chette.com

Not really a new blog. More of like an update. But it is a new me. Like my blog, I’m still rough around the edges … but I’m getting there.

Change Log (of blog & me):

• Changed the directory to /blog I was a stickler on the /v2, /v3 etc format, made sure that the development of a new theme is parallel to the maintenance of the current one, properly backed up & synced everything, and made sure that there is zero downtime.
  Then I grew up. Honey, this is not  Wikipedia, whose downtime is noticed by millions of plagiarists of all the world. It’s just a frickin blog.
• Didn’t bother putting proper 301 or 302 redirects in htaccess. F*ck SEO.
• Edited my template directly on the server. Which means I see the changes (and mess ups) in real time. And so does the rest of the world.
  Do I care? Not really. Again, just a blog.
  Plus, if you do strict versioning and backups for a living as I do, you totally. get. sick. of. it.
• Went back to my previous template, which was originally done in Joomla.
  I had an integral struggle on this one. I wanted to have one of those hand-drawn template graphics. But then I needed to learn how to draw, which I don’t see happening in the next 2 decades.
  My masterpieces now all come straight from my scanner or my iPhone. And I’m owning it.
• Re-enabled Google AdSense to get some pitiful earnings. Okay, I’m kidding. This is something for work.
• I stop when I’m tired. No more sleepless night just because my <li> tags are not formatting correctly.
• Started using Disqus again. Also required login for comments. This drastically reduced the number of comments (as with the previous versions of the blog). But I realized the only comments worth reading are those posted by those who login anyway. So be it.

Fridge Stack, 1.5 gallons / Make Room & More, Powerplant Mall / P950.00

I hate having to stoop down to get a pitcher of water in the ref. I would’ve gotten a water dispenser if I was a heavy water drinker, and if I don’t live in a condo.

It was serendipitous than I discovered Fridge Stack from Make Room.

I took measurements of the available space in our ref before I purchased it. Unfortunately, I failed to take into consideration the spout area, which hit one of the shelves inside the ref. I ended up removing the offending shelf (with very little hesitation).

I placed the Fridge Stack near the topmost shelf in the ref, which also made the water really cold as it was close to the chiller.

My only disappointment is not really the product’s fault but my blatant disregard of the laws of physics. I was expecting the water to act like a faucet and continuously release water in one continuous swoosh! Of course that didn’t happen. More of like blop blop.

I’m in love with this baby. And I know you will too. Unless you hate water. And you live in outerspace.

For the time being, I am trying to veer away from my usual feeds and read more local blogs. We shall call my reference The List – which is supposedly a comprehensive list of the top bloggers in the Philippines.

How the term “top bloggers” came about is debatable. But that’s another story.

So what is the verdict in almost 4 weeks of reading?

For every 5 bloggers in The List, only 1 of them regularly write original content. The remaining are self-proclaimed curators, whose posts are usually links to other blogs, or worse, publishing someone else’s post in it’s entirety – with an introductory sentence, of course.

There are also a lot of one-paragraph posts whose main objective is to make readers answer their questions/problems.

There are a handful who take the time to write long reviews & articles. You do get a funny feeling how genuine some are, based on the hard sell in their tweets.

And then there are blogs which are like a breath of fresh air. Some might be labeled fluffy, or even eccentric, but they are so unpretentious and unique that you can’t help but dig thru their entire archives.

It’s confusing, this task. But I’m glad I’m doing this I am getting to know the community, albeit from a distant view.

In the meantime, my eyes are open.

In a horizontal job, multitasking skills are critical

People (& marketing campaigns) can’t wait for you while you wait for information to sink in.

Nor will they waste time to organize information because you can’t see the bits & pieces holistically.

You move fast.

Like Steve Rubel, I also contemplated on moving my blog to Tumblr. For the same reasons: the social factor, the simplicity, the absence of hosting headaches.

Why didn’t I take the plunge? Because I don’t trust it (yet). Too many of my friends have complained about the downtimes. What disturbed me the most was when I logged in to Tumblr after almost 2 years, there was hardly any changes. There is still no robust capability to import a WordPress blog & its comments, and there is still no satisfying backup feature.

Apparently, I am not alone.

Tumblr reminds me of Remember the Milk, who did very well at its initial launch, offered impressive features … and stopped right there. They still refuse to adapt to the changing needs of its users, or open themselves up to the possibility that maybe, just maybe, their customers might be right.

After a month of extensively using Readitlater on the iPhone, I realized it doesn’t fit my needs.

• Low adoption fro 3rd party apps. Instapaper is still the de facto standard with apps – on the Mac, iPhone, or Android. You’ll be hard pressed to find a good Twitter client in Android which integrates with Readitlater.

• Some titles are not parsed correctly. I need to open the article before I know what it’s about.

• This is a minor problem, but can get pretty irritating: I regularly get a big message box that the content can’t be displayed

• Readitlater is supposed to allow you to view videos. And it doesn’t. At least not yet. True, I usually don’t like to watch videos anyway when I’m reading. But as far as I’m concerned, what you put down on the features list, you better deliver, because that is what people expect to pay for.

Where Readitlater wins:

• Price. Cheaper by a couple of bucks.
• Pretty user interface. What sadly sold me in the first place.
• Built-in browser. Surprisingly, I ended up using Safari more than it’s built-in browser, so this is a no biggie for me.

Thankully, all of the above items I can live without.

You have good friends you’ve known for years – and suddenly you end up working in the same company.

It gets complicated if you work in different departments, with overlapping functions & responsibilities. And even more when ambition & glory enters the picture.

That’s the confusing part.

But there’s a clear part: How the friend(s) handle the issue.

Does he prove his point by giving you a blow-by-blow account of how poorly you are doing at your job? Does he hype his accomplishments & put down yours in the same sentence?

If yes, then there really is a betrayal on all fronts.

And you up sitting in a corner, wondering who will be the next one to do the same things to you.

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