Categories
Mostly Everything

The Perils of Being a Freelance Writer in the Philippines

This morning, “Big Brian” Ligsay made me listen to a radio drama he read titled Kawatanan ng Rentas Internas which is the sad yet humorous reality of applying for a TIN or tax number at the Bureau of Internal Revenue in this developing country I’ve come to love. Now that I look back into my professional life, I’m glad that I jump started my career in a reputable corporation so as not having any problems acquiring my TIN and not being subject for questioning for my credit card application. Personal advice — work for a company first to get your act together, then quit your job to become an entrepreneur.

Paano pala kung kailangan mo ng lisensya para magsulat? Isang physical manifestation ng concept ng poetic license? Kung sa drivers license may mga restrictions tulad ng “vehicle – up to 4500 kg GVW” […] paano kaya yung sa poetic license? (1) haiku and short essays only (2) essays up to 500 words and free verse up to 5 stanzas (3) essays above 500 words and free verse above 5 stazas (4) critical essays, short fiction, poetry, etc.”

[What if you needed a license to write? A physical manifestation of the concept of “poetic license?” If in the driver’s license you have restrictions such as …]

You can listen to this well read radio drama. The show is entirely in Taglish, an amalgamation of English and our local language Filipino. Highly recommended for us freelancers!

Categories
Mostly Everything

Download your free copy of Merlin Mannerisms

“I wish I had two copies of iCal… one to take a crap on and one to cover it up with.”
Merlin Mann, MacBreak Weekly #52

Im at a loss because I can’t introduce a topic that’s a tour bus wittier than I am. Download Merlin Mannerisms: daily quotes and sayings by Merlin Mann as a special Christmas gift this 2007 from TWiT.TV.

We’d like to thank Leo Laporte and the rest of MacBreak Weekly for making this PDF available for free, and due recognition should be given as well to Paul Stewart for the iCal version.

If you wish to receive a direct email link to the download, send an email to leo at leoville dot com with the subject “merlin” but the link above should do. This is probably the closest I get to having Leo Laporte reply to an email 😉

Categories
Mostly Everything

Christmas Geek Gift Ideas that aren’t Geeky

The Weighted Companion Cube Christmas Card

So I started Christmas shopping last week.

It’s a misnomer that geeks seems to always want gadgets, peripherals for their computers. If someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I’d make it convenient for him or her to choose from the following gift ideas. Note that I have attached a PayPal button below in case you feel generous 🙂

Yay! PayPal Donate a Gift:












Read on for some great gift ideas for your geeky friends and maybe even for me 🙂

Categories
Geek

Code Monkey Unplugged Lyrics Chords and Tabs

Songwriter Jonathan Coulton dedicates this song to anyone who has served as a code monkey in a software corporation. The song is great stuff but what really struck a chord was when he performed an unplugged version that turned the entire thing into a ballad.

So yeah it struck a chord, so I decided to transcribe bits and pieces of the song into tabs for all your guitar folks to try out. For reference, this is the plugged in version of the song and this is the unplugged version. He also has a YouTube video up for the acoustic version of Code Monkey.

Code Monkey Tabs

Categories
Mostly Everything

Save the Environment. Recycle.

I don’t know if they were literal about recycling Bong Revilla over and over again in these “breakthrough” Filipino films. Discuss.