Jay Lagare – Page 245

2006 May 6 to 8 Puerto Princesa, Palawan

By Jay Lagare on Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Some classmates from MBA and I flew to Puerto Princesa, Palawan for the weekend. It was my first time to Puerto Princesa and my first out-of-town trip for the summer. Needless to say, I was pretty excited. So was everybody. Except for Val and I, they had already gone ahead on the 5th. Val and I were supposed to just catch up with them on the 6th.

Early in the morning of the 6th, I jumped out of bed and drove off to pick up Val. However, when I got to her place, I learned that due to last minute changes in her schedule she won’t be able to make it. It’s a bummer but there’s nothing that can be done about it. So, I went back home, picked up a few things I’ve left behind and then drove to Park ‘N Fly (nice service) where I parked. They then shuttled me to the airport terminal.

Upon checking in at the counter, I learned that the flight was delayed due to a temporary closureof the airport for some government thing. After a looong and boooring wait at the pre-departure area, it was finally boarding time. A short and thankfully uneventful flight later, I was in Puerto Princesa.

General

Stardust

By Jay Lagare on Sunday, April 30, 2006

Coming from the maker of the Sandman series I was a bit apprehensive about Stardust. But it came highly recommended so I made an effort to turn the cover and then the first page. Then time passed and surprisingly I was at the last page. I guess what I liked about the book is that it evokes, even if only a bit, a sense of wonder and awe that, for example, the Harry Potter series wasn’t able do. Or perhaps it was the fact that I watched instead of read them :P In a way, it’s almost a children’s book if it were not dark and twisted at times. But then the Fairy Tales by the brothers Grimm were also like that, so who am I to say it’s a children’s book? It’s also pretty clever, without appearing contrived. I can’t wait to read Neverwhere and Coraline.

Rating: 4/5

General

Philips VisionPlus Headlight Bulbs

By Jay Lagare on Thursday, April 27, 2006

Yesterday, as I was driving out from the basement parking at work, I kind of noticed something amiss with my headlights. I couldn’t place it until later when I noticed from my headlights’ reflection on the car in front of me that my left headlight was dim. The bulb was busted. Thankfully, I was able to get home without any incident (mulcting cops come to mind).

So this noon, Paul and I went to Han’s at Shangri-La to get replacement bulbs. Paul had recently upgraded his headlight bulbs to brighter Philips DiamondVision white-light bulbs. His headlights looked absolutely great and I have decided I’ll also get Philips bulbs though not the white-light version. Also something that doesn’t require upgrading to ceramic sockets and relays which he needed to do because of his bulbs’ higher wattage.

Luckily for me, Philips has just such a product: the VisionPlus. It has 50% brighter than stock bulbs without requiring the aforementioned ceramic sockets and relays. We installed the bulbs earlier this evening just before leaving the office. It was pretty easy and in no time they were installed. I flicked the switch and lo and behold: There was LIGHT! I’m not sure if it’s 50% brighter but it sure is brighter. They work just as advertised and, considering the importance of light, I don’t see why people shouldn’t go for these bulbs when their stock bulbs eventually fail.

Rating: 5/5

General

New Trackpoint Cap

By Jay Lagare on Tuesday, April 25, 2006

A week ago, my friend Drawde finally delivered the Trackpoint caps I asked him to get me a few months ago during one of his not-too-infrequent trips to Japan. Unfortunately, he had misplaced it and only found it last week. He gave me the tiny plastic bag and there they are: three perfectly-shaped Trackpoint caps. These are the textured flat-headed caps, not the easily worn down eraser-head caps that I have been using (there is a third type: rimmed flat-headed caps). I immediately replaced my current cap which I had just installed not too long ago. The new cap fit snugly in place and definitely improves control by providing a bigger point of contact and better traction. And although it looks pretty durable, the insurance provided by two spare caps is very comforting.

Uncategorized

Played Airsoft Again

By Jay Lagare on Sunday, April 23, 2006

Yesterday, I spent an afternoon playing airsoft. It was the best time I’ve had playing airsoft in months. Granted, I haven’t been playing all that much but during those times when I did play, I had been turned-off by the crowded game sites, the generally poor quality of opponents (tactics, ethics, personality, etc), the emphasis on form (costumes, gizmo guns, etc), and politics. Yesterday was different. There was just six of us but all were tactically-oriented people. And although there is still an element of form involved, the primary focus was on tactics. This resulted us playing a lot of fast-paced games. The repetition honing our tactical sense and the fast pace giving us a bit of a workout. It was quite refreshing.