My Solitaire Experience
Posted by Nick Yap Cugtas On October 24, 2010
The game of solitaire is no doubt one of those games that gets shot down just because of all the games available out there especially to gamers. Even when it comes to card games it is often underrated just because we dont have long lines at the casinos for people wanting to play this game.
But for an old school person such as myself, I relish its simplicity, and sometimes it acts as a way to clear my mind.
It’s definitely a game of patience, but mostly a game to just calm you down a bit. Heck, Solitaire is also called Patience in different parts of the United States, just not here in Michigan where I am.
But honestly, especially because we definitely live in more hectic, stressed, and busy times, sometimes a game of solitaire is just what we need to get us back to a more calm state of mind. And I still contend it’s defintely one of the more nice games out there. It’s a classic!
I’ve recently come back to this game only because I honestly don’t play that much anymore, but I found myself just wanting to relax the other day, and lo and behold I came back to solitaire. If you don’t know what solitaire is and how to play, first off I would have to ask where you’ve been, second thing is that I would implore you to go and play right away.
There are many different variations to solitaire which makes it suitable to many people. In fact, you don’t really need a deck of cards because most laptops and computers already come loaded with games such as solitaire. The variation that is the most classic of them all is actually a solitaire game called Klondike, but which most people refer to as just solitaire.
In the image above, this is what we call the initial layout. The setup is quite easy. From a deck of 52 cards, you take the first card and lay it face up, then dealing from left to right, you place the next six cards face down. Then you start with the second column, with that card face up and the remaining 5 columns with the face cards down (again dealing from left to right). You continue in this manner until you get the setup shown above.
What you see in the upper right corner are your foundations which become the receptacle for the four suits of cards (hearts, spades, diamonds, clubs). Each foundation must start with the Ace then move higher up to the King. When you have filled up these foundations according to the suits, then you have won the game.
During game play, what you see in the upper left corner is where the rest of the cards are placed (those which have not been used yet for the initial layout). You deal in groups of three, such as what you see in the image above. This is the traditional way of dealing and playing Solitaire, and by far, in my opinion is the hardest. Dealing by groups of three is hard, because you don’t get to use all the cards for game play right away, and can only use the top card when it is dealt, thus the two cards below the top card cannot be used, unless the top card is used first. Usually, you are able to deal indefinitely, in groups of three, until you have either won or there are no more moves to make and in which case you have lost.
But as I said, even the classic solitaire has variations, and usually these variations deal with how you deal the cards in the upper left corner to use during game play. These variations include dealing the cards one by one, having unlimited passes through the deck, limiting the passes to just one, etc.
ACTUAL GAME PLAY
The actual game play itself is pretty straightforward. The point is to basically build piles that are in sequential order but in order of alternating colors. You can move parts of a pile or entire piles provided that it fits the sequential order and are still of alternating colors. You can move piles into empty spaces provided that it contains a King as the base of the pile.
You continue in the manner of dealing in groups of three, filling up the foundations starting with the Ace, positioning your piles to sequential orders of cards that are alternating in color.
In the picture above, this is usually the point where the game is certain, and you basically know that you have already won. This is by far the most fun turning point in the game since you start filling up your foundations in terms of suits. You need not think of your moves any longer since at this point it’s just a matter of route and you’ve won already.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Hard to explain, but definitely easy to play. Sometimes, all these games out there, the more new and very realistic games out there, the role playing games, and others, they really can be too stimulating when sometimes all you need is something to relax you. The great thing about Solitaire is that you can easily pick it up anytime and most games don’t take too long, which is another reason why it’s a flexible way to get your game fix.
Honestly, there really are a number of positives to playing a game of solitaire, or maybe I’m just too old school for my own good, whatever it is, I’m hoping I’ve converted a few of the readers out there, or maybe I’ve reminded some of you just how fun it can be to play.
——————–
Nick is Rochelle’s fiance. A blogger, Filipino, engineer, financial adviser, former business owner, and a lover of life. He loves to read, meditate, listen to classical music, and talk current events. Boring to most, interesting to a few.
Wireless Modem Huawei E585 Review
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 23, 2010
I’m finally ready to review my newest gadget! It’s called Huawei E585 and it’s a wireless modem or more popularly called Mi-Fi (mobile wifi). I decided to buy it because I wanted to be connected 24/7. This was the best way I could think of. I cannot use a USB dongle as it can only connect to one device. I have lots of gadgets (2 iPhones, Laptop & PSP) and I just had to find an affordable & more efficient way to be connected to the world wide web.
So what does it do? It’s basically a modem that is mobile! We can practically bring it anywhere we go considering the small size, it’s really convenient! 😀 We can connect 5 different devices via Wi-Fi and 1 extra slot for a USB-ready device.
When I got the package, I was so excited! After 2-3 weeks of use, it was just yesterday that I took off the plastic cover. Addict much? Yeah, definitely! You can bully me now hahaha!
So how does Huawei E585 work? In my case, I subscribed to a wireless broadband account via Sun Cellular (Php799 monthly fee), got the SIM only option. I just inserted the SIM into the Mi-Fi and we’re good to go.
When I bought this device (Php 7,400), it was already unlocked, all 3 Philippine cellular network settings were already imbedded in Huawei E585. Convenient for me, good customer service as we say. If you’re curious, I bought it from one of the sellers over at Philmug forums.
For your information, we can change the settings of our Huawei E585 through their homepage. When you connect it to your laptop, open your web browser, type http://192.168.1.1. You’ll see a very user-friendly profile page as pictured below:
Log in and go to advanced settings.
You can then click connection settings to input the ones that is applicable to you. For Philippines-based users, here are some vital information that can help you set your 3G account:
- Sun Broadband (Post-paid)
APN (static): fbband
Authentication: PAP
IP address: dynamic
- Sun Broadband (Pre-paid)
APN (static): minternet
Authentication: PAP
IP address: dynamic
- Globe Tattoo
APN (static): http.globe.com.ph
Authentication: CHAP
IP address: Dynamic
- Globe (Post-paid)
APN (static): internet.globe.com.ph
Authentication: PAP
IP address: dynamic
- Smart Bro
APN (static): smartbro (if using a smartbro simcard) or internet (if using a regular prepaid simcard)
Authentication: PAP
IP address: Dynamic
After you finished entering the different connection profiles, you can then go back to advance settings. Click Wi-Fi settings and choose your desired profile to use. As for me, my chosen profile is the sun postpaid. I changed my SSID to “Roch Sun Broadband” for easy identification 😛 I also put an ecryption where a person will need to put the right password in order to use the Wi-Fi connection.
I love the look of this cute gadget. The best thing is you’ll see all the important information in the screen such as signal strength, actual battery status, kind of data connection, # of wifi devices connected to the unit & connection time.
I truly find Huawei E585 useful and I’m just glad I bought it. Considering where we were just a few years ago, it’s still amazing to me where we are now in terms of connectivity. And it doesn’t get as cool as having a mobile wifi connection, and being connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and connecting multiple gadgets using only one such handy device.
KPOP Night 3 and KPOP Garage Sale at Eastwood
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 19, 2010
Are you fond of Korean music? Well, I’m definitely one! It’s not just Korean music that I have grown to love but also Korean movies & TV series. As I write this post, I’m actually watching an episode of a Korean TV series. How much of a coincidence can this be? hehehe!
I found out today that there’s actually an event being held, which is the Philippine KPOP Convention. It is the 1st & biggest fan-organized event in the Philippines. Basically, different korean pop music fan clubs unite to bring kpop fans together as well as support a cause that would help less fortunate children through Gawad Kalinga.
Now on their 2nd year, the Philippine kpop committee has organized 2 upcoming fun-filled events this November! The purpose is to raise funds for the 2nd Philippine KPOP convention which will happen on December 11, 2010 at PICC. They are as follows:
- KPOP Night 3: The Kpop Halloween Party @ Manor
On November 3, PKC, in cooperation with Godfellas Productions will hold “KPOP Night 3: The Kpop Halloween Party @ Manor”. Everyone is invited to party the night away and dance to the hottest Kpop tunes all night long. Come as your favorite Kpop celeb, cosplay a character or just look glam, sexy and fabulous! The “Costume of the Night” awardee will even get a prize.
Doors open at 10pm. Entrance is only Php250 if you are pre-registered with the Philippine Kpop Committee and Php300 for the walk-ins, inclusive of 2 drinks. To be pre-registered, e-mail your name and contact info to kpopconph@gmail.com (with the subject title: kpop night 3) until November 1, 12nn. 18 years old and above only so please be ready with your IDs.
- Grand KPOP Garage Sale
On November 6, The Grand KPOP Garage Sale will take place at Eastwood Citywalk 2. This is a great venue for concessionaires who would like to sell their pre-loved Kpop items to the other fans at a discounted price. However, this is also open for those who would like to sell their brand-new Kpop merchandise and other Korean and Korea-related products. Only limited slots are available so it’s first come, first served.
As entertainment for everyone, there is also KPOP JAMMIN’ N’ SHAKIN’, an open mic area for the fans and guests who would like to showcase their talents in signing and dancing. This event is FREE for the guests. If you are interested to be a performer or a seller, please e-mail PKC at PKCgaragesale@gmail.com.
Both events will be held at Eastwood, Quezon City. To know more about Philippine KPOP convention, their events & their cause, you can check out their facebook page.
Freeway Art Honors Ramon Valera
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 15, 2010
Being a blogger, it’s so nice to be invited to intimate fashion events like the one from Freeway last tuesday, October 12, 2010. I brought my mom with me to Freeway’s launch of the 4th National Artist Collectors’ Series honoring Ramon Oswald Valera, National Artist for Fashion. There were about 20-30 people invited, mostly from the fashion industry & media.
Freeway is actually a brand that is a bit special to me. I remember the 1st dress that I found so perfect & suitable for me was bought from Freeway. The brand, having started in 1997, aims to offer products representing the most current international trends at local Philippines prices. They continue to evolve and improve as time passes by.
This holiday season they are giving tribute to our very 1st National Artist for Fashion, Ramon Valera. He was proclaimed National Artist last 2006 and was well known for his elegant gowns & ternos. Even when he was young, it seems that fashion came naturally for him. His mom would notice that the dolls displayed on the piano suddenly would have new clothes. How cool is that?
What separates him from the others is that he was able sew a dress to perfection without even using a pattern. He definitely mastered the art of embroidery & beadwork!
And he was also very picky with his clients, only a few fortunate women were able to wear his creations. Among the few were Elvira Manahan, Margarita Romualdez, Susie Bayot Ortigas, Adelaida Mendoza, Maritess Pineda, Evelyn Teehankee, Fe Leyson Qua and Caridad Velez Leyson.
They were kind enough to allow us to view the original works of terno & gowns that Valera created for them. It was a one-night only viewing that happened at the G/F of Glorietta 5. I especially love the pink gown owned by Susie Bayot Ortigas. Sometimes, I do wish I was alive during those times, oh well, at least we have Freeway! 🙂
Everyone was just so happy to see former first lady Imelda Marcos attend the event with us. Of course, she wore an original Ramon Valera gown. She graciously answered all questions thrown at her by host, Tessa Prieto-Valdez. Madame Marcos is an advocate of Arts and was one of Valera’s clients. I never thought she would actually have a great sense of humor. They were fun to watch! Other distinguished guests were Valera’s niece Peching Zulueta-Gomez, fashion designer Aureo Alonzo and National Museum of the Philippine’s curator Nick Legazpi, Jr.
Ramon Valera died in 1972 at the age of 59. As we thought that we’ll never ever get to at least own any of his works or even an interpretation of it, we were all wrong. Luckily, Freeway is featuring a collection that was inspired from the brilliant creations of National Artist for Fashion, Ramon Valera. Valera’s signature of creative cut, colors and beadwork with embroidery is brought back through Freeway’s National Artist Collection.
The collection includes woven dresses, blouses & graphic t-shirts. The interpretation of Valera’s work was done through beadwork, modern silhouettes, print images of his sketches & digital images of his beadworks. I believe pictures can illustrate this further. I have to say this though, it was also my 1st time to watch a fashion show live and in person 😛
Awesome collection right? They definitely don’t compare to the original, but at least we have a bit of a tribute to the national artist by wearing clothes that were inspired by his works. Thanks Freeway for making this possible, what a way to honor our Philippine National Artist for fashion!
Of course, there are always photo ops at every event. Seems like a norm already in these times. My mom & I wore dresses to the show. And look at our picture below, does it even look like she’s my mom? Don’t think so, many find it hard to believe. I’m proud, I have an awesome yet so pretty mom! 🙂 I bet when we get to shop at Freeway during one of our shopping sessions, she would look better in those Valera-inspired clothes than when I wear them (we share clothes too!).
My Complete Dampa Food Experience
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 10, 2010
We were supposed to eat at Dampa the other week but since the John Mayer concert was happening that day and traffic would be very bad, we ended up at Zao Vietnamese Bistro. Last friday, however, we finally pushed through. I never thought this would be one of my most unforgettable meals in my lifetime. The food was just too good, abundant, truly affordable and I just can’t describe how happy I was seeing those food that I can actually eat & enjoy!
What makes this meal different is we get to experience going to the market and actually buying our own ingredients. Then we also get to choose the restaurant that will cook our food, how we want them to be cooked and lastly, sit, relax, and enjoy our food. Now, I know why Dampa is so popular. Let me share our experience with you 🙂
We went around to choose the restaurant that would cook our food and where we would eat. G Squared Palutuan was recommended to us, we went inside and reserved a table. While my mom waited & kept an eye on our bags in the restaurant, we went out and looked around for the meats, veggies, and seafoods that we would eat.
It was really a wet market outside! Lots of vegetables, pork, especially seafood all throughout the Dampa market. Crabs, lobsters & Shrimps being the most popular items. Would you believe they are selling crabs for only Php300 per kilo?!? Wow! I just could not believe it!
Here are the prices of all the items that we bought at the Dampa market:
- Crabs (Php 300/kilo) – 2.8 kilos/4 pcs.
- Squid (Php 250/kilo) – 1 kilo
- Pla Pla (Php 120/kilo) – 1 kilo
- Shrimps (Php Php 380/kilo) – 2 kilos
- Seaweed (Php 130/kilo) – 1 kilo
- Alupihang Dagat (Php 300/kilo) – 1.6 kilos
- Elephant Shell (Php 250/kilo) – 1 kilo
- Scallops (Php 250/kilo) – 1 kilo
After we finished shopping, we went to G Squared Palutuan for them to weigh the food that we bought. We told them how to cook each item, how we wanted to split so they can cook 2 different variants of the same item. I was sooo excited just how delicious the food would be. I just kept thinking that we just bought the food and and yet it was going to be immediately cooked! How fresh can the food get? I really feel we got our money’s worth as well.
And so, we waited. When the food started to come in, I was too excited to try out as much as I could. Gee, I’ve never seen so much food served in one sitting. I was so overwhelmed that I even started sharing pictures through my social networking profile pages hahaha! I know I was too ecstatic upon seeing sooo much appetizing food.
Here are the final products based on how we wanted them to be cooked. Each & every dish was just too yummy for my taste, I was in heaven! I never thought though that the service charge would be a bit expensive. Oh well, if we compute though, it’s still much cheaper than a traditional restaurant.
- Seaweed Salad (Php 120)
I never thought that we could enjoy seaweeds like this. A salad with simple ingredients like tomatoes & onions. We just need to mix all the ingredients, and of course there’s also vinegar to complete the salad. A very simple dish yet it tasted good. Seaweed will definitely have my attention next time 😛
- Baked Scallops (Php 180)
One of the better scallops I’ve tasted. Only a few can actually pull this off. Glad that G Squared did this right. Baked the scallops in cheese, oh sooo yummy & tasty. Having the scallops fresh from the market might have something to do with how successful this dish was. We finished all of it!
- Steamed Elephant Shell (Php 180)
This is yet another discovery for me. I wasn’t even aware that there was such a thing as an elephant shell! It looks to me like a variant of some sort of oyster. This was steamed and garnished with onions, garlic & other spices. It tasted just okay for me, different but not my favorite. Glad I tried it though.
- Sinigang na Sugpo (Php 140)
We asked them to cook 0.5 kilos of the shrimps as a sinigang soup. Well, shrimps are really perfect for soup like Sinigang. We needed to have at least some good companion for our over-to-the-max smorgasbord.
- Pinaputok na Pla Pla (Php 180)
The pinaputok na Pla Pla was tasty, but nothing special. They did season it well, but there was something that was lacking. However, I would still have it again as one of the menu items. This is definitely a dish that is good when eating at Dampa.
- Adobong Pusit (Php 170)
I wish we had them cook the squid as calamares. I do understand why we didn’t because we asked them to cook the rest of the shrimps as tempura. Too many fried foods is not good for us 😛 It’s just normal squid cooked with its own black ink. Just don’t smile while eating this dish hahaha :p
- Salt & Pepper Alupihang Dagat (Php 300)
I was wondering the whole time how they will cook the Alupihang dagat. I’m not too familiar with this seafood. Apparently it’s called “Mantis Shrimp”, but it’s not really shrimp but a “marine crustacean”. In Cantonese cusine they actually call this “pissing shrimp” hahaha :p When I saw this being served, I was like, I have to try this out. It tasted like shrimp though. It was a simple dish, I think they fried the Alupihang dagat with butter, and added some spices, peppers, and green onions too. But gee, this tasted so good, we had to peel off the skin/covering first though. I loved it!
- Buttered Crabs (Php 500)
Crabs is my ultimate favorite food! Whenever I see crabs, my face just lights up. My happy mood just comes out. When I saw this being served to us, I couldn’t wait to eat it! Just our normal garlic & butter crabs. I believe no matter how we cook it, if it’s crabs, you’ll never go wrong. However, I’ll try to have them cook it fried next time..
- Shrimp Tempura (Php 420)
I heard someone say that this is the tempura that you can compare with Japanese restaurants when this was served. So I had to quickly try one piece and judge for myself. After I tried this tempura cooked by G Squared, I was totally awed. I immediately tweeted, FBed, plurked that this was one of the best tempura I have ever tasted. We had 1.5 kilos worth of it cooked, just in case we couldn’t get enough. I got as much as I could, until my stomach just couldn’t take any more :p Of course, when it was time to decide who to bring the leftovers home, me and my mom were first to say that we’ll bring it hahaha!
- Fresh Buko (Php 50)
Freshly cooked seafood using fresh ingredients straight from the market coupled with good company. Why wouldn’t you choose a drink that isn’t fresh? So almost all of us ordered fresh buko. What a way to quench our thirst.
I wish we had lobsters too but I knew that we bought too much food already. When I go back, I’ll make sure that we get lobsters! 😀 Eating at Dampa was just too cool! If you haven’t done so, I suggest you go invite your family or friends and start storming there. It will be worth your while.
We ordered so much that we had lots of leftovers to take home. The fun continues at home, wheeeee! 😀
——————–
G Squared Palutuan
Lot 5 Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City, Philippines
(02) 556-1775