Gina Carano to star in Pepsi's Super Bowl Ad

As reported in mmarated.com, Gina Carano will be appearing in the upcoming SuperBowl advertisement sponsored by Pepsi. The theme will revolve around the promotion of optimism and hopefulness amidst the present crisis.

Gina will be featured side by side with the legendary Bruce Lee. Two pioneers in their own rights (Bruce Lee and his JKD philosphy and Gina Carano as the face of female MMA). It truly shows the present impact of letting female fighters going mainstream with Ms Carano leading the way.



Still, many MMA fans are still waiting for Gina Carano's next fight. I hope it will be in the soonest possible time.


PS: GSP just won via a 4th round TKO over Penn. It's striking over choke holds!

Picture was taken from mmarated.com

My First Kape + Teknolohiya Attendance

I've been a seldom lurker at the ayalatbi.org website for the past four months looking for some hot, interesting seminar topics. They had a big-bang December technopreneurship activity which I failed to attend.




I attribute it for having more control of my time nowadays and for having an immediate need for a data visualization tool, i pre-registered for AyalaTBI's next activity. Ayala Foundation organized another Kape + Teknolohiya session entitled "Visualizing Data: Making Sense of an Information-Rich World". The session was facilitated by Prof Diego Maranan of the UP Open University.



Great venue (the shiny and sleek, Technology Portal), friendly and accommodating Ayala TBI staff, friendly and reasonable price and good food (combination of pancit with different pastries, free flowing coffee and iced tea). Although we started 30 minutes late.




I was hoping that Prof Maranan will provide thorough discussion on the tools in translating statistical data into some visual representations. My technical side has gotten into me without realizing that many of the participant aren't technical people in the first place. Ok, I am contented with the some examples that were demonstrated.

1. Exxonsecret.org - a graphical network on global warning

2. Dumpster - according its homepage, this is "a portrait of romantic breakups collected from blogs in 2005"

3. Zipdecode - a US map that interactively locates places once a valid zip code was entered.




Until this time, I wasn't able to find appropriate visualization tools to project CHITS data. Nonetheless, I might consider focusing on data visualization for my upcoming thesis work.

Acknowledgment: Slides were taken from Prof. Maranan's presentation.

Two AM morning thoughts

It's about 2AM, Manila time. Three thoughts are running in my mind: our new venture, how to execute triple kill using Jah'rakal in DOTA and of course, food. I choose to settle on the last one. It seems that my appetite is seeking Indian and Malay cuisines. How I miss the Penang days wherein such cuisines are just around every street corner. May the pictures below let you realize how tough it is to imagine such images in this inappropriate time where every people is asleep.

1. Lamb Stew with chili sauce


2. Nasi Goreng Biasa



3. Satay - this is my personal favorite!



4. Some seafoods stuff - forgot the name



5. Sumptuous chicken and egg soup



6. Lamb curry



7. Roasted spicy chicken




8. San Miguel beer Strong Ice with chicharon



9. One hot, smoking cup of pure black coffee



So much for this. It's time to count sheeps instead of imagining foods.

100% x 1 > 100% of self

Leveraging using other people's resources is one of the cleverest way of building financial resources. Mutual funds is a good example of this. While looking at the recent annual mutual fund report at PMT, NAVPUS aren't getting better nowadays. MF's as far as the experts are saying will always rebound after downfalls but might take some 3-5 more years. This is good for long-term investments (5-10 years of leaving the principal amount untouched). In as much as I wanted to enroll in a mutual fund, I cannot.

My mind and bravado is pushing me to embark to a microfinancing venture this summer. This is part of a personal grand plan of shunning away from the "employee" mindset and transitioning to business and entrepreneurial mindset. Considering the need to diversify the resources, situation has led to jump into instruments that are:

1. provides interest rate that beats the 4-5 percent annual inflation rate
2. preserves and liquidation of the principal. i don't have the appetite yet to lose lots of bucks
3. generates regular passive income. let thy bucks work for you.
4. encourages capital expansion and thereby, an increase in interest

Mr. Francisco Colayco, a famous Pinoy financial advisor, labeled this as the build-up stage in growing wealth. I will be employing 'bakas' scheme or using other people's money as leverage in my upcoming venture. Obviously, P100,000 will provide better returns than P10,000. Only few daring individuals are willing to put P100K on a one-shot investment scheme. It will be more easier and less intimidating to shell out P10,000 for working Pinoys with average earnings given sufficient amount of time. Pooling small amounts of money from other people is more practical than shelling out a the same amount but all from my personal bank account if one wanted to enjoy higher returns. It reduces risks, while helping out other people to earn more than what the conservative commercial banks are giving.

The next few months are quite exciting. I've learning from investment experts and for quite some time now it's time for me to execute my plans. Looking back from my entry one year ago about savings and investments, it is encouraging that I've exceeded my annual target. Like a wolf whose appetite increases every time it smells blood, my addiction to investment and money-making is just starting warm-up.

Learning investments is not rocket science. A clear and solid plan is enough. Combine it with hard work, persistence, patience and prayer, proper results should fall into place.

Gina Carano: The Face of Female Mixed Martial Arts

And yes, I am a Gina Carano fan. Before I became familiar with Gina Carano, I have came across with Natasha, Soviet Union's female sniper at Red Alert 3. Curiosity told me to find out who is the actress behind Natasha's character and to my surprise, she isn't an actress but a Muay thai / MMA champion. After a series of researches, I became a fan of Gina Carano and MMA in general.

In a male dominated sport like MMA, many will wonder what does a lady with stunning looks that belongs to the movies and billboard posters doing inside the octagon. Ask Gina and she'll say "i came here to fight". Seeing an angelic lady talking as tough as men is really admirable. More than the looks and appeal, what is more awesome is her dedication and passion to focus in a field where even average men won't dare to pursue. Armed with unique combination of good looks, natural talent, humility, unmatched charisma and hard work, it is safe to conclude that Gina Carano is the face of the female MMA.





I hope that EliteXC will resume very soon. Gina Carano should then be fitted against Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos for a much anticipated fight. And after the smoke has been cleared, Gina will have a new record of 8W-0L-0D.




Addendum: EliteXC is already gone with contracts of its fighters still hanging. Rumor has it that Gina Carano might sign under the WEC or the Zuppa banners once the contract issues have been settled. Nonetheless, Gina is sorely missed in the octagon and fans would like her back in the soonest possible time. I'll register in any efforts to pressure the big bosses of fighting outfits.

Tinikling dance

I apologize for the readers who don't understand Tagalog. Tinikling according to wikipedia is:

"Ang tinikling ay ang halo-halo ng biyaya at kilusan na paa. Laban-laban sa pagitan ng paa at sanga ng kawayan.
Ang tinikling may ebulusyon dati naging pambansa sayaw ng Pilipinas. Ang ibong "Tikling" ("heron") ay patayo sa kanyang mga mahaba at payat na binti. Ang sayaw na Tinikling naglalarawan ng paraan ang ibon pagalawin kanyang mga binti sa pagitan na damo. Itong ay isang bersiyon ng tinikling, kundi mayroon ikalawa mga kuwento magaspang. ..." Read more

The video was taken (courtesy of Dr. Marcelo) during the ADZU conference at Dakak last February. The newbie tinikling dancer (me) is partly overly conscious that his feet might not hit the bamboo while obediently listening to his dance partner.

2008 Travels

I am rekindling various places I've been year long. The quantity of travels may not match the number of travels i did in 2006 and 2007 but this year's travels have personal and significant importance not mention the diversity and variety of travels:

February
6-8: Mendez, Cavite

This is the first CHITS encounter for the AMIGA and MAGNAMARTE Inter Local Health Unit of Cavite. 20-plus attendees were able to experience using CHITS for the firstime.uOur group is composed of Doc Eloy, Kuya Endo, HR and darth_ali.






20-22: Dakak, Zamboanga del Norte, 1st Joint Critical Care Rural Physicians Conference

Sponsored by the Ateneo de Zamboanga University School of Medicine and Rural Health Physicians of Canada, our group was invited to present on the health informatics track specifically on CHITS. Kudos to Dean Cristobal and Dr. Macrohon. Dakak is one hot and exotic beach and perhaps better that Boracay!







March:

22-25: Roxas, Capiz, CHITS Training

A training session for the Capiz CHITS users was conducted to introduce the use of CHITS Query browser. Also with our group is Max Hennenmann, Grace Allana and Shainur Premji. This is the first time that we were able to walk in Baybay beach at night time.





April: GIS Seminar Cavite

17-18: Island Cove, Binakayan, Cavite

DOH-IMS invited Dr. Steve Ebeemer of World Health Organization to conduct a workshop on GIS in Health. Dr. Ebemeer did a great discussion in showing that GIS is just a tool or technology. The effectiveness of the GIS is as good as the quality of the data that are coming while considering the relevance of spatial and time data. I am wondering how is almisa doing nowadays?? :D




May:

8-13: Batanes

What can i say? This is the best place that I've been to. Batanes is simply a heaven on earth. If Batanes is a wine, it will be Tequila. Exotic and long-lasting. I could spend the whole day sitting at the top of the hills watching migratory birds in the sky while reflecting on the beauty of the Pacific Ocean. We've been there to conduct CHITS deployment for Basco and Uyugan. Batanes is simply captivating!









August: Boracay, Aklan

25: I was supposed to stay at Roxas City for my two-month health informatics work for CHITS but the whole Provincial health Office will be going to Boracay. This is something that one cannot missed: a free trip to Boracay! During the brief Boracay stay, i was able to view its famous blue waters with white. And lots of bikini-clad Koreanas!


August to October: Capiz

The stint in Capiz was intended to upgrade CHITS version based on the new FHSIS standards. The stay also includes visits to Dumalag, Cuartero, Tapaz, Sigma, Panay and other parts of the Capiz. Worthwhile visit i must say. Definitely, there will be a next stint within this year. I miss eating sea shells with Gold Eagles beer while watching the sun sets at Baybay beach.










November:

18-22: Ateneo De Zamboanga University, Zamboanga City

Together with Dr. Alex Gavino, we conducted a training of trainers for the ADZU SOM. Led by Dr. Bernie Macrohon of ADZU, the team of ADZU did a demonstation training for the potential end-users of CHITS. The visit in Zamboanga exposed me to the Muslim culture and somehow, made me think that Islam is a great religion. We're toured around the city by Dr. Macrohon, Genner and Vic, while providing us historical perspective of each places. From Mayos Climaco's legendary story to gold barter trades to the sumptuous sati to the Yakan weaving village. the Zamboanga memories are just unforgettable.









22-28: Penang Malaysia

After departing Zamboanga by 7AM and arriving in Manila by 9AM, i am bound to leave for Penang, Malaysia by 2PM. This is one of the weekends that have surge my adrenaline to an all-time high. Mission in Penang: INCOSSH 2008 and yours truly was assigned as one of the presenters. The whole Pinoy contingent was sponsored by International Open source Network and we're billeted to Holiday Inn then to Bayview Hotel. Conference comes, we met various health informatics practitioners around the globe while forming some collaborations. After the conference, I transferred from Bayview to YMCA Penang.


29-29: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A side trip was scheduled for KL as part of the extended stay in Malaysia. I need to see again the Petronas Twin Towers. Too bad, I wasn't able to join the tower tour. It takes 5 hours of bus ride to travel from Penang to Puduraya bus station in KL. Along the way, one can see the green scenery of Malaysian mountains and citywide skyscraper light along the Penang bridge.