Funny Reactions of Gay Friends Over Venus Raj

This video is so funny--I almost cried laughing.  This video is about gay friends watching the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant.  They laughed, jumped like Tom Cruise and cried over sheer excitement and joy when Miss Philippines was called to be the 15th finalist.

Software Load Balancer

This has been a stressful day.  I have encountered too many system errors today that I swear, I wanted to just uninstall everything and look for a different and more effective info management system.  My programmer suggested we try BalanceNG - The Software Load Balancer.  At this point, I am all for it.   I viewed Inlab's website--the makers of BalanceNG--to see what information I can get from them and their product.  I am pretty impressed with the package.  What really impressed me is their Session table that is capable of holding 10 million sessions per 512MByte of main memory.  That is exactly what I need.

Miss Universe's Final Questions

Miss Philippines, Venus Raj, was an early favorite during the Miss Universe 2010 pageant so it's not surprising that most people got disappointed at how the pageant ended--she landed 4th place.  Many said that if only she had answered William Baldwin's question in a more concrete and confident manner, she could have been the winner.  Nevertheless, Filipinos are still happy that at least a Filipina made her way to the top 5 because  it has been 11 years since Miriam Quiambao got the 2nd runner-up title during the 1999 Miss Universe.

Do you still remember the final question during the 1999 Miss Universe?

"If a Miss Universe were to become pregnant, should she be allowed to continue her reign?"

It was a nerve racking moment, I could still remember Miriam Quiambao taking a deep breath before answering the question.  When she finally had all the words organized in her thoughts, she answered:

"That's a difficult situation to be into... if she has pursued her goals, she should continue."

Just a thought... if William Baldwin will ask the same question to Venus Raj right now, I bet she'd say that her biggest mistake in life is not giving the most convincing answer during the pageant.

Although I wasn't born yet when Margie Moran won the 1973 Miss Universe, her answer is my most favorite of all.  She was asked:

"What is the difference between being Miss Universe and being a Filipina?"

She answered:

"Being Miss Universe is like having a birthstone, you may lose it.  Being a Filipina is like having a birthmark, it is forever."

Bravo!

Of all the Miss Universe pageants that I have watched, it is the 1994 final question that I can very well remember:

"What is the essence of being a woman?"

Miss India, Sushmita Sen, answered:

"Just being a woman is God's gift.  The origin of a child is a mother, a woman.  Woman is sharing, she shows a man what sharing, caring, and loving is all about.  That is the essence of a woman."

It is a candidate's looks that will get her to the finals but it is her brains that will earn her the crown.

Miss Philippines as 4th Runner-Up in Miss Universe 2010

Another proud moment for the Filipinos worldwide.  Miss Philippines Venus Raj bagged the 4th place in the recently concluded Miss Universe 2010 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Hotel in Las Vegas.

Aside from waiting for the finalists in their swim wear and evening gown, the most anticipated event of the night was the question and answer.  Miss Philippines was (un)lucky to have chosen William Baldwin to ask her this question:  

"What is your biggest mistake in life and what did you do to make it right?"

I was literally biting my nail while waiting for what Miss Philippines has to say.  I was so nervous because I think Miss Australia and Miss Mexico gave the best and smartest answers.  I am still proud that she confidently represented the Philippines although I wasn't fully satisfied with her answer: 

"Thank you so much Sir for that wonderful question.  You know what Sir, in my 22 years of existence, I can say that there is nothing major major, I mean, problem that I have done in my life because I am very confident with my family, with the love that they are giving me.  So, thank you so much that I am here, thank you thank you so much."

I have never heard a more grateful person in my life.

Flood

Our house was flooded yesterday because of heavy rains.  Thank goodness the water went up only until half of the living room.  Apparently, the drainage at the far end of the neighborhood is clogged and because our house is lower than the road at the level of the drainage system, we were flooded.  Nothing inside our house was damaged, I was just too exhausted to mop and dry the living room even though I got some help from Lance's dad who happened to be there when it happened. That signals me to another home improvement project.  Argh!

Sprint HTC Evo: The First 4G Phone in the US

I don't know much about 2G and 3G, all I know is that each time a letter or number comes after the term or the number increases, it is the latest and the most high tech thing.  The moment I read 4G, I said to myself this has got to land on this blog.  Sprint HTC Evo claims to be the first 4G phone in the US.  Are there any 4G phones out there?  Anyway, this guy here has a 4.3-inch screen, has Android 2.1, weighs 6 oz., 1GHz processor, 8 megapixel camera, wi-fi, bluetooth, Android Market with access to more than 35,000 apps (whew!), and you can also watch your favorite TV show.  If you will ask me what else can you do with this phone... I say click here.

Dream Interpretation: Broken Doorknob and Peeping Toms

I could not remember exactly what my dream was, all I could remember was the broken doorknob of my bedroom.  I take a look and I saw unfamiliar faces peeping through a hole.

"Being locked in a room and the doorknob is missing or broken can mean you're feeling trapped, at a dead end, or unempowered in your life somehow."  - As interpreted by The Curious Dreamer

"To dream that you are being watched, suggests that you are feeling confined in your work environment or personal relationship.  You feel you are lacking a sense of privacy." - As interpreted by Dream Moods

Bandage Dresses

I could not exactly remember when was the first time I saw or heard about bandage dresses... about a year ago, maybe.  Whoever wore it first really made a fad.  Of course, the designer behind the body-con is Herve Leger.  A lot of Hollywood stars like Blake Lively (on the photo), Mariah Carey, Kim Kardashian (of course, she probably made it even more famous), Rihanna, Victoria Beckham, Lindsay Lohan and many others could not get enough of the ubersexy dress.  Men, too could not resist the its allure, in fact, in one survey conducted by Mycelebrityfashion.co.uk, 57% of respondents said that the body-con is the most promiscuous clothing item followed by crop tops (53%) and corsets (51%).  Surprisingly, only 43% agree that underwear worn as outerwear is suggesting promiscuity.

And, 24% of the respondents said that they wouldn't allow their girlfriend or wife to go out wearing something they disapprove.  Well, let's see about that.

Men really think differently.  Let them lose their marbles.

Read more about the contents of the survey right here.

Primal Management: The Five Social Appetites

Paul Herr's book entitled Primal Management is about the five social appetites that most companies tend to neglect.  It defies the workplace adage 'nothing personal' because the book explains that whether we like it or not, our emotions affect our decisions and our behavior.  The old school belief that the workplace should be ruled by the mind will be negated by the scientific study of the author and relating those studies to his personal experiences.  It will teach companies on how to achieve its goals by motivating their employees.  Here are the five social appetites:

1. Cooperation Appetite - No man is an island.  We all need to belong to a group and feel that the group accepts and value us.

2. Competency Appetite - We all like to learn new things and if the company could not provide its employees a structured training program for different levels, they tend to work inside a box.

3. Skill-deployment Appetite - We all want to hear words of praise from time to time from our boss and even our co-employees if we have done a good job or even if we have done a not-so-good job, a pat on the back or words that everything will be okay are enough to motivate us to do better next time.  It says in the book, to logically explain this appetite is if a man is hungry, he will instinctively look for a place where he can gather food and eat.  This is true.  If you could not remember the last time you heard 'attaboy' or 'attagirl', there is a tendency for you to think that you have to look for another job.  I believe this is the most neglected of all the appetites.

4. Innovation Appetite - In the animal kingdom, humans are the weakest because we do not have sharp teeth or talons to protect ourselves from predators.  Imagine if our ancestors did not discover fire or did not learn how to make spears--we would not be here, we are extinct.  Imagine if Ferdinand Magellan believed that the earth is flat--I bet a place called Philippines would not exist.  If bosses tell their employees that there is no way, everyone will end up working like robots.

5. Self-protection Appetite - In the book, survival of the self sometimes becomes more important than the survival of the tribe.  We all have tendencies to think first on what is good for us, selfish as it may sound, but that is the truth, so if the first four appetites were not fed, admit it, we will all just move away from the tribe and look for a better tribe where all our appetites will be fed.