I mean, really, there are people who read my blog.

Last Thursday, I attended the Yahoo! Philippines Developers Network launch at TGIFriday’s in Glorietta, Makati. I left home at around 1730H, and what used to be a 15-minute drive took me almost an hour due to the huge traffic a sudden downpour brought about.

When I finally managed to reach Friday’s, almost all of the seats til the end of the hall were occupied already by eating and drinking people (most of them happened to be ‘walk-ins’ in an RSVP event — gate crashers!). No choice but to seat near the projector screen together with a couple — I did not bothered to get acquainted with them. Then suddenly, a guy came in and asked if there is somebody seated next to me — I replied that the seat is vacant, then he said, “You look familiar.” I replied, “Perhaps, you had read my blog, bobreyes.com, my face is there.” He said, ‘Yah! bobreyes.com, TurfSite Manila!”. This guy happened to be Jojo a.k.a. PHPCurious. He was NOT the last person that night who said, “You look familiar ..” to me.

Before the official launch began, seated on the same table with were Jerome Gotangco of Morph, Jacque Sara of Exist Global, Dr. Jaime Caro of UP-ITTC, and fellow CSB Prof Ranulf Goss (used to teach GAMEDEV a couple of years ago, he is now the President of Slycesoft). I also met (in flesh) Angela Sabas, a technical Yahoo! (in other words, someone who does technical stuff at Yahoo! and yes, she is indeed a Filipina!).

Ended the night, which I thought would be a boring one, filled with inputs coming from these bright people. Thanks to Yahoo! for the food and drinks. Til next time, Jerry Yang.

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The games of the 29th Olympiad has just began at Beijing, China. Missed the beginning of the ceremonies, which started at 8:08PM on the 8th day of the 8th month of 2008 (08 August 2008 at 8:08). Nice numbers. Wonder will this bring luck to Team Philippines.

Was excited to see the events of the Opening Ceremonies as they unfold “live” at C/S (Solar Entertainment channel), but got dismayed with the number of commercials during gaps. Luckily, I found another channel covering the ceremonies, just minutes behind the one aired at C/S. But, seems to be that the lucky day is not favoring me: the CCTV channel just went off the air. Got pissed, turned the television off and headed on to the net. Justin.tv is still not covering the ceremonies, but the pictures are already online at the official Olympics website and at Yahoo!News.

Now, I remember 16 years ago, I was just 11 years old then when Barcelona in Spain played host to the 1992 games. Because of the timezone difference, my dad woke my brother and I up at around 2AM just for us to catch the opening ceremonies. It was the first time that I had actually watched the Olympics Opening Ceremony. And who can forget the dramatic lighting of the cauldron by archer Antonio Rebollo? For those who were still very young to comprehend or remember the 1992 Olympics, here’s what happened during the final torch relay and ceremonial lighting of the cauldron:

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Did I already mentioned in my blog that I am a Rick Astley fan? Well, not as big as I am an SOS and TF fan, but during the first days of my piano lessons, I will ask my parents to buy me score sheets of Rick Astley songs at National Bookstore.

Last night, I missed a great portion of my life: (1) I missed the opening night of Elvert’s Omega exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) — though you (we) may still catch it, still have 28 days left; (2) Rick Astley performs live at the Big Dome. And the best ting about #2 was the fact that Roderick Paulate, Rick Astley Pinoy version, was invited to perform on stage. Never Gonna Give You Up lyrics and YouTube video of the Astley-Paulate encounter below.

Never Gonna Give You Up

Were no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do i
A full commitments what I’m thinking of
You wouldn’t get this from any other guy

I just wanna tell you how I’m feeling
Gotta make you understand

* Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

We’ve know each other for so long
Your hearts been aching
But you’re too shy to say it
Inside we both know whats been going on
We know the game and were gonna play it

And if you ask me how I’m feeling
Don’t tell me you’re too blind to see

(* repeat)

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I thought it was just another quiet Friday working day, when I over heard in the Manila Tower frequency that a plane is about to have an emergency landing. MIAA Fire, Rescue, and Safety personnel were alerted. Then minutes later, my phone rang, it’s the secretary of our General Manager asking why a Qantas Boeing 747-400 landed — quite unsual, since QF (Qantas Airways) flights are mostly at night. That’s the time I realized that the emergency landing was that QF 030 flight from Hongkong bound to Melbourne. Here are some pictures that I had taken using an Olympus u790SW digital camera:

[Show as slideshow]

QF030 made an emergency landing past 1100H RPLL RWY06

It was tailed by Fire, Rescue, & Safety units

Still at the runway 10 minutes later

Still at the runway 5 more minutes later, this time with maintenance personnel looking at the belly.

30 minutes after at the NAIA Terminal 1 Gate 4

A closer look at the hole.

One more time ..

A view from the terminal passenger's waiting area.

Another view ..

And another view ..

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Fellow geeks and geekettes, did you know that Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) is bringing the 2nd Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit 2008 dubbed as It’s All Geek to Me! this coming August 13 to 16, 2008 at Hotel Intercontinental, Ayala Avenue, Makati City?

Highlight of the three (03) day conference if the Boomerang Awards where it is known as the toughest interactive and mobile marketing competition in the world. Top geeks like David Ko of Yahoo! is coming to town for this event.

A must-attend for self-confessed geeks like me!

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Good news to all WordPress Pinoy users, WordCamp Philippines 2008 is pushing through this coming 06 September 2008, and the venue? It will be at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde (DLS-CSB) Taft Campus!

Too bad, I cannot attend this momentous event, as I will be busy that day to a greater event: Robyn’s First Birthday celebration.

Good luck to the organizers. Mabuhay ang WordPress!

Visit http://philippines.wordcamp.org to register.

This event is sponsored by:

• i.PH: the Domain for Individuals
• Free Online Flash Games
• Wazzup Manila Philippines
• Real Estate CRM
• Real Estate Website Designers
• Orange County Real Estate
• Auto Insurance Quotes
• Lane Systems Inc.
• RedMedia
• Orange County Business Lawyer
• Cebu Pacific Air
• Buddy Gancenia Reality TV
• SmartBro Wireless Broadband
• SPOT.ph
• Make Money with Performancing Ads

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I will not let this day end without posting my greeting to all of the dads in the world, most especially to my father! You’re the world’s most wonderful dad. Happy Father’s Day, Papa!

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This is my Happy Independence Day 2008 message:

c”,)

Got nothing to say .. It’s not a holiday today .. I miss the parade of colors and review of the Armed Forces .. I hate this government!

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The Philippine President signed last 28 May 2008 Proclamation 1521 making June of every year the National ICT Month. I had been an ICT practitioner for almost a decade now, and I do not see any true effort from the government with regards to the promotion and enhancement of ICT programs & policies in the country.

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Did you know that today, 28 May 2008 is Philippine Flag Day? Every Filipino household is encouraged to display the Philippine Flag starting today until 12 June 2008, our Independence Day (just a reminder, it was declared that 09 June 2008 is the holiday and NOT the 12th).

The law governing the proper use and display of the Philippine Flag is Republic Act 8491 (view the contents of the RA online here).

Anecdote: One time, our church organization had a Christmas Concert at Don Bosco Makati — I was a performer and a stage crew at the same time. With just five minutes before curtains up, I was advised that they cannot locate the Philippine Flag to be used during the singing of the National Anthem. Good thing, a multimedia projector and laptop was there. With the help of Microsoft Word, was able to draw the Philippine Flag and display it on the white screen in 3 minutes — wheew!

Now, this blog entry from Sharon Agoncillo (Marcella Agoncillo — one of our national heroes; she was one of the persons who sew the first Philippine flag — is her grandma) really made my day today, and to quote:

Survey Number 1

Shaws:  Do you still remember Marcella Agoncillo?
JC:  (gives me the look for 2 seconds).  Uhm, no.  Who is she?
Shaws:  Siya ‘yung tumahi ng unang bandera ng Pilipinas…
JC:  Ah, siya ba?

Survey Number 2

Shaws:  Do you still remember Marcella Agoncillo?
HM:  No, not really.  Who is she again?
Shaws:  Naku, nasaan kayo ng history lessons n’yo?

Survey Number 3 (this one’s my favorite)

Shaws:  Do you still remember Marcella Agoncillo?
DJ:  (smiles at me) Ay oo, ‘yung bading?
Shaws:  I hate you!  Bagsak ka sa history!

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WHAT: HEROES happen {here}

WHAT IS THAT WHAT: The Philippine launch of Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008

WHERE: SMX Convetion Center, SM Mall of Asia, City of Pasay

WHEN: 10 April 2008 (door opens at 0700H, but pre-registration required!). To pre-register, click here.

This FREE event is open to both Students and Professionals.

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Happy Easter everyone!

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Finally, after almost two decades, SOS (Swing Out Sister) is back in Manila! And I will definitely watch them perform live. I am not a big fan; I am a huge SOS fan! How huge? If my child (Robyn) was a girl, she would had been named as Robyn Corinne Xeon (SOS’ lead vocalist Corinne Drewery), but he’s a guy, so his name is Robyn Andi Xeon (after Andy Connel, SOS’ keyboardist). And the last time that they visited the Philippines was almost 20 years ago, I was still at elementary school then and my parents will not allow me to watch them at the PICC.

The date is 07 April 2008 2000H at the Araneta Coliseum, oh no, it’s Monday, have class. But wait (checks the calendar again), it’s a holiday (in lieu of 09 April 2008 — sometimes, I love this government)! Reserve your tickets now via http://www.ticketnet.com.ph

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We are one with our Filipino-Chinese friends in celebrating the Chinese New Year (of the Rat) today. Kung Hei Fat Choi!

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