Samsung Galaxy A6 32GB (2018) Review
| Gadget Reviews | 21 seen
Samsung Galaxy A6 was first released in May 2018. We bought it as the replacement phone for Samsung Galaxy A3, to whom glass cracked on the rocks in Georgia (in the yard of Iosebis Duqani) while we traveled to the region of Kakheti.
As the repair cost was about the half price of a new one, we decided to go for a brand new and more powerful phone.
2 year lifetime is good for a phone, at least that's what I believe so.
Bought this phone during Black Friday sale in Georgia (Tbilisi) at AltaOk store in Eastpoint. The sales price was GEL 599 ($225.61), and it said it's discount from GEL 749 ($282.11). Though on Amazon you can get brand new unlocked Samsung Galaxy A6 phone for $214.99
Samsung Galaxy A6 sealed and sold in Georgia
The model we bought today in Georgia, seems is manufactured for the market of Russia and CIS, thus there is an international version available (I'm bad at gadget model numbers).
Samsung Galaxy A6 unpacked
Here is what comes out of the box - a phone, USB cable, and an electrical cable for faster charger, earphones and a special pin to remove sim card…
Ordering Goodies From Amazon - Baby Play Mat and more
| Laptop Reviews | 12 seen
It has been a while since I made my first international Amazon delivery to Georgia, using parcel delivery and forwarding service USA2Georgia. See how I ordered and installed new hinges for my old HP laptop back in 2014.
How To Order Goodies From US to Georgia - Usa2Georgia.com
At the end of 2018 we ordered some goodies for our little baby girl - unfortunately, I haven't saved exact names for the items, so I will try to guess their actual names in this photo post.
Goodies delivered to our Tbilisi apt
Very neat shopping, and actually pretty fast - our order was fulfilled (since ordering online) in about a week (delivered to doors in Georgia)
Goodies for baby
Play mat, water mat, and socks for crawling
Play mat installed
Top Dividend Paying Stocks from Nasdaq Baltic I'm Planning to Acquire in 2019
| Investments | 14 seen
I've been investing in the Baltic equity market since April 2017, currently (2018) my capital has been exposed to 16 companies listed on the Nasdaq Baltic stock exchange giving a combined dividend yield (after two years) on cost 7.99%.
On the other hand, the total value for my Baltic holdings has been down -21.56% (without dividends) and -9.76% (with dividends). The drop has happened in 2018. As there have been drops anywhere else this year, I'm not too concerned regarding this.
In fact, it has been a while since I bought my latest Baltic stock, in 2018 I'm more focusing in the US stock market, see: Dow Jones Companies By Yield 2018
Also see: Top Dividend Paying Stocks In Nasdaq Baltic I'm Planning to Acquire in 2018
Now, when planning investments for 2019 in Nasdaq Baltics, I did a simple research, based on historical data and my own experience to list stocks I'm looking to acquire next year.
Stocks In NASDAQ Baltic I'm Planning to Acquire in 2019Please remember: your capital is at risk when investing in stocks and you could…
DEL to TBS: Cheap Direct Flights from Delhi to Tbilisi From February 2019
| Airports | 7 seen
Starting February 2019, the largest Indian airline, Indigo, will operate daily Delhi-Tbilisi direct flights.
The following was reported on November 14, 2018, by the company TAV Georgia, which owns the Tbilisi airport. (Source:Из Грузии будет летать прямой рейс в Индию )
Direct flights will be carried by aircraft Airbus 321.
Airline Indigo was established in 2006, it operates flights to 59 destinations, from where 48 local and 11 international. The company's fleet is 195 aircraft.
According to the NewsGeorgia:
The Indigo airline company became interested in flying to Georgia this summer and since then the parties have already held two meetings where they discussed technical details.
Drupal 7 Rules: Send E-mail to User Referenced by NID After Saving Content
| Drupal Development | 17 seen
A time ago I started to work on a custom Drupal powered translation management system, unfortunately as I didn't have much spare time and actually there are really great alternatives (paid) out there - I decided to postpone this project.
Despite the project wasn't actively developed, it was though running a separate Linode VPS for it (which costs money), I decided to delete this instance to save money, but before that, I decided to keep at least one interesting feature I figured out - how to send e-mail to the assigned user (not user but node reference, in terms of Drupal) , after saving new project (node)
I had 2 content types - Translators and Projects, in the Projects content type I created a custom field ( field-assign-to) where with the help of node references I referenced username from Translators content type
Node Reference in Drupal 7
Learn more How To Reference Nodes in Drupal 8 + Views Relationships Display
Actually, a couple of years ago I was working on a similar assignment but less complex, see: Drupal Rules - How To Configure Journalist and Editor roles to Unpublish/Publish…
Documentary "The Black August. Default" About Russia's Financial Crisis in 1998
| Documentaries | 36 seen
20 years ago, Russia experienced one of the most devastating crises in its recent history — on 17 August 1998 the government defaulted.
Today I watched an interesting documentary in Russian - Черный август. Дефолт, documentary tells about events and causes which led to the default.
What really caught my attention was the GKO, or Государственное Краткосрочное Обязательство
GKO are short-term zero-coupon government bonds issued by the Russian Finance Ministry and trade on the Moscow Inter Bank Currency Exchange (MICEX), as well as on five other currency exchanges connected with the MICEX and located in large regional cities. The last GKO auction was held in February 2004
The initials became synonymous with the 1998 Russian financial crisis when the state defaulted on its "GKO obligations" (bonds). The GKO crisis, the most significant financial crisis in post-Soviet Russia, caused turmoil amongst both foreign and domestic investors and creditors. The crisis led to the abrupt devaluation of the Russian ruble in several steps in August…
Rainy Day in Tbilisi
| Living in Georgia | 2 seen
Less than a month ago, we changed apartment in Tbilisi and got one with really cool views towards mount Mtatsminda.
I've been playing with a tripod a camera here ever since. See: Tbilisi by night (New apartment version) and Tbilisi by day (New Apartment Version)
Despite my forecast, that next version probably will be an HDR photography, it turned out to be a Rainy day. Actually, about a year and a half ago, I made a cool time-lapse video from our previous apt, see: Rainy day in Tbilisi - Time Lapse Video.
If you are into the rain photography, I could also offer a trip to Verona on a rainy day, see: Rainy day in Verona
Lonely tree
I believe this tree will be featured in another future time-lapse series, like Last day of April (complete Time Lapse)
Rainy day in Tbilisi
Trinity Monastery of St. Jonas in Kyiv
| Churches and Monasteries | 24 seen
The Trinity Monastery of St. Jonas is a Ukrainian Orthodox monastery in the Kievan neighborhood of Zverinets, a short distance from the medieval Vydubychi Monastery.
We discovered this monastery back in 2017 when visited Hryshko National Botanical Garden
Trinity Monastery of St. Jonas
It was Jonas, a Vydubychi hegumen, who founded this monastery in 1864. Princess Vasilchikov, the widow of Kiev's Governor General, decided to support the undertaking and presented her dacha to the brethren.It was on these grounds that the katholikon was constructed.
The monastery's bell tower
The monastery's bell tower, at 110 meters, was to be the tallest in the Orthodox world. Its construction was halted due to the outbreak of World War I. As many as 800 monks resided there at the time.
The monastery was closed in 1934 and its grounds were taken over by the M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden.The monks of the recently revived monastery now help to restore the nearby Zverinets caves.
Postcards from Mtskheta 2
| | 10 seen
Mtskheta is a small and lovely town located some 20 km from nation' s capital Tbilisi. Some will find a lot of similarities in Mtskheta with the town of Sighanghi, while others will enjoy architectural and religious pearls of Mtskheta. Svetitskhoveli church, Jvari monastery or Samtavro are just a few to name.
In today' s Piece of Life series - Mtskheta as we saw it in early November 2018 (from the small balcony of hotel Gino Wellness)
Also see: Postcards from Mtskheta
Mtskheta in HDR
I've managed to capture two UNESCO sites actually in this one HDR image. Awesome.
Jvari monastery in night
Top 5 Luxury & Spa Hotels in Kvareli, Georgia
| Hotel reviews | 16 seen
Here are the top 3 reasons to visit and stay in Kvareli - health spas, culturally diverse food & beautiful forests.
Kvareli is one of the most popular SPA hotel destinations in Georgia, or at least in the region of Kakheti.
I've stayed in several hotels in or near the town of Kakheti. With Royal Batoni being my favorite so far.
In today's article, I've listed top 5 Luxury & SPA hotels in Kvareli, Georgia. See Indie travel guides to plan your trip to the region of Kakheti
Disclosure: hotels listed below contain links to Booking.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a reservation on Booking.com site, I might earn an affiliate income, at no cost to you.
Kvareli EdenRead my review here: Hotel Kvareli Eden Review
Kvareli Eden Hotel is located in Kvarteli town center, on the right bank of the Bursa River. It features an indoor swimming pool and a wine therapy spa center. Free Wi-Fi and free private parking are provided.
All elegant rooms come with air-conditioning, a flat-screen TV, a safety deposit box and a mini-bar. Free toiletries and…
Hryshko National Botanical Garden in Kiev
| Tourism objects | 20 seen
Turns out there are at least two botanical gardens in Kiev. In today's article, I will write and provide photographs from Hryshko National Botanical Garden taken back in Summer 2017.
Apparently, we got here by a taxi from our hotel (Hotel Ukraine), and as far as I remember we got back to the city center by trolleybus.
The M. M. Hryshko National Botanical Garden is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
Cash desks at Kievs Botanical garden
I don't remember exactly what was the price for entrance, but it was really cheap (compared to Western Europe)
The M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden is a botanical garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. It is namedafter the Soviet botanist Mykola Hryshko who was born in Poltava. Founded in 1936, the garden covers 1.3 km² (120 hectares) and contains 13,000 types of trees, shrubs, flowers and other plants from all over the world. It has many coniferous trees and honey locusts, and flowers such as peonies, roses, magnolias, and bushes including lilacs.
…Shio-Mgvime monastery
| Churches and Monasteries | 13 seen
The Shio-Mgvime monastery is a medieval monastic complex in Georgia, near the town of Mtskheta. It is located in a narrow limestone canyon on the northern bank of the Kura River, some 30 km from Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital.
It took me more than seven years since I've been living in Georgia and 60 GEL to get here.
Long story short: At the start of November 2018, we booked a 4-star hotel Gino Wellness in Mtskheta and the girl from hotels front desk organized us a taxi for 60 GEL. Now, this is really expensive actually for such a short drive, but it's OK just for one time.
According to a historic tradition, the first monastic community at this place was founded by the 6th-century monk Shio, one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers who came to Georgia as Christian missionaries.
Shio Mgvime monastery complex
St. Shio is said to have spent his last years as a hermit in a deep cave near Mtskheta subsequently named Shiomghvime ("the Cave of Shio") after him. The earliest building – the Monastery of St. John the Baptist – a cruciform church, very plain and strict in…
Hotel Gino Wellness Mtskheta Review
| Hotel reviews | 12 seen
There are at least two Gino Wellness hotels in Georgia (probably more), one is located in the Rabati Fortress in the town of Akhaltsikhe and the other one is located really close to Tbilisi, in Mtskheta. In today's article, I will speak about the one in Mtskheta.
Offering free WiFi, a sun terrace with a swimming pool, spa and wellness center and garden, Hotel Gino Wellness Mtskheta is located in Mtskheta. Each accommodation at the 4-star hotel has mountain views, and guests can enjoy access to a children's playground and to a hot spring bath.
We booked this hotel at the start of November 2018, in the frames of Georgian Discount Week. Stayed here two nights at the deluxe room and paid for that GEL 270 + two evenings at the local hotel's restaurant ~ 130 GEL. It's interesting to note, that almost 4 years ago we paid the identical price for a stay at Rabati hotel:
For a two night stay we paid in total 260 GEL (USD140.00/EUR 115.00), in price was included breakfast and a visit to spa centre for 2 hours each day.
We paid around 60 GEL for supper at first night on Hotels restaurant. Other day we went to local Akhaltsikhe…
October 2018 Dividend Income Report - $168.10
| Investments | 10 seen
Welcome to the eighteenth (#18) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks, peer to peer lending (both fiat and cryptocurrencies) in October 2018.
In case you are wondering why I'm sharing online my earnings - the answer is pretty simple - I like transparency and these reports help me to observe my progress or bounces. Hopefully, my reports can give some inspiration to you as well. (If so, please leave a short comment below) Also, I have a goal to reach one million dollars in my bank account by the time I will turn 60 (27 years still to go).
In short, last October turned better than expected - mostly because I received two dividend payments which were missing in September, plus interest received on Mintos.com platform increased if compared to the previous month.
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to mintos.com peer to peer lending website, by clicking on links on this page and by making an investment on mintos.com, I might earn affiliate income at no cost to you. Also…
Halloween 2018
| Living in Georgia | 2 seen
Halloween 2018, was celebrated on Wednesday, October 31.
This was our first Halloween together with our newborn baby and we made some really cool photos and video's in our new Tbilisi apt.
But as each year,it's all about carving the pumpkin and having a lot of fun.
How To Carve a Pumpkin and Make Stunning Halloween Photos
Halloween pumpkin 2018
I bought this one at local Tbilisi market and paid 9GEL for it (2 gel/kg). Turns out this was a 4 and a half kilos.
Pumpkin carved
Apple prepared for baking
Filled with yolk/sour cream filling
Halloween 2018
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