Gone were the days when I bring my DSLR everyday. Ever since I got the Olloclip for the iPhone 5, I became confident that my iPhone can produce beautiful pictures that I can finally save the DSLR for special occasions only.
In fact, whenever I install the olloclip on my iPhone 5, I get questions like, “what is that?“, “that’s a cool gadget, how much is it?“, “how cool! where can I get that accessory?“.
Let me introduce one of my favorite iPhone accessory: the Olloclip. It’s a 3-in-1 photo lens system for the iPhone that works with any iOS applications. It costs about Php 2,950 which is very cheap considering that we are getting three different lenses (yes, three!).
What’s inside the Olloclip box?
Included in the box are:
a microfiber bag carrying case that doubles as a cleaning cloth
lens caps for both ends of the olloclip
a macro lens
a fisheye lens
a wide-angle lens
iPod touch adapter
What I like about the Olloclip?
Apart from iPhone 5, this little accessory works with iPod touch 5th generation. An adapter is included in the box so that we can use olloclip on the iPod Touch.
The olloclip is so easy to bring around. It’s so small that you can put the accessory in your pocket.
The carrying bag doubles as a cleaning cloth! Yes, the pouch is made of microfiber thus it can be used to wipe any fingerprints or dust on the lenses.
It’s so useful and functional! Olloclip works as advertised. It’s a 3-in-1 lens system that works great, more than great!
Fish eye – provides a field of view of approximately 180 degrees. It’s a fun feature and can be addicting! It gives focus to the subject. I love how photos come out, so cute!
Wide-angle – doubles the native viewing angle of the iPhone! This lens is perfect for nature and landscape shots.
Macro – allows you to focus the phone within 13mm of the photo subject. I like how we can see the subject better as the macro lens is capable of making 10x close-ups! The lens is accessible by unscrewing the wide-angle lens from the olloclip.
Olloclip is so simple to use. You don’t even need to read any manual to understand how it works. You just snap it on your iPhone and take photos like you usually do on your iPhone 5.
The three lenses works for pictures but also for videos! So awesome!
Installing the olloclip is easy. You just snap the accessory to the corner of the iPhone 5 where the rear camera is, and it aligns the lenses automatically.
The Olloclip is made from high quality grade aluminium, precision-ground coated glass optics and hard plastic. It feels strong, tough and can withstand frequent use of the accessory.
The Php 2,950 price is definitely a steal considering that we are getting three different kinds of lenses. If we buy a macro lens for our DSLR, it’ll cost thrice as much! What more for all three?
What I don’t like about the Olloclip?
There are two things that I didn’t like about olloclip (nothing is perfect after all!):
The lens cap do not stay well and tends to come off easily. It’s a good thing that I put the lens in the carrying bag so I always find it inside.
Olloclip only works without an iPhone case. Thus, if you have an iPhone case, you have to remove it whenever you use olloclip.
My Personal Olloclip Gallery
I took a lot of photos with Olloclip. I especially love the wide-angle lens because it makes the view bigger. Group pictures are not a problem anymore if we’re a bit challenged with little space. I feel like I can produce beautiful pictures using such a nifty little gadget. I love Olloclip and I highly suggest you get one now!
One of the things I should learn whenever I go to a place is to make sure that I walk around and check out all the establishments. If it weren’t for an invitation to try out Izumi, I wouldn’t have discovered it. There are a lot of restaurants in Burgos Circle Taguig but I didn’t realise that there are also restaurants at the side. Good thing I now know about Izumi Sake Bar & Restaurant. It was a good discovery considering Izumi serves good food and surprisingly, very cheap!
Reinventing Izumi
After ramen, curry is the most loved food by Japanese people. Knowing this fact, Izumi Sake Bar & Restaurant recreated their menu and focused it on curry.
They brought in Chef Him Uy de Baron as consultant. With the famous chef on board, Izumi made four unique curry sauces to pair with different cuts of meat and seafood. Izumi definitely knows that curry holds a special place in the hearts of Japanese cuisine fans. I felt that they made it right considering that it’s a very unique way of using a well-loved ingredient as a theme in a restaurant’s menu.
House Blend Curry Sauce – most neutral, slightly spicy, creamy with hints of ginger and honey. Spicy Peanut/Pork Curry Sauce – similar to a Tan Tan Men but laced with Curry and Sesame. Dark Curry Sauce – balanced by the dark chocolate, chili, apples, and three Curry blends. White Curry Sauce – Japanese Bechamel, with just a hint of curry, it lends itself well to the seafood dishes it’s usually paired with.
I love how they came up with the “Have Your Own Style Curry“. You choose the sauce that will come with your meat. It gives diners variety and flexibility as to how they wanna enjoy their food.
Izumi Ambience
Izumi Sake Bar & Restaurant has a cozy ambience and well-designed layout. The bar definitely takes the spotlight with its display of premium sake beautifully arranged. It makes it hard for diners not to order sake with their Japanese curry.
The surprise for me was the private function room at the 2nd floor. I was blown away when I saw the reddish room with a pole in the middle. The place is perfect for bachelor/bachelorette parties or any good ol’ fun parties in general! You have friends who pole dance? He/she can flaunt his/her talents there!
Izumi Food
Spicy Edamame (Php 185)
Boiled beans sauteed in spicy butter.
I’ve never seen edamame cooked this way. Usually, Japanese restaurants serve this boiled, that’s it. So Izumi’s edamame was a pleasant surprise. There were two orders of this in our table. However, one of which I finished by myself hehehe! 😛 I just love the seasoning! You have to be ready with your alcohol to wash your hands afterwards though.
Steak and Onion Gyoza with Curry Sauce (Php 110)
crisp dumplings with chicken and mushroom filling on Izumi’s House Curry, topped with strips of nori.
Gyoza in curry sauce?? Yes, it worked! Crispy but at the same time flavorful!
Umami Pasta (Php 270)
Looks can be deceiving. The pasta might look like that but boy, it was soooooooooo good! The flavors were too rich. Every spoonful of this pasta was heavenly! It must be the bacon! Yes, bacon, cheese and shitake make up Chef Him Uy de Baron’s Umami pasta. This is a must-order!
Uni Cream Pasta (Php 550)
Another successful dish from Izumi is this seared tuna with Mentaiko pasta. The taste was totally different from umami pasta and I could not pinpoint the ingredients that make them unique. The obvious difference was the tuna. Whatever the secret ingredients are, it worked great. Izumi’s pasta are definitely worth going back to.
Premium Seafood Furai with White Curry Sauce (Php 350 + Php 60)
Three premium seafood in one savory dish! The premium seafood furai is your dream seafood dish with salmon, soft-shelled crab and scallops. The scallops were just too yummy that I almost forgot that the white curry was there to give it more flavor.
I love salisbury steak and I usually order that whenever I see it in a restaurant’s menu. Izumi has its own version with of course, curry sauce! We were served two orders of the Japanese Salisbury Steak. One with House Curry Sauce (Php 200 + Php 75) and one with Dark Curry Sauce (Php 200 + Php 90). You can tell the difference just with the sauce. For me, the house curry sauce won!
How would you feel eating beef stew with dark curry sauce (Dark curry having chocolate in it)? For me, it was nice but I guess, I prefer the old, traditional way of eating beef curry. But that’s just me.
Tonkatsu is a staple menu in a Japanese restaurant. With curry added to it, you’ll love it more! This dish alone could satisfy your hunger. A complete meal in itself, no need for any appetizer or salad.
It’s rare to see edamame in main dishes but I see that in 80% of the food that we tried out at Izumi Sake Bar & Restaurant. Coincidentally, Chef Him Uy de Baron share the same fondness to edamame as me. With edamame in the food, it made me enjoy the meal more. I actually finished one order of spicy edamame by myself LOL!
I’m glad I discovered Izumi because now I know where to go for curry! Plus, I have Izumi to recommend whenever friends need a venue for bachelor or bachelorette party!
——————– Izumi Sake Bar & Restaurant 29th St. cor. Rizal Drive Forbes Town Center, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Philippines +63-2-8564090
I came to meet a friend thinking that we would be watching Star Trek: Into Darkness. However, I was surprised when I saw that it was apparently Evil Dead. I’m a lover of horror movies. In fact, I used to watch a horror flick every single week. No matter if there are only ten people inside the cinema, it doesn’t matter as long as I was able to satisfy my craving for scary movies!
I must admit that I do not watch movies that much anymore. The high prices of cinemas made me want to just stay home and watch DVD. Also, my friends are all busy with their own families & dates that I ended up not having a movie buddy anymore.
Anyway, while I didn’t expect to watch a horror movie after a long time, I embraced it. I love scary movies after all!
Evil Dead is about five young friends who went out of town to help one of them cope with drug abuse. When they got into a remote family cabin, they found out that some people had broken in and left quite a yucky mess in the place. The youngsters discovered the Book of the Dead. As expected, one of them examined the book and unleashed a demon living nearby the woods and hell broke loose.
The story of Evil Dead is simple but watching the story unfold in the cinema was terrifying! In fact, I do not think I would want to watch a horror movie again. I watched Evil Dead last weekend but until now, I sleep with lights and TV on. I hallucinate that there would be ghosts or evil forces when I’m driving at night. Yeah, Evil Dead affected me badly that I didn’t appreciate it anymore.
Net, the film was uber effective! It was gross, brutal, terrifying and violent! To creep you out further, the first letter of the movie’s main characters’ names (David, Eric, Mia, Olivia & Natalie) form the word, D-E-V-I-L. Yea, scary, creepy, uuugghhh.
Ramon “Jun” Magsaysay Jr. is the son of former president Ramon Magsaysay. Unlike other politicians, he had a lengthy experience government as congressman of Zambales (1966 to 1969), and former senator (1995 to 2007), as well as work in the private sector as an Agri-Entrepreneur. He is vying for a senatorial spot in the upcoming elections on May 13, 2013.
If that resume isn’t enough for you, Magsaysay, Jr. has a mechanical engineering degree from De La Salle and also studied business management in Harvard and New York University.
Jun Magsaysay is known to have a good track record, competent & decisive, and a man of integrity. I’ve a met a lot of politicians in the past but when I met senator Jun Magsaysay for the first time, I was completely starstruck!
Our country badly needs reform. The Philippines BADLY needs senators who will make a good difference, who loves the country genuinely, and who will perform the duties without personal vendetta or agenda. We need a senator who has proved himself/herself that he/she has the right qualities to assume the important senatorial position.
I believe Jun Magsaysay has proven in the past that he performs his duty without personal vendetta or agenda, who loves our country, and truly will do right as Senator.
What has he done?
He passed and authored the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act, the AFMA Law and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Ramon Magsaysay Jr. is the principal author of Republic Act 8792 or the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000. The E-Commerce Law provides legal recognition of electronic documents, contracts and digital signatures. It effectively reduces red tape. And don’t you think this is the basis for our thriving business process outsourcing industry in the country, which currently employs some 770,000? So yes, he legislates, and creates jobs!
What other job creation has he done?
Well, Jun Magsaysay is considered the pioneer of Philippine Cable industry. When he’s not a politician, Jun Magsaysay successfully started Dairy Farm. So he really does know how to be an entrepreneur. He has turned it over to his son, Paco while he’s busy campaigning for re-election.
If you want to know more about Jun Magsaysay and his advocacies, read on. Listed below are issues where the good former senator shared his thoughts on. I got the data from various press releases Ramon Magsaysay Jr.’s team sent out.
On Encouraging Investors
The government should institute a continuing policy to reduce the bureaucratic red tape that drives away investors and carry out a blueprint that makes doing business in the Philippines easier.
One way of simplifying doing business is legislating one-stop shop in all local government units, where all mandatory permits needed to register an enterprise would be placed in one location so that entrepreneurs would not go through the rigorous process of transferring from one office to another.
According to Jun Magsaysay, there are some Local Government Units that have setup one-stop shops for business registration. I agree with Jun Magsaysay that one-stop shop should be a model for all. After all, 90% of business in the country is made up of Small and Medium Enterprises. A friendlier, more simplified business climate can encourage even more, don’t you think?
On Seeking Service Corps of Retired Executives
Jun Magsaysay also calls on the business community to help build a Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE). The idea, according to Magsaysay, is patterned after those in the United States and Singapore. This non-profit group, he says should provide free counseling and advice as a portal for sustainable development of Small and Medium Enterprises.
On Needing More Caring, Friendlier OFW Guidelines
Jun Magsaysay believes that there should be a serious review of the government’s policy on the treatment of Overseas Filipino workers.
“It has been this way for quite a long time now. Every time we receive comments from our Kababayans abroad, their number one concern is that they are not properly assisted by our officials assigned in embassies and consulates,” the former senator said.
“We should make our policy guidelines more OFW-friendly. They should be accessible and not impose too much requirements on our Filipino workers so that seeking assistance from the Philippine Embassy would not be very difficult for our OFWs. We must also set the guidelines on the proper decorum that our representatives abroad should observe and follow in dealing with our Kababayans abroad”.
The Foreign Affairs department must a devise a tool to assist undocumented Filipino workers. The DFA should be the embodiment that the government is ‘for the people, by the people, and of the people’.
On Barangay Health Workers
Jun Magsaysay really recognizes people. He cares so much that according to his campaign, Magsaysay wants to “increase the monthly allowance of barangay health workers (BHWs) on a level that is realistic and fairly decent, given rising food costs and standard of living.”
Jun said that, “these BHWs receive a basic monthly honorarium ranging from Php 200 to Php 1,000, which is not enough to support one’s self, let alone a family of three.”
Everyone knows that the cost of living is always on the rise and they can barely make ends meet! And how many are these people? There are over 400,000 Barangay Health Workers, nationwide!
On Divorce and Civil Annulment
Jun Magsaysay is a family man. He believes that instead of legislating divorce, Congress should improve the Family Code provision on Civil Annulment, which is the Philippines’ version of divorce.”
According to the statistics that Magsaysay relieved, the cost for annulment is around Php 300,000 pesos. He believes that the Senate should review the law and propose to bring down the cost to PHP20,000 or PHP30,000. The senator added that after years of trying to make a marriage work, there should be more reasons other than “psychological incapacity” for annulment, like women seeking protection from physical, mental and sexual abuse. Children too.
On Empowering Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)
Jun commits himself to “assist and advance the welfare of persons with disabilities (PWD) in the country.” Senator Magsaysay noted an advocacy of his father, the late President Ramon Magsaysay and that he is carrying on the legacy that ‘he who has less in life should have more in law‘.
During his first term at the Senate, Magsaysay was the former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs. He was able to allocate Php 10 million as additional budget for the Department of Education. This, he said was for the skills upgrade of Persons with Disabilities, particularly, for those in the manufacturing industry like the “Wood Works,” a wood manufacturing business run by disabled but skilled and gifted Filipinos who make school chairs and desks. It likewise manufactures products made from other materials.
On Making Science, Technology, English and Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) More Fun
Jun Magsaysay’s commitment to education also includes emphasis “in teaching Science, Technology, English and Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.” As a former chairman of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, he has grave concern that “Filipino students nowadays are not too keen on taking classes on the subjects of Science, Technology, English, Engineering and math.”
Jun Magsaysay has expressed optimism for the implementation of K12. He thinks it “would be a good support to strengthen the education’s major curriculum both in public and private schools, which are Science, Technology, English or Engineering and Math.”
On developing ‘Organic’ Agriculture
As an Agri-Entrepreneur, Ramon “Jun” Magsaysay Jr. wants to bring that passion into the Senate. He is for aggressively “promoting organic agriculture in the country and help farmers develop more organic farming areas as the country opens its doors to other Southeast Asian nations by 2015.”
On Vouchers for Farmers
In line with his agriculture entrepreneurship experience, Jun Magsaysay if elected would be reviving his proposal for the distribution of vouchers for famers. He believes that farmers can use this to boost agriculture production, and to learn modern agricultural technologies. He would fine the measure to “institutionalise assistance to farmers through a voucher system“ when he gets elected in the Senate.
On hiring OJTs this summer
Magsaysay believes that “The government should take the lead in providing jobs even to our youths, including students from junior high schools and colleges.“
According to his campaign, A National Statistics Office (NSO) survey disclosed that the percentage rate of jobless Filipinos remained at 7.1 percent or 2.894 million as of January this year, as against the 7.2 percent or 2.892 million Filipinos who do not have jobs in January 2012.
Magsaysay said that “providing summer jobs to students is tantamount to giving them two full months of worry-free on-the-job training. Trainings with allowances for students in the office, especially those taking up technical and mechanical courses, and even familiarization with clerical works, would add up to the competitiveness and skills of students, particularly those coming from the lower economic class.”
On Mindanao
Jun Magsaysay wants a long term solution for Mindanao. And how does he propose to do that?
He believes that a “comprehensive agriculture-based economic program to alleviate their living condition” is the answer. Part of the agri-economic plan, he disclosed:seed money or capital for farmers, fertilizers, irrigation, farm to market feeder roads, strengthening of rural banks and cooperatives, warehouses for storage of harvested and milled rice.
Blogwatch Interview with Ramon Magsaysay Jr.
The Blogwatch Team had a good opportunity to meet the good former senator. It proved further my instinct that we need someone like Jun Magsaysay in the Philippine senate. Ever since then, I’ve been actively convincing friends to include him in their ballots. We only have a few good senatoriables in this election, please ensure that to give them your votes.
We’ve talked about agriculture, education, health, senior citizen, divorce, and business during the interview. I got the same answers as what was indicated in the press releases. Listening to him explain his platform and see first hand how passionate he is, I’m truly convinced that we need Ramon “Jun” Magsaysay Jr. back in the senate.
If you worry about him being a senior citizen, fret not, as he assured us that he wouldn’t have ran if he is not in a good health condition. Watch the videos to see the recorded interview we had with the senatoriable several weeks ago.
If I have to choose only one candidate among all senatoriables, it will be Ramon “Jun” Magsaysay, Jr. because he is our guy! Please cast a vote for him on May 13, 2013!
I love my iPhone 5 a lot! Having convinced several friends to purchase the phone is one real proof how I adore iPhone 5. Whenever I like something, I really show my fondness to the world. However, the iPhone 5 is not perfect. Its battery can be easily drained especially if you use LTE connection most of the time. That is why I’m constantly looking for battery cases.
This week, I discovered Boostcase Hybrid Battery for iPhone 5. It looks good and what surprised me about this accessory is its endless possibility of attaching several other accessories to the case. It makes me wanna get the other Boostcase products so I can make the most out of Boostcase Hybrid Battery.
When you’re at the gadget accessory store, you can take a peek at the box to see how the Boostcase Hybrid Battery will look like. One thing I immediately noticed is the number of dots lining at the back of the case. I also noticed the simplicity of Boostcase hybrid battery design. No matter if you’re a man or a woman, you can be comfortable using the case.
What’s inside the box
Inside the box, you can see four items:
Slim Fitting Snap-on Case – truly slim case that fits the iPhone perfectly and protects it. 2200 mAH Detachable Extended Battery Sleeve – an attachable battery that charges the phone and give 100% more power to the iPhone 5 battery. 3″ Micro USB Cable – use to recharge the battery sleeve. Boostcase Manual – a small manual you can refer for any information about the boostcase hybrid battery
Technical Specifications:
Battery type: 2200 mAH rechargeable Lithium Polymer
Snap case weight: 17 grams
Battery weight: 79 grams
Installation & Detachment
Installation:
1) Insert iPhone 5 into the slim-fitting snap case
2) Slide battery sleeve into the snap case by matching four points of battery with the holes in the case.
3) Slide battery upward until the lightning connector is fully inserted into the iPhone
Detachment:
1) Press down on battery until it slides downward.
2) At this point, lightning connector will be disconnected from the iPhone as well as the four points of battery from the holes.
3) Pull battery outward away from case.
Features
Slim case provides everyday protection for the iPhone 5
The Boostcase snap-on case is so slim that it doesn’t add much thickness to the iPhone 5. It’s made of rubber which makes it an effective protective covering and gives a good grip on the iPhone.
Beautiful functional design
I love how BoostCase incorporated the design of both the case and the battery sleeve which turns out to be great-looking. It’s also quite obvious how good the quality of the case is just by looking at it. I had several questions already from friends on where I bought it.
BoostCase Hybrid battery covers the entire phone exposing only functional buttons of the iPhone. It gives maximum protection of the phone and I really love the smooth texture of the entire case.
2200MAH Battery adds up to 100% more power for iPhone 5
The most important function of BoostCase Hyrbid Battery Case is that it can prolong iPhone 5’s battery life to twice as much. It packs a 2,200mAh battery which has enough power for people like me who uses the iPhone heavily everyday.
Battery Level indicator and on/off button
When Boostcase battery is connected to iPhone, the power will be switched automatically on by default. You can manually turn the battery power on/off by pressing and holding down the on/off button for 2-3 seconds.
To know the battery level of the battery pack, you can refer to the on/off button because it has LED light surrounding it which shows the power level of the battery — Green for 70-100%, Yellow for 30-70%, red for 1-30% and no color for totally 0% power.
The boostcase battery also indicates the power while recharging — flashing red for 0-30%, flashing yellow for 30-70%, flashing green for 70-99% and solid green for fully charged at 100%. Recharging time usually takes around 3 hours.
Allows the user to add all kinds of accessories to the case
The tiny dots along the backside of the BoostCase snap-on case has a purpose. It allows us to attach to the case various accessories such as credit card holder, clutch wallet, fold wallet, kickstand, hand strap and other stuff Boostcase can think of! I love this feature and it definitely will make us appreciate this case more.
Overall, I like the Boostcase Hybrid Battery for the iPhone 5. However, there is one thing that I dislike about it –> it’s extremely hard to remove the snap case from the iPhone 5. I know the purpose of protecting the iPhone and fitting it perfectly caused this hardship but boy, I hope Boostcase thought about it considering there are people like me who like to swap cases a lot.
That said, I’m keeping the Boostcase hybrid battery and will definitely be the one that I will use everyday from now on. I’m actually thinking about what accessories to get to match my black Boostcase snap-on case. The purse would look nice 🙂
Boostcase Hybrid Battery for iPhone 5 costs Php 3,950. With that price, you can get a case, extra power for your iPhone 5 and numerous options for the accessory. In addition, you can choose among so many colors available which can fit any personality.
