EDUMUCATION.COM

BEFORE…

AFTER…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!

I got an iPad 2 a while ago, to replace my first generation iPad.
I loved my first iPad, but wanted the one with the faster processor and built in camera.
For the first generation iPad, I had a Defender case from Otter Box. I loved it!
It was a very sleek looking, but, more importantly, very sturdy case.
Not that I would ever attempt it, but it gave me the feeling that if I were to drop the iPad from a height of 3 feet or so, that the iPad would survive intact, and probably the case too.

Well, after weeks of waiting for Otter Box to get the Defender series cases out for iPad 2, I finally got the email notifying me that they were available for purchase. I bought one and received it today.

I still think it’s probably the sturdiest case around for the iPad 2, bit this case seems a little less protective than the last case series. I was hoping for a basic clone of the last case for the first generation iPad but I guess they were going for a more stylish case this time. The iPad 2 is thinner than the first generation iPads, but that doesn’t mean that they had to make the case thinner as well. From a style perspective, it makes sense. But from a protective stance, not so much.
I like how I don’t have to remove the panel in the back in order to charge my iPad. They’ve changed that by including a rubber flap that lifts out of the way for charging. Removing the old cover and keeping track of it was a pain.
I also think the included stand is much improved. The top cover of the case, which covers the screen during transport, also doubles as an angled stand for the iPad. The new stand is much better designed than the old one and looks like it will last much longer.

All in all, I would give the Otter Box Defender case for iPad 2 a four stars out of five, maybe four and a half.

My mission, should I choose to accept it…

Turn this…

Into this…

Mission accomplished!

It took me about an hour to fire up the grill and clean it for this season, setup the table and chairs and we are now ready to cook and eat outdoors! Another sure sign of spring, which arrived uncharacteristically late this year.
I went and bought a stainless steel grill rack, made for cooking the small stuff that would normally fall through the grill. It’s basically a flat sheet with rows of very small holes in it. It’s perfect for vegetables and shrimp and things that like to stick to the grill, like kebobs.
I’m going to ease into the grilling season with some Angus hot dogs tonight and work my way up from there. LOL!

To coin a phrase from Bruce Buffer….
It’s Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!

Spring is here. We got a fire bowl last weekend, courtesy of a great Canadian Tire sale.
We’re going to fire it up tonight and roast some marshmallows.

I hope the neighbours don’t mind, cuz I ain’t sharing!

Another federal election is just around the corner for us Canadians. Yet again, we will be going to the polls and choosing an MP to neglect us for the next few years (if the government lasts that long).

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m getting pretty tired of doing my duty as a citizen, voting because I care about the direction we head into and having that thrown in my face by virtue of the fact that my concerns are largely ignored.

Regarding the leaders of each party and the parties themselves, there is very little choice these days for people who care about politics and the political process. We are presented with a choice between asshole #1, asshole #2, asshole #3 and a few other candidates who never stood a chance. The election song and dance is exactly the same each election from all major parties and leaders. They promise this and promise that, with no intention on ever following through on those promises. Then they get elected and ignore us for another few years.

We deserve better! It’s time we started demanding more of our leaders! We should be doing more to leverage the power of social networking and the Internet to force our elected public servants to serve us, with respect for us. Put politicians on notice and make them understand that their position is not a gravy train to be ridden with disdain for the public that they are supposed to be serving. I’m tired of being lied to. I’m tired of politicians who think they’re above the law. And I’m tired of being ignored after the votes have been cast. Again, we deserve better!

My daughter and her dance partner entered a ballroom dance competition today. It is the latest in a string of competitions over the last couple of months. They have consistently been placing 4th for the last few competitions and it’s been tough on them. Added to that, there has been another couple (without honour or manners) who have been placing just above them and the other girl has really been rubbing it in.
Today’s competition was a little different. My daughter and her partner placed 2nd of 7 couples. The girl with no manners and her partner came in last place.
I’m proud of my daughter for two reasons.
First, they stuck with it and worked hard. The result was a better placement at this competition.
And second, when seeing the other couple after the medals were given out, she politely congratulated them on their performance.

Simply Awesome!

We’re in Niagara Falls today. We decided to celebrate my daughter’s birthday by getting a hotel room in Niagara Falls and going to the indoor water park here.
Unfortunately, I have such a killer headache, I can not join them in their water play. But it’s nice to have an evening of down time.
I’ve got some pictures to share too…

The Rainbow Bridge to the USA…

The American Falls…

The Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side…

The family just got back from the water park and now it’s dinner time. Wonder what we’ll be eating.

I have a bunch of stuff up for sale on Kijiji.ca. It’s mostly just some old electronics stuff (DVD Recorder, CD Player, Stereo Receiver, 36 Inch CRT TV, USB External Hard Drive) and an apartment sized dryer. Kijiji is pretty much like craigslist.

(Maybe I should try craigslist too, but that’s another topic)

I looked around at similar items on Kijiji before listing my items. I’m not unrealistic or stupid, so I wanted to price my items accordingly so that they were reasonably priced and would sell.

In every case, the potential buyer wants a lower price and it doesn’t matter what the item is priced at. And I’ve deduced that the reason they want a lower price is not at all about spending less money. It’s about the buyer setting the price on their own terms.

Of all the items I’ve listed, I’ve only sold the stereo receiver so far. I bought it years ago and barely used it. It was top of the line in it’s day and cost me over $500 new. I listed it for $75 and it was a steal at that price. The buyer and I exchanged e-mails back and forth before he came to my home to pick it up. Price was never mentioned in our exchanges. It was only after he came to my home to see the item and had already decided to buy it that he offered me $70 for it. At the risk of wasting that time and having to go through all that again with someone new, I let him have it for $70. He bargained me down $5 on an item that was already a deal and he already knew he wanted. I guess he wanted to feel more in control?

Whatever.

Could someone please tell Old Man Winter that his services are no longer required?

Just got an interesting gift…

Friends of ours brought over a bottle of Smirnoff Vodka. It was a very nice gesture, although not so interesting on it’s own.

What’s interesting is that this bottle of vodka has a second function. It’s got built in speakers that plug into a standard earphone jack on any iPod, iPad, iPhone or other MP3 player.

And you know what? The speakers actually sound pretty good!

I got the WordPress app for my iPad and have started blogging with it.
Hopefully, it will encourage me to blog more often and help facilitate that.
Since getting the iPad, I’m spending may more time on it and a lot less time on my laptop.
Thankfully, WordPress realized this and created an app for me.

I went to upgrade WordPress for my blog yesterday.
Simple operation, right? Especially since WordPress now offers upgrades in a fully automated process.
Unfortunately, not so.
The upgrade rendered WordPress inoperable and fucked my database!
I was able to salvage some old posts and repost them, after deleting the old install and installing a fresh copy with a fresh database. As a result, the old posts all have yesterday’s date on them and there are no longer any comments on my blog.
That really sucks! The blog was 5 years old!
The only saving grace was that I barely blogged at all over the past 2 or 3 years, so there went a ton of posts lost.

Better get back to posting!

We’re getting dumped on as I write this.

We had a good snowfall about 2 weeks ago, give or take, but it was nothing like this and we still have a lot more snow coming. This could be called the first official snow storm of the winter, except it isn’t winter yet.

This is fall weather.

I just went through a major computer network overhaul. Well… it’s pretty major for my home.

It’s been a while since I have been able to add any systems to my home network and my server crashed a while ago. That left me with no backups of my data so it was great to finally get my hands on some used computer gear. The price (free) was right, too.

So, now I have a functional server again with a decent sized hard drive so that I can backup my data across the network while I sleep.

I managed to piece together another workstation too so there will be less waiting to use a computer at my house. That’s always a good thing!