Pinoy Blog Machine (Beta)

Harry Potter. For the span of how many years has this been the talk of the town. During book launchings, movie screenings, and even game releases. Although naturally, the game releases probably feel least populated by fans.

Today, at 7:01am in the Philippines, the final installment of the seven-book series has been released. I for one, was part of one of the long lines pondering bookstores all over. Fortunately, I was part of the first 50. I'll try to post some images of the line though I think it doesn't need any emphasis.



I have yet to read the book. A book which inspired a series of movies and games as well. I have watched all the movies, some more than once. But as for the games, I really did not have a thing for them.

You might be wondering, why post about something like this in a techie blog?

Well, worry no more, for the people who actually visit my blog. It is not part of the hype alone. This is one of the few series (few?) that evolved much over time. Particularly for the movies and games. In fact, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire happens to be one of the first games I got on DVD.

Game quality is something that varies according to time. If you would remember the first Harry Potter game based on the Sorceror's Stone (the Philosopher's Stone for those in Europe), compared to the games now, based on the Order of the Phoenix, well, its far from the first ones for sure. Has gameplay really improved? I suppose. You have more control, more things to manipulate and other stuff like that. But it has yet to give me enough motivation to finish.

I suppose, the reason I wrote this is because of the 7th book and the 5th movie. I have watched the movie and am yet to rate it. Probably, I'll do that after I see the IMAX version (I hope I still get to).

To J.K. Rowling, nice work on creating the series. I have yet to finish the book, hope it is as great a read as those before it.

1. A client is 1 day postoperative after a total hip replacement. The client should be placed in which of the following position? a. Supine b. Semi Fowler's c. Orthopneic d. Trendelenburg 2. A client who has had a plaster of Paris cast applied to his forearm is receiving pain medication. To detect early manifestations of compartment syndrome, which of these assessments should the nurse make? a

By: Adelaide Chen

A group of registered nurses in red scrubs recently descended upon Sacramento calling for a solution to the growing number of uninsured patients. At a hearing inside the Capitol, Zenei Triunfo Cortez, apracticing nurse with three decades of experience, listened intently to a proposal to cover all residents in the state.

An immigrant from the Philippines at age 19 and the third youngest of eight siblings, Cortez never thought she would lead the largest nurses' union in the state.

This fall, she joins three other women on the President's Council of the California Nurses Association to help represent 75,000 registered nurses and signify a shift in the demographics of a workforce swelling with nurses from the Philippines.

"She represents a huge breakthrough for Asian Americans in the labor movement," said Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center. Wong noted that Asian American workers are heavily concentrated in California's healthcare industry but "few Asian American leaders are in top positions throughout the country."

"That was what inspired me to become a leader. I needed to inspire other Filipino nurses to step up and provide a leadership role," said Cortez, who is in her early 50s.
And the nurses she inspired have passed that lesson on by becoming supporters for others in the field.

"Zenei taught me that you need to be an advocate for nurses in order to give good patient care. They don't teach us that in nursing school," said registered nurse Melissa Macasieb-Paat, who is thechief shop steward at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in South San Francisco, where Cortez works in the recovery room and has worked for 25 years.

Cortez has even taken her gospel of nurses' rights abroad: last January, Cortez spoke at a nursing school in the Philippines about the rights of nurses working abroad in the United States.
"If we don't keep fighting for new ones coming over, it will be very difficult for them to get started. I understand what they have to go through now," she said, recounting her arrival to the United Statesin 1974. "If we provide them with an education and background, their chances of being exploited are less. One thing we have to make clear is that, even under a visa program, they are regular employees just like us."

Cortez comes from an extended family of nurses, including her older sister, niece and female cousin. Her three sisters-in-law went to nursing school in the Philippines before immigrating to the UnitedStates. Her father's youngest sister was part of the first wave of Filipino nurses, migrating to the United States in the '60s as part of the U.S. Exchange Visitor Program.
The reasons so many nurses come from the Philippines are economic, she said. "If they stayed in the Philippines they would earn $300 a month. For us here, it's way more than that."
The Philippines is the largest exporter of nurses globally, according to the American Nurses Association. In California alone, 10 percent of new licenses issued by the state in 2005 were for individuals educated in a nursing school in the Philippines.

These numbers don't include the number of Filipino Americans educated in the United States, such as Cortez, who attended the South Chicago Community Hospital School of Nursing.
Cortez attends 6:30 a.m. mass most weekdays and will continue to work full-time upon becoming president this September. But she is planning some time off to join documentary filmmaker Michael Moore in promoting his new movie, Sicko, about the struggle for universal health care in America.

Five years ago, Cortez was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus and became a patient in the healthcare system. The advanced stages required surgery two weeks after the discovery and included nine weeks of radiation treatment, leaving her 65 pounds lighter.

"I was one of the fortunate ones," she said, crediting a strong union contract, which provided full medical coverage and eventually helped her beat the cancer.
"Nurses in California are really at the front line of health care reform," said registered nurse Kasi Chakravartula.

"Zenei shows the diversity of nurses reflected in our leadership," added California Nurses Association staff member Chito Quijano. "It just makes sense."

Source: http://news.asianweek.com/ and PhilNurse

NCLEX Examinations Scheduling Opens July 13, 2007, for Philippines Test Center

Contact:
Dawn M. Kappel
Director of Marketing and Communications
312.525.3667 direct 312.279.1034
fax dkappel@ncsbn.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO - The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) will begin NCLEX testing in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, at the international Pearson Professional Center on Aug. 23, 2007. Scheduling for examination appointments will begin on July 13, 2007.
The Manila site was chosen in February by the NCSBN Board of Directors because of the deep commitment shown by the Philippine government to ensuring a secure test center. The placement of a test site in the Philippines will allow for greater customer service to nurses without compromising the goal of safeguarding the public health, safety and welfare of patients in the U.S.

Intended for the purposes of domestic nurse licensure in U.S. states and territories, all security policies and procedures currently used to administer the NCLEX examination domestically will be fully implemented at this new site. Administration of the NCLEX examination abroad does not contradict or circumvent any current board of nursing process or requirement. All international candidates are required to apply to the board of nursing in the state or territory where they wish to be licensed before registering for the NCLEX examination. The NCLEX examination fee for all candidates is $200. Candidates who elect to take the NCLEX at an international site pay an additional $150 when they schedule their examination. State and territorial NCLEX examination fees remain at their current levels and are not being used to subsidize the international testing initiative.

Offered abroad since January 2005, the current international sites for NCLEX examinations are in London, England; Hong Kong; Sydney, Australia; Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, Canada; Frankfurt, Germany; Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai, India; Mexico City, Mexico; Taipei, Taiwan; and Chiyoda-ku and Yokohama, Japan.
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) is a not-for-profit organization whose membership comprises the boards of nursing in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories.

Mission: The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), composed of Member Boards, provides leadership to advance regulatory excellence for public protection.

###

Media inquiries may be directed to the contact listed above. Technical inquiries about the NCLEX examination may be directed to the NCLEX information line at:

1.866.293.9600 (domestic) or nclexinfo@ncsbn.org
+1.312.525.3750 (international)
NCSBN Web site http://www.ncsbn.org/
Pearson VUE Web site http://www.pearsonvue.com/

source: https://www.ncsbn.org/1282.htm

Alabama Board of Nursing
Alaska Board of Nursing
American Samoa Health Service
Arizona Board of Nursing
Arkansas Board of Nursing

C

California Board of Nursing
Colorado Board of Nursing
Connecticut Board of Nursing

D

District of Columbia

F

Florida Board of Nursing

G

Georgia Board of Nursing

H

Hawaii Board of Nursing

I

Idaho Board of Nursing
Illinois Board of Nursing
Indiana Board of Nursing
Iowa Board of Nursing

K

Kansas Board of Nursing
Kentucky Board of Nursing

L

Louisiana Board of Nursing

M

Maine Board of Nursing
Maryland Board of Nursing
Massachusetts Board of Nursing
Michigan Board of Nursing
Minnesota Board of Nursing
Missouri Board of Nursing
Montana Board of Nursing

N

National Council of State Boards of Nursing
Nebraska Board of Nursing
Nevada Board of Nursing
New Hampshire Board of Nursing
New Jersey Board of Nursing
New Mexico Board of Nursing
New York Board of Nursing
North Carolina Board of Nursing
North Dakota Board of Nursing

O

Ohio Board of Nursing
Oklahoma Board of Nursing
Oregon Board of Nursing

P

Pennsylvania Board of Nursing

R

Rhode Island Board of Nursing

S

South Carolina Board of Nursing
South Dakota Board of Nursing

T

Tennessee Board of Nursing
Texas Board of Nursing

U

Utah Board of Nursing

V

Vermont Board of Nursing
Virginia Board of Nursing

W

Washington Board of Nursing
West Virginia Board of Nursing
Wisconsin Board of Nursing
Wyoming Board of Nursing
Contact Person for Your Board of Nursing

Those without known websites:

American Samoa Health Service
Regulatory Board
LBJ Tropical Medical Center
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799
Phone: 011-684-633-1222, ext. 206
Fax: 011-684-633-1869
Telex: 782-573-LBJ-TMC

Delaware Board of Nursing
861 Silver Lake Boulevard
Cannon Building, Suite 203
Dover, Delaware 19904
Phone: 302-739-4522 extensions 215, 216, 217
Fax: 302-739-2711

District of Columbia Board of Nursing
Contact: Denise Pope, MSN, RN, Executive Officer
Address: 825 N. Capitol Street, N.E., 2nd floor, Room 224
City, State, ZIP: Washington, DC, 20002
DC Board of Nursing (202) 442-4777
Nursing applications (202) 442-4778
Licensure & Regulatory Administration (202) 442-5888 or 8947

Guam Board of Nurse Examiners
PO Box 2816Agana, Guam 96910
Phone: 011-671-475-0251
Fax: 011-671-477-4733

Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
Board of Nurse ExaminersPO Box 1458
Saipan, MP 96950
Phone: 011-670-234-8950 through 8954
Fax: 011-670-234-8930
Telex: 783-744
Answer back code is PNESPN744
When calling, ask for Public Health Center (ext. 2018 or 2019)

Oklahoma Board of Nursing
2915 North Classen Blvd., Suite 524
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73106
Phone: 405-525-2076
Fax: 405-521-6089

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Board of Nurse Examiners
Call Box 10200
Santurce, Puerto Rico 00908
Phone: 787-725-8161Fax: 787-725-7903
Virgin Islands Board of Nurse Licensure
PO Box 4247, Veterans Drive Station
St.Thomas, US Virgin Islands 00803
Phone: 340-776-7397Fax: 340-777-4003

Which part of the Nursing Process: Assessment; Analysis; Planning; Implementation or Evaluation?

Next, Decide the Order of Priority

First you must decide what part of the nursing process the question is connected with:

ANALYSIS - is the process of identifying potential and actual health problems. Most identify pertinent assessment information and assimilate it into the nursing diagnosis. Prioritize the needs that have been identified during analysis.

Some common words that are associated with ANALYSIS questions:
diagnose; contrast; compare; analyze; order; prioritize; define; classify; catagorize; synthesize; sort; arrange;


ASSESSMENT- consists of a collection of data. Baseline information for pre and post procedures is included. Also included the recognition of pertinent signs and symptoms of health problems both present and potential. Verification of data and confirmation of findings are also included. Assess a situation before doing an intervention.

Some common words that are associated with ASSESSMENT questions:
observe; gather; collect; differentiate; assess; recognize; detect; distinguish; identify; display; indicate; describe;


PLANNING - Involves formulating goals and outcomes. It also involves various members of the health care team and the patient's family. All outcome criteria must be able to be evaluated with a specific time frame. Be sure to establish priorities and modify according to question.

Some common words that are associated with PLANNING questions:
rearrange; reconstruct; determine; outcomes; formulate; include; expected; designate; plan; generate; short/long term goal; develop;


IMPLEMENTATION - Addresses the actual/direct care of a patient. Direct care entails pre, intra and postoperative management, preforming procedures, treatments, activities of daily living. Also includes the coordination of care and referral on discharge. It involves documentation and therapeutic response to intervention and patient teaching for health promotion and helping the patient maintain proper health.

Some common words that are associated with IMPLEMENTATION questions:
document; explain; give; inform; administer; implement; encourage; advise; provide; perform;


EVALUATION - Determines if the interventions were effective. Were goals met? Was the care delivered properly? Are modification plans needed. Addresses the effectiveness of patient teaching and understands and determines in proper care was offered. Evaluation can involve documentation, reporting issues, evaluates care given and determine the appropriateness of delegating to others. Most significantly, it finds out the response of the patient to care and the extent to which the goals we met.

Some common words that are associated with EVALUATION questions:
monitor; expand; evaluate; synthesize; determine; consider; question; repeat; outcomes; demonstrate; reestablish;

After determining what part of the nursing process the question is concerned with, next focus your attention on determining the category of priority:

Safe and effective care environment is always first. Patient safety is related to the proper preparation and delivery of nursing techniques and procedures as part of the nursing practice. It relates to every aspect of the delivery of care.

Physiologic integrity is the ability to provide competent care Information that may be described as traditionally medical- surgical and pediatric nursing falls into this category. Specific questions in this area can be related to many direct-care aspects of nursing practice. The importance of this area is highlighted because it is one in which planning, implementation and evaluation of care needs can easily be identified and tested. Physiologic integrity is always a slight lower priority than safety unless it involves airway, breathing and circulation. "ABC's" always comes first!

Psychosocial integrity tests the knowledge about a patients response to a disease or disorder. An understanding of stress, anxiety and ways to cope are essential. This is a lower priority the physiological integrity.

Health maintenance deals with health promotion, health teaching, disease prevention and assessment of risk factors for health problems. Normal growth and development is a major theme in this category. This however, is a low priority.

In Summary, when choosing the right answer for you NCLEX exam question
1) ask yourself, "what part of the nursing process is this question dealing with: analysis, assessment, planning, implantation or evaluation? and
2) Remember to prioritize your choices: safety always being first,
3) physiological integrity,
4) psychosocial integrity and health maintenance always has the lowest priority when choosing an answer.

Other tidbits:

• avoid choices with the answers "all" "always" "never" or "none". Nothing is ever a definite in Science.
• look for answers that are different. If three answers say the same thing but in different words, choose the answer that is different.
• when given choices that are pharmacologically based or non pharmacologically based, choose the non pharmacological intervention. It is more often then not, the correct answer.

Pure Nerd 73 % Nerd 43% Geek 13% Dork ) For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd, earning [...]

Social Life

I somehow believe that I still have a life--a life outside toiling forever.  But, unless I have a very good imagination, I cannot fully support this thought.

I joined almost every social networking sites there is, because, at that time, I needed to work on researches and observe social networking sites' behavior.  In an alternative term, also for work.  Though this is the case, I tried to degrade into using the accounts for my personal use.  I have the habitual flow of making almost all of the personal pages look painstakingly similar to each other.  I wanted to have a solid image of myself online, and not confuse my viewers/readers of my personality.  Ergo, one change in design for one site will cause a trigger of cascading changes for the other sites.  Just imagine how much bandwidth I've been gulping! :D

Now, that is my sole social life.  If a computer box is highly sociable, then I'm a social maniac! :D

More Work

As each day rolls like it won't end, I get more work.  And most of the time, though its not a work that I must physically deliver, its an exercise for my brain.  With this, I get information overload.  Everyday, I find myself staring into space while I deliver a step and trace function of a virtual code that I formulated in my head.  I get obsessed with what I need to do because I feel motivated doing so. 

In turn, each day meant more work.  Then what?  No more time for internet for fun stuff.

With the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling, out in a few hours, below is a short take on the media coverage of the much-awaited book by the US-based CBS News's "Public Eye" and posted a week ago. The headline above came from the article and not from me. Kill the writer Brian Montopoli for such a head-turning and highly emotional headline. Haha.

Harry Potter dies
Source: CBS News's Public Eye
Posted by Brian Montopoli

Just kidding.

Or maybe not. I really have no idea. My best guess is he meets up with the kid from High School Musical and they go off to dance and fight dragons.

Anyway, here's a question: How will media outlets report on the last Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which comes out next week? As a colleague's wife (sort of) said: "If they tell me the ending before I've finished the book, I'll never watch them again."

But it's NEWS, people! NEWS! So how do you cover it? That decision is somewhat simplified by the fact that almost no one has read the book – media outlets couldn't spoil it even if they wanted to. "We're trying to find out as much as we can, but there's really only so much we can find out," says producer Erica Zolberg, who is doing a story on Pottermania for tomorrow night's "Evening News." (For the record, Zolberg says she wouldn't spoil the end even if she knew it.)

The angle of tomorrow's story, then, isn't going to be what's in the book, but how the publishers and their partners are keeping that information quiet. Zolberg spoke to Jim Dale, the voice of the Potter audiobooks and one of the few people who has gotten his hands on the book, as well as the webmasters of two of the big Harry Potter Web sites. Everyone, it turns out, is following the "no spoilers" policy to the letter.

Read more here.

putting ads on your blog seems to be thing right now on the blogging world. i'm really not into the hype so i'll just leave it to the pro's. but i'm starting to wonder if adsense profits are a myth. i honestly don't click on them unless they ask me to. but the key to get to that 100-dollar mark on adsense is traffic, the unique way. it's not that easy though. you might want to try using proxy sites but that will just get you banned from your ad source. if you have 2000-3000 single hits a day, you'll definitely make at least 20-30 dollars per day (damn you bryanboy!).

it would depend on your cpm. for example, if you had a cpm of 1 dollar you would get 1 dollar for every 1000 page impressions. so you would need 10,000 page impressions to get to 10 dollars per day (and that's with no clicks on your ads!). here are some tips that i got from different bloggers:

1. join blogging communities. the best way to start is to introduce your self and your blog to other bloggers. try joining blogcatalog or stumbleupon. think of it as a friendster for blogs. you might even get some tips from the pro's on money making.

2. post regularly. if you want to get some avid readers, update your blog frequently. just don't give too much details like how many times you watched murder she wrote or who you slept with last night (unless you really want to go public about it). who knows, there might be some people out there waiting for your next entry.

3. submit your blog to blog directories. doing so will give your blog a chance to get noticed by avid blog readers and net surfers. blog directories with page rankings are better especially when your blog is doing good in terms of ratings. others would be tempted to see why your gaining some traffic thus giving you more unique visits.

4. exchange links. it's more popularly known as a blogroll, a "do this for me and i'll do the same for you" to gain popularity in your network. you might even get some referrals by sharing links.

5. add some spice. adding some icing (like photos and videos) won't hurt if that will give your blog more clarity and a glossier look. this is where you put all the creative ideas and choice of words that might just give you a notch higher than your next door blogger.

6. draw some attention. blogging is like a popularity contest. if you want fame, then drop the innocent look. try to be nasty sometimes. perez hilton and bryan boy got their share of fame by bashing famous people and no one even cares. fame comes easier if you are destructive. and it pays off!

or end up like this ^

Chocolate Peanut Rush from Five Cows Resto and Ice Cream Bar @ TriNoMa

Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how much do enjoy watching sports on television?
— That depends on what sports are on television. If I’m watching figure skating or basketball, I’d rate it as 7.

Soup
If you could completely memorize any one work of fiction, which one would you pick?
— Tough question. I only get to choose one? Okay, then I’ll have to pick Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

Salad
What is your favorite breakfast food?
— Bread and cheese!

Main Course
Name something fun you can do for less than $10.00.
— Blog!

Dessert
How long does it usually take you to fall asleep?
— 30 minutes to 1 hour. But if I’m from a 24-hour duty, I can fall asleep as soon as my back touched the bed

So, you want to do your own Friday’s Feast, too? Just go here. Everybody’s welcome!

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