Catalla 101: February 2009

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Getting started with Homepages Friends.

Getting started with Homepages Friends

So what's this all about then?

Creating and using your paid to search home page is a new way to search the Internet because there's one big difference with Homepages Friends.....

You get paid for searching when you use Homepages Friends!

When you search for something using Google, Ask.com, Yahoo, MSN or any other search engine, which includes Homepages Friends, you're normally shown a few adverts along with your results.

That's how search engines primarily earn their cash.
It's no big secret.

They get paid to show us adverts. They take all the revenue from these paid advertisments and we don't see a dime.

So now you're aware of that if you wasn't already, allow me to answer the burning question.
How do they do it?

How are Homepages Friends able to offer a paid to search service that allows normal users to be paid for searching the Internet in pretty much the same way we do now?

Well, it's simple.

You sign up then start doing your Web searches via their site.

Homepages Friends then share back some of the advertising revenue they earn every time you search the internet from their page.

If you're worried that the search results may be restricted or somewhat limited because this is a fairly new company then think again. Homepages Friends have just announced a 3 year deal with Yahoo! who will be providing the search results.

See for yourself. Try our very own Head the Web paid for searching home page for size.
When you sign up your home page will be exactly the same only your username will appear at the top.

So the next time you're searching the web for something you should ask yourself, was I paid to do that?
With Homepages Friends you would have been.

It really doesn't get any easier than this. :)

What's involved then?

Update: The section below is a brief introduction to the sign up process. A more detailed guide is also available.
Getting Started with Homepages Friends

1. Sign up

To start with you need to provide a username (this will be the name of your search) an email and your country of residence. Then tick the box confirming you've read the Terms and Conditions then click the >step 2 link. At this point an email is sent with your login details.

2. Set your home page.

After joining you'll be taken to the administration section.
About half way down this page is the "Set your home page" section.

Look for the bit where it says "You can go to this URL from any computer". Click the link directly below.

This is your new search page. This is the page you should always use so you get paid for searching the Web. Now is a good time to make this your browsers home page, or add it as a favourite and name it SEARCH or something similar.

Now try a Web search. Use the Yahoo! search box part way down the page. Enter your search term then hit the search button.

Congratulations!

You've just been Paid for Searching the Web

1. Get Registered!

When you first visit Homepages Friends you'll be taken to the registration page and asked to supply a few details as seen below.
Register at Homepages Friends

As you can see you only need to provide a name, an email address and your country of residence to register which is great because the quicker you're registered the quicker you can get paid to search.
You can provide all your payment details later once you've earned some cash!

» Your Name: Probably best not to use your real name here as this username can be seen publicly. Use a nick or make something up. We used Head the Web. See our paid search page Yours will be exactly the same once registered only HEAD the WEB will be replaced to show your username.

» Your Country: Select your country. Select the right country because it affects the way your paid. If you make a mistake don't worry, you can change it later.

» Your Email Address: A copy of your login details will be sent here so make sure you can access the email address you register with.

» I have read and understood the Terms and Conditions: View the Homepages Friends Terms and Conditions then select the check box to show you agree, standard stuff.

Thats all the details you need to provide at this stage.
Once you click the >Step Two link you'll be taken straight to your admin page which we'll walk you through on the next page.

2. Setting up the Paid to Search Page.

Once you register at Homepages Friends the first thing you might want to do is set your browsers home page so it loads your new personal search page.

This is the page you should always browse to before searching the web because every single search from here earns you cash.

I'll post some tips about how best to use this page over the coming days. Just normal day to day activities you might not have considered using the search for before which will now earn you cash.
Check back soon!

Look for the "Set your home page" section as seen below.
Image with CSS shadow

To set your home page simply use the "Click here" link. To check it worked just click the Home button in your browser. It should load your new page which will look similar to our paid web search

If you don't want to change your home page then there are other alternatives. You could save the page as a favourite instead. Just click the link directly under the bit that says "You can go to this URL from any computer." (see picture above)

Once you've browsed to your new home page just save it as one of your favourites and name it "My Search" or "[Your Username]Search" or whatever suits you.

The browsers here have SEARCH so it's easy to spot in long list. So instead of hitting the home button you can just load it from your browsers favourites list instead.

The hardest bit now is remembering to load the new paid to search page everytime you want to carry out a search because every time you don't search using Homepages Friends you don't get paid. It's worth brain training yourself not to forget!

Another and much easier way to use the Homepages Service is to install their search bar. Both Firefox and Internet Explorer have the Google search bar, amongst others, installed by default and it's usually seen in the top right of a browsers menu bar. Homepages Friends also have a search bar which you can install from the admin page.

3. Installing the Toolbar.

The great thing about installing the toolbar is it remains there even after restarting your browser or pc. Once you're familiar with using a toolbar in your browser you'll never forget to be paid to search the Web again!

Look for the section on your admin page as seen below.
Homepages Friends Toolbar

Simply click the link that says "Click here to change your search box"

You should see a pop up box like the one shown below asking if you want to add the new search bar to your browser. Make sure your username appears next to Name.
Get Paid to Search

Now tick the box next to "Make this my default search provider" then click the "Add Provider" button.
That's it. Done.

At this point you'll probably need to restart your browser (just close it and open it up again) to load the new toolbar so bookmark this page if you need to come back before closing the browser.

Check for your newly installed search bar in the top right of your browsers menu. Can you see your username? It's a very light grey text in the search field itself. When you click to position the cursor to enter the search term the grey text should disappear.

If you see your username then it's installed fine otherwise you may need to select it from the drop down menu then you can start earning real cash every time you use the browsers new search bar.

Simplicity itself!

4. Getting Paid!

Change Password

When you signed up you were sent an email with your login details including your password. Homepages Friends set your password to some forgetable bunch of letters so you can change this to something more memorable if you prefer.

On the right of your admin page are all the links you'll ever need. The "Change my password" link is there as seen in the image to the right.

If you need to log onto your admin page this is the link: Login to Homepages Friends

For now that's all that's required. As long as you've set either your browsers Home Page to your paid search page, added the page as a favourite or installed the Search Bar you can start earning right now just by searching for things you normally search for on the Web.

You only really need provide personal details once your ready to request a payment so there's no real rush but if you want to do it now then keep reading on.
Homepages Friends Account Page

To receive a payment you'll need to provide your billing details at some point. Look for the "Account details" link in the right menu on your Homepages administration page as seen in the picture to the left.

Once you've completed the account details section click the "Give my payment details" link further down the right hand menu where you can select your preferred payment method.

The administration page also links to your earnings page.

In fact almost all links to the sections you need are in the right menu on the Homepages administration page which is very simple to navigate through.

Hopefully you found this article useful. If you like the sound of Homepages Friends and wish to sign up you can show your appreciation by signing up via our Homepages Friends Referral Link

Please be sure to check back again soon to see some of the great stuff we've got lined up.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Rubik's Cube frustration now spherical

The Rubik's Cube has been one of the most well-known puzzles since the 1980s. But the inventor, Hungarian Erno Rubik, is not done causing frustration and has just introduced the Rubik's 360 toy.

Unlike the original, this puzzle is spherical, and the purpose is to change the position of six balls in its central sphere so that they will eventually be located in six compartments on the outer sphere.

It looks like this puzzle won't require you to remember an endless number of algorithms just to solve it like the original cube, but we won't be surprised if you still end up tearing your hair out in the process. It is expected to ship in July or August for $23.40.

(Source: Crave Asia via gizmag)

Google Latitude: An In-Depth Look

This Wednesday, Google launched its much-anticipated location-tracking service, Latitude, which uses the GPS hardware found in smart phones (such as Google Android phones and BlackBerry and Windows Mobile handsets) to pinpoint your position on a map and share that information with your friends. I've been playing with the software on my BlackBerry for a couple of days, and I've taken the time to explore its features. Here's a guided tour of the Latitude experience.
Web Registration

If you already have a Google Account, you can get started simply by adding Latitude to your iGoogle page on the Web. If you take this approach, you can use your full keyboard and mouse to populate your Friends list. Alternatively, you can browse to google.com/latitude on your smart phone and download the latest version of the Google Mobile app, which has Latitude functionality built in. Once it's on your phone, you can log in and get started.

Add Friends

Before Latitude can do you much good or harm, you'll need to add some friends with whom you'd like to share your location. Gmail users already have a heavily populated contact list to select from, but you also have the option to enter e-mail addresses manually.

Once you've added some friends, their avatars will appear on your map. You'll also be able to see how long ago they last updated their location, either by clicking their avatar in the map view or by looking at their listing in your Friends list. If your friends haven't entered a location for themselves and haven't enabled GPS tracking on their smart phones, you'll just see 'Unknown Location' by their names. In some cases, you'll also see a tiny icon that looks like an eyeball with a slash through it. You might think that this means your friend has chosen to hide his or her location from you, but it actually means the opposite: The friend can't see your location. In this case, you'll need to select that friend and enable the level of location sharing you want to confer.

Privacy

You have three options for sharing your location: You can have Latitude detect your location to the best of its ability and automatically share it; you can set your location manually by entering an address or city; or you can hide your location entirely. You select the option you want in the oddly named Privacy menu. I think that a better label would be Location Sharing, which describes what actually happens here.

This menu sets your sharing preferences universally for all of your friends. If you like, however, you can change your sharing options for each friend individually. More on this later.

Because you can enter any address you want when you set your location, it's very easy to spoof your position with Latitude. For instance, I'm toying with the idea of telling my friends that I'm in Timbuktu, Mali, because I want them to think I'm a hip jet-setter with a taste for exotic locales. (Sure, it's a stretch, but some of my friends are pretty gullible.)

Mobile Latitude

Unless all you want to do is track where your friends are all the time--which sounds sort of creepy, if you ask me--you'll probably spend a lot of time using Latitude's mobile interface. The interface varies a bit, depending on the device you're using it on, but this walkthrough of the screens on my BlackBerry Curve will give you a good sense of what it's like.
Google Mobile & Maps

On the BlackBerry, Latitude lives in the Google Mobile App, which you can download by browsing to www.google.com/mobile on you device. Even if you already have Google Mobile and Google Maps on your BlackBerry, you must download the latest version to get the Latitude features.

Google Earth maps the oceans

It began three years ago with a chance meeting in Spain between the legendary oceanographer Sylvia Earle and John Hanke, the director of Google Earth, the company’s free virtual globe software.

“John, when are you going to finish it?” asked Ms. Earle, “You should call Google Earth ‘Google Dirt.‘”

After that, Mr. Hanke and his team got to work mapping the remaining 70 percent of the planet’s surface. The result: Google Earth 5.0, which became available on Monday.

On the Official Google Blog, Hanke writes:

We have always had a big blue expanse and some low-resolution shading to suggest depth. But starting today we have a much more detailed bathymetric map (the ocean floor), so you can actually drop below the surface and explore the nooks and crannies of the seafloor in 3D. While you’re there you can explore thousands of data points including videos and images of ocean life, details on the best surf spots, logs of real ocean expeditions, and much more.

The “much more” includes shipwrecks, sea surface temperature data, maps of Marine Protected Areas, so-called dead zones, wildlife tracking data, chlorophyll levels, old Jacques Cousteau videos, and much more. One favorite is a feature that allows you to track Arctic sea ice extent from 1979 to 2008.

To gather all this data, Google turned to a host of ocean scientists and environmental advocacy groups, including the Cousteau Society, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the National Geographic Society, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the New England Aquarium, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, to name a few.

Conservationists praised the software’s potential to boost public support. The New York Times’s Andrew Revkin quotes Barbara Block, a marine biologist at Stanford University:

“We cannot as a community conserve what we cannot see,” Dr. Block said. “We’ve worked with the Monterey Bay Aquarium for years to put giant bluefin and white sharks on display, and if we’re lucky 2 million people a year come and see the animals and discover their color, beauty of motion, and form. With the Google oceans feature, we potentially can reach hundreds of millions.”

A press release from the Geneva-based International Union for Conservation of Nature, which compiles the world’s most comprehensive listing of the conservation status of plants and animals, quotes Carl Gustaf Lundin, who heads the organization’s Global Marine Programme.

“With ‘Ocean in Google Earth’ everybody can see the unbelievable beauty of our marine life and how incredibly threatened it is.”

Other features in this latest release of Google Earth include the ability to view historical map data, to create narrated, sharable tours, and to view the terrain of Mars.

"Ancient" Syriac bible found in Cyprus

NICOSIA (Reuters Life!) – Authorities in northern Cyprus believe they have found an ancient version of the Bible written in Syriac, a dialect of the native language of Jesus.

The manuscript was found in a police raid on suspected antiquity smugglers. Turkish Cypriot police testified in a court hearing they believe the manuscript could be about 2,000 years old.

The manuscript carries excerpts of the Bible written in gold lettering on vellum and loosely strung together, photos provided to Reuters showed. One page carries a drawing of a tree, and another eight lines of Syriac script.

Experts were however divided over the provenance of the manuscript, and whether it was an original, which would render it priceless, or a fake.

Experts said the use of gold lettering on the manuscript was likely to date it later than 2,000 years.

"I'd suspect that it is most likely to be less than 1,000 years old," leading expert Peter Williams, Warden of Tyndale House, University of Cambridge told Reuters.

Turkish Cypriot authorities seized the relic last week and nine individuals are in custody pending further investigations. More individuals are being sought in connection with the find, they said.

The World's Tallest Cities

New York City remains No. 1, but China is catching up.

The soaring global economy of the last 20 years pushed the world's leading financial centers to enduring heights. Not their stock markets, which have collapsed, but their skylines.

All but two of the world's 20 tallest buildings (the 1,451-foot Sears Tower and the 1,250-foot Empire State Building) were built during this long bull market, according to Emporis, a global building-information company. Today the world's tallest cities reflect that growth.

New York City still stands tallest, with 35 towers over 700 feet, more than any other city. But China is catching up. Hong Kong is No. 2 with 30 such towers, and Shanghai is No. 4 with 21 towers.

These cities have risen fast. In 1999, Shanghai completed the 1,380-foot Jin Mao Tower. It was Shanghai's first building taller than 700 feet; since then the city has built 20 more.

No city in the world, however, has developed as explosively as Dubai. As oil wealth flooded the United Arab Emirates, the emirate of Dubai on the Persian Gulf poured money into construction, much as Houston had done decades earlier.

Today, Dubai is home to the world's tallest tower. The 2,684-foot Burj Dubai was topped off in January of this year. The building is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009. It will be the world's tallest building by 1,000 feet. The second-tallest building, Taipei 101 in Taiwan, is a comparatively modest 1,671 feet.

With the rise of China and Dubai, Chicago is now No. 5. Shenzhen, the Chinese city just north of Hong Kong, is closing in.

A report, released this week from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, estimates that by 2020, the world's skylines will again be redrawn. By 2020, Taipei 101, currently the second-tallest building in the world, will be No. 20.

Dubai is determined to stay on top. After completing the Burj Dubai, it is planning the 3,280-foot Nakheel Tower. Saudi Arabia hopes to build the 3,280-foot Kingdom Tower. Both towers are very tentatively scheduled for completion in 2020--if the oil keeps flowing out and the dollars keep pouring in.

The foundations are already being laid for other super towers around the globe. In Shanghai, the 2,073-foot Shanghai Tower will complete a trio of towers in the city's financial district, which currently includes the world's third-tallest building, the 1,614-foot Shanghai World Financial Center.

In the U.S. both Chicago and New York are racing to build new super towers. New York's Freedom Tower, also known as World Trade Center One, will reach 1,776 feet when completed. In Chicago, foundations are in place for the Chicago Spire, a planned 2,000-footer that would allow the Windy City to remain the home of America's tallest tower.

But whether these skyscrapers will ever touch the clouds depends how quickly the economy turns around. Across the world, projects are grinding to a stop, as financing collapses or demand for hundreds of floors of office space in financial districts disappears. The Chicago Spire, the Nakheel Tower and Moscow's planned 2,008-foot Moscow Tower have all been placed on hold in recent months.
In Pictures: The World's 10 Tallest Cities

USA Swimming suspends Phelps three months

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (AFP) - - Record-breaking Olympic champion Michael Phelps has been suspended for three months by USA Swimming after a published photograph appeared to show him smoking marijuana.

The national governing body of the sport stressed that the punishment was not for a doping violation, but said they wanted to send a "strong message" to Phelps about his status as a role model for young people.

"USA Swimming has reprimanded Michael Phelps under its Code of Conduct by withdrawing financial support and the eligibility to compete for a period of three months effective today, February 5," said a statement issued late Thursday.

"This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero.

"Michael has voluntarily accepted this reprimand and has committed to earn back our trust," the statement added.

Phelps had been expected to return to competition for the first time since the Olympics at a USA Swimming Grand Prix meeting in Austin, Texas in early March.

Now he won't be able to race until May. That would still allow him to compete at the US National Championships in Indianapolis in July, the qualifying meet for the World Championships in Rome July 18-August 2.

Any plans Phelps had for the post-Olympic season were plunged into disarray when Britain's News of the World published the photograph in which Phelps appeared to inhale from a glass pipe of the kind used to smoke marijuana.

The newspaper said the photo was taken at a university party in South Carolina in November.

The 23-year-old swimmer, who electrified the Beijing Games in August when he won an unprecedented eight gold medals, told his hometown newspaper the Baltimore Sun on Wednesday that the incident showed "obviously bad judgment and it's something I'm not proud of at all."

Phelps suffered more fall-out on Thursday, when US food company Kellogg's said it would not renew its endorsement deal with the Olympian when it expires at the end of the month.

"Michael's most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg," company spokeswoman Susanne Norwitz said in a statement.

"Michael accepts these decisions and understands their point of view," a spokesman for Phelps's agents Octagon said. "He feels bad he let anyone down.

"He's also encouraged by the thousands of comments he's received from his fans and the support from his many sponsors. He intends to work hard to regain everyone's trust."

Several other sponsors, including apparel manufacturer Speedo and watchmaker Omega, have stood by Phelps.

Speedo was the company that forked over a one million-dollar bonus as Phelps surpassed US swimming icon Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record of seven gold medals at one Games in Beijing.

In Beijing Phelps set seven world records en route to his eight gold medals. He took his total of Olympic titles to a record 14, including six from the 2004 Athens Games.

In the glow of that success Phelps said he would return for the 2012 Olympics in London, but he indicated to the Baltimore Sun that the bruising publicity he has received this week could prompt him to reconsider.

"This is a decision of mine that I'm not going to make today and I'm not going to make tomorrow," Phelps told the newspaper, saying any move would include discussions with his longtime coach and mentor, Bob Bowman.

Since the photo was published, Phelps said he has come under intense scrutiny -- of a far different sort than he received in the wake of his Olympic triumph.

"I've been waking up to guys yelling into megaphones outside my window at 7 o'clock in the morning," Phelps said. "I've had paparazzi people following me from my house to my mom's house. People knocking on the door."

It's not the first time Phelps has had to polish his image. In 2004, after he won six gold medals and two bronze at the Athens Olympics, the 19-year-old Phelps pleaded guilty to drunken driving and received 18 months probation.

"I think this is like the DUI, in that it's something I can talk more about and make sure that nobody makes the same mistakes I made," Phelps told the newspaper. "What I've gone through in the last week, no one wants to go through."

Lakers win NBA thriller to end Celtics streak

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AFP) - - Lamar Odom's free throws with 16 seconds left in overtime helped the Los Angeles Lakers stop the streaking Boston Celtics cold for the second time this season.

The Lakers outlasted the Celtics 110-109 - their second victory over the Celtics this season after they fell to Boston in six games in the National Basketball Association championship series last season.

Kobe Bryant had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Odom added 20 points for the Lakers who imprved to 40-9. That gave them the best record in the NBA in terms of percentage, as the Celtics fell to 41-10.

The Lakers also had the satisfaction of again ending a significant Celtics winning streak.

The Lakers ended Boston's franchise-record 19-game winning streak in Los Angeles Christmas Day.

This time they halted a 12-game winning streak. What may eventually prove more important, the two victories earned the tiebreaker for home-court advantage if the teams meet again in the NBA Finals.

The Lakers trailed 109-108 when Odom blocked a shot by Glend Davis, grabbed the loose ball and tried launch a fast break.

He was fouled as he passed, setting up his key free throws.

On the ensuing possession - the final one of the game - Rajon Rondo accidentally was undercut by Derek Fisher, who fell to the floor in the path of the Celtics' point guard.

The gaffe let the Celtics set up a play from out-of-bounds, but Pau Gasol got a piece of Ray Allen's three-point attempt.

Fans at the TD Banknorth Garden went wild calling for a foul as time expired.

Allen scored 22 points for the Celtics, who were without defensive player of the year Kevin Garnett at the end of the game after he fouled out with 4:22 to play in the fourth quarter.

Body Talk with Coco Martin

Too young (at 25) to be a king? Not really. With 16 indie films to his credit, Coco Martin is the so-called Indie King (a “title” conferred on him by Noel Ferrer, his former manager).

“All in more than three years,” said Coco whose award-winning indie starrer Jay (with Baron Geisler, directed by Francis Xavier Pasion, graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board) has just opened at SM Cinemas. (His other indies include Condo, Nars, Tambolista, Serbis, Daybreak, OFWs, Batanes and Tirador). “So far, I’ve been nominated several times but I’ve won only once, for Masahista (his acting debut in 2005). I’ve been to several international film festivals, including those in Locarno, Switzerland; Dubai; Russia; Berlin; Cannes; Bangkok; and Hong Kong.”

In Jay, Coco plays Edward, the ex-boyfriend of a murdered gay teacher. He is seduced by a gay producer who happens to have the same name as his gay lover (Jay). Playing the producer is Baron who won Best Actor in the 2008 Cinemalaya.

Contrary to general impression, he has gone “very bold” (read: totally nude in gay love scenes) in only three indies.

“Actually, I didn’t plan to be an actor,” confessed Coco (whose full name is Rodel P. Nacianceno, from Pampanga, named Coco by talent manager Ed Instrella because he looks “totoy na totoy” and Martin because “he looks like Ricky Martin”), “when Masahista (produced and directed by Brillante ‘Dante’ Mendoza) was offered to me, Tito Ferdy (Lapuz, Funfare’s Toronto-based ‘international correspondent’ who has connections with international-filmfest organizers) told me that it would be shown abroad. I got excited because I thought it would be my chance to go abroad and work there as a TNT (Tago Nang Tago). I didn’t ask what my role was; all I had in mind was to go abroad. So when we went to Locarno where Masahista was shown, my companions were laughing at me dahil ang laki-laki ng bag na dala ko.”

He was destined to remain at home.

“The Pinoys there told me that if my stay wasn’t legal, I wouldn’t be able to find a decent job. Wala daw TNT doon,” added Coco who graduated from NCBA (National College of Business and Arts) with an HRM (Hotel & Management) degree. And so...

The “Indie King” has gone mainstream, not in the movies yet but in television. He’s now on his third ABS-CBN soap, Tayong Dalawa (as the half-brother of Gerald Anderson), following last year’s Ligaw na Bulaklak (with Roxanne Guinoo) and Tiny Tony (with John Prats). He’ll start shooting two new indies, Chop-Chop (directed by Dante Mendoza) and Biyaheng Lupa (Soliloquy), the first directorial job of award-winning scriptwriter Armando “Bing” Lao (produced by Joji Alonso).

A Scorpion, Coco stands 5’7”, weighs 138 lbs., has a 31-inch waistline, and wears small-sized shirt and size-8.5 shoes.

How do you prepare for a love scene? Are you a cleanliness freak?

“I am vanidoso by nature, so malayo pa ang shooting pinaghahandaan ko na. During love scenes, I brush my teeth thoroughly and then gurgle with mouthwash. I take a bath at nagba-body-scrub pa ako. I shave para hindi masaktan ang partner ko. Siempre, I expect my partner to be clean, too.”

Regardless whether your kissing partner is a fellow actor or an actress?

“Whatever.”

Do you feel “anything” when doing a love scene with an actor?

“At first, naiilang ako. It took Paolo (Rivero) and I six hours to do our love scenes in Daybreak because everytime our bodies touched, we would break out laughing. But then, once you get tired, parang manhid ka na and you just do it.” `

How do you internalize for such scenes?

“I just imagine that I’m making love to a woman. Otherwise, if you fake it, mahahalata.”

With your erratic showbiz schedule, do you manage to take three square meals a day?

“I try to. But when I have a shoot, I take only a heavy breakfast and nothing more during the day. Heavy ‘yon, consisting of fried rice, eggs, corned beef or hotdogs, dried fish. If I get hungry, I eat Skyflakes as snack or peaches (in cans). Usually, I have a bad habit of taking midnight snacks, pancit canton, etc. It’s a good thing that my metabolism is fast.”

How much water do you take per day?

“As many as 16 glasses. Malakas din ako sa soda and juices.”

What vitamins do you take?

“Stresstabs, Poten-C and Centrum.”

What workout do you do?

“One hundred push-ups every morning.”

What part of your body needs improvement?

“None. I’m happy with my body.”

What part of your body is vulnerable?

“My head.”

And what part is your favorite?

“My lips. Kissable daw, sabi nila.”

What part of a girl’s body do you look at first?

“Her butt.”

How much sleep do you get per night?

“Six hours.”

What’s your favorite sleepwear?

“My briefs. Anyway, I sleep alone.”

Never in the nude?

“Only when I have one drink too many.”

Do you snore?

“Daw. Sabi ng former girlfriend ko.”

Do you talk in your sleep?

“Daw. Sabi ng former girlfriend ko.”

Do you sleepwalk?

“No, I don’t.”

How many pillows do you sleep with?

“Six.”

What’s the last thing that you do before you go to sleep?

“Take a bath. I take a bath three times a day.”

And the first thing that you do when you wake up?

“Take a bath.”

How do you cope with stress?

“I jog, usually around the UP campus. I rarely have a massage. Hindi ako mahilig sa masahe. I also listen to music, mostly old songs.”

Among the cities that you’ve been to, what’s your favorite?

“Sa local, Batanes. Sa abroad, Cannes because there the girls walk around topless.”

How’s your nightlife?

“Tame, compared to before. Now, I just hang out with friends at their homes or at mine.”

Your love life?

“Malungkot. Six months na akong walang girlfriend. The last one was not from showbiz.”

And your sex life?

“Occasionally. Di naman nawawala ‘yon, di ba?”

Who’s your favorite fantasy figure?

“Secret!”

Name three women you think have nice bodies.

“Cristine Reyes. Anne Curtis. Angel Locsin.”

And three men...

“Piolo Pascual. Derek Ramsay. Marc Nelson.”

Using only body language, how would you make a girl know that you admire her?

“When I like a girl, I turn torpe. Otherwise, I’m playful with girls. If I like a girl, kunwari ini-ignore ko siya.”

(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com) - FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

Red boosts attention, blue creativity - study

VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) - - The color red boosts attention to detail in tasks such as memorization, while blue encourages creativity, according to a study published online in the journal Science.

The findings apply to advertising, warnings on medication, and especially environmental design for offices or classrooms, said Rui (Juliet) Zhu, who teaches marketing at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Zhu, who wrote the study with Ph.D. student Ravi Mehta, recommends that marketers selling creative or innovative products use blue, and brainstorming sessions be held in blue rooms.

Using red in advertising would prompt consumers to pay more attention to product details, she said. Previously the effect of color on performance was a mystery because earlier studies, which did not match colors to different kinds of tasks, yielded conflicting results, said Zhu, who also studied psychology.

Zhu and Mehta ran six tests involving 600 university students working at computer monitors with a background set in blue, red or white for control groups. The students performed significantly better or worse at creative or detail-oriented tasks depending on the color, Zhu told AFP. She said red enhances performance on jobs that require alert vigilance because people associated red with stop signs, emergencies, ambulances and danger. People react to red with an "avoidance mechanism ... youre likely to be vigilant, so you do better on detail-oriented tasks," she said.

Blue encouraged creativity because people associate it with "ocean, sky, freedom, openness, peacefulness," said Zhu. A peaceful environment "makes people engage in exploratory behavior and enhances their creativity." The color reactions are likely not innate but are instead "learned associations we gather from daily life," said Zhu. She warned that because the research used only North American test subjects, the tests could have results elsewhere. "Where Im from, China, red is associated with prosperity, good fortune and luck, so Id look for different results there," said Zhu.

Simpson forgets lyrics, fights tears at Mich. show

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A bizarre 38-minute set by opening act Jessica Simpson inadvertently stole the spotlight from headliner Rascal Flatts in a show at the Van Andel Arena. The Grand Rapids Press said Simpson forgot her lyrics, struggled with her ear monitors, mumbled through songs and fought back tears during Thursday night's performance.

At one point, the 28-year-old singer-actress asked her backing band to start over on one song, and she forgot the words to another.

"Jessica had an off night," Cindi Berger, a representative for Simpson, said Friday. "She's a perfectionist, and wanted to start some of the songs over. She always wants to give her best performance to her fans."

Simpson apologized to the supportive audience of about 9,000 by mouthing the word "sorry" on two large video screens.

While introducing her last song, Simpson said she sometimes feels like quitting. She appeared to be wiping away tears after finishing the song and walking off the stage.

___

Information from: The Grand Rapids Press, http://www.mlive.com/grand-rapids

Aces silence Texters, gain 3-2 lead

Conference best player Willie Miller knocked in a big triple to make up for two crucial errors down the stretch as Alaska Milk snapped a two-game slide and moved in the threshold of the KFC PBA Philippine Cup championship with a 95-93 cliffhanger over Talk n Text last night at the Astrodome.

Talk n Text had a chance to salvage the game but Renren Ritualo misfired his own three-point try then Harvey Carey missed a tip-in in the last eight seconds.

“They sagged on Sonny Thoss, giving me an opening to shoot, so I took the shot. Luckily, it went it. In earlier plays, I was taking some time to attack only to fumble,” said Miller, whose back-to-back errors earlier allowed the Tropang Texters to surge ahead at 91-90.

“We’re really lucky Willie made that shot. Good for him and I feel good for him. He would have been crushed had we lost the game,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

“I’m surprised he (prematurely) took that shot. But he’s feeling it. Willie’s gutsy. And that’s why he’s an MVP,” Cone added.

Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes blamed himself for what he called “stupid defensive plays” he designed for the team at endgame.

The Aces pulled through and gained the pivotal 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series despite the loss of Jeffrey Cariaso on a hamstring injury sustained in Game Four.

Minus Cariaso, Miller, Sonny Thoss, Larry Fonacier, Joe Devance, LA Tenorio and Reynel Hugnatan all exerted extra effort, each one churning out significant numbers.

Fonacier finally made his presence felt in the series, logging 15 points and six rebounds while LA Tenorio checked a personal slump, logging a double-double with 12 assists and 10 points.

Hugnatan had his own double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds with Thoss, Miller and Devance combining for 46 points, 22 rebounds and 12 assists.

Mark Cardona scored a game-high 23 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, fueling a Talk n Text rally from early double-digit deficits.

Cardona himself rifled in a trey, giving TnT the lead for the first time, 91-90, after squandering a 13-8 advantage in the first period.

Talk n Text started the game with an 11-2 run but Alaska countered with a big attack, enjoying two 14-point spreads – 31-17 and 33-19 – right in the opening quarter.

Miller and Thoss spearheaded Alaska’s first-quarter salvo, then Fonacier took over in the second period as Alaska sat on a 51-43 cushion at halftime.

Hugnatan was good for only four points but he was a tower of power in rebounds, leading Alaska in dominating the boards, 33-16, in the first 24 minutes of play.

Miller banged in a three-pointer then took a steal, setting up LA Tenorio for a lay-up to close Alaska’s dizzying 29-6 roll from a 2-11 count.

Going without a basket for about four minutes, the Texters went to Yousif Aljamal to break the spell.

Aljamal, who had a previous conference-high of 11 points, made nine towards the end of the first quarter and finished the half with 12 on 2-of-2 shooting from the three-point land, 2-of-4 from the two-point zone and 2-of-2 from the stripe. - By Nelson Beltran (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

Catalla 101