Sunday, April 25, 2010

Dino does Study

As a classic tech-geek early adapter, I felt pretty proud I was able to restrain myself from buying an iPhone for 2 years.   I rewarded myself for that restraint by ordering an iPad 5 minutes after it became available online.   This is Helen demoing it at a dinner party:

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I took it with me on my spring visit back to Rochester 2 weeks ago (a travel tip:  disregard those airport monitors if they tell you your plane is delayed … I missed my flight, even though I was at the gate 40 minutes before the monitor said it was taking off!).    I felt like an Apple salesmen when playing with the iPad, collecting crowds in the plane, on the bus ride from Minneapolis, at work, and at restaurants.  

As a landlord to 2 nursing students, I felt a little weird turning the living room into my temporary bedroom, but they were both ok with it.   That bean bag chair makes into a great bed:

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One of the nursing students is Emily, Zach’s previous girlfriend.   I had never met the other student, Kristine.   When I finally made it home late that first day, Kristine says “I recognize you … you are that guy who was showing off the iPad at the Olive Garden tonight”.   She was waiting tables near our table and notice the commotion I was making.  

I read an article that says early adapters of gadgets like the iPad do it to attract attention.   I’m not so sure, as we shy guys don’t usually like attention.   Rather, I think we can blame it on Star Trek.    I’m sold on the utopian future where we carry these all knowing tablets that we can use to solve all the worlds problems. 

Take for example, this cluttered study.   When I asked my iPad what should I do about this mess:

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It suggested:  Unleash the Dinosaur!   So I found a sadly deflated Dino (a gift from Helen from the summer we met), re-inflated it and presto, a re-organized Study!

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In Boy news, Zach and Tiffany are doing well.  Zach is excelling in school and keeping busy with a few car projects.   They found an adopted a snake:

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Nick and the Inkren boys continue to enhance Skritter ( http://skritter.com ), much to the delight of their users.  He joined Chloe on a spring break trip to France last month:

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Helen and I are still considering various moves.   We will visit Roanoke VA next week, a 2nd trip to Salt Lake first of June, and a drive down to Hershey PA mid June. 

The last picture today is another ‘last bag’ photo.   Helen’s latest new purse:

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“This is my last bag”, says Helen.   You may recall a similar quote and picture from earlier this year,  with a similar skeptical look from me.     Expect another bag, quote, picture, and skeptical look later this year as she continues her hunt for the elusive perfect bag.

Bruce