Five Cats Blog
~ The life and antics of 5 cats and their human family
TechBot
~ Killer apps, cool widgets, sweet gadgets, hot fixes, must-gets, everything on the web
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007
My Favorite Baby Contest Winner!
Celebrity Baby Scoop has just announced that I'm the winner of the "My Favorite Baby Contest" where readers choose their fave celebrity baby! :D I won a $25 Amazon voucher.
Here's my entry:
"Aside from the fact that she's a very beautiful baby (even more so than the much-touted Shiloh), she's bounced back from being ridiculed and taunted to a lovely elegant baby.
She's compelling to look at, with her unique features and lovely eyes. I can't stop looking at her. I think that makes her stand out as my favourite celebrity baby."
Huge thanks to Meghan and Celebrity Baby Scoop for this honour. :)
Here's a really useful mortgage calculator you should bookmark and refer to when necessary.
If you're wondering what mortgage calculators are, they're used to calculate an estimate of how much you'll need to pay monthly for the cost of a property (or any loan for that matter) with an estimated interest rate over the loan period.
Remember most loans come with a floating or fixed rate for the first few years and after that return to the board rate so when calculating a loan period of let's say 20 years, give an average amount of the first 5 years, assuming you plan to refinance your loan (which is generally a good idea if the economy is down or stable).
This particular loan calculator is especially useful because it allows you to take into account the property tax and PMI as well, which are often overlooked when calculating your budget for the year. Alternatively if you do not wish to use them, you can leave them as 0% and you'll get your monthly outlay for only the mortgage repayment.
Gold is one of the safest investments around. It can withstand share market crashes, war, political strife, and even economic meltdowns. When all paper money is burnt and all electronic money deleted, gold will remain.
If you have a precious few, you can wear them or hide them away in your sock and later give them to your children. If you have a lot of it, thieves can't just cart it away (and neither can you, for that matter).
Of course, with all investments, the same rules apply. Buy low, sell high. Start following the prices to have an idea of when to go in. It is essential to know how the market is doing and how it relates to gold prices. In general, there is a direct relationship between war and gold prices. When there is a war, gold prices rise.
But if you prefer not to expend the time and energy, save your cash and wait for the papers to announce, "gold prices plunge" and then buy.
Calorie restriction without malnutrition is the only peer-reviewed proven method for extending your lifespan. In essence, you consume a diet that maximises the nutrients necessary for a healthy life from a minimal number of calories. Much research is ongoing to find out how it actually works.
I've been practicing calorie restriction for some years now, not as consistently as I would like, but I feel lighter, healthier, and spritelier (if there's actually such a word). Since I got pregnant I have stopped but will continue with it once Jack is weaned.
In a recent study, the researchers found that "to our knowledge for the first time, that in overweight nonobese humans, short-term calorie restriction lowers whole-body energy expenditure (metabolic adaptation), in parallel with an induction in mitochondrial biogenesis . . . and a decrease in DNA damage. We therefore propose that calorie restriction induces biogenesis of "efficient" mitochondria in human skeletal muscle as an adaptive mechanism, which in turn lowers oxidative stress."
Ah this is a brilliant idea. I never know what to do with those cartridges from my laser printer, and I always end up keeping my old cell phones (maybe I might use them again - right). Now there's something useful that can be done with them.
Funding Factory is a great initiative to help schools and non-profit organisations organise recycling programs. You can even earn money from it and use the funds for your group or donate it to a charity. There's excellent support with custom flyers, promotional Microsoft Office templates, posters, and collection boxes for organisers to use.
When Jack is older, I'll certainly run one with him to teach him leadership and the importance of being environmentally conscious. Till then, if you have a group interested in organising a recycling program, stop by FundingFactory.
I'm thrilled that the IT Show will be here this weekend. It's the perfect time to cast my grubby hands on some lovely nice devices.
I try not to go look at hardware I don't need to buy but once I am in research mode, it's no holds barred and I go a little crazy.
The hubby is always amused how I can excited buying a SD card reader but looks annoyed and rather uncomprehending on the necessity of stocking up on Selphy paper and a new Mini-SD card for my phone.
On the quest list are:
* Ultraportable laptop, preferably ASUS or Lenovo (7"-12") * High-speed 2GB SD card for less than $30 * Skype phone (check price) * Black and white laser printer * Selphy paper if less than $30 for 105 pieces * USB hub * DVD-RWs
Things to just check out (and maybe, just maybe buy):
* Latest Canon Selphy printer * Colour laser printer * Extra LAN cables
Mm... I better not bring the hubby along, but will (and have to) bring Jack to show him the wonders and delights of technology. Already his favourite toy is my phone.
Here's one option I hadn't considered until I came across RemotePC. For those who don't know what Remote Access is, it's basically a secure communication method of accessing a computer that is physically not with you at the moment via another computer.
As you all remember from my earlier postings, I've been on a quest to find a laptop to work from virtually anywhere. It needs to be light and small, and under $1600. I saw an ASUS Centrino at Best the other day but they were only selling the display sets. You should never ever buy display sets.
Anyway, with my mobility, secure remote access is a good solution. It's easier than porting files over everyday to work from, or having 2 copies. Currently I save them online but retrieving them is a hassle, as is remembering version numbers. It'll be like working on the one PC, not two.
Now, RemotePC encrypts the communication channel with 128-bit RC4/SSL which is a boon, it doesn't use an applet - very important (Java loves lagging my computer), it offers a seamless visual experience - a nice-to-have, and it has low latency, which is critical (think playing WoW, having a red latency bar of 3s and a minute later when it clears, you're dead).
With a really affordable basic plan of $4.95 a month, it's worth a try. To help me work better, I'll pay for a great user experience.
Strange Machines began in April 2005 as a blog to consolidate all blogs. When I began blogging, I braced several blogging platforms to test them out and ended up having several segmented blogs I got lazy to update.
Strange Machines is a dynamic blog about my life from cat-parent to pregnant to parent, my fascination with science, and my love affair with technology.
Discussed slightly less often but no less important are personal finance and investment issues, and animal welfare and environmental issues.
Focuses you will find earlier in the blog are on science fiction poetry I wrote and published, as well as my adventures in MMORPGS, primarily on Sacred and World of Warcraft.
About Mephala
Mephala is an avatar I use. For those who played Heroes of Might and Magic, you will be familiar with this brunette ranger with dual accuracy modifiers. It is an affliction we gamers suffer, to enjoy too much living in our characters.
I am married to he whom I consider my soulmate and am the mother of six: 5 feline and 1 human. I consider animal companionship as one which is sacred from birth to death, and regard all the 6 small ones as my own children. They are treated no less than each other, although our little human requires more attention.
For the curious, I am a web developer by training and have worked functionally as a usability engineer, content producer, and a copywriter, among other titles that sound different but really doing the same work. Currently, I work on independent projects while caring for my children at home.
Maximising Your User Experience
You will find paragraphs here short and succinct for maximum readability. I have tested the user interface on several resolutions and browsers for the best usability and layout so you should not experience too much eyestrain trying to read this site.
This is, of course, a recent development. If you had been straining your eyes on the old gold on black design, please forgive an old, and very much less user-friendly, preference for the more sinister designs.
Feedback is always welcome on improvements in the design and layout. Please use the contact form on the left sidebar. It is in a box of its own.
Thank you for visiting and I hope you find something worthwhile on this blog to take home with you.
This is a personal blog written and edited by me. It accepts all forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions, or other forms of compensation.
The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics, or posts made in this blog, which may or may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content, but all reviews will receive my unequivocally honest opinion, findings, beliefs, and/or experiences on the said topics, products, and/or services.
I will not knowingly endorse products and services that endorses cruelty to any animal or human, such as fur, shark's fin soup, recreational fishing, fois gras, and bear bile.
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote, or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party in question.
My Grandma (not the one stealing cookies, the other one) has been in a wheelchair for some years now and has relied on others to get her around. As someone who loves and cherishes her freedom, it irks her to depend so much on others.
When she was young she used to travel everywhere alone or with friends. She loved to explore new places and she loved life. I think my mother and I inherited that from her. So to see her so helpless in a wheelchair now is really sad.
With the recent popularity of Medical Scooters, we've considered getting one for her. At least that would mean she can come out shopping with us or take a trip to the park for some fresh air. After 10 years stuck at home or at the hospital, at 95 years old, perhaps now she can finally enjoy some freedom.
This post is kindly sponsored by Dependable Mobility Scooter.
"To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness." -- Bertrand Russell
"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."
-- Thomas Edison (Harper's Magazine, 1890)
A woman's romance with motherhood, green living, finance, and this heady thing called life.
