Marcus Can Blog

Marcus in Manila

Originally uploaded by akonnamgapictures

It’s another trip to the Metro but this time with Marcus tagging along with us since this time we’re just claiming one NBI clearance that was supposed to be released yesterday but then Pres. GMA’s SONA stopped almost everything: work and classes – including mine.

This shot was taken by my wife at the backseat (while stuck in traffic in front of the National Museum) with Marcus wide-eyed as this is his first time to be here. If not for the crazy weather we could have given him a “tour” of the place including that of the Calesa ride which he missed the last time when my wifey and I was here to apply for our much needed clearance.

Wifey used my Nokia 5800 to take this picture and tonight I tried using it from upload to blogging but unfortunately I was only able to upload this pic to flickr and no more. The Blog This menu isn’t available when using the cellphone via WiFi. The upload speed though is remarkable and my wife and I even agree that it can put to shame both our PC and netbook in terms of loading pictures to the web.

So the longer I get to use my first touch phone, the more I appreciate that I was right when I said before that the Nokia 5800 is the perfect bum tool. And sometimes indeed, the best things in life are cheap. Agree?

Mood: 4/10 Honks! (anxious about the scheduled brownout later tonight from 11pm-6am)

Last week, our old analog kilowatt-hour meter was replaced by a couple of guys, whom I thought were from MERALCO, with a digital model. Their arrival came as a surprise for me because it has been months already since I called up their Manila office to report that our meter is already accumulating water and moss. That day I was so thankful that the request which I’ve actually forgotten already was finally attended to even if I got concerned upon seeing that the terminals in the meter base were already badly corroded (due to the prolonged exposure to moist). I was assured however by these guys that it will work just fine.

A couple of days passed and true indeed everything went well. Unfortunately, last Friday, I already began to notice that our lights were flickering but dismissed it as just being caused by normal fluctuations. Sadly, the next day it got worse. This time our PC’s UPS is already emitting alarms which only means that the voltage goes on and off; and upon verifying our TV’s AVR, the erratic needle movement of its analog meter confirmed my suspicion – something is so wrong with our electrical utility.

Since it happened during the weekend, I realized that we will have to wait until the next Monday for it to be fixed. Of course, despite already knowing, based on past experiences, that hotline numbers aren’t dependable, I still tried calling their 16211 number – a 24-hour hotline daw. As expected my call didn’t get through after several hopeless attempts. See?

Having conceded to the odds of solving this predicament, last night I advised my wife that we shut off everything except for the fan and lights. We went to sleep with almost all windows opened for ventilation and with Marcus coated with more than the usual Off lotion.

This morning, after an uneventful night (thank God) and after a quick breakfast, I headed straight to the MERALCO office and directly to their customer service agent. Our discussion was short and casual and guess what? No raised voice, no swearing – I’ve changed a lot, didn’t I? Hehehe.

As promised by the agent, actually even earlier, the field personnel did arrive at home and immediately repaired our kilowatt-hour meter. They replaced the corroded terminals, exactly just what I pointed out when it was opened last week. Kudos to MERALCO Dasma (but thumbs down to the main hotline), now we’re back to normal and once again, let there be light……TV, refrigerator, air-conditioning and maybe even Farm Town – I’m so sure my wife missed this. Hahaha.

***

I learned from those who came by this morning that the first group who changed our meter were from their subcontractor company – which explains why their main concern was just to get over with what is specified in the job order and go. Isn’t that rude, unprofessional and dangerous? What if the house they serviced burned because of faulty electrical connection? A scary thought that left me anxious for nights.

***

It’s either I’ve become more forgiving or forgetful (others will agree that this is more so) that my wife had to tell me about past encounters with subcontractor service personnel. Here are a couple of those poor quality jobs:

Sharp washing machine – spin dryer motor broke down less than one month after it was repaired at home. It was later fixed by someone who came from the Sharp office and who informed my wife that the first one was a subcontractor personnel. Since then, it is still running like brand new.

Pioneer DVD component – I find this service center in Bacoor, Cavite among the list of authorized Pioneer Service Centers on their website. The problem was fixed but not properly – which I discovered myself just when I was almost done harnessing it back at home. I felt so bad and desperate about it that one time when I was in one of the appliances center (just window shopping) and was approached by a Pioneer salesman, I cut him off and said, “I’m not buying, palpak ang service center nyo! (your service centers suck)” Despite my misdemeanor, I was surprised to see him composed and soon told me that where I had my component fixed is just a subcontractor of Pioneer and referred to me another Pioneer real service center. I haven’t visited it though, since I can’t risk my kid having tantrums just because he was not able to watch his Little Einstein DVD.

Next time, I’m checking IDs and all subcontractors will be rejected. Fair enough?

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Turned on) 

07/23/2009

Originally uploaded by akonnamgapictures

This is one of the shots I took during our first calesa ride from Carriedo to SM Manila – unlucky horse, huh?. I’m calling this the missing horse because for unknown reasons it just won’t appear in my PC even after all of its batch have been uploaded. The only thing I did with this image is to rename it from my cellphone and I suspect that the Nokia Photos suite has some bugs in it that makes it not recognize any renamed file. Anyway, I’ll figure it out later including how to upload using Bluetooth. Maybe, something from my Information Technology class will tell me how to. Got to go, I need to be the first one in the classroom.

This lovely piece of cellphone, coming from the Finnish company, has been with me for more than a week already after I succumbed to my wife’s persistent request to have my almost 3-year old Motorola L6 replaced. Besides, the old cellphone is becoming to be a cause of a failure-to-communicate symptom since its speaker conked out due to countless falls and misuse; and needless to say, in my current bum status, not clearly hearing an initial job interview over the phone is a no-no – justification, justification, justification.

So far since I bought it though, I haven’t had any calls. But why should I care, this phone after all isn’t just a phone. If there’s one phone that will make one happy even while his much awaited calls seem unlikely to happen, it is the Nokia 5800. There’s just so much to this phone that job hunt frustrations can be easily forgotten and that killing time can become a habit.

But as much as I’d like to give it a technical review, I’d rather direct you to tech sites like Yugatech who has a very subjective review of it and instead I’ll post briefly what I like and don’t like about it.

The touch pad meets my expectations although I’ve read that upgrading the firmware version from V11 to V21 will improve the touch pad’s response. Right now I care less (and might not care about it in the near future after learning from Nokia Care that it will take at least 2 hours to do the upgrade).

This model is part of Nokia’s ExpressMusic series and true enough, the sound is incredibly crisp (either using the earphone or the loudspeaker). I don’t recommend connecting it though as an input to the car’s stereo as the MP3 quality varies and that it affects the volume of each music that other than watching out for potholes while driving, one might have to deal with adjusting the music volume all at the same time – very dangerous.

The 3.2 MP camera is great for shots under bright light - e.g., daytime - and just like any other low quality/resolution cam, it doesn't perform well under low light condition.

The Nokia 5800 comes with a 3.2 MP camera that by today’s standard is mediocre. But ever remember the phrase, “you get what you paid for”? Well, you should. Paying P14,900 for a phone one shouldn’t expect an SLR-like quality. Duh! Don’t get me wrong though, for a bum, for a blogger (both of which best describes me), this is heaven sent. I just hate it though that there’s no option to turn the camera shutter sound totally off (there are 3 other settings but none makes shooting discreet). It’s a skeuomorph and I don’t like it.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-sD1o7KHcM]

I love most of the videos (mp4 format) that comes along with this phone. The resolution is unbelievable. Even those I’ve shot came out almost at par with my Sony handheld video recorder. However, I discovered that the mp4 format has to be converted at least to wmw for it to be viewed once it is transferred to the PC. Good thing I was able to download a freeware from Freewarehome.com that converts mp4 to wmv in a breeze. Check out wmvconverter.org.

Others raise their eyebrows at the guitar pick that comes along with the strap for the cellphone. Me? I don’t, I actually would prefer using it over the stylus, except when I’m in the mood to kill time by texting using the handwriting feature – which I’m now starting to learn and appreciate.

Well, this is all the feedback I’ve got for now. With the hectic time I have right now both at school and at home where my favorite photo subjects are – my wife and kid, it might take me another week more to discover and learn the other features that this perfect bum tool has. I’m just wishing though that next time I’d hear another lovely HR voice saying, “…Mr. Nacionales, this is to inform you that you are scheduled for an interview on…” When that time comes, I’m quite sure she’d hear me clearly say, “Yes…I’m coming”.

Mood: 3/10 Honks!

Remember the saying, “give credit to whom credit is due”? Well, this is what I’m doing right now. After weeks of preparing for this day and setting my mind that today I’d be needing extra patience because I’m going to deal with people inside the municipal hall to have myself registered as a voter for next year’s election, I was actually surprised how everything went unexpectedly fast.

Contrary to what I’ve heard from personal feedbacks and from the tri-media news, the registration process was a breeze. I was already readying myself to spend at least a half day inside the municipal hall when I got stuck in the verification (first step) because the personnel has to leave his table every time just to go to another floor where the computer is located. But no cursing of any form came from my side – I brought along a book to read in anticipation of a long day. But guess what? I was wrong. After the inefficient step one, the next steps went so smoothly that after I had my picture taken I asked the personnel twice if the registration is indeed over.

So despite the recent exposés (from news on TV) like overpriced voter’s ID lamination and registrations ending way ahead of time thus leaving registrants frustrated, this time I’m giving credit to the Comelec people (probably some are volunteers) of Dasmarinas, Cavite. Hopefully it will remain this way until the last day of the registration process. Of course, it will help a lot if soon-to-be voters will not wait for the very last day and cram themselves inside the municipal hall which for sure will have an impact to the efficiency of both the Comelec personnel and their usually frail computer system.

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (had a nice afternoon with wifey and kid in the mall. met some ex-Intel folks as well)

Just recently I was printing several pages of school term finals paper when I encountered once again my printer’s low/replace ink prompt. Having solved this problem before, I confidently opened the ink slots and tried shaking the cartridges just like what I did a couple of months ago. But despite number of attempts, the printer this time seemed to have known what I’m trying to do – fool him – and he’s trying to put up a good fight by displaying the error again and again which frustrated me more every after each try.

After stepping back and trying to think, logically and technically this time, if what seems to be the real problem and what might solve it, I peeked inside the ink slots and immediately saw what needs to be done. There it was staring right back at me – optical sensors. I almost cursed myself for not having thought about it the first time I encountered this problem.

Arrays of optical sensors which detect if ink is still present in the cartridge.

So what’s the fix? All it took me was a black marker pen to block the transparent window making the optical sensor “sense” that the cartridge is still full. And this time, the solution worked like magic. Now I’ve got unlimited ink…well, hopefully I won’t get caught unprepared when it actually runs out of ink while I’m in the middle of printing a much needed school essay. 

By marking the transparent window, the optical sensor will "think" that the cartridge still has enough ink.

Warning: this solution will just work temporarily. This is one flaw I’ve noted regarding the design of this printer because it prompts an empty ink when in fact there’s still about one-fourth (that’s approx P100 being wasted) available ink that may be used for several print-outs. Make sure to check every now and then if the ink cartridge is about to go totally empty.

Honk: 2/10 Honks! (just had buko pie for lunch)

Yesterday I unexpectedly attended the Ateneo’s MBA freshmen orientation after being told by our professor that she highly encourages us to be there even though its schedule is in conflict with our Information Technology class, thus she’s allowing us to be out of our first session.Since I didn’t anticipated being there and that I didn’t anticipate as well that I’ll be coming home late in the afternoon instead of lunch time, I decided that it is best that I drive my way back to Cavite via the south Luzon expressway (SLEX) instead of the coastal area after seeing in the morning that traffic at some part of it has worsened due to the flooding after typhoon Isang sent torrrential rains.

From the Rockwell area traffic flow was surprisingly fast but just before reaching Bicutan, it slowed down as if on cue. Although I was expecting it to be that way as I’ve heard from the news, I didn’t know that they’ve actually set a very long counterflow which I soon learned starts in Alabang. Thankfully, traffic loosened up after I reached the Filinvest exit. But it was short-ived.

The moment I approached the Total gas station in Ayala, traffic once again began to crawl and it remained that way until just before where the Daang Hari road starts. What made is frustrating though is when I learned what actually caused the build up is just the road which is more or less just 50 meters in length but is now as cratered as the moon’s surface. Man, that reminded me of the DPWH informercial where smiling public officials proudly declare their “accomplishments”.

Well, today I sort of retract back all the spite I had from yesterday’s ordeal. It is because our drive from Cavite to Batangas started to pick up speed as soon as we exited Carmona. As a proof, I was able to maintain around 120 kph until we reached the Calamba toll gate where once again, every car and motorist got stuck due to the still on-going construction in that area. This time I’m not disappointed since I’ve seen how a lot of progress have been made since this SLEX improvement project started. By the looks of it, they might complete it as planned sometime in 2010. All my fingers are crossed.

***

Yesterday’s drive was also quite alarming due to several encounters:

• I had a near miss when somewhere in Baclaran I saw a taxi swerving to my lane and upon hitting my brake and punching my horn, he braked so hard that I heard his tires screeching almost to a stop. Some people just don’t deserve to drive.

• While idling at an intersection near SM Molino I saw one street kid approach me but he not only knocked on my window to beg, but I also saw him lift the door knob on my side. I let it pass, but I only remembered about the modus when after he left one of the passengers of the car beside me opened her window and said, “he was trying to open you door”. That warning reminded me of what I’ve read from one of the car forums that some unscrupulous group operates this way. They send one innocent looking kid to check on car doors. Once they see that the doors can be opened, they will come out from nowhere and will immediately enter that particular car and divest whatever they can. It’s alarming knowing that as early as now, instead of the Christmas season (ironic, huh?), these people might be already starting their activity again.

 ***

I now describe the SLEX as the Philippine’s own version of Germany’s Autobahn. And I’m now calling it AutoBat (for Batangas). Right now, what this highway lacks, among other signs, is speed limit marks. So until the time when these are put in place, this highway is basically free for all and it means speed here is controlled more by the sanity of the driver behind each wheel rather than the speedometer in front of them – assuming it works. Hopefully, our beloved DPWH officials won’t wait for the time when accidents begin to happen before they act upon this safety concern.

Mood: 3/10 Honks!

Now he can be called trusty.

Today our electric bill was delivered and after seeing that our consumption surged significantly compared to last month’s, my wife and I had a brief but interesting discussion about it during another hearty lunch. She said that it must be our refrigerator that is contributing a lot to the increase. And so I asked why? “Because it is already ten years old”, she declared with a straight face.

I was taken aback by her reply not because of the way how she said it. It’s not even because I know that she knows as well that our kid’s nightly demand for airconditioning has more to do with it. And it’s not also because I sensed that what she’s really trying to say is, “let’s replace it” (women). So what was it then that got me to pause for a moment from swallowing the meat balls in my mouth? It’s because all of a sudden I realize that it is indeed already a ten year-old refrigerator. Once again, I lost track of time.

I can’t believe that it has been almost 10 years already that I’ve been shaking my head in disbelief how a “new” refrigerator can have its plastic coating peel off “so soon”. Yes, since we’ve had it, I regreted having bought it because just a year after we took it home, it already started showing signs of poor quality and that every time I get near it I swear I’d never buy the same brand. So today, the realization that it has actually reached 10 years somehow made me utter, “so tumagal din pala kahit papaano (somehow it reached quite a long service)”.

Now I’m hoping that it will serve us a bit longer especially now that it’s been months since I haven’t frequented opening it after I stopped buying and storing canned beers in it. Ti abi.

***

Another thing that surprised me for forgetting how long it had been with us is the 500-piece puzzle that my wife and I assembled even years before we got married. In fact, if there’s one thing that had witnessed several of our ups and downs we encountered back then, this might be it. Last two weeks ago, after more than 10 years of being wrapped in plastic and kept to collect dust behind our cabinet, my wife finally decided to have it framed along with other cross-stitch and puzzle projects.

Believe it or not, those were chiseled obliques when that puzzle got assembled.

Top: Puzzle set given by wifey's then colleague. Bottom: One of her many cross-stitch projects that finally got framed.

Mood: 2/10 Honks!

It’s early morning. First day of another week at work. The airconditioner’s monotonous hum making the wait for another meeting with the boss as uneasy as it can be. Good thing there’s a mug, on top of my own leather-cladded office table, filled almost to the brim with the freshly brewed coffee from the nearby fully-furnished pantry. At least it will mask my cold and yet sweaty hands just in time I guess for a ritual-like handshake before each monday meeting with the person known to always wear those seductive minis yet still appears to be less appealing than the thought of being infected by the hyped flu virus in the office. We’re in for another UFC-like corporate meeting – where when financial figures are crunched, a tapout seems to be the most humbling yet the most appropriate thing to do just like inside the real fighting octagon.

The dreaded meeting started. As expected hands where shaken, although in a manner closely equal to that when Judas Escariot made his historic kiss. Tablet notebooks were opened as if in unison; everyone so eager to present his own report; everyone already looking forward to calling it a day; everyone so eager to get the meeting over with. And the boss despite being in her usual red lips, well-parted black hair, partly exposed breast and the famous seductive minis doesn’t seem to attract one bit of attention of everyone but one. Me. Interestingly, she does look like she’s interested as well to hear what I’ve got to start the week with. And just as I was about to proceed in front, with the confidence that was created mostly by the recent caffeine intake, I all of a sudden feel a tingling sensation just inside my well-pressed black slack’s pocket. It became persistent and the more I resisted it, the more it sent vibrations that just cannot be ignored…few more seconds…few more seconds…

Snap! I find myself inside a room totally different from where I just was. I was daydreaming while holding my new touch phone. Damn. What an effect this small wonder has on me. This Nokia 5800 after all, is a bum’s dream come true. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Time to hit the sack and for tomorrow will be another day. Another day of fiddling and discovering what this perfect bum tool has to offer. Hahahaha. Will post my complete review soon.

For starters, you now know it comes with a stand : )

Mood: 3/10 Honks!

Photo credit: Yahoo!

June 26, breakfast (Philippine time). Upon turning on the TV to catch up on the local TV morning show that we regularly watch, the news about someone being rushed to the hospital in the US caught my attention. In my half-conscious state I heard the name Michael Jackson. The news updates that followed became bleak and certain – it says a pop icon is dead? “Who died again?”, my mind was still trying to process what was going on then and trying to make sense why all of a sudden the world seem to be glued to the boob tube.

Upon switching to CNN and other International news network on cable TV my question was finally answered. It’s THE Michael Jackson indeed. It is the king of pop. It is one of the most influential and controversial artist who ever lived. And he’s now dead.

Honestly, I felt bad of course after learning about the news. Someone passing away isn’t after all a good news and the fact that this isn’t just a mere someone makes it all sadder. And for his avid fans, needless to say, this is the saddest that it will ever be. (Un)Fortunately, I’m not among them.

I’ve tapped my fingers to his songs, I’ve moved my head up and down to his beats and yes, I’ve even had one padded-shoulder jacket once (not by choice but by fad). And who knows, some might have even seen me do a pathetic moonwalk before. But I’m just never a big fan.

Now with the death of Michael Jackson and everyone almost mourning, I all of a sudden find myself the only one not doing so. All of a sudden I felt left out. All of a sudden, people whom I didn’t expect to be Michael Jackson fans began pouring out their sentiments about what happened to the king of pop. All of a sudden I felt guilty that my avid memories of Michael Jackson are about the jokes that people told and made about him.

I’m now questioning myself where are the people who sent me emails about the black to white transformation of Michael Jackson. Where are the people who joked that the cub scouts need to watch out for the Bad singer (pun intended) rather the bears in the woods. Where are the people who laughed at the hilarious MJ lines of Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno. Where are the peole whose one of their memorable parts (if not the most) of the George Clooney movie, Three Kings, is when one of the villains said MJ’s famous song line, “huhu, hihi”. Where are you now people? Please speak up.

So as I now wait for these friends, contacts, online buddies, etcetera to go out in the open and share what they really feel now that they’ve lost one ice-breaker material, I might as well be on my own and brace myself to be visited and hounded by a ghost coming from the Neverland ranch owner. The problem though that I have right now is whether I’d be on the look out for one that’s black or or one that’s white. Ti abi.

Mood: 4/10 Honks!