Road to recovery

Funny to think that I need group therapy of some sort at this point.
Actually, it's not funny at all, because I think that's what's been
missing for some time now. I was trying to get a reference from my
doctor to go back to the clinic, which I haven't been to in years, but
that has yet to turn results.

Then the other day, Tuesday 8 June 2010 to be precise, I found that
perhaps the kind of therapy I need you don't get at a hospital. The
LDS Addiction Recovery Program is available to all, is free to attend,
and you do not need to have a reference to attend. I was considering
attending for some time, but after a conversation with my wife, we
both came to the conclusion that I should go to these LARP sessions.

I might have just crossed a geek line, but that's ok. I say that
because though I was very intimidated to attend this meeting, it was
ultimately very much worth going! I plan to attend next week as well.

The funny thing is the last time I went to this ARP meeting, I found
it very frustrating, and I recognized someone there. I then felt very
much like I shouldn't be there, plus the structure of the meeting I
found to be (at the time) very pointless. This time though, I went by
myself, and walked through that door with the confidence that I wanted
to be there because I needed to be there.

It was a great uplifting experience and I'm going to do my best to
study the workbook that I picked up.

Oddly enough, I lost that buzz when I came home and turned on Glee.
After I managed to sit through the episode, I tweeted the following:
"Finally satthrough an episode of #Glee. Mightget more of the CDs.
Why? Because the musical talent of this show outweighs the acting."

iPressure

28 May 2010 marked an important day for Macintosh aficionados across
the globe with the release of the much praised, sometimes fabled,
iPad. Edmonton, Alberta also had the opening of a new Apple Store.
Tweets abounded from every sector of Edmonton as people clamoured to
get their hands on the precious commodity that had finally been
officially released outside the United States. Not to say that people
weren't tripping over themselves prior to this date. I know of one
person in my local church congregation that has had an iPad for close
to a month now, and I was able to try it out. From my experience,
would I say the iPad is a wonderful device? Yes. Magical? Not
really. Easy to use? Definitely. Would I take time off work to sit
in line to get one? No. Would I search the city to find one, after
completing my regular work day? No. Would I wait until there was
sufficient funds in my bank account before embarking on a search to
find an iPad? No, no, and again I say no.

I have no strong affinity to the Macintosh name - even in my choice of
fruit I would sooner pick Spartan or Pink Lady - and thus do not see a
need to join the masses who praise the works of the great Steve Jobs.
That is not to say that I dislike Mr. Jobs and everything he is
associated with, for if that were so, I would have to stop utilizing
the moderately coherent phrase 'PIXAR4LIFE' whenever I talk about
animated films.

And that is not to say that I was not ever tempted to purchase an
Apple product. Recall in January 2010, after we had received a $15
iTunes gift card as a Christmas gift, I was near ready to purchase an
iPod Touch. This same temptation surfaced when I broke my iPaq in
October 2009, such to the point that I posted the iTem on my christmas
wish list. Once my brilliant wife repaired iPaq, I amended my wish
list. As for the gift card, we used it to buy an album which iTunes
allowed me to burn to CD, and we also aquired a portable DVD player
for half the cost of a basic iPod Touch. This investment was quite
prudent as now we're able to watch movies after Rini has gone to bed,
and also provide some entertainment on long car trips, such as the one
we recent made to Taber.

But the iPad is still a wonderous little device, and once prices drop,
I could see devices similar to it become more the norm. Tablet
technology is not new, far from it. Ten years ago someone gave a very
similar speech to the one Jobs gave in late January 2010. Tablet
computers were to be the wave of the future, and soon they would
become commonplace. Up until 2009, tablet computers generally carried
a four digit price tag, and were fragile like aluminum foil coated in
glass. They might survive one drop, but unless these devices were
protected like the Panasonic toughbook, they were not generally used
for consumer use. Commercial and industrial applications abound, plus
they make for wonderful product placement props on CSI:NY.

At the end of the day, why would I want to throw my hat into the ring
with this new product? Because it's the new 'it' gadget? I would
have the oppurtunity to be at the forefront of technological history?
It's trendy and fashionable? Everyone else is doing it? These are
the questions I find myself surrounded with. Petty, insipid, and
otherwise pointless questions that do not garner the need to be
addressed at this time. True, iPaq's wifi card will only work on
802.11b, but for what I need right now, that's enough.

I would almost consider getting a chinese knockoff, such as the APAD
which my coworker purchased on eBay for a paltry $150. Running on
Android, it has a similar interface, but has the flexibility to allow
for additional peripherals. USB keyboard, mouse, and external hard
drive just to name a few are some of the differences from the iPad.

If I would be using the device for the same functions that I use iPaq,
it would have to be decent for writing, tweeting, email and internet
browsing primarily. Music and movies would be secondary.

But I will have to wait for the day when that want becomes a need.
There are other things that I can devote my attention to right now.
Like the fact I got to help my little girl ride a bike today!

The prodigal blogger returns

Not to say that I've been going on benders and attending shaker after
shaker, but I have not been a responsible with my writing as of late.
The irony is that I've been writing on LDSJournal.com with the
intention of one day turning the entries into a book. I have two
blogs, a twitter account, and I still thought that it would be
ingenius to sign up for something else to have it all published one
day!

With one quick Google search, I discovered blurb.com which is a
publishing service for small quantities. All I have to do is download
the software, and put together the entries I want published, and a
softcover book can be put together for as little as $4.95. I'm
thinking that I would be closer to the $15 side of things. Still, it
would be nice to have the entries all strung together in one complete
volume.

Another reason why I have returned to this blog, and may abandon
LDSJournal.com altogether, is the ability to do email entries. In
order to do it with blogger, you simply set up and email address for
the blog to receive, and away you go. With LDSJournal.com, it's the
same thing, but you have to enroll in the Gold Program, which has a
$30 annual fee attached to it. Yeah. Plus, with the journaling, I
wasn't adding hyperlinks, nor was I adding any pictures. Once these
facts hit me in the face like a wet fish, I saw that I had the
solution in front of me the whole time. I just had to go back to what
I had.

I've had a bit of a gadget bug for the last little while. I would
think that the iPad has a lot to do with that, not only because of the
hype that's been mulling for months, but also because I was able to
try it out myself. It is a formidable device, and indeed I wouldn't
mind owning one. However, my iPaq is still functioning very well, and
is sufficient for my needs. I use it as a writing tool, and for
scriptures as well as a lesson manual. Not to mention the mircophone
which takes decent memos. I will admit the size of the font on the
message window for the mobile gmail is a bit of a pain to work with,
especially when you're tired, but it does work, and I can spot
something if it doesn't look right.

Push comes to shove, I could just borrow Dory to do entries from time to time.

Do I really need something else right now to validate my need for
toys? Not really. What I do need is a new home for my family. Baby
#2 is on its way in September, and we have to be ready.