Self Cleaning

Alright, I admit my longish hair isn't doing any justice to my age deep inside. Besides, it doesn't help that I've not had enough exercise to keep myself healthy and stop all the hair fall. No worries, to the envy of some, I'm not the balding type regardless of the fact that the past six months would have been enough to make a new wig.

Hopefully, if not sooner, I'm trimming my hair to neat proportions. Besides, I've got a conference to speak at and a professional image to project. Let's leave long hair to the time that I've got my muscles toned and honed.

Uh, that goes for my goatee. Its cute but you get tired of it. Then again, I've not done much shaving on it so less time wasted. Let's see.

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Had lunch from BMG (Bayaw ni Mang George) and took a swim at the apparment after. The plan is to make that a habit for some time until I get to doing some real work out. Should also help my lungs.

Movie Review: Snakes on a Plane (SoaP)

"Thats it! I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!"

Samuel L. Jackson as FBI Agent

The whole experience was just like a roller-coaster ride. You have some introduction of gore when Kim hits the chief prosecutor of LA's head like a pinata. The inevitable witness chase and eventual deception at the Honolulu airport follows panning to the spraying of pheromones on the lei's for each departing passenger. Then as the plane takes off the timer starts which breaks open the container of venomous snakes from all over the globe.

So there's a red collored and black striped one coming out the air ducts, a blueish one that waits around to strike and crawls up a fat lady's dress while she snores, lots of them are in the overhead containers. They start striking left and right, and one even just crawls over a dropped lei. Perhaps the best was the python that dropped from the skylights, eating the dog, and wrapping itself on the snobbish wimp at first class. Crush crush gulp!

People were just shrieking, nervously laughing, and making some other odd noise all around us. Hey, who hasn't ridden on a plane? Thats the beauty of this movie. Eventually Jackson utters the tag line and everybody yells "YEAH!".

One other lesson from the movie is that all the flight simulators out there starting with Chuck Yeager's are quite realistic and will indeed provide you with some basics of commercial flight. The same thing was also shown in another movie, Toys starring Robin Williams where the general trains young boys on flight simulation games for warfare. And then we have real life, looking back at 9/11 with Microsoft Flight Simulator taking out the Twin Towers from succeeding revisions.

Yes, simulators have gone a long way these days. Thank god for the PlayStation!

Student Maltreatment

I was thinking about the educational system in the Philippines, particularly at my alma matter the other day. It was due to the son "Kaklase" from the now disbanded OPM funk band Yano.

Alot of the stuff being practiced in the elementary in my days would never sit well in today's aware culture -- nor will it sit with my kids.

In the song it lists down some of the more common events in grade school. The fact that I'm writing about it is a testament to have either seen it or experienced some of the abuse.

Lotlot: terrorized by the teacher and could not answer questions at recitation time - hit on the head with a book and an umbrella.

Noknok: was sleepy - hit on the noggin and forced to swallow a piece of chalk, then told to jog around the campus under the hot sun to fainting

Kit: didn't cut his hair or trim his mustache - pinched in the privates then sent out to trim the school's lawn

Mamaw: had a tattoo and earing - sent out to bake under the sun after first sweeping the campus and cleaning the toilets

Sam: a simpleton who failed the exams 9/100 - cursed continuously by the teacher and kicked out of school

Some of the other things that went around in grade school was:
1. being fondled by a gay teacher who had kids himself
2. chalk or the eraser flying across the room to hit your head if being noisy
3. military style squatting with books or bags on your head and arms
4. cleaning the grounds due to being late
5. others.

Some of the things that went around in high school was:
1. all of the above
2. cleaning the bleachers of bubbble gum
3. being humiliated in class, name calling
4. being taught that to live is to take the fall
5. others.

Some of the things in college:
1. sex for grades
2. incompetent teachers unable to guide
3. gay teachers who somehow had it in for you
4. ex-semenarians you caught smoking who force their opinoins
5. others.

I love my alma matter. Aside from taking tuition for lab sessions that aren't needed , raising tuition fees to keep abusive teachers - does it love you?

Thank God !

Earlier, I was gathering all the needed documents to file a visa application. Most of the stuff was ready: work permits, invitation letter, fee (to be done tomorrow). All of a sudden, I realized that my passport was missing!?!

This morning in the document room at home, nothing.
Rushing to the office I ransacked my drawers, nothing.
Checked the usual location in my laptop bag, nothing.

Its gone then?

I spent the rest of the morning calling the Aladdin in Vegas, Holiday Inn in San Jose, the airports, and even SouthWest's lost and found departments. Nothing!

Sitting down at the office pantry, Patty and Jack offered me some lunch. Grateful was I.

After polishing off everything, it appears Patty's cellphone went missing. Man, its Tuesday Loose It Day.

So my only other option is to call the embassy and report my loss. Awww, what a headache. All that paperwork.

But no, lets stay calm. I went home and rechecked the document room. Nothing.
Not under the bed either. Neither was it in the bathroom, or under the sofa cushions.

One last place then, hope against hope, hope that its there. Between the folded clothes.

I prayed. God answered.

Found it!

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Ok, time to have the car washed and celebrate. Sat down and waited. Remember when I first went to buy my portable air conditioner? And someone threw coffee all over the newly washed car. Well, looks like Starbucks frappucinno is acidic. The marks couldn't be removed.

The scientist in me thinks its all the sugar that burned into the paint after baking under the sun.

Also, I discovered that the front fender had some deep scratches like it was rubbed against a wall. :-(

Japanesee or Mexican ...

...that is the question. I was halfway to Matsuri but decided I may enjoy a little low lighting and a cooler ambiance. Its a hot day today!

On the menu is "machaca". The second time ordered. For the taste, think dry corned beef with egg and some refried beans.

Yummy! Though this time I ordered cranberry juice instead of the regular Corona.

The way you look ...

...not tonight, but this afternoon. So I took some of these pix and decided to play around with animation.

Its kinda graphics intensive, hopefully it won't clog most browsers.

Notice the ears, very Logalas, huh? :-)

Word Play: Fun with Taglish Logic

Boring weekend. Figured I'll list down some words to the wise and quickly debunk them.


Don't count your chickens until they're hatched.
When eggs are hatched, aren't they chicks? Jumping to conclusions without ample proof sucks.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
What if my friend becomes my enemy? You deal in too much office politics.

Birds of the same feather flock together.
As a doctor you're also sick like your patients? The advent of trying hard social climbers.

Look before you leap.
Do you know why you are leaping? When I say jump, you say "how high?"!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Who says it wasn't broken in the first place? So much for invention and humang progress.

A stich in time, saves nine.
But thats the nth singe stitch. Why don't you just check whats wrong with it?

Aanhin mo ang damo, kung patay na ang kabayo?
Eh, di mag-paka high ka at kargahin mo, gago!

Lokohin mo nalang ang lasing, hwag lang ang bagong gising.
Talaga? Either way, subukan mo ako at kakaladkarin kita sa kalsada! Loko.

Ang 'di marnunong lumingon sa pinangalingan, ay 'di makakarating sa pinaroroonan.
Eh paanong kung nawawala nga yung unggoy? Bumili ka ng GPS 'no, engot.

Curiosity killed the cat.
Now I know my friend Art's other PEX alias. :-)

Rio Grande: Gaylord's Indian resto

Its kinda' busy so why not a few snaps while sitting in line. Hohum ....
I forget whose glasses these were, but they were fun to try on. Hmm, lets try ...
this one. Doesn't it look very classy stereo-type? Where's the rail road ....
Here we go, everyone. Oops, sorry Larry-B and Katie-W as well as Aryeh-G who took the pix. Dinner done, coffee? 

Hardrock: iDefense @ the Body English

Right so supposedly no work-related posts, eh? Buy this was an excellent party sponsored by Ken D. and it would be a shame not to post a few snaps.

On the left we've already been plied by a few drinks from Laura N. who dared us on double shots of cuervo. Chugulug!
We're not going down there without a reason or a gal, so who better to take than JJ who's still the coolest? Yes, she alsoowns the camera :-)
Notice the orange band? Was kinda weird but it did mean we had no worries on drinks. Thanks again Ken.

Oh yeah, why the center stage? It was a dare.

We should have pulled Aldrich dM. in here as well. TM does know how to party.


Rocking old style moves still had some guy giving us high fives. Go figure.


Time for dinner, this is all exhausting ....