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The Asus Eee PC 701 started the UMPC craze. Now, Asus has a promo that could win you a trip to Hongkong Disneyland.

From the Asus promotion doc:

Trip to Hongkong Disneyland

Now, ASUS gives you the chance to experience just how mobile the Eee PC is—not only in the comforts of your own home, school or office—but in a whole new country. Not alone either—but with your entire family.

Enjoy a Disneyland Package for 3 days and 2 nights, inclusive of roundtrip tickets from Manila–Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific, hotel accommodations, a whole day Disney tour, and a half-day city tour for you and your family!

Get a chance to be one of eight (8) lucky families of four (4) vacationing in Hong Kong by simply purchasing an Eee PC 701 2g or 4g models between July 22 to August 15, 2008 and send the important details like name, address, signature, and contact information on a sheet of paper, along with a photocopy of the sales invoice, billing statement or delivery receipt and a cut out portion of the box where the serial number is indicated (Customers can only send in one entry per sales invoice, billing statement, or delivery receipt.100 models on one receipt, for example, is considered to be one entry). Place entries in an envelope and sending it to 14 United St., Bo. Kapitolyo, Pasig City, 1603 before the draw date of August 20, 2008.

If you want to know more about the promotion log on to www.asus.com.ph or call at telephone numbers 738-0398 or 631-4715.

I’ve been meaning to get a portable gadget that I can use during my daily commute. This is something that fits my spec: portable enough to be carried in a big-pockted pair of pants or a small bag, can play audio/video, can do word processing to write my ideas and thoughts down. I’m wondering if I can comfortably use this while riding the MRT, assuming that I can get to the part of the train which connects two cabooses together.

Filed under General Interests, Tech, Events

You could tell if a person is inclined towards a positive or negative mental attitude if they are mostly raving or ranting during normal conversations.

If you’ve been through a conversation with a friend who just spent the whole time complaining about his wife, you are more likely to feel drained afterwards. On the other hand, if a friend bubbly talks about how good his project is going, you would immediately sense a strengthening of your own resolve.

I’m not saying we must not complain. There are times that we should but it should never be the norm for positive people. On the other hand, we should just praise and talk about how great things are going, to the point that we turn a blind eye to wrong things and miss the opportunity to make things right. But that is splitting hairs.

Ask yourself:

Are ranting or raving now?

Are you ranting or raving mostly?

There was a local FM radio program who aired phoned in comments from listeners. The question was just: Are you Ranting or Raving? Students, office workers, stay-at-homes just call in and just let it out.

Some rant about the exams they just took or will take. Another one will do the same for the document their boss wanted yesterday.

A girl will rave about seeing her crush that made her day. A young mother will jubilantly proclaim that her baby is growing his first tooth or took his first step.

I did not keep tally on which side had more, but the lesson I get there is that we have a lot of reasons to complain or thank about.
Rave more, okay? It will do you tons of good.

Filed under Bright Ideas, Improve Your Self, POSITIVE MINDSET

• 1 comment

Everyone wants to save money. Especially during these times when the price of commodities, oil and every other thing we use our hard-earned income for, we turn to money-saving tips that would help us cope with the current situation.

These practices are based on personal experiences and thoughts, or learned from others or through reading. Disclaimer: They have worked for me but are not meant to be professional advise. You decide how to use them, if at all.

What better way to save than with the ubiquitous mobile phone.

Don’t Use It. If it can wait for later when you see the person you need to reach, postpone calling or texting. If you can make a free landline-to-landline call, don’t spend your talk time. Even if or just because you can. If your plan allows you 100 minutes worth of calls and you only get to use a portion, the tendency is to use up what’s left and “it would go to the telecoms coffers.” Anyway you’ve paid for it, right? Having a mindset like this just promotes a spendthrift attitude. Pretty soon, you’ll end up using more than your subscription minutes.

Use Missed Call as a Signal That You Are Near. I used to fetch my wife when she was still working. I’d let call her when I am near but would let her phone ring once or twice. That would be her cue to pack up and wait. It save us a few minutes and a few pesos. But done regularly.. you get the picture.

Missed Call Equals “K”. One thing I have not tried yet is equate the missed call with “k”. You know, just to say we got the message or we agree. If you think of it, if you sum up all the k’s for one day from the three telecom giants, I think they would amount to a several thousand pesos or so. If you translate that into the local economy, that might be a million pesos saved per month, at least.

Pause and Read. One of the mistakes I make is respond immediately with one liners, or answer what my texter asks. Then, after seeing the “Message Sent” on my screen, I realize that I could have included some other details that might be asked, or some question that I would like answered. Or in my haste, not responding would have been okay, too.

Communicate Clearly. When you do call or text, make sure that your message is clear. Thought there are widely used contractions and lingo for texting, never assume that everyone understands or “speaks” it. Your recipient might ask for a re-send. Think also of the potential risks that a wrongly-understood message can cause: botched business deals, relationship strains, missed appointments, and so on. Be clear. Be concise. Get your message across clearly.
A personal choice that I made was to get a mobile phone that would suit my needs to call and text. It would be great if it had other fancy stuff like a camera, mp3 player, radio, bluetooth and the works. But if this would come with a price, I’d pass up that model and end up getting the almost out-of-production phone. So up to now, I still have my Nokia 2600. I will replace itwhen it fails to do what it’s supposed to do: Call and text.
Some other things I didn’t get were accessories, casings, ringtones, etc. While I would like to retain my “individuality,” I’d rather do it in my work and actions and not spend for it. I don’t see the need to get my own personal message alert or designer casing. Those are not the reasons why I got a cellphone. Call me a utilitarian, a function-before-form kind of person - but hey, it’s money not spent and directed to better use.
While the money-saving attitude goes on high alert during hard times, the trick is to make it a habit whatever purchasing power the peso or dollar or might (or might not) have. Saving is a habit that can be inculcated with everyday routine such as using your mobile phone.
I hope to follow this up with some other tips with commuting, daily work and even food.

How about you? How do you save?

Filed under Bright Ideas

• 1 comment

19 June 2008

The Filipino Worker

Ladyshwalla, the bride-to-be, twitted a link from a Saudi online paper entitled “Imagine a World Without Filipinos.” Initially, I thought it was the email that circulated where hospitals, oil tankers, the IT industry, call centers and many other sectors plunged into chaos when Filipinos suddenly disappeared.

To my pleasant surprise, it was an article by a Saudi national. It spoke of how dependent they have been on Filipinos. And the clincher:

We should pay respect to Filipino workers, not only by employing them but also by learning from their valuable experiences.

Wherever the Filipino worker maybe, in Saudi, Canada, Singapore or Makati, Tarlac or Naga - you are held in high esteem.

Coincidentally it’s the birthday of Jose Rizal today.

Filed under InForNation, Inspirations, People

17 June 2008

Preparing Your Toddler for Preschool

Our kids go to Cradle of Joy at 11th Jamboree St, QC. I really recommend it for many reasons which deserve a longer post.

You may have heard or experienced children having trauma when first brought to school for a variety of reasons. I think that most of these would have been prevented if the kids were properly oriented and prepared. Some of them were overwhelmed with the new surrounding. Others have difficulty with new people and routines. Whatever the reason, the first day of school should be one of the most joyful experiences in a child’s life. You just don’t take them out of the house and put them in a class.
If you have toddlers (aged 2 - 4) and want to prepare them for preschool here is a program tailor made just for this.

Cradle of Joy Center for Learning’s Monthly Specials:

July 2-28             My Healthy Body
Aug. 4-29            My Five Senses
Sept. 3-29           Nursery Rhymes & Fairytales
Oct. 1-27             Pets Parade
Nov. 10-Dec.5      Jesus is Born
Jan. 5-30             God made Plants and Flowers
Feb. 9-Mar.6       Hearts of Love

Each SPECIAL is a 12-day course, including a field trip and age-appropriate activities integrating Math, Reading, Science, Music and Movement, Art and Social Studies.

Classes are three times a week (MWF) from 2:30 - 4:30 PM.

Contact det

22 July 2008

Hongkong dEeesnEeeyland Promo

13 July 2008

Ranting or Raving

26 June 2008

Money-Saving Tips When Using Mobile Phones

19 June 2008

The Filipino Worker

17 June 2008

Preparing Your Toddler for Preschool