Why am I so worried about power blockouts and the inability to go online? It’s because I need my computer and the connection to accomplish my homeworks, extra-curricular stuff and the tools (read:paperworks) that would enable me to rewrite the history of DLSU-D. I could answer my e-mails when the power goes up again, I could survive without YouTube and my Google Reader for days, I have even learned not to blog when I have nothing good to blog about. The bottom line is, Milenyo has taught me to rethink my e-life - it’s purpose, what it should serve, what and whom it will affect - think more of the other lives around me, especially those who would rather spend their money to have their decent meal instead of spending it on gadgets and shameless self-promotion.

I take back what I’ve said a few months back, that I’ll die without the internet. That I’ll go insane without my mp3 player and I’ll jump off a cliff once I can’t access my e-mail. Now I’m thinking, how could I say such things when many others out there only have a candle to light their shanties that threatens to be blown away by a storm. The only thing that protects them while they huddle in the cold just to stay alive.

Continue reading about Reming reminds me of the lessons I learned from Milenyo

jhay on November 29th, 2006

Personalized DNA? You can bet a monkey’s butt on it. Which is not really surprising when one would consider that we humans are among the most dispersed organisms in the planet. We inhabit almost every terrain on Earth and continue to expand our territories, often with harmful effects to other species.

This also justifies the difference between ethnic groups and help us understand how they adapted to their specific environments; e.g. Why Asians have a smaller body build compared to their European cousins and why our African brothers are more resistant to HIV infections compared to our South American cousins and so forth.

Continue reading about Gap between humans and chimps widens

jhay on November 28th, 2006

Resigned Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, Jr is right on the mark by stressing that he prefers to have another civilian, with no deep military ties or connections to succeed him as the new defense chief.

This is by far one of the most sensible thing I’ve heard from the men and women who compose the Arroyo administration, or in Cruz’ case, once become part of.

Ever since Arroyo took over the reigns of power, the military has been at the center of scandals, controversies and most likely behind the scenes of the recent rise in political killings and massive human rights abuses suffered by the peasant, labor and even laity leaders critical of the Arroyo administration.

Continue reading about Arroyo must listen to Cruz

jhay on November 27th, 2006

Now going back to my friend’s smart-ass idea on Rizal being gay, he did presented some reasons to back it up. He started by making this observation; “Sa lahat ng babaero, siya[Rizal] lang ang hindi nagkaroon ng maraming anak.” “Of all the womanizers, Rizal is the only one who has not produced a number of children.”

True, Rizal did not have many children save for the one that Josephine delievered too early into this world, only to die later as a tragic consequence of Pepe’s misdemeanors. This is despite the fact that he is well known for having many lovers and flames everywhere he went.

Continue reading about A Gay Womanizer

jhay on November 26th, 2006

So it’s another clever interpretation of how Technorati sees your blog. Wonder what would the Web 2.0 version of Technorati would be like? How will it rank this blog? Still, it’s very creative and would appeal to almost everyone. Heck, I’m quite happy with the rating it gave this blog.

Hope my sponsors will consider this when they evaluate the things I’ve done with this free .com.ph domain and continue to keep it open for free. :D There’s still six months to go, plenty of time to improve this blog, its content, design and meet more blogging friends!

Continue reading about So I’m a B-lister, cool!

jhay on November 25th, 2006

However, SPAM doesn’t only thrive as a pestilence in the cyberworld. Even the seemingly distant mobile world has already been invaded by it-well the Philippine mobile world that is.

Your in the middle of a meeting or class, your mobile phone vibrates, telling that you have just recieved a message and so you frantically dig for it inside your bag or pocket. Unlock the keypad with lightning fast reflexes and even without looking at it, feel like an eternity has passed before you could open the message. Your heart beats faster in anticipation of knowing who the sender is but all of this is thrown away shredded into pieces when all you read is the following: (just an example)

New Ring Tones available:
A1-Alphabet song
B1-Happy Birthday
C1-Halukay Spaghetti
Just enter the key code and send to 84513658461
P15/download

Continue reading about Spam TXT Messages

jhay on November 21st, 2006

“Palatino? Hindi kaya si Mong Palatino ito?” I asked my self in silence as I squinted more to adjust my eyes in order to get a better look at him. Then there is was, a simple phrase from him confirmed my suspicions, “It’s a good thing that to see that internet, especially blogs has started to become prominent tools for advocacy work.”

Just the words “blogs” + “advocacy” galvanized my suspicions. “Siya nga! Si Mong Palatino nga ng Mongster’s Nest!” I exclaimed to myself while I smiled at the fact that finally, I’ve met a fellow blogger of mine in the real and living flesh. Determined not to let this opportunity go to waste, I stood up and walked towards where I saw Mong took his seat after receiving the token gifts - which he truly deserved - of appreciation to formally introduce myself and make a real, offline, person-to-person contact with a fellow blogger whom I truly respect and admire.

Continue reading about Meeting Mong Palatino in person

jhay on November 17th, 2006

I don’t know, and maybe it is just me but Yahoo! Mail never caught my fancy. (To which I could write a whole new piece about, and that’s for later days.) A culprit could be from my self-obsession with always being different from everyone else (at least I try to be). Since most of my friends and classmates already have ‘@yahoo.com’ trailing their unique username with all sorts of special numbers and the words “cute, cutiee, pastel” and other incarnations to tell the world where to e-mail them. So I signed up for a Hotmail account.

The service was satisfactory and I even liked the cool blue-themed interface. It was rather simple to use and more intuitive compared to Yahoo! Mail (again this is just me).

Continue reading about 1GB Hotmail launched silently

jhay on November 15th, 2006

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Continue reading about Peanuts Philosophy