hotnothot 22

Hotnot: Dubai’s bubble to burst? Dubai is in the news since yesterday due to Dubai World, the developer of high-end real estate properties, delaying payment against multi-billion dollar loans they have over several major banks. Dubai World is said to account for $59bn of the $80bn total loan by the Dubai government. The delay in payment resulted to stock markets from Europe to Asia falling as investors hurried off to sell their shares for fear of another economic turmoil resulting from these exposures. With Dubai and UAE in general not having large oil wells to provide other source of cash flow, it is a question where they will get the money to get out of this financial quagmire. The coming months will be very interesting. Read more on http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2009/11/20091126103029690634.html

Hotnot: More on the Maguindanao massacre. The powerful political clan of Ampatuans are said to be behind the massacre. Sabi ng isang witness na Al-Jazeera pa ang naka-hanap, si Andal Ampatuan Jr daw mismo ang nag-utos sa kanila para patayin lahat, including women and children. Sabi pa sa latest report, 8 members pa raw ng Ampatuan clan ang sabit. 57 na raw ang patay including 22 media men. At ang masakit, nadamay pa ang ibang inosenteng motorista na walang kamalay-malay sa kung ano man ang motive behind the killing. They just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. As I step back and think about all these, nakaka-lulang isipin na may tao (o mga tao) na kayang pumatay, even one single life, para sa kung anomang dahilan. Sana lang maparusahan ang dapat maparusahan no matter what, no matter who.

Hotnot: 83 dead in heavy rains in Jeddah. Hindi lang sa Pilipinas kumikitil ng buhay ang baha. Even in a country primarily known for its hot, barren deserts. Another undeniable proof na talagang sobrang wasak na ang dating atmospheric balance. I hope the Copenhagen Convention will be able to come up with something substantial at hindi puro plano at papel.

Hotnot: The Catholic Church in yet another sex scandal. This time, it’s the Irish priests who are in the news. Malawakan daw ang cover up na ginawa ng Irish Church sa mga sex abuse na ginawa ng mga pari. Ang mga Archbishop daw ng Ireland ay aware na mahigit 46 priests ang nasampahan ng complaints between 1975 and 2004. May isang pari daw who admitted to having abused more than 100 minors. Pero wala man lang na-report officially dahil gusto raw nilang protektahan ang kapakanan ng Simbahan. More than the protection they should have given to the young, innocent children. And it is quite disgusting to know that the house of God is being used as a safe haven by the devil themselves.

coaching the champs

isang kaibigan at long-time tasnee colleague ang very active sa sports, particularly in basketball. he's been a regular face in the local tournament circuit starting from the first year na binuo nya ang tasnee basketball team until now that he's involved with a team from other companies.

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suki na sya ng mga paliga ni Nilo sa Jubail Port and in the process collecting nothing less than the championship trophies. in the recent filcom basketball tourney held in tamimi camp, nag-3rd place naman ang group nya. not bad considering the number of entries and caliber of the field.

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here's a few pics he wants to share with DS friends. proof that in saudi, you can have a meaningful and healthy activity other than pining away with homesickness. way to go noli boy!

and here's the cool, ever-chick boy coach/player...

noli 'abdullah' guerrero

hotnothot 21

Hothot: Efren Penaflorida is the CNN Hero of the Year for his Kariton Klasrum. Isang napakalaking karangalan para sa isang Pilipino na dapat din nating ikarangal. (Although sabi nga ng friend kong Ega, on-line voting kaya yan!) But like what Senator Pia Cayetano said, oo nga at isang malaking karangalan itong panalo ni Efren. But at the same time, ito ay isang malaking proof na ang gobyerno natin ay may malaking pagkukulang sa edukasyon ng ating mga kabataan. Actually Senator Cayetano, alam naman nating lahat na hindi lang edukasyon ang pinapabayaan ng gobyerno. Pati na rin ibang sectors like health, labor, basic social services. Lalo na ang economy. And we are left to fend for ourselves. Kaya may mga Efren na lumilitaw. Tapos bibigyan ng kung anong award para lang maki-sakay sa success nong tao. The nerve!

Hotnot: the massacre in Maguindanao. Nakakapangilabot isipin na 35 katao ang pinatay, posibleng mas marami pa, dahil lang sa pulitika. And that is only for a vice-mayoralty post. Paano na kaya kung mayoralty or governatorial post ang pinag-aagawan. Ubusan na ng lahi? At yang lagay na yan, filing pa lang ng COC huh. Paano na kaya pagdating ng campaign period? Come on people, have some respect. Kung hindi sa tao, buhay na lang ang i-respeto. Afterall, kahit anong political affiliation mo, kahit anong religious group ang kinabibilangan mo, respect for life is still basic.

Hothot: Hayden loses license. Tinanggal na ng PRC ang lisensya ni Hayden dahil sa reklamong isinampa ni Katrina. Buti naman. Vindication for Katrina who has suffered humiliation and degradation dahil sa kawalan ng katinuan ni Hayden na doctor pa mandin. Ang tanong ko ngayon, will Maricar be as vindicated? Parang hindi. Mas pinili kasi nyang manahimik kesa lumaban. Mas pinili nyang proteksyonan ang kanyang showbiz career. And I find it difficult to sympathize with people like that.

Hotnot: Hungry Pinoys up by 300k. Sabi ng latest survey ng SWS, tumaas daw from 17.5% to 18.9% ang bilang ng mga Pinoy na nagugutom. 3.5 million families daw ang apektado in and outside Luzon mostly dahil sa mga bagyong dumaan. Nakaka-panghina at nakakalungkot isipin na ganon karami ang sikmurang kumakalam at walang sumasayad na pagkain. Lalo yong mga batang walang kalaban-laban. Sana makonsensya ang mga corrupt na tao at yong kinukurakot nilang pera, itulong na lang sa mga pamilyang ito.

Hotnot: Pacquiao finally saying his piece about Krista. ‘Friends lang kami’. Isang gasgas, warak-warak at lumang-luma nang linya na paboritong gamitin ng mga walang ibang maisip sabihin para pagtakpan ang kalokohang ginawa o ginagawa. And you would believe na maniniwala kami sa iyo after you arrogantly said ‘walang pakialaman’ also on national tv? Haayyy Manny, just stick to your boxing coz apparently that’s the only thing you can do best.

notebook, netbook, bukbok?

came across this blog post in yahoo (http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/154921) which i find quite interesting coz i myself had a few not-so-pretty experiences when it comes to laptops. nakaka-ilang makina na ako in just under three years.
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for whatever reason, biglang-bigla na lang nagre-resign ang computer ko. either ayaw mag-boot, sasabihin no hard disk found, etc. sabi ng technician, most likely naba-virus daw ang pc ko. syempre hindi ko naman sinasabing minsan out of my own carelessness! hahaha!!

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kasi kung virus hindi naman ako ganon kalakwatsador sa net. the sites i'm visiting are so limited. laging check lang ng mail, yahoo and msn, mga on-line dyaryo and my blog. minsan youtube pero sa bagal ng connection ko i'd rather stay away from sites na hindi ko naman kailangan.

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i even had one external hd na nag-crash kaya ang mga personal files ko, including music, personal documents and my most cherished pics of families and friends, naglahong parang bola, este bula!

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sabagay, sa kamurahan ngayon ng laptops para na ngang disposable lighter ang labanan. pag nasira, instead of spending more (kung out of warranty period na), palitan mo na lang.

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but here's one article to give us an insight kung anong brand ang medyo reliable. don't know how reliable this study is but since there's some stats supporting it, might as well take heed and keep this in mind when buying a new machine.

1 in 3 laptops die in first three years

So your new laptop computer died in inside of a year. "I'll never buy a computer from [insert manufacturer name here] again!" I've heard the protests time and time again.

Yeah, maybe you got a lemon, but no matter which brand you bought, you truly are not alone in this situation: An analysis of 30,000 new laptops from SquareTrade, which provides aftermarket warranty coverage for electronics products, has found that in the first three years of ownership, nearly a third of laptops (31 percent) will fail.

That's actually better than I would have expected based on my experience and observations on how people treat their equipment.

SquareTrade has more detailed information on the research on its website. But here are some highlights about how, why, and which laptops fail:

> 20.4 percent of failures are due to hardware malfunctions. 10.6 percent are due to drops, spills, or other accidental damage.

> Netbooks have a roughly 20 percent higher failure rate due to hardware malfunctions than standard laptops. The more you pay for your laptop, the less likely it is to fail in general (maybe because you're more careful with it?).

> The most reliable companies? A shocker: Toshiba and Asus, both with below a 16 percent failure rate due to hardware malfunction.

> The least reliable brands? Acer, Gateway, and HP. HP's hardware malfunction rate, the worst in SquareTrade's analysis, is a whopping 25.6 percent.

None of the numbers are overly surprising. As SquareTrade notes, "the typical laptop endures more use and abuse than nearly any other consumer electronic device (with the possible exception of cell phones)," so failures are really inevitable.

Want to keep your notebook running for longer than a few years? Ensure your laptop is as drop-proofed as possible (use a padded bag or case, route cords so they won't be tripped on, lock children in another room), and protect it as best you can from heat and dust.

november bday

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Matt is our birthday boy for November.

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A cool, easy-going guy who is one of the more 'techie' among the adiks.

Sa kanya ako nakigaya ng blogging at sya rin ang nagpa-uso ng Facebook sa mga adiks.

Para syang help desk kasi sya ang tinatawagan ko whenever I have questions

about the net or my external drive crashing.

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He's got a seemingly inexhaustible reserve of patience,

something na tamang-tama sa trabaho nyang laging puro pressure.

He's the Vince Vaughn of the group, tingnan nyo naman ang pic huh. Parang nag-pose sa cam ng paparazzi. Coz he knows cameras and what a good photograph is all about. Isa kasi yan sa mga interest nya sa buhay.

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And that is aside from putting up his own mini-zoo sa bahay na kung ano-anong pet na ang inalagaan (turtle, hamsters, birds, cats and dogs and rabbits).

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TO YOU MATTEO,

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

a few wise lines

don't know if i've already posted this before but i've been using it in portions somewhere at the lower page of this blog. an old poem that is so bitingly practical it gives you one good set of guidelines in your everyday life.

DESIDERATA
written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

pito-pito

Sabi ako ng sabi na hindi ako fan ni Pacquiao but everytime naman na in the spotlight sya heto at sulat naman ako ng sulat tungkol sa kanya. Well let me just say he’s hard to ignore. Kapag lahat ng dyaryo at tv show, mula sa showbiz hanggang sa dapat eh mainstream news, mukha nya ang makikita mo, kahit hindi ka nya kampon you would find it difficult ignoring this not-so-good-looking yet so-very-talented boxer.

Ayan nga at pati Time Asia nilagay na sya sa cover. And that is even before his utterly convincing win over Cotto. Parang Time themselves predicted na walang sinabi ang Puerto Rican pug sa ating pambansang kamao. Otherwise they could have damaged their prestige kung a few weeks after the cover eh nilampaso sya ni Cotto sa ring.

So what’s my take on this 7th crown across 7 divisions na wala pang nakagawa kahit sino?

To call him The Greatest Boxer of All Time, as I read in some papers, sounds an overkill sa una pero justifiable naman in the end. Coz the greatest boxers we’ve known so far – Muhammad Ali – the most recognizable sa tulad kong hindi boxing fan, won only in his weight division (yon ang alam ko huh… boxing aficionados, pls confirm). Hindi katulad ni MP na 7 division ang kinopo. Kaya pwede na ngang ikabit ang ‘Greatest’ sa kanya for now. At siguro matatagalan pa bago may makagawa ng same record na ginawa nya.

Although napangiwi ako nong may makita akong streamer that says Pacquiao for President. I hope you’re not serious guys. Hindi naman porke pwede nang tawaging Greatest Boxer yong tao, pwede na syang magpatakbo ng isang bansa. Lalo na ang Pinas na sadlak na sadlak na sa kahirapan at corruption. Iba syempre ang pagtayo sa lona kesa sa pag-tayo sa podium na may sealion emblem.

Sana makinig na lang sya sa payo ni Atienza (na sabi nya kino-consider nyang tatay-tatayan) at wag na syang tumakbo in any political post. I-maximize na lang nya ang opportunities habang nasa prime pa sya ng kanyang career. Kung pwede kalabanin muna nya ang mayabang na si Mayweather. Ipakita nyang mas mayabang sya sa pangit na yon at nang matanggal ang bad weather sa katawan.

Coz sana, dahil paulit-ulit na lang nangyayari, pumasok na sa kukote nya ang epekto nya sa Pinas. Zero crime rate. Walang traffic lalo sa Edsa pag may laban sya. Even the rebels stopped their kidnapping activities. All these he can do kung ipagpapatuloy nya ang pagbo-boxing. But if he switched to politics, anong magiging national impact nya? Titigil ba ang mga Pinoy para panoorin syang mag-speech sa Congress?

Kung serbisyo publiko ang purpose nya, mas maraming paraan. Foundations is one. Mas maraming makikinabang. Tutal hindi naman nya kailangan ang government funding para makapag-tayo ng mga ganito. Hindi rin kailangan na sa sarili nyang bulsa manggaling. Pwede syang mag-solicit sa mga celebrities na fan nya. Hindi sa Pinas huh. Sa Hollywood. Anong ginagawa nila Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Mickey Rourke and now, even Paris Hilton. Pati nga si Bill Clinton di ba. Hingan nya ng donations.

Ipagpatuloy na lang nya yong showbiz career nya. Tutal marami pang natutuwa sa pagkanta-kanta nya dahil sikat pa sya. Kahit nga Al-Jazeera news yon ang pinakita. Obviously naaliw sila sa boksingerong di lang left hook ang kayang pakawalan. Pati sintunadong Sometimes when We Touch. On a global tv pa yon huh! Nag-iisa lang talaga sya!

Stick with GMA-7 para consistent sa 7 wins nya. Pero wag na wag syang lilipat ng Dos at baka magkatotoong dalawa ang bebot nya like what the rumors are saying. Dati si Ara Mina. Ngayon nadagdag pa raw ang Krista Ranillo. Lupet talaga ni Pacman. Pero sa totoo lang, malas yan Manny Boy.

Isipin mo lang na para ka ngayong fresh pupu na ang dami-daming bangaw na naa-attract. Bilyones na kasi ang dolyares mo. Bakit, nong unknown ka pa, kilala ka ba ng mga hindurupot na yan? Lalo ang mga girls na obviously ay naghahanap lang ng sponsors ng mga kaluhuan like expensive bags and signature shoes? Gusto lang makapag-suot ng mga designer clothes na sinusuot ni Jinkee. Pati ang mga naglalakihang diamonds ni Mommy Dionisia na sa dami ng alahas parang naluma si Anabelle Rama huh!

Look back to where you are 5, 10 years ago. Saka mo tingnan kung sino ang nasa paligid mo noon at naniwala sa iyo minus your billions of dollars. Then you would realize kung sino talaga ang mga taong may malaking importansya sa buhay mo. You should realize na sa Tv station lang dapat ang loyalty mo. Sa totoong buhay, wag sundin ang kaPuso... importante pa rin ang kaPamilya!

Ay, bakit ba ako nakikialam. The guy has so much money, power and fame kayang-kaya na nyang gawin ang lahat ng gusto nya. With his dizzying celebrity status, hindi ko sya masisi kung mag-umpisa na syang magkida-kida (Arabic slang po yan ng mga kalokohang activities). He has worked so hard, even risked his life all the time na may laban sya. He deserves to do whatever pleases him now. Yon nga lang, he should do that without hurting the people he loves most.

Besides, yang mga rumors tungkol sa extra-marital affairs na yan only add to his machismo. Dagdag pogi points dahil pinapatunayan nyang hindi lang sya pang-sports, pang-lover boy pa! Kaya ang mga Kuya, Manong, Tiyo, Tatay and even Lolo na samba sa kanya, lalong dumadami. At marami ring gusto syang gayahin. Except sa mga kabataan na mas gusto sumali sa StarStruck!

Whatever happens, Pacman’s legacy is here to stay. Bahagi na sya ng history ng Pinas as the first (and probably the only) boxer na nagkaroon ng ganiyang achievement. At sya rin lang ang boksingerong pinag-aksayahan kong i-blog. Dahil kahit pa anong sabihin, feeling proud din naman ako pag nananalo sya. Pinoy pa rin kasi ako kahit hindi ako boxing fan. Pero pag kumanta na sya, bahala na kayo!