An organization’s web presence is one of the most valuable and most vulnerable parts of their network, as being able to interact with customers online is crucial to the success of the modern business. However, every piece of code that the organization exposes to the Internet is a potential entry point for attackers.
Author: Jayvee Fernandez
Jayvee Fernandez is a tech enthusiast and sitting Techbology Editor for The Philippine STAR.
He is also an EAN certified SCUBA Diver and underwater photographer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. His photos and videos have appeared in various international and local publications including Random House Germany, Discovery Channel Canada, and CNN.
Matthew Westfall has the backstory of a leading man on a quest to make his country, the Philippines, the darling in one of the biggest industries in the world – gin. His mission is filled with irony though, given that the Philippines is already the number one country in the world in terms of gin consumption – that’s 46% of the total world consumption. But with a global industry worth more than USD$3 billion, the Philippines barely makes a dent at about 2% of the market thanks to gin being labeled as a drink from the streets.
“In France, it’s never a complete meal unless you have two things: wine and dessert.” Inside this bottle is both.Â
There will always be that one dish that will change your perception of how a particular meal is prepared. With liquor, it’s always a bottle – usually a small, quirky one, that changes your entire worldview of how a drink should be enjoyed. In my personal journey with alcoholic libations it was a bottle of Lagavulin 16 that introduced me to the nuances of peated whiskey and a bottle of Four Pillars that made pairing gin with a proper tonic a science. I haven’t experienced a similar feeling with wine, until that one night in November when I dropped by La Piazza, Okada Manila’s Italian restaurant and wine cellar.Â
Napoleon’s wine
What I thought would be a normal run off the mill tasting and pairing took an interesting turn towards dessert. The featured wines for the evening were from the Klein Constantia Estate, with 300 years of history making wines. Founded in 1685, the estate is located at the southernmost tip of the continent. Their most famous bottle is a natural sweet wine called Vin de Constance. I will just lift the description of this wine from their website, because there is no better way to say it,
“Kings vied for possession of this wine; Louis Philippe sent emissaries from France to fetch it; Napoleon drank it on the island of St Helena to find solace in his lonely exile; Frederick the Great and Bismarck ordered it; and the English Prime Minister – who had sampled it with much delight at Downing Street – made sure that regular consignments from the Cape were delivered to Buckingham Palace for the King.â€
“A wine like this can only be grown at the estate,†says Hans Astrom, Executive Vice Chairman & Partner of Klein Constantia. “It is called a natural sweet wine because the grapes have to be cool when picked, so they do this in the very early morning when it is very cold. There is nothing artificial added. No sugar added, not like in other sweet wines.â€
I was drinking a wine with over 300 years of history. A wine that has also tasted the lips of Napoleon and Frederick the Great. Right here in this Italian restaurant where a date for two will only set you back less than P2,000. What a deal.
“Damien, tell me about this. Why is this so good?â€
Damien Robert Planchenault, sommelier for La Piazza sits down beside me and pours himself a glass.
“What you have in front of you is very special, very one of a kind. Wine does not need to be expensive to be good. Expensive wine is like the Batmobile. Would you drive the Batmobile? No, but because there’s only one that is why it is expensive.â€
Everyone else can drive Honda or Toyota and be perfectly happy.
Car allusions aside, Damien says that Vin de Constance is good because you had it after a meal and that helps. If the weather is hot and you’re by the poolside, the hotel won’t serve you a heavy red wine. Instead they look for a light wine that goes well when served chilled. “You want the guest to come back and say ‘I want one more please.’ That is how you know you paired well.â€
The evolution of taste
The wine market today is very different from before. It’s quite similar to the way coffee has elevated itself into a 3rd wave movement. “Back then we would ask what wine do you want to drink? Chile? French? Old world? New world? Now it has more to do with taste — ah! You like Cabarnet Souvignon? You like dry? Light? Sweet?†Then from there, the sommelier recommends. It has more to do with looking at similar wines you have tried in the past to match what you can enjoy in the future.
For instance, one of the most notable wines that evening (apart from that amazing Vin de Constance) was a KC White, Klein Constantia 2018 paired with caprese (mozzarella salad). It was crisp and had the typical sweetness of a white wine but just enough body to not be overwhelmed for an appetizer. Out of curiosity I google-ed the bottle was less than P600.00 online.
I think the beauty of wine appreciation and pairing necessitates how extensive the cellar is, because you can only try as much as they have. The La Piazza restaurant at Okada Manila is the cellar. Instead of walls, you have chillers lined with literally hundreds of bottles. So, if in the near future you need to educate yourself in wine appreciation, this is definitely one of the better places in Manila to go for that.Â
This piece originally appeared at the Manila Bulletin’s lifestyle section.
EDIT: August 2021 — Apparently there’s a new thing in FB where you can still do it but you need to do it from a PAGE and not a Profile. Oh well.
———————————————————————
Actually, no. The link is just broken.
If you’re like me — someone who wants to create a custom Facebook profile photo frame but can’t seem to find where the feature is, you’re in luck.
Back then, you could easily create a Facebook Frame using Facebook Frame Studio. But every time you click on a link from the developer help pages you get led to another site — Spark AR.
Let me save you the trouble. The old link is still active, but for some reason it got hidden and you really can’t find it in any Google search. Luckily someone posted the link on the Spark AR community group.
HERE IS THE LINK TO FACEBOOK FRAME STUDIO – https://www.facebook.com/frames/manage/?hc_location=ufi
That should lead you to this page. What a load off my chest.
It’s true that you sometimes have to spend money in order to make money. What if you have the opportunity to strengthen your company but there’s no cash on hand? One way to get the funding that you need is to look into options for instalment Smarter.Loans financing that fits your needs. Here are some examples of what you could do with the money from that instalment loan.
Reorganizing Company Debt
A smart way to restructure outstanding debt is to secure a loan with a rate of interest that’s lower than the rates on all those individual debts. Use the loan proceeds to pay off all of them. That leaves you with one obligation to manage each month. Best of all, you save money since the loan’s interest rate is lower. Go with a fixed rate as a way to protect yourself from economic shifts. Along with simplifying the debt and reducing what you’re paying in interest charges, retiring those other debts will only help your business credit rating.
Purchasing Raw Materials
You have the chance to accept a lucrative order. The only problem is that you need raw materials to produce the volume of goods needed to fill that order. How will you pay for such a high-volume purchase? Use the money from the installment loan to cover the cost of the materials. Make the goods and fill the order. Once your customer remits the payment, use it to pay off the loan. There will still be net profit and your quick turnaround increases the odds that the customer will be back with another huge order. Guess where you will go to get more money for raw materials?
Replacing Aging Equipment
All good things must come to an end. That includes equipment and machinery you’ve used for years. While it was great at one time, you need to update in order to remain competitive. The funds from an installment loan will allow you to replace key pieces of equipment and increase your operational efficiency.
Preparing for a Slow Period
Some companies experience a steady flow of orders all year long. Others have peak periods followed by lulls of two or three months. Your business happens to fall into the latter category.
Ensure that there’s money to maintain the operation by taking out an installment loan. You can use the funds to make up any temporary shortfalls in collected revenue. Once your business volume picks up after the seasonal lull, pay off the remainder of the loan.
Funding a New Marketing Campaign
Building your brand does take money. With the right sales and marketing approach, there’s the opportunity to increase awareness and reach out to new customers. You may even be able to use the campaign to penetrate new market sectors and broaden your client base. With right approach, the increased business volume will make it easy to pay off your loan ahead of time.
Along with knowing how to use the loan proceeds to best advantage, it helps to spend time comparing what different business loan lenders offer in the way of terms and conditions. Look closely at what’s required of you by each lender. This will help you choose the offer that allows you to pursue the goal and reap greater benefits from the financing arrangement.