racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

I was interviewed for a blogging-related issue. Watch it tonight, March 12, 2009 at 10:15 PM. QTV is channel 11 in Manila.

I’ll try to post an online version of the interview when I get my hands on a copy.

Update: I was told the interview would be airing next week. Instead, I’ll be uploading a copy of the QTUBE interview with Peter Juan, who was featured for his online-based work. I used to work with Peter back at dotPH and numerous other ventures (in which, unfortunately, we didn’t earn our millions, but we got much experience from).

I was interviewed by Miriam Quiambao on problogging. The interview will air at The Beat tonoight, 25 August at about 10:00 p.m. There will be a replay this Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

If you pay for something, should you still see advertisements?

This is one question that has been looming on my mind since the first time I ranted out about advertisements on Sky Cable a couple of years back.

When you pay for a premium Flickr account, do you get ads? No? When I bought myself a Flickr Pro account, the promise was for ads to disappear unless it was absolutely necessary to display advertisements. And Yahoo!/Flickr made good on their promise.

What about SkyCable? No.

Take Nickelodeon, AXN, Cartoon network, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel. All of these channels that feature ads for their own shows during breaks now also feature ads for Sky, Home Cable, and affiliated companies like Sky Internet.

I mean I pay PhP 800 plus (~$16 +) per month for a Sky Cable Gold subscription, and I expect nothing but quality ad-free programming. But what do I get? Advertisements.

For the first Wikipedia entry I created from scratch: the profile of Erin J. Dean.

Actually I’ve been editing Wikipedia entries here and there (usually for the English stuff), but this is the first time I made one from scratch. I realized not all artists and art works (including TV shows, films, etc.) have their entries on Wikipedia. It sort of becomes a gauge of how well known one is, perhaps. The more popular artists have lengthier and more frequently-updated profiles.

As for Erin J. Dean, she is said to have retired from acting (at an early age) and pursued other interests, so it’s likely that not many remember her roles. You do know I’m a fan of children’s shows, and The Journey of Allen Strange is one of those series that I used to watch on Nickelodeon when I was younger (I think I was in college back then), right along with the Secret World of Alex Mack and other such shows (I think Spongebob Squarepants was just starting to gain popularit that time). Of course, these days, I’m more of a Disney fan (ask my kids!).

Feel free to edit.

Those of you who’ve been following my blog for some time now probably know I’m a _Smallville_ fan. I know, it probably sounds corny, but I do dig superhero stuff. And I do appreciate the producers of _Smallville_ have formatted the show such that it grows with its audience (when it first came out, the themes were about adolescent life; now it’s more mature).

Now however, I think I may have grown to be addicted with another television series: Prison Break!

The story basically revolves around how the protagonist gets himself imprisoned in order to break out his brother in death row for a crime he believes the brother is innocent of. And oh, how I love the twists. It’s not your run of the mill escape story. There are bigger things involved. This is a show that geeks would love.

Here’s why I dig _Prison Break_. (Warning: spoiler alerts!)

* The protagonist, Michael Scofield is a very intelligent and well-educated individual. He uses his expertise in structural engineering, keen observation and analytical skills to carry out his plan. He researches well into every detail of his plan, from the prison blueprints, to escape routes, and individuals’ personalities, and is usually able to things off–sometimes due to sheer luck! How’s that for geek supremacy.
* The “bigger things” involved would be the big conspiracy. The first few episodes of the show only imply a frame-up, but boy are the characters in for a surprise when the conspiracy is unraveled to have actually come from the top: the office of the US President itself! And the twists are never-ending. You never know whom to trust.
* It’s a story of *social engineering*! The execution of the prison break (and the succeeding activities like the escape and the retrieval of stashed goods) involved a lot of social engineering.
* It’s also a story of code-breaking. Some messages are sent via code. Actually, a lot. Even the way that the protagonist planned the break-out and escape (tattooed on his entire torso and arms) was in code. In fact, at one point, the characters supposedly used an online forum ( europeangoldfinch.net ) to exchange messages by code.
* There’s no black and white. This isn’t a story about good versus evil. The moral lines are often crossed–it’s difficult to determine what’s good and what’s bad. The main theme, though, is whether the _end_ can justify the _means_.
* Lots of gore (though not too much). Name it: head shots, torture, extremities being cut off. _Prison Break_ has it!
* Prison Break has a collection of interesting characters, including individuals seemingly pre-disposed to crime (like T-Bag), government agents who will kill in cold blood without question just to protect secrets (like Agent Kellerman), and clueless individuals who eventually realize what’s really happening and decide to get ahead with the game. Oh, and there are also those characters you would love to hate (like Agent Kim).
* It’s a story about having to do some nasty things because you don’t have a choice (as with Agent Mahone), or the alternative would hurt those close to you.
* It’s a story about family and families. And it’s not your usual ideal family set-up. Sometimes it’s complicated. Just like in the real world.
* The lighter side–can’t live without it.

Can’t wait to download!

I got hooked since I started watching some episodes of the current season (Season 2) at my in-laws’ place. Now I usually just download episodes off BitTorrent. I know, that’s not actually legal, but the local television airings here are really late (still in the first season, I believe). I’ve actually finished watching the entire second season up to the latest episode so far (season 2, episode 14: John Doe), but I’m still backtracking through the first season.

If you’re interested about episode recaps, Wikipedia has them here. If you’d like to know how (and where) to download episodes, do give me a buzz and I’ll be glad to help out. I’ll probably also be writing episode reviews and recaps here once in a while.