Fac ut Vivas

the winds of change are always blowing
and everytime i try to stay
the winds of change continue blowing
and they just carry me away

Conspiracy theorists divide the world into “Everyone even remotely involved/qualified vs. Me,” and decide that they’ll win single-handedly. They’re like Rambo with bullshit instead of bullets.

http://guisadong-gulay.deviantart.com

Before they were certified time-killers on  your desktop PC’s (and other mobile devices), Zuma was an Aztec demigod with an appetitite for human hearts.

There are rumors of a movie slated for a MMFF 2009 release. Here’s hoping it won’t suck.

More information at:

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/z/zuma.htm

Got this from http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/07/100-basic-geek-skills-for-geeks/

I’ll mark  the ones i’ve acquired with a (*).

1. Properly secure a wireless router. (*)
2. Crack the WEP key on a wireless router.
3. Leech Wifi from your neighbor. (*)
4. Screw with Wifi leeches. (*)
5. Setup and use a VPN.
6. Work from home or a coffee shop as effectively as you do at the office. (*)
7. Wire your own home with Ethernet cable. (*)
8. Turn a web camera into security camera.
9. Use your 3G phone as a Wi-Fi access point. (*)
10. Understand what “There’s no Place Like 127.0.0.1” means. (*)
11. Identify key-loggers. (*)
12. Properly connect a TV, Tivo, XBox, Wii, and Apple TV so they all work together with the one remote.
13. Program a universal remote.
14. Swap out the battery on your iPod/iPhone.
15. Benchmark Your Computer (*)
16. Identify all computer components on sight. (*)
17. Know which parts to order from NewEgg.com, and how to assemble them into a working PC. (*)
18. Troubleshoot any computer/gadget problem, over the phone. (*)
19. Use any piece of technology intuitively, without instruction or prior knowledge. (*)
20. How to irrecoverably protect data. (*)
21. Recover data from a dead hard drive.
22. Share a printer between a Mac and a PC on a network. (*)
23. Install a Linux distribution. (Hint: Ubuntu 9.04 is easier than installing Windows) (*)
24. Remove a virus from a computer. (*)
25. Dual (or more) boot a computer. (*)
26. Boot a computer off a thumb drive. (*)
27. Boot a computer off a network drive. (*)
28. Replace or repair a laptop keyboard. (*)
29. Run more than two monitors on a single computer. (*)
30. Successfully disassemble and reassemble a laptop.
31. Know at least 10 software easter eggs off the top of your head.
32. Bypass a computer password on all major operating systems. Windows, Mac, Linux (*)
33. Carrying a computer cleaning arsenal on your USB drive. (*)
34. Bypass content filters on public computers. (*)
35. Protect your privacy when using a public computer. (*)
36. Surf the web anonymously from home. (*)
37. Buy a domain, configure bind, apache, MySQL, php, and Wordpress without Googling a how-to. (*)
38. Basic *nix command shell knowledge with the ability to edit and save a file with vi. (*)
39. Create a web site using vi. (*)
40. Transcode a DVD to play on a portable device. (*)
41. Hide a file in an image using steganography.
42. Knowing the answer to life, the universe and everything. (*)
43. Share a single keyboard and mouse between multiple computers without a KVM switch. (*)
44. Google obscure facts in under 3 searches. Bonus point if you can use I Feel Lucky. (*)
45. Build amazing structures with LEGO and invent a compelling back story for the creation. (*)
46. Understand that it is LEGO, not Lego, Legos, or Lego’s. (*)
47. Build a two story house out of LEGO, in monochrome, with a balcony.
48. Construct a costume for you or your kid out of scraps, duct tape, paper mâché, and imagination. (*)
49. Be able to pick a lock.
50. Determine the combination of a Master combination padlock in under 10 minutes.
51. Assemble IKEA furniture without looking at the instructions. Bonus point if you don’t have to backtrack.
52. Use a digital SLR in full manual mode.
53. Do cool things to Altoids tins.
54. Be able to construct paper craft versions of space ships. (*)
55. Origami! Bonus point for duct tape origami. (Ductigami) (*)
56. Fix anything with duct tape, chewing gum and wire. (*)
57. Knowing how to avoid being eaten by a grue. (*)
58. Know what a grue is. (*)
59. Understand where XYZZY came from, and have used it. (*)
60. Play any SNES game on your computer through an emulator. (*)
61. Burn the rope. (*)
62. Know the Konami code, and where to use it. (*)
63. Whistle, hum, or play on an iPhone, the Cantina song.
64. Learning to play the theme songs to the kids favorite TV shows. (*)
65. Solve a Rubik’s Cube.
66. Calculate THAC0. (*)
67. Know the difference between skills and traits. (*)
68. Explain special relativity in terms an eight-year-old can grasp. (*)
69. Recite pi to 10 places or more. (*)
70. Be able to calculate tip and split the check, all in your head.
71. Explain that the colours in a rainbow are roygbiv. (*)
72. Understand the electromagnetic spectrum - xray, uv, visible, infrared, microwave, radio. (*)
73. Know the difference between radiation and radioactive contamination. (*)
74. Understand basic electronics components like resistors, capacitors, inductors and transistors. (*)
75. Solder a circuit while bottle feeding an infant. (lead free solder please.)
76. The meaning of technical acronyms. (*)
77. The coffee dash, blindfolded (or blurry eyed). Coffee [cream] [sugar]. In under a minute.
78. Build a fighting robot.
79. Program a fighting robot.
80. Build a failsafe into a fighting robot so it doesn’t kill you.
81. Be able to trace the Fellowship’s journey on a map of Middle Earth.
82. Know all the names of the Dwarves in The Hobbit.
83. Understand the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel. (*)
84. Know where your towel is and why it is important. (*)
85. Re-enact the parrot sketch.
86. Know the words to The Lumberjack Song.
87. Reciting key scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. (*)
88. Be able to recite at least one Geek Movie word for word. (*)
89. Know what the 8th Chevron does on a Stargate and how much power is required to get a lock.
90. Be able to explain why it’s important that Han shot first. (*)
91. Know why it is just wrong for Luke and Leia to kiss. (*)
92. Stop talking Star Wars long enough to get laid.
93. The ability to name actors, characters and plotlines from the majority of sci-fi movies produced since 1968.
94. Cite Mythbusters when debunking a myth or urban legend.
95. Sleep with a Cricket bat next to your bed.
96. Have a documented plan on what to do during a zombie or robot uprising.
97. Identify evil alternate universe versions of friends, family, co-workers or self.
98. Be able to convince TSA that the electronic parts you are carrying are really not a threat to passengers.
99. Talk about things that aren’t tech related. (*)
100. Get something on the front page of Digg.

1. i always thought that spider-woman wore a blue-greenish costume until my mother bought one for my sister. it was colored red. i found out later that our TV’s picture tube (one of those responsible for the red color) was busted.

2. the four color (cyan-white-magenta-black) prince of persia was weird until we got an AT computer with a 256kb VGA adapter.

3. we had to take care of our double sided double density 360KB and 1.2MB 5.25in diskettes because prolonged exposure under the sun was enough to cause it to expand like a balloon.

4. every sunday, about 9pm or 10, we waited for Million Dollar movies on channel 2 so that we wouldn’t be out of place tomorrow at school when everyone talks about it.

5. annie of shaider and pink 5 of bioman were my crush. it helped — that annie pulled that stunts of hers while wearing a mini-skirt.

6. batman utility belts from jollibee (or was it mcdo?) was the coolest thing since burger and fries.

7. vanilla ice was the coolest rapper. damn! the world was so young!

8. i met alice dixon when she visited our neighbor who happened to be her teacher. i was 9 and already in love.

9. me and my brother fought each other (using cool glowing he-man swordz!) when our mom took us to simbang gabi. while the priest was having his homily we were duking it out a-la he-man and skeletor — we were grunting and sword bashing. for some strange reason, we weren’t trying to hit each other… just trying to hit our swords. cartoons were the same.

10. i never became a member of the sustagen fan club. i never get selected by our teacher when susie and gelo visits our classroom. discrimination.

11. our science teacher made fun of my “medicinal plants” project because i just sliced some vegetables (and other plants) and glued them to a bond paper. my handwriting was so terrible, it was like wingdings fonts. he didn’t think i would become a scientist one day.

12. some kids wanted to be firemen because of the cool matchbox toys that flaunted their gadgets and kickass truck. many years later, i saw real firemen along agham road at quezon city. they didn’t look like the firemen my classmates wanted to be.

13. i did a karate kid crane kick on the oldest kid on the compound when we were pretending to be in some sort of royal rumble karate contest. he was trashing the rest of my friends (including my brothers). out of the blue, my foot struck him hard in the “Das Kapital” — the nads. the devastating kick took him out for a week.

14. every lunch time, before the school bus arrives, we would watch “The Green Slime” on channel 9.

15. we had betaMAX and superman 1-2 on tape.

16. on halloween, we would pack some sort of survival kits and rehearse group movements during the day to minimize the chances of someone disappearing mysteriously while investigating the scariest (kid-level) corners in our neighborhood. after surveying the area, we would gather round and throw in our share of the “grub” into the common pile and exchange ghost stories. the kid who went home (or got sent home by a parent/guardian) first is the sorriest kid because next morning we would call him chicken/coward.

17. we had a stunts club, karate club, comics club, cartoons club, matchbox club, batman club, skateboard club, sports club, gi joe club. all clubs had the same members and the same president.

18. we would play agawan-base with water pistols. our richer friends had automatic battery-operated water guns but our base happens to include a faucet and a hose. whoever has the hose blasts the opposition senseless.

19. one day i thought it snowed. pinatubo had erupted the day before. the fallout reached quezon city and blanketed our neighborhood with inches thick ash that lingered for a few days.

20. i remembered walking with my family somewhere. wearing yellow t-shirts and headbands. I remembered having to make “L” gestures (with my fingers) whenever we met similarly attired people. the day couldn’t have been much cooler because i saw a tank/armored vehicle along the road.

21. i wanted to go with my mom to cubao because of Toppings restaurant and dice mongo in Farmer’s market.

22. i watched moscow circus at araneta coliseum. i was a happy boy because we brought along my dad’s binoculars and the ladies walking on the tightrope wore skimpy bikinis that glittered.

23. our pet parrot susie died. she was shitting blood. me and my siblings mourned her passing. shitting blood!

24. my father brought back from abroad a hardbound comic book entitled “Corto Maltese” it was in french. He would read aloud the french dialogue and translate it into english and filipino.

25. i could never beat my father in chess the way i beat every other kid (in our neighborhood). my hopes were dashed when i found out that he can even beat the computer.

26. i never had a nintendo entertainment system nor a sega genesis but my friends do. sometimes we would go to their house and play until our parents called us for dinner.

27. we like toy soldiers. we would play in the rain while setting up “Saving private ryan”-esque scenarios with plastic soldiers in the mud. gi joes are cool and were sold at 65 pesos that time.we would scramble their body parts when we got bored.

28. spiders fighting each other on a barbecue stick are fascinating. we would also watch ants battling each other.

29. small rectangular shaped cards (teks) were sold in numbers just beyond the school borders. they were tiny  versions of filipino movies rendered as comics. each card is a numbered comic book panel and there are about 64 of them. everyday i would save 1-2 pesos of my allowance just to complete my set. the complete set is worth 5 pesos.

A Very Short Song

Once, when I was young and true,
Someone left me sad -
Broke my brittle heart in two;
And that is very bad.

Love is for unlucky folk,
Love is but a curse.
Once there was a heart I broke;
And that, I think, is worse.

by Dorothy Parker

===

P.S.

Sana makasama ka next time malibre ulit is rockgirl. Isama mo na rin si ggb. hehehe.

Dramatis Personae (para sa mga Pips na nakakaalam o curious)

Ayane

GGB

… these two actually exist. hehehe.

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}

I’ve uploaded my first video(s) on youtube. Months of playing Pro Evolution Soccer has allowed me to produce this video:

I will never be this good at football

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMzjh1ZBmnc

Enjoy.

Shoutout to Godfather DoRaymond.