It used to be that a lot of spam mails go through my blog mails until I discovered Akismet and these stopped for a while.

Still I’ve been getting spams like medications, questions marks (yes, like this: ?????), Russian words, and even quips about the topic I posted. Oh, I also get weight loss supplements and  questions asking me how I am. These spambots are getting smarter, eh?

I asked around and found it I still have to do a little bit of tinkering inside my blog’s dashboard and so I did and viola! From 30-50+ a day, I now get just around five, yey! One or two legit comments still find their way to the spam folder (and these are usually the same persons whose comments in another blog I own go to the spam folder too) and now I don’t have a hard time looking for the legit ones.

How did I do it?

• Go to dashboard
• Click on “Settings”
• Click on “Discussion”
• Check and uncheck the settings you prefer
• In the box for “Comment Blacklist” write down the key words that you usually encounter in the spam folder

You can even close the comments on your posts after several days, if you choose to.

P.S. Don’t forget to save the changes

When I saw Yahoo! Meme being presented by Jonas de los Reyes during a Blog4Reviews Christmas party I attended, I warmed to the idea of making my own account.

Meme is pronounced as m:im and in the internet, a meme is something that is or can be circulated fast. In other words, a meme can be like a wildfire that spreads in the internet. Since an internet meme is a narrowly defined category of cultural information, this reaches people who have interest in the meme who in turn will tag others about it.

Presentation during a party, you ask? Yes, even geeks have to party from time to time. And no, I am not one of these geeks, I was just there to party

From what I understood, Yahoo! Meme is very easy to use. Not only does this allow one to post short text posts, photos and videos and even audio files, one can follow others and see on their own dashboard what these people are currently doing. You don’t need to blog with a lot of words (like I do), a few will suffice. Microblogging it is.

And one of the nicer things to do would be the ability to repost memes that you found interesting and useful.

Anyway, since I am doing 2010 Project 365 this year, I decided to have the photos put up in my new Yahoo! Meme page called Photo Stories.

I hope to meet new friends and interact with them here in the Yahoo! Meme.

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? If not, I suggest you go check out an online gift service portal called Regalo Service which I stumbled upon while looking for online shopping sites.

Christmas is just a few days away and I am sure everyone is frantic with the festivities that go with the holiday. Traffic jams from early morning till the time everyone else wants to go home is evident. Lack of sleep, exhaustion and sickness due to weather changes seem to alleviate the stress level.

Online shopping seem to be the better alternative than being pushed and shoved here and there before you get to the person behind the cashier.

While browsing this site, I secretly (not anymore) made a wish list for my loved ones and for me as well.

1. 160GB HD/DVD Recorder for the hubby’s viewing pleasure
2. Cool Black Sophistication fashion jewelry for the eldest daughter
3. Justice League Personalized Story Book for the only son
4. God’s Special Gifts to Me (Personalized story book) for the youngest daughter.
5. Blender Ice Crusher for my Papa and mama for their fresh drinks
6. Pixel DVH 563 for my brother to take videos of his young daughter
7. Filipiniana Capiz Dinner Set in Lotus Leaf Basket Case for my mother-in-law
8. Baby’s Create a Book for my cute niece and two new cute godsons
9. Nicole Laptop Bag for me
10. Leather Journal to write down my thoughts just in case I get an “A-ha!” moment

Sarap mangarap!

Christmas being a season of giving does not automatically translate to giving material things.

Instead of giving your child a bike, take walks together. Instead of giving your child the latest in mobile phones, spend time with him/her for a face-to-face talk. Instead of dining out, cook your favorite food together for a family meal.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

My students at times expect me to bring my laptop when we have our sessions. I do this sometimes but there have been instances when we just get frustrated because we can’t connect to the available wi-fi where I teach. We can’t access our favorite sites and I can’t blog either when I have spare time.

I am contemplating on getting a Globe Tattoo Broadband which I can use just in case we can’t have internet connection during our sessions. I have been meaning to get one especially when the price for a dongle was slashed by more than 50%

Of course there are apprehensions about getting one. When I talked to a blogger friend during an event we both attended, she told me she uses Globe Tattoo and is quite satisfied with the service.

The ideal setting for me, I found out, would be time-based browsing. PhP5 for 15 minutes is good enough especially during sessions because I can always say we have to stop because I may run out of load credits. To maximize my connection, i must need to use WCDMA setting for the best connection possible. If in case one uses a mobile phone with a Globe Tattoo SIM, this setting is also the preferred one to use (or make sure the phone has this spec).

And if I need to just quickly check my email, charges will only be PhP0.15 per kilobyte as long as I text KB to 1111 using the Globe Tattoo SIM.

Hmmm… I still had to do a little research and found these!

I was surprised to see the fun (and funky) Globe Tattoo Broadband new skins and yes, I like that called Cyber Clover! Woot!

What? I can design my own skin? According  the Globe Tattoo Broadband Gallery, winners of the best designs do not just win cash but will get the chance to have their designs on actual Globe Tattoo USB.

Now that would be cool: using your own Globe Tattoo USB with a skin you designed. Yes, and my students would be thrilled to have that connectivity too

I have not updated this blog due to some technical glitch.

Anyway…

I found it surprising that some students are expecting  to have some computer time with me during our sessions. Yes, they seem surprised to see me without a laptop.

I have several lessons that they find great, which I was able to get free from online sources: illustrated social skills situations  like bullying, problem solving and decision-making, math stories that call for reading comprehension as well as short stories.

In this time where modern technology enables materials to be readily available for free or for a minimal fee, it is no wonder that almost all topics can be researched online: from ancient history, mathematical concepts, log-lost friends, recipes, insurance online packages, latest trends in fashion and technology, these and much more can  be read at the click of a button.

Of course, I tell my students AND my children, not everything they see and read online is true. Not everyone who says he is this person or that may not be the person he/she says he/she is.

There are still a lot to be taught to the children (and adults as well) about the dangers that lurk behind every click and  web page that we encounter.

Yesterday while having lunch with my family and a student’s mom, we talked about laptop problems. I was amazed at how expensive repairs can be, almost the cot of a brand new laptop or a cost of a used high-end one.

Student’s mom is a Mac user, so yes, it is quite expensive trip to the service centers if problems are present.

We jumped from one topic to another until we discussed online backup of files which seem to be a good alternative in keeping files.

Why the topic? It seems that hard drives can be unreliable at times. Plus CDs/DVDs as back-up can also be unreliable because files are bound to have problems if ever the disk encounters problems. So it is a good idea to not scrimp the budget for buying these things if you want your files to last.

What kind of file storage do you use?