PrincessReviews

Technology is always evolving; we see it in our smartphones, our electric cars, and our tablet laptop hybrid concoctions. But it's not just our cool toys that are developing technologically, our environment is too. Large ponds that are actually wave pools are popping up with man-made waves big enough to surf. This advancement will not only change the rules of the surf, but could go on to change the Olympics in time for Tokyo in 2020.  There are three important positions that can be taken when exploring this new trend - technological, business, and the surfer.  Wave pools are a popular attraction at many theme parks and have been for many years. However, now there is the capability of creating actual ocean-like waves, with no time for flat-spells, constantly and consistently - two things you're not likely to get in the real ocean. Each wave only takes about 90 seconds, so there's plenty of time for plenty of rides. Four major technology companies in this ar...

Image from Wall Street Journal via Google Images Illegal fishing, sometimes referred to as pirate fishing, is a huge problem throughout the world, but with new satellite technology, it is becoming easier to catch these criminals at sea. SkyTruth has come up with a way to determine if vessels tracked via satellite are illegally hunting fish. Image from dw.com via Google Images National Geographic gives readers an insight on the history of SkyTruth, the technology behind it, and the limits or problems the technology currently faces. In 2012, SkyTruth used satellites and radar to find the ship responsible for an oil spill off Angola by noticing a white dot at the end of a black stretch on the images. Eventually they realized they could use this same detection system to look for pirate fishermen, and teamed up with Pew Charitable Trusts to help. This partnership ended up involving Google and Oceana as well, creating a website called Global Fishing Watch, allowing advocacy groups...

 Have you ever wanted to be a mermaid? Don't lie; I know you have. Or at least, you know someone who has. Still does even! But...how? Isn't it impossible? After all, at first glance, you do appear to be...a mere mortal...a human. With legs. Yuck, what good are they? All you want is a beautiful tail to help you swim in the sea. Well my dear, your wish has been granted.  For a while, I searched near and far for affordable mermaid tails. I was fine with not necessarily buying one of my own, so long as I got to spend a day as a mermaid somewhere. Turns out, buying my own was actually the cheapest way to go! The2Tails.com provides affordable, swimmable tails for all mermaid fans! They have a variety of sizes, from children to curvy adult. Oftentimes, they have sales and giveaways on their Facebook page as well. Send in your pictures of you in their tails and you might even be featured on their sites! Of course, the pictures weren't the only thing that interested me abo...

Smartphones, smart watches, smart boards, now smart ships. Cruise ships, that is. For any of you who have previous traveled aboard a vessel of the sea, you know the struggles of on-board internet. Super slow speeds, practically dial-up, on the few computers in the "library" room keep ships stuck in the late 20th century. Well, not anymore. Royal Caribbean has announced their new SmartShips and Carnival has announced their new "Got Wifi?" campaign, with other cruise lines quickly following the fleets. Fortune magazine does a good job of mentioning three key points to this new innovation incorporated into the ships - a step toward the future, new customer opportunities, and customer satisfaction. Faster wi-fi is the key to these upcoming successes in the cruising industry. "O3b Networks, a company that provides ship-to-shore communication systems, started working with Royal Caribbean back in 2011 to upgrade its internet connections. It developed a new type of h...

With the holidays quickly approaching, everyone is scrambling around trying to find the perfect gift. Well, look no further! The Elephant Pants makes the perfect gift for anyone! A portion of all sales made through the clickable link (just click on the top or bottom pictures or " The Elephant Pants " in the previous sentence) go to the African Wildlife Foundation to help raise awareness to elephant poaching and attempt to prevent it. When you order the Elephant Pants , you are helping to save the lives of many African elephants. So far, $143,419 has been donated to the African Wildlife Foundation through purchases made by customers. They also are very supportive of other causes as well; for Anti-Bullying week they had an anti-bullying campaign completed by the many ambassadors and workers of the company. They've also teamed up with Hmong Hill bags in support of education in third world countries. The Elephant Pants is truly a company that cares about many charitabl...

"Quitting My Day Job to Live the Dream" In one of the few romantic comedies I enjoy, When Harry Met Sally , Harry (Billy Crystal) says to Sally (Meg Ryan), “I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” That pretty much sums up my decision to leave my day job and write full time, with me as Harry and my writing as Sally. However, this is a blog post, so maybe I should elaborate. My day job was working part-time as a library assistant for the Reference Department of my local library. My job consisted in helping people sign into their email, answer phone calls, and research some of the most random questions in the history of man. And, every now again, I looked up a book. From a writer’s standpoint, it was a dream job. I only worked half a day, leaving me entire afternoons or mornings to write, and when I did work, I had a front row seat to human n...

One lucky winner to receive an eBook copy of Landfall by Joseph Jablonski!  About the Book: (Amazon) Forty years ago, a young woman was murdered aboard an American freighter. Now, her children are grown and they want answers. Jake Thomas is the only one who can tell them what really happened. But after a lifetime at sea, Jake has finally settled into a new marriage and a comfortable retirement. He’s afraid that digging up the secrets he’s kept buried will undo everything and lead him to a truth he doesn’t want to face. In this riveting story-within-a-story, Jake’s peaceful routine in Portland, Oregon, stands in stark contrast to his early days as a merchant seaman in Subic Bay, when he set off on a journey to discover his dark side. A journey that hasn’t yet ended. Like Joseph Conrad, Joseph Jablonski has created a story set at sea that is as much a careful observation of human nature and a powerful condemnation of war as it is a fascinating sea story. About the A...

Get paid for your notes on SwitchNote!  If you're a college kid like me, you know the struggle is real when it comes to money. Well, SwitchNote is a great solution! Just for uploading notes you should already be taking anyways, you get points. Points are then eligible for giftcards, discounts, and giveaways. Points are super easy to earn and get you things, fast! For example, an Amazon eGiftCard is only 50 points! So is a Starbucks $5 code. Bigger things cost more, like a $100 Visa Giftcard is 4000 points, but a $100 Restaurant.com giftcard is only 2000 points. Like I said, getting points is super easy! Each document you upload is worth 10 points. Refer friends and get 50 points per friend. And when people download your notes? Another 10 points, per download! Sweet! Not only will you be doing well in the points department, you'll be doing well in school too by taking good notes so others will want to download them. It's like two birds with one stone - except you're...

Jassy de Jong, author of Drowning, has provided a guest post for readers. You can read it below: I confess... I love Valentine’s Day. Some call it over-commercialized. I say that’s just as well. Thank goodness for all those entrepreneurs out there, designing cards with hearts and glitter, and making teddy bears on sticks and ruby pendants and chocolates with red wrappers, and growing long stemmed roses. I mean, what would we give as gifts otherwise? Easter eggs? Pumpkins? Some call it schmaltzy. Well, what do you expect? It’s a day celebrating love. Soppy, doting, romantic, couply love. It’s all about hand holding, intertwined fingers, long, deep gazes into each other’s eyes. It’s about saying, “You’re so amazing,” and getting the answer, “No, you’re so amazing, and then saying, “I’m so glad I met you,” and hearing, “No, I’m so glad I met  you . Here, have some more champagne.” I googled the origins of Valentine’s Day... I had a confused idea it was something to d...

“The word love is open to interpretation. And to abuse” (de Jong 162).  This one sentence so perfectly sums up the entirety of Jassy de Jong’s new romantic drama, Drowning .  With a great romantic storyline about a strong woman who allows herself to be saved from abuse, relatable characters, and an intense discussion about abuse, Drowning by Jassy de Jong makes for a good read.  However, the erotic nature takes away from the plot and distracts the reader at times, putting other romance novels above it on my list of suggested reading books. I should have realized the content of the novel given that it is labeled as “erotica” along with romance and drama, but I did not know what that meant and didn’t take the time to look it up.  Now I know.  So I am warning all future readers – be prepared to read that type of content or you probably won’t want to read it.  However, the plot almost makes up for the sexual – and masturbation – scenes and it can be a...