There should be a (beta) next to the Google Keep name

google-keep-iconOk, so we can leave the comparison from Keep to Evernote out of the discussion for now because there is no comparison. Evernote is a mature product supporting just about every platform and feature you can think of. #Keep is but a child that has a lot to learn.

It was interesting watching notes update on my phone as I typed them into my computer. But 99.99% of the time the next sync my phone did on its own would suffice to get notes from computer to phone and back again. As far as entering notes on the phone it was quick to speak something into a note or swype a word or two, but hey, this is a note taking app if getting notes into it were hard then in would be useless. Should we all jump to Keep? or will this just be another product that ends up on the list of some 70+ products that google has created and discontinued. Oh, and just as a reminder Google Reader and iGoogle are schedule to be killed this year. Read more ›

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Posted in Ramblings, Tech

Being part of a Macaws flock

img_3884-1 What many people don’t realize when they are looking to own a large bird is that this living family oriented bird will consider you as part of their flock. Macaws are community creatures and one of the activities they engage in is preening and grooming. When macaws molt they grow new feathers back quickly, these feathers are covered with a white casing, we call it chaff. This casing it typically removed by others in the flock but to a bird at your home this means you.

My macaw, Autumn, likes me to put the chaff in front of him in my hand so that he feels that he is helping me as I am cleaning the pin feathers off. img_3890-1 Other times he will go up to the collar of my shirt and rub the material in his beak, because to him I cannot get to that spot to groom and he is helping me. While cleaning his feathers I do have to be very careful to not pull the ones that are not ready to come off, Autumn gets irritated and can squawks at me. img_3892-1 Although it can be a little unnerving putting my hand in front of this creature. A macaw of Autumns size has a beak biting force of around 2000 pounds per square inch, yet they also have the control to peel the skin off of a peanut, amazing.

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Posted in Animals, Ramblings

Disneyworld is NOT for small kids

What do you say!  Disney not a place for kids?  Well my observations over my last trip to Disneyworld has completely confirmed it.     As we roamed each park we saw people with their 0 to 5 year old kids, most of them crying or complaining or running away from their parents.   Is this fun for anyone?  No.   Will they remember any of this trip?  No.

It would be better to take the kids to a McDonald’s play place or a local park and then have the kids watch a Disney movie.   To them it would be the same.  My point was further compounded by the new waiting area at the Dual Dumbo rides in the new fantasy land.   When you get in the line you are given an electronic wireless device similar to one’s used at restaurants to let you know when your turn is.   The kids are then let into a large, yes just like McDonald’s, play area.   Complete with tubes and nets for kids to crawl around in.    Unfortunately the adults just have to sit and wait.     OK, our buzzer lights up and we ride Dumbo, coming off of the ride the kid behind us does not care at all about what they are doing next.  He just wants to go back to the play area !!   So, conclusion, leave the kids at home!!  More than that, just take them somewhere locally where they can play.

We did not take our son to Disneyworld until he was 11 years old.   He could ride everything, he didn’t whine or complain, when he was hungry he just said, “can we get something to eat?”  We had no stroller to block other people and he still remembers the trip to this day, which is about 12 years later.

So leave your kids at home.  Otherwise someone may pass by you dealing with your screaming brat and say “Another Disney Magical Moment!!”

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Posted in Ramblings, Travel

SharePoint 2010 Document Library Error

Have you ever created a document view in SharePoint and then placed that view on another site only to go back to the original document library and then get an error?

SharepointErrorTo reproduce this error you have to save a view of a Document Library using SharePoint Designer. Then you import that view to another SharePoint site. This ability allows you to show documents from a central library across a SharePoint deployment. Once this exported part is placed on the page you can not go back to the original document library. If you delete the web part from the site that you just placed, you can then access the document library normally.

I took steps to view the log files, clear the application cache.   I even went so far as to completely rebuild the SharePoint system.   I had also installed the Service Pack 1.    I have attacked this problem now and again.

I have to say that Microsoft has now FIXED the problem.   In my process I built a test server and restored the production data to it.   I then downloaded the latest SharePoint hotfix.   At the time there was November 2012 and December 2012.   The November update was over 900 megabytes so I installed that first.    Looking through the updates that were covered by the hotfix I did not see any specific fix detailing the problem.  After installation I was able to access the documents libraries normally with no errors.

You can find the download for SharePoint 2010 at this link.   I would bookmark this page as it updates with the latest hotfixes.

 

Posted in Tech

DSLR Controller App

img_1871-1and8more_tonemapped-1-2 My camera has the ability to take 3 bracketed photos.    With some trickery I can extend that to 5 fairly easily taking 2 sets of photos. The first set 2 stops under exposed and the second set 2 stops over exposed.  From these photos you get 5 bracketed shots.  You end up with 2 of the normal exposure shot so you can discard one of them.    Well I have found the APP DSLR Controller for my Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket phone.   My phone has been updated to ICS 4.0.4 so I use an OTG (on the go) cable to connect the APP to the camera and control it remotely.   With the APP  I can easily take 7, 9, 11 or more bracketed photos.   An example is shown on this page.    This APP completely expands the capability of my Canon T4i camera.     Here is a link to the APP in the Google Play Store [LINK]

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Posted in Photography, Tech

Beach Walk Photos Thanksgiving Day

Took a walk along the beach and ventura pier today.    Setup publishing direct from Lightroom to WordPress through the NextGen Gallery.   Have a few more tweaks to make but it all processed through fine.

Posted in Photography

Patrick Warburton Golf for Kids

shirts-for-kids  We are a few months away from the third annual Golf for Kids benefiting St. Jude.    I like to do my part so I have created some unique, one of a kind t-shirts.   The goal is to have them signed by the cast of Rules of Engagement and then donate them to the auction.     Here is a preview of the shirts.

The shirts are on order and should be available for me to take to the studio on December 4th.

Posted in Charity, TV and Movies

Phone Shots

Here are some recent photos taken with my Galaxy S II.    With enough lighting and some post processing even phone images can look good.

2012-11-15-11-50-15-1   2012-11-16-07-13-24-1

Posted in Photography

Lizard Rock Panorama

While on our hike I stopped at Lizard Rock, shaped like a lizard head sticking out of the top of the mountain.  I snapped some freehand photos and was able to stitch them into a panorama.

lizzard-pano-2

 

Posted in Photography

Day hike at Wildwood Park

Took a trip to Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks,  just a quick 25 minutes up the road from Oxnard.    There are several trails there and we covered about 4 miles and that included an elevation change of 800 feet from the lowest to the highest point.    We stopped for a bit at Paradise Falls and headed around past lizard rock and back to the parking area.   A very nice afternoon hike.  Here are some photos from along the way.

 

Posted in Photography
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