Geek in Heels - Page 80

Aug 17, 2011 • In Art/Design, Entertainment, Geek, Information, NYC, Personal, Photography, Pregnancy

Three Links

My mother came over today so that I can get some rest (but we all know the real reason she comes over is to see her precious granddaughter), but instead of doing what I was supposed to do — take a nap to relieve my body of the insomnia it has been suffering — I ended up being on my feet the entire day cooking, cleaning, and taking a trip to the Korean grocery store.

The two hours between the time that my mother left and J arrived home from work was torture. Comang was being a brat and wouldn’t stop barking. Claire was overtired and kept throwing mini tantrums. My entire body was aching, I was having painful Braxton Hicks contractions, and all I wanted to do was lie down and close my eyes…

But hey, at least our condo is the cleanest it has been in months! 😀

I still haven’t gotten any proper rest — how could I, knowing that I haven’t checked email or Google Reader for the entire day? (I know, priorities!) So here I am, skipping out on writing a quality blog post by linking to the three most interesting items on my subscribed RSS feeds today. Enjoy!

1. Scripting Language Comparisons

“An extensive side-by-side reference sheet of four scripting languages (PHP, Python, Perl, and Ruby) with which you can compare how the different languages handle variable declarations, concatenations, objects, and hundreds of other things. Great cheatsheet for learning a new language when you’re already familar with one of the others.” (via kottke.org)

2. Capturing NYC’s Day and Night in One Frame

“Photographer Stephen Wilkes has created a project called Day to Night where he merges together beautiful day and night photos of various iconic New York places seamlessly into one. How does he do it? For a minimum of 10 hours, he photographs one scene from the same perspective until he captures day to night within a single frame. His wonderful series will be on display at Chelsea’s Clamp Art Gallery in New York starting September 8 and ending October 29.” (via My Modern Met)

3. Indiana Jones World Map + Creation Video

“Artist Matt Busch has created a Lucasfilm approved world map that shows off all of the locations that Indiana Jones has made all of his archeological discoveries over the years. The map doesn’t just include his discoveries from the movies, but also includes locations visited in the novels, comic books, video games and even the Young Indiana Jones TV series.” (via Geek Tyrant)

Teddy Roosevelt’s Diary on the Day His Wife Died

I confess…this made me shed a tear.

Via Neatorama.

A Short Update on Our 10-Month-Old

In the past 24 hours…

As I took both Claire and Comang for a short stroll, some neighborhood dogs noticed our shy shih tzu and started barking at him. Claire seemed to want to defend him, because she started barking back! (Or at least tried her best to mimic barking sounds.)
When I “attacked” her with a stuffed animal, she grabbed another nearby stuffed animal and used it to fight back.
J was getting ready to leave for work and bent down by the front door to tie his shoes. Claire zoomed on over to him in her walker and started to wave “bye” to him without any prompting from either one of us.
After following me into the bathroom in her walker (I always leave the door open when I’m home alone and need to use the facilities so that Claire doesn’t freak out), she grabbed ahold of the toilet paper and gleefully zipped on out. Of course, by the time I was done peeing and was able to finally catch up to her, toilet paper was everywhere.

Seriously. She is becoming so fun now. The other night I looked down at my growing belly and let out a woeful sigh. “We’re going to have to wait an entire 10 months after this one is born for her to be where Claire is now,” I whined to J. “Can’t we just fast-forward?”

Styling’ it up with daddy’s sunglasses

With all this being said, I am starting to get a wee bit concerned about how Claire will handle BebeDeux. Over the weekend, we visited J’s cousin who had had a baby just two weeks ago. When Claire saw me holding the baby in my arms, she freaked out. Luckily, J was able to calm her down without much of a problem, but I had never seen her lash out in jealousy before.

Everyone tells me that having two girls so close in age will be beneficial to them, that they will be the best of friends. However, my sister and I are less than 2 years apart and we used to fight all the time. Our relationship did not improve until we were both in our 20s.

I can already picture Claire and BebeDeux arguing and bickering. Especially when I am holding Claire and she kicks me in the stomach. Or when I am reading to Claire as she is leaned up against my belly, and BebeDeux kicks up at her older sister, startling and confusing her.

I am now 29 weeks pregnant with BebeDeux. I remember how when I was at this stage with Claire, I couldn’t wait for her to come out. But this time around, despite my ever-increasing physical discomfort, I find myself whispering to my belly, “You stay in there for as loooong as you want, okay?”

Letterpress Utility Cards [Wishlist]

A few years ago for my birthday, I received a set of blank cards. They were beautiful, no doubt, but I couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed, thinking, “What an unoriginal gift!”

Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong, because I am still using those cards, for everything from “Thank You” cards to birthday cards (when I haven’t had the chance to go get something pretty or witty from a stationery store), to even “Congratulations and thanks for reading!” greetings to include with the giveaways that readers win on this blog!

Now that those set of cards are about to run out, I have been lazily seeking a new set of blank cards. And I am sorely tempted by these letterpress Utility Cards from Grain…

Each 6″x4″ card is letterpressed on extra thick tree-free paper that uses cotton fiber waste from textile manufacturing, and comes with a brown 100% post-consumer recycled content envelope. What’s more, a cheat-sheet is included to help find the right words for whatever sentiment you may want to convey.

Here is the full list of discoverable words:

CLASSICS:
Congratualtions
Get Well Soon
Happy…
Anniversary / Birthday /
Fathers Day / Hanukkah /
Holidays / Kwanzaa /
Mothers Day / New Year /
Valentines Day
Merry Christmas
Thank You
Sorry For Your Loss

SUBJECTS SUCH AS:
Baby
Boy / Girl
Dog
Father / Dad
Friend(s)
Girl
Home
Mate
Me
Mother / Mom
My Love(ly)
Queen
Us
We
You(r)

HIT PHRASES:
Smitten
Be Mine
Come Home Soon
Feel Better
Forgive Me
Good Luck
Hello Love
Howdy Friend
I Am Sorry
I Love You
I Miss You
I Messed Up
Its A Boy / Girl
Mazel Tov
Nice To Meet You
Thinking Of You
Way To Go
Welcome Home
Werq Queen
Wish You Were Here
You Are Invited
You Are Lovely
You Are Perfect

LOVE it. The cards are a bit pricey at $4 each (or $19 for a set of 5), but considering the materials and the printing technique, they do not seem too overpriced.

Via Better Living Through Design.

Updated: My Favorite Sites!

I spent a good portion of this rainy, dreary day updating the three pages of links on this blog (accessible through the top menubar). The biggest change comes with Bee Friends, which has been updated with the personal blogs of the newer — and by that, I mean within the last year — Weddingbee bloggers.

I have also added to Friends some of the most active commenters to this site. 🙂 Unsurprisingly, they keep pretty good blogs too.

Because this post is about links — a picture of a cute Link!

One of my worst habits regarding the web is that while I read hundreds and hundreds of blogs, I hardly ever comment. I guess I can blame this on the fact that most of my blog-reading comes via Google Reader on my cell phone (and I hate writing anything on my cell phone — I need a full-sized keyboard!) and I am usually too lazy to click on over and comment.

I vow to get better at commenting. I mean, just look at Serena of Big Apple Nosh — that girl is all over the place! She’s my inspiration and I want to emulate her enthusiasm for interacting with fellow bloggers.

Do you guys frequently comment on the blogs you read? How do you keep it up?

And in the meantime, if you are a blogger and would like to be added to my list of links (or feel that I have overlooked you — sorry in advance if I have!), please let me know in the comments below!

Sarah Conner? [Twitter Account of the Day]

Somebody should tell T-800 (Twitter handle @111001001101010) that he may have better luck if he spelled “Connor” correctly. 🙂

Via Reddit.

iPad 2 Giveaway!

Update: A big congratulations to CH, who entered via the Facebook giveaway page! I will be contacting you shortly so that you can claim your prize!

Yesterday, I wrote about the new Time to Call™ app from Vonage. This free-to-download app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch allows you to make calls of up to 15 minutes to landlines and mobile phones in over 190 countries, while billing your existing iTunes account with no monthly charges or commitments.

In an effort to promote the app, Vonage is sponsoring an iPad 2 Giveaway with 75 websites in participation, EACH site giving away a separate iPad 2! Can we say fan-freakin-tastic?!! Be sure to check out http://www.callsfromsmartphone.com/ for the full list of participating sites, because you can enter all of them to increase your chances of winning (provided that you abide by each site’s respective rules, of course).

I was very surprised, humbled, and excited to have been asked to participate in this giveaway — not only because this kind of stuff is right up my alley, but because this is the biggest giveaway I have hosted on this blog, and I knew that you, my readers, would love it too. 🙂

Now, on to the good stuff!

The winner of the Geek in Heels iPad 2 Giveaway will receive: one (1) iTunes gift card in the amount of $15 USD for use with his/her device; and one (1) Apple gift card in the amount of $700 USD for the purchase of an Apple iPad 2, 32GB WiFi. (If there is no access to Apple in the country from which the winner would like to purchase the iPad 2, a cash-equivalent prize will be distributed via PayPal.)

That’s $715 worth of Apple cash!!! 😯

Now, this giveaway will run slightly differently from my previous giveaways, so please read carefully below…

Each reader is eligible for up to three entries via the following methods (each method will grant a separate entry):

Leave a comment to this post about who and where you would like to call internationally with the Vonage Time to Call app.
If you haven’t done so already, go to the Geek in Heels Facebook Page and “Like” the page. Then click on the iPad 2 Giveaway link (located right under the profile picture, or just use this link) to enter the sweepstakes.
If you haven’t done so already, follow @geekinheels on Twitter and tweet exactly the following: I just entered for a chance to win an iPad2 via @vonage and @geekinheels at http://bit.ly/q42hcW and you can too! #timetocall

There is no need to leave extra comments here if you enter via Facebook or Twitter. 😉 (The extra comments will get deleted, anyway.)

You can increase your chances of winning by using all three methods of entry. There is only one entry allowed per person, per method (strictly enforced with a paddle!) and any additional entries will be void.

For all the rules, go to this link.

The giveaway begins as soon as this entry is published — August 13, 2011 @ 12:00am EDT — and will run until August 17, 2011 @ 11:59pm EDT. The winner will be announced here on August 18 and will also be notified by email (so please use a valid email when entering so that I can contact you if you win!) or via a Twititer DM.

Good luck, and don’t forget to check out http://www.callsfromsmartphone.com/ — with new content posted as the list of participating websites get updated — for more chances to win!

Arrested Development + Lego = Awesome Sauce

As a huge fan of the canceled television show Arrested Development (I couldn’t have been more proud of my husband when he named his Fantasy Football team “Steve Holt!” one year), I am LOVING these meticulously-detailed pieces by Matt De Lanoy. Photographed by Pepa Quin, the display was a wonderful addition to Brickworld 2011 in Chicago.

The model home, with all of the major characters.

The stair car.

Michael and his son George Michael.

Maeby holding a script (notice George Michael in the background, staring at her).

Gob with his rude puppet Franklin (and George in the background).

Lindsay and Tobias in his Blue Man Group getup.

Lucille and Buster.

Via Flavorwire.

P.S. — I know that an Arrested Development movie is in the works, but I am not too sure that it will be on par with the television series as too much time has passed since the show last aired. 🙁

Vonage Time to Call™ Review and an iPad 2 Giveaway!

Last week, Vonage released a new VoIP app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch called Time to Call™. This pay-per-call international calling app allows users to make short, 15-minute calls to 190 countries with competitive rates ranging from 99 cents to $9.99 per call. It is FREE to download with no monthly charges and no commitments.

So what sets Time to Call apart from its competitors? Payments are processed through iTunes®, so you don’t need to create an account with Vonage or another third party.

According to Vonage’s official page, Time to Call offers the following:

Pay per call and talk up to 15 minutes to 100 countries for $1.99 or less¹
For an additional 90+ countries, talk up to 15 minutes for $2.99 to $9.99¹
Works on Wi-Fi worldwide
Also for use on high quality 3G networks² in the U.S. and Canada
Significant savings over mobile carrier rates
FREE download

¹Excluding applicable taxes
²Carrier charges may apply if you have a limited data plan

PLUS, for a limited time, Vonage is offering a FREE 15-minute call to landlines and mobiles in 100 countries when you download the app!

I’ve had the chance to play around with Time to Call, and even asked friends to help me test out the app. (Who can turn down a free 15-minute international call?) Our verdict:

The quality of calls was pretty good, but this definitely depends on the type of connection you use. In our tests, WiFi considerably beat out both mobile connections and 3G.
The app is easy to download and pretty intuitive. However, one tester noted that choosing the country at the beginning of the call was a bit confusing, since that led her to believe that she wouldn’t need to input the country code. (Choosing the country seems to only set the rate of the call.)
Everyone liked the fact that there was no need to set up a separate account or plan with Vonage, since everything was pre-paid through iTunes.
Another big “PRO” is that you have up to a year to use up your unused minutes. However, the unused minutes can only be used for the same country or calling region.
One minute before your 15 minutes is up, you will get a notification alerting you of this. I wish that you can buy more than 15 minutes at a time, or have an option to buy more minutes while making the call. According to Vonage, they are working to possibly include this feature in a future update.
There is not yet an Android app, but Vonage says that it is on its way.

Now, on to what I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for — the iPad 2 giveaway!

In an effort to promote Time to Call, Vonage is sponsoring 75 different websites to give away an Apple iPad 2 32GB WiFi and a $15 iTunes gift card to use with the device…and this blog is one of those lucky sites!

The Geek in Heels iPad 2 Giveaway will officially begin August 13, 2011, at 12:00am EDT and will come to a close August 17, 2011 at 11:59pm EDT. So please check back tomorrow to see exactly how you can win!

Since EACH site is giving away a separate iPad 2, you are more than free to enter the other giveaways too! (But please note that each site will have its own set of giveaway rules, and if you win via one of the sites, you can’t win again on another participating site.)

You can find a list of participating websites, as well as more information on Time to Call, on the continually-updated site http://www.callsfromsmartphone.com/. And, for your convenience, here is the latest list of the sites and the run-times of their giveaways:

Aug 10 ~ Aug 14
http://geekdad.daddyforever.com/
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/
http://smallbiztrends.com/

Aug 11 ~ Aug 15
http://the-gadgeteer.com/
http://www.mouthyhousewives.com/
http://www.mobilityminded.com/

Aug 12 ~ Aug 16
http://www.gearlive.com/
http://www.mobilitysite.com/
http://collegecandy.com/

Aug 13 ~ Aug 17
http://www.neowin.net/
https://www.geekinheels.com/
http://www.whatthetech.com/

Aug 14 ~ Aug 18
**link removed per website’s request**
http://boardingarea….iewfromthewing/
http://www.geardiary.com/

Aug 15 ~ Aug 19
http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/
http://dailysocial.net/en/
http://smallbiztechnology.com

Aug 16 ~ Aug 20
http://www.autechheads.com/
http://thestudyabroadblog.com/
http://iphonenewzealand.co.nz

Aug 17 ~ Aug 21
http://HerCampus.com
http://www.busymom.net/
http://www.ben.geek.nz

Aug 18 ~ Aug 22
http://www.soldiersperspective.us
http://eliax.com/
http://www.hackcollege.com/
http://geeksroom.com

Good luck to everyone reading this, and please check back tomorrow for the official Geek in Heels iPad 2 Giveaway!