Mauie Flores

Smartphone and tablet applications are starting to play a significant role in diabetes care, and Power 20 recently launched with that in mind.

“It’s no surprise that doctors and patients are looking to smartphones to help fight diabetes,” said Arshad Chowdhury, founder of Power 20. “Today, 46 percent of Americans own smartphones, and one in 10 Americans has diabetes. The number of diabetics will more than double in the next 25 years so tools like Power 20, which can help control blood sugar levels through guided exercises, are arriving just in time.”

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I'm a sucker for gadgets. But don't get me wrong, I buy not because I want to fit in and be cool but because I fall in love with its features. Our iPad, for instance, has been very useful to me since Day 1. Since I'm the only one who's left at home most at the time, I'm the one who frequently use it.

We divided the iPad into three home screens to organize our favorite apps. Obviously, mine has the most apps. I have an app for almost everything! Of course, the first ones I downloaded are the ones that help me manage my diabetes.

Here are the ones that I currently use:

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I thank God for the blessings He has given me this past year and that includes the online jobs that I have been constantly offered. With the "rakets" I was able to buy for myself a spanking new Blackberry Curve 9220 as a birthday gift.

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A few months ago as I was checking out of National Bookstore, I bought 24K gold plated anti-radiation stickers for our gadgets. It looks like this:

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Right now, my laptop is a vital tool in my career. That's why I almost lost my sanity the other day when it died down on me. I thought the computer crashed which only meant me losing all my files but, no. It literally died down on me because it lost power. I didn't notice that I run out of battery juice because I knew I kept it plugged in . Turns out, my laptop adapter had broken wires.


I knew I had to buy a laptop adapter right away but it would cost me 3K just to replace it with an original. Even the universal laptop adapters cost around a thousand bucks. I decided to repair it instead. I cracked the housing open, cut the broken wires, reconnected it, and voila! It's back up and working! Of course, I only had to seal it with an electric tape for lack of a heat shrink tubing. What's important is that it works! I definitely saved myself a thousand bucks for that!


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I became a member of Facebook during its early years but it was only in 2009 that I became active in the said social network. I saw it grow from something that looked inferior to Friendster to a social network that has surpassed even the functions of Yahoo mail. Most of my friends don't even send me email anymore but I do get a lot of Facebook mails.

One of the things I love most about Facebook is the Events page. We held two successful family celebrations this year with its help. More than 50 people attended Rap's birthday last May without me even printing a single invitation. That's amazing considering the efforts I made making his 1st birthday invitations years ago!

How about you? How has Facebook helped you?

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I went to the office this morning to attend a writing workshop and to renew my contract. I was already running late but it was hard to get a cab from my place to Quezon City. What I did was to just ride the G-Liner and initially planned to get off at Santolan so I just can take a cab there and take the New Manila route to QC.

I did not get off at Santolan and just got off at SM Centerpoint in Sta. Mesa. What changed my mind? Well, the traffic made me browse the Internet on my mobile. I was too bored that I got to play with the Google Maps app on my phone. Right there I discovered that with Google Maps, my phone instantly became a GPS device. I instantly found the shortest route which saved me bucks in cab fare!

I may not see steel buildings in the mobile version like when I would browse using the web version but the app was a big help to me this morning. Woot for mobile technology!

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Tiki's 4D ultrasound image.

Meet Tiki. She's still in my sister's womb but she's ready to come out any day now. I'm really excited about Tiki's birth because she will the be first girl apo (grandchild) in my side of the family. I feel like I will be the kikay tita that I am already with my husband's nieces.

I'd really like to conceive once again. I got a little bit jealous of my sister because she enjoys more luxuries now than when I was pregnant with Rap. For example, that 4d ultrasound wasn't available yet when I was pregnant. If it were already available then, I'd surely undergo one to have a clearer shot of my baby inside my womb.

Technology is really amazing. It's not making our lives more convenient but more exciting as well. Who knows what kind of technological breakthrough we'll have in a few years. An Industrial pc the size of a laptop perhaps?

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Finally, the generous husband bought me an external hard drive. I think our "out of the blue" facial session did the trick, LOL! Seriously though, I badly need an external hard drive just to keep me mind at peace and for me to stop worrying about my precious soft files. Instead of buying our son a 2 GB flash drive for school, my husband decided to get the external hard drive instead.



This hard drive is simply convenient to use. It's less than 5 inches long and about half an inch thick which makes it easy for me to slip it inside my laptop sleeve when I am mobile. WD My Passport has a sleeker design, though. But it's price is higher though. I don't go for sleek, anyways. I'm a practical mommy!



I saw a WD Elements 2 TB external hard drive over at buy.com and it's sold at 133.50 USD inclusive of shipping which made me feel a little bad about my purchase. Then again, I think this 2 TB hard drive is not USB-powered so it won't be applicable for my mobile lifestyle. I'm eyeing a media player instead so it would be easier for us to watch our digital home videos. Plus, we can also store episodes of our favorite TV series and watch it without using my laptop as a player. Hmm... I better start saving up for that.

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Imagine writing on a piece of paper and converting what you wrote into text some minutes after. Nope, you can't do this with an image scanner but with Intellipen, you can!


I was privileged to have been invited to the press launch of Intellipen Digital Pen & USB Flash Drive. This ultra-portable, wireless pen instantly records anything you write on a piece of paper. It has a built-in 1 GB flash drive and a receiver that you clip on the piece of paper to digitally store your writings. You can store up to a thousand pages of digital handwritings and doodles!

You can transfer the digital file as soon as you get a hold of your computer. What makes Intellipen different from just using a scanner is that it can recognize handwritings and convert it into text. There's a special software that comes with the package which makes this possible.

This makes Intellipen the perfect gift for busy dads this father's day 2010. Students can also enjoy the benefits of writing with Intellipen especially when writing figures and numerical equations. The possibilities are endless with Intellipen.

Digital Pen
- Comportable Ergonomic Design
- Easily Replaceable Standard Batteries
- Uses Standard Mini Ballpoint Ink Refill

USB Flash Drive
- Stores Thousands of Handwritten Pages
- USB 1.1/2.0 Compatible
- LED indicators
- Rechargeable through USB
- Stores Music, Data and Pictures with 1GB Memory
- View Notes & Drawings on Any Computer
(Windows, MAC, Linux)

System Requirements
- Windows 7/ Vista/ XP (32 Bit Versions) MAC OS X (View only)
- 200MB Available Hard Disk Space
- 512MB RAM
- 1Ghz Processor or Above

Price: Php 5,999.

Check out http://intellipen.multiply.com/ for more details or search and like Intellipen on Facebook.


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I love reading books but my busy writing schedule seldom permits me to have time to read them. That is why I am such a fun of e-books. I get to read books on the go without even being able to bring the books themselves.

But since I don't own a Kindle or an iPad yet, it becomes convenient for me to read Java mobile e-books on my Samsung Jet. I used to download Java e-books from Wattpad when I was still using a Sony Ericsson K750i but the application doesn't seem to jive quite well with my new phone. It was then that I discovered www.mobiles24.com for Java e-books.

I found it better to download Java e-books for my mobile phone instead of just downloading PDF e-books even when my phone can read e-books in that format. Using a Java e-book enables me to start reading from the last page I read. It will take me minutes of scrolling to find the last page I read if I were reading a PDF e-book.

Since I'll be leaving for a week-long Bacolod and Iloilo rendezvous on the 22nd, I stocked up on mobile e-books to read while on the plane or while relaxing by the beach. :)

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My trusty Lenovo Y330 just turned one year old! I am so happy not only because it proved to be a trusted work buddy through the first year but also because the day also marks the end of my 12-month installment payment period haha! Finally, I can save up for other things. I am thinking of buying a 1 terabyte external hard drive. We badly need one to store our high resolution photos. Plus, we can't always trust DVD-R's.


By the way, you know why I call my laptop Mc Lelen? Well, that's the name my brother called me before when I fix our broken appliances. I'm a huge Mc Gyver fan and I love tinkering with gadgets. I initially wanted a Mac but my budget last year did not permit me to have one. Now, I don't have a Mac but I have a Mc Lelen(ovo). LOL! At least, I won't have to spend for expensive mac memory upgrades, hehehe.


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When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in 2004, he only intended to provide a student directory for Harvard University where he was enrolled. Now, what started as a "Harvard thing" has got the world looped into the cyber social network.

Me with my college barkada. (L-R: Nurse Sharon, Atty. Mae, Teacher Jen, Atty. Claire, myself, and Atty. Abby.)
I am thankful to Zuckerberg for Facebook. It connected me to family and friends whom I haven't seen in years! For instance, I was able to reunite with my UP college block mates and my core barkada. I was in a block section during the my entire stay in UP Manila and our block stuck through thick and thin. With Facebook, its easier to update each other about our lives just like in the old days. It's difficult to gather everyone around for a get together because most of us are busy with our respective careers so Facebook becomes our virtual reunion venue.

Have you found old friends in Facebook? How did your virtual reunion go? I'd love to read about it!

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When I started my work-at-home job, I was still using my trusty 8-year old desktop. It's performance was slow and the hard drive needed upgrading. Instead of upgrading my desktop, we bought a laptop. After a few months, I won a netbook in a blogging contest and I use this when I am mobile. Now, we have 2 laptops, 1 netbook, and 1 desktop computer. I never though we'd end up with all of these gadgets

Once in a while I still work on the desktop as some of my files are still saved in its hard drive. I also have files save in the netbook's hard drive. I am now thinking of a way of linking these three computers so I can access the files I need with ease. I read that a KVM switch can enable a single keyboard, video monitor, and mouse to control more than one computer at a time. I wonder if this can work on my gadgets? What do you think?

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This is what I try to burn every day via Wii Fit Plus. I really don't mind at all. I'm having fun while losing all the pounds I gained during the holidays.

Rap’s new Wii is now my constant companion in working out. I’m glad that my husband bought me the Wii board, too. It actually takes me 3 hours to burn that much calories and that’s every day. There’s no need for me to take in even the best weight loss supplement in the market today. My Wii Fit Plus is enough.

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When I bought my laptop in March, it came bundled with a Norton Anti Virus trial software that got me covered for free for 90 days. After that, I was prompted to buy a licensed version which I did not do for obvious reasons. One is that I find it too expensive to buy when I can opt to find a free anti virus software instead. My initial step was to download the latest free version of AVG but most of my blogger friends recommended that I switch to Avira. I did and, so far, I think it's doing good for me.

Other than the price, there are also other points I consider in looking for an antivirus software. Here are just some of them:

• It should be light so as not to slow down the performance of my laptop;
• It should also be an anti-spyware;
• It should be able to scan, detect, and remove rootkits;
• It should be able to detect threats from downloaded email; and
• It should be able to scan, detect, and remove malware.

Did I miss out on some things? I'll appreciate if you have more tips to add. :)

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Laptops are out, netbooks are in. I saw this line from one online seller. Netbooks have become so popular this year that every computer brand his its own line of netbook series.

Before we bought my Lenovo Y330 in March this year, I was thinking of buying a netbook. First, my budget was only within the price range of netboooks. Second, I wanted a laptop that's light to carry when I'm mobile. My husband rejected the idea and offered to buy the laptop for me. He insisted that I needed a laptop more since my work is online. He said that a netbook will not be able to handle the bulk of my online work and that my computing activities will be too limited.

Now that I think about it, I thank him for proving his point. I got to realize what he meant more when I won a netbook in a blogging contest last August. Yes, netbooks have limited features. That's why we ended up giving the netbook to our son. I get to use it only when I'm away from home and I need to be online. Still, when I need to bring work with me to a coffee shop while doing mommy errands, I still bring my Lenovo.

Take this from me: netbooks are smaller, lighter, and more inexpensive but they are more suited for Internet surfing and light computing activities. It's good for a second laptop or if you already have a PC at home. Go for the laptop if you need to have bigger hard disk space, bigger memory capacity, and a DVD drive.

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Aaaah! This is it! Can you imagine me jumping for joy? Finally, we're gonna buy a DSLR for Christmas. It's actually my husband's gift to himself as he's really the one who has the skilled eye in taking photographs. I'm still excited, though, because I will also get to use that for sure!

We're contemplating on buying a Canon or a Nikon. Most of my blogger friends use Nikon DSLR cameras. They even showed me where to buy one in Quiapo.I really am still a newbie when it comes to DSLRs and I'm not familiar with the techie terms listed in the specs of camera reviews.

We're actually leaning towards getting a Canon since our digital camera is a Canon and I find the brand very reliable. Our video camera is not a Canon, though, but a Sony. I have yet to try a Nikon gadget for me to trust the brand. Canon is more pricey from what I gathered but I don't want to scrimp on the cost and sacrifice the quality.

I initially thought that buying a DSLR is just an easy task. Now I know that there are lot of things to consider before getting one. Do you have any tips and suggestions? I would love to read some from you.

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I received news that thieves went inside a blogger friend's home during the wee hours of this morning. I was worried about her safety and her family members as well. I can just imagine the horrible feeling she must have had with the thieves inside her home. Somehow, its a consolation to know that she and her family members are safe.

Every day, I watch similar news on TV and some of the incidents did not end up well. After the calamity, more stealing incidents surfaced and, as bad as this may sound, I am sure that more will happen as the Christmas season comes near. Do I feel safe in our own home? Yes and no.

I feel kinda safe because I have two big dogs and one is an American Pitbull Terrier. A street lamp is situated in front of our house and it helps us illuminate our area especially the cars parked outside. We live in a village and our village guards do not allow guests to go inside the village without permission from homeowners. But then...

I don't feel that safe because there has already been an incident of robbers going inside a neighbor's home last June. Last year, the rear view mirror of another neighbor's car got stolen. Although the village guards guard the gate and do their rounds nightly, some thieves still get in and out through the perimeter fence. What makes me more scared is that our town has been badly hit by the storm and that means more people needing money badly.

While I do not think that we already need to install a video surveillance equipment in our home, I still think that we need to reinforce our security measures here at home. That would include letting the dogs out of their cages at night. Never mind that my Bronson may pull the wild roses out from the soil. :( At least, we can sleep well knowing that thieves will think thrice about getting inside our property.

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How would you like to have a phone that you can dress up whatever you like? Now, you can! Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's lightest yet fully-functional phone, the customizable and modular modu™ phone is sure to be an eye candy for techy and gadget enthusiasts out there.


Globe Telecom and modu™ Ltd. has recently signed up a partnership to bring this breakthrough phone to the Philippines. modu™ phones only weigh 1.5 oz. yet fully loaded with a music player, mass storage device, and a 2 GB memory. It was founded in 2007 by Dov Moran, inventor of the USB Flash Drive (DiskonKey™) and other groundbreaking personal storage solutions. Globe will be distributing the phones locally through its exclusive distributor Lynk Communications.

I'll keep you updated on its retail price. For now, just visit www.modumobile.com to view the product catalog and see for yourself the awesome jackets that this tiny phone can fit into. I think I'm gonna head out to the nearest Globe Business Center to have a look feel of this cutie. Now I know where to slip my new Globe Tattoo sim in! [insert Plurk evil_smirk emoticon here] Haha!

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