• I have now started to write for the newest Exchange Tech.Exchange. I will write on that every weekday and optionally on weekends.
• I also have enough PRs of gadgets to upload to Tech.Ex's Gadget Gallery so that I'd not run out for a year if I uploaded one a day.
• I have launched a new feature on MomEx called School Reviews. I imported 1,577 records of NCR DECS accredited schools into it, from which visitors to the site can leave comments and rate from 1 to 10 stars. Here's a sample school, where you can see people comment below, consequently leaving info important for other parents.
• I plan to import the rest of the DECS schools nationwide, probably totalling in the 10,000 onwards, including public schools. By June, I hope people will rely on it as a resource for where to enroll their kids.

Not to mention a plan to upgrade Kikay Exchange, and to launch a new company.

At any rate, this, my blog, will always survive as long as I occasionally think of writing stuff that I can't use in any of the other blogs. As it is though, LHL will be a quiet place for the most part, so subscribe to its feed if you wanna keep up with news re me so that you won't have to visit it so often.

Later folks. Wish me luck on the new ventures.

and here's a full 7 minute compilation.

I'm ambiguous about the whole thing of course, and am more concerned about the fact that my perfectly good and hardly ever used Lite On DVD Writer is now ruined. But still, it made me think. I've been struggling with the idea of moving back to Windows after my 3~4 month Ubuntu experience, but I've finally sat myself down to write the reasons for either direction, and sadly, Windows won out. Could above disaster prove ominous?

I actually made a longish bullet point style article about why and why not, but it's stored on my storage PC at the moment, a transitional server from which I shall retrieve files from after my migration back to Windows, which of course has been delayed.

I hope to get cracking immediately tomorrow morning and get productive immediately. I have so much to do and am almost done with the new site.

I'm almost sad that I have to migrate back, but as I said, the list I made has proven that it is the wiser choice given my situation. Primarily I mentioned my missing Photoshop and a few other editing tools I consider essential. I should try not to hold sentiment on the decision on such things, but as it is, yes, I wish I didn't have to. If it were merely a matter of living with a few quirks then I'd still be using Ubuntu, but in the light of the kind of work I do and the expectations I have from the tools I work with, I really do have to.

and now the 'keep reading'..

.. followed by my review, which goes like this:

It sucks.

Well, some of it anyway. Elizabeth Banks is her usual gorgeous self, but Seth Rogen is given waaaaay too much lines. He's talking up a mile a minute it seems at every scene. In fact, he's probably talking 90% of this movie, and it gets ingratiating after a while.

There's a funny cameo by a very gay Justin Long, and the black guy has his moments, but most of the fun attempts fall flat. It actually became a strain for me to watch it after a 3rd of the way, and I stopped midstream and went to work. Now that NEVER happens to me, so this is a big deal.

Anyway, this post really is an excuse to talk about the excellent soundtrack and post videos about them, so here's a second one from Jesus and Mary Chain.

Oh and as if the fact that I never stop movies midstream (no matter how bad it is) isn't a big deal enough, another sign this movie didn't rock my boat is the fact it has both Katie Morgan and Traci Lords in it, and I still didn't like it.

Great songs though. Really beautiful stuff. Downloading them as I speak.

Good day,
My name is Gabriel H. Mercado.
I am a Filipino businessman residing in the Philippines.

I am writing you in connection with a domain that has apparently been registered with your service: http://kikayexchange.com.

I am contesting ownership of this domain for the ff. reasons:

• I own a website called http://kikay.exchange.ph, along with several other websites residing in subdomains of the main domain: exchange.ph (please check other sites at my signature below).
• Kikay.exchange.ph has been in existence since August 2006. Our first post is linked here.
• Kikay.exchange.ph, due to its unique url, is often mistakenly referred to as 'kikayexchange dot com'.

Further to this, I believe that the owner of kikayexchange.com deliberately purchased the domain to earn advertising revenue from people who are mistakenly lead to it. Here are my reasons:

• Kikay.exchange.ph is a blog that discusses fashion, shopping, beauty and health tips and similar topics. It is meant for a female audience. It regularly receives 700+ hits per day.
• Kikayexchange.com is a static page containing advertising content that is similarly targeted towards the same audience (pls. see attached).

I hope to bring your attention to this situation. Thank you.
Sincerely, Gabriel H. Mercado

Let's see how this goes.

• Foremost, is the incredible Facebook API, and it's recent decision to allow 3rd party developers to create apps that can change things like notes, links, videos and the all - important status updates. For what use is a social networking app, or anything on the 'net if you think about it, if you cannot make broad hints at how available you are to your crush via Facebook? For what else is the internet for??

• Above Facebook opinion is in light of other general web induced thoughts, such as my frustration in my ability to wrangle Drupal to output data the way I want it. Currently, I want several fields to products a single output, ie. Apple (4), Oranges (3), Banana (1), Cherry (0), to result in a straight line that looks like this: Fruits: Four Apples, Three Oranges, One banana.. Yes this is strictly a programming thing, so anyone looking for touchy feely, deep insights into the human soul sort of stuff can avert your eyes towards other things. At any rate I have already left queries on the Drupal forums. I will receive any hints towards resolution of my queries with glee.
• I was a first time ninong at Tessa's wedding last Friday morning! A just - as - surprised Char and I were at the QC Hall of Justice to witness the important event, and it was just as advertised: Solemn, Efficient, and Over Before You Knew It. The judge seemed to be having a whale of a time. After he made sure everything and everyone knew what they were doing, he reveled in Alby's and Tessa's pictures and just joked with everyone all the way. I have nothing but the best of hopes for the happy couple. Tessa I know you read this so Good Luck and Congratulations to you two again. Soon as Jill is back let's all hang. Alby's a lucky guy :)
• At this point, you probably shouldn't read this Tessa: Anyway, I finally got the Sony Memory Stick needed to make the Sony TG-1 Video Camera I was lent for review to work. I got it last Tuesday only to realize it was completely useless without a memory stick, one of a number of faux paxs the PR people kept making consistently. I don't even wanna get into that, I just wanna start reviewing the thing. I obviously missed the perfect opportunity (the wedding), so that very sucks. I have an idea for a video though, but it will require some execution. Let's see if I can manage to scrounge up the time.
• Tomorrow is a full day at client, albeit I might ditch the afternoon issues to visit the BIR to resolve a long standing situation. I'm quite frustrated about my situation with that office and do not look forward to this assignment. All future income however is contingent upon the resolution of this issue and hence nothing but my full attention is required. Fact is, the faster I resolve this issue, the better. The faster I resolve this issue, the better. The faster I resolve this issue, the better. Rinse. Repeat.
• Tuesday is an opportunity to watch the Confessions of a Shopaholic premiere, courtesy of receipt of a couple of tickets due to Kikay Exchange. I've always looked forward to KE receiving movie premieres and thus I'm quite excited about it. I remember watching Sex and the City and Devil Wears Prada and wishing we were invited to their premieres. It was obviously such a perfect fit and something we'd do anyway. The fact were getting them now is just another sign that hard work pays off. So long as you keep your focus, things turn for you at the end.
• I played ball today and literally, the guys I am playing with are half my age. The funny thing is, one of them started to call me 'manong', and in recognition of that fact, I blocked his shot. I dunno if it was a conscious effort to make him 'pay' for that, but I wouldn't be surprised if I did. Thing is, I remember how we went to Ilocos years ago, and everyone there calls everyone else 'manong', almost like you'd call someone 'mister'. Over in the Tagalog region from where I am though, there's an 'old dude' feeling to it, which is why I did not really warm up to it. Sadly, I didn't finish the game, after getting a bum stomach (too much coffee). But I do wanna come back next week, and am looking forward to a visit to the gym on Tue and / or Thu to prepare for it. I know I'm probably too old to want to play as much as I have been (2x a week or more for the last 2 weeks), but as long as I can (barely) keep up, I don't see why I shouldn't. I still love the game, it still gives me thrills, and I can still feel the texture of the ball on the tips of my fingers after I righteously slapped that ball from the dude's shot earlier. It felt GReeeaAAAt. I want more please. And as long as they let me, why not?
• Ok back to the websites (yes, groan), I want to update MomEx to the latest Drupal, not a mean feat. There are also new features I want to implement on KE for two reasons: 1. More user - generated content. 2. More regular content other than the blogposts. I won't get into details again (because I'm selfish and I don't want anyone else to beat me to it), but I think I've got a bead on how to do it in Wordpress. I think I'm gonna stick with Wordpress as far as KE is concerned, if only because it seems to have improved greatly these past few months after what I thought was a rather long period of stagnation last year. It gives me something nice to compare Drupal against, and while the two are still different as night and day, each has its strengths that I'm trying to get the other to reach towards. Wordpress however is damn easy as pie to customize, and I miss that with Drupal. Drupal however is unbelievable flexible, packed with potential and is only limited by your imagination, so I'm still sticking with that in as far as making content outside of blogposts is concerned. Maybe I'll move BallEx to it soon, pending receipt of data I need (sadly) to ask permission for. But if not, I'll keep it there for the time being.

Ok that's my life at the moment in bullet points. I know my many loving fans (all 2 of you) are waiting for my typical mushyness at the end of these things, so here it is: Yes I am in longing, but No I try not to think about it, primarily by keeping busy (and yes, by playing basketball when I should probably be taking better care of myself). Cute fact: Jill's dog Killer, when looking for her, apparently goes up to their room and checks the top of her bed for any signs, leaving depondently afterwards. Aww.

End time: 1137pm.

I am without a doubt focused on this 100%, to the point wherein I feel I have reached the point where I possibly hinge its success upon that of my own, as a person, that is. A risky, and foolhardy proposition, considering that it is merely, at the end of the day, a website.

Regardless, I like to think of myself as competent in no small way in the making, planning and creation of such things, and therefore am placing a great deal of weight upon its success. To my mind I am convinced I have a winner. There is no hindrance to the top of the heap. No blockage, no a speck of dust, obstructing it from its goals. As long as I perform all the tasks I ask of me, all I envision of it will come true. It all depends on me.

That is the reason of course, why it is taking me so long. That, and, the carrying out of the complex plans I have drawn up for it. It has come to the point wherein I sleep with a PHP reference book in my hands. A coding book. Not one of literature, not of adventure or love or mystery or other fancies of fiction. A coding book, in order for me to get it right.

For if it were only the mere act of putting it up for the world to see, I would have finished by now. But no, I need it to be as near perfect as can be. There is always something that needs fine tuning, always something I need to tweak and twist and turn every which way to point it the right direction.

Finish though, I must, for there must be closure after all this preparation. Onwards, I continue, tomorrow.

• I am going to an event 2pm. It involves the launch of a new tech product whose parent company is also in the news for laying off thousands of workers, adding some measure of pallor to my mind, to a usually glitzy affair. It is vital that I maintain a presence in such things in order to prepare for the much delayed launch of my latest baby, the newest Exchange, details on a forthcoming date.
• I am in the midst of looking for active, sporty female writers / bloggers for a project. This situation is ASAP, and fortunately, I managed to contact one of the most personable and capable individuals I know, to whom this project is tailor fit (reference intended). She has texted her questions to which I replied by emailing the details. She is however, rushing to something and promised a reply after lunch. I am not kidding when I say I am hopeful for a positive reply, the occurrence of which would probably make my day.

• I was looking to go to the gym this morning but since it is already 10:22 as I write this, the execution of that plan looks bleak. Rather, I will move it for after the event. I know I could've strapped on some discipline and gotten my ass moving earlier but what can I say? I like blogging too much. I probably don't say that often enough, and maybe I should. I love writing. I have always been, and consider myself, to be a writer. To state the obvious, I embrace, condone and promote blogging. I consider it to be one of the more important events since the inception of the Intarnetubezsphere, and probably ranks up there with, oh I dunno, hyper text transfer protocol.
• I am looking forward to a short break staying at my friends house this weekend, but unfortunately I might have to mix some work in, if not postpone it altogether, due to above-mentioned project. There is of course, the urge to bitch about the haste with which this responsibility had been put upon me, but the fact it's a paying project, that I can actually get it done so long as I keep my act together, plus the sheer uselessness of complaining, keeps me from doing so. I hope I am able to reflect upon things in a forthcoming manner on a regular basis.
• I am looking to extend my consulting gig for another period. It is vital however, that I am an integral part and that my presence is valued. There is certainly enough work to be done. The presence of mamars however (Tagalog slang), complicates matters, and I have decided to repair it as I would, say, repair a wrongly phrased sentence or a technical glitch in the system. It is but one of the things one needs to deal with in order to produce a job well done. Seen in such light, everything is doable. I am thusly empowered.
• My girlfriend is in the US in the 1st week of her month long vacay and I miss her terribly. I have been otherwise occupied, but her absence remains a palpable experience throughout my day.

End: 10:34am.

Ok, on with the day.

I was trying out Sprout and when I tried to login, it turned out I already had an account from way back.

It's possible to make some intensely cool designs with this thing, although it gets seriously expensive when you remove the tiny 'Sprout' logos underneath it. I got it onto my Facebook, which is just one of the places it's ready to go into (of course, because its just javascript + some html).

Naturally, RSS is an important part of this.

rocknroll

To explain: this is one of those blogposts that tell of an impressive internet find, so brace yourselves. A week or so after installing Ubuntu, I decided to try it's built - in music player called, shockingly, 'Music Player'. Ok to be technical, it's 'Rhythmbox Music Player'.

So anyway when I was still living in the dark and using Windows, I quite enjoyed listening to Internet Radio via Windows Media Player. Now that I've reformed, I decided to give the built - in radio stations on Rhythmbox a try, and lo and behold I was instantly gratified to be introduced to Absolute Classic Rock, a radio station already on its playlist that plays, you guessed it, classic rock and roll in the UK. London, specifically.

Now I normally try to avoid being critical of local offerings, and avoid the all too commonplace practice of comparison altogether. But let me just say that local radio stations, for the most part, SUCK THE BIG ONE.

Oh yes there are a few notable standouts, such as NU 107, RJ FM and maybe another. Unfortunately being the commuter that I am, I have to deal with it nearly everyday when I ride those FX jeeps. The ride itself is alright, and I'm quite pleased by the convenience these vehicles provide. Except, sadly, for their choice of musical accompaniment, which seems to be limited to 3 or 4 stations whose programming is nothing short of deeply sad, to tragic even.

These radio stations, see, have DJs who seem to be perpetually laughing. Not occasionally, mind you. But happy ALL THE TIME. That means, everytime you hear them talk on the radio, they are laughing, or speaking in a tone which connotes that they are saying them while finding them absolutely hysterical.

Common announcements, opinions about the weather, discussions amongst themselves, even things they might want to comment about one another (if there are two of them), are said in a hysterical manner. Laughing at what, you may ask? Well therein lies the mystery. They laugh and they speak in a laughing tone without, for the life of me, REASON. So imagine one's consternation at this fact, when taking an hour long commute such as I do. You cannot help but try and determine just what it is these $*&(@! find, exactly, so hilarious as to be induced into a permanent state of hilarity for hours on end.

One would assume that, disk jockeys being employed to speak to countless people live on air, they are sane, sober individuals who conduct themselves in a professional manner at the very least. Rather, upon hearing their senseless drivel, you will conclude that they've given up hope on themselves and any ability to make casual, remotely intelligent conversation with their audience. Their constant laughing achieves the mental picture of sad, tragic people trying to make comedy when there is no situation worthy of such. I am bewildered, really, why this practice continues. If it achieves ratings of any sort and people actually enjoy this, then I guess we're far into deeper shit than I thought.

But anyway, to return to the topic of Absolute Rock, I have compiled a list of songs I had recently heard played on it, which explains the Imeem playlist above.

Additionally, we are hours ahead of their time, so when I listen in in the mornings here, it's early morning or dead - time there, and the station is playing non - stop commercial - free classic rock for hours on end. The idea this is happening halfway across the globe, and that I'm getting it absolutely free due to the wonders of the magical intarnetubezsphere, warms the cockles of my heart.

In relation to above, particularly Heart's 'Barracuda', below is a video of a girl I saw on American Idol last week who perfectly sang it. Her impact is akin to a Mack truck, but in a good way (if that ever is possible). Barring any untowardness, she's my bet to at least make it to top ten.

Ok enough Imeeming and Internet Radioing. Who says using Ubuntu, which cannot play Windows based games, will make you more productive because of? This just proves that my innate ability to avoid work, zone out, and trip on music rather than focus on more important things (like stuff that actually pays me), prevails over all.

Sadly this was mauled (edited) much like in previous times, but only a little bit. The latter parts, which were important, were untouched, so I'm happy. Said Her Highness has indicated an open door to any ideas I might have to continually write on her publications, to which I am considering. Naturally, hefty praise and recognition of my extraordinary abilities, deservedly or not, will only serve to further her purpose.

After a few days I will reprint it in its glorious entirety at Mom Exchange.

Meanwhile, here's a random picture of some Yakiniku (?) Beef I ate at Yoshinoya Robinson's Galleria earlier:

It costs P105.00 and is very good.

To sum it up, there are four nominees. Twitter, Plurk, Facebook Connect and just recently, I discovered Google's Friend Connect. I haven't twittered nor plurked too much though, but I've certainly Facebooked and Googled. The fact that Facebook has become something of a minor revolution to my site's target audience (Filipina women) has helped it's cause rather well. While Google, well, it's Google, so the fight is on.

My observations so far:

1. I remember chancing upon an article re Facebook being 'closed' to the outside world or something or other, and I found out just how much that was true when trying to extend content from it to outside, and then to it from the outside. RSS works well enough porting info from my blog to my facebook profile, but pulling info from it? No dice, and I doubt that's gonna change.
2. The old internet term of a 'walled garden' approach comes to mind re facebook, and it is at full force here. The fact that facebook allows 3rd party apps creates a 'mini-internet' if you think about it. In a small controlled environment you get to quickly use and enjoy those apps because its sans the bewildering array of choices that often overwhelm us on the Internet. Kind of how you might enjoy swimming in a pool because it's small and manageable rather than in the ocean. As long as FB keeps making interesting apps people will just be their natural social selves and keep connecting with one another.
3. And that's the key, really. People like seeing each other on the Internet, people like sharing info with their friends and making cute status messages that bely how they feel and elicit reaction from their contacts. People are just very social, period (and probably Filipinos even more so). How the application allows this to flourish is key to good social networking. If you can't get your contact - slash - crush to notice how nice you looked in that new dress, then the whole thing is just useless.
4. However, facebook is not the Internet, and the Internet is forever bigger and stronger. Sooner or later some killer application, either related to social networking or messaging or what have you will come about, and everyone would wanna use it. If it won't want to have anything to do with Facebook (either by design or by accident, such as it has its own walled garden approach), then that will weaken Facebook. In other words, anything that cannot be ported to facebook is a threat to facebook. Facebook wants you to use it as you would the Internet. Facebook wants to be the Internet.
5. Google's Friendconnect however, is infinitely simpler. In fact, it's so simple that all it requires of you is to paste code onto your site, whichever site type you are using, and it's up and running. You could be running myspace, blogger, wordpress or a simple html static site, and you're good to go.
6. While that simplicity will play an integral part of its success, it made me feel it was too simple at times. Drupal and Wordpress, the two CMSes I prefer, are both very powerful, and plugins or modules you can slap onto them increase their power even more. Slapping on some Google javascript on the sidebar doesn't make use of those CMSes power. They're just there, like those ubiquitous javascript chat pages or map thingamajings that show where in the world your site has been accessed. They're nice, and they're cute, but they don't extend the CMS. I want it to extend my CMS. That's why I used a CMS to begin with.

My decision? I'm trying out both to find out.

I've already installed Google Friend Connect to my sidebar at Ballex, and I'll be using Facebook Connect soon as well. There are Wordpress plugins available, and again, since I like extending my CMS, I tend to lean towards these types of solutions.

I need to choose one though, because I do not like to confuse my readers. It's important I only offer one option for these things, and that if I do do this, that I not turn back. It'd be annoying to readers to install something and remove it later.

So far Facebook has the upper hand since it's a plugin. Then again like I said, Google is Google, so it's hard to pass that up. But until theirs matures I'm leaning towards Facebook.

It just irks me, it just absolutely disconcerts me how Mac Fanboys can call their fanaticism a 'social movement around a computer'.

Especially because I know exactly what a worthwhile social movement around a computer should be, and that this unflinching and misguided loyalty to a man and his company has only succeeded in making them purchase, zombie - like, anything it produces with nary a care as to quality or ability, can only lead to disillusionment.

And in their pursuit of its products, how the only culture they are producing is one of absolute consumerism. In fact, an even worse kind, because it does not even care to look at alternatives and blindingly adheres to the beliefs of just one company.

And that again, it's such an intense waste of time and money, when their efforts could be more effectively applied to said worthwhile cause.

Sigh.

I can't wait to watch this.

1. It is for the most part, a monstrous waste of time - Once you turn the TV on, you will inevitably find something interesting to watch. For example, I happened onto a 60 Minutes feature on the FBI agent who interrogated Saddam Hussein for the duration of his incarceration before being handed back to the Iraqis. The other day, I was also enthralled by a BBC documentary ftg. two nerdy guys trying to make a motorcycle to run on compressed air, in an effort to make a zero emission delivery vehicle for a sandwich manufacturer in London.

2. Vastly interesting as they were - they were certainly an innoportune appropriation of my time. It (my time) being limited and the list of things I want to do with it ever increasing, it behooves me to make proper use of it. Granted, interest in above topics were genuine. Regardless, the abrupt and random nature of these cable watching activities are unwelcome, being as they are, blockages to my attempts at it (my time)'s efficient use.
3. Except for the possible exception of Basketball - which is quite likely the only thing I watch without that tinge of guilt that I'm supposed to be doing something else. Seeing as I am running a Basketball Blog, anything I can absorb in relation to this sport is a plus. Hence, watching basketball seems to be the only thing positive cable has so far, brought about.
4. Hence, I should endeavour to blog about TV shows - which I thought about doing for a while but has since ditched the idea because of two reasons:
   • There aren't any truly worthwhile TV shows to blog about anymore, Sopranos having finished two years ago already. The Sopranos is the only show that has ever held my complete and utter attention for an appreciable period, and nothing comes close to it to date.
   • Blogging about a TV show would only add to the things I have to do, and that list (as I mentioned above), is already overwhelming as it is (unless of course another show comes about that is as compelling as Sopranos, which somehow I doubt).

Well, that's it, that's what I think about Cable TV. From above we can glean that: a.Sure, it's a pretty thing to have around the house, but if you wanna get a lot of things done, it ain't for you. b.I thought about blogging about TV shows but in some roundabout way connected it with how busy I am and therefore shelved the idea. And c. Having a conversation with myself probably makes me look like a raving lunatic, but at least it make something look clearer!

Unlike the other Pauso concoctions, this time it took a real lucky turn. I saw 'mechado cut' beef cubes in the ref and proceeded to defrost them this morning as I went to Tropical Hut along Ortigas Ave. to buy necessities and get some breakfast in me (there isn't much to eat in the house today).

I started to cook it fully intending to make it a tomato - based Pauso invention, but in the middle of d stewing it along with onions and lots of garlic, it 'sweated' out - a fancy term I picked up from the Lifestyle Channel, and produced a sweet smelling beef stewy 'juice'. It smelled and tasted terrific, so I scratched the tomato paste and opted for water + corn starch (a thickening agent) instead.

Above shows it already stewed out, and I know I should be using an oven plus some ceramic or deep type of casserole container dish to cook this, but I have to make do with a kaldero as it's the only thing we have around here (literally). I just cook it at the lowest heat setting possible on our LPG range, which is why it took (brace yourselves) a whole 1.5 hours to fully cook, simmering all the way.

I added up to two cups water and 3 - 4 tablespoons of corn starch, and I'd have added a beef cube to boot if we had one (but we don't). I know its all starchy now, but I really wanted to go for a nice thick soupy liquid. Spices are purely salt and pepper, and that worked out fine. The other people who try to cook in the house try to drown food with too many spices, I think (again, another result of the Lifestyle Channel, particularly the Food Network), but I like to keep things simple, and really, it's hard to beat just the right amount of salt and pepper with good beef.

We have waaay too many spices than we should have. No thanks to Food Network.

There are two types of iso files to choose from, an 'Alternate' and a 'Desktop'. Alternate is the 'lite' installation method, while the 'Desktop' is the bells and whistles version, but only on a graphical scale as they both do the same thing. For example, while the Partition editor on Alternate looks like this:

The same process on the 'Desktop' version looks like this:

Anyway, using the Alternate iso I created a bootable USB via method described on my last post , search for the words 'create a usb startup disk'.

When I decided to go xubuntu I chose this method thinking it'd be the 'safer' choice, or at least 'faster' than the Desktop version. I installed Kubuntu via the Desktop version as well, so reason has it that if that worked out, alternate would fly, right? As it turns out, ten minutes or so into an installation, directly after partitioning the disks and entering user details, while it's doing something (allowing me to do other things) it suddenly turns off.

I tried it 2 to 3 times and even removed the battery to run purely on the wall charge, thinking it might be a battery issue. Each time, it just shut down, no warning, no error message, nothing.

I considered updating the BIOS, but I felt it too drastic and risky. Besides the latest BIOS update didn't mention a fix to any such issue.

So instead, I downloaded the Desktop install version. Two hours later (spent watching Transformers on HBO and cooking dinner), voila:

my xubuntu powered MSI Wind, posing beside by ubuntu powered desktop (they're friends now). Picture above shows me installing the wifi drivers via ssh, with instructions I learned from here.

As expected it runs blazingly fast on Scout albeit (whispering in case she might hear me) waaaay ugly compared to previously installed Kubuntu. But that's the beauty of it. It looks almost as simplistic as, say, Windows 3.1, but as a result windows and apps just pop up and you're confident your commands fire away.

Which is in effect, what we want from our PCs, and from all machines we use in general. We want them to look nice, but at the end of the day when you want / need something done you want to issue a command and BANG it does it, no questions asked, no drama, just results.

Besides, strangely yet expectedly so, there are places on the net which teach you how to tweak your xubuntu to make it look and act like Vista or Leopard - a practice contrary, you would think, to the purpose of making a 'light' OS, but hey, if there's anything consistent with Ubuntu and Linux in general, it's that if it's tweakable, it will, and probably should, be tweaked.

At any rate, said issue is gone now, with no small measure of relief. This prompts me to proceed with discussing the unboxing and preparation of said Scout. First off, le box unwrapped:

With all the contents, including the Warranty Booklet, a CD which I haven't opened yet, 3 Cell Battery (couldn't find a 6 cell so this is a pain), Warranty Card, Power Supply, CE Compliance Booklet and a gift voucher offering a discount on Norton 360 and a Linksys Wifi G Router for only P2,099 (which is actually a sweet deal).

Anyway, moving on. I slip on the battery..

Open it (yes I'm doing this on my bed for lack of space).

.. turn it on, and I'm greeted with the Free DOS c: prompt, which is of course, useless.

Fortunately with my trusty 1gb. Kingston USB Drive..

.. plus Ubuntu's handy 'Create a USB Startup Disk' feature and a KDE ISO image I recently downloaded for this purpose..

.. I proceed with creating a Kubuntu USB Startup Disk. After which I plug the USB before booting Scout like so:

.. Press F11 while booting Scout, which results in a 'Please select boot device' screen. Naturally I choose the USB option.

And voila! Scout is now ready to install Kubuntu!

It takes a while though, but everything's pretty automated.

Finally nearly an hour later, I have Scout running the very elegant and smooth looking Kubuntu.

Which is as everyone who's ever done this knows of course, is far from over. First you have to update it:

Then you have to fix it so it works and looks the way you want it, such as how I'm installing msttcorefonts here:

The result? After two days, I've decided that I do not want KDE not because it's not pretty and good to work with (it is!), it's just that it's too different from what I'm used to and represents a too - big adjustment for me.

I'm not trying to duck the haters here, I think KDE is great as it is beautiful. I'd have stuck to it no doubt if I'd have started with it, but Gnome + Ubuntu is where I've started, I have 8.10 on my desktop PC (as I showed earlier), and so am not keen on re-learning stuff just to use it. At the end of the day these things aren't toys but rather tools we use to get things done, and so I need to make things as easy and predictable for me. Hence goodbye KDE and hello..

.. Xubuntu, which is what I used on my previous laptop Karen (may she rest in peace). It's very close to how Gnome works and faster.

So that's it, that's my report on my new MSI Wind U100x named Scout and how I got it unboxed and working. A work in progress from which countless blog posts will no doubt, result from hereonwards.

Incidentally, *'Scout' is from the lead character in To Kill a Mockingbird, whole name: Jean-Louise Finch, which I'm finally reading. It is without a doubt one of the most fascinating storytelling efforts I have ever encountered. A true work of art packed in a P175.00 purchase off of National Bookstore, stuffed in my backpocket. A fact whose irony has not escaped me whilst reading it in transit from MOA and back, trudging along the dirty highways and busy pathways of our polluted and over populated Metro.

There's something special about reading a book that transports you to a different time and place. I had come to look forward to these long trips to work just to read that wonderful little book. With it, radios can blare on their pathetic garble, people can elbow and push their way in and around you. In my mind, I'm in 1950s race - divided Alabama, absorbing the trials and tribulations of a 9 year old girl.

And now comes the 2nd part of this report, which is to sadly document a problem. Shockingly (and I kid not), there is a minor current of electricity emanating from the VGA port on the right hand side, between the LAN and fan ports.

This only happens when it's running on AC, meaning its plugged in. Otherwise while running on batteries, it's fine.

I suspect that it wasn't closed properly when we installed an extra 1gb. of RAM where I bought it. Some electric juice might be flowing through the chassis and coming out the right side.

So far, it hasn't affected the performance though, as I'm using it to make this blogpost right now. I just found out about this problem a few minutes ago when I was writing this. I was all set to write a more glowing review, considering it has turned out to be everything I thought it'd be and more. I'm quite happy with it, or rather, was, until of course aforementioned problem occurred.

Nothing a quick visit back to my vendor won't fix of course. Hassle, but it has to be done. In the meantime, I'm turning this off and turning in for the night. I had plans on reinstalling the OS with ordinary Ubuntu (I'm not really happy with Kubuntu), but because of said issue, I think I'll shelve that idea till I get this fixed or replaced.

• Nice looking graphics get old quickly anyway - After seeing the graphics load, no matter how fancy, it becomes a pain to watch it load again - and again - and again, everytime you go back to the website. I don't care how pretty it is. Unless you have the memory of a goldfish, after the first ooh and ahh you're likely sated and ready to move on.
• It's a heavy download - This is fairly obvious. That's why Flash designers create all sorts of fancy loading images and hour glass / hour clocks to entertain you whilst you waste away precious moments of your life waiting for the $*#$! site to load. As far as I'm concerned, everytime you put a loader in front of a website visitor there is a 30% to 50% chance he's gonna lose interest and go elsewhere. That alone, to me, is unacceptable.

• It's not Google-able - Even more unacceptable is the fact that, since .swf files are like images, Google cannot index them, hence giving search engines a hard time. Repeat after me: Search engines are your friend. You do not want to give search engines a hard time. Unless your website holds the directions to the Holy Grail, you need to cooperate, not go against search engines. And this in the light of the fact that Google's indexing is already mind-blowingly powerful. I've uploaded articles onto my blogs and Googled them 10 seconds after and they were already available. Yes I know there are ways around that especially with the newer Flash versions BUT the fact it's an extra step does not comfort me.
• It's difficult to make - Flash designers make a ton of money because there aren't many of them, and even less of the really talented ones who can make a site both entertaining, dynamic, loads quickly and is serch engine friendly to boot. The chances you can hire one, assuming you can afford one, are even less considering they're usually busy people.
• It requires your browser to download Adobe stuff - I'm glad Adobe is no Microsoft because given their monopoly over this technology, MS would've sucked every penny they can make off of it by now. Regardless, making a site dependent on any one company / technology is never a good way looking forward.
• Content is King - At the end of the day, people go to a website - any website - for its content. They want schedules, they want articles, they want prices, images, information, etc. The more of it, the more ways to get it, and the easier to get it, the better. Anything that deters / confuses / deflects / deviates / sidetracks you from what you want to get from a website negates the purpose of making a site to begin with, and should be removed immediately.

Flash in my humble opinion, is three things: From a developer standpoint, it's a great way to make extra money. You can get quick jobs adding 'Macromedia Flash' to your resume, or getting freelance work quickly, because lots of people are looking for that.

Second is from a website developer / provider point of view: It's a great way to impress bosses and clients. We all know these are the people who usually know the least about the Internet, but since they hold the purse strings, we pander to what impresses them. And so we make big impressive full Flash websites to get them to say ooh and ahh to make them sign the checks.

And finally Third, from a user and search engine point of view: It's close to useless. Content will be, forever and ever to me, KING of all that makes the Internet work. If you want to make a great website, focus on finding content and delivering it as easily and as painlessly as possible. Make your life simple by believing this: People want to know what's going on, and a website's job is to deliver it - that's it, no more no less.

I'm such a believer in this that I'd bet everything I have on a bet: Any Blogspot site with complete info will get more hits than any full Flash site anytime of the day, day or night*.

* Unless of course it's a Flash based gaming site, whereing the content is the games.

At any rate back to BAR. Here we have the Coen brothers doing what they do best. Investigating the downward spiral of seemingly ridiculous yet absolutely real characters some of which, as in the case of Frances McDormand's Linda Litzke, reminds me terribly of someone I know. A woman so blinded by a perceived notion of what she should be and the kind of lifestyle she should have that she neglects the here and now. The result is an emotional wreck and what appears as the start of a bigger one, pending planned cosmetic surgery she feels will solve her problems.

McDormand is a brilliant character actress, but her police character in Fargo is a little more interesting to me, probably because of that Canadian accent she used, and partly because this movie had so many other subplots.

There's George Clooney's borderline paranoid character, there's John Malkovich's alcoholic denial loser, a two timing hard ass Tilda Swinton character, a dim witted Brad Pitt, all of whom are great actors and can take over the whole movie by themselves. Even Richard Jenkins character, as the gym manager boss, a decent guy pining for Linda's affections but is sadly overlooked, is an interesting study, and he's just a side character.

At the end of it all, the same case could be said for any of these actors as I did about McDormand in Fargo. Any of them can pull out a Coenesque
'downward spiral of a negative asshole disilluionsed / disenchanted / disconnected with real life'.

Clooney and Swinton did, brilliantly so, in Michael Clayton. John Malkovich did in Being John Malkovich. And Tilda Swinton did it again in the best example of all, Adaptation, where Meryl Streep, Nicholas Cage and Chris Cooper let out a truly sad, powerful tale. The originality and impact of that one still gets me up to now and I'm glad I watched it in the theatres unlike how I ended up watching BAR on my computer screen no thanks to idiot vampire movies.

Ok as I was saying: But together? All of them in one movie?

I ended up thinking it was cut short at the end, with none of the intertwining stories ever reaching a climax. Pitt's character (the one with the best lines, ie. "We have your shit."), is dead. Clooney flies to Venezuela, McDormand gets her surgery, Malkovich is dead, Richard Jenkins is dead, Swinton is.. I dunno. David Rasche is strangely, needlessly apologetic. And that's it.

In Adaptation, Cage's character drives away and you're left with a thousand different thoughts in your head. It's enough to redeem him for a thousand Con Airs and a National Treasures. Well.. ok, maybe a hundred. Fifty each. But you get the point.

The idea behind these types of movies is some level of redemption at the end which I didn't get. All of them were jerks and assholes to the very end. They got what they deserved for sure, but the romantic in me wants to see some level of resuscitation of the good that, occasionally, appears. I know it's a little Catcher In The Rye - ish, but it works for me. This movie was fun in bits and pieces, but underwhelming as a whole.

Pauso Menudo

Recipe:

• P100.00 worth of Pork Liempo (which translates to approx. 3/4 kilo), sliced into bite size pieces.
• 2 or 3 medium potatoes, diced to thumb sized bits.
• 3 to 4 mid to large onions, sliced.
• 1 clove garlic, chopped.
• 3 to 4 pieces green pepper not as big as BIG PEPPER but not as tiny as siling labuyo, sliced into two pieces each.
• 1 to 2 pieces siling labuyo, chopped into little slivers.
• Tomato Sauce
• 1/10th of a cup soy sauce.
• 3 teaspoons sugar.

1. Heat a pan at low heat, oil it and when hot (but not steaming hot), place in sliced onions and garlic.
2. Once Onions lose their color, put in Potatoes. Stir for approx. ten minutes until potatoes half cooked.
3. Add pork and stir for ten minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Mix Tomato Sauce, sugar and soy sauce until smooth (you shouldn't be able to see the sugar or feel it with your spoon anymore). Dump with the pork.
5. Here's where I wish we had an oven. Since we don't, mix it well and cook on low to medium - low heat for another 30 minutes, occasionally giving it a taste and testing the pork if cooked.

Sizzling Onions and Garlic

You'll notice I cooked it for a long time (approx. 1.5 hours). This is because I wanted to heat it enough for a meat - falling - off - the - bone consistency with the pork, but without too much heat to sear / burn it. You can't do that using a pan - fry method. Rather, you'll need either a deep pot or better yet, in a deep pot and into an oven, neither of which we have. We don't even have a cover big enough for the whole pan, which would've kept the juices from evaporating. So I made up for it by cooking at low heat for a long time.

Tasted great though. The big issue is making sure its cooked well and you're set.

* The Pauso Chicken is more or less the same recipe.

In other news, last night was our first basketball game for our HS league, and I think I logged 1 rebound in, oh probably 2.5 minutes of playing time. I think I can really say I've come full circle now. There was a time I couldn't keep track of how many leagues I was playing in (some of which stretch on for months), and I'd play either until my lungs would burst or my knees would give out. Now I can't even get playing time on a team of mid - 30 year old dads.

Truth is though, I've realized it's all good. A few months ago when I was coaching the village kids, I felt I had the experience of a lifetime. Me and my boys went on the roller coaster ride that is Philippine Liga Basketball, held all over our islands from Aparri to Jolo. I had sleepless nights thinking things over and over so much that I was well and truly obsessed.

Now I see my friends and batchmates go through the same thing and I really feel happy for them. I really think that if any of their wives would like to know who they really are, they should see them while they're playing basketball. Every little insecurity, every tiny quirk of a person's character comes out in all its macho, ego wrapped fury. What they might find might shock them, as I've learned early on that whatever one might see on the surface usually has little to do with the monster that shows up on the basketball court. You will see chest beating. You will see declarations of immortality. And yes, you will occasionally see a crash and a burn. But whatever it is, it's usually nothing to do with who you thought you knew.

The wonderful thing about it is that it's all very entertaining, and so much so that I'm willing to just sit and watch it happen. I want them to go through what I went through, joining the Village leagues around here. There was so much emotion and so much drama. Just the idea of coming into a hostile village trying to keep a brave face on was incredible. And so much fun! It's hard to think of anything I'd trade it with.

That's it at the moment. I'd have wanted to end this with a thought that my 2x a week commute might improve, but you and I know that's unlikely to happen.

It was a nice easy day today, spent lounging around and watching the Lakers dismantle the hard up Wizards. Tomorrow is Pacquiao day, which I'll try to spend playing ball in the morning then going to the Jill's later on.

2 days every week starting this week I now consult for a company that's making a ton of websites for itself, its branches and all its affiliate smaller companies, totalling approximately 44 in all. So I go there every Monday and whichever other day there's a meeting, do my thing, then in theory, hop and skidaddle off home afterwards. That's the theory however, but in practice, the place is a good 2.5 hours of commuting away, so going to and back takes up half a day.

I'm not complaining though. There are 3 factors why I agreed to this gig. First is I get to work with a very good friend again. We had some great times when we were starting out in this business. We learn from each other and often bounce ideas off each other. There's no doubt in my mind he is the best in what he does, but what I like most is his totally non plussed attitude towards pretty much everything. He's the kind of guy who is horsing and joking around almost constantly, but still gets the job done and done well. He vouched for me to get this deal so now that it's come through I'm pretty gung ho about it, and I don't think I'd have agreed if it weren't him asking me.

2nd is the job has to do with websites and the 'net, which is a given of course, and 3rd is that I get to work with content, SEO and 'getting users to use the website', which probably has a more appropriate buzzword for it except that I don't like buzzwords, can't think of one right now and besides, 'getting users to use the website', hits the nail right on the head.

There's a 4th reason actually, and it has to do with how exciting things are if we get it done the way I foresee it (I've already more or less figured out what needs to be done). I am a picture of a complete geek in the fact that I still completely enjoy thinking of, planning and implementing ideas, and seeing them work out. It's an absolute joy to create a site, see it grow, shape its path and see how people use it the way you want them to. I think it's a mix of how, say, an architect creates a building and finds joy in how people use the pathways like they're supposed to, or design a special roof that will save energy for it and see it actually work, or that of a publisher creating a newspaper, getting the right people, determining the right content, and seeing reader's lives shaped by what they have read and make a ultimately change things for the better around us.

I get that thrill everyday when I check my sites, and I cannot have enough of it. I realize now if we do this right it'll pay off on a grander scale and that's such an awesome thought I try not to think about it.

The challenge of course, is that there are more people involved now. Bosses and clients and their underlings whom I need to get on the same page. But I'm confident that what I do and have done can make people work in the same direction, as long as I present it well and state my case clearly. For the most part, I'm sure it'll be adapted if only because there is no present way of doing things at the moment, but I still wanna make a good case for myself, so I have to strap my concentration on and keep on my toes.

So that's it. That's the big to - do at this chapter in my life. This was a long time coming actually, with negotiations starting as far back as Sep. Now that I'm here, I'm all set. Wish the commute wasn't such a biggie but as with all things, I'll get used to it. It's all good.

I love how KE's hits grow ever so gradually which means two things for me: A. They're not fluke-ish, having grown regularly over a span of time (unlike, say, when a blog posts something radical which spikes its hits then drops all of a sudden), and B. Our readership is loyal and follows the site regularly. Those details along with the exponential growth given our daily updates mean that we'll be hitting 1k probably by.. oh, Jan or Feb maybe?

But enough about the sites. This is about me, me, ME!

First and foremost I'm really happy that I don't feel 40, and am frankly unsure what 40 feels like at all. There are a number of sites that give advice to '40-somethings' and these usually involve health and talk about doing things like 'lots of walking'. I just played pickup ball the other week with the neighborhood kids and I really don't think I lagged that far behind. So if being 40 means taking advice like 'walk more' from websites with geriatric looking couples on the images, then by God I should thank my lucky stars and am probably luckier than I give myself credit for.

It's very scary to take stock of one's life whatever age you may be, birthday or not, but this tends to happen when you reach milestones like this. I'm sure it'd be valid to express anything from regret to joy at achievements or on the other hand 'dis-achievements' in my life, but at this point I've realized I really don't dwell on any particular step forward nor backward, and its probably healthier that way.

For the most part, since I've turned into an adult I've lived my life trying to make the best decision available at that time. The way I see how it works is: sometimes that gets fucked up, and sometimes that works out. But before you take too much time feeling sorry for yourself or patting yourself in the back, you need to get your shit together because you're dealing with the next big decision. Regardless, the one thing you take out from it is that you've become another level smarter.

How about God? Well I really believe God gets in there a little bit, providing help in bits and pieces. But ultimately, the decision is really up to you whether you're gonna fuck your life up or not. If you find yourself in a situation you're not happy in, the only person who's gonna do something about it is yourself. You have to take stock of your life, just stop what you're doing and ask yourself if you're happy or not, and if you don't like it you have to stand up and get the fuck out. God, Buddha, or the Great Whatever Spirit In The Sky is not gonna do that for you. There's no 'lifeline', no free handouts, no big get out of jail card that you can pull out your ass ad hoc. It's just you and you alone who can determine your path.

Having had such a well - formed idea of how to live life, what then can I show for myself?

Well for the most part, I'm not unhappy. I don't find myself pining to attain some impossible goal, and the marks I set for myself are ambitious, yet realistic, attainable and are actually on their way to fruition as we speak. Oh sure I could use more money, but I think I'd be telling myself that if I was earning 10 million a month or 10 thousand, so that's a given. I thank my lucky stars that during my youth I didn't get anyone pregnant and / or was forced into marriage, because Jesus Christ if there's one thing I know for sure, it's that all my peers who went through that, to a man, is completely miserable. Oh Thank God for the fact that I'm not in a situation where I'd be cheating on my wife yet staying married 'for the good of the kids'. Living your life as a fraud is the saddest, most pathetic life of all in my book. One that no amount of material riches can heal. I could name names but that'd be pointless. I'd just say 'all of them'.

Getting by the years of immaturity unscathed is good, but what makes it an achievement is using the wisdom you learned from it to good use.

And I think I did that too, with the girl I have decided to live my life with.

For inasmuch as its important to leave situations you aren't comfortable with, it's also just as valid to stay with that which makes you feel at home.

So yeah, I think I am lucky. I think I should thank my lucky stars, and that I do not give myself enough credit. Of course, I'm saying that now, being all wrapped in the glow of my birthday with text messages pouring in. And maybe I won't feel as well when I stub my toe on the bedside or Joe my car stalls on me in the middle of C-5 at 1am.

But hey it's my birthday so I'll let myself feel good today. Today I'm a lucky guy.

I've worked all day on MomEx and finally got some semblance of the Yahoo! Answers like system I've been saying I'm gonna implement for such a long time. Only thing I didn't get done was to put a voting system for the comments so that the person who posted the question (or the people) can vote which answer is best. I tried using the vote up or down module which can implement voting on nodes and comments. I can turn off voting on the nodes which I don't need, but voting on comments applies to all content types and not just the question content type I created. That sucks because again, I only want voting on comments for the questions, not comments on, say, the blog entries.

The solution apparently is to make comments into nodes, but the problem there is that you'll have to disable the core comment module and therefore delete all existing comments, so that's not gonna happen. It's obviously a good solution for brand new sites, though, so am applying that to the one I'm launching soon.

That's it really, that's the big drama of today.

Ok ok, enough nice talk. A site was compromised, and this means war.

Starting with getting rid of the OS that has, I suspect, let me down.

Then there's applying SSL on the server, and applying a few tricks here and there to make sure it doesn't happen again.

On one hand it's a sign that the sites are influential enough so much as to necessitate the surreptitious and nearly unremarkable manner said attack was performed.

On the other it's a violation of something I dearly love and own, and if I catch the motherfucker who did it I'll tear his heart out.

Whatever. Damage done. Lesson learned. Moving on.

Please keep in mind this is not to buy anything, sell you anything, hire you, make you attend a 'seminar' or anything of that sort. I need your opinion in the development of a project.

I only need an hour's worth of your time, and I can meet you at any mall in the Makati or Ortigas area (I am from Cainta). Coffee's on me.

In return for your time, I will help you PROMOTE your business, service or any property you are currently selling. You may contact me at 09214588689 or email ghmercado at gmail dot com.

Friends, if you know of anyone, please ask them to contact me.

Only costs a little less than P20k too.

I hardly ever go tech lusting, but with decent specs and at that price range it's a steal. I've had cellphones more expensive than that.

Only snag is the 3cell batt, which I assume only lasts a little more than an hour. Otherwise it's a pretty thing, with standard notebook ports and stuff, and a keyboard that fills up the space end - to end, a necessity for my large pudgy mitts.

I found a blue one at 19k at the mall the other day. We'll see though. By Jan next year I assume it'll be at least 10% cheaper, so if I'm still itching at that time and if resources approve, why not.

Notice the 'frequently'?

Dang, now comes the regret after wasting hours of my life on that game.

Pretty fantastic though. Finally deleted it.