Blog Archive: July 2019

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Zoom Lens Review

26 July, 2019 | Digital Photography School | 15 seen

At the end of July, I finally got replacement lens for original Canon Rebel T5 (Canon 1200D) DSLR camera - I ordered online from Amazon Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Zoom Lens.

For the original kit lens, the autofocus stopped working properly and for the most time I had to shoot in manual mode, it's perfectly fine for me, but I admit having working autofocus is really neat, it can help a lot (for example in bright sunlight).

I was inching between 18-55mm zoom lens and 24mm pancake lens, but after all, I went tor the 18-55mm (as I have been shooting with it for the last 4 years)

Top 5 Best Selling Canon EF / EF-S Lenses 2019

Designed for high-quality still image and video capture while being compact and lightweight, the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens features the optics, AF and image stabilization necessary for shooting in any number of situations.

Please note this article contains links to Amazon by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on Amazon site, I might earn an affiliate income from that at no cost to you.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Zoom Lens…

Fix for Drupal 'Social Share Counter' module - Facebook Counter Not Working

16 July, 2019 | Drupal Development | 9 seen

I have been using Drupal's Social Share counter module for some time already. It worked great until recently it stopped and all posts were showing 0 shares.

After a quick research on the modules issue page, I found the solution: Facebook share counter not working

Facebook has changed its API recently, so the URL http://graph.facebook.com/?id=URL, which is used by the module no longer works and the share counter is always 0.

There is also a patch provided to fix this issue:

Gonio Fortress

14 July, 2019 | Military Heritage | 19 seen

Gonio fortress, previously called Apsaros, or Apsarunto, is a Roman fortification in Adjara, Georgia, on the Black Sea, 15 km south of Batumi, at the mouth of the Chorokhi river. The village sits 4 km north of the Turkish border.

Gonio has been on my radar since I probably first visited Batumi back in the Summer of 2011, but for the first time, I visited this ancient Roman site at the end of April 2019, while doing an easy weekend trip around the region of Adjara.

The entrance fee was 3 GEL (April 2019)

Fortification walls at Gonio Fortress

For those of you interested in history:

The oldest reference to the fortress is by Pliny the Elder[ in the Natural History (1st century AD). There is also a reference to the ancient name of the site in Appian’s Mithridatic Wars (2nd century AD). In the 2nd century AD it was a well-fortified Roman city within Colchis. The town was also known for its theatre and hippodrome. It later came under Byzantine influence. The name "Gonio" is first attested in Michael Panaretos in the 14th century. In addition…

One Year Anniversary for the Child's Stock Investment Portfolio

13 July, 2019 | Investments | 13 seen

Today, on July 13th, we are celebrating both 1-year anniversaries for our baby daughter and her stock investment portfolio.

In today's article, I will shed some light on the second (investment portfolio) a year after.

Originally I come up with a plan to build a high-yield $10,000 child investment portfolio by the time our baby girl will turn 2. (July 2020). Right now we are looking at $80-$100 monthly dividends by the time she will turn 2.  

Since July 2018 we have invested $5,485.07 in 8 stocks. In our first year, we have generated a dividend income of $241.36 ($71.12 back in 2018; $170.14 in 2019). That's about 4.4% dividend yield.

Unfortunately, we have experienced a -4.75% value drop, luckily dividends level things up, and after the first year, the value + dividends = -0.13%. 

Market value

HP ENVY x360 - 15-cn0003ur Convertable Touchscreen Laptop Review

9 July, 2019 | Gadget Reviews | 47 seen

HP ENVY x360 - convertible touchscreen Laptop is the latest addition to our home office. Bought at the local Tbilisi shop in early June 2019. Paid about $1,150 but I believe you could get one much cheaper on Amazon

Equipped with Backlit keyboard, FULL HD 1920X1080 screen resolution, this laptop will make many envy it. lol

Top 20 Laptops with Full HD 1920X1080 Resolution

From its distinctive materials and iconic design, this PC exudes unparalleled beauty. Built thin and light for those on-the-go - expect premium design features including a brilliant backlit keyboard, seamless profile, and geometric pattern speaker grill.

Top 20 Best Selling Laptops with a backlit keyboard 2019

Please note this article contains links to Amazon by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on Amazon site, I might earn an affiliate income from that at no cost to you.

HP Envy in a box

More power, more security, and more ways to do it all. The convertible 15" (38.1 cm) HP ENVY x360 lets you adapt to anything your day has in store, without sacrificing power or…

Kirman Belazur Resort &Spa Review in Antalya, Turkey

5 July, 2019 | Hotel reviews | 27 seen

Situated at the seafront, Kirman Hotels Belazur Resort & Spa has a private beach but you don't need a beach when you have one of the longest warm water outdoor pools. 

There is a water park and a bowling alley on site and guests can enjoy the restaurant and bar. Free WiFi is featured throughout the hotel and free private parking is available on site.

We booked a tour package from Tbilisi to Turkey's region of Antalya and chose this 5-star resort hotel in Belek (the total amount we paid for this tour package with a charter flight from Tbilisi to Antalya and Back was about USD 1,200 for a 6-night stay). Our trip took us here in early June 2019. For booking this trip we chose the local Georgian company Discovery which sold us a tour in partnership with Pegas Touristik

Top 5-star Luxury Hotels in Belek (Antalya /All - Inclusive)

For me, this was the first time experience booking all-inclusive tour package with a charter flight. Actually, there are not many all-inclusive hotels from my travel list, the last one I remember was back in 2016 in Spain's Torremolinos (see: Hotel Parasol Garden…

June 2019 Dividend Income Report - $299.51

3 July, 2019 | Investments | 18 seen

Welcome to the twenty-sixth (#26) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks, peer to peer lending (both fiat and cryptocurrencies) in June 2019.

At the start of June, we booked an All - Inclusive tour package from Tbilisi to Turkey's Antalya and spent a week in a 5-star hotel SPA and resort in Belek.

I made the following long exposure picture in the last evening while in the resort:

Kirman Belazur Resort and Spa 5-star hotel in Belek, Turkey

Learn more: Kirman Belazur Resort&Spa Review in Antalya, Turkey

$299.51 was taken from dividend stocks and peer to peer lending in June 2019. Ahh, so close to crack $300, that we could even smell it, but unfortunately not this time.

Actually, I doubt I will manage to crack $300 anytime soon (at least not this year, though anything could happen), but on the other hand we are in the two hundreds

Additional $408.80 were made from options trading, but as options trading is not actually a passive form of making money while…