Hi everybody,
greetings from the virtual office of the Philippine-Miconesia Alliance, this one is just to cheer everybody up, hey your hard earned vacation should be fun.
For more on the fun part, check out this small, sort of a bit crazy Podcast and if you think that I have gone mad, then so be it.
I had fun doing this one, hope you enjoy it, I like to keep everybody tuned for some real cool videos-podcast from our friend Dirk Fahrenbach from
Club Paradise and Dugong Dive Center, also very,very soon a super clip from Sam's Tours in Palau, Micronesia and a super special from our partner in Truk Lagoon,
Chuuk and we working hard on podcasts from all our other partner destinations.
So please stay tuned and subscribe, you dont want to miss out on all the serious footage, I am only filling in the blanks for now to keep you on your toes.
Have fun and enjoy, just click here.
GD

"Bubbles and aliens" © Gunther Deichmann

I had fun this afternoon, just put together this small Jam for the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance.
Some nice images and a bit of Jazz, enjoy this small Podcast and stay tuned we have a lot of very exciting things coming soon.
Just click here to watch

So stay tuned or you might miss out.
GD

Norbert Muenz and Dirk Fahrenbach enjoying a nice Brandy during
a visit at the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance virtual office in Manila.

A Dentist experience in Palawan- what has a Dentist in common with the limestone cliffs of Palawan, Philippines?- Lots of cavities.

Norbert Muenz a Dentist from Germany is a very experience cavity diver; almost all year around he is into cavities,
searching and exploring where no man has ever gone before.

Well, he decided to try some diving this year with one of our partner resorts Club Paradise and Dugong Dive Center in Palawan, Philippines.

There are a lot of cavities in the fantastic cliffs of Coron Island, with a whole fleet of WWII wrecks at the bottom of the ocean.
His first dive was on a wreck I guess the exploring got the better of him, but after that he left it alone, maybe the wrecks reminded him to much of his cavity work.
During his three-week vacation he spend most of the time relaxing and cruising the spectacular house reef right in front of the resort.
Yes, he did see the amazing Dugongs from Palawan, one of the highlights of his entire trip, a few days later the ocean been very calm, he ventured to the famous APO Reef, another highlight with schools of big fish and sharks.

Norbert dropped by the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance Virtual office on his way back to Germany, checked out Manila for a few days, bought an iPod for his long Journey back home, had a good look at the old Spanish part of Manila, and mingled with the crowed at Greenbelt 3.

I meet Norbert with Dirk Fahrenbach last year in Truk where he explored the famous Truk Lagoon with its abandons of WWII wrecks, he promised us to come to the Philippines next year, well, he kept his promise and like Mc Arthur promised to return and dive with some of the other Alliance Partner resorts and Dive centers next time.

During his short visit to the office, we convinced him to give us a first hand report on the diving and service, we quickly prepared a Podcast and will launch this one shortly.
One thing is for sure he said, I liked every bit of it and will return for sure, this has been my very first trip to he Philippines and I loved it, not only my vacation was great but the people and scenery are just super.
So, if you ever have a cavity problem when traveling in Germany, just drop by Norbert, he is the expert on cavities.
More from Norbert soon on our Podcast, his interview, so please stay tuned and don’t forget to subscribe.




Photos: © Club Paradise and Gunther Deichmann

Cheers, G.D.
www.deichmann-photo.com

Hi everybody, I have just received this great article from my friend Tony Wu and strong Alliance supporter, please read it and you understand a lot more how things work these days on the net.
Thanks Tony, for letting us use your text.
Enjoy G.D.


Try to be connected, no matter where...
...but anywhere.

If you’ve been following my blog for the past month or two, you can see that I’ve stretched the limits of my coding capabilities (actually, I have none) and managed to put together a few podcasts and have them broadcast via Apple iTunes, as well as post them to my blog.

What exactly is a podcast? Not being a tech person, I’m not sure if there’s an official definition. But the way I look at it, podcasts are a way for anyone with access to the net to broadcast words, images, voice, video and any combination thereof to the rest of the world.

Where you needed a radio station, TV network, newspaper or other form of traditional media to have a voice before, the internet has opened up all sorts of opportunities for people to make themselves heard. Podcasts are a great example of this.

In addition to sharing my own experiences with other people around the world, I’m able to keep tabs on all sorts of stuff that I would otherwise need to invest much more time and effort in, in order to get only a fraction of the information I do now. In other words, podcasts (like the rest of the internet) can be a great way to educate yourself on just about anything you want to know.

I download podcasts to my video iPod, and when I’m stuck in a bus, train, taxi, airplane, airport, hotel, boat…with nothing else I can productively do, I listen to and/ or watch podcasts. It’s a great way to transform down time into productive learning experiences.

If you haven’t caught on to podcasts, you should…especially if you’re an information junkie like me. The easiest way to start wading into the world of podcasts is to download Apple iTunes (works on Mac and PCs) and take a look at the podcast section. Did I mention that all the podcasts are free?

There are podcasts covering just about every topic, so you’ll probably be able to find something that interests you. The list is growing every day, so it’s worth checking back for more. All you have to do is “subscribe” to podcasts that interest you and watch or listen to them on your computer. They update automatically each time you open iTunes, and you can always unsubscribe if you end up not liking a particular podcast.

Fair warning: there’s no traditional editor or network censor per se for podcasts, so the quality of different podcasts varies widely. And unlike traditional media, there doesn’t need to be a fixed publishing schedule or format, so some podcasts are published several times a week, and others only as-and-when they’re available.

A few examples of podcasts I subscribe to:

Tech Stuff: GeekBrief.TV, TWIT (This Week in Tech), MacWorld Podcast
Science and Nature: 60-Second Science, Science Magazine Podcast, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Wild Chronicles, Science Talk: Podcast of Scientific American, Nature Podcast, National Geographic News, DiveFilm
Humour: Ask a Ninja, Diggnation, The Onion News Network, Tiki Bar TV
Other Stuff: The Economist, NAPP TV, many more

Needless to say, I don’t get to watch or listen to all of these, but you’d be surprised how much I learn from these podcasts and the others I subscribe to. It’s like having a room full of experts at my personal disposal. And whenever there’s something particularly interesting, I can jot down a quick note, and Google it next time I’m online to look for more references and background information.

I think back to the long and tedious hours I spent researching when I was back in school…days, weeks in libraries, followed by waiting for answers to snail-mail letters, followed by telephone calls and site visits…my research today takes a fraction of the time, and I can keep all my notes (text, images, hyperlinks, reference papers, etc.) in electronic form, which means I can access the information whenever I need.

Anyway, the point is that podcasts are a great reference tool if you make use of them (just like the rest of the net!).

If you put my name into the iTunes podcast search engine, my personal podcast will pop up too. I have nowhere near the wherewithal or resources of many of the most well-produced podcasts, but I’m having fun! Example: A Very Hungry Frogfish.

I’ve got slideshows fairly well mastered. Still have to work on learning video editing software to do more video. I’ve recently acquired a better microphone too, so hopefully voice tracks will sound better from now on (I just used a cheap headseat before). And I’ve started podcasting PDFs of some of my published articles. So if you subscribe to my podcast, you’ll get a combination of video, audio and written podcasts. This would have been nearly impossible a few years ago.

I love this new tech stuff, and though my own understanding of the relevant coding and software packages is limited, I’m continually pushing everyone I know to get up to speed, though the resistance from most people I know is incredibly high and totally infuriating…about as productive as trying to herd cats in most cases.

One final thought related to this topic…if you or someone you know still stubbornly cling to the notion that the internet is unimportant, a fad, or otherwise useless, chew on this: A few weeks ago, a popular tech site released what later proved to be an untrue story about Apple (essentially stating that the iPhone and next generation Apple OS would be significantly delayed).

Within minutes, more than US$4 billion of Apple’s market capitalisation evaporated. Still think the net doesn’t have influence? Let’s see a newspaper article annihilate US$4 billion in a matter of minutes.

Without getting into a protracted exposition about the pros and cons of new media, there’s no denying that electronic media is important, influential, growing and here to stay.
For the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance Podcast click here: Octopus on the Catwalk

We have been requested to run it again and for those who
have missed it. What is it?
The real cool video from Dirk Fahrenbach, Club Paradise and
Dugong Dive Center, Palawan, Philippines.

You must see this! Unique footage from Dugong Dive Center!
One of the Alliance Partners, Dugong Dive Center, experts on Insel huepfen, Island hopping,
diving/tauchen in the Philippines and Micronesia.The Divers Choice in Asia and Micronesia..

Video by Dirk Fahrenbach from Dugong Dive Center and Club Paradise,
produced by Gunther Deichmann and Dream Time for Dugong Dive Center.

Please have a little patience for down loading,
Video is only 1min. but real great!
High speed DSL broadband connection recommended.
Quick Time Player required!Enjoy the Video and sound.
Approx. download time is 2 min. But is worth the wait.

Click here and listening, you need some speakers to
appreciate this little show from all the Alliance Partners.
Quick Time required.
Cool sounds with the Philippine -Micronesia
Alliance Partners
Diving at its best, inselhuepfen, island hopping,
tech training and tech dive centers,from Micronesia at
Sam's Tours to Truk Stop Hotel at Truk Lagoon,book
with Blue Horizons and make all your travel arrangements.
Dive the Philippines with Calypso/Pinjalo Dive Resort on
Boracay, Club Paradise and Dugong Dive Center in Palawan
or dive with Asia Divers andEl Galleon Beach Resort
in Puerto Galera.We have the best beaches and diving in
the Pacific, a real treat for underwater Photographers and
nature lovers.
Our Resorts offer you the ultimate in holidays
and dive vacation.
Great music, food and drinks, the Divers Choice.
Our direct link:
The Philippine-Micronesia Alliance

Hi everybody,

Just revised the video clip should be a lot easier
for viewing now, made it smaller for you who dont
have a fast connection, since you should not miss
out on his one.
Sorry for the inconvenience

You must see this! Unique footage
from Dugong Dive Center!

Check out our very first Video from one of the
Alliance Partner Dugong Dive Center, experts
on Insel huepfen, Island hopping diving/tauchen
in the Philippines and Micronesia.

This video is by Dirk Fahrenbach from
Dugong Dive Center and Club Paradise.

Produced by Gunther Deichmann and Dream Time
for Dugong Dive Center.

Please have a little patience for down loading,
Video is only 1min. but real great!
High speed DSL broadband connection recommended.
Quick Time Player required!Enjoy the Video and sound.
Approx. download time is 5min. But is worth the wait.

Start the Video here::

Copyright 2006 all rights Reserved.

Our links to the Alliance web site below:
http://www.dugongdivecenter.com
Insel huepfen and Island hopping at is best.
Tauchen and diving in the Philippines.
Hotels and Dive Resorts