Machtung

My blog has moved

2006-04-20T08:49:00.000+08:00

I will no longer be updating my blogger.

I've imported and moved over to my own domain using wordpress. www.machtung.com

See you folks there!

Onyx gave me good head.

2006-04-10T15:44:00.000+08:00

"In recent but not so recent news from Azeroth, Angkan Hagibis went on their second and last non-DKP Onyxia run with Tempest.

Although grossly out-equipped and out-numbered by Tempest, Angkan Hagibis members proved to be exceptionally disciplined with really steep learning curves and provided the extra oomph needed to down Onyxia. Being the minority number, but still retaining 1st pick on the loot. Angkan Hagibis came home with the black dragon's head and a smattering of other items.

A major and unforutunate loss was the Arcanist's Helm which was supposed to the cute and cuddly cross-dressing gnome Hesley but was instead disenchanted. Sources say that on the Mage Class Channel, competition was stiff among mages for the revered headpiece with one loot-whore of a Tempest mage threatening to quit guild. Hesley, although the rightful owner of the crown, graciously bowed out of the running to build goodwill and secure future runs. Tempest Guild Leader Adel, stood firm on the agreement and insisted that Hesley take the piece but since Hesley had already left the area, it was promplty disenchanted."

Happy day for Machtung. I turned in the head and got my kick ass pendant. Booyah!

Bull Mastiff

2006-03-23T07:59:00.000+08:00

BM
Originally uploaded by machtung.

Eyow Angkan Hagibis!

Can I roll for stitchings? *Evil grin*

Geddem finger.... getting chubby

2006-03-05T12:40:00.000+08:00

Another late post on the Power-up Love on the Rocks bouldering competition.

Power-up regularly holds Love on the Rocks which is a Valentine's social bouldering competition. What happens is that you pair up a novice climber with someone from the open class and you guys complete as many boulder problems as you can within a certain time limit. Each completed boulder problem earns your pair a certain number of points. Easy problems will earn you less points that difficult ones. Most number of points at the end of the period wins.

It was hella fun, Olympic World Alabang sponsored the event and gave away gift certificates. (Thanks Olympic World! I always wanted to get myself a Nalgene.)

I had a very good time. Unfortunately, I climbed a bit too hard and overly stressed my right index finger again. Just great! No climb again for a couple of weeks while the swelling subsides. In the meantime, there's always roadwork and circuit training.

Summer's around the corner, gotta step it up....

WOOT! PC Upgrade

2006-03-05T12:28:00.000+08:00

At long long last, I got an upgrade on my rig.

For a decent deal of Php14k, I was able acquire the following:

A-bit A17, semi-modded with additional heatsinks on the caps and such
Intel Prescott 3.2e
Zalman aluminum-copper heatsink fan (Them prescott's are notoriously hot)

All I have to do now is pickup my RAM reformat and I should be good for another 2 years.

By the time I'm done I should have the following:

Lian-Li PC-06 (old casing)
HEC 475w (old PS)
Abit A17 (2nd hand)
Intel 3.2E (2nd hand)
Radeon 9800 pro (2nd hand)
1GB/2GB Twinmos DDR400 (haven't decided)
1x 80GB + 1x 40GB ATA HDD (old drives)
Soundblaster Audigy (old card)
Zalman Heatpipe on my 9800 (2nd hand)
Zalman Heatsink fan on the Mainboard/Proc (2nd hand)
Standard dual optical DVD-R and CD-RW (old opticals)

Pretty basic but more than enough for my habits. All in all, I would have gotten a vidcard/mem/board and proc upgrade for only Php 25,000. Given the Zalman's and specs? Not bad at all.

Quick Notes on VH APC

2006-03-05T12:10:00.000+08:00

Saw the gig at Asia Pacific College last Friday. For those who missed it, not to worry you missed some but you didn't miss a lot.

As I expected, it was a college fair so you don't really expect the equipment to be all that uber. Caleb (drums) had a bit of difficulty with his set sliding all over the place but not too much of a problem. Anton (vocals) was sick but again sounded pretty good. Mik (guitar) started of pretty loud and managed to drown out Derek (bass) for the first few songs. Derek's solo was a bit slap heavy on "Fuckit" so it didn't really roll as in the previous gig . I found out later on that that was because he couldn't hear himself on the monitor.

Then again maybe it was because there was no beer and no smokes. School theatre, remember?

Not to worry though, minor minor things and overall they still sound pretty damn good. Besides, who am I to talk with reviews and shit? I'm no expert. IMHO, If I like it? I like it. Period. Guess what? I like it *grins* so sue me.

Thanks to Mik for the gracious hospitality at his crib afterwards, poker ftw.

Virgin Hunters Band

2006-02-28T15:36:00.000+08:00

VH-6UG
Originally uploaded by machtung.

Deritiz! VH at 6UG ftw!!

Thanks to Betsy who pulled me in to watch VH. Our good friend Caleb plays drums so we figured what the hell. Never heard him play though but since it was supposed to be rock and some funk maybe.... well, should be fun.

Guess what? It wasn't fun. It was a god damned blast. VH is the shit!!!

They're playing at APC (Asian Pacific College) on March 3 with Kjwan. Saguijo on March 8.

Check out their music at http://www.virginhuntersband.com

Image was lifted from their site.

The room

2006-02-28T15:01:00.000+08:00

The room
Originally uploaded by machtung.

Snapshot of my new pad.

Yep, I picked up my room and moved it to Makati.
Yep, it's all mine and I live alone.
Yep, I sleep on the floor.

Yep, the walls are blue.
Yep, you don't see my rig (my pc) anywhere in the picture.

God I miss my PC. Luckily 168 is just a few minutes away. I also miss my cat but that's okay, fatty can wait till the weekend.

There are a number of perks that came with the lease. First of all, you have those damned chickens that crow every fucking morning at 5:30am. No need for an alarm clock aye? Another would be the ants that will sniff out any tiny food morsel within 12 hours. Incentive to keep the place clean right?

Lastly, it's got windows on 3 sides smoking is no longer a problem. Booyah!

80's muzak at Saguijo

2006-02-27T14:57:00.000+08:00

Originally uploaded by machtung.

Watched a friend play at guijo last month with a bunch of former e's. Yes, I know it's late and all that. Just haven't been able to get around to blogging recently.

Claude's the one in yellow, she plays bass. Easy lang sa pale Claude! Sumabit ng konti pero di naman halata. Besides, mas gwapo ka pa rin kay Adrian.

Trivia: I actually have a pic with a rockstah!! One of us in here play bass for Urbandub. Guess who!

Bored waiting for my movie

2006-01-30T22:13:00.000+08:00

Well, here I am blogging away at the office at 10pm. Before anything else, NO I am definitely NOT working. Maybe a long long time ago I was freakishly dedicated like that but somewhere along the way I developed a life.

Instead, here I am waiting for the last full show of Fun with Dick and Jane. I never really considered myself a Jim Carrey fan but it should be interesting enough. Worst case scenario is that I simply go brain dead halfway though the movie. Well, considering how awful this week has been that's not entirely a bad idea. Oh wait... it's only Monday hmmm...

Anyhow, that kinda got me to realize that I've seen almost every single movie that came out after the Film Festival.

Underworld 2 - Rawrrr. Kate Beckinsdale ftw!
Rumor Has It - That's kinda sick, screwing the same dude that got it on with your grandma?
The Family Stone - My fiance gets it on with my brother, but that's okay because I'm dating her sister....
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 - That was a waste o money
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - I LOVE THE CHRONIC!!! (what?) -CLES OF NARNIA!!!
Zathura - Hmmm, seems familiar... *cough* JUMANJI *cough*
Fun with Dick and Jane - (I'll find out later)
Halflight - (I'll find out within the week)
Memoirs of a Geisha - (I'll find out next Tuesday)

Dang, that's more than a movie a week! I should get me one of those membership thingies.

Big-ass burgers

2006-01-30T14:17:00.000+08:00

zeusbig
Originally uploaded by machtung.

I got the link to this nasty NASTY site from JC.

http://supersizedmeals.com/food/index.php?topic=EatingOut

There's a bunch of huge meals in there. 4'6" submarine sandwiches, buckets of fries...

The real winner IMO is that 100x100 burger. That's 100 patties and 100 slices of melted cheese. That's not a burger, that's a small cheese covered calf ground to tiny tiny bits.

Our local Flamers Quadzilla challenge looks like a meatball compared to this monster. I know I'm a sucker for these occasional gluttony food trips but just looking at small puddles of grease makes me want to vomit already. *BLLLEAAAAARRGHHH*

(For the guys out there, eyes on the burger... eyes on the burger... focus... focus...)

Poker fun

2006-01-25T15:57:00.000+08:00

IMG_0273
Originally uploaded by machtung.

A long delayed happy birthday shout out to mah best bud Pao.

Haba birdie is you!!!

Pareto 5.13c

2006-01-16T18:32:00.000+08:00

"In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. In the late 1940s, Dr. Joseph M. Juran inaccurately attributed the 80/20 Rule to Pareto, calling it Pareto's Principle. While it may be misnamed, Pareto's Principle or Pareto's Law as it is sometimes called, can be a very effective tool to help you manage effectively. "

Taken from http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Pareto081202.htm

The 80/20 rule is really simple and applies to virtually anything, even climbing. As a training principle, the argument makes perfect sense.

You get 80% of your effectiveness from only 20% of the moves you know. For example, I have the rock-over and the drop knee wired so I'll use those as my first option to complete a problem while others would go frontal or use dynamic movements depending on their personal climbing style. These "top producing" movements are what define your climbing style.

So how do I apply the principle to improve?

You get 80% of your training benefits from 20% of your training time. Of the total amount of time you spend at the wall, dedicate 20% to concentrated drills. Do laps, do intervals, do 20-moves, it doesn't matter what you do as long as during this critical 20% you stay focused.

Spend 80% of your training time developing the "ineffective" moves. The 80/20 principle does not mean you spend all your time on the 20% top producers. That will get you nowhere. It means that given the reality of the uneven distribution of strengths, you need to spend MORE time developing your weaknesses.

Can't do slopers? Do light boulders that involve slopers. Just remember that the exertion level should not exceed 20% of your total limit. The point is to LEARN and burn in those engrams not injure yourself.

Sharma meets Italian Mathematicians. Eat your heart out

Videos back online

2006-01-11T15:35:00.000+08:00

W00tage! Bouldering videos are back online. They've been relocated to their new home and links updated accordingly.

www.machtung .com is online as well but don't expect much. Nothing there really.

Pass the Kouchie or Dutchie?

2006-01-10T23:19:00.000+08:00

I say: Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side

Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side

It a go burn, give me music make me jump and prance

It a go don, give me the music make me rock in the dance

Contrary to popular notions, a "Dutchie" is neither a spliff, a doobie or marijuana related. In fact, it's not even the original lyrics. The original was NOT performed by The Musical Youth but rather the raggae root trio The Mighty Diamonds, who formed in 1969.

The original lyrics were pass the kouchie. "Kouchie" is Jamaican patois/patwa (Rasta-speak if you must) for a pipe, presumably full of ganja.

a go is patois as well for "is going to". For example, I a go tell 'im translates to "I'm going to tell him."

don is patois for "one who is respected; master of a situation"

The song was later covered by the 80's teen band The Musical Youth with the drug referencing Kouchie replaced by more socially acceptable Dutchie which is, in turn, patois for a deep, round-bottom cooking pot.

Videos, mail platforms and other random notes

2006-01-10T20:22:00.000+08:00

Auuugh, my old webhosting playground got killed today before I was able to backup my content. No biggy, I'll just upload them again tomorrow.

Finally got around to installing one of the email platforms for evaluation. All this webhosting stuff is definitely something new and will take some time to get the hang of. I have to admit it's quite fun. I suppose photoshop and dreamweaver should be next on the list of things to play around with.

Lastly, taking a peek at the timestamp of this entry, you'll notice it's a bit odd. What makes it odd you think? I'm blogging before 12am on a Tuesday. Why is that so strange? It's because I'm actually HOME before 12am. I skipped training today. Man I'm such a bum.

Txt speak is teh suk

2006-01-09T02:56:00.000+08:00

This txt speak thing just really gets my goat. I'm not referring to the usual "m here" or "ayt, I'll cya later" phrases. That's fine. In fact, the whole PC gaming 133t speak must sound completely Greek to the average Joe. "I pwned you noob. I am the 1337 pwnage. OMG you are teh suck"

So why does the "nd2 na aq, hir na me wer na u" really REALLY piss me off?

Okay, let's pretend just for a moment that I'll be more tolerant because people are trying to cram as much as they can into the 150 characters allowed in a single SMS.

Has anyone read local forums lately? How about those Friendster testimonials? It's just unbelievable!!! It's almost as if the "Shift" and period keys have a mind of their own. Here are some random samples:

"SmART Nd ChaRMiNG 2ng chik n 2... kAyA iNgatS kau D2"

For crying out loud, you've got a full keyboard in front of you! It can't be that hard to properly spell things out. At least leet speak is only used when trash talking or in reference to gaming. But this fandagled txt speak when writing out a testimonial? Good lord....

(By the way, 1337 is read as "leet" which translates to "Elite". I'll get around to posting reference links sometime)

Boulder again

2006-01-09T01:59:00.000+08:00

Click here to view the high quality video (3.1MB)
Click here to view the low quality video (1.1MB)

This boulder was one of the first I did yesterday. Again it's really not that hard, maybe because I was fresh at the time. In terms of our local competition ratings I'd put this as "Red" which is an Intermediate level problem.

The difficult parts were locking off to be able to reach the hold above the cave and after that, controlling the swing when Icut loose with my legs.

Keep an eye on the big blue hold. If you look carefully it actually moved while I was in the middle of the problem, almost dropping my ass to the mat. That's why I opted to overlay Urbandub on the clip. Somehow, I think surprised girlyman squeaking isn't very becoming =p

Canon A610's first picture!!

2006-01-08T03:28:00.000+08:00

After all these years, I've finally talked myself into getting a digital camera.

It's a Canon A610, 5 megapixels and I'm loving it. Now I can take all these pictures and more importantly short videos for my personal record and Vlog (video blog) . Been taking pics of the dog, the cat , the callouses on my hand and basically anything and everything in sight.

Sure, 5 megapixel seems a like overkill for 4R or 5R pictures but I figured the extra resolution will really come in handy when I take those small video clips. It also uses external batteries instead of a rechargeable one but I figure that's good considering I have a tendency to forget to charge my toys. That also means that if at any time I run out of power, all I have to do is run to Mini-stop and it's back to snapping away those shots.

Lastly, it's by no means a compact camera if compared to the others. Then again, what do I have to complain? I'm loving this cam. I just really need to get more pictures. More importantly though, I have to figure out how to get the settings right for good color and what have not.

*searches for manual*

Microsoft - Planet Rock

2006-01-06T21:19:00.000+08:00

Here's another clip of me on the wall. This one was taken at Planet Rock, Colegio de San Agustin.

Don't be mislead by the audio I plugged in, it's not as difficult as it seems. What I like about this particular wall is that it's a straight climb until you hit the overhang which means you have more than enough strength left to pull off the overhang. This is where I plan to learn the basics of roofing.

Click here to view

3 week project

2006-01-06T18:28:00.000+08:00

Here's a video of one of my boulder projects at Alabang Town Center. It's supposed to be relatively easy but it took me 3 weeks to complete.

*Disclaimer: That 80's electronic "Deck the Halls" in the background is courtesy of Olympic World's pipe in music. Take my word for it, it drove us all nuts. Imagine having to sit through that over and over and over....

**New update: Video updated with Azwethinkweiz as background music

Click here to view

New Blog

2006-01-06T17:32:00.000+08:00

And it's a new year! First order of business, wipe out my old blog entries seeing that they don't make much sense anyway in favor of a nice clean blog.

Booyah! Machtung ftw!