#66: Boring city no more?

My family has been living in Chula Vista California for almost 8 years now and never heard any mention of the city on national news. In fact the city was mentioned by forbes magazine as one of the most boring city in the U.S.

Until yesterday.

I would have never known if not for a TV screen at my gym showing the World Little League Championship. The Park View Little League team was playing Taiwan for the title.

I'm no fan of baseball but knowing a local team gunning for a title makes it interesting. I caught a glimpse of the game only because it was right in front of the stationary bike am using. It was in the 5th inning when Chula Vista made a brilliant double play that made the guy beside me scream in awe and said "That's the play of the game". Chula Vista was still behind 3-1 but eventually came from behind and won 6-3.

The news of the win reverberated around the city and suddenly Chula Vista is in the spotlight. What makes the win so interesting is that it took 11-12 year old kids for the city to be finally get recognized. A feat that seems to be elusive with the mediocre performances of The San Diego Padres and the San Diego Chargers for years.

There's going to be a celebration downtown but it seems the Mayor (Cheryl Cox) is going to spoil the fun as she declared that it will just be a small celebration because of budget problem.

A once in a lifetime (who knows when is the next) opportunity to sell the city and she's bucking down. I'm sure that many individuals or business would like to help with the cost.

Well boring or not, I still love Chula Vista. This is where my kids got to roam around the city without fear.

The city may be boring, but the people certainly are not.

#65: The Internet turns 40

It was 1969 when two computers at University of California, Los Angeles, exchange meaningless data in first test of Arpanet, an experimental military network. This network would then became the Internet.

Since then, this huge network had a lot of transformation that most of the inventors would ever imagine. And as the Internet grows exponentially, so as the barriers as discussed in this posting.

Goofy videos weren't on the minds of Len Kleinrock and his team at UCLA when they began tests 40 years ago on what would become the Internet. Neither was social networking, for that matter, nor were most of the other easy-to-use applications that have drawn more than a billion people online.

A variety of factors are to blame. Spam and hacking attacks force network operators to erect security firewalls. Authoritarian regimes block access to many sites and services within their borders. And commercial considerations spur policies that can thwart rivals, particularly on mobile devices like the iPhone.

For the last 40 years, we've seen great innovations most notably the launching of video sharing youtube and the development of social networking such as myspace and facebook. The key milestone in the development of the Internet is discussed in this article.

So what's the next big thing that will hit the Internet past social networking and video sharing? The answer could be somewhere in an obscure garage where innovative teenagers endlessly churning thousands of lines of codes.

#64: Being in my parent's shoes

Tonight is Josh's homecoming party at the Mariott off Coronado Island.

I offered to drive him earlier but was met by a big chuckle. Well it was expected. After all he's 17 and already drive his own car. So with so much reluctance I let it go.

It's quite unbelievable how time flies. Just some 25 plus years ago. I was in my son's shoes. I was a carefree teen. Endless parties and countless sleepovers. Not knowing that someone dear to me is home having sleepless nights whenever I'm out, my mom and dad.

I never understand then what's the big deal for being out all the time. I would reason out that I hang out with the correct crowd. I try to be careful and more important, let them know my whereabouts. But this would never make them feel at ease. There were countless times when my mom couldn't wait for me that he would walk around town and try to find me.

Now it's my turn to be on my parent's shoes. I'm sitting here trying to watch TV. I'm on my 3rd cup of coffee. It's almost twelve midnight and he's not home yet...

#63: Too much details

Here's another interesting news about burglars using social networking such as facebook or tweeter to find targets.

Facebook users enthusing about an upcoming holiday or a recently purchased high-tech gadget may not just be telling their friends but also potential burglars, warns an insurance company.

A survey of 2,092 social media users by British-based Legal & General found nearly four in ten, or 38 percent, of people using social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter post details about holiday plans and 33 percent details of a weekend away.

Too much details in posting your activities could be trouble. One thing to avoid is to make sure you check who are trying to be in your friends' circle.

More on facebook. For those iphone users, there's a new version of the facebook apps. You can check the features here. Then download it using your iphone's Apps store.

#62: From Excitement To Typical

I woke up with the blaring song of Springsteen's Born To Run. It's my alarm. It was set at 6:30am. Time to wake up Nadire. She moaned and said 5 more minutes. That's fine I thought. Her school doesn't start in an hour.

Few minutes later, I heard her jumped into the shower as I fell back to sleep. I woke up an hour later and she was gone. So were Josh and Deirdre. The house is now empty and strangely quiet. It's another hot summer day.

I quickly scanned today's calendar and nothing's exciting. Good I sigh as I took a quick shower. Just 5 minutes according to the city officials, we're in a water crisis. Fine I said to myself.

My office is just a 10 minute drive. As usual no traffic. Of course, Chula Vista is considered a boring city (that according to Deirdre).

I scanned the parking lot in my office. There's a few car's already parked but I can''t see my assistant's car around. Great, he's not in yet. I hate arriving first because it means I have to disarm the building alarm. I always think I'm gonna mess it up and imagine police cars rushing in and shouting at me to get down on my knees.

As I was about to open my office, I felt someone's walking behind me. I slowly turned around and there she was. She was walking towards me. She was wearing a green striped tops and a tight jeans that seems to cling around her magnificent curve. She has a long black hair that's freely flowing pass her shoulder. For a moment, I thought I was watching a shampoo commercial but this time it was all in slow motion. She was smiling and with all my confusion and what not, she seems to be saying something that sound blurry to me.

She greeted me and asked if I have time later in the day. She wants to go over some numbers with some accounts she' s working on. All I can do is nod as if I forgot to speak. "Perfect", she said. She smiled again and turned her back as her hair swayed. There goes the commercial again I thought.

I finally made it to my office without triggering the alarm. I sat there for a few minutes and contemplate on what my day would be.

I realized that aside from an early excitement, today turned out to be just another day. I closed my eyes and suddenly I heard Springsteen singing again "...Baby this town rips the bones from your back, Its a death trap, it's a suicide rap, We gotta get out while were young, `cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run"

I didn't finish the song in my head as I was interrupted again. "Good Morning Boss, coffee?'. It was my assistant. Sure why not I said...

#61: What Matters Most

As I was rushing back home to pickup Nadire so we can go to the library to borrow some books, I heard this song "What Matters Most" playing on the radio.

I have not heard of this song for a long time. This was a sign-off song of one of my favorite radio station back in the Philippines. The station would play this song at exactly 12 midnight everyday together with a sign-off quote from the DJ "Keep reaching for the sky but keep your feet on the ground". It's a very short song but the lyrics makes it worthwhile to just listen to it over and over.

It's not how long we held each other's hand
What matters is how well we loved each other
It's not how far we travelled on our way
Of what we found to say
It's not the spring you see, but all the shades of green

It's not how long I held you in my arms
What matters is how sweet the years together
It's not how many summertimes we had to give to fall
The early morning smiles we tearfully recall
What matters most is that we loved at all.

It's not how many summertimes we had to give to fall
The early morning smiles we tearfully recall
What matters most is that we loved at all.

What matters most is that we loved at all.

Here's the song by Kenny Rankin:



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#60: The day my father rocks

It was one summer day when there was nothing to do. I don't exactly remember what year that was, but it was a day when time seems to be on a stand still.

I was hangin' out with my brother Dennis when my father came home. "Let go take a drive", he excitedly barked. "Where?", I asked leisurely not seemingly interested. "Where?" my brother repeated my question. "Well I don't know, let just drive around and why don't you bring your cassette player so we can listen to some good music", he said.

We look at each other and said "Sure, but can we drop by the music store and buy a new tape?" we asked. "Ok, but it better be a good one", he cautioned.

So we packed some batteries in our cassette player (sorry no ipod then) and off we went. As he promised we dropped by the local music store. Me and my brother scanned through the tapes and unanimously picked the double album the wall by Pink Floyd. He obligingly paid and off went.

Within minutes, we are on the highway heading south. I still remember vividly how great the scenery was. the scene was dominated with green fields and thick trees everywhere. Suddenly my dad broke the silence and said "Let hear what you got!". My brother pushed the play button and turned the volume up. Suddenly this great guitar riffs and screaming song filled the air. "what the...", he turned to us as he tried to control the wheel. "What kind of song is that?", he said. "It rock", my brother replied. "well why are they so angry, all i can hear is shouting", he replied back. I looked at my brother and we both smiled.

We continued driving pass the Abra tunnel (which is the gateway to and fro our province) and head north towards the beaches. By then we are already on the second album and Comfortably Numb was playing. He finally turned to us and ask "Do you have James Stewart, You've got a friend?". We were puzzled for a moment until we realized he got James Taylor and Rod Stewart mixed together. We chuckled as we headed further north.

By the time we got back home, it was already dark and my mom was already at the door waiting for us. "Well where did you guys go?", she asked. "We drive around and listed to some Pink whatever", my dad replied. "What's that?", she asked. "I don't know, ask them", as he pointed to us smiling.

We had numerous road trips with my father, but this one tops it all. And every time I hear a song from the Wall album bring back memory of that day. The day when we introduced rock music to our father.

here's the amazing video of the song Comfortably Numb


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#59: College Buddies

Today I finally got a chance to re-connect with my college buddies through facebook.

I attended University of the East (U.E) Caloocan, College of Engineering majoring in Electronics and Communication in 1983-1989. I remember it was during this time when the school were in some kind of financial difficulty. In fact it was almost sold to a school based in the U.S. who promoted the practice of transcendental meditation. But it was averted due to protest by the students. Soon the government has to step in and save the longest running University in the Philippines.

U.E. wasn't as high profile as La Salle or Ateneo, but what made it worthwhile was I was hanging out with friends that has the same dream as I am of finishing college. As far as I know we all made it and become engineers.

With the permission of Kuya Manny Rulle, here's a snap shot of our group during a trip to matabungkay beach. Guess where I am in the pic?


During this outing, I think 3 of us didn't have partners. So we were kicked out of the cabin while those who had, had the luxury of sleeping inside.

Staring at this picture, I can't help rewinding 20 or so years ago...

#58: Are facebook quizzes sneaking up on you?

I joined the facebook social networking for the simple reason, to be in touch with friends and families. I've never use much of the games or apps that goes with it because they're not so appealing to me.

But for those who do, here's an interesting quiz you may want to take to find out what does these apps or quizzes means:

Ever whiled away five minutes on a Facebook quiz, finding out what cartoon character is your look-alike or how your IQ stacks up? These quizzes may seem like a perfectly harmless way to spend a few spare minutes. But have you stopped to think about what these quizzes are learning about you and how that info could be used? Take our quiz and learn more!

So next time you take that quiz, think twice. Also, you might want to check your facebook privacy setting and see what apps have you authorize to access your profile.

#57: Lemon Detox Diet anyone?

I first heard of the lemon detox diet from a co-worker. She told me that she heard it works so she's looking for someone to try it with.

Oh no...yet another form of diet. So before I said yes, I wanted to know what I'm getting into. I research about it and found tons of information about this diet. The diet seems to be very simple. All you need is to mix a freshly squeezed lemon, maple syrup (organic) and cayenne pepper in an 8 oz of very cold water.

On some information I read, you need to drink at least 60 oz. a day for 7-10 days and avoid eating anything. How can I survive not eating anything for 7 days, I asked. There's no way I can do this. For one, I am working out at least 4-5 times a week. Where will I get strength to lift weights?

I finally found one information that seems to fit my needs. You can read it here.

Detox cleansing drinks will help you excrete extra waste from your body and will help you lose water weight, but this weight loss is temporary. To use this diet effectively, you need to combine the lemon detox diet with healthy eating and adequate exercise. The beverage will help you shed water weight and clean out your colon, but it will not help your body lose fat unless combined with a proper diet and exercise.

So I told my co-worker, I'm in. I started my first drink two weeks ago. The taste is surprisingly good. It's more like a spicy (because of the cayenne) lemonade drink. But the effect is quite noticeable as I kept going to the restroom to relieve my bladder (so this is the detox part). I also felt sleepy by mid-afternoon.

To keep up with my workout, I also increased my protein (eggs, chicken breast, fish or tuna) intake, increase my fruits and veggies and reduce my carb (rice, pasta) intake.

I did the lemon detox for a week and slowly went back to my normal eating habit on the second week and the result? Well I weigh myself today and I actually lost 6 pounds and feel much healthier. Not bad huh?

Diets worked differently to every individuals but this drink combined with exercise and healthy foods actually worked for me. It might work for you to, so try it!