Entrecard's Paid Ads

I don’t know if other Entrecard members are experiencing this. A paid ad I didn’t approve or is even on my dashboard waiting for approval appears on my widget! How come?

I sent an email to Entrecard asking why that is happening. If you head on over to My Own Utopia right now, the widget shows the ad for “Get 20,000 Followers for Free”. I didn’t approve this ad nor is it on my dashboard. The same thing is happening to this blog of mine. And the same ad shows up!

Check out the screenshots I took below:

Just click on both images to enlarge it.

I set my Advert settings to:

• Allow paid ads only if the ad is for a blog
• Allow paid ads only if the ad is directed at your category
• Allow paid ads only if explicitly approved by you

So it really puzzles me why all of a sudden a paid ad I didn’t approve and is not even on my dashboard waiting for approval or rejection shows up on my widget. Hmm…

Have you been experiencing the same thing?

Reliable radio

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about life in general. We were talking about music and how it has played an important part in our lives. I remember being so down and out several times in the past but then due to some divine intervention of sorts, I overcome those things. My friend had been in the same boat for years, just like me. And we understand each other more than anyone else. Our common friends won’t be able to fully grasp the situations we were in.

Talks turned into finances and the global financial crisis we are all experiencing right now. We are both working at home and it has become extremely hard for us to go on leisure trips because of our decreased income. She told me how she’s into quality products these days…

Anyway, she was telling me about Starmate Replay and how this sirius radio has replay capabilities. And how it is a very durable and reliable. I am all for items that are worth my hard earned money’s worth. Starmate Replay falls on that category for me. If you are interested, go to TSS-Radio.com now and know more about this great product. Visit the web site now!

Looking for a car?

Are you looking for cars for sale? If you are, go to the web site MotorRange.co.uk and find the car that you want to buy there.

When you go to Motor Range, you will be given the chance to do a vehicle search. Choose the marque, model, the minimum and maximum price you can afford, and the body style. Let them present to you what they have in their inventory based on the specifications you chose. If you like what they have, then you can proceed with the purchase.

Or you can check out the Top Deals that they offer, which you can find on the left hand side of the web site. At the homepage as well, you can find the just arrived cars at Motor Range. They really offer the best used car sales in Liverpool.

Now, if you are not yet satisfied with what you find during your search, you can make use of their Live Chat and talk to one of the members of their dedicated team. You can tell them what you have in mind and they will surely assist you with whatever it is. Don’t want to chat? You can also contact them via their contact form. There are so many ways that Motor Range can assist you.

So if you are looking for cheap used but still quality cars, just go to MotorRange.co.uk, your one-stop car supermarket. Be sure that you are shelling out your hard earned cash for something that will be useful to you for quite a while. Visit the site now for more information.

Comes in handy

In this tough times, an extra skill comes in handy. Like a neighbor who is actually a good mechanic dabbles as an electrician as well. He does not fancy going into electrician careers or something like that. He just wants to be able to save on money when there are things needed to be done when it comes to electricity. Like electric cables, or faulty electrical wirings at home. Actually, I believe he knows so much that it feels like he went to at least two electrician schools.

In truth, he is the one being called in our area when there are problems with the electricity. Or like when I had some wall plugs installed in our house, he was the one that my dad called to install it. Also when we had to replace the fuse and some other things that had to do with the electricity at home.

I know that he has an electrician certification that he got at a vocational school a few years back. That’s why he knows the technical things involved. When I saw him yesterday, he reminded me that I wanted to acquire a skill that will come in handy at home. Cooking perhaps?

Peso-Dollar Exchange Rate

Here’s the Peso-Dollar Exchange Rate for April 3, 2009:

The Peso-Dollar Exchange Rate for April 3, 2009 is P47.870 = USD1.00 (Official Government Rate).

Paypal’s Peso Exchange Rate for April 3, 2009 is 1 USD = 46.6580 PHP.

The Paypal exchange rate was the same for two days. Fortunately, I kept checking the rate before I made my withdrawal yesterday. For an hour or two, the rate changed to 1 USD = 46.7458 PHP. That’s when I made my withdrawal. Just a tip to Paypal Philippines users. Check out the trend in exchange rates before you make your withdrawal. There are hours in a day that it changes for a brief period and then goes back to the low rate that they’re giving.

And make your withdrawal now! April 6, 9 and 10 are holidays in the Philippines. Holy Week for those who don’t know. There will be no incoming remittances during those dates. Withdraw now so you can get it either by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Happy weekend!

It's that time of the year again!

Summer time! Woohoo! Time to bring out the sunblock, swimsuits and the big old shades!

It’s summer time here in the country right now. The family and I might be hitting the beaches this April. It will be another outing that we are looking forward to. April will be my sisters’ vacation. Both are working as teachers so vacation is precious to both of them. It will be a fun time for all of us for sure!

My sister, the other accountant in the family, loves her swimsuits. She thrives for this season. She is eyeing a Norma Kamali swimsuit that she found at Style Hive. This web site is a haven for fashion-conscious people like my sister. The retro-modern style swimsuit in black mesh by Norma Kamali is the one she has been checking out from time to time there.

Admittedly, I am the least fashionable in the family. I like my comfortable clothes and I am content with that. But then when I saw the swimsuit, I also checked out the other items in the site and is now hooked on bookmarking items I am including in my wishlist!

Go to StyleHive.com now and bookmark fashionable items you like. Don’t forget to include this Norma Kamali bill swimsuit!

A practical gift

I have been friends with Tim for a long time now. Seventeen years, to be exact. Imagine that! Who would have thought back then that our friendship would last this long? Years still counting. We see each other regularly until now. We have managed to overcome the major obstacles hurled at our friendship and here we are! After more than a decade and a half, I am proud to say that we still call each other the best of friends.

It will be her 31st birthday come April 8th. I want to give her something special that she can use. A practical gift, so to speak. And I found one already! Take a look at the photo below… What do you think it is?

It’s a CC Skye bracelet! It’s actually a trendy leather bracelet with gold screws. This is from the celebrity favorite CC Skye.

I am sure my fashion plate friend, Tim, will appreciate this one. She loves adding to her growing collection of different accessories. The CC SKYE Screw Bracelet in Pewter can be found at StyleHive.com, a site where you can bookmark items that you want to add to your wishlist. The screw bracelet is only one of the items that can be found in this web site. Check out StyleHive.com now for more.

Are You Bakunado?

My sister, Vivian, easily gets sick. I remember my mom telling me that when my sister was still a baby, she would get sick again and again. They would bring her to the doctor regularly for check ups and would go home with a number of new medicine for her. My parents were desperate to make her well and they sought the help of another doctor. The new doctor advised them to get my sister a Flu vaccine. It worked like magic! My sister slowly recovered from her bout of sickness and would catch cough and colds but not as frequently as before.

Fast forward 25 years after, my sister is now an accountant, working for a top insurance company here in the country. She just transferred to the company and since she wants to give a good impression, she is giving 200% of herself to her new work. Late nights, 6-day work weeks… my sister is showing signs of fatigue and stress. You can tell that her immune system is low and that she is prone to sickness. It’s like being 3 years old once again.

She consulted the company doctor and she was advised to get a Flu shot. Her medical history was taken into account. The environment she is currently in was checked - most of her co-workers are sick. The doctor knew right away that she will get sick, too, prone as she is. After the flu shot, my sister run a high fever, a common after-effect of a flu vaccine. Better a day or two of fever, than a week of Trangkaso, don’t you think?

Vivian is as healthy as she can be right now. She still has late nights and too much work but the Bakuna is working like magic in her once again. These days, it’s hard to be sick. Aside from being costly, it takes a toll on your body and creates emotional stress in the people around you. That’s why a flu vaccine is important.

For more information on flu vaccine, go to http://www.bakuna.ph now.

Hectic days

I still miss my old company from time to time. I miss some of my old co-workers. I miss my boss whom I consider my mentor. Just last night, I was making searches in two social networking sites, checking what happened to some people I know. I was happy with what I learned about them. Most are married but some are still happily single like me.

I miss those hectic days when not only was I working frantically to finish the company’s financial statements, I was also acting as an admin officer. Permits, truck rentals for office transfers, use of office premises on weekends… these were some odd tasks assigned to me when I was just starting out.

Oh well, I just miss those days…

Bravely fighting

There are so many things in life that we need to be thankful for. That’s one of the things I was reminded of when I saw this documentary about poverty. People out there are suffering, unable to eat enough, sometimes without anything to eat at all. No roof and walls they can find solace in. Most of these people don’t even know what a Hansgrohe faucet is. But you can find them smiling, bravely fighting what life dealt them. It’s made me think of saying thanks for everything, including the tough times.

Updated: Abu Sayyaf's Red Cross hostages

UPDATE: Please visit this LINK to support and pray for the Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba. Let us all pray for the safety of the three hostages.

***

Two current issues caught my attention the whole of yesterday… the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) volunteers’ continued captivity in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and the HK writer Chip Tsao’s racial slur against Filipinos.

Red Cross volunteers’ continued captivity in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf

Jakob Kellenberger, a former Swiss diplomat and current head of the ICRC, issued a rare public appeal for the Abu Sayyaf to release the three Red Cross volunteers being hostaged by the group. As a response to the appeal, the government considered the demands of the Abu Sayyaf to pull out the troops in Indanan, Sulu where the the kidnapped victims are reportedly being held. Abu Sayyaf even issued a threat that should their demands are not met, they will behead a hostage.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno announced on national tv that the government troops would withdraw and it would take 36 hours at most to complete it. It began last March 28. Upon hearing this development, a reporter from ABS-CBN was able to interview Abu Sayyaf’s leader Albader Parad and he promised to release a hostage as soon as the withdrawal of troops is complete. He even promised no later than Monday morning, which should have been yesterday.

But lo and behold! After the pullout of government troops comes another demand from the Abu Sayyaf! This time around, the rebels want a total pullout of the troops in the entire island! Why am I not surprised by this development?

The Abu Sayyaf seized Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba, Swiss Andreas Notter and Italian Eugenio Vagni last January 15. It’s been more than 3 months now and the three are complaining about the hardships they are experiencing from the captivity and are actually begging Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, to do something about their condition.

The government is saying that they are running out of options to get the hostages back. A complete pullout of the troops in Sulu will result to anarchy, according to them. And I believe them. Something needs to be done to this Abu Sayyaf Group and fast!

Chip Tsao’s racial slur in my next post…