MikeyHacky | Mike Wagan

BLOGSPOT NO MORE

2009-07-24T03:08:00.000-07:00

I am now leaving my Mikeyhacky blog for now, because I have seen the light in Wordpress. I already imported all of my posts here on my self-hosted blog. Visit my new home on the internet!

www.MikeWagan.net

Blog Awards Thingy

2009-07-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

My wifey requested me before that I put her blog award here. I was really busy back then withwork so I wasn't able to grant her wish. But I'm posting it now because she gave me some new awards again, passed on from other bloggers. So here they are:

I Love This Blog Award - This one is really cute and "pinky"... haha!

Elite Blog Artist Award - originally from Gee and passed to me by my wife.

The Best Follower Award - mommy, I would certainly receive this award even if I don't blog because I am really your best follower. :D. Again, originally from Gee.

Thanks for these blog awards, mommy! Really appreciated it!

Transformers 2, MJ and A Contest for My Wifey

2009-06-30T03:43:00.000-07:00

We watched Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen over the weekend at MOA and we were quite disappointed because we didn't make it to the IMAX screening. All seats were reserved already until last Monday and we don't have the luxury of time to go back this week so we settled for a regular screening. What can I say; some people loved it, some people didn't. For me it was a good movie - I like the adrenaline-pumping sequences and the snippets of humor tinted in the storyline. I haven't watched a movie this good for a while, the last thing I watched were some vampires with sparkling skin, haha!

News broke out that Michael Jackson (katukayo ko) died, well, I wasn't really a fan. Its just now that I began to appreciate his music (and his crazy crotch-slicing dance moves). Even the Cebu Inmates gained popularity because of him. Long live his music:

"Thriller" by the Cebu Inmates
Contest Alert: Frances of Beauty For a Living has a contest for her loyal readers (like my wifey). And I decided to join so she would have 2x the chances of winning the random draw. She's giving away FREE Gift Certificates for Face and Body Treatments at Aesthetic Science WORTH 10K PHP! That's a lot of pampering for my wife (although my pampering would cetainly worth more than that, haha, plus a lot more freebies)! So if you also want a shot at getting the fabulous giveaway, just head over to her blog at www.beautyforaliving.com.

AH1N1 in Calamba?

2009-06-13T03:42:00.000-07:00

This is the recent "gossip" around: that someone infected with Influenza AH1N1 is currently quarantined in a hospital here in Calamba. But it is not confirmed yet. Nonetheless, it has caused quite a stir to some who are afraid they might get infected. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Some precautions that we do in the household is basically washing up when we get home. Also, we go out less often now and avoid very crowded places.

AH1N1 is now a pandemic, and hopefully the Philippine Dept. of Health know what to do in case a major breakout happens. Let's just hope it doesn't get much worse.

Working From Home? But...

2009-06-09T07:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know if others can relate, but some people (like family members, perhaps) have "stereotyped" college grads to be just for corporate or office work. That's what I feel too. Sometimes my parents ask why I won't try opportunities outside from companies in the metro, or offer me job vacancies where I can apply. I understand that they want me to have a stable job with all the benefits and stuff, but I've made a lot of considerations too why I choose to work from home in front of my own computer.

I started my home-based "career" when I was still in college. I needed a job while I am studying, and my wife tried to apply me to a job online as a programmer. They were looking for experienced people, and I don't even have any work experiences yet, just some fancy school programming projects. But I got hired, surprisingly. And up to now, I still get all my jobs online. I tried applying for jobs in Makati when the "dry season" came, but I still pursued job hunting for online work.

Working from home is the better option for me, and I don't pursue everyone to do the same. I can see a lot of advantage from my home-based job. Like...

I save the hassle of commuting everyday and spending 1-2 hours stuck in traffic
Health benefits: no smoke pollution, away from viruses (H1N1!), eat healthy because I know where my food is coming from, away from road accidents
No annoying officemates to mingle with
No taxes automatically deducted from your salary
More family time: when I'm on a break, I eat along with my kid and wife, and after work, I can spend the time already to my family instead of commuting if I was in a corporate job
Even if it there's a signal #4 typhoon, as long as there's internet connection and electircity, I can work.
I learned a lot more money-making skills through self-study vs. specific task trainings with companies
If you're thinking about benefits like SSS, PhilHealt, etc., we can fix those on our spare time.
Social life? Facebook is always there to connect with friends and family. Although I seldom use FB now because of other priorities.
Lastly, more time to earn online!

Working from home is not for everybody. If you feel you can be more successful in a company or on a work-from-home job, its your choice. Just a word of advice for those who want to start out working from home freelancing for jobs online: you can do it! If you're not confident enough of your work experience or you don't have any, then get some experience online. A lot of opportunities are available all over the net from foreign companies outsourcing their works here in the Philippines. Find job opportunities that welcome "starters", and you might just land your first job online.

But I want to emphasize again that this is my OWN opinion, don't start working from home if you don't feel it. Its a choice. This might work for some, and this worked for me that's why I favor working from home as a freelancer.

Finally, Web Design Rework Complete!

2009-06-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Before and After pics of my blog

After weeks and weeks of painstaking tweaking with the design of this site, I finished the work today with the revamped look of the site. Although the graphics are quite big in size and takes some time to load on the browser, I am happy with the results. I have been planning on this design for a long time, and I wanted to get it done today. I think it reflects more of myself now; funkier, colorful, sexier, jazzed up, and complicated (lol)!

Some things I added were Project Wonderful ads at the bottom, and also trimmed out some fat from the sidebar. Also, got back my Nuffnang ad at the right (hopefully some ads would start popping!). I also removed "Continue reading This Post Title..." links on the homepage to speed up some loading time.

I was inspired to finish the redesign today because of Nuffnang's recent contest for Goldilocks. If I wanted to join then I'd need to fix my blog first. Do check it out!

I am Back Into Blogging

2009-05-05T03:17:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I blogged here again in my home site. My very first blog. And I don't want this to go to waste. Its been a busy month for me, problems do come and go, but I decided to continue blogging here because I know there are some earning potentials through blogging. "Making money online" as others would call it, but I'd consider it "money blogging" because making money online is quite a broad subject. You can earn through freelance programming online, writing articles for websites, online marketing, data entry, SEO work, and the list goes on. "Money blogging" is all about making money through a blog. A lot of sites have already listed out ways you can generate income from your blog, like:

Earning from advertisements
Paid reviews/posts
Paid links

I'm not an expert, and not even a very good writer. So goodluck to me in this new start in money blogging!

Blogging on a Free Webhost

2009-03-22T01:55:00.000-07:00

I've started a Wordpress blog a few weeks ago on a free domain server and free web host provider to try out and see if I can achieve a certain level of SEO success from my Daddy Mike blog. So far, I've posted three entries already and everything is going well. I've started to optimize one post for the steve vai guitar keyword, and I'll see if I can get on top of Google for that keyword.

I also posted a how-to for those who also want to set-up a self-hosted Wordpress blog without spending a dime!

Here are some of my observations on the free WP blog I've created:

no 404 not found errors so far
the shared MySQL server timed-out a few times already
reasonable connection times so far; no unfinished loading on pages
few visitors already found the blog
not yet tested on sudden surges of traffic
support is hard to find, usually in community forums and other blogs

I'm not expecting my new blog to be capable of accomodating thousands of visitors everyday, since even dedicated web servers suffer overload on high traffic sites, but if I earn a reasonable amount from that blog, I'll have it hosted on a paid server so I can have an assurance of reliable service.

I'll be posting updates about the growth of my Daddy Mike blog. I'm hopeful I can achieve the least of my goals on it.

Jian's First Haircut

2009-03-04T22:29:00.001-08:00

After his first birthday, we scheduled one weekend to take Jian to Festival Mall to have his first haircut at Hairplay. I am so glad as a father, seeing my baby turning into a young boy. His looks have changed when his long hair was cut shorter and we can see his cute face much better. I love his new look! Before we had to clip or "ponytail" (anu ba term dun?) his hair because it was so long and it covered his face, he can't see well and always scratches his head trying to take his blocking hair aside. When we go outside, people even mistake him as a girl, saying "ang ganda naman ng baby" and we'd go with a reply "pogi po". That was quite annoying for me, since I don't want my unico hijo to be mistaken as a girl.

Here are some action shots of Jian's first haircut:

We were strolling at the mall, and when we pass by the carousel (Festival mall has a 2-level carousel inside, for those who haven't been there yet), Jian would always point to it and shouts his little "I wanna go there" murmur. So we went there and treated Jian to the carousel ride. He was so jolly riding the carousel and we were also the ONLY riders at that time, so I had the luxury to position myself for a great video:

We strolled again some more and we saw these kiddie bicycles for sale. Jian, again, was pointing to them and acts like he wants to go down from my arms and ride a bike. I didn't let him ride, and good thing he didn't cry or turn into tantrums (hindi naman sya talaga tinotopak, hehe). But then we passed by another kiddie ride, the one where you ride animal-shaped electric motorized cute thingies and have to insert some tokens. After the ride was over, Jian didn't want to get out of it. Here is the shot with me trying to get Jian up:

Our baby is really turning into a kid now. It's really a pleasure to a parent seeing your child grow and being there and sharing with his milestones.

Achmed the Dead Terrorist

2009-02-27T05:54:00.000-08:00

Achmed the Dead Terrorist

Although this video has been around at least one year, my wife just told me about it yesterday and described how funny it was. So I searched for it on Youtube and I thought of sharing it to everyone who haven't watched it yet. Its really hilarious, the guy is a master of his craft.

"I kill you!" - Achmed the Dead Terrorist

Smart Bro Hacks

2009-02-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

Smart Bro: How to hack it?

I've recently been experiencing some problems with Smart Bro lately, specifically my internet connection is being disconnected. I don't know if other Smart Bro users have experienced the same problems as I do, but what I heard is that a lot of people are also disappointed with the Smart Bro service. That's why people are trying to hack the Smart Bro Wifi internet service. But how do they do it?

Some hacks to increase the speed of the Smart Bro internet is to change some settings with the canopy (if you still have the canopy antenna). Others use certain software to change the settings on how the antenna connects to the internet. I haven't tried out these things yet but you can search them, they're just around the net.

Does Smart Bro suck? For me, I've just been experiencing this problems now but Smart Bro here in our location seems to be a fairly good internet service provider. I just hope they have an upgrade to increase the speed of my internet.

You can try out my Top 10 Freewares to boost up your computer's performance.

Jian Ezekiel's First Birthday

2009-02-24T22:44:00.000-08:00

Jian Ezekiel's First Birthday Preparations with Mommy Ianne

Our little angel, Jian, celebrated his first birthday last sunday, February 15, 2009 (although his actual birthday was on Feb 16, a day after). We were quite short of time with the preparation and giving away the invitations, so most of the expected guests did not arrive (most friends and relatives). But still it was really an enjoyable moment because the kids really enjoyed the party. More pictures after the jump...

food for the guest kids

loot bags and prizes for the kiddies

preparations for the party

Mommy Ianne and Jian overseeing the preparations

Me helping out arranging the balloons

This is where the food was served

Daddy and Mommy with Jian

Jian's first birthday cake

Kids having fun watching the clowns

Some funny parlor games... who's the winner?

Jian's Uncle RD and Auntie Tean with their friends dancing Waltz for the crowd

Another dance number from the dancers

The girls wanted to have a solo number to strut their stuff

Jian's piñata prepared and popped by his Lolo Uncle Jojo

Some more parlor games for the kids

Pictorial (from left to right): Lolo Cris, Lola Luz, Daddy Mike, Mommy Ianne, Mama Maris, Papa Hermie, Jian at the center, clowns at both ends, and some 'singit' kids

Tired Jian after the party

The party went well, and I'm really glad everyone was happy. I had a great time watching the kids laugh and enjoy the clowns. It was tiring, yes, but it was all worth it for our cute little angel.

Thank you, Dear God, for bringing our little angel, Jian Ezekiel, into our lives.

Top 10 Geeky Gifts for Valentines

2009-02-11T21:59:00.000-08:00

We're two days away from Valentines day! Do you have the perfect gift for your loved one already? In case your partner is of the geeky type, here is my Top 10 Geeky Gifts for Valentines for your significant other!

10. Geek love poem shirt - if your partner get the first two lines, he/she is mildly geeky, if the thrid and fourth lines are a snatch, they're spending too much time surfing the net already!

9. Holographic Candlelit Dinner Kit - Ok, this is a geek list right? Amaze yourself and your partner with a special holographic candlelit dinner. Light up the little candle, wear your holographic eyewear and you'll see hearts floating in front of your eyes.
8. LED Binary Watch - Mrs. Geek, this is the perfect gift for your man. Every man loves a masculine, bulky wrist watch. Take it a step further and challenge him to decode 8-bit characters when he looks at his Binary watch to check time.
7. The Ex Unique Knife Holder - Valentines is not only for happy couples. This gift is for your ex's. A very threatening knife holder, knives included! Wrap this extra special and leave it in front of your ex's door. Your ex would love it!
6. 3D Valentine's day Card - So you bought the Holographic Candlelit Dinner kit, why not do a follow-up and hand her over this 3D Valentine's day Card. You're geeky girlfriend might just give you a virtual kiss.
5. Mythbusters Knitted Dolls - Girls love cute things, geeky girls love cute and geeky things! What's gonna be geekier than the Mythbusters cuddly knitted dolls?
4. 8-Bit Dynamic Life Shirt - The closer you get, the more hearts light up. Proximity-based lovin'!
3. Firejewel - Love her for eternity like a glowing fire, and show it through the Firejewel! Just make sure you change the batteries every 60 hours or so.
2. USB Aromatheraphy Oil Burner - Have a calm and relaxing date with your partner by giving him/her a nice aromatheraphy powered by your USB port. Spread the WiFi love!
1. HTTPanties - For the naughty guys, this is a perfect gift for your internet-loving girl. Let the HTTP codes do the talking. The white one is a bit scary, though...

Have a happy and geek Valentines!

Sources: ThinkGeek.com for most of them, Mythbusters dolls and Firejewel which I StumbledUpon..

Leona Lewis Bleeding Love Lyrics

2009-02-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

Closed off from love

I didn’t need the pain

Once or twice was enough

And it was all in vain

Time starts to pass

Before you know it you’re frozen

But something happened

For the very first time with you

My heart melts into the ground

Found something true

And everyone’s looking round

Thinking I’m going crazy

But I don’t care what they say

I’m in love with you

They try to pull me away

But they don’t know the truth

My heart’s crippled by the vein

That I keep on closing

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding

I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open

Trying hard not to hear

But they talk so loud

Their piercing sounds fill my ears

Try to fill me with doubt

Yet I know that the goal

Is to keep me from falling

But nothing’s greater

Than the rush that comes with your embrace

And in this world of loneliness

I see your face

Yet everyone around me

Thinks that I’m going crazy, maybe, maybe

But I don’t care what they say

I’m in love with you

They try to pull me away

But they don’t know the truth

My heart’s crippled by the vein

That I keep on closing

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding

I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open

And it’s draining all of me

Oh they find it hard to believe

I’ll be wearing these scars

For everyone to see

I don’t care what they say

I’m in love with you

They try to pull me away

But they don’t know the truth

My heart’s crippled by the vein

That I keep on closing

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding

I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding

I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

Just a song for those who are lonely this valentine. :D

Battle of the Backlinks: CarlOcab, Macuha, Jehzlau-Concepts, SELaplana, and BatangYagit - Dot Com Slugfest!

2009-02-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

I just learned a few SEO techniques today about backlinks. From what I know, backlinks are like "doors" where the googlebot can enter your site. The more backlinks, more ways for the not-so-creepy crawler to crawl your site. I've picked some of the most popular Pinoys (in my humble opinion) that earn money from their blogs. I've also linked to their most recent posts so you'll have an idea of what they write about, if ever you haven't visited them yet. I know you'll have your own set of favorite sites, but these are the ones that I frequent. :)

Rank # 5. Macuha.com - Make Money Online Philippines

Rank # 4. BatangYagit.com - A Poor Kid's Life

Rank # 3. SELaplana.com - Ramblings of an Online Money Maker

Rank # 2. Jehzlau-Concepts.com - Defining the Edge of Abstract Electronic Arts

And the winner is...
Rank # 1. CarlOcab.com - Make Money Online with a 13-Year Old

Backlink count courtesy of Backlinkwatch.com.

Backlinks can rrrreeeaaaallllly improve your search engine rankings, which leads to more revenues. More backlinks = higher income!

So what do you think of my analysis? Tell me your comments / violent reactions...

You can also check out my list of Top 10 Must-Have Freewares for XP Users. Thanks for reading and subscribe to my blog for more cool info!

How to Overclock a Netbook?

2009-02-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

I need to get more juice from this netbook!
Overclocking a netbook? Is that even possible? I've read some articles that dealt with overclocking laptops with dual or even quad core processors, but a netbook with an atom cpu? We already know that the current netbooks today are mostly good only at casual surfing or working on light software.

Can we really overclock netbooks? If you have tried it, tell us your experience on it and maybe we can have a chat and dig in some chicken caldereta meal! :)

I Just Joined Facebook

2009-02-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

Search for Mike Wagan and look for my photo if you want to add me to your facebook friends. :)

Why Are There Adsense Ads On My Blog?

2009-02-06T00:54:00.000-08:00

A very simple question needs a very simple answer: money. Nowadays, nobody can live without money. It is the basic thing that will give you all your needs. So why waste a precious amount of time trying to design a layout and doing all those SEO thingamajigs like all other "i make money from blogging" bloggers? Its all because of money!

Just click on the image above and you'll see why we're talking adsense here...

So, Mr Adsense dude, can we really juice you up and squeeze money from you? Apparently, a bunch of other bloggers already did. How do they do it? Well that really depends upon your perception on how making money by blogging works. Most adsensers tell you they get it from search engine traffic, that's why we have Search Engine Optimization (if you need introduction to SEO, google it). So I just need to start a blog at Blogger dot com, paste in your adsense ads to it, right?

Wrong.

It's really hardwork and patience. No pain no gain. No money, no honey, no ID no entry (please laugh). I've been trying out this trial-and-error method of making money online, well, I'm already making money online thru my work-at-home job, but I'm thinking of online money through blogging. I mean, Internet is my passion; 18 hours a day in front of the computer won't bore me to death. I like tinkering with code, I like new web trends, I like hacking and all, but I think I can also do what the big guys do.

Especially now, in times of crisis, we should look for alternative ways to make money. And I think online methods of gaining some profit is a very good option, IF you know what you are doing.

I'm not claiming to be an expert online money maker, I'm just like the thousands of problogger-wannabees who like to make money from blogging. I think we're getting off topic now... We're talking about adsense right? So adsense, adsense, ADSENSE! Just help us to get rich, Ok?!

My Shopaholic Confession

2009-02-05T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hi my name is Mike and I'm a Shopaholic!

Wait, wait, wait! Mike, you're a shopaholic?! Well, I think the most appropriate intro line would be "Hi my name is Mike and MY WIFE is a SHOPAHOLIC!" Well, that's sound more realistic now, eh?

We have been going steady on a bf-gf relationship for almost 4 years before we got married. She's so loving and thoughtful. I can take her to a fine dine party or to a turo-turo karinderya and have some halo-halo too. When we go to the mall, I'd buy her some stuff that she wasn't asking for. Or maybe she'd point out like a cute bracelet and a matching pair of earrings and says "I like those, but don't buy them, I just like them." Of course, I wanna win her heart big time so I'd buy to her hearts content. Then she gives me a sweet peck on the cheek, and in my mind my smile stretches to the whole circumference of my head.

We got closer to each other and decided we should get married. And so we did. That's when the shopaholic button was turned on...

I love her, and I know she loves me too. But another thing she loves is shopping. She's not really the type that goes for the branded ones, she's the one who goes to the "SALE" pile and dig up the most stylish item, or scan through the lower-priced items when in search for a good buy. She'd also buy some doll shoes or slippers that are really fashionable, and she purchases them 2-3 times in a row. I'm even her consultant when picking the right clothes for her. She really loves to shop, but I don't complain. Why? I'll tell you the story.

One time I told her to go to an all-out shopping spree; I'd give her my money and she can spend it on whatever she wants! I gave her everything in my wallet and told her to spend it all because the next paycheck is coming the next day. So she did.

When she came home, she showed me all the stuff she bought. First was a cute pair of earrings, not the fancy type - an elegant looking gem-studded pair of silver earrings. She also bought a simple but stunning necklace in silver also. Then she bought a white stylish watch from a famous brand name. The others are: a pair of denim jeans, some white trousers, a really cool baby tee, a box of undies, short shorts, and a new make-up kit. I forgot to mention she also bought a pair of sneaky flip-flops because summer is just around the corner. That's not all! She also bought me a nice vintage tee, and cute sandals and PJs for our baby.

The total price: 1,200 pesos!

Just imagine having 1,200 pesos go that far? That's why I love her so much! She's a stylish lady with a great mind for budgeting! I'm no match to her when it comes to money spending. I don't worry if my wife is a shopaholic; she plans ahead where the money will be put to use. For me 1,200 pesos would just go to one pair of branded pants, but she explains that branded clothes aren't always the best. You can grab an ukay-ukay shirt and still look good on it! So from that day on I let my wife do all the shopping! :)

And that's my shopaholic experience! (I love you Mommy!)

Catch "Confessions of a Shopaholic" in Cinemas on February 18, 2009!

Six Music, Six Videos, Six Pictures... FOR FREE

2009-02-03T11:05:00.001-08:00

So what's with the title? The number six is a lucky number for me today, and I think I'll blog about it. Well, my adsense earnings are near to six dollars already, and six cool videos (or even millions, actually) are available at utube.com (sorry, that's youtube). And if you notice, the title "six music, six videos, six pictures..." contain six words, and also six letter i's. Not seven, not five, but exactly six.

Some hardcore six videos are available everywhere. Search them at utube (ahem, youtube!), or metacafe, or googel about it. If you're talking about music, I'd love to hear some, six funny pictures maybe?

What's the sense talking about six all day? Do you still want six? Still searching for six videos or six pictures? Or gasping for some six music? Go ahead an search google, I'm sure you'll find some. :)

Super Bowl 2009 Videos

2009-02-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

I have here a collection of the 2009 super bowl videos which I would like to share to you. Cracked.com has its reasons why you should not watch the super bowl 2009, but I think super bowl and football is already part of American history so the guys at Tampa Bay are really proud to host this years' football frenzy.

Super Bowl XLIII Kickoff

Arizona Cardinals on Superbowl 43

some 2009 super bowl commercial with Audi

another super bowl XLIII commercial with Hyundai

and the famous Rhianna singing Disturbia on super bowl 2009

And for the ladies, while your husbands are watching the super bowl live stream, why not cook him a pinoy recipe, like pork sinigang or chicken caldereta perhaps? :)

Sinigang Recipe

2009-01-31T09:46:00.000-08:00

Sinigang is one of my wife's specialty. It is a very delicious Filipino pork meal that will surely delight your tastebuds. And to share with you this sinigang recipe will be my pleasure. This one was taken from filipinofoodrecipes.net:

Pork Sinigang Ingredients:
3/4 kilo Pork, cut into chunks
3 tomatoes, sliced
2 onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
100 grams Kangkong (river spinach)
100 grams String beans
2 pieces horse radishes, sliced
3 pieces gabi (taro), pealed
2 pieces sili pag sigang (green finger pepper)
200 grams sampalok (tamarind)
3 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)
1 liter of rice wash or water

Sinigang Cooking Instructions:
1. Boil sampalok in water until the shell shows cracks. Let cool then peal off the shells and with a strainer, pour samplalok (including water) into a bowl. Gently massage the sampalok meat off the seeds, strain again.
2. In a pot, sauté garlic and onion then add the tomatoes. Let simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add pork and fish sauce then add the rice wash. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes then add the gabi. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until the pork is tender.
4. Add the horse radish and simmer for 10 minutes then add the string beans, kangkong and sili (for spice-optional). Let boil for 2 minutes.
5. Serve piping hot.

Sinigang Cooking Tip:
Instead of sampalok fruit (tamarind), you can substitute it with any commercial souring seasoning like Knorr sampalok seasoning or tamarind bouillon cubes for this pork sinigang recipe.

Another quick and easy meal; pork sinigang (or sinigang na baboy for us Pinoys) which you will trully enjoy! :)

What is Wagyu Steak

2009-01-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

Wagyu Steak? Can anyone guess what that delicacy is? Sounds like food, eh? Yucky? Definitely not, especially if you see it's price tag. So why are we talking about the wagyu steak? Let's see some facts:

Based on my research, it is basically made of beef. It is a steak for the elite. President Obama served it at a cocktail party. And it costs: a whooping $100 per serving! So why blog about the wagyu steak?

I'm just trying to hijack this keyword for today and maybe get some Google money from it. :)

Free Smart and Globe Internet on Mobile Phone

2009-01-29T03:49:00.000-08:00

I recently found this thread on a mobile phone forum about having free internet access on any smart or globe phone and I decided to share it to you guys because it actually works (I tried it with Globe)! Kahit 5 pesos lang ang load ko, the internet can still be accessed. I assume this is applicable to most GPRS-capable phones, because I have a Samsung J700 (not so common basic phone) and I suppose it can work with other brands.

Here are the instructions that I've copy-pasted from the thread:

*update: here are the download links to the files you might need in case the download links below do not work anymore:
Opera Mini for Globe | Opera Mini for Smart | JAD file maker

* Here are the step-by-step procedures on how to access the Internet on your phones for free on Smart and Globe using Opera Mini 4.2 modded and unmodded versions.

For Smart Users using Opera Mini 4.2 unmodded or original version:

1. Set the Internet profile and Java setting on your phone to Smart Internet. Change the proxy on the settings to 221.2.174.164 as the proxy address and 8081 as port. You can also use the Smart GPRS Internet profile if you don't have Smart Internet.

2. Download the Opera Mini 4.2 Final Version from http://www.operamini.com or from http://www.mediafire.com/?1toynwnyntc.

Note: Free downloading and uploading also works. Just make sure that you are using a working proxy like the one that I posted above. Below is a list of other working proxies:

60.216.45.10:8088
60.216.45.11:8088
85.105.232.175:8088

202.44.4.85:8081
77.242.169.70:8081
62.165.49.98:8081

125.162.175.117:8888
66.98.212.79:8888
64.246.18.25:8888
210.245.80.10:8888
210.245.80.11:8888
210.245.80.12:8888
210.245.80.13:8888
210.245.80.14:8888
222.255.29.85:8888
222.255.29.86:8888
130.89.160.87:8888

203.252.226.215:8001
70.86.138.210:8131
70.86.138.210:8126
81.31.157.38:6654
81.31.157.42:6654

These proxies are subject to update because there is a possibility that it will be blocked by Smart.

Modded Opera Mini 4.2 for Smart

- Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?ym5wzgzymyy
- Pre-configured for Smart only
- Works on both HTTP and Socket connection
- Internet Profile and Java Setting: Use Smart Internet or Smart GPRS
- Use a proxy for free downloading
- The default proxy of Smart 10.102.61.46:8080 only works for browsing
- No need to change any settings on Opera Mini and on your phone

Modded Opera Mini 4.2 for Globe

- Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?qm2ttny5atl
- Pre-configured for Globe only
- Works on HTTP connection only
- Internet Profile and Java Setting: Use myGlobe CONNECT or myGlobe INET
- No need to change any settings on Opera Mini and on your phone

[ This Message was edited by: dennevhyn_31 on 2009-01-21 14:37 ]

For samsung phones, you need the JADMaker to make the JAD file from the OperaMini JAR that is applicable to you, then place the two files in your phone and install.

All the credits should go to dennevhyn_31 and here is the link to the original thread: http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=178003

The best things in life are free, right? :D

Top 10 Must-Have Freewares for XP Users

2009-01-12T09:30:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since I decided to post again. I'm still thinking of any topic to blog about. I'm starting to think blogging about my personal life is not so interesting to passer-by's from blogs that link to me, so I guess I should post something useful for a change...

This is a list of 10 Must-Have Freewares for XP Users to start off my Top 10's project:

10. Avira AntiVir - forget about AVG guys, it sucks big time on detecting a lot of new viruses nowadays. Have you had the "somazina@gmail.com" virus lately? Avira has most of the features paid programs have at much much lesser bulk in your memory. On top of that, it scans lightning fast!
Avira Website

9. Mozilla Thunderbird - especially for Gmail users, this saves you all the time logging into your cutely skinned Gmail accounts from a browser. It is a great e-mail client, also light, fast, and very flexible with the use of extensions.
Mozilla Thunderbird Website

8. CCleaner - probably the best PC maintenance utility on the planet, and its also free! Cleans everything in your XP machine: temporary files from browsers, third-party applications, and more importantly - it optimizes your registry for better performance.
CCleaner Website

7. Chikka Text Messenger - (applicable in some countries only) lets you send free SMS in your country. Saves you that hard-earned money you spend paying for text messaging your friends and loved-ones!
Chikka Website

6. Winamp - for the music junkies out there, this would certainly be your hub. The most I like about Winamp is its skins! It plays a lot of music and video formats, and also very extensible through its plug-ins.
Winamp Website

5. µTorrent - the lightest of the bit torrent applications around. Only around 270 Kb, best for those moments when you need paid software, LOL!
µTorrent Website

4. CDBurnerXP - so you lost your Ahead Nero Express installation disk? Download CDBurnerXP for free and have all the features, minus the CD cover creator. Now includes Blu-ray and HD-DVD burning.
CDBurnerXP Website

3. Vista Inspirat Ultimate 2 Pack - you're fed up of the old blue/green colors of your XP machine. You dreamed of having that slick Vista desktop, but read a lot of negative reviews about it. Why not give your XP computer the face of Vista, for free of course! Vista Inspirat Pack is your makeover tool, Vista look on a XP machine. The best part is, it doesn't do harm on your computer (on my experience) like what WindowsX Transformation Pack does.
Vista Inspirat Website

2. OpenOffice.org - MS Office-like application, but free. Has the applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and most MS Office files are compatible with OpenOffice.org.
OpenOffice.org Website

1. Mozilla Firefox - it is your APV on the Information Superhighway. Standtards-compliant, robust, developed by thousands of contributors, and has numerous add-ons available. Turn it into anything you want it to be: FTP client, Social Bookmarker, Automated Link Clicker, Porn Video Downloader, Chat Application, Timer, Word Processor, etc... You might even forget it is a web browser.
Mozilla Firefox Website

You don't have to pay for the best software, you just have to be resourceful in finding a free software that fits your needs. Hope this has been a help to all you Internet-wanderers. Stay tuned for more Top 10's here on my blog. Now, go fetch!