I finally caved in to years of pressure and bought an Apple device. I had never owned anything made by them before and had resisted in part because I did not understand the hype and cult following that their products had. However, we were in need of a new computer. Our desktop is quite old and while it still does the job, it is certainly getting to the end of its life. I have my work laptop that I can use and occasionally Mindy will use this as well but with Angus, it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to go to the basement and use the PC.
I was thinking of getting a laptop, this would give Mindy the ability to keep it upstairs and have easier access. I would probably keep the desktop as well, I had not thought that far ahead. Then I saw a blog entry and began reading about the iPad and I knew this was the thing for Mindy. Small, light, instantly turned on, great touch screen interface and PERFECT for web surfing and email, which is pretty much all Mindy (and most of us) does on a computer in any case.
Mindy was not 100% sure about it but we went to the Apple store to take a look. The product is amazing! Sure, there are some possible improvements that could be made but for what Mindy and most casual computer users need, it is perfect. Apple has successfully changed the model from "inventing stuff to do on computers" to "inventing computers to do stuff". While there, we were looking at their other products as well and I was thinking that it would not be my last visit there. Purchase made and off to the girls' school to pick them up.
On the way there we were discussing Naomi's birthday and how she has been begging for an iPod for a while now. So we thought we would give her the choice - she could have a party or we would put that money to the iPod. When we asked her, it took her all of two seconds to request the iPod. We decided to stop back at the Apple store on the way home and mess with her a little bit. We told her she could pick out a case and "pretend" for a few weeks until her birthday while secretly purchasing the iPod as well. The fact that she was excited to do this was really sweet. When we got to the car, we gave her the bag and asked her to check it to make sure we got the right one. She was quite excited (to say the least) when she saw what else was in there.
So since then, Mindy and Naomi have been walking around the house getting their money's worth from their devices. Nothing about the iPad in particular has made me regret the purchase and I think that the market for similar devices will likely explode as people realize what they can do.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Summer Time
So it seems Spring has passed us by, this week has been stinking hot. Fortunately it is set to cool back down a little over the weekend but hopefully there is no rain interfering with cricket! :-)
After getting back from Virginia we had our first outdoor cricket practice. It was nice to see everyone again and to get right back into the important tasks of putting shit on team mates and goofing off. Batted OK, bowled well at first then lost concentration a little.
Have been back playing cash games online on Bodog and have done well this week. Thanks to several knuckleheads last night had one of my best nights ever. Enjoying playing 6 handed NL cash games. The time passes quickly and you can avoid many of the delays involved in a full ring game. However, folding a lot leads to not having to really concentrate full time on the game either.
Am also getting inspired to buy an ipad for Mindy. I think that this will be perfect for her to access the internet and email quickly and I know Naomi and Fiona will love it as well. In fact, I don't expect to see them again once this device hits the house! I read a review that described the ipad as "i-crack" for young kids and knowing their fascination with such things, this will be proven correct. One of their current games is to use our mobile phones to type on the "notepad"...so when they get the chance to use an app on the touch screen, they will go crazy.
Angus is rolling over now and getting huge. Mindy put him in a 9 month outfit that was a perfect fit for him (at 3 1/2 months). We think he might be in the early stages of teething. He is drooling all over the place and seems to be more miserable of late. Of course, he could just drool a lot and enjoys whining. He is a perfectly content baby as long as you are holding him AND walking around, which is nice...except he weighs a ton! We need to put more photos on Facebook and hope to do so this weekend.
We have another busy weekend coming up. Naomi's pet club where she brings in her pet hamster to show everyone. Fiona's first spring time soccer game. The Rainbow Butterflies are back! Pitch work and cricket practice...and this is just Saturday!
Watched an amazing show the other night - "Breakout" - a one hour series that details through interviews and reenactments a different prison break each week. Amazingly tense and you weirdly find yourself hoping for them to escape, which makes no sense as these are normally hardened criminals and you KNOW they get out in any case. Certainly comes highly recommended. Also, have re-watched a couple of Steve Martin classics lately, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and LA Story, the latter is one of my personal faves! Both held up well after a long time since the last viewing.
After getting back from Virginia we had our first outdoor cricket practice. It was nice to see everyone again and to get right back into the important tasks of putting shit on team mates and goofing off. Batted OK, bowled well at first then lost concentration a little.
Have been back playing cash games online on Bodog and have done well this week. Thanks to several knuckleheads last night had one of my best nights ever. Enjoying playing 6 handed NL cash games. The time passes quickly and you can avoid many of the delays involved in a full ring game. However, folding a lot leads to not having to really concentrate full time on the game either.
Am also getting inspired to buy an ipad for Mindy. I think that this will be perfect for her to access the internet and email quickly and I know Naomi and Fiona will love it as well. In fact, I don't expect to see them again once this device hits the house! I read a review that described the ipad as "i-crack" for young kids and knowing their fascination with such things, this will be proven correct. One of their current games is to use our mobile phones to type on the "notepad"...so when they get the chance to use an app on the touch screen, they will go crazy.
Angus is rolling over now and getting huge. Mindy put him in a 9 month outfit that was a perfect fit for him (at 3 1/2 months). We think he might be in the early stages of teething. He is drooling all over the place and seems to be more miserable of late. Of course, he could just drool a lot and enjoys whining. He is a perfectly content baby as long as you are holding him AND walking around, which is nice...except he weighs a ton! We need to put more photos on Facebook and hope to do so this weekend.
We have another busy weekend coming up. Naomi's pet club where she brings in her pet hamster to show everyone. Fiona's first spring time soccer game. The Rainbow Butterflies are back! Pitch work and cricket practice...and this is just Saturday!
Watched an amazing show the other night - "Breakout" - a one hour series that details through interviews and reenactments a different prison break each week. Amazingly tense and you weirdly find yourself hoping for them to escape, which makes no sense as these are normally hardened criminals and you KNOW they get out in any case. Certainly comes highly recommended. Also, have re-watched a couple of Steve Martin classics lately, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and LA Story, the latter is one of my personal faves! Both held up well after a long time since the last viewing.
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