Foiled again!

While at the cottage this weekend, waiting for a carpet cleaning company to arrive, I attempted to compose a post on my iPad using a download called Blogsy.

Photo from Practicalecommerce.com

If I try to post directly to Blogger from my iPad, all formatting is lost. The result is a run on paragraph and I have no luck with using photos or graphics.

I know that I used Blogsy once or twice with success, but as my kids used to say, I mis-remembered which button was the preview button and I lost what I had written. After an inward scream that used a few curse words, I went to the truck to read.

What?

Yep, I went to sit inside the truck. The miracle worker from Chem Dry had arrived and was working his magic on some very dirty carpeting. The sun had been out while I sat on the deck and attempted a post, but had gone into hiding when the post disappeared.  We had unseasonably cool weather the past few days. Not truly cold by winter standards, but definitely chilly for June. Add bouts of driving rain and winds and we had a weekend spent mostly indoors.

Photo from Google search of Chem Dry

I wanted to be out of the way of the carpet cleaner but I was cold sitting out on the deck. Bill was content with the temperature, but he isn't normal is always much warmer than I am. The poor man really hoped I would have hot flashes. Not to be mean, but just so we could be in agreement on windows, fans and furnaces. Anyway, off I went to the truck with my Kindle and finished a Miss Julia novel,  Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle.   Check out the series by Ann B. Ross here.

Author Ann B. Ross

The sun returned, the temps warmed up a bit, the Chem Dry man left after doing a great job and after an hour or so, we began putting the smaller pieces of furniture back in place.

We packed up to return home this evening and ran into a island resident on our way. I didn't get out of the truck to exchange pleasantries. His expression didn't look entirely welcoming.

His shell alone was at least a foot long. He isn't one of the world's cutest creatures, is he? But who am I to judge? If you had seen me with my hair pulled back (and none too clean) in a dirty sweat shirt (we washed everything before putting things back into place), you wouldn't have stopped to meet me either!

If you are successfully composing and posting from your iPad, please throw me a clue or two or six. If I find out you are holding out on me, I will have to send Tough Turtle to rough you up a bit and spill what you know. Given his speed, or lack thereof, you probably have a year before you need worry. Maybe I'll improve my Blogsy technique by then.

Electronic addictions

I am humming Donovan's E-lec-tric-al  Ba-na-na (actually song title is Mellow Yellow ) now that I've titled this post. I hope my post makes more sense than the song lyrics. What does it say about me that I still remember them 40 years later?

But I digress. Digression is my favorite form of exercise.

Today I am admitting my electronic addictions. It began with a Kindle.

I love books. I like the feel and smell of them. I never thought I would enjoy a Kindle but I do. Bound books still appeal to me and I do read them but Kindles are so portable, light and there is only one of them, not a growing accumulation on my shelves. Books are wonderful things to collect but I am in a downsizing state of mind. Traveling with a Kindle is wonderful. I used to travel with multiple books. What if I finished a current book while away from home? Heaven forbid I be without a new book! And what if I didn't like book "A"? Hence the need to pack both "A" and "B". Kindle had lightened my load considerably.

Next came the iPhone, thanks to my son and daughter-in-law.

My previous phone was a flip phone that had served me well for many years but did not text or take photos. I didn't really need those features. At least I thought I didn't. The main reasons for wanting a new phone was the limited volume and short ring before going to voice mail. I don't text often, but I do occasionally find this a nice feature and the camera is so handy that now I would be lost without it.

My last birthday brought me an iPad.

Oh baby...now I can travel and keep up to date with my internet friends without lugging heavy equipment around! I got a taste of that with the phone but reading certainly is easier on the iPad. I've been known to take the iPad to my knitting group to show them something wonderful I've found rather than just talk about it or email a link to everyone as I once did.

These are tools. Conveniences. Are they really addictions or is it the applications that are the source of all evil fun? Yep, it is the apps that cause me to lose track of time. I did download and play Angry Birds to see what all the fuss was about. It was ok, but not really my thing. I still haven't gotten over my kids playing Mario Brothers and *knowing* when to jump to catch an invisible mushroom that dropped coins or something magical. Perhaps Mario Brothers was influenced by Mellow Yellow and both the game and song were created during a druggie's flashback?

I am pure of heart, liver and anything else that collects drugs. Vitamins, Aleve and an occasional Excedrin Migraine don't count. My app addiction isn't drug influenced, it is word related. Mostly.

Even if you don't play, I bet everyone has heard of Words With Friends but what about other word games? Do you know about 7 Little Words, Whirly Word or Moxie? None of these require an opponent which is nice if you are unsure of playing or are filling time while waiting somewhere. I don't recall if any of those three were ever a free download, but none are expensive.

I've just started playing Draw Something, (a game where you draw the word you want another player to recognize similar to playing Pictionary) thanks to blogger Empress Bee who just today mentioned use of a stylus which will make drawing much easier.

I tell myself I don't need anymore games or distractions but find myself listening to strangers talk about what they're playing. I fear I am hopeless.

Some of you might be wondering about using a Kindle while having an iPad which could also download books, or using a Kindle Fire to browse the internet in place of a separate tablet. If I was just beginning to acquire electronics today, I might not have both and I can't address issues that I haven't personally experienced, but I believe the Kindle is easier on the eyes for extensive reading because it isn't back lit. The Kindle's battery life is much longer, especially with the wireless turned off.

If you are a Kindle reader, do you know about Pixel of Ink, a source for bargain and free Kindle books? Free books are offered daily, I believe three times a day as a rule. They don't always remain free so checking daily is a good habit.

One last word (or 50) about things being free. Sometimes you get what you pay for. I don't mind waiting for an ad to download and click off in exchange for playing a free game but sometimes the books offered at Pixel of Ink are free for a reason. The site is definitely worth checking though and if you find the book isn't to your liking, it is easy enough to delete and pick something else to read. Maybe a blog entry. Maybe mine.

Talk me out of this!

I don't want to be a gadget junkie but it is a struggle. I remember years ago, my sister-in-law thought I was crazy when I told her I needed a new egg slicer. Once she saw me use one, she wanted one too. When I make egg salad or add hard boiled eggs to other salads, I slice them in slicer, turn and slice them crossways to get diced pieces. Fast for me and the slicer is easy to clean.

When a gadget is something you use, it becomes a tool. Somehow the word gadget makes the item seem unnecessary. You'd be surprised how many tools I have.      Good thing hubby is a mechanic at heart and understands the need for more than one of some tools and that all tools are not created equal.

So what is it that I need you to talk me out of wanting? An iPad.

This is all my friend Jenn's fault. She brings her to knitting and makes me drool.It has been less than six months since I entered the modern age and got an iPhone. Mercy me, what did I do before the iPhone?  I don't actually make many calls on it, but the camera is handy, the game apps are fun and if my son or daughter-in-law want me to see how cute the grandson was just 15 seconds ago...boom! ...there he is in a text with a picture!

On Mother's Day this year, my kids got me a Kindle. For years I thought I would never want to give up holding an actual book in my hands, but after cleaning out my book shelves the last time, I decided I didn't need hardcover books that I wasn't likely to reread taking up precious space. I have plenty of craft related books and cookbooks that are permanent residents there. Bill wants you to know that the cookbooks are so permanent they rarely move and are there for appearance only. He is such a sometimes!

Some may think that two electronic advances in one calendar year is enough for a gal, but I am much more than a gal. I am woman! I am woman, hear me chirp! Bleep! Chime! (Pick your ring tone!)

My serious reasons for considering this gadget tool would be that being larger than a phone screen, it is easier on slightly more mature eyes and it is a helluva lighter to haul around than my laptop with a 17 inch screen. We don't fly often any more, but regulations have changed so much since I first got the laptop, I now feel like I've packed twice and had a 30 minute aerobic workout by the time I get through security.

A trip to the cottage might actually mean one bag for clothes and knitting with the Kindle and iPad in a large purse! Even a two night stay at the cottage meant at least two books before (what if I finished the first one?), the laptop and my camera. The Kindle and iPhone with camera has already streamlined things a bit. I'm really thinking of hubby on this. Honest. 

Now for my serious question, for those of you with an iPad, how hard is it to blog from this device? When I looked for a picture of an iPad for this post, I chose the one with the keyboard because I would want that if this concept works for me.

Can you have more than one window open? I often have a second window open to search the internet for graphics or open to my Photobucket account. What works well and what doesn't? I have a birthday coming up and could make this a suggestion for a group gift. That and dinner out. And coffee ice cream for dessert.

Meanwhile, the next time Jenn brings out her iPad at knitting, I am not going to be careful any longer. When I drool, it is going to be right over her yarn.