IPad Notes

I've had my iPad for a few months and though I didn't use it much at first, I have found it increasingly useful for some things.

Good uses:

Browsing the web.

Good for short entries on social sites.

Very convenient eReader.


Where it fails me:




Useless for posting on blog as I cannot copy and paste addresses and pictures as I can in a nice Windows environment.

I tried creating a spreadsheet in Google docs, and find the "mobile version" to be lacking in features such as being able to bring up the keyboard to type in the cells. Also, only the basic document and the spreadsheet were offered as doc types.

Trying to correct mistakes in a post ...aggghh.

Adobe Flash is not supported so many videos cannot be viewed.

The "mobile" versions of many things are just a bit off, including emails which are configured differently for this platform, and again they often "lack some features".

Screenshots are supposed to be possible. Touching the Home button and Power button simultaneously are supposed to do the trick, so they say. I just tried that, and it looked like something happened, but where did it go? How do I find it and put it where I want to go?

Everything is tied to iTunes. You must have an iTunes account do do any sort of updating or adding to your iPad. Any time a program is updated, you can't use it until you sign in to iTunes.


Written on my iPad, corrected on my PC :)

Now Playing: Mind Your Own Business Hank Williams

Time off is a great thing, but it gives you more time to observe and be observed by the locals.

This is dedicated to the "Perky Pee Lady" who is keen on what dogs pee where around the block, is concerned if they have ample pee opportunities, and is waaay proud if her dogs pees where another dog has just been. Eek.

My sister gave me the song when I described the PPL.

Memorial Day Word Find

Happy Memorial Weekend!

Click to enlarge.



Create your own wordfind with the template at Discovery Education.

Now Playing: You Raise Me Up by Celtic Woman

This song by these artists is in my head this week, thanks to extra time spent with my family lately. Just like this performance, they are full of warmth and love and magic.

Women Authors That Men Love to Read

Star Tribune Books had a discussion this morning pointing to Roxanne Gay's blog post The Well Read Man

The blog discusses the inequity and awfulness of having only a single female author listed in Esquire Magazine's The 75 Books Every Man Should Read That title is Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find.

This got me thinking about women authors that I know men read because in my many years behind the desk, I've been asked for a fair few book recommendations and for help finding desired authors.

In no particular order, as they have come to my mind, here are women authors men ask for, either by single title or they want "everything by" these (note added links to author sites or wiki entries):

Janet Evanovich (mostly her earlier books, not so much the recent Stephanie Plums)

Nancy Kress

J. K. Rowling

Flannery O' Connor

Agatha Christie

James Tiptree Jr.

Dorothy Sayers

Erin Hart

P. J. Tracy

Margaret Weis

Barbara Tuchman

Maya Angelou

Margaret Atwood

Patricia Highsmith

Harper Lee

Ayn Rand

Edith Wharton

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Ursula K. LeGuin

Vonda N. McIntyre

George Eliot

Zora Neale Hurston

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Shirley Jackson

Taylor Caldwell

Jean M Auel

Patricia Cornwell

Cherie Priest

Anne Rice

Suzanne Collins

Julie Kramer

Nevada Barr

Jan Burke

Stephanie Meyer

Jessica Amanda Salmonson

Mary Renault

Josephine Tey

Lisa Scottoline

Kathy Reichs

I welcome other suggestions :)

Thanks to Bill Crider for these:

Leigh Brackett

C. L. Moore

Megan Abbott

Christa Faust

Sue Grafton

Sara Paretsky

Father Tuck's Dolly Dear Series "Little Boy Blue"

I recently taught a Microsoft PowerPoint class (my second time) and could not resist giving people who enjoyed the creativity and photo sharing possibilities of PowerPoint some other options.

One of them I recalled from the glorious 23 Things project is Picture Trail. This free site allows you to create and share slide slows. The backgrounds and framing are a bit glitzy but the site is easy to use and nice for some light, entertaining shows.

I scanned this old booklet of my mom's to test it out. Mom could recite so many poems by heart, a product of a 1930s schooling which served her well.

Happy Trails!

In the Park with Erin Hart

Our Walk 'n talk event went very well. Author Erin Hart showed participants how to make a St. Bridget's Cross from stalks of wheat. She also brought a sample made from pipe cleaners and has used the tall flower stalks from hostas to weave a cross.

It takes 14 stalks of Wheat for each cross


There was a lovely table set up with Erin's books, her husband Paddy's music and a computer with a slideshow representing elements from Erin's stories.


How to make wheat into a symbol of good luck.


With the cold rainy park creating a beautiful backdrop, we listened to Erin talk about how she got started writing a novels, leaving non-fiction writing behind. Her meticulous plotting and attention to detail spring from the
researcher she still is, to the delight of her readers.

While we walked the half mile around the lake, we talked with her about her books, and I was able to ask a few questions from my handy mystery book group notebook. It sounds like exciting things are ahead in the next novel tentatively called "Serpent's Egg".

Erin will visit book groups and she has Skype available as an option for visits just about anywhere.

This September, she will lead a tour of areas in Ireland where her three novels take place. This will be her second such tour. Visit her web site to secure a spot for yourself!

Walk n' Talk in the Park with Erin Hart Thursday May 12, 2011

I'm really excited to have the opportunity to work on this event at Thompson Park Activity Center in West St Paul.

You not only have the opportunity to talk with Erin about her books (False Mermaid being the latest) but you can take a walk around the beautiful lake at the park with her and a parks department representative. What a neat way to collaborate with the Parks department.

Erin will also be showing people an authentic Irish craft.

This will be a wonderfully refreshing couple of hours after the long long winter.

Visit Erin's site for more about her and her books.