Birthing

What a fitting strip from one of my favorite comic sites.  And so apt to my case now, being the director of the maternity ward.  Or the fertility god.  Whichever way you want to put it.  :D Apologies to XKCD for the rip.

The Mentat http://www.pineda.ca

STS: A Real Eye Opener

So my teen aged son is home from his 7 week trip to the homeland.  He's complaining his phone's memory card being so full it's almost spilling.  Some of his photos have gone bad and his card is in dire need of a reformat.  So he backed up all his photos to my laptop.  Took him over 3 days to upload everything to my laptop via bluetooth.  There just wasn't any other way to upload the photos reliably, you see.

Then I find this particular gem of a photo!  My wife and I took a long hard look at each other then turned to him ! with eyes full of question marks...  wha...?!

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I Had But 50 Cents

I took my girl to a fancy ball,

it was a social hop.

We stayed until the lights went out,

the music it did stop.

Then to a restaurant we went,

the best one on the street;

She said she wasn't hungry,

but this is what she eat:

A dozen rolls, a plate of slaw,

a chicken and a roast,

Some applesass, asparagrass and

soft shelled crabs on toast.

Next she tried some oysters fried,

her appetite was immense!

When she called for pie I thought I'd die,

for I had but fifty cents!

Now after eating all of this,

she smiled so v! ery sweet;

She said she wasn't hungry and

she wished that she could eat.

The very next order that she made,

my heart within me sank!

She said she wasn't thirsty,

but this is what she drank:

A whiskey skin, a glass of gin,

a schooner of lager beer,

A ginger pop with rum on top,

and then some champagne clear,

A bottle of ale and 

a soda cocktail astonished all the gents!

When she called for more

I fell on the floor, 

for I had but fifty cents!

Now to finish up this 

delicate gal cleaned out an ice cream can.

She said, "Now Sam, I&#! 39;ll tell my ma

you're such a nice young man".

She said she's bring her big sister along

next she came for fun;

I handed the man the fifty cents,

and this is what he done!

He broke my nose, he tore my clothes,

he hit me in the jaw;

He gave me the prize of two black eyes,

and with me swept the floor!

He took me where my pants were loose

and fired me over the fence!

Take my advice, don't try it twice, 

if you have but fifty cents!

________________________________

This was a poem I've read when I was 14 and I found it so hilarious during that time and I just know the author is "anonymous".  Now, after almost 2 decades, I've rediscovered this poem and I still find it hilarious.  This ver! sion is not the full one, though.  I'm still searching for the ful! l version.  The original one I had read when I was 14 still eludes me to this day.  If you happen to have the full version, please let me know.  Have fun!

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K.I.T.T.'s Definitely Coming. Soon.

Some updates on the Stanford University project which Volkswagen is involved with.  You remember that project, right?  I wrote about it here.  Anyway, they've had some progress on the project and it seems the car can now do slide parking like a badass.  We've seen KITT done it.  Now we're seeing KITT's coming.  I won't be surprised if someday somebody will bring all this separately developed technologies and put them all into one car.  I'm hoping it will be a BMW.  :D [flv:stanfordkitt.flv 475 280] Sources:  Stanford Robot Car Capable of Slide Parking, Stanford's Robot Car Slides into Parking Spot Like a Badass (video)

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Backyard Monsters-Pokey

Pokey  might be small and slow , but its pleasant demeanor and cheerful chirping ar perfect for drawing fire and tripping booby traps. Speed 1.2kph Health 200 Damage 60

Neoboy, KidSpeak! http://kidspeak.pineda.ca

Why Didn't I Think of This?

By jove, man.  A self-weighing suitcase!  This is a wonderful idea!  What with todays restrictive baggage allowances courtesy of super duper low airfares.  No more guessing about the weight of your luggage before you go to the airport to check in.  No more fretting about excess baggage.  You already know!

Now my question is where can I get one?  Is this even available at the Travel Club?  Can anyone tell me, please, where I can get ! one?  Seriously.  :D

If you can believe it, the suitcase (from Expert Verdict) even costs just $100. It's the standard carry-on roller type, and it won't win any beauty contests, but who cares? Self-weighing suitcase, people!

[via Inventor Spot, Gizmag, Geeky Gadgets, and Dvice] and via CrunchGear by Devin Coldewey on 5/10/10

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Let us bury IE6! Put it out of its misery!

via Download Squad by Sebastian Anthony on 5/11/10 and [via istartedsomething]

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Of Passwords and Security

Passwords.  It's what we need nowadays to access our online accounts.  Even our computers require passwords to be accessed.  Well, for those who've set up their computers to be secure it's a requirement.  How does one choose a strong, secure and safe password, though?  Do you just choose a password that is easy to remember?  Or do you make a complicated password to secure your account and ensure nobody can guess it?

Some people have rules for their passwords.  Rules like it has to be a non-word.  That it should be a mix of letters, numbers and even special characters like $, #, & or some other character.  Some prefer to use the L33T alphabet mixed in with special characters.  It's easier to remember and satisfies the complexity issue.  I use this and suggest you do, too.

I bring this up because of the recent attack on my yahoo and facebook acco! unts.  Although my gmail account was attacked, as well, I wasn't too worried about it because google always sends me a text message requesting for confirmation for any attempt to change my password.  I'll start worrying if I happen to lose my phone.  Hehehe...

But regardless of how you think of your passwords, make sure it's strong and difficult to guess.  And don't share it with anybody.  If you're worried about your family not knowing your passwords in case something happens to you, check out the services of Deathswitch.  I've written about it before (2009, to be exact.)  Don't heed this advice and you might end up losing your identity to someone unscrupulous.

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Security Breach

Every so often, as is our lot in life, especially when we're online more and more, somebody or something out there will try to hack into our accounts.  Email.  Facebook.  Websites.  And a few more others.  The main reason someone or something will try to do this is to obtain your personal information so your identity can be stolen.  Hollywood, of course, put that fear into a lot of us. A lot of us, though, never think it will happen to their friends, let alone themselves, thinking we are nobody.  We are invisible.  Sure.  How often do I see posts on facebook that the owner didn't place there?  How often do I see friends getting locked out of their email accounts without their knowledge?  Surely it doesn't happen everyday but it's enough. Enough so that Sunday, as I got home and prepared to write my Mothers Day message to my blog, I find out someone or something tried to breach my yahoo, facebook and google accounts.  Wonderful.  Such inconvenient timing.  Remember how zippy my internet connection is after a certain time window?  Well, I had to spend 60% of that remaining window on resetting my yahoo and facebook passwords.  Then updating Pidgin with them so I can login to the chat networks. Then I hurriedly typed my message for the mothers in my life and away it goes.  Posting complete.  Then... ooops.  I forgot to tell this here blog of mine that my facebook password's been updated.  That's why I don't have anything, no posts, no wall entries, no status updates for yesterday. My accounts, though, remain secure and untouched and I'll explain in the next post.  I just hate the inconvenience and the hassle of the password reset options I have to go through.  Especially when I think about how interconnected my sites are.

The Mentat http://www.pineda.ca

Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean?

Mothers day reminds me of this article I've found before.  It just sorts of clicked within me that although I've written about it before, it is still as applicable today as it was yesterday.  And not only for me, either.

My wife, my mom, my mother-in-law, and Sandra, my sister-in-law are all coffee beans.  Ever since I met my wife, I've worked at becoming a better person.  I've toned down my temper.  Avoided fights that can be avoided.  Become a better dad to my kids.  Learned how to resolve difficult situations.  Opened up myself to better communicate with the people around me.

From my mom, I got perseverance and endless optimism as well as short term memory loss.  That short term memory loss is definitely essential to leading a stress free life.  Ensuring I keep smiling despite the stress and tension life brings me.

From my mother-in-law, I got hope and forgiveness.  That these qualities, when combined with short term memory loss, makes life even better.

My sister-in-law taught me to have fun.  Life without fun is nothing.  Especially if you focus too much on the future that you forget the present.

My dearest wife.  Mama.  Mommy.  Sandra.  You are all the coffee beans I need and want!  ! HAPPY MOTHE! RS DAY!!!

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How to Pray...

The other night in the office, we were tasked to rush something as part of a programme for staff.  There were vague instructions set upon us to complete our task using unfamiliar system and terminology.  The most specific instructions were to use our best psychic abilities (sorry, boss, couldn't help myself here) to complete the tasks set for us to complete.  No problem, I can do that. As I started working, I got pinged left and right with private messages like, "what is the current dollar to peso exchange rate?"  Some were more mundane like, "I know I found it in some obscure site but I can't seem to remember the title."  Then there was the odd ball question on how to convert a unit of measurement from metric to english.  Again, no problem but I did a double take and thought to myself, how did I suddenly become the office currency expert? Or maybe I was asleep and dreaming it all.  Did I suddenly become Mr. Know-it-all?  Doubtful.  I pray to the god, just like everyone else. So I took a little time out (I was sitting in my chair far too long already, anyway) and walked to my peers one by one and showed them how to pray with efficiency and effectiveness.  First was the question of currency exchange.  In the god's prayer box (search box/bar), type in Amount Cur in Cur.  Like 50 usd in php for what $50 is equivalent to in Philippine Pesos.  For the areas, do the same... 30 acres in hectares, 12 feet in meters or 12 ft in m to make it shorter.  The results genuinely surprised them all with the general reaction set to, "ooooh... it can do that?"  It made me smile.  And I admit, made my day. So a sermon sounding instructional lecture spout forth from my lips:  yes, you can use google as a calculator, currency converter, etc.  Yes, you can also do site specific, targeted, searches.  You can search for almost anything.  After all, isn't google a god?  Just be sure to pray correctly in the most dignified of manner. The feeling of being, so far, the only priest of the church of google (with a black belt) in the office was nice.  Though it can get tiring if there are too many requests coming in so I have decided to share the two files I've downloaded ages ago in learning to pray.  The prayer books or the bible for the church.  They are now available for download from here.  Links below.  Click and enjoy.  If you want to share your experiences, the comment boxes are still open. Downloads:  Google Cheat Sheet 1 and 2

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Iron Man 2 [Thoughts]

Just finished watching Iron Man 2 and re-watched Iron Man 1.  Woohoo!!!  Iron Man rocks!  Great movie!  Lots of action and lots of Iron Man.  Love Pepper Pots and Natalie Rushman/Natasha Romanoff. But story aside, I couldn't help but think about Tony Stark's comment to Senator Stern.  "The Iron Man suit isn't a weapon, it's a prosthesis."  It's very interesting to note that there's a Japanese company by the name of Cyberdyne Systems that manufactures the HAL-5 "Iron Man" suit to help people and there's also another similar suit made to help the paraplegics walk again.  So in a way, his statement corroborates the reality of such technology. Another interesting thing I noticed, and this is in no way truth, just an observation after having read the blog posts below, is the similarity of the story to the current tech wars.  A few weeks ago Apple sued HTC for patent infringement and soon after Google stepped up behind HTC to lend support.  Then Microsoft comes in to lend its support to HTC, as well.  The imagery is a little too similar to Iron Man 2's storyline. (a few spoilers) Justin Hammer goes after Tony Stark.  Whiplash attacks Iron Man.  Hammer allies with Whiplash.  Iron Man fights off the Hammer/Whiplash combo.  Then comes SHIELD to help Iron Man's fight by going after the people behind the drones.  Then lastly enter War Machine, helping Iron Man defeat Whiplash.  Pepper, of course, brought down Hammer. Interesting coincidence?  Or was it by design?  Lest my maternity ward accuse me of thinking too much over 5 bottles of beer, I will end this post now and leave you with your thoughts.  If you care to share yours, the comment form is open below.  Fire away!   :D Reference links:

• Iron Man 2 Is Allegorical To Gates Vs. Jobs
• Did Microsoft Just Step In To Help HTC Fight Apple? Or Are They After Android Too?
• Practical Exoskeleton Developed to Enable Disabled
• Cyberdyne Corp. starts exporting its robotic exoskeleton HAL-5
• Exoskeletons For Rent In Japan

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My Suitors

My Suitors, originally uploaded by Neolex.

This is supposed to be titled Party Ladies 2 but Cyrene (she's the one in
white, by the way) wanted me to post it as such. As it is, here you go.
Have fun.

The Mentat http://www.pineda.ca

Fw: The Party Ladies

Fw: The Party Ladies, originally uploaded by Neolex.

The Party Ladies

The Mentat http://www.pineda.ca