Bobby Gonzalez

Hello, everyone. My name is Bobby, and I am a non-alcoholic. I have been sober for all my life.

 

I have never been drunk. Never. Not even once. Never even came close. Don't get me wrong. I am not against wine or other alcoholic beverages. I might even take a sip. But nothing more.

 

I have seen people make fools of themselves when they were drunk. I surely wouldn't like to be in their shoes. Being the only sober person in a drinking party has its advantages. After everyone else recovers from their intoxication, I could enjoy seeing them blush as I recount every single embarrassing thing they did while they were drunk. Maybe that'll teach 'em to be careful next time.

 

I have seen the pain in the eyes of women as they try to carry their drunk husbands home. I have heard the wives' sigh of disappointment as their husbands vomit after consuming too much alcohol. As a gentleman, I cannot allow myself to be the one who brings harm or inconvenience to the people around me. So I refuse to drink.

 

I know people who have lost valuable things as a result of drunkenness. Some have lost money. Some have lost even more. Some of the things they lost can never be regained. So sad. And so easy to prevent.

 

God has repeatedly commanded His people to avoid getting drunk. The Bible has so many verses that describe how foolish it is to be intoxicated (Proverbs 20:1; 23:19-21; Isaiah 5:11,22). The Scriptures even plainly say that drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:10; Galatians 5:21). The instruction is very clear and plainly stated. Christians should avoid getting drunk with wine but should be filled with the Holy Spirit instead (Ephesians 5:18). Don't blame me; I wasn't the One who commanded it.

 

Note that alcoholic beverages are not bad by themselves. What God forbids is drunkenness. I simply play it safe by avoiding alcohol. And I don't want to give people any wrong impressions.

 

Some people may think that I'm missing out on the experience. Sure. But it's not like I missed out on something good. I also never had a heart attack. But I certainly am not looking forward to that experience either. I'd much rather experience the joy of knowing that my life was not wasted and that my efforts have made the world a better place.

I finally found a mobile phone that could send my beloved HTC Universal into retirement. It's the new HTC Touch Pro that was unveiled today. Just look at some of its features:

• Tri-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE
• Dual-band HSDPA / WCDMA / UMTS
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
• Integrated GPS
• FM radio
• VGA screen (480x640 resolution)
• Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
• Accelerometer (senses its own orientation)
• TV output
• Audio output port
• Mini-USB 2.0 port
• 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera
• A second camera for video (VGA)
• 528-MHz CPU
• 512-MB flash ROM
• 288-MB RAM
• microSD slot (you can insert a 16-GB microSD card here)
• 1340-mAh battery (standby time is more than 2 weeks)
• Windows Mobile 6.1
• TouchFLO 3D interface

The HTC Touch Pro is similar to the HTC Touch Diamond unveiled last month but with slide-out keyboard and with more flash ROM, RAM and battery capacity. For more info on the HTC Touch Pro as well as photos and videos, check out the following sites:

The HTC Touch Pro is expected to be available within the next few months. It really oozes with sex appeal both inside and outside. I can't wait to get my hands on one.

Welcome to my site. Let me just present a few points to help you make sense of the contents of this site.

Thanks for visiting my site! Enjoy your stay.

My boss just announced my promotion to everyone in the office. No big deal really. I have been the head of the department for quite some time already. I already have the corner office with the view. The promotion was just a formal recognition. But I will get a salary increase along with the change in job title. Praise God!

 

My promotion is the result of the hard work of my subordinates. So I must give credit to them. A lot of them have been promoted as well. They are my number-one project and I am proud of them. So I'll be treating the whole department to dinner and entertainment.

 

My boss will be going back to London tomorrow and everything will be business as usual.

I just started the CCFSingles Multiply group yesterday for, obviously, the CCF singles. There were already 18 members the last time I checked. I hope the rest of the people I invited would read their e-mail and join the group. This online group would help us make new friends and get to know one another -- things that are difficult to do in a large group where people only see one another during retreats, trips and Bible studies. There were about 900 singles in last Friday's Bible study alone. That's a lot of people to get to know.

 

This online group is still in the early experimental stage. So for now, I invited just the CCF singles ministry volunteers to join the group. But of course, the plan is to ask all the CCF singles to join.

 

The CCFSingles Multiply site is a work in progress. Yesterday, I added the complete schedule of the "He Said, She Said" Bible study series to the site. I also uploaded the flyer for tomorrow's Bible study. I plan to upload photos of the CCF Singles events. I really need help in designing the overall look of the site. I'm looking for site designers, graphic artists and writers.

I was bored. A friend's blog led me to an interesting quiz which I quickly answered. I seem to have gotten everything right after just one attempt:

 

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

First, some fun facts:

 

 

 

We've all spent time waiting in line. I myself have spent a lot of time doing that. Instead of becoming impatient about the situation, I entertain myself by observing other people and trying to understand their behavior. Then whenever I meet with my close friends, I usually share my observations with them. They find my insights amusing and even funny. They were actually the ones who prodded me to write my observations in my blog. So friends, here is what you asked for:

I'll try to post more observations when I remember them.

I still can't believe that he's dead. I've known Boyet for more than a decade. We've had many overnight fun sessions at the houses of Dan, Albert and Armand. He had that smile that seemed to be permanently etched into his face. It was a smile that was there no mattter what his mood was, which was why we nicknamed him "Smiley."

 

Boyet was and is a devoted follower of Christ. I had seen him grow in the faith, back when I was still at Harvest Christian Fellowship. When Albert and I decided to conduct weekly evangelistic trips, Boyet was the first to join us. That was the beginning of the Harvest evangelistic team. So when God convicted me to start the Harvest singles ministry, I asked Boyet to be part of the core team. He eventually succeeded me as president of the singles ministry when my term was over. Boyet may not have been knowledgeable in many things but he was very witty and has a compassionate heart.

 

Boyet was a cop. He was riding his motorcycle one night when he was hit by a fast moving truck. He died of a crushed skull. His body was buried last Sunday.

 

Boyet had just been with me at the pastors' conference in Baguio six weeks ago. He rode to Baguio and back to Metro Manila in my car. We had a lot of fun during that trip.

 

We will miss you, Boyet! But we have joy in knowing that you are in a better place with our Savior. We look forward to the day when we will be with you again. Thanks for all the happy memories. I say that with a "smile."

 

 

 

In "My Extreme Computer Upgrade, Part 1", I upgraded the internal components of my computer. That time, I installed the following components:

This time, I did a thorough external makeover of my computer. I upgraded the monitor, the audio device, the speakers, and the PC case.

 

 

 

 

Here are the newly added components of my extreme computer.

Like those components in Part 1 of this upgrade, these are all high-end components. I will discuss the items one by one.

 

 

 

My old 17-inch flat-screen CRT monitor has served me well for more than 5 years. I might have upgraded it sooner but it was only now that a worthy replacement became available. I was waiting for an LCD monitor with a response time of less than 6 milliseconds. This would ensure that I would see no undesirable ghosting effects whenever I play fast-paced games and view movies. Also, the monitor had to have the standard aspect ratio of 4:3. If you want to know why the aspect ratio had to be 4:3, read my rant on The Problem With Aspect Ratios.

 

 

This is a 20-inch monitor with a response time of 5 milliseconds and a native resolution of 1600x1200. You can see from that resolution that the aspect ratio is indeed 4:3. In addition, this monitor can operate in both landscape mode and portrait mode.

 

This monitor was not available locally. So I imported it. I bought it online at Next International (USA). The cost was US$355.00 plus shipping and customs duties. The shipping actually cost almost as much as the monitor itself.

 

 

 

My old 6.1 speaker system was already defective. So it was really time to replace it. And while I was at it, I decided to buy a new audio card as well.

 

 

This is it: the best of the best. This is the top sound card for gaming, entertainment and audio editing, with an industry-leading and THX-certified 116-dB signal-to-noise ratio. In the photo, the sound card itself tends to be overshadowed by the much larger and eye-catching external I/O Console. The package includes a remote control.

 

I bought this at Rising Sun Computers for P23,200.00.

 

 

 

The best audio card needs to be paired with the best THX-certified 7.1 speaker system on the market. Just look at all the stuff that comes in the package. This thing even has its own remote control. Moreover, each of the seven 70-watt RMS satellite speakers has a tweeter in addition to the midrange speaker. And all those items packed into one box makes for a heavy box, I mean really heavy. Don't even try to lift it if you have a bad back.

 

Viewed from the front, the subwoofer doesn't look very interesting. But turning it over to see the rear and the bottom, the quality of this subwoofer becomes apparent.

Look at those large heatsink fins. These give you a hint of the power of this baby. The speaker actually points downward. At 210 watts RMS, this really rocks the floor!

 

I bought this by special order at Rising Sun Computers for P28,200.00.

 

 

 

I had been planning the replacement of my old PC case for some time now. I just couldn't find the right replacement until now. So out with the old and in with the new.

 

 

I had read reviews about this case on the Web and this case looked like a worthy replacement of my old modded case. It has the features I had been looking for. But when I searched the local computer shops for it, I couldn't find it. Fortunately, I decided to search again one week later and voila! The case was available at PC Options. So I immediately bought it for P7,450.00.

 

 

 

 

After installing everything, here is the result. Let's start with the top front view of the PC case:

That thing at the top with the blue backlit LCD is my old Silverstone Eudemon temperature monitor and fan controller.

 

Now, let's look at the side:

I had a spare cold cathode lamp that was the right size for this case. So I installed it to provide that light inside the case.

 

Here's a closer view:

 

Let's look at the bigger picture:

There's my new monitor. That lighted keyboard with the LCD is a Logitech G15 gaming keyboard. Below and to the right of the keyboard is a Logitech G7 cordless laser mouse. Its receiver and charging base is on the far right of the keyboard and on top of the X-Fi I/O Console. Also on top of the X-Fi I/O Console is the control pod of the speakers. On the left of the mouse are six remote controls. Yes, you heard me, six. One controls an air conditioner, another controls an electric fan, and the rest control different parts of the computer itself. Also, notice how I have neatly hid and wrapped all the wires. By the way, I placed the center speaker right behind that monitor.

 

Here is the same view but with the monitor in portrait mode:

Portrait mode is useful when editing or viewing long pages of text.

 

Now, here's an even broader view so you could see where I placed the other satellite speakers and the subwoofer:

I bought those speaker stands at ACE Hardware in SM Megamall. The other parts of my rig that I haven't mentioned yet are an Acer scanner, an Epson Stylus Photo printer, a Logitech WingMan Strike Force 3D force-feedback joystick, a Logitech RumblePad 2 force-feedback gamepad, some external eSATA and USB 2.0 hard disks, and a 1400-VA UPS.

 

And finally, here's the view of the entire computer system. This time, I changed the camera setting so you could see the effect of the ambient light:

If you're wondering what that big black box is at the lower right of the picture, that's just my Behringer V-Ampire digital modeling guitar amplifier. It's not really part of the computer system.

 

 

 

 

At this point, I don't really have any plans of upgrading anything else. But if I were to upgrade something, I would probably replace the scanner and printer with an all-in-one (printer-scanner-copier) device so I could regain some desk space. But I already have an all-in-one device on my desk at work. So I probably don't need another one at home.

 

Right now, I just want to focus on enjoying this extreme rig that I now have.

Aspect ratio. Most people don't even know what it is. I am talking about the ratio between the width and the height of the video screen of a TV or computer. Everything used to be so simple. When buying a TV or PC, there was only one aspect ratio to consider, namely 4:3. This is the aspect ratio of standard TV sets, computers and digital compact cameras. Common display resolutions with the standard 4:3 aspect ratio are 640x480, 800x600 and 1024x768. Virtually all CRT monitors have this 4:3 aspect ratio. But lately, other aspect ratios have appeared, which have resulted to some unwelcome complexity. Worse, the TV and the PC have gone their separate ways with regard to the aspect ratios they support.

 

One of the early culprits of this terrible aspect ratio quandary is the LCD monitor. Things were fine at first with the release of 15-inch LCD monitors that have a 4:3 aspect ratio. Then 17-inch LCD monitors appeared and that is where the problem started. Almost all 17-inch and 19-inch LCD monitors have a non-standard aspect ratio of 5:4, usually with a native display resolution of 1280x1024. Interestingly enough, 20-inch and bigger LCD monitors usually have the standard 4:3 aspect ratio. Now, what possessed the monitor manufacturers to use a non-standard aspect ratio for 17-inch and 19-inch LCD monitors when they already use the standard 4:3 aspect ratio for all other monitors?

 

The situation gets even more confusing in the case of widescreen displays. The HDTV (High Definition Television) widescreen aspect ratio is 16:9. In contrast, the widescreen LCD monitor aspect ratio is 16:10. Why can't they even agree on one common widescreen aspect ratio?

 

So how does this profusion of aspect ratios create a problem? Here's one example. All game software applications support the 4:3 aspect ratio. But not all of them support the other aspect ratios. Running a game on an unsupported aspect ratio would usually cause images to be stretched to fill the screen. This would distort the images on the screen. For example, "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" does not support widescreen aspect ratios. So when you run that game on a widescreen monitor, the game characters would all look fat on the screen.

 

This plethora of aspect ratios also causes problems with computer desktop wallpapers. In the past, wallpaper creators only need to create 4:3 wallpapers. Now, they also need to create versions for other aspect ratios. The computer user also cannot just use any wallpaper. To prevent the wallpaper from looking distorted, the user must exert some extra effort to ensure that the wallpaper's aspect ratio matches the monitor's aspect ratio.

 

I'm still trying to find some rational explanation as to why the computer industry chose to introduce these 5:4 and 16:10 aspect ratios. I think the industry should have just stuck with 4:3 for regular monitors and should have adopted 16:9 for widescreen monitors. Somebody made a mess and everybody is paying for it.

While browsing the nonags.com site, I saw a picture that really made my day. That is one thirsty dog!

 

 

I just upgraded my PC. It was already time. With the fast pace of the changing technology, I do a full PC upgrade around every three years. And being a real computer enthusiast, I don't go cheap on the upgrade. I put serious money on my PC component purchases.

 

My first goal in building a PC is features, meaning lots of them. I want a fully loaded PC. After features, I aim for raw performance. Price is not very important. Now don't go thinking I'm Mister Big Shot. I just know a lot about computers. Therefore, I know the best computer parts and would be willing to invest money to get them.

 

This whole PC upgrade started with the desire to upgrade just the video card. My old Radeon 9800 XT just couldn't handle the latest video-intensive games at the highest video settings anymore. So I decided to upgrade it. The problem was that the old card was an AGP card while the latest video cards are PCI Express cards. So I had to buy a motherboard with a PCI Express slot. But then the latest motherboards use DDR2 memory instead of the old DDR. So I had to upgrade the memory as well. I could not use my old socket 478 Intel Prescott processor on the new LGA 775 motherboard. So I had to buy an LGA 775 Intel processor. And because of the requirements of the video card and the motherboard, I needed to upgrade my power supply unit too. I also had to buy a new hard disk since the old one was already past its typical service life.

 

Did you understand all those technical words and acronyms I just blurted out? No? You're still here? Man, you're tenacious! Alright then, read on.

 

 

 

So what PC components did I buy? Here, take a look.

These are currently the most popular computer parts sought after by serious computer geeks who aim to build a high-end computer. Most of these parts were not available locally. So I had to import them. I'll describe these PC components one by one.

 

 

The Core 2 Duo is the best performing CPU to date. It is the CPU that caused Intel to regain its crown as the processor performance king after being clobbered by the AMD Athlon64 for a year. The E6600 is one of the high-end models of the Core 2 Duo. Many websites list the E6600 as the most popular model because of its excellent price-performance ratio.

 

I bought the CPU at PC Express, Gilmore, for P18,000.00.

 

 

The Asus P5W DH Deluxe is Asus' top-of-the-line motherboard. This baby uses the Intel 975X chipset, which is currently Intel's high-end chipset. This mobo's box is packed with a lot of items, as the following picture shows.

And this does not even show the manuals and CDs that are also included in the box. At the bottom of the picture, you'll see an IR receiver, remote control and a Wi-Fi antenna. You don't get these with just any mobo.

 

I could not find this mobo locally. So I imported it. I bought it online at Next International (USA). The cost was US$259.00 plus shipping and customs duties.

 

 

Each one of the two Corsair XMS Xpert RAM modules has a programmable LED display. This display lets you see the memory activity, frequency, voltage and temperature. You could even program it to display your own customized message. And the memory itself has nicely low 4-4-4-12 latencies.

I could not find this item locally. So I bought it at ZipZoomFly (USA) via e-2-door. The cost was US$423.00 plus shipping, handling and customs duties. This is no ordinary RAM. This may be the smallest item but it is also the most expensive component in this list. So you better bow down to it. No don't. I'm kidding. The point is that it's really expensive, OK? And that's why this is called an extreme upgrade.

 

 

The ATI All-In-Wonder series of video cards are the most feature-rich video cards in the world. And the All-In-Wonder X1900 is currently the top model in the series. Besides letting you play the most video-intesive games at the highest video settings, this card also lets you watch TV and listen to FM radio on the PC. The package comes with a radio remote control that can also act as a mouse.

ATI does not sell its products to the Philippines. So I bought the item at the ATI online store (Canada) via e-2-door. The cost was US$249.00 plus shipping, handling and customs duties.

 

The Enermax Liberty has the stable power that Enermax is famous for. It also has been designed with modders in mind. This PSU has a black color that looks nice when viewed through the window of a modded PC case, like the case that I have. The cables are all mesh wrapped. This saves a modder like me the effort of wrapping them myself. Moreover, the cabling is modular; you can attach and detach the cables to and from the PSU. This lets you avoid the mess of having unconnected cables hanging around the PC case.

I could not find this item locally. So I bought it at ZipZoomFly (USA) via e-2-door. The cost was US$149.99 plus shipping, handling and customs duties.

 

 

This Seagate hard disk uses the new perpendicular recording technology that allows it to pack more data in less physical space. The hard disk has a big 16-MB cache.

 

I bought this item at PC Options, Gilmore, for P5,600.

 

 

Samsung basically put every DVD and CD drive feature into this unit. Name it, this unit has it: LightScribe, Mount Rainer, double layer and many other features on one of the fastest DVD drives (18x) on the market today.

 

I bought this item at Octagon Computer Superstore, SM Megamall.

 

 

This is the release candidate of Windows Vista that Microsoft sent to me. The box contains both the 32-bit and the 64-bit version of Windows Vista on separate DVDs.

I got this item from Microsoft. Other than the P500 shipping cost, the item was free.

 

 

 

After several hours of work removing the old parts and installing the new, the upgrade was complete. I was satisfied with the fruits of my labor. I was overjoyed when everything worked perfectly the first time I booted the upgraded PC. Here are the pictures of the result, starting with the front view of the PC case:

I installed the Wi-Fi antenna, video connection boxes and IR receiver on top of the case. I attached the remote control holder to the front and mounted the remote control there, as the picture shows. I had installed the case lights and the temperature monitor a long time ago.

 

Here is the side view:

Notice the LED displays on the RAM modules. They are even prettier when you see them in action. Here is a closer view:

Now, let's look at the screen:

That is Windows Vista on the screen. Below the screen, you'll see my glowing Logitech G15 gaming keyboard with its own LCD.

 

 

 

Now that I have upgraded the main components of my PC, what's next? I already have a high-end keyboard (Logitech G15) and a high-end laser mouse (Logitech G7). The next item that I will probably buy is the Creative GigaWorks S750 7.1 speaker system to replace my old 6.1 speaker system. I might also buy a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro sound card to replace the on-board audio device of the motherboard.