Happy Year Of The Firefox, I mean, Dog. It just sounds cooler that way.
Actually, the Chinese calendar is a year late as Mozilla Firefox made major strides last year and slowly chipped Microsoft's hold on browser dominance to less than 90% for the first time since they took over from Netscape years ago.
This does not mean that Firefox would be slowing down this year even if Microsoft comes out with the much delayed and needed Internet Explorer 7.
If you still haven't made the switch (poor you), do yourself a big favor and download it now. While you're at it, you might as well look into Mozilla Thunderbird and POP3 your GMal account.
The work week was quite hectic, but has been the most fun I've had since the start of the year. Now, we have a whole week free for ourselves.
And what better way to start it off than with a video game. Actually, I caught up on some much needed sleep and kind of reset my body clock to sleeping past midnight for this week.
Big choices were made. Among the several titles I could and need to play, I had Resident Evil 4, Prince of Persia, and Indigo Prophecy in mind.
Decided to pop in Indigo Prophecy for a quick whirl and I have been playing it the whole day with the only break being lunch and a quick shower. The game was actually called Fahrenheit which was the name they used for the European release as evident in the black and white TV mode selection screen when the game is first loaded up.
Adventure games do not normally suck me in like that as a good RPG does, but this one did.
First things first. I'd call this more of an interactive movie rather than a full-fledged video game. You basically sit there and watch sequence after sequence pushing buttons for the dialogue and action sequences. Interactive in the sense that you select what the characters have to say and of course, you still move them on screen and have them do stuff.
Sounds boring right? I assure you that it is not. The game controls are very intuitive and mind bogglingly simple that you would get the hang of it in a matter of minutes. Like Katamari Damacy, this game makes major use of the analog sticks.
Another thing which would get you sucked in is the story. The story is told from the perspectives of the 3 main characters you switch from. Well, in reality there are only two as the other two characters have a very similar perspective, but it is still very engaging.
The game has an autosave feature which provides continuous gameplay without you realizing how far or how much time you have already spent playing the game. You're body would just tell you "I'm hungry, let's eat" or "You stink, should bathe now" as you'd have no sense of time while playing the game.
I want to play more, but it's just that I need my CSI fix.
The last call for the day was quite frustrating, and mind you, it gets me more if it is a hard computer problem rather than a whinny customer. For the past 3 days, I have been feeling pretty good about handling calls as my batting average is now back to a passing level.
Then comes the last call for the day, an hour and a half spent on the phone, quickly obliterating any short calls I made during the day. I finished a shave over the required average. Sheesh.
Things like this as well as the travel time, seems to push me away from this line of work. Well, if that would be the case then so be it.
Something was announced in the middle of the shift which was truly surprising. Without a days notice, we have to report to work 3 hours earlier than before. Like 4 in the freaking morning was not early enough, they had to make it 1 in the morning. I consider myself lucky to still chance upon the early jeepneys who leave this remote place around 2, but an hour before midnight? I am not that lucky. Come to think of it I am not lucky at all.
1 in the morning means leaving home around 11:30 in the evening, bringing my mother along as we still need to look for a driver who would be available at those hours. Add to that, the money I need to spend as payment for the driver as well as for the gasoline is too much. I'd be operating at a loss here.
Good thing is that it would only be for two days as we would be on leave for a whole week. Sadly, I won't be able to say if it would be the same once we get back from hour leave. Could be the final straw I am waiting for.
Damn. Talk about flexibility. Yes we are flexible, that's why we signed the contract, we knew what we were getting into. Thing is, a little freaking consistency wouldn't hurt.
You can only pull a rubber band so much until it breaks, and in the rare instance wherein it does not, it will never go back to it's original shape and size.
Over the weekend I watched one movie in the theater, Underworld Evolution. This was on Saturday. Day-offs, which where on Monday and Tuesday, was spent sleeping and watching DVDs.
It has been quite sometime since I saw Underworld in the theaters and I was quite surprised the sequel, Underworld Evolution, was released with hardly any advertising at all. Heck, it wasn't even screened by the critics when they released it this year. Nor did I even see the trailer.
After seeing the sequel, I can see why they didn't have a screening for critics. The only good thing about the movie was Kate Beckinsale in a leather suit. Of course the overall goth feel was still pretty good. Plus it was movie about vampires and I'd trade that for pretty much anything.
With no idea of what game I want to start during my day-offs, I decided to watch the DVDs I procured over the week.
Started off with Grandma's Boy, which is an amusing movie about video games, geeks, nerds, pot, etc. It's a Happy Madison production, which is owned by Adam Sandler, and of course the movie has a cameo of Rob Schneider in it. I loved this movie mainly because I can relate to video games, plus it's culture. I do not call my parents "roommates" though. So if you are into video gaming and pot, as well as the usual Adam Sandler type of humor, this one is up your boat.
Next up was Crash, which was a surprisingly interesting movie about racism. It was masterfully done and showed a number of different minorities and social prejudices towards each one. The cast was quite star-studded as well, akin to Ocean's 11/12, but each character was so balanced that you could not think of anyone who really stood out. If I would have to pick two, it would be Matt Dillon and Don Cheadle. You should see this movie, if you haven't already. It was originally released in 2004.
Those two movies wrapped up Monday, as I woke up around 1 in the afternoon and had CSI on AXN in the evening.
Started Tuesday with Gore Verbinski's The Weather Man. I don't know why but this movie feels eerily familiar to Adaptation. Still, this movie is another interesting one and I just couldn't wait for it to be screened in the theaters. Nicolas Cage is quite entertaining in these roles and is starting to grow in them as well. I loved Adaptation and Lord of War as well. It would be a real shocker for me to see him Ghost Rider which is a completely different role in the movies he has been in as of late.
I learned a new word from this movie, camel toe.
Also, it was quite surprising to see this kind of a movie from the guy who directed The Ring and Pirates of the Caribbean.
The movie was followed by two mediocre ones, Bug Me Not and Trauma.
Bug Me Not is a Hong Kong movie with some CG bugs in it. It was amusing but not really worth it. It did provide a few laughs and the lead actresses is so lovely. She's slim and her neck is just so long and delicious. This would be the reason why I bought a copy, I guess.
At the very least, it had some redeeming factor. Trauma did not have any at all. It was crap and was time wasted which could have been spent watching something else I've already seen or masturbating. Why did I buy it then? Well, it seemed intriguing and Mena Suvari was in it.
Still got a couple of DVDs unwatched, sadly, there is no more time and I need to wake up at 1 in the morning for work tomorrow. How exciting is that? Bah!
You have got to be kidding me. This is so appalling.
Publishers will have to negotiate a levy of between 3 per cent and 5 per cent of the cover price of any book or publication “containing the Pope’s words”. Those who infringe the copyright face legal action and a higher levy of 15 per cent.
Officials said that newspapers would be free to publish extracts from papal documents without charge once they were officially released, but only by “prior agreement”. The rules cover not only encyclicals — the most authoritative papal pronouncements, issued in Latin — but also the Pope’s homilies at his weekly audiences on Wednesdays, and his addresses at Angelus prayers on Sundays. -- Read More
Some people may ask why others stop going to church, etc. Thing is, we still
believe. It's not the religion or the ideal, it's the institution. Well, the
institution makes the religion, but I know you get what I mean, you people are
smarter than that.
Christ, WWJT (What Would Jesus Think).
Got home a little earlier than usual as there was not much traffic build up along Ortigas Extension. Also, I was in a little hurry since I was going to test out a new game for the PC. Come to think of it, I may have forgotten to log myself out from the workstation I was using at work.
Anyway, installed it. Immediately after opening, a window for ActiveMovie Window appears and nothing else happens. There would be another window for the executable itself, but clicking on it gives back an error and closes out the game.
Updated the video drivers, no go. Uninstalled and reinstalled the game, no go. Decided to try and google some answers and stumbled across, this particular forum. Tried it out and boom! The game now loaded until the main menu screen. Lovely.
I am not getting my hopes up too much as I have yet to actually play the game and I am still wondering if my PC is still cursed. Will try it again once I have finished my dinner as well as downloaded the latest Omega drivers.
As everyone who has been reading this journal knows, my computer is not really gamer friendly. I think she's being jealous of the time I spend gaming with the PS2. Damn, I really need to name these girls soon, it would make a more interesting blog.
Yesterday, I did not notice that I didn't have spare change for the jeepney ride home and I sure as hell didn't want to give a whole 500 peso bill as it is very likely it would come back in 20s. I decided to drop by Ever Gotesco and look for something which would break my bill into smaller ones.
Saw DVD movies and purchased 5 of them. At 80 pesos each, it would total to 400 pesos which 100 pesos to spare. Damn impulsiveness.
Among them was Shopgirl which I watched last night. It's a romantic comedy based on a novel by Steve Martin and stars Steve Martin, Claire Danes, and Jason Schwartzman. Actually, more romance and less comedy. The three main characters were wonderful. Steve Martin should be writing more books and making them into movies than signing up for movies like Cheaper By The Dozen. You must see this movie.
The movie feels a lot like Lost In Translation and that alone gives you a reason to watch it. If you haven't seen Lost In Translation, well, why the hell haven't you? Grab a DVD copy if you'd be fortunate to chance upon it.
Not entirely sure if it would be released in theaters locally as IMDB does not have it on the list for 2006. Hopefully it would as it will make a good date movie which I would see alone. Again.
Oh, and if you hate Claire Danes, let it pass this time. Don't let that ruin a nice movie like this.
Dragon Quest VIII Status: Defeated
After 70+ hours of playing the Dragon Quest VIII which I started playing back in November, I am finally through it all. Finished the game slightly before lunch today.
I should be happy but the most unfortunate thing happened while the ending credits were rolling. The game/console/disc suddenly stopped/locked/whatever. Suddenly, it was back to Final Fantasy VIII all over again.
Shit, I just noticed that both games just happen to be the eight iteration of the title. Freaking coincidences.
This was worse though. In Final Fantasy VIII, it simply meant missing a few FMVs wherein Zell is taking scenes of the party celebrating. In Dragon Quest VIII, it meant more than missing out a few scenes. The game has an additional dungeon and alternative ending only accessible after you finish the game and save it. Bollocks.
Why does this have to happen to me? Oh well, it just means I have to move on to the next game. Right, like I am so great with moving on.
Anyway, it is still the first accomplishment of the year.
I was a little lost as to what game I'd play next as I still had a bunch piled up so I decided to spend the time watching the unrated, extended, and recut version of Sin City.
The movie was recut into the 4 books it was based on: The Customer Is Always Right, The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard. The extended scenes were a little unsatisfactory but seeing sweet little Miho with nice spear and practicing a little more was quite enjoyable. One special feature was a 10 minute video of the whole movie in fast forward as it originally was, in green and in color without any effects placed yet. Pretty darn slick.
A pretty interesting weekend. Sadly, another boring and lifeless work week starts again tomorrow. There's nothing to look forward to anymore. I need something more to get me through the week.
Last year gave us one of the biggest news items in gadget world, Apple ditching IBM's Power PC and switching (pun intended) to Intel. With the new dual core processors recently release, one could only expect them to be released for the Apple. I never though it would be this soon though.
So behold the MacBook Pro. It's just love at first sight.
Fuck the PowerBook G4.
This baby is well over 4 times faster than what the PowerBook could ever be. Slot loading superdrive. MagSafe power connector. Illuminated keyboard. For more specifications, check here.
Sure, it does not have the piracy and the games a PC has to offer, but this is just too much. Time to save up for another must have item.
Lusting for this item is NOT a sin. The only sin here would be the idea of installing Windows on it.
So the perfect notebook comes out, now all I need is the money.
Well, it's love (It's love)
Make it hurt (I deserve it)
Well, it's love (It's love)
Make it hurt (I deserve it)
Well, it’s love, it’s love, it’s love...
Make it hurt. -- Taking Back Sunday - Bonus Mosh Pt. II
Now for something that would cheer up anyone. This video is crazy and fucking hilarious. You gotta love Pac-Man. Bokka. Bokka.
Spotted From boingboing, full story from bbc.co.uk.
A pack of squirrels at a park in the Lazo village of Russia's Maritime Territory reportedly ganged up on a stray dog that was barking up at them in the trees. Witnesses say the squirrels jumped down, attacked the dog, and killed it.
Squirrels have bitten to death a stray dog which was barking at them in a Russian park, local media report.
Passers-by were too late to stop the attack by the black squirrels in a village in the far east, which reportedly lasted about a minute.
They are said to have scampered off at the sight of humans, some carrying pieces of flesh.
A "big" stray dog was nosing about the trees and barking at squirrels hiding in branches overhead when a number of them suddenly descended and attacked, reports say.
"They literally gutted the dog," local journalist Anastasia Trubitsina told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
"When they saw the men, they scattered in different directions, taking pieces of their kill away with them."
Read this entry a while back and have been wanting to blog about it ever since. Then, I came across another similar situation of animals unleashing their fury. Read on.
Again from boingboing, full story from news.yahoo.com.
A mouse got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves. The blazing creature ran back to the man's house and set it on fire.
"I had some leaves burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran back at the house," Mares said from a motel room Saturday.
No was hurt inside, but the home and everything in it was destroyed.
The attack of the killer squirrels is the story which really scares me. Imagine animals who used to feast on acorns resorting to killing animals, in this case a dog a number of times their own size, for food.
The story of the burning rodent was just unusually funny. A sick, sad story of revenge. The owner should have killed the rodent first before tossing him in the fire. Smart mouse knew exactly were to run.
The first quarter of the year is the craziest time of the year over at work. It's that time of the year when calls just flood in. Current schedule at work was bumped up by an hour, which now at 5 in the morning which is good as there would be no more mishaps that caused me to be late last Thursday.
Only a day with the new schedule and I can already say I do not like it. Lines were queuing until 2:30 in the afternoon at which point calls would come in every 5 minutes. If the workload was like this, being in the night shift would be better because of the night differential.
Day shift does provide one solace which is movies after work. Yesterday, I watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe in Eastwood. Opening day for a movie in Eastwood on a Sunday if crazy. The only available seats when I was buying tickets around 2 in the afternoon was for screenings past 5 in the afternoon. 3 freaking hours.
Fortunately, it was my off today so I decided to just wait. Come to think of it, I would have waited even if I had work the next day. Bought my tickets and stayed in the office until 5.
The screening was supposed to be at 5:10 but I think they started only after 5:30. Eastwood Cinemas has this lousy sense of time wherein movies would always start 10 to 20 minutes later than the screening time listed. This starts with the first screening as I assume they are filling up the theater as much as they can before actually starting. As a result, all other screening times are pushed back.
So by the time it was 5, there was a crowd outside and the movie wasn't even finished. Had to wait to a few more minutes as they cleaned the theater first. Finished the drink I bought while I was waiting for the doors to open. At least the eyes had a feast thanks to the beautiful people who watch in Eastwood.
Now for the movie.
I actually had low expectations about the movie which was mainly fueled by what has been said about it online, by the critics as it is obviously another movie to try and cash in the success of LOTR and HP. Imagine a movie based on a number of books wherein the studios have not even green-lighted the other books to be recreated into a movie until they saw how successful would be.
I enjoyed and loved the experience even though I had no idea what it was about as I have never touched the books. It was long enough, the pacing was adequate as I thought there would be a lengthy scene before they actually discovered Narnia. The movie is definitely for kids which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it brings out the child in you. Lord of the Rings isn't for kids at all, and Harry Potter, on the other hand, is getting darker by the day (year?), so Narnia is a welcome change and addition.
No wonder, Narnia was directed by the same guy who did both Shrek movies, Andrew Adamson. Was curious about who he was so I did a little research. Wow. 3 movies under his belt, all making hundreds of dollars.
I have to say that Georgie Henley who played Lucy Pevensie is the cutest thing ever! The way she acts, smiles and talks is just so adorable. Tilda Swinton (she played the angel Gabriel in Constantine) who played the White Witch also gave a notable performance as did Liam Neeson who voiced Aslan. Oh, loved how the lion looked considering that it was CG.
Great movie to start another exciting year at the movies. I won't even begin to list down the movies I am dying to see this year.
Rather than do a dramatic 180 (and possibly putting your life into a disastrous tailspin), use this time to plan your next steps and then wait a little while before deciding how to implement them. -- horoscope for 01/03/05 from astrology.com
I really don't believe in horoscopes (I stopped believing on a whole lot of other things lately) but they are interesting reads. This particular one is amusing since I have been thinking lately of resorting to finally doing something I have been pushing back for years now. Very timely indeed.
Thing is I have been pushing this back for like forever now. I once mentioned if I didn't get a job here, after a year at work, after I get promoted, after two years at work. The very first instance I do remember saying such a thing was before graduating, mentioning maybe after I turn 25. This happened a year ago (less than a month ago) so I think it is about time.
I just don't know what it is that always holds me back. I guess this is it.
I've been playing Dragon Quest VIII for a total of 56 hours now, according to the game clock that is which maybe a little more in actuality. It's an amazing RPG which really hooked me good. I think I have less than 10 hours to go until it is all over. Yey!
Then there's an alternative ending which continues from the original ending. Ack! At least, I do not have to repeat the whole game from start (or midway) to see it.
Once this is done I can finally move on with my life. Right. There's a load of games lined up, Resident Evil 4, Prince of Persia 3 (I haven't even finished 2 yet), Indigo Prophecy, and Shadow of the Colossus. These are shorter games which run for less than 10 hours of game clock time but in really, it could easily double that the game over screen is more frequent. I might take into consideration this tip I got from Lifehacker to maximize the number of games I play. The tip is to play games on easy. If I love them, I'd do them again on a harder level.
So many things to do, and let's not forget that Wild Arms 4 will be released early February.
It's my day off (just one day as I was off on New Year's day) which was mostly spent with Dragon Quest but I was able to squeeze in Howl's Moving Castle. Great movie. Hayao Miyazaki is really something. Once I have a longer time to waste, I'd have myself a nice Hayao Miyazaki marathon.
I rule you! After so many failed attempts, corrupted downloads, I have finally downloaded Ratatat's Desert Eagle completing the album. Yey! Let's dance.
Another day in another brand new year. It's interesting to think what may happen in the coming months. Exciting more to speak. Just don't hope for anything, as that is a one word obliterated from my vocabulary in 2005.
Not exactly. I still hope, a lot, and I believe that's the main problem why 2005 ended with such a low note. December usually was the best time of the year. This time, nothing significant even happened.
To add insult to injury, I only watched one movie in the theaters, which was King Kong and one on DVD, which was Serenity. Both amazingly spectacular movies but still, compared to other months, this is an all time low.
There was one thing though which made December better, it was Persephone. If it wasn't for her, the month would have been less than a footnote to an interesting year.
Since it's already 2006, it maybe a little late for a year in review. Then again, it was the year that was and due to the tense it could not have been written on the year as well.
So here I go with my own version.
RELATIONSHIPS. The best thing which happened in 2005 was falling in love and feeling it at that level. Of course, it only reached that level due to my intense imagination. Normal things which happened where blown out of proportion by these stupid images and dreams. By the last two sentences one could say that things did not work out, as it didn't. Not even close. I do believe that we both wanted it and tried to make things happen. Well, I didn't have to try as it was already there, but I'd be more pathetic and worthless than I already am if I do not believe that we did.
WORK. I talk about work all the time, but this year saw two promotions after more than a year at work. It was about time if I'd be allowed to say. It made me feel better about myself and what I am capable of (which I have found out isn't that special anyway) and gave me the courage to start opening this gift I thought was for me dated December 2004.
FASHION. Yes, fashion. I am the least fashionable guy there is which could explain why everyone is running away from me. Still love sporting jeans and sneakers but the main change was the size of the shirts I wear which includes t-shirts and polos. In the past, I'd more likely wear a shirt 2 to 3 sizes larger which makes me look like, I dunno. This year, I finally started wearing shirts which actually show my elbows and even a few inches above it. Smaller shirts with a more comfortable feel. It does increase my confidence from negative something something to zero, which isn't much but still a good thing. Mind you, I mentioned smaller and I do not mean those tight fitting muscle shirts which gym people were.
EXERCISE. Aside from what my hands do everyday (don't get green now, I mean videogames), I try to do push ups. I started at 30 which initially made my arms ache for a bloody week. Now I can do a hundred (or more), with no more pains in the arms. Sure, my frame maybe the lightest you have seen on a guy but it is still something, considering that 30 used to kill me already. Noticeable changes would be the better looking chest (no more guitar chords) and shoulders which makes me feel a bit better in those shirts. Also, a day spent swimming would again kill my muscles but not anymore.
MUSIC. Discovered some wonderful bands such as Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire, Straylight Run, Modest Mouse, Snow Patrol, Funeral For A Friend, Armor For Sleep, etc. The list goes on and on. Thanks to the different people and webcomics which introduced me to this music and to P2P networking for making it possible for this music to reach my buds. If you want a taste, check my last.fm account.
MOVIES. There were so many wonderful movies released last year. Noteworthy movies which I have seen in the theaters would be Batman Begins, Star Wars Episode 3, and Sin City. In 2005, I watched a total of 114 movies, 31 in the theaters (27%) the rest on video (DVD/VCD). The list those not include movies seen on cable as it could be considered cheating as one could switch channels to get out of a boring scene. In comparison, the total in 2004 was at 133, 63 of which was seen in the theaters (47%), which is 50% more than 2005. I blame the schedules for this. Plus, there were a number of movies not just worth seeing in the theater.
VIDEO GAMES. I gamed less due to new interests during the 2nd and 3rd quarter of the year, the interest being love. I've been making up for lost time game time during the last quarter.
RELIGION. If you've known me for years, you would be surprised. For your information, I wasn't an atheist nor an agnostic, I simple had issues about the institution itself. It could be more than that, but let's not dig into that. I mentioned it since I started going back to church for mass in March which is the same time I was unraveling this gift. Why? Well, I was so thankful for every miserable thing which happened in my life as I was led down this path and met her. Of course, thankful for all the blessings as well, just feel that it would be more powerful said that way. It came to a point where I even tried joining a Charismatic Catholic Community which I wanted to do for myself aside from the blatantly obvious reason. 3 seminars later, which spanned more than a month, I was still not feeling it for myself and was still doing it for her. So I stopped, as I wanted to do this for myself.
I want to go on, but this is quite long already. I really need someone I could talk to. Such a simple request which is not being provided because I easily fall. Shucks. No wonder I can't be in a relationship, the next one may surely kill me.
Stop, such pessimism in an entirely new year is not healthy. I have a good feeling about this year. I do believe that this is going to be THE year.
Now I just need to figure out what THE means.