I previously wrote about how I did not look forward to having my passport renewed. I did so, anyway, and much earlier than I expected. Here’s why. I got scheduled for a trip to the US, but it fell within six months before my passport’s expiration. I might not be allowed to travel when I…
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Blogs about work, life and everything in between.
A godsend of a repairman for photographers
Being into a number of hobbies can be a curse sometimes. For most people, myself included, the likelihood of doing extremely well in one of them can be quite low. But right now, the biggest problem entailing them is the amount of money one can spend because of these hobbies. It was particularly bad for…
Like day and night: passport renewal then and now
There are two renewals which I don’t look forward to. One is for my driver’s license, where I have to endure long slow-moving lines every three years. I hate falling in line. Who doesn’t, right? But what beat all the lines I queued up for in the four LTO offices I’ve had my license renewed…
MMS 173: Epilogue – First Trimester 2013-2014
As I wrap up my assessment of the final projects of my students this trimester, I can’t help but look back in what has been a roller coaster ride on my part. It ended up as a scramble to get the course in order the whole time. And I still screwed something up in the…
A few music ideas
I haven’t really done much writing since finishing Pat Pattison’s Songwriting in Coursera. I guess I’ve been occupied with other pressing matters. Managing my photography course has been time-consuming. Another course of mine started earlier today. That’s going to take up some of my time, too. And when I do pick up the guitar, it’s…
Review: Korg Pitchclip PC-1
Last month, I thought I lost my clip-on guitar tuner. And of course, like the rational person that I am, instead of exerting a little more effort to find it, I thought it would be better to go to the mall and get myself a new one. So, I went to the nearest Audiophile store…
A pencil is for writing, not lubricating a guitar!
I admit it. I’d been peeved. One of the problems with a fairly large and high-traffic forum such as PhilMusic is that anything you write can easily get lost in the ocean of posts and topics found within. Sure, some people do have the sense to at least attempt a forum search before posting stuff….
Cleaning the fretboard
It was time for a string change on my custom strat. I hadn’t done much cleaning on the fretboard for like a year either, so I went ahead and did that, too. But instead of the usual lemon oil wiping, I wanted to try something. In one of his youtube videos, Scott Grove asserted how…
Review: Lenar Gigbag
Review: Lenar Gigbag Made to Order Gig Bags Price: Varies Made to order services for musical instrument bags and cases are aplenty, if you know where to look. I’ve seen and owned a few. They’re not the best make ever, but the bags serve their purpose well. The people who make these bags make a…
Mini-reviews: Wampler SLOstortion, Fender Mustang II, Joyo UD
I got to try out a few pieces of guitar gear this week and got some fairly interesting results. 1. Wampler SLOstortion The worth of this distortion pedal is undeniable. Even though it looks pricey at first glance (around US$240 around the Web, and PHP10,700 from Jef at www.nelldenmusic.com), two things more than make up…
Broadening research perspectives through the Gaia Hypothesis
I’ve always found the concept of the Gaia Hypothesis fascinating since hearing about it more than ten years ago (yes, I’m a late bloomer). For the uninitiated, James Lovelock proposed that the Earth is actually a self-sustaining and self-regulating organism (a superorganism, if you will), made possible by its living inhabitants, or more specifically, their…
Biomodd and new research ideas
While I don’t spend a lot of time with Angelo Vermeulen and Diego Maranan, being scattered across the world and all, these two are all but family to me. But the thing is, I always feel a certain initial level of inadequacy when working with them at the same time. I do not have the…