The Personal Blog of David Gonzales

Day One

2009-03-18T13:36:00.002+08:00

OK, let’s begin.

[IMAGE]

Nokia E63

2009-03-12T01:37:00.003+08:00

I just realized that I want to stick to my roots. So next week (or maybe two days from now), I'm getting the Nokia E63. Explain that if you can.

Impossible stuff

2009-03-09T23:13:00.003+08:00

Impossible Love on Flickr

Do you ever dream about things you know you'll never have? Or see yourself as something you know you'll never be? I often do. And I can't say I'm happy about it.

Electronic Pulp and Samsung Central performance updates

2009-03-07T08:43:00.007+08:00

I think it's about time I posted an update about my two main web sites, Samsung Central and Electronic Pulp. In one, I've been actively posting daily until just recently, and on the other, well, I stopped posting a few weeks ago, but it's still alive.

Samsung Central

Samsung Central was announced last month after I decided to cover Samsung in my very own niche blog. The announcement was made on my expired domain, davidvgonzales.com, and you won't be able to read it there anymore so here it is in full:

Working on an all-encompassing gadget/CE industry blog is taxing. And also, I want to find a niche than I can cover, and cover alone, at least at first. So I’ve decided to launch a blog dedicated entirely to Samsung and its products. I’m calling it Samsung Central. It doesn’t have a very creative and ingenious name, but who cares? The topic the blog covers is obvious because of its straightforward, no frills, all honest name.

So, what exactly do I plan to do with this new web site of mine? Well, first off, I’ll be posting the latest news about Samsung products, especially its cellphones, smartphones, netbooks, and digital music players. Why Samsung? Let’s just say I have a distinct feeling that Samsung may one day take over Nokia as the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. And also, they make great products. They’re a star on the rise in my eyes. Those are the main reasons why.

Let’s see how far I can take this new blog in a month, and I’ll be posting an update then, with stats about visitors (if there are any), earnings (again, if there are any), and other stuff that relate to the overall performance of Samsung Central as a news site. Check back here a month later to see what’s cooking.

Of course, you can just subscribe to the latest updates directly from Samsung Central by going here.

That’s it for me here, back to blogging. :)

I still have five days before Samsung Central turns 1-month old, but heck, here's the update anyway.

The visitor stats suck, mainly because I stopped posting entirely after Mobile World Congress 2009. It's a shame, since most of my stories were picked up by Engadget and other big blogs on the very first week that I started posting. The blog has been pretty much dormant ever since then, but I still don't see any threatening competitors in sight to cover Samsung daily, so if I act now I still have a chance to make it big.

This is what the stats looked like before the numbers started going down. My biggest day was when I broke the news about the Samsung OmniaHD, the world's first 8-megapixel cameraphone that can capture 720p HD video. That's not something you see everyday, and so a lot of people apparently found themselves interested.

My AdSense earnings from Samsung Central became equal to that of Electronic Pulp and the site was indexed, referenced by Engadget, Gizmodo, Intomobile, Pocketnow, SlipperyBrick, WMPowerUser, and Slashgear all within the first week of posting. It even made it to the very top of Techmeme during the same time frame. To be honest, that's enough of an accomplishment for me... back then. Now, I have other plans for the site. More on that in the coming days.

Electronic Pulp

I'm a bit excited to tell you about how Electronic Pulp has been doing. Why? I started spending more time on it at around the same time I launched Samsung Central, but I wasn't really expecting anything to come out of it. I thought Electronic Pulp would just be a dead side project that will not bring in any revenue at all. At the time, one month ago, Electronic Pulp only had about 100 unique visitors a day. Back then, I was a full time writer for Unwired View, and didn't really have a lot of time to update it. Now I do, and the results are staggering. For me, at least.

From just over 100 visitors a day last month, I now get up to 5,200 unique visitors on Electronic Pulp. The site has been on the top spot of Techmeme multiple times, and has also been referenced by large sites like Engadget and Gizmodo quite frequently since I started giving more time to it.

As for my AdSense earnings from it, well, I'm starting to think it can actually be quite profitable. My earnings rage from $7-$10 a day now. Not bad for a site that used to have nearly no visitors and a lot of rehashed content for posts. I intend on boosting the AdSense earnings up to at least $15 a day until the end of March, because I feel it can be done, and then I can really go full time on my sites, and not need to depend on others and be a paid writer for other tech blogs. I'm really looking forward to that. And then I'd be able to grow my sites even more.

Perhaps, when my earnings are really worth boasting, I'll post another update detailing the changes that happened regarding my revenue streams. After a year of use, I can safely say that AdSense is the most reliable of all my revenue streams, and in fact it's the only one a I really depend on. If I had to choose one revenue stream I'd choose AdSense. It's one basket I wouldn't mind putting all my eggs on any time of day. As well, I've been earning quite a bit from Amazon.com affiliate sales. I now have nearly $200 to my name in my Amazon.com account, and I believe I can make it even higher with a bit more effort.

Well, that's about it for now. I'm feeling really perked up right now after sharing the performance of my web sites. I hope I'll be here with even better news after a month. Till then, I will be working.

????

2009-03-07T08:20:00.005+08:00

Some people write on their diaries to tell stories of their lives. Perhaps they want to look back at what happened yesterday in more detail five years from now. Me? I write in my diary to plan. Even though I know the outcome will always be something that's unexpected.

It's the weekend. And I'm an asshole because I'm writing now instead of yesterday or three days ago. I skipped work for a few days to get my mind straight... again. Basically, I'm stuck with a bunch of dilemmas that any other normal 20-year old wouldn't face. And I'm not exactly having fun with it, seeing as how I'm still here pondering what to do about it.

Last night, as I was gathering Daft Punk wallpapers, I started thinking, "It sure would be great to have a partner like these guys." Unfortunately, that's not the case.

So I'll just have to carry out my plans alone then. I'm not sure how to reveal these plans yet, except that I'm doing things to make them happen, slowly but surely.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

2009-03-07T07:40:00.002+08:00

Dear Diary...

2009-03-06T22:59:00.004+08:00

Ha! Thought you'd never see me here again, didn't you? Well, neither did I, but a few things came up, and now I'm here instead of elsewhere.

Let me just cut to the chase. My domain name, davidvgonzales.com, expired on March 3rd without me knowing it. I always thought my domain would expire on March 9th, but apparently, I was wrong. Right now, I'm still mulling whether or not to renew that 1-year old domain, and as you can probably see I still haven't made up my mind yet (or else you wouldn't be reading about this update and if you were, you'd be on davidvgonzales.com, not djvgonzales.blogspot.com.)

As for my other domains, they're A-OK. At least, I think they are. Though I managed to neglect other projects like Samsung Central and a few others, I've been doing pretty good on Electronic Pulp. I'm actually quite surprised at the stats of Electronic Pulp after a month of blogging. It went from virtually no readers to more than 4k unique visitors per day. My puny AdSense revenue is also very consistent now, and I am far away from the mere cents that I was earning "yesterday." I mean to improve it even more. For now, I'll take the chance to blog, blog, blog. Honestly, though, I still find it hard to see where this is all going.

Well, so much for a welcome back post. I'll be posting another entry after this with updates galore. So stand by.

Updates, updates, decisions!

2008-11-16T01:08:00.007+08:00

Woohoo! Free time = update time. You can thank me later, my 32 undying RSS subscribers. For now, let me have this stage that I call a personal blog, and tell you what's been going on with my life.

New house, new home

Today is November 16th, and it's a Sunday. Funny combination. Anyway, this will have to be a quick post for I still have plenty of things to do and I'm just taking a break. So what's been happening? I just moved in to Espana Tower last week, and boy did I quickly regret it! Actually, I don't really regret it, it's just that it's my very first time to live on my own. Well, I've been basically supporting myself since I was maybe 14 years old, but this time is the only time that I'm truly living with myself and no one else. Pretty exciting, and scary at night, I'll tell you that. Hopefully, I'll get to post pics of the view from my unit some time soon. It's not the greatest, but works for me.

Going to Mobile Asia Congress 2008

As for tomorrow, well, I'm headed to Macau for Mobile Asia Congress 2008. I'm hearing it'll be a cricket-fest, with absolutely none of the big players in the mobile industry appearing, but f- it, me and my Ed are going, if only for the Venetian. :) But seriously, I'm looking forward to it as a learning experience and as preparation for my future trip to Consumer Electronics Show 2009 in January and Mobile World Congress 2009 in February (fingers crossed!).

Eating words with a Casio digicam

And you know, I always said I'd never buy a digital camera, especially when I found out that 5-megapixel cameraphone picture quality was good, but several weeks ago I ate my words and had to settle for a Casio Exilim EX-V7 for my trip to China in the next few days.

Since I'm going to an expo, I figured a cam would be a necessity. And not wanting to get laughed at, I finally bought a digicam. The Casio Exilim EX-V7 is supposed to be the world's slimmest 7x optical zoom camera featuring an internal zoom, though I don't know if it still holds the title to this day. I liked it so much, I actually bought two. One is for my trip tomorrow and the other, a gift to my girl.

Blogging, about tech, phones, etc.

As with my thoughts regarding digicams, I also thought I'd never migrate Electronic Pulp from Blogger to Wordpress. Alas, that day is nigh, and I'm currently planning how to get it over with, including choosing a template, among other things. If all goes well, I might also create another web site, possibly for a business, though I'm still unsure what yet.

Now that I've moved in to a new place, I can also focus more on my work. Which brings me to my next topic: ruling the blogosphere! I wonder how far my stint in Unwired View will take me. My bet is as far as I'm willing to work for. But heaven only knows... and I'll have to see for myself. I've learned so much from all of what I've been doing, on my own, that I have even more conviction now when I say that, "I'm too cool for school." :)

Of course, I still try to learn whenever I can, though I can't say I've managed to keep my reading habits in good shape. The fact is, self-teaching is definitely doable, and I'm cool with doing it for the rest of my life. I have experience and a few friends to help me out whenever I run into any trouble. For everything else, there's the Internet.

Abrupt ending

I've a lot more to say, but this is way more than just a quick post now! I believe I've told you just about enough for today's update, and rest assured there will be more to come in the future. If you're going to Macau tomorrow night, do let me know so we can have a chat in the airport while we're both waiting for our flights.

Thanks for reading. I can't believe I'm writing about my life. :)

So, this is The Venetian Macau?

2008-11-15T23:00:00.004+08:00

Before I've even posted pics of the new place that I call home, here are a couple of the hotel in which I'm going to stay with my Editor ~~tomorrow~~ from Monday through Wednesday. No, of course I'm not the one paying for it, but if I could I definitely would. From the looks of it, I think it's worth the title of best 5-star hotel in China. Maybe in Asia, even.

More pics of The Venetian Macau are available here, and I have to say, they all look gorgeous! I hope Photoshop had nothing to do with all this magnificence. Now, if only I can manage to buy myself a rice cooker, hot iron, water dispenser, and print 100 business cards tomorrow, plus forget the fact that my girlfriend's stepmom was probably the one who stole my Sony PSP and 900 Pesos, maybe I could enjoy this place!

Oh, Apple Online Store Philippines, what took you so long?

2008-11-11T17:23:00.003+08:00

I actually thought I wouldn't blog until tonight (still trying to fix things here in my new "house" which I'm going to talk about in a future post), but the announcement of the Philippine Apple Online Store's opening has got me excited! Wet, if that's even possible!

I've waited for this day for several years along with many other enthusiastic folks, and I'm happy now. But I have to admit, its prices are rather steep! I'll see how far a student discount can take me, but I'm not holding my breath for this one even though the holidays are coming (and it should be a perfect gift source). Anyway, congratulations, Philippines.

Today's Apple Online Store opening is one small step for fanboys, and one giant leap for the local online shopping industry. Explain that if you can.

Learn more about the Apple Online Store Philippines

Speed of Smart 3G with Nokia N78 and JoikuSpot

2008-11-09T18:47:00.003+08:00

This was clocked in at exactly 6:47PM today in my unit on 27th floor of Espana Tower, Espana Blvd., Metro Manila. Pretty feisty! Makes me want to consider Smart Bro unlimited for an ISP... hmm.

If anyone asks, eye was dead

2008-11-09T06:59:00.001+08:00

Let's just say I had to run some long-ass errands. For now, you can read my Nokia N79 review and wait for new mobile news stories and geeky posts while I warm up. You are subscribed to Unwired View and Electronic Pulp, right?

Funny

2008-10-31T11:35:00.002+08:00

Widgetbucks ad in tagalog

XKCD: Secretary [Must-read comic]

2008-10-30T12:41:00.005+08:00

Something about us

2008-10-26T17:25:00.002+08:00

Well, somebody beat me to it.

So how was CEL Manila 2008?

2008-10-25T11:45:00.003+08:00

Well, I knew I was going to have fun at CEL Manila, what with all the gadgets that were going to be showcased there, but I didn't know I was going to "laugh my ass off" in a few instances as well. Here are a few scenarios.

Upon arrival, the guard was checking for my name in their guest list, but lo and behold, it wasn't there. I told her (it was a lady-guard) to search for David Gonzales, representing Electronic Pulp. She couldn't find it. I looked for it myself, and that's when I found out that the bright encoder unknowingly swapped my name with the person listed before me. I found a "Raquel Gonzales" listed representing Electronic Pulp, while a David Gomez represented that other person's company. I didn't have to do much to prove that there was a mistake after that. But wait, there's more!

There was a posh mini-cafe positioned right before the media lounge so I mistook it for the media lounge itself (the media lounge was surrounded by glass walls taller than a me that hid those who were already waiting). So I sat down on one of the chairs at the mini-cafe, and thought maybe I should order a hot chocolate to help me stay awake (I hadn't slept yet). I ordered a hot chocolate called "Tsokolate" but didn't finish it after about 10 or 15 sips because it tasted so bitter it might as well be full of unwashed, used basketball player socks (and that was after the sugar). I threw it away.

Inside the exhibition halls, while I was checking out the Nokia phones, I'd occassionally slip some info on unreleased models that would garner looks from the people ranging from "This guy must be crazy," to "Hmm, I think that's great, but you're crazy!"

Finally, while writing the blog posts I published yesterday on the unmanned Summit Publishing booth, people came to me asking for free copies of the magazines that were nicely stacked behind me. For some reason, they thought the magazines there were being given away (even though there was nobody in the booth except me, who wasn't even wearing a Summit Pub uniform) and one even took a "Men's Magazine" back issue from one of the display sala sets and asked me if I would let him take it home. Of course, I said no. I took it myself. Kidding!

I'm headed back there at 2PM this afternoon, not knowing what kind of new funny things lie ahead of me. Well, I'll find out soon enough.

A great way to spend the weekend

2008-10-24T05:35:00.004+08:00

In case you still haven't heard, the Philippines' first Consumer Electronics Live! event is happening today, at 10AM to be exact, at the SMX Convention Center beside SM Mall of Asia. I actually broke the news on the web about three months ago before anyone else did, but it didn't pick up. Anyway, a lot of people have learned about it since then, and I'm sure many will be attending today's opening ceremonies.

The entrance fee is only 50 Pesos for mere mortals like you and me, and I would pay for it myself if I didn't live a double life as a writer/tech blogger at odd hours of the day, which entitles me to a free 3-day media pass. There'll be gadgets, geeks, girls, announcements (speaking of which, the Nokia N96 will be announced there, though I'm not sure if the N85 and N79 will have anything to do with it), more gadgets, and gadget giveaways near the end of the day.

So if you've got the rest of the day from 10AM onwards to spare, feel free to come by and watch me take photos with my new digicam. It's the world's slimmest 7x internal optical zoom, you know. Just remember, the event will be happening from today towards Sunday, and the entrance fee is 50 Pesos. Also, if you've bought the latest issue of T3 (no matter what your reasons), you can bring that and consider your entrance fee waived. Well, I don't know about you but I'm pretty excited about this. If only I didn't pull an all-nighter doing absolutely nothing but contemplating on my sad, sad future.

[Consumer Electronics Live!] on [Electronic Pulp]

You are what you blog

2008-10-24T05:27:00.000+08:00

I think I'm gonna be sick. You know, S-I-C-K, sick. I don't know. I don't know what's been going on with me lately, which is pretty idiotic since it's myself we're talking about here, but really. I just can't put the way I feel into writing. Not anymore...

And now here I am trying to push my dull digital pen here in my lot in cyberspace. It's not like anyone is forcing me to (OK, my blog here is forcing me to), but I asked for it when I left the call center, when I left the normal route for the road less travelled. I gave up everything to be where I am now but what am I doing now? Being an ass and taking it for granted.

So in this scenario, where I should be writing, blogging for dollars, can you tell me what's wrong? All I want to do is write, and write, and write write write but what can I do when the power is out? When there are too many distractions? When I just can't write?

I feel so tired.

Today, I'm heading for my very first press event, which incidentally is also the Philippines' first major electronics expo. It's going to be a local version of the Consumer Electronics Show that happens yearly in Vegas (though it's going to be held someplace else this year, I forgot where) and it's going to be called Consumer Electronics Live. I first read about it about a couple of months back in the local T3 magazine and thought, "What took them so long?"

A lot of major tech companies will be showing off their warez today, like Sony, Nokia, Apple, Samsung, and many others. I merely sent a message to the coordinators of the event maybe two days ago and said I'm a writer for a local tech blog. Then, what do you know, I was given a press pass. Hell, yeah, I'm a writer. Yeah, right.

My blog performance has been dismal these past few weeks. And why? I could blame my family, my lack of friends, my addiction to playing drums and eating out, but what good will it do? It would only delay the inevitable--the day on which the blame would all accumulate and drop down right back onto me. And then I'd feel sorry. I'd feel sorry for the lost opportunities, for the lost momentum, for the unearned money. Money wasn't the only reason I tried my luck out in this business, but it becomes increasingly so. What I really wanted to do was to write, write, write, and pour my heart out on digital paper so that all my Internet-connected friends could bite into my stories. I wanted to share the little which I knew about the few things that interest me, like music, gaming, and recently, technology. Unlike many so-called bloggers out there, I geniunely have a passion for the things that I talk about. I'm always starstruck by the latest whiz-bang gadgetry I can find, and am eager to share the knowledge of its existence with the people I know. I know, it's easy to talk about tech because not too many readers would know enough about what you're talking about to know that you don't know what you're talking about. Make sense?

That's why there are a lot of tech bloggers right now--technical knowledge is so easy to fake, at least on paper. I could write down ten paragraphs telling you how I hacked Bob Ong's email account using quantum cryptography and kapton tape, all while not actually knowing anything about either stuff. And yet you'd still believe me. ~~You're that gullible~~ It's that easy!

But seriously, I feel like my blogging-mouth has been kapton-taped shut from the inside out. I've never been one to succumb to writer's block but the pressure's been too hard on me. I used to be able to work out of home in Internet cafes where there are maybe ten to fifteen people playing DotA, shouting simultaneously at each other, while I listen to my iPod and write my blog posts. I don't get distracted very easily, but when I do, I find it a bit hard to get back on track (apparently). It's just that I don't currently have a real place to stay, much less write and work, that I've had plenty of days with absolutely zero content now. How can I be number one if this keeps up?

I gave this post the title, "You are what you blog" because it's true. People blog about different things, some normal, some weird, but what they write down is a representation of themselves. Though it doesn't necessarily mean that if I write down "shit" on my blog, I automatically become "shit" myself, it does mean that the overall by-product of your efforts to "blog" is you. Call it a legacy, if you will. A legend. Your legend and mine.

What I'm trying to say is, though this blog post has been long and winding, that's just me while I'm trying to make a point. And that point is, "Hey, eventhough David's head is so messed up, at least there've been some truths to what he said." Maybe.

Anyway, yeah, back to writing. Because you are what you blog. And if you don't blog, then you're nothing.

You gotta clean your gun everyday...

2008-10-15T15:15:00.003+08:00

Got a PSP? Good. You know, civilians in the game Grand Theft Auto Vice City say the darnest things. For example, there's one there that's a Mexican (called a Cholo) that says "Mi familia's more important than your family, ese..." Or something like that. And then when the ambulance aids come rushing in to resurrect any person you just killed, they often say, "I don't think he's human." And don't even get me started about Vice City Public Radio with Maurice Chavez and his show, Pressing Issues.

But what I really like hearing the most from that game is the bald guy carrying an AK-47 who says, "You gotta clean your gun, everyday." He says it to his buddies while they're all standing on the corner of a street or while walking. The thing is, I don't have a gun myself, but somehow I feel like I can relate. And I don't think I'll ever know for sure what those bald guys with AK-47s are talking about but I think whoever says "You gotta clean your gun everyday" to the other guys in the group means "clean your gun or end up with a broken one." Why all this talk of guns on a Wednesday afternoon? Well, I've been feeling a bit off since last week, unable to write as good and as often as I used to. Stasys is right. I want to write, and I know I should write, but I simply could not bring myself to do it. Why? Maybe it's because I don't clean my gun everyday...

When I say gun, of course, I'm talking about my brain. Well, I've had a fairly good night's sleep last night (when I passed out on the floor in the living room of my girlfriend's house) so I hope today I can finally begin to use my gun again and start shooting competing bloggers down with my writing. Honestly, I'm not sure if what I just wrote here makes any sense right now, since I'm just waiting for my Google Reader items to download, but who knows? In an hour, hopefully, I'll be able to measure just how clean my gun really is today. And if not...

LHC successfully activated, Big bang imminent?

2008-09-11T08:50:00.004+08:00

Heh, I'm only fooling (got that from MAD TV last night). I just find it funny how Google is linking to "large hadron collider news" with this cute doodle. Wicked. BTW, it's been successfully activated. Right on for Armageddon.

I hate the damn rain

2008-09-10T12:07:00.002+08:00

Don't you? I had plenty of plans before the sun even rose this morning, but then the rain just had to come and ruin it all. I hate how no matter how neatly you pressed your suit before leaving for work, it's going to get wet in the storm like the other, crease-filled suits your officemates are wearing in the rain. Yeah, rainy season stinks.

Photos of Boys Like Girls from GAC, Makati, Manila

2008-09-10T09:47:00.006+08:00

I'd say I almost forgot to post these photos, but then I wonder, is that even possible? How can you almost forget something, and then instantly remember it at the last second? Ah, but you know what? I'm drifting. Fact is, I went to the Boys Like Girls concert in the Glorietta mall activity center last Saturday, and I had a great time. And I still don't know the names of the band members. I like their songs, though. The way boys, uh, like girls. Pun totally intended. Click on for more photos.

I was positioned way back in the venue, so the only way I could get a close up of the guys was by firing up the digital zoom on my Nokia N78. That turned out to be disastrous. But I still got some pretty nice pictures anyway. Check them out.

My photos are pretty messed up, huh? At least I managed to capture some, unlike the time I went to watch Panic! at the Disco at the big dome -- it was embarassing. BTW, thanks to Mark Angelo Uy for letting me know about this awesome concert. Looking forward to your next tip, bro!

When you're working outside, you realize...

2008-08-25T16:54:00.004+08:00

Seriously.

Running

2008-08-25T06:52:00.003+08:00

Today is the first day of my life as a fugitive - sort of. This case about the broken iPhone has been causing me a lot of stress lately, and what I can do to remedy this is to just run and try to forget about it. I already have so much going on in my head and I don't need any more distractions, much less a bad one.

Whether that annoying buyer is going to come to my house with the popo, I don't know for sure, but I have no intention of sitting around to find out. It's not that I don't want to face my responsibility, but this person is just hopeless. Knowing full well that I will never cave in to that buyer's wishes, waiting around for a chance to have a chat with said person will only be the death of me. We will not agree and our debate will go on endlessly, and I don't want that. I've got far too much work to do.

And speaking of work, I've been slacking off for far too long. I don't understand, and as Joker would've said it: why [am I not] serious? - about my job. I mean, of course I'm serious - serious as a heart attack, in fact. But I have executed far less than what I have actually planned. I've been in this for nearly half a year, and what have I got to show for it? Nothing...

Maybe the stress is just killing me. Maybe not. Maybe I'm already dead? The fact is, I need to get my act straight while I still can, before it's too late. I need to quit listening to the music and actually start spitting out my own songs. I need to stop reading and start writing. Hey, wait a minute.

Thank God, it was on HBO

2008-08-22T07:14:00.002+08:00

After finally seeing Evan Almighty, I'm feeling a little bit less crazy than I did earlier today. I'm still crazy, though, so wait for the updates. Come on, it's fun. Let's go crazy.