Embed the comment box below your post in Blogger the easy way

If you're frequenting Blogger sites you would notice how cumbersome it is to post a comment. It's either a pop-up comment window will appear or you have to go to a separate page to post your comment. Why can't they incorporate the comment box on the same page as its post just like other blogs?

Check out my new comment form. Nice huh?

Fortunately, now there's an easy way to embed the comment form below each post's page. No more pop-ups and no more redirecting to a different page. No need to tweak with your HTML code or rely on outside javascript. Just follow these simple steps:

• Log on to draft.blogger.com using your Blogger login details
• Click Settings > Comments
• On the Comment Form Placement section, choose Embedded below post

• Save your settings and review your blog

That's it! Easy huh? Note that the script is still hard-coded so you can't change (I tried but failed) or modify the look via CSS. Pages with black background may not see the "Comment As" text so keep that in mind. I'm sure Blogger will allow customization once this feature leaves draft.

I'm so happy that Blogger finally listened to what its users are saying about the comment form. They even included the Open ID feature into it as well. Woot!

Diaz clearly outclassed by Pacquiao

It had to end eventually as David Diaz who is known for his mettle and durability took punch after punch from Manny Pacquiao for 9 rounds. At the 2:23 mark on the 9th round, Diaz finally fell after a monstrous left from Pacquiao who is now the WBC Lightweight Champion.

What our boxing legend Flash Elorde failed to accomplish during his time, Pacquiao made sure that he won't fail winning the lightweight division title.

(Image from Associated Press)

Diaz who received a nasty gash on his right eye, a cut on the bridge of his nose, a very huge bruise on his left eye and a swollen lip for a $850,000 paycheck had these to say about Pacman:

"Manny was too fast," he said.

"It was his speed, all his speed," he said. "I looked at films and I thought I could handle that, but I couldn't."

"I could deal with the power but not his speed," Diaz said. "I got tricked by his speed. I gave it my all. His speed is what it sealed it for me. His speed was uncontrollable."

"[The cut] didn't bother me," he said. "But I thought he had a knife. It's like he was hitting me with a blade. I thought [Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach] was in there hitting me too. What can I say? I lost today, I'll win tomorrow. To go like that with a guy like Manny Pacquiao, I think I'm doing pretty good."

Pacquiao really showed the world how greatly he improved (Even NBA Champs Boston Celtics were impressed). Diaz was no match right from the early rounds. He looked like he was in slow motion against Pacquiao during the whole match.

So what's next for Pacman? We would love to see him do a rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez who he defeated earlier this year via split decision. After that, he can go up against Ricky Hatton on the 140-pound Junior Welterweight Division which his coach is comfortable with.

That has to wait as Pacquiao will receive yet another hero's welcome when he comes back here in the Philippines! We're proud of you Pacquiao! Thanks for making Philippines a safe country even for just a day.

Inside the mind of Criss Angel

Criss Angel is probably the most famous and best illusionist that we have today. He is known for his unbelievable stunts and spectacular illusions.

He has his own TV series called MindFreak that is pretty awesome itself. It's like street magic but focusing more on mind-blowing illusions such as cutting himself into two, impaling himself atop a pointed fence or allowing himself to get into a woodcutter in front of his families and ordinary spectators.

This time, his next big performance would be with the world renowned Cirque de Soleil to be held at Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, from September 1 to 11 every Friday to Tuesday. It will be different from illusions that you see in Mindfreak because this time, he will be immersed with Cirque de Soleil's artistry.

Entitled CRISS ANGEL Believe, the show will take you deep inside the inventive mind of Criss Angel as he takes on a role of a Victorian Noble and travels between different realms. He will be performing his mystifying illusions that you would want to see live as Circque de Soleil provides additional visual imagery that will further stimulate your senses.

Too bad a text contest for two tickets to the show just ended last June 14. So if you're an Angel fan, better book your tickets now if you want to see his big show.

Fastest web browser out there

If you're stuck with Windows' default web browser, Internet Explorer 7, then you might want to consider downloading and using a different one.

Lifehacker made a basic but telling speed comparison test among popular web browsers these days, Opera 9.5, Firefox 3, Safari 3 (for Windows) and Internet Explorer 7. Now don't start with what about Maxthon or other lightweight browsers, they only tested widely-used web browsers. Take note that all browsers were tested running on a Windows machine so the performance will vary if you have a Unix-based or Mac-based PC.

They only tested the speed when booting the browsers up, memory consumption if more tabs are used, or how fast they process Javascript and CSS scripts.

Safari is by far the fastest (except during cold boot) followed closely by Opera. Firefox, however, is the lesser memory hog among the browsers. The clear loser though is IE 7 which has nothing good goin' for it except that it comes with Windows Installation so lots of people have them by default. They're hoping for better results when IE 8 comes out though.

A Cisco Certification Can Take You A Long Way

IT Certifications looks really good on a resume and these can be the deciding factor for some IT companies if they're going to choose between two applicants. I know because I've looked at a handful of resumes myself and having certifications can really give you an edge.

Cisco certification is one of the most coveted by fresh IT graduates or those tech people who wants to venture into networking. Whenever I see job openings for networking related positions, I usually see Cisco certified as a requirement or as a desirable qualification.

I’m a regular visitor on this local tech forum and I always see a demand for CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associates) study groups or CCNA teachers. This just means that Cisco certification is not an easy thing to accomplish. But once you pass, you can easily reap the rewards of being Cisco certified. You get to work for big companies who really value such certifications and get fairly compensated as well.

Now if you’re planning to take a Cisco certification yourself, I would strongly suggest you join a good community of Cisco certified people or those who are also planning to get one themselves. One such site is the The Cisco Learning Network.

The Cisco Learning Network is a very comprehensive site if you want to learn about requirements, trainings, different kinds of certification available, career opportunities, etc. It boasts of a healthy community of IT professionals that can offer you tips, inform you of job openings, share documents, reviewers and a whole lot more.

The connection you get from this The Cisco Learning Network can really maximize that Cisco certification that you're planning to get.

Building Better Blog Designs

For my regular visitors out there, you may have noticed some subtle changes I'm doing on this blog. I was finally able to populate the top menu bar with useful links.

I'm also trying to de-clutter my sidebar so I removed the Archive widget and made it into its own page located on the top menu. Next to go might be the Blogroll as I'll try to convert it to its own page too.

Also on the top menu is my RSS button. It was a mistake placing it at the sidebar where people need to scroll down just to access it. RSS buttons should be seen immediately without scrolling the page.

I was able to get a lot of good tips reading articles such as "Five Blog Design Mistakes that Make You Look Dumb" from Blog Design Blog. If you're conscious about the design of your blog, better check out the site.

Watch Pacquiao vs Diaz Match Live and Free Online

This coming Sunday (June 29 if you're in the Philippines), our boxing pride Manny Pacquiao will go against David Diaz for the WBC Lightweight Championship. It will be his first title match in the lightweight division so it will be a disadvantage for him.

You could catch the fight live via SopCast. If you don't know what or how to use SopCast, you can check out my guide here. Then on Sunday, check out my friend Zoulspot's blog for the list of channels where the match will be broadcasted.

Alternatively, you could visit Justin.Tv on Sunday and search for people streaming the fight live. Here are the links in Justin.Tv where you can watch the game:

• http://www.justin.tv/elbeborandy
• http://www.justin.tv/eminem15
• http://www.justin.tv/feu11
  

If Pacquiao wins against Diaz, it would be his fourth world title at a different weight class which is a major feat on its own. Wow!! Go Pacquiao!!

5 Places Where You Can Get Free Vector Images

Sometimes it's hard to conceptualize a design or create a specific image from scratch. Luckily, there are tons of vector images around the web that are FREE to use and download. Some of them can be saved as .EPS or .AI so they can easily be edited.

Here are 5 sites where you can get vector images for FREE.

• Qvectors.com - This is an excellent site to start which is simple in design making navigation so easy. You can browse by tags or by categories which includes Abstract, Icons, Symbols and Illustrations.
• Vecteezy - This one's a popular site. Aside from categories, you can filter your image browsing by File Type and License. You can also sort the images by the number of downloads, popularity or by date.
• FreeVectors.net - Vector arts and graphics here are categorized by its design type. From animals, cartoons to vehicles, icons and templates.
• Artshare.ru - Russians are pretty slick graphic designers. Although this site is in Russian, it has a large number of original works not seen on other sites. Just use Google Translate if you're having a hard time navigating.
• Diego Mattei Blog - Just like Artshare, this one's a foreign site. Diego Mattei is a popular Argentinean graphics designer and his blog, which contains a good collection of vector images and Photoshop tips, has a lot of followers.

There you have it. You can now create that killer Powerpoint presentation, blog, or web site. Or just spice up that Multiply or Friendster site of yours.

Online menu of restaurants in the Philippines

Forget ClicktheCity. If you want to plan your meal or want to know the menu for delivery, I suggest you visit MunchPunch.
MunchPunch is a simple site that aims to provide information and menus of restaurants around the Philippines online. What I like about the site is its simplicity and ease of navigation. You can view listings by location, mall or cuisine. The menus are not just for delivery but fine dining restaurant menus are also listed.
In just a few clicks, you can plan where you want to eat and an estimate of how much it would cost you. It seems to be updated and they also have a page for ongoing promotions of some restaurants. I hope restaurateurs will support this site to provide precise information all the time.

Check it out!

Fun with papercraft

Here's a fun way to spend a rainy day with your kid, nephews or if you're stuck with somebody else's kid. Or you can also do this if you're bored at home or at the office.

Cubeecraft brings back the fun in papercrafting where you can easily create your own papercraft cartoon toy. You just need to print the template, cut it out then fold it to create your paper toy. There are no adhesives required since the template has interlocking tabs for construction.

The site offers templates for FREE which includes popular cartoon and video game characters. Print them on cardboard or a thick paper using a colored printer for better results.

Watch Wimbledon Championships 2008 on your PC

This is for the tennis fans out there. As you know, Wimbledon is just around the corner, June 23 to be exact. It's gonna be exciting as Roger Federer and Venus Williams defend their title.

I used to love watching the sexy Maria Sharapova play but this time, my eyes will be on Serbian, Ana Ivanovic. Ever since she won this year's French Open, a lot of men had their eyes glued on this gorgeous brunette.

If you're truly a tennis fanatic then you might want to watch all matches that you can as much as possible. MediaZone, is an online video service that allows you to watch Wimbledon LIVE. For only $24.99, you can watch up to nine courts simultaneously when you want it.  

Create cool effects for your photos online

Now here's a pretty cool site that allows you to create awesome effects on your photos for FREE.

The Sketch Artist effect is one of my fave

Dumpr is an online service where you can upload your pic then choose from a number of cool effects that they will apply on your photo. Perfect for your multiply, myspace or friendster sites or to use a t-shirt print or as an e-card.

Look what I did with the museum effect. Perverts!

Go try it out! It's really cool!

Watch Euro 2008 highlights and games on Footytube

Hey football fans, if you still don't know about Footytube then you might be having a hard time catching up and viewing highlights and matches from Euro 2008.

Footytube is an online video streaming site similar to YouTube but is dedicated mainly for football fans. You can watch highlights or games from your favorite football team. They also have a large database of videos from past football tournaments.

Truly a site for football fanatics.

Dirt Devil AccuCharge Vacuum Cleaner is the bomb!

I used to clean with vacuum cleaners before but they're quite a hassle to operate and store afterwards. The long cord is not long enough and coiling it after cleaning just makes me lazy to use a vacuum cleaner again. Not to mention the amount of electricity it consumes.

So we went back to basics with a broom and a mop, which is not an appealing thing to do. So we just let the dust accumulate and sweep it occasionally with our shoes or slippers and have the ants carry away dead insects while we wait for 2 weeks before calling up some house cleaners again.

Well, here's a vacuum cleaner that might change all that. Dirt Devil is the first cordless vacuum to earn Energy Star approval. You know, the standard for energy efficient consumer products.

With its AccuCharge technology, Dirt Devil vacuum cleaners reduces energy consumption by a whopping 70% compared to traditional vacuum cleaners. It prolongs the battery life as well with its special circuitry that monitors and protect the batteries from overcharging. When the charge voltage is reached, it reduces power to a trickle to complete and maintain the charge thus, saving you power and protecting your battery.

It's the perfect cleaning appliance for the energy-conscious household of today. Easy to use, easy to store, saves energy... what more could you ask for? Maybe a built-in AI so that it can clean the house for you?

Convert bitmap images to vector images online

VectorMagic is a cool site where you could convert your bitmap images to vector. Why would you wanna do that? Well if you don't know much about graphics design, vector images are easier to edit, change colors , etc. Vectorizing a photo makes it a nice piece of art as well.
For example, I have this Jollibee logo I downloaded somewhere. It's saved in JPG format so there are lots of colors used making the red look smudgy. If I want to change its colors, I need to covert it to a vector image first. Without any skills in Photoshop or Illustrator, Vector Magic allows me to do just that.
I just upload my image and let VectorMagic determine whether it's a photo or a logo. Then I'm asked a couple of basic questions before it process the image. If you need to polish your results, they have more options for you to try. No tracing skills are needed here folks. See my results below:
You can save the file for free in PNG format but with the words "Traced with VectorMagic" written at the bottom part. An easy solution would be to extend the height of your image to have some space for the words before uploading. Then crop the bottom part after downloading.

Vectorized Kung Fu Panda toys

If you want to download it in .EPS or .SVG format or without the "Traced with VectorMagic" words, you need to sign up and you'll get 2 free downloads. You have to pay if you want to download more images as .EPS.

Visualize measurements with SensibleUnits

Ever experienced asking someone how far it is to the next station and their answer is about 2 kilometers? Since you don't want to be embarrassed, you just nod your head pretending that you got it. Or maybe you're looking for a place to rent but don't have any idea just how big 50 square meters is? Here's a great site that can help you achieve decent estimates.
SensibleUnits is a web utility that converts boring units to real life objects to help you better visualize measurements. So that 2 kilometers is about 40 olympic-sized pools.

You can still use the site to convert units to different measurements as well though if you're the boring type.

It's Firefox 3 Download Day today

Hey guys, it's time to download Firefox 3. Replace your old clunky IE7 with the better browser, Firefox 3 and help set a Guinness World Record for most software downloaded in 24 hours.

You can start downloading it this very instant from this link. As of now (9:30 AM), there are 2.5 million downloads already with Philippines contributing a measly 6,488 downloads. Mozilla is aiming for 5 million and up. So spread the word and let's aim for 100k downloads for our country. Hehehe.

Oh yeah, I'm using Firefox 3 right at this moment and I can already notice its performance improvement from Firefox 2.

Download free sound files from Soundsnap

Ever found the need to incorporate sound to your Flash project or presentation but don't know where to get them? Before you buy sound clips online or hire a professional, take a look at Soundsnap first.

Soundsnap is a site where you could get FREE high quality sound effects, clips and loops for your multimedia project. The files are contributed by sound artists, game developers, music designers, etc. all over the world. They have sound loops for your audio-video presentations, sound effects for your Flash games and a whole lot more.

Troubleshoot with Bug.gd

You've probably... well most likely experienced a handful of error messages on your computer every once in a while. So what do you do before contacting tech support? If you're like me, I usually Google about the error message or look at tech forums for solutions.

Here's a website that should be on top of your list of sites to check for solutions. Bug.gd, dubbed as Humanity's Only Hope, is a Web 2.0 service that aims to collect all error messages people usually encounter on their PC and their solutions (if available).

So how does it work? Enter your e-mail address and paste the error message that you received. It will then return the list of solutions to that error message if available. If not, Bug.gd will contact you after 2 days to see if you've been able to fix your problem. If you do, they will ask you to share your solution so that everyone can benefit.

The site is so simple yet effective so contribute if you can to get back good karma. It beats wasting time with a technical support personnel.

Sam Concepcion sings for Kung Fu Panda

Have you seen Dreamwork's latest animated film Kung Fu Panda yet? I haven't seen it yet but I will soon. Did you know that the theme song "Kung Fu Fighting" heard during the end credits is sung by a fellow Pinoy, Sam Concepcion?

This is old news really but I just found out about it today from my mother-in-law. Anyhow, it's a first for Filipinos to record a song for the OST of a DreamWorks film. Here's the thing though, there are different singers for different regions so Sam's version can only be heard here in the Philippines. Hehehe, not that great after all.

For the US release, the theme song is sang by Ceelo Green and for the Korean release, it is sang by Rain (same Rain in the Clear shampoo commercials).

Here's the YouTube link to Sam's Kung Fu Fighting MTV. Too bad it doesn't show any clips from the movie unlike Rain's version.

What's new with Firefox 3?

Firefox 3 is expected to come out next week but do you have any plans to download it? Dria.org gives a rundown on what's new with Firefox 3.

As an existing Firefox 2 user, I would definitely make the switch. There are lots of improvements but for the normal web surfer like me, here's what I like about the new Firefox:

• Performance improvement (Drastic improvement from the memory hog FF2)
  
• Malware protection (Perfect for newbies who are used to clicking the OK button whenever something pops up)
  
• Phishing protection (I know a handful of people who thought they're logging on to their Paypal only realizing that they just gave out their user credentials)
  
• Better download manager (don't have to rely on add-ons anymore)
• Web application protocol handler (e-mail links will not launch MS Outlook anymore but you can have it open the mail service of your choice)

There are lots more in store for the hardcore surfer or web developers so better check out the article.

Oh yeah, don't forget to pledge if you have plans to download Firefox 3 as soon as it comes out.

Watch NBA Finals on your PC via Justin.TV

Stuck at the office with no TV and don't know where to watch the NBA Finals live on your PC? Or maybe you don't have cable and have to wait for the delayed telecast?

If you have a fast Internet connection, you can watch the NBA Finals via Justin.TV which is a site that offers video feed being broadcasted by other users. No downloads or registrations required. Only sign up if you want to chat with other viewers and haters watching the game.

In fact, I'm watching the game right now as I write this. Quality's not bad either.

I'm viewing it in this channel: http://www.justin.tv/seewhathappenslarry

Enjoy!

No more compulsary registration

Have you visited a site where you need to sign up or register for FREE just to view content? Hmmm let me see, NY Times... Washington Post. Quite a hassle huh? Not to mention another login and password combination for you to remember.
Well here's an old site that provides user submitted login credentials for those kind of setup. Bugmenot.com has a search feature where you can find login info for different sites with compulsary registration. Since it's been around for awhile, it will mostly have the login details for the site that you need.

Just remember to indicate if the login worked for you or not to remove old and non-working logins. Or better yet, submit your own login credentials to share the love.

Stylish strollers for the chic mom

I admit, my wife and I never heard of Mutsy strollers before. Maybe it's because we don't have a baby yet but when we looked at their site, wow! They're like the BMW and the Benz for strollers.

Check out their model called Slider. It's very compact, lightweight, solid, stylish and the design is geared towards total mobility for moms. The seat can be detached from the frame and can be replaced with a carrying cot or a car seat. It can also be tilted up to a full horizontal reclining position. You can also have the seat reversed in case you want to look at your baby.

Neat huh? The frame is totally adjustable in any way you can imagine. Just visit their site to know what else you can do with the Slider.

They also have the 4 Rider "Next" Cargo which is a toned down yet equally stylish stroller.

The Mutsy collection was really developed to meet a sophisticated mom’s needs, and its modular construction offers great flexibility for baby transport.

Oh yeah, Barebabies.com is offering a 10% discount on any Mutsy order if you're interested. Just use the discount code mutsy10off. You can also ask for test drive at a local Mutsy retailer (Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America).

Arnel Pineda featured in GQ

Our very own Arnel Pineda, and now Journey's lead vocalist was featured in GQ. Fortunately, they also have the story on their website. The article, He Didn't Stop Believin', is quite long but a very entertaining read.

It talks about the history of the band along with the people who became their vocalists. A short back story about Arnel Pineda, how he almost lost his voice and how he was discovered via YouTube. His embassy interview, to his auditions with the band, and his very first Journey concert in Chile.

The article also talks about the different reactions from passionate Journey and Steve Perry (ex-vocalist) fans, some good and some bad. It also has a brief interview from Neil Schon (band leader and guitarist) and Steve Perry.

Well you just have to read the story yourself if you're a fan.

Great job Arnel! Cheers to your success.

Now is a good time to buy an iPhone

For those of you who decided not to get an iPhone and have it hacked so you can use it here in the Philippines, you will be rewarded for waiting.

The second coming of the iPhone will be arriving mid-July. Dubbed iPhone 3G, it has the following improvements over the previous version:

• 3G Network Compatibility (A big improvement in browsing speed over the EDGE capability of the old iPhone)
  
• Comes in Black and White (White is available on the 16GB version only)
  
• Flush headphone jack (No more headphone adapters)
• Assisted GPS
  
• Back casing is now made of durable plastic instead of aluminum (gives better reception)
  
• Slightly wider by 1.1mm
• Slightly thicker by .7mm
• Price of $199 (8GB) and $299 (16GB). Half the price folks.
  

Gizmodo has a hands-on article on the new iPhone that you might want to read.

For local consumers, let's wait for Globe's pricing scheme for those who wants to avail the iPhone. Sorry Smart users, you'll have to stick with a hacked version.

Download Computer and IT Related eBooks for Free

Wow. Here's a site where you can get download links for your computer or IT related eBooks. Students, IT enthusiasts, those who are taking certification exams are welcome to check out FlazX.
FlazX is a dumping ground for links to IT related eBooks found around the web. They offer lots of computer eBooks ranging from Artificial Intelligence, Graphics Design, Networking, Programming, etc. They also have a collection of popular series such as For Dummies, Apress Pro, O'Reilly Nutshell and other O'Reilly books.

Nice huh. The ebooks are hosted on different file-hosting sites and the links are always updated. It's basically your one stop site for IT eBooks download.

Will the Asus Eee Box sell?

Asus introduced us to the world of Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) with its Asus Eee laptop. Now they're doing it again but this time it's with portable desktops. (Mac Mini's been around but well... it's Mac)

Looks like Nintendo Wii huh?

Introducing the Asus EEE Box. This stylish portable desktop has the following specs (from Gizmodo):

• Processor: Intel Atom N270 (1.6 GHz, FSB 533)
• Memory: DDRII 512 MB / 1 GB / 2 GB
  
• Storage: 80 GB / 120 GB / 160 GB / 250 GB
  
• Chipset: 945GSE + ICH7M
  
• VGA: On-board Intel GMA 950, 1600 x 1200 maximum resolution
  
• Networking: 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN, 802.11n WLAN, Bluetooth optional
  SD/MMC/MS slot: SD, SDHC, Mini SD, (Micro SD through adapter) ; MMC, MMC plus, MMC4.x, RS MMC, RSMMC4.x (MMC mobile through adapter);MS,MS PRO
  
• Audio: Azalia ALC888 Audio Chip

Front Ports:

• USB x 2
• Card Reader x 1
• Headphone-out jack (WO/SPDIF) x 1
• MIC x 1

Rear Ports:

• USB 2.0 x 2
• Gigabit LAN x 1
• DVI out x 1
• Line-Out (L/R) with S/PDIF x 1
  
• WiFi antenna

US Configurations and MSRP:

• $269 1GB memory + 80GB HDD Linux edition
• $299 1GB memory + 80GB HDD XP edition
• $299 2GB memory + 160GB HDD Linux edition

If you're looking for an optical drive in there, well there's none. But there are 4 USB ports for your external DVD writer or whatever. Being WiFi ready is really nice and the 160GB disk space really helps.

Side by side with Mac Mini

But why would you want to buy the Eee Box anyway? Well, it doesn't try to compete with the conventional desktops. If you wanna spend Php13k on a PC, you can build something more powerful than the Eee Box.

The Eee Box is for those who are style or space-conscious who don't use PC's to play games or do fancy stuffs like maybe your parents. It would be a nice upgrade from those hulking ATX casings that they are used to.

With it's low power-consuming Atom processor, it could be a nice PC solely for downloading things. Being portable as well, you can easily connect it to your LCD TV to watch movies that are stored in it. Of course, it could be a nice out-of-the-box Linux PC that you could play around with.

Let's just wait and see how big a splash it would make when it is released this July. I would guess that it would have decent sales but really won't sell like pancakes.

Anticipating In Plain Sight

USA Network's new original series In Plain Sight is about a U.S. Marshal named Mary Shannon who is attached to her job protecting and managing Federal Witnesses in the Witness Protection Program.

That's her on the right along with her partner Marshall Mann who is her exact opposite in personality and is also a trivia freak. I'm gonna talk about this guy Marshall since he reminds of a friend of mine back in college. Like Marshall, my friend knows a little about a lot of things. I mean even the most obscure or far-out topics that we talk about, he knows something about it.
It's pretty cool to pick up some new and interesting trivia from him every now and then. I wonder where he is now.

Anyway, if you're a fan of crime drama be sure to check out In Plain Sight every Sunday at 10 PM on USA Network.

How to remove the name of your blog from the page title of your posts

To all Blogger users, this is one Blogger hack that you should absolutely consider. Have you noticed how Blogger adds your blog name to the page title of all your posts?

Did you know that this could mess up your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) rankings since the keywords of your post title will be picked up only after your blog name?

If you don't know what I'm talking about, do a Google search of your site by typing "site:<your URL>" in Google's search field. You would probably see something like this:

Imagine if your blog has a long name and your post a much longer one like this.

Fortunately, Blogger just recently introduced a tag to separate the blog name from the post title. With a little bit of Blogger code, we can remove the blog name from the page title of a post.

1. To do this, go to Layout > Edit HTML in your Dashboard.

2. Search for <title><data:blog.pagetitle/></title>. It should be near the top.

3. Replace that with this piece of code.

<b:if cond="'data:blog.pageType">
<title><data:blog.title/></title>
<b:else/>
<title><data:blog.pagename/></title>
</b:if>

4. That's it! Save and view your work.

If you're in the main page, your page title is your blog name. If you visit one of your posts, the page title would be the post title. Nice huh?

Got this tip from Blogger Buster by the way.

Download free vector graphics

Here's a site where you can download lots of free vector graphics (.eps or .ai format) that you can use on your web site, project or whatever.

Aside from vector graphics, Dezignus.com also offers free brushes, shapes and textures for your Photoshop. You can also download wallpapers and icons and learn from their list of graphics tutorials.

Take part in the Firefox 3 Download Day 2008

Hey Firefox users, Firefox 3 is right around the corner and the people at Mozilla wants to set a Guinness World of Records for the most number of software download in 24 hours.

They say that Firefox 3 is a very huge improvement from version 2. It's much faster, safer and smarter than before. I don't know about that but if it's any improvement from the memory hog Firefox 2, I would sure use it.

So if you're a fan of Firefox and want to show support, pledge now. There's no launch date yet so just head over to SpreadFireFox.com and click Pledge Now. Enter your e-mail address and be informed when Firefox 3 is out and ready for download.

Plug into the sun with a portable charger

This has got to be the coolest gadget an enviro-friendly techno-freak would want to have. A portable charger that uses solar energy to store power to charge your handheld devices.
Solio chargers are hybrid because it can store power from a wall socket or from exposure to sunlight. This is amazing if you find yourself away from electrical sources and your cell phone's battery just ran dry. For people who likes to go camping, trekking or people who's always on the go, this device is a must. Let's not forget you'll be doing something good for Mother Earth.

An hour of sun exposure will allow Solio to give you 25 minutes of talk time in most cellphones or an hour of music from your iPod. A fully charged one (takes 8-10 hours of sunlight or 4 hours from a wall socket) will fully charge your cellphone twice. I can think of a handful of situations where I could use that emergency power (rural areas, bus, airplanes, or during brownouts).This charger can also be used on your PDA's, PSP's and even your digital cameras provided you use the correct connector / adapter tip. Don't worry, the package comes with a myriad of these adapters.

Prices range from $99 - $199 depending on the model you choose. It also comes in pink if you wanna know! Hehehe.