Author: deuts

Friendster Introduces a New Blogging Platform

Hello deuts,

We’d like to introduce you to your new blog on Friendster! We’ve been very busy building out Friendster Blogs 2.0 and your blog has been moved to the new blogging platform. It’s ready for you to customize, edit, and add even more content to it!

Some things you should know about your new blog:

  • Your blog has been moved to the new platform.
  • It is likely that your blog layout or colors may not appear exactly as they were on your old blog, you can edit or add new customizations to your blog by clicking the ‘Design’ tab or ‘Change Theme’ button when you access your blog from your home page.
  • All of the photos you’ve uploaded to your old blog will soon be moved to your new blog. When they are moved, they will be in your Blogs Media Library (Manage –> Media Library). Don’t worry, we’ll move all your photos for you! We plan to have this complete by September 17th.
  • If you experience any inconsistencies with your blog during the next few weeks, please bear with us and please do let us know what you find so we can build a better product!

To get started with your new blog, please go to:

http://jotuvillo.blog.friendster.com/

We look forward to your participation and your feedback on our new blogs property. We value our global community and members like you who make Friendster the success that it is!

If you have questions or need additional assistance, please contact Customer Support by clicking “Send us a Question” from our Help page.

Thanks!
The Friendster Blogs Team

The message from my inbox the other day. After some time, Friendster eventually migrated the blogs it used to offer from Typepad to WordPress Mu. Could it be another proof that WordPress is winning the blogging platform market against its closest rival, Movable Type?

Continue reading Friendster Introduces a New Blogging Platform

Heavy Rains and Flash Floods

On my way back to the office right after lunch, I was greeted by this scene just in front of our office building.

“Disaster!”, was the first thing in my mind, but on second thought, I believe I have to condition myself already with this scene in the area during heavy rains.

Continue reading Heavy Rains and Flash Floods

Pertinent Articles on RA 9504

There are pertinent articles regarding RA 9504 over at Punongbayan & Araullo’s Press Room. They describe the issues surrounding the law.

You can read the articles here, here, and here.

Many concerns have been raised, and my favorite:

Is this really what RA 9504 intended — to create and encourage absurd situations? Can’t the BIR, at least, read the real intent of RA 9504 and help promote social justice by saying that any income received by a worker over and above the minimum wage, to the extent that the tax distortion is eliminated and the take home pay is equalized, be still exempt from taxes as a MWE?

It may be difficult to justify such move, considering that the flaw is in the law itself. But the BIR was able to do it in certain instances in the past.

With these good, pertinent, and timely articles from an accounting firm website, P&A would have better hosted a discussion by offering comments or provided a forum. It would have been a good discussion, instead of just a lone standing article.

Back to Back: Surigao and Palawan

Got to visit Surigao and Palawan recently for a business trip. To make good on my promise, I brought prime lenses only in those two places: the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM and its younger brother, the Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM lenses.

Visit my flickr account for more pictures.

Eraserheads reunion concert cut short

Ely Buendia rushed to hospital; Eraserheads reunion concert cut short

No, I wasn’t in the event. And this is the sad news that broke when I arrived home.

The Eraserheads reunion concert on Saturday night at the Bonifacio Global City Open Field was cut short after lead singer Ely Buendia suffered “emotional and physical stress.”

There should really be a part 2…or maybe a reunion for good. Whatchathink?

Jayvee of abuggedlife.com shares a video of the concert: Eraserheads Reunion Opens with Alapaap.

Philippines is 3rd in the Youth Under-16 Chess Olympiad

Chessdom – India wins the Chess U16 Olympiad 2008 ahead of Russia.

With GM Wesley So steering the board 1 for the Philippines, he won 8 games and drew 2 to grab the gold medal at board 1. Not a bad performance for the Philippines, considering So’s teammates are way below his high ELO rating of 2577.

Actually, Wesley So was the highest rated player in the tournament.

Seen Only in Surigao

Or maybe, at least, so far, I only get to see this in Surigao.

Bike with Wings
Bike with Wings

It’s like a motorcycle with wings. Its wings from both sides are designed to hold passengers. In Surigao, these are usually employed in order to get to the mountains where no passenger jeepneys can go. Locals say it can hold up to 10 passengers in one trip, depending on the size/weight of each passenger.

Bullet Points: Facebook, Friendster, Tumblr, Prime Lenses

Tumblr Search

Good news for Tumblr users. Now we don’t have to wait anymore for Google to index our pages in tumblr in order for Google Custom Search to actually display search results from our tumblr archives. Tumblr now has a built-in search.

Wait, now how am I gonna implement this in my tumblelog?

The Power of Prime Lenses

Oftentimes, beginners dismiss prime lenses as inconvenient. And they overlook the positive side of it:

  • They are usually cheaper as compared to equivalent zooms, as they are less complicated to design and manufacture.
  • They usually produce better pictures. No rotating elements as for zooms, so usually no setbacks for the convenience of zooms. I don’t really have no pictures as evidence to back that argument. Just better ask the experts. But, really, based on experience, one usually makes the most our of his/her DSLR while using prime lenses.
  • It helps you become more creative with your composition, as you zoom by your feet.

Not convinced yet? Read more from here.

Continue reading Bullet Points: Facebook, Friendster, Tumblr, Prime Lenses

Grandmasters Eugene Torre and Wesley So Battle Over One Million

Inquirer.net dubs this the richest chess event in the country so far. Philippines’ chess legend GM Eugenio Torre against the current world’s youngest grandmaster GM Wesley So for a pot prize of Php 1 million. The match will be a 10-round one-on-one duel, two games each will be played in Quezon City, Cebu, Iloilo and Davao, the remaining if unresolved will be continued back in Quezon City. The winner gets P600,000, the loser P400,000.

Read more.