DoubleYou DoubleYou DoubleYouTube...

A good alternative to Google Video is YouTube (http://www.youtube.com). One of the advantages is that they have a self-contained player which requires no local software. This comes in real handy when the PC that is being used doesn't allow for software to be installed. I've added a link to the left for the YouTube version of the kids' video.

A couple things to note about YouTube is that they allow for 100M worth of storage per video as opposed to Google's 80M. On the flip-side, Google Video's security is better and it doesn't have the same 10-minute per video limitation as YouTube. Another video site is vMix (http://www.vmix.com). I haven't looked at them yet, but I'd venture to guess that they aren't much different than YouTube and GoogleVideo. I'll probably go look at a bunch of video sites and see which has the best fit for my needs.

Yehey Ate Kaye...

Rizza's youngest daughter, Kaye, was just awarded first honor in her school. She's is real intelligent for her age and is doing math problems that I would think are one grade level beyond where she is currently. I am so proud of her.

Only in the Philippines...

That's one phrase I heard quite a bit when I was there. It usually came up when I mentioned that something seemed unusual or different. One thing that was definitely different is how Filipinos take a bath. Typically a bucket and ladle are used in the process. Its kinda neat in that a bit less water is used than when taking a bath in the US.

I recently ran across a video showing how its done. The link for it is over to the left. This one gets a PG rating from me. No body parts are exposed that aren't normally seen in everyday life. There is one mention of a particular body part that might bump it up beyond a a G-rating for some though. Have a peek if you're interested.

Happy Birthday, Carlo!

Today was Carlo's special day. He just turned ten. He and Rizza kept the tradition of going to Quiapo to worship in the church where the Black Nazarene is housed. They have done this every year since Carlo was very sick when he was younger. Carlo also got his wish of having a bicycle. Rizza mentioned that he smiled from ear to ear when he got that. :)

I want my M[Backspace]Google*TV...

Google video is relatively neat for being free. I can't think of anywhere else I can post 80M worth of video footage without having to worry about paying for bandwidth or storage. It can also be locked down to only be accessible from certain sites which is really nice. There's a link over to the left in the "Our Links" section pointing to a video capture of a performance Carlo and Marlene gave for Carlo's school. Carlo got an award that stands almost as tall as he is for that one. Way to go, Carlo.

One step back, two steps forwards...

Okay. So maybe I have the idiom slightly backwards. :)
I sent the paperwork in for the fiancee visa last week. It looks like there were one or two minor flaws from what Ray mentioned. He sent updated copies to me. I'll sign those and send them back as soon as I see them.

Rizza took the biggest step forward though. She sent her paperwork, passport photos, and copies of birth certificates for her and the kids in today. Sending the paperwork in was the easy part for her. The hard part was tracking down copies of birth certificates. This especially held true for finding one for her oldest daughter, Marlene. The NSO (National Statistics Office) didn't have one on file for her. It took Rizza a few trips to Manila to obtain a birth certificate from the doctor that delivered Marlene.

Moving right along, I hope Ray will be able to have the paperwork submitted to the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) in Nevada by the end of the week. Rizza and I are both really excited about this.

New photos online

I've got some photos from the February 2006 trip online now in the New Photos set. These are from different places including Tagaytay (very scenic), the baptism of the kids, Rizza's daycare center, and some shots from around Trece Martires.