Goodbye Casio LK-50, Hello Casio CTK-660L

My LK-50 keyboard started failing a year ago. Initially, the problem was the last 5 keys of the keyboard won't respond anymore. Last week, the problem got worse; the right half keys of the keyboard won't work.

I began searching for a replacement keyboard. Buying brand new is too expensive so this will be my first purchase of a second hand item. I browsed Sulit and AyosDito for the replacement.

The specifications I'm looking for were:
* has touch response (or velocity sensitivity)
* has MIDI port
* has assignable jack for pedal and audio out
* at least 61 keys
* don't exceed 5000 pesos

I found two keyboards at Sulit: a Yamaha PSR-172 and a PSR-220. I got excited because it will be my first time to own a Yamaha. The PSR-172 costs 500 peso more than the PSR-220 but the former looked cleaner and newer. After extensive research, I found out that the PSR-172 has no touch response so I went for the PSR-220. I contacted the seller but he told me that he had already sold the keyboard YESTERDAY. Oh well, back to the search.

I looked this time on AyosDito. I found a Casio keyboard that only costs 4000 pesos. I searched for the features of that model but I was surprised when even the Casio website has no page for this model. The product description said that the keyboard was an import from Japan. It has touch response and more pictures showed that it has MIDI port and assignable jack.

Meeting up with the seller (a middle-aged lady), she told me the product is in good condition and only slightly used (by a kid). She reminded me that this adaptor must be plugged on a 110V source so I need a transformer. The writings on the instrument is in Japanese but the screen is in English.

I brought the product home to test it and it sounded EXACTLY like my old LK-50 except this model has reverb feature so it sounded a tad better. The buttons and interface were extremely similar so I got familiarized with the controls quickly.

Overall, the CTK-660L is a direct upgrade over LK-50: it has the features of my old keyboard plus a few more. The only drawback maybe the Japanese writings all over it but it is quickly outweighed when I heard the DORAEMON theme playing from the sound bank. I was satisfied.

EDIT:
I noticed that the CTK-660L's stereo speakers were not as good as LK-50 and the keys of the CTK-660L feels 'shallow'  than LK-50's.

Trolling with Microsoft Sam on TF2

I found a 3.5mm cable lying around so I decided to experiment. I plugged one end in the earphone jack of my Windows XP laptop and the other end in mic jack the Windows 7 desktop. As expected, the sound played on my laptop were received as mic input. Then I got this bright idea of using XP Text-to-speech Sam to use as voice communication in TF2.

"Hello everyone on skial server. My name is Microsoft Sam"

People burst out LOLs and giggles.

MotleyHar: Hey Microsoft Sam, say my name.

"Mot-li-har"

MotleyHar: I love you.

Playing while typing was a challenge. So I played mostly Engineer so I can at least contribute while mic spamming.

"Spy around the base"
"Incoming Heavy Medic"

Since I'm typing on the other computer, I'm often caught with my pants down.

"Oh shit"
"Fuck you"

My laptop is running low on batteries so I think it's time to say goodbye.

"I'm leaving now guys. My batteries are running low."

Everyone bid farewell to Microsoft Sam.

"Don't forget to buy Microsoft Windows 8 on october 2012"

And everyone laughed their bottoms off.

 ----
THERAPIST: he sounds like that guy in the wheelchair, who was it again?
Microsoft Sam: you mean Stephen King
[some guy in the text chat]: It's Stephen Hawking.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL

Shinryaku! Ika Musume Anime Review

My sister once told me about an anime about a girl that has tentacles, can spit ink, and light up like a squid. I thought how out-of-this-world animes these days had become.


For some crazy reason, I decided to watch the first episode of Ika Musume and since then, I got hooked into it.


The graphics are average but the character design is cute especially for the titular character. There are times when the animation is not smooth but it does not detract me so much.


"Shinryaku~! Shinryaku~! Shinryaku~! Shinryaku~!..." The soundtrack is addicting. The OPs are lively electronic music which are common for a young audiences' show. Somehow, I find the first season's OP better than the second season's but that's just my opinion.



Contrast to the OP, the ED of this anime is calm and acoustic. All EDs of this Anime including the OVA are my favorites.


The show's episodic structure is different. Each episode is divided into three short stories. I heard each chapter of the manga has only 8 pages. This three-story-in-one kinda reminds me of Doraemon.



The plot is okay, considering it's for younger demographics. It's not as deep as Rozen Maiden or as complex as Death Note but it sure gave me a good laugh. It is mostly comedy but once in a while, some drama will occur.

Ilang trivia sa Filipino Modern Culture

na natutunan ko sa Araling Panlipunan 12 (at pati na rin Music Literature 13) ng UP Diliman:

Bakit nga ba walang relo ang mga mall? Bakit (madalas sa mga lumang mall) walang bintana?
Para daw hindi mo mapansin na lumipas ang oras. Para hindi mo maisip na "Uy, hapon na pala. Uuwi na ako."

Bakit magkaharap ang upuan ng jeep at LRT?
Dahil ang mga Pilipino ay communal at mahilig makipag-usap, natural lang na magkaharap ang mga magkaupo para madali silang makipag-usap.

Eh bakit tulog yung mga nakaupo sa LRT o yung ilang tao sa jeep?
Kapag tulog ka sa jeep, hindi mo na obligasyon na mag-abot ng pamasahe ng iba. Kapag tulog ka sa LRT, meron kang excuse para hindi magpa-upo ng ibang tao. At saka, dahil ang nakikita mo lang kapag nakaupo ka sa LRT ay ang mga puwit at pang-ibaba ng mga taong nakatayo, mas mabuting matulog ka na lang.

"Filipino is not the language of the learned." Totoo ba iyan?
Tignan mo ang science o math subject mo. Filipino ba ang wikang panturo? Tignan mo yung mga professionals. Filipino pa rin ba ang ginagamit nila sa trabaho?

Mali ba ang "Filipino Time"? Ano ang sinasabi nito para sa ating mga Filipino?
Una, walang tama o mali pagdating sa kultura. Kung sa palagay mo mali ang tradition ng mga Eskimo, para sa kanila normal lang iyon.
Ang Filipino Time ay galing pa sa mga ninuno natin. Dahil wala pang orasan, sa kapaligiran sila tumitingin upang malaman ang oras. Gigising na kapag sumikat ang araw, tanghalian at siesta kapag tirik ang araw, at tulog na kapag gabi.
Isa rin sa ugat ng Filipino Time ang pagiging mapagmalasakit sa kapwa. Tignan ang halimbawang scenario:

[magsisimula ang meeting ng 10 AM. 10:07 AM na ngunit wala pa rin si Juan]
Pedro: Saan na si Juan? Sisimulan na ba natin ang pulong?
Sebastian: Teka, hintayin muna natin si Juan. Malapit na yun.

Goodbye Casio LK-50, Hello Casio CTK-660L

To contact us Click HERE
My LK-50 keyboard started failing a year ago. Initially, the problem was the last 5 keys of the keyboard won't respond anymore. Last week, the problem got worse; the right half keys of the keyboard won't work.

I began searching for a replacement keyboard. Buying brand new is too expensive so this will be my first purchase of a second hand item. I browsed Sulit and AyosDito for the replacement.

The specifications I'm looking for were:
* has touch response (or velocity sensitivity)
* has MIDI port
* has assignable jack for pedal and audio out
* at least 61 keys
* don't exceed 5000 pesos

I found two keyboards at Sulit: a Yamaha PSR-172 and a PSR-220. I got excited because it will be my first time to own a Yamaha. The PSR-172 costs 500 peso more than the PSR-220 but the former looked cleaner and newer. After extensive research, I found out that the PSR-172 has no touch response so I went for the PSR-220. I contacted the seller but he told me that he had already sold the keyboard YESTERDAY. Oh well, back to the search.

I looked this time on AyosDito. I found a Casio keyboard that only costs 4000 pesos. I searched for the features of that model but I was surprised when even the Casio website has no page for this model. The product description said that the keyboard was an import from Japan. It has touch response and more pictures showed that it has MIDI port and assignable jack.

Meeting up with the seller (a middle-aged lady), she told me the product is in good condition and only slightly used (by a kid). She reminded me that this adaptor must be plugged on a 110V source so I need a transformer. The writings on the instrument is in Japanese but the screen is in English.

I brought the product home to test it and it sounded EXACTLY like my old LK-50 except this model has reverb feature so it sounded a tad better. The buttons and interface were extremely similar so I got familiarized with the controls quickly.

Overall, the CTK-660L is a direct upgrade over LK-50: it has the features of my old keyboard plus a few more. The only drawback maybe the Japanese writings all over it but it is quickly outweighed when I heard the DORAEMON theme playing from the sound bank. I was satisfied.

EDIT:
I noticed that the CTK-660L's stereo speakers were not as good as LK-50 and the keys of the CTK-660L feels 'shallow'  than LK-50's.

Trolling with Microsoft Sam on TF2

To contact us Click HERE
I found a 3.5mm cable lying around so I decided to experiment. I plugged one end in the earphone jack of my Windows XP laptop and the other end in mic jack the Windows 7 desktop. As expected, the sound played on my laptop were received as mic input. Then I got this bright idea of using XP Text-to-speech Sam to use as voice communication in TF2.

"Hello everyone on skial server. My name is Microsoft Sam"

People burst out LOLs and giggles.

MotleyHar: Hey Microsoft Sam, say my name.

"Mot-li-har"

MotleyHar: I love you.

Playing while typing was a challenge. So I played mostly Engineer so I can at least contribute while mic spamming.

"Spy around the base"
"Incoming Heavy Medic"

Since I'm typing on the other computer, I'm often caught with my pants down.

"Oh shit"
"Fuck you"

My laptop is running low on batteries so I think it's time to say goodbye.

"I'm leaving now guys. My batteries are running low."

Everyone bid farewell to Microsoft Sam.

"Don't forget to buy Microsoft Windows 8 on october 2012"

And everyone laughed their bottoms off.

 ----
THERAPIST: he sounds like that guy in the wheelchair, who was it again?
Microsoft Sam: you mean Stephen King
[some guy in the text chat]: It's Stephen Hawking.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL

Shinryaku! Ika Musume Anime Review

To contact us Click HERE

My sister once told me about an anime about a girl that has tentacles, can spit ink, and light up like a squid. I thought how out-of-this-world animes these days had become.


For some crazy reason, I decided to watch the first episode of Ika Musume and since then, I got hooked into it.


The graphics are average but the character design is cute especially for the titular character. There are times when the animation is not smooth but it does not detract me so much.


"Shinryaku~! Shinryaku~! Shinryaku~! Shinryaku~!..." The soundtrack is addicting. The OPs are lively electronic music which are common for a young audiences' show. Somehow, I find the first season's OP better than the second season's but that's just my opinion.



Contrast to the OP, the ED of this anime is calm and acoustic. All EDs of this Anime including the OVA are my favorites.


The show's episodic structure is different. Each episode is divided into three short stories. I heard each chapter of the manga has only 8 pages. This three-story-in-one kinda reminds me of Doraemon.



The plot is okay, considering it's for younger demographics. It's not as deep as Rozen Maiden or as complex as Death Note but it sure gave me a good laugh. It is mostly comedy but once in a while, some drama will occur.