17 January 2008

Comic Book Timeline

As a young boy I really love superheroes especially Spider-Man and Superman. If there is a new movie featuring superheroes I immediately watch it. Yesterday I bought Kids Almanac for my daughter and find the Comic Book Timeline, a history when all these superheroes were founded and created.

1937 The company that becomes DC Comics releases the first issue of Detective Comics.





















1937 Action Comics features the first Superhero: Superman




















1939 “The Bat-Man” debuts in Detective Comics




















Timely Comics (later renamed Marvel) releases Marvel Comics, which includes Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner and other heroes.




DC introduces The Flash, a superhero who can run faster than the speed of light, and the first Green Lantern.

Comic Book Timeline




















1941 Marvel creates Captain America, a soldier with a mighty shield.




















DC introduces Wonder Woman designed to embody female ideals of heroism.

Archie Andrews debuts in Pep Comics.




















1961 Marvel presents The Fantastic Four. Unlike other characters, the team doesn’t hide their real identities.







1962 Marvel adds Spider-Man and The Hulk.

Comic Book Timeline

1963 Marvel Comics starts its first series of mutants, the X-Men. Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Iceman are led by Professor X.
1964 DC introduces Teen Titans: Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin and Wonder Girl.
1974 Wolverine appears as a Canadian superhero fighting the Hulk. He later joints the X-Men.
1977 Dave Sim’s Cerebus is released. It’s notable for being a successful independent comic, and for being a self-cintained 300-issue story, it ends as planned in 2004.
1984 Cowabunga! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appear (in black-and-white).
1985 DC begins Crisis on Infinite Earths, a year-long crossover affecting all its superhero comics. It does the same again in 1994 (Zero Hour) and in 2005 (Infinite Crisis).
1986 Art Spiegelman publishes Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, a graphic novel based on his father’s Holocaust experiences. In 1991, Volume Two is published. The combined work wins a Pulitzer Prize.

Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns presents a darker, more adult Batman.

Comic Book Timeline

1988 Fans vote by phone to kill the then Robin, Jason Todd. He’s murdered by the Joker.


















1992 Todd McFarlane begins Spawn at his newly founded Image Comics.





















1996 Marvel and DC join forces for Amalgam Comics, mingling their superheroes

















2000 Marvel begins the Ultimate Marvel line featuring updated versions of older characters.













2002 The first American edition of Shanen Jump, a digest of Japanese comic books (manga) is released. It includes installments of Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece.
2004 DC Comics establishes the DMX imprint to publish manga translations.
2005 The publishers of Shanen Jump introduce Shojo Beat, manga for teenage girls.




















2007 Captain America is shot and killed by his nemesis, Red Skull.

15 January 2008

My wife's hobbies: Gardening.

Transfering her orchids to a new pot. At background is Botbot.
With Auntie Diday and Vetvet watching Marie.
My brother Pholly helping Marie.
Pholly getting some fertilizers.
Botbot at our lawn.

One of the hobbies of my wife besides cooking is gardening. She loves toiling the soils, planting beautiful plants and flowers and especially orchids.

13 January 2008

Cabuyao's Street Dance Party

Every year here in Cabuyao, Laguna all barangays are joining the Street Dance Party...





Cabuyao used to be named Tabuko, but this was misinterpreted by the Spaniards as Kabuyaw (named after a tree).
After the colonization of
Manila by Miguel López de Legazpi in 1570, he instructed Capt. Juan de Salcedo to conquer all barangays around the lake of Ba-i, which is now called Laguna de Bay. Just like the settlement of Ba-i, Tabuko had large plain area and rich forestry and the climate was suited to farm crops. On January 16, 1571, it was announced by López de Legazpi that Tabuko be considered as encomienda or a town under Gaspar Ramirez.
The town of Tabuko was located near the corner of a river and the lake of Ba-i which was made bancas or raft as the common means of transportation going to the town of Tabuko. There were many trees of
kabuyaw growing around the area. The fruit of kabuyaw was used as shampoo. So, when the priest asked for the name of the place, the native females readily answered "kabuyaw", thinking that the priest was asking for the name of the trees growing around the wharf. From then on, the priests and other Spanish officials called the town of Tabuko as Kabuyaw.

Cabuyao is a 1st class urban municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 106,630 people in 22,552 households.
Cabuyao is currently the fastest-growing municipality in Laguna, as evidenced with a large populace of migrants working in the town's industrial estates.

Cabuyao is politically subdivided into 18 barangays.
Baclaran
Banaybanay
Banlic
Butong
Bigaa
Casile
Gulod
Mamatid
Marinig
Niugan
Pittland
Pulo
Sala
San Isidro
Diezmo
Barangay Uno (Pob.)
Barangay Dos (Pob.)
Barangay Tres (Pob.)

05 January 2008

Jongjong and Manette's Wedding






Last January 3, 2008, Ernesto Babida, Jr. and Marinette Bachiller exchange vows at St. James the Elder Cathedral, Bangued, Abra, Philippines. Jongjong as what they fondly called Ernesto was my brother-in-Law. The occasion was a big hit, as if it is a movie it is considered a blockbuster. The bride Manette, flew from California ‘coz she was already resides there…together with all her relatives from there. Three of my children were included in the entourage, Jech (secondary sponsor, veil), Vetvet (flower girl) and Botbot (Ring bearer).
Reception was held at Divine World College of Bangued Gymnassium and it was filled by hundred of people including all their relatives, friends, and neighbors from their barangay and other barangays. Night before the wedding, as their tradition there were dancing and lots of games and prizes. And after dining at the reception, the festivities continues at the house of the groom…foods and wines flooded, games continues and singing at videoke filled the air.

To Jongjong and Manette, our family wishes you the BEST. May your tribe grow.

02 January 2008

Philippine Construction Company Shifts to Linux

Philippine Construction Company Shifts to Linux for Cost-Effective Infrastructure Published on: December 30th, 2007 12:00am by: pcelis (0) Print This Release Tell a Friend Discuss This Press Release (OPENPRESS) December 30, 2007 -- EEI Corporation, one of the Philippines' leading construction companies, has opted to shift to Linux for their operating system (OS), joining several other industry giants in the country who have already turned to open source.The firm initially used proprietary systems for both OS platforms and various application packages utilized in its operations. However, due to increasing costs of licensing, the company started considering open source applications in order to minimize expenses. “Other concerns, such as virus infection and the increasing cost of hardware also became factors as to why we decided to use Linux,” said Mr. Andy S. Sarmiento, assistant vice president for the MIS department.EEI Corporation is only one of several industry giants in the Philippines which are already using Linux and open source software. Other firms include Jollibee Foods Corporation, Mercury Drug Corporation, International Family Foods Services (Shakey’s) and Nippon Paint Philippines Inc. Several schools, notably the University of the Philippines, are also making use of open source in place of proprietary systems. To ensure smooth transition with no major disruptions on daily operations, EEI sought the expertise of local Linux solutions provider IPSYSTEMS Inc (www.ipsystems.ph). “As one of the country’s leading enterprise, EEI needed a system which it could trust to be stable and scalable. We therefore transformed the company’s enterprise level systems to make use of Linux as their operating system. At the same time, we introduced making use of several other software and applications also based on open source,” said Mr. Carlo Celis, systems administrator of IPSYSTEMS. Free and open source software (FOSS) is called such because its source code is made freely available for modification and redistribution by anyone – thus the term “free” software. An example of such free software is Linux, which is an open-source operating system and is one of the alternatives to the Windows operating system. Linux is distributed under the GNU General Public License which guarantees the freedom to distribute copies of free software.This freedom allows for the software’s cost-effectiveness, as compared to proprietary ones. For example, commercial software licenses such as Microsoft Exchange 2003 server today have an initial cost of around Php 69,000.00 (approximately USD 1,600.00). This price allows up to five licensed computers to connect to the server, while additional computers will need additional licenses (called Client Access License or CAL) to be legally connected to the server. This price also only covers the initial software license cost, and does not include the cost for the hardware or its yearly license maintenance. The cost of having a file server system based on Linux, on the other hand, will cost only a one-time payment of roughly Php 25,000.00 (about USD 580.00), with no other recurring costs for CALs or for license renewals.Since turning to Linux, EEI has experienced improved performance due to the system's increased stability. “Linux has proven itself to be a fast, reliable and stable operating system. The shift has also required our systems to consume fewer resources and much cheaper licensing costs,” said Mr. Sarmiento.About IPSYSTEMS IncIPSYSTEMS Inc is a Linux solutions provider specializing in Open Source technologies for the server requirements of Philippine enterprises and organizations. Incorporated in April 1998, its technical team consists of seasoned experts in systems integration, development and maintenance, with over ten (10) years of experience in open source.IPSYSTEMS provides the Linux advantage – the benefits, convenience and security of a Linux server - along with the appropriate Linux-based solutions that best answer customers’ communication and network needs. For further details, please visit: www.ipsystems.ph ###Professional Free Press Release News Wire