Astrodeus Galaxy

Mafia Wars Craze

2009-08-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

It has been two months since I posted my last entry on this blog. I have been busy in my new job as Listener Care Representative of XM Satellite Radio Canada (still in Sitel Philippines), and playing one of the most talked browser games in the cyberspace, Mafia Wars.

I learned Mafia Wars first in Tagged, one of the social networking sites, through the invites of my Sony teammates. After a month of playing it, the game was also introduced to the number one social networking site Facebook, which luckily I have an account (ever since Facebook is not yet popular). There is a big difference of playing Mafia Wars in Facebook because it has a new section called Mafia Wars in Cuba which is not found in Tagged MafiaWars. As of the moment, Facebook Mafia Wars will be launching another section which will be called Mafia Wars in Moscow.

First Time Playing?

When you log in for the very first time, there is a little spiel to get you excited, a picture of your first property, Uncle Louies Deli and a bar with your initial stats.

Cash
Every hour your properties will pay out and any items you have with maintenance costs will deduct from your earnings. On the Properties tab which you will see later you can always see how much you are making and how much it is costing you.

Health
This is a fairly meaningless stat and it is the only naturally replenishing stat that the mafia game will not show you a timer on. It is critical in boss fights. Other than that, it just sets the amount of times you get attacked when a hit is put out on you and how many fights you can engage in before healing.

Energy
This is the principal source of your earned income and a large chunk of your XP. It will come back 1 point every 5 minutes unless you are a maniac character in which case you get 2 points. Jobs and items should be your initial focus once you get in to the game.

Stamina
This also regenerates at one point every 5 minutes. Stamina is used to try to attack other players, rob other players, cash in on a hit on another player, sucker punching, and placing hits on other players.

Do Something About It!

The mafia game will walk you through a simple series of examples of what the game contains once you are completely free to make your own choices. The first job is exactly what most will be about - You spend X energy for Y experience, some amount of money, and with some jobs, a small chance at special loot. And congratulations! You got a loot item and a dummy NPC to invite in to your mob to get to size 1! We will talk more about Mafia size later and the Mafia Wars fighting and Robbing section has a lot more to say. Next you make your first attack and then buy your first property and the first real decision comes in to play.

Choosing your Character type

You can change your name later, but there is a fairly hefty cost, so think about how you would like your Mafioso name to be. "Don" plus your last name works well and the game supports multiple people with the same name. Default Don is the most common name out there followed by all the characters from the Mafia Godfather. The more unique and memorable your name, the easier it is for friends to find you. As for character type, here is a break down on what the choice entails.

Mogul
As a Mogul your cash flow comes every 54 minutes rather than every hour for the other character types. As a Mogul you are also the only character type eligible for being a Bagman. As a Bagman in one of your friends Top Mafia, you have the change to get double money from performing jobs.

Maniac
As a Maniac, you regenerates at a rate of 1 every 3 minutes instead of 5. You also become eligible to be a Button Man which gives you a chance to automatically win any fight you initiate. General consensus on the web before the Top Mafia changes was this was the best type to choose since energy makes you level faster.

Fearless
As a Fearless character your health regenerates at a faster rate. You also have the ability to be a Top Mafia Wheel Man which has the best special ability. Whenever you perform a job, there is a small chance that job costs no energy.

Your Initial Skill Points

After you make your decision, you get your first skill points to spend. It is highly recommended you just upgrade your Energy till at least 30 before touching the other stats. Once you have leveled a few times put the points on your Defense. The defense is the most important allocation of points that you can have. So focus on defense more than anything. Only higher level players should concentrate on spreading points. See the speed leveling section under Hints/Tips for more details on using your initial skill points.

Starting over or... not

Unfortunately, the game currently does not really support anyway for starting over. If you are unhappy with your initial choices, you have to delete the application, wait 60 days for it to time out, and then log in again to get a clean start in the Mafia world. If you do wish to delete the app and wait 60 days, in the lower left hand corner of any Facebook page you should see a button labelled Applications. Click on it to open the menu and near the top of the menu you should see Edit. Choose this and then click on the x next to Mafia Wars to remove it as one of your applications.

What is a "Blue Moon"?

2009-05-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

For more than half a century, whenever two full Moons appeared in a single month (which happens on average every 2 1/2 to 3 years), the second has been christened a "Blue Moon." In our lexicon, we describe an unusual event as happening "Once in a Blue Moon." This expression was first noted back in 1821 and refers to occurrences that are uncommon, though not truly rare.

On past occasions, usually after vast forest fires or major volcanic eruptions, the Moon has reportedly taken on a bluish or lavender hue. Soot and ash particles, propelled high into the Earth's atmosphere, can sometimes make the Moon appear bluish.

Why "Blue" Moon? For the longest time nobody knew exactly why the second full Moon of a calendar month was designated as a Blue Moon. One explanation connects it with the word "belewe" from the Old English, meaning, "to betray." Perhaps, then, the Moon was "belewe" because it betrayed the usual perception of one full Moon per month. However, in the March 1999 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, author Phillip Hiscock revealed one somewhat confusing origin of this term. It seems that the modern custom of naming the second full Moon of a month "blue," came from an article published in the March 1946 Sky & Telescope magazine. The article was "Once in a Blue Moon," written by James Hugh Pruett. In this article, Pruett interpreted what he read in a publication known as the Maine Farmers' Almanac (no relation to this Farmers' Almanac, published in Lewiston, Maine), and declared that a second full Moon in a calendar month is a "Blue Moon."

However, after reviewing the Maine Farmer's Almanac, Hiscock found that during the editorship of Henry Porter Trefethen (1932 to 1957), the Maine Farmers' Almanac made occasional reference to a Blue Moon, but derived it from a completely different (and rather convoluted) seasonal rule. As simply as can be described, according to Trefethen's almanac, there are normally three full Moons for each season of the year. But when a particular season ends up containing four full Moons, then the third of that season is called a Blue Moon! To make matters more confusing, the beginning of the seasons listed in Trefethen's almanac were fixed. A fictitious or dynamical mean Sun produced four seasons of equal length with dates which differed slightly from more conventional calculations. So, basically the current use of "Blue Moon" to mean the second full Moon in a month can be traced to a 55-year-old mistake in Sky & Telescope magazine.

In terms of astronomy, the average moon cycle lasts about 29.5 days, and of course most months have 30 or 31 days. Its clear then, that blue moons are relatively rare. For a blue moon to occur, a first full moon has to fall at the very beginning of a month so that the next full moon (29.5 days later) can rise during the same month.

On average, there are about 2 and a half years between blue moons. Of course the months that have 31 days are much more likely to have blue moons than those that have 30 days. February, the only month with fewer than 30 days, never has any blue moons.

About four times per century, a calendar year has two blue moons. 1999 was the most recent year with two blue moons. The 21st century will have the following double-blue-moon years: 2018, 2037, 2067 and 2094.

There is a little controversy over what a blue moon actually is. We have described the modern version, but in previous centuries, the term blue moon referred to third full moon in a season that has four full moons.

Keyboard Shortcuts

2009-05-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

Many times we face a lot of problems during various operations on various softwares and clicking on any function with the mouse might take much time. Sometimes we also get frustrated to locate the function with the cursor of the mouse and click on it.

Don't worry, all of these things can be avoided. There are a lot of programmed keyboard shortcuts on our PC that many of us don't know. So here are all those keyboard shortcuts that save a lot of your time while doing computer operations.

CTRL+C (Copy)
CTRL+X (Cut)
CTRL+V (Paste)
CTRL+Z (Undo)
DELETE (Delete)
SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)
CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)
CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)
CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)
CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)
CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)
SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)
CTRL+A (Select all)
F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)
ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)
ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)
ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)
ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)
ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)
F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)
F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)
CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)
ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)
Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)
F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)
RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)
LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)
F5 key (Update the active window)
BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
ESC (Cancel the current task)
SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)

Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)
TAB (Move forward through the options)
SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)
ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)
ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)
SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)
Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)
F1 key (Display Help)
F4 key (Display the items in the active list)
BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)
Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)
Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)
Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)
Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)
CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)
Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)
Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)
Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)
Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)

Accessibility Keyboard Shortcuts

Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)
SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)
NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)
Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)

Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts

END (Display the bottom of the active window)
HOME (Display the top of the active window)
NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)
LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)
RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)

Shortcut Keys for Character Map

After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts:

RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)
LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)
UP ARROW (Move up one row)
DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)
PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)
PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)
HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)
END (Move to the end of the line)
CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)
CTRL+END (Move to the last character)
SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is selected)

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Main Window Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+O (Open a saved console)
CTRL+N (Open a new console)
CTRL+S (Save the open console)
CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)
CTRL+W (Open a new window)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)
ALT+F4 (Close the console)
ALT+A (Display the Action menu)
ALT+V (Display the View menu)
ALT+F (Display the File menu)
ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)

MMC Console Window Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)
ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)
F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)
CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)
ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes the console)

Remote Desktop Connection Navigation

CTRL+ALT+END (Open the m*cro$oft Windows NT Security dialog box)
ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)
ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)
ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)
ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)
CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)
ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)
CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

Microsoft Internet Explorer Navigation

CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)
CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)
CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)
CTRL+H (Open the History bar)
CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)
CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)
CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)
CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)
CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)
CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)
CTRL+W (Close the current window)

Basic Computer Troubleshooting: Computer is Slow

2009-04-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

How to troubleshoot a computer that is performing or running slowly?

Follow this procedure to troubleshoot a computer that is performing or running slowly in the Windows Vista® operating system.

NOTE: When troubleshooting slow performance using the steps below, some steps may take an extended time to complete. Move on to the next step and complete the unused steps at a later time.

1. Close any programs that are not being used.

2. Software loading when the computer starts may be causing the computer to slow down. Remove unused applications from startup.

3. If this is a notebook computer, the power settings may have an overall effect on system performance.

WARNING: There is a risk of data loss. Before closing an application or process using the task manager, be sure to save all open files because the application may not prompt you to save data before closing. Also,
closing critical processes may cause system instability.

4. Use the Task Manager to close any unused applications or processes without an icon on the task bar or in the system tray, or which are listed as (not responding).

5. Stop any instances of host svcs that may be running.

6. Delete any unnecessary files using the Disk Cleanup utility.

7. Adjust visual effects.

8. Perform a System Restore to return the configuration to a time when the computer was not performing as slowly.

9. Detect and repair possible errors on the hard drive using the Check Disk utility.

10. For computers upgraded to the Windows Vista® operating system, check the Windows Experience Index rating to determine expected performance.

11. Defragment the hard drive.

12. Remove any recently added hardware.

NOTE: For assistance with any third-party hardware or software, please contact the hardware or software manufacturer.

13. Setup the Windows Readyboost™ feature on a removable disk or flash memory drive.

14. The presence of viruses, spyware, and adware can cause the operating system to perform slowly. Use a spyware or adware removal utility and anti-virus application to clean the system of malware.

NOTE: The presence of two or more anti-virus programs may decrease computer performance.

15. Documents waiting to be printed may affect performance. Let the print jobs finish and performance should increase.

NOTES:

Upgrading the system memory is likely to improve performance.
A full recovery of the system may be required if the above steps did not resolve the issue.

WARNING: There is a risk of data loss. Ensure to back up any important data before running a full recovery of the system.

Basic Computer Troubleshooting: Using Safe Mode in Windows Operating System

2009-04-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

Most of Sony users are calling about black screen or windows error recovery problem in their computers. Or sometimes, the computer crashes or locks up. They reboot the computer and it loads a strange looking Windows desktop with the words Safe Mode in the four corners. What is Safe Mode in Windows operating system? How does it works?

Safe Mode is a special way for Windows to load when there is a system-critical problem that interferes with the normal operation of Windows. The purpose of Safe Mode is to allow you to troubleshoot Windows and try to determine what is causing it to not function correctly. Once you have corrected the problem, then you can reboot and Windows will load normally.

There are several things that happen when Windows boots in Safe Mode that differ from a standard boot:

Safe Mode does not run the autoexec.bat or config.sys files.

Most device drivers are not loaded. A device driver is the software that Windows uses to interact with a piece of hardware, such as a printer or scanner.

Instead of the normal graphics device driver, Safe Mode uses standard VGA graphics mode. This mode is supported by all Windows-compatible video cards.

Himem.sys, which is normally loaded as part of the config.sys script, is loaded with the /testmem:on switch. This switch tells the computer to test the extended memory before continuing.

Safe Mode checks the msdos.sys file for information on where to find the rest of the Windows files. If it finds the files, it proceeds to load Windows in Safe Mode with the command win /d:m. If it does not find the Windows files, it will run command.com to bring up a C: prompt.

Windows boots using a batch file called system.cb instead of the standard system.ini file. This file loads the Virtual Device Drivers (VxDs) that Windows uses to communicate with the standard parts of the computer.

Windows now loads the regular system.ini file plus win.ini and Registry settings. It skips the [Boot] (except for the shell and device lines) and [386Enh] sections of system.ini and does not load or run any programs listed in win.ini.

The Windows desktop loads up in 16 colors and at a resolution of 640 x 480 with the words "Safe Mode" in each corner.

Safe Mode starts up automatically if Windows does not boot on the previous attempt. You can also invoke Safe Mode by pressing F5 or by pressing F8 and selecting it from the boot menu.

So what should you do if your computer boots to Safe Mode? First, try to determine what has changed on your system that could have caused Windows to fail to boot properly. If you have added any kind of hardware, go to the Control Panel and remove it and uninstall the software driver for that device. Then attempt a reboot. If Windows boots properly, you can be reasonably certain that there was some type of conflict with the device and try to resolve it.

Use this same method if you have loaded a new game or application sometime recently. Go to the Control Panel, click on Add/Remove Programs and remove the software. Try a reboot and hopefully you will get a normal Windows boot.

If the problem is definitely not new hardware or software, then you most likely have a corrupted Registry. In this case, you will quite likely have to perform a new installation of Windows to set things right.

The Philippines to Participate in 100 Hours Of Astronomy

2009-04-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

(Lifted from The Philippine Star)
135 countries including RP to participate in 100 hours of astronomy
By Helen Flores
April 02, 2009 12:00 AM

Filipino stargazers will join astronomers around the world for a 100-hour marathon starting today aimed at celebrating the night sky and nurturing the Galileos of tomorrow.

Filipino astronomers and enthusiasts will bring out their telescopes and share views of the heavens with the public as they join thousands of stargazers from 130 countries in the observance of “100 Hours of Astronomy” or 100 HA, part of the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy.

“One of the key goals of 100 HA is to have as many people as possible look through a telescope as Galileo Galilei did for the first time 400 years ago,” said Frederick Gabriana, the national organizer of 100 HA.

“It is a round-the-clock, round-the-globe event, including live webcasts from research observatories, public observing events and other activities around the world,” he said.

Gabriana said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), in cooperation with other astronomical organizations in the country, would conduct different activities nationwide to mark 100 HA including free telescope viewing, film showing and lectures.

The Paris-based International Astronomical Union (IAU) said the exercise has been “400 years in the making,” referring to observations made in 1609 by Galileo that swept away people’s conception of the universe.

“It is a sense of discovery and awe that astronomers wish to share with our fellow citizens all over the world,” says IAU president Catherine Cesarsky.

Job Hunting in the Philippines

2009-04-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

If only the hunt for gainful employment was as simple as meeting your textmate. Searching for that elusive job is a potential minefield. And those fancy job-hunting guidebooks aren't much help, either, since the American authors are not exactly well-versed in the ways of Pinoy bosses.

Blue (Collar) Jobs

First of all, you have to realize that you can't apply for every job opening there is. Working as a news reporter for a television network like what Atom Araullo does sounds glamorous, but if you you're like some starlet who's better seen than heard, don't be surprised if you become infamous for bastardizing the English language.

According to Jobstreet.com, jobs can be classified into "sunrise" or "sunset" groups. Sunrise jobs are those which are seen as being on the rise, and these includes teachers, managers, cashiers, salesmen, officers of the Armed Forces (small wonder, the way things are going on in Mindanao), and transport equipment operators. Sunset jobs, on the other hand, are those occupations that are either declining in growth or have remained stagnant. Within this group are fishermen and hunters (can you say "pollution?"), miners, mail clerks and messengers, religious workers, stone cutters, and rubber and plastic product workers.

Keeping this in mind will definitely help you in your quest to make yourself a ton of money, since being stuck with skills no company really needs at the moment will put a crimp in those plans. However, that's not the only factor in finding the right job. A match between your personality and the nature of the job is equally, if not more, important because this will determine job satisfaction.

For example, if flowcharts, mechanical drawings, carpentry, manual labor, or machines give you a hard-on, then you should pursue that mental orgasm through a career in computer science, engineering, or architecture. As they say, a happy worker is a diligent worker.

Know the Four C's

Not to belabor the obvious, but looking for a job isn't just about whether you'd enjoy the work or not. As San Miguel Corporation's Executive Compensation Manager, Daniel De Castro, points out, "I strongly advise new graduates not to take the first offer that comes their way. Just because a job may match his personality doesn't mean things will work out. There are the four C's to consider and they are just as important to the decision-making process."

In case you were wondering, the Four C's stand for company, culture, career path, and compensation. You have to first learn about the company you're joining. Is it stable? Is it a fly-by-night company? Does your supposed advertising firm have a "Wanted: GRO" sign in front? Doing a little research can save you a ton of trouble in the long run.

Next up is culture. If the job you're eyeing brings a workaholic rat-race environment with it, and you're a die-hard couch-warmer, the job is probably not for you. De Castro adds, "Find out as much as you can about the company and its ethics, practices, etc. This will give you a better idea of what to expect and how your talents and skills can help the company."

The third C, career path, requires a bit more introspection. Look down the line, say, five years from now. What do you think you'll be doing then? Will getting this job help you get to where you want to be by that time, or is it a dead end? Keep one eye on the present, and the other on the future.

Finally, you have to think about the compensation you'll be receiving. "At this stage, you have no professional track record to speak of, so you shouldn't expect so much in terms of salary," says De Castro. "Look at it from the total compensation package that includes medical benefits, insurance, bonuses, variable pay if any, etc." Hey, no one works for free, not even the Pope, so why should you?

But before you break out the manila paper and start making flowcharts, De Castro clarifies, "Since you're just starting out, you might not be able to fulfill the Four C's. The important thing is to be able to get into a job where you feel you will do well and then make a name for yourself. Later on, you'll pretty much be able to dictate, to a certain extent, some of the Four C's."

Sony VAIO P: Pocket Style PC

2009-03-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

I have been working for Sony Customer Service for almost six months now but I did not know that Sony already released its newest super light and slim ultraportable laptop in my country Philippines.

Maybe because I used to browse Sony US website more than Sony Philippines and its normal since its a part of my job for we cater Sony customers from the North America (Canada, United States and Puerto Rico). January 8 this year when Sony VAIO P series debuted at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. It was launched to the local press last January 28 at the Sony Philippines head office in Taguig. Tech savvy Pinoys and loyal Sony customers can get hold of the highly covetable Sony VAIO P since its market release last February 25.

Zhorida Lipayon, marketing officer for VAIO at Sony Philippines said :

“With the VAIO P, we at Sony propose a new lifestyle of taking the PC outdoors; with that, fun and enjoyable PC experience can be brought to the consumers.”

VAIO P - PORTABLE PC

A portable PC is not the one you carry on your bag or suitcase; it’s the one that you can put in your pants’ back pocket or inside your jacket.

Sony is breaking new grounds and creating a new product category with the release of the VAIO P. Not to be confused with the Pocket PC of the 1990s, the Sony Pocket Style PC is very modern, forward looking and shatters our view and concept of a portable laptop.

Komei Nosaka, Sony Philippines' Senior Sales Manager said they view the Sony VAIO P as a secondary notebook that provides excellent mobility.

"It is our mission to bring exciting new models to the market. The totally new form-factor of the Vaio P defines what a portable notebook really is; we are creating a new product category which is the Pocket Style PC."

Despite the economic crisis that is affecting the consumer electronics sector, Sony executives are confident that the VAIO P will impact positively to Sony’s loyal customers.

“The demand of the market is always there. We just give the product that fits their lifestyle.”

NOT A NETBOOK?

Though some could easily put a ‘netbook or subnotebook’ tag on the VAIO P, Sony is persistent that the VAIO P is not a netbook but definitely something more, something bigger than its actual size of 10.2 by 4.5 inches.

Sony’s Marketing Officer for VAIO Zhorida Lipayon said during the product demonstration:

“An ordinary netbook can’t do what the VAIO P can do. It’s not the same as the low cost PCs or netbooks available in the market, the VAIO P is a fully functional PC.”

True enough, the specs of the VAIO P clearly separates it from netbooks. It’s just about the size of a business envelope and just as thin as a mobile phone but is unbelievably packed with a 2GB RAM, an Intel Atom Z, a processor that is smaller in size but with lesser power consumption.

Sony proprietary technologies are also present in the notebook, including the Windows Arrangement Utility that provides one touch control to several internet browser windows, the Internet Mode button that assures quick Internet access, this feature allows users to connect to the internet within 20 seconds from the VAIO P’s boot up.

Since it’s from Sony, full AV functionalities were packed into the VAIO P. The AVC HD function allows it to be connected to camcorders. “The VAIO P is highly adapted to Sony audio and video features.”

Another great feature is the VAIO Media Plus function that allows media sharing with other DLNA enabled devices and the Instant Mode that launches Sony’s Xross Media Bar interface for quick access to music, video, photos and the Web.

Lipayon said Sony started to develop the VAIO P more than two years ago but the release and surge of netbooks overwhelmed their release.

SPARKLING SPECS

Sony has again put premium on the design and appearance of the VAIO P. The product is stamped with ‘truly Sony’ design and features.

It is chic, elegant and very portable. It is available in four glossy colors like Obsidian Black, Garnet Red, Olivine Green and Crystal White. Based on the official specs release, the colors are painted on the magnesium body with multiple layers and hand polished on top to achieve glossy exterior that replicates the look of a mineral ore.

It incorporates a high resolution screen display and for a miniature notebook, the 8-inch screen on the VAIO P doesn’t look too small because of its ultra-wide design. It has LCD technology with anti-reflection coating that reduces light reflection and provides brilliant viewing while computing on the go.

The isolation keyboard was engineered for comfortable typing experience. The keyboard looks very similar to that of other VAIO notebook models like the VAIO CS. Sony integrated its noise canceling technology on the VAIO P with the headset that doubles as a mic for PC-to-PC calling.

The polymer lithium ion battery provides 3 full hours of computing power and an optional battery is available for longer use or up to 6 hours. The battery is also quick charging so it is effective to bring during travels and even for daily on the go computing.

Windows Vista is the built-in operating system of the VAIO P.

Color coordinated accessories like a Bluetooth mouse and cases are also available to complement the VAIO P.

But there are features that you canmot be found in VAIO P. Here’s a quick rundown of what the VAIO P is missing:

- VGA out (display/LAN IO adaptor can be purchased separately)
- LAN port
- Trackpad (replaced by trackpoint)
- User replaceable RAM/HDD
- Microphone jack

Nevertheless, Sony VAIO P lives up to the VAIO brand name and is definitely a thing of beauty. There are basically two models to choose from: the VGN-P15G and the VGN-P13H.

The VGN-P15 model will retail for P69,999 and the VGN-P13 variant will sell for P49,999.

Emulators for Windows

2009-03-17T02:34:00.000-07:00

I first heard of emulators when I undergone product training as a computer technician. What are emulators? According to wikipedia, " An emulator duplicates (provides an emulation of) the functions of one system using a different system, so that the second system behaves like (and appears to be) the first system. This focus on exact reproduction of external behavior is in contrast to some other forms of computer simulation, which can concern an abstract model of the system being simulated." In other words, emulators try to translate or interpret the original program code of the original program and try to make it work on your PC.

Emulation

Software emulators are software tools that can emulate a particular CPU. Using a software emulator you can debug through your code and find out CPU register values, stack pointers and other information without having a real CPU. Software emulators are useful when you don’t have the real hardware available for testing and debugging and want to see how the CPU will
behave when a program is run on it.

Here are some of the emulator websites we are using in troubleshooting computer over the phone:

1. ScreenShots Modemhelp - http://screenshots.modemhelp.net/

2. Total Emulator - http://www.temulator.com

3. Vistualise - http://www.vistualise.org/

4. Virtual Pages and Virtual Applications for Windows and Macintosh - http://www.virtualdesktop.org/

5. Bobs Tech Help - Screenshots and Tutorials For Techs -
ttp://bobsvistahelp.com/

Make Firefox Load Pages Faster - wikiHow

2009-03-06T01:21:00.000-08:00

How to Make Firefox Load Pages Faster

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Firefox is cool, and it can be tweaked to load broadband pages extra fast. Here's how.

Steps

Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries: network.http.pipelining, network.http.proxy.pipelining, and network.http.pipelining.maxrequests.
Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.
Alter the entries as follows:
Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true" by double-clicking it.
Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true" by double-clicking it.
Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to 8 by double-clicking it. This means it will make 8 requests at once. There is no point setting it higher then 8 as it is capped at 8 max. [The default value for this setting is 4]
Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.
If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages MUCH faster now!

Tips

Alternately, you could install Fasterfox, an extension which does some of this automatically, and makes tuning easier.
For more information on Firefox Tuning see the Firefox Tuning sticky thread at the independent MozillaZine forums.
Also the MozillaZine Knowledge Base on Network entries in about:config and what they do.
You can also run Firefox in your RAM (no reading from the HD means faster Firefox) by following this article.
If you have problems like slow down, pages not loading or images loading weird, just undo the tweaks in about:config
You can also do this in the Internet explorer browser, In opera an alternative is: go to opera:config and go to performance. Then change the max number of connections to 32

Warnings

Take note that doing this can actually make certain pages run SLOWER.

Related wikiHows

How to Change the Language of Pages in Old Versions Mozilla Firefox

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make Firefox Load Pages Faster. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Basic Computer Troubleshooting: Networking and Internet Connections in XP

2009-02-27T05:16:00.000-08:00

Even though my split as computer technician is hardware, about 30% of the calls I received is about networking problem. Issues like cannot connect to the internet, local access only and no available networks are some of the common problems with networking. Because of this, I requested a special training for networking and internet from our operations manager which she granted. The training is just about basic networking troubleshooting that is why I am still doing research online for advanced troubleshooting of networking and internet.

Here are the links to the most popular Microsoft Knowledge Base troubleshooting articles for troubleshooting networking issues, cable modems and internet connection sharing (ICS). Also includes home networking, connectivity, TCP/IP, TRACERT, file sharing, permissions, wireless network connections, internet connection problems, VPN, cable modems, XP firewall, routers and print servers

GENERAL NETWORKING

TCP/IP

WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY

INTERNET CONNECTIONS

FILE SHARING

NETWORK PRINTING

OTHER

Basic Computer Troubleshooting: Hardware

2009-02-26T00:08:00.000-08:00

Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving most often applied to repair of failed products or processes. It is a logical, systematic search for the source of a problem so that it can be solved, and so the product or process can be made operational again. Troubleshooting is needed to develop and maintain complex systems where the symptoms of a problem can have many possible causes. Troubleshooting is used in many fields such as engineering, system administration, electronics, automotive repair, and diagnostic medicine. Troubleshooting requires identification of the malfunction(s) or symptoms within a system. Then, experience is commonly used to generate possible causes of the symptoms. Determining which cause is most likely is often a process of elimination - eliminating potential causes of a problem. Finally, troubleshooting requires confirmation that the solution restores the product or process to its working state.

In general, troubleshooting is the identification of, or diagnosis of "trouble" in a system caused by a failure of some kind. The problem is initially described as symptoms of malfunction, and troubleshooting is the process of determining the causes of these symptoms.

A system can be described in terms of its expected, desired or intended behavior (usually, for artificial systems, its purpose). Events or inputs to the system are expected to generate specific results or outputs. (For example selecting the "print" option from various computer applications is intended to result in a hardcopy emerging from some specific device). Any unexpected or undesirable behavior is a symptom. Troubleshooting is the process of isolating the specific cause or causes of the symptom. Frequently the symptom is a failure of the product or process to produce any results. (Nothing was printed, for example).
Troubleshooting is a process. The process for troubleshooting is to isolate the area of the system that the problem has occurred and attempt to take steps toward resolving the problem.

It is important to note any changes to the system prior to the problem as well as immediate symptoms. Troubleshooting is a process. The process for troubleshooting is to isolate the area of the system that the problem has occurred and attempt to take steps toward resolving the problem. It is important to note any changes to the system prior to the problem as well as immediate symptoms. For instance, if a system performs well until you open an unexpected mail attachment from a co-worker. It is possible the system was affected by the act of opening the attachment (possible virus/worm).

COMPUTER TROUBLESHOOTING

Trying to track down and resolve technical problems on your computer is, undeniably, one of life's most frustrating experiences. To help you through the process, I've written some articles that explain the critical issues you need to understand to do effective troubleshooting on personal computers. This section will tackle mainly on the basic troubleshooting of computer's hardware problems.

1. The computer does not display, beep, clear POST or boot.

NOTES:
* Because each of these steps represents a possible solution to this issue, check the computer status after completing each step.

Restart the computer by pressing and holding the power button until all power indicator lights are off, waiting 30 seconds, and then pressing the power button again.
Remove or disconnect all removable media.
Restart the computer to Safe Mode.
Reset the computers BIOS to the default values.
Restart the computer to the Last Known Good Configuration.
Disconnect all peripheral devices connected to the computer.
Remove any additional third-party cards that were installed in the computer.
Remove any additional RAM memory modules that have been added to the computer.
Remove and replace (reseat) the original RAM memory modules that came installed in the computer.

NOTE: Refer to the operating instructions supplied with the computer for specific information on how to install, remove or replace RAM memory modules.

The troubleshooting steps listed above should resolve your issue. If you have completed all of the steps and the issue is not resolved, service may be required.

2. The Windows freezes or stops responding frequently.

Cause:

This issue could be caused by any of the below possibilities.

1. Software related issue.
2. Driver related issue.
3. Operating system related issue.
4. Heat related issue.
5. Hardware issue.
6. Serious issue with Windows
7. Hardware failure.

Answer:

This article contains recommendations on what to do if the computer frequently freezes or completely halts. An easy way to determine if your computer is in this situation is by pressing the Num Lock button on the keyboard and watching the Num Lock led to see if it turns off and/or on.

If you're able to get the light to turn off an on, press CTRL + ALT + DEL and attempt to end task the program. Additional information about this can be found on document CHTSR. Otherwise continue reading this document.
Software related issue

A computer locking up or freezing is often is caused by a software related issue. If you're encountering lockups when the computer is opening a particular program, make sure you have all the latest updates for that program. You can find the latest updates for your software through the software developer or publisher.

Driver related issue

A computer lock up can also be caused by drivers. For example, if there is an issue that exists with your video drivers a computer could lock up while playing a game or displaying any other type of video. Make sure you have the latest drivers for all major devices in your computer (video, sound, modem, and network). A listing of driver related pages as well as driver related help can be found on our drivers page.

Operating system related issue

Make sure your operating system has all of the latest updates installed on it. Additional information about updating Windows can be found on document CH000545.

Heat related issue

If the computer processor is getting too hot it can cause the computer to freeze. If you have heard any abnormal noises coming from your computer recently such as a high squealing, this could indicate a fan may be failing in your computer.

You can first start by verifying the fan on the power supply is working by examining the back of the computer and seeing if the fan is moving and moving smoothly. For all other fans in the computer you will need to either open the computer and make sure the fan are working (processor fan and case fan) and/or if your BIOS monitors the RPM of the fans, enter BIOS and make sure the BIOS does not report any errors.

Users may also be able to determine how hot their computer is by onboard thermal sensors. If your computer comes equipped with these sensors, make sure your CPU is not running too hot.

Hardware issue

In addition to software, hardware can also cause a computer to lock. If you have recently added any new hardware into the computer, try temporarily removing it to make sure it is not the cause of your issue.

Before attempting to remove any hardware, make sure you are not encountering this issue because of hardware conflicts by viewing Device Manager for errors. Additional information about Device Manager can be found on our Device Manager page.

If you have not recently installed any new hardware into the computer, the next best solution to determining if this is a hardware issue would be remove any hardware on the computer that is not needed. For example, remove your modem, network card, sound card, and any other expansion cards that are not needed for the computer to operate. Run the computer without these cards to see if they are the cause of your issue.

Serious issue with Windows

If you have tried all the above recommendations and the computer continues to frequently lock up, its possible that Windows may be seriously corrupt. Try running through the basic troubleshooting steps for your version of Windows on our basic troubleshooting page. If these additional steps do not resolve your issue, we suggest you backup all information and erase and reinstall Windows on your computer.

Hardware failure

If after reinstalling your operating system, or during the installation of your operating system, your computer turns off abnormally, it is very likely that other hardware is failing in the computer. Often this is RAM, CPU, Motherboard, and/or Power Supply (in that order).

If you have extra available parts or have a friend or co-worker with a similar configuration that is willing to allow you to test their hardware in your computer, try swapping these parts to determine if they are at fault. Otherwise, you will need to have the computer serviced.

Job Hiring at Sitel Philippines

2009-02-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

SITEL Customer Care Philippines is looking for individuals who are qualified for the position of Sitel Philippines Job Openings. Successful applicants for Sitel Philippines Job Openings will have a great career in SITEL Customer Care Philippines.

Live a colorful life at Sitel!

Don't miss these opportunities!
Be a pioneer member of our new accounts.
Enjoy premium pay for call center work experience.
Join our day-shift accounts.

We now have one recruitment center in Manila, hiring for Ortigas, Pioneer and Eastwood sites.

At Sitel, every hire is an investment, and training is an essential corner piece of our commitment to personnel development.

Stand out and bloom this summer. Grow with Sitel. Join sitel as it continues to expand.

CURRENT OPENINGS:

Customer Service Professionals
Excellent verbal and vocal communication skills, including; active listening
Excellent command of English language including strong comprehension
Demonstratable customer service skills
Flexible and amenable to shifting schedule
5 months call center experience preferably in a telecommunications account

Team Managers (non-CSP)
Proven Team Manager with experience from an inbound customer service setting
Demonstrated leadership qualities with excellent people development and coaching skills
Passion and energy with a strong results focus

Trainers
Program Trainer with experience from an inbound customer service setting.
Strong facilitation skills with knowledge of adult learning principles and techniquesa passion for developing others

Quality Assurance professionals
excellent english communication including superior listening skills
6 to 12 months experience on an inbound customer service program
experience in call monitoring, evaluation, feedback and coaching for performance improvement preferred

MANILA

Inbound Sales Representatives
Customer Service Representatives
Technical Support Representatives
Senior Reports Analyst
Reports Analyst

BAGUIO

Customer Service Representatives (Credit Account)
Technical Support Representatives (ISP Account)

Sitel Philippines provides people with the foundation to excel and grow by training them absolutely free. No strings attached.

SITEL CUSTOMER CARE PHILIPPINES LOCATIONS:

SITEL Customer Care Philippines Mandaluyong
15F Robinsons Pioneer - Cybergate I
Pioneer St. Mandaluyong City

SITEL Customer Care Philippines Ortigas Center
2nd Floor, Centerpoint Building
Garnet Road cor. Julia Vargas Ave.
Ortigas Center Pasig City

SITEL Customer Care Philippines Quezon City
Cyber One Building
25th Floor #11 Eastwood Avenue
E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue
Eastwood City Libis
Quezon City 1110 Philippines
Tel. + 632 688 2404

NOTE:

FOR FASTER PROCESSING, PLEASE WRITE MY NAME AS YOUR REFERRAL.

NAME: FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT B. TONGO;

ACCOUNT: SONY

GOODLUCK!

On Being a Computer Technician

2009-01-24T19:07:00.000-08:00

Although I love computers, it never occurred in my mind that I will be troubleshooting computer as a job. Computer troubleshooting needs a lot of patience and I easily get bored. I don't even know the basic troubleshooting steps and I usually go to a computer shop if my laptop is not working properly. I don't have much background in the computer aside from using it to social networking ans doing my research papers. I only learned how to operate computer when I was in fourth year high school, just the basic operations of turning it on/off and creating a word document. Hahaha!

Well, we don't have computer at home and I go to computer shops when I have to research about my assignments and check my email. I bought my notebook when I was in my last year in college. The primary reason is obvious, I intend to use my laptop while doing my thesis. It is more convenient to write your ideas in a computer than using a bulks of paper.

My cousins Kuya Benj and Robert, who are siblings, are the one who taught me many things about computers. Kuya Benj is into website business while Robert took up computer course in college. They are different in approach, though. I learned basic hardware troubleshooting from Robert because it was his forte. On the other hand, Kuya Benj taught me how to explore networking and computer programs (softwares). He even showed me how to make money online in numerous ways.

I was doing my thesis and was running out of budget. I decided to look for a part-time job to support my schooling. Working in a call center is my best option because of its schedule. Most of my classes are during afternoon especially the major subjects and I can use my vacant morning time to sleep while working at night. But it was never easy to get a job in the so called "sunrise industry". I applied as customer service representatives in many call centers but I was never offered the job. It took me more than six months until I decided to change focus, I applied as a technical support representatives.

My first application is with Teleperformance since my older brother is working there. I went to its hiring office at EDSA Central, along the corners of Shaw Boulevard and EDSA. It was not meant for me. Next day, that was Friday, I went to Sitel in Ortigas and on that day, I was hired! I was overwhelmed yet nervous because I am not a techie person. Sitel offered me first a networking account, a dial-up internet, and was scheduled for final interview the next day. I arrived home almost midnight and while taking dinner, Sitel called me and asked me to come to their office for final interview in a computer troubleshooting account. I really need a job and I want to start as soon as possible. Aside from that, it is a Sony account. I did not think twice and hurriedly went back to Sitel even I'm not yet finished taking my dinner. It was a panel interview and it came out to be fun and inspiring. On that day, I officially joined the product training which lasted for five weeks.

After training we spent two weeks on A-bay where we spend four hours further training while taking calls for the rest of our shifts. I learned many new things during the training but taking calls exposed me to the actual working environment which taught me things I never learned during the training. More so when we finally transferred to the floor which they called production. Experience is still the best teacher. I learned also by observing my fellow agents how they handle the calls.

At first, I was like lost in the middle of the forest. We, the newbies, have been distributed to different teams. New faces, and I have to make effort again in going along well with my teammates. All of us (newbies) has a hardware split that's why most of our calls ended up for service or repair. My first month is really a disaster and I received hundred percent bad returns or NO RESOLVED surveys. I have resolved calls but I only received bad surveys. How unlucky, right?

It's been almost four months since I'm taking calls and I noticed that most of the hardware problems customers encountered is about the operating system and the hard drive. These includes not able to log in to windows, having a blank or black screen, and freezing computer.
We also often received networking and internet problems and maybe customers also view them as hardware related. Because of this, I requested a basic networking training from the operations manager.

Right now, I am more confident than before in troubleshooting the computer over the phone. On my next posts, I will write about some basic troubleshooting of the most common hardware problem.

Nice Jokes

2009-01-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

I was browsing our office files when I accidentally opened an agent's folder that includes the following jokes. Let us take a break and let our hearts laugh out!

A High School Boy...

A High School Boy once found a book in the school library whose cover read "HOW TO HUG" was delighted to take it home.
On opening it, he was disappointed to discover it was volume seven of an encyclopedia.

A Wise Old Man
A wise old man who was a judge, was asked to settle a dispute between two brothers about the fair division of a large estate left them by their father.
"Let one brother divide the estate," said the judge," and let the other brother have the first choice in choosing his share."

Coincidence
In a kindergarten school, a teacher asked her class to give examples of coincidence.
There was a long silence, then a small boy said: "My father & my mother were married the same day."

Novel
A BLONDE is in the library , she bangs down a book and says :" too boring, too many characters and no story. LIBRARIAN says : oh! U r the one who took the phone directory away??

Score
Little Susie came running into the house after school one day, shouting, "Daddy! Daddy! I got a 100 in school today!""That's great, Sweetheart," said her daddy."Come in to the living room and tell me about it.""Well," began the confession, "I got 50 in spelling, 30 in maths and 20 in science."

HOME
A BLONDE tells her boyfriend, "Come home tomorrow, no one will be at home." When he goes the next day to her home....... Her door was locked.

Blunder
"James", said Martha, "it is our silver anniversary next tuesday. We should mark the occasion. Shall we kill the pig?"
The husband replied, "Kill the pig! What's the good of murdering an innocent pig for a blunder that happened twenty-five years ago?"

Vacation with pay
When Arthur Brisbane was about to complete fifty years of journalism, Mr. Hearst, his employer, urged him to take a six month vacation with pay. This magnanimous offer Brisbane refused to accept, saying there were two reasons for his doing so.
"The first reason, "he said," is that I quit writing my daily column for six months, it might affect the circulation of your daily newspaper, the second is that it might not affect the circulation."

Sunday School
A big advertising man had a small daughter who came home from Sunday School one day carrying a bundle of pamphlets and cards.
"And what do you have there?" asked the man. "Oh, nothing much," answered the little girl. "Just some ads about heaven."

Some Notes on Karma and Reincarnation

2009-01-01T00:57:00.000-08:00

These lectures stressed that our life and all that exists in this world are gifts from Someone Above who loves us so much. This Someone made us very special. He gave us a part of his own Self. Like a very good father, He wants us to further develop our potentials. He also wants us to grow in wisdom, courage and unselfish love for others, So, He sends some of us to this world to learn these important things. Life, in this world then is like one big school. We are here to learn lessons from life.

Some lesons have to do with knowing what it means to be a good father or mother, to be a good husband or wife, to be be a good friend, to be a responsible member of society. One general lesson then is knowing what it means to love and respect people, to have a reverence for life.

We should also look into our strengths and weaknesses. We should study our weaknesses and overcome them. We should evaluate our mistakes and find out where we did wrong and why. We should derive lessons from these mistakes and use these lessons to guide us as we continuously walk on the road of life. When we have learned a few important lessons, we move on to the next level. Some lessons are easy to learn while some are difficult and need patience. Some people even refuse to learn. They just enjoy life.

The Sunrise Industry: Call Centers

2008-09-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

A call center is an office where a company's inbound calls are received, or outbound calls are made. Call centers are increasingly popular in today's society, where many companized have centralized customer service and support functions. Call centers employ many staff in customer service, sales and support functions.

Call centers are often large offices staffed with representatives who either make or receive phone calls. Depending on the size of the call center, a single office could have anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds of telephone staff. Depending on the needs of the company, call centers can make either incoming or outgoing calls. Some call centers focus on answering inbound calls, such as a bank that gives out a toll-free number for customers needing assistance. In that case, call center representatives can give account balances and take loan applications over the phone. Other call centers focus on outbound calls, such as a survey company. In that case, survey representatives make outbound calls to ask people to answer survey questions over the phone.

Call centers provide a number of advantages to companies. By centralizing telephone-based service and support in one location, companies can easily adjust staffing to match call volume. Call centers can be located almost anywhere, allowing companies to take advantage of time zones and cheaper labor rates in different states and countries. Call centers also centralize the technology needs of companies, allowing major telecommunications setups to be installed in a small handful of call centers instead of a number of smaller offices, making upgrades and training easier to complete.

Many call centers use a number of different technologies to help improve performance and customer experience. Inbound call centers often use automatic call distribution, in which incoming calls are assigned to representatives on the order they are received. Other call centers utilize call monitoring, in which customer calls are randomly monitored by quality assurance staff to ensure that phone representatives meet customer needs. Call center technology evolves constantly, helping call center staff assist customers more efficiently and effectively.

Call centers have been increasingly popular as outsourcing increases. With outsourcing, companies contract out some functions to other companies. As it can be expensive to maintain call center equipment and staff, some companies choose to outsource their telephone functions to an external call center. In this case, external call center staff can be trained to answer phone calls from a number of different companies.

Philosophical Implication of the Space-Time Continuum

2008-08-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

DETERMINISM*

The notion that time has three tenses (the past, present and future) implies that human actions, human existence for this matter, are determined. By the word 'determined', I mean that every single human action is already contained in a tailor-made scheme of events in nature. Every possible event that can happen already has necessary future consequences. For if there exists a fixed receptor of future events (which is the present and the past), this could only be true and valid if there is also exists a fixed source of possible incoming events ( which is the future), of which these incoming events will be carried on and deposited into the past. And this seems to be precisely the case in ways that we observe the things in nature behave; that future events are experienced when they are handed down to the present, and finally stucked within the past. But the more complicated and contending issue for determined human actions is that these three tenses of time suggest that time is linear, that its path can be no other than the past, the present, and the future.

Human actions are said to be determined in this notion of time because there can be no other way or other options in which a certain specific act done in the present be an uprearranged future act. All present actions were not freely done or performed by human agents. For before a certain performed act is to be done, the future had already accomplished a set of possible things that could be done or performed in the present time. The future, as a source of possible present and past events, had already fitted necessary possible consequences of every possible act which is to be performed in the present time. For example, it would not have been possible for me to exist now if in the past my parents had sex 10 minutes later or earlier. To understand this more fully we must assume thinking of this act in its proper place and time – the past. In order to comprehend this further, we need to go back to the past, not on a time machine but by setting our minds (mind set) in it.

Going back to the past, I could have not possibly been me in the future (which is the present in my normal, linear time) if my patents sexually engaged 10 minutes delayed or earlier. For if in this time (the past), my parents delayed or made the event earlier, somebody else could have existed in the future and not me. For my definite existence in the future (present) was the result of this definite event that happened exactly where and when it should happen in the past. To change a small sequence of order of time containing definite past events under the set {Time1 (T1), Time (T2), and so on and so forth} would totally disrupt the definite linear path of events that had happened in the past up to the present, and extending up to the future time. There is no other way for me to exist in the future if this event (in the past) did not occur at its exact time and place. To put this in figure, refer to Table 1.

TABLE 1. My Definite Time-Events Sequence

1st linear (T1) path Future (past) → Present (the present in the future which in my time is now considered the past) → Past

2nd linear (T2) path Past → Present (my normal present time) → Future (my incoming future)
(Me) (Me) (Me)

Now, going back to my (our) normal present time, if it did so happen, however, that my parents had sex 10 minutes earlier or later in the past, the linear path of my time-events sequence will be disrupted but it would not be totally out of order or control, or that it would stop. This time-sequence events will just change to an already other pre-arranged or tailor-made set of necessary possible time-sequence events. Time1, Time2 or T1 and T2 from the past will no longer follow that definite linear path to arrive in the future (which is my normal present time) but another else's time-sequence event (i.e. F1, Fn, Q1-Qn, etc.). The slight change in the past will cause the present to change and the future to adopt to the change. The definite events that happened in the past, when it is disrupted, will cause indefinite events to happen on the future. It will alter the set of time-sequence events in the future. To show this, please refer to Table 2.

TABLE 2. Another Else's Time-Sequence Events

Past (T1) → Present (T1) → Future/Past (T1/T2) → Present (T2) → Future (T2)
| disruption
| F1/F2 → Present (F2) → Future (F2) (Not Me)
or | Q1/Q2 → Present (Q2) → Future (Q2) (Not Me)
and so on...

As we can see, this time-sequence events or order presupposed that the future contains countless necessary possible events ready to be outdone in the present course of time by the aid of an agent (a man, animal, nature, etc.). In return, and in contrast, the present and the past contains just but one or single possible act to be performed, actualized or be done – the present being a medium to get the acts into the realm of the past, and the past, a fixed receptor of a definite future events handed down to the present in a single linear manner. The future carries with it numerous tailor-made acts but with just one necessary possible act to be handed down and actualized to the present and into the past. The relation with the case of human agents, man preferably, has many options to choose from in the future but he can only do one thing at a time. That is, man can only choose to act or do a certain definite act at a time.

POINTLESSNESS

But my point is that even if it so happened that changes occur in the future or past time, the arrow of the direction of time will still be fixed on a single definite linear manner. And that the countless various possibilities of events that could possibly occur, carrying with them their own fixed and definite linear time-events sequence (a fixed past, and present coming from a definite future.)

The bottomline: whatever we do, the fact that time is definite, linear, fixed and is already containing tailor-made consequences, and sequences or events, implies that our actions (or what we do) are already determined. Ergo, human existence is determined. Just like the fundamental laws of nature, actions existing within a definite space-time dimension are mechanistic – with order, and carry no value at all. For why should it have point? Why should the things we do carry with it value or a point when we can know that they are very much embedded in a tailor-made and determined pattern or sequence of various necessary possible fixed events existing within a continuing space-time dimension? And just as nature and its fundamental laws are nothing but mere systems, all of human actions and human existence, for this matter, can be no more than a pointless set of determined events. To quote the Princeton Astrophysicist Jim Peebles, “I am willing to believe that we are flotsam and jetsam.” And as Steven Weinberg wrote in his book, The First Three Minutes (A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe):

the more the universe seems comprehensible,

the more it seems pointless.

*by Allan Agnol Pasamonte
Published in the journal of the UP Kabataang Pilosopo Tasyo (KAPITAS) in the summer of 1997, pp.6-8.

Moonless Night

2008-07-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing that I can compare to myself it is the lovely and moody moon. We have many things in common, traits that sometimes I thought that I am the son of Luna, the moon goddess. It is my habit to look up in the sky especially when there is moon. It doesn't matter whether is is only a new moon or waning moon as long as I can see her staring down on me. I am fond also of other celestial things like the stars but I am bias with the moon. Watching her during nighttime gives me a satisfaction that I can't explain, an inner joy that only myself can describe. Whenever I feel blue or experiencing negative emotions, I just look up in the moon and then I feel warm and comfort. (When there is no moon, a single constellation is enough to pacify my raging emotion.)

Staring at the moon also gives me an inner peace that is evasive in my immediate surroundings. Through this I can also feel that I am in line with the Creator, boosting up my spirituality. On the other hand, looking up to her also brings me me back to my childhood memories, a ver dark past.

Just like last night, after taking my dinner, instead of watching TV shows or surfing the internet, I chose to go up in our rooftop. I stood against our water tank wall, looking up in the sky, watching the stars twinkling. After few minutes, I glanced around because the city lights are tying to catch my attentions. They are competing with the heavenly lights but I managed to keep away my look from them. I decided to lay down with a mat covering the floor. As I am enjoying the stargazing, memories started to run in my mind.

The absence of moon strengthen the ambiance of childhood memories. There is no moon today because the moon is in the last quarter. As I am staring at Scorpius, I also saw a brightly shining object on the left side. I thought it was another star but later I recognize that it is Venus, my ruling planet according to astrology. Another heavenly bodies that is part of my childhood, I said to myself.

That was 15 years ago. I was in the province, in Bicol, where my grandparents took care of me ever since my parents separated ad got their own lives. One afternoon, while picking up sea shells in the sea shore, I accidentally looked up in the western part of the sky. The sun is already setting behind the mountains. It was very beautiful (sunset is also one of my favorite scenery). But what really struck me is a shining heavenly object just above the setting sun. It was so distinct that I stared on it for a seconds. Then I remembered that it was mentioned in our science class that there is a planet is also called the "Morning Star". It is Venus. Since the planet was in the western direction, I make a promised to myself, Venus is my witness, that someday I will go to Manila and reach my dreams (Manila is in the western part of the Bicol region). And from this vow I started to do excellent things at school, finishing high school with flying colors, with honors.

And then I took up University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) and I made it to the main campus. In the university, at first I find it so hard to adjust, but I made many good friends that helped me how to cope with college life. Most of them were gone but there are some stay and still communicate with me. Here in the university, I experienced different kinds of hardships and success, tears and laughter, hurts and joy, anything that are helpful when you are in a professional world.

Oh, craps! I hate this! I don't want to be emotional again. It is sound ironic but I tend to be more emotional when there is no moon. A what I have said, moon keeps me happy and since she is temporarily absent, I feel sad. What the heck I am talking! Enough of memories! I hurriedly got up and went down to the living room. I almost forgot that my favorite singing reality show, “Pinoy Dream Academy” will start in a few minutes.

UP Astronomical Society

2008-07-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

UP Astronomical Society Applicants' Orientation

It has been almost two years when I signed up to attend Astronomy Summer Worksop conducted by University of the Philippines Astronomical Socitey (UP Astrosoc) in Diliman Campus. It was a very memorable and refreshing experience during my one year stay as a member. But it was also almost twelve months since I visited PAGASA Astronomical Obervatory, UP Astrosoc meeting place (tambayan).

How did I become a member of this prestigious organization in UP Diliman?

I was then a student assistant in the Department of Political Science. It was summer 2007. I already finished my work and waiting for the time to hit 5pm, our end of shift. I was surfing the net and looking for some information about Big Dipper when I bumped into the website of UP Astronomical Society. Here is what the site says about the organization:

The University of the Philippines Astronomical Society (UP Astrosoc) is a non-profit, non-political and non-partisan organization in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. It was established in 1991 by 15 undergraduate students under a mango tree. UP Astrosoc now resides at the PAGASA Astronomical Observatory inside UP Diliman.
On the average, the organization has an active membership of 25-30 undergraduate students coming from different colleges in the university. Aside from the usual social activities of a college organization, UP Astrosoc also partakes in several astronomy activities throughout the academic year. These include astronomy classes, observing sessions, public astronomy lectures and forums.

The emblem for the organization is a stylized telescope pointing towards the skies. This is in touch with the organization's motto, Ad Astra Per Aspera -To the stars with difficulty.
Learn more about UP Astrosoc's activities here.
Take a mini tour of the UP Astrosoc headquarters here.
To learn how to contact UP Astrosoc, click here.

I wrote down the contact infos and after my duty, I hurriedly went to the Observatory to enlist in UP Astrosoc's summer workshop. When I arrived there, I learned that they are also looking for new members and I was very excited to signed in.

And that is the beginning of my journey through space, not physically of course, but through my imagination wit the help of writing.

Ad Astra Per Aspera!

A Matter of Life and Death

2008-07-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

Allan "Deus" Agnol Pasamonte
[A paper read on the 4th Anniversary Foundation of the U.P. Atheists Circle (UPAC).]

In a society where being a believer is the norm rather than the exception, the nonconforming atheist is left out with nothing to hold on to and with no one to be with - to touch his unwary heart with passion and care, to hear his drama of life in times of desperate human needs, to tender the groaning pain of the sufferings he oftentimes cannot escape with, and to restore to him the sanity to continue a life he must endearly live with throughout the last breath of his ironic existence. Leaving all certainties behind, in a place he too calls his own, he is no different from the man which the crooked world wanted him to crawl --- deus

The Mysterious Death

"...there will be a last day, a last hour, a last minute, and that will be it... off the edge."

- Thomas Nagel
The View From Nowhere

I do not know if believers are more fortunate when their death occurs since, after all, there will be a life after death for them after their demise. Maybe I am not in the position to tell something of what fortune they have for believing a such. But I presume that no atheist will ever cling to the idea of immortality once their existence perishes or vanishes from this so-called world. And with this issue arises the division among atheists who subscribe to to the idea that death is not evil since it will terminate their absurd existence once and for all, and those who believe that death is a misfortune even when life is no longer worth living. (1)

If life is absurd or meaningless or nor worth living, it may sufficiently follow that the event of death will be most welcomed. However, granted that life is not unworthy to be lived by and the experience of living is simply a one-way ticket chance to an opportunity that will not come again (the opportunity to exist), how are we (the atheists) going to deal with it when we know that vis-a-vis our existence is our capability to be non-existent?(2) So, if death will be the permanent termination of existence, the confusion arises whether it is a bad thing to die or not, and whether it is rational or not that we fear the occurrence of death. I intend that if an atheist does not fear death, knowing fully well that there will be no more of life that he will ever experience after his termination, there will be only two valid reasons for believing so. First, he had already enough and may be well satisfied of what his life had offered him. Second, life for him is not worthy to be lived by, and so might as well believe that all is well that ends early. (3) Should death, however, be a misfortune or an evil thing to an atheist, I am most likely to conclude that death, for him, is such an event that must be feared of. And this latter conclusion creates the trouble in the mode of existence of an atheist.

We fear death because we are anxious about the opportunities that life has to offer in the future, and of which death prevents. The loss of life for such a kind of atheist means so much to him because all his chances of experiencing meaningful events within his lifespan will eventually come to an end. And this fact an atheist cannot just calmly accept. For the hour of existence is not something that is static or dull, it changes from one phase to another. Within the universe of space-time dimension, existence will come only once. And it is but awkward to think that time will not remain going on while one existence does not. We cannot stop this movement of time. (4) Everything must go on. And everybody, the atheists as well as believers, will have his last day, a last hour, a last minute, and that will be it... off the edge.

A Plea For Meaning

"The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life."

- Albert Einstein
Ideas & Opinions

Wouldn't it be nice to realize that efforts crown a person's hardships and trials with satisfaction and contentment? Wouldn't it be better than if we believe that a life worth living can be attained in a life of effort? I propose that the problem of the meaning of life is a question of purpose or value - purpose of what you're doing and value of what you get in return. And it is my position that believers do not take it a big issue to them to bother themselves if their lives are meaningful or not since a redeemer is always present-at-hand. But the absence of God or a God in the existence of an atheist can be all that is the case to the latter.

It is futile to believe that life is meaningful if you are an atheist since one already knows what a meaningful and meaningless life means. An objective point of view can always warp subjective satisfactions, contentment and happiness that deals head-on the problem of the meaningless life of an atheist. Thus, it is my contention that a Godless yet meaningful life is absurd and seems inconsistent with the mode of existence an atheist usually lives. Purposeful? Yes. But meaningful, no. A subjective point of view can indeed make a lifespan busy, happy, satisfied and comforted as long as desperation and less failures don't get in the way. But this will not necessarily make the atheistic mode of existence, in any manner, meaningful. Implicity, for an atheist to say that his life is meaningful is no less differnt in making a mockery out of himself - pretending a life happily lived by amidst the hanging question of the essence of his cosmic existence (why is he born and why should he die later on? What for are the things that he's doing and to what value must he be attached to anybody?). As Thomas Nagel puts it:

"In viewing ourselves from the outside we may find that the things that we do are nothing but mere pretensions and aspirations helping ourselves and our lives not to be boring and insignificant. We, thus, become, indifferent to our own lives... And in dealing our lives seriously, we somehow manage to question the things we do in finding out their significance in our lives. Thus we step back from our own selves to reflect the things we do. In becoming aware of the events that come in our lives and the activities we undertake, we cannot help not to take an objective point of view of the cosmological purpose which, together with our existence, we cannot eliminate in our selves simply because it is the home we dwell, the place we live in." (5)

It seems, therefore, that life from without is but arbitrary, and the things we do, pretentions. Atheists live and die for nothing. Anf if they however managed to care about others, that creates more the problem: the fact that other too will die whom they might emotionally attached with. And just as their lives (the other) are arbitrary, so are the lives of atheists.

It is absurd, so to speak, because it is what makes up the human situation. So, the absurd is part of an atheistic life - it is a way in perceiving the true human situation. (6) And if atheists regard their lives as meaningless, yet they are not unhappy, ang therefore, are hardly fit, for life, it is not because life is possibly meaningful to make them fit for it but it's because life is necessarily meaningless that makes it hardy fit for them.

1. Richard Wollhelm, quoted by Nagel in his book.
2. Allan Pasamonte. Dyeing the Hours of Consciousness (An undergraduate thesis submitted to the Department of Philosophy, UP Diliman,April 1997), p.2.
3. Abstract Layug, "Selling the Drama" (A poem), published in PALAPAHAMAN (A journal of Philosophy, UPDiliman), First Issue, circa March 1996.
4. Pasamonte, pp.5-6.
5. Thomas Nagel, The View From Nowhere. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986).
6. Thomas Nagel, Mortal Questions. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988) p. 23.

What Am I Transcended in Time?

2008-06-22T18:28:00.000-07:00

Life begins with questions and wonders of the mysteries of the world; a struggle of truth and wisdom to know the most important part of reality. And at the edge of the puzzling existence, there is a wider vision of life. At this point, Philosophy being revolutionary confuses my common sense. The disturbance for the search of meaning can lead to reject my beliefs. But as the major task is to analyze and construct arguments, there is hope coming closer to the truth. What then life is all about? A quest of truth of who, what we are, where we came from and where we are going. I am being imprisoned by my own beliefs of reality. Maybe it is because of my feeling of strangeness. I doubt, let it go! Every claim I win for that includes evidence that underlies investigation itself to its truth.

Ancient civilizations in India, China and Greece were the forerunners of Philosophy. The Indians would ask the theocentrical question “Who am I”. Who created all the things? Who am I to others? Brahman. Who is Brahman in relation to me? We are the one. Atman is Brahman and Brahman is Atman.

That which the finest essence – this whole world has that as its soul. That is reality that Atmas (soul). That art thou.[1]

From the time that there was a shift from mythos (in which work of Hesiod and Iliad were known) to logos, Ionian Greeks began to rationalize their answers to their questions. “Where am I?”, a cosmocentric question asked by the Ionian Greeks accounting to the origin of the universe. The water of Thales is the origin of all things.

They say nothing else comes to be or ceases to be; for there must be entity either one or more than one from which all other things come to be… Thales, the founder of this philosophy says the principle is water.[2]

Apeiron is the origin of all things for Anaximander – the indefinite, boundless, infinite, and indeterminate.

Inexhaustible in quantity and wholly devoid of specific qualities an unlimited mass characterless having unlimited potential for assuming different specific forms.[3]

For Anaximenes it is air:

… companion of Anaximander, affirms together with the latter that the substrate of everything is one and infinite. This substrate, however, is not indeterminate like that of Anaximander’s, but it is a definite nature: it is what we call air.[4]

The three Ionian Greeks have one thing in common: there is unifying principle assuming different forms in matter – water of Thales, the apeiron of Anaximander, and the air of Anaximenes. The Urstuff is what they have in common.

The civilization flourished in Yangtze and Huang Ho rivers is Chinese. They would rather ask the question “What Am I” which touches the nature of man. In short, it is anthropocentric. The focus is on the ideals and interest of humans. It begins in itself reaching to the existence of others. A very oriental perspective.

I always ask myself what I am in this world. What I ought to do in accordance to goodness? What is the way of life I want? Ultimately, these questions will lead into asking “What is the essence of my existence in the world?”

Humans Becoming Humane

“It is the man that can make the way great; not the way that can make man great.”[5]

Humans are the agents of actions in the fulfillment of the way or the path. Of course, who can perform the act other than man? It is the spiritual being? Expect not. The act itself will materialize through an agent that will perform in this present world. (Co, p.123) But all humans will do the act itself which will be performed in this present world.

Kong Zi said: The gentlemen occupies himself with the way and not with hius livelihood… what the gentleman is anxious about is the way and not poverty… the way of gentleman is threefold. I myself have not been able to attain any one of them. Being humane, he has no anxieties; being wise, he has no pwerplexities; being brave, he has no fear. Tzu Kung said: But master that is your own way.[6]

Lin Fang asked about the fundamental principle of Li. Kong Zi replied, “You are asking an apt question, Li at large, it is always better to be simple rather than too arrogant. It is more important to have the real sentiment of sorrow than minute to observance.[7]

I find the philosophy of human simple and comprehensive. It is a way of life of the individuals. Though the existence is obvious, how could I still say that I’m searching what is life? The only solution I can suggest is to bring out the best of the involved humans in the fulfillment of the act. What am I transcended in time? This philosophy is easy because it can be perceived.

Co is asserting that all universal can withstand the test of time. The nature of man is universal. Thus, the nature of man can withstand the test of time.

My point of conclusion then is that the nature of man can transcend time. However, real and universal are nature of man. Thus, what is real and universal can transcend time.

[1] Robert Ernest Hume. The Thirteen Principal Upanishads. 2nd Ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 248.
[2] Ignatius Yarza. History of Ancient Philosophy.
[3] James Jordan. Western Philosophy: From Antiquity to Middle Ages. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.), p. 8.
[4] Yarza, op. cit., p. 19.
[5] Alfredo P. Co. Philosophy of Ancient China: The Blooming of Hundred Flowers. (Espana, Manila: UST Printing House, 1992, p. 121.
[6] Co, op. cit., p. 123.
[7] Ibid., p. 122.

Existentialism is a Humanism

2008-06-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Sartre tries to defend existentialism from its critiques such as it leads one to inaction, or it allows/fosters anarchy by removing “god” or some other institution that defines and judges mans’ actions. He also mentions anguish, forlornness and despair as emotions attached directly to “existenze”.

The point of the essay is simply that we are free, without god there would be no “looming” standard by which everything must conform, and which everything is subject to it terms of valuation. Integrity, action, and responsibility lies solely on man and not on any particular nature ascribed to him by otherworldly or institutionalized structures.

In relation to freedom, Existentialists generally deny that there is any fixed “human nature” which limits us in what we do and who we are. Whatever happens to us, it is a consequence of our choices and we must take responsibility for that – there is no way we can transfer that responsibility to any other agency, human or otherwise. This constitutes the feeling of anguish wherein man is alone and takes sole responsibility for his/her actions Sartre said that the man can only genuinely assert meaning through his actions, indeed his very existence lies in the extent that man fulfills himself; he is nothing more than the ensemble of his acts. Man has a choice, but in existential terms, when he so chooses, he chooses not only for himself but also for the whole of mankind (“In choosing myself, I choose the world”). It is this feeling, and knowledge that as everyone might see the world in this light, they would act accordingly to chose what is best for him and for all “others”, the critique that existentialism leads people into inaction is thus answered.

Another assertion of existentialism is that god does not exist (applies only to atheistic existentialists), and this implies that there is nothing higher than man that could set the standard as to what man ultimately is. “There is no human nature, since there is no God to conceive it. Man is what he conceives himself to be”. (Froyd 2005) In this respect, forlornness arises for then there would be no standard by which everyone is judged, and in relation to the previous paragraph, man is condemned to be free. The essence of man can no longer be found and defined by pre-existing norms, it has to be created (existence precedes essence). The process of this creation, is only through (as I have mentioned earlier) action and choice. Anarchy cannot ensue if everyone thinks this way, because even if god didn’t exist, no one in their right mind (who also believes that “others” are well capable of the things he/she can do) would resort to brutish acts, rather he/she would do the opposite and act according to a universal maxim applicable to all (to borrow Kant’s terminology). This particular emotion is also related to Sartre’s notion of “authenticity” and “bad faith” on which the choices of man and his/her appraisal of the situation constitutes his “real” existence.

The third emotion despair arises because, though man is free, he is free in a prison. His freedom is limited by the freedom of the “others” – “My freedom ends where your freedom begins”. Despair arises because each moment we choose we are confronted by possibilities. For though we are ultimately free, the probability of enacting the choice is restricted by facts-of-life and of the freedom of others. In this light Marx may be said to be right that “men make their own history, but do not make it as they please, but they do it under circumstances already determined for them by history and their social conditions” (Marx 1845) In this sense, men make their own chooses but they act according to circumstances determined by history and social conditions.

Now, many would contend that Sartre’s defense is self-defeating in that existentialism is precisely against putting reason and rationality at the center, yet clearly in his essay he is using reason and rational arguments to stake his claim and defend the “ideals” of existentialism. My take on this issue would be that, perhaps it is not as self-defeating as one may think, precisely because existence is something that everyone shares so too must it be possible to be articulated. In this sense, reason has become a vehicle towards further understanding of “existenze”; it is not in any way putting it in the center. The things that cannot be adequately articulated (call it the sublimity of life/existence, or whatever term you may think suits this phenomenon) is not entirely defined here (a part may have been articulated such as the three emotions), the purpose of the essay was to answer false accusations (falseness here is not meant as to refer to a predefined notion of truth but rather how we understand a given discourse, in this sense the falsity is defined in terms of how existentialism comes to being in light of definitions or what one might rightly call language interplay in which the meaning of the discourse is seen or evaluated through other overlapping discourses – a need for a certain level of objectivity, so to speak) to this endeavor in that they seek to portray/promote a critical valuation of life but is hindered because other institutions have misconstrued what they sought to convey.