No Rules Just Style Sessions with MoodBoard Manila and Cat Arambulo

Sunday, March 19, 2017




I attended a luncheon over at BGC for the Mood Board Manila talk with Cat Arambulo. My sincere apologies for not writing sooner because this for me is such a difficult subject to talk about (had 4 revisions lol). I'm engineer by profession and in the past we only touched quite a little about interior design. Cat Arambulo talked about how important it is to basically make your design decisions about yourself. It is important that when other people see your room, it's a representation of your aesthetics and what you want people to see when they see your room. 

Now I'm not of that type, I feel ancient and NEVER had people look at my room because of the mess I make everyday. I think I'm sick, I hoard things, but still think I live quite a minimal life. Though I'm quite glad Mood Board Manila makes it easy for anyone to solve that problem. They've got professionals you can consult with, and interior designers to take care of your needs. I might eventually need to be one of their clients.




Putting their money where their mouth is, Mood Board Manila transformed a small space on the 2nd Floor of La Creperie in BGC into a personal space. I was impressed how they could turn bare walls into elegant classy murals, complete with wall sconces and a fire place with winter country home accents I'd be glad to have on my space. At this day and age, this should be something like a necessity especially for condo dwellers and make this a benchmark for all other future projects. Planning well would make Manila a great place to live in if that happens. 



Cat explains “You must remember that When you talk about your space, it’s going to be all about you. It’s about your personality, like When you’re into fashion and you're the kind that enjoy the details of clothing, style, or trend, you can put all the concepts into how you should decorate your space. Whether you want to take it to another level, it depends on your character, your preferred color palette, like when you dress up for an occasion. Right now, the colors Copper, Rose Gold, Green and Marble are on trend. If you have no idea what to do, but like one color, you can do it in five different textures. Do something silky, leathery, suede or even fluffy. It puts in drama and character to a room, you can stick to that idea."

MoodBoard Manila's interior designer Kristel Poyaoan gave us a survey to identify what style would work for us. She quirps “You need to know at least what a client's preference is, what appeals to them and what they usually respond to and why because at moodboardMANILA, the client's satisfaction is premier. Our job at MoodBoard Manila is to interpret them, put these things into life because the last thing we would want to happen is getting all boxed up. If you desire to be diverse, we can do that and pick pieces that would depict harmony, to make your space lively, and be the spot you would want to have a retreat to after a long day at work. It has to be a space that reflects who you are."

For those who would want to ask questions or know more about their services, you may send them an email via inquiry@moodboardmanila.ph or call 09177726273. Thanks MoodBoard Manila for having us at their event! I learned a lot and might have to pickup a lot to throw to the bin in my room after that talk LOL!

COW

For more information about their services:
MoodboardManila
Official GMA Artist Center
Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

http://moodboard.ph/

Ortigas & Co. Opens The Bike Playground at Circulo Verde

Saturday, March 18, 2017




Have you gone to Circulo Verde? It's been a while for me and from the looks of it, they have changed a lot. I was here when they started constructing it a few years ago because I work nearby. Ortigas & Company had a really good vision developing this place into a township. This was once a river cabbage plantation that sat beside the Marikina River. They developed dikes and a model sewerage system so it won't get flooded. Built buildings for condo dwelling and several structures which now houses restaurants and businesses built right inside the community. 




That's not all, because this time Ortigas & Co. is launching a new venue for bike enthusiasts. It's called "The Bike Playground Circulo Verde" which sits at the back of the sprawling property. They now have an internationally designed bike trail, one for the kids, plus a facility indoors with asphalt. The tracks are designed for all levels and even if it's technical, they can still join and ride on the track for only 65 pesos for the whole day and 95 for night rides. 




During the event, the blessing was graced by world champion Adrien Loron and Ortigas & Co Executives. They also did several bike stunts and excercises together with fitness vixen and TV personality Diane Castillejo. Now you've got to bring your bikes to Circulo Verde and try the course yourself. It's affordable, you've got places to run, bike and eat in one place. Make sure you bring your friends along, it's right behind Eastwood and you won't get lost, just follow the arrows to get there.


KUMAGCOW
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Neptune's Trove Outs New Collection



A few people have already asked me today, "what's that on your wrist?" pointing at what seems to be something unusual other than the watches I've been wearing in events. I do get tired of the usual classic dials, mechanical and G-Shock watches which I wear on normal days.  Men don't really have options and I'm so glad I've stumbled upon Renan Mendoza's child project called Neptune's Trove.

As the name suggests, it's like a place where the king of the sea keeps his treasure. It's an apt description of these accessories that have been built by passion. He's been doing this for years now, and I have high respects to SME's that cater to men's accessories (especially startups) so when I saw his work, I felt so connected with it. I fell in love with the bracelets.  


Neptune's Trove can be ordered online via their Facebook page here. They also have this out in the market via UniQube PH (Third Floor University Mall in Taft Avenue, Manila), Style Central Concept Store (at 410 N.S. Amoranto Sr. Avenue, QC), the Shopee app (which I regularly use), Trend Zonia (very near San Sebastian College), Style Metro Boutique + Bistro (at Upper Ground, 20 Lansbergh Place, 170 Tomas Morato Ave. cor Scout Castor, Quezon City), Curators PH (Uptown Mall BGC) and @neptunestrove on IG and Viber via 09162117267. What I like most about it is that he doesn't complicate ordering these products and goes the mile neatly packing each item so it gets to you fast, and looking just like in these photos.


 
AQUA
This paracord bracelet alternating black and blue with an accent crown in the middle is called AQUA. It's art of the Naturalis Collection that he made to signify the elements Air, Wood, Water (this one), Fire and Nature as accorded by it's color. It's arranged in a series of snake knots and this one looks exquisite whether you plan to wear something casual or for your summer outfits. It's stylish, and I would have been fooled to pay for this a little more than a thousand bucks, but no, his wares are actually affordable. You have the option to buy a lot from his store and get a variety of styles and colors even if you only had 500 pesos on your pocket. No joke!



Leather Bracelet with a Magnetic Clasp
The technology on these accessories just simply astounds me. The magnetic clasp sticks together with minimal effort and is available in Dark Brown, Light Brown, White and Black (my personal favorite). It's a bit more sleek, thinner in form so if you're a bit dressed up (coat and tie) you might as well have this underneath those sleeves. You can put them off and on easy too because it doesn't take that much force to pull them apart. This sticks together quite well especially on the core so don't worry too much if you have it on. Made with cowhide leather, this one connects already by the sheer mention of cow, kidding! But really, if you wanna stay classy, take this one on a date or a more formal look.



MOLTEN
This is Molten. He combines hematite and onyx so it looks like it's on different shades of gray and black. He was inspired by the industrial era and metallic elements hence this look. For those who want it a tad shiny without being beady femme, this would definitely do.

I feel comfortable, and can imagine wearing this in casual events. Plus I believe it's even going to make you healthy as people say it charges the cells and promotes better blood circulation. Hematite has got a bit of magnet and perhaps that would do wonders for those who need it. They've got other things on the bead bracelet line, so head on to Neptune's Trove on Facebook, IG and check out the new things they have in store for you.



I've had the pleasure of wearing this Anchor Bracelet a couple of times now. The first one I had was in a different color and I was actually confused at first on how to wear it. Now the packaging includes short instructions which you need to make sure you do the adjustments right. It definitely will call attention because people love anything nautical. The Anchor is pretty symbolic too and people who get this should know who keeps them grounded, the special people in their life. That tells a lot of your personality, after all, you are what you wear! The fine design, all handmade, as they took their time making this special for you. You can feel the workmanship and care they put in each paracord and leather bracelet they made today.

Men need not to be too afraid to experiment. I've learned that years ago. You need to edit and don't be too eager because you might go overboard. Accessorizing should be simple, let them all shine in their own way, but remember these things only enhance your looks. These will look good on you because I've tried and tested them myself. You can even combine, switch them, tear them apart and whip up a new one and it's still going to look good on you. All you need to do now is feel which one fits your personality and get it from Neptune's Trove. I took the liberty of sharing their channels below, trust me, these things are not expensive. They are just in the right price point. Ladies, think of your husbands, boyfriends, male friends that would be happy to see these as gifts. Guys, you know you love these, take a few and put it on for kicks okay?!


COW

For more information about their products:
neptunestrove
Official GMA Artist Center
Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

https://www.instagram.com/neptunestrove/

Microsoft Asks: Is Your Company Compliant with the Data Privacy Act?

Friday, March 17, 2017




Spent the afternoon having lunch and excercising my brain about cloud security and network love. I'm glad I still have the gist taking this in, and making use of my Computer Engineering diploma after a while. This topic really concerns me.

Microsoft has a long standing commitment with the Philippine government regarding the Data Privacy Act to make sure Filipinos have solutions for security, privacy and transparency. If your company has 250 employees and up requires compliancy with the Data Privacy Act. The National Privacy Comission was created as an agency to implement this and you have to do this before September 9, 2017.

Dale Jose the Solutions Specialist of Enterprise Mobility Security of Microsoft Philippines remarks "Microsoft isn't just in the business of security and we're syncing it with the Data Privacy Act. Attacks happen every minute and the mindset should be that you must "assume that you have already been breached". We know companies have invested in firewalls and before, we always had the notion of just building walls, making it thicker and thinking it's secure, but today those permiter security is no longer enough. Attacks happen because of compromised credentials (75%) and it is important to protect your identity. If you read in the dark world people sometimes shop for credentials. Republic Act 10173 includes encryption. We need to protect data while it is stored or if it is in transit. Organizations today should be able to report breach in 72 hours and if you don't you will suffer the penalties of that. It's the same security that we have in Office 365, Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility+Security. They go through a value chain of protect, detect and respond. Based on studies, it takes over 500 days to detect malware in Asia. There are options today without the need for VPN, Microsoft Azure Active Directory for example detects when there is an unusual login attempt on your directory. You will need to go through verification with Microsoft threat intelligence and we update this in tons of devices. All these events are also monitored in Azure as risk events. You can creat a policy to block access or allow access then challenge them with Azure MFA security. We also have Microsoft Intune to manage mobile devices, applications and PC's for company issues devices so you have the ability to confine data and not on personal emails etc. and do selective or full wipe of the device which can be done remotely. You can also do this on policies on Windows 10 for company owned devices. When you look at the protection of the document, it all starts from the creation of the document. You have to do policy enforcement from the start and choose the audience whom you want the data to be seen. We also have Cloud Application Security which can run and check how many cloud apps are installed and how much risk you are getting with these tools. We also have Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics that detects, prioritize and investigate advanced attacks and insider threats before they can do damage." 

If you need to know how much time you have left, go to aka.ms/dpaguide. If you are not compliant, there is jail time and penalties involved.  Herns Hermida the Cloud and Enterprise Business Lead of Microsoft Philippines says "When we talk to customers, people ask how to get the infrastructure at par, my suggestion is to MOVE EVERYTHING TO THE CLOUD. It's cheaper, you can run things securely but customers who have done this experience security benefits that they don't have when they use in premise infrastructure. The Microsoft Cloud is something you can trust because it works with Security, privacy and conteol, compliance and security. Go to Youtube and search Cloud Security 101 with my name on it and you'll get a very detailed explanation of what you need to learn in cloud security. Everything that we do starts with security. Every developer starts from that. So if you are asked by your PC to restart your computer no matter how inconvenient that may be, please do because we install patches for security and that is our responsibilty. We want our customers safe and we invest 1 Billion dollars every year for it. Microsoft cannot do this alone so we have partners around the world to deal with attacks now and in the future. Attacks increase in amount and intensity. Using Azure, you can use security propreitary or third party software to protect our customers. We have hundreds of data centers in 38 regions. The Microsoft Cloud is used by 85% of Fortune 500 companies so why shouldn't you? We also use our own Hyper V, we use them on our data centers because we believe in it. We have an internal and external DDOS Defense System, we also do Data Segregation, do Data Protection, multiple options for replicating data and do Data Destruction when they leave Azure as Microsoft follows procedure to make it inaccessible after wiping out. Our defense strategy protect breach and assume breach to make sure we do not encounter problems. We do big data analytics to seek threat detection so if there is imminent attack or attack going on already. These solutions have also gotten certifications and programs including ISO and has the biggest compared with competitors."

Microsoft Azure is the most efficient cloud security solution today. Companies in the Philippines already are using them as we speak so don't discount yourself from acheiving the things that the Data Privacy Act needs to see you comply on that date. What they also need to see is your commitment and understanding this may be a tall order but if you need to secure data in all aspects especially of your customers. You need to be pro active and be aware. It's dangerous to have your date lying around somewhere and waiting to be pounced on by hackers and use it for the not so greater good. 

You can also answer the risk assesment questionaire on the site mentioned above if you want to know if you are in trouble or not, so start from that.


KUMAGCOW
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