retrospective




Ten Years From Now…


I’m half of a septuagenarian already but it is only now that I ask myself profound questions that doesn’t force me to think of an answer of the wise-ass kind.

Ten years ago, I think, in a job interview, I was asked what I see myself doing five years from then. I always had a canned response of someday being one of the supervisors or managers of the company I was trying to get into. That, or owning and managing my own business.

At one point, I had this delusion of becoming a rock star playing the guitar in a rock band. A few years passed and a few grand spent, and I got nothing to show for it. I feel embarrassed as I remember what I was doing back then. And this was a VERY LONG time ago.

I also thought I can make it in the digital age by becoming a digital graphic artist, learning the tools of the trade that is Corel Draw and Photoshop. Or become a mountaineer, climbing all sorts of peaks and trudging through valleys for Discovery Channel. Yeah, I want my fifteen minutes of fame. I’m not really sure if I have ADD or something because I easily get distracted by a new gadget or some other weird stuff; I lose interest easily. Also, mountaineering got in the way of my smoking, so I quit mountaineering. I occasionally go hiking at least once a year, though, so quitting mountaineering isn’t really set in stone.

Then, more delusions of grandeur in the digital age crept up my mind by way of becoming a professional blogger. Yeah, the cause of this blog. Unfortunately, I’m a friggin’ introvert, and the only way I interact with other people socially is through the anonymity of a username and an avatar. And that’s basically the reason I don’t attend events and other PR-related stuff. That, and lack of money and time.

Fast forward to today and I take look at what I’ve been doing. I got married. My wife gave birth to a son that I shall refer to from this point on as Willspawn. I get by one day at a time, paying the bills and providing for my family, to the best of my capability, along the way. The downside of my current profession is that I work at nights, effectively killing off any kind of social life. Oh yes, I can make time to go out and enjoy what people-with-regular-working-hours have, but at this stage of my life, sleep is a rare commodity highly prioritized and taken advantage of in every chance presented.

Ten years ago, I basically lied my ass off in that job interview. I lied NOT to the company, but to myself. I should have my own business right now. I should be the boss already. I should be thriving on my own. A lot of should-have‘s, but not enough of what-is‘s.

Today marks not only my 35th birthday, but also an alarm clock going off telling me that I have five more years left before my life “begins.” I want to know if life truly begins at 40. And I want to be prepared to do anything and everything I want to do when that time comes. That is, if I live long enough past it to enjoy it.

In the meantime, I think I’ll just ramble on… sing my song…

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Are You Listening, MOFO?!


I didn’t realize I have writer’s block until I decided to write a few entries in my blog. Well, one of the ways I know of getting over said block is to keep writing, even if it doesn’t make sense, although one can hope it does. I sure hope so.

One of the things that keep popping up into mind, which reminds me to install a pop-up blocker up there, is the socio-economic status of most of my fellow Filipinos. Everything revolves around money, and I can’t fault them for that simply because my world revolves around it too, though not as tight of a grip it has on others.

The truth is, the Philippines is a poor country. Most of the people live in sub-humane conditions. More people are out begging in the streets if statistics are compared year-over-year.

There are a number of possible causes as to why the country’s condition continues to deteriorate. One of the ones I can think of is overpopulation. The city is bursting at the seams with too many people. But then again, you can’t fault people for that. The Filipinos’ favorite line quoted from scripture is “go forth and multiply.” And with a predominantly Catholic country that encourages sex, well, you can’t argue with that. The meaning of morality, however, is lost. The Church might be partially to blame for this as they keep a firm stand on contraception. And please, don’t get me started with abortion. Also, people can’t help it. We’re humans. We will fuck. And fuck the consequences, it feels good. It’s a fact, AND a truth.

But the consequences are real, like unemployment, overcrowding, and poverty. The more people you have in one place, the more the place needs to scale to provide for those people. Also, the more people there is, the more garbage gets produced, the more plastic gets manufactured, disposed improperly, and impacts the fucking environment.

So essentially, I’m not blaming people for fucking around with the devil-may-care attitude towards un/wanted pregnancies and STDs. Let their genitals fall off, see if I care. And people who want big families with no particular plan on how to raise them is, in Baddie’s words, “just begging for some face-kicking.”

Yes, people are stupid. No exceptions. It’s a fact, AND a truth.

But some people are more stupid than others. Like those people who voted AND will be voting again for the same dickhole that had his hand caught in the cookie jar. I’m looking at you, Erap supporters.

The solution I am proposing is for politicians to have a heart transplant. Get a new heart with responsibility, accountability, and transparency bundled in. I heard the price was half-off. It now only costs half a moral sense. Also, you get a free moral compass if you buy now. Promo ends just the moment before you realize you’re going to die.

Seriously, though, here’s what I think would help, if not solve, the Philippines’s problems with unemployment and poverty. (Fuck overcrowding. I like brushing up to greasy, sweaty, smelly men in public transportation.) And this would also help make the country a little bit greener in the end.

Recycling Plant. Two words that might get some of the shit done on the epic to-do list for the country’s improvement, and might be noticed by other countries and be used as a revenue-generating model for other developing countries.

So how does this work? I’ll tell you how. Fuck. I’ve been watching too much of Craig Ferguson lately that I’m starting to think like him. Bad or not, I don’t mind.

So it works like this. You get someone to fund the government… wait… I think it just failed there. Oh fuck it. Since this is my blog, entries can be fictional.

So in my world, which has cheap gadgets and without a corrupt government official, other entities, sentient beings or otherwise, will provide funding to the government to build a big-ass recycling plant. This will provide jobs for the construction industry. And why stop at just one plant. When it picks up and is self-sustaining, construct more recycling plants as needed. By the country or by the world, it doesn’t matter. People will still be consuming stuff, dumping stuff, etc. These stuff need recycling. To motivate people to segregate trash for recycling and proper disposal, every one who does just that gets thru the day without being kicked in the face. Good enough? No? Okay. Everyone who does this will get to kick those who didn’t in the face. How’s that for motivation? *wink*

Of course, plants need workers. And no, robots shouldn’t be employed to simplify the process. No offense to the future robot overlords, but this is self-preservation, nothing personal. Besides, people are becoming overweight anyway. Humans need the exercise. So employ as many hobos as needed, even the coffee machine guy. Salaries will be paid commensurate to the amount of work output. No executives here with bloated salaries and “special” bonuses. Fuck you and your status fuckin quo.

For this to work, scientists will have to come up with a way on properly disposing both biodegradable and recyclable stuff. I heard plastics can be made into carpets. Whatever, just make something from crap. Investors should also foot the bill on this one.

Now, why will investors put their money on something without getting guaranteed of a return on their investment? How about I put my foot up their ass? No? Too much extortion? Okay. Well, whatever is recycled should be sold to some other industry. This is where the marketing industry comes in. This should create a positive cash flow simply because the raw materials / recyclables costs next to nothing. Investment returns are assured. The question is how soon. Outside my world, if this plan ever came this far, there is no return of investment. Aren’t you glad you’re in my world?

This plan addresses some of the employment deficit, hopes to alleviate poverty, and make the country a little cleaner, greener. This plan is not new, but in my world, it works. My world looks better than the real one. If only the government would start listening to its people instead of their own voice, things would be a lot different.

Hey, Noynoy, Villar, and other presidentiables (except Erap)! Are you listening?!

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Hello, 2008!


It would not be right to say goodbye to the previous year, as it helped me learn a thing or two with what I wanted to do with, well, basically, my life. This blog has grown from something that contains trivial stuff to something that contains not-so-trivial stuff. Well, at least from a WordPress-related standpoint.

Read the rest of this entry »

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What I really want in WordPress


Here’s something I’ve been pondering about over the weekend. How do I make my family and friends blog using WordPress? Then it follows, Why would they want to use it?

So ultimately, What if WordPress released a version that has everything you wanted in it, what would those features be?

Ease of use
The Dashboard is ok. I can see how many comments need moderating, shortcuts to write a post, change the theme, etc. Would it be possible to integrate Stats into the core? All you need is a WordPress.com account anyway. And a well-developed theme.

Aesthetics
The Admin is a bit…generic. People want to personalize their stuff. So why not include some themes for the Admin? It surely wouldn’t hurt to look good. Unless it gets too slow to load.

Management
The post/page management is excellent. Tag management, however, is non-existent. Will someone please put something that resemebles one on the next release of WP? Ability to choose tags from a list that would display existing tags or tag suggestions from a reputable search engine would really be great. And if there are sub-categories, should there be sub-tags?

This post may seem like a rant, but it’s actually not. Because if it is, I would have switched to another blogging platform. I like WordPress. I learned a lot from it, from creating themes to developing plugins, WP helped me develop my own skills, however noob they may be. This is not a rant. This is a rambling.

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The Chain Breaks Here


Do you let forwarded email messages dictate the outcome of your life, or do you take the bull by the horns and direct it the way you want it?

This is something I asked myself upon reading a forwarded email message about Zodiac-related characteristics of personalities that also warns me about having years of bad luck if I don’t forward it to other people. Rude is what I think it is. Which brings me back to the question earlier.

This may also be a good question asked by HR personnel when screening applicants applying for a particular position. If the HR personnel is looking for a manager, one who will certainly make decisions affecting subordinates, the HR personnel should ask if the applicant reads and forwards chain email messages, reads then deletes the chain email message, or just simply deletes those types of email messages based on the subject line.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Facebook?! Eskwela?! What?!


Another social networking site? WTF?! Can’t people get enough of socnets that one pops up every minute? Are people so detached physically that we compensate virtually?

What the heck is Facebook?

Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them.People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.

That was taken from the site’s About page. So, why use it? You can upload an unlimited number of photos, get in touch with long lost friends, and let the world know where you are and what you’re doing. And it’s free. So it’s like MySpace or Friendster, but with a touch of Twitter. Eyng?! One thing it isn’t, it won’t help me take over the world. Or would it? Hmmm. you can also look for jobs using the site, but isn’t that what Geekfinder or Monster is all about? And it displays ads. Not Google ads though. Hmmm.

What the heck is Eskwela?
Eskwela is the Filipino translation of School. Or is it the Spanish translation? I know the Tagalog word for school is Paaralan. Anyway, why use it?

Eskwela is focused on you, the student and alumni. Eskwela was built by Filipinos, for Filipinos in the Philippines!
1) My Classes: who’s that cute chick in Econ 101? How about that sexy guy in CS 101? List your classes and get to know your classmates. You can also review and discuss.
2) Who’s Who: an online directory of your classmates, coursemates, collegemates, batchmates and schoolmates. Enuff said!
3) Unlimited: you can add as many friends and upload as many photos as you want. Absolutely no limits.
4) Exclusivity: you are a part of an exclusive group of people.
5) Tagging: the entire site is built on the concept of tagging, a sort-of built-in search for discovery.

This was taken from the customary welcome email message from the CEO, Terence Pua. How come there isn’t an About page for Eskwela? Beats me. Membership is by invite only. For now, I guess. So what’s different with this one? It shows Google ads. It provides you with a badge, some sort of an ID. It functions like MySpace or Friendster. No Twitter-ism, but you can follow Eskwela’s Twits though.

What’s the difference between the two?
I can’t tell yet, besides the obvious faster loading of Facebook and the user’s “Wall.” And Eskwela’s virtual ID badge. Can someone shed light on this question?

With the advent of Web 2.0 came Social Networking. Another reason for people to stay at home, lose their life (in case they had one), and connect to people virtually. This reminds me of the movie “Powder.”

Donald Ripley: It has become appallingly clear that our technology has surpassed our humanity.
Powder: Albert Einstein.
Donald Ripley: When I look at you, I have hope that maybe one day our humanity will surpass our technology.

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To Twit or Not To Twit


Not really a question. Just wanted to know if I should twit. I mean twit actively. In a previous post, I mentioned that

I tried adding Twitter updates, but I later thought, what for? It’s one more thing I have to update, and it needs CONSTANT updating, and with how often I update my blog, I don’t think it’s gonna be worth following. It just makes me scratch my head. Maybe that’s what I’ll input there and I don’t think “Scratching my head thinking of what to blog about…” is very appealing when it’s the only update in there. Besides, why would anyone want everyone to know that they’re feeling gassy at the moment. I think flame wars are more interactive in Twitter than in your post’s comments. But a lot of people are using it. Constantly. So I guess I’ll just have to look into it.

so that’s what I’m doing now. Looking into twitting. Read the rest of this entry »

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ReDesign

Cats: Blog
Tags: ,

Almost a month had passed and my last entry was a rant about how blog traffic exchange sites indirectly steer one away from reading quality blogs. One can get obsessed about getting credits that you’d rather wait 25 seconds to get a credit than read through a blog of substance. Sometimes, BTE’s would be offering lower browsing time for more credits, which would produce empty traffic to your blog.

In line with this “epiphany,” I have decided to redesign my blog taking into consideration the usefulness of the blog. Of course, a useful design is useless if the site has no quality content or substance.

What I recently found out thru “wholinkstome.com” is that I have about 13 incoming links. Only 13 people have put me in their links list. My friend has about 300+ or more. What intrigued me with the results is the Page Rank I got from Google. My friend’s is a 3. Mine’s a 5. So what the heck does that mean? I guess it means I’m doing something right. For once.

Anyway, the new design will be minimalist, and hopefully, XHTML 1.0 Strict-compliant. I will have to find a way to display all the links in my list on the front page. And of course, a very, very useful utility. I just have no idea whaat that would be.

Estimated target date of completion: End of 2006.

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