Proposed Header

I had been working on my (personal) blogspot layout for three weeks now. Di ako nasisisyahan sa itsura nito ngayun..."baduy" When I look at other's spot, man, they're awesome (kilcher, dizzy, ironwulf, dude...etc, apologies dun sa di ko na nabanggit)...very professional. Pero ngayun lang ako natototo ng HTML tags, I had to read, make some experiments, tests, costumize it to what I really like. Hirap din pala but it is really fun (I don't do this stuff, ngayun lang, what I do is industrial programming that automates an operational plant).

I just finished a graphic that I plan to use as my blog header (ninakaw ko lang kasi yung ginagamit ko ngayun, apologies na lang dun sa me ari...another blogger). I've used the Adobe Photoshop, hirap din...kailangan pag-aralan mo rin to. But anyway, natapos ko rin..simple pero sa palagay ko ok na rin.

My future head:

Tomorrow night, I'll be starting to work on my blog template, tiyagain ko hanggang matapos...hope it'll come out right.

Passion for Work

Almost a week from my last post....

This is the 4th day of a two-week shutdown of our plant and it would be the busiest weeks of our entire year. I am a maintenance guy (automation) and have to ensure that the systems' integrity should always be in placed. That means, total maintenance of the plant...total maintenance of the the system under my responsibility, all from hardware to software. Everyone has to do his share, his obligations, it is a division of labor.

Today.....I had made a shutdown to all system computers (PCs that automates the whole plant operation) since we had to cut the main power. We had replaced the all power cables (4160KV) that give us headaches due to its obsolesence...project cost is Php 13 M (would you believe that?). After restoration of the main power, I had to reboot the system but one server showed some problems, it won't boot (how could that be...it was shut-down properly?). So, the server had to be opened and after 4-long hours of tweaks, it came out that the culprit was the server's motherboard. I had to replace it (from a spare unit) but would you imagine, the spare motherboard's cost was 800 thou (damn, ano yun, ginto?). Yeah, it is not an ordinary piece (industrial server is a Vax800/60 from Digital Equipment, US made). These servers run 24 hours a day for 12 months, only once a year these are shut-down for maintenance, system files are checked for integrity, databases are purged and regenerated. But anyway, problem was solved, no questions asked.

Tomorrow....we will be commissioning our newly installed ABB Frequency Drive (+power transformer + 490 KW-motor) for the plant's kiln (a large heated chamber for calcining limestone). Would you imagine again...project cost is Php 11M...damn, the company has a lot money. "bagong sakit ng ulo na naman tong bagong instilasyon na 'to. Pag-aaralan mo, patatakbuhin mo, then i-maintain mo". Hay, nakakapagod na rin kung minsan!

On the bright side, it shows that the plant is growing (as evident on the plant's reliability=98%, man, that is an excellent record). People who work on this company really learned how to pay heed of the organization's objectives and aspirations, motivation is apparent...and that should be the right attitude of each. Passion for our work should not languish, instead amplify as time goes.

The Poem You'll Hate to Hear

I got nothing in mind now, but I'd like to write anyway. Last night before I went to sleep, I was thinking of so many things, yeah...simple things just to get my sleep (I just had finished viewing HBO's "Intersection" with Richard Gere and Sharon Stone...but hell, I missed the point, didn't understood the thought...could it be that i'm getting dumber?...nah, I guess the movie sucks!). So I was reflecting about my friends back in school (I was in fact a Louisian, from St. Louis Univ in Baguio), our escapades, our lunacies back then (hey, isn't lunacy a grand thing?), and my pet teacher, yes...I did have some pets, too. She was a miss then, a lovely lady and she was my Basic Computer teacher. I couldn't remember her name anymore (yeah, that was way, way back then, so you'll have some idea what my age is) but what I recall is that I really love her class, computer design & programming were my pet subjects...very interesting.

One of the first lessons there was to enhance your typing skills...get familiar with the keys. She had given us a poem that we have to retype-in over and over until we have to punch in without looking at the notes. The poem (a simple one) really stucked in my head that until now, for so many years, I still can recite.

It is a contradicting poem, funny i guess, and it's been around since at least 1940, and is clearly still being passed along. Maybe I could share it with you:

A Contradicting Poem

The famous speaker who no one had heard of said:

Ladies and jellyspoons, hobos and tramps,

cross-eyed mosquitos and bow-legged ants,

I stand before you to sit behind you

to tell you something I know nothing about.

Next Thursday, which is a Good Friday,

there's a Mother's Day meeting for fathers only;

wear your best clothes if you haven't any.

Please come if you can't; if you can, stay at home.

Admission is free, pay at the door;

Pull up a chair and sit on the floor.

It makes no difference where you sit,

the man in the gallery's sure to spit.

The show is over, but before you go,

let me tell you a story I don't really know.

"One bright day in the middle of the night,

two dead men got up to fight.

Back to back they faced each other,

drew their swords and shot each other.

A deaf policeman heard the noise,

he came and shot those two dead boys.
If you don't believe this lie is true,
Ask the blind man, he saw it, too.

A paralysed donkey passing by

kicked the blind man in the eye;

knocked him through a nine-inch wall,

into a dry ditch and drowned them all".

Ok...hope I didn't bore you. Next time, I'll think of something more meaty, substantive....more interesting.

A Journey Back Home

Yesterday, I felt the whole country was rejoicing.  All were in jubilation about the news that his abductors back in Iraq had released our own Angelo dela Cruz.  It was very dramatic and moving at that moment, seeing people jumping with joy, sighing with relief, smiling with gratitude.  All the prayers of each Filipinos were answered and I, myself was in euphoria.
 
I was watching the early news and was a bit teary-eyed when Angelo was speaking with his wife and children.  The emotions were overflowing in them I can’t help myself to be emotional too.  At that moment, I remember the feeling my family and me suffered when my Dad got sick.  One day, he was rushed to a nearby hospital, he passed out while on an FX taxi after a few run around in a nearby mall.  He was diagnosed to be having a heart aliment and had to be transferred to Philippine Heart center for an immediate check-up.
 
We we’re privately advised by the specialist to organize blood donors whichever we can and he will be performing a very critical operation.  My dad was suspected to have a rare heart ailment, aneurysm, a dilatation of a blood vessel caused by a disease or weakening of the vessel's wall.  The worse part is, it is located at the main artery and it would be very, very risky…would you imagine, we were advised to pray hard and hope.  At that moment, we were numb, speechless.  We were crying and praying so hard, wishing for miracles.  Or hearts felt so heavy.
 
Before an operation is conducted, a patient should again undergo some series of examinations and diagnosis, so my father went all through that.  Then came the final result, it was negative, heart ailment is clear, previous diagnosis was wrong.  I cried, really cried privately thanking the Lord how grateful I was.  My mother, after weeks of worries and weariness brighten up suddenly…. we were all rejoicing.  My wife, who had work so hard, going to and pro at the hospital organizing things was in big relief, my brother and sisters were all smiles.  Indeed, it was a blessing from God, a miracle unexpected.
 
My dad is back, healthy as a horse.   Though it was a horrible instance of our lives, we’ve learned too many.  To be thankful for the health we have, to be thankful to friends who will always help even on the distress, to be thankful to our families who support us during our needs, and to be thankful to our Lord, who doesn't forsake us and  carries us even during our lowest moment of our lives.  God is so great.
 
Yeah, I feel how the children of Angelo dela Cruz are feeling right now, and I feel how joyful Angelo is looking forward for his journey back home.
 
God speed!   

Sunday Affair

It is another Sunday.......Lord I wouldn't ask for more. The feeling of content has always been there (no conflicts with the previous posts....ok?). What still could you ask for.......the sun is up, radiating with vigor and ascendance. My children happily watches the Cartoon Network, and me?......ah, sitting on my favorite chair listening to some really heavy stuff I really love. Some people say it's crap, noise pollution, loud........but I say, they're just one of those angel's voices travelling at the speed of sound.......lovely!

Care to have a look at what I am listening at this moment? Ok.....this is a bit of a long list, bear with me dudes.

Angel Dust - Black Rain Lacuna Coil - My Wings
Angel Dust - The Human Bondage Jester's Moon - Devil's Eyes
Another Life - Concealed by Fright Kreator - When The Sun Burns Red
Another Life - Cotton Pines Lefay - What Dreams Forebode
Another Life - Reflections Lizzy Borden - Master Of Disguise
Armored Saint - Unstable Lizzy Borden - American Metal
Astral Doors - Cloudbreaker Lizzy Borden - Me Against The World
At Vance - Princess of the Night Plutonium Orange - Killer By The Road
Avantasia - Chalice of Agony Stratovarius - Eagleheart
Beyond Surface - Destinations End Stratovarius - I'm Still Alive
Cage - Kill The Devil Alabama Thunderpussy - Motoready
Cans - Fields Of Yesterday Blind Guardian - Battlefield
Black Label Society - Counterfeit God Fates Warning - One
Debase - Restrained Megadeth - Good Mourning Black Friday
Downfall - Glorious Megadeth - Sweating Bullets
DragonForce - My Spirit Will Go On Metal Church - Into Dust
Dream Evil - Children of the Night Nevermore - Dead River Dragon
Dream Evil - The Prophecy Steel Prophet - Among The Damned
Dyecrest - For All The Weak Raven - Seven Shades
Elegy - Force Majeure Amorphis - Alone
Enchant - Sinking Sand Ark - Burn the Sun
Gamma Ray - Heaven Can Wait Chinchilla - Demons We Call
Gamma Ray - The Heart Of The Unicorn Circle II Circle - Into the Wind
Gamma Ray - Tribute To The Past Iced Earth - Burning Time
Heavenly - The World Will Be Better Iced Earth - Dracula
Heavenly - Time Machine Warmachine - Beginning of the End
Iron Fire - Rise Of The Rainbow Halford - Deep in the Ground
Iron Fire - Until The End Savatage - 24 Hours Ago
Iron Fire - When The Heroes Fall Savatage - Jesus Saves
Iron Savior - Never Say Die Grim Reaper - See You in Hell
Iron Savior - Time Will Tell Brainstorm - Highs Without Lows
Iron Savior - Titans Of Our Time Nocturna Rites - The Iron Force

Part of those that I love........

Later, I have to clean my guitar.....it's been up the wall for quite sometime and really needs some attention.....have to make the woods speck and span, oil the gears and replace the old string, I got some brand new set I bought at a music store in SM three weeks ago. "D' Addario strings". A bit of a costly set but sure it is of good quality.
Have to go for now.....I'll just make some little tweaks on my good old car, let's see what we can do. Keep on rockin', metal rules!

Shit Happens

My, what a lucky day! And why if someone may ask? A lot of things had gone wrong in my plant's operation this day (I am an electrical guy...who do electrical stuff.....and fix electrical shit) and I am really, really depleted.  I work on a cement plant and it operates 24 hours a day,  even on holidays like Christmas and Holy Week. Operation has to be restored immediately after a breakdown or else, the company would incur some great losses. Yeah, this plant had been our second home,  a second wife.....and we've learned to live with it, and learned to love it.  Hey, this is our bread & butter.....

Much about that, so last night I was called at my house that a help was needed in the plant to assist some electrical trouble...the liquid starter for the Sepol Fan was abnormally hot. We had to cool it down to restart its operation. But eventually, after it has cool down, then came this error on the restarting,  no feedback signal was coming and it might boil the starter again...shit, what is this crap? Yeah...tweaks here and tweaks there, until it was noticed that the auxillary contact lever of the fan's switchgear is broken. That's it......everything was done, restored and so.....we're back to normal.

This morning, still stuck in my bed....the phone rang, and on the other end was telling me....."come here dude, something's waiting for you and come here fast and I mean really fast, the computers are on the drain again". There was a communication timeout between the digital control of the plant and one of its subsystem.......a network error.  I had to rush and think what was going on and what could have been wrong. After some time of exerting some brain drains, all's well.....back to normal. The boys are happy and the bosses are happy....the operation is restored, whew.......

Now I was asking my men, "who the hell is the "cursed" around here, and who could have fooled around with a hooker last night? (of course that was only a joke..........shit happens). Yeah, we're lucky.

The Culprit:


PS....(5:00 PM)

My wife called....our 5-year old son, Angelo was bitten by a loose dog from the neighborhood.  Man, I had to rush home, drive my son to a nearby hospital for some medications......dog bites shouldn't be neglected. Thrice, I was also a victim of dog bites & had to undergo 25 + 25 + 6, 56 shots to sum it all (awww...that's hurts). Going back to my son, well....he was jerking too much during the first injection (anti-tetanus) then after a while, the second shot. What a pity. Tomorrow, he has to absent himself from school for the first of five anti-rabbies shot..... lol! Man, was I very mad upon learning the news, why him of all people....damn that dog!

Moral lesson.....never trust a dog.....any dog. They bark hard and they bite hard. Tell me, are they still man's best friend? I don't think so, they're not that friendly afterall. They still got those beast/killer instincts within, waiting to be unleashed, a dog is still a dog no matter what, I tell you.

Dudes, better have a pet fish (mind you, not a shark...but a joker fish....like "Nemo").
"Ah, please Lord....give me a good day tommorow. No worries, no inhibitions, no bickerings, no deep shit....just peace of mind I ask You"!

Monday Sickness

Oh, man....This has been a another lazy day for me. Not because I just sit around waiting for the end of work hours, but this day is just a one of those perpetual days of bore, oh boy. But hey, I had some works done unnoticed by time....I had finished encoding my Root Cause Analysis procedure (which I champion....Which means I lead, not because I am an expert) which I had been working for the last two days, gave it to the ISO custodian, my kumpare, for the review.

I also had a talk with my Scottish boss, Bill, about the reliability automation of all the plant's Gas analyzer system, which unfortunately after so many years, I still have the heck of responsibility on these analyzer operations. But anyway, had conviced Bill on my plans and he was happy about it.

I have to go home early today, maybe around 5:00 PM. I have to sleep, I haven't had enough yesterday.....I had this hangover last night (I had a couple of beers on a...would you imagine, a cheap Videoke Bar somewhere here in Antipolo). We were supposed to have a little disco dancing last Saturday night with my family and some friends but I together with two of my friends were barred from the Disco House....man, just because we were in sandals. Pambihira talaga yung guard na yun, kainis. But mind you, my sandal pair is worth 3+ grans (modesty aside...Birkenstock ata yun) and they won't let me in......only shoes allowed....Shit!

Yeah, but anyway.....maybe next time.

My Start!

It is a lazy Sunday, July 11, 2004. Just browsing around the internet when I came across the Blogger....thought about it for a second and said "Hmmmm....why not?". So here it goes....."Edge of the World", my blogger!

Take me to the Edge of the World
Apologies to Masankho Kamsisi Banda

I have seen enough
my tears flow no longer
the pain in my heart
take me to the edge
let me look for peace
i don't know where to start
my eyes tell the whole story

I have heard enough
my thoughts are scrambled
take me to the edge
let me hear some comfort
somewhere it can be found
my ears hear the story

Can I say enough
what is left to say
take me to the edge of the world
there, I will find my way!