Nothing beats a view from a tropical beach with a cold drink in your hand during summer. I mentioned ‘tropical’ to refer to any part of the world where the weather seems to be mostly humid and partly rainy, most of the year.
There’s always a certain charm to these places that defy explanation — no matter how hard luck the countries these places are mostly situated in. What can be simpler than a view of the ocean, some tropical flora and the occasional breeze, where you ponder upon your state of existence?
Ah, there are more pressing matters than these reflections. There are bills to pay, phone calls to make and e-mails to answer. But, then again, where are all of these ‘important things’ going to lead me to when my life is over?
Had we all fallen to the trap of the centrifugal effect in the circle of life? Sucking us in to conform to the norms of man-made society?
Our existence, maybe, is like the ocean that ebbs and flow but, sooner or later, momentarily assumes the form of where the shift of the Earth leads it to. Maybe.
note: Ported from my original, June 15, 2004 entry at Google’s Blogger
– There are so much stupid people than rational ones.
– There are so much greedy people than people who try to live within their means.
– There are so many people who really believe that their religion is better than others.
– There are so many people who would rather receive than give.
– There are more lazy people than hard-working ones.
– There are more ‘talkers’ than ‘doers.’
Moreover, most people are:
– Proud of their stupidity.
– Proud of their greed.
– Proud of their arrogance
– Proud of their religion.
– Proud of their laziness.
And, the saddest part of all:
– These kind of people live the longest in the world!
The size of the package was reduced 50 percent with the introduction of the second generation. “Apple and the Environment”. Apple.com . Apple Inc. . . Retrieved October 22, 2006 . The fourth and fifth generation packaging mimics this packaging, while the third generation used a larger but otherwise similar version of it. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I recently got a week-old iPod nano for my wife that has some songs on it – 165 songs to be exact. All of the songs are in the MP3 format. Not a single tune was in the MP4 format – a proprietary format Apple created that produced better fidelity during the compression process.
Since the iPod nano was sold to me in good faith, I was, now, the rightful owner of the device as well as all the contents of it, right? Just like when you bought a house and the seller agreed to give to you all the furnitures and fixtures inside, you are the rightful owner of everything inside the house, correct?
Not so in the complicated world of licensing, music rights, the RIAA, music delivery formats, interfaces and the ever-changing realm of the computer industry.
Apple and iTunes brought a bit of peace of mind to music executives by paying them their dues for every song bought via the extremely popular iTunes Music Store. Apple admits they don’t make any money from the iTMS but from the device that feeds off it — the fad that became a must device for music lovers: the iPod.
The iPod, however, ‘syncs’ exclusively to the first computer you install iTunes and put songs on. If you want to sync it to a different computer, it will tell you that “it will delete all the songs on your iPod and put the songs from the new computer to your iPod.” Or, basically, you will have to reformat your iPod so that the ‘new’ computer with a different song compilation that you want transferred to your iPod, can do it without violating any music industry regulations.
But, what if all the songs on the iPod are all mine anyways? I bought all the CDs, rip them and just transferred them to my iPod (which I also bought)? All I want is just to move them all across my three (3) computers in the house? Can’t I just transfer those songs on the new iPod to any of my existing PCs with iTunes without reformatting the iPod?
Here’s where the software iLinkPod really shines. It creates a folder called ‘iLinkPod’ on both the Mac and the iPod once you installed the software and hit the ‘Link’ button. You can then simply copy all the music files in those folders (F00, F001, F002 etc) – inside the iLinkPod folder to your hard drive. That done, yes, you can now reformat your iPod to sync with the computer of your choosing and just add the songs later on to your music compilation!
iLinkPod not only empowers the rightful owners of music but also serves as a very useful tool in case your PC crashes…and would like to re-create your music compilation on that just-fixed-up Mac or PC!
– – – notes:
You can download this very useful software (Mac version only) at:
Macs have that irresistible charm when they come out with new features. I must admit that I don’t get the same feeling when I buy my new accessories or upgrades for my PC. It might be due to the fact that it’s both new software and hardware you get when you buy a new Mac.
It was only a few months after Apple announced that they’ll be saying goodbye to Motorola’s Power PC processor (will that make those G5 iMacs collectibles?), when they officially released in Jan 10, 2006 (but will be available in Apple Stores in the U.S. starting Jan 17, 2006), the iMac with Intel’s Core Duo processor.
A 20″ iMac Intel Core Duo. (Photo credit: Wikipedi
Except for this new CPU (at either 1.83 or 2.0 GHz) and a slew of new software, the 2006 Intel-powered iMacs differ only from the revamped G5 iMac (with the remote control) that Apple released in mid-2005, by taking advantage of what the new processor can offer: faster bus speed, bigger L2 cache, and faster memory/graphics bus speeds. Speed, speed and more speed was the end result of the shift to Intel processors. And, maybe, cool-up things a bit inside these marvelous machines.
Opening the new iMac with Intel Core Duo (as well as the iMac G5 w/ built-in iSight) is not as easy anymore unlike the original versions with the G5 chips. Apple had replaced the screws on the bottom grill with Torx (T8) ones. And, where usually the back cover slips easily away from the other half of the case to reveal the guts, this is no longer the situation today. The entire components including the LCD are still attached to the plastic back cover after removing all the screws.
Everything seems to have remained the same like the built-in iSight camera, the MightyMouse, the Apple Remote, built-in Bluetooth/AirPort, screen sizes and resolutions, the ports – with the exception of a new mini-DVI video connector– as well as the physical dimensions of the unit and yes, even the prices.
But perhaps, it’s the new software included what makes any true-blue Mac lovers drool about these new Intel-powered iMacs. It’s no secret that Microsoft just simply tweaks any new Apple software innovation and incorporates them in their new Windows version releases. What up-coming features Windows Vista will offer — ho-hum, Mac users had probably saw them already in the Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) released way back in 2002.
The new Intel-based iMacs will run Mac OS X Tiger version 10.4.4 (the port of the latest OS X Tiger version 10.4.3 on the G5 iMac to accommodate the Intel processor), and by bundling iLife 2006, Apple is hoping to lure more technophiles to Apple’s ecosystem by giving away these new software currently being offered only as ‘add-ons’ by the PC makers ‘for the rest of them.’ Features like podcasting & iChat interview recording (in GarageBand 3.0), ‘photo-casting’ (in iPhoto 6), Magic iDVD (in iDVD 6) and the new app on the block – iWeb.
iWeb is Apple’s answer to the podcasting and blogging fad – – fads that all big content providers like Google and Yahoo are all hoping to become part of the mainstream Internet. Much the same way when having an iPod was only a fad. It had become so successful that it’s now a huge slice of the PC industry pie.
Also, be very careful not to confuse the hole between these screws as yet another screw – – it’s the ambient-light sensor. This hole is the next one after the leftmost screw, when your iMac is laying face down (and the word ‘iMac’ at the back cover, is facing you). Poking a screwdriver/Torx driver in it may crack the delicate protective cover.
FrontRow still needs an either a hardware or software upgrade to make it work seamlessly with the remote control. There were just too many occasions when you have to push the controls on the remote several times to switch modes – specially from iTunes to iPhoto. I noted a bug when you’re watching a DVD with a “Resume” sub-menu — clicking on the Play button on the remote won’t resume the movie.
By releasing two (2) new hardware – the Intel-powered iMac & a similarly Intel-powered, MacBook – very early in the year, they will surely make new PC consumers (and folks who will upgrade their outdated computers) take a closer look on these new Apple lineup before they finally decide on their purchases.
And, by giving more and more away on what usually were separate products, Apple hopes that it will reap the rewards later on – – all from creating new innovations that consumers can’t resist.
—notes:
See related 2004 blog on the original G5 iMac released the same year here
Another year had come and gone and another one had come along. Whoever invented the concept of time (a Phoenician??) must really be a very calculating person since everything in the universe – according to Einstein – is relative.
Okay, what’s new for 2006 as far as this very small portion of the Internet called Kupitero’s Keep is concerned?
Work had so much preoccupied much of my time and that had prevented me from updating the site as frequently as before when I had been doing it as a hobby even during the pre-browser years – (when this was still an electronic bulletin board service – EBBS) – in carefree Manila back in 1988.
The New Year weekend break enabled this author to update the integrated (thanks to Six Apart for their Movable Type software!) blog site, to the latest version, MT 3.2. The changes may not be so obvious to the web viewers but the new features of MT 3.2 made updating the blog site much easier and faster.
Some streamlining were also done on the site’s graphics to make them load faster. Also, an exclusive listener’s nook (streaming music in MP3 format) is currently in the works. It is my way of sharing (no, downloads, please) some of my personal favorites.
I wish 2006 will give me more than enough time to improve the site as well as add more features as new technology evolves.
The car danced to the rhythm of the almost-howling winds that gust on the stretch of road that connects Interstate 80 with I-680 from Fairfield in the north going southwards to Benicia. Another work day had passed and I was on the road once again for the return trip back home to Fremont — 60 miles away from where I work on that part of the Bay Area.
Fairfield had come a long way since it had been incorporated as a city in 1903. Most of the city’s groundwork was laid-out by Capt. Robert H. Waterman, who, together with A.A. Ritchie, purchased the area’s original grant for $50,000 in 1850.
(1) Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, (2) Golden Gate Bridge, (3) San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, (4) San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, (5) Dumbarton Bridge, (6) Carquinez Bridge, (7) Benicia-Martinez Bridge (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The new city received a major economic boost in 1942 with the decision of the U.S. Air Force to build the Travis Air Force Base on a huge tract of land surrounded by hills, east of the area. This base was put into good use during the Vietnam War and, presently, still serves as a major departure point for military units based abroad –and maintains its position as the number one employer for most of the city’s population.
Most of the towns situated in the city are nestled among the numerous slopes that dot almost the entire area. Hence, when the winds blowing from the San Francisco Bay arrive into area, these hills serve as conduits for the rushing airflow and may give reason as to why it’s a ‘windy city.’
The entire area is also a favorite stopover of motorists because of its proximity to some of best recreational spots in the entire state.
Napa -with its wineries – and Sonoma -with its famous hot springs & spas – lie southwest, Reno and Lake Tahoe, as well as the state capital of Sacramento, are all within one to two-hour drive away to the north.
And yes, the famous city of San Francisco is just an inviting 45 minutes drive south of Fairfield.
Today, the city is on the verge of another housing boom as more and more denizens of the East Bay –with its ridiculous real estate market prices – opt for the area’s spacious, natural surroundings and moderate weather.
When you’re out for your next trip to Lake Tahoe, San Jose or even just longing to get a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge, make sure that you check out some of the natural sights of Fairfield! It’s so easy to know when you’ve arrived in this city – – – the winds will surely let you know!
— Panoramic view of picture above (2.04MB – Apple QuickTime required)
With a voice that seems to caress my heart of hearts A yearning for the joyful years I had in my youth The magical days that appear to last forever when I First learned how to fall in love
Times when I was prayerful and remembered the bad Things that had been painful memories of the past All seem to disappear when the sound of your gentle voice Soars in the air like a gentle salve
Boyhood memories from the shores of Bahia Gave the world some of its beautiful Tropicalia Singing in one of the harmonious languages known The lyrics of your songs mystifies one’s existence
Lay me down to sleep or even see me to my grave As I close my weary eyes with happiness in my heart Gentle melodies by Santo Amaro’s gift to humankind Caetano Veloso, please sing for me unto the afterlife
What differentiates man from animals is the ability to look forward to tomorrow and to look beyond the externals. While man can see beauty in a flower and think of either God or a loved person and even of love itself, a beast will stop short at seeing the flower as something good to eat or not.
What makes man worthy of the same name is his capacity to see beyond the here and now and perceive meanings.
Man’s Search for Meaning (Photo credit: marklarson)
In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl describes his experiences at the Nazi concentration camp where he was detained during World War II. In the concentration camp the prisoners were stripped of everything that made them experience personal worth: name, respect, profession, family, knowledge, wealth, etc.
He noted that some of the prisoners gave up surviving when everything that made them feel that were someone was taken away.
Others got crazy and behaved even worse than beast, capable of killing another man for a loaf of stale bread or a rotting potato. And, finally, he noted that those who had something or someone considered more precious than their own lives never lost their will to live even as they were not afraid to either suffer or die.
From this experience, he believes that man’s life and even just his survival is determined by what meanings he perceives and chooses to live and die for.
We can push the statement further by saying that a person is worth what he chooses to live and die for. Heroes and saints, as well as villains and criminals, are a proof of this statement. If heroes and saints are great, it is because they have chosen to live and die for for causes and meanings greater than themselves or things lower than themselves to live and die, like money or power.
How a man discovers what meaning to give his life is a story of both the environment he lives in and the choices he makes. What counts is what values in life he discovers and ultimately makes his own. “Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.” (Mt 6:21)
One of the most trying things about being young is that of being in a stage where one has to choose what values to live and die for. Human society is full of models and examples of persons who have embraced their own values. If there are rock stars and actors and actresses making it to the limelight and to wealth, there are also those who, like Francis of Assisi of long time ago, leave behind them a life of ease and comfort to pursue ideals of nobility and service. And what is awful is that today’s young man or woman is left alone to choose.
To discover which model one has to choose, one need not look beyond or outside himself. Instead, one should look into his heart. If he does, he will surely discover passions and drives that are either constructive or destructive: his capacity to love or hate, to give or possess, to build or destroy, to forgive or avenge. When he chooses what is positive and shuns what is negative, he will naturally discover what model or example to embrace. And there he will discover the meaning in his life.
The year was 1977, and Ferdinand Marcos was still the Philippine president. A few months back, Jimmy Carter was sworn in as the 39th President of the U.S., and I had just completed my freshman year in college.
It was our summer vacation and so, earlier that week, Ray and I decided that we would go biking to the hills of Antipolo, Rizal (a quiet but relatively big town, approx. 20 km northeast of Manila).
I woke up at about 4:00 AM that Sunday put on my cycling gear, and poured the de-fizzed Coke I placed in the fridge the night before into the plastic bottles attached to my bike.
After a brief inspection of my steed (tires, gears, brakes), the road map, and my camera, I rolled on — to the scent of fresh-baked ‘pan-de-sal ‘in the still-dark streets of Parañaque and headed towards Pasay City…where Ray and his family had moved.
Ray and I were childhood friends in Baclaran, where his family had lived, even by the day I began remembering things. That was until the owner of their apartment unit decided to lease out the entire complex to a Chinese businessman, forcing them to move elsewhere.
He was younger by about 6 yrs, but we shared the same interests: playing all sorts of street games, billiards, ‘dama‘ (a local version of checkers, usually played in barber shops), swimming at the Manila Bay -its water was still relatively clean, and people could still catch some fish – and, of course, biking.
I called his name through the window in his room, conveniently situated on the side of yet another apartment complex along Facundo Street. He had already prepared the night before and, in no time, we found ourselves pedaling furiously eastward to Pasig, Rizal, which is now a city and part of greater Metro-Manila.
Although not very far from Manila, Antipolo is a cyclist’s bane since most of it is situated on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre mountain range, which gives the city a spectacular view of Metro Manila.
But why did we go biking there? It was the month of May, and traditionally, people, especially in predominantly Catholic Philippines – from all over the country, trek to the place to pay homage to the ‘Nuestra Senora Dela Paz y Buenviaje‘ (Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage) – a black-imaged Virgin that came from Acapulco, Mexico that was used during the Galleon Trade. Also, there are numerous spring resorts in Antipolo that offer a bit of relief during the hot summer months in the country.
Map showing our starting point in Pasay City (Metro Manila) and the towns of Rizal Province we traversed en route to Laguna.
It took us about two hours to reach the church, and after we said our prayers, we bought some ‘kasoy‘ (cashew nuts), also abundant in the area as with the ‘Tipolo‘ tree (breadfruit), where the place got its name from and snapped some photo souvenirs, we decided to continue our trek southward to the neighboring towns of Tanay and Baras. Both are still situated in the province of Rizal.
It was mostly downhill from Antipolo along the undulating roads toward Tanay, and so we decided to eat lunch in one of the roadside ‘carinderias‘ (eateries)- they are so ubiquitous along the main highways of the entire archipelago – not long after we reached the flatter sections of the town.
I forgot what we ate but remembered that we drank more than we ate because of the noonday heat. I also ensured that my two water bottles were full for the impending climb towards Mabitac (part of Laguna Province) via Baras and, once again, Tanay.
I almost gave up as soon as we reached the brutal climbs in Mabitac. Ray, who was riding his trusty ‘play bike,’ was egging me on to continue without realizing that my steel road bike was climbing these slopes on a maxed-out 48 tooth (front chain wheel) by 18 teeth (rear gear) combo while he was leisurely pedaling on a smaller wheel with a 32 by 20 gear ratio!
I barely made it to the top! The cool breeze and the panoramic view of the Laguna de Bay gave me the ‘second wind’ I needed to pursue the journey further south. Besides, the trip back via the same roads would have probably been torture!
The rustic sceneries and the ‘genteel feel’ I had for the small ‘barrios‘ we passed by en route to Mabitac (one of the three towns in Laguna that bordered the province of Rizal – the others being, Pakil and Santa Maria) made our pedaling easier than it seemed to be.
From their ‘verandas‘ (porches) or, in front of their hardware stores, old men and women waved at us as we wheeled by.
As if our souls had briefly met high above the clouds and then looked down with puzzlement at the chaos and confusion people were creating for themselves on earth.
Rolling along the roads of Baras en route to Laguna via Mabitac in this 70s photo
We bade goodbye to the mountains as soon as we entered the municipality (or town) of Famy in Laguna. It is a small town whose western tip briefly borders Laguna de Bay. Most of the towns in Laguna straddle this great lake, a source of livelihood and many folklores.
From there, the twisting roads of Siniloan led us to the more significant, eastern part of Pangil — vernacular (in singular form) for the ‘fangs of wild boars,’ which were said to be abundant and freely roamed the place.
It rained briefly while we were gingerly traversing a downhill section towards neighboring Pakil. These towns I remembered well as the “three Ps”…the next one being Paete — very well-known for its wood carvings and the sweet and succulent fruit, ‘lanzones.’ How could I not remember the sense of awe Ray and I had felt as we whizzed by these trees with their light-yellow, oval-shaped fruits right above our city-bred heads? We were not used to seeing those trees!
Also, most houses in Paete have small, thatched huts that are usually detached from their prominent abodes, where their owners can do their carvings. Some of these huts also double as small ‘sari-sari‘ (assorted goods) stores to augment their income.
In one of these ‘sari-sari’ stores along the highway in Paete, Ray and I tasted one of the best ‘pan-de-cocos‘ (bread rolls with sweet coconut fillings) in our lifetime. It was not because they were well-baked but because we werehungry after the lung-busting climbs. We washed them with “Sarsi” (a local brand of root beer, whose aromatic flavor comes from the ‘sarsaparilla’ vine) and lots of swigs from my now slightly hot water bottles. It was about 2:30 PM, and from Ray’s house in Pasay City, we had almost been on the road for more than 9 hours!
Atop one of the steep hills in Mabitac for a breather. Ray Nario snapped this picture of the author.
And so, we pedaled on to the towns that caressed the southeastern portion of Laguna de Bay. These were: Kalayaan, Lumban, Pagsanjan (although not bordering Laguna de Bay, we decided to pass through this town en route to Santa Cruz because of its popularity and allure), Sta. Cruz, and Pila.
It was in Pila where, again, we stopped briefly to sample one of the roadside delicacies, ‘suman‘ (a long, sticky rice cake whose flavor is enhanced by the coconut leaves it is wrapped on). These, we dipped in plain sugar for taste and to supplant our already-drained body sugar reserves.
I also happened to have a university mate and friend that lived in town, and we briefly mulled looking for his house and paying him a surprise visit. But it was almost 5:00 PM, and although it was the peak of summer, we were running out of daylight to cover the remaining nine Laguna towns and cities — and the more than 90 km of not-so-very-easy roads back to Manila. Also, given that our frail bodies were simply running on whatever glycogen reserves they had, we backed out on the idea and pedaled onto the adjacent town of Victoria instead.
From Victoria, our pace was getting slower and slower as we trundled past the towns of Calauan, Bay, and Los Baños, where its steep hills almost zapped the lights out of us and almost gave in to the thought of sleeping the night over as soon as we hit the town proper.
Map of the province of Laguna showing the towns we traversed on that day in 1977 – (shaded yellow with red line)
We knew that we were not far from home as we stopped briefly in the town of Los Baños — very near the road that leads to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), situated inside the University of the Philippines at Los Baños‘ (UPLB) sprawling compound.
We were also very familiar with the towns and cities we would pass along the way. Los Baños had been one of our favorite cycling haunts from Manila because of its hot baths, which are natural and relaxing and purportedly have medicinal properties.
Once again, the downhill-to-flat run from Los Baños towards Calamba boosted our already flagged-out spirits. We saw the last streaks of sun rays as it finally set on the western horizon as we approached the historical city. Calamba is the birthplace of the country’s national hero, Jose P. Rizal.
In one of the restaurants in this time-tempered city, it was only fitting that Ray and I talked – over cups of coffee – about the roads we had covered and the ordeals we had gone through. We had traveled far and well.
More importantly, we could see through our inner selves…our strengths and weaknesses, our tempers and moods, our bravado, our follies, and our foibles – as well as our determination. We had lived through yet another day in our youthful lives.
Darkness was upon us as we agreed to move on for as long as it was not too dangerous for us to ride through the remainder of the journey. And so, we pedaled on to the rest of the towns in the partly-lit roads of Laguna: Cabuyao, Santa Rosa, Biñan, and finally, San Pedro.
It was almost 10:00 in the evening.
We still squeezed some sugars out of our sore leg muscles and moved on to the first municipality on the western side of Rizal Province: Muntinlupa.
Like Pasig in the north, Muntinlupa also is now a full-fledged city — the southernmost one of greater Metro-Manila. While we were a mere 20 km away from Pasay City, it was also here that we finally ended our saga on bicycle wheels — for health and safety reasons.
At the BLTB (Batangas-Laguna-Tayabas Bus Company) terminal in the town of Alabang, after asking permission from the bus driver, we hauled our bikes on the rearmost part of the almost-empty bus and slept soundly on the long, foam-padded backseat on our way back to Pasay City.
We had, finally, come full circle.
BIKE NOTES: Ray used a ‘Patria‘ brand (a bike shop/manufacturer founded by Tony Kairuz whose main store was located in Buendia Avenue in Makati, Metro-Manila, until it closed shop in the mid-80s) steel-framed ‘play bike’ (“banana” type seat with raised handlebars) with 21″ wheels, single chain wheel with multi-gear back freewheel.
I utilized a locally made, 50 cm. ‘Pigeon‘ brand (a small bike frame builder in Paco, Manila in the 70s that was co-owned by Tour of Luzon lap winner Hermogenes Vinluan) steel-framed road bike with 27″ clinchers on Weinmann rims & steel spokes, Sugino alloy (52/38) chain wheel with a SunTour Dia-Compe 10-speed gear set (bar-end shift-levers), Universal center-pull brakes and a pair of old-school, steel/alloy pedals with Christophe shoe cages and straps.
