Apr

29

FreeRice.com

Filed Under Internet & Technology, Language | 2 Comments

I discovered this pretty cool site last month: FreeRice.

Play the vocabulary game there and accomplish two things: 1) improve your English vocabulary; 2) help donate 20 grams of rice for every word you get right, though the UN World Food Program.

FreeRice.com is being run at no profit. The rice, as stated in its FAQ section, is paid for by the advertisers, names of which are seen at the bottom of the vocabulary screen.

A portion of the FAQ section reads: “FreeRice is not sitting on a pile of rice — you are earning it 20 grains at a time. Here is how it works. When you play the game, advertisements appear on the bottom of your screen. The money generated by these advertisements is then used to buy the rice. So by playing, you generate the money that pays for the rice donated to hungry people.”

A pretty cool idea, huh?

Feb

2

New Name

Filed Under Announcements, Blogs & Blogging, General, Internet & Technology | 12 Comments


So, what’s with the new blog name?

Well, I had wanted some changes in my “online presence” — well, at least in this blog — and I felt it should begin with its name.

The name X-Pat Files, while it was distinct enough when I first started to actively blog in 2005, had started to sound unoriginal. I had discovered, albeit much later, that other people/groups use the same title for their personal blogs, life and leisure news site, relocation website, podcast site, and even for an OFW comicbook.

Although it’s most likely that my blog will be the first one to pop up on page one when you type “X-Pat Files” in the Google search bar, I don’t feel comfortable anymore with this overused title.

And so, I’ve decided to officially change my blog title from X-Pat Files to X-Press Files.

Why X-Press Files? you may ask.

Well, there are three main reasons:

1.) This personal blog is all about self-expression; it’s my creative outlet on the WWW. Here, I express what I feel and think about what’s going on around me. Or sometimes, I just post something for the sake of expressing myself. Just because.

2.) “Express,” as an adjective, means “direct, rapid, and usually non-stop” (definition by The Free Dictionary). While I’m aware that I’ve not been blogging on a regular basis of late (read: at least once a week), it doesn’t mean that it takes me forever to compose a blog post when I do. On the contrary, when I try to communicate something here in the blogosphere, it’s usually direct, rapid, and non-stop – hence, on express mode.

3.) And last but not the least, I like the word “press” in X-Press Files. Sounds appropriate to me, considering my journalistic background.

Now that all is said and done, I look forward to blogging more in 2008. If I could post at least one entry a week — topics don’t really need to be expat-oriented anymore, thanks to the change of blog title — that would already be great. So that will be my target for now.

I’m aware that I’ve severely lagged behind in my blogging and in many other areas in my life (language studies, part-time work, ministry, recreation time with family and friends, etc.). The year 2007 was not really a great one for me. I was not in tip-top shape, health-wise, and that affected almost everything.

But here’s hoping that 2008 will be a better year for me and my family and friends. These things I wish for myself: better health condition and more productivity in all that I do.

And I’d like to welcome the new year on a cheery note, beginning with a new blog name. I embrace this change with much gusto.

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