Realme C2 Product Review

Purchased a Realme C2 Android Phone today for 4,990 pesos. It only comes with a charger and charging cable, unlike other smart phones I've bought before which include earphones and a protective case. I even had to shell out an extra 250 pesos for a protective case. Specs are as follows:

• Model RMX1941
• ColorOS Version V6.0
• Android Version 9
• Processor Octa Core
• RAM 2.0 GB
• Device Storage 16.0 GB
• Front Camera 5 Megapixels
• Rear Camera 13 Megapixels

According to the seller, the Realme brand is a sub-brand of OPPO. The device has a 1-year warranty so if I need to have it fixed, I just have to bring it to an OPPO service center.

I am excited to explore how this device will perform compared to my last phone, an SKK Hyper X Core. Too bad, the SKK brand is no longer available. Hope the Realme brand lasts longer since it is connected with OPPO.

The only concern that the sales person told me about was that this product likes to do automatic updates frequently. And true enough, as soon as I connected with our home wifi network, it already wanted to download the latest Android OS update. I appreciate that apps like Chrome and a File Manager are already installed. Had to add Grab, Viber, etc. and these installed seamlessly, too.

The screen is a bit longer than my last phone. Specs wise, I think that the only difference is that this phone has an Octa Core processor and Android 9 for the OS.

I'm still trying to get used to the (X) button for closing apps. I'm not really sure if it closes all the apps that are open, or closes all but the one on the screen when you press it. But other than this small annoyance, I think that the phone is performing well.

Will try to update this article if I find more things I like or dislike about the phone.

Itchyworms Buwan Guitar Chords

This is my attempt at guitar chords for the song Buwan by the Itchyworms. Hope you like it!

Intro
(Bass) F-Am-C-F

Stanza Pattern
BbM7
Tatlong huwebes na ang dumaan,
               EbM7             BbM7 - F
‘Di pa rin nasasakyan na wala ka na

BbM7                                     EbM7              BbM7
Iniwanan na ng panahon, ‘di pa rin makaahon, swimming sa luha

Refrain Pattern
Gm                  C
Ginagawa kahit ano, matapos lang ang gabing ito
Eb     F
Bakit ang bagal ng relo?

Chorus Pattern
EbM7           Ebm7
Naninikip ang tiyan nakatingin sa buwan
BbM7           Gm
Malayo ka't wala nang magawa
EbM7                  Ebm7
Hanap ang ‘yong kamay, wala ‘kong kaakbay
BbM7           Gm
Nasan ka na kaya?
F#                   BbM7        Gm     F#    F     BbM7     
Parang kahapon lang tayo ay magkayakap sa ilalim ng buwan
Gm
Haaah Ha
BbM7        F-Am-C-F
Ilalim ng buwan

Use Stanza Pattern
BbM7
Ilang beses kung aking tignan
              EbM7          BbM7 - F
maganda mong larawan bago humiga
BbM7                                 EbM7            BbM7   
Umaasa sa panaginip, kahit na isang idlip, na makita ka

Use Refrain Pattern
Gm                     C
Hindi pa rin mapakali, di maamoy ang yong pisngi,
Eb                  F
Kahit na konting sandali

Use Chorus Pattern
EbM7            Ebm7   
Naninikip ang tiyan nakatingin sa buwan
BbM7           Gm 
Malayo ka't wala nang magawa
EbM7                  Ebm7
Hanap ang ‘yong kamay, wala ‘kong kaakbay
BbM7           Gm
Nasan ka na kaya?
F#                 BbM7        Gm    F#     F        BbM7     
Parang kahapon lang tayo ay magkayakap sa ilalim ng buwan
Gm
Haaah Ha
BbM7       Gm 
Ilalim ng buwan

Pre-Instrumental
F#                BbM7
Ilalim ng buwa —– an

Instrumental
EbM7 BbM7 Gm
EbM7 BbM7

Bridge Pattern
Gm        C    Gm        C
‘Pag nag iisa iniisip kita
Fm        Bb    Fm        Bb
Babalik ka ba, nasa'n ka kaya?
Gm           C   Gm        C
‘Wag magluluha, ‘wag mag-alala
Fm             Bb    Fm          Bb
Nandito lang ako naghihintay sa ‘yo
               EbM7
sa ilalim ng buwan
           Ebm7 - Fm7 - BbM7
Ilalim ng buwan

Pause

Use Chorus Pattern
EbM7           Ebm7     
Naninikip ang tiyan nakatingin sa buwan
BbM7          Gm
Malayo ka't wala nang magawa
EbM7                   Ebm7
Hanap ang ‘yong kamay, wala ‘kong kaakbay
BbM7          Gm
Nasan ka na kaya?
F#                 BbM7        Gm    F#     F        BbM7     
Parang kahapon lang tayo ay magkayakap sa ilalim ng buwan
Gm
Haaah Ha
BbM7       Gm
Ilalim ng buwan
F#         BbM7       F#        BbM7
Ilalim ng buwan (2x) Ilalim ng buwan (2x)

Itchyworms - Love Team Chords

Here's my attempt at guitar chords for Love Team by Itchyworms. Hope you like it.

Intro
DM7 D (With G Base) DM7 D (With D Base) Alternating
A

Stanza
DM7              Bbdim
'Di, 'di naman talaga
            Bm
Tayo mag-sinta
E7           E         Gm7 - C
Pero gusto nila, kahit ayaw mo
DM7
Bagay raw tayo
          Bbdim           Bm
'Di naman totoo mga yakap mo
E7                 E
Pang-eksena lamang ito
Gm7         C
Di mo lang alam

Refrain
        D               E
Na nababaliw na 'ko sa iyo
        D       E
Di ko na yata kaya 'to
        D             E
Ang aking lihim na pakay
        D                      A
Ay ang lahat na ito'y gawing tunay

Chorus
G
Sana wag mo kong sisihin
Gm7
Kung 'di ko kayang pigilin
DM7
Sabi mo na mahal mo ko
B7sus - B7
Ngunit 'di naman seryoso

Em
Sana'y magkasingkulay
Gm7                         DM7
Ang drama at tunay na buhay ko
B7                 E7
Ang tanging pag-asa ko
Asus               A
Ay nasa tambalang ito

Repeat Intro
G D A

Use Stanza Pattern
DM7            Bbdim         Bm
Si-sinungaling ka, kapag may tao
E7                E
Ay nilalambing mo ako
Gm7         C          DM7
Pero pag wala ay sumasama
            Bbdim           Bm
Turing mo sakin ay parang hangin
E7         E
Bitin na bitin
Gm7        C
'Di nila alam

Use Refrain Pattern
D                E
Na sa dulo ng tagpo
D                      E 
'Di na patok mga linya ko
D                   E
Nag-iiba ang iyong asta
D                       A
Hanggang sa susunod na eksena

Use Chorus Pattern
G
Sana wag mo kong sisihin
Gm7
Kung 'di ko kayang pigilin
DM7
Sabi mo na mahal mo ko
B7sus              B7
Ngunit 'di naman seryoso
Em
Sana'y magkasingkulay
Gm7                        DM7
Ang drama at tunay na buhay ko
B7                  E
Ang tanging pag-asa ko
Asus               A 
Ay nasa tambalang ito

Interlude
Bm G Bm E7 A
(Sana magkatotoo)
(Woah, woah)

Use Chorus Pattern
Sana wag mo kong sisihin
Kung 'di ko kayang pigilin
Sabi mo na mahal mo ko
Ngunit 'di naman seryoso
Sana'y magkasingkulay
Ang drama at tunay na buhay ko
Ang tanging pag-asa ko
Ay nasa tambalang ito

San Miguel Beermen Win Their 5th Straight Philippine Cup Championship

As an SMB fan, it was difficult to watch Game 7. What started out as a 7 point lead by the Beermen turned into a double-digit deficit by half-time. And while San Miguel has been able to come back from double-digit leads in the past, somehow, during this game, I don't think their fans were as confident they could pull a win off.

But the reason I admire this team is that they never gave up. Just like their 0-3 comeback, they never gave up in this game. Even when Marcio Lassiter lost the ball during an inbound where the Beermen could have won already, his teammates did not give up on him. I could just imagine Jun Mar encouraging Marcio and Chris Ross to move past the blunder and focus on the defensive stop ahead. And the Beermen won on a defensive stop. Jun Mar Fajardo was incredible on the rebounds, coming up with 31, breaking the PBA record for most rebounds by a player in a single game.

I hope Terrence Romeo does not retire after winning his first PBA championship. He has a place with the Beermen, and they wouldn't have been able to stay in this series if not for Romeo's heroics in some of the games.

I also hope the Beermen can finally win the Grandslam this year. SMB, congratulations.

PC as Media Server for PS4

I just discovered this yesterday! If you have Windows 10 on your PC, you can use your PC as a media server for your PS4. You can then watch videos on your PC from your TV connected to your PS4 as long as your wireless router recognizes both devices.

The key words you type in on Windows search bar are "media streaming options" which should bring you to an area in control panel where you can identify the device you want to share your videos with. In my case, the PS4 was showing up as an unknown device, but if you know your PS4's MAC address, then you can easily confirm if it is the right device. Just put a check mark on "Allowed". You will then be prompted on the types of media you would like to share such as pictures, music, and videos. Then, a password will be set up (but I didn't need to use this on my PS4).

From the PS4's side, all you need is to download a media player app. Once it is finished, you should be able to see your PC as a source of video files. By default, you should place or copy the videos you want to share on your PC in This PC > Videos folder. Otherwise, you might have a hard time locating videos to watch on the PS4. I hope this helps you out!

Addendum:
There were other guides which required installing Java and an additional app on the PC. To me, those additional steps are unnecessary and might even be a threat to your network's security.

ABS-CBN's TV Plus

We purchased a TV Plus box for 1,499 yesterday and so far, it has been great. I have been able to get a lot more clear channels than our TV antenna. I wish I had known about it sooner since we have been subscribing to Sky Cable's channels for more than two years now. At an additional 600 pesos per month, I've effectively paid 14,400 for two years of cable TV. But Sky's 40+ channel line up is crappy and a lot of the channels are merely duplicates of one another, one normal channel and one high-definition (HD) version. With TV Plus, I'm effectively spending 1/10th of the two-year subscription cost. My Sky Cable TV remote broke after about a year, so if the TV plus breaks down, and I have to replace if after two years, I'm still way below the cost of a cable subscription.

With TV Plus, there are no duplicate channels. I have about 30+ channels that I can access, but all I really want to watch are clear-reception local channels. So, TV Plus is what I would consider the most effective "TV antenna" among all the antenna's I've tried to hook up to a digital TV.

The only downside I've seen so far is that there are times when I would lose access to a channel, (it would appear as a black screen but you can still hear the audio) or the channel would stutter (temporarily freeze), but other than that, the reception is really clear.

As far as installation is concerned, the only problem I had was not getting any signal since the AV jack was not properly plugged into the TV Plus box. The TV kept on saying "No Signal" despite being on Video mode and despite the box having power. I made sure that the AV jack was pushed all the way into the TV Plus box, and that no silver / shiny part was visible.

Another challenge was figuring out how to add channels as favorites. Go into MENU > FAVORITES and just remember to press the Box ID button on the remote when trying to add a list of FAVORITE channels. When I did this, a FAV1 list was added. Here, you can put a star (*) on your favorite channels and when you click on the FAVORITES button on your remote, you will have a narrowed down channel list. (Memorizing the channel number is still the fastest way of getting to a channel since it only involves pressing two buttons.)

There is also an Easy TV box that some posts say can access the "encrypted channels" in TV plus. Any inputs from users of this product would be appreciated. That could help in deciding whether or not getting that additional box is worth it.

Renewing My Non-professional Driver's License 2019

My non-professional driver's license will expire in a month's time. So I decided to try renewing the license via LTO's Satellite Office at the basement of SM North Annex. It is located at the farthest end, to the right of the bowling alley. There are other government kiosks present there such as Pag-ibig, Philpost, GSIS, SSS, etc.

You are required to bring your old driver's license. The other requirements can be obtained onsite. This includes the medical exam and the form you are supposed to fill-out. But the medical examination center conveniently located just before the entrance to the LTO Satellite Office will be the one to fill out your form for you. The only draw back is that they charge 450 pesos for the examination. When I paid for my medical exam in 2016, it was only 180 pesos.

When you fill out the medical exam forms, make sure you know your height in cm, weight in kg, eye color, and blood type. It took me a while to obtain these info, so instead of finishing filling out the forms ahead of the other applicants, I ended up the last applicant processed during the day. Also be well versed with your medical history because there are questions that will ask you whether or not you have undergone certain medical procedures or illnesses.

After submitting the form, together with your old license, you will be asked to pay 450 pesos. (Note that this amount is during the time of this writing and might change by the time you are reading this post).

After paying the fee, your eyes will be tested using the traditional "read the letter's" test. There are also color blindness tests. And there was a machine where you put your chin and then the technician checks your eyes.

If you pass the tests, you will be given documents that you will then submit to the LTO kiosk. You'll have to wait a while before your documents are processed. Your photo will be taken, and you will have to sign your electronic signature.

Afterwards, you will have to pay the LTO fee of around 653 pesos. (Again, this amount probably varies depending if you have incurred penalties). So all in all, I spent about 1093 pesos to get my non-pro license renewed.

After paying, you wait a few more minutes and actually go to a back-room where they input your personal data (Name, address, phone, etc), retake your picture and electronic signature, and also go through electronic fingerprinting. I asked the technician what the difference was between the first time they took our picture and signature and this second time. According to her, the first time was for LTO Main Office's records. The second time was for their satellite office's records.

It took me about 2 hours all in all from the start of the medical exam to getting my printed license. Although 2 hours might seem like a long time, this beats having to go through the process at the main office which might take you a day, and you might have to come back after a week to actually get the printed license. So, props to LTO's SM North Satellite Office for a job well done.

And since this new license is valid for 5 years, I hopefully will not have to do this for quite some time. Hope this helps others who are planning on renewing their license this year.