testing

I was looking for some UI ideas and found this site.

I think it is not intuitive as the next person might not figure out that all icons have corresponding questions and to complete the test, you have to click on each and every icon (and answer each and every question). I also noticed that the option is highlighted whenever you accidentally mouseover as the form minimizes after you have clicked on your answer.

On the other hand, the look and feel is kind of cute. I like the images used. And well, the content is well written. I bit cliche, but hey, this is a seduction test anyways.

I did finish the test, and look at my results. BUT WAIT. Forget the quiz results, look at the tactical guide. LOL! Click on the image to enlarge.

Chuck Norris

I was doing some email clean up and I saw THE Chuck Norris email. There are supposed to be 100 facts about him, but I am posting only the ones I liked most.

If Chuck Norris is late, time better slow the fuck down.

Chuck Norris can divide by zero.

Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.

Superman owns a pair of Chuck Norris pajamas.

If at first you don't succeed, you are obviously not Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris can speak braille.

The quickest way to a man's heart is with Chuck Norris' fist.

Most men are okay with their wives fantasizing about Chuck Norris during sex, because they are doing the same thing.

Chuck Norris' action figure has slept with more women then most men.

Jesus owns and wears a bracelet that reads, "WWCND?"

no sh*t?

I'm not impressed by cheesy lines, I would delete emails containing a list that includes "You complete me", "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her" or "I wish I knew how to quit you".

Today, I saw a line in a photoblog that made me feel like an awkward teenager. And trust me, I wasn't an awkward teenager when I was in the awkward-teenager-age.

" 'di naman ako bolero katulad ng ibang tao. Ang totoo'y pag nandyan ka medyo nabubulol pa nga ako."

Weird.

Sandman 65

I... I did not intend to hurt you.

And what if you did not? Intent and outcome are so rarely coincident.

Curl Up and Dye

I was with friends at Clarke Quay having coffee. Mina, Pat and I were explaining to Pat's friend that in the Philippines, we have McSpaghetti in our McDonald's and that it even came in a meal with fried chicken and rice. We then talked about a spoof carinderia called Mang Donald's. Almost instantaneously we were reminded of this once well-circulated email listing funny establishment names.

There were Sips Ahoy (Drinks booth), McDough (Pastry Store), Curl Up and Dye (beauty parlor), Conan the Barber Shop (obviously, a barber shop) and my personal favorite, Petal Attraction (flower shop).

There are times when you remember old jokes and just laugh yourself silly.

These times, priceless.

(I'm thinking, it would be really funny too if someone called a cafe, PASSION CAFE, but maybe, that's just me)

TJ Abad

Migs was telling me that earlier today, he was reading a friend's blog. He liked the entries so much that he read one to me. Upon hearing it, I knew I HAD to read the rest of his entries.

I have never met TJ, but I hope I do. I really like the way he writes. I especially like one particular entry. It somewhat reminds me of how I felt the first time I saw U2's All I Want Is You MTV.

Check out http://tjx.blogs.friendster.com/valorworx_blog/

FOR A MERMAID
i f m y l i f e w e r e a c i r c u s
Inspired by the short story “The Boy With No Name”

If my life were a circus
You’d be the Mermaid
Belting an enchanting melody
With an ethereal tone so pure
It enchants all who feel it
Resonate through their ears
But despite your unearthly beauty
You have never felt passion
For no attempt at courtship
Has been made by a single soul
Because you can never leave
Your tank and your tent
If my life were a circus
I’d be the Boy With No Name
Almost but not quite an attraction
And more like a stable boy for all
Shoveling elephant waste
Scrubbing the Lizard Man’s scales
Maintaining the Ringmaster’s quarters
And ignoring my dignity
To keep the spirits
Of all my comrades
Soaring for the next town

If our lives were a circus
And if you were the Mermaid
And I were the Boy With No Name
I’d finish all my chores
As fast as I could
So I may have more time
To clean your tank in your tent
So I may have more time
To discover who you are
Behind your ethereal tone
And your unearthly beauty
So I may have the time
To teach you dancing
In your tank, in your tent
So I may have more time
To court you
To show you everything there is
In love and in life

Griniz

I just read a blog by someone I went to the same high school with. I don't remember ever talking with her then, but for batches with less than 200 students, it is likely that one would know everyone.

In the past, I have thought about her and the life that she is living. Now that I am somewhat updated, I can't help but admire her more. For those who know her, I am sure they feel the same way. I hope that her optimism and bravery would rub off to the rest of us, common folks.

I'd like to send her a note even if I'm not too sure she remembers me. I'd like to tell her that she inspires me.

The Endless drawn as "The Charmings"

Here is a good one...

Thessalian says "Sometimes inaction is itself action, of course".

Seriously...

While I enjoy watching Grey's Anatomy, I NEVER, at any point felt as though there were lessons to be learned from the show. I saw all episodes from Season 1 through Season 3 and not one episode changed my mind.

It never fails to surprise me when I see entries for random blogs I'd visit once in a while that feature such titles as WHAT GREY'S ANATOMY TAUGHT ME or LESSONS FROM GREY'S ANATOMY and the like. This is just plain alarming. One person even had a WHAT I LEARNED FROM DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES entry as well.

The show is entertaining, the idea is to have an interesting mix of people, all a bit looney about different things at different levels. This and a wide range of physically ill victims with their own stories to tell create a series of supposed relate-able events to mimic real life. Oh yes, a good looking established doctor--surgeon would go to a bar, pick up a random girl, have casual sex and fall madly in love with her. Yes, one night stands lead to each man's greatest love. Har har.

Now when intelligent twenty-something women start having realizations based on the sometimes trite lines in the series, you'd think nothing except that maybe, the end is near.

Someone Was Really Bored

Source: http://www.destructoid.com/six-sinister-things-about-super-mario-28654.phtml

I saw something really funny online, however, responsible parents might feel otherwise. I'm not sure if the material was intended for some awareness campaign against violence in video games, the full article could be read from the above URL.

Where do mushroom powerups come from?
Consider the following. The Mushroom Kingdom is so named because the majority of its denizens have very mushroom-shaped heads. Toad, and his hundreds of identical brothers who consistently manage to get kidnapped in Bowser's castles, have heads that are essentially mushrooms with eyes.
But what about the mushroom powerups that Mario consumes in order to get bigger, or gain an extra life? What do THEY look like? Well, mushrooms. But where do these mushrooms come from? Even after jumping through more than half a dozen worlds in the mushroom kingdom, have you seen a SINGLE mushroom FIELD? One can then only conclude that these powerup mushrooms are not created naturally, but are in fact artificially made (and then evidently put into large question-marked boxes).
What conclusion can we draw from these facts? Simple.
MARIO IS EATING THE DECAPITATED HEADS OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE.

Jailed Jeffrey

I read Jeffrey Archer's Prison Diaries, the first diary at least. I didn't quite enjoy it as his other books. I refused to read any more from the series.

Thanks to Carl, I am now reading his latest work--Cat O'Nine Tales. After I read the foreword, I was surprised to learn that he was actually incarcerated (after some research I found that it was for perjury and libel), the Prison Diaries were not fictitious. I was curious and wanted to know more about how the crime came about but I stopped myself from looking up details of his case as I want to associate him only with happy reading and interesting twists.

(Lord) Jeffrey Archer is most definitely the greatest short story writer! Cat O'Nine Tales is, as expected, very enjoyable. It is composed on nine short stories about crime shared behind bars (loosely) based on fact.

I have two wishes for My Lord. First is that I hope he writes ten more books before retiring (he is into his sixties) and second is that he lives the rest of his days as a model citizen.

She is Haunting Me!

I was reading the supposed last of Thomas Harris' Hannibal books, Hannibal Rising. What was supposed to be a fifteen-minute read before sleeping, turned to an hour of reading.

I liked all the books from the series, this was no exception. I was really into it when I came across a quotation from Ono no Komachi!

She is definitely haunting me! A ghost of a poet who lived centuries ago is calling me.

Oh and I am suddenly reminded that a few weeks ago, I got myself a couple of kimono tops :)

Kampai to the Funny, the Good Looking, the Rich & the Invincible

I don't remember where I read it (probably GQ), or when, but it was about the stages of drunkness. Although it was very short, it was apparent that much thought and maybe research had been put into it.

Stage 1 - You are funny

Stage 2 - You are good looking

Stage 3 - You are rich

Stage 4 - You are invincible

Nins, with or without alcohol, you are funny and good looking. Turts is the rich one when drunk. I don't know about invincibility though.

Odell, don't be confused. You are not invincible. However, you are something that starts with INVI and ends with IBLE too. I can't quite remember that one letter that I missed. Sssssssorry.

Ono no Komachi

While watching tv at our little cottage almost alongside the beach, I find myself engrossed in the Discovery Channel feature. It was about a japanese poet, Ono no Komachi. While I read translated books by japanese writers such as Banana Yoshimoto and Haruki Murakami (who, by the way is one of my favorites), I am yet to explore the realm of ancient japanese poets, featuring takas. Takas are poems with 5 7 5 7 7 syllables per line. Of course, upon translation it is nearly impossible to keep the same number of syllables per line.

When I got home, I did some surfing and realized how truly extraordinary she is, not only is she gifted in prose, she is also quite a character, femme fetale if you may. It is quite hard to imagine considering her time.

(http://www.gotterdammerung.org/japan/literature/ono-no-komachi/)

Very little is known about this Japanese poetess, and most of it is legendary. She lived around 850 C.E. (b. 834?) during the Heian period. The story about her is that she was a woman of unparallelled beauty in her youth and enjoyed the attention of many suitors. She was, however, haughty and cruel, breaking many hearts. She was punished by living to an old age and dying as a destitute and ugly hag in loneliness. The legend is almost certainly false, but the passionate nature of her loves survives (minus the didactic ending) to this day. In fact, the town of Ogachi in Akita prefecture celebrates an annual Komachi Festival on the second Sunday of June (legend has it that she was born in the village of Ono in Ogachi). There is a shrine dedicated to her.

Could I just make this entry about me and add that my birthday, in some years (like 1988, 1994, 2005), fall on the second Sunday of June?

What especially captivated me was the legend about her supposed lover. It is like the story in the movie Cinema Paradiso.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ono_no_Komachi)
There are legends about Komachi in love. The most famous is a story about her relationship with Fukakusa no Shosho, a high-ranking courtier. Komachi promised that if he visited her continuously for a hundred nights, then she would become his lover. Fukakusa no Shosho visited her every night, but failed once towards the end. Despairing, he fell ill and subsequently died. When Komachi learned of his death she was overcome with sadness.

There was one particular taka I liked, however I failed to both memorize it and find it online. I, however found one, not quite as touching/disturbing, but I should say, as eloquent.

Heart! We will forget him!
You and I-- tonight!
You may forget the warmth he gave--I will forget the light!
When you have done, pray tell me
That I may straight begin!
Haste! lest while you're lagging

I remember him!

Here is an interesting site to visit http://www.temcauley.staff.shef.ac.uk/waka0809.shtml, it features some of her work, the translation alongside the original text.

More info at http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/ono.html.

A video lecture on Japanese Poetry at http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=39&EventId=483.

I Try Surfing by BhobG

NOTE: I read this blog entry a few months ago and enjoyed it immensely. I don't know Bhob personally, nor have I seen him but I've heard very nice things about him from Migs and Gold.

I went surfing last weekend. Correction. I tried to surf last weekend. The venue was the San Juan Beach Resort in San Juan, La Union, just north of San Fernando. My instructor was a reed-thin lad by the name of Exon. He demonstrated, with the board on the sand, the proper technique for standing up on the board just as it rides on the wave. You push up with both hands, slide the left foot over with the toe on the middle of the board, then spring forward with the other foot, without using your knees, to land on the middle of the board with the foot perpendicular to the board.

Sounds easy huh? Not so, and here are my two reasons.

1. You start out in a horizontal position. That is a problem in itself. When I find myself in a horizontal position I usually like to stay that way. Only food or the promise of interacting with cute girls inspires me to go vertical.

2. From lying face down you need to stand up without the use of your knees. This is hard enough to do from a floor. This is hard enough to do from a bed. This is hard enough to do at gunpoint.

And yet surfing requires you to do it on a slick fiberglass board, perched on a three-foot high wave, with Exon shouting at you and people watching on the shore cringing at the sight. Oh, and you have about a two-second window to do it before the wave swallows you up. Standing up from a face-down position sans knees is like trying to sit without your butt, dance minus the feet, or eat a cheeseburger with something other than your mouth. It's just not going to happen, not with my beached-whale physique. I tried to get on the board five times. My best result was to kneel pathetically on it for three seconds. Don't even ask how the other four went.

I gave up and retreated to the beach to behold JL, one of the guys in our group, repeatedly stay on the board for 5 to 7 seconds a time. JL weighs 108 pounds. JL is taller than my 5'5". JL has abs. JL has abs that have their own abs. JL's waistline is 26. 26 is not a number I usually associate with waistlines. JL has a body fat percentage that is slightly south of my shoe size. It really does help to be thin in this game. Exon is also skinny and he put on a show after the class. He floated on to the board effortlessly and then walked forwards and backwards on the board while it was on the wave. Sick!

But the best show was a short, dusky compact bloke I saw who trotted out onto the sea with his board and repeatedly rode the waves with ease. Not bad for a guy with one leg. I'm serious! He had one leg! The other leg was a stump above the knee! Ok he sort of rested the stump on the board but still! Double sick! I'm glad I tried to surf. It was a swell experience. And I'm sure I'll be doing it again.

With a mouse and a keyboard.