TECHNOLOGY and Global News » everything under the sun

Teens and Sports

geek mom — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:57:14 +0000

Sports activities provide leisure opportunities for young people that helps them not just to develop physically but also emotionally, mentally and socially. Sports help teens grow their confidence and reduce their feeling of alienation and loneliness. During my younger days as a teenager, the popular sports activities were ball games–basketball, swimming, volleyball, tennis, badminton, tennis, etc. I used to play volleyball and badminton myself. Not today, there are so many options already for young people who wanted to engage in sports.

One of these sports teens seem to love these days is skateboarding, an action sport involving riding and performing tricks using a “skateboard.” Millions are into skateboarding all over the world and although adults and females also skateboard, the game’s populace is dominated by teens and males.

Among these enthusiasts are my nephews who devote majority of their waking hours skateboarding on the streets. As they put it, “they live and breathe skateboarding” and dress accordingly too. Their favorite hairstyles include the punk look, tousled, messy, mohawk, and pony-tailed. Their favorite clothing brand is diamond supply by skateboarder and designer Nick Diamond. Their playground is either the street or the sidewalk.

I still wince whenever I look at these kids jumping and doing tricks with their skateboards. I thought it’s a dangerous sports but I know there are far more dangerous games and today’s teen love the excitement and risk that come with playing their boards. Maybe I’m not yet too old to try it one day.

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Adventure Sports and Hobbies

A Bride Assistant’s Well-Wishes

geek mom — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:45:14 +0000

One of my good friends is getting married this June, another beautiful June bride.

Although we have met just a few months earlier, our friendship blossomed instantly. Our common ground is education — being both passionate teachers and learners. At the same time, we both have a sense of humor, like cracking jokes and love laughing. I was not surprised when she asked me to be part of her wedding as among the major sponsors. I was actually very pleased and delighted, touched by her gesture and sincerity for treating me as among her lifelong friends already despite the young age of our closeness.

The idea excited me to the extent that I immediately googled bridesmaid dresses I would wanted to wear on her wedding. There’s just one hitch — the wedding will be held in her hometown in Bacolod, miles away from where I live in Manila. This sadden me because I cannot go for reasons I explained to her and made her understand. This disappointed her but being a real friend, she understood.

Despite my inability to attend her wedding, I would like to express through this post, my sincere wish of a wonderful and memorable wedding for her and her husband-to-be, and after that day, a love overflowing and forever. A real happy ending.

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Malware Attack by Riotorio.com

geek mom — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:22:23 +0000

My other blog marikenya.com was recently victimized by a malware attack from the people behind Riotorio.com. I’ve learned too that last week, many bloggers suffered the same fate as mine. Our blogs were flagged unsafe for viewing by Google and as expected, our site views and hits decreased by more than 90 percent.

The attack began when I received in my email an advertising proposal from a poser with the following message:

Hi,

We are looking for new advertisement platforms and we are interested in your site _____.
Is it possible to place banner on your site on a fee basis?

Best regards,
Lilian Marchand

Since I am open to advertisement opportunities for my site, I have replied to the poser about my interest which I received an immdiate response:

Hello. Thanks for reply to our proposal!

I represent Lemma Agency. At the moment we are preparing an advertising campaign for Lacoste Company (it is a French company producing clothes, footwear, perfumery etc.) We already have designed banners for the campaign, they are the following sizes: 160×600, 240×400, 300×250, 336×280, 468×60, 728×90.

What can be your price for one banner (banner should appear at ALL pages of your site) of abovementioned sizes (please specify the place for the banner – top, bottom, left, right)? Please mention a normal link for banner, without javascript code and set prices in US dollars per month.Best regards,
Lilian Marchand.
site: www.lemmaagency.com
e-mail: lmarchand@lemmaagency.com
phone: + (0)9 78 62 24 83

The poser sent me a plugin which I should install in my blog for the advertising partnership to ensue. I did so innocently but after a few hours, the poser replied to me telling me that the advertising opp for my site was cancelled. A few months after, the malware my site was broadcasting through the plugin was detected by Google and it issued the malware warning for my site’s visitors. The plugin was titled “ADV.”

I am writing about this to warn bloggers about this scam or modus. Do not fall for this as I did.

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Musicians and Music Videos

geek mom — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:59:24 +0000

While I do not have a great singing voice, I love music and musicians. My taste in music varies every now and then and I would like to believe, I am quite adaptable in terms of liking any kind of music — modern, classic, rock, pop — just about anything. That goes in liking musicians too where I adore legends like the Beatles and Manilow to modern-day artists like Adam Levine and Adelle.

In fact, I see as the most important value of video sharing sites is the availability for free viewing of music videos. Recently, I have developed fixation over Levine of Maroon 5 and thanks to YouTube, I can watch his concerts, music videos and other performances caught on cam. Levine and his band members are amazing artists and when the ButtKicker Drums are bang, I can feel my excitement building up and without thinking, I sway and dance with the beat.

Undoubtedly, I am a Levine fan and I hope I “move like a jagger” so I can catch his attention when he comes to the Philippines for a concert. That would be the day!

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A Mother’s Love

geek mom — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 01:38:55 +0000

In a couple of months, the greatest and most important woman in my life is going to celebrate her birthday. She is my mother, the person who painstakingly reared and unconditionally love me. The only person in the world who would never judge me and would not leave me no matter what. The woman who knows and can model perfectly how a mother loves her child or children.

This quote by Robert Brault put aptly what I meant by the kind of mother I have:

“If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.”

Indeed, I treat my mother as among the miracles God blessed me with. For her birthday, I want nothing but the best for her. A gift that would symbolize the devotion and quality of motherhood that my mother displayed and continuously displaying. A gift like a set of jewelry made of Mother of Pearl Beads.

Why this? Mother of Pearl beads are made of a material that is considered among of the toughest and most beautiful natural materials available in this world. This description is truly my Mom — strong and sublime just like the mother of pearl. A woman who will never worn out and will always fight life back for her children.

I truly love my mother and along with this gift is my prayer to God to always bless her and allow us to live more years of our lives with her.

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Facebook Buys Instagram

geek mom — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:03:21 +0000

Although most popular social sites have their own photo uploading features, many internet users still use a photo-sharing application. One of the most popular app, which was initially available only for iPhones, is Instagram from instagr.am site.

Instagram became so popular that Twitter actually tried to buy it but Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg made an offer that Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom was not able to refuse. The deal was worth 1 billion US dollars.

Why the price? In the app site, Instagram was described with these words:

It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your photos with friends and family.

Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too – it’s as easy as pie. It’s photo sharing, reinvented.

Oh yeah, did we mention it’s free?

The Instagram deal is so far the largest financial acquisition by Facebook and was made in cash to be completed in June. (Source: AP, news.yahoo.com)

The free app has been recently made available for Android users through Google Play (previously known as the Android’s Market).

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Catching Perfect Moments Through Photography

geek mom — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:57:49 +0000

June is fast approaching, and so are weddings. June remains to be the most popular wedding month and many aspiring brides still like the thought of becoming a “June Bride” and hoping for the perfect wedding.

To catch the perfect moments for the bride and groom, before, during, and after their wedding, the wedding photography coverage plays a critical role. The couple must be selective in hiring a good photographer for the prenup or prenuptial, the actual wedding ceremony and the wedding reception program. Before contracting a particular photographer or a photo studio, see the photographer’s portfolio first and review the photo shots. Every photographer has his/her own style in taking photos and by looking his/her work, you can decide as a couple whether that photographer’s style is the one you would want for your wedding coverage.

For reference, you may want to see the work of this raleigh wedding photographer of Azul photography. I absolutely love the prenup concept (particularly the ones taken in the library and on top of a tree trunk) in their site and the shots were simply amazing. The attitude of the photographer during photo shoots is important too as it will affect the mood of the photo subjects which should be celebratory and absolutely romantic.

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Graduation Gift Suggestions

geek mom — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:25:13 +0000

Families always look at a graduation as a special occasion and therefore, a cause for celebration. Why not? Families are proud to have a member finishing another level of education. It’s also a symbol of progression of that family member from childhood or teenhood to a more mature being. It’s also a source of hope (or renewed hope) for the graduate to aspire a better future or dream a better dream for himself/herself.

Oftentimes also, graduations are life-changing. A symbol of both ending and beginning. And as a token of appreciation, family members and close friends usually give gifts to the graduate. Since we wanted the gifts to matter, we would want to give gifts for boys and girls that are special and would be truly appreciated.

The trend now is giving gifts that are “personalized” or with personal touch by the giver. This is so because the recipient of the gift feels more special when he/she knows that the giver exerted effort in giving the gift more than just buying it.

Another trend is giving gifts that are popularly sought by young people (and even adults) today such as electronic gadgets and toys. This include music players, game consoles and players, portable cameras and videocameras, netbooks and tablets, and of course, the most popular, mobile phones. These gifts are indeed pricey but will surely be appreciated and liked by the graduate.

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Bible Apps for android

geek mom — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 23:36:56 +0000

To reflect on this holy week, the bible is our greatest tool. Another reason why technology is very handy — as long as you have a mobile phone or a tablet powered by Android OS, you can bring a bible absolutely anywhere in the world. Just download bible application for Android and you have the words of God anywhere, anytime.

Here are wonderful suggestions on what bible apps for Android are good to download, courtesy of bibleandtech.blogspot.com:

Cadre Bible (free app)
YouVersion Bible (not free)
And-Bible (free)
MySword (free)
OliveTree (free)

Have a blessed Good Friday everyone!

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Maintaining a Healthy Credit

geek mom — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:12:16 +0000

In the United States, a healthy credit score is one’s key to obtaining bank loans and mortgage approval. It is imperative that one maintains good financial standing.

There are many ways people are lured into destroying or staining their credit health. One is spontaneous and unplanned use of credit facilities such as credit card services and loan services. Before you know it, you’re drowning deep in debts and financial nightmares. As the second richest man in the world, Warren Buffet, advices young people: “do not get a credit card.”

More and more people are turning to debt advice service to help them in managing their personal expenses wisely. Financial literacy is important to lead a healthy financial life which can be achieved through many ways. One is by attending seminars on financial management, another is by reading published books and articles online, and lastly, by hiring a financial service consultant or the like.

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