Thu
24
Jul
12:56 pm

Yes this is another angst ridden post about my internet provider, the Slow Smart Bro, which has been very very very slow the past couple of months.

I write this post in an internet cafe where I had to download some files which I could not do at home, thanks to Smart Bro being so slow.

For the past couple of months, my internet speed has ranged from 24 to 46kbps… an hour ago before I left the house in frustration over this Smart Bro Slow fiasco, my connection was at 36kbps. This is what I pay P990 per month for, well… in defiance I have not paid my bill either.

Well, to this Smart Bro Slow Saga, let me point you to some other opinions about Smart Bro below.

3 days pa lang nakakabit ung smartbro ko sa bahay ko pero bwisit na ko. Read More.

I have been experiencing extra ordinarily slow internet connection with Smart bro since yesteray but it is actually worse today I cannot even write a good blog post because it takes years before a page loads. Read More.

I just spent my mornings trying to get in touch with Smart Bro support (672-7277). It’s no joke to call their support because you can be in queue for 30 minutes. Read More.

Some also say that the rebranding was because Smart Wifi now has a bad reputation due to poor services to its subscribers. Read More.

SmartBro - Worst Internet Experience

If you’d perform an online search of Smart Bro reviews, you will see that one of its let-downs is its customer service department. Although I can’t totally say that I find Smart Bro customer service bad, I also can not say that it’s good enough. Read More.

I tried calling the smart support hot line *1888 but I could not connect, it says “Your number cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again.” With that, I decided to go to their office to report the issue, but when I went their, even their support is not available, because they said, they were offline and could not check. Read More.

In conclusion, in terms of the best to worst ISP based on stable internet connection and customer service reliablity, here it is:

1. Globe Broadband (best)
2. Smart Bro
3. PLDT MyDSL (Worst)

Read More.

Manny Pacquiao goes up in weight at 135 lbs and prepares to take on David Diaz tonight for the Lightweight title.

For many, especially in his home the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao taking the fight is good as done. Many believe Manny to be the best boxer pound for pound active today with three belts already claimed by the champ. When asked if he is comfortable at the current weight and if he has had problems, he answers: “I’ll just do my best. I feel all right because I no longer need to starve myself to make the weight,” said Pacquiao, noting that there’s no need for more talk at this point. “We’re both ready to fight and let’s just see who’s better.” A win tonight could open the door for mega fights between Manny and Ricky Hatton and maybe even a Pacquiao - De La Hoya confrontation.

On the other site of the corner is David Diaz of Chicago, a younger chap who has only lost one of 36 pro fights, who is also the WBC lightweight titleholder. David Diaz became a full fledged world champion after defeating Mexican legend Erik Morales in 2007. Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao have had an explosive boxing trilogy with Manny taking two of the fights and losing the first one to Morales. Insiders say they have since become friends.

While Diaz is perceived to be the underdog in this fight, he is not to be underestimated, he has the skills and the power and is certainly much younger with a lot more to prove. David Diaz upsetting Manny Pacquiao will be historic.

In a press event where reporters were more interested in talking to Pacquiao, Diaz said this to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review Journal: If I were Manny Pacquiao, I would be concerned about my will. I will be there the entire fight, and I will stay there the entire fight.”

Read More Manny Pacquaio - David Diaz Posts.

Like many Filipinos who love the sport of boxing, I usually place bets with my family and friends for fun. This time, when Manny Pacquiao faces another strong opponent in the person of David Diaz, my money remains with Manny as it always had been. Read More.

“Manny Pacquiao has beaten many great fighters, especially Mexicans like Morales, Barrera, Marquez, Larios and Solis. That’s why they call him “The Mexicutioner”. “I will shock the world and beat Pacquiao at his own game, power for power. He’s a great champion but he’s fighting in my division - lightweight. I have worked too hard for this world title and I will not give it up to him,” said Diaz in an interview. Read More.

For some reason, Manny Pacquiao Manny Pacquiao(along with his fans… yes, the duck-eating moron has some…) is already expecting to beat David Diaz and win the WBC Lightweight Championship. Read More.

They say that Diaz is very much like Pacquiao in terms of style, stamina and strength. I certainly agree with style and stamina but not in strength. When two fighters are almost equal in every aspect, it is how hard the fighter hits that will determine who the winner will be. In this case since Pacquiao is the hardest hitter therefore my money goes to him. Read More.

Despite defeating Eric Morales in a fight that ended “El Terrible’s” career, not causing any life threatening injuries though. David Diaz’s lackluster dispatch of Eric Morales was not that convincing. Although Eric Morales will forever be cemented as one of the greatest Mexican Fighters, by the time David Diaz got a chance to fight Eric Morales “El Terrible” was already a washed up fighter. Just another shadow of a former great desperate to keep his boxing career alive. Read More.

Pacquiao is trying to reach what his former opponents, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, couldn’t achieve. An elusive fourth world title in as many weight classes. And he will be making that attempt against the very aggressive Diaz who is, much like Pacquiao, a work-horse inside the ring and loves to throw a lot of punches as he wears his opponents down with sheer pressure. Read More.

Boxing lore states that a good big man always beats a good little man.  I tend to agree.  But therein lies the problem for Diaz.  He is decent, not good, and that will make all the difference Saturday night. Read More.

The WBC Lightweight Championship will be decided this Saturday at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada as boxing’s third world moron, Manny Pacquiao, tries to pry that Lightweight championship belt away from defending champion David Diaz. Of course, since you’re reading this here on OddJack, you just know that another ‘Pacquiao-bashing’ is on the way right? You bet. I’m still waiting for the day when a Mexican finally knocks that duck-fetus off Pacquiao’s gums but since David Diaz will come into this fight as a heavy underdog, I’ll already be happy seeing Pacquiao’s face rearranged by the Mexican champion, win or lose. Read more.

Hypermiling is now becoming a much talked about means to save gas. With current gas prices skyrocketing, and unclear if and when they would roll back, people are bracing for the worst and looking for ways to save on gas.

Hypermiling is a way to get extra miles to the gallon and maximize your gas mileage by changing the way you drive. That way, you buy gas less often and save on gas costs.

Here are a few tips that we found to be very interesting, we found them on this page, 105 hypermiling - ecodriving tips. Some are very simple things that we often overlook, but do help us save gas.

Tip 4) Clean junk from your trunk
The additional weight you carry in your vehicle doesn’t ride for free. It takes energy to move it around. Removing unnecessary stuff from your vehicle saves fuel.

7) Remove unused roof racks
If your vehicle come with a roof rack and you don’t use it, remove it. Same holds true for bike racks. Doing so will reduce aerodynamic drag, resulting in better fuel economy.

12) Leave early and don’t rush
The enemy of efficient driving is finding yourself in a rush. Leave for your destination a little early so you don’t feel pressure to drive faster, brake later and otherwise fall back into bad habits.

Driving efficiently can be much more relaxing than the typical person’s driving style, but you need to allow a bit of extra time.

13) Crosswind barrier
Headwinds aren’t the only winds that increase fuel consumption - cross winds can have a large negative effect as well. In crosswind conditions, choosing a route with a barrier (trees or buildings) along the edge will save fuel compared to a road in the open.

28) Minimize idling when stopped
If you’re going to be stopped for more than a few seconds, shift to neutral and shut off your engine. This is one of the main reasons hybrid vehicles get such good fuel economy in urban driving.

Caveat 1: this assumes your vehicle is in good tune and will re-start immediately, every time.

Caveat 2: if you’re a defensive driver, you’re habitually evaluating the risk of a rear crash when slowing and when stopped. Obviously you will want to leave your engine on in those circumstances (for a quick rear crash avoidance manoeuver).

There are more tips on the source, feel free to browse through to that page. In case you are interested in hybrid cards and conversion kits to make your car run on water, click this link to learn more on hydrogen kit conversion.

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Here are what other bloggers are saying about hypermiling.

Some thoughts/experiences: Using the A/C makes a big difference. Also, on hot days, I notice that the cooling fan is running nearly constantly - that must use a bit more gas than normal. I imagine that I could squeak out a few more miles by going 55 instead of 57 mph, but for some reason - my right foot is a Sammy Hagar fan. The boxy shape of the Forester + drafting behind tractor trailers and busses = a jostled ride. Read More.

I heard about acetone addition to fuel recently. Acetone is actually an ingredient in most fuel additives you use off the shelf. If you add it to your tank you will notice that your engine runs smoother. You may also get increased mileage, though that will be pretty negligible. Acetone is incredibly evaporative. If you spill some, notice how quick it disappears. If you use Acetone addition, you want to use 2.5-3 oz per 10 gallons. Read More.

Hypermiling Can Improve Gas Mileage 30% or More. My husband has been trying a hypermiling experiment over the past couple of weeks. For those who are unfamiliar with it, hypermiling is changing the way that you drive to significantly increase your car’s fuel efficiency. Read More.

As gas prices continue to climb, so does concern about getting the most miles for your bucks. And that’s where “hypermiling” kicks into gear. It’s a term coined by Wayne Gerdes of CleanMPG.com, who says hypermiling can as much as double your mileage. Gerdes and his team hold the world record - 2,250 miles in a single tank, which worked out to 164 miles per gallon. Read More.

Hypermiler is a term coined by Wayne Gerdes to describe a driver who strives to exceed their vehicle’s EPA fuel economy rating. In conventional vehicles they can often match the mileage of an average person driving an equivalent hybrid. Read More.

Yahoo!’s morning news program (…who knew?), has a great interview with famous hypermiler John Flory. John is obsessed with efficiency. He’s gotten his stock Honda Civic up to near 100 mpg. He takes a circuitous route to work because it includes a long downhill, which he refers to as “road candy.” Read More.

Hypermiling is changing your driving behavior (to the extreme) to save gas, in so many words. We all are feeling the huge pinch from the gas pump now that gas is $4.00/gallon on average. If you’re anything like me, I’ve been thinking about useful and PRACTICAL ways I can save gas which in turn will help save me money. Read More.

I have continued to monitor my gas mileage and have been consistently seeing around 30mpg without using some of the more extreme hypermiling measures. This has still left me a bit puzzled. I have two possible conclusions—one or both of which must be correct based on my results: I suck at the hypermiling techniques. My car sucks at hypermiling techniques.Read More.

In the age of $3.00 /gallon gas we are bombarded with tips for increasing our fuel economy. I have mentioned how keeping your tires inflated can increase safety and fuel consumption. Other common tips for better gas mileage include using cruise control, avoiding traffic, and driving less aggressively. Hypermiling takes getting the best MPG to the extreme. Read More.

There’s a very thin line here between foolish and dangerous and really pushing the envelope. If Trowbridge is doing on empty country roads then chances are he’s not anybody’s problem but his own. If he’s trying in the city where I live, he’s an obstruction to traffic. I think hypermiling is awesome but like an extreme car driving, it has a time and place. Read More.

I recently learned about hypermiling, a collection of driving techniques for increasing the mileage you get in your car and wondered what it would do for the mileage on my 2007 Ninja 250R which already gets great mileage.

On this last tank, I didn’t do any hypermiling techniques for the first 100 miles but used them for the second 100 miles. After 206 miles, it took 3.04 gallons of gas (at over $4./gal!) to fill it up. That comes out to 67.7 mpg. That seemed like an improvement over what I usually get which has been around 65 mpg for the same type of city and island driving. The next tank will be a better test. I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t come in over 70 mpg. Read More.

The increase in gas prices have hit people very hard and increasing number of motorists in the U.S. are looking for alternatives.

This desperate need to control the rising costs, has given rise to the new fad called “hypermiling.” This is a radical driving technique that is designed to make use of every bit of power from the tank, which doubles the gas mileage even in vehicles that are guzzlers.

Hypermiling has become very popular with drivers worldwide, as concern over the increasing price of gas and environmental issues heightens. Whatever their reason, whether it is to save a few dollars or aim at helping the environment, hypermiling is being seen as the smart way to drive. Read More.

Hypermiling is a way of driving that increases your miles per gallon. There are all kinds of techniques to make this happen, and most of them seem pretty logical. Stuff like not accelerating too fast, keeping at the speed limit, taking advantage of gravity and coasting down hills. Read More.

Cars stranded on the side of the highway are starting to make waves in the media. People who are already trying hard to make ends meet by doing simple things like carpooling or stupid things like aggressive hypermiling (including intentional tailgating and failure to slow down adequately through cornering maneuvers) are still running out of … Read More.

Yes SMART Bro is my ball breaker for the morning and I will tell you why in a bit, but before anything else, my apologies to the thousands (as if) of readers of my blog.. ok there might really be just a couple.. I have not been blogging much recently, as always work and projects take priority.

But this is something I definitely want to write about.

My internet connection has been terrible the past week, very very slow would have to be the appropriate description and then things got even worse when the other night my internet connection would die every hour, and without fail. Yes… my connection would just die and I had to unplug the adapter for the antenna in order to refresh the connection. Smart Bro has a different system see, they install an antenna on your roof that picks up a signal from their cell sites, and the signal goes down the antenna through the line and into your PC.

Anyways, I try and do a bandwidth check on Globequest.com and to my horror I find that I am my bandwidth is clocking in at 20-40 kbps, and I am supposed to be on a 384! I am worse than dial-up, and I am paying good money to these fawckers every month.

Then I called customer support, using a cellular phone which I have already been on for hours the past few days talking to customer service who don’t really “serve” their purpose, and customer help who hardly “help”. So here I am on the cellular phone, the time ticking, money wasting.. and I am not yet speaking to someone, I am subjected to listening to all their ads on the line before they give me the damn local number to press in order to get some help.

Finally I get across to someone, who gets the usual info, my account number, my name and the problem.. and I explain to her the situation and so she says that we go to a certain site, www.speedtest.net, but then 5 minutes pass and that website does not load still… on account of the very very slow bandwidth I suppose (sarcasm with a grin). Then finally, maybe she got tired of waiting to, she says she checked the bay station (whatever that is) and says that it is only giving me 20 kbps of bandwidth.

Ok, now since that information could have been acquired in the first place, I would have appreciated her doing that at the start, to save time, to save money, to save effort on me explaining everything to her.

SMART Bro Customer service should try to improve service and actually serve, and do it faster and not let their customers jump hoops before getting an answer.

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Here are more things bloggers are writing about SMART Bro.

I just spent my mornings trying to get in touch with Smart Bro support (672-7277). It’s no joke to call their support because you can be in queue for 30 minutes. Today, I took the pains to call them to first report a slow connection. The time is 9:00 AM. The lady first picked up the call , made me get the IP address and physical address and our line got cut. Read More.

Slow speed started to occur sometime June 2007. Calling the Smart Support (6727277) is agonizing. It’s best you have a speaker phone when you dial their number.It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour before you can get to talk to someone. Read More.

I was planning to continue my subscription to smart wifi/bro for a second year because its cheaper 788@256kbps despite the fact of a very unimpressive service and support that I have experienced. Read More.

According to the Smart websites,Smart BRO Wireless Broadband Internet is available for Php999 per
month while Globe Worldpass is available for Php250.00 (Vat inc) plus “excess minutes will be charged P0.50/min for dial-up andP2.00/min for Wi-Fi”. Read More.

SMART is not so smart in fixing their problems and their hotline: there is no way I’m going to call that “Customer Service”. Everytime I call the hotline to complain about SMART BRO-ken (yes…it should be called SMART Broken) I always get frustrated and furious on the way they handle customers. Read More.

Eventually, every new technology available like HSDPA can promise broadband access, whether wired or wireless. What the consumer can hope for — short of excellent service — is network coverage. Read More.

I am currently subscribed with Smart Bro Plan 999 and I am still contented with what I get from this kind of internet connection. My experience with the Smart Bro is very different from what other bloggers are telling about it at their blogs. Some say, “SMART Bro Sucks“. Other say, “SMART Bro’s dead” and a lot of things they’re saying because of what they said, “bad services of the SMART Bro.” Read More.

Fri
13
Jun
7:59 am

I’d rather be an asshole then be sorry for it later, than be a wimp and weak and then be sorry for being, later.

How to be the perfect girlfriend is a video I found on video jug. Pay attention ladies, hehehe. If you liked the video so much, please share with your friends.


How To Be The Perfect Girlfriend

Coin collecting is a very popular hobby that easy to start and will not cost you a ton of money to do so.

If you plan on starting your own collection, get ready to be entertained, amazed and educated about coins. Interestingly coins have a story behind them and a history that will be revealed the more you get to know about it.

So here is a quick guide to getting into coin collecting. The most important things you should know.

Know what type of coins to collect.
Coin collecting is not boring, it is actually an adventure without risks or the discomfort of traveling the globe or digging around somewhere.

First choose a theme to base your collection upon. Will you collect coins by era, by country, by history, etc. When you have identified a theme, you can start start researching the coins and their history and learn as much as possible about the chosen coins.

Know where these coins can be found.
You can find several sources for coins but you can easily get duped if you are unaware of a coin’s actual value.

An easy, inexpensive way would be to start by buying a set from your country’s mint. Investing in a basic collection gets you started cheap.

You can also find coin shops where you can find knowledgeable collectors who can help you find what you need and give you advice on your collection.

Know the value of the coins.
Value is determined by many factors, but is simply the price another collector would be willing to pay for your coin.

You can find price guide books or go online for that, to get retail values of coins, however you may get more or less for your coin depending on the market demand for it.

Coin collecting is indeed a fun and educational hobby that can teach you about history. Go ahead and learn the stories.

Get more information about coin collecting on U.K. Coin Collecting.

Sun
20
Apr
10:10 am

Meal planning is an excellent way to save time, energy and money; and a great way to watch your health. If you think that it’s not going to be any fun, think again. You can have a tasty and delightful meal despite the tight budget or a busy schedule.

Meal Planning for Busy People
Meal planning is especially important for people who hardly have time to do constant grocery store trips, in fact if you do not watch the budget and tend to dine out all the time, you may be running up a huge expense on food. You are going to have to plan your meals for a certain time period, and shop only once and buy just enough food to make all of your meals. Do not buy too much or it will end up spoiled in your fridge. The advantage of having a plan and list is, you tend not to overspend on impulse purchases at the grocery store.

Meal planning also allows you to balance your food choices, and for those watching their weight, a great way to plan out what they intend to eat.

Meal Planning To Stay Healthy
Meal planning is a great way to stay healthy diet, by planning out what you eat, you know that you will not eat too much or over indulge on something that can be potentially bad if you have too much of it. For those who are trying to lose weight, a meal plan is a must since you can figure out what nutritional value there is in what you are eating.

How to Plan A Meal Plan
Start out by making a list of your favorite meals and prepare the grocery list for those meals. You should also consider how many people you are cooking for, how many servings everyone consumes and just how much ingredients would go into that. While you may not get it perfect the first time, meal planning is something that you can get better with the longer you do it.

Meal planning apparently has a lot of benefits. Not only does meal planning allow you to watch your health and weight, but also the food budget.

Is that even possible? the first thing that catches attention when you read the title are the words “quick and healthy weight loss“, which for a lot of people is impossible with others claiming that there is no such thing as weight loss that is quick and neither is it at all times healthy.

Nonetheless, do indulge me as I present to you a few tips on how you may indeed lose weight fast and without compromising your health.

Before anything else, the reasons I got to writing this post it because I have been spending too long a time in front of my PC, and I am starting to really feel overweight and sluggish.

So here are some quick and healthy weight loss ideas.

1. Healthy Smoothies.
Make healthy smoothies a part of your diet. Smoothies are soothing, invigorating and so very popular. They can can fill you up so don’t feel hungry. They are easy to prepare and you can take them to go, maybe have them in the car while driving to work or something, for those who are very busy lives. You can pack your smoothies fruits and vegetables which refresh and energize the body.

2. Eat Food That Helps You Lose Weight
That’s right, there are types of food that do help you lose weight. So are they food like pizza, cheeseburgers, potatoes or fries dipped in melted cheese, butter and sour cream? Nope! Stay away from those.

You can eat chives, cinnamon, strawberries, blueberries, apples, berries and cayenne pepper, and more. So you find those boring? How about frog legs and lobster? Surprised? Yes that’s true, they do hep you lose weight. Of course, no butter or calorie laden dressings. Lobster is known to help the body burn some of the fats that have accumulated over time. Another idea, and this is my favorite… fish and other seafood, grilled or steamed!

3. Get a little exercise.
What you thought all you needed to do to lose weight was watch what you eat, yet sit around lard assing? Nope, not going to happen.

You need to give yourself just a little bit of exercise or some form of body movement that will help you burn whatever excess of whatever it is you have been eating. If you are too lazy, try taking a 30 minute walk everyday for about a week, just to get you into it. Then the next week, start brisk walking, walk a little faster. The plan is, to eventually push yourself to later maybe jogging. The best indication that what you are doing is when you sweat. So if you are just walking around, and not feeling yourself sweating, and you don’t feel your pulse going a bit faster… that walk may not quality as walking.

So quick and healthy weight loss is actually possible, and it starts with starting to eat the right stuff, and improving your lifestyle by giving your body a little exercise.

Automysophobia? No it is not a fear of being cars or something to do with autos. Automysophobia is a defined as a morbid fear of being dirty. Strange huh? Doesn’t everyone already, not want to be dirty? So how does this one such word be so extreme to be among the list of phobias we are already aware of?

Anyways I stumbled upon it when I was checking Google for trends, and I noticed the automysophobia search trend was on fire, which prompted be checking what it was.

Well, upon some checking I found that much like other phobias, it isn’t just a simple fear, but as many phobias are, it is a dread that causes one to be unable to live a normal life because of intense fear of something that actually poses no actual danger.

This automysophobia resource explains it better, but to summarize…

Symptoms of Automysophobia
That dread of being dirty can lead to breathlessness, dizziness, dry mouth, excessive sweating, nausea, feeling sick, shaking, heart palpitations, inability to think clearly, a fear of dying, becoming mad or losing control, a sensation of detachment from reality or a full blown anxiety attack.

There are surprisingly a lot of people who suffer from this, but the good news, it can be treated.

Treatment of Automysophobia
As you have guessed, since the condition is more psychological and emotional, with the source being your thoughts and feelings, the cure also has something to do with correcting whatever negative thoughts of feelings you have that cause automysophobia.

Overcome Automysophobia and other phobias in a day.

Overcome any Fears or Phobias with the board-certified team at The CTRN Phobia Clinic. Specialists in solving fear of public speaking, stage fright resolution and overcoming performance-related anxieties, they also have outstanding results at their Emetophobia Clinic and with fears about flying among many other common fears & phobias.

The CTRN Phobia Clinic has a 24-Hour Public Speaking Fear Program which guarantees results to clients who complete their stage fright program. Rapid help for other fears and phobias like Fear about Flying, Agoraphobia, Claustrophobia and Emetophobia too.