Phew, for the first time in my life, I have made a post related to politics! Wohoo for me. Well it really wasn't entirely political but I was quite leaking my political views on it. It felt good, for a first time. Read my Senator Manny Villar Surely Knows How To Tickle The Youth post on my other blog.

A rally is being blocked by police officials. I personally don't like rallies even if
I spent most of my school life in UP.
Anyways, what's happening with our country? I am still not done watching the SONA of our dear president. I think I'm still on the 4th clip out of 7. My initial reaction to her SONA is not negative. I don't hate Gloria Arroyo. I even think she's one of the bravest and toughest presidents in our country. I don't mind her extending her term. She's done a lot for our country. I've seen the improvements. And don't say I'm biased as I'm not from the elite class (if that exists). I really saw major improvements compared to Erap's time. And I believe what she was saying in her SONA.

But given she will end her term next year, who'll replace? I don't know. I have no bets and I have not registered as a voter yet, hihi. And as for the Akala Mo and other crappy political ads, that won't do good. The music may rock but the agenda sucks. Woot, sorry.

Now to blog updates. I've got a new header for this blog. Simple. And I also added the Followers widget (look to your right, matey). So I would appreciate it if you add your face on that box. Please.

August is coming and it will be another bumpy month for me. And I'm getting old. 20. See you around!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshuaphilippesy/

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Business and information technology go hand in hand to create a wider arena for progress in all the countries. Information technology serves as the backbone for the rapid growth of businesses. Systems like Accounting Information Systems, Management Information Systems, networks, websites and many more pave way for a better business process and a faster upward growth.

The internet is another hot area under information technology. A wide world like this could get in a lot of revenue for a business. As a business grow, so as their demands from their network. With the coming in of multimedia such as data, voice, image and video in business processes, a larger support from networks is highly needed to enhance business communications and lower operating costs.

A business could choose whether to go wireless or wired. Wireless networking is the trend as wired networks can be less cost-effective than wireless ones. Wireless networks make use of routers that allow everyone to either connect to the local network or connect to the internet. Convenience and accessibility is what the router is all about.

The most famous brand of router is Cisco. Anybody working with hardware knows about Cisco. It has already even become a standard. Cisco routers (and just like any other high-quality routers) cost much. A business needed to be cost-effective right? Routers, even though well taken cared of are subject to wearing off. But sometimes, it is unavoidable that it gets destroyed by human or non-human reasons. So here's the next big question: when a router fails, is it advisable to purchase a new piece of it? If we talk about spending less for a replacement, the probable answer would be a NO. Just like as there are used clothes, there are also used Cisco routers that are still in excellent condition. A used Cisco router may not look like its best but the functioning condition is what truly matters.

A Cisco 2801 router
Just keep in mind to keep a keen eye when buying used or second-hand hardware (not just routers).

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontthinkfeel/

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The expanse of the World Wide Web is so unfathomable. Day by day we come up with ways on how to utilize the prowess of the internet. Business, for example, came storming in the WWW in such a big swipe that almost everyone knows now that earning money online is possible and could even be a full-time career.

Blogging and internet marketing are two of the most common sources of earning money online. Online advertising spreads up its reach to even ordinary bloggers. Bloggers are now called the new media. And online advertising works well on media, right. So online advertising middle persons or companies hire bloggers to do the advertising. "How to make money blogging" resources are fully available on the internet. I also have my nifty list: Online money makers.

Aside from blogging, you could go and become an affiliate in an internet marketing schema. Once a customer purchases something from/through your link, you get a share of the sale (revenue sharing). Sounds easy but it is actually difficult to have buyers when you haven't established yourself well in the internet world.

Another one is Pay-per-click or Paid-to-click. Every click you give, you earn a small amount. But once accumulated could well prove useful too.

This is just a short post, sort of a recap of the earning capabilities of the online world. Know that blogging for money could actually be a good goal but sometimes, it could get in the way of your becoming a real blogger in essence. There are many issues surrounding this one but who knows the final answer but ourselves.

Don't forget to visit my other blog: Earning, Blogging, Tips
Thanks!

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Today's a fine day. It was a bit warm but not at all too freakin' hot to make me complain the whole time. In short, I got a good sunny day today. While riding way back home, I was positioned on the vehicle in such a way that the setting sun's rays are hitting my face. Eek talk about the electromagnetic waves grilling my skin, hehe. The winds are not at all too strong. They're just there.

And then I remember yesterday. I went to the mall during my free wee hours and the weather was cold, the sky's dark and the nimbus clouds were staring at me. After an hour of chilling at the local bookstores looking for something (or someone), the rain poured down. Fortunately, Cebu's not expecting heavy torrential rains that time, so I returned to school dry (but my pants' lower portion and shoes a bit wet).

What am I on different weathers? I guess we don't stay consistent on changing seasons.

On Sunny Days

From http://www.flickr.com/photos/matey/

On sunny days I am sweaty and I feel stressed out. Well, this is of course on extremely hot sunny days where the winds may be hidden by Aeolus and not set free on us. That is one reason why I never forget to bring a hanky. I sweat a lot and if I forget to bring a hanky or any piece of clean cloth, I go... wild. Luckily, our classrooms are built with (cranky) aircon units (or ceiling fans on other rooms)! At least I don't have to worry about wiping my sweat during class hours. But really, plain and dry sunny days torture me. My sweat glands are over-active thus sunny days would seem like I'm on a workout (which I don't do, hehe). But of course, there are cases when I'd pray hard just for the sun to go out. That includes beach outings, travels and outdoor events.

On Rainy Days


From http://www.flickr.com/photos/bossbob50/

I both love and hate the rain. I only love the rain when I'm at home (given I did not hang some laundry a while ago). But sometimes, being lazy means loving the rain. I am born on an August that is why I love the cold more than the hot. Even on a cold day, I'd still turn on the electric fan (not minding if it's cranky or a fanimation). My classmates always complain why I'd still turn on the fan or aircon on a rainy day at school. Well, I'm cool, hehe. But being outdoor on a rainy day is a pain in the ass. Walk in the mud, your bag wet, your clothes wet, the hassle of pulling out an umbrella, the burden of protecting whatevers not supposed to be wet -- err.


From http://www.flickr.com/photos/brokenpixels/

Hehe, I love to complain as you can see. But why not combine both and end up with a... windy day! Well that's my kind of weather! Even the best craftmade fans would end up ignored on a fine, cold, windy day!

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My mom just told me this morning, "Bry, why don't we cut off our cable subscription?". Aside from our heavy cost-cutting measures nowadays, it would also be really practical to cut off our cable subscription since nobody's really watching anything everyday. My sister usually watches Star Movies during the weekend only. The rest of us, if we have time, only watch local television channels (like ABS-CBN). So we're actually paying for something we're not using.

And tada! Here comes Mr. Satellite TV. Why are we not transferring to using satellite TV? I'm not really sure where to find satellite TV providers here in Cebu, hihi. But one high school classmate really uses this kind of TV. I see a satellite dish outside their home every time I walk home from school. But I don't think so we'd have something like a Direct TV and Dish Network at home. Not really practical for us.

Since I'm not really into the TV anymore, I don't care if our cable TV gets cut off. Or maybe I will care later but now, I have other priorities and interests. Watching ABS-CBN is already cool for me.

Phew, whatta short update. :)

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Last May 16, 2009, the Cebu Bloggers Society got to have a first-hand experience of Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort in Mactan Island, Cebu. With the warm welcome that the staff of Maribago Bluewater Cebu gave us, we made positive first impressions of the resort, the amenities and the service. I made a longer review about how Maribago Bluewater Resort promotes tourism and also about our experience in the resort. Here is a link to my post:
Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort Promotes Tourism, Invites Bloggers. There is also an available video which can be found here: Maribago Bluewater Video.

Here are some photos I took of the place when we went there last summer. These photos are taken by me and more of them are found here in my Flickr set.

A Jump to the Island of Sumilon!

After the great Maribago Bluewater Resort experience, we are now once invited by the Bluewater management to have a fun-filled day tour in one of their properties, Sumilon Bluewater Island Resort. Sumilon Bluewater Island Resort is located on tranquil Sumilon Island. The Island remains as one of Cebu's best kept secrets and is found on the southeastern tip of the mainland. I cannot wait for our day tour at Sumilon to come! Visit the Sumilon Bluewater Blog for more details.


Photo from pinoyworld.orgSumilon Island, here I come! Woot!

See Pinoyworld for more info.

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Oh yes, I am about to get 20 but I still don't know how to drive. Loser much? We have a car but I still don't (or probably don't want to) know how to drive.

Yesterday, while going home, a friend Catherine and I talked about how easy it would be just to take a cab home and not walk far to get to the terminal and ride three public vehicles. But that would be costly. The highest benefit would be convenience though. But then she said, it'd be better if you have your own car (and probably own driver?) to drive. Practically with that, anywhere is possible.

But let's just do some day-dreaming here. What IF I know how to drive? Would I just be driving some old and cranky car? I don't think so. How would I impress girls with such car? I'd probably be bringing it on with the newest and hottest car models zooming in and out of the suburban traffic.

Nissan 370Z

A sports car. Practically, a straightforward sports car with features like a wedge-like body style, two front seats, modest cargo area, and a 3.7-liter V-6 that pumps out 332 horsepower. Let the pictures do the talking. I'll talk after the pictures. :P

There's a silver version of the car but the blue one is uber-cool and hip and just right enough for someone my age. Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/brokenpixels/ for the images. I imagine how many girls would stick to me after seeing me ride that car??

Ferrari

Here's another sports car but from the world-famous Ferrari line. Ferrari 430, termed 'exotic', is powered by a 4.3-liter V-8 developing 383 horsepower and equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. F1 variants use a race-style "clutchless" manual transmission which uses computer controls to engage and disengage the clutch. There are much more style and function features on the Ferrari 430, some of which my non-driver mind couldn't grasp well. Check out these Ferrari photos:







Uh, I'm drooling over those Ferrari's. The red looks hot but is ordinary. Yellow one's cool. Photos from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mart1n/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/erdero/.

Ford Fusion

With a blend of sharp edges and contoured surfaces, who would not want the Ford Fusion. After the line of sports cars above, here comes a car for luxury and power. Ford Fusion looks like a car for the likes of Brad Pitt or Oprah or Michael Jackson. The availability of "optional dual chrome exhaust tips (standard on SE V-6 and SEL V-6)," as well as an "optional sports appearance package: 18-inch alloy wheels, unique black chrome grill and rear-lip spoiler" distinguishes the Ford Fusion from previous models.







The Ford Fusion, even though sleek and huge for a family to fit in, is not really my type compared to the sports cars above. The Ford Fusion looks good as a family car. Well, for my family, that's why I wanted it too. Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/38059972@N04/ for the pictures.

Buick Enclave

I've heard reviews of the Enclave telling it to be curvy and lean. The "voluptuous curves" and "graceful lines" are praised by the likes of Edmunds, while Road & Travel calls it "slinky". Well, probably I may call it 'sexy'. But it doesn't look sexy for me. It looks like a fusion of vintage and modern feel in a car. It looks like a dog, hehe.







The Enclave is also a family-friendly car with its wide space inside. Just read this Buick Enclave review to know more. Photos from http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetoad01/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mileoneautomotive/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/8438327@N05/.

Those cars make it to my top 4 list. Why? Just look at the photos and they will talk to you. I'd willingly learn to drive ASAP if I were to be given any one of those. But all have to wait before I buy one and learn how to drive. For now, the pictures will just have to feed my eyes and fantasies.

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Buzzz... This blog's a bit silent nowadays compared to my other blogs. Eh, I guess my studies are really sucking me in like it's one big black hole and I'm just a lowly planet trying to exist in the solar system. Doh, enough of the astronomy (I don't have such subject).

Dear Everything Online, I am sorry for neglecting you for a while. I will be back soon. Err, now. I am being sandwiched between school, work, blogging and blogging events. I feel like a tuna spread today! Aside from the blogging events that I attend together with my beloved Cebu Bloggers Family, there are also some teensy significant events at school that may well poked my interest a bit.

Number 1, my awaited yearly acquaintance party. Parteeh! And tradition says BEACH. I love beach! What I like about the acquaintance party at school is that I get to have a glimpse of the newest faces and the old unknown ones. I get to interact with them (since I don't greet strangers at school) and play games with them and get WET with them. Woohoo. This year's acquaintance party organized by our newest and very responsible (unlike last year's.. oops!) Computer Science Guild president, would be on the first of August and tentatively on Naga City, south of Cebu. I'm excited. I even wanted it to be on the 18th of July. Never mind, I'm cool with August 1 anyways.

Number 2, Computer Science Guild outreach program. I have no idea when where and how. I just know we'd be doing this voluntarily and I want to go to this event.

Number 3, Research Workshop. This has something to do with making our school a research-centered one. And this, they say, would help us graduate by injecting our idle minds with brilliant ideas for our thesis. I'm just quite fussed about the A(H1N1) scare they're bringing on.

Number 4, the yearly and biggest, grandest event in UP Cebu: COOK OUT. It's real parteeh til morning. I have complete attendance to all the Cook Out since I stepped foot in college. I will complete it! Probably my last Cook Out. Please. I am inviting everybody to be there at the Cook Out 2009 (Move UP) on August 7, 2009 at the UP Cebu Campus soccer field. Be there or be boring and bored. Heeh.

Well, those are four of some events I am looking forward to at school. See I'm no 'nobody' at school too.

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In this millennium, almost all of us already have our own computers or laptops. These gadgets have been readily available to the greater public and prices have went down in the past years. But as a lot of us are getting 'online', so are the 'bad guys'. So who are they?

The more we indulge ourselves in the likes of social networking and blogging, the more we also divulge of our own personal (most often offline) lives. And did you know that no matter how boring you think you are, there will still be 'bad guys' who will want to consume your personal identity and most often, use it? The most common example would be credit card scams wherein one would accidentally give out account information and in the end find themselves paying for stuff they didn't purchase. Another example is when you are someone from the corporate world, most likely someone would try to 'break in' your hard disk to get some crucial and usable information. It might be applicable what they say in the medical world that prevention is better than cure.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/matica/

But amidst the risks and possibilities, there will always be a turnaround to it. We could protect our computers and laptops! There are many free and purchasable laptop security tools that can be availed online or even offline. For example, a tracking software could be installed on your laptop to track it if it gets stolen or lost. A simple lock may be bought in local stores to bind your laptop somewhere so nobody gets to bring it anywhere you don't know. On the other hand, businesspeople may want to use hard drive encryption tools or software to protect important data/information that resides in the disk. This is to ensure that when stolen, the thief still won't be able to dive into the information kept in the hard drive. For the on-the-go people, a mobile data protection system would be a good choice. Anywhere in the world, there will always be people who will try to take advantage of what you have (i.e. the information you bring). Having an overall protection (data and gadget itself) would be a good choice when you are a person who always travels and do field work. Such protection system though won't be much of a use to home-bound persons.

Those few mentioned things are just some of the ways to protect your computer and the data that you keep in it. One should not wait for the time when you will lose it all. Now is the time to get alert and protect your computer, your data and your personal identity.

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I have once written about K Alliance in two previous posts namely Get Yourself An IT Career and Windows Server 2008 and Deployment. On a nutshell, K Alliance provides online classes which provide quality and comprehensive education in any of their CompTIA Certification titles since they build their course's curriculum around guidelines CompTIA gives them for being members of its Learning Alliance.

I just found out recently that K Alliance has been on Reuters, a UK-based, Canadian-controlled news service and former financial market data provider. The title says K Alliance Is Now a Member of CompTIA's Network of Specialized Trainers. That simply said K Alliance is now officially a member of the world prestigious CompTIA’s Network of Specialized Trainers. This means that availing of the online classes in K Alliance will assure you that you will learn something and from someone who is qualified to train or teach you. If you are doubtful about online training, here’s an excerpt from the Reuters article: All of K Alliance's CompTIA certification courses meet the strict standards and requirements that their exams test, providing for excellent curriculums that rival traditional schooling courses held at offsite locations. Convinced?

Currently the list of their online training classes grows big. Some of the newest courses they offer include Windows Server 2008 training, MCITP Server Administrator, MCITP Enteprise Administrator and many more. There are a lot more to choose from.

Here's a K Alliance sample intro:

Congratulations to K Alliance for this achievement! If you want to read the full article on Reuters, click: K Alliance featured on Reuters.

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I promised myself not to post anything hate-related in this blog because I know how negative the consequences are when I do so (based on unsubtle experiences). But I just can’t help it. Lately, PLDT has been a big pain in the ass.

It started last month, where we experienced internet-less days from Monday to Saturday (except Wednesday). That’s almost a week of having no internet at home. We always call and report an average of two times a day. We endure the 15 to 20 minutes wait before a customer service representative picks up. It’s always the same SOP, the same questions, the same procedures (unplug wires) and it ends up in we’ll call you back. But I salute PLDT’s response capabilities (see, this is no hate post after all). They really do check up on us always to ask if our internet’s back already. But the answer then was always a no.

I have to endure the noise in the internet café, the very-hard-to-press keys of the keyboard, and the inconvenience of not having your own files in the computer. I also have to walk a long distance just to reach the nearest internet café. Yes, I’m not from the city (I’ve never lived in the city).

But thank God, the internet came back Saturday. What’s interesting is the contractor said they only received the report THAT day. That was Saturday. We started reporting Monday. Where did their communication system go wrong?

But I didn’t fret more as the internet’s back, there’s nothing to worry. So I have to endure weeks again of very slow internet. Yes, slow. 0.3MB download and 0.2MB upload (average). It would take forever to download something. But I endured and thought that I must be patient. But today, just today, when my download was 97% done, then the internet spoofed away! Died. Lost. Freakin’ frustrated about it. That was 100+ MB of download file and then when I thought it’d be all over, the internet screwed the process up. We called PLDT again and got the same SOP from them. Waiting now.

I know some of these problems may be caused by their ongoing project now. I understand a bit. But I don’t understand a big part of it why they have to compromise their services for the expansion of the network. And it’d be better if they tell us that when we make complains rather than knowing it from somebody else. My friend is experiencing the same problems. What’s bad about this is we keep on paying even if we are not able to use the internet.

What should we do, transfer to Globe Broadband? Ooops, I don’t think that would be a better option. OK, so forget the PLDT MyDSL Sucks Big Time title. Let’s just say, PLDT MyDSL Sucks Small Time. Better?

I hope the internet’s back. I’m still pro-PLDT MyDSL anyways.

P.S. I wrote this 9:20PM July 4, 2009 and there’s no internet so I’m doing this in MS Word. I’m bored.

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