Collecting (e)books is now my addiction

Ever since I got into reading, my thirst to read more books has made me download more fictional books in e-book format for future reading. As of this writing my "to read" list of books has now reached 278 books which composed of mostly fantasy, science fiction, Young-adult/paranormal and some mystery/horror titles. 

Frankly speaking, I partly blame Goodread for this addiction as this site is a social network of book readers and each member share their favorite book titles or genres and they also give you ratings and review on each particular book. I also get to discover some of the books that I didn't know that existed (Dragonlance: the Lost Chronicles in particular) and some of the top sci-fi titles from renown authors like William Gibson and Peter Watts 

Do You Like Carrots?

Other than the obvious benfits to eyesight, carrots have many other exciting health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol and preventing heart attacks and cancer.

All our lives we've been told to eat our carrots, they help improve your eyesight. Maybe you've wondered, what exactly is it about the carrot that is good for my eyes? That would be the beta-carotene. In addition to giving the carrot its name and orange color, it also converts to vitamin A in the body which helps improve vision. The vitamin A forms a purple pigment called rhodopsin the eye needs to see in dim light. Rhodopsin production is spurred by vitamin A, raising the effectiveness of the light-sensitive area of the retina. Not getting enough vitamin A can actually lead to night blindness. Wow, mom was right!

But that's not all that carrots can do for you. The beta-carotene in carrots is an anti-oxident combating the free radicals that contribute to conditions like cancer, heart disease, and macular degeneration. Medical studies conducted in Texas and Chicago indicate that men with the high levels of beta-carotene and vitamin C had a 37% lower risk of cancer than the men with lower levels. Carrots also contain another anti-oxident called alpha-carotene. A study conducted in Bethesda, MD concluded that men who consume high amounts of alpha carotene have a lower incidence of lung cancer.

Cooking carrots actually raises the nutritional benefits. The fiber in carrots can trap the beta carotene, making it difficult for your body to extract. By cooking them slightly, you free the beta-carotene, from the fiber, which allows your body to absorb it better. Eating only a half-cup serving per day will give you more than the recommended dosage of beta-carotene. Also when you buy carrots raw at the store, you must cut off the leafy tops before storing, or they will suck out all the vitamins. the best way to consume your daily dose is to add carrot to your favorite juice blends. This actually breaks apart the fibers allowing the beta-carotene direct acess to absorption. So be sure to eat your carrots every day!

New blogging project: Fictional Books blog

I admit that I have been neglecting my blogging since I got busy at work but recently I got some free time and has revisited one of my old passion which was reading some fictional books. The first book I read was "City of Glass" the first of three of the book series entitled "Mortal Instruments" by renowned author Cassandra Clare. The story of the book series revolves around the supernatural (demons, werewolves, vampires and the Nephilims aka half human-half angels).  

With the renewed passion of reading fictional books (technically I am reading these books in e-book formats using my portable devices for convenience). I decided to create a blog called Fictional Books Blog to which I will blogging my opinions and reviews about each books that I read. I already posted my first book review about City of Bones. Aside from the Mortal Instrument Series, I already have lineup the books that I will be reading soon, which includes Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games Series and George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series and other great titles. 

Kadayawan 2011

It's now August and as usual our beloved city will celebrate the annual Kadayawan Festival which started on August 15th and will end on the 21st. As usually there the festival will include the annual "Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan" and other festivities. For a complete listing of events you can check out the Kadayawan 2011 Events Schedule Guide

5 Tips On Finding The Best Topics For Your Blog

Blog topics are an important part of a successful blog. Some bloggers simply write about whatever is on their mind, creating an online journal of sorts. Successful bloggers know however that to have a great blog, you cannot always write about what you want to write about. You must also keep the interests of your readers in mind when writing. After all, if you want a successful blog, you have to depend on the readers to show up often. To keep your blog as fresh as possible, consider using these five ways to find winning ideas for your blog topics.

Back to Reading Books (E-books that it)

During my college days (to which the internet was just on it's dawning stages), I liked to read books, specifically fictional books. At the time my genre of choice where either "medieval and fantasy" (Dragonlance series of books), futuristic or science-fiction themes (Star Wars series, etc.), and Gothic (Vampires, Demons and Angels). The last set of books that I read was the Dragonlance trilogy entitled "The Legend trilogy" which was a sequel to the the "Chronicles trilogy", I was about to start reading the next book entitled "Dragons of the Summer Flame" when weeks after I lost interest on reading. There where a lot of books at the the time that where great (and some of it where turned into movies like The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien, Harry Potter series of J.K. Rowling and even the favorite gothic hit the Twighlight series by Stephenie Meyer).

With the advent of digital book e-readers like Kindle and now the various type of tablet computers like the iPad and the Galaxy Tab, my interest on reading books (now on it more accessable and enviromentally friendly digital form) has come back. As of this writing, my list books that are currently loaded on my e-reader are: The Mortal Intruments series by Cassandra Clare; The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins; and all five books of George R.R. Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" series (actually my reason of reading the book version of this series was due to the fact that I cannot no longer wait for the second season of the TV version of Game of Thrones). Aside from these books I am planning to finish reading the "Dragons of the Summer Flame" the final book of the Dragonlance Chronicles series after which I will proceed on reading the rest of the sequels of the Dragonlance.

Another factor that lead me to reading these book is because I am an avid listener of the Sword and Laser, a 

science fiction and fantasy-themed book podcast which is hosted by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont

Joining Google Plus

It's been rumored for quick some time now that internet search engine giant Google will create their own social networking service that might rival Facebook and Twitter and finally they launched Google+.  It basically turns all of Google into one giant social network, thanks to a core group of social products (Gmail, Picasa, Buzz and Blogger) and a new navigation bar that integrates sharing into every single Google product.

One of the great features on Google+ is adding your friends in the "circles". The friend "circles" are basically categorizing or "grouping" your set of friend depending on how you label them (friends, family, co-workers, etc.) to which you can later on filter you news feeds by "circles".

So if you have not join Google+ yet, you login to the Google Plus site and sign-in using your Google account or register and finally you can add me on your circle of friends via http://gplus.to/cesarnoel

5 Things You Should Know About Blogging

So you want to join in on the blogging phenomenon? Before you get started, there are a few things you should know about blogging. Blogging is a lot like an online journal. There are thousands of bloggers online posting each day. It is a trend that started in 1997 and has continued to grow steadily. If you are interesting in blogging, but have not yet began, read over these five things you should know before you begin.

My daughter is in school now

It's the month of June and as it's the start of the new school year but for my daughter, it's her very first time to be in school and as a parent I was excited that she was also excited to be in school. As usual we had some first time jitters and some "separation anxiety" which is normal for every parent.

As my daughter entered the classroom, she was a bit anxious but later she mingled with the other kids which was a relief. I didn't stay for long as I it was my time to go to work. Later my wife told me later at night that my daughter had a great time as she was very participative. My wife took some pictures and some videos to which made my day. I just wanna say that I am a very proud parent to my daughter. 

What is Paypal?

PayPal is an e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to traditional paper methods such as cheques and money orders.

A PayPal account can be funded with an electronic debit from a bank account or by a credit card. The recipient of a PayPal transfer can either request a cheque from PayPal, establish their own PayPal deposit account or request a transfer to their bank account.

PayPal performs payment processing for online vendors, auction sites, and other commercial users, for which it charges a fee. It may also charge a fee for receiving money, proportional to the amount received. The fees depend on the currency used, the payment option used, the country of the sender, the country of the recipient, the amount sent and the recipient's account type. In addition, eBay purchases made by credit card through PayPal may incur extra fees if the buyer and seller use different currencies.

Signup for your own Paypal account now

Blogging: Advances In The Numbers

There are many various multimedia advances happening to the good old blog. Although the blog is only a few years old, technology has kept right up there with it. Now, you have the ability to do a number of fascinating things with it. As the blog owner, this can mean huge potential dollars in marketing. If you are just a blog reader, you can now access your favorites online any time that you feel like it.

There are several areas in which the blog has entered the multimedia world. Here are some of them to think about.

• Text. Okay, so this isn't anything new. It is the most commonly thought of type of blogging. Simple writings that are done on the blog.
• Images. This takes it one step ahead. Now, you can send images to your fellow bloggers, your family or your friends.
• Video. Even better, the blogs can now come packed with video from your digital camera or the cell phone that is video enabled.
• Podcasts. The latest feature. It allows individuals to receive the information that they want, when they want it. Very marketable tool here. Podcasts allow you to receive both audio and video over the internet.

But, just because you have the ability to use these various types of blogging, what happens to it? Does it just sit on your website in the hopes that someone will actually want it? The good news is that you can now send these multimedia advances to individuals on their iPods or their mobile phones once they sign up for services at your site. This means instant notification when you update the blog and instant access no matter where they are located. In short, it translates into dollars through marketing.

New advances in blogging are occurring all the time. Learn what is out there and available. Stay connected to your consumers, your fellow bloggers and your favorite blogs. The fact that you can do all of this from your mobile phone; just makes it even better. More than likely, you'll have something to blog right now.