Geekay explained

I should have done it when I started this blog, explain what "Geekay" means. For some reason, I was just thinking of local readers who I assumed would immediately pick up how I was playing with two words: one English (geek), the other colloquial Tagalog (Kikay) which describes a lady who is fond of all things nice, especially fashion and beauty.

If you search online you'd see that the term Geekay is not unique to me. There are people and companies that answer to the name Geekay in Australia, Bahrain, India, Austria, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and even in the United States. I don't know the inspiration behind their use of the term geekay, but mine is simply the fact that there's a "kikay" in me for things geek. But because there are already geekay, gee-kay, gee kay and other variations of the name in the blogosphere, I could only get a green light for "geekayness". Do I like it? For all intents and purposes I prefer the short and succinct term, but the suffix somehow adds a little drama like "(her) highness", so I ran with it.

So, that's how Geekay or Geekayness came to be based on my own definition. Sorry, for the late introduction, but now you know why I call myself Geekay ;)

Zunic

Slimming and body sculpting. If you're on the heavy side, those words might carry a lot of weight (pun unintended). These words, in a nutshell, is what Zunic is all about. This slimming center has eight non-invasive machine-based treatments to help its customers get into shape. No surgery, pills, injections. They also claim that there's no need to diet or exercise. But they do encourage their clients to keep a meal plan/diary to keep an eye on what they eat (good or bad) and to increase their metabolism by being more active.

I've been to Zunic and have seen the machines they use. For one of their popular treatments called Contourage, they use this blue machine that emits radio frequency waves to reduce cellulite in the body. If you look at the picture, there are two objects that look like hair-dryers. Those are what friendly Zunic female staff use to massage a customer's problem area for at least 45-minutes. If it's your tummy that you want sculpted, they would measure first your upper, mid and lower abdomen area before the treatment and compare the numbers afterwards. Results vary as body types are different, but an average of 2cm reduction is common after treatment. Definitely a painless way to get rid of love handles unlike liposuction.

If I'm not mistaken, Zunic also uses this machine for its other treatment, the Ultralift. The client for this treatment are people with chubby cheeks and double chins. You know, like Shrek and Fiona (kidding). The treatment applies heat pulses to melt the underlying fat and stimulate collagen production, Zunic says.

Another popular Zunic treatment called CelluAvant uses laser technology. By combining deep laser stimulation of a problem area, say tummy or thighs, with localized cooling and rhytmic massage, Zunic says they are able to promote better lymphatic drainage, thus relieving clients from feeling bloated as excess fluid and toxins get flushed out. For CelluAvant they use this oval-faced machine with a shower-head looking device that is not only cold to the skin but also gives a feeling that your flesh is being sucked or pinched though not in a painful way. They also ask patients and the attending nurse to wear special eyeglasses to protect their eyes from laser lights.

I also saw the Metabolique machine at Zunic which uses photon lights to increase a person's metabolism without exercise. It looks like an MRI machine but with disco lights! Lots of them, too, so that one is advised to close his/her eyes during the procedure. And that's the reason why I don't have a photo of it. :)

I also have this photo of a red machine at Zunic, which I can't remember what it's for. I thought it looks like an ATM machine. Ha ha. Might as well be, because to avail of Zunic's treatments you really have to hit the bank big time!

The staff at Zunic are very friendly and professional. Like their treatments, the staff are not invasive. I just shared the photos and little information on the treatments though. If you want more, Zunic has consultants who would walk you through what programs would be best for you. The rest is up to you.

Samsung 3D HDTV -- I see 3D, people

Life is indeed full of surprises. Like if you told me 10 years ago that home TV viewing will become three-dimensional, I'd be surprised. So, imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to realize that 3D TV for the home is now possible. As I have probably said in this blog earlier, I don't fawn over every new technology or gizmo I see, but a 3D HDTV immediately landed straight on top of my list of crave technologies the moment I tested one.

It was about a decade ago when I first stepped inside an iMAX theater in Sydney, Australia -- which was along the Darling Harbour to be exact -- to watch a 3D documentary about elephants. The 3D glasses and my close proximity to the screen were overwhelming, but it was an experience worthy of a repeat as I paid iMAX several more visits abroad, until iMAX finally opened in Manila. Now more local cinemas are offering 3D screening which is cool, except for the exorbitant fees.

But wouldn't it be better if we don't have to step out of the house to watch something in 3D?

Just this month, three of the biggest TV giants -- Samsung, LG and Sony -- respectively paraded their 3D TV offerings. The first two already gave me a 3D sneak peek of their offerings. Samsung lent me their 40-inch LED HDTV and threw in three pairs of 3D glasses and some 3D movies for several weeks. Samsung actually sent over a 3D starter kit that contained two 3D glasses and Dreamworks' cute movie called Monsters Vs. Aliens. After the first try, I was hooked. I'm not a couch potato, but Samsung's LED C7000 HDTV turned me into one after the first movie.

It should be noted that this is just the beginning of 3D HDTV for the home and the technology would improve a lot more. Still, I'm already thrilled by this progress.

One thing I also appreciate about the Samsung C7000 is its ability to tweak regular TV programming from 2D to 3D with just a touch of a remote button and, of course, with the use of the 3D glasses. It was a cool effect and though it's not perfect, the images get an acceptable depth of field that make them look 3D. It just takes getting used to wearing the 3D glasses which use wristwatch-type of batteries or USB charger.


It's a pleasant surprise, really, that 3D TV for the home is now a reality. Did I say I now crave for it? But at P169,900 for the 40-inch model (the 46-inch costs P199,900) it would be short of a miracle if I get one soon. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out appliance showrooms and look for this product and that of the other brands, too, just to familiarize yourself on what, I expect, will become part of all our living rooms in the not so distant future.

Sharp Plasmacluster Ion air purifier for cars

I love a room that is not only clean but also smells good. I easily catch colds, you see, so I'm quite fastidious when it comes to this. We all want to have healthy air to breathe, but city-living does not exactly give us that.

Like when was the last time you braved turning off your car aircon and rolling down the window as you drive down the highway? I almost never do that, unless the aircon conked out. But even inside a closed air-conditioned car the air quality I'm sure is not pure. Dust from our shoes and stuff collect on the floor, mats, dashboard and seats. There's lint that we can see and not see. I imagine there are other organisms that co-exist with me inside my car, but even a clean-nut like me won't know how to get rid of them.

Then one day, I was happy to receive a give-away present from Sharp Philippines. It was an air purifier the size of a tall coffee jug that is specially designed for cars and made to fit in a car's cupholder. It was a new product that I'm thankful to have because it promises to remove viruses, bacteria, allergens, molds and bad odors in the car!

The Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Generator releases high-density plasmacluster ions that follow the car's interior airflow. The ions disinfect and purify the air as they are released at a 20-degree angle upwards and are carried along the ceiling of the car to every part of the interior.

It uses the car's power source. Just plug it, turn it on and it'll do the air purifying quietly. The plasmacluster ion generating unit mounted in this product must be replaced periodically. What is periodically? Sharp says after every 17,500 hours which is roughly equivalent to 6 years when operated 8 hours a day. Cool, huh? I'm definitely using this product, but not until I've swept my car clean first. You know, just to give this little workhorse some help. Is that silly? Well, only if you're the type who sprays perfume without taking a shower. Haha!

HP Scitex large-format printers -- huge in possibilities

They cost a fortune but the printing possibilities they offer are endless. I'm talking about the HP Scitex and Designjet large-format printers that could change everything you thought you knew about printers.

A local company, 11 FTC Enterprises, Inc., has several of these mammoth printers from HP that can directly print on wood, doors, tiles and other flat surfaces; lighted signs; tarpaulin streamers and billboards; cars, trucks and even on the body of the LRT/MRT trains; stores and retail booths signages; fabric and plastic...the list could go on and on.

A visit at 11 FTC's plant in Novaliches, Q.C. gave me a preview of the services they offer using the HP large-format printers which are quite awesome, especially for many of us whose concept of printers and printing are somewhat limited to laserjets or inkjets that churn out prints in A4, legal-size paper. The first photo below shows the new HP Scitex FB7500 at 11 FTC's facilities, and under it is a file photo of how the machine actually looks. The FB7500 (FB means flatbed) is a UV flatbed printer designed for industrial printing of high-quality exhibition graphics, backlit displays and posters, and many others.



A service bureau that works with 11 FTC called AGG Advertising Supplies can actually wrap your entire vehicle with customized designs stickers printed on HP Designjet LS25500 for about P8,000 minimum. HP uses its own Latex inks for jobs like this. HP Latex Inks produce prints that are eco-friendly as they are odorless, non-flammable, water-based and contain no hazardous air pollutants. Photos of their sample works below.



I'm familiar with the term "latex" but only because there was a huge paint job in our house recently and we had to buy large pails of latex paint. How I wish instead of those material we had this:



The above photos (poor quality courtesy of my old camera) show a wall of printed tiles (first pic) while the other one is covered by wall paper (second pic). Instead of using smelly ordinary latex paints that produce flat colors, HP large-format printers produced these sceneries to cover what otherwise would be plain walls. Now, isn't this something you'd want to have in your own home, room or place of work?

LG Optimus

LG Optimus, the latest smartphone offering from LG Electronics will be in stores starting next week. It's really raining smartphones lately with almost all leading consumer electronics makers having their own offerings that give us consumers a much wider selection to choose from.

The LG Optimus is LG's first Android device featuring a full 3-inch HVGA touchscreen, a 3 megapixel camera, advanced media player that supports DivX and Xvid video formats, a social networking application manager, cool games and a lot of other cool apps from the Android Market.

For P12,900, the LG Optimus can well claim to be the most affordable Android-powered smartphone for the entry- and mid-level market where many users are wanting to try and own their first Android smartphone without having to rob a bank.

To further increase LG Optimus' mass appeal, LG also tapped Korean celebrity Lee Min Ho of "Boys Over Flower" fame to endorse the GT540, which is the robot name of this product. Speaking of robot, I thought Transformers' Optimus Prime would also make a good ambassador for this phone, but that's just me who happens to have a 7-year old nephew who worships Optimus Prime.

Anyway, the LG Optimus is available in black, silver, pink and white colors so, take your pick.

Samsung N150 Plus in Corby Yellow

The pink was nice, but I love the yellow more. Thus, I had my Samsung N150 Plus Corby Pink changed to Corby Yellow which is a happier color.

The Samsung N150 Plus Corby Yellow is small enough that I can use this yellow Ikea kiddie stool for a desk where it appears like the chair's back rest!

What I really love about it though is its long-lasting-eleven-hours of unplugged use when its battery has been fully charged. I also find it easy to type on this one unlike on other netbooks I used before. And I love the 250GB room for saving files and its LED screen. The smudge-free yellow cover is also a major plus for me. :)