::Tuesday, July 29, 2003::
the skinny on diets
..if you believe dieting helps you actually lose weight, think again. studies have increasingly indicated that in the long term, diets actually do the opposite and build more fats in the long term. it's also unhealthy since it affects vital organs and prevents the whole body from functioning properly.
'no free credits'
..there are no free lunches when it comes to credit reports. advertisements touting such services make it vague enough until you read the fine print (99 percent of consumers never do) or worse after you have punched in your credit card number. you always end up paying more than you bargained for.
how to treat working women
slick move
..is the "blood for oil" criticism of the Iraq war justified? form your conclusion based on these previously declassified documents.
celebrity I.Q.'s
..don't be quick to trash the first celebrity you meet in the street. they might just turn out to be a member of MENSA, just like some of these really smart stars.
::Thursday, July 24, 2003::
tips to combat SPAM
..some tips from yahoo regarding SPAM:
- Never respond to unsolicited email (i.e., spam). To the individuals who send spam, one response or "hit" among thousands of mailings is enough to justify the practice.
- Never respond to the spam email's instructions to reply with the word "remove" unless you trust the company sending the email. This is a ploy to get you to react to the email and will alert the sender that your email address is open and available to receive mail, which greatly increases its value. If you reply, your address may be placed on more lists, resulting in more spam.
- Never click on a URL or web site address listed within a spam email. This could alert the site to the validity of your email address, potentially resulting in more spam.
- Never sign up with sites that promise to remove your name from spam lists. Although some of these sites may be legitimate, more often than not, they are address collectors. The legitimate sites are ignored (or exploited) by the spammers, and the address collection sites are owned by spammers. In both cases, your address is recorded and valued more highly because you have just identified that your address is active.
- Never respond to unsolicited email (i.e., spam). To the individuals who send spam, one response or "hit" among thousands of mailings is enough to justify the practice.
- Never respond to the spam email's instructions to reply with the word "remove" unless you trust the company sending the email. This is a ploy to get you to react to the email and will alert the sender that your email address is open and available to receive mail, which greatly increases its value. If you reply, your address may be placed on more lists, resulting in more spam.
- Never click on a URL or web site address listed within a spam email. This could alert the site to the validity of your email address, potentially resulting in more spam.
- Never sign up with sites that promise to remove your name from spam lists. Although some of these sites may be legitimate, more often than not, they are address collectors. The legitimate sites are ignored (or exploited) by the spammers, and the address collection sites are owned by spammers. In both cases, your address is recorded and valued more highly because you have just identified that your address is active.
the future of jobs
..here's what to watch out for the hot jobs of the future. as baby boomers start to retire 10 years from now, the US will suddenly find itself short of manpower to fill these vacant jobs. that's good news for those who can wait it out or re-arm themselves.
::Wednesday, July 23, 2003::
et tu soda
..if you drink soda and juice like water, watch out for your teeth..
bargain-hunter's heaven
..it's an annual summer rite, scouring the city for good deals on designer labels you normally can't afford. time to beat tourists to the rush!
corporate eyes wide open
..don't look now but it's possible your bosses are monitoring your every move in the office. through sophisticated technology, companies are now able to sharply monitor your email, your web-surfing and other technology driven tasks you might have taken for granted before. it pays to assume big brother is watching.
"no vacancy"
..it was just a matter of time before something like this would happen. as the economy continues to lose jobs especially in the technology sector, scapegoating was bound to happen. now outsourcing of blue-collar jobs overseas (most prominently India) is under fire even if it accounts only for a small percentage of the whole job market. legislation in the state level will increase to limit this phenomenon and will make it harder for companies to cut their costs.
are Americans having fun yet?
..one key difference between Americans and Europeans is the "entrepreneurial spirit" which is stronger in the U.S. the vast space and the seemingly limitless resources of the continent give every person in America the sense that it is there for the taking. this probably has its roots in early European immigrants who ventured to America precisely seeking new frontiers and what they saw - unlimited lands and resources encouraged them to work harder than ever.
more about "the passion"
::Tuesday, July 22, 2003::
are you bored?
..just read this after complaining i'm bored. yikes! strange things indeed happen when someone is bored, something that can really turn your life upside down. you better believe it so read below!
"These are just some of things that experts say are often caused by just being bored:
-Extramarital affairs
-Alcohol abuse
-Overeating and obesity
-Criminal acts, including vandalism and even homicide
Every parent knows the worst thing for a child is to be bored in school. Bored little kids sometimes do bad things. Bored big kids sometimes drop out.
But it could be worse than this. Caruba says boredom can kill you--in direct and indirect ways. "A precursor and often a component of depression, boredom frequently fills the mind with thoughts of suicide," he says. "It is the eighth leading cause of death in America, and an extended period of boredom is often a warning sign. Its victims are frequently teenagers and senior citizens. When people say 'I'm dying of boredom,' they are a lot closer to the truth than they know. Boredom can and does kill."
So if you--or your child--is bored, find some stimulation! Caruba tells you how:
-Read. Every day.
-Hobbies are essential.
-Get involved with organizations that share your interests.
-Travel, even if it's just to a day-long event downtown."
Source: Netscape.com
"These are just some of things that experts say are often caused by just being bored:
-Extramarital affairs
-Alcohol abuse
-Overeating and obesity
-Criminal acts, including vandalism and even homicide
Every parent knows the worst thing for a child is to be bored in school. Bored little kids sometimes do bad things. Bored big kids sometimes drop out.
But it could be worse than this. Caruba says boredom can kill you--in direct and indirect ways. "A precursor and often a component of depression, boredom frequently fills the mind with thoughts of suicide," he says. "It is the eighth leading cause of death in America, and an extended period of boredom is often a warning sign. Its victims are frequently teenagers and senior citizens. When people say 'I'm dying of boredom,' they are a lot closer to the truth than they know. Boredom can and does kill."
So if you--or your child--is bored, find some stimulation! Caruba tells you how:
-Read. Every day.
-Hobbies are essential.
-Get involved with organizations that share your interests.
-Travel, even if it's just to a day-long event downtown."
Source: Netscape.com
'passion'-ate controversy
..those attacking mel gibson's the passion because of its anti-semitism without having seen it yet are forgetting that countless movies have been shown about Jesus that were clearly offensive to Christians. the actor has taken pains to be faithful to the historical Jesus in the Gospels, whose existence has been clearly corroborated by other historical accounts outside of the church.
::Monday, July 21, 2003::
a failure to communicate
..inspite good intelligence that demonstrates Syria is cooperative in combatting terrorism especially regarding damning evidence against Al-Qaeda, Pres. Bush continues to excoriate Syria today in a news conference at the risk of setting back diplomatic progress.
play your music anytime, anywhere
..another cool thing for music lovers. you can play your favorite archived digital music collection or video files on any pc anywhere by downloading this software. like anything in this world there's a hitch, of course. it's not free and you have to keep the pc that contains the software on at home so you can access it. it only works in Windows pc's so far but look for it to be developed in macs and linux platforms soon.
overcoming dyslexia
..1 in every 5 kids in America is afflicted with this learning disability and it pays to detect it early. here are early-intervention tips for combatting dyslexia.
::Sunday, July 20, 2003::
wireless invasion
..strike while the iron's hot! it will only be a matter of time before vendors require you to pay for wireless connectivity. so get those handhelds and laptops out and surf nycwireless-ly!
::Friday, July 18, 2003::
'scary as hell'
..get ready for the best horror movie in decades, a stunning original work that will haunt you 28 days later.
::Wednesday, July 16, 2003::
in defense of carbs
..i can't say enough about the real argument regarding the food pyramid. carbohydrates are not necessarily the culprit in weight-gain, it's simple carbohydrates and add to that too much caloric-intake. the defense rests!
::Tuesday, July 15, 2003::
smile!
..this just in from your dentist. for those who can't get enough of reality television, here's one way you can land those plum roles - with sparkling-white teeth! this article, however, left out the latest in cutting-edge technology that are already available in the market. nevertheless, it's still good advice.
::Sunday, July 13, 2003::
revealing resume
..here's a good article about what and what not to reveal in your resume when applying for a job. the trick is landing you an appointment and not be screened even before getting your foot in the door of any job search.
::Friday, July 11, 2003::
let's make some music
..this story was such a revelation to me. i've always wondered why music artists cannot hold their own when performing live. they just sound so amateurish compared to the way they sound in their albums without realizing that they are amateurs in the voice department! the proliferation of voice and pitch-altering software such as the Antares Auto-tunes and Helicons VoiceOne products is the great equalizer with amateur musicians now able to do their thing and act as rock stars.
::Thursday, July 10, 2003::
who's the backstabber?
..Mark Starr would be served well if he checks his facts before spicing up an article to make it appealing. for the record, Roger Clemens did not ask to be traded out of the Red Sox organization. Duquette, the general manager at that time opted to trade Clemens, the supposedly "aged" warrior to help land Pedro Martinez. to think that the two world series rings Clemens had do not have the same luster as one world series ring with the Bosox is preposterous! there wouldn't have been any ring at all if Clemens stayed with Boston. stop this deconstructionist nonsense Mark!
why RIAA is P2P steps behind
..this is one more example why the music industry will always be so much behind the issue of file sharing. the technology cannot be stopped and going after the consumer by suing them will not deter users from using file-sharing software like Kazaa and Morpheus. the reason why lots of people download music rather than pay for them is as much psychological as economics. there is a sense of satisfaction in being able to share something online that ordinary people will otherwise have difficult access to. this sphere already includes getting one's hand on a CD because of the prohibitive costs (a DVD movie with music and other features cost less). keeping the cost of CD's down (10 songs on Apple's iTunes would only be $9.99 which is almost 60% less than a regular CD in record stores) should be the first step in this fight (and not the last one) but it surely takes the fun out of spending so much time and energy downloading and swapping music. the recording industry needs to be creative in fighting online music theft. instead they are resorting to the old tactic of "shock and awe" litigation which will not work this time.
welcome to Subway!
..my favorite healthy fastfood chain hit it big again, for the 11th time as the top franchise for 2003. now that's impressive. wall street, take notice!
beware of cam-phone pranks
..it will be a matter of time before some new yorker pulls up one of these pranks that is hitting the whole asian continent right now. celphone cameras (cam phones for short) are still not ubiquitous in the US because of their prohibitive prices and the lack of compatibility because of the different systems that carriers use. consolidation and competition among the carriers will lower the prices of cam-phones and some teenager will start snapping up naughty pictures of ladies' skirts in the subway trains and post them up in the internet. so ladies be warned!
de' j'a vu
watching the Martin Luther special on channel 13 brings to mind the recent scandals plaguing the Catholic church. although there is a significantly marked difference between both realities, the church should take no pleasure that they are doing something about the scandals unlike the time of Luther that sparked the Reformation movement. the spirituality and integrity of Karol Wojtyla is unquestioned but the scandals at the bottom is razing like wildfire and will continue on for years. the zero-tolerance policy adopted by the Catholic Bishops of America makes sense and should be adopted all over the world. never mind the practical consequence of draining the clergy of its own members. new servants will come forth with renewed vigor but the task at hand is about cleaning up the ranks of the clergy and fast. if it resists being pro-active, the church faces the danger of a new reformation brought by an activist laity that will seriously undermine the episcopal authority of the universal church.
call me on the iChat
..add this one as another thing that non-mac users are missing out. after stunning the tech world with its introduction of the iTunes music store that can download individual songs at 99-cents and which can be stored on the iPod mp3 player (tech's best gift to man), Steve Jobs has now introduced a new version of iChat. it's Apple's version of instant messaging system that is now capable of transmitting voice conversations over the net and can also carry video calls. with the explosion of broadband now in full force and the unlimited appetite of consumers for easy to use killer applications, this should worry phone companies that are mesmerizing ordinary people with complicated schemes and charges only an accountant can decipher.
::Wednesday, July 09, 2003::
so you want to be a rock star?
..for all you wannabe's out there, check out this site for expert advice on how to make it in the music industry. there's a more professional way of doing it than american idol or lining up for TRL in times square. don't tell me you actually did it! ooops..sorry..
british pop-invasion
..there's something different about the british pop stars that are hitting the US charts lately. their music is fresh, sincere and just plain cool. from coldplay to craig david and now pop sensation daniel bedingfield , the brits have got it. or maybe as the old cliche goes, the grass is always greener on the other side..amen to that!
interns be warned
..just because one works for free doesn't mean he or she is indispensable even in today's challenging times. that is what most interns are finding out as they compete for work this summer. an internship, even if unpaid, is a serious career step and interns need to be aware that their performance are being monitored. so interns, keep those clothes sharp, show up early for work and keep those spirits up. you might just be one good performance away from being hired.
::Monday, July 07, 2003::
eat at your own risk
..the protein craze keeps on producing spin-offs and possibly rip-offs as well. what ticks me off about health studies such as this one is the blatant omission of what too much animal protein (except fish) can do to your heart - the high risk of coronary heart disease. it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the only way to increase muscle mass and maintain it is through exercise. expert advice seems necessary to remind people that simple carbohydrates is the culprit and what the body needs is complex carbohydrates (green vegetables and fruits). the dangerous long term effects of too much bad protein which is highly documented in the scientific community escapes most people.
::Sunday, July 06, 2003::
the short on skimpy shorts
..the assault to common decency is on in the name of fashion elan. summer brings out the best and the worst that fashion can offer. what is wrong with this picture? self-expression is desirable only if tempered with personal responsibility that takes into account the greater good of society and the preservation of its moral conduct. to flaunt the body publicly with no regard for its effects on minors and children (as a case in point) is irresponsible.
::Saturday, July 05, 2003::
are you a popular baby?
..whew..what a relief! at least my name is becoming passe starting at 2010 according to this article about baby names. it's bad enough that you don't get to like your name that much, to have more of them makes it even worse. the future of baby names looks bright though judging from the latest prediction of popular baby names.
::Friday, July 04, 2003::
where's the WMD?
..this is cool. from Andy Serwer's column Street Life. 1)go to Google.com 2) type in (but don't hit return): "weapons of mass destruction" 3)hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button, instead of the normal "Google search" button 4)read what appears to be a normal error message carefully. neat, huh? also, try to read the whole article of Andy. he has an interesting trivia about "siling labuyo".
king-kong, godzilla steals MLB show
..why pick on the Japanese for catapulting Ichiro and Matsui to the top two vote-getters for outfielders in Baseball's All Star ballot? it just shows what people have known all along - that the Japanese are not only GSM-savvy but web-savvy as well. the national pastime is slowly becoming an international phenomenon and rightly so. now get on the web and vote!
world wide web-life
..celebrate the good things in life found in the web by scouring these essential sites compiled by Tech Time for its 50 Best Websites article. it's probably the best compilation yet in terms of quality and diversity. bon ap-pe'-TECH!
let freedom ring)))
..looks like everything is cooperating during today's independence celebrations. look for security hassles and disturbances as you take the road or fly the skies, small price to pay to safeguard liberty. let's roll!
'scot-free' law
..the debate regarding the pros and cons of talking on your celphone while driving has ebbed, which makes this study a tad late. however, what's the point of making a law that nobody seems to be enforcing? you see it all the time here in new york city - people talking on their celphones with one hand pressed to their ears while driving and nobody seems to mind. where are the cops? i guess it's easier piling up those parking citations than running after errant celphone-using drivers.
::Thursday, July 03, 2003::
birth of a blog
..this blog was inspired by Howard Dean and moi Edward Opinaldo! people are talking about the Howard Dean phenomenon - "the small guy taking on President Bush and the GOP" so much so that I want to weigh-in on what's going on. i'm not going to talk about just politics here. i'll also talk about, well, almost anything.
