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My Week With The Apple Watch

Thought it might be a good idea to take some time out on this Friday night*** and post a much-needed update to the Blog. Amazing how life gets in the way and posts end up being weeks apart… You should see the number of drafts I have queued up so it’s not like I’m not thinking about blogging!

I stopped in the Apple store a few weeks ago just to look around and all the new toys and get a hands on demo of the Apple Watch. The employee assisting us was very helpful and he did such a good job I ended up making an impulse buy of an Apple Watch Sport (and a night stand dock).

I’ll admit it, I fell for the hype and it was totally an impulse buy (happens more than I like to admit). I justified the purchase to myself as an updated FitBit that did a lot more than just track my steps. Yeah, that’s the ticket!

If you haven’t checked out the Apple Watch it’s worth it just to see the design, fit, finish, and how it looks on your wrist. It’s a beautifully designed piece of electronics (as most Apple products are). The watch/band combinations are numerous and I’m a little surprised they didn’t package the watch by itself with the bands being an add-on accessory.
There are 3 watch models (in several colors) and 2 watch sizes all with the SAME internal components. The prices are all over the map when you pair the watch with the various bands. I opted for the $399 “Sport” model in brushed gold with a dark blue band (my shopping companion quickly identified it as the Notre Dame model).

After arriving home I had to charge the watch for about an hour before I could fire it up. Initial setup takes about 20 minutes while the companion apps are loaded from your phone. It took another 24-36 hours before things are totally synced and you are able to get all the alerts you would normally get on your phone (way longer than I expected).

The idea of having a mini phone display on your wrist, instantly accessible, is a good one in theory. My biggest problem was holding my arm at the viewing angle for an extended period along with the issue of being able to focus on the small screen.

I’ll admit I’m getting older and my arms are sometimes not long enough to properly focus on things like books and menus without a little help from Foster Grant.

This was an immediate problem that I didn’t really notice during the in-store demo. I’m not going to whip out my reading glasses every time I want to look at my wrist candy (Strike 1).

Another issue I ran into is the information actually presented on the watch screen. I get hundreds of emails a day and more times than not the message was unable able to be displayed on the screen because of the format. Not to mention viewing attachments is out of the question (Strike 2).

Battery life during the first day, like with any new toy, was not impressive because I was fidgeting with my new toy all day long. It improved in the days following as I used the watch less and less. Apple advertises a full day of usage between charges and I was getting that (Ball 1).

The final issue was the fact you have to make a specific flip of your wrist to get the display to wake up. Raising your arm works 50% of the time. Other times you have to rotate your wrist in a weird way to get the watch to activate. Hard to describe but anyone who has one of these devices knows exactly what I’m talking about (Strike 3).

Apple offers a 10-day return policy on the watch and I ended up taking advantage of it 7 days into the experiment. Returning it was totally painless and when I mentioned the viewing issues to the employee processing the return she indicated it’s not an uncommon complaint (and reason for return).

So my Apple Watch experiment is over (for now) and I can honestly say I don’t miss it. I continue to enjoy my Seiko Automatic Dive Watch for its simplicity (no batteries) and I look forward to the next version of the Apple Watch that’s rumored to be announced sometime this year.

Do you have an Apple Watch? What’s your experience been like? Hit me up in the comment section below.

***While listening to The Very Best Of The Violent Femmes on Spotify

What We’re Reading/Watching/Buying in December

It’s been a busy month and Christmas is less than a week away (so is a much-needed week off work for yours truly). As I get older the years just keep speeding up & I don’t know of any way to slow them down! It’s just the opposite feeling from when I was a kid where the years dripped slower than that bear bottle full of honey.

The Great Cord Cutting Project of 2015 is going better than I could have ever expected & there’s no going back. I’m spending some of that old evening TV time trying to keep up on the articles I’m always collecting via Pocket. Some items recently clipped include:

The Kindle is getting a workout too with several books being read in parallel. Just depends on what I’m in the mood for. Stephen King’s 11/22/63 and Andy Weir’s The Martian are both fighting for my attention.
I’ve also taken the opportunity to really dig into what’s available on the streaming services I subscribe to, particularly Netflix and Amazon:

The Man in the High Castle (Amazon) is an alternate history story that has the Germans and Japanese wining WWII and taking control of the USA. It’s a pretty dramatic series that’s full of twists and turns.
Narcos (Netflix) depicts the story of Pablo Escobar and the DEA agents assigned with bringing him to justice. I’m not going to lie, you have to pay attention to this show. Mainly because it’s 90% Spanish with subtitles. And a Gringo like me needs them. No Sprecken la Espanola

I’ve been helping keep USPS, FedEx and UPS in business with lots of holiday purchases for friends and family. Along with those items I picked up a new Keyboard/Case for myself and my iPad Air 2. The Belkin Qode Ultimate Pro is a great replacement to the Logitech keyboard cover I was using with the last iPad. It’s a little pricy $150 but It’s currently on sale now for $130. I’m working on a review but let’s just say that after a few days using it I’m a fan.

After a glowing review from a co-worker I also ordered the Hamilton Beach Breakfast Electric Sandwich Maker. Seriously, I did! I’ve see this gadget before but didn’t think it would be any good, especially costing under $30. Well I’m told this thing really works so I had to see for myself. When I happen to eat breakfast the egg and cheese (with various meats) is my regular go to. Delivery is scheduled for Monday so we’ll see how it goes Tuesday morning when I fire that baby up and make my first sausage, egg and cheese muffin.

No matter your religious preference (or not) I hope everyone is gearing up for a fun holiday season with friends and family. If you get any good tech gadgets or kitchen toys let me know! I’m always looking for ways to give Amazon more money.

Indianapolis – Midland Arts & Antiques Market

I was catching up on some of my favorite blogs & came across a reference to the Midland Arts & Antiques Market in a post about Ralston’s on Mass by Indianapolis Restaurant Scene. By the way, IRS is the #1 Indy food blog on Urbanspoon (with good reason) & you should check it out!

I drive by the Midland building all the time & never realized what it was. I was downtown at the annual company picnic with the boy on Saturday & we decided to check this place out on our way home. First of all, this place is HUGE! The sign on the east side says it used to be an old window & door factory. It’s also a little tricky to get to because of the one way streets.

Plan on spending a few hours to see everything. I’m going back to shoot more pictures of the unique items being sold in the 150+ booths & display cases. Here are some of the more unique things I saw while visiting.

FINALLY Won Something on eBay

I’ve used eBay for years (always buying/never sold anything) and have always had a lot of difficulty winning auctions. If you use eBay I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. I’ll be winning the auction for days and at the last-minute I’ll get outbid by a “sniper”.

Well I decided to pay that game last weekend and finally won a used camera I had wanted for a while now. It’s several years old but it’s a professional grade unit that I’m specifically interested in using for sports and time-lapse photography.

I won the auction by bidding my maximum amount 5-seconds before the auction ended. I had been outbid so many times before I was not sure if it even worked. A couple of seconds later I received confirmation that my last-minute bid won the auction.

Here are some tips for the casual eBay shopper that might help you win your next auction. It’s about buying camera gear but a lot of the tips apply to other items.

Happy bidding!

Review – Our Groceries App

I’m a list maker. I find lists are the best way for me to get things out of my head and free that thinking energy up for more important things. To keep all of our family lists in sync we uses the Our Groceries application.

Our Groceries is a free “cloud” based tool that’s accessible via the web, and applications designed for Blackberry, iPhone and Android. It’s a simple list maker that keeps everyone updated in near real-time. The free version is ad-supported and has small ads at the top of the screen. You can purchase an ad free version for Android and Apple.

My family uses Our Groceries for our master grocery list as well as errands, gift ideas, and even dinner ideas. It’s also a great way to make a packing list for vacation. Creating a list is a one step process and once it’s created you can start populating it right away. One of the cool features is that Our Groceries remembers your list items even after you check them off. Enter an item once and it’s always available for quick entry in the future. This is great for grocery lists where you’re adding the same things every week.

The magic of Our Groceries is in the synchronization. Once all the users in your family are connected (a very simple process that’s done via email) every time you add an item it’s automatically synchronized to the other users lists. Cross something off and it crosses that item off on their list. This all occurs within about 10 seconds.

When our daughter says she needs something from the store, we tell her “add it to the list”. There have been times where I’ll be at the grocery store and my wife will remember that we need something. Se adds it to Our Groceries on her phone and it magically shows up on my phone just a few seconds later. I really can’t stress enough how cool this application is.

Other features of Our Groceries allow you to input your favorite recipes and with one click all the ingredients get added to the shopping list.. Using the web you can drag and drop items so they are in the proper order when you walk through the store. I always put all of the produce at the top and frozen items at the bottom. The next time that produce item is added it will automatically end up at the top of the list. If you want to get really fancy you can assign categories to items so they’re grouped together.

The uses for Our Groceries are nearly endless. You don’t have to synchronize with other people, you can use the application by itself as well. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Cincinnati – Jungle Jim’s

On a recent trip to Cincinnati we traveled to the north side to re-visit one of our favorite foodie destinations. Jungle Jim’s is a true landmark and worth a 2-hour drive from Indianapolis to the Queen City (we were in town for the Fourth of July holiday and a mini-summer escape).

Only until you get inside can you understand the size of this place. Think 3 Big-Box stores stuffed with row upon row of grocery supplies to cater to all corners of the earth. No matter what you are looking for it can be found at Jungle Jim’s

After you get through the huge deli and liquor sections (including $4000+ bottles of wine) you are greeted by a larger than life produce section with products from all over the world. A lot of it is unrecognizable at first but the price tags help you get it figured out.

One of the many unique things about Jungle Jim’s are the sections dedicated to world regions. Indian, Asian, Mexican products are all well represented. A new addition (since my last visit) are the hot sauce isles (yes more than one) with products grouped by alphabet.

Smaller countries get their own little rooms packed with their unique products. Looking for something unique to Holland, France, or Greece? Chances are you will find it. The British section has teas and sauces that will make an ex-pat feel like they are home again.

I was even able to find the “Tiger” seasoning I have been looking for since my last trip to Madison, Indiana where it’s used on the outstanding burgers at Shipley’s Bar & Grill.

A new 2nd location in the Eastgate area is scheduled to open in 2012. I’m really looking forward to this as it’s close to where we visit and will save me the 30-minute plus trip to the north side.

Below are some random pictures and comments from our last trip.