I Got A Feeling

forgive me. :)

hellabusy

the first week of march has passed and if it's any indication of the next three, then this is going to be one hell of a month.

work has never been this crazy. and i'm not just talking about the things that i'm doing, but also the people i work with. this whole performance rating thing is driving a lot of people mad. the should-be nonexistent comparison and competition is popping out like pimples on a 14 year old. i don't know why some people mistake "sensitive" information for conversation openers.

life has also been fast paced this week. partly because it's been mostly home and office for me, i've had little time to run, watch my shows and pretty much have time for myself. this isn't ideal, i know, but its a dynamic of the 'worklife balance' that i must be content with. sometimes it'll really be bent towards work, and life must suffer (even for a bit). no worries though, knowing myself, kayang kayang bawiin yan next month. hahaha.

so yeah, this is going to be a hellabusy month. by the way, did you know that there's an online petition going on to make "hella-" a certified prefix for measuring? it'll stand for 10²⁷which is really really big (or fast!). for example, if this is approved, the total mass of the earth will be roughly around 6 hellagrams. i like it! More on the story here.



oops, Modern Family is ready for watching! woohoo! later..

a guide to professional beards

pep talk

taken from www.xkcd.com

from 23 to 6: is it really for jordan?

so i just read about this a couple of minutes ago. it seems Lebron James is changing his jersey number from 23 to 6 by next season. he's been talking about honoring the greatest player to ever play the game a.k.a Michael Jordan. we all saw him wear number 6 in the 2008 Beijing olympics, and probably the best player to wear it since Bill Russel and Julius Erving (yes, Eddie Jones was included in that discussion).

with that, Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski (god i love how this guy writes sports stories) gave his own take. basically, he shares that the whole basketball world knows that LBJ is doing this for LBJ, not for MJ. he knows how Mike and Kobe have built global brands around their names and jersey numbers, even watched Kobe shift from 8 to 24 which skyrocketed his jersey sales to the top of the list (leaving the #23 cavalier jersey in a distant 2-spot). You can read the whole article here.

to me and Mr. Wojnarowski, it doesn't matter if Lebron's global brand skyrockets next season. doesn't matter if he tops the jersey sales list, or if he's legacy gets closer to that of Jordan, Bryant, Russel or Erving.

because ultimately, basketball legacies are measured in
"one indisputable and defining way: before he beats him on the NBA Store, Lebron James needs to beat Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals."

how to read flowcharts

 

click to maximize

original image taken from xkcd web comics

goal in life

okay. lion king fan overload.

this is why Lion King is the best Disney movie ever

first it was Timon and Pumbaa

now it's Mufasa and Simba!!!

pictures from here and here

GOAT is now an NBA Owner

Michael Jordan, the greatest player to ever play the game (and no, that is NOT debatable), has struck a deal with the Charlotte Bobcats to become their majority stakeholder a.k.a. OWNER. That's right. Jordan owns you now.

His owning group, MJ Basketball Holdings LLC, have not yet disclosed the amount of the deal. Other league owners will still have to approve this, but hey, who are you to say no to the ten-time nba scoring leader, six-time champion, six-time finals mvp, five-time league mvp, three-time steals leader, two-time Olympic gold medalist, one-time rookie of the year, defensive player of the year, Naismith Hall of Famer and simply just the GREATEST OF ALL TIME? 

Click here for full story.

it's cuss free week!

holy shit. the world is truly at the beginning of the end.

the California State Assembly passed a legislation making it "Cuss Free Week" every first week of March in the state. apparently, they were inspired by a 16 year old boy who started a No Cussing Club in his school, who also inspired several others from different schools to start their own groups. whoever this kid is, he's an @$$.

Go here for the full story

but hey, a week is just a week, right? 1 out of 52. i can deal with that. no cuss words from me. count me in.

running for no particular reason

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town... For no particular reason I just kept on going... When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate. When I had to go, you know, I went.

last sunday, i came with my brother-in-law to the 2010 Century Superbods marathon run. you know, the one with Derek Ramsey on the poster. we signed up for the 5K run since it was both our first time. he was a commonplace athlete: plays basketball, badminton and jogs regularly. me, on the other hand, was definitely not. i played basketball before, but that was it. i had an occasional gym visit about 3 times a month. and that's it. so i wasn't really expecting anything on my first run. i thought: "okay, i know how to run. but i don't know how far 5 kilometers is, so i'll just do my best to enjoy running and finish the route."

i was able to finish the race in 43 minutes. a little below average, but it was okay. the first part of my body that gave up was my back (am i that old?) but other than that i was fine. i felt really great finishing the race. surprised that i finished it at all. haha. after the race, it's a different story. my legs and my ankles were sore all over. i couldn't even walk straight!

weird thing was, yesterday, i was really itching for a run. my legs were rested, they felt stronger (naks), and i seriously wanted to run. so i did. i got home, i changed, then i jogged towards my gym. it was around 1km from my house to the gym. then when i got there, i ran some more. i got thirsty, so i drank water. then i ran some more. it really helped that the PBA finals was on the tv, so i didn't even notice that i already ran a total of 4.6km on the treadmill. after the game, i showered, then as if i didn't get enough of my fix already, i walked back home. that day, for no particular reason, i ran.

on the walk home i remembered how Forrest Gump started running. exactly like that, for no particular reason. although even though he says that it's "for no particular reason", you can somehow sense that he was running precisely because of everything that has happened in his life. i asked myself that same question, why was i running? my cousin, who was really into running (and who by the way has his own running blog here), told me that what was important for beginners was that you run to finish. never mind the speed, you can work on that later. when you run, you run to finish. that is your reason. your primary motivation. i admit, that was my reason. but that was not the only one.

so as long as i have my reasons and my motivations, i'll put on my Adidas runners, grab a bottle of water, and run another 5. then another 5. and another 5. tomorrow, for no particular reason, i'll run.

Batman beats Superman (yet again)

And so another battle ends with the masked man towering over the handsome alien.

It was reported days ago that the highest auction ever was sold at $1 million for a mint condition Action Comics #1 featuring the first appearance of Superman. Gosh that sounds good. badass. and rich.

But that will not do for Bruce Wayne. Today, it was reported that that record was broken, although with just a relatively small margin, but broken nevertheless. The highest auction for a comic book is now at a record of $1,075,500.00 for Detective Comics #27. That's right, your eyes do not deceive you. This particular item happens to feature the very first appearance of Batman (the cover of the comics is shown on the picture on the left). Full story here.

Ask me anyday, who'd win in a fight between Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent. And i'd tell you the same thing everyday.

i really hope Avatar does not win best picture

taken from thisisindexed.com

Inglourious Basterds, please! Or actually, i'll take anything but Avatar. it's a great movie experience and all, but it doesn't have the chops to earn best picture. 80% post prod, 10% story, 10% crappy acting.

the only exception

When I was younger
I saw my daddy cry
And curse at the wind
He broke his own heart
And I watched
As he tried to reassemble it

And my momma swore that
She would never let herself forget
And that was the day that I promised
I'd never sing of love
If it does not exist

But darling,
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception

Maybe I know, somewhere
Deep in my soul
That love never lasts
And we've got to find other ways
To make it alone
Keep a straight face

And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable, distance
And up until now
I had sworn to myself that I'm
Content with loneliness

Because none of it was ever worth the risk

Well, You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception

I've got a tight grip on reality
But I can't
Let go of what's in front of me here
I know you're leaving
In the morning, when you wake up
Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream

You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception

And I'm on my way to believing
Oh, And I'm on my way to believing


Paramore's official music video is equally awesome.

Thank God for March 9, 2010.

embrace life.

friends, wear your seatbelts please. a beautiful public safety ad from Sussex Safer Roads

this stuff right here is awesome

i seriously want to thank the folks at Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal comics for doing their stuff. excellent, excellent strips.

Bazinga! (an original song)

okay so i wanted to post this video for two things: (1) the song is absolutely awesome and LSS-worthy; and (2) the girl is soooooooo cute!

if you don't know what or from where this BAZINGA term came from, click here. Or watch The Big Bang Theory.

"Once again you've fallen for one of my classic pranks"

- Sheldon Cooper, PhD

big game james

i really feel sorry for James Yap. i don't think a lot of people, save for the basketball fanatics, appreciate just how good a player this guy is. to most Filipinos he's just the husband of Kris Aquino who happens to play basketball.

back when i was in high school, it was his type of play that initially drew me to watch the UAAP.

the first live collegiate game i ever saw was a UE game. it was held at the blue eagle gym, and it was the dynamic duo of James Yap and Paul Artadi that powered the Red Warriors to win over whoever they were against. i remember sitting near the court, and was just amazed at how good this guy can shoot. he was MVP of that season, by the way.

tonight, while watching the PBA finals between Purefoods (where yap and artadi play) and Alaska (where former blue eagles LA Tenorio and Larry Fonacier play), i found myself in awe once again at the skills of "Big Game" James. if you look at him move through the screens, watch him work the play, get the ball, dribble, skip, crossover, jump, take a hit, then bank the one-hander in. and one.

deeeym this guy is good.

it really is rare for me to sing praises about a local basketball player, but James Yap deserves this rare mention. and as i publish this article, Purefoods will win the first game of the finals with Yap as their biggest contributor.

"Serious threat to the web in Italy" by A Googler

From the Official Google Blog.

Back in 2006 students from a school in Italy posted a video on Google Videos of them bullying an autistic classmate. It was immediately reported, and Google shut it down immediately. Their involvement would normally end there, but in this case, it did not.

A public prosecutor in Milan indicted four Google employees for criminal defamation and failure to comply with the Italian Privacy Code. And today, a judge in Italy cleared all four from criminal defamation, but convicted 3 employees for non compliance with the Italian privacy code.

In Google's opinion, this "attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built. Common sense dictates that only the person who films and uploads a video to a hosting platform could take the steps necessary to protect the privacy and obtain the consent of the people they are filming. European Union law was drafted specifically to give hosting providers a safe harbor from liability so long as they remove illegal content once they are notified of its existence. The belief, rightly in our opinion, was that a notice and take down regime of this kind would help creativity flourish and support free speech while protecting personal privacy." 



Read the complete article here 

common PPT mistakes (never change)

Taken from www.boingboing.net 

Looks like this was taken years ago, but it's still true today. Kids, learn your PPTs!

Key to Powerpoint Presentations: the less points, the more power.

morning meetings

so i just finished my wednesday morning meeting. it's from 8 to 9am, this early so that we can catch the last working hour of our US teammates. this is a weekly meeting, which means that every wednesday i have to get up at 4:30am [ snooze translation = 6:13am ], take a bath, suit up--not really a suit but you know what i mean, and then leave for work. i take a cab at this point, noticing that i only have a few minutes before rush hour traps me in the middle of the MRT. then i arrive at work just in time to open my computer, take a quick glance at twitter, then log onto the meeting. that's my wednesday.

and that's really my wednesday. the end. after the meeting, i get so little work done. i guess it's the accomplished feeling i get that i was able to lead the meeting, i was able to speak english so early in the morning and that i did not fuck up any side comments meant to add a little humor. good job, chux. now you can surf the interwebz again and go home early.

i love morning meetings. even if  you don't get anything done the rest of the day, you'll always have that one hour when you felt like you were very, VERY productive.

devotion to duty

i was at the office until 9pm today. definitely the latest i've been stuck in the office for something not directly work-related. see i'm part of a creative team there, and i have 3 short video assignments to do. 'creative team' you wonder? well, i'll explain that on later posts.

the point i'm driving at is this: i would never stay until 9pm at the office doing work. as in work-work. the only reason i stayed late tonight was because the shots i wanted to take needed darkness, and i couldn't turn off the lights while people are still working. so there. talk about devotion to duty. but what duty? that's the question i've been trying to answer since i started working for "the man". how far am i willing to go to be productive? to do.. this?

i wouldn't want to dig deeper into this question because it'll reveal a more serious one: what the hell do i want to do with my life? so i'll put it on hold. (if only a soothing music tone would play right about now)

saw this comic strip online on www.xkcd.com --which offers short daily humor to my increasingly bland life--about the most devoted employee in the world.

and that just proves my idea that geeks will rule the world.

shooting digital blanks

for writers, or at least the few that i know, coming up with the right title is the hardest part of all. it has to be relevant, it has to capture everything you wrote, and it should at least be a little creative. i once had a photoblog called "shooting digital blanks", and sadly, it was exactly that: blanks. i think i only published 3 posts there, and simply just lost interest.

that's the thing with me: i usually take interest in something and really get into it.. but then for some reason, i just put it down and do something else. whether it be video publishing/editing, photography, business, cars, writing, and READING for that matter--i always end up losing interest and just leaving it cold turkey. from that i learned three beautiful things: (1) i cannot sustain a long commitment, (2) i'm really an art person (artsy fartsy is the term, i think) and (3) i may possibly have ADHD. but more on the first lesson.. since that's the one that really matters. i don't know what the hell is wrong with me, but i cannot fully commit to something and just pursue it. if i don't find any reason to leave it alone, i simply lose interest and find something else to do.

this is my 7th personal weblog, for those of you who are counting (?). and this time i intend to keep it. thanks to blogger's import/export tool, i was able to transfer my old writings from my old blogger. so now it's just a matter of finding a way to export my Multiply posts and get 'em in here. someone know how?

anyway.. after a year and some months from my last post, here i am again. hopefully (crossed fingers) this last weblog of mine--named appropriately DIGITAL BLANKS--is about everything and nothing. it's not too specific to restrict my writing, and hopefully it encapsulates all of the things i'll be putting in here.

so sorry for the emo posts from years past, btw. :)