Guess Whos Got A Liebster Award !

Dear friends,

Looks like Ive been nominated for the Liebster Award by the adorable book read extraordinaire Jess of Bookworms in Dresses! Ive never been nominated for this award before, though I have been for another award called Sunshine Award granted by Carina from Windswept Wishes! So here we are, facing a new challenge so better brace yourself, as... The LadyBug is Coming! :)

Rules:
1. Post 11 facts about yourself
2. Answer 11 questions from your nominator
3. Nominate 11 other blogs with under 200 followers and ask them 11 questions (let them know you nominated them!)

My Facts:
1. I am a newlywed, and very proud of it! We had the civil marriage on the 7th December 2013, as a Saint Nicholas present to eachother and we shall have the Church Ceremony + Party on the 9th August 2014.
2. I am a proud expat that loves to travel as much as possible. I believe that the best things in life that one can store are memories and experiences.
3. I love my family and the worst thing about being an expat is not being able to be close to the ones you love, to be close to your family - I really miss my sister, mum and my awesome Granny :) 
4. I am happy to say that I do have a soulmate, my dear pea in the pod, but I am so sad she is so far away that I get to see her only once or twice in a year :( Love you Dana!
5. I am proud of my orientation in space sense and the fact that if you take me one time to a place I would know how to get there again with my eyes closed. Actually that is one of the things my lovely other half is jealous about. I get to have the saying where and what road we should take :)
6. I was supposed to stay in Poland, in Krakow, just for a few months - to build some more work experience - but the term ended up to be longer as I met the man of my life here.
7. To my shame, before coming to Poland I did not know a lot about it - except Sobieski, World War II histories, Auschwitz & Birkenau, Schindlers List & The Pianist. I know, I am mortified! but today, mainly due to my husband, I know more and more about this lovely country.
8. I am a very good Krakow guide - certified by all my friends and people I helped around. I lived for around 6 months in the city center and I would never go straight home. I would always have walks and discover new things. That is how I learned the streets and the little dark and twisted and magical corners of this lovely town I call home now. My husband says that he can trust 2 people to be his GPS while lost in Krakow - me and one dear friend that knows Nowa Huta well... 
9. Nowa Huta is the only region / area / district in Krakow where I could get lost. For me all the houses and blocks of flats look the same and this is very confusing - same height, same color... 
10. I love fruits :) I love fruits more than I love candies and chocolate. That is precisely why when I look at the movie Amelie I can feel a connection with her... I used to put berries on my fingertips as well... and also cherries around my ears. Hey! Whom am I trying to fool here? I still do that :) 
11. I believe that we never grow old at heart. Growing old is a choice that everyone makes and I surely hope that both me and my lovely half will manage to keep our hearts young :)

The Questions:

1. If you could escape to any fantasy world (book/TV/movie) which one would you choose?

I would choose The Lord of The Rings/Silmarillion without any shred of doubt! I would be confused over the fact that I would like to be both human and elf so that will be a struggle to choose... but that is the place where I would like to escape for sure. 

2. The song/soundtrack of your year so far? 

I would say Let It Go - from the Frozen soundtrack. Now that is a song that just got sticked to my brain and wont let it go, my friends! Now Ive heart Idina Menzel before and I admire his voice/vocal talents. The first movie I have seen her in and heart her lovely voice was the musical Rent - the movie - and I was shocked! I think I had a long time when I would listen to the Rent soundtrack over and over and over again. Same goes for Frozen now ;) Even my husband - who did not see the movie - recognises the song now!

3. Something new you want to try/learn how to do this year? 

Well I dunno if this counts, but I am trying to learn how to get in sync with my other half and organise a wedding that everyone would be happy of - family, friends & us. And that is one bad ass task! 

4. Scary campfire story? 

Actually we never did tell scary stories at the campfire, but we always loved to laugh and sing. So... unfortunately I have no tales of the unded to speak of - or would that be fortunately?! :p 

5. Do you play any instruments?

I used to go, when I was a small lass, to accordeon classes. Me and my sister. Unfortunately nothing got stuck to my head. My sister, on the other hand, is the talented one and can tell you the notes of the song only by listening to it. I also tried later on, around 2-3 years ago, to play the tin whistle and that was fun. I managed to learn only one song on it and that was Amazing Grace :)

6. Favorite Starbucks drink? (I have to ask, Im a barista!)

That would most probably be the Chai Tea Latte :)  Lovely black tea spiced blended with milk - soya milk please :) It used to be a dear friends fav until I tasted it as well and right now I wouldnt take anything else. 

7. Do you have a favorite quote?

“Im selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you cant handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell dont deserve me at my best.” - Marilyn Monroe + "Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Ghandi

8. Favorite Studio Ghibli movie?

Well tell you the truth, I am not good with names so this question got me into trouble and I had to Google my way out. Thank God for IMDB - my bestie when it comes to movie infos ;) I pulled a list of the Studio Ghibli movies and I am ashamed to say that I know less than half of those... But! My personal fav will always be Arrietty. I was a lass when I watched this but I remember it still :) and with great joy ;)

9. Do you collect anything? Howd the collection come about?

Oh, I have several :))) I think the most extensive ones I have are the earring collection + the book collection. I was never that much into earrings until about 5 years ago, when I joined the multinational company I am part of. One of my dear friend and collegue there started showing me this handmade products page and I just fell in love with different earrings. The books were always a burden I had to handle ever since I was a wee lass. I started buying books with my pocket money - like the huge collection from home wasnt enough! I believe my first book was a translation of the Star Wars (episode 4-6) in Romanian language and I had to save for a long while for it! I always loved books and I always loved smelling them - they all smell so very different! + the feeling of starting/finishing a good book that you wanna just keep with you forever is priceless! that is why I have to have it on the shelf, next to me...

10. Number one pet peeve?

Well... can I have 2?! When people do not listen and when people interrupt you. Totally NO NO! Very unpolite and shows disrespect. It is not gentleman/lady-like and should be avoided at all costs!

11. Favorite color of nail polish? Either for the color itself, or the name of the color 

Actually - dont stone me to death! - I dont do nail polish. I tried but it always goes haywire and I have no patience for it! I envy people who can do that and I have only 2 nail polish in the house: one that is no color, just for the shine, and one that is deadly green ;)) Both of them are from INGLOT - Polish company, really really good products ;)

My Questions:
1. If you would choose to be a book, what book would you be?
2. If you would choose a specific period in time to live in, which period would that be and whom would you like to be?
3. If you find out that all your previous posts have been deleted, how owuld you react?
4. What is the place you can call HOME?
5. If something goes wrong with the programs on your PC or just with your PC while working on your post, would you call a Help Desk or would you try to fix it?
6. What is the best vacation you ever had?
7. What is your fav travelling spot and what would you recommend visiting/doing there?
8. Coffee / Tea / Juice or Water? and why?...
9. Take the closest thing to your right hand and tell us its story :)
10. Surprise us with a true confession about yourself :) 
11. How do you like my blog and what would you change in it? What atracted you to it? I appreciate the honest and true answer, no matter how bad it will be ;)

***

Nominees:
1. Megan from Ginger Snaps
2. Tania from Rowdy Fairy
3-11... Oh, I am bad at this as I am following a lot of lovely lasses that have more than 200 followers :(
So... everyone who is reading me and has under 200 people haunting them, please feel free and more than welcome to join in the game and let me know if you did it so I can say Congrats! and give you a virtual hug but warm hug :)

Yours truly,
The Liebster Awarded LadyBug

A Language Far Away

Dear friends,

Why relax our brains today just for the simple fact that it is Friday and weekend will be starting soon?! Today I will share with you a piece of information I bumped into by checking Facebook - yes, good things can come from FB! One of my previous teachers from the University of Economics posted the link to this article about the lexical distance between the languages in Europe. I thought you may like it as well - well at least some of you will :p

via

This chart shows the lexical distance — that is, the degree of overall vocabulary divergence — among the major languages of Europe.
The size of each circle represents the number of speakers for that language. Circles of the same color belong to the same language group. All the groups except for Finno-Ugric (in yellow) are in turn members of the Indo-European language family.
English is a member of the Germanic group (blue) within the Indo-European family. But thanks to 1066, William of Normandy, and all that, about 75% of the modern English vocabulary comes from French and Latin (ie the Romance languages, in orange) rather than Germanic sources. As a result, English (a Germanic language) and French (a Romance language) are actually closer to each other in lexical terms than Romanian (a Romance language) and French.
So why is English still considered a Germanic language? Two reasons. First, the most frequently used 80% of English words come from Germanic sources, not Latinate sources. Those famous Anglo-Saxon monosyllables live on! Second, the syntax of English, although much simplified from its Old English origins, remains recognizably Germanic. The Norman conquest added French vocabulary to the language, and through pidginization it arguably stripped out some Germanic grammar, but it did not ADD French grammar.
The original research data for the chart comes from K. Tyshchenko (1999), Metatheory of Linguistics. (Published in Russian.)

Thank you so much for your time in immersing ourselves in this knowledge :)

Yours truly,
The LadyBug that wishes you a easy Friday at work, wherever you are ;)

Today Is A Good Day

Subaru�s SHARC Wins Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025 Competition at L A Auto Show

Subaru’s SHARC Wins Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025 Competition at L.A. Auto Show With the automotive landscape constantly changing, law enforcement vehicles must also evolve. For this year’s L.A. Auto Show Design Challenge, designers were tasked with envisioning the Highway Patrol’s bad guy-foiling vehicle for the year 2025. Subaru Global Design’s SHARC (Subaru Highway Automated Response Concept) has been crowned the winner of the competition.

Subaru’s SHARC Wins Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025 Competition at L.A. Auto Show

Subaru’s SHARC Wins Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025 Competition at L.A. Auto Show

 Subaru’s SHARC Wins Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025 Competition at L.A. Auto Show

Subaru’s SHARC Wins Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025 Competition at L.A. Auto Show

2012-Los-Angeles-Auto-Show-Design-Challenge-BMW-E-Patrol

2012-Los-Angeles-Auto-Show-Design-Challenge-Chevrolet-Volt-Squad

2012-Los-Angeles-Auto-Show-Design-Challenge-Honda-CHiPS-Traffic-Crawler

2012-Los-Angeles-Auto-Show-Design-Challenge-Honda-CHiPS-Traffic-Crawler-close-up

2012-Los-Angeles-Auto-Show-Design-Challenge-lead-poster

2012-Los-Angeles-Auto-Show-Design-Challenge-Mercedes-Benz-Ener-G-Force

2012-Los-Angeles-Auto-Show-Design-Challenge-Mercedes-Benz-Ener-G-Force-close-up

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BMW-E-Patrol-front-and-rear

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BMW-E-Patrol-sketch

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GM-Volt-Squad-Engage-unit

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GM-Volt-Squad-Observe-unit-in-flight-tandem

GM-Volt-Squad-Observe-unit-in-pursuit

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GM-Volt-Squad-Pursue-unit-tunnel

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Honda-CHiPs-2025-Traffic-Crawler-in-pursuit

Honda-CHiPs-2025-Traffic-Crawler-profile

Honda-CHiPs-2025-Traffic-Crawler-pulled-over

Honda-Drone-Squad-air-lifted

Honda-Drone-Squad-command-center

Honda-Drone-Squad-group-shot

Mercedes-Benz-Ener-G-Force-front-three-quarter-sketch

Mercedes-Benz-Ener-G-Force-Hydrotech-Converter

Mercedes-Benz-Ener-G-Force-inside-spare-wheel

Mercedes-Benz-Ener-G-Force-profile-sketch

Mercedes-Benz-Ener-G-Force-rear-view-sketch

 Subaru’s SHARC Wins Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025 Competition at L.A. Auto Show

 To satisfy the specific needs of Highway Patrol officers, the designs had to meet certain criteria, including speed and agility for future freeway systems and being a manageable size to navigate urban environments. In addition, entries were judged on considerations for tomorrow’s issues like the need for efficient powertrains, alternative fuels, meeting emission standards, as well as maintenance and recyclability concerns. The more creative the solution, the better.
The panel of judges included Tom Matano, executive director for the School of Industrial Design at Academy of Art University; Stewart Reed, Transportation Design chair at Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design; Imre Molnar, provost and chief academic officer at College for Creative Studies in Detroit; and founding chairman of the Petersen Automotive Museum and former racer Bruce Meyer serving as a guest judge. The judges were impressed with the level of innovation and creativity this year, but one entry stood out.
“The SHARC captured the vision of the Design Challenge theme by combining functionality and problem-solving technology around a dynamic and plausible story,” said Design Los Angeles director Chuck Pelly in a release.
That story takes place in Hawaii in the year 2025, where highway patrol budgets are shrinking just as they are elsewhere in the world. To meet this challenge, Subaru’s SHARC automated response vehicle was conceived as an affordable and environmentally conscious option offering 24-hour highway monitoring by land or air. Powered by renewable energy, the concept meets Hawaii’s strict UltraGreen carbon-neutral environmental regulations and eliminates the need for a large full-time highway patrol team.
Subaru’s win wasn’t a walk in the park, however, as the field of six competing entries was made up entirely of major automaker design studios. The entries were as diverse as they were radical, with vehicles ranging from the drone-deploying highway cruiser of BMW, to the hydrogen-powered, off-road-focused Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force. Here’s a quick rundown of the other competitors’ designs:
Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force
In Mercedes’ vision of 2025, the highway patrol requires an all-terrain vehicle that can pursue bad guys even in the most rugged environments. That vehicle is the Ener-G-Force, a bold preview of what the successor to the venerable G-Class might look like in the future. In keeping with the competition’s green requirements, the Ener-G-Force is hydrogen-powered, with water acting as fuel for the four individual electric wheel motors. Helping maintain the G-Class’ off-road reputation is a roof-mounted topographical scanner, which maps the terrain and adjusts the suspension accordingly. Mercedes was so proud of its entry, it built a full-scale version of the concept for this year’s L.A. Auto Show.
BMW E-Patrol
Looking more like a spaceship than a squad car, the E-Patrol design is BMW’s answer to Los Angeles’ law enforcement needs of 2025. BMW predicts that in 13 years L.A. will be more crowded, have faster cars, and utilize alternative fuel sources. To counter the problem of increased traffic, the E-Patrol is a two-passenger modular vehicle that can launch smaller drones to chase down a suspect. Depending on the situation, an officer can deploy either a flying drone or single-wheeled pursuit drone for cutting through traffic.
General Motors Volt Squad
GM submitted three designs, meant to work together as a bad guy-catching team to catch. Called the “Volt Squad,” the trio of futuristic vehicles consists of a cross between a motorcycle and a helicopter, a streamlined, fighter jet-like car, and a larger prisoner transport van – each respectively designated the specific roles of “Observe, Pursue, and Engage.” As you might guess from the team’s name, the vehicles utilize an advanced electric propulsion system – perhaps a great grandchild of the extended-range electric drivetrain used in the current Chevrolet Volt.
Honda Drone Squad
Honda had two entries in this year’s L.A. Auto Show contest, including one from the automaker’s Advanced Design Studio in California. Another drone-using design, the “Drone Squad” consists of two vehicles: an Auto-Drone mission control vehicle, which can be controlled with or without a driver and recalls the Honda Ridgeline’s front design, and deploy-able, two-wheeled Moto-Drones.
Honda “CHiPs” 2025 Traffic Crawler
From Honda R&D Japan comes this futuristic take on what the CHP will need in 2025. With traffic increasingly a problem, the Traffic Crawler is nimble, with two huge wheels and the ability to slice right through L.A.’s automated vehicle-to-vehicle highways. As you’d expect from a vehicle planned for 2025, the Traffic Crawler is a fuel-cell electric Honda.
So there you have it. The future of law enforcement could include ultra-lightweight, transformable robots like Subaru’s SHARC concept. Which future cop car design would you like to have protecting and serving you?
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2013 Honda Civic Says “Look at Me Now,” Accord PHEV Priced at $40,570 – 2012 L.A.

Well, that was fast. After all the bashing centered on the 2012 Honda Civic, it appears the new 2013 model has benefited from a speedy recovery.  A trio of Civics including the Hybrid and Si took the stage at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show, causing a scene in an effort to say, “look at me now.”
It’s understandable the 2013 Honda Civic wants so much attention, as looks like a much more premium offering than the car it replaces. A new open mouth grille, reshaped hood, Accord-esque rear end, and spiffy new wheels are the most notable changes, but it gets much better inside the sedan. The materials used for the dashboard and headliner look more upscale, while a rear camera, Pandora, Bluetooth, and SMS texting come standard. It’s the little things that count, as a sliding center armrest also comes in every Civic. While changes are significant, the price increase for the new models isn’t. All 2013 models cost $160 more than the outgoing car, meaning the LX (DX has been dropped) starts at $18,955.
In addition to the aforementioned changes, the $21,605 EX adds new 16-inch alloy wheels, a mesh grille finished in gloss black, brushed aluminum garnishes on the door, and automatic climate control. The $24,555 top-trim EX-L with navigation gets all of the above plus leather seats, with new foglights and chrome trim on the lower valence. Meanwhile, the racier Si, which uses its six-speed manual to send all 201 horses to the front wheels, will set you back $23,505. The Hybrid also gets its helping of new additions for 2013, including a new grille, foglights, LED daytime running lights and taillights, standard satellite radio and Honda’s Forward Crash Warning and Lane Departure Warning.
The 2014 Honda Accord PHEV also made its debut alongside the Civic triplets, and was priced at $40,570. The plug-in hybrid is EPA rated at 115 MPGe, and has an EV range of 13 miles. The PHEV has a real presence with cool wheels that resemble a moving windmill and a wide grille. The PHEV goes on sale on January 15 in New York and California, where it also qualifies for HOV access. As for the non-plug-in Honda Accord hybrid, the automaker says the car is expected to be EPA-rated at 49/45 mpg city/highway.