Software Freedom Day
National Computer Center
Commission on Information & Communications Technology
C.P. Garcia Avenue, University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City
September 20, 2008
I was there… spotted ^_^
Entries Tagged as 'Mundane Life'
Moonlight walking
Imagine this…
You are living on the edge of the city, when there is a sudden blackout. It is night and raining. Not hard rain, just raindrops bearable without using an umbrella. There were no stars on sight in the sky because it is filled with rain clouds. You know there is a full moon because you can still see the circle outline behind the clouds. You are walking outside and without any source of light visible except the moon light. It is not completely dark, you can see the road, the houses, and even the light posts without light. There are no cars and no people around, except of course yourself. Imagine looking at your surroundings with only the moon as your source of light.
That’s what I’ve experience just two weeks ago. As I set foot outside our house, and started walking towards the gate of our subdivision. Its was night, cloudy, rainy, and a little bit chilly. I could have used my cell phone as a light source to better see the road, but it was raining and I wouldn’t make an effort to get it wet. Besides I can still see clearly.
It was like I was in a twilight zone (for the lack of better term) or a hollywood movie wherein the whole earth was shrouded in dark clouds and not even a single sunlight can penetrate it. It was night, but you can see everything in gray. Not clear, but everything can be seen.
That was the first time I experienced it. Walking in total darkness, with only the moon as your light.
And I kinda like it. ^_^
My office desktop view
As I was browsing my old posts here on my ‘personal’ blog I stumbled upon the Desktop Free View post I made last year, which I was tagged by someone. Since I have a free time here at the office, I made a screenshot of my desktop. And here it is…
My office desktop wallpaper
(click image for a larger view)
I’m using a wide screen monitor here at the office and it has a resolution of 1440×900 so if you clicked on the image for a full view, it may stretch out a bit, specially if you are using a standard 1024×768 monitor.
I’m using the same Black Vista theme on my Windows XP. I like the theme, but I don’t like running Vista on my machine, that’s why I still use Windows XP. The background wallpaper is a familiar sight if you’ve been to Hong Kong (or watched Tomb Raider 2 or The Dark Knight). That is the International Finance Centre, and is the tallest structure in its local area. I was reminded of the scene when I was there and the tour guide was explaining to us (tourists) about the structures there. I remember that he said something along the lines of… “it is like two hands that were clasp together praying to the sky” or something like that.
Like my PC at home, I don’t have any icons on the desktop itself. And I make use of the Quick launch toolbar for easy access of my most used applications. Now let’s see what programs I have running based on the screenie.
On the system tray from left to right:
- VNC Server. I think the former System Admin here at the office used that application to administrate the computers over the network. I don’t really know how/when to use it because he didn’t showed me how to. Anyways, I can pretty much administer all the computers in our network through my own skills.
- uTorrent. Yep, it’s a peer-to-peer download client. I’m downloading a movie if you’re asking.
- Yahoo! Messenger. We use that for office communication both here at the Manila office, and to the other group at Los Angeles.
- Another Yahoo! Messenger. This is logged-in to my personal account. For additional chat hours. Haha. And yes, my YM is hacked that’s why I can run multiple versions of the client.
- Autorun Virus Remover. Licensed and registered full version. I really like this program. It is not an alternative virus scanner for your PC, but it blocks those annoying autorun viruses that came from most USB devices, and that includes flash drives, digital cameras, mobile phones, MP3 players, etc. I really recommend this to everyone, since most trojans and worms nowadays came from USB devices.
- ESET Smart Security. I replaced BitDefender as my primary anti-virus because of its mediocre performance last year. It is normally colored light blue when active, and red when inactive. It is orange because my trial period is nearing its end.
And on the immediate right of the Start menu is the Quick Launch Bar. The first three app shown are (1) Firefox, (2) Microsoft Outlook, (3) Yahoo! Messenger. And the rest not shown apps are: uTorrent, AutorunRemover, Cabos (a good free lightweight P2P client like Limewire/Frostwire), CCleaner, FlashGet, Google Chrome, IrfanView, Malwarebytes’ Anti-malware, QuickTime Player, Remote Desktop Connection, Spybot Search and Destroy, SpywareBlaster, Winamp, and Windows Media Player.
If you notice most of the applications I use are either an anti-virus (security) software, or a download client. I love both. Downloading stuff and computer security.
^_^
Use of ID in a restaurant
I was in Makati yesterday waiting for something, when I decided to have a snack at a nearest restaurant. I went to a McDonalds outlet and ordered a 6-piece chicken nuggets with fries and iced tea (which conveniently cost exactly 100 pesos). Anyway as I was having my fill, I noticed a woman who just entered the restaurant, looked for a table and then left her ID there.
I realized that she was alone and that she somewhat ‘reserved’ herself a seat. She then proceeded to the line at the counter. I never would have thought that something as small as an ID can be used to reserve yourself a table if you are alone in a restaurant. I mean, I’ve seen people leave their bags or some other things on a table just so that nobody would take it. It’s just plain resourceful. Although, there is a chance that it might get stolen, but heck it’s a very small chance.
The chair I was sitting was faced towards the door and the table that was ‘reserved’ by the lady is near it. I stayed a couple of minutes more to see if anything interesting is going to happen, so I observe the people passing by the table. A few minutes later, while that lady was still at the line at the counter, two other women went in and sat on her table. The two noticed the ID, and as far as I can tell (which I can’t really hear what they are talking about), they thought that someone left (lost) her ID.
I was thinking of any possible outcome of this event. The lady would have to settle to switch to another table, since at that time there are a lot of vacant ones by the time she is done at the counter. Or she would still insist on the table she left her ID on, and let the other two switch tables.
What really happened was the latter, she insisted that the two move to another table. I don’t know what’s so special about that table, besides the fact that it is the nearest table on the door and just beside the glass window. I casually observed the other two on what their reactions would be. They are not really affected by what happened, but I noticed that they are talking about the lady who reserved her table.
So… that’s it. You can use an ID to reserve a table if you are eating alone. But why are you eating alone, when you can call up some friends to join you.
Also, it helps if you have an internet capable mobile phone while waiting. Globe just started their new internet browsing plan for only 5 pesos for every 15 minutes of browsing. Just type in TIME and send to 1111, and wait for the confirmation. You can browse any website, and not to worry about charging you for every kb downloaded. It’s really cheap and fast, specially if you use 3G or HSDPA connection. For more details, read my post at Tambayan.ph.
Grills, bars, 86, and Vegas
Last week was Mike’s turn to visit back here in the Philippines (last January was Aldrin). Even if our barkada is seldom complete, we still manage to hang around and have a get-together gimmick. It’s hard for us to have a complete reunion because most of us are countries apart.
Anyway, our first stop (2008.03.09) since Mike arrived was at Gerry’s Grill (Trinoma). A heavy dinner with lots of meat and iced tea. The weather is good, the air is cool but not too cold.
Left to right. Suzette (Mike’s wife), Mike (our sponsor for the night), Me (just tagged along to enjoy the free food and drinks), Jerrue (same reason as me), and Marvin (our pilot for the day).
Last Thursday (2008.03.13), is guys night.
Increased food intake was one of the highlights of the day. Around 4pm, late lunch at KFC and immediately after that, dessert at Iceberg. By 8pm, dinner at SM North (forgot the name of the resto) foodcourt. Then the four of us (photo above) went to Grillas at Commonwealth. It’s unfortunate that Oli (another of our barkada) couldn’t join us because he has some “responsibilities” to attend to. It was another night for a round of beer and pulutan. It was a whole night (till 4am) of food and drinks.
It could have been longer, but I have a scheduled meeting in Ortigas at 6am. So after I got home around 4:30am. I immediately took a shower, changed my clothes, and got out. Yup, that was a whole day of no sleep. Hehe.
My apologies for the poor photo quality. None of us brought a digital camera, all we got is our mobile phones. It was a very long and eventful night. Although as much as I like to tell the detailed story, I can’t. Because like what they always say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Another thing…
I saw the legendary car from the anime Initial D, parked at Trinoma. Good thing we have a digital camera at that time. I couldn’t get more shots because we’re already in the van and we were leaving the parking lot.
I’m not entirely sure if it is an exact replica of the Toyota Trueno AE86, the car that the protagonist of the series used.
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