The Gadget Freak

The First of June

2007-06-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how time sped off like a racing car during summer '07.

Well...not that I knew what summer '07 actually felt like..but..lolz!

It's just amazing. Mean heck...it's the 1st of June. *shakes head* First of June, man! Time flew real fast.

This day marks the end of summer(for most). And in a few days, it'll be the start of another school year, of course.

Haha! I'm a student pa pala. With all the real world thingy I had going on during the whole summer(as in from day one), I almost forgot that I still have a year to finish in college. Poof!

Anyway...I'm excited to go back to school. :D I missed the pressure...the stress.

There's one thing I've proven this summer. The pressure in school...it's far too different from the kind of pressure you get when you work. That much I know. Both may be parallel, yes. But similar...hardly.

I've got one more year to enjoy (yes...enjoy) school life. I sure will miss it soon.

My So-called Summer Break

2007-05-18T17:14:00.000-07:00

After more than a month of hiatus from the blogging world, I've finally found time to inscribe my latest endeavors in this virtual domicile of mine. *grin*

Gawd, I've missed blogging soooo much. I've been online day and night since my last post but where I'm having my practicum at and in my nighttime job, blogging and accessing of sites which aren't related to work is...well...prohibited. Tsk. It is, after all...work. Poof!

If you check on my twitter box at this blog's sidebar, getting a glimpse of the real world is what's being published. Yes, indeed, the last few weeks for me have been about learning what it's like to be in the real world.

Here's how my days have been like ever since summer commenced...

My day starts at 6:30 am. Yep. 6:30 AM. Uh...I'm not talking about waking time, here. That's actually the time I arrive at Link2Support, the company where I'm having my practicum at. We work as agents catering to customers with technical problems on the devices they've purchased from a certain Networking company. My shift at the aforementioned call center would end at 3:00 PM.

Ive been enjoying my stay there so far. The people. The management. The place. The company. Everything's been great! It's such a privilege for me to be able to have my on-the-job-training there.

Anyway...

After 3, I go straight home. And what do I do?....Sleep. Hehe. But don't let this milead you. My day doesn't end at three. The first part of my day does end at that time. But the second part is yet to come. That's why I get some sleep -- to charge up for the second part of my summer day.

Last time I blogged here, my room was being spruced up and the plan of getting my PC back in shape was premeditated. Also, I mentioned something about a job interview...implicitly so.

About a month and a half later, my room is still spruced up. My PC is far from being brought back to shape. And I'm being kept occupied at night by tutoring English to Koreans of various ages via video conferencing. Yes...the job interview I had during the day I wrote my previous post was actually for the parttime job I'm blessed to have now.

When the clock strikes 6:30 pm, I'm poised at another office station where I get ready for a series of English classes come 7pm. Right now, my students range from around 12-17 years old. All of them getting online at a certain schedule every night for a 30-minute session of feeding their English skills. It's another thing that I'm so happy about, this job. I didn't know it was this fulfilling to be able to share what you know.

At 11:00 pm, I log off and go home. That's when my day would end. I get some sleep and get up a few hours later to get ready for yet another busy day.

I have Saturday mornings and Sundays to take my break. (I have classes on Saturday afternoons.) During those days I try to unwind as much as I can so I could sort of recharge my body's battery which has been consumed during the weekdays.

So you see, my summer break isn't really the ideal vacation that others may deem to have. Nevertheless, I am having a great time! At first it was kinda tough adjusting to such jam-packed schedule. It took me about two weeks to adjust fully. Before that, my Saturday mornings were unusually groggy and I felt like I were under the ocean all week, swimming my way to the surface. Hehe! After the adjustment period, everything sailed smoothly.

This summer 2007 I'm not just getting a glimpse of the real world. I'm having loads of fun too. =)

My Star Sign Says

2007-04-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

I've always enjoyed reading my horoscope every now and then because it oftentimes coincidentally matches with reality. My reality, that is. And I can't help but smile either happily or otherwise, at the times when they do match.

Take this for an example...

Getting in touch with your emotions is not always as easy as it sounds -- there are many distractions in your life right now, and they could make figuring out your feelings difficult. To ease the confusion, spend some time alone. Your increased impatience could be a clue that you are out of sync with the people around you -- which is all the more reason to slow down and remove yourself from the world's hustle and bustle.

It really is hard to figure out things these days. *sigh* And yes, my impatience is increasing by the day...no...bv the hour(?)(.) Yeah. By the hour. Lol!

Anywayz...Yun lang. Just couldn't let this pitch black night pass without sharing this. Ciao!

Davaoeño Bloggers' First Get-Together

2007-03-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

Last night, bloggers from all over Davao gathered at Netfront Coffee Shop and Internet Cafe for a occasion of fun and learning.

It was great! First time I heard about it from Raine, I was really excited. I thought it was really nice that bloggers from within the city meet and greet.

Not only was it a night of acquaintance, people from the more significant side of the blogoshpere also shared their knowledge on turning blogging into a much more relevant endeavor. Aileen Apolo, a representative from Google Philippines, was there to share about Google AdSense and AdWords. Blogging ethics was also shared by Yuga of yugatech. I learned a lot from that talk. I've been told once before that there's actually more to blogging than just expression of thoughts, mouthed or otherwise. Last night reinforced that info and I'm actually becoming motivated to explore the other arenas of blogging. There was also a presentation of DigitalFilipino Club by Janette Toral. She also spoke about iBlog 3. A blogging summit --- waaaahw!

There was also Davao Blog Awards wherein certain blogs were awarded under certain categories. The organizers hoped to have more awards like that the next time. And more serious ones, they said.

And speaking of the organizers --- congrats for a job well done! Blogie and all the others really initiated such a meaningful activity. And as far as I know, what you guys established was actually history! The first bloggers' get-together outside Manila. Wow. :-) Kudos!

Met a lot of fellow bloggers last night but I'm looking forward to meeting more at the next party. Can't wait to get to know more of the bloggers I only talk with in shoutboxes or comment arenas.

Anywayz...here are some of the pics. Got them from village idiot savant and Blogie.
(Davao bloggers)
(More Davao bloggers)
(Ara, me, Blogie, and Raine)
(More Davao bloggers)

Will be scouting other blogs for more pics. Hehe. Ciao for now! :-)

Time Out

2007-03-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

I looked at my watch earlier when I woke up and jumped in haste when I found out it was 8:30 am already! I got up, grabbed my towel, and just when I was at my room's doorstep, I stopped and realized --- wala nga palang pasok ngayon...hahaha!

It's my hometown's day to celebrate its foundation day - Araw ng Dabaw, as many calls it. But for me, it's not just that but also a chance to wake-up late and recompense the array of sleepless nights I've had for the week. Hehe! And so earlier, after realizing there was no need to rush, I jumped back to my bed and indulged in another 3 hours of uhm..snooze? So it seemed.

Now I'm up and finishing this documentation thingy for our project management so that later I could finally get to watch 300...waaaaah...I can't wait to watch na! i feel like I'm the only one who hasn't check it out yet(ngek!).

Gotta split.
Have an appointment with Microsoft Word. Hihi.
Ciao!

Back To Normal...Almost

2007-01-13T16:51:00.000-08:00

Mmm...didn't have any difficutly logging in here today. Looks like that snapped undersea fiber optic is almost back in shape.

Anyway...I'm slightly preoccupied on this cloudy Saturday. Yesterday, I felt like I had to give myself a little break and almost promised to make today a day of relaxing. But then I changed my mind 'cause I knew I couldn't fool myself with an ingenuine relaxation. I mean when I intend to go out on an attempt to have fun and I have a lot of things in mind, I know better than to pretend to know I would enjoy and leave behind the things that should be done first. So there you have it, I just saw it pointless to pursue my plan(not that there was any plan, though) of uhm...having fun...whatever that entailed.

Well, well, I'm just on-call right now. I'm finishing off something and at the same time making a plan of action for the week ahead of me. There's so many things to do that I just couldn't afford to not set timelines one when I should be doing each.

That's all I have for now. Ciao!

p.s.
Words...there was once a time that I believed in words. Now I'm not sure what to believe anymore. Hmm..

AMD Live!

2006-06-01T01:03:00.000-07:00

This is yet another revolution in digital experience...AMD''s freshest...the AMD Live! PC.
A media center PC designed to let consumers oganize, distribute, share, and enjoy their content collection throughout the home and on the go. Powered by AMD's Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor, this product is one heck of a catch for anyone who are so multimediaish. From photos, to music, to videos...the AMD Live! PC takes care of it all...

For more about AMD Live!, click here.

Slingbox

2006-05-31T02:42:00.000-07:00

With this new device, one doesn't have to be on a couch to be a couch-potato...
The slingbox. A TV-over-internet device that brings television viewing virtually anywhere. This new baby, which costs 180 pounds(17, 640Php) was released in Europe last Tuesday. There hasn't been any word yet as to when it will be released in Asia.

Full article here.

US Poultry Experts Using Google to Beat Bird Flu

2006-05-31T02:18:00.000-07:00

Tue May 30, 3:50 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Poultry experts are turning to sophisticated computer imaging to help them prepare for the expected arrival of the deadly bird flu virus in the United States later this year.

Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is being used to pinpoint the location of commercial poultry flocks, feed mills and processing plants, said Sherrill Davison, professor of avian medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

The information will be used to help create buffer zones around an infected flock and contain the H5N1 strain when it makes its U.S. appearance.

Since the beginning of the year, experts have also been using Google Earth (Nasdaq:GOOG - news), which combines satellite imagery, maps and the company's search engine to span the globe. It gives extra details including the location of buildings, schools and roads near large chicken and turkey farms and production facilities.

[click here for full story]

On Home Theatre Equipment

2006-05-31T01:17:00.000-07:00

A home theatre is a must for every existing movie freak on this planet. And that'd include me. :D
I've always dreamed of living in my own house or apartment one day with this room exclusive for sound trip and movie-viewing. I could picture it right now...complete with a wide-screen TV, digital surround sound system, and players...and of course home videos. *drools*

Wow...that dream room is one of the many reasons why I can't wait to finish school and get a good job. :D

Setting up home theatres may depend on one's budget, too...I read this article entitled Picking Out - and Pricing - Home Theatre Equipment. Could be really useful for those who plan on having their own or enhancing the home theatres they now have. Check it out. ;)

In Need Of A New Phone

2006-05-30T23:52:00.000-07:00

My Nokia 7650 phone is on the brink of sanity! The keypad drives me mad! One minute, they work...the next, some of the pads won't. Arrrhg!

But in all fairness, this phone has been very very useful to me for the past 2 years. The calendar, the cam, and most especially, the huge phone book and messaging memory. Considering this 32K sim I got that I just can't afford to replace (stores only 25 messages and 100 pb entries...panahon pa ni Magellan)...the 76 baby has indeed provided me with much convenience.

Well, well...the school year is yet to start so I know I won't be expecting to have a new phone by now. Lol! I'm just gonna have to deal with this phone's sickness for a short while until Ma or Pa or one of my sibz come to my rescue...lolz.

Anywayz...speaking of new phones...
Here's what's new in Nokia Philippines...the Nokia N80..pretty cool baby.
Check it out. ;)

Yer The Bose

2006-05-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

If I had an iPod and I had extra cash(or a credit card, for that matter), I surely wouldn't miss purchasing this Bose SoundDock...a speaker made especailly for iPods.

I'm very(as in very) particular with the audio output whenever I listen to music or watch movies. That's why I prefer a headset as of now instead of speakers...coz I want my music to be nice and loud...and the management of this apartment I'm dwelling in won't allow such thing. With my beloved headset, I could listen to music with full volume without alarming management, at the same time. Lolz!

Anyway...back to the topic...I've been told(by Forbes) that this Bose SoundDock has "magnificent sound quality". You just plug your iPod at its front and you're ready to go. Plus, your iPod charges as you plug it in. Ain't that great?!? Looks really cool, too. Check it out right here.

From Qwerty to Dvorak

2006-05-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

Until I read this article, I actually didn't know that there has already been another keyboard format that's been existent, the Dvorak. And I also found out that anyone under use of Windows can change their keyboard layout to Dvorak settings.

Whew! I couldn't imagine using another keyboard format. I've yet mastered the Qwerty manner, I'm not ready for another. ;)

Just Back 'Em Up, Don't Give 'Em Out

2006-05-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

Copyright laws? Intellectual Property(IP)? Check out the sites below to find out more about it. Find out which acts of "backing-up" music and videos could put you behind bars and which would not.

Intellectual Property
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The UK Patent Office

Wanted: Film Scanner

2006-05-17T06:59:00.000-07:00

I'm very fond of taking pictures. The 15 rolls of undeveloped films that I've got in hand speak for that. Some of these even date from my late high school years. That trip to CDO I made for our Madz et al concert, my 18th birthday last year, and other special occasions and random moments.

Aside from the reason that I haven't got enough money to spend for the developing of all these 35 mm's I've got, I also think it's more practical to just purchase a flatbed photo/film scanner instead. Aside from saving money, I could also have the luxury of scanning all hardcopy photos I have and have them in digital format.

I've been eyeing this Epson 2450 and Epson 3170. They both include feature which allows users to scan in a negative or slide. Really cool! I would be able to bring these dead rolls to life once I own one of these. Can't wait!

The Frustrated Gadget Freak Speaks

2006-05-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

I've always loved gadgets. I mean, heck, most people probably do. Only that some of those gadget freaks, myself included, couldn't afford the luxury of owning much of what's in in the techie world.

Hmm...well...the least I could do for now is drool and blog about what's cool in today's world of technology. Hihi! Once I get a job after college, I'll probably start to bask myself of the digital gears I so long to have. Meantime... I'll just blog all my frustrations out. :D

Ciao for now, fellow gadget freaks! ;)