Off to La Union, Philippines

This will be my last post for 2008 as I will be off to La Union to visit my hometown. This will be my first visit again to La Union after settling in Manila and more than 10 years of living overseas. I'm quite excited as I expect to experience living in the barrio again just like when I was growing up. Likewise, be able to see my friends back in high school and college.



La Union is located in the southwestern part of Luzon It is bounded on the north by Ilocos Sur, on the south by Pangasinan, on the east by Benguet, and on the west by the China Sea. La Union is fast becoming a favorite among local and foreign tourist especially for surfing enthusiast as it is dub as the "Surfing Capital of the North" as well as " The Pilgrimage Capital of the North". The stretch of white and gray sand beaches along the towns of La Union is the main attraction to tourists. Beaches to check out are Bauang Beach, San Juan Beach, Agoo-Damortis National Seashore Park, Agoo,Caba and White Sand. while in La union you can also enjoy its historic landmarks, cultural and man made attractions.


Well, I better get ready for our trip to La Union.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year !!!

A great education site for teens

My nephew who is currently a 2nd year high school student would always ask me about his Algebra subject. Though I can still recall my Algebra, I must admit that I have forgotten a lot of things with regards to Algebra. Luckily, I was given an opportunity to review Brightstorm, an online education site that has great courses for high school students. I thought that online education such as Brightstorm is a good alternative for my nephew to increase his learning options.

Brightstorm offer online courses in Geometry, Algebra II, SAT Reading, Writing and Math, and AP History or Government . And since my nephew had asked me questions about Algebra, I choose Algebra II from the list of courses being offered. Hopefully this course would help him a lot in learning Algebra.

The first step was to Sign up for a free brightstorm acocuntwhich will give you access to a free episode in every course Second step was to purchase the $49 Algebra II course as taught by Joshuah Thurbee. After confirmation of our order, we were then given a link to launch the course.

Algebra II consists of several video modules such as :
i. Introduction
ii. Algebra Boot Camp – Solving linear equations and inequalities, arithmetic sequences
iii. Boot Camp Graphing - Graphing linear equations and inequalities
iv. Absolute Boot Camp - Solving and graphing absolute value equations and inequalities
v. Systems Boot Camp - Solving and graphing systems of equations
vi. What Is the Matrix - Matrix operations, solving systems with matrices
vii. What’s Your Function - Function notation, domain, and range
viii. Top Secret! - Composition and inverses of functions
ix. The X Factor - Solving quadratic functions by factoring and completing the square
x. Rooting for Quadratics - Solving quadratics using square roots and the quadratic formula
xi. Out On Limb - Simplifying and Solving Rational Equations
xii. Equations Are Radical - Solving radical equations
xiii. The Josh Curve - Exponential growth and decay
xiv. Let’s Get Explicit - Geometric sequences
xv. Getting to Second Base – Logarithms
xvi. All In The Family - Circles, parabolas
xvii. Let’s Get Hyper! - Hyperbolas, ellipses

I honestly don’t know how valuable this course will be for my nephew, but judging from the course content, the course we have chosen had covered a lot of the advanced topics in Algebra.

All Brightstorm courses are accessible 7/24 for a year starting from the subscription date and with a 30-day guarantee period for customers who are not completely satisfied.

My conclusion is that Brightstorm offers an excellent option for you to consider helping your teenage son or daughter get to deepen their understanding of their high school subjects and a good way for them to prepare for college.

Ladder Safety

Here are a few ladder do's and don'ts:

· DO position extension ladders correctly. For stability, a ladder has to be planted with its feet one-quarter of its extended length away from the house. This is not as tricky to calculate as it sounds: If it's a 12-foot ladder, that means it has to be positioned 3 feet from the house. For a 16-foot ladder, make it 4 feet. There is also a sticker on the side of ladders that illustrates the angle that the ladder should be placed. It looks like a capital "L," with the bottom of the "L" parallel to the ground.

· DON'T carry an extension ladder upright as you move it. This is a maneuver best saved for the clowns at the circus. You could easily lose control of it in this position, smashing windows and gutters along the way, and knocking into power lines. Instead, lower it and carry it parallel to the ground.

· DO make sure the ladder is positioned on a level surface. DON'T try to use rocks or bricks to prop up one side of it, figure these will fail just as soon as you reach the top.

· DON'T ever work on ladders alone. A helper can keep you from making stupid mistakes, such as having the ladder fall down while you're stuck up alone on the roof .

If there's one guiding principle with respect to ladders, it's this: If you feel squeamish, don't go up. Period.

Got A Wish ?

This Christmas, what gift do you plan to give to your parents who are living overseas? Well, why not try to give them something different and cool this Christmas by giving them a CEIVA Digital Photo Frame together with a Picture plan? Yes, it’s a super cool digital photo frame with an 8" hi-definition display like no other. Just plug the CEIVA Photo frame to an existing phone line and your family members or friends anywhere in the world could send photos directly to the frame. And if you order right now, you could have $100 off the regular price.

By the way, if you check out the page for the CEIVA Digital Photo Frame, you might notice that they have a CEIVA "got a wish" SWEEPSTAKES. With no purchase necessary to enter the contest, this Sweepstakes is open to any individual who is 18 years of age or older and is a legal US resident. Just go to the sweepstakes site www.SitonSantasLap.com, upload your digital photograph, provide all requested information, and then click the "Submit" button to transmit your entry to the sweepstake. There is a $500 cash prize for each randomly picked winner!

So why not check out this contest and the cool CEIVA Digital Photo Frame today!

Checklist in Childproofing Your Home

Every parent begin to worry about his/her child health and safety the moment their first child is born. The normal, active, physically healthy child will occasionally have some cuts and bruises.
What can you do then to control the impact of many injuries ? Childproofing your home should begin prior to your child learning to crawl because once he/she becomes mobile, you are faced with an ever-increasing, intensely curious whirlwind of activity. Inspect your home while you have the time to do it thoroughly.
Childproofing does not mean moving breakables to higher shelves. It means locking, securing, relocating or removing anything that may pose a potential danger to a child.

Here’s some checklist as a starting point for childproofing your home.
· Install covers over all electrical outlets.
· Install smoke alarms on all levels of your home.
· Place gates at stairways-top and bottom.
· Lift blind and drapery cords out of the reach of children.
· Use specially designed door stops and knobs that prevent children from opening forbidden doors.
· Turn down your water heater thermostat to between 120 degrees and 125 degrees to prevent scalding young skin.
· Install "child-resistant" locks on all cabinets within the child's reach. Remember, what is child resistant to most children may not be to yours, so don't assume that with the locks in place your child is safe.
· Remove all cleaning fluids and agents from lower storage areas.
· Keep all medications, including topical ointments such as insect repellents, inside a cabinet that is locked with a key. And place the key where the child cannot reach it.
· Keep all electrical and phone cords bundled and out of reach.
· Never leave a small child alone in the bathtub for even "just a second."
· Many houseplants are toxic. Find out which ones are and, if you have any of them, remove them from your home.
· Make sure that any potentially dangerous items are stored out of reach and/or locked up.

In addition-
· Place the number of the nearest clinic, hospital near your phone. Include with it your child's weight, allergies and any special medical conditions so you won't have to remember these when in a panic. It will also be available there for a babysitter or visiting relative.
· Have a first aid kit and know what to do with its contents.

Remember, childproofing is not a 100 percent guarantee that your child will be safe from injury. It is not a babysitter. Parents must still be vigilant. At best, childproofing slows down the curious young child.

You Need A Budget Software

A lot of people today are worried especially of the recent recession. In this economic hardship times, we really need guidance on how to budget and manage our money properly.

While surfing through the net, I came across You Need A Budget (YNAB) Pro software that is a personal budgeting program. Using the budget software provides a system for planning and executing short term and long term budgeting goals much more effectively. It will help you budget your money wisely in order to save a certain amount of money monthly until you would be able to save a full month worth of your expenses. Your savings could now serve as your buffer.

The YNAB Methodology uses four rules of cash flow management:
1. Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck - This refers to having to save enough money to live on last month’s salary.

2. Give Every Dollar a Job - You allocate all your funds that you have Available to your spending/saving categories until there are no more available dollars.

3. Prepare for Rain - This YNAB rule will help you allocate funds for emergencies or unexpected repairs. By allocating funds to these types of budget categories, you will avoid panic when these events occur.

4. Roll with the Punches - Using even with the best budget software available in the market, you can sometimes overspend in a Budget Category, YNAB will make small adjustments with that overspending, ensuring that you fix those mistakes before you go on to the next month.

Robot made of scrap materials

Mr Wu Yulu, A 46 year old Chinese farmer with very little education has built 26 robots made from scrap materials over the past 30 years.

His first robot could only shuffle along as it could not raise its legs. Over time, his designs became more complex and his creations are now capable of scaling walls, serving water, lighting cigarettes, playing musical instruments and writing calligraphy!



source : Weird Asia News

I just signed up with PayingPost

Yesterday, I have signed up with PayingPost and just now I received an email from PayingPost that my blog Reference Notes had been reviewed and was approved. This means that I could now browse the open opportunities and if my blog had passed the advertisers requirements, I can reserve those opportunities.

For bloggers like me, this is another way of earning some money through blogging or sponsored postings. The opportunities are vast at PayingPost too. If you have the ability to write, or you love writing articles, then why not consider joining PayingPost too. This way, you are doing what you love by writing articles and likewise you get paid to post. My colleagues who had been blogging have found out that they can turn their blogging into a profitable enterprise. They have been very thankful that I have introduced paid reviews to them. Even stays at home moms have now use blogging as their secondary or extra source of income.



Reviewing products is another great way that you as a blogger can make money. Many companies are willing to sponsor a blog or to hire a blogger to review their current or upcoming products and services. Some companies advertise this need on their website, but most choose to go through various blogging services like PayingPost.com which allow bloggers to pick and choose which products they care to review and then receive payment after developing a good blog post. PayingPost offers this opportunity to you when you sign up with them.

You see, getting opportunities at PayingPost is quite simple too. Just grab some opportunities that are open, write your honest opinion, post it in your blog and wait for your post to get approved.

By joining PayingPost.com also helps in building traffic to your site as you would be able to write a variety of articles. So why not visit PayingPost now and sign up.

For more information, you could also visit PayingPost blog.

Apples - Geek Fruit ?

An owner of a Fuji apple orchard printed up custom stickers of iPods and the Apple logo. He then put the stickers on his Fuji apples while they were still young and on the trees.




A month later after the apples had matured, he removed the stickers.



As you can see the lack of sun reaching the apple cause them to keep the stickers original design.



No word as to what was done with the box of Geek Apples, but they did say they were quite delicious.



Source : Weird Asia News

Personalized Holiday Gift

With the holiday season fast approaching; a lot of people are busy shopping for their gifts to their love ones. Shopping for the coolest gifts is not that easy and deciding on the kind of gift to give would really give someone a hard time to decide. Luckily, with the availability of internet, you could do your shopping online without the hassle of crowded shopping malls.

Talking of online shopping, I have stumbled upon Pexagontech.com website which offers great personalized holiday gift ideas. What's great about Pexagon is that from now until the end of the year, Pexagon is offering 20% off 4 awesome personalized holiday gift ideas!

Pexagon have personalized thumb drives that you can buy for as low as $7.99 after discount. These thumb drives are available in 14 colors and up to 16GB in capacity. Since it’s a personalized gift, it comes with FREE custom laser engraving. You could choose from 32 exciting themes such as "#1 Teacher" or "Happy Holidays" and also choose to engrave two lines of personalized text on the reverse side. They also have personalized pens for as low as $1.59 after discount. These pens come in 3 unique styles, multiple colors and a free line of personalized laser engraved text! For the environmentally friendly gifts, they have the wooden flash drives. And if you are looking for a simple but elegant gift for your business associates, you can choose the Business Card Flash Drives that looks like a business card. The back side of this card hides a small USB cable (with huge 2GB capacity) and the front side can be engraved for free with 3 lines of personalization text, for as low as $15.99 after discount.



So hurry, visit Pexagontech.com now to choose your personalized holiday gifts. Remember the 20% off is valid from now until the end of the year only.

Gremlin creature ?

Have you seen Gremlims movie ? Well, the Gremlins are those little furry creatures that if you get them wet, they multiply and if you feed them after midnight, they turn pretty evil.






Getting them wet (to multiply) and feeding them (to get pretty nasty) maybe fictitious, but apparently,a Gremlin, mouse-sized primate called a Pygmy Tarsier, has been found alive for the first time in 85 years. These creatures were last seen in 1921 and were thought to be extinct until this recent discovery.




These little Gremlins weigh about 2 ounces, have large eyes, claws instead of fingernails, and are covered in fur to keep warm in the damp and cool environment and were found hiding in the mountaintops of a cloud forest in Indonesia, .



We only hope that nobody will feed these little creatures after midnight.

Source : Weird Asia News

Need Quality Prescription Eyeglasses ?

As I was surfing the net last night, I stumble upon a website where you could order your stylish and quality eyeglasses. The site I am refering to is optical4less.com.

Browsing through Optical4less site, you will be surprise at the amazing deals on high quality prescription eyeglasses for as low as 15 dollars. Not only that, you could choose from the huge selection of their popular optical products. Whether your eyeglasses requirement is for distance, bifocal reading glasses, with single vision lenses, tinted sunglasses, or progressive reading eyeglasses ,Optical4less got all these at a very low price.

Likewise, shopping at Optical4less website was quite exciting as you could use the site's virtual try-on system. The system would allow you to try your chosen eyeglasses virtually. You just have to upload your photo and use the site software to fit on your chosen eyeglasses. With the virtual try-on system, you could also try to add special effects like tinting of glasses, adding/removing of cliparts such as mousetache, etc.

Ordering more than 1 pair of their trendy eyeglasses would entitle you to free worldwide shipping and with their fast delivery service, your glasses would arrive within a week. If you order 4 pairs of glasses or purchase $150 in a single order, you are entitled to a $50 value free gift. So what are you waiting for, visit Optical4less.com now to order your stylish eyeglasses.

Top 10 EC Droppers - November 2008

Thank you to all who have been actively coming over to my blog and thank you to those who do not make it to this month top 10 list.  Hope that you would be in my December 2008 list.

Top 10 EC Droppers for the Month of November 2008

1. Gumer
2. Out of the Blue
3. Random Thoughts
4. Gas Saver
5. Republic of A
6. My Careless Whispers
7. Great Registry Hacks
8. Gray and Becca
9. 24patrol
10. postcards from miss igorota

Did marrow transplant cure AIDS?

An American man who suffered from AIDS appears to have been cured of the disease 20 months after receiving a targeted bone marrow transplant normally used to fight leukemia, his doctors said.

Tough Choices for Treating Breast Cancer

A new and experimental treatment for breast cancer means that patients and doctors must choose treatments based on incomplete research.

Children Toys

With the holiday season fast approaching, have you prepared your shopping list ? Well, number one on your shopping list maybe toys for your children. But do you know that scientific evidence showed that some toys maybe a health threat to children ? Yes, its a health risk as children can be exposed to chemicals from many sources, and because the effects of these chemicals maybe cummulative, we should be very careful in choosing the toys that we are buying. One should avoid buying toys that contain dangerous chemicals such as cadmium, lead, arsenic, bromine and mercury. These chemicals such as lead can harm brain development, with effects including reduced IQ, shorter attention span, and delayed learning. Cadmium is a known human carcinogen, and can harm the kidneys and lungs. It can have adverse effects on motor skills and behavior.

So this coming holiday season, choose safer toy products as your gift.

For more information about children's product safety and hazards, please visit Kids in Danger Website.

511 Tactical Pants

Are you looking for pants that are durable and are made of quality materials ? Well, the good news is, you could find this at Work Boots USA. Work Boots USA does not just offer ordinary pants, but 5.11 Tactical series pants which has a 30 year history of serving law enforcement, military or firefighting personnels and has consistently stood the test of time. These tactical pants are durable, long lasting and are made of high quality materials that provide comfort to the wearer.

Listed below are just some of the tactical pant products at Work Boots USA that you may be interested :
a. 5.11 Tactical TDU Poly/Cotton Rip-Stop Pant - these teflon treated water resistant pants consist of 65% polyester and 35% cotton ripstop. It has a double knee / removable neoprene knee pads, expandable comfort waist with reinforced waist band, BBS™ cargo pockets with magazine keepers, hook-and-loop closures and triple stitching and rear utility pockets.

b. 5.11 denim pants - These 100% cotton denim pants has hidden pockets inside front and back waistband. It also has hidden magazine pockets and hidden handcuff pockets.

c. Tactical Covert Khaki Pants - These khakis feature an 8.8-oz., wrinkle and fade-resistant cotton twill that’s been treated with Teflon® for stain and soil resistance. These khaki pants feature a flat front and a total of 8 pockets: two traditional style front pockets, each with interior zipper-closed pockets for magazines or accessories, plus two standard rear pockets and two concealed vertical thigh pockets with zippers hidden along the side seams.

d. 5.11 Tactical HRT Flash Fire Resistant Jumpsuit - features 5.11’s proprietary fire resistant FR-X3 fabric which is lightweight, breathable and functional fabric.

Currently, the above 511 Pants are on a promotional discounted offer and even if you are not working as a military or firefighting personnel, you could order one for your own personal use.

Other best selling products of Work Boots USA are tactical clothing, uniforms, outerwear, footwear, eyewear, duty knives, tactical gear, holsters, etc.

With the holiday season just around the corner, I think I know what gift I should buy for my uncle who works as a fire marshal in our town.

Julian Beever Amazing Arts

His art is extremley unique and very amazing. This guy makes
his paintings on the footpaths and pavements but when you
look at them from a certain angle, they appear to be 3D !!!
And in some cases they are just lifelike !

I strongly feel that everybody should know about such an
amazing artist named Julian Beever and get a chance to praise his unique art!

Here are some of his truly amazing works.

Taking The Plunge



Red Car


Butterfly




White Water Rafting



Batman And Robin To The Rescue



To see more of his amazing arts, visit Julian Beever site


Photo Credit : Julian Beever

XML Developers Contest

Are you a student studying computer related course, a computer professional or one who loves computer programming ? Then I have a good news for you. IDUG is currently sponsoring a contest especially for you. Yes, its a developers (students, professionals and hobbyists) contest to increase awareness and familiarity with XQuery, XML and DB2.

The contest consists of five different categories of varying skill levels and you could enter in either of the 5 categories or join in all of the categories. The 5 categories are as follows :

i. Video Contest - Upload your video regarding the creative use of XML, XQuery or DB2.

ii. Gadget Contest - Develop a downloadable gadget or widget leveraging DB2.

iii. Query Contest: - Using XQuery, you need to answer a series of questions. All correct answers (answer and query structure) entered to win larger prizes.

iv. Ported App Contest - Port an an existing application to use XML, XQuery or DB2. You could enter as an individual or you could form your team.

v. Develop an application - Develop a useful and user-friendly application using XML, XQuery or DB2. You could enter as an individual or assemble a team.

For each contest category that you join, you will be able to earn participation points. Also, a XML Grand Master status will be awarded to the one who amasses the most participation points.

By joining the contest, you can gain some well-deserved recognition for your skills. Oh yeah, have I mentioned that there's thousands of dollars in prizes to be won, ranging from Wiis to complimentary technical conferences.

So hurry, join IDUG contest now. Good Luck !

Things you should know about the Internet

It has been more than a decade when Internet became popular, but would you like to know more about it. The internet has greatly influenced our lives today and it became a new medium for us to express our thoughts. Even businesses had made use of it for advertising purposes, shopping portals and for many other innovations that had greatly benefitted us. It has also provided jobs to a lot of people especially to those working at home. Read more about the internet by clicking tbe link below.

10 Things You Should Know About the Internet

Gifts for Holiday Season

With the holiday season just around the corner, people are busy preparing their shopping list now for their Christmas gifts. I, too, am preparing my own gifts for my nieces, nephews and for my long list of godchildren. I am thinking of toys for them. You see, toys are a great gift idea as children around the world love playing toys. Luckily we have the internet now as its worth shopping oline to find the best and most popular cheap toys.

Two of my newphews are now teenagers so I am thinking of electronic games as my gift to them. Nintendo Wii console would be great for them I think. With "Wii fit" games, it will be a great fun for the whole family. Not only that, Wii fit would improved health for the whole family as playing the game would increase ones physical activity. My office colleague is suggesting to buy another popular toys for teenagers and that is Mario Kart and Wii Wheel as he just bought one for his teenage son. He said that his son really love and enjoys playing it on weekends. Hhhmmm, now my choices for my gifts are getting better.

I tried to used Google to search more info about Wii and other popular toys and have come to a blog called The Pasty Muncher and I could not stop laughing after reading some of the blog entries. Click this "Wii at work" link to read about one of his funny post about playing at work.

Have you start your online shopping spree ?

Wireless Router Disconection issue

My friend had ask me what brand of wireless router is good to buy. I was surprise why he wanted to buy another one when he had mentioned to me a few weeks ago that he just bought a wifi router. He had bought a DLink DI-624 model router. So I ask him, what was wrong with his new wireless router. He told me that there were connection issues with his router, ie. his wireless connection often drops and disconnects from the internet.

So I went with him to his place and try to check his router. I tried to check on the internet about Dlink router and I had read a lot of disconnection problems about this model. I've read that you could fix the disconnection problem by upgrading the router's firmware and so we did download and upgrade the router's firmware to DI-624 Revision D firmware version 4.0.4 (beta). After flashing the old firmware and rebooting process, his internet connection had become stable. Problem solved. So if you are having disconnection iissues with your DLink wireless router, you could also try to fix the problem by upgrading the firmware to the latest version.

You'll find the latest DI-624 firmware here:
http://ftp.dlink.ru/pub/Router/DI-624/Firmware/Rev%20D/
(save the file that ends with ".bin".)

HK Clean PC Day

Today is HK's Clean PC day and members of the public are encouraged by the government to to support it by performing five simple tasks to protect their personal computers (PCs) against cyber attacks.

The five steps are:

1. Change your passwords
2. Check that the personal firewall is operating
3. Apply the latest software patches
4. Update your anti-virus signature files
5. Run an anti-virus scan on your computer

Hong Kong Clean PC Day has been held annually since 2005 and this campaign was jointly organized by Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (HKCERT. Its aim is to raise public awareness of the importance of information security and to help computer users cultivate the good habit of cleaning up their PCs and minimising the risk of cyber attacks.

Well, I think the campaign by HK Government is a good way for us to keep our PC protected and likewise keep it up to its peak performance by doing routinary maintenance routines such as defragging, housekeeping of files, etc.

Have you perform the 5 steps mentioned above to protect your PC/laptop ?

Duk Ling Junk

The junk ship that was pictured on the banner of this blog is one of the famous icons of Hong Kong. Chinese junk or sailing boats had once crowded the waters around Hong Kong but those days are gone now and only one junk remains which is the "Duk Ling Junk".



Duk Ling these days is used mainly for private charters, commercials and film making. She was featured in Jules Verne's classic "Around the world in 80 Days". DUK LING was build in Macau 50 years ago and had served as a fishing boat until she was bought by Frenchman Pierric Couderc in 1985. He spent almost three years restoring her to her original glory.

If you happen to visit Hong Kong, you can sail aboard her by joining the Hong Kong Tourism Board's Kaleidoscope programme. Yes, HKTB is offering a daytime harbour cruise for HK visitors. The boat ride last for an hour. There is room for about thirty people per voyage. The Duk Ling leaves from the Kowloon Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui and the Queen’s Pier in Central on Hong Kong Island. So don't miss the unique chance to experience sailing as in the old days and sail Victoria Harbour for a 360 degree view of Hong Kong's impressive skyline. You may contact the HKTB Visitor Hotline at +852 2508 1234 for more information on sailing times.

Funny Pictures

I received an email from a friend with some funny pictures attached. I have selected 2 pictures which I would like to share it here.

Hopefully these pictures would help you understand computer terminology better and likewise help you in choosing your furniture(s) at home (just kidding hehehe).

Computer Terms


Small Chair

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Virtual Gift Cards from Bookswim

Thinking of birthday or holiday gifts ? Why not give Virtual Gift Cards from Bookswim. Aside from giving someone a great gift that they will never forget, you have the opportunity to win one of two Sony Blu Ray players that will be given out.



BookSwim offers virtual gift cards which are the perfect gift for those who love to read. Whats more, Bookswim is giving incentives to customers who purchase gift cards between now and December 31, 2008. Read the incentive details below :

INCENTIVES TO BOOKSWIM GIFT CARD PURCHASERS
a. You will receive a $5 gift card to be used by you for every $50 gift card purchased. Similarly, for every $100 gift card you buy, you will receive your own $20 gift card.

b. Additionally, 2 lucky winners will receive a $299 Sony Blu-Ray Disc Player. One entry for every gift card purchase.

c. You are helping the environment by having a tree planted in honor of your gift. Your tree helps balance out new book paper production through a partnership with Eco-Libris.

Click this LINK for more details about this offer.

HK's Peak Tram

If you want to have a fun and cool short ride up an extremely steep mountain slope, then be thrilled by a ride, take the Peak tram. Pulled by steel cables, the tram climbs 373 meters (about 1,200 feet) up the slope of a mountain to the Peak Tower terminus. Its so steep that the buildings you would pass by look like its leaning at 45 degree angle. Choose to be seated on the right side of the Peak Tram as you have better view. There are some intermediate stations in going up to the Peak Tower terminus. To get off in one of these stations, you would need to press a button found in the middle of the Peak tram.



The Peak Tram Station could be found in Garden Road, Central near St. Joseph building and you can reach it in either of the following ways :

1. Take bus 15C from Central's Pier 6

2. Walk from Central's MTR Station Exit J2, walk along Garden Road which is in between The Bank of China building and The Cheung Kong Centre. The walk to the tram station would takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

Note that during public holidays or weekends, queuing for the Peak Tram may take about 30 minutes.

Peak Tram Operating Hours: 07:00 to 00:00 daily
Frequency: Every 10 to 15 minutes
Website: http://www.thepeak.com.hk

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Firststreet USB Turntables

For Boomers and Beyond

This unique USB turntable allows you to convert your old vinyl collection directly to CD or MP3 quickly and easily. It plugs directly into your computer using the included USB cable. In addition, it comes complete with dustcover, and all cables are included.

Tips in securing your passwords or PIN

Nowadays, its quite common to have so many passwords to keep as every time you register to have a new email account perhaps would require you to register and have a unique password for that particular email account. What if you have 5 or 15 accounts for your email, blogger accounts to gaming site accounts, most probably you would be using a pattern in order to remember all these passwords. Aaaahhhh PASSWORD, the most vital info in todays computer age. From using our ATM card PINs to logging to your favorite friendster account, passwords keep your personal information from people who are privy to steal your personal information. Yet the vast majority of people who accesses the internet uses the same passwords for different sites that they have registered.



Here's some suggestion that you may apply to secure your password or PIN use.
a. Give careful thought when creating your password whether it is for online gaming site or your email account. Passwords keep your data private.

b. Never choose anything obvious information such as your name, address or date of birth, spouse name or your child's name.

c. Never use the same password for multiple web sites or accounts

d. Passwords that include the combination of letters and numbers such as 'rx8c64m39' are more secure. Having an alpha-numeric passwords ensures that no one could easily guess your password and hackers will likely move on to try to find other less secure accounts, but again, avoid those easily-guessed alpha-numeric passwords such as '5678lisa'.

e. If you write your password on a piece of paper, ensure that you keep this piece of info in a safe place. Your best bet is to have a password management software that will help you secure ALL your passwords from. Password management softwares operates on a simple concept, all your passwords are contained within it, protected by a master password. Most of these password management programs utilizes 128-bit encryption to keep data secure. Now you only have to memorize ONE complex master password.

f. Do not let other people know of your password or PIN. Not even to your boyfriend or girlriend, if he or she does not have business in accessing accounts, its safer to keep your password to yourself.

g. Change your passwords once in a while.


In summary, make your passwords unique and as complex as you can manage to remember. The better they are, the less you will have to worry about the security of your private personal data - the perfect password is only good as long as just YOU know what it is.

Photo credit : John Shakespeare / www.theage.com.au

6 years old Little Dreamers - Amy and Angelo

I was able to watch the finals of Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2 last week and was awed by the two 6 years old contestants Amy and Angelo who were both musically talented. These 2 contestants are really great. In fact, Amy Nobleza from Las Pinas City was invited to guest on the award winning talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show. So after Charice Pempengco and Arnel Pineda, this time a 6 years old girl name Amy will show the world that Pinoys really got talent.

Here's some video clips I've got from YouTube.

PDA Little Dreamer AMY singing "what's love got to do"


PDA Little Dreamer ANGELO singing "I want to break free"

Ngong Ping 360

Ngong Ping 360 is a scenic cable car ride which transports people from Tung Chung MTR station to the Big Buddha and vice versa. If you have ever been in a ski gondola before, the experience is quite similar. Each Ngong Ping cable car can fit up to 17 passengers.



From Tung Chung MTR, the cable car would rise dramatically on top of body of water and one could view the skycrapers of Tung Chung likewise riders of the Ngong Ping would enjoy the great view of HK Chep Lap Kok Airport with full view of airplanes which are taking off and landing. The almost 6 kilometer journey ends in Lantau Island where one could enjoy the panoramic views of Lantau’s mountainous terrain and the ocean beyond. Ensure to get ready of your digital camera to capture the great views on your journey. Near the Lantau Island station is a rustic Chinese village wherein tourist could fancy shopping for souvenirs. The place have it's own charm in spite of a lot of tourist visiting the village.



In going back to Tung Chung MTR, there's a long queue on the cable car as hundreds of people are waiting to get on, especially on weekends or public holidays, but luckily, the line moves quickly. Waiting time may last for about an hour.

Daddy, may I please borrow $25?

Here's an email I received today which I would like to share. Its definitely worth to read it.

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to

have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Tips for those wearing Orthodontic braces

For those wearing braces or other orthodontic appliances, keeping your teeth and gums clean may be a bit more difficult and tedious, but the resulting smile will be worth the effort. If you wear braces, here's some Do's and Don'ts for you to follow :

Braces Do's
a. After meal, brush your teeth. If you can't brush right away, rinse your mouth (and removable appliance) with water.
b. Floss every day. Your orthodontist can give you a floss threader if you're having difficulties.
c. Chew only sugarless gum.
d. Call your orthodontist if anything is loose or broken.

Braces Don'ts
a. Don't miss your orthodontic appointments. Missed or delayed appointments mean you'll have to wear your braces longer.
b. Don't eat hard, sticky or chewy foods, crunchy foods.
c. Don't chew on pens, pencils, ice, fingernails or anything that might break your braces.

Shiny clean teeth and fresh breath are good reasons for practicing good oral hygiene, but the most important reason is that keeping your gums and teeth clean and healthy will help you keep your teeth throughout your life. Although some diseases and conditions can make dental disease and tooth loss more likely, most of us have a great deal of control over whether we keep our teeth into old age. Wouldn't you rather be chewing with your own natural teeth?

Creating a New Hard Drive Partition

I found one useful FREE software that could be a good alternative to Partition Magic. This software is called EASEUS Partition Manager.


Creating a New Hard Drive Partition

As Partition Magic alternative, EASEUS Partition Manager is an excellent partition management freeware for home users only. It not only provides with convenient user-interface simplifying your tasks but also enables you to configure and manage partitions of hard drive.

With the help of EASEUS Partition Manager, you can create, delete, format partitions on your hard disk quickly and easily. The most attractive feature is that it can resize/move your partitions by using the free spaces without destroying data.

Here are some of the main functions of EASEUS Partition Manager:
a. Resize/ Move partitions
b. Support hardware RAID
c. Create partitions
d. Delete/ (delete all) partitions
e. Label partitions
f. Format partitions
g. View Disk/Partition property
h. Set Active
i. Hide/Unhide partitions

Why not have a try and see how powerful these functions of this free partition software are? You could download EASEUS Partition Manager here.



Note : It is always a good practice to backup your data before using the tool.

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SportsVids

I have always been a sports enthusiast, that is why I have a huge collection of sport videos and magazines at home. Likewise, when I am surfing or browsing through the different websites, I am fascinated at the online sport videos or clips that were uploaded by fellow bloggers or webmasters.

For every world sport event that is shown on TV, I ensure that I watch the 5 sport events that I enjoy so much. These are basketball, swimming, soccer, gymnastics and tennis. I got so excited and happy when I found out about a website that was put up for sports enthusiast like myself. The site was SportsVids. SportVids site is a social network for every sport fan who want to share their favorite sport videos with friends and family around the globe. Here on SportsVids, you could watch videos or video clips not only of the 5 sport events that I have mentioned earlier but of several other sports like boxing, track and field, football, golf, hockey, and more. SportsVids is a one stop site for all sport videos that you and I could possibly want to see.

So to my friends and fellow bloggers who are sports enthusiasts, go to SportsVids website to upload and share your top sport video highlights.

Lastly, allow me to share the 5 sport video highlights that I have chosen from SportsVids website.


Michael Phelps World Record 200m Fly - Click here for more sports videos


Malerie Dozier - Beam Routine 09-07-08 - Click here for more sports videos


The best of Kobe Bryant - Click here for more sports videos


David Beckham Highlights - Click here for more sports videos


Federer vs. Nadal: Wimbledon 2008 - Click here for more sports videos

T-Mobile Launches G1 Google Phone - HTC Android Phone

T-Mobile, Google, and HTC had just launched the G1 - the world's first Android-powered phone. Check it out.





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Just Sign Up with PerformancingAds

Today, I have just registered to PerformancingAds. To my fellow bloggers who have not heard of PerformancingAds, this is another way of monetizing your blog. It is an ad network and claim to be the largest ad marketplace for the 125×125 ad button, which has slowly become the ad format of choice for bloggers who wants to make money online.

Some reasons why you should make use of PerformancingAds are as follows :
1. Have years of experience buying and selling ads
2. Fully-automated, self-serve ad system
3. The largest 125×125 ad marketplace on the planet
4. Automatically get paid at the end of the same month you earn your money
5. Book your own ads… for free
6. Built by publishers, for publishers



They also offer an effective way to generate traffic for your blog: traffic exchange
- Earn credits when advertisements are booked in your regions
- Use those earned credits to have your own exchange ad displayed on other publisher sites

For Advertisers, PerformancingADs are offering a $25 off from your order of $100 or more. Here are some good reasons why you should also choose to advertise with PerformancingAds:
a. Have years of experience buying and selling ads
b. Easily buy targeted advertising on influential blogs, with many more coming online every day
c. Quickly advertise across entire blog networks, reach your widest audience with one ad buy
d. Advertise to your niche audience, effortlessly
e. Simple to use and with quick results

So what are you waiting for ? Go ahead and sign up for an account today at PerformancingAds.

For bloggers or Publishers, start Making Money With PerformancingAds or if you are a business owner, place your Targeted Blog Advertising With PerformancingAds and increase your sales revenue now !

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Celine/ Charice Duet "Because You Loved Me" Part 2

Celine Dions Concert Tour at Madison Square Garden Manhattan, New York with Charice Pempengco as her guest.



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Celine/ Charice Duet "Because You Loved Me" Part 1

Celine Dions Concert Tour at Madison Square Garden Manhattan, New York with Charice Pempengco as her guest.



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The 7 children in "The Sound of Music" after 40 years!

The Sound of Music is a 1965 film. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1965 and is one of the most popular musicals ever produced.
Still remember the 7 children of The Trapp Family?





They were having a reunion after 40 years and all were looking healthy and amazingly well.....










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iLASIK and LASIK usage in the military and NASA

For almost 5 years now, civilians sufferring from astigmatism or have vision problems have benefited and had regain their 20/20 vision through the use of the latest laser vision correction technology called LASIK. The US military and NASA had validated the facts about LASIK technology established standards of safety and effectiveness in correcting ones vision. Knowing very well that a 20/20 vision is one of their personnel's most important asset in undertaking their critical mission, NASA and the US Department of Defense had tapped the use of modern LASIK to increase the performance of their specialized personel. “The DOD and NASA have validated the fact that today’s LASIK exceeds all established standards of safety and effectiveness,” said Steven Schallhorn, M.D., a retired U.S. Navy captain and leader of clinical research and studies done for the DOD regarding the use of LASIK. The use of modern LASIK has greatly benefitted NASA and US military as out of 100 military personnel who had undergone the procedure, 95 had achieved 20/20 uncorrected vision or even better. Most of those satisfied personnels are aviators that could attest and recommend the use of LASIK surgery to other naval aviators to regain their almost perfect vision.

So what is Modern LASIK ? Modern LASIK, known as the iLASIK™ Procedure, uses two lasers instead of one, as in earlier versions of the procedure. In the first stage of iLASIK, wave-front technology maps the unique characteristics of the individual’s eyes. Then, an ultrafast, computer-guided laser creates a corneal flap. This laser replaces the handheld microkeratome blade used in older forms of LASIK and makes the procedure exceptionally safe. After the flap is created, the wave-front mapping data guides a second laser for vision correction. The combination of these advanced laser technologies creates a custom-fit procedure clinically proven to provide excellent safety and visual results.

According to Dr. Schallhorn, “technologically speaking, there is no better time than now to join the over 12 million Americans who have benefited from LASIK." So what are you waiting for, visit www.ilasik.com for more LASIK information and to determine whether LASIK is right for you.

Thinkpad R61

One of my colleague is selling his Thinkpad laptop after using it for about a year. The particular model is Thinkpad R61 and he is selling it at a very good price HKD 4800 (about USD 600). I am now thinking whether to replace my 3-1/2 yrs old Dell laptop with this. Here's the spec of it :



Lenovo Thinkpad R61
- Intel Core 2 Duo T7300(2GHz)
- 2 GB RAM
- 120 GB 5400rpm HD
- 14.1" WXGA 1280x800 Intel X3100 (Max. Shared 128mb VRAM)
- DVD +/-RW
- Intel 802.11abg (Wi-fi)
- Bluetooth
- Modem
- 1Gb Ethernet
- UltraNav, WebCam
- Card Reader
- 4c Li-Ion
- WinVista Home Premium 32
- Weight: 2.4 kg
- Accessories: case and power adaptor
- Warranty until 25-Sep-2010, Parts & Labour; Carry-in



Click on the link here for Thinkpad R61 review

Sometimes, I am thinking what is it with HK people that material things does not last long with them ? Is it the craze to have the latest gadget and be ahead of everyone ?



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Improve Your Flirting Ability

Have you heard or learned that Extreme Style by VO5 has a put up an online game site called Ultimate Flirting Championship ? Well if not, I encourage you to go to check it out by clicking the widget below this post. Why am I encouraging you to visit the site ? Its because the new game is quite different from all other online games. Its a dating game wherein you have to create your online profile and then show your flirting abilities. You choose some questions to be answered by players and at the end of the game, you get to choose the winner that you like to date with. In real life situation, if you were able to achieved or arranged for your first date with your love one, then you may have worn that Victory Hair using the Extreme Style by VO5.

If you were not successful yet to arrange your first date with your crush, then you may have to try this online dating game and who knows, this game might help you achieve your goal. Just go to Ultimate Flirting Championship website, play the game and improve your flirting ability. If you are a blogger, encourage your readers to play the game too by placing the widget below on your post.

Pork Adobo

Adobo is one of my favorite dish and is quite popular in Philippines. Typically made up of pork or chicken or a combination of both, it is usually cooked slowly with soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaf and peppercorns. Adobo has relative long shelf life due to its vinegar ingredients and so its commonly packed by mountaineers.

Ingredients
1 kg. Pork Belly cut into serving pieces
1/2 head garlic, crushed
1 tsp. peppercorns
1/2 c. vinegar
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 pcs. bay leaf
salt
pepper
cooking oil

Procedure:
a. Saute the garlic, and when golden brown add the pork and continue to saute until pork becomes golden brown and starts to sizzle.
b. Pour in 6 to 8 cups of water, vinegar and soy sauce and bring to boil.
c. Continue boiling until meat is tender (add water as necessary).
d. Add peppercorns, bay leaf and continue to simmer until liquid is reduced to almost dry.
e. Serve hot with rice.


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V05's Ultimate Flirting Championship

Do you love to watch movies ? For those who love watching hollywood movies, surely, they must have heard some famous pick up lines. But have you ever wondered or tried to use these pick up lines in real life ? I have not tried yet as I am not really good in delivering lines so I do not really know whether it would work or not. Maybe, for other persons who are quite good and more confident in delivering pick up lines, some of the famous hollywood pickup qoutes are really effective and may have a positive result. Some example of popular Hollywood pick up lines are :

You think I’m gorgeous… you want to kiss me… you want to hug me… you want to love me… you want to smooch me…


We live in a cynical world. A cynical world. And we work in a business of tough competitors. I love you. You … complete me.


I appreciate this whole seduction thing you’ve got going on here, but let me give you a tip: I’m a sure thing.


Still wondering whether the above lines would really work or not ? Then I urged you to go clicking this link www.VO5VictoryHair.com or clicking the widget below to play the Extreme Style by VO5 Ultimate Flirting Championship game and test your abilities. You could play the game and test out some of these classic lines and see if they really work. And if you are a fellow blogger and love the game, I encouraged you to grab the widget and put it on your blog(s) as well.

Google Chrome

I have just downloaded a new beta browser from Google. Its called Google Chrome. Its a clean and fast browser that is streamlined and simple. Tabs are separated and according to Google, when one tab crashed, the other tabs would not be affected. It seems that Google is taking the right step by having the browser code to be open source code thereby inviting developers to contribute to its enhancements.



Here's the summarize feature of Google Chrome :
a. One box for everything Web search. Web history. Address bar. Suggestions as you type. One unified box serves all your browsing needs

b. New Tab page Every time you open a new tab, you'll see a visual sampling of your most visited sites, most used search engines, and recently bookmarked pages and closed tabs

c. Application shortcuts Use web apps without opening your browser. Application shortcuts can directly load your favorite online apps

d. Dynamic tabs You can drag tabs out of the browser to create new windows, gather multiple tabs into one window or arrange your tabs however you wish -- quickly and easily

e. Crash control Every tab you're using is run independently in the browser, so if one app crashes it won't take anything else down

f. Incognito mode Don't want pages you visit to show up in your web history? Choose incognito mode for private browsing

g. Safe browsing Google Chrome warns you if you're about to visit a suspected phishing, malware or otherwise unsafe website

h. Instant bookmarks Want to bookmark a web page? Just click the star icon at the left edge of the address bar and you're done

j. Importing settings When you switch to Google Chrome, you can pick up where you left off with all the bookmarks and passwords from your existing browser

k. Simpler downloads No intrusive download manager; you see your download's status at the bottom of your current window

You could go to click this link to download Google Chrome.






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