Congrats Manny! Please stay good.

Congratulations Manny!

I watched the fight at a theater and unlike the previous PacMan fights I watched, the crowd was more relaxed all throughout. Perhaps it was because of the boring undercard. Or maybe it was because you were the 3-1 favorite. In the dela Hoya fight where you were the underdog, there was a nervous air. And unlike the Marquez fight, the audience was not taunting the opponent. It's as if we (and it seemed you yourself too) didn't want you to finish Cotto off brutally.

Women's tennis album 14 - Yanina Wickermayer

The women's tennis world no. 16 Yanina Wickmayer was suspended for a year by a Belgian anti-doping tribunal last week for failing three times to report her whereabouts for drug testing. Wickmayer said anti-doping officials sent her registered mail to her home in Belgium. Being on tour several months of the year, her registered mail remains unopened. Under the rules elite athletes must make themselves available for out-of-competition testing for one hour a day, 365 days a year. If they miss three out-of-competition tests or fail three times to register where they will be for anti-doping tests, they risk sanctions. The tearful 20-year-old U.S. Open semifinalist accused the sports authorities of treating her unfairly and ruining her career.

Seel also Album 13.

White hair chronicles XV - The Berlin Wall

November 9, 2009 is the day the world celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (photo from Time).

The construction of the wall started on the year of my birth. It stayed on for nearly three decades before it was torn down in 1989. My generation has seen the rise and fall of a historical icon, events that will be taken up in history lessons by future generations.

My generation has seen history made, but we're not history yet.

Most bang for the buck - SUN cellular and China wifi phone

Sun Cellular offers a low cost unlimited call and text service. The service works great for family members that need to get in touch with one another constantly. My sisters, my wife and son are on the Sun cellular network. I want a Sun cellular SIM too. Since I don't want to let go of my Smart mobile number, as this has been my number for the past 7 years, I need another pone as well.

I scouted for dual SIM phones. China made phones are invariably dual SIM. They allow you get two calls simultaneously, they give you analog TV reception, has a touch screen, and now some newer models are WiFi capable. All these at up to an eighth of the cost of an original Nokia (which is not dual SIM and has no TV). I got one for myself last Halloween.

The TV reception is passable. The audio player is ok too. The shake to shuffle feature works. The dual SIM works. The best feature I think is its WiFi capability. It has Google Maps, an chat client, and Opera browser. The package includes two batteries apparently because two SIMs use up power faster. The cheapest Wifi phone sells for around Php13,000 (a Samsung). But it is just single SIM, without TV. So I think the China dual SIM phone with TV and WiFi gives the most bang for the buck, most especially if the second SIM is from SUN cellular. That is, if you can live with its obviously clone look.

Women's tennis album 13 - Daniela Hantuchova

Daniela Hantuchova appeared in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition together with Maria Kirilenko and Tatiana Golovin. She is the oldest and most successful among the three (so far), reaching the top 5 in 2003. Maria and Tatiana have overtaken Daniela in the rankings by now. Before she slips further down the rankings, let us enjoy her on-court beauty.

See also Album 12.