J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, is being considered, once again, by TIME Magazine as Person of the Year.

If I know J.K. Rowling (yes, I probably don't), it is almost inhumane to put up a fight against the likes of Al Gore. She can probably beat the lights out of Steve Jobs and Petraeus. But Al Gore? It's like stealing from the nuns … and beating up their puppies afterwards.

You can cast your vote by clicking here.

Take note that the editors of TIME Magazine "reserve the right to disagree." Let's just hope that they wouldn't be such cowards (& idiots) as they were last year.

I read SMS spam. It doesn't abhor me like email spam. Plus it gives me a chance to read something during those waiting times.

That boring introduction is meant to bring a point across: It takes a lot to make me sick of SMS spam. But then again, I underestimated the power of the Philippine telcos to annoy their users. A few seconds ago, I finally ended by year-long relationship with SMS spam.

In the Philippines, almost 95% of SMS spams are sent by the telecommunication companies themselves. Unfortunately, as their direct marketing capabilities are not up to par with their technical ones, I feel as if I owe these idiots a brief runthrough of some spamming/marketing essentials

FYI:

1. Timing. SMS spams should be sent during office hours. This should be a no-brainer. But then again, since they send SMS spam even at 2AM, this basically means they have no brains.

   Kids, repeat after me: "I will not send spam past 6PM."

2. Repetition. Surprisingly, this annoyed me more than timing, & was impetus for my unsubscription.

   I have received almost 10 messages in the past week informing me of my chances to win a Nintendo Wii. You sent it. I read it.

   When I didn't join your contest, it is not a go-signal for you to persist. It is a signal for you to stop.

3. Frequency. My limit is about two SMS spams per day. Anything more & irritation start to seeps in.

   But the human mind can be deceiving: It can actually ingest more spam if the spammer play his cards right with intervals (next).

4. Interval. Last August 30, I received 3 spams in a span of 1 hour. Whoever is the marketing genius behind this strategy probably attended the seminar on "How to Achieve Ultimate Death to your SMS Marketing Campaigns."

   Needless to say, I typed ALERTs OFF, and happily sent it to 211.

P.S.

Dear Marketing Geniuses of the Telco Industry:

If you don't understand what I'm talking about, kindly leave your cellphone numbers in the comment section of this post. We will be more than happy to forward to you all the spam that you infest on our cellphones.

Are you surrounded by #$@%#^$& colleagues who insist on touching your LCD just to make a point? Fingerprints are facts of life for LCD users all over the world. Fortunately, cleaning LCDs aren't too bad. Actually, it's quite painless. Read on.

The cloth

Lint-free cloths work best. Try to have a 2nd one in handy for wiping away streaks.

Most brand-new eyeglasses nowadays come with a free lint-free cloth. You can also purchase these supposedly premium cloths specifically made for LCDs. I bought a bunch of these, & couldn't really tell much of a difference.

Please do not use paper towels.

The liquid

The nice surprise? Most LCD cleaners are just mixtures of isopropyl alcohol & water (1 part : 1 part).

Don't use cleaners which contain ammonia, as they damage the LCD.

The application

Do not apply the liquid directly to the LCD. Rather, moisten the cloth with the liquid. Then use the moistened cloth to clean your screen.

Easy & cheap.

Living in the Philippines has its perks – I get to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsearlier than most of the world (legally, that is).

I am still in that delirious-mourning state that you usually get after reading Harry Potter, but nevertheless, there were a lot of questions answered.

For one thing, I can finally put to rest all my questions about the history of James, Lily, Dumbledor & Snape. And of course, I know who lives/dies, got a reprieve, etc.

It was definitely a closure.

But then again, some little questions cannot be avoided:

• I guess technically, Harry wasn’t a Horcrux?
• What happened to the other characters had 19 years later?

And some other notes:

• Action-packed. Really. Will give you goosebumps
• There is room for a sequel/prequel. Whether or not J.K.Rowling will undertake it is another story.

Thank you, Harry Potter, for letting us into your world. It was pure magic.

After a few months, I realized that the letter-sized circa wasn’t the right one for me. I needed something smaller, and maybe something that will allow me to easily stash small scraps of paper without worrying about them slipping away.

The answer, of course, is Levenger’s Circa Zip Folio in black. Other colors are available, but I’ve always believed you’ll never go wrong with black (except when it comes to Mimi totes, but that’s another story).

I also invested in a set of ruled refill sheets. I’m still wondering if I made the right decision on this one. The printing looks real fine, but the rule size is a little too narrow for me.

I am also not too satisfied with the paper’s interaction with my fountain pens – it’s not as smooth as I would like it to be. And, despite the seemingly thick paper, my Noodler’s ink seems to bleed just a bit thru it – something I have not experienced with your regular cheapo pad.

After I’m done with these 300 sheets, I am definitely start creating my own pads again. (Ah, the benefits of purchasing those heavy-duty circa punchers.)

To those who are curious about the circa system, more information can be found here. Levenger’s my personal favorite, but I have also purchased some supplies from Rollabind, a much cheaper alternative.

This is the 3rd & last installment of the Joomla Template Tutorial Series.

The following are discussed in this article: Entering "header" tags, changing the paths of images, creating the XML file, creating the template thumbnail, installation, & finishing touches.