Smart pot!

I love plants and planting, even the mud and the care you have to give them each day. I can't explain it but somehow a bit of gardening/planting somehow comforts me. I feel a sense of happiness whenever I see a bud turn into a nice plant and flowers spring forth them more so when they bear fruits or when they're ready for picking and cooking...

So I was quite curious about this post and I know you plant lovers will too!

Junyi Heo's Pet Plant

Growing plants would be a lot easier if plants could express what it is they need from you. Fret not because that’s what the Pet Plant by Junyi Heo does. The very sleek looking pot measures soil conditions, temperature, humidity, and water - calculates those variables based on the need of said plant, and expresses its condition via a series of pictograms on an LCD display.

the Pet Plant is connected to computers through its USB port

It’s also smart enough to know if you’ve over watered and will systematically drain itself into a water vessel. All this high tech goodness does mean it needs power but a simple USB interface does double duty by charging and transmitting pertinent information to and from computer software.

icons that show your plant's needs

By the way, the pot's designer is Junyi Heo.

Realize by Colbie Caillat

Colbie Caillat Lyrics Realize [LyricsYouLove]

here's one of my faves of the moment... Realize by Colbie Caillat...

Bubbly....Colbie

Here's a song I would like to share with you. I like this song, this song is looped in my player, hehee!

Bubbly

-by

Colbie Caillat

I’ve been awake for a while now

you’ve got me feelin like a child now

cause every time i see your bubbly face

i get the tinglies in a silly place

It starts in my toes

and I crinkle my nose

where ever it goes i always know

that you make me smile

please stay for a while now

just take your time

where ever you go
The rain is fallin on my window pane

but we are hidin in a safer place

under covers stayin safe and warm

you give me feelins that i adore
They starts in my toesmake me crinkle my nose

where ever it goes i always knowt

hat you make me smile

please stay for a while now

just take your time

where ever you go

What am i gonna say

when you make me feel this way

I just……..mmmmmmmmmmm

It’ll start in my toes

makes me crinkle my nose

where ever it goes i always know

that you make me smile

please stay for a while now

just take your time

where ever you go

I’ve been asleep for a while now

You tucked me in just like a child now

Cause every time you hold me in your arms

Im comfortable enough to feel your warmth

It starts in my soul

And I lose all control

When you kiss my nose

The feelin shows

Cause you make me smile

Baby just take your time now

Holdin me tight

Where ever, where ever, where ever you go

Where ever, where ever, where ever you go...

I'll post the song itself later...

VERY SLIM PORTABLE PRINTER

I saw this post on techfresh and I am smitten! Hello, hubby! Buy me this!
Ooops I guess my birthday is still a couple of months away though...
Maybe you're interested too, check this out... :)!

At just 1″x 10.75″x 1.9″, the Printsilk Portable Printer from Planon is small enough to be stored in the bottom of your laptop bag for when those random ‘print emergencies’ come up while on the road. The printer features a USB port for connecting to a laptop as well as Bluetooth for printing documents directly off of a smartphone or PDA. Available now for

a mom's prerogative

Maybe the current state of our society made me think and ask silently in prayer for another son while I was infanticipating. May the Lord forgive me for entertaining such thoughts before. I so love my daughter. We all love her.

with the Hetty mascot at Jollibee (in her new look)

It’s just that cruelty and mindlessness are almost everywhere and I only feel really secure when me and my husband are looking after our kids.

at the mall while looking for new (school) shoes, while the store is holding a sale (heheee)

I can’t explain it, but my husband and of course mothers can relate when I say I love my daughter so much, that I can say she’s my fear factor. I love my son the same as my daughter. But I believe that my daughter needs my attention more. Are you one with me on that?

again, at the mall

I always tell our kasama sa bahay to always keep her eye on my daughter. Not to let her get out alone. I don’t mind if the place is dusty and she can’t finish her chores as long as she takes good care of my kids especially my daughter. Yeah, I don’t feel that she is safe whenever we are not around. Call me crazy, but I am her mother…

with ate Mirriam at Jollibee

Overprotective? I don’t think so, the daily newspapers can tell you that.

Last Mother’s Day, my husband made me feel special but I appreciated his being a good father and protector of our kids more than his very nice treatment of me on that day. Our kids look up to him, they always tag along with him whenever possible. He may be strict sometimes but he can’t be more strict to our daughter, he is a jell-o when it comes to our daughter. (And now that I remember, maybe the kids and I will think of something for him on Father’s Day. :-) hmmm...)

OLED passport!

A cousin asked me last week to call the US embassy regarding the policy on the new machine readable passports. I was a bit lost about it 'coz it was the first time somebody told me to ask about it and its vital rule in visa applications whatsoever. Besides I don't know where on the embassy's website should i check about the policy.

Well i got cross-eyed with the task anyway...hehee! And just now i saw this post on Gizmodo about OLED passports. I find this very convenient indeed! No more needless questions and shorter lines at airport counters! less frazzles! OLED and Gizmodo posted the following about the passport

"Samsung SDI and German security printer Bundesdruckerei have demonstrated a passport that features a slim and bendable OLED colour display within a polycarbonate data page. The display can be used to provide a raft of information including a video of the document holder.

According to the suppliers, tommorow’s ID documents will work without contact and without internal batteries. The integration of a display makes electronic ID documents even more difficult to forge and opens up the way for new security applications, they claim.

Samsung SDI developed the display to be just 300µm thick. However, even with the integrated colour display, the data page of the ePassport is still only 700µm thick, the companies claim.

The display comprises an active matrix display with organic light emitting diodes (AMOLED). This means that located behind every pixel of the display is an active electronic circuit with low power consumption. AMOLED displays are said to provide excellent colour images and can be produced in much thinner formats that conventional LCDs.

The materials used for the display are heat-resistant, so that the passport card can be laminated and hence protected against manipulation.

The display is activated via the power provided by a contactless reader, so that the document itself does not require any batteries. The suppliers say that it will be possible to retrieve all kinds of information via the display, for instance, a moving passport image of the document holder, as well as text-based information, such as the passport holder’s address."

kiddie weekend

On weekends it is our practice to at least visit the church, hear a bit of the mass, and mumble some prayer. Even before we can enter the church they start asking and being soo kulit as to where we will go next after mass! Hay naku!

The kids never fail to ask for some kiddie entertainment and some kiddie meal (fastfood!). Jollibee tops the list. I don’t know why but they always ask for Jollibee. And it seems that Filipino kids have the same thing in mind when it comes to eating out –– Jollibee! No need to say that there’s no empty table nor chair in any Jollibee outlet during weekends. It’s good my eldest loves Greenwich’ pizzas, so we ate at Greenwich.

mom and grouchy tabachinchin

It seems that Greenwich has stopped serving solo pizzas. I would have ordered 2 different solo pizzas for the kids but I was told that they don’t have solos anymore. I had to order 2 pizza bars, the kids can't consume much when there's chicken on the table. Don't know why but they LIKE chicken so much, I sometimes say they might grow feathers someday (hope not! que horror!).

bunso and Papa

And as usual bunso asked for "jump jump" (her term for the inflated rubber playplace inside the biggest mall in Dasmariñas, Cavite. They stayed there for an hour, jumping, and horsying around the place until their throats got parched. They got so thirsty they were able to finish more than 3 large cups of juice!

bunso (blurry in pink) jumping at "jump jump" hehee...

jaded!

I like wearing jade rings. Those semi-precious stones somehow gives me a warm feeling.

Do you know that jade rings are cool even when worn in summer? It may be sweltering hot outside but my jade rings still feel cool on my finger! Yep! I was a bit amused when I first realized it. ‘Coz constant use of my wedding ring (and other rings) leaves a mark on my finger, but the jade rings never did. I don’t know how and why.

one of my jade rings, it may not be priceless but i love it nonetheless

I heard (and read) that fine jade can buy you a whole nation (in ancient China). Some even fought with their lives for the possession of jades with superb quality.

I may not be able to describe fine jade or a bit of its history here but I would like to share some tips on how to take good care of your jade jewelries. Here are some tips:

1) Jade is delicate so as much as possible avoid bumping on hard surfaces. A crack may not be seen by the naked eye, but the interior structure may have been damaged. The tiniest crack will gradually appear and reduce the value of your jade accesory.

2) Keep your jade from dust or greasy dirt. Scrub each with a soft brush and mild soap (liquid is better) and wash with clean water.

3) Store the jade in a case or box to protect it from getting scratched or from cracks when bumped.

4) Keep your jade away from perfume, perspiration or chemicals. Jade corrodes easily when exposed to , especially emerald and other high quality jade, so it is better to clean it with a soft cloth after wearing it.

5) Take care not to wear or expose your jade to sunlight (ooops! heheee...) for long periods. It may expand and the quality will change slightly.

6) Jade has certain water content so keep it in an area of humidity to protect it from over-drying

Prayer

I found this very comforting blog today while surfing on things about my hometown. I am sharing it with you so you too will remember what to do when you need Him most...

"Prayer is the door to those great graces which our Lord bestowed upon me.

"If this door be shut, I do not see how He can bestow them; for even if He entered into a soul to take His delight therein, and to make that soul also delight in Him, there is no way by which He can do so; for His will is, that such a soul should be lonely and pure, with a great desire to receive His graces.

"If we put many hindrances in the way, and take no pains whatever to remove them, how can He come to us, and how can we have any desire that He should show us His great mercies?

"Above all I implore all for the love of our Lord, and for the great love with which He goeth about seeking our conversion to Himself, to beware of the occasions of sin: for once placed therein, we have no ground to rest on."

- St. Teresa of Avila, Life, 8:13, 14

sensibilities

i often wonder why do some people stay on the streets? why can't they clean themselves? why can't they get a job, so they don't have to beg or ask for alms? how do these people feel? where do they sleep? what do they eat? do they get sick? if something happens to them, what do they do? where do they go?
i feel so sad whenever i see them. 'coz i can't do more. more than giving some coins or small bills and sometimes food.
i know it's crazy, but i'm a dreamer. and one of my dreams is of me helping those people get some work, take a bath, wear clean clothes, get a permanent shelter, go to school, eat newly cooked meals, live on their own...
i sometimes see pregnant women, kids cuddling babies, disabled or people with deformities asking or begging on the streets. when the traffic lights stop vehicles, they go from one jeepney to a car to a truck begging, asking.
how can they survive?
to land a decent job in the city, you have to secure your birth certificate (sometimes an NSO certified birth certificate is required) clearances from the barangay, police, NBI, numbers from SSS, and your high school diploma or your transcript of records. you can avail of these things easily if you can validate your existence (birth certificate, clearances...). not to mention that college graduates diminish your hopes of landing a job even for customer service related jobs such as sales clerks, cashiers, even for security personnel positions.
no wonder crime statistics fluctuate more often than your electric bills...
i heard that some of them like the Badjao's (yes, the sea faring people) do beg because of necessity. but some does because they are forced to do so.
and yet here's the real ISSUE of all! -- the DSWD project of giving up to Php 1, 500.00 monthly stipend (thru the beneficiaries' Landbank atm cards) to "poor" families.
i have very strong emotions against that DSWD project!
it's not that i don't want these people to receive help, but my socks! the DSWD is encouraging those people to get lazy...to just wait until the next stipend can be withdrawn thru their atm cards!