Silent Roman Catholics

I think its about time that I post my reply to Fr. Larry Tan, SDB's question on why us Catholics don't react as loudly and and sometimes violently to what others are saying or doing against Jesus Christ unlike our Muslim brothers with regards to Allah and Muhammad?

One instances he cites as I can recall is Madonna's act on her concert in desecrating the Cross which for us Christians symbolizes Jesus. Compared to what the Muslims reaction to Muhammad being drawn in caricature our silence is eerily silent. Except for a few protestations here and there it is nothing compared to the outrage of the Muslims whenever those they considered sacred are being desecrated from their point of view.

My answer to that is we were raised to be forgiving and ask God for mercy to those who did us and Him wrong. We were raised to LOVE not only God and ourselves but also our enemies, in fact I was taught while studying that the teachings of Jesus can be summarize in one word: LOVE.

We were also taught to be forgiving and in fact in one of Jesus' lectures He was asked how many times should we forgive our brother and he replied seventy time seven. Seventy time seven during those times was a large number or infinite. Quoting the Lord's Prayer "forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sinned against us" it doesn't say there that a prerequisite to forgiving is asking for forgiveness. It is just that we have to forgive those who did us wrong. Before Jesus came we have been doing wrong against God but instead of handing us punishments, He sent his only Son to die on the cross for us. Now if God can do that, who are we not to forgive.

So if we don't react as violently and as loudly as our Muslim brothers, it is because we were born and raised in LOVE.

Still Doesn't Work? Try this!

For those of you out there who read my blog on installing their Huawei E220 HSDPA USB modem running on Windows Vista and still can't make it work, this might help.

1. After running the Autorun.exe and having it install Mobile Connect on your PC, and Vista still doesn't install your device, go to the Control Panel, click on Classic View, then click on Device Manager.
   
2. Then have the Device Manager scan your PC for any hardware changes and it will install two devices, one is Huawei USB Mass Storage and it is under DVD/CD-ROM drives and USB Mass Storage device under the Universal Serial Bus controllers. Now don't worry if it still doesn't see it as a 3G modem, it usually doesn't on the first try.
   
3. Now restart your PC but you might need to remove physically your Huawei E22o from the USB port.
4. After restarting your PC, insert your Huawei E220 to the same USB port where you placed it while installing it on Step 2.
5. Go back to the Control Panel and Device Manager and again have it scan your PC for any hardware changes.
   
6. Now look under the group Universal Serial Bus controllers and you will notice that a USB Mass Storage device has a mark/icon indicating that it has a conflict.
7. Right-click on it and choose Uninstall.
8. Now have the Device Manager scan your PC again for any hardware change and for sure it will now detect your Huawei Mobile Connect - 3G Modem. You can see it under the Modems group.
   

Huawei E220 USB modem on Windows Vista

For other Globe Visibility subscribers that would want to upgrade to Windows Vista but where being told that the Huawei E220 USB modem either won't work on Vista or would have conflicts for its drivers, I have a work around for you.

For those of you who tried inserting your Huawei E220 USB modem to the your PC running on Windows Vista and have encountered it being detected as a CD-ROM don't fret. Don't try to open it either as Vista would tell you that it is corrupted.

SOLUTION:

First you will need a removable storage device(portable hard disk, flash drive or sd card) to make this work. After you have secured yourself a removable storage drive insert your Huawei E220 into a PC not running Windows Vista,

Go to My Computer, right click on the drive for your Huawei E220 and click Open.

Copy all files and folder from your Huawei E220 to your removable storage device.

Insert your removable storage device to your PC running on Windows Vista and open it.

Click on the file Autorun.exe (it is seen by Vista as an application) and let it install the Mobile Connect.

Restart your PC. After Windows Vista starts insert your Huawei E220, and Vista will start to install the drivers needed by the device.

If it says that it has successfully installed the device drivers, run Mobile Connect it will detect the wireless device. Now create the profile as per Globe's instructions and click on connect. Note: you might need to restart the PC if your Huawei E220 is still not being seen by Mobile Connect.

Try it. It worked for me, it could worked for you and if it does send me an email and spread the word, information should be free.

A Friend

This song by Keno is for someone out there whom I can't mention her name here. It is not that your not anymore my first priority in life, its just that I don't want everything happening so fast and getting hurt again in the process.

A Friend by Keno

I've still been searching
And long have I waited
For someone to like me as me
To laugh with
To cry with
To be just beside with
A friend that's who I need

To fight with
Make up with
To know that you need them
Believing that they need you, too
To walk hand in hand with
To argue to talk with
A friend that's who I need

And even though
I make mistakes
And never do anything right
A smile, a hug
Can change all that
And everything will be alright

Someone who'll share all my dreams and ambitions
Someone who'll love me as me
I need this person
Someone to rely on
A friend that's who I need

A friend that's who I need

Palm Sunday

This was the scene yesterday at the Sto. Niño dela Paz Chapel in Greenbelt, Ayala Center, Makati City. It was the start of the Holy Week for the Roman Catholic faith and it was symbolized by the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Modern day Christians commemorate this during Palm Sunday which signals the start of Holy Week and ends on Easter Sunday when Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

I was watching last night over the National Geographic Channel about the Gospel of Judas. I am no expert so I can't give my opinion whether it is genuine or fake, but what I can say is that without the act of betrayal done by Judas there would be no crucifixion hence no resurrection and salvation of mankind from sin.

If it was indeed true that Jesus commanded Judas to hand him over to the Pharisees, I think it was really God's plan. Jesus knew that he needs to suffer and die in order to save us unworthy sinners that we are, he knew it was near when he was at the Garden of Gethsemane while he was praying and talking to God.

The best-selling book The Da Vinci Code, which was made into a movie, questions whether Jesus indeed died on the cross and was resurrected on the third day. My faith tells me that Jesus indeed suffered and died for us, for if the death and ressurection of Jesus isn't true then it wouldn't have stood the test of time. There had been many books written before The Da Vinci Code that questions the authenticity of the Passion of Jesus. Even the Gospel of Judas never mentioned any crucifixion happening, well it can be taken into account that he hang himself before Jesus was crucified.

My point is there were a lot of controversies debates and questions about the Christian faith, but after so many centuries, instead of crumbling with all the accusations being thrown at it, it instead grew and continues to be the top religion in the world.

Tuesday April 11, 2006 0:40 AM

Moving On

How I wish that these people who are still ranting about massive cheating would listen to the sentiments of the Silent Majority.

Guess who is leading the pack - SENATORS - mainly from the opposition who are turncoats, we call them balimbings, though for me there is a more accurate term POLITICAL PROSTITUTES. These self-righteous people after riding piggyback on the administration campaign during the last elections of 2004, are now the same ones who are shouting about cheating during the last elections.

Hey DICKHEADS, everyone knows that there was cheating during the last elections and all other elections. There was never a clean election after the first and only real People Power Revolution.

These so-called investigations in aid of legislations are nothing but a ploy to get the people agitated. Have some originality! Just because it happened to ex-President Estrada, who by the way he and his family still claims that he is still the President, that it will happen again. Sorry to burst your bubble but the people has had enough of these political bickering and whining.

Everyone knew that there was indeed massive cheating during the 2004 elections, but the people also knew that it was not only the administration who did the cheating but also the opposition. That is why no matter what noise you create in the Halls of the Senate and Congress, the Silent Majority or shall I say the working middle-class would not heed your calls for protest.

It was also very noticeable that right after Crispin Beltran and the five Party-list Congressmen were detained in Camp Crame and Batasan, respectively, there was no rallies in the street. You don't have to be a genius to come to a conclusion that there is a pattern there. These left-leaning party-list representatives are doing an injustice to the very law that created them. They brought nothing but shame to the Hall of Congress. Now people are equating all party-list representative and groups to be left-leaning, communist supporters.

So no matter how much noise you drum up in your "investigations in the aid of legislation", the people knows what are your real motives for having these investigations. These are nothing but a show to let that people know that you are doing something. That there is still a purpose to your existence, well I think you have outlive your existence and all you do is to hamper the growth that the country should be experiencing.

Wednesday April 5, 2006 11:48 AM

Connections

eeping in touch with the rest of the world is now easier thanks to Internet and other new forms of communication. The advent of all these technologies at our disposal, made it easier for us to keep in touch with past friends and relations.

I'll cite this event as an example of what I am talking about. I got a few emails coming from friends of long ago, some I thought I would never hear from again. My childhood friend and classmate in St. Paul School Makati sent me a "smile" using Friendster. My colleagues at Bayantel who are still working there also sent me smiles using the same website. There are also other websites that can be used to search for your long lost friends and just about anyone for that matter, who you lost contact and would want to get reconnected with.

Alumni.net is also one of the sites where a search can be done on their databases which holds the names, what school you came from and what batch do you belong. Though you have to be a member of their website to access these databases, what's great about it is its free. All one has got to do is visit their respective websites and from their you can apply for membership, which for most of these site are free.

Tuesday April 4, 2006 10:24 AM

Exodus

With the recent news of Filipino commercial pilots being pirated by foreign airline companies, it shows how much the Filipino is being valued outside the Philippines. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself shows the irony that befells the country when she said that Philippine commercial airlines have lots of planes but don't have pilots to fly them, while our Air Force has a lot of piots but don't have any planes to fly.

This phenomenon of Filipinos being valued more outside of their own country didn't happen overnight. It can be compare to a tsunami, slowly the tide recedes before the big wave hits. Though the wave hasn't hit yet, I don't think the goverment should wait on the sideline before it hits us.

When I was still a kid, I remember that it was our construction workers/laborers who were being sought after by the Middle East country. They provided quality worksmanship and also was cheap labor. The goverment was happy then because of the huge amount of dollar remittance they sent into the Philippines. No social, emotional or psychological ramification was being considered then, or what impact it would cause society.

Now it is not only in the Middle East that the Filipino workforce are being sought after. Heck I guess there is no country in the world where you can't find a Filipino providing quality work. These translates to a lot of dollars remitted to the Philippines and thus driving the economy not only during Christmas season when it is at its peak, but all throughout the year. In fact due to this fact, coupled with the sound fiscal management program of the goverment, the Philippine peso was declared as one if not the most stable currency in the market.

The problem that I have with this is first, is with the exodus of our high quality workforce the country a huge void needs to be filled up quickly, second, those who remain here in the country are feeling the scarcity of finding quality work or service.

So unless this issue be address the soonest possible time, even the families of those working abroad who has the financial capability to pay for quality work won't find it.

Thursday March 30, 2006 2:51 PM

Redesign of Istik Online Journal

Contact Us

Great news! I just recently added a contact us form in the Contact Section. Now you don't need to open up your email client/software or even to your web-based email just to send us a message. Now you can do it at the Contact Section.

Tuesday March 28, 2006 11:21 PM

Finished

I think this site for now is running smoothly though you might notice some updates implemented during the week. Keep on checking back, more exciting features will be added for your enjoyment.

Monday March 27, 2006 1:09 PM

Still Under Testing

If you are experiencing some difficulties navigating through this website, please note that these is still under development as of this moment. I am trying my best to finish all changes as soon as possible. I appreciate any feedback/suggestions.

Monday March 27, 2006 0:21 AM

New Look

Did you noticed the new look that this site is now sporting? Well since I have been designing websites lately running purely on CSS and XHTML, I thought that its about time that I also did it on my website.

The predecessor of this website did use XHTML and CSS but it also used tables for its lay-out. After reading some arguments on whether tables should be replaced with div, I was convinced to try it on for size.

It was more for those who may or tried to view this website using screen-readers. I am trying my best to keep this website accessible to everyone, and this is a continuing effort on my part.

Of course there is still the other sections of this website.

Monday March 27, 2006 0:20 AM

Don't eat chicken sandwiches, no matter what...

A little boy and a little girl attended the same school and became friends.
Every day they would sit together to eat their lunch. They discovered that
they both brought chicken sandwiches every day!
This went on all through the fourth and fifth grades, until one day he
noticed that her sandwich wasn't a chicken sandwich.
He said, "Hey, how come you're not eating chicken, don't you like it anymore?"
She said "I love it but I have to stop eating it."
"Why?" he asked.
She pointed to her lap and said
"Cause I'm starting to grow little feathers down there!"
"Let me see" he said.
"Okay" and she pulled up her skirt.
He looked and said, "That's right. You are!
Better not eat any more chicken." He kept eating his chicken sandwiches until one day he brought peanut butter.
He said to the little girl, "I have to stop eating chicken sandwiches,
I'm starting to get feathers down there too!"
She asked if she could look, so he pulled down his pants for her.

Reviewed: Underworld:Evolution

For starters, there is the movie Underworld: Evolution the sequel to the blockbuster Underworld starring the beautiful Kate Bekinsale reprising her role as Selene. I recommend that you watch the first Underworld to have a better understanding of where the story is heading. The movie starts a flashback so you will see characters that has been dead in the first movie alive, but since we are talking about vampires and werewolves here it is not that impossible(did you notice that in those Dracula movies?). This sequel continues the saga of war between the Death Dealers(vampires) and the Lycans(werewolves). The action is still intense and fast-paced as Selene discovers that she was betrayed by her kind and she wants revenge. She and her lover, Michael Corvin(played by Scott Speedman) team up to get to the truth and in the process exact revenge.

I highly recommend this movie and if you are not able to catch it in theaters, get your copy on DVD.

Consumer Protection (updated)

Here is an example, it happened to me. I purchased a Logitech Cordless Optical Mini-mouse from Avant, which is located on the second floor of Greenbelt 4, last December 22, 2005. After a month of using it, it stopped working so I took it back to complain about it and they said that since it is more than a month since I purchase it they cannot replace it outright. I ask them how long it would take for them to replace it since it is still under warranty, they told me that it would take around 2-3 days. So I waited and on the fourth day I phone them up to ask them about it, but they told me that they still haven't gotten any feedback from the supplier. I only got my mouse last February 9, 2006, that is more than a week.


This is another bad example of how bad the service of Avant is, and this happen to my brother. Coming home from the States he inquired at Avant if they already had the Xbox 360 and they told him they have one. He asked them how much and he was shock because it was clearly overpriced. Since my brother wants to buy one as a gift, he still bought it but before he did he asked if it could play games coming from the US, the salesman told him yes. He went home happy that he has this awesome gift for his younger brother, but to his disappointment it doesn't work it games bought in the US. The sad part about this is they wont refund the money and asked him to just replace it with any item of equal value.

I hope these incidents serve as a warning to all of you thinking of doing business with Avant.