Linsanity

Feb 9, 2012

Jeremy Lin - the first player in 30 years to score at least 28 points and hand out at least 8 assists in his first NBA start. A Harvard graduate with a degree in Economics. And yes he is a pro baller and yes he is ASIAN!


 Picture can be found here.



At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds Lin does look the part of an NBA point guard, sort of, he is big and athletic, but beyond that he doesn't share similarities to anyone else who has ever played the game.



In the history of the NBA there have been few players of Asian descent, but more than most people realize. Yi Jianlian and of course Yao Ming are prominent Asians in the league.

In the first three starts of his professional career Lin has gone off. He is averaging 25.3 points and 8.3 assists from the point guard spot. Against the Wizards on Wednesday night he chipped in his first ever double-double with 23 points and 10 assists.

Here is what Jeremy is averaging in his first 3 games given extended minutes:

25.33 pts
.58 FG%
.10 3P%
.77 FT%
3.7 Reb
8.33 Assists
1.67 Steals
.33 Blocks

In my opinion, Jeremy's two greatest attributes are immeasurable:

•  Heart (toughness, desire, will to win)
•  Court savy (bball iq, bball instincts)

By the way, it's the Lakers vs NYK. What I heard is that courtside tickets are going for as much as $10,000.00! A little consistency til the end of the season and we might see his name here: NBA MVP Race.

NBA Headlines

Feb 8, 2012

Here are some of the headlines today.

Chauncey Billups is done for the remainder of this season with a torn left Achilles suffered in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s win over the Orlando Magic. Billups played a pivotal role for the Clippers this season, starting at shooting guard alongside Chris Paul, and averaging 14.9 points and 4.0 assists in 30.4 minutes per game. It’s a devastating blow for a Clippers team that leaned on Billups as much for his play as it did his leadership and championship experience.

Oklahoma City Thunders vs Portland TrailBlazers - The NBA said a goaltending call in the final seconds of regulation in the Portland Trail Blazers' overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night was incorrect.
Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge was called for goaltending on Kevin Durant's attempted layup with six seconds left. The call tied the game at 103 and it went to overtime.
After the game, coach Nate McMillan said: "I thought it was a good block. That game should have been over."
Aldridge, who finished with a season-best 39 points, also maintained the block was clean.
"The ref who called it was the furthest one from the basket, so that's pretty interesting," he said.
Durant led the Thunder with 33 points(NBA MVP Contender).

Note* - Referees cannot use the slow-motion replay for goal tending calls. Final Score was 111-107(OKC).

                                                           Video here courtesy of Youtube.com

1992 Dream Team

Feb 7, 2012

The greatest team ever formed in history.

 Photo courtesy of sportsillustrated.cnn.com


Center: Patrick Ewing
Power Forward: Charles Barkley
Small Forward: Larry Bird
Shooting Guard: Michael Jordan
Point Guard: Magic Johnson

Bench:

Center: David Robinson
Power Forward: Karl Malone
Small Forward: Scottie Pippen
Shooting Guard: Clyde Drexler
Point Guard: John Stockton


11th and 12th of the bench:

Shooting Guard: Chris Mullin
Small Forward: Christian Laettner (college player)

11 of the 12 best players in the globe( except for Isiah Thomas) who was snubbed. You made team captains out of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, the two players that dominated the 1980s an easily on most people's list of the top-five NBA players of all time, you add unstoppable Michael Jordan(NBA MVP mutltiple times), physical anomaly and never-muzzled Charles Barkley, the leagues best due in John Stockton and Karl Malone, New York pivotman Patrick Ewing, sharpshooter Chris Mullin, high-flying Clyde Drexler, Jack-of-all-trades Scottie Pippen, David Robinson and (blech) one college senior, and what did you have (even with a college senior)- the best team ever assembled. I loved it. I still love it and search for games in length.



As much as the Dream Team are used as a reference point for what US National have done in the past and will do in the future, the Dream Team wasn't without controversy - from the selection, to the games, to the aftermath where teams that followed were only Dream Teams on paper, and "nightmares on the court".

                                                      The Results




USA 116 Angola 48
USA 103 Croatia 70
USA 111 Germany 68
USA 127 Brazil 83
USA 122 Spain 81
USA 115 Puerto Rico 77
USA 127 Lithuania 76
USA 117 Croatia 85








Race to the MVP

Feb 6, 2012

Just read NBA's KIA Race to the MVP Ladder. Here are some thoughts from me.



1. Lebron James (LAST WK: 32 ppg | 58.4 FG% | 9.5 rpg) - Now tell me an active player that has this kind of numbers? No one deserves the top spot but only this guy. Playing a monster game for the past 2 weeks and he's almost unstoppable. Though they don't have the best record in the league, but come playoffs they will dominate again. There are only two things that separates this guy from being one of greatest - Heart and Ring.


2. Kobe Bryant (LAST WK: 28.7 ppg | 8.3 rpg | 4.0 apg) - maybe they are not as dominating as compared 3 or 4 seasons ago. But as long as Kobe is playing like his old self, they still have a good shot in the Finals. I guess he is still good for 5 seasons. Hope he will win another ring before he retires.


3. Kevin Durant (LAST WK: 32 ppg | 13.3 rpg | 50.0 3P%) - A bright future is awaiting ahead for this kid. The new face of the NBA. Just waiting for the torched to be passed(from Kobe). The good thing is, Russel Westbrook just agreed to sign an extension with OKC. Now, that's literally a Batman and Robin tandem. Will cause a lot of headaches to the Western teams.


4. Derrick Rose (LAST WK: 30.6 ppg | 2.8 rpg | 7.2 apg) - I personally call this kid, the 'firecracker'. He just keeps on exploding and exploding night in and night out. He's the only player that can burn the Heat at any given night. I believe he should be the No.2 in this list.


5. Kevin Love(LAST WK: 25.3 ppg | 13.3 rpg | 53.0 FG%) - We should change the meaning of the term 'double-double' and make it synonymous to Kevin Love. Now he just developed that outside shooting(beyond the Arc) and that makes him one of the hardest player to stop. A Caucasian version of Scottie Pippen perhaps?



Another Incredible Human Being

Please watch the video. Everyone should know his story. This would be the best 10 minutes of my life. All I want to say is thank you for showing me how to be a better person through this lecture.



Randy Pausch's last lecture video courtesy of YouTube.

Business Ideas

Feb 5, 2012

Here is a list of small business ideas that only needs a small capital. Remember that what's important is that you have the skill, talent, perseverance and passion on what you're going to do.
This is good for those who just resigned, planning to resign or those couples that only has one source of income.


1. Cellphone Loading Station - The Philippines is the texting capital of the world, then why don't take advantage of it? You can even do this business at your office or at home. For as low as P500 you can start this business. I believe that for every P500 that you load as a reseller, they will give you an additional P50. Imagine if you can load P2,000 a day? Earning an extra P200 is not bad at all. It's enough for a meal or two for a family of four.

2. Sari-Sari Store - This is for those full time moms (or house husbands) that wants to earn those extra bucks. If you have that extra window or extra space in your home, then why not? I believe P5,000 is enough to start this business.

3. Online Tutorial/Home Tutorial -  This is a very good source of extra income. I'm actually considering it but too lazy to find someone to teach. If you have the time to do it, and believe you can teach? Then why not. A good P1,000 a week is not bad.

4. Direct Selling - I know, you yourself had something bought from Natasha or Avon. These Avon Ladies are very common specially in the beginning of 2000s. This is a good source of  that 'unlimited extra' income or you can even do this full time.

5. Poultry Farming - If you have that ample backyard, and the nearest neighbor in your place is like 100M away try considering this. Hog raising, egg farms and poultries are a neat source of income. For Hogs, I've done that myself for almost 3 years. I'm spending around P3,000 a month for hog feeds and the cost of labor. In return I'm getting P20,000 after 3 months. I'm not quite sure how the poultry and egg farm works. Maybe do a little research first before doing it. These are live animals and are very prone to illness and that will cost you a lot.

6. Garage Sales - For those extra clutters in your home. Just please make sure that the thing that you are going to sell are those that you won't need in the future. Less clutter + extra bucks = Priceless.

7. Baking - If you're a good baker, why not try this as a legitimate source of income. The only thing you need is your skill and the tools that you need. If you can bake the best cookie in town, your buyers will do the advertising for you(word-of-mouth).

8. Appliance Repair - Why pay more to those shops if you can repair them yourselves. I believe TESDA is offering a free course on appliance repair. You can also do home-service or have your own shop.

If you liked this business ideas above, please click the like button below. Or if you have other business ideas, please consider sharing it by putting a comment below.

How to increase web traffic

Feb 4, 2012

I own a blog before that was not so doing good in regards to generating traffic. Just got like 50 page views a day and 1-2 clicks on my Ads. I was a little desperate at that time and looked for ways to increase traffic on my site. I even bought some books that will guide me in getting traffic.

What I don't realize is that what I'm looking for is just in front of me. I've created a top five list on how you will be able to increase web traffic gradually and have your permanent readers and audience.

1. Use the social media - Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are good sources of traffic. An average Facebook account has 180-300 Friends. Here in the Philippines, an average Pinoy account has 400-600 friends(Filipinos are friendly right?). Add a 'like button' in your blog. (I will give you a link on how you can do it.) Admit it, we are more encourage to read something if lots of people 'Liked' what your article is about. But please, promoting your blog thru Facebook and Twitter doesn't need to be every hour. A good 2-3 times a day will do during the peak hours so you will attract more audience.

2. Forums and Chat - I call this method 'Free Taste'. That's what exactly those merchants selling food in a province bound buses does. They give some free samples and free tastes of their products to the passengers, and in return, most passengers will buy from them. You can also do this in forums and chat sites. I usually join discussions in a certain forum(topic related to my site), and put my thought about it. And I put  link/s on the comment that I did if they want to learn or find out more about the topic.

3. Backlinks - Maybe the term is not quite familiar to you. Like this one(NBA MVP) - and this will lead you to another site.(in this case I used my own page)

a backlink is any link received by a web node (web page, directory, website, or top level domain) from another web node
 So it means that you need to find a top level site or blog that has a good web traffic and link to their site. Just simply ask the creator or the owner if they can, but most of the time, they will just reject you.

You will find a lot of websites that accepts free backlinking. One is SocialMonkee.com - just sign up with them and you will be referred automatically to 25 different bookmark sites. The best thing of all, it's free. You can do this once a day, and that 750 backlinks for free in a month. If you are lazy like me, this is the best way to backlink than to do the manual one. 

4. Be a guest author/Invite a guest Author - This is a good tool to advertise your blog and for you to be known. Find more here. Myblogguest.com.

5. Unique and useful content - This is one of the most important things. This would be the building block, the pillar and the DNA of your website/blog. I don't need to explain much about this. Just be yourself, write something that you're good at. Create a unique article that many people maybe interested to.


And by the way, before I forgot - here's a link on the step by step guide to add a Facebook Like Button in your blog. Good Luck to all of us.

Here's the Link.

Call Centers in the Philippines

Feb 3, 2012

This is the industry that keeps the Philippines alive. Anyone from a high-school graduate, to a person with a Masters degree are working in BPOs and Call Centers. There are hundreds of them just around the Metro. Here is a list of Call Centers and BPOs plus their average monthly salary. Please don't quote me on this, cause this are just average figures. Of course, it will still depend on your experience and Entry level.


Teletech - They have branches in Makati, Pasay and Quezon City. Don't know much about this Call Center, just do some research in Google.(like what I did with the salary range)

Average Salary: 15-20k

Convergys - I believe they are one of the biggest Call Center not just in the Philippines but across the globe.
 Average Salary: 14-18k

Accenture/Accenture BPO - They are said to be one of the largest consulting firm in the world.
Average Salary - 16k-24k

Stream Global Services - They are formerly known as eTelecare. Has a record of giving very low basic salary, but most employees are saying that the incentives are great.
Average Salary: 14-16k

IBM - The name says it all. Mostly tech stuffs are the accounts here.
Average Salary: 18-25k

24/7 - I applied here before but they gave me a not to good salary package. I personally encourage newbies to apply here.
 Average Salary: 18-22k

Sykes Asia/Sykes Marketing - Worked here before for 3 years. The environment is good, rare salary disputes and a good management.
Average Salary - 15-20k

APAC - The good thing about this Call Center is that, it's very accessible for most employees. It's just located in the heart of Quezon City(Cubao).
Average Salary: 18-22k

HSBC - I heard a lot of good things about this company. In fact many of my friends are working here, though I would not recommend newbies here cause I believe they are looking for experienced individuals.
 Average Salary:  20-25k

JP Morgan & Chase - Mostly financial accounts. This is an in-house BPO/Call Center located in Taguig City. Also not for newbies.
Average Salary: 24-28k

Sutherland - Also located in Taguig City. I believe they have both financial and Sales account. Heard a bad reputation regarding the management. Who knows? A Sales oriented company - but I believe they also have a financial department here.
Average Salary: 19-23k

Branders - If you're into Sales, you should definitely try this Call Center/BPO. The Sales incentives are good, high appraisal every year plus free meal and soda.
Average Salary - 20k-24k

NCO - Mostly Financial accounts. Located inside the ABS-CBN complex(not sure what floor they are). Also has free meals to every employee. Recommended for newbies.
Average Salary - 16-20k

ANZ - Very accessible location. Located just in the corner of Quezon Avenue and EDSA. A Day shift account, but they don't accept walk-in applicants. If you are lucky enough to have a friend working in this company, might as well ask to be referred.
Average Salary: 25-28k

VXI - They have branches in Munoz and in Makati. Has Sales, Technical Support, Customer Service and Financial Accounts.
Average Salary: 18-24k

Hinduja Global Solutions - they have one branch in Eastwood City making it accessible to many. Has great accounts and I heard the salary is above average.
Average Salary - 24-26k

Concentrix - Just with the same building as Hinduja(E-Commerce). Mostly financial accounts are here.
Average Salary: 20-22k

Arvato - Same building as Hinduja and Concentrix in Eastwood. I heard they just had a new account and its the pioneer here in the Philippines. One of my reliable source said that the salary here is almost double than the regular BPO/Call Center.
Average Salary - 25k-30k

ACS - Mostly financial Accounts particularly collections. Has a good pay but have a terrible background in terms of salary disputes/HR.
Average Salary: 24-26k

There are hundreds more out there. I cannot enumerate them all here. If you have additional information that will benefit the readers, please feel free to leave a comment. Hope this would be helpful for job hunters. I know that the first thing you are asking is the basic salary when applying. Goodluck guys!

Bizarre Filipino Dishes

OK let's get started. Did anyone of you have tried any bizarre food in the Philippines? I know everyone in the world knows what Balut is, even my friends from California have a boardroom in their office called 'Balut'.

First on our list is of course, the world famous Balut(aborted duck's egg). I know you are craving for it so here's a picture of that poor duckling(Yumm yumm!)

Picture can be found here.

Do you want me to zoom in the picture? Haha! Yes it looks disgusting, specially when you're sucking the embryo. They say it taste like more of a Fish/egg combined. Well, whatever it taste like I will never eat one.

And the good news is, we are just getting started. Next on our list is this:



Want to guess what is this? It's what we Filipinos call Isaw or chicken intestines. It does look like a worm, but believe me, this tastes really good. It's taste like chicken but on the gooey side.

The third on our list is this poor creatures,



Yes you are seeing it correctly. Some Filipinos really eats dog's and cat's meat.(Yuckk!) We don't tolerate these kinds of things, but this is really happening specially in the remote areas of the Philippines. They even make a soup out of it's meat and cook some of it's internal organs.

These weird, bizaare and exotic foods are believed to be aphrodisiacs. No wonder why we have a booming population. Well, all I can say is that for every country there is always a certain Taboo that's different from the norm.. and that's what you call Culture. I'm still proud of being a Filipino(even some of us eat Dogs and Cats).

Just some Motivation

A motivational story.


Look at this kid in the picture.

He sits in his corner all day reading comic books and drawing action heroes, because he has no friends and hates being outside.

His father left him when he was just over a year old and has been moving with his mother from one place to another for more than 20 times.

He was bullied in school a lot. One bullying incident resulted in being hit on the head and lying in a coma for almost 2 weeks.

His mom had some psychological problems.

At the age of 19, his uncle which is also his bestfriend killed himself. He's the only friend he got from childhood - leaving him devastated. His mom even told him over the phone that "I wish it was you!".


He discovered his talent. A thing that he really loves. Others around him tried to hold him back because he did not fit the scene as a white boy. Even his girlfriend at that time tried to stop him.

Despite all of these people trying to hold him back, he did not quit. Gathering more fame as he was getting better and better. Unfortunately, this fame was also the cause for his addiction to Vicodin, Valium, Ambien and Methadone.

As if this wasn't enough, one of his bestfriend got killed by a gunshot wound at the age of 32.

 This man, who barely able to shop at Kmart when he was a kid, now owns the mansion of the former CEO of Kmart. Despite having everything against him in his life, he did not quit. Believing in his talents and doing what he loves.

And this kid is EMINEM.

How to make money online?



If you are looking for an additional source of incoming without leaving your home, here are some tips on how you can make money online. The best thing about these websites? They are free!



1. Clixsense.com - This is a good website to make those extra bucks. It's a Paid to Click(PTC) websites that offers a monetary amount by clicking Ads on the Internet. Registration is free. The only backlog about this site is that, it will take a lot of patience and perseverance. A click would cost $.001 - $.05. It's a trusted site, cause there are a lot of PTC sites that are just pure scams.

2. Odesk.com - I recommend this site for those who are computer geeks. Most jobs are related to Computer programs and stuffs like C++, photoshop, etc. They also offer jobs for Virtual Assistants, Call Center Agents and Data encoders. The backlog - You need to have an online job experience before you can get hired.

3. Surveys - I haven't found one that is legitimate. Honestly, there are a lot of scam sites lurking around the net. If you do know one that really pays, please put it in the comment field to help our viewers.

4. Blogging - Write interesting blogs. Web traffic is the main source of income. The more people that visit your site, the more chances that they will click on your Ads. But it will take a lot of patience, some blogs even take months before it can have a consistent amount of traffic. And by  the way, make sure to get legitimate advertisers like Adsense. I know a friend who earns $500-$1000 a month just by blogging. Religiously update your blogs to keep it fresh. Create one using your GMAIL or Wordpress account.

5. Online Tutorial - You need to have a teaching background if you are planning to take this kind of job. Most asians (Koreans, Japanese and Chinese) needs English tutors. You can also teach kids about their school works, specially math and science. Try this site, though I've never done it before but i heard a lot of good reviews about this(Tutor.com).

If you have more ideas, please feel free to leave your comments below.

NBA 2012 Champion, Awardees (Prediction)

Feb 2, 2012

Will Lebron James finally gets his first ring?

Will Kobe win another championship before he retires?

Will Chicago dominate again like the 90's?

A young and talented team dominates the league for a decade?

Or will it be the veteran Texan that will win a back to back Championship?



Picture can be found HERE!


Here's my opinion.

I'm not a Kobe Hater or a Lebron Fan. But we should accept the fact that Miami will dominate for atleast 4 years. The only factor that keeps them from getting another ring is that elusive performance during crunchtime. They can beat any team at any given day if there are only 3 quarters - yes you heard it right.. 3 QUARTERS. Cause when the Miami Heat is playing, anything can happen during the fourth(Choke, eheemm). It doesn't matter if they have the lead for the first three quarters. They only rely on pure skill and talent, and the thing missing for a Ring? HEART! But again, I still believe that they will WIN it all this year(crossing fingers).

My Predictions:

MVP: Lebron James (honorable mention - Kevin Durant)

ROY: Kyrie Irving (honorable mention - Ricky Rubio)

West Champ: Oklahoma City Thunders

East Champ: Miami Heat

6th Man - Lamar Odom - I still believe that he will have his thing going after the All-Star Break

Most Improved - Roy Hibbert - No doubt

Coach of the Year - Still rooting for Tom Thibs'

DPOY - Dwight Howard


Did I miss anything? Hmm.. Maybe that's it. And vote for your NBA MVP.

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather?

I guess you already heard the News.

Mayweather will not fight Pacquiao this coming May 5th. Still wondering why Mayweather keeps avoiding Manny, considering what's Pac's performance against Marquez.

What are your thoughts about this?



Credits from Istorya.net.


Story can be found here,

And please feel free to vote for your NBA MVP.

Perfect Valentine Gifts

Valentines Day is just around the corner. Still looking what's the perfect gift for her? Here are some ideas. Prices may not be accurate but I think is pretty close.

1. Of course, the first on our list is this:


Valentines would not be complete withour flowers. The good thing is that, you can order it now online straight to her address. Prices may vary from P1,000 - P3,000 ($20 - $75). If you want to get some cheaper ones, you can go to Dangwa. You can get an arranged bouquet of red roses for as low as P200($5.00)



2.  Perfumes.

Now this is a little tricky. You might get one that she does'nt like. Just a tip, ask her what's her favorite perfume. Here's an idea how:

During a regular conversation, pitch in with something like this,

Boy - "You smell really great! May I know what brand are you wearing/using? I'm planning to buy my mother/sister/friend one."

Girl answers - (answer)

Boy - "Is that your favorite perfume?"
If she answers "no, or not really" just ask her what her favorite one.

OK back to the topic. You can get cheap ones from shopping malls/department stores. The local ones cost around P200-400($4-$10). The good ones like Clinique Happy or Bulgari cost P4,000 - P6,000 ($100- $150) depending on the brand.



3. Chocolates.

This is the cheapest one that you can get. You'll have a bar of good chocolate for around P40-P50($1) and it's the easiest to get.



4. Spa Gift Certificate

She will surely love you with this! Nuf said!


5. And lastly, this is my personal favorite. Lingerie!

It's a win-win situation with this gift or probably the gift-giver will benefit more. You should probably ask a Sales Ladie's advice when purchasing this. She can tell you what are the best ones. Bought one last last year for my girlfriend and it's around P1,000 - P 4,000($25-$100). This is the BOMB! But if you're just in not that intimate stage, this is a big NO-NO!


Blocked Facebook in the Office

Okay here's the deal. Suddenly your boss blocks FaceBook access to your office? This really sucks!


Here are some helpful tips to have it again!

1. Use Proxy websites - yes there are websites that provides proxies. Nuff said, I know you are too excited - Here's the link.

2. Buy a new Cellphone- If you can't  use your office computer, then buy your own. There are a lot of Cellphones that offers instant access to FB. - Like BlackBerry, Iphone, etc.

3. Lastly, talk to your boss! Tell him the benefits of having access to FB(If there are any during workhours)



Learn Photoshop the easy way!

Hi 4Ss. Anyone want to learn photoshop in an instant? please see the picture below. You can find it here at 9GAG!

Credits to 9gag.com

Voila! Instant photoshop master!