Know thy Target

Serves 'em right.

Known and feared by sailors and considered as the terror of the high seas, the infamous Somali Pirates made a recent blunder by attacking a, guess what – a Dutch warship.

Yeah, you read it right. A WARSHIP.

With the success these pirates had in the past when it comes to hijacking ships traversing the Arabian Sea, it's quite surprising that they don't have any means in determining the identity of their target.

According to Yahoo! News, the crew of the HNLMS Tromp fired warning shots when they saw two small vessels approaching their ship. This thwarted the assault and convinced the suspected Somali Pirates to turn back.

EU Naval Forces personnel eventually caught up with the suspected pirates on another ship where they found ammunition and firearms on board. Authorities destroyed the two small vessels and set the pirates free on the ship where they were found, after it was cleared of weapons.

Quoting Cmdr. John Harbour, this incident shows "a lack of sophistication in the pirate's selection of targets" and that this serves as a warning "that the pirates will try to attack any vessel on the high seas."

What's going through my head right now was what could've been had the crew of the HNLMS Tromp didn't fire warning shots even if they were aware of the approaching vessels. It would've been like an episode of MTV's Punk'd.

Wait! That's a brilliant idea. If the Somali Pirates will attack any and I mean any ship, why not get a passenger liner, put Ashton Kutcher and a TV crew on board, add a group of heavily armed soldiers and some hulking UFC fighters into the mix, have them hide themselves, and once the SPs hop on board, the hidden passengers show up and you got a stick-'em-up-or-we'll-screw-you-badly scenario. And then Kutcher starts laughing and explaining to the SPs what's going on.

Now that's SWEET! With reference to Dude Where's My Car? -Marlone Viardo

[Review]Alice in Wonderland

Before watching this film you should know the following facts: first, this is based from the book, second, this is a sequel and third, IMAX rock!

Many were complaining about the story. "It was not as I remembered" or "Why is Alice not a kid anymore?" that sort of stuff. You should be aware that this is the sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was sort of happened 13 years after the original story (it was later revealed in the movie). To me, it was a good twist to the story and I just remembered my childhood memories of the story. The musical score was spectacular (I was watching it on IMAX 3D) and the whole world of wonderland was very gorgeous. My only complain was the 3D wasn't fully utilized (or was I just looking for more eyecandy?) but the whole film was a huge leap from the previous adaptations of the popular story. Relieve your childhood fantasies as you watch this film. Before I forgot, Johnny Depp once again gave a beautiful performance as the Mad Hatter

First week in 3rd BU

As I timed-in on the DTR last Monday I saw the words 3rd BU VS Dept. below my name. I guess it's official that I'm no longer part of the 1st BU, the department that became my family. The first week is a week of adjustment. I no longer drop-off usually at 31st floor. I no longer open the lights and aircon like I usually do. I no longer fiddle with the things of my seatmate before opening my desktop and double checking my time in. It was sad but that's reality...

Today I got the chance to come to the 1st BU office for the soon to be married colleagues had a delicious treat. I got the chance to sit on my previous workstation and joke around with my former project mates. But as the clock stroke 3:30 I had no choice but to return once again to my new office. As painful as it is, I have to accept the reality that I am no longer part of the 1st BU.

Time to move forward. I need to be fair with my new family, the 3rd BU. I should not close my doors to them and I'll try my best to be part of their community.

Isa ka bang 1st BU?

Ano ba ang 1st BU? Ang Tsukiden kasi eh kinakatawan ng tatlong BU o Business Unit. 1st BU ay may CP (Communications Platform) at CA (Communications Application). Ang 2nd BU ay may International at Local clients, nandito rin ang mga dating Infrastructure. Ang 3rd BU naman ay may tie-up with Denso. Ano ba pinagkaiba ng 1st BU sa ibang BU? Basahin ng malaman.

1. Kilala sa mga makulit at mabongang performance na siguradong gugulat sa lahat

Sa katatapos lang na company outing...Ra ra a a a roma roma mama..alam na!

2. Hindi papatalo sa trash talk.

Asarin niyo na ang lahat wag lang ang 1st BU kung ayaw niyong umiyak

3. Very well coordinated

Mula sa pakain hanggang sa pagbili ng pare parehong costume wala ng mas magaling diyan kundi ang 1st BU. Kahit nga sa pagsagot ng online survey eh maasahan mo ang 1st BU.

4. Sama sama sa inuman

Nasa 1st BU na ata ang mga beterano sa inuman. Umaabot hangagang madaling araw sa inuman! Nakakagawa ng paraan para matuloy ang inuman. Tagay lang ng tagay!

5. Mga tunay na kaibigan

Sabi nila ang tunay na kaibigan sinasabi ang katotohanan sayo. Sa 1st BU hindi uso ang plastikan at kung may hindi man pagkakaunawaan ay napag uusapan naman (see number 4 for details). Dito ko naramdaman na ang mga bossing mo ay hindi mababa ang tingin sayo, bagkus, para silang mga tatay, nanay, ate at kuya na tutulong sayo sa iyong mga problema.


Sa kasawiang palad, huling beses ko ng kapiling sila kanina sa outing, dahil bukas ay magsisimula na ako sa 3rd BU. Naging pamilya na ang turing ko sa 1st BU, at tinanggap nila ako kung ano ako at dun ako nagpapasalamat. Pinagmamalaki ko naging parte ako ng 1st BU at kahit nasa kabilang bakod na ako eh mananatiling 1st BU ang first love ko.

I left my heart at 1st BU..

thank you guys for the memories....

Yahoo! Sports loses Skeets to The Score

What's there to love about Canada?

Well there's Canadian Bacon, maple and the distinct accent. And for the sports fan in you, there's ice hockey, ice skating, the recent 2010 Winter Olympics, the Toronto Raptors, Steve Nash and J.E. Skeets.

Wait, J.E. who?

To be honest, I know very little about Canada and had very little interest until the South Park kids kept talking about it, and until Vince Carter started dunking in Air Canada Centre. Having a friend who spent some time in Canada also helped.

Ah, but Skeets, now that guy is All-Canadian. He gave me some idea what Canada is all about and influenced my blogging as well.

As a basketball junkie, I had to get my fix from NBA.com on a daily basis. But after accidentally running into Skeets at Yahoo! Sports, I realized there's life after NBA (game) through Ball Don't Lie.

Unlike the opinions posted by seasoned sportscasters in NBA.com, which focuses more on the nitty gritty of basketball, Skeets' take on matters, as well as that of other Yahoo! Sports bloggers, are often atoned to the lighter side. They talk about almost anything that has something to do with pro-ballers, related or unrelated to the game.

Skeets is the one who writes and edits entries for BDL. And though his arguments and opinions may not always seem valid, it definitely gives people something to talk about. Just check out a BDL entry and you'll find hundreds of comments and reactions below.

Thanks to his freestyle and loose approach, BDL is always an appealing alternative from all the hardcore, hard court stuff the NBA and NBA.com offers.

Fortunately, all that writing and podcasting has done some good for Skeets. After earning recognition for his works in BDL and The Basketball Jones, Skeets and co. got some love from The Score, who will now televise TBJ.

This event ends Skeets longtime partnership with Yahoo! Sports, and the end of all those hilarious-sometimes-doesn't-make-sense-albeit-entertaining blogs. This leaves me, and a lot of BDLers out there with nothing. You hear that Skeets. Nothing!

I'm not really much of a TBJ guy because I do most of my surfing at work. And since there are restrictions and a firewall in the office, I seldom watch and instead read entries in BDL. But now that Skeets is gone, it looks like the days of all those fun blogs are over.

Sure, I can always visit The Score (or maybe not thanks to firewalls), and someone as good is bound to take Skeets' place. But I can't deny that Yahoo! Sports won't be the same without the Canadian. And I probably won't ever get used to watching TBJ outside of BDL. Sorry Skeets.

Skeets presence will sorely be missed in the pages of Yahoo! and that's proof that he is among the things you could love about Canada. The best of luck Skeets. Ball don't lie man, ball don't lie. -Marlone Viardo