Nexus 7 - Hands On Review [video] | Android in Canada Blog:
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
It's been how long? [45/70]
Seriously the 9th is the last time I wrote an actual article on this blog for myself (and not a reshare of my AiC stuff, or a recap of the vacation)??
Let's remedy that shall we?
Let's remedy that shall we?
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Camping trip 2012 - day 6
July 19 - Day 6
Dean slept the whole night which meant I had to stay on the deflating mattress. In the morning Dan asked to switch then and I was happy to not be touching the ground.
We all awoke and started the day. Dean had one tiny accident before breakfast, then one more just after... I'm ready for home. This has been the enough accidents.
So mommy and Dean went and watched a slide show on camping cooking while I took everything down and packed it away.
Then it was a drive home and unpack again... I feel beat.
Camping trip 2012 - day 5
July 18 - Day 5
The day started out with us switching beds again as Dean woke up. I don't mind, that little mattress really holds its air... Which is funny as it has the
hole I can see.
Dawn arose and I woke up to what I hoped wasn't another skunk. It wasn't, or at least I couldn't tell. After that, I was up and at around the table. I warmed up the stove to find out the propane was out so I walked to the drop off for the cylinder and enjoyed the early morning and the ducks. Walking back I heard some loons. Turns out 3 of them. And, as to dispel the possibility of seeing more than one at a time, ruining their reputation as a solitary creature they split up as soon as I saw them. Interesting birds.
Then some more ducks came out and I enjoyed watching them as well. Watching nature is something I can't describe, but is wholly absorbing and reflective.
After I watched the neighbours put away their pop up trailer and I was thoroughly intrigued as we've been thinking on one for a while. All in all a great little morning for me and having that whole pause moment.
Then the gang woke up and we had breakfast, which was oatmeal instead of pancakes. Yay... Variety.
After breakfast we had to deal with some more "accidents" with Dean and then got to watch two movies at the visitor centre - winter logging camp (narrated by Eric Peterson... Jackass) & Paddle to the Sea. Dean was entranced. Probably because he hasn't watched tv in 5 days.
On the way back grandpa showed up. Another couple of accidents and we had lunch of hot dogs and s'mores.
Another accident then on to the beach (as grandpa bought Dean some new beach/sand toys). Good times. Even grandpa swam.
Then it was time to start dinner on our new portable camping barbecue (from grandpa as an early anniversary gift)... And to christen the bbq - steaks... And baked potatoes (which we cooked over a fire with some green and orange peppers... Hey we had all that wood. We're using it.)
After dinner Dean and grandpa played while we took down the dining tent (one less thing to pack in the morning).
I also used the time to figure out the wet floor in the tent. My guess is after the rain some pooled under the tent on the drop cloth. So I raised up the fly and let the breeze through to dry the interior and lifted the base a little to let air and sun at the drop cloth. Didn't take long to dry. We'll see what happens in the morning.
Then grandpa left. Another catastrophic accident later which involved the throwing away of Dean's favourite towel we started our third fire of the day for marshmallows.
Dean didn't take long to crash, as he made us some glow stick necklaces, and then even got to see a star. I told him about the first star wish and he wished for a new lightning McQueen towel.
After he wanted to go to elephant's fire in the tent and pretend to roast marshmallows with him. Minutes later he was out.
Just Mandy and I to tend to the fire, and it was roaring. Huge. Then I heard a noise in the woods and flashed my light over to see a skunk raise on his front paws.. crud
We retreated to the road and eventually he passed by. The fire took 3 full emptying water bins to douse.
watching the movies (Dean was zombified -- first 'tv' he'd watched in DAYS)
gorgeous skies
oh, site 150, how we love thee
Camping trip 2012 - day 4
July 17 - Day 4
The day started out a little slow. I was dog tired. I don't think I've eaten this much while at home. Finishing everything Dean and Mandy don't eat as I don't want have food in the garbage.
We meant to make it to the early activity going to Sibley creek and learning about aquatic bugs. We meant to, but were a minute or two late (or 5) and couldn't quite find the right spot.
We found a spot for a trail anyways and went for a little hike ourselves.
After we came back and made ourselves a little picnic for the beach. We saw some butterfly wings, 2 snails in their spiral shells in the water and a mollusc (?).
When beach time was over we visited the centre again then rested. Yay... But not really. I was hoping Dean would nap as he hasn't stayed up late for a fire or stars yet. No luck.
We had one more accident with Dean and needed to do laundry and called grandpa and bought ice and wood.
Soon there after we tested out the action meals my dad gave us and they were good. Mandy opted for a freeze dried meal. Mine and Dean's said single serving, and Mandy's said 2... Not for a guy of my size as I wolfed down my meal and as I eyed up Mandy's remains of the second portion she said that she was starved so I made another meal. After I started was when Mandy saying she was full before she started her second serving... Oh well. 2 from the one I just started, the remainder of Mandy's, mine and the left overs of Dean's... I was full. So I relaxed on the saggy bed for a bit and then Dean and I walked to the beach for a stroll.
It was cold and light was starting to fade so I made it brief and headed back to start a fire and have s'mores.
Fires just getting good and Dean is now falling asleep... Too bad he missed out on the s'mores... Gotta save him some for tomorrow. Greg'll be here, maybe he'll stay late enough for a fire and some roasting marshmallows. I've got 3 bags of wood left, we're roasting something.
diorama(?) of the sleeping giant
Camping trip 2012 - day 3
July 16 - Day 3
So it rained last night.... And it's still raining.... Hard
The dining tent was good for breakfast, but even it was getting drenched. So we've retreated to the tent some more. I've always felt like the fly on this tent was too taut... And in some areas I'm right. Now there's no drops in the tent... And fingers crossed that holds, but holy smokes it's coming down out there... And I'm starting to hear thunder now, so no sign of it letting up.
There's talk of going to silver islet to help kill some time.
The rain let up enough to just stay raining even heavier. As that eventually let up we headed out for a trip to silver islet... which has lost some of its lustre. We also decided on a quick check to the thunder bay lookout, which was nice as we got some cell service, so we called Grammy and grandpa, who were on their way out.
Heading back to the camp we smelled a fire, and as it turns out the inflator doesn't have an overcharging circuit and it was smoking in the back of the truck... yoiks.
Now the fun is watching Dean as we had the issue last year of him going every few minutes in his pants, this year he hasn't gone at all. He had an accident at the lookout and we broke a rule and let him go in the bushes... stinky.
He just had his second accident. D'oh!
In soon time my parents had come by and they brought with them a full dinner. Not necessary but appreciated. More appreciated was the ice packs they replenished for us. After dinner my mom for to enjoy our roly poly bed (I.e. semi inflated mattress) and then we went to the beach for a quick look, but it was too cold so we played on the equipment. I then learned who taught Dean the under dog move on the swings.
After, we went to the store to kill time before the board game night; where grandpa bought two stuffed birds that make the sound of the birds they were. One was a loon (for himself) and the other a blue Jay (for Dean).
Then it was time for the board games. It was already started and we were late... But we figured out what was going on. It was a nature version of taboo... Some of the parents helped fill us in. Some of the kids had a hard time trying to describe the item... And some grandparent (not Dean's) was having a hard time concentrating with all the racket. She was really into it. Let the people know that we were NOT on their team, but rather just happened to sit near, and a couple times asked my parents to be quiet. Fun.
They left after hanging around a few more minutes... Then we cashed in for the night. No real drama that night except Dean rolled off the bed twice, I think... And Mandy snored way more than normal... Rough.
meet the snake in the visitor centre
dean loved this display of the silver mine
silver islet
view of the wet tent
Dean needed to make light necklaces so we can be safe at night
some craft time with Dean
teaching dean to play tic-tac-toe
teaching him to write his name (by connect the dots)
hot, hot, -- hot chocolate
Grandpa and Dean with their birds
camp, sweet camp
view from the 'lookout'
Dean and Mandy hamming it up at the lookout point
the view down from the lookout point (I was so scared about dropping my phone)
Camping trip 2012 - day 2
July 15 - Day 2
So we start the day out with me sleeping on the small mattress and Dean and Mandy on the "double" mattress (I put two on top of each other). That is until theirs became so deflated that it caused Mandy to sink in the middle and Dean rolling into her. So we switched. Yay, comfort.
Then I couldn't stay asleep after I kept hear noises like someone walking around our tent. I'm somewhat used to that while camping, but it was continuous enough that I was curious. It was light enough so I stuck my head out to see...
... A skunk stuck in our dining tent. Apparently it's a great animal trap. It couldn't get out... And after half an hour or so I knew I bad to intervene. So I crept to the one flap (nearest the tent) and unzipped it. It saw me and raised so I backed away. It kept trying the far side so I went around and tried to get it to go towards the now open flap... No dice as it raised again.... So I backed off some more. Eventually we played this dance a few time and it got out...
Stupid skunk.
Now that we were up so early we decided we might as well have breakfast. Mmmmmm pancakes and chocolate chips. Following up that nice early breakfast we had a nap and slept in.
The rest of the day wasn't as eventful, we went for a walk. We visited the visitor centre and eventually Mandy's parents came by. We visited and then went to the beach and played there for a while.
We came back and had sausages they brought with them. We had to improvise with some cutlery, but we did ok.
On a side note... I bought 2 gadgets for this trip. A trickle solar charger for the car (in case charging up the inflator drained the battery) and a solar charger for my phone. The solar charger sucked. I let it charge for hours and nothing. It barely charged my phone. Obviously it's not charging faster than my phone was using, so I let it sit in the sun and build up its battery. After a few hours it only charged up my phone 1%
:-[
We got to experiment with banana boats as the neighbour to one side left us her left over wood.
After dinner, grandpa and grandma left so we readied for bed. Dean was showing signs of being tired so no convincing needed.
I thought I'd stay up, but it's kinda boring and was cooler than normal so I turned in as well.
[Not many photos today either]
taken while on a bit of a shortcut to the beach
Camping trip 2012 - day 1 [July 14]
July 14 - Day 1
We took our time getting ready as check in time wasn't until 2...
Driving away I always feel like I've forgotten something, but that was impossible. Our car was loaded with more than I've ever seen.
We get in and get our number - 150. Turns out 151 looked better, so Mandy went and asked. No dice.
We set up on the little platform we get... Well little after we put our 2 huge tents down. While setting them up we can hear booming. Better hurry.
But no rain comes... So we relax in the tent as we are soaked with sweat in setting things up. After a big Dean and I go for a walk and visit the beach. We come back to Mandy waking up from her nap and Dean presents her with a gift. On the way back I told him we should look out for roasting sticks... And he found one that I wasn't too impressed with but he said it could be for mom as a mother's day gift.
We then drove down to the beach and went for a dip to build an appetite for dinner. It worked. The water was perfect. Cold, but refreshing. Exactly what we needed.
After we drove back to the tent correct dinner and made beans and peas and hot dogs. After every bite of the pork and beans Dean would demonstrate what beans do to you... Pbbbbbbth
Dinner done we started to wash up and like while setting up the tent and while swimming we heard more booming. This came with a spatter of rain... Good call on not buying wood tonight.
We sack out pretty quickly under the rain.
[no photos today...]
Friday, July 13, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Let's get you up to speed [38/61]
So... I just had a week's vacation! Yay. In that time period I've had some fun times.
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