Benj's Busy Blog

Antonio Margarito's face transform into a "zombie like" appearance after fighting Manny Pacquiao

Fight went the distance for 12 rounds of non-stop action. Manny Pacman Pacquiao wins by unanimous decision. Another achievement by the Filipino fighter. Learn more about his interesting boxing career.

Buy the Hard Cover Book	Amazon Kindle eBook	Greatest Boxer of All Time – Paperback
Book by Freddie Roach	Yes, Manny Pacquiao also writes books. He is the author of this hard cover book.

Popularity: 22% [?]

My daughter Jamie has been going to all these different venues for her dance recital, rehearsals, fair events, etc. It’s a Saturday and I need to just work on some spreadsheet and email over the weekend. Perfect! Now seems to he a good time.

I’m now at the Joan Kroc Theater were Jamie’s doing a dress rehearsal for her recital tomorrow. And right beside it is a library, and I tell myself, perfect, I can quickly go in and out and get this thing done in the library but nope… It’s not going to happen.

Library has no free Wifi – well that’s ok I thought. I can use the PCs in the library.I though everything was ok then…

I don’t know my webmail password – since Outlook at work saves my password, I really do not know it. There was no request or forgot password options on the web-based script Horde. Anyway I can reset my password in the web admin panel. I thought everything will be ok… Then…

I don’t know the admin panel password – but I have it saved in a password repository software. In runs on my laptop and on my home PC. I can access my home PC by LogMeIn. I thought everything will be ok then…

The library cannot run LogMeIn – the only browsers were IE and ActiveX controls and some Flash was not allowed to run. And enabling them was also not allowed. Anyway I got the LogMeIn app on my iPhone… I thought everything will be ok… Then…

I could not edit the spreadsheet! – on my phone, I did logmein, go to web based admin panel to change my email password. I open the email in the library PC, download the Excel file and it didn’t open. I was saved in an Excel 2007/2010 format. The library was running Excel 2003. Anyway Microsoft has a compatibility add on from the MS website… I thought everything was going to be ok… Then…

MS Excel 2003 compatibility pack would not install – ok so I really cannot open it since any type of installs were prohibited in these PCs. Well I can still go it remotely by LogMeIn on my phone. But editing a spreadsheet on a very small screen?

I can but no way. I’ll just do it when I get home.

Popularity: 4% [?]

It’s my first week at work, and the week ran by fast since there is a lot of work to do and you barely felt the week pass by. During lunch at Pho Cali, there were several interesting topics that came out and there were many things I also wanted to share, that I didn’t really mention right away not to divert conversations into another direction. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 52% [?]

In tough times, I need to reassess the following:

1. Cable TV/Internet/Phone – Right now I’m with Time Warner Cable for all TV, Internet and digital land line phone. For cable, I think Cox is not available in my area. But I can do DishTV or AT&T Universe. For internet, the other option is AT&T DSL. For phone, AT&T, or might as well just use a MagicJack so it’s cheaper.
2. Cellphone Package – Having an iPhone and several family members under the same plan, I think I am not changing providers, but I might look into the plans more and see whatever additional cuts I can make.
3. Data Centers – I have been hosting many websites for many years, since 1997. Reseller hosting, Co-located servers, Dedicated Servers, VPS etc. Maybe it is time to check these out again see where I can save more.
4. Domain Name Pricing – I am selling domains for many years at the price $8.88 even before NSI did the last price update on the .com and .net. Maybe it is time to move the price a little up.
5. Primary Credit Cards to use - Having various credit cards, some have more interest than others. I have to reassess which ones I should use more and which ones I use less. And which ones I should pay off the whole complete balance right away.

whew, lots of homework for me.

Popularity: 5% [?]

GSIS fails running their software made by Questronix running on IBM DB2. GSIS sues Questronix and IBM. That’s sounds like GSIS bought fresh milk from the grocery store, then it expires. They still drink it without looking at the expiration date. They get stomach aches, then they decide to sue not only the grocery store, but the farm and probably even the cow. More here at ABS CBN News.

Added info as shared to me by Bert Peronilla through Facebook who has a PhD in Computer Science:

I like your analogy on the GSIS, IBM, Questronix situation. Here are some technical details as I understand them as of today (July 24, 2009.)

GSIS claimed that the application crashes were found by IBM Toronto Lab to be caused by an “overflow” condition when the table space exceeds the limit of 2 TB. This limit of 2 TB for a table space in one partition for DB2 Version 9.1, (which is the one used by GSIS,) is documented in IBM manuals for this version of DB2. Proper performance monitoring of the application should have alerted GSIS that they were approaching the 2 TB limit. However, this was not caught by GSIS and this led to the “overflow” error.

DB2 should have caught this “overflow” condition and issued a WARNING message, followed by a graceful shutdown of the application instead of allowing the application to crash. IBM has sent a DB2 special build to remedy this error which was installed on the GSIS system as of May 26, 2009. Questronix claims that this “overflow” error is no longer occurring after May 26, 2009.

IBM cannot be sued for this error because it is clearly documented in all IBM software contracts that it does NOT guarantee that the software is free of bugs. If GSIS obtained their DB2 directly from IBM and had a Maintenance Agreement with them, IBM will try to fix any program errors to the best of their ability, and if they are not able to do so, this gives the customer the opportunity to try to get their money back. Only for what they paid for DB2; IBM contracts have a Disclaimer that they cannot be sued for any consequential or any other damages.

Popularity: 15% [?]

All of us get these spam calls on the phone. And I normally just decline any kind of offer since I am aware of their marketing tactics. It is simple, they normally offer something for free, you use it and if you do not cancel within some number of days, you will be charged automtically.

It does seem that most of these companies make their money from people that forget to cancel and they get charged and eventually will cancel. This does nto sound like a nice long term source of revenue for the company since I believe a majority of people will cancel their subscriptions right away. But they do this in the numbers, just keep on calling and getting more and more people sign up. Even if  most will cancel, they will still make a good significant amount of money.

I receive a call from Super Savings / Unicare Auto Club

The call I received was not from  a toll free number. It was from a local number: (310) 599-5774. Now that the call is over, I searched online for information on this number and I found out that this number has been used from various offers.

• A Free Pizaa
• Offers in Debt Settlement/Refinance/Consolidation starting by saying they have $6,000 in debt and press 1 to continue.
• Consumer Rewards with som free cash of $100
• $300 Gift Card for Walmart

In my case it was a Gas Card offer with $200 worth of Gas. In todays economy, I was a sucker for the offer. Took a shot and will just make a point I unsubscribe and cancel these services right away and I get to keep the gas card.

During the call, the telemarketer was speaking very fast, so fast that you can barely understand everything. Works similar to the small fine print you see on paper documentation.

But one thing I made a point in doing was interupting in the call and clearing up the numbers and services and company names the operator was telling me. So it does seem I will receive this gas card(s),  but in the process you are being signed up on multiple services. If I took down my notes well, it seems I was signed up for:

1. Super Savings Club – I should cancel within 7 days by calling 866-682-7658
2. Unicare Auto Club – I should cancel within 7 days by calling 866-832-4286
3. Vanguard – I should cancel within 7 days by calling 866-684-3931
4. National Union – Will not be signed up, but I was told I will receive a call from them for another offer within the next 30 days.

It was clear that I was told within 7 days upon receipt of the mail so I verified how does the letter look like and what is the company on the envelope. I was told it is Red and White and is large would contain a lot of coupons and will have Super Savings and Unicare.

So after the call, as my wife advise, might as well call up the numbers to be sure they exist. I called up and it was beyond office hour and a recorded message said I can call during office hours, which is Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm eastern time. The funny thing is I called 3 different numbers and yet the recorded message was exactly the same. Exactly the same voice, exactly the same message.

Ok on every search of these numbers, all I get is negative stuff, that this is a scam. And it seems the 310-599-5774 caller has various identities online.

• Using Whitepage Reverse Lookup
  Type: Land Line
  Provider: Digitcom Services (July 18, 2008)
  Location:  Compton, CA
• Using Phoneowner.info
  Caller ID: Intercon Corp. (July 18, 2008)
  Caller: Debt Reducer
  Caller Type: Telemarketer
• Posted on Whocallsme.com
  Caller ID: CUSTOMER SERVIC (May 19, 2009)
  Caller: (caller would not reply)
• Posted on Whocallsme.com
  Caller ID: TN Removal List
  Caller: 310-599-5774
• Posted on Whocallsme.com
  Caller ID: Vista Services (July 9, 2009)
  Caller: 310-599-5774
• Posted on 800notes.com
  Caller ID: 1-310-599-5774
  Caller: Intercon Corp. (July 15, 2008)
  Caller Type: Collection Agency
  As reported by an independent researcher, the number is shared between Intercon Corp in Compton CA 90221-2140 and is shared between standard telephone line and paging.
  From public records, the number is registered to Digitcom Sevices, Inc. filed with the state on July 18, 1995 with filing number 01923292. The company name was changes on February 23, 1999 to DSI Technology, Inc. And again in June 8, 2000 to Wildgate Wireless, Inc.

So let’s see what happens in the next few days, once I get those gas cards, it mission terminate all services. If I get no gas cards, I’ll call up my credit card company and cancel the card.

Reference Information:

• http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/3105995774
• http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-310-599-5774
• http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-310-599-5774/2
• http://whocalled.us/lookup/3105995774
• http://phoneowner.info/Number.aspx/3105995774
• http://callwiki.com/phones/view/310-599-5774

Popularity: 7% [?]

I just went to the doctors today due to some next pain, mainly the back of my neck, my nape. Somewhere on the rigth side that has been occuring for 1 week already.

I went to the doctor since it was already a week of pain and might be something more serious and my suspected problems were:

• Something related to spine alignment. Pinched nerves due to vertebral subluxations. Can be due to improper posture, non-ergonomic work settings.
• Stress, lack of sleep, related. Just failure due to no rest. Resistance to illnesses are going down, or…
• Blood pressure related. Heart issues, etc.

After going to the doctors today, they did their deductive process of questioning. From previous physical activity, any recent accidents, sudden or gradual appearance of pain and other questions until they decided to give me an Xray. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 20% [?]

I love ZenPhoto, although I also love WordPress as a CMS platform and mixing these two will have two logins and can be confusing for other people so I am looking for the best photogallery out there that I can use with WordPress and so far after checking several plugins, I decided to try out altPWA. It pulls the images from any Picasa account. Let’s try it out with some Sea World photos. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 35% [?]

I have seen many optical illusion images in the past usually playing with angles, perspectives or differences in contrast, but this one plays with distance and with the blurry and clear. Below you will initially see an image of Albert Einstein Einstien since I all assume all of you are reading this blog post from a computer.

Now watch this change into Marilyn Monroe Marylyn Monrow by Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 65% [?]

Online casinos have been one of the online amusements for some, having the time and money to spend, many are addicted to play the game and gamble with a chance to win the jackpot prize. Finding one that has good bonuses, biggest and fastest payouts, specific depositing methods that is entirely different from others. Giving you advance tips, tricks and strategies also with instructional videos, all you’ll ever require to play like a pro. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 50% [?]