Maybe four.

For a practical person like me, that is Way too expensive. Also the price of cigarretes here is also expensive. So if you are a heavy drinker and a smoker you will have second thoughts in buying these stuffs just to satisfy your cravings. A pack of Marlboro costs around 10 SGD (around 340 in Philippine peso). Everytime my friends based here in Singapore would invite me to a gathering or drinking on a weekend, I would just refuse the offer and would not show up since I know I have to give my share of dollars as well to buy some booze. If I'm in the Philppines then I would be more happy to pay even if that is for a case of beer since that would be the price of just two three cans of beer here.

Good thing though that I don't smoke and I only get to drink beer on occassions. I also limit myself to three bottles of Red Horse if I'm going out with friends.

Unusual Superpowers

2011-12-15T02:18:00.000-08:00

I think anyone who has asked anyone a question has asked this question:

"If you could have any super power, what would it be?"

And everyone manages to answer the same damn things all the time.
- I wanna be invisible
- I wanna fly
- I wanna teleport
- I wanna walk through walls
- I wanna control time

ZzzzzZZZZZzz... Boring!

If the universe did give everyone the powers that they asked for, there wouldn't be enough variety. Everybody would be doing the same damn things. I just wanna be here sitting watching everyone break the laws of physics the same way as his next door neighboor and his next door neighbor. Nope that just won't do. Think about this... What if the universe did decide to give us one ability or one superpower? Although it's not as mainstream as the ones We got in the movies. I'm pretty sure everyone would accept. I mean, I know I would use next door ability.

SUPER FAKE CORPSE ABILITIES!
How about the power to play dead?

Hear me out. It's gonne be really cool. Imagine through sheer will you could stop your heart, you could stop your breathing, and you could go all clammy. And you know if you level up and off, you can take a little bit further and you can decide if you wanna look like you have been dead for a month with matching summoned maggots and flies. Do not make fun of this ability though as this could be a lot of fun.
1. You can scare the crap out of people
2. You can experience your own funeral with matching ego boost because you will find out how people will really feel about you
3. Have yourself confined in a hospital and then pretend you are dead once a nurse comes to check in on you or
4. Convince people you are a zombie

Now not only can this ability could be fun. It can be useful too. Let's say you are wanted and someone is going to kill you, right? You can play dead and he's gonna be "god dammit, I'm too late". And once he's gone, you gonna be like... "I fooled you".

SUPER CULINARY POWERS!
How about the power to cook the perfect dish every single time without even trying?

Oh god. This would be awesome! Just imagine like you would have no cooking experience whatsoever and yet you will always manage to massacre every single iron chef, asian or american in the iron chef kitchen (the cycle chairmain included). You gonna end up being in demand. You will end up cooking for politicians, celebrities, hotshot executives. You could even charge like 2,000 pesos for your chicken tenders because they are just that good. You are going to be rich and famous. And your friends and entire family is going to be comprised of happy fat people.

Now this one is gonna be awesome

SUPER SLEEP-WAKE POWERS
How about if you have the power to fall asleep exactly when you want and how long you want.

And then when you wake up you won't feel crappy at all. Through sheer will power, you can fall asleep at exactly 10 PM and wake up 5 AM bright and early the next morning. There would be no need for SNOOZE button. There would be no need to say "one more minute" thirty times. And this is what I like the most, there's gonna be no more of that internal conflict every night. Now if you already have this anti-snooze button ability, this next power will go well with it.

SUPER GETTING READY POWERS
The power to get dressed and made up in a snap.

Remember Sabrina, the teenage witch? Ahhh I'm so jealous. Guys, girls... It doesn't matter. Who would not want that? Your friends would also think you have supernatural punctuality too because you are gonne be early for everything.

Now this one is not really a superpower per se, but I would just love to have this. I thought about this probably since I was in grade school and until now I still pretty much want it.

MAGIC MONEY MAONG!
What if you own a pair a magical jeans that produces the exact amount of money at the right moment when you need it.

Need to buy a shirt? Reach in to your jeans and automatically pull out seven hundred ninty nine pesos and fifty cents (Php 799.50).

Driving out of a parking structure? No more fumbling around for small bills to pay for the parking fee for you. Just reach in to your magic pants and pull out exactly forty five pesos (Php 45.00).

How about that poor kid selling sampaguita in the rain knocking on your car window. No problem! Just reach in to your pants pocket an automatically pull out ten pesos (Php 10.00). And you take that sampaguita and hang it around on your rear view mirror as a reminder that you were a kind person. Hahaha. I am ten pesos closer to heaven.

You need to pay the poor dude or the security guard who helped you back out of your parking slot? No problem, your magic pants are gonna adjust to you. It's gonna produce ten pesos (Php 10.00) on the average and five pesos (Php 5.00) if you are kuripot.

At mass, and it's time for the offertory, don't sweat it coz your pants are gonna adjust to you again. A hundred bucks for the average catholic, fifty bucks if you are an atheist and you are just there to please your parents, or it won't bother producing any money at all because there is just no hope saving your damn soul.

SUPER INSTANT O POWERS!
And lastly, how about the power to give instant orgasms.

Aarrghhh! It's gonna be EPIC!

Just imagine you can give anyone you want an orgasm anytime, anywhere.

Like you could be bored in class, just point your finger at your teacher and BAM! Watch the glory!

You can give as many orgasms you want. You can make it last as long as your mercy and generosity lasts.

Make that annoying pervert at the bar jizz in his pants. Is your man or woman asking for some action but you are just too tired or busy or he or she is too ugly to bang? Give them a big "O" to shut them up.

Now this is for when you bought too many sampaguitas already with your magic pants. If you are feeling a little bit too saintly, you can go inside a convent or a seminary and unleash your power there. BOOOOM!!! Aim your powers at a very large group of people, preferably those who were lobbying or rallying for something. That would be awesome! BOOOM!!! and watch the destruction! Like you know that scene in Bruce Willis' movie, The Surrogates, when all the bots are just walking in the streets and they just collapse to the ground at the same time? Yeah, imagine that plus screaming and writhing. Ah! It's gonna be glorious! EPIC!

Hell, you can even earn money with this orgasm giving ability. You can offer your services to jail houses. Oh oh, and I just thought of this... this can be particularly useful if a rapist is after you. Like I can just imagine while a rapist is chasing a girl, the girl is going to point her finger to him and BOOM! Then he is gonna jizz in his pants and he's gonne be like "oh shit" and im gonna be like "haha, di mo na ako kelangan, bye". And you can actually be a villain with this power. I mean I'm thinking that if you give someone who is not physically adept to handle too much pleasure, you can end up killing them. Although I think dying from an orgasm would be an awesome way to go.

And there you have it. That's about all of the unusual powers that I'm thinking people could have.

New Crib in SG

2011-11-01T00:15:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a relief. In just a span of two months I have moved to three different places. Finally, I found a place which is very clean, cozy and near to my office. Talk about stress moving my stuffs to the new place. It took me around 2 weeks to bring my stuffs to the new flat. The room is good for two persons but as of now, I am the only one occupying the room.

Here are some pictures of my room and the rest of the flat.

PUMA Shoes from RSH Warehouse Sale

2011-10-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

Last July 2011, RSH or better known as Royal Sporting House (Singapore) had a warehouse sale at their branch at Wisma Gulab. The prices are very cheap especially those Puma shoes which are sold at 15 SGD each (approximately 525 pesos). I had the time to purchase around eight pairs of Puma shoes in just 3 days.

Here are some of the pictures.

8 pairs for 120 SGD (4,000 pesos) only now that's what you call bargain

Puma Casual

Puma Esito L 2 White

Puma Monaco GV Black

Puma Monaco GV white

Puma Racer Esito L2 Brown

Puma Racer Ferrari Trainer Yellow

Puma Racer LN Ducati

Puma Roma Sport

Honda Civic ESI

2011-10-31T03:18:00.000-07:00

This was my second car when I was in college. A Honda Civic ESI sedan with a 1.6L SOHC Fuel Injected Engine. I gave my car the name of Gem, a female. We had our shares of good and bad memories together.

One of the good memories I remembered with this car is that by just the body color a lot of people would really notice the car. And yeah, this car is a chick magnet. I confess that I have a number of babes riding in this car during my college days.

There are also a lot of bad memories with this car. From the engine overheating, having the under-chassis repaired, overhauling the whole engine and spending a lot of money on upgrades and pimping out the vehicle especially with the sound setup.

If there is one thing I have learned in owning a car - NEVER ENDING MAINTENACE.

Thanks for the memories Gem. I hope your are still in very good condition with whoever is your owner now.

NZXT Phantom RED modification (my upcoming rig)

2011-10-31T02:35:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! Thanks for following my blog. I hope you are enjoying on my previous posts about custom PC's.

So I had decided that I will be building a new rig by 2012 but as early as July this year I had decided already on what chassis to use - and NZXT Phantom chassis and it is painted already with Red (i think it is somewhat Ferrari Red). I asked my good friend COMCAM to buy the chassis for me at Cebu Appliance Center as my fellow istoryan and colleague Andy Go Yap is the only dealer in Cebu selling NZXT products. Well, of course I could easily purchase this chassis here in Singapore, specifically at Sim Lim Square for around 180 SGD but I'm not stupid enough to bring it to the Philippines and have it assembled at home. It's better to buy it in Cebu as this will save me the hassle and the extra baggage allowance in a flight to PH. If I had remembered correctly the price of that chassis is Php6,400.

Sorry for the crappy pix. These are just phone cam pictures.

I had the side panel modded courtesy of COMCAM with a smoked acrylic and with laser engrave design. That costs me around Php3,500 for the modding alone.

Here is the design made by COMCAM using Adobe Photoshop.

And here are the actual smoked acrylic side panel with laser engrave. Have you noticed the NZXT, Ferrari logo and my name using laser engrave? Pretty neat huh?

Prior to modding the NZXT Phantom I asked COMCAM to take actual pictures of the chassis with his DSLR.

Enjoy the pictures...

Silverstone Fortress FT02 Limited Edition RED Rig

2011-10-31T01:03:00.000-07:00

This is my RIG built a year ago (September 2010) for the Dig My Rig 2010 event held at Robinson's Cybergate Cebu.

Specifications:

CHASSIS: Silverstone Fortress FT02 Limited Edition RED - Chassis No.0387
PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz Stock Speed
MEMORY: 8 GB (4 x 2 GB Kit) Team Group INC.
Xtreem Dark 1066 Mhz DDR2 Overclocking Memory Modules
CL: 5-5-5-15 (2.1 - 2.2V)
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P5QD Turbo P45 Chipset
POWER SUPPLY: HEC Zephyr 750 Watts NON MODULAR PSU
GRAPHICS: ATI Radeon HD5850 Reference Model - 1 GB GDDR5 / 2 DVI / 1 HDMI / 1 Display Port
HARD DRIVES: 5 Terabytes Total Storage Capacity
3 x 1 Terabyte Seagate Barracuda 7200.12
1 x 2 Terabytes Western Digital Green 64 MB Cache
OPTICAL DRIVE: Lite-On 24x DVD+/-RW
COOLING SOLUTION: Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Cooling System
FANS AND ACCESSORIES:
3 x 180mm Silverstone
1 x 120mm Sunbeamtech RED LED
UV Reactive Red Sata Cables
UV Reactive Red Sleeving Kit
Cold Cathode Red Lighting
Cold Cathode UV Lighting
NZXT 24 Pin Wire Extension Sleeve Kit
Sunbeamtech Anodized Thumb Screws
Sunbeamtech 120mm fan grill
ZALMAN ZM-MFC2 Digital Front Panel and Multi Fan Controller

MONITOR: Samsung PX2370 23 inch LED monitor
SPEAKERS: Altec Lansing ATP3
GAME CONTROLLERS: Red Fox Analog with Force Feedback USB

Custom Made Computer from a discarded / scrap case (work logs)

2011-10-31T00:43:00.000-07:00

I made a blog previously about my mom's blue rig using just a discarded case and it kind of makes you wonder how I was able to assemble it.

First, I would like to show you first the effect of a smoked acrylic side and front panel.

PC is OFF

PC is ON

The PC looks ordinary if it is off but when you turn it on, lo and behold the effect of blue LED fans and CCFL.

Anyway, let's proceed with the work log pictures.

Enjoy the pix...

This is the original discarded and scrap case bought at 100 pesos from a friend.

The modding is made by my good friend COMCAM. He did some cutting of holes (120mm for top and bottom, 80mm for front and rear) for the fans and made a custom smoked black acrylic side and front panels.

We used a 120mm speaker grill and screws that can be bought at a local electronic store and hardware center.

Applying the primer paint.

Applying the first, second and third coat of metallic black paint.

Applying the clear paint finish and adding fans.

Testing the LED fans.

Adding the major parts and functionality test.

A close look on the interior and exterior of the PC.

The finished product.

My Mom's Oh So Blue RIG

2011-10-31T00:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time that I have not made any blog on my site.

Well anyway, I would just like to share with you guys my custom made PC for my mom. This is actually a junk computer case that I got for 100 pesos from a friend. I had the chassis modified with fan holes and smoked acrylic front and side panels by my good friend COMCAM. He is a PC modder in Cebu City. If you are interested in getting your PC pimped out / modded by him you can go to his website http://comcam.webs.com/ or you can check his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/comcam.modz

I did the paint job by myself. The details of the paint job and assembly will be on another blog entry as I have a lot of pictures to upload.

As for the detailed specs, it's kinda old though. I still have to upgrade the whole thing probably this December. This is just enough to play some common games and do word processing and internet browsing tasks.

20 inch LG widescreen LCD monitor 2043T

Asus P4C800 Motherboard

Intel Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz Socket 478 with HyperThreading Technology (800 FSB / 1 MB L2 cache)

GIGABYTE G-Power Lite CPU Cooler

Kingston 2 x 1 GB (2 GB Kit) DDR400 Memory

NVIDIA Geforce FX5500 AGP 256 MB / 128 bit

ASUS 16x DVD Writer with Lightscribe IDE

320 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive

VGA card cooler 2 x 78mm blue LED fans from CDR-King

HEC PowerOP 475 PSU

G-Skill Memory Cooler

2 pcs CCFL blue bulbs

2 x 120 mm blue LED fans

3 x 80 mm blue LED fans

80mm fan grill

modded case by COMCAM / paint work by me /

front / left side / right side panels all smoked acrylic

Feel free to comment on this post and share this page as well to your friends.

2010-09-24T01:02:00.000-07:00

Robinsons Cybergate Mall in cooperation with Fine Upgrades, istorya.net,NUTech Marketing, Gizmo, SilverStone, ROCCAT, Sunbeam, Larkooler, Patriot & Tuniq presents "Dig My Rig 2010", a show off your rig event. Robinsons will be giving prizes, certificates, T-Shirt & ID for the participants. Maybe we will be having a side event like OC competition.

When: September 25, 2010 - 10am to 8pm
Where: Robinsons Cybergate Atrium (Opposite of Chong Hua Hospital)

Pimping my PC for the upcoming DIG MY RIG 2010

2010-09-21T03:55:00.000-07:00

Pimping my PC for the upcoming DIG MY RIG 2010 Show this coming September 25, 2010

@ Robinson's Cybergate

Sunbeamtech HTPC Acrylic UV Case MOD

2009-05-07T11:04:00.001-07:00

2009 build

I built this rig since I want to try an acrylic case. I used my old Pentium 4 for this build. Most of my friends say that the rig is cool but I have a lot of headache maintaining it. Dust is my main enemy here. Since the case is transparent, you can easily see the dust build up inside the case. Another major headache for me is how to do cable management with this case. It is impossible to hide the cables as the chassis is transparent. I ended up selling the chassis after six months to a fellow istoryan.

Benchmarking Windows 7 Beta and how I got a 3 Mbps with PLDT myDSL

2009-03-17T04:23:00.000-07:00

Recently I had PLDT myDSL disconnect my account due to late payment of bills. I originally subscribed to 1 Mbps, however as they reconnected my DSL connection, perhaps they had made a mistake in placing my connection to a 3Mbps port on the DSLAM. That makes me one happy customer since I am only paying for a 1 Mbps connection while I am getting 3 times speed that I am paying.

Meanwhile, I managed to download a Windows 7 Beta Version for testing... I got some screenshots. try to take a look.

I have been busy with work so I haven't yet posted since February... my apologies...

JUMP! Bohol

2009-02-04T17:49:00.001-08:00

These pictures were taken I think 2008. My first GA with my first ever team "Team Jaz DazeOff" in eTelecare. We toured around bohol during the day and ended up in Panglao island in the evening until the next morning.

The Bantayan / Virgin Island Landscapes

2009-02-03T02:17:00.000-08:00

My second team in eTelecare (team Aruel) went to Bantayan Island for our GA. I'm forgot the date but I think it was sometime in 2008. The island is located just west off the northern tip of Cebu Island and is still a part of the Province of Cebu. It is approximately a three to four hour journey from Cebu City to the port of Hagnaya. And we took a barge going to bantayan for another one hour an a half.

The trip is really worth it. It was a relaxing atmosphere for a weekend after a long week of stress at work.

Sony Erricson W880i

2009-02-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

So I'm back with my blog. And today I'm blogging about my second phone that I have purchased with my hard earned salary back in 2008. A Sony Ericsson W880i Walkman phone. This was a very expensive phone when it was first released. I remember purchasing this phone at Ayala Center Cebu for the price of Php24,000.oo. Yes, a whopping 24K.

EDIT 2.23.2012: For that price today, year 2012, you can now buy a brand new iPhone 4S.

The phone during its time has been popular due to its tiny dinensions. The phone if I have remembered was one of the few phones on the market that is thinner than 1 centimeter. And up until now (February 2012) the phone is still working and the battery even though how tiny it is still carries a charge of up to 3 days.

For now this phone is officially retired after almost 5 years of service.

JUMP (Bantayan Island)

2009-01-30T14:44:00.000-08:00

Just some random shots with my third team in eTelecare (team Rose)

Nikki Dacullo

2009-01-24T17:33:00.000-08:00

Reminiscing the past 2 years that I spent with my siobe Nikki Dacullo as a housemate in Cebu before she joined Survivor Philippines and signed a contract with GMA. She was such a beauty. I missed those times that we usually hang out with the whole housemates barkada like going to church on a Sunday and off to Ayala to play games in Timezone and then eating lunch or dinner on a fancy restaurant.

I missed those times that we just spend the time with the rest of our housemates sitting in the living room couch and talking anything under the sun or perhaps watch television. Those times as well that Nikki would forget her room keys at the office and would then ask a favor if she could stay and sleep first in my bedroom. Those times that we would just buy a Señor Pedro lechon manok and eat at home with the rest of the housemates.... Damn, I really miss those times.

Siobs, you always take care. Im just a text or call away.

PLDT MyDSL promo car (Mazda Miata pimped out)

2009-01-24T17:02:00.000-08:00

I was strolling in SM City Cebu and was able to see a promotional booth of PLDT. To attract customers about their DSL plan they displayed a pimped out ride. I was not able to figure out what brand and type of car it is because it was so pimped up with the body kits, was lowered, rims were added and was painted 'Ferrari red'. Looking at the dashboard, I was able then to distinguish that this car was an older 90's Mazda Miata. Too bad I was just using a 3megapix cellphone camera - a Sony Erricson K800i.

Philippine Tarsier, smaller than you thought possible

2009-01-23T01:30:00.000-08:00

The Philippine Tarsier and the Tarsier in general is believed to be the world’s smallest monkey.

To get an idea as to the size of this Tarsier, try to remember that the Philippine Tarsier is about the size of a rat. The Tarsier weighs somewhere between 60 and 160 grams and is between 90 and 165mm in height.

This cute little Philippine Tarsier Monkey will fit very comfortably in your hand. Being nocturnal hunters, the Tarsier has huge eyes which are just perfect for night vision and has oversized ears, any movement will be heard. Another unique characteristic the Tarsier has, is the ability to swivel it’s head 180 degrees, pretty clever little things.

taking a plunge in the mini falls

2009-01-22T23:51:00.001-08:00

This was taken in Forest Camp. It's in Valencia, Negros Oriental. (near Dumaguete)

Red Horse beer has a gender

2009-01-22T23:36:00.000-08:00

How to determine which Redhorse beer is a male or a female...

The one on the left is a male and the one on the right is a female. Now do you see the difference between the two?

Lizard

2009-01-22T23:19:00.000-08:00

Just a random shot of a lizard inside a lantern.

Jump! (moalboal)

2009-01-22T22:59:00.000-08:00

It took me 3 shots to get a perfect picture not to mention that the subject jumped more than 10 times.

Black and White Experiment

2009-01-22T06:20:00.000-08:00

Playing around with my camera in black and white settings...