under the sun

Enjoy the Outdoors!

2010-09-02T11:20:00.000+08:00

Outdoor activities should be an enjoyable experience. While we toil away in the fast-paced city living, we need to explore nature once in a while. A trek to see what nature can offer is memorable experience. Even more awesome is to see the vast expanse of snow-covered mountains during winter time. I do wish someday I could experience that. While flipping channels yesterday, I came across a show about a group of mountaineers. It looked like a difficult sport and hobby to get involved in but getting to those areas where nature is so breathtaking makes it worth the trouble.

Like any other adventure sport (or life in general), everything is a risk. But when you come prepared, it keeps you at ease and ready to embark on the adventure. I noticed that those mountaineers in the show rode trucks with chains on its tires. These are called snow chains. It makes trekking those rough roads with thick snow easier. These chains on the wheels provide traction between tire and the snow. It prevents the vehicle from skidding off the road due to the slippery conditions in the snow. Having these tire chains may slow down your driving speed but it keeps you safe and you reach you destination worry-free. Choose a reliable brand that is not made of cheap steel. As the saying goes, "A chain is as strong as the weakest link."

For a worry-free mountaineering, it helps to have a good camping tent. You should be able to pick a good tent as tents nowadays make camping a breeze. They are easy to setup and makes you enjoy the outdoors more instead of spending the whole afternoon just setting up the camp.

Explore the outdoors now!

Summer and Basketball

2010-03-20T05:51:00.000+08:00

It is college basketball season! Which team are you rooting for?

New website design on Dneero

2010-03-19T11:13:00.002+08:00

I think it is cool to update website design to keep people coming back to the site.

What is your favorite love song?

2009-07-01T19:49:00.001+08:00

Share them now!

Endurance Sports

2009-06-26T09:53:00.000+08:00

Do you watch those competitions?

More on the hair...

2009-06-05T12:37:00.000+08:00

What is the best shampoo for you?

Hair Trends

2009-05-28T14:26:00.003+08:00

My hair undergoes the trim and grow cycle only. I sport the same hairstyle since I was a kid. How about you?

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T11:26:00.000+08:00

How should one celebrate Memorial Day? Share your thoughts.

Museums

2009-05-15T15:41:00.001+08:00

Have you visited the museum near you lately?

Buzztrendz and Twitter

2009-05-13T15:51:00.001+08:00

Still on Twitter, what can you share about it?

Are you in Twitter?

2009-04-25T10:00:00.002+08:00

I have to admit I haven't been checking out Twitter until the Ashton vs CNN race to 1M followers. Ashton won and I am one of the followers who made it possible. Do you tweet?

Susan Boyle and American Idol

2009-04-22T10:18:00.002+08:00

Let us talk about music. Susan Boyle enamored the world. American Idol does not want to be left behind.

Blogsvertise!

2009-04-09T16:20:00.003+08:00

I joined Blogsvertise today. I learned about this from a forum and the member who posted about seemed excited about this opportunity. It is so hard to find inspiration on what to blog so I think joining this site is a good idea. I get to write about something and at the same time earn from writing. Hopefully, this will turn out good for me. I want my creative juices flowing.

I've been doing all these jobs on the Internet writing reviews so it is time to go one step further. I know I've been neglecting my blog for some time now. Now, there is no reason for me to. Hopefully, they'll approve my request.

If I were a boy...

2009-04-03T09:55:00.001+08:00

What do you think of Beyonce's song 'If I were a boy'? How about American Idol Judge Kara Dioguardi?

SpitzTunes -- SpeakEasy!

2009-03-27T15:52:00.001+08:00

So, what's on your mind? Read along.

Separated at Birth

2009-01-12T15:40:00.001+08:00

I've always mistaken Javier Bardem for Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Am I the only one who think they look alike?

My Thoughts on the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards

2009-01-12T15:19:00.006+08:00

I am seeing Eva Mendez everywhere. She's gorgeous, though. I just think the bow is too much.

What is Jennifer Lopez wearing? She should take a cue from Tina Fey.

I fear wardrobe malfunction on these celebrities. New Year's resolution: put a limit to push-up bra usage.

Help me understand the look they want to convey.

I love these dresses! (And not Drew Barrymore's do.)

Kate Winslet deserves the awards. She is an intelligent and seasoned actress. Her filmography shows the depth of her thespic abilities.

See you at the Oscars!

Photos: http://omg.yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Blogger is no fashion expert. Remarks on celebrities' attires are based on the blogger's personal preference.

How to Solve Sudoku Manually

2007-06-14T20:05:00.000+08:00

Of course, it is much more fulfilling to solve sudoku with just a pen as an aide, right? Here are some techniques I use:
1. Identify recurring numbers.
2. Draw lines mentally or lightly using a pencil, whichever is your preference. The reference point will be the identified recurring number.
3. Use deduction.

Using step 1, 2 and 3 above, we apply these tips to this puzzle:

Step 1. Let us try the number 7
Step 2. We draw the line (or lines if possible) from 7.

Step 3. By deduction, 7 should be on the cell encircled below

Let us repeat procedure for other numbers.

Step 1. Let's try 8.

Step 2.The lines will eliminate the cells where we cannot put 8.

Step 3. By deduction, 8 should be on the cell encircled below.

Repeat steps for other numbers and you'll end up solving the puzzle like I did below:

Try it yourself and enjoy sudoku!

See also:
Sudoku Excel Helper Explained
Sudoku Trick

Mosquito Zapper

2007-01-30T20:19:00.000+08:00

Since the start of the New Year, we have been experiencing heavy rains. Low lying areas in the province and even the city have been flooding. Although there are no flooding in the place where we lived, the puddles that have formed in the unpaved streets, the murky waters in the gutters or simply the basin collecting the water that is dripping from the leaked roof were breeding grounds- in this case, breeding waters for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes in the tropical countries are lethal. They could carry dengue. Dengue is a disease caused by an Aedes mosquito bite. It usually starts with a high fever, a rash. It usually occurs in tropical countries. When nor properly treated, dengue is lethal. This leads me to another story.

Just the other day, there was a power failure. The people in our house sat idly in the living room with nothing to do. Brownouts give us the realization on how we are dependent on electricity, like we cannot live without it when the truth is that we only had it in less than a hundred years ago. No, I was not going to expound further on the history of electricity. My dad would usually start his stories about Benjamin Franklin. Who in his right mind fly his kite with a live mouse on a stormy night? Was it stormy that night? I have to recheck the story. Or perhaps science. Lightnings are associated with storms and dark skies, right? Now, where was I? Oh, the brownout. While sitting in the living room, I saw my uncle holding what looks like a tennis racket. I know that he is not starting on a new sport. He was swinging it indiscriminately all over the place. Then, something zapped! Interesting. What he was holding was a mosquito zapper. He swings the racket-like device where a mesh of fine screen has some kind of electrical charge that shocks mosquitoes along its path. So, while the lights were out, we spent the idle time zapping away mosquitoes until the zapper gave up that my dad told us to replace the batteries. To which we replied that it does not need battery. It needs to charge to an electrical outlet. He quickly replied, "Then, recharge it!" He forgot about the brownout. We laughed. We thought of another way to pass the time. Singing, perhaps.

Churros con Chocolate

2006-10-04T16:50:00.001+08:00

I have always heard about churros. My Spanish teacher one told the class that by the end of the semester, she will introduce us to Spanish food (which never happened). She mentioned paella and churros con chocolate. I thought ‘churros’ was some kind of dried fruit dipped in chocolate. I was thinking ‘churros’ was spanish for cherries! I once saw how this was made from FoodNetwork’s Gale Gand. From then on, I know how it should look like. Churros look like "straight" doughnuts.

One saturday afternoon, I slaved myself by cooking churros. I should have piped the dough using a star-stipped pastry syringe but I do not have it so I improvised by using a ziploc sandwich bag as pastry bag. I cut one corner to serve as nozzle. After I was done with all the cooking, I vowed not to do this again. I hate cooking for a long periods of time. It took an hour to finish the entire recipe. I have to wait for two churros to be fried well before I can dunk in another batch because that thing tends to curl up in the hot oil thus occupying the entire frying pan. I'm glad I was not alone feeling that way. One of my favorite bloggers tried to make churros also and said that she not thinking of doing it again.

It is funny that the Iron Chef Amercia episode that was shown on television that evening had chocolate as a secret ingredient. One of Mario Batali's dishes was churros con chocolate.

Yummy Gulaman

2006-09-20T14:57:00.002+08:00

My favorite desserts made by my mother are refrigerator cake, chocolate leche flan (custard) and gulaman. I could not find Mama's recipe book. These were recipes written on the white spaces on a manual of some kitchen appliance. I remember the ingredients she used but I cannot recall the proportions. Ma's gulaman required egg yolks and we do not throw the egg whites because we use that to create the chocolate leche flan. Thanks to the internet, I can always try similar recipes. I found a very easy gulaman recipe that does not require eggs. It's so simple and quick. I must give credit to this blog for the recipe. Thanks, Toni!

Gulaman or agar is made out seaweeds. These are usually sold in dried bars. This is also used as culture medium for laboratory work. The bars are dissolved in water and left for several minutes to set into a jelly. Powdered gelatin may probably be substituted for this recipe but I do not know the proportions.

Ingredients:
1 bar gulaman
2 1/2 cups water
1 can condensed milk (301 ml)

Procedure:
Tear gulaman into strips. Soak it in water. Boil gulaman-water mixture until gulaman is dissolved. Remove from heat. Prepare bowl with condensed milk. Pour gulaman over condensed milk. Mix well. Strain mixture over the mold. Chill for several hours before releasing it from the mold.

Folks at home loved this. It has the right sweetness. This was a winner for us. Everybody loved it. I am a purist. I love this in its simplest form but I got a request from my aunt to mix it with fruit cocktail. I had a different experience with that. The fruits tend to float in the mixture that when it was released from the mold, all the fruits are in the bottom. I researched on the internet. The trick was to incorporate the fruits when the gulaman is half set so that it will be able to hold the fruits.

Paul Anka: Rock Swings!

2006-09-19T10:44:00.001+08:00

Paul Anka is already a celebrity in our house long before I got hold of this new album. I grew up listening to 'Diana', 'Lonely Boy' and several other songs. No, I did not grow up in the 60's. I am an 80's child but my Sunday afternoons are spent on trips to 60's music lane. My father would crank up his music collections on Sundays. Back then, my parents would picture him as this handsome singer with shrieking female fans. Fast forward to the new millennium, he has this DVD which was recorded from his concert in Las Vegas. I saw a balding old man with the classic groove. Nothing new. I need to watch the DVD several times over to appreciate the performance. I learned that this guy wrote 'My Way'. Yes! It is that Frank Sinatra song which one should not sing in karaoke bars lest be shot to death for bastardizing the song.

Recently, I got to listen to the "Paul Anka: Rock Swings" album. I did not expect too much from this album. Needless to say, I was extremely pleased. The album contains his versions of some rock hits like Oasis "Wonderwall', Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" and Soundgarden's "Blackhole Sun". It is a wonder why this man, who composed gazillion songs, would do covers for other artists. Once you listen to this album you will realize that his musicality still shines through nonetheless. The arrangers should also be commended for the way the music turned out. I love the way the brass band swinged it. It rockingly swings good. This is fun music! This is ideal for parties where there’s a mixture of age groups. The younger generation would enjoy this because they recognize the songs and the older ones will enjoy because it is Paul Anka. In my case, I can now understand the lyrics to Nivana's "Smells like Teen Spirit" and this is one of my favorites in this album.

Below is the list of tracks:
1. It`s My Life (Bon Jovi)
2. True (Spandau Ballet)
3. Eye Of The Tiger (Survivor)
4. Everybody Hurts (REM)
5. Wonderwall (Oasis)
6. Blackhole Sun (Soundgarden)
7. It`s A Sin (Pet Shop Boys)
8. Jump (Van Halen)
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
10. Hello (Lionel Richie)
11. Eyes Without A Face (Billy Idol)
12. Lovecats (The Cure)
13. Way You Make Me Feel (Michael Jackson)
14. Tears In Heaven (Eric Clapton)

GO ahead! Buy yourself a copy. I know you want to. ;-)

The Chicken Adobo Debut on Martha

2006-09-18T14:19:00.001+08:00

I was flipping channels last Friday and I stumbled upon a cooking demo on making chicken adobo hosted by no other than Martha Stewart! The guest was a chef who owns a successful Filipino restaurant in New York. They have a different way of cooking the adobo. They baked the chicken after cooking it on the stove. Also, they put coconut milk and chili on the sauce. I understand that part because the chef is from the Bicol region. They are known for using coconut milk and hot chili pepper in their dishes. Despite the difference in our adobo preparation, I still was happy to have seen a Filipino dish on American television.

I photographed my television to get the stills of that show!

Here's Martha and the guest chef.

Chicken is cut into pieces.

Here's how coconut milk is extracted the traditional way. We used to own a similar grater. I once tried to use it. It's pretty hard. I was still a child when I tried it so I guess I'll never know if it was really hard. Nowadays, we can buy freshly grated coconut meat from the market. They now have a machine that can grate coconut meat in seconds.

Chicken is marinated in soy sauce, vinegar, water sugar, salt, pepper and bay leaf.

The chicken is cooked together with the marinade.

This is final product! For presentation, the adobo is placed on a banana leaf.

Mango Pudding

2006-09-11T16:26:00.002+08:00

I got this mango pudding recipe from a friend a few months back but I never had the time to try it out. I had a day off from work last Thursday so I had the opportunity to try the recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water plus 1 + 3/4 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin (2 envelopes)
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 mangoes
1 cup half-and-half
Fruit for garnishes, such as kiwi, grapes, or tangerine segments

Procedure:
Put the 1/2 cup water in a large bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it stand for 5 minutes, or until softened.

Add the boiling water, and stir to dissolve the gelatin; then immediately stir in the sugar. Set aside.
Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh off the pits. Reserve half of one mango for garnish, and cut the remaining ma go into chunks, and then process it in a food processor to make a smooth puree. You should have about 2 cups pureed mango.

Stir the puree into the gelatin mixture, and then stir in the half-and-half. Divide the mixture among 8 individual bowls and refrigerate it for 3 hours, or until set. Top the pudding with sliced mango or other fruit. Serve with evaporated milk or half-and-half.

There were three things that I ignored- the part where I have to pour the mixture into eight ramekins, the part where I have to wait until the mixture is set and the garnish. I placed the mixture into an 8"x12" rectangular dish instead of the ramekins. After 3 hours, the mixture was still in liquid form. I was expecting it to harden like gelatin. So, instead of waiting for it to harden, I placed the dish in the freezer. The following day, we have mango sorbet! It was still yummy! I omitted the garnish because I have no more fresh mangoes.

Basic Photo Corrections using Photoshop

2006-09-04T17:03:00.001+08:00

Photoshop is a very useful image enhancement tool. Amateur photographers like me can easily master basic tricks to correct minor imperfections in a photograph. Below are simple photo improvement techniques I often use using Photoshop.

1. Crop. Cropping a photograph simply means cutting off portions of the photo. This is to put emphasis on a particular subject or simply trimming off unnecessary blank spaces or unwanted areas. How do we do this? I have a sample photograph below. First, examine the photograph. Decide which portion you need to trim off. The glare of the window is distracting to me so let us trim off that portion by clicking the Crop Tool pointed by the red arrow. Drag the mouse to create a box to create the area to retain after cropping. Once you have decided on the image you wanted, enter to crop.

2. Healing Brush. Healing brush is a helpful tool which can correct blemishes, pimples and other imperfections in a a photgraph. It works by copying a "clean" portion of the photograph and overlapping the problem spot with the clean copy. To do this, examine the photograph. Click on healing brush. Press AlT+Click to define a source. This is the clean area of the photograph to be copied. Then, click over the area to correct. Several clicks may be need until the right corrections are finally applied.

3. Curves. Curves is a very powerful tool. Photographs can be corrected by mastering only this tool. In my case, I often use this to correct dark pictures. Click on Image>Adjustments>Curves. Curves will adjust the bright and dark areas in the photograph. Click on a point in the line. Adjust up and down to get the right adjustment. Try on other points until the correction is right. See the adjustments made below.

4. Brightness and Contrast. Photoshop allows image adjustments on its brightness and contrast. The tool is simple yet it creates a huge improvement in the photograph. The brightness control regulates the brightness of the pixel while contrast regulates the difference between dark and light areas. To do this, simple click on Image> Adjustments> Brightness and Contrast. Adjust the levels to you desired output.

6. Sharpen. There are images that are blurry and would be further improved by sharpening. To do this click on Filter> Sharpen. You have the choice to do Sharpen, Sharpen Edges, Sharpen More and Unsharp Mask. I often use the first three but I was told that the unsharp mask gives a better output. I have not learned that part yet. Below is what sharpening does to a photograph. It adds more detail to a photograph. The grains, lines and texture of the flower are now visible. Personally, I prefer the unsharpened one.

Like any other tool, use the tips above at your own discretion. Using these tips can either improve or worsen the image that you are trying to correct. Be sure to have back-ups in case you accidentally ruin the image.

Before Sunset: Beautiful Movie!

2006-08-30T14:48:00.001+08:00

I usually go home from work at 5:30 pm. Once I get home, I change my clothes, turn the tv on and scan channels for interesting programs. There was a movie starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The movie was 'Before Sunset'. What is interesting is that the entire movie was all conversations of these two characters yet it was not boring. It was engaging. I was just 2 minutes into it and I do not want to leave my seat to get water or snacks. I was glued. One can easily be drawn towards the characters, the spontaneity of the lines and fluidity of the scenes. With Paris as a backdrop, what could go wrong, right? Then, there is this subtle romantic ideas floating at the back of your mind because the actors are comfortable with each other. I was really watching Jesse and Celine, not the gorgeous Ethan Hawke and the charming Julie Delpy. This movie is a sequel to 'Before Sunrise'. You need not watch the previous movie to enjoy this one. What happened in the prequel was weaved into the conversations. But because the script was well-written and the movie was beautifully-made, this will make you want watch the prequel (of which I still haven't done so). This movie is on my "must-own-DVD" list.

Laundry

2006-08-22T14:03:00.001+08:00

Doing the laundry is one of the chores I cannot avoid. I have it on schedule: every Friday, after work. There were occassions where I got lazy. I thought Saturday morning is just fine for laundry time. I was wrong. The local water district had their pipe maintenance. What a luck, huh? Of all the Saturdays, they schedule it on the particular Saturday when I need to do laundry. And if it isn't the water company, the power company also has its brownout schedules. So, I learned a lot. Friday evening is really for laundry.

So, how do I do my laundry? Below are the steps:

1. Prepare the machine. Fill the machine with enough water. The machine usually has markers on how much water need to be filled. It is dependent how much laundry you are going to do.

2. Prepare the materials needed. I often use detergent, bleach and fabric softener. Detergent is for cleaning the clothes. Bleach is for the whites. Fabric softener will make clothes smell good, softer and smoother that ironing will not be necessary. Other materials would include basins and hangers. Yeah, in my part of the world, we hang our clothes to dry. So, hangers are pretty handy.

3. Separate clothes. Separate the whites, lights and darks.

4. Load them up in the machine. Pour detergent first. It would help if you dissolve it first in a dipper of water so that the detergent particles woul not settle at the bottom of the machine. The sequence would be whites first, then lights and lastly, darks. Load the whites first then set the timer to the appropriate duration of the wash cycle as instructed in the machine manual. Or do the estimate. The maximum setting would be when the machine is in its full load. If your dirty clothes are just half the full load, then set the timer to the median. When the cycle is up, unload the whites. Check on your water if it is still clean enough for the next cycle. Refill, if dirty. Add water when it is not enough for the next load. Assess also if you still need to add detergent. Adding too much detergent is bad for the clothes. The soap particles are difficult to rinse off and unnecessary. They don't make your clothes cleaner. Albeit, they will ruin them.

5. Rinse well. I do the rinsing manually. I unload the clothes to the basin and rinse them thoroughly. I save time by rinsing my first batch while the second batch of clothes are being washed by the machine. Note: When I am done with the whites, I rinse them thoroughly and soak them overnight in a basin of water mixed with detergent and bleach.

6. Use the fabric conditioner. After thoughly rinsing the clothes, I fill up a basin with clean water with a mixture fabric conditioner. Soak the clothes for a few seconds before hanging them to dry.

7. Hang to dry.

I do this every Friday so that by Sunday, I have newly washed clothes ready to be folded neatly in my cabinet. Neat, huh? Before I forget, clean the machine afterwards. It is nice to start to next Friday's (or whatever your schedule is) laundry time with a clean slate.

Tattoos and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

2006-08-17T16:35:00.001+08:00

I was watching "House, M.D." on tv. The episode was the one where Dr. House, played by Hugh Laurie, was working on a patient who is a death row inmate. The thing struck me was that this huge person was sent through an MRI screaming in pain because of the tattoos he had all over his body. So what's the deal with MRI and tattoos?

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the process which doctors can view what is inside our bodies to diagnose whatever ailments we have. An MRI machine is like a powerful magnet that scans through every part of the body point by point thus providing images inside the body. The important component in the MRI is the magnet. The magnet is so powerful that even a small object like a paperclip in MRI room is projectiled all over if left during a scan. People with metal implants like braces and pacemakers are not allowed to undergo an MRI scan.

The ink used in the tattoos often contains metals. The powerful magnetic force would react with the metal pigments in the ink thus creating a burning sensation in the skin. Heavy tattoos also would distort images produced by the scan. There were some tattooed patients who did not feel any discomfort while having MRI scans. So, check with your doctor before undergoing a scan if you have a tattoo.

Scrambled Eggs with Ham and Green Tomatoes

2006-08-15T14:48:00.001+08:00

I had this for breakfast this morning. This is a quick and easy recipe which I made up. There may be proper ways in cooking an egg but my way is "as long as it is cooked and I did not get sick".

Ingredients:

1 slice cooked ham, cut into squares
1 egg
1 green tomato, chopped
1 tbsp. canola oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Optional:
2 lettuce leaves
1 tsp vinegar

Heat oil in a small pan. Add ham. Crack open the egg over the pan then start scrambling until the egg is thoroughly cooked. Turn off the heat. Mix the tomato. Transfer the mixture to a bed of two lettuce leaves which are dashed with a teaspoon of vinegar. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

Notes on my recipe:
1. Scrambled eggs are supposed to be beaten first before placing it into the heat. I like how the egg whites pop out in the dish as added "color" so I chose to crack it open over the pan instead. This is also helpful for those in a hurry or too lazy to beat an egg.
2. Green tomatoes are just my preference. I like the crunch. Besides, I don't eat red tomatoes. Yeah, I am a picky eater.
3. Why did I cook my cooked ham? Because it was frozen. I just want to thaw it fast.
4. Lettuce leaves are optional. The vinegar was for "salad-y" taste to it. I added the lettuce for aesthetic purposes only. And yet, the lettuce and scrambled egg mixture are good, too. I was full by the end of the meal.

Happy cooking!

How to Open a Durian

2006-08-09T10:47:00.001+08:00

Durian is a fruit native to Southeast Asia. It has a very thorny outer shell. The fruit emits a very strong smell. It is either you love it or you hate it. Personally, I love it. Beneath the thorny cover is a very rich, velvety soft and fleshy edible part. The cream cheese texture and custard-like flavor is to die for. This fleshy part covers the seed. But before you get in to the luscious fruit, you need to crack open the thorny shell.

Here is how we open this:

1. Locate the bottom of fruit where all the lines dividing the sections of the fruit converge. Poke it with the kitchen knife to crack open the bottom. We need the initial crack for the next step.

2. Step on the fruit until the crack is slightly bigger. This looks funny and unsanitary but this works for us. Position your foot near the crack but not over it. You do not want the shoe dirt on the edible part. Make sure also that you have a clean floor. (Fancy slippers are optional. Hehehe!)

3. On the large crack, pry open the sections to reveal the fleshy fruit.

4. Scoop out the fruit.

Every single person in my family eats this fruit. When there is durian in the house, I cannot hoard it for myself. Its distinctive smell is like an alarm for everybody else. Besides, it is fun sharing it with everybody. Two or three seed parts are enough for one serving. The fruit is calorific. More than 3 helpings would get you drunk. When eaten in large amount, this generates body heat. Be careful. Don't say I did not warn you!

New Sudoku Trick

2006-08-08T16:11:00.001+08:00

I tried solving Friday's puzzle from here. It was classified as "diabolical". I used my excel helper. As I promised, this helper serves as a guide only. It will show possible answers to a particular grid but it will not show solution. The advantage of this is that you still get to exercise your brain power and enjoy sudoku. However, it will not help you avoid being stuck. While doing my post on how to use my excel file, I found out that it is easy to plan sudoku strategies by using MS Paint. All you have to do is hit PrintScreen button on your keyboard while viewing hints. Open Paint program then paste. Voila! You can use encircle and erase button on MS Paint to plan on you new sudoku move.

See also: Sudoku Excel Helper Explained

Oops, I slipped!

2006-08-07T16:40:00.001+08:00

My father was talking to an architect. After a while, he called me. He wanted me to show them my sketchup project. I lead the way to my computer. Then, I slipped! I don't know what happened along to the computer. I think I lost 3 seconds of my life. I now understand when my mom said that she can't remember what happened when she had an accident. What I can remember was that I stepped on a smooth portion of our tiled floor. I had an initial slip which I was able to balance but when I stepped on the elevated area near the bathroom, before I realize it I was already on the floor. It was funny but nobody tried to laugh. I did not laugh. I immediately stood up and proceed to my computer like nothing happened. I suddenly felt a stinging sensation on my knee. There is a small scratch. I dabbed a little alcohol and continue to show them my 3D model of the house.

When they left, I started to narrate the incident to my aunt and cousin. I laughed. We laughed.

Lessons learned:

1. Once in a while, slow down. Not everything needs to be done fast.
2. When you fall, pick yourself up and move on.
3. Laugh at yourself.
4. Share a good story.
5. Body fats are good cushions when you fall.

More Sketchup!

2006-08-07T16:22:00.001+08:00

I did enhancements on my first sketchup project. The house is now furnished! Thanks to the downloadable components from Google! I think I got too excited using Sketchup that I did not read the site thoroughly. In my first project, I painstakingly drew all the windows and doors when I can just use those preloaded components! After hours of experimentation, I now have these!

The wonderful thing about sketchup is I can let my imagination run wild. It makes my daydream a lot more real. Rearranging furniture is now a breeze. I need not sweat it out. It only requires a few simple clicks.

Link: I love Google Sketchup!

4 Digital Photography Tips from an Amateur

2006-07-31T08:26:00.001+08:00

I love taking photos because I like to look at pretty pictures. In this age of digital photography, almost anyone can take decent photographs. Some people can even take professional-looking ones with a point and shoot camera. I often tinkered with my own digital camera and come up with nice photos. I own a pretty basic digital camera. It is a Canon Powershot A510. I am just a beginner so I am only using the camera's auto functions. Here are some tricks that I often use:

1. Practice makes perfect. With film cameras, we do not have any idea if we took a good shot until we have the film developed. With the digital camera, we can shoot as many as the camera can store and choose the best photograph. This is what I did with the photos below. It took me four shots before I got the shot I had in mind.

2. Play with light. I have two photos of springrolls below. I used the camera flash on the first photograph. I felt that there was a glare when the flash fell through the oily part of the springroll. So, I tried using the light from the afternoon sun instead. This means that I have to turn off the flash. I think it is a better photo.

3. Try different angles. Below is a photograph of a Filipino dish called dinuguan. I positioned my camera over the food and took the first photo. When I viewed it, I did not feel like I want to eat it. So, I tried a different angle. The second photo looks delectable to me.

4. Play favorites. My favorite subjects are food and flowers. So whenever I have the opportunity to take photos of these favorites of mine, I click away to my hearts content. The success rate is quite high. It is probably because I felt good about it. How could I not feel good about it? They are my favorite things! "I simply remember my favorite things and then I won't feel so bad."

Sudoku Excel Helper Explained

2006-07-24T12:07:00.001+08:00

Since I already shared my Sudoku excel helper, I might as well explain how to use it. So, let's start by solving a sudoku puzzle from here. This is rated "diabolical".

When you click on hints, this appears:

The hints sheet would show that we now know where to put the encircled 9,3,7 and 5.

After placing 9,3,7 and 5 to its location in the grid, we now have this hints below. In the first 3x3 grid, the hint showed us that the number 1 can only be placed in the last cell of the 3x3 grid. We now evaluate each 3x3 grid which gives the next four answers.

We now plot them in our puzzle.

After plotting the answers to the puzzle, we have the hints below. Evaluating the hints, vertically and horizontally, we get 3 answers.

We now plot them in the puzzle.

The hints below will lead us to five answers. Evaluating the first vertical column marked with a red rectangle, we see that 7 is an answer which eliminates 3 as an answer to that particular cell where 7 is. This gives us 3 as an answer in the 3rd cell of the first red rectagle and eliminates the other two 3's in the green 3x3 grid which results to the answer 3 on the blue rectangle. (Whew! I hope I am still understood at this point as I am getting confused myself.) Now, if we evaluate the orange rectangle, we can eliminate all the 7's in that orange rectangle. Once the 7's are eliminated, we concentrate on the pink rectangle. We get another answer, the number 7.

Plotting the five answers, we get:

The hint will now give us another answer, the number 6 and 8.

We get this:

Now the hints sheet would look like this:

Concentrate on red rectangle. We now see 5 as an answer. With this as an answer, this results to 2 more answers. See direction of the arrows. We plot the three numbers:

Hints sheet will be:

If we look at the hints above, there are no clear clues. This is the point where we realize why the puzzle is called diabolical. Confusion starts. (If you are still reading my explanations up to this point, I am deeply touched.) Now back to the puzzle, concentrate on the blue rectangle below. We'll do a trial-and-error. We know that in the two hints given by the blue box we either put 4 or 8. We assume that we put 8. Follow the green arrows. The end result are two 8's on the same horizontal 1x9 grid which contradicts to rules of Soduko.

This means that 4 is correct answer to that starting cell. So if we put 4 we now have, the puzzle is now easy to solve.

This is now the solution to the puzzle.

See also: Sudoku Trick

Sudoku: Excel Helper with hints

2006-07-03T15:03:00.001+08:00

The Sudoku excel helper is now updated. Another sheet was added to show hints to aid you in solving the puzzle.

This file is only a helper not a solver. It will help solve the sudoku puzzle easily. It will NOT provide solution.The file can be downloaded here. Please leave a comment if you find an error. Enjoy!

See also:
Sudoku Excel Helper Explained
Sudoku Trick

Chef-Wannabe

2006-06-28T10:28:00.000+08:00

I always wanted to cook. Rachael Ray, Nigella Lawson, Ina Garten and Giada De Laurentiis are my favorite chefs on tv. I sometimes daydream of having a beautiful kitchen and I would whip up delicious food creations of mine while friends surround me eating what I cooked accompanied with good conversation and laughter. If that is my dream, I have got to start working on it, right? Yesterday, armed with a carbonara recipe my friend gave me, I went to the grocery to complete the ingredients on my list. Since I wanted to start small, I cooked for myself. In that way, I will only disappoint myself.

It turned out okay. I really don't how it should taste but this was more than enough to satisfy the main food critic (that is me). I am easy to please anyway. A usual dinner favorite of mine is a small jar of spanish sardines. Anything fancier than that is heaven for me. And now, I am one recipe closer to that daydream of mine.

Sudoku: Excel Helper

2006-06-26T14:04:00.000+08:00

The weekend passed uneventfully except for the Sudoku puzzle I was working on. While enjoying the puzzle (How geeky can I get!), I quickly realized that I can use Excel to help me with my puzzle. I managed to create a simple excel file that would verify my Sudoku answers.
Below is the screenshot of my Excel helper:

You may download my helper from here. If you find an error, please leave a comment. Enjoy!

See also:
Sudoku Excel Helper Explained
Sudoku Trick