Digital Dreamer

Blog update

2010-08-26T22:52:00.000+08:00

Will be updating my posts later...

Life after death...

2009-03-05T12:05:00.002+08:00

It's been silent in the front. My long hiatus has something to do with too much focus on the ephemerals. Life's been a challenge these days.

Some old Churches in Cebu...

2008-02-10T00:58:00.001+08:00

All photographs are there to remind us of what we forget. In this - as in other ways - they are the opposite of paintings. Paintings record what the painter remembers. Because each one of us forgets different things, a photo more than a painting may change its meaning according to who is looking at it.

~John Berger

My fascination with things of the past are the silent stories they bring. What is it like to live back then? I have a of vision people wearing baro't saya, or perhaps the obiquitous camisa chino and the soft cotton pants.

Here is a picture of the side door of the centuries old Church of St. Michael the Archangel of Argao, Cebu, which depicts a classic example of Baroque architecture prevalent among old church designs. The church itself is made of square blocks of white coral stones.

Sometimes we have to look back on our past so that we may understand our present and allow us to plan for our tomorrow. Let us cherish and preserve the things that are handed down to us. We don't own them, we only take care of them for our children.

Here is the facade of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel of Argao, Cebu.

In Defense of our future...

2008-02-10T00:39:00.001+08:00

A photograph is memory in the raw. ~Carrie Latet

One of the things that makes photography a worthwhile hobby, is the opportunity to see things beyond the picture. When my wife Reiza took this shot of our son Raphael at the War Memorial in Corregidor with a background of the dates of the defense of Hawaii and the Southwest Pacific, I saw a connection between that war and our son. It tells of the heroic deeds of the soldiers who shed their blood, their dreams and probably their youth as a sacrifice so that the future generation (that means us and Raphael) may enjoy what we have now.

eulogy to a friend...

2007-02-05T10:58:00.000+08:00

It's been a full week since a good friend and a brother took things upon himself. In a burst of (rage, anger, frustration?) ended his borrowed life. We laid him to rest last Wednesday. The weather wasn't good that day. As if Nature is one with us as we grieve for him. The small drizzle that fell feels like teardrops from heaven. I have known him for about seven years when he and his wife joined our community. The seven years he spent with the community were full of memories. Though there were times he distanced himself from us because of circumstances, he always comes back.

As most of us did, he made bad choices in life. But I can't blame him, I blame the circumstances that made him choose it. He was not a perfect husband and father, but deep in me I know that he was struggling to become one. The last days of his life is more of a struggle, finding strength and healing, trying to be whole. But sadly, circumstances caught up with him.

Like him, all of us have deep wounds within that is in need of healing, all of us are struggling to be whole. In the end, what matters most is not how we see ourselves and the people around us through the limited vision of our eyes, but how God see us through His loving eyes.

Goodbye my friend, my brother. May God purify you and welcome you home.

I'm back (again)!

2007-02-02T12:24:00.000+08:00

I just recently got a Pbase account to store and share the pictures I've accumulated in my daily walks. These pictures reflects what's in my heart and soul (poetic?) All my life I've been searching for things and places that represents me. I found all of these when I got my first digital camera, a Canon Powershot S50 5MP camera. And since then, been happy clicking away on things and places that reflects my mood and how I see things through the lens of my camera.

They say that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. But I also say that to start a journey, one should know where one was, where one is, and where one is going. That way, one will not be lost. I'd like to share this journey with you.

Do visit my site @ www.pbase.com/digitaldreamer. I'm not a professional photographer, just a wide-eyed amateur.

visita iglesia...

2006-04-25T01:47:00.000+08:00

every maundy thursday for the last five years, my family made it a point to do the annual visita iglesia to the different churches in dumaguete. this year we went farther, starting from siaton down to zamboanguuita, dauin, bacong then up to valencia. what a trip!

The Gospel of Judas

2006-04-25T01:27:00.000+08:00

Have you seen this special presentation of the National Geographic channel. I did! and after the episode what happened to me, my faith? something! It only strengthened my faith in God's love and His infinite wisdom. that indeed there is a God who has a plan for all of us.

in the gospel, judas was portrayed not as a betrayer but a purveyor. well, it's the gnostics' words against the writer of the earlier written four gospels of MMLJ. even if we put an iota of truth on the gospel, it still does not justify judas' suicide as told in the MMLJ gospels.

like most of us, we are called to do some sacrifices for a "noble" cause. but what we do after that justifies who we are and what we will become.

not unlike most of us who looks at "sacrifices" as an opportunity to gain political patronage, judas did what most politicians will never do, commit suicide for the sake of delikadesa (he he he!)

batu-bato sa langit, tamaan huwag magalit.

Sound of Silence!

2006-04-25T01:18:00.000+08:00

I think I should get myself together and spend some time updating my blog. sometimes when I am in the thick of things, I do forget I have a blog or sometimes call it plain laziness. I guess I'm an artist, they say artists are moody, and almost always my fingers goes with my mood.

All is well in Linux Land!

2006-03-13T16:40:00.000+08:00

Good thing the group at ACSAT have already prepared an RH8 Box. A good number of students did attend and found out that most of the participants have no experience with Linux, but have heard all about it. Some though have attended Martin Acupanda's Linux install using Mandrake.

Good thing about it is that the seminar, part of their OS2 subject, was encouraged by their instructor who himself is a Linux fan, who in turn told me that ACSAT has plans of shifting to Linux. I also invited him to the March 18 meeting and encouraged him to organized their own school-based LUG, which he said he will. Luckily also, my Ubuntu CDs came through the mail a day before so was able to distribute some copies.

Well, generally the talk focused on three things about Red Hat Linux:

Red Hat's business model
RH's Linux as compared to proprietary software (OS and apps)
The economy of Open Source solutions

But everything is not all about RH. I also included the comparison of RH and other distros particularly Ubuntu. Where to get support and downloads and how to start using Linux. Here, Ubuntu's Live CD is particularly helpful.

By the request I have with more CDs, tells me the level of interest the students have.

May the source be with you!

Globe overwhelmed?

2006-03-10T10:35:00.000+08:00

Murphy's Law: If anything can happen, it will.

Tomorrow I will be giving a Linux presentation to a group of ACSAT students. Initially, I offered Ubuntu, but decided against it only last Tuesday because they would opt for Red Hat v8. Since I haven't used Red Hat for quite a while, I scrounged around for my copy of RH9 but couldn't. So I decided to download it from RH's archive using Smart's wi-fi connection but the fastest download speed I reached averaged only @ 10kbps. I reasoned, well the weather is somewhat bad there might be some interference. So I transferred my download to the office's Globe DSL connection which is supposed to be in the area of 768kbps, I figured I could reached a download speed of around 60kbps which I normally experience, but to my dismay, as of this moment my download speed is only 12kbps which is only twice that of a dial-up connection. What happened? To many subscribers on-line? Or is it Globe, in pursuit of expanding its subscriber base failed to upgrade their resources. Too bad.

I'm still positive though, something better will come out of this. But for the meantime, I'll asked around for some copy of RH8 or RH9.

Have a nice day!

Life is indeed beautiful...

2006-03-09T23:11:00.000+08:00

Life can sometimes be hard. Life can sometimes be cruel. But one thing is certain, there will always be a new tomorrow, to lift us up, to heal us. A tomorrow that brings hope and joy, that brings radiance to cast away the shadow of pain that glooms a hurt heart.

Success is never measured in how many times we fall, but how many times we stand up every time we fall. And I still believe that the most wonderful and beautiful things in this world, can never be seen nor be touched, it must be felt with the heart.

Have a nice day, everyone!

Daily Rant: part 3

2006-03-08T10:57:00.000+08:00

For the moment I have to make do with Windows XP to go around the house for my wi-fi needs. I have to work around my connectivity problem with wi-fi radar or I'll shop around for other alternatives.

Good day, everyone!

Daily rant: part 2

2006-03-08T08:49:00.000+08:00

My Smart Wi-fi connection works on my laptop's Ubuntu environment only if it's directly connected from its ethernet (eth0) port to my router's network port. I have some problem with running wi-fi radar to manage my wireless connection, some compilation issues always props up. Will be playing with it on the office's Globe DSL.

Daily rant

2006-03-08T08:30:00.000+08:00

I slept around 2 AM today, been awake that long to play around with my recently deployed Smart Wi-fi to work with my Edimax Wireless Router. I thought the setup would be that easy like that of Globe's terrestrial DSL, but lo and behold, it was alien to me. Found out later that every time you log-in, you will be redirected to their portal. where your subscription will be validated. The advantage though is that even if you have an unsecure wireless AP, every device will pass through the same authentication - no username and password, no connection. The downside is that everytime you log-in you have to pass through the same authentication, which includes username-password level, then an image authentication level which takes some time, then a system restart. Cumbersome, but secure. Anyway, I can now move around the house without the wires. Wireless indeed is the way to the future. Ciao!

Feeling the angst of the daily grind

2006-03-08T01:02:00.000+08:00

Sometimes or most of the time, we somehow forget that there's more to life than financial success. Year after year, we break our backs to reach that goal only to find out that life is empty.

On the other hand, we need our mobile phones, our computers, our internet connection, blah-blah-blah. Life is beautiful after all!

2006-03-07T01:39:00.000+08:00

Reminds me that below the Belfry used to exist Snow White refreshment parlor synonymous to Halo-Halo and the now extinct Presto Ice Cream.
(I am really getting older.)

2006-03-07T00:33:00.000+08:00

When I was small and Christmas Trees are tall. This is not really me, but it comes close.