One thing that I love about my new android phone is that using an app called scan life, I can very much have the functionalities of barcode scanners and read every bar code I can come across provided that I am connected to the world wide web and that the data is present in the server.

This is particularly useful when checking for the prices of items in the grocery and for the techie guy or gal like me, this can also be used to download a particular app or information on the web. All you need to do is start the application, use your camera to focus on the bar code on the computer monitor and it automatically reads and redirects you to the website link for that particular app. With such a broad range of possibilities that can be done using such a technology, think of all the ways that it could make our lives more of a breeze.

Its like you have walk-in inside this big motorshow where you’ll find lots of awesome and expensive autos.

Top of the line European, Japanese and Asian cars are affluent in the city. They are literally scattered all over. I even got surprise to see an Alfa Romeo parked in-between two big trucks! (yari to pag naatrasan hehe).

I think people here are not mesmerized at all when they see costly cars, its just like a normal means of transportation for them, but for me its all worth it haha!

You won’t believe me but I have shoot all the cars above in just a few hours while having a mini photowalk with my friend Rex. (You could just imagine,hindi pa kasali jan yung mga hindi ko na Kodakan hehe) Isn’t that amazing!

I know there are much more awesome cars in Macau! We also went there but unfortunately only stayed inside the Venetian.  Hope I could visit it again some other time.

Of course since I’m a rider I also shoot some of their motorcycles,  and I’m posting it next time.

Biyaheng Sagada was originally planned late last year. Dapat mga around December 26 to 30 ang alis pero naudlot dahil sa busy ang karamihan. Na-sked ito ng panibago ng January 21 – 23. Good thing that Monday January 23 was declared a holiday because its Chinese New Year! We we’re composed of 1 Kymco Like, 1 Wave 100 and 2 Mio Amore. 4 riders and 1 backride. (Mine was the Pink Mio Amore)

So ayun, we (ViaJista – ang ViaJerong Turista) were all first timers on this road trip which we called “North Loop Junior” (Manila – Bulacan – Nueva Ecija – Nueva Vizcaya – Banaue – Bontoc – Sagada – Baguio – Manaoag – Manila).

1st day - Red Line / 2nd day - Violet Line / 3rd day - Green Line

That’s why  we also make it a point na magtanong at mag-research beforehand (road guides, how long does it take, gas consumptions, road conditions, places to stay, food to eat, tools needed, etc..) para kahit papano me info kami along the way. We have gathered enough tips and info’s pero siempre iba pa rin pag yung mismong in real time na, hindi na nasusunod yung ibang mga tips hehe. Like when we got lost at Villaverde, Nueva Vizcaya (the town after Solano) sa map kase there’s a shortcut to Bagabag going to Lamut. Mapunta ba naman kami sa mga pilapil ng bukid at paliit ng paliit yung daan. Siguro kung trail bike kakayanin naman at mag-eenjoy pa hehe. Nasayangan din kami ng mga 1 oras mahigit dun dahil kakahanap ng daan. At grabe kase biglang baba ng temperature nung nasa parteng Lagawe na kami. Maulap ang daan at super ginaw brrrrrr! Naisip namin wag ng ituloy ng Sagada yung biyahe that day kase alanganin na at sayang din kung hindi namin ma-view ng maayos ang Banaue Rice Terraces.

We actually take-off at around 5:30am at Lagro Novaliches, with an average pacing of 80 – 100 kph, some gas stops, food trips, sightseeing and pektyur-pektyur. We finally arrived at Banaue at around 5:30pm. Our calloused butt’s finally rested at around 7pm at Terraceville Inn, Banaue after travelling a gruesome 350 kilometers that day.

Tomorrow’s destination – Sagada. We took off at around 8am. Mejo sikat na araw, ganun talaga gusto namin para makita ang mga rice terraces, kase the first day we arrived eh dapit-hapon na at super foggy pa kaya almost zero visibility talaga yung mga views.

We then then traversed the breathtaking road to Bontoc going to Sagada. The dizzying zigzag road are well paved. Me konting parte lang na inaayos pero overall smooth naman siya. Super ganda ng tanawin along the way. Kitang-kita ang kabundukan at ang mga ulap na napakababa. Sarap pati ng simoy ng hangin! Nakakatuwa kase its something na you won’t usually see and feel in Manila.

From Dantay Crossing, its another 12 kilometers to reach Sagada and its not an easy one. Not only that its uphill but its also a rocky road. Me part din naman na sementado. Paputol-putol. Pero mas mahaba yung bako-bakong daan. We finally reached Sagada, just in time for lunch tapos konting pasyal-pasyal and as usual pektyur-pektyur. We decided to left at around 2pm kase baka kami gabihin sa Halsema Highway going to Baguio. Its only around 130 kms going there. Kung iisipin mga 2 – 3 hours lang ito kung straight yung kalsada ang kaso almost 95 percent eh zigzag at palusong pa. At ayon din sa mga napagtanungan namin, aabutin nga raw ng 4 – 6 hours ang traveling time.

Super lamig ng ride namin along Halsema Highway. I think umabot sa below zero yung temperature lalo na at naka-motor kami, mahangin at padilim na rin. Lahat kami ay nanginginig sa ginaw habang bumibiyahe. Walang nagawa yung leather jacket ko para kontrahin yung lamig. Nakatulong naman yung baon kong scarf kahit papano. Three of my co-rider even wears surgical gloves underneath their riding gloves para hindi manigas yung hands nila gaya ng napi-feel ko sa kamay ko na super naninigas na sa ginaw. Nagsuot na rin sila ng rain coats to battle the cold wind.

Likewise, its another breathtaking sceneries at Halsema Highway, (considered one of the dangerous highway in the world) mountains everywhere at sa wakas mararating ko na rin yung target kong famous road sign ng mga riders. Its the marker known as the Pali –  Highest Point in the Philippine Highway System, located at  Cattubo, Atok, Benguet after we failed to reach it last year.

We encountered two minor troubles along the way. The Kymco Like has carb difficiency kase dumalas yung pugak ng pipe although kaya pa naman tumakbo pero mejo hirap na sa mga paahon. Tapos yung Wave 100 naman tumigas yung throttle cable, which is quite dangerous kase you need force talaga para maibalik sa menor. So dito nagsimulang bumagal yung biyahe namin. I need to be at the back of the Wave 100 just to be at hand just in case something bad happens.

We reached La Trinidad capitol at around 8 pm.  After 6 hours of travel from Sagada. Challenging talaga yung pinagdaanan namin pati ng mga motor, unlike when we travelled to Pagudpud na pulos straight highway lang ang dadaanan. Dito sa Sagada Road Trip na ito eh dapat mas me experience yung rider kase mas technical yung dadaanan. So if you’re just a newbie in motorcycling mejo hindi advisable to take this route as your first road trip. Andito na kase lahat ng klaseng road tracks and road conditions. – long straight highways, uphills, downhills, zigzag, rocky roads, hairpin turns  - uphill and downhill, single-track, muddy, watery roads, road cliffs, night ride,  and chilly weather. Not to mention na seldom ka lang makakita ng kabahayan, tao, at gas station.

The next day we part with the two troubled bikes kase they decided na ipaayos muna yung mga motor nila sa Baguio and will be staying a day more. So ayun, konting ikot sa Baguio, bili pasalubong, pektyur-pektyur then off we go.

And since my my ride buddy Eric eh gustong makadaan at magpa-bless na rin ng motor sa Our Lady of Manaog, nag-drop by na rin kami duon at dun na rin nag-rest at nag lunch.

We left past 3pm na rin. As we were riding along Dau Pampanga, merong nag-cut sa akin na tricycle ng alanganin that it made my rear brake cable snapped! Thank God that it happened here kako sa patag na. Kase kung dun napatid somewhere in Sagada mas delikado. So yun, we were able to find a shop naman na merong replacement cable. Then along the way meron pa kaming dinalaw na kaibigan along Angeles at dun na rin kami nag-dinner.

We have reached the same place we started at Lagro Quezon City at around 10:30pm. We thanked God for our safe travel and to all the wonderful places we’ve been. Until next time po

More photos of our Sagada Road Trip – http://www.facebook.com/raredog?sk=photos

Like ViaJista on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/viajista 

Are you the proud winner of a structured settlement? And perhaps you are dissatisfied with the terms of having to wait monthly or annually for your cash payout? Then perhaps you should consider being among those who sell structured settlement to maximize the payback benefits for your needs.

It is true that one of the reasons why these type of settlements exist is because most people who win these and receive the money in one big drop feels like they’ve won the lottery and tend to finish off everything in one big extravagant blowout, resulting in mismanagement of funds. But what is you really need the money now for an emergency? Then selling your settlement to companies who buy these would be the answer. Most of them could be found in an auction site where you can choose to sell your structured settlement rights to the highest bidder.

And one other benefit? You can get your money’s worth at its present purchasing power without having to worry whether your dollar now can buy the same stuff in the future, which is the case if you let your settlement be as it is now.

If you can log-on to your Yahoo Messenger account as of this time, you will be able to see the typo error of Yahoo Insider for the famous car Toyota to Toyoto haha!

I’m sure the writer / editor of Yahoo Insider! will be in the hot seat later this day. With this proves that nothing escapes typo error. Imagine even big company like Yahoo experienced this humiliating hilarious moment

I’m sure somewhere in my blog I have one too! haha!  Sh1t happens!

Now, you might be wondering how this can affect us here in the Philippines, and most Filipinos are just irritated and not seriously bothered as to how this can affect our online lifestyle. With SOPA in effect, the US law enforcement has the power to take any website, be it within or outside the boundaries of the United States of America, taken down and banned from search engines as long they have been found guilty of “dedicated theft to US property”. This means that even a tiniest post or pic can bring down an entire forum and is just a minute example of what this bill is capable of. So guys, its up to you if you still want SOPA or just a hot SOPAS for snack lol!

Update on the Pacquaio-Mayweather negotiations for a May fight:

Mayweather personally called Pacquaio’s personal line to discuss about the arrangements for the fight. According to Manny Pacquaio, their topic was about splitting the earnings 50/50 between the two of them. It was said that they already reached an agreement on said topic and then later on Mayweather backed out again.

My gosh! This is more unbelievable than pixies selling rv insurance online. Probably one of the most anticipated fights in the history of boxing, but remember, too much anticipation for the audience can prolly turn the excitement over the fight into a sour grape juice. Whaddyatink?

Every time I see a blind man playing the guitar on the street, I always remember my own acoustic guitar that’s spending years in the attic, gathering dust and not being able to sing a note. It was given to me by my aunt who came from the United States. It is actually a big guitar with a nice hard case, like the ones you see in movies where a musician plays on the street and people put money inside the case to show their appreciation. Maybe it’s time I take up on another sideline and go back to my love of singing and playing the guitar.

This post is not about the coming Chinese New Year on the 23rd of January 2012 or about the year of the Water Dragon.  anyway, this post is somehow Chinese related because its about  “Ang Pao“.  The mini red envelope we usually see,  give or receive  on Christmas Day and Chinese New Year.

I chose ang pao as my subject to the “Paskong Pinoy Photo Challenge” at pnsers.com. Because just like caroling, parol and puto-bungbong – ang pao is considered one of the Filipino christmas tradition . And we inherit from the Chinese culture who also believe that the color red is lucky. That’s why I got lucky winning the photo challenge with a significant margin to all other entries.

I made the shot look like an old rich lady is giving ang pao to the less fortunate. And I’d like to thank my Mama and Dek for painstakingly act as my model for me to successfully made this shot. Maraming Salamat po.

This photo of two men on board their racing bicycle while practicing at the Sports Center in Marikina City is one of my favorite action shots of mine. It’s actually one of my first few panning photos when I decided to practice the technique, and I started to like panning pretty much since then.

It’s actually taken by my now hibernated Canon A710is. I recently submitted it at Dpreview for the Photo Challenge “Action series…. Racing“, in the end, it landed 38th out of 60 entries.