Boxing Loss

I just watched a replay of the Dela Hoya-Sturm middleweight championship match via Solar Sports. Sturm played a very scientific boxing; his guard always up and accurate jabs almost landing everytime. Honestly, at the end of the 12th round I thought he won (I have never read about the result of this bout prior to this replay). However, he was no match to Dela Hoya's deadly combination and aggressiveness.

It's also unfortunate that two Filipino boxers suffered the same fate albeit worse. Former world champion Luisito Espinosa, fighting to feed his family, suffered a third round knockout to a younger Cristobal Cruz. At 37, he ought to retire; his former collegues thought so too.

Sharing the same fate is Manny's younger brother Bobby Pacquiao. The same Thai boxer, who Manny floored in the first round during one of his title defenses, took revenge on the younger Pacquiao and stopped the fight in the ninth round with solid body punches. It didn't help that Manny called his brother the day before the bout and gave instructions on his younger brother. Well, it's probably the boxer's conditioning; if he only had his brother's dedication to training, together with the lightning reflexes and punching power, he might as well be the next Pacquiao superstar. Well, probably next time. Last I've read, the Thai boxer is seeking to have a rematch with the older Pacquiao, the reigning Ring Magazine People's Champion. Too bad for him though, he needs to fall in line behind Barrera, JMM, and most probably Morales after the March 19 bout.

-Allan

[NBA] Trade Tracker

With the Feb. 24 NBA trade deadline fast approaching, it's time to analyze
the dozen players most likely to be packing their bags for the season's
stretch run.

Antoine Walker
Possible suitors: Sixers, Celtics, Pacers
Contract status: final year, $14.6 million
He's a big-time scorer who might help push a team over the top, and he's in
the last year of his contract. The Hawks say they're not necessarily looking
to trade him, but they're going nowhere this season and might decide to make
a move now if they get the right combination of young players and draft
picks. And would they really mind losing a few more games if it improves
their draft standing?

Latrell Sprewell
Possible suitors: Heat, Sixers
Contract status: final year, $14.6 million
The 34-year-old swingman hasn't played all that poorly, but his grumbling
over his contract has been a season-long headache and the T'wolves need to
do something to shake up the team's chemistry. In the last year of his
contract, he could be a tempting short-term piece for a team seeking a
scorer/defender with Finals experience.

Glenn Robinson
Possible suitors: T'wolves, Hawks, Bucks
Contract status: final year, $12.1 million
He hasn't played all season, ostensibly because of ankle problems, but a
team might take him just to clear his salary off the books at the end of the
season. His name has been mentioned in deals with the Hawks (for Walker),
T'wolves (for Sprewell) and Bucks (for Keith Van Horn), but Philadelphia
seems unwilling to give up any of its young players as part of the deal.

Michael Redd
Possible suitors: Nuggets, Cavs
Contract status: final year, $3.0 million
He can opt out of his contract after this season and become a free agent,
and there is speculation the Ohio native has his eyes on the Cavs. If
Milwaukee feels Redd already has made up his mind, it might decide to trade
him now rather than risk losing him for nothing. One reported deal had the
Nuggets offering Nenê in a package for Redd.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Possible suitors: T'wolves, Raptors, Sixers
Contract status: final year, $14.6 million
He's currently out after having undergone elbow surgery, but should be back
soon. At age 28, he is entering his prime. He could help a team seeking to
get over the top this season or be part of a sign-and-trade this summer. The
Blazers love his character, but they already have invested in Zach Randolph
and Darius Miles.

Gary Payton
Possible Suitors: Mavs, T'wolves, Kings, Nuggets
Contract status: final year, $5.4 million
After originally not wanting to play in Boston, he changed his mind and has
become a key contributor for Doc Rivers. Still, the Celtics are in a youth
movement and need to get more playing time for Marcus Banks. Payton wouldn't
mind going to a Western Conference contender, and his contract makes him a
relatively low-risk venture.

Donyell Marshall
Possible suitors: Knicks, Heat, Spurs, Pacers
Contract status: final year, $5.0 million
In some ways he's the hottest commodity on the market, since he's a
versatile big man who can defend inside and shoot from downtown. Meanwhile,
his contract is palatable to just about any team. But the Raptors reportedly
want Jalen Rose included as part of a package deal, and that is a
deal-breaker for many teams.

Jalen Rose
Possible suitors: Heat, T'wolves, Knicks, Pacers
Contract status: two more years (2007), $32.6 million
Despite being benched for stretches this season, he has emerged again of
late as a key weapon for the Raptors. Like Walker, he's a proven scorer who
could help a team get over the top if he were in the right frame of mind.
Unfortunately, his whopper contract makes him too big a risk.

Eddie Jones
Possible suitors: T'wolves, Raptors
Contract status: two more years (2007), $30.6 million
The veteran swingman has been searching for his shot all season, and he and
Shaq reportedly have had differences since their Lakers days. The Heat would
probably trade him for a better shooter, but Jones' contract runs two more
years. One rumor had him going to the Raptors for Marshall and Rose, but it
would require several other players to match up salaries, and Miami
reportedly is unwilling to give up Dorell Wright.

Damon Stoudamire
Possible suitors: Hawks, Raptors
Contract status: final year, $12.5 million
The little lefty has been on fire the past month or so, but the Blazers
could decide to go in rebuilding mode and clear more playing time for
Sebastian Telfair. However, Stoudamire's size makes him a poor fit for many
teams (like the Sixers) so it's difficult to imagine Portland getting equal
value for him right now.

Ron Artest
Possible suitors: Hawks, Kings
Contract status: four years (2009), $29.1 million
The Pacers say they're not looking to trade him, but he can't help them this
season unless NBA Commissioner David Stern lifts his postseason ban. If they
could get a Peja Stojakovic or Walker, as some have speculated, they would
have to consider it. But would any team take a chance that Artest will get
his head straight and be ready to go next season?

Dale Davis
Possible suitors: Hawks, Raptors, Celtics, Sixers
Contract status: final year, $10.1 million
After being stuck on the bench most of the season, the 35-year-old has
played fairly well in spot minutes of late. He could help a team seeking a
rugged interior veteran presence off the bench, and he's low risk since his
contract comes off the books at the end of the year.

Tale of the A380

Outlined below are some of the features of the new Airbus A380 airplane:

- offers 15-20% lower seat-mile cost
- 10% more range
- new generation engines
- advanced wing ang under carraige design
- engines are quieter than any other aircraft
- generate half noise level at take-off
- 13% lower fuel burn
- starts with a capacity of 555 passenger (commercial planes)

Early operators



Singapore Airlines will be the first A380 operator. It will take delivery of the first four production aircraft in 2006, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofans. London and Sidney will be the first destinations; the aircraft will be equipped "with less than 500 seats in three-class configuration." In 2007, Air France will become the mega-transport's first European operator, in a 538-seat configuration. New York, Montreal, Tokyo and Beijing will be the French carrier's initial destinations. Air France's aircraft will be powered by Engine Alliance GP7200s.

HONDA VTEC INFO

 KNOWING MORE ABOUT THE HONDA ENGINE

VTEC - Variable valve Timing and lift Electronic Control. At low RPM, a VTEC engine uses a normal cam profile to retain a smooth idle, good fuel economy, and good low-end power delivery. The VTEC mechanism engages a high-lift, long-duration "race" cam profile at a set RPM value (i.e., ~5500RPM on the B16A) to increase high-end power delivery.

VTEC-E - Variable valve Timing and lift Electronic Control for Efficiency. This system isn't really VTEC as we know it. At low RPM, the VTEC-E mechanism effectively forces the engine to operate as a 12-valve engine - one of the intake valves does not open fully, thus decreasing fuel consumption. At a set RPM value (i.e., ~2500RPM in the D16Y5), the VTEC-E mechanism engages the 2nd intake valve, effectively resuming operation as a normal 16-valve engine. Note: in a VTEC-E engine, there are no high-RPM performance cam profiles; this engine is supposed to be tuned for fuel economy, right?

VTEC-3 - This is a combination of VTEC and VTEC-E AKA 3-Stage VTEC. From 0 to 2500 RPM, the car runs 12-valve mode allowing a lean burn, decreasing fuel consumption This is the 1st stage. From 2,600 RPM the first vtec solenoid engage so engine now runs 16-valve mode. This is the 2nd stage. Now when you reach 4,600 RPM, the 2nd solenoid enggages and the wild cam (race cam) profile takes effect and this 3rd stage increases the top end power delivery.

VTC - Variable Timing Control. This is a mechanism attached to the end of the intake camshaft only which acts as a continuously variable cam gear - it automatically adjusts the overlap between the intake and exhaust cams, effectively allowing the engine to have the most ideal amount of valve overlap in all RPM ranges. VTC is active at all RPMs.

i-VTEC - intelligent Variable valve Timing and lift Electronic Control. This is a combination of both the VTEC and the VTC technologies - in other words, i-VTEC = VTEC + VTC. Currently, the only engines that use the i-VTEC system are the DOHC K-series engines.


Here are the list of Philippine Domestic Market that have the VTEC technology:

VTEC:
1996-2000 Civic VTI
1999-2000 Civic SIR
1996-2005 Accord Vti / Vti-L / Vti-S
1999-2003 City Type Z Vti

VTEC-3:
2001-2005 Civic Vti / Vti-S

i-VTEC:
2001- up CRV
2005 Civic DOHC 2.0 L

*IMHO:
The civic Vtec-3 has an oustanding fuel efficiency among all other competitors in its class. It has the best of both worlds, the fuel consumption of a small engine car like the corolla XL/XE / Lancer EL/GL / Kia Pride, and also has the power and acceleration of high end 1.6L / 1.8L models like the Corolla Altis / Lancer GLXi Etc. The VTEC-3 technology gives the Civic the 10 to 12 KMs/L city driving and upto 20KMs/L at the highway fuel consumption. And it is also extremely FAST! Vtec allows the engine to breathe better at high speeds extending the power curve approaching the red line.

---

Foot note
*IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
*Spelling check OK, Pak U Ian!



Posted by:    Emil Ang
Pccians_95 Blogger

[REVIEW] You Subscribe:RSS

Just recently, I found a nifty application: the You Subscribe:RSS. Basically, it’s a news aggregator, a software that allows you to read blogs (or webpages that supports syndication) using well-known syndication technologies such as RSS and ATOM.

 

Imagine this: you have a set of boomarked URLs of your friend’s blog or news sites. In order to read the blog entries, or news articles, you have to visit each site. Lot of work, isn’t it?

 

With syndication technologies, these sites can share information to other sites, or other applications, without you having to visit the site. This information that they share are called feeds. An application that collects feeds and presents them in an aggregated manner is called a news aggregator.

 

I used to have a separate news aggregator application. I have tried BottomFeeder and RSS Reader. Both are free and easy to use. However, there is something about the You Subscribe:RSS news aggregator that sets it apart from the rest. It’s the capability to integrate well into Outlook.

 

The set-up is very straight-forward. You just have to follow the wizard and in a few minutes, you’re all set. Re-start your  MS-Outlook and a new toolbar menu appears on top. Click the You subscribe button to begin the configuration.

 

If you don’t have a feed yet, it boasts of 400 pre-loaded feeds. You can add your own feed by clicking on the add button and entering the feed’s url. For example, to add the PCCians 95 Kumbento Boys blog feed, just enter http://pccians95.blogspot.com/atom.xml and it will automatically update your feeds list.

 

If you’re a heavy MS Outlook user, you will definitely like this application. It supports all RSS and ATOM feed formats, even gzip compressed feeds! You can even organize the feeds into any Outlook folder of your choice. However, there are several important features that are missing. Most prominent is the inability to support HTTPS. In Google Mail (gmail), using secure http (https), you can add as a feed your Gmail Inbox.

 

You Subscribe: RSS is definitely a great application, and it’s free! The download version is still in beta (public preview) and there are promising features that’s in store with the official release. One is the ability to search into your Outlook folder for feeds from the most popular search engines and the capability to post to your blog from within Outlook.

 

Overall, the You Subscribe:RSS news aggregator is an excellent choice for heavy Outlook users. It’s free and intuitive and offers a great deal of promise come official release.

 

-Allan

Teaching Unselfishness to Your Children

Family First

Teaching Unselfishness to Your Children

What does it mean to be unselfish and sensitive? In their book, Teaching Your Children Values, by Linda and Richard Eyre, they describe it as, "Becoming more extra-centered and less self-centered. Learning to feel with and for others. Empathy, tolerance, brotherhood. Sensitivity to needs in people and situations."

 

The authors give the following guidelines in developing these traits and character values in your children:

 

1. Praise

If you notice your child doing something unselfish, heap praise on them to reward them. Let them know that what they are doing is a good thing.

 

2. Give Responsibility

A Harvard study showed a correlation between the amount of responsibility children have and their tendency to think of others. The Eyre's caution that a child with no responsibility may become spoiled and begin to lose their sense of caring and concern.

 

3. Teach by Example and Active Listening

Show children this attitude of empathy in your own actions, by modeling the same behavior and values you want to instill in them. Actively listen to your children by hearing what they have to say, then paraphrasing it back to them so they know you understood it and are concerned with their thoughts and feelings.

 

4. Say, "I'm Sorry"

If you have made a mistake or were insensitive to your child, let your child know you are sorry for this.

 

5. Make an Effort to Tell Your Children How the Things They Do Make You Feel

If your children say or do something that hurts your feelings, let them know. And if your children do something good and helpful, let them know that too.

 

6. Remember that Unselfishness Does Not Come Naturally

According to the authors, becoming unselfish is a process that "takes thinking and practicing and a certain amount of maturity to develop." Do not expect your children to naturally always think of others first or know how to be empathetic to those who are suffering. It is a character virtue that you as a parent must help them learn.

 

This article is based on the book, Teaching Your Children Values, by Linda and Richard Eyre.

 

 

Posted by - Emil Ang    Pccian_95 Blogger

1999 COROLLA

1999 COROLLA

XL -basic model, walang power features 1.3 12 valve. Maganda to bihisan dahil basic model at magaang. pag sinalpakan to ng 4AGE 20 valve engine, lufet na nito. Pero kung stock, pwede na rin kahit mejo underpowered matipid naman sa gas. Low maintenance pa.

XE -parang XL nadagdagan lang ng powersteering at tachometer.

GLi -High end ng mga corolla, all power DOHC 16 vale 1.6L 110 HP pero ang torque mahigit doble ng Civic SIR. Malakas lang sa gas ito lalu na yung automatic.

Overall impression sa corolla, practical. Balance lang ang performance/cost of ownership/price. Di ito high performace car pero dito satin sa pinas ok ito dahil mura at available kahit saan ang OEM parts, conventional pa ang system kaya kahit di mo dalahin sa casa, ok lang dahil madami mekaniko nakaka alam. simple ang suspension kaya magaang at less parts (less parts=less chances of braking down). Mataas din ang resale value kaya magandang investment. Kita mo naman yung XL at XE ginagawang taxi dahil matibay at low maintenance.

Yun nga lang, eversince mahina ang mga seals ng toyota kaya after 5 years, usually kung normal use nasisira na ang valve seals kaya nagiging puti ang usok, nasisira ang nga oil seals kaya dudumi ang garahe mo kaya matakaw sa oil. pero minor lang ang mga yan at kaya gawin ng kahit saang talyer.

Posted by: Emil Ang

Celebrity Greeter of the Week

"Don't just stare at me and do nothing. C'mon, grab my tits...they're all yours!"

- Jessica Biel

Featured Ride of the Week

2005 Cadillac Escalade

Specs:
Engine(s): 5.3L or 6.0L V8
Drivetrains: All Wheel Drive; Rear Wheel Drive
Power: 220 kW , 295 HP SAE @ 5,200 rpm; 330 ft lb , 446 Nm @ 4,000 rpm
* 5,328 cc 5.3 liters V 8 front engine with 96 mm bore, 92 mm stroke, 9.5 compression ratio, overhead valve and two valves per cylinder LM7
* 26 gallon main unleaded fuel tank
* 4-wheel ABS
* Electronic traction control via ABS & engine management
* Immobilizer
* Wishbone front suspension independent with stabilizer bar and torsion springs , beam rear suspension rigid with stabilizer bar and coil springs
* Automatic rear suspension levelling
* Driver power heated partial-painted door mirrors with automatic and automatic operation indicator lights , passenger power heated partial-painted door mirrors with automatic indicator lights
* Electric foldable mirrors
* Trailer towing preparation includes tow hook
* Bose RDS audio system with satellite, CD player, cassette, Disc Autochanger and six-disc remote changer
* Computer with average speed, average fuel consumption, instantaneous fuel consumption and range for remaining fuel
* Internet connection
* Low tire pressure indicator
* Parking distance sensors rear and radar
* Online GPS system
* Voice activating system includes phone and includes internet/e-mail
* much much more!
* Prices:
2005 Base RWD = $52,000
2005 Base AWD = $55,000
2005 ESV AWD = $58,000

Independent Study

New artists you need to know...

Trip mo ba ang alternative music? Eh ang rock? How about Indie music? Kung dig mo ang ganitong klaseng tunog pre, check out "Independent Study", a weekly column in the Entertainment section of MSNBC.com. It features new and upcoming independent artist in the US as well as features on your favorite and most requested alternative groups. I hope one of these days, a filipino Indie group would be featured in this site, lalo na dahil Filipino ang isa sa mga regular feature writers of Independent Study, my cousin, Mr. Gregory Prerez, which is also MSNBC's website art director :)

This week's feature is THE COMAS - a group which features "a lo-fi approach to breakup songs with a sci-fi twist".

I-ckeck mo na! >> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6948503/