Name that Car...

Ever wondered where car companies got the name of the car they produce? Here are some facts about the name origins of some of the famous cars in the world.

NISSAN
Original name was DAT, after the first letters of the three family names that founded the car company. Businessman Yoshisuke Aikawa founded an industrial holding company in 1928 and named his new venture Nippon Sangyo..later abbreviated as Nissan.

TOYOTA
In 1926, Sakichi Toyoda founded the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, a company that made looms, not cars. How did the name get from “Toyoda” to “Toyota,” though? In 1936, the company held a competition to design a new logo, and the winner consisted of the three Japanese characters that made up the Toyoda name. However, after giving it some thought, the Toyoda family decided that the slightly tweaked “Toyota” was stronger. Writing out “Toyoda” required nine brush strokes, whereas “Toyota” only required eight, a lucky number in Japan. Plus, the name just sounded better, so Toyoda became Toyota.

HONDA

Simple, it came from its founder's last name Soichiro Honda.

MERCEDES
In 1897, Austrian entrepreneur Emil Jellinek began ordering Daimler cars that he could drive in some of Europe’s quickly growing auto races. It took a few years, but by the dawn of the 20th century, Jellinek had a number of Daimlers that he adored driving. He often raced under an assumed name when driving these cars; he took on the name of his 12-year-old daughter Mercedes.

VOLVO
The Swedish automaker’s name is Latin for “I roll,” a conjugation of the word volvere.

CADILLAC
Named for Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, the French explorer who founded Detroit in the early 18th century.

VOLKSWAGEN
German for “people’s car.”

MAZDA
The brand’s name is borrowed from the Zoroastrian religion. Ahura Mazda is the Zoroastrian “God of reason who granted wisdom and united man, nature and the other gods.”

Well (finally) Ricky Martin came out

Ricky Martin was one of those I actually idolized during the days of his reign in both Latin and American pop music genre. I can always remember his "Livin' La Vida Loca" video that I enjoy to watch way back when MTV still has MTV Hit Charts every Saturday morning. My mom really adores him that I remember she has his poster posted on their room hahaha...

The big buzz in his sexuality is not a surprise for me. Many girls might have been disappointed, (which my mom is one of them) knowing he is a hunk and all, has two twin sons which might have added to his strong points in keeping his true self. But he is quite an honest and strong guy. "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," Martin wrote in a blog posting at www.rickymartinmusic.com. n his posting on Monday, Martin said a few months ago he had decided to write a memoir and doing so brought him closer to what he called "an amazing turning point in my life." But the bottom line is, he has nothing to hide anymore. He is free to do whatever he wants since he has nothing to hide.

Make your Keyboard squeaky clean...

One of my main problems at home especially with my PC is cleaning the keyboard..we could not obviously get rid the fact that we sometimes have dirty hands, sweaty fingers while using the "most used part" of the computer. I usually sometimes eat in front of the PC while working on some important things and I just wouldn't know if small rice bits or bread crumbs are trapped beneath the keys. That would be unhygienic right? So now here are the tips and steps to clean your keyboard

1. Shut down your PC, and unplug the mouse, discs or CDs, USB drives or anything else that’s protruding from your machine.
2. Carefully turn the keyboard upside down and shake to get rid of dust and hairs (mostly the large ones).
3. Use a can of compressed air to blow off residual debris around and under all the nooks and crannies. You can also use hand-held, small vacuum cleaners/hose.
4. Get a cotton swab or simply cotton, put a couple of alcohol..only slightly damp. Do not "over" wet to prevent liquid dripping on your keyboard. Run this through the edges of your keyboard.
5. Wipe with clean cloth and keep it dry before using the keyboard =)

From Yahoo! News...

I'm a proud brother...

I am an achiever in my own league. I usually get awards, recognitions and honors way back during my education years. But I am more on the performing arts achiever rather than the leadership and academic type. I would like to credit the latter to my bro, Rey, who had amazingly awe me with his leadership and management skills both in school..and at home (question mark? he always sits in front of the computer..peace!) One of the things he had achieved which I thought would be cool if I also had that one during my college years was The Ayala Young Leaders Congress, a yearly recognition of the best students in the country. And he is one of the named few =) I knew some people, some friends who are also part of this congress before (to name a few Jesse Andal, Jeremiah Tiu), but nothing is more amazing when your brother is one of the chosen best of the best.

This is the tarp found outside University of St. La Salle Bacolod..he's the first guy in the group..sorry Rey for not asking permission to grab this one hehehe..i'm proud of you! Better not yell at me for this one hehehe

My Poster Making contest entry..that actually won! Yehey!

Our management had a little gimmick to have their agents have a contest in creating a very good poster to welcome the new account. this was done using Photoshop Elements 9.0 and a little help from Photoshop CS4. I never did actually expected this to win. After learning some skills with this softwares, I was able to create one while we are having our training class (shhh..i'm not listening during class hehehe). I passed this and unexpectedly made it to the top 3 among 12 posters. and I won myself spill proof mug from the account.. weee

JE Mystery

My first edited pic experimenting on Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0 =) Woohoo!

SPOTLIGHT: St. Patrick's Day

If this has been celebrated here in the Philippines, this would be something I must see..Everything is GREEN, which is obviously my favorite color. It's celebrated today March 17 (of every year). But to those unfamiliar with this Catholic celebration, we all have the same question..What is St. Patrick' Day all about?


Who is St. Patrick?
St. Patrick's Day is named after St. Patrick, the most commonly recognized among the patron saints of Ireland. He was born in Roman Britain back in 387AD into a wealthy Romano-British family. At the age of 13, he was kidnapped and taken captive in Ireland as a slave. He was told by God in a dream to flee captivity to the coast. He boarded a ship to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a priest. So basically, he became the fore-bearer of Irish Christianity.

What's with the color Green and the Shamrock?
The original color associated with St. Patrick is blue. However, since 17th century, they associated the celebration with the color green because of the shamrock. The shamrock is a symbol of Ireland. It is a three-leafed old white clover. St. Patrick is said to have used the three leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish. So having a shamrock on one's clothing or wearing green outfits during the day commemorates St. Patrick's Day.


Where and how it's celebrated?
It is celebrated in several countries other than Ireland such as United States, Argentina, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Montserrat, Canada and even in South Korea. All have parades in common. Argentina has street parties and beer party (only beer is allowed). Wearing green clothing or something green on one's attire is also a tradition. In the US, the Chicago River is dyed green every year for the celebration. In the northeastern US, they plant peas in St. Patrick's day.

Here's a picture of the green-dyed Chicago River

My "Pikachu Colored" Pichu from WiFi Event

This is the first worldwide WiFi Event Pokemon I got for my Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. I got this last March 7 while enjoying free WiFi connection and a regular size Choco Frappe @ Cafe Bob's in SM City. I got pictures of it but unfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo of its Wonder Card.

This Pichu has an alternative color (normal Pichu is yellow, this one is orange-golden yellow..and it sparkles everytime it comes out of its Pokeball). It is on Level 30 with a Everstone hold item, which prevents it from evolving. It's captured using a Cherish Ball (a rare Pokeball used for special occasion, in this situation, it contains an event Pokemon) and has a Classic ribbon (ribbon for event Pokemon, which prevents it from being traded to other trainers, defined as a ribbon that proclaims love to a Pokemon) attached with it. It also has Pikachu's signature move, Volt Tackle.

Also shown here is my Trainer Card in Pearl Version. yes it's still blue..the lowest rank..since I don't have much access with WiFi events for getting higher cards for the game..maybe soon.

As a Pokemon fanatic, I'm disappointed I'm not in Japan

Every time I read news about recent and future releases for Pokemon games, it is quite frustrating that we players in out-of-region countries (countries other than Japan, UK and USA) won't usually get the best event Pokemon or items released by Nintendo for Wi-Fi.

As a Pokemon gamer, I'm more of a Shiny Hunter and Item Collector. Shiny Hunter is the term used for people who search alternatively colored Pokemon or simply "shiny" Pokemon. Item collector is of course understandable. Now there are some Pokemon that are only available through Wi-Fi connection and Japan will always be the one to get it first. It might become a worldwide Wi-Fi event but most of the time it does not occur. I remember the "Birthday Pikachu" event as well as the "Shiny Milotic" event which never made it to a worldwide Wi-Fi event. Luckily I was able to grab the "Pikachu-colored Pichu" event lately for each of my Diamond Pearl and Platinum Versions. It's a shiny Pichu =) I'll be creating a separate blog for this.

Now Japan (geez..them again) will have a new Pokemon event relative to the thirteenth installment of the Pokemon movie, Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark. And again as a Shiny Hunter, it is really a big big frustration..here's the reason why? This is the first time a Shiny Event Pokemon for a movie installment will be given to those who pre-ordered tickets for the 13th film, and not just any Pokemon but 3 of the legendary Pokemon for the Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver Versions. But still crossing my fingers this will became a worldwide Wi-Fi event in the future.


Shiny Raikou, Entei and Suicune is not just your ordinary legendary Pokemon. These Pokemon will have attacks that they don't normally obtain or being learned by TM, leveling up, breeding or move tutor. These are Electromagnetic Cannon, Flash Drive and Absolute Zero, respectively. These will be available for download from June 18 to August 31, 2010. these will be available in selected stores in Japan including the Pokemon Center.

Biggest Loser Asia reached finale, Pinoy won runner up title

If you can remember last month I wrote a blog about Carlo Miguel, the remaining Pinoy and Red Team of Hallmark's reality show, The Biggest Loser Asia. Now today I just saw the finale in Hallmark, but unfortunately wasn't able to finish the show due to work. I first saw the eliminated contestants and what a great transformation they have.

I just read from Yahoo! Philippines that the winner was Indonesian David Gurnani or "King David" as his colleagues call him. It's a bit sad that Carlo Miguel only landed 2nd best but then he is quite happy of his transformation. See the photos below and let this be an inspiration to those who wants to lose weight =) These are the 3 biggest losers of the said show.

Winner: David Gurnani, 25 yrs old, Salesman, Indonesia


1st Runner Up: Carlo Miguel, 30 yrs old, Chef, Philippines


2nd Runner Up: Aaron Mokhtar, 30 yrs old, Malaysia

Forseeing a hectic week

Today marks the 6th day of my product training for a new account at work. Clue: (since I can't disclose the product itself, i guess) Graphic design, music, multimedia and downloads ^_^

There are many things that happened and will still happen this week. Watched Alice in Wonderland yesterday with my girlfriend. I really find Johnny Deep and Helena Carter's acting superb. Last night was the last night of Ryo, the Japanese exchange student we adopted for 4 days. My brother once went to Japan to be an exchange student too and as a return favor, we became a foster family for Ryo. 4 days more to go before the English version for Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver release. Vince already messaged me via e-mail that HMV store in London already are accepting reservations for the game. And still thinking how to send the money to him in London to buy the stuff. Vinson, the head of Team Rave for Dance Dance Revolution here in Bacolod also messaged me up in Facebook about organizing a DDR tourney for next month. He assigned me as committee head for the Freestyle competition and we will be having a meeting this coming Sunday at 888 Mall. Next week my dad will be going back to Saudi Arabia for work. It's going to be a very busy week. Prior to all of that, I still have my training until Saturday night.

Its already 3.35AM and I'm already sleepy. Still 2 hours and 25 minutes before going home and sleep on my comfy bed.

Where art thou the Power Rangers?

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is my fave kid show prior to Pokemon. I remember it being aired every Friday 7:30Pm on ABS-CBN way back during my elementary years.

Ever wondered what happened to your all time favorite Power Rangers? Where have they gone to? What were their careers and life after being the defenders of Angel Groove and Earth against Rita Repulza? I personally chose the first and second batch of the Power Rangers because nothing beats the original. After them, i find PR already boring to watch.

Here's the list, before and now pics..look at the major differences.

Jason Lee Scott
(Played by Austin St. John)
Less is known about him after the Power Rangers. He wrote a book about karate guide (Karate Warrior: A Beginner's Guide to Martial Arts) and appeared as an investigator in Footsteps in 2003.

Zack Taylor
(Played by Walter Emanuel Jones)
He appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayers episode "Fear Itself" in Season 4. he also had small roles with Disney and Nickelodeon movies.

Trini Kwan
(Played by Thuy Trang)
RIP to her. She died way back 2001 with a car accident.

Kimberly Hart
(Played by Amy Jo Johnson)
She now has a lead role, as Jules Callaghan, in the CTV police dram series Flashpoint.

Billy Carnston
(Played by David Yost)
He currently works as a movie and TV producer in UK.

Rocky DeSantos
(Played by Steve Cardenas)
He now focuses on his karate school in Southern Carolina.

Adam Park
(Played by Johnny Yong Bosch)
He became a voice actor for some of the most famous Japanese anime characters for English dub..to point out Vash the Stampede of Trigun, Ichigo Kurosaki of BLEACH, and alsofor Nero in Devil May Cry 4 for PS3. He is also a part of Eyeshine, where he is the vocalist and guitarist at the same time. I think he is one of those who became successful after the Power Rangers franchise.

Aisha Campbell
(Played by Karan Ashley)
She became an executive producer, alongside Bosch, in an independent film Devon's Ghost in 2003. After that, never heard of her.

Katherine Hillard
(Played by Catherine Sutherland)
She appeared in the movie The Cell way back 2000 and America's Most Wanted, as the wife of the murdered victim, in 2004. She also made some voice dub for Power Rangers's later seasons for villains.

Tommy Oliver
(Played by Jason David Frank)
He opted to join Mixed Martial Arts and signed a contract with SuckerPunch Entertainment. As of 2007, he has a sixth degree black belt title, and owns 4 karate schools.

A Wild MICHAEL JACKSON appeared!

With due respect to this great artist, this video has been made by the creator way back 2008. Found this in Youtube as one of the links for recommended videos for me. What will happen if the King of Pop invades the world of Pokemon? Well see..

Some things are better done at home...

I wonder if La Salle will have the guts to post this on their shower rooms?

Adding a new spice to old-time fave toys

Ever wondered what good gifts you could give your preschool kids or even those who are kids @ heart? If you are a toy collector, you might as well take a look at these amazing toys..but they are still available in the US. They are part of the recent Toy Fair 2010. I was reading this in Yahoo! [this is becoming one of the sites I routinely check for news bits on the web].

Here are some of the cool toys, in my opinion:

iXL - looks like an iPhone for the pre-schoolers

Lego Board Games - (often considered "bored" games). You need to construct the board itself before playing using Lego blocks. It comes in 8 different board games. Oh I miss my Lego set when I was a child.

Dance Star Mickey - talks and can groove to five different song styles including soul, disco, techno and a Latin beat. In tribute to Michael Jackson, the famous mouse also learned how to 'moon-walk'.

Some of the toys featured also are Sing-a-ma-jigs, Hexbug creatures, Bigfoot the Monster, and Rubix slide.

Spotlight: Pikachu

I decided to feature some of the things, people and anime characters that I like so that I can spice up my blog page..not only for kids but also for some who are kids at heart. this is called "Spotlight" because it focuses on the featured topic. So a better way to start off is..my favorite cartoon character =)

PIKACHU (ピカチュウ)

The official Mascot of the Pokémon franchise. It is an Electric-type Pokemon which is named after a portmanteau of the Japanese words "pikapika", an onomatopoeia for electric sparkling, and "chū," which is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a mouse's squeak. It is one of the first 151 Pokémon that appeared way back in 1996. The design and art direction for Pikachu were provided by Ken Sugimori, a friend of the creator of the Pocket Monsters game, Satoshi Tajiri.

Pikachu's pre-evolution stage is Pichu by breeding and evolves into Raichu by a use of a thunderstone. Exclusive to Pikachu is the ability to release electric discharges of varying intensity, at will, through electric sacs in its cheeks.

Common and Interesting Facts

** It uses its tail as grounding rod, to safely remove unneeded electric energy
** Female Pikachu has a small dent on its tail, which is a heart shape
** Through an inability to release a buildup of electricity, a Pikachu may develop a rare condition similar to the human flu.
** If a Pikachu is introduced to a magnet, it will be attracted towards its cheeks, and display other common attributes of magnetism.
** Pikachu can be harmful pests, eating and sometimes destroying telephone poles, wires, and other electronic equipment.
** Despite this, it is a popular pet, and relatively easy to maintain, with little exercise necessary for its well being.
** In the wild, Pikachu often travel in packs, and are rarely territorial.
** Living in wooded areas, Pikachu often are found foraging for berries. Alternatively, like most Pokémon, Pikachu are tolerant to most "human" foods, and sometimes enjoy them more than the more nutritional food designed for their biology.
** Pikachu's normal heart rate is 156.
** Common color for a Pikachu is yellow while the altenate form/color or shiny form of Pikachu is golden yellow.
** It's the first electric type Pokémon in the National Pokédex order, number 25 on the list.

Trivia

** In 2008, Japanese researchers discovered a new protein which helps carry electrical impulses from the eyes to the brain and named it Pikachurin. They based themselves on Pikachu for the choice of the name because they noticed that both Pikachu and the protein have amazing speed and agility.
** In The Simpsons episode 294, Bart begins to hallucinate from watching too much TV. During his hallucination, he is lifted up and serenaded with Hava Nagila by several television characters he had seen while watching. One of them was Pikachu.
** In the third season of Heroes, Hiro Nakamura is nicknamed "Pikachu" by Daphne Millbrook.
** There is a Toyota Ist customised to resemble Pikachu.
** Pikachu was ranked as the second best person of the year by Time in 1999, who called it "the most beloved animated character since Hello Kitty". Addtional info: Pikachu is behind Ricky Martin and ahead of J.K. Rowling on the ranking (WTF! Ricky Martin?)
** In 2002, Ash's Pikachu received fifteenth place in TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time.
**The character has been regarded as the Japanese answer to Mickey Mouse and as being part of a movement of "cute capitalism"

References: Wikipedia and Bulbapedia site (direct links to Pikachu articles)

My ENNEAGRAM results

This personality test tool is not new to me. I've been taking this for quite sometime to know if there are any changes in my personality. Well, up to this point there's none. I have always been a number 7 or the Enthusiast. Last night while on training for a new account at work, our trainer Kevin provided us with this very first activity. So we answered it and I wasn't surprised with my results. It has always been constantly hitting the number 7 spot and also the number 2 or the Helper personality. Here are my results and the personality values of each number.

Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Type 4	Type 5	Type 6	Type 7	Type 8	Type 9
1	6	2	4	4	5	7	5	2

Type 1: The Reformer - the idealistic type. wise, discerning, realistic, and noble. Can be morally heroic.
Type 2: The Helper - the caring, interpersonal type. unselfish and altruistic, they have unconditional love for others.
Type 3: The Achiever - The adaptable, success-oriented type. self-accepting, authentic, everything they seem to be—role models who inspire others.
Type 4: The Individualist - introspective, romantic type. inspired and highly creative, they are able to renew themselves and transform their experiences
Type 5: The Investigator - The perceptive, cerebral type. visionary pioneers, often ahead of their time, and able to see the world in an entirely new way.
Type 6: The Loyalist - The committed, security-oriented type. internally stable and self-reliant, courageously championing themselves and others.
Type 7: The ENTHUSIAST - The busy, productive type. they focus their talents on worthwhile goals, becoming appreciative, joyous, and satisfied.
Type 8: The Challenger - The powerful, aggressive type. self-mastering, they use their strength to improve others' lives, becoming heroic, magnanimous, and inspiring.
Type 9: The Peacemaker - The easy-going, self-effacing type. indomitable and all- embracing, they are able to bring people together and heal conflicts.

Sevens are enthusiastic about almost everything that catches their attention. They approach life with curiosity, optimism, and a sense of adventure. Although Sevens are in the Thinking Center, this is not immediately apparent because they tend to be extremely practical and engaged in a multitude of projects at any given time. Their thinking is anticipatory: they foresee events and generate ideas “on the fly,” favoring activities that stimulate their minds—which in turn generate more things to do and think about. Sevens are not necessarily intellectual or studious by any standard definition, although they are often intelligent and can be widely read and highly verbal. Their minds move rapidly from one idea to the next, making Sevens gifted at brainstorming and synthesizing information.

In short, with this personality check..I am a happy-go-lucky person as a Seven and a comforter to those in need as a Two. =)

If you want to take the test to check your results, go to
www.enneagraminstitute.com

LA-SAG-NA..lol ;D

How would I miss it?...Let me count the ways

Today marks the last day of my first ever technical account at work. Being a technical support rep for the said account for a more than a year and a half surely is a great experience. Why the big deal? Well it's me who's missing it not you. Hahaha let me count the ways:

I would surely miss the following: (in no particular order of importance)

1. The very long opening spiel in the history of all call center accounts..first time agents might lose their breath. Average (that means normal pace) time of delivery more than 8 seconds.
2. My agent ID, which sounds like a model number for a 2Wire modem.
3. Being a part of the TITANS, haha I'm proud to be one..even with less benefits.
4. My notepad sequence for my call notes (and i'm sure everyone has their own)
5. The 'fast' (sarcasm) and 'speedy' (even more sarcasm) see are ehem....
6. My reliable source, eeee ip es es.
7. Looking at the agent rankings everytime I enter the production floor
8. Downloading Mcafee (yey long call hahaha)
9. Arguing with other departments especially our beloved HN
10. Team Phoenix and Team Enchantress
11. Mr. Dawn and Mr. Isaac
12. The rallies and awardings, candies if you get a 100% QA score or survey hahaha
13. Shouting all the curses while end user on mute
14. The ever-excited (I'm very sarcastic haha) IVR system girl "Due to the popularity of ___ products, we are experiencing high call volumes"
15. The memorized transfer codes
16. Empathy and assurance
17. The bonuses..huhuhu hope the new account has one too
18. The extended lunches
19. And of course the irates, the moody, the old, the young, the flirt, the pervert, the excited, the "techy"daw, the know it all, the actors and actresses (crying over the call), the prank callers, whatever you call them, they all have the same denominator, the CUSTOMER.

There might be some more I forgot to take down but definitely I would miss almost everything, what we had before as a big team. Well, past is past..let's move forward unto the future. Now done with INTERNET support, lets get ready to DOWNLOAD...