[TipJar] Before you flick me off… (Windows 7 edition)

This is a spin-off of the original article found here. For the rationale on the benefits and gotchas for hibernation then refer to the original post. This post is dedicated on how to enable hibernation in Windows 7 as the instruction has changed.

Enabling the hibernation feature requires that the process be done using an administrative account on the machine.

  • Open an administrative command window by pressing the Window key, typing cmd, highlighting the cmd entry under the Programs group, and pressing Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
  • Execute the command “powercfg -h on” to enable the hibernate feature.
  • powerconfig

  • Open the Power Options group in the Control Panel and click the “Change plan settings” of the current active plan.
  • current active plan

  • Click on the “Change advanced power settings” link in the resulting window.
  • power advance settings

  • Under the Sleep tree item, disable the hybrid sleep option. The hibernate option will not be available if this option is enabled.
  • hybrid sleep off

  • Click on the Apply button and dismiss all succeeding dialog windows. The hibernate option should now be present on the Shutdown submenu.
  • hibernate-win7

ciao!

Moving clocks

This post is in reference to the DST practice in most countries. This affects even those of us in the equatorial belt because we deal with them.

We don’t have DST but during college I adjust my wristwatch to advance by 45 minutes. It is for those who look at my watch (e.g. in public transport) without asking for permission. Then I try not to giggle when I see their expression change drastically when they doubt if they are still on time with their appointments.

This also works even if they have their own clocks because even if they assume that my clock is 30 minutes in advance then they are now already behind by 15 minutes. Sadly the effectiveness of this prank is lessened now that most people have cellphones and the possibility of the internal digital clock being wrong is very, very small. :)

Reality check please

This post has been making the rounds again in the social networking sites:

Girl: don’t drive so fast, im getting scared. Guy : can you hug me tight? Girl : sure, Guy :do you love me? Can you hug me and tell me you love me? Girl : I love you so much… Guy :I love you too.. can you take off my helmet? Cause its bothering me. I cant see the way so clearly. Put it on your head. After a few minutes, they crashed. The guy died and the girl survived. The guy already knew his brake was broken. That’s why he asked the girl to hug him for The last time and take off his helmet and risk his own life to save the girl.

Do you think it is nice? Try to replay that scene in your head. Notice anything wrong? You would be correct if you said “Dumb DRIVER! If he stopped feeding gas to the motorcycle it would have already slowed down to a stop during the time that conversation happened!!!”

Reality check please.

I don’t need this right now

The universe really wants to flaunt the universal truth in front of my face. Two clichés come to mind this afternoon:

  • Accidents happen anytime, anywhere.
  • Accidents are most likely to occur near at home.

At around 1:30PM today, a metal bar came flying at us from a roadside demolition job that didnt have any barricades or safety nets against debris. One second I saw the construction worker dismantling the bar at the second level and the next thing I know I was hitting the brakes as the bar is already in the road and in our way. This is what came at us:

And thankfully the brakes limited the damage to the headlight and the front fender. It could have been worse as a second too late and it would have crashed through our windshield.

Now I have to go to the construction site tomorrow and settle how the contractors will pay for fixing this. Even though my car looks dirty[1], all repairs and maintenance are handled by the car dealer casa. And no way I can afford to get the car unusable for a few days for the next 3 weeks as I need it for the everyday errands that seems to sprout up like mushrooms.

[1] the dust cover you see is is a result of 1 day travelling along kilometers of under-construction road from Binangonan to Manila and vice versa.

**UPDATE 8/31** The site is being contracted to D. R. Robles Construction. Their site foreman, a certain Dennis Bonifacio (09157069096), is a man whose word is worthless. After agreeing to talk on the morning of 10/31 he is a no-show and is already dodging my calls.
**UPDATE 9/5** The D.R. Robles Construction secretary told me that they are going to pay the damages but I need to fork up the money first and submit the receipt to them. Now I need to figure out the optimal weekend (and Monday) that we can afford losing access to the vehicle while it is being repaired.

Good for the Heart Sisig Recipe

Posting for Macy.

Caveat Lector:

  • I dubbed my cooking style as “Tantyamba” or “Tantyahang+Tsambahan” (Guesstimate+Luck-of-the-draw). I usually look at a recipe and then just follow the general procedures. You can do the same.
  • Be adventurous, you only live once. My cooking satisfies that criteria, depending on how you look at it.
  • Good for the Heart means its will make your heart take a break faster. Faster is good, no?

Required Cooking Equipment:
– Knife and chopping board
– Pressure cooker
– Grill (I use a stovetop grill as I’m too lazy to tend a real grill)
– Tongs, strainer (optional)

Ingredients:
– 1/2 kilo balingit (pig’s ears), can be swapped with fatty pork cuts with skin
– 1/4 kilo lean pork, which replaces the pork face mask.
– 4 cloves of garlic, or garlic powder
– onions (about 3/4 coffee cup when chopped)
– salt and pepper
– mayonnaise (2/3 cup)
– 3-5 pieces of calamansi (or lemon/lime)
– liquid seasoning (2 cap full)
– 1 finely chopped hot chili (siling labuyo), optional

Meat Preparation:
– Clean the pork balingit and mask.
– Put all the meat products in the pressure cooker, together with the crushed garlic/garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cover with water, enough to cover the meat. If you are using both balingit/mask and normal pork cuts, don’t put the normal pork cuts yet.
– Put the pressure cooker on high-heat until it whistles. Once it starts whistling, put in low heat (enough to maintain the blasts of pressure every 5-10seconds) and maintain it for about 20-30minutes.
– If using normal pork cuts, add it on at the 15-20 minute mark and then bring the pressure up again. Resume the countdown when the cooker whistles again.
– Once the meat is soft enough (a bit gelatinous), strain them and let them cool enough to be handled without screaming.
– Once the meat is strained and cool enough, grill the meat until the skin pops and becomes crunchy (instant chicharon!). I like giving the whole meat pieces enough face time on the grill to dry them off.
– Once done, chop the meat into small pieces. Some people find it therapeutic to use cleavers but dont get carried away. The aim is to reduce them to small pieces and not to turn them to liquid.
– Mix 1/4 cup of the chopped onions to the chopped meat and set aside.

Sauce:
– Put the remaining chopped onions, mayonnaise, liquid seasoning, calamansi juice, and chili in a small saucepan. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper.
– Put the pan in low to medium heat and simmer until the onions are soft/wilted.

Serving:
– Coat the chopped meat with the sauce.
– Serve while it is hot. If it has already cooled down a bit, that is what microwave ovens are for. ;)
– Goes well as viand to freshly cooked rice, or as pulutan with alcoholic drinks. Greasy foods always goes well with alcoholic drinks!

ciao!