3D Model: Beach House with Infinity Pool

The sweltering summer heat inspired me to create a new 3D Sketchup Model. This time, a modern Beach House complete with beachfront, garden and infinity pool. Like my other 3D models, I made this beach house without any clear vision in mind. Every detail came from scratch and just flowed naturally as I played around with Sketchup's myriad features. So please, be gentle to the newbie. :-s

The house is a two-story structure with an interesting interplay of geometric figures. I used stone and wood materials that give the house a solid but homey look. Since it's a beach house, I put in wide windows to let in the expansive views of the sea. I also used a lot of glass to take in as much natural light as possible. There's a wide multi-faceted bay window at the back to take advantage of the excellent beachfront location.

A flagstone deck connects the main house to the infinity pool with a whirlpool tub or jacuzzi. A balcony at the second floor is a perfect location for lounging around while watching the sun set or breathing in the sea breeze. I also inclued a lush tropical garden with fruit trees and gazebo to the left of the house.

Here are some more screenshots of my 3D Beach House model (click to enlarge):

Overhead view from the back, above the waterfront

View of the house from the beach

Deck and infinity pool

Back view

Right-side view

Left-side view

Next time I'll try to experiment with elevations and probably start doing interiors. This 3D Sketchup Model is available for download here. You can also view my other 3D models here.

My Mobile Phone History

I was browsing through a gadget blog when the idea for this post came to me. Since I've owned only a handful of mobile phones (which means I don't really have to write a very long post) and each mobile phone has a story behind it (no matter how inane, hehe) I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm not really a mobile phone freak. I had my first cellphone when I was already working (the only way to reach me before that was by calling our home phone or texting my Mom. lols), and I don't really change phones to keep up with trends. So, here's my mobile phone history (cue in the music, please lol)

Nokia 3210
Dec. 2003 - mid 2004
Current location: Unknown

My very first mobile phone was the heavy and chunky N3210. Yes, the phone that almost weighs like a brick and can actually double as a weapon. It was a hand-me-down from my brother. No, wait - I think I actually bought the damn thing from him. Haha. Although the phone served me well, I really hated lugging that brick around. Anyway, the phone must have really disliked me too because one rainy night while I was commuting to the office, It quietly slipped from my pocket and left me forever. So far, It's the only phone I lost. RIP.

Nokia 3330
Nov. 2004 - Dec. 2005
Current Incarnation: Ma's other mobile phone

I replaced the ill-fated N3210 with another hand-me-down, a 'pre-loved' Nokia 3330 bought for a princely sum of P1,000. Yeah, I know I'm a cheapskate. Haha. I went through a lot of good and bad times, upheavals and lulls, while I had this phone, all sheathed in black with an electric blue backlight. When I eventually decided to move on with a 'new' phone, my mom claimed it as her own. I still use it sometimes when I 'steal' load credits. *grin*

Motorola C650
Dec. 2005 - Oct. 2006
Current Location: Somewhere in Legazpi

My colleague Mydz (who by the way is the real cell phone aficionado, lols) sold this phone to me back in mid-2006, yet another pre-loved phone. It was my first color phone with camera. The phone was OK except for the stupid joystick that kept breaking. After spending too much for repairs, I just had to get rid of it. I don't remember to whom I had it sold, though.

Nokia 2100
Oct 2006 - Dec. 2006
Current Location: Unknown

I found myself phone-less after I disposed of the C650. With funds running low, I had to settle for a low-key, second-hand Nokia 2100 that my co-worker was selling. This phone is memorable because I had it with me while that deadly typhoon was raging back in Nov. 2006. My brother claimed it when I had a new phone. I don't know where it is now. lols

Nokia 6680
Dec. 2006 - Feb. 2008
Current Location: Somewhere in Greenhills

Mydz (again!) was the middleman when I bought this phone from my colleague's sister, who turned out to be a batchmate back in HS. I know, another second-hand phone. hehe. The N6680 was the most expensive phone I shelled out money for. I had to pay for it in installments though, so it wasn't really that heavy on the pocket. I had fun tinkering with the N6680 with its Symbian 60 OS, 1.3MP dual camera, and 3G-capabilities. The phone also served me well as an MP3 player. My only gripe was the phone's hefty size.

Nokia 5310 XpressMusic
Feb. 2008 - Present
Current Location: Somewhere under my pillow

I didn't really intend to replace the N6680 because it was still working fine. But a quick sidetrip to Greenhills woke the impulse buyer in me (that place is evil, lol). I was immediately attracted to the 5310 with its sleek design. Placing the 6680 and the 5310 side by side convinced me in favor of the latter. So I traded in the old and bulky for the sleek and slim. I'm glad I did because the phone is just perfect for me. It's lightweight and thin but durable and still offering the features I need especially the MP3 player and camera.

So there, you've just wasted a few minutes getting intimate with my mobile phone history. Haha. How about you, what is your mobile phone history?

Twenty Five

As of today, the 27th of April 2008, I have wasted 9,132 days or equivalent to 219,185 worthless hours or 789,067,050 squandered seconds. lol. Yes, today I turned 25. No big deal really. Except that I am now a quarter of a century old and I have approximately 45 years to go before I bite the dust (that is If I maximize the life expectancy of a Filipino male). Haha.

Kidding aside, I'm thankful that I've reached another milestone in my life. It's a special day not just for me but also for my eldest brother. We both share the same birthday with our departed great-grandfather. Happy Birthday, Kuya!

I'm also thankful that I'm in good health, my family is doing okay, I have good friends and even though life is still full of snags and hitches, I think I'm chuggin' along quite alright.

Here's hoping for the best in the next 25 years. Cheers!

***
A huge thanks to the entire USAP Marketing Department - Legazpi for the gifts, and also to Phoebe and Jirl for the birthday posts they wrote in their respective blogs. I'm touched. Hehe. Thank you. :)

Photo credit: xjaemaex

Every Day is Earth Day

They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Big Yellow Taxi

Joni Mitchell

I know it's a day late but caring for the earth should not be given attention for only one day. It's time to shake of the indifference because everyone's well-being is at stake, whether we care or not. If you want to start caring but don't know how, here are 50 Ways to Help the Planet.

Legazpi on SkyscraperCity's Banner

Legazpi City made it to SkyscraperCity Forum's banner for today, 17th of April 2008. SkyscraperCity, fondly called SSC by members, is a forum dedicated to architecture, development, urbanity, photography and travel with over 180,000 forum-ers from all over the globe.

SSC has a very vibrant Philippine sub-forum which has become a rich source of information about various developments in the country - from up-to-date news about upcoming skyscrapers in the Metro to spellbinding photos of unspoilt beaches and islands.

Legazpi is only the fifth city featured on SSC's banner, which changes daily. The photo, taken by Arnold Faller, is a panoramic view of Legazpi with the majestic Mayon Volcano in the background. You can view the original photo here.

PicLens: 3D Image Viewing Experience

If you love browsing through media-rich sites such as Flickr or deviantART, here's a cool add-on you can install in your browser to enrich your image browsing and viewing experience. Now you don't have to just click through online photo galleries or a boring parade of small thumbnails. PicLens by CoolIris transforms your browser into a cool, full-screen 3D picture wall.

I found the PicLens interface quite fast, easy-to-use and intuitive. When you install PicLens, it adds a small 'play' icon on the images which you can click to open the superb full-screen 3D experience. Here you can drag, click, scroll and zoom through images with ease.

PicLens view of My Flickr gallery

PicLens is best viewed on Mozilla Firefox but it is also available for Internet Explorer and Safari. It works with a growing number of websites including Facebook, Friendster, and Image Searches for Google, Yahoo, etc.

For Firefox Users, click here to install PicLens. Visit the PicLens website for more details.

Stoked at CWC

The CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC) is only roughly two hours away from my city but today is only the first time we've been there. And we're glad we did. CWC rocks! To the uninformed, CWC is touted as the best wakeboarding cable park in the world today. This makes CWC and CamSur the mecca of wakeboarding enthusiasts from all over the globe.

Even though we had to wait a few hours for our turn on the cables and boards, it was all worth it. It's my first time to do extreme sports and I'm not even that athletic. Haha. We were stoked to see all those wakeboarding virtuosos doing their stuff on the lagoon with such skill and agility. But as newbies, we had to go through kneeboarding first. Kneeboarding "is an aquatic sport where the participant is towed on a buoyant, convex, and hydrodynamically shaped board at a planing speed".

It was fairly easy to do but quite tiring especially on the arms and legs. My first time on the kneeboard was a disaster. Haha. Let's just say I learned my lesson to keep my shorts tight enough. Hahaha. Too bad we only booked for an hour. But it was quite an experience and I definitely want to go back and finally learn how to wakeboard. Now that would be really cool.

Check out our photos at CWC: