31
Aug

WordCamp Philippines 2008

WordCamp is coming to the Philippines! Voila! The WordCamp Philippines 2008! The first in Southeast Asia!

Organized by the Mindanao Bloggers, the event hopes to gather not only WordPress power users, but also novice users and those who are interested about WordPress. Wordcamp Philippines in Manila will be held on 6 September 2008 at the Augusto-Rosario Gonzalez Theater, College of Saint Benilde in Manila. In Davao, it will be on 4 September 2008.

WordCamp Philippines is brought to you by:

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31
Aug

The Eraserheads Reunion Concert 2008

(NB: It is spelled Eraserheads. Get that?)

I like the Eraserheads, I’m not a big fan as Influential Fritz is, but I really like them. I mean, I have their tapes – Ultraelectromagneticpop, Circus (my favorite), Cutterpillow, Fruitcake – and I enjoyed singing them in the banyo. No, not a big fan to kill for tickets, not a big fan to shell out monies to watch a concert, but a fan still, I guess.

When the hoopla regarding the Eraserheads Reunion Concert began, I was mildly interested but not enough to say I WANNA WATCH. Even when a cigarette company began taking registrations for FREE tickets, I did not move an inch. Maybe I was lazy, or maybe I was kinda turned off by this move. When the concert was almost canceled thanks to Department of Health (which I think is in the right), I felt bad for big fans like Fritz. But when the plans were changed and the show was a go, well, it was great for big fans, even if they have to shell out monies.

Then Ely Buendia’s mother died. That for me is a very good reason to cancel the concert, yet the show must go on. For this, I must commend Mr. Buendia – a true artist believes that the show must go on, and with his decision, he has shown that he is an artist and an entertainer. (Some part of me says it’s all about the money, but there’s nothing wrong with earning your bread, right?).

Yet, I was there. How did that happen?

It was a convoluted story that does not need retelling, but suffice to say that I was there.

I had two first-moments last night:

  • It was my first open-air concert ever.
  • It was my first Eraserheads concert ever.

When the first countdown ended, the reaction was all cheers. And then they played. And played. And played. And oh boy. It was like a huge videoke session, with the audience singing along. And all those cellphones! And digital cameras! And straight-from-the-box bottled water and iced tea!

After the last song of the first set, Ely sat in exhaustion, which for me was understandable. Was surprised that there was intermission. Twenty minutes had passed and no Eraserheads came out. Then the three members came out, together with a lady and the promoter. The lady turned out to be Ely’s brother, who announced that Ely was rushed to the hospital. The concert was cut short.

My favorite songs were not played. I was wishing for Wishing Wells (they played Fruitcake, so there’s a slim chance it would be played). I thought Minsan would be the most apt finale. But it was not meant to be.

The Eraserheads defined a generation. Witness the thousands of people who saw them play for probably the last time. This was the generation that grew up in the dark due to those interminable power outages. This was the generation that began exploring their world. This was the generation that was seeking answers to their questions. This was the Eraserheads generation.

The Eraserheads heralded the explosion of the bands into the mainstream of pop. They spearheaded the invasion of the bands into the popular consciouness. Sure, there were better bands, but the Eraserheads captured the people’s attention.

Hence, the Eraserheads’ place in history is fixed.

My Plurk during the concert: Countdown to start of eheads reunion concert begins. 7:54

You may also want to read other accounts of the concert:

UPDATE: Here is a video of the countdown and the first song, Alapaap. Taken using Sony Ericsson P1i.

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18
Aug

Life goes on except for Life itself

He was supposed to graduate last April as a Public Admininstration major.  He was a councilor in the college student council. He was planning to enter law school. To that end, he had resolved to join a fraternity. The college student council president recruited him.

One Saturday, he joined several people for initiation by the fraternity. He sent several text messages to his friends.

Then nothing was heard from him.

Early morning, three cars rushed to a government hospital. There, they deposited him, black and blue. And dead.

One doctor released the body to a funeral parlor, without having the body undergoing autopsy. His son was one of those who brought him to the hospital.

The news of his death had spread out, sparking a wave of outrage. The fraternity involved, and the men who battered him to death, including the student council president who he had considered a friend, hid like cowards while protesting their innocence.

The university made a hoopla, promising investigations and fire and brimstone. The police and the investigation bureau dipped their hands in his blood. The media feasted on the issue.

Six months later, nothing happened.

His birthday had passed, and nothing happened.

Almost a year after his death, nothing has happened.

Except that life goes on.

For the university.

For the police and the investigation bureau.

For the media.

For the fraternity.

For his killers. One of them graduated already.

Except for him. Because he is dead.

Except for his family. Because he is gone.

Except for justice. Because divine justice is unfathomable and works in mysterious ways.

Except for Life itself. For a life snuffed out uselessly is a blow against Life itself.

Except for History. Human memory fails all the time, but History never forgets.

In eternal memory,

18
Aug

The cost of peace

milfgametreerevised At the left is a modified version of Bong Montesa‘s “Game Tree” about the TROd Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the Arroyo Administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Click on the image to enlarge.

I felt that Mr. Montesa is either being clever or dishonest with his “GAME TREE” and justifications for his choice of peace, whatever the cost.

game-tree-supreme-court001 Here is Montesa’s original game tree, and compare that with the one I did above. Basically my additions are on the white side. If you notice, all choices lead to war except on HIS choice, which is actually open-ended and subject to speculation. Hence, he is being clever or dishonest.

His choice of the phrase “Game Tree” is appropriate, because for all intents and purposes, his flowchart is propaganda – he is gaming public opinion by saying that all other options will lead to war. Yet notice his choice – it is open-ended. Here, he is being clever by saying that “Hey, I am not sure what would happen after this, so…” Yet, he was certain that the other choices WILL lead to war. Here he is being dishonest. He is certain on certain options, but not on his choice?

He is gaming public opinion by not posting the possible ramifications of the results of a plebiscite, as if he is saying, “Hey, it is possible that peace could be achieved after this!” How I wish he was consistent enough to terminate his game tree by placing the word PEACE after the plebiscite.

Anyway, he is being naive if he thinks things could be that simple. What if the sovereign Filipino people (his phrase) rejects the amendments? Will MILF accept such results? No. (If they reject such results, the MILF is being very Filipino, and that would be a monumental irony, IMO.) And even if the sovereign Filipino people accepts the amendments, there will be groups of people who will oppose it, and they will take up arms.

Reading his blog is like reading someone who loves Pollyanna so much. He keeps on saying that the MoA is just a framework, a roadmap that needs approval of the Filipino people – it is not enforceable even if signed. Mr. Montesa, the MILF says it is a done deal – they mean that it is now in effect. And he keeps on harping on constitutional process even if (1) he says peace talks are unconstitutional; and (2) the MILF does not consider itself under the Philippine Constitution and under the Philippines, period.

Then he posted his First Nation BS, and how I wish he posted his proofs, not what-ifs. The problem with his First Nation is that many will dispute the notion – some will say the lumads comprise the First Nation, etc.

And lastly – he is being pretentious if he thinks the MILF represents the entire people of Mindanao. The fact that there are Mindanaoans who are opposing the MoA AD belies his illusion. He, together with the Arroyo Administration panel, should have first consulted all stakeholders before shoving the country in a corner.  The fact that he called most reactions are emotional speaks of his short-sightedness and tunnel vision. His ignorance of the total picture of the Mindanao situation has actually EXACERBATED the tension instead of easing it.

I am all for peace, but at what cost? The comparison between the MoA AD and Chamberlain’s capitulation at Munich is somewhat apt – we will not have peace and we will have war. That is the cost of peace that Mr. Montesa and the likes want to impose on us.

I do not profess myself to be an expert on Mindanao, and neither do I claim that I have solutions on the problems of Mindanao. I think I have said it before that the solution lies in the hands of the Mindanaoans themselves. And yes, the solution lies in their hands.

What I will contend is that some group of people are piggy-backing on this issue for their own ends. This is the kind of screwup that pushes Mindanao on the brink of chaos. I don’t blame some people in Mindanao if they wanted to break free.

17
Aug

Bakkwa Rediscovered

Bakkwa, or Chinese sweet dried meat, was a staple of mine during my undergrad days.  It was easy to store in the dorm, always ready to eat, and can either be a snack or a viand.  My favourite was the chicken barbecue coin made by Bee Cheng Hiang, which has a branch in Robinson’s Place in Ermita.  After undergrad, I shied away from most forms of bakkwa (and meat jerky in general), mostly because I no longer had to store food in a clothes cabinet and partly because it probably wasn’t doing wonders for my health.

On a recent trip to Singapore, though, I chanced upon a branch of Bee Cheng Hiang in Chinatown and rediscovered an old friend.  I bought a box of chicken barbecue; S$18 for 280 grams.  At S$1 = P31.7, that’s P203.78 for every 100 grams.  Not really the cheapest bakkwa out there– Fat & Thin has a cheaper pork version (marketed as tocino) for about half the price– but quite exquisite.  Only BCH makes soft bakkwa (and made of chicken), as far as I can tell, but Fat & Thin’s pork version is also quite acceptable.

The great thing about bakkwa is that you don’t really need to heat it, but unlike canned goods it doesn’t have that canned/fake flavour.  It was meant to be eaten in its preserved state at room temperature.  If you do choose to heat it, you have a number of options at your disposal: microwave it, toast it, broil it, grill it, even dunk it in hot water (while in the pouch).  A meal can consist of microwaved bakkwa, fried egg, and garlic rice plus a side of fresh tomatoes.  Or you can add it to fried rice or an omelette.  Or it can be a viand all its own– a recent meal was just broiled chicken barbecue bakkwa and steamed rice.

I wouldn’t recommend having bakkwa as a regular fare, but it would make for a good substitute for canned goods from time to time.  It’s for those times when you’re just too tired (or lazy) to make a proper meal or go out and buy food.  It was student friendly back then; it is definitely bachelor friendly now.

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17
Aug

Squid Wards: Garlic Squid Rice Topping, Carinderia Sefali

There’s a rule among gourmands and food lovers (of which I’m not one) that if a place has a lot of people eating in it, then the food must be good.  The rule itself is flawed; lots of people eat at a fast-food joint, but the food – if burgers qualify for food – is definitely not good.  Often, it’s the unassuming hole-in-the-wall place that serves great food.

Forty-eight hour weeks of writing web content does two things to me: it tires me out, and it makes me hungry.  I reserve Sunday nights for good eats, where I go around the metropolis looking for good food (counting out places like Dusit Thani and the swanky places in and around Greenbelt).  Tired and famished from a lunch out at Tokyo Tokyo Glorietta with my brother, I decided to head on over KNL for dinner.

I usually make a beeline for the carinderia-style eateries that serve all iterations of adobo (chicken, pork, chicken-pork, adobong sitaw, adobong kangkong, and so on and so forth), but I had plenty of time to explore.  After a few minutes, I settled for a quiet, unassuming little nook called Carinderia Sefali, just right by the main road of Krus na Ligas.

For a place that calls itself an eatery, Carinderia Sefali was a very sophisticated place to eat.  The ethnic decorations and the handsome wood paneling reminded me of La Azotea in my hometown of Baguio City, particularly Miss Virginia de Guia’s office at the second floor.  The place was rather sparse, and as I looked up the menu boards, I got the message.  The place was a rather pricey tapsilugan, with the lowest-priced meal at a flat P60, sans soft drinks.

Not wanting to hurt my wallet, but still meaning to eat anyway, I decided to go for the reasonably-priced Garlic Squid Rice Topping, which cost P63.  For anyone who knows how expensive squid can get (Italianni’s, anyone?), P63 is a very good bargain.  (And yes, I take horrible pictures.)  The order didn’t come with a free soft drink, which was a bit of a letdown considering the price.

It took me exactly 20 minutes to get served, which was a very important cue; here’s a 20 minute window to prepare and cook seafood, especially something as delicate as squid.  Undercooked squid isn’t very appealing (and can potentially harbor salmonella), and overcooked squid can force you to chew all day.  I was rather impressed with the impeccable timing of Carinderia Sefali, which serves every dish in 20 minutes.

When I got my order, I was rather intrigued; I was expecting squid rings swathed in bits of fried or roasted garlic, but I got squid rings with green chili peppers, although the thick brown sauce that topped the cup of rice had the unmistakable aroma of garlic.  It seemed to me that Carinderia Sefali was intent on justifying the rather ridiculous sum charged for something sold as “rice toppings.”

Like I said earlier, I’m not a gourmand or a food lover; I just happen to be a lazybones writer with the most rudimentary knowledge of good food.  I must say, though, that the pricey Garlic Squid on Rice was one of the better meals I had.  The chili peppers were not spicy, but they gave the dish the right amount of zingy heat to accompany the perfectly cooked squid.

The rice was another matter, since it wasn’t exceptional; I think all P63 worth of this dish went to the viand, and you might as well consider the rice free.

I have ranted about the price of this meal for quite a few paragraphs now, so I suppose the question is, “Is the meal worth it?”  Definitely yes, and considering the price of squid, I think that this is one of the better bargains you can get at a pricey place like Carinderia Sefali.

Three stars out of five.

10
Aug

Brief hands-on with Samsung OMNIA


I had an opportunity to test Samsung OMNIA (Samsung SGH-i900) last Thursday at The Peninsula Manila, during its press launch. Here are my impressions.

The Samsung people were careful enough not to position this device as their answer to Apple’s iPhone, but the comparison can’t be helped. In fairness to Samsung, OMNIA has several features that iPhone doesn’t, and that clearly differentiates it from the so-called gold standard.

First, the touchscreen. I fond of touchscreens, and the OMNIA’s touchscreen is good. It doesn’t come with a stylus (the Samsung people said it will come with a stylus, but the phone does not have a slot for one, so that’s doubtful; they did provide stylus during testing), so you have to use your fingers. The TouchWiz user interface is a Samsung custom UI for Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. The icons are large enough so that you can easily point to the right icon. What I like about the custom UI is that Opera Mobile is available as an alternative to IE Mobile. This is a great addition. More on this later. Of course, you can revert to the traditional WinMO UI.

Haptic feedback is available, but I had it turned off, as I find it annoying. Basically, the phone vibrates every time you press an icon. It is not a useless feature, but as I have said, I am annoyed by haptic feedback, and I felt it is a waste of battery.

There is a mouse pointer that is controlled by an optical touch pad below the screen. It is like having a touchpad on a phone. I find it odd, but it has its uses.

The on-screen keyboard remains a lot to be desired; people with large fingers will have to get used to it. The keys are too narrow for the thumbs. That is why I think the lack of stylus is a drawback.


It has an accelerometer on board, so that when you turn the phone, the UI changes its orientation. The orientation can be sluggish when, for example, Opera Mobile is running and showing Plurk in mobile mode, for example. But that is hardware limitation, which is understandable.

Probably one of the best features of the phone is its camera. It has a 5-megapixel camera, though the flash is just LED. It has camera functions that are not found in other camera-enabled phones. For example, you can take a panoramic shot with the phone, and you can stitch up to 8 images for a panoramic shot IN THE PHONE. There are other helpful features for taking shots, and I think some of them are quite useful.


One problem that I had found with OMNIA is that it runs out of memory that fast. For example, using Task Manager, the apps that were currently running were Main Menu and Task Manager, which consumed less than 1MB of memory combined. But when I tried launching Camera, I got the insufficient memory error message. Good luck running the Camera app while Opera Mobile is loaded.

I have not tested the multimedia capabilities of the phone – these features are not on top of my preferences for a phone, and there were no available video files for viewing.

The phone is nice when held, though it is shiny and fingerprint magnet. It does not feel flimsy, and you will not be embarrassed to be seen using it. Heck, I’d want this as a phone, though the lack of stylus and keypad would make me pause.

Here are the specs of this phone:

Network: HSDPA (7.2Mbps), EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 bands
OS: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
Display: 3.2″ WQVGA TFT LCD (240×400 pixel resolution)
Camera: 5 Megapixel CMOS with autofocus, image stabilizer, geo-tagging, auto sequence, panorama shot, wide dynamic range (WDR), face detection, smile detection, 14 scene modes
Video: DivX/XviD/H.263/H.264/WMV/MP4 formats; video recording; video editing: trim video, audio dubbing, live dubbing, add subtitle, image capture
Audio: MP3/AAC/AAC+/WMA/OGG/AMR formats, FM radio with RDS, Touch Player, A2DP
Other features: GPS/AGPS,TouchWiz UI, haptic feedback, MS Office Document Viewer, Advanced PIM apps, push email, accelerometer, etiquette pause, TV out, digital frame, optical touch pad, business card recognition
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, WiFi
Memory: 8GB/16GB flash + external memory slot: up to 16 GB microSDHC

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9
Aug

When restaurants give you lemon-flavored things

I don’t have the time or the patience to do the Ortigas thing, and that’s to bring along baon. If you do a lot of voluntary overtime and develop symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, cooking your own lunch is the last thing on your mind. The office “pantry,” though, is reminiscent of school canteen food: it takes a strong stomach and an empty wallet to eat there on a daily basis. That’s why you see siomai counters and MiniStop outlets everywhere in Ortigas Center.

Me and an officemate decided to break out of this canteen-food lunch rut and headed out to a restaurant called “Foodash” at San Miguel Avenue, just a few stalls behind Rufo’s Famous Tapa (which Bachelor Food Blogger Manolo Quezon already wrote about before). For a 15-minute wait, I had something called “Crispy Lemon Chicken,” which cost around P85. For that kind of money, it must be good; after all, I may have the least sophisticated palate among the Bachelor Food Bloggers.

Yes, it looked so odd that I had to take a picture of it. “Odd,” as you may expect, is a nice way to put it.

I always expected “crispy lemon chicken” to be a crispy piece of chicken in lemon-infused Béchamel sauce, cream sauce, or just plain old lemon juice. This was different; the clear sauce almost looked – and yes, tasted like – molten lemon-flavored Maxx candy. I would have paid P85 just for the chicken, which was half-decent and perfectly palatable with a bit of soy sauce.

You could only imagine the cook before lunch hour melting candies on a skillet, I can tell you that. The sauce does kind of turn you off at first, since it reminds you of… hmmm, how should I put this… crystallized cat urine. (I haven’t seen crystallized cat urine before, but I’m sure it would look like that.)

Plus points: the crispy chicken fillets are excellent… although I have the feeling they were already pre-made. The water was also very refreshing. The serving of rice is very generous, compared to the few spoonfuls you get at the adjacent Rufo’s.

I’m all for restaurants that push the borders when it comes to cuisine, but this took the cake for me. Nothing against Foodash – which serves great Garlic Chicken – but this crispy fillet of chicken breast drenched in the syrup rendered from what looks and tastes like lemon-flavored candy is pushing the borders a bit too far. I won’t be surprised if some enterprising restaurant decides to make a chicken dish with a mint sauce made from Mentos.

Then again, Sam-I-Am and green-eggs-and-ham do have to apply – to a certain extent – to this monstrosity of a lunch that costs a little under P100. Surprisingly, once you get over the fact that you’re eating something drowned in melted candy, it does taste quite good. Well, like I said, I may have the least sophisticated palate among the Bachelor Foodistas.

But even I, a culinary alcoholic plebeian, know that Crispy Lemon Chicken sucks. Stick with Foodash’s Garlic Chicken.

3
Aug

Mar Roxas: Charter change to be defeated in a plebiscite

Last Fridays, several bloggers had an informal meeting with Senator Mar Roxas at Annabel’s in Tomas Morato. The talks covered the much-reviled value added tax to governance to The Dark Knight. As many bloggers have already shared their thoughts on the meeting, I will point out one thing that nobody has bothered talking about, plus some points that should have been asked the senator.

Someone asked about Charter change, and the senator said he is fundamentally opposed to it. He will oppose it at the Senate, and he thinks that if all else fails, the proposed charter will be defeated in a plebiscite. Here is where I disagree with the senator. If there is one thing you should never do about Gloria Arroyo, it is underestimating her.

After all, the Comelec is in tatters. Second, the system that produced a Garci and a Bedol is still in place. And what if the people is forced to vote for it if it will bring peace to Mindanao?

I feel that he’s a pro in answering questions – he answers by staying safe, without sharing much that might damage his chances, little concrete and more on the abstract. And he has to work on delivering his message: his metaphor confused some of the bloggers (though The Jester-in-Exile liked it). Maybe his examples worked for the current audience, but I am not sure if it would work somewhere else.

There were questions on VAT, on why Roxas wanted to lift VAT on oil, and should the income tax be removed instead? His explanation on the last question made sense, but I think most middle class people would find it hard to accept. Let me start by sharing the senator’s answer. He said that income tax is theoretically imposed with a redistributive effect – what is taken is to be given back to the people through infrastructure, government services, the works. It is graduated according to one’s income – the higher your income, the higher is the tax assessed on you. As for the VAT, it is a consumption tax. That means, everyone is being taxed, regardless of income. So the poor is the biggest loser in VAT.

And, with what I am hearing from co-workers and other middle class people, the regime’s Katas ng VAT has a negative impact on people. From what I am hearing, the people argues that since this regime is getting a windfall from VAT, and only the poor benefits from it, why not remove it entirely? At the way it is being spent, it appeared to them that the regime does not lack the money, so the VAT is unnecessary.

Anyway, I digress. On questions of his running at 2010, he categorically stated that he was not announcing his intention, but as Jester said, he is not categorically denying, either he he.

How I wish the question about family planning was asked. There are more questions that need to be asked, like who does his hair or his plans on restoring people’s trust on political institutions. And there were no questions about his ideas on IT.

Here are some reports from other bloggers:

Senator Mar Roxas and New Media
Blogger Meet up with Senator Mar Roxas
Up Close with Senator Mar Roxas
An Encounter With Mar Roxas
Mar Roxas Asks: What Do We Have To Show For P7-Trillion?
Marocharim Meets Mar Roxas
Sen. Mar Roxas blogs, for real
Mar Meets the Bloggers
Dialogue with Senator Mar Roxas
Mar Roxas, The 2010 Elections, and The Internet
The Bayong and the Floppy Hat: Mr. Palengke Meets The Jester-in-Exile (et alii heh heh)