This is not a sponsored post.

Our SmartBro was installed on April 14, 2007. During the first three months I admit there were problems. Slow, sometimes intermittent connections, but after the tech support guys ironed those out our connection went on without a hitch. There was that time when a typhoon knocked the canopy down, and the other time when the enormous neighborhood stray cats who run across our roofs like they were in Le Mans did the same thing. Both times, 24 hours after I made the call to SmartBro support the contractors came and brought it back up. The cat incident even damaged the antenna and they replaced it with no charge. That’s a pretty good coverage for circumstances beyond our control.

In my opinion, the results are not bad, if you are a personal user with a couple of kids, a yaya, and a husband who are all Internet junkies.

I have recommended SmartBro to my friends who live in places that are otherwise not reached by landline DSL’s. The wait time from application and initial payment to the day of installation is practically nil. I admit some of their call center agents need a bit more training on how to reply to network-savvy clients, those who will not be put off by gobbledygook they read off their standard replies sheet. But other than a couple of false alarms and one or two actual mistakes on my end, I have never had a problem with them.

So if you’ve arrived on this page while looking for advice on whether to get SmartBro or not, I’d suggest you do. Just make sure that you are in direct line of sight with the nearest Base Station (no trees or buildings in the way), and that you provide the installer guys with a solid platform on which to attach the canopy and you’ll be OK.

Add-ons enhance the power of Firefox and provides you with tools that allow you to browse the internet, save important bits of data and save you time while you do what you do on the ‘net. The following is a list of my favorite Firefox Add-ons (in random order) and why they continuously make me say “wow, there can’t be a faster way of doing that”.

1. Colorful Tabs - This is an indispensable plugin for me as it makes tab identification easier, adding a different color to each tab. It looks cute on multiple tabs too.

2. Password Exporter - essential if you maintain two (or more) computers and would like your saved passwords present on all of them.

3. Split browser - pretty nifty for keeping everything in sight without having to switch tabs or open another instance of Firefox. It can be a little confusing to use at first, but once you get the hang of it it’s almost indispensable.

4. Abduction! - screenshots have never been made easier. Extremely useful for making documentation that require snaps of entire web pages or a selection thereof. I used to hit PrtSc or Alt-PrtSc and then load up the clipboard into Photoshop or even MS Paint, but Abduction lets me bypass the photo editing and allows me to save either entire web pages or snippets directly into a file.

5. Entrecard Toolbar - If you are an avid Entrecarder you definitely will need this. Simplifies card dropping, switching from one linked account to another, enables you to purchase card advertising on the site you are currently on.

Those are my top 5 favorites. I have used quite a few more since I started using Firefox but some of them haven’t quite caught up with version 3.0.1. When they do, they will find their way back to my add-on’s list.

I’m sure there are a few Firefox add-ons for you and the way you browse the Interwebs. Head on over to the Firefox Add-ons page and see how it can make browsing with Firefox a breeze.

And so as a child I would imagine walking from one room to another, marvelling at the fine art lamps and wall hangings and carpets that were laid out in my mind. I would run around the expanse of the yard outside and roll underneath the shade of the sprawling trees that bordered the house. I would explore each floor and turn on all the lighting as I go until the entire house was brightly ablaze and pretend I was in the middle of a party.

And when I became too tired I would retire to my room at the topmost floor, get into my four-poster bed, switch off the kichler on my night table and drift off to sleep.

This weekend I did my sister-in-law Dr. Faith Mesa-Gaerlan’s org site Philippine Society of Emergency Care Physicians (PSECP).

Couple of days back I gave Danton Remoto’s blog a little facelift. I’m also submitting a proposal for his personal website for the May 2010 Elections.

Just finished overhauling MSU Demolay Rainbow for Sam and his brother Ferdie.

I got a few pics lined up for the Gallery on Gaerlan St., more buses with Bayani stickers for Press this Button, and the Lego Boys invade Chinatown on Do I.T. Yourself.

But they will have to wait for their updates, after all it’s a long weekend. I have another day ahead of me to do that.

This cocooning technique has become useful for me as well. I mean why increase my stress levels by reading (or watching the news) about people and things I don’t want to read about?

I choose not to be bombarded by advertisements about shampoo and long hair because I have close cropped hair and most of that hair on the page is computer enhanced anyway. I don’t particularly relish being updated about which latest squeeze of which up and coming (or aging, whatever) actor is pregnant or with someone else. I choose not to be buried in dripping burgers and jelly desserts and all these other chemical laced health drinks that advertisers tell me are good for my kids. Yeah, right.

I also do not care reading about people that I personally know are heartless. They may be popular, talented, even prize-winning. But when I personally know that that man/woman/earthly being does not have heart, then I refuse to allow even a minute of my time to be wasted hearing someone else extolling their greatness.

So pardon me when you see me tuning out. I may have lost control over a lot of things in my life, but this are still my fingers thumbing through the papers, my fingers on the remote and my paycheck (flimsy though it may be) keeping the cable company and ISP happy.

I will read/watch/listen to what I want, thank you.