Year: 2007

Steam Microwaving Chicken

So since this is a cooking site… err, no it isn’t. But I wanna put up pics of what I cook and eat everyday, and I find the topic interesting, so there!!

Seriously, just wanted to share with you how to steam chicken with carrots and potatoes in a microwave, using a p200.00 microwave steaming contraption you can buy anywhere. I bought mine at some hardware store. I promise you it’s delish. Here we go:


The plastic contraption steaming cooking thingy has three parts. You put water at the lowest part, filling it to about half is good.

Then you need some chicken parts. Rock salt and pepper to taste.

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Balato – The Problem With Filipinos

Ok I know a title like is just begging people to take me down. For one, it can be deemed as generalizing, and any half – wit patriot with nary the time nor patience to read and understand can and probably would bash me in at even its mention. But regardless, this is what I feel, and thus, what I shall write.

I’m talking about the amazing capability of many Pinoys for an unhealthy dose of entitlement. Entitlement in the context of Balato – the absolute perfect word describing wanting more than you deserve.

The incident that moved me to write this happened last night, but I’ve actually felt this way for many many years before that, and there are, to my count, 3 reasons I can clearly point to.

First, is that cab ride I had to take last night because my car’s in the garage. See, I live in a far away section of Cainta. And to take a cab from Ortigas, you’d have to traverse all the way across most of traffic infested Ortigas Extension, and then left and up our mountainous village to the very end. This merits, about 90% of the time, grimaces from cab drivers, and many a groan of disgust. Often I have to go through 3 to 4 different cabs until someone says yes, and most of the time I get requests for up to 25% to 50% more than the metered amount, presumably to ‘pay for their trip back’, since they won’t be picking up anyone going there – an absolutely twisted concept of value for money since, really, although difficult the situation may be, this is NOT my problem. Since the trip can cost from p110 to as much as p160, this is not an unnoticable amount.

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DVD-RW and Power Supply Installation Picture Taking Madness!!

I’ve no idea why I’m doing this. I think I’m probably bored. And it’s not like I’ve other more pressing things to do. Anyway, am putting up pics of my new Power Supply and DVDRW. Ok so here we go:


Out with the old.

In with the new.

Continue reading DVD-RW and Power Supply Installation Picture Taking Madness!!

I’m Back Online!

And I celebrated by putting up a new template, called typoxpreloaded (hey i dont know where he got the name from either).

At any rate, am following up on a great deal of backlog work, starting with enhancements to Pwit, trying to put a new template at movie ex (which was unsuccessful, so i left it at state for the moment as it is too big a job to undertake for now. Also, whilst searching for templates, I found this one, hence the change), and hopefully by tomorrow, updates to Kikay Ex and some very very long awaited improvements to a client’s site and some new ones.

These, along with immediate plans to make PLDT own up to the lack of service (from feb 17 to yest, mar 2) by faxing them a letter telling them not to bill me, an article I wanna work on but can’t (explain later), and a myriad other things, including a big Nike sale at Megamall (!!!).

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Once again I am here to expound on my lack of DSL woes.

But worry not dear reader. I am in high spirits regardless. Basically because, well, there’s no other recourse but to be. I have been spending my time trying to do as much as I can outside of the Internet, and so far it’s been ok except for the fact that I cannot further plans revolving around those that do involve the Internet because basically, PLDT will not give me a solid date with which to assume that all will once again be well.

This is alarming because basically, almost all my financial activities revolve around access to such, and immediate as in immediate (as in should have been yesterday) plans were in the works for me to up the ante even more, resolving to go tentatively at first, but full blast as quickly as possible, into the business of hosting. Hosting in the level of involvement I was planning to go into requires at the very least a fast connection, and at best one backup should things go awry, a situation aptly describing that of today.

Internet access had already been at a high level of importance to me that I would sacrifice living in less than ideal conditions if only to satiate my need for such. Venturing into said activity obviously further emphasizes this requirement tenfold, requiring me not only to have double the access (if so possible) but even surgically attach a device to my person and find suitable connectivity in whichever way possible should I venture outside it’s reach (the resulting inconvenience which, incidentally, was the primary reason I had pushed this idea aside for the longest time, only doing so now because the Exchanges have reached a stage of growth and traffic, making it practical).

Continue reading Once again I am here to expound on my lack of DSL woes.

Legends Never Die.

I still cannot really come to believe that the great Dennis Johnson has passed away.

Not that I’ve lost grip on reality, it’s just that the Great DJ is such a larger than life character to me. He is my idol of all idols. He is the reason I’ve always worn jersey #33, (somebody already beat me to DJ’s #3 when I first started playing organized ball, so I settled for the next best thing).

I hated the Celtics, but I loved DJ. His stats: NBA champion (1979, ’84, ’86); NBA Finals MVP (1979); All-NBA First Team (1981); All-NBA Second Team (1980); All-Defensive First Team (1979-83, ’87); All-Defensive Second Team (1984-86); Five-time NBA All-Star 1979-82, ’85).

He wasn’t the tallest, quickest or strongest, but he made – no, worked, disciplined and forced himself to be the best. And that, to me, makes him my Greatest.

DJ will forever be my hero.

Coping with no net

I’m at the Compass Internet Cafe at Galleria. The difference between this and Netopia is that this place allows you to use Firefox, although the default is this annoying ‘Avant Browser’ which looks like some sort of IE add-on and, as is usual for such things, thoroughly annoying therefore.

At any rate, this is Day 6 of no internet at home, and my resulting efforts to cope have been interesting. First off, by an amazing stroke of luck I managed to score two excellent books. First, there’s “China Hands”, by James Lilley where he recounts his experiences growing up in China and eventually serving in operations of the CIA, and eventually ending up as U.S. ambassador in 1973. His is an absolutely absorbing tale of history and true drama.

The other is “Where The Game Matters Most“, about the 1996-97 high school basketball season in Indiana, the last year when the old rules of equal competition still applied before the new divisional system segregating schools by size came into place. The old rules allowed for such miracle stories as the ‘Hoosiers’, but more importantly discusses the small towns and small town details that make Indiana the mystical mecca of basketball (as opposed to New York, which is the mecca of the NBA), that it is.

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Kikay Breaks 100 Members while its Admin Fumes in Netopia!

Recollected discussion with 171 PLDT customer support 11am:

callcenter person (after asking my telno, name, and relation to account owner): ah sir, matagal na po ito ano ho? tinawag ninyo noon 17 pa. Alam nyo na po kung ano yung reason ng pagkawala ng connection ninyo?
me: grunt (meaning neither yes or no, just tell me).
callcenter person: kasi po may problem yung switch namin sa inyong area. Ibig sabihin po nito karamihan din po ng mga sa inyong area wala rin pong service.
me: grunt (meaning tell me something I don’t know).
callcenter person: Itong switch po ang responsible for… (some semi technical whatever chuva explanation re how important this switch is).
me (finally getting a word in): estimated time?
callcenter person: baka po umabot ng a few weeks.

me: WEEKS?!?!?!

Continue reading Kikay Breaks 100 Members while its Admin Fumes in Netopia!

What I’d do if I had internet at home

God that title sounds pathetic. But really, what else could I think of, sitting here at this, imo unfortunately named ‘Excel’ Internet Cafe at Ever (Gotesco?) mall Ortigas, Jhologs Central. Ok I added that ‘Jhologs Central’ and that’s not really their name, but it might as well be. Here, otherwise normal Filipino men and women converge to sing Guns and Roses classics at corner videoke stations in full tilt till they’re blue in the face, without getting arrested for disturbing the peace. They may as well walk right up to me and hit me with a baseball bat, the effect being the same.

This is my 2nd post today. I call the house from time to time hoping someone would pick up as this would indicate that phone (and maybe DSL) service would have been returned, to no avail. It is dawning on me that this situation is getting dim. Not only can it get expensive (obviously I don’t spend on just the ‘net access, but on food and other important stuff as well, like videoke sessions), but it’s also very boring. I cannot work on the Exchanges and my clients at internet cafes. It just don’t work that way. The most I’ve done is send a billing statement, and that’s it. That’s work for the day. Whoopee.

So anyway, I was gonna write my todo list when I decided, why not blog it, right? So here it goes.

Continue reading What I’d do if I had internet at home