Blog Archive: March 2017
How To Build a Drupal List Page With All Users
| Drupal Development | 20 seen
In today's Drupal tutorial series I'm going to show a simple way how to build an authors page listing all users with their profile information + some other neat features.
A few years ago I was working on a Drupal project for large media organization and I was required to build an extended user profile system on Drupal. Recently I hired few freelance writers for my own blog / website and idea of having a nice author overview page sounded a must have.
The further written can be applied to some micro social websites powered by Drupal, but for the ease of this tutorial I will stick with an user / author overview page for multi user blogs or media organizations.
Here is the final result:
Authors overview page on Drupal
You can see a live view here: Authors
In above view I have displayed info for authors taking info from profile field, which are following: author picture, author bio and categories author writes articles about, as well displaying total article count for each author and sorting authors on page by total…
House of Madatovi - Tbilisi Restaurant
| Restaurant reviews | 15 seen
House of Madatovi is a really lovely Georgian style cuisine restaurant, located on the recently renovated part of David Aghameshabeli avenue.
See: New Life for Agmashenebeli avenue, Tbilisi
Madatovi restaurant features not only authentic Georgian cuisine with amazing serving, it's crafted of lovely details, like chandlers with paper house shades, wine bottles, shelves, more shelves. Tastefully.
Interior at House of Madatovi
Stylish places with rustic elements are popping a lot lately in Tbilisi. The interior seen here reminded a little bit something from Restaurant Barberastan
Chandlers with paper house shades
Now, this is something nice, not seen before. I really like that and I might use this idea for our upcoming home remodeling works.
Georgian Cuisine at House of Madatovi
Now this was the biggest surprise - I thought I know a lot about Georgian cuisine, turns out - I don't. They had some great salads with baked pumpkins, which was just delicious (and I don't love pumpkins). Some really good veal meal and mcvadi served with pomegranate seeds. Not to speak about delicious Georgian…
ISO Settings for Night Photography
| Digital Photography School | 82 seen
The purpose of this article is to familiarize the user with the best practices regarding ISO settings for night photography. We will go over a basic introduction to ISO as well as a short guide on using different ISO values in relation to other camera settings in order to achieve best results.
One of the reasons casual photographers decide to upgrade to a DSLR camera is so they can capture quality photos during night.
However, DSLRs often require understanding of different camera settings and shooting parameters in order to achieve best possible image quality for night photography. One of these settings is called ISO.
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In film photography, ISO number is an indicator of film’s sensitivity to light. Similarly, in digital photography ISO number determines light sensitivity of a digital sensor. Higher ISO levels will produce brighter images, but it will also introduce more grain (noise) into the image.
With most digital cameras, ISO can be set to Auto, meaning the camera will automatically choose what ISO settings to use. It can also be set to manual, where the user chooses the ISO value himself.
ISO settingsWe…
Champions Academy Tbilisi
| Health & Wellness | 95 seen
Champions Academy in Tbilisi is a gym/ fitness / crossfit training facility, located on a 4-storey building on David Agmanashebeli avenue.
I've enrolled at Champions Academy at the start of February 2017, with a goal to train my heart using cardio vascular trainings, also I'm using a little bit weight lifting and some crossfit workouts.
The gym seem to be open starting 7:00 AM, which is great because of two reasons - first I love to exercise in the mornings, and second yes, this gym is located really close to our apartment.
Unfortunately during the early hours, there are no trainers / coaches available, and I'm left to train my self using knowledge I have from my previous almost 20 years (though irregular training sessions). Luckily YouTube helps a lot.
The price per month without a trainer (which still is not available at 7:00 AM) - 160 GEL, with kind of limited access, just to the buildings second, third and fourth floor. Unlimited access, and probably some individual graphic from a trainer - 200 GEL.
The first floor seems is for power lifting, second floor is for dog sled and ropes, third floor is equipped…
Restaurant Kus Tba (Turtle Lake) in Tbilisi
| Restaurant reviews | 17 seen
Restaurant Kus Tba is located next to the popular recreational area Turtle lake in Tbilisi, here serves a traditional Georgian cuisine in a touristic sauce.
I have been to this place several times, I cannot tell neither good, neither bad - I'm more neutral regarding this place, it definitely is not the cheapest, but also not the most expensive, from what I have met in Tbilisi. See Tbilisi restaurant reviews.
I have my favorite Turtle lake restaurant, maybe that's way I cannot be objective today - Intelligentsia Coffee Bar Tbilisi, which actually is located just few meters way from Kus Tba.
Cozy interior at Kus Tba restraunt
Salads with chicken filet dressed with matsoni
Sleep Inn Philadelphia
| Hotel reviews | 7 seen
Offering a fitness centre, Sleep Inn Philadelphia is located in Philadelphia. Free WiFi access is available. Each room here will provide you with air conditioning and cable channels. There is also a microwave. Featuring a bath or shower, private bathroom also comes with a hairdryer and free toiletries.
We booked this hotel at the start of 2017 (January) and stayed here for about 3 nights, during a short, but remarkable trip to Philadelphia. We paid about $120 per night. Though this hotel is listes as a 2 star hotel, it actually is really good, I realy love the location of this place, it's just a few blocks away from famous Terminal Reading market, and Greyhound terminal is very close.
Sleep in hotel in Philadelphia
The hotel is 100 m from Pennsylvania Convention Center, 800 m from Liberty Bell and 1.1 km from National Liberty Museum. Philadelphia International Airport is 11 km away.
King Size Bed at Sleep in Hotel
Cost of living in Batumi, Georgia
| Living in Georgia | 67 seen
This article was originally written as a guest post by Ms. Irina Nikolaeva (written back in 2017)
In the article 5 reasons why Batumi is better than Moscow (or other big cities), I specified the low cost of living as the first reason why I moved from Moscow to Batumi. So let’s have a closer look at this topic.
Apartment. The middle price of apartments for 1-2 people (about 50 sq. m., studio with a separate bedroom) is about 300$. That would be a flat not far from the city center (honestly the city is so small as most living areas would be in 15 minutes from the center), with good design, fully equipped with consumer electronics. If you have less money, you can find something lower, from 150$. This price is real if you would search for a flat in the period from October to March and rent a flat for one year or until May or June.
Batumi Real Estate Crypto Investment
Then closer to the summertime flat rents are growing and becoming extremely high (from 500$ for the same flat). This way every apartment owner tries to earn more money during three months of holiday time.
Utilities. If you rent a…
Home Remodeling - End Of The Season 2
| Home Remodeling | 10 seen
Wow, that was a ride. In this post I will write down all major tasks we performed during Summer 2016, which was second year since we started to manage and repair our rural property.
Learn more how it all started: Home Remodeling - How It All Starts
Each year, at the start at April we arrive to our house and put a lot work and investment to make this a livable place. In the first year, the major task performed was roof replacement, see: Meet the New Roof (Pictures Before and After)
Season 2 we started with following goals:
For this years plans - a water supply is a must have, in order to get water here, we need to dug a well at first. We plan to construct a bathroom (for that we will need to change few bearing beams and rebuild from scratch few walls). I believe a lot of effort will be put on territory improvement, one of the things we plan to do on this - to dug our small fish pond a bit bigger)...and plan a really cool outdoor terrace.
The good news - we completed about 85% of initial goals. And yes, there are no bad news.
We started in Spring with territory cleanup, chimney repair works, trimming trees…
What's Minimum Wage in European Union 2017
| Macroeconomics | 55 seen
This is already fourth annual article covering minimum wage and its disproportion among 22 of 28 European Union member countries.
Update: Minimum Wages in European Union 2018
Feel free to browse through the archives for previous years, before proceeding, see: 2016, 2015, 2014
In 2017 there were 22 out of 28 European Union member states with official minimum wage set by the government.
N.B. Countries that don't have a minimum wage set by the government in European Union - Austria, Denmark, Finland, Cyprus, Italy and Sweden (collective bargaining agreements effective, instead of minimum wage)
Now, the biggest question about future reports involves Britain after Brexit. As for 2017 United Kingdom still counts in as a member country of EU, in the following table below you will still find data on how much Britons receive in the minimum wage in 2017
Key findingsAs for the previous years, there are no changes in the country with highest and lowest minimum wage. Luxembourg as usual ranks #1 with almost EUR 2,000 minimum wage in 2017, while…
Planting Strawberry Plants In Fall
| Home Remodeling | 11 seen
It was at the end of September (2016), when we planted 80 strawberry plants in a field which was prepared few days ago with a tiller. See: Ground Milling With A Tiller
Earlier this Summer we planted about 15 strawberry plants in wooden boxes, but as we were of for a week long travels to Spain, corvine's ruined 90% of our harvest. This is the thing I worry most, probably some net should be added over plants in future.
Strawberries planted under film
We bought about 6 varieties of strawberry plants (in total 80 plants) at local plant nursery, paid for both film and plants under EUR 20. Film is strengthened using special plastic bolts. Rocks are added as an extra safety against wind.
View towards house and rock garden
First harvest is expected to be around Summer Solstice 2017.
Temporary Window For Bathroom
| Home Remodeling | 7 seen
This year's (2016) home remodeling works are coming to the end, though one problem were left - a window for bathroom.
As just outer constructions of walls were performed, and there are still a lot to do inside, before having actual working bathroom, I was left with two options, either purchase an used plastic window and install it or be more creative. I opted for the second variant. And as a temporary window I used old wooden doors.
Window box for bathroom
See complete works for bathroom.
Old wood doors
These doors will be used as a temporary bathroom window for upcoming winter.
Window installed and secured from inside
Carpe Diem Cafe Bar in Tbilisi
| Restaurant reviews | 23 seen
Carpe Diem is a cozy cafe bar in Tbilisi, located between Narikala fortress and Shardeni. Here at Carpe Diem you can try tasty home made burgers and have a herbal tea in pot.
Because of this place been located in a steep uphill between Narikala fortress and Old Town, I have visited this place just twice so far, both of the times after climbing down from the fortress. The good news, this cafe bar have been in business for years, and it means just one - it's a good place.
Carpe Diem is one of the rare places in Tbilisi, where smoking inside is not allowed.
Carpe Diem in Tbilisi
Carpie Diem in Tbilisi is located next to the Armenian Apostolic church. Had to make a panoramic photo, to frame both places in one photo.
Interior at Carpe Diem
Ground Milling With A Tiller
| Home Remodeling | 6 seen
During the Summer of 2016 we met some new faces, and so back in July we met with a neighbor (Ok, he is actually living some 10 km from our rural house) with a tractor with tiller - I started to ask about the device, would it be possible to mill ground at our place, as we are really into growing some veggies not only in a wooden boxes, but would love to grow something in the soil.
It was at the end of the September, when I got a call from the neighbor and he asked - OK, I will be at your place tomorrow with a tractor. I thought, cool, let's do it. And so did in couple of hours neighbor with a tractor an tiller did the magic - the ground was milled.
Tractor with a tiller
With time I'm planing to buy some tractor with a tiller and grass mowing functionality, but for now this was a win-win deal. Sometimes its cheaper to rent.
Ground milling process
After milling the soil is soft as a powder
New garden is ready
Noe it's time to seed in something, more on that in upcoming blog posts.
Former Archaeological Museum Building in Tbilisi
| Tourism objects | 256 seen
Former Archeological Museum Building in Tbilisi is a great example of the Soviet architecture in Georgia.
I had a chance to discover this place and explore surrounding area, first time in February 2017, thanks to the Tbilisi Soviet Architecure tours organized by Brutal Tours: See: Brutal Tours - Explore Soviet Georgian Architecture in Tbilisi
The museum was established in 1988 by the well-known Georgian archeologist, head of the Tbilisi archeological expedition, Rostom Abramishvili (1924-1996). The museum housed monuments, discovered by the archeological excavations in Tbilisi. The chronological frames of the collections were from the V c. B.C. up to the feudal times. In the museum was kept the earliest in the world samples of tinned bronze objects from the Delisi (Tbilisi district) dwelling, dated as 4.000 years old; bronze buckle inlayed with silver decorated with horse rider image; inventory of the Treli royal burials (XII-VIII-VII c.c. B.C.)
Museum is not operational in 2017
Former Archeological Museum Building in Tbilisi
This place was a great discovery to me, I enjoyed it a…
Autumn in Latvia
| | 7 seen
In today's Piece of Life photo series a story from Autumn 2016 - when almost all major planned home remodeling works for this Summer were finished, in a dank September morning we decided to catch a morning mist by visiting some nearby objects.
Road in mist
I love mist photography, in fact i love to capture mist in the early mornings in our backyard, see: Beautiful morning mist and Another morning, another beautiful mist
Crop fields in Autumn
They look even more beautiful in Summer, see: Summer in Latvia
Water reflections
One of the ways to make your photography more interesting is by shooting water and water reflections, see: Water Reflections on Lisi Lake
Road in mist
These are the forests we went gathering mushrooms this Summer, see Deep in the Forest
House in mist
Not ours, but our neighboring Berghof manor
Kazdanga mill lake in Autumn
See: Kazdanga Mill Lake And Its Surroundings