Sunday, April 3, 2011

Product Review: Pacsafe MeshSafe B200

SPECIFICATIONS
(As stated on the pacsafe website)
  • Materials: 840D nylon, 1680D polyester, high-tensile stainless steel wire
  • Dimensions: 36 x 48 x 19.5 cm / 14.4 x 19.2 x 7.7 in
  • Laptop sleeve dimensions: 29 x 34.5 x 5 cm / 11.5 x 13.6 x 2 in
  • Volume: 25 L / 1526 in3
  • Weight: 1.3 kg / 2 lbs 14 oz
  • Model # 20200 Black / Silver Liner
FEATURES
(As stated on the pacsafe website)
  • Fully padded removable laptop sleeve - fits most 15” laptops
  • Front zippered compartment with removable organiser panel
  • 1 fixed padded electronic gadget pocket
  • 1 removable padded electronic gadget pocket can be attached to shoulder strap for convenience
  • Water bottle / compact umbrella side pocket
  • Padded adjustable shoulder straps
  • Padded air mesh back support
  • Anti Theft Features:
    • eXomesh® Slashguard front and bottom panels
    • Slashproof adjustable shoulder straps
    • Snatchproof shoulder strap allows the bag to anchor to a secure fixture
    • Tamperproof zippers

My MeshSafe B200 full of my stuff
 USER REVIEW
Date and place of purchase: December 17, 2009, The Travel Club, Alabang Festival Mall
Price: Php 6000.00

Pros:
  • Very tough and durable bag. This is the very first bag that survived me for a year. I've been using it for more than a year now but its still in good condition. The average lifespan of my previous bags is less than six months.
  • I love the removable laptop sleeve. For a guy like me that is always on the move, its been a comfort to just slip out the sleeve just in case I dont want to bring along my laptop.
  • The removable organizer panel keeps your small gadgets and flash drives handy.
  • The anti-theft features really give me a peace of mind while travelling. The cable reinforced shoulder strap can be attached to an airport bench or a bus stations' chair while waiting to board. This prevents someone to just pick up your bag and walk or run away.

My personal portable safe MeshSafe B200
Cons:
  • Quite expensive price tag
  • I did not find the removable padded electronic gadget pocket that can be attached to shoulder strap mentioned on the product features.


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Travel: Morong, Rizal Philippines

MORONG, RIZAL IN BRIEF
     Morong is a first class municipality in the province of Rizal situated about 37.5 kilometers from manila. Currently it has eight barangays, namely: Bombongan, Caniogan-Calero-Lanang, Lagundi, Maybancal, San Guillermo, San Pedro, San Jose and San Juan. The last three being located in the poblacion.

HOW TO GET THERE
     There are public utility jeepney transport with routes going to Morong, Rizal. Another option is to take public utility aircon vans, going to the nearby town of Cardona. The fare is Php50.00 as of the time of this writing. Then you can just hail a tricycle or ride a public utility jeepney to Morong. If you have a private car, it would be an approximately 37.5 kilometers drive from Cubao, Metro Manila.

Driving Directions:
(From Cubao, Metro Manila to Morong, Rizal)
1.Head northwest on 14th Ave toward P. Tuazon Blvd   0.3 km
2.Turn left onto P. Tuazon Blvd0.1 km
3.Take the 1st right onto General Romulo Ave0.6 km
4.Turn right onto Aurora Blvd2.4 km
5.Slight right onto Marcos Highway2.5 km
6.Turn right onto Amang Rodriguez Ave2.2 km
7.Slight left onto E Bank Rd7.1 km
8.Slight left toward Velasquez St1.1 km
9.Turn left onto Velasquez St1.2 km
10.Turn right onto Manila East Rd2.2 km
11.Continue onto Quezon Ave1.8 km
12.Continue onto Manila East Rd5.2 km
13.Slight left to stay on Manila East Rd6.0 km
14.Turn right to stay on Manila East Rd0.3 km
15.Turn left to stay on Manila East Rd4.3 km
16.Sharp right to stay on Manila East Rd0.2 km
17.Arrive at Morong, Rizal
Note: These driving directions are as provided by google maps. I cannot guarantee their accuracy or their being up to date. Routing may differ in actual driving conditions.


Driving Directions from Cubao, MM (A) to Morong, Rizal (B) provided by MapQuest

PLACES TO VISIT
Saint Jerome Parish Church
     The Saint Jerome Parish Church is constructed on a hill on the poblacion of Morong, Rizal. The beautiful architecture of this old era church is an attraction to behold.

Bell Tower of St. Jerome Parish Church
Uugong Park
     During the early 60's-early 80's Uugong park was known for its beautiful waterfalls. It is a usual summer picnic location for families and friends. Uugong means echo, which has been derived from the loud echo or sound produced by the strong current flow of the falls.
     Uugong Park now has a resort made and owned by a local artist named Rafael Pacheco, who is known not only locally but internationally because of his paintings in which he uses his fingers instead of paintbrush. Today, the resort does not use the old falls anymore. Two pools were made inside the resort where you can still view the now dead waterfalls and its river. The new Uugong resort features the displayed collection of paintings and sculptures of Mr. Pacheco.



Entrance to Uugong Park Resort

View inside the Uugong Park

Sculpture -- Cycle of Life

View of the nearby ricefields.

Taking a breather

Another sculpture inside the park.



Sunday, February 13, 2011

Web Feature: Neopets

BACKGROUND
     Neopets.com is a virtual pet site where you can own virtual pets. Feed them, clothe them, create a house for them, give a pet to them (called petpet) and many other activities. This site also features plots and site events that you can participate and earn trophies to display on your user lookup. This site's virtual currency is in NP or neopoints. You can earn neopoints by simply playing the onsite flash or html games and submitting your score. You can then use your NP to buy items for your pets from the shops of neopets or the other user's site. You can also put up your own shop, gallery, coin collection, avatar collection or stamp collection.
     As of the date of this posting, neopets.com has 184,201,091 users, 270,191,491 neopets (the virtual pets), an average of 1.467 neopets per owner.

USER REVIEW
     I have been playing neopets for eight and a half years now. So far I have three painted neopets, one christmas shoyru, one sponge acara and one disco elephante that I always bring to daily trips to the lab ray in hopes of getting a much rare color. I have also collected 234 avatars, 40 stamps, 3 keyquest tokens, 206 neodeck cards, 11 site themes, 23 site event trophies, 3 site feature trophies, and 8 game trophies. I have also garnered 465 out of 531 battledome wins. I have put up a size 24 shop, size 10 gallery and a neohome. I am currently a member of nothingbutneopets guild. So that will give you a rough idea of the many things that you can do on neopets.
     What I love on this site is that users of all ages are welcome to use their service. The user environment is also very very child friendly. The site policy is concrete about children's safety. Swear words are blocked on the site's forum (neoboards) boards. And best of all, the site's service is free of charge. Their income come from advertisements but the site's ads are unobtrusive. They also have a very clever sponsored games, wherein the games are featuring the product that they are advertising.



Baby Shoyru Neopet


Snow Acara


Baby Elephante

Note: NEOPETS, characters, logos, names and all related indicia are trademarks of Neopets, Inc., © 1999-2011. ® denotes Reg. US Pat. & TM Office. All rights reserved.