EJ Pasia: An Artist of Its Own

Artistry does not discriminate nor hate. It lives in every human person. It is unique that no same person possesses the same. It befriends those who spend more time knowing it. Architect EJ Pasia is an embodiment of an artist. Whether in the television, in architecture or in the culinary arts, his personal touches are one of those unique inceptions that brings you in an idiosyncratic experience, a journey.

His flashy and nonconformist furniture in the current Pinoy Big Brother TV Series are displayed and his name is mentioned in each and every show.  The most advanced and artistic peace and discussion venue in Mindanao are also his. Using Mindanao's inherent, artistry he made it into an indigenous but modern hall which makes every Dabawenyo proud. When you see a house with that artistic touch of simplicity and flashiness, you would know it is his. Each and every work is a classic, a work of art.

EJ is not only an architect and a designer, but he is also a restaurateur. He co-owns and manages Katsu Country. A Japanese restaurant with its unique offerings of authentic Japanese food and desserts that has its own personality. I am a big fan of his Katsudon, Tomato Ramen, Croquette and the Katsu curry. Not only is the taste great but the presentation is already an experience.

Katsu country menu did not only came out of simply preparing Japanese meals by looking at cookbook recipes or tasting other Japanese restaurants. He trained in Tokyo and Kobe with renowned chefs. It also imports Japanese recipes and Japanese culinary tools just to bring in that vibe of being in Shibuya, in Harajuku and other famous and trendy places in Tokyo. When you're in Davao and want to try the Tokyo experience, Katsu country is the place to be.

EJ Pasia is a remarkable artist. Be it in furniture, in architecture, and in the culinary arts, his artistic expression is not only seen and tasted but it can be felt in all his creations. He does not make things just for the sake of making one, but he creates them to be on par with the best. His achievements he no longer has to boast or mention. You simply have to witness his masterpieces. Artistry never chooses anyone it is up to us to befriend it, embrace it. My dear friend Architect, Designer, and Restaurateur EJ Pasia did and he is living life to the full.

To know more just click the links:
Design EJ Pasia and Katsu Country


Credits to Davao Food Crawl for the pic.

An Inspiring and World-Class Cafe Julieta

During my last vacation in Davao, I had a couple of tasks in my to-do lists; meet clients, acclimatize from my winter training for a week and get ready for the Ironman race on the coming weekend, and eat at Cafe Julieta. A restaurant owned by my good friend, Chef Noel Buenaventura. Together with my wife and our very good friends, Leebai and Kuya Rudolph,  Noel invited us for a sumptuous treat.

Chef Noel is a world-class chef who graduated with honors in the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in the US and worked at Nobu, a restaurant owned by the famous actor Robert de Niro and the celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa. It is also a restaurant visited by famous personalities, Hollywood actors and actresses and other high-profile celebrities. This is where Chef Noel honed his craft and learned from the great and legendary chef. No wonder I felt like a VIP when he served us his signature dishes.

I will never forget how the Black Cod in Saikyo Miso melts in my mouth like butter plus how  the smoothness of the texture of the cod blends to the miso sauce. Being in Japan for more than 10 years, I had already tasted lots of different fish dishes but I had never tasted one as good as it. We were also served with many more varieties such as the Seafood Laksa, Catfish Crablets with Mango, Popcorn Shrimps, Stir Fried Crispy Noodles, the Cafe Julieta Burger, Pan Seared Salmon w/ Balsamic Teriyaki and the dessert was the most delicious Dulce Ensaymada that I had ever tasted in my life. One which I am planning to introduce to the General manager of Vistaprint Japan, who happens to love ensaymada as well. The experienced brought me memories of places I had been: Davao, Singapore, Japan and further to the US. Finishing it with the ensaymada brought me back again to Davao. One thing that was so common in all of these dishes is the world-class experience. The taste is at par with the restaurants that I dine here in Japan and other high-rated restaurants that I had been to in other countries.

Noel is an amazing and successful chef. He is an inspiration. He achieved all of these accolades despite having Tourrettes. It is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped,

involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. You might pity him at first seeing all these tics and movements but when you talked to him, you will know that he is blessed. He considers all of these challenges a blessing. Being a first-hand witness to how Noel developed Cafe Julieta and the other restaurants and businesses that he runs makes me dream for more and it empowers me to make myself better.

Chef Noel is an epitome of success. Despite his tourette, he managed to graduate with honors at Le Cordon Bleu, worked at Robert de Niro's restaurant and be trained by a world-class chef. Through Cafe Julieta, he always tells people that Tourettes and other similar challenges are a blessing. It shouldn't stop one from achieving their dreams because he did and he has the proof to show it. Thank you, Chef Noel, for the sumptuous treat but most of all thank you for being such an inspiration and a blessing to me.

To have the same experience that I did, you can visit Cafe Julieta at Tulip Drive, Juna Subdivision, Matina, Davao City.

Filipino Culture and Innovation

     I was having my Japanese class last Monday while I and my sensei were discussing how the Japanese innovated the   Chinese Kanji into the Japanese Hiragana and Katakana, I also came into thinking of the innovation of the Filipino language. When I thought about it, I can't think of any. Filipino is made up of Spanish, English, Malay, Indonesian plus a mix of other dialects. With this realization I also asked myself, do we really have our own identity. Furthermore, do we, as a nation, have the culture of creating our own things, our own language, and lastly our own technology? Or are we just stuck in becoming workers in our own land and abroad who simply follow what the innovators of different nationalities tell us to do? 

     To know someone's culture is to know their language. The Japanese have the culture of innovation which they call Kaizen. It means continuous improvement. While in the Filipino language I couldn't think of any and so I googled the translation of "innovation" to Tagalog. In Tagalog innovation is translated to "pagbabago" which we all clearly understand as renewal. It does not have the same impact that the word innovation conveys. Does this mean that the Filipino culture, as a nation, does not have the culture to innovate, to create and to bring in new things and call it as their own? 

     It might feel right and true that it wasn't in our collective Filipino culture to innovate but let us not forget that culture evolves. "Cultures evolve. In one sense, this is a truism; in other senses, it asserts one or another controversial, speculative, unconfirmed theory of culture. Consider a cultural inventory of some culture at some time--say 1900AD. It should include all the languages, practices, ceremonies, edifices, methods, tools, myths, music, art, and so forth, that compose that culture. Over time, that inventory changes. Today, a hundred years later, some items will have disappeared, some multiplied, some merged, some changed, and many new elements will appear for the first time" (Dennet, 1999, par. 2). Culture evolves and Filipinos will have a culture of innovation. It will become a nation of inventors, innovators, artists, and alchemists. A nation that makes other nations dream come true. Let us start it with us the early adopters, the believers who never stopped playing with technology. 

Reference: 

(Dennet, D., 1999) Edge. The Evolution of Culture taken from: https://www.edge.org/conversation/the-evolution-of-culture

Google Home and Alexa: Which is Better???

     

Our IOT Team had been working with Google Home and Amazon's Alexa for quite a while now and we think that it is about time that we give our feedback regarding its performance in the Philippines. We would like to discuss just 3 main points, just like Steve Jobs, just 3 points that are important to help you decide which one best suits your lifestyle and personality.

1) Country Support

The Google home mini is supported in the Philippines. Which means that it is much more stable, has a faster response and lesser issues. Alexa is not supported in the Philippines yet. To work around this obstacle we use an Amazon US account and connect to their US server to setup Alexa. In this regard, Google is much recommended than Alexa.

2) Ease of Installation and Use

Since Google is supported in the Philippines it is expected that adding the smart devices to your 

Google account is a breeze but not as what you think it is. Comparing to Alexa there are more steps involved in adding up a device in Google than with Alexa. As for Alexa, adding the skills is straightforward but they don't appear sometimes in the Alexa skills. This involves bandwidth and proper communication between the smart app and Amazon. However, once you have added the skills, the voice commands for Alexa is much more intuitive than Google's. Each of the devices has its own strength and weakness but I would recommend Alexa in this part for now. Knowing how

powerful Google is and their AI, it is just a matter of time that it would catch up with Alexa. 

3) Sound Quality

  This part may be subjective as every user has his/her own preference in sound quality. Hannah, our engineer, prefers Google while I prefer Alexa for sound quality. However, comparing to Bose or JBL, these two or midgets. As my favorite vlogger, Paul Hibbert, mentioned, Alexa and Google destroyed music since their launching. It is an exaggeration but I think everyone gets the point right? 

Conclusion: 

As to which device is better than the other, Hannah would say she likes Alexa and me, personally, prefer Google. With the current voice automation technology, each has its own strength and weakness. Google is better for country support and installation. Alexa has more intuitive voice commands and user experience during installation. Lastly, for sound quality, it is up to the user's preference. I might have forgotten to compare their appearance as to which one is better looking compared to the other. I would prefer Alexa on this one but then some likes Google more. 

Rather than helping you decide which one is better, I hope that this blog would help you set your expectations when buying the device and consequently, help you set your preference. 

To get you own Alexa and Google Home Mini just click on the links and it will bring you straight to our Home Automation and IoT Products.

Facebook Shop
Shopee Store
Lazada Store

Lost all my Sonoff devices in Ewelink and the B2B Automations IOT Community.

These are some of the issues that our clients had been contacting us; Alexa can't connect the Ewelink skill, Sonoff devices missing in the Ewelink app. I would like to explain why this is happening and some pieces of advice on what to do during these situations.

We were contacted by 2 of our clients from Manila who reported that their Ewelink app lost all their devices the previous night. In one of the user's issue, other home automation brands were working but his Ewelink app lost all the Sonoff devices. The user panicked and recreated his devices and failed. Which means that he deleted all his config and recreated a new one but he cannot add nor create his devices through the Ewelink app still. After a couple of hours, the devices suddenly reappeared but since he deleted and recreated his devices,  he lost all his previous configurations.

In the case of the other the user, she mentioned that she lost all her devices. She was also having problems in adding her Ewelink skill in Alexa for the past few days as well. Since she is not the 1st to report a related issue, we simply told her to wait for a while as there is an issue with the network going towards the Sonoff server.

How did we know this? We have our engineering team to check the connections through a series of tests to confirm Sonoff's connection. We found out that the Sonoff server is up and only the Manila area is having issues. After a couple of hours, her Sonoff devices were visible through the app and her Ewelink skill can now be added in Alexa as well.

Above are good cases of how we can help our clients with their IOT issues and how a group of individuals who shares their experiences can help inform and empower each other. With a community of IOT early adopters, B2B Automations believe that we can turn our country into a modern one through an efficient lifestyle utilizing technology. We may not have the perfect infrastructure to support all this but we can help each other by informing everyone what we have on our setup and what can be done to make things better.

In line with this, we would like to announce that the Sonoff by B2B Automations page is now a community where users can post and share their setup, their ideas, and their experiences. Whenever we have issues with our IOT setup, simply post through the page, contact us and we will help each other and learn from each other.  Not only with issues but when we have successes as well. It is very important that we encourage and congratulate everyone in our community with their success because every successful setup means that our country is turning into a modern society. 

Standby Power Consumption of Sonoff Devices

We are frequently being asked lately how much power consumption does each Sonoff device consume when it is not being used. Like any home automation devices, Sonoff requires power during standby for it to keep track of any request whether from the app or from manually switching it off. I did some research and here are some of the data that I found on the internet.

Standby-Power Consumptions:

Sonoff Basic - 0.5W

Sonoff B1 bulb - 0.5 W

Sonoff TH10 / TH16 - 0.6W

Sonoff Pow or Pow R2 - 0.3 W

Sonof 4ch / 4Ch Pro  - 0.1 mW

Based on the power consumption ratings above, it is quite surprising to know that the Sonoff 4Ch R2 and 4Ch Pro has the least amount of power consumption when on standby. When you look at the device, this is the biggest Sonoff device available in the market but it has the lowest power consumption. The reason for this is its chipset. Most Sonoff devices are using the ESP8266 chip but the Sonoff 4Ch is using the ESP8285 chip which only requires an ultra-low power requirement for it to function. Having a 4 channel switch with very low power consumption is a class in itself. Let's do more innovation and automation knowing that we are not spending significant electrical usage. 

We hope that this article had been informative and was able to help you put at ease knowing that these smart switches use a very small amount of power.

To know more about our products here is a comprehensive page specifically created for anyone who wants to know more about Sonoff offered by B2B Automations.

Click on the links as well to buy from our Lazada, Shoppee and Facebook Stores.

If you want to experience home automation first-hand, you can also visit our experience center in Davao City, you can visit us in this address.

B2B Automations , Door 1, Maerican Building, Patnubay Street, SIR Phase 2, Matina, Davao City (fronting central 911) Bucana, Davao City Mindanao, Davao Del Sur 8000 

Sonoff TH16 and its well-built sensors

The Sonoff TH16 is a wireless temperature and humidity monitoring switch that turns on/off connected appliances based on a preset temperature and humidity range. Just as the name indicates, the Sonoff TH16 (temperature and humidity) monitor device supports up to 16A of connected current. Depending on the preset temperature or humidity range, the switch will automatically turn on or off the devices connected to it. Below are 3 examples of the Sonoff TH16 and its sensors.

1)     Controlling Humidity and Temperature in your house or bedroom. 

Most air-conditioning units have thermostats which mainly controls the temperature but doesn't have any humidity control in a room. Have you ever wakened up with a red cheek, a dry skin or a dried throat in the morning? Sonoff TH16 with the temp and humidity sensor can help you fix this. The Sonoff AM2301 attached to a Sonoff TH16 can control a humidifier. Once a certain humidity is reached the Sonoff TH16 will then turn on or off the humidifier. This can also be used on old air-conditioning units which don't have a thermostat. With the TH16 and the temperature sensor, you can set your air-conditioning unit to automatically power on and off depending on your preset temperature.

2) Building Management System for a server room.

We all know how expensive a building management system can be and not all IT departments have the budget for it. A Sonoff TH16 connected with a temperature and humidity sensor placed in a server room is a very good alternative for a BMS system. The BMS functions mainly for monitoring, automation, and alerts. All of these are obtainable by using the TH16 and the AM2301.

3) Monitoring water temperature in an agricultural system.

In agriculture, we can easily monitor the temperature of our ponds, the soil humidity and the temperature of our water sources by just using the Sonoff TH16 connected with a DS18B20 waterproof temperature sensor. As an example, during summer, a sensor detects that the pond has reached a high temperature. With preset command in the app, a trigger will allow the Sonoff TH16 to power up the pump which brings cold water to flow to the pond. This will bring the water temperature back to the normal levels and avoid casualties caused by high-temperature in ponds. 

To know more about the TH16 and it's sensors, below are the following links. 
A video for the TH16 Setup. 
You can get the TH16 through our the following links: 
Facebook Page: 
TH16
Temperature and Humidity Sensor
Waterproof Temperature Sensor

Shopee: 
TH16
Temperature and Humidity Sensor
Waterproof Temperature Sensor 

Lazada:
TH16 
Temperature and Humidity Sensor 
Waterproof Temperature Sensor 

Sonoff S31 and Why It's a Serious IOT Device

The Sonoff S31 through the Ewelink app displays the real-time energy consumption of a device. It gives the user data on how much a device consumes in real-time and it also stores that same data for 100 days. This provides a very good insight into how much home appliances or any devices, connected to the S31, consume energy.

Like any IOT devices, the Sonoff S31 can be set to power on and off at a certain period and time. Different schedule modes such as repeat daily, power-up on certain days or just on a single period are the available options. Furthermore, you can also see the status of your device whether they are powered on or powered off anytime and anywhere through your mobile phone or tablet where the Ewelink app is saved.

The Sonoff S21 is a perfect model of the basic functions of what should every basic IOT device possesses. All IOT devices should not only provide the user with an ability to remotely control or automate their functionality but it should also provide the data on energy monitoring and have the capacity for its log to be stored. Together with this evolution to control things plus an acquired knowledge through the data provided by the S31, anyone can track their energy consumption which results in energy efficiency and energy savings.

To know how to set up an S31, here's the video. 

To buy one click in one of our links below: 

Lazada

Facebook Shop

Shopee

Basic Switches. Secure and Safe Installations.

The Sonoff Basic is the simplest and the easiest automated switch to set up but there are safety

measures that have to be kept in mind during installation. The switch has to be out of reach from children and It should not be exposed to areas where liquid spills are possible.

Lastly, the wires should not be easily pulled out from the switch.  These are issues that are challenging to address but by using the Sonoff IP66, all of these problems can be addressed easily.

The basic switch should not be reachable by children. Common applications where the basic switch is highly usable are on lamps, Christmas trees, and other appliances or devices that are commonly found in the living room and kitchen. Unfortunately, these are also places where children are curious and love to play. Having a reachable basic switch on these areas can put children at risk to electrical accidents.

As previously mentioned, kitchens and living rooms are places where the basic switches can have plenty of usages. Unfortunately, these are also places where liquid spills can easily occur. To avoid damages on the switch or, worse, fatal accidents, a waterproof casing can be a very good solution.

Like any electrical setups, live electrical wires are screwed or connected to the devices. For the case of the basic switch, connecting wires are screwed to its wire-slots. If these cables or wires are accidentally pulled out, the live wires will be exposed and can harm someone These can also lead to fatal accidents and damages to property caused by fire. 

Above examples is just one of the few solutions that an IP66 safety box can provide users with. Life and property damages can be avoided by having all the exposed basic switches placed in an IP66 casing. It is a waterproof casing which ensures live wires are unexposed, any liquid spilt into the switch are kept out of the casing and even when the basic switch or the case is reachable, there are no exposed components which ensures safety to people and to properties.

You can get the IP66 here. as well as the Basic switch.