General

Starcraft II Announced

Hell, it’s about time! Starcraft II has been announced! Jessie sent me a link to Starcraft II. I’ve seen the link before and back then it was just a redirect to the Blizzard website. So I thought it still the same. But NO! Instead there’s now a full website for the next installment of Starcraft. To be sure, the new game will have big shoes to fill. But from how it looks in the website, it looks to be a potentially worthy successor.

By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept

Last sunday, I read By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept. After reading it, I had this feeling that words can’t quite convey how beautiful the story is. I don’t know if it was just me, or the sun, or the weather but I really found it to be beautiful story. I’m really glad I read it.

It is the story of two childhood friends’ journey of discovery: discovering themselves, discovering each other, discovering their roles in this world. There may be too much religious references for some but that is just the background of the story.

2007 May 5 to 6 Puerto Galera, Mindoro

Went with the IT Department to Puerto Galera in Mindoro last weekend. I decided to drive to make it more convenient for the girls as well as for GPS data gathering. So with my Garmin Foretrex GPS unit recording a track, I picked up the girls from various points early in the morning. The rest of the boys took the bus.

The trip took about 3 hours taking us through the South Luzon Expressway, the Star Tollway, several national roads, and finally to the Batangas Port where we caught the 5AM boat.

We were informed that boats are scheduled at 15-minute intervals. To our– and the other passengers’– irritation, “15-minute intervals” actually was just one boat waiting for a whole hour! Thankfully, the boat eventually filled up and finally left the pier and in about 2 hours we were in White Beach in Puerto Galera. Aby– who organized the trip (Thanks Aby!)– and her friend Maica welcomed us to our accommodations.

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Office Emergency

There was an office emergency today. It was mid-morning when I received a call from the office requesting for help. I called people up one by one but ended up Aby’s the only one available. I asked her if she can go to the office. I felt a bit guilty about her going to the office on a holiday so I decided to also go. I got to the office first. She arrived after a few minutes and we were able to fix the problem. It was just a loose cable. Darned emergencies!

Gerber EZ-Out

This is in memory of my Gerber EZ-Out which I lost somewhere not so long ago.

The EZ-Out is a lockback folder with a modified clip point blade that is partially serrated. A non-serrated version was available but I chose the serrated version for the flexibility. The blade has a thumb hole for rapid opening with either hand.

Its handle is Zytel plastic with Kraton rubber inserts to provide better grip. The handle is pretty durable. The Kraton inserts disintegrated over the years and I had to remove them for aesthetic reasons. But the Zytel was still going strong.

Finally, it has a strong clip so it can be secured to your pocket. Unfortunately, it can’t be switched to the other side so if you prefer it on another side, you’ll have to compromise.

The total package is small, light, and handy. You can carry it everywhere. Which is what I did. I carried it at work, at play, to hills, the occasional mountain, caves, swims, and even dives. And through all these it often came in useful: cutting cardboard, rope, vines, wood, preparing food, even for prying. Even when it was not needed, it always gave me comfort that it was there ready for use.

I’m going to miss it.

Rating: 5/5