Circumcision time in the Philippines

Here in the Philippines, summertime is “tuli” or circumcision time for adolescent boys. Usually, boys who are aged 9-12 get circumcised during this time of the year. The Department of Health (DOH) also launched a few years ago an annual program that is roving health team tasked to circumcise boys and aged alike in many barangays.

Circumcision has become a culture for Filipino children. There is this belief that boys are cleaner and more hygienic when circumcised. Unlike in many parts of Europe where circumcision is an optional act, here in the Philippines, it is a mandatory act and an uncircumcised male is ostracized by the society.

Also, circumcision marks the start of manhood for most boys as 11 to 12-year-olds are usually the ones who do this. You can rarely see a Filipino male reaching age 13 and above who is still uncircumcised. Parents are the first ones to initiate this and order their children to be circumcised during summer time.

Summer time is the best time for circumcision because Filipinos are at rest from school. This is the longest break from school in the country (April to early weeks of June). Therefore, children who got circumcised in April will have been healed before the classes start in mid-June.

I browsed the net and found a compilation of why circumcision is performed.

* a religious sacrifice

* a rite of passage marking a little boy into a young adult

* a sympathetic magic to ensure virility

* as a means of suppressing sexual pleasure; remove excessive pleasure

* an aid to hygiene where regular bathing is impractical

* means of marking social status (lower or higher)

* discourage masturbation or any sexual action

* demonstration of one's ability to endure pain

* increase men's attractiveness to women

* symbolic castration (any action, surgical, chemical or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testes or to a female loses the functions of the ovaries)

* male counterpart to menstruation or breaking the hymen

My First Fun Blog Contest Winner

Alright Fun lovers -- here's the result of my random My Fun Blog Contest.

It looks like twenty-four of you entered with a total of 113 Entries, so I'm asking the random number generator to choose an integer between one and one hundred thirteen.
See Entries here

Drumroll please......

Here are your random numbers:
(I generate 10 random numbers, 1 to 113; and I select 3 winners from 1 to 3)

1.     9

2.    107

3.    65

4.    76
5.    69
6.    8
7.    36
8.    103
9.    6
10.  82

Timestamp: 2011-04-30 00:00:40 PST

Congratulations to Nonoy of Cebu and Davao Journey! Based on my List of Entries. Your $25 Paypal will be sent soon as you confirm me your e-mail address.

Two winners of $10 Paypal each to:

1. Binelda of Contest Buff 
2. Levy of LEVYousa!

Sorry to all of you who didn't win. The good news is that this was by far my most successful blog contest yet. This means there will undoubtedly be more of these to come! Stay tuned for the next contest (sooner rather than later).

I am also giving FREE .COM DOMAIN for my Top Commentor on the 20th of May 2011.

Special Thanks to MY SPONSORS:

1.	Fitflops Sandals Review
2.	Best Shoes for CNA and Nurses
3.	Women's Shape-up Shoes
4.	The Backpackman
5.	Blogging Achieved Goals

Royal wedding guests given ‘etiquette guide’

Royal Wedding guests have been sent a 22-page list of do's and don'ts – including how to hold their teacups.

The etiquette guide has commonsense tips such as not clashing with bride Kate Middleton’s outfit by wearing white or cream and keeping phones silent.

But there is also advice for the 1,900 guests on how to greet the Queen.

Etiquette is very important but for some it will be a minefield. That's why this guide will help.

• Guests are asked to arrive at least 20 minutes before the ceremony begins.
• As the Queen enters Westminster Abbey, everybody has to acknowledge her arrival with a curtsey or bow as she walks through. The same must happen as she leaves.
• Wearing the right hat and not overdoing it is important. Wearing cream or white is not appropriate. That must be left to the bride.
• Men in the Armed Forces should wear uniform and male civilians a lounge or morning suit. A top hat should be carried, not worn, inside the church.
• There will be champagne flowing and you've got to hold the glass properly, by the stem.
• During the formal dinner a lot of people won't know how to use a knife and fork properly, let alone which cutlery to choose from.
• You must eat from the outside in and if you have a mass of glasses in front of you, it helps to know which to use.
• With tea cups, lift the cup not the saucer and hold it very gently with your index finger and thumb, returning the cup to the saucer after every sip.
• They have been told not to look at Kate, the Queen or any of the royals while serving. They must keep their heads down and be as discreet as possible.

Best Adsense Tips and Secrets

I start earning now on my Google Adsense while my other friends and bloggers had a problem on it and some are now banned their blog from Google Adsense. Strictly follow the rules mentioned in Adsense policies. You will always earn more money from Adsense if you do it. I don't want to loose my Adsense too so I read more tips and secrets on the web.

AdSense Tip 1: Find Best keywords for your content

Before serving ads on a web page, check its keyword density. You can find many free keyword analyzer tools in internet searching the word "free keyword analyzer".

AdSense Tip 2: Improve your keywords

Get keyword suggestions from Google AdWords Sandbox. Get new keywords that can help you improve your ad relevance.

AdSense Tip 3: Make content rich websites

This means that content-rich websites of a popular topic should attract a large amount of ads.

AdSense Tip 4: Write a new page/blog post every day

This is very important. The more content you have, the more visitors you will get. Put an Adsense unit on each and every content page of your site.

AdSense Tip 5: Choose the right AdSense format

The top three AdSense formats are for many webmasters:

336x280 large rectangle
300x250 medium rectangle
160x600 wide skyscraper

Another successful format is the 728x15 horizontal ad links, that can be placed under your navigation bar.

Use "Allowed site" feature of adsense to protect yourselves.If anyone put adsense codes in their websites you must not worried about it.

AdSense Tip 6: Adsense Color tips

When creating your Google AdSense ads it is recommended to use the color scheme and style of your website so that the ads blend in well.Google Ads with no background color and no borders will always perform better. Make the border color and background color same as your page background color.

AdSense Tip 7: Position tips

Place the AdSense ads in a prominent place around the top/left part of your page or under your headlines.

For short articles, CTR is best when ads are placed just above the content.

For long articles, CTR will improve if you place ads somewhere in middle of the content or just where the article ends.

Use Text Ads instead of Image Ads as users get more options and the payout is often higher.

Important:Don't places images next to Google ads as that will invite a permanent ban to your AdSense account.

AdSense Tip 8: Increase the number of ads, but not too much

If you have a lot of text on a page, use multiple AdSense units. You can use up to three AdSense units on a page, two AdSense search boxes and one unit of ad links.

AdSense Tip 9: Preview Google ads

You can find out what ads will be served by Google AdSense if you install Google AdSense Preview Tool, a very simple tool available only for Internet Explorer 6.0. Click to advertiser sites without generating invalid clicks, and easily add their URLs to your URL filter list. Because AdSense uses geo-targeting, Google serves different ads for other countries.

AdSense Tip 10: What not to do with adsense

Don't click on your own ads
Don't ask others to click on your Google ads
Don't manually change AdSense code
Don't place Google ads on sites that include prohibited content (e.g.: adult sites)
Don't employ cloaking, hidden text or farm links
Don't use AdSense ads on the same page with similar ads (e.g.: Yahoo Publisher Network)
And also don't refresh your site excessively.

AdSense Tip 11: Use section targeting

Use section targeting to emphasize some content in your page.To know more about section targeting read this article.

AdSense Tip 12: Your Google ads should be visible

Make sure your text ads are visible well to the surfers in all screen formats.

AdSense Tip 13: Use AdSense channels

You can categorize the content of your website into channels and then track your performance. This way you can experiment with different types of ads and see which is performing the best.

AdSense Tip 14: Follow Adsense Programme Polices

Strictly follow the rules mentioned in Adsense policies. You will always earn more monet from Adsense if you do it.

AdSense Tip 15: Never modify the Google Adsense HTML code

If have trouble embedding AdSense code in your Blogger template, read these articles.

AdSense Tip 16: Don't place ads in pop-up windows,error pages,empty pages

You must always remember to not to do it.

AdSense Tip 17: Don't start a "MFA"(made for adsense) web site

You will never make money out these Made for Adsense websites. Instead, write on topics what you are passionate about. Don't waste your money and time searching on high-paying adsense keywords lists.

AdSense Tip 18: Block Low Paying Adsense Ads

Block low paying advertisers with Filters.For more info read this article.

AdSense Tip 19: Adsense For Search

Always select the setting to open Google Adsense search box results in a new browser window, so you won't lose your visitors.

How to unlock iPhone 4 properly

I don't like my iPhone to be doing work only with limited network provider, bundled by default by my iPhone provider because I want to use this when I'm going back home in my country. The only was to come about this complication is to unlock my iPhone in a proper way.

Before you can use another SIM card in your existing phone you may need to get your previous network or service provider to unlock the handset. You will need to wait until the expiry of any existing minimum term you have agreed and a charge may be payable.

If your iPhone is a Pay as You Go, then you can request to your network provider to unlock your iPhone. They might ask where and when did you purchase, and the IMEI on your handset. After requesting, there is a charge fee of 15 pounds (depends which network) and I wait for 48 hours for the confirmation text to come that my iPhone has been unlock. Then connect to the iTunes and Restore your handset, don't forget to backup as your files will lost like contacts, messages, photos, etc.

And the result:

Do not attempt to unlock your iPhone in some shops to avoid damage and it will lost your warranty.

Warning when you will NOT properly unlock your iPhone:

• It requires that you have a bit more technical expertise than some of the other solutions that have been used.
• One thing to note as well about this solution is that it will not work for firmware versions: 5.15.04, 5.14.02, 3.10.01, 2.10.04 or 4.10.01.
• Also this cannot be the first time you have jailbroken your device, it must already be jailbroken.
• If you are running baseband 6.15 you may end up losing GPS capabilities.

A good pal comment on illegal entries

I have read a comment from a good pal of mine of which when I read his comment I suddenly stop eating, it sounds funny but I get think of it for awhile.

Here it is:
IF YOU PASS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12YRS HARD LABOUR, YOU PASS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY U GET SHOT...
YOU PASS THE ENGLISH BORDER ILLEGALLY U GET A JOB, A DRIVER'S LICENSE, A PLACE TO LIVE, HOUSING BENEFIT, HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION, CHILD BENEFIT... NEED I CARRY ON? THIS... COUNTRY'S A JOKE!!!
PUT AS ...YOUR STATUS IF YOU AGREE!!...NO WONDER WE ARE A COUNTRY IN DEBT..!..!..!..!..!..!..!..!

As of me, just to be fair to all legal Filipino immigrants here in UK, some of them got married to British men and brought them here. Let you to know that Philippines is one of the best countries to retired to so lots of British came also in our many islands where they live now.

Students are also coming in UK and they had their limited time of work as well, but I think some of these jobs British doesn't like to work this kind, and because they work hard more enough to remain their jobs, almost of them doesn't claim benefits and all are paying taxes it seems they are a financial immigrants. These are some of the reputation that the Filipino wanted to keep and don't want to break the rules as a legal immigrants.

There are other foreigners who came illegally in UK and there are some also just to claim benefits from the government that UK should be stop.

All of these, I am very grateful to this country as a legal immigrant for I had good time experiencing a new environment.

For my good pal, I agree with you to stop illegal entries to this country. What ever happens we're also affected because we used to live here.

My Wembley visit

For any soccer fan, a visit to the Wembley Stadium is a must. Not only is it one of the world’s most outstanding modern stadiums, but is host to the best of English football and features a veritable ‘footie-fest’ of the nation’s leading cup finals and Football League play-offs every season.

My friend (a dedicated football fan) took me on a tour of Wembley Stadium at the weekend just across where I used to live whenever I am in London.

Wembley’s 90,000 capacity makes it the second largest stadium in Europe after Camp Nou and the largest in the world with every seat under cover. It is the most expensive stadium ever built; costing close to £800m London’s Wembley Stadium hosts England’s home matches, live music concerts and other sporting events.

The interior is overwhelming and quite clearly the largest stadium that you will visit in the country. There are escalators for those of you going up to level 5 so you needn't worry about climbing hordes of stairs and the view from up in the gods is still very good.

You won't find much to complain about in terms of comfort as the seats are very comfortable and give you plenty of legroom but you will have complaints about the Wembley prices.

Overall, Wembley is an outstanding arena, a great day out and must be experienced by all football fans that get the opportunity to go.

London Eye up close

When visiting London you can make a stop at the top attractions like Big Ben, Madame Tussauds, Houses of Parliament, … And even though I did see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, I was glad to experience a different side of London. Walking towards the London Eye, I was pleasantly surprised by the volume of people visiting here.

The place was buzzing from people looking around to have a look at the London Eye up close, wander around the shops, but also take in the many street performers. This was probably one of my favorite places while in London! The atmosphere that welcomes you when walking around here is just amazing.

It reminds me of the local fiestas back home in the Philippines where the Ferris Wheel has been always an attraction of the occasion.

The Westminster Palace and the Big Ben

This is the continuation on my post when I finally got to see Westminster Abbey in London the venue of the Royal Wedding.

After not having seen inside the venue I decided to go across the road going to Westminter Bridge to see the London Eye, it's my third time of walking in this bridge. From here I took some photos of the Palace and the Big Ben as what is people doing here, it's a lovely place and most romantic for partners but I ain't got any.

The Houses of Parliament, or Westminster Palace, is where the two London Houses of Parliament (House of Lords and House of Commons) meet. Westminster Palace is located on the north bank of the River Thames in Westminster, near other government buildings in Whitehall. The Palace is one of the largest parliaments in the world, with its buildings containing some 1,200 rooms, 100 staircases and over 3km of corridors.

My next post would feature the London Eye, it would be a day or two 'coz I am a little bit tired working 12-hours night shift today. Catch you later!

 

Royal Wedding in Westminster Abbey

As I'm sure the world is painfully aware there is a Royal Wedding happening in London on Friday 29 of April.

Prince William follows in the footsteps of his grandparents by getting married to Catherine at Westminster Abbey located near the House of Parliament.

Kate and William will marry at London's Westminster Abbey in front of 1,200 guests (including me but I will not be there because I am working that day and I was not invited too hahaha).

Finally got out to see Westminster Abbey in London... well at least the touristy bits... yesterday! The venue was quite spectacular and quite a popular destination for sightseers with the Royal Wedding coming up. It was quite difficult to get a shot without tons of ghostly people trails, but I managed to out wait most people to grab some shots.

I wanted to see what's inside the church but I have to pay an entrance fee worth 16 pounds just to go inside. I've never known this you have to pay before you can go to church. So I decided to turn around the corner and watch people walking and having photos of their own and till I reach The House of Parliament, The Big Ben and London Eye as I accross the Westminter Bridge which i will feature in my next post later.

And we called it Boodle Fight

Being far from our loveones, we usually think of a moment which we become happy. Filipino Londoners once think of this event and we called it Boodle Fight.

A gathering where food (usually pansít or noodles, steamed rice and sardines) is served on banana leaves spread over a table and eaten with bare hands by a group of people. But this time, we couldn't find banana leaves in UK so we're using foil and we replace sardines with a variety of food like adobo, pansit, talong, okra, etc.

Although it is the practice for some Filipinos to eat with their hands, a group of people eating this way from one source is an unnatural and contrived practice in Philippine culture.

This is a military style of eating where long tables are prepared and food are on top of the banana leaves. Viands and rice ready to eat using your bare hands, jugs of water are prepared on the side to wash hands before the "eating combat".

With the signal to start the boodle fight, everyone aims for his/her position. The term is taken from pre-World War Two West Point slang meaning "any party at which boodle (candy, cake, ice cream, etc.) is served.

I like this rigid indoor experience, topped with a boodle fight to satisfy my hunger!

In the boodle fight you have to eat fast to get your fill.

Heroes homecoming towards change

PINOY EXPAT/OFW BLOG AWARDS 2011


PEBA’S 2011 THEME RALLIES ON HEROES HOMECOMING TOWARDS CHANGE

Note: The photo of a boy holding a flag is an official entry of Analindenhann from Copenhagen Denmark to the 2010 Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards International Photo Contest

The First Quarter Storm

The first quarter of 2011 is perhaps the most turbulent days of the Overseas Filipino Workers as they witness the political revolution in the Middle East and North Africa where thousands of OFWs were caught in the middle of domestic conflicts in countries such as Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Libya.


Even with these appalling events, Filipinos remain determined to continue following their dreams through migration in order to survive domestic poverty. The world could be cruel and unforgiving but also highly rewarding... because in every struggle, heroes emerge.

Leaving Is Not A Matter of Choice, Coming Back Is

Despite the varied reasons why Filipinos go abroad, nationalism is still evident on the narratives of the 12 million Filipinos scattered all over the world. PEBA has witnessed how OFWs take pride of our Filipino roots, our culture and our race. Filipinos abroad, after they have followed their dreams, have chosen to return, evident on how we are called... "Balikbayan." They return to share their talents, skills and fortunes in an effort to bring change to the families left behind, communities and country. Thus, PEBA 2011 is dedicated to our "balikbayans", the unsung heroes of our time. Their homecoming brings a spark of change to the lives of their loved ones and their homeland. PEBA 2011 honor them with the theme,

"Ako'y Magbabalik, Hatid Ko'y Pagbabago." (I Will Return, I Will Bring Change.)

The PEBA 2011 Challenge

PEBA 2011 will attempt to remind the P-Noy administration to solicit, listen and heed the advice our OFWs who have been the forefront of finding solutions on the world’s most powerful economies. It's about time that instead of concentrating on labor-export policy, this administration start tapping the professional services of OFWs in various areas of expertise in rebuilding our country's infrastructures and basic services by offering them job positions in government offices to be administration partners in nation-building.


We call on our Filipino expatriates around the world to continue their roles as Global Ambassadors of our country in foreign lands by promoting and patronizing our locally-made products, making the Philippines the first stop destination for holidays and investing in the home country. We ask them to teach their children and their foreign spouses on the positive Filipino values and the Filipino language. Let’s be proud of our race, for nationalism knows no time and bounderies.

Expats, OFWs and Bloggers, They’re Heroes That Multiplies

To our Global Filipino bloggers, as the curtain rises for PEBA 2011 in celebration of our nation’s historic "Araw ng Kagitingan"; let us look back on the heroes of La Solidaridad - Rizal, Del Pilar, Ponce, Paterno, Jacinto, Lopez-Jaena , etc. who were the Filipinos reformists in Spain who used instead of the sword to campaign for changes in the Spanish-governed Philippine islands through essays, speeches, news articles, and other literary and journalistic forms. Their efforts ultimately led to the Philippine independence from Spain. Today, PEBA invites our bloggers to write and post topics on "Balikbayan" (Returnees), "Homecoming" and the positive "changes" and benefits it brings to their families, relatives and friends, to the community and to our country, the Philippines.


We call on our bloggers worldwide to share their stories - through essays and anecdotes, literary and journalistic forms, videos and photos on their quest for the real change that they want to be - for their own selves, for their families, communities and country on their plan homecoming or recent “balikbayan” experiences that bring positive change to the lives of their love ones. And to our non-OFW bloggers, we seek your talents to share with us your expectations and memorable experiences gained during the homecoming events of your returning family members, relatives or friends.


Like Rizal, Luna and Ninoy, 12 million OFWs have crossed borders to work, learn culture and technologies abroad in their effort to battle poverty in our courtyard; soon they will return and apply their knowledge and wealth to bring the change they want for their families, relatives, communities and country - for heroes never die, they just multiply.


This season will put a challenge to our Global Filipinos to flex its muscles to show that with the unity of its great numbers, it can be a potent force for political change, that OFWs can stop this culture of corruption, exploitation, and fraud and steer our country to greater heights by participating in a mature political exercise by participating in the Overseas Absentee Voting and joining forums and social organizations abroad that promote Filipino values and socio-economic assistance to OFWs and kababayans back home.


To the private sectors that have economically benefited on the remittances and homecoming spending of the OFW and their families; PEBA calls for your support on the advocacy programs and projects of the Government, LGUs and NGOs that promote values and welfare of the OFWs.


PEBA calls on POEA and OWWA to improve its reintegration program for returning, retiring and displaced OFWs. We ask this administration to restore an estimated 46 percent budget cut to the Department of Foreign Affairs 2012 budget and to increase funds to assist OFWs in Japan and the Middle East countries.


As the quarter storm closes, we prayed and mourned for the loss of our OFW compatriots, Sally, Ramon and Elizabeth who were executed in China. A painful lesson for every Filipinos to be careful and not to allow ourselves to be used as drug couriers.


Hundreds of OFWs are still missing in New Zealand after a devastating earthquake hit the country. In Japan, the horrifying series of earthquakes and tsunami that swept the Japanese shores where hundreds of OFWs are still unaccounted for and the continuing threat of radiation exposure remain an unending nightmare to the survivors.

JOIN NOW HERE. Philippine OFW/Expat Blog Awards 2011

My marital status in UK

Taking part in the census in UK is very important and it's also compulsory. You could face a fine if you don't participate or if you supply false information.

It is used to help plan and fund services for the community - services like transport, education and health.

Everyone should be included in the census - all people, households and overnight visitors, including me.

Upon filling-in on my Individual Questioner, I have noticed upon ticking on my Marital Status. The Question is "What is your legal marital or same-sex civil partnership status?" I was a little bit shocked because I came from a very conservative country and in my place we're only asking "What is my Marital Status?". In the Philippines, same-sex relationships are ostracized by the society and are not allowed to get married.

I don't want to give opinion on this matter because it is quite a big issue, just want to share what I have answer in the census.

So, go back to the question, I choose "Never married and never registered as same-sex civil partnership" as my Marital Status here in UK, it was too long usually in my Bio-data or CV's I just put only Single. Here are the options:

• Never married and never registered as same-sex civil partnership
• Married
• Separated, but still legally married
• Divorced
• Widowed
• In a registered same-sex civil partnership
• Separated, but still legally in a same-sex civil partnership which is now legally dissolved
• Surviving partner from a same-sex civil partnership

Facebook recently unveiled two new relationship status options for users that are creating quite the buzz. Users in the United States, Canada, France, Australia and the United Kingdom can share their “In a Civil Union” and “In a Domestic Partnership” personal relationship status with FB friends and family.

Five ways the world could end

They look at some of the most popular doomsday theories and examine whether these five natural phenomena could end the world as we know it - or whether they are just pure science fiction.

1. Meteorites and asteroids

Giant pieces of rock falling from space made exciting plots for '90s sci-fi movies like 'Armageddon' and 'Deep Impact'.

An asteroid dubbed 'Apophis', estimated to be the size of two football fields, could collide with Earth as early as 16 April 2036 if a change in gravity causes it to fall out of its orbit. While they admit it is theoretically possible for the asteroid to hit Earth, they note that the chances are remote; in fact, they put the odds at one in 233,000. If it does strike, our planet will face a continental disaster and major climate change. And if the asteroid falls into an ocean, the disaster could assume global proportions."

2. Solar storms

Powerful solar storms exactly like the ones the world has been witnessing in the last few weeks occur once every eleven years as the sun's magnetic field flips over. 'Solar Cycle 24' has been building gradually with the number of sunspots and solar storms set to reach a 'solar maximum' by 2013. Super solar flares send great geysers of hot gas and huge quantities of charged particles erupting from the surface into space. These flares of charged particles, called 'coronal mass ejections', slam into the Earth's magnetic shield impairing electrical devices in their path.

Solar flares would end the world is a little drastic. But in terms of affecting us as humans, it is very damaging to our lifestyles; it can destroy communications that we are very dependent on, like power lines and GPS satellites.

3. Pole shift

According to some modern astronomers and an ancient Mayan prophecy, on the winter solstice of 21 December 2012, Earth will be in exact alignment with the sun and the centre of the Milky Way galaxy - an extraordinary event which happens once every 25,800 years. No one knows exactly what effect this alignment will have on Earth, but the Mayans believed that the consequences of the inter-galactic occurrence would be catastrophic, prompting the world's end. It is imagined that a magnetic field effect reversal will take place, where the entire mantle of the earth would shift in a matter of days, changing the position of the North and the South Pole. Such a rapid change in the Earth's dynamics would result in earthquakes, tsunamis, global climatic change and eventually the ultimate planetary disaster, similar to the one depicted in the disaster movie '2012'.

4. Super volcano eruptions

Last year's eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland brought air travel across Northern Europe to a virtual standstill, but if one of the largest known super volcanoes was to blow, it could cause a global disaster of biblical proportions. According to volcanologists, the last super volcano to erupt was Mount Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia, 75,000 years ago.

Now international scientists speak about the possibility of a future eruption of one of the largest known prehistoric volcanoes - the Yellowstone caldera in Wyoming, which sits above a large magma chamber and is showing more signs of activity. Observers say that an eruption would result in a mega disaster coating half the US in a layer of ash up to one metre deep, killing livestock and putting thousands of human lives at risk. Scientists say that it typically erupts every 600,000 years, but the last eruption occurred 640,000 years ago, meaning the next one is long overdue.

5. Global warming

Should the Earth's average temperature continue to rise at the rate it has done over the last 50 years, the face of the Earth as we know it will change, say climatologists.

London will be as hot as Cairo with air quality so poor it would endanger human respiratory systems. The world's most populous low-lying cities like Tokyo, New York, Mumbai, Shanghai and Dhaka will be engulfed by floods after an eleven-metre rise in sea levels. Extreme weather events, like hurricanes and droughts will become more common, with climate change spreading more infectious diseases.

Tips for staying safe in the sun

Sunscreens alone are not enough to protect you from the harmful effects of the sun. You should also:

• Avoid the sun when it is most intense – between 11am – 3pm. If on holiday, this is the time to enjoy that leisurely lunch with a cold beer!
• Wear a hat, loose fitting clothing and sunglasses.
• Use a broad spectrum sunscreen, at least SPF15 for adults and SPF 30 for children with a high star rating. Apply frequently.
• Keep babies and young children out of direct sunlight – use beach tents, UV protective clothing swimsuits, parasols, hats and sunglasses

My choice of food

It’s been a while since I updated this blog – 4 weeks to be precise. That’s 4 weeks of what so far has been 3 months of working 44 hours a week, travelling 4 hours every 2 days a week going to London and sleeping 5 hours a day 'coz I'm working night shift.

For a large part of this first quarter of a year my one hour’s escape from the daily grind of commuting and working has been all too infrequent.

Hourly adventures around the City Center in Sheffield have become a few minutes’ dash to my favorite chicken sandwich shops and takeaways. And there are many – within 10 minutes’ walk from where I work, you could easily go somewhere different for lunch every day for a year.

It’s very tempting and very convenient – I think I’ve made myself one sandwich in the last 3 weeks. From Greggs to Pret, McDonald’s to Pizza Hut, Subway to small Italian cafes – I’ve had my fair share of lunch time junk food.

From that list you’ll see that my choice of food is not very adventurous – so far I haven’t been tempted by Japanese food which seems to be very popular to me at the moment.

My fun blog contest

Way back on my previous years of blogging, I always encounter Credit/ Debit Card Payment every time I'm going to purchase or pay something on the net. Unfortunately, I can’t do this because I didn’t have Cards. When Paypal comes I had now the chance to get what I want to buy online because it doesn’t need a credit checks on me. My only problem is how to get credits on my Paypal account so that I could it use online?

My new Fun Blog could help increase your Paypal credits if you win every contest I have. In this little way, you can use now your Paypal like purchasing a domain name in your blog and whatsoever you want to buy online.

This is for all my fellow Pinoy bloggers who wish to have fun and more excitement in blogging. Not to be taken seriously, what’s important is we’re united as one and proud to be a blogger.

Come and visit my new blog, it’s all about fun and excitement!

My Fun Blog