Misc Pics of the Day

Pic 1: Not from my class... The only classes before mine were of @npf007. Lagot kayo kay @sabbypar.

Pic 2 and 3: What keeps the growing BLC family alive? Marty's. This afternoon the guys and gals downed 4, count'em 4 Marty's Veggie Chicharon. healthy pa. :D

Pic 4: Newest addition to my weapons collection. Telescopic metal baton from Cash and Carry. Heavy, not the old thin type. This is thicker and heavier!

Cleaning my Knives and other pointy stuff

They say that when you try one out at a shop and it cuts you, you have to buy it. "Naghahanap ng amo" kumbaga, meaning you have to tame it. These are the ones which have cut me at one point in time through the years.

I don't do this annually, I do this mostly on a whim. Mostly they're part of this collection, with a few stragglers out there given away (one balisong pambutas-piso given to Jo, one mini-balisong to Bambi and one throwing knife to Jon before he entered the US Armed Forces. How he got it past US customs I don't know).

Today I cleaned them. Metal polish to remove the grime and a coat of vaseline to prevent rusting. They're all still in good condition at the moment, save for a few rust and discoloration spots on some of the local balisong: the bone, the wood, the all-brass and the blue dragon. The three Rostfrei stainless steel balisong (butterfly knives) are still okay (I love those three).

The stainless steel samurai-style hunting knife, the cheap and slim stainless steel hunting knife, and the dual mini fantasy knives are still spotless. The wood and americana folding knives and the numerous shuriken are all okay. The lighter switchblade (from Cecil) has a few rust spots while the stainless steel black switchblade (from Bambi) is still okay. 

The ones that rusted the most were the old heavy WWII hunting knife (got it from my dad, probably belonged to my grandfather), my Dad's belt-buckle knife, the southern kris-type dagger and the northern itak / barong (?). Will probably sand them down over the weekend.

Haven't checked the katana and the ornate Indonesian sword yet.

I have a yoyo collection. Yoyo string-making is zen. I also have a weapons collection. Knife-cleaning is zen...

Of Laptop Repair and Knives

I had to repair the old Sony Vaio PCG-505SX. I removed a leaking internal (bios) battery just to get it to work again. See that green thing near the laptop hinge? That's the part I had to remove. The Vaio's so thin. :D


An officemate got me this knife pair when she went to Dagupan. It's now part of my weapons collection. :D

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Gorilla vs Snakey Part 5

Word of warning, this post contains pics of a dead snake.

Had to dispose of my fifth snake last night. It's about a year since the last gorilla vs snakey, the one in Bambi's house. (I had a post about that.) This one wasn't as big as that one. This only measured 14 to 16 inches and was as fat as a cricket lighter. Adrenaline rush and dump wasn't as high but it was still there. The snake had a bulge in the tummy like Bambi's snake, I presume it ate a mouse.

I did the usual drill: jam neck then crush head then fully decapitate. I used my old wooden bokken to jam the neck and the samurai katana-inspired hunting knife to crush and cut. Yup, seems both serve some use other than just being part of my weapons collection.

I've disposed of 3 snakes with this knife already: this 14-16 inch one, the 8-12 inch one in my toilet while I was reading and a 6 inch baby snake. (Add to this another not so baby 8 inch snake and Bambi's 3 1/2 foot snake makes 5 snakeys.) I'm naming this knife the serpent killer. Every time I use it the thin edge at the tip always gets bent. And I always re-straighten it with pliers. I'll straighten it today.

Things I've learned through the years so far about dealing with snakes?

1. Be fully aware and focused. But it is important not to panic.
2. The younger ones slither away faster.
3. Move away but know where the snake is at all times.
4. Heat or rain tends to make them go indoors.
5. They appear in places which used to have talahibans, especially here in the south.
6. As much as possible don't dispose of it alone, have someone to help you.
7. For larger snakes, a group disposal would be in order with each person having different roles: shooers, jammers, crushers / decapitators.
8. Snakes are a bit slower after eating.
9. A severed snake head supposedly can still bite you and inject venom.
10. For even larger snakes, call the fire department! This tip courtesy of Chameng.

Crossposted: http://gokitomo.com, http://gorilla.multiply.com and http://gorilla.vox.com

My Weapon Collection

Okay... So I was bored during the holy week... So what did I do? I fiddled with my yoyos... And I checked my weapons collection.

I have always been fascinated by weapons, the silent ones, not the gun-types. As I was cleaning these guys, I realized why I never let anyone inside my room... It's kinda dangerous. I remembered how my then young cousin was able to open one of my folding knives and couldn't fold it back. Scared and wide-eyed, she opened one of the other knives and was trying to pry the knife wider to fold it back... That got to me... Anyway, here's my small collection, an assortment of doo-dads from years gone by. Seems my dad started me off on weapon collecting. He gave me my first nunchaku, my first arnis book and my first balisong. When he died, I asked my mom for his knives, now they're in my collection too. I coat most of the metal parts in vaseline to prevent rusting.