My Blunt Existence

The rhythm of my hand goes well with the drops of ink and with words floating in my brain. I do not have highfalutin words to speak of, instead, the way of my emotions and the labyrinth that my soul’s going through are the ones obliging me to put the significance of other’s life into scriptures.

Seven Money Saving Motivation

No one says no to a bulkier bank account, so say a big “hello!” to our list of money saving motivations. In the current economic climate many of us are feeling the pinch, so here are seven handy ways to boost your bank account:

Effect of Growing Population

I'm not an economist, so my knowledge on the effects of high population growth on economic development is solely based from the research I have done, and it clearly oppose the government's stand.

World Peace. Anyone?

Generally war is the result of a national entity wishing to improve the standard of living for its people. A major second cause is when a nation perceives a possible reduction in a current standard of living and fights to protect what it already has.

On My Way Back

They say, the only permanent thing in life is change. I have learned to cope with the changes. I have realize that I have to change in these changing times. But change does not mean that I have to change what I do or drop what I have. Change don't make me give-up my dreams. I just need to change my way. Can I be the best? Can I be a winner?

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Seven Money Saving Motivation


 No one says no to a bulkier bank account, so say a big “hello!” to our list of money saving motivations. In the current economic climate many of us are feeling the pinch, so here are seven handy ways to boost your bank account:


1. Create a spreadsheet
Instead of constantly trying to work things out in your head and making rough estimates on how much money you have left for the month, make things a whole lot easier by creating a spreadsheet.  At first glance, these can seem a little daunting but it’s really easy once you get used to it and there are many free spreadsheet websites online which work out all the sums for you. By having your outgoings on a list in front of you, you can identify what you’re saving on and what you perhaps need to cut back on.  

2. Avoid shopping when you’re feeling emotional... or hungry 
You’re feeling a little down in the dumps but you need a new work shirt... bad idea. Turn around, get back inside the house, lock the doors, and ask someone to hide your keys right now—if you’re feeling emotional there’s a high chance you will end up splurging on stuff you don’t really need to give you a quick happiness boost. After spending five minutes looking for a shirt, you return with a few tins of paint to re-vamp the house, a new wardrobe of clothes, and a mop for the kitchen floor, but the new work shirt is nowhere to be seen.
Whilst these spur-of-the-moment purchases may uplift your mood for an hour or two, the initial high will soon wear off and you’ll be left feeling worse as you realize you’re left with nothing more than a few bargains and an empty bank account. For a thriftier approach to shopping, go when you’re in a pretty good mood and—whatever you do—don’t shop for groceries when you’re hungry.

3.Surround yourself with exciting hobbies and positive people
Rather than spending money on takeaways and meals out to cheer you up after a long hard day, identify other things you like doing that will boost your mood instead of spending money. Arrange some fun things to do with family and friends around your house or take up a new hobby such as gardening or crafts. We often end up spending more when we’re bored, emotional, and/or lonely so plan a film night with your family or buy a few ingredients from the grocery store and try cooking something you’ve never made before.

4. Save little and often
It’s a common mistake to think that you can’t start saving because you don’t have much money, but that’s like saying you won’t go on that one-hour run because you don’t have the whole day off to exercise—it’s counterproductive and unrealistic. Experts advise that the best way to boost your bank balance is by taking the ‘little and often’ approach to saving. Rather than putting a lump sum of your month’s wages into a savings account and leaving very little to live off for the rest of the month, just put a small amount away as often as possible and the money will mount up without you even noticing it. The more you see your bank balance rising, the more you will want to keep adding to it. Go on, try it—it’s addictive.

5. Put some money aside for pleasure
It’s important to treat yourself occasionally to avoid getting frustrated and spending all your savings at once, so make sure you include a little “happy time” money in your budget to treat yourself every now and again. Do you want a new television for the living room? Save up for one. Fancy a small break somewhere nice? Save up for it. Once you’ve saved up for something and reached your target amount, you’ll feel much better than you would if you spent money that you didn’t really have in the first place.

6. Read a finance blog or make your own
Personal finance blogs are becoming an increasingly popular form of inspiration for many people; they can encourage you to save and adopt good financial habits in the process. It’s also really interesting to take a sneaky peak into the lives of other people and see what they enjoy the odd splurge on. If you’re feeling really brave, you could create your own finance blog to share your own tips and advice with others. This will not only help you to network with other people in the same financial mindset as you, but it will encourage you to save more so that you can feel extra proud of yourself when you share how well you’re doing with others.

7. Get support
If you’re really feeling the pinch and you need advice, don’t feel ashamed to seek support from others. You may feel like a little fish in a big pond when it comes to finances, so seek advice from a financial expert who will have a lot of experience dealing with problems like yours. Your financial adviser will come up with a realistic plan to help you sort out any money difficulties.

(Source: Yahoo Finance)

Saturday, July 07, 2012

United Nations' Human Rights Council, Passes Resolution For Human Trafficking Victims




The U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report 2012 tells us that we are making a lot of progress. Twenty-nine countries were upgraded from a lower tier to a higher one, which means that their governments are taking the right steps. This could mean enacting strong laws, stepping up their investigations and prosecutions, or simply laying out a roadmap of steps they will take to respond.
Another good news, is the passage of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council resolution for victims of human trafficking. This HRC resolution is sponsored by the Philippines, with its main partner Germany, led 68 countries on July 5 in successfully pushing for the adoption of the resolution.
 The said resolution encouraged states to recognize trafficked persons as victims with specific protection needs and to ensure the promotion, protection, and fulfillment of their human rights.
From the statement of Ambassador Evan Garcia, Philippine permanent representative to the UN Offices in Geneva, data show that there are at least 2.4 million people who are victims of trafficking at any time. At least 66% of the trafficked victims are women and 16% are girls.
The passage of the resolution is a victory for the estimated 27 million people around the world who are victims of modern slavery, what we sometimes call trafficking in persons. 
As for the Philippines, the US State Department has placed the country under Tier 2 of its 3-tier metric system this year. Tier 2 countries are officially defined as "countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s (Trafficking Victims Protection Act) minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards."

(Photo source: MercoPress)

Friday, July 06, 2012

Its Never Too Late: Sign Up The Petition To Ratify ILO 189

I have blogged about the online petition to end the modern day slavery last June 20, 2012 and I signed the petition too on that day. The said petition was lunch to urge the Philippine Senate to ratify ILO 189 .
This petition is spearheaded by Walk Free, Inc., a not-for-profit campaigning organization. Its goal is to build the global movement of people everywhere, fighting to end modern day slavery.
According to Tim Dixon, a member of Walk Free team, there are now over 40,000 people from 156 countries who have signed the petition calling on the Philippines to protect millions of women from domestic slavery. Walk Free want to reach 50,000 signatures by the time the Senate comes back in session in three weeks.


"More women from the Philippines leave their homes to work as maids and nannies than from any other country in the world. They are the face of domestic work, and sadly the face of domestic slavery. But a win in the Philippines could mean huge change for domestic workers around the world! If the Philippines becomes the second country to ratify the law, under the International Labour Organization’s provisions, it could go into effect globally. The world is watching."

Click HERE to sign-up the petition now and help make a change.


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Thursday, July 05, 2012

DNS Changer Malware: It Pays To Be Safe

Check your computer if you have been infected with DNS changer malware before it's too late. The clean DNS servers, that were setup to replace the malicious server to give enough leeway for users to clean up their infected computer will be turned off on July 9, 2012, and computers still impacted by DNSChanger may lose Internet connectivity at that time.

(Photo courtesy of Infoniac.com)

The DNSChanger is a Trojan virus that belongs to the Zlob family, caused quite a stir in the US last year. But the FBI has taken actions against it and they announced that they’ve found the source of the virus and shut down the operation. Six Estonian nationals have been arrested and charged with running a sophisticated Internet fraud ring that infected millions of computers worldwide with a virus and enabled the thieves to manipulate the multi-billion-dollar Internet advertising industry. Users of infected machines were unaware that their computers had been compromised — or that the malicious software rendered their machines vulnerable to a host of other viruses. 
Domain Name System or DNS is a critical Internet service that converts user-friendly domain names, such as www.fbi.gov, into numerical addresses that allow computers to talk to each other. Without DNS and the DNS servers operated by Internet service providers, computer users would not be able to browse websites or send e-mail.
To check if your computer were infected with this virus, click here.
Be sure to check your computer before they pull the plug of those clean DNS server. You only have 4 more days to go. By taking action today, you can avoid future inconvenience. Even if you know that your computer was not compromised, it pays to be safe. If your computer has been infected, I suggest you get a professional help.

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

A Rhetoric TV Commercial


I'm sure most of my loyal readers are familiar with the TV commercial dub "May Liwanag ang Buhay". While it is true that this company brings light to the home of every Juan ( at least in the NCR), this commercial is a rhetoric.
I am just wondering why Meralco needs to adjust its Maximum Average Price from P1.6012 per kilowatt-hour to P1.6303 when they have just posted a core net income growth of five percent to P3.42 billion in the first quarter. They really targets a core profit of P15 billion for this year – or excluding non-recurring item – up from P14.9 billion last year. [pun intended]


Meralco has 5.07 million connections and 90% is residential customers. If every household consumes an average of 200 kWh a month, based on the P0.0291 per kilowatt-hour increase they can easily get P28.8 million a month or P346.78 million in one year as this Meralco's new MAP will be implemented from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013. Really, this increase in our monthly bills empties our pockets of our hard-earned cash as Meralco's executives enjoys a handsome amount of salary and benefits. Talking about economic inequality eh? 
What I don't understand is why Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved such an increase in the distributor’s rate. Perhaps the Performance-Based Regulation set by the commission itself, allowing utilities to adjust their rates based on spending requirements, service performance, among others,  is to blame?
Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Our government is aiding those in the upper echelon in the society to rob the common Pinoy.


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