Peter had me working on a netcam proposal for the last few months. We got a SONY Google TV, a Panasonic BB-HCM735 with a POE switch. And with a web server, I got it to show a pretty good indoor picture. Although the chrome in Google TV crashes once in a while (at least once or twice a day while I’m at work), the picture is good while it works. And I found an iPad app uCamPro that can display the image nicely too. It eliminiates the intermediate broswer for the google TV. Now I wish there is an iphone app to control the Google TV. Ideally, I wish to reset the chrome from somewhere else if the google TV crashes. No luck yet. There is an android app I think but it is a remote you use in front of the TV still.
It has been a pretty decent vacation out of the snow in Cleveland. weather has been ok, a bi chilly for me, but ok for Leo. we have done everything we wanted to do. Checked out the renting situation. Talked to an agent from Elliot. Dined and went tot the driving range every day. I have improved my percentage of hitting the ball and Leo is pleased with his practice swing too. Looked out to the beach every day even thought its a bit too chilly to walk on it.
Its the last day here. We went to the mall today. It’s not as spatular as we hope it would be. But it satisfied our purpose to explore the area. Planning to go to either Hooters or a Japanese restaurant tonight. And we will try to drive all the way home tomorrow if we can.
All in all, it was a good trip for testing a longer stay in the future somewhere in the winter.
I did a stupid thing. I had two Dewers on the rocks at Oliver Garden last night. Finished the first one before we even got seated. I didn’t eat much during the day. A nutritious shake held me for the whole day. But, there was not much in my stomach by dinner time. The drinks went down too fast. I started to feel it towards the end of dinner and already feeling nauseated on the ride home. So a short and quick nap later, I woke up around 2am and got up at 3 to get some liquid. Stayed up till almost 7am. messed up the whole morning. shouldn’t do that again.
The saving matter out of this silly behavior is I found a few good apps on the app store. One of them is the Bible app that is free and allows you to download lots of different versions to the ipad and there are so many reading plans you can pick and choose. I downloaded the Chinese ccv version and the NASB and it already comes with the NIV version. I’m using Prof. Horner’s reading plan and the chinese bible. Started today. You are going to read 10 chapters a day. I shouldn’t have any problem reading in Chinese. It’ll take me double the time if I read in English. However, it’s been a while since I read any Chinese, my brain wants to change it to English thinking it’ll be easier. How weird. I can read faster in Chinese but it now takes a little more work for me to comprehend it.
Went to the Appalachian store and bought a pair of hiking shoes yesterday after work. It took a while trying on different pairs to find one that fits my feet comfortably. The clerk Tom was very patient, didn’t push me to make a decision even suggested that I walk around the store for a while to see if the shoes feel ok. Two sizes for each pair and 4 or 5 shoes later, I tried on the last pair and made the decision almost instantly. You just know it when you put on a pair that fits after trying on so many that just don’t fit quite well. I’m very happy about the purchase. Now if I can find an ideal bag to carry all my stuff including the ipad and keyboard, I’ll be all set.
Next week, Leo and I are going to North Myrtle Beach, SC for a week. I’m getting excited about it now. It will be refreshing to get out of the wintery weather for a short while and we can check out the 1-2 month long term renting in the future after I retire in the winter. It is very taxing to walk the dog in the icy streets in sub zero temperature. Neither the dog or the human enjoys this venture.
Got into a new interest lately after reading about survival gears. I got some paracord and made some bracelets with them. They are quite easy to make actually and practical too. Now each person around me has one. Survival and hiking gear and skills is a big field to get into. Very interesting too.
paracord bracelet
photo
Christine
Christine
Picked up the “Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman” by Anne Ortlund from the shelf while talking to Leo yesterday. Remembered how much I liked the book when I first read it in my single days. I started reading it again and finished it in one night. It is a simple book and yet I can see why I was so impressed by it then. It was one of the first how to be organized book I read. In it she talked about using a ‘notebook’ with sections to keep the calendar, receipts, journals and reading notes. I started my own notebook after reading this book and had used it for a long while. I still like its functions but have not found away to incorporate the paper system with the electronic system together.
I like to type my notes and journal entries on a keyboard, but it’s still much quicker to jot down a calendar entry by flipping to the calendar page or to put a receipt or ticket on the day I need it. Now, the todo list is easier to maintain electronically as I can check off the completed items and the rest will automatically be carried forward without having to be copied again for the next day. But again I can’t attach pieces of paper to the todo list as I can with a paper system. Can I find a method to combine these two together seamlessly and easily?
I went on the web to look for a song that Anne Ortlund talked about in her book and accidentally found an interview her husband and her did in 2005 on youtube. They certainly were a dedicated couple to do God’s work and their bond was obviously deep with each other. She waited and let her husband be the one to start the topics, and filled in the details when needed. Very lovingly and respectifully. Just like what a christian woman should be. Her husband died in 2007 I found out and I saw another youtube interview of their son Ray Jr also a pastor. A christian family. Wonder how she is doing now.
Had a lesson with Tim but the one with Tony was mysteriously gone and instead he has two lessons with a couple that are Esther’s students at that time slot. I don’t really mind but I do in a way when I wasn’t notified or talked to when my lesson was cancelled. Anyway, nobody knew what happened between Monday when Tony last saw it and today when it’s replaced by someone else.
Tony talked about doing some group dances with me and a funny dance for Tim, him and I like the one in the commercial where three people were doing the tango together. That sounds like fun.
Going to Azteca with Sandy and Daniel tonight. She and I both like Sakura better but the men like the mexican food. We decided to have mexican tonight and plan for a sushi outing soon. We’ve been having dinner together for a few times lately. It’s great and I’m happy about it. But on the other hand, I haven’t got together with Connie for a long time. This is one of those things that a good notebook/calendar system will be good to remind myself about making plans with friends and keep in touch. Friendships take time and need time to cultivate. I often let them slide too much. One of those things I need to work on like my exercise or the lack of exercise. Good intention sometimes is not enough, or I should say it’s never enough.
Another complicated dream right before I woke up this morning. I was exhausted from the dream. But now I can’t remember what it was about. Made me tired all day. My eyes are killing me at work. Can’t wait to go home and take a nap.
Another day of not much success in the webcam world. GoogleTV won’t display the picture in 1280 x 960 resolution. Well, it does but you have to scroll down to see the whole picture. It’s supposed to have 1080 resolution though. It doesn’t make sense and a regular pc monitor will display it (albeit not the whole length either) but at least truer to the real size. A 640×480 picture fills most of the Google TV screen on the Sony 24″. Not nice. Don’t like these cutting edge technology, there is always something that doesn’t work right and yet there is nothing you can find when you google on it.
Two half day work sounds great but it is still wearing me out. The 4-5 hours kill the whole day, by the time I get home, I am as tired as if I worked a whole 8 hour day. The rest of the day is just finished, not productive or even fun. A nap will guarantee a late night and mess up the schedule again. oh well. Just one more year of this.
Jailbroke my iPhone yesterday and have been playing with it. The mywi does work and will probably shell out the $20 for it eventually. Other free apps are nice, the 5-column icons and the sbsettings I like. It saves the screen and fit all the icons on one page. The categories allows me to put more than 12 in a folder, I like that too. The sbsettings put the date and the memory on the top status area. And the mxtube allows me to download my own youtube video so I don’t have to rely on the 3g when I need to play them. That’s nice. I’m sure there are more I’ll find.
Used ‘Photo Transfer’ to move the photo from the iphone to the ipad. Still no easy way to combine them in the ‘Notebooks’. Darn! The photo transfer is a neat app though. With the bluetooth connection, you don’t even need the wifi to move the photos between devices. The word press app can do the media insert directly so it’s still a better app to use than Notebooks.
The backache lingers on. It feels like a muscle strain more than anything else. As soon as I leave the heating pad, I can feel it. Funny that small discomfort like that, can affect one’s mood. Or maybe I’m just a wimp who can’t put up with even the smallest physical discomfort.
Went to Lih Wah yesterday and had a great brunch. Besides the usual dim sum dishes, we tried a couple of new things. The broccoli rab was a hit. And I ordered 乾炒牛河 for me and chicken lo mien for Leo. I loved mine and he his with lots of leftover for dinner too. A wonderful meal.
We had plans for me to see the Cleveland public library, but after the grocery shopping, we settled for a drive by and save it for a future visit. The main concern about parking was kind of relieved when we saw on the street parking around the building and a parking garage or two near by. The traffic around west side market was so bad, Leo decided to skip it and we stopped at the Hudson Great Lakes Bakery instead and got some chiabatta and italian bread. The review was good from Leo.
Spent a couple of hours spinning and listening to ‘Cutting the Stone’ on audible. It was enjoyable and productive last night. But my back started hurting in the middle of the night and bothered me a lot today. Even after I took an Alieve, the back was still tight and uncomfortable. Leo suggested heat and that was the answer for my temperamental back. It finally gave me some relief.
Spent some time on the iPad looking at apps. Found the ‘Notebooks’ and after comparing it to the Chapters and Chronicles, decided to give it a try. I plan to use it for my journaling and mote taking across the board and task manager too. Tested the email feature and proved that I can write in it and email to WordPress for online publishing. So I can selectively publish those I want to share and keep the private ones here. This probably means that the app will contain my complete journal. So far, it works for the journal keeping. I like the idea that I can use it as a research tool and keep all the web pages, notes together for a project. I plan to use it for work so I can keep all the necessary notes on the net cam project in one place for example. hopefully, it will work as I plan to. Even though there is no camera on the ipad, the app is supposed to be able to keep photos also.
So the Zaggmate keyboard and the ipad is working together pretty well. The thoughts are not impeded or slowed down by the typing any more. I found myself using the keyboard by itself more than sitting the ipad in it. I like to stand the ipad up by itself in its cover. Taking it in and out of the case would be a hassle. Now I need to figure out an easy way to get the photo from my iphone and insert it into a blog entry in notebooks. Probably not going to be a one shot deal. I can upload the picture and insert it into the entry after I’ve published it via email from ipad.
Got my two dance lessons today. One with Tim, and we worked on some new moves. One with Tony, he tried to teach me using my hip not just my feet and legs. The swinging motion. I probably got the idea but haven’t been able to put it in action consistently yet. I’m not used to him yet. It always takes a few times before I am used to the teaching style and methods of a new instructor. But I know I would learn stuff from him.
C got me new Arbon and it’s different from the ones she got me before. I will see if they are any different. I had nutrimin c before and now it’s RE 9 I think. I like the new bottles and they look better. It’s probably just new packaging. She said she and t may go to holiday inn tonight. I want to go but I had too much wine for dinner and enjoyed the conversation with Leo. So I am settled in and going to read and browse away.
Looked into the Free Books app and found Throreau’s Walking. Read a little in it. I think I like it. Wish I can speed read, there are so many books I’d like to read and I read so slow. So now I have the kindle, the ipad to read anything I like. It’s such a luxury.