Playlist: Crazy

Today’s playlist theme is crazy.

Craziness can be confusing, but I think we all need a little bit of it every now and then.

First, something from the best band in the universe, U2. This song is actually one of the staples on my running playlist. I think it has something to do with the cartoons running in this video.

So, when was the last time you thought to yourself, I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight.

Next, a song from the most handsome man in the world. This person not only proposed inside a decked out igloo in the Canadian rocky mountains via helicopter, but he's also married to Heidi Klum—and they have 4 kids now. So, who’s got game?

Heidi probably wouldn’t have gone for Seal if she wasn’t a bit crazy. And Seal wouldn’t have probably gotten the eye of Heidi if he wasn’t a bit crazy himself. Looks like he took a page out of his own body of work. We’re never gonna survive unless we get a little crazy.

This is Seal with Crazy.

What’s the most awesome way to announce to the world that you have an 18-year old daughter? Feature her half-naked in your music video. Add to that the Clueless 90’s heartthrob Alicia Silverstone and you've got gold.

Featuring Liv Tyler's grand reveal to the world, Aerosmith's Crazy.

At this point, I want to introduce something that this isn’t a video and isn’t even remotely connected to music, but I just want to share. Do you have your Joe with cream and sugar? Well, Meet Joe Black. It’s hard to fall in love with the angel of death, but that’s the kind of stuff that leads to true love apparently. You think Claire Forlani would have her doubts right? She did. But these are her dying father's words of wisdom:

Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. If you don't start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. And how do you find that person? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I'm not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived.

Yes, I think I’ve lost it. But I think you’re crazy, just like me. Who do you think you are?

And after all of these videos and—err—quotes, just remember that you always have to draw the line somewhere. We all get a little crazy sometimes and it's good, but let's not go overboard and become sociopaths. Don't go blowing up buildings—or minds for that matter.

I don't want to have an anti-climactic, disclaimer infused ending to this playlist.

Sometimes, we're on the verge of going out of our minds, but we muster up enough sanity to accompany the crazy. Hopefully, it's for a worthwhile cause.

Let's end this list with a classic, U2's With Or Without You

Playlist:

1. U2 - I'm Gonna Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
2. Seal - Crazy
3. Aerosmith - Crazy
4. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
5. Musiq - Halfcrazy
6. U2 - With or Without You

New Music Weekend

It's a crazy mix this week.

First, a great new find, Two Door Cinema Club.

I'm a big fan of Phoenix and I was very happily surprised to somehow have come across this band. I think I like all their songs in their album. Their album, Tourist History, which I got hold of has 10 tracks and I love all of them. I think their current single is Undercover Martyn (shown above).

Interestingly enough, the band's Facebook page has their genre listed as "alteronica". That's super awesome. Haha!

Next we have something for the more mature music lovers out there.

Seal's Soul and Harry Connick, Jr's Your Songs. Here are two of my favorite songs from the two albums. (These aren't music videos, but it's the easiest way I can put the songs here)

And for some strange reason, I've been singing this song since Sunday morning.

Okay, time to change the mood. Something more current. This next one is from the OST of Step Up 3 (yes, that 3D dance movie). Trey Lorenz with Already Taken.

Interestingly enough, this video also features dance with chalk. In Justin Beiber's Somebody To Love, they also have dancing with chalk. Is this a new trend?

Cathay Pacific bringing 50Mbps WiFi, live TV and in-flight calling to fleet -- Engadget

Cathay Pacific will offer really fast WIFI and pay-per-view across their entire fleet by early 2012. They will also have voice services and live TV, but who cares about those.

I wonder how long it will take other airlines to follow suite. This is reason enough for me to pick Cathay for my next trans-pacific flight (at least starting 2012). Pay-per-view means that you can watch live sports events miles in the air--LIVE. You no longer have to miss anything while flying.

This better be a standard by 2015.

Cathay Pacific bringing 50Mbps WiFi, live TV and in-flight calling to fleet -- Engadget

Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse

We all get crazy over seemingly useless gadgets once in a while--and we all should. My current guilty pleasure lies in the Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse.

It’s a mouse. It’s wireless. But the unique thing about this fancy little rodent is that it doesn’t use a laser to track movement. Instead, motion is detected via an accelerometer and gyroscope combination.

So you can use it the way you would use a magic wand (come on, you've waved an imaginary wand at least once in the past 3 months). You don’t need a flat surface too. You can be on your back, in bed, with your eyes half closed, and still control your mouse by just waving it around in the air.

Why in the world would this be particularly useful?

Well, I came across this peripheral while I was trying to put together my home entertainment system. I needed something to control my computer which was all the way across the room. Naturally, I checked out wireless mice but the common drawback was that they all needed a flat, solid surface to work. And then came this wonderful gem from Logitech.

The mouse also features a touch scroll pad (not a clickity wheel) for scrolling through whatever you may be reading as well as dedicated buttons for back, pause/play, and volume. The volume button is pretty interesting as if you hold it and wave your mouse to the right the volume actually increases, and vice versa. I could spend all day doing that.

Battery life is supposedly very good (comes with a dock) and range reaches about 30 feet—just in case you’d ever be that far from your computer.
And did I mention that it looks real cool as well?

People, this is a must have!

But why doesn’t everyone have one? It retails for about $90 on Amazon or Php 5,750 on PCX. Ouch! But hey, you’re sure to impress whoever is lucky enough to pass by your room.

New Music Weekend (favorite albums)

This week, I'm going with 2 of my current favorite albums.

First we have The Bird and The Bee's Interpreting the Masters Vol. 1 - A Tribute to Daryll Hall & John Oates.

This album is just great. Combine The Bird and The Bee's mild synthpop, mellow vocals, and classic Hall & Oates songs and you get an album that will definitely get you into the groove.

Best tracks for me are I Can't Go For That, Kiss Is On My List, One On One, and Maneater. I'm sure you know all those songs, and you probably like them, but The Bird And The Bee bring a different feel to it. They don't change it out too much, but they apply their style to the classics very effectively.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Here's a clip from The Bird And The Bee's guest appearance on Ellen:

Next is the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.

I know nothing about indie music. I just like it. That's what was first apparent to me when I got a copy of this album. Of the 15 artists in this compilation, I only knew 2.

I loved the movie, but it took an HBO screening to make me wonder why I never got the album. So I did, and I was really impressed.

Of the 15 tracks in the album, I loved 13 of them.

It's hard to pick a favorite track, but notable are The Real Tuesday Weld's Last Words, Vampire Weekend with Ottoman, Riot Radio by The Dead 60's, Fever by Takka Takka, Xavia by The Submarines, and Paul Tiernan's How To Say Goodbye. Again, it's really hard to pick a favorite track.

Here's a sample of one of my favorite tracks, The Real Tuesday Weld with Last Words:

It's a very laid back album that sounds very indie. Indie is now a genre right? If you can remember filler scenes from the movie where they show New York at 4 in the morning, the album feels like that.

Again, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Iphone 4 vs EVO 4G

One of the things I hate most about the iphone (and Apple) are its users.

*before you start hating me, I own an iphone too. But I'm not stupid.

Another thing I hate about Apple, is its closed systems. It limits its users. It's like a cult. You get into it for one reason, then everything else you need can only be sourced through them. No freedom.

Freedom as a consumer is to be able to have more options.

And on the flip side, here's one laying out the potential problems of an EVO 4G:

But again, just to be fair, the iphone isn't exactly the most stable phone out there. Mine (as well as those my friends use) hangs about once a month. The home key also gets stubborn after about 9 months (and why wouldn't it, it's the only fricking button). Since I upgraded to iOS4, some of the apps are buggier than usual. And as you all should know by now, the iphone4 has that stupid antenna problem.

It's Alive! Lenovo U1 Hybrid Out by End of 2010

News reports from the interweb say that the U1 hybrid will be out by the end of the year.

In an interview with Lenovo President and COO, Rory Read, ChannelWeb reports that the U1 hybrid (and the Skylight smartbook) were not discontinued, only modified and delayed.

Both laptops will supposedly now run neither on the planned Skylight OS nor Windows 7. I'm expecting either Chrome or a hybrid Android OS. Tricky for the U1 is how it will behave once you detach the tablet. Because in laptop mode, Windows 7 will work, but in tablet mode, that proposed Android-based OS will probably work best. I think though, that is actually the plan.

Also, a post from Engadget reports a change with the processor, shifting to a Qualcomm dual-core.

If this will be released, it may be one of the first (if not the first) laptop or tablet to run on an Android OS. Might be a bit buggy, especially with the shifting between Windows 7.

Is it worth it to be an early adopter?

How do you hold your Nokia? | Nokia Conversations - The official Nokia Blog

I love when companies dig up each other's dirt--especially when done in an unusual and humorous way. Just the other month, Adobe had that patronizing message on their website addressing Apple's closed systems and industry suffocating business practices.

Now, Nokia takes a swing at the iphone4's signal issues and Steve Jobs' very misquoted and simplistic response to user inquiries, the now infamous, "you're not holding it right."

How do you hold your Nokia? | Nokia Conversations - The official Nokia Blog

New Music Weekend (Holiday Edition)

World Cup fever is in full swing! The official 2010 FIFA World Cup album Listen Up! certainly helps capture the spirit of the games.

Included in the album is that Waka Waka song by Shakira (with a Spansih version as well), Wavin' Flag (which is the song you've been hearing with the World Cup previews on TV). It also includes all the 'official' world cup songs like the official world cup anthem, R.Kelly's Sign Of Victory, Waka Waka (which is the official SONG), and the official mascot's song, Game On by Pitbull.

Take note though, this is a very international album, which means it has a bit of everything. So there are going to be Spanish grunge songs, European dance tracks, tropical chill out & percussion tracks, etc.

Notable tracks include Shosholoza 2010 (various artists), Move On Up (John Legend and Angelique Kidjo), and One Day (Matisyahu). Most of the other tracks, as I said are just international pop trash.

Esmee Denters was discovered by Justin Timberlake through YouTube. She was one of the hundred of artists posting videos of covers. Lucky for her, Justin liked what he saw and signed her up with his record label.

Love Dealer sounds like and feels like a Justin Timberlake song, but with female vocals. He starts out the song with some rap then it's Esmee all the way. That's pretty brilliant actually. Since everything sounds like a JT track, it's like he's extending his persona to Esmee, and along with it he hopefully extends his fans.

And of course, an obvious, requisite, and expected last comment: Esmee's pretty hot. Enjoy!

Last for this week is Nas & Damian Marley with As We Enter from the Distant Relatives album.

Damian Marley's vocals actually remind me of Matisyahu. The quick reggae vocals mix well with hiphop. A very interesting mix indeed. I loved Matisyahu and this I think is the hiphop equivalent.

A lot of the tracks have either a hiphop or reggae base, but no song is just purely one style. There are no songs only by Nas or only by Damien, they all truly are collaborations. So it's fitting that in my itunes the artist is "Nas & Damien Marley". It's not Nas featuring Damien or the other way around.

This is a pretty decent album in as much as it offers something new. As mentioned, it's a brilliant marriage of the hiphop & reggae vibe. When you first start to listen to it, your body kinda gets confused on which vibe to respond to, but before you get a chance to complain, you're already bobbing to a brilliant musical mashup.

Google knows what's on my mind

I just got home and I wanted to know what match is going to be played at 10pm.

I just type "worldcup", hit enter..

..and not only does Google give me who's playing the 10pm game, but also gives me details on previous matches, upcoming matches, and gives me the schedule in Philippine (local) time.

I didn't even have to go to the Google page anymore, I just typed the search parameters (or in this case the word) in my browser's address bar.

You really can do a lot with Google search shortcuts. Here are a few of my favorite Google search tips and tricks:

Currency covertion Simply type how much you have in whatever currency and value you have and what you want to convert it to and it gives you the conversion based on the day's conversion rate. Very useful when shopping online and stuff like figuring out how much plane tickets bought in another country costs. i.e. "20USD to Php"

Math Computations Similarly, you can type simple mathematical equations. No equal sign required. i.e. "square root of 100" or "25*47" or "23 to the 5th power"

International Time You want to remind your friend in the US to bring you home an EVO 4G. Is it an odd time to call? Just type the place and the word "time" in the search box and find out. i.e. "san francisco time"

Measurement Conversion Whether it be Metric to English, Celsius to Fahrenheit, or whatever else you can think of. Just type it and search. i.e. "5 feet nine inches to cm"

Word Definitions And last, my favorite thing to search on Google, word definitions. Simply type "define:" immediately followed by the word, and you get definitions from various sources. i.e. "define:slovaks"

It's simple, quick, direct, and intuitive. Yet another reason why I love Google.

iPhone 4 or EVO 4G: which one should you get?

How much does an EVO 4G cost? I think I want one. As per the article, same price as the iphone 4, but that's with a US plan. I've been claiming that I'm switching to Droid in about a year, why don't I just do it now?

The bigger EVO 4G has me confused. I think the iphone's current size sits pretty comfortably in my hand already. Wait. Though just testing it now I think I wouldn't really mind the extra few millimeters. The bigger screen is certainly better for videos.

Cameras I really don't care much about this feature. I'm happy with the iphone's camera thought the EVO's is apparently better.

Software I'm already on iOS4 and multitasking so far is a disappointment. Widgets seem to be interesting. But Apple sill has the edge in apps. They have more commercial apps as well. It doesn't help that EVO is a 'geek' phone YouTube on the EVO seems promising. I never really had a decent YouTube experience on my iphone. Gmail (and everything else Google), FB, and Twitter seem to work better on the EVO. I would say, considering how fast the Android app store is developing, this has to be a win for the EVO.

The poll at the end of the article has the iphone 4 and EVO 4G in a statistical tie. Interesting. Though, this is an Engadget poll. I think people who actually read Engadget aren't just marketing guinea pigs, thus the close match between the two smartphones.

Read the Engadget article here: iPhone 4 or EVO 4G: which one should you get? -- Engadget

New Music Weekend

First we have The Drums with Forever and Ever, Amen. Love the video, it has a deconstructed 90's feel to it.

The video reminds me of Razorlight's In The Morning and The Virgins' Rich Girls. Perhaps it's that dirty effect. I love this sound though.

Next is Ellie Goulding with Guns & Horses. She's Brit and kind of reminds me of Imogen Heap, but with a softer voice. I like her. Just got her album after hearing some of her tracks. Other notable tracks form her 2010 album Lights include Starry Eyed and Wish I Stayed.

I have to admit, the blonde hair and dark eyeshadow got me at first, but it's a pretty decent song. Make Me Wanna Die by The Pretty Reckless. A bit whiny though, but the skin makes up for it. Wait, did I say skin, I meant to say angst. Well, Taylor Momsen's looks certainly helps sell this single.

*update* I've only seen part of the first season of Gossip Girl and it has been brought to my attention that this is Jenny Humphrey. Wow. First Leighton, now Taylor. That officially brings up her stock for me.

Is that insulting as an artist? If you're vintage Jewel, I think it can be insulting. But if you wear tight leather and short skirts, I think you're also okay with 'marketing' yourself.

Her voice is surprisingly husky, which is great. Gives her music a 70's female rock vibe. Janis Joplin and The Runaways come to mind (well, without the shouting). That's actually pretty amusing cause I'm pretty sure Taylor was born in the 90's.

Actually, to be fair, I'm not writing her off as just eye candy. There's a very simple test to rule this out. If I like it just on my ipod, then it's good. There's more musicality than theatricality.

The 2010 Laptop Hunt

I'm currently in the market for a new laptop/tablet. Unfortunately though, I have no idea what to get. My sights were set on the Lenovo IdeaPAd U1 Hybrid, but unfortunately news got out last month that it was already discontinued.

It would have been perfect. It was supposed to be a tablet-detachable. In contrast to the tablet-convertible I use now, you can remove the screen off the laptop completely. It was supposed to be 2 gadgets in one.

My current laptop is an HP TX2000. I got it 2 years ago cause I was dead set on getting a tablet-convertible. I knew tablets were the future. I mean hey, they use it on Start Trek all the time! Along with HP's persistent marketing (which completely had me in its sights), my biggest consideration of a tablet-convertible, the relatively few tablet-convertibles available at that time, and good reviews, it was a no-brainer to me.

When I was making up my mind, a few months before I ordered my unit, a friend who loved his tablet-convertible (it was a Toshiba) told me that he really never uses the tablet. I didn't believe him. True enough, for the first 6 months, I used the tablet a lot. But eventually, the weight of the whole unit and the awkwardness of the input apparatus (WACOM pen) had me typing and using the touchpad instead.

In the first year, I actually still used the pen to manage the screen while in full laptop mode. I enjoyed fiddling around using keystrokes (keystrokes with a stylus is totally a foreign idea now post iphone) but what really kept me using the pen was the very accurate handwriting recognition. I mean come on, I used to sit on the john chatting with friends in full tablet mode. Needless to say, it was one of the best features.

Interestingly, handwriting recognition is something I don't think you can do with just your fingers. I also don't think Apple has any plans of developing anything related to handwriting recognition. They've been pro-touch since the ipod and its click-wheel.

Anyway, the biggest consideration, non-negotiable (the tablet-detachable) is now gone. Well, the criteria exists, but the gadget doesn't. But my laptop is still getting old, and I feel like it's time to upgrade.

So what should I get?

As in every gadget hunt, we start with the wants and must-haves.

Musts:

• Wifi-N & Bluetooth
• Touchscreen / Multi-touch
• >15" display
• Windows 7 (will eventually dual-boot with Chrome OS)
• Has technology/design that will be "new" for the next 2 years

Wants:

• DVD player
• Will bend to my needs when I all of a sudden want to edit video

And well, that's basically it. Strap on a decent processor, ample memory, and the standard HDD size (it's about 300GB now I think), and that's it.

The problem, given those specs (excluding the tablet-detachable one) is that there are actually A LOT of options. Too many options, no freedom, no choice.

I was telling a friend a few weeks back that perhaps that's another area where Apple succeeds with its products. You have limited choices, which are clearly delineated. You are either comparing screen size or capacity (and of course price). That's it. Easy choice to make.

Compare that to say, HP. I have so many choices I don't even know where to start. I mean, I love that we have more choices in the PC world, but this is just ridiculous.

Although, clearly, more choices also mean cheaper units, better parts, and more servicing options. Okay, that's good. But the typical Mac user doesn't care about those things. And honestly, right now, I'm tempted to not think about it anymore. I just want to pick one. Give me 5 choices and I'll pick one. Give me a hundred, and I'll pass it off for next week.

Any ideas? Input? Will gladly appreciate it.

Let's see what develops in the next few months. I wonder what'll come up, when it'll come up, and when I'm going to pull the trigger.

*update 7/2/10* Reports suggest that the U1 is set to be released by the end of the year following changes in OS and hardware.

Waka Waka

First, you can't go wrong with a gyrating Shakira (who puts those African dancers to shame). Add "fun" lyrics and interject previous World Cup clips and you got a really nice theme song.

Tsamina mina eh eh
Waka Waka eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
Anawa aa
This time for Africa

I mean come on. WOCKA, WOCKA, WOCKA! That's Fozzie Bear's line!

Google TV Compatible Devices Available This Fall

Last month, Sony finally announced the first HDTV with integrated Google TV compatibility. This is a big step forward for Google TV as Sony is a major player in the TV market.

Logitech also announced earlier this month a set top-box that will integrate Google TV to your current entertainment setup called Revue. It will supposedly work well with your Android phone or iphone. It will also connect to keyboards and mice, but controlling via smartphone is a better selling point.


I think that a set top-box defeats the point of Google TV. We've seen this kind of device before (and Logitech has produced several). For me one of the defining and differenciating elements of Google TV is its integration with existing devices. You shouldn't have to pay for an additional device to access it. When you buy a new TV, BlueRay/DVD player, or game console, it should already be Google TV enabled.

Perhaps Logitech is just cashing in while the technology is new, and hey, not everyone is going to buy a new TV, player, or console just to get Google TV.

Both the Sony HDTV and the Logitech Revue are set to be released in the third quarter.

I wonder if the new Xbox will support Google TV. Sony makes the PlayStation, which is the mortal enemy of the Xbox. Microsoft makes the Xbox and owns Bing--which is arguably the closest rival of Google Search.


With pictures from ixplora

Engadget makes a point, mocks Apple

Ever since Engadget found that iphone 4 prototype in that bar, I've been sensing some tension between them and Apple.

They make a very good point in this collage though.

Who's holding it wrong now?

It's not us, it's you

The past few days, there have been a slew of articles about poor reception on the iphone 4. The problem seems to appear when you hold the phone with your left hand, covering the bottom left part of the phone. Doing so reduces reception and apparently drastically reduces data transfer.

Earlier today, Apple finally replied to the issue. In email exchanges about the supposed drop in signal, Steve Jobs reportedly just said, "just don't hold it like that".

Later, an official Apple statement advices users to either use your right hand or get a protective casing.

*laughs at Apple*

This is obviously a hardware problem. To make the iphone 4 even thinner than the old 3GS, they have to make internal components more flat. The long antenna (and you do want it longer for better reception) probably goes around just behind the circumference of the phone.

Being a hardware problem, there's nothing Apple can do about it. There is no software fix, no update. And they certainly can't recall the phones. They are after all working. It's a flaw in the design of the phone.

So at the end of the day, no biggie. Just use your right hand, get a protective case, or just don't hold it that way.

The interwebs have had a field day on this issue and I'm sure Apple and Jobs have been misquoted more than a few times, but in essence, that is what Apple is saying. And it sounds ridiculous and funny.

They could have handled the situation better. The way things have been said and responded to leaves a lot to impressions on how arrogant Apple handled the problem.

How I Became a Football Fan

So two weeks ago, I was tweeting on how I couldn't understand football. I was making fun of people who had 'the fever' but had no idea how football was played or what it was all about.

Fast forward to the end of this week (incidentally the end of the first round as well) and my body clock is busted because I try to catch the early morning games. I catch myself watching 2-hour long matches and shouting when players make (or almost make) goals. I've turned into one of them.

How did this happen? How did I become a football fan?

I play ultimate disc. Perhaps that helped in my appreciation of football. In disc, I like offense where we pass the disc to the open player. We just keep on passing to the sides till we find a clear opening, then we move the disc forward. That's what first caught my eye about football. And when you realize how hard it is to control a ball without using your hands, their passing becomes all the more astonishing.

I have friends who still don't get football. Their main complaints are that: it takes such a long time to score a goal, it's a low scoring game, and there are ties.

Well, I completely appreciate all those things now.

I think it all boils down to how difficult it is to play the game. Watching the world's best players not play well showed me just how hard the game is. Then seeing brilliant teams execute precise control of the ball just showed me how talented they really are. The individual play is amazing too. How the hell do they do that? When a player is able to move the ball past pesky defenders, especially in such tight spaces, and they somehow contort their bodies to swing that ball into the net, that's artistry right there. Also, the ball does something that the disc also does that I just love: it curves.

Scoring a goal is no easy feat. It takes a tremendous amount of team skill. You have to know where your teammates are. You have to make precision passes--with your feet nonetheless. You have to break a solid defensive line and find a way for the ball to make it through. And beyond the last string of defenders, there's this guy who can actually use his hands and is leaping all over the place.

Goalkeeper saves are a beautiful thing to watch as well. It's body bending to will.

Regarding draws, it takes forever to score a goal and you don't even know if a team will make one so you really have to stop at a draw. It's okay. A win has more points than a draw anyway. And draws are only allowed during qualifying. When you're down to the quarters, you go to the shootout.

I don't understand how a shootout can not be exciting. The striker is expected to make the shot. The goalkeeper isn't expected to block it. Given those two assumptions, you wait for someone to incredibly mess up or incredibly defy expectations. It's as exciting as freethrows with seconds left on the clock. You hang on to every bit of action. You know the game lies in the balance.

For me, the length of time it takes to score a goal adds to the anticipation. If you only watch highlights, it isn't as meaningful. You have to watch every single second. You have to be part of the collective and want every pass and dribble to be perfect as you will your team to all somehow synchronize their thoughts and movements and score an amazing point.

The clincher, football is also a metaphor for life.

Aspirations are not served on a silver platter. It takes a tremendous amount of skill, discipline, and patience for many elements to fall into place. A touch of luck helps as well. The gameplay is long because like most things that matter, you have to work for them and be patient before you get them.

It's a low scoring game. As in our lives, we are only given so many chances for defining moments. You have to cherish those little opportunities that you get. You have to be at your best. The right moment paired with the right skill, leads to success.

And when you do score, know that although 1-0 is already a big thing, it doesn't mean that it's a sure win.

Many little things--and lots of persistence and patience--lead to greatness. Such is life and such is what makes football a beautiful game.

Culte Femme 2010 Collections

I'm not really into fashion. I don't know what the trends and the brands are. I don't know who's who. I can't even dress myself properly. But I have an idea what "nice" is (nice, classy, fashionable, pick your adjective). And this is, well, nice...

Uh-huh, nice right? I've no idea what's going on, but I like it.

Culte Femme is a Rustan's house brand by local designer Hindy Webber-Tantoco (who incidentaly is also officially the cutest local designer) (or perhaps the nicest).

5 Best Things About iOS4

Apple just released iPhone 4 and along with it (2 days before) they rolled out iOS4 as well.

When you have an iphone, you know who among your friends own iphones as well (perhaps because you all have the same message and ring tones). It's amusing how we were all giddy with anticipation. And why not, it's a free upgrade to a better OS promising long-awaited features in the wraps.

The best features of the upgrade:

1. General improvement in speed, transition + wallpaper The icons seem to pop out of the screen more. The transitions between pages (when you scroll to the left or right) is smoother. When going back to home screen the icons have a different effect, like they're popping in from the outside. They seem like small improvement, but they are what you see most of the time so it matters.

The new wallpaper option is just dandy. It also helps make those icons pop out.

(iphone pickup line: hey, that's a nice wallpaper. they really bring out the color of your apps).

2. Folders I used to have about 8 pages on my iphone. Now, I only have 5 with ample space on each page for new apps. That's almost a 50% decrease! All the games I don't play are now cluttered into a folder (2 actually), apps I use for travel are stowed away, the default iphone apps I never use are out of sight, and in general I feel more in control. My phone seems less cluttered.

3. Spell Check, Undo, and User Dictionary When you first start using an iphone/itouch keyboard you worry a bit. But as your brain learns what your (fat) fingers are pressing, you learn to appreciate the keyboard. One thing you struggle with a bit longer is auto-correct.

Somehow, the phone thinks it knows what you want to type more than you do. If you're typing a word and it has a suggestion (which it hurriedly tries to prompt) and you ignore it (or just don't see it) and continue to type, it keeps ITS suggestion.

But now, we have an undo. When the phone suggests something, and you continue to type causing it to accept its suggestion, just hit backspace and the edited word pops up. Tap it and you just undid the auto-correct. Nice.

Even better is integrated spell check. As how you would think it would work, red squiggly lines indicate an unrecognized word. Tap it and the alternate suggestions appear.

Last is the user dictionary. This can be a bit tricky to find. You have to select another keyboard aside from your probably default US-English one. After doing that, you will have another option in the keyboard settings which is User Dictionary. What's the big deal? Well, if you have words that the phone usually corrects (especially non-English words) put it in the user dictionary and the phone stops prompting to correct it.

3. Threaded Emails + Google Calendar & Notes Sync Following in the barely visible footprints of Google (read: finally), you can now see connected messages via threads. It's not as pretty as how Gmail does it, but that's expected. Google Calendar & Notes can now also be supposedly synced (even without MobileMe). Google Calendar sync works on the fly almost real-time and is great. I haven't really figured out how to sync Google Notes yet.

The Unified Inbox I suppose is also a good thing, but I don't really mix nor have multiple email addresses.

4. Cellular Data Off Switch I no longer have to edit the Cellular Data Network everytime I want to turn off mobile internet. There's now a switch in the Network settings that can turn off Cellular Data.

Curiously though, I don't know when they ended it, but Globe Telecoms no longer provides per kb data charging. I reckoned that I could save money moving back to per kb charging with such easy switching, but well, P5 for 15 minutes will do I guess.

5. Multi-tasking You'll probably first notice it when you use Safari. Web pages load in Safari even if you're in another 'tab' and even when you 'close' Safari. When you go back, the page has loaded already. Finally!

I'm not sure though how many other apps already know how to use this feature though. I know it works with Foursquare and Safari. It doesn't work with TweetDeck yet.

You'll know it's multi-tasking cause of an isosceles triangle near the time at the top of the iphone.

Also, when the app can multi-task, if you tap the home button, it will give you a list of previously opened apps so you can switch with ease. If it doesn't work, you go back to home.

Other notable new features:

• Digital Zoom for the camera
• Improved picture importing (uploaded pictures are clearer when zoomed in)
• Quick Search / Spotlight Search (the search that comes up when you swipe to the left from home) now includes internet, Wikipedia, and SMS search.

Post upgrade, I've been on my iphone as much as I was on it when I first got it. It's fun trying to figure out all the new features and trying to make them work. It's a good thing that Apple gives free OS upgrades, even for their consoles. And these aren't just geeky, technical updates we're so used to in the PC world. Consumers actually look forward to something new in their upgrades.

Again, the new things aren't really new in the real world--they're available elsewhere also for free and for quite a while now--but in the ever growing closed almost autistic world Apple users live in, it's a good thing. At the end of the day we're happy that we've been given more choices on how to modify our shackles.

Should you upgrade to iphone4? From what I gather, if you've a 3GS, you're crazy to want to upgrade. But if you're using a 3G and below, go ahead, don't feel guilty thinking about it. Or better yet, get a discounted 3GS and then wait for the iphone 5. You lose out on the gyroscope and the front facing camera, but you can live without those.

3G users have lived without a compass and voice dial (two things which I use a lot) and just a year and a half after the 3GS was released, they can now upgrade to iphone 4.

If you're not an iphone user, should you get an iphone? See, I'm an Apple hater but I have an iphone. As far as I'm concerned, as of last year (when I got my phone) it was the best option. I think it still is. It has the best hardware, pretty decent software, and still the best apps store.

Given a few more years though, I'm switching to an Android phone. I reckon they would have caught up with the hardware by then. The Android app store is growing exponentially by the week and in a year or so they would have already caught up with Apple. This is not to mention that the Droid apps currently do a lot more than iphone apps do.

But I'm also pretty sure that in a few years time, when Android finally catch up with Apple, the evil geniuses at Apple would have already come up with something that makes smartphones obsolete.

REVAMP!

I've been thinking of creating a new blog the past few weeks cause Twitter and Facebook just don't cut it. I don't want to be limited to 140 characters and my FB contacts (who haven't hid me on their wall yet).

I was going to make an absolutely new one. Was even going to try out Wordpress. But since someone already stole my username at Wordpress and I feel limited by Tumblr's interface, I'm back to Blogger (where I have 8 other mini blogs dating back to 2002).

And just for the heck of it, I decided not to create an entirely new one. Will just pick up where I left off. Kept the old posts, consolidated the other blogs, changed the layout and design, and voila!

This blog is going to be about the things in my world: technology, gadgets, the internet, pop culture, music, youtube, eye candy, politics, travel, the Philippines, and just the world around me in general. It's not going to be a personal blog (because who cares really and I don't want to get blackmailed).

So game, let's go!

Ignorance, Technology, and Truth

Yesterday, as I passed the SLEX exit, my epass beeped, but the wooden bar didn't rise. I was so surprised that I had to abruptly hit the breaks and almost hit the bar. The teller from the other booth quickly hurried to the epass lane, I gave her my epass, and she processed it. At the same time, a traffic enforcer came up to me.

"Sir, you don't have any load anymore," he informed me.

I was quick to reply that what he was saying was impossible because when I entered the SLEX the light at the booth lit green indicating that I still had more than P300. Also, I had just loaded P1,000 Friday, the previous week.

He butts in, "Sir, the computer says you don't have load."

I restate my case.

He persists, "But the computer said you didn't have load. That's the computer!"

At this point, while I was restating why his statement doesn't make sense, the teller hands me back my epass, and I just ignore the traffic enforcer--while he was still explaining that the computer can't be wrong--and sped off.

True enough, I checked my epass balance when I got to a computer and I still had over a thousand pesos in my account.

That traffic enforcer was either trying to swindle me into a ticket or was just plain dumb and ignorant.

Just the other week, I was arguing with my distributor staff regarding some numbers. They're not the smartest lot. Their excuse to my prodding was that my numbers were incorrect. I tried to explain to them that what they encode gets uploaded to a system and that's where I download my numbers from, therefore, we had the same numbers. They just wouldn't believe me. I had to call in our IT expert for a second opinion before we settled that my numbers were indeed correct.

They could have dug deeper to find out why we had varying data. They could have simply looked at what their reference was and compared it to what was encoded. But they didn't have the logic to figure that out. And even as I told them what to do, they didn't know how to do it. They know how to operate the computer system, they don't know what goes on under the hood.

Technology is an easy scapegoat when you are trying to imply or avoid a truth. People are quick to say, "but that's how it is," and leave it at that. No one tries to dig deeper because they don't have the diligence to do so or because they don't know that they can.

The ignorant person's approach to technology is just to believe the convenient. They just accept that it's real if it comes from an inexplicable higher power. That is ignorance. That is just pure dumb.

Two more examples: forwarded email and the recent automated canvassing.

Just because someone forwards an email doesn't mean that the content of the email is real. I was going to write that with the older generations gaining access to email, we can see where this ignorance is rooted. But I quickly realized that a lot of my peers (some even from the best colleges) forward emails like that believing that the incredible is credible.

The good thing is that with time the instances of forwarded email has decreased. It has now however been replaced with stuff like "join this Facebook group and see who is reading your profile." Again, if you know what's going on, you'll know how far from the truth that is.

Now, the recent automated canvassing.

First of all, it's an automated canvassing and not an automated election. You still had to shade, you still had to get ink for your prints, you still had to sign papers. That's not automated.

Now, when the early tally results came in, everyone was just amused about the speed of transmittal. But no one ever bothered to check for the accuracy of what was collated.

In the old system, cheating occurred in the tallying and the transmittal. Since no one understood how things were tallied, since people just trusted that technology would be correct, all the attention was on the transmittal. But how do you know that the machine counted right?

There is a very simple way to disprove the question on accuracy. It's not even remotely technological. It's manual. The random manual audit (RMA).

A day after voting, I was already asking around, including the local news services what ever happened to the random manual audit. No one knew. A few days later, the news surfaced (though I had to really look for it) that the RMA was postponed. A few days later it was started. Results started to appear. A few days more and news breaks that the RMA had been stalled.

And that was it. Up to this day, I don't think the RMA was ever completed. Everyone has conceded. It is irrelevant.

And since our useless lawmakers know nothing about technology, they all just made fools of themselves on TV as they went around in circles. Our truth commission was merely acting, the audience equally unaware.

I envy Smartmatic a lot. Sure, they seemed to have been shouted at and disparaged, but in the end they just picked the correct terms and phrased their statements well and they're off the hook. All they really clarified was what their system does. They never really answered what their system couldn't do and what could be done to it. Their system did nothing wrong. But no one ever asked if the system can be tricked into doing something wrong.

Everyone just believes what the media says. If it's a media issue, it's an issue. If the media doesn't talk about it, it's not an issue. This is also manifested in the fact that so many issues pass over. When the media hype dies, no one cares for the truth anymore.

Come to think of it, this isn't necessarily a problem raised by technology. The problem is inherently there. People are just plain ignorant.

It seems as if the truth can easily be swayed with what is convenient for the masses. Apparently, the search for truth comes to a halt at the first sign of the seemingly incomprehensible. And unfortunately, the truth is written by those who are in charge.

Truth in a way is like justice, peace, or goodness. It sometimes feels like you're fighting an impossible uphill battle to get to it.

What can you do?

The only thing you can. Explain. Try. Fight for it.

Perhaps that is your role in the world.

Can't Wait for Google TV

Yet another Google creation that will change our lives.

You may be thinking that the concept of internet TV isn't really new. But the difference this time is that Google TV is a platform. You don't need to buy a box to access it. It will be integrated directly into TVs or boxes (i.e. TiVo, cable box, dvd player). Just connect it to the internet, and access Google TV.

So in the same way that you can use Google search from any internet device, you can access Google TV from any Google TV-enabled device.

And as a guy who loves the internet, TV, and anything FREE. This is just perfect. It's like I get an additional cable package for free. I don't need to buy any new hardware cause the TV will come with everything I need to access Google TV. What's more, in a world where your cable doesn't provide HDTV, you can get HDTV for free streamed right to your TV.

I've improved WIFI reception to my room just for this. Too bad, I have to buy a new TV cause I just got one late last year. Still dreaming of the perfect internet/computer/TV/home entertainment system. But I am getting ahead of myself.

For now, let's all just wait.

*update* Sony has announced the first HDTV with Google TV Compatibility