Procter & Gamble Selling Pringles to Diamond Foods Inc. for $1.5 Billion

Procter & Gamble is selling its Pringles brand to Diamond Foods Inc. for $1.5 Billion. This deal will triple Diamond Foods' revenue to $2.4 billion a year. With Pringles, Diamond will be one of the top in the snack business next to PepsiCo's Frito-Lay. The deal is on the works and just needs the Diamond stockholder approval. This huge deal is expected to close by end of this year.

P&G is known for Tide and Pampers, is apparently going to focus more on health and beauty. They have been selling their major food brands in recent years and Pringles is the last of P&G's major food brands. They have recently sold their other brands like Folgers coffee, Jif peanut butter, Crisco Shortening and Sunny Delight drinks. This leaves P&G with 23 brands with $1 billion or more in annual revenue.

Diamond, founded in 1912 by a group of California walnut growers and is well known for its Emerald nuts. It recently became public in 2005 and started to acquire snack brands. It recently acquired Pop Secret in 2008 and Kettle potato chips just last year.

Source: www.aolnews.com

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Aftermath Aerial Images

Google Earth and Google Maps has just updated their satellite and aerial imagery of several places. The update includes high resolution aerial images. One of the most interesting update is the aerial images of Sendai, Japan. The recent tsunami to hit Japan caused devastation across the country and Sendai was among the hardest hit. I must warn you it's a bit depressing to look at. You can see in detail the destruction that the huge tsunami had caused.

In the image above you can see Sendai Airport in Sendai Japan. Notice the neighborhood beside the airport was flattened. Just few houses left standing. 

Places that received the high resolution aerial updates:

USA: Phoenix, Tuscon, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Wichita, Austin, Cape Cod

Japan: Sendai

Countries/Regions receiving high resolution satellite updates:

Antarctica, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chad, China, Croatia, Egypt, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Haiti, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia

View Larger Map

You can compare the images of Sendai, before and after the earthquake and tsunami at the Google Earth Historical Imagery.

Source: maps.google.com; google-latlong.blogspot.com

Royal Wedding Details and Schedules

Prince William and fiance Kate Middleton will have their Royal Wedding this coming April 29. Most of us have been to weddings of friends and relatives. Can you imagine what it would be like to plan the royal wedding? With an ordinary wedding, we just have the church and the reception. Just to give you an idea, I saw a simplified schedule of the wedding day. It's more complicated than it looks.

Royal Wedding Day details from unveiled.blogs.cnn.com

• 8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m.: It will be announced whether William and Kate will take a new title. The decision will be made by the couple and the Queen
• 8:30 a.m.: Guests will begin arriving at Westminster Abbey. Members of the general congregation and guests who arrive before 10 a.m. will use a side entrance known as the Great North Door
• 10 a.m.: The VIPs start to arrive - Government officials first (both foreign and domestic), to be followed by royal families. Kate Middleton is set to arrive before the Royal Family
• 10:40 a.m.-10:50 a.m.: The Royal Family will arrive, with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh being the last of the family to enter the Abbey
• 10:50-11:00: Bridesmaids arrive
• 11:00 a.m.: Kate Middleton and her father will arrive (collective sigh/gasp!). Details about Kate's dress have not been released in-part because Kate wishes to surprise William (a traditional prerogative/superstition). The moment Kate steps out of the car, details about the dress, shoes and accessories will be released and distributed
• The service will be officiated by the Dean of Westminster. As is tradition, the marriage will be solemnized by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Prince Charles played a huge role in selecting the music. Only Kate will wear a wedding band
• 12:15 p.m. (approximately): Bells will ring as the couple exits the Abbey. A carriage procession will head to Buckingham Palace
• 12:30-12:40 p.m.: Carriage procession will arrive at the Palace
• 12:40 p.m.: Private family photographs will be taken inside Buckingham Palace - an official shot of the happy couple is expected to be released Saturday morning by 11 a.m.
• 1:25 p.m.: The couple, the Queen and their families will appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace
• 1:30 p.m. (precisely!): There will be a Royal Air Force fly-past
• 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.: Approximately 300 guests will return to Buckingham Palace for dinner and dancing hosted by Prince Charles. The crowd will mostly be friends and family, particularly William and Kate's young friends. Speeches will take place

Source: unveiled.blogs.cnn.com

Kate Middleton's Coat of Arms as the New Princess

Kate Middleton now has her own coat of arms(left). Supposedly, Kate has the right to apply herself a crest to the College of Arms which deals with coat of arms matters. But her father wanted the whole family to be able to use the crest. That's why Michael Middleton was the one who petitioned for the coat of arms which reportedly costs 4,400 pounds. This means that
his other children, Pippa and James, and his wife Carole Middleton can also use the crest. So technically, Kate Middleton's family is the ones who has the new coat of arms.



The new coat of arms is pretty simple in design compared to the prince's. The three acorns represents the three children including Kate. The two thin white chevron symbolizes snowy mountains which represents the family's love for skiing and outdoors. The gold chevron in the middle represents the mother, Carole. It was colored gold because Carole's maiden name was Goldsmith. The Colors red and blue in the background represents the Union flag of UK and matches the recently revised Prince William's coat of arms. 


For more information about Kate Middleton's coat of arms visit this link.


Source: www.dailymail.co.uk  

Royal Wedding Invitation of Prince William and Kate Middleton

With the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, many are wondering what does a royal wedding invitation looks like. The picture above is said to be the "royal invitation". It's a 10 inch by 6 inch white card with gold lettering and at the very top is Queen Elizabeth's emblem. Over 1,900 invitations were sent with the card reading:

"The Lord Chamberlain has 
been commanded by the Queen to invite" the guest to the marriage at Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m. on April 29."

Source: www.eonline.com

Camp John Hay, Baguio Plane Crash Kills 2 and 4 Injured

A small place crashed in a mountain resort in Baguio, Philippines on Sunday. 2 were killed and 4 are said to be injured. The twin engine RPC 5140 Piper Aztec Plane took off from Baguio City's Loakan airport at 2:48P.M. and crashed in a horse riding trail in Camp John Hay. It was suppose to go to Plaridel, Bulacan. The control tower said that two minutes after taking off the place lost signal. 

All the victims were rushed to the Baguio General Hospital. Among those who was determined dead on site of the plane crash was Jose George. While the second fatality was said to be Grace Alvarez who died at Baguio General Hospital at around 6:30P.M. Other victims that were injured was pilot Col. Reynaldo Garcia, Jose Miranda, Ness Guerrero and Basil Matthew. 



As you can see on the image the plane was totally destroyed and burnt. Surrounding trees was said to have turned to "uling" or coal. Some witnesses claimed that there was even an explosion. Luckily there were no victims or injured on the ground. 




Source: www.miamiherald.com ; www.abs-cbnnews.com ; www.gmanews.tv

New Shanghai Disneyland Resort Breaks Ground in China

The New Shanghai Disney Resort is on the works! Walt Disney Company broke ground on Friday at Shanghai Disneyland. The Chinese central government in Beijing approved of the resort and is expected to be finished and operational in five years. It will have two themed hotels, large retail, dining and entertainment venues and recreational facilities. There will also be a lake in the middle of the resort. The total estimate costs of the construction is more than four billion dollars, which will be shouldered by Walt Disney Company and its China partners.

Robert A. Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company said that they are "Working with our Chinese partners, the Shanghai Disney Resort will be both authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese."

The groundbreaking ceremony was like any other traditional ceremonies. There was lots of performances including a children's choir with Mickey Mouse dressed in a traditional Chinese attire.

Source: edition.cnn.com ; www.dailymail.co.uk

Official Website of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton

St. James’s Palace launched an official website for the coming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. It seems like the world is very interested on the most highly anticipated event of the year. Its just appropriate that the palace announces an official website so that people around the world can be updated about the wedding of the year.

On the "royal website", people can be informed on what's the latest news updates, pictures and videos on the preparations to the upcoming royal wedding. It will even have

details about Kate Middleton's wedding dress. It has yet to be announced if it will stream live broadcast of the royal wedding itself. 

Who built or developed the royal website for Prince William and Kate? No, not St. James Palace, Clarence House nor Prince William's staff. The website was built by Accenture and hosted by Google. Why Google? because they can handle huge web traffic, which we can assume the website will have on the wedding day.

Here is the Royal Website:

http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/

You can also follow the latest updates on the upcoming royal wedding on other social media sites with the following links:

Twitter

http://twitter.com/clarencehouse

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/TheBritishMonarchy

Flicker

http://www.flickr.com/photos/BritishMonarchy

 

Source: mashable.com

Updated MMDA Color/Number Coding and Window Hours 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

MMDA The Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or Color/Number Coding Scheme Guidelines Updated December 20, 2010

UVVRP General Rule:
   - Private and Public Utility Vehicles cannot roam the streets on weekdays from 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.
   - Window Hours for Private Vehicles are observed from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.
   - Number coding is not implemented weekends and holidays.
   - Plate ending 1 and 2      Monday
   - Plate ending 3 and 4     Tuesday
   - Plate ending 5 and 6     Wednesday
   - Plate ending 7 and 8     Thursday
   - Plate ending 9 and 0     Friday

UVVRP Guidelines and Conditions:

-Only Makati City and Las Piñas City are the only cities that implements the7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. color/number coding scheme without the window hours.

-Marikina City, Muntinlupa City, and Parañaque City do not implement the number coding. 

-Taguig City also does not implement the Number Coding scheme, but the number coding is enforced on the National Roads within the city. Examples are C5, East Service Road and Manuel L. Quezon.

-Pasig City implements the7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. color/number coding scheme but observes window hours from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

-Pasay City implements the number coding but with exceptions with the following roads: Ninoy Aquino Avenue, MIA Road, Domestic Road, Airport Road, Sales Road, and portions of Buendia.

-The number coding scheme is in effect in the following cities: Caloocan City, Mandaluyong City, Manila City, Malabon City, Navotas City, Pateros City, Parts of Pasay City, Quezon City, San Juan City, and Valenzuela City. The window hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. is observed.

-The following Roads implements the Number Coding but observes window hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m regardless of the city: Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Circumferential Road 5 (C5), Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, and Roxas Boulevard

All Public Utility Buses (City and Provincial) are now covered under the Number Coding Scheme, with no Window Hours. 

Motorcycles are exempted from the number coding scheme.

Penalty: Confiscation of driver's license or given a ticket with a fine of P300.00. The penalty will depend on what city you are in.

For more information regarding this matter please call MMDA Metrobase at 882-4151 to 77 local 213 and 255 or the MMDA hotline 136.

Source: mmda.gov.ph