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Showing posts from September, 2011

Dynamic

[UPDATE] T he 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 wa

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 fruitca

Equilibrium

T he 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 babi

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

Gelateria!

Gelateria Milano L ast 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 wit

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

Punctilious

P ublishing 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!

Simplicity

I t 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.

Thessalonica

O ur 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 probl

Chewies

H ere'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 yea

Brownies

W ay 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