Tag Archives: App

Shining Hope for Communities

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Yes, my Periscope addiction is ongoing.  So now on the Periscope App where you can see the videos from individuals you are following, the Periscope people have begun posting recommended videos that remain for viewing for about 24 hours.  I watched one of the best this morning.  It was from journalist Nick Kristof, who had invited Eunice Akoth (a sixth grade student from the settlement of Kibera in Kenya, Africa) to visit him in New York.  The short, live video showed a brief interview and a performance of a poem by Eunice.  The poem is extremely moving, and can be found here along with several other stories about day to day life in Kibera.  Kibera is Africa’s largest slum where daily challenges can include basic needs like food, water, and shelter.  Shining Hope for Communities is an organization working to help this settlement, and their mission statement can be seen below in a screenshot from their website.  At the very least, you should check out the poem from Eunice.  If you are like me, it will inspire you to learn more about her story and the people who have reached out to assist her and the community she lives in.

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Star Wars: Commander – Update

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Anyone remember my blog post from back in February when I shared my nerdy iPad game called “Star Wars: Commander”?  Well, I am still playing.  I know you were kind of excited when I first started my tiny little base with an initial base rating of 75.  As of today, my base rating is 1085, and this helps determine what kind of battles I get into with other players.  So far, I have won 309 attacks on other unsuspecting people’s bases, and 43 defenses of my own spectacular impregnable fortress of a base.  Now I am assuming that you are totally excited?  Don’t worry, I will continue to neglect my chores and other important things like reading books for example just so I can update you with my gaming progress.  Yay!

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Periscope

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My favorite App for the iPad, iPhone, or iPad Touch lately is Periscope.  It allows you to travel the world, see new things, and hang out with different people.  So far today, I have seen places in Italy, France, Australia, and the UK by watching other user’s live feeds.  From their website,

“For viewers, Periscope gives you a new set of eyes and ears.  Travel the world and step into someone else’s shoes.  See what they see, hear what they hear, and hopefully feel what they feel.”

I’ve added a few random screenshots to give you an idea of the endless possibilities you can experience live, including a Venice Beach sunset and a nice storm cloud in Arizona.  Has anyone else tried Periscope, and if so, are you enjoying it?

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Sharing – Autodesk Pixlr

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From a Sanrio tweet,

“If something wonderful happens to you, don’t keep it all to yourself.  Share it with friends.”

Last week, I was looking for an App that would allow me to overlay one photo over the top of another.  A friend recommended the Autodesk Pixlr photo editing App as a solution.  The “double exposure” feature did exactly what I wanted, and as an extra bonus, the Pixlr App is free.  I have been playing around with this App since then and so far, I really like it.  Give it a try if you are looking for something like this.  🙂

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Blur

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Ever taken some throwaway snapshots that had some cool colors or interesting subject matter, but were taken from the wrong vantage point?  That is what happened at sunset tonight.  Instead of tossing these, I added a simple blur effect to try and make things better.  The first photo has a circular blur, and the second photo has a linear blur.  I didn’t fall in love with either one, but the colors of the sunset were nice.

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For those who are wondering, I have added the original photo from the first edit below.  Now you can see everything before the blur was added, including all of the nice colors from the sunset and the not so nice reflection from the window I was standing behind. :-/

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