What?!? Another Puberty!

If you are a good observer, you might notice a new environment. Yes, I have changed my blog theme again, hopefully for the last time.

Remember when you were a kid and your mother would only buy you one hundred grams of candy from the store? You stare at licorice, sour tongues, gummi bears and you think you want them all but you only have 100 grams to spend. You're gifted so you take a few of each and you taste each one until you discover the gummi lips are your favorite so the next time you get your 100 grams allowance, you sore your throat on gummi lips?

That is a perfect analogy of what I'm doing. I only got a one theme per time unit allowance and I have a ton of themes to choose from. I'm in the process of looking for the perfect one so (gummi) bear with me.

By the way, this new almost all black theme can save electricity. LCD monitors need electricity to produce colors but not black. That is why Blackle.com was invented.

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Filmmaking Again

I had an idea for a video campaign for smart voting this coming 2010 Philippine Elections. I found it a very good idea but the problem was I didn't have the time or resources to turn my idea into a video reality but I just can't give up because of the lack of resources. It would be so un-filmmaker-like.

So I scanned my video tape and looked for footage I can use. Sadly though, nothing was good enough for my idea so I just remade it and produced another concept. So here it is:

Philippine Election Video from Leo Lutero on Vimeo.

Please be very gentle with the comments because I'm just a beginner (no more than 3 weeks) and I can't do a lot at editing. I don't even know how to correct color or color grade but hopefully I can learn how to soon.

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Calling Using Globe Tattoo Internet Sticks Now Possible

Globe recently released their firmware upgrade for Huawei Modem Sticks but at present only the following models are supported: E160E, E1552, E160, E156G and E220. The model number is printed at the back of the USB sticks.

Click here for the downloads and detailed instructions.

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Images to Video for Free

I am a trying hard filmmaker and I made an almost commissioned short ad for our upcoming end-of-school party. Philippine Science High School-Western Visayas is known to throw the wildest school parties and one can't be pushed through without one or more video presentations.

Above, I used my DSLR and 20 minutes to shoot footage around the school. I was planning to do a stop motion video using photos. I almost succeeded but its a disappointment when I know I can do better.

PS: I am the dancing guy in the video.

The program I am sharing to you all is the one I used. You can use it to stitch your JPEGs, PNGs or bitmaps into video files. You freely decide on the frame dimensions and frame rates. You can also audio if you like. The program is for free, otherwise I could have not used it. You can get it here. Just click this or this or this. Humor when you click them all. :-)

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Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefoz, Safari? Which browser will work for me?

I have three browsers installed on my laptop,
Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Mac's Safari for PC. I use these three browsers almost equally over a few months already and I have noticed their strengths and witnesses. Here, WE will try to dig up which browser is best for you.

Do you love installing toolbars, participating in web beta testings, having access to an infinite directory of plug-ins and themes? Do you not mind longer start up times and do you most of the time look for text other than video, photos etc?

Firefox should be your first choice. It is very customizable though some doubt can arise in terms of speed and reliability. The interface is also nothing to be proud of. But its a very good replacement to Internet Explorer which is not included in this review. I just don't use it anymore.

Do you own a YouTube or Vimeo account? Do you listen to online radio or online music players? Do you love online, in-browser gaming? Do you get angry when an application takes time to load?

If your answer is yes to most of the questions above, Google Chrome was made for you. Google Chrome is one of the sleekest, cleanest and fastest browser I have ever used. It is almost bug-less, reason why you don't get crashes often. Although the extensions library of Chrome is not as colorful as Firefox', casual browsing on this program is chocolate cake.

Do you want to feel chic or hot when browsing the web?

And the last browser in our list is for you. The Safari for PC, obviously not a top player scientifically, is of course the most fashionable of all the browsers. Its main power is the interface which is, like all Mac products, easy to learn and at the same time, just beautiful. It has the most crashes, most hang-ups, most problems but its doesn't bother me much. I use Safari for social networking, blogging, e-mail and blog surfing most of the time because the browser just makes me feel chic. Leisure is the treat of this baby.

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Carpool Hygiene

The next story would be requiring the understanding of 'jeepney' so if you don't know what a jeepney is, better read this first. Everyday, I ride the jeepney. I go to a school a jeepney ride away so its very efficient and cheap. A jeepney ride costs about $0.15.

The story:

A few days back, I woke up very happy. I took a bath and took off.

I go to school at approximately 6:45 AM. Many people are still making out with their pillows around that time while a few others jog around the city. I rode the jeepney and waited inside it for the other passengers to come. I sat in the innermost part of the jeep because I knew I would be getting off of it probably the last. I entertained myself with music.

Over time, other people filled the jeep until only two seats was open. Two men, probably friends, climbed aboard. I was sandwiched between them. I was holding my phone in my hand because I was planning to send out a tweet that my jeep was leaving. I had a deep breath before typing into the keyboard of my phone when I sensed a peculiar smell. I took another deep breath and I realized, I just paralyzed my respiratory system.

The two people sandwiching me had a certain stench I have never smelled before. It was like pig sweat mixed with stale milk or something. The odor was just incredibly bad I turn bright green when I try to remember it.

Unfortunately for me, the jeepney ride took about 20 minutes. So I was sitting there, trying to forget breathing, tweeting on my phone the situation I was in, waiting for death to fetch me. I was pretty sure I almost passed out when the two of them moved. I realized they were getting off the jeep. For the first time in a few months, I appreciated the smell of nothingness. I was smiling at everyone in the jeepney and they smile back understandingly. I sniffed myself to test if the odor of the two people was contagious. Fortunately their odor only faintly infected my right sleeve.

For the $0.15 dollars I pay for the jeepney, proper ventilation is not a right but a product of circumstance.

For other Filipinos, sniff yourself before riding public utility vehicles or you just might be the topic of another blog post.

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Cellphone Love: Anti-Buying Article

My best friend

I have a Nokia 6120c for a cellphone. First of all, I love it very much. Other phones might have rivaled digital cameras in terms of photo quality, rivaled netbooks in terms of networking capabilities, rivaled Olympic runners at speed or even rivaled cars at battery life, but what the pack.

Do they handle extreme physical stress without retaliating with guilt to the owner? Do they consider themselves worthless in your presence that you feel like they are angels made of microchips and some other parts from China? Do they radiate all attention to you rather than to themselves? Do they make it morally acceptable to throw them around when you need to throw them around? Do they make you feel relaxed even when you temporarily lose them? Do they look trashy so you can look perfect alongside? Do they make better calls or text messages than conventional, average cellphones? Do they contain more cell? Well, if its not obvious. The answer is all no.

So before you roll around the floor, crying over getting the newest phone, read all my questions again. Read it until you realize that even when the rest of the world is gone but you and your phone stand together, you can survive. Cheesy, I know but it might just save you your hard earned 20,000 Pesos.

Take note, I wrote this article all because I want a new, top-of-the-line phone. Making a blog post is therapy for me.

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TV into Computer, says Smart.

Have you seen the commercial above lately? I haven't but what it is advertising seems to be a cool product but I can't see it being a giant hit because:

1. Smart sells this for 4,500 Pesos which is, for me, too expensive

2. You need a SmartBro PlugIt to use it and

3.If you already have a SmartBro PlugIt modem, it means you have a computer/laptop beforehand.

So why would anyone buy this SurfTV? I don't know but honestly, its really cool.

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Metamorph

If you have noticed, I changed my blog theme!

Yes, my friends. This is the new WarpedOpinion.com. An aesthetically pleasing website of disastrous material. Be very happy my minions. Be very happy.

Comment on my loser blog if your happy. Come on people, I need some love in here.

BTW: THIS IS THE HUNDRETH POST HERE!

Who Said Immortality is Fiction

I never wanted to be immortal. While most people clamor for youth, I beg for eternal rest although I am not suicidal. I just look forward to the end of my life. I want it to be a spectacle thats why I keep on breathing and moving every single day.

Photo by Schuchert, Peter.

Shockingly though, today I found out one animal is immortal. A jellyfish baptized as Turritopsis nutricula has a lifespan of 'cannot be determined'. Once it gets old, it can turn back into a polyp (human counterpart: baby) for an endless amount of times! To read more, click this.

Of course, scientists will start working on it, hoping to harness immortality from the organism into humans.

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Diaries of a Junior Surgeon Part 1

Today, I had a chance to participate actively in a mass circumcision drive hosted by the GAD (Gender and Development) Department of my school. I am a fan of medical drives because as a science scholar aiming to be a medical doctor, it exposes me to real-life blood and gore that scares me more than anything, at least in medicine.

We arrived at the Judith Lazarraga Tiongco Elementary School, Tabuc Suba, Jaro, Iloilo City around 8:30 am, successfully pinning down our target time. We settled down in a school classroom a.k.a. clinic with makeshift beds formed by joined student tables. We started preparing all the needed materials for the circumcision, which I will refer to as surgery hereafter.

Preparing the materials, one of the least exciting steps in the process, was a life changer for me. Each and every material in the kits will be used in the gory ritual every pre-pubescent Filipino fear. Somehow I felt prepared for what is to come.

To remind you, I’m just 16 years old and a dummy in surgery so I am in no way capable of doing the surgery, or any other surgery to be exact. I will be assisting professionals so no need to feel alarmed about this article.

First patient arrives. About 16 years old, obviously had undergone puberty. I got scared. My dream of confidently assisting a doctor evaporated. All courage and confidence just flew away. This is scarier than I thought. He walks in, gets naked. Lays down and waits for everything to be over. I can’t even take a look. I was so scared of something I never met. This is not a good start.

Alice In Wonderland according to a nobody

Just watched Alice In Wonderland in 3d today and now, I can't even write a good article about it because my head is still spinning. I just realized today that I wasn't born to enjoy 3D movies because I end up looking for motion discomfort bags in the movie house within 15 minutes. It felt like almost two hours of hurricane turbulence. If it wasn't pricey, I could have walked out the movie house proudly.

The film is beautiful but not the media.

My ticket entitled me to a complimentary hotdog or popcorn. Everyone was going for the popcorn so I chose the hotdog. While I was eating it, my Biology teacher texted me about our medical mission in Zarraga tomorrow. It read: "Please do not forget to bring your camera for documentation". I remembered its a circumcision or free 'tuli' drive. How am I supposed to document a bloody, adult-material scene using my one year old camera? I stared down at my hotdog and concentrated on Johnny Depp's rainbow make-up.

Bottomline: If a non-3D version is available in your area, watch it instead.

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Of Flavored Sprite

The whole Shrek package

with the green apple float which I hope

you can locate. Photo from here.

I'm a big fan of McDonald's, specially their Floats. Who ever thought that putting soft, vanilla ice cream on top of carbonated drinks would make a giant hit? Now, I can't walk around the city for more than 20 minutes without seeing a mouth drowning in Floats.

At first, the Floats bothered me. Ice cream usually is basic and sodas are acidic. If you mix them together, you get a reaction. I thought it was dangerous to the stomach until I remembered that our stomachs are approximately at pH 2 which is pretty acidic. And mixing acid and base only makes a salt and water.

Now, McDo had returned their Green Float which was first introduced together with Shrek 2. Now it doesn't stand with Shrek, it stands on its own as the Green Apple Sprite Float. Having an extremely long name to memorize and recite in front of a server, I tried it. For less than a dollar, I was excited on what euphoria my Monster Green Apple Sprite Float would bring me into.

Well, it tasted like bubbly green apple juice. I am not a big fan of adding concentrated syrup to Sprite to add flavor. Sprite, no matter how sugar-flavored it is, is beautiful and I don't believe in altering it. IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH TRYING but I doubt I'll get another next time around. I am genuinely sad that the new McDo float didn't just bring it this time.

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PLDT Watchpad failed me

Anybody heard of PLDT's Watchpad program? Its supposed to give you several free TV channels on streaming. I'm using PLDT's DSL line and I have a faster-than-average connection so it was only practical to try Watchpad. It was free and you don't come across free stuff all the time.

So I downloaded the application and ran it on my computer. A small window that verified system requirements appeared before the all black, suave PLDT Watchpad interface. Apparently, the PLDT Watchpad is sweeter than I thought. I noticed a log-in page below so its given you have to sign up for the service. I followed the link and the concise instructions. I gave out my account number, telephone number, cellphone number, email etc. I was very excited that I just can't stop shaking. The thought of being able to watch channels on my computer for a supposedly better quality was getting the best of me.

I agreed with their terms and regulations that I can't even read with all the excitement building up inside. I click the 'submit form' button and a loading circular gif file which was supposed to signify 'processing' appeared. A few moments, a note appeared tearing my heart into two.

"An error has occurred. Another pending request is ongoing. Please call 117."

I retried several times to no avail. About calling 117, no thanks. PLDT is not known for good customer service. Take that from me.

Again, high expectations for a disaster. Do I have the right to clamor? It was for free, remember? Now, the PLDT Watchpad icon is lying useless on my desktop. I'm too depressed to uninstall.

Anyone want to try out Smart's SurfTV?

No pun intended.

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