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January, 2010

  1. All you need to know about UK scholarships and studying in the UK

    January 31, 2010 by ajay

    I’ve worked in the United Kingdom but I never experienced studying there. What an awesome experience it must be. This country, besides being the hub of monarchy, offers much in terms of cultural and historical exploration. Thankfully, one can learn much about studying in the UK through the British Council in the Philippines, including ways on how to get scholarships there.

    From January to March, the British Council launches Education UK, a campaign meant to inform Filipinos on the educational opportunities in the United Kingdom.
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    Category Press Release | Tags: ,,,, | No Comments

  2. Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 debuts with special introductory price

    January 27, 2010 by ajay

    Sony Ericsson Xperia

    Mobile phone fanatics who prefer their smartphones to do more, other than offer seamless connectivity and push emails have something to look forward to with the soon-to-be launched Sony Ericsson Xperia X2. It’s a Windows Mobile QWERTY touch phone that also appeals to your artistic side by boasting of an 8.1 megapixel camera, WVGA video recording and a 3.2 inch high resolution touchscreen that provides DVD quality viewing.

    Get a discount of one thousand pesos when you reserve the Xperia X2 prior to its commercial availability. The phone’s special introductory price is at P28,500 when you purchase the handset from February 1-12, 2010. For inquiries, visit the nearest Sony Ericsson Experience shop, participating dealers or call the Customer Service Hotline 789-1860.
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    Category Technews | Tags: ,,,, | 3 Comments

  3. The new St. Luke’s Medical Center at Bonifacio Global City

    January 26, 2010 by ajay

    On the way to the car dealership, we passed by the new St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City and can’t help but be impressed by how imposing it was from the outside. It looked fairly empty too, as expected of a hospital which has just opened. I do expect to see it one of these days since my obstetrician-gynecologist also holds clinic here.

    Anyway, I could never guess what this room was. Is it a condo or a room in a five-star hotel? No to both. It is part of the presidential suite of the new St. Luke’s. (via isabelledaza on Twitter)

    St. Luke's Global City

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    Category Health & Beauty | Tags: , | No Comments

  4. How to ride a taxi safely in Manila

    January 22, 2010 by ajay

    One good reason to get a car of your own to drive in Manila, no matter what a rickety, old second-hand it is: it’ actually safer to drive on your own in the city’s crazy streets than depend on public transportation.

    My own arguments against riding public transport are these – if you’re riding a taxi: you never know the driver’s temperament or if their meters are reliable. Some smell of LPG gas (because, well, they’re using it) and it’s really crazy hailing taxis during rush hours, the holiday season and when it rains.

    As for FXs buses and jeepneys, I get claustrophobic and paranoid about holdup incidents. The only thing I favor are the LRT and MRT trains to easily get to Point Z from Point A, but the lines at the terminals can get really long too, and occasionally there are mechanical troubles which can stall your trip for hours.

    I’ve had my commuter days and have my own horror stories to tell about riding public transport. One time, the taxi driver was really acting weird and appeared to be high on drugs. I leapt out of the taxi at the next stop light, but not without him shouting invectives at me. God knows where he could have led me then.

    As a result, I’ve formulated some rules in riding a taxi in Manila:

    1. Ride only on taxis ran by reputable companies. Never mind if you have to shell out extra pesos for it.

    2. Practice precautionary measures like keeping the doors locked, carrying a self-defense spray and sitting at the back, instead of beside the driver.

    3. Text the taxi’s plate number to a family member or friend as soon as you ride the car

    4. Riding a taxi at 6 a.m. is safer than riding a taxi at 3 or 4 a.m. In the same way that riding a taxi in groups is safer than going it alone, at that hour!

    On Facebook tonight, the horrific story of this young woman who was mugged by a taxi driver caught my attention:

    Partygoer
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    Category My Manila | Tags: ,,,,, | 4 Comments

  5. To Tagaytay City, after a long time

    January 18, 2010 by ajay

    Post New Year, the whole family motored down to Tagaytay City. Excitement was in the air because the kids and I haven’t been here for a long time and it was also the hubby’s first time to see the place.

    Due to the notorious traffic along the South Expressway, I’ve mercilessly given up going to Tagaytay through the years in favor of other itineraries in the North. But I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder….

    On the way there, we first make a lunch stop at Kanin Club in Paseo de Sta. Rosa. As expected of this in-demand resto, we had to wait for a few minutes to get a table and a longer time for our food. Even though a part of me wanted to try their crispy dinuguan again, I was craving for the paksiw na bangus but it fell short of expectations. The sauce of the paksiw had the consistency of soup :D

    Arriving in our destination, we checked in at Hotel Dominique which was quite near the rotonda. We chose this hotel because we were able to get a good rate here: P4,500 or approximately $100 for a two bedroom, two bathroom casita with attic (and own parking space.) The Spanish-inspired hotel looked small from the highway, but it was spacious inside. It even had a swimming pool.

    Hotel Dominique
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    Category Road Adventures | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | 3 Comments

  6. Help Haiti quake victims thru the power of technology

    January 14, 2010 by ajay

    Through the powers of technology, the world is witnessing the unfolding drama that is the aftermath of the powerful Intensity 7 earthquake that hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti. Hundreds of thousands are believed to be still missing and trapped within the shattered buildings. For those of us in the Philippines, the quake in Haiti has some parallels, if you count the tragic July 1990 earthquake (magnitude 7.7) and more recently, Typhoon Ondoy. Three Filipino members of the UN peacekeeping contingent remain unaccounted for in the Haiti tragedy.

    But unlike the 1991 Philippine earthquake where places like Baguio remained cut off from the rest of the world for several days, what happened in Haiti was immediately broadcast, tweeted and blogged to the rest of the world in a matter of minutes. Thanks to today’s technology, the world was made aware of the extent of the disaster. We expect the spirit of charity and volunteerism as well to rise as Help Haiti efforts have been made possible via Twitter, Facebook and the press of a cellphone button.

    How to help Haiti? Here are high-tech ways to donate now:
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    Category Life & Living | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  7. My ‘lost’ cellphone gets returned, for a change ….

    January 12, 2010 by ajay

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    see more Lolcats and funny pictures

    Having lost big and small things like jewelry and a 21-inch TV to rogues in the past, I’ve gotten the impression that am quite the alluring magnet to bad elements. That, or it’s just the hassle of living in the city where even policemen steal for a living. That’s why it was quite a breath of fresh air when my cellphone, which I thought I had lost, was returned to me over the weekend. It makes me believe that kind souls still abound in Manila after being cynical about this place for quite some time.

    I was about to pay some purchases at the SM Department Store in the Mall of Asia that Sunday afternoon when I realized my slim cellphone wasn’t in my wallet, as it usually was. So we hurried back to the Kenny Rogers resto where we ate 30 to 40 minutes before, just to try my luck at asking if they found it. I was already prepared for the worst, but somehow regretting the fact that my friends and contacts would have to find me again. I don’t subscribe to a postpaid line because I hate paying the surcharges and I only maintain one phone because am not a text and call addict either. But with the frequency that I lose my mobile phones, I’ve gotten into the routine of changing my phone number every six months or so.

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    Category Technews | Tags: ,,,,, | 2 Comments

  8. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3: the perfect compact camera for me

    January 9, 2010 by ajay

    Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

    During my birthday last year, the hubby gifted me with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. This has been on my wishlist for quite some time, especially after we both agreed to retire the Verzio M700 digicam which I got as some schwag from a presscon. It helped that a number of bloggers already own the Lumix LX3 and gave positive reviews about it.

    More than two months after holding the Lumix, I do find that it is the perfect camera companion for a lazy SLR user like me. Mine is a sleek black, and it doesn’t look too attractive from outside. But you’ll surely appreciate how, even with its small size, it functions as a workhorse. In fact, your mini SLR personified.
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    Category Technews | Tags: ,,,,,, | 6 Comments

  9. Cebu Pacific gets flak for refusing to carry special child

    January 7, 2010 by ajay

    Cebu Pacific horror stories are in the air again. On Facebook and Twitter tonight, Cebu Pacific is getting some flak from online denizens for refusing to carry a special child. In this case, a child with global developmental delay.

    The reports are sketchy as of yet, but online folks are crying foul to this move by Cebu Pacific which takes pride in its slogan “Now Every Juan Can Fly.” This time around, the budget airline is being compared to its rival PAL (Philippine Air Lines) which reportedly has a more humanitarian policy toward senior citizens and persons with disability.

    It appears from the tweets that an unnamed Cebu Pacific flight compelled the special child to get off the plane due to his/her disorder and because there was another special child onboard. They can only accommodate one special child, not two. This of course made the affected parents fume with anger and pass on the word online, and virally.
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    Category Travel | Tags: ,,,, | 10 Comments

  10. Google Nexus One superphone

    January 6, 2010 by ajay

    Google Nexus One

    That’s right. One of my 2010 New Year’s resolutions is to buy a new mobile phone, after having decided that the last Christmas season was a bad time to buy one (prices were high and thefts were on the rise). Unknown to friends, am only using a basic phone and have two other high-tech phones just hidden in the drawer, tee hee. The plan is to give the basic phone to my son (it’s time he has one since he’s on the verge of high school) while am gonna trade in the two others for a single phone with good video capability. Any suggestions out there?

    Anyway, mobile phone fanatics are all agog about the just-launched Google Nexus One smartphone. I mean, whatta way to greet the beginning of 2010. The only caveat is that it’s not available in the Philippines. But nothing’s preventing our newspaper, the Manila Bulletin Technews lab from reviewing it. Watch out for the review soon!

    In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about the Google smartphone, in case you insist on buying it from abroad:

    Processor: Qualcomm QSD 8250 1 GHz
    (versus only 600 Mhz on the iPhone 3GS, Motorola Droid and Palm Pre)

    Google GPS and wi-fi positioning

    Bluetooth, wi-fi and HSDPA at 7.2Mbps

    Voice-enabled keyboard so that you can just dictate your text message or Facebook update instead of typing it
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    Category Technews | Tags: ,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

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