I love my 21.5″ iMac with a fervor reminiscent of a religious devotee.

It’s predecessor, my 13″ Macbook, was my first introduction to the modern Mac, and to say that it changed my life, is an understatement. Here suddenly was a computer that I could trust to do the work I gave it, . . . → Read More: Laptops are Always Useful]]>

I love my 21.5″ iMac with a fervor reminiscent of a religious devotee.

It’s predecessor, my 13″ Macbook, was my first introduction to the modern Mac, and to say that it changed my life, is an understatement. Here suddenly was a computer that I could trust to do the work I gave it, and this opened up a whole new career path for me in graphic design.

In the year preceding getting my first Mac, I think I must have fried at least 3 PC’s. Even though the machines were specced up and revamped and built to take the visual pounding that I needed in order to do simple photo editing using photoshop (at that stage it was the original CS), 3 of them were laid to rest before I finally decided I needed to try a Mac. Previously, I’d just put the thought out of my mind, because of their higher price point, even though deep down I knew it was probably the answer for me.

When I eventually did get that first Mac, which was coincidentally also my first laptop style machine even my hubby became forever converted, and actually uttered the words, “I will never buy another PC again.” Literally meaning that henceforth he was a converted Mac man too.

Which computer do you use?

I cannot get enough!

The culprit?

That awesome little free app from Amazon called Kindle for Mac. You can pick up a copy for Mac, PC, iPhone, Blackberry etc right on the Amazon home page.

Or of course you could simply buy aKindle, which is . . . → Read More: Like Chocolate for Books]]> So I have been on a reading BINGE lately.

I cannot get enough!

The culprit?

That awesome little free app from Amazon called Kindle for Mac. You can pick up a copy for Mac, PC, iPhone, Blackberry etc right on the Amazon home page.

Or of course you could simply buy aKindle, which is what I’m saving for right now.

In the interim, I’m buying Kindle books and reading them using the free app I mentioned before “Kindle for Mac”. I have read 5 books in the last two weeks.

I used to read like this when I was in primary school, and used to devour those English Boarding School stories (half-term, horseback riding as a legitimate school subject, midnight feasts and the odd mystery), and these past two weeks it’s been a real struggle to work since I am tempted to keep flicking back to Kindle to read. Yet another reason why I should get the Kindle device, because then I would go and sit down somewhere more comfortable than at my desk and read, instead of being the poster child (adult) for adult onset ADD and trying to do a gerzillion things at once, and accomplishing nothing.

So… where was I? Oh yes, the Kindle for Mac.

So buying Kindle books is cheaper (for the most part) than buying the hard/softcover ones, and I have to admit, the fact that you can click click and it’s delivered within seconds? Major instant gratification buzz.

I bought Dan Brown‘s “The Lost Symbol and oh my heck, that was 10 000 words eaten in with my eyeballs in under 72 hours.

Right now I’m absolutely glued to Eat. Pray. Love. by Elizabeth Gilbert, and yes it completely sounds like a book that I wouldn’t dream of going near in the bookstore, but a friend of mine said that it changed her life, and I trusted her judgment enough to ‘just 1 click buy’ it through my Kindle for Mac app, and I am SO glad that I did!

The author writes with a sense of humor that I’m completely familiar with, and while, she could be forgiven for sounding a little self absorbed, it helps to remember that she doesn’t have kiddo’s sitting at home waiting for her, while she’s off being hedonistic in her search for inner meaning, and has just escaped a clearly hideous marriage, and subsequent messy love affair (oh to have *her* troubles for 5 minutes).

I can completely relate to some of her troubles, though not all, in her quest for meaning, and I appreciate her similarities in thoughts on divinity to my own, so while this book may not suit all, I can say that she is absolutely respectful of all divinity, and even if you’re the most devout, christian, muslim, hindu, shinto, buddhist, if you’re a women who’s ever wondered where her life is going, then you will get something great out of this book.

Yes this is the very same book that they’ve just made a movie about starting Julia Roberts.

Isn’t that awesome? I’d love to have Julia Roberts want to star in a movie based on a book I just wrote. Heck I’d love a book deal that enabled me to travel around the world at someone elses’ expense, as long as I could take my two little blessings with me, and naturally my husband as well. Mine, I’d like to keep of course, unlike our protagonist who tried in vain to get rid of hers in the beginning – who knew men could be so childish eh?

Anyhoo, feel free to click the image, and pick up your copy courtesy of my Amazon store page.

Do you go with the standard ‘ding-dong’?

Or do you prefer a hokey little tune? I’ve always thought that a door chime is another great way that we can sound our individuality to the world at large.

I imagine for example that Bill Gates might have . . . → Read More: First Impressions]]> What do you utilize as a door chime?

Do you go with the standard ‘ding-dong’?

Or do you prefer a hokey little tune? I’ve always thought that a door chime is another great way that we can sound our individuality to the world at large.

I imagine for example that Bill Gates might have a large Chinese gong at his front gate, just because he can. Or that Donald Trump has a ‘ka-ching ka-ching’ sound when you press the buzzer to one of his amazing properties.

What would be the best expression of yourself – if you were able to pick any kind of door chime at all?

I suppose for myself it would be the Superman theme song. Just because it has that great introduction, and really builds to a crescendo. How would you feel stepping over the threshold of my house if that was my door chime?

In for a fun time?

You betcha!

Right now, I’m chatting on IM with a friend further south in my town, and she’s said it’s just started raining, which in all likelihood means that we will have rain soon too.

With the lack of proper . . . → Read More: Home Heating Solutions]]> The temperature outside must have just dropped a good 5 degrees in a couple of seconds.

Right now, I’m chatting on IM with a friend further south in my town, and she’s said it’s just started raining, which in all likelihood means that we will have rain soon too.

With the lack of proper insulation found in many houses in South Africa (things like piped radiators, and double glazing are unheard of here), we tend to resort to other methods of keeping ourselves warm in winter.

There’s the obvious “heater” solution. Electric blankets, or heated mattress pads and the like. Extra blankets. Even jetmaster fireplaces can be utilized to keep heating costs down. We also have heated wall panels, that make a very real difference to a room, and keep our children’s rooms at just the right temperature for the night time.

Since many of these solutions require electricity, sometimes the more obvious hat, gloves and coat can be utilized indoors. Silly though it may seem to sit at a computer with fingerless gloves on, it all saves money in the long run.

How do you stay warm in the Winter?

It doesn’t matter what your religion, and I for one am not religious at all – and am far more likely to celebrate the Winter Solstice and the birth of a new season, with decorating a tree, rather than a tradition that was simply pasted over the . . . → Read More: So If You Really Love Christmas…]]> I love Christmas. I mean, who doesn’t?

It doesn’t matter what your religion, and I for one am not religious at all – and am far more likely to celebrate the Winter Solstice and the birth of a new season, with decorating a tree, rather than a tradition that was simply pasted over the top to satisfy the new religion that emerged way back then.

Not that I’m knocking it.

Each to his own you know?

There is so much to like about that time of year, the only thing is, I live in the Southern Hemisphere, which means, for those of you who have forgotten your grade 4 geography/climatology lessons that taught you that the seasons are reversed on the bottom half of the planet.

Which  means that Christmas time, is HOT.

We swim, barbeque and retreat indoors for air-conditioning.

While I have many, pleasant childhood memories associated with the types of Christmases I have always celebrated, many would find my Christmas memories odd!

Watermelon? Totally Christmassy for me.

Ditto, Apricots, Plums and other fruits.

But it doesn’t stop me from dreaming about white Christmases, eggnog, and christmas yard decorations, and snow.

If you consider that there really are no MP3 players to rival the iPod range from Apple, . . . → Read More: Which iPod is the Best?]]> When it comes to MP3 players, it seems as thought the choice is even less of a no-brainer than the choice for phones – in which there is a huge debate amongst consumers between Blackberry and iPhone.

If you consider that there really are no MP3 players to rival the iPod range from Apple, then of course the problem comes in, in choosing just which iPod to get?

If you’re an iPhone user, then getting the iPod touch seems a silly idea, unless perhaps you choose to use the iPod touch as a ‘home’ ipod that the whole family can use, or that the kids can each use to play their various array of apps.

In fact suddenly the idea of having one iPod Touch per child suddenly seems like a fabulous idea, unless, as a parent you don’t mind surrendering your phone to the toddler who will no doubt figure out more of it’s intricacies within seconds than you could within years, or at least until the next model is released!

If you’re still undecided, and because of price constraints have decided against the iPod touch, then reading some ipod reviews is a good way of learning about the intricacies of each different model, through testimonials of customers who have already got the model in question.

One important thing to note, about the iPod Nano, is that it now shoots video. That is *always* plus. These days everyone is an on the spot journalist/blogger/twitterer and being able to shoot video on the fly is a feature that should not be discounted in a hurry…

I wonder when the new iPod Touch will be released? I’m sure they’ll want to keep up with their new iPhone 4′s sleek new aluminum look.

Did you know that installing things like wooden swing sets and sandpits etc can dramatically increase the likelihood of selling your home to interested buyers? It . . . → Read More: Wooden Swing Sets for Kids]]> It’s my eldest sons birthday next week, and oh boy would I *love* to get him an awesome wooden swing set like this one I just discovered online.

Did you know that installing things like wooden swing sets and sandpits etc can dramatically increase the likelihood of selling your home to interested buyers? It can make a huge difference to a potential buyers to see how child friendly a house can be, and in this market, one needs all the help one can get to make a house sale as attractive as possible.

Our current rental house doesn’t have a large enough yard to warrant the purchase of one of these absolutely gorgeous wooden swing sets, but when we buy another house again in the next two years, one of these will definitely be on my radar!

Having two small boys, I can really appreciate how they need as much physical activity as possible to keep them busy and occupied.

Especially when the weather is as good as it has been, even though it is Winter here now.

Do you have this type of thing in your yard for your kids?

Is it more of a jungle gym than a swing set, or both, like the one in the picture?

In all honesty, it shouldn’t have taken something as devastating as the stock market crash, and the recession to suddenly refocus everyone’s attention on saving, and budgeting.

Did you know that there are simple steps that . . . → Read More: It’s All About Saving Here and There]]> It’s no lie that the recession has folks looking for ways to save every penny that they can.

In all honesty, it shouldn’t have taken something as devastating as the stock market crash, and the recession to suddenly refocus everyone’s attention on saving, and budgeting.

Did you know that there are simple steps that one can take on a weekly and monthly basis to save those extra few pennies?

How about insurance? Did you ever consider that you can change your insurance company once  month without penalties, and each time negotiate for a lower rate? After all insurance is money for nothing, until you really need it. You should never be without cover of course, but there is no reason why you shouldn’t peruse sites such as www.carinsurancelist.com,to ensure that you are getting the most bang for your buck.

Even more awesome? Save yourself the time (and money!) required to make phone calls to different insurance companies (all that holding time!) by getting a site like that to obtain several different quotes for you on car insurance all at once.

It really does pay YOU to save.

With the advent of the laptop, it seems as though many folks have embraced the trend of laptop bags rather than the traditional briefcase.

With the huge selection of laptop cases out there, one is really spoiled for choice anyway. But are these modern choices, necessarily correct for all professionals? A messenger style . . . → Read More: Cute Briefcases vs Power Briefcases]]>  

With the advent of the laptop, it seems as though many folks have embraced the trend of laptop bags rather than the traditional briefcase.

With the huge selection of laptop cases out there, one is really spoiled for choice anyway. But are these modern choices, necessarily correct for all professionals? A messenger style bag may work well for a graphic designer in a funky, young studio, but what if you want a more traditional look to your bag, and want to shop for a more traditional, smarter looking leather briefcase?

Particularly if you are in the legal profession, a leather briefcase can make a big difference to your overall appearance, and with the beautiful selection available online today, you need not search long to find beautiful examples, even ones specially crafted to hold laptops and notebooks securely and with added padding and protection.

How about Architects? Doctors? Accountants? All of these more traditional professions would certainly benefit from the crafted look of a really smart leather briefcase. There are so many designs out there that are suitable for men, and an ever growing selection with a more delicate appearance for women.

Have you found a source that sells really great ones?

What kind of briefcase do you prefer?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

I write for four blogs, and the constant ‘log in – log out’ was wearing a little thin. Particularly when I want to get out four . . . → Read More: I Created This Post using MarsEdit]]> I’ve been looking for an offline blog editor for awhile now. So I was excited to try out this app that I saw featured on Mac App Storm.

I write for four blogs, and the constant ‘log in – log out’ was wearing a little thin. Particularly when I want to get out four posts in the morning with my first three cups of coffee.

This is the first time I’ve found a blog editor that truly works offline.

My favourite feature is the live preview that I can see while I’m typing. NICE.

MarsEdit is a product offered by Mac Software developers Red Sweater, and it costs a mere $39.95 (USD). I’m currently on day 1 of the 30 day free trial, so I’ll let you all know how it goes. So far, so good. Very very good.

It downloaded in a couple of seconds, installed just as fast, and because of the familiar Mac based interface I have had ZERO problems figuring out how to add my blogs etc. The fact that it has a handy ‘auto-detect’ feature, and simply asks for my blogs URL, username and password, made it *that* much easier to get started.

The only downside to this product (not for me, but for some) is that it is a Mac only App, but since Apple are making major strides into the PC dominated market here, I’m guessing I’m not the only person who is going to be enjoying this application soon.

It has support for many of the major blogging platforms including WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger, Typepad, Squarespace, Movable Type and dozens more through the Atom publishing protocol.

You can also insert pictures as you compose your post, and it uploads them for you upon hitting publish!

You can easily scan your iPhoto galleries or other folders to find the pictures you want – and it even has support to link up with your flickr account to insert photographs from there.

It may well be the best thing for blogging since sliced bread! If you’re a geek like me and sometimes want to tinker about with the html, then there’s an option for that too.

So if you’re looking for an offline blog editor that lets you do everything offline, and then takes care of the rest for you don’t miss out on this app.