Saturday, September 22, 2012

Homemade crayons and organizing jewelry the Pinterest way

I just recently got bitten by the Pinterest bug and DIY crafts. Before this, I am adopting a greener lifestyle and thus kept items like toilet paper rolls, paper bags, old household items, plastics, etc., but never finding the time to repurpose them into worthwhile projects. A few months ago, I pinned several great ideas into my Pinterest boards and scheduled my weekends doing them. My first project were the homemade crayons I did with my 3-year-old niece. I've collected the bits of old crayons she had and put them into silicon molds I bought in a Japan surplus store. The mold comes in several shapes (heart, diamond, oval, etc.) I then put the molds in the oven toaster for less than 10 minutes and waited for them to cool. The result was, of course, a big hit! My niece loved it and I think the smile and sweet kisses I got made it all the more fun.
On to my next project: organizing my earrings and rings. One thing I truly like in Pinterest are the awesome ideas from people, which made you sigh and say, how come I never knew that? In fact, even the simplest item at home can end up as an interesting piece. I think most of us want to keep our homes as organized as possible, but this is always a daunting task because, let's be honest, we really have no idea how to go about it. So, I'm starting mine with a simple one: a jewelry box made out of an old beats by Dr. Dre box. I do not want to throw away this box and so kept it for a while until today. I decided to use the inner black-colored styro/plastic (?) and "pinned" my earrings into it. In the central circular space, I've put my rings.
These projects were really simple but I felt pride doing them because finally I'm not buying something straight from the mall and making use of what I have to organize and create simple treasures.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Philippines, second slowest in web page loading


The Philippines was listed as the world's second slowest in web page loading.  This is according to a Bloomberg report on Google's study of web page speeds for desktop computers and mobile devices in 50 countries with the fastest internet connections. This study is interesting because if you look at the list, you will find that the fastest average Web page loading time is that of Slovak Republic at 3.3 seconds. If it is the USA then it would not have caught my attention because one is expecting to see that.  They are technologically capable. From comments on the Bloomberg report, I searched Orange Slovenko's website and found that Fibernet household internet costs €14.99 per month (roughly 900 pesos) and it promises a 100Mbit/s download and upload speed while that of regular internet connection gives a 42Mbit/sec download and 1.8Mbit.sec upload. Mbit. mbps, kbps are foreign language to me. All I know is that with what I am paying, I should be getting more from my internet provider, PLDT. Look at my speed test. Another thing notable on the list is that of India. It is on the same bottom list as we are for desktop speeds (15.1 seconds) and I began to wonder as both the Philippines and India are into business process outsourcing, will this study impact the industry, if anything? I am glad that South Korea is second after Slovak Republic and first on mobile speeds.


Should I feel better that the Philippines is among the "50 countries with the fastest internet connection"?