Toys Are These

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I saw this exodus-like of animals when I entered our room. Lol! "Tay, tan-awa ako mga toys" (Dad, look at my toys), my 2 year old son told me who arranged it with a cousin. Seeing this BB pic, reminds me of the famous Bible story Noah's Ark and made me realize that it's time for me now to start telling it also to my son.

Did you know: that animal figurines are figurines that represent animals, either as toys or collectibles? They are often made of plastic. Historically, animal figurines were made of lead, and were made by several manufacturers, including Britains Limited. Companies that manufacture realistic models include Schleich, Safari Ltd., AAA, Bullyland, Papo, Wild Republic, Science & Nature and Collecta. K. Narayanan is the Limca Book of Records (an Indian record book) holder for the largest collection of miniature animal replicas, numbering 1,773 as of June 12, 2011. Source: wikipedia.org

BlackBerry News: RIM's New CEO

Yahoo's Headline:

RIM and Blackberry on the edge under new CEO

Takeover talk swirled as investors and analysts ponder whether new Chief Executive Thorsten Heins had been appointed to lead a turnaround of the struggling phonemaker.

TORONTO/LONDON (Reuters) - The new leader at Research In Motion on Monday dismissed talk of drastic change at the BlackBerry maker, a declaration seized on by impatient investors who say Thorsten Heins has only 12 to 18 months to turn RIM around.

Takeover talk, swirling around RIM for months, picked up steam as Heins took the helm at a once-dominant smartphone company that now struggles to compete. But RIM's shares tumbled more than 8 percent as investors wondered whether Heins could reverse RIM's decline.

Read Full Article: Yahoo! Finance Canada

Thorsten Heins
CEO, RIM
(yahoo photo)

                                                                                   *****

As a BlackBerry user, my hope is for the best of RIM with its newly appointed CEO. I think now is the  time for RIM/BlackBerry to give more focus on innovation. Make better Playbook tablets and bestest Smart Phones. Lol!

Apple had its peak, now it should be RIM's turn. But first, they have to topple South Korea's Samsung who's currently leading in market sales worldwide.

To Thorstein Heins, make BlackBerry lead the market.

Food: Shawarma To The World

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I took this BB pic in Al Satwa Road, Dubai.. I bought two pieces for me and my wife before heading straight home from work. I just love to eat one, which for me, best eaten while its hot and surely it can satisfy your hunger for just 4 Dirhams. This is good for those who are always on the go.

I have tried shawarma in the Philippines but its not as good as what I have tasted here in Dubai. I have been eating delicious shawarma for almost 5 years now. Lol!

It is usually made of chicken, beef or mutton meat (goat) alternately stacked on a stick, cooked and grilled in a vertical rotating spit like the one above. Mixed with sliced cabbage or lettuce, potato fries and a white sauce, it will be filled into a small round pocket Arabic bread called "pita" "khubz" (read as kubos) and sided with pickled vegetables.

Shawarma is one of the Middle Eastern foods that gained worldwide popularity.

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Did you know: that the Arabic word shawarma comes from the Turkish word çevirme [tʃeviɾˈme] 'turning', and has its origins in Anatolia? And tha it is similar to the dish called döner kebab 'turning kebab' in Turkish, and the Greek gyros 'turned', formerly called ντονέρ /doˈner/? Source: wikipedia.org

Daytona Migi in Dubai

Set Fire to the Rain by Adele is the song I am listening to when I started writing this blog. You might then ask, so what is the relation to Daytona Migi?

Daytona Migi is popular in the United States especially for those who are avid collectors of vintage cars. Daytona Migi is patterned or replicated from the cars made by the British sports car manufacturing MG Car Company between 1920 to 1950s. The former MG Car Company popularized so many versions of sports car models, most of them are midget or migi as adopted in the US.

While staring at this picture that I took one Thursday, January 1, 2012 at 2nd of December Street in Al Satwa Dubai, UAE, it brings myself to imagining driving this car with Adele's song blasting the speakers while roaming around the city. Adele's singing style especially in that song really fits this blog. I'm talking and writing here about vintage car and also listening to this classy or should I say modern classic great song. How awesome you think that is. Lol!

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I was really knocked dead upon seeing this car. Although I noticed that some of the original features are not in place. Like the wheels which are supposed to be spokes, but that's just a minor minus of how good looking this vintage car is.

Here in Dubai, UAE, seldom you can see vintage cars like this one. Locals and affluent expats usually own the latest expensive super cars. Probably the owner of this one is truly an avid fan of vintage midget sports car.

Since MG Car Company operation has long been stopped, cars like this that you will see, are probably replicas which are made to order on the internet.

Did you know: that a vintage car is commonly defined as a car built between the start of 1919 and the end of 1930 known as the "Vintage era"? Source: wikipedia.org

Spiraling Books

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Inside a bookstore in 2nd December Street (formerly Al Diyafah Street) of Al Satwa Dubai is this spiraling booklet painstakingly piled near the entrance. I saw it first from the outside while I was waiting for my wife to arrive from work.

If you notice, there's a note at the top most part of it, written in Arabic, but the shopkeeper said, it simply means "whoever destroys the arrangement must do the same thing again." Whew?! That would be difficult. So I took my BlackBerry, clicked and went out. Lol!

Did you know: that in 2010, Google estimated that since the invention of printing, approximately 130,000,000 unique book titles had been published? Source: wikipedia.org

Google in Protest to SOPA & PIPA

Wikipedia, Boing Boing among others are having their websites blacked for 24 hours as their way of protesting against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) of the US House of Representatives and US Senate. They firmly believe that these bills, though being formulated to curb the piracy problem on the internet, "could fatally damage the free and open internet".

Some sites also are having their header blacked but when I checked google's search page on my BlackBerry, there's nothing much different except with the simple yet direct line. (circled in red, it says, Tell Congress: Please don't censor the web!)

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Wherever this may lead to, my only hope is to continue browsing and surfing the internet freely.

BlackBerry Tips / Shortcuts

Tip # 1:

You may type, "When is the best time to smile?" If you wanna know then do this...

Press "L" then "D" then "space" and "L" then "T" and then the "space" button.

It's fun, try it now. :)

Tip # 2:

This is very useful especially to those who don't memorize or who can't memorize their BB pins. You can type it  in BBM, Email or SMS.

Type "mypin" then space. Walaah! Your pin is there!

Tip # 3:

If you want to know all the important details of your BlackBerry phone, i.e. PIN, IMEI, OS version etc, this fast and easy way will help you.

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On your BlackBerry keyboard, press the left shift key (the one in blue circle), the alt key (the one in red circle) and letter h altogether. Fast, right? :)

It's a Jeep Thing

Al Futtaim Motors are showcasing their different car models in the newly opened Festival Walk at Dubai Festival City, in line with the annual Dubai Shopping Festival.

Toyota, Dodge, Chrysler, Honda makes were on display. And there's another one, Jeep. It was displayed  on top of a concrete creek wall or something, with high beamed spotlight on it. See the pic and click for a better view. Pic was taken again with BlackBerry Bold 9780.

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I and my wife were like, what the *&^, what have they done with that precious Jeep. Back at home, while browsing my pix, I found something that made me understand. "It's a Jeep thing..."

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This one was taken in a parking area in Jumeirah Beach Residence Walk, Dubai Marina, 'twas Thursday.
So if you'll see something unusual about a Jeep, just don't bother, it's a Jeep thing.... :)

Did you know: that many, including Ermey, suggest that soldiers at the time were so impressed with the new vehicles that they informally named it after Eugene the Jeep, a character in the Popeye cartoons created by E. C. Segar? Source: wikipedia.org

See related stories: Toyota Miniature Jeep

Bench for Him and Her

Bench for him and her. Lol! Nope, I was just playing with the famous tag line of a leading Filipino clothing company called Bench/.

This was taken by my wife one fine morning while waiting for the bus to work at the 2nd of December Street (formerly Al Diyafah Street, in Al Satwa Dubai). Using her BlackBerry Bold 9700, she was able to find a good angle in capturing this supposedly boring subject. :) Nice click langga.

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Did you know: that recreational sitting, as reflected by television/screen viewing time, is related to raised mortality and CVD risk regardless of physical activity participation? And that in public areas, benches are often donated by persons or associations, which may then be indicated on it, e.g. by a plaque like the below pic? Source: wikipedia.org

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Dubai Festival City's Newly Opened Walk - Visited

I read in the newspaper that an extension walk and promenade was being added in Dubai Festival City's complex. It was situated along the Dubai Creek.

By the way, Dubai Festival City or DFC is a big complex constructed by Al Futtaim Carillion, a big Dubai Co., in an area near to Dubai International Airport. It has big shopping mall, commercial buildings, hotels, residential area, school, golf course, marina and other recreational facilities.

Yesterday, Friday the 13th January 2012, me and my wife visited the place. It was a long stretch walk with not much establishments yet, but it's a nice place to really unwind especially during this cold season. Very ideal for families. Very refreshing if I will compare it to the overcrowded Jumeirah Beach Residences Walk in Dubai Marina.

Using my BlackBerry Bold 9780 I've made this clip with videos and images. And eeiy, were so fortunate also that evening because we've met some big stars. :) Check the video.

Toyota iQ in Dubai

I am in the process of acquiring a driver's license here in Dubai. Though I have been driving already back in my home country, The Philippines. After landing and securing a job, having a D/L is such an ideal thing to achieve for an expat. You know why? 

When I came here back in 2007, the price of petrol is way way low since oil is abundant here in the Middle East. To give you an idea, like for 50 Dirhams that is equivalent to 13.6 US dollars in today's conversion; you can have an almost full tank of your vehicle. And aside from that, you can loan a car in a very easy way and again, cheap because there's no tax in here.

Today, after the economic turmoil, little changes surfaced. You could still see that drive among expats of having a car etcetera etcetera but more in a practical way now. Same goes to the locals here.

Locals are known of owning expensive, big and muscled cars, but Saturday morning on the 24th of December 2011, I saw this small white car parked near to our apartment building. It made me stop and stare, because it was my first time seeing a small car like this from this famous Asian brand Toyota, in Dubai. So I grabbed my ever dependable BlackBerry Bold and click. Then came the local owner, so I asked: can I take a photo boss, he said, "no problem baba". (Baba means mister in Arabic). So I took another one.

I know Toyota iQ is not really that cheap on its level but obviously a way way cheaper than a Nissan Patrol Super Safari or a Toyota Sequoia. The big PLUS also is, the mobility, easy to maneuver and especially the parking part. You can just easily squeeze in to any vacant parking areas. Very ideal if you're staying somewhere where parking is a problem. Downside of course, if you have your family here, but that's another story. :)

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Did you know: that the i stands for "individuality" "innovation" and "intelligence", while the Q stands for "quality" and points to the iQ's "cubic" shape? That it was Japanese Car of the Year for 2008? The iQ was designed at the Toyota European Design and Development (Toyota ED²) studio in Nice, France. Source: wikipedia.org

Burj Khalifa - A Quick Video Tour

I always see The World's Tallest Tower Burj Khalifa in my everyday commute to & from work. My BlackBerry Bold has been with me for quite sometime already but only now I find the time using it and capturing this megastructure.
My personal assessment, quality wise, BlackBerry video is okay. From now on, BlackBerry videos and images will flood bbplusses.blogspot.com.

This is just to give you an idea, especially if you haven't gone to Dubai yet and is planning to come here, this tower can be seen from almost everywhere in the emirate. That's how long Khalifa really is.

Me, my wife and a friend spent the whole Thursday night until Friday dawn just to watch the opening of MI4 movie of Tom Cruise because of this beautiful architecture. The action scene in the movie in Khalifa was superb, full with thrill and excitement.

Enjoy this humble video clip!

BlackBerry Photography: Symmetry

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Every time my wife and I visit the Dubai Mall, it is always like our first time, because we always see new things anywhere, like this hanging decor at the Bloomingdale's side. I intentionally took this bb pic with this angle and seems great to me. A symmetry.


Did you know: that there are two primary meanings of symmetry? The first is imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection. The second meaning is a precise and well-defined concept of balance or "patterned self-similarity" that can be demonstrated or proved according to the rules of a formal system. Source: wikipedia.org

Next to buy: Playbook

Been looking for a good review on BlackBerry Playbook and this one is just perfect. Right mate? Hopefully if my pocket will be filled with dirhams, I would buy one. Though admittedly it is far from apple's ipad  in terms of specs and so on, but I still love BlackBerry. I also like how perfectly sized playbook is aside from the good features that this youtubber is going to tell you. Thanks to MrThaibox123 for the review.

The BlackBerry Flashy Flash

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This bb pic was taken at 7:54 pm last December 19, 2011 on our way to Dubai Mall. I wanted to have a candid shot of my wife but I didn't know that she was also pointing her bb to me when we simultaneously clicked the button and then KABOOM! It resulted to this unusual capturing of flash, literally. It was like, she's releasing her ala "Ironman" power here. Lol!

Did you know: that the earliest flashes had of a quantity of flash powder consisting of a mechanical mixture of magnesium powder and potassium chlorate that was ignited by hand? And that later, the electric flash-lamp used an electrical circuit to trigger a fuse to ignite explosive powder (e.g., magnesium) which was invented by Joshua Cohen (a.k.a. Joshua Lionel Cowen of the Lionel toy train fame) in 1899? Source: wikipedia.org

Destination: Jumeirah Beach

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This bb pic was taken a day after my 31st Birthday and our 3rd Wedding Anniversary with my wife, that was Friday, December 9, 2011. I was doing some grill at the same time playing with my bb's cam and never thought that I have snapped this photo of Jumeirah Beach Park in Dubai beautifully.

Did you know: that Jumeirah Beach is a stretch of beach ten miles south of Dubai where developers are creating large hotel resorts, luxury housing along with the famous Burj Al Arab (Arab Tower) hotel? Source: wikipedia.org

Feel Good Tip Indeed

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I was having tea during our morning break at 10:29 last November 1, 2011 in our office canteen when I have got to read this simple yet compelling "feel good tip" by Lipton Co. I smiled and in my mind I said, hell yeah, you're right. Perhaps lipton knows how fat I have become. Lol! It's nice to have blackberry, you can just click whenever you want like this one. Something to read again and be inspired again to do some short running. :)

Did you know: that in Britain, though this idea is primarily focused on England, tea is known as a sort of 'National Drink'? That it is consumed frequently across the country and is perceived as one of Britain's cultural beverages? Source: wikipedia.org

Never Learned

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I was on a bus heading home from work when I happened to see this irresponsible driver if I may say so. This was taken with my bb at 2:00 pm last October 27, 2011 near the Trade Centre Roundabout in Dubai UAE. If you look at the picture closely, the driver's right hand is on the phone, which is illegal and obviously dangerous while driving. And worse, look at the front of the car, seems like he just got an accident and there he goes again, multi-tasking, without minding his lady passenger.

Did you know: that a 1985 study by K. Rumar, using British and American crash reports as data, found that 57% of crashes were due solely to driver factors, 27% to combined roadway and driver factors, 6% to combined vehicle and driver factors, 3% solely to roadway factors, 3% to combined roadway, driver, and vehicle factors, 2% solely to vehicle factors and 1% to combined roadway and vehicle factors? Source: wikipedia.org

A Gigantic Merger If It Happens

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The rhyme combinations of these big and popular internet companies seems would turn out to be a big rhyme also if ever they'll join forces. But for now, I think it would be better if they'll be like on a shirt print only. :) Took this bb pic at 7:15 pm last October 22, 2011 in one of the stores in Al Satwa, Dubai, UAE.

Did you know: that Overall Internet usage has seen tremendous growth? From 2000 to 2009, the number of Internet users globally rose from 394 million to 1.858 billion? That by 2010, 22 percent of the world's population had access to computers with 1 billion Google searches every day, 300 million Internet users reading blogs, and 2 billion videos viewed daily on YouTube? Source: wikipedia.org

Dubai Cola

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I took this pic last October 22, 2011 on a canteen of a driving centre in Dry Docks, Dubai UAE. I wanted just to have a bottled water when I saw this cola drink inside the refrigerator. I was like, really, Dubai Cola? So I grabbed one and click first before opening it. Ahhhh, twas great, the fact the its main ingredient is from dates. You could really taste the true flavor of dates with a mix of sparkling soda effect inside your thirsty mouth. The new Dubai Cola, grab one one now!

Did you know: that dates provide a wide range of essential nutrients, and are a very good source of dietary potassium; the sugar content of ripe dates is about 80%; the remainder consists of protein, fiber, and trace elements including boron, cobalt, copper, fluorine, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc; and Muslims break fast in the evening meal of Ramadan, it is traditional to eat a date first? Source: wikipedia.org

Foggy Fog Fog Road

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One foggy morning all over in Dubai UAE. This one was in Sheikh Zayed Road taken with my bb mobiling on my way to work. There are times that roads are covered with thick fogs  which causes pile up.

Did you know: that fog forms when the difference between temperature and dew point is generally less than 2.5 °C or 4 °F? And that begins to form when water vapor condenses into tiny liquid water droplets in the air? Source: wikipedia.org

Sneakers For Me and My Little Man

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Pic was taken last October 12, 2011, before these little sneakers were brought home by a friend and handed to my Little Man who is still in the Philippines while this blog is posted.

Did you know: that sneaker collectors, are called "Sneakerheads", use sneakers as fashionable items and artistically-modified sneakers can sell for upwards of $500? Source: wikipedia.org

The Place for Worship

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This is the Al Ghurair Mosque, taken from a window of our former place in Al Satwa, Dubai UAE at 5:45 pm 2nd of September 2011. Almost every prayer time, this mosque is filled with Muslim devotees.

I am always fascinated with architecture, and in this one, I love to see how evenly designed those domes are and how visible the minaret is.

Did you know: that the earliest mosques were built without minarets, the call to prayer was performed elsewhere; hadiths relay that the Muslim community of Madina gave the call to prayer from the roof of the house of Muhammad, which doubled as a place for prayer? Source: wikipedia.org

Falling With My Chuck On

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Ahhhhh!!!! Catch me I'm falling... Lol... Can you figure this pic out? Anyway, I was sitting inside a bus stop shade after work, with my legs raised, touched the glass wall in front and took this bb pic. After uploading here, did some turns, and that's it, looks like I'm falling.

Did you know: that Chuck Taylor was an American basketball player and shoe salesman/evangelist. He is best known for his association with the Chuck Taylor All-Stars sneaker, the most successful selling basketball shoe in history? Source: wikipedia.org

Drunk Big Brown Bear in Al Satwa, Dubai

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I was walking heading home one night when I saw this drunk big brown bear. Lol! I never wasted time and aime my bb to brownie bear! Click, click! This was somewhere in Al Satwa, Dubai, UAE.

Did you know: that real brown bear can weigh from 300 to 780 kilograms (660 to 1,700 lb) and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator which can be found across much of northern Eurasia and North America? Source: wikipedia.org

My Absolut Sheikh Zayed Road

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First Pic (Absolut): Don't know what made me took a BB pic of these three vodka bottles. One thing sure was, we had fun the night after this was taken.

Did you know: that Absolut Vodka was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden? And Since July 2008 the company has been owned by the South African entrepreneur and multi billionaire business man Sir David Jones after he bought out the company from the Swedish crown? Source: wikipedia.org

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Second Pic: Taken on a one fine morning at Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE, heading to my workplace.

Did you know: that Sheikh Zayed Road is the longest road in the UAE, E 11 streches from Al Silah in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and ends in Ras Al Khaimah emirate at the Oman border, running roughly parallel to UAE's coastline along the Persian Gulf? Source: wikipedia.org

Miniature Jeep / Willys

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I took this pic using my beloved BB in one of Deira City Centre's stores in Dubai, UAE one day. It was a finely crafted miniature of Jeep, I should say. If you could look at the lego cubes underneath, you could tell how small this Jeep is. :)

Did you know: that this small four-wheel drive utility vehicle is considered the iconic World War II Jeep, and inspired many similar light utility vehicles? And were manufactured  from 1941 to 1945? Source: wikipedia.org

My Blackie BB

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This is just one my favorite gadgets so far in my 31 years of existence in this world. With this, I'm going to fill this blogsite of mine all about blackberry. Literally, hypothetically, basically, actually or any "ally" you could imagine. Everything that has to do with blackberry.

Did you know: that BlackBerry is widely referred to as "CrackBerry" in Canada and the United States, which alludes to its excessive use by its owners and is a reference to the addictiveness of crack cocaine. Use of the term CrackBerry became so widespread that in November 2006 Webster's New World College Dictionary named "crackberry" the "New Word of the Year?" Source: wikipedia.org