Honoring September for 2010 for My Mom Pattie...

So here we are…

Three years ago, my mom celebrated her last birthday (September 1) in the hospital while doing battle with Leukemia. I remember it fell on the Labor day weekend. I was three months away from having Chloe...

This is a photo of my mom, Pattie, at our rehearsal dinner in September 2004.  One of my favorite pics!

Actually on this day in, she was battling a bad case of pneumonia which is listed on her death certificate as actual cause of death (with underlying AML)… She was taken off of life support eleven days later...

I wish I could say it was a great last birthday for her, but it was probably the worst one ever. 

Just the week before she had been almost her normal self again.
Chatty on the phone with everyone, joking with the doctors (yelling at one of them as told by Jamie, who jokingly said: I'd never try to intentionally piss of your mom, she's brutal...). 

But I think her body really began to give up the fight. 

The seizures were on her doorstep. 

Sepsis was on it's way too. 

She died at 54 years old. 

Although, it should be said 54 years young… 

Too young...

But Birthdays are for celebrating… 

So enough with that mode of thinking!

Now that I have become a mother myself…
(Insert cute kid pics here - I had to!)

Chloe… Born December 2007

Riley… Born December 2009.

…On my birthday, I thank my mom for all that she must've gone through on that day to bring me into the world…

I have a totally different understanding now.

So Grandmom - THANK YOU!!!

And to all those before her… Thanks!

Owl Clip Art Image on Porcelain Pendant Necklace by Marsha Neal Studio in My Mom Pattie Etsy shop.

Ok, so now for the details of my "Honoring September" 2010 special…

For every $10 you spend (retail) in the month of September 2010 in:

1. My Mom Pattie Etsy shop

2. Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop

3. Marsha Neal Studio website

You will earn 1 chance to win a Marsha Neal Studio gift certificate…

Owl clip art image on round pendant by Marsha Neal Studio (limited edition) available in the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop.

Here are the three Gift Certificate categories:

$50 gift certificate category is for everyone that earns at least 1 entry.

$100 gift certificate category is for those of you that purchase $50 or more.

$150 gift certificate category is for those of you that purchase $100 or more.

If you purchase over $210, I will put 7 chances into each category for you…
(you get that last one, right?)

These can be combined retail purchases over the month of September 2010 between all three sites.

I will be adding more pieces into both Etsy shops over the next week or two…

And as a special to those of you out there with blogs or websites: 
If you post about this "Honoring September 2010" event by using the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop Button (see side bar to right for html code) you will earn one entry for a chance to win a $50 retail gift certificate to my Marsha Neal Studio website or Etsy Shop. 
Make sure to leave a comment here or link up your blog post below…


Thanks Everyone!!!
Happy September to you all...

Honoring September for 2010 for My Mom Pattie...

So here we are…

Three years ago, my mom celebrated her last birthday (September 1) in the hospital while doing battle with Leukemia. I remember it fell on the Labor day weekend. I was three months away from having Chloe...

This is a photo of my mom, Pattie, at our rehearsal dinner in September 2004.  One of my favorite pics!

Actually on this day in, she was battling a bad case of pneumonia which is listed on her death certificate as actual cause of death (with underlying AML)… She was taken off of life support eleven days later...

I wish I could say it was a great last birthday for her, but it was probably the worst one ever. 

Just the week before she had been almost her normal self again.
Chatty on the phone with everyone, joking with the doctors (yelling at one of them as told by Jamie, who jokingly said: I'd never try to intentionally piss of your mom, she's brutal...). 

But I think her body really began to give up the fight. 

The seizures were on her doorstep. 

Sepsis was on it's way too. 

She died at 54 years old. 

Although, it should be said 54 years young… 

Too young...

But Birthdays are for celebrating… 

So enough with that mode of thinking!

Now that I have become a mother myself…
(Insert cute kid pics here - I had to!)

Chloe… Born December 2007

Riley… Born December 2009.

…On my birthday, I thank my mom for all that she must've gone through on that day to bring me into the world…

I have a totally different understanding now.

So Grandmom - THANK YOU!!!

And to all those before her… Thanks!

Owl Clip Art Image on Porcelain Pendant Necklace by Marsha Neal Studio in My Mom Pattie Etsy shop.

Ok, so now for the details of my "Honoring September" 2010 special…

For every $10 you spend (retail) in the month of September 2010 in:

1. My Mom Pattie Etsy shop

2. Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop

3. Marsha Neal Studio website

You will earn 1 chance to win a Marsha Neal Studio gift certificate…

Owl clip art image on round pendant by Marsha Neal Studio (limited edition) available in the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop.

Here are the three Gift Certificate categories:

$50 gift certificate category is for everyone that earns at least 1 entry.

$100 gift certificate category is for those of you that purchase $50 or more.

$150 gift certificate category is for those of you that purchase $100 or more.

If you purchase over $210, I will put 7 chances into each category for you…
(you get that last one, right?)

These can be combined retail purchases over the month of September 2010 between all three sites.

I will be adding more pieces into both Etsy shops over the next week or two…

And as a special to those of you out there with blogs or websites: 
If you post about this "Honoring September 2010" event by using the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop Button (see side bar to right for html code) you will earn one entry for a chance to win a $50 retail gift certificate to my Marsha Neal Studio website or Etsy Shop. 
Make sure to leave a comment here or link up your blog post below…


Thanks Everyone!!!
Happy September to you all...

How to Jailbreak my old iPod Touch 1G?

1. I forgot that it has been a long time since I updated by Jailbroken iPod Touch 1G which is on Firmware 2.1.1
2. Cydia no longer is able to update all the latest patches. It seems that I have 34 files/apps need to upgraded.
3. Since, Cydia failed to update, I have decided to Restore to 2.2.1 and Jailbreak it.
4. Then, I realized Blackra1n did not support 2.2.1.
5. Thus, I downloaded 3.1.3 and Jailbreak it using Jailbreakme.com.

Can We Make Money Out of Mobile Apps?

In a recent article from David Pringle's article "How big is the mobile app economy?", it seems that not all seems to be rosy if the developer is not able to develop enough attraction for the consumers to buy.

The mobile app economy is growing fast, but is it growing fast enough? In the first half of 2010, sales of smartphone apps worldwide generated US$2.2 billion in revenue compared with US$1.7 billion in the whole of 2009, according to a new study by analysts at research2guidance.

If we assume there are 100,000 active app developers worldwide, that amounts to just US$22,000 revenue per developer in the first half of 2010. If you take out the 30 percent levied by the typical app store, developers will have made an average of just US$15,400 apiece. Take out their development costs and that doesn't leave much in profit.

Of course, developers may have other sources of revenue beyond straightforward apps sales. Some will have been commissioned to create free apps as adverts or promotional services for big companies, while others will be pursuing the "freemium" model, creating free mobile apps to promote their own paid-for software or content on other media. And there will also be some in-app advertising revenue to add into the mix.

Indeed, Juniper Research forecast recently that total mobile apps-related revenues (encompassing pay-per-download sales, value-added services and advertising) will reach US$32 billion by 2015. If the global active developer community is still 100,000 strong by 2015, that would mean the average developer would be generating US$320,000 in annual revenues before paying commission to app stores, ad-brokers and other elements of the ecosystem. That would appear to put the mobile app community on a more commercially-sustainable footing.

Review: iPhone 4 Case (Cygnett Snaps Duo)

1. Yesterday, I purchased a "Snaps Duo" - Silicon frames for iPhone 4 from Cygnett.
2. Price: RM 129
3. Shop: Macstudio, Low Yat Plaza
4. It came with 2 silicon frames of different colors. One of the main color is always black, whereas the other can be either Grey, Blue, Red, Orange etc. I bought the Black and Grey colored frames.
5. Its easy to slip the iPhone 4 into the frame but I felt quite "odd" holding it without a full case (just like the 3G or 3GS)
6. However, it does expose the original design of the iPhone 4 but still protect the iPhone against any bumps and drops.
7. There is also the front and back screen protector but I did not use them.

UPDATES - REVIEWS

• Review: 13 Reasons iLike iPad - How About You?
• Review: I Am A Student - Is It Worth To Buy an iPad?
• Review: After 1 month using iPad
• Review: What is it like after 2 months owning an iPad?
• Review: iPad - After More than 100 Days
• Review: After 4 months - List of my 11 Pages of iPad Apps
• Review: STM Scout XS
• Review: Screen Privacy Filter
• Review: Yoobao iPad Case
• Review: Apple Wireless Keyboard

Facetime being Blocked Behind Corporate Firewalls

1. I have not been able to connect successfully using Facetime over my corporate WiFi network.
2. We have even tried having both Facetime users connected on the same WiFi AP but still unsuccessful.
3. You will always encounter a "Connecting" message and then, the call will be dropped.
4. Then, I realize, its probably the Port Blocking issues.
5. Here's an article from Apple --> iPhone 4: Using Facetime behind a firewall.

Review: My First Facetime Call Experience

1. I think the Facetime will be one the key features of iPhone thats gonna be a hit.
2. Successfully made a Facetime call from my house using WiFi over Streamyx (ADSL) and a colleague using WiFi over UniFi (Telekom Malaysia's new High Speed Broadbadnd using Fiber)
3. The quality is quite good and the voice quality is excellent (no lag)
4. Both cameras played a significant role in making the conversation a worthwhile experience. Its fun to switch the camera back and forth to show around the places. It will be a better hit if it can operate over 3G!
5. The ability to move around the owner's display anywhere around the screen is also cool.
6. What's more interesting is like you are are really having a conversation with eye-to-eye contact unlike the way you communicate over a video conferencing desktop camera.

NOTE: Received my iPhone 4 on Aug 25, 2010.

New Porcelain Halloween Pendants

Marsha Neal Studio: New Porcelain Halloween Pendants

Here is a quick Mosaic I made of some samples of the new Porcelain Halloween Pendants that I am making and getting pictures gathered for my Etsy shop so I can get some of these listed and hopefully sold...

They are going to retail at $14 each (they are in the size range of my medium pendants).

Keep an eye out…

There will be some finished pieces as well in the Marsha Neal Studio Etsy Shop and the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop. I've got a bead night tonight with some friends up in PA and I am hoping to be inspired to actually make some jewelry!

New Porcelain Halloween Pendants

Marsha Neal Studio: New Porcelain Halloween Pendants

Here is a quick Mosaic I made of some samples of the new Porcelain Halloween Pendants that I am making and getting pictures gathered for my Etsy shop so I can get some of these listed and hopefully sold...

They are going to retail at $14 each (they are in the size range of my medium pendants).

Keep an eye out…

There will be some finished pieces as well in the Marsha Neal Studio Etsy Shop and the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop. I've got a bead night tonight with some friends up in PA and I am hoping to be inspired to actually make some jewelry!

Trying out the Microsoft Word Blog post feature

I've never tried this feature before… one reason could be that I'm not an avid blogger and hence the reason for me to use Desktop applications to blog never occurred.

I'm of the belief that communication through technology is not more of context but of accessibility. I would have never thought about publishing my random thoughts for others to read had there been no Internet. Leave alone publish; I would not have even maintained a personal diary. A reason why the twitter population is increasing day by day could be because of the accessibility to micro-blogging through mobile phones…

Under the above presumption, I've decided to use a desktop application and write down my random thoughts as they come along. And since I have access to the MS Word feature anytime… maybe…maybe I would then begin to blog regularly J

So far, the feature looks cool… except for the fact, I still haven't got to know how to insert pictures and to create labels. I'm sure these features are somewhere there in the application and I shall keep exploring. Until then -

Hope to blog more often J

Santosh

Trying out the Microsoft Word Blog post feature

I've never tried this feature before… one reason could be that I'm not an avid blogger and hence the reason for me to use Desktop applications to blog never occurred.

I'm of the belief that communication through technology is not more of context but of accessibility. I would have never thought about publishing my random thoughts for others to read had there been no Internet. Leave alone publish; I would not have even maintained a personal diary. A reason why the twitter population is increasing day by day could be because of the accessibility to micro-blogging through mobile phones…

Under the above presumption, I've decided to use a desktop application and write down my random thoughts as they come along. And since I have access to the MS Word feature anytime… maybe…maybe I would then begin to blog regularly J

So far, the feature looks cool… except for the fact, I still haven't got to know how to insert pictures and to create labels. I'm sure these features are somewhere there in the application and I shall keep exploring. Until then -

Hope to blog more often J

Santosh

Trying out the Microsoft Word Blog post feature

I've never tried this feature before… one reason could be that I'm not an avid blogger and hence the reason for me to use Desktop applications to blog never occurred.

I'm of the belief that communication through technology is not more of context but of accessibility. I would have never thought about publishing my random thoughts for others to read had there been no Internet. Leave alone publish; I would not have even maintained a personal diary. A reason why the twitter population is increasing day by day could be because of the accessibility to micro-blogging through mobile phones…

Under the above presumption, I've decided to use a desktop application and write down my random thoughts as they come along. And since I have access to the MS Word feature anytime… maybe…maybe I would then begin to blog regularly J

So far, the feature looks cool… except for the fact, I still haven't got to know how to insert pictures and to create labels. I'm sure these features are somewhere there in the application and I shall keep exploring. Until then -

Hope to blog more often J

Santosh

Finally the "4" is Here ... !!

1. This gadget arrived today (~RM 2500) from Singapore. New features include: Facetime, Retina Display (960 by 640 pixel resolution at 326 ppi), Multitasking, HD Recording and Editing, 5 Mega Pixel Camera with LED Flash.
2. Purchased Anti Fingerprint Screen Protector (RM 79)
3. And SGP Skin Guard (Carbon Black) to protect the back. (RM 69)

RELATED:

• Prepared for Shipment!
• 
  

Review: My iPad Accessories List

These are my following accessories:-

1 - Review: STM Scout XS
2 - Review: Screen Privacy Filter
3 - Review: Yoobao iPad Case
4 - Review: Apple Wireless Keyboard

Review: After 4 months - List of my 11 Pages of iPad Apps!

1. I purchased my iPad on April 15, 2010 in Taiwan.
2. It seems that 11 pages are not enough. How I wish that the iPad 3.2 have the "Folder" features like the iOS 4.0.
3. My favorite frequent apps are listed in the first few pages. And my favorite Game is "Angry Birds".
4. You can read more of the review below:

• Review: After 1 month using iPad
• Review: What is it like after 2 months owning an iPad?
• Review: iPad - After More than 100 Days
• Review: 13 Reasons iLike iPad - How About You?
• Review: I Am A Student - Is It Worth To Buy an iPad?
• 
  

1. After 4 months, here's the list of my favorite apps screenshots:-

Who do they think I am?

I was mentioning in my earlier post that almost 80% of the SMS messages I receive are SPAM. Looking at the propositions they are offering me through SMS, I think this is what they think I am – their Target Customer.

One Marketer thinks I am a pot-bellied person, and have some interesting schemes on buying slim belts for 0% interest on EMI’s

According to another Marketer, I am a rich person who invests in properties. The number of Apartments for sale, realty projects that is coming up in Delhi and NCR I have the details of those in my SMS inbox. Another Marketer too thinks the same way bombarding me with 12% return of Investment through mutual funds. How I wish I fell in this category

Yes, I am deeply into religion and devotion. With the service provider themselves sending me ‘exciting and interesting’ offers of VAS. Download a devotional song as ringtone or set it as a caller tune….else offers of Mobile wallpapers and screensavers of gods and goddesses is a daily norm

Some other marketer thinks otherwise about me. He believes I’d love to have photos of the top models in bikinis and swimsuits in my mobile phone

Also I’m a person who likes to indulge in a weekly sauna bath and visit SPA regularly.

Not to forget…they think that like most Indians I’m also crazy about Cricket…and would love to get any promo messages on Cricket/ cricketers

It is a known fact that for any database marketing, segmentation is very important. It is unfortunate that while the medium offers pin-point targeting, most marketers use the medium for carpet bombing. While me as a customer remains the same individual… each marketer think different about me, like the Elephant in the room... to each his own (version of me)

In the meantime can someone answer me - who am I really?

Santosh

Who do they think I am?

I was mentioning in my earlier post that almost 80% of the SMS messages I receive are SPAM. Looking at the propositions they are offering me through SMS, I think this is what they think I am – their Target Customer.

One Marketer thinks I am a pot-bellied person, and have some interesting schemes on buying slim belts for 0% interest on EMI’s

According to another Marketer, I am a rich person who invests in properties. The number of Apartments for sale, realty projects that is coming up in Delhi and NCR I have the details of those in my SMS inbox. Another Marketer too thinks the same way bombarding me with 12% return of Investment through mutual funds. How I wish I fell in this category

Yes, I am deeply into religion and devotion. With the service provider themselves sending me ‘exciting and interesting’ offers of VAS. Download a devotional song as ringtone or set it as a caller tune….else offers of Mobile wallpapers and screensavers of gods and goddesses is a daily norm

Some other marketer thinks otherwise about me. He believes I’d love to have photos of the top models in bikinis and swimsuits in my mobile phone

Also I’m a person who likes to indulge in a weekly sauna bath and visit SPA regularly.

Not to forget…they think that like most Indians I’m also crazy about Cricket…and would love to get any promo messages on Cricket/ cricketers

It is a known fact that for any database marketing, segmentation is very important. It is unfortunate that while the medium offers pin-point targeting, most marketers use the medium for carpet bombing. While me as a customer remains the same individual… each marketer think different about me, like the Elephant in the room... to each his own (version of me)

In the meantime can someone answer me - who am I really?

Santosh

Who do they think I am?

I was mentioning in my earlier post that almost 80% of the SMS messages I receive are SPAM. Looking at the propositions they are offering me through SMS, I think this is what they think I am – their Target Customer.

One Marketer thinks I am a pot-bellied person, and have some interesting schemes on buying slim belts for 0% interest on EMI’s

According to another Marketer, I am a rich person who invests in properties. The number of Apartments for sale, realty projects that is coming up in Delhi and NCR I have the details of those in my SMS inbox. Another Marketer too thinks the same way bombarding me with 12% return of Investment through mutual funds. How I wish I fell in this category

Yes, I am deeply into religion and devotion. With the service provider themselves sending me ‘exciting and interesting’ offers of VAS. Download a devotional song as ringtone or set it as a caller tune….else offers of Mobile wallpapers and screensavers of gods and goddesses is a daily norm

Some other marketer thinks otherwise about me. He believes I’d love to have photos of the top models in bikinis and swimsuits in my mobile phone

Also I’m a person who likes to indulge in a weekly sauna bath and visit SPA regularly.

Not to forget…they think that like most Indians I’m also crazy about Cricket…and would love to get any promo messages on Cricket/ cricketers

It is a known fact that for any database marketing, segmentation is very important. It is unfortunate that while the medium offers pin-point targeting, most marketers use the medium for carpet bombing. While me as a customer remains the same individual… each marketer think different about me, like the Elephant in the room... to each his own (version of me)

In the meantime can someone answer me - who am I really?

Santosh

How Apple Kill the Web, Long Live Internet.

Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff wrote a recent article titled "The Web is Dead. Long Live Internet"

"You wake up and checkyour email on your bedside iPad — that’s one app. During breakfast you browse Facebook, Twitter, and The New York Times — three more apps. On the way to the office, you listen to a podcast on your smartphone. Another app. At work, you scroll through RSS feeds in a reader and have Skype and IM conversations. More apps. At the end of the day, you come home, make dinner while listening to Pandora, play some games on Xbox Live, and watch a movie on Netflix’s streaming service.

Over the past few years, one of the most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the wide-open Web to semiclosed platforms that use the Internet for transport but not the browser for display. It’s driven primarily by the rise of the iPhone model of mobile computing, and it’s a world Google can’t crawl, one where HTML doesn’t rule. And it’s the world that consumers are increasingly choosing, not because they’re rejecting the idea of the Web but because these dedicated platforms often just work better or fit better into their lives (the screen comes to them, they don’t have to go to the screen)."

Its true, that iPhone have changed the way I access the Internet. I no longer frequently use the iPhone Safari browser to surf the Net. Every morning I will open up my Tweetdeck to check all the Tweets and news feeds from iPad and iPhone fans. Sometimes, I will use the Facebook app or the Four Square app to update my status and reply comments.

If I have to check the song played on radio, I will just use the SoundHound app which will search the Music database and provide me with the Lyrics and also its related Youtube information.

In fact most the applications found in the App Store are somehow linked to Internet. Its intriguing to see how Apple have transformed the users who used to access the web the traditional way using a Web browser to accessing the Internet via the "Internet-based apps".

[HOW-TO] - Disable "Call Forwarding Active - Dismiss" Message on your iPhone

• Download and install PlistEdit Pro.
• This is the tool to edit the "carrier.plist" file.

The “call forwarding” popups in the iPhone 3G can be disabled by editing thecarrier.plist file. This file can be find in this forlder:/System/Library/Carrier Bundles/Unknown.bundle/
Search for :
[key]ShowCallForwarded[/key]
[YES/]
[key]ShowCallForwarding[/key]
[YES/]

Now change the “YES” values into “NO”
[key]ShowCallForwarded[/key]
[NO/]
[key]ShowCallForwarding[/key]
[NO/]

Reboot your iPhone and the popup’s are gone!

UPDATES - REVIEWS

• Review: 13 Reasons iLike iPad - How About You?
• Review: I Am A Student - Is It Worth To Buy an iPad?
• Review: After 1 month using iPad
• Review: What is it like after 2 months owning an iPad?
• Review: iPad - After More than 100 Days
• Review: After 4 months - List of my 11 Pages of iPad Apps
• Review: STM Scout XS
• Review: Screen Privacy Filter
• Review: Yoobao iPad Case
• Review: Apple Wireless Keyboard

BeadFest Today...

I really wanted to get to Beadfest by lunchtime... But I wasn't…


By the time I got there around 3pm, Chloe was napping in the car (got a good hour nap in on the drive).

I didn't get very far at all in the show (I talk way too much!). Must be that I don't get out of the house much thing… So I am planning on going back on Sunday (by myself) and actually taking out the Digital Nikon SLR and getting some decent photographs…

Here are some beads that Chloe and I picked out from our good friends booth: Artful Beads Studio and Workshop: 

She went right for the purple beads - and they were all shiny beads - so right up her alley!

Chloe received a stuffed (very cute) pig from Kelly of Beadfuddled. It was love at first squeeze… She had it with her the whole rest of the show, the ride home, then was giving "little piggy" piggy-back rides around the house! She is now asleep with her new little love… Thanks Kelly! As always - your gifts are huge hits (Riley was sleeping and did not get his yet - but will get some pics of that for you & will show you on Sunday at the show)…

I have some other pics to show you all that pertain to those new decal pieces I fired last week for BeadFest & Etsy that I would like some feedback on. But I'm wiped and ready for bed. Lots of stuff planned for tomorrow "at home". Got to get an early start…

Ok, real quick: the above picture of three sizes for the Keyhole Oval pendants was taken with the Digital Nikon SLR with the standard lens (another reason why I was late to BeadFest - photographing stuff I was dropping off). I think I may need a better lens for getting pics like this. Need to work on lighting (a tent over it maybe?), focus, background? I like the stone and moss, but it it too distracting or is it ok because the pendant is so "sepia & white"? I am thinking of using these for my Etsy shop...

Have fun shopping at BeadFest if you are there. D7Studio, Booth #408 has my pieces… Stop by and take a peek. Darlene has a ton of other really cool stuff & Kelly Russell of Beadfuddled is there too!

FREE ADMISSION PASS TO BEADFEST PHILLY (CLICK ON THIS).

-- Pictures Taken With & Posted From My iPhone