Just Watched The Entire America's Got Talent Season 7 In YouTube

I wasn't doing anything these past few days because I didn't get any work. My internet connection went down (thanks SmartBRO) and, because of that, my client wasn't able to send me any work. Not having any work means no money for me but it also gave me a lot of time to waste.

I've always been a big fan of talent shows and one of my favorite foreign talent show program is America's Got Talent. I like it because it features some of the weirdest, funniest and most hilarious talents or acts in America.

Unfortunately, I only got to watch one full season of America's Got Talent and that was Season 2 but I did continue to watch many clips from the different seasons in YouTube. For example, I got to watch Illuminate from last season in YouTube and Fighting Gravity the season before that.

In this season, my favorites were Lightwire Theater, Tom Cotter and William Close.

I like Lightwire Theater because what they're doing is amazing. They combined light, electronics and other special effects with dance and music to create a performance art that's just mind blowing.

I like Tom Cotter because he's very, very funny. William Close with his huge string instrument is just out of this world and he plays it like a true musical master.

Lightwire Theater didn't make it to the Finals but William Close and Tom Cotter did. Unfortunately, they were beaten by a dog act that didn't do anything new nor spectacular. Yes, the dogs were fun to watch BUT, what they did in the finals, they've already done it in previous shows.

The other finalists brought their best with new and better things to show the people of America but, for some reason, America ignored what these other performers did and voted for the dog act that did nothing new.

I have nothing against the dog act because it's fun to watch but I don't think that it deserved to win 1 million dollars specially when the other finalists did something new and better.

Anyway, if you missed the 2012 season of America's Got Talent then don't fret because you can watch the entire season in YouTube. Just go to YouTube.com and search for "America's Got Talent 2012".

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My SmartBRO Canopy Got Hacked

Last week, my internet connection suddenly went haywire. It was timing out like a madman and because of that my internet connection was very rocky. This made downloading and uploading files bigger than 1 MB impossible.

When this happened, I was receiving new images to work on from my employer in Australia. I needed to process and return the processed or edited images back the next day but, because of my rocky internet connection, I failed to do my job.

Fortunately, my employer or at least the person who was working with me understood my problem but, for that week, I wasn't given anymore images to work on because of my internet connection problem.

I called Smart's Customer Service Hotline and reported my problem. The customer service representative or CSR said my canopy was misaligned and that was causing the rocky or intermittent internet connection. I was given a service request number and was asked to wait 24 hours.

Unfortunately, my internet connection didn't get better. After calling them back a few more times, a CSR scheduled me for a visit from their technician but I'll have to wait the day after the next because they don't have any technicians close to my area.

A few hours later, my internet connection suddenly went dead. It was totally out and there was nothing I can do about. When I called to report it, I was simply told to wait because technicians were already scheduled to come.

 Two days later, SmartBRO's contracted technicians arrived at my place. They tested my internet connection and even brought down my canopy. When I asked them what happened, they told me that my canopy was hacked.

I also learned from them that it was very, very common with SmartBRO canopy subscribers here in San Pablo City.

I asked them how it was possible, they told me that those who are doing the hacking were previous SmartBRO contracted technicians. They even said that one of these hackers is in our neighborhood but they didn't tell me who.

This particular experience made me think about ditching SmartBRO because I was no longer comfortable using their service. If my canopy was hacked once then what will prevent it from getting hacked again?

According to the technicians, putting a password will prevent my canopy from illegal access or remote access but, as far as I know, my canopy was already password protected.

After the technician's left, my internet connection was working again. I was again able to download images from my employer but it was still not perfect because my connection was still timing out regularly. The only difference than before was, it wasn't terrible enough to drastically affect my internet usage.

Anyway, the thought of getting hacked again still looms inside my head and the only real solution that I can think of is to just abandon my SmartBRO connection.

Now, the problem with my SmartBRO subscription is that I'm locked in a 24 months contract and I still have 11 months left. Unfortunately, after getting my canopy hacked by hackers, I'm no longer happy nor comfortable with their service.

I've been a SmartBRO subscriber for more than 3 years and I've had good and bad experiences with them but this canopy hacking problem is very hard to overlook specially now that it happened to me.

By the way, I googled "smartbro canopy hacking" and there are websites and forums that are teaching people how to do it.

If you are a SmartBRO canopy subscriber, will you feel comfortable knowing that your account or your canopy can be hacked by hackers and used by someone else? Seriously, SmartBRO should find a way to prevent people from hacking their paying subscribers canopy.

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Paul Junior Won Chopper Live: The Revenge

Paul Junior won the first Chopper Live beating both Jesse James and his father, Paul Senior, with an awesome looking bike inspired by a plane. This year, Paul Junior won again but, this time, he didn't just beat both Jesse James and Paul Senior, he also beat the duo from Gas Monkey Garage.

(Jesse James looked on as Paul Junior raised his arms in victory)

Paul Junior's winning custom themed bike was based on Classic Cars. It has big white-walled wheels, it has bumpers, it has a steering wheel for a handle, it has grills, it has a big headlight, it has smooth curves and lines, it has pinstripes and it has Paul Junior's signature all over it.

Here are some pictures of Paul Junior's winning custom bike:

Paul Junior deserved to win again because the bike he built was very creative and it was something original. According to some people, Jesse James built a Buell knock-off and Paul Senior copied his bike from Confederate while Gas Monkey Garage simply refurbished an old Harley Davidson.

Chopper Live: The Revenge marks the end of American Chopper but, hopefully, Paul Junior will come back with a new show because there are still a lot of people out there that want to see him and his team build more outrageous custom themed bikes.

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Chopper Live: Road To Revenge, The Bikes Revealed

I just finished watching Chopper Live: Road To Revenge and it was awesome. All four teams were busy building their bikes and they all had their own way of building it.

(Chopper Live: The Revenge Build-Off Bikes. Image Credit: Discovery Channel)

Paul Jr. and his team went with style and used Classic Cars as the theme of their custom bike. They incorporated features and even parts found in old cars in their build. The final product was a sleek, classy and very creative looking bike.

Jesse James fabricated most of the parts of his bike and built a very unique, rigid and small looking bike. I don't think the bike carried any specific theme but it turned-out great because it was something different.

Gas Monkey Garage got an old bike, stripped it down and re-built it chopper-style. The final product is a nice looking bike and it will definitely blow the competition away because it's pink. What they did with that old bike was great but, in the end, the bike looks very ordinary.

Senior and his team went with their typical mechanical route and machine-built a very cool looking bike. Most of the parts where cut from aluminum that gave the bike that industrial/mechanical feel to it. It's a very interesting bike to say the least.

After seeing all four bikes, I can safely say that I like Paul Jr.'s bike best because he nailed the theme he was going for perfectly. The bike was big, it was bad and it was executed creatively. The body of the bike flowed fluidly and the way the grill and the gas tank complimented each other was genius.

The other bikes may look kinda better than Paul Jr.'s bike but, after I saw them all in the show, Paul Jr.'s bike has that dominating appearance because of its size. The other bikes are just too small and rigid.

Anyway, the YouTube video below will show you all four bikes.

Oh, I almost forgot. If you like Paul Jr.'s bike (which is another work of art from PJD) then Text 1 and send it to 97979.

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I'm Thinking Of Buying A New Android Phone

Currently, I'm using my ZTE Lite V9 android tablet to send and receive both text messages and phone calls. I have no problems using it at home but using it outside is kinda awkward because of its size. It's only 7 inches but it's still too big to be carried around like a phone.

I need a phone that I can easily carry wherever I go but, I don't want just any ordinary phone, what I want is an Android Phone. Unfortunately, Android Phones from popular brands like Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, etc. are extremely expensive and I can't afford any of them.

The cheapest branded Android Phone that I know is Samsung's Galaxy Pocket with a price of 4,889 PHP in Lazada.com.ph. It runs on Android 2.3 with a processor speed of 832 MHz. It's full features are:

• Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread)
• 2.0 Megapixel
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• TFT Capacitive Touchscreen
• TOUCHWiZ User Interface (up to 7 pages- widget desktop
• 832 MHz ARM 11
• Virtual Qwerty Keyboard
• Adobe Flash Player
• Geo-Tagging
• Multi-touch
• Multi-tasking
• Voice Search™
• Music Player
• Sound Recorder
• Polaris Viewer

My problem with this phone is the price. For 4,889 PHP, I could get something with better features from Cherry Mobile or MyPhone. Phones or items from these two brands are simply rebranded China Phones but they're extremely cheaper.

In fact, I'm kinda interested in two Android Phones. One from Cherry Mobile and one from MyPhone.

For Cherry Mobile, I'm interested in Cherry Mobile Flare. It runs on a 1.2 GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and it's operating system is Android 4.0. It's full features are:

• Chipset: 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Dual Core
• Camera: 5 MP (Main), VGA (Front)
• SIM Slot: Dual SIM
• Screen Type: IPS Capacitive
• Screen Size: 4.0 Inches
• Navigation Key: Touchscreen
• Dimensions: 123 mm x 62.5 mm x 11.8 mm
• ROM: 4GB
• RAM: 512MB
• Slot: Up to 32GB microSD
• 3G/HSDPA Connectivity
• Data Connectivity: Bluetooth, microUSB, GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi, GPS
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, E-mail, Instant Messaging
• Platform/OS: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• Battery: Lithium Ion 1500 mAH
• Color: Black

If I choose to buy this Android Phone then it will only cost me 3,999 PHP but, from what I've read around the internet, this particular Android Phone is currently unavailable or out of stock.

The other phone that I'm interested is MyPhone's A848 Duo. It's operating system is also an Android 4 and, if I'm not mistaken, it also runs on a dual core processor (I could be wrong, though). Here is A848 Duo's full features:

• Dual SIM Touch Android Phone
• GSM/EDGE Triband
• 4" 800x480 pixels IPS WVGA
• Android 4.0.4
• WIFI
• 5.0 MP rear camera
• VGA front camera
• LED flash
• MP3/MP4 player/Stereo FM Radio
• Bluetooth/USB/3.5mm jack
• Expandable memory up to 32GB

A MyPhone A848 Duo will cost me 4,590 PHP and, based on the price, it's still much cheaper than a Samsung Galaxy Pocket. It also has better features than a Samsung Galaxy Pocket (for the price, of course).

The question now is, which of the last two Android Phones should I buy? Honestly, I'm leaning towards Cherry Mobile Flare because of its price. It's the cheapest of the three and it's loaded with features but if it's no longer available anywhere then I might get a MyPhone A848 Duo instead.

How about you? Which Android Phone do you like better between Cherry Mobile Flare and MyPhone A848 Duo?

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