Pismo Digital Lifestyle Opens Eastwood Branch

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Congratulations to Pismo Digital Lifestyle for opening another branch at Le Grand 3 Eastwood. A grand launch was held on December 18, 2015 at the branch itself where some of the products they carry were featured such as the flying drones, instant cameras, gadget accessories, hoverboards, etc.

Pismo Digital is a concept store featuring the best and latest range of tech gadgets including mobiles, cameras, audio, bags, and accessories. They are an exclusive and authorized reseller of well-known brands such as Parrot, GoPro, Segway, Bowers and Wilkins, Fujifilm, Belkin, Polaroid, Otter and many more.

It prides itself for being an 'experiential" lifestyle concept store where buyers can actually use most of the products on display as there are demo units that can be used by customers. A great way to experience on first-hand the products before considering purchasing. There are also product professionals that are knowledgeable about the producte so they can answer all your technical inquiries.

The concept store has products from many well-established brands worldwide that appreciate design, virtuosity and technology. People can play, tinker and hold various gadgets here so they would fully appreciate what the products have to offer.

Robert Spakowski: The Chef of Tapella Tapas Bar and Restaurant

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Yeah, I think I guessed it right. Tapella is probably a playful combination of the words "tapa" and "paella" to indicate the specialties in the Spanish restaurant. But I forgot to confirm that with the chef because the food he served was more than enough to convince me that the restaurant was more than just about those two dishes.

When you hear Chef Robert Spakowski's name, you'll immediately deduce that he is a foreigner, or one with a foreigner for a father, but many of us would expect that he would be mostly talking in fluent English with very distinctive accent. Thus many of us were surprised he was more comfortable speaking with us in the vernacular.

Hearing him speak in Tagalog definitely removed the intimidation. We felt more comfortable knowing we would be interviewing someone who could easily speak in our mother language. No more nosebleeds for us.

To be able to capture everything he will share to us, I've decided to make a video recording so I can share every bit of the discussion, and oh boy! how interesting his life story was. Hopping from one job to the next and some times going back to where he started. Sounds like the story of my life!

Environmental Youth Conference 2016

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The UP Society of Human Settlements Planners proudly brings to you the first Environmental Youth Conference 2016 (EYC 2016) with the theme: Empowering and Mobilizing Youth for a Climate Change-Resilient Philippines.

The Environmental Youth Conference 2016 is a 1-day conference where Filipino youth will learn more about Climate Change and the COP 21 agreement. The EYC, indeed, recognizes the importance of a youth-led climate movement and the substantial role of the youth in nation building and in promoting sustainable development.

With this, EYC will serve as an avenue where over 250 delegates from different from the different regions in the country can gather to discuss and share ways and ideas on how to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change. It will be held on January, 23 2016 at SMX Aura Convention Center, Taguig City, Philippines.

Apply now and be part of this national youth gathering! Application period is until December 30, 2015 (Application form: http://goo.gl/forms/BMN60o8fFE).

Christmas Shines Bright at Ara Vista Village with Festive Pinoy Holiday Display

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Ara Vista Village, Picar Development’s township real estate project in General Trias, Cavite ushers in the Christmas season with a fun and festive holiday display at the village façade. Christmas lanterns and curtain lights adorn the entry way to Ara Vista Village, which glows glows with warm white and yellow lights at nightttime.

The ornamental, star-shaped Christmas adornment, the “parol” is uniquely Filipino. It symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and the Filipinos’ hope and goodwill evident not only during the Christmas season.

The Ara Vista Village holiday display is an annual tradition that residents look forward to during the most wonderful time of the year. Last year, Christmas trees greeted Ara Vista home owners also at the village façade. This year, the Ara Vista community will certainly feel the holiday spirit and the good vibes and bright cheer by appreciating the display of “parols” and curtain lights on their way to their holiday itineraries such as heading to the church within the enclave for the Misa de Gallo or “simbang gabi.”

Sparta Heralds First Triathlon Concept Store In The Country In 2016

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Sports and Recreational Training Arena, otherwise known as SPARTA, once again heralds another first in the field of sports-facility management in the country. Come 2016, it is set to open the first and only triathlon concept store named, Maximus Athlete's Shop Café, which caters to Multi-sport athletes such as cyclists, runners, swimmers, as well as coffee connoisseurs.

Owned by well-known triathlon Coach Andy Leuterio, Maximus will be a 280-square meter area, within the hectare-wide SPARTA facility, which will showcase different bikes, garments, equipment and accessories for Multi-sport athletes. Among the brands and products it will carry will be Lynskey titanium bicycles, Specialized bikes & accessories, Newton running shoes, Brooks running shoes, Muc-Off bike detailing supplies, CW-X compression gear, GoPro action cameras, Oakley eyewear, Knight composite racing wheels, Stages power meters, Kuat bike racks, Transition One apparel, TYR swimming gear, Swiftwick compression socks, Body Geometry FIT, among others.

Andy Leuterio says that he got sold with the concept when he toured the SPARTA facility a couple of months ago and envisioned the concept store, which he named after his son, Maximus.

He wanted a venue for Multi-sport athletes where they can buy their equipment, gear, accessories and get their bikes washed at the bike spa. Leuterio says, "While doing this, they can also have a sip of their specialty coffee as well at Maximus. We will be using Coffee Roasters specialty blends and single origin beans. After all, coffee and cycling go hand-in-hand."

Election 2016: Who's Your Bet for the Philippines?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Are we still going to follow the method of choosing who easily comes into our heads as our choice for the coming 2016 elections?

We may not be aware of it, but the problem lies on this particular method of selection. We are taken over by who we perceive as popular and not really based on intellectual reasoning.

I can't blame you all because we really do not have enough access to credible data and most of the information we get out there are either fabricated or sponsored. If you research by Googling online, the results will be mostly articles or social media posts that could have been rigged to spread all over the Internet.

I hate to admit it, but character profiles ca easily be proliferated by hiring enough writers to fill up the social media or Internet networks. Never trust trending or viral posts because they can also be rigged to perpetuate erroneous information to either assassinate a person's character or otherwise promote aggressively so news about a person will be on page one of search results.

Thus, if we really want to put good men in position, it would take a lot of effort and convincing to people why we should research thoroughly on the better candidate. Choosing among the many presidentiables, vice-presidentiables, senatoriables, etc., and picking the name would sometimes end on who's the first ones on the top of our minds, so if a name is new and lacks the machinery to advertise himself, he tends to be the last choice even though he is well-deserving than the rest. The worst situation is people may not know him at all, so he ends up with very little votes.There are a lot of great men out there only to lose against celebrities or the rich fellow candidates or opponents.

Finding the "Smart" Phone That Fits Perfectly in Your Hand

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Smartphones have transitioned from being merely a communication device to an all-in-one mobile technology that complements the lifestyle of different people. While functionality and simplicity are often considered by mobile phone users, a new factor comes in: how the phone feels in the hand of the user.

Back in 2010, consumers believed that a 3.5-inch screen best meets their expectations of having a handy phone that easily slips into their pockets. Five years later, the norm has changed—most mobile phone users opt for smartphones that fall under the five-inch category to get the overall experience of a tablet and a mobile device in one handset.

“Since the trend of owning a five-inch phone boomed in 2015, most mobile phone manufacturers now lean towards developing products that may be classified under that category. However, some of them are missing out on the rather more important considerations in an attempt to ride with the wave,” said Michael Chen, Deputy General Manager & Product Strategy Director of Mobile Internet Group, TCL Communication. “The thing is, consumers are looking for both functionality and sophistication in one mobile device, and that’s just what we’re going to offer.”

Alcatel Flash, one of the leading mobile phone developers in Asia Pacific, launches its Flash 2 phone to offer an ergonomically designed smartphone that fits perfectly in the user’s hand. According to Michael Chen, the new flagship phone offers a perfect feel in the hand due to its remarkable workmanship.

DOTC: Unified Ticketing System Good To Go

Wazzup Pilipimas!

The Department of Transportation and Communications’ (DOTC) first Public-Private Partnership Project, the Contactless Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS), has reached Full Systems Acceptance (FSA), marking the end of the trial period.

“We have reached another milestone through the rollout of a modern, unified ticketing system. We have been informed that we are the fastest in the world to achieve FSA, which means the system passed the standards and requirements we have set. This is certainly the fruit of the hard work of DOTC, LRTA and MRT-3 personnel, in coordination with AF Payments, Inc. (AFPI).” said DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya.

“Furthermore, we are the only ones with an AFC System wherein the government is paid instead of us paying a subsidy. We are proud of this achievement.” added Abaya.

The tap-and-go ticketing scheme was made available as early as July for LRT-2, August for LRT-1 and October for MRT-3. The limited public trial aimed to address glitches in the system including the contactless beep card, station computers, gates and vending machines.

Home Credit: Gadgets as Christmas Gifts Twice More Desirable For Filipinos Today Than 10 Years Ago

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Home Credit Philippines, a consumer finance company, announces the results of its Study on Filipino consumer’s Christmas gift-giving behavior and preferences. The survey was held during the last week of November with 336 respondents (168 males and 168 females). More respondents preferred to give and get Gadgets this Christmas.

Twenty-four percent of the total respondents plan to buy gadgets as Christmas gifts for their family. Clothes & Accessories came in at second with a 23% share, followed by Food & Drinks (13%).

If you are expecting a gift from a male family member, it is more likely that you’ll receive a gadget: study showed that 30% of male respondents put the item as their top planned gift; but there’s also a chance that you’ll get Clothes & Accessories (20%) or Food & Drinks (13%). On the other hand, you may expect Clothes & Accessories from female family members: 26% of the female respondents said that they are looking to give out this item; Gadgets only accounted for 18% and Food & Drinks had 15%.

Likewise, more respondents (24%) are looking to get Gadgets for themselves this Christmas. Eight percent of them are wishing for Clothes & Accessories and 6% had a desire for a Car. Interestingly, the survey results showed that consumers are almost twice more likely to get Gadgets for themselves now compared to ten years ago.

Filipino Artists and Authors Unite to Spark HIV Awareness for World AIDS Month

Wazzup Pilipinas!

That well-known writing rule has taken on a different meaning for these established and budding Filipino authors and artists, as they proactively take on the fast-growing HIV epidemic with their words and images.

This year, the Philippines reported the highest number of HIV cases on a daily basis: 22 people testing positive–a huge jump from the 17 people in 2014. Since 1984 when the first HIV case was documented in the Philippines, the country has leapfrogged to 29,079 cases as of October 2015.

As a collaborative platform raising HIV and AIDS awareness via pop culture, pioneering HIV organization The Red Whistle has spearheaded various creative and productive collaborations to stop the rise of HIV here in the Philippines.

With its soon-to-be-launched folio, Red Letter Days, the organization brings together respected and up-and-coming voices in the art and literary scene to again bring discussions of HIV and AIDS, sex, and sexuality closer to young Filipinos.

“Through this folio, we were able to gather opinions and interpretations by respected voices from the art and literary community on HIV and AIDS, gender identity, sexual expression, and sexual health,” says Ronald Ramos, Red Letter Days folio editor, former president of the University of the Philippines’ Ugnayan ng Manunulat (UP Ugat), and fellow of the 1st Palihang Rogelio Sikat. “By bringing their thoughts together, we aspire to make discussions on HIV, sexual health and empowerment, as well as gender and equality, less taboo and more mainstream.”