Archive for the ‘D’s Attic’ Category

When you gotta go, you’ve gotta go!

Tuesday, August 29th, 2006

Here’s a desperate polo-barong-clad Manong I caught on cam while urinating in the middle of traffic on Quezon Avenue. xp. I guess he forgot to bring a jingle bag.

Set up your own website without spending - Part 2

Sunday, July 16th, 2006

I know! I know! I’m supposed to publish this last week (or two weeks ago?). It’s because of the storm. Okay maybe not. Don’t worry this is going to be short.

So, you already have your template. The next thing that you should sign up for is a web host. There are a lot of free web hosts over the internet but I will only list those that I have already tried and really liked:

  • www.geocities.com – If you have a yahoo account, you can use the same account to upload your site on geocities.
  • www.1asphost.com- If you’re using asp, you can upload your site here. It also accepts .htm or .html extensions. There is an ad at the bottom though and it doesn’t allow flash.
  • www.5000megs.com – This site offers 5GB of disk space and 10GB of bandwidth. What’s great about this is that it doesn’t have any ads on your pages.
  • www.AddYour.net – I love this site because it doesn’t have any ads, it offers unlimited disk space, free blogs, discussion boards, e-commerce tool, guestbook, image galleries, templates and other tools you can use for your site. It also allows flash and asp files.

Once you have already uploaded your files, you can now get a domain name. There are also a lot of free URL redirection sites but my favorite is www.co.nr. The reason behind this is because they do not place any ads on your website. You wouldn’t want a service that puts too much advertisement on your site, not unless you’re earning from those ads. The only catch here is that you have to put a tiny image on your index/default page.

That’s it! Now what can you do with this information? You can do freelance. Look for small businesses who want to have their own site. The rate for each web page ranges from Php150 - Php500 but it is better if you do it by package. An example would be to offer Php1000 for a 4 page site, complete with domain name and web hosting.

Good luck on your site okay?

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Whoever told you that the acronym for GOLF is “Gents Only, Ladies Forbidden” is absolutely misinformed. It came from a medieval Dutch word “kolf” or “kolve” meaning “club.” The word evolved to “golf” during the 16th century.

Set up your own website without spending - Part 1

Tuesday, June 27th, 2006

Ever wonder how you create your own website without spending a single centavo? I do that all the time! I’m going to break this down into 2 or 3 parts or EJ might kill me for writing a very long article. (^_^)

Anyway, some of you may have products that you want to sell, or create your own blog. For those of you who are into web design, publishing a simple website or “site” should be easy enough for you already. However, for those who don’t know jack about designing a site, this can prove a bit difficult - at least at first. Good news for the latter group because there are a lot of “FREE” templates available on the internet! You can use and edit them to suit your taste. All you have to do is search Google or Yahoo! for “free templates” that will suit your needs and wants. Here are some sites that offer free templates:

1. http://www.Wordpress.com – you have to install this one on your webhost.
2. http://freesitetemplates.com/templates/browse/speed-demons/
3. http://www.4layouts.com/template.php
4. http://www.steves-templates.com/templates.html
5. http://www.templatesbox.com/templates.htm

I personally like No. 1 which is great for blogs. This site is actually using Wordpress, but with a growing list of customizations by EJ and Gato-Chrome to spice up the look. *wink* What’s different with Wordpress is that you have to install it on your webhost to use it.

“What???!! What the hell is a webhost and how do I install it???”

Ok, don’t panic. I’m gonna tell you how to do this in my next post. So, going back to the templates, another personal favorite is the fifth site. You’ll see what I mean if you compare all the other free templates.

“Okay, I now have a template. So what do I do with this?”

Use editing software like Macromedia Dreamweaver or Microsoft Frontpage 2003 and Adobe Photoshop. Most of the free templates that you download will come with a folder called “psd.” This is a file made using Adobe Photoshop. You will need these if you want to change the pictures or the text on the template. If you don’t have these programs, use their free 30-day trial versions. You can probably get these from www.download.com or www.9down.com. For Adobe Photoshop, I would suggest you use version 7 rather than CS2 because the former doesn’t use up as much memory as the latter. If you can’t find version 7 anywhere on the internet, don’t worry, I have a copy of it. HarharHar. I downloaded it before they removed the link on Adobe’s official site so just leave a comment and we can figure out how I can give you a copy, alright?

If you don’t know how to use these programs, don’t be afraid to play around with them. You’ll never get anything done if you’re scared to try things out. The idea is to make sure you have the original file safely stored on a separate folder. This way, even if you totally mess up the psd file, at least you can always revert to the original file. Here’s how to save the psd file in Adobe Photoshop:

1. Create a folder where you want to store your edited templates.
2. Click Save As and save it in the folder that you created. Use whatever name you like.
3. Next click on Save for Web. This will automatically create a folder called “images” and an index.html page. I would also suggest saving the images as jpeg rather than gif because jpeg is smaller in file size than gif.

Since this has gotten a bit long already, watch out for my next post around next week. Promise! (^_^)

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Did you know that there’s no such thing as “softwares?” The plural and singular form of the word are the same [a mass noun] so be careful when you are in a job interview - never say “saftwares” or that’s already a “buzz!” or point against you.

I’m back

Thursday, June 1st, 2006

I don’t want this to be my first post but I just couldn’t help it. I know I already posted this on the forum but I just can’t stop ranting about it. Anyway, two years ago I set up an online store which sells stuff for women. The idea is to have a sort of tiangge online. It also featured “cyberstall,” a term my sister and I coined for people who wanted to have their own website but doesn’t know how. What we did is to help them set up their sites, help them have their own URL and they pay us monthly for the space they are occupying. I made this last 2003 if I am not mistaken.

I did a lot of advertising for that site. Newspapers, forums (PEX, GT, St Berlin, Bembang, Mukamo etc. etc.), e-groups, text brigade and believe it or not, even flyers. It became well known probably because I sold my products cheap. There were times when I’d go to a building in Ayala with a gym bag full of goodies (and I have my mom driver to thank for it). There were even some who’d go to the extent of reserving their conference room for me. Most of my customers are from Ayala, Alabang and Las Pinas. It was fun. There came a time when I was already getting orders from Singapore, India, Saudi and France. I don’t know how they learned about the site though. And then of course I enrolled my thesis and that’s when I decided to stop that site for a while with the intent of rebuilding it once I have the time. My customers knew about this so, the business never really ended.

Two weeks ago, I decided to buy the domain name again. Unfortunately while I was trying to buy it, I got this horrible message that someone took it already. I typed the URL and lo and behold!!! There it was! My old domain name! The name that I put so much work into! The name that was associated with my name for 3 years already! And do you know what else? They are also doing the “cyberstall” thing. It was bad and I was so heartbroken. You might think I’m overreacting but what would you feel when you put so much effort doing something, and you see someone else is taking the credit?

I will wrench his head from his shoulders - I will smite him where he stands - HE WILL RUE THE VERY DAY HE STOLE MY KINGDOM AWAY FROM ME! - Prince Charming

Ok I didn’t do the first two sentences but I was thinking about it. I wrote that site’s owner a letter and here is their reply:

Hi!

We were surprised receiving your email. First of all, We didn’t think that
www.*********.com was being used because it was available when we registered
it last March 2006

We understand your frustration but we have, and is still spending a lot of
our resources building and launching the site. On top of that, we already
have pending clients waiting for the site to be launched.

Had we known that someone is already using it, We wouldn’t have bought it
and instead, would have a different name.

We hope you understand.

Sincerely,

*********.com ( To add insult to injury, they even signed their letter with the url…b@stards!)

What they didn’t answer was when I asked them why they are doing the same service.

Anyway, I decided that this is not the end of the world and wasapers is right, “If you build it, they will come.” What did I do? I built another site. And I’m on my way to building another for my yuppie dad. I’m building a lot actually. I guess what’s important is that I did not wallow in my own private hell and sulk. [Okay yeah I wallowed for a little but that’s healthy, you know?] Stealing my idea, and using *********’s name won’t stop me from doing what I like. I’m back…with a vengeance!! Bwahahahaha!!

I’m not going to mention the sites name anymore because I’m not that stupid.

Ok enough of this drama, watch out for my next post alright?