Like a Phoenix
Just like a Phoenix, this is a rebirth from my own ashes. I wanted to change things around here, perhaps change the way I write. Finally, I have decided to come back on a more informal way. Like it was in the beginning, when I decided that blogging could be a fun thing to do.

How informal will it be? Well, as informal as life itself — at least, mine —. I will write things that happen to me, my family, my friends and fellow human beings in general. I will not hold back just because I may think m … ⌘ Read more

Some of my points of view
A recent post over Ambivalent sparked a small controversy. Small because it was a discussion of two, which also brought another post, made somewhere else. Both incidents have prompted me to come by and speak my mind on my points of view, specifically those related to hom … ⌘ Read more

One year older
Well, I thought it will never come. We — adults —, sometimes pursuing our dreams of Peterpan… we think we’ll never age. Slowly our skin becomes saggy and wrinkled; we can not see as sharp as before, hence we wear glasses; our hair turn white (for the lucky ones) and falls down (for those unlucky, like me). The rhythm of live goes at a different beat then. You start getting tired easily, things that previously attracted you do not longer do. Ah… you have, inevitably, aged.

Yes, I just turn … ⌘ Read more

The never-ending story
I am living the never-ending story with this website. It all comes down to lack of time. It could be also that the little time I have free I am dedicating to my family, but then again, that’s also lack of time.

Just a recount of the things that had occurred since the last time: we got cable for the first time (mainly for the enjoyment of Kent Martin and mother); our TV is kind of failing, so we go another; Kim got her first job interview, which she graciously flunked (hey, job sear … ⌘ Read more

On a training, for two days
I am going through a Windows 2003 training for two days. A few things we are talking about here I have already played with, some others are boooring! But it could be worse, at least it is not a Microsoft sales pitch.

It does feels weird to be away from work, I am not used to Trainings of this kind. It feels weird as well to be typing this from the classroom, while the instructor is going through his Powerpoint presentation. Botton line is, the chair where I am sitting is ve … ⌘ Read more

Longer than anticipated
Well, my hiatus and upcoming photoblog are taking longer than anticipated. That’s due, most of the time, to lack of time. We have moved our offices to a new building (I am talking about work here) and things have been hectic at times. That added to Kent Martin’s growing up and the task of educating him becoming more important –and difficult– has taken all the little free time I have on my hands.

It is true that I had had some really “free” time. But then the inspiratio … ⌘ Read more

On hiatus…
Well, collantes.US will go on hiatus for a while. I have some other things on my hands that are taking some—or a great part—of my free time. That’s it. Entries will resume soon. Not very soon, but soon. When that happens the site might look slightly different. Those of you out there that have been coming here now and then already know what I mean… 😄

That said… cheers, you all! ⌘ Read more

A new server, a new life
Well, I have finally moved to my own collocated server. I know you saw nothing here for a while, then you probably saw some errors and now we are finally back, running smoothly, we want to think.

This new server is connected to a faster pipe, so you should see an improvement: pages should load faster and site availability should be around 98 or 99%. That’s about it!

There are a few things to left to do, so off I go. I will return later, hopefully with much more interesting … ⌘ Read more

A thought
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to really step outside yourself and view yourself as a stranger would?

…What do you think that would be like? And how accurate do you think it is?

I honestly don’t know how I would view myself. Probably as someone who is shy, afraid, and introverted. I guess I come off as those on a first impression, but it could not be farther from the truth. I am so different to those I know and trust than I am to those that I meet for the first time. I wonder if I can, … ⌘ Read more

If you have a weblog, read
Recently, one of the weblogs I used to read often closed it’s doors. It was kind of sad to see it happen, but I am sure sooner or later it’s doors will open for something, even yet, more interesting. It is (or was?) Joaquin Bernal “bitacora”, a weblog in spanish.

I decided to poorly translate his last post, which I found quite informative and interesting. I say poorly translate, first because engl … ⌘ Read more

Circa 1984
I guess a fitting way to “welcome” myself to the collantes.us posting forum is to also give a brief rehashing of my digital lifestyle.

Rumor has it that nineteen years ago, in the summer of 1984, two brand new bundles of joy rolled into the Canzolino household. The first was a shiny new Macintosh; the second, coming six weeks or so later, was a baby girl. I’ve been raised on computers ever since, tinkering away at little games and clicking that little one button ever since.

My first experience w … ⌘ Read more

Newly digital
I started using computers back in 1985. The PC’s I used were old dinosaurs, running at the blazing speeds of 2 MHz, with 640KB of RAM, no hard drive and 5” ¼ floppy drives. I could turn the machine on and go to flirt with girls on the halls of my college while it was booting. Sometimes I even had time to make out!

Programing was done with Quick Basic or Turbo Basic, and floppies had to be swaped at times, in endless search of the “command.com”. I had a whole collection of floppies, all carefu … ⌘ Read more

Back to the routinely life
Another weekend has gone by, way faster than I expected. Being a husband, a father and a head of the household have it’s tradeoffs, although it is not that bad, after all. The things I do not like about it? For starters, white hair. A lot, all over my head. There is also the missing hair, quite more concerning than the first. There is also the fat on the abdominal part, the pain on the joins and neck and the morning’s dragon breath. Yes, it has it’s tradeoffs.

Everythi … ⌘ Read more

Things are changing… once again
Things are changing around here once again. I am going to try, once again, to please my mind on this little spot. There has been a gap, since the last time I posted, but I had had my reasons. Uncle Eddie died and now, almost a month after, I feel the same emptiness I felt the first day.

I am working on a Webmail for family use. For those who already have a username and password, go ahead and give it a try. I am try … ⌘ Read more

A very sad day
I have, many times, felt saddened while thinking about the fragility of life. I feel often perturbed by the fact the life itself is very short. Throughout life we strive to achieve goals, whether they are set goals or not: we get an education, or try to, we search for happiness, we build an “empire” around us. And everything, everything disappears at the end. Does it makes any sense then? What is the reason of life?

I think that what we accomplish while alive is just the answer to that. But it … ⌘ Read more

A short and tiresome weekend
This has been a short weekend and I am tired. I wish I could talk about the great things I did, but it was mainly staying home, going to mom-in-law house and being with baby (and wife), of course.

I can tell I am growing old at a fast pace. You see, we are all moving towards elderly, that’s nothing new, but it does normally happens slow, or doesn’t it? Well, if that is the case –that is, it happens slow–, I do not know what failed on me. It seems like the years w … ⌘ Read more

Definitely, humans are born violent
War topics are prime news. From the time we wake up to the hour we go to sleep, war news are the focus of people’s attention. We are a violent race, it is not a stereotype: humans are born violent.

My son is barely two years old. He hasn’t seen violent television programs, our home is a stable one, no fights, no yelling. Still, when he is around his little cousin, and more often that we would like, he constantly hits her. They play along, like pals, but … ⌘ Read more

Thanks to the Slammer, Slammed
Yes, just like a lot of people around, we got “slammed at work.” There were several hundred of machines on Campus, I presumed, but the five we got compromised are the one’s that bothered me the most.

Out of the five, two were servers, our servers, my servers. A brand new SQL server, just a week old, more or less, was missing the hot fix. Another older one, under the control of somebody else, but still within my College was missing it too. It could have been wors … ⌘ Read more

From Bill Gates, with love
I received an email today. While it is true that I receive 60 to 70 emails daily, this one was not trivial. It wasn’t the expected porno offer, nor a letter from Nigeria or Lagos promising riches. Is wasn’t “reputable” diplomas or innocent spam passed along by a lack-of-knowledge friend neither. If was an email from Bill Gates itself. Yes, that’s right, an email from the billionaire Gates.

I have to admit that my first thought was, “It is another spam”. This is … ⌘ Read more

Nuclear Blackmail, North Korean Style
Looks like the only thing a poor country, or a country in deep economical problems, has to do to turn things around and get all major powers striving to come up with a solution —which in the case I am talking about is recognition, non-aggression treaty and, most important of all, economical aid— is to publicly say it is going to build a nuclear bomb or that is in the process to do it. That is the case of North Korea, of course.

All major countries ar … ⌘ Read more

Iraq, are we going to war?
If you have been following the news you already know about the Iraq situation. You might still be asking yourself why are we building up such a massive military power in the area, that is, Middle East. Right, you are not questioning that, since you know the answer: we are going to war. What you might be thinking is whether or not we should be there, should we care. All valid questions.

Why Iraq, when no one has yet to see a proof of it’s nuclear/chemical, “weapons of mass … ⌘ Read more

Last Entry, 2002: Happy New Year!
Well, this is it. The year 2002, as an aged gentlemen, is giving a clear path to baby 2003. Let us all hope that 2003 will be less violent than it’s predecessor. Rumors of war are heard, oh I so much wish there would stay just as rumors…

Peace, understanding, respect, health, prosperity… May the new 2003 bring you everything you wanted on 2002 and you could/did not have… and much more!

Happy 2003 everyone! ⌘ Read more

Parents at home
We have my parents visiting for Christmas and New Year. Kent Martin is already showing his happiness and he remembered my dad. I am glad it is not too cold — at least for now — so my parents time is more enjoyable (meaning they will be able to go out with us and such). I have miss them a lot and I am really happy to have them with us for a while. It is curious, but now that I am older — and a father myself — I really appreciate what my parents did for me. Money can’t buy, not even Mastercard … ⌘ Read more

Redesign on the horizon
Pretty soon I will be redesigning. I am not sure what I will do yet, but the main site will change. Additionally, I will be adding an extra blog using MT (Movable Type).

On the main site I am not sure whether to go simplistic or zeldmanian, but changes are due, since I am also changing the way I have been writing lately. The domain Collantes.US will become the echo of my thoughts on technology, science, religion, politics and everything else in between. Stay tuned, if you want. Or … ⌘ Read more

Thanks god it is Friday… 13th?!
Finally the weekend has arrived. After the week I have had, I have been looking forward this weekend, not because I have plans of anything special, but because I yern for some rest.

Today was a boring day at work, since my coworker and friend was not there. I only had two good moments: my french friend Claire and her sister Isabel came by to visit and we went out for lunch, and my friend Yanyan (Jane) came by to visit, just before I left. By the way, it was g … ⌘ Read more

Coming back: Happy Thanksgiving!
Howdy all! Finally coming back on track now. Kid still sick but getting better, pain on my back still there, but feeling hopeful on both fronts.

It is the evening before Thanksgiving and a long weekend is ahead. My parents are coming up to visit on Friday, so I guess it is going to be quite busy. I am back, logs shall flow, as they did before. I have a lot to talk about and I certainly need to come here to upload.

For my fellow Americans, enjoy Thanksgiving, b … ⌘ Read more

How to better protect Kent Martin?
Today was a sad day. I had good times, but my kid felt and badly bruised his lips and that shattered any happy moment I had. I feel like my hands are tied up, because I can not be with him 100% of the time to protect him. I know that even thought I could be with him all the time, I would not be able to protect him against everything. It just hurts me a lot to see him hurting. I wish I could trade and be the one bruised.

I feel tired, so I shall go to sleep. Pe … ⌘ Read more

Kind of quiet lately, I know
I have been quite quiet lately, I know. I have been going to sleep early and, when not, thinking and working on other site, which is not finished yet, by the way. I have been reading a bit too, something I used to do more and had neglected.

I am buying a Tablet PC soon (like tomorrow or so). It will be my first laptop in 9 years. I will let you know my first impressions as soon as I have it on my hands.

Going to sleep now. I hope to have more interesting things to wr … ⌘ Read more

Good bye October, hello November!
Today was a long day. I went to the dentist in the morning, with no little stress. Even though I has been going to the dentist since I was 5 years old, when I grew older I also grew a fear of them, I do not know why. Got to the dentist at 10:30 AM and, between x-rays and “impressions” (they put like a mold on your mouth to create a replica of your tooth in plastic), explanations and work (a crown), I ended up staying for almost 3 hours. I do have to admit that it … ⌘ Read more

It is that time of the year: Halloween
Well, you goblins, witches, bats, ghosts… Frankenstein lovers, here it comes your day, once again. Of course, I do not look at Halloween as such, it is just another day, like the others, with the subtle difference that is the day where kids go around, having fun, asking for sweet little treats, dressed up as the unimaginable.

Considering I never knew what Halloween was until I came to America and, hence, I did not experience the fun that it can bring … ⌘ Read more

I hate cell phones!
I had had BellSouth Mobility, Cingular Wireless and, now, AT&T. Each and everyone of them rendered a really bad service. In street talk, they have sucked. Now I am at a dilemma: two years contract with AT&T, $150 to break it. On the other hand, I can not receive neither initiate calls from inside my house, neither at work. Most of the times the reception/transmission is really bad, regardless where I am at. So, what should I do? Suffer and pay (whether till the end of the contra … ⌘ Read more

Excellent weekend
The weekend was excellent and… pretty tiresome. So tired I was that did not have the energy to come by and tell. It will happen tonight, I just wanted to create some anticipation.

Till tonight, good day!

All right! This is a continuation of what I started. The weekend was excellent, we (Gee, Jessica, Kim, Kent Martin and I) went to two Disney Parks, Disney MGM and Epcot. I had a good time although Kent Martin was the one who had a blast. He only did not sleep at all the whole day, he a … ⌘ Read more

Interviewing potential candidates
Today we interviewed the first candidate for a job opening we have at work. Everybody, or at least I, was expecting to see a guy. Boy, were we in for a surprise! It just happened to be a girl (chinese nationality), pretty smart, I could say, and charming. Nevertheless, I think she did not get the job, since the language barrier is pretty strong and the position demands fluency.

As you can see, I went to work and not to the dentist. Why? Well, the earliest, emer … ⌘ Read more

Just Sunday
I am not going to work tomorrow, I believe. I need to go to a dentist pronto. With that Monday prelude, it would be easy to guess that I did not had a great Sunday.

Oh boy, do I hate to go to the dentist! ⌘ Read more

And on the seventh day he rested
Saturday is about over, at least for me. There is not much to tell about it, it just passed away silently, without much ado.

We went to the mall today, just to walk the kids around. The kids, you may ask? Well, we took Kent Martin and cousin Alyssa (six months younger) with us today. It was pretty tiresome to handle both of them, but it helped us to realize that we have enought with Kent Martin… for now.

On the new websites design topic, I already have on … ⌘ Read more

It is friday for me
Tomorrow I will not be going to work. There are personal matters I need to take care of. Weird that I started this entry talking about tomorrow, but sometimes I think tomorrow is always more important. That is, if there is a tomorrow…

Today was great. Work was all right. We — John, George, Gee, Yanyan and I — went for lunch out of Campus, since I needed to take a letter to the post office to get it postmarked and the whole gang decided to join me. We had a good time.

I meant to … ⌘ Read more

Mid-Autumn Festival, Mooncake!
It is mooncake holiday again! Taken From Travel in Taiwan Festivals, the following “Legends of the Moon”:

Hhou Yi was a great archer and architect, who shot down nine extra suns that had suddenly appeared in the sky and thus kept the earth from being scorched. He also built a palace of jade for the goddess of the western heave … ⌘ Read more

It is over now, or it isn’t
Well, I got my car back today and it seems to be functioning all right. After this experience the only conclusion I can draw is: definitely, “Holler Mitsubishi” service completely sucks, their Service Manager does not have a slight idea on what customer service is, their mechanics — or, at least, one of them — do not know what the heck they are doing… to sum it up: do not take your car there. Trust me. I will wait one or two days, to make sure the car is fine and then I … ⌘ Read more

Will this become my week’s Odyssey?
Another day has passed and no car. They –the people from “Holler Mitsubishi”– called me and told me that they will be swapping back the parts they replaced yesterday, since that was not the problem and that the problem was on the transmission, that needed to be flushed. I will get my money back and will end up paying only $150. They were doing that today and by tomorrow noon the car should be ready, since they wanted to make sure it was all perfect. Any ot … ⌘ Read more

Close, very close but no cigar
I got called today to pick up my car. “It is fixed, all done”, they said, so I was happy, even thought they were taking $496.34 hard earned dollars out of my pocket. The car seat settings were changed, the radio was on, tuned to a latin radio station — which I do not listen — and the AC was on, which I had turned off before I dropped the car. Still, I drove away, trusting that I would have a very smooth ride home, trying to forget those little details that were, al … ⌘ Read more

Bad things come at once
Today wasn’t a good day. If it weren’t enough that the weekend wasn’t good, there comes Monday with, yet another, bit of spice. To start, this morning my car started rattling and shacking like it was possessed by a voodoo spirit. Took it to the mechanic and, to make the long story short, I will be $500 short by tomorrow noon. Then I get to work and, on top of having a few little things to finish, I get an email from one of my sisters telling me about problems with m … ⌘ Read more