raincontreras.com | one pinoy pundit points and shoots

And pre-work Friday, I was munching on much-missed beach house pork barbecue over at UP Diliman. I didn’t expect the meat to shrink from what I’ve been used to, but yes, it did. I shared lunch with two lovely ladies from Plurkdom, Nikai and Joiz.

We were there to get UP hoodies, and I ended my visit there stuffing ourselves with cake, and leaving the girls to fend for themselves.

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The Pakbet Crew is on a roll! Two podcasts to feature:

Pakbet Interviews Toni AKA Daria: On Pinoy Expat Life in Singapore
Download or stream here.

Here we interview Toni, a Pakbet friend from work before, on Pinoy expat life in Singapore. We go all-out and ask her about life, and living in a foreign country, the work, the food, and tips and advice for those who want to visit or work in Singapore.

Mega-Pakbet Podcast – Episode 3: Crying Over Spilled Karma
Download or stream here.

Here’s how everyone spent their Holy Week vacation/holidays. We also talk about Luis Buenaventura’s article: The Death of Plurk, Plurk vs. Twitter, and Plurk Karma: Does It Really Matter?

We will also be releasing one more podcast this week, re the most controversial topic on Plurk these days.

Since late 2006, after my coming back from work in China, and a PC upgrade, the ISP I’ve been using has been Smart Bro. Despite the negative feedback it was getting then, I really had no choice, since the PLDT cables don’t reach my place in Bulacan, and there wasn’t anything that Digitel offers that can equal to Smart Bro’s promise.

Yesterday, I had my ComClark cable internet installed. The house is already subscribed with their tie-in to a local cable TV provider, and we’ve had favorable experience with that. I got their Exceed 888 plan, which has promised speeds up to 512 kbps for 888 pesos. On paper, this means I’ll be paying 111 pesos less than my usual, and since Smart Bro speeds are only up to 384 kbps, I’m also supposed to get faster internet.

Now, what do the speed tests say?

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Unofficially, Pakbet -composed of five ex-officemates, who’re geek-to-the-bone- has 5 podcast recordings on record, and we’ve released 4, but the official count is really 2.

Does that make sense? Anyway, I’ll list the official ones:

The MEGA PAKBET Podcast
Download/stream here.

I wanted this to be a free-for-all topic contribution thing, and it did come out that way, but yes, it wasn’t as funny and as spontaneous, as the podcast we recorded the day before though (which you can hear/download here). Talked about Earth Hour, the Plurk life, the brouhaha started by Chip Tsao, NIN coming to Manila, and UP Fair violence. With guests Karen and Joiz.

Dementia Terrorizes The Pakbets!
Download/stream here.

J hosted this one, and the content was on the light side. Pakbet’s criteria for a mate? Men prefer docile women? Men go for looks? Does Pakbet consider themselves as typical guys? Karen aka Dementia did the interviewing this time, and no, I wasn’t in a non-sober state, I just wasn’t home, and couldn’t think straight through the whole recording.

And for everything: http://raincontreras.com/pakbetpodkasts/

UPDATE: Here’s the shorter URL -> http://pakbet.co.nr/

Pork Binagoongan

When I was a kid, and I didn’t like the food on the table, I’d bring out the bagoong with fried pork fat that my mom makes. That love for the dish continues to this day.

INGREDIENTS:

pork (kasim, pata, or liempo)
bottled bagoong
garlic
onions
diced baby talong
vinegar
siling haba, or labuyo

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