The Scammers In Your e-Mail

You might have also already received emails from unknown persons just like this one I received not too long ago:

DEAR FRIEND,

AS THE LAWYER OF THE EXECUTED EX-PRESIDENT SADDAM HUSSIEN, I WOULD WANT THIS PIECE OF INFO REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL BECAUSE OF THE POWERS THAT BE.

ACTUALLY I WOULD WANT TO INVEST SOME OF THIS MY LATE CLIENT’S LARGE FUND THAT IS STATCHED AWAY OUTSIDE IRAQ HAVING LOST HIS TWO SONS WHO ARE AUTOMATIC HEIR APPARENT TO THE FUND.

ENDEVIOUR TO GET BACK TO ME FOR DETAILS IF YOU ARE A GOOD INVESTOR OR HAVE A COMPANY WE CAN INVEST ON THAT CAN CONTAIN THE FUND WITHOUT THE FUND RAISING EYEBROW BECAUSE AS AM WRITING YOU THIS PIECE,AM IN OUTSIDE IRAQ AT COSY PLACE IN AFRICA WHERE AM FREE.

AS I HAVE PERFECTED THIS TO BE 100% RISK FREE, YOU CAN SEND ME REPLY TO;
[email protected] FOR SECURITY REASONS.

FAITHFULLY,
NAJEEB AL-NU’AIMI

Of course, for the likely victim who would bite into this bait, they will be requested to send money to the scammers to process whatever needs to be processed, and eventually the money will be gone.

But, behold, at what this genius guy done to “Scam the Scammers” over at PWiT (Philippine Week in Tech). I’ll assure you a hilarious read:

  1. Part I – Scamming the Scammer
  2. Part II – Scamming the Scammer, Part 2: Plan B

Update: PWiT has been down for decades.

Canon Philippines on Sale

I got this one from a Digital Photographer Philippines forum topic. I just thought anyone might be interested.

Canon Sale

Should I had rather put together my arsenal with this sale, I should have saved 27% from my purchases (at PhP 12.50 per 1 QAR), and that is on top of my bringing home the extra EF 50mm f/1.8 II USM.

Hmmmm, pity me!

Do I Need a Macro Lens

I actually wonder, do I still need a macro lens if I already have the reach of a long zoom (300mm)?

My 85mm lens

Above is the picture of my favorite lens, EF 85mm f/1.8 USM, taken using my second favorite lens, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM.

Just an Ordinary Dream

It was a late night in December 2002 when a very good friend, Wilson Justo, and I, while waiting for a bus ride home, made a resolution that five years from then, by December 1, 2007, we should be driving our own car.

Fast forward to the present, it seems like Wilson has fulfilled that dream way before that deadline:

Wilson1

Wilson2

Wilson3

For me, I didn’t really intend to break that dream. It just so happened that I needed to re-channel my priorities.

To Wilson, congratulations!

The Making of a Professional Photographer

The following video (youtube) is a humorous flick on the rise of a professional photographer. He started with a disposal film camera until he got his DSLR Nikon camera and various lenses, some are even long ones.

The main character worked out with his gear, and I mean worked out like in the gym. The soundtrack, if I’m not mistaken, I think is the soundtrack in the movie Rocky Balboa while he was as well working out preparing for his bout against the current champion.

Anyways, here’s the video:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfx2P5QuyOQ]

Photo.net Blocked in Qatar

I can’t take this anymore. I couldn’t help myself anymore from denouncing the fact that photo.net is blocked in the internet here in Qatar. Can you believe it? Qtel, the sole internet provider in the State of Qatar, is blocking a very useful and informative site (at least to a photographer or enthusiast)? This is definitely ridiculous.

WTF!

Independence Day

Philippine FlagOn this 109th year of Philippine Independence, I’m hanging the Philippine flag on this piece of online space to tell the world that I am forever proud of being a Filipino!

But, perhaps, talking of my beloved country, indeed, there’s no other place like home. Not even the wealth of the desert nor the beauty of the mountains, nor the skyscrapers of the crowded cities can ever replace that.

There can only be one home, and I’m homeward bound….

(in two or three months….) 🙂

Homeward Bound
by: Simon & Garfunkel

Im sittin in the railway station
Got a ticket for my destination
On a tour of one night stands
My suitcase and guitar in hand
And every stop is neatly planned
For a poet and a one man band

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts escaping
Home, where my musics playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me

Everydays an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines
And each town looks the same to me
The movies and the factories
And every strangers face I see
Reminds me that I long to be

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts escaping
Home, where my musics playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me

Tonight Ill sing my songs again
Ill play the game and pretend
But all my words come back to me
In shades of mediocrity
Like emptyness in harmony
I need someone to comfort me

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts escaping
Home, where my musics playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me
Silently for me
Silently for me

What it Takes for a Great Photo

Perhaps, the most common rudeness a photographer (or a hobbyist or enthusiast for tha matter) takes from ordinary people is when those people give credit to the high-tech-ness and price of the camera or gear for a great photo.

Doing such, according to Chris Orwig in his video tutorial, is like awarding credits to the pans and cooking utensils for a wonderful delicious food, not the cook.

One oftentimes look past the creativity in a photographer, especially when one sees the camera as a one-click device. A point-and-shoot camera becomes more than a point and shoot in the hands of a professional photographer.

Anyway, what actually prompted me to write this entry is the thread I read in the Digital Photographer Philippines forum, about the weirdest comment one gets for his photo. I was so thrilled reading the thread that I felt I need to share them here. Some of my favorites:

ay bakit blurred yung background

ganda ng picture mo, saang website mo to na download?

‘uy take a picture of me naman, close-up ha, oh and please ayoko kita pimples ko ha’ …(ngek panning ko kaya mukha mo, takbo!!!)

Read the discussion.