Sunday, November 28, 2010

How a War in the Korean Peninsula Would Affect You

I must admit that my political analysis is very rough on the edges, I have to thank the ordinary rudiments of life for that. Writing many articles on "things" rather than processes tend to dull my ability to bring forth more careful analysis of situations as I was trained to do. 

UPDATE 2: November 29, 2010 (Reuters)
(Reuters) - South Korean and U.S. forces pressed on with massive military drills on Monday as regional powers considered a call by China for emergency talks following North Korea's attack on a southern island.
China's proposed emergency consultations come amid global pressure on Beijing to take a more aggressive role in the standoff between the rival Koreas and try to rein in ally Pyongyang using its leverage as its largest source of aid.


UPDATE: (Wall Street Journal Online)

"BEIJING—China engaged in high-level diplomacy to try to cool tensions on the Korean peninsula as the U.S. and South Korea on Sunday started a naval drill that has prompted dire warnings of reprisals from North Korea.
Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo met South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday and said China "opposed any acts that harmed the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula," China's state news agency Xinhua said." (SOURCE)

With that out of the way, let us proceed with the subject matter at hand.








The recent actions of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, has caused a lot of political repercussions that may affect this particular region of the world. To be sure, the elements of posturing by the DPRK, has the people of South Korea, particularly in Seoul worrying about their lives as well as economic security.




Much of this can be attributed to the possibility of war and the effects of it in the long term. Seoul is but 30 to 45 minutes away from possible aggression and might be in the range of North Korean artillery emplacements. (Korea Times)

Quote

"By Bae Ji-sook

Seoul is never safe from North Korea’s artillery attacks such as the one that broke out on Yeonpyeong Island earlier this week, analysts say.

As the capital city is filled with skyscrapers and a complicated layout of roads, the severity of damage that could be caused by any military attack threatens to be even higher, they said. "

How I think a North Korean War will affect you if you are in the Asia Pacific region


If you are in the Philippines, then it has already affected you in the form of the Executive Order issued by President Aquino, barring Filipinos from going to South Korea to work. (Philstar.com)


"MANILA, Philippines –  President Aquino has suspended the deployment of Filipino workers to South Korea while the government assesses the situation in the Korean Peninsula.
This, as tensions continue to rise in the Korean Peninsula following North Korea’s artillery attacks Tuesday on a tiny island claimed by Seoul."

Another way by which you could affected if you live in the Philippines, is through the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951. (Inquirer.net)


MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines under its mutual defense treaty with the United States has an obligation to send troops in case war breaks out between North and South Korea, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said Sunday.
“But given our capability, we can only send our doctors, nurses, engineers and maybe some ground troops. These are what we can only contribute because we do not have any air force, we do not have any navy,” Enrile said in an interview with dzBB radio.
Article IV of the mutual defense pact signed in August 1951 states that “each party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.


Needless to say, the last 10 years has seen the rapid rise of immigration of South Koreans to the Philippines. While we welcome our South Korean neighbors to our wonderful country, it must be noted that there are many issues involved in the hosting of war refugees. There's the issue of culture, there's the issue of employment and a host of other problems.


A War That No One Will Win


It is a war which no one will win. While all of these posturing and actions, by all parties involved, may have something to do with these three factors:

a. Resumption of multilateral talks concerning Nuclear disarmament (Bloomberg)
b. US - South Korea Military drills  (Xinhua.net)
c. Precarious turnover of power from ailing dictator Kim Jung Il to 26 year old son

the events that transpire before us, may lead to a gross miscalculation of all the parties. Ergo:
  • The United States thinks that Nokor will not initiate and does not have the capability to engage in full scale conflict.
  • The DPRK thinks that the U.S.-South Korean tandem, intends to effect political change by bringing the uncertainty of invasion to the doorstep of the reclusive state as its dictator turns power over to his successor.
The underestimation of each by the other could ignite a conflict that could see the use of nuclear weapons unseen since the second world war. With a standing army of 1.1 million active troops (CIA), the DPRK is not really an Iraq or an Afghanistan. Even if the CIA already has the ears of a general in the North, it would definitely be a conflict that would have devastating casualties.


Why a War Now?


The United States simply cannot live with a starving nuclear armed state headed by a 26 year old general. If there is a time to alter the politics of the region, it would have to be between now, Kim Jung Il's death or after the succession.

The possibility of splinter factions headed by a disgruntled general within the DPRK and the entering of nuclear weapons in the equation is just too dangerous. In a way, it would be better to change the dynamics of the politics there through force now or regret it later.

On the other hand, the DPRK has consistently shown in the past that it does not have the wherewithal to initiate conflict. It's choice of words in the KCNA, the official mouthpiece of the state, has indicated that it is by no means eager to initiate a war it knows it cannot win.

In fact, one cannot analyze the situation without pointing out that South Korean blood has already been shed and yet no retaliatory measures have been initialized by both the US and South Korea aside from conducting war drills.

World War III?


Speculation is rife that a war in the Korean peninsula will lead to a war between the US and China.

Source:

The China Wildcard


The DPRK is sending an envoy to China for bilateral talks. (Washington Post)
China Warns US as Korea Tensions Rise (Wall Street Journal)

Quote
"BEIJING -- A state news agency says a senior North Korean official will visit China this week. The visit comes amid heightened tensions following North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island last week.
The official Xinhua News Agency said Sunday that the chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly will visit China from Tuesday to Saturday.
It says Choe Thae Bok was invited by China's second most powerful official, Wu Bangguo. Wu is chairman of the rubber-stamp National People's Congress.
No further details were provided."

The involvement of China in a regional conflict would have the farthest reaching consequences which would also affect among others, Japan. Japan is a critical point in this regard should China be involved because of the presence of a US Air base in Okinawa. In fact, Japan is in the cusps of an election between two governors who are campaigning for the removal of the US bases on various grounds. (AP)

Quote
"TOKYO (AP) — Voters headed to the polls on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa on Sunday to choose between two gubernatorial candidates campaigning for the removal of a controversial U.S. Marine baseThe U.S. Futenma air base has been located on Okinawa island since 1945, and residents have long complained it produces aircraft noise and crime. A 2006 deal between the U.S. and Japan to relocate the base to a less crowded location on Okinawa has stalled over public opposition to the plan. The controversy even toppled a prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, earlier this year. The two candidates for Okinawan governor have both run on a platform that opposes the relocation plan, and the alliance between Washington and Tokyo will likely be tested no matter the outcome of the vote. Okinawa, home to about half of the some 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan, is a strategically important island close to Taiwan and the Chinese mainland and not far from the Korean peninsula. Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said the U.S. military presence in Okinawa, allowed for under a half-century U.S.-Japan alliance, is critical to deter regional security threats. His argument may be driven home by recent tension on the Korean peninsula, in particular North Korea's artillery strike on a South Korean island on Tuesday, as well as worries over China's growing military power. But any relocation of the base will need the governor's approval."

On the other hand,

Quote

"President Barack Obama is expected to speak with Hu Jintao on the North Korea crisis in the coming days, according to U.S. officials.
The White House declined to comment on China's response so far to the North Korea attack, noting that U.S. consultations with Beijing are ongoing. "The president's conversation with Hu Jintao will be extremely important," said a senior U.S. official.
The U.S. has been planning a naval exercise in the Yellow Sea since July, when an expanded list of training events was announced in response to the March sinking of the South Korean patrol ship Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors and was widely blamed on the North.
The July exercises also came after China had objected strongly to a speech by Mrs. Clinton in which she said that the U.S. had a national interest in protecting freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Ever since, China and the U.S. have been engaged in a tussle for influence in the region, where many Southeast Asian nations that have territorial disputes with China are looking to beef up defense relations with the U.S." (Wall Street Journal Online)
Japan's Stand (DefPro.com)


"As for developments in the situation on the Korean Peninsula, what course of action North Korea will take remains unpredictable. For the time being, we must recognize that the point of focus is whether the situation will further escalate from the incident. Based on my order following the instruction of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Defense will continue to make utmost efforts to gather and analyze information on North Korea's military movements with considerable attention and to consequently ensure the peace and security of Japan."
Economically

  • Stocks will go down (Bloomberg)
  • Gold rises (Money.CNN)
  • List of South Korean conglomerates (Wikipedia)
    • South Korea is the world's largest shipbuilder. South Korea produced more ships in 2008 than the entire rest of the world's combined output.
    • POSCO is one of the largest steel makers in the world.
    • Samsung Town in Seoul. Samsung is one of the largest companies in the world.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Ubuntu 10.10 Cannot Change Monitor Resolution

My screen resolution travelled back in time... to the 90s where 800x600 was "cool".

My wife's Ubuntu 10.10 just arrived, so I installed it on my computer. Hello again free CD. Nice to see you. How are you?

Do you require one day of configuration just to work properly?

Hopefully not.

Whoops, the letters are big.

Oh, same old same old.

Hmmm, let me get back to you once I have the patience to go around ubuntuforums.

Cheers!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Special Project: Christmas Party

We're going to hold a Christmas Party for the cool kids of Barangay Tangway. Here's tentative plan that my wife made.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Giant Butiki

Mommy, there's a wizard in the bathroom!

Butiki or Tuko?

The Painting

On a Sunday eve, our little friend came back. It's not really a butiki or a lizard, I think it's a tuko. If you don't know what that is, try googling it to verify.

Anyway, this little bugger was there as I was brushing my teeth.

I would've killed it, but it does not pose as an immediate threat to my family and besides, I wouldn't be able to post a picture of it on the Internet right?

Anyway, if I get the chance I might put it inside an aquarium or something.

Cheers!

Please vote on what I am going to do next.


Friday, November 19, 2010

Support Philippine Tourism


The Department of Tourism is looking for pro active people who can dedicate their talents in the promotion of our archipelago in various capacities.

I heard of the news from Carlo Ople of New Media Philippines.

If you are interested, go to http://tourismpilipinas.com/ for more details.


BrainStorm


1. Foreigner wants to visit the Philippines
  • word of mouth promotion
  • family relation
  • search through Google
  • tourist expos
  • medical tourism
  • advertisements
  • social media
2. Search for tourist destination
  • Same as above
3. Booking of ticket / hotel reservation
  • online - SEO/SEM
  • individual sites
  • telephone
  • walk in
    • saw an ad
    • has a brochure
    • has a friend
Although much hype has been attributed to new media, the power of word of mouth marketing is still the strongest driving factor for tourism. Most visitors go here because of:
  • positive experience during business trip - returns
  • family - foreigner weds filipino, 
  • friend's word of mouth  

A Visitor Got Lost

Once upon a time, a little baby bird got lost. 


"*Sigh* If only I could go out." said the bird.


"Outside looks good. Gee, my friends are out there. Huh, wait, who's that handsome fella over there."


"Ack some bozo grabbed me. Ouch! Don't ruffle the feathers. 
You're squeezing me."


"Maybe if I play dead, this bozo will let me go..."


The bozo, let the little baby birdie fly and the birdy partied with his friends.

THE END

Based on a true story. No little birdy was harmed in the creation of this story. Annoyed, maybe, but not hurt. 

Matt Cutts: What Would You Do if You Were Google CEO?


Matt Cutts, made a very interesting blog post that got a little over a hundred comments.

What would you do if you became Google CEO for a day?

It's a double edged sword of a question that's both dangerous and exciting at the same time. Needless to say, the amount of comments reflect the huge dearth of interest for many people. To be sure, the comments that were in the blog post were mostly about innovative and humorous ideas:

Here are some of them:

1. A lie detector. -Flavin
2. Car inventory database. -Deidre Drewes
3. Self driving flying cars -Adam Willis
4. Involvement with One laptop per child -Josh Gachnang
5. A Google banking service -Roch
6. Analytics into the products we use everyday that impact our wellbeing -Scott Cowley
7. Google Ombudsman for Google products -Lauren Weinstein
8. Increased sponsorship of Open Source Projects -Rob Heittman

and many more...

There are many "change the world ideas" that most people can only dream about.

Matt, had to jump in and say,

"I don’t want stuff so blue sky (e.g. solving all energy problems) that we’re not even sure whether it’s possible."


A recurring suggestion is the provision of tech support for Google products which Google doesn't seem to be paying much attention to. Two words, "Customer Service". Usually, if you have a Google related problem, go read a wiki or something and fix it on your own in Google Groups.

Some suggestions are downright funny

1. Upgrade the Google Campus with racquetball courts.
2. Found its own country
3. Create a new alphabet
4. Remove facebook from SERPs
5. Retire and start a crack addiction
6. Start Google Streetview for subways
7. Like #2, Found the Google State
8. Google currency

Still, there are some that are technical like:

1. Add Server Name Indication for every browser
2. Quantum computing

Business minded...

1. Purchase Adobe Business Catalyst
2. Buy facebook
3. Pay myself a massive dividend
4. Reduce the importance of backlinks

Useful...

1. Fund Wikipedia
2. Cross Client - Cross Platform Video Chat
3. Open Source textbooks
4. Google docs improvement
5. Searchable wayback machine

Hopeful

1. Cure Cancer

Insightful...

1. Sean Lind November 18, 2010 at 12:52 pm


I’m sorry Matt, but I think this question is kind of greasy (although I highly doubt that was the intention).
My issue is this:
If someone suggests a truly remarkable idea, something which Google takes and adapts into a full-scale offering, Google (one of the largest companies in the world) is simply poaching this idea from the thread.



Jill Whalen November 18, 2010 at 2:30 pm
I would sell off every business unit that didn’t have to do with search, and put all that extra man/womanpower into figuring out how to really and truly show the best search results, rather than the most spammed results.

and many more...

Personally, I find the bulk of the comments entertaining. Yet I offered something which might give him pause, I asked him,


"Why?"

Every Google user has his or her own idea and fantasy about how they would run Google should they become the CEO. The technical types gave innovations, the business minded gave business oriented suggestions, the slackers gave their slacker answer, the dreamers gave their dreamy answers and so on and so forth.

So that's why I decided to be unique and ask a question. Why? Are these ideas going to come to fruition, or is Sean Lind right in asking if Google is just out there poaching for ideas?

Well, having read Matt Cutts blog for a long time, I would surmise that he meant it for fun - as a game, so I didn't really feel the need to give my world changing idea in the hopes that Matt Cutts or Google would listen.

In the real world, having an outsider be a CEO of a large corporation for a day, even for just a token measure, is dangerous. Every company has its own rules and it would take more than a day to get to know them all, both written and unwritten.

It's a proposition that could either sink a ship or bring it to uncharted waters where no Googler has gone before.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Embed Facebook on Your Brain

Conversation

"the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc."

-Princeton

Whenever we post an update on facebook, the event that transpires is not merely the broadcasting of a message in a conversation. It is more like thinking out loud in text, pictures and videos.

The ideas are conveyed in a format that transcends words and tells a lot about your temperament, mood or world view. It is also colored by your personality and attitude.

It is not just a message that you wish to convey, that gets sent, but also how you sent it, when, where and why. It is about your choice of words and your civility or lack off.

More importantly, it is about context. We update our "friends" with what we think are relevant morsels on the things that go on in our lives. Before we press the "Post" button, we think once or twice about what the audience will think. We do this by noting other people's updates. Hence, in a way we are not only conversing, we are not merely thinking out loud - we are thinking out loud in a social sphere in plain view of other beings who are also thinking out loud.

It is in close approximation to what is described as the hive mind. The only differentiating factor is the uniqueness of the hive. In lower mental hives, the participants are drones which convey messages usually in the form of pheromones and chemical signals. Ants and bees are the best examples. They update each other on where food is, or where the enemies are.

In humans it is more complicated. Norms and social parameters govern most members of the hive. Each friend is relegated to a specific category of friends that form its own social cluster.

Embed Facebook?

It is not too far fetched that there will come a time, when organic hybrid electronic devices would be embedded in our brains.  This would enable us to communicate in a way that is similar to facebook.

Rather than brining out our mobile devices, we would be boasting about the firmware versions that the embedded microchips in our brains have. Mine is fb v. 2.0. Maybe we would be able to switch from status updates to private messages with two winks of the left eye.

It would be a balance between the hive mind and individual conversation. Speech would become obsolete as we communicate thoughts, pictures, ideas, etc wirelessly.

We could also block out unwanted thoughts from other people.

Lest a stranger bombard us with spam, a virtual handshake is required - where we add each other as friends before anything else.

Revelations

Of course, if you are a Christian, you would say that this might be the proverbial mark of the beast. Time will only tell

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Wow Thank You for Voting

Today, somebody else aside from me voted for me to plant Ginger. Well, whoever you are, thank you for visiting. I have finally adjusted the amount of money that Resort Ville has. Technically it is PHP 2,279. But in actuality, I have separated my personal funds so there's a little bit more.

I stand to make money by selling almost half a ton of paper I have in storage.

At PHP 9 a kilo of used paper, I'm currently looking into the possibility of selling em to generate more funds.

Again, I really appreciate the gesture!


Friday, November 12, 2010

ResortVille

My backyard... is becoming a jungle....
Ah, so many has happened since I last made an entry on this blog. Frankly, I had to concentrate on other matters such as the commercial building and my freelance writing.

But today, Ka Martin and I did a lot of things. We cleaned the clogged drainage, *yucky* and then we moved the dog to a place where he could roam about.

Things are going to get tougher because of some other business concerns.




Get two pieces of trees... Tie a rope and the dog could roam
freely.




Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Cheapest Ford Mustang

For some odd reason, I woke up today wanting this - the cheapest Ford Mustang. In my life, I've had two vehicles - a Toyota Corolla 97 XE and a Hyundai Starex 99. Now I only have Rusty Lopez. If you're a Filipino you would know what I mean *wink*.

Not that I want to buy this junk, but hey, it is the cheapest Ford Mustang in the block. I don't even know if it has a engine. Oh yeah, it does. Just add $465 USD or PHP 20,000.

At  PHP 110,000 or USD 2,557.83, this Mustang is highly suspect and might have the engine of a tricycle. 

Hahaha, anyway, call me crazy, call me old fashioned but I've always wanted to drive around with a real Mustang.


Now we're talking. 

But on second thought. I wouldn't want to drive around carnap bait. If I had this car, I'd always be worried that somebody would try to steal it. So, lets just go back to old dinky doo above.

Anyway, this really is the cheapest Ford Mustang anywhere. Too bad that I am not a mechanic and really don't have the time and patience to patch it up. 

Some guy from Bulacan bought it and probably thought that he could make it look like picture number 2 and then gave up. Hehehehe. 

Last I checked, the huge hunk a junk is still there. 


Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Buyanihan.com

So I woke up late today and I got 2 emails from a new pinoy start-up named buyanihan.com. It's a website that features food deals and other deals. "Timely for X-Mas Giving". Normally, I would have been supportive of them simply because they're Filipino, but here's what they did wrong:

  • They wanted me to buy a kamasutra cake for X-mas. Huh?
  • They sent me two unsolicited emails without my permission using my inactive email account and my main account. 
  • Webmaster cannot be trusted with my email so I won't signup.
Positive
  • The cake looks lusciously delicious. But I am not going to send a kamasutra cake to anyone for Christmas.
  • 50% off sounds good.
  • The website layout looks awesome. But.....You know.... I don't have a clue what it is for.
I don't know how they got my old email addresses - which I haven't used for more than a year. It's just plain wrong for people to send unsolicited email advertisements. Sure the deals sound good, the pictures sound good, but it just doesn't make sense for me to send a KAMASUTRA CAKE ON CHRISTMAS

Come on!!!!! People.. !$!%$!#$!#$!#$$!$%^$%&$^$%




 

Monday, November 08, 2010

The Social Network Movie Review


I just saw the movie the Social Network and I can't help but feel suspicious about it. It smacks of one sidedness. It smacks of propaganda. And worst, it smacks of publicity for the popular social network. It's a cliche to mention that 'good and bad publicity is publicity nevertheless.'

Upon reading the Wikipedia entry about the Winklevoss brothers, I can't help but feel that the movie got all of their allegations to the dot. The entry was like a plot summary of the movie.

After watching, my paranoid mind queried:

  • Zuckerberg didn't claim royalties for a movie about his life. Or did he? 
  • The Winklevoss brothers aren't claiming to be the ones behind the movie - but they're so enthusiastic about it in interviews and that they are also not claiming royalties for a movie that involved them. Or are they?
My take on this is that this is a publicity stunt. An advertisement that generated revenue. A ploy to keep people asking the question, "Did Mark Zuckerberg steal facebook?"

I could surmise that the investors and marketing strategists behind facebook, gathered up all the players and told them, "Hey, we could get more publicity if there is intrigue between all of you." 

Let's start with the Winklevoss lawsuit, then add in the Saverin-Zuckerberg rift. Dash a few Shawn Parker, and we have a mega whirlwind of publicity that will create huge dividends for all of us. 

The important thing is, all the social networks will be buzzing about whatever you guys do. As long as people talk about you, you're good.

Let's not make this public. Mark, keep a low profile. Maintain that nerdy look and disposition. You're going to be the next Bill Gates. 

Winklevi, you're going to be his purported nemesis. 

Lawsuits, press releases, articles, allegations, scandal, money and a movie - we have ourselves an audience captivated with manufactured drama that will keep them talking and wondering about inessential matters.

If what I am saying is true, it's a heckuva marketing strategy and it's working. 

A lot of people are bashing Zuckerberg, a lot of people support him.
A lot of people are bashing the Winklevi, a lot of people support them. 
Etc. Etc.

Should you watch it? 

Up to you. 



Saturday, November 06, 2010

Social Media and Government

It's great to see that most of the Philippines' government agencies are now putting social media to good and productive use.

Here's a recent view of the traffic conditions along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue. Good thinking!


Share photos on twitter with Twitpic

Nike: Just Do It

Excellent placement by Philstar.com photographers to remind those who are complacent and tired like me to grab some of the vitriol of their youth and to - you know. JUST DO IT.


Photo Courtesy of Philstar.com


Thursday, November 04, 2010

Bob Parsons: 10 Tips on How to Get Lucky

Didn't know that the founder of GoDaddy.com, a web service that sold domain names, had his own wacka doodle doo blog. Well, here's one of his video blogs.

Simple ideas. Awesome presentation. Man, I wish I could blog like the guy. Maybe someday I'll get lucky :)





Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Philippines Cited as World's Top Outsourcing Center

MANILA BULLETIN ARTICLE
"MANILA, Philippines – For the third time, the Philippines was cited as the “world's leading global outsourcing center” when it was awarded the Offshoring Destination of the Year Award for 2010.

The country first bagged the coveted title in 2007. The Philippines also beat other countries in the same category last year, making this year a back-to-back win.

The honor was given during the National Outsourcing Association (NOA) Awards Night, held at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London last week."

This is obviously good news that should at least make the head honchos of the outsourcing industry happy amidst the strengthening of the peso.


Google Buzzinga!


Google rarely contacts Gmail users via email, but we are making an exception to let you know that we've reached a settlement in a lawsuit regarding Google Buzz (http://buzz.google.com), a service we launched within Gmail in February of this year.

Shortly after its launch, we heard from a number of people who were concerned about privacy. In addition, we were sued by a group of Buzz users and recently reached a settlement in this case.

The settlement acknowledges that we quickly changed the service to address users' concerns. In addition, Google has committed $8.5 million to an independent fund, most of which will support organizations promoting privacy education and policy on the web. We will also do more to educate people about privacy controls specific to Buzz. The more people know about privacy online, the better their online experience will be.

Just to be clear, this is not a settlement in which people who use Gmail can file to receive compensation. Everyone in the U.S. who uses Gmail is included in the settlement, unless you personally decide to opt out before December 6, 2010. The Court will consider final approval of the agreement on January 31, 2011. This email is a summary of the settlement, and more detailed information and instructions approved by the court, including instructions about how to opt out, object, or comment, are available at http://www.BuzzClassAction.com.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
This mandatory announcement was sent to all Gmail users in the United States as part of a legal settlement and was authorized by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Google Inc. | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway | Mountain View, CA 94043

Monday, November 01, 2010

Convert RSS to Javascript, PHP, AJAX, ASP

Convert RSS, AJAX, PHP, ASP or Javascript
I am making a new blog that's going to focus on my online job as a freelance writer. It will be a no nonsense blog dedicated solely to freelance gigs. Along with my online gigs, I'm going to put in some rss feeds from other websites so that I could have all the gigs that I want in one location.

Along the way, I discovered a nifty tool that converts rss feeds into AJAX, iFrames, PHP or Javascript.

It's called WebRSS and it lets you design the look of the feed with a very simple interface.

ITS FREE!

Here's how it looks like:

Convert RSS to Javascript, PHP, ASP or iFrames

Globe Wimax Rain


Thinking of getting Wireless Internetless access? Get Globe Wimax Rain for your home. If it rains in your vicinity, we can guarantee speeds like Internet Dial Up. In fact, you'll get so amazed by how low our company can get.


Technical Support

When you subscribe to Globe WiMax rain, and as expected, you don't get any Internet connection at all, you'll be pulling your hair out of sheer frustration.

Then as a value added service, we'll sell you something that our company is really known for - hair nothing growers. Simply apply them on your neck, your balding head and your chin and nothing will happen!

Technical support? Oh, right, we'll make our technical support misrepresentatives all the more effective by asking questions like,

"Did you plug the switch?"
"Is it turned on?"
"What color is your eye?"
"Please restart your computer!"
"Ah, ah, we are upgrading our systems and we're smarter than you so get a piece of pen or paper and we'll give you a support ticket that you can stick up your..."


Wireless Internetless speeds at affordable prices

*Sometimes faster than dialup. but when it rains you're sure to dialup our technical support!

What are you waiting for? Get your Globe WiMax Internetless Connection NOW!

Globe - Disconnecting People Every Minute

Help Harvey Bring Books to Children in the Philippines

A socio civic leader here in the Philippines, Harvey Keh, a person that  I admire and respect has the noble goal of providing books for public school children.

His message:

The Acts of Hope for the Nation (AHON) Foundation aims to help promote quality basic education for every Filipino child by helping communities build functional public elementary school libraries. Since 2006, we have already helped build 37 public school libraries which currently benefit more than 80,000 students. 


Each Pack of 3 AHON Christmas Cards is worth P 300.00 only! Proceeds will help us in buying new books for public elementary schools all over the country. To order, please contact Herbel at (02) 355-1567 or send an email to ahonfoundation@yahoo.com . 


We offer free delivery within Metro Manila for orders worth P 1,200.00 or more. For more information about AHON Foundation, please visit our website at

http://www.ahonfoundation.com.

Yet Another Globe Wimax Review


I’ve been a Globe Wimax subscriber for at least 6 months now. So far, I could tell you that my experience is wrought with both pleasure and pain. There are times when my wireless Internet connection would let me download torrents at 100+kbps and there times when it would let me download at 0.06kbps.
Considering that I live to an almost jungle like setting, I guess that’s acceptable

Live in a Rainy Area? Don’t Get Globe Wimax

It just plain doesn’t work whenever it rains. Even if it’s just a soft drizzle, it just plain sputters like an old car with an old battery and a worn out spark plug. Simply put, you’ll be annoyed to death.

Globe Wimax Hates uTorrent

In their contract there is some sort of cap to the amount of torrents you could download in a month. If I am not mistaken, they set the limits to 20% of your downloads.

I’m not so sure if they follow through on that threat though. My hard and fast rule is to leave it to download at night and you have yourself something to watch for tomorrow.

Globe Wimax Customer Service Hates You

  • ·         The first thing they’ll ask you to do is to check whether you plugged the modem in. Huh?
  • ·         Then they’ll tell you to restart your PC or your Modem. As if we haven’t for the last 10 years.
  • ·         Then they’ll tell you that they’re upgrading their facilities – which you have no way of verifying.
  • ·         If finally, you’ve managed to stave off their excuses, they’re going to tell you that they’re going to elevate it to some higher power and they’ll give you a nice little pink ticket. Just call again after one week or forever.

The absolute worst that they did to me was to tell me that they’re sending someone over and I waited for that person to arrive since time immemorial. Up to now, that support person didn’t arrive.

At the end of the day, you can’t do anything about it. You’re stuck with them for the rest of your contract. They smile and grin at your stupidity and hope that they can come up with a heckuva marketing plan the next time they have a new product or service so that they could hoodwink you again for another year.

They’re quite practically, goons in business attire.

So if you are like me and you're stuck in a contract with them, this is what I have to say to you, 

"You Poor Sucker." 

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