I want to start the Doom of the Broom

I was about to leave home for work this morning when Annie, our house help, reminded me to buy a new broom since the one she’s been using everyday is almost ready to retire (so that explains why my shoe prints last night are still visible in our living room)

I gave her a hundred peso bill and a look that says “return the change on my drawer.” For sure, her “favorite” vendor on a bicycle will pass by that day and they will have a reason for a longer conversation. That’s alright as long as all her chores are done, a small talk with her BF prospect at the gate is fine with me. Besides, I don’t want to drop by the mall just to buy a walis tambo and have a hard time figuring how to hold it inside a sardined passenger van.

While on my way to my office, I have thoughts of brooms sweeping in my mind. It makes me smile remembering my days as a young boy who dreaded the sight of a broom gripped by my father waiting for me in our front yard asking what I am still doing outside at 10:00 pm.

Funny how I always get requests of brooms as pasalubong from relatives and friends when they found out that I am going to Baguio, whether on a business trip or vacation. Did they ever consider the fact that no luggage can accommodate brooms so that person (unfortunately most the time it’s me) will have that task of carrying an extra baggage of highly inflammable materials. It would really make my day if I ended getting a ride on an ordinary bus beside an inconsiderate smoker/ passenger.

I thought I’d have enough of such broom sob story but I was wrong. Recently, my 2-year old son Charles was diagnosed of having asthma. Something that he could have gotten from me. His pedia suggested that his asthma was triggered by either dust, smoke, dirt or animal hair.

Asthma is a serious condition, one that affects an estimated 300 million people worldwide. In the Philippines, around 5.5 million individuals have asthma. That’s an alarming stat of 1 in every 20 Filipino has asthma! Whoa!

And also a broom, our main cleaning companion at home, just push the dirt around and merely re-scatter dust into the air. That means, germs are still inside our house. Something that we cannot tolerate since we have a kid at home. We can really say that the dust might have cause his recent asthma attack.

My wife and I have always wanted to buy a vacuum cleaner but getting a unit will take sometime since we are still completing payments for a couple of appliances we bought through our credit cards. So the broom will stick for now (no pun intended).

Actually, we already have our eye on the new corded stick cleaner Dynamica from Electrolux, a Swedish global appliance company that pioneered vacuum cleaners. Dynamica is easy to handle and only weighs 1.6 kilograms, yet very powerful at the same time. It can pick hair and fiber, dust and crumbs whether on carpets, wooden surfaces or hard floors.

Get into the groove with the Electolux Dynamica Broombuster move!

Dynamica has a sleek razor-like design and a double-jointed floor nozzle that enables to swivel from side-to-side, making it possible to clean areas that are hard to reach like in between cabinet and the back of the refrigerator or under the hatch. This is such an innovation since I can’t do those things using a broom. I can definitely clean all our rooms in no time using this user-friendly and wonderful vacuum cleaner.

I need change. I want to start the doom of broom. I need help!

Things I can do with a Samsung Smart TV

I consider this generation as the luckiest batch of people who ever lived.

Why? You may ask. Just think of it, we got to experience just the right amount of technology--- not too crude, not too super high-tech. Just enough to help us go though our daily rituals and attain success.

20 years ago, you can do the following things with the limited technology that we have then:

1. Meet a friend in a mall even if you last spoken with him/ her a week ago. “Kita tayo sa bookstore sa Sunday after lunch?” was the last words you said and the meeting is set and your buddy will really be there no matter what.

2. Patiently wait for a letter from a love one overseas. Do you still remember the priceless feeling of getting an enveloped message from the mail box? (Btw, when was the last time you went to the post office?) Back then, people eagerly wait for the post man to pass by their homes likes it’s an event.

3. Get a game console worth like Php 200 and be that popular kid in school. I am actually referring to the early 90’s brick game phenomenon. Getting the highest level or score in Tetris among your classmates was everyone’s goal and ticket to stardom (Eat Bulaga even had a nationwide search for the ultimate Pinoy brick game champ).

Of course, a lot of things are a way way different now. You have a triple SIM cellphone and all and you still can’t figure where your BFF is at. You are pissed off because you indicated ASAP in your email and you got a reply after an hour. Try playing Tetris today and be labeled as “manong” or “manang”

Well, these are the little “not so pleasant things” that technology brings but who’s complaining? With the convenience and good life that it gives to us today, it’s an ally we are more than willing to embrace.

We might not live to experience teleportation booth or flying cars but as I said earlier, this generation has the right amount of technology--- not too crude, not too super high-tech.

When Samsung, one of the world’s most trusted names in product innovations, announced the release of their Smart TV. I can’t help but get excited because I’ve been hearing a lot of good stuff about the technology. It’s like a taste of future in today’s home.

Then, I saw this challenge posted on Facebook: Tell us the things you can do with a Samsung Smart TV! My immediate answer is, “A lot!!!”

To enumerate my plans of what I’d do just in case the tech fairy will grant me a Smart TV, I used the brand name SAMSUNG in coming out of the list:

Surf TV channels and websites online simultaneously. The Smart TV has a web browser, a social hub and a dual display capability that will allow my 2-year old son watch Barney and Friends while I search online for other alternatives for the sometime annoying purple dinosaur.

Amaze my family and neighbors with its sleek design. I have a neighbor who love to flaunt his abs every weekend while cleaning his big bike or watering their plants. I can’t beat the body of this bum who just wait for his monthly allowance from his wife working overseas but he will never be as smooth and gorgeous as this TV.

Make a contribution in the call for energy conservation. Samsung has also been known to introduce energy-saving devices in their products. Smart TV is one product that has a feature that reduces energy consumption. Now, you are not only helping the government save energy, you also lower your monthly electricity bill. That means, there will be something left for you when you give your pay check to your wife.

Sing my heart out during videoke sessions. Owning a Smart TV is definitely a reason to celebrate so let’s party! Imagine those dramatic skit or Michael Jordan dunks or women wearing almost nothing that serves as background while you hit the note of your fave song in LED. Wow! Just delete “My Way” in your play list to make sure your enjoyment will not be cut short.

Unlock and experience the future of home entertainment. I heard Samsung will introduce the industry’s first app store to enhance and maximize the features of Smart TV. It’s like adults will be like kids again choosing what candies and goodies to get from their favorite sari-sari store. Now, I miss Pee Wee, Cheeze It and Tarzan chewing gum.

Nightly movie marathons in superior picture and sound. Smart TV is not only compatible with DVD players and game consoles but you can also connect laptops. I have digital files of movies of different genre saved through the years and I think this is the right moment to watch them in 3D picture and 3D sound. I wonder how my Seiko Films collection will appear in 3D?

Give my family a quality and ground-breaking product. I first encountered the phrase "Human Digitalism" early this year while browsing the net. Samsung wants to incorporate in their products this Philosophy which says "the next step in the evolution of consumer electronics is to place human life at the center of the creative process." This excites me like I’m with my wife in our honeymoon--- no one else with me but only the best!

How about you? What things can you do with a Samsung Smart TV?

For more updates about the Samsung Smart TV, you can visit Samsung Philippines official website or Samsung TV Philippines Facebook fanpage.

Alter Space: Technology to Inspire a Generation

After the devastating 3/11 earthquake-tsunami combo in Japan, I’ve been interested with just about anything what-to-do-when-disaster-strikes posted online, printed on newspapers and reported on radio and TV.

I am one of the only 723 people (as of Mar 31, 2011) who viewed the MMDA Earthquake Preparedness for Metro Manila video since it was posted on Youtube last February 2010. When Charice Pempengco posted the MTV of her hit Pyramid also on that video sharing site on March 2010, it was viewed more than 31 million times after a year. With the rate it’s going, the MMDA vid will only reach thousands of hits either by getting Charice doing the voice over or the predicted 7.2 magnitude quake hit the metropolis.

I don’t want to sound like am paranoid or something bu t I am actually more than after the safety of my wife and son than my own. And besides, I am a true blue boy scout and still practice our mantra “Laging Handa” up to now.

If only I am Superman or our very own Captain Barbell, I would more than willing to work 24/7 to save all the people I can when danger comes. But I am not. I am just like the many people out there who works in front of the computer nine hours a day (with a few instances of online leisure, of course) and zoom back home when the clock hits 5 o’clock.

While posting a comment on an amusing video that one of my friends uploaded on Facebook, I discovered Alter Space which is a new Filipino-developed game in the popular social networking site. AboitizPower is the bighearted company who came up of the idea of giving gamers a fun way to learn practical tips on earth-friendly living. This means a lifestyle that helps reduce the effects of global warming, climate change and carbon emissions on the planet. Alter Space is the 1st Filipino environment awareness game on Facebook.

Alter Space: Official Game Trailer. Watch it NOW!

I think this game is very timely and relevant, not to mention the great fun you’ll have while playing. I want to describe this innovative game as ASTIG for Alter Space is a Technology to Inspire a Generation. AboitizPower is definitely using the right platform to reach out to the online community and make them aware of the need to do something for our beloved Mother Earth. As an added bonus, yo u’ll get a chance to win cool prizes and gadgets when you finished the game. Now , that ’s what you call fun fun fun! To play the game, just go to http://www.facebook.com/AlterSpaceGame.

Just want to share an alarming report from The Washington Post about the recent findings of scientists that there is a possibility that climate change and global warming could produce more earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity as ice masses on the continental crust shifts.

This only tells us one thing: every one of us should start saving energy not only to save money but to reduce the demand for fossil fuels like coal, oil, an d natural gas. Less burning of fuels also means lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary contributor to global warming, and other pollutants.

To set it straight, people cannot totally avoid carbon emissions because it’s a fact that all living things release carbon gas into the air. I would like to share some tips on how to conserve energy and lower carbon emissions that I learned after weeks of reading about what a non-Superman like me can do to save our planet. I am just so inspired by the great advocacy that is Alter Space initiated by AboitizPower that I will rundown my list using the name of its mother company. So if you want to take part in saving the planet, remember ABOITIZ.

Energy is lost when air conditioners and hot-air furnaces have to work harder to draw air through dirty filters. 5 percent of the energy used can be saved by cleaning a dirty air conditioner filter. That’s about 175 pounds of CO2 saved per year.

It only use 1/4 the energy of an ordinary incandescent bulb and last 8-12 times longer. They provide an equivalent amount of bright, attractive light. Only 10% of the energy consumed by a normal light bulb generates light. The rest just makes the bulb hot. Every home that will replace one standard bulb with one compact fluorescent bulb can save 260 pounds of CO2 per year.

Buy the product that is sized to your typical needs - not the biggest one available. Front loading washing machines will usually cut hot water use by 60 to 70% compared to typical machines. A new energy-efficient model of a refrigerator, saves 1.4 tons of CO2 per year.

This appliance accounts f o r about 20% of household electricity use. Use a thermometer to set your refrigerator temperature as close to 37 degrees and your freezer as close to 3 degrees as possible. Make sure that its energy saver switch is turned on. Also, check the gaskets around your refrigerator/freezer doors to make sure they are clean and sealed tightly.

Plant shade trees and paint your house a light color if you live in a warm climate, or a dark color if you live in a cold climate. Reduction s in energy use resulting from shade trees and appropriate painting can save up to 2.4 tons of CO2 emission s per year. Each tree also directly absorbs about 25 pounds of CO2 from the air annually.

Every gallon of gasoline you save avoids 22 pounds of CO2 emissions. If your car gets 25 miles per gallon, for example, and you reduce your annual driving from 12,000 to 10,000 miles, you'll save 1800 pounds of CO2.


Reduce the amount of waste you produce by buying minimally packaged goods, choosing reusable products over disposable ones, and recycling. For every pound of waste you eliminate or recycle, you save energy and reduce emissions of CO2 by at least 1 pound. Making products with recycled materials, instead of from scratch with raw materials, uses 30 to 55% less for paper products, 33% less for glass, and a whopping 90% less for aluminum.

The above mentioned tips are just some of the many things we can do for our environment. It only shows that we don’t need a super hero to save the world. Each one of us has the ability and opportunity to contribute in preserving the only planet that we have. Let’s join hands like a family protecting their home from harm and danger. We should be grateful that we have a government trying to reach out to the public and organizations like AboitizPower who strive to make a difference in their own creative and innovative ways.