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.

I am a Taste Test Pilot!

I might have been a goat in my previous life.

It’s not like I smell bad or I am a lecher, I just love the feeling of having a chewing gum in my mouth most of the time.

“Kambing ka ba?”

I am immune to hearing that question since the day I discovered Mentos in high school. Funny but the first time I got a hold of this gum is when a classmate asked me to bite it and place it unto a newly-opened bottle of soda. The result: my two amazed eyes wide open.

From then on, I have been a sucker, figuratively and literally, to this crunchy and soft gum. I have tasted and chewed almost every flavor and sizes of Mentos from the minty to the fruity-flavored ones, to those cube-shaped in boxes to the original flat egg-like singles in a pack.

My all time favorite is the classic variant which I have grown chewing. I could either play my tongue on its crunchy shell ‘till it softens or immediately break it with my teeth the moment I pop it inside my mouth. The outcome would just be the same--- an undefined chewing experience that only Mentos can bring.

Just recently, I was privileged to be chosen as one of the first few to take a crack (again, figuratively and literally) on the newest variant of my favorite gum: Sugarfree Mentos Pure Fresh with Green Tea.

As a Mentos Taste Test Pilot, I have undergone one of the most exciting tests I have ever encountered--- chew all the Mentos I can. It’s almost a week since I received my taste test kit and here are my findings after a rigid process conducted in my mouth and taste buds:

“Sugarfree na, may green tea pa! Definitely, you’ll feel an intense sensation of freshness in your mouth with every bite. A blister pack contains seven gums but don’t expect it to last in seven days because I can finish one pack in only seven minutes.”

I think it’s also worth mentioning in this post that Mentos has been my ally to avoid smoking. I have worked in different companies in the past and noticed that when stress and pressure comes, many of my officemates would go to the designated “yosi” areas for a dose of stick or two. Not me. I say, “Isang Mentos lang yan.”

The next time my boss ask me, “Kambing ka ba?”

I’ll just give him my usual pogi and smart-looking smile and offer him a pack of the new of Mentos Pure Fresh with Green Tea and say, “Sugarfree po yan!”

This new product is now available and can be found in most grocery stores and C-stores nationwide.

No money for a grad gift? Be Smart, Bro!

I am Mr. Thoughtful. A title I have carried since I learned how to wrap a gift, which if I estimate would be sometime in between the moment I discovered how to tie my shoe laces and the time I felt I was falling for Brooke Shields. I can’t remember the exact date but more or less you’ll have an idea of how old I am.

I am Mr. Thoughtful but I think my streak of being that guy who always remembers special occasions and give gifts to the celebrators might come to an end. Our budget at home this month is in a little mess because of some unavoidable spending money spree (birthday party for my son who just turned 2, a brand new LCD TV, a cellphone unit for yaya, etc.)

Rromaine, one of my nieces is graduating from kindergarten this week and I only have enough money for me to survive until the next payday. Then I remember what my bestfriendalways tells me during times like these, “Be smart, bro!”

Well, I have come up with a list of possible graduation gifts that I can give to a 6-year old girl after hours of squeezing my creative juices. I hope I still have a few drops left for work.

Recycle gifts. Last Christmas, I received almost a dozen of pens with logos of the companies where they came from. I just hope my niece don’t mind using a pen with the word Loperamide boldly marked on the body. It’s red naman e.

Clippings of Taylor Swift. I have a stack of old magazines and newspapers just waiting for the right offer from a passing magbobote-dyaryo at home. I remember reading a lot of articles about Taylor Swift since her invasion in Manila recently. I did hear my niece sang a few lines from “You Belong With Me” before so I suspect she is also a fan.

Homemade toy. When I was in kindergarten myself, I used to have a pet pebble just like any ordinary kid (hey, owning one then was normal as per Super Grover). I have a few shiny stones I collected from my first trip in Boracay kept in the attic (now, I’m not sure if that is normal). She can play with it as an anting-anting during superhero games, use as pamato in piko or put in her pencil case as a lucky charm for high grades. You just have to include an instruction sheet and I think that will work.

Cartoon collection on CD. Youtube and Nero have save me for a number of times when I am blank with gift ideas. Two years ago, I surprised my father-in-law with a CD full of Bulagaan episodes on Father’s Day. He’s a sucker of classic TVJ jokes and he officially heart me na after that day. For my niece, it’s a combo of Dora and Barney song numbers.

Shoe cover. My niece will be a Grade 1 stude next school year and she will definitely need a pair of shoe covers. I should know because she’ll be going to the same elementary school where her mom and all his titos and titas graduated. I got a grade of 90% in Home Economics when I submitted a hand-sewed apron so I think I can manage to make a pair of shoe covers out of my old office uniforms.

I think I can also get some advice from my friends for graduation gift ideas. Well, they’re just one click away and would not mind a few minutes of chatting and exchange of emails. I just hope my internet service connection would not fail during this time that I need immediate responses from my online buddies.

Hmmm, I think I should really get a personal broadband connection soon. Have you heard about the SMART BRO Unlimited Home Broadband Plan 999 or 1995? Aside from the dependable quality service it offers, subscribers will also get some amazing freebies:

a. FREE All-In-One HP Printer
b. FREE Call & Texts with SMART Gold Lite Plan 300 for 6 months subscription
c. FREE 1 month broadband subscription.

I have read and heard a lot of good reviews about SMART BRO Unlimited Home broadband because of its consistent surf speed and stable signal. This offer is only good until June 4, 2011 and it may not happen again so join me and be one of the lucky subscribers who will grab this great opportunity. This promo is per DTI-NCR Permit No. 1871, Series of 2011.

For further inquiries about the promo, you may visit the nearest SMART Wireless Center or any SMART BRO accredited agents or visit www.smart.com.ph. You can also follow the SMART Communications Corporation Facebook fan page.

While writing this post, I got a text message from Rromaine's mom thanking me for the mono block chair she borrowed which her daughter used during their practice for the graduation. She also informed me that my niece will graduate as one of the top students of her class. She was also grateful for the help every time Rromaine asked assistance for her home works.

Now, I realize that all the while I've been thinking of material things to give and not what's the most important thing in life--- Love. I may have only realized it now but definitely there is love every time I read stories, connect the dots and color pages with my niece when we work on her assignments.

On her graduation day, I want to witness her marching up to the stage and I'll whisper my sincerest prayer for her to have a good health and better opportunity to show her skills, talent and intelligence, along with a promise that I will forever be a willing and proud uncle who would watch over her.