Monday, January 28, 2013

My First Underwater Film Clip

Kindly click the following link to watch the video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E57VXk-p3C8&feature=youtu.be

The highlight of the video starts at 2:45. It shows the resident school of jackfish at Twin Rocks . . . one of the many benefits of a marine sanctuary.


Sunday, January 20, 2013

A Brief Flight Around Rancho Caridad

This is my first attempt at filming a video while flying my microlight. It's also my first attempt to edit the same with some basic effects, such as splitting film clips, transitioning the same (video and audio) as well as including music, narration and subtitles. I used my Sony Cybershot DSC-W570 on video mode (VGA setting only for now) and the VideoPad Video Editor (it's free!), which is a neat and relatively simple video editing software that allows you to create your own basic "movie" with a minimum of fuzz. Sorry for the terrible vibration as I mounted the camera on the front support post of the aircraft, which obviously vibrates too much for filming. I hope the vibration will be minimized next time when I mount the camera on the wing. Until my next (and improved) aerial video . . . keep on flying!

Kindly click on the following link to view the video on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TCyWh7QrWs

Monday, January 14, 2013

Emptying The Mind -- Sri Chinmoy


You must not think that when there is nothing in your mind, you will become a fool or act like an idiot. This is not true. If you can keep your mind calm and quiet for ten or fifteen minutes, a new world will dawn within you. This is the root of all spiritual progress. Right now you can make your mind calm and quiet for only a few seconds, or for a minute, but if you can maintain your calmness, poise and tranquillity for half an hour or even for fifteen minutes, I assure you that inside your tranquillity a new world with tremendous divine light and power will grow.
When you do not have any thought in your mind, please do not feel that you are totally lost. On the contrary, feel that something divine is being prepared in your pure and aspiring nature. You cannot expect immediate results. The farmer sows the seed and then he waits; he never expects the crop to spring forth all at once. It takes a few weeks or a few months to germinate. Your mind can be like a fertile field. If you plant the seed of silence and poise and cultivate it patiently, sooner or later you are bound to reap the bumper crop of illumination.
The mind is not necessary for meditation, because thinking and meditating are absolutely different things. When we meditate, we do not think at all. The aim of meditation is to free ourselves from all thought. Thought is like a dot on a blackboard. Whether it is good or bad, it is there. Only if there is no thought whatsoever can we grow into the highest reality. Even in profound meditation thoughts can come in, but not in the highest, deepest meditation. In the highest meditation, there will be only light.
Slowly and steadily if you can still your restless mind, immediately and cheerfully God will open His measureless Heart.

Who says motorcycle buddies are shallow?

Peter Sandoval is one of my motorcycle buddies who was present each time I participated in a Kawasaki Leisure Bike sponsored road trip, which included the 2nd and 3rd Annual "Roadgasmic" Tour (Manila to Bolinao, Pangasinan in 2011 and Manila to Anilao, Batangas in 2012, respectively) and the 1st Annual Meet of Kawasaki Leisure Bike Owners, destination Tacloban, also in 2012. Peter sends friendly, inspirational, uplifting, "food for thought" kind of text messages and reminders, which I take time to read and reflect upon. One such message, which I found particularly amusing, goes as follows:

"Lives of people these days can be summed up in three words: HURRY, WORRY and BURY. A lot of people live in a hurry and carry a lot of worry, and so find themselves early in the cemetery. It's time for us to  rediscover the three R's in life: RELAX, REFLECT, RENEW. God bless and mabuhay!"

How about that? It's not an original quote (I just checked on Google) but it's the first time I came across it, and it rings so true. Thanks Peter.