Speeding up your startup

Although Windows 7 boots up faster compared to previous versions of Windows it would still slow down as you install more softwares as they require Windows to run them on startup. Well I found this piece of software called Startup Delayer (http://www.r2.com.au/software.php?page=2&show=startdelay) and it is a freebie.  What it does is to tell the the programs you selected to sit tight, be patient and run a little bit later after some traffic has cleared. This software is one of the best ways that I found out there to speed up a slow booting computer, even one that runs on Windows 7.

Make your PC more secure

Although Windows 7 is equipped with some solid security tools, including a firewall and anti-spyware Windows Defender, there is still a need to have a good antivirus program.  Enter Microsoft’s Security Essentials. It provides real-time protection against malware and it doesn’t hog system resources.  PCWorld compared it to other free anti-virus utilities and they said it holds its own.  It is a fine alternative to paying an annual fee for virus protection.

As far as I know, Microsoft requires a genuine copy of Windows to be able to download the application.

Work faster

Here are some keyboard shortcuts I found useful over the years.

Toggle between applications: Press <Alt> <Tab> to switch between programs without the use of a mouse. One of the best time savers.

Navigate application windows: Use <Ctrl> <Tab> to cycle through an application’s window or through a web browser’s tab. An underrated cousin of the shortcut above.

Line up windows: Although Windows 7 made it easier to line up to windows by just simply dragging an open window left or right and let go, that is not the case with older version of Windows.  Hold down <Ctrl> and click on the desired windows in the taskbar, then right-click on the task bar and choose Tile Vertically.

Create application shortcuts: Right-click on any application icon, select Properties and click the Shortcut tab. Specify a combination keystroke to start an application.

Although in the ADMU mock polls Teodoro beats Aquino on a very slim margin, still that is pretty disturbing. Imagine Noynoy canno even convince his own school of how he would lead this country. I am beginning to believe that what Noynoy brings to the foray is his being the son of Ninoy and Cory Aquino and nothing beyond that. During these debates and mock polls no celebrity endorsements that was put into consideration, only what are the candidates platform and how they were able to answer questions put before them by the students.

Since like what our national hero said about the youth being the future of this country, maybe this nation should listen to what the youth is saying in these mock polls.

6.6. Any mass media columnist, commentator, announcer, reporter, on-air correspondent or personality who is a candidate for any elective public office or is a campaign volunteer for or employed or retained in any capacity by any candidate or political party shall be deemed resigned, if so required by their employer, or shall take a leave of absence from his/her work as such during the campaign period: Provided, That any media practitioner who is an official of a political party or a member of the campaign staff of a candidate or political party shall not use his/her time or space to favor any candidate or political party.

Of course any lawyer can always find a loophole to this law. But why look for one in the first place?

Why are the leading candidates so mortified of not having celebrity endorsers? Are their platforms only a bunch of empty promises that they require celebrity endorsers to camouflage it from the public? Are these platforms nothing more than false hopes for the people who are looking for someone to dig them out of this hole that the present administration put them in? Are they afraid that no one would come to hear them during their campaign sorties that they need these celebrity endorsers?

I am not saying that these celebrities don’t have the right to endorse the candidate that I hope they truly believe in. They can do so, but in doing so they should follow the law and the law is very clear. No ifs and buts about it. The candidates who they are endorsing have all the time in the world to repeal this law while they were still senators and congressmen, and maybe they think that they are above the law and there was no need to take any action. Now they cry foul when the law is being applied to them. Are these the kind of leaders that we are going to have after May 2010 elections? I shiver at the thought.

I would like to see these candidates present their platforms to the public without the blinding flashes of having celebrities as endorsers. Or maybe they can’t substantiate their claims that is why they are looking to these endorsers for help.

I am issuing a challenge to these presidential candidates: Level the playing field and let go of your celebrity endorsers and let the public judge you and your platform based solely on its merits.

So what are these actions that made me despise him all the more. First off during a recent debate when told that a recent survey shows his lead with his nearest rival dwindling his answer to that was “surveys can be bought in Quiapo” and to think  that the company who did this survey is the same company that had him leading by a wide margin not long ago. Back then his campaign used these surveys to trumpet his insurmountable lead in the race for the presidency and now that his lead is fast dwindling, he has the gall to tell us that surveys can be bought in Quiapo. So if this what he wants us to believe, then might us well tell us that the surveys that had him leading was also bought from Quiapo.

This just shows how arrogant he is. Does he feels that the presidency is his due to birth right? Or shall we say that he was ill-prepared to answer the question. Though I doubt that since from a recent interview he said that those who doubt his brilliance in debates should be wary of his skill in debates.

Now here he comes again with saying that if Malacanang appoints a replacement for Chief Justice Puno, he won’t recognize it. He and other so-called experts are saying that it is illegal for the sitting president to make appointments 60 days before and after the election. Those who I hear loudly opposing this move by PGMA of appointing a replacement for Justice Puno much earlier are those who have vested interest in the upcoming elections, Noynoy being one of them. Would they rather have an unfilled Chief Justice that later would result to a power vacuum, or have someone fill the position as soon as the Justice Puno retires? Maybe Noynoy has his own agenda. Maybe Noynoy wants to appoint someone or has already promised someone the position that Justice Puno will vacate. These are just theories which may or may not be true, nevertheless the action shown by Noynoy of not recognizing whoever would be appointed shows immaturity.

Why? If indeed PGMA appoints a replacement and if Noynoy wins and he doesn’t recognized the replacement, then what would that do to the integrity and independence of the Supreme Court and the whole judiciary branch of government? Would it not result to a quagmire? Do we need a leader who will lead this country to chaos?

Noynoy’s campaign is a campaign of hate. Everything that the current government had done and will do will always be wrong for him. This also holds true to the people who surrounds him, his inner circle.

Until I see anything different I will still not vote for Noynoy and I might go for one of his close rivals.

Here are some of the pictures I took from the balcony of my room.

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In his 9 year term as congressman of the 2nd district of Tarlac and 3 years as Senator, I haven’t heard of any resolution that he authored and became a law. I think the best that he got was to co-author resolutions that later on would became laws. Is this his way of playing safe which I think he has been doing throughout his political career? Always staying on the sidelines, afraid to be at the forefront in issues. Nothing new I supposed since on the issue of the Hacienda Luisita, he played it safe and said he plan to convince his family to give up control of the 6,453-hectare Hacienda Luisita. The operative word there is plan because in his family’s long control of the Hacienda Luisita, why only now when coincidentally he is running for president and this issue could cost him the votes he needed. During the time of his mother’s reign as president of the country, when the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law was passed, why did his family not give up their control over it. If he is truly for the poor, right here and now he should tell his family to relinquish control over the land and give it to the poor farmers and not just say he plans to tell his family. Again playing it safe.

Whatever the critics may say against the present administration, foreign institutions have noted on the improvements in our economy which can be noted by the credit ratings the country has been receiving. This administration made unpopular decisions like the E-VAT but now we know had it not been for that decision the country would have been in a far worse situation due to the US recession.

Are we again ready as a country to have a leader who has nothing going for him but the endorsements of well-known celebrities? Have we not learned our lessons during the Erap years?

What we need now is a leader who doesn’t hesitate may his action be popular or not. What we don’t need is a leader who loves to play on the sidelines and only takes on the limelight when the dust have settled and it is safe to come out.

This act of brutality not only shocked the nation but also the world and condemnation was emanating from all quarters. Though noticeably it was only presidential candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro who went to Maguindanao and condemned in the strongest terms this atrocity allegedly committed by the Ampatuan clan of Maguindanao. He called for the expulsion of the Ampatuans from the Lakas-Kami-CMD party where they are members and which he chairs. He condoled with the family of the victims and even went to accompany the member of the family who is to run for governor to file his candidacy. This is a true sign of being a leader, a brave and true leader unlike those who would rather fire their verbal salvo in the safe distance of Manila.

I thinking of not voting this coming elections seeing that no candidate is worthy of my vote, just the same bunch leaving me with choosing the lesser evil. Senator Villar was accused of double-insertion in the budget of the C5 interchange. He did not attend the hearing because he does not want to glorify the inquiry being done by his peers. LAME EXCUSE! Noynoy Aquino has been distancing himself from the Hacienda Luisita issue, saying he or their family is a minor shareholder. That is not the point, if he can’t do anything about it, then why can’t he even say anything against the injustice to these poor farmers. Noynoy Aquino can say anything except that which is damaging to his family. Those who are voting and campaigning for him has this reason of them going for him because of his parents. How many of you are parents, can’t you see within your own family that no matter how you raise them the same way, they are still different from each other and different from you. THEY ARE NOT YOU and so is Noynoy NOT HIS PARENTS.

Please VOTE WISELY! Vote for a true leader, a brave, strong and intelligent leader. Or we might be looking at another MASSACRE in the future.

Photos below are alleged photos of some of the victims in the Maguindanao Massacre I got from one Yahoo! group forwarded via email.

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It is very much suspicious on how these arms cache came into possession of civilians. The only reason I can think of is that there was connievance between top military and government officials in selling these arms to these warlords.

These brings to mind the Oakwood mutiny by the Magdalo group where one of their grievances that arms were being sold by their commanders to local warlords in Mindanao. These recent recoveries of such arms in Maguindanao proves that they were telling the truth all along.

So what is the reason for declaration of martial law Maguindanao? To divert the public’s mind from the issue of the recovered arms cache with government markings and instead focus it to the martial law issue which is sowing fear and panic on the opposition and the possibility on enlarging its coverage.

It is a good thing for me that PGMA had decided to run again for public office because now a case can be filed at the Supreme Court and it can come up with a ruling if a President can still run for public office. It would also answer if former President Estrada can still run for president with the reason of not being able to finish his term.

Opposition politicians are saying that she wants to be a congressman and be the Speaker of the House to advance her desire to be the Prime Minister once it has been shifted to a Parliamentary form of government. If when she was the President and had a majority of the congressmen loyal to her, she was not able to push for charter change what more when she is just a congressman. She must have the backing of the next president to push for her agenda, and if what the opposition is saying that her endorsement equals loosing, then the administration candidate would loose.

What is compounding the situation is that the frequent visits to my cardiologist these couple of months and the prescribe medicines that is eating up whatever I have already saved. I still want to get one to get my mind off of my current medical situation because according to the doctor it will only get worse if I keep thinking about it. I am currently using a Panasonic Lumix TZ-4 point-and-shoot camera to take these photos that you see here in my website.

I like to take photos of places so that people, especially Filipinos who are based outside of the Philippines, can see the changes that is happening to our country. The new infrastructures and projects being put up by the government and private sectors.  Although I can take photos using my current camera, I want to get myself a DSLR so that the colors would be better making anyone looking at the photos feel like they are there.

I placed a Paypal donate button on the left side of my website so people who have some spare change can make a donation. I would really appreciate it.