Monthly Archives: November 2008

Success! (NaBlPoMo) Failure! (NaNoWriMo)

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Today is the end of November 2008. I have managed (with this post) to log a blog every single day of the month, as I committed with my participation in NaBlPoMo. Even when I was under the weather for several of these 30 days, I managed to blog a little. Yea, me!

But, I didn’t do as well toward my commitment for NaNoWriMo. Despite my several thousand words this month, I didn’t come near the 50,000 I had hoped to log. (Epic Failure!) Alex didn’t get hers logged either — but pressuring her to write was taking all the fun out of it for her, and that seemed counterproductive.

We did both manage to get started on a novel, albeit a less than prolific start. We plan to continue our work on said books… so at least we managed that much.

I may try again next year to participate in the Novel Writing Month. Hopefully I’ll be finished with the current effort by then. We shall see. I don’t know if I’ll do the blogging month commitment next year. I think doing both in the same month isn’t the best choice I ever made.

As far as the rest of this year goes, I’ll probably be blogging alot less during the last month of the year and spend my time trying to close out client accounts and close out my business books for the year.

I missed the Thanksgiving holiday with my family, since I (selfishly) wanted to keep my illness to myself. So I’m really looking forward to spending time with my family though the Christmas season.

For now, as I wind the blogging frenzy down a few notches, I wish you and yours an enjoyable remainder of 2008!

Reduce, Recycle and Reuse: Going Green with an iPhone!

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Reduce the amount of energy you are using by monitoring it. Studies prove that people who keep tabs on their electric meters, tend to use less. Monitor yours with MeterRead (TM) by Mark E.Barton. (This is a free app until Tuesday – then it will be $2.99)

Reuse stuff you no longer want by giving it to others who need it with Local Reuse by Manifest Interactive. Get stuff you need (for free) from your neighbors. This is a great “freecycle” type concept for the iPhone with a nice interface. Unfortunately, it’s not in use in my area, so the screen is always blank on offers. (Maybe I should go ahead and clean out the storage building!) Free, of course!

Recycle – quick, fingertip-access to what kind of plastics can be included in your recycling bin with free app Recycler by Siavash Ghamaty.

Other apps for you to consider:

  • Go Vegan with an easy-to-start assortment of Vegan Recipes on your iPhone using the VeganYumYum Mobile by VeganYumYum. It’s free (and it has great photos!)
  • Avoid foods with nasty additives with Food Additives by Andrew Middleweek for $3.99.
  • Find safe, healthy and green products to make better, more earthfriendly using GoodGuide by GoodGuide, Inc. (Free!)

Podcasts to consider:

  • NewlyGreens by Kaisen Productions “provides tips and strategies for sustainable living.”
  • Green is Universal Vodcast by NBC Chicago
  • Green Air by CBS News – “Offering the latest environmental cultural and consumer tips on going green.”

So go forward and step lightly with that carbon footprint. Enjoy!

(photo courtesy of Alvimann of morguefile.com)

Information Management: An iPhone App to Crave

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While recovering from a case of the creeping-crud, I’ve spent many hours over at the apps store catching up on what’s new and cool. I’m not BEING very productive lately, so I’m researching productivity (and other) apps. (Hey, at least I’m accomplishing something!)

In particular, I was looking for:

  • a better way to handle my to-do lists
  • a way to maintain standard packing lists
  • a quick-launching notes program
  • a running diary for those “when did I do that?” queries
  • a grocery shopping list-maker
  • a way to do my @ lists (loosely based on GTD philosophy — VERY loosely)

I found one of the most incredible database programs to date for the iPhone. It’s called iDB Datamaster Pro (there’s a free version and a lite version, but I wanted a limitation-free option). It was developed by Evince Technologies, Inc specifically for the iPhone and is not a port or a re-write of another program.

It literally replaced half a screenful of other apps on my homepage — and we all know how precious that space is!

The layout is good and the templates (which I hope will continue to expand) handle most of what I’ve needed so far. I like the integration with the native apps which permits one-tap phone calls and web site launches from within the databases.

The best features?

1. A powerful search across ALL the databases. (Really nice!)

2. The ability to “pause” the database and return to the exact same place next time the app is launched saves taps and frustration. (Small feature, huge impact on usability.) It even has time-stamped logs for locating what was done when.

3. I particularly like the fact that I can backup the databases to my own computer in CSV format — but need to play with this a bit more to learn how to backup and restore effectively.

It’s a little more expensive than the standard .99-4.99 apps, coming in at 12.99 for the pro version, but it’s worth every penny, IMHO. I’ll review a few more of my best finds over the next few days, including writer’s tools for the iPhone and (hopefully) a decent replacement for some of the standard apps (like calendar).

In the meantime, go download the free version of this DB app and give it a try. I think you will like it as much as I do.

Discover Hulu: Enjoy an after-feast movie-fest

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I’m loving Hulu. If you haven’t discovered it yet, go there now. If you have finished with the Thanksgiving meal and need a little kick-back time (and you aren’t a sports fan), Hulu will come to your rescue.

I’ve registered so I can keep the cool stuff I find in my queue — and so I get automatic update emails when a TV show I’m following has a new episode, but you can view without registration.

Right now (since I don’t watch TV) this is where I watch: Bones, Chuck, Lipstick Jungle, Terminator, The Starter Wife, Heroes, Burn Notice, Crusoe, Valentine, and Battlestar Galactica. (There are also complete seasons of cancelled series and others I’m not currently following).

And I recently added a few great movies to my queue as well. There are some second rate titles on Hulu, but there are also a great number of top movies (and old favorites).

As a few examples, the ones currently in my queue include: The Professional, A River Runs Through It, Requiem for a Dream, GhostBusters (because my daughter has never seen it… ditto for Xanadu), Kiss The Bride, Sense and Sensibility (because it’s been awhile), Hans Christian Anderson (also for Alex), and Rob Roy.

(I only wish I could view this over my wi-fi on my iPhone. That would make it even cooler!)

If you want an all-night horror movie fest to go with your indigestion, this may be the best place to get those too. Why get out to go rent something when you can stay in and save time, money and gas?

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Venison: low-fat, high-vitamin meat option

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My uncle came by yesterday afternoon with a cooler full of venison for me. I don’t usually have venison, but it’s so nutritious, I’m going to be cooking with it more this year. I found space in my freezer for about 25 1-pound ground packages.

Venison is one of the best low-fat meats (even lower fat than salmon, turkey and chicken!) And, it’s now being commonly farm raised for the meat quality. My venison was of the wild-caught variety and may be a bit stronger tasting (and more nutritious) than the domesticated type.

This high-quality red meat also contains fewer calories than other red meats and the additional bonus of offering a great source of heme iron (a readily absorbed variety). It’s also a great source of B-12, Niacin, B-6, and riboflavin. And is a good source of phosphorous, selenium, zinc and copper.

So, I’m investigating good recipes for ground venison and hope to find a few that make me plan to have venison in the freezer every fall. I have a farm that’s simply loaded with deer and an uncle that’s always looking for a great place to hunt. (He also has a butcher that takes it from felled to freezer without the need to dress it out.)

I referred to my bookshelf for all the nutritional values. (The World’s Healthiest Foods is a great resource. My copy is well-worn.)

From that book, I learned that I shouldn’t serve the venison to my sons (both of whom have had kidney stone problems in the last couple years), because the meat does contain purines, which can encourage the growth of uric acid based stones and gout in people with those tendencies.

That appears to be the only “downside” to eating venison instead of beef (and even beef has a moderately high level of purine).

(Note: photo courtesty of jpkwitter)