So the first thing to do is to change your torrent client settings to only connect to encrypted clients. Globe and SmartBro find it much harder to work out that you’re downloading torrents and most of the packets will get through without any trouble, meaning you can download at full speed.

You should also ensure you’re not using the default torrent ports since these are often blocked on 3g services. If your client has an option to regularly change port then you should enable this to ensure the best speed. You can also route your traffic through a remote server via a VPN, this encrypted tunnel will allow you to download as fast as your modem can handle. If you use a public free VPN, be careful not to send any passwords over it, for instance logging into Facebook. Public VPN servers have a terrible history of stealing passwords.

Once you understand how they’re blocking sites, you’ll realise that there’s a few different ways that you could bypass openDNS blocks. You could update your computer settings to use alternative DNS servers or manually set the real IP address of the site you want to access in your computers HOSTS file, which will be checked before querying a DNS server.

If your computer is locked down and you’re unable to change your DNS settings, you might be forced to tunnel your traffic through a VPN or SSH proxy. If the worse comes to the worse then you can use web proxies. Although web proxies should be a last resort to get around DNS blocks, since you can’t always trust the site operator with your sensitive details, such as passwords.

The good thing about American law is that it makes sure a parent (or the parents) is fit to take care of a child in order to let the parent keep the child, and those who are incapable are going to be helped by the government to the best of their abilities up to a certain extent. For instance, those who are financially challenged could be given an allowance or a loan by the government, and some training, so that they could go out and find another job at a given time frame. As long as that family has a decent home, is eating, and is sending the children to school, that family is safe. If this is not the case, child services takes the children, and the parents can only appeal to the court for their parental rights back when they can prove that they are able to support their family.

As for those with addiction problems, the children are left with the sober members of the family (usually the grandparents) who qualify as guardians to the children, and the state sends the parent to a rehabilitation facility to get better. When they deem it safe and healthy for a child to be returned to his or her parents, then that’s the only time they regain their parental rights. If the parent/parents involved fail to finish their rehab stint, then they lose their parental rights and the children are, sadly, placed in foster homes, where their fate is uncertain.

It’s a good thing that the justice system takes every step possible to keep a child with their parents. Some countries take the children away without considering the future of the children, and some don’t take the children away without considering their safety in their current situation. If only the social services in the countries around the world could be improved, and if only everyone was made socially aware of these issues regarding children and their parents, then hopefully every child can be placed in a good, loving, secure home.

When the accident took place, the first thing I remember hearing was the press being blamed for the accident. It was said that the press was chasing them and that they were speeding because of this. But according to the police investigation and the crash experts who studied the accident as well as those following them, while the paparazzi was following them, they fell behind before the car entered the tunnel and so it’s possible that it was Dodi Al Fayed who kept on insisting to the driver to speed up despite this fact. It is said that the car in front of them slowed down so the driver had to avoid it, bumped into a wall, maneuvered to prevent further damage on the side and ended up hitting a post in the tunnel.

Other conspiracy theories include what is allegedly the Queen’s plan to have them killed because she could not allow British royalty to marry into someone like Dodi Al Fayed and convert into Islam, and the Queen’s plan (again) to have them killed because Diana was allegedly pregnant with Al Fayed’s baby at the time of the accident. The former was, of course, considered preposterous by the royal family, and the latter was proven wrong because tests showed Diana was not pregnant at the time of her death. Of course, there’s also the popular theory that Diana was set up by Prince Charles so that he could go on an marry Camilla Parker-Bowles, whom he ended up marrying eight years after Diana’s passing.

Though the results of investigations have been released to the public, and the autopsy showed the deadly cocktail of drugs and alcohol in their driver Henri Paul’s body, people still keep these theories alive to this day. The craziest theory? That the late Princess staged her own death to get the paparazzi off her tail, and that she keeps in touch with her sons via Skype or some form of video conferencing. It’s funny, but if it were true, then more good things could’ve been done for those who need her charity work. Oh well.

The first conspiracy theory has something to do with Oswald’s murderer, Jack Ruby. It is said that the murder of Oswald is part of the overall plan to assassinate Kennedy, and that he was connected to the Italian mafia and the police and they had planned the assassination. However, some peoplehave disputed his connection to the gangsters and to the Italian mafia, stating that he did not know anyone from the mafia directly and only knew people who knew people from these criminal groups. Another theory is that Kennedy’s vice president, Lyndon Johnson, had him murdered because Kennedy was going to drop him for the 1964 elections. A third government-related theory is that he was assassinated by the CIA because of his refusal to support one of their attempts to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro’s rule.

Of course, there are the other theories. The mafia theory seemed to be a natural choice for the people to think about, because he did cross with the mafia’s activities when he was president by cracking down on crimes during his reign. Also, a natural theory to come up would be that Fidel Castro’s people had him killed because of his many attempts to overthrow his rule in Cuba. There are the lesser-obvious theories like the KGB killing him because of his anti-communist ways, and the Israelis killing him for hiring former Nazis in his government. The final conspiracy theory is that he was murdered as a part of a freemasonic ritual.

Which ones do you believe among these theories? I think the Fidel Castro and the KGB theories are possible, but only because it has been said  that Oswald has had communist thoughts and ties in the past. Too bad we’ll never know, as Oswald was murdered by Jack Ruby two days after he was arrested for the murder of JFK.

The most famous hotel from this hotel chain is, of course, Burj Al Arab. Burj is the second tallest building in the world used exclusively as a hotel, and its sail shape gives it that extra edge that people remember, which makes it a very popular sight among tourists. Also, the fact that it is a seven-star hotel decorated with gold and the fact that the cheapest room could set you back $1,000 a night (and its most expensive suite is $28,000 a night!) makes it one of the most expensive hotels in the world. ?Somewhere across the Burj is the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. This one is wave-shaped, and is a five-star hotel. Though it has been a long time since it has been dethroned from being one of the tallest buildings in the world, it remains to be a recognizable landmark in Dubai, because of its unique shape and because of the level of service it offers. My sister currently works there, and says those who stay there give an average of $100 for their tip per person for every time they call upon someone to garner their assistance or their services. Of course, in front of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Burj is the Wild Wadi Water Park, conveniently placed there so that people who want to enjoy swimming when the tide gets too high can still swim in their pools and slide down their large water slide.

Another notable edifice belonging to the Jumeirah group are the Emirates Towers. The first, an office building, is the 12th tallest building in the world, whereas the second, a hotel, is the 29th tallest building in the world. For sure, if you have reached Dubai you’ve already seen these buildings, and know that they come from a single hotel chain. Next time you visit take the time to appreciate these beautiful edifices.

The most striking for me, and therefore the first I will mention, is the Colosseum. It was used in the past to host gladiator fights and other public executions (possibly even public executions – I’m not aware of the history that much). From what I’ve gathered, it’s beautifully lit at night and in the day, you can appreciate what remains of its architecture. You can also visit the Roman Forum, which contained many temples and shrines for the different Roman gods and goddesses, and which served as the center of civilization during the time it was built. Most of the structure is gone, but you’ll be able to find tour guides to tell you what was once there. Also, some of the pillars are still there for you to admire.

If you want to see a temple that is still intact, you can go see the Pantheon. It was built originally for the gods of ancient Rome but has been used by the Roman Catholic Church from 7 BC to the present. Inside you will see many famous people – architects, painters, kings – buried there, because it is also used as a tomb.

From these three you can proceed to visit the other fora in the city, as well as visit the nearby Vatican to see more castles from later times and, of course, to visit St. Peter’s Basilica. I still say it’s best to start with the ancient history before going anywhere else.

The first thing you need to do is to go online and find good deals. Many resorts offer good deals online in order to attract people to book at once and online, and so you’re bound to find a cheap deal there. Also, check for coupons from your trusted sites (and be weary of those that seem too good to be true, because there are a lot of sham coupons on the internet as well) – there are those that offer discounts to certain places. Print these out, take them to the office where you’ll be booking your accomodations, and you’ve got a discount. Also, if you’ve got a credit card and you use it to buy a lot of stuff you need everyday, you might want to enroll it to their miles program as well so you can fly for free when you’ve saved up enough miles/points.

As for things you can do in Hawaii, mentioned on btads, you can save money when you bring your own snorkeling gear to Hawaii. There’s a snorkeling spot in Honaunau bay, and you can enjoy viewing the underwater life and the rich number or corals when you snorkel there. You can also go hiking here, to see the rich flora and fauna of the Big Island. You can also go hiking at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – remember that Hawaii is a chain of volcanic islands – which is going to cost you $10 per car, which is a steal. In this hike you can see the various formations that have set because of the volcanic activity in the region, and there is even a section where you can view lava as it flows to the ocean.

For food, Queen’s Marketplace offers a wide range of dining choices for you and for your company. The food is affordable, and the marketplace offers great views as well so it’s two birds for the price of one. Going on a vacation doesn’t have to cost you much – you just have to know where to go and what to do and you just have to plan your trip well and it’ll be well worth every penny.

You can stop by the Roxy Theater if you like a serious party, because that place is known for its parties and for the people who have played in the theater and have become famous. Artists such as Nirvana, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, and David Bowie have all played Roxy Theater. You can also go to the famous House of Blues, where both rising acts and famous musicians play every now and then whenever they’re on tour. When you’re done for the day, you can either go to Hyatt West Hollywood, or Chateau Marmont, two very popular places where celebrities and musicians have stayed (and made trouble) in the past years.

In other places in LA, meanwhile, you can go to Central Hollywood to visit the Hollywood Bowl, where every year they hold a music festival for up and coming artists who are breaking through from the underground music scene. Many famous guests also attend this music festival in order to perform. If you like something more bluesy and jazzy you can go to Harvelle’s blues club or to the Jazz Bakery instead. Also, make it a point to pass by Hollywood RockWalk, where you will find the rock version of the Grauman Chinese Theater’s hand and foot print collection. Your LA music tour will not be complete without that.

The thing about her chocolate chip cookies is that it’s made from a standard recipe she found in a book, only with a few changes: more chocolate chips, less salt. The thing with the commercially-distributed chocolate chip cookies is that it has way too much salt for my liking (as well as for my mother’s, which is why she bakes them instead), and way too little chocolate chips to be rightfully called a chocolate-chip cookie.

Some of them only have around two chocolate chips in them and they already label it as a chocolate-chip cookie. Also, chocolate chip cookies are best served fresh from the oven, still warm so that the chocolate melts in your mouth but cool enough to have that extra crunch. Also, try making a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies and top it with really cold vanilla ice cream – the contrast between the warmth of the cookies and the cold temperature of the ice cream is going to please you in a way that picks up your mood. Try it – nothing beats freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies.

As an employee they have coffee tastings every now and then, and they share ideas that they may have for new drinks as well. Now that friend of mine is a coffee enthusiast – he’s been drinking coffee way longer than I have been, and I’ve been a coffee drinker for years until my doctor told me to start drinking decaf instead. Back to my story: my friend was bored one day and decided to play around with what was made available to him.

He came up with this: the quad-ristretto venti caramel breve with caramel drizzle and EZ foam-latte. He made me try it when he paid me a visit for three weeks – he made it a point to make me taste it the first time we saw each other, and I loved it. The strength was just right, the taste was perfectly balancd, and though the name was intimidating the drink itself was relaxing for a coffee addict like myself. Today I’ve heard more and more people are ordering it and calling it “Jose’s Drink”, because the baristas are already familiar with it since he made it popular. I recommend to the coffee addicts to try it as well.

You can either make lemon and garlic shrimps and use this to top pasta with a lemon oil-based pesto sauce for a seafood pesto or add steamed crab meat, grilled clams and shrimp to a tomato base and mix the pasta in and that would be a heavenly marinara already.

It’s a good thing to do because it’ll leave you full and you still get to maintain a balanced diet. Also, you can choose a hollow pasta like penne so that the sauce and the seafood meat – whichever you choose – may get stuck inside and will burst in your mouth with flavor once you take a bite. Don’t be afraid to combine your favorite pasta with your favorite seafood – chances are, you’ll end up loving it.

What different types of chocolate are there? Well, the three most popular variations are white, milk, and dark. White chocolate is made of sugar and cocoa butter (or any type of fat for that matter) without the cocoa solids; milk chocolate is made of a minimum of 25%cocoa solids combined with milk, sugar, and a minimum of 10% chocolate liqueur. Dark chocolate, as I’ve mentioned, requires at least 35% cocoa solids and at least 15% chocolate liqueur concentration. It has no milk added to it, only fat and sugar – which is why I like it the most, because you can really taste the cocoa flavor in there.

Then there’s also semisweet and bittersweet chocolate, which can be differentiated by their sugar content (semisweet has half and bittersweet has a third of the usual sugar added) and is commonly used in baking. Of course, there’s cocoa powder which we are all familiar with, and compound chocolate, which has vegetable in fat in the place of cocoa butter and is used for coating candies. My favorite, of course, is the high-quality couverture chocolate, used for tempering and for high-quality chocolates like my favorite Lindt. Couverture chocolate has 70% cocoa solids and at around 30-40% cocoa butter, which makes its texture rich and smooth to the palate. Which one do you like?

There’s not much you can do with the fruit – the only known uses I’ve seen when I searched the net so far are for eating as it is, for making sugar-apple wine (which is done in the Philippines), and for making some sort of hair treatment. But the fruit itself is distinctly sweet, like a custard or like a creamy panna cotta (which is a type of custard as well – my bad). Also, for the health-conscious, it has no sodium, is rich in carbohydrates, calcium, vitamin C and phosphorus.

It’s known to improve muscular strength and to enrich the blood as well. Go ahead and try one when you can. Just go slow though, there is one thing this fruit is high in – sugar. Its ratio of glucose to sucrose is 50-50 (and that’s a lot of sugar packed in a fruit).  Other than that, it’s a really good treat.

That was the first time she saw Mandy Moore live because that was the first time she was able to afford to see her, using her own hard-earned cash. Whenever someone would say something negative about Mandy (even as a joke!) she would jump to her defense and ask what that person has against Mandy, because as far as she knows Mandy can do no wrong.

While I find my friend’s behaviour to be quite a bit disturbing, rocking back on that reclinable chair – I’m not that much of a fangirl – I do understand why she jumps to Mandy’s defense whenever someone just badmouths her. If you’ll check her track record, she really has been a positive role model for young kids out there. She’s made wonderful music, thanks to her deciding to part ways with those execs who made her a bubblegum pop artist when she was still starting (now she’s making better music than she did back then, thank goodness!); she’s branched out to acting and is slowly making quite a name for herself there as well; and she’s using her fame to advocate many good causes.

It is nice to see people without drama in their lives unfolding in front of the cameras (*ahem* does the name BRITNEY ring a bell?). She’s managed to stay clean-cut over the years and her feet remain grounded, and at the end of the day it’s still about the music for her. She’s one of the rare people who don’t get fazed by the fame and the money. No wonder my friend’s going crazy over defending her from us when we tease her a bit.

I remember my basic Spanish class in college. My professor made us study this song by Gloria Estefan, “Si Voy A Perderte”, which is the Spanish version of “Don’t Wanna Lose You” (also by Estefan). The English version talks about how the lady does not want to lose the man she loves because she’s finally found the courage to be with him and to stand by him; whereas the Spanish version tells the man that if she were to lose him now, then she’d want it to be final so she can learn to live without him because otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to live a life without him.

Isn’t that a much sweeter message than that of the English version? I’m partial for a reason: the Spanish versions have more romantic messages than their English counterparts.

Of course, if there are songs inspired by love then there are definitely those inspired by heartbreak. Just typing that made me think of the first breakup song that entered my mind, Whitney Houston’s “Heartbreak Hotel”, but that song is for those who were cheated on (although majority of break-up songs are about people who were cheated on). Another song I can think of is Michael Jackson’s “She’s Out Of My Life”, which is a heartbreaking expression of a man’s mixed emotions and his pain in general for losing the love of his life.

One of my favorites is the Spanish version of “Almost Over You”, which is “Todo Me Recuerda A Ti”, also sung by Sheena Easton. The Spanish version translates differently from the original English version, with its chorus saying “Everything reminds me of you / Your shadow is still here / Every step I take / Every love story / Everything reminds me of you”. It’s for those who really want to just let it all out and cry before they turn angry afterwards. What’s your list of breakup songs?

I will feel the glow just thinking of you

And the way you look tonight.”

Who doesn’t like that song? “The Way You Look Tonight” is probably one of the most overused songs out there, and it still is loved by many to this day.

Everytime I hear that song, I think of a few things. I think of prom, and how it would have been had I not had a really terrible prom date (we’re friends, but my date was just awful at social events for sure). I think of the weddings I’ve been to, and how that song would be perfect for the first dance, even though it’s already been used so many times before. I think of the times I go on dates and how when you walk into a restaurant at night that’s the song I hear.

I cannot get enough of Frank Sinatra’s smooth voice. You hear him singing that song and you just feel like he’s singing it for you. While I’d like to hear Fred Astaire’s version (he did sing it originally after all, and I haven’t heard it) I’m very much contented with Frank Sinatra’s voice. Tony Bennett also does a very good rendition of this song. Wouldn’t you agree?

So I got to thinking about the other cover songs I actually like better than the originals and the originals I like better than the cover songs. For the covers I like, aside from BLT I also like 98 Degrees’ “She’s Out Of My Life” better than Michael Jackson’s rendition, but that’s because I’m partial to really good blending of voices as opposed to a single singer’s voice. That doesn’t go to say I don’t like MJ’s version – I actually like it. I just happen to like the cover better. As for those songs whose original I like better than the covers, there’s Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”, which I love and I like better than INOJ’s version. I also like the original version of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)” by Eurythmics over Marilyn Manson’s version.

What covers do you like? What originals do you like? Those above are only some of the things I remember as of now, but there are more things on my list.