OUR AWESOME PLANET

Green Hat SEO Practices

GREEN HAT SEO Practices
in support of the Blog Action Day

It is NOT about the money, it is about following GREEN SEO best practices to protect the internet environment. I firmly believe that protecting the environment begins with the mindset and values of each person. Bloggers, in particular, should start with themselves and follow these GREEN SEO best practices suggestion:

1. Don't Pollute the Internet with crappy and spamy sites. Why create an adsense site that does not contribute and make a difference in the internet? Instead create websites that would live forever and people will remember you even after you die. Start an advocacy campaign on things that you are passionate about.

2. Follow the Google Terms of Service. I've been slapped once by Google for still unknown reasons and I was put on the secondary index. It could be that I violated Google's TOS and since I'm back in the SERPS, I learned not to ever violate it in whatever form.

3. Don't sell the soul of your blog for a link to spammy sites. Would you link to a crappy site for $100? Most of us would but if you can resist that temptation, it is a good way to reinforce your self discipline. Don't link or support ads from porn related sites.

4. Buy only licensed product and Don't violate Copyright. Do you download pirated software or pirated music on the net? Or maybe, you set up a lyrics site that violate copyright? Do you download all rights reserved photos and use it on your own? Do you plagiarize? It starts with you and resist that temptation to violate the natural laws of what ever you believe in.

5. Don't comment just to put a link to your blog. Why spam the comments section just to put a link back to your site? To increase your technorati ranking on your own? If you need to link, link to the permalink of a blog post. Or those people who spam the forums creating two login accounts and create a fight between the two login accounts just to create a link to your blog? Let nature takes it course. If you have good content, links will follow.

6. Be honest about your identity. Be a man and don't put anonymous identity in the comments section. If you have a point of view put a valid email address and not just a generic email like -@gmail.com, etc.

7. Support worthy causes like Blog Action Day. Evil only wins if the good people don't act. Support advocacy like Blog Action Day, Filipina writing project, Sports for a cause activities, etc.

8. Donate your adsense earnings to organization that protect the environment. It is NOT all about the money. You have to give back to the environment in your own way. Believe me it will return to you a hundred fold.

9. Don't go to porn sites. Trekkie Monster once said that the Internet is for Porn and a lot of guys would laugh. You'll just be populating your browser cache with such junk if you patronize these porn sites. This is the ultimate self-discipline test for any bloggers out there.

10. Teach your children about Green Hat SEO practices. Everything starts when you are young. By about 3+, I'm sure Aidan would start blogging and I'll start to teach him the right way to do it. He knows texting and blogging words already and he would often tell us No Text or No Blog when he wants to play with us and even close our laptop and get our cellphones.

Any other suggestions?

Did you miss watching Avenue Q? Give Ruv of Avenue Q tickets on Christmas Day!

Avenue Q - Final Run June 2008. 5 Reasons Why You Should Not Miss the Opening Night of Avenue Q’s Final Run!

Did you miss watching Avenue Q? This is maybe your last chance to watch it!

Avenue Q High: Our Awesome Planet Review of Avenue Q

The Avenue Q Manila December Repeat Performances will be from 14-23 December 2007 with performances on:

14 & 21 December 2007 Friday 8pm
15 & 22 December 2007 Saturday 2pm and 8pm
16 & 23 December 2007 Sunday at 3pm

Most Filipinos would buy the tickets on the last minute in December and I guarantee that this will be sold out sooner than the first run. You can get tickets from Ticketworld but it is already a little bit expensive. I know two friends who bought shows on Dec. 15 and you can get it from them directly. Just say you are friends of OAP and I'm sure you'll get a great seat :) Not sure, if they are giving discounts -- maybe an early bird, maybe not.

Ticket prices: Orchestra Center: P1,300 | Orchestra Side: P1,100 | Lodge: P1,000 | Balcony: P500

December 15, 2007 Saturday 8pm Show
Avenue Q Manila repeat: Dec 15 tickets now available

Please contact Joelle Horca: jhorca@gmail.com or (Smart) 0920-901-0863 to order your tickets

December 15, 2007 Saturday 2pm Matinee Show (Get a 10% early bird discount until Nov. 18!)
Avenue Q Manila December Repeat Performances FAQs by the Bachelor Girl
Please contact Lorna Lopez thru: (Globe) 0917.9256505 or (Sun) 0922.3875729 or (email) llornalopez@gmail.com

THIS IS THE BEST SHOW IN MANILA! So don't miss it again and I do sincerely hope that you get to watch it.

Just say, "Thank You",

P.S. (I want to watch the Dec. 23 show, would you know who bought that show?)

Sizzlin' Pepper Steak - Pinoy Version of Pepper Lunch, Singapore

So after trying Five Cows and Toast Box in Trinoma, I would suggest that you try out Sizzling Pepper Steak! This is a fun restaurant inspired by Pepper Lunch in Singapore (or was it a rip off? check out Nina's post). The restaurant visionary behind Peri Peri Chicken and Tokyo Cafe in MOA (which we love), opened the first branch of Sizzling Pepper Steak in Trinoma. The resto uses a cow icon that resembles Teriyaki Boy.

Trinoma is huge and navigating your way around the mall could be a challenge. When you see La Maison, go down one more level and you should see Sizzling Pepper Steak along the rows of restaurant in level M1. You got to try it.

Hamburg Steak | Soup, Salad and Kiddie Meal | Sizzling Pepper Specials, Japanese | Sizzling Pepper Rice | How does it work? | Desserts

The best sellers in the house are the Hamburg Steak and the Sizzling Pepper Rice. What makes the restaurant unique is the "expediently fast patented hot plate system" for cooking the meat. It uses an oval sizzling plate for cooking the meat on the spot. We liked the pepper rice variation but find the hamburger steak ordinary. I was surprised that the meat of the hamburger was still soft even if I overcooked one side of the meat.

ThankYou.PH - an Art Project on saying "Thank You" in a creative way.

In Celebration of the first ever National Thank You in the Philippines on Oct. 20, I'm launching an art project campaign on saying the most creative "Thank You." I'm launching ThankYou.PH to say creative thanks to all the people that influenced and help me in my blog. This will be an ongoing campaign that would last forever (naks :)

ThankYou.PH is an ongoing community art project where people send their Thank You to show a simple appreciation to friends, family and love ones in a creative way. This was inspired by the National Thank You Day. Just email your creative Thank You to thankyouday.post@blogger.com.

Your email subject will be the blog post title, and the email body will be the blog post text. Just attach photos to provide a creative spin to your post. All emailed posts will be posted to the blog immediately (isn't that great?). You can use the permalink and send it to the person you want to say, "Thank You."

What's in it for you if you join the Thank You Art Project?

1. For all those people who would send their "Thank You" to thankyouday.post@blogger.com before Oct. 20, will get (2) FREE tickets to the national day concert on October 20 in Mall of Asia. (See more info here: National Thank You in the Philippines) Band performers include Cynthia Alexander, Reggae Mistress, Stone Free, Salindiwa, Mozzie, Hale and The Dawn.

Tickets can be claimed at: GeiserMaclang (c/o Alma Buenviaje) Unit 7C, 114 Tuscan Bldg., V. A Rufino St., Legaspi Village, Makati City Tel: 812.8828/9199, 0917.5344624. Show your thank you post in ThankYou.PH post

2. Most creative entries (top 5) before Oct. 20 will receive special prize from Toblerone (gift certificates and Toblerone products)

3. Last but not the least, I will pick the most creative thank you posts on an ongoing basis and I will give them a signed copy of "Our Awesome Planet: Philippines" the travel guide book. Ok, I have not released the book yet, but I will release it someday and I'll make sure that the creative person gets that complimentary signed copy of the book.

Just say Thank You!

Toast Box opens in Trinoma!

Finally, Toast Box opens in Manila! I'm so excited because ever since My Kaya Addiction post a year ago, I have been waiting for these Kaya chains from Singapore to open here in Manila. Toast Box is a sister company of Bread Talk and their first store opens in Trinoma in the Main Lobby (beside Gourdo's). I think they just opened last September 1 in Trinoma and the second branch will be in Robinsons Manila.

This is definitely something worth driving all the way to Trinoma. Congratulations to Trinoma for their grand opening today! It is a lot better now but still as crowded as Mall of Asia on a weekend or public holiday. You just have to put up with the crazy parking design.

I liked the Toast Box kaya toast because of its different flavors like the honey kaya. Ya Kun Kaya Toast is the most popular one in Singapore and I wonder if they will open here. Can you see the mountain of butter they use for the kaya toast?

Drinks and Main Dishes | Toast Box Set

Sala's Makati Reincarnation

As we bid goodbye to Lumiere, we welcome Sala to Makati which replaced Lumiere in its Locsin Bldg location. Most Filipinos think that the move of Sala from Malate to Makati marks the death of Malate as a happening place. Sala was the longest running fine dining restaurant in Malate. The death of Malate would be a blog topic I would like to discuss in a separate post (let me know if you have opinions on this) .

Sala opens two restaurant in Makati. The fine dining restaurant is located in the Locsin Bldg near PLDT along Makati Ave. while the Sala Bistro will open soon at Greenbelt in the former location of Global Cafe. I can't wait for the Bistro to open because this is where they will have their Sunday Champagne Jazz Brunch.

Swiss Chef Colin Mackay runs the fine dining restaurant with a few partners. They are only open for lunch and dinner on weekdays and only dinner on Saturdays. The menu changes occasionally based on the available freshest ingredients:

Sala Main Menu (Changes Occasionally)
Wine List Page 1 and Page 2
After Dinner... a few single malts
Dessert Menu
Executive Lunch Menu

We celebrated Rache's birthday last October 1 in Sala. Be prepared with a budget of P1,000/ head for food and a few more for wine. When we arrived, we saw a lot of foreigners and the place was full on a Monday night. We told Aidan to behave because some people don't appreciate children running around in a fine dining restaurant. It was a special night for a special lady, so Sala was a special place to celebrate it.

The only thing with Sala is that the place is "cold". You don't get the warm welcome feeling from a fine dining restaurant. I told them that we are celebrating my wife's birthday and they don't even give anything special for it. Not even a candle for our dessert. The prices seemed to be high intentionally to screen out people who cannot afford from the people who belongs to their target market. Maybe that is why my food shots were uninspired and a little pinkish violet....

Never Shall We Fail

Thank you to the De La Salle Green Archers for making us proud once again for winning the 2007 UAAP Basketball Championship! This 7th title is memorable because we swept the undefeated UE for two straight games in the finals. Even before the game started, most Lasalistas can already feel the championship. Even the players are confident the night before that they will win the Championship. The La Salle PEP squad also felt it and they enjoyed themselves before the game started. They even played the cheers of other schools during the mytical five awarding. I had fun cheering Goooo Uste and GO ATENEO! as the UST and Ateneo players received their awards. The La Salle Gallery, who occupied more than half of Araneta, was disciplined enough not to do the WAVE despite Randy Santiago's urge to respond to UE's WAVE. The WAVE should now be banned from our games.

For most of us, this is the best alma matter song we sang in our entire lives. Here is a final tribute:

De La Salle Alma Mater Hymn

Hail, Hail Alma Mater,

Hail to De La Salle!

We'll hold your banner high and bright,

A shield of green and white,

We'll fight to keep your glory bright,

And never shall we fail,

Hail to thee our Alma Mater!

Hail! Hail! Hail!

Related Posts:
I'd Rather Be Green Than Be Blue (You Tube)
UAAP Season 70 Finals: Green Archers breaks Red Warriors’ heart by Josef Ramos
DLSU: Season 70 Seniors Basketball Champions! by Vic Icasas

A Great Day for Philippines Sports

October 7, 2007 was a great day for Philippines Sports! It was a memorable day for me and let me tell you why...

First, La Salle won the 2007 UAAP Basketball Championship by defeating UE with 73-64 points (a convincing 9 points lead). Everybody thought that UE was unbeatable since they had swept the elimination rounds. If you look at each of the UE Red Warriors individually, La Salle Green Archers were no match for them. But we beat Red Warriors because of the heart and determination to win as one team. More than 1/2 of the Araneta was filled with Green Archers fan. The Green Archers had led the game all the way from the first to the last quarter. Thanks to MVP Jayvee Casio and MVP Cholo Villanueva for hitting the key shots when it mattered most.

I knew it when we beat Ateneo, we could win the UAAP Championship! ANIMO LA SALLE!!

P.S. Now I know why the WAVE is unlucky... Franz Pumaren was right and the only wave we saw yesterday was the one from UE. No more waves for the Green Archers gallery.

Second, Pacquiao retained his WBC International Super Featerweight Title by defeating Barrera in a 12 rounds unanimous decision. His new record is 45-3-2 with 34 KO's at the age of 28. All the Filipinos were hoping for a knockout but we saw how Barrera was avoiding Manny's punches. Barrera's goal was to survive his last 12 rounds of his career and enjoy his $2 Million dollars pay out. Thanks Manny for making us all proud once again.

Lastly, I achieved a personal best record for my 10k run at 1 hour and 15 minutes when I joined Soroptimist's Breast Cancer Run yesterday. Yahoo! My goal is to achieve a sub hour in 2008.

P.S. No, I'm not that guy! The photo above is Zorro from ABS-CBN running club (according to him) during yesterday's breast cancer run. He gives a comic relief in most of the major runs in Manila.