About my new Layout

Technically, it's not really a new layout.

I simply tweaked the CSS code of Blogger's classic Rounders Template. I'm not really proficient in CSS but with the help of trusty old Google and common sense, I managed to change the background image, made the header, body and sidebars translucent, and changed the color of the texts and links. I have a little problem though, how do I make the images opaque in a translucent box? Somebody help me! hehe. It's still buggy -- works perfectly fine on IE but is a bit sluggish on Firefox 2. It might be all these translucent boxes that's dragging the layie down. Hmm, i'll try to fix this when I have more time.

*Update: I ditched the translucent effect on the body. Sa header and profile box na lang. hehe. For some reason the translucent effect doesn't work on IE. Tsk. Dipisil ang dai tatao, trial and error lang. hehe

By the way, many thanks to Vladstudio for my new background image. It's called Terre Lointaine, (whatever that means). I chose it because it looks great and has that eerie, artsy-fartsy, Tim Burton-ish vibe to it. The colors are cool, too.

Web Finds: Wikipedia

Everyone probably knows that Wikipedia is the world's largest online encyclopedia, where anyone can research about almost any topic there is. The good thing about Wiki is the huge amount of information available for free. Also, anyone can edit the articles to add more information. Unfortunately, that's the tricky side of Wiki. Pages are prone to hacking which makes the authenticity and reliability of some information questionable.

For someone like me who counts thick encyclopedias as some of his favorite books of all time, Wikipedia is heaven. That's why I can spend countless hours just browsing aimlessly through the site. Wiki-hopping is actually one of my hobbies. haha. Usually I start from the homepage and click on whatever link that looks interesting. When researching about a topic, the links can be very distracting and I usually find myself clicking away merrily. Sometimes i find myself on a topic light-years away from my starting point.

Apparently, Wikipedia isn't only for researching about a particular topic. There are other interesting things you can do while on Wiki. I came across this article on Neomeme.net featuring nine cool things you can do with Wikipedia. Check them out.

• TV Episode Guide. Just search for “list of ____ episodes” with the name of the show, and you will see every episode catalogued and summarized, often with trivia and other factoids.
• Cliffs Notes Replacement. Don’t want to read that weighty tome for your literature class? Don’t worry, Wikipedia is on your side. Just type in the name of the book, and you will be presented with a plot summary, themes, symbols, and other in-depth analysis.
• Learning Activities. This is from Wikiversity, a Wikipedia sister site. Whether you are a student wanting extra practice for a difficult subject or a teacher looking for homework assignments or handouts for your students, Wikiversity provides tutorials and worksheets on subjects ranging from AJAX programming to Philosophy. Wikiversity is currently woefully incomplete, but many subject have lengthy, well-written tutorials.
• Stock Images Collection. Need royalty-free stock images for your next web design or desktop publishing project? Turn to Wikimedia Commons, where you can browse images by subject, licence, or author. So if you need, for example, a radioactive Diderot for that big presentation to the investors, you’re all set.
• Music Database. Want to discover new music? Wikipedia has extensive cataloguing of music by genre, making it easy to find similar bands to those you already like.
• Time Capsule. Want to know what people thought of a topic years ago? Wikipedia archives all changes, so simply by clicking on the “history” tab on top of the page and then “Earliest” on the very bottom you can see an article as it was written years ago. Aside from demonstrating the fluid and ever-changing nature of Wikipedia, but also offers a glimpse into how people thought years ago. The value of this technique will increase over the years as Wikipedia gets older.
• Future Planner. Just as it can go backward in time, Wikipedia can also go backward forward. Wikipedia has articles stretching far into the next millennium. Want to see what you need to schedule for 2008? How about the World Cup in 2038? And be sure(assuming you’ve reached immortality) to pencil in the unsealing of that time capsule in 8113 AD.
• Trend Tracker. Perhaps even more important than what people are searching for on Google or other search engines is what people are researching. This page show the most popular Wikipedia articles. For example, following the Super Bowl, a lot of people went to research Prince,whose search numbers spiked recently. A list of sexual positions, however, remains an all-time favorite. Which brings us to our next and final topic:
• Teacher of Sex Positions. The list is more comprehensive than most books on the topic, complete with pictures. Hell, you can even use Wikipedia to look for porn.

Source: Neomeme.net

Where have I been?

Traveling is right on the very top of my i-want-to-but-some-circumstances-doesn't-allow-me-to list. I haven't even been to some of the best destinations here in Bicol. So it isn't a surprise that I got a D in this popular Lakbayan test which I think everyone in the Pinoy blogosphere already have in their respective blogs. Oh well, It seems I have 'miles to go before I sleep get an A'. hehe

Update [8.16.8]

After trips to Bohol and Boracay for this year, my Lakbayan grade is now a C-. Looking forward to the next upgrade! Hehe

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

My (So-called) Visual DNA

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Found this interesting tool while blog-hopping. It's supposed to show your 'Visual DNA' or the type of personality you have based on the pictures you choose. To get your Visual DNA, you have to answer a number of questions by choosing the picture that feels right. For example, when asked what your idea of a vacation is, you can choose from several pictures showing a beach, road, mountains, etc. The tool then analyzes your personality based on these selections.

They say pictures are worth a thousand words. So maybe they can say a thing or two about someone's personality. I think the results of my own Visual DNA are fairly accurate, although of course, you can't condense a thing as complex as personality into a few photos.

The site also lets users find people with similar choices and link up with them, by the way. I couldn't care less, though. LOL.

Rizal Beach, Sorsogon

Rizal Beach, Sorsogon - Originally uploaded by dxpsycho

This is Rizal Beach in Gubat, Sorsogon on our first outing this Summer 2007 (with the Marketing Department). It's my second time to visit this place. The last time was when we had a retreat here back in '03. Revisiting Rizal Beach brought back some fun college memories.

Anyway, the beach is good enough but I'm not really impressed with it though. It needs some cleaning up as it is littered with strands of seaweeds, twigs, shells, other organic debris and the occasional hermit crab scurrying about.

The sand isn't white but is of a greyish-brown color, although some say the sand there used to be "whiter" than it is now. The water is quite shallow but you have to watch out for those seaweeds that can be quite ticklish on the feet. The wide beach is perfect for a barkada to hang out in under the clear blue sky or on a starry night.

Still, we had fun in Rizal! What do you expect? When a bunch of retards get together, it's a riot! LOL. Kidding. On to the next summer destination!

Check out my Flickr for more photos of Rizal Beach

Green Skyscrapers

Maybe because of my love for architecture and skyscrapers combined with my heightened awareness of environmental issues, ‘Green Skyscrapers’ or environmentally-friendly towers naturally captured my interest. Skyscrapers aren’t really known to be environmentally benign. I’m sure the amount of energy needed to power the lighting and air-conditioning needs alone of such huge structures takes a sizeable chunk from the power generated by coal-fired plants that produce toxic emissions.

But apparently, skyscrapers can be sustainable environmentally-friendly structures that can actually help conserve and even produce renewable energy, and minimize waste materials through recycling and reuse.

One such skyscraper is the new Hearst Tower in New York, featured in this article. The Hearst Tower, a soaring glass and steel landmark with distinctive triangular frames built on top of an older building, is NY’s first green building incorporating a number of environmentally-friendly features in its design. The building’s structure itself uses 80% recycled steel. To reduce the energy used for air conditioning by 22%, the building uses outside air for heating and cooling and uses a system of polyethylene tubing embedded in the floor filled with circulating water collected from rain at the tower’s roof.

The collected rain water is also used to irrigate plants and for use at a three-story waterfall at the main lobby (which in turn, helps cool down and humidify the lobby). Its unusual triangular framing pattern or diagrid also has a purpose: It helped reduce the amount of steel needed to construct the building by as much as 20% compared to conventional steel frames. Hearst Building is designed to use 25% less energy than the minimum requirements for New York.

I hope more skyscrapers like the Hearst Tower will be built all over the world. Here in the Philippines, I have yet to see a truly energy-efficient skyscraper that uses a number of environmentally-friendly features. In the near future, I’d like to see perhaps a tower with built-in solar panels to capture the energy from the hot tropical sun, or a building equipped with turbines that will harness the wind to produce sustainable energy. I hope our new breed of architects and engineers will also prioritize environmental-friendliness and energy efficiency in their designs.

Road Trip to Joroan

Last Sunday, February 4, I and my colleagues and friends went on a road trip to the town of Tiwi, a 45-minute drive north of Legazpi City. The group attended mass at the old town church and later indulged in the famous Tiwi halo-halo. The halo-halo of Tiwi is quite popular because of the softer consistency of the shaved ice which makes it creamier and smoother. There's also a generous heap of cheese on top. And since I'm a bit of a cheese lover, that's fine with me.

After lunch, the group decided to head for the scenic road going to Joroan, a barangay of Tiwi famous for being the home of the Nuestra Señora de Salvacion, a revered and miraculous Marian image. The Hanging Road to Joroan is called as such because it winds its way up, with the mountain at one side and a steep cliff diving down into the sea on the other. The view overlooking the blue-green Lagonoy Gulf was spectacular. One can even see the island province of Catanduanes in the distance.

Of course the best part of the road trip was the company, any trip with these guys is always laugh trip!

Check out some photos of Joroan after the jump.


You can also check out my Flickr for higher resolution photos. :-)