Note: The following items apply only in the Philippines.
Wondering why those three words are together? Well, I found them together in a single page in Facebook. I have yet to find out how really "free" they are, but here's some info on them:
First, there's the free 18 inch Yellow Cab Pizza if you get approved for a Standard Chartered Credit Card. Just text (omit the quotes) "YCAB (space) SCB (space) Your Name" to 2338 for Globe and 3919 for Smart. You will receive a confirmation message informing you that a representative of Standard Chartered accredited agent will contact you soon.
Hopefully, the card is free for the first year. And there won't be a ton of documents to show before you can get approved. Another thing with credit card companies today is that you don't get any favors unless you use your card for a couple of times. I tried to have the annual subscription fee of my HSBC credit card waived, but I was told they can only do so if I use the card for at least seven times within the next month after the card needs to be renewed. I can almost expect I would need to use the SCB card for a couple of times before I can get a bite at that pizza. But I think that's reasonable enough.
The other one is actually a raffle from EventIdeas.ph. You fill up a form which will entitle you to join the raffle to win an all-expense paid vacation to Boracay for you and 4 of your friends. The form basically ask for information about your company and the events that it normally holds. The important part of it (at least for EventIdeas) is supplying the name and contact information of the person in charge with arranging for these company events. In addition, they get to have your email address for their mailing list. That may be a turn off to some, so at least be aware of what you are getting into.
That's it for now. I'll spread the word when I run across some more freebies. Also, if you would like me to feature some freebies you know, just send me an email.
Got a Nokia E63 last week for FREE, as part of Smart's Retention Program to its subscribers. I think it currently retails for about P12,000 pesos. I was really eager to get this phone since I was hoping this could merge two devices I am using: a cellphone for my calls/texts and a Palm Tungsten for PIM (Personal Information Management). Making and receiving calls is pretty much straightforward and has not varied with the way I do it in my previous phones, Nokia or otherwise. As for texting, the qwerty keyboard pretty much decided that a no-look texting is highly unlikely. Texting using qwerty gave me headaches the first few days of adjustment, but eventually it turned out to be quite as easy as texting on a standard cellphone. So, for the hassle of not being able to do my texting under the table on a meeting, I need be compensated for the other features, especially on the PIM side.
PIM in the E63 allows me primarily to set up appointments and to-do list, which is what my Palm is usually used for. Aside from that, it's quite a surprise not to find additional applications developed for the unit. For example, I can just surf the Web and find myself a bunch of free and quite good software for personal finance and budgeting for my Palm. I can even get readers like those for the Bible that are more interactive than standard pdfs. And since the phone has been around for a while, I am not optimistic for more enthusiasm from budding programmers. However, having to refer to a single device for my PIM and connectivity really simplified things for me.
Also, I have yet to consider other aspects of the phone. It's got a built-in radio and music player with a loudspeaker, Bluetooth capability for easy file transfers (plus the wired options), option to use the unit as a modem for a computer, among others. Minus the prohibitive costs of keeping my internet always online, the phone has the capability of allowing me to be connected to my mail and the Net 24/7 (not that I see much use for that).
All in all, I'm happy with the way the E63 is slowly easing me into the era of smartphones that can take the job of two or more separate devices (of course, at a cost in performance here and there). It still feels a bit clunky, but not as much as having to refer to two (or more) devices most of the time. Hopefully things will improve in time for my next free phone :)
It's been a while since a movie related to me as close as this film did. And the trailer was that good that it did not revealed the plot at all, all the while making it interesting enough for one to want to see it. Neither will I spoil it here. Suffice it to say that it has given some spark to my otherwise mundane existence, and allowed me to view my day-to-day activities in a new light. Not that it diverts significantly from how I view my life: in a way it sort of inspired me and confirmed to me to continue along the path that I have been taking all along.
Maybe I can say this much so that this won't be a candidate for the most cryptic post you've read: Adventure is a state of mind: it is right where you are!
Aside from that, the movie is quite engaging and very fun, especially if you are watching it with a 4-year-old (my son) who confirms to you each and every facet of the movie. The graphics are very good, which made me think if I should have watched it in 3D, since I preferred to see it in 2D after that disappointment in watching Ice Age 3 in 3D. Very few portions tended to be a drag, although the overall length of the film is a bit long, speaking for myself and my son. And like I said, the moral of the story, set in the plot it was in, made it a movie worth seeing. Although I have to say the moral lesson is more for us adults. Not only is it too deep for kids to grasp even with explanation, I also tend to think there is no need to teach them: they live by that moral lesson day in and day out. I guess that's the way it is: if you live by something, you don't get it when it's taught you from the outside. It is us adults who have grown up out of the lesson, to our loss.
Curious enough? Go catch it before it goes UP, UP, and AWAY!
Here's another movie review for you. Just click HERE.
Nope, I am still hosted at blogspot. Although it seems now that I won't be able to migrate this blog to a .com in the near future. I was Googling for coffeetableblog a few days ago, trying to find out in what page this blog would land, and I was surprised to see coffeetableblog at the top of the page! Only thing is, it's not this blog: it's a .com. In the spirit of never-ending curiosity, I head over to the site and found out that it is totally devoted to featuring coffee tables of all shapes and sizes and inspiration. It was really a fun site to explore, with lots of pictures of coffee tables that given some effort, you can imagine for yourself the one that you can make (or decorate, for the less talented ones like me) that is uniquely yours.
The chick has grown up, and it's a hen now! And it already laid a bunch of eggs. Might be I am doing the right thing giving it care and feeding it well. I still have to wait for sometime before I find out what will happen next, which I expect to be a bunch of more chicks.
While waiting for that, now is a good time as ever to talk about Friendship Points. As I posted earlier here in my intro post about Country Story, having friends play a role in the game. Aside from the 3 random gifts that you get for the first time you visit your friend, additional interaction with friends are also done through Friendship Points (FP).
You start off with 75 FPs to each of your friends (you can click on the pic to enlarge and see better). How do you use those points? Well, for one you can automatically ask friends to help protect your crops from being stolen (by other friends or by themselves, ironically). You either go to your friend's farm, and click on the Friendship I
con (the one with the heart on the upper left of the pic; it would be on the lower panel of your screen if you are on your friend's farm). You can also do that right in your farm by calling up the screen on the left and clicking "Get Help". You can then proceed to assign a plot of unharvested crop to your friend. It will protect the crop from being stolen, and it will also automate the harvesting. Of course, this is not without a price. Each time you assign a friend to give you help, the FP goes down. Sounds like a typical relationship where you can't get too cozy long enough.
Now, your FP with your friend won't get up if he also asked you to do something for him. He will only end up losing FP on you as well. The only way you or him can get it up is to send gifts to your friends. Each item you send as a gift from the shop that is worth 1,000 coins, it will increase your FP with that friend by 10. Any item sent for less than 1,000 won't have any effect. Also, you can only increase your FP to your friend by a maximum of 10 per day. Take note that if you received an item worth 1,000 from the shop and you "re-gift" it, it won't be counted as gifting something worth 1,000 since the resale price (which becomes the reference price of the gift) is much much lower.
By the way, "asking" help from a friend does not require that they accept it too. Just like in Restaurant City, it's only a concept in the game and the accepting is done automatically.
If that is the only u
se of FP, you may think you would want to maximize your friends' help and ensure that you get your full harvest early on in the game. It turns out being friendly (and generous) can have long-term benefits. If you have at least 15 friends playing CS, you can get yourself a dog if you can get your FP with each of them up to 100. That's basically spending 3,000 coins to each of them (30 FP total, since an amount less than 1,000 gets you nowhere), for a total of 45,000 coins. If you think that's a steep price for getting a pet, you can view that dog as an investment, since it can prevent others from stealing from you. Saves you a lot of FPs and harvest in the long run, not to mention time spent on assigning plots to friends.
That's quite a lot for a post already. Back to the farm and remember what it's all about: having fun!
Had my first "pet" in County Story after finishing a quest that required a certain number of wood, stones, and chicken wheat. Am not really sure what to do with it though :) Based on the information given, I have enough feeds for the chick, and there's also a countdown when it's supposed to mature. I don't understand though if I am supposed to move up from the Happy to the Great and how to do it. Been clicking on the Heart logo incessantly for some minutes but with no evident effect. Anyway, I'll learn it as I go along (or if somebody volunteers some information here).
I'm supposed to post about Friendship Points, but this one came up and I just thought it would be much better to talk about this first. I'll post on Friendship Points next time around.
More Country Story here and here.
I first saw this book a couple of months ago, when it was still in hardbound cover, and I was really curious about what it has to say. And so when I laid my eyes on it again in small paperback issue and at 20% discount, I just had to buy it. The teaser questions sort of hooked me: What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their parents? There's something about reading a book that re-examines commonly held beliefs that truly attracts me to it. However, if I consider the fact that this book is a bestseller, then am I really reading something non-traditional?
Playfish, the creator of Restaurant City, just recently launched its newest game, Country Story. This game is likewise accessible via Facebook. The game builds on the SIM-like style of Restaurant City while at the same time incorporating the theme of other popular Facebook games like FarmTown, BarnBuddy and Farmville.
You start in the game with a nice little house (that you can't get inside), and a plot of land that you can plow and pla
nt crops in. Then there's the usual watering and harvesting. Of course, all these hard work will get your character tired, and you would need to replenish his strength by providing food or letting him rest for a while.
The game introduces also the concept of quests, which is quite similar to Awards given in Restaurant City. Some of the quests may require you to simply do so 
much of one thing in your farm, or it may require that you get involved with your friends. The Awards affects your farm in different ways, such as increasing your production capacity. The quests are given through one of the several institutions in the village (shown below) such as the Mayor, Bank, Construction, Livestock, and Market.
Having friends also play a role in the game. How crucial, I have yet to find out. Much like other games, you get a reward (actually, three rewards) for your first visit to your friend's farm. You can also assign friends to look after your crops, since it can be stolen (by other friends, ironically). And I think you must have a number of them to get yourself a dog.
Well, that's it for now. The game's quite new, and I have yet to explore it myself. I'll post my developments from time to time. For now, try it yourself, and create your own Country Story.
More Country Story here.
