Sunday, October 29, 2006

Fireworks season

We are nearing Guy Fawkes day and the usual shops have started selling fireworks this year. Already we hear incidents of stupid kids shooting each other with fireworks and even shooting buses and cars on the road.

There's been some arson attempts as well and firefighters have been called out to put out shrubs and burning letterboxes.

I don't think this will end unless the government ban the selling of fireworks to the public. I do not want to admit it but the kids today and are too careless and irresponsible with fireworks.

Last year, there were a few incidents. This year, I feel the worst is yet to come.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

MUA: The wait is over!


"When the Masters of Evil unite, it’s time to form an Ultimate Alliance." wotta geek!

Nick, i've done my duties as a True Believer, and pre-ordered for the Xbox in time for the Nov 2 release in Oz. Spider-sense tingling!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

In Struggle


it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees! ---Emiliano Zapata

Monday, October 23, 2006

NBA: Ultimate Fantasy

this is the Commissioner Gimli's Cup!

below is the el kobe lineup (my team!), and appropriately enough, i got kobe himself in this virtual league that was organised by Godzilla! i'm still not all too sure about the mechanics of this ultimate fantasy NBA, but it's all about the stat points that each real life NBA player generates in the upcoming season. i haven't been able to watch that much games in the 2006 season, but i got my mythical five granted to me by sheer luck (yeah, i wish it was lotto instead): Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Manu Ginobili, Steve Nash, and Tracey McGrady (special mention to Melburnian Andrew Bogut of course).

I've noted below the other lineups for other teams, which I think have got a colourful mix as well.


Ian's lineup:

Stewie's lineup:

Team Rav's lineup:

Henson's lineup:

Rennan's lineup:


And the new NBA conference starts at the end of the month!

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Food Review: Anatolian (Broadmeadows)


the Anatolian at the Broady Town Centre along Pascoe Vale Road was a surprise treat over dinner not so long ago for myself and the family. it's my nephew's first month, and coincidentally, the first year that i've been engaged to my lovely fiancee. but i digress.

we came in on time, and the service at the counter was very professional and courteous. we were given the choice of staying on the ground floor because of the pram, but we opted for the balcony setting upstairs in the new Broadmeadows Mall extension.

the table was already set for a massive party of 10, and the first to grace our palates was this salad setting. i'm not sure how early those were placed on the table, but noticing some of the other guests who came in later, it would have been just a couple of minutes before they sat down. it's nice to see how meticulous they were with their booking system.

it was a couple of minutes wait before the soup came in. this looked like some vege-soup because of what seemed like seeds. when we finally dug in, they felt like pasta or really soft rice! definitely a surprise appetiser in terms of texture and (un)expectation. although it didn't really taste much for me, the experience was enough to pique my interest on what else was to come. the waitress tried to explain that the soup didn't have an english translation, but it's called something like "shekaia"?

the turkish bread and various dips were so intoxicating that i thought that's what really made me too full by the end of the night. a vegetarian and several meat-lover dishes were served shortly, and they were prepared really well that even the lamb-haters in the party didn't mind the kebabs! the course was finalised with a noodle-covered baklava, which is just that: different. all in all, the meal was scrumptuous and the service equally admirable and appreciated.

4 out of 5 stars for this one.

Karima as Lara


yet another Lara Croft? Karima Adebibe was apparently plucked from a sales job in England. and what about that neck! p.s. she's only 20 years old.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Happy 1st Birthday, Binky!!!

What am I doing here? What are you doing with that camera? Oh it's my birthday!!!
Now what?

What is this? I get to eat a cake? I'm scared of that yellow thing...


Shouldn't the cake be down there so I can eat it?


yey! It smells pretty good...


hmm...It tastes good, too!! I like the cream!!!

HMMM Yum!!!

Share the pain

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Refreshing!

I tried my very first ever Mello Yello today.

BS! What? I hear some of you say. Honestly, I've never heard of Mello Yello until a couple of weeks ago when I heard it in a radio ad. Apparently it is a 80's drink. Back then I was a sprite/7up drinker. Probably because I "obey my thirst" and liked Fido Dido.

So I went to Pak n Save today and saw Mello Yello and decided to get a bottle. But before I tasted it, I was drinking Mountain Dew.

First impressions were....yuck...I think it was because I just had Mountain Dew and MD is a very sweet drink. But after a while, Mello Yello started tasting better. Almost like Mountain Dew.

So conclusions...I like Mello Yello. Just as much as I like or prefer Fanta Orange and Purple and Mountain Dew.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Tech too fast

Darn it! Just bought a LCD TV and here comes the next one.

Laser TVs are said to be launched in a couple of years time. And here we are calculating the lifetime of the flat screens we just bought...yeah it should lastat least 5 years...10 years even...

bloody hell.

Oh well. Thanks Rennanimal.

Movies and Mobile Phones

Check this out.

I was was watching the opening scenes of the movie Bad Company, right?...

In the opening scene, Chirs Rock introduces Anthony Hopkins to the bad guy who is selling a device in a suit case. I think it was abomb or something. Anyway, Hopkins showed the money/deposit of $1 million and asks the bad guy when he will see the device. The bad guy answers, "...10 days" then one of his goons hands over a Nokia 9000 series mobile phone. Product placement? Most likely. This is pretty common in the movies, right? Not just product placement but the bad guy handing over a phone and saying hold on to this and we will call you when we are ready.

Here is my question. 10 days! Will the phone last that long on stand by? How long has the phone been on? Are you sure it will last 10 days? What if by the time they call the phone's on "low batt" and as soon as the bad guy calls, the phone dies. What if this was a kidnapping case? The bad guy would think the good guy hung up on him and will end up killing the hostage!

Let's say the good guy is smart (which they never are in the movies) and decides to save power by switching off the power. The bad guys never say..."Oh by the way, the PIN number is #### in ase the phone gets switched off"

You don't see the bad guys giving the good guy the charger either! Will the good guy go to a mobile accesory shop and by a charger for that particular phone? They never do.

So how is it the the phone lasts that long?

Monday, October 09, 2006

A cool toy?

Just found this really "cool" thing...

An ice cube tray!!



(LINK) Problem is, what if a kid is playing with these ice cubes (sucking on ice) and somehow the kid decided to do the same to the "real" lego brick?

Potential choker!!

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Salary Reviews and human behaviour

We recently had a salary review at work. Or what the company prefer to call it, "Performance Reviews".

Nothing wrong with this term however, this is an excuse so the company do not have to give the employees a raise. i.e. They will simply say "We never told you we were reviewing your salary!"
Since the economic forecast does not look very good, the company is a bit tight on giving pay rises (in addition to cutting down on budgets). Some people got their raise though but you can never expect much from an annual pay rise. What is a good annual pay rise? I believe companies should at least increase pay equal to the economic inflation to cover extra costs like petrol price increases, parking, food, etc. On top of that will be the performance reward. Inflation this year is about 4% so the minimum pay rise should be 6%-8%.

Anyway, one annoying thing also happens during thess periods - People at work asking whether you got a pay rise or how much you earn. It is as simple as answering yes or no for the first question but you can see it in their eyes that they are wanting to know more by the look in their eyes and their weird grin. Some people will have no issues disclosing their salary to you but to most, like myself, it is a topic I do not find easy (or more accurately do not wish) to discuss and I'll tell you why...

First of all I am curious to know what other people get paid but I do not and have never, ever, gone and ask a person how much their salary is. Two main reasons: first one is that I do not intend of disclosing mine and it will not be fair if I ask and not share. Second, sharing this information at work will have the potential to put you, and/or your manager, in an awkward situation. Whoever finds out may go and use this knowledge as a negotiating tool and hold your manager at ransom.

Occasionally we, the kuyas, talk about pay in our email chats. The discussion does not go anywhere really. No one will disclose figures and it is really no one's business even if we are all close friends. I suppose it is slightly different with friends but it is still an issue of privacy. It is always a silly thing we play teasing each other who earns more... but you can somewhat tell anyway (and this is a slightly different topic)

Either close friend or colleague, we all wonder how much another person gets paid. We are simply very curious. If we do find out, we will probably think of one of two things: The pay is too low for that person or that person is earning way too much for not doing anything....that $%&^$%& bastard!

I do would like to point out that there is nothing wrong if you happen to find out by accident. :) Or if someone found out and tells you.
Anyway, so now that you know how much other people earn. What now? What do you do with this information? Are you happier? Does it affect you?

The answer to these questions will depend on whether you respect that individual and his job and whether you accept the situation. For example, there is this guy at work, who shall remain nameless, and he is said to be the highest paid sub editor in the company. I do not know if this is true but if it is then it is unacceptable because for one thing he is only responsible for one magazine. Half the time he watches youtube, read news, and play card games. There are others in the company whose time is split between 2-3 different departments and earn less. How unfair is that?

Here's another situation, let's say you know how much the other person earns but he does not have the exact responsibilities as you do. So you cannot and should not compare your pay to theirs. You are in a different skill area.

Regardless of all of these, there is one thing I think we can all agree on. You can never earn enough. Sad but true.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Ghost Rider Site


Check out the Ghost Rider site and trailers!! Not bad so far! I wonder how Cage would've looked like if he had done Superman Returns?

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Secret to staying young

No, I did not find the fountain of youth.

But I found something that will turn any source of water into a "fountain of youth"



Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Conversation between a Mac and a PC

http://www.examforce.com/customer/ct_newsarticle.php?f=view_ind&id=241

MAC
Hi, I'm a Mac--

PC
--and I'm a PC.

MAC
You know, we really do share a lot of things in common.

PC
That's true.

MAC
For instance, we both have a web browser, email program, and media player bundled with our operating systems.

PC
Of course, in your case it's a value-add for users, and in my case it's a monopolistic practice deserving of billions of dollars in fines.

MAC
Well, you know, you kind of make it difficult for people to use an alternative.

PC
Yes, I see, sort of like offering a music player that only works with one online music store, and with only one software application--

MAC
But you're doing that now too. With that Zool player--

PC
Zune. It's called Zune. Like "dune," except with a zee. Or if you're Canadian, a zed.

MAC
Whatever. You know, let's not argue. What I was getting at is that we're both good at doing certain types of things.

PC
Such as?

MAC
Well, like, you're really good at doing spreadsheets, and I'm really good at doing creative things, like making movies and music and things that actually nurture the soul rather than dragging it down into a corporate morass of humiliating emasculation and crushing spiritual defeat.

PC
I... you know... I can play Hearts.

MAC
Really? That's... wow.

PC
And Freecell. I can play Freecell right out of the box.

MAC
After you've been service packed, that is--

PC
No, I can play Freecell without a service pack. And Spider Solitaire.

MAC
That's cool.

PC
And, you know... anyway, I heard what you said about people having to remove all of the trial versions of software I have, but you come with trial
versions of Office and iWork.

MAC
Well, that's a value add for users.

PC
You see? Whenever you do something that I do....

MAC
Like catch a virus? Except oh, wait, I don't.

PC
Yes, well, if I only made up 3% of the population, I probably wouldn't be walking around with a target on my back larger than Dick Cheney's secret bank accounts.

MAC
Hey, there's more people switching to me than ever before.

PC
You see, that's interesting. Because, normally the business market isn't too quick to pay twice as much for a workstation that doesn't run 90% of the software ever written.

MAC
It's not twice as much.

PC
Oh, well, you know--

MAC
It's not twice as much. That's just crazy talk.

PC
Whatever. Hey, we said we wouldn't argue.

MAC
Well when you insist on spreading these lies--

PC
Oh, you mean like you saying how you never freeze up, or need to restart?

MAC
I DON'T freeze up.

PC
Oh, okay my bad. Hey, what's that beach ball doing spinning over your head?

MAC
Hey, that's almost funny. Like the thought of you having a soul. That's funny too.

PC
Yeah, well this soulless dude could buy and sell your ass tomorrow, buddy. I've got over $30 billion in the bank. Those aren't just--

MAC
Have you ever kissed a girl?

PC
I... what does that have to do with anything?!

MAC
I was just wondering, you know. If you had ever. Because I don't see it, honestly.

PC
Are you insinuating something? You? With your androgynous color scheme and your "intuitive" nature? Oh, please. You wouldn't know what a dick was if it slapped you in the face. Oh wait, I guess maybe you DO know.

MAC
Okay, well at least I'm getting some, Mister "I still live in my parent's basement."

PC
Oh, I'm getting some all right. You should see some of the stuff I have archived in my memory. If you think the DOJ has a problem with my professional life... you have no idea what goes on behind password-protected windows, my queer little slacker emo friend.

MAC
That's disgusting. And you know what? Chicks dig creative guys. In fact, I get more ass than a toilet seat. Musicians, artists, they--

PC
No, chicks dig guys with over $30 billion in the bank. They may flirt with the three-day-stubble, latte sipping, Bravo watching, limp-wristed bohemians during pointless moments while standing in line at Starbucks, but in the end, the ladies always come home with the guy who can wrap them in furs from some endangered species, pay for their annual elective surgeries when they get older, and who are willing to turn a blind eye when the slack-faced "artist" pool boy gives her a cheap thrill while I'm busy crushing competitors and filling my pockets with cash. So go ahead and make your little art films and post them on You Tube, oh empowered auteur. Record your angst-ridden, anti-establishment tunes and put them up on your .Mac site. Play your little free spirit reindeer games, and while you're doing that, me and a few select others will take care of running the world. And, if every so often I have to stand in front of the camera and let you belittle and mock me while I look confused and ineffective in order to keep the unwashed stupid masses happy and content, well, that's a pretty reasonable price tag for the biggest stick in the playground.

(long pause)

MAC
Oh my god, you're really, really creepy.

PC
I'm sorry, did I say something? I'm kind of feverish... I have that new virus that's going around.

MAC
I've seen the true face of evil. Don't even try to cover up.

PC
Oh, I think I have to restart...

MAC
I am SO blogging about this. People will listen to me. You'll see.

PC
I'm sorry? What were we talking about?

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Friends and weddings

After last weekend, I was contacted by another old friend. This time it was an old friend back in my uni days. Amilia use to be in my class, mostly science papers. When was the first time I met her?...hmm. I think it was in my second or third yr. We were introduced by this malaysian dude Kai.

I remembered back then she was always smiling and joking around. Very very seldom you can have a serious conversation with her. Not in a bad way though. I mean the conversations are always happy and not sad.

She is now getting married in 6 days! Come Oct 7 she will tie the knot. I've been chatting with her for the past couple of days. She's panicking like any bride-to-be would. About the event, about the clothes, about shoes, etc. But I'm sure when the time comes, on the day, everything will be fine. Somehow there is this calmness on the day and so far I've never seen a bride who is not calm on their wedding day.

I did give her some advice and told her that usually these arrangements etc are carried out by the bridal party. That is why they are there. They are not there just to pose you know. That's traditionally anyway. Nowadays, the bridal party don't do much. They do help out a little but the true responsibilities of the bridemaids and groomsmen (hint in the name) have somehow been lost in time.

That's ok. Couples today hire or assign wedding managers! This can be a friend, someone at the function centre, or a relative like a brother or uncle, auntie, whoever...

There are two kuyas getting married soon. I wonder how they are doing with plans...Ever since the announcement a year ago, I haven't heard much about it. It is true that getting engaged and getting married are two different things. As I understand, no two siblings can get married within the same year. I do not know why so don't ask. This means one of the kuyas will get married in 07 and one in 08?

I have a brother getting married in Melbourne soon too. I do not know the date yet but I think it may be early 07. Actually their situation have changed and I'm not sure if they are still getting married in Melbourne.

My sister is getting married in November. Now this occasion will be interesting. First of all she invited some of my cousins back in the Philippines. If the email distribution list is an indication of who is coming, then I'll be seeing at least 3 cousins from pinas whom I have not seen in a very long time. So far I'have not seen Debbie, Dorothy, and Jacobb. We don't hang out very often with these cousins. Debbie was really small back then. So she is pretty much a stranger to me. Dorothy and Jacobb are siblings and both doctors. It was their father's dream for both of them including their third sibling to all have the title "Dr". In fact he extended this dream to me and my sister. Sorry to disappoint but I'm not one. Although I'm very good at Doctoring things from images to emails so I suppose I might as well be one. But My brother managed to accomplish this so in a way I've passed the buck on him.

In addition to my cousins, she invited a couple of her old firends from pinas one of whom lives in San Fran and the other happens to be my ex-gf. She is now married with children though. So yes, like I said...it would be interesting.