zweitausendundfünf

this is the year that is

halfway through the day
woke up early
greeted friends
pumped my bike and my father's
studying deutsch
recorded "more today than yesterday" by goldfinger
listening to music
waiting for a call
gonna eat lunch soon
nothing to do... woo hoo!

the year that will be

zweitausendundsechs
in zwölf Stunde
auf Wiedersehen!
Gute Fahrt!

nag "opera" knb

hi guys, recently, i've been browsing through PC World's 100 best products of 2005 and I stumbled upon this new (or at least to me) browser. It's called Opera.

much as i enjoyed using mozilla firefox since the early part of this year. this browser has its own perks... yeah, more perks and as the review says it loads faster than IE 6 or the Mozilla Firefox 1.0.7 which i am using. I am still in the process of discerning which browser would best suit my needs.

These are the things that Opera has to brag about. My comments are in parenthesis.

• Opera has a cleaner look (much like some selected skins of Mozilla Firefox or MFF)
• Tabs & pop-up blocking (which they claim started from them even before MFF)
• integrated search button (just like MFF)
• more security (i think it has more security than IE or MFF)
• Speed (ok, i dont seem to get the difference yet between MFF but it is definitely faster than IE. check their website for the speed test details)
• Password manager (all browsers seem to have this)
• Customization (it has more user controlled settings than IE & MFF)
• pages fit window width. (there's a zoom control which is readily available on the menu area which comes in very handy for the super big sized pages/pictures or the super small sized text.)
• it has voice command (pretty neat huh)
• it has mouse gestures (just like handwriting gestures in your Palm)
• built in mail client (can be activated/deactivated at will)
• etc.

anyway, so there's my two cents worth for this product. honestly i think it is good. but i still use the other 2 browsers just because not all pages are made to be viewed for different platforms. much like the editing tools for yahoo mail doesnt work with MFF and blogging editing tools for blogger doesnt work with Opera. As of the moment, i made Opera my default browser. Let's just see how much switching is needed before i make my final choice.

migrating or dual residency?

no this is not about going to another country. im referring to moving to another blog. i found one that is quite cool. it doesnt take much effort to customize the page. no heavy language on html needed. all you need is the flair for design and some whacky ideas. downside is it takes time to see all the small tweaks you've made. one every step of the way. upside is it has so much perks built-in to the blog that neither blogger nor blogdrive offers.

im thinking of moving there by next year if things work out well. sort of a new start for the new year thing. but this blog has its sentimental value so im still at crossroads on what to do.

anyway, you can check it out and probably get one for yourself, it is freakin free! it has a dotph attached to the domain so it kinda establishes more our identity as Filipinos and i like that. :)

please do let me know what you think.

mga bata ng pagasa

16" x 20" oil on canvas



i hope you are happy just as i am. :-)

e.rose & keyboards

i missed mr potter in the big screen. such a loser. but amidst all the christmas huha, i saw the exorcism of emily rose this evening. like there was much of a choice. my friends (the gen of the school) already saw the king of kongs last weekend (as if i would watch that myself). but between that and the exorcism, i think i'd pick king kong instead.

the film was quite, well, ... ok it was a bit of a suspense but not really. nothing would beat "the exorcist" as the best film of that genre. this film however is interesting as a courtroom scene is introduced and played a major part in the story.

---

after having bought my new keyboard a couple of months ago, i have had 2 replacements already. i guess having a really cool keyboard doesn't pay much. the first one had a set of keys that doesnt work. most of them on the left side of the keyboard. imagine CADDing without the escape key. sheesh. so i had that replaced with the same model. after a couple of weeks, it presented another problem. the up cursor just seems to be depressed all the time. imagine typing something and all your words appear on all the previous lines. that was crazy. so now i decided to get another one without the perks of the previous keyboard.

by the way, it was a headset ready keyboard by A4 tech. nothing too fancy. slim design, ergo (anti-rsi), with media keys on it, plus the feature which made me buy that was the headset, mic and USB 2.0 ports that are attached to it. quite handy if you use the mic, earphones and other usb paraphernalia.

the a4 keyboard


now im using a genius keyboard, still with the slim design (wala na kasing ibang model na available sa shop) mejo cramped sya. the cursor part, the quick navigation part (home, end, etc) and the printscreen set are all cramped with the main board with no space between it and the numpad. my fingers now miss the delete, home and end key positions. but it still has the media function of my previous keyboard and quite a few other perks like internet navigation, quick launch of most used office programs like the browser, email client, calculator and my computer. well, so far so good. hopefully this will be my last change item as the transportation cost gets unjust for this equipment.

the genius keyboard (sorry for the lack of a better photo)

ang Pasko ay Pag-ibig

PANAHON NA NAMAN

May, may naririnig akong bagong awitin
At may, may naririnig akong bagong sigaw

Hindi mo ba namamalayan?
Wala ka bang nararamdaman?
Ika ng hangin na humahalik sa atin:

“Panahon na naman ng pag-ibig.
Panahon nanaman. Aahh.
Panahon nanaman ng pag-ibig.
Gumising ka.
Tara na.”

Masdang maigi ang mga mata ng bawat tao
Nakasilip ang isang bagong saya
At pag-ibig na dakilang matagal nang nawala
Kamusta na?
Naryan ka lang pala

Rivermaya, Trip, 1996

---

It is quite excting having sent my first Fedex package, with its online tracking, it is like personally overseeing the parcel where it is, when it left where, when it arrived where. as far as it is concerned it left Subic midnight today. hmm... where could be it's next stop. if i could only be "fedexed" too. Just declaring how much i weigh, how much volume of space i would occupy during the transfer and my monetary value. Ohh... how I wish.

---

Christmas is just around the bend, and I have been thinking of buying m'self a guitar stand and to repair the neck of my guitar. the strings are just to high to play. Fa molto difficile a suonare.

---

Looking back at the past year (yeah i know it is not yet the end of the year but allow me), it has truly been fruitful considering I still have the Secret with me. I was able to resign from work and work found me again. It wasnt my intention to have this work, but I am grateful nonetheless. I received an Ipod as a gift (it was my last year's wish). I am able to get my Trek (and pay for it). I was able to read all the books that I bought as a bargain although the two books in my sidebar are still pending. Sometimes you just get bored of reading something of the same author so I managed to get hold of the other pending books at home. I was able to rearrange the layout of my room and get some new furnitures to suit my room cum office. I was able to get my own printer, keyboard and mouse. Installed some new lights. Got rid of a lot of trash that has lingered my room for years. Did a painting. Found a new group to see. Visited Chinatown (I know it isnt such a feat). Renewed my driver's license and got my professional seal (which is still partly owned by Rigel) haha... Did a bike ride from The Fort to Tagaytay., watched Norah Jones etc.. etc...

The most important of all is that I have managed to deepen my relationships with people who matter most. Material things dont really satisfy the soul. All my new acquisitions tell me that. The intangible ones do. And I'm glad I have those too. It has also been a pretty busy year. Probably I am getting old.

Anyway, some things to look forward to for the next year. Spending more time with friends, a triathlon competition, A possible trip to Florence & Linz for a couple of weeks, the holy week meeting, work in Auckland, work in Cebu and a life of eternal happiness. :-) Oh, a 17" LCD screen, an A3 printer, a winner digital camera, and a Siemens M75. Techie stuff wouldn't hurt. hehehe... To add a more ambitions wish is a very economical Suzuki Swift.

Is St. Nikolaus listening?

another thing...

just forgot to include this in the previous post...

God is beyond the dimension of time and space, God is also Love; therefore Love is beyond time and space.

voila! happiness. :-) too vague? well, some things are better felt than expressed in words.

oohh... the sun just penetrated a small spot of the thick fog just in front of my room... it wouldnt be out for long so tata for now. every bit of sun is too precious nowadays...

cheers!

quickie

last night somebody made a request that i "improve" a certain site development due today. sad thing is it is for free. stayed up till 3.30am. nonetheless, i was able to help a person in need. i am happy. some loose change wouldn't hurt though.

people are rushing now... everything is being rushed. end of the year madness... christmas lists... (which i havent started), construction, trips here and there, home decoration, artworks, even my reading is rushed. so many deadlines... there's not enough time to take a long break specially if you're the boss. oh well, the price that one has to pay for some perks.

i wonder if things are the same down there at 0 degrees latitude of the southern hemisphere.

and then hopefully there's a cool project coming soon. im excited already. haha!

the painting is done but it is not ripe yet for posting here in the blog universe. i'd rather that it arrives its destination first before it hits the net.

oh then i got a pretty cool acquisition at the ukay last Sunday. its a coat. less than €2,00 for a freakin' coat! yeah! Just apt for the weird weather here in the mountains... the wind is quite icy already. its probably around 5-10 degrees here.

then a very significant conversation happened... small steps... small steps... but we'll get there.

happiness is in knowing the secret in life. if there is something that i wish for all of you this Christmas, its that you all would know this. life is good. happy am i.

this is really a quickie post... hahaha... my thoughts are just too random. anyway cheers to you lot!

do

I did do finish the thing that has to be done although i still am doing the things that must be done.

to do is such a nice verb.

i wish i will not run out of things to do.

will post some photos soon. :-)

at par with peace

yes. he has finally reached the next life. hopefully he's found his peace.
i'll continually pray for you my friend. im sure, life's better with the Maker.

'til we see each other again!

Par Patacsil, a good friend
Born: December 07, 1977
Risen: December 07, 2005

tri - ath

sayang at late ko na nalaman...



i could have joined my very first triathlon, for fun & hopefully finishing the race! 10 days preparation/training before the race day isnt just enough. i could enter the race next year, if i am still here.

the only off-road triathlon pa naman ito so halos wala na akong ibang gamit na kailangan. not unlike the standard race where you need a time-trial/road bikes (aka über expensive cycles), and super light running shoes.

di pa naman puno ang listahan nila. tsk tsk...

in any case, if you know JING, he's in the events roster of participants. we could pray and cheer for him if you happen to be there.

as i doused my inner fire to join the competition, my father called me to check something on tv. it was the habagat race at siargao island being aired at living asia! galing! sarap siguro maging adventure racer. nalito tuloy ako kung tutuloy ako sa race this december.

init --> lamig, lamig --> init, aba, e ubo ang aabutin ko nyan.