Stop and Stare

Stop and stare
I think I'm moving, but I go nowhere
Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared
But I've become what I can't be
Oh, Stop and stare
You start to wonder why you're here not there
And you'd give anything to get what's fair
But fair ain't what you really need
Oh, can you see what I see

Stop and Stare
OneRepublic

I've Upgraded to Flickr Pro

I finally decided to get myself a Flickr Pro account. Why? For no serious reason, really. I've been a Flickr user since 2005 and I think it's still the best photo sharing website today. Unlike other services such as Photobucket or Imageshack, Flickr is not just another photo storage facility.

What I love about Flickr is the interaction with other users, from professional photographers to amateur shutterbugs like me. I get a kick out of random people appreciating my humble photos (all taken with an old point-and-shoot digital camera) by leaving a comment or even adding them to their 'Favorites'.

Flickr is also home to a mind-blowing collection of images from around the world (over 2 billion). I can waste hours just ogling at the impressive photos, wishing I can also take such awesome shots. There are also other cool stuff to do with my photos using third-party Flickr toys. By the way, I made that 'Dextr' logo using this Flickr logo maker.

Flickr Pro comes with additional features and privileges not available to free accounts, such as unlimited storage, unlimited sets, unlimited bandwidth, permanent archiving of high-res original images, ad-free browsing and sharing as well as account and photo stats. I like the last feature since I'm a bit of a stats freak.

Please do check out my Flickr photos. And if it isn't too much to ask, don't forget to leave a comment. hehe. ;-)

Back from Hiatus

No, It wasn't really a hiatus. I just didn't have the time and opportunity to blog about anything for the past few days, which all just flew by like a blur. Just to update this blog though, here's a recap of what transpired during the past week.

I was in Pasig together with my fellow team leads for a series of meetings with our company's VP for Marketing and SEO Manager plus the CEO himself, who all flew in from the US. As expected, it was a busy week, so this blog went on silent mode for the first half of the month.

Although we kind of 'dreaded' coming to Manila, I think the week went pretty well. I finally met some of the people I used to communicate with only through PMs and emails. We also had the chance to personally discuss a slew of work-related issues and plans with the upper management. And, best of all, we received a bunch of promises good news that everyone in our Legazpi office needed for them to get pumped-up and ready for this year's challenges and opportunities.

I hope this is a start of something good for all of us, especially for my colleagues who have been really working hard for the past year.

3D Model: House with Tiered Gabled Roof

Isometric View

As some of you may well know by now, I've always wanted to be an architect. As a kid, I used to sketch a lot of houses, from simple "bahay kubos" to grandiose mansions. I loved making my own floor plans where I can create habitable spaces for people. I even made an entire city plan complete with wide avenues and parks. Back then, I would consume several sheets of pad paper drawing my 'masterpieces'. Haha!

That interest has never really waned. That's why Google Sketchup is one of my favorite programs. SketchUp has allowed the kid in me to move on from doodles of houses to 3D models complete with architectural details and textures. Here's one of my recent 3D model creations on SketchUp: a two-storey house with a tiered gabled roof.

Detail of balcony, courtyard and fountain

It's best to call the style of this house as "eclectic", haha. Some highlights include decorative tiles and stucco walls reminiscent of Tuscan villas and a courtyard with fountain that evokes a Spanish-Mediterranean flavor. But the three-tiered slate roof has a slight modernistic touch.

I didn't really have a specific style in mind when I created this model. I worked on the portico first, experimented with the different textures and colors available, then it all took off from there. I think the result isn't that bad, hehe.

Here are some more screen grabs of this SketchUp 3D model.

View of garage and portico

Another view of the courtyard with fountain (and yeah, that's a cocker spaniel near the french doors, hehe)

Tiered gabled slate roof

View of the balcony and garage.

You can download a copy of this 3D Model from here. To view some of my earlier models such as the Legazpi Railway Station and St. Agnes' Academy, click here.

The Tubbataha Reef: 7 Natural Wonders Nominee

Photo by Phua Boon Wah

The Philippines’ very own Tubbataha Reef is nominated in the global poll to name the new seven natural wonders of the world. The 96,000 hectare reef ecosystem in the middle of the Sulu Sea, touted as Asia’s best marine park, is one of over a hundred natural attractions from around the world vying for the distinction.

Surprisingly, the reef is our country’s lone entry in the list of 77 nominees. There are definitely many more natural attractions from the Philippines that deserve to accompany the Tubbataha reef on that list, and it’s a shame only one got through. (I've nominated Albay's Mayon Volcano)

Still, the Tubbataha Reef certainly deserves to be part of the top seven. This ecologically-rich reef composed of two atolls located 92 nautical miles southeast of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. In 1993, Tubbataha Reef was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site “in recognition of its outstanding universal value in terms of marine life species diversity and richness.”

Find out how to vote after the jump.

Photo by lexmanxxx

Comparable in diversity to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Tubbataha is home to over 300 species of coral and 400 species of fish including giant jacks, hammerhead sharks, barracudas, manta rays, palm-sized moorish idols, parrot fishes, and moral eels. The rare hawksbill turtle also call Tubbataha home. Thousands of migratory seabirds also flock to the island during their annual migration.

The stunning diversity makes the Tubbataha Reef a favorite destination for divers. And yet the reef has been protected for years from exploitation due to its own remoteness and inaccessibility.

Photo by pinay_diver

Personally, I find the poll ridiculous. All the wonders of the natural world can not possibly be given justice in a measly list of only seven. Still, this is yet another chance to showcase our well-known Pinoy solidarity when it comes to online polls. Let us vote for the Tubbataha Reef because it definitely deserves to be there. As of January 25, 2007, the reef is steady at the 34th spot. Tubbataha needs to enter the top 21 rankings to be considered as a finalist candidate. Voters from around the world will then choose the new seven natural wonders from the finalists. Click here to vote!

Photo by Lawrence Yung

The Bird's Nest and the Water Cube

One of the most anticipated events this year is the 2008 Olympics to be held in Beijing, China. With the slogan One World, One Dream, the Games of the XXIX Olympiad will draw thousands of athletes from around the world to compete in 302 events in 28 sports.

The Beijing Olympics also holds a special significance because it is widely seen as China's monumental step into world prominence, a chance for the giant nation to build goodwill and showcase itself to the world. To make Beijing worthy of its role as Olympic host, the Chinese built a number of new structures and landmarks for the games.

More than the spectacle of sports and fanfare, I am looking forward to these two new structures that are sure to become architectural icons: the new Beijing National Stadium and the Beijing National Aquatic Center.

The Beijing National Stadium, the centerpiece of Beijing's Olympic Green, is nicknamed the 'Bird's Nest' because of its unique nest-like design composed of an interweaving grid-like enclosure and retractable roof. This astounding feat of engineering is designed to embody the 'Randomness of Nature'.

Not only is it an engineering and architectural marvel, it's also environmentally-friendly - with its own rainwater collection system, a translucent roof that provides essential sunlight for the grass below, and a natural, passive ventilation system. The $500 million stadium is designed by Herzog & De Meuron and will hold 100,000 spectators.


Meanwhile, the Beijing National Aquatic Center, standing opposite the 'Bird's Nest', is destined to be one of the most exciting venues at the 2008 Games. Nicknamed the 'Water Cube' or [H₂O]³, it features a soap bubbles-inspired architecture achieved by using a steel spaceframe clad with hundreds of square meters of ETFE, a kind of plastic.


The ETFE cladding makes the Water Cube 30% more energy efficient by allowing more light and heat penetration than traditional glass. At night when the structure is lit from within, the Water Cube would be a stunning sight.

I hope the Philippines will also have an iconic stadium of its own soon. We definitely need a new world-class stadium to hold world-class events. The historic but antiquated Rizal Memorial Stadium simply wouldn't suffice anymore.

Click here for more information and photos
Check out construction photos here

Tagged: Why Do I Blog?

I'm supposed to be working on some pending projects here at home, but my mind is wandering somewhere else. I just can't focus. Argh. I guess I need a break from working on the same old stuff for weeks. So for the meantime, while I refresh my mind, I'll answer this tag from Neil, a co-forumer from SkyscraperCity.

How long have you been blogging?

My blogging experience has been intermittent at best. I first had something that resembled a blog back in late 2004 via the old Blogger. It's dead now. Hehe. I simply wasn't able to maintain it and it died of neglect. Between '04 and '06, I made several attempts to start blogging again but somehow I just couldn't keep it going.

In 2006 I had an anonymous blog at WordPress - I opted for anonymity because I had some quite personal stuff going on there. But that blog is dead too. Hehe. I guess I'm not really at ease having too personal blog posts for everyone to feast on. The current incarnation of my blog is doing well, I think. I started posting stuff two years ago and It's still alive. Hehe.

What inspired you to start a blog and who are your mentors?

A lot of things inspired me (and continue to inspire me) to blog, or generally, to write. Maybe the most important reasons that motivate me to write is the yearning for self-expression and creativity. For the past few years, writing has become my life - because it is my job and it pays the bills. But writing out of necessity is never as fulfilling as writing to express one's thoughts and to explore and share things that are interesting for me. Thus, I blog.

I don't remember having any blogging mentors.

Are you trying to make money online, or just doing it for fun?

It is tempting to monetize a blog, but this is still first and foremost a personal blog. I simply love writing stuff and sharing them to anyone who cares to read.

Cheesy as it may sound, I do get a sense of fulfillment in the simple joy of having people read and relate with my posts. It feels great when people leave a comment or two. I'm happy when my blog gets good traffic or when one of my posts appear on top of search engine results. Even though I have been a part of the SEO industry for more than four years now as a web copywriter, I'm still basically a newbie blogger, and all of this fascinates me. I still have a lot to learn.

For the meantime, I'll stick only with AdSense on this blog and skip the other revenue-generating stuff. If I get clicks on my ads, that's great. If I don't, that's fine with me too.

Tell me three things you love about being online.

1. I have access to a vast wealth of information and news. For someone who used to pore over encyclopedias, the internet is nirvana.
   
2. I get to interact with and learn from interesting people through forums and other blogs.
3. I get to download stuff. (Hey, don't give me that look, LOL)

Tell me three things you struggle within the online world.

1. Hmm, I 'struggle' with updating my blog regularly too.
2. I'm struggling.... to answer this last question.
3. I'm struggling to keep my eyes open.

Guess it's time to hit the sack. But before I do, I ask Homar, Phoebe, Cristel, Richard, and Abby to continue this tag/meme. Just ignore if you've done this before. Good Night.