Who is the fairest DSL provider of them all?

Internet has become a big part of the people's lives in the Philippines. And day by day internet users are growing. That is one the reason why Telecommunications companies are finding ways to make Filipino's lives easier to connect to the web.

I am a heavy internet user and I had to find a service provider that would meet my online needs. I am in to online gaming and heavy content downloading. I could have just bought a Plug-it device if I was only going to connect to social networking site such as Facebook or Friendster. But the internet speed that Plug-it device is not sufficient for my online gaming needs.

PLDT DSL is most the recognize DSL provider and is still the top choice. There are alternatives as well. There's SmartBro, Globe Broadband and Bayantel. I ended up subscribing to Bayantel DSL because they were not that strict with the documents that I submitted and it only took them three days to install. I just had to pay Php999 pesos when I submitted my documents and Php250 per month for the first four months. When I was applying for a PLDT DSL account, I was told that it would take three weeks to process the installation.

There is no such thing as a perfect service provider but since March 2009, there were only two incidents when my connection was down. On both occasions, the rain was pouring really hard. One of the incidents was during Typhoon Ondoy. I am satisfied with the service so far.

From the banners and leaflets that I have read regarding the Bayantel DSL service, the internet speed could go as high as 1280Kbps. Another good thing is that I had to pay Php899 per month only. But there is a catch. A subscriber could only use the advertised speed of 1280 kbps from 10pm to 10am. From 10:00am to 9:59 pm, internet speed is only at 768 kbps. Now here is the bigger catch. In order to use the Burst speed (1280 Kbps) you have to modify the username in order to avail the service. For example: If the username is jddelacruz, you would have to put put @sod after the username making it jddelacruz@sod. I hope this information is useful

My baby's first peek

Flashforward

What would you do if you know what will happen to you in the future? That is the question that revolves around the new series Flashforward. The story begins on October 6 when everyone in the planet blacked out for two minutes and seventeen seconds. Everyone saw a vision of what will happen six months from October 6. It is like a dream but more of a memory. While some people fear that their future may happen, some are eager and would do everything to make it happen. These vision are referred to a as flashfoward. But not everyone had a flashforward. Those who didn't have a flashforward fear that they didn't have a vision because they would be dead in six months. It is a very interesting series and I would have to say that it has been a while I have been found a series worth watching.

Vampire Diaries: Book versus the TV series

There are a lot of new American TV series that are very interesting. I am always interested with Books, movies or TV series that are vampire related. I have been a fan of True Blood since the first season. I had to find a Vampire series to watch while waiting for the new season to air. I heard about this new Vampire TV series called Vampire Diaries. After I watched the first episode, I had to say that it was not that bad. I heard that there was a book and started to read it. I have read the first four books so far and I have seen a lot of alterations. These are some of the differences that I have seen so far:

1. Elena Gilbert’s sibling in the book is a 4 year old girl named Margaret. In the series, instead of casting a 4 year old child, they casted a guy to play as Elena’s younger Brother Jeremy Gilbert. He is drug junkie in love with Vickie

2. Vickie in the series is Matt Honeycutt’s younger sister. In the book, Vickie is not Matt’s sister and her last name is Bennett

3. In the book, Vickie did not become a vampire. She was not killed by Stefan. She was killed by another vampire named Claus. But I am getting way ahead of myself

4. Elena has two close friends in the book. The first is Bonnie and the second is Meredith. I don’t know why Meredith is not series since she plays a big part in the book.

5. Lexi, Stefan’s 350 year old vampire friend who appeared in episode 8 of the series was not in the book.

6. Aunt Judith’s fiancé Robert, is not a reporter in the book

7.In the series, Bonnie’s ancestor Emily is a powerful witch who was Katherine’s maid. She also sealed Katherine with Magic in the series. In the book she was not related to Bonnie.

8. Damon did not know that Katherine is still alive. The brothers thought that she was dead all along until she appeared in Mystic Falls and killed Elena

9. The Salvatore brother’s were not from Mystic Falls to begin with. They were from Italy. And the character Zach in the TV series does not exist in the book.

If you have read the book, you would be really disappointed. But for those who haven't I think they would enjoy watching the series. I am still watching the series to see what other alterations have they made. It is like a different story. They have only taken the Characters and some parts of the story. I guess we will just have to see how the story unfolds

I am going to be a daddy!

I just got married a few months ago. Being married without a baby seems incomplete. It's like being in a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship playing house. We were planning to have a baby for months. And at last we were blessed.

I was on a graveyard shift which starts from 10 in the evening and ends 7 o'clock the succeeding day. I was tasked to wake up my wife since her work would start at seven. I was supposed to wake her up at four thirty in the morning. Before I got the chance to call her, I received a text message asking to call her immediately. It seems urgent. When I contacted her she said that she use the pregnancy test that I have purchased a few days back. One line means negative. Two lines means positive. And if there were no lines, that means the test was void.

She said that the test had the two lines but the second line seems faded. She seems a little doubtful but I could tell that she is really excited. We decided to meet after my shift to get a doctor's opinion. Even though we haven't confirmed that she was really pregnant, I had to tell someone. I was too excited to keep my happiness to myself. I told a few of my officemates about the good news. I called my parents and asked my dad a question that I have always to ask him. Are you ready to be a grandfather? They were both happy for me and like any parents, they both gave my advice.

My wife still went to work. She told me that she was disoriented and could not focus on the training that she was attending. She asked permission to go leave work early so that we may visit a doctor.

It was around twelve in the afternoon when we met somewhere near the clinic. We had lunch first before visiting the doctor. I was really sleepy then since I was up all night because of work. Good thing that the doctor did not have any clients during that time and we were accommodated immediately.

She asked a few question and had my wife examined. She was then asked to have another pregnancy test. We waited for the result to be ready. And the doctor said the words that we wanted to her. "Congratulations. It is positive!"

I was euphoric. I did not know where the energy came from, but all the sleepiness and the headache was washed away. And I couldn't help myself form grinning. We were supposed to come back after a few weeks to have the ultrasound and other test.

T minus 7 months and 3 weeks

Global warming in the Philippines

Why should Filipinos worry about Global warming? One of the effects of Global warming is rapid melting of the Polar ice caps, glaciers and land based ice-sheet. If parts of Antarctica, Greenland or Greenland melt, sea level would rise and would affect millions of people living in low-lying areas.

The Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands. Some densely populated areas are at high risk to flooding. In the National Capital region alone several Cities are located near the coastlines. Malabon, Caloocan, Valenzuela and Navotas are frequently flooded. During the typhoon season, when rain is relentless, chances are high that these cities would be flooded.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia has conducted studies that Global warming and climate change could submerge and even wipe the whole of Cebu 2020. If these studies are accurate, then God Save Cebu. It’s not only Cebu is at stake. Sulu, Palawan, Zamboanga, Northern Samar, Zamboanga Sibugay, Basilan, Davao, Bohol and Camarines Sur are all at risk to a one-meter increase in Sea level and receding coastlines.

Just imagine if this were to come true. Crops would be lost. Millions of people would be relocated. There would definitely be food and water shortage. Price of basic goods would increase. Remember typhoon Ondoy? If this sea level increase were to happen, the devastation would be far greater.

Filipinos should take serious steps to mitigate Global warming. This coming May election, we should vote for a candidate who has solid plans to protect the environment and mitigate effects of Global warming. Drastic measures should be taken. Previous environmental laws should be revised to adapt to Climate change. And most importantly, effective implementation of Environmental laws should be done.

Manny Pacquiao is the king of the ring

Economy versus the environment

While

Why don’t you stay for a while and witness my becoming
Deceit me with your unclean hands as you wash away my blood
Why don’t you stay for a while? Are you not entertained?
The very pleasure of seeing me in misery is the only thing I could offer
For my world is too small and my insignificance to conquer
It is the irony of my existence
Why don’t you stay for a while and embrace fruit of your lies
Little do you know it is only glass. It shatters and brings me pain
Why don’t you stay for a while and witness your creation?
Watch and taste the tears falling from my chest.
I let myself feel the love in every touch of your hand.
It feels so good I can taste it. It feels so good it made me blind.
It feels so good it takes me away then I burn

Typhoon Ondoy and peping's death toll rises

Upcoming Movie: Legion

It's getting hot in here!

That's right! The sun is burning hotter and it's washing away my summer spirit. Haven't you noticed? The temperature here in the Philippines has risen up to 35 degrees Celsius in the last few days. That's a record high. It's climate change brought by Global warming.

Why should we care about Global warming you may ask? But most importantly what is Global warming? Global Warming is the increase in the planet's temperature which is caused by the increase in the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Why is this bad? Simple. The more the temperature rises, the frequency of hurricanes, floods, droughts and forest fires increases as well. 19 out of the 20 warmest years have been recorded since 1980. And in last eight years, the top three hottest years has occurred. Imagine how hot will it be in the next eight years. Imagine the effect of this phenomenon. Imagine would happen if this continuous.

It's too late to point the finger on who’s the biggest contributor of the carbon dioxide emission or whose not doing their part to solve this crisis. We have to get along. We have to start moving. We have to start the change. Let's save our planet! Let's save our life source!

Vampire Diaries

First there was Twilight and then there was True Blood and now a new vampire series has emerged. There is a lot of Buzz about this new show called Vampire Diaries. I haven't read the books, but from what I have seen in forums and other sources, the TV series differs a lot from the book.

Since I haven’t read the book my expectations are quite low but I have to say that there is something missing from the series. I guess it’s too early to give up on the series. I just have to watch the next few episodes and try to read the books to make a better idea of the story line.

The Lost Symbol

One of the first few books that I have finished reading was written by Dan Brown. I read three out of his first four books. So when I found out a few weeks ago that he would be releasing another books on September, I told myself that I have to get my copy as soon as I could drop by the bookstore.

Today I was able to purchase a copy of the Lost Symbol. I am really excited especially when I found out that it is another Robert Langdon story. I really like the Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code. I hope the lost symbol would live up to my expectations.

Hopefully I would finish it within a few days depending on how busy I would be in the next few days. I’ll tell you what I think about in a few days.

Swine Flu

Swine Flu A new strain of swine influenza A (H1n1) has emerged. While most influenza virus does not affect humans, this new strain does. According to researchers, this new type of flu is a combination of bird, pig and human virus. World health official said that Mexico may be the epicenter of a global epidemic. Mexico’s health minister has reported that there were a total of 86 deaths and 1400 people are infected since Apr 13, 2009. So far, fatal victims were between the ages of 20 to 40 years old. Flu victims are usually either infants or the elderly. In 1918 during the Spanish influenza, the first victims reported were healthy young adults. Children appear to be immune this swine virus. The reason for the children’s immunity is still unknown. Symptoms of this new swine flu are respiratory congestion, body aches, sore throat, coughing, fever of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) and vomiting and diarrhea in some cases. Several countries have also reported cases of swine flu. In the United States, several cases were reported in California, Texas, Ohio and Kansas. Several suspected cases were also noted in New York. No fatalities were reported so far. Canada was the third country to confirm human cases of swine flu. East coast Canadian provinces have four confirmed cases of mild swine flu among students between 12 to 17 years old. They are now recovering. Several countries are taking steps to monitor passenger coming from Mexico. In Japan’s Narita airport, device that measures the passenger’s temperature has been installed in the arrival gate. In New Zealand, students coming from Mexico has tested positive with influenza. Authorities have yet to determine whether the influenza is indeed the Swine Flu. Since this is a new strain swine flu, vaccines that fight off this strain specifically are still unavailable. It is still uncertain whether the current human flu vaccines could offer any type protection.

Global Warming

The sun is the main source of the earth’s energy. The Sun’s solar energy is transmitted via infrared rays. While one thirds of the infrared rays are reflected back to space, the greenhouse gases traps the remaining two thirds which causes the Earth’s temperature to increase. This is called the greenhouse effect. This is actually a good thing because without it, the planet would too cold and inhabitable. Since Carbon Dioxide emission has increased significantly in the past few years, the planet is heating up rapidly as well.The increase in the planet’s temperature is called global warming.
Global warming has caused the increase in frequency and the intensity of floods, drought, and Hurricanes. Due to the increased in the planet’s temperature, the three largest masses of ice, (Arctic, Antarctica and Greenland) is at risk of melting off. If this happens, sea level will increase significantly. That is not the only problem, the glaciers, permafrost and the ice acts like a giant mirror that reflects back infrared rays. Imagine how hot it will be if that remaining one third of infrared rays is not reflected back to space. Global warming also changes the amount and pattern of precipitation.

Our Planet

When was the last time you took a nature hike? Or simply ran away from the urban jungle to be in within the confines of nature? When was the last time you sit back and relax while marveling nature’s beauty? When I was a kid I remember spending at least a week in my parent’s province. There were a lot of trees. The air is incomparably fresher. I spent a lot of time in the river and the beach near my Grandparents house. It is one of the things that I looked forward to when I was staying there.

I am always grateful that we are still living in an age where the air is still fresh. There are lakes, beaches and rivers that we could still dip in. There are trees where we could escape from the burning sun. And I wonder how long will this all last. I wonder if the next generation would still enjoy what we have right now. I hope that they could still see certain species of animals up close and not just in books or film documentaries. Will there still be trees in the future?

I heard a song over the radio the other day. It was made sometime around the 1970’s and back then people were already seeing changes with our planet. They sang about how the ocean’s water has changed from blue to black. Trees were being destroyed and the air was already polluted. It is an issue back then and still an issue now. I wonder what were the measures taken during that time. Or if there were any measures at all.

Now that we are faced with a situation that we do not fully understand, we as humans find it easier to ignore the problem than face it head on. We are going to pay for our mistakes. This is the time to believe that we are facing a big ecological problem. It is time to believe that our world is dying. It is the time to change.

Global warming is not the problem of one person, one race or one nation. It is the problem of everyone in this planet. This is our planet. This is our life source. This is our responsibility

Let me close this post with a quote from the film “Inconvenient truth”. Sir Winston Churchill said:

“The Era of Procrastination, of Half-measures, of Soothing and Baffling Expedients, of Delays, is Coming to its Close In its Place We are entering a Period of Consequences”