In the meantime, did you know you can search the Android Market using some of the same Boolean search techniques as you do when searching the web? You still can’t sort the search results (c’mon, Google!), but you can at least narrow your search results and cut out some of the junk.

For instance, I wanted to find some gardening apps. A search for just gardening brought up all kinds of fluff apps I didn’t want, things like photoclips, ringclips, and virtual garden games. So, I tried narrowing my search results by using the minus sign to exclude some of the apps I don’t want included in the search results.

gardening -ringclip -ringphoto -game -virtual

That brought up far more targeted results. You can also use a plus sign to indicate you only want to see results that include a given word:

+gardening +reference

That resulted in an app I might not otherwise have seen, at least not on the first page or two of results: Landscaper’s Companion.

You may have to tweak your search results a bit, just like you do when you’re searching for something within your web browser. I got different results by using garden vs. gardening, and resource vs. reference. You’ll get the hang of it if you keep trying.

It can be time consuming to type in search terms with your mobile phone, though, even if your phone has a QWERTY keyboard. So, consider the site I’ve linked to above, AppBrain. It’s not only a mirror of the market (like the defunct Cyrket, the domain now serving another purpose).

Oh, no. It’s much more. AppBrain lets you easily search the market, share app info with friends, and even make the chore of installing apps go more smoothly. There’s an AppBrain app for Android which allows you to sync your installed apps with AppBrain’s site. If you do a factory reset or go to a different phone, all you have to do is install AppBrain to quickly go through your previously-installed apps and reinstall them on your phone. You still have to okay the apps’ permissions, but you don’t have to look each one up.

There are backup utilities which do that, of course, but AppBrain has some other features I really like. The sync capability and recommendations feature.You can (but don’t have to) share your list of installed apps with people and view their installed apps. That’s a great way to see what apps are popular among your peers.

It’s also a lot easier to search for apps using AppBrain than it is to search the Android Market from your phone. Once you bring up an app on AppBrain’s site, you’ll see a QR code you can scan with a scanner app such as Barcode Scanner or Shop Savvy. That makes fast work of bringing the app up in the market. You can also indicate on the AppBrain site that you want to install apps, then open AppBrain on your phone. You can read more about that whole process on their site.

The DoubleTwist desktop client offers music syncing and a means to search the app market and view QR codes; however, it doesn’t have a means of syncing or installing apps.

BUT, what I’m really wanting to get is some scrapbooking stuff. I know I don’t need more, but they have a lot of cool embellishments, paper, beads, brads, eyelets, albums and, and….just all kinds of stuff. Cheap! I know some girls from the local scrapbook store went in together on a big order of bulk brads and other embellishments and came away with a ton of stuff for very little. That’s the way to do it.

Tell me what bargains you find! Let me know if you’re going to do a scrapbooking co-op or anything fun like that.

After I cut out the leaf images I used on the front of the card, I was left with their shapes outlined in pieces of cardstock. So, I inked around one of the cut-out leaves several times, using a white Cat’s Eye ink. Then, I used the leftover cardstock with the shapes cut out as stencils, using a cream color. I cut smaller shapes out of another stamped image (this made it easy to see where I wanted to make my cuts) and used that paper as a stencil for the dark areas you see on the cream leaves. The ribbon’s velvet. The vellum paper with the quote was part of a Die Cuts With a View quotes stack.

The quote:

“The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that outlasts it.”
– William James

The note to my friend is blurred out for privacy reasons; when will I learn to take photos before I write in cards?

Those without Cricut machines can check out stencil cutters such as these. You can trace your design onto plastic and cut it out yourself.

If you’d like to learn about similar inking techniques, there’s some great how-to videos on YouTube. Here’s a good one to get you started:

It depicts a woman wearing a flowing blue dress, strolling through her garden. She kneels down and admires the ripe, red tomatoes. Last, she reaches down and pulls out….a smartphone. Yep. She snaps a photo of the tomato and seems to upload it somewhere. She’s grinning like a fool the whole time, by the way.

Howie and I laughed when we saw that, because that’s pretty much me. I carry my G1 phone with me everywhere. I’m also an avid photographer and love to share with others. So, I often take photos of flowers, veggies, toads, and anything else I find pretty or interesting and upload it from my phone.

Need to ID a plant? Snap! Upload it.

See a cute little toad? Snap! Upload it.

I need to take more breaks when I garden than I used to, so I upload pictures when I sit down and take a break.

I wrote to Burpee today:

My husband and I saw the spring commercial on HGTV this morning. What a clever and funny ad!

We got a good laugh out of that, because that’s exactly how I am. I’m frequently out in my garden, admiring the flowers, veggies, even the little toads, then pulling out my cellphone to take photos and upload them to Facebook, my blog, and e-mail.

The only difference is, when I go out in my garden, I can assure you I am *never* bright and shiny, put together in a lovely outfit complete with hat and basket! My neighbors and any passers-by can attest to this. Please don’t ask them about it, though.

Thing is, by the time tomatoes ripen in my area of Ohio, it is HOT. If I’m dressed up like that, I’m sure not going to ruin my hair and makeup by going out in my garden and kneeling down to get pictures of my tomatoes…Even for a quick snap.

Okay, I lied. Maybe I would, but just one! My husband will be in the background telling me we’re running late and to get in the car.

Anyway, good show on the commercial. You and your ad agency came up with something delightful for us tech-loving gardeners.

We need an Android app, guys. Hint, hint.

When I wrote it, I’d only watched the ad once and would have sworn the woman in the commercial was wearing a straw hat. Nope! It’s funny how your mind’s eye can trick you!

I now return you to your scheduled programming.

So, Howie and I began car shopping. Our wonderful 1992 Buick Park Avenue that was totaled in my accident of 2007 was our second Park Avenue in a row. The 1997 VW Jetta III GLS we bought after the wreck just wasn’t for us – cramped, devoid of a glove compartment or any decent storage spots in which to stow our electronics’ adapters and such, and….it had tiny cupholders, both crammed beneath the ashtray so only small to-go coffee cups would fit in them. It’s not a bad car, just a bad car for us.

We missed having a big, comfy car. So, when we started shopping for a used car, we gravitated right toward the luxury cars again. We always buy used, and when you get a luxury car that’s almost ten years old, you can get a great ride with all the bells and whistles for a reasonable price. We test drove some large sedans from Buick and Mercury, but just didn’t find any we really loved.

Well, one of the dealers had a 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser on the lot. Howie and I always liked the looks of them, but when he was told they were built on the same frame as the Dodge Neon, he assumed they would be cramped like the Jetta. Still, we thought we’d get in the car and see what it felt like. Amazingly, it was comfortable for us, with plenty of leg room. It had a center organizer between the seats, generous cup holders (!) plus a glove compartment. We took it for a brief test drive.

That sold us. They are fun to drive! We didn’t get that particular car, but we decided that was the car for us. After we began researching them, we realized we wanted to get a 2006 or newer because of the changes that year brought to the cars.

I read up on the great PT Cruizer website and learned what was new with each model year, the various trim and options available, etc. Fortunately for us, the base models sold for under $19K new, so models several years old were within our price range.

We checked out a few dealerships and had decided we’d wait and get our car from CarMax come time. I won’t go into why we decided on them; you can read up on them at their site and see why we think they’re a good place to go. We thought we’d wait a while since we thought we wanted a 2008, but didn’t want to get into high car payments right now.

Life threw us a curve.

Howie saw a car advertised that we just had to check out. Today we went to Lash Chevrolet to test drive a 2006 PT Cruiser GT we saw advertised online. It was a 1-owner car, a traded in from a man who bought a new crossover vehicle from them. The CarFax report shows the original owner took the car to the dealership where he bought it for all its scheduled maintenance and servicing.

This car is like brand new! It has leather interior, heated driver and passenger seats, chrome trim option, a satellite radio ready stereo with a 6-CD changer and the premium Boston Acoustics sound system. Something we didn’t know about, but love is it even bluetooth connectivity that works through the car speakers.

It has a little over 72,000 miles on it, but from what some mechanic friends have told us, that is nothing for these new engines. The salesman said the gentleman who traded it in liked to travel a lot, so the miles were likely mostly highway miles. We took the car for a good, long test drive of 90 minutes and it drives like a dream.

Yep, we got it. The dealership was asking about $1000 less than Kelley Blue Book on it. Thanks to the settlement money from the totaled van, we didn’t have to finance much. Win-win!

Here are some photos of our new (to us) 2006 PT Cruiser GT.

The color’s called Inferno Red Crystal Pearl, so I thought I’d call the car Dante. You know…Dante’s Inferno from The Divine Comedy? Nerdy name, but hey — consider the source. I need to read that again since it’s been a good 25 years since my eyes saw that book.

But I digress! We’ve given my folks the Jetta since their vehicle is probably on its last legs (tires?). We are so thrilled with this car — such a departure from our usual cars. Yet, it’s funny, because it’s kind of an “old person’s car” like most of our previous cars have been. Hey, that’s okay with us. We like that it’s quirky and retro. We don’t need to be cool with the younger crowd. What matters is WE love it!

The reason is twofold. First, I’ve wanted a French press for years. They make a fantastic cup of coffee. Second, he got it for an insanely low price. I love a bargain, and he found this Bodum 12-cup model at the local Goodwill store for all of two bucks. TWO BUCKS!

They sell for almost $50 at Amazon, Target and other places I’ve looked, so this was a real bargain! As the cashier rang up the sale, she asked what the heck it was. He couldn’t wait to give it to me; to his credit, though, he made it all the way to Christmas Eve before letting me unwrap it. What a guy!

I use the French press almost every day. We’ve had to cut expenses and can’t make our beloved Caribou Coffee Obsidian Blend every day, but we find Eight O’Clock Coffee French Roast tastes pretty good when done in the French press. We still get Caribou, but just for special treats on the weekends.

He picked up a mini-me version of it at Meijer for $10, just to use at his office. Yeah, he’s gotten spoiled, too.

The one thing that’s bugged me is how quickly the coffee cools in the pot if it’s just me drinking it. At least French pressed coffee doesn’t develop the bitter edge that drip-brew does as it cools. It makes a nice iced coffee later on in the day if you make it stronger to begin with.

But still.

I saw some really cute French press wraps at this site, but couldn’t see spending the money on one right now. Besides, the pattern I really like — this sort of celestial pattern — is sold out in the 12-cup model we’d need.

So, I decided to take matters into my own hands today.

I had hanging in my closet an old fleece jacket that was pilling pretty badly. I haven’t worn it for a couple of years. So, out came the pinking shears! I cut one of the sleeves off up near where it joined the body of the jacket.

Then, I slipped the sleeve over the French press, wide-end-first and held the sleeve upright. Snip! One more cut about two inches above the top of the pot and my sleeve was nearly done. I turned the sleeve around so the seam was lined up with the spout of the press (opposite the handle), then made a small cut in the fabric directly over the handle. I expanded that cut just enough so the handle could slip through the hole.

It might not be very pretty, nor lined with nifty Thinsulate, but it does the job for now and it’s nicer than wrapping a towel around the pot. If I get really adventurous, I could put some grommets around the top and add a drawstring. Nah!

There’s a reason Staffordshire bull terriers, a foundation for the American pit bull terrier, was called the nanny dog for years before the powers that be decided to make bully breeds the evil dogs of the decade. They’re extremely affectionate, loyal family dogs that are gentle with children and other animals when they’re trained to be.

There are many myths being spread about pit bulls, such as one that says their jaws lock. That’s just not true. You can read more about these erroneous claims at these links:

• Real Pit Bull – Myths about the pit bull.
• Working Pit Bull – A detailed history of the pit bull and the myths surrounding the breed.

The media demonizes dog breeds, working people into a frenzy. Think about it. The media’s been shoving scary stories down our throats for decades. In the 80′s it was the doberman, then in the 90′s it was rottweilers. Now it’s the pit bull terrier and similar-looking breeds. Where will it end?

Dog Bites

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a report on dog bites by breed in the US. You can read and download it here. Be sure to read through it, though, not just scan the tables. The authors explain how the figures were derived and point out the flaw in just looking at numbers alone.

You will find that rottweilers, German shepherds and pit bulls have high numbers of dog bite deaths. So do great Danes. There’s no doubting that a big dog with a big set of teeth can really hurt a person. But also consider this: the numerous nips and aggressive bites from vicious small dogs will not only inflict a lot less damage, but will often go unreported. People tend to report large dogs because they perceive them to be more vicious.

You can read the American Veterinary Medicine Association’s paper, A Community Approach to Dog Bite Prevention.

Temperament Testing

Additionally, temperament tests done by the American Temperament Test Society (ATTS) show pit bulls to rank very highly on their temperament tests. The higher the percentage of dogs that passed the test, the better the overall temperament of that breed. Here’s a sampling of some popular breeds in America:

• Pug: 90.5%
• American Pit Bull Terrier: 85.3%
• Golden Retriever: 84.6%
• German Shepherd: 83.7
• Rottweiler: 83%
• Beagle 81%
• Doberman Pinscher: 77.4%
• Chihuahua: 71%

Breed Specific Laws (BSL)

Punish the deed, not the breed. Aside from penalizing responsible dog owner, BSL’s just don’t work for the purposes for which they’re written. People who fight dogs breed for aggression and abuse their dogs; they also use their dogs as weapons. The pit bull naturally wants to please and protect its owner, and unscrupulous individuals exploit this.  People like that are going to produce dogs that bite because they encourage it.

It’s not the responsible, law-abiding dog owners who should be punished. The website Stop BSL’s (Breed specific laws) has detailed information regarding BSL and provides an excellent list of resources.

Some pit bull resources on the web:

Pitbull411: “…Here you can find everything pit bull including a history of the pitbull, the breed profile, pit bull photos, pit bull rescue and adoption organizations, as well as pit bull breeders.”

Pit Bulls on the Web: The site owner’s objectives: (1) Help dogs in need and the people who care about them, (2) educate Pit Bull owners so that unpleasant accidents are avoided, but Pit Bull ownership enjoyed, (3) promote responsible Pit Bull ownership and positive leadership, (4) continue to learn about the breed and stay true to my conjunctions, and (5) raise a loud voice against those who promote, support, or participate in the abuse and cruelty of animals.

Find the pit bull: Only one of the 25 pictures features a pit bull terrier. All the dogs pictured are purebred representations of their breeds.
It may not be as easy as you think. Can you spot the lone pit bull? Can your friends and family? It’s a real eye-opener!

Pit Bull Rescue Central:  “Pit Bull Rescue Central envisions a compassionate world where pit bulls and pit bull mixes reside in responsible, loving homes and where their honor and positive image is restored and preserved.”

I have one more video before I close. Please prepare yourself for images of a vicious pit bull, scary Siamese mix cat, and chicks. Get ready to rumble!

I hope that this entry, along with the links I’ve provided, will encourage people to challenge stereotypes. If you’re a pit bull lover and have additional resources, please drop me a comment or an e-mail and let me know. I can expand this list of resources. I know this is a controversial topic, but I will not tolerate rude or offensive posts in the comments; expect any such comments to be deleted.