Who will win the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition? Yes, PBB is about to end. Will it be replaced by a more relevant show this time? Well, Wowowee (without any remorse) is back so it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to assume that it (being replaced by a more relevant show) would happen in this lifetime.
It could have been Rustom. But he is out. Literally.
Definitely not Zanjoe. (He was there for love team purposes only, yet that didn’t even really clicked). Someone even told me the advances and fondling was obvious since day one.
Definitely not Bianca. Looks yes, character I’m not sure (she allowed to be played around for the "love team" that fizzled) but what does she offer aside from looks?
John? The next Rustom? The youth’s example? Since when? Definitely not.
Oh yes, Keanna. She’s got drama, controversy, comedy and if she wins, horror for ABS CBN (her image problem). Would they allow that? For the millions, yes they would.
So don’t waste your cellphone load or money. It didn’t save a Budoy (who was there for uh, novelty) from being evicted, did it?
Because the Winner is… ABS CBN! Need I say more?
No Time and Tide, this will be the last post which is as showbiz as it could get.
Filed under Personal, Reactions, Society by Simon Francis Blaise.
It’s the summer season and to most of us, the stereotype is summer= beach, beach= white sand and white sand= Boracay.
Rob was right after all, there is such thing as a one peso fare going to Boracay. Well, just from Manila to Kalibo to be exact. What’s the catch? It excludes gas and tax. But it will still just amount to approximately Php 730 or $ 14 +. Cheap huh? This is offered by Cebu Pacific Airlines for the month of June though.
Domestic airlines are in the frantic rush to capitalize on the demand for travel to Boracay. Asian Spirit offers Php 2,719 or $ 53 +for a one way trip from Manila to Caticlan. Philippine Airlines offers Php 2,023 or $ 39 + this Holy Week (April 14 and 15) for a Manila to Kalibo one way trip. Cebu Pacific offers more than a thousand pesos less, Php 1,423 or almost $ 28 for the same one way trip.
This will definitely boost domestic tourism in the Philippines. And additional income for our fledging economy.
But for me, the nearest white sand beach would be Hundred Islands, Surip, or Bolinao in Pangasinan. It’s the same sunburn.
I could bring the Harry Potter book my friend bought from:
Or apply for a US VISA and go to the United States with this:
I guess, it must be too much sun…
Filed under After Class, Personal, Reactions by Simon Francis Blaise.
Summer is here and I know for a fact that most companies conduct their human resources development activities at this time of the year.
I got an email from Anna (a high school friend) asking other friends and me for team building ideas. In short a really good team building activity. I guess this is for their annual corporate team building. She mentioned that it should be one that is aside from anything involving heights and ropes. I replied that I know a team building activity that involves bikinis and beach to which she replied; "That is very interesting to know. Bikini will be what we wear underneath and beaches will be the venue. Ha ha, how much? Free goodies enough?"
I was sweet-talked to it so I had no choice but to ask for more details. I was informed that the said team building activity would be sometime in April. I asked for specific team competencies she wants them to enhance, the goals she would like the team to achieve and who are the participants. Anna replied, "Communication and synergy, I guess. We don’t really have a team yet; we just have a "group" thrown in with each other assigned to the same department. Everybody works on their own and makes rules of their own; it’s the culture of the boss."
There are many team building activities out there that anyone can think of. Watch reality shows (Extra Challenge, The Apprentice, Amazing Race, and yes even the pathetic Pinoy Big Brother) and you could get a lot of ideas. For all we know, the activities of the shows were conceptualized by trainers and consultants using SLEs (structured learning experiences) and training icebreakers. Team building is fun and very effective if the participants are committed. The goals and objectives of the entire exercise should be well set and the facilitator must conduct a good great debriefing session afterwards otherwise the activity will just be a corporate outing disguised as an expensive training program.
And yes, a team more than just a group of people. A team is a group of committed interacting individuals sharing a common goal and the responsibility for achieving it. Team building is not just a buzzword, a catch phrase or a training fad. Team building is an intervention specifically designed to improve a company's organizational effectiveness. Team building is also a skill and any skill must be practiced to be mastered. A team building activity is an excellent way of boosting corporate staff morale and improving group dynamics and communication. Team building is exciting and challenging and has almost unlimited possibilities because human potential is almost unlimited.
Bikini and beach for a team building activity. It would be inexpensive and lots of fun!
You could buy books on team building and other office productivity tools here:
  
Filed under Books, Business, Learning, Personal, Training by Simon Francis Blaise.
For being this week’s top blog referrer, Dalityapi is Blackboard’s Affiliate Blog of The Week. This was confirmed using my Performancing metrics. Last week’s affiliate blog was Time and Tide.
Blackboard’s Top Ten Blog Referrers for the week are:
1. Dalityapi
2. Time and Tide
3. Pangasinan in Pictures
4. iBlog 2
5. Pangasinan Blog
6. Freedom Watch
7. Pangasinan Star
8. Spammed
9. Michi Revamped
10. Somewhere I Belong
Blackboard's Affiliate Blog Promotion Program was conceptualized to reward Blackboard’s weekly top blog referrer by featuring the link in the right sidebar (see Affiliate Blog of The Week: Blackboard's Affiliate Blog Promotion Program) eventually increasing traffic to the featured affiliate blog.
Filed under Affiliate Marketing by Simon Francis Blaise.
 The 2nd semester at University of Pangasinan just ended today. I’ve been up for more than two days reading and grading the final reports of my students in STS (Science Technology and Society). That is in between taking care of Luke- yes, even changing diapers (mom is in Manila for nursing affiliation). He uses either medium Huggies Dry Comfort or medium Mami Poko Disney Baby diapers (They are comfortable and not too expensive). They are not the cheapest in the market but they are for me, economical in the long run. Less diaper change, comfortability and the reasonable price was my gauge of over-all economy.
 A father taking care of an infant is not just poster-cute but I regard it as an important fatherhood task. It builds bonding between the baby, which is usually more evident between the mother and child. Luke, who weighs almost 8 kilograms, is just 5 months old. He rolls from prone to supine and back on his own, is very talkative though his words are still incoherent baby talk, smiles and chuckles a lot, has good grip- both hands and feet (he could pinch with the use of his toes), he loves sitting down (still assisted though) and is attentive while he reads the newspaper, watch TV or blog with me.
At this exact moment, he is doing his monologue, probably doing a recap and game summary of the Miami Heat – Indiana Pacers game, which the Heat came from behind and won. Had not the gods prevailed, he could have been named Dwayne Anfernee. Dwayne from the Heat shooting and slashing guard Dwayne Wade and Anfernee from the Orlando Magic injured guard-forward Penny Hardaway Instead he was named from the saint and gospel writer, St. Luke. Thank God.
 Luke is a Similac Advance guzzling machine. He consumes more than 6 Avent bottles of 6 ounces of the DHA, AA and Taurine-rich milk daily. He has tried Gerber and Marie biscuits and loves eating them. His pediatrician did not advise it so I do not feed him that often. He is getting bigger and bigger that he is about to outgrow his Lebron James II Nike shoes (9 cm). He wears sleeveless shirts and jerseys that fit one year old and above children.
For the lessons on fatherhood, Luke has become my teacher.
Buy for your Baby here:
 
Filed under Lessons, Personal by Simon Francis Blaise.
I made an earlier post regarding an ad sponsorship offer. I wanted to know if it was legit. But up to now, I have not received any advice. In my research about affiliate marketing, I read an article about phishing in the Affiliate Classroom e-zine. Could this be the answer?
Here is the article:
Does Phishing smell fishy?
I'm pretty sure I know spam when I smell it, but what is 'phishing'? Does it have a similar odor? Need to know – Suz Well, both those terms do have to do with 'spoiled' email in one way or another.
Spam, though definitions differ, is a form of unwanted email — usually an attempt by someone unknown to get you to buy something you're very unlikely to want, at least from them.
Phishing, by contrast, is an attempt to get something from you that you wouldn't want to give a stranger — your personal or financial information.
An email from a 'phisher' usually arrives disguised as being sent by a legitimate company — PayPal or your bank, for example. The return address, the subject line, and the message body have all been craftily crafted to make it look like it's from someone you trust.
The goal is to get you to provide your credit card number, online banking password, Social Security number, or other sensitive information. Once they have that, they can charge items, transfer cash, etc. In other words steal your money, by stealing your identity.
Read more
Filed under Business, Lessons, Personal, Reactions by Simon Francis Blaise.
Yes, the long wait is over! iBlog2: The 2nd Philippine Blogging Summit will be held on Tuesday, April 18 at the U.P. College of Law, U.P. Diliman, Quezon City from 9 am to 5 pm. And yes, the event is FREE!
This is the tentative programme as prepared by Janette Toral:
Keynote Message
by Rebecca MacKinnon, Global Voices
Prospects and Challenges for Filipino Bloggers
by Atty. JJ Disini
Political Blogging Panel
Blogs and the battle for ideas: personalities and issues
by Manuel L. Quezon III
(According to MLQ3, “We have to address how people are concerned over how nasty the political debate is getting.”)
Legal Blogging Panel
Speak No Evil?: Libel for Bloggers
by Atty. Marvin Aceron
Art & Literary Blogging Panel
Write here, Write now: The Author as a Blogger
by Dean Alfar
Comic Books and Blogging
by Jonas Diego
Professional Blogging Panel
Problogging: Professional Blogging and Blog Monetization
by Abe Olandres
Blogging as a Profession: From Full-Time Employee to Full Time Blogger
by J Angelo Racoma
Putting Search Engines to Work for your Blog
by Marc Hil Macalua
Media Blogging Panel
Blogs as source for story leads
by Erwin Oliva
Personal Blogging Panel
Making your blog funny and humorous
by Anton De Leon
Shameless Self-Promotion: How to Be Heard in a Referral World
by Mike Abundo
Podcasting Panel
Use of Podcasting in Promoting Advocacy and Products
by Pocholo Gonzales
If you want to be a part of this event, register here. To see the list of participants, click here. Blackboard is the 12th registrant.
Visit the iBlog 2 site for more details.
See you there!
Filed under Events, Personal by Simon Francis Blaise.
I just received an email indicating an interest and an invitation for ad sponsorship for Pangasinan Blog. I’m not sure how to treat this email. Is it spam? Is it a scam? Is it legit? Is there a catch? I’m not sure. That is why I hope someone could shed some light regarding this email. I googled for the name of the sender and found another blogger (Lica) who received a similar email and some others sites with his name. Here is the actual email:
Hello Pangasinanblog,
I'm interested in finding out whether or not your Blog accepts sponsors. What I am interested in is sending you a list of keywords which I would like linked to certain URLS (all family friendly sites). These links would go into your Blog entries or underneath them, however you see best fit.
Example1: http://www.thegeekchannel.com/2006/02/18/so-what-is-a-day-trader/ which shows a sponsor link with them keyword "Stock Option Investing".
Example2: http://kimzey.blogspot.com/2005/12/shower-humidity.html where the link is below the post. "Supporter area:" could even be posted above the links to differentiate them from your content.
We are offering $2.50 per link, possibly more if the Blog meets certain criteria. If you're interested please send a paypal email address that we may send your payments to. If paypal is not available we can arrange for other payment options. Also, the link information is submitted in excel format. It's fairly simple but you must have some understanding of excel format.
I look forward to supporting your Blog; it's a good one!
Note: Please send all your replies to blogtoprofit@gmail.com
Thanks,
Marvin Barraquias
What do you think?
Filed under Business, Personal by Simon Francis Blaise.
It is summer vacation in the Philippines. A brief respite from academic life. You know its summer already because the weather is so warm and humid. Oh to brave the scorching sun. It is either off to the Pangasinan beaches and other Pangasinan tourist spots or to Baguio, touted as the summer capital of the Philippines.
Ginny, a high school classmate and friend from L.A. visited the Hundred Islands recently and she was impressed with the improvements and the new facilities there. What a way to boost tourism! Why go to Boracay? Pangasinan is nearer. No need to spend more. Or try Surip. It is nature unspoiled. When I went there last year, I brought my black aqua shoes so I was able to wade the pebbly coast and visit the caverns. The pilgrimage area is also near the beach. Mack, another friend who is on leave from his job in Singapore opted to try the waters of Puerto Galera.
How about me? Maybe just a beer and videoke challenge in one of the rented huts with friends at the nearby Bonuan Beach capped with a sumptuous seafood dinner at Matutina’s (the one with a large framed picture of GMA) or a day at either Sierra Vista or San Fabian PTA for my son’s first taste of the San Fabian beach or the swimming pool. And of course, to enjoy the month-long Dagupan Bangus Festival 2006.
So how would you spend your summer?
Filed under After Class, Celebration, Personal by Simon Francis Blaise.
Graduation. This has brought back good memories. High school was a fun. But college was a totally different astronomical experience!
My Graduation day was a fitting climax of my 4 years of stay at UST. I shared that special day with my father and mother (to whom I owe everything), my siblings, my high school buddies (Mack and Rob. Jack wasn’t able to come), and college buddies (Biggs, DJ, King, Joboy, Richard) who also graduated that day.
As I received my diploma, I had flashbacks of yearly Side A concerts, watching the four-peat UAAP champions UST Tigers, ignoring an introduction to Charlene Gonzales by Ate Beth, the college clerk, smoking inside the Main building and at the botanical garden when smoking inside UST was still tolerated, surviving the meals at the COOP and meeting Pope John Paul II in1995.
It is in UST where I matured personally, academically, socially and spiritually. Staying in a dormitory at Moret St. added to my independence and self-reliance (but not my punctuality- my Achilles’ heel). I was a team member of the Inter-Block Biology basketball tournament champion ’94 (Block C), I was a member of several student organizations including Pax Romana. I was the president of the College of Science and the vice-president for social action section of the CCC (Pax Romana Central Coordinating Council) in 1995. I was responsible for developing outreach programs and activities.
At graduation day, I had another opportunity to go up the PICC stage for a special award in behalf of the College of Science Pax Romana. This was for our efforts in the successful staging of the World Youth Day and Pope John Paul II’s visit, which was held here in the Philippines in 1995.
Filed under Celebration, Education, Personal by Simon Francis Blaise.
|
|
