What's your Coca-Cola Dream Pack?

Coca-Cola is pretty much a pop-cultural icon. It's hard not to recognize the red and white logo that's survived so many changes.





Now, Coca-Cola wants you to let your creative juices flow and tell them about your Coca-Cola Dream Pack. Simply answer these questions:

1. If you had a dream Coke pack/bottle, what would it look like? How would you make it portable? How many mL/oz.? What would you call it and why? (e.g. in the same way we call the small Coke bottle Coke “Sakto”).
2. It’s fun to make up nicknames. How would you call a new Coke pack/bottle if it had the following characteristics and why?

“It's a new handy and re-sealable bottle which I can drink to go with my snacks, anytime, anywhere, whenever the need strikes. It is convenient, instant refreshment whenever, and wherever I go: be it travel, trip to the mall, gimmick, or just simply when I'm on- the-go. Truly a great companion for my mobile lifestyle.”

Send your answers to to dreampack2011@gmail.com with the following information:

• Subject: Coke Dream Pack Contest Entry
• Your First and Last Name
• Your Age
• Your Contact No.
• Your Email Address

Make sure you send them by February 28, 2011 to qualify. You can download the full contest mechanics from here.

And do you want to try your chances in winning a trip with accommodations for you and a friend to watch your favorite artist perform live, anywhere in the world? Then join Coca-Cola's "Any Concert, Anywhere" raffle promo! Best of luck!

Images source: Oddee

Nike presents The Black Mamba

Kobe Bryant has his own movie! Wow. I never thought I'd see the day. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised considering MJ did Space Jam and Shaq not only had his turn in films, but also had a recording contract to boot. So why can't Kobe?

The Black Mamba is Kobe Bryant's alter ego in this movie. He stars with Kanye West, Danny Trejo and Bruce Willis. The movie is directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by Nike.



I am somewhat of a skeptic, but the trailer had me laughing too, so I'm quite interested in seeing this film.



Should you fear The Black Mamba? If I were one of those crazy, muscled guys who want to destroy him, I'd say yes.

The Black Mamba will hit theaters on Saturday, February 19, 2011, 6:00 p.m. at the Ronac ART Center, Ortigas Avenue, Greenhills, San Juan. Gates open at 4:00 p.m. The event will also unveil the Nike Zoom Kobe VI, so that's something to look out for.

oDesk offers funds transfer directly to your Philippine bank account!

Great news for all oDesk contractors in the Philippines! oDesk is now offering local funds transfer, where you can directly deposit your earnings into your Philippine bank account for a low, flat fee. This eliminates the need for a third party vendor, such as Payoneer or PayPal. Instead, all your money goes directly to your bank account (in pesos too!) through the local clearing system.

It takes 3 to 5 business days for your funds to be properly transferred. Local funds transfer in the Philippines is still in the beta stage, but oDesk assures contractors that the system is sound and their money is in good hands. It's in the beta stage because they know it can improve in the future.

Setting up the local funds transfer is a one-step activation process. You just need your bank's head office BRSTN code, your account number and information. While oDesk charges $1.99 for each transfer, you may incur other charges, such as incoming remittance fees. It's best to ask if your bank has other charges when receiving a BRSTN local funds transfer. oDesk did mention that due to their existing tie-ups with several local banks, these fees won't be very steep.

For a complete list of details, please view this post at the oDesk website. You can also check out the discussion thread. A lot of my questions have been answered just by reading through it.

I'm going to sign up for this. I'm currently using Payoneer and the fees are killing me. Imagine a $20 transfer will incur up to more than $5 in fees just to get the money to Payoneer. I think it's fast and convenient, but not worth it if you're only going to be transferring minimum amounts. I'm trying out Paypal which is somewhat cheaper (transfer from Paypal to local bank, charges may apply too).

This service is open to all Philippine oDesk contractors. Other countries have their own local funds transfer too. It sounds like a very easy solution for all our withdrawal woes (hoy, wag ka bastos! :p) I'm glad oDesk decided to bring this service to us. I can't wait to try it, especially since according to that post, BPI doesn't have any incoming remittance charges! :D

Have you tried this? Will you sign up for it? I'd love to hear about your experience if you have.

January 2012 Update: I was able to try this a few months after I posted this. When my account reached a little over PHP 10,000, I facilitated the transfer. It was pretty quick, and it took less than two days to get from my oDesk account to my BPI savings account. And yes, no remittance charges (compared to transferring from PayPal to BPI).

Dear Globe, it's me again

My Globe DSL service bill for December-January just arrived in my mailbox and I was surprised to see that I still had a balance of P1,150+. I remember asking my brother to pay this balance on my behalf a couple of months ago. Plurk friends will remember it as the time when I ranted about having no service with Globe for nearly a week.

I called up customer service and asked for the updated balance. True enough, I did make the payment and my balance now is P0.93. Since the matter was settled, I was ready to end the call when the customer service rep informed me that I could sign up for paperless billing through the Globe website. I let her finish her spiel even though I was already familiar with the service. The kicker was this line:

"Ma'am, you can view your bill through our online facility and when you're ready to make the payment, i-print niyo nalang po yung bill."

Globe's current set-up with "paperless billing" is that you'll see a scan of the paper bill you receive every month. Unlike the online facility of banks, it doesn't reflect the actual balance of your bill but rather what was received by their system before the cut-off. This was the reason why I had more than a thousand pesos in my bill, as the payment was made after the cut-off period.

Now, I am not certain if customers are truly required to print the bill when paying. If you have a credit card or pay through BPI's online facility, it shouldn't matter. But what about those who can only pay through Globe or Bayad centers? I know I have been able to make over-the-counter payments for my DSL by just providing the correct information the attendant asked for, such as the account number and account holder's name, as well as verify some other details. I am also positive that I was able to make the payment through the machines some Globe centers have even without the stub from the bill.

If Globe does require a printout of the bill from customer who signed up for paperless billing, it totally defeats the purpose of the service in the first place. It doesn't make it more environmentally friendly, and maybe this is a rarity, but what of the customers who do not have printer access (either at home or at the office)?

My points?

1. Clarify the process for bills payment. If a customer uses the paperless billing, will s/he require a print-out, or not?
2. Update the system so that customers who do use the service will be able to view in real time their actual balance. A delay of 12 to 24 hours is acceptable. A discrepancy of 1 month is not.

I look forward seeing some improvement in your service, Globe.