BNJMN

I am the world’s worst blogger. I see many great people who blog daily, weekly, biweekly, or whenever they feel like it. And usually, they feel like it every few days! I always feel like I will, yet somehow I just run out of time. Perhaps I should just be more disciplined and allot a block of time every few days. Work out a schedule. Put to use this iPad of mine, perhaps? What I like to believe in my head is that it’s unproductivity as a result of poor tools. The Dell laptop I’ve had since 2008 is really on its last breaths (not even, since the fans don’t work properly. To use my laptop in this crazy hot summer, it has it’s own oscillating fan), and I’ve been postponing lots of projects until I get a new computer. Podcasting. Blogging. Video. Photo even. At this point, I’m ready to embrace the full Apple ecosystem: iPhone, iPad, iMac. I’ve wanted an iMac ever since those futuristic, blue, all-in-one machines started popping up in my middle school. Thankfully, they’ve evolved qui...

The new iPad. Like many, I sat comfortably in a chair, clutching my iPad 2, wondering how much life my 8-month old post-PC device has left in it as live blogs refreshed with breaking news from Apple’s event. Predictably, the company touted a fancy high res screen, souped up innards, and an (belated) advanced camera system. Unpredictably, “HD” and “3″ were not mentioned following the word “iPad.” that was perhaps the biggest surprise about the new iPad. That, and the new dictation feature that will let me be a starship captain as I tell my iPad what to blog for me. Still, it was exciting! I normally reserve this level of excitement for Nintendo E3 presentations. I hopped onto the Apple site shortly thereafter and watched the presentation, even after knowing the script. I tried many times to update my iPhone to iOS 5.1 over the air, until I gave up and did it the old fashion way through iTunes. I wonder just how slammed Apple’s servers got… Really, since I’m going to continu...

I bought an iPad. I hadn't wanted one until fairly recently when it just clicked that i would use one as more than an oversized iPod. I could use it to write and read comfortably in the couch or out and about. Up until now, my iPhone has been indispensable, and the iPad would allow me to do even more in an easier fashion. So far, i've been right. It's a much more comfortable platform for iBooks, which allows you to add PDF documents. I haven't checked my Google home page, which is crammed with rss feeds I read, with my computer because I've moved (most of) them to an app called Pulse, which simplifies reading via RSS while making it a more visually appealing experience. Also, browsing the Internet really is a better, more intimate experience on a touch screen device. I thought that was all hype and spin. It isn't. Pages was the first app I downloaded, and used it to rewrite an entry in a brand new blog series I will hopefully one day soon start. I also use...

I got a new camera! It's amazing! All the pictures above were taken with it. Whenever I get a new camera (which has only happened three times, including this one), I suddenly see the world differently. Now, I see footprints in mud, and sneakers hanging from phone wires, and unusual pipes that don't seem to be doing anything other than look important. One thing I miss with my previous camera is its zoom though. I'm going to need to go and get a lens soon. And those are pricey. I just need time to go out and play with it. Mysteriously, I have a family of small mannequins that I really want to use for a set of photos... I can not wait! But they are heavy. If you want to help, let me know. This Canon T3i (ESO 600D) purchase is just one (albeit the biggest) of many purchases that I think has made this March a crazy expensive month it seems. But, thanks to me doing my taxes very early, I can afford it for the moment! Of course, the next big thing, also coming this month: Ninte...

School + work + work is starting to get very crazy in those proportions. School + work + work + new tv season... I don't know how I'm still alive! I wonder if I can summarize what I think of the following shows in 10 syllables: Heroes Bryan Fuller put great things in motion. How I Met Your Mother Soft start to a funny season, I hope. Castle Less murder, more Beckett... ok for now. Bored to Death Have to see more to see where it will go. Community Strong pilot, funny could live, or could die. Big Bang Theory Oh no they didn't! Plus Star Trek spoilers! Survivor Season 19 started off pretty great. I probably won't watch survivor anymore though because it gets boring after 2 eps. I'll need to watch Dollhouse everntually, too. Most of these shows I might have to just watch all at once in the winter, though, because school is going to be tonnns of work. The Source, in my opinion, has the best mobile internet stick deal. You get the stick for $0 on a 1-year term. I wouldn...

I've had one problem since my first laptop died on me a number of months ago - my mom would have to use my newer laptop when she would want to access the internet. To help remedy this issue, I bought a new computer! I use the term "computer" lightly - I bought a netbook. It's small, it's loaded with Windows XP, and my left shift key is half the size it should be... \when \i type, \i keep not hitting it. However, the increased portability that I'll get from this 10" device will more than likely make up for the need to adapt to a new keyboard. Hopefully. I've spent the last few days trying to get over some sort of cold. Helping me to do so is Heroes Season 3. I bought the dvd set this week, hoping to refresh my mind on what's happened in the last year. I found the show somewhat annoying to watch it week by week, but viewing a few episodes at a time is much more fulfilling. In re-watching, I can see why some had been complaining about the show, but i...

The Canadian dollar is being my hero! It's been on an upswing for the past week, more or less. While i doubt it'll keep that pace, I would absolutely love it it went up a bit more and stayed there until mid-May. Analysis have been saying the dollar's good fortune wouldn't last too long, so I paid off half of the balance on the hotel and bought some US money for spending purposes. I also went through all my change and found 95¢ worth of US coins, plus another 50¢ in pennies. About 5% of my pennies were American! This sudden interest in US currency prompted me to check out my quarter collection. I had been keeping US State quarters that I find at work, but wasn't sure how many I had. Turns out, I have 22 different states represented overall (and I scrounged up another dollar in duplicates). If anyone has ones that I'm missing, please can I have them? I'll give you my address and everything (just please don't come and stalk me). [Click to view my collection...

Over the years, my wallet and my bus pass have developed a great relationship where they stick together. This help me, since I always know where my bus pass is (unless of course, I don't know where my wallet is, which happens on occasion). It also helps my wallet and bus pass, since the two of them can talk and cuddle in my pocket. I've only recently decided to split the two up, if only to protect the pass from accidental loss or cold-related fracturing. Plus people make fun of me when they see it! Turns out that my leaving it behind wasn't premature - Transit workers voted to reject the city's offer. I've had an inkling since the beginning that this strike would last a while, but I'm really starting to get scared at how long it may be before all is well. To add to my troubles, my laptop needs to be sent away for servicing. Supposedly, my laptop has a fan, and that fan is not spinning at the speed that it's supposed to be. As a result, my computer can becom...

October is here, and my room is freezing cold. I really think I need to reinsulate the window area, and possibly get a new window. My plan is to go, hire the worst guy possible, then complain to Mike Holmes. In response, he'll come here, ask how on earth someone whose job was to insulate a wall and replace a window used 17 junction boxes in the process. After a few words like "unbelievable", he'll fix it for me, add a shiny new seat and electrical surge protector, and proclaim that he "love his job". Simple, no? In other news, I've dusted off my Wii. It's sad how I've become accustomed to not having the time to play such fandangled devices. In a rare spurt of energy, I went and beat Lostwinds, a WiiWare game that I bought back in May and stoppe dplaying after all of 41 minutes. It is a great little game, one that I'd love to have seen more of (seeing as I beat it after another 3 hours). Hoping to continue the trend of actually playing the gam...

The new TV season has kicked off with a pretty epic set-up for Heroes' third season, as well as a nice start to Big Bang Theory's second. I love when shows don't pick up right where they left off, but that's often hard to do when the vast majority of 'em have cliffhanger season finales. Heroes cheated a bit last year by throwing you a few months after the events of the season 1 finale, and then taking a later episode to answer 'how did they get here?" Those are perfectly exciting. I expect a similar filler this year too, at least on a couple of storylines. Up next: Dexter, Californication, Chuck, Pushing Daisies, Corner Gas, and Little Mosque on the Praries, though I have no idea when that one starts - or where I"m goig to find the time to watch all of those. Despite my crazy-expensive cable package, torrents and my PSP may become my best friends. In the meantime, I need to prepare a presentation of sorts for work. There's a staff meeting this w...

Sony lies. "Watch videos on your psp" they say. I'm a fairly tech-oriented person, but I really have no idea how to put movies on the bloody playstation portable. I think you need some sort of Sony diploma to do it. It should be as simple as click-and-drag, but it's not. You have to convert whatever movie file you want to one of the twoish video formats the device can read. And then, if you're lucky, it'll fit on the system. No, Sony, I'm not buying more of your high-priced memory. Let alone trying to take a movie from a DVD and trying to get that on a psp. That requires more software just to take the movie file(s) on the disk and putting it on the computer. And possible intermediate software to take that and convert it to something the psp converter can understand without freezing your system. And that special edition Juno dvd that comes with a digital copy? Brilliant - unless you have a psp. No matter what, it'll take longer than the 15 minutes you h...