Blog Archive: June 2019 | Reinis Fischer

Latvian - Georgian Cafe 4You in Gori

30 June, 2019 | Restaurant reviews | 47 seen

Now besides hostel in Tbilisi, Latvians have a cafe in Gori

Latvian - Georgian Cafe 4You is located on Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue 34, Gori.

Opened for the public in 2018, this place serves pastry, cakes and a huge menu of a different kind of meals (both Latvian and Georgian style), you can get here both some salty Gori style cutlets and even Kiev's cutlet, not to speak about salad olive and more.

Overall feeling - The Soviet Obshchepit (общепит) - sometimes I just can't resist it. lol

Cafe 4You in Gori

Pastry at Cafe 4You

Now, they had a very good cheesecake, a decent chocolate cake. Oreo cheesecake was a joke. The best oreo cheesecake I've found so far is at Tbilisi Hard Rock Cafe.

Riga black balsam

Now, there is one more place in Georgia to find Riga Black Balsam

Kiev's cutlet with a balsamic sauce

This place serves wine from a small nearby winery Chateau Ateni.

Tbilisi - Baku by Train Ticket Information

29 June, 2019 | Travel guides | 25 seen

At the end of June 2019, I finally bought train tickets Tbilisi - Baku for early August 2019. I have plans to spend my 34th birthday in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The train is departing Tbilisi daily at 20:35 and arriving in Baku at 08:50, In total it takes about 12 hours and 30 minutes to get from Tbilisi to Baku by train

It seems there is no option buying tickets online yet for Tbilisi - Baku line (although I found there are some tour agencies selling tickets online, see: International Tbilisi-Baku Train, though the price might be double when using travel agency).

The option we used was visiting Tbilisi Railway station and buying a ticket over the counter and what's even more interesting when buying over the counter it's asked to pay for tickets in cash, despite they have a VISA terminal. On my question why don't we pay by card, the kind cashier replied that the Tbilisi - Baku line is operated by Azerbaijani Railways side and they accept only cash. The cashier was able to speak very good English.

For purchasing tickets, we had to show our passports (baby passport wasn't asked) and as noted - cash.

Tbilisi-Baku trains are operated by Azerbaijan Railways

Luckily we had enough cash to buy 2 adult tickets in a separate sleeping car. The price we paid GEL 194 (USD 68) for 2 adult tickets (about GEL 97 per person) in a sleeping car. Our baby girl was allowed to travel free (by the planned travel time she will be 1 year old).

Ticket from Tbilisi to Baku

Ticket information is provided in Russian.

It's said that the cars are equipped with a climate control system and areas are non-smoking. Carriages are standardized too: SV (Spalniy Vagon) - comfortable sleeping car with 2-bed-compartments, Kupe - regular sleeping car with 4-bed-compartments, Platscart - economy class open "dormitory-style" couchette.

I was able to learn that a price for a person for a kupe is about GEL 54 (~USD 20) - in case you are traveling in a group more than 2 persons, that might be a great option to have a Kupe.

Here is some additional information I was able to find about Tbilisi - Baku train

Speed: up to 90 km/h
The international train consists of:

1 SV sleeping car with 18 places
1 kupe-compartment carriages with 36 places
1 platskart carriage with 54 place

Unfortunately, it is only available to buy tickets in one direction from Tbilisi, if you are planning to return Baku - Tbilisi the tickets should be acquired in Baku (again it's the latest information at the end of June 2019)

Electronic Visa for Azerbaijan

Before entering Azerbaijan you should acquire a VISA for Azerbaijan, luckily you can do it online applying for a visa via Evisa.com.az. The price for Visa ist 25 USD per person (3-5 business days) or USD 51 (3-5 business hours) if urgent

Standard processing takes 1-3 business days. Urgent processing may take up to 3-5 business hours.

e-Visa applications can be created for an individual or for a group.
Citizens of most of the countries just need passport copy in order to apply for e-Visa.
Your passport has to be valid for, at least, 6 (six) months after arrival date in Azerbaijan.
You can make payment directly from www.evisa.com.az website by Credit/Debit Card.
The e-Visa will be sent directly to your e-mail address OR you can download it from our website. You need just print it out and bring it with you when you travel to Azerbaijan.

If you are the citizen of one of the 95 countries who are eligible to apply for "easy e-visa", you need to provide just Passport copy. You can check your country's eligibility by clicking this link - "Countries eligible for easy e-visa".

If you are a citizen of other countries, it is recommended to approach a consulate or an embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Gori Fortress & Memorial of Georgian Warrior Heroes

23 June, 2019 | Military Heritage | 155 seen

Gori Fortress is a medieval citadel in Georgia, standing above the city of Gori on a rocky hill.

The fortress is very well visible from the city, unfortunately, I have never climbed up to the fortress, but I believe very cool aerial photos might be taken from here. At the bottom of the fortress, there is located the Memorial of Georgian Warrior Heroes consisting of 8 (?) sculptures of Georgian Warriors.

The fortress first appears in the 13th-century records but archeological evidence shows that the area had already been fortified in the last centuries BC. The fortress controlled major strategic and economic routes and accommodated a large garrison.

Gori Fortress

In the 16th century, the Ottomans captured it to overawe Tbilisi. In 1598 the Georgians besieged it to no avail; in 1599 they feigned a relaxation of the siege for Lent before launching a surprise attack at night to regain the citadel.[1] The fortress continued to change hands between the Georgians and the Persians in the 17th century.

The citadel acquired the present-day form under the Georgian kings Rostom of Kartli in the 1630s and Erekle II in 1774. After the Russian annexation of Georgia in 1801, the fortress was garrisoned by a Russian grenadier battalion, but its importance gradually declined and the fortifications went defunct. The British Encyclopædia Metropolitana reported in 1845:

The Memorial of Georgian Warrior Heroes at the bottom of Gori fortress

The sculptures that comprise the Memorial of Georgian Warrior Heroes were made between 1981-85 by Georgian sculptor Giorgi Ochiauri and placed around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Vake Park in Tbilisi. In 2009 the sculptures were moved to their present location at the foot of Gori Fortress in the city of Gori. Source: ABOUT SIGHTS – THE MEMORIAL OF GEORGIAN WARRIOR HEROES IN GORI

The Memorial of Georgian Warrior Heroes at the bottom of Gori fortress

At the foot of a chain of low sand-stone hills stands the Town and Fortress of Gori, (perhaps the Gursenna of Strabo,) the next place in magnitude and importance to Tiflis. The Castle, an oblong, 200 paces in length, placed sixteen fathoms above the level of the Liakhvi, running at the foot of the hill on which it stands, is now abandoned, a Chapel in its South-Eastern angle being the only part in use.

Gori Fortress was significantly damaged by the earthquake in 1920. The best-preserved structure is Tskhra-kara ("the Nine-gated"), which looks to the west, and is adjoined by the supplementary walls on the south and east.

Georgia Palace Hotel & SPA Kobuleti

21 June, 2019 | Hotel reviews | 27 seen

Georgia Palace Hotel & SPA is the first Georgian Brand five-star Resort hotel located on the Black Sea shore of Georgia's famed summer resort in Kobuleti, Georgia.

We booked this 5-star hotel for a one night at the end of April 2019, during a short weekend trip to Batumi and the nearby vicinity.

We paid just USD 80 for our stay here, which I believe is a discount price and available just in the low-season.

Situated in the resort of Kobuleti, this modern hotel features a large outdoor pool, open-air restaurant and rooms with a balcony, offering beautiful views of the Black Sea or Ajarian Mountains.

Our Room at Georgia Palace Hotel & SPA

Stylish, air-conditioned rooms at the Georgia Palace Hotel & Spa feature satellite TV, a minibar and free wired internet. The private bathrooms include a bathrobe and slippers.

We got a free baby crib for our baby daughter

Georgia Palace Hotel & SPA in Kobuleti

Hotel is located in the small resort town of Kobuleti, on the Adjarian Black Sea coast, distinguished by a unique micro climate which benefits cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous system. One of the main assets is the perfect location with its climatic areas, mild subtropical climate, ionized maritime air, bright shining sun and warm sea. The unique sandy beach widely inclined to the sea is noted with its marvelous views beautified by sky-scraped endemic pine trees, eucalyptus, bamboo and variety of greenness.

Rich breakfast

It should be noted we had to pay extra for breakfast.

The Adjara Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Guests enjoy a selection of barbecue dishes and fine, French cuisine in the seasonal Roof Garden, with an open-top terrace and scenic sea views.

The outdoor territory at Georgia Palace Hotel & SPA

Leisure, fitness, sports activities and entertainment are the short list of services Georgia Palace Hotel & Spa is attributed with. The main advantage it stands out is the family spirit and friendly attitude to guests.

Kobuleti Train Station is a 10-minute drive away. 25 kilometers away from Batumi. You can take a taxi from Batumi or get on the minibus

Net Worth $25,000 Reached

19 June, 2019 | Investments | 20 seen

On April 2nd, 2019, my net worth for the first time reached $25,000 Milestone.

It took me 2 years and 3 months since I originally started my million dollar journey, and I was 33 years old.

Here is what I told/forecasted back when first reached $10,000 net worth:

If things will continue to be so bright in the future, I could reach a total net worth of $25,000 by the end of 2018, being 33 years old.

Despite it was planned to get here some 3 months earlier, by the end of 2018, I still feel very great cracking this goal now. Better later, than never. (One thing I forecasted at least right - I'm still 33 years old)

Net worth $25,000

Now, since around June 2018, my total portfolio has entered into a negative zone (invested is more than actual value). While the total value of the portfolio has barely cracked now $25,000, I have invested more.

The total amount I have invested is $27,987.20, while the value is just $25,428.10. The difference = $2,559 or it's -9.91% drop since the inception of portfolio.

The good news, I'm + 7.95% YTD, while it was a -30.86% YTD in 2018.

A month after month I keep adding more money to my portfolio. In 2017 - 2019 I was investing in - peer to peer lending, mutual funds, stocks, crypto-currencies, and cash.

Portfolio structure reaching $25,000 Net Worth

Here is the breakdown by positions:

Peer to peer lending: -2.16%
Baltic stocks: -15.46%
US stocks: +0.01%
EU stocks: -1.67%
Crypto investments: -27.09 %

Also, the portfolio has produced a dividend income of $2,593.14, giving a dividend yield of 10.19% (on value). That's a little bit more than 5% annual dividend yield.

See how I made a 6.30% dividend yield in 2018, and how I made 5.5% in 2017

I hope to reach a total net worth of $50,000 by the end of 2020, being 35 years old. And then I would be asked to double that in just a year.

Investment Goal #5 - $100,000 by the end of 2021 in Savings Account (Stocks, Cryptocurrencies, Peer to Peer Lending)

Additional money installments, dividend compound effect, and options trading are the planned tools to use to get there.

Top 10 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Gaming Laptops

17 June, 2019 | Laptop Reviews | 24 seen

The GeForce® GTX 1650 is built with the breakthrough graphics performance of the award-winning NVIDIA Turing™ architecture. It’s a supercharger for today’s most popular games, and even faster with modern titles. Step up to better gaming with GeForce GTX.

In this article, I've listed top 10 laptops with Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics card available for sale on Amazon.com

A quick note: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on Amazon site, I will earn an affiliate income at no cost to you. Prices for laptops listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product Advertising API and is updated daily. For actual prices please refer on the product page on Amazon.

ASUS TUF (2019) Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 120Hz Full HD IPS-Type, AMD Ryzen 7 3750H, GeForce GTX 1650, 8GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe SSD, Gigabit Wi-Fi 5, Windows 10 Home, FX505DT-EB73

Featuring AMD Ryzen processors and GeForce GTX 16-Series graphics, TUF Gaming FX505 adeptly handles modern game titles while providing reliability and stability to stand apart from the competition with anti-dust cooling and a durable MIL-STD-810G rated chassis with backlit keyboard.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4GB graphics
Quad-core AMD Ryzen 7 3750H Processor
15.6” FHD (1920x1080) 120Hz IPS-Type Display
512GB NVMe SSD | 8GB DDR4 RAM | Windows 10 Home
Gigabit wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 (802.11AC)
Durable MIL-STD-810 military standard construction
Dual fans with anti-dust technology | Backlit keyboard rated for 20-million keystroke durability

List price: [amazon B07QM4F25N listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

ASUS ROG G531GT - 15.6" FHD - i7-9750H - NVIDIA GTX 1650-8GB - 512GB SSD

Operating System: Windows 10 I Screen Size: 15.6 inches
Processor : 2.6 gigahertz Intel 9th Generation Core i7-9750H
System Memory (RAM) 8GB + Solid State Drive Capacity 512GB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5
Weighs 5.29 lbs. and measures 1" thin 3-cell lithium-ion battery

List price: [amazon B07RKSNCT6 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

Newest Generation Dell G5 15" Gaming Laptop, G5590-7679BLK-PUS, 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H,16GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM,256G SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, Backlit Keyboard

Leads the pack with an elegant sleek design that keeps heads turning
An innovative Dual-fan cooling System with an advanced thermal design ensures that your system stays cool as the action heats up
15. 6-Inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare LED backlight Non-Touch narrow Border IPS display
NVidia GeForce GTX 1650 with 4GB GDDR5 Graphics
9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750h (12MB Cache, up to 4. 5 GHz, 6 Cores)

List price: [amazon B07R7XCZD7 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GF63 Thin 9SC-068 15.6" Gaming Laptop, Thin Bezel, Intel Core i5-9300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650, 8GB, 256GB NVMe NVMe SSD

Display: 15.6" Fhd (1920*1080), IPS-Level 60Hz 45%ntsc thin Bezel 1920x1080 16: 9
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 [Max-Q] 4G GDDR5
Processor: Intel Core i5-9300h 2.4 - 4.1GHz
Memory: 8GB (8G*1) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD

List price: [amazon B07QD32VTT listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop PC, 15.6" Full HD 144Hz 3ms IPS Display, Intel i7-9750H, GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, 16GB DDR4, 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD, Backlit Keyboard, PH315-52-78VL

Ready for battle and eager for a fight, the Helios 300 drops you into the game with everything you need. Only now we’ve armed it with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics, the latest 9th Gen Intel Core i7 Processor and our custom-engineered 4th Gen AeroBlade 3D Fan Technology. With the 144Hz IPS panel and 3ms Overdrive response time you can say farewell to blur and hello clear, crisp, high-octane gameplay.

9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750H 6-Core Processor (Up to 4.5GHz) with Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Graphics with 6GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM
15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display (144Hz Refresh Rate, 3ms Overdrive Response Time, 300nit Brightness & 72% NTSC)
16GB DDR4 2666MHz Memory, 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD (2 x PCIe M.2 Slots | 1 Slot Open for Easy Upgrades) & 1 - Available Hard Drive Bay
Backlit Keyboard | LAN: Killer Ethernet E2500 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN | Wireless: Killer DoubleShot Pro Wireless-AC 1550 802. 11ac | 4th Gen All-Metal AeroBlade 3D Fan

List price: [amazon B07QXLFLXT listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

ASUS ROG 15.6" FHD WLED-Backlit Gaming Laptop, Intel 6-Core i7-9750H 2.6GHz up to 4.5GHz, 8GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, 802.11ac, Bluetooth, Backlit Keyboard, HDMI, Windows 10

15.6" Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution boasts impressive color and clarity. Energy-efficient LED backlight. RGB backlit keyboard - Allows you to enjoy comfortable and accurate typing, even in dim lighting.
9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H mobile processor - Powerful 6-core, twelve-way processing performance. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics - Backed by 4GB GDDR5 dedicated video memory for a fast, advanced GPU to fuel your games.
8GB DDR4 - Substantial high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run your games and photo- and video-editing applications, as well as multiple programs and browser tabs all at once; 512GB PCI-e SSD - Save files fast and store more data. With massive amounts of storage and advanced communication power, PCI-e SSDs are great for major gaming applications, multiple servers, daily backups, and more.
HDMI output expands your viewing options - Connect to an HDTV or high-def monitor to set up two screens side by side or just see more of the big picture. Next-generation wireless connectivity - Connects to your network or hotspots on all current Wi-Fi standards. Connect to a Wireless-AC router for speed nearly 3x faster than Wireless-N. The Gigabit Ethernet LAN port also plugs into wired networks.
Windows 10 operating system - Windows 10 brings back the Start Menu from Windows 7 and introduces new features, like the Edge Web browser that lets you markup Web pages on your screen.

List price: [amazon B07SCY5QVJ listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GF63 Thin 8SC-030 15.6" Gaming Laptop, Thin Bezel, Intel Core i5-8300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650, 8GB, 256GB NVMe NVMe SSD

Display: 15.6" Fhd (1920*1080), IPS-Level 60Hz 45%ntsc thin Bezel 1920x1080 16: 9
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 [Max-Q] 4G GDDR5
Processor: Intel Core i5-8300H 2.3 - 4.0GHz
Memory: 8GB (8G*1) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD

List price: [amazon B07QC4GK7C listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GF63 Thin 8SC-029 15.6" Gaming Laptop, Thin Bezel, Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650, 16GB, 512GB NVMe SSD

Display: 15.6" Fhd (1920*1080), IPS-Level 60Hz 45%ntsc thin Bezel 1920x1080 16: 9
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 [Max-Q] 4G GDDR5
Processor: Intel Core i7-8750H 2.2 - 4.1GHz
Memory: 16GB (8G*2) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD

List price: [amazon B07QHF3PNF listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GF75 Thin 9SC-027 17.3" Gaming Laptop, Thin Bezel, Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650, 16GB, 512GB NVMe SSD

Display: 17.3" Thin Bezel FHD, IPS-Level 100%sRGB 1920x1080 16: 9
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 [Max-Q] 4G GDDR5
Processor: Intel Core i7-9750h 2.6 - 4.5GHz
Memory: 16GB (8G*2) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD

List price: [amazon B07QD32SR7 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

ASUS ROG Strix G (2019) Gaming Laptop, 15.6” IPS Type FHD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, Intel Core i7-9750H, 16GB DDR4, 1TB PCIe Nvme SSD, RGB KB, Windows 10 Home, GL531GT-EB76

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 (base: 1395 MHz, Boost: 1560 MHz; TDP: 50W)
Latest 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750h Hexa-Core processor
15.6” Full HD 1920x1080 IPS Type Display
16GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM | 1TB PCIe SSD | Windows 10 Home | Gigabit wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 (802.11AC 2x2)
Rog intelligent cooling Thermal system with dual 12V fans, anti-dust technology, and adjustable fan modes
Rog aura Sync System with RGB Keyboard, logo, and light bar

List price: [amazon B07SDFFRJJ listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin

16 June, 2019 | Churches and Monasteries | 7 seen

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin is located in Gori on Lomouri street 7, just opposite to the Gori Fortress.

Some might be surprised noticing that this church looks like a typical Catholic church rather than a typical Georgian Orthodox church.

According to Georgia.Travel the temple was built as a Catholic church between 1806 and 1810. In 1920, it was heavily damaged by an earthquake.

View towards cathedral from Gori fortress

During Soviet times, Gori’s Music School was situated in the church. The building was handed over to the Georgian Orthodox Church in the 1990s.

Currently, Samtavisi and Gori Cathedral belong to the episcopacy.

Top 20 9th Generation Intel Core i7 Processor (Gaming) Laptops

14 June, 2019 | Laptop Reviews | 211 seen

Latest Intel Core I7 9th generation processors have been around since early 2019. Intel Core i7 laptops are gaining momentum among gamers and business users. Creative graphic designers, video animators, and photographers will enjoy these powerful laptops as well.

Most of the laptops listed below is both gaming laptops and on-the-go workstations.

You should be ready to spend at least ~ $1,000 to get the latest Intel Core i7 - 9750H processor laptop.

In this article, I have listed Top 20 laptop models with the latest Intel Core i7 9th generation processors.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on the Amazon site, I will earn an affiliate income at no cost to you. Prices for laptops listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product Advertising API and is updated daily. For actual prices please refer on the product page on Amazon.

Newest Generation Dell G5 15" Gaming Laptop, G5590-7679BLK-PUS, 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H,16GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM,256G SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, Backlit Keyboard

Leads the pack with an elegant sleek design that keeps heads turning
An innovative Dual-fan cooling System with an advanced thermal design ensures that your system stays cool as the action heats up
15. 6-Inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare LED backlight Non-Touch narrow Border IPS display
NVidia GeForce GTX 1650 with 4GB GDDR5 Graphics
9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750h (12MB Cache, up to 4. 5 GHz, 6 Cores)

List price: [amazon B07R7XCZD7 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GF63 Thin 9SC-066 15.6" Gaming Laptop, Thin Bezel, Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650, 16GB, 512GB NVMe SSD

Display: 15.6" Fhd (1920*1080), IPS-Level 60Hz 45%ntsc thin Bezel 1920x1080 16: 9
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 [Max-Q] 4G GDDR5
Processor: Intel Core i7-9750h 2.6 - 4.5GHz
Memory: 16GB (8G*2) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD

List price: [amazon B07QF66YQB listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

ASUS ROG Zephyrus S Ultra Slim Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 144Hz IPS Type FHD, GeForce RTX 2070, Intel Core i7-9750H, 16GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe Nvme SSD, Aura Sync RGB, Windows 10, GX531GW-AB76

Powerfully versatile, the ROG Zephyrus S uses 9th Gen Intel Core and GeForce RTX™ processors to slice through both professional gaming and work on a high-refresh display. Create content, stream, and play on a powerhouse machine that redefines what premium gaming laptops can do.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 8GB DDR6 (base: 1080 MHz, Boost: 1305 MHz; TDP: 90W)
Latest Intel Core i7-9750h Hexa-Core processor
15.6” 144Hz 3ms IPS-Type full HD (1920x1080) Display
16GB 2666Hz DDR4 | 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD | Windows 10 Home
0.62” thin, 4.6 lbs ultraportable military-grade magnesium alloy body with premium metal cover
Rog active Aerodynamic System (AAs) with upgraded 12V fans and anti-dust tunnels to preserve cooling performance and system stability
Gigabit wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 (802.11AC) | customizable 4-zone ASUS Aura RGB Gaming Keyboard

List price: [amazon B07QN3683G listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop PC, 15.6" Full HD 144Hz 3ms IPS Display, Intel i7-9750H, GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, 16GB DDR4, 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD, Backlit Keyboard, PH315-52-78VL

9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750H 6-Core Processor (Up to 4.5GHz) with Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Graphics with 6GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM
15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display (144Hz Refresh Rate, 3ms Overdrive Response Time, 300nit Brightness & 72% NTSC)
16GB DDR4 2666MHz Memory, 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD (2 x PCIe M.2 Slots | 1 Slot Open for Easy Upgrades) & 1 - Available Hard Drive Bay
Backlit Keyboard | LAN: Killer Ethernet E2500 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN | Wireless: Killer DoubleShot Pro Wireless-AC 1550 802. 11ac | 4th Gen All-Metal AeroBlade 3D Fan

List price: [amazon B07QXLFLXT listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop 2019 - Intel Core i7-9750H 6 Core, GeForce RTX 2060, 15.6" FHD 1080p 144Hz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, CNC Aluminum, Chroma RGB Lighting, Thunderbolt 3 Compatible

The Razer Blade 15 is an ultra compact NVIDIA GeForce RTX powered laptop that features the latest 9th Gen Intel Core i7 6 core processor, to deliver amazing performance and portability. The 15.6" thin bezel 144Hz display provides an immersive and insanely fast visual experience for gaming and beyond.

Zero Compromise Powerhouse: Built for gaming and creative work in a 0.78" thin CNC aluminum unibody
Futureproof Design: Thunderbolt 3 capable, compatible with Razer Core external GPU enclosures for additional power; supports dual-channel memory and 2.5" SATA upgradability
Perfect Display for Work or Play: An edge-to-edge, 100% sRGB, factory-calibrated matte screen with a 144Hz refresh rate offers the best experience for both creative tasks or intense gaming sessions
Biometric Security: Supports Windows Hello instant facial unlock
Customizable RGB Lighting: Includes 16.8 million colors available with multiple preset profiles
Summary: 9th Gen Intel Core i7 9750H 6 core processor w/ 2.6GHz/4.5GHz (base/max turbo), NVIDIA Geforce 2060 RTX, 15.6" FHD 144Hz matte display, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

List price: [amazon B07R1P4DQG listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GL63 9SEK-612 15.6" Gaming Laptop, 144Hz Display, Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX2060, 16GB, 256GB NVMe SSD + 1TB HDD

Display: 15.6" Fhd, IPS-Level 144Hz 3ms 72%NTSC, 100%sRGB 1920x1080 16: 9
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX2060 6G GDDR6
Processor: Intel Core i7-9750h 2.6 - 4.5GHz
Memory: 16GB (8G*2) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD + 1TB (7200Rpm)

List price: [amazon B07Q43LBS8 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

ASUS ROG Zephyrus S GX701 (2019) Gaming Laptop, 17.3” 144Hz Pantone Validated Full HD IPS, GeForce RTX 2070, Intel Core i7-9750H, 16GB DDR4, 1TB PCIe Nvme SSD Hyper Drive, Windows 10 Home

ROG Zephyrus S GX701 is an ultra-slim gaming laptop with a narrow-bezel 17-inch G-Sync display in a chassis just 18.7mm thin. With factory-calibrated color accuracy by PANTONE and loaded with GeForce RTX™ graphics, the new GX701 is prepared to dominate anywhere.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 8GB GDDR6 (base: 1215 MHz, Boost: 1440 MHz; TDP: 115W)
Latest Intel Core i7-9750h Hexa-Core processor
17.3” 144Hz 3ms Pantone validated FHD (1920x1080) display
16GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM | 1TB NVMe PCIe SSD (Hyper drive) | Windows 10 Home
Smaller-than-standard form Factor only 0.74” (18.7mm) thin
Gigabit wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 (802.11AC) | per-key aura Sync RGB keyboard | detachable/external 1080P 60Hz webcam
Reduced temperature compared to conventional cooling design Due to ROG-exclusive active Aerodynamic System and 12V fans. Gpu switch mode: switch between integrated and discrete graphics for increased battery life or powerful gaming performance

List price: [amazon B07QRGS23Y listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GL73 9SDK-219 17.3" Gaming Laptop, 144Hz Display, Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX1660Ti, 16GB, 512GB NVMe SSD

Display: 17.3" FHD (1920x1080), 144Hz 3ms, IPS-Level 1920x1080 16:9
Processor: Core i7-9750H 2.6 - 4.5GHz
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1660Ti 6G GDDR6
Memory: 16GB (8G*2) DDR4 2666MHz, 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD

List price: [amazon B07QF66YQ7 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GE75 Raider-287 17.3" Gaming Laptop, 144Hz Display, Thin Bezel, Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX2060, 16GB, 512GB NVMe SSD

Display: 17.3" Thin Bezel FHD, IPS-Level 144Hz 3ms 100%sRGB 72%NTSC 1920x1080 16: 9
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX2060 6G GDDR6
Processor: Intel Core i7-9750h 2.6 - 4.5GHz
Memory: 16GB (16G*1) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD

List price: [amazon B07QC4GZCC listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

GIGABYTE AERO 15 Classic-WA-F74ADP 15" Thin Bezel LG 144Hz FHD IPS LCD, i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, Samsung 16GB RAM, M.2 PCIe 512GB Intel 760P SSD, Win10 Pro, 94Wh Ultra Slim Gaming Laptop

15.6" 0.11 inch ultra-thin bezel | LG 144Hz FHD 1920x1080 IPS Anti-Glare display LCD | X-Rite Pantone Certified for color calibration
Intel Core i7-9750h (2.6Ghz-4.5GHz) | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GDDR6 6GB Supports NVIDIA Optimus technology
16GB DDR4 2666MHz Samsung DRAM module | M.2 NVMe PCIe 512GB Intel 760P SSD | Windows 10 Pro
Microsoft Azure AI | all Intel inside | Intel Thunderbolt 3 | Intel Wi-Fi AC adapter
94.24Wh 9hrs Long battery life | per-key RGB backlit programmable keyboard | UHS-II SD card reader
Killerdoubleshot Pro | Nahimic 3D Audio | Bluetooth V5.0 + LE | HDMI2.0 | mini-DP 1.4 | 230W adapter
14 x 9.8 x 0.74 inch | 4.49 Ibis | 1 Year Global warranty

List price: [amazon B07QVRVP73 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

Razer Blade Pro 17 Gaming Laptop 2019 - Intel Core i7- 9750H 6 Core, GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, 17.3" FHD 1080p 144Hz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, CNC Aluminum, Chroma RGB Lighting, Thunderbolt 3 Compatible

Powered by the latest 9th Intel Core i7-9750H processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 Series graphics, and a 17.3" 144Hz FHD Display, the Razer Blade Pro 17 is both a gaming laptop and on-the-go workstation. Create high quality production and enjoy the best gaming performance wherever you go.

Zero-Compromise Powerhouse: Built for gaming and creative work in a 0.78" thin CNC aluminum unibody with high-performance vapor chamber cooling
Futureproof Design: Thunderbolt 3 enabled, compatible with Razer Core external GPU enclosures for additional graphics power; supports SSD and dual-channel memory upgradeability
Perfect Display for Work or Play: An edge-to-edge, 100% sRGB, factory-calibrated matte screen with a 144Hz refresh rate offers the best experience for both creative tasks or intense gaming sessions
Customizable RGB Individual Key Lighting: Includes 16.8 million colors available with dozens of preset profiles
Biometric Security: Supports Windows Hello instant facial unlock with integrated webcam and IR sensor
Ultimate Connectivity: Includes 1x Thunderbolt 3 USB-C 3.2, 1x USB-C, 3x USB 3.1 Type-A, 1x HDMI, 1x UHSIII SD card reader, 1x 2.5 Gbit ethernet ports, and 802.11ax wireless
Summary: 9th Gen Intel Core i7 9750H 6 core processor w/ 2.6GHz/4.5GHz (base/max turbo), NVIDIA GeForce 2080 RTX Max-Q, 17.3" FHD 144Hz matte display, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

List price: [amazon B07Q9L7BY2 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

XPC GF75 Thin Gamer Notebook (Intel Gen 9th i7-9750H, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, NVIDIA GTX 1650 4GB, 17.3" Full HD, Windows 10) VR Ready Gaming Laptop

Processor: 9th Gen Intel Coffee Lake Core i7-9750H Six Core (2.6GHz-4.5GHz, 12MB Intel Smart Cache, 45W)
512GB NVMe SSD
Keyboard: Steel Series Single backlight with Anti-Ghost key+ silver lining | Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit) Multi-language
Display: 17.3" Thin Bezel Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS-Level 100% sRGB Display | Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 (Max Q)

List price: [amazon B07QXLS9NL listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GS65 Stealth-430 15.6" Gaming Laptop, 240Hz Display, Thin Bezel, Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX2080, 32GB, 1TB NVMe NVMe SSD, Thunderbolt 3

Display: 15.6" Fhd, Anti-Glare Wide View Angle 240Hz 8ms 1920x1080 16: 9
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX2080 Max-Q 8G GDDR6
Processor: Intel Core i7-9750h 2.6 - 4.5GHz
Memory: 32GB (16G*2) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD

List price: [amazon B07QHG7NGR listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

Eluktronics MECH-17 G1Rx Slim & Light NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Gaming Laptop with Mechanical RGB Keyboard - Intel i7-9750H CPU 6GB GDDR6 VR Ready GPU 17.3" 144Hz Full HD IPS 512GB NVMe SSD + 16GB RAM

Eluktronics Gaming bundle - Top of the line 3389 Pixart Sensor Gaming Mouse and Stitched Edge Mousepad!
9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750H 6-Core Processor (Up to 4.5GHz) with Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
6GB GDDR6 VRAM NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Gaming Graphics Card; 16GB DDR4 RAM & 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
17.3" Full HD (1920 x 1080) LED-backlit IPS-Type display (144Hz Refresh Rate, 300nit Brightness & 72% NTSC)
Premium full size NKRO mechanical per-key RGB backlit gaming keyboard with anti-ghosting

List price: [amazon B07QYX9YRP listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop 2019 - Intel Core i7- 9750H 6 Core, GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, 15.6" FHD 1080p 240Hz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, CNC Aluminum, Chroma RGB Lighting, Thunderbolt 3 Compatible

Zero Compromise Powerhouse: Built for gaming and creative work in a 0.7" thin CNC aluminum unibody with high-performance, vapor chamber cooling
Futureproof Design: Thunderbolt 3 capable, compatible with Razer Core external GPU enclosures for additional power; supports dual-channel memory and SSD upgradability
Perfect Display for Work or Play: An edge-to-edge, 100% sRGB, factory-calibrated matte screen with a 240Hz refresh rate offers the best experience for both creative tasks or intense gaming sessions
Biometric Security: Supports Windows Hello instant facial unlock
Customizable RGB Individual Key Lighting: Includes 16.8 million colors available with multiple preset profiles
Summary: 9th Gen Intel Core i7 9750H 6 core processor w/ 2.6GHz/4.5GHz (base/max turbo), NVIDIA Geforce 2080 RTX Max-Q, 15.6" FHD 240Hz matte display, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

List price: [amazon B07QX9D69S listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GF75 Thin 9SC-027 (i7-9750H, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, NVIDIA GTX1650 4GB, 17.3" Full HD, Windows 10) Gaming Notebook

Display: 17.3" Thin Bezel Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS-Level 100% sRGB Display | Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 (Max Q)
Processor: 9th Gen Intel Coffee Lake Core i7-9750H Six Core (2.6GHz-4.5GHz, 12MB Intel Smart Cache, 45W)
RAM: 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4 2666MHz | Hard Drive: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit) Multi-language | Warranty: 1-Year MSI USA Warranty Parts & Labor (include 1 Year Global Warranty) + Lifetime Tech Support from EXcaliberPC

List price: [amazon B07QT9X86R listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

ASUS ROG G531GT - 15.6" FHD - i7-9750H - NVIDIA GTX 1650-8GB - 512GB SSD

Windows 10NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB dedicated graphics;
9th Gen Intel® Core i7-9750H processor;
15.6" display;
8GB memory;
512GB solid state drive;
Bluetooth;
HDMI output;
Webcam not included, DVD/CD drive not included

List price: [amazon B07RKSNCT6 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

ASUS ROG 15.6" FHD WLED-Backlit Gaming Laptop, Intel 6-Core i7-9750H 2.6GHz up to 4.5GHz, 8GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, 802.11ac, Bluetooth, Backlit Keyboard, HDMI, Windows 10

15.6" Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution boasts impressive color and clarity. Energy-efficient LED backlight. RGB backlit keyboard - Allows you to enjoy comfortable and accurate typing, even in dim lighting.
9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H mobile processor - Powerful 6-core, twelve-way processing performance. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics - Backed by 4GB GDDR5 dedicated video memory for a fast, advanced GPU to fuel your games.
8GB DDR4 - Substantial high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run your games and photo- and video-editing applications, as well as multiple programs and browser tabs all at once; 512GB PCI-e SSD - Save files fast and store more data. With massive amounts of storage and advanced communication power, PCI-e SSDs are great for major gaming applications, multiple servers, daily backups, and more.
HDMI output expands your viewing options - Connect to an HDTV or high-def monitor to set up two screens side by side or just see more of the big picture. Next-generation wireless connectivity - Connects to your network or hotspots on all current Wi-Fi standards. Connect to a Wireless-AC router for speed nearly 3x faster than Wireless-N. The Gigabit Ethernet LAN port also plugs into wired networks.
Windows 10 operating system - Windows 10 brings back the Start Menu from Windows 7 and introduces new features, like the Edge Web browser that lets you markup Web pages on your screen.

List price: [amazon B07SCY5QVJ listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

MSI GF75 Thin 9SC-027 17.3" Gaming Laptop, Thin Bezel, Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650, 16GB, 512GB NVMe SSD

Display: 17.3" Thin Bezel FHD, IPS-Level 100%sRGB 1920x1080 16: 9
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 [Max-Q] 4G GDDR5
Processor: Intel Core i7-9750h 2.6 - 4.5GHz
Memory: 16GB (8G*2) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD

List price: [amazon B07QD32SR7 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

Lenovo IdeaPad L340 Gaming Laptop, 15.6-Inch FHD (1920 X 1080) IPS Display, Intel Core i7-9750H Processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD, 256GB NVMe SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, Windows 10, 81LK000EUS, Black

With 9th-generation Intel Core i7-9750H processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD + 256GB NVMe SSD storage, this gaming notebook has all the power you need to outshoot, outrun, and outsmart anyone
The 15.6-inch screen delivers a stunning full HD IPS display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, anti-glare technology, 250 nits, 45% Color Gamut
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics deliver faster, smoother gameplay and more power-efficient performance
This Lenovo gaming notebook is game ready - are you? With cool blue ambient lighting, extended battery life (up to 9 hours), and a 720p HD camera with privacy shutter, you'll be ready to play anytime, anywhere
Final product may vary slightly from image

List price: [amazon B07R6XPYKB listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon

Black Sea Arena Georgia

13 June, 2019 | Tourism objects | 12 seen

Black Sea Arena is an indoor arena located on the coast of the Black Sea in Shekvetili, Guria, Georgia, some 45 km north of Batumi, the country's second largest city.

The venue, designed by the architects from the German company Drei Architekten, is the largest open concert hall in the Caucasus. The auditorium has a capacity of 10,000 seats in circular grandstands.

The American singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera performed at the official opening of the Black Sea Arena on July 30, 2016.

Black Sea Arena in Georgia

Batumi McDonald's

11 June, 2019 | Restaurant reviews | 27 seen

The coolest McDonald's building probably is located in Georgian seaside town Batumi.

Officially opened for public already back in 2013, this place has been featured in countless architecture award magazines across the World.

Named as the World’s Best Commercial Building 2014 (source: Batumi McDonald’s: World’s Best Commercial Building 2014)

The restaurant, designed by Harvard-graduate and Georgian architect Giorgi Khmaladze, was named Building of the Year in the Commercial Architecture category in an international competition by world architecture firm Arch Daily.

Batumi McDonald's

The Batumi building combined a McDonald’s restaurant with a fuel station and recreational areas.

Four hundred sixty glass panels were used to create the exterior while the entire building is surrounded by a reflective pool.

Joseph Stalin Museum in Gori

9 June, 2019 | Museums | 49 seen

The Joseph Stalin Museum is a museum in Gori, Georgia dedicated to the life of Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, who was born in Gori. The Museum retains its Soviet-era characteristics.

The museum has three sections, all located in the town's central square. It was officially dedicated to Stalin in 1957.

With the downfall of the Soviet Union and independence movement of Georgia, the museum was closed in 1989, but has since been reopened, and is a popular tourist attraction.

The Stalin Museum (in the background), with the birth house of Stalin in the foreground

Enshrined within a Greco-Italianate pavilion is a small wooden hut, in which Stalin was born in 1878 and spent his first four years.

The small hut has two rooms on the ground floor. Stalin's father Vissarion Jughashvili, a local shoemaker, rented the one room on the left hand side of the building and maintained a workshop in the basement. The landlord lived in the other room. The hut originally formed part of a line of similar dwellings, but the others have been demolished.

Stalin statue in front of the Museum

The main corpus of the complex is a large palazzo in Stalinist Gothic style, begun in 1951 ostensibly as a museum of the history of socialism, but clearly intended to become a memorial to Stalin, who died in 1953. The exhibits are divided into six halls in roughly chronological order, and contain many items actually or allegedly owned by Stalin, including some of his office furniture, his personal effects and gifts made to him over the years. There is also much illustration by way of documentation, photographs, paintings and newspaper articles. The display concludes with one of twelve copies of the death mask of Stalin taken shortly after his death.

The overall impression is that of a shrine to a secular saint.

Stalin's personal railway carriage, located outside the museum

To one side of the museum is Stalin's personal railway carriage. The green Pullman carriage, which is armor plated and weighs 83 tons, was used by Stalin from 1941 onwards, including his attendances at the Yalta Conference and the Tehran Conference. It was sent to the museum on being recovered from the railway yards at Rostov-on-Don in 1985.

Villa St Maria Boutique hotel Jūrmala

8 June, 2019 | Hotel reviews | 20 seen

Offering a sauna, boutique hotel Villa St Maria is set in the heart of Jurmala on the main pedestrian promenade Jomas street, some 400 m from Dzintari Concert Hall.

In summers guests can enjoy a lounge terrace on the rooftop of the hotel and an on-site restaurant with Japanese, Korean and European cuisine and drinks.

We booked this hotel for a short one night stay before departing back to Tbilisi in May 2019. We paid EUR 68 for a stay here.

Aparthotel Villa St Maria in Jūrmala

Every room at this hotel is air conditioned and comes with a flat-screen TV with satellite channels.They feature an individual design and are equipped with a kitchenette, seating area and a private balcony or a terrace. Every room includes a private bathroom fitted with a shower or a bath. Extras include free toiletries and a hair dryer. A room specifically designed for disabled people is available as well.

Buffet breakfast at Villa St Maria in Jūrmala

Guests benefit from room service and green inner patio at the property. There is a rooftop lounge, where guests will find a grill bar and hookah lounge. In summer sunbeds are available. Spa facilities, sauna, massages and salt, and amber rooms are available for guests.

Villa St Maria in Jūrmala

Located on lively Jomas street in Jūrmala

May 2019 Dividend Income Report - $216.17

5 June, 2019 | Investments | 12 seen

Welcome to the twenty-fifth (#25) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks, peer to peer lending (both fiat and cryptocurrencies) in May 2019.

Summer is finally here in Georgia and more time we are spending outdoors.

Actually, at the start of May, we took a short 10 day trip to Latvia, trying delicious seafood at Jūrmala restaurants and more. I would love to feature some great landscape of Latvian nature here, but I missed it as most of the time I made nice family portraits instead.

Photo of the month - HDR clouds over Tbilisi

Time after time I love to install a tripod at one (out of three) of our balconies and play with DSLR camera.

HDR clouds over Tbilisi

$216.17 was taken from dividend stocks and peer to peer lending in May 2019.

Additional $339.80 were made from options trading, but as options trading is not actually a passive form of making money while you are sleeping it wouldn't be fair to include it in dividend income report. On the other hand option income is a nice way to give a boost to the overall portfolio.

And in fact, last month, income from options + dividends helped to generate 1.89% yield from the total value of the portfolio. That's about 22.68% annually.

Originally I had a plan to make $300 or more this month (a plan I set a year ago), now at the end we didn't make it, but with the help of options income, we made $555.97

Super Charging May 2019 Dividend Income ($300/mo Goal)

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, I'm not a financial advisor and I don't give you any advice, I'm just sharing my own experience. Investments in stocks, funds, bonds or cryptos are risk investments and you could lose some or all of your money. Do your due diligence before investing in any kind of asset.

Both individuals and entities can invest through Mintos. Individual investors must be at least 18 years old, have a bank account in the European Union or third countries currently considered to have AML/CFT systems equivalent to the EU, and have their identity successfully verified by Mintos. At the moment, US citizens or taxpayers cannot register as investors at Mintos.

Sign up for Mintos.com here. By using my affiliate link for registration both you and I will receive — 1% of our average daily balance which should be paid in 3 installments for the first 90 days.

Interest income in May 2019

From the stocks, Mintos.com peer to peer lending and from cryptocurrency lending on Poloniex.com I got following income last month:

Ticker

Earnings

Mintos

€63.31

FGB

€24.05

SFG1T

€23.40

APG1L

€22.21

KNF1L

€13.17

EDF

€6.79

AMG1L

€6.22

CLM

€5.43

LNR1L

€5.31

EDI

€5.13

€4.20

NCV

€3.77

AWP

€3.77

KNR1L

€3.40

Poloniex

€2.32

Total: EUR 192.67 / USD 216.17

In total there were 15 great companies paying us dividends in May

Mintos continues to be #1 in terms of interest income generated

Mintos.com Review After 24 Month of Investing in Peer to Peer Lending

The YoY growth rate for my dividend income in May 2019 was + 54.02% or $75.82 more than a year ago in May 2018. That's the growth rate I like.

Monthly income

My journey towards million dollars in savings account now is more than 2 years old. The result, so far, looks quite good. Dividends are growing.

Last May also did set a record in terms of dividend received, for the second time in history breaking and crossing $200 milestone. The last record was made back in July 2018, with $202.84

Monthly Income chart as of May 2019

The cumulative earnings for 2019 now are $826.73 (that's more I made in whole 2017) which is exactly 40.43% from my goal of 2019 ($2,045). On average, it would ask me to generate $174.04 every month for the next 7 months to reach my goal.

I'm pretty confident reaching this goal, as there are more months planned to have dividend income at the level of $200/mo.

2018 in Review and Financial Goals for 2019

Goals for May 2020

This is my favorite part of the reports - trying to forecast/set goals for the next year. But before setting a goal for 2020, let's see what I forecasted/said a year ago:

Now, I have a goal to crack $300 in May 2019. From today's perspective hard but doable.

Oops, I totally missed this goal. I'm short $83.83. But I will take it - because with the help of options trading we have taken more than $500 in May

When setting goals for May 2020, I will say $300 seems a good number to work with, but I want more - at least $350 for the May 2020

How To Merge Vocabularies on Drupal (Taxonomy Manager)

4 June, 2019 | Drupal Development | 52 seen

A couple of years ago I launched the Piece of Life project in the frames of this blog. The idea was simple - instead of building a separate website for our photo stories, incorporate it in already established blog

After a quick brainstorming - it was realized using additional content types and vocabularies

I decided to run this project as a separate entity inside the frames of my blog for two reasons: Firstly, I'm an author of about 50% of images made for Piece of Life, so yes I have a voice to be heard by the other 50%. Second - we could go with a separate photo project website, most probably beautifully built on Drupal, but here is the catch - I didn't wanted to spend a lot of time and effort by building a separate website before my mine blog (the one you are currently reading) hasn't reached 100,000 unique visitors per month. Back then blog averaged at about 40,000 users per month. And by now it has grown to about 60,000 100,000 users per month.

By implementing Piece of Life on the blog - I was looking for a simple thing - to kill two birds with one stone. To have a nice and interesting, supplementing content for a blog, to raise the number of visitors. Now a year later I can tell for sure - indeed I have supplemented and diversified the content, Speaking of numbers - Nah, I didn't make much difference. And, that makes me think - I was right when decided to implement this project on an already established brand, rather go and build a new one from scratch.

Now, back then I created a separate vocabulary to tag posts under Piece of Life content type. That seemed right then but doesn't seem good anymore now, as it gets complicated with upkeep different sections of the blog.

I decided to limit vocabulary count and was searching for some easy ways to merge existing vocabularies in one, and luckily I found Taxonomy manager module which did the job.

This module provides a powerful interface for managing taxonomies. A vocabulary gets displayed in a dynamic tree view, where parent terms can be expanded to list their nested child terms or can be collapsed.

The Taxonomy Manager has the following operations and key features:

dynamic tree view
mass deleting
mass adding of new terms
moving of terms in hierarchies
merging of terms (using the Term merge module in 7.x)
fast weight changing with up and down arrows (and AJAX saving)
AJAX powered term editing form
simple search interface
CSV Export of terms
i18n support for multilingual vocabularies (per language terms)
Double Tree interface for moving terms in hierarchies, adding new translations and switching terms between different vocabularies

For using the Taxonomy Manager you should have JavaScript and automatically load of images enabled in your browser.

After downloading and enabling module I was able to merge vocabularies with ease:

Merging vocabularies with Taxonomy manager in Drupal 7

I decided to merge vocabulary Photo Tags and all its contents with vocabulary Terms.

Taxonomy manager module allowed to move them with ease.

Once I had moved all taxonomies from one vocabulary to another, I deleted the unwanted one and reconfigured content type.

Easy Weekend trip to Kakehti in Georgia

2 June, 2019 | Travel guides | 10 seen

This is a short recap of our travels to the region of Kakheti in September 2017.

I've got many times asked this question - what's the best time to visit Georgia? In short - it depends.

Among the many reasons to visit Georgia, I would recommend it during the rtveli time (grape harvesting) around September, see: Grape Harvest Rtveli in Georgia (Region of Kakheti)

As for this trip, we took a driver from Tbilisi (Book your driver here), headed to Chateau Eniseli, and for the rest, see itinerary below.