Author: TechyDad

Playing in the World of Android Apps

Freeware, Smartphone/Tablet Apps, Smartphones/Tablets

Since we got our first smartphones, Droid Bionics, we’ve been on the hunt for apps.  I’ve found many that I love and a few that immediately got deleted.  Here are a quick rundown of three free apps that I’ve quickly grown to love and one that will likely become the first app I pay for.

1. TweetDeck – Tweeting from my phone was pretty important to me.  Pre-smartphone, I did this via SMS messages.  That meant that I could send messages, but could only see limited messages coming in.  Thankfully, our new Android smartphones and data plans meant that we could install TweetDeck and see more comprehensive tweet streams.  We could also tweet more easily.  This is probably one of my most used apps (if not my most used one).

2. Angry Birds Space – Yes, games are important to me.  I’ve long been hooked on the Angry Birds franchise.  Angry Birds Space kicks it up a notch.  What I find most interesting are not the new bird designs/powers.  After all, except for the Ice Bird, most of the other birds keep their usual functionality.  No, it’s the addition of gravity wells that changes everything.  Instead of gravity being a constant downward force, you might need to slingshot around a gravity source to hit your target.  You get some assistance by a new targeting line that shows where your bird will head, but it’s not a complete mapping of the bird’s path.  The line helps enough to make the levels playable, but doesn’t help do much as to make them easy.  Even though I’ve beaten all of the levels (including the Golden Egg levels), I keep playing again to try to get better scores.

3. JuiceDefender – It’s no secret that battery life on smartphones can be an issue.  All of that data transfer can run down your battery.  Thankfully, JuiceDefender can tweak your phone’s settings to lengthen your battery life.

And now, the application that will likely become the first one I pay for:  Add Watermark ($1.99).  As you might have noticed, all photos on TechyDad.com get a watermark stamped on them.  This is done automatically via a script on my computer before I upload them.  Of course, I can’t run this script on my phone.  Enter Add Watermark Free (the free version of the app).  I downloaded this one and was quickly able to take a photo, watermark it, and then post it to my blog.  My only problem with the app was that the process was a little convoluted.  Then, I noticed that this was by design.  The pay version includes additional features to streamline the process.  Since I could really use these features, I’ll likely pay for this app very soon.

What apps do you use on your smartphone?

Aloha Friday: Social Fears

Aloha Friday, Disney, DisneySMMoms, Fear

Bridge_CrossingWith the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration approaching, I’m going to soon face one of my biggest fears.  No, I don’t mean the Wild Africa Trek’s rickety bridge over the crocodiles (though that’s sure to trigger a big fear too).  This is the fear of socializing.

You see, I might seem like quite the extrovert online, but put me in a room full of people, especially people that I haven’t known face-to-face for awhile, and I become a huge introvert.  The idea of approaching someone I don’t know and talking to them terrifies me.  The possibility that I’ll "introduce" myself only to find out that we’ve met in person before fills me with paralyzing panic.

I’m much more comfortable in the online arena where I can more easily remember if I’ve conversed with a certain user before and take my time to craft my response for maximum wittiness.  In many ways, my "online persona" is closer to the real me than my "in-person persona."

I suspect that I’m more extroverted in public than I give myself credit for.  While I’ll often feel like the socially stunted high school kid I used to be when dropped into a social situation, I try to keep reminding myself that I’ve grown so much since then.  I’ve attended two Disney Social Media Moms Celebrations already (albeit as B’s guest), I attended BlogHer in 2010, and I’ve been in many social situations at work where I spoke with people I didn’t know well.  I tell myself that my fears are unfounded, but they still dog me.

However, I’m a big advocate of facing down your fears.  I might have a fear of falling, but I’m not going to let that stop me from walking across the bridge on the Wild Africa Trek.  Neither will I let my fear of social situations stop me from talking to people at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.

Just do me a favor and be patient with me if I introduce myself and we met before, ok?

My Aloha Friday questions for today are: Are you an introvert or extrovert in person?  How do you face down your fears?

P.S. If you haven’t already, try out my Twitter applications: FollowerHQ and Rout.

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life

Aloha #135

Giveaway: Cooking with Land O’Lakes

Food, Giveaway

LOL Eggs-3-WEB

During Passover, if there is one food we eat more than anything else (well, besides Matzo), it’s eggs.  Scrambled, hard boiled, egg salad, matzo brie, and more.  Even with Passover over, we’ll be cooking with eggs a lot.

Land O’Lakes sent me a package (pictured on the side) including a mini muffin tin, small (single-egg) frying pan, egg tray, and coupon for a free carton of Land O’Lakes eggs.  I also browsed their website.  I was surprised to find so many interesting recipes there.  Given my quest to find a non-boxed macaroni and cheese, I’m definitely going to have to try this stovetop Macaroni and Cheese recipe.

Giveaway

One of my readers will win a Land O’Lakes gift pack.  To enter, simply leave a comment below answering this question: How do you like eating your eggs?

You can also earn bonus entries by doing any (or all) of the following items. Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each item that you complete.  (Don’t just leave one comment listing everything you did.)

  • Follow @TechyDad on Twitter. (1 bonus entry)
  • Follow @landolakesktchn on Twitter. (1 bonus entry)
  • Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TechyDad, @landolakesktchn and a link to this post in the Tweet. (1 bonus entry per day) For example: Scramble over to @TechyDad to win a @landolakesktchn prize pack #Giveaway http://bit.ly/Jkx8Ko
  • Circle Me on Google Plus. Let me know your Google Plus name in the comments. (1 bonus entry)
  • Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from March/April. Leave a comment here letting me know which post you commented on. (1 bonus entry per comment, maximum 3 entries)

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today, April 19th and ends at 10pm EST on May 7th, 2012. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure:  The gift pack, coupons, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by Land O’Lakes through MyBlogSpark.

Park Hawk and The Missing DSLR

Animals, Birds, JSL, Outside, Photography, Photos

2012-04-15_14-49-16_116On Sunday, NHL had a birthday party to go to.  While he was having fun there with B, I decided that JSL and I should have a father-son day out.  After all, he had just endured 8 days of Passover food and none of the food he usually likes.

After a quick lunch at Five Guys (grilled veggie sandwich for me and grilled cheese for JSL), we headed to a big park.  There, JSL ran through the hedge maze, played tag with me in the big fields, led the way through a hike on the wooded path, and finally played on the playground.

As the time to leave approached, I let JSL know we’d only stay five minutes longer.  While we were waiting for a swing to free up, suddenly, the playground was invaded.  A hawk flew right behind the swinging kids and swooped towards a black bird on the ground nearby.  The bird got away so the hawk then, without skipping a beat, flew back up to the branches of a nearby tree.

Usually, I’d have went over to take photos with my DSLR.  However, in an effort to travel light, I decided to leave my DSLR at home.  I had my new camera phone, but JSL really wanted to swing.  So I resorted to that old parental standby: bribery.  I told JSL that if he came with me to get some hawk photos, I’d not only restart our "countdown until we leave the park" timer, but I’d also add five extra minutes.  JSL reluctantly left the swing area and came with me where I (and someone else with the same idea as me) took a few hawk photos.

Unfortunately, they didn’t come out great.  Camera phones can take decent photos in some situations, but this wasn’t one of them.  My DSLR would have taken a much better photo.  Still, at least I got some record of the hawk that almost turned the playground into a feeding ground.  I also learned an important lesson: The more times I can take my DSLR out with me, the better!

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