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Higher Learning

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:15:17 PDT

It's been 10 years since I graduated. I always felt that I had to take my education to the next level but always had an excuse not take up a graduate studies. Since I am working nights and almost asleep during the day, it would be hard for me to squeeze in studying in a very hectic schedule. I have to consider a lot of things. I have to consider the time and money I have to spend in taking up a Master’s degree.

I have been researching distant learning programs. I always have fears of taking courses online since I am not sure of the legitimacy of the programs that they are offering. I came across the Open University program that the University of the Philippines is offering. Since it is a very reputable school in the Philippines, it has somehow alleviated the fear of getting a degree in a non-traditional way.

Master of Arts in Education (Language and Literacy Education) seems very interesting. Why education if you may ask? Because I know that teaching is a long-term profession. It is a continuous learning process. Something that person like me who gets bored easily will benefit from. So I started reading forum, articles and free research paper online to jump-start my mind. I need to prepare for the entrance exam. I plan to start this coming semester if all goes well. Wish me luck.

San Sebastian cling on to their winning streak

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:21:36 PDT

With only a few games left until the NCAA Final four, The San Sebastian Stags cling on to maintain their spotless record. But it won't be an easy road ahead for the Stags. They yet have to face defending champion San Beda Red Lions and number two seed Letran Knights. The Stags is set to face the Knights on September 30, the Pirates on Oct 5, 2011 and the Lions on October 12

The Sebastian Stags is just coming off a 3 point win against the MIT Cardinals last September 16. Are they showing signs of exhaustion or has the Cardinals improve significantly? I guess we will just have to see if the Stags could complete the sweep the way San Beda did last year. If they do become successful, they would enjoy a good rest while waiting for the 2nd to 4th seed to battle it out for the right to go to the finals. Any team who is undefeated after the two elimination rounds would still have to meet the challenger on a best of three championship series. A few years back the first seed would enjoy a twice to beat advantage in the Finals.

The defending champions San Beda Red Lions is showing signs of exhaustion as the Bombers surprised everyone by beating the Lions last September 14 with and score of 76 to 65 favoring JRU. Losing Sudan Daniels due to injury this season is taxing to San Beda's bid to retain the title this year. San Beda is yet to meet College of St. Benilde on September 28, Letran on October 7 and San Sebastian on October 12.

Letran has been doing great this season. Only losing 2 games during the first round against San Beda and Sebastian. With only 3 games left this season, Letran could end up with a 14-4 win loss standing if they fail to win against the Stags and Lions. Letran is set to face the stags on September 30, the Blazers on October 3 and the Lions on October 7.

Updated NCAA Standing - Sep 16, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 00:31:54 PDT

Teams	W	L
SSC-R Stags	15	0
CSJL Knights	11	2
SBC Red Lions	10	2
MIT Cardinals	6	8
CSB Blazers	5	8
LPU Pirates	5	9
JRU Heavy Bombers	5	9
AU Chiefs	5	10
EAC Generals	4	9
UPHSD Altas	3	12

Updated UAAP Team Standing - August 30, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 03:12:58 PDT

Teams	W	L
Ateneo Blue Eagles	11	0
Adamson Falcons	8	3
FEU Tamaraws	7	4
UST Tigers	6	5
DLSU Archers	4	7
NU Bulldogs	4	7
UE Warriors	2	9
UP Maroons	2	9

Updated NCAA Standing - Aug 30, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 02:59:08 PDT

Teams	W	L
SSC-R Stags	10	0
SBC Red Lions	9	1
CSJL Knights	8	2
LPU Pirates	5	5
MIT Cardinals	5	6
AU Chiefs	4	7
CSB Blazers	4	7
JRU Heavy Bombers	3	7
EAC Generals	3	8
UPHSD Altas	2	10

Sun Broadband Service state: UP Ayala Technohub

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:31:49 PDT

I brought my laptop in UP Technohub and I am testing the Sun Broadband service. I am downloading files and browsing the internet at the same time. It is quite slow and pretty manageable. It would take a while though to open a site.

I checked the internet speed using speedtest.net. It takes a while to test the internet speed using this site. After five minutes of waiting, I got the results Download speed is at 0.36 Mbps (368.64 kbps) while upload speed 0.21 Mbps (215.04 kbps). Based on the Sun broadband panel, the current internet speed would around 60 kbps to 200 kbps. The speed is fluctuating and most of the speed based on the Sun broadband panel would be around 50 kbps. I also tried checking using bandwidthplace.com. Download speed is at 268 kbps (33.5 KB/sec transfer rate) while upload speed 186 kbps (23.3 KB sec transfer rate).

In conclusion, the broadband service in UP Ayala Technohub is around 6 (highest is 10). I encountered difficulty in accessing some sites. I received an "Page cannot be displayed" or "No data received" on some sites. I tried watching Julie Ann's cover of superbass from you tube and it took me two attempts to watch it. During the first attempt I encountered a "No data received error prompt". The second attempt went smoothly. I tried uploading a video in Facebook (something that I have been trying in San Mateo). I wasn't able to upload it as well

Smart Bro Rocket Plug-it

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:45:54 PDT

I am always on the lookout for a internet service that would cater to my needs. I have been using a Sun Broadband plug-it for months and I am pretty much satisfied with the service. Now SmartBro has released a broadband that could reach up to 12 Mbps on a HSPA+ network. But here is the catch, there are only 150 HSPA+ sites in the Philippines. So that simply means that you could reach the 12 mbps speed only on some parts of the country. Some parts of Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao has HSPA+ connectivity.

This sounds promising on paper. But I wonder if someone using the Rocket plug could actually maximize the usage. Another problem that I see here is that, it is initially in prepaid. That means you have to reload your account from time to time to stay connected.

So even though you could reach a maximum of 12 mbps , the minumum connection speed is around 12 to 48 kbps. So does that mean that if your not within a HSPA+ zone, connection speed would be something similar to a regular Smart Bro plug-it?

I would like to get a Rocket plug-it but I have my doubts. I am not sure if the rocket plug it would meet my internet needs.

Updated NCAA Standing - Aug 11, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:15:18 PDT

Teams	W	L
SBC Red Lions	7	0
SSC-R Stags	7	0
CSJL Knights	5	2
LPU Pirates	4	4
CSB Blazers	3	4
EAC Generals	3	4
JRU Heavy Bombers	2	5
MIT Cardinals	2	6
AU Chiefs	1	6
UPHSD Altas	1	6

Sun Broadband Service state: Marikina

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:09:19 PDT

I am currently in the border of Barangay Banaba San Mateo Rizal and Marikina City. And I am testing out the Sun Broadband Service. I am quite satisfied with the service. I am staying in a friends place and I would have to say that Sun broadband service here is okay!

I reside in Ampid San Mateo Rizal and I have no problem in connecting with the service. The only problem that I have is the speed. Sometimes the connection is slow and would be really fast only from 2 o'clock in the morning until 5'oclock. Since I am a heavy internet user, I need a internet service that is fast.

I wonder if it's Sun's fair use policy that is kicking in that's why I am experiencing slow connection speed sometimes or the fact that Sun was bought by PLDT (who owns Smart Communications). I had bad experiences with the Smart Bro plug it service. So I hope Sun's cellular services doesn't deteriorate

San Beda and San Sebastian still spotless

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:47:24 PDT

The San Beda Red Lions and San Sebastian Stags are both still undefeated after winning 7 games each. Both teams would try to get win number 8 with respective opponents this Aug 10, 2011. The Stags would be facing the Cardinals while the Lions would meet the Heavy Bombers for the first time this season.

Both teams would most likely reach the finals again this year. Last year they clashed during the finals to earn the title of the Men's basketball championship for Season 86. San Beda Lions emerged victorious with their historical perfect sweep of season 86. This year both teams would still try to bring it home. The Stags would definitely want to redeem themselves from last year's loss. San Beda Lions on the other hand would want to prove to everyone that they could still win championship without American Sudan Daniels.

I have said it before. If you're from San Beda, you definitely want the Lions to repeat history by completing the sweep. If you're not, you would pray that they lose to San Sebastian this August 19, 2011. San Beda did a historical 18 game sweep last year. No team in the NCAA has done a whole season sweep for two consecutive season. If they did do it again, that would be history. If San Beda wins this year, it would their 16th title. That would tie them up with Colegio de San Juan de Letran with 16 title and is currently the School win the most championship title in the NCAA. San Beda is second with 15 title followed by Ateneo de Manila with 14 titles when they were still in the NCAA.

Updated NCAA Standing - Aug 9, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:00:59 PDT

Teams	W	L
SBC Red Lions	7	0
SSC-R Stags	7	0
CSJL Knights	5	2
LPU Pirates	4	4
CSB Blazers	3	4
EAC Generals	3	4
JRU Heavy Bombers	2	4
MIT Cardinals	2	5
AU Chiefs	1	6
UPHSD Altas	1	6

Spartacus: Vengeance

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:08:12 PDT

The second season of the hit series Spartacus is Spartacus: Vengeance and is scheduled to air on January 2012. It has been a long wait. Based on trailer of Spartacus Vengeance, Liam McIntyre seems to play the role of Spartacus just fine. Fans of the first season of Spartacus has high expectations from McIntyre. He has a lot of work to do to fill Andy Whitfield's shoes. There seems to be a lot of twist this coming season.

Lucy Lawless plays Lucretia in Spartacus Vengeance

It seems that Lucretia, Lentelus Batiatus' wife, is still alive based on the trailer. During the end of the first season, Crixus stabbed Lucretia killing their unborn child. She was left for dead beside her husband, Lentelus Batiatus. Legatus Cladius Glaber's wife, Llithyia, and Lucretia will be forced to live in one roof again. During the season finale of Spartacus blood and Sand, Llithyia ordered the guards to barricade the escaping slaves along with all the remaining guest. Lucretia would want her revenge. In what form is what we have to see.

We might see more of Gannicus this season. Gannicus is the champion of house of Batiatus before Crixus. He was the protagonist in the prequel to the first season Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. According to the history books, Gannicus is one of Spartacus' generals during the third Servile war.

Crixus would probably look for Naevea this season. If he'll find her is something we have to see. This is an interesting part of the show since the rebellion is about to start. Can't wait to see the next season of Spartacus

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:08:12 PDT

The Starz show is based on the legend of Spartacus, a Thracian who become a slave and then later became a gladiator. Eventually he led a large number of slaves and started a rebellion against Rome.

The story begins when a Thracian home town was threatened by the Gatae. The tribe eventually agreed to cooperate to fight with the Romans as Auxilaries under the command of Legatus Cladius Glaber. The Legatus's wife, Llithyia, persuaded her husband to attack the Mithridates, leaving the Thracians to fight off the Gatae by themselves. The Thracians then started a mutiny and was either killed or caught by Glaber's men. Glaber condemned the Thracian's wife to Slavery while was he was meant to die in the Gladiator Arena.

Unfortunately for Glaber, Thracian survived. Later a lanista named Lentelus Batiatus bought Thracian and started training him in his Ludus. Batiatus then decided to name the Thracian Spartacus after a famous Thracian king. There he met Crixus, the current champion of Capua. He would later become one Spartacus generals during the Slave Rebellion.

The first season is mostly about Spartacus' training in Batiatus Ludus. There he met Crixus and the first group of slave that they defied the Romans during this rebellion. (based on history, Spartacus revolt was the third slave rebellion).

The first season or even the whole series is not for everyone. It's way too violent compared to normal TV series. The language in the series is not something you don't want your kid to learn and there are a lot of sex scenes and nudity. According to creators of the TV series they just wanted to portray what Rome was back then.

I think it is an interesting retelling of the legend of Spartacus. Though I doubt everyone in the series were true. But overall I enjoyed watching the first season. The second is set to air not later to Jan 2012. The delay is due to Andy Whitfield's condition due to cancer. Everyone was relieved when he earlier announced that he is fit to start shooting of the second season. Unfortunately the cancer returned and Whitfield was forced to quit, Liam McIntyre would be filling in the shoes that Whitfield has left vacant. Due to the delay, a prequel was also created, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena

Liam Mcintyre as the new Spartacus

Wordless Wednesday#32

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:22:50 PDT

The Walking Dead Season 2

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:08:12 PDT

I am very excited to see what is in store for The walking dead fans like me this coming season. I haven't got a chance to read the comics which the show is based but I think it would be better that way. I have spoiled a lot of TV series episode because I read the recap before watching the Episode. I am trying to do myself a favor and stay away from spoiler alerts.

Now back to the topic. The long wait is almost over. October 16 couldn't come any faster. I just can't wait to watch Season 2 of The Walking dead. So let's do a recap of the last season finale. Rick and the other survivors found peace and a safe haven from the world filled with Zombies. Dr. Edwin Jenner, a scientist for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agreed to let them in before they became zombie dinner. Rick was relieved and thought the they are close in finding the answers and even a cure for the Zombies. But unfortunately, Dr. Jenner does not have the answer that they are looking for. In the end, Dr. Jenner decided to blow up the CDC building along with the survivors. Rick and others convinced him to open the doors but before they left. Dr. Jenner whispered something to his ear that somehow disturbed Rick. Whatever that is, we might find out soon enough.

From the Trailer, it seems that the group would be splitting up. Survival instinct is kicking in and everyone seems to be teaming up with someone. The survivors seems to be loosing hope and there is no indication that they will have it easy this coming season. I would like to know what happened to Morgan and Duane Jones. They help Rick during the first episode. There are still a lot of questions that needs to be answered. We just have to wait until October 16.

San Beda still undefeated

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:39:56 PDT

Defending champions San Beda Red Lions is doing great despite not having foreign cager Sudan Daniels. They won game number six by defeating the Letran Knights. San Beda is now enjoying a solo but they should not relax just yet since San Sebastian is just close by winning all their 5 games. San Beda and San Sebastian would meet in the court on August 19, 2011. That's an interesting game to see. I think every school except for San Beda would not want the Lions to sweep the first round of the elimination of season 87. That would be demoralizing considering that they made history last year by winning all the games of season 86.

San Beda's Garvo Lanete is the high scorer of the game with 21 points. Kevin Alas of Letran is just 1 point shy of the Lanete's 21 points. The Lions out rebounded the Knights 46 to 40. In assist department, the Lions had more with 18 assists compared to 11 for the Knights. This is the second lost for the Intramuros based cagers after losing to San Sebastian Stags. San Beda on the other hand would need to win against Mapua, Jose Rizal University and San Sebastian College to complete the sweep. I think everyone can't wait for the Lions to meet the Stags. It should be interesting since the Stags is dying for a payback after losing the championship last year. It is also exciting to see if San Beda could win against San Sebastian without Sudan Daniels.

August 8-12, 2011 NCAA Philippines Basketball game Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:25:29 PDT

Aug 8, 2011 Monday
Game	Division	Time
SSC-R vs. AU	Jrs	10:00 AM
SSC-R vs. AU	Srs	11:00 AM
EAC vs. UPHSD	Jrs	2:00 PM
EAC vs. UPHSD	Srs	4:00 PM

Aug 10, 2011 Wednesday
Game	Division	Time
MIT vs. SSC-R	Jrs	10:00 AM
SBC vs. JRU	Jrs	11:00 AM
MIT vs. SSC-R	Srs	2:00 PM
SBC vs. JRU	Srs	4:00 PM

Aug 12, 2011 Friday
Game	Division	Time
CSJL vs. EAC	Jrs	10:00 AM
AU vs. CSB	Jrs	11:00 AM
CSJL vs. EAC	Srs	2:00 PM
AU vs. CSB	Srs	4:00 PM

Updated NCAA Standing - Aug 1, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:11:17 PDT

Teams	W	L
SBC Red Lions	6	0
SSC-R Stags	5	0
CSJL Knights	4	2
LPU Pirates	4	3
EAC Generals	2	3
JRU Heavy Bombers	2	3
CSB Blazers	2	3
MIT Cardinals	2	4
AU Chiefs	1	5
UPHSD Altas	1	5

August 1-5 2011 NCAA Philippines Basketball game Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:32:36 PDT

Aug 1, 2011 Monday
Game	Division	Time
MIT vs. AU	Jrs	10:00 AM
SBC vs. CSJL	Jrs	11:00 AM
MIT vs. AU	Srs	2:00 PM
SBC vs. CSJL	Srs	4:00 PM

Aug 3, 2011 Wednesday
Game	Division	Time
SSC-R vs. EAC	Jrs	10:00 AM
JRU vs. CSB	Jrs	11:00 AM
SSC-R vs. EAC	Srs	2:00 PM
JRU vs. CSB	Srs	4:00 PM

Aug 5, 2011 Friday
Game	Division	Time
CSJL vs. LPU	Jrs	10:00 AM
SBC vs. MIT	Jrs	11:00 AM
CSJL vs. AU	Srs	2:00 PM
EAC vs. LPU	Srs	4:00 PM

Wakesurfing

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:00:17 PDT

I was browsing through the magazine stand as I was searching for a copy of the latest Men's health issue for the month of July and I came across a Wakesurfing magazine. I am always interested in water sport or activities and I have tried scuba diving and Kitesurfing when I visited Boracay. Wakesurfing seems really interesting. I would like to give it a try when I get enough vacation leave credits.

So what is the difference between wakesurfing and wakeboarding? They are actually similar in a lot of ways. Wakeboarder or a wakesurfer would have to move along with waves that a motorboat makes. But the main difference is that wakeboarders are attached to the boat using a towline or any other means. In wakesurfing, a towline is use at first, but wakesurfer drops the towline as soon as they get the feel of the waves. A wakesurf board is usually five feet or shorter. The boats that are use for wakesurfing a lot heavier than normal boat so that bigger waves are produce. Boats with outboard motors are not recommended for the sport because the propeller is expose which would be risky for a wakesurfer. Inboards is the highly recommended for this sport.

The Walking Dead: Season 2 - Official Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:08:12 PDT

Spartacus: Vengeance - Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:08:12 PDT

Spartacus: Vengeance - Comic-Con Teaser

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:08:12 PDT

Wordless Wednesday#31

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:30:00 PDT

Wordless Wednesday#30

noreply@blogger.com (king4aday) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:39:33 PDT