I’m having trouble describing the pain; I guess it’s like a mild cramp… but more akin to a very bad case of “kabag” (gas) – only it’s on my lower back (Is that even possible?)

The pain was severe enough to keep me awake all night; no matter what position I shifted to couldn’t alleviate it. And it wasn’t something I could ignore – I had to move because if I laid still – it would get too painful. That experience would last for about an hour, then disappear.

I’m wondering if I should have this checked. Very weird.

It had a fairly “generic” message I guess, but I couldn’t help but feel how apt the message could be for both sides – how both indecision and closed-mindedness don’t lead anywhere productive. If we all had the mindset of what the song had suggested, we could’ve avoided it altogether (wether it be by one side acting sooner, or the other simply being more receptive)

Lyrics here

I just felt the need to vent out my frustrations because of how long the negative energy was allowed to “fester” before it was finally addressed (not to mention what it took to actually address it). Relationships had been needlessly strained because of the shortcomings of both sides, that much is certain.

In any case, the worst seems to be over… but at what cost? (sigh)

Don’t you just hate how true the term “hindsight is always 20/20″ is most of the time?

Yes, you were supposed to sing the title to the tune of My Funny Valentine – FAIL >:(

All the same, this Valentine’s day was pretty unique for Cris and myself.

Bruno, Len, Elaine, Paul, Len’s cousins and their respective significant others had joined The North Face couple’s run which was held early today at Nuvali. They (the runners) had planned to crash at Bruno’s Tagaytay home right before the race (since the race started 6am the next day)

Since Cris, Mara, Mark, Alan, Teejay and myself thought that we could bike in the area while the runners did their thing, Cris and I decided to bring our bikes and tag along to Tagaytay and meet up with the rest of the bikers during the event.

We woke up 4am the next day, went straight to Nuvali, Sta. Rosa and proceeded to have a very fulfilling V-day for both bikers and runners of the group.

Runners started at 6 and Mara and Mark arrived about the same time. We then proceeded to do the fourcross course, then explored the trails. Unfortunately we had to leave the trails proper since they were still “reserved” for the running event. So we instead proceeded to go around this subdivision that was still under development. We ended with another run at the fourcross¹ before meeting up with the runners, and having a hefty brunch.

To all those who think that way, and are trying to understand why people like me think otherwise, I present to you three articles below. I believe that all the points/concepts in these articles give a good overall picture of what people from “our side of the fence” are seeing.

• The Apple Tablet Interface Must Be Like This
• A Message to the Internets regarding the iPad
• Old World vs. New World computing

Bottomline is, that you can have all the bells and whistles in hardware, but your device will always be as weak as its interface. And historically speaking, choosing the best “interface metaphor” to use for different devices has always been Apple’s forte.

A good articulation of the concern I’ve always had since rumors of the tablet started, would be from an article at GDGT:

Will people buy it in droves? Is there actually room for a device between smartphones and laptops? That I don’t know — I’ve always been skeptical there’s room for a third category in there. But if there is a contender for this space, the iPad is it.

My knee-jerk answer would be “no” as far as how much people would actually prefer using this over laptops and phones. But then again, Apple has been known to be such a great “game changer” in any industry that they might just successfully create a new “perceived need” in the minds of the people.

However, having said all that, I still am getting one ;) Not only because of the hype; but I really feel this is exactly the type of “large factor” mobile device I would like to be lugging around instead of a laptop.

There are three reasons I want the iPad.

Reason One: Apple’s Sex Appeal

It’s just so fucking sexy.² What can I say, I’m a gear slut and this thing is so shiny and shit, how could I refuse!

Reason Two: Practical Usability

It addresses a bunch of usability issues I have with my iPhone/iPod Touch and my MacBook Pro.

MacBook Pro

When I got the Unibodies for Cris and myself, I was seriously considering getting a MacBook Air. Because over the range of Apple laptops I’ve owned, I really began to appreciate the value of size and weight. In a nutshell, I just don’t enjoy lugging a [heavy] laptop around anymore.

This is partly because of how I use the laptop when out of the house. My main computer is still the desktop – everything is done there. I only use the laptop when I need to do mundane things³ away from the main computer (if I’m eating, or lazy in bed). Out of the house, chances are I’ll be in a situation where there’s too much distractions for me to do anything “focused” so I’ll probably end up with surfing, emails, chatting, etc. the usual stuff an everyday internet-savvy user does.⁴ And you have to admit, having the computing power of a MacBook Pro to do those things is really unnecessary.

MacBook Air

So, I considered the MacBook Air – but eventually abandoned that thought because of its price.

I certainly could live with sacrificing power in favor of mobile practicality. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a tipping point as far as “premium paid” goes. The premium you pay for the MacBook Air is for its size/weight, and it’s only natural you trade-off some power/features to accomplish that – fair enough, right?

But when you get to the details of how much “function” you have to trade-off for form, that’s when it becomes a deal-breaker.

I always thought that at best, the Air should’ve been priced the same as the lowest end MacBook; roughly a thousand dollars. Because the thing is weaker than the weakest MacBook⁵ (hence lowers its “value”), but then it makes up for it by its form factor (hence increases its value). So it evens out with [as long as its compared to] a MacBook… not a MacBook Pro – which is where they decided to price against.

So as much as I was drawn to the Air’s appeal, the fact that there were tangible alternatives to put it’s value to the test, made it an easy decision for me to simply just get a MacBook Pro for the same price.⁶ Which left me stuck with the whole issue of having a much heavier device.

iPhone

Which brings me to the iPhone, it’s obvious that I believe in the product. Yes it has its weaknesses, but I still would rather lug an iPhone which can do a lot of the “mundane things” I like doing on the go – instead of carrying a laptop. That’s why I invested in it,⁷ that’s why I even bought apps for it.⁸ The iPhone for me was an extremely productive tool because of the applications that had augmented its value.

But, while it was productive, it was not necessarily “enjoyable.” The “viewing experience” (browsing, photos, etc.) was certainly unique enough to put a smile on the face of any first time user, but as you get used to it, no amount of cleverness could hide the the fact that there were compromises being made in order to make such a small device access media that was designed to be viewed in a larger screen.

In other words, smartphones in general, no matter how powerful they are, are really only good for “realtime quickies.” By “quickie” I mean those simple tasks that already have become part of our everyday routine; those things that only take a few seconds or minutes at the most to accomplish. Want to check important mail? No problem, wanna see a video everyone’s talking about? Got some minutes to spare while waiting for someone? Then sure, browse or watch a video, or go Twitter/Facebook-ing if you like. But doing all those things for extended periods, having to constantly pinch or tap just to read a single page, can get really old, really fast.

So there you have it; the iPhone/iPod “form” has its weaknesses – it’s just that those weaknesses weren’t a big deal at the time – simply because there were no other alternatives that could do it better… until now.

iPad

The tablet, in a nutshell, for my purposes, addresses what was missing from the MacBook Air (ideal price tag) and iPhone (decent screen size to work with for extended periods).

Given its size and weight, I can totally imagine myself lugging it wherever I go just like Cris would be bringing a Novel she’s currently reading. You can stow it just like you’d stow a book or magazine. And most importantly, the weight penalty is considerably less than bringing my MBP. I can totally imagine myself mailing, surfing, watching, or reading stuff with it for extended periods in the dining table, on the bed, or on the go.

Reason 3: Why The Fuck Not!?

Given everything discussed above, and the price point they put it in, I’d be crazy not to get one. To put things in perspective: my 16GB iPhone 3GS (a legally unlocked, non-plan-subsidized unit) cost me about 700-800 dollars.

Then we’ve got the iPad, which pretty much does the same thing, only much better – with its top-end configuration costing about the same as my “base” 3GS model. How can I not see that as a great deal?

Overall, I think it’s fairly priced (cheap even) for what it can do. Also, I don’t really see the iPad as an overgrown iPhone/iPod Touch like I joked about in the title. Instead I actually see it as what the iPhone/iPod Touch was supposed to be.⁹ In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the conception of the iPhone/iPod Touch was possible because of their research/development of making a tablet.

As a side-note, I wouldn’t be surprised if the iPad cannibalizes the Air’s sales here on out. The Air is severely underpowered as it is, so if you’re willing to put up with an underpowered machine in the first place, then might as well get an iPad. That way, you still get what drew you to the Air (slim and light),¹⁰ and you get to save 400-800 dollars while you’re at it.

Of course the device is still far from being “ideal.” Here are some issues for me. Some major some minor. Some not important

No Flash support (minor)

It’s my understanding the reason Apple doesn’t want flash in Mobile OSX in general is because Flash acting up accounts for the majority of browser-related crashes in their desktops.

I honestly don’t know what to think if this in fact is true. On the one hand, I guess I wouldn’t want to force the issue if it compromises system stability… on the other hand, it’s nice to have the option of taking the risk.

In any case, lack of flash is more of an annoyance; that is to say the only reason I want it is because so many sites I come across need it – not necessarily because it’s a plugin that is necessary. If sites don’t use flash, then I don’t mind not having flash – simple as that.

No multi-tasking (major)

I understand that any mobile device may be too underpowered to handle “unlimited” multi-tasking like a desktop could. Still, it would’ve been nice to have even a “limited” implementation of it; maybe something like only being able to run 3-4 applications at the same time. Or being able to “sticky” a finite amount of applications to prevent them from being released from memory when you switch views/apps.

The iPad’s much larger screen simply begs for some semblance of multi-tasking – the screen real estate available is simply too big for a user not to expect/want it to multi-task. I can just imagine having a hotspot somewhere where you can switch between apps that are running in the background; surfing while chatting, etc.

Besides, if the Nexus can do it with a processor of the same speed¹¹ I don’t see why Apple can’t do the same – or at least some approximation of it.

No camera (not important)

… but wouldn’t it be awesome if you could video-conference with the iPad? Or I guess just be able to have some photo-booth fun with your peeps spontaneously.

But all these weaknesses are not enough to be deal-breakers as far as my “usage preference” goes. And there’s one aspect that “regular” consumers often forget and I’ll preface it with John Gruber’s opinion upon trying the tablet out:

Everyone I spoke to in the press room was raving first and foremost about the speed. None of us could shut up about it. It feels impossibly fast.

One major factor that allows something that’s otherwise underpowered by normal computing standards to perform wonderfully is a very efficient way of resource management. So the lack of multitasking, the lack of CPU intensive Flash decoding, the lack of this and that, all that contributes to all that speed and battery life.

Take the iPhone for example; imagine how much eye candy it’s able to crank out given its interface, yet it does it so seamlessly. Anybody who’s used to other mobile operating systems cannot deny that its amazing how they can make a smartphone as snappy as the iPhone is.

The Nexus One may be faster than the iPhone today, but still just as fast on average. And the 3GS has a 400MHz handicap at that (it runs @ 600MHz compared to Google’s 1GHz). Also if you hadn’t realized, the Nexus One’s processor is just as fast as the iPad’s. And iPad is said to be crazy fast while driving a considerably bigger display. Which brings me to another point from Gruber:

What happens if Apple has figured out a way to make a CPU like A4 that fits in an iPhone? If they pull that off for this year’s new iPhone, look out.

To end, I’ll leave you yet again some of Gruber’s words:

Apple now owns and controls their own mobile CPUs. There aren’t many companies in the world that can say that. And from what I saw today, Apple doesn’t just own and control a mobile CPU, they own and control the hands-down best mobile CPU in the world. Software aside (which is a huge thing to put aside), it may well be that no other company could make a device today matching the price, size, and performance of the iPad. They’re not getting into the CPU business for kicks, they’re getting into it to kick ass.

And kick ass they already have, and if the iPad’s any indication, they will continue to do.

btw, all the quotes I got from Gruber’s article @ Daringfireball.net

Self-awareness is vital for creating a successful life and business. Our easy Tick Test will help you discover what makes you tick.

How?

A picture of “the real you” will emerge, as your intro-extroversion results are divided into three parts — thinking, social, and emotional. These are linked to your IQ factor. In no time at all you’ll get a concise and helpful portrait of yourself.

And since I’m bored and have got nothing better to do at the moment, I thought I’d just do a commentary on the whole thing hahahaha. A self-reflecting commentary if you will. Could even be one of those “manual to my life” type of posts.

A shame that the test wasn’t anything more than an entertainment thing… results like the one I got would’ve been great if it came from a really reputable “survey,” and if it wasn’t so easy to duplicate.

For one, the results I got where the exact same results from the person I discovered it from… even more amusing is that we’ve got the same name so the results page was a carbon copy of his results.

Secondly, in some questions, what “I’d most likely do” wasn’t included in the [multiple-choice] answers. For example, the first question was:

A friend has borrowed a favorite book of yours. You’ve asked your friend to return it but your friend has failed to return the book. What do you do?

• You tell your friend how important the book is to you and ask your friend to return it as soon as possible.
• You end the friendship because he or she has disrespected your feelings.
• You forget about it because the friendship means more to you than the book.
• You ignore your friend until the book is returned.

What I’d most likely do is to not sweat it until it is returned; perhaps I’d even use it as an excuse to buy a new one in the even that it’s NEVER returned – but I’d never lend him/her a book of mine ever again. But I guess the first would be the next best thing… so I chose that.

The trouble here is all the questions were pertaining to how a situation like that would affect a friendship, whereas my answer obviously indicates that it doesn’t apply to me at all. To me it’s just like loaning money to someone; they could be your friend or not, but I simply determine if I should lend people money based on their capability of actually paying their debt – it’s nothing personal to me.

Last and most importantly; what has all this shit got to do with MUSIC!? The reason I took the blasted test was I was curious if maybe they could determine what type of person I am based on the music I listen to… and I listen to just about anything – which is why I was curious as to what it could possibly “derive” from my musical selections.

On the other hand, like I said, the “results” were what I’d hope to be able to claim as accurate ;) And Cris took the same test and got different results which also described her accurately. So maybe there’s some proper analysis going on with the software after all.

Based on your answers, your personality has a subtle mix between introversion and extroversion; you balance elements of both! It’s too hard to call…

I kinda disagree. Maybe it’s because I’m a “high functioning” introvert that they got this result (that and the whole questions not having the “answer choices” I really want). Either way, I’ve always considered myself more introverted. But hey, if they say I’m balanced, who am I to argue!

You have a natural empathy. You understand human motivation in the broad sense, constantly experiencing both sides of the coin within yourself.

I guess this is where I’m different from the rest. Normally, people would look for confirmation/affirmation of their views from others to make themselves feel better. They gravitate to souls they resonate with. The trouble with that is they fall into the whole “group think” mentality.

One other thing I always make sure I never fall into is the mistake of assuming that empathy (or even sympathy) is the same as encouragement. It’s one thing to be there for a person as a shoulder to cry/lean on, and a whole other thing to approve of their actions. Just because you understand why someone did something, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to tolerate if if what they did was wrong. I can understand why marijuana users feel the way they do about legalizing its use (it is less harmful than smoking/alcohol) but that doesn’t mean they should be allowed to blatantly break the law for their beliefs.¹

The trouble with people who have done wrong with the best of intentions is that is they mistake people who are “there for them” to actually agree with what they did. That’s a deluded way to think.

What I do is I deliberately try to find holes in my logic. Whenever I lean towards something, the first order of business is to take the opposite stance and try to punch as much holes as I can in my own arguments. I also seek out the opinions of people who I know to disagree – in order to gain a wider perspective. If I can find holes in my logic as a result, then I assume that I haven’t arrived at the “right” conclusion yet – I then re-evaluate, and see what new conclusion(s) I come up with.

I recursively go through this process in my head (and discussions with others) until I get to a conclusion that has the least possible inconsistencies. So when people see me having a firm stance on something, it’s not because I’m stubborn… it’s simply because I’ve already racked my head long enough to see all the possible angles available to me and I probably just arrived at the same conclusion.

When dealing with issues, I would rather not take sides, but I could and will if it can’t be helped. I found a very effective way to determine which side best to take; and it has nothing to do with right and wrong. If it was a matter of right and wrong, then it’s black and white and there’s no debate to be had. But often times issues aren’t so simple. In those “grey” cases, the process I use is not necessarily to find out who’s right or wrong, but simply assume both are right.² Instead, I look at which side is doing more harm than good; and that is something that can be determined objectively.

And that logic/process is usually fool-proof. Because it’s like saying “Yes, you’re both right, but at this point, pound for pound… this person is doing more harm than the other.” It’s a testable thing, a simple survey of all people involved would determine if what someone’s doing is welcome or not.

At times you feel drawn to social activities, at others, you can happily spend time alone. You have a range of experiences that sets you apart.

Indeed! But I’m not quite sure what the second sentence meant. I’m guessing as a whole, the line is suggesting that I’m a “case-to-case basis” type of guy when it comes to social interaction.

I welcome when people appreciate, look for, and enjoy my company… but I’m not extroverted/insecure enough to need such affirmation (i.e. I do not kiss-ass). I’d prefer people want to be with me for who I am, not who I am for them.

You’re sometimes misunderstood, because you can veer from one type of behavior to the other, according to your comfort level.

Sometimes? ;)

I’d attribute it to the fact that when I’m dealing with my [personal] issues, that’s when I’m most introverted – so people really don’t get to know the real stories behind the “topic” – I often let other people speculate on their own, or listen to accounts from others regardless if they’re accurate or not – simply because it’s not really my problem to worry about what they think of an issue that I would rather keep to myself.³

Simply put, I was always of the sense that “people have got problems of their own, why should I burden them with my problems as well?”

You’re genuinely sociable. In fact, because of that balanced temperament, you’re uniquely suited for mixing with people. Real friendships don’t occur often, because you’re somewhat choosy about whom you’ll share your thoughts and feelings with.

Once you make a friend, chances are, it’ll be long-term.

canned response: I’d like to think this is true, but of course this could only be confirmed (or denied) by the people around me.

Also, some still get through my “net of discernment” by mistake now and then. Nobody’s perfect ;)

A natural moderator, you can find yourself a referee between warring factions. Common sense comes naturally to you, as you tend to see both sides of an issue.

canned response: I’d like to think this is true, but of course this could only be confirmed (or denied) by the people around me.

You’re deliberate in making important life decisions, and weigh issues carefully. Once you’ve made up your mind, a balanced perspective gives you as comprehensive a view as one is likely to get.

I like making simulations in my head whenever I’m dealing with a dilemma/issue. Normally, I’d attribute it as a natural temperament of any programmer, but I guess it could be likened to how women utilize their frontal lobes… the difference [from women] is that the hypothetical scenarios I come up with remain as such; they rarely affect me emotionally. Women on the other hand, are much more “paranoid” (for lack of a better term) in that sense.

You also show a very high-end IQ. In combining intense thought with intense emotion, you reveal a dynamic personality that is capable of making creative leaps and discoveries.

Well the IQ is measurable so that’s the only thing I can confirm. For the other claims, I defer to the canned response ;)

Just came from Maarat; love the part when I endo’ed and Paul caught my bike instead of me; priorities nga naman kse di ba? ;)

I hadn’t realized that amusing as it was, some of the more scrutinizing readers/bikers might wonder “how the hell does one even get into a situation where one is able to be ‘caught’ after flying off his bike in the first place?” Good point, so here’s the lowdown of what happened…

We were basically going down a single-track path towards the Nursery.¹ I was following Bruno, who was going down at a fairly quick pace. That was well and good, except for the fact that it was my first time taking that route; I hadn’t anticipated the sudden changes in steepness and lack of traction² at some parts. Given I was trailing too close to Bruno, I would soon find out that I didn’t have the luxury of slowing down as gradually as I would’ve wanted to.

It was quite unnerving because I was conscious enough to let up on the brakes to keep from flying off the bars, but the incline would just increase my speed dramatically whenever I would disengage long enough to let my rear hit the ground again.

In hindsight, I guess I probably should’ve just tried skidding all the way with my rear brakes, but I think I would have washed out given the loose dirt. In any case, it was plain and simple; I was going too fast on an incline I’ve never ridden before – an arrogant mistake I hope to remember never to repeat.

Anyways, so I was probably able to feel my rear tires lift about 3 times, and recover before I finally realized that I really had to stop. So I just tried an emergency dismount during that “last lift” of the rear wheels. The trouble was, it all happened at a steep incline as well. So while I didn’t quite “fly over the handle” in the strictest sense, I dismounted with enough momentum to have me “flying” alongside my bike – approaching Paul; who had “stationed” himself to take a picture of us going down.³ The bike was closer to him, so that’s what he “caught.”

And there you have it, the situation which allowed someone to be able to “catch” anything during a downhill run. A bit terrifying for sure,⁴ but immensely enjoyable trail ride.

Anyways, that’s not the point of this post. The point is that I bought this app¹ from the iTunes store which I was really skeptical about, but apparently it works flawlessly that I cannot help but blog about it.

As the title suggests, the app is called Comic Reader Mobi. Just like any comic book archive reader, it allows you to read your standard CBR, CBZ, RAR and ZIP comic book packages. But what’s interesting is how it implements its zoom functionality.

If you visit the link, and try the simulator on the left, you’ll know what I’m talking about; its zoom algorithm is smart enough to detect the dialog boxes in the panels, snap to, and only magnify those areas relative to the screen size (in this case, the iPhone)

At first I really thought the whole thing was rigged. For one, the software was $15 – which is very expensive for an iPhone app. Next is the website; Comic Sans as the font, the whole design/layout quite frankly, sucks. Then if you would watch the YouTube video, you can see the GUI itself isn’t really up to scratch as far as Apple application design goes. Then of course that simulation could be easily rigged since it’s just showing one image anyways.

All in all, at first glance, you’d really think this was a hoax… but I took a chance and purchased it, synced the Fables series I intended to read, and was pleasantly surprised that it did work as advertised!

Their approach of zooming only the text is phenomenal as far as reading comic books on mobile devices goes. Most of the time, even with small screens, your eyes can process the pages’ contents without having to zoom in and out (and/or slide/drag the whole page around). But it is true that text is unreadable when viewed at such resolutions… and I’m guessing that’s what they focused on; being able to zoom into the text without necessarily zooming the whole page – and by God, it works so well!

The only drawbacks I see in this app are it’s price and the design of its user interface. I’ve posted a review on the iTunes store, so I thought I’d just post it here instead of repeating my issues:

This application is a bit pricey for what it does, but I do have to admit the implementation of your zoom algorithm is perfect for mobile devices. Which is why I’m still giving it the highest mark I can. And yes, I have purchased it because I’m utterly impressed with the zoom approach you did.

There’s one other area where you can GREATLY improve on though (apart from the price) and that’s the reason the highest I could give is 4 stars. I take issue with the little details on the UI.

The bare view (viewing comic panels) is good/fine, but when you see the other stuff like the bottom navigation controls, the splash screen, the settings panel, etc. They look horrendous! Upon looking at the choice of colors, fonts, icons, element spacing in the different dialogs, the transitions between pages when swiping, etc. one can’t help but compare the work to something that a windows/linux developer would make: All function, no form.

I know it may be nitpicking at this point, but try focusing on the little details and you’ll be surprised how much better your app could be. You have to understand what makes a good app good is not only the genius of the programming, but also the user experience – and the interface contributes to that experience A LOT. You should know this especially since you’re also in the iPhone market space. Just like with all things Apple, design is just as important as what’s under the hood.

A quick fix that can solve this issue is to hire a designer (who’s used to the Apple discipline of creating user interfaces) to do the visuals.

Again, I hope you don’t see this as an insult, but genuine constructive criticism. I don’t regret paying $15 for a fine piece of software, but I think that also entitles me to some expectations out of the developer I’ve just supported with my cash. The bottom-line is that while this application works well, it is far from elegant, and much can be improved given what you charge for it.

Naturally, I felt compelled to re-post it – if only for the reason that my IE-40s¹ came out on top (yay!) – what’s more is that my backup pair (Etymotic Research ER-4P) took the 3rd spot :)

The only thing I’m curious about is why they chose to compare the lower-end Shure SE420 instead of the SE530. Also, I would’ve wanted them to include the Westone 3. The two last mentioned, IMHO, were the real competition to the Triple-Fi.

Read all about it here

Before my other comments, here are some user comments I found in the referring page (digg.com):

I actually find it funny that people pay $150-$300 for iPod, yet they use the free iPod earphones.
If you love music, get the best earphone you can afford. It is worth every penny.

And for those who wonder why people like us have the same sentiment as the above poster, here’s a good summary done by another poster:

There is a huge difference between $1,150 headphones and $100 phones. It’s almost as dramatic as if you were going to buy a PC and had either $1,150 to spend or $100. True, the average Joe won’t notice that significant a difference. But to professionals or people who really can tell a difference; it’s huge.

A second example is whether you’d buy a nice Toyota or a Ferrari. Both will get you from A to B. But there’s a big difference in your experience in doing so.

For you people, here are some of the big differences between cheap buds and quality phones.

1. Frequency Range – what frequencies can be (re)produced
2. OHMs² – how hard your device has to work to produce those frequencies, the less work the less distorted it’ll be
3. SNR³ – How loud of a sound is produced for how hard it works
4. Frequency Response Rate – how even produced frequencies are relative to each other (very different from frequency range)

This marks the end of what is typically in the packaging of consumer (el cheapo) products. These next are never mentioned because they’re so horrible in said products.

1. Phasing – How accurately is each frequency reproduced, especially in regards to complex waveforms
2. Timing Alignment – Most speakers or quality phones consist of many speakers/tweeters/woofers⁴ working harmoniously. This is the judge of how closely in sync the individual speakers are, especially in an attempt to minimize phasing
3. Drivers – As mentioned, quality phones have multiple drivers. My Shure SE530’s have a tweeter and two woofers, each time aligned, tuned, etc. Each has a dedicated purpose and set of frequencies to reproduce. When a speaker has less frequencies to reproduce, it can do them more accurately. Cheap phones only have 1 speaker, responsible for all the frequencies. Phasing WILL occur, and it will sound like crap. In this regard, the phones with multiple speakers have crossovers (which separate the frequencies for each speaker component)… good multi-speaker buds have good crossovers at appropriate frequency intervals. If it’s not done properly, you’ll get too much of certain frequencies or too little of others.

So before you say that expensive speakers/phones are not worth it, get educated.

Similarly, try walking into a recording studio with your $100 Logitech gaming headset/mic and compare it with a Neumann. If you can’t tell the difference, you’re deaf. Or a liar.

What amazes me is how long the audio quality of these headphones have withstood the test of time. The article was written this month (Jan 2010). My IE-40s (Triple-fis) were purchased at the end of 2007!

What’s even more amazing is how the Etymotics could still hold up with the “new generation.” People had said that the ER-4Ps set the standard in canalphones,⁵ and they weren’t kidding! I got my pair July, 2006.⁶ And I’m not sure if I mentioned this, but Etymotic Research has got superior customer support! The left driver of my ER-4P died once, and I sent them back, out of warranty, to have repaired… they shipped back a brand new, and updated unit (all black, etc.) free of charge!

Anyways, as I stated earlier, I wished they did the Shure and Westone units I mentioned at the top of the post. I still would’ve probably gone IE-40 (Triple-Fi) though – all because of one very big plus factor which the author didn’t mention: user-replaceable cables.

A lot of people don’t like the prospect of spending over $100 for in-ear phones because they’re too “flimsy” for an active lifestyle (which everyone seems to have nowadays). The fact of the matter is that it’s the cables that wear out easily – and they’re usually integrated to the casings; if you damage the cable, you either send the unit in for repair and wait, or you buy a new pair. Ultimate Ears on the other hand, sell replacement cables starting from some of their Super-Fi ($200) models. Few or no other of the in-ear monitors of any brand offer that peace of mind – even up to their $500 price range offerings.

Having said that, I guess the Shures would’ve been a moot exercise for me. But Westone products still intrigue me, because when the time comes that I invest in in-ear monitors at the $1k+ price range… there are only 3 brands left to consider: Ultimate Ears, Westone, and FutureSonics. My first pair of in-ear phones were FutureSonics EM3s ($100) and while they sound really good, they’re too bottom-end heavy; which is the best for everyday listening, but not ideal for mixing. I’m assuming they use the same “tuning philosophy” on their other models – so they’re out of the running for me.

But before that, here is my 2010 plan:

All in all, I don’t think I want 2010 to be an “adventurous” year, if you know what I mean. Because any adventure costs [money]… and I think I’ve got enough stuff from 2009 to keep me busy (e.g. cycling, recording stuff, etc.) I’d like to be able to save more than I spend – especially that the world economy won’t seem to improve anytime soon.

Also, a bit of trivia, the database ID of this entry is 1000 – just thought that was kinda cool.

2009 Roundup

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
   It would have to be Ripstik-ing

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
   Yep, to start biking – finally. For 2010, I’d like to spend less and save more¹ … and lose the tummy and maintain a healthy metabolism so I can still enjoy eating!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   Friends, yes – but not anyone “close.”

4. Did anyone close to you die?
   Not really, by best friend’s dad died, does that count?

5. What countries did you visit?
   None. Boo.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
   Savings! I actually did save, but not as much as I would’ve preferred.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
   I would have to say the days during Typhoon Ondoy/Ketsena; lots of friends suffered because of that blasted storm.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   I guess it would be getting the car.

9. What was your biggest failure?
   None! Yay!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
    Nothing serious, I accidentally slammed the seat on my ribs while going downhill somewhere… took a few weeks to recover. Nothing was broken thankfully.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
    Oh god, there are so many! 2009 was a very material year for me. My top four on the other hand would be:
    a. Car
    b. Bike
    c. Genelec nearfields and subwoofer
    d. JBL MSC-1 Monitor System Controller

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
    No one I can recall.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
    A choirmate of mine. But I’m neither appalled nor depressed (since it doesn’t really affect my way of dealing with them) – more of disappointed. It’s always sad to see someone digging their own grave by giving others a reason to resent them.²

14. Where did most of your money go?
    Definitely the car and bike

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    The JBL MSC-1

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
    Probably some Lady GaGa song… pwede na din yung “Nobody” hahahaha.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    a. Happier or sadder? Happier
    b. Thinner or fatter? Fatter during these past few weeks; those damn holiday binge-fests!
    c. Richer or poorer? Probably the same. I think I got richer, but I spent so much this year, so it evens-out I guess.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
    Biking

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
    Definitely spending

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
    The usual routine (family friends)

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
    With the same person :)

22. How many one-night stands?
    Secret!³

23. What was your favorite TV program?
    I don’t watch TV eh.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
    Not that I know of

25. What was the best book you read?
    Probably Eldest from Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
    Wala, but I only now got to listen to Anberlin and 30 Seconds to Mars.

27. What did you want and get?
    See #11… and some others

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
    I’d have to say Star Trek

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    The usual dinner with the family. 30.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    If I worked on renting out my unit in Taguig.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
    I’m not really into trends or “concepts.” As long as it looks good on me, then I’ll wear it. Most of the time though, as long as its comfortable.

32. What kept you sane?
    Who is more appropriate, and it’s the same person since 4 years ago.

33. What political issue stirred you the most?
    I’m not sure if it’s still considered political; but it would have to be how impressionable our culture is; how we value impressions/reputations more than facts/evidence. More specifically; the reasons behind Noynoy’s leading the polls.

34. Who did you miss?
    My mom.

35. Who was the best new person you met?
    The people from Non-pro and Rideable.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
    Nothing I’ve already learned from before. However I would reiterate the value of perseverance. If you want something, don’t rely on karma or faith or whatever superstition you have to get it. Always remember that the world doesn’t owe us any favors; if you want something, quit bitching and get it yourself.

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
    I’ve been listening to too many songs to remember one that can sum up the year :)

I was pleased to realize I got 3/4! The DSLR is no biggie; since the “model” I’m waiting for [thankfully] hasn’t arrived yet. I’m techincally waiting for the successor of the D700 – which I’m pretty sure will have video. Then that would fulfill my want for a full-frame, video capable DSLR. Once I have that body, I think I can start investing on lenses¹

All in all, I was already set for the year as far as what-have-you-got-to-show-for-2009 went² the moment I got one of those four. I’m extremely grateful to the powers that be that I was able to get even more… and the last few months of the year proved to be a blast, as I was fortunate enough to get even more toys and gadgets! Below are just a few of them which I got just this december.

JBL MSC-1

The thing I’ve been waiting for finally arrived! It’s beautiful, and works as I imagined.³ I already talked about it two posts ago, so no need to repeat it here. But I will say that I love being able to toggle every speaker output configuration from one place!

Watch Strap

For those who don’t know, the watch I use initially came with a metal band, which was too formal for my tastes. I changed it to a Zulu strap to add some character to it. The only problem with the original Zulu was that it covered the back-plate – which was kind of a shame since most automatic watches have glass back-panels to show the automatic mechanism.

When I got the chance (Or when I remembered to order it) I changed the existing strap on my watch to a Zulu 2-piece. As you can see below, it now shows the back panel in all it’s glory, while retaining the Zulu form factor I’ve always loved.

Money Clip

I’m a money clip person; always have been – always will be. And I’ve been through lots of them, but I’ve always been partial to ones that can hold both cash and cards. I’ve only had 4 of those types to date.

My first was pretty good but the clip mechanism (for the money) broke down.⁴ My second one had a magnetic clip but the problem with a magnetic clip is that the thicker our wad is, the less the magnet is able to secure your cash. Both had leather sleeves for the cards. The third one I had was sound in design, but the material wasn’t strong enough. The metal joint was too thin, so it bent over time.

So now I’m trying out yet another one. Only time will tell if it turns out to be “the one.”

Earphones

No, I didn’t buy new earphones⁵ :) On the contrary, I’ve just proven to myself that I made the right decision in choosing my IE-40s. A major factor I chose them was because the cables were user-replaceable. It’s very common for earphones to be rendered useless because their respective cables finally gave way due to wear and tear.

My IE-40s⁶ stopped responding last november while we were recording BP’s chants album. The first thing I did was order 2 replacement cables and had it shipped to someone who was coming home. The cables arrived only a few days ago. It was a good thing I had good spare earphones⁷ handy – so I didn’t notice the wait. I plugged them in and viola; I’m back in business!

Letter Opener

This may seem trivial (which it actually is) but people who know me know how OC I can get with my stuff. One thing I discovered about myself is that I easily lose interest in “ugly stuff” – and the things I own are no exception. This pre-disposition makes me even more particular when comes to the stuff I use on a regular basis, such as my work chair, writing implements, – or even how my monitors are mounted for less clutter

My sense is that if I’m going to be using it often⁸ … might as well enjoy using it. And it does work! The best example is my investing on a paper shredder: I tend to digitize all my accumulated financial/legal documents at the end of each year – a major part of it is because I look forward to using the shredder. But it makes me more productive because I end up archiving and organizing in a more effective manner, while being able to get rid of physical clutter.

Understanding that, it’s not surprising that even the little things don’t escape my attention – even something as mundane as a letter opener. I chanced upon it (in the middle of the picture below) when Cris pointed it out⁹ while shopping in PowerPlant Mall.

So the good part is that I’ve significantly diminished the list of major “projects” needed to satiate the materialistic side of me¹⁰. All the same, it’s always nice to know that despite the trials of everyday life – you’ve get to enjoy the “fruits of your labor” as it were.

Cheers 2009, you’ve been great! 2010, please be kind to all of us.

NOTICE: I’ve just found out that the “article” I was linking to was merely a repost, which didn’t give proper credit to the author.

As such, I’ve changed the link to the author’s original post for proper attribution. I urge everyone who reposts the article in question to do the same.

I know that a lot of people like Noynoy. Friends, colleagues, relatives, etc. – so this post may put a lot of them off.

I just felt compelled to share this article because it articulates my frustrations with the current “election setup” our country is in.

Beyond the Amber Ribbons: A NO for Noynoy in 2010 Elections by Mark Gamboa

The only difference is that I do not share the article’s absolute stance that we should not vote for Noynoy. I believe anyone has a right to prove himself especially if fairly elected. But I do resonate with the points of the article – which in turn make me wary of him being our next leader if, in fact, elected.

As I said the crux of this issue for me isn’t so much as the fact that we have the candidate choices we have, but the reasons by which we choose to support them. My post is more about analyzing us as a society and not really the leaders that govern us.

All in all, I’ve kinda lost all faith in our society’s competence in selecting proper leaders. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Given how much power of decision is granted to those who cannot think critically; we really don’t deserve democracy.

I mean the fact that Erap, someone who has been deposed and convicted… actually has a fighting chance, already is a clear indication that the whole system has been undermined by an actual, legitimate, terrifying incompetency of voters. That, or cheating… probably both. Still, what the fuck is a convicted felon doing in the presidential running!? It’s an abomination!

Now back to the topic at hand, the fact that people seem to see Noynoy as this “messiah” worries me. It’s one thing to be impressed with a candidate, or to be hopeful for one… but another to think and assert blindly that they are the solution to all our woes, when they simply aren’t. I guess the term I’m looking for to describe the phenomenon, assuming he is a decent leader is that you’re choosing the right man for the wrong reasons. And that kind of reasoning only works if you hit the jackpot – otherwise, we have just dug a deeper hole for ourselves. And history hasn’t been kind to our society as far as good leaders go, do you really want to tempt fate?

Interestingly enough, I’ve been reading the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini for recreation/entertainment, but I cannot help but apply a passage from the book that struck me and had me think about all this… Cris sending me the link shortly after seemed to be a sign that I should actually blog about it since I’ve been meaning to but couldn’t find an “angle” to start with.

Amusingly, the passage kinda answers the whole debate about logic vs. virtue – a card which Noynoy fans love using.

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT The passage doesn’t really have anything to do with the story development, so I wouldn’t consider it a spoiler. All the same, I put the warning out of courtesy.

They were quiet for a while, eating, then Oromis asked, “Can you tell me, What is the most important mental tool a person can possess?” It was a serious question, and Eragon considered it for a reasonable span before he ventured to say “Determination”.

Oromis tore the loaf in half with his long white fingers. “I can understand why you arrived at that conclusion – determination has served you well in your adventures – but no. I meant the tool most necessary to choose the best course of action in any given situation. Determination is as common among men who are dull and foolish as it is among those who are brilliant intellects. So, no, determination cannot be what we are looking for.

“Wisdom,” he finally said. “Wisdom is the most important tool for a person to possess.”

“A fair guess, but, again, no. The answer is logic. Or, to put it another way, the ability to reason analytically. Applied properly, it can overcome any lack of wisdom, which one only gains through age and experience.”

Eragon frowned. “Yes, but isn’t having a good heart more important than logic? Pure logic can lead you to conclusions that are ethically wrong, whereas if you are mortal and righteous, that will ensure that you don’t act shamefully.”

A razor thin smile curled Oromis’s lips. “You confuse the issue. All I wanted to know was the most useful tool a person can have, regardless of whether that person is good or evil. I agree that it’s important to be of a virtuous nature, but I would also contend that if you had to choose between giving a man a noble disposition or teaching him to think clearly, you’d do better to teach him to think clearly. Too many problems in this world are caused by men with noble dispositions and clouded minds.”

“History provides us with numerous examples of people who were convinced that they were doing the right thing and committed terrible crimes because of it. Keep in mind Eragon that no one thinks of himself as a villain, and few make decisions they think are wrong. A person may dislike his choice, but he will stand by it because, even in the worst circumstances, he believes that it was the best option available to him at the time.”

“On his own, being a decent person is no guarantee that you will act well, which brings us back to the one protection we have against demagogues, tricksters, and the madness of crowds, and our surest guide through the uncertain shoals of life: clear and reasoned thinking. Logic will never fail you, unless you are unaware of – or deliberately ignore – the consequences of your deeds.”

I believe this lack of logic is exactly what is happening with society nowadays. And I don’t blame them, because we’ve experienced the “evil” people who are extremely intelligent (Marcos, et. all) But all the same, we cannot let that fact suddenly abandon the requirement of competence, experience and intelligence over something that isn’t even confirmed to be true (virtue). What proof do we have that ANY of the current candidates are of virtuous nature? We don’t!

To be perfectly honest, I think all of them have varying degrees of corruption, and that it’s naive to think otherwise. But given that, I want to choose someone who will have something to show for it at the end of the day. For example, Singapore is essentially a dictatorship – and lets not kid ourselves; there probably is corruption there as well – but see where they’re at. I’m willing to put up with an opportunist asshole for as long as he/she is able to accomplish something positive for the good of the country – rather than some passive idealist who cannot break free from the system (or make it even worse by their inaction). Promises are as easily broken as they are made… results matter.

That is what frustrates me about the whole Noynoy fad, because logically, he doesn’t fit. Applying clearly reasoned thinking/logic to the issue cannot bring you to Noynoy as a choice because there are existing candidates that are more intelligent than him, more capable than him, braver than him, etc., and have the track records to show for it. Simply put, if it’s “standards” we’re talking about, he loses to one or two existing candidates on all counts.

Yet, he is leading… if only for a single thing that is not and cannot be confrimed: virtue. I’m inclined to think most of the Noynoy supporters are voting out of hope, which is fine… noble even. but just like the passage says:

If you had to choose between giving a man a noble disposition or teaching him to think clearly, you’d do better to teach him to think clearly.

With that in mind, I find it hard to believe that Noynoy supporters are “thinking clearly”… and my reasons would be the same as what the article states (and more). If you look at it logically, would you, could you, claim otherwise?

I would understand if you were a Aquino family member, and are supporting him. I would understand if he helped you some way in your life and you feel the need to repay the deed by supporting him. I do not blame nor take it against people to stand by a person out of purely selfish, or even opportunistic reasons.¹ But honestly, to choose him because of his virtue – and more so claim that such virtue exists simply because he was the son of Cory!? Am I the only one who thinks that’s absurd? It’s literally saying “Well, I choose him because he seems to be a nice guy – since his mom is so and so” – even worse, that seems to be exactly the sentiment his supporters are taking today. I’d sooner accept a selfish reason then an ignorant one.

Let me be clear; I have nothing against Noynoy. While I agree with the article’s points, I really don’t mind if he wins. To me, its a simple matter of “anyone but Erap.” You may think its silly, but do not underestimate the Erap-man hahahaha. It takes testicular fortitude to have the gall to run for presidency after being jailed… and even more “mojo” to actually stand a chance. So yes, for the love of God, anyone but him! Officially though, I’m for Gordon (and Bayani) or Gibo (alone) with Noynoy as my 3rd and last option.

What I’d just like to point out is the very disturbing fact that while it’s extremely convenient for him (and for his supporters) that people see him the way they do – it is a foolish way to decide on a leader. And any society which decides that way, and ends up failing… will deserve exactly what it gets for its foolishness.

My 2 cents.

Actually, I already had the 8030s since late October and didn’t plan on getting a sub as the 8030s could stand on their own. But since the stocks for the sub were arriving December, I had time to think about¹ considering getting the sub. So I guess the sub is really the Christmas gift in that context

However, there is one more toy arriving which will complement the system, and which I’m most excited about. It’s the JBL MSC-1 monitor system controller.

Ever since I can remember,² Genelecs were my “dream monitors.” Preferences for nearfields can be a very personal thing. While the goal of all monitors is to be transparent. The fact that debates on which which monitors sound “flattest” never ends is an indication that even that can be a subjective thing.

Having said that, it would be pointless to try convincing anyone to consider one brand over another. The best is to listen to as many as you can, and pick the one you feel will best serve your ears when mixing. And long story short, for me, I would always go back to the “Genelec sound”³

Still, wouldn’t it be great to be able to “calibrate” the speakers to be as flat as possible? After all, not everyone could afford to have a room built that is acoustically perfect.⁴ So just like how we could calibrate computer screens/monitors to be “accurate” with colors, it would be nice to be able to do the same with your speakers’ response curves.

Unfortunately, Genelec’s DSP line that features such “calibration” possibilities is ridiculously expensive! The cheapest offering they have is the SE DSP System Triple Play package which costs $5.6k! My setup, which is basically the analog version of it costs half that. So you’re paying an extra $2.8k just to be able to calibrate your system.

MSC-1

The trouble with Genelec’s offering (apart from being astronomically priced) is that it’s too proprietary; you only have certain speakers that will work with certain subs… and all have to be from the DSP line. It would’ve been better if they built some kind of centralized console/hub that could handle any type of speaker they have and calibrate the whole system from there. That way you don’t have to re-invest in a DSP system if you already have an older system.

The MSC-1 does exactly that, plus it was designed to to work with any [analog] speaker system. RMC-enabled⁵ outputs for 2 speakers and a subwoofer. So plug in any 2 speakers and sub on it and it will calibrate them no matter what band they are.

It gets even better! I use a Hackintosh; my DAW⁶ partition is running on Windows, but my “work” partition’s on OSX. Because it’s a hackintosh, when booted on OS X, I’m limited to using my motherboard’s built-in audio – whereas on the DAW partition, I’m able to use my M-Audio Audiophile 192 card. Having to physically switch the cable connections based on what partition I’m booted on poses a big hassle. Fortunately, the MSC-1 can handle up to 3 inputs and switch between them with the press of a button – problem solved.

Lastly, it also supports secondary speaker outputs – so I can plug in cheap speakers and do a quick A/B to check if my mixes translate properly to even low end speakers. From the product page it seems I can also quickly disengage the RMC calibration and subwoofer output as well, which means more “configurations” to test out the mix with – which is somthing I’m sure any audio engineer would like to have readily accessible.

The best part: It only costs $400! It basically gives me much more freedom, at 7% of the price I would’ve had to pay for a DSP system.

Merry Christmas indeed!

Since I mentioned Typhoon Ondoy, I guess that would be a good topic to get things rolling. I wasn’t sure if it would be in good taste to discuss how lucky we were that day as far as avoiding the floods went, but since a bit of time has passed, I guess now’s as good a time as any.

Long story short is that we weren’t affected by the flood(s) apart from the blackout. I remember that day however, because we were at Nuvali (Sta. Rosa) that very morning for a bike clinic (that was cancelled.) We hadn’t been informed that it had been cancelled, but it’s a good thing we just decided to go straight home instead of dilly dally around the area.¹ Thankfully, there wasn’t any traffic that morning and we were able to get home in record time… not a moment too soon too; 15 minutes after I had parked, C5 was already at a full stop – and would be for the rest of that day.

That afternoon, we just decided to kill time and walk outside – checking out how much the the rain was affecting our area. Tactless as this may sound, but walking around Tiendesitas, in the rain, taking pictures, etc. was a fun experience for us – as we were unaware of how it was affecting the areas in lower ground.

In any case, hopefully, everyone has moved on since and gotten their lives back on track. So there’s no point in dwelling in the horrible past. Instead, we should learn from it… and what I found myself doing during the aftermath was imagining if I had lived in those flooded areas – and I would simulate a “recovery plan.”

I call it a recovery plan because let’s face it, us Filipino’s are a tough bunch. Making the best of what has transpired is pretty much the default instead of whining and cursing the heavens for such an unfortunate fate.² Anyways, the other thing left to do, like I said, is to learn from it… and be prepared the next time.

The goal of the “recovery plan” is sort of a misnomer, since the “recovery” being done would be “during” the event instead of recovering after.

By “recovery,” I mean prioritizing the things that you will need to “move on” quicker. The real killer about Ondoy that it caught everyone unaware… people tried saving their stuff without prioritizing; not realizing how fast the water was rising. With that in mind, the premise of my simulation was simple: Assuming that your house will be flooded to the roof, what will you save?

Once the urgency is established (not enough time to prepare) the approach of recovering/saving items changes… If before, you’d normally try to save stuff indiscriminately, now you’ll go straight to the most important things, making sure they’re secured before working your way down the list for those that you might be able to save as well. It’s much more effective to think this way because you’ll actually get things done (since you know exactly what’s most important), and you’ve already psychologically detached yourself from most of your stuff… so being able to recover those down the list would be a bonus… which is good for morale.

Having said that, here’s my list.

Absolutely have to save

There are only 3 things I have to really make sure are safe before I start trying to save the other stuff; my mobile phone (or a mobile phone), my Drobo and my Laptop.

1. Phone
   Having a phone is self-explanatory, communication is key during any emergency.
2. Drobo
   The Drobo is a scalable HD enclosure which offers data redundancy/protection… I say “scalable” because you can just swap hard drives to increase the space available without having to reconfigure.³ It goes without saying that all my data is stored there.
3. Laptop

Why only these three? Because the key to “moving on” from calamities is being able to work afterwards. It’s foolish to prioritize saving your personal effects based on how expensive they are, when at the end of the day, your job made it possible for you to acquire them in the first place.

So the goal is to get yourself as close enough to being “operational” in the workforce despite the disaster. My Drobo has all my data, and I’ll need a computer to access it… while my Desktop is really my work machine, a laptop is easier to save/carry, and transfer to different places should you need to leave your home.

You could get a waterproof container that can house all of them, so that in the worst case, you can dump them all in the container, seal it, then just leave it to submerge while you try to save “other stuff.”

Next in line

Now that I’ve saved the most important stuff. I can now try saving based on practicality/price. But take note, it’s all optional starting this point.

1. Cameras
   One reason would be because of the price, but having a camera to document the experience could be a very good way to cope with the grief.
2. iPod(s)
   It would be easy enough to include this in the first list since they’re so small, but priorities are priorities. All the same, having music (or audiobooks) to listen to during the long hours of commuting,⁴ cleaning up your house, or waiting in a shelter.
3. Desktop PC
   If it’s something like a mac mini, I could put that right up with the first list, but my work PC is a monster tower. I’ve got all my work applications set up there⁵ If I cannot recover it, I’ll try to go for the hard disks.

Maybe?

Here are the things that could probably hold without protection even when submerged. Items starting here fall under the just-leave-them-be-and-hope-they’re-ok-when-dried-out category.

1. Work Chair
   I’m not familiar with the inner-mechanisms of my Aeron, but assuming the worst, I would probably regret losing this more than than anything else. That chair has made even the longest hours of slaving away in front of the computer tolerable – I probably sit on it more than I lie down on my bed… and they’re both in the same room!
2. Bike(s)
   We know bikes could be submerged, the only question would be for how long. Especially since my frame is carbon fiber; which essentially, is cloth. I’m not certain how that would hold up against being “soaked” for an extended period.

Bummer

Now here are the things that I most probably won’t be able to recover.

1. Car
   Of course it goes without saying that you could have it repaired… but it’ll never be the same after that. Most people I know who “recover” their cars from something like that intend to sell them the first chance they get. Plus all those videos on how to protect your car are too optimistic. The computer box is probably the most complicated thing in there, and having electricity running through your car is really the thing you have to worry about.
   So while disconnecting the battery will go a long way, the question is how many people could actually anticipate that? Either you try to drive your car away from the flood (or through it most of the time), or you assume it’ll submerge and disconnect the battery to prepare for it, how many people actually choose the latter?
2. Genelecs
   I probably could save the speakers if I find a big enough waterproof container for them… but I think the subwoofer will be doomed. It’s worth saying though that even electronic equipment, could still work when allowed to dry properly, but high end audio equipment… while they may work… I’m not sure if they’ll sound just as good when all that dirt has accumulated and dried up in the system.

So there’s Ecto for the desktop, and this for the iPhone.

Okay, on to the topic.

Just to make things clear; having Rick Astley as a wallpaper is a feature – that’s just full of WIN ;)

Seriously though, in a nutshell; both the actual case and potential dangers it implies, while true, are overrated.

First, it only works on jailbroken phones. Normally, if you are determined enough to jailbreak your iPhone, you should be smart enough to be responsible about it.

This “virus” relies on SSH – which is one of the commonly installed services installed upon jailbreaking. SSH stands for “Secure Shell” – which allows remote shell access to your device. In the case of the “virus,” it does its thing via SSH over WiFi.

Fortunately for us, there are other implications of this as well. The most important of which, is that it will need both WiFi and SSH to be enabled to do be able to do anything meaningful.¹ So having one or the other turned off will actually mitigate the issue.

Of course, people will think of just turning SSH off² … and they’d be right. The only issue is that for some reason… SSH is enabled by default when you have the service installed. This means if you reboot your device, it will turn itself on.³ And forgetting to turn it off is what can ultimately get you.

That’s why as a rule of thumb, you should just change your SSH password regardless if you’re using the service or not.

There’s a third option; which is to uninstall the service altogether. I haven’t tried this nor do I ever intend to. But assuming your [jailbroken] device is still working properly,⁴ it should now be immune to the “exploit” as well.

But if you ask me, the safest way is to just instal MobileTerminal, run it, type in:

ssh root@localhost

Enter your password. As soon as you’re in with superuser/root priviliges, type passwd and enter your new password (and don’t forget it!)

If you’re asking why developers can’t (or probably won’t) set SSH as disabled by default, the only answer I can think of is because the ability to have remote shell access is extremely nifty for developers. For example, OSX has SSH enabled as well, if for some reason your machine won’t boot or something, chances are you can still access it via SSH – so the really hardcore people who like breaking stuff need that kind of access to recover from a mistake. And we all know how much those developers like tinkering with the iPhone ;)

On an unrelated note; I can’t believe the backtick/grave sign is only available during text entry in the Mail application. I often use it as Markdown syntax when doing code formatting

Good thing I set it as a favorite in ActionMenu’s pasteboard history. Sure as hell beats having to switch to mail just to copy the sign and back to paste it.

Maxine was put down this afternoon. We had already made the decision to put her down months ago, but couldn’t find the right time (and possibly the heart) to go through with it.

Apart from being ridiculously old (she’s probably 98 in human years), she’s already been blind for a long time. Not only that, she has also been in “a state of delirium” as I would like to call it; she would just walk around in circles until she gets dizzy (ignoring if she bumped into anything) then lies down… rinse and repeat. The helper would also report of her “yelping” once in a while – while lying down… I’m guessing its because of difficulty breathing (or worse). Her appetite was long lost as well; last time I patted her, it was like patting a skeleton.

Anyways, she stopped “responding” today; she would only breathe while lying down… I guess today was as good as any other day to finally do the deed.¹ Nothing more to say really apart from the fact that she’s been with us since ‘94 and it feels weird knowing that a “presence” will be absent permanently starting today.

For those wondering about the name, it’s a Santos (at least in our household) habit to give our dogs “full names” – weird ones at that. We name them like usual, then try to come up with a convoluted full name to justify the “nickname” given to them. Pretty retarded, I know, but that’s how it is. I think most of the full name we owe to our sister Stephanie.²

The first, I wanted to watch because a bunch of friends said that Gerard Butler’s character reminded them of me.¹ The second was Cris’ request because she has a she-crush on Zooey Deschanel²

I thought I’d just want to mention some of my thoughts on the movies. So the disclaimer is, if you’re not in the mood for some discussions on life and love, I guess you could just ignore this post. Otherwise, read on.

Oh and btw, SPOILER ALERT! You have been warned.

The Ugly Truth

I enjoyed watching this movie thoroughly because it was impossible [for me] to disagree with Butler. I saw exactly what my friends meant when they were comparing Butler’s character to how I would view relationships. Right down to how he likes to challenge people to prove his (or their) point.³

I remember saying that if I had an impasse with another person when it came to how to deal with things, I simply say “ok, do it your way and I’ll do mine, let’s see who ends up being happier.” I guess that’s my way of “challenging” in a sense. It’s is even more fun when comparing my advice to others’ – with say, relationships. I’d go something like “Oh, so that’s what she/he thinks eh? Tell me then, how happy are they with their “relationships” (with the opposite sex of course)?⁴ As much as that argument can be a logical fallacy, that usually speaks for itself most of the time. After all, statistics don’t lie.

Anyway, back to the movie; the similarities were uncanny, but I’ll focus on two scenes where I could relate the most to.

First, was scene where he explained how cumulative past experiences shaped how he saw things. Honestly, I don’t think he was “jaded,” at least not in the way people would think. From where I’m standing, I’m betting experience taught him how “to keep things real” despite how tempting it is to put too much sentiment in it. In other words, in context of relationships, humans have the tendency to relate things to fate and destiny once things are shaping up; that is to say they treat every experience as signs to indicate if something was meant to be or not.

But God knows I went against enough “signs” in my life to prove that signs are really irrelevant. Even if the universe seems to be conspiring against you, you still can get what you want if you work hard enough – how the hell do you think I got my girlfriend? You think our “common friends” had something good to say about me?

To me, there are only two things that decide whether a person gets what they want (or not); the work/effort you put into it, and a whole lot of luck. Life, and everything in it, is a gamble – like a game of Texas Holdem.

“Luck” is the flop/turn/river; those cards on the table which everyone [who's in] will have to play with eventually… and your “personal effort” is obviously how you strategize and play the cards that you have on your hands. The bets you make throughout are your levels of risk (in the case of relationships, it’s attachment/commitment). The better you play your cards, the bigger the probability of winning. And I guess the easier it will be to bet big.

But make no mistake, no matter how good you are, no matter how good the cards you have, or how good the signs may be, there will always be a chance where the flop/turn/river will render your hand useless. Luck can can change the values of your cards in an instant, no matter how well you played them. Either way, it won’t have anything to do with fate/destiny.

This is why I keep on repeating that the world doesn’t owe us anything. The sooner people realize that, the better they will be able to handle failures, the faster they will be able to get back up, and the easier it will be for them to move right along and try again.

The second scene was at the end where he had just told her that he loved her but she still kept on railing at him… that was the classic “half-empty” perspective of women right there. Complain about everything that’s not there but gloss over the most important thing.

Hell, even his answer to “why do you love me?” Was similar to what I had answered to Cris on one of our arguments lol!

500 Days of Summer

I liked this movie more because it was “more real.”

But first of all, can we all agree that Tom’s character was pathetic? I mean no matter how much of a romantic you are, wasn’t it painful watching how pathetic he was? Unless you’re a sucker for other people’s pain, I’m pretty sure no one would’ve said “awwww, he’s so sweet and innocent, why does she have to break his heart like that?” I’m not sure if it was just because I resonate with Summer, but I found it very difficult to be on Tom’s side no matter how sorry his situation was. He was pathetic, plain and simple.

I also thought it was clever that the writer(s) reversed the roles in the movie (i.e. the guy was the girl and vise versa). Yes, as sexist as it may sound… statistically, Tom’s character is usually the girl in any relationship (which explains why even Cris said he was like a girl)

To prove the point; there are two pertinent lines in the movie that I could point out (rephrased of course):

1. We’re having fun, isn’t that enough reason?
2. I felt with him what I never was sure I felt with you.

I guess the reason why this is interesting is because these are the exact same reasons I would give whenever I was in a “friends-with-benefits” type of relationship. I would always try to reason out #1, but of course in a “woman friendly” manner – and usually failed at it at the end.

As for #2,⁵ it’s the answer I could give to every one of them should they ask “why her?” I’ve said in the past, I’ve only had 2 girlfriends – so I can totally relate with not wanting to put any “label” unless I was sure…⁶ and that I’m perfectly ok with having “unlabeled” relationships at that hahahaha – just like Summer’s character.

So to recap, the same exact reasons, when given by Summer (a girl) is ok; it shows girl empowerment (you go girl!)… and the same exact temperament as Tom would look pathetic on a man. But if the roles are reversed (or corrected, to be accurate); A male Summer is an inconsiderate prick, and a woman Tom will be “the poor martyr that deserves better.”

Having said that, forgive me if I have less sympathy for women who try to look kawawa; because most of the time, this is the situation they’re in. And while it’s true that it takes two to Tango, I’m pretty sure that there were rules set before the dance… and someone just decided to change them (for whatever reason, usually because they got more attached than they’d like to be) without the other’s approval, am I wrong?

The reason why I think Summer’s “realistic” approach is better than Tom’s idealistic one is because the synthesis of happiness, when measured scientifically (which it has been) will reveal that the level of happiness between two individuals, with different reasons of being happy, will be equally happy

Simply put, Summer, finding her “one” will have the same level of happiness that Tom will have when he find’s his. What does this entail? It means that to a certain extent, the “it was worth the wait” argument will turn out to be false.⁷ Meaning Tom’s going through hell and back will not make his finally finding his “one” any better/happier than Summer (who was just enjoying herself) finding hers.

The good thing is that both will be equally happy in the end, hurray for that. But try to do the math, lets even limit the timeline to the movie:

Tom, was miserable when she was gone… awkward/sad when she was back but not that into him, miserable when he found out she was engaged, sad during the heart to heart talk at the end. And a bit happy again when he met the new girl let’s even throw him a bone and say that the new girl turns out to be the “one.” Summer on the other hand, who simply was enjoying herself… apart from when they fought, was happy most of the time… and also found the “one” eventually.

So who would you rather be? The person who suffers the hardships then eventually gets what they want? Or the person who has fun AND eventually gets what they want anyways. I mean I know how the Bible glorifies sacrifice and all that jazz, but if you had a real practical choice without any penalties… wouldn’t you rather just be happy most if not all the time? Even a retard could see that Summer had the better deal in those 500 days, she practically got all the perks with minimal emotional baggage.

But I also liked how both of them thought the other was “right” in the end. The truth is, both of them were to a certain degree. The concept of “the one” to me, represents someone that’s pretty darn close to what you ultimately want. I don’t think it’s wise (or even possible) to wait forever for the [absolute] one that fits your dreams to a tee – and for those who claim that their current mate disproves my claim… unless you NEVER fought, I will have to disagree with you ;)

In any case, “the one” argument is acceptable for me. And at the same time, just like Summer said “life happens,” or as Tom learns: not every coincidence has meaning – some of them are just coincidences. But I can relate to both seemingly opposite concepts… and act accordingly. Actions which can be summed up by the words below:

If it will come, it will come – no matter what we do. So might as well have fun while we wait.

Of course “it will come” is different from “it will be so.” I guess the “it” I’m referring to is the opportunity to get what you want. You still have to do your part, and take that chance when it comes along… and milk it for all its worth.

Now why is this worthy for a blog entry? Maybe it isn’t. Perhaps if you knew the context, it would make more sense.² Sufficed to say that this only applies to iPhone users (and those who are planning to get iPhones, I guess)

As people know, I have a factory unlocked iPhone. I paid the extra $$$ just so I wouldn’t have to worry about hacking the baseband to unlocking the thing. This also allows me to upgrade the unit and still be able to use it even if a jailbreak isn’t available yet.

I’ve also been purchasing applications from the AppStore; all the critical applications (e.g. 1Password, PocketMoney, etc.) I use are from there. Simply put, I can afford not to bother jailbreaking as far as using the iPhone is concerned. It’s already an extremely powerful PDA³ capable of handling my everyday needs and then some.

Yet, as you can see, I still waited for it to be “jailbreak-able” before I went on with the update… what gives right? It’s because the jailbreaking scene has come up with so much good stuff that the “enhancements” they put in my phone are starting to be indispensable as well.

What makes an iPhone awesome?

So now we get to the meat of the post. I’m here to demonstrate how much extra mileage you can get from your iPhone if you had it jailbroken. And the applications I’m going to present are paid applications as well; yes there’s another “store” which is legitimate⁴ and available to the jailbreak community. And the “enhancements” the apps in this store bring to the table is far more superior than what any other 3rd party is allowed to come up with in the official AppStore. Don’t believe me? Try these on for size:

QuickReply for SMS

QuickReply is an app that allows you to reply via SMS from anywhere. As you can see in the picture above, I’m able to answer our helper’s SMS without having to leave the app I was currently in (Safari). It even works on the lock-screen. This “hack” makes the whole SMS experience a more intuitive/fluid process for anyone who texts.

Action Menu Plus

Of course everyone wanted cut and paste on the iPhone, and ever since 3.0 had finally incorporated it, developers have been finding interesting ways to make things even better.

The Action Menu Plus Pack enhances the context menu but putting extra functions when available. In the case of the picture above, you see how it had 2 methods of selecting text, copying and favorites. The Pasteboard favorites feature is very useful (as you can see in the right side) as it allows me to paste long strings of text which I may need for one reason or another (e.g. when someone asks for my address and such.)

There’s no paste icon on the picture since the cliboard was empty at that time, but had it been populated, there’s also a “clipboard history” available, where you can see the different stuff you pasted and easily re-paste past pasted stuff (say that thee times fast!)

Others

There are other little enhancements which I’ll list down:

1. Attachment Saver: allows you to download and save attachments outside of Mobile Mail
2. Safari Download Manager: allows you to download anything from Mobile Safari;
3. Cyntacts: a visual hack that displays your contacts pictures in the general contact list view
4. YourTube: allows you to download YouTube videos to your device permanently for easy offline viewing/saving;⁵
5. Recent/CallLog Delete: allows you to selectively erase individual call registers
6. iFile, which is an unrestricted⁶ Finder for the iPhone.

PkgBackUp

The only thing that sucks with Jailbroken apps is if you restore/format your phone; iTunes only backs up official application data, not jailbroken apps, and it can be a pain trying to reinstall every single one of them.

Fortunately, there’s also an application that effectively makes a reliable list of all your jailbroken apps installed, and is capable of restoring them after you’ve reformatted.

It’s only limited to the applications themselves (not the actual data) but it’s better than nothing.

Luckily for me, most of the jailbroken “apps” I install are system enhancements/tweaks… so “remembering” preferences isn’t really a concern for me since they’re not applicable for the most part.

There are so many other apps I’ve installed from Cydia, but I thought I’d just point out these applications that I deemed worth paying for. I thought it was worth mentioning it because I’ve always believed that if an app is really good, it would be worth the money it commanded. And buying form the Cydia store is a fine example of that… people are used to getting stuff free, but the paid market seems to be thriving just as well in Cydia as it is in the official AppStore.

I hope that would mean that the jailbreaking scene is here to stay – cuz it would suck that I paid for these nifty apps only to find out they die out along the road ;)

So it starts with a commenter trolling (or maybe he was sincere, who really cares?) by saying this:

gubbakiller: heep of shit…i had 1…i sent it bac cause it had noise..then they sent it bac n said there was nothing wrong wit it…they have n pro sound…if u is n artis n just wnt 2 mess around then get 1…other wise get a pro tools mini… pro tools hav the best interfaces eva 100%

Then apparently, the grammar police came into the picture and said:

tanner0472: Learn to speak proper english!

The makings of a regular pissing contest (based on users’ command of the english language) right? And it does start off that way – which really ain’t so special if you think about it.

gubbakiller: fuck your mother in the ass…hows my english now dog shit

But then Mr Tanner sends this witty, legitimate answer:

tanner0472: You forgot to capitalize the beginning of each of your sentences, the spacing is wrong on the second sentence, English should be capitalized, and you didn’t punctuate your last sentence. Congratulations, you write the English language like a 3rd grader.

There was a [pathetic] retort by gubbakiller, but it was clear he got burned.
I Dunno, I just found it hilarious… I probably better get some sleep.

YouTube was muting the audio on mine because of the soundtrack. I tried switching soundtracks with the same result. After 3 uploads of 450MB files, I figured “fuck it, I’ll just use Vimeo for this one” It’s slower to load, but at least it’s not finicky about matching background audio.

Gallery here, and full footage of one of the trails below.