Since bashing Philippine taxi cabs in a previous blog post, I am now obliged to share some of my commuting know-how to you. Although I am not an adventurous commuter, I do know a thing or two about the essentials of traveling from south to north, and vice-versa, sans the horrific taxi cab.
Alabang (Muntinlupa) to Manila: All it takes is one bus ride. Aircon buses headed for Lawton will take you for a ride to Manila while you conveniently catch some much-needed sleep. The bus cruises along Alabang-Zapote road, then takes a turn to Roxas Boulevard and Coastal Road. It then enters Buendia, where you can alight at the Buendia LRT station. Or, you can continue the bus ride through Taft Avenue to Lawton.
Tip: To avoid riding a fully-booked bus and standing the entire journey, start your trip at the terminal. The terminal of Tas Trans is at Pilar, along Alabang-Zapote road and shouldn't be easy to miss!
Alabang (Muntinlupa) to Makati: If you wish, you can ride the Lawton bus to Buendia LRT station. However, to avoid the heavy Alabang-Zapote traffic, you may opt to ride a jeepney to Metropolis, then ride a bus to Ayala, where you alight at the Ayala MRT station near Glorietta.
More tips coming up in future posts!
Update: Check out all of my posts on commuting!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Ditch that fukkin' taxi!
Admit it, my fellow Filipinos: Taxis in the Philippines are a fucking ripoff! The drivers are the leeches of the road; they suck your wallets dry and replace your hard-earned cash with that terrific desire to wring their necks really, really tight.Top 2 Reasons why I HATE TAXI DRIVERS in the Philippines:
* They NEVER give any change at all. Say, the taxi meter says PhP85, and you only have PhP100 bills... your ride will cost you PhP100. Driver gets a free PhP15 with absolutely no effort.
Solution: Make sure you have lots of small change in denominations of PhP10 and PhP5 with you. If you can pay a PhP250 fare fully in 25-centavo coins, better!
* If they know you are unfamiliar with the route, they will take a very long zigzaggedy path to your destination. Not only would you have to pay a bigger fare, you arrive at your destination late for that important meeting!
Apparently, tarantado taxi drivers are not a monopoly of the National Capital Region. I met the worst of these dishonest drivers in Davao City, on a 10:00 PM ride from the airport. After hiring a nicer driver the next morning, we found out that last night's driver had practically gotten to our destination, then took a turn, brought us around for a few more loops and dropped us back to where we had been before. Fucktard.
Solution: Familiarize yourself with the route. Ripping a map off the yellow pages should be cheaper than gratifying a wiseass driver.
Sure, I've heard remarkable stories about "nice" taxis, where the drivers are courteous and careful and deliver the exact change, but I have yet to encounter these heroes of the road. What makes them "remarkable" and "heroic?" Simple: because they are a rarity. They are so rare that when an office colleague shared his "nice" taxi story, everyone was like "ReeeEEaaLLYYY???"
Take note: I work in Makati. You know how taxis are in there, right? I rarely hail a cab, but there are times when I just have to. Blame it on my genes, 'coz my father and I are both poor navigators.
By the way, what's up with the extra PhP10 fare that Makati's "special" taxis ask for, anyway? They even have nice colorful stickers that say they are authorized to collect an extra PhP10! Where in fuckin' hell do they get that??? (Yeah, you don't have to tell me, Captain Obvious.) Provision for cabbie luxuries? Or plain ol' kickback? Well, whatever it is, I would not want it for the entire country, if you know what I mean. Just keep that damn crap in your Makati, okay??!
Watch out for my future posts on commuting from the south (Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa) to the north (Manila, Makati) and vice-versa. Just avoid that freakin' taxi!
Update: Posted some tips on commuting. Read up!
* taxi photo (not from the Philippines) is from Edward Webb of Wikipedia
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Rob Pattinson takes off his shirt!
Robert Pattinson, born May 13, 1986, is the handsome actor most notable for his roles as "Twilight" vampire protagonist Edward Cullen and "Harry Potter" Quidditch star Cedric Diggory.
In this rare photo experience, the hottie bares his marvelous body for all his fans to see!
In this rare photo experience, the hottie bares his marvelous body for all his fans to see!
He's so sexy! (Yeah, baby!)Kindly refer to my deviantArt account for the terms of use.
Friday, June 26, 2009
A tribute to the "King of Pop"
OMG, it's Michael Jackson's ghost!
RUUUUNNNN!!!
RUUUUNNNN!!!* picture from Guzer.com
Hello, Michael.
I was startled when I heard the news this morning. My mom is a fan of yours and she has stayed tuned to CNN since she saw the news. I know she's saddened by your demise. And I know millions of other people are also devastated.
I believe you have touched the lives of your friends and your fans one way or another, and it's rather weird that I somehow feel for them. Honestly, I never was a fan of yours. Still, I think you have sung some of the best songs ever written. You were indisputably the best dancer who has ever lived.
If ever the same sudden death befalls my favorite celebrities *knock on wood* I will also be depressed.
I just think it was such a waste 'coz you were pretty cute back when you were still natural. And then you quickly became a hideous creep and walking corpse. It baffled me how those girls were so wildly attracted to you when you are a real-life nightmare.
How the fucking hell do you do it??? Do you cast some kind of voodoo spell or something?
Never mind. Rest in peace. Don't ever come back to haunt us, okay?
I was startled when I heard the news this morning. My mom is a fan of yours and she has stayed tuned to CNN since she saw the news. I know she's saddened by your demise. And I know millions of other people are also devastated.
I believe you have touched the lives of your friends and your fans one way or another, and it's rather weird that I somehow feel for them. Honestly, I never was a fan of yours. Still, I think you have sung some of the best songs ever written. You were indisputably the best dancer who has ever lived.
If ever the same sudden death befalls my favorite celebrities *knock on wood* I will also be depressed.
I just think it was such a waste 'coz you were pretty cute back when you were still natural. And then you quickly became a hideous creep and walking corpse. It baffled me how those girls were so wildly attracted to you when you are a real-life nightmare.
How the fucking hell do you do it??? Do you cast some kind of voodoo spell or something?
Never mind. Rest in peace. Don't ever come back to haunt us, okay?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Gaydar tingling
Some guys ooze with so much gayness it's just impossible for them to be straight. Heck, I wasn't surprised when Ricky Martin said that he's a "half" fruitcake. I mean, his gayness is like 1+1=2 staring right at your face ; it's so darned obvious! Anyone would have been too naive to have thought otherwise.
But wouldja believe, oh younger generation of ladies, that this handsome specimen of Homo sapiens was actually 100% gay???
* picture from Todd Lyons of Uncyclopedia
But wouldja believe, oh younger generation of ladies, that this handsome specimen of Homo sapiens was actually 100% gay???
* picture from Todd Lyons of UncyclopediaLesson: Never judge a man's sexuality by his chiseled jaw and straight-edged tuxes.
Now I'm just waiting for Joe Jonas to slip up and say, "I don't like twats" or something.
*video from failblog
"Single Ladies" epileptic dance. It's not just gay. It's ABSOLUTELY IDIOTIC.
*video from JonasBrothersMusic
Don't lose hope, ladies. There's plenty of Steve Tyler to pass around!
Now I'm just waiting for Joe Jonas to slip up and say, "I don't like twats" or something.
*video from failblog
"Single Ladies" epileptic dance. It's not just gay. It's ABSOLUTELY IDIOTIC.
*video from JonasBrothersMusic
Don't lose hope, ladies. There's plenty of Steve Tyler to pass around!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Squeezing it out of GTA IV (PC)
In my opinion, GTA has been the lord of all computer games ever since Rockstar churned out Vice City ages ago. So I was absolutely thrilled when I got to buy the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto IV for my PC.
But excitement turned to disappointment when I finally tried the game after a long installation.
The graphics were smudgy. Straight lines were jagged, and sides didn't meet perfectly at the corners. The characters seemed to have a shiny halo around them even though they weren't the holiest of men -- a sign of poor graphics rendering.
The motion of the characters were not as smooth as I had anticipated it to be. A task as simple as driving a car became a chore because the frame rate was so slow! The game responded too sluggishly at my keyboard presses, or sometimes not at all. Playing GTA IV was a terrible headache.
When I checked the graphic settings, they were turned to low. I tried setting 'em higher, but it caused the game to hang. Pretty strange for a laptop with 2814 MB RAM and 250 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9100M G video card (I don't understand any of this so don't bother asking; I just ripped that straight off dxdiag.) -- dedicated, of course, so the total video memory goes up to 1389 MB.
And if that weren't enough, I read several forums and found several other gamers who were experiencing the same problem.
Apparently, the PC version was one of the most disappointing games of 2008.
Should have read that in the first place, huh? I seriously contemplated throwing the game away and forgetting about it forever.
GTA IV at low graphic settings and window mode
* personal screenshot
Thankfully, I read from forums that GTA can be run in windowed mode. That way, it would be less stressful for my computer, and I wouldn't have to suffer from 800 x 600 resolution on a 1280 x 768 screen. Yuck.
How to run GTA IV in windowed mode:
The command line file is my GTA IV savior. I've been playing the game now for a few days. Even though it's not as great as I had hoped it would be (due to its performance kinks), I still enjoy it for its story and its gameplay. And it's still superior to the Vice City game that I had enjoyed years before.
There are several other command lines that can be added. You can find a full list in the Readme or in here. I've also tried using the -availablevidmem and the -percentvidmem command lines to add to the video performance. The game apparently recognized the increased video memory allocation when I re-checked the graphic settings. However, the graphics and the laggy frame rate didn't seem to improve with the new command lines, so I just settled for -windowed.
Follow these tips and you can be assured of a decent GTA IV PC gameplay (as long as your PC doesn't totally suck). However, regardless of how many GTA IV for PC performance tips we think of, the experience just won't be perfect. GTA IV simply isn't made for the PC.
Rule of thumb: If you can afford it, just buy the game for PlayStation III.
CHEATING THE GAME
My GTA gameplay never seems to be complete without the almighty cheats. Unlike in Vice City, wherein cheats are entered directly through the keyboard, GTA IV cheats have to be dialed via Niko's cellphone. A list of cheats can be found in GameFAQs.
A few things to keep in mind, though:
But excitement turned to disappointment when I finally tried the game after a long installation.
The graphics were smudgy. Straight lines were jagged, and sides didn't meet perfectly at the corners. The characters seemed to have a shiny halo around them even though they weren't the holiest of men -- a sign of poor graphics rendering.
The motion of the characters were not as smooth as I had anticipated it to be. A task as simple as driving a car became a chore because the frame rate was so slow! The game responded too sluggishly at my keyboard presses, or sometimes not at all. Playing GTA IV was a terrible headache.
When I checked the graphic settings, they were turned to low. I tried setting 'em higher, but it caused the game to hang. Pretty strange for a laptop with 2814 MB RAM and 250 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9100M G video card (I don't understand any of this so don't bother asking; I just ripped that straight off dxdiag.) -- dedicated, of course, so the total video memory goes up to 1389 MB.
WHY THE FUCK IS THIS DAMNED GAME DETECTING ONLY 250 MB OF VIDEO MEMORY???
And if that weren't enough, I read several forums and found several other gamers who were experiencing the same problem.
Apparently, the PC version was one of the most disappointing games of 2008.
WTF???
Should have read that in the first place, huh? I seriously contemplated throwing the game away and forgetting about it forever.
GTA IV at low graphic settings and window mode* personal screenshot
Thankfully, I read from forums that GTA can be run in windowed mode. That way, it would be less stressful for my computer, and I wouldn't have to suffer from 800 x 600 resolution on a 1280 x 768 screen. Yuck.
How to run GTA IV in windowed mode:
- Open Notepad.
- Type in-windowed
- Save as commandline.txt under your GTA IV installation folder (by default: "C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto IV")
- Cross your fingers and pray.
- Run GTA IV.
The command line file is my GTA IV savior. I've been playing the game now for a few days. Even though it's not as great as I had hoped it would be (due to its performance kinks), I still enjoy it for its story and its gameplay. And it's still superior to the Vice City game that I had enjoyed years before.
There are several other command lines that can be added. You can find a full list in the Readme or in here. I've also tried using the -availablevidmem and the -percentvidmem command lines to add to the video performance. The game apparently recognized the increased video memory allocation when I re-checked the graphic settings. However, the graphics and the laggy frame rate didn't seem to improve with the new command lines, so I just settled for -windowed.
Follow these tips and you can be assured of a decent GTA IV PC gameplay (as long as your PC doesn't totally suck). However, regardless of how many GTA IV for PC performance tips we think of, the experience just won't be perfect. GTA IV simply isn't made for the PC.
Rule of thumb: If you can afford it, just buy the game for PlayStation III.
CHEATING THE GAME
My GTA gameplay never seems to be complete without the almighty cheats. Unlike in Vice City, wherein cheats are entered directly through the keyboard, GTA IV cheats have to be dialed via Niko's cellphone. A list of cheats can be found in GameFAQs.
A few things to keep in mind, though:
- You cannot input cheats until you finish the first mission and Roman gives you a new cellphone.
- To enter the cheats, open the cellphone for dialing. By default, this can be done by pressing the [UP] key twice.
- It takes a lot of time to enter cheats via the cellphone. Make sure you are in a safe place when you enter the cheats, and make sure you do it quick!
- If you are interrupted while making the cheat call (say, when somebody shoots you, or when the police corner you), the cheat won't take effect.
- Some cheats will disable some achievements. So if you're looking to collect achievements for your bragging rights, don't cheat. Ever.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Eat some noodles, save the world
Ever since I lost my wonderful red mug at the office to God-knows-who (damned kleptostalkers! 
), I've been gleefully using -- and throwing away -- the free paper cups at the pantry.
Oww. Al Gore is gonna be friggin' mad at me.
I "sorta" hate statistics as much as the next guy, so I won't be dropping any data about climate change and solid waste volume and all that boring stuff. All I know is from my miniscule environmental conscience. It just feels pretty bad that all this paper is going to waste, when I could "save the Earth" by drinking from a reusable cup. It helps cut back on company expenses, too, so we all get that Christmas bonus! *I hope*
But since I'm too lazy and too stingy to buy a cheap mug from Glorietta, I kept sending in paper cups for a new Payatas garbalanche.
And then, today, I got hungry and craved for some noodles.
EAT SOME NOODLES, SAVE THE WORLD
* picture from Rainer Zenz of Wikipedia
), I've been gleefully using -- and throwing away -- the free paper cups at the pantry.Oww. Al Gore is gonna be friggin' mad at me.
I "sorta" hate statistics as much as the next guy, so I won't be dropping any data about climate change and solid waste volume and all that boring stuff. All I know is from my miniscule environmental conscience. It just feels pretty bad that all this paper is going to waste, when I could "save the Earth" by drinking from a reusable cup. It helps cut back on company expenses, too, so we all get that Christmas bonus! *I hope*
But since I'm too lazy and too stingy to buy a cheap mug from Glorietta, I kept sending in paper cups for a new Payatas garbalanche.
And then, today, I got hungry and craved for some noodles.
EAT SOME NOODLES, SAVE THE WORLD* picture from Rainer Zenz of Wikipedia
Mmm... cup noodles. Death in 60g of monosodium glutamate pleasure! I like havin' these babies during my work-a-thon days because they are very good at supressing hunger for long periods of time. Plus, they taste better, and cost less, than most restaurant soups.
And then -- I bet, by now, you have the same idea as I do -- I had a brainwave and realized I can use an empty noodle cup to replace the mug that I had lost!
Never mind if it isn't Starbucks-material. Aside from helping the environment, why recycle a noodle cup for your drinking needs?
* Cup noodles are available in almost any convenience store.
* They're very inexpensive! Plus, you get two benefits from one purchase -- you get a nice hot meal, and you get a nice drinking cup.
* The cup is sturdy, waterproof and has a good resistance to heat.
* No damned kleptostalkers would ever want it, so you're sure to have a drinking cup whenever you need one!
Just now, I had washed my new drinking cup, but it still smells badly of soap, and I don't have any time to rinse it, so...
Oh well, just for tonight, I'm drinking from a new paper cup.
And then -- I bet, by now, you have the same idea as I do -- I had a brainwave and realized I can use an empty noodle cup to replace the mug that I had lost!
Never mind if it isn't Starbucks-material. Aside from helping the environment, why recycle a noodle cup for your drinking needs?
* Cup noodles are available in almost any convenience store.
* They're very inexpensive! Plus, you get two benefits from one purchase -- you get a nice hot meal, and you get a nice drinking cup.
* The cup is sturdy, waterproof and has a good resistance to heat.
* No damned kleptostalkers would ever want it, so you're sure to have a drinking cup whenever you need one!
Just now, I had washed my new drinking cup, but it still smells badly of soap, and I don't have any time to rinse it, so...
Oh well, just for tonight, I'm drinking from a new paper cup.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Belated Happy Father's Day!
Here's an interesting thought for men to keep at heart:
* video from boredmuch2
Since Father's Day comes only once a year, I will take this opportunity to share a few interesting thoughts about Father's Day:
* The best gift that a dad can receive on Father's Day is a free pack of condoms. They will surely be appreciated over the ubiquitous paperweights and ballpoint pens. Plus, they are much cheaper -- even more than maternity costs, diapers, milk and tuition fees.
* Since Father's Day comes only once a year, and involves 364 days of heavy expenses and wasted "me" time after, Father's Day is not worth reproducing for.
* Now that it's no longer Father's Day, I can tell you dads how stupid you are for not using contraception.
Belated Happy Father's Day, dumdums!
If you keep on using contraception, you will never know the joy of celebrating Father's Day.
Take this guy, for example. He is using a condom, and will never know the joy of being a father:
* video from boredmuch2
Since Father's Day comes only once a year, I will take this opportunity to share a few interesting thoughts about Father's Day:
* The best gift that a dad can receive on Father's Day is a free pack of condoms. They will surely be appreciated over the ubiquitous paperweights and ballpoint pens. Plus, they are much cheaper -- even more than maternity costs, diapers, milk and tuition fees.
* Since Father's Day comes only once a year, and involves 364 days of heavy expenses and wasted "me" time after, Father's Day is not worth reproducing for.
* Now that it's no longer Father's Day, I can tell you dads how stupid you are for not using contraception.
Belated Happy Father's Day, dumdums!
Friday, June 19, 2009
The weirdest first post ever
Hi peeps! I sneaked a bit from work today to play a little game. I hope my boss doesn't mind.
This amazing likeness of myself was made using SP-Studio, which is one of the best character makers ever created (thanks, Ms. Janina!). I just wanted to express how I feel right now: ridiculously perky and happy. Thank you, Vitamin Prozac!
There are just a few things amiss with this picture:
This amazing likeness of myself was made using SP-Studio, which is one of the best character makers ever created (thanks, Ms. Janina!). I just wanted to express how I feel right now: ridiculously perky and happy. Thank you, Vitamin Prozac!
There are just a few things amiss with this picture:
- My hair isn't that red.
- My hair is a lot messier.
- My smile doesn't go from ear to ear, thank you!
- I don't live in the clouds.
- I don't own a cat (though I would love to).
- I despise butterflies. (They're just freakin' weird and creepy!) Cockroaches just come a close second!
- I've never worn a French maid costume. But, someday, I just might. *wink wink*
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