I’m an Apple Victim

As a good engineer, geek and champion of diversity, I am not a big fan of the Apple concept. It is too expensive, ITunes controls… you are not a free user, you are into a machine. After selling my soul to Google, I am reluctant to give it to Apple. But I admit, I did it. It feels bad and good at the same time, like when I eat this chocolate icecream and know that I shouldn’t.

This year, I managed to put my hands on an IPhone 5s and a Mac Book Air 13 from Work. And I just bought an IPad Air.

Mac Book Air:

Good because:

Simple- its light, the battery lasts forever and when I press the button “ON, it is on within seconds (yes, Windows users, you’re losing precious minutes of your lives) and it comes with an high definition webcam.

Bad, because:

I Tunes.

Iphone 5s:

Good, because:

IMessage- Between IMessage and Whatsapp, the SMS are dying.

Quality of the camera

Large choice of Apps

Connectivity with my MacBook

Bad, becaus:

ITunes.

Touch keyboard is too small.

The IPad air :

Good, because:

Synergies with my iPhone and MacBook air

Quality of the screen- best resolution on the market

Price isn’t that bad (Tip: In Germany, the IPad Air is 70 euros cheaper than in France)

Bad, because:

I Tunes

No SD card player

No USB.

Even if I’m fighting against Apple, I’ve sold my soul to them…. And somehow…. It feels good.

The FAIR phone

Fed up with the Apple/Samsung phone monopoly?

Tired of phones blocked by their operators?

You want to know that your phone was not made in some unhuman factory, mounted by kids in China?

Well, I have your new phone : THE FAIR PHONE

Why should you buy it?

1.              It is fair.

2.              You’ll have a dual SIM. YES if you are an expat, you’d appreciate having two SIMS in ONE PHONE.

3.              You can change the battery when it dies (it cost around 8 euros on any shops), no need to get a new IPhone

4.              Only 300 euros

5.              It meets your needs of photo with 8MP camera.

6.              16GB storage (if necessary, you may add a micro SD)

7.              Its an Android phone: so easy to use, can be connected to all computers.

8.              You have all the life cycle infos from the primary materials to the manufacturing.

9.              They don’t include a charger because it is compatible with a micro USB. You already have one at home, your friends have some… (unlike the Apple ones…)

Because YES, you can stay connected while being FAIR.

All pictures are credited to Fairphone and available under the following link

Holy oven!

You might have thought the blog was kind of dead... But it isn't! True that it has been quiet for personal reasons, holidays, laziness... But again I have something to share with you and I couldn't wait to post it! It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm visiting Emma next weekend in Paris and I'm scared of our inevitable blog meeting... :-S

One of my favourite blogging-topics is cooking, especially if it's related to a healthy lifestyle, and even better if I can share something that would spare you some time in the kitchen!

Yes, I guess you know I'd like to talk about the oven, this incredible machine! For years I thought (as many people) that the only things you could get from an oven are creamy and sweet cakes full of sugar, chocolate muffins, fetty pizzas, delicious but rich-in-calories quiches (at Emma's place), cheesy gratin pasta, etc etc etc... I couldn't be more mistaken!

Since I started my healthier cooking habits, and adding vegetables to all my meals, the oven has become my closest friend in the kitchen! (well just after Eva, my flatmate!). I didn't have to buy a book "oven recipes for singles" or anything like that! What I do is soooo simple, you might think I'm wasting blog space! I preheat the oven, I put 2 drops of olive oil on an oven dish, and I just put vegetables on it! No preparation, just peppers, eggplants, onions, tomatos, zucchinis... Sometimes I don't even cut them into pieces! I let them roast for 30-40minutes and they are done! I love them with a little bit of salt, olive oil and rosemary, on a slice of bread. When I don't finish everything, I boil some rice or quinoa and I add the veggies to it, for my lunch on the next day. Can you think of something healthier??? It's delicious and you can watch TV, have a shower, play with your dog, while preparing the dinner!

My friend Olga, who also shares this veggie-roasting obsession, brought me last week a new veggetable/ root/ thing, absolutely new for me: topinambur. Do you know what it is? It looks like something between a potato and ginger, and after being roasted it tastes like an artichoke! No joking! I love it!

And if you want healthy snacks, you can make chips! The sweet potato chips are my favourite, you just have to cut them into thin slices and put them on an oven tray. The oven shouldn't be too hot, under 100 degrees, and it will take a couple of hours, but again you can leave it there and do something else.

I hope I could help you find another healthy dinner option, I know it's sometimes difficult! Enjoy!

My first crowd-funder experience

Since I write this blog, I am following a few blogs to get some insights, experiences from others. There is one that I especially like it is called Generation Berlin. A French artist lives in Berlin and talks about her experience there. As I spend 5 years in Germany and have a German boyfriend, a part from me is still over there. I  really like reading her blog.

Anyway,

She realises a short movie. The shooting is between August 25th and 29th 2014. The film, "The prison guard's daughter", is about the friendship of two girls and a teen ager in the summer in the french counrty. The project needs some more funding. So she decided to use the following platform touscoprod.

So I went on the website. You have different level of funding for which you get something: the script of the movie, a postcard from the shooting team, an invitation to the Premiere, a day on the shooting…

And I did it, I invested...

What I like about crowd funding?

I feel now part of the adventure

I know where my money is going

I feel special by getting something back

I am really looking forward seeing the movie

I 

So go on this link, and you too make this project happen! Only 13 days left...