Pinoys, Register to Vote for 2010 Presidential Elections!

Me and Mai promised each other that we'll register to vote this year, especially after last year when the barangay officials here in Cebu gave us a hard time getting a barangay clearance for our previous company's requirements. Good thing I was still able to get a police clearance after I explained to the people from PNP in Cebu that the barangay officials won't issue me a clearance. They found it funny that a pure Filipina who happened to move from Luzon to Visayas can't get a barangay clearance but a Korean can. Tsk tsk.

Anyway, going back to voting, we've set our minds to register this 30th at the nearby school here in Talamban, Cebu. The thing is, years back, I registered in Navotas (back in Manila, where I lived for more than 20 years) with my Nanay so I can get a Voter's ID. I can't remember what happened to that ID, if I even got one printed or what. Sheesh. If I did, my nanay might have it or I lost it. Ack.

I just need to clear things up with my Nanay. Anyway, I'm qualified to vote here in Cebu since I've been here for more than 6 months already (from August 2008). Plus, my NBI clearance has my new address here in Cebu so I already have the requirements.

I have not voted in any Philippine election yet since I turned 18 and this will be the first time for me to vote. I feel that it's about time since I'll be turning 30 next year. It's my right and my responsibility, I believe, as a Filipino.

If you're planning on voting, I found this informational site for new voters like me - BagongBotante.ph
They even have the application forms that you can download. We've got until October 31, 2009 to register.

Why haven't I voted in the past? I feel ashamed to even admit why but let me list 'em for you.

• I felt like there's no one deserving of my vote or that voting for anyone will have the same result. Over the years, I realized that if I keep on thinking this way, I'll never get to exercise my right to vote. Now, I'm just voting for the lesser evil. It's gonna be very important for me to really know who I should vote for and weigh the pros and cons of voting for anyone.
  
  
• Hassle. I don't like standing in long lines under the heat of the sun or around many people. I just don't like crowds. So, I need to overcome this and endure the process if I really want to do this.
  
  
• I never felt that responsible yet or that my vote was that important. But, really, if most people think like I did, imagine who'll be in office today.

Hmmm... after registration, my next agenda would be to get to know the candidates as early as now. The list won't be finalized this early but I want to do my research as early as possible so I can cast an informed vote.

Too bad President Gloria Arroyo won't be running for office anymore. I want her to stay in office because she's the lesser evil for me. Oh well, let's see.

If you want to react on what I just said, don't waste your energy. I am a strong believer that no one can resist the temptation of using your power once you're in public office. It's just a matter of choosing the people to trust, right, Erap? Don't give me bullshit that your chosen candidate won't be corrupt when he/she gets elected. That's just not possible. If it's not gonna be him/her directly, it's a friend or a relative, heck even a close family member who'll take advantage of the situation. That's just human nature.

Ooops. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from voting, okay? It's just a fact that we have to accept. So, choose the lesser evil.

To my fellow Pinoys and Pinays, REGISTER TO VOTE NOW! Visit BagongBotante for more info.

Cellularis - Prepaid Card Dealer in Cebu

Update on our soon-to-open internet cafe here in Cebu:

Our internet cafe will be opening real soon and one of our services will be selling prepaid cellphone load and game cards. We spent last week looking for an official dealer here in Cebu of both cellphone and game cards but most of the places we found only offer prepaid cellphone load.

Aside from the prepaid cards, we were also looking for game posters that we could put up at our cafe. I posted on different forums, including Istorya.net and Ragnaboards but no one was able to give us anything specific. Some said we can buy posters from Carbon or Colon (they're like Monumento and Divisoria here in Cebu). We scoured both areas but we didn't find what we were looking for. I was actually expecting something like a whole area of street vendors with abundant display of posters we can choose from, just like in Cubao. But, no, we didn't even find anything close to it. Argh. It was just a waste of energy.

I decided to post another thread at Istorya.net and luckily, one of the members (handsoff241) pointed me to Cellularis in ACT in front of e-Mall here in Cebu. So, off we went.

My fingers were crossed that Cellularis is the one we're looking for - an official dealer of prepaid cellphone and game cards who'll give us free game posters. I was kinda disappointed with our last search so I was really hopeful. When we first entered their shop at ACT building, I was like "Damn, I don't think they even sell game cards here". I was wrong.
We met Jasmin of Cellularis and at first, we were unsure of how everything will go down. When she found out we're opening an internet cafe, she immediately talked to one of her co-employees, Daks, who hooked us up with game posters and even installation CDs. Damn, I already downloaded some of them - Rohan PH (spent 2 days downloading it 'coz the one from LU!'s ftp site was corrupted), Special Force, and we already have Ragnarok Online. Daks said that they're the official distributors of Level Up! merchandise in Cebu. Good to know!

They gave us like more than 10 posters I think. Haven't counted or seen them yet but I'm pretty excited to put them up on Monday. I'm already done with the design and layout of 2 other tarps that we'll be posting - one will be posted right on our entrance and the other one will be hanging in front of our cafe for everyone walking by to see. I just need our official phone # for the tarp.

Going back to Cellularis, we were actually planning on buying prepaid cards right at that moment but Jasmin suggested we don't buy yet until we've seen what our customers will be looking for, what games will be most played at our cafe. Well, we actually knew that already but we thought that the setup was we need to buy first before we get anything. I was really after the posters and the cards. They clarified it, thank God.

Jasmin also suggested that if we want to sell e-load, she will recommend having separate load wallet for Smart, Globe and Sun so we can get higher discounts. That's what we'll be doing.

So, if you're here in Cebu and you're planning on putting up a loading business or you have an internet cafe/computer shop and you want to sell prepaid cards, then, I suggest you go off to Cellularis. They offer bigger discounts for retailers than anywhere else we've seen so we're definitely buying from them. Plus, they have a friendly group of people who'll attend to you and answer your questions, especially when you're a newbie like us. Hehehe.

Here's their contact information and their address. I can't believe I forgot to include that when I first posted this. Hehehe.

Cellularis
2nd level A.C.T. Cybertower (above Jollibee ACT)
Cor. P. del Rosario and Leon Kilat Streets, Cebu City
Contact #: (032)253-8880 / (032) 580-2009
Office Hours: 9am to 6pm Monday to Saturday

Now that I've crossed off game posters and prepaid cards retail on my To Do list, we just need to have all the computers set up at our cafe. We had some minor issues with the units we got but we're hoping they all get fixed before this week ends.

We've already setup Left 4 Dead and DoTA on our computers so we're off to a good start. We're still waiting for PLDT to install our DSL service so that's on top of our list since we can't use Handy Cafe completely and activate Windows without internet connection. We've waited for more than 2 weeks already for the installation and Juvy of PLDT Cebu is giving us a run-around. Hate that. Let's see what'll happen.

American Idol 8 - Why Adam Lambert Lost Over Kris Allen

This has got to be the BIGGEST UPSET in American Idol history - Kris Allen winning over Adam Lambert?! What the hell went wrong?!?!

I kinda expected that this will happen because of many reasons but I would've understood if it was Danny Gokey in the finale and he wins over Adam 'coz I know Gokey has a huge fanbase, too. But before I get there, I wanna mention the reasons why I believe Adam should've won.

Reasons why ADAM LAMBERT Should've Been the American Idol 8 Winner
- He has been the MOST consistent out of all the contestants, heck even compared to those from past seasons!
- He NEVER had a mediocre performance EVER.
- He is a TRUE artist. He made me love songs that I never liked before or haven't even heard of.
- He is multi-talented. He was the only American Idol contestant who didn't dance with 2 left feet during their dance performance with Paula Abdul's choreography.
- He has major control of his voice and he's really got a great voice.
- He hits unbelievably high notes like there's no tomorrow.
- He has undeniably the star quality to be an extremely successful artist.

Even though he didn't win, the major uproar over him not winning shows that he will be very successful and I know a lot of people will be lining up to buy his album. He's the Chris Daughtry of this season.

ADAM LAMBERT, YOU'RE THE TRUE WINNER FOR ME!

Okay, I said in my previous AI post that whoever wins will be okay with me. I only reacted that way 'coz I do like Kris Allen, too, but he didn't deserve the title. I watched the final performance night again to see if maybe I missed something but no, Adam Lambert deserved to win this season.

Kris' saying that Adam deserved the win was very respectful of him. Yeah, I guess that could be one of the reasons why people voted for him. But because he won over Adam Lambert, I can't help but think that there are a million other reasons why more people voted for Kris than Adam.

Possible Reasons Why Kris Allen won over Adam Lambert

• Adam Lambert's photos where he was kissing another guy were all over the internet. This confirmed that Adam is gay. It's even evident when he performs, especially how much he likes to dress up. I tried to not even mention this fact on my previous AI posts but I guess that doesn't matter anymore.
  
  
• Adam Lambert is from California. If you don't know why I even mentioned that fact, then, you should find more time to read the news. California voters last year voted against Gay Marriage. Yes, they are a bunch of homophobes. Okay, not all of them but obviously, majority of them are homophobes. And please don't give me bullshit like marriage should only be between man and woman 'coz that's what God wanted. Who wrote the Bible in the first place? Argh. Self-righteous people. Sheesh. It's a singing competition, not a morality show.
  
  
• Most Americans are still prejudiced against homosexuals and I don't think I'll see the day that they'll finally accept gays in society. They've already gone past racism with Barack Obama winning so I'm just praying they will, too, get past their hate against gays getting married.
  
  
• Most, if not all, of Kris Allen's votes are anti-Adam, not pro-Kris, if you know what I mean. There was even news over the web that Kara Dioguardi was asking Danny Gokey fans to vote for Kris Allen so Adam won't win. Remember how upset and sad she was last week when Danny was eliminated? I wouldn't be shocked if she did say that to Danny's fans 'coz she's so tactless. If she really did that, oh my. I hope she gets kicked off the show 'coz really, she's just a nuisance. She's like a female version of Randy trying to be Simon Cowell.
  

There's just no way anyone can win over Adam this season if it was based purely on talent so I am very upset.

All my picks to win American Idol, The Celebrity Apprentice 2 (Annie Duke) and America's Next Top Model Cycle 12 (Allison) didn't win. For Hell's Kitchen, I'm glad Danny won over Paula. And I'm also glad that JT won in Survivor Tocantins although I would've loved Stephen to be the winner 'coz he was the brains of the whole JT-Stephen-Taj alliance. JT was only carrying out his orders. I love them both so I'm okay with that.

I'm waiting for So You Think You Can Dance for my reality show fix. Almost all of reality shows that we're watching ended these past 2 weeks. Even my fave series CSI (NY & Las Vegas), Grey's Anatomy (ack, what happened to George and Izzy), and Supernatural all just ended their seasons. It's gonna be another dreary quarter of waiting for all of them to go back on air with a new season.

Going back to AI, I don't think I'll ever get over Adam losing but I believe he'll be more successful than any other American Idol contestant. I'm looking forward to his album.

Kris Allen, I don't hate you for winning but I hate the people who voted for you just because they don't like or they hate Adam Lambert. Congrats, anyway.

Update: I've already moved on from Adam Lambert not winning and I'm actually glad that he's not gonna be stuck with the American Idol contract. He can do whatever he wants after the tour. He's a big star now, bigger than anyone who won American Idol.

By the way, I heard people rooting for Kris Allen as he is the underdog this season. If it was Danny Gokey and Kris Allen in the finale, I'd accept that excuse for voting for Kris. But I kinda understand the Kris Allen win a bit 'coz he was the boy next door who ended up in the final 2 even when he had the least exposure out of all the contestants. He's just too nice and people like that. And he had no musical or performance background at all, compared to Adam so I guess that's why people voted more for him. Plus, I think Adam fans thought that he's already a sure winner. On the other hand, Kris' fans knew they had to vote more 'coz of how talented Adam is.

Enough about the finale. I've already accepted the results and I'm looking forward to Adam's career.

Politics even in Blogging?! Sheesh!

I've been blogging since 2004 (Cubeblog days). I kept an actual journal back then so blogging was just an extension of that. My blog served as my personal journal online.

I enjoyed my stay with Cubeblog. I met a lot of other cubebloggers and enjoyed reading their posts everyday. That was something I loved about blogging - meeting new people and reading about other people's thoughts and adventures. I never met any one of them in real life even when I was in Manila but I was actually looking forward to it. I considered them my friends.

When Cubeblog suddenly closed without any warning or even a note to its members, I decided it was time to move to another blog host. I moved to Multiply but decided that they're too slow for me so I ended up with Blogger (http://blankpixels.blogspot.com/) and now I have my own domain name but my blog is still hosted by Blogger.

Before I started this blog, I've discovered a lot of articles and blogs that talked about online marketing and earning money through blogging. I was so interested by these concepts that I read more blogs about it.

The hardest part in my decision to start my "quests" to make money online and "be seen" was the theme of my blog. I have lots of interests and things I want to blog about so I decided to not pick a theme at all. And I'm glad I did that.

I didn't want to pretend to be an expert on anything. I started this blog with these things in mind:

• I wanted to continue my online journal - blogging about my experiences and thoughts.
• I wanted to help out people by sharing tutorials or my discoveries. I'm glad I'm starting to accomplish this, especially with my tutorial on how I downgraded my laptop to XP.
• I wanted to read and talk about other people's blogs, especially those that really interested me. I haven't done this so much yet 'coz of my "busy" life but I'll do it as soon as I've redesigned this blog.
• While doing all that, I wanted to also earn or make money online.

When I was still starting my blog, Abe of Yugatech posted a comment on one of my posts (about what I wanted to do with my blog and my hopes of becoming as popular as him). I was feeling uninspired at that time and discouraged to continue on 'coz I got intimidated by other blogs that I've seen and read. When I saw Abe's comment, I got all excited and it kinda pushed me to continue with this blog. Yes, that simple comment from someone as famous as Abe made me decide that it's worth taking the risk.

And, so, I bought my own domain and I've been blogging about a lot of things for almost 9 months now. Since August 2008, I've only earned about $10+ in Adsense and I've reached 14,000+ visitors. That might not be much for other bloggers but for me, that's already an accomplishment.

I've tried different ways to earn money through my blog and have people visit. I don't have a group of readers yet and I know I'll get there if only I find time to really get to know other bloggers. I'm glad I joined Entrecard 'coz through them, I found a lot of very interesting blogs. I left a comment or 2 on some of them and most are still on my bloggable list. I never was able to drop as often as other people coz I always end up hooked by the blogs I found.

I never really paid attention to some blogs that I've read that bash other newbies or bloggers like me. I didn't really care even though I was one of those small-time bloggers that they were referring to. I told myself that I'm doing this for ME and if other people find my posts interesting or informative, then, that's very good.

And then I read Digital Filipino's Janette Toral's blog about politics in the blogging world. I was aware of discrimination among bloggers but I didn't know how intense it was until I read about the PGB issue that rocked the Pinoy blogosphere. I actually read the post that started it all by Carlo Ople at NewMedia before the whole issue heated up - I didn't find anything offensive in the article. I did think that he could've used a different term since PGB was too harsh but I just brushed it off and found the article informative.

Now, after reading Janette's article about the politics in the blogging community, I remembered and realized that it's REALLY happening and I am shocked about that reality - that there are bloggers who look down on others who decided to earn money through their blog, join blogger events just for the freebies and food, ride other bloggers' coattails to get a higher ranking, etc. The times when people blog just to meet people and write about their lives and ideas are long gone. Gosh.

So What If I Like Freebies?!
Okay, let me ask you this - who doesn't like freebies?! I haven't joined any blogger event yet coz I'm here in Cebu but still, I envied those bloggers who got freebies from the event organizers and sponsors. I also envy them for meeting other bloggers and getting a chance to move up the blogger popularity ladder.

I joined one of the blogger contests by Nuffnang and my post was even chosen as one of the finalists - My First Sony Experience contest entry. I wasn't able to join the event, though, coz I was already here in Cebu. I asked them if someone else can join in my place and they agreed. But all my friends in Manila and even my bro were busy so my VIP ticket was wasted. Too bad. I'm looking forward to any blogger event here in Cebu.

About the blog which started all this discussion about name-calling, I knew he really didn't intend to hurt anyone or to cause such heated discussions here and there. I understood what he wrote 'coz I was reading it not as a newbie blogger but as someone interested in marketing myself online. Anyway, there are really people who'll join events just for the freebies and free food but so what? The sponsors paid for the food and freebies and even with those "freeloaders", they still get something out of it - free advertisement through word of mouth. I guess everyone who didn't pay anything to join the event is a freeloader so why come up with a term to call them anyway?

So What If I Attempt To Make Money Online Through My Blog?
What's so bad about making money online? So what if other people decided to put ads and earn from sponsored posts? It's your choice as the reader anyway if you want to continue reading but don't judge bloggers who earn money through sponsored reviews or multiple ad networks on their blog. They're not stealing from anyone. It's a decent way of earning - you get to blog and make money at the same time. Just because you chose not to put ads or sponsored posts on your blog doesn't mean you're better than those who did. Respeto lang yan.

Some people don't have anyone who they can ride to be popular. Some people like me start from pure blogging and we evolve. Stop judging newbies just because you earn decent $ monthly.

If you've checked here recently, most of my blogs were about American Idol and shows that I watch. I didn't post them because I wanted to improve my SERP ranking or my pageviews. Okay, I didn't do it MERELY for that purpose. I admit that I wanted to improve my ranking in some way but I wrote those posts because they're part of my interests and what I want to blog about.

I'm still new with pro-blogging and with SEO so I'm still experimeting here and there. I love the results that I'm seeing and I'm glad that I was able to help people through this blog. Yes, 1 of the main reasons why I have this blog still remains - to help people through sharing my own discoveries and tutorials.

So What If My Blog is Hosted by Blogger?
With Blogger, I don't really have to worry about setting up everything. I can go right ahead with blogging. And I don't think I need to host my own blog yet 'coz I don't make that enough money from it. I'm just doing it for fun, for myself. Anyway, Blogger has a lot of features that I love and I'm sticking with it.

Yeah, I bought my own domain 'coz I want to be more in control of my blog's URL. So what if others don't have their own domains yet or they don't have plans of buying one of their own? Not everyone feels it's necessary, especially when they're already getting a lot of visits from their target audience.

So What If My Visitor Count is Way Lower Than Yours?
Like what I mentioned earlier, I have around 14k visitors since August 2008. I'm pretty happy with what's happening, especially when people comment on my blog. I guess I really have a people pleaser kind of attitude 'coz I always find time to reply to comments left on my posts.

For some popular bloggers, 14k is their weekly visittor count or even daily for some. Not everyone is interested in the things I write about, and I understand that so I'm pretty happy with my visitor count. But, yes, I still check details about my visitors like where they're from, how they got here, what they were looking for and if they posted any comments.

If you check at the bottom of this blog, I don't have a Google PR and Alexa rank at all. I don't really know why. It started that way when I first put up my GoingUp! widget but I stopped worrying about it. People are still checking out my blog. And some of them were kind enough or found ads on my posts interesting enough to click on which led to my $14+ balance in Google Adsense. I'm pretty psyched about that even though I'm still $$ away from my first check from Google.


Isn't it funny that most of those who actually diss newbies like me are the ones who aren't that popular yet (some only in their dark minds)? And successful and popular bloggers like Abe of Yugatech are the ones that are actually nice and helpful to newbies or their visitors? I guess that's why they're successful and loved by many.

I hope that other bloggers, especially those who have prejudice or those who hate on others, will realize that the blogging community is a group of REAL people who have REAL feelings and brains, who will get hurt if you're not careful with your choice of words, and who will make mistakes and, just like in real world, have different personalities, principles, experiences, and decisions in life.

Respeto lang 'yan.



Image used:
Hate by MonchhichisLover

Left 4 Dead Crashing? Try These Fixes!

Me and Mai have been playing Left 4 Dead (L4D) for a week now and we've been having problems with it. The game randomly crashes so we have to start all over again, which is really irritating. I was thinking that maybe it has something to do with our video card but we tried it on our desktop PC with high-end graphics card and we had the same problem.

So, I searched online and found out different fixes that might help. I listed them below. Read on to know which one worked for us.

Note: For some, they were able to fix the problem even without doing all these. So, test the game first on every setting you change before you continue.

Step 1) Was DirectX properly installed?
First of all, if you just copied an installation of L4D, you have to update your DirectX 9.0c. It doesn't matter if you have DirectX 10 'coz there are files that needs to be downloaded that were just made available this year.

Step 2) Update drivers.
Make sure your graphics card driver is updated. For some people, updating their graphics card did the trick.

Step 3) Modify L4D settings.
For some, playing the game in Windowed mode and disabling Multicore Rendering solved the problem. So, here's how:

3.a.) Go to
Options -> Video -> Display Mode -> Windowed (No Border)
3.b.) After this, your L4D window will resize. You need to change the resolution to your preference by changing the Resolution setting.
3.c.) If you're still not satisfied with the screen size, change the Aspect Ratio.
Take note that you have to change Display Mode first before the other settings are made available under Aspect Ratio and Resolution.

On my laptop with widescreen (CQ40-340TU), my settings are:
Display Mode: Windowed (No Border)
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 16:10
Resolution: 1280x800

Now, even on Windowed mode, it feels like I'm playing it fullscreen.

3.d.) Still in Video settings, click on Advanced Settings -> Multicore Rendering -> Disabled

Step 4) Disable Core Queueing.

4.a.) You have to enable the console first.
Options -> Keyboard/Mouse Settings -> Allow Developer Console -> Enable
Now, whenever you need to type cheat codes or commands, just press the tilde (~) key.

4.b.) Go to the console and type:
mat_queue_mode 0

This is the one that worked for us.

That's all. I hope these fixes work for you. Please leave me a message here so I'll know which one worked and for others to know, too.

---

If this is the first time you've heard about Left 4 Dead, then, you're missing out big time! L4D is the Game of the Year!

I don't usually like First-person Shooter (FPS) games but I did enjoy Counterstrike, one of the earliest FPS games. Right now, me and Mai are also playing Special Forces (SF), an online FPS game. It's like Counterstrike but online.

The reason we started playing SF and L4D is to check out games that we're going to install and have available at our internet cafe. I'm glad I found L4D 'coz it's pretty awesome.

It's scarier than Counterstrike. You'll never know when you'll get attacked by a Hunter or Witch. You get to play one of the 4 survivors (I prefer Zoey, of course). It really has a shock factor that can make your heart skip a beat. We're also playing it online, through Garena. Hopefully, when our internet cafe is up and running, we'll get to play with more people. Woohoo!

For more information about Left 4 Dead, go to their site:
http://www.l4d.com

I heard that there'll be a Left 4 Dead movie soon. Hmmm... not really interested 'coz I don't like movies with zombies in it. Hehehe. Funny, right?

LogMeIn - Best Remote Management Tool - How to Setup

In a few days, we'll be opening up our internet cafe here in Cebu. One of the things that bothered me was how to check our desktop PC here at home remotely. What me and Mai are planning to do is to leave our desktop PC on so it can continue to download whatever or run certain applications that we want to stay on while we're at our computer shop. I know that a remote management application/software is what I need.

Okay, I'm starting to sound like this is a paid review or blog post but this isn't. Really. I was searching for the best remote management app and found out about LogMeIn.

Most of the reviews I read about the program were positive. So, I decided to try it out myself. I'm actually familiar with remote management tools since my previous account used something like it to help customers fix network problems. That said, I know what I'm looking for.

And I'm glad I found LogMeIn. They have 5 products that you can choose from but for me, LogMeIn Free with Remote Control only is more than enough for exactly my needs. This post is all about LogMeIn Free so if you want to know what the other packages offer - LogMeIn Pro, LogMeIn Rescue, LogMeIn IT Reach, RemotelyAnywhere - then check out this Product Comparison page.

It's so easy to set up LogMeIn on the PC you want to access remotely. And, you can access it ANYWHERE as long as you have a browser and internet connection. That said, the PC that you're trying to access remotely should have internet connection, too, for LogMeIn to work.

I'm gonna show you how I set it up. Let's say you have 1 desktop PC at home and you want to access it from your laptop anywhere.

Step 1:
First of all, you have to setup your home PC with LogMeIn.

• Go to their website: https://secure.logmein.com/ - and create an account with them.
  
  Note: Now, after signing up, close all your browser windows then open a new one to check your email to verify your account. Once that's done, go back to their site and log in.
  
  
• On the upper right hand of the site, you'll see a link to My Computers. Click it and it should give you a page like this:
  

click image to zoom in

I already have 2 computers set up when I took the screenshot so just ignore that.

Click on the + Add Computer link on the right side and it will download and install LogMeIn to your home PC. Just edit the settings to your liking.

IMPORTANT NOTE: During installation, it will ask you to setup an ACCESS CODE. This is VERY important since this is the code that you have to enter before you even get access to your home PC from your laptop. Do NOT forget it.

Step 2:
After LogMeIn has been setup on your home PC, make sure that it's enabled always. You can disable it when you're at home. Also, LogMeIn ensures your security from breaches and you can still run your firewall or anti-virus if you want. Our ESET firewall and anti-virus were on during the whole setup.

Step 3:
How to access your home PC remotely? It's very easy, too. I suggest you test it first.

- Make sure all browser windows on your home PC are closed.
- Go to your laptop and access their website and login again: https://secure.logmein.com/
- Click on the My Computers link and it should show you a page with your home PC's name listed. It should say "In Session" so you can access it.
- Click on your home PC's name and it will open up a page like this:

click image to zoom in
- Click on Remote Control. I suggest you open the link on a new window.
- Wait for the next page to load. It's trying to connect to your remote/home PC. After loading, it will ask you for your ACCESS CODE.
- After entering your code correctly, it will show you the screen below while loading your remote/home PC's screen. Just click on Continue and you're ready to control your remote PC!


- On your home PC, there'll be a popup message saying that the PC is currently being remotely accessed/controlled by someone at a certain IP or address:

You can close it if you want since it doesn't really do anything but notify anyone using the remote PC that you're trying to access it.

That's it! Well, you might experience some lag, especially when your graphics card isn't that high-end. But LogMeIn Free for me is the best remote management solution ever. I'm glad I found it.

Now, I can check on our home PC, stop downloads, reboot it or even shut it down. If I want to get a certain file remotely, well, I have to do it the old-fashioned way - email it to myself through a web-based email account like Yahoo! or Google Mail. But if it's a big file, can't do anything about it. I might decide to buy LogMeIn Pro if I want file management, too.

Finally, what's best with using LogMeIn is that you get the same customer support as the subscribed customers. It's really worth the money if you decide to pay for LogMeIn since it's very useful for people like me and Mai or people who are on the go.

Try it and tell me about your experience with it. From what I've read, IT people are using it to access client or customer PCs so they won't have to travel to fix or check on anything. You can even use this if you're at work and you want to access your home PC.

Try out LogMeIn now!


P.S.:
I had to remove our computer names and IP address for obvious reasons so pardon the screenshots.

American Idol 8 - Danny Gokey Eliminated - Final 2: Kris & Adam!

Yes, Danny Gokey is NOT in the Final 2 of American Idol Season 8. I'm ecstatic about the fact that it's not gonna be him and Adam Lambert in the finale even after everyone's raving about it and the judges' pimping.

Well, not really ecstatic. I think he's got a great personality and I actually laughed at his jokes on the show so I'll miss that. But even after that line I just typed, I'm still glad he's not in the finale.

I can't believe Kris Allen is in the finale. He's the major underdog this season with the least exposure among all of the contestants. Now, he'll be battling with Adam Lambert for the title of the 8th American Idol. Does he have a chance to win? Hmmm... considering the fact that he's in the finale without any pimping from anyone, I'll say he's got a BIG chance of winning it all.

Danny vs Kris
People are upset over Danny's elimination over Kris. C'mon, now, people. Kris has a BETTER voice than Danny, who's just lucky to have a husky full-on voice and that's all. Both Danny and Kris have made mistakes throughout the season. They both chose wrong songs for some weeks. Danny yelled most of the time. Kris creeps me out with his awkward falsetto. So, they're just equal to me when it comes to voice and performance quality.

They both tried to be original in the show and most of the time, it didn't work for them, especially Danny. He's just trying so hard that he's beginning to look desperate. And his performances this week are proofs of that.

I liked Kris' rendition of "Apologize". I'll say that his changing the arrangement worked! Not as good as the original, though. But it's a tough song to sing so I'm just glad he sounded good, especially during the a capella of his 2nd song. You can really feel the emotion of the song when Kris performs it. Unlike Danny who just yells the lyrics out most of the time.

They're both good-looking. Danny's ONLY plus over Kris is his personality. Kris is the irritatingly humble/nice guy. But I guess most of the voters, who I believe are mostly women, love Kris more because of his boy-next-door persona. If Simon didn't point out that Kris has a wife, he could've gotten more votes.

I really hope Kris will give it his all and choose very popular songs that he can belt out so the finale will be exciting. I have no doubts about Adam Lambert's performance coz I know he'll bring it all on.

By the way, do they really have to include a picture of Danny and his late wife on the farewell video?! C'mon.

Yeyy! Adam Lambert in the Finale!
After weeks of mixed emotions 'coz of fear that Adam Lambert will be eliminated a week or 2 short of the finale, he is Final 2! Wooohooo!! There's really no surprise 'coz he truly deserves to be in the last 2 to battle it out but I was just scared 'coz you don't really know what the viewers want. But I'm thankful the voters put him in the finale.

I didn't really like the songs performed by Adam this week but his voice is just amazing. I wonder why he hasn't been discovered before American Idol. He has real control of his voice and he's truly an artist. I'll be looking forward to his albums no matter what the result would be. He's truly a Rockstar!

Yes, I don't care now who'll win in the finale 'coz I'm fine with them 2. But, of course, I prefer Adam Lambert winning 'coz he's the only one who deserves it out of all the contestants this season. Like what I said in my previous posts, it'll be unfair if Adam Lambert doesn't win this season.

I can't wait for next week's Finale! Woohoo! Who do you think will win?!

---

Oohh... David Cook and David Archuleta of American Idol Season 7 are currently here in the Philippines for a concert on the 16th. Too bad they'll be performing in Manila - I'm here in Cebu. I hope I'll be able to catch David Cook's performance on Eat Bulaga this Saturday.

Argh. I hate that the local Idol franchise is with GMA-7. I hate that they're the TV network airing American Idol and organizing all these performances from American Idol contestants & winners. I know ABS-CBN can do a way BETTER job in organizing an event for something as major as American Idol.

Yes, I'm a Kapamilya. Nothing will change that.

Joan Rivers Wins Celebrity Apprentice 2 - WTF?!

Pardon my French but I just found out that Joan Rivers won The Celebrity Apprentice 2. What the fuck, Donald Trump?! Have you lost your mind?!?! Sheesh.

In my last post, I mentioned that there's something fishy about Joan coming back and her being in the Final 2. I bet Donald Trump made a deal with her to come back and promised she'll be in the finale. Well, scratch that. I bet Trump swore to name her the winner just for her to come back. Why?! Ratings, my dear.

I can't believe that Annie Duke was defeated by a self-righteous moron like Joan Rivers. C'mon! Professional? Annie took all the personal hits with diplomacy! Joan comparing Annie to Hitler?! That monster-faced Joan had been constantly attacking her fellow contestants personally and she set an example?!? What the hell were you thinking, Trump?!

Ooohh... I bet this is exactly the reason why Trump chose Joan Rivers. 'Coz he knew there'll be a lot of controversy and talk about his damn show.

Sheesh. Poor Annie Duke. She raised the most money even during the last task. They were saying Joan threw a better party or event but still, Annie outraised her by $300,000!! Didn't Trump point out multiple times throughout this season and even the last one that the competition is all about raising money?!? BULLSHIT!

Joan is not even close to how competent and professional Annie was throughout the competition so I completely don't understand this decision. Well, all I can say is... what do you expect? That's TV for you. It's not a REAL REALITY show.

What a dumb decision.

ANNIE DUKE, You're still the effing WINNER for me!

I really need to watch that last episode again. Argh. Mai won't watch with me 'coz she's upset about who won.

American Idol Season 8 – Final 3 – Adam Should Win!

I watched back this week's performance and results night of American Idol Season 8. I wanted to see the performances again to check if Kris Allen wasn't really that bad because he was safe this week, and why Allison Iraheta was voted out.

The only great performance this week was, of course, Adam's. No one topped his performance all night. Not even the other judges' favorite Danny Gokey. I knew Adam's gonna completely own this week, with the Rock theme and all. But he was just amazing, even with his duet with Allison Iraheta.

I really pity Allison. I believe that the only thing that got her voted out was her talking back to the judges. Alright, Simon loved it but America's not used to people talking back to those judges so that's why you got voted out. You should've shut up and just smiled. Don't they learn?!?! Remember, Anoop Desai?! Sheesh.

I really thought Allison's amazing performance with Adam was gonna save her. The duet between Danny and Kris SUCKED big time! I can't even believe it. I really hate Danny 'coz he was singing like he's the only one on-stage. He's not even looking at Kris throughout the song. I hate him.

And talking about Danny, his performance was hilarious! Excruciatingly hilarious. But when he told us his reaction after watching back his performance, he was so cute that I wanna kill him 'coz that's gonna earn him some votes again. Argh. I can't stand him but I know the judges and the producers want him and Adam in the finale. Argh.

Danny's a poker face, and a wannabe. Remember his Mariah Carey's "Hero" rendition? Remember David Cook's "Always Be My Baby" also by Mariah Carey? See the connection?! And this week's horrible performance, he showed that he was trying too hard to beat Adam when he's not talented enough. Sheesh.

Kris really sucked this week. Rock isn't really his thing. He's not as versatile as Adam. I didn't even remember him performing this week. Ack. But I'd rather have him and Adam in the finale than Danny. And Kris' nice boy-next-door personality is really killing me. I like him but he doesn't have star quality. I can't believe, though, that he's still in the competition. That fact was just amazing.

The performance by No Doubt and Daughtry were great! I missed seeing Gwen Stefani strut her stuff. And the video showing Chris Daughtry getting kicked off the show in the past season of American Idol reminded me of exactly how I felt when I was watching it live. But everything happens for a reason. If Daughtry won, he won’t have much control on what he wanna do – go back to being in a band – which proved to be his best move ever in his career. That’s what we call a blessing in disguise.

And, ohh, Paula’s performance. I haven’t really mentioned this but I was a big fan of Paula’s back in the days. Really. I used to dance along to her songs. I can’t really remember all them now but I can still remember my Nanay buying me my first Paula Abdul album (cassette). She’s still pretty agile for her age, huh. I’m really loving her this season. I hope she stays as well as she is now.

Anyway, I really hope Adam will be in the final 2. I'm also praying that he'll win because he's the only one who deserves the title. Him not winning was like watching a movie with all the main characters being killed in the end.

Can't wait for next week's performance and results night. I'm crossing my fingers for Adam Lambert!

Annie Should Be The Celebrity Apprentice - Joan & Melissa Rivers Suck!

Annie Duke should undoubtedly win this season of The Celebrity Apprentice. I wish she walked all over Joan Rivers in the final challenge. Can’t wait to watch the finale!

This is my first time blogging about The Celebrity Apprentice Season 2. It’s because I feel strongly for one of the contestants - Annie Duke. She’s been my fave Celebrity Apprentice since day 1. She's a very successful poker player and she showed how good a game player she is. She manipulated people and took control of the challenges for them to win. She raised the most money out of all the contestants and she's a hard worker. She's very smart. So, what other reason is there for her not to win?!

Joan Rivers, on the other hand, is a self-righteous bitch. I can''t find any other word to describe her but the B word. For the last few episodes of Celebrity Apprentice, she's been lashing out on other contestants who were throwing her daughter under the bus or putting her down. Joan, your spoiled brat bitch of a daughter should learn to stand up for herself without you. Sheesh. I understand that family first principle 'coz I'll do everything I can, too, to defend my family but do you really have to start personal attacks towards your fellow contestants? What a moron. Shows how well-educated she is, especially when she compared Annie to Adolf Hitler. Are you kidding me?!

Joan and Melissa Rivers just humiliated themselves and went right through Annie's web when they all freaked out after the spoiled bitch was fired. It was so funny I can't even believe it! Joan is so self-righteous, attacking Annie and Brande Roderick, calling them liars. As if Joan's not a poker faced liar in the game herself. She pretended to like her teammates but would talk smack when they're not looking. I can’t believe that they’ll resort to personal attacks when they have nothing else that makes sense to say. Their brains are just limited.

And, Melissa, it’s time you get over your experience in high school. You're no longer in high school and you're a freaking grown-up woman. Stop all that paranoia that there are mean girls everywhere ready to gang up on you. Move on and get rid of that insecurity. By the way, you're not as smart as your mother no matter how successful you've been. You'll always be a shadow of your mom because you’re a spoiled brat with no spine. Your mom got you where you are and she's a great comedienne. Stop blaming mean girls in high school for your being insecure today.

What's even funnier is the way Joan and Melissa dissed Annie for manipulating people. What?!?! The Celebrity Apprentice is not a place to make friends, to be nice to everyone and hope that you'll end up the winner in the end. Brande was right - it's all about raising money for charity, Joan. And why do you hate Annie for playing the game?!? Sheesh. It reminded me of the dynamics of the other reality show, Survivor. People in the final tribal council will always question or attack the strategy of someone who lied or manipulated people in the game to get to the finals. What the fuck?! If you want to win, you have to outwit people and get them voted out before you. Sheesh. Just like here in The Apprentice.

I love that Donald Trump chose Pierce Morgan (first Celebrity Apprentice) to interview the Top 4 to determine the final 2 because I know he'll be straightforward and won't hold back. And he did exactly that. I know he'll respect Annie's strategy and gameplay. The interview with Joan was just funny. It showed that she can't understand that it was a business game. Annie was great in the interview. I can't believe how fast she talks. She clearly should win this season.

I also admire Annie's restraint. Oh my gosh. I don't think I can even handle that much personal attack and not react. She's really a great poker player. And I don't agree with people who say that she's not nice. I believe she's kind and nice in real life and it shows by how much her friends love her, even her competitors in poker were all for her. Don't hate on her just because she's smarter than you are, Joan and Melissa.

I believe Annie is a very exceptional person. She’s got substance and drive to succeed in everything she does. Remember the jingle challenge?! I felt for her ‘coz that’s how I am, too, when I overcome a challenge that I thought I can never get through.

Joan saying that people hate Annie was just unjustifiable. Remember Phil Hellmuth, the ultimate competitor of Annie in the world of poker, who fellow Celebrity Apprentice contestant Natalie Gulbis called to fundraise against Annie? Phil called Annie to tell her what the other team was planning on her. Hahaha. That was just funny and embarrassing for Natalie, for me.

And remember how Annie went down on her knees and literally begged for her favorite charity during the auction challenge?! Joan was upset with her because she was forcing people to give money. What the fuck? Their auction was just horrible, by the way. It’s called strategy, Joan. Get a dictionary or something.

I also love Annie’s strong personality. People are scared to mess with her ‘coz you know that she’ll get back at you. But even if she’s that strong, you’ll see that her friends will go out of their ways to make her win. That shows how great a friend she is because I bet she’ll do the same for them. So all that smack Joan was saying about Annie is just hilarious.

Hah! I can't wait for the finale. I believe Trump paid Joan to return to the competition and they offered her at least Final 2. I knew Joan and Annie would be the Final 2. That's how Trump is - he'll go for the most controversial contestants in the end. I know Joan will do everything to crash Annie. I know Annie will do the same to defeat Joan. I really love her just like how I loved Pierce in the past season. Annie's more cut-throat than Pierce so I really love her. I admire her wits. I really hope she wins this all.

GOOD LUCK, ANNIE DUKE!

American Idol Season 8 - Final 3 - Allison Voted Out

I've been nervous since last week about who's going to get the boot this week on American Idol Season 8. Adam Lambert was in the bottom 3 last week and as a big fan of his, it kinda made me unsure if he'll even get to the Finale. Now, I'm just glad he's still around for the Final 3.

And another thing I'm so happy about is this week's theme - Rock 'n Roll. Exactly Adam's genre so I knew he'll be amazing. And he was.

Also, I knew Allison will do pretty well since she possesses the voice and style of a female rocker. But I agreed with Simon when he said that her duet with Adam Lambert just saved her another week. Well, not the being safe for another week since she's my only pick to get voted out this week, but that her duet with Adam was just amazing. Teaming them up together was like giving them unfair advantage over Kris and Danny. Hehehe. But I'm glad they sang together. I guess they were teaming up Danny and Adam with the lesser competitor. Argh. I hate the pimping.

Anyway, it's sad to see Allison go but there's no choice. Yes, she was voted out this week. I really hope Adam will be in the finale. I don't care who's with him as long as he's in the finale and he wins.

Gosh. Going back to Allison, she's a very talented teen so I know she'll score record deals and be really successful. Good luck to her! I'll miss her voice.

Thanks for the performances, Allison! Good luck to yah!

Can't wait for the finale!

Can Your Computer Run It? Test It Against System Requirements With This Tool!

I just discovered this very useful website while I was searching for the system requirements for Left 4 Dead - System Requirements Lab's Can You Run It Tool.

The description says it all. It'll test your system if it will pass the system requirements for a certain application or game. It's very easy.

Just select a product from the drop-down menu:

Then, it will install a Java Plugin or ActiveX that will check your computer's specs.
Afterwards, it'll give you the results if your computer passed or not.
Below are screenshots of the test results for our desktop computer for Left 4 Dead:



Really useful, especially when you're in the market for a new PC game.

Hmm... I'll try it on one of the PCs we're gonna setup on our internet cafe.

Try it yourself! Can You Run It?

I found this through PinoyDSL forums.

Ragnarok Mercenary AutoAttack AI - How To

Because of numerous complaints from those who were trying to download the revised ZenAI files, I have updated the links.

I've been getting a lot of visits because of this post. Please leave me a comment or 2 if this worked for you or not - that's all I'm asking.

If you've read my posts before, then, you know that I'm a Ragnarok Online addict. And, just a few months ago, we found out that it's way easier to level up using the Mercenary system. Oh, we're from Valkyrie server in pRO, by the way.

If you're not familiar yet with the Mercenary system in Ragnarok Online, I would really suggest you read this informational page from iRO. Basically, a Mercenary attacks for you so you won't have to. They're especially a big help to Acolyte and Mage classes.

When we first used a Mercenary, we thought it'll auto-attack immediately. When we found out it doesn't, we figured that the only ones that auto-attack are the higher grade Mercenaries. Yes, we didn't know yet about the AI so they can auto-attack. I've already figured out how to get it working the way I wanted to and I want to share it with others who don't know how to do it. And, yes, just recently, I found out that there are indeed some players who are still unfamiliar on how to get the Mercenary to auto-attack. And I've searched everywhere and nothing was specifically written on how to get them working. So, for the lazy ones, here yah go.

First of all, you have to know the basic controls of a Mercenary. To move them around, you have to press ALT then left-click on where you want them to go. If you want them to MANUALLY attack a monster, press ALT again and double-click on a monster. If you're like us who constantly run from summoned monsters in Moscovia, then, you'll be very used to controlling your character and your mercenary at the same time (almost). Hehehe.

Another thing. I believe that a lot of people enjoy summoning monsters at Mercenary-invaded areas because it's like using a non-3rd party bot in Ragnarok. So, if you haven't tried it yet, here's your chance. If you're from Valkyrie in pRO, I suggest go to Moscovia with a BOW Mercenary.

There are other types of Mercenaries - Spear, Bow and Sword. My favorite is the Bow Mercenary. This AI, though, works for all Mercenaries but I revised it especially for Moscovia tambays.

Step #1)
You need the AI files for your Mercenary to use its skills and to auto-attack. The one we're using is ZenAI.
I've already modified the Config_M.lua file so your Mercenary is ready to auto-attack. Download the revised ZenAI from here. (Updated link)

Updated: (5/21/2009) My mercenary AI was working great but my Alchemist's homunculus AI was messed up. So, if you're planning on having a mercenary and a homunculus, download my ZenAI revised edition II. (UPDATED LINK as of January 7, 2012)

Note: This was revised for use at Moscovia with a Bow Mercenary. The only skill that will work with a Bow Mercenary is Double Strafe because the rest are just waste of SP. I disabled other skills only for the Bow Mercenary. Anyway, you can manually use other skills such as Skid Trap and Magnificat.

You can read more information about ZenAI from here.


Step #2)
After downloading, unzip (using Winzip or Winrar) all the contents of the file (.lua files) to your Ragnarok Online USER_AI folder.
For example, if your Ragnarok client is installed in your Program Files, then, the folder should be:
C:\Program Files\Gravity\Ragnarok Online\AI\USER_AI
 

If it's not in Program Files, just search for the USER_AI folder. All files should go there. If it prompts you to overwrite, just press Okay or Yes.

Step #3)
After the files have been extracted, go login to Ragnarok. Type /merai (as in Mercenary AI) in-game. You should get a mesage saying that the Mercenary will use a custom AI or basic AI. Well, it doesn't really matter because we've already configured the AI.

Your Mercenary should auto-attack already. If it doesn't, I suggest you re-login and try it again. If it still doesn't, make it move away from you and when it goes back close to you, it should start auto-attacking all those monsters and you can just watch yourself levelling up like crazy (well, if you're at low levels hehehe).

Make sure you bring Mercenary Red and Blue Potions with you 'coz they'll be aggressive. If you want them to temporarily stop auto-attacking, just right-click on the Mercenary and select Standby.
In case you mistakenly placed the files in the WRONG FOLDER, here's my original AI files for you to copy. Download it here.
That's it! It's as simple as that. If it doesn't work for you, leave me a message or 2 and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Happy levelling!

Pacquiao vs Hatton - TKO in just 2 Rounds! Pacman wins!

Me and Mai are not really big boxing fans but we sure support our fellow Pinoy Manny Pacquiao. I guess everyone who's watched a boxing match in the past 2 years know him very well. I was able to watch 2 of his most popular or talked about fights in the past 2 years - against Juan Manuel Marquez (ex-WBC Super Featherweight Champion) and Oscar De La Hoya, the biggest name in boxing. He won over Marquez in a rematch and over De La Hoya in just 8 rounds. All I can say is Manny is loved by millions of boxing fans all over the globe because of his demeanor.

His latest fight, against Ricky Hatton (IBO Light Welterweight titleholder... now ex), got me and Mai pretty excited and scared at the same time 'coz we don't know what's gonna happen. Hatton has been bashing Pacquiao and most of the stuff I've read about him made me think that he actually has a shot to beating Pacquiao to a pulp. Damn, I was wrong.

Just a few minutes ago, the fight was over. It was short but soooo sweet for Pacquiao. He beat Hatton in just 2 FREAKING rounds! Hatton was down and hurt. HAH! Now, who's the damn cockroach?!? (edit: Hatton called Pacquiao a cockroach in an interview)

The fight was so exciting. In the first round, you'll see how eager both boxers are to win it. Manny surely showed what he's made of - he knocked Hatton down TWICE! Hah! It was pretty obvious that Hatton was NO MATCH to Manny's speed and agility. His strategy of blocking and hogging Manny's head was iritating but I knew Manny will adjust easily - and he did! He freaking did! This was the best fight I've ever seen of Manny. He truly showed his power.

By the way, before the fight, there were buzz about Hatton saying that Pacquiao's win over Oscar de la Hoya in December was like a man hitting a punching bag, that De La Hoya was a goner even before the fight. Hatton definitely underestimated Pacquiao's power. The only reason De La Hoya lasted for 8 rounds was because Manny allowed it. If only people listened to what he said after the fight when someone asked Manny why he didn't knock out De La Hoya earlier when he could've done it. He explained that he wanted people to enjoy the fight so he didn't cut it too short. Well, he definitely didn't push back with Hatton.

I guess Manny only showed Hatton and the world that he's the best fighter out there today. I guess he finished off Hatton to humiliate him in some way because of stuff that has been said about him. Hahahaha.

But it was a great fight. Short but sweet. Victory again to Pacman and the Pinoys! Wooohooo!

CONGRATULATIONS, MANNY PACQUIAO!

Related Links:
Manny Pacquiao's boxing record
Manny Pacquiao on Wikipedia
Manny Pacquiao's profile on HBO