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Digressions Geek

How the Japanese eat

Not like the rest of the world.

I went to Tokyo to eat for a week. I came back full, both literally and figuratively as I was given the grand tour of the art AND science of how the Japanese prepare, eat and digest their meals.

As it was my first time in Japan, my stock knowledge of Japanese food culture was limited to an amalgamation of whatever I found in commercial restaurants to the “Japanese experience” of Little Tokyo. Hearing anecdotes from friends who have since made the great trek to Japan since the relaxation of VISA requirements, I was excited to sojourn into the land of push-button ramen, melt-in-your-mouth tuna, tofu served in many ways, omurice, and chicken sashimi.

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Digressions

#Throwback Column: Geek Life Unplugged: A New Year Resolution

*This column originally appeared in February 2007 for Mobile Philippines Magazine under Hinge Media Inc.

Column: The Prodigal Screen Protector and other Bedtime Stories

I found that the best way to measure your geek factor would be to turn off all the lights in your room and see how many blinking lights are left on. Upon last count, I had at least ten: speaker, keyboard, flashing monitor light, external HD, cellphone (ooh bright OLED screen), DSL modem, wireless router lights, iBook sleep light, power brick, and extension cord lights galore. I began my new year resolution early by making sure that the only lights I saw during the holidays were the Christmas lights from the tree and houses.

It’s pretty hard to detach oneself from the computer screen – closing Yahoo! Messenger, Friendster and ultimately the lid of the good ‘ol iBook. For someone who works from home, the temptation of staying in bed equals the freelancing spirit of going out to socialize and network. So I figured that it would make much more sense to merge that geek lifestyle with a little bit of fresh air – considering that most of the work gets done during the hours of the midnight oil. Here are some suggestions to keep busy while still keeping geeky:

Enroll in a gym
I was never the gym person because the gym, as I saw it, was more of a female watching spectator sport and I just got bored pushing and pulling weights. Not until I learned to schedule my podcast listening session during gym time. Not only do you stay healthy – but you’re up to date with the latest technology news. I try to work out at least 3x a week (yeah right!) so for the most part I schedule my three sessions into three podcast listening sessions: Leo Laporte’s TWiT, This Week in Media and The Cellphone Junkie. If I do decide to go the extra mile and work out longer, there are dozens of other obscure podcasts made available – you won’t run out! Hey, and if ever you do feel that urge to pull out your phone, there’s always a way to get on with mobile bingo — that way you’re entertained AND fit on the treadmill.

Join a geek community
As Jason de Villa, founder of MaPalad once said, it would be a little pathetic to lust over your gadgets, as there are other people who own the same stuff you have AND are much more interesting. Do you own a Windows Mobile Device? Pinoy Windows Mobile (pinoywindowsmobile.com) is for you. A Palm device you say? Then its MaPalad.org. Into photography? There’s always Photos.ph and if you’re into the lomo craze, lomomanila.ph. There’s PhilMUG.ph and Pinoy Mac for Mac users and yes – if you love to blog, there’s always the Pinoy group of bloggers (just do a Google keyword search for Philippine Blogcon 2007). As a member of several of these groups, I’ve managed to fill up my schedule with events and “wala lang” meets without me having to figure out what I should do for the week.

Write for a geek magazine
There’s nothing wrong with “monetizing your passion.” If you’re passionate about gadgets, you can always drop an email to the magazine of your choice. Now for the segue – we’re always on the lookout for passionate writers. If you think you have what it takes to review shiny shiny gadgets, don’t hesitate to drop an email at [email protected].

You can read Jayvee over at his personal blog at www.abuggedlife.com.

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Digressions

Schmidt’s x Llucia: Serious Hotdogs and Churros

Address:
2nd Floor Robinson’s Madison Mall
Don Jesus Blvd (Alabang Hills)

Madison is a new community mall that popped up right across the new Hillsborough Church after the Alabang Hills exit. It’s a boon for people from Alabang Hills, Hillsborough and BF Homes who want to experience new places to eat without having to cross Alabang-Zapote to get to Alabang Town Center. Strategically, Madison’s line of restaurant offerings are fresh — the Japanese restaurant ABURI is a must-try, and I heard that Relish will be opening soon as well.

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Digressions

Spiffy’s Grove Cider Bar in El Grande, BF Homes

Aguirre Ave in BF Homes has garnered a reputation for being a food haven. Though not quite in Aquirre Avenue, El Grande, which runs perpendicular to BF Homes’ main road brings a similar charm of food real estate. For instance, Fat Butchick’s and Spin Cafe are some of the must-try places for any southern (or norther!) foodie. But this piece isn’t about these two. Today we’re here to talk about Spiffy’s Grove, BF Homes’ first cider bar.

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Digressions

Luis, I’m listening!

This piece originally appeared in the Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Section on May 1 2016.

A short tribute to Luis Katigbak from his technology tech support

My relationship with Luis was one that was kept mostly at arms length. That is, an arm away from the computer screen. My time with Luis was professional at most, dappled with the brevity that would make me want to record all our conversations about the publishing industry, about writing, and about being a starving writer with a need to satiate gadget lust. I read his byline in the early 2000’s, as we were both contributing to a magazine known as The Reviewer which was then acquired by the Inquirer Group. We met again in 2006 – he, launching BURN Magazine with Kristine Fonacier and Zach Lucero, and me right across the room working on Mobile Philippines. By default as the guy who handled the magazine’s blog and reviewed gadgets for a living, I’d be (one of) his go-to tech support and technology consultant.

luis katigbak jayvee fernandez