Out of ink

Nothing can be more frustrating when you’re rushing to meet a deadline and then suddenly something fails, like the internet dies or the printer runs out of ink.  Oh yeah, these things happens!  There are situations that you can solve or fix but other times it lies in other people’s hands.

Got no control over internet service providers, but running out of ink refills, c’mon… the person in charge should be … fired! So here’s how to fix such problem.  Inkers.biz runs an online shop that sells all kinds of ink refills, cartridges and even toners.  And what’s the best thing?  They have free shipping!  But that’s only valid for continental US only.

Anyway, they have those low priced ink cartridges that work for the same way as brand-named ones.  Customers are guaranteed of their compatibility and high quality.  The next time your office runs out of ink, tell them about inkers.biz!

Best deals online

I can get lost in the cyberspace browsing over computer stuff .  I like hunting for computer hardware online.  And with our currency going stronger against US dollars, all the more it encourages me to make my purchases online.

One of my recent finds is the shopping site called Mpire.  It allows buyers to purchase with discounts thereby lessening the product price.  Sounds great right?

I checked out their computer categories where the items were organized neatly: the hardware, components, networking, computer memory, PDA’s & portable hardware. Computer accessories, input devices, modems, software and storage & media. Famous e-shops can be found in this site such as Amazon, Ebay and Overstock.  I haven’t had the chance to fully explore everything they have yet.  But you can give it a try if you’re looking for those best deals in computer-related products.

Christmas greetings in your mailbox

Any of you have their mailboxes full of greeting cards and notices from the post office?  Each Christmas season, almost everyone is sure to receive tons of mails from their loved ones far and near. 

With the advent of internet technology that has changed though and affected the number of greetings we receive in real.  Many opt to send their cards through the electronic way and have long kissed the traditional way of sending by post goodbye. 

I bet some still go for the old-fashioned way of receiving their Christmas greetings.  Who doesn’t love to receive mails in their residential mailboxes especially if it’s from people we love?  Even commercial mailboxes aren’t spared from getting their own share of the mails received this season.  However way we send or receive our Christmas wishes, it’s the thought that counts anyway. Happy holidays everyone!

Communication at work

Calling outside of your country can be expensive.  But with the internet, you can avail internet phone service that cut the costs of long distance phone rates. 

Every month I always make many long distance calls at work especially that we have current projects in Africa.  Of course my company pays for the expenses incurred in the calls I make.  I have an unlimited long distance calling plan which makes it efficient to contact my colleagues especially when problem arises.

You too can avail of phone rates with low rates and good reception wherever you are! Have a look at Brama Telecom for their rates and services.

Seeing the world while working

My techie work brings me to different places in Europe and former states of the Soviet Union.  What were these countries? I’ll mention only three, that is Turkmenistan, Slovenia and Grenoble.

I’ve shared here before my experience in Turkmenistan, I’ll remember it as a country where gas is free! Where the city has got the nicest and newest structures yet you don't often see citizens around the place. And as for Slovenia – our hotel was yucky. For a 3 star hotel it seemed like a dormitory for students.

Last year, we flew to Grenoble, France, a beautiful city on the mountains. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to enjoy the sights coz we were busy with work. (more…)

Travel plans

Too much work in the office lately.  I sometimes find myself working even when I’m at home and worse, even during weekends.  I had to postpone travelling with my family to other countries till next year to my wife’s disappointment.

She’s excitedly making plans already and choosing which countries she wants to travel to. The easiest places we can go to at a short time would be the neighboring countries within Europe.  With many cheap flights and easy to book hotel accommodations being offered by travel agents, travel need not be costly.

Some of the cities we’re considering are Barcelona and Rome.  I’ve been to Barcelona few times already.  In fact about this time last year I was there for a short visit.  I was spared from spending on Barcelona hotels coz I have a brother who lives there. I have to check yet how much a room in Rome hotels cost.

For now, I’m looking forward to next week coz I don’t have to report to work until the end of the month.

Fat Jack - web hosting provider

Are you tired of problems and issues with your current web hosting provider? Is their service unreliable and slow and technical support non-existent? Would you like something better but cannot afford to have your own server?

Look no more! At Fat Jack Hosting where you will find everything you need – easy domain registration, affordable shared hosting, more advanced and flexible standard hosting and for the most demanding clients private hosting.

For flawless and simple management of your website and services they include with all hosting offers great application called cPanel. Through web intuitive interface you can check all details about your account, domains, websites, databases, statistics, mailboxes and many many more.

On their website you can try free demo of cPanel and see for yourself what it can do.

An email marketing solution

Are you looking for an email marketing solution to combat your organization’s communication needs?  If you’ve heard about iContact before, then here’s more information to add:

iContact is said to be the best option there is for anyone who wants to send out email newsletters. They have great inbox deliverability, an extremely easy to use interface, great prices that start at $9.95 per month, lots of templates, and also include surveying, autoresponder, and blogging capability from the same application with no additional charge.

iContact is an easy to use email marketing, surveying, autoresponder, and blogging tool that allows small businesses, non-profits, and associations to easily communicate online with their customers, prospects, and members.

If you want to try their services, they have a 15 day trial which you can use for FREE!

Weekend roundtrip to UK - III

 Here’s the last part of our weekend roundtrip to UK:

The first thing we had to get used to in UK is driving on left side - and since it was for both of us first time, we had to really concentrate and think about it.

First real trial was the roundabout - which way to go? Who has the right of way there? We should have checked before going! But we were lucky since the traffic was so light that either way would work.  Once we saw car with UK license plate going the right way, we followed and learnt. Only once I made a mistake when turning left in a small city and I still can see the surprise in the face of the driver that I almost hit. But this was the only accident that happened to us.

The trip back was unfortunately for us a disaster. We estimated that we can be at home early Sunday morning, but due to bad weather, traffic jams and our tiredness we actually arrived to Prague on Sunday night.  It was also the weekend that a car with a bomb rammed a Glasgow airport terminal thus security level was raised to critical in UK. Security was tight in public places such as London hotels, airport and also in Edinburgh.

Anyway, on our way back the British Border Control just asked us if all things inside our car belonged to us (they did), if we don't transport any live animals, weapons and drugs, and then let us go home.

The whole trip back and forth was almost 3000 kilometers and all three of us - me, my friend and our Mazda 323 survived.

Weekend roundtrip to UK - II

Here’s the continuation of our weekend roundtrip to UK:

The plan was simple - ride as fast as allowed and possible, with couple of stops for rest by the road side (no time to stay for a night in France hotels) for stretching and arriving Saturday morning in to our destination. Get our packages, some rest and sleep and return home. Because we were in a hurry we chose to use the EuroTunnel (the underwater tunnel connecting France and UK) instead of a ferry.

We didn't expect any problems on our way since all countries belong to European Union - the state borders were simply a sign beside the highway and there were no border checks at all. We got all the way to Callais without problems. But just before boarding the train to UK we had to go through security check. When asked by one of the French soldiers for the purpose and length of our trip we replied we are visiting our friend in UK and we are going back the next day. And that was a mistake to say. He immediately became suspicious that we are trying to smuggle something in since we traveled 12 hours just to have couple of beers and then travel another 12 hours back.

He ordered us to pull over, called other 3 guys and started to search our car very thoroughly. It took them almost and hour, they didn't skip a single thing - even forced us to take out the reserve tire and they opened it, checked all compartments and holes. All the while we were standing beside the car guarded by a guy with a gun. My friend wanted to take pictures of the search but they denied his request. During the search they kept telling us to tell the truth, that we don't have to lie to them about the real reason of our trip but we just kept repeating the same thing.

Of course they didn't find anything and they had to let us go. We almost missed our train because of this and we also lost one hour. First we were pretty upset with them but later on we could just laugh about it.

Such was our experience with the French soldiers.  We didn’t even have time to stay in their country for some sightseeing and of course no chance to stay in Paris hotels.