TV & Animals: Watch Shark Week 2013 Shows

Image from Discovery Channel

The Shark Week is over!!! And I have watched nothing on TV because I don't have the Discovery Channel! What should I do? What should I do?

Well, if you are Locky's English Playground fan, you'll know I wouldn't let that the TV programmes get away! I must always find out where I can watch these programmes!


The Great White Gauntlet
When you are eating your favourite abalone, have you ever thought about, where do they come from? How do they get from the bottom of the sea to your plate? For those who earns a living from catching abalone, what's the downside of earning money from abalone? Well, how about staying away from great white sharks? No pain, no gain! Don't blame it on the sharks, it's their home you're breaking into!




Shark After Dark 2013 Josh Wolf, Chris Hardwick, Tom Green
Sorry, this one is unavailable even for me.

Alien Shark

First live Megamouth Shark caught on camera!!
Image from Discovery Channel

Deep-sea shark researchers share their huge discoveries with everyone on the planet in this program. It's truly magnificent to have so many rare sharks caught alive on camera for the first time!

Do you know that a bluntnose sixgill shark can be bigger than a great white shark? Have you seen a live megamouth shark in action? No? Then you must watch the following video!

Sharkpocalypse
The apocalypse, originally meant a disclosure of knowledge while now known as the end of the world, may be a word used by those who witnesses a shark attack, but does it always have to end up this way? Are we actually making the sharks braver when facing humans? Can dead sharks repel living sharks?

Two men decided to investigate whether the sharks really want to attack humans and what has caused an increase in shark attacks through a series of awesome experiments. We're talking about many kinds of sharks, not just one. And these two guys are CRAAAAZY yet COOL!!! My kind of favourite shows!!!

Great White Serial Killer
A surfer wants to find out how and why 2 other surfers, Lucas Ransom and Francisco Solorio were killed by a great white shark at Surf Beach. Could they be killed by the same shark? See how forensic studies analyzes the cases.

Top Ten Sharkdown
A countdown of the Top 10 shark attacks from the 21st century.

I Escaped JAWS
It's real shark attack footage from eye-witnesses of the actual shark attacks together with the interviews of the survivors compiled into a horrific programme! It was shocking and bloody, be warned. It's not pleasant, but it's incredible to learn how much shark attack survivors want to return to the sea for more encounters with their biters. Respect, lots of respect for the sharks.

It's good to learn that October is also called "Sharktober". Maybe that's why I love sharks so much, because Sharktober is my birth-month.


Voodoo Shark
You think that sharks can only swim in seawaters? You are very wrong! The adaptive bull sharks swims up freshwater rivers for their hunt. Cajun fishermen attempts to research the existence of a monster shark while scientists and researchers wants data from the freshwater bulls outside New Orleans.

Return Of Jaws

Cape Cod, THE hot spot for great white sharks. We know they are there, we have them on cameras when we chum them, but what if they are not being chum? What if we want to chase a swimming sharks on the move without the shark knowing? What if we don't want to put a camera on a shark's fin? What if there is a camera that swims as fast as a great white? The programs has a storyline which does runs like the sequel of the movie JAWS.

Megalodon -- The Monster Shark
Yes, I know, it's a drama, it's fake, but how fake is this? In fact, it is better than most modern movies about sharks -- more scary, more real, better filming technique AND no laser on the shark's head. Not bad if you have extra time to spend.

After watching all of them, your English listening level will surely improve, together with your knowledge on sharks!


Vocabulary:
magnificent -- (adj) 
bluntnose sixgill shark -- (n)[C] see Resources below
megamouth shark -- (n)[C] see Resources below
gauntlet -- (n) [C] a long, thick glove (= hand covering), worn for protection
abalone -- (n)[C] see Food: Chinese Delicacy @ Locky's English Playground
apocalypse -- (n) [S or U] a very serious event resulting in great destruction and change:
repel -- (vb) [T] to force something or someone to move away or stop attacking you:
sequel -- (n) a book, film, or play that continues the
chum -- (vb) luring animals, usually fish or sharks, by throwing "chum" into the water.


Resources:
Watch Shark Week 2013 Alien Sharks Online @ Coke and PopCorn ~ TV Shows and Movie Replay
http://www.cokeandpopcorn.info/shark-week-2013-alien-sharks/

Bluntnose sixgill shark @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluntnose_sixgill_shark

Megamouth shark @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megamouth_shark

Food: Chinese Delicacy @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/02/food-chinese-delicacy.html

Animals and Environment: Do Sharks Deserve to Die for Their Fins? @  Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2009/05/animals-and-environment-do-sharks.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/gauntlet?q=gauntlet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/repel_1?q=repel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumming

Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground app v1.1.4 (Beta Pre-release Version)

v1.1.4 (Beta Pre-release version)
Image from Locky's English Playground

Hope you all had a happy typhooliday!

Sorry people, didn't have any update from Monday to Wednesday as I was too engaged in working on Locky's English Playground app v1.1.4, trying to add a Share button on every page for you to share your favourite article. After days of hard work, I have finally succeeded!


Download:
As usual, you can find the latest download links from our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/LockysEnglishPlayground


Bug Fixes and Update List:
Here's the list of bug fixes and updates:

App updated to v1.1.4 (Beta Pre-release version)

v1.1.4 Bug fixed:
Added Share button to every page
Added Menu button / action bar interactivity

v1.1.3 Bug fixed:
Changed Actionbar colours
Removed splash screen for low-res phones
Smaller size of app

v1.1.2 Bug fixed:
Added logo background screen

v1.1.1 Bug fixed:
Can now play YouTube videos

v1.1.0 Bug fixed:
Added Settings page on swipe-to-left
Removed right menu list
Enlarged logo
Replaced menu list with small fonts
Added hardware menu button functionality


Installation:
For first timer:
Do visit: Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground App (Alpha)


Interface:
Here's how the latest v1.1.4 looks like:

Loading on Slower Network
Image from Locky's English Playground

If your network is slower, you will see the app's background logo of the app and the logo at the top left corner.

Fully-loaded app
Image from Locky's English Playground

When the app is fully-loaded, you will see three most updated blog clickable pages. Click on them if you want to start reading immediately.

Settings Page
Image from Locky's English Playground

On swipe to left, the settings menu will be opened. The "My Bookmarks" function will still need some waiting, but the rest are working well. Do use the Contact / Report a Bug function if you encounter frequent problem when using the app.

Category / Tag Menu
Image from Locky's English Playground

On swipe to right, the Category / Tag menu will be opened, click on the list to find the posts related to the specific topics.

8 latest posts in the "Animals" Category
Image from Locky's English Playground

Once clicked, the 6-grids layout will show the 6 latest posts in the requested category. Click on anyone to read that page.

A blog post opened in web
Image from Locky's English Playground

When a grid is clicked, the page will be loaded.

Playground app will launch requested videos on your YouTube app or have it played in the webpage itself
Image from Locky's English Playground

YouTube videos can now be played in the app itself or by launching your YouTube app on the phone. This is done automatically by the app and you need not worry about it.

A blog post opened in web
Image from Locky's English Playground

If you like the post and would like to share it with your friends on your favourite app such as Facebook or LINE, hit the menu button on your phone and find the share button either at the bottom or on the right side of the top bar.

Sharing post on your favourite app
Image from Locky's English Playground

Then pick our favourite app to share the post. To remove the top bar and the share button, hit the menu button on your phone again.

To share the entire blog, use this share button
Image from Locky's English Playground

To share the entire blog, use the share button on the cover 3-grid page.

To share the entire category, use the share button on the 6-grid page.
Image from Locky's English Playground

To share the entire category, use the share button on the 6-grid page.

Horizontal view of the 3-grid cover page
Image from Locky's English Playground

Horizontal view of the 6-grid cover page
Image from Locky's English Playground

Locky's English Playground also supports the horizontal view. Looks cool, especially with BB Sharky, doesn't it?

Share button on the top-right corner
Image from Locky's English Playground

Share button is located at the top-right corner for the horizontal view.

Well, that's it for the updates on the features of the app, many thanks for your support and as always, "like" the Facebook page and leave me a comment!

Vocabulary:
"typhoo-liday" -- (n)[C] A word created by Locky, meaning a holiday brought about by the hoisting of a high level typhoon signals, in the case of Hong Kong it is number 8 or higher.


Resources:

Message: Nesat Brings First Typhooliday In 2 Years? @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2011/09/message-nesat-brings-first-typhooliday.html

Locky's English Playground Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/LockysEnglishPlayground

Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground App (Alpha) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/08/technology-message-lockys-english.html

World: Fun Facts We All Should Know -- Part 1

Shek O Beach
Image from anamericangirlinhongkong

Surfing on the internet is a marvellous thing to do, since there are so many things to learn, as long as you have self-control over the time you spend and know which sources are trustworthy.

In this "Very Hot Weather Warning" Friday in Hong Kong, I bring to you some facts which I think is pretty Cool to know (well, at least for me), and I hope you can learn them with me!

Question 1: How many countries are there in the world?

Image from US Department of State

Answer: This is actually a tricky question, since it is an arguable topic (Is Taiwan a country, for instance?), some websites say 196, some say 195. Will the change in wording improve the results? According to the US Department of State, the number of independent states in the world is 195. Hm... I still think if people want to argue, they still can, no matter how you change the wording.


Question 2: Is there such a thing as peak seasons for gold?
Answer: Yes, definitely! This involves several factors, first of all, we need to know which countries have the biggest demand for gold in the world.

Image from kitco

It is not difficult to see that India and China lead the pack in the world's gold demand. This has to do a lot with cultures and traditions. According to an article from Financial Post,

Image from businessweek

"Approximately 10,000 weddings are held in India each year from late September through January...demand for gold tends to rise in the months leading up to the start of the wedding season as fabricators and jewellers get prepared. As a result, the season has played a large role in the gold equity sector's annual strength between August and the start of October."

A pair of dragon and Phoenix bangles
Image from dreamstime

As for China, it is not as much as a 'peak season' but a 'peak year', that means, peak season all year round. The year of Dragon -- just to name one -- with or without a 'two springs' in the lunar year, is considered as a good year to get married and have children. Close relatives of the marrying couple will flood the jewellery shops to buy gift prizes, a pair of dragon-phoenix gold bangles in particular.

So in short, the answer is definitely a 'yes', there are 'peak seasons' in the gold market.


Question 3: Are Sharks Attracted by Human Blood?

Image from lcsd.gov.hk

Answer: Surprisingly, NO! NO! NO! Hollywood shark movies have shaped our wrong concept so much that we all think sharks are attracted by all blood! Even the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will offer the above safety advice for swimmers to avoid shark attack.

Although the department may be wrong, but hey, an advice is an advice, if they don't say this and you get bitten even by chance, who is going to take the blame? I'm surprise the list isn't longer really. They should add, "Do not bring a cut-up fish to swim", "Do not cover yourself in fish juice before swimming", "Do not swim if you are a fisherman", etc. Because honestly speaking, after watching Mythbusters, you can really tell what really attracts the sharks. My advices are laughable, but they are better advices than "Do not swim if you are bleeding or have any open wound."


Question 4: How Likely Are You To Be Attacked By A Shark?
Answer: In short, very very rarely. In details, here you go!

So guys, stay alert when you go toilet, it might just kill you!

Yeah, the Discovery Channel may and should apologise for their poor Shark Week production Megalodon, but I still think they produce lots and lots of quality programmes. And honestly speaking, their programmes are much more entertaining than those from the National Geographic.

Have a happy weekend!!!


Vocabulary:
bangle -- (n)[C] a ring of stiff plastic, metal, etc. worn around the wrist or arm as jewellery
In short -- (idiom) In summary; briefly.


Resources:
Independent States in the World @ US Department of State
http://www.state.gov/s/inr/rls/4250.htm

World Countries List, a list of Countries and Regions in the World :: Liste des Noms de Pays du Monde - @ Nations Online Project
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_of_the_world.htm

India’s wedding season no longer a golden bet @ Financial Post
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/07/26/indias-wedding-season-no-longer-a-golden-bet/

 Commentaries - Julian D.W. Phillips @ Kitco
http://www.kitco.com/ind/AuthenticMoney/aug182011.html

Gold price nears peak as wedding season begins @ NDTVProfit.com
http://profit.ndtv.com/news/commodities/article-gold-price-nears-peak-as-wedding-season-begins-313789

Double Dragon: Next Chinese lunar year to have 'two springs' @ Want China Times
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20111227000060&cid=1105

MythBusters - Drop of Blood @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU9CQT-snIo

Beaches and Swimming Pools @ Leisure and Cultural Services Department
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/beach/en/atten-safety.php

How Likely Are You To Be Attacked By A Shark? @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/rrKhO3t_hLk

Megalodon shark special on Discovery Channel 'betrayed trust,' Wil Wheaton says @ ABC Go
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/entertainment&id=9199762

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/bangle?q=bangle+
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/in+short

Health & Fitness: Is Halogen Oven Safe For The Health?

A chicken in a halogen oven
Image from German Pool

Yes, it is kind of new, and yes, it is convenient, energy-efficient, high-power and quick when getting your food cooked, especially the chicken. (Don't understand why every halogen oven ad has a whole chicken in it, maybe it is the most difficult thing to cook thoroughly.)

Whole chicken in the halogen oven
Image from German Pool

Some companies claim that this halogen oven only takes 1/3 of the cooking time conventional appliances do and saves up to 60% on energy costs, simplifying all the steps involved in the cooking methods such as grill, bake, pan-fry, braise, toast, steam, broil, roast, reheat and defrost into just ONE step -- put the food in, I mean, how cool is that? Who wouldn't want one? Who doesn't you want to become a master chef who can cook a whole chicken by effortlessly turning a knob in the machine?

Whole chicken already cooked by a halogen oven
Image from Groupon.hk

That's not all, looking at that attractive price makes me want to grab one immediately!

But wait! I can smell something fishy here...

If there is something this magical, shouldn't there be something weird to it too? Specifically, will eating the food cooked with a halogen oven causes cancer? At the end of the day, the food is to be eaten, everything that goes through our gastrointestinal tract should first be asked about its safety.

The Centre of Food Safety of Hong Kong has an article talking about Radiation and Food Safety of using a halogen oven, which I must say, is very poorly written. I have included a screen-cap of it below:

Image from cfs.gov.hk

Excuse me! Why are we talking about disinfecting food here? I want to know if the food cooked by a halogen oven will cause cancer or not, why are you telling me about germs and spores? Which high-temperature cooking method doesn't kill germs and spores I ask you?

There isn't much answers from the internet when searching in English. Luckily, with the help of my wife -- who remembers watching something about the halogen oven from the news -- I finally found the relevant information I need.

Associate Professor Dr. Lam of the biology and chemistry department @ City University of Hong Kong
Image from appledaily.com.hk

In the news article and the video, Dr. Lam argues that the cooking food with a halogen oven through the use of far infrared is practically the same as barbecuing food. During the cooking process, once the temperature reaches over 300°C, the amino acids, creatine (and glucose) react to produce a chemical substance known as heterocyclic amine (HCA), some of which are known to be carcinogenic[1]. He further stated that as the creatine level is high in chicken, more HCAs will be created in the process of cooking with halogen oven.

At constant cooking temperature of 115°C, creatine level stablises at around 2 minutes, so as the HCAs level
Images from edb.utexas.edu

But to be fair, we can't blame the halogen oven for producing carcinogenic food, the culprits are the high-temp cooking methods. According to Pais et al.(1999), Researchers have identified 16 types of HCAs produced from the cooking of muscle meats (beef, chicken breast, chicken thigh, turkey breast, pork and fish) which could increase the risk of cancer in human. Chicken meat is definitely on the list of course, also are beef, pork, fish and other poultry[2]. As for seafood, Rizwan Khan et al. (2013) discovers that fried swordfish is among the richest known sources of HCAs which is even higher than that in fried chicken[3].

The level of creatine does not stablise with temperature rises
Images from edb.utexas.edu

All in all, it is important to know that the higher the cooking temperature the lower the creatine in meat and the more the HCAs are produced. This production of HCAs cannot be avoided as long as cooking is involved, so in this "the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea" situation, it is therefore better to cook meats slowly at a lower temperature than to cook meats quickly at a higher temperature, since the level of creatine and HCAs do level off at a constant temperature with increasing cooking time.

Sometimes, faster isn't better.

Image from blog.pcnametag.com

Image from inboundsales.net

Therefore, our conclusion is that using a halogen oven for cooking does not directly cause immediate health hazards, but whether the way it has been marketed as a convenient, time-saving, high-speed cooking appliance actually induces the users desire to cook speedier food at a higher temperature more frequently could make a great topic for discussions.

For more information, do read the articles listed in the Resources sessions below. And as always, leave a comment below and tell me what you think. You may also like to download the Locky's English Playground app for better reading experience on your Android smartphone (sorry, no iPhone app).


Vocabulary:
halogen oven / cooker / cooking pot -- (n)[C] an appliance which uses far infrared from a halogen lamp to cook food
smell fishy -- to seem suspicious.
gastrointestinal tract -- (n)[C] the stomach and intestine,[1] sometimes including all the structures from the mouth to the anus.
far infrared -- (n)[U] a region in the infrared spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. Far infrared is often defined as any radiation with a wavelength of 15 micrometers (µm) to 1 mm (corresponding to a range of about 20 THz to 300 GHz), which places far infrared radiation within the CIE IR-B and IR-C bands.
heterocyclic amine (HCA) -- (n)[U] chemical compounds containing at least one heterocyclic ring, which by definition has atoms of at least two different elements, plus the compound has at least one amine (nitrogen-containing) group. Carcinogenic heterocyclic amines are created by high temperature cooking of meat, for example.
carcinogenic -- (adj) refers to a substance that causes cancer
culprit -- (n)[C] a fact or situation that is the reason for something bad happening:
the devil and the deep blue sea -- (idiom) to have two choices that are both equally unpleasant or not convenient
hazard -- (n)[C] something that is dangerous and likely to cause damage:


Resources:
Food Safety Focus - Radiation and Food Safety @ Centre for Food Safety
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_fsf_56_02.html

Halogen Cooking Pot | HK Top Brand | Hong Kong Q-Mark @ German Pool
http://www.germanpool.com/eng/products/list_hp.php

光波爐煮食如BBQ 患癌機會增 @ Apple Daily
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20121104/18057214

錫紙BBQ損性能力　光波爐都唔啱食 @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olme80Ut0GI

Far Infrared @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_infrared

Heterocyclic amine (HCAs) @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterocyclic_amine

[1] Handbook of Analysis of Active Compounds in Functional Foods
http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=9yLrG9OgfM8C&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=Pais+et+al.+(1999)+creatine&source=bl&ots=S_crTvNRw9&sig=S1aqQa_Zcf85xeOWgnB8ozwPC5w&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YfYBUt_kGc3PlAXA8oHYCw&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Pais%20et%20al.%20(1999)%20creatine&f=false

[2] Formation of Mutagenic/Carcinogenic Heterocyclic Amines in Dry-Heated Model Systems, Meats, and Meat Drippings - Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (ACS Publications)
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf980644e

[3] Identification of Seafood as an Important Dietary Source of Heterocyclic Amines by Chemometry and Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/tx4001682

Creatine Supplementation: Maintenance of Elevated Levels through the Diet @ The University of Texus At Austin
http://www.edb.utexas.edu/ssn/SN%20PDF/Creatine-Levels%20&%20Diet.PDF

Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground App v1.0.1 (Alpha) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2013/08/technology-message-lockys-english.html

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/smell+fishy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_gastrointestinal_tract
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/carcinogenic?q=carcinogenic+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/culprit?q=culprit
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/be-between-the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea?q=the+devil+and+the+deep+blue+sea
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/hazard_1?q=hazard+

Animals & TV: Shark Week 2013

Image from Discovery Channel

Yes, it's that week of the year again! What's better than to sit on your sofa watching one of the most exciting animals in nature charging and thrashing over all your TV screen? None! Absolutely none!

Or maybe there is, and that is to read the English Playground and continue to expand our knowledge about this fantastic apex predator!

Exactly how much do you know about sharks though? Not much? Then you may want to watch the following 3 videos:

So myth debunked!

Myth 1: Sharks DO get cancers! So stop taking all those shark pills and hope that they can protect you from cancers too!

Image from www.FinishedWithFins.org

Myth 2: Shark fins are NOT nutritious and NOT delicious AND they DON'T have super healing powers. In fact, shark fins and meat have so much methylmercury in them as reported by the FDA in 2010 that eating them is just like taking in poisons into your body, damaging your brain with the neurotoxins if you are an adult and even causing dangerous threats to children and babies.

Image from Shark Attack

Myth 3: Sharks HAVE enemies! And the biggest one of them are humans!! We kill about 100 million sharks a year just to satisfy the Chinese stomachs! How stupid is this? When the sharks are gone, we'll be in troubles too! Remember those giant humbolt squids I have talked about? Don't want to be chewed apart by the ferocious humbolt squids when you go diving? Better keep the relatively much much calmer sharks in the water.

If you have subscribed to Discovery Channel on TV or YouTube, do pay attention to this week's amazing programmes!

Image from Locky's English Playground

Also, go to bbSharky's Facebook page and "Like" to support shark conservations!


Vocabulary:
apex -- (adj) figurative the highest point or most successful part of something:
debunk -- (vb) informal to show that something is less important, less good, or less truethan it has been made to appear:
methylmercury -- (n) (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula [CH3Hg]+. It is a bioaccumulative environmental toxicant.
neurotoxin -- (n) are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insults which can adversely affect function in both developing and mature nervous tissue.
ferocious -- (adj) frightening and violent:

Resources:
Shark Week 2013 begins today
http://earthsky.org/human-world/shark-week-2013-brings-new-sharks-and-live-talk-shows

3 Shark Myths Debunked @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8G47gJh1s0

Sharks and Cancer @ Shark Savers
https://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/biology/myth-sharks-don-t-get-cancer/

Shark Fin Soup is Not Healthy @ Shark Savers
https://www.sharksavers.org/en/our-programs/i-m-finished-with-fins/learn-more/shark-fin-soup-is-unhealthy/

Animal & Environment: Humboldt Squid Invasion @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2010/03/animal-environment-humboldt-squid.html

GREAT WHITE SHARKS HATE YOU  @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/dqSjSjSvUG0

Shark Awareness Day - This Day in History @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/6Gefs8Yt4uQ

Shark Week Playlist @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL634B47F925AF2AB5

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/apex_1?q=apex
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/debunk?q=debunk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylmercury
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotoxin
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/ferocious?q=ferocious+

Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground App (Alpha)

DEDICATION

In loving memory of my dearest brother

Karon (1989 - 1999)

Locky's English Playground App v1.0.0 (alpha)
Image from Locky's English Playground

Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. -- King James Bible

Locky's English Playground has marked yet another milestone yesterday after I successfully created my first Android app! Self-learning is never easy, but has always been a process I enjoy very much! After more than a month of effort and perseverance, I can now tell the world that as long as you continue to work hard, you will see your reward! And my reward, of course, is seeing the birth of this baby!

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find -- 

King James Bible

I must thank all other app programmers who have asked questions on stackoverflow.com in the past because their questions are the key to my success. Without them asking similar questions, I would never have been able to solve my problems. This has proven again that if anyone wants to succeed in anything, asking questions is always the best method.

Since my app is far from perfect, I will call it Locky's English Playground App (Alpha) and will let it be tested by my blog readers and other app developers before putting it on Beta testing phase. Once the app is stable enough and with the documentations ready, I will submit the app together with the documentations to Google Play and then you will be able to get updates much more easily.

Download: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/48481471/LEP2013.apk

Installation:

Step 1 Image from Locky's English Playground

Step 2 Image from Locky's English Playground

Because this app is not downloaded from Google Play, your phone will prompt you with a message telling you that you need to allow installation of an app from unknown source. Don't panic, just look at Step 1 of the images above and check Unknown sources then press OK when you see a pop-up. That's it!!!

Interface:
When the app is loading, you will see the bar and the logo on top, and when the loading is done, you will see the cover page, which has 3 clickable images.

Cover page
Image from Locky's English Playground

Swiping to the right and you will see the categories / tags from Locky's English Playground.

Image from Locky's English Playground

You may also want to swipe to the left to find the same menu.

Image from Locky's English Playground

The menu list is also clickable, so once you have selected a category / tag, say "Animals", it will take a few second to download the images from the webpage and then the 6 most recent blog posts will be displayed on the cover page.

6 latest will be displayed for each category
Image from Locky's English Playground

bb Sharky will be helping out by showing his face to promote shark conservation if the image of that post does not exist. Hope the kids will love this idea and learn to protect this amazing creature as well as the rest of the marine animals. 

Don't forget to visit bb Sharky @ Locky's English Playground

http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/01/animals-doing-my-part-for-sharks.html

and "Like" bb Sharky @ Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/bbSharky

and of course, say "NO" to shark fin products.

bb Sharky replaces empty image boxes
Image from Locky's English Playground

When you click on any one of the images, the respective blog post will be loaded and you will be taken directly to the blog post, just like the image below.

Image from Locky's English Playground

Please offer your precious comments on this app such that I can improve on this app and make your learning experience more interesting and meaningful! (There is a comment section below this post!)

Also, thanks in advance to the XDA Developers for offering me comments and feedback.

Resources:
Locky's English Playground App v1.0.0 (alpha) @ Locky's English Playground
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1f5z4fnkftzlrc0/LEPv1.0.1.apk

[FREE][APP] Locky's English Playground v1.0.1 Alpha @ XDA-Developers
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=44202301#post44202301

Stack Overflow
http://stackoverflow.com

As you sow so shall you reap @ The Phrase Finder
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/48500.html

bb Sharky @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/01/animals-doing-my-part-for-sharks.html

bb Sharky @ Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bbSharky