NN and NV are back to kiosks

Today I was very much surprised when I was told that two independent newspapers, Nasha Niva and Narodnaya Volya, which have been struggling since 2006 (the year of the presidential elections, when those newspapers lost their channels of distribution by order from the presidential administration) to get normal way of distribution via kiosk, will make it through. And now it's happening, hopefully, starting from the next week I can buy those newpapers in a kiosk nearby my house. Is it a miracle? No, this are the acts of real politik: Belarus wants to sell goods to the EU --> Belarus needs to improve democracy --> The government and the presidential administration weaken their repressions of the independent actors. C'est la vie, as French people say. I am happy that this steps are in the right direction. Though, so far really small steps. God bless Belarus paraphrasing the US president ;)

'Military Equipment'

There are women who like men in uniform, it brings some romanticism and charm they say. Though I am not one of those, it was interesting for me to browse through a website named 5.11 Tactical Jacket and selling as they say 'Military Equipment'. From the first look for me it did not look like military at all, rather normal cloths which people were in this country, mainly different types of men's jackets. However, I also liked one travel mug (it looks very useful, but it is only a part of a deal with jackets;)), and I was impressed by special jackets of bright colors. If my mom would wear one of those on her bike in the evening time (especially on the countryside roads) she would be visible long time before some car would aproach her. This is why, I guess, it's named Tactical Reflective Vest, and 'tactical' is the key word here. Another interesting item (the one to impress girls or women mentioned in the first line of this post) is a Police jacket, it is actually relatively cheap, so almost everybody can afford it. Basically, what I want to say: if one has some imagination how to use it or one might need it for the work (this is addressing men first of all), the collection is definitely worth looking through.

P.S. This post is brought here thanks to La Police Gear.

Day with the first snow

Today, or it's rather yesterday, was the day with the first snow this winter (?) or autumn :) So I looked out from my window and saw this picture which (of course!) I took immediately :) I used to love winter the most. It's a fun time for kids.

Geo names translation

Working for international institutions and for international projects I have to write in English some Belarusian geographic names. I used to be a nightmare to think of the best transliteration. But it is not the case any more. There are two documents which give the guidelines. First one is issued by several Belarusian ministries (see here - in Russian) and another one is the Belarusian document submitted to the UN (see here - in English). Sometimes there are good improvements ;)

US elections all around

I was amazed today when I wanted to log on Facebook. I was this picture and ones againg was reminded that Facebook is an American product. :D

Looking for new glasses

When people discuss what is better glasses or contact lenses, I always think for myself it is worth to have both. One needs them for different situations, so it is even necessary to have both. And at the moment I am thinking which glasses to buy. Remembering that the economic crisis is around, I will definitely look for a reasonable price as well. The best way to cut off you spending is to plan in advance what you want and need to buy. In my honest opinion, the wise shopping is useful even in the situation of the financial crisis;)

Thus the goal for the moment is to buy soem nice glasses. As the Internet addicted person I've looked online and I've found out that it's possible to buy theeyeglasses for $8 for example from Zenni Optical. It is really reasonable price and I like the design as well. They also have such strong aspects as Anti Scratch Coating and Hard Case for them (this is really important as otherwise your eyeglasses can transform and it can be even harming your eyes).

My next step is to calculate the cost and decide if I will buy them. Lets see. If I choose the simplest ones, then it is $8. Plus I might add Anti reflection coating as I love computers :) Then it is for extra prices - $4.95. Ok, to find out the delivery price to Europe requires to fill in the form and check out... Hmm, maybe I could find it out before I place the order? Sometimes shipping is expensive. Well, I guess then I will get it sorted later. Thus the simple option with delivery costs for the US would be $12.95 which is quite good. As for Europe, I will let you know when I find out! Happy shopping!

P.S. This post is written thanks to Zenni Optical.

History revision

Today I was back to school, not literally but still. I was helping my little cousin with the preparation for history exam. He needs to know the history of Belarus starting from the Stone Age. So we studied books for a while, but then I came up with a clever idea to go to a history museum. It was not that easy to make him go on Saturday during vacations. But at the end we did (after I promised to go to cinema afterwords, those little tricks;)). And it was very demonstrative, one sees all those bones, stones and different tools and the difference between historical periods becomes more obvious:)