To Blog Or Not To Blog

People who blog often find it hard to post a new weblog on a regular basis, especially those who are particularly meticulous in terms of the kind of information that they post in their blogs like me. If you are blogging just for the sake of posting something even if it does not make sense, you wouldn't feel the same degree of difficulty. You see, blogging needs a good train of thought for you to be able to compose an interesting log about your fields of interests. You need to take time to sit down, ponder on what you want to write about, and finally work your way through the keyboard to input the information that you want to share. Yet there is no specific guidelines as to how you should create and record your blogs. In fact, a blog can go any which way you want it to be.

Let me just say that once you have made it a habit to blog, you kind of feel an itch to write a blog as often as you can. It almost makes you feel like you have this growing need to speak out, be heard or just be able to vent your thoughts through your blog. The question though is, do you really have the time to do it?
In my case, after all the things that I need to accomplish in a day, with my current schedule, it is virtually impossible to blog as often as I used to. But like I told you, once you are into blogging, you're in for that urge to blog. It's just a matter now of creating a balance between the different priorities, so that blogging can proceed without compromising other daily tasks which are more important.

Why should you blog?

1. Blogging is as good as any hobby. If you enjoy it, keep on doing it.
2. Blogging frees your mind of hassles and perhaps unpleasant thoughts. It's a good way to ventilate yourself mentally.
3. Blogging is an excellent way of record-keeping. This is especially useful if your blog covers topics on useful tips, sites, howtos, utilities, tools, practical solutions and just about anything that can come in handy at certain times. I've been basically going back to my blogs to refer to stuff that I can use to solve problems as such as computer-related ones. I tell you, my blog has really been useful to me personally because what I particularly know now, I don't necessarily remember all of it three months later.
4. Blogging is an art. It's a form of free expression, thus, however you do your blog, you impart a bit of your artistic inclinations.
5. Blogging is a powerful tool that manages to break through global boundaries and different cultural genres.
6. Blogging is free media. It's your personal free press. Use it, but use it responsibly and effectively.
7. Blogging sharpens your mind ( with good practice) and enhances your communication skills.
8. Blogging helps update your know-how on things that interest you. Why? Because to effectively blog you have to be informed, and to be informed you have to read. Reading allows you to absorb fresh ideas, information and simply updates your basic knowledge on anything under the sun.
9. Blogging has commercial value. If you know how to do it, blogging can bring financial rewards.
10. Best of all, blogging allows you to compete with the rest of the world, as everyone tries to bombard everyone with limitless information. It's just a matter of who among us can impart the most useful kind of information to any audience at a given time. Information is power, remember that.

Why shouldn't you blog?

1. If the last time you had a good night sleep was when someone accidentally hit you in the head and you passed out.
2. You are too stressed to even spell "BLUG".
3. Your blog is more of a punishment than a treat.
4. Your blog is sending all kinds of red flags.
5. Reading your own blog becomes a painstaking task.
6. Your blog is a comprehensive array of well-crafted back links from other blogs.
7. Your blog is turning the rest of the world against you.
8. Your blog is just a waste of prime internet realty.
9. Your blog is absent. When? When you write about something and there's really nothing there.
10. When blogging is really not your thing. Find something else to waste your life on.

No, don't listen to me! Come on guys, you know better than that. Blogging is blogging. To each his own. Live and let live.

Nuvi 680: Cruising In Style

K. I must admit that I don't drive without my nuvi 680 in hand. It always sits on my dashboard, so I am totally worry-free as I take point A to point B. It is basically my travel guide which of course never runs out of patience if I insist on taking a different route. You see, the funny thing is, try to imagine somebody looking at a map and guiding you as you drive. If it was a real passenger in your car, chances are when directions are not followed, it's going to lead into an argument or an altercation. With the GPS (global positioning system) though, you're the boss. It is typical to hear, "...in 0.3 miles turn left on ..." from your GPS device, but if you miss the turn, you'll hear, "...recalculating..." and if you miss again, and again, your GPS device always will recalculate for you (without yelling at you!)

I'm sure a lot of people don't even know that this technology exists--the capability to be tracked by satellite wherever you are within continental USA, Canada, Europe. And for some who know, perhaps the thought of having a GPS device in their vehicle doesn't entice them. Well, technology is not for everyone, but for the lucky few who appreciate the advances of technology, you're in for a more convenient life, not necessarily simpler, though.

So what does the nuvi 680 do? Basically, it is a more feature-rich device compared to the nuvi 660. Both the nuvi 660 & 680 employ an MP3 player, a hands-free speakerphone which is bluetooth enabled so you can make and receive calls from and to your cellphone using the nuvi, preloaded maps with categorized POIs(points of interest), bigger touch screen, extras like cruising speed and simulator, option to travel using shorter distance or shorter time, loud speakers, voice options for the audio guide (male or female). The nuvi 680 does even better with MSN direct. As the nuvi 680 is mounted on the vehicle dock, MSN direct is activated giving you up to the minute information on traffic, weather and even a comparison on gas prices. Wow,that's really useful!

These GPS models are a bit pricey compared to their other counterparts, but you always get what you pay for. Honestly, the GPS is so useful to me that I actually own both the nuvi 660 and the nuvi 680, so I'm never without it when I'm on the road. Tip: You can always compare prices and get good deals using pricegrabber.com.

I got mine about $300 cheaper compared to retail prices from electronic stores even at sale prices.

The nuvi always gives me a kick everytime I hear, "...recalculating...". I hope one day they'll make one that is more humanely involved, one that says stuff like, "Moron, I told you not to go that way!" or "You're helpless, you cannot even drive your way out of a trash can!" or "That's it! You're on your own genius!" I think that will be more fun. It will be of course, limited edition for the witty few funny people. I'd be the first one to get it as soon as it is available.

Before I forget, the screen of the nuvi is easy on your eyes and the graphics on the monitor adapts to whether it's daytime or nighttime automatically, so you can easily see where you're going whatever time of day it is.

Anyway, the nuvi is a nice little work of genius, that I can never do without. It's as if it is surgically attached to me, indefinitely. Get one now, and live large.

PINGO: The Best & Most Cost-Effective International Calling Service

It is a fact that when you are away from home, and you want to keep in touch with friends and relatives across the globe you are willing to pay anythings just to hear your loved one's voice.

For most of us, Filipinos, we love to keep in touch with our relatives, thus, we spend a good portion of our overseas earnings for long distance calls.

With the advent of voice over internet protocol, or simply VOIP, international long distance call rates have become less expensive than they used to be. But cheap doesn't mean satisfactory service. Some VOIP long distance providers just don't give you a good two way communication media, thus, you suffer with audio problems which of course is fair because "you always get what you pay for". Right? No. Just like all other services, you can still find a good bargain. So even if you pay cheaper long distance rates, you can still get a good service for your money.

Let me just share to you what services I used to avail of to initiate international long distance calls. First off, YahooVoice Phoneout service. At 19 cents a minute to call a landlline or a mobile phone across the globe from your computer, you already get a good value for your money. Of course with some local phone providers you get cheaper rates at 16 cents a minute (looks like it) but when you add up taxes, subscription fees and a bunch of local and national taxes, it really doesn't come out cheaper at all. Agree?

Then I tried TalkPlus. They charge less than 15 cents a minute for a call to the Philippines from the U.S. The one thing I like about it is you can call from your cellphone. Tip: If you have a MyFaves subscription with T-Mobile, you can just add the access number as one of your MyFaves contacts and you can talk for hours from your mobile phone without eating up your minutes. Another advantage of TalkPlus is you can either call through, meaning, you dial their access number to reach an international number, or you can set it to call back by initiating a call through the internet and as soon as you are connected to the called party your phone rings.

The only drawback is, sometimes, you have to take several tries to get connected to the number you are calling. But the voice clarity is remarkable. It's almost as if you are not using a VOIP service.

Then I found PINGO. And bingo, I'm stuck on it for good. So far it's the best VOIP service out there. Let me point out the good stuff. First, it charges me 13.8 cents to make a call to the Philippines from the U.S., so it's the cheapest I've found, basically. Second, it's fairly easy to use. All you have to do is sign-up online on their website, buy your minutes, perhaps opt for auto-recharge, register your PINPass numbers. PINPass numbers are your regular phone numbers or mobile phone numbers that you register so you can initiate a call from those numbers and the system will validate your call right away without a need to enter a PIN number. So if you register your home phone number, as soon as you call the PINGO access number, you can then proceed with dialing the country code, area code and phone number without much of a hassle. Again if you have a mobile phone, and you are subscribed to unlimited minutes like MyFaves, you can call as well from your mobile phone. You can register up to ten PINPass numbers. Isn't that neat? The voice clarity is superb. Third, there are no connection fees and extra hidden charges. You really get a good run for your money with their service. Bonus: You get $5 of free minutes if you refer a friend and when you first sign-up for the service.

Is there anything bad about the service? Well, the fact that it's cheaper and much more easier to use, you might get used to calling home as often as you want and as long as you want. So be forwarned. I will guarantee you that if you try PINGO, you will love it. PostScript: I don't get any monetary bonus from featuring this service in my blog, except for the satisfaction of course, of sharing something useful to my blog readers. Enjoy!

◊» The Geek In Me

Cool Stuff for the Geek

Electronic toys are fun to play with especially if it keeps you efficient and entertained. Most gadgets that we do have these days allow us to multitask but with all the bugs and fixes sometimes it becomes a painstaking experience. Nevertheless, technology is evolving faster than it used to be. With the growing number of competitors trying to outdo each other in the technology market, a new idea easily branches into another concept producing even more products with slight enhancement from the original prototype. Thus, we, the consumers are bombarded with an endless array of electronic toys sending us to confusion as we try to decide which ones really stand out in terms of price and functionality.

Let’s take a look at a few gadgets.

The cellphone.

Try visiting gsmarena or mobileburn and you will see the newest cellphones in the market, even those that are still in production and are not yet released for sale. With cellphones, you can have whatever functionalities you like, small or big, with camera or without camera, with mp3 player, with FM, with calendar, with calculator, with wi-fi, with edge technology, with HSDPA(high speed download packet access, with 3G, with keyboard, with stylus, with touch screen, with Bluetooth, with IRDA port, in several dimensions and shapes & shades to choose from. From mere cellphones, to camera phones, to music phones, to internet phones, to smart phones. After a while you really get bored. That’s the bottom line. But when a new technology emerges, it's kind of inspiring to venture on technology again.

HTC Atlas (T-Mobile Wing). Does it give you wings to fly? I was torn between a Blackberry 8800 and T-M Wing. Never had a Blackberry, yet I got the T-M Wing. The screen isn’t as bright as my old QTek S200. A good thing with it though is it has a slide out keyboard which come in handy when you want to check your e-mails or maybe use one of the mobile office tools that come preloaded with the device( mobile word, excel, powerpoint). Another good feature of this device is it runs on Windows Mobile 6. There isn’t really that much of a difference in terms of the processing speed. Sometimes it even comes in as sluggish, but there’s an easy option for you to stop all running programs, or check for running programs that are eating up your system resources. Another notable difference is you can easily customize your settings without having to download a separate tool like the resco file / registry explorer to be able to effect change in your ringtones, alerts, and alarm settings. Say you want to have an mp3 song for a ringtone, all you have to do is upload your ringtones on a microSD (the phone comes with the slot) then just copy and paste the ringtones you want to the corresponding ringtones folder. The device itself is average to me compared to other devices of similar features and functionalities, but if you do subscribe with T-mobile you get a few useful tools like the web service. This device is Wi-fi and Edge/GPRS enabled. If you are in a hotspot you can connect using wireless technology and browse the net like you would using a regular computer. However, if you are subscribed to the web service the Edge/GPRS technology allows you to connect to the net at a slower pace compared to the wi-fi but still it is very useful. A really good tool that comes with the gadget is Windows Live Search powered by NavTeq and Traffic. It gives you the ability to search for POI (point of interest) near your location, get directions, get maps, route your destination, zoom in and zoom out in the map, get traffic data and pretty much do anything that you can do using mapquest or googlemaps. It really is very handy. It’s a good alternative to having your own GPS system while on the road at no cost. Except for the web service of course. Add to it the 2.0 megapixel camera, the expandable memory, the media player, the pdf reader, and all other necessary tools for organizing, and it’s a pretty efficient mobile tool.

iPhone. Well this cellphone has most of the consumers anxiously waiting for its release which is scheduled on June 29th this year through AT&T. And yes, there’s no pre-order option. I wouldn’t talk much about it because I haven’t held one but basing on the commercials that they show on TV or on their website, it seems pretty impressive. It definitely introduces a breakthrough technology using the electronic keypad which is easily manipulated by touching. Is it the only phone that employs such in the market? The answer is NO.

HTC Elf. Even before iPhone could get to the hands of the consumers the Elf is already making a buzz in the market at about the same time, with its rugged form factor and the TouchFLO technology that works pretty much like the iPhone. By touching the screen on a particular direction you can pretty much browse through the menus like flipping the pages of a book. Check out their website.

I-Mate Ultimate. I-mate introduces its Ultimate line of phones which are quite attractive in terms of design and form factor. It managed to break the typical smartphone or pocket PC look and incorporated a sleek and clean design for their cellphones. The good thing is you can choose from five (5) Ultimate designs. The better part is they all employ the latest Windows mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.

The Mobile reader.

If you love to read e-books you probably are still reading them through your palmtop or pocket PCs or smartphones. It’s time for you to upgrade. E-ink already made its way to the mobile market. E-ink has redefined the way mobile readers read. Unlike reading from a computer e-ink makes your e-books look more like a regular book without the glare, and it pretty much can be read clearly even outdoors.

Sony Portable Reader. You can load your e-books and read just like you would a regular book. This device is basically intended for a mobile reader’s needs but it also employs other media capability like playing audio files, and other documents. It has a slot for SD cards or a memory stick and can hold a library of books. So beware as soon as you start reading through the portable reader you might not be able to stop.

Iliad by iRex. iRexTechnologies is also into the e-ink technology. The Iliad is a few hundred dollars more expensive than the Sony e-reader but it also has more for the money. It is wi-fi enabled so you can easily connect to the internet and browse the net and it allows you to annotate files and store them in your PC or in your Iliad. You can basically read and write using the Iliad. You can also connect it to your PC, so if you are browsing the net and you find something interesting, just download it to the Iliad, unhook from your computer, lay on the couch and read like you are reading a regular paper. It has a slot for Compact Flash and MMC. You can even connect a USB stick into it.

With Sony you get a coupon that is usable towards the purchase of e-books at their own e-book site Connect eBookstore. With Iliad you can download from manybooks.net or from any e-book site that sells e-books in pdf format or mobipocket format. You can go to ebookmall and subscribe to a lifetime service with free downloads. Better yet, scour the net and find the best and free e-books. How about trying blueportal.org? Enhance your mobile reading life now.

UMPC. Ultra Mobile PC. You see them now as the ultimate in mobile computing. Their size is only a little bigger than that of the Pocket PC or PDA but their capability and processing speed is that of a regular PC. I don’t see though that much of an advantage when using this device because the screen is too small and most of the time you use a stylus instead of a keyboard. I mean, I have a Fujitsu tablet with an 8.5” screen and it’s a full-size laptop in terms of functionality and it’s still pretty lightweight. But if you want to explore technology and you can afford it get one. Perhaps it’s a life-changing experience.

Wireless media/Entertainment.

Slingbox. If you haven’t made use of the slingbox get one now and enjoy TV through the net. But why would you want one when you probably have a big HDTV in your living room? If you don’t want to share your viewing experience with anyone then you can just sit in front of your computer and watch your show. Or if you travel a lot and you are too hooked to the boob-tube then you definitely have to sling it.

iPod Video. So you managed to download your favorite TV shows and movies from iTunes but are you going to watch them through that small screen? There’s an alternative. Get an iPod dock with video player and be able to watch your videos on a 7” or 8.5” screen on the go. Get one from Philips, Memorex, or Altec Lansing.

Apple TV. Stream your movies from your iTunes library to your TV using this device through a network. It will be an amazing experience.

Travel Gear.

GPS. A lot of people are still not convinced about the usability of a GPS. Try one and you will not be cruising without it. Getting directions, checking for Points of Interests and getting the feeling of having a companion while you drive is a good experience. Just be able to keep your eyes on the road though. There are lots of them out there. Which one will you pick if you are a beginner? Well, it probably helps if you get one with a touch screen option or perhaps one that gives you spoken turn by turn directions. Try Garmin Nuvi 200. If you want a bigger screen with mp3 player, Bluetooth capability and a better interaction get the Nuvi 660. There are other good GPS products out there like TomTom but based on my research, so far these two made it to the top.

Airport Express. Stuck in a hotel room with wired internet that you share with your family or a companion? How do you get around this dilemma? Get Airport Express by Apple and you can easily create your own wireless network with firewall and security encryption. You will be unwired in no time. You can also get one from LinkSys. The good thing about the Airport Express is it lets you stream your music wirelessly through your network.

Other interesting gadgets.

Sony VAIO LS Series. With duo processors, maximized storage capability, TV tuner, own desktop camera, and a superb space-saving design you will most likely want to have one. Check out the site for more information.

Flybook VM. It’s a laptop that has an intuitive design. Unfold the laptop and you pretty much have something that looks more like a separate flat screen and a keyboard just like modern PCs.

Computer-less e-mail printer. Print e-mails and photos directly without any computer. Just attach the printer to your phone at home and get pre-set spam-free e-mails delivered to you 24/7.

◊» The Geek In Me

TJMaxx: A Woman's Shopping Haven

Why do women who love shopping love to go to a place called TJMaxx? Why not? There's nothing better than browsing through an endless array of stuff, and if you are a serious shopper who wants to get a good deal, it is always exciting when you find a good bargain somewhere in the stack of discounted stuff. I am not crazy about brand names, but I know that some designer stuff really matters in terms of the quality of their product. They have to take care of their name, thus, you can always count on a good product from the leading designer brands. Right? Call it crazy, but you can just drop me off a TJMaxx outlet, leave me there for a day and I am perfectly happy.

Men just don't get it. Shopping to women is like hunting to men. Call it a sport if you like. And what better way to go hunting than being in a huge maze of discounted designer goodies? There is always that thrill of finding something of good quality and paying less than half of the MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price). (I should get a TJMaxx gift C for writing this, huh?) Do you agree with me? But just don't go overboard. Remember, you are there to hunt for a good bargain and not to splurge, though if you have the money to do it, shop to your heart's content.

I hardly even go to the mall to shop. I don't get the same excitement that I experience when I shop at discount stores. I don't like discount stores in general, but a few of them make it to my list like TJMaxx, Marshalls, Home Goods. The rest of the discount stores, I could care less if they stay in business or not.

What else, aside from getting a good bargain attracts me to go shopping to TJMaxx? Simple. Most of the time, you get stuff that are one-of-a-kind. Getting a bag that doesn't look like it's been mass-produced for seventy-five million people is awesome. It gives you the feeling of exclusivity in terms of ownership, unless of course, you bump into somebody who is sporting the same apparel or accessory. So even if I love shopping, I wouldn't be as excited if I were to shop in mall outlet stores.

I know that the stuff that I get from TJMaxx will not end up an untimely demise inside my forgotten collection of unused stuff. They will of course serve a good deal of wear & tear before I
pass them on to a worthy recipient.

And for as long as TJMaxx is there, my shopping days will always be exciting.

◊» Because I'm Not A Man

Geek Laughter: How A Mouse Works

If you are a geek, you are most likely fascinated by the inner workings of a particular function, task, machinery and so on. Often than not, though, the simplest of tasks are set aside for the reason that they don't involve much thought-provoking discoveries.

Take for example the case of a mouse click. How many processes do you think are involved to carry out the basic functions of your mouse? Hmmm... like moving your mouse around your screen area. Come on, it's not rocket science, but if you can only see (and you will!) how much work is involved, then you would take the necessary precautions, so as not to eat up your system resources. Do you want to find out what it's like? Click on ' How A Mouse Works ' and I promise you it's more fascinating, than it really appears.

Well if you are reading this paragraph that means that you didn't click on the above link otherwise, you would have been laughing so hard by now that your tear ducts are all stimulated causing your eyes to get tear-filled as you burst in successive laughter.

I salute the genius and the creativity behind this work. It's the work of a real thinker, with a good sense of wit and humor.

Well, I hope you had fun, because I sure did.

◊» The Geek In Me

The Die Is Cast: Woe Is The Filipino, Woe Is Me!

On May 14, 2007, the Philippines held its elections for the senate, congress and local officials. Just like the past elections, this election is also tainted with violence, vote-buying and cheating. I don't think that the Filipino people will ever realize the consequences of being so careless when it comes to choosing the right people to do the job correctly.

Including the 12 senate seats, and the 275 congressional seats, there are 17,889 posts up for grabs. Multiply that to the expenses that each politician spends during the campaign. How much do you think is the Filipino people indebted, if let us just say 80 per cent of these politicians will collect back through whatever means, their expenditures during the elections? Do the math. Add to that the fixed 200M annual pork barrel for each of the 275 Congressmen, and we have a very fat bill on our way, for all Filipinos to pay. Woe is the Filipino.

◊» Filipino What? The Die Is Cast: Woe Is The Filipino, Woe Is Me!

Child, Behold Thy Mother

Mother's day will be celebrated this weekend. Many businesses of course are making such a huge business out of this celebration dedicated for all mothers out there. In fact, you might notice that your mailbox is bombarded with endless e-mails on savings for mother's day gifts.

In this material world, it's so easy to forget the more valuable things in life. We somehow think that intangible things can be made tangible. How much do you love your mother? That will be precisely converted to how grand is your material gift to your mother on mother's day. Anyways, what is it like to be a mother? How do you put into words the virtue of that woman who gave her all to breathe life into your existence?

◊» Because I'm Not A Man Child, Behold Thy Mother

Short-Term Memory

Three wives were talking to each other about the dilemma of getting old.

WIFE1: I don't mind getting old but the older I get the harder it is for me to remember certain things. Can you imagine, sometimes I put my dentures in the freezer and just as when I take some ice cubes I end up taking my dentures as well such that both the ice cubes and my dentures end up floating in my glass.

◊» (15)Tell Me If This Ain't Funny Short-Term Memory

⇒ All Posts In This Category

I Believe In Angels

What would you do if your car stalls right in a busy intersection just as when visibility is poor because it's past nine o'clock at night and you are in a dark-colored vehicle? Add to that the fact that you are not travelling alone, but you have your precious little children inside your car. You have your entire family with you.

You feel an inconceivable horror but you cannot panic because the lives of your family is in your hands. You restart the car hoping that it will be brought back to life and you can wheel your family to safety. As you click the key to start the car, still nothing happens. Now you are overcome with fear, as well as with the hope of all hopes that no vehicle goes blind-sighted and hit your car and injure your entire family that's inside your car. Right away, you think that your only chance of survival is to take everyone out of the car and take them to a safe spot, not minding if the car gets mangled up for as long as all the passengers are safe. But then the doors won't even open. Your car's electrical system just shut down completely, that even the hazard lights won't come on. You are there in the middle of the road with speeding cars, and nothing at your disposal to forewarn oncoming motorists that a stalled car with people inside is impossibly stuck in a highly dangerous predicament. The next few seconds ticks slowly for you as your odds of getting to safety slips out of your hands.

◊» Duh . . . Keep It To Yourself I Believe In Angels

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