Submit a Sitemap to help Google crawl your site

If your new site or blog is not often crawled by Google, adding a Sitemap (with a capital S) will speed things up a bit. Google crawls a site based on the incoming and outgoing links a site have and how often the contents are updated. So if you weren't able to update your site then Google will reduce its crawl frequency.

Submitting a Sitemap will allow Google to check the updated contents of your site thus helping it crawl your site.

Here's how I was able to add a Sitemap for this blogspot.com site.

1. Go to Google Webmaster tools and log in or sign up for an account
   
2. In the Dashboard, Add your site in the text field
3. After adding your site, click Sitemaps from the left menu.
4. Choose Add Sitemap
5. Select Add General Web Sitemap as the type
6. Then use atom.xml as your XML file in the Sitemap URL

That's it! Just wait for Google's report after 24 hours.

Note: If you're using Feedburner as your Post Feed Redirect URL, using atom.xml might not work. Instead, use atom.xml?redirect=false.

Problem with atom.xml

There's a problem though with using atom.xml as your site Sitemap. It only contains the last 25 posts of your blog. You also can't create your own Sitemap in Blogger.com so we're stuck with atom.xml.

But there's a solution though. Simply add this query to your Sitemap URL:

atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=100

That is the Sitemap for posts 1-100. If you have more than 100 posts, add another Sitemap URL and replace the start-index and max-results value to 101 and 200.

There you go! Although it won't necessarily mean your pagerank would increase, at least your updated content will be seen when doing Google search.

Watch TV shows and movies online for FREE

Yup, this is no joke folks. US residents can now watch premium quality TV shows and movies online for FREE! Just sign up and you're good to go.

Hulu.com recently opened their service to people residing in the US allowing them to watch their favorite shows and movies online for free. Although there's not a lot of movies available yet, you can e-mail them for movie requests and they will have it soon.

No more watching blurry and poor quality videos from YouTube. It's all there for you to enjoy. Some of the TV shows that are already included are The Simpsons, Family Guy, The Office, Heroes and classics such as Miami Vice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They also got movies such as 28 Weeks Later, Napoleon Dynamite, Devil Wears Prada, etc. Not just clips but full-length movies.

The site is very, very simple and easy to use and you can even embed the videos or part of the video (specify the start and end) in your blog, myspace, etc.

You might be wondering how they survive by providing free content. Well the video have ads in them but not a whole lot. Just like watching a TV show with commercials but with only 1 ad per break.

So if you reside in the US, don't let this opportunity pass by and you can say goodbye to cable TV.

Create your Virtual Bookshelf with Shelfari.com

For all the book lovers out there, sign up with Shelfari.com and start showcasing your books by creating a Virtual Bookshelf. You can then look at the shelves of others who have the same books as yours, and maybe get an idea on what book to read next.

It's basically a social networking site but more focused on books and book lovers. Share and discuss books with others in your network. Neat huh? Be sure to check it out! I'm still in the process of populating my shelf but you can add me if you want.

Modified my template to 3-columns

Finally, I was able to convert the Tic Tac template to 3 columns and add a new sidebar to maximize the space and accomodate more page elements.

Thanks to Hackosphere's guide to 3-column template for new Blogger, I understood how the wrappers work. You should check out his guide if you're planning to use 3-columns too. Takes a lil bit of CSS knowledge though to do it.

You could use some of his modified Blogger 3-column templates.

Get subtitles for your downloaded movies

Have you tried watching a downloaded movie but can't understand some of the dialogs because it's not English? Like the Vamp speak in 30 Days of Night. Or the Russian dialog in Hitman which is kinda vital to the story.

You can download working subtitles (not the ones usually included in pirated DVD that don't make sense) for movies from www.opensubtitles.com.

Simply do a search for the movie title and look for the release type of your file (for exact sync). For example, my copy of Hitman is Hitman.R5.LINE.XViD-PUKKA.avi and I found the following results:


I downloaded the .srt file and placed it in the same directory of my movie. Watched it in my PC via Media Player Classic and the subtitles appear. I heard that a certain Pensonic DVD player can read .srt files as well so you could watch the movie in your TV with subtitles.

By the way, the site also offers subtitles for different languages.

Jazz up your RSS Feed button

Another way to attract your readers to subscribe to your feed besides posting great content is by the use of cool RSS buttons. RSS by the way is a format for delivering regularly changing web content (from www.whatisrss.com). With so many blogs that you need to visit daily, you can have the RSS button compile the updated contents for you.

A lot of artistic designers out there have been toying around with the RSS Feed icon so you can change your Feed icon regularly to suit your mood.


Here's a couple of different RSS Feed Icon compilations:

From Jackbook.com, the most beautiful feed icons ever, all available to download.
From Designbliss, over 35 Different Styles of RSS Icons

For me, I'll just stick with the regular one for the mean time. My blog is still new and not many people knows about it. Hehehe.

New Ramiele Malubay's naughty photos

There are new not-so innocent photos of American Idol contestant Ramiel Malubay popping out on the internet. Despite these photos making the rounds on e-mail, forums and web sites, our very own Ramiele Malubay still managed to be a part of the Final 10 Idols this season. Not mentioning that she still hasn't performed well the past weeks.

What are you implying Ramiele?

Playful aren't we?

More of her new photos can be found at FleshAsiaDaily.

Download full version software

Alright you download freaks, here's a site where you could download full version softwares such as OS, multimedia softwares, Anti-virus, etc. You could also search for useful utilities here such as ringtone makers, disk maintenance, PDF Converters and other not so popular tools.

Download full softwares such as this Nero 8 Ultra Edition

Visit Flmsdown.net and download to your heart's content. No need to join a forum or sign up or anything. Most of the files are hosted by Rapidshare while some are located in Deposit File or File Factory.

Aside from that, the site also has listings of e-books, icon packs, desktop themes, PC games, full movies, etc. that you can download. So if you don't mind downloading from file hosting sites, you could get a lot from Flmsdown.net.

Bookmark the site and start downloading something daily.

Pacquiao won, but could've lost easily as well

Woohoo!!! Pacquiao won. It was a very close match and it could've gone Marquez's way just like what happened in their previous fight. In May 2004, Pacman was able to knock down Marquez thrice in the early rounds but Marquez was able to hold on for the rest of the fight which ended in a draw.

This time around, it was a split decision. Judge Duane Ford called it 115-112 in Pacquiao's favor and Jerry Roth favored Marquez 115-112. The only saving grace was that Pacquiao floored Marquez in the 3rd round which was really spectacular and Tom Miller gave Pacquiao a 114-113 edge.

Despite that, it looks like Marquez was the better fighter. On the fourth round, he was able to hold his ground and regain his energy after being knocked down on the previous round. Afterwards, he was able to exploit Pacquiao's cut in the eye, throwing accurate straight punches at him and controlling the tempo of the fight. It really looked like that Pacquiao can't read his opponent's strategy after that 3rd round.

It was the heart of Pacquiao, not wanting a repeat performance of their first match, that enabled him to rally at the late rounds and thus securing the WBC 130-pound title.

I would really like for them to have a rematch. Both are really good fighters and one should win convincingly to really settle the score on who's the better boxer.

Watch Pacquiao's match against Marquez Live via SopCast

Hey boxing fans, if you don't have pay-per-view for this Sunday's title match between our very own Manny Pacquiao and Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez, you can watch the fight live in the internet via SopCast.

SopCast is a software that allows people to watch streaming videos, TV programs, etc. via the internet using P2P technology. What that means is that people will have to stream and share the match for others to view.

Tip: Better download now rather than wait till Sunday

But just like the match between Pacquiao and Barrera, there are people who actually share their video streams for others. You just have to be early and patient to connect to a good seed (seeders that offers good quality and fast connection). Of course, you should also have a fast connection to watch the match decently. I'm using 384Kbps from PLDT and I still get choppy video at times during buffering.

Using SopCast is pretty easy, you can login Anonymously or create an account. Then go to the Live Channels tab and select a channel that will broadcast the match. Or you can enter the channel (if you have one) in the Address field on top.

A video pane will appear on the right and will connect and start buffering the broadcast. Take note that there's a max number of connections to a channel so better login early, find a good channel and don't drop it.


My friend Zoul1380 said that he would be posting channels that would broadcast the match on Sunday in his blog.

Here's another site that posts SopCast channels for the match.

Whether or not you use SopCast or just watch the delayed telecast, let's hope for the best for our boxer! Go Pacquiao!!

Buy and Sell Cellphones via TipidCP

Most of you already know about TipidPC, a buy and sell site for computer parts and accessories as well as a forum with a very healthy community of PC enthusiasts.

From the makers of TipidPC comes TipidCP. This time around it focuses on nothing but cellphones and its accessories. The layout is the same so visitors from TipidPC won't have problems navigating the site.

If you plan to buy or sell cellphones here in the Philippines, this is a good place to start. Discussions about cellphones, troubleshooting and buying tips can be viewed in its forum.

Journey's first US concert with Arnel Pineda a success

The recently revived band Journey successfully debuted their new lead vocalist, our very own Arnel Pineda, in the US last March 8. After a string of successful gig in Chile last February, Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas was packed with lots of Filipino fans as well as they witness our countryman perform.

Photo taken from arnelpinedafans.com

The gig was used to record a DVD release so they had to ask the fans back at the end of the show as they redo a couple of the songs. Arnel did really well but still has to build on his stamina to still be able to hit the high notes at later songs.

One thing he did that I think is not a good idea was that he took a Filipino flag from the audience and waved it at the latter part of the show. Makes me think that Journey favors Filipino audience more. I mean it would be alright if they performed here but they did it in the US with a majority of US fans.

Oh well, Arnel is still a nice fit to the band and he brings youth and energy as well. We're proud of you man.

If you want to view their concert in Chile, it's in here:
http://festival2008.canal13.cl/2008/html/MMomentos/21/333091.html

Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from 11 March 2008

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact the owner at calv_10@yahoo.com.

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Get free, ready-to-use icons from Iconlet.com

If you're a graphics or interface designer, you might find yourself wasting time re-creating a lot of commonly used icons for your project. Icons such as e-mail, expand/collapse, print, edit, save, etc. are commonly used in todays web and software applications.

Although it's easy to create them from scratch, it's much easier searching and downloading the icons that you need from iconlet.com. All icons and images are free with some having restrictions.

You might not need it today, but bookmark the site for future reference.

Find the best price for the cellphone that you want

Filipinos love to change mobile phones every so often and sometimes it's quite difficult to go to a mall and find the cheapest deal for one.

Good thing there's cgena.com (sige na). My wife and I used this site to find the lowest price for the phones that we wanted. We were able to find it before going to Greenhills to actually purchase our phones. The site covers a lot of malls in metro manila as well as major cities in the province and their updated prices and contact numbers (if available).

They also have prices for other gadgets but their main and comprehensive listing are mobile phones. You can also post an item that you want to sell in their Flea Market or browse for items from other users that you want to buy.

Of course, it might be cheaper to buy at tiangges but it is much safer to deal in actual shops.

The Next iPod Shuffle?

If you're not yet familiar with Yanko Design, it's a site devoted to awesome product design concepts. The focus usually are modern techno-gadgets and out-of-this world yet functional furnitures.

My favorite so far is the iStick. A smaller mp3-only version of the iPod Touch which is no bigger than a lipstick. Sorta like an improvement to iPod Shuffle.

iStick by Alexi Mikhailov

It's supposed to feature 4 touchscreen surface with big icons, integrated wifi for iTunes and wireless earphones that can easily get misplaced. But still a cool concept huh?

There are a lot of other goodies on the site so make sure to browse if you're interested.

How to find movies to download in mIRC

If you're an old-school internet user you might have heard or even used mIRC before. It was the popular choice for chatting before social network sites and instant messaging were born. It was also used to share mp3's, e-book, photos before the time of napster, the father of torrents.

There are many servers that has a number of channels with a handful of bots that serves as your source of files (mp3's, movies, e-books, softwares, games). These bots will only allot a number of slots for downloading before adding succeeding requests to its queue.

It's up to you now to find a bot with a fast connection and a lot of slots that has the movie that you're looking for. Enter www.packetnews.com.

Packetnews is a search site for movies, games, software, etc. available in mIRC. It will look for the bots (or technically known as XDCC bots) in different servers for your query. It will list the server and channel the bot belongs to, its available slots and bandwidth.

Sample search query for the movie "Jumper"

If you're new to mIRC, it might look complicated to understand. But for the old timers who knows how to use it, they will be rewarded with a better download experience. I haven't seen a renamed file yet unlike what I heard from torrents.

How to bring back Task Manager

There are some virus or trojan nowadays that disables your Task Manager so that you won't be able to view suspect processes or end the process of the virus.

To bring back your Task Manager, simply follow these steps:

1. Go to Start > Run
2. Type gpedit.msc
3. Go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System
4. Click Ctrl+Alt+Del Options
5. Double-click Remove Task Manager and set it to Disabled
6. Click Ok
7. Restart your machine

That's all there is to it.

If your Windows doesn't have gpedit.msc (like Windows XP Home), you have to tweak your registry instead.

1. Go to Start > Run
2. Type regedit
3. Click HKEY_CURRENT_USER
4. Go to Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
5. Click DisableTaskMgr
6. Set the Value to 0 to Enable the Task Manager

Tweaking the registry is risky for inexperienced users so if you're not sure, have someone else do it instead.

Download mp3's using Evilshare

If you're in a network where P2P or file sharing is blocked, there's another place where you can search and download mp3's (and videos as well).

Evilshare is somewhat similar to Rapidshare and other file upload/download sites but the difference here is that you can search for files that other users have uploaded.

It's kinda tricky searching for files though since the usual search patterns such as quotes and plus signs are not recognized. Also, sometimes people upload files having a misspelled or incorrect title so you have to search hard.

For example, if I wanna search for Flow Rida's Get Low song, I have to use "low" or "flo_rida" or "flo-rida" as they keyword.

It's not that comprehensive and feature-packed but it's quick, simple and easy.

American Idol Ramiele Malubay's naughty pictures

There's a number of photos that may affect Fil-American Ramiele Malubay's bid for getting far and probably winning American Idol.

Although the photos are not as scandalous and indecent as that of last season's Antonella Barba's, Ramiele's sweet and charming personality might take a hit because of it. The photos are said to be from her Facebook account.

One of the photo shows her with a playful expression while two of her buddies are touching her boobies.

Yup that's her.

There are some other photos where she's chilling out with her friends. You can view them here.