Beer Trick: Freezing SanMig Light before your eyes

As posted on Print the Legend by Choc:

We all like a subzero beer but here’s another reason to like it more –

You can perform a cool little trick with it. Watch it freeze before your eyes. =))

Here’ my first try, a video taken with my phone so its not the best quality but here it shows how it’s easy enough for me to do it on my first try. =)

Here’s where i saw it, and how.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_H5ZIoZSBo

Smoking at Work

As posted on Print the Legend by Choc:

Breathing through a stick of Marlboro lights in the smoking area on the side of my office building, which was uncharacteristically empty on a cold rainy night, I was so bored I was half-consciously counting the number of puffs it took me to finish my cigarette.–  Fourteen.

Fourteen breaths for one cigarette. Is that how many breaths I lose, kind of literally, with every cigarette I take?

How much smoking happens in my office anyway?

Suppose Yosi Kadiri, is to come to the office and heroically offers:

PS: I need to learn Photoshop badly..

“I will liberate you from the clutches of this deadly vice.. I will smoke your cigarettes for you and suffer this bodily corruption for your freedom.”  

What is he up against?

Last time I heard, there were about 600 employees in my office. Last time I read, about 28% of the Philippine adult population are smokers.

Assuming the office is a cross section of the Philippine adult population, then there’d be around 168 smoker employees in all. Let’s say each one smokes about 3 sticks per day and takes 14 puffs to finish one cigarette, then on a given day, there will be 7,056 breaths made through 504 cigarettes in the office.

For perspective, a normal person breathes about 12 times per minute, and If we are to “convert” these 504 sticks of cigarettes into one “Godfather” cigarette” it will be more than 80 feet long.

That is to say, poor Yosi Kadiri will have to climb up the 9th floor and smoke this “godfather” cigarette which will extend from his lips to the ground 9 floors below.

And to finish it, he will have to puff it for 10 hours non-stop.  Good luck.

The “Recipe” for a smoother Online Life: If This Then That (ifttt.com)

As posted on Print the Legend by Choc:

Online Life is catching up with the real one in terms of complexity and sheer effort in trying to organize it. Twitter, Facebook, News Aggregators, Blogs, Emails, etc.  There are simply too many things to keep track of to give a semblance of order in our daily web activities. We constantly need to log in to countless platforms to check out whats happening, send/get content from our favorite blogs/sites, that you wish you had some personal secretary to do these things for you.

This is why If This Then That (ifttt.com) is a great tool that i think is under-utilized by the majority of netizens. I myself have not even heard of it or any friend using it, until a few days ago when a co-worker mentioned it. ifttt.com’s game plan is simple:

And that’s just what it does. With almost comically simple steps, If This Then That interacts with the web platforms you are using and performs both the repetitive, and a lot of sophisticated tasks as well, for you.

For more information, view the full article here.

On ICS Encryption

It's actually good to know that with the surge of smart phones where you take pictures of everything and sync in all your accounts including your business emails, credit cards, etc. you have the option of encrypting your phone.

Galaxy S3 Encryption Screenshot from Cnet

Now I decided to encrypt mine, took almost an hour, and now I feel a little bit secured. Thing is, I probably did not pay much attention to the warning, so I was thrown off guard afterwards when I found out I'm stuck on using either my pin or password on screen locks. So bye bye to patterns and face unlock... well unless I decide to reset and wipe out my data.

Some screen lock options disabled afterwards on my Galaxy Prime!

So think twice if you really want to encrypt your phone. I'm disappointed that I can't use some cool ICS features, but I'm keeping it this way for the sake of my accounts.

Rasterbating Clint Eastwood

What happens when you're all alone in your boring room, with the blank walls gaping at you, compelling you to do something with your hands? Simple. You give in. You lie on your bed and close your eyes. You clear your mind and you start being creative. You start picturing things out...and then you just do it. You RASTERBATE.

Be Careful of Those Vitamins and Supplements

From Evidence-Based Living

Yesterday, Yahoo!Health had posted a very interesting article regarding the dangers of vitamins and supplements. We all know that anything in excess (or deficient) could be hazardous to health, but apart from that, there are some other things to keep in mind when deciding on what to take in addition to your normal food intake.

Have a break! (aka Philippine Holidays 2012)

Image from SeoPinay

Mid-year and I'm just having this post... guess it's better late than never --and there are a lot of remaining holidays left!

Plot your vacation wisely and use these breaks as a means to recharge and catch up on those things you said you planned to do but never had the time.

Below is a list of Philippine holidays and special non-working days as posted on the Philippine government's Official Gazette.

Crossing the street is more fun in the Philippines!

Accidents do happen because pedestrians ignore traffic rules. If they don't and they decide to cross the street properly, it's still sad as some pedestrian lanes have faded over time, worsening the drivers' ped xing-blindness.


With the increasing pedestrian related accidents, the city of Pasig, in collaboration with IdeasXMachina (IXM), came up with a very ingenious idea -- the not so pedestrian lanes!

Their solution: Create quirky pedestrian lane designs to make crossing fun and conspicuous to oncoming traffic.

For more info, here's a video clip featuring IXM taken from 24 Oras aired last July 13, 2012 by GMA 7:

Planting Seeds: Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2012 Writing Project

"To see things in the seed, that is genius."

-Lao Tzu

The internet is such a blessing! Indeed we all are very lucky that in just a few keystrokes, we'd find what we need. This won't be possible though without its contributors who had exerted enough time and effort to share their talents, passion and knowledge.

Now, Influential Blogger, spearheaded by Janette Toral, came up with a writing project which aims to identify new and emerging blogs who are trying to make an impact on their readers. They're actually on their sixth (6) year now and Tof Salcedo, Philippine data center, Philippine online shopping, Manila Standard Today, DigitalFilipino Club, and Search Profile Index have already pledged their support.

Oh Sugar, You Are Not So Sweet!

 

When is a food a food? And when is it poison?
 

The sweetest poison.
(Image from Ecosalon)

Dr. William Coda Martin, in 1957, tried providing answers to these questions by defining what ‘poison’ is:

"Medically: Any substance applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease. Physically: Any substance which inhibits the activity of a catalyst which is a minor substance, chemical or enzyme that activates a reaction."

Brain Fart 05.10.12

Before anything else, I apologize. This post really is personal and is not intended for public consumption. I'm doing this for me, for my own good. I don't think I owe anyone explanations. Oh, well, if you insist and want to share in my insanity, I don't have any means to stop you...

Transform Thy Old Tshirts

Oh yes, I remember this being a sort of a trend for the young people around last year. 

But I was too busy then, and the video of Adam Saaks I'd seen had gaping holes everywhere, not at all apt for an old hag like me. 

The Phantom of the Opera is There Inside My Mind

Watched the 2004 film version starring Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler and Patrick Wilson in the movie theater thrice in a row.


Surfed within IMDB to cure the movie hangover.


Bought a VCD copy... then a DVD copy.


Played the movie again and again.


Sang along Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical scores on You Tube.


And finally.... would be watching the play live in just four months from now!

Philippine Labor Day 2012

Philippine Labor Day 2012, Image by DOLE

Once again, Filipinos will be celebrating the annual Labor Day on May 1, Tuesday. To date, President Noynoy Aquino hasn't released any announcements yet on whether the holiday will be moved on April 30 which is a Monday.


So why May 1? 


It actually originated on May 1, 1886 in the United States when American workers fought for an eight (8) hour workday instead of their usual 10, 12 or 14 hours a day. It ended up with a riot, killing a significant number of policemen and demonstrators alike in its wake. The good news was, the proposed eight hour workday was eventually approved.


In the Philippines however, the first labor day took place on May 1, 1903 where  about 100,000 demonstrators flocked in front of Malacañang where William Howard Taft was residing. Aside from the fight against imperialism, they also expressed their demand for better working conditions.


For more info, you may visit Dept. of Labor and Employment's official website on dole.gov.ph or check-out their Facebook fan page here. For the Labor Day history, you may check-out WikiPilipinas.

Search for a New Hairstyle This 2012

I easily get bored with my hair. That's why as much as possible, I change my hairstyle every now and then. Boy, I've probably tried everything -- except for pixie, that is. From boy cut, to shaggy, to mid length layers, one length cut, stick straight, wavy, digiperm, rainbow (that's my mom's term because it looks like one), full bangs, side bangs, no bangs, parted in the center, or left, or right, or no partition at all aka brush up. Ha, I can go on! Thing is, my last hairstyle, which was half digiperm was really close to my heart. I hadn't had it changed for more than a year which is eternity in my hairstyle lifespan. Why? Well to name a few..

My long outdated mane

1. It was so easy to maintain. I could survive a day without combing my hair.
2. Actually, I rarely combed my hair, I just finger comb it once it had dried.
3. I didn't have to blow dry my hair or wait for it to dry before going out, no specific form was necessary.
4. All you had to do is twirl and scrunch it every once in a while!
5. Finally, the look looked (vocabulary shortage haha) party ready all the time sans all those unnecessary preparations!

Sad to say, it all had to end. It had grown waist long already, weighing my face down, the roots were so dry with a couple of split-ends, and... (drum roll) I had been depressed. And when I'm down, all I need is a haircut! Which reminds me that it was the same reason I spent some serious amount of cash for my digiperm!


Now, I really wanted to try pixie. It looked good on Emma Watson, Michelle Williams, even on my mom who had no choice since her hair was just growing its way out again after some chemotherapy sessions. But then again, I'm not as pretty as them! Frankly, it's such a drastic change, and I might get married soon (oh really now?), so of course I wouldn't want to look more masculine than my groom! In short, pixie is out.

My new hairstyle!

Finally, I got interested in bob cut. It looked so edgy and such a far cry from my long curls!.. But, there are lots of styles to choose from and I was lost in no time. So began the process of elimination. I have a diamond-long-shaped face, so I zeroed in on celebrities  with a bob who have similar face shape like mine. It was Liv Tyler and Anne Hathaway who laid the final brick. Anne Hathaway had a shoulder bob, while Liv Tyler had a one length shoulder cut. There's very little difference actually, therefore I decided to mix both.


Here are some pictures I grabbed online to show to the hairstylist. See how chic and versatile the hairstyle is, whether it's straight, wavy or curly. I was screaming yay, another LOW MAINTENANCE cut!


Don't they look lovely?

Image from Hairspotlight.com

Image from Hairstyleagain.com 

Image from Styleruminative.blogspot.com

Image from Talkingmakeup.com 

Image from Dailymakeover.com 

Image from Handbag.com

Be Searchable- Submit Your Site to Google and Bing!

I hope I'm not mistaken, but as far as I know, major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing automatically update their own site indices. Thing is, we can't really tell how long it takes for them to do that, so to check if they've already included your site every time they crawl the web, go to the different search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing etc.), type this in the search box, and hit search :

site:<yoururl>

For example:



site:thetalkingsenses.blogspot.com

 

If it generates result/s then congratulations, your site has already been enlisted! If not, you can wait a few more days and do a search once again, or you could manually submit your site to some of the search engines like Google and Bing (as Yahoo has already merged with Bing webmaster tools).

To Submit Your Site to Google

1. Go to http://www.google.com/addurl/.

2. Enter your homepage.

3. Enter the captcha.

4. Click Submit Request.

To Submit Your Site to Bing

1. Go to http://www.bing.com/webmaster/SubmitSitePage.aspx

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page, unless you want to register.

3. Enter the code that is shown.

4. Enter your homepage.

5. Click Submit URL.

And that's it! Good luck!

Love that Snooze Button

"A shrill ringing grabbed me from the depths of my dreams. I blindingly reached out for the source of that blatant sound. It's now 5:30 am. Too early. I knew I could do my morning rituals way faster than usual. So I pressed the snooze button and went back to sleep in no time...

Gawd! It's 7:00 already! And I had to leave at 7:20 to be at work at 8! Why didn't I hear the alarm again???? I was way too close to being fired!"

I'm still sleepy. 5 minutes more won't hurt, right?

Feels familiar eh?

I know. THE morning rush. I had been in that situation too, actually, I still do experience that a couple of times every week. So whatever your reason is, the thing is I've got brilliant ideas to help you counteract the gosh-I'm-running-late feeling just because you fail to wake up on time.

The Sure-Fire Ways to Save Time in the Morning:

1. Prepare your outfit and bag the night before. All that closet-digging, fitting and ironing, not to mention the search for the right shoes and the prepping of your things can waste a lot of valuable time in the morning. If you're always running late, I assume your closet is also messy, which makes it longer for you. So the best thing to do, is to of course, do those things before you sleep. (Saves 15 minutes)

2. Take a long bath at night. Washing your hair and blow drying it, as well as doing your body scrub in the morning takes eons, especially if you're a girl. If you do it the night before, you can either just rinse your body in the morning, or skip it altogether to save time. Of course, you shouldn't skip washing your privates and your face. Hello!!! (Saves 30 minutes)

3. Stock your cupboard with powdered instant coffee. Brewing coffee in the morning and opening jars of creamer and sugar takes time. So if you can't start the day without coffee, just grab that 3-in-1, mix it with 3/4 hot water and 1/4 cold water so you can drink it all at once without waiting for it too cool down. (Saves 6 minutes) 

4. Eat easy to prepare breakfast. It's not advisable for anyone to delay breakfast just because they don't have enough time. Remember that your body needs energy to sustain you throughout the day. Here are some examples of foods you can consume in a jiffy:

• bread and jam
• crackers
• oatmeal
• cup noodles
• fruits
• microwaved left-overs

(Saves 10 minutes)

5. The power of mouthwash. Of course a dentist would openly disagree. But if you're on a hurry, the 3-minute brushing technique should be let go! After all, you can always bring your toothbrush and do it later when you have timed-in already. (Saves 3 minutes)

6. Put your beauty kit necessities on a wide table right in front of the mirror. Opening drawers and cabinets take time and effort. So put them on an accessible area so you can reach for them without fuss. (Saves about a minute)

7. Mix your moisturizer and foundation before applying to face. Instead of applying them separately, mix them up first on your palm and just apply them once. Brilliant right?(Saves 1 minute)

8. Skip that heavy make-up. Just dot on concealer on the areas to hide, put some powder, curl your lash and dab some lipstick. Anyway, your face won't change no matter how much effort you put on it. (Saves 3 minutes)

9. Don't wear high-heels. Of course it might oppose with number one. But you can always wear slippers temporarily and just dunk your heels in your bag and wear them once you arrive in your office. I tell you, you will have to run or walk fast to beat that grace period. You don't want to trip, don't you? (Saves 5 minutes? It depends on how far you need to be on foot.)

10. Have extra money in your wallet. When you're too late, you can't wait in line at the bus stop. So even if it's a pain in the pocket, you really have to take a cab. (Saves 20 minutes)

That's all I can think of for now. Look at how much time you can save! However, I didn't write this to tolerate your oversleeping habits. It's always better to have self-discipline and skip snoozing altogether, as constant snoozing drains your energy even before you actually get up, but the list sure comes in handy whenever you're in a tight spot like this.

So readers, I'm sure you have some tips going on too. (I can even name some more!) You can always contribute in the comment box for more tips. Anyway, I got to go too! I'm running late!! =p 

Euphemisms: A Powerful Marketing Tool

As a marketing person myself, I'm deeply interested in all sorts of persuasion, in particular, the magical effect of the proper choice of words that would really convert into sales. More so when we're talking about ancient second-hand items, the I-hope-I-can-still-earn-from-this-junk things which are in desperate need of a miracle to make it possible for them to get sold.

To give you a graphic representation of what I'm saying, take this example from Lunchbreath:

http://lunchbreath.com/cartoons/how-to-describe-your-used-furniture-on-craigslist-2

Now, a piece of advice to our dear consumers. Be vigilant when buying second hand items okay? Especially when it comes to furniture, take note of the euphemisms. 

The next time you see..

For Sale:

Brushed Metal Victorian Heirloom Dresser

$ 6,250.00

..you can easily figure out what it actually looks like.

Summit Fever

Mt. Makiling, Laguna

At the dawn of some recent hiking mishaps in the Philippines -- the drowning incident in Rizal1, the accident in Brgy. Masipag2, and most recently the misfortune in Mt. Batulao3; people, especially parents can't help but ask,

"Ano ba ang napapala nila dun?"

I have heard this question a dozen times and even though I'm just new to the hobby, it's really easy to classify the motive behind it. It's either:

1. They have never climbed a mountain.
2. They have climbed, but they find it too grueling.
3. Parents -- of course they worry.
4. They're curious and want to try.

Usually, when faced with that question, my answers usually range from "The view from the summit is incomparable!" or "It's fulfilling!" to "It's just a form of exercise". But really, what I meant was, "Sorry, I can't explain".

Early one morning, before entering our office unit, I decided to go out the building's deck to take a look at the city below. Out of nowhere, or maybe because of my elevation, the answers came to me... or at least the closest I could come up with.

I enjoy hiking because for me, it's like going home.

The moment I step on the jump-off, the lush forest greets a warm welcome. The air is cool, the birds provide music, and the sun, though hot, doesn't feel that hot unlike when you're on paved streets. Everything's just natural. Everything's just simple. Basic. Right. It seems like your body and mind know that they're back to where they're originally designed for. You instantly feel at ease. And the best thing? You forget your life's problems and mountain or no mountain, you learn to detach yourself from daily woes.

I enjoy climbing because I feel fulfilled.

All of us have our own sets of frustrations and concerns. Heck, life isn't perfect, no matter how hard we try, we just can't succeed in everything. Some think climbing is just a physical test. It's not. It's a test of who you are. How many times have I heard somebody say, "I can't go on. My knees are killing me" but later on, despite the cramps and pains, that person's still pushing his way to the top? You've also probably heard of the successful amputee climb in Mt. Batulao way back 2009. Why do climbers go on? It's because every time you tackle a hurdle, and every time you get to the summit after an exhausting climb, you feel a different sense of fulfillment. It's like you're in a state of trance, that though you know you're not the best you wanted to be in your normal day to day life, you feel a bubbling sense of confidence that wasn't there before. And this sense of fulfillment is followed by hope and belief that since you're able to reach the top, you'll also be able to surpass other glitches in your life. And once you're on the summit? God, the view and the sense of being is priceless.

I enjoy mountaineering because it humbles me.

I don't know for others, but every mountain, no matter the difficulty, teaches me a lesson -- to NEVER UNDERESTIMATE NATURE and that THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN YOURSELF. Each terrain is different, and up in the mountain, you're all alone against nature. You can't bribe it to make the way easier, nor you can't skip the difficult impediments on your way. The worldly possessions you own don't mean a thing, your college degree, your awards and your profession are nothing.


Amazingly, this feeling stays with you long after you're back in the city. You'll know it when worldly possessions don't mean that much anymore.


1 http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2011/09/mountain-news-mountaineer-adrian-alba.html
2 http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=200&articleId=729837
3 http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2012/02/mountain-news-first-time-female-hiker.html