The Couch Kamote

Tools to Improve Thinking

benc — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:41:37 +0000

I'm collecting different books, ebooks and software that help improve the way we think. I like reading de Bono (Lateral Thinking) and Buzan (Mind Mapping). I sometimes use some of their principles in teaching and every day life.

Here's the list, so far. Please send me a comment to add things from your personal collection:

Anti-Money Laundering Comicbook

benc — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:22:11 +0000

In 2007, our company was asked to develop an instructional CD-ROM to help the Anti-Money Laundering Council train the staff of pawnshop and money changers.

We developed the CD-ROM using Flash, HTML and video, but we also threw in this low-budget comicbook.

My Trip to Australia: Vital Information

benc — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:56:09 +0000

My deferred scholarship will now push through. Lots of people have asked me for details (things like, how many units, what's it like, etc) and I sometimes didn't know all the answers. So instead, I'm posting here some links so, if you're really really interested, you may visit these links. Ready? Here goes:

Mayor Bully

benc — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 12:16:35 +0000

I still get surprised that, to this day, some government officials think they also have the power to kick people around. A mayor from Lanao -- let's call him Mayor Bully -- beat up a 56-year old man and his 14-year old son in front of the Secretary of Agrarian Reform (Mayor Bully's friend), who did nothing to stop the violence.

Here is an excerpt from the blog entry of Bambee dela Paz, daughter of the man that Mayor Bully beat up:

Remedy for Clogged Ears

benc — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 02:00:11 +0000

I've been plagued with clogged ears for several months now. It usually attacks during cold season.

I saw this exercise on the web that involves a neti pot (you can substitute a large syringe for this) and saline solution. There's a video demonstrating how to do the exercise, so that was really helpful. I've tried it and it has helped clear my head a bit.

UStream versus GMA Network

benc — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 05:41:22 +0000

Manny Pacquiao chalked another historic victory today by beating Golden Boy Oscar dela Hoya. That news is old by now.

What's unique in our experience is the way we watched it. My wife Data could not wait for the local telecast, which was much-delayed and peppered with too many ads. So she found a webcast of the show, courtesy of UStream. (How was this possible? Some Pinoys who had HBO pay-per-view put a webcam in front of the TV -- we could hear their chatter as the game progressed.)

Yes, Pinoys Can!

benc — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:38:06 +0000

I've been helping an all-Filipino team to create a consumer tech product. Sorry, can't give out details for now. But here is what we can reveal for now.

It's something that will demonstrate that we Filipinos can produce a tech product locally. The R&D is being done garage-style -- lower costs, virtual collaboration, team mates contributing labor beyond their day jobs because they believe in this project.

Help us generate awareness on the project. If you're interested to blog about it or write a story about it for any type of media, feel free to repost the messages below. You may also contact me through rubencanlas(at)gmail(dot)com.

How to Kill Time

benc — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 06:25:10 +0000

Very carefully take off your watch and lay it on a table. Leave the room in the dark for 21 days. Recite the Ora Pro Nobis five times.

We're back!

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:47:50 +0000

After a few weeks of downtime, The Couch Kamote is back! This is thanks to the hardworking tech staff at Dig It All Solutions, especially our head tech Jeff Vicedo, who worked overtime to fix the epic fail. Reason for downtime? I was using an outdated Drupal 4.3 and when our server switched to PHP 5, the old PHP 4.0 code broke.

Filipinos in Fiction

benc — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:21:29 +0000

Starting today, I'll record here the instances where Filipinos are featured in works of fiction. I've been meaning to do this, but always got sidetracked.

I have this small theory that Filipinos are very slowly taking the limelight in international media. (The Chinese are very well-known the world over and so are Thais. Filipinos are now slowly getting in the radar.)