Exegesis

Why blog?
Blog, this term existed in my life when I studied Form 2 in high school. There were a few friends of mine played blog that time. I didn’t have a chance to create one because that time what I had in my study room was just a Desktop without any Internet service provider. During my Form 3, my dad bought back a laptop for me, but still without an Internet service provider, creating a blog was impossible. Thank to the arising of the use of broadbands, finally I have chance to create my own Window Messenger account, Facebook account and of course BLOG! But things didn’t go smoothly, my friends recommended me to use blogspot, instead of blogspot I accidently sign up in different blog platform that I didn’t really know how to use it. Meanwhile with the guidance of one of my friends, I finally had my own blogspot account. I posted notes on it but I didn’t know how to let people to see my blog, I didn’t know how to leave comments on people blogs and I didn’t know there were gadgets provided. The worst part is, since I seldom log into my blog, I completely forget my password. I admit, I was such a computer idiot that time. I gave up at last, instead of playing blog I more prefer Facebook. Things have actually changed after I have attended Web Communication lesson in University. After experience a few failure when using blog, I hope to try it again since I have mastered the basic knowledge about blogs, due to the above reasons, as a result I have chosen blog for my web presence. 

Blogspot instead of Wordpress 

Before I start my topic, I have done some research on the differences between blogspot and wordpress. It seems that, both of them have their own values. Wordpress allows for easier customization and, continues to be an industry standard; Blogspot, on the other hand is part of Google's suite of products--which means compatibility with other Google products like Gmail and Youtube are simple. All in all, wordpress is the best option for a company blog, while either would be a suitable pick for users looking to start personal options. Well, wordpress provides users with more theme choices and a load of plugins can be applied on blog but since blogspot is easier to jump in as a beginner and get started, at last I have chosen to use blogspot. 

The way I choose template for my blog 

As we know, templates play an important part in a blog because it helps readers realize what blog they are reading right off the bat with only the visuals. Besides, templates also make our blog more functional. Aside from providing a cosmetic advantage, templates also add a bit of utility to our site. Since most of these templates are easily customizable, we can choose to incorporate add-ons to improve the functionality of our blog. There are 15 new, highly-customizable templates from the design team, split into four families: Simple, Picture Window, Awesome Inc, and Watermark and one-, two-, and three-column layouts for each template, with complete control over the size and arrangement of the columns. Hundreds of background images and patterns from iStockphoto, the leading microstock image marketplace. Actually, there are still pretty much free templates which we can download but I have chosen to use the Watermark template with two-column layouts because I think the combination of both the template with the layout are simple, neat and systematic but not in a robotic manner. I always like things that are arranged very systematically but not so in a robotic sequence. While for the background image, since I could not find any suitable one from it, I downloaded the chocolates image from Google Images as my background and I chose chocolate colour as my background colour since I’m doing topic about chocolates.

What do I use? 

Being part of the Web 2.0 tools, social networking has come to play a very important role in determining how problems are solved, how organizations are run, and the efficiency with which individuals succeed in achieving their goals. There are a few reasons why social networking sites are very popular:

1. They are free to use.

2. They help us get in touch with those people whom we no longer meet in our everyday life and even get to know people who we never meet before.

3. They are easy to use, and contain lots of features for instance, we can play games, upload videos, share notes, photos and videos, chat with your friends etc.

Over the years the popularity of email, instant messaging and virtual communities has grown to the point where millions of people rely on these tools in order to maintain and nurture social connections, but now it seems that social networking such as Facebook and Twitter have eventually take over control.

Base on the reasons above, I have used Facebook, Twitter and Delicious as my social network tools to communicate with others. In the side column, I have also included a space where readers can subscribe to my posts by mail or bookmark my page with RSS. I added “Follow by email” gadget as to enable readers to follow my blog by email me in a very easy way. As you scroll down, they can find out the recent posts I have posted. It would give the readers a rough description to them about my topics. I also added in the “Total Pageviewers” and “Followers” gadgets which display the total of readers visited my blog and who actually followed my blog. The “HTML/JavaScript” gadget allows me to add in third-party functionality to my blog such as “Music Playlist at MixPod.com” and the chat box. Readers can listen to music while reading my blog, besides leaving comments below my posts, readers can also leave comments or chat with me using the chat box. There is also Newreel included at the bottom that automatically add current headlines from Google News.




References:

1.Author, G. (2011, April 30). Free Blog Templates and Why They are Important. Retrieved May 1, 2011, from iblogaholic: http://iblogaholic.com/27871/free-blog-templates-and-why-they-are-important/

2.Guha, R. (2011, April 20). What differences exist between wordpress.com and blogspot.com? Retrieved April 28, 2011, from quora.com: http://www.quora.com/What-differences-exist-between-wordpress-com-and-blogspot-com

3.HASAN. (2008, March 22). Popularity of Social Networking. Retrieved May 2, 2011, from dirjournal: http://www.dirjournal.com/articles/popularity-of-social-networking/

4.The Blogger Template Designer. (2010, March 11). Retrieved May 1, 2011, from blogspot.com: http://bloggerindraft.blogspot.com/2010/03/blogger-template-designer.html

Benefits of eating chocolates part 2

Although chocolates bring a lot of advantages to us, it doesn't mean that we can keep eating chocolates nonstop.There are TIPS of eating chocolates in a health way.

Chocolate Tip 1 - Balance the Calories:

As chocolate is still a high-calorie, high-fat food. Most of the studies done used no more than 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits.
One bar of dark chocolate has around 400 calories. If you eat half a bar of chocolate a day, you must balance those 200 calories by eating less of something else. Cut out other sweets or snacks and replace them with chocolate to keep your total calories the same.

Chocolate Tip 2 - Taste the Chocolate:
Chocolate is a complex food with over 300 compounds and chemicals in each bite. To really enjoy and appreciate chocolate, take the time to taste it. Professional chocolate tasters have developed a system for tasting chocolate that include assessing the appearance, smell, feel and taste of each piece.

Chocolate Tip 3 - Go for Dark Chocolate:
Dark chocolate has far more antioxidants than milk or white chocolate. These other two chocolates cannot make any health claims. Dark chocolate has 65 percent or higher cocoa content.

Chocolate Tip 4 - Skip the Nougat:
You should look for pure dark chocolate or dark chocolate with nuts, orange peel or other flavorings. Avoid anything with caramel, nougat or other fillings. These fillings are just adding sugar and fat which erase many of the benefits you get from eating the chocolate.

Chocolate Tip 5 - Avoid Milk:
It may taste good but some research shows that washing your chocolate down with a glass of milk could prevent the antioxidants being absorbed or used by your body.

Video below is the summary of the benefit of eating chocolates

:by me

References:

1. Chacha, S. (2011). 10 Benefits of Eating Chocolate. Retrieved May 1, 2011, from ezinearticles: http://ezinearticles.com/?10-Benefits-of-Eating-Chocolate&id=3511181

2. Mark Stibich, P. (2009, April 26). Health Benefits of Chocolate. Retrieved May 1, 2011, from about.com: http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongnutrition/p/chocolate.htm
3.The images in the video are provided by Google Images.

Benefits of eating chocolates part 1

Still remember the movie called 'Charlie and the chocolate factory'?

from Youtube

Well, it is cool isn't it?
But the benefits we can get from eating chocolates are even cool!
Chocolate has exceptional nutritional qualities, being a high energy food in a small volume. It is not only contains carbohydrates, fats, and vegetable proteins, but also has large quantities of potassium and magnesium, some calcium and sodium, and vitamins A1, B1, B2, D, and E.

Chocolate contains a number of other substances in small, but effective, quantities:

Theobromine: which stimulates the central nervous system, facilitates muscular exertion, acts as a diuretic and appetite stimulant.


Caffeine: which increases resistance to fatigue, intellectual activity, and watchfulness.


Phenylethylamine: which is the chemical released in our bodies when we fall in love and is chemically similar to amphetamines, therefore acting as a psycho-stimulant.


Tryptophan: an essential amino acid that increases the production of serotonin, an anti-depressant and natural stress-reducer. In fact, a decrease in serotonin levels in the brain may trigger cravings for starches, sweet foods and chocolate.


Endorphins: natural opiates that are released by the brain in increased amounts when eating chocolate, thereby elevating one's mood and reducing pain.


Phenols: which are also found in red wine, tea, fruits and vegetables, and may help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.


Catechins: which are antioxidants that may help protect the body against cardiovascular disease and possibly cancer, are found in substantially higher quantities in chocolate than in black tea.


Anandamide: which mimics the effects of marijuana by acting on the same brain receptors, resulting in a very mild "high". Plus, chocolate has two ingredients that inhibit the natural breakdown of anandamide and hence may prolong the feeling of well-being.

The presence of Flavonoids in cacao can reduce high blood pressure and also decreases the blot clotting. 

References:

1. Benefits of eating Chocolate. (2010, October). Retrieved May 1, 2011, from learningsteps: http://www.learningsteps.com/benefits-of-eating-chocolate.html

2. Benefits of Eating Chocolate. (2010). Retrieved May 1, 2011, from medscicommunications: http://www.medscicommunications.com/just_for_fun.htm

3. Chacha, S. (2011). 10 Benefits of Eating Chocolate. Retrieved May 1, 2011, from ezinearticles: http://ezinearticles.com/?10-Benefits-of-Eating-Chocolate&id=3511181

4. Mark Stibich, P. (2009, April 26). Health Benefits of Chocolate. Retrieved May 1, 2011, from about.com: http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongnutrition/p/chocolate.htm

Chocolates I like part 2

The third chocolate i like is Ritter Sport.

 Ritter Sport
Each 100 gram square-shaped bar is divided into 16 smaller squares, creating a four-by-four pattern. Large bars weighing 250 grams and 16.5 gram mini bars are also available, although in fewer varieties.

COME FROM: GERMAN

picture taken by me

MADE BY: ALFRED RITTER GmbH & Co.KG

A little History of it

In 1912, Alfred Ritter and newly wedded wife, Clara, founded a chocolate factory in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. Later it introduced its own brand of chocolate named "Alrika (Alfred Ritter Cannstatt)." It is then  moved to Waldenbuch in 1930 due to the production needs required a factory expansion.

picture taken by me

Guess what, there are a huge variety of it!
Below are the flavor i tried before:

1.Vollmilch – Plain milk chocolate (Royal Blue Wrapper)

2.Halbbitter – Plain dark chocolate, 50% cacao (Burgundy Wrapper)

3.Knusperkeks – Milk chocolate with a butter biscuit (Brown Wrapper)

4.Joghurt – Yogurt (White Wrapper)

5.Knusperflakes – Milk chocolate with corn flakes (Golden Yellow Wrapper)

6.Marzipan – Dark chocolate with marzipan center (Red Wrapper)

7.Nugat – Milk chocolate with hazelnut-nougat center (Midnight Blue Wrapper)

8.Haselnuss – Milk chocolate with hazelnuts

9.Neapolitan - Milk Chocolate with neapolitan wafers, made with a hazelnut cream filled wafers and praline. (medium dark orange wrapper)


There are 28 types but i just have eaten 9. visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/like_the_grand_canyon/sets/72157605964244713/detail/?page=5 or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritter_Sport

It is usually 7 different flavor packs in a packet which cost RM 6 something.

References:

1. Ritter Sport Chocolates. (2008). Retrieved May 1, 2011, from germandeli: http://www.germandeli.com/rittersport.html

2. ritter-sport. (2011). Retrieved May 1, 2011, from ritter-sport: http://www.ritter-sport.de/#/de_DE/home/

Chocolates I like part 1

Below is the summary of types of chocolate.

:by me

Well, i have chosen mine. 
My favourite chocolate type is Milk Chocolates. Among the milk chocolates, i like Kinder Bueno the most.

Kinder Bueno
It is a hazelnut cream filled wafer with a chocolate covering.

ORIGINATED FROM: ITALY

MADE BY: FERRERO COMPANY

The meaning of the name

Kinder is a German word for 'children'. Beuno is the Spanish word for 'good'.

A little bit history of it
Kinder Bueno originally comes from Germany, where it was first released in 1990. It became available in Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico), Malaysia, Singapore, Israel and Greece in the mid-1990s. In Spain, Gibraltar, Italy and France starting in 1999, and has been common in Canada, The Netherlands, Australia and theUnited Kingdom since 2004. It is also common in Poland, Romania, Croatia, Norway, Slovenia, Serbia, Denmark, Republic of Macedonia, Hong Kong and Finland.

picture taken by me

What is inside?

milk chocolate 31.5% sugar,cocoa butter,cocoa mass,skimmed milk powder,concentrated butter,emulsifier,soy lecithin,vanillin, sugar, vegetable oil, hazelnuts(10.8%)wheat flour,skimmed milk powder, whole milk powder,chocolate,fat-reduced cocoa, emuislifier,soy lecithin,raisinf agents, sodium hydogen carbonate,ammonium carbonate,salt, vanillin, total milk components 19.5%.

It is usually come in a packet of three. One packet normally cost RM 12 something.

The second chocolate i like is KitKat.

KitKat

CREATED BY: ROWNTREE'S OF YORK, ENGLAND

picture taken by me

PRODUCED BY: NESTLE

A little bit history of its name
It was named as KitKat after World War ll. It is believed to have come from the Kit-Kat Club, a seventeenth century political club for artists.

The structure

The original four- finger version bar was developed after a worker at the Rowntree's Factory in York put a suggestion in a suggestion box for snack that a 'man could have in his lunch box for work'. It was launched in September of 1935 in the UK as Rowntree's chocolate crisp.

What is inside?

UK: Milk chocolate (66%) (sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, dried skimmed milk, whey powder, butterfat, vegetable fat, lactose, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring), wheat flour, sugar, vegetable fat, cocoa mass, yeast, raising agent (sodium bicarbonate), salt, calcium sulfate, flavouring.
USA: sugar, wheat flour, cocoa butter, nonfat milk, chocolate, refined palm kernel oil, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin, PGPR (emulsifier), yeast, artificial flavor, salt, sodium bicarbonate.

I usually buy a packet of 6 small packs in it which cost me RM 6 something.

References:

1. Kinder Bueno. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2011, from sweetiebag: http://www.sweetiebag.com/sweets-chocolates/Kinder-Bueno-208.asp

2. Kinder Bueno. (2010, October). Retrieved May 1, 2011, from blogspot: http://cakewars101.blogspot.com/2010/10/kinder-bueno.html

3. KitKat. (2009, April 4). Retrieved May 1, 2011, from authorstream: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/aSGuest16124-171351-kit-kat-nestle-education-ppt-powerpoint/

4.What are the ingredients for kit kat.reisen,and chunky candy? (2006). Retrieved May 1, 2011, from answers.yahoo: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061108132605AAVpsOq

5. Picture in the video are from Google Images

6. Song is from Secret.