Kevin teamed up with Yahoo as a reporter and created "The HotZone", a website documenting his travels for one year to conflicts zones around the world. From India to Africa to the Middle East Kevin tells the story of how war is affecting the people in these areas. Many of the stories focus on individuals and their struggle in these conflicts.

The book also contains a great documentary about his travels. He also talks about his filming and handling of the footage during highly publicised 2004 mosque shooting in Iraq.

There are plenty of great reviews so click on the link below to see more and Order the book!

Original Post

The following is part of a documentary I am working on. I posted the "in progress" into on Flickr to promote the documentary.

Visit me on Flickr

Feel free to comment!

EB

A version of one of my films will also be shown at the presentation.

Throughout the world NGO's are taking on this problem by installing wells, water tanks, and purification methods. This short film is about the group Mission Love Seeds who is installing water tanks so that villages in the Philippines can have clean water.

This particluar video is about a village called The Dumpsite because it is located at the Antipolo city dump. In March 2007 we collected samples from their small water source and found ecoli and other dangerous bacteria.

As always please fell free to comment or contact me.

Earl

Visit my website at or contact me socially via:
earlb.com

Throughout the world NGO's are taking on this problem by installing wells, water tanks, and purification methods. This short film is about the group Mission Love Seeds who is installing water tanks so that villages in the Philippines can have clean water.

This particluar video is about a village called The Dumpsite because it is located at the Antipolo city dump. In March 2007 we collected samples from their small water source and found ecoli and other dangerous bacteria.

As always please fell free to comment or contact me.

Earl

Throughout the world NGO's are taking on this problem by installing wells, water tanks, and purification methods. This short film is about the group Mission Love Seeds who is installing water tanks so that villages in the Philippines can have clean water.

This particluar video is about a village called The Dumpsite because it is located at the Antipolo city dump. In March 2007 we collected samples from their small water source and found ecoli and other dangerous bacteria.

As always please fell free to comment or contact me.

Earl

Click on Video below to watch-

The group I am working with is Mission Love Seeds from Destin, FL. For the past three years I have gone with the group to document the work they are doing. During our trips I also post daily, if possible, dispatches of our activities.

To learn more about the Philippines, see images, video and the work we are doing there follow the link below.

March 2008 Philippines - earlb.com

Anyway here's a email I sent to the security department at Atlanta airport. I will keep you posted.

I have been through immigration/customs a few times in the past year and each time in Atlanta the security in customs is extremely rude. I COMPLETELY understand the seriousness of security but purposely being rude to incoming US citizens is unacceptable. My last example was yesterday when the customs lady who you hand your form to was talking to another agent and as I handed her the form, waited, and proceeded forward turned to me and said "Did I tell you, you could go?, You do not go until I tell you you can." Because of the attitudes flying already I didn't say anything but was incredibly upset I was talked to this way, especially after traveling 28 hours. It never ceases to amaze me things like this always happen when I return.

I would like to know the process for reporting such activity. If I do not hear from someone, nest time I will ask the officers name and manager and go from there. I am all for securing our borders but those with power should not provoke instances.

thank you...

EB

Yes it's great LSU is in the BCS championship. Great because it's SEC, not because

I'm a LSU fan. We all know the SEC is the toughest conference in NCAA.

So I'll start out with I'm an Alabama fan. We almost or should have beat, LSU BUT...

There's the BUT, not Alabama's BUT, LSU's BUT!

I keep hearing that yes LSU should be in the championship, and they should, because of how great they are. "Hey, we lost two games BUT they were in overtime". There's the but I have a problem with. Yes, they were overtime BUT you still lost, that's why we have overtime.

If you are going to play the BUT game you can go through every game and team this year and come up with some reason they should have won/lost etc...

LSU, you are a good team. BUT you made it to the championship because of other teams losses. Up til the last week you thought you didn't have a chance to be in the championship. You relied on another team losing. You did not choose your own destiny.

So go ahead and say we deserve to be in the BCS championship, you probably should and I hope you win, for the SEC. BUT stop using the BUT/overtime excuses.

The media is going to say USC is the greatest team anyway!

While there one of our groups goals was to locate and test their water source. We found the source, a small spring, and found it was not suitable for drinking. Over the past few months Mission Love Seeds has funded a project to bring fresh water to the village.

Two tanks have been installed so they can be filled with clean water from the city. Because the village sits on the side of a mountain PVC had to be run from the top of the mountain to the tanks.

Dumpsite villagers helped with much of the labor.

The project is now complete and I have received the following email from Fely, the MLS coordinator in the Philippines.

-------------------

The Installing of the water tank for the sitio dumpsite is already finished with delivered water yesterday, from the first day of digging soil to install the 240 meters of PVC from the top of the hill through the place where the water tank place was finished for 3 days with some rains, and digging to put the post concrete that will put the water tank which takes for two days, digging and put the post for the roof , and putting the metal roof for a day, do the concrete floor and putting the other side of fence for a day, and yesterday they do the finishing touch of putting the sign, the tarp which cover the tank to secure it from dust, and putting the fence in front and at the other side, the last is the delivery of the water. You can see the faces of the people there how greatful they are, that the Lord them Bless by means of this water tank, its really they are chosen.

The sitio dumpsite now has a water, the people there are really Bless that the Lord use The Grace Foundation of Destin and Mission Love Seeds Inc. this project fullfilled. In behalf of my family and the families of Sitio Dumpsite are really thankful to all people concern, I am personally thankful to all the people of dumpsite who really helps us to finished this.

Again thank you very much

God Bless You

Fely

Resources:

More Images

Dumpsite Video March 2007

missionloveseeds.org

For $25 the family will receive a Christmas dinner, including hot dogs (which the children love and seldom get), cooked chicken, sliced ham, rice, vegetables, fruits and desserts, and a small pre-decorated Christmas tree.

These families are very poor and live on less than $1 a day. I have visited these villages and see the impact Mission Love Seeds is making.

You can visit missionloveseeds.org and click on sponsor to see some of the children you will be helping. From the sponsor page you can also sponsor a child. However if you would just like to adopt a family for Christmas here's what you need to do:

Send a check to Mission Love Seeds, Inc., P.O. Box 1717, Destin FL 32540. Write Adopt A Family in Philippines on check.

Here is an article from the Destin Log about the project:

Since 2004 Mission Love Seeds has helped poor villages in the Philippines.

ldquo;Our work is currently carried out in the villages of Admiral, Sitio Pantay, Binayuyo and Dumpsite located near Antipolo City,rdquo; Barbi Carroll, president of Destinrsquo;s Mission Love Seeds, Inc., said in an interview. ldquo;Each village is unique, but all still need the basics of life. For most, just getting water is a daily chore.rdquo;

In all four villages, there is a monthly distribution of food, clothing and shoes. The food is purchased in the Philippines because shipping is so expensive, but all clothes and shoes are shipped from the Destin offices.

Betty Pope, Destin resident, said in an interview that ldquo;once, after viewing a video of the children in the Philippines, I remarked to Barbi that I thought the children were dressed so nicely and I didnrsquo;t expect that. She remarked lsquo;Oh, Betty, all they are wearing came from Destin.rsquo; Isnrsquo;t that awesome?rdquo;

Carroll said that in the Philippines, most children eat only one meal a day mdash; or some not at all. In most cases, parents make less than $1 a day, live in a 10 foot by 10 foot home with dirt floors, have no electricity or running water and have never had a Christmas tree.

John Hawbaker, vice-president of Mission Love Seeds, Carroll and their mission team visit the Philippines and know first-hand the poverty there.

ldquo;A gift of food and a small pre-decorated tree would be a blessing to a child and his/her family,rdquo; Carroll said.

The goal of Mission Love Seeds is to have 1,000 families adopted in the Philippines, and for only $25, the family will receive a Christmas dinner, including hot dogs (which the children love and seldom get), cooked chicken, sliced ham, rice, vegetables, fruits and desserts, and a small pre-decorated Christmas tree.

Carroll and Hawbaker recently gave a program at Destin United Methodist Churchrsquo;s womenrsquo;s group where 18 Adopt-A-Family sponsors signed up. The church is hoping to sponsor more.

Packages will not be sent to the Philippines due to expense and length of time to receive.

Missionrsquo;s coordinator in the Philippines, Fely Zapanta, and her staff will select a family, or you may visit www.missionloveseeds.org, go to sponsor, and select a child. E-mail missionloveseeds@cox.net with your childrsquo;s name and sponsor number or call (850) 650-5583. Do not fill out the form unless you plan to sponsor the child. Just e-mail the name and their sponsor number and Mission Love Seeds will do the rest.

Cut-off date to select a child is Dec. 1.

Checks or money orders may be sent to Mission Love Seeds, Inc., P.O. Box 1717, Destin FL 32540. Please write Adopt-A-Family Philippines on the check.

After Christmas, you will receive pictures of your child and his family and a thank you note by e-mail or postal service.

ldquo;Just imagine the look on a childrsquo;s face when a feast fit for a king and a beautifully decorated tree is delivered to their home on Christmas Eve,rdquo; Carroll said.

Mississippi

After Hurricane Katrina, Mission Love Seeds felt the need to help at home as well, and now continues their work in the Philippines while expanding to help families in Mississippi.

ldquo;When Barbi heard of the destruction caused from Katrina, she got down on her knees and asked, lsquo;Lord, what can I do to help?rsquo; rdquo; Pope said. ldquo;And she and John have not stopped since.rdquo;

Throughout 2005 and 2006, Mission Love Seeds has made monthly trips to forgotten towns such as Pearlington which was ground zero for Katrina. In 2007, the organization began working directly with the families to provide specific needs and help set up entire homes.

Pope and her husband first learned of Mission Love Seedsrsquo; work in Pearlington in January 2006.

ldquo;And soon the Missions Committee and members at our church, Destin United Methodist Church, became involved,rdquo; Pope said. ldquo;Men and women helped with picking up household goods, loading the trucks and traveling to Pearlington on the last Saturday of the month. We admire John and Barbi so much for what they started as soon as Hurricane Katrina hit back in August 2005, and are continuing to do in Destin.rdquo;

Many people still live in FEMA trailers and will have no Christmas unless they are adopted by a caring person or family.

ldquo;Last year, some local people bought for people in Mississippi instead of their own families,rdquo; Carroll said. ldquo;Many family members went together and adopted three or four families. Parents asked their children to buy gifts for others instead of them. They said they didnrsquo;t need anything, but the people in Mississippi did.rdquo;

This year the goal in Mississippi is to adopt 100 families, but there are literally hundreds who are still in need.

Anyone wishing to adopt a family can call the Mission Love Seeds office and request the name of a family and their wish list. You will receive the story of the family, names and ages of children, their wish list and their contact information.

ldquo;A great idea is to purchase gifts for the children and a Wal-Mart gift card for the parents,rdquo; Carroll said.

For those who do their own shopping and mail the packages to the Mission Love Seeds office, call now and adopt your family to allow plenty of time for shopping.

Donrsquo;t have time to shop? Mission Love Seeds and volunteers will shop for you.

The day-long event to deliver the gifts begins at 7 a.m. on Dec. 15 when the caravan will leave Destin. There will be no regular distribution that day, just Christmas presents.

ldquo;This would be a great time to bring the children,rdquo; Carroll said. ldquo;Although we are still in the planning stage, God has supplied a place for the event. A youth pastor will speak about the true meaning of Christmas. There will be entertainment, lots of food, candy for the children, fresh baked cookies, a clown, and mdash; of course mdash; Santa will be there. Come and bring the whole family and get to know your lsquo;adoptedrsquo; family.rdquo;

To help

If your church or organization is interested in seeing a short video presentation about Mission Love Seeds, or if your church would like to have a special love offering for the Mission Love Seeds program in the Philippines, call Carroll at (850) 865-1055.

For more information about Adopt-A-Family, call Carroll, Hawbaker at (850) 865-6161, Pope, representing DUMC, at (850) 650-2663, or e-mail missionloveseeds@cox.net.

If you feel you cannot adopt a family at this time, and would still like to help, call Carroll about donating a toy or making a cash donation.

Every child should have a Christmas.

Because the area is so poor it is difficult to see the extent of damage. Homes are small and can be rebuilt in a day or so and the roads were already in bad shape. I could tell however that there had been a 5-6ft storm surge and some parts of the roads were recently washed out.

A few days after I returned home I got really sick. Bad chills, high fever and night sweats. This went on for a week. Had I not gone out of the country I would have chalked it up to something like the flu but...take a look on the CDC site and you come across things like Malaria or Dengue fever.

Even though I feel it's probably not, I have to treat it like it could be one of those diseases. I certainly don't want to be the guy who starts a malaria outbreak in Florida.

Anyway, I talked with my travel doctor in Birmingham and he recommended a test for Malaria while my regular doctor thinks it maybe dengue fever. Both diseases have alerts posted by the CDC for Jamaica.

So far I've been lucky in traveling to these poor countries. As sick as I was at least I can get treatment and also know what I have. The people in the countries I visited just have to live with it.

Though I feel much better I will go tomorrow and get a malaria test and keep an eye how I feel.

When traveling out of the US especially to a underdeveloped country you should check the CDC website well in advance. You may also need to get some immunizations. I've had a whole range of them. We live in a well protected country and should not take it for granted.

He was doing an interview on the Chaz and AJ show for his new movie "The Hunting Party". Chaz made a comment to Mr Brolin about it being the sixth anniversary of 9/11 when Mr Brolin cheerfully responded "Happy 9-11"

Chaz responded with "That's a wierd thing to say" in which Mr Brolin laughs and says "I hear silence" and follows up with "Celebrate the Day"

Chaz finally tells Mr Brolin "You would be better off talking about your movie."

I found a few clips on the Internet:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2z5k5_brolin-makes-fun-of-911_news

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/5586.html

So far I've heard of no apology.

I also found this from "The View" last year.

http://www.outlawjournalism.com/news/?p=1553

We can be Democrats, Republicans etc etc because of where we live, but actors who think they can say anything without remorse should have some accountability.

He used his new movie interview to push a different agenda and degrade all those who died on 9/11.

I hope everyone will boycott his new movie.

Please Comment!

Earl B

www.earlb.com

humanitarian documentary

The main reason it caught my eye was it was free. Free right so I thought it would be low quality or filled with so many ads it would be unusable. Well I took the plunge and ran through setting up an account.

Setting up was simple. I just typed in my cell phone number and received a txt msg code from YouMail so i could login. Once logged in I found my carrier and exact phone and a quick tutorial with pictures ran me through setting up my phone. I was done. I took about two minutes.

First thing I did was test by calling me cell phone. The greeting was a standard canned greeting and I left myself a message. My the time I got back to my computer an email and txt msg had already been sent notifying me of a new VM.

I clicked on the email and a webpage popped up and I could play my VM. Quality was good and it worked better than I expected. There were a few ads but nothing too distracting.

Now for the good stuff.

YouMail has taken VM to another level. One feature is they let you create custom greeting for specific people. You can assign one greeting for your boss and one for your wife. It plays the greeting based on caller ID. You can have unlimited custom greetings.

YouMail also has a library of greetings already created. They range from funny to professional and everything in between. People also create greetings and upload them for others to use.

Here are some of my favorite greetings on YouMail.

VoiceMail Hell

Taliban Answering

I found the Bama fight song for my default greeting and set a few custom greetings for my friends.

Another feature is Ditch Mail. This feature will play the greeting then hang up on whoever is calling. If someone is bothering you, a specific telemarketer, an-ex would be a good use for this feature.

The web interface for YouMail is easy as well. You can check your VM and edit your greetings.

YouMail seems to be fairly new as I saw a video clip of the founder on MSNBC that was played a few weeks ago. I assume they will begin charging for the service at some time but a few buck a month would be worth it.

Anyway I give it a thumbs up and since it's currently free you have nothing to lose trying it out.

EB

Resources:

YouMail

Because of luggage restrictions I can't take a lot but will take some extra children's clothes and magazines. The clothes will go to children in the area who need socks and underwear and the magazines will go to a boys orphanage. If you are interested please contact me ASAP. Otherwise I should return with a laundry list of items we can ship or take to those in need.

I will try to have something on my webpage updating the trip. The only thing last trip was txt msg so if I can do that I will. Food and water are somewhat limited so Internet is asking a lot.

I will be traveling with three others; Donnie and Terry of Isaiah Six Eight and Cheryl of Canterbury United Methodist Church.

Earl

Resources:

IsaiahSixEight.org

First, there are lots of programs out there that let you catalog your images. But, you still have to store your images on your computer first. I am going to explain a way to catalog your images using the typical Windows file system.

Your computer already has a filing system containing a hard drive, folders, and sub folders. You can use this to your advantage for your pictures.

To do it right, make a separate partition or better yet a separate hard drive for your images. Hard drives are cheap and it would be well worth a $100 to get several hundred MB of storage for your images.

So now you have a drive or partition dedicated to images. I actually named that drive IMAGES. Now create folders on that drive called TO-SORT , SORTED, EDITED.

The TO-SORT Folder-

Your TO-SORT folder is where you dump all the images off your memory card or camera. I do this at least once a week and daily when I'm out working on a project. Under your TO-SORT folder create a folder with the date and description of your images.

Example: 2007-09-01-Destin

The description does not have to be exact because you may have a week or more images on the card. Just something you can come back to and sort later. The idea is simply to get them transferred to your computer.

IMPORTANT - Before erasing your memory card make sure you have the images on your computer! When I am working in the field or on a project I back mine up first just to have two copies. More on backup later. Once you are SURE you have your images stored on your computer you can erase your memory card.

The SORTED Folder

This folder is where you will sort your images. Here you will take the images from the TO-SORT folder and move them into folders of similar images. Again I use the Date-Description for naming my folders.

Example: 2007-07-DestinLaborDayBoat

By using the date first your images will be in some type chronological order. In the folder you can even create a text file describing the images. If you do a search on your computer for text files with with Labor Day pictures your will know where to find them.

If you do buy a cataloging program it will also have other options for adding keywords and sorting your images. I'll leave that to you. My goal is to have my images sorted using the file system first.

I'll even go a step further and create theme folders. For all my Philippine images I have a folder call Philipines then something like 2007-03-08-JoloIsland.

The EDIT folder

The EDIT folder is a place to hold images you have edited. You may or may not do this. I do a lot of editing and therefore store the edited images here. I always keep the original though back in the SORTED folder. Again name your folders appropriately. If you edit images of your Christmas trip to New York name folder 2006-12-NYCXmas. No need to put edit anywhere because you are already in the edit folder.

Also when you name you edited image give it a number like 2006-12-NYCXmas-1. You may have several images that are similar and you can just increment the number. If you have several edits of the same image add a letter - 2006-12-NYCXmas-1a / 2006-12-NYCXmas-1b. That way you know it's the same image just edited differently.

ARCHIVING and BACK-UP

In each of my main folders I create a folder called 2006, 2005, 2004. All the folders with 2006-xxx-xxx labels get put under the 2006 folder and so on. Now I have all my images from each year archived.

EX: 2006 -> 2006-12-NYCXmas -> 2006-12-NYCskating-1a.jpg

Using the system I've described above makes for easy backup of your images. I use a separate external hard drive to back up my images. All I have to do is copy my IMAGES drive to my backup drive and everything is backed up. You can also use CDs or DVDs to archive your images.

NOTE: I highly recommend a external hard drive for backup. They are easy to install and easy to move. Computers are expensive but replaceable your data or images are not. In an emergency I know I could grab my hard drives and take my data with me quickly.

SUMMARY

There are many ways to store your images. My system may work for you or you could create your own version. The main thing is for you to have a logical way to find your image a year or ten years from now. Also it's well worth the money and time to backup your images.

Hope you find this tip helpful. As always email me your comments or make comments below.

EB

Since that initial trip I have traveled all along the coast watching relief and finally rebuilding efforts. I talked to monks who only survived by climbing in the roof of their new temple, I've met refugees from Laos who became community leaders among their people, and I met many who knew or found those who died in the storm.

My journey has also taken to unexpected places like Laos, Thailand, Jamaica and the Philippines. I traveled to Thailand to document a woman finding her refugee camp from 25 years ago and visited families that live and work in a dumpsite in the Philippines. There has been so much I could write a book on the people I've met.

Today went back and looked through pictures, videos, and dispatches from the past two years. It certainly brings up a lot of emotions.

For those of you who have been part of the journey, I hope the images have captured some of your memories. For those who have followed along, thank you! I have had so much outside support and I really appreciate it.

Below are some quick links to Katrina related projects I've put together.

A Field in Pearlington - Video

Katrina Gallery

Katrina Photo Essay A photo essay I put together on the road just after the hurricane.

Katrina Photo Essay 2 A second essay a week or so after storm.

My old Katrina page

Blog Articles

Mission Love Seeds First Interview

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the squirrels that were recently captured by Iran. The work they were performing was some of the most dangerous and courageous in the history of our country.

Hopefully we can arrange a peaceful swap and have them released. All small rodents in the country are at threat level 'red' and are ceasing operations.

Many countries have condemned the arrest of the squirrels and demand them released. Iran's head of rodent counter-espionage response was "Your nuts".

Read about arrest here:

The movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" portray this town as a pirate haven.

On June 7, 1962 an earthquake destroyed most of the town causing it to sink into the Caribbean. Today Port Royal holds a treasure chest of 16th-17th century artifacts.

Originally it was founded by the Spanish but taken over by the English in 1655. At its height it had a one drinking house for every ten residents and was one of the most important ports for the English colonies.

Because it was difficult to defend Jamaican governors turned to pirates to defend the city.

My trip to Jamaica will take me to Port Royal and areas where the pirates of the caribbean once roamed.

The movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" portray this town as a pirate haven.

On June 7, 1692 an earthquake destroyed most of the town causing it to sink into the Caribbean. Today Port Royal holds a treasure chest of 16th-17th century artifacts.

Originally it was founded by the Spanish but taken over by the English in 1655. At its height it had a one drinking house for every ten residents and was one of the most important ports for the English colonies.

Because it was difficult to defend Jamaican governors turned to pirates to defend the city.

My trip to Jamaica will take me to Port Royal and areas where the pirates of the caribbean once roamed.

I've heard of Second Life and know about games such as Warcraft that are played online, but did not realize the seriousness going into these virtual lives.

One example was a character name Neverdie. The man behind the character, an actor and musician, hung out in the online virtual world, VW, of Entropia. The first thing about these VWs is that you can make or spend real money. You can buy land, clothes, objects and even established a virtual business.

Well Neverdie took the online business model to the next level. First, he wrote a song that debuted in the VW of Entropia. Virtual characters gathered round Neverdie in an online disco as his song played. Neverdie became the first virtual music star.

Next for Neverdie was actually making a living in a virtual world. So he payed $100,000 to Entropia designers to build him a space station, named Realityport, with shopping, clubs and apartments. Each of the apartments are priced to sell between $100 and $1000 real money. So the apartments alone will generate between $200,000 and up to $1,000,000! The shopping and clubs will also generate revenue. Google for Neverdie and see what pops up.

Next I learned about outsourcing powerleveling. First, what the hell is powerleveling?

While playing online games your characters gain experience points or XPs. In most games you get more XPs the more you play. Someone with a lot of time can get to higher levels while those of us dealing with the real world must settle for substandard characters.

In a capitalistic society anything can happen. So now you can pay someone to play your player and get your character to a respectable or better level. Yes people actually pay other people to play their online characters! You simply request the level you want to attain and receive a quote. If you agree on the price then turn your character over for a few days and you will get back a lean mean fighting machine.

On the show one gamer was offering this service but couldn't compete with other countries pricing. Now he simply outsources his powerleveling business to Russia and the Philippines. Turn your character over to him and some guy in a small apartment in Russia will take it from there.

After thinking about powerleveling and Realityports I can see we are just at the tip of the iceberg for virtual worlds. Characters are actually being sold for hundreds even thousands of dollars.

What if you character was stolen, or your Realityport ambushed by virtual terrorists? Are there virtual police, attorneys, or doctors yet? Or better yet what about virtual politicians. Imagine that vote for someone to rle your virtual world. With real money at stake I can see all of this coming in the near future.

Is all this virtual living good for us? Well I guess it's OK to a certain degree. It does offer some entertainment value and even a way to meet new people all over the world. But totally consuming ones self to a virtual life...well that may be a problem. No doubt this will happen to some, but hopefully the masses will just enjoy VWs and take care of what's going on in the real world.

Sulu Island was the island I visited in March 2007.

Resources:

Watch Col. North Video - Fox News

My Dispatches

What is the eMobile Travel Log you say?

Basically I wanted to use my cell phone to document what I could of the trip. Since I wasn't sure about coverage and prices of sending MMS messages back to the US I did not know how well it would work.

The revolution of the web 2.0 has given us instant access to viewing and creating content. This is just the beginning of what's to come. What will web 3.0 or 5.0 look like?

The eMobile travel project is nothing new, everyone is doing it. YouTube allows us to post videos for the world to see, news media have uReport or iReport, blogs dominate the written web, cellphones have become video cameras and document historic events.

Our society will become more instant access, more interactive, and document our how 'each' of us live our lives.

AND as I write this, the Paris Hilton get out of jail - back to jail unfolds on TV, the net and cellphones. Jeeeez how low can I go.

Overall I think the travel experiment worked fairly well. I was able to instantly document was I was doing and 'capture the moment'. Yes I can use digital camera, video and laptop to create dispatches, but that is done after the fact. I want to document something instantly, as it's happening.

As technology gets better and connections quicker I believe instantly capturing the moment in image or video will be as common as dialing a phone. Hopefully we will use this new power in a productive manner.

Below is a link to the eMobile Travel Log.

Resources

eMobile Travel Log

Note

Tools used for eMobile:

-T-Mobile MDA

-Blogger by Google

It's been tough to get information because Fely has been sick as well. We believe she has

Typhoid fever.

Hopefully I can get a update in the next few days.

One of China's largest businesses however is piracy. Billions of dollars are made from Chinese knockoffs, pirated software and movies, and even medicine.

A recent article caught my attention about the business of selling fake anti-malaria pills. It was particularly interesting because the area I visit in the Philippines currently has an outbreak of malaria and many of the families I know have contracted the disease.

Malaria is difficult to prevent in such areas because of living conditions and medical prevention is cost prohibitive. I got a prescription for anti-malaria medicine and my cost was well over $100, more than many make in a year in the Philippines.

The article focused on Cambodia and the fake pill business in that region. A hawker may sell the pill to villagers in a rural area and they have no way to know whether they are real. Even doctors can have a tough time identifying the fake pills.

A study group focused on Laos, Vietnam, Burma, and Cambodia says that up to 50% of drugs purchased in pharmacies in the region could be fake. Though their study was not in the Philippines, I can easily see how this could be happening there as well.

The article also implies that most of the fake anti-malaria pills are of Chinese origin. The lack of government regulations in China are allowing these fake medications to run wild.

If China is going to step up to the plate as a global economic power, they must also take on the added responsibility of becoming a positive model for government regulations.

Resources:

BBC Article - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6692431.stm