A la una con diez llegó el fin de la aventura.
Fue todo por acuerdo mutuo.
Un acuerdo tuyo conmigo, mío contigo.
Tú y yo, dos adultos.
Del comienzo al final, ambos.
Un huracán de emociones.
Ráfagas de pasión.
Tormenta del deseo.
Comenzó dentro de un sueño.
Profundo sueño del alma.
Todo ocurría a la una con diez.
Altas temperaturas.
Temperatura de uno con diez.
Eramos uno con diez grados de acción.
Acción, aventura, deseo y ternura.
Todos eran diez.
Nosotros fuimos uno.
Uno en singular, único y singular.
Cuando dos por uno da uno.
Todo en singular.
Llegamos a la decisión.
Somos dos, siempre plural.
Todo quedó.
Y fue a la una con diez.
Nada quedará.
Uno más uno no es uno.
Somos dos, quieras o no.
No somos uno, lo quiera o no.
Desearía no tener que decirte.
Palabras corren.
Mi mente nunca ausente.
Y el deseo que deseo.
Las ganas de las que tengo ganas.
El sueño que sueño.
El hambre del cual tengo hambre.
Y llega la una con diez.
El calor que se enfría.
La sed que se sacia.
El deseo que se cumple.
La energía que descansa.
Y es…
Lo que es…
Es que…
Y está…
Y todo fue a la una con diez.
Con eso llegó el final.
A la una con diez llegó el fin de la aventura.

After putting much hold to it, I will now commence writing simple reviews for iPhone and iPod touch applications from within my iPod touch itself. I can’t say I will be doing it all on my iPod, tough. I will be using an app to write it on (Firemail) and sending it to myself using the iPod’s built-in Mail application, accessing my account from Gmail on my laptop and posting it on WordPress for my blog. I know I can write it and post it from within the official WordPress for iPhone app BUT… I am not going to do that because of some certain things I will talk about when reviewing that application. So, without further ado… I will now commence writing the first of these many (hopefully) app reviews.

May 6, 2007 – Sunday

So I guess that was the end of it, huh?

Current mood: rejected
Category: Romance and Relationships

Thanks. Twice thanks. Three times thanks. You beat the better and became the best. You fought the army and became the one. You ran me over with your perfectness. You had me in those kisses in the cheek, remember? You were the one, the only one… the one I wanted, the one I truly need. The one that just grabbed into my heart, put a sticker on it that says “HE’S MINE” with a little figurine of a resting room guy. Yes, that pink sticker you put on me on Valentine’s. You grabbed me, pulled me, pushed me, (wo)man-handled me, jumped on me, crashed onto me… till you killed me… with your love and laughter… man, I love the way you killed me. It just seemed like it was meant to be. It’s always been like we were meant for each other. You, of all people, should know that. I don’t know why you just don’t believe in yourself! You have made me cry of joy… a feat rarely accomplished. The way you touched my hands, what you said when you grabbed onto them, when you caressed them the way only you know how to do, the way it just felt right whenever we held hands, how they fit together, they were meant to be… like a CD and it’s case, like a water bottle and it’s cap, like a key to it’s keyhole, like peanut butter to it’s jelly, like a baby bird and it’s egg. You brought me to my senses… all of them! You gave me the best times of my life, offered me a continuation to it and, as if it could be done, also offered the key to my happiness. What? Key? No. You gave me a key chain, with a couple of keys, all different yet all for the same keyhole… you gave me the door, you gave me the nuts and bolts to put it up, you gave me the paint, the varnish, you gave me the keyhole itself, you helped me assemble the door, make it look good, put on the locks and all that’s needed to maintain the door in tip-top shape, you personally handed me the keys (I think you even put an alarm for the keys, so if I ever lost them I’d know where to find them). But, dammit… you forgot to open the door. And you want to leave me here, as I am? You don’t want to teach me how to open the door, you don’t want to let me be there for you the next time you get near the door so I can open it for you. You say you are a beautiful self-built Build-A-Bear Workshop teddy bear that needs a lot of attention and I understand that. But you also say that there was in my past a couple of Disney plush dolls that were all the same. You say Goofy, Donald, and Mickie were the same, yet you don’t know why you say that… or maybe you do… but you just don’t say why. Since you know you don’t know you just fight with me. You say that I have always wanted the same kind of plush dolls, that I don’t ever want to change those. Yes, they might have been the same company that made these three dolls but they are not the same, at all. One is a dog, one is a duck, and one is a mouse. The dog and the mouse have some skin of the same color and both have the hair, which the duck doesn’t have. Try and take a look at these three plush dolls, put them side-by-side, see what you find in them that is, to you, “the same”. What do you see there? Just three dolls, all looking at you, smiling. They’re always the kind of dolls you like to have for a few years but then you stop. You have the fondest memories of them, but just don’t want to continue. Now look at yourself. Position yourself in front of a mirror. What do you see? What you’re most probably looking at is a stunning one-off teddy bear. All of the details in it have been hand-picked. Always going for the perfect taste (also, do remember that you were self-built, so the perfect taste here is your own taste!). Hundreds of millions of options, only one final version. You. Stunning you. Wonderful you. The you that stays there forever. Just look at you. You’re the kind of teddy bear that you want. You are the one that’s there. You’re that one perfect bear. I like this bear that you are. If I can say so, I want to say that I want it for me, for all my life. Do you see why? I do. You’re a one-off, self-built, hand-picked, endless-battery-powered, laugh-inducing, fun-having, love-filled, butterfly-making, smile-creating, lean, mean, fight-reducing, grilling… uh, wait… where was I? oh yes… smile-creating, perfection-defining love bear! But… you just want to go by… you want to let go of me. You want to hurt the creation of that one-off teddy bear (that may once rule the world, you know) by not wanting to have a kid to enjoy the wonders of a teddy bear. By kid, of course, I mean this kid. This kid right here wants to have you, hold you, squeeze you, love you forever. This kid right here wants you to be with him forever, for all time to come, to be with in all adventures, to help through your own torments, to stitch you when you cut yourself so that your cotton stuffing won’t come out, to be your partner-in-crime whenever you want to commit one (stealing cookies is always fun!), to be with you whenever you need… to [Edit | love and live]-> have and hold till death do us part.

Finis.

Want a quick overview of some of the things I’ve learned or thought about in the past few weeks or so, with a quick explanation of which? Alright, let me name a few:

• Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song is awesome. Awesome guitar riffs and hard drumming mixed with the powerful shrieks in the intro and the great chorus… wow!

• Jupiter is a beautiful planet. Three weeks ago, I got the opportunity to see the biggest planet of our solar system, Jupiter, through one of my college’s powerful telescope. I have to say I was impressed with how beautiful it is. I especially liked the storms: gorgeous!

• It feels good to find, talk and meet up with old friends. Good, “current” friends are good but when you get to see one of you best friends whom you thought you’d lost contact with or talk to one of your oldest and best friends, you feel great!

• Smiling makes you smile. Wait, what? Yes, smiling makes you smile. Smile even if you don’t feel like it: that’ll make someone else smile! That’ll probably make your own smile turn from a fake to a real, authentic smile. Come on, smile more often!

• Can’t find someone you’ve been looking for a long time now? Look more! With more and more social networks having a deep impact in our society these days, the people whom you’re sure you won’t find in “real life” (aka. outside, offline, that-place-where-the-ceiling-is-pretty-blue-with-puffy-white-things-they-call-clouds) could be, for lack of a better phrase, available online!

• In sickness and in health… I love my musical instrument. I was sick for a few days with a bad, bad cold and some small asthma surprises (don’t worry, nothing serious); this impeded me of playing this past Thursday in a mini-concert –sort of– that my college’s band (which I am a member of), played some songs for the students to enjoy during lunch hour. I stood beside the band, humming along as they performed, reminding myself where I should have played my solos, in which parts I play along the breezy saxophones and in which others I play with the powerful trombone section. I do have to say I enjoyed watching them play… but with me not having my instrument in hands I felt something obviously missing. I’ll try not to get ill again, dear euphonium / baritone horn… I promise I’ll try hard!

• Twitter is addicting. Need I say more? Yes, but I’ll keep it short and simple: not the first time I’ve gotten bit by the Twittedus Addictus bug! I don’t care about when it fails anymore since it’s been up for a long time, no fail whale anymore. Follow me here!

]]> http://ramcosca.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/things-ive-learned-the-past-few-weeks-or-so/feed/ 2 ramcosca Led Zeppelin by Dunechaser Jupiters Great Red Spot (NASA), image by NASA, found in pingnews.coms Flickr feed. Strangers, Friends by Ravages smile! by sean-b Online Communities by xkcd Dame un respiro by galabassoon http://ramcosca.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/97/ http://ramcosca.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/97/#comments Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:52:50 +0000 ramcosca http://ramcosca.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/97/ ]]>

If you know me, you know I love cars. Even if you knew me just a tiny little bit, you know this has been true for quite a bit of my life, perhaps some 15 or so years (and I’m only 22). I’ve been thinking about what could have caused me to love cars so much and I got three different reasons:

1. My dad. He’s been really influential in me. When were on the highway or on the computer or anywhere you can see cars, he goes “You see that car? That’s a Chevy Camaro, 1968 model” or “My cousin used to have one of those, in red”.

2. Super Mario Kart. I played that game so much that I fell in love with the Mario brothers even more than I loved them before that.

3. Susie, the little blue coupe. I watched this cartoon short so much when I was a kid that I still dream about it when I sleep. I had it recorded on a VHS cassette and watched it every day. I don’t know what happened to that tape but I have been looking for this cartoon short for about almost ten years now; last time I saw it I was perhaps six, seven years old.

Do you have any videos that bring you past memories? I’d love it if you’d share it i the comments!

Quick post:

What happens when you find a long lost friend? Someone whom you’ve been looking for for around five years? I know it’s not too much time but it’s been five long years since I last contacted this person… and had been desperately looking for her. I was afraid that I might have lost her forever. But… no. Thanks to the wonders of Facebook and it’s handy dandy search engine… I found her! I had searched for her a couple of times during the long months I’ve been on Facebook, almost two years now (give or take). It’s wonderful to finally be able to see up-to-date pictures and information on one of the people that marked your life during your (well, my) early teen years. I can say I learned a bit from the time that I liked her, from the time I thought it was being a rebel because I liked a girl that is two years older than me. She was in 11th or 12th grade; I was in 9th or 10th. I remember the first (and almost only) time I saw her in person, the day I finally met her. I was shaking! It had been almost two, three years of knowing her without really knowing her. We met back in the days when Cosmos 94 was the full rage and they had their own IRC room, #cosmos94 in a server I’m not able to remember. We talked a lot, “way too much” for back then. I remember we never had the chance to go out mainly because I was a kid, my parents wouldn’t let me go to the movie theater in Caguas (I didn’t have a license, either). It was a bit difficult for her to come down to Humacao, my hometown, to the movie theater. I clearly remember a day I invited her to go out; it was raining hard, I was in my room playing Gran Turismo 2 on my old PlayStation. But it didn’t happen, we couldn’t go out. A few months after, we lost contact. She was studying and working, I was just a student. Well, back to when I met her in person. She used to work at El Amal drug store in Las Catalinas, Caguas. I remember I went there with whom was my best friend at the time, Edwin Otero, to meet her. When I found her, we hugged; I was shaking! Same effect that hit me when I saw she was on Facebook: my hands shook. I understand why it happened that day… although I’m not really sure as to why it happened today. I guess life surprises you like that and sometimes your body isn’t really prepared for it. I sure as heck wasn’t prepared to be hit the surprise that she’s there, she’s alive and doing fine. Cute as ever, too!

I guess I got one of life’s surprises today. Thank you, Facebook, for giving me my friend back.

PS: Quick post this wasn’t.

During the month of June, I worked long and hard in my college’s summer camp. The group I had in charge was 8A, the first half of the 8 year olds (there was an impressive 66 kids of age 8, so it had to be divided into two groups). The experience was gratifying! I had worked twice before in the same summer camp; in 2004, with age six (now ten), and in 2006 with age eleven (now thirteen). I can gladly say I hadn’t had so much fun in camp as I did this year. It was exhausting but worth every second! I worked every day from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM (or later, sometimes as late as 9 PM or, like the day before the talent show, midnight!) and was going to be paid only the four hours I had been assigned. I was asked a couple of times why did I stay so much time if I was going to be paid only four hours; my answer was simple: I’m doing it for the kids.

It came as a surprise to me when I was told by Alicia, one of the people in charge of camp, that I was working too much time and wasn’t allowed to do this. I explained that I was just doing it for the kids, I wasn’t staying more time for the money. She replied “But you cannot do that. We’re only going to pay you four hours per day… you know that, right?” She continued, ruffling some of the papers she had in her desk, looking through them and said “Well… you know what? I’ll pay you for six hours. Enjoy what’s left of camp.”

Nikon D60 digital SLR camera body with a NIKKOR AF-S DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens. Image source: NikonUSA.com

My face went from nervous to complete happiness. I was going to be paid 50% more than what I was hoping for! As I thanked her while leaving the office, my mind couldn’t bare thinking that I was finally going to be able to afford my own digital SLR camera! As I looked through, I found a great offer at the local Costco: a Nikon D60 body with a NIKKOR AF-S DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR “kit” lens, a NIKKOR AF-S DX 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED VR Zoom lens, a Nikon dSLR camera bag, 1 GB Lexar SD memory card, and 50 prints at Costco… all for $825 + tax, for a paid total of $891!

I had been thinking of getting a digital SLR for a few months now and had been looking into them. I was confused by if I was to get a Canon, a system I was already familiar with, or a Nikon, which are relatively new to me. I opted for the Nikon because of two things: I’ve been told gives better colors and my best friend, a photographer, uses Nikon. He has a Nikon D70s and recently got the much-appraised D300. That way we can exchange lenses and he can lend me a Speedlight (external flash unit) until I can afford my own.

People who know me know that when I get something new I go straight to the instruction sheet or booklet, so I did. The first thing you need to do with the camera is, obviously, charge the batteries… for 90 minutes. Let me repeat that: 90 minutes. That’s nothing! A short charge that will last me a long time, hooray for advanced technologies! The camera can do three shots per second for as long as you can in JPEG mode, memory permitting of course; this means that you can shoot continuously for as long as you like until you fill up your memory card! Isn’t that amazing?

One other thing that’s impressed me very much of this camera is that you can retouch pictures in-camera. This isn’t limited to resizing the image or lowering the quality though. This menu includes a Quick Retouch feature (which pretty much does anything that the picture might need, automatically), D-Lightning (which fixes shadows and highlights), removes red-eye, you can add filters, change a picture to black and white, process RAW files, and even overlay two different RAW files onto each other! Now, isn’t THAT amazing? For an extended (and I do mean extended) review of the camera, I recommend heading on to Digital Photography Review’s article on the Nikon D60.

By the way and while I’m at it: I started another blog last night dedicated to photography. Come have a look! Don’t forget to leave me comments! I love it when I recieve some good comments; please provide critique, be it positive or negative!

I stayed last night at my parent’s appartment in Luquillo, Puerto Rico and, as you might have guessed, I’ve been bored. I’m lucky I found some wireless Internet that’s broadcasting from nearby that comes and goes every few minutes. During these intermittent connectivity times, I decided I wanted to go to Seesmic and post something. Stupid idea of mine: you can’t record something online if you don’y have Internet connection!

But then, I thought about something else! I was to record the video offline, edit it and then upload to Seesmic! What a wonderful idea, I thought. And so, I recorded the video… decided I was to do something crazy and went up to the 23rd floor (aka. the rooftop!) to record some more video. I don’t know what happened, but I think my laptop was afraid of being in the roof: the audio didn’t want to record! I did not notice that until I came back down again to the apartment (on the 5th floor) so I just went with some nice music (The Ramones’ Rockaway Beach) and some kind of banners to fill in where my voice wasn’t showing up.

So, without further ado, I present to you… the video I recorded for and posted on Seesmic! (That explains why it says “Hello Seesmic!” and all that. Ha!)

[Edit] Uhrmmm… I can’t post the video directly on the post on WordPress, I think. I will try and solve this as soon as I can, check if there’s a solution for this. Anyways, here’s the link…

P.S: During the time I was writing this short post, Internet connectivity fell through about 4 times. How would I ever record a video on Flash like this? As of the time I am writing this, I have no connection. Imagine that!

A few days ago, I noticed how much my interests and demands had changed. One of these changes might have to be one of the most ridiculous you will hear for a few days, but I have a point to validate it: I will try to move away from YouTube to search higher quality video.

I know YouTube is inundated with all tons of videos from amateurs, bands, record companies, scientists, magazines, etc, but if you look through you might find that:

1. Most video is of low quality.
2. There is no high def content in YouTube.
3. Most videos are just a user copying what another user already had.

I did a little searching and came upon Vimeo, a streaming video site that I had found a few months ago but had forgotten about. This time I will not forget about it… trust me. I look around it and the first thing I see is that they have high definition streaming video! The design is beautiful also. You look through and you enjoy just looking through the most recent videos posted… without even watching them yet!

I decided I’d give the high def content a try and saw that one of the featured videos there was called “Khula Happy Singers St. Lucia“, which I’ve embedded at the end of this post. When you turn high def and fullscreen on you can see, hear, and feel the difference. I was hoping I could smell them or feel them… but technology isn’t so advanced yet. The video, by Jan van der Meer, was recorded using a small and portable high def camera by Sanyo: the Sanyo Xacti HD1000 4MP MPEG4 High Definition 1080i Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom. He had to lower the definition from 1080i to 720p so Vimeo would accept it. Also, when you see the video embedded, Vimeo auto-lowers the definition from that 720p to a more manageable size, so I recommend that if you want to have the whole experience of the video, you click through the video file and watch it in HD and fullscreen on Vimeo’s site.

Who thought that by looking for a better, higher quality of video I’d find better music?

Well, what do you know? One of my all-time favorite bands, Dream Theater, covering one of my favorite songs of another one of my all-time favorite bands, Pink Floyd. Isn’t this wonderful?

Dream Theater is a progressive metal band formed in 1985 in the Berkley College of Music in Boston by bassist John Ro Myung, drummer Michael Stephen “Mike” Portnoy, and guitar god and lyricist John Peter Petrucci; all of these are still active members of the band. The band was originally called Majesty.

Pink Floyd is a very different band from a very different time although without Floyd, there would really be no Dream Theater. The band formed in 1965 in Cambridge, England. It had many different names when it was established; the two most prominent ones being The Tea Set (or The T-Set) and The Pink Floyd Sound (a homage to American blues musicians Pinkney “Pink” Anderson and Floyd Council). Obviously, the latter one “won”.

Time is the fourth song included in Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album. I’m not going to talk much about the song or album because if you are a human being, you know about them.