Can there be one special person, a soul mate, who is meant to appreciate and love you and be with you for the rest of your life? "Maybe," says happiness guru Caloy Atayde. A definite maybe.

Atayde is fast becoming known for his 'Laughter from the Heart' talks, enlightening and fun learning sessions that help people to be more loving and live stress-free and happier lives. He believes that living a good and happy life is the key to finding one’s soul mate. Atayde, who has been producing values-oriented entertainment and special events for 34 years now, says that when you are in love, you experience "laughter from the heart," which he defines as a feeling of joy, peace, and contentment all rolled into one.

"For us to experience true love, however, we must know how to appreciate others and truly be concerned about their well-being. While we all want to experience genuine love and happiness, most of us do not really know what to do," Atayde said.

He added that one of the first things we have to do is to be aware of our thoughts and emotions.

"We all live to love and experience the joy and happiness that come from love. This is the purpose of our life. If you are a loving, happy, and responsible person, there will many who would want to be your life-long partner, but they may not necessarily be your soul mate."

Finding your soul mate takes a bit of work. And in Atayde’s Laughter from the Heart sessions, which he calls "happyshops" (because participants get to laugh, sing, love, dance, and enjoy themselves as if there's no tomorrow), he shows how managing stress and freeing yourself from fear, anger, envy, and other negative emotions can lead you to 'the one.'

For more information, log on to www.laughterfromtheheart.com or call 722-4662 or 725-2611.

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Not to be outdone by its competitors, Globe has launched its new Hosted Contact Center (HCC) Solution that would enable enterprises to communicate more effectively with their customers and meet their demands for high service levels.

Offered through Globe's corporate arm Globe Business, Globe HCC Solution provides enterprises an end-to-end solution that offers the full features of contact center applications, with high capacity platform and highly secure infrastructure, but no capital expenditure required.

It is a pre-integrated, multi-channel contact center platform that takes communication from any type of media, whether phone, e-mail, Web chat or voice mail, and routes them anywhere, either to the headquarters or a branch.

"Enterprises in the Philippines are actively looking for ways to engage their customers better to gain competitive edge. They see the need to upgrade their ability to handle customer inquiries to achieve this," said Gil Genio, head of Globe Business.

"Globe's HCC Solution can help them get that competitive advantage by quickly enabling their infrastructure to handle calls, without the pain and headache of having to find, implement, spend or maintain what is essentially a telecommunications and network infrastructure," he added.

Globe Business has partnered with Oracle to bring the Globe HCC Solution to enterprises.

The Globe HCC Solution utilizes the Oracle Hosted Contact Center Anywhere application and is supported by Oracle’s business partner Mannasoft.

"As a network-based service, the HCC allows a service provider such as Globe to own and operate a contact center technology platform and lease its services and features to business clients," said James Owens, Oracle’s general manager for Contact Center Anywhere specialist sales.

"Oracle is proud to establish this partnership with Globe Business and deliver the benefits of HCC to enterprises across industries, from large corporations to small and medium enterprises. Operating a modern contact center does not need to be challenging as they can now get it from their preferred telco services provider," Owens added.

"By launching the Hosted Contact Center Solution, Globe allows a business to focus on serving its customers and generating revenues and leave the call center integration and management to us," said Jesus Romero, head of enterprise segments at Globe Business.

"This is a compelling new alternative to address the market demand for outsourcing the technology but keeping the agents in-house and empowering them with world-class customer service technology that would meet their customers' expectations," Romero added.

Majority of the contact centers today are premises-based, which require building one's own infrastructure by having PBX equipment, contact center applications, servers, E1 leased lines and IP connectivity, location to house the agents and equipment, desktops, headsets, IP phones and Local Area Network (LAN).

With the Globe HCC Solution, all an enterprise needs to prepare is the location where its very own agents will be housed, the desktops of its agents, supervisors and quality assurance officers, and the LAN.

Globe Business will provide the rest, namely the contact center applications, telecom network infrastructure, peripherals such as SIP telephone set and headset, and support services.

The Globe HCC Solution enables enterprises to experience low upfront investment, subscription pricing, minimal IT resource requirements and robust features while they get their very own contact center that would deliver the customer satisfaction they need to give their business the competitive advantage.

It gives enterprises access to the latest technology without having to build and integrate extensive systems, reduces complexity and technical problems as they don’t need to hire people to implement and maintain the system, and allows cost predictability, scalability and consistency as it is applicable to companies of all sizes no matter how large or small the need is.

The Globe HCC Solution features include complete administrative control of the contact center, multi-channel customer interaction, Web-based interface, browser-based multimedia interaction, multi-channel automatic call distribution, interactive voice response call routing, voice calls, e-mail, voice mail, voice callback, Web chat, Web callback, predictive dialing, preview dialing, unified messaging, quality voice monitoring and recording, agent interaction, supervisor interaction, and integrated reporting.

Globe Business offers wireless and wireline data and voice solutions relevant to the needs of various Philippine and foreign small, medium and large enterprises from diverse industries, including the top corporations in the Philippines.

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Instead of wallowing in their workplaces in regret by eating too much and exercising less and less, people can do something to gain back their health and ideal weight. But instead of listing down overwhelming resolutions like not eating chocolate or running a kilometer a day, they can take that important first step and make a promise to embrace a healthier, more active lifestyle this 2010.

Knowing that they owe it to themselves is motivation enough, plus the simple act of setting one's mind to it and breaking it down into achievable goals make the journey of losing weight easier and less daunting.

Nutrition and fitness experts agree that careful planning and realistic goal setting are keys to shedding off those extra pounds.

One can start by being more active. Jim Saret, fitness expert, suggests that exercise should be the main event of one's day. Focusing on making small, incremental improvements daily is easier to do than taking on a huge workout that cannot be sustained for a longer period of time.

Keeping in shape doesn't necessarily mean enrolling in a gym or hiring a personal fitness trainer. One can try simple exercises at home like brisk walking, modified sit-ups or push-ups. Exercise keeps the mind off hunger, boosts energy, burns calories and keeps one healthy. Setting aside time for exercise, and making it sacred and part of one’s daily routine, can help keep weight gain from becoming unmanageable by taking just 15 to 30 minutes and scheduling it at the same time each day.

One’s physical activities will work best if accompanied with healthy eating. “What’s important is you don’t deprive yourself but remember to keep things in moderation,” says nutritionist-dietitian Virgith Buena. The rule of thumb: Think lean, green and grain. Choose meat, fish and dairy products that are lower in fat. Turn meats into side dishes and fill up the plate with more vegetables and fruits instead. Go for the wholemeal breads instead of the regular white ones; brown rice instead of white. Make sure that each food group is represented on the plate so that a person will get enough of the essential nutrients and the right amount of calories. One should make a conscious effort to include at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Up to two to three servings of meat and other proteins a day is ideal. The same goes for milk and milk products.

Finally, finding the right ally is also very important. The weight-loss journey will be a lot easier if one has a partner that will see he or she through the struggle to lose weight, support, and reward the person as he or she takes the first step towards a healthier lifestyle.

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This may come as a surprise to many, but the lowly seaweed can help save the Philippines from the looming power shortage while helping develop the coastal communities by attracting investments for sea farming.

This is according to Sen. Edgardo J. Angara, principal author of R.A. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Resource Act, who disclosed that the Korean Institute for Industrial Technology developed seaweeds as biofuel two years ago.

Angara, who chairs the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering (COMSTE), said seaweeds proved to be more cost efficient and advantageous than other sources of biofuel.

"Seaweeds grow faster than other biofuel sources such as sugarcane and wood, and allows for as much as six harvests per year," he said. "And because seaweeds do not have lignin, pre-treatment is not necessary before converting them to fuel."

Thus, Angara said, seaweed ethanol is cheaper to produce than other fuels.

He said seaweeds have two collateral advantages:

Their cultivation is not politically sensitive as producing them do not encroach on lands used for food crops; and

Seaweed ethanol absorbs seven times more carbon in the atmosphere and, thus, has greater contribution to climate change.

Angara said there is now a tie-up with South Korea, through its Green Growth Initiative, in building a regional network in Asia and the Pacific in promoting seaweeds as biofuel source.

He said COMSTE and the Department of Science and Technology are currently fine-tuning details of partnership with the South Korean government to develop seaweeds for biofuel.

The seaweed biofuel cooperative venture will be initiated in Aurora, Quirino and Isabela in Luzon and Bohol in Visayas, said Angara, adding there is already a facility in Bohol to jumpstart the project.

Angara said seaweeds have also many other useful byproducts, such as animal feed, fertilizer, soil conditioner and cosmetics. At present, the Philippines is the world’s top producer and exporter of processed seaweeds.

"These are fertile source of livelihood and agri-business investments," he said. "The potential for energizing and invigorating rural communities – the historic sites of abject poverty – is both tremendous and tantalizing."

The former agriculture secretary said "a mini agro-industrial complex can spring close to the seaweed farm: poultry and piggery, fruit orchards and vegetable gardens, biopharmaceutical facilities and ecotourism destinations."

"This project with Korea is just the beginning of many more international ventures on green energy," Angara said. "I look forward to the day when the Philippines becomes an important player in clean technologies and renewable energy."

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Skin color has been one of the most targeted areas of modern marketers. It was considered as one of the few remaining untapped markets and a source of potential income. But does changing one's skin color really is a desirable option?

When it comes to skin color desirability, Philstar.com reported that there are two main schools of thought — there are the Sun Worshippers and there are the Snow Whites. In the spectrum of things, there are clans that consider the beach their pied-à-terre, while the others emulate the vampiric lifestyle and quiver at the thought of sun exposure. Many of us know the dangers of basking under the sun one too many times, like your face looking more wrinkled than a Shar-Pei, and, as if that wasn't bad enough, there's the potential risk of skin cancer.

But what about those in the quest to become the fairest of them all? It is not a particularly uncommon aspiration for those who were born with darker skin to want to lighten up. In fact a survey found that over 50 percent of women in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Philippines currently use a skin-whitening product. This number is joined by the four out of 10 women in South Korea and Taiwan who also use a whitening product regularly.

The desire for a creamy complexion is a potentially dangerous one. The whitening lotions and potions widely available on the market today claiming results in just days seem too good to be true for the naturally-born tanned Filipina and they probably are.

Hydroquinone is the most commonly-used skin-whitening ingredient in the world, and has been widely used to treat hyper-pigmentation, age spots, melasma, and the like — with proven effectiveness because of its potency. Sound good? Not really. Studies have shown that frequent use of products containing this have been linked to a medical condition known as ochronosis that causes the skin to become dark, thick and develop dome-shaped yellowish or grayish spots that are difficult to remove. Some studies also report abnormal functions of the adrenal glands and high levels of mercury in people who have used hydroquinone-containing cosmetics.

If that hasn't scared you enough, other side effects include loss of skin elasticity, poor wound healing, appearance of skin nodules, and fish odor syndrome. (Yes, you read that right.) It was also claimed by some hydroquinone is a potential carcinogen.

For these reasons, hydroquinone use in cosmetic products has already been banned in Japan, the European Union, Australia and Canada. In the US, only products that contain two percent or less hydroquinone are available over-the-counter, while anything up to four percent require a prescription and supervision of a physician. The scary truth in the Philippines is that, because of the consumer demand for these, there are currently no guidelines here in the Philippines as some products contain up to 8.5 percent concentration.

So unless you want to be a pizza-faced, skin-sagging, fish-smelling wench, my advice is to avoid products containing hydroquinone at all costs. Read the labels, or better yet contact the Philippine Dermatological Society to ask for a list of products that contain it.

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In grade school, children are taught that the human body is a great, sweaty, fluid-filled machine, moving and mixing chemicals with precision and coordination, making everything from memories to mucus. Here we explore some of the complex, beautiful or just plain gross mysteries of how you function.

However, as these students grow old and get too preoccupied with their work, they tend to forget about what they've learned and take for granted the knowledge on how their respective bodies function. They may think they know it already, but in reality, they only scratch the surface of their forgotten memory.

To remind us about the importance of understanding our basic anatomy, here is a list of ten (10) things that many people didn't know about themselves.

1. Your stomach secretes corrosive acid
   
   There's one dangerous liquid no airport security can confiscate from you: It's in your gut. Your stomach cells secrete hydrochloric acid, a corrosive compound used to treat metals in the industrial world. It can pickle steel, but mucous lining the stomach wall keeps this poisonous liquid safely in the digestive system, breaking down lunch.


2. Body position affects your memory
   
   Can't remember your anniversary, hubby? Try getting down on one knee. Memories are highly embodied in our senses. A scent or sound may evoke a distant episode from one's childhood. The connections can be obvious (a bicycle bell makes you remember your old paper route) or inscrutable. A recent study helps decipher some of this embodiment. An article in the January 2007 issue of Cognition reports that episodes from your past are remembered faster and better while in a body position similar to the pose struck during the event.


3. Bones break (down) to balance minerals
   
   In addition to supporting the bag of organs and muscles that is our body, bones help regulate our calcium levels. Bones contain both phosphorusbungo and calcium, the latter of which is needed by muscles and nerves. If the element is in short supply, certain hormones will cause bones to break down, upping calcium levels in the body until the appropriate extracellular concentration is reached.


4. Much of a meal is food for thought
   
   Though it makes up only 2 percent of our total body weight, the brain demands 20 percent of the body's oxygen and calories. To keep our noggin well-stocked with resources, three major cerebral arteries are constantly pumping in oxygen. A blockage or break in one of them starves brain cells of the energy they require to function, impairing the functions headcontrolled by that region. This is a stroke.


5. Thousands of Eggs Unused by Ovaries
   
   When a woman reaches her late 40s or early 50s, the monthly menstrual cycle that controls her hormone levels and readies ova for insemination ceases. Her ovaries have been producing less and less estrogen, inciting physical and emotional changes across her body. Her underdeveloped egg follicles begin to fail to release ova as regularly as before. The average adolescent girl has 34,000 underdeveloped egg follicles, although only 350 or so mature during her life (at the rate of about one per month). The unused egg follicles then deteriorate. With no potential pregnancy on the horizon, the brain can stop managing the release of ova.


6. Puberty reshapes brain structure, makes for missed curfews
   
   We know that hormone-fueled changes in the body are necessary to encourage growth and ready the body for reproduction. But why is adolescence so emotionally unpleasant? Hormones like testosterone actually influence the development of neurons in the brain, and the changes made to brain structure have many behavioral consequences. Expect emotional awkwardness, apathy and poor decision-making skills as regions in the frontal cortex mature.


7. Cell Hairs Move Mucus
   
   Most cells in our bodies sport hair-like organelles called cilia that help out with a variety of functions, from digestion to hearing. In the nose, cilia help to drain mucus from the nasal cavity down to the throat. Cold weather slows down the draining process, causing a mucus backup that can leave you with snotty sleeves. Swollen nasal membranes or condensation can also cause a stuffed schnozzle.


8. Big Brains Cause Cramped Mouths
   
   Evolution isn't perfect. If it were, we might have wings instead of wisdom teeth. Sometimes useless features stick around in a species simply because they're not doing much harm. But wisdom teeth weren't always a cash crop for oral surgeons. Long ago, they served as a useful third set of meat-mashing molars. But as our brains grew our jawbone structure changed, leaving us with expensively overcrowded mouths.


9. The World Laughs with You
   
   Just as watching someone yawn can induce the behavior in yourself, recent evidence suggests that laughter is a social cue for mimicry. Hearing a laugh actually stimulates the brain region associated with facial movements. Mimicry plays an important role in social interaction. Cues like sneezing, laughing, crying and yawning may be ways of creating strong social bonds within a group.


10. Your Skin Has Four Colors
    
    All skin, without coloring, would appear creamy white. Near-surface blood vessels add a blush of red. A yellow pigment also tints the canvas. Lastly, sepia-toned melanin, created in response to ultraviolet rays, appears black in large amounts. These four hues mix in different proportions to create the skin colors of all the peoples of Earth.

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