Why I Don't Write "Articles" and/or "Features" on this blog

Over the past couple of days I've started asking myself why I don't post "articles" or "features" on the blog. I've written and drafted a couple of articles over the months but I don't put them on any of my previous or my current blog. Articles being posts on a specific subject or topic and features being a regularly published, themed articles. A good example of an article would be a post on "Why the original Star Wars trilogy is extremely better than the second one" and a feature would be a weekly "Top 10 (insert random topic here)" or "Star Wars Fact of the Week".

Although I do write themed posts like the "501st Quest" which is about my journey on joining the 501st Legion, they are posts on my personal life and aren't regularly published because they depend on things actually happening in my life and article-worthy things don't usually happen to me on a daily or even weekly basis.

My main reason I don't post my articles or features on the blog is because, currently, the blog is still on Blogger's servers or, in other words, still on FREE hosting. I still haven't gotten my own hosting nor domain yet. I'm pretty sure not everyone would say that it's a valid reason but, then again, it's my blog/site after all. I just don't like the idea of posting my stuff up unless it's going to be on my own hosting and on my own domain. I don't want to start posting up my articles/features then submitting them to sites like Digg and the link leads to a Blogger site. I just feel that doing that isn't the right way to go about presenting yourself to the world.

To Podcast or Not to Podcast

I was at work today brainstorming some ideas I had in my head for making money, starting a business, accomplishing my goals, doing new things, etc. when I thought of the idea of starting a podcast for my blog. Yes, it'll be a one-man podcast but I still think it would work. I'd record a 15-30 min. show then edit and publish on the blog. I'd talk about news, gaming, movies, food, Star Wars, and anything else throughout the week that I feel interested in talking about.

I guess I should start looking for some hosting space not only for my podcast but also for this blog. Having www.homemadeholocron.com registered would really be a step up.

I'm sort of in the stage/process of trying to do new things that'll hopefully lead to bigger things. This blog and the podcast being two of them. I really want to become a writer. Whether it be as an article writer, a news writer, or a columnist I'd be very happy to be able to sit down and write.

501st Update - Tchung! Tchung!

I finally bought my E-11 Blaster from Star Sports (apparently they're also called Great Toys) last Wednesday. Wasn't able to buy it on Tuesday 'cos I left work a little later than expected but as soon as I woke up on Wednesday, I got up and went to Festival Mall to buy it. I think I was their first customer. Went I got inside I immediately went to the shelf where the toy blaster was placed. For a moment, I thought that it was gone 'cos I couldn't find it. It turned out that it was just placed the other way so I didn't recognize the box art. When I found it, I picked it up and went straight to the counter. It cost me P1,200 which I'm very happy with. I didn't think it was going to be that cheap and actually thought it would be around P3,000.

Now I'm in the process of getting myself a resin upgrade kit so I can convert the toy blaster into a movie accurate one. I'm also going to be needing to buy a couple of things from the hardware store like Plastic Weld, clamps, spray paint, sandpaper, "bondo", and some tools that I can't borrow from my dad. I'll be following this guide by Hot Buttered Funk, another 501st member, to build my blaster.

When I get all the materials and start working on my blaster I'll post some pics of the step-by-step. I hope I can get the resin kit and the materials soon. I'm really excited to start this.

The Fat Lab Project - Weekend Update

Ok, so the per-day update on my weight losing, dog training summer project just isn't going to work since by the time I'm done jogging/walking Rusty I'm just too tired to talk about it. So I'll just be posting these once-in-awhile updates.

Anyway, I was able to jog/walk with Rusty almost every day this week. I missed 2 days I think, one due to me just being too tired after work and the other 'cos I'm trying to walk him before he gets fed so he doesn't poop on the road or in the park and on that night he was fed early so I ended up not walking him.

One problem I'm having with him is that after I take him out he doesn't want to go back in his cage. He always has a fit right when we close/lock the cage door and he tries to get out by pushing on it. I end up having to stay with him for a few minutes just to calm him down and Shayne even said that he lets out a couple of sad howls whenever I leave to go home after. I really don't know how to deal with it so I'm just going to try and keep at this until he gets used to the idea that I let him out almost every day so he doesn't have to complain, or be sad whenever we put him back in his cage.

I'm hoping this whole thing will be good for the both of us. Our average walk/job time is an hour and 30 minutes so I'm hoping that I'm slowly losing some weight. I want to lose at least 20 pounds by the end of May and I want Rusty to be in a state that I don't have to leash him sometimes when we go out. So I hope everything works out well.

From the 15th Floor to the Upper Ground Floor - The New Job Experience

I haven't posted in a few days now. I've just been too busy with my new job that I just haven't found the time nor the energy to sit down and write.

But now that's it's Sunday. I can sit down, think, and start writing. I have a few things queued up from the past couple of days so I'll write 'em up and start posting them. Some of these might be "old" news but any news is good news right?

Anyway, as the title says. I now have a new job. I think I mentioned it a few days ago but it wasn't the topic then.

Ok, the back story. I used to work for a multinational Finland-based company that makes & sells tracking devices for cars, boats, motorcycles, and other uses. I worked as one of the company's web developers; in my time there I revamped their website, created a whole new set of websites (for Europe), and sometimes did layouts for the different product manuals and marketing materials. I had my own "office"; it was a 20-30-square meter room on the 15th floor (the main office was at the 21st floor), I had free coffee, a 24-inch LCD monitor to use with my laptop (dual screens FTW!), and the privacy and peace of a one-man office. Sad to say, I was "laid-off" from the job 'cos my boss left the company I was pretty much collateral damage. The company actually wanted to keep me but they informed me 1 day before my last day at work so, obviously, I'd already found a new job.

What I Would Do Right Now If I Was Some Spoiled Rich Kid

I was walking to work today and I came across 2 very interesting stores in the mall. One was an airsoft store where they were selling a ton of airsoft guns and equipment. The other was a hobby, toy, collectible store selling all sorts of figurines from different anime, movies, comics, and video games. It made me think, if I was a rich kid I'd probably buy a ton of stuff from both stores. I would love to collect things and play airsoft but familial and personal financial capabilities and permissions don't allow me to do either. I'm not complaining or anything, I'm very happy with my current hobby. I'm just saying that IF I had a truckload of money I could burn RIGHT NOW I'd probably spend it on the ff. 10 things:

Activision Just Got Pawned

Breaking news on the West-Zampella front; According to Kotaku, the duo of Modern Warfare 2 creators have started a new company called Respawn Entertainment and guess who's backing them up, Electronic Arts!

Did Activision just get pawned? Yes!

The Fat Lab Project - Day One

Tonight was the official start of the "Fat Lab Project". It's my summer project to achieve 2 things: To lose weight (Fat) and to train an old Labrador (Lab) named Rusty. So I'm going to go jogging/walking with Rusty for at least an hour every night for the rest of April, the whole of May and, if all goes well, even beyond.

I started the project today by buying Rusty a collar and leash from the local hardware store. He hasn't been out of his cage for months so as soon as we let him out he started running around and peeing on every plant, bush, and rock he could find. After awhile I put his leash on and started walking him around the garage to let him get the hang of being on a leash. After an hour, we tried going out on the street and walk him around the park. He was VERY excited and started peeing on everything again. I ended up walking/jogging him around the park's basketball court for almost an hour. He was very obedient to the point that I didn't even need to pull him around and he just followed me. Overall, it was extremely fun and successful.

I'm going to walk him again in awhile while I listen to the radio or a podcast on my phone.

Gaming News: Green Day: Rock Band Full Track List

Entertainment Weekly published the full track list of Green Day: Rock Band recently and it listed 47 songs and 6 initial DLC tracks. The game will be released on June 8 in the US for all systems and no word yet if the XBOX 360 version will be region-free or locked to US consoles. The full track list after the jump.

501st Quest - Blaster Found

I went to Festival Mall today to check out Star Sports. You'd think that a store named Star Sports would sell sporting goods but no, this store sells toys and collectibles. And to my surprise, they had ONE Hasbro E-11 Clone/Stormtrooper blaster left in stock. I know these are rare so I was so happy when I saw that they had one piece still available. I asked if they could reserve it for me 'cos I didn't have any cash but they said that I had to deposit at least 25% of the product's cost to reserve so I ended up not reserving it and leaving it there.

I'm getting my initial salary for my new job this Tuesday so I will definitely go back there on Tuesday to buy it. If, by some cosmic chance, it isn't there anymore I will take it as a sign that I shouldn't go through with this whole 501st quest of mine. But if it is there on Tuesday, it will be my confirmation that this project is something that I should see to completion.

Here's hoping.

I need a better career. Or a more diverse one.

The title says it all, I need a better career. Being a web designer/developer for small/large companies isn't really looking good as a long term profession. Even if I end up working for a web development firm, I don't think it'll give me enough income to provide for a family in the future. Comparing my monthly income to the probable costs of living and raising a family, my current and near future income projections just won't cut it.

If I think about what I WANT to do, I always come up with writing or cooking but I don't have an educational background in either of those fields. Even if I do know that I can do good in either of those careers, without an educational background it'll be really difficult to break into the industry.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to at least get a part-time writing gig going. I like writing about things I'm interested in so a gig writing about gaming would be perfect for me. I'm always online and on top of current gaming news anyway. I guess I'll try and contact a few websites or magazines this week and see what happens.

As for the cooking thing, I'm pretty sure that I'll need to go back to school before I can start a career in that industry. I love cooking, always have. But I'm not professionally trained so I know I won't be able to keep up with the pace and the technique needed for a real cooking job. But I don't mind putting that on the back burner (cooking pun) for a couple of years while I strengthen my current opportunities.

I honestly want to earn in the ranges of at least P80,000/month by the end of 2011.

Well, we shall see.

Hospitals aren't just for the sick. They're for the hungry too. Like Churches.

I was at Makati Medical Center with Shayne yesterday to visit friends who just had a new baby; a beautiful red-faced princess who's already a daddy's girl because she wouldn't stop crying unless her dad was carrying her.

Anyway, we hung out at their hospital room for an hour or two and when it was dinner time, Shayne and I went downstairs to look for a place to eat. We were choosing between Pizza Hut (Yes, there is a Pizza Hut in a hospital. There was a DQ too) or the hospital canteen when our friend suggested the hospital's restaurant called "Floating Island" (weird name I know). We decided to try it out and ordered Binagoongang Baboy and something new called "Filipino Fried Rice" which was a combination of Adobo Rice, Salted Red Egg, Tomatoes, and Tinapa (Smoked Fish). The dinner was excellent and the Binagoongang Baboy was one of the best that I've ever had and the Filipino Fried Rice was great and just genius.

This is the 2nd time a hospital has surprised me with good food. The other being Asian Hospital's canteen which serves really good cakes. In the past decade, hospitals are starting to become really nice places to hang out with their good food, soft couches, waiting areas with TV's, and other comfortable facilities and amenities. They're slowly becoming more hotel-like. I'm interested to see what the St. Luke's Hospital has to offer. I'm hoping for a Taco Bell.

Just a little rant: UST is the worst hospital in Manila. They have crappy facilities and crappy food. Their "new" building is just the old building with a new entrance. Get your act together UST.

501st Quest - Short Update

I've been talking to Manny Mendoza and Luis Cacho of the 501st through e-mail these past few days. They are, respectively, the XO (Executive Officer) and GML (Garrison Membership Liason) of the Philippine Outpost.

They've been giving *information on how to get all that I need to complete my armor such as where to get locally available gloves, boots, an undersuit, a Hasbro E-11 Blaster, and more.

They've been really helpful and the more I'm learning from them the more excited I am to get my TK (Stormtrooper) armor project started. I'm going to go Blaster shopping soon and I'm also going to start looking for the undersuit and gloves.

The whole project will probably cost me upwards of around Php40,000 or $800 and will probably take me several months not just to get the money together but also to get all the materials and construct the armor. I'm targeting to finish on or before Halloween.

More updates soon.

501st Quest Update - First Contact

They've replied!

The folks at the Philippine Outpost (www.pinoy501st.com) have replied to my e-mail and here's what they said:

Hi Martin,
Thank you for your email and interest.
Out of the box costume products like kit being sold by Rubies Co. is not good enough for enlistment as is without extensive modification. The price is also expensive reaching to as high as $900+ and you still have to buy other essentials like the proper black undersuit, shoes etc. You will end up spending more with more frustration too.

We would rather recommend a kit being made by a 501st legion member ex. from the US. It starts at $475 without helmet then you can opt to buy the Master Replicas helmet (UK CE version) for $200 at Ebay.
Let us know how would you like to proceed.

Kind Regards,
Manny Mendoza
Executive Officer
501st Legion
Philippine Outpost

I e-mailed them back with a lot of questions about purchasing armor kits from the UK or US and locally available materials and tools. I'm really getting excited for this whole project. This is going to take up to a year or more but it's going to be worth it.

Join the Empire! My 501st Quest.

I've just sent an e-mail via contact form to the folks at the Philippine Outpost, the local regiment of the 501st Legion.

What the hell is the 501st Legion you ask? They're an organization of Star Wars fans who make, own, and wear Stormtrooper and other Star Wars villains costumes. They are largely a charity group helping out in events and other functions to raise money for charity. You can read more about them here. The Philippine Outpost also has a website here.

I've e-mailed them regarding where I can get my own Stormtrooper armor kit (since they do have standards for people who are interested in joining) so I can join their ranks myself. I've been wanting to enlist for years but never had the financial freedom to do it. Now that I'm part of the working class, I have the opportunity to join the once all-powerful Galactic Empire and the ranks of Vader's Fist as the 501st is also called.

I will keep posting updates on my quest to become one of the 501st and hopefully, by the end of the year, I will be an official member and soldier for the Empire.

Oh, 800 Zerglings? Nothing my ONE Ultralisk can't handle.

I saw this video over at GossipGamers.com. It shows an Ultralisk devastating a swarm of Zerglings like they were ants. Watch the video and see for yourself. BTW, here's what Ruibo from GG.com had to say:

The Ultralisk in Starcraft 2 is a BEAST! I am rarely impressed by short vids of unit combats but when 1 unit can destroy 798 zerglings, that is impressive. The Ultralisk has 3/3 full upgrades and the zerglings are 0/0. The Ultralisk has 6 Armor, 600 hp, and hits for 24 splash damage with a very fast attack speed (it has a cooldown of 0.86 seconds on normal Setting). Zerglings have 35 HP,? no armor, and hit for 5 w/ a cooldown of 0.58. After Armor, the Zerglings are hitting the Ultra for 1.

Here's the video:

Nth to the Power of Awesome!

So, my first post on my Nth blog. I've started probably a dozen or two (blogs) and I usually end up running out of things to post or just simply get lazy and then they slowly die. I thought about why that keeps happening and realized that my previous blogs were all too "themed". Some of them were about gaming, some about food, and some about my personal life. This time I'm going to try to be more open with my topics. I'll just post whatever I feel like posting; whether it be the day's events, an opinion on something, a new recipe I tried, or just "re-posting" something I found on the net that looked interesting. I want this to be a journal of sorts and a way for me to share my thoughts.

So, first of, I'm going to get off my laptop and play some Bad Company 2 on my XBOX for a few hours. I haven't played in a long time (a couple of days actually).

Nice start!