The 5.4 Southern California Earthquake

What were you doing when the 5.4 intensity earthquake hit? We were in a conference call, we all basically got up and left when the building started moving. Our office building is on rollers so we might have felt it harder than others. People were busy looking for tables to go under. After the ground stopped moving, our boss walked back to the phone and told the person on the line what had just happened.

When it stopped, we all tried to call our loved ones. Our landline was dead, Sprint could not process calls through. My boss offered me a ride home and I was glad to see that our place was in tack, just a few skewed wall art, but nothing major.

It was scary there for a while, but as my husband said, we've had it harder in the Philippines (although I've never been hit hard in a building on rollers before so the experience was unique).

The LAFD twitter feed had information about it. A lot of people communicated via twitter for updates. This helped in decongesting the phone traffic. Wow! Web 2.0 applications are getting more useful everyday. Keep up the good work!

What other social media applications would you find useful in an emergency?

Brandstreaming: It Takes Content

Yesterday the word of the day was brandstreaming. Pheedo defined brandstreaming as "a consistent flow of content created by a brand". It claims there is a clear trend that "Content is being accessed and read not directly from its published websites, but through content aggregators." Pheedo quoted a Universal McCann report saying that 53% of online users are getting content outside of a publisher's site through widgets, RSS readers, social networks and mobile devices. The statistics emphasize the fact that companies need to invest in applications that place their content outside their sites and into the different platforms available for distribution in the world wide web.

Read Write Web in their brandstreaming article Richard MacManus states that brandstreaming is probably going to work best for consumer brands that have a high lifestyle appeal, which is true for brands like Apple and Sony. I think it will work best for brands with quality content.

Hulu just launched its new widgets offering, which will get the Hulu brand out into the world wide web, into RSS readers, social networks and its users' websites. At the same time for those who provide content for Hulu like the TV shows - it is a chance to get their loyal fans to promote their brand using the Show Widget. And people on the world wide web will use these widgets because they love the content in Hulu.

Another brand that uses these brandstreaming concept well is National Geographic. It was even featured by one of the speakers who made their widgets in a conference for advertisers regarding online media. Because of their great multimedia content like photos and videos they were able to produce widgets that put their brand all over the web.

So will only brands that publish their own content succeed in brandstreaming? NO. I think Gather has the best example of how brands can get into social networks. In the screenshot above, that is the group page for Westin in Gather, which encourages members to post vacation articles, photos and videos. Simultaneously putting their brand in front of people who love taking vacations. Brilliant, huh?

Brandstreaming is not a new concept, it's just a new term. All it takes to put your brand out there is a little creativity and a lot of hardwork making content. Good luck and hope this article was helpful!

California Government Agencies on Twitter & YouTube

Griffith Park had a brush fire, which started around 20 hours ago and the LA Fire Department reported that there were 25 acres affected in their last Twitter. Yes, the LA fire department has a twitter feed - every time they respond to a call, they post a tweet - and they post updates too! I think it's very informative.

They are not the only one on Twitter, Governor Arnold Scwharzenegger of California, is posting his own tweets. His tweets describe his speaking engagements and grants or bills he signed that day. It's an ongoing press release - I think this is a brilliant use of Twitter technology.

And our state government doesn't stop there, they are also on YouTube! The California government has discovered these cost effective Web 2.0 technologies that they can utilize to reach their constituents where they are - and a lot of Americans are now online.

I think another helpful site that law enforcement agencies should support is CrimeReports. You type in a location and it gives you the most recent crimes that have happened there. Imagine if you need to go on a trip and you're not very familiar with the area you are visiting. If you see that a lot of crimes have occurred there, then you will know to be extra careful when you visit. It's a great tool for travellers and people who constantly need to go on business trips all over the US.

In these times when budget is low, maybe more of our government agencies can use tools available for free online to connect with their constituents - it can be an alternative to costly TV advertising or print. The internet is an information channel and a lot of government agencies need to get these information out to the people - most of which are online. So the Web 2.0 technologies can be the next step in budget reduction alternatives.

Keep up the good work! I hope this article inspires our leaders to take a good look at online technologies to help you in your governance.

Great Energy Saver - Says Guilty Waster

Did you know that even when not in use, when your power cables are plugged they use up electricity? I think it was in Live Earth that I read about this and for a few weeks tried to unplug all power cables that I wasn't using. But because I end up losing my chargers or entangling my power cables when I unplug them I am often still guilty of leaving my power cables plugged even when I'm not using them - and this hanger for power plugs from Designer Paulo Oh is so brilliant I would definitely buy one for every socket in my home when they produce it. The concept is so simple yet so useful - and energy-saving on top of everything!

It will encourage you to unplug more often knowing that your power cable will not get entangled or lost in the maze of cables in our highly gadgetized world.

Great idea, Paulo Oh! Please mass produce this

clipped from gizmodo.com

StumbleAudio: Great Design

StumbleAudio is a great website to find music. I love this site's simple interface! It made the audio player look great - this is one of the things I had pondered about before - how do you make an audio site look good on the web. I have been to websites for radio stations and social networks that revolve around music, but those sites had looked so busy, they actually did nothing to encourage me to come back.

StumbleAudio, with its simple audio player on a flash carousel that one would often use for images hit the mark in terms of classy simplicity. You go to the site and your eye is drawn to the audio player and nowhere else. Each channel is one player on the carousel - clean and clear - no flying images across the page here! You can give the music a thumbs up or down by clicking the icon beneath the player. You can purchase the music from the links on the side of the player and share it with friends. The design just fits so well together in its stark simplicity. I think this, by far, is the best audio player I've seen on a website as yet.

It doesn't work too well on slow connections, but we are in the age of DSL and cable that shouldn't be much of a problem. Great job, StumbleAudio! Does your designer freelance - by any chance?

Upgrading Yourself Thru Cisco Certification

When I took my masteral courses in Information Technology, we were introduced to network security and designing computer networks. We learned about network design, how routers are different from switches and storage. The MS Information Technology course I took was designed to train us to be IT project managers and CTOs. And most of the career opportunities for IT leadership positions do require you to know a lot about networking and security.

I’m a Sr. Web Programmer, my career path - if I only develop my programming skills - would take me to Sr. Software Architect. My MS IT from 2003 needs a bit more updating if I want to climb the corporate ladder to positions like IT director or CTO. I have to brush up and acquire Networking and Security certifications to make me a strong candidate for these positions because these are the areas where I don't have much experience in.

When it comes to networking, Cisco is a formidable name. Cisco is a market leader in networking and security and offers great Cisco certification courses. They offer three levels of certification: (1) associate for learning the foundation of the courses, (2) professional for the advanced certification and (3) expert, which is the highest level of certification. You can choose from six different paths: (a) Routing and Switching; (b) Design – which I would probably need if I want to move into that leadership position in the future; (c) Network Security – which I think is a thoroughly exciting course; (d) Storage Networking; and (e) Voice – which might be good to look into because of the popularity of VOIP networks nowadays.

I read a feature article a couple of days ago about the careers that most likely will not be affected by the recession and IT careers are on top of that list – sales is the only other career not in the IT field that was mentioned. Investing on a Cisco certification might just give you a little bit more security in these hard times.

LiveEdit vs. Photoshop Lightroom

Earlier this week I learned about an online digital image management application called LiveEdit. The suite is made up of an editing module, a retouching module, an archiving module and an image sharing+selling module. You upload your images and your editors can then rate it, choose the better shot, change frame colors, make contact sheets and create layouts. You can then retouch your images and compare the retouch with a previous version. LiveEdit organizes your photos so that it is easy to navigate through them. And when your photos are ready you can now share or sell them in the same application. A basic photographer's package costs $395 per year for 2GB of storage space - this package is for low resolution images.

Ok, now that we know what it is let's review its features. They were very vague in describing what the retouching module can do. I'm a big fan of Photoshop and if the retoucher falls short of what Photoshop can do it would be very disappointing for me. Like Photoshop you are able to retouch your images one at a time only - I usually take hundreds of photos at a time, especially at events or while sightseeing and it takes me hours to edit my photos so that they are of approximately similar quality, group retouching is a big feature for me. Archiving is a great feature and being able to share and sell it in the same place is wonderful! I'm not such a big fan of its price though. Storage space is cheap now, 2 GB does not seem like a lot of space to me for the price being charged.

I think I prefer Photoshop Lightroom. It has all the tools and tricks of Photoshop plus you can group retouch! It then has a tool that formats your images into a presentation for print, slideshows and websites. I think it is important to have your own website if you are a professional and your work should be in your own site, not somebody else's. Photoshop Lightroom makes this possible and saves you lots of time. Because I do enjoy taking photos more than editing them.

In this round, Photoshop Lightroom is the winner for me!

Fakebook Faux Pas

This headline jumped out at me from my daily Google Alerts email. Fakebook Sues German Social Network Site it claimed. I thought there was an actual website that maybe spoofed Facebook called Fakebook! But everywhere else in the article, it was spelled correctly, they were actually referring to Facebook. It was just the headline spelling that they missed.

Well, if their intent was to get more readers, they hooked me. I used to work as a copy editor and was a schoolpaper editor before that, I tend to notice things like these. Just a little constructive criticism here - I know deadlines can be tough, but it's always good to read your story thoroughly before hitting the publish post button.

Priceline vs. Hotels.com: Group Bookings

I am looking into the possibility of booking hotel rooms for our church group and because I've used them before to book my own vacations I decided to see what Priceline and Hotels.com had to offer in terms of group reservations. Both sites were very helpful actually.

Priceline asks you to type in your reservation requirements and then broadcasts them to over 94 hotels in the location I chose. It asked for the maximum price I would consider per room, I put in a reasonable price thinking hotels would bid below that to catch my interest. They didn't.

Hotels.com assigned an actual person to handle my request and then emailed me the hotels who actually bid below my maximum price, which was what I was expecting from Priceline as well. But the email Hotels.com sent me did not have a link to information about the hotels so I had to search for the hotels individually to find out what they looked like or what their amenities were. My representative instructed me to call him once I was ready to book my rooms. The only problem was I had to pay the full price of the group booking 30 days before we actually check in - and for a fundraising initiative this is hard to meet - considering I'm on a very short timeline.

I still haven't decided on the hotel we will book or what service I will use for the reservation, but I thought this would be a helpful review for all of you planning your summer outings or family get-togethers. This is the first time I've done this so feel free to give me tips on group reservations. Have fun and stay safe!

Team Captains Needed in the Fight Against Alzheimer's

My father-in-law had Alzheimer’s before he died. He used to be a brilliant lawyer in our country and there were moments when I caught a glimpse of the man he used to be when he told me about the war he fought in – he was a World War II veteran – or my husband’s scrapes when he was younger. It was hard to see his mind deteriorate like that. There would be days when he would just take a walk and forget how to get back home so he needed to flag a policeman to ask them to bring him home. Sometimes he would forget that his wife told him she would just be in the restroom and he would go out to look for her and would be very angry because she did not tell him where she was going. It was frustrating for my father-in-law and difficult for our family.

I think Alzheimer’s is one of the worst diseases that could affect our loved ones and I eagerly support organizations that are geared towards awareness and funding research to cure this disease.

The Alzheimer’s Association is organizing several Alzheimer's Memory Walk, a 2-3 mile walk held on weekend mornings in the fall. It is the nation’s largest event that aims to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. The Alzheimer’s Association is looking for team captains of all ages to organize people to support this cause.

Encourage family members, friends and coworkers to walk with you – walk with a purpose. Help inform the world about Alzheimer’s, help rid the world of this terrible disease, please join the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk nearest you. Let us work together to fight Alzheimer’s now!

Would You Drive a MyCar?

My husband renewed our truck registration at the DMV last week and brought me back a California driver's manual. He said I should get my learner's permit again and he will teach me to drive.

With the cost of gasoline the way it is - and because I like being driven around more often than not - I didn't think this was such a good idea. Although I have spotted a few cute cars being launched like this plug-in electric city car called MyCar from Nice.

Although I've been enamored by small cars before like the Mini Cooper and the Volkswagen Beetle, I can't quite decide if I like the MyCar. I think it is a bit too small. Even if it is only for city driving, I need to be able to bring groceries in it and maybe drive my husband at times. And what about safety issues?

But on the other hand, it does give you 40 miles in normal city driving and produces no emissions. It has a top speed of 40 miles per hour - so no freeways, then? Recharge time is from 6 to 8 hours. It is said to cost $18,000 and will go on sale in the UK in autumn.

Would you drive the MyCar? I must admit I still have my reservations about it. But great job on designing a car that doesn't pollute our environment! It is a start to our freedom from petroleum - so that is always a welcomed effort. Plus it comes in orange, so that always gets plus points in my book!

Photo credit: Car Scoop

Cavenders.com: Casual Jewelry Online

I tend to lean towards jeans and shirts when hanging out with friends. I like comfortable clothes for relaxing on weekends. I noticed how my friends always know how to accessorize even in jeans and shirts – all my jewelry are for wearing in formal settings like work or parties and they really don’t work well with my casual clothes so more often than not I choose not to accessorize on my casual days.

That is until I found this great website that has western jewelry. Cavenders.com have great earrings, bracelets and necklaces for that casual weekend out. It specializes in western wear, which means jeans, shirts and boots – perfect hangout apparel for us busy people who need comfortable clothes for our weekend R&R. For all you casual jeans-and-shirt-type of people out there, check out cavenders.com, it might just save you precious shopping time!

This post is sponsored by Cavenders.com

Movie Night: Hellboy II

My husband and I watched Hellboy II last night - the original movie is one of my husband's all-time favorite movies. One thing we both like about this movie is the special effects, the way they created "Red", Abraham and the creatures in the troll market were so well thought out, you'd almost believe they could really exist in real life.

They didn't skimp on set design either! The elaborate settings will take you all over the earth - including middle earth (yes, a bit LOTR-like in some portions of the story).

The plot. Considering how great the initial movie was, we thought the sequel might disappoint us. It did not! It delved deeper into the relationship of Hellboy and Liz - plus added a love interest for Abraham. The Romeo & Juliet - like love stories between the different creatures are not out of the ordinary, but they draw you in because of the characters involved.

This movie has everything! The antagonist on a mission to save his kind by waging war on humans and his almost devil-like tempting of Hellboy to join his cause was brilliant. The characters' inner battles: Hellboy's bid for acceptance, Liz's struggle with her pregnancy, and Abraham's love for Princess Nuala - were the catalyst that made the movie quite funny. The new character sent to keep Hellboy in check, which later on became their ally, added just enough spice to the story line. Drama, action, adventure, suspense, romance and comedy all rolled into one movie.

You'll leave the theater feeling like the movie was over too soon! This is a great movie for the whole family! Two thumbs up absolutely!

Photo credit: http://moviesmedia.ign.com

Evite: Social Yet Not

I got an Evite from a friend the other day for a dance concert in Northern California. I had to decline because i was not going to be in Northern California this weekend.

A lot of tech blogs have been featuring the website because of their new social networking features. Aside from incorporating new tools, adding helpful blog articles and having a new profile page - I don't really see much social networking going on. Each account has an address book to send Evites to, which may count as a way of having friends on record I guess, but this is essential to performing the site's function.

What do people mean when they say social networking functionalities? You'd think just by the nature of Evite, it will be classified as a social network, but I think it lacks interactivity. Aside from RSVP-ing when you're invited to a party or picking what to bring when it's a potluck - how else do you connect in this community?

Well, every site has room for improvement and if Evite intends to be a social network, it has some more development to do. Good luck and keep up the great service!

Delver: Social Media + Search

Delver is available in alpha today. Most of my favorite tech blogs have only good things to say about it. It is a search engine that uses your social profile to give you the results that would have more meaning to you. It assumes that what your friends are interested in would be related to what you're interested in.

I don't usually discuss search engines on my blog because I would inadvertently compare it to Google. I'm a Google fan. I like the simple look and feel - which Delver tried to mimic in it's initial search page. I also like how fast Google serves up my search results even on a slow network. Delver on the other hand takes a relatively long time to gather search results.

Maybe when Delver includes more social networks in the way it finds social profiles then it will become more interesting to me. At the moment, if I look at it as a search engine, it doesn't really compare.

But when I look at it as a social media tool, it might catch on like Digg or social bookmarking did. When you develop a wide-enough community that catches most of your interests, it might become really useful. The concept is interesting, but like I said it's a matter of load time and how useful I find the search results.

But hey, good job on the application! You're only in alpha, you'll probably add more cool stuff before you have the final public release. Good luck and have fun developing!

eDoorways: A Revenue Model for Social Networks

eDoorways is a social networking platform that aims to bring consumers to small and medium businesses. The way it is being described in the various news sites, I am guessing it will function as a sort of valet for products and services. For example, I am a consumer, I sign up for the social network, I can then search for providers of big screen TVs or for event planners to plan my parties. And these businesses pay eDoorways a fee to be included in their network of providers.

It's a good business model, but is it a good social network model? We shall find out when the first virtual tour is scheduled first week in August.

clipped from www.marketwatch.com The eDOORWAYS platform is designed to provide assistance in obtaining daily fulfillment by offering a better way for purchasers of goods and services, as well as goods and service providers, to engage in business. As a result, a significant portion of eDOORWAYS' revenue model is fees generated from delivering real customers (willing to spend money NOW) directly to the doorstep of small and mid-sized businesses. In this light, commerce is made simpler, more effective, and becomes a very valuable service and resource that businesses are always willing to pay handsomely for - especially during tough times. And combined with an innovatively flexible revenue model like eDOORWAYS, the positive social and financial change could be tremendous; and our revenues could potentially be the first of its kind."

Congratulations, Miss Venezuela!

After a Japanese Miss Universe and the international pageant being hosted by an Asian country, it was disappointing for me that no Asian candidate made it to the top ten of this year's pageant. But I think the final five were beautiful, my husband and I had different favorites - but we agreed on who was to be crowned - Dayana Mendoza from Venezuela.

I loved her in the fashion photos, but I was not a big fan of whoever did her make up that night. But even with the make up she managed to win the crown so I guess it doesn't really matter. She looked great in the evening gown competition and her answer to the judge's question was the most memorable of the group.

Congratulations, Ms. Dayana Mendoza! May you have a great reign as Miss Universe 2008!

OurStage: A Social Network for Stars-in-the-Making

Back in the old days, the only way to get your music to the masses was to have a radio station play it. Now with the advent of social networks like OurStage, musicians have more ways of getting discovered by major labels and hopefully produced.

OurStage is a social network for music artists , fans and industry professionals. It lets artists upload their work, it lets fans follow their favorite artists and it lets industry professional contact artists they like for bookings and events.

I think it's a great idea - a great site for people who like discovering new music. It is a platform where stars are made. It is a place for fans to have more options of music to listen to. And for industry professionals, a huge resource to discover the next big thing. Good job!

The X-Files Movie: Calling All Mulder & Scully Fans

Long before Numb3rs' geeky and adorable Charles Eppes came to Primetime TV, there was Fox Mulder and the X-Files. I was a huge fan to the point that I could write whole episodes for the show - that was how well I knew the characters. I must admit though that I haven't watched an X-File episode since they brought out that other male character, it just wasn't the same. For me it had always been Mulder and Scully that held the whole TV show together, their on-screen chemistry and teamwork was the catalyst that brought the show the following it had.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe by Chris Carter brings back Mulder and Scully into a full screenplay of UFOs, complicated relationships, and fascinating characters that will lead us into another thrill ride of suspense and adventure. The thinking man's TV show in another full length movie after 6 years without Fox Mulder, now I have got to see this!

If only they could make their video trailer a little more blogger friendly, I tried embedding it on my blog, but I just got the black screen above for my efforts. I would have loved to feature the trailer here. But for all you X-File fans out there, check out http://www.xfiles.com for more information.

Garden Spells: Rediscover the Enchantment of Falling in Love

I had wanted to read this book since it came out, but never got the chance to go out and buy a copy. Last weekend my mother-in-law lent me her large-type books and Garden Spells was one of the titles in the collection. Today was the first chance I had to read it - and I read it all the way through in one sitting!

Sarah Addison Allen managed to combine all the ingredients of a good summer read in this book. Unforgettable characters, a magical setting, grand passions, destiny and lots and lots of love. This book kept me entertained from the moment I opened the book. It's completely enchanted view of love was a refreshing change - and a great way to tell a love story in my opinion.

It is a story of two sisters finally finding the bond they never thought they had. It is a story about a mother and her child trying to escape a violent man, finding their way home. And of course the apple tree saves the day!

The book is truly an experience you would not want to miss! So if you're trying to look for great summer reads, be sure to check out Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, it will remind you of the magic of falling in love and will make you appreciate your special someone more just because...

Happy reading!

3G iPhone Feedbacks - Please

Did you spend your morning waiting in line at the Apple Store or at AT&T wondering what was holding up the line? Although you would have expected that it would take time to activate each and every person in line to get the new iPhone 3G, you were still hoping it didn't take that long, right?

Apparently the wait was due to problems connecting to the iTunes system, which is used to activate the iPhone. The 3G devices got a Page Not Found error upon requesting iTunes. Apple claims that the problem was on their side and not AT&T.

Early purchasers of the newest and hottest gadget in town had to take their 3G iPhones unactivated. They are now calling these iPhones iBricks because no one can use them until they can get them activated. Apparently the servers cannot handle all the activations happening today.

Aside from the activation problem, how do you find your new iPhone? Was it all that it was hyped out to be?

Although tempted, I have restrained myself from changing my network (which I like very much) and wait to see the feedbacks of the brave tech pioneers that bought the new phone today. Please feel free to share your experience with me by commenting below - thanks in advance!

Also for those who are still considering whether they will buy the new 3G Phone, here's AT&T's 3G Coverage Map to help you decide if the 3G iPhone is the best alternative for you. Hope this was helpful!

Viddiction: Win Cash for Your Home Videos

I love watching videos online. I'm a big fan of YouTube and Hulu – and watching TV shows online so I’m always exploring new video sites.

I found this new video hosting site called Viddiction that has this very catchy tag line, "Dream. Create. Transmit." It hosts your videos and enables you to promote them. Plus the more successful you are at getting views for your video, the better your chances of winning their monthly contests, with prizes ranging from $50.00 to $500.00. Wow! Imagine earning cash for videos, your regular home videos at that!

I was browsing through Viddiction and found this hilarious video of a cat watching a boxing match. My husband has this habit of punching and ducking with the fighters when he watches boxing (or any fight on TV for that matter), it's very amusing to watch – now imagine a cat doing it! Here is a link to the video of the cat for your viewing pleasure.

Isn't this cat adorable? It would be very funny to actually see if it jabs at the same time my husband does. Better entertainment than the actual boxing match, I think!

Do you like watching videos online? Do you enjoy making home movies? Do you like earning extra cash for video clips you may already have stored away in a box at home? If you answered yes to any of my questions above, Viddiction might just be the site for you. Come and see if you find it as entertaining as I do!

TotSpot.com : A Safe Place to Share Your Child's Story

I was watching a Discovery channel show where a geek guy was explaining the many different video cameras out there. And in order to demonstrate how to upload your video to YouTube, he made a video of his very cute child and uploaded it to the internet.

I don't know what other people think of it, but I would never upload a video of my child on YouTube. I want videos and photos of my child on a site that I can actually control permissions on who can view them.

I found this website www.totspot.com featured on my favorite blog, Geeksugar, and thought it was worth checking out. It claims to be a safe place to share your child's growing up adventures with friends and loved ones.

For someone who has not had a child yet, I have very strong opinions about my future child's safety and privacy. So if you have a similar opinion on the matter, you may want to consider using this site.

clipped from totspot.com TotSpot is a place for parents to publish a page about their kids and share with family and friends. It's part online babybook, parent journal, and social network. Childhood is an ongoing story and TotSpot is the first site that makes it super easy for parents to securely share their kid's story with friends and family.

Inspiring Woman: Dara Torres, Olympian

Five-time Olympian, Dara Torres, is an inspiration to all mothers and to all women out there. She did not let her age (still fit and beautiful at 41) or her being a mom (she has a 2-year-old daughter) keep her from reaching for her dreams.

She is breaking records this August in Beijing, her fifth summer Olympic games. Dara has won nine olympic medals in her amazing career and she's gearing up for another stint in Beijing this year. Wow!

Go Dara! You truly are an inspiration to us. Great job!

clipped from a-list.msn.com Dara Torres made headlines last week at the Olympic swimming trials At 41, Torres will make history in Beijing. She'll be the oldest female swimmer in the history of the Games and the first U.S. swimmer to compete in five Olympics.

Power Your Car with H2O

Where I come from 7,100 islands are surrounded by water. So it only makes sense when one Filipino inventor came out with a re-engineered car engine that ran on hydrogen from, you guessed it, water. This story hit the local news even before I came to the US and yet that inventor, who had not wanted to sell his invention to foreign investors, had failed to get local funding from our own government. The inventor claims that the Central Bank of the Philippines had told him that they cannot give him a loan because they had signed a contract with the World Bank not to support products that would compete with products of companies that support the World Bank.

I found this website while trying to find the news story (and finding out that it wasn't on the ABS-CBN news site as I had thought it would be). So many companies have now come up with the same idea. Fuel your car with water - water that, unless you are in the oil-producing countries of the Far East, is cheaper than gasoline. DriveonFreeWater.com asks for volunteers to help test the technology and assures us that hydrogen power is a safe source of energy. The fact that they will get the hydrogen from common water is even better - they do say they will be getting it from tap water - but what if we extend this technology so that we can use saltwater from the oceans, which make up nearly 71% of the earth's surface. Wow!

The world's oil reserve is running out. It's time to pull out those thinking caps (or those checkbooks to fund alternative fuel projects)! We still need transportation, but they need to run on something other than the non-replenishable fuels we have today. Water-powered vehicles, imagine the possibilities!

Don't give up on this project, this is a great innovation! Great thinking!

Web Hosting Geeks : Find the Best Plan for Your Website

When my husband and I first started our event planning business, one of the first things on our list was to launch our own website. Being a web developer, I wanted a dynamic website that was easy to update – so I needed a hosting service that supported PHP. Working full time though I didn’t have time to develop a customized application for our site so I needed a hosting service where I could install open source applications like Joomla and phpBB without needing to call technical support because I needed to activate or change settings on the server. Plus I needed it to support MySQL as well – and give me enough space to store photos that would attract more clients to our site. And of course, I needed to think of our budget as well.

With my list of web hosting needs growing, I depended on sites like Web Hosting Geeks that compare hosting sites with independent reviews of companies that offer this service. The website has helpful articles like How to Choose the Best Web Hosting Service, which guides you on which hosting plan is right for you. It also has helpful links for webmasters and other sites that review web hosting services.

Are you thinking about launching your own website? If you’re not sure how to start, Web Hosting Geeks is a great place to find your way. Keep up the good work!

Sponsored by Web Hosting Geeks

Live Mesh: The Web As Our Hub

We're beginning to see it today. We organize our songs online. We sync our laptop to our desktop at work so we can work from home. We even have movies online now, which we can play on our big screen TVs through miscellaneous devices.

The web has become our hub, everything is online. And one thing web developers can contribute as a solution to these soaring gas prices is to provide tools for people to be able to telecommute - to stay at home and work from home. Web developers can provide tools so that companies will be able to manage their employees even if they are not physically in the office.

And I think the new productivity tools Microsoft is launching is a step in the right direction. So, good job, Ray! Good luck on the implementation of your vision.

clipped from news.cnet.com Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect (Credit: Microsoft) The Web is the Hub of our social mesh and our device mesh. All applications will grow to recognize and utilize the inherent group-forming aspects of their connection to the web, in ways that will become fundamental to our experiences. We're also living in a world where the number and diversity of devices is on the rise; not just PCs and phones, but TVs, game consoles, digital picture frames, DVRs, media players, cameras and camcorders, home servers, home automation systems, our car's entertainment and navigation systems, and more. To individuals, the concept of "My Computer" will give way to the concept of a personal mesh of devices -- a means by which all of your devices are brought together, managed through the web, as a seamless whole.

GasBuddy: Save on Gas

In these tough times, a lot of us are hurting at the gas pump. GasBuddy.com wants to help by listing the price of gas in our neighborhood so we can choose where to go accordingly.

GasBuddy is a network of gas price information websites and allows users to help each other by sharing the price of gas in their area. It is limited to the US and Canada at the moment though. It has helpful tips on saving on gasoline and historical price charts that may prove interesting to people not from US or Canada.

With the economy the way it is now, any form of help is welcome. Thank you GasBuddy!

Have you plurked today?

Have you plurked today? Yes, that's how it's spelled, p-l-u-r-k. If plurk is not in your vocabulary yet, let me quote the definition the sitebuilders have given in their website:

What is Plurk?

Noun. plurk (plüer-kh) - A really snazzy site that allows you to showcase the events that make up your life in deliciously digestible chunks. Low in fat, 5 calories per serving, yet chock full of goodness.

Verb. plurk (plüer-kh) - To chronicle the events of your always on, action-packed, storybook, semi-charmed kinda life.

Concept seems familiar? Plurk is very much like twitter. It's a one-liner blog post or update you can publish for all your friends. It claims to be a more thought out version of twitter, which has been having problems lately. They share links instead of full videos or images. You earn karma points for participating on the site. You can join clicques, follow your friends' plurks or just have fun browsing around.

All in all it's a very user friendly site. It didn't seem bandwidth heavy at all. A great new place for all you microbloggers out there! Happy plurking!

After the Fire : A Book Review

After the Fire: A True Story of Love and Survival by Robin Gaby Fisher is a story of two survivors from the horrendous fire at Seton Hall University's freshman dormitory. It is a story about healing, true friendship, families and love that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster of pain, grief, hope and joy.

It is a gripping tale of heartbreak when two young and handsome boys' dreams of bringing their families out of poverty are threatened when they are burned and disfigured in a fire. The book gives us a glimpse of the men and women who have chosen to specialize in treating burn patients at Saint Barnabas Hospital's burn unit - their dedication and generosity as they fight to keep their patients alive and on the road to recovery. This book is about families, the love of parents in particular - when everyone else has gone, it will be your parents who will love you unconditionally. This book is about friendship about two boys who went through a tragedy and supported one another through each obstacle and triumph.

After the Fire is about two amazing men who faced their fears and went out into the world to win their dreams back. A spectacular tale of courage and determination. I cried through most of the book, feeling the pain and anguish the young men went through and cheering them on at every battle they win. This story is truly inspiring!

Robin Gaby Fisher has captured pain, suffering and triumph so masterfully in this novel that you almost feel like you are there with these men - that you are experiencing their fight with them. I really recommend you get a copy of this book when it comes out in late August. It is the type of book that makes you a better person inside because of the wisdom it has shared with you. Definitely a must read - I give it a two thumbs up - waaaaaay up! Great job!