Social: Facebook App for the iPad

(UPDATE: This app has been taken off the App Store already.)

One beef that I have with Facebook up to this time is that it does not have a version for the iPad. While Twitter and my other social networks and blogging platforms have already come up with tablet versions, Facebook seems to be taking its sweet time.

Since moving to the iPad, I have been making do with the iPod Touch version I used to have. So imagine holding the iPad but seeing a teeny tiny iPod Touch screen. Really frustrating.

Well, tonight I made a great discovery after searching the App Store. Social does well (actually, very well so far) as an almost native Facebook app. There is a similar Facebook alternative app called Friendly but from forums I saw, more people prefer Social.

Social has beautifully incorporated most of what I need to do on Facebook. Macworld’s article describing it enumerates several things you can do with Social:

• Add friends, groups and pages to your favorites for quick and easy access • Post new messages • Send private messages • Upload pictures and create new albums • Create groups, events and pages • Easily search through your friends, groups and pages • Browse the full Facebook page, but customized to the iPad touch-screen






And those are not all. I discovered to my delight that I could actually change the privacy settings of each message I posted just like in the real Facebook application. I could comment, LIKE on my friends’ posts.  And to refresh the page, the downward swipe action works!!!

Here are some screenshots I took off the Macworld page (I tried taking my own pics but the shots came out bad). You’ll find that pretty much what you could do on Facebook, you could do with Social.

And here’s a great motivation to get the app right now. It retails for almost $3 but at this very moment, it is being offered at 66% off as a special fall sale — but only for a limited time. In fact, Macworld isn’t updated yet and its site says the app is only being offered at 33% off or $1.99. 
So, download Social app now for only $0.99 (remember, it’s only for a limited time)!

Clinique’s New Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle and Photo Damage Corrector

When I was a lot younger, I never gave much attention to my skin. I loved sports then like women’s softball and played outdoors a lot with girls and boys alike. Pinoy sports like sipa, siato, patintero and piko were favorites of mine. In fact, looking at my photo albums from that time, I was DARK!
Now that I’m more conscious about aging and keeping a healthy lifestyle, I am learning (a bit too late) that all that sun exposure without the benefit of sunscreen was probably wreaking damage on my skin. In a sense, I still consider myself lucky that I inherited some good genes when it came to skin because I still have fairly good skin up to now. But I really do not know how much damage has been wrought underneath. 
Well, one of my favorite brands is about to launch a product that addresses precisely this kind of concern for women in my age category (and even those who are still a lot younger but want to ensure they adequately protect their skin from sun damage).
Clinique recently announced that by November 2010, they will be launching the new Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle & Photo Damage Corrector.

This is a powerful serum that Clinique claims only requires 3 drops, twice a day, for 12 weeks, to achieve a 53% reduction in lines and wrinkles. What exactly does the RepairWear Laser Focus do?
1. It visibly repairs photo damage

Photo damage occurs when harmful rays penetrate deeply into skin not adequately protected with sunscreen. It causes damage to cellular DNA distorts the skin’s regeneration process, and causes indirect damage from the release of free radicals. Clinique says that Repairwear Laser Focus’ potent blend of 3 patented repair enzymes works to help reverse the appearance of photo damage and visibly mends “solar scars”.
2. Its polypeptide technology reduces wrinkles

A high-level peptide complex (consisting of whey protein, Vitamin A and Acetyl Hexapeptide-B) boosts natural collagen production and diminishes the breakdown of existing collagen with essential ingredients. Skin becomes more firm, and the appearance of lines and wrinkles is diminished. Targeted for application on the face and also around the delicate eye area, it works to reverse one of the most visible signs of aging by effectively smoothing and softening eye creases.

3. It protects against free radicals

Repairwear Laser Focus is touted as having a cocktail of ingredients (Vitamins C & E, Ergothioneine, and pomegranate fruit extract) that protect the skin by blocking the release of free radicals from environmental aggressors (sun, pollution, etc) thus preventing damage to the skin’s DNA.

Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle & Photo Damage Corrector is allergy tested, 100% fragrance-free, oil-free, dermatologist-tested, opthalmologist-tested, and non-acnegenic. It is suitable for all skin types and ages. 


It will be available at Clinique counters nationwide beginning November 2010 and is expected to retail at P4,500.

And the Palamantasan Healthy Pledge Winners Are…

We were supposed to announce the contest winners on my blog last Saturday, Sept. 18. But all the bloggers concerned, including the organizers, had to review the entries to ensure that only those who followed the mechanics of the contest were considered valid entries.

I also regret that there was one entry that I could not consider. Firstly, the person posted a link to his/her Facebook page which I could not view due to privacy settings. Secondly, that person’s entry did not appear also on the Palamantasan Facebook page. So there could have been technical glitches with the post. Too bad.

The contest mechanics were clear. One entry per person only.



Since I did not specify if it was one entry per blog or one entry per person for the entire contest, I considered even the entries of people who joined different bloggers’ contests but took pains to submit different entries. Because of the effort exerted, those people still qualified to join. Others were disqualified however for not following the contest mechanics.

So, here are the winners for my blog (I chose less than the maximum of 10).

1. Bagel Betorin

2. Cornelio Mallare

3. Emiliana Sison

4. G-anne Ronquillo

5. Luisa Clemente

6. Ning Buning


Please contact Sam Sanchez of Geiser Maclang at 0918.823.4624 to arrange how to claim your prizes.

Congratulations and thanks for joining!

Chili’s Deluxe Big Mouth Burgers

Bloggers got a first crack at sampling Chili’s bigger Deluxe Big Mouth Burgers. Chili’s has been serving burgers already but this time, their new line of burgers said it all — they were large enough for 2 people to share! Great for people like me with less-than-average appetite.

An added treat for the bloggers was a kitchen tour personally done by Chili’s chef. We got to see how orders were filled, the many quality control steps that they took to ensure each burger came out as it should, sanitation measures (they washed and washed and washed their hands over and over). We got to enter their room-sized freezer where we saw the patties and other ingredients stored. And we got to see how the mushroom sauce was made — prepared by the chef himself in front of us.

We were treated to their four new burgers plus their brand new scrumptious dessert. First, the appetizers…

Next came the burgers, one after the other. I first tried the Ultimate Mushroom Burger (P365) since I love mushroom burgers. The grilled burger is topped with melted Swiss cheese, topped with a rich mushroom sauce and crispy onion strings and served with homestyle fries. 
(Ultimate Mushroom Burger)
This was followed by the Gourmet Burger (P375), peppercorn-crusted burger with fried pickles, gouda cheese and dijon aioli. I never thought I’d enjoy something with peppercorn but the burger really tasted great and I was surprised I actually loved the tangy taste of gouda cheese! This one is something I’d go for again.
(Gourmet Burger)
By this time, my tummy was registering ALMOST FULL. But I still went for a taste of the Smoked Meatloaf (P330). It was topped with crispy onion strings on a sesame seed bun with shredded lettuce, tomato and pickle, served with smoky ketchup and homestyle fries.

(Smoked Meatloaf Burger)
The last burger I tried was the Patty Melt (P350), a burger on Texas toast with Swiss cheese, chipotle-glazed onions and crispy bacon. It was served with jalapeno dressing. Now this one kind of took me by surprise because instead of a burger bun, I was eating the burger with American bread. Frankly, I would have preferred eating this one on a bun, not just because burgers are usually in buns but because the size of the burger overpowered the teeny weeny taste of the toast. 

(Patty Melt)
My tummy was filled to the brim by this time. But who will refuse a dessert that looks like the Banana Cream Pie (P200), graham cracker crust with banana custard filling, topped with fresh whipped cream, drizzled caramel and cocoa powder? Not me!!!

(Banana Cream Pie)
Chili’s, with over 14 years of existence in the Philippines, really knows the taste and appetite of its customers. With the addition of these deluxe burgers, family time at Chili’s will be even better.
Enjoy the Deluxe Big Mouth Burgers at Greenbelt 5 (729-3022), Northeast Greenhills (727-2959), Tomas Morato (372-5017) and Power Plant Mall Rockwell (659-6527).

Downy: Wearing Perfume Without Wearing Perfume

Downy recently launched its line of premium fabric conditioners (Passion and Attraction) which contain a unique blend of perfume oils. It’s like wearing perfume without putting perfume on.

The build-up to the actual day of the launch began with a challenge for the nose. This blogger took up the challenge to guess what was the missing ingredient on a scented towel sent in together with the  challenge.

Two of Procter & Gamble’s perfumiers (Hector Esquinca and Shingo Ishii) headed for Grasse, France, the perfume capital of the world, to create two exciting new scents just for the Filipina nose to enjoy. Thus, Passion and Attraction were born.

Being a perfume noob, I knew next to none about how perfumes were created so it was with great interest that I listened to these two men whose sensitive noses could be likened to the sensitive taste buds of gourmet chefs.

It was my first time to learn of “scent notes”. There are the base notes, the middle notes and the top notes. Hmmm, now I’m reminded of my days taking piano lessons. Wikipedia describes these notes this way. Top notes are the scents that one immediately smells upon applying a perfume. Middle notes are the scents that start to emerge once the top notes start to dissipate. And the base notes are the scents that come out once the middle notes dissipate. The base and middle notes are the true essence of a perfume scent. These scents usually come out about 30 minutes after application.

Hector Esquinca, who developed the fragrance of Passion, describes it as “sweet and vibrant”. It has a fruity fragrance with apple blossom, freesia and vanilla as its top and middle notes, and fresh mulberry and cedarwood as its bottom notes.

On the other hand, Shingo Ishii, who developed the floral fragrance of Attraction, says that he combined a blend of floral scents like Jasmine, Rose and Ylang-Ylang as its top and middle notes, mixed with soft musk, tube rose and wood fragrances for its bottom notes to give the scent a lingering hint of the Oriental.

Downy’s Perfume series uses the advanced, touch-activated Perfume Microcapsule (PMC) Technology. Perfume oils are placed in microcapsules within the Downy formula, which are deposited on clothes during rinsing. When rubbed or touched, these capsules slowly release more fragrance into the air so that you get not just a whiff of perfume but fresh bursts of it the whole day.

I can personally attest to this. At the launch, we all got scarves washed in either Passion or Attraction. I got the Attraction scarf. Weeks later, every time I pick up the scarf, I get a fresh whiff of the perfume. It still remains as strong as the day of the launch!

What happened to the challenge? I guessed right! ROSE was the answer. And for that, several of us bloggers who got it right each won a year’s supply of Downy’s perfume series.

(bloggers pose with emcee Christine Jacobs)

Pick and choose between the fruity fragrance or the flowery fragrance. Either way, when your clothes are rinsed in Downy fabric conditioner, it will be like wearing perfume without wearing perfume. All day.

A Breakthrough in Hemorrhoid Surgery

I remember the pain and discomfort when I suffered from hemorrhoids after the normal delivery of my 4 kids. The extreme pushing during labor resulted in my hemorrhoids acting up for days. I could not sit normally and every bowel movement was excruciating. Thankfully, the situation would clear up after a couple of weeks.

But that got me thinking about the many other men and women who suffered daily from hemorrhoids. Some suffer the milder form – internal hemorrhoids. These are usually not painful although they may bleed. But others who are less fortunate suffer extreme pain from hemorrhoids where the veins are already outside the anus. These can be itchy or painful and sometimes crack and bleed.

Current Hemorrhoid Treatments

Often, lifestyle changes, topical medications and good hygiene are all that is needed to reduce the symptoms of hemorrhoids. In my case, after my normal deliveries, the pain just cleared up after a couple of weeks on its own. However, in a certain percentage of sufferers, surgery may be required. To-date, here are some invasive treatments done:

1. Rubber band ligation – this is performed on persons whose internal hemorrhoids have fallen outside the anus. It involves pulling the hemorrhoidal tissue into a double-sleeved cylinder to allow the placement of latex/rubber bands around the tissue. Over time, the tissue below the bands die off and is eliminated during bowel movement. This can be performed in the doctor’s office and requires little preparion.

2. Traditional hemorrhoidectomy – Excess tissue causing bleeding or protrusion is cut away under anesthesia. This requires hospitalization and absence from work for an average of 6 weeks. After-recovery is difficult due to discomfort and pain experienced by the patient. Employees usually lose about 20 days of work.

3. Cryotherapy (freezing the hemorrhoidal tissue) – This is a very painful procedure.

4. Bipolar Diathermy Coagulation (BICAP) and direct current – These techniques shrink the hemorrhoids and cause the tissue to die.

PPH: A Faster and Less Painful Option

Recently, Medical City announced the availability of a surgical option, developed by Dr. Antonio Longo of the St. Elizabeth Hospital in Vienna, which is modern, faster and less painful. It is called Procedure for Prolapse and Hemorrhoids or PPH.

Dr. Longo makes use of a stapling device that looks almost like some kind of weapon. This is inserted during surgery into the anus of the patient and “lifts up” and repositions the mucosa (or anal canal tissue) thereby reducing blood flow to the internal hemorrhoids. Within 4-6 weeks after the procedure, these hemorrhoids shrink. This procedure is less painful because it is performed ABOVE the “pain” line inside the anal canal, where there are few nerve endings. Traditional procedures are done BELOW the pain line where there are many sensitive nerve endings.

The result? The patient only spends 3-4 days of recuperation in the hospital and suffers less pain. He will also need less medication for the pain.
Not all hemorrhoidal patients will need PPH. But if surgery is required, and the patient is concerned about pain and losing inordinate amounts of work days, PPH is a prime advantage.
Here are some other info I gathered:
– The clips (or staples) used are made of titanium. Patients can still have MRI done with these staples inside them. These clips also will not trigger metal detectors.
– 70% of these clips are eventually excreted through regular bowel movement.
– While there are the usual risks in any surgical procedure, the doctors of Medical City say that these are considered low — about 1-5% only and usually involve post-operation bleeding or difficulty urinating.
– The chances of recurrence of hemorrhoids is about 4% within a 5-year period. In the conventional hemorrhoidal surgery, recurrence is about 15%.
– For those with HMOs, check with your HMO if PPH is already covered. HMOs usually cover surgery if physician determines it is necessary.
– While price was not really discussed in the presentation to us, I think that a patient considering PPH should be ready to pay something in the range of 100,000 pesos. The stapling device alone, which is good for one-time use only, runs into around 250 euros or about P15,000.

Clinique Bonus Time 2010

If, like me, you’re a regular Clinique user, here’s a heads-up because it won’t last that long.

It’s Clinique Bonus Time once again – the time of the year when you get freebies when you do your regular replenishment of your Clinique skin care items.

For a single purchase worth P3,900 or more (between Sept. 3-19, 2010 only), here’s what you get:

(1) All About Eyes
(1) Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss
(1) Turnaround Concentrate
(1) Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
(1) Liquid Facial Soap (Mild)
(1) Clarifying Moisture Lotion 2
(1) FREE foldable carry-on bag

I always love to wait for promos such as these because the value of the free items run to thousands already.

Better hurry over to any Clinique counter in the malls before supply of the freebies run out.

Your Healthy Palamantasan Pledge Can Win Kraft Gift Packs

Up to now, my Mom keeps reminding me that I was not much of a vegetable eater as a little girl. Thankfully, she knew how to cook and managed to provide me with healthy snacks incorporating the things that I would eat. Sometimes though, she would insist that I eat my veggies. So nowadays, she still gets surprised when she sees me eating lots of vegetables and in fact, go for it almost always before getting the meat dishes.

However, I see my young self in my youngest son now who sets aside anything green he sees on his plate. I’m just glad that my other 3 children are not so picky with vegetables, including our eldest girl who has grown to love them. How do I ensure that my children stay healthy during their crucial growing-up years? Here are some things I have done:

1. Junk food and softdrinks are no longer on my grocery list.
2. I choose lean meat over the regular meats available (they are pricier but healthier)
3. Fish is served up more often on the table.
4. Meat dishes, as often as possible, are cooked with vegetables in them.
5. Dairy products like milk and cheese are always present at home.

What about you? Would you be willing to make a Palamantasan Pledge to provide proper nutrition for your family?

CONTEST

Share your pledge with me and get a chance to be one of 10 winners of Kraft gift packs.

It’s simple. Here are the contest mechanics:


1. The contest is open to all Facebook users IN THE METRO MANILA AREA ONLY.

2. Go to the Facebook page of “Palamantasan ng Sarap, Sustansya at Saya“. Click “LIKE“.

3. On YOUR OWN Facebook page, create a pledge on how to keep provide proper nutrition for your family. Tag the Palamantasan page within your pledge message. Do this by first typing the “@” symbol followed by the word “Palamantasan”. A drop-down menu box will appear where you will see the entire phrase “Palamantasan ng Sarap, Sustansya at Saya”. Click that and you should see the “Palamantasan ng Sarap, Sustansya at Saya” become a blue link. Continue on by writing out your pledge.

4. After writing your pledge, click the attach link icon and paste the URL of this post (this is so that your entry is properly identified as having come from my blog post for judging purposes).

http://thephilippinebeat.blogspot.com/2010/09/your-healthy-palamantasan-pledge-can.html

5. Change the privacy restriction of your post to “Everyone” by clicking on the lock icon just left of the “Share” button.

6. See if your entry is valid by checking the Palamantasan Facebook fanpage.

7. Once your entry shows up on the Palamantasan page, leave a comment under my post so I can validate your entry.

8. Only ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.

9. I will choose 10 of the most creative answer from all entries linked to my blog post. The winners gets a Kraft gift pack each.

10. Prize can be claimed at the GeiserMaclang office by contacting Sam Sanchez at sam.sanchez@geisermaclang.com / 0918.823.4624

11. Winners will also be announced by me in this post.

This promo runs from the date of this post till September 15, 2010. Winners will be announced on September 18, 2010.

Prizes can be claimed beginning Sept. 20 to Sept. 30, 2010.

Wanna Be a Human OREO and Get Dunked?

If you registered on the OREO site, have you claimed your free OREOs already from 7-Eleven and played their Twist, Lick, Dunk game as well as the OREO Bonding Puzzle games?

The fun does not stop there!

Imagine this. You transform into a human OREO and together with your loved ones who likewise turn in human OREOs, you all take a special leap of faith onto a Velcro wall and literally get dunked.

This special event, which includes other side activities for parents and their children like the OREO Face Painting Booth, OREO Find the Word Game Booth and the OREO Sticky Darts Booth, can be found in several malls beginning August 29.

Bring the entire family and join in the fun, fun, fun! The mall schedules are as follows:

SM Megamall (August 29)
Trinoma (September 12)
Market! Market! (September 26)
Festival Mall (October 3)

OOOHHHH-RRRREEEE-OOOHHHHH!

The Philippine Beat Takes on the Downy Passion Challenge!

Downy had been my constant companion during my years of living in Pennsylvania as a grad student. Doing the laundry in the school’s laundromat, I’d haul my load of clothes down to the basement where the machines were located, with a Downy bottle sitting right on top of the entire heap.

So imagine my delight to see a basket at home marked “Downy”.

On hindsight though, I should have taken a picture before unboxing that Downy basket but excitement got the better of me. Imagine my surprise when the basket DID NOT HAVE any Downy inside it!

Instead, the contents of the basket revealed 2 towels mysteriously marked “Towel 1” and “Towel 2” (my thought bubble: Now why did they have to label 2 towels that look similar?

The basket also had 3 scented candles in two-toned pink (my favorite color!). These ones I liked! Still, what were these here for?

And why no Downy???

It was only when I opened the PR envelope inside that I realized the purpose of the towels and scented candles. I was being invited to 2 challenges that would test the sensitivity of *drum roll* my nose!

In Challenge 1, I am supposed to tell which towel was sprinkled with perfume and which one was washed with the new Passion by Downy fabric conditioner.

In Challenge 2, I had to decide what additional ingredient (besides Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang and soft musk) was added to Passion by Downy. There were 3 options to choose from: Cinnamon, Rose, or Lavender.

CHALLENGE 1: Guess which towel was washed with Downy Passion



I carefully opened both towels, making sure that I just exposed one side of it so the fragrance won’t easily dissipate. I took deep breaths from both, really trying to make out which one was perfume-y and which was Downy-smelling. Wow, hard to tell! They both smelled nice. I had to reach deep, deep down into the recesses of my memory to recall what freshly washed laundry smelled like and which would be the more probable choice.

My Answer? TOWEL 1 IS THE ONE WASHED WITH DOWNY PASSION. And Towel 2 is the one with perfume.

CHALLENGE 2: Guess the additional ingredient in Downy Passion

I opened up Towel 1 again (which of course was my bet for having been washed with Downy) and took several deep breaths to check it out. Is the additional ingredient Cinnamon? Or Rose? Or could it be Lavender? By process of elimination, cinnamon was the first to be eliminated. Definitely did not smell cinnamon-y, like cinnamon rolls do. So it was a toss-up between Rose and Lavender. I got stuck here for some time. Until I realized that I had an idea what Lavender smelled like. It’s what I often spray on my pillows and sheets before I head for bed. Lavender is known in aromatherapy to induce relaxation, you see. As i continued to take in the scent of towel #1, it didn’t seem to fit my memory of what Lavender should smell like. So by default (and here, I’m crossing my fingers), I say —

My Answer? ROSE IS THE ADDITIONAL INGREDIENT IN DOWNY PASSION


Now that I’ve cast my votes on the 2 challenges. I’ll just sit back and really hope that my guesses are spot on. Being a Downy lover, I really would love to win a whole year’s supply of it.

And while this challenge is all about Passion by Downy, they do have another fabric conditioner called Attraction by Downy with its fruity, sweet fragrance of apple blossom, freesia and vanilla.

So there you go, the two new perfume scents in your favorite Downy fabric conditioner.

How do they get the perfume into the conditioner? They use an advanced, touch-activated Perfume Microcapsule (PMC) Technology – the perfume-blended oils are placed in microcapsules which, when rubbed or touched, slowly release more fragrance into the air. As you keep touching your clothes, sheets or just about anything, you actually release more of your favorite fragrance.

Aromatherapy in the wash…neat!