I started my Laingan.com personal Blog on 25 August 2008 and it’s one year already. Just how time flies? This “My Piece of Sky Blog” turns 1 year old today.
I have written 252 Blog posts including this one. It is not unexpected for me to have come this far in updating my WordPress Blog quite regularly. Thanks to my persistence 😛
This is my little piece of sky for myself to share my views, express my thoughts, record my daily activity, put my feelings into words and so on. The purpose is to amuse myself during leisure time. In fact, this is an entertainment for myself and I feel happy for being able to own this little piece of sky.
While most people enjoy watching TV programs, I would rather spend time doing my writing and reading. They might not understand the amount of joy that this Blog of mine has brought to me. I really enjoy the process of writing every single Blog post.
The enjoyment starts from preparing for the topic that I wanted to write about, organising my thoughts, designing the graphics, editing the photos, uploading the files to the server, publishing the Blog posts, reading my own posts and so on.
I might have come to a point for being long-winded at times because the writing juice will just flow as I write along. But this shows that I can really write 😛
I notice from the Cpanel that people from various countries are following my personal Blog quite regularly. If you are one of them, I thank you for visiting my Little Piece of Sky Blog. I appreciate it 🙂
I have the habit of taking photos of things that interest me. I’m patient enough to take a nice photo most of the time except for moments when I’m in a hurry 😉
There will be time when you find that there are some background objects such as a passer-by or over-crowded scene being captured in your photos but you just need the picture of your friend and none others.
I guess most people will wish that they could remove those extra if not eye-sore objects from your photos 🙂 And you will just keep those objects that interest and matter the most to you .
One of the good and free photo-editing software that I use lately is called GIMP (stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program). This is an open-source software that can do most if not all of the jobs of that expensive Photoshop. Thus, GIMP is often referred to as the “alternative to Photoshop“. However, the learning curve of using GIMP is quite steep if you do not know how to use it.
Today, I stumbled upon an interesting and free photo-editing software called Fotoflexer. This is a web-based software that has a tool called Smart Scissors that allows you to cut an object out of a background with just a few clicks. It makes the background disappear, leaving only the foreground subject.
Fotoflexer is very easy to use and you can follow the steps by watching the video clip below :
I have downloaded an open-source vector graphic editor recently. I got to know about this piece of free software from Twitter so I think it can help to widen my horizon and learn new skills by joining some of the social networking sites 😛
I always wanted to learn how to draw cartoon but I didn’t know how to go about doing it. I think vector graphic software such as Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Xara Xtreme and so on can help to shorten the learning curves.
However, most of these vector graphic software are very expensive except for Xara Xtreme which costs less than USD100. Luckily, I found the open-source vector graphic software called InkScape recently while I was considering whether to buy Xtreme or not.
I have been playing around with the software recently and I find it not too difficult to use. I managed to create some simple graphics using Inkscape and I’m having fun using it. But it is not flawless though. Of course, we cannot expect it to have the full-fledge features like those expensive software are providing. Anyway, I’m grateful and happy with Inkscape so far.
My niece’s classmate has had made a sketch of a cartoon mouse on the whiteboard in my house. I based on her master piece and got the inspiration to create the cartoon mouse using Inkscape with my laptop.
Here is my first self-created cartoon :
Do you like My Happy Mouse? I personally like it very much and feel happy that I’m able to draw a cartoon using vector graphic software.
If you are interested, you may download the open-source vector graphic software from : http://www.inkscape.org
I often think that babies are lovely especially those chubby ones. I never knew that baby Orang Utans can be as cute and lovely as human babies.
The video clip below features a bunch of delicate and tiny Orang Utans which are orphans being sent to the rehabilitation centre. This is a place to help the baby Orang Utans to get back to the wild.
The tiny Orang Utans look so cute and adorable. They wear diapers and get bathed just like human babies. I believe these orphan Orang Utans need motherly care and lots of love too as all living things need that. Who wouldn’t?
Let the cute and lovely baby Orang Utans put a smile on your face by watching the video clip.
I stumbled upon Helen Steiner Rice‘s verse when I was choosing a birthday card for my friend two weeks ago. The card has a pleasant-looking design but what attracted me the most is the verse written on the front page.
The title of the friendship verse is “For A Special Friend“. I’m touched by the beautiful words written by Helen Steiner Rice who was often referred to as the “poet laureate of inspirational verse“.
Here is how the friendship verse goes :
FOR A SPECIAL FRIEND
There are some that we meet in passing
and forget as soon as they go.
There are some we remember often
because they’re so nice to know.
Whose memories tug at the heartstrings,
wherever they may be.
Too dear to be forgotten,
and you are that kind to me.
~ Helen Steiner Rice
What an inspirational friendship verse that poet Helen Steiner Rice has had written. It depicts what great friendship is all about and also what I wanted to say to my friend.
Show this touching friendship verse to whom you called true friends and treasure each other’s friendship till the end. Cheers 🙂
Artists often give me the impression is that they are cool and calm people who paint their portrait patiently and quietly.
However, it has changed my view on artists lately after watching the process of a few talented artists did their paintings on video. It seems to me is that these artists were either dancing their way or carrying out some martial arts while painting their portraits 😛
Here is a good example to prove what I have just said is true. A very talented artist called David Garibaldi does his painting with his hands while dancing to an inspiring song entitled “The Glory Of It All” by The David Crowder Band.
Watch the video clip below to the very end and see what David Garibaldi’s creation will look like. I find it amazing and I believe it will amaze you too.
I received a chocolate bar as one of my birthday gifts from my friend a few days ago. It was a Hershey’s Symphony Giant Chocolate Bar bought from The Cocoa Trees chocolate shop.
Hershey’s Symphony Creamy Milk Chocolate :
As the weather was hot, the creamy milk chocolate bar had almost melted by the sizzler. So, I put it in the refigerator to freeze it.
A few days later, I had almost forgotten about the chocolate until I saw my niece was eating the Hershey’s Symphony Giant Chocolate Bar this evening. It was gone by 90% when I saw my chocolate!
I told her that it was my birthday gift and she returned with a cute grin on her pretty face. My niece told me repeatedly that the Hershey chocolate was very nice and she wanted me to buy some more chocolates for her. Apparently, the chocolate bar is the more the merrier to her.
Then, my niece said to me : “You can buy a lot…a lot of chocolates and I don’t mind” 😉 Oh boy! This is going to burn a hole in my pocket soon 🙁 Well, this is kids’ talk. I always find it funny and amusing as kids are lovely.
Today is my idol’s birthday. I sincerely wish her very happy on this special day of hers.
My gratefulness to her had been written on a birthday card so I’m making the birthday wishes short and sharp over here. I wish my idol beautiful, cheerful, clever, lovely, brainy and fun-loving as ever.
Positive thinking is the vitamin to the mind and it is all that we all need. Thing will turn out differently if we think positively and focus on those results that we want.
Motivational and kind words will impact you to follow your heart and dreams. Say not “I Cannot” but “I Can”. There are inevitably obstacles along the path of our life’s journey and there will be mountains for us to climb. Let us use our determination to climb our own mountains instead of someone else’s.
All of us have to believe that positive thinking will pull us through difficult moments. So, let the motivating words inspire you and get you going by watching the video clip below :
Perhaps one of the best things to do on a public holiday is to go for shopping or eating out at the restaurant.
I bet not many people would want to do some serious reading of books on a holiday when everybody’s mood is believed to be high (on a National Day) and is ready for a celebration if not party.
As usual, I went to the mall for window shopping with my sister and then dropped by a restaurant when we were hungry. We went to the Sizzler — a western food restaurant this time round.
All-You-Can-Eat Salads :
Biscuits, Tortilla Chips, Crackers and Sunflower Seeds :
Swiss Grilled Chicken :
Spicy and Swiss Grilled Chicken Combo :
The food at the All-You-Can-Eat Salad Bar were more than enough to stuff a hungry stomach. There was not much room left in the stomach for the main course to be served.
Anyway, I still have the appetite to swallow a cup of Vanilla and Chocolate ice creams. In addition, I managed to finish a plate of fresh fruits before calling it a day 🙂
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