Although the KF was originally purchased as a tool for homework I started taking it to work with me during school hours and started using it for work. I discovered it was a great way for me to carry reference material at my day job and not have to rely on printing out hard copies of documents or instructions every where I went. Along with documents I now have reference books, diagrams, videos and web search capability (at least when in a WiFi hotspot) in a very small easy to carry package. So far I have been very pleased with the result. So much so That I decided to keep the KF for myself and purchased an Ipad 2 for the family.

The reason I decided on the Apple Ipad 2 were for all of the reasons stated above plus the $100 reduction in price since the Ipad 3 (or whatever they are calling it) came out. I purchased the base line black, 16GB WiFI only model at $399 plus tax. We have had it now for about a month and I am very pleased with it also. There are a number of app’s that both the KF and Ipad 2 have in common. But I have to say there appears to be more dynamic education and reference app’s for the Ipad than for the KF (android).   The BBC Wonders of the Universe app is particularly well done. I also like the Minds of Mathematicians, Khan Academy and Itunes University in particular. These four apps make the price of the Ipad more than worth it for me.The fact that the Ipad won’t do flash is quite irritating but you learn to work around it. It certainly wasn’t a deal buster for me. I also love the fact that HBO Go is available on the Ipad!

As far as storage goes, the Ipad definitely has more even in the base model. Both units have cloud storage (Amazon cloud for the Fire and Icloud for the Ipad). Both have worked seamlessly for me. Both can also connect to a computer via a USB cable. The advantage of the Ipad is that it has bluetooth connectivity and also can access files on other computers in your newtwork via file browser app’s. The Fire does have file management and browser app’s but they are not as robust as those offered for the Ipad.

All in all they are both fine devices. The Kindle Fire is a great lightweight tablet that certainly has uses for school and for work if you are looking for a way to carry interactive reference materials. The Ipad 2 has most of the same capabilities that the Fire does plus a great deal more that the Fire cannot do. The trade off is the smaller package and the $200 price difference.

If you have had experience with both of these tablets let me know what your experience has been. I would love to hear from you.

Kindle Fire

I purchased a Kindle Fire from Amazon six weeks ago and have come to like it even more than I expected to. What first caught my eye and brought me to the KF was the $199 price tag. At $300 dollars less than the base line Ipad it was hard to pass up. I realize that the Firer is not a direct competitor for the Ipad. It is not intended to have all of the performance features the ipad has or to process the same type of software for business applications. What the KF IS intended for is media delivery and web browsing and this it does very well.

The applications I wanted the Fire for was web browsing, ebooks and video delivery. With rare exception the book delivery has been flawless. I have downloaded a couple of hundred books so far and have had very few problems. The vast majority of the books I have downloaded are free or in the $0.99 to $3.99 price range. Even the few first run books I have purchased have been worth the price. An unexpected benefit of the Fire is that I have discovered a number of web sites that I can download free books from that are separate from Amazon. I have also found applications that can take ebooks that are in different formats and convert them so the Fire can read process them.

The video delivery has been spectacular. I have streamed video from Hulu and Netflix without issue. Youtube videos have been less spectacular and have come across as grainy or smeary. I think this may have more to do with how they were shot than how they are delivered through Amazon.

Web browsing has been wonderful. I use it at home, work and wherever I can find wifi hotspots while I am out. There has been criticism that the Fire does not have 3g capability. For my purposes I have no problem with this. I have no need to surf while traveling on the Kindle and have no desire to pay the data fees. Recently I went to WonderCon in Anaheim, CA and carried the Fire with me wherever I went. The convention center had free WiFi which allowed me to not only download the schedule and maps for the event but also go the WonderCon website for any updates or news of the day. All in a 15 ounce package.

If you decide to purchase a Kindle fire I do recommend that you purchase a stylus, screen protector and cover for the device. Be sure to shop around. There were a number of screen protectors out there and most of them were despised by those that purchased them. I am listing below the products I purchased and am very happy with.

Fimir Crystal Clear (invisible) Screen Protector Film for the Amazon Kindle Fire with Ultra easy installation (2 Packs)

AmazonBasics USB Cable – 2.0 A Male to Micro B (6 Feet / 1.8 Meters)

Kindle Fire Genuine Leather Cover by Marware, Black

Also, some apps. that have been quite handy are Evernote, DealNews and CalenGoo.  Along with Hulu and Netflix I use these three apps the most. You can find them all in the kindle app store.

If you have experience with the Kindle Fire please share it here. I am always looking for new information and would be happy to hear what you have to say!

S

I remember my aunts were  very involved with it decades ago. Everything the did was with scissors, glue, tape, material and so on. That still goes on today but one of the products that seem to really revolutionized the scrapbooking world are the Cricut machines made by Provo Craft.

The machines ( and there are a number of different models) use a cartridge and a keyboard overlay that allows you to pick out the type of characters or designs you want to use. After punching it in and laying in the paper or material the machine does the rest. It’s quite remarkable to watch. There is also a Cricut machine that can be used to make cake and cookie decorations!

Some of the more popular cartridges I have come across are the Mickey Mouse Font, Bags,Tags Boxes and more, Sesame Street Friends and Spongebob die cut cartridges. They are great for decorating scrapbooks but also for party decorations or decorating around the home. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

If you are involved with scrapbooking or have just a passing acquaintance you may want to look at this product. It just might make your life a little easier and add a bit more enjoyment to your day.

If you have used the Cricut products or supplies please let me know what you think. I love to hear any and all information regarding this subject. The more I learn the better I am!

The first machine I like is the Cricut Cake Personal Electronic Cutter. At the push of a button, the cake cutter’s stainless-steel blade cuts images out of gum paste, fondant, frosting sheets, cookie dough, or molding chocolate to give home-made cakes and cookies a professional appearance. The cake cutter works on materials from a minimum 3-by-3-inch size up to 12-by-12-inch and 12-by-24-inch maximum size, and cuts images ranging from 1-1/2 inches to 23-1/2 inches.  The cake cutter is also compatible with shape/font cartridges from the original Cricut paper-cutting machine and it offers a variety of shadow and blackout features in six modes: mix ‘n match, portrait, fit to quantity, fit to page, fit to length and auto fill. The cake cutter also utilizes four functions for decorating convenience: multi cut, center point, flip and line return. It’s a really cool device especially for the cost.

A more orthodox version is the Cricut Expression. As the largest of the Cricut machines, the this machine allows cuts from a tiny 1/4 inch up to an impressive 23 1/2 inch tall. It has 6 modes and 4 functions that offer greater customization of cuts, and the new settings and menus add functionality to the machine. Unlike traditional die-cutting machines, the Cricut Expression is portable and cuts quickly and easily. Just select the image you want and press cut. You won’t have to worry about storing expensive and bulky dies. A single cartridge for the Cricut Expression is the equivalent of hundreds of dies from a traditional die-cutting system, but Cricut cartridges can fit in the palm of your hand.

The last Cricut machine I’ll talk about is the Cricut Create Personal machine. The Cricut Create Personal Electronic Cutter combines the portability of the original Cricut machine with the functionality of the Cricut Expression machine. The Cricut Create machine is the same size as the original Cricut machine, yet it allows cuts from 0-1/4-inch up to 11-1/2-inch on a 6-inch by 12-inch cutting mat. Includes an 8-way directional blade, Portrait mode, Fit to Page mode, Auto Fill Mode, Center Point function, and Flip function. As with most of the Cricut cutters the Create is compatible with all original Cricut cartridges.

All of the cutters from Provo Craft have really opened up a world of unlimited possibilities. If you are a fan of crafts, home decorating, food decorations or anything else you can imagine these machines seem to offer it all.

Here also is a sampling of some of the more popular cartridges that are available:

If you have any experience with the Cricut line or an opinion to express please feel free to leave them here. i would love to hear what your experience has been.

Every year right at Thanksgiving Hershey comes out with it’s Dark Chocolate Mint Truffle. It has Dark Hershey chocolate on the outside and a creamy, green mint on the inside. It’s really great for after dinner, watching T.V at night with some hot coffee or just on their own with a glass of milk.

They also offer Candy Cane Striped Mint kisses that venture away from the normal chocolate flavors that the company offers. They are perfect for Christmas parties and gatherings.

Not to be out done, M&M’s has their holiday favorite Christmas Mint M&M’s that mixes the wonderful M&M chocolate with cool mint. I love these M&M’s especially. I’ll spend an evening with a bag or bowl full and a glass of cold milk and slowly relish each one.

A new flavor that I haven’t seen offered before is Cinnamon and Milk Chocolate M&M’s. They have M&M’s famous milk chocolate flavor with a hint of cinnamon in every bite.

These holiday flavors, like most of the M&M and Hershey flavors are well worth trying. The holiday flavors perhaps even more since they are around for only a short time.

If you have tried any of these candies let me know what you thought of them. I’m always interested in other peoples opinions and I would love to hear yours. Merry Christmas!

Boleslawcu Capuccino

Through my travels I come across many collectibles and daily use products. My wife and my Mother (God rest her soul) got me to appreciate the art and quality of fine ceramics and pottery. Whereas I have been a fan of English china and Irish crystal I have recently been exposed to pottery from the village of Boleslawiec, Poland.

At first I believed there was only a factory called Boleslawiec in Poland that made blue and white pottery. But as I began to learn more I realized that there are a number of factories in the area that create their own unique brand and styles. The pottery is also identified with the German name for the town Bunzlau. Bunzlauer ware (Ceramika boles?awiecka) grew from a folk tradition into a distinct ceramic category. The term Bunzlauer ware may also used to describe related pottery produced in the neighboring districts of Lusatia and Saxony.

Apparently the history of ceramics and pottery in the region goes back hundreds of years. There is archaeological evidence that suggests even as far back as the 700′s A.D.! Boleslawiec found itself at the crossroads of traderoutes that went to Berlin, Dresden, Warsaw, Prague, etc…, These trade routes coupled with the abundance of clay deposits of high quality in the area were the catalyst for what has now become a major pottery center of Europe.

The patterns and stampings that are used by the manufacturers in Boleslawiec make their products easily identifiable the world over.Two of the more well known factories are Zaklady Ceramiczne and Manufaktura Boleslawcu. I am most partial to the potteryfrom these two factories but that’s just me.

I invite you to investigate the pottery from the Boleslawiec region of Poland. It is quite beautiful and is something that is meant to be used on a daily basis. I find my self enjoying my morning tea that much more when I drink it out of one of my Polish mugs.

If you have any experience with this pottery or from other manufacturers in the area please share it here. I am constantly on the look out for more information regarding the ceramics from Boleslawiec. If you would like to see all of my Polish Pottery just take a look here.

I’ve always been told save the best for last but this is a really beautiful mug that has all of the Pooh characters in silhouette at dusk. They appear to be returning home after a day of playing. The colors are twilight purple and a soft burnt orange. You can almost feel the cool air of the evening as you enjoy Pooh, Piglet and everyone else frolicking home. C’mon, I know the thought of it is bringing a smile to your face. There are more pictures here .Go take a look!

On most of the Pooh mugs that Disney offers It’s rare for you to find Christopher Robin among the rest of the cast. This particular mug has a white background with Christopher Robin and Pooh leading the whole gang. It’s a simple design but it highlights the characters for you with no distractions.

There is also this Tigger mug that is more modern in it’s design but also captures the spirit of Tigger and is just plain fun! Every time I look at Tigger he reminds me of someone I know at work. He’s as animated and hyperactive as Tigger and is in his 40′s.

The counterpoint to Tigger is of course Eeyore. Tigger has a ton of fans but so does Eeyore. This particular mug shows Eeyore among a bunch of lavender flowers looking almost happy.

All of these designs appear to be retired. Once they are gone they’re gone. So check them out, tell me what you think. If you have any comments please leave them. If you know about any other cool Pooh mugs let me know. I would love to see them.

• Movies, apps, games, music, reading and more, plus Amazon’s revolutionary, cloud-accelerated web browser
• 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books
• Amazon Appstore – thousands of popular apps and games
• Ultra-fast web browsing – Amazon Silk
• Free cloud storage for all your Amazon content
• Vibrant color touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle
• Fast, powerful dual-core processor
• Amazon Prime members enjoy unlimited, instant streaming of over 10,000 popular movies and TV shows

After viewing the roll out and watching some demonstrations I am sold on the unit. I have read a number of reviews and comparisons and this fits my needs to a T. The new Kindles will be available to the public on November 21st. I’ve already pre-ordered mine.

If you don’t need all that the Kindle Fire has to offer then Amazon still offers the base model is the Kindle Touch which received some upgrades but still functions the same as last years model. Some of the features include:

• Simple-to-use touchscreen, with audio and built-in Wi-Fi
• Most advanced E Ink display, now with multi-touch
• New sleek design – 8% lighter, 11% smaller, holds 3,000 books
• Text-to-speech, plus audio books and mp3s
• Built in Wi-Fi – Get books in 60 seconds
• Massive book selection, over 800,000 titles are $9.99 or less
• New – Borrow Kindle books from your public library

Whether you want all the media assets of the Kindle Fire or the basics of the best e-reader on the market in the basic Kindle, Amazon has shown that they are still an innovative and driving force in the new media world. I encourage you to investigate the new family of kindles. Who knows you may just discover the Christmas present that satisfies everyone on your list. Let me know what you think and if you are able to attend a product demonstration comment what you find.

Disney is beginning to put it’s Halloween products out on the market. The most popular of these are the Nightmare Before Christmas characters. Jack Skellington is by far their most popular Halloween character and they are coming out with a number of new “Jack” products to satisfy his fans.

The most accessible of these products are the NBC mugs and drinkware. I came across The “Scorpio” Jack mug last week. It had just become available.

Jack-o-Lantern!

I also found a great mug of Jack with his jack-o-Lantern in a beautiful orange and black color scheme. I especially like all of the detail in jack’s art work and the lyrics in the background. I currently have this up for auction. Take a look and see how it’s doing.

There’s also a really nice capuccino mug from last season that I was able to find. It’s well made with a picture of jack I haven’t seen before.

Jack Capuccino!

I invite you to check these out and let me know what you think. If you have a favorite Jack mug that you can’t find let me know. I will see if I can track it down for you.

Oh, and don’t forget about Sally. What’s Jack without her and especially this face mug that is no longer available anywhere but here!

Tinkerbell in Silver coffee mug

One of the great things about Disney is they are constantly changing their products and product designs. It gives the Disney artists an opportunity to express the Disney characters in new and different ways. Tinkerbell is one of the Disney characters that has been given the opportunity to “express” herself in ways that just a few years ago would have never been considered. She’s sassier, sexier and sometimes grumpier then Walt ever created.

Some of the best displays I have seen of Tink have been on the coffee and latte mugs that Disney sells.

Tinkerbell Tall Latte Mug

Each year they come out with different designs on the mugs. Some years are better than others but by and large Tinkerbell is someone they want to get right. She usually wears green but recently they have had her wearing gold or silver.

Personally I like all of them. I especially like the mugs that have a close up drawing of her face. Like the one below, these have a lot of detail and expression.

Tinkerbell Tall Latte Face mug

If you have a minute I invite you to check them out. If for no other reason they are enjoyable to look at. As we approach the holidays I will have even more Tinkerbell mugs on display. Be sure to check back and see what else comes in.