Author: Gabriel

Thinking of my blogs a day before Christmas

It’s a day before Christmas and I’m writing about my blogs. Call me obsessed.

Anyway, a few months ago, a blogger in a (more or less) popular group blog was peeved at a recent news announcement (i’m gonna try to make this as anonymous as possible, basically because I’m a nice guy, but really, I don’t wanna piss him off either because – well, it’s just too easy). Anyway, there was news / PR item which really ticked him off and he wrote about it on their blog of course.

Prob was, it was purely a PR item, and whilst I tried to explain it to him on their comments section, and tried to get him to email me to keep from explaining how it (PR) works to him in public, he was intent on keeping pissed, and even emailed the parties involved, which was the right thing to do if you wanted to get to the bottom of it, but unfortunately instead of investigating, he went ahead and lambasted them for their decision, being, in his mind representative of the Great Philippine Blogosphere (what is that anyway? aren’t we all just writers / publishers?).

Continue reading Thinking of my blogs a day before Christmas

On ReviewMe and Being a Reviewer

A lot of people ask me if I’ve ever written a bad review, or rather, wrote a review about a gadget in a deprecating manner. I’ve always said that while I’ve encountered many products that I felt were lemons (and not just as a matter of taste. They actually were really badly designed.), there are many ways to go around having to do so.

First of all, let me explain why a ‘bad review’ doesn’t make sense, nor does anyone any good. Editors and publishers alike will agree, there are so many products out there that deserve a good article written about them. In the tech world itself, there are literally hundreds of products worth looking at. Assuming a tech writer would want to stick to your area of preference, such as, say, digital cameras, you’d still have enough material to keep you busy for months on end. Why then, would you concentrate on writing a whole article to give a particular product a bad rep?

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Google PageRank and my State of Mind

Sometimes, when the wind blows hither nither, Basketball Exchange’s Pagerank is a nice, healthy 5.

Sometimes however, when the moon flies high across the sky, pulling with it the tides below and the ancient living things within, Ballex’s Pagerank is a piddling (for a basketball site), pedestrian and all too ordinary 4.

Poetic inducements aside, I resort to such words for lack of an explanation of the quandaries I face as a blog publisher. To wit:

  1. Why is Ballex’s PR sometimes 4, sometimes 5?
  2. Why is Pisces Iscariot’s PR sometimes 5, sometimes (gasp) 3?
  3. Why in the flying flak fudacious does KikayEx not have a PR rank yet after almost 5 months in existence?

Continue reading Google PageRank and my State of Mind

horses horses horses horses..

… were the words Meg Ryan was singing in Sleepless in Seattle. Remember that? When she was driving? And she had to make a stop at a diner and two waitresses were listening in on the same radio show that she was listening to in the car that was interviewing Tom Hanks? I think it was Dr. Marsha Fieldstone or something.

Anyway, I’m starting to think about that right now and getting all Christmasy, which is either a product of my good natured happy happy forever optimist Santa Claus Ho Ho Ho self – or – Indomethacin, a non-steroidal anti inflammatory drug (NSAID) I just took to finally relieve me of the pain brought about by my now – very – boring – to – read – about (as in OMG he’s writing about how it hurts again?!?), gout.

I felt kind of funny saying Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug at Mercury earlier, but fortunately when I said Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug, the pharmacist got it, disappeared behind a few shelves and delivered said Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug. And now to end this paragraph about Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs, which is good as I do not have to type anymore Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug.

Continue reading horses horses horses horses..

Early Morning Mobile Exchange Thoughts

Things I have to do with Mobile Exchange.

  1. Organize the posts: At the moment I just slap on post after gadget post, with no real rhyme or reason. This is primarily because many of the Press Releases I’ve got are somewhat incomplete, so I can’t do a “Sony Ericsson’s lineup for 2006” series of posts, or a “Business Phones” post, featuring all the business phones from all major brands. I’ve been asking for all the press releases from every PR I’ve ever dealt with, but what’s holding me back is that sometimes I’m a little shy when I tell them it’s not for one of the traditional publications I write for, which leads me to #2:

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Microsoft Vista Launch Is Good For Your Health

Or mine, at least.

See, if there’s anything i like about hotels, it’s the bathtub and hot / cold water galore. And Thu night at the MS Vista launch, whilst all the other press dudes were revelling (or what little revelry they could find) in Tagaytay, I was soaking my old, tired, aching, and supremely pained self in my room at Taal Vista care of Microsoft, no less. I dunno which was better, the terrific hot soak or the fact its paid for by MS. It just feels extra cool and everything that way.

At any rate, believe me the fact that gout is described as ‘excruciating’ and ‘numbing’ pain in medical websites is not an accident. The pain is hard to describe, its almost… spiritual, if there’s ever a word for it. I’ve dislocated my elbow, gotten banged up in all sorts of creative ways and even passed kidney stones, but this one is especially different because it is just so unrelenting, never allowing you a moment’s rest. Even sleep, the age old remedy, is not enough. This thing will wake you up to remind you it’s there. In the wee hours of the morning when you feel most helpless and least able to bear it, there it is, saying ‘hello!’ and ‘would you like some more?’.

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And now the fun begins

Just around an hour ago, the whole of Philippine Tech Press-dom has been lit up with news of Microsoft’s Press Launch of Windows Vista and Office 2007, which is finally launching next year.

I got my invite and the requisite assignment to cover it, and – well – I’m excited.

You’ve just gotta hand it to MS Philippines and their PR for knowing how to drum up excitement with their events. This isn’t some ho-hum fancy dress lunch in a posh hotel. This is an overnight gig, out of town.

Continue reading And now the fun begins

Ouch and Argh Day

I’ve cancelled my planned trips today because I’m going through a gout attack, something I go through around once a year and let me tell you right now, it is so fucking PAINFUL, but I cannot do much other than bear it and take allopurinol. I try not to be a pill – popper, so I’ve only taken a painkiller once today and I’m trying to avoid taking another one although I’m tempted.

Sometimes (and I think I thought this the last time this happened to me), I wanna just make a small incision on my left big toe where the pain is, thinking maybe the blood in that area contains all the toxins so my body can get rid of all of it in one go, but lacking any medical proof this might work its probably a bad idea. And besides, cutting up my toe might lead to a wound that might even get an infection, considering my foot would need to heal while its inside a dark, damp shoe.

So ok scratch that I think I talked my way out of it. But I just have to do something.

Continue reading Ouch and Argh Day