Passenger Talesstories about my experiences as a traveler and passenger

The advent of the global positioning system has provided vital capabilities to military, civil and commercial users. GPS provides location and time information with the use of GPS satellites. Because it provides accurate time, it is useful in activities like banking and cellular phone operations. In businesses like courier and freight services, they use gps vehicle tracking in order to keep track of the movement of cargo from their depot, while in transit until it gets delivered.

Parents and soon to be parents nowadays are very particular and concerned about pregnancies and the health of their soon to be born child. It is not to say that parents before were less concerned but because of technology and the accessibility of information, soon to be parents become more inquiring and more vigilant when the wife is pregnant. Today, there are many tests and procedures to ensure the baby’s health while still in the stomach. Before a fetal doppler is only for use of health professionals. Now, it is becoming popular for personal use. Moreover, it seems that 3-D ultrasounds are fast becoming passé with the advent of 4-D ultrasounds. Soon to be parents, especially the first timers, don’t mind spending additional money just to see a more detailed picture of their baby while still inside the womb. I guess for good parents, when it comes to ensuring your child’s health, nothing is too expensive.

Nowadays, people are getting degree conscious. In the past, getting a high school diploma is enough to get a good job or earn a good living. However, today, the market is getting more competitive that it is an advantage to at least have a college degree. But what about those already in the workforce who want a college degree but could not stop working in order to earn a degree? The answer is getting online college degrees. You can learn at your own time and pace. Students only need their computers and internet connections in order to connect to their class. There is no need for a solid infrastructure like classrooms and whiteboards in order to learn. What is important is that you want to learn and you have the discipline to work on your own with minimum supervision from teachers.

Youtube is a golden mine of records where every kind of video can be found, from original music videos, television dramas uploaded by fans, to homemade skits and instructional spiels. Careers have been made and broken because of videos uploaded to Youtube. Companies are now even shooting commercials specifically for these kinds of social media because it is now the fastest way to reach the most number of people. Billions view youtube videos everyday and among those, so just imagine how many download youtube videos everyday. It could reach millions in almost all corners of the world. The world is really getting smaller because of technology.

I love listening to music. When I was young I can remember listening to the radio and trying to record my favorite songs in a cassette tape. I asked for a walkman or something similar from my aunt and uncle through different periods while growing up. During birthdays, I request cassette tapes or CDs of my favorite artists of moment from my friends and family. From having a walkman, I graduated to a portable CD player then to an Ipod classic. When I’m working I use earphones so that I can still listen to my favorite songs without disturbing others. Through all the listening I have done, I realized that having great earphones or headphones can really make a difference in your listening pleasure. That is why people buy beats by dre pro because they know that it’s not just about listening to the music but feeling and going into the music.

Who says toys are for children? It seems that people, especially men, cannot outgrow their love for toys. Their plastic toy cars became Nitro Remote Control Cars . There are even race matches with its own rules and standards. These toys are no longer just for play but have become a hobby. I guess it is quite an expensive hobby that children cannot afford but grown men can indulge in. I guess boys of all ages really love their toys.

This year seems to be a year to upgrade electronic media. Without planning to, I found myself buying a new laptop for me and a new cellular phone for my mom. She has been complaining that her cell phone had transparent tape to stick some parts together. Circuit City coupons would have been very welcome when I was buying those gadgets so that I could save money from discounts. Moreover, somebody gave me a Kindle Fire so I’m in e-book reader heaven. Unfortunately, I have been so busy these past few days that I have not been able to fully explore my new gadgets. I hope that I would get to bond with my new laptop and Kindle Fire this weekend.

I remember back in high school studying alkalinity and acidity of liquids in chemistry. We conducted simple experiments like testing different liquids to see whether these were acidic or basic. We used litmus paper. I learned that blue litmus paper turns red when dipped into an acidic solution and red litmus paper turns blue when dipped in alkaline solution. Nowadays, schools could buy ph meters for student experiments. These meters not only indicate whether a liquid is acidic or basic but also reflects its ph level. This is definitely a couple of steps above litmus paper.

With the way technology as invaded our homes, it is not surprising to see wires and cables crisscrossing in some areas of the house. There are times when being a little bit careless, one trip over these wires. Moreover, they look messy and disorderly. Good thing there are products that help in cable management. Wires could be grouped together or hidden so these would not be unsightly. This would mean a more orderly and neat looking house.

My mom is going back to Cebu tomorrow. I promised to give her my external hard drive so that she won’t have to worry about her lap top’s disc space so I had to go to Megamall earlier to buy a new external hard drive. I decided to get a portable one this time. Since I had no spare cash, I looked for computer stores who accepted credit card payments and with 0% interest for installment payments. When I started out, I thought of just buying 500GB portable external hard drive but little by little I wavered and looked for 1TB drive. My friends recommended WD. I found out that there are all ki nds of external hard drives: portable, not portable, 350. 500, 750 and 1TB, usb 2.0 or usb3.0+usb 2.0. I looked into almost all shops in cyberzone looking for a store that accepted credit card payments then if they did, offer 0% installment payments. I finally found the perfect store, Ghertz, where I bought a 1TB WD My Passport Essential SE for only P5,200 which offers 3 months installment with 0% interest. I think it was the same store but different branch, which my officemate recommended for me to buy there when I asked about portable external hard drives. What I could not understand is how I could have skipped that store during my first round of store hopping when it was on the same side and almost next to the second shop I asked? I just want to think that God guided me to go back again and start canvassing the stores. I’m just happy I was able to buy what I wanted to buy at the terms that I wanted also. Now, I just need to worry about paying may credit card bills.