Evernote: The Note Solution I Needed

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Over the years, I’ve bemoaned the fact that I can’t use OneNote on non-windows machines. I’ve tried multiple options, they were all lacking something I needed or wanted. I whined a lot.

I’m so over that now. I am really enjoying having a note solution that goes across platforms and across devices. My only concern is that I’ll use it so much I have to start paying a monthly fee. :( So I don’t use all the features (like photos and such.)

The devices where I use Evernote now:

  • iPad
  • MacBook Pro
  • Kindle Fire
  • iPhone
  • iMac
  • Android Razr

Aside from these, I’ve also set my folks up to use their own accounts on on their PC’s, desktops, iPads and Android phone and iPhone. It’s not had so much as a hiccup. Not one!

I use it primarily for storing things in the following categories:

  • Tech Notes: The information I have to reference all the time when a device gives me an issue — and until now, my little self-made “tech manual” almost always was stored on the device that was crashed. Now, it’s on EVERY device. :)
  • Client Notes – I use it for meeting notes as well as outlines on projects currently underway. If a client calls and I’m not at my desk — I can still capture the information. If I have an idea to develop — I jot it down in the RIGHT place anywhere — anytime.
  • Quotes – I’m a collector and now I can review them or add to my collection anytime.
  • Personal Notebook – where I keep my private stuff, gift ideas for others, and quickly jotted notes.
  • Expenses/Budget – financial notes so I’ll have an easier time next April.

If you haven’t tried Evernote yet, now may be the time. You can download it here: http://evernote.com/

Droid Solutions: Different Notification Sounds for Every Alert

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My Droid Razr had one notification sound when I got him. Soooo, if I heard it, I didn’t know if I had a text message, a new email, an expiring bid on eBay, a Google chat message from a client or a friend, a calendar reminder… or any of a number of other little “notices” I get throughout a typical day.

To overcome this, I downloaded a program (for free) on Android Market called Zedge which extended my notification alert sounds (as well as added a slew of new ringtones) to my arsenal.

I don’t like loud or long notification chimes — I don’t like rock and roll clips to announce that I have an appointment in an hour. I want simple and DIFFERENT sounds so I can make the decision to ignore, postpone or immediately check the phone — as needed.

Once you get Zedge, and you find a few chimes you like (you can play them before downloading and they download singly, not in “packs”), you can go into “settings” (using the lower left hand button next to the home button on a Motorola Droid Razr), scroll down and select notification and ringtones — you will have two options pop up, one for the standard android sounds and one for the new zedge sounds you have just downloaded.

The only app I’ve needed to personalize that I’ve not been able to change, is eBay. I handled this by personalizing all the other apps and leaving my “default” selection to notify me in case of one of those elusive bidding crises. :)

Hope this helps new droid users customize and trick out their android device a little better.

Droid Soluions: How to Download .Mobi Files on Phone and Open with Kindle

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I’ve got a particular site for .mobi ebooks that I love. I mean, really, LOVE this site. (And no, I’m not sharing that…) But the problem I encountered was that the .mobi format (which is supposed to be read by Kindle, but isn’t without a conversion) was driving me batty.

(WARNING: Apple comparison… On the iPad, when I downloaded, it asked me if I’d like to open the downloaded file in Kindle and did the conversion for me (quietly and perfectly) in the background. Not so for the Droid.)

After downloading what I consider to be the BEST browser for my Motorola Droid Razr, Maxthon, I can download to the defined download folder (you can set this to go wherever you like in the Maxthon settings, I left it at the default location). Once it’s downloaded, I can move it using the standard “My Files” app and drop it in the Kindle folder on my droid. Then using the same “My Files” app, I can go in and change it from the gibberish file name and .txt extension to a proper name and .mobi extension. (Hint: If you have as many books as I do, a quick visual clue is the green android character to the left of the .txt files, as opposed to the blue “download” arrow for those in the proper format while cruising the list using “My Files.”)

Once that’s done, it’s available to be read on my Android and it’s pretty and includes the nice graphics of the .mobi file format.

Hope this helps!

Droid Solutions: Where Can I Update All My Android Apps?

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I was having a fit finding some solutions for how to do what I wanted to do on my new Motorola Droid Razr –  (I’m an iPhone convert) — and it occurred to me that I am probably not the ONLY person having these difficulties…

So I’ve decided to start posting the problems with their solutions (when I find them) here on WickedBlog to see if I can help others find the answers they need.

To get a list of the updates your apps need, you go to Android Market on the device, then touch the “settings” button (lower left, right beside the home button on the Razr) and a pop-up gives you the option to select from “My Apps,” “Accounts,” “Settings,” and “Help.” Select “My Apps” — this takes you to a screen that shows all your apps and places the ones on top that need automatic or manual updates.

Droid Problem Solved! :D

The “Disneyland Dad” Dilemma

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As a single parent, I’ve often been mystified by what I call the “Disneyland Dad” phenomena – I call it that because I’m a single mom, but there are “Disneyland Moms” as well. It involves the fascination and adoration children offer the parent that is absent. The full-time, hands-on parent responsible for day-to-day exhausting details, discipline, and education is the “bad” parent. Whereas the one that is usually absent is held on a towering, teetering pedestal. The uninvolved parent can “swoop in” and do the smallest thing, spend 15 minutes of attentive time, or offer the tiniest treat and swoop back out again an absolute hero. WTH?!?

I’ve discussed this phenomenon with many of my friends and family members. We all agree that it’s a real thing and that it sucks. Honestly, I’m sometimes a little envious of the freedom enjoyed by (and the good will offered to) the absent, or less involved, parent. The involved parent is the one who provides everything, so rather than being grateful for what is provided, the child focuses on being angry for what is missing — no matter how minute.

It seems the LESS a parent does, the more awesome they are in the eyes of a child. (It doesn’t require a single parent, this phenomena pops up in stable two-parent families, too.)

It’s all about expectation. Children expect the full-time parent to do for them — to do everything all the time. So they can safely be taken for granted. The full-time parent is a “given” — as well as a constant giver.

Then I did some thinking… people (children and adults alike) prefer the unexpected treats to those that are guaranteed. That’s why bonus checks are so cool at the end of the year. That’s why flowers for no reason trump the ones for occasions or those for “I’m sorry.” That’s why even lab rats will repeat an activity for occasional treats more often than for treats that appear every time. When we know something is going to be there, we take it for granted. When some unexpected treat appears, no matter how small, it’s like a gift on Christmas morning.

This revelation has also made me realize that parenting isn’t about providing all the best that you can for your kids, materialistically. (Yes, of course I knew that, but sometimes I lost sight of it while trying to anticipate their wants and needs rather than waiting for them to want something for awhile.) Parenting is about giving them the security of firm boundaries and occasional, unexpected, rewards. If they have free reign, then there are no surprises — they just keep pushing the boundaries until they get what they want. (Or until they drive their parents crazy.) Boundaries and occasional “just because” rewards work best.

Yay! I can do that! :)

(If only I had discovered this at the BEGINNING of my parenting career, instead of during the home stretch…)