Showing posts with label Miscellaneous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miscellaneous. Show all posts

Sunday, 21 February 2016

The #FlipkartOutdoors #Indiblogger Meet: A Recap

#FlipkartOutdoors #Indiblogger Meet

Indiblogger meets are all about product promotions and yesterday was no different with Flipkart showcasing outdoor products from Altec Lansing, Samsung Gear S2, Red Chief Shoes, Polaroid Cube, Coleman and Garmin at this #FlipkartOutdoors meet.

But that isn’t why I attend, my reasons have nothing to do with the promotion or freebies. My attendance is all about friends and fun - meeting the bloggers I’ve grown close-to over previous meets and who I look forward to catching up with. Though the freebies are definitely welcome too. :D

An hours bus journey took us from Ulsoor to Mango Mist Resort yesterday morning, where breakfast awaited us before the day started with a warm-up Indiblogger style. :D

Here’s the line-up of products we got introduced to before the fun started.

Red Chief Shoes


This desi company makes casual shoes for men. These shoes are great if you want to give the impression that you are the that cool outdoorsy man, but make note these shoes are not recommended for actual hiking or trekking.
 
Red Chief Shoes

One thing that I thought was really cool was that these shoes are supposed to be biodegradable, yep the sole too!
 
Biodegradable Red Chief Shoes

Sadly they don’t have anything for women, and won’t have anything on offer for the fairer sex for another three years!

Polaroid


I’ve used the GoPro a couple to times before and really like it. It’s great for those crazy things Che and I do, it’s why I was excited to see the Polaroid Cube. It’s size and feel are the pluses for me but its magnetism which is a great feature to use for in car recording etc. was a put as it’s powerful enough wipe clean data and hence makes the device unsafe for handbag carrying. :(
 
Polaroid Cube

I was also excited to see and try the Polaroid Snap. Che’s been using the Instax Wide over the last one month and a comparison was but inevitable. I’m not the best judge of quality but I did like the sticker format of images, the option to choose between b/w, colour and sepia and the size of the camera. I’d love to try out the next version of the Snap as it’s supposed to have instant photos and a data card so you can take multiple prints if you wish.
 
Polaroid Snap

Altec Lansing


Lately I’ve been on the lookout for good earphones for running, wired or unwired. The new Altec Lansing Bluetooth Headphones wowed me. They tuck in well into the ear, are water proof, have great battery backup and are offered at a good price. Only drawback was the battery like thing on the cable that feels like a weight hanging off the ears.
 
Altec Lansing Lifejacket Speakers

There were also the Lifejacket speakers which were a crowd draw with their pulsating water to the beat of music. These little babies are not at all delicate,we hurled them 20 feet away and they continued to play. They beasts are rugged and waterproof. Prefect for our doggie house, me thinks… but wait, are they doggie proof? :P

Garmin


Ironically it was just last month that I bought the Suunto Ambit 2 R from Flipkart and I’ve been a satisfied user for a couple of weeks now. That said, after seeing and handling the Garmin devices on display yesterday, I think a Garmin device would have been a good buy too.
 
Garmin Gear for Runners

But when we were choosing the device, we’d been disappointed by Garmin’s prices in India. I bought the Suunto at Rs.15,000; the Garmin equivalent (Forerunner 620) is Rs.27,825 on Flipkart!!!
 
Suunto Ambit 2R vs Garmin Forerunner 620

I hope Garmin works on their pricing, this same watch is $239.99 on Amazon.com, thats Rs. 16,494 (at rate 68.73%). It’s cheaper to buy it in dollars!!!
Garmin on Flipkart
Garmin on Amazon India
Garmin on Amazon.com

Coleman


Don’t go by my photo of Shantanu investigating below, I was amazed that these guys have even a porta-potty! Aside from that they also had tents, bottles, compass, foldable chairs, insulated tiffin boxes and bungee cords on display. This was the most outdoorsy counter, if you ask me. ;)
 
Coleman even had a Port-a-potty, Shatanu investigates

Samsung Gear S2


I don’t really know how good these are for the serious outdoorsy folk or fitness addicts but they look really cool with colour display, phone sync, touch screen, etc. These would be cool everyday android wear.
 
Samsung Gear S2

 


Customary niceties over. Now on to the fun part (after a quick review of the resort of course). ;)

Mango Mist Resort
Mango Mist Resort is one those activity based resorts set in a Mango orchard. They offer a host of activities from zorbing to fish spa. They have a variety of packages available but almost all of them only have 4 coupons included (each coupon is worth Rs.50).

So what are coupons. Coupons can we used to do activities like rock climbing, crossing Burma bridges, climbing rope ladders, zip-lining, zorbing and more. There are a lot of activities offered but with just 4 coupons nothing much can be done, especially since it’s not one coupon per activity, some activities need 2 or 3 coupons. :(

I had to request for more coupons and as always the Indiblogger guys obliged. Thank guys for the extra fun. :) Before I go on, a quick note on Mango Mist Resort - the resort is nice and the food good too. I liked the variety of packages offered with cottage and tent accommodations too so you can stay over and have more fun.

I big drawback was the lake behind the resort. It smells obnoxious and looks dirty too. A little work and help of the resort guys might make this eye-sore a beautiful water body and a good addition to the resort, it’d nice to see resorts give back to nature. The other down like I mentioned before was the limited coupons.

Ok, all that formality done. Here’s some pictures and a video of all that happened for me. ;)

 

Burma Bridge
I thought this would be easy compared to the others but man was this scary, with my phobia for ledges I giggled in nervousness all the way across the bridge.

 

Burma Bridge
Here’s the one Parinita choose. When looking at someone doing it, it’s so easy to give advise and think you’d do it better. Doing it though is a completely different thing.

 

Mango Mist Resort Bar
After all that activity, like all good girls, we hit the bar. ;)

 

Inside the Zorb
After watching zorbing on TV many a time, I’ve always wanted to try it out. Bhawna and I had a screaming match in there and so much fun. That’s how we looked at the end of the roll. :D
Another item checked on the bucket-list.

 

The Paintball Winners

And we finally ended the day with paintball and we won. That's the team - don't know what we were thinking but its an excellent capture. :D Below is what I won.A girly pink 3 box insulated tiffin system that keeps food both hot and cold.
Coleman Tiffin Box

I'd made instagram videos through the day, but putting up each one, just makes for a lot of video. (Plus Instagram is a pain with embeds). So, here's a mash-up of the day on my Youtube channel.
 


 
It was a super fun day and tiring too. Catching up with friends and doing crazy stuff is tiring. :D

A couple of shout outs at the end -
Thanks Flipkart and Indiblogger for a spectacular day.
Rajiv for the morning ride. That was exciting!
Che for taking over at home so I could get away... Thanks isn't enough :P
Bhawna and Pari for the wonderful company that made the day even better. ;)

Saturday, 10 October 2015

The #QualityITCFoods Blogger Meet: Yippee, A Recap



In my list of soul foods, Maggi would be in the top 5. And I use the word Maggi not as the Nestlé brand but as that descriptor (like Xerox is synonymous with photocopy) it has become for those soft soupy noodles you can slurp. Then I remember that June debacle that makes me snatch my hand back and deprive myself of a food I enjoyed. The whole lead issue didn't just put me off Maggi but also all other noodles in that category.

And today's meet up was all about that. Well, not exactly. The meet up today was all about Yippee, it's fight to stay in the market and taking the number one position held for so long by Maggi. When I turned up at ITC Gardenia today I didn't know what to expect. As I caught up with blogger friends I looked around and figured the meet would be about all the various packaged foods ITC makes.

That's Sid, Vidya and Bhawna with me there. I've linked them so, check out their blogs folks!



The Cutting Chai Stall



Rajesh V L, the CEO of ITC Foods took the stage and gave an introduction to ITC Foods, how it started, their ethic and beliefs, the various products and brands, and some up-coming products. And I was impressed, the company seems to be quite transparent, they seem to be giving importance to sustainability and also seem to be doing work in the causes space. (I’ve used ‘seem’ a lot, but after all I didn’t really see it, just heard it. :D )



One thing in his talk that really stood out for me was their work on e-Choupals. This program really gives back to the farmers (who are our lifeline) by giving them access to the internet and bringing information to their fingertips. An example Rajesh gave was that a farmer now has access to check the rates of his vegetables even before he sets out for the mandi. So now, he can avoid having to make a distress sale after landing up there. A program that provides farmers with up-to-date marketing and agricultural information sounds empowering.

Rajesh was followed by Kavita Chaturvedi who is the Head of Marketing. She has been a part of the Yippee noodles journey since day 1 and that was the story she shared. She talked about how research started on the noodles. In line with Rajesh’s earlier talk, Kavitha talked about the search for that quality thing with a difference.



She recounted stories of how they came about their top three USP’s. The round block of noodles, their non-stickyness and the masala with veggies. Frankly, this won me over. For years with Maggi I have hated breaking the block, it shortens the tendrils of noodles and reduces the slurpyness. It’ll be nice not to have to break the block. And have cold noodles still flowing and not just become one gooey mess like Maggi does.





I’ve been a Maggi loyalist until now but after today, I’m ready to give Yippee noodles a chance and their Yippee 4 in 1 pack in the hamper will helping this I think. :)

Kavita also talked about other aspects of Yippee, their vigorous testing in their Japanese technology factories (over 800 tests are done everyday and 66 on water alone), their hygiene standards and their approach to the Maggi debacle. She talked about their approach of transparency and being up front, and shared Sunfeast’s You Ask We Answer website and videos that were ITC’s answer to the Maggi fiasco.





Q&A came after, moderated by Archana Doshi founder of www.archanaskitchen.com. Rajesh V L came back to stage to patiently answer the many questions that were raised on quality of ingredients, safest and freshest sourcing, the various types of fats, etc. The answering had me impressed with how he stuck to facts and called things as they were. But then again, never judge a book by its cover. :D

After all this Yippee talk, Master Chef Kamlesh Joshi took stage and demonstrated the making of Khow Suey using Yippee noodles. The recipe was an interesting one and since I tasted it at lunch, I’d definitely like to try it sometime.



There was a cook-off that followed that required that each team make a dish with Yippee noodles using the array of ingredients provided. I felt like I was at one of those Australian Masterchef episodes where people went about making something with the ingredients provided. Our team came up with a Chatpata Yippee Pasta and came third. The first prize was won by the Team that made Yippee Gol-Gappas. I missed tasting them, but the three Chef-Judges couldn’t seem to stop eating them! :P

The Ingredients



The Sunfeast Smashers (one of the first things we did was break a bowl :D )



Chatpata Yippee Pasta



The Three Chef Judges - Prashant Joseph, Yogesh Dutta, Kamlesh Joshi



Finally after all that food talk and cooking lunch was served and it was quite a spread. I enjoyed the Khow Suey, gosht and Chicken in Wine sauce. Didn’t have place for anything else as there was a big spread for dessert. And I ate one of each. :D

Dessert Spread



Khow Suey



The ITC Foods Display



I even brought a bottle of tiramisu back for Che along with a hamper. :)

Tiramisu in a Jar



The ITC Hamper



It was a fun day - meeting friends, getting to know more about ITC Foods and having some yummy food. Thanks are due to the guys over at ITC Foods for it all and the guys at ITC Gardenia who made it all possible.

Thursday, 17 September 2015

Some Global Literacy Facts from Grammarly

I just had to do this... You know me, I'm a sucker for such things... :P



The guys over at Grammarly have promised to donate $10 to a literacy-promoting charity of my choice as a part of their Grammarly's Literacy campaign dedicated to International Literacy Day. All I have to do to make that happen is share the below infographic... So I just got to do this... Here goes...

Literacy Day


I'd like my $10 to be donated to ProLiteracy, as they are the only ones of the three doing work outside the U.S. too. :)


Infographic credit: Grammarly

Friday, 3 July 2015

Paused for A Bit



I been confused and unsure of where my blog is headed, what its about, how it should look, and all that stuff for a while now. I've tried doing a couple of challenges and other such things, hoping it would bring clarity. But I'm still unclear, and it's one of the reasons for my repeated disappearances. It's come to a head now, an I must step back and figure things out.

I've decided to take a sabbatical from the blog for a bit. I want to sit back and figure a few things out. I'll see you guys soon. Until then play safe and stay alive.

Sunday, 5 April 2015

The Changing Face of Women in Video Games


Heroine from Mirror's Edge

Guest Post by Christina Thompson

Princess Peach. Ms. Pacman. Zelda. They’re perhaps some of the most popular classic female video game characters, yet they’re all inherently flawed and display some of the biggest problems the video game industry has seen since its inception. Many video games have been accused of being overtly sexist, and we can see this not just in the way they seem to be oversexualized in their design, but in the narratives surrounding these characters as well. Of course, it doesn’t help that developers seem to be focusing on the outward appearances of their characters and oversexualizing them, with Dead or Alive even boasting of enhanced physics for the breasts of their characters. But often, even when we have a character who seems to be much less offensive at first glance, there are still problems with the way they have been designed.


Princess Peach

 

The examples above are some of the most obvious. Princess Peach serves as nothing more than a Damsel in Distress – a trope we’ve all seen and become familiar with, even outside the realm of video games. Ms. Pacman follows the Ms. Male Character trope, which is “The female version of an already established or default male character”. Ms. Pacman is obviously a female version of Pacman, and sadly, she’d never be able to stand on her own two legs. Zelda, for all intents and purposes, just like Princess Peach: a damsel in distress awaiting the rescue of Link.

Ellie from Last of Us

 

Of course, there are other less obvious examples, such as Ellie of The Last of Us and BioShock Infinite’s Elizabeth, who, despite their obvious superiority crumble to pieces in the hands of male protagonists. As the years go by and more attention is drawn to the fact that we don’t have enough strong female characters in our video games, developers have struggled to do their part. But have we actually progressed? As the face of the prominent gamer changes, so do the games that are being developed. Mobile gaming and casual gaming are now taking top priority in most developers’ books, with Betfair reporting a whopping 500% increase in revenues from mobile devices. We’re now opening the doors for many independent developers who can afford to create the quick casual game for mobile phones, and this provides more opportunities to subvert the established trend of female video game characters that fall short of the spotlight.

Unfortunately, developers don’t seem to be taking advantage. An article on the Washington Post about a 12-year old girl struggling to find characters in her apps that looked like her reveals that the gender gap is still there, and that the platform is still in need of more positive female protagonists and supporting characters.


Zelda

 

But all hope is not lost. In many of the later Legend of Zelda games, Zelda began to play a more prominent role and was shown to be more than capable of taking care of herself. Even the Final Fantasy series, a series that had predominantly male protagonists and supporting characters, had three games with a female lead. Lara Croft of the popular Tomb Raider series even saw a reboot that fleshed her character out and made her much less about her iconic looks and more about the adventures she embarked on. Sure, we’re a long way from achieving complete gender equality in video games, but thanks to efforts like #1ReasonWhy, we’re drawing more attention to the problem, and compelling game developers to start representing women in video games in much better light.

 

About the Writer


Christina Thompson was born in the Golden Age of console gaming, and she's been an avid gamer since the days of the SNES. When not writing about the evolution of the industry, she can be found scouring development blogs and forums, and hopes to someday publish her own JRPG.
Photo Credits: Mirror's EdgePrincess PeachEllie, Zelda

Tuesday, 22 April 2014

Oh Hell! It's a Snake!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="The Cobra Bagged!"][/caption]

We've had some drama here at home so 'H' is getting pushed to tomorrow. For now I want to talk about our current heart stopping adventure.

Over the last two months, I've taken to watering the garden in the evening between 4 and 5. That way the water stays in the ground longer before it evaporates in the heat. Today I was later than usual and it was 5:45 by the time I entered the garden. As I walked in to turn on the tap and pick up the pipe, I saw movement. I froze and looked again. As I watched a snaked climbed and slid into the exhaust of the wood oven that opens into the garden.

The guy was fairly fast but he took long enough for me to see he was a cobra and about a meter in length. I quickly walked back into the house and told Che about it. Then I went back out to finish watering the garden and keeping an eye on the snake while I also got on the phone and started making calls. I watched as the guy peeped a couple of times, and each time my heart beat went up a notch.

Che got doing what he's good at, he went to Google and got the BBMP Forest Cell number. They asked him where we lived and directed him to call Jayraj who was closest to us. Jayraj when called asked me questions about the snake, where it was and what size the oven was. Me with my broken Kanada thought he was asking me snake dimensions so I promptly told him that it was a cobra and at least a meter in length (This misunderstanding I understood only after the snake was caught).

Jayraj asked for directions to our house, told us he would be there in 20 minutes and then went on to give me instructions on what to do while I waited for him to arrive. He confirmed that the snake was still inside the oven and then told me to stand at least 10 feet away and watch to see if the snake came back out. He told me not to provoke the snake, to keep quiet but watch the snake so he would know where to look when he came.

Che and I spent the next 20 minutes watching and waiting as darkness fell. We armed ourselves with a couple of torches and sticks and stood guard. Che even got his telephoto lens to keep a closer eye. :P Wonder what we would have done with a stick had the snake appeared, most probably tripped over it as we turned tail and ran. :D

Anyway, we bravely stood a good 10 feet from the exhaust hole and waited, but this time we didn't even see a peep. We started to wonder if the snake has managed to get out without us seeing it. But we waited as we had been instructed, there was nothing else to be done. Jayraj got to our place in 20 minutes as promised and I found my taut nerves relaxing a bit.

I showed him where I'd seen the snake and told him there was a bigger opening to the oven on the other side. Again he instructed me to stay put and watch the exhaust hole while he went around the house to the other side and checked through the larger opening with Che.

Of course this meant I missed the excitement of catching our first snake. Not that it lasted very long, Jayraj was quick, fast and good at what he did. Within minutes the snake was caught and bagged but not before Che got a photo.



Jayraj confirmed that the snake was a Spectacled Cobra and 4.5 feet in length. I got to see the snake in the bag aggressively hissing. Whoa, that hissing was scary, it's a loud and angry sound that made my hair stand on end. I'm glad we did call and ask for him to be caught rather than live and let live in this case. The snake will be released in an area where there are less chances of a snake-human confrontation. That's a win-win I think.

I'm also glad we found someone like Jayraj, who was very professional and good at what he did. He took the time to talk to us, show us and tell us about the snake, he also walked about the house and gave us tips to keep snakes out. I've got him on speed dial now but this is a win for Google too. Google search made finding him so much easier.

Now that I've seen and caught my first snake, I'll be a little more confident the next time I have to deal with one when Che isn't around. It's also a good reminder to watch my step in the garden. I'm contemplating taking the dogs in there with me while am there, though I'm not sure if they will like the watering bit, or that I will like the doggie cleaning I'll have to do after they have their fun in a wet garden.

Alright am rambling, but my nerves as still a bit a-jangle after our first snake adventure. :D Now I need to get to learning more about the big four found in India - the Indian Cobra, The Common Krait, The Russell's Viper and the Saw-scaled Viper. More on what I learn later. :)

Thursday, 2 May 2013

Falling In Love in Thailand



Over the years I've lost count of the number of times I've fallen in love. The first man I can actually remember falling in love with was Big Ears, he was just so adorable, then of course came along Rhett Butler who swept me off my feet and after him, well... the list goes on.

Last year we went to Thailand and landed up watching 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' there on late night TV. It was the first time I saw Detective Goren. It was love at first sight even though I didn't realise it. Back here in India Law and Order is aired on FoxCrime and I haven't missed an episode.

There's something about Robert Goren that makes him a man of intrigue to me. He's complex with a mind that is constantly surprising me, he's unpredictable, obessive, intelligent, has these strange cute quirks like cocking his head when interrogating a suspect and he's good looking too! What more could I ask for :D

If you're asking who's Detective Goren, here's a little bit about him.
Detective Robert 'Bobby' Goren is played by Vincent D'Onofrio in the television series Law and Order: Criminal Intent. The show ran from 2001 to 2011 with Goren in 141 episodes of the 10 seasons aired. Goren is a detective investigator first grade for the Major Case Squad of NYPD and his partner is Det. Alexandra Eames.

I figured I should get to know the man better, so, here's 13 things I didn't know about Detective Goren...

1. Robert O. Goren was born on August 20, 1961, and grew up in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn.
2. His mother Frances (one-me librarian) first started showing symptoms of schizophrenia when Goren was seven years old. She eventually dies of lymphoma.
3. Goren's estranged older brother, Frank, is a drug addict with a gambling problem.
4. His legal father William Goren was an alcoholic and serial adulterer and his biological father Mark Ford Brady was a serial rapist and murderer.
5. Goren served in the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division after college. He was stationed in Germany in 1987, and did a six-month tour in South Korea.
6. While stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army he learned to speak German and also read the Koran in a youthful attempt to impress a German-Turkish girl.
7. Goren joined the NYPD after leaving the army and spent four years in the Narcotics Division. He was responsible for three sting operations that resulted in 27 arrests and 27 convictions.
8. His Badge Number is 4376 and Social Security number is 845-67-3906.
9. Eames has a higher rank than Goren; he is junior prtner and she's senior partner.
10. One of Goren's favorite magazines is the Smithsonian Magazine. He subscribes to it because fits well on his treadmill.
11. Goren enjoys dancing and hates beaches however he does go to one while on a case.
12. He is unmarried and pro-choice.
13. Goren is left-handed and wears size 13 shoes.

Alright thats it. I'm off to watch some more Law and Order and make eyes at Det. Goren :D

Have you fallen in love with charaters from books and movies? Who's your current character love?

Credits and Further Reading:
Robert Goren on Wikipedia
Law & Order Wiki
Biography for Detective Robert Goren on IMDb
Character Bio: Detective Robert Goren

Thursday, 21 March 2013

About This and That and Here and There


This week has been a fun week but has been busy too. We went to see a friend at the farm he staying at and had such a good time that we decided to take the dogs for a day to have a picnic. No prizes for guessing whether the dogs had fun. They went all out running, sniffing, playing and marking areas :D They played so much that they came back a slept most of that evening and the next day!

Cuckoo being cuckoo of course tasted all plants in sight so next morning we found her broken out in rashes. It was nothing a good bath and some antihistamines couldn’t sort out, so now she’s all Tide white and cuddly cute.

I’ve been trying out the neem and apple cider vinegar mix on the dogs to keep ticks and fleas away and it seem to be working. I had sprayed the dogs down well before we went to the farm and they haven’t picked up anything. So, either the spray worked or the farm and dogs there didn’t have any fleas or ticks.

After two days out on the farm we were all tired, so yesterday was rest day with us lazing around catching up with friends. We watched a movie too! ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ was just the right movie for yesterday. When I got to know it had Emma Watson in it, I was looking forward to see what I thought of her as not being ‘Hermione’ and I wasn’t disappointed. She is a good actress and the movie is definitely a must watch (not just because of her)! The movie is based on a book of the same name by Stephen Chbosky, should add this book to my to-read list for sure…



Other than that its life as usual :D Oh yeah, the one thing I haven’t talked about on the blog (I wanted to avoid it getting jinxed :P) was my attempt at growing a kitchen garden. Since the first few plants I bought were doing well I figured I should try and set up a mini garden. My first attempt at germinating chillies, tomatoes and the like was a disaster. Most plants died and just a couple survived. But I’ve just started out again trying to germinate a new batch and things seem to be looking up :) A big thanks is due to the guys at Garden Guru, a store near home that is run by three guys trying to promote home gardening. They have been helpful guides, answering my many questions and encouraging me to not give up. Do check out the store – Garden Guru – and stop by if you need help :) And you can follow my journey on Greening My Fingers here.


I also spent a lot of time on Feedly yesterday. I’ve been a bit shaken after Google's news of removing Google Reader. All my feeds are on GR and I was quite upset about how I would move them away without losing out on my RSS feeds. Google seems to be making these crazy announcements, a while back they said they would remove FeedBurner too, and I’m yet to find a replacement. Hrrummph… Wish Google wouldn’t make such crazy-ass announcements. That said maybe it’s a good thing, since all such things will over time reduce my dependency on Google and that in the long run saves me for the dangers of monopoly.

Now Feedly is an excellent app to use when following and reading blogs. It does a good job of layout and also integrates with my various social media channels. That means I can post or mark to read later as I browse. Feedly also works on all platforms and syncs beautifully across all of them. So, I can move between devices without skipping a beat. As of now they are still depended on Google Reader to save RSS feeds but are actively working towards setting something up before GR shuts down so users can move to Feedly from GR seamlessly. This is one move I’m glad to make and looking forward to it too! (Down Google, Bad Boy!)

Ok that was a long update post. Onto some interesting articles I came across yesterday…

Jeff Bullas blog has an infographic on the 9 Reasons Why Facebook needs a ‘I Don’t Care’ Button that I associated with and laughed along as I saw them. There are just so many times I’ve thought ‘who care’s’ when scrolling on Facebook.

For all readers out there, Book Riot has 6 Bookish Cartoons you are sure to enjoy. I did!

Facebook has announced Lookalike Audiences, which sounds great from a marketers perspective as it gives more targeting control but I’m not so sure about how I feel about my facebook profile information becoming a statistic in their data. Also have to wait and see just how well the targeting works considering the spam audiences I’ve seen while promoting posts on pages.

In other Social Media News Pinterest is rolling out a new look to improve user experience. This is something I’m looking to get my hands on, but not sure if it’ll roll out for apps simultaneously. Hope I don’t have to wait to see it on the iPad.

Also found a new cool blog All About Ami through a post on Chris’s blog about a Chinese New Year Snake she made with crochet. All About Ami has some lovely ideas and designs that I’d like to crochet sometime soon :)

Wow! That’s a long post! Word says 931 words until now. So I’m gonna wind up here. If you’ve read until now, thank you :) if, you haven’t then guess it doesn’t matter coz you’re not gonna read it anyway :D

See ya laters…