Daily Droids

Bluebells

2010-04-02T20:47:00.002-05:00

After four years living in Houston, I finally made a point to go photograph the famous Texas Bluebells. My girl and I spent some time strolling, chatting, and taking turns with the camera.

The nice part? Instead of driving for miles & wandering the farm roads outside of town to find the perfect spot, my girl spotted a field full of them just about a mile from home.

Use #212

2010-03-29T17:24:00.000-05:00

Shopping for new guitars just now for my husband. Of course though, there's not just the guitar. There's also the gig bag, capo, and tuner. That's when my Droid brain kicked in and quickly searched the market and successfully found a genuine guitar tuner with excellent reviews. Saved $30! Thanks, Android.

Seek and We Will Find

2010-03-22T14:49:00.000-05:00

Cruising along Oahu's coastline the other day I was getting pretty frustrated with the lack of beach choices for the day. The choice spots were overcrowded and the uncrowded spots were cold and windy. We drove the coast for a couple of hours before I decided to see how Android could help. I opened my Google Maps App and zoomed in along the coast looking for sandy beaches, and found a large one tucked behind forests and homes. We walked about half a mile to the coast and found miles of pristine shoreline with only one other family in sight! It almost felt like we stumbled upon a hidden gem, and thanks to Android he's opening up a whole new world for us.

*posted via email*

Rodeo Re-Do

2010-03-13T18:32:00.002-06:00

Houston Rodeo, take two.
Blake Shelton is performing on stage right now. I don't listen to much country music but he's got some good songs. I searched Twitter using the Twitride app to see what other people here are saying, and it was way cool to get an up to the second look at what people here see!

Bull Riders Are Crazy

2010-03-12T20:26:00.002-06:00

That really goes without saying.
Houston Rodeo. Blogging between bulls. Because I can.

Droid is all I need

2010-03-10T05:51:00.001-06:00

I left my printer/scanner behind when we moved to the islands, and up until now I hadn't even missed it. I had to send some important papers back to the mainland and Droid came to the rescue. I snapped crisp, clear photos of my documents with the built in camera and then with just one click, e-mailed them right off to my client. I couldn't have done it any faster or easier with a full blown scanner. DROID: work less, play more

Droid Makes Time

2010-03-08T01:33:00.001-06:00

In en effort to be efficient tonight, I used Android to research electric shavers online. That's pretty normal. I knew I was going to go to Target so went straight to target.com. That's pretty smart. M.Target.com gave me the option to shop by store, then gave me the price and let me know it was in stock. What made it AWESOME was that it told me it was in Aisle A27.........cause, you know, I'd rather have moss grow under my feet than spend any more time in the store than I have to.

Beach Droid

2010-03-06T13:50:00.001-06:00

Spending all this time at the beach I've decided someone needs to make an underwater case for my Droid....then he can truly go everywhere with me.

Yikes

2010-03-06T08:36:00.002-06:00

Not my favorite place to be.

Ruuuuufus!

2010-03-03T16:59:00.002-06:00

Meet my brother's dog, Duke.

You should see the Jeep, loaded with one adult, two teens, and two full sized dogs. We're squished. And hairy. We'll blame the bad breath on the dogs.

Aunt Peg

2010-03-02T19:32:00.002-06:00

Babysitting my four year old nephew, who only eats orange mac & cheese and chocolate milk. It's gonna be a hungry night for him since the closest I have to that is 1% milk and organic pasta. He seems to think I'm confused about my grocery needs.

Also, I think my cat may mutiny before the night is over.

Dusk

2010-03-01T19:42:00.001-06:00

Purples, blues, pinks and greys.

Stand Back, We're Doing Science

2010-02-26T19:50:00.001-06:00

High school science has never been more scary.

Good thing the boiling pot is for noodles.

Cheerios Has Jumped the Shark

2010-02-19T22:19:00.002-06:00

Digital Native

2010-02-19T00:15:00.001-06:00

My husband can no longer be the Navigator...he can't figure out the Droid. My eight year old on the other hand, is a digital native. Driving home today she spots this rainbow and yells, "oh man! We gotta stop and get a picture of that!...... Where's the Droid?"

Almost a Room

2010-02-16T22:27:00.002-06:00

Next up, curtains.

But not tonight.

Painting

2010-02-14T17:24:00.002-06:00

It's taking a little longer than I expected. Between the late start and the EXTREME care needed when painting a room such a dark purple it's nearly black, we won't finish tonight.

I see a lot of detailed touch-up work in my near future.

Jammin

2010-02-10T17:38:00.002-06:00

Listening to Portuguese pop with the Pandora app at the gym.

Not only does it keep me movin', it helps me work on my new language. Agora eu gosto de faz ginastica na acadmia!

Name that Flower

2010-02-09T19:30:00.001-06:00

Find a flower, pick it up.........then if you're an app lover like me you go to Android Market and look for a Flower Guide App.......and no, there isn't one that I could find.

Learning Something

2010-02-08T20:18:00.002-06:00

In a class with my photo group. Turns out my Droid has the most powerful camera of any other cell phone here. Does that give me bragging rights?

Droid saves the night!

2010-02-07T20:19:00.002-06:00

I just downloaded FXcamera (thanks Vicki!) And we are cracking up over here!

Besides the hilarious pictures we're taking using the effects, the "normal" mode takes much better pictures than the default Droid camera. This one I can live with.

My Sunday

2010-02-07T19:44:00.002-06:00

The Superbowl combined with my two year old niece's birthday party.

Yes, it is as loud as you might imagine.

I'm keeping my head down and out of the melee by checking my email, twittering, checking Facebook, and reading the news. Thank you Droid.

I <3 Android

2010-02-07T16:40:00.001-06:00

Droid's been working overtime since we landed in Hawaii. He's my Navigator, my Locator, my Banker, my Communicator, my Socializer, my Forecaster, my Memory, my Recordkeeper......and with the fisheye lens on the FXCamera App....he's my favorite Toy.

THIS is why people make out with the UPS man

2010-02-04T17:11:00.001-06:00

Not me, because you know, I've got the mad love for a certain hot Scot, but I'm just sayin'.

I was SO happy when he turned up with my OMG IT'S SO FANTASTIC laptop on my doorstep today!

Shiiiiiiiny...

Welcome Home, Now Be Quiet!

2010-02-04T16:40:00.002-06:00

This sign has cheerfully greeted me for three weeks when I drive into my neighborhood.

Ok, I get it. No family fun going on here.

Really, it kind of makes me laugh, and I feel like a rebel when we actually do have fun at home.

I know, I know... I need to get out more.

Droid goes Poolside

2010-02-03T14:48:00.001-06:00

Hanging at the pool with the kids listening to my self created Jason Mraz radio station on Pandora Internet Radio. Life is good.

Doing it RAW

2010-02-02T22:25:00.001-06:00

Another PhotoShop webinar with my photo friends. This time learning about working in Adobe RAW.

I should say we TRIED to learn about raw, but technical difficulties made that really difficult.

I can't complain too much though. A night gabbing about geeky interests with friends and good food is always a good thing!

Rainbow Roses

2010-02-01T19:50:00.002-06:00

She let me keep her birthday flowers here while they're away with their dad. A sweet reminder which smells nice & doesn't leave dirty dishes all over the house and empty water bottles strewn about.

My teens are awesome, but there are days...

I Googled them on my phone and found out the rainbow roses (also called Happy Roses) are injected with five colors of die right into the stems while they're still growing.

Very cool.

Worth Every Penny

2010-01-31T15:26:00.001-06:00

Since moving to Hawaii Droid has been invaluable. Without the included Google Maps with turn by turn navigation I never would have been able to do all the running around I've had, with such ease. I don't even have to have an address, I can just tell it what store I want to go to, and by tell it I mean literally tell it, it listens.

But for today the car is resting in the shade while we enjoy what we came here for in the first place.....the beach.

New backyard

2010-01-29T12:08:00.001-06:00

My new backyard view off the lanai overlooking the tree tops, with the ocean peeking through. Now all we need is for someone to creat a better Bird App for the Droid and we'll be all set.

Then there was...

2010-01-28T21:42:00.001-06:00

Ask me how much I like moving furniture. Go ahead, ask.

What I'll tell you is that every time I move (over 25 times now) I swear that next time I'm just going to burn the house down.

Actually, next time I'm taking two suitcases. That's a different story.

Today we didn't move houses, just a little furniture. One bed in, one bed out.

Somewhere in the grumbling, complaining and grunting there was light.

Stuck in traffic

2010-01-28T14:21:00.001-06:00

It doesn't suck

Walking Waikiki

2010-01-28T05:22:00.001-06:00

Droid's been working good over here in Waikiki, in fact Droid's been working hard. This morning I used the Places Directory App to find a branch of my bank, then used the Maps App to navigate us there via the walking route. Then later in the day I walked towards Honolulu to pick up the van we just bought, also coordinated via Droid. Now if Droid could just get me a lanai like this......

Waikiki Beach

2010-01-26T17:44:00.001-06:00

Playing in the sand in Waikiki. My Droid may never survive the sand.

On the Move

2010-01-25T23:59:00.001-06:00

We drove our home of the last 3.5 yrs into Phoenix, Arizona two days ago and although I got 3G back, it's been sketchy at it's best. Verizon is investigating, but by the time they get it worked out we'll already be in another state. Luckily I've been too busy visiting and packing for our big move tomorrow to really care, but I do hope they figure out the problem, and it does not involve a replacement Droid.

During the snowstorms we really relied on Droid for weather updates, mileage info, and internet searches so it's been a big let down not having full Droid capabilities while traveling.

My Girl Knows Jack

2010-01-25T23:36:00.002-06:00

And he will fit right in with her new room. Jack is cool like that.

I am 16 going on 17

2010-01-24T20:24:00.003-06:00

My girl gas grown tired of her loft bed and has been hinting around that she would like something more her style. Meaning something more grown up and less like you might find in a frat house.

So today we shopped, Droids working overtime finding furniture stores, directions, and prices.

Droids also calling her brother and asking him to measure her mattress at home because I forgot to do it and couldn't remember if she had a full or a queen. Oops.

After five stores we found what she wanted, and she fell in love with the bedding on the display too. She's now thrilled to have a new, purple, fancy grown up room.

Not my little girl any more, but always my little girl.

Droid needs 3G

2010-01-23T16:06:00.001-06:00

HUGE drawback to the 3G network is when it's not available it renders my Droid to a mere cell phone. With my old cell phone as long as I had cell signal I could still access the Internet with Mobile Web 2.0, but not with Droid. In the meantime my daughter still managed to have fun with Droid by trying to recreat her own Mona Lisa portrait.

Coffee

2010-01-23T12:43:00.000-06:00

A Saturday morning as it should be. Quiet, productive, contemplative... and with coffee.

Droid Volunteers

2010-01-23T10:33:00.002-06:00

I searched Twitter this morning for "volunteer Houston" and am now following two charities we can help with, and got two more leads. I've bookmarked their websites on my Dolphin browser & will add their phone numbers to my contacts.

All before I got out of bed this morning.

The only thing Droid didn't do for me was drive over and show up to help. That one is up to me.

Moving Day

2010-01-19T22:17:00.001-06:00

Going Mobile once again

How to Keep Your Battery Charged

2010-01-19T19:39:00.002-06:00

While a massage would certainly help ME feel recharged and full of energy, that's not what I mean.

I know I'm not the only one to complain about the Droid's wimpyness in the battery department. I was getting a little annoyed at needing to plug my phone in as soon as I got home every night, so I got to poking around on my settings and by Jove! I'm on to something!

I've taken nearly all my apps and notifications off of their auto settings and only refresh them when I actually look at them. That includes Twitter, Facebook, email, newsreaders and whatever else I'm forgetting. The only thing that keeps constantly updating is my contact notifications which I can't figure out how to stop. Is there a secret button hidden deep in the preferences somewhere?

Now I only get my updates when I actually have time to look at them, and my battery is still 3/4 charged by the time I go to bed. That makes me happy.

Maybe not as happy as I would be with that massage, but it'll do.

Droid Does Cute!

2010-01-17T18:13:00.002-06:00

I have no idea what this has to do with my Droid, but I couldn't resist a picture & a post.

No Self Control

2010-01-16T19:19:00.002-06:00

My Girl and I went to the book store today, thinking we'd find a book or maybe two. We had Christmas gift cards to spend, you see.

Ten minutes and EIGHT books later, we realized that turning the pair of us loose in a book store is not a good idea for my budget. At least we only went over the gift cards by $14.

The girl showed her book wish list (kept on her Droid using the AK Notepad app) to the help counter and was loaded up in minutes.

Burger in a Bag

2010-01-15T18:05:00.001-06:00

They taste exactly like a McDonald's burger.

Bonus: no messy ketchup drips on your Droid

Keeping us occupied

2010-01-15T08:59:00.002-06:00

While waiting for our appointment, my girl and I kept busy with our Droids. She read email and played Blocked Stone, I checked email, twitter, Facebook and read the BBC news (nubinews app) while we sat side by side making fun of ourselves.

Could be a problem

2010-01-14T23:11:00.002-06:00

As I headed to bed I grabbed my Droid off the counter, set it on the headboard & plugged it in for the night.

Only when I reached for it as I thought of a late night tweet (twitteride app) did I discover that I had my son's Droid, not mine.

These are the dangers of being a three Droid family.

Casualties

2010-01-14T14:56:00.001-06:00

When my Droid crashed I wasn't the only one heartbroken. An eight year old lost her virtual pet, Furdiburb. Good thing trusty old Stuart was there to console her.

Radio, Radio

2010-01-13T18:54:00.002-06:00

Favorite use for today? Pandora radio app at the gym, so I can have Shakira's help to shake shake shake it.

Sunset

2010-01-12T18:16:00.002-06:00

Sometimes you take your beauty where you find it.

Today was just another regular day, with no big highs or lows. Just me getting through the day at work, and laying down a chunk of my paycheck on groceries. And then, on the way home...

The sky lit up.

It only lasted for about 30 seconds.

I'm always grateful for these reminders that even inside the boring, the pale, the ordinary, there are moments that are absolutely brilliant.

Wallet Photos

2010-01-12T15:10:00.001-06:00

I've never been very good at carrying my kids photos around in my wallet, but I finally figured out a better alternative..... Traditional yet Techy.

Icy

2010-01-09T19:28:00.002-06:00

Discovery Green, downtown Houston.

Sleep Aid

2010-01-09T01:31:00.002-06:00

Silly use for Droid #657:

Playing solitaire in bed to clear my head so I can sleep.

Test

2010-01-08T22:59:00.001-06:00

Photo

My Bubble Was Burst

2010-01-08T22:17:00.001-06:00

Just as I was going to write my review for my Motorola Droid, more specifically about how wonderful all the Apps are, my Droid goes into complete shutdown. After spending what felt like half a day with Verizon troubleshooting my phone, after a full day already of it not working......... I had to do a complete master reboot of Android. But no worries, it's so smart it'll remember all my Apps!....... Google only remembered five of them. It took me a month to collect all those treasured Apps and then set them all up just how I like them, just to lose them all. I lack the enthusiasm to even rebuild my collection that has become a requirement for the phone now.

Then today my husbands Verizon phone stops working so I got to spend another morning on the phone with tech support. thankfully Verizon has great customer service and everything was fixed in the end, but I did start to question our dependency on all this technology. We can go get cell phones for half what we're paying now, is Android really worth the extra expense? Evidentally he is, I'm still here....but I'm still mourning the loss and rebuilding very slowly for fear of losing it all again.....and I'm still just a little bit disgruntled.

Back to School

2010-01-07T20:17:00.002-06:00

This is my awesome PhotoShop teacher who has no idea how much I'm learning from her, or how that might change my future. Kristiemac, you rock.

Parkle Christmas

2010-01-06T21:06:00.002-06:00

The things I find when I clean out my closet.

A Review of my Droid Eris

2010-01-04T19:13:00.002-06:00

Now that I've had this little guy for a few weeks, let me tell you what I think.
Let me start by saying that I am THRILLED with my phone. Given other choices, I would still pick this one if I were in the market again.
However, I'm getting a feel for it now and have a few things I don't like on my mind.
My number one complaint is battery life. Even though I try to keep up with the taskiller app, my battery doesn't last a day unless I don't use it. I had to buy a car charger this weekend because I've been out after work twice now when it ran out of juice and I not only lost the use of all my apps, I couldn't even call my kids until I got home & plugged in. I'd have been screwed with a breakdown.
I have gotten used to the virtual keyboard and like it, but my impatience to type the first couple of weeks made me accidentally accept some funky spelling mistakes that are now part of my dictionary and continue to be "suggested" when I'm texting. Does anyone know how to lose those? I can't seem to find an "undo" function for it. Another weird thing I'm noticing as I type right now, the brief vibration I get when I hit each letter sounds like a duck quacking and when I really get my thumbs flying it sounds like I'm at the lake and should have brought a loaf of day old bread with me. Quack, quack.
The camera is just ok. It takes good sized pictures with good color and detail, but seems to have a very slow shutter speed. I need to brace up against a wall, or a tree, or a certain hot Scotsman to get a clear picture, even in decent light. To be fair, bracing up against the hot Scot is more of a bonus than a drawback.
I have only tried the video camera once, and the picture quality was really good even in low light, but the sound kind of sucked. Also, it was too big to upload to YouTube through their app and it was only 30 seconds long. That is just not cool. I have tried to email it in but it hasn't shown up on my account yet, so I don't even know if I can share my videos, and I know some certain grandparents who might get hostile if they don't get some good grandbaby footage soon.
The phone itself is great. I like the integration of my phone contacts with my Gmail, Facebook and Flickr friends. The sound quality during my calls is really good, even when I'm talking to a cell phone in South America, but I get at least a crackle or two during every call. Not a big deal though.
As an organizational tool I am madly in love with the apps. My calendar, people, places, directions and notes are all just a touch away, and for me that is invaluable. I'm very impatient, and have been known to be a bit... flighty? Disorganized? Day dreamy? Forgetful? Well, yes. At times. Ahem. My Droid is a little personal assistant with reminders, alarms, appointments and all the information I could ask for. Go ahead. Ask me anything! I can find out whatever I need in no time.
I've downloaded googles of apps (get it? Googles? Ha!) and all but one were free. I'm a photographer at heart and an editing junkie, so I was required by law to upgrade to Picsay Pro. It's way fun, and worth the two pounds I paid. What is that, like three bucks? I think I'm now averaging one new app a week as a need or want arises. With five screens to fill I've got plenty of real estate for them all, but ask me again in six months. Right now I still have nearly two empty screens.
So, there ya go. My newbie review of my first smartphone. In a nut shell, despite a few limitations, its the best gadget/tool/phone/toy I've had to date, and I am kind of a gadget girl.
Got any questions? Leave us a comment!

Hello 2010

2010-01-02T12:20:00.001-06:00

May it be the year you take that leap and live your dreams! Peace

I Got the Clap in Austin

2010-01-01T14:55:00.001-06:00

Can my Droid help me with that?

Not to worry, its just my night club entry stamp, unlike some of the truly hammered drunks we saw last night. I'm pretty sure some of them woke up with startling surprises today!

Singing in the New Year

2010-01-01T00:59:00.001-06:00

And a fun time was had by all.

I wish you all the best for this new year.

Where are you??

2009-12-31T09:51:00.001-06:00

I couldn't find my phone this morning but because I installed Droid Locator I was able to text my phone a secret code, even though it was turned off, and have it ring loud......allowing me to find it.

School's Out

2009-12-30T10:12:00.001-06:00

What a nice way to wake-up! With the snow setting on the built in camera I was able to zoom in and capture the snow flakes. Nice feature, Android!

My Droid

2009-12-29T13:37:00.001-06:00

This is where I work. Email, contacts, camera, time here, time in Rio, text messages, and my calendar. All at a glance.

All my apps fill up two more screens, with two remaining screens left to fill. I use them all, even though I thought I never would!

I love this friggin' thing!

My Droid's Best Side

2009-12-28T20:37:00.001-06:00

The touch screen expands with just a slide of the finger. This is my favorite side, the left, and these are my Apps for my grocery list, Google Reader, banking & billpaying, Facebook, Twitter, to do list, email and texting, an entire folder full of photo apps, and of course my Mr Blue Eyes.

Show us your Droid!

Harwood, TX

2009-12-28T11:37:00.001-06:00

Thanks to my Droid, I know we're in Harwood, it's 11:36 am and 47 degrees with partly cloudy skies. We're headed home.

Future Droider

2009-12-27T21:51:00.001-06:00

Digital Native

The Alamo

2009-12-27T18:32:00.001-06:00

With the help of "marine compass" app, I finally got my bearings and figured out the Alamo. Only took me two visits & over two years. Once I figured out where everything was it was great ti be able to explain it to my Mom.

Riverwalk

2009-12-26T20:25:00.001-06:00

A weekend in San Antonio. The kids are missing it because their noses are stuck to their Droids. I have to text them (using our handcent apps) from across the table to talk to them.

Sketch a Etch

2009-12-26T17:32:00.001-06:00

Just like an Etch a Sketch. Eight yr old approved.

Eternal Vacation

2009-12-25T23:49:00.001-06:00

Google search led me to an interesting article and a surprise photo of my Family!

My Droid Has Spawned!

2009-12-25T21:04:00.001-06:00

Their dad gave them a very merry Christmas present. We are now a 3 Droid family.

My Personal Scottish Chef

2009-12-25T11:54:00.001-06:00

A very happy Christmas to me, with almond crusted sea trout, sauteed mushrooms, tossed mixed peppers & steamed zucchini. I love my hot Scottish chef.

Lunch on Droid

2009-12-24T15:39:00.001-06:00

Thanks! It was yummy!

Digital Christmas

2009-12-23T22:28:00.001-06:00

Used Craigsphone App to find XBox 360. Clicked on phone number in ad to send text directly to seller. Waiting in a parking lot a few hours later. Maybe should have checked Weather app first.

While Waiting

2009-12-23T21:43:00.001-06:00

for my heart to fly in from snowy Europe, my Droid helped me track flights, watch weather & stay informed of delays. Seven hour delays, and missed connections. SMS messages kept us updated. The browser helped me reschedule his car rental, we emailed information back & forth and, of course, we spoke on the phone when I needed to hear his voice. I'd have been lost without it today.

Feliz Natal

2009-12-22T23:31:00.001-06:00

Happy Christmas to my Brazilian friends. See you soon!

Android Finds Zip Codes

2009-12-22T08:06:00.001-06:00

Use ZipCode Search to finally mail that postcard

Webinar in our Jammies

2009-12-21T19:54:00.001-06:00

Virtual PhotoShop class with friends, pizza & technology. And yes, we are in our pajamas.

Android Searches and Finds

2009-12-21T13:27:00.001-06:00

Colorado has it's perks!

Away for the Holidays

2009-12-20T19:12:00.001-06:00

The Present Tree

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

2009-12-20T12:43:00.001-06:00

Who's the geekiest of them all?

Santa Works at the Post Office

2009-12-19T13:28:00.001-06:00

Looks like this guy has a long list.

CameraMagic

2009-12-19T11:41:00.001-06:00

Make plants come to life

Embrace Peace

2009-12-18T20:52:00.001-06:00

Spread the Love

In My Own Backyard

2009-12-18T17:09:00.001-06:00

It may be winter on Monday, but my tree thinks it's high fall.

Shiny Things

2009-12-17T21:15:00.001-06:00

Home for the holidays.

Winter

2009-12-17T11:56:00.001-06:00

Panoramic created using PhotoStitch