12.2011

This year came by so fast that I could still remember the family activities of last year.  I had a toothache, took loads of pain meds and sleep throughout the new year's eve celebration.  When I woke up that morning all I could see was the photos of the delicious food mum made that night.  Not this year, I'm not!  So as we approach the final days of 2011, are you ready for some resolutions? Don't be fooled by people who say resolutions are of no use, these people make up excuses to not evaluate the year that just passed by. Resolutions are a form of evaluation. Try to stick to them, if you can't try again. I'm still summing up mine, I'll give you one though and then some of the highlights I have this month.

Goodbye 2011!  Hello 2012!

Social Media

My one resolution for the year 2012 would be a lesser engagement on social media specifically Twitter and Facebook. I think these platforms have been abused enough by users without us noticing it just because we can post whatever we want to. As I was reviewing my posts on Facebook via the new Facebook Timeline and my Twitter stream, I was quite horrified on how I share every aspect of my life to people I mostly don't know. Food, clothing and the like. Seriously? Do we really need to voice out we just got a haircut? If we translate these statuses into real life situations, it would be seriously annoying. So I'm getting off the social bandwagon and will try to post things that are necessary and essential.

Iligan

Quick post.  "One For Iligan" is a campaign raised by Iligan Blogger's Society to request for assistance of the victims of typhoon Sendong in Iligan City.  I grew up in Iligan City, you could say it is also my hometown.  I have very good memories of that place and now seeing this tragedy is breaking.

One For Iligan

You could say Iligan has always been a safe zone in terms of natural calamities.  The city and the people are unused to storms and floods.



Here are some quick details after the jump regarding on how you could help.

Metro

I love designs that focuses more on typography than superfluous graphics.  That is one of the reason why I really love the Microsoft's Metro interface.  I don't usually customize my desktop to the last icon and font but I do want my desktop to be clean and minimal.  The only icons you see on my desktop are recycle bin and one program from Lenovo that I can't possible remove.  I only use my desktop when I am working on a project on Photoshop and I place all the source files I'm working on the desktop.  Sometimes if I am working on a document, I place the unfinished document on the desktop and all other text files.  After which, when it's all said and done I move them to their proper folder and move the temporary files to the recycle bin.

My current desktop using Rainmeter's Omnimo UI

Today all of that changed when I saw a the Omnimo UI for Rainmeter.  The tiles are simply gorgeous and the widgets are unobtrusive.  The Facebook notification widget is of great use.  I hope they'll have a fix for the Twitter panel soon.  Though there are panels that are still buggy most of the essential ones are functioning very well and I think I'm keeping this look and feel for a long time.  Probably until Windows 8 arrives.

Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshing Film Official Poster

Here is one update that will blow away Rurouni Kenshin fans - a trailer of the live action movie set to be release on August 25, 2012. That is just 2 days away from my birthday, that it is.  Also, visit the official Rurouni Kenshin site here.  So what do you think of the trailer?  Promising, eh?  Sano's Zanbato though is rather small compared to its anime counterpart.

Image Source:  natalie





Rurouni Kenshin is the best anime ever, hands down.  Sorry Bleach and Naruto fan boys and girls but nothing beats the story line and the historic background of RK.  This is the only anime that I am obsessed with and I think so too with others within my generation.  I would want to collect all the OVAs and the Anime series and someday I will pass down to my kids!  Ha!

Rurouni Kenshin

 Listening to the opening of Sobakasu is nostalgic.  I feel like I'm not twenty-um-something.  I still watch a few anime and read some manga now and  then like Bleach and Katekyo Hitman Reborn but still RK has a very different feel to me.  The plot, the characters and the story are twisted and woven into history.  Though the characters strengths are exaggerated to a supernatural level but not supernatural enough like Dragon Ball - blowing up planets.  Somehow it's not as over exaggerated which is depicted in most anime.  Again, history, the whole background of RK is interwoven with the history of Japan.  So basically you can get history nuggets along the way as you watch and read RK.

Chaos

I'm just sharing a series of video uploads of Jeff Dunham:  Controlled Chaos.  Controlled Chaos is Jeff's fourth special with two new special characters.  I think all of them are sort of ill-tempered, insulting yet funny.  They all hate the Prius.

Jeff Dunham:  Controlled Chaos

Ventriloquist and comic Jeff Dunham takes to the stage to provide fresh comedic material with his classic puppets Walter, Peanut, Jose Jalapeño and Achmed, as well as with two never-before-seen characters with their own unique quirks.

Watch the entire special after the jump while it's still there!

Enchanted

This is one of those seasons that you and your family are probably gearing up for Enchanted Kingdom.  I would like to recollect my experience which happened around a couple of years ago.  If you really are planning a visit to Enchanted Kingdom, please do read Possibly Pinay's Enchanted Kingdom Holiday Survival Guide.

100 Light Years to Enchanted Kingdom

I don't know if this has already changed but a couple of years ago we drove to Sta. Rose from Makati and couldn't find a sign anywhere. Jollibee and other fastfood stores have done better by placing signs almost 20km away from the site but for EK? Nada. We knew the lines would be crawling if you do not go there early so we went to Sta. Rosa early but we end up going in circles asking for directions. Apparently, some of the locals don't know the place either. When we finally saw a sign, "To Enchanted Kingdom" you could actually the site -- and the queues were depressing to look at.

Diablo

Since the beginning of time, the angels of the High Heavens and the demons of the Burning Hells have endlessly warred for dominion over all existence in what is referred to as The Great Conflict. The motivation of the battles are unclear, as the sides seek only to conquer each other. This dilutes the sense of good and evil, though later events show demons to be ruthless and cruel. Neither side has ever fully crushed the forces of the other, and it is a struggle bound to last through all time.

Diablo III Cover

Eventually, dissent grew in members of both sides of the eternal battle. Demons and angels who questioned the incessant chaos banded together and created an entirely new plane of existence, which they named Sanctuary. This crudely designed world, a jumbled mix of climates, was quite literally a sanctuary away from the eternal war of the High Heavens and Burning Hells. The existence of this new world was kept secret from the battling forces, who would only destroy it or use it for the purposes of the war.

Coincidence

I just would like to say that this post is an ice breaker.  Every time I sit down and type nothing comes out but every time I'm at work ideas seem to be endless.  When I try to write them down, it stinks.  So to break this off I'd like to feature  "[COIN]cidence".  It's a pretty neat title, don't you think?

Coincidence is a short film entry for the Bohol Arts Festival 2011.  The story is about a boy who went to the restroom, found a coin, found some more coins and then some and lost one coin.  He then decided to buy a drink but since he lost this one coin, he can't.  So off he went back to his last spot and found the coin but was picked up first by the girl he met on the bus station  where he was just sitting for like 5 minutes and not hopping into a bus.  By the way, when he was at the bus station he and the girl found a coin between them resulting a very "touchy" moment.  So in the end the girl handed over the missing coin to the guy and he forgot about his drink and went off with the girl to some "tambayanan" place in Tagbilaran we call, K of C.



Behind the scenes footage after the jump.

80s

I found this banner on my Facebook stream, one of my friends posted it.  The article came from the basement of my email account.  I think this is just worth sharing to friends who were also born in this generation to remind you what a great childhood you had and to know that this childhood is worth replicating for to the next generation.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE

1950's, 60' s, 70's and early 80's!!

For all those born in the 80's!

First, some of us survived being born to mothers who did not have an OB-Gyne and drank San Miguel Beer while they carried us.  While pregnant, they took cold or cough medicine, ate isaw, and didn't worry about diabetes.  Then after all that trauma, our baby cribs were made of hard wood covered with lead-based paints, pati na yung walker natin, matigas na kahoy din at wala pang gulong.

We had no soft cushy cribs that play music, no disposable diapers (lampin lang), and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads, sometimes wala pang preno yung bisikleta.  As children, we would ride in hot un-airconditioned buses with wooden seats (yung JD bus na pula), or cars with no airconditioning & no seat belts (ngayon lahat may aircon na).

Riding on the back of a carabao on a breezy summer day was considered a treat. (ngayon hindi na nakakakita ng kalabaw ang mga bata).  We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle purchased from 7-11 (minsan straight from the faucet or poso).  We shared one soft drink bottle with four of our friends, and NO ONE actually died from this. Or contracted hepatitis.

We ate rice with Star margarine, drank raw eggs straight from the shell, and drank sofdrinks with real sugar in it (hindi diet coke), but we weren't sick or overweight kasi nga......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

Boracay

I have been working here in Kalibo, Aklan for a year now yet I have never set foot at the famous Boracay Island.  I have my reasons.  First, the fare and the accommodation would amount to the same as going home to Bohol.  I would always choose the latter.  Second, I don't like crowds.  If you have been a following this blog (and you should) notice that I do not post (or tweet) about going to bars, concerts and whatnot.  Again, I have my reasons for that and probably will discuss on a separate post.  Anyway, this time I had another set of reasons why I should go to Boracay.  First, it was free almost free.  Second, I have two days more to spend on my days off.  I feel that my stay in Kalibo won't be much longer now at least I can visit Caticlan and Boracay for the time being free.  Thanks by way to my good friend Randy Miasco, CEO of RJM Travel Services.  This is not a sponsored post but if you plan on traveling  he can help you out.

Be Right Back

The primary purpose of this trip was mainly business.  The second we got there we hit the road and visited almost all the hotels found on stations 1,2 and 3.  I admit I had high expectations before I came.  With all the hype shown on the television and magazines, I thought Boracay would be somewhat different.  I was not really impressed as people often compare Boracay to Bohol and I think majority would say that Boracay is much better than Bohol "hands down".  Whatever that means.

Sky

Sky Lomo

Sky Lomo is an iPhone wallpaper  which I released last year of July.  My last check was on the download stats was about 174.  Maybe for some you that is just but a very small number compared to a thousand downloads but for me, that is pretty neat.  I forgot when was the last time I checked the download stats on Mediafire and today I decided to take a peek.  266!  I was like, baby baby ooh wow!  After all this time there are still a few souls that have been downloading the wallpaper.  So today I'm going to give it a little umph and throw in some extras.  By the way, this is a re-post from my now defunct blog, Kwur-tee.

The image above was taken from my trusty 'ol iPhone 3Gs, which I still am using by the way. The image was captured in our home in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. I used Morelomo for the lomo effect. Do not download the image above because it's been resized. Download links , previews and extras (yes, some extras!) right after the break.

Golden

I'm currently obsessed over this watercolor effect on Photoshop.  So much so, I have decided to work on the "Golden Series" of our own small family business, Cake Garden in Bohol.  The following are some of the favorites and top purchases of all time.  Some of the items that will correspond to the "Golden" theme will be added later on.  For now, here's a small preview of Cake Garden's Golden Series.

Leche Flan

One of the oldest favorites, the Leche Flan has come a long way. From revisions to experimentation to give the old Filipino classic a better texture and taste. This is the image that started this project. More items after the jump. Enjoy

Morph

Lately there's a growing buzz around the interwebs:  flexible mobile devices.  It seems Nokia and Samsung are the main contenders in this upcoming breakthrough of technology.  Instead of the usual pinch and zoom on tablets, it's bend and zoom.  Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable covered the story on CNN on "Why Your Next Phone Might Be Bendable".

Nokia Kinetic

Like every new technology, this got mixed review from being excited to "I'm not feeling it as of now" and some more violent reactions. You know people nowadays, with much freedom and anonymity they practically say nasty things without consideration.

Paradise

The province of Bohol is one of the most visited places in our country. Foreign and local tourists alike flock to this "God's Little Paradise" to see it's nature, beauty, beaches and culture. I have a dedicated Bohol blog at Bohol Interactive to showcase the province through the community. Last January I featured Massimo Casal, a photographer now based on Indonesia but has his fair share of Bohol, his travel article and book project. Just last week, I got another heads up that he is currently on a new project, a "Photo Book on Bohol". I get to see the amazing sights of Bohol both popular and the unexplored in his 39-page preview.

Dive Bohol

Massimo studied as an engineer. His work has given him the opportunity to travel around the world and particularly around Southeast Asia. Through his travels he has cultivated his love for photography. He also has great sets from Hanoi, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Europe and the Philippines as well.  You can visit his website and portfolio at Casal Photography and you should also follow him on Twitter here.

Looking at these photos make me miss home.  Yes, dear reader, this blogger is a Boholano and a Boholano I am.  What photos you say?  Well, you can also see the 39-page preview right here after the jump.

Wallflower

I have not seen or known anyone that has a geeky passion for the arts of musicals than my cousin Lara.  We call her Laryang for short.  Since we were kids-size (since we're still technically kids at heart) most of us cousins would do practically what normal hyperactive kids would do.  Play, sleep, eat and poop.  For Lara it's like play and read, sleep and, eat and read and read.  I know she's got a lot of big words in her artillery of vocabularies.  As a matter of fact, I'm switching tabs to between Dictionary.com and this blog post as I was scanning her tumbleblog at World of a Wallflower.

Karen Lara Migriño Libot

Mango

Say hello to the new Nokia Lumia 800 running on the latest Windows Mobile Phone code-named Mango.  I have always been a Nokia fanboy but somewhere along the way I got distracted with Apple's magical and shiny gadgets particularly the iPhone and well, Nokia's losing the grip on innovation in the mobile market.  I think this is just about time to why we (you and I) love Nokia in the first place.  Remember the first time you set your eyes on a Nokia N Series phone before?  Even long before phones were smart, they were bulky that you need to place them on backpacks, Nokia trimmed it down to the Nokia 5110.  Ah, those days.  Then came Nokia 3110, then 3210 and you know the rest, is well, history.

Nokia Lumia 800

I think it's about time they bounce back with Mango. I just love the Metro UI, it's beautiful and it's different than Android and the iOS. If you would ask me if I'm willing to shift to this eye-candy smartphone and not upgrade to the iPhone 4S? Yes.

A couple of teaser videos after the jump.

TrafficDito

TrafficDito is a Metro Manila traffic updates from people stuck in it.  The concept is pretty simple:  use Twitter to share traffic updates within the metro and let TrafficDito filter these tweets and place them in one beautiful stream.  TrafficDito is designed by, um, who knows?  Anyway, I get to play with their  iPhone app currently in Beta, thanks to some Peanut who gave me the invite.  Some of you have heard or who even read my review of the MMDA iPhone app might say, "oh another traffic app like the MMDA iOS app."  Well, yes and no.

[UPDATE] TrafficDito is now available in the app store!

TrafficDito Website

There are already 3 Metro Manila traffic iOS apps and they are free.  You have the MMDA, Metro Traffic Live! and StreetSmart and they are pretty much redundant in terms of features with some minor differences.  So how does TrafficDito differ from these apps?  Yes, this is an another Metro Manila traffic app and no, it's not an MMDA copycat.  It's a totally different spin that will appeal much to Twitter power users.  Non-Twitter-ers are still lost in translation when  it comes to a "tweet", "Twitter" and "to tweet".

Word

The WORD is the Official Student Publication of Holy Name University, Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Volume XXV Issue I was released last Monday so I thought I'd give some of my thoughts on this first issue. Before we jump into all the brouhaha, let me just say I'm in no position an expert when it comes to school publication. I'm good at procrastinating though. This review will be based on my own meandering experience as a reader, as a designer wanna-be and the web. The purpose of this review is not to downgrade the publication but it is my hope that this will serve as a help for improvement on the next issue. By the power of grayskull, kudos to all who are involved in this issue to infinity and beyond!

The Word Cover

Before diving into all the details let me give the issue my overall rating - 6! It's not bad but it's not mind-blowing either. More like mediocre. Don't know what mediocre means? Look it up in a dictionary. Don't have one? Google it! You lazy bum! It's like the iPhone 4s. Everyone is expecting a new ground breaking phone but do their dismay it's just an upgrade to the current iPhone 4, no new design and all that. Still don't get it huh? It's like the movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon. It has still the awesome CG animation but the story fails to deliver fans expected. Nuh uh? You're hopeless man, hopeless!

mediocre [mee-dee-oh-ker]

of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate: The car gets only mediocre mileage, but it's fun to drive. Synonyms: undistinguished, commonplace, pedestrian, everyday; run-of-the-mill. Antonyms: extraordinary, superior, uncommon, incomparable.

Layout

I think the layout is great.  If you're like me who don't read first, well, then you are like me.  People don't jump into the contents.  We scan.  It's automatic, we're born with that reflex whenever we have something in print in our hands.  I think the layout gives value and perspective as a whole.

I think it would be best to use more white space.  Remember, less is more.

Dynamic

[UPDATE]



The Blogger team just updated the new blogger allowing dynamic views to be your blog's default template when visitors view your site. Blogger also added two new dynamic views: classic and magazine. See the full post on Blogger buzz here.

Magazine

Classic

I personally love the new magazine dynamic view but sadly DISQUS won't work because dynamic views will not recognize your plugins. We'll just have to wait on Blogger to revamp the comments section as well.

How To Activate

If you're already on Blogger's new interface simply go to template and choose dynamic view, then apply to blog.

Dynamic Views on the New Blogger Inteface

If you're still on the old interface simply go to design then go to template designer.

Dynamic Views on the Old Blogger Interface

How To Revert

I was in a slight panic when I couldn't find button the revert button. Lesson, always back-up your template before making any modifications. I was so excited to see the new dynamic views that I just hit the "apply to blog" button. There is a revert button though, simply go back template designer and click on "revert to previous template" and your template before you used a dynamic view will be back. Still, you should back up your template before making changes.

Revert to Previous Template

Using Dynamic Views

I don't know if a bloggers will incorporate a dynamic view default template on their blogs. Personally, I will still stick to this template but I should probably place a menu or links on how to view my blog in dynamic view.

What do you think of this new feature from Blogger?

Fruitcake

Forever, Erma: Best-Loved Writing from America's Favorite Humorist

I never like to make generalities about people, but let's face it: People who love fruitcakes are "different."

I have never met a fruitcake baker in my life who didn't want to convert me to all that baked fruit. I can be standing in the baker's kitchen and announce without a trace of humor, "I do not like fruitcake. I have never liked fruitcake. I have sampled more than 10,000 species of fruitcake in my time, and it is my dream that I never have to sample it again," only to have someone put a slice in front of me and say, "Try it. This one is different."

Traditional Fruitcake - Photo by Wikipedia

Fruitcakes are not different. They all tend to be the same, each having an assortment of incompatible fruits and the distinction of weighing more than the stove they were cooked in. They defy all the culinary rules in the book. No one ever says, "This fruitcake is so light you don't know you're eating it." That is because the heavier the fruitcake, the better.

Another thing I hate about fruitcake lovers is they smile when their cake is rejected. I don't like people who do that. It's unnatural. I'd be more comfortable if they would just say, "Who asked you to eat this cake? It cost me forty-five bucks to make, and if it were up to me, I'd drop it on your ungrateful foot!" You can have respect for a person like that. But no, fruitcake lovers will stand by and watch you spit out the sample in your hand and say, "But isn't it moist?"

Equilibrium

The following article is taken from a part of the book The Lost Cause Series (What Are You Fighting About?:  Birth Control) by James W. Knox.  I believe this article is in line with the much debated RH Bill here in the Philippines.  I believe both parties are right in some aspects and wrong in some.  Thus, we seek to find a balance through the scriptures since most of the grounds of the debate are covered in this area or somewhat related. Permission to re-post the article can be found here.

The Lost Cause Series by James W. Knox

WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING ABOUT?:  BIRTH CONTROL

Turn to Hebrews 13 and 1 Corinthians 7.  The matter of the beard may not touch your home, but if you have a family, it won't be long until someone is going to come along and tell you that if you are trusting God and living by faith, you won't take your life into your own hands and practice birth control.  You will have babies as often as your wife can conceive.

For such people, the number of babies you produce is the means of determining the extent of your spirituality.  Again, the Pharisees want a visible, outward symbol of sanctification in order to proclaim themselves spiritual, regardless of the condition of the heart.

If you believe in your heart that it is God's will for you to have a baby every ten months, and He enables you to perform such a feat, then by all means do so.  But do not come into the church house and tell someone that God commanded him or her to do the same, when He did not.

If having a baby every year is a mark that your are spiritual and right with God, then how do you explain the fact that God made some saved women incapable of  bearing children?  Did God condemn someone to a life of disobedience to the scripture?  He wouldn't do that.

You may say, "Why did you kill that man?"  "I couldn't help it.  God made me a murderer."  Well, God did not make you a murderer.  God said, Thou shalt not kill.  You are a murderer by choice.  You willingly transgressed God's commandment.

Someone says, "I couldn't help it.  I committed adultery because God made me commit adultery."  No, God said, Thou shalt not commit adultery.  If you commit adultery, you are guilty of willfully transgressing God's word.

If it is sin for a man and woman not to have a baby every time the calendar changes, then God is guilty of sin, for He made some women unable to bear children every year and, in fact, some never.

The reverse argument is also true.  Are there unsaved Hindus, Muslims, Roman Catholics and Mormons who turn out babies every year?  Of course.  Is this an advent testimony of their sanctification?  Of course not.  Production of children and a right relationship to God have nothing in common.

Now if you want to have twenty-two kids, praise God.  Rear them all in church.  Rear them all to live for Jesus Christ and to turn the world upside down for Jesus.  But don't walk in to church with your twenty-two kids , look down your nose at that woman who is broken-hearted because she can't have a baby, and open your Pharisaical mouth and tell her that if she was right with God, she would have as many kids as you.  That  is not scriptural.

MMDA

A couple of days ago the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) released the MMDA iOS app.  The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later and is iOS 4.0 tested.  Currently, it has a rating of ★★★★ 53 ratings in the app store.  For this post, we'll try to breeze through the features of MMDA's iOS app.  This is my first app review, by the way.

Icon and Splash Page

I think that this is a very good move for the MMDA to finally give smartphone users an official application when it comes to traffic.  Before the release of this app, Manila Traffic Live! was the alternative for smartphone users to get traffic information.  MMDA already has launched the Metro Manila Traffic Navigator earlier this year but the web application is not suitable for people who are on the go. Don't raise your hands up Android, Blackberry and Nokia fanboys and girls. iOS is just the beginning. They said the app will be coming to every smartphone platform. It's just that the iOS is the best among the rest - ra! ra! ra!

So let's take a look at the app, shall we?

Sections

The app has 5 sections and we'll go through the sections one by one and showcase it's designated features.  The sections are:  System View, Map View, Line View, FAQs and the About Section.  These sections are located at the bottom part of the app and you will be automatically taken to the system view section if you used it for the first time.  The app has a pretty easy navigation design and has a metro-ish feel with the towers at the background.

System View

System View

The System View gives you the traffic of the whole system in a larger picture of the system by comparing the color codes. Tap on the "i" button and a panel will show on the right side of the screen with the legends that you need to know.  This is a good view to map out your direction for your final destination.  The "Legends" have two sections:  one for traffic marked with colors and the other for lines marked with numbers.

Gelateria!

Gelateria Milano

Last night we were bored, no not to death, we were just bored.  There were no brownies and chewies left.  Mum's Pineapple Upside Down Cake was wiped out eons ago.  There was also no trace of Lace's Black Sambo.  All four of us were staring at our computer screens.  I was waiting for our parents to show up on Skype but it seems they were also out somewhere in Singapore.  There was only one thing left to do!  Sleep!  "Let's go to Gelateria!", I screamed!

If you ever come visit to Bohol and you're staying in Tagbilaran City, you should try Gelateria Milano!  It's one of Bohol's newest coffee and ice cream house serving hand made Italian ice cream and fine Danesi Italian coffee blends and brews!  We were only there for the ice cream though.  All the ingredients and the machines used in making the ice cream and coffee are imported from Europe so you can enjoy Italian authenticity!  The price?  Regular ice cream starts at 50 Php with two flavors of your choice - not really bad.  In fact, it is really good.

Choose yar flavors!

Gelateria Milano is located at the La Vista, 5th Floor, BQ Mall. For more information visit and "like" their Facebook page here.

Family

We're a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.

Surfing with the Cowboy

I've been reading a lot of Erma Bombeck books lately and here are some nuggets I found here. I love the way she brings out the humor especially when it comes to the family. Enjoy.

The Family

“When your mother asks, "Do you want a piece of advice?" it is a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway.”

“Marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with a car battery.”

“One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you are expected to know your child's name and how old he or she is.”

“Never have more children than you have car windows.”

“Have you any idea how many kids it takes to turn off one light in the kitchen? Three. It takes one to say, "What light?" and two more to say, "I didn't turn it on."”

“In general my children refuse to eat anything that hasn't danced on television.”

“What's with you men? Would hair stop growing on your chest if you asked directions somewhere?”

“Like religion, politics, and family planning, cereal is not a topic to be brought up in public. It's too controversial.”

“I'm trying very hard to understand this generation. They have adjusted the timetable for childbearing so that menopause and teaching a sixteen-year-old how to drive a car will occur in the same week.”

Punctilious

Publishing a blog post takes only 10-15 minutes.  Proofreading it may also take the same time or less.  Inserting  HTML tags, adjusting image relative size, drop caps, lighbox - half an hour!  I must say I enjoy tinkering my posts and my blog layout that's why I spent the whole day tweaking Cake Garden yesterday.

Updated Cake Garden Site

While I was coding away, Dad and I are also chatting on Skype at the same time. He was like, "why do we need two blogs for Cake Garden?" "Well this one is not really the blog, it's the main site with the gallery and all they need to know about Cake Garden. It's just that we're using Blogger to host our site and blog. Cake Garden Blog is the blog, this one is the main site. Give your readers this link." I replied - a bit annoyed. "I'm confused", he said. "Don't be, just give them this link and not the blog. They'll come around eventually", I fired back. "Aiyoh! So confusing lah!"

Well that's not really the whole transcript but it pretty look much like that. The thing is, you can make great websites using Blogger. I was bored at WordPress. It's too easy. That is why I came back here on Blogger for my personal stuff. Now, more details on the tweaked Cake Garden site.

Price and  Try

This is the major change I made yesterday. I basically re-edited all the image on the entries on Photoshop and attached the designated price on each product.  Rounded Pricing & Info Callouts PSD from 365psd.  The ones that has the Try tag on are custom orders. They're not really part of the streamlined products but if customers with to try it out, we'll give them a quote on the said item. I re-posted every entry from the ground up. It took decades.

Simplicity

It is quite ironic that we have all these powerful tools in our hands yet our problems are getting complicated the moment we try to advance. Looking back 15 years, life was simpler. Our family lived a simple life in the suburbs of Iligan City. I grew up in a typical Pinoy childhood. We played real games and have real friends and get punched real bad and laughed real hard. The virtual world back then was still in the realm of the impossibility though I already saw advancements during those days.

Lenny

As I am going through this post, I'm in my room connected to our private WIFI network and Lenny on my lap as I try to type away my thoughts. My sister is in the living room watching YouTube videos and my other sister is in the other living room watching TV and my brother is on his iPhone, checked in at KFC. You see, scenarios like this is commonplace nowadays. The sad reality of this complexity is we're more disconnected than playing Monopoly together for 4 hours.

"Life was much simpler when Apple and Blackberry were just fruits."

It was perfectly fine for us back then to be not to be up to date with all this tech. All I had before was a 486 machine with no hard disk! I use the now extinct micro floppy disc to boot up my system and enter notepad on MS-DOS. Yep, I'm very much of an MS-DOS kid. My computing days started with the very basic of windows. Sometimes I still prefer renaming, deleting, searching for files using MS-DOS than the Windows Explorer. I did not cheat on our typing subject, so my typing skill of 70-90 words per minute gives me the edge to type faster than clicking and analyzing. Then finally my 486 machine was replaced with an another 486 machine but this time it now runs Windows 3.1. The world back then was already at Windows 98 and I'm still stuck with Windows 3.1, still I did not complain. I play classic games like Prince of Persia, got to play with MS-DOS simple programs like choice and batch files. I get to set my PC back then to make me either to choose to proceed to Windows or stay on MS-DOS.

For years until high school that was the setup. Even when I get to experience the internet, it did not really matter because personal internet access before was a hassle and quite expensive compared today. It was much slower too. We were never really in sync with the latest trends and updates.

It is not that I am complaining, it's just a realization that what we look forward to when we were kids is now finally here, there is confusion. The tools that were supposed to make our lives simpler, easier and to help us with our daily task are becoming a hassle to maintain. Cellphones were simple back then. It was just plain SMS and voice calls. Now we have smartphones with different brands and models. These phones also depreciate very fast too. Once my iPhone 3Gs was dubbed as the fastest iPhone today in one of Singapore's highways, now with the coming of the iPhone 5 next month, I feel that I really need to catch up with the current model. Do you know how it's like to own an Apple product?

Thessalonica

Our Sunday service today was on 1 Thessalonians.  It's a book full of history, comfort and hope.  As we were breezing through the verses of chapter 1, I remembered Project Thessalonica.  The said project is to bring back the gospel to one of the places where the early churches and saints were established.  As the sermon went on I read on through chapter 2 and 3 and imagined what things were like during the time of Paul.  Though this city was a pagan city, after Paul founded the church but briefly left for Corinth because of persecution, the new Thessalonian believers were steadfast and continued in the faith.

Bringing the Church Back to Thessalonica

As a Christian, reading the pages of 1 Thessalonians and comparing it to its present state - it's like nostalgia.  It's like you've been in Thessalonica before where the early Christians lived, worked and pressed forward just like some us today.  Sure, they don't have the technology before but I believe the problems they face before are still kind of the same we are facing today.

This is such a place full of history found in the Bible and the letters to the Thessalonians are very encouraging as well. 1 Thessalonians is a book of comfort. Read the whole book (King James Bible) and count the number how many times the word "comfort" is mentioned. Also, this is where Paul detailed and nailed the rapture. Contrary to popular belief the rapture is not equal to doomsday or the end of the world. Get your facts right. Topics like this will be discussed in detail on Sixteen Eleven.

Chewies

Here's another very simple bar recipe that also predates college days together with Brownies.  Butternut Chewies is much more simpler yet the taste is so exquisite that you think it requires supercalifragilisticexpialidocious baking power!

Butternut Chewies

You're going to need:

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup margarine, melted
• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup cashew nuts, finely chopped

Yep, that's it!  Now some very simple directions.

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Grease a 13"x9"x2" rectangular pan.  Set aside.
• Combine flour with baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
• Beat eggs until light and foamy.
• Beat in sugar, vanilla and margarine until creamy.
• Add flour mixture to egg mixture.  Mix until well-blended. (Fold!)
• Stir in nuts.
• Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is light brown.
• Cool then cut into squares.

That simple?  Yes simple as that!  Oh yeah?  Yeah oh yeah!  Here's some shots lest ye stray away from the directions.

Brownies

Way back in college I sell brownies to friends, classmates and teachers even as a source of extra income at mom's expense.  Sometimes I work so late up night just to finish three layers of these brown goodies and completely forgot I still have my nursing care plan to do.  She provided all the ingredients but every time I make a sale, I constantly forgot to give her back her share.  Sorry mom but I am still thankful for teaching me your recipes on at a time.  Fudge Brownies is a simple recipe and thus today tonight I'll share this simple yet good-for-starters recipe.

The Adventures of Domo-Kun

Let the baking begin after the jump.

Epipheo

An epipheo is a video that creates a sharable epiphany. In this sense an ephiphany means, "a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience".

Homeward

Migriño, not Migrino

I will be flying back home to Bohol on the 3rd! I miss home, our dogs, our kitchen and my family. I made a short list that I need to accomplish in two weeks time. I'll be flying with Airphil Express (see my revamp of the Airphil Express blog here) from Iloilo to Cebu then Cebu to Tagbilaran via fast craft.

I made this list so that I'll have reachable goals when I get home and not just stare at this, whole day!

All things bright and beautiful!

I'm going to enjoy breakfast again with this in front of me. Read my bible and have coffee the usual but this list will help me to be more productive since I have more resources at home like: a much faster internet connection, a camera and my sister Scarlet as my personal slave assistant.

Cadet

Talupad, ang init!

I had my fair share on being a cadet. My younger siblings never get to experience the thrill and the horror of being one every week. I know probably most of the kids in my generation get to experience CAT. A private or an officer, you know how it feels to be soaked in the sun for almost 8 hours. Back then I really didn't know what's the purpose of all that training. But somehow I realize the training we had back then helped a lot in terms of attitude, manners and tolerance. I could now officially tolerate heat exposure for more than 8 hours - an official beach bum and do not care to what shade of color I might end up with. Anyway, CAT in high school was unforgettable. I was an S4 (a staff) - you know the four decorative officers behind the commandant. Decorative in the sense we do mostly paper work and we're just practically decorations in the field. Except of course if there's a tactical inspection but on given ordinary formation we're celebrities. Ha! Squad Captains usually do all the work and the Adjutant too (I wonder if he still has a throat). My best friend in high school was a Squad Captain and he made a remark that we Staff Officers are no more than decorations in the field. I smiled and said, "could you please give 20 then?" We were still friends of course after the formation, but I was laughed so hard that day. It was only 20 push-ups and he was the superman in class - so no biggie.

Parley

I'm pretty sure you've read James Soriano's infamous article "Language, Learning, Identity, Privilege" which garnered him mostly criticism from people who live in front of their keyboards netizens.  I know some of you are probably making or joining hate pages on Facebook, seriously, grow up.

I have edited this post for the nth time because there are still thoughts and ideas that need to sink in.  Also, I made a decision not to post or react when I am angry or pissed.  Sure, I was pissed when I first read the article.  Who wouldn't be?  But I just officially turned 28 and I need to act, you know - civilized.  You've got filter the facts and try to address the issue on how personally you can change for the better as a person.  I only found two response articles via Twitter:  "Editing James Soriano" and "Coming Home to the Filipino Language".  If you have any article or known any worth-reading article you can message me here or via Twitter and I'll update this post.

Now, my two cents after the jump.

Blessed

I Have Been Blessed

In 4 hours after hitting "Publish" on this post, I'm officially 28.  Looking back I really thought it would take so long to reach the end of the calendar.  Kidding aside, there's a lot of people that I would to say thanks.  But I would like to give thanks and praises to our Great God for the gift of life.  To the Lord Jesus Christ for the gift of salvation.  Not by my own works but on His works, simplicity and sufficiency.  Indeed, looking back I know I have been blessed and there is no way I could count the blessing the Lord has bestowed upon me in this lifetime.  I would like to share you this song entitled "I Have Been Blessed".  I do not know who is the original author of this song but I first heard this song on a the Old Fashioned Baptist Camp Meeting in Lipa City, Batangas.  Now, it is my  turn to share this song with you.  To my family, I thank you and I love you.  My Christian family in Makati, thank you all for the greetings and may we continue to give Christ the preeminence in our lives.  To my dearest Lovelaine, thank you and I love you.  All I want is my Crocs for my birthday.  Haha!  To other friends, fans, stalkers, backbiters, automatic forum birthday notifications, app birthday notifications and the like -  I thank you.  Bow!  I would like you to focus on the lyrics of the song and not on my voice.  Since Mina is around keep your speakers on the down low when playing the song.

Before we jump to the song, there's one line I did not include on this recording because it is not applicable for it is referring to America.  But I want you to know that I am (we are) still blessed to be in a country that we have freedom and liberty.  These were paid by the blood our heroes so be responsible when exercising your freedom.

The song after the jump in acapella.

Hyperglycemia

The Dark Side

Hyperglycemia is a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood plasma. Typical signs and symptoms include polyuria, polyphagia, polydipsia, blurred vision, fatigue, weight loss, dry mouth, erectile dysfunction, stupor, cardiac arrhythmia and coma. It is also noted that mortality is higher in people that are not diagnosed with Diabetes than people who are already diabetics and are on going with management.

But temporary hyperglycemia often benign and asymptomatic and is often accompanied by goofiness, chicken dances, insomnia and lip-syncing. It is often caused by excessive consummation of lava cakes, pizza, mango floats, leche flan and the occasional ice cream. I would like to warn to you about the following videos of us siblings (sorry the cousin profiles would have to wait) doing the silliest things we do when we're having this kind of episode and while we're staring right in front of our computers. We consume a lot of sugar and technology at the same time and it's about time we should stop but let me share this one of a kind experience, lest ye fall into the same situation. Kids, don't try this at home.

Sync

Good

I have a bad unique penmanship.  I'm both a slow writer and a fast thinker simultaneously.  Hand could not keep up with Brain most of the time when I'm writing that's why I prefer typing.  Both guys seems to be in the same page when I'm typing.  It makes me wonder what are the activities that my body parts are synced or out of sync.

Drawing

There's no need to explain further.  You can view the result here but well, let me just explain a little more further.  Just a little.  I think Brain and Hand are in constant argument whenever I try to draw.  Brain visualizes something artistic but Hand has his own mind that he diverts Brain's instruction resulting in utter chaos - maniac babies.

Writing

Better

If there's one thing I don't like about being a nurse - it's charting!  Those charts can be a real pain in the hand.  Hand's starting to complain that he's getting cramps, brain wanted to sleep.  Stomach is hungry and Eyes just wanted to join brain in the sleepathon!  I'm never good in catching up notes so that's why back in college I do most of lazy students do (but I'm not lazy, just a slow writer) - photocopy!  I tell you having the notes of someone else's handwriting that is so readable makes me want to procrastinate even more!  Oh well, I can read the notes anytime, her handwriting is so good that I can probably absorb all the information in an hour.  But I procrastinate even more, well, let's give it 15 minutes.  Then I realize it's all too late, I resort to some of you have already done - cheating!

Breakfast

You got served!

I love breakfasts.  It's not that I don't like lunch and dinner it's just that a lot of people don't wake up that early to eat breakfast.  I do.  I look forward to it every single day!  As a family we love to eat but I really do love breakfast (yeah, I know you know by now, but still).  I'm a morning person even at night.  I love to watch the sunrise while having devotion while having a cup of coffee.  We, breakfast lovers are oftentimes get into a fit if you try to disrupt our morning ritual.  If I were going to miss breakfast it's better you tell me the night before than surprise me that we're not having breakfast!  Or if you plan on ruining my breakfast tell me in advance so I can have set my mind that I'm not having breakfast the day after.

I think it runs in the blood.  As a family we love to eat and eat we must!  Not only that I think each member of our family has his or her own ability to conjure up his or her own meal specialty.  Mum and Dad are great cooks, mum has her Cake Garden and Cake Garden Place (if you're in Bohol y'all should try it here).  Dad sometimes will have his own version of Hokkien Mee, Chili Crab and the occasional bread and cakes.

Booh!

I love burgers and burgers I love!  There's nothing more rewarding than consuming a 6-feet tall hamburger.  Anyway, I can handle the heat in the kitchen very well.  Mum said I have the ability of creating food out of almost nothing when our resources are on the low.  My creativity for cooking is further heightened when accompanied by hunger.  Some little  flour, eggs and milk, the sky is the limit.

Rawwr!

My sister Lace loves to make potato salads, which in  turn she just devours them herself.  She just loves her own meal that she'll just have it for herself.  Lace also has her own unique version of the mango float.  It literally floats!  Why?  It's called mango float, why shouldn't it float?  She also forgot to steam her leche flan (which is the most important part of the recipe) that we end up sipping it in cups.  Still very delicious though.