A colleague and I were talking about a news article in National Geographic channel about a lobster which was caught is "half-cooked". I was saying that it's much like humans having different skin colors due to a gene fault or skin disease like Michael Jackson (by the way, it is reported that Mike is in Bahrain and photos of him wearing an "abaya" can be found on the net). It might be rare for one to find a lobster like that but it's not impossible nor miraculous. It's not a sign that the sky is falling. So after our discussion, he suddenly says:
"Michael Jackson is nice...He likes little children."
It took me about 3 seconds to digest what he said and then laughed at his comment. Nice one.
We renewed our passports the last time we were in the Philippines for vacation. But great news for everyone who wants to avoid the whole process of passport renewal (that is having to go to the Department of Foreign Affairs very early in the morning only to find out that there is a long queue waiting). Now, everyone can apply online via the DFA Passport Renewal Service. This guarantees 6 to 8 working days delivery time and will cost Php 1300 all-in. You can either visit http://passport.com.ph/ or call the DFA Passport Direct Hotline: (02) 737-1000. Door-to-door pick up and delivery runs from Monday to Saturday via Aboitiz One Courier.
It is important though that you have the requirements ready before you fill out the Passport Renewal Online Form and ready for pickup by the courier. It is also important that the applicant is present during pickup because there are some documents that need to be signed. The following are the general requirements:
3 copies of picture
Passport Size 1.77" x 1.37"
3cm. from head to chin
Colored with plain white background
Decent attire with collar and sleeves
Studio taken
Most recent (never use a photo that had been used in a previous passport or else it will be returned and will delay your application by a few more days)
Identical and frontal shot
Clear, no shadow
Proportionately taken
Not Allowed:
Earrings or long hair for male
Eyeglasses
Signature / writings (front and back)
Computerized, fotome, polaroid
Same picture with old passport.
For the complete list of the requirements for brown passport holders, seamen, married women (who want to adopt their husband’s surname, minors and illegitimate children visit this link.
Original Passport - Green
*If you're a brown passport holder, there will be a personal appearance at the DFA but with assistance, and you should submit any of the following documents with complete middle name (original & photocopy)
§ Birth Certificate
§ Baptismal Certificate
§ Old SSS E-1 form
§ GSIS policy
§ Driver's license
§ PRC ID
§ Voters Affidavit or CTC from COMELEC
§ Income Tax Return
§ Transcript of Records
§ NBI Clearance
§ Seaman's Book
§ Marriage Contract
§ Photocopy of passport from pp. 1-4, last page, and the pages showing latest BID Departure and Arrival stamps.
For acquisition of NSO (National Statistics Office) Birth, Marriage and Death certificates and POEA OFW exit and OEC, visit http://www.teleserv.ph/.
We spent the whole afternoon with the Rafael’s last Friday. We’ve already scheduled this the other week and had agreed on what food to cook so as to compliment the BBQ ribs that they were grilling. Mavis and I brought Spicy Chicken Wings dipped in blue cheese dressing and vegetable salad while the Valdez’ brought Palabok and ginataan for our “merienda”. After playing a game of NBA 2k6 with Sandro (he lost by 20+points…he he he) and the close match with Nonoy (Mavis inadvertently rebooted the Xbox halfway the game), we decided to play table tennis downstairs.
We played doubles as there were 6 of us who were playing. To balance the game, the pros were teamed with the amateurs; Sandro teamed up with Mavis, Tito Yam and I, Nonoy and Ding. The set up was best of 5 wins with the waiting team challenging the winners.
First Match: Tito Yam/Xtian vs. Sandro/Mavis
Sandro/Mavis won the first game but we got back to level it at 1-1. We eventually won it at 3-2.
Second Match: Nonoy/Ding vs. Tito Yam/Xtian
It was a close match again. Since the other team didn’t have much of a warm-up, we beat them on the first 2 sets. However, as fatigue was creeping multiplied by the heat and humidity, we lost the game at 3-2.
Third Match: Sandro/Mavis vs. Nonoy/Ding
I really don’t know the score here as I was copying some FHM ebooks on tito Yam’s laptop… he he he. The Sandro/Mavis team wins.
Fourth Match: Sandro/Mavis vs. Tito Yam/Xtian
We don’t know what happened but the game was so fast, we were badly beaten at 3-0. Damn FHM!
Fifth Match: Sandro/Mavis vs. Nonoy/Ding
Still on a roll, the Sandro/Mavis team proved unstoppable beating the hell out of the other team. They got crushed at 3-0. Sandro/Mavis team are the undisputable winners of the week.
We also played 2 more games after that with Nonoy and Tito Yam teaming up while Sandro and I got together. Sadly, we lost both games with the last one at 2-2, we lost the set leading 6-0 and getting stuck with 6 for the longest time.
We started at about 2:30 and ended up playing at past 7. It was a good afternoon though. It was nice to get some exercise though the heat was contributing to the fatigue. Another Open is set for next week!
Before getting our domain “Life on the Spot”, I’ve been trying to decide if I’d go for a full content management system like Drupal or a blogging software like Movable Type. I’ve consulted a friend and discussed what would be the best solution for my planned website. Looking at Drupals’ documentation, one can see how powerful this free opensource software providing you the luxury of maintaining user database, forums, blog capabilities, calendars and the like. I’ve even installed apache2triad (another opensource software which installs apache, MySQL and PHP in one package) on my machine as a prerequisite to get Drupal up and running locally. I was also able to get my hands on Drupal:Creating Blogs Forums Portals and Community Websites and used that to install and configure apache2triad. In minutes my local site was running flawlessly. It is indeed a powerful CMS solution which can even be used in a business environment. However, looking at my needs and the amount of time to develop my own templates, I decided to go with Movable Type as I deemed it was easier to configure and easier to create templates for (not really). It would also give Mavis an easier time to post her articles than using the full featured Drupal.
But that doesn’t stop my interest with Drupal. Sandro and I are now trying to start a forum project using Drupal in which the site would cater to Filipino expats in Qatar and those interested in going to Qatar. We’re hoping that we’d be able to get this thing going soon but we been both busy as I’ve been moving and developing this site while on his part, they’re preparing for his son’s birthday this coming Saturday. Give us more time and I’m sure we’d be able to make use of Drupal as intended.
Want a free Domain name and hosting service provided by a “trusted” company? Then head over to http://officelive.microsoft.com/ . Apparently, Microsoft is giving away free domain and hosting solutions to try their Office Live. You actually have 3 choices.
Live Basics which is free during and after beta.
Live Collaboration which gives you the ability to manage customers, employees and projects and in which Microsoft will charge you $29.95/month after beta. However, you don’t get email accounts with this nor a web page. It’s basically a collaboration tool for you and your business.
Live Essentials which provides both Basics and Collaboration features plus more (25 GB bandwidth, 50 email accounts at 2 GB each, etc…)
If you opt out, you can still transfer the domain name you registered to your chosen hosting provider after 2 months of using Office Live.
The catch? Nothing really. You just have to be a resident of the US with a valid credit card. Why the credit card? Microsoft says they want to eliminate the prospect of non-business users signing up and scammers using their services to do what they do best. They charge you $1 but would be returned to you after they validate your address and your credit. For non-US people, they say that they’re going to provide beta services late 2006 but not really sure what those services might be.
So if you are qualified, why not try the Live Basics package and start creating your own business website. Although I’m sure that a lot of people would be signing up for their personal non-business related sites.
The mighty Google Inc. has been updating its Google Earth app with its latest at a beta version of Google Earth Pro 4. I've actually tested Google Earth 3 and it's damn pretty good esp. that it now has the Qatar map in detail. I can even see our flat from it and even the construction being done on the roads! I am currently planning to get a project going in which i'd create a KML file for Qatar which contains landmarks like shopping malls, shops, building, restaurants, etc that people can download and use when they decide to use Google Earth. But since I started, I haven't found that much time to update it since I've only spent about an hour updating it. I'll probably update it once I finish relocating to http://www.lifeonthespot.com . But if you want to see a glimpse of my KML file, you can download it from here:
You can right-click and use "Save As" and make sure that you open it from google Earth or make sure that the KML file is associated with Google Earth if you choose to open it directly.
Hopefully, I can make good progress with this in the coming days to come.
I just couldn’t believe what happened to me the past 2 weeks. My husband was talking about being plagued, his things getting busted and losing some things. But what did I ever do to have a series of unfortunate events myself, that is, a series of broken footwear.
First to go was my black Figlia clogs. Xiane and I got out of the car to go inside the Sofitel (we were looking for a desktop as our laptop broke down) while Tian stayed in the car to look for a parking. We were just a few steps away from the car when I felt the top of my left clog snap. I tried hard to put it back where it used to be but it just didn’t hold. So I told my husband to just proceed and look for a PC by himself while Xiane and I waited in the car. I just had to think of ways to keep Xiane entertained while we were there or else waiting for more than 30 minutes would have been a problem.
On Sunday, I decided to use my good old pair of 2-inch high Benetton strappy shoes. I say it’s old because it’s been with me for 5 years now although I haven’t used it that much, in fact I haven’t been using it for the past 2 years. My husband dropped me off the Parish Center where we go to mass, after which, off they went to his office where he and Xiane would spend the time waiting for me. We have agreed to do this since it would be difficult to bring our daughter along to mass. She just wouldn’t stop talking and asking questions while having mass. I was walking on the quadrangle when the heel of my right sandal suddenly got wobbly. When I looked, there it was, the rubber that was coating the inner heel just chipped off and the more I walked, the more it came off. But thank God I made it to the church but you could just imagine how nervous I was thinking if the shoe would last for another 30 minutes or so, plus the embarrassment that I had to endure having a sandal with broken heel. Soon enough it was time to leave. As I walked to the car, the same thing happened to the heel of the left shoe. But even in that condition, we still managed to go to Hyatt, only when we got home I realized that my lovely pair of shoes is beyond repair.
We were doing our groceries on a Thursday afternoon as we usually do. This way we can avoid the “weekend rush” or almost everyone coming to the supermarkets during the weekend (Thursday night- Saturday night) to do their own shopping. I was wearing a pair of black flip flops that I bought in the Philippines. It was light yet hip, a perfect footwear when you’re expecting to be spending a lot of time standing and walking around. I pushed the cart as I walked and then I felt the strap of the left pair just came off. It’s a good thing that despite this major setback, I was still able to go through my shopping.
Now here’s the thing, how could it be that these shoes just snapped one after the other. My husband’s theory is that I’ve become too heavy and those footwear couldn’t take anymore of my weight. Although it’s hard to admit, I guess my husband may be right about it. But I’m also thinking that it could be that I have a lot of black footwear and it’s about time I dispose a pair or two. Or maybe, these things just happen, the same way that we happen to forget things or lose them, the same way that a series of unfortunate events sometimes do happen.
During this time of the year, it is not unusual when people get sick with colds and flu. I don’t have a very scientific explanation about it but it seems like during this time, viruses gets thick in the air. My daughter, Xianelle, was the first to catch the colds. Thankfully, after having had fever for two days and the cold eventually developing into cough, she got well in just a week’s time. Then the children of our friends caught the colds and eventually the flu last week. Till now the older kid (Xiane’s playmate) is still recovering. And then, there’s me… just last Sunday, the cold virus got into me but fortunately for me, I already got better after two days. I guess it’s just natural if we get sick once in a while, what’s important is for us to get back on our feet again after.
This is the second time we’re spending summer here in Qatar. Last year we arrived on June, almost the same time of year. But I get the feeling that this year, is much hotter. The temperature reaches between 45-49 degrees during the day and stays at 39-40 degrees at night. During the day you get a beating from the heat of the sun and at night, you usually have to deal with so much humidity. It is the time of year when people are lazy to go out and when they do, it would definitely be after 6 pm and they almost always go straight to the malls or anywhere that’s air-conditioned. There are a few though, who also spend their time walking or strolling especially at the Corniche. Well, good for them but I’d rather do that on the “ber” months (September, October…..).
Doha has been having sandstorms since Saturday, making people much lazier to go out. Well who would want to get his lungs filled with dust. Just like last Sunday, I was supposed to go to church but had to cancel because there was a sandstorm. When you look outside the window, you’ll see the trees (if there are any in your neighborhood) being blown by the wind. You’ll hear the strong wind blowing even if you’re in the confines of your flat or house. Even the doors bang once in a while and for those who experience this the first time, you’ll be thinking that there’s definitely a “presence” in the house. But think again, it’s just sandstorm. Now, the occurrence of sandstorm only indicates one thing, a change in climate. This could either mean that it’s going to get hotter or a bit cooler after the sandstorm. But my bet is that it’s going to be the former than the latter, simply because summer ain’t over yet.
With my old trusty laptop breaking down, that meant no torrent downloads, no chikka messenger service, no posting on the blog, no chatting, no skype-calling and no internet surfing. The laptop is not that really old. We bought it in Saudi on December 2003. It's a Packard-Bell configured with a P4 2.8 desktop processor, 512mb RAM and 64 mb built-in graphics accelarator, all for SR6250. Remember that it was 2003 then so prices were relatively high although the processing speed was quite good for my graphics need. I've captured and edited our videos, did development work, made my presentations, used Photoshop, Flash and Illustrator with it. As for it's weight, well, Mavis never did like chugging it around as it is almost 10 pounds and becomes a 20 lbs. monster the longer you carry it. It was a laptop which had been in great service and never really gave me any problems till last week.
Mavis and I decided to get a desktop instead of another laptop as with the almost 24/7 "need" to be online, a desktop would be best fit to assume that role as well as it would be faster than any laptop there is in the market without crashing your bank account. We went to Jarir to look at the ready-configured branded machines. We also went to the Sofitel Area to get quotations for your own configured machine. Of course, a higher priced- branded machine is more trusty in terms of stabiliy of the peripherals, good quality control and you get good service (that's what we're supposed to think) while a purpose-built machine is cheaper and you get a better configuration at that. I chose to get the "Sofitel" branded machine...he he he. Yup, cheaper(?) yet faster one.
Here's the configuration:
Processor: Intel 3.0 ghz Dual Core (4 mb Cache)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-81945G Pro
Memory: 1 Ghz DDR2 533
Hard disk: 200Gb SATA (Western Digital)
DVD: Samsung DVD +- R/RW Double layer 16x
Video: Intel Graphics 950 128mb (built-in)
Audio: 7.1 HD audio (built-in)
Network: LAN 100mb/1000mb
Case: Gigabyte with ATX 300W power supply
Front USB and audio connectors
1 Year Warranty
Free: Surge Protection Extension cable
Price = SR2925
Samsung F13n 17" LCD (3 years warranty)- SR 875
Dual Core. 2 processing power in one chip. Twice the amount of data that can be processed in parallel. All this power at a price. the chip alone costs SR1350. Way higher than buying it in the US. Still, you can never get this configuration from branded desktops at this price. I got the beast yesterday and already halfway in installing my programs. I already noticed a great significance in performance.I'm a multi-tasking freak and I usually have about 3-4 Internet Explorer open as well as a Firefox window with 2-3 tabs for surfing, 1 explorer window open, FTP program for my Xbox transfers, Chikka and/or Yahoo messenger, and Azurues downloading in the background. There were some bottlenecks in some instances as along with all these programs running, I was also installing and updating some programs but overall, I think using this machine would be fun for multi-taskers like me. I need to see how fast it is with Photoshop, Illustrator and flash opened at the same time. I'll probably finish setting it up on the weekend.
