Symmtime: A wonderful timezone, clock tool for call center people

I'm a sucker for clocks when I was working in a call center. It was a requisite tool for me in order to quickly tell what is the current time in a specific time zone in the United States.  This would make life easier for me to synch to my customers whenever we talk about weather and state conditions of the present situation.

In lieu to this, it would be embarrassing when you blurted out that it's 2am at the moment (because your mind dictates the real time you're currently in, +8GMT) where in fact, it's actually 2PM Eastern Standard Time, in Albany, New York.  That is just one of the drawbacks when it comes to assisting customers who are coming from different time zones. You must be adept in identifying which state belongs to the correct time zone such as PST, MST, CST and EST. This way, you will at least have an idea on how to inject rapport   at a given time of the day where the customer is currently at. (you wouldn't want to ask for an exercise regimen in an after lunch break).

To solve these rising consequences of time zone differences, I would advise for you to download the Symmetricom Windows application. (normally versed as Symmtime)

These are some of the obvious benefits (that you can use while working or will serve as your Clock app for your personal computer)

·         Easy Customization, you could line up as many time zones as you wish

·         A full plate of Time Faces and Fonts, you may want to choose a digital clock or an analog looking clock

·         No internet required, this is a major plus point. Some websites hosts free time zone and clock checking, but renders useless when there is no net available.

·         Free, this app is absolutely free and doesn't include hidden/malicious sw content that could ruin your operating system

I have been contemplating how this simple and innovative app has been with me over time, and i must say that 

it was pretty utile, functional and downright had the touch of being a minimalist.

You may download the app here.

Why speaking your acquired languages is important?

"A language not spoken is a language forgotten" , that was the quote i read on one of the posters at a BookSale Branch in SM Manila wayback 2008-2009. I wonder if the sign bill was still there, clipped and untouched. Now it's dawning on me how the quote has clearly lived up to its expectations, for the fact that my skills in speaking the Iloco language is immensely deteriorating which i've noticed when i talked to my mother over the phone last week.

 I must say that she spoke to me in a clear-cut crisp Iloco, and definitely i could comprehend what she was talking. Surprises of all surprises, i tried matching her pace in talking Ilocano but i could barely form my words in speaking it out. It was like, i'm trying to think first of how i'd translate my english/taglish thoughts to convey in to a real time spoken Ilocano language. And say what! i found so much difficulty in uttering the simplest of a direct complete sentence in Ilocano. And so my mother said "apay agut-ut tatel ka nga agasarita ti Ilocano?" (read: why are you so hard-up in speaking ilokano?)

 It was awkward and kind of foolish a feeling, i really wanted to say it on my native tongue but my conveyance of thoughts including my resonance are clearly failing me. So i got no choice but to answer in English and Filipino.

During an introspect after i ended the call, i tried deviating my thoughts by reminiscing memories through an Ilocano fashion way of imagination (just like meditating the past but in an Ilocano-way-like version, cuz most of the time, when i meditate, the language is either in English or Tagalog), it's fairly easy! I never falter to construct and follow my train of thoughts via the Ilocano version. It wasn't at all difficult, juggling and imagining things in the back of my head.

The discovery of the difference between spoken language built-in to your nature versus the unspoken & unpracticed language for a period of time clearly defines the thin border that no matter how ingrained a skill is, it will fade away through time especially if you're not practicing it.

Learning a language is best instilled during the toddler years, according to research. That's the reason why some wealthy families would hire their yayas who could speak fluently in foreign languages such as Spanish or Latin. This way, a bilingual nanny would indirectly amplify the instilling of new language to the toddler.

On the lighter side, having a knowledge with multiple languages can lessen the chances of getting an Alzheimer's disease, so long that you are practicing each of those acquired means of communication.

I'd definitely want to speak Ilocano nowadays but seldom i meet a pure one who could ignite once again the tongue that was once been so fluent in delivering communication without an utter misplay of words.

mac

Photosynth iOS app

If you're damn inlove with the iPhone app Instagram, the hell i do too. :)
I'm not sure though how i discovered this another awesome application, but, tell you what? Prolly one heck of digging and collaboration from the outer space on one of those lonely nights.

I'm talking about the squeaky and freshly pressed app from Microsoft, PhotoSynth for the iPhone. There is one great edge of this app from all the other photo apps out there, to stitch a 360 degree panorama of your pictures in one slide of a photo.

Your iPhone/iPod Touch has even made it easier and snnazier, true!, once the first image is captured, it will auto frame on the next suitable frame to continue shooting until you've got a 360 output or at least a panoramic view on your subject.

Photography has been one of my luscious aspirations but i never really ventured into it much, yet, the discovery of this easy-to-use app brings my dormant feeling of cravings of photo art erupting into such a volcanic precipice.

I wouldn't post my takes for now. But i guarantee you that once you've downloaded the app. You'll fall in love in to it.

The last time I checked in the APP STORE's review, it was less than a hundred reviewers but the ratings are quite high - almost five stars.

To ignore it is such a bad move, it's for Free and you've got nothing to lose. The social capabilities of the app is readily available so that your photos and shots can be posted on your FB wall. (there's no Twitter linkage though)

You may check out the site here.

Google Authenticator iPhone app

This is an update for the 2-step verification for Google account which i posted before. The Google Authenticator app is so much overrated but nevertheless helpful that i'd cry if i'll lose my iPhone.


The process is so simple: launch the app, then enter the code into the Google prompt whenever you're accessing your big G accounts to other computers or devices.

As of this writing, Neither the app has been updated nor a new version is available. Go grab your free copy from the APP STORE and let this manage your account verification for  Google. What makes this app essential is the ability to generate codes without having to access the internet. Once you've launched it,  you must enter the code a.s.a.p. before the timer ends (see pic above).

PS: i always recommend to always have a printed copy of your Google verification codes where you can access it easily. Don't forget to always have a substitute of these codes in cases where your iPhone is not available by saving an image file of these codes and drop 'em on your cloud storage like DropBox.

nom nom nom

Rarely do i chat eversince, but suffice to say, my knowledge about the chatspeak back when i was younger carried on to these days where technology like ym, fb chat and all those mobile chat apps are overflowing.

One time,  i saw this nom nom nom nom posted on a Facebook wall. I dared never commented on what the heck is that. So i made my own research.

But before showing off what was in store on my research, let me pour out my immediate thoughts upon reading that nom nom nom nom thingee.

I was on the verge of putting it as a profanity because it stirred a sudden clipped language of Ilocanos, which is heard normally from street kids doing word fights. (nam! nam! nam!). I seconded my thoughts that it isn't the case of cursing at all.

Maybe it's an onomatopoeia of sleeping? Agh! no it mustn't be.
Aha, it's like a call for being thirsty? As you voice out the words, it sounded like someone wants a drink, real fast. Nom nom nom nom. Ain't it? like when a toddler  badly wants water, he'd blurt out 'nom! 'nom! 'nom!

So much so for my guessing game works. I consulted the big G. And here are the results:

nom nom nom represents the sound made when someone is eating or chewing something and really enjoying it (from urbandictionary.com). 

I couldn't make the words out of it esp on how to describe, yet this nom nom nom thing seem like got stuck in my head for a while now.

It gives a kind of satisfaction on one's mind upon reading it in the head. And oh yeah, i tried voicing it out loud trying to sound like chewing physically while murmuring the sound of nom nom nom, it worked!!!  You really feel like eating, mixed with enjoyment and satisfaction, esp upon hearing the reverberating sound of "tsalap" "tsalap" "tsalap".

Honestly, while writing this post, i'm emulating the sound through my mouth with matching nom nom nom, and i'm really laughing out loud.

On the sidelights, this nom nom nom expression was actually sounded by the cookie monster from Sesame Street while eating his cookies. So it was maybe or exactly originated from Sesame Street huh?

Now my imagination is going far beyond, it could also be used by an all-male group to denote that the lady passing by is satisfyingly sexy and magnetic. (consider it non-sexist okay?) And oh yeah again, there's a pint of truth to what i've just said, it actually is the sound/noise one makes while performing the thing on a female.

And as the roll goes by from urbandictionary.com, it's also the sound made while playing the pac-man game. Relive it, it actually is real!!! nom nom nom.

This one would be the last definition, nom nom nom also the sound made when a cat is lapping down a really good food down on her bowl. Imagine it, or try to think of your pet cat when trying to chomp down a bowl of milk. Oh yeah, it's the  tongue that really makes the sound.

It maybe not obvious but at least, i'm at peace now with the clarity and meaning of this expression. A vast outline it is for the meaning of nom nom nom, indeed!






-mac