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Autism Awareness Month

Kristine — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:13:05 +0000

Just like I do every April I rant about Autism acceptance and neurodiversity. This year I’ll spare you a new rant and give you the link to a new Cafe Press store with some neurodiversity clothing for yourself and your kiddo! Quirky Kids. Why am I linking to this? Yours truly designed the logo and set up the store. I just thought it would be a fun idea!

Miss my rant? Check out last year’s Autism Awareness post on the WSM blog.
I talked about the book by John Robinson called Look Me in the Eye and posted the top misconceptions about Neurodiversity.

Zagg iPad Products Review

Kristine — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:14:14 +0000

I’ve had my iPad since September and use it daily. First of all, I have a nasty habit of scratching screens on my iPhones so I knew right away that I had to protect my iPad. I opted for the Zagg screen protector to be installed by the BestBuy staff. First of all, this 10 minute installation took an hour and they went through several screen protectors while trying to get it on right. When I left I was only half satisfied with their claim that the bubbles would be gone within a few hours. 24 hours later they were still there and I was dying to try out my new gadget! Painfully, I waited. I took my iPad to another BestBuy and had them inspect it to get their opinion on the installation. Right away they agreed that it was not put on properly and replaced it for me. This time it was a much quicker installation that went much smoother with great results. I now only have one tiny problem area that I can mostly ignore. Really, my issues here are with the BestBuy staff and not Zagg… but if they had such a hard time installing it when they do it every day I can only assume that the average consumer may struggle as well. How well does it work? Awesomely! I have yet to get a scratch and even with my kids constant marring of the surface it still looks great and has held up. The feel is more rubbery than the iPad screen naked is, but after a week you don’t even notice it anymore.

I tried many cases and found most of them bulky. I then decided I really wanted to be able to type with a keyboard instead of the on screen touch pad. For awhile I hauled around my extra wireless Apple keyboard but soon found it just impractical. The wireless is bulky and I was afraid I was going to pluck keys off when I stuck it in my purse or backpack. Since I use this item every day I wanted to find a great solution.

I found the Zagg Mate keyboard case online and read reviews and figured it was worth a shot. I picked it up from my local Target store and immediately loved the design. While the keyboard is small, you quickly get used to it and its much better than the on-screen keyboard. I haven’t had an issue with it going dead or running too low on me yet, and I’ve had the keyboard for about 4 months now. It offers me another level of protection to the iPad itself, which I like. It makes typing easier and gives some physical feedback when I type.

The cons? The aluminum isn’t as substantial as I’d like. I accidentally knocked it off my nightstand and the corner dented on the carpet. I was able to bend it back but it disappointed me a bit and its permanently marred now. The rubber sticky grippies on the bottom fell off after a couple months, albeit this is minor and I could probably pick up replacements at my local hardware store. I couldn’t find anywhere to order these on the web site either. The keyboard keys can fall off if you hit them with your iPad while putting it away. I panicked when this happened to me the first time until I realized I could put them back on. Oops! My biggest concern is the lack of charge light. There is no indicator to display when the keyboard’s battery has gotten low, thus you just have to periodically guess when to charge it and hope it doesn’t go dead on you. I haven’t had an issue yet but I could see this being a major problem for others.

Overall the cons aren’t a deal breaker for me but may be for others. I still love it and use it a lot. I’d love it more if the above issues were fixed. The $99.99 pricetag is a bit steep considering it lacks in a few areas though.

Lastly, my Zagg Custom Skin for my iPad. The Zagg mate keyboard doesn’t work with a standard case so I wanted a way to protect the back of my iPad while in use when I set it down. The Zagg Skins looked promising. I opted for a custom skin and loaded my own design so that I could match my home screen with the skin. (see top picture) The loading of the image was easy enough once I decided what I wanted to adorn my iPad. The price is comparable to other cases as well. While it doesn’t protect the edges, my Zagg Mate does in transport. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make in exchange for the benefits of having the keyboard case.

The skin took about 10 days to arrive, a bit longer than I expected but it was custom so I guess I can’t complaint. It came well protected and looked amazing! Unfortunately it didn’t come with any installation instructions and the ones I found online were lacking. Why is this an issue? I didn’t know that it wouldn’t line up to the edges perfectly, its a fraction smaller than the back of the iPad itself. When I put it on I assumed you would simply line up the edges, this didn’t work and its not on perfectly. One edge is more exposed than the others. Sigh. That would be my only real complaint though. Zagg, please insert some instructions or a warning about this issue. Thank you! Overall it livens up my iPad and gives it another skin of protection.

The Night Sky, Nature by Design

Kristine — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:08:53 +0000

We all need something that inspires us, the universe inspires me! Its hard to believe that there is so much beauty around us and we often don’t take the time to stop and see it!

Late in the evening on March 1st I got a call from my husband, he was excitedly telling me to check the sky watch maps at Space Weather to see the Aurora intensity. When I pulled up the web site I mirrored his excitement and said “Heck yeah, we are so going sky watching tonight!” Since we live in Northern Minnesota we have the opportunity to see Aurora’s when they dip low enough, its not often though.

What does this mean? Well, first of all the sun has to be active and when it is it sends out solar flares that can interfere with our atmosphere and cause geomagnetic storms. OK, this is the really simplified explanation, there are a lot of factors and more scientific stuff but I’m sure you don’t really want to hear all that. If you are interested check out SpaceWeather.com for more info. Our atmosphere is always slightly active but when its more active we get a nice light show of green and sometimes purple ribbons to the north. Because of the light pollution from cities most people that live in the northern areas still don’t see them. In order to catch them in Northern Minnesota we still have to go out to remote areas and use long exposure photography. On the night of March 1st we were hitting K5 to K6 for intensity, which means it was dipping low into the upper United States and perfect for sky viewing.

After my husband’s call I rushed around the house packing up our photography equipment and preparing for what would be a cold cold night. I glanced at the thermometer and saw it was nearing -30 Fahrenheit in our area, brrr! At those temps you have to be especially careful with your camera equipment as well, the cooling and heating of the lenses and sensors can cause condensation that cameras and photographers hate. That’s an easy way to ruin a piece of equipment that cost more than your monthly wages!

When my husband got home we loaded up the SUV and headed for Lake Vermilion, the best place in Northern MN to view the Northern Lights. Once we got there and set up I was loving that I chose to go with the new Canon 60D as my current camera of choice, the articulating screen came in handy! When it’s that cold outside you want to be outside as little as possible. The articulating screen allowed me to use my remote shutter and stay toasty in the SUV. My poor husband had his Canon 7D with and while he has a remote shutter he couldn’t see his display and had to continually get out to make sure his shots were coming out correctly. I almost felt sorry for him.

The results of our cold night and staying up until 1am were well worth it. We got some great shots of the sky and a bit of color. I will say I’m extremely jealous of those who live in even higher latitudes, such as Norway, who get an even more spectacular light show on a regular basis.

Want to see more Northern MN photography? Check out our other website.

Winter Fun!

Kristine — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:32:19 +0000

You can’t be serious and work every day! I recently took the kids out to enjoy the sun, although it was extremely cold! Living in Northern Minnesota you do learn to acclimate a bit and even at -10 we were out playing. I should also add that hand warmers are your friend. Normally I shy away from taking photo graphs outdoors in the winter because all the white scares me. It can be tricky to get your camera settings right so that the pictures aren’t all over exposed, or blue. We took a chance and had a blast in the snow.

So I’ll leave you with a few pictures and the reminder that you shouldn’t work too hard, you have to take time to go out and play as well! Want to see more Northern Minnesota Photography? Check out Nate Paul Images for more photos taken by myself and my husband.