New PayPal Philippines withdraw feature

eBay's online payment division and the global leader in online payments, PayPal, has added a new withdrawal feature for its Philippine and Indonesian members, allowing them to conveniently withdraw funds from their PayPal accounts to their local bank accounts.

See: http://pages.ebay.ph/bankwithdrawal/

It's probably a good time to go back to reading my first ebook from Apress titled:

Pro PayPal E-Commerce

Quote of the Day

"If you think of the Bible as God's personal message to you, then you might read it as often as you read your personal mail."

Taken from:

God Is in the Small Stuff... And It All Matters

Sun Certified Enterprise Architect (SCEA) Part I Study Guide

I've finally uploaded the SCEA Part I Mind Map I used as study notes for SCEA Part I exam. It includes all the links to books and sites I used as resources to prepare for the exam.

Below is a screenshot of what the mind map should look like after you have installed the necessary software.



The main resources I used for the exam were Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for Java EE Study Guide and Head First Design Patterns.

Feel free to comment on the contents.

Hope this helps!

Note: Wordpress currently does not support .mm filetypes. You will need to rename the file scea-p1-mm.odt to scea-p1.mm to open the file using Freemind.

IT HERO3S Solutions Challenge

The IT HERO3S CHALLENGE is a Solutions Development Challenge for Developers and IT Professionals in the Philippines. The aim of the contest is to provide a solution for an actual NEED by any of the participating NGOs. Unfortunately, the deadline for submission of entries was two days ago (January 15, 2008).

Too bad I didn't have enough MS knowledge to provide a sound plan in such a short timespan. I hope this event pops up again next year, when I think I should be more armed and ready.

The Philippine National Library

I came across a treasured site this morning while reading through my emails. It's the official website of our country's National Library (or "Pambansang Aklatan" in Filipino). The contents of the site look fairly ok. I have this dream of building the best Library Software and I could probably use this site as starting point on what still needs to be done. Also, the brick and mortar version of the Library might be worth a visit soon.

Java Certification aStore

I've created an Amazon aStore dedicated to those who are interested in taking Java certifications. Books are arranged per certification exam, from the Associate Exam (entry level) to the Enterprise Architect Exam (advanced).

If you have comments or suggestions on how to improve the site, feel free to drop me a line.

System.gc()

With all the new things (baby, house, work) happening around me this 2008 I've decided to simplify my life and remove all the unnecessary clutter (hence the blog title, System.gc()).

At the top of my list:

* No more TopCoding unless the event I'll be participating in would be a great opportunity to learn something USEFUL and new. Another exception would be if there's a STRONG need to raise money for side projects and for educational fund.

* Take 1-2 (Sun, MS) certifications per year, no more no less.

* Unsubscribe to mailing lists (just read the online versions once a month)

Hope all these changes help me for the better!

Teaching about Money and Possessions

This Bible excerpt from Matthew 6:19-7:14 (New Living Translation) talks about the following:

• Where we should focus our energy on


• Why we shouldn't worry about our day to day needs


• How we should treat others

I must admit that these things are easier said that done. I can name numerous occasions where I think I did exactly the opposite.

Well I guess it's never too late to start changing...

Source: The One Year New Testament for Busy Dads

A New Home

I finally found a new home here at wordpress following my google account (which is linked to my blogger account) being locked for unknown reasons.

Life is full of new beginnings and I hope to make good use of this year by doing something I should have done a looong time ago.

And that is to read the bible in a year.

But somehow I've realized that I've been too ambitious the past few years, so this 2008, I've set my eyes on a goal which is more attainable.

And I've got the perfect book to help me with that:

The One Year New Testament for Busy Dads

It's already the 3rd of January and I must say that so far soo good. I'm loving it!

Thanks to my wife for such a wonderful Christmas present.