Basti’s is celebrating their 10th year anniversary today and they have brewed up something special.

It’s 50% off for their ten most popular menu items, which includes the following: cappuccino (₱33), brewed coffee (₱23), cappuccino float (₱53), mocha shake (₱53), oreo shake (₱45), carrot cake (₱45), bolognese (₱56), pinoy pizzas (₱75), carroza (₱60), and banana muffin (₱23).

Carrot Cake and Brewed Coffee for only ₱67.50

Customers can also get a big slice of their limited edition creamy moist choco monster caramel cake for only ₱199. I’ve seen this beast and it’s huge! One slice is probably good for three to four persons.

Owners Randall Ong and Vanessa Ong, and Store Manager Paul Aseneta with the monster choco caramel cake

Ms. Ria Jose with the monster choco caramel cake

Also, with a single receipt purchase worth ₱300, customers get the chance to win prizes and gift items. Later tonight, The acoustic band, Walnut Avenue, will be peforming from 8PM until 11PM to entertain guests and customers.

Why don’t you come over here at Victoria Plaza and enjoy Basti’s Brew’s treat for us (their Legazpi branch is closed, by the way). Until someone kicks me out or drags me off, I’m plating my behind here today.

Last year, I had 12 nominations but didn’t win anything. Guess I’m one of the better bloggers but not the best at any of my niches. LOL!

Go, Ria!

Wireless internet wasn’t available in our room but they did have a RJ-45 socket to plug into. Unfortunately, I left my ethernet cable back in Davao. No problem, they were happy to lend us one and within a few minutes, I had my MacBook Pro setup for internet sharing via Airport.

A big bonus for Jupiter Suites is their ideal location. A number of food establishments are within the immediate vicinity such as BBQ Chicken (located at the ground floor, Jupiter Suites building), Teriyaki Boy, McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Mang Inasal, and Goldilocks. You can also search the area surrounding the corner of Jupiter Street and Makati Avenue for more options.

Across the street from the hotel is Petron, which had a convenience store that sold Gloria Jean’s coffee and Subway sandwiches. Another convenience store, 7-Eleven, was just several meters away. National Bookstore has a branch in the same general area in case anybody needs a box of crayons or a ream or two of A4 paper. If you need to get your prescription filled, Mercury Drug is just right next door. A bit further along Makati Avenue is the Pacific Star building, the ground floor of which houses a small convenience store and several fast food establishments as well as Starbucks. Pacific Star, by the way, is also a good place to grab a taxi.

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If you want to go shopping or you want to look for more places to eat, there’s Glorietta and Greenbelt, both of which are just a ₱50 taxi ride away (depending on traffic, of course) or, if weather permits and if you’re not in any hurry, a 15- to 20-minute walk.

I had a very enjoyable stay in Makati, thanks in part to Jupiter Suites. It was always nice to know that when we were ready to call it a day, we were going back to a hotel where we felt safe and well taken cared of. The staff and management were friendly and courteous, from the doorman to the front desk, from the commissary to the housekeeping staff.

My sincere thanks to the management and staff of Jupiter Suites for making my stay very comfortable and enjoyable.

I’ve added an ethernet cable into my grab bag of essentials for my laptop bag. I’m thinking of throwing in a portable wireless router as well. Maybe something like the one from Buffalo or if I want to spend a bit more, get Apple’s Airport Express.

I am now here in the Asian Institute of Management, at Paseo de Roxas, Makati and am charge of live streaming the event. Check out the WordCamp Philippines website or our Ustream site.

In the August 24th issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research article entitled “Cognitive control in media multitaskers” has shown that people who choose to do several different things all at once have the tendency to pay less attention, have bad memories, and are poor in shifting from one task to another as compared to those who are considered as ‘low multitaskers’.

The researchers, Clifford Nass , Eyal Ophir, and Anthony Wagner, wanted to find out if chronic media multitaskers had a ‘gift’ when it came to performing tasks such as answering emails, engaging in multiple instant messaging conversations, and jumping from website to website simultaneously.

They don’t.

Results have shown that high multitaskers found it difficult to filter out irrelevant information, to store and organize information in memory, and to switch from one task to another.

Research is ongoing to determine whether high multitaskers are born with the inability to concentrate and are doing harm to their cognitive control by taking in so many things at once. The researchers are convinced that high multitaskers’ minds “are not working as well as they could.”

“When they’re in situations where there are multiple sources of information coming from the external world or emerging out of memory, they’re not able to filter out what’s not relevant to their current goal,” said Wagner, an associate professor of psychology. “That failure to filter means they’re slowed down by that irrelevant information.”

More at Stanford University News. For something more in depth, read the abstract and full article at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences website.

Interview with Adam Savage, co-host of the hit science television series, MythBusters. Along with co-special effects expert Jamie Hyneman, they tackle myths, movie scenes and rumors with science to test the validity of each claim. The show also features Tory Belleci, Kari Byron, and Grant Imahara, also known as the “Build Team”.

In this week’s SGU episode, Adam Savage talks about being a MythBuster, what will life after MythBusters be like, the Maltese Falcon, the state of the skeptical movement, Iron Man, CSI, and more.

This week‘s news and emails:

• Multitasking
• Methane Fog on Titan
• Google Nessie
• Evolving Mice
• Appendix
• iPhone Crap App

Download the episode here or subscribe via iTunes.

To believe your own thought to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men – that is genius.

From Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson as quoted by Adam Savage

Thanks to PZ Myers.

We are calling on the WHO to condemn the promotion of homeopathy for treating TB, infant diarrhoea, influenza, malaria and HIV.
Homeopathy does not protect people from, or treat, these diseases.
Those of us working with the most rural and impoverished people of the world already struggle to deliver the medical help that is needed.
When homeopathy stands in place of effective treatment, lives are lost.

On August 21, WHO responds:

Dr Mario Raviglione, Director, Stop TB Department, WHO:

Our evidence-based WHO TB treatment/management guidelines, as well as the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC) do not recommend use of homeopathy.

Dr Mukund Uplekar, TB Strategy and Health Systems, WHO:

WHO’s evidence-based guidelines on treatment of tuberculosis…have no place for homeopathic medicines.

Dr Teguest Guerma, Director Ad Interim, HIV/AIDS Department, WHO:

The WHO Dept. of HIV/AIDS invests considerable human and financial resources [...] to ensure access to evidence-based medical information and to clinically proven, efficacious, and safe treatment for HIV… Let me end by congratulating the young clinicians and researchers of Sense About Science for their efforts to ensure evidence-based approaches to treating and caring for people living with HIV.

Dr Sergio Spinaci, Associate Director, Global Malaria Programme, WHO:

Thanks for the amazing documentation and for whistle blowing on this issue… The Global Malaria programme recommends that malaria is treated following the WHO Guidelines for the Treatment of Malaria.

Joe Martines, on behalf of Dr Elizabeth Mason, Director, Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development, WHO:

We have found no evidence to date that homeopathy would bring any benefit to the treatment of diarrhoea in children…Homeopathy does not focus on the treatment and prevention of dehydration – in total contradiction with the scientific basis and our recommendations for the management of diarrhoea.

[Via the BBC]

An experiment aiming to cheer up the world has begun.

Professor Richard Wiseman launched an ambitious project today which requires the participation of a large number of people who are willing to spend just one minute a day to perform a happiness boosting exercise. It is hoped that the participant’s increased level of happiness will pass on to those around him and may end up cheering the entire world.

As mentioned, the experiment begun today, August 3 and will end August 7, Friday.

Participating is quite easy:

1. First complete a short questionnaire about your sex, age and current level of happiness.
2. Watch a short video describing Prof. Wiseman’s happiness boosting exercise. It’s takes less than a minute to do and you will have to repeat it everyday.
3. You’ll be asked to rate your level of happiness again at the end of the project.

Very simply, right?

It should be noted that different groups will be given different exercises. This will help identify that most effective way of increasing happiness. There’s also hope that there will be a ‘domino effect’ as a participant becomes increasingly happy, it will be passed along to those around him.

Why don’t you join? It could help spread more cheer all around.

Professor Richard Wiseman is a psychologist, a magician and an author. He started as a professional magician then got his degree in Psychology from the University College London and his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Edinburgh.

He is a well-known skeptic and for debunking paranormal claims. His research has been featured on over 150 television programmes, including Horizon (BBC), 20/20 (ABC), and Dateline (NBC).

He was the recipient of The CSICOP Public Education In Science Award in 2000 and the Joseph Lister Award For Social Science in 2002.

Some of his works include “Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives” and “The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind.”

His latest book, 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot, “exposes self-help myths, and presents fast-acting and scientifically proven techniques that help you achieve your aims and ambitions in less than a minute. From mood to memory, persuasion to procrastination, and resilience to relationships.” Check out the website 59 Seconds to know more.

Read more of Prof. Wiseman’s biography over at www.richardwiseman.com.