It sure looks like a jackfruit alright. hehe

Here’s another one

Choc, na-igo ka? hehehe… That’s your fucking filthy hand. mwahehehe

And this last pic is the best privelege I have living in the city of bombs. haha!

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Naintindihan niyo ba? That is a muslim translation. So deal with it.

(I don’t know if its right.. Its my name daw! The Old Alibata..)

Source : http://www.baybayin.com/

The Alibata coined by Paul Versoza thought that its roots are of Arabic, but it is actually related to Kavi or Kawi. It is known as Baybayin (Tagalog), a writing system of the Philippines before Spaniards came to conquer and colonize the country. The alphabets of the Baybayin is actually related to the Old Kawi of Javanese and belongs to the Brahmic Family (I hardly know about this Brahmic, it might originated from India? LOL). It is said that the natives used this writing system as early as 14th century up until the 19th century.

It’s sad though that the Alibata is near extinction (Yes it is not yet extinct because some tribes in Palawan still use this! Sweet eh?). The reasons daw for its near extinction are the Spanish and the Americans. The Spanish taught a different writing system, the Roman Alphabet. After the Spanish colonization, the Americans introduced english into the school curriculum.. That is why we are using a combination of the Roman Alphabet and English Alphabet right now, I think..

It’s sad to note that the youth of today are not using this unique writing system that might distinguish us as fully developed and that way before Spaniards conquered our country, we were already civilized.. I wish we can incorporate this system at school so that it won’t extinct, just like the writing system of Thailand, and other countries in Asia which they are still using up to date…

I was searching about the World’s Best Cities to Live in 2008, but to my dismay, there’s no summary listing. They only listed the Top 20 and unfortunately, the Philippines was out of sight. (duh, I’m still dreaming of it! It wouldn’t turn into a reality if our political system would be like the current one we have). Instead, I found this awesome article from BusinessWeek, and I was proud to say that I am a Filipino. I mean hey, this could mean that we’re on our way to stardom!(World Stardom that is..) hehe.. The article was about the World’s Most Competitive Countries. And yes, were not number one nor number two, but were slowly moving forward… Click the word read more for the article… You may also want to see the list. (Too bad they’re only ranking 55 countries, and were at number 40)

The World’s Most Competitive Countries

Half of the top 10 are European and the U.S. is still No. 1, but Asia’s tigers are coming on strong

by Jennifer Fishbein

Asian economies are overtaking the U.S. and Northern Europe to become the most competitive in the world, according to an annual study by one of Europe’s top business schools.

The 20th World Competitiveness Yearbook, released May 15 by IMD business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, ranks the U.S. No. 1 for the 15th straight year. But the report’s author, professor Stéphane Garelli, expects Singapore to take the top spot next year. The small city-state trails the U.S. by less than seven-tenths of a point in the 2008 rankings. While it still has the world’s strongest domestic economy, the U.S. is particularly vulnerable because its financial sector contributes 40% to corporate profits.

Meanwhile, Asia has proven relatively immune to the financial crisis gripping the U.S. Garelli says that Asia’s roaring economies, led by China, will likely raise their competitive edge relative to the star-spangled superpower and slowing European countries this year. “Asia is discovering that it is not so much the hostage of the American economy, that it can have a life by itself,” Garelli says. “They make life difficult for European countries, especially because, let’s face it, Europe is suffering from the euro.”

Among the top 20 economies out of the 55 ranked, those in Asia-Pacific posted the greatest gains compared with last year. Malaysia climbed four spots to No. 19, while Taiwan and Australia each jumped five places to No. 13 and No. 7, respectively. Other strong gains were made by Thailand, which rose six spots to No. 27, and the Philippines, up five to No. 40.

A Detailed Study

IMD produced the rankings using 331 criteria ranging from gross domestic product growth and unemployment to the number of Internet users and the price of local cell-phone calls. Hard data from sources such as the World Bank and U.N. comprised two-thirds of the inputs; the rest came from nearly 4,000 survey responses from executives in each country—many of them IMD alumni—regarding the availability of skilled employees, government regulation, the availability of venture capital, and other more qualitative issues.

The top 10 economies have changed little from last year (BusinessWeek.com, 5/14/07). Iceland, which ranked seventh in 2007, was removed from this year’s list due to its volatile economy and financial problems at the local institute that had supplied data to IMD. Hong Kong retained its third-place position, followed by the usual top performers: Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Denmark. Canada moved up two places to No. 8, while the Netherlands dropped two to No. 10. Sweden remained unchanged at No. 9.

No. 17-ranked China posted the highest annual GDP growth, 11.9%, “pulling the whole region upward,” Garelli says. In contrast, U.S. GDP rose 2.2%. In turn, Asian economies are developing not only domestic markets but also regional ones. Growing investment and trade among Asian nations “is creating a very strong level of confidence in the region,” Garelli says. The emerging economies of Vietnam and Kazakhstan will join the rankings before long, he adds.

A Swelling Consumer Class

The rapid growth of the middle class in emerging economies—particularly in China and India—will boost consumption in the coming years, and this, too, will likely influence their ranking. Roughly 50 million people in India are considered middle class, and this figure will probably swell to 580 million by 2030, Garelli says. Since 2000, about 600 million people around the world reached middle-class status, spending an average of $4 billion annually on brand-name products, new homes, vacations, and other indulgences.

The annual IMD survey uses different methodology and data but comes up with relatively similar findings to an annual ranking of economic competitiveness from the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. The most recent WEF ranking, in November, 2007, also found the U.S. on top, followed by a half-dozen European countries (BusinessWeek.com, 11/6/07).

The WEF also produces an annual study of “tech-readiness” that assesses countries on their IT and communications infrastructure and how well they exploit it to drive growth (BusinessWeek.com, 4/9/08).

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2008/gb20080516_388650.htm?chan=search

With the sudden increase of the rice price (what a rhyme!), I’ve decided to post something on how to contribute with the international shortage problem..

First, eat noodles, it’s much cheaper and it also contains nutrients especially the Carbs… You can get your RDA when you add some green leafy vegetables like carrots, malunggay, and repolyo.. ROFL. But don’t ask me about the taste with the malunggay cause I haven’t tried it yet! ( Carrots? Green leafy? haha. Yawa ra. LMAO )

Step two, Hunger myself to death.. LOL. I need it badly! For my body’s sake and also I want to experience being hungry just like the people who needs WHO’s attention… Pffft!

Third, minimize my rice intake to half cup per day! =]]. So everyone can visit me in the hospital. Kiddin! Instead of rice, I’ll eat maize.. It looks scrumptious, and I’ll add up some fruits and vegetables per meal. Hey this is what you call DIET! You take out whites and take in greens and yellows, right?

Lastly, try hoarding rice because I’m afraid it’ll cost twice in a month’s time. Gawd, a hundred peso for one kilo of rice? It’s like eating in an expensive restaurant! Putaness. I believe its better to eat in a restaurant if this will be the scenario in the near future. hehe.

Ok so NFA officials raid our house, we do RICE Hoarding! That is if you know where you can locate us! haha! Catch us if you can fucktards! Oops! I’m starting to talk like Finch the Retard. hehe. Peace.

Went to see the blooming flowers at Eden Nature Park..

Pictures below… Click!

I’ve gone riding a boat…

Went for a dip in the crystal blue waters of Samal Island with friends…

Session of beer drinking after a dip in the sea..

Seen the picturesque Davao

Took a picture when the Peacock spread its wings ( I don’t even know if its wings or the tail…)

Gone Fishing!

I’ve been a brat with the gang.. hehe

Took some pics while on a Park Tour!

Seen the richness of Southern Mindanao’s DOLE plantation…

Visited a private place for DOLE supervisors

Went to a wedding of a dear friend..

And finally stayed at home with my family and blogging until I die.. Haha!