(Updated) PayPal Phils almost FULLY functional; now adds local bank account withdrawal service

I am a PinoyMoneyTalk.com fan and let me re-echo the GOOD NEWS I got from the blog. Filipino PayPal accounts can now withdraw funds to local bank accounts! Almost fully operational--the adding of funds using local banks is the only major feature left to await.

Effective yesterday, PayPal started allowing users in the Philippines to withdraw funds to local bank accounts.

See more details at PinoyMoneyTalk.com now. I think this blog is the first to break the news about a fully operational PayPal Philippines.

Proof:


Xoom and WU, prepare to vanish! Beat these rates:

Withdrawal is...
Free
for 7,000.00 PHP or more

50.00 PHP
for 6,999.99 PHP or less


-------
UPDATES/Notes:

There seem to be delays in eon fund transfers recently, as reported by Paypal users from Luzon. See some details here.

Paypal does not charge direct-to-bank-account transfers (for withdrawals of P7000 or more) but banks do charge some amount for them.

Philippine banks don't seem to be so well-oriented with the new PayPal feature yet. Be cautious and stick to tried and tested procedures first and wait for the "dust to settle." Well, unless you intend to be the lab mouse.

Also, regularly visit PinoyMoneyTalk.com now for PayPal updates. The blog is a good resource -- perhaps the best. It also has forums and highly interactive comment sections per article. It's a gotw for Pinoys who are new to the PayPal system or online money in general.

Cold treatments that do and don't work

Tis the season of sneezing...

Here are some information and insights useful when dealing with colds or flu.

What works
Catching a cold means getting sick for about a week. That's miserable but the following remedies may help:

• Water and other fluids. Water, juice, clear broth, or warm lemon water with honey are some of the fluids that loosen congestion and prevent dehydration. Alcohol, coffee, and caffeinated sodas should be avoided.
  
• Salt water. Mix 1/2 teaspoon salt in 8-ounces of warm water and use it as a gargle to temporarily relieve a sore or scratchy throat.
• Saline nasal sprays. Good for addressing stuffiness and congestion, saline sprays are advisable as they don't lead to a rebound effect - a worsening of symptoms when the medication is discontinued. Saline nasal sprays are also safe for children.
  
• Chicken soup. Scientists have found that chicken soup helps relieve cold and flu symptoms in a couple of ways. It acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the movement of the immune system cells that participate in the body's inflammatory response. It also temporarily speeds up the movement of mucus through the nose. Fast mucus movement helps relieve congestion and limits the amount of time viruses are in contact with the nose lining. The effects immaterially vary in canned or homemade soups.
  
• Over-the-counter cold medications. The common resort is of course an effective one but one should be careful with side effects and dosage.
  
• Humidity. Humidifiers can add home moisture and help prevent opportunities for cold viruses to proliferate. Not cleaned properly though, they facilitate fungal and mold thriving.

What don't work

There are several ineffective cold remedies and some of the more common ones are listed below.

• Antibiotics. Antibiotics are for bacteria. Colds are caused by viruses. Viruses are not bacteria.
  
• Antihistamines. The do well preventing your runny nose, watery eyes, or sneezing. But basically, they are intended for allergies. They're no help in addressing colds.
  
• Over-the-counter (OTC) cough syrups. The American College of Chest Physicians discourages the use of OTC cough syrups especially for children below age 14.
  
• Not eating. A "folklore," reducing or abstaining from food intake does nothing to reduce symptoms or sickness.
  

What probably won't hurt

In spite of ongoing studies, the scientific jury is still out on popular cold remedies such as vitamin C, echinacea and zinc. Here's an update on some common alternative remedies:

• Vitamin C. Vitamin C doesn't appear to prevent colds in most people, but taking large doses - up to 5,000 milligrams - at the beginning of a cold may reduce the severity of symptoms. Lower doses - 200 to 300 milligrams - may shorten a cold's duration. Just what constitutes an optimum dose isn't clear, but amounts in excess of 2,000 milligrams a day may cause nausea and diarrhea.
• Echinacea. A National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine study released in 2005 found that echinacea did little to prevent or shorten colds. But testing herbs is difficult, and scientists say more research is necessary. Some people swear by Airborne, an herbal cold remedy that's sold over the counter in many drugstores.
• Zinc. The cold-fighting reputation of zinc has had its ups and downs. That's because many zinc studies - both those that find the mineral beneficial and those that do not - are flawed. In studies with positive results, zinc seemed most effective taken as a lozenge or nasal spray within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. Taking zinc with food reduced side effects, including a bad taste and nausea.

Avoiding colds

Rhinoviruses are the typical causes of colds. They spread through the air through coughing or sneezing (of someone infected). Infection can go through the mouth, eyes, and nose. Colds aren't inevitable though. Viruses linger on surfaces for up to 48 hours but washing for at least 15 seconds with ordinary soap and water or with an alcohol-based sanitizer destroys most of these viruses. The following definitely help.

• Use a paper towel rather than a cloth one to dry hands.
• Avoid people who are sick whenever possible, and stay home if you're sick yourself.
• Avoid sharing dishes, towels or silverware.
• Observe cleanliness.
  
• Manage stress as this lowers immunity and increases susceptibility to illnesses.
• Exercise and take a healthful diet to boost immunity.

Another Webnode adticle

I owe Webnode a review post but I still couldn't do an extensive exploring of its features so I'm coming up with this adticle. I've done a post on how Webnode is feature-wise better than Weebly before. I'm gonna do a collation of reactions on the tool/service now.

----
An Aussie blogger writes “WebNode ~ build your own web site for free”
The blog is mostly positive and it's getting these comments...

1. Paul Hamilton Says:
   January 3rd, 2008 at 4:23 am Hi John. Thanks for mentioning my blog–two days in a row! Thanks, too, for reviewing Webnode. Your screenshots are helpful. I agree with you that this looks like a powerful tool for anyone wanting to create a full featured website. I think I need an interpretation of the license issue from someone with more copyright awareness than I have in order to sort out the implications. I’m glad you pointed out the concern about ownership. –Paul
John Larkin Says: January 3rd, 2008 at 6:23 am
2. Hi Paul,
   You are most welcome. I hope I did not steal your thunder. I was keen to share the screen shots on the net. I am preparing a how to worksheet for my colleagues.
   It is quite a useful tool in my opinion. I did wonder about their bold statement about there not being a catch and I scoured the site looking for clues regarding advertising, future directions, etc. I initially thought that perhaps their partners such as Google, Flickr, Paypal and Yahoo might be collectively financing the project. The statement in the T&C regarding their usage of any materials is ‘interesting’ to say the least.
   Cheers, John
3. Dale Says:
   January 10th, 2008 at 3:36 pm I’m looking to setup a simple webnobe site for a friend and was similarly concerned (how paranoid we have become) at the free-no-catch statement. After spending a little time working with the tool and exploring it’s features, I noticed that the email is “Only available in Professional edition.” Could it be possible that the free service is a loss leader for a professional commercial service? In any event, I am going to use it for my friends site. If I come across a “catch” I drop you a comment.
   Kind Regards
   Dale
4. Shane Says:
   January 13th, 2008 at 3:58 am Dale, I too picked up the professional edition issue with teh email. I cannot find any mention of professional edition. I assume there must be one coming, as I was unsure how they were intending to make this venture commercially viable though. Misleading though to list in their features, and completely free, noc tahces, if in fact there are.
   I really like the tool though. Best I’ve seen to date, and these are poopoing up all over the place

A negative one from Techcrunch here: "Webnode launches with amnesia"
A number of comments come to defend Webnode from this post.
Samples:

1. Steve Bowbrick
   January 15th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
   I like the look of it. Whenever I put a web site up these days I just use a blog - but that’s only because there are no easy-to-use site creation tools online. I’d really like something that would allow me to build fairly rich sites quickly. Having said all that, I see that all the blog players are evolving in the direction of ‘pages’ and more flexible layouts and I guess winning users is going to be pretty hard in this space…
2. Karl Band
   January 15th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
   Mike, I think you should spend some time with this service before you write a full article. I wouldn’t compare WebNode to Ning, it has different goal and market.
   For those who would like to read a complete review by users who have gone through the complete
3. My website http://www.ambientium.com is hosted by WebNode so you may check how it looks. I must say that it took me about 30 minutes to understand Webnode and create the structure of the whole site….
4. Me
   January 15th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
   It is very interesting to note that Mike Butcher has equated ‘Webnode’ to ‘Ning’. I only see a casual resemblance in that it allows users to put something on the web. That is it though.
   Webnode has a very powerful web building toolbar that sets it apart. Users can build any website they like with it, for free.
   Webnode has just been launched and if it is already being compared to the best free web builders and social sites that the Internet has to offer, then I can say “well done”. Mike seems to think that it is going the wrong way… or that it is the same as ‘Ning’.
   Webnode offers a much more powerful web builder than anyone could have expected. If it was to ignore competitive services, Webnode would have developed the same service, or less, but not more… not much more, as it has done.
   I don’t understand why the slur aimed at the Czech Republic? Why shouldn’t they know something you do not? European funding for technological initiatives for the latest round of EU members is a very good thing. I don’t see any reason to deliver a belittling prospect for these democratic EU member nations that are starting up something new, especially, when they are offering inventive, creative and free services that make a genuine attempt to improve the Internet.
   I think your review is a closed-minded, bigoted example of everything an evaluation should not be. Most of us go out of our way to actually use a service before we review it… and not to sound like Adolf Hitler, you know?

----

Okay, so what's my take? For me Webnode is good. The features are promising. I haven't done an extensive testing to do a decent review but I created a little test page to try the features.

A few notes:

1. Webnode takes some time to complete the "custom CSS" task. It even crashed my browser at one point. Mind you, I am not running a mediocre PC and I am running the reliable Firefox browser.

2. It takes quite some time to figure out how to do domain assignment-- that feature that allows one to assign the Webnode-create page to a domain of choice. This one is pretty easy in Weebly.

3. An "insert custom html" feature is enough to replace all the widgets offered in Webnode.

4. The templates are not something useful to advertise Webnode. They'll spoil the promotion. I mean they're not good enough to make Webnode appear superior.

5. The question on how the owner aims to make profit with Webnode is something to worry about. I've read an item that wrote this:

There are several opportunities to profit on WebNode through paid services:
- Extension of storage space limit (100MB default)
- Extension of bandwidth limit (5GB default)
- Selling extra e-mail accounts

I hope the profit-making ends there. Without a clear word on who really owns what what in the Webnode-created website, I think not so many would be interested in setting up a long-term website with Webnode. There's this constant disbelief in the line "no strings attached." What about the hosting? How reliable could it get?

There's mixed reaction to Webnode on the web. Admirers of webpages-on-the-fly tools welcome Webnode. Web developers find flaws in it. Moreover, some news articles about it getting $1.2M in investments seem sarcasm-infused.

I have been checking out pages that mention Webnode. I notice some intensive-but-not-so promotion going around. There's this somebody or 'somebodies' who keeps/keep posting comments on blogs, spreading the word about Webnode in a "smarty" kind of way. Quite annoying. Webnode is a promising online tool and people will realize that soon. The "smarty" commenting and promotion though spoils Webnode's rise.

Unfavorable drug studies hardly make it on print

Researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University report that nearly a third of antidepressant drug studies are never published in the medical literature and nearly all happen to show that the drug being tested did not work. Worse, unfavorable results have been recast to make the medicine appear more effective than it really is.

This selective publication issue raises the problem of doctors being unable to make appropriate prescribing decisions. It does not serve the best interest of patients or the public health.

From Yahoo News:

"Not only were positive results more likely to be published, but studies that were not positive, in our opinion, were often published in a way that conveyed a positive outcome," said the authors.
For example, of the seven negative studies done on GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil, five were never published. The researchers found three studies for GSK's Wellbutrin SR, but the two negative ones never reached print.
There were five studies for Pfizer's Zoloft, but the three showing the drug to be ineffective were not published. A fourth study, ruled questionable by the FDA, was written and published to make it appear that the drug worked.
A Glaxo spokeswoman said the company posts the data from all of its trials, positive or negative, on the Internet.
"GlaxoSmithKline agrees that public disclosure of clinical trial results for marketed medicines is essential and fully supports registration of all trials in progress," she said.
"Pfizer is committed to the communication of results of all registered clinical studies, regardless of outcome. More specifically, we have committed to disclose clinical trial results within one year after study completion for all of our marketed products," Pfizer spokesman Jack Cox said in an e-mail.
Turner and his colleagues did not find out who was to blame for not publishing the studies. He said medical journals may have played a role by deciding they would rather publish favorable results.
"There's an expectation that if you get a positive result, that's what you're supposed to do, and if you get a negative result you have failed," said Turner. "The first impulse is to say, 'I was wrong. Maybe I should move on to something more interesting"' so the results may never get written up.

Breast cancer taste test

Women may just have to bid mammography goodbye with a smile. Enough of the painful process and hello to dental/oral breast cancer detection.

A Cancer Investigation journal article reports that a U.S. team has found that women with breast cancer secrete particular proteins into the saliva that can be picked up by a test.

Houston, Texas based researchers analyzed samples from 30 patients and found 49 proteins that distinguished those who were healthy from those who had breast cancer tumors. The proteins could also distinguish between tumors that are benign and malignant.

Of the 30 participants in the research, only 10 had cancer. This is good news but researchers say there's still a need for further investigations and evidences.

Chew gum and lose weight...unhealthily

Sorbitol, an artificial sweetener used in chewing gums, can cause diarrhea that leads to potentially dangerous weight loss.

Two cases in Germany link diarrhea to sorbitol. A 21-year-old woman suffered diarrhea that caused her to lose about 24 pounds and a 46-year-man lost approximately 46 pounds because of diarrhea. Doctors were clueless about the disorder and dramatic weight loss despite having conducted several laboratory tests on the patients. Not until they learned about the patients' chewing habits.

Both patients were found to consume excessive sorbitol through their chewing gums. The woman chewed 15 to 20 sticks a day, containing up to 20 grams of the sweetener, while the man consumed up to 200 grams of sorbitol a day through 20 sticks of gum.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says diarrhea risk associated with sorbitol comes at the threshold of 50 grams daily intake.

So that's it. Chew sorbitol-rich gum daily, have diarrhea, and lose weight.

New targets in disrupting HIV lifecycle

273 proteins have been identified to be vital components in the reproduction of the virus that causes AIDS according to a recent study lead authored by Stephen Elledge of Harvard Medical School and published online in SciencExpress.



This discovery paves the way for building insights on how the virus actually functions, and subsequently on finding a way to circumvent the HIV lifecycle.


It is known that HIV contains little genetic material of its own and that it only hijacks a host cell's genetic code to reproduce. This new study identifies some of the cell proteins the virus uses in that process.



According to Elledge, current anti-AIDS drugs generally focus on the virus itself and the problem is that HIV is a highly mutable virus, so it can change the target of the drug so that it no longer binds the drug that well. This is the reason Elledge's team focused on human proteins.


Elledge and his colleagues screened thousands of possibilities using RNA interference, a technique honored with a Nobel Prize a year ago, to find the 273 proteins that are part of the HIV life cycle. RNA interference can be used to effectively shut down one gene at a time within a cell. The researchers used RNA interference to determine any effect on HIV growth or reproduction.

This is a welcome development but the researchers warned that there are still uncertainties of creating drugs that would kill HIV using this discovery (i.e. protein inhibition). The identification of the 273 proteins is only a preliminary step to finding cure.

Sony's Blu-ray may win DVD format war

Japanese press say the Blu-ray format has gained the advantage in the battle for next-generation DVD supremacy. This news comes after Warner Bros announced that it will back the Blu-ray DVD format exclusively. Warner Bros is Hollywood's biggest seller of DVDs.

Only Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures are expected to continue supporting the HD-DVD format. Blu-ray will enjoy exclusive support from four of the six major movie studios in Hollywood.

The Blu-ray's major US supporters include Walt Disney, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and movie rental leader Blockbuster. Japanese electronics firm Panasonic and South Korean giant Samsung also express preference for Blu-ray.

This war of incompatible formats is reminiscent of the VHS-Betamax (two types of video cassette tape) battle during the late 1970s.

Confusing to consumers, this recent development makes buyers less eager in buying next generation machines with DVD firms missing out on lucrative opportunities.

Japanese electronics group Toshiba used to rule the DVD format with the HD-DVD. Recent developments imply the difficulty for Toshiba to regain momentum among consumers.

Nevertheless, HD-DVD receives support from DreamWorks Animation and various high-tech firms including Microsoft and Intel. With this, Toshiba is now expected to further promote the installation of HD-DVD drives in personal computers to exploit the niche of users who watch movies on their PCs.

Man in the dark

Maninthedark.com

It glides, wiggles, floats, dances, bends, and does a Kage Bunshin No Jutsu. It follows your mouse pointer. Hit a click and it grows a clone.

What you see above is an interactive animation from the website—the only thing in the website—Maninthedark.com. It's cool and fun but something baffles me. The website bearing the animation above has a Page Rank of 4 and an Alexa rank of 229,807. Also, the webmaster really spent some bucks to buy the domain and put on this "show." For what? I don't know. Contact the webmaster☻ You can find some notes about the site's owner by hitting the "control key" on your keyboards. Else, see this whois result for the website.

Well if you're bored, get a bit entertained visiting the site. I know it's somewhat shallow. I'm just amused by the interactive animation.

Caveat: That "cool" thing above seems so boring for browsers that they shut down after extended "playing."

PR for PR

One of my blogs today registered a PR 5 -- an unexpected but welcome news.

So what does a PR 5 mean?

Here's Google's definition of PR:

PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important".

PR or page rank is a link analysis algorithm that designates numerical weight to elements of a hyperlinked sets of documents. It was developed at Stanford University by Larry Page and later Sergey Brin as part of a research project about a new kind of search engine that we now know as the colossal Google. It provides the basis for all of Google's web search tools as it determines ranking in search results.

PageRank is a probability distribution used to represent the likelihood that a person randomly clicking on links will arrive at any particular page. It can also be considered as a ballot among online pages to determine importance or relevance.

The Google PR is a constant subject of debate. According to several papers, the concept has proven to be vulnerable to manipulation. Whether or not it really matters in the search engine world is also a lingering question.


Some uses of the PR:
PageRank is used to automatically rank WordNet synsets according to how strongly they possess a given semantic property, such as positivity or negativity.
A search engine crawler may use PageRank as part of a set of metrics in determining which URL to visit next during a web crawl.

Search engine optimization companies also use PR in their "linking" or "link harvesting" operations. This is tantamount to PR manipulation but no major complaint has been raised about this yet. Google has also expressed their intention to shield their search algorithm from yielding to the objectives of this SEO activity.

So how am I supposed to view my "PR improvement?" To me, it only looks like an adornment. Other bloggers tend to look up to one who has greater PR. Perhaps it could someday lead to greater traffic. I am not sure about it. What I know is it can do me benefits.

With all these, I am just baffled how my PR 5 blog made it. I seldom update that blog. This blog has more posts so if content is the basis for PR determination, this blog should have greater PR.


Baffled.

Storytelling tee

Ads oh ads. Man goes gaga making and enjoying you.

Below is one cool tee ad and the way it was made tickles, makes you ponder. "Wears" advertising wit and depth.

Enjoy!



Click here for a video of this commercial's making.

Senior homes: Health or Real Estate?

A question of sorting: Are senior housing websites more suitably directory-listed under Health or Real Estate?

The major online directories have senior care and housing listings under Health. Housing easily associates with Real Estate but it's also hardly arguable these are specialized facilities (whether for-rent or for-sale) that cater to specific health-related needs of older adults.

The keywords that make senior homes associable to a Health category include senior care, continuing care, and assisted living. One can easily identify nursing homes, skilled nursing, and hospice listings along these. On another perspective, senior homes also mean residential facilities, seniors' villages, senior housing rentals, 50+ communities, retirement villages, and retirement vacation rentals. I understand web directories usually make use of the simple yet effective @link and See Also tricks. This trivial question of taxonomy is quite intriguing especially when viewed at an advertising stance.

In advertising, target keywords, audience, or categories need to be properly identified for efficiency. Consider advertising in paid web directories for example. The lack of a standard/strict category designation for senior home or senior care listings creates a problem -- or a dilemma at the least. Add to that the fact that most seniors-related websites are comprehensive. They compile information about care services, facilities, homes, communities, villages, and properties in one website. Without an established knowledge of target audience preference in searching for senior home-related items, a standard category designation is one issue that has to be looked upon.

Advertising by example...

Calling for everyone to save power....Could you think of any brighter idea to put the message across?

Britney Spears has some influence on Google

Google for the keywords "unknown substance" and be amazed with the results.

See the Google search screenshot on the right? (click to expand).

See the magic at work? "Unknown substance" is remotely related to Spears yet traces of her make it to the first results page. One story about her most recent antic even makes it as the second result. Don't tell me somebody's gonna be "Googling" for a Britney Spears item with the keyword "unknown substance."

There's news about Google trying to implement changes on its search algorithm to come up with better search results, to counter tricky SEOs, and even to end the glory of networked blogs and sponsored (blog) content.

Sounds goods news. Who wants to use Google to be led to an undesired link anyway?

Stating the obvious: Blog buzz and excessive articles or content that bear (perhaps some being unwittingly crafted) keyword combinations ruin the efficiency of search engines. It's an advantage to SEOs though.

Well, good luck to Google and I hope Yahoo! and LiveSearch follow suit.

No more Yahoo! Picks

January 01, 2008: Yahoo! announced that it has stopped updating its directory's Yahoo! Picks section. The picks archives will remain though.

For diversions or new and cool finds, try the following:

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/
http://answers.yahoo.com/my/profile?show=w772ouQkaa
http://buzz.yahoo.com/

Some Internet surfing tips

For those with slow Internet connection, do it the .mobi way.

Look for a website's mobile device optimized version. The Yahoo! and Google search engines, for example, have their respective .mobi or mobile device optimized pages.

Try these:

For messaging (Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, MSN, etc)
Try eBuddy Mobile. Copy this link to your browser http://www.ebuddy.com/mobile

For reference (Answers.com is for me the best comprehensive online reference so this link should be enough)
Try Mobile Answers.com. Copy this link to your browser http://mobile.answers.com/

For web searches
Try Google Mobile in this link http://www.google.com/m
or Yahoo! Mobile by following this link http://m.yahoo.com/

Sorry for not giving you the instant hyperlinks. That's intended as I still have to share another tip (for Firefox users). Highlight those (supposedly) links or the items in blue text and drag them to a tab or to the space beside a tab in the Firefox window. The links will be instantly loaded by doing that. This trick also works for hyperlinks and some plain texts.

Reducing swelling with magnetic fields

Looks like medicine's taking another look at those old magnetic bars and u's.

Researchers from the University of Virginia say that localized magnetic fields can reduce swelling after an inflammatory injury. Biomedical engineering professor Thomas Skalak and graduate student Cassandra Morris found that application of an acute, localized static magnetic field of moderate strength can result in significant reduction of swelling when applied immediately after tissue trauma.

There is faster healing, less pain, and better mobility if an injury doesn't swell. Accordingly, magnets might be used the same way ice packs and compression are now used for sprains, bumps, and bruises but with more beneficial results.

Sellers of the dubbed "pseudo-therapies" in the form of magnetic wearables seem to have something new to back their products now. Magnetic bracelets, necklaces, and other wearable items have long been offered as therapeutic items.

Insurance cancelled

I tried doing some housekeeping today when I found my dusty insurance papers - including two others (family insurance) I got for Mom and Dad. I had them cancelled a month ago and I thought I should verify if no billing was indeed reflected in my credit card.

I had to go over my bill envelopes and gladly, the prompt cancellation went well. Talking about insurance plan pros and cons, I wouldn't argue that pre-need policies provide benefits. I thought the plan offered to me was good enough. It was mainly a typographical error that prompted me to cancel it.

Having cancelled my policy, I lost my employee benefit package. I lost my paid days for events of hospitalization. Well, no regrets. Think about the hassle of having those typos addressed.

Nonetheless, I still commend my former insurance provider for the good customer service.

Blogsvertise

Blog + advertise and earn bucks!

I already had advertisements in mind when I started this blog. I wanted to write advertising articles -- to promote things I like. I know there are ways to monetize all this. Blogsvertise is one.

Their website writes:

Our Advertisers want YOU to mention and talk about their websites products and services in your blogs and journals. They want the publicity, the exposure, the Buzz! that online bloggers and internet journals can generate for their web site products and services. In exchange blogsvertise pays YOU in paypal per task/blog entry, for writing / talking about / mentioning their website in your blog!

No scams. Not bad. I know of someone who's already making some money with Blogsvertise so I thought of giving it a try.

eBuddy

This tool/service's instant-messaging-on-the-mobile-platform capability is what makes it outstanding.

eBuddy is a web and mobile messenger which supports various instant messaging services including MSN Messenger, Yahoo! , AIM, Google Talk and MySpace IM. A competitor to Meebo and Koolim, eBuddy offers tab mode setting to differentiate chat windows - a feature similar to tabbed browsing. It supports multiple IM networks in one interface but loses to Meebo in its inability to log into multiple accounts at once.

The absence of file transfer, webcam interface, QQ protocol, and skinning features are banes to eBuddy since other similar tools offer them. Meebo, for example, supports file transfers. It even stores chat logs.

It's still great though given its speed, user-friendly interface, and outstanding performance on the mobile web platform.

Manila isn't entirely what you read in abs-cbnnews.com or inquirer.net, Try Manilamail.com

This one's for every Filipino.

Online Philippine news easily equates to inquirer.net or abs-cbnnews.com. That's saying news about Filipinos and for Filipinos usually mean something negative (when it comes to politics and governmental affairs). I'm advertising here a good read. Visit Manilamail.com.

The site provides this description:

A reference point for understanding the Philippines and Filipinos. The site carries news and features, materials culled from Manila media and Postscript, a popular column of Federico D. Pascual Jr. in the Philippine STAR, the No.1 paper in the country.

The description smacks of conceit but I can let that pass. I've been reading it for months now and I can say it's worth the bandwidth. If you're tired of hearing so much negativity about Philippine government, Mr. Pascual offers alternative insights and perspectives. I still read (the generally negative and most often overly biased) abs-cbnnews.com and inquirer.net and I can say having Manilamail.com as an additional read somehow neutralizes things...or keeps sanity on board.

Philippine media today generally looks, sounds, and feels appalling. People like Che-che Lazaro and Dong Puno should be back on the helm or should be exerting greater leadership. Well, thanks to the Internet we always have access to resources like Manilamail.com.

Adios Netscape Navigator

The world's first commercial Web browser and arguably the launch pad of the Internet boom, will be leaving the web after a 13-year long run.

Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, Netscape's current keeper, said it decided to kill further development and technical support to focus on growing the company as an advertising business.

Here's how an MSNBC.com report writes: AOL pulls plug on Netscape Web browser.

Netscape faded away from the competition as Microsoft's Internet Explorer and the freeware Mozilla Firefox dominated the web browser market. I'm sure MSNBC's sounding like a victor learning about and reporting this. MSNBC.com is a joint Microsoft - NBC Universal venture.;)

New year, new jeers, new steers, new peers...

May the new year be great to one and all.

Jan 1, 2008 dawned and I witnessed the most (in numbers) and longest New Year fireworks display in our neighborhood.

The skies were so colorful (and smoky) and the city festive and rowdy. Awesome! Made me think everybody indeed got richer to afford beautiful fireworks in celebrating the coming of 2008. Progress and prosperity is in the air. It's time for a new year...for new cheers, new fears, new tears, new beers, new steers, and all the rest that rhyme and don't.

I noticed I haven't been promoting a lot of things here. I should be writing more adticles. So to start 2008 with a renewed focus on adticle blogging, let me share some of my favorite items.

Piccolo: great firecracker

This small, approximately two-inch long slimly-cylindrical firecracker blows loud enough to be called a firecracker but not strong enough to make you lose an arm or a finger. Cheap and omnipresent, it's one of the things I look forward to come year-ends. You see, I just realized I fear losing any of my fingers. These fingers mean my work and income.

Google

I just love Google. It promptly crawls my blogs.

Webnode

I'll be building a new website using this tool later today or tomorrow. This great website making tool brags a wide range of features. I hope I can come up with a great site using it very soon.

Coffee

I'm an addict of instant coffee. I prefer Nescafe's particularly its Protect coffee variety. Nescafe Protect claims to offer more antioxidants and health benefits.

Firefox

My blogs look their best with Firefox. I work with Firefox. I mail with Firefox...Youtube with Firefox...Google with Firefox...blog with Firefox.... I can't imagine the Internet without Firefox.

Freeware PC protection

Never did my PC crash having Avast, AVG, PC Tools Firewall Plus, and Lavasoft Ad Aware on guard. My PC also gets refreshed through regular cleanups with CCleaner, AdAware, and Eusing Registry Cleaner.

Digg, StumbleUpon

Get to discover a lot of new stuff on the Internet with these guys. Meet new friends and peers too.

Watching Fireworks

I think this is the best way to celebrate New Year. It's fun and spiritually (I'm sorry I couldn't think of any better term) gratifying. Try diverting all your partying and food budget to fireworks and be surprised how you don't get any fatter the way others do during the holidays.

Blogger

Push-button publishing...what you need when simplicity and content matter more.

Gmail

I'm obviously a Google fan. It's fast. It offers gigs and gigs of storage space. It has a powerful search feature.

eBuddy.com

Access multiple instant messaging accounts through a web-based interface. Similar to meebo.com, eBuddy allows you to have Y!M or MSN login via a web browser. The plus: it has a mobile device optimized version that I really love. I easily access my IM accounts through my 3G phone's web browser. It's web-based so no software needs to be installed.

Sleep trouble causes diabetes?

Now this one's bringing me worries.

Not getting a good night's sleep is a possible risk factor for diabetes according to a University of Chicago research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In a small study, nine (healthy) young adults volunteered to test the theory. They were prevented from sleeping or getting the deepest and most restorative type of sleep for three nights.

Researchers monitored volunteers' brain waves. As soon as volunteers started to enter deep "slow-wave" sleep, researchers sounded acoustic tones. If that didn't rouse volunteers, researchers spoke their names over the intercom or gently nudged them. Sleep was disrupted 250 to 300 times a night.

It was found that the volunteers' bodies did not use insulin as well as before: they needed more insulin to dispose of the same amount of a sugar solution. This reduced insulin sensitivity was comparable to the effect of gaining 20 or 30 pounds.

There had already been previous studies that concluded that sleep deprivation can increase the risk of obesity and diabetes but the University of Chicago study is the first to suggest that not getting the right kind of sleep could also increase diabetes risk.

The volunteers in study were aged 20 to 31. During the three-day test though, they slept like they were at their 60's or 70's. People in their 20's typically get 80 to 100 minutes of slow-wave sleep, while those over age 60 get less than 20 minutes. They related that they only remembered a few of the induced disturbances but they woke up feeling tired and cranky.

The researchers said that obesity and aging are two major diabetes risk factors. Obesity and aging also reduce sleep quality, thereby increasing the risk of diabetes.
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