Dream Theater Live in Bangkok Pics!

My family and I are away in Bangkok for holiday vacation! Guess what?



The concert is on January 19. I leave January 2.




great.

Kurosaki Ichigo: Masks, masquerades

Our company held a masquerade Christmas party and I prepared Ichigo's
(of the popular Anime Bleach) hollow mask. I enjoyed making it.

I didn't win though. That's fine. hehe. Some pictures of my good friends too.



Link to Ichigo Images

Link to Christmas Masquerade Party

An unexplanable sadness engulfs me.

.

Goodbye, Leader of the Band

Dan Fogelberg was one of my favorite folk-country singers. His "Leader of the band" was always in my playlist. How we wished he could have stayed with us "longer". He died of cancer. Rest in peace Dan.

From Wikipedia:

In May 2004, Dan Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.
He underwent hormonal therapy and achieved a partial remission, which
did not eliminate his cancer, but reduced it and stopped its spread. On
August 13, 2005,
his 54th birthday, Fogelberg announced the success of his cancer
treatments and he thanked fans for their support, but said that he had
no immediate plans to return to making music, but was keeping his
options open, and enjoying spending time with his wife, musician Jean Fogelberg.

Fogelberg, who, since 1982, lived on Mountain Bird Ranch, 610 acres near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, put the lavishly appointed property up for sale at an asking price of US$15 million. ^[1]

He lost his battle against cancer on December 16, 2007 at his home in Maine with his wife, Jean, by his side.^[2]

My first DSLR....

CANON 400D Kit - 18-55mm

Yup. I finally got myself a Canon 400D with 4gb CF card to boot! If you're interested and would like to get one at a friendly price, kindly email me at neil.lolin@gmail.com

Ok, now we're done with that. The camera is very good. All I can say is that I am enjoying it very much! =) Actually, it's very very much! Hopefully, I will be able to be good at it and would soon be a know-how in this field. More self study and more tips from the internet and more experienced DSLR friends!

I'm excited to use it on family events, company events, parties...the works! Man! If you're a friend and you have something going on, don't hesitate to email me so that I can take pictures! If I am free of course! =D

Cheers!

kawawa naman ang mga pilipino

haaaay....

Steve Vai's "The Crying Machine"

will make you cry...

Especially when this little girl plays it...

Earthquake details

I was at the office when it happened. It's a rather scary experience sitting 33 floors above the ground.

Earthquake Details

Magnitude	6.0
Date-Time	Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 04:27:01 UTC Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 12:27:01 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location	16.037°N, 119.906°E
Depth	62.5 km (38.8 miles) set by location program
Region	LUZON, PHILIPPINES
Distances	45 km (30 miles) W of Dagupan, Luzon, Philippines 85 km (55 miles) WSW of Baguio, Luzon, Philippines 120 km (75 miles) NW of Angeles, Luzon, Philippines 195 km (120 miles) NW of MANILA, Philippines
Location Uncertainty	horizontal +/- 9.2 km (5.7 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters	Nst= 47, Nph= 47, Dmin=917.9 km, Rmss=1.16 sec, Gp= 61°, M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7
Source	USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID	us2007kfal

source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2007kfal.php#details

Abusive MMDA's....

should rot in hell...!!! MWAHAHAHAHA!

This is the weapon of motorists! Read on!

Tools against abusive MMDA officers

I just reached my limit last weekend, and decided to take action against the abusive MMDA enforcers. I basically called up the MMDA head office and inquired from the Personnel Officer, Antonio Pagulayan, to clarify their policies. Here is what I got.

If any of these abuses seem familiar to you, Mr. Pagulayan has asked that you call either the MMDA hotline (136) or call the METRO BASE at 0920 9389861 or 0920 9389875 and ask for an Inspectorate. They will send inspectors to the place where these MMDA officers are extorting, even while you are arguing out of your apprehension.

1.MMDA officers are not allowed to group together in order to apprehend. They are not even allowed to stand together in groups of 2 or more. The only time they are allowed to work together is for special operations (probably when they apprehend groups of buses for smoke belching)

2. Swerving IS NOT a traffic violation. Moving one lane to the left or right is not swerving, no matter where on the road you do it. And it is even less of a violation when you do it with a signal. Swerving is defined as shifting 2 or more lanes very quickly. So you can argue your way out of this, and call the Metro Base for help.

3. Sadly, using the yellow lane is a traffic violation and will get you a ticket. However, buses are really not allowed to go out of the yellow lane, so if you see selective apprehension of private cars only, you may complain.

4. MMDA has confirmed that your license MAY NOT BE CONFISCATED at a traffic apprehension. The only time they can do so is if you are part of an accident, or it is your third violation and you have not settled your fines yet. They are only allowed to give you a ticket, which you can contest. He recommends actually receiving the ticket in some instances, so that you can report the officer who did it.

5. Also, you are free to ask any of these officers for their "mission order", which is written by their supervisor. If they apprehend you for a violation that is not in their mission order for the day, you can report them and they will receive disciplinary action.

So go out and fight for your rights if and when the occasion arises!

TIP: Print and keep a copy of this email in your car for future reference

And some more....

Ever been surprised by an apprehending traffic officer with a violation you haven't heard of? Every motorist, at least once in his lifetime has been apprehended by a traffic officer. Sometimes, you are surprised by the apprehending officer with a 'new' or improvised traffic violation, or at times it might be something real that you just haven't heard of. Knowing the violations might save you money and trouble. There are also some instances of wrong apprehensions, like the very popular 'driving without license' violation. Do not by all means allow the apprehending officer to get away with this, when you really have a license but did not bring it, this would only mean a Failure to carry driver's license when operating motor vehicle with a fine of 150 bucks compared to 750 bucks from Driving without license.
Be reminded that when confronting the traffic officer to be calm and polite. Shouting or yelling at the traffic officer will also get you in trouble. There is a violation called 'Arrogance or Discourtesy towards a traffic officer' which will impose a 150 pesos fine on you. Also be reminded to bring along with you your spare tire, as this will also result in a violation with a fine of 150 bucks.

Bring along your Early Warning Device or buy one if you don't have one yet. This will save you 100 bucks and another 300 bucks in case your car stalls or if you suddenly need a little roadside repair. Last but not least, please do remember to fasten your safety belts, 300 bucks isn't a joke. And if you don't have one in your vehicle, better get one, coz it wouldn't cost you more than 1,000 bucks.

Don't forget that using your mobile phone, be it calling, answering a call, or texting is also a violation of the law unless you have a handsfree kit installed. Texting is still not permitted even with the installation of a handsfree kit since the kit does affect texting.



*Violation and penalties under Department Order 93-693

· Driving without license – P750 and imprisonment

· Delinquent, invalid, suspended, revoked license – P300 and / or imprisonment

· Failure to show, carry, sign license - P150

· Driving under the influence of liquor/drugs – P2000 and/or imprisonment

· Allowing an unlicensed person to drive – P750

· Use/possession of fake license – P1500 and confiscation (w/o license – disqualification)

· Allowing another person to use license – P500 and suspension

· Use/involvement of motor vehicle in committing a crime – P1500 and revocation

· Student driver not accompanied by a licensed person – P200

· Reckless driving – 1st Offense P500, 2nd Offense P750 and suspension, 3rd Offense P1000 and revocation

· Illegal turning, overtaking, parking – P150 each

· Failure to: give way to emergency vehicles, give turn signal, yield the right of way, dim headlights to oncoming vehicles, notch handbrake/turn off engine of MV when unattended – P150 each

· Disregarding traffic signs, traffic lights, enforcers and obstruction – P150 each

· Driving against traffic – P150 (MMDA – P2000, suspension and seminar)

· Arrogance / Discourtesy - P150

· Cutting an overtaken vehicle - P150

· Driving in sleeveless shirt - P100

· Driving in slippers - P100

Ban on use of cell phones while driving in Metro Manila
(MMDA Regulation No. 97-001, pursuant to Sec. 6 of RA 7924)
Drivers of vehicles caught using cellular phones and/or handset radios while operating/driving a motor vehicle shall be penalized by a fine of P200.00 per offense. Drivers using cellular phones and/or handset radios with hands-free devices are exempted from this regulation.

Disclaimer: This post is in favor for disciplined drivers and motorists. This is only intended for informational purposes and not to provoke unnecessary harm for both citizen and law enforcer. I salute good and honest MMDA officers, if they exist. The others...well...

source: http://tipidpc.com/viewtopic.php?tid=124283

Dream Theater: James Labrie Action Figure

James Labrie never ceases to suprise me.

Click the above link.

You guys should see this

If you know David Blaine, good. Some guys made a cool spoof of him. Funny.


Video 1: David Blaine


Video 2: David Blaine 2

(Video) Guitar Song - Rylynn by Andy Mckee

As I have always wanted to do, I finally "showed up" for it. This is my interpretation of the song.

Rylynn. This song is by Andy Mckee.

I hope you like it. If you do, please share it with friends.

Equipment:

Cort Earth 1200 - beautiful inlay
Behringer C2 condenser microphones.

My blogspot: http://xzero012.blogspot.com

The story of my nephew, pingpong, and the Philippine government

Me and my uncle were playing pingpong. My 6-year old nephew joined us. Being the kid he is, he doesn't really know how to play except hit the ball and send it flying to space. He wanted a scored match. We complied. Thing is, balimbing siya! Whoever had the most scores, he'd transfer to that side. He isn't a good loser you know.

I told him "Hindi pwedeng ganyan. Balimbing ka eh!". He just laughed it off. I continued, "Sa gobyerno lang ganyan".

He didn't know what "gobyerno" meant.

I envied him.

My Signature Image

Bomba: Warning to all

I do not know how true this is, but it is better to be safe than sorry. It's been spreading around. I don't have anything against Muslim or the Islamic Faith. It is but a warning to all I know. This came from a friend via YM.

MGANDANG GABI S INYONG LAHT ISA AKO NA MUSLIM TAGA LANAO GSTO KU PO MALMN NG
LAHT PRA UMABOT 2 SA MNILA KTATPOS NOW LNG ANG PLAN NI SHEIK ANG UTAK S GLORYETA
PLAN NLA PASBUGIN ANG ISA S TRAYNOMA SM MEGA 168 MRT UNION BANK QUIAPO RCBC HSBC
AT MARMI PA WAG IPSA S KAKILALA NNYO NA MUSLIM BKA MLMN NLA N MAY NAGKALAT BE4
NOV 1 ANG PAGSABOG GAMIT VAN NA SSKYAN

For easy reading:

Magandang gabi sa inyong lahat, isa ako na muslim taga-lanao. Gusto ko po malaman ng lahat para umabot ito sa maynila. katatapos now lang ang plan ni SHEIK ang utak sa glorietta plan nila pasabugin ang isa sa trinoma, SM Megamall, 168, MRT, union bank quiapo, RCBC, HSBC, at marami pa. Huwag ipasa sa kakilala ninyo na muslim baka malaman nila na may nagkalat before November 1. Ang pagsabog gamit Van na sasakyan.

Rate my online video

Hi guys!

Please rate my online video here:

http://pbxeq.com/_oct11/final/

Kindly go to the site and rate it from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest. Please rate with your comments. The site is about VoIP hardware and just go to http://www.pbxeq.com if you want to know more!

Thanks!

Rate my online video

Hi guys!

Please rate my online video here:

http://pbxeq.com/_oct11/final/

Kindly go to the site and rate it from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest. Please rate with your comments. The site is about VoIP hardware and just go to http://www.pbxeq.com if you want to know more!

Thanks!

Citadel's concert anniversary

Citadel celebrated their church anniversary tonight. It's a church along katipunan. No, the other katipunan (not ateneo's side).

The place was bombarded with artists. That's all I can say. And damn I miss hanging around with other artists. Artists who are not big headed but know how to keep in place both feet on the ground and are able to still pull off something wonderful...something magical. It's also great because we comprised of friends playing for friends. Thank for good friends.

It's a blessing hanging out there with people from 180 degrees, Joyce, Jared and folks who remember me from previous occasions and performances. I would have preferred being there. I think God intended it. What's my basis? I really don't know. I just felt simply welcome.

Kudos to Astrid, Jaja, Nuel, Carlo, Anna May, and JM for 2nd dinner. Mwehehehe!

Here are some pics.

Powered by ScribeFire.

The Dark Knight

Chat log

is not mine....

<blazemore> LITTLETON, Colo. - Colorado officials plan to try a
15-year-old boy as an adult for allegedly offering a Sony PlayStation
to have his aunt killed.

<FlipTopBx> is it modded?

John Petrucci on Paul Gilbert

If you hadn't known, G3 consisted of 3 guitarist doing a concert together. There have been many guitarist featured in G3 tours. Formula was always Satriani + Vai + X, X being another guitarist. There have been names like Yngwie Malmsteem, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci, and others I haven't probably heard of. The last time I heard was a trio with 2 of my heroes in it: Petrucci and Gilbert.

Petrucci was featured on guitar player 2007 and I bought it this week. I saw it in the newly relocated Filbar's in Galleria. Another interesting was the title article: Dreamweaver. I use Dreamweaver everday. I don't think Paul Gilbert does.

Petrucci on Gilbert:

Have you tried to pick up any cool licks and tips from your G3 tour mates?

I’m always asking questions of those guys. When I hear them do a cool lick during a show, I’ll immediately bug them afterward to find out what they did, or solicit their advice on how they’d approach something I’m currently working on. I come from the Steve Morse and Al Di Meola school of straight-up alternate picking, but, lately, I’ve been trying to incorporate more one-note-per-string arpeggio sweeps into my playing. However, it wasn’t sounding quite the way I wanted it to, and I noticed that when Paul played arpeggios, they sounded as smooth as silk. So I went to him to find out what he was doing that I wasn’t. He said he wasn’t voicing them one-note per string at all. Instead, he’d play one note on one string, then skip a string and play three notes. We were playing the same notes, but he showed me a completely new way to phrase them.

Paul Gilbert would be my guitar hero. John Petrucci is second. And I don't sound either.

At least in my opinion.

Disclaimer: No Joe Satriani was harmed nor abused in the writing of this article.

Powersuit made in Japan

And you thought they only fantasized in Anime's.

I'll get one of these....soon!

And when I do...

I'll be broke but happy.

M-Audio Keystation Pro 88

• 88 note hammer action keyboard
• 59 MIDI assignable controllers; 4 zones
• USB powered and class compliant
• multiple dynamic velocity curves
• MIDI I / O
• includes Ableton Live Lite music production software

I'll stress: It's USB powered. Has it's own mixer-like knobs and wheels. Full range 88 key hammer action keyboard. What more can I ask for?

A Paul Gilbert Signature Ibanez PG would be nice.

Sigh. The GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) never stops. It just doesn't.

It's a disease.

Doctor, Doctor

Monday Night:

I posted this in my blog only to remove it 5 minutes after.

Tired. Drained. Confused. Trapped in self conflict.

Sometimes, the selfish bastard in me snarls and rips my insides like a beast ravaging for new prey.
Sometimes, I don't know myself.
Sometimes, I don't know what I want.
Sometimes, I know what I want but everything legal and everything I ever believed in will be thrown out the window leaving shattered glasses on the floor, wounds that leave scars, and take life that will never return.
Someday, I will regret I ever published this.

Do not comment.

Talked with Jannette over the phone. We talked about how selfish I was. How I did not trust anyone. We didn't argue because I agreed with her. That night, I was more selfish than before. All thoughts, nothing really acted on. But still, thoughts.

Tuesday

I prayed and asked God for strength because I have a tendency for really imploding and asking questions that I only tire myself of. I asked Him if He can be real for me. If there was some wondrous way He can show He was real and still be there despite myself.

I left office at around 5PM+ because we had a photoshoot for the company website. No, I did not design it but I am hoping my face will be there. (do not laugh, I found out my face was used here a year after I left MMLDC!)

Upon arriving home, mom called. I forgot to drop the church keys to the secretary, so I leave again. Upong arriving home the second time, 15 minutes after, mom called again. Car broke down and I need to pick her up along with Nico (Earl's "Marlon"). The car was left parked in Jollibee, near Marikina's Marketplace. Upon arriving home the third time, I passed the time playing "Prince of Persia". 30 minutes later, mom was complaining about her really bad stomach ache. She asked to be brought to the hospital.

That was bad.

She was sweating cold and was pale. I drove. Janice (our house helper) was with us. Rain was moderate. Upon arriving to the hospital, a car was parked in front of the ER receiving section. Damn car. He moved. Mom was carried to bed while I parked the car. I don't like the parking there. Aside from being difficult, you have to go through a very narrow path: dust-like distance between your side mirrors and the wall.

When I got in, I came back to them. No action. I asked the doctor what was being done. Someone was asked to buy medicine for her. Medicine came. Injected. I was telling the doctor "Iba na kulay ng nanay ko". I don't call her "nanay". I call her "mama". Thiking about it, I don't know why I said that.

I have no idea what was injected on her, but she was claiming it did not work and her head ached like hell (she didn't say that, but it sure looked liked it). I told the doctor the situation. She had me buy medicines from the pharmacy, then she was injected with sedatives. Althroughout these I was filling out an index card for her registration. Funny, I filled it out my name on it and everything else was about her.

I just hear her utter "Jesus, Jesus...." again and again throuhout the pain. I prayed too.

My sister arrives. Doctor was telling me she needs to rest and asks us not to bother her. But mom was insistent on being bothered. I think she didn't want to rest fearing she might not wake up. She asked my sister to sing for her. I felt worse when she asked that. She sang "Heal me, O Lord."

I called up my brother because mom was looking for him too. He said he'll drop by. By this time, I was already thinking of the worst. Bills to pay, debts to settle...seriously, I was. I am soooo not ready for this. I was praying still. I've texted friends about it.

She finally seemed to rest. I asked the doctor for an update. Doctor said mom may go home after resting and it might be dyspepsia that got her. I remember that commercial in TV. If it was dyspepsia, I didn't think it would be that bad. I told her about mom's recent asthma attacks during our conversation.

Bro arrived with that usual serious look on his face. No trace of emotion whatsoever. Its fun to think that I should orient him to facial expressions 101. Mom seemed well afterwards. When I got back in she was talking with the doctor already. Doctor was giving possible causes for the attack. My sister was asking questions too. I asked the doctor 1 question: Are the new medicines being prescribed to her okay to take along with the asthma medicines she is currently taking. She said yes....

"You don't trust me, iho."

Ok. I needed that. I really did.

Lesson 1: I guess I should work on that one. I really should. I wondered how much I trusted God with my future and if what I am doing is based on THAT trust or my trust with myself.

We went home afterwards. This is the fourth time I got home. All was well. I texted and updated friends regarding the situation. I took responsibility of the car left in Marikina. I called RAP for help and he happily did. When we got there, we explained to the guards that we were there to pick the car up. I was checked for ID since my mom was the one who left the car. The guard helped us push the car on the highway, then RAP and I worked on tying the car on his pickup truck. That was fun because we were both guessing at what we were doing. So, it did work.

RAP was on his pickup truck, I was on the car. While he was driving (more like "while I was dragged"), I had another thought.

Lesson 2: When you're down and broken, ask a friend to help pick you up.

We got home and I thanked him for all the help.

Finally, I was really home. This was the fifth time in one loooong evening. Mom was resting in her room with my sister beside her. I was in my room.

I prayed and thanked God for everything. By this time, I had remembered my prayer to Him that morning. He is real and is still there for me. While it may have turned out differently, I know His plans are still the best. Yet, he answered my prayer.

Doctor, doctor my mother's sick. Please attend to her very quick.

Jesus, Jesus I am sick. You attended to me very quick.

..............................................................

Cross Posts

The VoIP articles that are found in my blog are not of my own creation, but I am a writer for one. I just want to give proper credits to its author. I was taken by surprise when it reflect in my multiply account.

I haven't posted in a while much to everyone's delight.

MIRC goodies...

t0rbad> so there i was in this hallway right

BlackAdder> i believe i speak for all of us when i say...

BlackAdder> WRONG BTICH

BlackAdder> IM SICK OF YOU

BlackAdder> AND YOUR LAME STORIES

BlackAdder> NOBODY HERE THINKS YOURE FUNNY

BlackAdder> NOBODY HERE WANTS TO HEAR YOUR STORIES

BlackAdder> IN FACT

BlackAdder> IF YOU DIED RIGHT NOW

BlackAdder> I DON"T THINK NOBODY WOULD CARE

BlackAdder> SO WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT FAG

*** t0rbad sets mode: +b BlackAdder*!*@*.*

*** BlackAdder has been kicked my t0rbad ( )

t0rbad> so there i was in this hallway right

CRCError> right

heartless> Right.

r3v> right

Geek are funny

A friend of mine gave me this link.

Funny. Geeks are funny. If you got the jokes, you're a geek. You're funny.

Excuse the strong language.

(Feeks) Hey can anyone help me I've been building a computer?
(@Wabz) Whats up?
(Feeks) Well i built it but it wont turn on
(@Wabz) Is the PSU connected to the board and harddrive etc
(Feeks) Yeah I'm not fucking stupid
(@Wabz) lol ok then, can you hear the fan on the PSU?
(Feeks) Yeah so it's turned on ya fucking muppet
(@Wabz) Fair enough then
(@Wabz) There should be a little red switch on the back of the PSU saying 240
(Feeks) Yeah man
(Feeks) ???  Hurry up some of us dont have all day
(@Wabz) OK OK lol push it over so it says 115 and you'll get more power going to the board
(Feeks) Then Plug it in?
(@Wabz) Yeah
(KLine) hehe :)
@Wabz puts his fingers in his ears
(Feeks) You fucking bastard you blew it up
(@Wabz) No i told you how to blow it up
(@Wabz) You blew it up
(Feeks) Fucker!!
(@Wabz) !kb Feeks

On Memories...

"one of the reasons why people hold on to memories so tight is because memories
never change...when everything else does"

-Kaye Devera

Transformers the Movie

Ang galing!!!!

I feel like a kid treated to a movie or something really enjoyable. Effects and transformations and all, it's all really good. While it isn't loyal to the Transformers we all love, it is still worth watching in the big screen.

Plot is straightforward. The way its delivered is just amazing. I love the Transformers. I am biased. So?!?!?

Ang galing talaga!!!!

Woes of a Guitarist

Summer Scream 2007 is coming c/o Tim Mallilin.



Uneven will be playing. Of course. We have not practiced since the 2nd eliminations (summer scream is band contest, but we're just guests) which was around 2 weeks ago. It is now 3 days before the event. I have to be thankful it was moved from June 8 to June 16 because it buys me time to study "Acid Rain".



Acid Rain. Haaay....the song is hard to play. Harder when you try to interpret a 7 string guitar song into a 6 string guitar song. Harder when you know the song far stretches your left hand while your right hand is madly picking. Harder when they don't get coordinated. Harder when you thought you were playing fast, but you weren't playing fast enough!



Remember my "I got tagged" entry? I wouldn't mind if I didn't move at all while my fingers did all the work. They should be working! Furiously WORKING!!!



Then there's Tim song, by Mark King. No title, no album resource. I hope that's easier. I haven't started. I'm still stuck with Acid Rain. I'm in the guitar solo part now.



What's that? Which one?



The part where everyone dies and Petrucci goes all over the place playing ala Vai effects and tremolo. It's hardly melodic. Have to give it to the guy who 95% of the time does live what he did on the recording. How I'm going to pull that off is an "I don't know".



What am I facing? Acid Rain, Mark King, and 3 days. To think out of the 3 days, 1 or 2 will be for practicing with the band in the evenings. Good luck to me.

Addicted...

to this!!! Simple rules, just keep the creeps from reaching the other end of the stage. It's good for the brain. Keep them from going YIPEE!!!! Post your game level, scores. No lying!!!

I got tagged...

so many times I chose not to even open the mail!



Now, Zieg sent me a personal message to do it. So rules say 7 things about yourself. Odd things? I'm not sure. I haven't really read the formal rules. I already find it odd I'm writing about it! Here goes...

1. I'm bad with names...except when you're cute, annoying, worthwhile, useful, friendly, suspicious, have body odor, and everything else extreme. Introduce yourself to me, count 2 minutes, I forgot you already. I do remember faces though. Yes I do, especially when you're ugly.
   
   
2. I remember events that are relevant to me. Not all, but if I do, I remember details of it. I don't want to claim to be good at it. If it didn't hit me that much, it didn't happen.
   
   
3. My best punchlines will be at the cost of others.
4. I sleep around 12am and beyond regardless of what time I get up in the morning.
5. My hair's been like this since high school. If it grows too long, you'd mistake me for the long lost member of the Jackson 5.
6. I personally think I don't look good on stage when I perform. I feel awkward when I head bang, make "rock moves", and do anything performers do. I tend to be stiff while my fingers do all the work. I wish I could do more while looking good at the same time.
7. I face the computer at work. When I get home, I do the same thing.

I could have put down more, but you'd think I'm evil.

Top 5 Worst Worship Songs

Got this from another blog I stumbled upon. Funny. Haha.

Okay, I know, many of you want to string me up after merely reading the title of this post. Let me explain: I'm a jerk. I'm cynical and somewhat of a music snob. In no way have I or would I ever pretend to be able to write a worship song, or any song for that matter, but I have been subjected to numerous worship sets which made me feel like laughing or puking. (Neither option is preferable when singing to the Big Guy.) Additionally, I am the director of our church's Worship Planning Team, so every week I consciously choose to let these and other songs which annoy me to be played, for the good of everyone else. So I am capable of group thinking. I just reserve the right to my opinion. And so do you. (So please tell me your own worst worship song).





5. I Will Not Forget You

I love Waterdeep. I think they are original and fun and somehow still serious and they usually move me in worship like nothing else. Here's the thing--I can't stand when songwriters want to use a word or phrase, then realize that using said phrase would mess up the rhythm of the song, but instead of rethinking the phrase, they add a word. In this case, the word is 'huge'. (As in, "a huge bell I ring"). I usually remain silent on this line or risk bursting into an inappropriate display of worship laughter.





4. Trading My Sorrows



Please don't kill me. I know that a lot of people love this song, particularly the actions (oh my goodness, don't get me started on action songs). This might be a little picky, but what am I if not detail-oriented? The bridge of this song includes the line "Though the sorrow may last for the night" and the music hits on each word in 'last for the night' in such a way that makes me think of hip-shaking. As in: Though the sorrow may last (stick hip out to right) for (to left) the (to right) night (to left). Get it? Anecdote--I was in a worship setting with my friend Marty and we were singing this song. We get to this part of the song, and, I kid you not, Marty does the hip thing. Completely his idea. I almost crapped my pants.





3.Draw Me Close Not a big fan of the emotional 'Jesus is sitting next to me' type songs. "I'd lay it all down again/ To hear you say that I'm your friend." Not so bad, I guess. Just wait. "You are my desire/ No one else will do/ Cause nothing else could take your place/ To feel the warmth of your embrace." What on earth does that mean? Grammatically speaking, we have a monster on our hands. To what does 'to feel the warmth of your embrace' refer? Peter, please back me up on this one.





2. Come, Now is the Time to Worship

This song is one of a few in a category I like to call "Ha, ha. You have to sing me first." For a Worship Planning Team director, this is maddening. Not to mention the weird chorus that doesn't seem to fit and the way we must all say 'come' at the end of the verse in an unnatural sing-whisper.





1. Your Love is Extravagant



I'm pulling out of the 'most recent' file on this one. My friend Hannah introduced me to this song, and when she sings it, it's great. She has a beautiful voice, and I can pretty much ignore whatever she is saying when she's singing. But when forced to sing as a participant, I found this song problematic. (Again, grammatically). "Spread wide in the arms of Christ/ Is the love that covers sin." No one told me we were moving back to Olde English on this one, and I spent an entire morning trying to figure out what I had just sung. I asked like 10 people what it meant, and understood even less when I was done. (I felt like a major idiot because it seemed like everyone else understood what we were saying. Maybe they just didn't care). Later, Danny explained that we were saying "The love that covers sin is spread wide in the arms of Christ." English majors.





Freebies:

Anything with the word 'river' in the title



This includes "Jesus Flow Like a River," "Let the River Flow," and "Dance in the River." My reasoning: no one can legitimately explain what the 'river' signifies. Seriously. Once, my friend Peter (whose list would be MUCH longer than mine) asked people why they liked a song with 'river' in the title. I believe he said, "What exactly is the river?" The answer? "Oh, you know, its Jesus and he's flowing through us. It's like the Spirit or something." Whatever.





Songs with lyrics that don't match the melody

Example: I Could Sing of Your Love Forever Here, we are singing a fun, happy verse, and then we move into the bridge with a depressing sound where we say, "Oh, I feel like dancing….." (Actually, this music makes me feel like crying.) "Like we're dancing now" (By the way, I have never seen anyone dance at this point. False advertising.)



**I Googled this topic and came up with nothing. So, from now on, when
anyone wants to find the world's worst worship songs, they will see
this list. So, if you want to be a world-famous jerk (and, really, who
doesn't?), post your comments.

That's it! Post your comments!

Marvel - Civil War

If you don't know what's going in the marvel universe for the past months, it's this one. This isn't the currently running series, because the war is over...or is it?



Anyway, it's Captain America VS Ironman.





Why? A group of superheroes named "The New Warriors" (Wow! Very intimidating!) were going "live" for a reality TV show and took on a group of super villains in Stamford. So they launched an attack hoping for good ratings. One of the super villains, Nitro, possesses the ability to explode (yup! kapoot! boom!) and rebuild himself after some time. Of course, superhero fights don't get contained in one lot. Nitro crashes beside a school. Nitro explodes. Everyone is dead. Except Nitro, of course, who manages to escape after that.



This further pushes for the superhuman registration to become law, with Tony Stark (Ironman) leading the act. The law states that everyone who possesses superhuman abilities, whether it be with the aid of machine, mutant gene, some accident and the like, are all required to register. Registration means knowing who you are. No more secret identities for you. Steve Rogers (Captain America) believes this violates civilian rights. Law sees those who refuse to register as criminals.



Questions about loyalty, friendship, patriotism, and ethics come to play.



I've been reading this for quiet some time now. It's good! I don't have the comics. I'm not rich. I have other means. Other free means. =)



Spiderman? Well...

test

test

May 28, 2007 - Gloomy 33

It's been gloomy since 5:30AM





Make that 5:45am. I haven't been up 5:30.





Come 7:00am, did some updates on our websites. Gotta prepare and keep
things up to date for that telephony conference. Did some reading. Yup,
I've read. If there was any way to make time fast forward, I already
did that.





I can some up my day today with one word: Multiply.





Yup. This multiply.





Times like this makes me wish I had my guitar here in the office. A
piano wouldn't be bad either. I'd play here and make everyone of my
co-workers wish they were in a bar having some drinks and chat all they
want. Or maybe I just want someone to listen to me and my music.





30 minutes to go before 4pm. And I still feel like 5:45am...

Summer Scream '07 - 502607

Saw familiar faces in tonight's gig. Emil was there. Nice seeing him
again after a long time. Chuck's sister and her sister's friends were
there. Ashley was there. And some guy who kept talking with me about
his guitar playing and stories about our gigs. Wow! I never really
thought we mattered to any of our gigs really. I must be too passive
(or too spaced out to think about it!).



Anyway, it is flattering to know people remember and somehow recognize the music you do wish to share. I had to apologize to him 'cause I couldn't remember his name. He introduced himself and helped me with setup and all along with Emil. Thinking about it now, I can't remember his name again. I'm bad with names.



Well, thanks dude. And thanks to all who do believe in what I do. It is rather heart-warming.



By the way, I have a multiply account now. I already did, but I go to it more often now than before.

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Missin'

She had to go somewhere for the weekend. Couldn't say I was looking forward to it, but I guess she did. It's ok. She needed a break. I think I need one too but we both had responsibilities. Last night going home from Tiendesitas with good office friends was nice. Couldn't help but think it'd be different if you were around.



Things I wanted to share with you...the company of good friends.



Tonight isn't different. We could have been lost together (instead of me and my uncle!) on the way to pier 1 for my gig. On the way home wasn't different from last night. Even the route was the same!



I'm bad at writing. Or at least I'm not in the mood.



I miss you dear. Don't know how else to say it.

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My take on "Drifting" by Andy McKee in Anna May's 18th Birthday

My sister showed me this video. Amazing it is. Fun to watch. Opportunity kicked in to study and play it. Studied it. Played it.

I also performed this on "Any Road, Any cost" concert by the 180 degrees music team.

Last Sunday was a dear friend's 18th birthday (i'll posting more about "Annamay's Power Debut" soon! Happy birthday!) . I dedicated it to her this time.
Juliet took the clip and made funny comments about it! I just found it while surfing the net today. I hope you guys enjoy it.

This is my humble take on "Drifting" by Andy McKee.

Yoyoy Villame...

has passed away. Heart attack.



Quoting from wiki:

Yoyoy Villame (born Roman Villame in 1938-2007) is a Filipino comedian and singer who hails from Bohol in the Visayas. Villame sings novelty songs, such as his well-known "Mag-exercise Tayo", which hit the charts in 1977.

He is the father of Hannah Villame, who is also a singer.

He began making movies in the early 70's, and is noted for his role as a family driver who killed by Vilma Santos in the 1974 suspense thriller Biktima (1974). In 2004, Yoyoy played a Visayan troubadour in the critically acclaimed movie, Babae sa Breakwater (Women of the Breakwater).

He succumbed Friday to cardiac arrest at the Las Piñas Medical Center. He was admitted at 9 a.m. but doctors failed to revive him. He complained of difficulty breathing and chest pains. He expired at about 12 noon.

The Bohol-raised Yoyoy experimented and recorded many songs in the Bisaya dialect. He even came up with the classic Abuchikik, a unique song driven by a catchy melody and seemingly unintelligible words. Included in his repertoire are hit songs Tarsan at Barok, Si Filemon, Nasaan Ka Darling (Where Are You, Darling?) and Da Da Da.

I only know one song...the classic "Butsekik". Novelty singer. Not bad for people like me who grew up in Bulacan, hitting puberty in the bitter metropolis, residing in a province in Rizal now turned city.



Yoyoy's "Mag-execise Tayo" and "Butsekik" are probably the only songs I know. Apparently, this youtube link has vicor on it, same guys behind the minus-one pushed by the idea of Butch can't-remember-last-name of Center for Pop Music School.



I am no fan of novelty songs. I just know the song and have respect for the guy who brought joy and hilarity to the hearts of Filipinos. Even today's novelty  song writer can't-remember-his-name who wrote otso-otso, jumbo hotdog (not sure), and some of sexbomb dancer's songs...has an impact to Philippine entertainment. Its just apparent that the songs itself have their own value. You'll see it when you see it performed and used creatively by other artists.



Yoyoy Villame will never know about this, but his classic "Butsekik" will never be forgotten. And I'm willing to bet revivals of his songs are inevitable.

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I am using a laptop....

...that belongs to the company I work in. I am really thankful they finally issued me one. My old and ailing rig which I have been bearing with for over a year has now been finally free of me. I don't know what will become of it, but all I can say is that the laptop I am using is significantly faster.



Speaking of rigs, the company also assigned me a tower to take home so that in cases my personal tower broke down, I'd have an extra one to work with. HR requested me to return it so they can issue me this laptop. Before returning it I wanted to make sure it was fine so I plugged it in, power light blinking, no POST. Removed power plug, put it back, blink, no POST. POOF! Power supply exploded. PSU WAS set on 220v. No error there.



So much for bringing it in one piece.

Scribfire

Performancing for firefox has now been renamed (or replaced by?!?) to scribefire. This is a test post. No worthwhile read.

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work work work

10 days past May 5 2007.

That was 180 Degrees Music Team's "Any road, Any cost" concert. I have not posted anything here. Been busy with work lately. Lots of deadlines and designs to finish. And I'm still not finished over everything! haha! Pictures from the event are available here.

I have been given the task to design all marketing collaterals for an annual telephony conference which will be held nowhere near where I work, where I live, or where I know good friends! Ahh, the power of internet marketing.

There's still plenty to tell but right now there really is no content to talk about except me babbling an excuse for not posting anything new, not that I owe that to anyone. I just want to let the 3-5 people who visit here.

I hope this week I'll be able to post something worth everyone's while. =)

Any Road, Any Cost and some Guitar Blues

I have committed to be the band director for the 180 degrees music team inc. for this year, as I have the previous years too and it has been most fulfilling and enjoyable as usual. Nothing beats loving what you're doing and knowing you kick a$$ on it! Hehehe. Forgive the language.

1 week countdown for the event and I hope everyone who visits my blog (if anyone at all!) can come. The musical "Any Road, Any Cost" is youth driven and will feature a live band and a live youth group singing praises and songs for the Almighty being up there.

I will be rendering a number or 2 in the said event. I have been preparing for this one too. I hope to deliver an experience to the audience they would appreciate. This is of course dedicated to my Creator and His love for me, but through this I hope I can extend His love to others as well (at least this is what I would like to think). =)

On preparation, I have prepared my Cort Earth 1200. It's a beautiful acoustic guitar my father gave me. It's korean made (like my Ebox chassis!). Now I have to prepare and buy some guitar in order to amplify it well. I am looking at the Behringer C-2 matched condenser microphones. I hope they will suffice for the amplification of this guitar.

Anyway, this guitar gave me problems. if it weren't for its good looks, I wouldn't spend time fixing it. It's giving annoying, and I mean annoying, fret buzz. Not on open strings, not even on fretted ones. It's giving fret buzz on tapped ones! Whenever I tap on the eleventh fret, it's giving me a buzz below neck, hence giving me 2
notes played simultaneously. Anyway, lowering the nut on the guitar solved, except now I have an open string fret buzz too. I was considering bringing it to a luthier but I want to learn myself so I kinda murdered the guitar instead.

Pictures of the guitar can be found in my flickr site here. Pardon the disorganization. Hehe.

Mumblings

It's been eons since I've posted. It's been eons since there was sugar in the pantry.










Finally, Joost (TV, the way you want it - so they say) has emailed me to download their program and try it out. I've installed, registered, and now watching TV from home. It's a streaming type of thing, but I don't think it's live. I just ope they are not preset videos that you have to watch all over and over again. Quality is better than that of Youtube's though, so I guess its for higher bandwidth connections, not that I do have one.

Try it out. The interface is cool.

IPAQ 2210 / 2215 Pocket PC

Old School Gear I still love

I've had this unit since the life of me. I think it's one of my most expensive, if not the most, investments back in college. Was able to save enough to buy me a decent personal digital assistant. Bought it second hand in bidshot. Buyer arranged a new replacement from HP Philippines. Exchanged it for the new unit. Eventually, new unit gave me some sort of oil inside. I don't know if it was an LCD leak or something. Had the unit replaced by HP. Got a new one again. Ran smooth. Took care of it as much as I could. Eventually, it gave me the dreadful white screen of death. No amount of charging, discharging, banging around, and abuse could bring it back up. Brought the unit back to HP for repairs. Guess what? They took it in and replaced it again!

Reflecting back, HP Philippines does have great customer support. I have to personally thank Mr. Vincent Polido whose name I will not forget for his superb and sincere assistance to me and my pocket pc. I still have the 3rd brand new unit with me, all functional and well. I think he is now disconnected with HP but wherever he is, I hope he is well and prosperous.

I just bought a Tomato. It's a 2GB SD card / USB flash drive. It's a hybrid type. Take off the cap and tadah! It's a flash drive. Copied a lot of mp3's on it and installed Ppod, a discontinued iPod simulator (thanks to apple!) for the pocketpc. It's cool actually. Now I have a 2Gb pseudo iPod. I love it. I'm sure this isn't the end of it.

Of course, I still installed the pocket pc essentials. Dictionaries, games (yes! they are essential), resco programs and all. For musicians who do own a pocket pc, I would recommend the following programs:

• Phontuner - it's a visual tuner for your instrument. There are several instrument presets for guitar, violin, cello, and singing. Available to pocket pc, symbian OS, and Palm. It's the best tuner I've found.
  
• Beats Metronome - Says what it says it does. It's a metronome. I think there are better ones though, but for now, this will do. It's also stuck at 4/4 time signature. So much for Uneven. No, not my band! The time signature!
• Resco Audio Recorder - a decent audio recorder for your pocket pc. Records straight to mp3. nice!

I hope I can expand this unit more. As a good friend of mine put it, "You're not maximizing your pocketpc!".

That got my ass moving.

Yearning Cries

How long have I kept you here
How long will I keep you here
You cry
You creep out of me when I hear you
You crawl out of me when I hear you
Shivers, cold shivers you give me
How long must I wait

You were there, I knew you were
Whenever I hear you, I stop
I simply stop
Whenever it talks about the omnipotent one
I shiver

How magnificent you are

How many have you healed
How many have you killed
How many find comfort in you
How many find angst in you

How many have used you for power, fame, fortune
Many take pride of you
Many study and become obsessed about you
You fill out the emptiness in souls - so they thought

You - for good and evil
You oh great music
Such power you hold, such power so old
When will I have time for you

For you, the creator and greatest author of music
Please accept this
Its simple. Just me. Just me and what you gave me.

Ebox pictures

Apologies for not posting this. I've had this setup for almost a month now I think. I use a USB keyboard. No. Not the qwerty one.

I meant this. Due to bandwidth issues, I would like to post a link to the whole flickr set instead of posting them here. The set also include the first assembly pictures I posted. The picture of the left is the Behringer UMX-61. Obviously, it's a 61-key MIDI controller. 8 knobs. 8 buttons. 1 volumer slider. 1 pitch bender whell. 1 modulation wheel. 2 octave button switches.

What's really nice about the keyboard is that it is small and light enough to carry round. I don't have a case yet but I am hoping to have one soon. Yup, it's a USB keyboard.

This is the keyboard I've used for the song "Rock of my Salvation" that my sister sang. We will be re-recording the song soon due to some noise and lyrics issue. Whoops.

Commodore lives again

The Commodore 64 was my first exposure to the digital world. It is a world of its own when I think about it now. It is what introduced me and my dear brother to computers. It was plugged into a 21" colored TV. Eventually, we also owned a Commodoe 128 which also had a "Commodore 64 mode". Me and my brother would do sprite animations just for the sake of it without the ability of saving them since the disk drive (which is a huge 5.25" diskette drive bay that looks like a large HDD enclosure now) is broken.

We lived in Bulacan back then and my father brought this from Saudi when he used to work there. I don't really remember how we learned to use the thing, but we were probably taught how to type in its commands in order for us to load games. We had a huge library of games then in diskettes. 5.25" diskettes in different colors. I always played "Beach Head" and "Bruce Lee" with my brother then. I also remember some Olympic-game-themed title but can't remember it's name now. "Pitfall" and "Pitfall 2" was another favorite. Then there's "Impossible Mission". I do remember trying a C64 emulator years ago and did have it working.

Anyway, I just saw in tipidpc that this beast is back...only this time, it's a branded gaming pc. It is now running under the name CommodoreGaming. They have 4 setups to fufill your gaming hunger: Commodore G, Commodore GS, Commodore GX, and the ultimate Commodore XX. Curious as I was, typing in "Commodore" in google brings about another site named CommodoreWorld. They have 2 products available right now, Commodore Gravel and the C200. There isn't much product specs on the site, but a PDF specification sheet is available. Check it out here. I don't think their products are available at the present right now.

Going back, CommodoreGaming does offer midrange to high-end gaming rigs. What's notable is that even their lowest (but still fast looking at the specs!) model is equipped with 2Gb's of RAM. There is no comparison table available on the site, but I've listed them down here anyway for convenience:

There is no price yet on the website but the specifications are indeed intended for those who have an apetite for serious gaming. I have hopes that the price is reasonable enough in order for good ol' Commodore to be a name once again in the computer market.

Cakewalk Sonar 6.0

Cakewalk Sonar 6.0 Producer Edition

I have been using Cakewalk since it's pre-sonar days. I think I've started with Cakewalk 3 or 4 back then. I had a Roland MP401 Midi ISA card connected to my Celeron 300A back then. The card is with me though. Never thought it would be around here in the Philippines until I saw it in good old Perfect Pitch. That was around 1998 though.

Anyway, I was playing around with Sonar 6.0 and did a recording with my sister singing. I had 3 tracks loaded up, Native Instruments' Akoustik Piano (yup, that's a "K") taking up 2 of them (1 MIDI and 1 Audio for VST), and my sister's vocal track. This wasn't at all planned since I was playing alone when my sister came in singing "A strange way to save the world" with me. Everything else was history.

Song title : Rock of my Salvation

This also is my small attempt in trying to make both tracks sound balanced. It's recorded live, multi-tracked. Will be posting some pictures soon. Here's the song.

HULK...now in MIDI!

Do you remember the angry, big, green machine we loved? Dr. Bruce Banner has finally listened to his right brain for creativity and has now come up with this!

Yup! It's the Hulk's hands! AKA Media Systems has come up with this crazy but brilliant idea of actually applying MIDI technology into the giant's hands. Project title is HULK$MASH.

Flickr Photoset can be found here if you are interested in venturing to the project.




Interestingly, its not supposed to be used for people, animals, or objects... but we can always hit objects that we are allowed to right? Say...a table that produces a clashing cymbal when hit? What about a piano middle C? That would be weird..







Anyhow, Bruce Banner here seems to be enjoying his creation. I hope he doesn't hulk$mash his gear!

Overall, I find the idea simply brilliant. There more details in the flikr photoset if you want to pursue becoming a hulk$masher. It doesn't give you details though on transforming into a full radioactive green monstrosity.






From: http://createdigitalmusic.com/2007/03/11/hulk-hands-hacked-smash-stuff-send-midi/

Tips for Church Musicians

Disclaimer: I refuse to be called religious. I simply acknowledge that what the true Bible says about God sending His Son to die on the cross and resurrecting on the third day to be real and His love is unconditional for all. This is what I know is true, regardless if James Cameron believes it or not.

For those people who don't know me, I have been a church musician for more than 10 years. Yup. More than 10 years of playing black and white "for the love of God" as Steve Vai would have written it.

If I counted how many Sundays were that, I'd be lost. It'd be worse if I counted how many times I was late. Of course, everyone would know I was late! Hehe. Funny how people would count lates more than the times you were on time. People.

Anyway, God has been faithful and good throughout the years despite my inconsistencies and flaws. So here are some tips for you guys who are in the same field:

1. Relationship. Make sure you're on track with the Almighty. Better terming would be "in tune" with God.
2. Commitment. You want to rock for God? Let your "yes" be "yes" and your "no" be "no".
   
3. Practice. If you rehearse for a gig, a show, a concert, or any other activity that involves performance, you find the time to practice. All the more you should do this when your audience is the creator of music. Oh, and practice on your own. Further your skills and be the best you can be.
   
4. Discipline. Be consistent in keeping these.
   

I might have missed some important points, but for now, this will do. I have yet to tell more about my mishaps, dreams, and frustrations too.

Ebox ver 2.0 - Digital Audio Workstation - Some more pictures

After posting the hardware specifications here and taking pictures while installing everything, here it is. It isn't final, but I hope it's worth to look at. I've posted the same pictures of my digital audio workstation in tipidpc's "Show me your rig" thread.

Performancing Test

This is a test on Performancing.

Requested pics of Behringer MS40 Desktop Studio Monitors

Here are some actual pictures of the Behringer MS40 desktop studio monitors that I own. A friend of mine has requested to post them. Here it is my friend!

Box!








The pair. Left and Right respectively.









I have two speakers. The Left...















And the right...
















Front panel controls of the monitors.










Rear connectors.








The Behringer MS40 desktop studio monitors also support dual sound sources and have an independent control of each sound source. So if you've got a PC and an mp3 player hooked up simultaneously here, you may independently control their volume levels.

I don't own an mp3 player. Just a pocketpc who served me for a long time already. It's not even connected here...

Behringer MS40

After much coveting and amazement on how Behringer's MS16 sounded, I wanted the MS40.

After unpacking and plugging it into my sweet EMU 1820m, I must say that indeed it sounded good. I tried Native Instrument's Akoustic Piano on it and had raise the frequency in the mid to high range for some real piano brilliance to come out. This will do for now I suppose. Overall, I am satisfied with the price that I paid for. Although of course, I am biased about this since I have not yet head other monitor speakers from the same price range, should there be one existing (there was one mentioned in another forum, but I cannot remember anymore).

Hope to post some real pictures next time.

Product Link here.

Ebox ver 2.0 - Digital Audio Workstation

After the long awaited time for an upgrade since December, I have finally got the parts I needed thanks to Tipidpc.

Some specifications:

Asus P5wDH Deluxe
Intel E6600
Team Xtreem DDR2 800 4-4-4-12
Gecube Radeon x1950PRO 512MB
HEC 550w
Thingbell Casing (from KOREA!)
EMU 1820M

These are what I purchased from the good people of the site. There is another blessing to the upgrade though. A product that I have been drooling over for a long time is the EMU 1820M. It features the EMU 1010 card (which is like a mastercard), a daughter sync card, and the much coveted AudiodockM breakout box.

During it's first product release, the package I got was the EMU 1212m. It featured 2 balanced / unbalanced inputs, midi-in, midi-out, and the same mastering-grade chip that the 1820m featured. So it's basically an 1820M with no AudiodockM, and no daughter sync card.

Thanks to the 180 degrees music team, I have been able to acquire this item! Kudos to Russell Simons and wife Ramona Simons for such a nice item. Off topic, I have designed and still presently maintaining the website for the music and missions team.

My Dream Machine Ver 1.0 (Ebox ver 1.0)

About this same time last year, around November to February, I have dreamt of building a workstation for only one purpose: Digital audio processing. Having purchased a professional sound card 3 years ago, I finally had the resources I needed to built a machine just for this one.

Alas, my needs grew. My current system cannot go further to regions I wanted it to. It can, but I had to deal with the stutters and glitches which I cannot tolerate during live performances (I am a keyboardist / guitarist by the way). During this time, dual-core processors were out in the market. The upgrade itch is at it again! I scratched.

My Dream Machine Ver 2.0

Needless to say, I never got to document the first dream machine I already have. It's not at all sluggish, heck, it's way faster than my office computer! Now I'm wondering when will that get upgraded!

Anyway, on with the details! I've been wanting this since Christmas but due to some uncontrollable instances like budget constraints and all, I have been forced to wait.

Motherboard

The image on the left displays the Asus P5W DH deluxe edition. And yes, that's a receiver over there for the remote control. Finally, I would have a working remote control for my PC. The board too is colorful, which of course will be sealed up inside a case anyway, but nonetheless, aesthetics adds up to overall vanity experience even for a machine like this!

Some spec details are just a bonus for me, but what I do like about this is the native Crossfire support (2 x pci-express running at 8x) because of the i975x chipset.

No, this is not a benchmark review.

Some more specs:

• Intel® Quad-core CPU Ready
• LGA775 socket for Intel Core2 Duo, Core2 Extreme
• Intel 975X +Intel ICH7R 1066/800MHz
• Dual-channel DDR2 800/667/ 533 max 8GB
• 2 x PCI-E x 16 / 2 x PCI-E x 1/ 3 x PCI
• Support ATI CrossFire graphics cards
• Intel Matrix Storage technology
• Dual Gigabit LAN
• Dolby Master Studio technology
• ASUS EZ-Backup
• ASUS Digital Home features

Click here for Official Asus specs on this board.
A good review can be found here.

Processor

Intel's E6600.
2.4GHz, 4MB, 1066MHz FSB, LGA 775

4MB Cache. Does a lot. Costs a lot.

The quad core processors would be "Does a lot more. Costs a lot more." And I'm not kidding.

I'm beginning to think if there really are real-world applications that would take advantage of these technologies. Of course, there are benchmarks, but they exist in order to push limits of these hardware to applications that are alien to me. Except for the usual mp3 encoding, video encoding / conversion, and others.

However, dual-core still has its advantages. I'd assume you know that already though.

Memory

Team Xtreem Dark DDR2 800MHz CL 4-4-4-12
1GB x 2

That 2 gigabytes of RAM in total. Sweet. Kills latency for audio processing I hope.



Some info from their site:

• Available in 1GB and 2GB Dual Channel
• PC2-6400 800 MHz 4-4-4-12
• 64x8 DDR2 FBGA Chips
• 240pin, Non-ECC, Un-buffered DDR2 SDRAM DIMM
• Aluminum Heat-spreader
• 8 Layers Ultra Low Noises Shielded PCB
• Retail Package
• 2.2V - 2.35V
• Lifetime Warranty

I also got this because it had blue heatsinks...hehehe.

Link from their site? Click here.


Video Card

RADEON X1950Pro 512MB GDDR3, HDCP Edition

I had this card since last November 2006 I think. I never got to use it though. I plugged it in my sister's computer just to make sure it worked. She got to use it but I felt like her computer didn't give much justice to the card. No pun intended.

It's my first PCI Express card too by the way. And it has Native Crossfire support. I've been wanting a crossfire setup ever since the technology came out. Just couldn't affor it then. Not that I could afford it now!

What's this got to do with audio processing? Well, none. But given such power of the computer I am building, why not?

Some more specifications:

• Powered by ATI RADEON® RV570 GPU
• A 80-nanometer process GPU, a new ultra-threaded core 3D processing architecture
• 256-bit (512-bit Internal Ring Bus) 512MB GDDR3
• 36 parallel pixel pipelines
• PCI Express x16 lane native support
• Dual DVI (Double Dual-link) + HDTV + D-sub + HDCP DVI to HD(MI) TV support via HD Video Dongle.
• Crypto ROM build-in key with native HDCP decoding for Blu-ray and HD-DVD applications @1080i video quality.
• ATI’s Avivo™ technology connects to home entertainment devices and creates true-to-life image reproduction, and the smoothest video playback ever offered by ATI. Get high image fidelity with CRT and LCD displays, TVs, rear projection and plasma TVs, and projectors.
• New ultra-threaded core 3D architecture with ATI’s revolutionary Avivo video and display technology to drive performance to new heights with incredible speed and intense 3D graphics.
• The native Radeon® X1950Pro CrossFire™ is ready; Ready to deliver multi-GPU gaming performance.
• Shader Model 3.0
• New High Dynamic Range features visual effects, and enhances realism with adaptive anti-aliasing and lightening fast performance.
• Accelerated MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX,WMV9, VC-1, and H.264 decoding.
• CATALYST™: Full Windows Vista LDDM support including Aero Glass visuals.

Site link here.

Power Supply Unit (PSU)

HEC WIN POWER 550w
The HEC 550w loads my whole system. No more generic brands for me for this kind of setup.

Some more specifications:

Key Features:

• ATX12V Ver 2.0.1 supports Intel ATX 12V, EPS 12V and AMD ATX-GES
• Dual +12V rails provide plenty of power sources to support the high end system
• Compliance with Energy Star and Blue Angel delivery environmentally-friendlier power
• Excellent protection functions provide maximum reliability
  
  1. OVP (Over-Voltage Protection)
  2. UVP (Under-Voltage Protection)
  3. OPP (Over-Power Protection)
  4. UPP (Short-Circuit Protection)
• Dual 6Pin special power connectors for PCI express graphic cards and support SLI technical included

It has a blue fan by the way. hehe. =)
Site link here.

Casing

I was strolling around the pc shops area in Sta. Lucia East when I stumbled upon on a store that sells refurbished items from Korea. Items were pretty much of the same kind you see on refurb shops, except this had a more decent look (and probably more expensive!) since it is inside a mall. I saw this case and thought about buying it. And I did it. The experience I got there wasn't the most pleasant since one of the guys there isn't the most humble person you'd meet. I bought the casing anyway. There are missing parts though as opposed to the site. I asked them about t and apparently all of their units lacked exactly the same parts mine did.

Missing parts (in comparison to what is document in the korean site):

HDD tray
120mm fan
40mm fan



More info here (korean site)








Sound System (at long last!)

EMU 1820M

As EMU would describe it, it is their flagship! And indeed, it is. Featuring 6 analog inputs, 8 outputs, and even more! This monster can record 6 separate tracks at the same time, of course given your computer can handle it.

Unfortunately, due to environmental hazards and standards, this product is not RoHS compliant so EMU stopped manufacturing this one. I only got mine through Ebay and was fortunate enough to get hold of one. I got it through the love and kindness of the Simons of course.

Let me post some more specifications to let you know more about this:

Digital Audio System

The E-MU® 1820M is the flagship of E-MU's line of Digital Audio Systems, delivering everything you need to produce audio on a PC with professional results- 24-bit/192kHz converters (the same A/D converters used in Digidesign®'s ProTools® HD 192 I/O interface), hardware-accelerated effects and mixing, comprehensive sync options and seamless compatibility with your favorite PC audio/sequencer software. No other audio solution available offers the performance, flexibility and value of the E-MU 1820M.

The E-MU 1820M features:

• Mastering grade 24-bit/192kHz converters - the same A/D converters used in Digidesign's flagship ProTools HD 192 I/O Interface delivering an amazing 120dB signal-to-noise ratio
• Hardware-accelerated effects - over 600 standalone and E-MU Power FX VST plug-in effects with no CPU overhead
• PatchMix™ DSP zero-latency hardware mixing and monitoring - with super-flexible patchbay - no external mixer needed
• Comprehensive analog and digital I/O plus MIDI and sync - 18 inputs and 20 outputs, two sets of MIDI I/O, Word Clock, SMPTE and MTC Sync, plus FireWire port
• Two TFPro™ studio-grade preamps with Mic/Line inputs via Neutrik connectors, 48V phantom power and 40dB of gain - plug microphones, guitars and keyboards straight into your system
• Compatibility with most popular audio/sequencer applications - ultra-low latency 24-bit/192kHz ASIO 2.0 and Stereo WDM drivers
• E-MU Production Tools Software Bundle - includes Cakewalk SONAR LE, Steinberg Cubase LE and Wavelab Lite, Ableton Live Lite 4 for E-MU, IK Multimedia AmpliTube LE and T-RackS EQ, Minnetonka diskWelder BRONZE, SFX Machine LT, plus E-MU's Proteus X LE Desktop Sound Module - everything you need to create, record, edit, master and burn is in the box

I/O Configuration:

• Two TFPro Mic/Line/Hi-Z preamps (w/48V phantom power)
• Six 1/4" Balanced Inputs
• Eight 1/4" Balanced Outputs
• Turntable input (w/ground lug and hardware RIAA preamp)
• 24-bit/192kHz ADAT In/Out (switchable to S/PDIF)
• 24-bit/96kHz coaxial S/PDIF In/Out (switchable to AES/EBU)
• 24-bit/96kHz optical S/PDIF Out (switchable to AES/EBU)
• Two sets of MIDI In/Out
• Four stereo 1/8" Speaker Outputs (configurable from stereo to 7.1)
• Stereo Headphone Output
• Firewire® Interface

Sync Configuration:

• Word Clock In/Out
• SMPTE In/Out
• MTC Out

E-DSP Hardware-accelerated Effects, Mixing and Monitoring:

E-MU's Digital Audio Systems feature the powerful E-DSP chipset, which features a hardware-accelerated effects processor with over 28 effects plug-ins (over 600 presets). This effects architecture is fully expandable, allowing you to add more effect plug-ins to your system as needed. E-DSP also provides zero-latency, hardware-based mixing and monitoring via the included PatchMix DSP mixer, delivering unmatched flexibility in routing audio between all of your physical and virtual (ASIO/WDM) inputs and outputs- no external mixer needed.

All Digital Audio Systems ship with the following Effects Plug-ins:

Stereo Reverb
Lite Reverb
Compressor
Leveling Amp
Chorus
Flang
er Phase Shifter
Frequency Shifter
Distortion
Speaker Simulator
Rotary Speaker
Auto-Wah
Vocal Morpher
1-Band Para EQ
1-Band Shelf EQ
3-Band EQ
4-Band EQ
Mono Delay 100
Mono Delay 250
Mono Delay 500
Mono Delay 750
Mono Delay 1500
Mono Delay 3000
Stereo Delay 100
Stereo Delay 250
Stereo Delay 500
Stereo Delay 750
Stereo Delay 1500

It's a pretty long detail, this info can also be found here from the official site.

_____________________________

As for the Hard drives, I got some old 2 80gigs, and a DVDRW to put in there. It's not at all a SATA II solution, but it helps me keep the budget in control.

I have taken actual pictures of the items and the assembly and will be posting them soon. Right now, I have Windows XP Professional SP2 installed and Cakewalk 6.0

It's a lot of improvement in performance compared to my older system. Right now, I can hit a 2ms Latency using ASIO in cakewalk with Native Instrument's Akoustik Piano. I have not yet really loaded anything more than that yet, I will be posting some more once I do.

On the side, Need for Speed Most Wanted and Underground 2 runs like a charm! hehe.