Down Time.

I'm down with the flu and I wasn't able to get up this morning for my classes because I was feeling really sick. These late nights-early mornings sleeping habits (which continued even when I served last weekend in BLD Youth Ministry's Youth Encounter weekend, separate post, I promise) are taking a toll on me. Add to that the uhm, weather. See, even I can't think of an adjective for the weather that we've been experiencing for some time now. I'm really not that sickly, but when I do catch something, it just screws up my entire system. Anyway, I'm just so glad that I have no exams and major papers to do and submit this week so that means I can rest. And by resting, I mean having a White Collar marathon. Definitely number 2 on my list of series; the number 1 spot goes to Suits, of course. 

Evidently, this post has no central theme and yes, I'm bored, thus the creation of this post. But hey, I guess being sick and bored has got some upside, too. My study table was a mess because I've been studying for the last two weeks for exams, which by the way, I think I did great good in, I decided to rehabilitate it and try and make it less cluttered. And as of typing this, the table's still organized so yeah, that's more than an hour of being organized! I'm getting good at this cleaning thing! Here's what it looks like right now.

I did not dare take a photo of what it looked like before I cleaned it so as to save myself from shame and you guys from eye sore. Anyway, again, I'm cooking up a giveaway for February so y'all better check out the blog for mechanics. I'm also gonna be releasing three covers in the coming month so please check out my Soundcloud and my YouTube channel. I'm gonna go back to resting now. Season 2 Episode 2.

Sound Check.

After months of lusting thinking of getting a condenser microphone, I finally emptied out my wallet and got myself a SAMSON C01U. It's one of those USB microphones and it's pretty cheap but it's been getting a lot of great reviews since 2009! Yup. the mic's been around for almost four years and yet it is still touted as one of the best USB microphones out there today. I initially wanted to get an XLR type of mic but then it'd mean that I'd have to get a pre-amp/mixer as well and that it'd take more time of studying and tinkering with it and I don't have the luxury of time especially in the coming months since I'm finally graduating from the University and y'all know how busy graduating students are. Or not. Turns out even USB mics need an ample amount of time, too. Sound quality's really good and it even captures the sounds from 25 feet away. Eavesdropping at its finest. Anyway, I'm still "breaking in" to it plus I've been studying and practicing mixing and mastering for over a week now and so far, so good. I think. Ha ha. I'll be uploading a new cover hopefully next week so y'all better check out my YouTube channel for that.

As much as I'm lovin' the SAMSON C01U, I know I have to upgrade to an XLR mic soon and soundproof my room if I really want to get serious with this music-making stuff. And dead serious I am, so alam na kung saan mapupunta ang ipon and TF. Ha ha! Leaving y'all with a sexy photo of my mic. Should I give it a name?

Coloud's "The Pop" In-Ear Headphones

Happy Holidays! It's been more than a month since I've updated this thing and I hope I still have readers even after a month-long (short LOL) hiatus. I was blessed to have been invited to perform in several events during the past month and that plus school took so much of my time. Anyway, those nice-paying gigs (LOL again) have helped me in copping some really nice stuff this holiday season. I was able to treat my family, some of my friends, and even get myself a condenser microphone for my  home recordings! But probably one of the best item I got for myself is a new pair of headphones from Coloud. 

"The POP" by Coloud

(Slightly) Better Than Naked.

I like my gadgets naked. There's something about the feel of wonderfully crafted materials against the skin. However, I can't risk bringing them out without something that can protect them so I searched for a case that I could put my new toy into whenever I need to go out of the house. It took me around three days to finally get a case/cover for my Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 (Thanks, The Peninsula - Manila!) because 1) it was quite hard to find something that suited my personal preference and 2) I was waiting for my TF from a gig so that I'd be able to get something without having to ask money from mum. Ha ha! And so the morning after the gig, I scoured SM City Calamba for a case and I was lucky enough to find this leather folio case from Swisstech.

The Peninsula - Manila's SING@NING Samsung Galaxy Tab Giveaway Winner.

As I've mentioned in my previous post about the Grand Finals of The Peninsula - Manila's SING@NING Search for the Ultimate Voice, Samsung gave out Samsung Galaxy Tabs to the Top 7 contestants and boy were we (other contestants who were part of the Top 20) jealous! Ha ha! Never did it cross my mind that I'd be going home the next day with my own tablet! How, you ask? Well, The Peninsula - Manila's Facebook page held a "liking" contest which was kinda like a "guessing game". The "liker" should "like" the link of the video of whoever he/she thought would win the SING@NING Search for the Ultimate Voice. Being the good friend and room mate (HA HA), I liked all three videos! Besides, I really can't choose among the three because they're all really talented and all of them deserve to win! So yeah, I remember I was still in the shower when Sir Joseph Arias phoned our room. I was intrigued about the call and I scanned my memory of the things me and my room mates did in our room. Baka kasi sobrang ingay namin kaya gusto ako kausapin para pagalitan. Ha ha! I returned his called right after fixing up and he told me that I was the "lucky one" who got chosen as the winner of the contest. I was dumbfounded at first because I've totally forgotten about the contest, but then I remembered it and man, was I ecstatic about the prize! Sir Joseph told me to meet him for lunch and then meet The Peninsula - Manila's Director of Marketing, Ma'am Cristina Cruz. I was really giddy after the phone call and was jumping around in 420! Ha ha! 

Receiving the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 from Ma'am Cristina Cruz (The Peninsula - Manila's Director of Marketing)

I didn't have the chance to use the tablet once I returned to 420 because the boys wanted to go swimming and make the most out of the remaining hours of our stay at The Peninsula - Manila. Upon my arrival at home that night, I immediately tinkered with my new toy! Here it is! My very first Android device! Ha ha!

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 16GB WiFi (GT-P7310)

I never knew it could be so sexy! Ha ha!

Sexy back, eh? 

All the basics, covered.

Surprisingly excellent stock earphones! 

Some features of the Samsung Galaxy Tab  8.9 (GT-P7310)

• 8.9" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT
• 3MP AF Camera + 2MP VT
• Dual-Core 1 GHz Processor
• HD Recording & Playback
• 6100mAh Battery
• Android Technology
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 3.0

My very first Android device and being the iOS and everything Mac addict that I am, kinain niya 'ko when I used it for the first time! Ha ha! I'm getting used to it, though, and I'm really liking how it's soooooo customizable. I haven't changed/upgraded my software or ROM (because I'm scared LOL) but I'm having so much fun using the tablet. It's got everything a social media junkie like me needs! Here are some screenshots of my homescreens!

Easy access to everything! I put the apps I frequently use on the first homescreen.

Second homescreen features apps and widgets for the world wide web! 

Third homepage features all my social media needs. Plus memos and e-book readers!

The fourth homescreen serves as my very own "music studio"! My favorite homescreen! :)

The last homescreen houses the games. I've downloaded a lot more after this screen cap was taken! Ha ha!

I have yet to learn more about Android devices! I've been meaning to get a tablet for the longest time to use for gigs and music sheets and fine, academics, so this was a very pleasant surprise! I want to thank The Peninsula - Manila, especially Sir Joseph Arias and Ma'am Cristina Cruz, and of course, Samsung Philippines/Samsung Mobile Philippines,  for this wonderful, very early Christmas gift! Definitely a worthy addition to my weapons for social media! I promise I'll put it to good use! Ha ha!

I've never won in online contests up until now so I guess they're real! Ha ha! Don't forget to visit the official site of The Peninsula - Manila and also view and LIKE their Facebook page for more information about reservations, events, promos and exciting contests and giveaways! Y'all can also follow them on their official Twitter account. 

Vans Waffle Sole iPhone 4/4S Case

Aaand I'm back! I got caught up with tons of things these past few days months, thus the hiatus. Summer 2012 ain't that good, too, since I haven't had time to go away from the hometown because of summer class, service for BLD Youth Ministry's YLSS, getting fit and this other thing which I can't really talk about here, or anywhere, for that matter. Ha ha! Anyway, let me make it up to you by posting about this recent purchase I made.

Called up Vans Off The Wall's store in ATC to reserve me a piece since these cases are selling like waffles, I mean pancakes! Got the chance to drop by the store earlier and I've been using it since this afternoon. The case is made of Van's new flexible rubber and is a replica of their famous Waffle Sole series. It added a bit of thickness to the iPhone but it's something that you'd get used to easily. 

I'm really digging the look and feel of my iPhone right now! If you wanna cop a case (or two), drop by any Vans Off The Wall concept stores right away since these cases are only available for a limited time only. Priced at PhP 1,198.00, the Vans Waffle Sole case is definitely one of the best-looking iPhone cases in the under PhP 1,500.00 category. 

Be sure to check out Vans Off The Wall's Facebook page and follow them on Twitter for more updates!

Finally. Childhood.

People who know me and my family know that we are not really big fans of the boob tube TV. We do have four TV sets in our house but they were never bigger than the now minute 21" because we never saw the TV as a gooooood investment. After all, it is still just a TV. Blame it on our penchant for reading books, playing board games and going out. Add to that the fact that almost all of us have laptops already, and we all know that almost everything shown on the TV nowadays is available on the internet, right? No commercials, too, so that's a tad better. I think. So anyway, imagine my surprise yesterday morning when I got a text from my mum saying that they're in SM City Calamba buying a new TV. I wasn't expecting that but then again, my mum has been working at home since last year and I guess she wants to build a stronger relationship with the TV. And so she got this:

Taken with Apple iPhone 4, edited and originally uploaded via Instagram.

I'm currently sitting on the couch watching a rerun of the MIA-NETS game on the new TV while typing this and this my friends, is what all Sundays ought to be. Enjoy the rest of the weekend! I know my family will. 

P.S: Plans of getting an XBOX (with Kinect!) and a PS3 are well on their way and me and RJ are hella excited for 'em. Finally. Childhood. Ha ha! 

Wallpaper Clocks For Mac by Vladstudio.

Marcial's default desktop background is mesmerizing and calming and makes me just want to stare at it all day long. I had no intentions of changing it just yet but a certain post in PHILMUG caught my attention and brought me to Vladstudios. A few clicks and downloads were made and here's how Marcial's desktop background looks like right now.

The world in jeans! Ha ha! Wallpaper clocks refresh every minute to give the exact time and date. Installing one's quite easy and fast. Just check out Vladstudio to browse through their massive collection for wallpaper clocks and other customization for your computer. Vladstudio caters to the Windows platform, too.

Touch Screen Woes.

Apple iPhone 4 featuring my "Happy Songs" playlist. LOL

No, this ain't a rant about the Apple iPhone 4. I haven't found a single thing to complain about it and I've loved every moment of using it ever since I got it four months ago. A few minutes after its purchase, I got it a matte screen protector and it's precious glass screen has been clothed ever since.

Until it started to have air spaces aka bubbles on several places. I'm not normally OC but earlier today, I saw that there were a lot of air spaces already and I tried to get rid of them by slowly lifting the screen protector and gently placing it back by letting it go down with the support of a finger. Yes, I imagined I was mounting a fresh cut sample on a slide with Canada balsam. But this technique I learned from years of mounting slides evidently did not work on a plastic screen protector and a glass screen; it actually did more harm 'cause a number of air spaces became visible. I got a little pissed and I decided to remove the screen protector altogether.

My iPhone feels so bare now. In a weird way, I feel like I'm molesting it. And I don't like that. Ha ha. I'll be getting a set of new protectors tomorrow and hopefully, I can find something that's again in matte because I'm not really fond of those "crystal" screen protectors. Oh, and I hope I can find one that's not too expensive.

The photo above shows the iPhone 4 with the matte screen protector. See the little "off" part on the mid-left hand side of the screen? That's the little devil which started the air space infestation.

Unboxing & Review | Logitech z110 Stereo Speakers

As I've said in my previous post, I got a pair of Logitech z110 Stereo Speakers for free when we purchased an HP Deskjet Ink Advantage K010a Printer from Accent Micro, SM City Calamba. Since it's free, I lowered my expectations with regards to its performance, but knowing that it's from Logitech, I somehow knew that this product would not suck at all.

Logitech z110 Stereo Speakers

Unboxed: Logitech z110 Stereo Speakers

Honestly, I like how it looks so simple and minimal. Kinda reminds me of Wall-E's head! Ha ha! It has a cable management apparatus, which is basically a slot at the back of both speakers that could hold the cable so as to avoid tangling. Now, in terms of sound quality/performance, I was quite surprised that it actually sounds good! Although you might not want to up the volume too high especially if you're playing any kind of music that has tremendous bass in it 'cause the sound from the speakers will be muffled. Overall, it's a decent pair of stereo speakers perfect for a small room.

I like how it's in white. Dear Santa, how about a Mac Book Pro this Christmas? Or New Year's? Even Valentine's. Oh, please.

Unboxing & Review | HP Deskjet Ink Advantage K010a Printer

Pictured above is a screen-cap of a tweet that I posted yesterday. Right after I got home last night, I rummaged through our file of receipts and found that it has actually been more than three years since we bought our now defunct printer. Mum asked me to get a new one as soon as possible and I obliged. I got one earlier from Accent Micro, SM City Calamba. Actually, she called in advance and I only picked it up. Ha ha!

HP Deskjet Ink Advantage K010a Printer

We've always used printers from Hewlett Packard and I can't find a reason not to continue the line of HP printers that have come to serve my family. HP printers come in a wide variety and I'm pretty sure they have a printer for every single one of your needs. What I like most about HP is that their original ink cartridges are kinda cheap, so there's no need to get those generic ink refills that can sometimes harm your printers. 

More photos after the jump!

App Post: Camera+

I own an almost three-year old Nikon D40 and I've somehow outgrown the habit of lugging it around. I still use it for special events but you won't find me carrying it everyday mainly because of the weight it adds to my back pack. 

Thank God for Steve Jobs (RIP) and the rest of Apple Inc for the iPhone 4. It's 5 mega pixel sensor does wonders and it sure saves me the weight from lugging my D40 around. I somehow maximized the capabilities of my iPhone 4's camera over the months that I've owned it and I began to search for an app which would up my iPhone 4's camera feature. A friend of mine introduced me to this certain app which promises photos that looks like it came from a D/SLR and edited with any popular post-processing software available today. 

Say hello to Camera+, dubbed as the "ultimate photo app". I don't think this app is available for free but for a measly 0.99$ (roughly 45.00PhP at the time of the purchase) from the Apple App Store, you can enjoy this app to its fullest. You can take photos using the app itself and edit them right after or you can import previously taken photos and edit them in Camera+. 

Photo up for editing.

Edit photos using pre-loaded scenes.

Adjust photo orientation.

Crop photo.

Edit photo with preloaded effects.

Edit photos with retro effects.

Edit photos using special effects.

Edit photos using analog effects which can be purchased.

Add simple borders to your photo.

Add stylized borders to your photo.

The screen caps above shows some of the things that you can do with this app. You can also edit your manual settings when taking photos using Camera+. I have yet to try all these features and effects so y'all have to wait for my future posts with contents coming from this app. Ha ha. For now, here are some photos I took and post-processed using Camera+.

Scenic view of Mt. Makiling, UPLB (HDR effect)

Platters from Ristretto (Played with the depth of field)

Coin Purse from Vigan, Ilocos Sur (Toy Camera effect)

Ravioli from Mi Bonitos (Adjusted the color and depth of field)

This entry gives out only about a half of what Camera+ offers. Click here to visit their official website and know more about this app.

App Test: Doodle Jump (Full Version)

If you happen to see me sitting or standing in a corner and rocking my phone sideways and then letting out a "demmit" gasp, don't worry, I'm most probably just messing with this game. Lima Sky's Doodle Jump is one heck of an exciting game, I tell you; although I think I need not tell you guys since statistically, it's one of the most played games on iOS devices and also other phones with the platform required for the game. 

The player navigates the four-legged creature called the Doodler up a series of never-ending platforms without falling or getting killed by aliens or whatever creatures that might come in its way. The more platforms you pass, the higher the score that you'll get! 

I purchased the full version of the game for my iPhone 4 from the Apple App Store for only 0.99$ (roughly 45.00PhP at the time of the purchase) since the free version only allows players to "jump" only up to 12,000 points. This one's definitely a good game for when you're standing in line for some time or when you start to feel bored while waiting for someone or something. Ha ha!

Home Page

Outer Space Game Platform

Stats

As of the moment, the full version offers nine (9) different playing platforms. These platforms differ from one another with the background and the creatures that appear on the game. I think one very important feature of Doodle Jump is that there's a very small chance of playing with the same arrangement of platforms to jump to so there's no way that you'll learn or memorize a certain game. 

Doodle Jump is available for Apple iOS, Android, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Phone 7, Samsung Mystic, XBox 360 Kinect and Windows 7.

App Post: Fruit Ninja (Full Version)

Another addicting and easily my favorite game installed in my iPhone 4 is Fruit Ninja from Halfbrick Studios. You basically slice the fruits and avoid missing three and also avoid hitting the bombs that are thrown out occasionally. Special bonuses are also given if you cut three or more fruits in one slice! The free version lets you play up until a score of 125 only and that, my friends, is just not enough! Ha ha! I decided to get the full version for Apple's App Store for only 0.99$ (roughly 45.00PhP at the time of the purchase) and boy, I've been more addicted ever since. 

The full version offers the training mode (Dojo) and four (4) game platforms (Classic, Zen, Multiplayer and Arcade).

Fruit Ninja by Halfbrick Studios

Home Page

Game Modes

The Classic mode's objectives is to slice as many fruits as you can without any time limit. Of course, you need to avoid missing fruits and the bombs. The Zen mode lets you play for only a total of 90 seconds per game and the objective remains the same; slice 'em fruits! The Multiplayer lets you, well, play with other players via WiFi and the Arcade mode is basically like the Classic mode with the only difference that you're only given a minute for each game. I guess it's safe to say that there's a game mode for everyone, eh? Ha ha!

Fruit Ninja is available for Apple iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7, Symbian (Nokia), Bada (Samsung), XBox 360 (XBLA) and Windows.

App Post: Angry Birds (Full Version)

Angry Bird from Rovio is probably one of the most famous games to ever hit the mobile scene. It was first released in 2009 for Apple's iOS devices but developers have also made versions for other touch-screen based smart phones like those with the Android operating system. 

The game's pretty basic, with the main objective as to hit the green pigs with the Angry Birds using a slingshot, but it somehow requires the player's knowledge on projectile motion so as to get higher points. It's really addicting and it's a good way to spend some null time. 

I got the full version from Apple's App Store a couple of weeks ago when I finished all the levels in the trial version. For 0.99$ (roughly 45.00PhP at the time of the purchase), you get to play with six (6) main levels (with a total of 378 sub-levels) plus one bonus level (Golden Eggs) of pure squeaky Angry Birds goodness. 

Below are screen caps taken from my iPhone 4 and you'll see from the photos that I've only finished level 1 but that's only because I don't proceed to another sub-level if I don't acquire scores that'll reward me with three (3) stars! Ha ha! 

Home Page

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Bonus Level

So, there! I know most, if not all, owners of iOS devices and other smartphones already have Angry Birds but I highly encourage everyone who has not yet downloaded the full version to go get it! It's totally worth your 0.99$!

Finished the entire full version? Y'all can get several different themed games of Angry Birds like Angry Birds Seasons, Rio, and the Halloween versions! And you can always hope that T-Mobile brings this to the Philippines! Ha ha!

Angry Birds is available for Apple iOs, Maemo, HP Web OS, Android, Symbian^3, PSP/Playstation 3, MAC OS X, Windows, Web GL, Windows Phone 7 and Google Plus.