Shopping for Furniture & Rugs

We went window shopping yesterday at SM Cebu. It was a long weekend for all of us since classes are closed today so we were able to really take our time. Well, actually, except for me and Mai since we still have to open our internet cafe today as we're expecting more customers.

Anyway, going back to our window-shopping, we were looking for new furniture and other things that we could add to our home here in Cebu. We went in a couple of furniture shops and found some things that we'd like to add to our home decorations.

While we were window-shopping, Mai and I saw a heap of area rugs right where you'd see curtains and bed sheets. I was checking out a couple of them and suggested to Mama (Mai's mom) that we buy 1 for the living room and 1 for the kitchen area. She said she wanted to buy furniture first before add-ons such as rugs and curtains.

On our way out to the parking lot, Mama saw this furniture shop that sells cheap rugs and we decided to check them out. We didn't really like the designs they have so we decided to postpone window-shopping for rugs since it's not yet on the top of our list.

At home, I found this site that sells rugs and I saw a few designs that I actually liked - Superior Rugs. I particularly liked their wool rugs designs, particularly this one. If only we can find that same design here.

How Badly Do You Want a Heroes of Newerth Beta Key?

Want to PRE-PURCHASE Heroes of Newerth but you don't have the money to do it?! Read this:
Want to Pre-Purchase Heroes of Newerth?!
You can earn that $30 online... and I'm not kidding! S2 Games is accepting Paypal payments for pre-purchasing!


Wow. My post on my Heroes of Newerth beta key giveaway on my blog generated a lot of visits and comments.

Based on the comments, I can see that most of them didn't actually read my instructions (lol). A couple of them didn't even know that I'm FEMALE and kept on referring to me as "dude", "sir", "man", etc.

But there were a few of them with very interesting explanations as to why they want the beta key and what hero they would like to play.

Again, please read my instructions on that post.

I got another 8 from 3 people who sent me an email - Thanks to Jorge, Mike (2nd time) and Jake (thanks, kabayan!).

I might give those last keys to 5 more lucky people just because I enjoyed reading them and the rest, I'd just give out randomly on my blog *grin*.

So, the total count would be 35 if I decide to do that - 10 exclusively to blog subscribers, 10 on my blog, and 15 to people who posted 09n33tx2bgsng93 the most interesting comment.

I know the #s are limited but if you really want the beta key, it's worth taking a shot 'coz you might win it or some people might not see it before you do. LOL

Heroes of Newerth Beta Giveaway Right Here on my Blog!

Want to PRE-PURCHASE Heroes of Newerth but you don't have the money to do it?! Read this:
Want to Pre-Purchase Heroes of Newerth?!
You can earn that $30 online... and I'm not kidding! S2 Games is accepting Paypal payments for pre-purchasing!

UPDATE: I disabled the comments section because this beta key giveaway is already closed. I already sent out the beta keys so stop leaving comments everywhere.

Also, 2 people just gave me back their keys and I will send out these 2 keys to the others that I picked as the 31st and 32nd most interesting post.

Due to popular demand of Heroes of Newerth beta keys, I will be giving out FREE keys to

30 LUCKY VISITORS

of my blog. (5 more beta keys were given to me by 2 visitors of my blog. Thanks, Mike & Charlie!)

However, it's not going to be that easy for you to get it. I had to ask friends and people I know who are currently playing and who pre-purchased the game to give me their extra beta keys for this so you need to do something for me, too.

See the Subscription form at the top of my sidebar? You have to subscribe to my blog. Why? Well, here are the reasons:

1) I will start giving out the beta keys once the # of subscribers to my blog reaches 150. Yes, just 150. So, start subscribing now!

2) I will give out 10 of the 25 beta keys EXCLUSIVELY to my blog subscribers.

Aside from that, I'll be giving out 10 more beta keys to those who would do all of the following:
- leave a comment on this post explaining why you want that beta key
- tell me which HoN hero you want to play and why (check out the guides here)
- leave your email address

I will pick 10 lucky commenters and will send the beta keys through their email. Again, this will only happen when my blog subscribers reaches 150.

The remaining 10 beta keys will be posted here on my blog so keep posted for that, too.

What are you waiting for? Subscribe and comment away!

REMINDER: After entering your email address in the subscription box on the right, you STILL have to CONFIRM the subscription by checking your email and following the instructions given by Feedburner. Otherwise, your subscription won't be added to the # on the right.

Entrecard Update : No More Credits for Receiving a Drop

The Entrecard team sent an email to their users today about another major change with their Entrecard service - starting on September 1, 2009, only the dropper will get a credit. This is their way of solving the inflation within the Entrecard system.

My first reaction was "uh-oh". Why? 'Cause I can barely drop everyday so I won't get that much credits when this is implemented. But, come to think of it, I can still get credits from advertisers on my blog.

If you look at the bigger picture, this is actually just fair. Why? Because those people who are simply lazy to visit other Entrecard users' blogs/websites and drop daily won't be getting any credits anymore from those who visit their site.

Now, some people might disagree that this is just fair. Some might say, "How about those who get a lot of traffic from Entrecard users but they just can't religiously drop everyday?" Well, you can still get credits from those who'd advertise on your blog. This will actually make the Entrecard service more useful because this time, people will actually go and visit your blog to earn credits.

I've earned a lot of credits from Entrecard droppers to my blog. I'm actually putting back my Top 10 Entrecard droppers monthly to gain more visits from people. Now, I know this won't be enough. So, I'll be starting to drop at least 10 daily. I'm busy but I'd be spending time to do that, at least 10 drops.

Yes, at least 10. I don't want to set my goal to something higher, considering my previous Entrecard drop records. As much as I wanted to drop more, I usually get sucked in by wonderfully written blogs, very interesting concepts and contents. I still got a lot of bloggable discoveries but I haven't found any time to blog about them yet. I hope that with that number - 10 - I can do better.

So, how about you? What do you think about this change in the Entrecard system?

My Blog's First Anniversary!

I cannot believe it (lol). It's been ONE YEAR since I started this blog. Well, actually, my first post was on August 1st last year so I'm a bit late but still...

HAPPY FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO MY BLOG!!
* LOLz *

A lot has happened since last year. And I mean A LOT. People are actually reading and visiting my blog. And I've helped a lot of people with my tutorials, too. Aside from that, I had first-hand experience on how powerful blogging is.

The last traffic update that I posted here on my blog was back on April 3rd, '09. At that time, I had 6,500+ visitors and I was pretty happy with that number. Really, I was.

Now, if you scroll down to the bottom of this page, you'd see that I already had 39,873+ visits since last year (as of this writing). Whoa! 30,000+ visits for a 4-month period. That's an achievement for me. I never thought I'd hit the 30,000 mark in a few months but I did. And I'm pretty happy with that because I still got to post what I wanted to post and I got to help and meet a lot of people online.

On my second year, I've got a long list of things I want to accomplish through my blog. And, I've got big plans, too, for myself in this blogosphere. Some are already in the works, while others are still on my To-Do list. I'm really crossing my fingers that I get to do all these before 2009 ends. Here goes...

• I'm currently working on my blog about making money online. If you have seen my PTC Site reviews blog, then, you'd know that'll be a big part of my new blog PLUS all tips and other online money-making programs. It's a must-see, I tell you.
  
• I will be starting my own graphics design blog. It will feature all my works, and, of course, tips and tutorials, especially on photo editing. I'll also start designing digital scrapbook elements/kits. I already have started designing but I don't want to spoil it just yet. I'll start giving them out for free so I hope you stay tune for that.
  
• This blog BADLY needs a new layout and theme. I actually started drafting the new layout but I haven't finished it yet. I'm hoping I get that done before my birthday (in October).
  
• I'll start offering advertisement on my blogs for very low rates. This will happen once I get my new layout or theme up.

That's it for now. I still have a lot of things on my list but I don't want to overwhelm myself and end up not doing anything. Hehehe.

To everyone who visited my blog and keeps on visiting my blog,
a big THANK YOU
and I hope you keep coming back.

*MWUAHUGZ*

Scrolling Comments on Blogger - A Tutorial

A fellow blogger (Hayley), who found my tutorial on how to setup a Scrolling Blogroll on Blogger (that you can edit), requested for a tutorial on how to setup Scrolling Comments for Blogger. After a couple of testing, I successfully got it working.

You can check this out in action at my testing area or go ahead and check the comments section at Hayley's photoblog (she takes amazing photos, btw).

This is extremely useful for people who want their pages to be compact or for those who use a very tight blog theme or layout.

So, how do you configure your comments section to scroll? Well, we might not have the same lines of codes in our templates as we use different ones. But, it's easy to find what you need to edit. Here's how to do this...

Step 1:
Make sure you save or backup your current template first.
Layout -> Edit HTML -> Click on Download Full Template link.
Save it anywhere on your computer, just in case there's an error when you try to implement this.

Step 2:
Look for this line of code on your template:

id='comments-block'

Most probably, you'd find 2 sets of this code. Now, look for the one that doesn't follow any code that has BACKLINKS in it.

For instance, on my blog's template, I found 2 sets of id='comments-block', highlighted in yellow:

<b:includable id='backlinks' var='post'>
<a name='links'/><h4><data:post.backlinksLabel/></h4>
<b:if cond='data:post.numBacklinks != 0'>
<dl class='comments-block' id='comments-block'>
<b:loop values='data:post.backlinks' var='backlink'>
<div class='collapsed-backlink backlink-control'>
<dt class='comment-title'>

AND this one:

<dl id='comments-block'>
<b:loop values='data:post.comments' var='comment'>
<dt class='comment-author' expr:id='data:comment.anchorName'>
<a expr:name='data:comment.anchorName'/>
<b:if cond='data:comment.authorUrl'>
<a expr:href='data:comment.authorUrl' rel='nofollow'><data:comment.author/></a>
<b:else/>
<data:comment.author/>

So, the one that I need to edit is the one that doesn't follow any backlinks code (check the codes in red).

Step 3:
Simply add the following code after id='comments-block':

style='overflow: auto; display: block; overflow-x: no; overflow-y: scroll; height: 150px; width:670px;'

The ones highlighted in green can be edited, depending on your preference.

The finished line of code should look something like this:

<dl id='comments-block' style='overflow: auto; display: block; overflow-x: no; overflow-y: scroll; height: 150px; width:778px;'>

IMPORTANT NOTE: You're NOT supposed to DELETE anything. You only need to add the code I mentioned on Step 3, okay?

SAVE SETTINGS.

Step 4:
Make sure your Blogger settings are correct:

Check if Post Pages is ON:
Settings -> Archiving -> Enable Post Pages? -> Set this to Yes
If you can't change this setting (it's grayed out), then, skip to Step 5.

Make sure your Comment Form is embedded below your post when visitors open your blog posts pages:
Settings -> Comments -> Comment Form Placement -> Embedded below post

Then, SAVE SETTINGS.

Step 5:
If you still can't see any comment form below your post after you've followed Step 4, then, you need to manually place a comment form below your blog post. Here's how:

Step 5.A:
Look for these lines of codes:

<b:if cond='data:post.commentPagingRequired'>
<span class='paging-control-container'>
<a expr:class='data:post.oldLinkClass' expr:href='data:post.oldestLinkUrl'>
<data:post.oldestLinkText/>
</a>
<a expr:class='data:post.oldLinkClass' expr:href='data:post.olderLinkUrl'>
<data:post.olderLinkText/>
</a>

<data:post.commentRangeText/>

<a expr:class='data:post.newLinkClass' expr:href='data:post.newerLinkUrl'>
<data:post.newerLinkText/>
</a>
<a expr:class='data:post.newLinkClass' expr:href='data:post.newestLinkUrl'>
<data:post.newestLinkText/>
</a>
</span>
</b:if>

If you don't see this whole block on your template, simply use the highlighted keywords in blue.

If you find it, right after this block, paste the following lines of codes:

<p class='comment-footer'>
<b:if cond='data:post.embedCommentForm'>
<b:if cond='data:post.allowNewComments'>
<b:include data='post' name='comment-form'/>
<b:else/>
<data:post.noNewCommentsText/>
</b:if>
<b:else/>
<b:if cond='data:post.allowComments'>
<a expr:href='data:post.addCommentUrl' expr:onclick='data:post.addCommentOnclick'><data:postCommentMsg/></a>
</b:if>
</b:if>
</p>

SAVE SETTINGS.

That's it!

Now, if you encounter any problems implementing this on your blog, feel free to leave me a comment below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I'd love to hear from you, too, if you got this working on your blog. A simple "thank you" would mean a lot. :)

How to Get Heroes of Newerth Beta Keys + Info

Want to PRE-PURCHASE Heroes of Newerth but you don't have the money to do it?! Read this:

Want to Pre-Purchase Heroes of Newerth?!
You can earn that $30 online... and I'm not kidding! S2 Games is accepting Paypal payments for pre-purchasing!


Me and my partner Mai have been gamers for the longest time. Heck, we even met through an online game. And now that we partly own and manage an internet cafe here in Cebu, we became more updated and into both online and offline games.


And, just recently, we found out about Heroes of Newerth. If you're not familiar with this game, ever heard of DoTA? That very popular map/game on Warcraft Frozen Throne engine? Well, people from S2 games got Icefrog's (developer of DoTA) permission to design a game based on DoTA.

Almost all of the heroes in Heroes of Newerth (HoN) were based on DoTA heroes, only they have different names and there were tweaks here and there. I especially like the convenient way of acquiring or buying items as you won't have to keep in mind the recipes or requirements for each item you need, especially when you're playing a Random Hero game.

Heroes of Newerth is currently on Closed Beta testing (CBT) and thousands of people, non-DoTA and DoTA fans, got their beta keys and accounts activated. We, fortunately, got 1 beta key from a co-LAN shop owner at a forum (thanks ohjomz!). But, we still need at least 10 more so all our computers at our cafe would have HoN and all our customers can start playing the game.

If you haven't seen the game yet, go checkout their site: Heroes of Newerth.

Now, if you're here wondering where you can get your own Heroes of Newerth beta key, let me tell you that currently, NO ONE will give you any beta key for free (easily, at least) because of many reasons.

1. They already used up all the keys or given it to someone else.
2. They are asking money for it. Damn it, they got it for free and they want us to pay for it? Don't fall for these losers. They can keep their beta keys for themselves.
3. They just want to keep it for themselves just because...
4. Most of the game sites who were given beta keys by S2 already gave out all their beta keys.

So, if you're dying to get one, here are a few things you should try:

2 Ways to Get a Heroes of Newerth Beta Key:
1. If you already have a Facebook account, then, go to their Facebook page - Heroes of Newerth @ Facebook - and be a fan. They give out free beta keys when they reach a certain # of fans. They gave out free keys when they hit the 30,000+ fans so let's cross our fingers they'll be giving out more. Make sure you come back to their page from time to time for announcements as they only gave a 36hour period last time to get beta keys.

UPDATE: They already started giving out the beta keys yesterday. If you haven't requested for yours, CLICK here.
Only 1 per IP address is allowed.
As of this writing, there are still 28,310 beta keys up for grabs! Good luck & see yah in-game!

Update (08/29/09): Sorry, gamers. No more beta keys. All 75,000 beta keys were given out. I'm not sure if they'd be giving out more in the future or what but I hope you can get them somewhere.

Well, because of the demand for it, I will be giving out a couple of them here on my blog. So, keep posted by subscribing to my blog through the form on the sidebar.
A couple of my friends got their hands on a beta key and some pre-purchased so they were giving me the beta keys for me to give out. So, watch out for it from this week til next.
For more details on how you can get your hands on a beta key from my blog, read this post.


2. Google for game sites who give out beta keys to their forum members. I found Alienware Arena but right now, they're out of beta keys. I bookmarked their page just in case. :)

Again, DO NOT PAY for any beta key. Most probably, they'll just scam you of your money.

Going back to the game itself, right now, there's no other option but to play the game ONLINE. Yes, you won't need to type any IP addresses or join Garena to play Heroes of Newerth online. All you need is your account, that's it! There are thousands of players online and so far, we haven't experienced any lag or slow gameplay.

My partner Mai is the only one playing the game now 'coz we've only got 1 Heroes of Newerth beta key. So far, she seems to be really enjoying it. I wish I can play with her, though. Ack.

Okay, let me list some things that I love about HoN and why I think I'll start playing this game.

Reasons You'd Love Heroes of Newerth:
1. The GRAPHICS! Are you kidding me?! It's like DoTA in steroids! Okay, that's a cliche right there 'coz I've seen a lot of people using that to describe HoN. But, just look at the videos. It's really a graphics-driven game and you need to make sure your computer can take the heat (literally).
2. Leave counter. Yes, now, you can't just abandon your team and leave the game as it will affect your standing and you can't join some rooms where Leavers are banned from entering.
3. When you accidentally lose your internet connection during the game, you can still go back to your unfinished game. Yes! Nice, right?
4. It's very easy to shop for items that you need, like what I mentioned earlier. You won't have to remember item requirements and just enjoy the game.
5. Very easy to join games. And, there are a lot of players to play with (ack, redundant).
6. Their GUI is very easy to navigate. You even have a friends list.
7. New heroes, of course. I want to start playing Ophelia... once I get my hands on another beta key.

A lot of DoTA addicts were complaining that HoN gameplay is not as balanced as DoTA. C'mon, guys. That's why HoN is in Beta testing! So you gamers can give them feedback on what they need to improve.

If you need more information on Heroes of Newerth, the gameplay, the characters/heroes, you can also visit this HoN guides website - Heroes-Newerth.com

I wonder how this game will be setup once it opens to the public. Will players need to pay a 1-time fee to play or they need to buy a license? Or will it be a free-to-play game where the developers and publishers earn money from those who'll load up... but for what? LOLz. That's a question that I want to be answered.

For now, if you happen to have an extra Heroes of Newerth beta key, can you give me one? Please?! My email address is.... (I already got HoN beta keys).

Hope to see you all in-game!

So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 Winner - Jeanine Mason

The votes are in and So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 Winner was crowned:

Jeanine Mason

Wow. I was surprised to find out that she won this season. Imagine, she started with Philip Chbeeb, the very popular pop-locker from past seasons who finally made it to semi-finals this season. People were thinking that Philip was the one pulling her up the rankings but damn, her winning is just a proof that Philip was the one pulling her down when they were in the bottom 3 couples.

Jeanine was my second choice amongst the girls when Janette Toral was still in the competition. Jeanine is sexy, seductive, playful and very versatile. She's the complete package - gorgeous, sexy, talented and with great personality. Her winning was a surprise 'coz I thought Evan or Kayla might win over Jeanine and Brandon this year. I'm glad that didn't happen.

We didn't really recognize how great Jeanine was 'til Philip was eliminated. My gosh, she can do any kind of dance! Too bad Janette was voted out before the finale. I would've loved to see Jeanine and Janette in the Final 2. Instead, we got Kayla. Argh.

I don't like Kayla even though she's an amazing dancer. I feel like she doesn't have the heart to really dance or perform the choreography given to her. People, me included, are just amazed by her technical ability as a dancer but I don't feel any warmth when she dances. Unlike when Jeanine, Melissa or Janette dances. And Kayla's not good with partnering. She doesn't really help her partner look good. She seemed to dance just for herself, not with her partners.

Evan. Ugh. He ended up on third place. Well, I'm just so happy he didn't win. I thought he'd win people over with his "personality". Good thing people voted for the most versatile and fun dancer in the competition.

Brandon. Well, I love, love, love him. I'm SOOOO glad he's 2nd place. I wanted him or Jeanine to be in the Final 2 after the Final 4 were revealed. He's a better dancer than Jeanine, though, but I guess people loved Jeanine's personality more. But, Brandon proved to Mia, Lil C and everyone else that he's a truly versatile dancer. I wish him good luck with his career. I'd love to see him dance again.

I'm pretty happy with this season's results. Jeanine fits the title very well - America's Favorite Dancer. I just love her!

Can't wait for Season 6! Woohoo!

All About Custom Writing & Research Papers

After 2 days of helping my brother fix his computer through remote control, we finally got it working. He was so worried that he won't be able to finish his last requirement, a term paper, before he graduates from Nursing - a research assignment about the top diseases that led to morbidity and mortality in our country from 2008 up to this year. He only had 2 days to finish it and, unfortunately, his computer crashed Wednesday afternoon and we only got it working last night. Their deadline was today, Friday.

It reminded me of my high school and college days. We had a lot of writing assignments - essay custom writing, research papers, etcetera. I do love writing and doing my own research but the time it took to finish our writing assignments was crazy. And, back in high school and when I was in UP, our professors were very strict with the construction of everything, and they're very particular with the contents, where you got your information, and even with the layout of the whole research paper! If only I had some custom writing help, I could've saved a lot of energy and still get really good scores.

While I was reminiscing about my experience with completing research paper requirements back when I was still studying, I found Custom Writing's website. They offer professional research and writing services in any field of study - may you be taking up an IT course, Psychology or even Nursing. I was browsing their site and read more about what they offer. I like the part where they only allow qualified and highly-educated professionals to write your essay for you depending on the subject of your term or research paper. Well, that's an assurance that your essay or term paper won't sound like it came from a robot. I remember when I was given a task by my English professor back in college to help him check and grade research papers from his other class. And, I tell you, most of the essays were like copied and pasted from a website and the person didn't even exert effort to make it sound like it was a custom written essay or that he did it himself. Just by looking at the testimonials and sample paper on Custom Writing's website, I can tell that their customers were happy with their service and those who they'll hire would really take time to come up with a quality term or research paper for you.

I wish I had that kind of custom writing help back when I was in college. At least, I wouldn't have to worry about deadlines as they can write and finish your research paper in 3 to 12 hours. Imagine just focusing on your upcoming exam while Custom Writing professionals are writing your last research paper requirement for you. They also offer 24/7 live support so customers can contact them anytime. They even offer unlimited revisions so customers still have full control over their work. Nice, huh?

Going back to my brother, he was able to finish his research paper but had to come to class with no sleep. Poor him. I wish I could've helped him more.

Good luck to your last requirement/project, Kenneth! Keep me updated, okay? Me and Mai already booked our tickets for your graduation!

So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 Week 8 - Goodbye Ade and Melissa

I feel disgusted with So You Think You Can Dance Season 5's Final 4. Ugh. Evan, in the Final 4?! Sheesh. He's like Twitch from last season - but worst. At least Twitch has a goofy personality. Evan? He's got no personality and not much talent. So why the hell is he still in the competition?

Melissa and Ade got eliminated this week. It's really sad to see Ade go 1 week short of the Finale. ARGH! I wanna see more of him! Sheesh.

I just hate Evan's face. He's the only one who doesn't deserve to be in the finals. *Sigh*

I wish Brandon or Jeanine wins this year. I don't like Kayla - she's like Katie and Sabra from the past 2 seasons.

We need more entertainment for the finals! With Ade and Janette gone, the finale's gonna be a bore.

Look at them! Argh. Hayy....