Filed under: Uncategorized
I was wondering what’s the best lens for shooting interiors…Any ideas?
Filed under: Uncategorized
I found this website offering 1GB storage for free! So far there isn’t any catch. I use it to archive my photos, documents, videos and anything you want to keep for the future. I don’t know why they’re giving such big space for free but I thank them for doing that. hehehe. At least I don’t have to pay for an online storage solution…
You might want to try it out and sign up…Here’s the link…
Cool eh?!
Filed under: Musings on Tech stuff, Java, Linux and Open Source
Yes, I have been playing around with Mule. No, it's not the P2P client. That's emule!
"Mule is an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) messaging framework. It is a scalable, highly distributable object broker that can seamlessly handle interactions with services and applications using disparate transport and messaging technologies." – from Mule's website
Mule caught my attention because the architecture quite impressive. I do have some experience about what it aims to solve in the enterprise environment. Documentation is quite good and easy to understand. I am tinkering the Hello World sample and it's pretty easy to use. I haven't been able to run my own customized application though but we will get there.
Check out the Mule's kick-ass architecture here…
Filed under: Lost in Singapore
I'm not a Ferrari fan but it's nice to see Ferrari win again. I just hope they don't do it that often. hahaha. Alonso, however, made Schumi fight for his win at the San Marino Grand Prix.
Not so distant is my team. I wonder what happened to McLaren's race strategy. Well, it's not like the McLaren for the past 3 races. Montoya finished at 3rd and Kimi finished fifth.
It was a disastrous race for the Honda team. The pit crew weren't that focused. They should probably look into the fuel nozzle so it won't get stuck again. The lollipop guy should also pay attention. Button blew his good position at 2nd since the start of the race. Maybe they should give points for qualifying. I bet Honda's in the fight for the championship. hahaha
Off to the next race…looking forward to the European Grand Prix at Nurburgring…
Filed under: Uncategorized
Here’s why…
http://www.zippyvideos.com/6166849983600056/philippines/
Filed under: Lost in Singapore
I attended the annual meeting of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association Singapore(UPAAS) yesterday afternoon. It was fun! It was nice to know that the community exists and is trying to help out our beloved country in its own little way. Officers of the organization reported about the things that have been done and some plans for the coming year 2006. With its 3 years of existence, the organization, I believe, has come a long way to fulfilling its vision.
I was really glad to meet fellow UP alumni. Singing our Alma Matter song "UP Naming Mahal" made me rekindle some memories of the good ol' days when I was still in college. Being a UP alumni is always a thing that I'm really proud of! UP has taught me many things which I think you won't learn in other universities. At least, not that much.
Love of Country. This is one of the virtues I think most UP students have. This, I think is the most important of all. I have talked with other people who came from other universities and it is surprising that UP students as well as alumni really think about this differently. Different in a sense that we UP alumni are more passionate when we talk about this topic. Maybe most Filipinos love our country but we love it more.
Dr. Robert Gan gave a very relevent talk during the event. It was very timely considering the current situation of our country today. He said that people always whine about the government. Should we really blame the government for the situation in our country today? Dr. Robert thinks otherwise and I strongly agree to his opinion. The problem also lies in the pessimism of our nation's people. We have become a nation of apathetic people who don't really care about our country's welfare as a whole but who only care about ourselves.
I just want to quote one of my email replies related to this. I posted this in a pinoy IT in Singapore yahoogroups mailing list as a reply to some members who continually whine about the government's inefficiencies. I left because of too much whining by certain people who are in fact moderators. I just hope these guys give up their citizenship as they normally say in the list. If they hate our country that much then they have to go. It would even be better for our country. haha. Here's an excerpt…
"I was just wondering why we always blame the government for everything
that is happening in our country. Kung may sisisihin eh dapat lahat ng
Pinoy diba? Oo kasama ako dyan at di ako nagmamalinis.
Meron bang mangongotong kung walang naglalagay?
Dudumi ba lansangan natin kung walang nagkakalat?
Mauuupo ba sa pwesto yung mga pulitiko kung di iboboto ng tao?
Minsan kasi iniisip ko mga tao talaga yung problema. Eto na lang. Dami
ko nakikita na Pinoy na tumatawid na wala sa lugar dito sa Singapore.
Katwiran nila ginagawa din ng mga local eh. Tama ba yun? Tapos pag
nahuli reklamo ng reklamo. Meron magdadala ng bawal na pagkain sa
bagahe sa airport tapos aangal pag hinuli. Suffer the consequences kung
gagawa kayo ng labag sa batas. And, following the law isn't a bad idea
anyway. Kung nagagawa natin dito sa Singapore eh dapat nagagawa din
natin yan sa bansa natin."
Pardon for the use of my native tongue. Anyway, this was meant to be read by Filipinos. I really liked Dr. Gan's speech. I hope it gets published somewhere in the website of the organization. He was right to point out that as Filipinos, we have to do our share. I didn't get much of his speech but I remember one thing he said which is very important for expats here in Singapore or even in any part of the world. What he was trying to say is "When you talk about our country with foreigners, highlight the positive things about the Philippines". In the global economy, I believe this would make a huge difference. I remember talking to one of my colleagues here in Singapore. When we talk, I normally avoid political issues but instead let them know how the beautiful beaches in the Phils. are. I even show them photos of Boracay.
The afternoon was pretty short and I never got the chance to meet other people in the crowd. Well, I guess I have to attend the regular tambayan sessions to know them better…
- U.P. naming mahal
- Pamantasang hirang
- Ang tinig namin
- Sana'y iyong dinggin
- Malayong lupain
- Amin mang marating
- Di rin magbabago ang damdamin
- Di rin magbabago ang damdamin
- Luntian at pula
- Sagisag magpakailanman
- Ating ipagdiwang
- Bulwagan ng dangal
- Humayo't itanghal
- Giting at tapang
- Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan
- Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan.
Download "UP naming mahal here".
Filed under: Lost in Singapore
Here’s a satellite view of our condo here courtesy of Google Earth. I hope they get higher resolution images of Manila soon…
Here’s a satellite image of our condo. Google Earth’s cool! I just wish it has higher resolutions for images of Manila…
Filed under: Lost in Singapore
Finally! I have managed to upload the photos I took during last weekend’s trip to Sepang and Kuala Lumpur. Check them out at my flickr site…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melvindave/sets/72057594086428333/
I hope you like them…
I just arrived a couple hours ago from an 8-hour trip from Sepang, Malaysia. We watched the Formula 1 Grand Prix 2006 held there. It was my first time to watch the race live! And oh boy it was great! It really felt that I was still dreaming…
We left Singapore 3AM of Friday. I was not able to sleep because of the anxiety. It was my first time to go to Malaysia and see the race live so I was pretty excited. I can’t describe the feeling. It’s like going out with a girl you like for the first time. haha! We rode a van that could accommodate at least 12 people. At about 6AM we were restless because of the freezing air-conditioning of the van. I should’ve have worn shorts and slippers. My bad there. I never knew it was going to be that cold. Well, I managed to get a pair of socks and wore it ’til the sun rose.
I can’t remember the time we reached Sepang. It was probably about 10AM when we got there. We were early for the last practice session which started at 11AM of Saturday, March 18. Boy the F1 cars were really noisy! Good thing we brought ear plugs. At about 2PM the qualifying session started. I said to myself, “So this is the real thing!”
After the qualifying session we went to the hotel in Kuala Lumpur where we would stay overnight. Upon arriving, we rested for a while. Then we went to KLCC for dinner at Chili’s. The lamb chop I had was great! After eating dinner we went to see the famous Petronas
twin towers. These towers were really tall! In fact I feel uneasy looking at its peak. Unfortunately we weren’t able to go in to see the bridge connecting the two towers. It’s okay because I have fear of heights anyway.
After Petronas we went to Pit Stop. Something like El Pueblo which has I think 4 clubs. Night life based on my experience is more interesting in Malaysia compared to Singapore. Beer is a little cheaper but also not that cheap.
It was RACE DAY! We woke up early to travel to Sepang and finally watch the race. My favorite driver Kimi Raikonnen qualified ahead of Alonso and Schumacher so it was a good thing.
Well, sort of…
The race started. In just a couple of seconds after the lights hit green, I heard that Kimi was hit by Klien of Red Bull that made his rear suspension to fail. Dang! It was race over for Kimi!!! Waaah! The bad thing is I didn’t even see him racing live in the part of the race track we were seated. It was a real blunder. I was really disappointed that this happened to my favorite driver. In fact, I was seated beside Kimi’s countrymen and I even broke the news to them since I heard it from the radio broadcast. It was really a bad day…
Well, that’s life. Taking everything that has transpired, I still enjoyed the experience very much!!! Formula 1 is indeed the ultimate thing when it comes to high speed racing. Remembering hearing those V8 engines roar still gives me a chill…
I guess I have to wait for next year to see Kimi race in Malaysia again…
I’ll post photos I took during the event as soon as I have them ready…
Filed under: Lost in Singapore
I’m really glad Kimi finished in the podium after having a bad day during qualifying. He’s probably getting used to starting from the back of the grid. Moving 19 places up is quite a daunting task but the team managed to pull it through. 3rd place isn’t that bad. Good news for McLaren since both their cars managed to finish and got some championship points.
Alonso is proving that he is the previous World Champion. He’s just too good for Schumi who I think should retire soon. Hehe. Sorry Ferrari fans but I think it is time for new blood. Whether it is Alonso or Kimi we can never tell. All we can do is just wait and see. But with the results last season, the cards are on Alonso’s side. But, heck, I love Kimi’s driving!
