Saturday 25 February 2012

Further testing on the iPad

Well a week has gone by and I have tested the iPad to the fullest.

I hate to admit this bit I love it!

So far I have downloaded all the apps that I think that I need and every day I seem to find more.

Apps so far are:

  • Games
  • Shopping
  • eBay
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Ancestry
  • Books
  • Office hd that enables me to import, edit, create and export all word documents, spreadsheets etc.
  • Spanish dictionaries, verbs, grammar etc.
  • This app for blogging which is brilliant
  • You tube
  • Skype
  • Oh many, many more
The only downside is that the games I used to play on Facebook have to be played via an app and of course with a smaller screen they are not so easy to play.

Also being a touch typist I find the virtual keyboard not as quick or easy to use as a normal keyboard so I have ordered a Bluetooth keyboard for when I do long documents, but for on the move quick notes it is great.

Of course it will not take the place of my laptop for a start it doesn't have the memory but on portability it can't be beaten.

As the Olympics are threatening a further 67 minutes travel time both ways I can see that this will come into its own.

It also prints without any problem and found my wireless printer with no problem at all.

Of course my favourite pro point is the fact that I only open the case and it is ready to go - no waiting for it to boot up!

Overall brilliant for on the go, great fun and easy to carry around but I am glad I went for the 64G as I would soon fill up a smaller one! It is a shame that Apple don't allow the capability of adding a memory card but then that's Apple for you. Still glad I've got it though.

 

Sunday 19 February 2012

Testing my iPad for Blogging

Well I am trying to see if my iPad can be a useful tool in mobile blogging.

Sitting on my settee at night with my laptop on the arm of the chair does tend to make me sit a bit twisted and probably doesn't help my neck problem.

Of course sitting typing on a virtual keyboard is not quite as quick as using a physical keyboard and I think for long posts there is nothing quite as quick as touch typing, but this is pretty impressive for a first attempt!

Lets just see if I can now find the publish button...

 

Saturday 11 February 2012

Remember the Elderly during this Cold Spell

Now I realise that –6.5 C or –11 C (due tonight in our area) might not be cold according to some countries, but here in the UK we are not used to such extreme temperatures.  So please remember the elderly.

Unfortunately my elderly mother lives too far away from me to enable me to pop in and make sure she is ok but I am really pleased to hear that in her area she has so far had four neighbours (not immediate ones that she knows) knock on her door to ask if she needed any shopping.

She does live a coastal area that has a high majority of elderly retirees but it is still refreshing that while they still have snow on the ground the elderly that are unable to get out and about for fear of falling over are not forgotten.

It is a sad reflection of our lives nowadays that we are all working such long hours that we do not see our neighbours during the winter months.  In fairness there are not too many elderly around my area as they are mostly people of working years but I barely know anyone apart from my immediate neighbours.

While my mother could not think of much except for bread and fruit it took one enterprising caller to just ask her to visualise walking around her normal supermarket and think of what she would normally put in her trolley and that she has now run out of.  Her list of shopping suddenly went from bread and fruit to quite a long list!

So thank you to those kind and considerate neighbours for keeping a watch on my mum and I hope that anyone else that has elderly living around them will do the same.

Sunday 5 February 2012

Dogs needing homes in Mallorca

One of my favourite sites is http://sinhogarmallorca.es/ and the work they do rescuing and trying to find loving homes for the abandoned and unwanted dogs on Mallorca is exceptional.

Sin Hogar has a Facebook page and their webpage above will tell you all about them.

Here are some of the latest dogs that need loving homes.

 

So if you live in Mallorca or mainland Spain and can find the room in your hearts and homes to give one of these or the many others a lifetime home then check them out on their website above or their Facebook Page.

Both my husband and I intend to give a second chance to an abandoned dog once we move to a permanent home on the island.

Snowy UK

Well the forecast snow did in fact turn up as predicted.

As usual some parts of the country got it worse than others and here in North-West Kent we had about 4 to 5 inches.  It’s not too bad and the fact that it has fallen on a Sunday is even better.  Here are a couple of pictures.

snow at front of housesnow in backgarden

There is no snow forecast for tonight and apart from freezing temperatures overnight leading to slippery surfaces tomorrow I would think that there should be no problems getting to work in the morning.

It was fairly amusing watching the birds this morning as they attempted to get the snow off the bird feeder.  The technique was to cling to the bird feeder with their claws and flap their wings frantically until the snow fell off.  One Magpie did have a surprise though as it landed beside a piece of bread and disappeared under the snow.  It flew away pretty quickly!  However a blackbird made use of the dent in the snow that the Magpie had made and quite contently stood in it to eat the bread.

Still wherever you are keep warm and keep safe.

Saturday 4 February 2012

Snow Everywhere?

Well the weather over the past week has been dreadful everywhere!

As we watch TVE every night we have been seeing snow on the beaches in Spain.  With temperatures in the rest of Europe plummeting down to –22 or lower the thought of global warming seems far from our minds.  More like a new ice age!

However those of us that are “over 21” can remember the cyclical nature of the weather on this planet we call home.

As a child I remember well the walks to and from school wrapped in coats, scarf, hats and wellies (that only just prevented the snow from tumbling over the top and soaking my feet).  Snowball fights and snowmen were an every winter occurrence and photographs showing snow in May are stored in old black and white photo albums.

In those days thoughts of turning up the central heating were not a reality but putting more coal on the fire and huddling in the one warm room was our life.  A trip to the kitchen or WC was an ordeal that you put off until the last minute!  Bedtime was warm pyjamas, flannelette sheets and hot water bottles.

But moving on in time I can recall only about 10 or 15 years ago when villages close to where I live were cut off completely when the snowfall reached drifts of 6 feet or more.

We have definitely had it easy (although last year brought the first chaos of the returning snowfalls) and we have all become a little softer as central heating has kept us warm and cosy.

No-one went out “panic buying” all the milk, bread and other food for our parents could not afford the luxury of doing such a thing.  We just got on with it and made do with what we had.

So as England once again approaches the chaos that snowfall causes on our roads we can at least rest assured that within time the cycle will continue and the milder winters will be around again.

Olympics 2012

Well Transport for London have just released the maps showing the problems that will occur on public transport and the roads during the 6 weeks around the time of the Olympics.

I honestly do not understand whatever state of mind they were in when they chose Stratford for the Olympics!  There are plenty of other places that the Olympics could have been held that would not have such an impact on the travel situation.

I for one have no intention of watching any of the Olympics at all as all I can think about is how my usual long commute is going to become unbearable during that period!

The route that is taken by the coach company I travel with (and all the others) has to go right through the red zone both early mornings and evenings.  With coaches that provide no toilet facilities or any other facilities it is going to be a very long journey.

There is already absolute chaos on the roads in the mornings/evenings and journey times have almost doubled over the past 7 years.

But what option do I, and all the other commuters (whether by road or rail) have?

The companies that operate within the City will suffer due to staff either being late in or not turning up at all and the staff will suffer the stress of trying to get to their places of employment.

So while everyone celebrates the Olympics bear in mind the vast majority of people who keep the City of London businesses going and who are approaching the Olympics with dread in their hearts and who cannot for the life of them understand the logic of holding this event in an already gridlocked area!

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Pension Service UK

Well today I received a notification from the Pension Service to let me know that they have moved my pension date again and added on another 18 months working life!!

Just when I thought there was only 5 years 7 months to go they have decided that no I can't retire, I have to carry on.

I really think they just want people to die before they can draw a pension!

I would like to see the politicians and local government workers retire at that age too - oh and come to that I would like to see them survive on the same pension.

The thought of getting up at 5.30 and returning home at 7 pm for an extra 18 months on top of the already increased pension age is certainly depressing...