Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy: Following the Storm Chasers

I just like following the storm chasers...

"LIVE coverage begins again on Monday October 29 at 9 AM Exclusively on CHASERCAM™ Live Jeff Piotrowski and Jeremy Holmes bring you up to the minute breaking news from the New Jersey and New York Coast as devastating Hurricane Sandy makes landfall. For Media License and “on location” interviews contact Jeff at 918-906-8985 or jeffbsi@cox.net"

Stream 1:

Streaming by Ustream


Building Collapse in 14th Street New York



Some Humor...


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Daniel Frost vol. II Gotham City Gets Ghoulish

Klarion the Witch Boy is stealing the powers of Heroes and Villains throughout the DC Universe and using them to cause quite a bit of Halloween mischief on the streets of Gotham City. Apparitions of all kinds are rising from the earth and tormenting trick-or-treaters. Heroes, it will be up to you to save the civilians, and Villains, well, you should be able to find some way to take…advantage…of the situation.

From : DCUniverseOnline









Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Will the Next Michael Jackson Be from the Philippines?

I got an interesting email today about an interesting person, his name is Kim. Some are saying that he reminds people of a young Michael Jackson.


According to his bio,
"Kim is born in October 2000 in Cebu City, Philippines and has lived their till he was eight years old. Kim started singing already when he was only 3 years old and has since that time won several local singing contests.
That time Kim never experienced to have singing lesson and learned everything from his mother Mabel.
In 2008 Kim left, together with his sister and mother, the Philippines to live with his father in Holland."
Here's his rendition of one of my favorite songs, My Girl


More songs from Kim

Google Paid Me, Adsense, WOT, Blogging

google_logo
The title sounds weird, but this is going to be one of those cloudy day but still happy posts.

The upside is yes, I'm glad because I got my $202.97 USD from Google yesterday!

Yay Me!!!

I went to the Western Union branch at the second floor of Robinsons Mall in Lipa City, filled out a form, gave my MTCN number along with identification to the pretty lady behind the counter. I left out a few details on the form since I didn't know what to write on the field where it says, "The Sender is My _________"

"Master" 
"Money bag"
"Benefactor"

"Employer" - Hmmm, maybe... Something like that. Yes.


The amount is bigger because apparently, the amount that I didn't get from the first check which was lost, was carried over to this pay date. Hence 100* + 102.97* = $202.97.

So that's what happens when you lose your Adsense check. Good thing I shifted to Western Union as a payment mode.

I'm very close to my personal goal of earning $1.00 a day in Adsense revenue. Thanks to your support.

The lady at the Western Union branch in Robinsons was really excited, "You really get paid by Google? Wow."

I just smiled. Her male companion then added that in Western Union everything from Google starts with an MTCN number beginning with 000.

She then told me that she once tried freelance writing and that it was difficult. I told her, that the pay in freelance writing is actually higher, since you get paid per word and article rather than per clicks or impressions. I really should get started with those calling cards.

Dealing with a Negative WOT rating (Web of Trust)  
The WOT rating and also browser extension (firefox and chrome) is a rating system that grades the performance of your website according to ratings provided by users. Here, a site gets rated according to:
  • Trustworthiness
  • Vendor reliability
  • Privacy
  • Child Safety
Dannybuntu.com has been rated negatively, I don't know why and I feel bad about it since I feel that what I've written here are mostly my personal experiences and I am a fairly honest person. 

Proof: When I was about 5-7 years old (recalling exact dates is not my thing), my dad tested me (he liked those mind games - he was a lawyer). We passed by a candy shop where you could easily grab lots of colorful gummy bears and other colorful treats. Then he told me, "Danny, get some of that candy. See, I'll talk to the lady to distract her while you get some." 

Long story short, I didn't get the candy even though I would later on find out that my dad already paid for it before he asked me.

Another proof: You know those employment bonds that bind you to a company for 6 months which nobody really pays once they voluntarily resign before the end of the contract?

Well, I paid mine. I paid 50,000 pesos to my former employer, the Bank of the Philippine Islands when I resigned back then. That is how honest I am.

Sooooo, back to my Web of Trust rating. It's negative and so I'm deemed to be untrustworthy. At the onset, it was, is frustrating. It's like watching a blot on your good record to see that you have a failing grade just because somebody doesn't like you.

I felt compelled to join WOT and install their meta tag on my site, which I did.
Then request for a site evaluation, which I will now do.


They'll also ask for other information like - and I will copy paste:

Do you have a visible privacy policy on your website?: *

If you provide a way for users to communicate with you if they experience problems with your site / service, then provide the url:

Both of which I have,

Privacy and Disclosure
Contact Form

Some people say that you should also put a telephone number as it has some SEO mumbo jumbo effect, but I've tried that and just got super spooky phone calls in the middle of the night with - heavy breathing... Ugh..

Anyway, here's to hoping for the best. May we all get paid at least $4 a day in Google Adsense Revenue so that we can cash in every month. May our WOT ratings be Green. 

Sunday, October 07, 2012

DENR Bans Backyard Burning of Garbage

From Inquirer Article: DENR Bans Backyard Burning of Garbage

One of my qualms about living here in the provinces is the big problem of garbage collection. I don't know about the rest of the barangays here in the City of Lipa, but for us here in Barangay Tangway, garbage collection is virtually zero.

It's your problem to dispose of it.

My family of 7 consumes a hefty amount of plastic from goods that we buy in the groceries and the market. Although there's been a ban on plastic bags for all commercial establishments - certain exceptions seem to be making the rounds of the city.

For example, convenience stores specially in the market can still package the goods you bought provided that the plastic used are the "handle-less" type of clear plastics. It's a stupid exception, but I think much of that has to do with matigas na ulo of traders and market vendors.

Plastic is plastic, period.

For our part, we bought the reusable eco-bags and bring them to Robinson's Lipa whenever we do the groceries. But there's still a lot of plastic around. Almost every consumer good is packaged in plastic. From cooking oil, noodles, soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce, flavors and meat are still packaged in plastic.

On second thought, that may have been the origin of the exception. People still haven't gotten around to packaging meat aside from plastic. Some vendors might have pointed this out, and hence clear plastics got a go signal.

Temporary Solutions
Our temporary solution is to segregate plastic garbage and then bury it under the ground. Even then, our dump is slowly becoming bigger - creating our own mini-dumpsite. For now, incineration is still the only logical and feasible way to dispose of garbage. Our situation is even unique because we have plenty of space to do so. Our neighbors, which typically have smaller lots have no choice but to burn garbage.

I Still Support the No Burning Garbage Policy... BUT
I totally support the DENR and wish to see a future where nobody burns garbage, but it has to be done and enforced in a way that provides a suitable and free of cost way to ordinary citizens. It's easier to follow the law that the government creates if it has already provided a solution to the problem and has not encumbered ordinary citizens with the task of figuring it out for themselves.

Admittedly, we also burn garbage but we try to keep it at a minimum of once every week - every Saturday to be precise. 

Parang jaywalking, less people would jaywalk if there are pedestrian overpasses and even more people would use the overpass if it has an escalator.

Update: Oct. 12, 2012 Lipa City
Today, we had to send one of my daughters to the doctor because of incessant coughing and colds. It could be a combination of factors from the onset of the cold season to our relocated neighbors' continuous burning of garbage. Some of them actually say that it's their 3 o clock habit - to ward off mosquitoes with the smoke to prevent Dengue. Since our large lot is adjacent to several households - about 15, when it's 3 PM - all of them start smoking.

My daughter has been diagnosed with Bronchitis and speaking with some Barangay officials to complain about the incessant burning led me to the dead end - that there are no funds for garbage collection. This despite the fact that Lipa City is earning quite a bit from tax revenue from the new malls: SM Lipa City, Robinsons Mall, and Fiesta Mall.

So why is there no garbage collection facility in some barangays here in Lipa?

Research:
I searched on Google for some answers and it led me to quite a bit of sad quandary - many people already know about the garbage situation here in Lipa City - but it appears that there are no funds for garbage trucks.

I will copy and paste some information here:

The Community-based Solid Waste Management Project in Sitio San Nicolas
1
1. Lipa City’s Solid Waste Management Problem
Solid waste is the most visible of Lipa’s environmental problems such that the Mayor considered its solution as one the flagship programs of her administration.  

The Environmental Profile and the City Environmental Consultation in November 1999 identified the causes of the problem as: 

  • The increase in solid waste generation due to rapid industrialization and urbanization of the city; 
  • The un-segregated waste dumped by residents and commuters in the main roads, creeks, rivers, and vacant lots; 
  • The prevalence of burning of garbage in the city proper; 
  • The absence of material recovery facility in most of the urban barangays due to unavailability of vacant lots; 
  • The ineffective enforcement of local sanitation ordinances and national environmental laws on solid waste management and
  • The absence of available site for controlled dump facility and eventually for sanitary landfill. 

Furthermore, I stumbled upon some sort of petition grant for a garbage truck started by the Rotary Club of Lipa City. Over at this website: http://matchinggrants.org/grant2412.html


This project aims to grant a reconditioned dump truck that will serve as a wheel for proper trash/garbage collection and disposal in several barangays of Lipa City, Batangas. This will benefit more than 600 to 800 families in the locality. Long term effect would be a clean healthy and friendly environment not only for the local community but for the travelers as well. This will diminish several community-acquired diseases associated with dirty environment which serves as good breeding places for mosquitoes, rodents, flies and cockroaches causing dengue fever, malaria, leptospirosis intestinal parasitism and other respiratory diseases respectively.

Proposed project implementation will take at least 3 to 4 months once funds are available.




Why does the Rotary Club of Lipa City have to ask for donations? Isn't this the job of the City Government of Lipa?

More Temporary Solutions
According to several sources and a NASA study on plants that improve indoor air quality, If done in a correct way, cleaner air could be manufactured. Watch the TED talks video:

Also cited:

How to grow Snake Plant or Mother in Law's Tongue Sansivieria Trifasciata



Friday, October 05, 2012

The Emergence of Daniel Frost in Gotham City

Since I am beginning to spend quite a few hours of my life playing #DCUniverseonline - an awesome Free to Play MMORPG from Sony Online Entertainment, I might as well be productive and make something out of it. I'm trying to turn the game and my character into a mini comic book.

EventId's in Nostr - from CGPT4

The mathematical operation used to derive the event.id in your getSignedEvent function is the SHA-256 hash function, applied to a string rep...