Photoblog - day 59, Jun 8 2010

My new BlackBerry:

This is my new phone - a BlackBerry Curve; and with it I join the 'always' online world - well, not really always, since I don't find the need to be online 24/7 - I'll be more in 'every other day' online mode with this.

How'd I get this? Simple... my old reliable phone was not so reliable anymore - it being almost 4 years old and all - but still useful, so long as you didn't mind the battery conking out every now and then. Long story short, Barbie did mind... and so got me the phone. I had the option to choose between this baby or a Nokia N92 - and since I've had Nokias all my cell phone life, I opted for something different. Besides, it was an advanced anniversary gift from her... me? I got her a wireless mouse (exactly like mine) - good for presentations, and a very portable hard drive to back up her office files.

How is the BlackBerry so far? well... I'm still adjusting to the qwerty pad - then again, I'd be adjusting to the same with the Nokia, and I may have sacrificed some mega-pixels in the process by way of the Nokia's camera; then again, I've a DSLR camera, so I don't really care about another one. The BlackBerry seemingly allows more flexibility online - for example, I can get my email, Facebook, Twitter and other sites... and since Barbie and Dict (my brother-in-law) already have BlackBerrys, we could do BlackBerry chats - so there you have it.

Photoblog - day 58, Jun 7 2010

True Believer or Fashion Statement?

Let's face it... any chance I get to wear my favorite heroes, you bet I will! In this case though, the team in the t-shirt are the New Avengers... an offshoot of the Avengers team as scripted by a writer who seems to have great ideas - but relatively poor follow through.

But this isn't about the story - the t-shirt just proudly sports the heroes I like... and the art here is great - in fact, it's definitely great enough to wear... and that is what I'm doing.

So am I a true believer of the team? Sure I am... and is this a fashion statement? I don't really care for fashion statements - if I like it, and if it's comfortable, I'd wear it... simple as that. Besides... with the way it's designed, the art simply hides my love handles (he he he), and what's not to love about that? Personally, I would have wanted the design a little higher, though. It would have possible - just possibly - afforded more art.

Oh yeah... this is my official picture for June.

Photoblog - day 57, Jun 6 2010

Look!... It glows!

Meet my new toy. I really needed to replace the keyboard of my computer located downstairs... for one, it was mysteriously not allowing the input of the numbers atop the letters - in other words... had it not been for the keypad, such numbers would be incapably entered - bad news to me, since my email address had a combination of letters and numbers... not to mention my password being in the same situation too.

Then there's the non-responsiveness of the '@' key as well - and to make matters worse - some letters were also unresponsive... like the letter 'o' for example. Obviously, the keyboard needed replacing.

I also remember mentioning in one of my Facebook status updates about the plan to purchase a keyboard with back-lighting capabilities... hence making dark room typing difficulties a thing of the past. So... once I saw such a keyboard in CDR King - and with a very affrodable price, I did not think thrice and got the keyboard at the next opportune moment.

How does it look? Well, judge for yourself... with the monitor having it's own light source, the keyboard was a very much needed input device in need of light - I'll have to say that night usage of the keyboard is a thing to look forward to. It used to be, I'd have a lamp shade to shed some light on the keyboard... a need doubly necessary when keyboards were dark colored - hence hard to see when in dim places, or at night.

Well... I just had to take a picture of it, since it was very cool looking. Oh yeah... and Bryce loves it too. In fact, as I type this, he's currently using the glow-in-the-dark keyboard.

Photoblog - day 54, Jun 3 2010

Testing School:

One for the trainings I tend to conduct is centered around Application Testing, which focuses on learning the concepts and best practices applicable to the concept of software testing.

Targeting the relatively new employees of this particular company, it helps reinforce the practice of having several layers to the testing practice. In this particular conduct, I had the chance to work with Tess Glipa - an old colleague in my Fujitsu days - and someone very knowledgeable with quality and testing concepts (she also took this picture). The school covers two days - very short when compared to the concepts being covered - but for the most part, our participants show a learning capability to match the expectations of the very compressed outline in so short a time.

Photoblog - day 56, Jun 5 2010

Wireless...

Yup! This is a wireless mouse - and even if the technology is not that new, it still can help us in impressive ways. This little critter allows me to move around an room with it in tow - and it allows me to manipulate any active document as I move around the room.

Partnered with another tool - your everyday laser pointer, it makes for a formidable and impressive-looking presentation combo.

The best part of this tool? It's price... with the likes of CDR King stores, prices for such gadgets as this are very affordable (assuming Php500.00 is an affordable price to you, that is). I got to use this twice already, and it can be handy - kudos to Brian (my colleague) for letting me know about this bargain. I also got another such mouse for Barbie - as I'm sure she'll find this little gadget useful with her work-related presentations.

Photoblog - day 55, Jun 4 2010

Starbucks Morning:

Believe it or not, this was around 6:30am at the Starbucks, Cybergate 2 branch - as I had to arrive early for my 8am training because of a little rule about the vehicle number coding scheme... and yes, my vehicle does have the affected plate number that says I have to be out of the roads before 7am - or risk being pulled over by traffic cops.

Having arrived real early then, I decided to grab some coffee - and breakfast... and it's really a convenience that this particular Starbucks is just one floor below my training room. So... camera and book in tow, I hied into this branch to order my usual tall latte... only this time, I decided to have a grilled three cheese and ham sandwich with it.

Aside from the very friendly baristas, the environment was cozy and jazz music was playing in the place's piped-in music system. I then proceeded to borrow the papers, read up on yesterday's new and enjoy my meal. If only my mornings would always start this way... I left feelign full, relaxed and energized - ready for the day's challenges.

Photoblog - day 53, Jun 2 2010

DVD Family Bonding:

In an otherwise uneventful day (even if it was Barbie's birthday), we found time to watch a movie we've never seen before... and call it mushy, but then again, I guess a movie with the title Valentine's Day would certain be filled with topics on love.

The plots were simple - several people with different lives... all searching to make their valentine's day experience something memorable and meaningful... that's it. What's different is that the movie likewise shows people in today's modern age. For example? Anne Hathaway's character moonlighting in Phone Sex is just one small tidbit that comes to mind... there are others still - but I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

I'll just say that we were all surprised to see some teens in the movie - which pretty much guaranteed Bernice's interest in watching the film... and this is one of those, cute movie revolving around the lives of many people... and it is a large ensemble of casting known (and some not too well known) characters... I 'm sure you see some familiar faces in the picture, right?

Cute movie, great family bonding moment - even if all we did was stay in the couch and watch - with minimal conversation... the mere fact that we enjoyed something together was what counted. If you're going to watch it with a critical eye... I suggest watching something else - this is a feel good shallow movie; and on certain days, I don't mind 'feel good' and 'shallow'.

As for credits... well, here's the link to the Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day_%28film%29

Photoblog - day 52, Jun 1 2010

Tree Leaves and Overcast Sky:

Nothing overly dramatic about this picture - as the title says, it's just a typical mundane set of leaves with the cloudy sky as backdrop. So why'd I take it? What was the purpose of this picture?

I wanted to get a near silhouette of the leaves against a not so bright sky - after all, I did not want to totally overpower the leaves with too bright a background. I was also hoping that the overcast colors would show - not that there were too many colors to begin with... and since this was a near instantaneous shot - with hardly any preparation... one night even say a picture taken - on the go... then I'm surprised to see how nice it looked. How nice to see how the mundane can look good.

God sure is a great designer... even of the small, mundane things, isn't he?

Photoblog - day 51, May 31 2010

My latest readings:

Though it may sound inappropriate, I actually did bring this pile - and more actually, to my training, and started reading them one at a time while I was not lecturing. An explanation is obviously in order... simple, really.

Today's training was not solely handled by me - not by a long shot. I was facilitating Application Component Detailed Design, and when I do, it's normally with a partner - in this case, Fiel Javier. So... when it's Fiel's turn to talk (we take turns with the alternating modules), I pull out an issue and start reading. Eventually, as the day ended, I was able to catch up on my reading.

I guess this is also an indicator of how busy my weekend was - as I usually reserve reading my comics at home. Unfortunately (though with no real regrets), I found myself neck deep in many activities (as the two previous entries would allude to), hence not having been able to read my new comics .

If things happen as expected, I'll be talking again tomorrow morning - and Fiel will handle the afternoon... which will free me to have more reading time. I still have a handful of issues that I've not read yet, so I guess I'll squeeze those in too. Or... it's back to reading the novel I'm currently in the middle of... oh, and that Time magazine - after all, I've not yet read all the articles.

Photoblog - day 50, May 30 2010

Prince of Persia tickets:

Indicative of our having watched the movie, which was what we did Sunday afternoon after Barbie had finished with her lecture in a client's site.

To say that I enjoyed the movie would be a very conservative statement. I guess I came in curious - armed with a few comments from friends who'd seen it the previous days... yet curious to see how it fares with the game.

Of course, in my case, said game was the PC version representing the crude, 2D version... and not the more sophisticated version that Bryce had the chance to try in his PSP. When I saw that new version, I was amazed with the graphics and the character's acrobatic moves. What I saw in the movie was what I was hoping to see - specifically, the main character's moves as he was being chased. Just as some people were probably curious to see how Angelina Jolie would do the moves of Lara Croft all those years past, I was curious to see how Jake would handle Aslan's moves.

What I saw, I liked and had to smile secretly as I saw some moves that I could relate to the game - namely the running and somersaulting across roofs, the sword fights and overall traps and mystery in an Arabian (or Persian) setting. Here's hoping for a sequel... and meantime, I'm looking forward to the DVD. If you're still wondering if it's worth the ticket price, let me say that I highly recommend Prince of Persia for it's sheer entertainment value.

Obviously, this picture was just a simple and straightforward shoot - no technical stuff... just wanting to preserve a point in time.

Photoblog - day 49, May 29 2010

Birthday boy!

Today is Bryce's birthday, and the cake blowing you see here is not the start of his celebration - but the culmination of the day's activities... yup, the cake blowing happened late at night after having had a very heavy - but filling lunch at Amici and dinner at home c/o Ate Vicky.

Aside from the Amici lunch, we went around Greenhills and ended up buying a Guitar Hero for Bryce. After all this, we went to SM hypermart to do some groceries and after which we went home. Bryce then assembled the guitar and set up the game - and we rocked for a few songs before having to leave again - this time for the Shangi la (for the ladies), while Bryce and I killed time going around SM Megamall.

In our run (well, not really - more like Brisk walking) we really got the stuff (in my case a mix of new and old comics. After which we went back to fetch Barbie and Bernice, as we all went back home to enjoy some seafood pasta... and a few more sessions of Guitar Hero.

Photoblog - day 48, May 28 2010

Evening Traffic and Rain:

Fridays always means I need to come in for work real early (before 7am) and leave the place by 7pm - all this because I have to follow a number coding scheme to help reduce traffic. Unfortunately, if your Friday evening happens to be rained on - since the afternoon, and said weekend's start also happens to fall close to your typical pay day - then expect to get stuck in traffic.

Simply put, this was what I (and many frustrated motorists) experienced - and even as I tried to wiggle my way through the jam, I realized that one of things I tried doing - but unsuccessfully capturing with my camera is 'rain' - for smoe reason, I found it difficult to capture rain... though I do believe I'm not the only one, s I've read somewhere that many movie makers / directors likewise find it hard to capture rain. The best I could probably do was to show the wet surroundings - but it just looked wet... no sign of rain.

So, I decided to grap my camera (when I was in a stop position - of course) and take pictures of my surroundings to later see if I could capture rain - if not the droplets, then maybe the surroundings which might show the rain's effects. This particular shot happened in an unplanned manner - I was stopped by the traffic cop , since the way ahead was already congested, and since it was an intersection - I could see the effects of the rain really well... so I took the shot.

The effect was what I wanted - the cop directing traffic while wearing a wet raincoat (though he may have been better off wearing a one with reflectors) indicates the rain, and if that did not sink in - the ground showing the rain droplets striking pavement will let the observer realize that it is raining. Lastly, if one were to look closely, there are a few (well... at least one) blurs streaking downward - that's the rain. So until I can get one better, I'm satisfied with having captured rain in a snapshot... and hey, I did not mind the traffic so much after this, as I was pleased with my opportunity to take the shot.

Photoblog - day 47, May 27 2010

Coffee round the world:

One of Starbuck's innovations is to introduce a wide selection of coffee types with differing flavors, representing different parts of the world... specifically (of course) by way of letting us taste their coffee.

Now I'm not exactly a coffee connoisseur, having just been introduced to the practice of taking coffee around a decade ago (I normally prefer taking tea, you see) - but one of the things I always liked when entering a Starbucks - or any other coffee place for that matter, was the aroma of the coffee being brewed.

Nowdays I do appreciate the differing flavors of the coffee I get to taste, and even like the more flavorful coffee - like the one's Barbie brought home from Guam some months ago... the Kona coffee with Vanilla or Hazel Nut flavors. Some would call them these gourmet coffee - while purists would frown on them... oh well, mine is not ot debate... but enjoy. And this is where the Starbucks selection shown in this picture comes in. If half the enjoyment is in the discovery - then I'm in for a long haul, since Barbie and I normally consume a bag of these in roughly a month. Oh, and before I end this, let me just say that I also really do enjoy our very own Batangas Barako Coffee - in fact I make it a point to have some, whenever I visit my mom and sisters in Cuenca.

This picture was just a straight away take, while I was enjoying a frapuchino (another Starbucks introduction) to offset the hot morning temperature, I noticed the stand and thought 'why not take the pic for my photo blog? ' - and I did.

Photoblog - day 46, May 26 2010

Proudly Philippine made...

Miguel Syjuco is new to me - I've never had the chance to read any of his previous works (assuming of course that he had such things - like I said, I don't know).

I did learn a bit about his book 'Ilustrado' in a book review cum magazine article - and the fact that the book won the Man Asian Literary prize while still a manuscript? Whoa (doing my best Keanu rendition), that's got to be something... right?

So naturally, on my usual visits to the bookstore, I spied upon a copy of Ilustrado, looked at the price tag... not too bad - and got myself a copy. S I was in the middle of some deep reading, I had no time to discover what Ilustrado had in store for me... until now.

So yes, I've started reading Ilustrado, and am finding Syjuco's work to be interesting. I've yet to see where this is going, but at least it isn't as deep a read as the previous book I was reading. Will I be fan? Still too early to determine - yet I will admit to the writer's ability to describe things, and some of his words are not your typical 'average' vocabulary reader's cup of tea - lucky for me, I still do not find the need to grab a dictionary or do a Google search.

Once I'm done, I just might post a review for this... though in another blog site.

Photoblog - day 45, May 25 2010

Future Coaches:

In a previous photo blog, I took a picture of one Application Analysis training session - just to point out that it happened to be what I was doing that day. Well there have been other similar training in the past ever since - though not captured.

Today, however, I decided to take a few pictures of another training I've been conducting on a regular manner - that being a Coaching-related training, where my participants are expected to learn and hone their coaching skills... and that is precisely what these people are doing - specifically, practicing and honing their coaching skills while in the training room. After all, just like any other skill - practice makes perfect. This was just half the group, as the room (for a welcome change) was spacious... so much so that I could not get a decent picture of everyone.

So here's to a new batch of future Business Coaches! Hope they took the lessons I imparted seriously.

Photoblog - day 44, May 24, 2010

Frangelico, Kahlua, Bailey's

Either of these three has a great taste - and will make a welcome aperitif. Just grab a shot glass - or better yet, serve them on the rocks... sit back and enjoy. But what about when we mix them all together? Is this even feasible? Of course it is... I mean, it's not as if their flavors will contradict each other - in fact, the opposite may be true.

Frangelico does have the hazel nut taste; Kahlua on the other hand, is coffee flavored and Bailey's is Irish Cream. So they can definitely combine to have those great taste - heck, I can even add one more flavor... and that is just plain Vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Now... I wanted to take this picture because all three bottles were dark colored, and they would look well against a black background, with just a hint of the bottle's shape - either by the labels or by the reflections. The picture itself was more on auto-setting to ensure I had a clear and crisp picture.

Photoblog - day 43, May 23, 2010

Paella!

This was what Barbie and I had for lunch, following our hearing mass in Greenhills' The Promenade - and since we were rather tired of eating at the usual joints, we decided to try something different - thus we came upon La Paella, at the 2nd floor of the Promenade walkway.

For the uninitiated, Paella is a Spanish dish - mixing rice with a variety of viands... in this case, I'll just let the picture do the talking (or you can google / wikipedia it). All I can add to this is the fact that the Paella uses a relatively sticky rice and after the ingredients are cooked - the rice is added, and then cooked - together with the other items. The end result is a delicious array of taste - from oysters. to chicken, to some veggies. I'll stop now... I'm starting to feel hungry.

Photoblog - day 42, May 22, 2010

Free Comic book Day!

Once a year, for the past few years, the comic industry in the U.S. decides - through it's retail distribution channels (i.e. comics shops) to dedicate a day in May as "Free Comic Book Day".

The idea, of course, is to introduce comic books as a reading interest for the non-readers... to drum up interest to those who don't really buy comic books on a regular basis; and in said manner, hopefully bolster the industry's buying public.

The practice has yet to fully catch on back here - as most large comicbook retailers here in the Philippines find it difficult to participate in a like-minded pursuit. For one, there seems to be little effort in synchronizing the event with that of the U.S. (with possible exception to one - Comics Express, I believe tries doing just that), so the impact or visibility is much less noticeable (just as I had not noticed any announcement from Comics Express - and I know both Filbars and Comic Quest seemed to have snubbed the entire idea entirely). I suspect that another reason is that the comics may be free - but shipping is not... and that definitely hurts said distributors who have to ship these things from one continent to another.

Still, with retail outlets like Fully Booked - which ironically is more a book store than a comic specialty shop (though I might clarif that they have the seemingly widest array of graphic novel selections I've seen), free comic book day seems to be picking up visibility-wise. In fact, it is through Full Booked that I got to experience my very first Free Comic book Day. How was it? Well the entire thing seemed organized - then again, it is Fully Booked third year doing this, so they did have two previous executions to learn how to do it right, and the only peeve I have is that I could only get one comic free when I wanted to have at least four issues in batch of freebies (they only give one comic per person - a reasonable idea when the intent is to reach a wider customer base, but lousy to the reader who has to agonize over which to choose).

Does the event itself lend to more sales for their stocks - in this case, graphic novels? I would have to say 'yes', considering that I got three digest type reprints of old Spider-man and Fantastic Four issues... ones I would hardly have noticed had it not been for one helpful bookstore attendant's suggestions. So thank you - Fully Booked... but please, next time... could we at least have two?

Photoblog - day 41, May 21, 2010

Orange M&Ms anyone?

Yup! You read right! Orange flavored M&Ms... after their experimenting with the mint flavored variety, the Mars Corporation decides to come out with a new version of their classic best-seller - and when I saw this in S&R, I just had to get two packs so I could try it out... and should I really like it (and I do like orange-flavored chocolates), I could have another bag on reserve anytime I want.

That said, I just had to take a picture of these beauties as I placed them on a heart-shaped glass container... then take the picture in an opaque background. That way, the M&Ms would really stand out in the picture, and in line with this, I also increased the contrast... the result is what you see.

Photoblog - day 40, May 20, 2010

Starbucks in the Techno Hub:

A Starbucks is a Starbucks... and any store for said franchise is as good as any other. Right? True... though others would be quick to point out that some branches are not designed equally... and I would equally state that there are other places that are more welcoming of it's clientele by the way the place is designed.

Others are easily designed real well, but their ambiance is left wanting based on certain criteria - in my case, the ambiance of the store is better for me if it's a place I can hang around in with little or no noise pollution. Thus if there are too many rowdy or noisy people around, then it's a turn off to me.

On the other hand, few stores, like the one I've posted, cn boast of having a very picturesque surrounding - showing a lot of space, greens almost matching a golf course, a long and winding jogging path - complete with lights for evening runs, a man-made creek and simple yet elegant architecture all contributing to what is the basic look of the Ayala Techno Hub. Even in the afternoon heat, I could appreciate the landscape... and in a city so inundated with concrete... this view becomes a very welcome change. Now if only the Techno Hub were just closer to my usual hang outs.