Page Rank Update?

There seems to be talk about a possible Google page rank update so I checked one of my blog's page rank across multiple data centers. That blog was my first ever since I tried blogging. Despite its humble page rank of 2, it was and is the source of practically all my Adsense earnings. A positive page rank shift will be very good news indeed.

Moments after hitting the "check page rank" button, to my amusement, some data centers actually say its page rank has moved up to a 3! WOW! Of course, there is never any assurance that it will indeed settle at 3 once the page rank dance is over but it's just a very good feeling to see that number 3 beside its URL. Even if just one data center out of a hundred said it was a 3, I would still consider it a reason to celebrate. Why?

The previous times I have checked my page rank during page rank updates, it has and was always a 2 in all data centers. Now that it's showing a hint of a 3, it is most certainly an indication of an increase in pagerank.

It is generally agreed that page rank is a real number, that is, it is never exactly an integer such as 2 or 3. Instead, it can lie anywhere between these integers and can be a 2.44449 or a 2.50001. I would theorize that the page rank integer that data centers display is actually rounded.

Due to the logarithmic nature of page rank, moving up by one point means that your home page has become approximately 10 times more important in cyberspace. That's not an easy feat!

Candle-lit blogging

Our neighborhood transformer went "kaboom!" this morning so we had no electricity for most of the day. In response, I've been either sleeping for hours or just sitting around and feeling useless.

I thought it would've been good to spend the time writing but then it's dark and only candles provide light to our little home now. For a while, I felt powerless, and as already said - useless.

It dawned upon me that the absence of convenient electric light should not be a hindrance to productivity. Many school children don't have electricity in their remote villages. Yet they get to do their assignments and projects.

So here I am, scribbling my way across a notepad. It's been a while since I actually wrote an essay or article without a computer. It's not so bad. After all, there's no distraction emanating from a strategically placed web browser button. The yellow glow of the candle also helps me concentrate. There's no TV to steal my attention, and the peaceful silence promptly delivers words from my pen.

One does not need a computer to write. One does not need fluroescent bulbs to work. All it takes is a challenge to be productive and the right amount of determination.

Adsense pays through Western Union!

It was a surreal experience changing my payment mode from check to Western Union. Wow! Google Adsense can now pay to the Philippines via Western Union!

• No need to wait for one month for the check to arrive by ordinary mail. You can get your cash the next day payment is issued.
• No more bank charges and clearing periods.
• You get it in cold cash. Just bring the necessary documents (ID, name of payee, etc.)
• You can choose to receive payment in dollars or convert them to local currency while claiming.
• If you choose to receive dollars, no need to open a dollar account. It's cash remember.
  
• You can decide when to have the dollars changed to local currency. You can evade Google's tendency to issue local-currency checks when the forex rate is best for them.

Too bad Adsense has issued their payment to me a few days before. I guess I'll have to wait for next month to try out the new Western Union money transfer.

This is so cool!

Learning Conciseness

I found out a few people actually read my blog and are asking for new posts. I would like to express my apologies to them for the silence in this little room of mine.

I have realized (again) that I have the tendency to narrate my experiences in so much detail. So much detail that I actually spend too much time composing and editing blog posts until I become too sleepy to finish them.

I have this tendency to think that every minute movement of a leaf deserves to be recorded in history. Every ripple has a story to tell. This is one reason why I decided to start a blog - so I could save at least some of my treasured thoughts, without physical clutter.

Each sentence in this blog, I feel, is another little treasure deposited into my online time capsule. On the other hand, I must find a way to keep the little from growing too large and end up not being posted at all.

Perhaps conciseness will help. The fewer, the more special each becomes.

First Post!

Finally!

This is my first personal blog. I've been longing to make one for several months now.

I originally planned to start a personal blog upon my graduation from college last April 25th but for reasons I now find silly, I just didn't get to start one. Quite a lot of experiences have been missed since then. Nevertheless, who's stopping me from blogging about the past?

My first blogs, hall1.blogspot.com and philmoney.blogspot.com, were originally Adsense-motivated. This blog is really meant for my expression.

I used to think that blogging personal matters would be foolish when anybody in the world could just read them and know stuff about you. I guess I was paranoid about being stalked. Now, I guess the obvious benefits outweigh the (present) imaginary risks.

Wish me luck on this one!