Review: Three Apps and a Stylus

I’ve always used my iPad without a stylus. When they first came out, various and sundry types of styluses were put out as an accessory for the iPad and I wasn’t a fan. The end of the stylus often broke off after use for a short amount of time and everything out there felt weird. I figured I could do better without one, and did for a while.

Then I dove head first into writing a fantasy novel large enough in scope and scale to require maps.

Drawing is not my forte, but sometimes, you need a map! I struggled with pencil and paper to complete two maps for the book and still had more maps to create and got frustrated with drawing them on paper. So, I figured, “Why not try a sketching app on my iPad?”

I tried three before I found one I liked for the purpose.

Paper by Fifty-Three for iPadPaper by Fifty Three: Paper comes with two sketch books in it.… [Read More]

My “Go-To” Mac Apps

You have to understand where all of this comes from to really get why this list of Mac apps is what it is. I left PCs behind in 2008. I was tired, so sick and tired, of not being able to get stuff done. I spent more time working on making my computer work than I did on actually working on work. It’s funny how things have changed in five years. I don’t use my computer as much as I used to. I do ninety percent of what needs doing from my iPhone or my iPad. My Mac has been relegated to a primary purpose of “writing tool.” I write blog posts on my Mac, I do a lot of my research on my Mac because I’m just faster at doing it with a computer.

A lot of these apps are also available for the iPad and iPhone, but some of them aren’t and they are the reason that I’m not ready to dump my laptop just yet.… [Read More]

Ignorance is Bliss, or Maybe it’s Just Ignorant

Sometimes, you read something that is just so ridiculous that you can’t leave it alone.

Let me add a bit of full disclosure here. I firmly believe in the cause of animal rescue. All three of my dogs are rescues and 5 of the 6 dogs I have owned in the last 15 years, were rescues. I donate to my local animal shelters on a regular basis and I also believe that puppy millers are the scum of the earth. But… enough about me.

Let’s get started.

“Dog show promote [sic] unhealthy business.”

Do they? Really? How so?

“Because of breeders we still have too many puppies/dogs in shelters who need to be adopted to good homes. This includes purebred dogs.”

Yes, there are plenty of puppies and dogs that are in shelters that need to be adopted. Plenty. Do you know how they get there? It’s not just puppy millers that put these dogs in shelters, it’s ignorant dog owners that put them there.… [Read More]

A Reasonable Choice: The Speck FitFolio for iPad Mini

I’ve been looking for a great iPad Mini case since I got my iPad Mini. I don’t find iPad cases to be all that thrilling in general. The only case I used on my larger iPad for any real length of time, was Apple’s Smart Case and even then, I wished that it was softer and that it didn’t have that obnoxious lip on the outside edge that cut into my skin. Apple doesn’t make a Smart Case for the iPad Mini, yet, and until it does, I’m going to have to search for a third party product.

As far as third party products go, Speck Products have been hit or miss for me. I’m not a fan of their iPhone cases, because they either add too much bulk to the phone, or they are cheaply made and start falling apart after a few months and with the average price of a case setting you back 35$, it should last longer than a few weeks before it starts to look like you’ve owned it for a decade.… [Read More]

In Loving Memory of a Certain Brown Dog

It’s been a year since Mugen passed away. I can’t believe that it’s been a whole year. Where does the time go? I’ve added a new dog to the family since then, and Jazzmin will leave us soon and life has somehow managed to go on since that horrible, horrible day and I don’t know how it happened, but at some point I accepted it. I’ve been able to let go and move on, sort of. When I think about losing Mugen, I realize that the pain is never going to stop. There are things I don’t talk to anyone about that happened the day we lost him. Things that are just too damned painful to share. All I can tell you is that no one should ever have to lose their best friend that way and no one should have to carry the memories I carry of that day.

Mugen was a wonderful dog and I still feel as though the life we were meant to have was stolen from us.… [Read More]