Calvin's Hub » Category what?

Happy Birthday to my one and only!

Calvin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:29:52 +0000

Hi all, I just want to take time off today to greet a very special person in my life a happy birthday! She is my best friend, my ultimate travel buddy, my world-class chef, my super-helper, my driver, the one-and-only Mrs. Hubs, my wife Tia!

Happy birthday love! Now if you can also greet her by leaving a comment below, it’s very much appreciated. She’ll definitely read it.

Happy New Year! Welcome 2012!

Calvin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:10:05 +0000

Happy New Year guys. How was your New Year’s Eve? I spent it in our province in Cebu. Been here for a few days already for some sun and relaxation. As for my new year’s resolution, I don’t do that kind of thing… I prefer to just wing it.

Here’s me catching the last sunset of 2011 from the beach a few meters from our place.

Goodbye 2011. It’s been swell. Hello 2012! It’s time to bring in more blessings and opportunities. Have a wonderful 2012 everyone. God bless!

Merry Christmas all and some Christmas musings

Calvin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 03:04:01 +0000

Hi guys! Hope you had a merry Christmas. Wasn’t able to post or do anything online much because we don’t have internet on Christmas day. Hehehe.

Turns out that the phone line got pulled out from the modem when our room was being cleaned. Stupid me for not checking. Had to wait for a repairman to come over and point it out. @_@

Anyway, it doesn’t feel Chrismassy at all this year. It feels awkward buying things for you or for people around you when a lot of folks in northern Mindanao lost almost everything.

Even if you’ve already donated clothes or money, you can’t help but think what other people might say if they see you splurge on something for yourself. On the brighter side, people will hopefully stop or lessen the amount they spend on fireworks and just donate the money to the relief operations in CDO/Iligan.

With Twitter and Facebook, it’s very easy to greet friends and families this holiday. Problem is, with Christmas greetings flooding your wall and news feed, do you still want to add your greeting to it? Also, when you blast Merry Christmas on your wall, it’s not as personal as it used to be when you would directly send a text greeting, write an e-mail or send an e-card.

Then there’s also Christmas and New Year falling on a Sunday. What’s up with that? You need to spend a vacation leave to get an extended time off. Now it’s the 26th and it’s back to work already. It’s a good thing that we have a holiday on the 30th. Can’t wait to spend New Year’s Eve in Cebu.

On a lighter note, here’s a joke I heard at the service last week.

Q. What is the last name of Jesus?
A. Christmas. Think about it, who’s his mother?

Marquez stepping on Pacquiao’s foot intentional?

Calvin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:03:05 +0000

More post-fight discussions appeared on the net where people are accusing Juan Marquez of dirty tactics by stepping on Pacquiao’s foot numerous times during the fight. Observe the video below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=66ydlW-jjNI

That’s just a few instances since other people are reporting that it also happened in the earlier rounds and some believed it caused the cramps that Pacquiao experienced during the fight. When Roach was asked about it in Twitter, he casually mentioned that it’s just a common occurrence when southpaw fighters (Pacquiao) go against orthodox (JMM) ones.

Boxing fans, especially Pacman fans, believed it’s a dirty tactic by JMM since if it’s common, how come Pacquiao didn’t get to step on Marquez’s foot (that much at least?). Good point. But if it’s intentional, how come Manny or his corner told the referee about it? Does that mean it didn’t affect Pacquiao’s fighting?

UPDATE: Well it turns out that Manny was also stepping on Marquez’s lead foot a few times during the match and the announcers caught it too. Here’s a compilation video. (thanks JB)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB6gEExQrqA

If you want to watch the fight again, you can download the Pacquiao-Marquez III video here.

Going back to the Pacquiao-Clottey match, most of us saw the same thing happened on a number of occasion and the referee warned Clottey to stop doing it.

Now with Pacquiao-Marquez, if you’ve seen their previous fights, it’s part of Marquez’s clever footwork to negate Pacquiao’s quickness to place his left foot outside Pacquiao’s right foot. It will prevent Pacquiao from pivoting to avoid JMM’s straight and at the same time, allow JMM to pivot out to avoid Pacquiao’s incoming left straight. Got this from this pre-fight analysis here.

There are two things we can deduct here. Maybe Pacman/Roach caught on to that and as preparation, Pacquiao will have to widen his lead step to prevent Marquez from gaining that outer side and this forced Marquez to inadvertently step on Pacquiao’s foot a lot of times. Or maybe it’s a new strategy Marquez got from his trainer? Since stepping on the outer side of Pacquiao’s foot might slow him down but stepping on his foot will make sure that Pacman won’t be going anywhere.

The question remains though, why didn’t Pacquiao or Roach brought it to the referee’s attention? I don’t believe that stepping on a foot that number of times is acceptable.

Oh and if you’re wondering what the yellow liquid Marquez was guzzling during the fight, it’s an electrolyte replacement which is now approved in boxing fights in Nevada (with proper inspection of course). This means boxers can also drink Gatorade now just like basketball and football players. Endorsement deal for Pacquiao coming up? (Source)

Pacquiao wins against Marquez, or is it robbery?

Calvin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:46:25 +0000

I didn’t watch the game live and I first learned of the outcome on Facebook (stupid me). I saw a lot of status saying that Marquez was robbed of winning the fight. The result was highly controversial that a lot of Pinoys deemed Marquez as the better fighter who should’ve won the fight. So I got really curious as I watched the delayed telecast.

In the first few rounds, Marquez looked really sharp with his clean punches. He was effective and methodical letting Pacman fall into his counter-punching style of fighting. The problem was, he kinda slacked off towards the end when the fight was still on the table while Pacquiao played catch up by being aggressive. After the 12th round, Pacquiao with head down walked to his corner knowing that it’s really up to the judges while Marquez was already celebrating in his corner.

In the end, Manny Pacquiao won the match via majority decision by the judges have it 114-114 by Hoyle, Moretti 115-113, Trowbridge 116-112 for Pacquiao. Marquez was furious as well as most of the audience who booed Pacquiao as he was hoisted up. I may not agree with the score (116-112) but I still believe that Pacquiao won it (or even a draw would suit me).

Maybe it’s because we thought Pacquiao should’ve dominated the older Marquez that’s why we thought it wasn’t a good fight for him. Or maybe it’s because Marquez prevented Pacquiao from dominating him and even showed his techniques really well that’s why people thought Marquez should’ve won.

One thing’s for sure is that in a close fight (with no knockdowns) such as this, it’s really hard for the challenger to win, let alone one who lives with his counter-punches instead of bringing the fight to the champ when the judges are more inclined to favor the aggressor. Yes Marquez was brilliant but it was not enough. Punch stats showed that Pacquiao delivered and landed way more punches/jabs than Marquez.

It was an exciting fight despite the lack of knockdowns especially in the latter rounds when they’re really getting it on. I believe Pacman when he said that he did his best despite showing some uncertainties in the early rounds. It’s just that Marquez really did well in studying Pacquiao to counter him. It’s one of those matches where the the style of both fighters can negate each other. Pacquiao and Roach knows this and they need to fight Marquez one more time to at least prepare for a possible Mayweather fight.

So how about you? Did Marquez win? Or Pacquiao? Maybe I didn’t notice something during the fight. Or maybe it had to end this way in order for the Pac-May fight to happen. Here’s a nice analysis from former boxer Jeff Mayweather.

Here’s another analysis from Michael Sellers sharing my same sentiments but wrote it more convincingly.

Top 15 Twitter Celebrities in the Philippines

Calvin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:19:01 +0000

Do you tweet? Is your Twitter feed boring? Why not follow some local celebrities instead? Here are the top 15 Philippine celebrities in Twitter as of November 2011 based on the number of their followers.

Although there are other more popular celebrities, these are the most active in Twitter. They engage their fans on a daily basis and are more open with the happenings in their life.

15. Kim Atienza (@kuyakim_atienza) – 633,854 followers

14. Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) – 637,553 followers

13. Charice (@OfficialCharice) – 615,012 followers

12. Cristine Reyes (@EVAFONDA2008) – 652,398 followers

11. Luis Manzano (@luckymanzano) – 733,446 followers

10. Marietta Subong (@pokwang27) – 766,970 followers

9. Iya Villania (@iyavillania) – 775,257 followers

8. Bianca Gonzalez (@iamsuperbianca) – 787,546 followers

7. KC Concepcion (@kc_concepcion) – 797,289 followers

6. Angelica Panganiban (@IamAngelicaP) – 819,235 followers

5. Sam Milby (@samuelmilby) – 891,491 followers

4. Kris Aquino (@itsmekrisaquino) – 959,674 followers

3. Jose Marie Viceral (@vicegandako) – 1,004,934 followers

2. Angel Locsin (@143redangel) – 1,064,202 followers

1. Anne Curtis-Smith (@annecurtissmith) – 1,818,635 followers

This list doesn’t mean they are the most popular celebrities in the country (a lot of big names are still missing). Aside from being active in Twitter, I guess you can also say that these are those with plenty of fans that have access to Twitter.

Gee, this is turning out to be a showbiz blog. Hahaha. Anyway, this post is also an experiment I’m currently trying out.

Enduring the Endurance Race at City Kart Racing

Calvin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:52:06 +0000

Not many people know there’s a nice kart track in Makati. City Kart Racing is located at the 7th floor of Park Square in Makati and that’s the venue of the first ever Blogger’s Blaze Fun Cup which we were invited to join.

It was not my first time to kart. The first time that I kart as an adult was just last December also here at City Kart Racing during the IBM Christmas Party for the media. It was the time when I destroyed an HTC Desire Z phone because I forgot to remove it from my pocket banging it up a lot in the process.

After that event, I got hooked with karting and wanted to try different places. I tried the tracks at Enchanted Kingdom but the go-karts there at that time were sub-par. I also karted at Boom Land but the track was full of loose gravel so turns can be quite slippery.

Anyway, back at the Blogger’s Blaze Fun Cup, the event started at around 9 AM for registration but since I already had my info in their database, I can come in late. Tia tagged along and she was excited when they allowed her to race even if she’s not a blogger.

The owner of City Kart Racing, funny guy Jean-Marc Jeff Freihuber, used to kart professionally so he knows his tracks, his karts and all the details that makes a safe and enjoyable karting place. He gave us the usual orientation on how to ride a kart, the meaning of different flags and some safety instructions.

Practice Run

After the briefing, we donned the balaclavas that were provided and chose our helmet for some practice laps. Because of the number of people, we were divided into three groups. Each group is given 10 minutes in the track for us to familiarize with driving a kart and navigating the track.

10 minutes karting felt good and I was already sweaty afterwards. I only managed a measly fastest lap time of 58 seconds but was good for third place in our group. Tia had problems when she crashed into the tire barricade because she wasn’t able to hit the brakes hard enough. The reason? She was wearing slippers and it kept on slipping off her feet. She didn’t get into the race that much because of it and was last in our group.

State-of-the-art

What’s cool about City Kart Racing is their state of the art technology. You would first notice it during the registration. You will fill in your race name and have your photo taken so that you will be entered into their database. They keep track of all the races you had with them so you can see how much you improved or check your personal record.

They have LCD displays around the place to show the current race, who’s leading, what was the recent lap time of the racers and all that.

Then after a race, you will immediately get the heat result on your e-mail. They have free WiFi so you can check your mail afterwards. It will show you how you fared at each lap compared to the other racers. Their website also shows the recent race result by the way.

City Kart Racing also has this Facebook App that pulls info from their database so you can check your record at your own leisure. It will also post status updates on your FB whenever you do a race. How cool is that? Checking my record, it shows that I have a gold (from a practice run last year) and a bronze trophy from. You can also view your friends’ records from this app.

1-hour Endurance Race

After the practice, Jeff informed us that we will be doing a 1-hour Team Endurance Race. There will be one team representative on the track at a time and will switch drivers after every 10 minutes for 1 hour. The team with the most number of laps at the end of the hour wins.

There were three bloggers per team grouped according to their best time during the practice round. The fastest were grouped with the slowest and so on. Tia begged off the race because she can’t ride properly with slippers and opted to go shopping instead. Hehehe.

I was teamed with Zheyme and Stacy and we didn’t have any plans at all. I just told them not to crash. It’s better to slow down than waste time crashing into the barricade or onto another kart.

Zheyme was first and we managed a 6th spot after her 10 minutes were up. I’m to go 2nd and we managed to creep up to the 4th place. Stacy’s next and we maintained our 4th spot. Afterwards, Zheyme said she’s scared to be driving with the faster drivers so she asked me to take her next slot instead. Still 4th place. Stacy’s next. Still 4th place but she drove really fast and even clocked a 56-second lap. Zheyme was supposed to take my spot but she was panicking. Hahaha. So with my body aching from all those hard turns and bumps, I drove again for the last round and we managed to get into the 2nd spot. I was happy that I was able to clock a 52-second lap breaking my 54-second one from last year.

Here’s the catch though. Since we didn’t follow the rule, we were given a 1 lap penalty which is fair so in the end, we were only good for 4th place. Hehehe. I don’t mind though since I get to ride a lot! But boy it was really tiring and the right side of my body was aching, my back hurts from the continuous bumping and I got some scratches on my arm after grazing hard on the tire barricade. Still, it was a really fun Saturday.

I hope I can get to join another fun cup here. City Kart Racing is an excellent alternative for corporate events such as team building or team activities without having to go far outside the city. I took a photo of their pricing by the way (click to enlarge).

Jeff if you’re reading this, let’s have another Blogger’s Cup this Christmas. My wife would love to try again but with shoes this time. Hehehe.

R.I.P Steve Jobs cartoon tributes

Calvin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:07:50 +0000

I guess everybody knows the big news of the day, the passing away of the Apple Man himself, Steve Jobs. I wasn’t surprised when I heard the news this morning but I was saddened by it. I guess most people are. So to keep things light, here are cartoons I collected over the net concerning the death of a great visionary.

From The Art of Raphael dela Rosa

You will be sorely missed Steve! Thank you for shaking up the world with your awesomeness.

No related posts.

Facebook Gold account now popping up, still a scam

Calvin — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 05:00:54 +0000

I don’t know about you but I’ve seen a few of my FB friends having the FB Gold profile and every time they post a status or somebody commented on their status, it would look something like this:

It looks like only Facebook Gold account holders can see the full status and comments of other Gold members.

Ok it’s time to get the cat out of the bag. Facebook Gold account is still a scam, well more of a prank now. A viral prank in the hands of techie and influential friends.

There’s nothing to it really. Just copy their profile pic and upload it as yours and start joining in the fun of copy-pasting those generic Facebook Account Gold message in your status messages, comments, links, or whatever you post in Facebook. It will catch like wildfire and those who are not aware will just go “Huh? Is this true? Did you really pay?”

Hahaha. Again. You don’t have to pay to gain access to this Facebook Gold. It’s just a prank that you can easily do yourself.

If things are still not clear to you, here’s one of the Facebook Gold page with instructions on how to prank your FB friends.

Photos: Typhoon Pedring hits Manila

Calvin — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:15:07 +0000

Yesterday, September 27, strong winds and relentless rain hits Manila leaving parts of the metro flooded and in ruins. Typhoon Pedring, international name Nesat, arrived a couple of years after Typhoon Ondoy left Philippines in one of its worst state brought by a calamity.

One of the heavily hit areas is along the stretch of Roxas Boulevard when part of the seawall collapsed due to the storm surge instantly flooding the streets and establishments with water coming from Manila Bay.

Here are some more photos on what Typhoon Pedring brought us.

It wasn’t as bad as Ondoy but still… Here’s a video of the huge waves from Manila Bay crashing over Roxas Boulevard.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnLwDBQzc-s

Today the skies cleared up but we’re bracing for another storm that’s expected to hit this evening. Stay safe everyone and be prepared.

(All photos are not mine. Credit goes to their respectful owners)