racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

A close problogger friend of mine is in the market for a used car and asked my help in looking for one. I’m posting this here because I think some of you guys might have some excellent referrals. Or maybe you’re even selling an auto yourself.

His budget is about PhP 180,000 and he’s looking for a mid- to late-1990′s Toyota Corolla (either the Big Body or the newer body type models). If it’s the big body type, an XE model is preferred. If the newer one, XL will do. But higher models are also all right (though gas prices are quite steep these days a lower-displacement model might be a more sensible choice).

Other makes and models can also be considered, as long as the car is in reasonably well-maintained condition.

He hopes to be able to inspect the car ASAP, and make a purchase within two weeks from now. You may get in touch with my friend thru me–my contact details are on my blog sidebar.

I just started writing for another new blog, and I’m pretty excited. Why? It’s about Apple!

The “Apple Gazette”:http://applegazette.com just launched as the newest member of the Bloggy Network family. What’s great is that we’re just into “our first few posts”:http://www.applegazette.com/mac/10-apps-to-increase-productivity-on-your-mac/ and we’re already getting dugg frontpage! And we hope to keep you MacHeads out there happy with our posts about Mac-related news and tips on how to maximize your Mac experience.

I know it probably won’t get as wide an audience as “BloggingPro”:http://bloggingpro.com or “Forevergeek,”:http://www.forevergeek.com since Apple users are still a minority. However, what we will lack in sheer numbers will be made up for by the quality of readership. There’s the passion that comes with being a Mac user. And remember, each purchase of a Mac comes with a free license for a holier-than-thou attitude.

Don’t underestimate the Cult of Mac.

Incidentally, do also check out the latest about BloggingPro. “We now sport a fresh, brand-new design”:http://www.bloggingpro.com/archives/2006/10/06/welcome-to-the-new-bloggingpro/ (well, “David”:http://phoenixrealm.com did all the work, actually).

And guess who just earned his own link on the frontpage!

I’m on the lookout for game writers again–either writers who play MMORPGs (that’s Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games to the uninitiated) or gamers who can write well. Either way, you would have to be a good writer and you would have to have some experience with games. If you’re a really good gamer and a really good writer, then that’s even better!

I’ll be guesting at Ricky Carandang‘s regular bloggers feature portion of his daily news programme at ANC (the ABS-CBN News Channel). The interview will be airing live at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, August 22nd).

I just got the SMS and call from ANC this morning (I just woke up and was quite groggy ) to arrange for the interview, so I won’t have as much time to prepare as the last time. This would be a studio guesting, though so it would be different. And it’s live! I hope I get to record this. Does anyone have recording equipment?

I don’t usually do this, but my headhunting skills have been somewhat lagging lately (sometimes it’s a hit-and-miss thing), so I’m foregoing the targeted approach for the meantime. It can get tiring to pursue a person and find out in the end that he or she might not be the perfect match. Oh yeah, this goes for personal relationships also, not only professional (I’ve been watching too much of Smallville, I think).

So I find myself using the power of blogging and word of mouth to do just that–get the word out. I’m looking for people who can work with game sites.