I also bring my iPad more often than not. Then there’s the MiFi for internet connectivity. And to prevent any of those devices dying on me in the middle of the day, I bring a portable battery pack along.

All that – for a regular day.

It gets even more complicated when on an trip out of town/country. Apart form those mentioned above, one has to consider the need to use other gadgets for tasks that would normally be done at the end of the day (computer/laptop). And let’s not forget real cameras, whenever on an interesting “trip.”

I also think my being a pack-rat comes with the territory of having so much shit to bring along, so I pretty much have to accept that for the most part, I’ll never be “traveling light” in the truest sense of the phrase. What I can be though, is efficient.

Bringing or packing the stuff I mentioned is easy enough… but what about keeping them charged/powered? Aye, there’s the rub! that’s where all the experimentation comes from. Packing power cords/chargers, etc. for all that gear can be a nightmare not only because they’re all in different shapes and sizes, but also because they’re things one could easily forget during a trip. Another issue is the lack of enough wall sockets – so I have to find a way to power everything through a single socket, power a ton of shit, and have it organized enough that I don’t leave anything when I’m done.

As such, I’ve constantly been re-evaluating what I like to call my “gadget travel pack” – and I’d like to share it with you.

Here’s an idea of what I consider to be a “full setup” – meaning during long trips out of town/country, I tend to bring these at the most (and take away one or two depending on my needs).

1. Laptop
2. iPad
3. Battery Pack
4. iPod
5. MiFi
6. Portable Router
7. Phone
8. Camera

Everything is self-explanatory save for #6… which is my CradlePoint CTR35.

While the MiFi’s is an important day-to-day device, I normally don’t bring that out of country due to the impracticality of getting a temporary data plan on a different country. A more likely scenario would be finding myself in some place with “limited” internet; like hotels with a single wired connection, and such. The CTR35 allows me to basically take any type of connection (USB 3G/4G broadband stick, Existing WiFi network, or wired Ethernet) and share/extend that network.²

Having said that, to power/charge all these simultaneously, here’s how I’ve got everything setup:³

From left to right

• Aviiq Portable Charging Station
  This is basically an all USB power hub that’s very much organized and
• Belkin Mini Surge Protector
  The most practical “portable power splitter” I’ve seen in the market so far. Has 2 USB ports.
• Universal Travel Adaptor w/ Dual USB
  This is to ensure you can plug into any type of wall receptacle. It has the added bonus of having an auxiliary power cable apart from the actual plug receptacle it has – that coupled with the dual USB ports, actually allows you to connect 2 AC devices and 2 USB devices.
• CradlePoint CTR35 wall adaptor
  This is the only annoying part of everything. I have the fact that the CTR runs on 12v. If they had designed it to run on standard 5v then I could use one of the USB receptacles for it and do away with this stupid cumbersome plug. But alas, I have no alternatives so I must put up with it.
• Camera charger
  For whatever camera I have with me, usually it’s the Lumix, but the AC plug is the same type for both that and my DSLR charger.
• Apple power brick with TwelveSouth PlugBug
  The iPad needs 5V 2A for proper charging speed – when typical USB ports supply 1A. While the Aviiq is capable, it’s nice to know that should I need to use all those ports for something else, that there’s still one available that can give 2A.

So here’s how it breaks down:

1. Universal Travel adaptor plugs into wall
2. Camera charger connects to #1 via auxiliary AC connector
3. Belkin connects to #1′s main socket
4. Aviiq, Powerbrick and CTR35 plug connect to Belkin.
5. Devices connect to any the three.

And when I’m ready to go, they can all be packed like so:⁴

The only annoying thing here is that damned CTR35 plug. It’s physically impossible to plug all three (Aviiq, Powerbrick and CTR35 plug) to the Belkin – simply because the CTR35 is unencessarily thick!

Techincally, given that the Aviiq only provides USB output, and that we’ve already got 5 usb-ports⁵ without it – I could forego the Aviiq altogether.⁶

The reason I’m resisting that scenario however, is because the whole point of me buying the damn thing was because of its awesome cable management: it keeps everything nice and tidy. But I do have some CableYoYo’s here so if worse comes to worst, only time will tell.

By the way, in case you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about, it’s this:

Since the “issues” people speak of are always flash-related,¹ I decided to put the iPhone on a Glif+ and prop it up a tripod to take a shot of the exact same scene.

That’s basically the setup, but of course we want to find out how it affects “flash performance” – specifically how it affects the colors. So we needed the scene dark enough to require a flash.

That’s the shot from the 4S at natural light without any post-processing – it’s pretty dark so I guess you can say that every detail that will be exposed will be thanks to the flash.

What I then did was take out the screws of the backplate so it’s easy to swap, and take pictures of the same scene with each. The results are below.

I’m not going to say which picture was taken with which backplate – if you visit the gallery page and check them out you’ll know. But I’m not saying it here exactly to prove a point. I’ll just let you decide if you can even notice a difference.

Long story short: the iFixit clear back plate doesn’t affect the flash performance in any way noticeable (if any at all).

These images have not been altered in any way, and have been uploaded in full resolution – so pixel-peep to your hearts’ content till your statisfied.

It’s worth mentioning that there are a lot of other “brands” that sell similar backplates, most are from some obscure chinese brand – and more often than not, it’s those products that degrade the camera performance. They usually have the Apple logo and information on the backplate (notice how mine is totally blank, no logos or text anywhere)

I’ll probably still take pics of them eventually – but not necessarily for this post. But since I no longer have to wait for them to arrive, I thought I’d just post about it anyways (since I’m woefully behind on blog updates)

PLX Devices 2340 KIWI Wifi

I’ve been meaning to get this for a while now, but always put it off for various reasons. Well now I decided to get it once and for all and be done with it.

Travelon Coat Rack

While I’m sure I’ll still be hanging clothes by the window once in a while, this is really for my jacket; which I always have in my car.

Kensington PowerBolt Duo

Just another one of those DC to USB converters. I liked it because it had dual ports that let me charge more than one device – while being able to deliver enough for an iPad (2Amps).

TwelveSouth PlugBug

CradlePoint Travel Router

While I do have a MiFi for traveling within the city, it’s limited to cellular data. I needed a more robust solution for when I was out of the country, or in a place where I want to augment already existing networks.¹

This portable travel router can create a WiFi network out of any type of connection (3G/4G, WiFi, or wired) – I believe it can even work backwards (create a wired connection from a wireless network).

Wurkin Stiffs & Polo Stays

I actually already have a set of Stiffs, but some of my dress shirts had really small collars that the 2.5″ Stiffs wouldn’t fit – so I got a set which had varying lengths. Also got the Polo Stays are even more useful since those types of shirts are the ones that really have unruly collars.

Remington Touch Control Shaver

I believe that demo video pretty much sums up why I got it ;)

CableJive Dockstubz

If you can get past the tacky acting in the video, you’ll see the use of this product. Since I actually use a metal case that’s pretty much permanently fixed on my phone, having this can solve potential “case-related” problems down the road.

The Sinch

Pretty self-explanatory. The only concern I have is if the magnets are strong enough to affect the headphone drivers. I wouldn’t want it ruining my $1k canal phones.

iPhone Clear back panel

It was on sale at iFixIt which bundled it with pretty useful extras – so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a really good value out of it.

Titanium Toothpick & TubePix Toothpick Holder

I’ve far too often found myself in dire need of a toothpick when I’m in the car – or when I just left the restaurant. With these, I can now stock up on toothpicks and have the piece of mind hat should I run out of the wooden ones at the most unexpected times, I’ll still have a washable metal one as a last resort.

As to why I chose Ti and not something more common like 316L [surgical] steel – that’s just a personal preference.

CineSkates System

Again, video’s self-explanatory.

Glif +1 Pack

The CineSkates system I got already comes with a lot of “extras” – among them was the Glif iPhone mount. This is an add-on to that.

No one man should have all that power
– Power by Kanye West

You know you’re a serious gadget freak (yeah, I believe freak is the appropriate word now) if you end up needing portable power packs for the gadgets in your EDC (Every Day Carry)

Have you ever run out of juice on your cellphone and wished you had some way to charge them at that instant? Of course you have. And as you may have guessed, portable power packs¹ are “universal batteries” that can be used to power/charge [small] electronic devices.

These things are starting to be one of the necessities to us gadget freaks who have multiple electronic devices that need to be on all the time.

I just got my new powerbank the other day; the NewTrent IMP70D – which brings my total of powerbanks to 4. I thought doing a comparison would be helpful for readers that are interested in getting one of these nifty little things. I’ll be discussing the 3000mAh Opt PortaPower, the 6600mAh MiPow Power Tube 6600, the 6000mAh ZAGGsparq 2.0, and the 7000mAh New Trent IMP70D.

Necessities

When in the market for a powerbank, apart from the price (obviously), one must assess their “needs” in two aspects: “practicality” (size, weight, accessibility, etc) and “capacity.”

Juice

In the case of powerbanks, capacity directly translates to how much “spare juice” a person thinks they’ll need on a given day. That “juice” is represented by milliamp hours (mAh). The more mAh capacity your powerbank has, the more power you can pour into your [dying] gadget.

For example, the battery capacity of recent iPhones are [roughly] in the 1400mAh range. So getting a 3000mAh powerbank allows you to charge a completely discharged iPhone back to full power two times (2.8k mAh total).

The mAh amount you’ll need can also be affected by the number of gadgets you have; having multiple gadgets tapping into your powerbank on any given time will obviously require more juice for it to be worth anything.

Lesson here is to know the power requirements your gadgets have – and simply do the math :)

Ports

Another concern is how many charge ports you’ll be needing. Do you see yourself needing to charge devices simultaneously? Or can you afford to let one gadget temporarily die while waiting for the other to complete its charge?

And as if that wasn’t already enough to worry about – there’s the matter of connector types you’ll be needing. Are they proprietary, will you have trouble looking for spare connectors should you lose the ones that came with your powerbank, etc?

Rechargeability

I’m now talking about the practicality of recharging the powerbank itself.² Imagine you’ve just emptied out your powerbank – and will need to use it again soon. Do you imagine yourself being home when that happens – that you can just plug it to your wall, or would you need to carry a special adaptor to charge it elsewhere, etc.?

Size / Weight

We all know that the heaviest part of most mobile devices is usually the battery. Sure, you can have a monstrous battery that can power even a laptop, but do you want to be lugging around all that weight? And would it’s form factor even fit the bag you are using?

The four units I’m going to share about have different characteristics in relation all factors I’ve mentioned above. So make sure you know what you need and decide if any of the four work for you – or if you need another option altogether.

Opt PortaPower (3000mAh)

This was my first-ever powerbank.

My iPhone’s battery performance then was pretty good – so I didn’t have to worry about recharging it during the day no matter how I used it.

It was my MiFi that was the battery vampire. When persistently connected,³ it would only last about 4-7 hours depending on how heavy the usage is.

That amount of “usage time” is usually too short even for non-power users. Go to a place where there’s no internet at all – and you’ll know exactly how “useful” 4-7 hours of mobile internet is – you’d probably end up draining the unit before you even get to doing anything remotely productive.

So the PortaPower allowed me to charge the MiFi about twice. Still not enough to last the day, but definitely enough, at least on average, to keep the unit working until I get to ride my car again (and charge it while driving).

Pros

1. To this day, it’s the most compact PowerBank I have.
2. Lights that show you the percentage (in quarters) of juice left on the battery.
3. Comes with multiple swappable heads/data connectors for different types of gadgets.

Cons

1. The connector is proprietary (as seen in the picture). It’s an annoying point of failure that can be avoided by simply standardizing the port to something that’s more “common.” I’ve already lost one of the connectors and because it’s proprietary, there’s no replacement to be found anywhere.
2. The powerbank needs a specific adaptor to charge with.
3. Does not deliver enough current to charge an iPad properly

MiPow Power Tube 6600 (6600mAh)

Disclaimer: the picture above doesn’t belong to me. I forgot to take pictures of the MiPow and was too lazy to do so after realizing my omission ;)

It’s basically a thin stick that’s got an impressive 6600mAh capacity – and is able to drive a current that can charge an iPad properly. I got it because I wanted to have a comfortable capacity which I knew could get me through the day even if I charged all devices within the day.

Pros

1. 6600mAh is a pretty big reserve – and makes one feel pretty safe when on the go
2. It’s pretty long – but thin (that’s what she said!) so it’s not as obtrusive as one might think. It takes very little space on your bag when propped vertically or horizontally.
3. Comes with multiple swappable heads for different types of charging ports.
4. iPad compatible

Cons

1. Proprietary connectors – if you lose any of the tips, then you’re out of luck
2. The powerbank needs a proprietary adaptor to charge with.
3. No battery level indicator!

In fairness to MiPow, they’ve got newer models out that seem to deal with most if not all the cons I’ve mentioned – so if you’re in the market today, I’d suggest you include them in your list of things to consider looking at.

ZAGGsparq 2.0 (6000mAh)

While having a slightly smaller capacity (6000mAh) than the MiPow 6600, The Sparq ups the ante by allowing 2 simultaneously connected devices.

I bought this because while the MiPow was very portable when not in use (either at the bottom of the bag, etc.) when it WAS in use, it was a pain in the ass to store – I’d constantly have to figure out how to angle it so it wouldn’t stick out while having enough clearance for the cables to reach the device plugged into it. In short, it worked great assuming you planned to take it out of your bag to charge stuff in a stationary place.

The Sparq, is quite well desiged. Standard USB ports eliminate the issue of losing “connectors” – you can always buy a USB connector for your particular device at any mall. It comfortably fits any of the Grid-it organizers I have, and best of all it can be plugged directly to a wall – since the wall-wart prongs are built right in.

Pros

1. Well designed
2. Ideal size/weight for transport
3. Dual USB ports
4. iPad compatible
5. Built-in charging plug

Cons

There’s only one, but MAJOR flaw this thing has – it doesn’t work as advertised. The ZAGGsparq 1.0 had issues of inaccurate battery readouts, and that the capacity immediately drops to half or 25% after a few minutes of use.

Version 2 (which is what I have) was supposed to have solved those issues – but the issues persist. To ZAGG’s credit, the sheer capacity of the unit allows me to charge comfortably during the day – so I wouldn’t consider it as an utter failure. But it’s just too unreliable to trust if you’re going on a really long trip and would need to know exactly how much juice you have left.

New Trent IMP70D (7000mAh)

This is my newest pack, just got it a few days ago thanks to a friend :)

As far as “well-designed” goes, it’s similar to the Sparq – but better in almost every aspect. For the dimensions, just compare it with the other gadgets next to it in the picture below. From left to right: PortaPower, iPhone (with case) IMP70D, Sparq, PowerTube.

As you can see, it’s not that much different from the dimensions of an iPhone (just wider, actually). As far as juice goes, it’s the biggest capacity I’ve got so far at 7000mAh – more power than I [hopefully] would ever need in a single day.

It’s also got dual ports, and supports the iPad’s more demanding charging current.

Pros

1. Well designed
2. More surface area than the Sparq, but less than half its width.
3. Dual USB ports
4. Charged by standard USB current.
5. iPad Compatible
6. While it ultimately uses standard USB ports, it comes with an optional USB cable with replaceable tips

Cons

1. Only has 3 replaceable tips: Mini and Micro USB, and a USB extender

Honestly, as of this moment, I can’t really find any cons on this thing apart from that one I mentioned above (and I don’t even think that’s a con as much as it’s just nitpicking) And I just discovered that the “tip” architecture is compatible with the PowerTube tips – so that means I’ve got a complete set of tips I can use with the IMP70D’s “optional” cable.

But overall, its got good reviews, it works as advertised (so far), it’s thin, light, and has got a monstrous capacity to boot.

The only nuance I would point out is that unlike the Sparq, this doesn’t have built-in charging prongs – so you can’t directly charge it from a wall like you do with the Sparq.

But it makes up for it by being “chargeable” via standard USB. So you gain the advantage of being able to charge it in the car, or a wall as well if you have a USB AC adaptor/wall charger handy.

I believe the issue of which way is “best” for charging the unit would boil down to a matter of preference. And that the Sparq and IMP70D have their advantages and disadvantages. But personally, I’d prefer the IMP70D by the sheer universality of the USB standard.

Apart from being able to get a lot of work done with a very interesting project at work, I also was able to get my first check for this voiceover sideline thingie I’ve been doing for about a year now. (maybe less, but who keeps track, right?)

These were the “immediate results” of that day – but the story behind them is the more enjoyable part of it all.

Loot

Sideline

You may be wondering why I only got paid now – when I’ve been doing it for quite a while. Well, apparently that’s how that particular industry works – or at least that’s how it was explained to me.

The first thing friends who recommended I try it out told me that I shouldn’t do it simply to make money. Or at least don’t get into it thinking that it’ll be a source of income. There’s a “processing period” of half a year at the very least before any “payment” to the talent is released. So at best, it’s really best to just treat it as “bonus income.” The scenario they used was: don’t expect to be paid immediately, but expect to be surprised that one of these days you suddenly have a check ready and you can use the money to have a nice dinner somewhere.

Now this appealed to me because it was perfect for my setup. I’m earning decently with my current job, so while I would welcome extra income – it’s not like I’m desperate for it. That, and there’s no conflict of interest with the nature of my current job (design/programming). Since I work at home, I could just slip out and record and be back in an hour or two tops – and it would be easy to just put in extra hours to make up for the “extended break” I took during my shift.

Going back to the topic at hand; I didn’t have any expectations from this sideline. All I knew was I’d get paid someday and I didn’t even bother worrying about how much I’d get from it (because it wasn’t important). I was having fun just doing it – because it was a welcome break from the monotony of my daily routine. In fact, the check was already ready mid-October, I just never got to getting it till that day.

I was pleasantly surprised¹ when I finally swung by to get it. I was expecting something along the lines of a couple of thousand bucks.² My eyes widened when I took a look at the value – it was definitely more than a “nice dinner” – I could literally buy a new laptop or bike with it.

They weren’t kidding when they said it could be a lucrative business – because honestly, I’m not that good of a VO artist in the sense that my voice isn’t necessarily “unique” enough to be sought after often. Some talents there are mainstays because they’ve got the market cornered when it comes to the type of voice the client needs – I bet they’re earning more than I do with my regular job. But that’s beside the point, I’m just happy I get to have fun – while actually getting paid good money while I’m at it.

Alas, I’m using it to pay credit card balances and bills, but this really came in at a perfect time. We’re headed for Singapore this January and I prefer having my credit card at full capacity when taking trips out of the country – this just made it a whole lot easier :)

Upgrades: Logitech Peripherals

Now before all this voiceover shit, I was already set on upgrading my aging wireless Keyboard and Mouse. While friends know me for having the latest in tech – but seriously, this old keyboard and mouse I was using; I’ve been using for the last 4-5 years.

I didn’t choose to upgrade because I wanted to get new stuff – I was pretty much content with what I already had. Instead, I had to upgrade because the tech was too old to be of any practical use at this point in time.

Changing of the Guard: Wireless Peripherals

The old keyboard and mouse was literally still RF-based³. Which in and of itself, has a lot of limitations (range, etc.) If you’ve got a lot of gadgets that are all running in one place, the interference requires the receiver to be close to the peripherals to work properly – in my case, always at the table.

That, and they’ve already stopped selling mice that are compatible with the receiver. I’ve gone through 3 mice (of the same model) after wearing the previous ones down – so the need to have a compatible mouse is important to me. The keyboard has always been in good working condition, though.

So I pretty much needed an upgrade. Logitech’s unified receiver technology is exactly the solution to my compatibility problem. It basically future-proofs my purchases. I could now change/upgrade to any wireless peripheral of theirs down the road,⁴ and be sure they’ll all work with the receiver I’ve already got.⁵

Battery Woes

I’ve also been burning through batteries like it’s nobody’s business. Do you know that I actually have a case full of AA batteries for my old wireless mouse? I’m holding it right now – and by my count – I still have 20 AAs left (which is roughly about 10 more “cycles” for the old mouse).

The keyboard needs AAAs – so that’s another hassle to keep in mind. Thankfully, the KB lasts much longer than the mouse.

The obvious solution is to get rechargeable batteries – but remembering to charge and replace can be a chore. So the best solution was to have a mouse/keyboard that could charge itself – as well as the option to be able to plug it in to charge while in-use.

Thankfully, Logitech already had such mice/keyboards for a while now – so all I needed to do was check what was the best mouse/kb combination for my needs.

Keyboards

For the keyboard side of things, there was even a better offering than the be-able-to-charge-while-using type of keyboards. They had a solar-powered one! The K750. Case closed, end of story – this was the keyboard I wanted – and be rid of battery problems for-evah!

Mice & Darkfield Technology

It was great timing too, I was in the market for new mice – because Logitech’s Darkfield mice were starting to hit the local shelves.

Now, I use a glass table, and normal laser mice do not play well with glass – in fact, they don’t play with glass at all.

I had to get creative with the table to get a useable surface for mouse tracking. As cool as my solution was, it’ll never beat the elegance of a pure glass surface – not to mention that I could only use the mouse on that area I stuck the opaque surface with.

Darkfield is Logitech’s answer to laser tracking on glass. That’s pretty much self-explanatory – and since they did have a viable solution, I made it a non-negotiable feature for my list of mouse choices.

Now this “requirement” worked in my favor – since they only have (as of this posting) exactly two models that have Darkfield tech: the M950 Performance Mouse, and the M905 Anywhere Mouse

More Luck

A friend pointed me to the distributor of Logitech Asia – who in turn pointed me a preferred distributor in the Philippines.

I was after the M950 (mouse) because it had the right size and ergonomics for everyday use (plus it was the only one that was rechargeable and could be charged while in use.

M950 Performance Mouse

The other Darkfield mouse, the M905, took in two AA batteries like my old one.

M905 Anywhere Mouse

Unfortunately the local supplier only had the M905 in stock… and they didn’t have the K750. So I just settled for the M905. My consolation was that since it was newer, it probably had improved power management at the very least compared to my old mouse – that coupled with the Darkfield tech still made it a very good investment.

So after getting the [voiceover] check – I went straight to GreenHills ready to buy my new toys. I figured since I suddenly had an unexpected amount of extra cash on hand, I could just go around the other stores taking my chances and hoping they carried the stocks the supplier didn’t – even if I had to buy them at higher prices.

Turns out I did find both M950 and K750 in one of the VMall shops – and they were more expensive by just 200 bucks. I snatched them up right away, and since I was feeling generous because of the check I just received, I went ahead in getting an M905 as a spare – so that when the day comes the 950′s busted, I would still have a working Darkfield mouse on hand while looking for a replacement.

But wait, there’s more! The day I bought these peripherals was the day that a shop-wide Logitech Promo had just begun. If you buy certain models, you get freebies – and the two models I got were eligible for the freebies! If you would check the very first picture above, you’ll see two headsets on the far right – those were free :)

So that’s my Friday story. What was supposed to be a typical routine day with the exception of a planned upgrade turned out to be a day of extra money, luck, AND TOYS!

Now If you want to know what I think about the new stuff I got, then read on.

Impressions / Review

K750

K750 Wireless Solar Keyboard

There’s nothing much to say about this – even if I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever bought. It’s pretty straightforward. So I’ll just get into the PROs and CONs.

PROS

1. Solar power – No batteries needed. Period.
2. Unifying receiver – One recover for multiple devices with the same unifying technology – which is pretty much every future wireless product they’ll be making in the foreseeable future.
3. 2.4GHz connectivity – This is a proper wireless frequency. Having much better transmit/recieve performance, I can now bring both keyboard and mouse around the room and have them still work properly – even if the [tiny] receiver is connected on the back of my computer – which is on the floor.

CONS

The only con is that it feels like a laptop keyboard – Normally, we’d want the keys to have substance so we can type more comfortably.

But again, it’s not much of a big deal. In fact, I imagine it could be a positive thing – since everyone’s going mobile these days, perhaps getting used to a uniform “feeling” (whether on a desktop or laptop) might be better down the road – only time will tell.

M950 Performance Mouse

PROs

1. Rechargeable
2. Rechargeable WHILE being used
3. Darkfield technology – works on glass… and therefore would probably work on pretty much any surface.
4. Fast Scroll – this is a feature I really appreciate. The middle scroll wheel can be “unlocked” to a frictionless⁶ “free-wheel” mode that can allow you to scroll through really long pages easily. This has proved to be most useful when browsing my music library – or going back and forth in email conversations.
5. Case for plug/cable/etc.

Cons

1. The left/right clickers are too “soft” for my taste – it makes it seem that they can wear down easily. Of course I might be overly pessimistic, but it just feels that way. Just like with keyboard buttons, I like my mouse-clicks to have tactile substance.

M905 Anywhere Mouse

PROs

1. Darkfield technology
2. Fast Scroll
3. Better left/right click tactile response – you can feel a solid “click.” Much more pleasant to click on
4. Built-in storage space for unifying receiver – this is obviously because the mouse was designed to be used in travel.
5. ON/OFF switch doubles as sensor cover – when it’s off, the sensor is covered: very well designed.
6. Comes with travel pouch

CONs

1. Not rechargeable
2. Smaller – if this had the ergonomics to fit a normal-sized hand for everyday use. I may have been willing to overlook the lack of “recharge-ability” and consider this over the M950 as my primary pointer.

Conclusion

So there you have it; [what I'd like to think is] an inspiring story, and some gadget porn (and useful mini-reviews of them)

Whatever the case may be, I’m a pretty happy camper – with an even happier-looking workspace :)

As I said earlier, it’s a cloud-based storage app – and we’ve seen a lot of those. Dropbox by far is the most effective service IMHO – so I’m not going to abandon that anytime soon. Pogoplug’s online cloud space is 5GB for free, but since there was a promo, I got 10GB. But like I said, I’m perfectly happy with Dropbox so far, so I’m not going to use Pogoplug for that.

The one feature of Pogoplug that I find attractive is it allows remote-access capabilities on any of your drives/volumes – which, basically turns your computer into a personal file server… allowing you to access any of the folders you’ve made available anywhere, anytime.

In my case, I made my Drobo available – particularly my iTunes library. So I’m essentially doing a ZumoCast-esque implementation:

That’s Pogoplug on my 16GB iPhone – in the process of indexing my entire music collection – which is easily half a terabyte in size. The difference with ZumoCast is that I’m not limited to just my iTunes library – I can pretty much make available anything I want.

It costs nothing to get Pogoplug account,¹ and the mobile application that lets you access your files is free as well.

The software that allows what I’ve just demonstrated however, is not. You can use it for free, but it will be lacking features – one of them is the exact feature I’m talking about right now: media streaming.

Purchasing a license will cost you roughly $30 (exclusive of taxes, etc.) so it can set you back as much as $35. But you only have to pay once, and the license is good for all your machines (should you want to share stuff from other machines).

iTunes match has useful features as far as purchasing, integration with mobile iTunes, etc. goes. But ultimately, streaming will be the most used feature of iTunes match – and you’ll get all that for a recurring fee of $24/year. You can already get streaming for free with ZumoCast – and you can get that and much more functionality with a single $30 Pogoplug purchase.

If you’re just a regular user/music listener – I guess ZumoCast would do the job. But if you’re a professional that needs access to your personal/work files at a moments notice, then Pogoplug’s offering can’t be beat.

There are many types of cases, and I’ve had my fair share of them. But over the years, I’ve personally come to the conclusion that one of the most well-balanced (ergo, best) case for the iPhone4 is an honest to goodness, well-designed bumper-type case.

In fact, it’s really not a stretch to say that the Apple official bumper has been one of the most surprising revelations I’ve come across when I bought one (for the heck of it) during my last trip to the US.

And in this post, I’ll be talking about a case I came across today while killing time in the mall: The Capdase Alumor Bumper

Making the case:¹ Bumpers

One should make a few assumptions when arguing about what case is “best.” To me it’s balance. While I could, I won’t try to argue why I think a [well-designed] bumper-type case has the best balance of protection/feel/aesthetics. Sufficed to say that as a personal preference, a bumper+screen protector combination already gives adequate protection with the added benefit of the phone feeling just as slim as it were naked. (short of getting an Invisi-Shield/Wrapsol)

Capdase Alumor Bumper

The Capdase is an aluminum bumper. So you already are ahead in terms of material. Silicon/Plastic no matter how hard they are – don’t hold a candle against metal.

Before I saw/bought the Alumor, there was pretty much only one brand I knew that made “cool” aluminum bumper cases – Element. In fact, the case I had before buying the Alumor was Element’s Vapor Pro Chroma.

All in all, Vapor Pro makes great aluminum cases. The only question would be are they worth the price tag ($150 and if bought locally, the Chroma could set you back about PhP7k)

Vapor Pro (left) Alumor (right)

The Vapor’s “screw-in” architecture gives one the peace of mind that once the phone’s in the case – it’s not going anywhere. Still, this “feature” turns out to be a hindrance more than anything else. Whenever you’d want to take your phone out of the case for whatever reason (cleaning, changing screen protector, trying on another case while shopping, etc.) You’d have to unscrew it – which meant you’d have to bring a hex wrench with you – otherwise, you’d wait till you get home. You can already imagine how frustrating that can be.

The Alumor side-steps that concern by being a snap-on case – yet doesn’t suffer from the same problem most 2-piece snap-on cases have by design. It’ll require a bit of stretching for it to engage/disengage – and because it’s metal, this (stretching) doesn’t happen unless force is intentionally applied. The physics involved isn’t rocket science but it works pretty darn well for the material.

The build of the Alumor is pretty impressive. It fits flush to the phone, the port openings are aligned perfectly.

The headphone jack’s a problem though (never big enough for special type of earphone plugs) – but that’s usually the case with most cases (the Vapor is no exception as well). The port for the USB sync connector is much more accessible than the Vapor’s, though – so that’s a plus for the Alumor.

But it also comes with extras: front and back screen/glass protectors, and port plugs for both headphone and USB sync ports.

All that for PhP2.5k. 1/3 of the Vapor’s price – which is a much, better value no matter how you slice it.

The best thing for me though, is that it retains the aesthetic appeal of the iPhone – especially when you get the brushed chrome finish.

It’s much, much more elegant than the Vapor’s PC-gamer-esque aesthetic.

We have yet to find the holy grail when it comes to an iPhone case – but Capdase’s offering is more than adequate.

The point is I’m posting because my friends/readers wanna know what I think of it. Because there’s that whole “is the improvement worth replacing the my current iPhone with?”

There are two answers to that, depending on your “iPhone” if you’re using anything older than a 4, then yes – for the simple reason that even the iPhone 4 was already a drastic improvement over its predecessor. Now if you already have an iPhone 4, the answer would depend on what “feature” appeals to you – factoring in how you use your phone everyday.

Personally, I bought the 4S because of the improved camera. When it comes to photography, it’s very difficult to judge “incremental upgrades” at face value – because when it comes to photo quality, any upgrade, no matter how small – is always worth consideration.¹

Then there’s a matter of Siri – which currently works exclusively with the 4S. I can only assume it’s part of Apple’s marketing strategy – as I see no reason why it wouldn’t be able to run (albeit slower) on even a non A5 chip.²

So now that I’ve gotten to play with it, what do I think? Read on…

First Impressions

I won’t bother going over the visual details, because there’s really nothing to say. It’s basically an iPhone4 with adjusted innards. It isn’t thinner (or at least doesn’t feel that way) – and the difference in weight, if any, isn’t noticeable even if you tried. Only the packaging has changed – and really, who gives a shit about that? A new Apple user may be impressed with little details of packaging in every product they release – but not us – we’re fucking veterans right!? So just assume that the packaging is different but still as “Apple-cool” as it can be.³

In short, if you’re looking for any physical change – then this “upgrade” isn’t for you.

I heard that some units ship with a SIM ejector and some don’t. Mine didn’t come with one – which was a bummer – but nothing worth complaining about. Also, it comes pre-activated. Meaning it works out of the box without having to connect it to iTunes. Of course you still have to connect at least once to configure it in detail (should you want to), but if you don’t, you can still use the phone as a phone (and with the few apps iOS has built-in)

Actually, and I haven’t confirmed this, but you could technically be totally PC-free assuming you use iCloud’s backup feature.⁴ But given it only provides 5GB free and that a new iPhone today is at least 8GB, that’s a pretty useless feature.

Photo Quality Comparison

I probably won’t do a video comparison cuz that’ll take to much time to set up, encode, upload, etc. But it’s safe to say that this upgrade is worth it for videographers because this is the first true HD recording phone Apple has released. While I cannot vouch for the improvement in video quality – I’m assuming it’s connected to the photo-quality since we’re talking about the same sensor – so I’ll dive right down to the photo comparisons.

Basically, Apple has claimed to drastically improve the quality of the photographs. Larger images, better low light performance, better color processing. I’m here to confirm that, apart from low-light performance⁵ all claims are true – but I will go as far as saying that it’s a drastic improvement – as you will see in the pictures.

In all pictures below, that the 4S is better in general – and it’s all because of the factors mentioned above – but you’ll also notice that they are subtle differences that, quite honestly, only a really discerning eye would notice. The normal user who just wants decent photos would do just as well with the iPhone4 as they would with the 4S.

Images on the left are the iPhone4, and the 4S on the right. Apart from clicking to “embiggen” the pictures, I’d suggest you actually check out their pages on the gallery – because we’ve got EXIF information on there. I’ll try to mention it here as well, but in case you need “proof” then it’s there for your scrutiny.

Well lit area (natural light)

There’s no surprise that good light is the great equalizer when it comes to photography. My girlfriend’s inferior Sony Cybershot could do just as well as my LX3 when the lighting’s good. So for these shots, we pay more attention to sharpness, details, and colors.

Here I worried a bit since the iPhone4 seemed sharper in general. But then I looked at the EXIF and remembered that the 4S has a much shallower depth of field to focus on – because of it’s f2.4 aperture compared to the 4′s f2.8.

I also noticed that the 4S took the same shot one ISO-stop lower (400) than the 4 (500)

The more demanding the lighting conditions get, both will automatically switch/step to higher ISOs until they reach the shutter speed they need to get the shot. Basically, this means that the 4S has more “headroom” to work with – since it consistently uses a lower ISO setting compared to the 4 when taking identical shots.

The color is a bit different as well, there’s a warmer feel to the 4S shot – but then again it must’ve been the yellowish elements behind it reflecting on the metal. In that case, then the 4S would be more “accurate” – even if the 4 looked more “neutral.”

In this shot, you can see difference in color. In relation to what I just mentioned, these are the “warm-colored” elements behind the previous shot. And you clearly notice how the 4 washes it out a bit. It’s bordering on applying a bit more magentas/reds to counter the yellows (and ultimately greens) – even if the latter is naturally present in the scene.

If you can’t spot it, I invite you to pay attention to the wooden basket (and compare the warm tones) as well as the green of the “metal stalk/leaves” You can see the 4S is clearly smarter in detecting those subtleties.

Also, surprisingly the 4 uses a whopping 1000 on the ISO setting whereas the 4S only used 400.

Incandescent lamp

Here I opted to force a color tint on the scene to see if the phones know if the scene is naturally tinted or if it has to do some extra color balancing. So in short, I was expecting all shots here to have yellow tints because, well, that’s what my eyes were seeing, duh!

For both shots below, it’s easy for the unexpecting person to prefer the 4′s shots because it neutralized much more “tint” that was present – making the shot seem accurate (white is really white, etc.) But if you would remember that that was NOT how the scene really looked like. I was using an incandescent light – therefore I would have to give the 4S the points here for being more accurate.

Now people may ask “Then what’s the point of having white balance settings on cameras if you prefer accuracy over what the colors of the subjects would be in during ideal lighting conditions?” The answer is first, I prefer it, not you. Some people would like the tints neutralized, not me. And I was always of the mind that you can always adjust color balance in post. It’s much easier to neutralize a photo’s color than to apply a tint to it after the fact. So I prefer that the photograph is always as true to the real scene as possible.

Low-light

To be honest, both still perform rather poorly in low light. Only advantage of the 4S as far as I can see is that it manages the same shot with a lower ISO (800 as against 1000).

So there you have it, the photos haven’t been adjust in any way. Feel free to scrutinize the EXIF and pixel peep all you want – I’ll leave it to you to decide if the improvement is worth the upgrade.

Siri

Now this is where I was surprised. At first I was a bit skeptical: While Siri was impressive in the demonstration, I always had doubts as to how effective it would be in the Philippines.

First, any feature that involves geolocation is much useless as expected. You need a proper, up-to-date, reliable database/infrastructure to be able to handle that – neither of which is present in our country. So disappointing as it was, I couldn’t fault Apple with that.

I did expect it to work with the normal functions though – stuff that didn’t require geo-fencing. Sending SMSes, Writing notes, creating alarms, and some types of reminders⁶

So if you just manage your expectations properly, that really leaves only one concern: how good Siri (or the dictation function) is in understanding a person’s speech.

In a nutshell, it’s friggin’ AWESOME!

While I guess milage may vary depending on people’s accents/fluency – I can’t begin to tell you how pleased I am on how Siri handles my speech. The only thing I really have to worry about is volume. But other than that, she understands what I say with amazing accuracy.

I’ve made two videos demonstrating both Siri’s “interpretative” skill – and the dictation feature’s accuracy in recognizing words. First I tried making a note, checking which words Siri would interpret as instruction – and which words she’ll interpret as the actual text content. Pretty amazing if you ask me, she even understood punctuation instructions.

In the next video, I decided to read to her a passage from one of my favorite poems. I basically tested how the system would fare in extended dictation times. so I know if it’s possible to write say, lengthy emails without worrying if the system’s going to crap out on you in the middle of a session. I also attempted using other punctuation instructions.

Again, very impressive results. And it’s quite impressive how the system handles punctuation instructions. It can even recognized commands for parentheses, etc. The only drawback I think is you can never use the actual word in place. Say if you want to literally write the word “hyphen” or any punctuation for that matter, you’d have to disable dictation first, then type it out and resume.⁷

Another disappointing thing is that Siri only works when you’re online. Not only that, but the server has to be responsive as well. The reason this is frustrating is that I’m pretty sure the actual speech recognition isn’t necessarily tied to the server.⁸ It’s only tied insofar as it needs to get an answer AFTER it has already interpreted what you said.

Having said that, I don’t see why you need to be online if you want to do “non-question” tasks (i.e. sending a text message, making an alarm, etc. even composing an email draft) And yet, there it is. It stalls or sometimes refuses to respond when the internet is acting up, and is unavailable at all when you’re offline.

I hope they get to re-thinking their implementation soon. Because when it works, it really works. Just the other night, I was in a full-on chat session with some friends. I was lying in my bed, with my iPhone, and was just dictating away my responses. iOS/Siri’s dictation features are good enough that you can already really use it in place of manual typing. And just imagine if you plan to respond with a rather lengthy sentence – dictating it is so much faster than typing it out – even if you’re already using shorthand TXTing (e.g. “ur” in place of “you’re/your”, etc.)

Conclusion

Depsite the usual cons that comes with new technology, I personally don’t regret the upgrade. I expected to be wowed by the camera improvements – which weren’t as eventful as I’d hoped. But Siri, and the dictation feature more than made up for it :)

I revisited one of my “drafts” and sure enough, it suffered from the issue I just mentioned earlier. It was about my reaction of some article by some [anti] RH Bill proponent.

But you know what? I figured what the hell; I don’t see any other time where posting this would be appropriate again so might as well just put it out there anyways for anyone who’s interested. Besides, even if the “issue” per se isn’t as relevant today. It still passes as one of my typical “perspective posts”

There’s an article on Premarital Sex that was posted a few days ago¹ – I felt I needed to contribute my 2 cents on the matter.

But the meat of the article is in this paragraph, which I’ll try to break-down in a minute.

Those in favor of the RH Bill claim that they are just being “realists.” To them chastity is an impossible ideal. Well, I claim that they are defeatists. They are assuming that the youth in the Philippines cannot rise above their purely animal instincts.

Then he goes on about a well-known celebrity who can “control” said “animal instinct.”

Calling a Spade a Spade

First, if I were Dr. Villegas, I would choose a different “example celebrity” to prove his point (if it can be proven, that is)

Without having to get into details, let’s just say that things are not what they seem² I’m not here to try to change whatever “image” Mr. Tiu seems to have in the eyes of the public. Because he is a genuinely nice guy. I’ve met him and I can attest to that fact. He’s one of few the Ateneans na walang yabang sa katawan – even if he has every reason to be [arrogant] (talented, handsome, rich, intelligent, etc.)

But if you’re going to stand there and tell me that he’s an angel when it comes to women, sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re sadly misinformed.

He’s a nice guy the same way Robin Padilla is – and that’s not sarcasm, nor is it a slam on his person. Try watching any interview of Mr. Padilla and you will discover that he’s actually a genuinely polite & sensible human being in spite of of his “reputation.”

Or if you want another analogy, then I’d submit Manny Pacquao – who’s also a genuinely kind soul (outside of the ring). He also speaks against the RH bill, but more likely because he doesn’t need it.³ Certainly not because he believes in being “chaste”. ;)

So what exactly am I trying to say?

What I’m saying is that while I do acknowledge the “benefits” of chastity, I find it very annoying that people think the lack of it is some “irredeemable fault” that should drastically affect how one would view another human being. Being chaste works for some, but not for others – just as religion works for some and not for others.

Being a “good human” should not be decided by such factors. And IMHO, this fixation on the value of chastity – can be an unhealthy one.

I say it’s unhealthy not because it’s wrong. I’ll admit, if and when I have a beautiful daughter,⁴ I’m sure I would want her to be “chaste” as well. But this preference isn’t because I think she should or shouldn’t be “chaste”, but simply because I acknowledge the difficulties a 3rd-world unmarried middle class woman with child would be facing. That and the fact that it’s the parents that end up paying for the bills of their children’s folly. If you’re a kid who doesn’t know what you’re getting yourself into, of course it’s easier to just stick to the simple “just don’t” mantra – which is what this article is trying to say.

But sadly, life doesn’t work that way. I wish it did, but it simply doesn’t.

The implications of assuming chastity’s “universality” is the main reason why we’re struggling so much in real-life. If we presume premarital sex to be wrong, there will be no initiative to educate beyond the push of “simply not having sex till your married” – because why educate people on something that they shouldn’t be in the first place right – and that’s exactly what’s wrong with this picture.

Because of that unrealistic bias, there’ll be no education on how to have sex responsibly should one prefer to be sexually active; no education on how to prepare for it if you can’t help yourself; no education on your options if you do end up having an unwanted pregnancy.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against being idealistic; I believe the good things that happen in the world are ultimately forms of altruism in varying degrees – so there’s nothing wrong with starting from what’s perceived to be the “best case”

But to operate under the assumption that the best case [in life] will happen, that’s when it stops being idealistic – and becomes plain naive. The lack of education based on these religious notions⁵ is a perfect example of why I say it’s unhealthy to be too idealistic.

Breaking it Down

So here are a few examples of out of touch with reality the article seems to be.

These concerned parents must do everything in their power to prevent the controversial RH Bill from being passed. The obsession with the promotion of artificial contraceptives among those pushing the so-called RH Bill is partly based on the assumption that we have to prevent unwanted pregnancies among adolescents who find it impossible to avoid premarital sex.

Not an assumption, buddy, it’s FACT. Some people indeed cannot control their urges. Call it whatever you wan’t: “weak-willed,” or “liberal” – doesn’t change the fact that there are people like that. I’d even submit myself as part of that statistic.

And yet, again, we see the point I’m trying to make: the naive thinking that just because something “should be the case,”⁶ he’s starting to act as if it is the case – and therefore disregard the fact that there are people out there that actually need the RH bill.

Those in favor of the RH Bill claim that they are just being “realists.” To them chastity is an impossible ideal. Well, I claim that they are defeatists.

So if “realists” are really just “defeatists,” then I guess that obviously makes you an optimist, right? Given the reality of your chosen example already contradicts the message you’re trying to convey, then I don’t think it’s a stretch to claim otherwise: The “realists” are in fact, realists more than they are defeatists; conversely the “optimists” tend to be more naive than they are optimists – just as you are, kind sir.

Think of it this way. He invited us to think of our future wife who may be dating another guy right now. How far do we want that guy to go with her? It is like Stephen Covey’s ‘thinking with the end in mind,’ the end here being marriage.

The most important thing (end) for me is spending the rest of my life with a person I love – not necessarily being the first person to pop their cherry. The latter, at best, is a[n overrated] bonus. I have no respect for a person’s capacity to love if they claim a person’s virginity should be a/the determining factor whether or not you’ll marry [or even love] someone.

To me, it doesn’t matter who a person slept with, what’s important is that they’re with me now – and hopefully for the rest of our days.

Then he said, ‘Girls, do not allow a guy to lift the veil of your body before he lifts the veil on your head—in marriage.’

You’re certainly free to have that preference. But other’s should also be free to have other preferences.

Assuming we are in agreement that sex – beyond the purpose of reproduction is just as important in a marriage, then try thinking about this:

All thanks to Religion, you will be bound to the person you’re going to marry based on the vows of the sacrament. “Till death do you part” – as it were. I don’t know about you guys, but if I’m going to spend my life with someone, then I think it’s pretty reasonable to find out if we’re sexually compatible to begin with. Because I wouldn’t want to have a(nother) reason to resent them when we are married – especially if it was about something that could’ve been confirmed easily enough.

They are assuming that the youth in the Philippines cannot rise above their purely animal instincts. Before they even try, these lawmakers have given up on values and character education of the youth and the spiritual formation that can come from religious faith, whatever the creed.

What a naive statement to make! Without belaboring the argument i’ll just say this:

In life it’s always more prudent to prepare for the worst, instead of hoping for the best. Because if you prepare for the worst, and the best happens, then everyone’s happy. If your preparations, on the other hand, are based on “best-case” scenarios, and the worst happens – then you’re fucked (no pun intended)

The fact of the matter is, this is what reality is showing us. No matter what reverse psychology you try to do on the youth, you will not control the urges of the majority – especially now when the Church is losing relevance (its own fault, IMHO) as the world continues to modernize and “pluralize.”

That’s fact, and not some figment of a “defeatist’s” imagination.

If you ask me, assuming that the “worst”;⁷ that it’s impossible to avoid premarital sex – is probably the smartest stance a person could take… and having an RH bill is a good thing because it can address precisely that [worst case scenario].

Get Over Yourself

It’s high time we started realizing what kind of people we mostly are; that we’re not exactly how we would like to picture ourselves to be. And to me, there’s nothing wrong with that. Acknowledge what you are, know your strengths and weaknesses. Recognize the things that can change – and try to change them. but accept the things that can’t and work-around them.

Unfortunately, when it comes to sex, I don’t think we can change – no matter what dogma you throw at us. Not valuing chastity as much may not be something to be proud of, but neither is it something to be ashamed of – it just is. And the sooner we accept that about ourselves, the better off we’ll be.

Consider Japan. Have you seen what type of pornography they’ve got? They get off with “rape videos”⁸ and they even got Hentai (animated porn) – the themes of which can be extremely absurd And lets not forget that Japan is the home of Bukkakke. And yet, they still manage to be one of the most “honorable” societies in the world, and their perverse sexual preferences doesn’t make me respect them any less as a people. Perhaps we could learn a thing or two from that fact.

Conclusion

I think the article should’ve made a distinction between premarital sex for the sake of sex, and premarital sex with the person you love or have loved (how many they may be).

In short, I would’ve found it more reasonable/acceptable if he was more concerned on the abuse of our ability to have sex outside of love⁹ – instead of the hasty generalization that a ring should be the only way to get it.

I believe in sex for pleasure – with or without love. So obviously I still would disagree with him, but at least I would be able to respect his preference as something legitimate. Because sex just for the sake of sex, if done irresponsibly can have grave practical consequences.

But premarital sex with someone you care about – even if it seems its “just” for pleasure – is not as “worthless” as the author may be implying. Because you’re sharing something with someone you care about… and if you truly cared for them, then I see no reason why you should be made to feel ashamed by sharing that part of you with them – and vise-versa.

So why the hell am I talking about that right now? Nothing important, can’t a guy shoot the breeze once in a while? It’s been ages since I talked about something in the blog anyways ;)

But sure, let’s apply that a bit on a current experience.I’ve confirmed that in Lion, the CPU+GPU combination of my Hackintosh is known to crash the Flash plugin on Safari and FireFox (FF). Chrome is left unaffected, however.

I’ve confirmed this personally¹ when I uninstalled Flash and found out that Chrome still could play Flash content² I know about the whole HTML5 rage these days, but unfortunately, I make a living out of Flash – so this bug wasn’t something I could ignore.

Now I’ve been using FF for a lot of years (possibly even before I got into programming). While I have no qualms switching from one browser to another,³ I have to admit that I’ve gotten quite acclimated to it; investing time in setting it up for optimal daily use.

As far as I know, it was first to market with extensions, and I believe they were also first with the bookmark syncing service. So it made sense I would use that. Just have all my machines use Firefox, sync the bookmarks, and everything is seamless.

I’ve been paying the productivity price of putting all my eggs in one browser in one form or another over the years – but I haven’t been resting on my laurels; I’ve kept my eye out for services/apps that could allow me to migrate from Firefox to what I’d hope would be any browser.

For the bookmarks, I stopped using Firefox’s built-in sync service in favor of XMarks (formerly FoxMarks) – which is a bookmark syncing service that can sync across any browser. So that obviously solved my bookmarking problems.

I’ve also found corresponding extension on the Chrome store that do pretty much the same thing as my Firefox extensions, so that’s been solved as well. I’m not closer to being ready to make the switch… but there’s still one major gotcha.

One thing that keeps me on Firefox was its native keyword shortcuts. The keyword shortcut basically allows you to tie a keyword to your bookmarks, and it also allows you to use wildcards in your URL strings.

So for example, if I wanted to search for “keyport” in my Flickr photostream for something, normally I’d

1. Go to Flickr
2. Go to my photo stream
3. Type in my query
4. Make sure I’ve selected “your photo stream” before hitting submit⁴ – to make sure I’m only searching my pictures and not the entire Flickr database.

The query URL that’s generated from the procedure I just did is http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=87509947@N00&q=keyport

Now, that’s at least 4 steps to get what I want. With Firefox’s customizable keyword shortcuts, I could just assign a keyword “flickr” to pre-populate the required URL string (http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=87509947@N00&q=%s) for the search and put a wildcard on the actual query (%s).

So instead of doing 4 steps, I just type in directly on my browser something like flickr keyport⁵ and it’ll do a search of “keyport” in my Flickr photo stream immediately.

Pretty nifty – and I’ve spent a lot of time creating a bunch of them which makes me much faster with anything I do on the web. So it’s not that fun to migrate stuff unless I’m sure the solution would be a more permanent “abstraction” as it were.

I kept on putting it off for later – cuz I wasn’t prepared to migrate that many shortcuts just yet. But now my hand has been forced -I have to use Chrome. So I finally bit the bullet, Sat myself down and started the grueling process of moving it to Alfred.

It’s worth mentioning that there are extensions for Chrome and Safari which enables keyword shortcuts – but like I said earlier on, should something happen to those browsers down the road, I’d end up with the same problem I’m having right now with FF.

So I figured putting it in Alfred would be a better method of “abstraction” – because the app doesn’t care what browser you’re using. It also consolidates everything into it. I remember the time (when Alfred wasn’t available) I would use QuickSilver for app launching, Spotlight for file searching, and Firefox for keyword shortcuts. At least now everything is done in one place and should make everything more intuitive… at least for me ;)

I’ve been so OC about this that I even put its custom searches database into Dropbox. That way, all the “Alfreds” on my other machines would be in sync :) I’ve even disabled all the “default” web searches it makes available (to avoid accidentally triggering the wrong search). For example, I’ve been so used to pressing “g” for my google searches in FF, that the habit carried over as well when in Chrome. I even tend to type in “g query” when searching through Google’s main site as well.

So I’ve decided not to unlearn that habit, and just put it right into Alfred; bypassing all his automatic search features. That way I could just use my keywords work exactly as they did with FireFox, and know that same exact “phrase” I use would work across any browser I set as default.

Now that’s abstraction :)

A Lannister always pays his debts.

The saying had always struck a chord in me – possibly because of its clear ambiguity (how’s that for an oxymoron?). To me the saying is a nice summary of how I usually live my life. To me, everything is relative… but I do pay my dues.

I’m not a “good” person – to be sure. Altruism was never a concept that appealed to me – that’s why I never fully bought the “morality” that Religion tries to instill on its followers. Still, if I did something “wrong,” (to whatever standard) I make up for it. If not directly, in some other form. Whatever the case may be, I do pay my debts.

I may be proud, proud enough to engage in heated debate to prove myself right – even if it’s just for sport. Sometimes it’s simply because I end up being right, other times its simply because the things I claim haven’t been proven otherwise.¹

But those who know me well enough know this much: when I am wrong, or if there’s something amiss, I’m the first to acknowledge it. Such are the thoughts I have on the issue that triggered this post.

Without getting into details, an extremely complex issue went down a long time ago – where I essentially was the “smoking gun” in what ultimately ended in the estrangement of people I cared about, one of them far more deeply than I would care to admit.

The bottom-line was that it had to be done – and I’m more than willing to debate anyone² on that front. But as with all gray-areas, it came at a high price. Being the smoking gun, I’ve always felt that I bore the burnt of those consequences in behalf of everyone else³

The sheer irony here was that despite everyone else trying to comfort me – that “I did what had to be done,” that “I did the right thing,” that “There was no other way” (All of which were true, by the way) – I was probably the only person (or at least the first) to acknowledge that I, quite simply, failed these people – as a friend.

And there you have it, I’ve always carried that guilt. And if anyone who knew about that issue would ask anyone else what I’ve been saying about it – I sincerely doubt that you’ll hear them claim that I tried to deny that “shortcoming” of mine. I owned up to it without batting an eyelash, and was willing to do whatever it took to fix what could be fixed… because I always pay my debts.

Long story short, fast forward to today and I can honestly say that I’ve done everything I could. And the unfortunate reality I have to accept is that these people don’t seem to care.

Normally, I’d be fine with that – because after all, no one has a right to demand anyone of forgiveness – nor is anyone obliged to forgive a person he/she doesn’t wish to forgive.

What bothered me was that they never made it clear. In fact, for one of them it was the opposite; I thought I had been forgiven – because we had talked about it. I was under the impression that while things would never be the same, that I could at least “talk” to them like regular human beings – that hopefully we could try to at least salvage the little that was left (and perhaps restore things in time). But all my messages/letters addressing the [unresolved] issue were ignored from then on.

It was a shame that it took some unfortunate event to bring us back together under one roof – but I was also glad that I got to see them, and more than that, talk to them obviously about other things, more mundane things. But all the same, I thought there was a chance to make amends. But then it all went back to being given the cold-shoulder.

Now, I wasn’t born under a rock, I was well aware that they were probably trying their best to be civil and polite, even if they haven’t forgiven me. But if you ask me, what’s the use of putting up such a facade when you plan to ignore clear advances of proper reconciliation? I would’ve rather that they simply said I wasn’t welcome there. They could’ve said it politely and I would’ve taken the hint, and then would have proper closure as well.

I guess that’s where all the annoyance I have is coming from: the fact that they neither accepted nor denied my intentions – they simply ignored them. Again, while they’re certainly allowed to do that. I guess, to me, it came across as cowardice – and that I had mistakenly assumed that we knew each other better than that. I just wish they had the balls to tell me outright. They of all people know that I have felt the same way with another friend of theirs. The difference is, I made it crystal clear to that person that I wasn’t interested in being friends with them anymore.

So my feelings from that situation has been a recurring thing every so often – it comes when I least expect it. I feel bad about it, to be sure. I miss them – I’m not ashamed to admit it.

But given that this is the nth time I’m feeling this way – and that I can no longer think any lack in my efforts to make amends. I guess the “guilt” has now crossed the threshold to some sort of solace and vindication in the next paragraphs I’m about to utter.

I’m giving up on you two (you know who you are)

You have no idea how much I cared (or maybe you did, and just didn’t care back – fair enough) for you (especially you). But I guess that’s life.

Now, I find solace in the fact that I did my part, probably even more than was required of me. And I was never remiss in inviting you to tell me what else I could do to fix things. That much is undeniable – neither you, nor even God Himself, can contest that fact.

Perhaps you feel how you treated me was just as cruel as how I “dealt” with you. If that’s the case, then find joy in the fact that it worked – I did feel like shit – and that I deserved it.

Unfortunately, I’m putting all that behind me. The vindication you have given me, has overtaken whatever guilt I had/have. Let me put it this way, if there was/is a God, I’d have no problems facing Him with a clear(er) conscience about our issue.

I refuse to let my life be haunted by an issue I’ve already proven I was more than willing to fix. I’m not wasting my time in people who clearly don’t feel the need to reconcile.

Fortunately for you, I was never a plastic kinda guy – so “being civil” is not an option in cases like these. So rejoice! You don’t have to worry about me bothering you EVER AGAIN. Not for show, not for anything.

I still care about you guys, but I just can’t be “polite” for appearance’s sake knowing that there’s something wrong – I’m just not built that way. And anyone who knows the “score” cannot deny that the ball has already been [rotting] in your court for so damn long.

A Lannister always pays his debts. I’ll take that saying as my own… and I’ll be damned if anyone would dare say that I haven’t paid mine.

Life’s too short to fixate on broken things – especially if they don’t want to be fixed.

When the issue first started, it was simple enough; people were up in arms because Cruz’s work was blasphemous, and therefore “offended” their religious sensibilities. It got much more complicated because any person who actually uses their brain would know that while having those sentiments is understandable, it’s simply not enough to overthrow one’s constitutional right to express them self.

So what did those “offended” people do to “re-legitimize” their concern? They tried arguing “objectively” (for lack of a better term) – specifically attacking the “quality” of the art. Their point was now basically this: the art was not art at all, or mediocre art at best; thus had no place in the CCP. As one comment would eloquently put it:

The CCP is the art gallery par excellence of this nation, and so we have come to expect that only established artists; those who have built their reputations over decades of public acclaim and acceptance by their fellow artists; deserve to be exhibited there.

And that is a perfectly reasonable claim to make. I agree with it 100%

But what people don’t see is that we’ve already been misdirected from the real issue.

Real Issue?

The real issue is that it garnered enough controversy to compel it to be taken down – and it begs the question of what forces were really at play. Again, going back to my earlier statements. Was it really because of the artworks “quality” – or simply because people were offended?

The answer to this question, IMHO, is very important because the implications of this event sets a precedent… wether it’s a bad or good thing remains to be seen. I honestly think it was really more of religious backlash instead of actually thinking the work was “inartistic.”

To explain my point, let me ask a question.

If that “offensive” collage had not contained religious imagery. Would people react to it this aggressively? More specifically, would it have compelled people/artists alike to lobby for the exhibit to be closed down?

I honestly don’t think so. I dare say that even if the work was mediocre, and even if the general population was in solidarity that it was not “art,” I think we’d simply be stating our disappointment in the CCP for displaying the work. But I don’t think we’d demand it be taken down. Which is as it should be!

Because while it’s very well possible for an “artist” to hide behind the guise of expression to justify posting “mediocre” works, It’s also equally possible for anyone to criticize a work in the guise of “artistic objectivity” when they’re really only after it just because it offends them.

Who Gets to decide what makes Art “Art”?

You? Me? Some other prolific artist? Art experts?

Art is a form of expression just like music is. You can try to put a “standard” all you want but at the end of the day, that standard means shit to anyone who is moved by the material.

The trouble I see with trying to put a “standard” on art is that it’s impossible because of art’s subjective nature. What makes art, art anyways? Furthermore what makes good art? Some people have tried quantifying that – and sure, let’s indulge them. Lets even throw in the supposed “standard” of the CCP being the zenith of Philippine art.

An Exercise in Futility

Talking about Cruz’s “blasphemous” work(s), let’s assume that it really wasn’t about simply being offended by it; that it was “mediocre” work. That, even if it was art, it wasn’t art that was up to CCP standards.

Let’s objectively break it down. What makes it mediocre? Because the art in question merely an ugly collage anyone could do? Because the “materials” used are simply taken from existing works (items, or articles, pictures?) Does that mean we should exclude any form of mixed media from the CCP henceforth? Because the implication is that everything should be original and never rehashed/re-used.

Or what about abstract works? What decides if they’re good? The complexity? Or because anyone could make a simple abstract drawing? Does that mean we should never allow any form of abstraction as well because we lack the means to quantifiably “judge” the quality of such works? Would any work that utilizes impressionism be considered of less quality than a realistic painting/sculpture?

To digress from the visual arts a bit, we’e performed in the CCP – but we’re no Madrigal Singers – does that mean that in order to maintain the CCP’s “standards” that people should’ve reprimanded the place for letting a bunch of hacks like us perform in it? Who gets to perform in it, then? Only the best of the best?

Going back, it seems that if we “standardize” such a thing, we’re essentially allowing only one type of art in the CCP – realism/naturalism because that’s pretty much the only discipline of the visual arts that can be quantifiably measured: by the technical accuracy. And now you see why I think it’s foolish to make an argument of deciding what makes art, “art” – the implications will be tremendous – and a lot of people will be called hypocrites if we go down that road.

Bottomline

Art has always been a subjective thing. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And yes, beauty can be seen in the most absurd and depraved subject matter. The question is if it appeals to us or not. Sadly, Cruz’s work does not appeal to us – but it doesn’t make it any less of an “artwork” in the strictest sense of the word.

If you don’t like a work of art, then simply don’t like it – there’s no need to do anything about it. I’m pretty sure that not every work in the Louvre appeals to everyone universally. Some works of art you’ll appreciate more than the others – and some you may even hate for whatever reason. And that’s fine. But for the works you don’t like (or hate) do you see yourself approaching the curator compelling him to take the works down? Of course not!

Why is that? And the answer is pretty obvious right? Because while it may be ugly, it probably doesn’t “offend” – and we then come full circle. The issue I see is not necessarily because of the quality of the work – but simply because it offended people – and sadly, no matter how “objectively” lousy the work is, being “offended” by it is not a good enough reason to trample on another person’s freedom to express themselves.¹

For me, at best, we should only show our disappointment the CCPs choice – and hope they would choose “better candidates” in the future. But I do not think anyone had the right to compel it to take any action after the fact – whether for or against, based on an ultimately subjective claim.

First, I appeased my sartorial urges by getting Wurkin Collar Stiffs. I also got myself a glorified bag-organizer in the form of the Nau Fluent Stash. I also indulged the photographer in me by getting a pimped out BlackRapid RS-7.² Even got a Spyderco Sharpmaker for maintaining my Waimea

But all those cannot compare to the awesomeness that is my new Keyport Slide

Read on for my mini-review/impressions

Keyport 101

The Keyport comes in a metal box that’s roughly the size/type of an Altoids container and comes with six colored nodes.

The “point” of the product is that you can put multiple “inserts” on it (normally keys). The inserts can be in the form of key blades, or accessories purchased from the Keyport store. (all will come at an extra cost) There are 3 slots on each side for a total of six blades that can be consolidated into one FOB

Due to the nature of keys³ ordering a Keyport is not necessarily a “one-click” deal.⁴. You’ll need to download a PDF template, print it out, put in your key(s) on the template and take TWO pictures of them from each side, properly labelled with any information that might be useful.

You will then upload the resulting image through Keyport’s upload facility. The reason for all this is because their internal team of locksmiths will study the keys you sent so they know what types of blank blade(s) to send along with your order. You will then take those keys to your trusted locksmith and have them cut the keys to match. I believe you can also send your keys to Keyport and have them do everything on their end. But that would be less secure for obvious reasons.

The most complicated bit would probably have to do with car keys. Most cars today have keys (or key FOBs) that have built-in transponder chips. This chip is proximity based, and the car’s engine will only start if the chip is present and a few centimeters close to the key. This is so only approved (i.e. official) keys work with your car.

That’s why in the picture above, you can see the car key coming with two inserts; the actual key blade, and another insert for the un-programmed RFID chip.⁵ In my case, one of my car’s Key-FOBs got damaged beyond use – basically the actual key part of it broke off (also damaging the plastic that holds it in place). I decided to take the chip out of the FOB and ordered a chip-blade without a transponder chip installed. Then manually glued the damaged FOB back to a usable state – to be used as a standalone unit for opening/locking the doors/trunk.

I’m guessing all transponder chips are roughly of a standard size – which was why the “unchipped” RFID blade’s hole allowed a perfect press-fit. I still opted to glue the chip onto the blade to be on the safe side⁶

Better Safe than Sorry

I ended up ordering every [practical] accessory that can be ordered – regardless if I was going to use them. So along with the 6 key blades, I also got the USB insert, a bottle opener insert, a LED flashlight insert, a retractable clip, a spare end-cap, a bunch of colored and uncolored nodes.

Since there are no local distributors of the Keyport, I figured just order everything in case I change my mind about my “configuration.” But for now, my “current six” are 4 keys (car, bike rack, house, and condominium), the LED flashlight, and of course one slot will be taken because of the car’s transponder chip :)

PROS

Practical

I can’t really say you’ll end up with a much smaller footprint – because that’s a relative thing. Some people don’t have car key FOBs (for opening and closing doors), some people’s keys may all be small, some people may use really small keychains. All these factors contribute to whether or not your “setup” is to be considered “impractical” or not.

Take for example the size comparison of the Keyport as against my old setup. While it is much more compact, it’s not too considerable a difference for any other person to justify dropping $130 for a “cosmetic upgrade”

Why is this considered a PRO then? Because while I can’t claim “size” I can, on the other hand, say that you have a more practical and comfortable setup. The benefit of the Keyport keys aren’t going to hurt you when they poke your leg through your pants pocket. Or they won’t make an annoying jangling sound when you decide to let them hang outside. “Fumbling” for the right key will be a thing of the past.

So even if you have a separate key-FOB for your car (which I do) which you think defeats the purpose of having a Keyport, it still doesn’t change the fact that your Keys are much more compact/organized/etc.

Beautiful

I’m a sucker for good design – and the Keyport doesn’t disappoint. It’s not a stretch to say it’s the coolest looking keychain you can own – not to mention the one of the more functional ones.

Good Build

While the Keyport has plastic components, it’s surprisingly sturdy. Made to withstand 20lbs of torque. Average torque applied to turning a key on a lock is about 1-3lbs. Being a byciclist who’s got carbon components – I’m very much aware of torque values.

The end cap is what opens up to change the inserts, that’s also where you connect your lanyard straps, etc. Given that it’s plastic, I was worried that all those factors would make it likely candidate for separating from the shell accidentally. But it seems the Keyport guys have thought of that as well. I discovered that if both inserts at opposite ends of the shell are in their retracted state, you cannot open the cap even if you tried manually. To open the Keyport, you’d have to “engage” those two inserts (or at least slide them away enough)

In short, the chances of it accidentally disengaging is virtually nil.

CONS

Price

While I think it’s worth the price of admission, I cannot deny that the Keyport’s expensive for what it is. The shell’s about $50, but it’s practically useless unless you get it with blades. The cheapest blades can be had fora about 5 bucks. So that’s an extra $30 at the very least. And all this is doesn’t include the cost of having your keys cut by your local locksmith. In my case, I paid another Php2k (50 dollars)⁷ Granted, I opted to go the best (hence expensive) locksmith in our part of town – after all, I only had one shot at cutting these blades; blades that aren’t available locally.

With all the inserts I got, everything comes out at approximately $250. But if I had stuck to the “basic configuration” (6 blades and the shell) that’s about PhP 5.5k (130 dollars).

I for one, am a person willing to pay a premium for stuff that’s functional and beautiful. I mean that’s precisely why I chose it over the common jangly, convoluted keychain setup everyone else puts up with. So the premium for me was definitely worth it. That and this used to cost $300 – so the price has gone down drastically since it first came out – which makes me feel better about my purchase :)

But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re spending at least $150 for a glorified keychain.

Buggy USB

The USB drive was a bit “picky”; it would work on some machines, but wouldn’t on others. It’s definitely not an issue of the actual ports, because I tried using different USB drives (or iPhones/iPods/iPads) on them right after and those worked flawlessly.

The Plastic Parts

While concerns of the end-cap disengaging accidentally is a non-issue, there still is the possibility of some external pressure being able to crack/break/shatter the plastic parts (i.e. a really bad fall, crushing force, etc.).

I hope Keyport would offer some sort of conversion kit that replaces the plastic bits with metal/aluminum versions of it. I’d gladly pay for that.

That’s about it, nothing more to say really save that I’m very happy with my Keyport. And as of this writing I’ve successfully influenced my old high school teacher to get one as well ;)

I apologize if I wasn’t able to discuss the actual “assembly” of the Keyport (i.e. how the nodes are installed to the inserts, and how the inserts are installed into the shell) But I’ve included a video review I found in YouTube below – this is the same review that helped me decide whether or not I really wanted a Keyport :)

But, truth be told, this post isn’t really about slamming Mr. Lao and what he did.¹ Instead, what I’m posting now are the salient points of a conversation I had with Cris about it; the real world implications this event had made painfully obvious. “Truths” people would have to accept so they don’t end up getting so bent out of shape when things like this happen.

That, and because I haven’t posted shit in such a goddamned long time that my blog’s beginning to rot. So let me brush aside the virtual cobwebs and try getting back into discussing stuff.

What’s it all about, Alfie?

For the uninitiated, the whole “Lao controversy” pretty much explains itself once you get to watch the video that started it all:

Surely, any internet user who’s worth their salt need not be told what went down right after that video went viral.

Justifications, smushtifications

The truth is, whether we admit it or not, there are two ways to handle this issue as a human being: one is to take the “moral high ground,” and feel sorry for the guy; the other is to laugh at his misfortune. Obviously, the latter seemed to come out as the clear winner.

What’s interesting is that once the people of the “first persuasion” started calling the second group out for their “insensitivity”, a lot of guilt-tripping ensued. Naturally the guilt-trip was effective – practically because it was true. We did laugh at someone else’s expense, we did blow everything out of proportion for maximum effect and entertainment. And, I dare say, at the end of the day, we did it simply because we could.

And so a lot of people started getting defensive about everything. They started pointing out excuses that “it wasn’t so much as what he did, but because he tried blaming everyone else but himself for it.” A legitimate excuse, I guess – but an excuse nonetheless.

For me, as soon as we just admit that to ourselves, the better-off everyone would be. But instead, we have follow-up entries trying to belabor the issue – trying to convince people else that anyone under the light of moral scrutiny was “morally justified” in what they did, regardless of what side they took. As a result, this issue just wouldn’t go away. Which is fine by me… since I was really hoping the whole “I should’ve been informed” phrase would become a meme. Admit it, wouldn’t it be great to be able to use that phrase in daily life to insert some humor into what would otherwise be a serious situation? A filipino “That’s what she said!” sorta thing.

My Take

Let me just make my reasons for “joining the bandwagon” clear – right here, right now. Truth be told, I think was one of the first people to (re)post it² – so I’m not sure if we had “joined” as much as we actually “started” it. But that’s irrelevant. I’m stating my reasons here so that people know that I’m not shying away from any “responsibility” (which honestly in context of this whole issue, really means zilch), nor am I trying to fool anyone into thinking I’m a better person than I really am.

My “stance” on this comes in in the form various posts/comments I had made in FB discussing the issue – but I’ll zero-in on three of the most pertinent ones that pretty much summarize the gist of what I’m trying to say.

Unless it stems from a medical condition, ALL forms of stupidity SHOULD be ridiculed to great lengths – so that said stupidity will never be repeated – if only for the fear of being ridiculed again ;)

Ako mas simpleng tao; Schadenfreude na kung Schadenfreude!

Nakakatawa ang nangyari sa kanya PERIOD. And unfortunately for him, this is how the internet responds to such things. So malas lang niya.

There will be a day when we might be in the spotlight ourselves, and when that day comes, it will come. And let’s just hope our hides are thick enough to handle it ;)

Cheers to LIFE!

Lastly, since when was it (life) ever about what people DESERVED?

Think Before You Click?

As I said, this post isn’t really about what I thought about the Lao issue – but its what I think about any issue that makes it way to the internet.

The “discussion with Cris” I had mentioned earlier was because a few hours before the Lao thing exploded – someone posted a link to a “Think Before you Click” campaign.

My response to that was:

Good luck with this. I’m for it in principle, but I think it’s a very naive view of the reality of the internet.
 It’s more prudent to prepare people FOR the internet than it is to protect them FROM it.

Particularly the part where one person said “you shouldn’t say in the internet what you wouldn’t say in real life” or something like that.

He fails to realize that’s PRECISELY why some people turn to the anonymity of the net.

Marketing antics aside, I’d like to think the spirit of the campaign means well… Only it’s just a waste of money/time/resources IMHO.

Welcome to the Interwebs, n00b!

Naturally, Cris’ take to my response to the Think Before you Click campaign was this:

I saw this commercial last night! True, you can’t really teach people how to censor stuff. But it’s quite surprising how a lot of professionals, especially media people, don’t seem to know proper social network ethics / guidelines.

To which I answered:

That’s because TECHNICALLY, the so called “ethics” shouldn’t be all-encompassing (i.e. applying EVERYWHERE). They should ONLY be limited to whatever end-user-terms and conditions A SPECIFIC SITE sets… no more, no less.

So in the case of say Facebook (and most social networking sites), people technically should only have to adhere to FB policy (i.e. no pornography, etc.) It doesn’t say anything about “being mean” – rightly so because of freedom of speech.

The reason the Internet’s a wonderful thing is because for better or worse, it’s AMORAL.

It shows you the world and the deepest thoughts of the people in it who would normally be too conformist to speak against any status quo. Naturally there will be extremists either way – but I’d rather a verbal war than a physical one.

So wether or not what a person says is wrong or right, if it’s hurtful or not, isn’t what the internet should be about. It should simply be about making the INFORMATION available – in ANY FORM, and in ANY (un)BIAS.

For me, seeing such unfiltered information allows people to TRULY make informed opinions… and ultimately decisions. It fosters critical thinking – because everything’s on the table.

Then, a few hours after, the Lao issue exploded… and the rest was history. ‘Twas almost serendipitous – as it totally proved my point beyond any reasonable doubt.

Expecting the best of people, noble as it is, is simply a waste of time. No matter what you do, for better or worse – you will not be able to tame the internet. At best, you can just appeal to its denizens, and hope they give you a break. Expecting them to fall in line, on the other hand, will more likely disappoint you than anything else.

Lastly, if you think “admonishing” them, or guilt-tripping them into sense works… I say you’re just as much of an idiot as the people you’re calling out.

Why it Mattered to Me

The reason why this “noble stance” frustrates me is because it’s exactly the mindset that keeps people naive.

This is the reason why we had that “School Open Parties” issue in the past.

Hoping for the best in people is exactly what got us an idiot president when we had multiple candidates who were more qualified to lead – see where that “hope” is getting us.

Thinking the best of ourselves (i.e. “Proud to be Pinoy”) makes us think there’s nothing inherently wrong with us as a nation to do anything about it. As a result, countries that are very similar to us end leaving us in the dust in the race for progress.

Thinking the best of ourselves makes the Religious folk think that the RH bill will not do any good, and simply focusing on education alone will.

Idealism has kept our minds hostage so tight, that instead of admitting what kind of a people we truly are, and trying to work with it³ to our advantage – instead of denying it and end up paying dearly for it.

I know thinking positive can do wonders – but it would do us well to be realistic about it. Know the limitations of positive thinking. Know when to acknowledge a fault and know if it is something that we can fix or not. Know the difference between “change” and a “miracle.”

The internet makes these sorts of things very clear to anyone who takes the time to pay attention. The internet is as real as it gets… but it has the advantage of only hurting psychologically (at least most of the time) It makes for good practice on how we can really deal with people in real life because we get a glimpse of what people are capable of thinking – it can give us a glimpse of how a person really, truly feels about life even if it’s the total opposite of what they make others believe they’re thinking.

If we’re stuck in being hell bent in being too idealistic, then I feel there’s no hope for us as a nation. How can we expect to solve the the much bigger fish to fry when we can’t even get over ourselves?

From what I’ve read, it has come to a point where jailbreaking your device is just too much of a hassle than compared to just buying the Apps and being done with it.

Cuz that’s really what it all boils down to: the practicality of acquiring software.

Since I started early in tech, I obviously have experienced the era where the “legitimacy of piracy” (as oxymoronic as that sounds) was in full-swing. The fact that an individual had to pay an exorbitant amount for software that normally could only be afforded by corporations, was a valid argument to take – regardless of the ethical/moral implications – and it will be a reality I will continue to recognize for as long as I live.

Now that I can afford software, I still would never disapprove of those who pirate. In fact, just because I can afford software today, it doesn’t mean that I feel that all software is worth paying for. That’s just the truth of the matter, as unfortunate as it seems.

It’s a bit different though when in the context of the iOS / mobile space – because the price points aren’t necessarily “unreasonable” anymore.

You still won’t be seeing me dropping hundreds of dollars on apps like Photoshop, etc. anytime soon. Precisely because they cost hundreds of dollars.

But how much do applications on the “iOS App store”¹ cost? 99 cents? $10 is considered [reasonably] expensive and anything more than $20 is considered a premium price.

Yet in reality, try converting that into pesos even using the highest exchange rate we’ve had (50 to a dollar). That’s roughly Php50, 500, and 1000+ But on the average, an app would cost roughly 3 dollars – which is about Php150

That’s still less what an average middle class person² spends in a single day. The fact is that on the average, you will spend more on a meal (or two) that will be devoured in less than 30 mins³ – than buying a similarly priced App that will last for a long as you have your account and device.

In addition to that, when you jailbreak, you’re faced with the whole practicality aspect of it.

Updates

The problem with jailbreaking is that you will never have the peace of mind of upgrading safely. Every single time an update is released you will have to do your part in due diligence to research as to how that update will impact your jailbreak.

While there are people who have no issues with putting themselves through that inconvenience, for the most part, if one does that often enough, and long enough – it ends up being much more of a hassle than anything else. Because you’re literally allowing yourself to be left behind on the updates simply because you’re waiting for the particular version of OS you want to be jailbreak-able. And that I imagine to be pretty frustrating when the newer version of the OS brings a lot of improvements.

Restoring

Apart from the update issue, the simple act of restoring to a backup is more convoluted than it should be. You have to find an app to backup your jailbroken settings and apps. And I have done that before – it doesn’t work as well as it ought to.

Unlocking

Although this concern is only applicable only to iPhone users who have locked units. But here the hassles of jailbreaking are made painfully obvious.

While finding a way to jailbreak a device is fairly easy, unlocking the thing is a whole different matter. Simply put, the two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I have a friend who bought her BF a locked iPhone4 (an impulse buy) about a year ago, and to this day, the only thing he’s able to do with it is use it like an iPod touch⁴ because the BootROM/radio firmware version included in the phone is yet unlockable.

This is not to say that it will never be unlocked, but that’s the hassle I’m talking about – the indefinite uncertainty of things.

So imagine all that hassle… just to install apps that would cost less than a single meal. Do the math, you know I’m right.

The funny thing about it is that even when I was jailbreaking, what I was after was the system enhancements I could do on the phone – more than the whole “free app” perk. But for all its worth, even that wasn’t enough to make me stick to jailbreaking.

The fact of the matter is, there will comes a point in one’s “usage” of a device where the novelty of being able to “tinker” will have lost its appeal, and that person would simply be looking for something that “just works.” I believe I’ve reached that point with my iOS devices. It’s just much more reliable and simple to do everything legitimately now – which to me, outweighs the benefits of jailbreaking.

Simply put, to me, when people jailbreak; it’s more likely because they’re just cheapskates – rather than having a real legitimate reason for doing so. Which is ok I guess – for as long as they don’t make any bones about it.

However, one thing I couldn’t get over was how he used the idiom “call a spade a spade.” I couldn’t help but want to say the same for our side. And for days, I tried to come up with a post articulating the frustration(s) I’m feeling – with no luck.

Then, I joined in on this other RH debate in Facebook, and was surprised to have posted a fairly concise thesis that summarized everything I wanted to say in a single [long] comment. And so I’m sharing that comment (edited and expanded for more cohesion) with you all.

This is reason why I’m for the RH bill. And this why I have such a short fuse when it comes to anti RH people’s arguments.

The gist is simple: the way anti-RH argue their points, it’s as if they’re ignorant to how serious poverty can be. They seem to treat it as a statistic to be studied, or used as ammo for a debate – and forget that there are actual LIVES at stake.

I’ll explain to you why I feel that way, and how disconcerting it feels. And if there are anti-RH people reading this, then by all means, I hope to hear you say things that would put my mind at ease – because your stance bothers me – as I’m sure ours bothers you. But I’m bothered not because I think you mean ill, but because I don’t think you realize the gravity of the issue. I’m bothered by the fact that I’m one of the most selfish guys you can meet, and yet even I can see how much good this bill can bring into their lives, and you are against it simply because it doesn’t resonate with your “values.”

Knowing the source of a [complicated] sickness does not negate the need for a physician to treat the immediate symptoms as best he/she can.

Yes, education is the ultimate solution. Everyone involved in this dialog¹ can afford to say that because we all have had that privilege. And yet, despite all of us being educated by the best institutions out there, our opinions still differ. But I digress.

You know what else is common with all of us here? That we are ultimately not the beneficiaries of this bill. Unlike most (if not all) of us, there are real poor people out there – people who are suffering right now – as I’m typing this. And while the cause of poverty is certainly not limited to the unsupportable children a poor family has, you gotta admit it does aggravate their situation at the very least.

So let me ask you: what financial concerns do you have right now? Me? I don’t have a kid. I’m supporting my dad, but that’s no biggie. Truth be told, I’m more concerned about completing the payment for that five thousand dollar credit card bill from touring the United States last month. A pain in the ass, no doubt, but nothing to really get bent out of shape about. How about you? Perhaps your issues are more trivial? More severe?

But you know what the really poor people out there are probably worried about? Is if they have enough fucking food on their table for today… and maybe even tomorrow if they’re lucky. And the more mouths they need to feed, or more mouths they need to put to school (that’s assuming they can even earn that much), then the little they earn thins out quite rapidly I would imagine.

If we wait for that “ultimate solution” to come around; wait for the day when Poor old Martha, (who by then has 10 kids) would finally find out that she in fact, didn’t have to get herself pregnant every goddamn time she had to “de-stress.”² – would “knowing” about her options, after God knows how many years it takes for the educational system to get properly sorted out, make her any more capable of getting out of that 10-mouth hole she already had dug herself into? No, because she’d be too poor by then to even afford this education you speak of. And even if it was given for free, she’d probably be too busy taking care of those 10 kids to focus on anything else.

Or what about people like Edith and Ray who did know about contraception, but were just too goddamn poor to even afford it? Yes fellow readers who can afford luxuries such as an internet connection (among other things), there are people who are that poor! Anti people may think I’m being sarcastic, which I would really like to be – but when I hear your arguments, it really makes me wonder if you have any fucking clue how poor poor people can really get?

And that’s what irks me about the anti side, I have no doubt they mean just as well as we do, but they fail to realize that:

We are the people that have a say in this; we are the people exposed in the media/internet/etc. that can influence how things play out. And the irony is, we are ultimately not the people this bill was intended for!

Even for the pro side, we can try selling the bill with all the buzzwords/phrases we can muster. Choice, freedom, Women, Rights, whatever the hell helps our cause along. But the reality is the RH bill’s existence (or non existence) will have no consequence to our middle (to upper) class lives whatsoever. The same goes with the anti side.

We will still have the education we want, we will still be informed enough to know that we have a choice. And while it may be morally debatable, we will still know it’s not illegal to use contraception. We will still have access to that information (as we always have/had) and will still be able to exercise our own judgment responsibly regardless of varying opinions.

And most importantly, we can afford to spend our money any which way we desire – whether it be on contraception (pro) or raising a kid (anti) or something else entirely… and we’d all still be fine. The same CANNOT be said for the poor!

And there’s the rub. Our decisions/influence(s) on this whole issue will not affect us any more than if we won or lost a bet with nothing but “pride” as the pot. But you know who it will affect (and quite drastically at that)? The poor.

As much as I hate to say it, but I truly think that the anti side is being grossly irresponsible when I hear their reasons for going against the bill. Andali sabihin ganito ganyan but what they don’t realize is that the bill is there to give people like Martha/Edith/Ray ways to recover from getting buried in financial hell if they still can³ and if they choose to do so.

Instead, what the anti people will end up doing is ensure people like them would never have that chance – until it’s too late.

Are you willing to let all those lives you damned to irrecoverable poverty rest on your consciences just so you can claim that you “defended” your specific brand of morality? If that’s what your “faith” is about, then I’m sorry, I don’t want any part of it.

For those anti people who do make sense (i.e. who use logic instead of “morality”); it’s a different question. You read what I had to say, and the reasons I feel we need this bill. You have your own ideas of solving the issue, such as focusing solely on education, etc. So my question is this: do you really want to take that risk of focusing solely on what you think is the root of this? Can you say with any amount of certainty that progress will be made in any timeframe? Because while you’re waiting for the educational system to get fixed, poor people are going to get poorer. Are you the doctor that will let a patient bleed to death simply because they felt that they knew what the cause of the bleeding was – and didn’t bother to put a band aid on the wound at the very least?

I will admit, the RH bill will NOT solve poverty. If any Pro RH person says that, I will be first to call bullshit on it. It’s not a magic bullet that will eradicate poverty, nor reverse the situation of those who choose to avail of its services. That would always be up to the people themselves. What it can and will do is give those poor people a chance to stop the bleeding – and in doing so it will give them a chance to get back on their feet – and then we would have a better chance of eradicating poverty.

I couldn’t help but think about that fact after the “May 21st Apocalypse” transpired. Cris had mentioned how many people literally dropped everything they were doing to prepare for the end of the world. And how strange it must feel for them to suddenly find out everything they “believed” in was, in fact, not true.

I couldn’t help but think what if there was no God? How would all the priests, who dedicated most of their lives to their respective orders feel? Or what about all those people who believed you should live your life for the sole purpose of getting close(r) to God – who, in my hypothetical scenario, didn’t exist in the first place. How many years of their lives would they have wasted if that were the case. That would be such a bummer!

Then I think about how everyone mocked those who believed in the May 21st apocalypse – because I’m sure most of us [who thought they were nuts] are of our own respective religious denominations as well. And I couldn’t help but ask “what exactly makes our faith better than theirs?” What makes the belief in an non-existent apocalypse any more fantastical as whatever “truths” our particular brand of faith has?

We thought what they believed in was ludicrous because of what – Science? And if it was Science? Couldn’t the atheists say the same of us? Is it because we believe we are more “balanced” by deciding when science should take precedence in some cases or dogma in others?¹

And the answer I keep arriving at is: we aren’t any different from them – or anyone else. We’re just as unsure of whatever we claim as they were… and all we can really hope for is that whatever it is we’re banking on, is the right one.²

This post is not really meant to put a point across to anyone, I just thought it was interesting thought to have.

The thing is, a while back, I bought this iOS app called Screens – and one of the awesome things it did was provide IP resolution anywhere without having to pay for a dynamic IP service.³ For those who don’t get the implications, it means I’ll be able to remotely connect to my PC REGARDLESS if it changes its IP – because the Screens gateway service will do the IP resolving for you.

Sufficed to say, I was never able to utilize this awesome feature because my said topology… until a few days ago.

As I said, going in a double-NAT will give you headaches if you try to get a working DMZ/Port forwarding setup. So you have no choice but to set all but one of your gateways as bridges. Essentially disabling any advanced features it may have so all gateway controls are set at the main router.

In this case, (and because of my dilemma with PLDT DSL) I had to sacrifice the wonderful UI of my AirPort Extreme and simply slave it to the ZyXel modem – which isn’t the most user-friendly modem/router one could use. So I’ve documented the settings I used just so I wouldn’t have to redo the wheel should I need to start from scratch.

Step 1: Set AirPort Extreme to bridge mode.

As you can see from the picture, once you do this, you practically lose any advanced settings/features except those that are proprietary to the AE (i.e. wireless signal,⁴ print server, disk sharing via USB, yadda yadda), and any gateway related setting will have to be managed through the main router. Quite a price to pay, but I guess its worth it – it’s not like you have to constantly change your network settings anyways.

Step 2: Configure the Modem/Router

One benefit of setting the AE to bridge though, is that it makes it much easier to access the interface of the router without having to make sure the IPs aren’t conflicting (as they could be on a double-NAT), or having to bypass the AE and directly connect to the router when setting up. You type in 192.168.1.1 and you know it’ll never resolve to the AE.

So here you just setup the internet connection like you would normally via the AE or any other router (via PPPoE in my case) and you should at the very least have an active internet connection immediately working across your machines.

Step 3: Setup your DHCP parameters

I wouldn’t say this is “integral” since this usually is done automatically, and default values work. But if you’re planning to do port forwarding, it’s good to know the IP pool you’re working with. So what you see in the picture basically just says that I want ANY machine connecting to my network to be assign an IP address starting from <blurred value> and would like a maximum of 20 clients allowed. (the latter being totally arbitrary).

In case you’re wondering what DNS settings those are – they’re Google’s public DNS server… much like openDNS, but the benefit of using Google’s is that you usually get faster responses [obviously] from any Google service (i.e. YouTube, etc.)

Step 4: Make sure you got NAT working

NAT (Network Address Translation) is what makes all this possible, it basically is a service that makes it possible for a single WAN IP usable by multiple LAN computers with their own specific LAN IPs (which we partly set up at step 3)

I’m really not an expert on it so I’ll just leave it at “make sure this is ticked off” and proceed to the next step ;)

Step 5: Nail-down Some IPs to Specific Machines

This is where you reap the benefits of steps 3 and 4. You basically know your working IP pool, you now have the option of just having it automatically assign IPs. But we don’t want that, we need to nail some machines to specific IPs to avoid second-guessing their IPs from a WAN.

While this is techinally an optional step since by logic, it still should work given how the Screens service operates, it’s just good practice to have stuff organized.

Step 6: Enable UPnP

The last thing you have to do is turn on Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). I know, I know, UPnP is evil, and if this were a Windows setup, I’d probably wouldn’t go through with it.

I’m not saying that there aren’t UPnP exploits on a Mac, but I can say that they aren’t as common as they are on the PC – just like viruses are. Plus most of the issues surrounding UPnP is usually because of an irresponsible use of the protocol by applications on the LAN. And that would vary depending on the applications you choose to use… and again, this is mostly a problem in a Windows environment because Windows programmers tend to be much more irresponsible with accessing system stuff than OSX developers are – and yes, I believe this has a lot to do with habits developed because of the actual platform they’re programming in (Windows as an OS has always been too “trusting” – and lets leave it at that.)

You can quickly read more about the implications of UPnP here and decide for yourself. As far as I’m concerned, everything seems to be in order when using UPnP on OSX.

What do you get when you visit an audiologist, have impressions of your ear canal(s) made, send those impressions to a headphone manufacturer, wait about two weeks, and end up getting a headphone custom-fit to your ears? You experience auditory awesomeness, that’s what!

I’ve somewhat officially run the whole gamut of in-ear monitor price ranges. From $100 FutureSonic EM3s, then the $300 Etymotic Research ER-4Ps, then up to the $500 M-Audio IE40s¹, and now the top-tier custom monitors with my new Ultimate Ears IERMs² which hit the thousand dollar price-range.

As such, I guess I’m in a position to be able to give a reliable review/comparison of the difference in audio quality as you jump from one price-range to the other… as I still own every single one of those headphones mentioned above.

Disclaimer

Since I don’t own “competitors” products at similar price ranges (e.g. Shure SE530s, which are in direct competition with the IE40s), I won’t bother getting into the debate of which brand/model is better at a given price-range.

Instead, this post is meant to be an analysis of the improvements across price-ranges. Simply put, think of this as a “what more do you get when you invest more in your headphones” sort of thing.

First thing’s first

First question posed by people who actually know about custom in-ear monitors is why I didn’t go JH Audio³ or Westone.

Let’s just say I did my research and while each brand had its strengths, UE, specifically with their IERM catered to my personal need/preference in audio. All other brands, while claiming “frequency neutrality” are honest enough to admit that their monitors will still invariably have unique sonic characteristics (“color,” as it were).

Having said that, I found that UE’s collaboration with Capitol Records to develop the most “neutral” reference-grade monitors very appealing. Marketing or not, I doubt a well respected studio like Capitol would allow its name to be used if these headphones didn’t deliver the same sonic signature you would get as you recorded/mixed/mastered with their own hardware.

But like I said earlier, this is not about brand comparison, so I’ll stop at that.

What do you pay for

… as you cross price-ranges, that is. I guess in a nutshell, you pay for “resolution.”

One thing that I immediately noticed when trying the IERMs is that even more elements “readily jump out of the mix” – and I’m going to have to qualify that statement since it can be pretty ambiguious/subjective. The reason for such a statement is because I’d really like to say that these babies made me hear things I’ve never heard before… which felt that way when I first tried it (and usually every time I try “better” headphones) – especially since I didn’t have the other units to do an A/B comparison with (as I was still in the US then).

It’s usually the little details; like the sound generated by the palm rubbing against the neck of the guitar while doing a vibrato on an acoustic guitar.

But now that I’m home, and have done the A/B, I confirm that these little nuances are also present on even the EM3s, the difference was that I had to listen for them – as against clearly, unmistakably (and unavoidably) hearing them with the IERMs.

So the answer I’ve come up with is that [more] expensive headphones make you respect/appreciate the work put into the mix more and more. Those little details, no matter how faint they may sound, show how much detail can packed in a recording. And as you get better headphones, the less effort it takes to hear those things – to the point that you’ll think you heard stuff you’ve never heard before. But the more correct assessment would be that you’ll hear stuff you’ve never noticed before. And in that sense, the marketing lingo is in fact correct: good headphones can indeed make you “re-discover” the music.

The question that remains is if that enhanced accuracy/resolution is worth the added cost. Do you really need $1,000 headphones when I just admitted that even a $100 can do the same (although in a much inferior manner). The answer to that will always be different from person to person. Just like asking a golfer what is there to be gained when you buy an astronomically priced golf-club.

Personal impressions

Now that I’m done with the “facts,” I’ll just shoot the breeze of what I noticed while A/Bing the 4 different models. Here’s a list of facts I got to confirm over time regarding the respective models.

1. EM3s are indeed, [too] bass-heavy⁴ and have a very early roll-off on the high frequencies.
2. ER-4Ps actually have the ideal mids and highs, it’s no wonder why these became the standard to compare mid/high freq resolution performance with.
3. IE40s/Triple-Fis are pretty well balanced, but it has a bit of a bass/treble boost, and a slight dip on the mid.

The IE40 was still the best despite the EQ curve it had because I’d rather have a slight dip on the mid than severely lacking bass. But I will not deny that the ER-4Ps still had the best sounding high/mid performance I came across.

The IERMs sound like a perfected version of the IE-40 in the tonal sense. They backed off a bit on the bass/treble (more on the bass) and flattened the mid. So the result is like an ER-4P with balanced bass – with much more resolution.

So I’ll be hard pressed not to say that the IERM undoubtedly had one of, if not the most flat frequency curve I’ve ever heard to date. And that’s exactly what I was going after.

And the sound-isolation on the IERM’s phenomenal, as expected from any custom fit headphones. Once I put them on, everything else just disappears. In fact, have to make a disclaimer to the people around me that if they want to ask me something, they have to physically nudge me – else I wouldn’t hear them.

This probably adds to the clarity of the IERM’s apart from having top of the line components, an excellent seal will also do wonders in audio clarity since there’s no other outside “sound” muddling the sound coming into your ears.

Conclusion

Once again, these units sound so good that I cannot imagine going back to anything less⁵ … the next time I ever consider getting a replacement, I’ll probably be looking at the $1,000+ price-range here on out.

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
- Epicurus

I know this sentiment has been addressed in one form or another in a lot of religious debates, and I admit it is also most probably a product of a limited world view¹ – which we’re all guilty of. But nonetheless it still remains just as frustrating – especially when faced with situations that seem to drive the point home. In this case we have the Japanese crisis.

This post isn’t really intended to be a slam on God,² but just for me to vent about my annoyance on how people “pray” for deliverance when faced with such travesty. I don’t have anything against praying in general, but I cannot help but notice the irony in such a “request” given the circumstance.

This is what I said in a post in Facebook:

I’m not saying God is bad or anything, but it’s only reasonable that if He let³ something like this happen, there’s really no point in asking Him to fix it.

Through the Eyes of Man

Not being an atheist, I obviously am letting slide the huge fact that His existence cannot be proven.⁴ But apart from that, there’s really only one real issue I have with how religions describe God: that He is both omnipotent and omnibenevolent.

Given historical results of natural disasters… to me, if we were to accept that there in fact was a higher being… such a being could possibly be one of of those adjectives… but not both. And that’s where Epicurus’ strikes home for me; while this quote is easily used by atheists… what it really says is what kind of a god this higher being may be, not necessarily its existence.

Notice that if we assume only one of the adjectives to be true about him, it explains a whole lot. And perhaps even the Atheists could get behind such a God.

Omnibenevolent

Here are the implications of Him being omnibenevolent:

Normally, no “good” person would want any ill to come over his children, so that raises a red flag right there. Oh, but of course there’s that whole thing about “free will” so that squarely puts the blame on man… which is a fair excuse, I guess.

But what about natural disasters, or “evil” that man clearly didn’t nor couldn’t prompt? “Ontic” evil, if you will. These are events totally beyond our power and “free will.” Regardless of what causes them, such events can only be “handled” by something higher than us – so it’s perfectly reasonable to put responsibility (and possibly even accountability) on such a being. Because if God were omnibenevolent… and even if he didn’t intend for it to happen, He can’t just say “hey, I didn’t cause that, so it’s not my problem to prevent it” – that would just be a dick thing to say. The church even brought up the whole concept of the “sin of omission” – forgetting that by that very logic; God not doing anything to prevent such suffering is practically the same damn thing.

Even if we supposed that, say, Gaia (as in mother earth) was a sentient entity⁵ … and that God respected her wishes of putting us through natural disasters. Then we should be trying to get on her good graces… not God’s. We should be worshiping the earth like the pagans – to keep us safe. The reason we pray to God is because we’ve been taught that, as a personal God, he directly involves himself with our lives. Such “interventions” might be in many forms, but they still would entail direct involvement. If God “defers” responsibility to another entity out of respect, then it just makes more sense to appeal to that entity instead of God if you want something concrete to be done, right?

So anyway you slice it. If there is a higher being, something like a natural disaster, is the responsibility of such a being simply because there’s no one else above us that could prevent it – It’s called escalation of responsibility. And since “free will” has nothing to do with it, then God really has no reason to let people suffer like that if he had the power to make a difference.

The only way “free will” could be incorporated to events such as these is if one were to argue it being the choice of people to live in such a dangerous place. But then you’d essentially be suggesting that they deserve what they got – and I don’t think any decent human is willing to make that claim – what more an omnibenevolent being.

Since he has to be omnibenevolent – the only option you’re left with is that he simply has no control over it even if he had a choice. And as such, he cannot be omnipotent.

Omnipotent

The opposite would be more disconcerting, but who knows right? That he does have the power, and simply chooses to let disasters happen – even if he knows that the whole human race, with its free will and all, will unanimously choose against such a calamity.

But I don’t necessarily see this as a “bad” thing – perhaps our concepts of “good/evil” are totally irrelevant with respect to Him.

Either way, he still clearly would not be omnibenevolent – simply because he’s neither good nor bad by our definition. So I’d say the second line of the Epicurus quote is misleading. “Able but not willing” doesn’t necessarily make him malevolent… but neither does it make him omnibenevolent.

Back to Praying

Having said all of that, I see no point in praying for the intercession of a being that already let a catastrophe happen to begin with. It’s like saying, “could you please bring me to the hospital” – to someone who cut your arm off. And yes, I know the example is a bit faulty because it assumes God intended to do it… but if he is truly both omni-potent/benevolent (by our standards), then I see no reason why he shouldn’t intervene to an obvious “evil.”

As a “Test”

I already blogged about my distaste for these types of “tests” – particularly the test of Abraham. But to save you from reading another long-assed blog post, here’s the Abraham bit I had on it:

The story of Abraham never sat well with me. In fact, lemme just admit that I think God was a major dick in that story. For one, as someone who’s supposed to be omni-benevolent, (that’s ALL LOVING in case you missed it) can you really justify a “test” as cruel as that? I don’t give a flying fuck if God never intended to let him continue… to me, putting that kind of emotional anguish on a person is inexcusable.

Calamities are even worse – because there are actual deaths.

Plus the fact that if it were a test, God obviously favored one set of people (the survivors) over the other. If you were a survivor, does it mean others deserved to die and not you? Was it because they didn’t try hard enough and you did? Was this supposed to be a lesson so the survivors appreciated life more?

Or what if we try to look at it as a test to see how the rest of the world reacts… that would have some sort of positive spin on it: that the human race showed its worth by helping each other during a time of dire need.

That doesn’t sit well with me either; that’s essentially admitting that one life is more important than another. And while I can understand the efficiency of such a “test” (killing-off some for the good of the greater majority), it kinda renders Luke 12:7 meaningless. How can anyone claim that each person is so precious that every hair on their head has been counted – when you could prioritize one life over the other just like that? Had those who died already lived a full life – that God deemed it’d be more practical to just bring them home to Heaven in one feel swoop? And if that were the case, certainly there must be betters way to do it – ways that don’t involve bringing a whole nation of arguably the most honorable people in the world down to its knees.

Divine Plan

Another cop-out the church would loves to reason with is that everything’s part of a divine plan. The whole “God’s will” bit. But to me, that changes nothing in the point I’m trying to make.

If a natural disaster occurs, then it’s reasonable to say that God willed it. Or at the very least condoned it… but I’ve already discussed that exhaustively in the previous paragraphs. What I wan’t to focus on is how meaningless praying for something seems to be. Take note, I’m not talking about praying in general; You can pray to “talk” to God all you want. But if you are praying because you’re asking for something, I personally think it’s pointless precisely because of the “divine plan.”

I love hearing comedians’ take on Religion – they have an [unfair] advantage of being able to say things that would otherwise be totally offensive, but aren’t because of comedic license. But here’s the thing which zealots should remember: Just because they say it as a joke… it doesn’t mean it isn’t well thought out and more importantly valid. As an example, in politics, the Daily Show is much more transparent a news organization than any major news network you can possibly think of – and its for similar reasons: they aren’t bound by the “politics” just as comedians aren’t bound by dogma. To rephrase Ricky Gervais’ opinion on the matter.

Since there is nothing to know about god, a comedian knows as much about god as any one else. A comedian can make people laugh about belief or lack of it. A good comedian can make people laugh AND think about belief or lack of it.

The irony is that if we just talked rationally when it came to religion, any believer’s arguments would sound more comedic than a comedian’s arguments. While there are varying degrees of exaggerations a comedian uses to improve the potency of his material… ultimately, there’s nothing unreasonable with how comedians dissect/analyze issues… this is not the case [most of the time] for believers.

Anyways, going back to the subject of praying, one of the greatest comedians, George Carlin, had summed up the point of praying vis a vis the divine plan in one of his skits.

Long time ago, God made a Divine Plan. Gave it a lot of thought, decided it was a good plan, put it into practice. And for billions and billions of years, the Divine Plan has been doing just fine. Now, you come along, and pray for something. Well suppose the thing you want isn’t in God’s Divine Plan? What do you want Him to do? Change His plan? Just for you? Doesn’t it seem a little arrogant? It’s a Divine Plan. What’s the use of being God if every run-down shmuck with a two-dollar prayerbook can come along and fuck up Your plan?

And here’s something else, another problem you might have: Suppose your prayers aren’t answered. What do you say? “Well, it’s God’s will.” “Thy Will Be Done.” Fine, but if it’s God’s will, and He’s going to do what He wants to anyway, why the fuck bother praying in the first place? Seems like a big waste of time to me! Couldn’t you just skip the praying part and go right to His Will?

Summary

So take that all in, and tell me why it’s “prudent” to pray for His help in the wake of something like the Japan earthquake/tsunami. Is it because He might’ve changed his “will” and thought “hmmm, that wasn’t such a good idea after all – maybe I should help fix it”? While possible for humans, it is impossible for a being that’s supposed to be all-knowing.

God may have his reasons for doing it or letting it happen, and I will not hold it against Him. If it happened, it happened. He knew it was going to happen, He knew what people thought and would think about it… and He let still it happen – simple as that. And that makes it a part of His “will” – and praying to prevent it would’ve been futile… the same goes for praying for him to fix it after the fact.

Sometimes, maybe it’s really up to us, and us alone. We should do what we can do to help, because we care – not because God “willed” it – certainly not because the power of prayer pushed us to do it.

I just wish that the concept of prayer doesn’t take credit for the hardwork/help people give of their own volition. That has always been a pet peeve of mine: how Religion loves hijacking anything good, yet finds every reason to dissociate itself from anything evil. That’s just a ridiculous double standard to have.