StumbleUpon

It's Holy Week once again. Although this season is a time for reflection, nothing stops us from discovering something new. Introducing StumbleUpon.

According to Wikipedia:

StumbleUpon is an Internet community that allows its users to discover and rate Web pages, photos, and videos. It is a personalized recommendation engine which uses peer and social-networking principles.

In short, it's a random generator of cool stuff. So go ahead and sign up. You might discover something new today.


One of these days I'll post some of the cool things I've discovered using this service.

Snow Leopard

Before Snow Leopard.

After Snow Leopard.

Sorry for the long images above (forgot to hide the extra stuff). Just want to show you guys how much space Snow Leopard frees up after installation. In my case, around 12GB.

Snow Leopard isn't just an update, it's a whole new operating system, minus the change in user interface. It's been out since last year, so I'm more of a late bloomer in terms of updating my rig. I don't know why it took me so long to upgrade, considering that for a new OS, it's cheap at PHP1600.

Upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard made me realize how easy it is to maintain Macs. It took me more or less three hours to complete the cycle: one hour to back-up 50GB worth of data, one hour to install the OS itself (just did an upgrade, not a clean install), and another hour to download updates from the web. After updating, everything was the same as how I left them (documents, programs installed, etc).

I'll try to explore the subtle changes provided by this update, and also see if it makes my computing experience a bit snappier. But for now, for the freed up space alone, I recommend the upgrade.

My Uncle's Speedlights

Update: Made it work already. Thanks to Raphy for the WD-40 tip.

The picture above are two Nikon Speedlight SB-28s from my uncle Rikki. The one on the left is his personal flash, the one that he uses with his Nikon F90. The one on the right was given to him by my Uncle Arthur. It came from East Timor (or Cambodia, can't recall) during my Uncle Arthur's peace keeping mission there, along with some Nikkor lenses and some damaged Leica stuff (ouch).

SB-28s and my 430 EX II, for comparison.

I tested both yesterday, only to find out that the one from my Uncle Arthur isn't working. Well, maybe it's because of the battery contacts, it was corroded and I used some Wipe Out to clean it, which could have made it worse. I'll try to buy some WD-40 or some proper cleaning solvent and try it again. My Uncle Rikki's unit works though, it's even compatible with my cheap China triggers.

If I'm lucky, I hope my uncle would give me one or both of them for a good price, or for some IT services. I'll use them to learn more about lighting.

Useless trivia: Canon calls them Speedlites, while Nikon calls them Speedlights.

Roxanne's Confirmation

The Confirmandis.

Roxanne with Tita Gigi (now Ninang).

At seven in the morning yesterday, Roxanne received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the Manila Cathedral. The day before, I tagged along with her during the orientation. I can't believe a lot of things that I've learned in Christian Living back in grade school have escaped me already. It was nice reconnecting with our faith in preparation for our big day in December.

I vaguely remember being confirmed when I was seven years old. I wasn't really aware of what's happening, I was just asked to fall in line and go to the priest. I didn't even know how to respond. I guess that's the reason why these days you have to be twelve years old to be confirmed, to understand it's significance to our being, and to our faith.

Special thanks to Tita Gigi for being Roxanne's sponsor, and to Uncle Rikki for the speedy and timely driving, as well as for the SB-28s (more on that in my next post).

New Stuff For My MacBook

For a change, I acquired some new stuff for my MacBook.

The first one is Snow Leopard, an new operating system. Think of it as upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7. This one has been long overdue, since Snow Leopard has been available since last year. I'll try to write something about Snow Leopard once I get it up and running, but for now I expect that this would make my computing experience better. Oh, and I heard it helps free up some hard drive space, also looking forward to this one.

The other item is Apple Care. For those not familiar, Apple Care extends the warranty of a specific Apple Product. In this case, I get an extra two years warranty for my MacBook once I decide to activate Apple Care, but this should be done before my current coverage expires (which is sometime around April). It's a bit expensive at PHP12000, but after my 400D fiasco I just know how much the extra coverage can give me peace of mind.

A little tip by the way, especially to those who bought their Apple products outside the country. Make sure to check your current coverage. To my surprise, my warranty ended February instead of April, the month I purchased my MacBook (thank you Sir Albert of Infosoft for helping me with that inquiry). So always keep your receipt, and check your warranty via Apple's Self Help Site.

Both items above are available at most authorized resellers in the Philippines. I got mine from Digital Hub, with a discount thanks to my PhilMUG membership.

Random Photo: Perya

Again, another random photo. I was supposed to post some photos I took last weekend, but procrastination got in the way, and I think I can take better photos this coming weekend, since I'm going back to the same place. Anyway, enough of the chitchat.

Just in case you don't know, perya sort of translates to town fair or carnival. Places like this reminds me of my childhood. Back then, it seems like a year wouldn't be complete without a visit to one of these. It may be that small one that popped in the middle of town during fiesta, or the big ones like Star City (where the photo above was taken) and Boom Na Boom (not sure if this place still exists).

These places also remind me of how much I hate carnival rides. I remember when I was seven, I almost cried when I rode the Caterpillar, and I also recall how easy it is for me to get dizzy when trying out other rides. Horror houses and carnival games also give me some sense of nostalgia.

The photo above was taken in 2006, using my 400D and a 50mm lens.

Random Photo: Paoay Church

I don't think I got a good photo of Paoay Church as a whole, but this snapshot seems to be of my liking. I love how the setting sun produced that yellowish cast, and how the sky seems properly exposed. It's weird that as my equipment improve, the harder I find it to get shots like this.

Paoay Church is located in Paoay, Ilocos Norte. This photo was taken in late 2005, during the JET's much anticipated Ilocandia tour. Again, this shot makes me miss my G5 even more. It's time to get another point and shoot camera.

Random Photo: Breakwater

Another week without anything new, so again I'll share another random photograph.

To be honest, I was eying another photo when the title came to my mind. I mean, the breakwater here isn't as prominent, nevertheless I like this picture, and it makes me miss my G5 even more.

This was taken in Corregidor Island on May 6, 2006. Perfect timing too because that same day the island celebrated it's fall into Japanese hands in 1942. I hope I can visit this place again, and maybe next time we can get a tour that would allow us to explore more of the island.