Awtavthebox

The times are a' changin' - again

2012-01-28T14:06:00.002+08:00

Perhaps one of the most used cliché is that the only thing constant in this world is change. 2012, I dare predict, would be one of the most memorable one when it comes to these changes set to occur.

As we ride the waves of fickle technology, now comes this realization that it would only evolve faster. It may seem like a futile attempt trying to ride it, but the challenge is really staying on the board. Wherever you are, whatever you do, there will be no escaping the inevitable. The best thing to do is to equip yourself.

Social media would be even more ubiquitous than it currenty is. With the arrival of faster data speeds and always-connected devices, we will be more and more drawn to social media. If you still have not joined any social media sites, I urge you to go sign up now. Ride it.

Luddites could continue to deny the realilty of technology's impact, but it is here. The future has arrived. Technology will eat you alive if you won't be able to manage it. And it will be dangerous trying to resist the change.

There is nothing to fear, really. Change will happen and even faster at every turn until science itself stalls.

Blogger for iOS

2011-09-10T18:41:00.001+08:00

Thanks to Gizmodo, I found out that there's now Blogger for iOS. I think now there shouldn't be any reason NOT to blog as often.

Why the iPad is hard to beat

2011-03-01T19:39:00.002+08:00

Tomorrow, as Apple puts it, they will reveal what the year will be of: iPad 2, of course.

As Gizmodo puts it, there are indeed, better iPad alternatives. The fact of the matter, is: they are not available yet. Lo and behold, as they become available, for all they know, they've been left out, again.

iPad 2 should be a stunner. I predict that Apple won't put out something that would be easily quashed by the new runners-up in the tablet industry - the new industry it has spurred. I expect a bombshell. Quite possibly, an educated (more of rumor-educated) guess, they will also introduce tomorrow something that its competitors couldn't possibly do themselves: a cloud storage system.

An Apple-exclusive cloud storage system alone would be a no-brainer of an advantage should Apple decide to launch one. No 32-gig tablet could match a web-based storage facility - much more if it's free. Already, rumors all point to this being a reality.

It's also exciting to note that Apple could possibly kill the opponents simply by doubling its pixels. Though universally nodded to as something that's near impossible. Hey, it's Apple. This company just made a killing in a market that was once declared dead on arrival. They weren't the first ones to create a tablet! But they did it. They made something out of nothing.

I know I sound like a fanboy now, but okay, I am.

Eagerly awaiting the surprises.

See you all in the future!

It's 2011 and I'm blogging more

2011-03-01T16:13:00.002+08:00

My last post was - damn - LAST YEAR?!

So okay, I've gathered enough strength to finally write more and post more.

From now on, I promise to put something new in here at least once a week. That should be pretty workable. Especially since I'm almost not too busy (however the hell you take that).

Looking back (yes "back" 'coz we're almost done with 2011's first quarter), I could see nothing but POSITIVES this 2011. It may be too late to be optimistic for a New Year and all the brouhaha that surrounds it, but hey, better late than never, eh?

Let 2011 be the year where I blog the most!

CHEERS!

“I was a poor kid, vote for me!”

2010-01-14T21:35:00.000+08:00

Since when did going through poverty become a qualification – or a plus factor – for becoming a president? I mean I just don’t get it. If you do, please, humor me.

All of a sudden, almost every politician is claiming to have risen from poverty. Jojo Binay has this anecdotal campaign ad that shows him as a kid, choosing to stay in the farm when all of his friends are enjoying themselves. Villar’s campaign jingle boasts that he’s the true son of poverty. At least Erap is consistently telling off his jab of being the masses’ champion. Okay, granted that you really were once poor, does that make you a better leader?

Of all these political ads that just makes me wince in disagreement, I hate Villar’s the most. Sorry, I don’t hate it – I abhor it! It’s just a load of crap. Yeah, include all of his ads. And for that matter, include all these traditional politician’s ads; spreading false hopes without really telling how they will be able to do these things they promise. If you look at them closely, the ads only give you one thing: hope – false hope.

So how do you hope the right way? I take it it’s best to hope this way: look at your politician’s track record, and “hope” that what he has done will reflect what he is capable to do. What has he done? What is he doing? Plans are nothing if you don’t see that he or she doesn’t have the ability to put things into perspective and into action. This is where I liked Richard Gordon’s ads. They are simple, direct to the point, and tell how he has done things in the past. And no, he’s not kidding, too. If you trace back, you’ll be able to verify that everything he boasts about is true. So that’s a start. But a political campaign shouldn’t stop there. I think these politicians ought to show us how exactly they will lead this country out of the mire. And this is why I was flabbergasted by Noynoy’s jaw-dropping ad.

At first, I thought it’s going to be another motherhood statement commercial. Come on, every Filipino is hoping for the best. The wishes that most politicians want and express in their ads are also what everyone wants. It’s a no-brainer! They didn’t have to reiterate these things. Instead, they should have been talking about how exactly they want these done. Why is no one doing that? Because it’s simply hard, and finally, boring. Who would dare run a political ad that would tell us how exactly he would implement changes in the government? Roco did it before, telling through ads his concepts, even of his famed “sunshine principle” aimed at thwarting corruption once and for all. And it didn’t work. People wanted drama. The more drama, the better your chances have.

It’s just so disheartening that after years of being a democratic country and having luckily exercise our right to suffrage almost at tik-tok precision, we’re still being drawn to campaign ads that are nothing more but empty. If I’m to choose the best political ad thus far, Noynoy’s pledge is my pick. Okay, it’s still dashed with hopeful motherhood statements here and there, but promising on national television to not steal, that, for me, is a gutsy, all balls, show stealer. So maybe it was crafted by some ad great that was paid to think for Noynoy and his campaign, but still, having the guts to tell that, with that conviction – and even promising to the grave of your mother and father (bearing in mind too who they are to Philippine history) – is sheer guts.

I’d take that anytime versus Villar’s boasting that he has tried to swim an ocean of garbage. Because if that were a qualification, hell, let’s get our next president from Payatas.

Conquering Zambales: The Race (first of three parts)

2009-08-13T16:45:00.005+08:00

Seeing the teams early in the morning, we started to doubt ourselves. There were individual corporate sponsors? Yes, there were! My brother and I were raising our eyebrows, but we said, “well okay, we’re underdogs, then.” But we were in for more surprises.

It was clear, during the morning briefing - after being treated to a very unassuming breakfast in styros - that this was not a car race; that you would not be judged by your car’s speed (where we at an obvious disadvantage, having a mere family sedan). The other competitors brought 4x4s and AUVs.

At the sound of the gun, we were told, the race officially starts. The first task was fairly easy: search the nearby stores (most of them the event’s sponsors) for a certain clue, if I remember it correctly. (Gee, give me a break here it happened almost a year ago!) Upon getting that clue, we would know what to do and where to go next. My brother was G-R-E-A-T. Why? He simply took off like the wind; and I was the one going the gym and having weekly basketball stints! I look behind my shoulder and we were already at a disagreement on which way to go. I don’t know, but I guess I trusted his hunch and went with him south of the starting line to a fairly wide road off the plaza of Iba. Teams were hustling and looking for hints on which stores have the clues. I was winded, but was still running. I bet the excitement took over me, because I wasn’t normally that easily tired. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my brother running to me: “I got it!” he exclaimed. It wasn’t too late then, it appears as though we're at least on the top seven of the first teams to have found the clue.

The clue led us to drive to a nearby town to get some bagnet, the famed Ilocano treat that’s almost like the Tagalog’s Crispy Pata. Only, I think, bagnets are dried up in the sun? (I’m really not too sure about that though. Could just be a myth of sorts) We had to drive to the next town that had this delicacy, and we had to find it in the palengke stalls! This is starting to get to me and my brother (he’s Mark, a.k.a. “Eco”, by the way) – the good way: we’re starting to get hyped by the “Amazing Race” feel. So is it going to be like that?

Getting to the town that had bagnet was really a breeze, of course there were mandatory brushes with other competitors, on and off road. Some were overtaking others as it started to become more of a car race this early: people boasting their engines.

It was a bit of a spoonfeed when we sa uniformed guys almost ushering - wait, really ushering - us to where we were supposed to go. But heck, we thought, this isn't really the Amazing Race. Eco decided to jump out of the car and try to find it as I parked the car politely. Again, Eco breezed out like a real reality show race specialist! I went after him only to find out that it should really be a piece of cake. All the people were leading us into the ally where all the stalls with bagnets are. They even made a man-way for us! I was not even in the market for a minute when I saw Eco running back at me holding up the bagnet he got. He had to pay about P120 (if I remember it right) for it though. There goes some of our pocket money!

We rushed to get to the next spot. It told us to get to San Antonio. And damn, did I think we had an advantage there! I was like "Dude, believe me I know the place," and hell, was I wrong.

This is the part where we get to island hop to the famous islands of Camara and Capones, off Pundakit beach. Getting to the resort where we're supposed to ride a boat to the islands, I started getting my panicky, paranoid me: I didn't know if we were supposed to bring along the bagnet. I mean, what if they asked us to camp there and eat the bagnet? Should we leave our things? Our bags? We really didn't know. We ended up giving a lot of headway to the other teams as about seven passed us by while we were planning, thinking of which things to bring. I think this is one of the parts where we just lost it - big time.

(end of The Race - part 1)

"Twitterizing" the net: When there's too much "What are you doing now?" questions

2009-08-04T21:36:00.005+08:00

I'm getting fed up with all this "what are you doing now?" questions. I mean, isn't having a twitter account enough? You might say, "well, why the f did you sign up?" Let's just say I don't wanna be left out? I'm still a kid and I think I'd forever be - at heart, that is.

Just today, I opened my email and found a pop up on Yahoo that asked me the same thing. I mean, has everybody forgotten the world "original" already? In this dog-eat-dog world of information technology, I'm sure, no one cares much about "originality" when the dollar sign is always taunting them to just ride the wave of what's "in". Heck, I'm guilty riding myself!

But my message is this: let's not be predators. Let's just take it forward. I mean look at Facebook. First there was this friend frenzy with Friendster. Facebook was a clone, so everybody thought. But then you sign up and you instantly feel, "hey, this is different."

I guess the challenge, for each and every one of us, these days, is to push it to another level. There are no original ideas already, most of them have already been thought of. So, just for the sake of contributing, let's better each other and challenge our creativity. Let's not waste our time copying. Yahoo!, shame on you!

Now, for my original idea. Good luck with that.

UPCOMING POSTS:

- Conquering Zambales part 2:
- "Cubaohood"

Conquering Zambales, and not quite - really (Part 1: Random thoughts and Iba)

2009-07-23T09:36:00.008+08:00

It was almost about a year ago when I stumbled upon this "Conquer Zambales" thing while surfing channels. I quickly looked for the two things I need: a buddy, and a car (which was a requirement). I just sold my car then and I was fantasizing about the idea that my Dad would actually let me use his. I had another person to come along with me in mind, but when my Dad learned about my plan, he wanted in. That would be cool, I thought: me, my dad, a pseudo Amazing Race kind of a deal… but then I think the race required that the participants had no heart condition? (Or maybe, me and my brother nonchalantly conspired to come up with that)

So I took my brother along. This was going to be fun, we thought. Dad came with us still, though. He was not about to let his two boys have all the fun! And it became a father-son-son road trip of sorts immediately, going through NLEX in the late hours of the day, trying to catch up to the specified assembly time at Iba, Zambales.We took the SCTEX after traversing NLEX. The travel lasted for about four hours. Quite fast, really, if you compare it to normal day travel or a bus ride that takes about two to three stops before finally getting to your destination.

Our trusty “UBK”-plated (get it? “UBK”? My Mom insists it’s short for “U B OKAY”) Mazda 323 was to be tested, at least for long drives, as we were informed. Getting a hand on the map which the Sidetrip Magazine people gave us, we immediately realize that this was going to consume gas – and lots of it. We didn’t have a considerable amount of money. The mechanics said we just needed “some extra cash”, and upon double-checking, the organizers gave us a more tangible ballpark figure: our cash just might hold up.

(PART 2: THE RACE on the next update)

Oh, Eminem!

2009-07-21T19:24:00.002+08:00

"Relapse" is just crazy. It's the - I don't know, fourth, fifth album of Eminem? But it really doesn't matter. There are goods and bads. I'm actually quite undecided...

You're treated to a lot of things that he's already done, and that's where it gets quite boring. I was hoping for a hungry Eminem - you know, just like when Steve Vai (anecdotedly) stopped playing guitar for years and then went in the studio and did "For the Love of God"? (If you don't know the song, here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp1fLW-DS8Q) There just seems to be a lack of hunger in the music, a lack of passion, maybe? And actually, he sounded tired. Now I don't really understand why he's being given a lot of thumbs up by the press. That, I find weird.

But if you like your artist staying still for his entire career, you'd definitely love this album. Okay, I might have probably killed the album when I said it lacked passion, but go on, give it a listen, maybe you could find something in there that I didn't find.

There are NO standout tracks, like "Cleanin' Out My Closet" -standout, and also not much of the Rock/Rap Eminem I came to love. Oh well, he sounded a bit "safer" in "Encore", so maybe there really isn't much there to look forward to for this album.

BUT!!! I heard there's a "Relapse 2" and I'm kinda wishing that he kept the best for last? 'Coz if this is "it" - you know, the thing he could come up with after being gone for like forever - maybe he should retire, like how he hinted on a song in the record.

Oh, Eminem, where are you going?

I still love you though, and you're right - you still are a "tough act to follow". Yeah, he actually said that in one of his songs in the album. Quite narcissistic, eh?

Take two

2009-07-21T19:20:00.001+08:00

I seem to have lost my first blog ever. Well, not exactly lost, but I just can't update it anymore. Anyway, that's bullshit.

***

So here's a take two. I think now I'd have time to write. Plus, yeah, this should be a good practice because I'd be hellbent to make this readable, acceptable - just like when you're writing on a real publication. Oh damn, what am I saying, this is a real publication!

Blogging has come a long way, and it has earned my respect. That's why I'm obviously reviving mine. I used to think it was lame, really. I even relegated it the lowest form of writing. And here I am succumbing, haplessly, to the power of the fourth media.

***

Don't you just love second shots? Because that's where I am now. A second shot, at almost every facet of my life. But I don't wanna delve deeper into that - at least not now, not yet.