Gene Loves Jezebel Live In Manila Concert Tickets?

Come and get, come and get it, come and get it...

I remember in the late 80s, my kuya bought two tickets of Gene Loves Jezebel concert in Manila. Sdaly, the concert didn't push through for some reason and the tickets were never refunded for we had no time to to do so. We used to have tapes of their albums including Twenty Killer Hurts.

It's just lately that a friend of mine emailed me an invite and sample concert poster to the Gene Loves Jezebel concert next month that got me excited.

Details below:

Club 80s Flashback Tour
A Concert Dance Party

featuring songs: Desire (Come and Get It), Heartache, Jealous, Twenty Killer Hurts, Kiss of Life, Suspicion, Motion of Love, Upstairs, Gorgeous,



Gene Loves Jezebel has already toured Mexico, Brazil, Peru, France, Canada, and the UK and now coming to the Philippines particularly Clark, Pasig City and Makati with the concert venues and schedules below:

Hotel Sotsenberg, Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga
November 14, 2008 (Friday) @ 9 PM

Alchemy, Silver City Mall, Pasig
November 15, 2008 (Saturday) @ 9 PM
(this is near Metrowalk and Tiendesitas)


Hard Rock Café, Makati (Glorietta, Ayala Center)
Date: November 17 (Monday) @ 9PM

Where to buy Tickets?

call Ticketnet at 911.555. Ticket prices don't come cheap at P1,500.00 at free seating.
Pass...

Pay SSS Contributions Online for OFWs, Self-employed, Voluntary et al

Ever wanted to remit your monthly SSS contributions without going to an SSS branch or bank nearest you? You can now do this online via BancNet, if you happen to have an account with the following banks:

Allied Bank, Asie United Bank (AUB), Chinabank, Chinatrust, Citibank, Citystate Savings Bank, Eastwestbank, ExportBank, Metrobank, Postal Bank, PSBank, RCBC, RCBC Savings Bank, Security Bank, Standard Chartered, Sterling Bank of Asia

To pay your monthly SSS Remittance, just follow these steps:

1. Open your browser and go to Bancnet Online Website
2. Select your bank (a new window will pop up)
3. Click I Agree (If you've already read the terms and conditions)
4. Click Payment on the left navigation pane
5. On the Biller/Institution dropdown menu, select your category from the list:

SSS Farmers and Fishermen
SSS Contribution - OFW
SSS Contribution - Self-Employed
SSS Contribution - Voluntary
SSS Non-Working Spouse

6. Enter your SSS Number (follow this format: SSS Number + month and year of payment period e.g. XXXXXXXXXXmmyyyy), ATM Card Number and Amount to be paid on their respective fields, select your Account type (Savings or Checking Account)

7. Key in your ATM Pin (or mPIN, depending on your bank) using the onscreen keypad (note the use of scrambled numbers there)

8. Hit the Submit button.

9. You may print or capture a screenshot of the resulting transaction receipt for record-keeping and reference.

Note:

this is a free transaction. Not all banks have online banking facility simply because they need an eBanking license from the BSP. No transaction fees required, no hassles, waiting time and long queues at the bank. :P

How to Identify Made In China Products from the Barcode

There's an email circulating in the Internet on how to identify products made in China using information "hidden" in the barcode. The email claims all barcodes with the first three digits 690, 691, and 692 are all made in China.

Is the email a hoax? No
Is is true? Partly, yes!

According to GS1, the authority behind the "UPC" stands for Universal Product Code, the barcodes only indicate the country who issued the code and NOT THE ORIGIN OF THE PRODUCT.

Second, Made in China Products use barcodes with the first three digits of 690 to 695.

the authoritative list can be found here

a made in Taiwan code (picture source: unknown)

Other barcodes can be identified e.g.

000-019, 030-039, 060-069 Made in USA
300 - 379 Made in France
480 Made in Philippines
690 - 695 Made in China
471 Made in Taiwan
450 - 459 & 490 - 499 Made in Japan
880 Made in South Korea
884 Made in Cambodia
885 Made in Thailand
888 Made in Singapore
890 Made in India
893 Made in Vietnam
899 Made in Indonesia
955 Made in Malaysia
958 Made in Macau


I would like to reiterate that the barcodes indicate the issuer of the code to the product but not the actual origin. A certain product can have A "Made in the Philippines" barcode and label but some parts, or all of it, were made in China.

Another problem, similar to the current melamine scare in milk products, is the use of raw materials, that came from China or elsewhere. For example, a certain chocolate drink may use dairy products imported from China but the information is not mentioned in the product information.

Lastly, there are also unscrupulous persons who import banned items from China at a low price, repacks it and issues a barcode issued in the Philippines. Dangerous indeed!

I expect this page to be filtered by Big Brother China one of these days!

Starbucks: Coffee Shop Risks and Information Security

Do you have an idea where potential information disclosure is possible? It's not hacking through servers of installing bugging devices in offices or meeting places. It's actually a place popping out of almost every street and buildings in Makati, Ortigas, Fort Bonifacio Global City and other places where yuppies and oldies are present: Starbuck!

Ever notice people dressed in office attire, with laptops and other mobile devices, conducting meetings in Starbucks? The meet up up with officemates and clients and presentations and product pitches. Some of them even discuss confidential items in a public place endangering trade secrets, marketing plans and other information that should only be divulged in the hallowed and secure halls of meeting rooms in their own offices.

Some establishments offering free wifi Internet is also inviting for hackers and eavesdroppers looking for vulnerable and unsuspecting coffee drinkers with laptops unaware of the danger lurking. Bluetooth devices left open is another. There are also risks of connecting to rogue wifi hotspots set up by miscreants to lure people to connect to them and eavesdrop on the connection. Dangerous indeed!

There is also the risk of some outlets to robbery/holdups where robbers target moneyed patrons with laptops and cellphones. This is particularly risky for those on street frontage where the robbers can come and get away on motorcycles for easy escape.

This is not limited to Starbucks, btw, there's also UCC, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Mocha Blends, Figaro and other coffee shops.

I only see coffee in those places as overhyped and overpriced coffee that became some sort of status symbols to some pretentious souls out there :(