Archive for the ‘Blog Post’ Category

VLC on the iPhone

Monday, October 25th, 2010

Yay! I get to watch FLV videos on the iPhone!

The problem I have with getting videos from the web is that it is always in Flash format. I have to run conversion programs just to make it compatible with my iPhone. This is too time consuming.

Now with the free VLC Media Player for the iPhone and iPod touch, flash videos can now be watched without the hassle of conversion.

I have VLC Media Player on my computers because it can view most video formats (AVI, MP4, FLV, etc.). This is great for the iPhone so I can have my videos on the go.

Here is the link to the iTunes Store. Go get it!

Hulu for half the price?

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

I’ve always been a fan of watching TV online. I do still have cable for my DVR to record my favorite TV shows. Sometimes, the DVR screws up and it doesn’t record the show, or there are too many conflicts on the time slots. This is when I resort to online watching.

I turn to Hulu for my watching leisure. However, I’m limited to watching it on a computer, unless I shell out $10 to watch it on alternative devices.

I caught a glimpse of good news from Boy Genius Report which I wish would happen:

Hulu Plus currently costs subscribers $9.95 per month. The subscription fee brings with it a larger catalog of content and the ability to stream Hulu on a variety of devices including the iPad, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal’s MediaMemo blog, adoption may be significantly slower than Hulu might have hoped. The company is apparently considering a 50% price drop just a few short months after having launched the service this past July. The supposed new subscription, $4.95, would certainly be much more appealing.

Now this is more like it! For $5 a month, I can watch it on my iPhone and PS3. This would be good in tandem with my Netflix subscription which costs less than $10 for me.

Would you now consider a Hulu subscription if they cut the price in half?

R.I.P. Tom Bosley

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010


Tom Bosley died today. I will always remember him as Father Dowling in the Father Dowling Mysteries. I do remember him in Happy Days, but that was a series I only got to see in re-runs.
Here’s a snippet from a Slice Of Sci-Fi article:

Actor Tom Bosley passed away today at the age of 83. The actor passed away at a Palm Springs-area hospital after a “brief battle” with lung cancer his agent tells E! NewsE!

Bosley had a long career in Hollywood, with cameos on a variety of shows including “The Love Boat” and “That 70s Show.” He starred in “The Father DowlingFather Dowling Mysteries” in the mid 80s for ABC.

I remember in the 80’s, my sister and would sit on the couch and watch The Father Dowling Mysteries. I liked the episode where there was a murderer who was using ice bullets. It was somewhat effective because it left little trace. As I grew up, I realized that this is silly.

Come to think of it, it is unusual for a priest and a nun to run around solving murder mysteries. I’m sure the Catholic church frowned upon this TV series.

Thank you, Tom Bosley, for the good memories.

Veggie Burger with Bacon

Thursday, September 30th, 2010


http://nardville.com/blog/2010/09/30/veggie-burger-with-bacon/

Veggie Burger with BaconI am a big True Blood fan. Unfortunately, I haven’t read any of the Sookie Stackhouse book series by Charlaine Harris yet. I’m working in it.

There are details in the popular HBO series that are worth remembering for me. One particular scene was when Lafayette, the gay African-American cook there at Merlotte’s, was baffled why a customer would order a veggie burger with bacon.

I had the chance to eat at Fuddruckers here in Houston. I then proceeded to order a veggie burger with bacon just to see how the cashier lady would react. She did have a poker face when she was repeating the order to make sure she got it right. It was an interesting meal since I found it to be less greasy.

I will keep ordering this kind of burger in the future to see how the waiter or cashier reacts. It could be funny.

Have you tried a veggie burger with bacon?

Not enough iOS4 for my iPhone 3G

Monday, June 21st, 2010

I have an iPhone 3G for 2 years now and I am excited about the upcoming iPhone 4. I must admit that using the 3G has drastically changed how I access all my internet services. I do feel that it is running slow, but it can still do the job.

Apple is releasing iOS4  just days before the release of the new iPhone 4. I should say that I am disappointed with this because I would have preferred to use iOS 4 on my iPhone 3G for a longer period. I know I can just hold on to my 3G and just purchase the iPhone 4 later. However, I only realized this after preordering the iPhone 4. I guess I was one of the lucky ones who ordered the phone successfully before the big preordering problem.

I am aware that multi-tasking will not be available for the 3G, but that’s not the only big thing for thew new mobile OS. I can take advantage of the Folders feature. I have so many apps right now that I have about five pages. I have already trimmed this down from nine before. At present, I organize my apps by page. The first page are the essential stuff I use, the second page is for social networking, the next is for image manipulation, and the rest are for games. Having Folders will greatly reduce the pages and help me organize may apps better.

Unified inbox is also a good feature. I have many accounts I check and I always have to drill down and climb up the tree just to check my e-mails. With the unified inbox, I can easily read them all and delete whichever I don’t want.

There are tons of features on iOS 4 that even an iPhone 3G user can take advantage of. I just wish I had a little more time with my 3G to play with the new upgrade.

Who am I kidding? I’m just excited that I’ll be getting the iPhone 4 soon. Whoever gets my 3G can play with iOS4 all they want while I multi-task and do Facetime with my new iPhone 4. :-)

Image from GDGT.

Would you pay for Hulu?

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Hello, surfer. I haven’t blogged on here for a long time. I should be blogging more. Podcasting has been hard to do lately. I will still do it once in a while.


ZDNet has a report on a Hulu subscription for $9.95 per month. Although they will continue to show the 5 most recent shows, to watch old episodes, you have to pay.

I watch old episodes of Stargate SG-1 because I did not watch the series a long time ago. If I have to pay for really old episodes, I would just use my Netflix account to get the DVDs.

Watching streaming video has been an everyday activity for me. Sometimes I wonder why do I bother paying for cable. I basically have it only for sports, weather and news. I usually watch sci-fi shows, most of which are available on Hulu, Netflix or through other alternative sites.

I am not a fan of subscription services. I avoid them as much as I can. However, Netflix is one I cannot live without.

As for Hulu, it is pretty much a good source of video-on-demand. You can take your time, but don’t take too much time. :-)

Would you pay for this service? I don’t think I would.

Article from ZDNet: Hulu launching subscription service starting at $9.95 per month?

No Wi-Fi on Continental?

Monday, November 9th, 2009

I have always flown with Continental for many years. I enjoy the simplicity of their check-in procedures, e-mail notifications and, recently, the ability to check in using a mobile device.

I have an iPhone 3G for a year now and it is an awesome time-killer in the plane. I either watch videos, listen to podcasts or play a game of Flight Control.

Wouldn’t it be great to have Wi-Fi on the plane just to chat with friends or surf the web?

Recently, I caught an article on MSBNC about airlines providing Wi-Fi access to their customers. I am disappointed that Continental is not in the list.

I decided to go to my Continental account and use their service called Ask Alex. (You have to log in to see the Ask Alex service.)  By simply asking about broadband access on the plane, Alex simply says “We don’t currently offer onboard Wi-Fi or broadband services.” By the way, Alex has a lady voice.

I have to check up on them from time to time to see when will they provide onboard internet so I can chat with my friends using Fring on my iPhone. :-)

NardVille-187 Manila Floods

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

Manila Floods
Download MP3 Audio, Duration - 2:13, Size - 1.7MB Play in Popup Window

Listen to the audio by clicking the links above.

I got a call from my sister in Manila this morning. Everything is okay for my immediate family there. Our house is not flooded except for a wall that leaked because there was so much water. There is no power, landline phones or water in the neighborhood. It’s a good thing we have a big water tank there that can last a few weeks.

My sister was worried because there was no way to contact her. Her cellphone was on low battery so she borrowed her maid’s cellphone. We had to keep our conversation brief because we don’t know when she’ll get her phone charged.

Other than limited cellphone access and some conversations with neighbors, there is no way anyone can find out what was going on in the surrounding areas. They can only hear stories from other neighbors who have radios. Even a famous Filipina actress, Cristine Reyes, was trapped on the roof of her house.

The local name of the tropical storm is “Ondoy”. It has left thousands of people homeless. At least 75 were killed and many are missing. It is a sad day for my fellow Filipinos.

Please keep my people in your thoughts.

Kindle for iPhone

Friday, March 6th, 2009

Yesterday, I downloaded Kindle for iPhone from the App Store. I am excited about this because I now have access to electronic books that was only available to Kindle users.

Buying a Kindle is too much for me. To me, it is a pricey and bulky device. I am glad Amazon made an app for the iPhone. I have no problem reading text in a small screen.

There is another app called Stanza that also offers eBooks. However, I think their selection is limited compared to what Amazon has.

It has been a long time since I read a book. (The last one was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.) So far I have downloaded Red Mars, a free eBook.

If you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, try it out.

Daily Show: Timulus Plan?

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

I decided to watch some South Park, and a terrible Important Things with Demetri Martin. Then Daily Show came on. I watched it for a little bit. Then they showed a clip with President Obama.

Timulus Plan?

What’s a Timulus Plan?

I’m not sure if this is from a news clip or Daily Show’s parody clip.

No biggie. Just a typo, I guess. I can’t believe Jon Stewart didn’t see it.