Farewell Francis M.

Yesterday a Philippine music icon bid farewell. Francis Magalona also known as Francis M died of leukemia. Francis M has brought colors to the Philippine music industry with his rap-rock music. His famous song include "Mga Kababayan Ko" (my countrymen), "Kaleidoscope", and my favorite "Three Stars and a Sun" and a lot more. Its sad to loose an artist as good as Francis M.

Farewell Francis M. Your great works will never be forgotten. Your songs has inspired us.

Motorcycles help keep you young

I came across an article in the daily paper saying that researchers in Japan have discovered that driving motorcycles help keep you young.

According to Ryuta Kawashima - the designer of the popular "Brain Training" computer software, riding motorcycles help keep drivers young by invigorating their brains, "The driver's brain gets activated by riding motorcycles" in part because heightened alertness. "In a convenient and easy environment, the human mind and body get used to setting the hurdle low", he warned. "Our final conclusion is that riding motorcycles can lead to smart ageing."

I just wonder how does this differ from driving manual four wheel vehicles? One thing for sure, based on my observation that "If you are not carefull, motorcycles will keep you young because you won't grow old."

New Drivers License

I finally got my new drivers license after it expired two years ago. I should have renewed it earlier to avoid the penalties. I took the written exam and actual driving. I am glad that it is over now.

Good thing is that I didn't took the shortcut with those fixers, those guys will cash you dry. I spent around 800 pesos for my license renewal. If I went through a fixer, I could have spent 2500 pesos. I really wonder why our Transportation Agency allows this kind of operations and fixers within their premises. Releasing drivers license to applicants who don't take written exams. No wonder a lot of uneducated drivers are driving on our streets. They make our streets dangerous.

A Week at Sarangani

Early this week we went to Kiamba, Sarangani Province. Kiamba is more or less a hundred kilometers away from General Santos City, the Tuna Capital of the Philippines. The road to Kiamba brings wonderful experience - cruising along shorelines and mountain ridges with lots of magnificent views, rich culture of Islam and Christianity, and wonderful people.

We stayed at Lagundi, Kiamba for two nights, in my parents-in-laws house. Their house is located near the shoreline, so I got plenty of time taking shots at the beautify scenery. While on our way, I also took several shots.

Full Speed to Java

Yesterday I decided to go straight in pursuing a Java career. I was overwhelmed with the opportunities that await for Java professionals. Early this month I took a course on Java programming at Oracle University. That course strengthened my shaken foundations in Java, now I am taking the next step, J2EE.

This doesn't mean that I'll leave behind my Microsoft and Oracle skills, instead I shall have a strong Java skill with a touch of Oracle and Microsoft technology skills. I am planning to get certified next year, I have to choose which to take first. Either an Oracle certification or a Sun Java Developer certification.

Last night I bought two books on Java EE at Book Sale. I'll get back to my reading routine and practice, practice and practice. That is how IT careers are, always on the go!

Back to database works

One of our Oracle databases stopped working today because one of our technicians accidentally altered the registry settings while installing our budget software. I was informed late about the incident and now we can not access the database.
The database serves as a warehouse for one of our major projects. I was relieved to know that the data are still in and secured. I will restore it tomorrow. I hope everything will get sorted out before the week ends.

Xanders' Big Break

We brought Xander to NCCC Mall last night for some rides and play. It's been quite a while since he got his rides. We tried the animal rides and the animal go round. The mall was not so crowded, so we had a lot of space to roam to.

This was Xander's first ride without me holding him. I enjoyed watching my son grow. He is learning independence. After the rides we went to Discovery City where there is a large play park with obstacles, tubes, catwalks and more. Xander is afraid of closed spaces but this time he overcome it. I am so glad to see him did.

While on our way, we met our former students the Simon Sisters. We stopped for a while for some chat and proceeded to enjoy the rest of the evening.

After a fun time at the play park, we treat ourselves at Jollibee and talk about our adventures.