<br/> <br/><br/>Like I promised, here is the “Things I Love” post for this week. But.. before we get into that, I would like to publicly ask life to stop giving me lemons because I only drink water and nonfat chai tea lattes and have no use for lemonade. I will get into that later, I suppose. Maybe even later tonight. We will see. Now, for the post..<br/><br/>When the iPad first came out, Levi fell in love with it. Me? I thought it was interesting, but couldn’t really see the value in it. I mean, sure, it is a cool concept but I couldn’t really understand why I would need one. I already had a laptop, which was all I thought I needed for my computing needs. Also, I couldn’t see the value in a mobile device that was locked into wi-fi and I certainly couldn’t justify the premium for the 3G version. Who wants to have something so portable, and be stuck in the house with it.<br/><br/>Soon after the release Levi and I made a trip to the local Apple store, which at the time was about a 25 minute drive from us, and we reserved a copy of the iPad. This was about 2 or 3 months after the release, so we were pretty amazed that we still needed to reserve one. It became available the next day, so we drove back up there to pick it up. Levi was like a kid in a toy store when the store employee handed it to him and he couldn’t wait to get home to play with it. Believe me when I say that I couldn’t drive fast enough.<br/><br/>As I sat watching him use the iPad for the first time, I was happy that he found it so cool but it wasn’t until I was able to sit down with the iPad, that I realized why it was so amazing to him. There is something awesome about holding a web browser in your hands, and navigating the internet with just your fingers – no mouse, no keyboard, no monitor, no tower, just you and your hands and a screen. It was at this moment, about 5 days after we bought Levi’s iPad, that I mentioned that it was “kind of cool.” If you know me personally, you probably know that I trashed it ruthlessly before I actually gave it a chance..that’s just what I do. Today, I am happy to admit that my initial assumptions were incredibly wrong. (I am never wrong about anything…seriously.)<br/><br/>When I held my own iPad in my hands, I was excited about the potential of it. Browsing the internet, anywhere in your house, without having to hunch over a laptop is incredibly convenient. At first, I found the idea of a tablet superfluous – now I realize that it truly is a revolutionary form factor. With that fresh in your mind I would like to say that the iPad certainly isn’t the only tablet on the market, but I do think it is the most straight forward to use and it is certainly the best looking. (I think I might have a thing for aluminum and glass..what do you think?)<br/><br/>The iPad is not just an excellent web browser, but also an excellent toll for doing lots of things. The large selection of iPad ready apps on the App Store allows for a truly amazing experience. I regularly use Keynote to view powerpoint presentations on my iPad when I am studying, which allows me to study on my couch and not at my desk. I also enjoy using my iPad for watching videos, reading e-mails and managing my blog! All of this is possible with the apps available for use on the iPad.<br/><br/>The price of the iPad was my biggest issue when it came out. Let’s face it, for most of us $500 is a lot of money. That being said, I now feel that the iPad is definitely worth the price. I could justify paying $500 for the original so you can be sure I will be willing to pay that price for the next version if mine explodes or something. Though, I don’t think it will ever explode. The iPad is incredibly well built, and feels very solid in your hand.

I spent the entire day today compiling software and testing out a local setup of an Apache, MySQL and PHP environment on OS X. As I am planning on deploying this blog onto a dedicated Mac Mini soon, I have been testing out possible server setups. At this point, I feel pretty comfortable with the self managed and compiled setup and the benefits outweigh the benefits of some of the other all-in-one options drastically. (Example, MAMP Pro.) In the interest of not getting too technical, I will write more about that later – probably when I actually order the Mini. For now, you just need to know that there are some major backend changes coming to the blog. I will probably publish a tutorial after I have everything set up, it will be based on another tutorial found here (except there will be modifications and corrections made.) I spent so much time doing this today, I forgot to write this blog entry! (I also forgot to cook the rice for dinner, oops..)<br/><br/>Now onto the real blog post! I firmly believe that a good pen is important for many things, especially school. Cheap pens often wear out, usually at the most inopportune time – like when your professor is erasing an equation that took up two board lengths and you were only halfway through it. (Jerk pens.) This has happened to me quite a few times. Over the years, in my search for a good pen, I have tried many. It wasn’t until last year when my friend Michele let me use one of her Sharpie Pens that I found one that I really loved. For the rest of the review, as well as the full photo, click the read more link below!<br/><br/>

Hi folks! As promised, here is this weeks edition of “Things I Love.” This week we have the Barnes & Noble Nook, the touch edition. Reading has always been a passion of mine that was rekindled with the release of the previous generation of Nook. The Nook combines two of my favorite things – Technology, and Literature. The newest generation of Nook does this excellently, with the added benefit of combining the two screens of the original into one easy to use e-ink touch screen display. Click the read more link for a full photo and the rest of the review!

5 weeks! I’ve managed to go on with something for 5 whole weeks! This is a big one for me. Naturally I chose one of my most favorite devices for the 5th week of “Things I Love” – my iPhone. I have always wanted an iPhone, in fact the original iPhone was available when I signed up for my first cell phone plan, but the unsubsidized price of the original was a bit high for me so I passed it up for a gorgeously red Blackberry Curve. The curve and many subsequent cellphones have suited me well, but a part of me always wanted the iPhone. Levi and I have been on Verizon for quite some time, and because of this the iPhone had been out of reach until the recent availability of the Verizon version. After much frustration with our Blackberries, we finally decided to switch to the iPhone. (You’re probably wondering why I didn’t choose android, the truth is – I have never been impressed with the design consistency of android, ugly software has always been an irritation to me.) Click the read more link below for the full picture as well as the rest of my review!

It’s Monday again, and that means another installment of “Things I Love,” this weeks thing is my vacuum cleaner – the Dyson DC 33. Let me preface this review by stating that this vacuum is amazing. As any cat owner will tell you, two things are very important for being happy with your pets. One, a plentiful supply of good cat litter – and two, a good vacuum to clean that cat litter out of everything.<br/><br/>When we moved into this apartment, I did not have a vacuum. We remedied this after 4 months by picking up a second hand vacuum at Goodwill for $8. I figured, for $8, how could I go wrong? Well, as it turns out, the vacuum was very clogged when we got it – with pine needles. I figured that the previous owners had vacuumed up their christmas tree mess and the cleaner never functioned again for them so they took it to Goodwill. After a good cleaning, I had it running again and it served me well. That is, until Bella came around.<br/><br/>Bella is a very jumpy cat, sometimes a bit paranoid – usually, she leaves the litter box by jumping out of it, flinging pebbles of cat litter everywhere. This cat litter eventually makes its way deep into the carpet, something my $8 cheap vacuum couldn’t handle. I dealt with it for a while, until we adopted our other cat Peanut. Peanut, picking up after of Bella, also leaves the letterbox with a jump, flinging cat litter everywhere. This was my breaking point, I was tired of walking on cat litter. Continue reading by clicking below.<br/><br/>

So, the previous thing that I love had a busy day this afternoon – it helped me make what could possibly be the most delicious cookies ever; Dark Chocolate with a Cream Cheese Frosting. Yum! The best thing, is that they are only 215 calories per cookie and are still of a reasonable size. While I was sitting here, with frosting crusted to my shirt, I decided it was time to do a “Things I Love.”<br/><br/>This week, we have my iMac! First I want to start this review with a statement about what this review will actually be – non technical. there I said it! This will not be a technical review of the product, as I do not have the time or energy to make it one. No benchmarks here, folks! Continue reading on to view a full sized photo and the rest of the review, of course.<br/><br/>

As I sit here, with the taste of metal in my mouth from a new filling, I realize that it is time for another installment of “Thing I Love.” Two weeks in a row is pretty good! This week, we have the KitchenAid Ultra Power Mixer – in red! Let’s start with a little back story.<br/><br/>I’ve wanted this mixer since I first saw it, but the price always threw me off a bit – it’s expensive, at $249. The price does get you quite a bit. For starters, you get a durable mixer – this thing is heavy and is constructed with metal, not plastic. You also get convenience for the price – hand mixers are loud, and tiresome to use. Spoons? Even worse! This mixer solves that problem. I used this mixer to make pizza crust dough, and it was ready in about 5 minutes – something that would have taken much longer by hand. Overall I am pleased with this product, and am so happy I made the purchase. Did I mention that it’s red?! Click the link below for full picture and to read more!<br/><br/>