Observations on the New Vegetable Garden

In two previous postings I shared the results and lessons learned from my first vegetable garden in 2011 (Ideas Seeded from My First Vegetable Garden) and the creation of a new edible garden in early 2012 (Applying Learnings to a New Vegetable Garden).  The second posting concluded with a few observations related to the importance of good soil, the benefits of planting in squares, the use of kitchen scraps for compost, and the need to regularly maintain the garden.  With summer coming to a close on September 21, I want to provide an update on the new garden.

This posting presents:

• The plantings in the new garden and the results of the harvest through mid-September.
• New observations and lessons learned from the garden.

This year has been an excellent learning year, and these new observations will be helpful in improving the garden going forward.

NEW GARDEN PLANTINGS AND RESULTS

The new edible garden includes four raised beds totaling 140 square feet, a slightly mounded bed (to eventually be used for perennials), a long row of berry plants along the back fence (blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry), and a potted herb garden.  The garden also includes a double barrel composter, two rain barrels, rabbit fencing, and bird netting.

View of the edible garden (click to enlarge)

Applying Learnings to a New Vegetable Garden

In the spring of 2011 I planted my first vegetable garden.  The December posting (Ideas Seeded from My First Vegetable Garden) described the experience and listed some of the key observations from this first year of gardening.  I mentioned several goals for 2012, including planting at the proper time, seeking out advice from experienced gardeners, and improving the quality and taste of the vegetables.

Much has happened in the five months since that posting.  My fiancé (now my wife) and I have taken the learning experiences to heart and have made our first major push into edible landscaping.  This posting presents:

• The steps taken early this year to improve our food gardening.
• New observations from the garden so far this year.

The progress and results are exciting to share, and I am hopeful it will inspire others to grow their own fruits and vegetables and move towards organic food gardening.

iPhone iOS Apps for Travel and Tips to Avoid Data Roaming Charges

The iPhone has become an essential tool for me when travelling.  As mentioned in an earlier post, the iPhone can replace many gadgets that are helpful to have on trips, such as a GPS navigation device, camera, and alarm clock.  And in several cases, the Safari web browser app and other iOS apps can reduce the need to even bring a laptop on a trip.

Cellular data access (like EDGE or 3G) is required to make the iPhone fully functional while travelling.  With cellular data access, you can view the latest traffic, check weather with the current conditions, and access any website almost anywhere you are.  If your phone uses a United States plan and you are in the United States, coverage is available in most places and it is included in your domestic data plan.  Just make sure you have enough on your data plan to cover your needs.  If you go outside of the domestic area, there are additional data roaming charges and these fees can add up quickly if you do not get an international data plan and manage your data usage.

I recently took a trip to Toronto, Ontario, Canada from Buffalo, New York.  Because this trip took me out of the United States and my domestic data plan, I took the normal precautions to avoid voice and data roaming charges.  I used Wi-Fi when it was available and took advantage of specific capabilities in several apps to get the most functionality out of the iPhone without cellular data access.

This post provides recommendations for helpful iOS apps to use while travelling by:

• Listing iPhone apps I used during the trip to Toronto.
• Providing tips on using these apps to avoid cellular data access and roaming charges.
• Giving additional recommendations when travelling with your iPhone.

LRN Technique: Growth Through Traveling

Traveling outside your local area provides a special opportunity for personal growth.  With an open mind and proper planning, a trip can expose you to different histories, cultures, customs, architectures, people, environments, and perspectives all at the same time.

I have been fortunate to spend time in several parts of the United States and in over 20 countries.  Most recently, I visited Ireland for ten days in April 2011 and took advantage of this opportunity to learn and to grow.

This post:

• Provides tips on enhancing your personal growth from a trip.
• Summarizes a few of my key takeaways from the trip to Ireland.

Tips for Creating a Life Scrapbook Digitally

In an earlier posting (Documenting Your Memoirs with a Life Scrapbook) I introduced the concept of the life scrapbook, listed reasons to create one, provided example pages to give you an idea of the content, and gave some tips and steps to take in creating one for yourself.

There are two components of life scrapbooking: the content and the presentation.  The content refers to your life story and the memorabilia available to visually support your life story.  The presentation refers to the look and feel of the scrapbook, the layout, and the way the life story is conveyed visually.  Once you have performed the steps related to the content (discussed in the previous posting), you are ready to focus on the presentation.

This posting:

• Describes the differences between doing a scrapbook in a traditional manner versus creating one digitally
• Discusses the tools needed for digital scrapbooking
• Provides tips and techniques for digital scrapbooking, including design aspects, software considerations, and printing
• Wraps up this topic with some final thoughts on creating a life scrapbook.

My hope is these two postings give you the enthusiasm and the path to create your own life scrapbook.

TRADITIONAL VERSUS DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING

Traditional scrapbooking refers to physically creating a scrapbook through traditional methods, including physically cutting, pasting, marking, and folding materials.  This is a time-honored approach and has had a renaissance over the past two decades in the United States.  Scrapbooking stores cater to people using this approach.

Digital scrapbooking refers to an approach of imaging all memorabilia through digital photos and scanning and then laying out the pages on the computer digitally.  This is a relatively new approach brought about by technological advances and affordability of digital cameras, scanners, and software.  There are advantages and constraints associated with both of these approaches.

Advantages of traditional scrapbooking include:

• The result is made by your own hands (truly handmade), physically touching and putting together a one-of-a-kind book
• There are scrapbooking stores and clubs to help you, energize you, and provide support and comraderie
• The tools to assist in the creation process are easy to learn.

Constraints of traditional scrapbooking include:

• It is hard to make changes after you have created a page, cut something up, or glued something down
• The size of the memorabilia, like a diploma or ribbon award, may constrain how you can layout a page.

Advantages of digital scrapbooking include:

• Memorabilia can be scaled, for example, you may be able to fit two award certificates on the same page by shrinking the images of the certificates
• Many of the traditional techniques, such as cropping, overlaying, and placing of decorative items can be mimicked and even extended
• Errors can be corrected and pages redone without damaging the original memorabilia
• It is not as messy a process to create
• The original memorabilia can be safely stored away since a digital copy is used in the scrapbook
• It is easy to make copies of the scrapbook.

 Constraints of digital scrapbooking include:

• The result is not 3D with true richness of texture
• This approach requires a computer as well as some computer and technical savvy to use software and the other electronic tools.

Only you can decide which approach is right for you.  There is no right or wrong answer.  I decided to create my scrapbook digitally.  I am comfortable with technology.  I wanted to keep my memorabilia and photos intact in case I needed them for something else.  And going digital allowed me to print multiple copies of my life scrapbook and share them with others.

TOOLS NEEDED FOR DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING

There are six tools typically used in digital scrapbooking.

The computer is the central tool.  It runs the software and interfaces with the other tools.  You can use almost any type of computer and operating system, such as Windows or Mac OSX.  Faster machines speed up the time to load in and manipulate images, but it is not critical to have an expensive machine.  It is more important to have a large enough hard drive to store the files you will be creating.  Images and the digital pages you will be creating can take up a lot of space.

A scanner is the best tool to copy flat objects.  You want a flatbed scanner and not a scanner that feeds in paper as it could damage the item you are scanning.  Make sure the scanner can scan in a high resolution (the number of dots per square inch).  The scanner should also be able to scan the image in color.  High resolution and color allow you to have an image that looks very close to the original.

A camera is used to take photos for the scrapbook.  A digital camera is recommended as it is easy to transfer the image to the computer.  If you have a film camera, the film can be developed at a store that gives you the images digitally (on a CD or stored on the internet) or you can scan in the print using the scanner.  A camera can also be used to take photos of your memorabilia that cannot be scanned in, such as a non-flat object like a trophy.

A printer is used to print a physical copy of the scrapbook.  A personal printer is only required if you are printing the pages of the scrapbook yourself.  You can also have the scrapbook printed on a professional printer with binding.

An internet connection is required if you are using one of the websites to lay out your scrapbook or if you having the printing done by an external service.  You can also use the internet connection to get ideas for your scrapbook and to download images and decorative items for your scrapbook.

Software refers to the programs used on your computer to design and create your scrapbook.  The software can be a graphics program, presentation software, or scrapbooking software.  You may also need a web browser if you want to use websites specifically geared for scrapbooking or creating photo books.

DIGITAL TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

For your flat memorabilia, scan all of your documents and physical photos.  Remember to use a color, flatbed scanner and scan at a high resolution (300 dots per inch).  You can also scan thin objects on a flatbed scanner, such as buttons.

For you other memorabilia that cannot be scanned, photograph these objects that you want in your scrapbook.  You can make the photos of the objects less “flat” by performing some software manipulation.  See the example below of an origami flower.

This origami flower was photographed with a solid, distinct color behind it.  Then an “alpha” tool in a software program was used to remove the background.  Shadows were also added to give it a more 3D look.

Select the background “paper” you want to use for your scrapbook paper.  You can scan in the background or you can use digital background “paper” available from scrapbooking e-kits.  You can use the same background throughout the scrapbook or you can use several backgrounds.

For text, you can scan in your own handwriting for captions and notes.  You can also use a font that gives the intended feeling for the scrapbook.  In the example above, Handwriting - Dakota is an electronic font.  "I love you" is real handwriting.

Decorations (embellishments) are very popular in modern scrapbooking.  Scan in decorative items or gather electronic embellishments from clipart or scrapbooking e-kits.

SOFTWARE PROGRAMS FOR DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING

There are several software options.  The table below lists different categories of software that may be used to create a digital scrapbook, along with examples of software programs for each category.

Category	Example Software Programs
Presentation	PowerPoint, Keynote
Layout	Publisher
Photo	Photoshop
Offline photobook	MyPublisher, iPhoto
Scrapbooking	Memory Mixer, Memory Suite
Online photobook sites	Kodakgallery, Snapfish
Online scrapbooking sites	Scrapblog

Each software program has its own advantages and disadvantages.  You can select based on what functionality you need, what computer the software runs on, how much you are willing to spend, what software you already have, and what software you feel most comfortable using.

I used a combination of software programs.  I used Photoshop Elements to scan in and crop images.  I used Keynote to create and layout the individual pages.  And I used iPhoto and MyPublisher to externally publish copies of the scrapbook.

DESIGNING EACH PAGE

The techniques to designing a page digitally are similar to designing a page for traditional scrapbooking.  Look at the memorabilia you have.  Organize them on the page or pages.  Add titles, captions, and other text.  Add decorative items.  And complete the layout.

If you will be printing on the front and back of a page, remember that odd number pages are on the right side of an open-faced book.  In addition, consider the page content and design based on facing pages.

With digital scrapbooking, you can take advantage of the functionality provided by the software to approximate a traditional scrapbook look or even do things you cannot do easily with traditional techniques.  Some simple examples:

• Add shadows to some of your scanned in items to give it more of a 3D look
• Give jagged edges to cropped documents
• Scale the memorabilia to fit nicely on the page and the layout
• Apply picture frames or mats for photos.

 Consider creating additional pages to round out your scrapbook.  You may want to have a preface or introduction, a table of contents, a conclusion/wrap-up/post-script, and front and back covers.

SAVING EACH PAGE AND PRINTING

As you create the pages, you will be saving the pages in the native format of the software program.  These files should be kept so you can edit the page in the software program if changes need to be made in the future.

Once you have completed all of the pages or your life scrapbook digitally, you may need to save the pages in another file format to load into another software program for printing.  For example, iPhoto and MyPublisher can be used to create and print photo books.  If you save each scrapbook page as one image, you can import each image as a single “photo” where the photo takes the entire photo book page and bleeds to the edge (no borders).

Typical image formats are TIFF (high resolution, large file sizes), PNG, and JPG.  Make sure the resolution is high enough for the page desired.  Do a test print of a page early on before you get far in to the scanning, design, and build process.  Otherwise, if the image scans are not high enough resolution, you may have to rescan all the items again.  Include the background graphics in the resolution test.

Before you print, proofread each page and correct any errors or omissions.  And then proofread it one more time (or two).  It is helpful to enlist a second pair of eyes; there will always be something you missed.

Options for printing include:

• Printing on your own printer and binding it yourself
• Printing at a printer shop that lets you bring in your own files
• Using a photobook printing service, such as Apple, Kodakgallery, MyPublisher, or Snapfish.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON LIFE SCRAPBOOKING

Your life scrapbook will evolve as you go through the journey of creating it.

It takes time to create a life scrapbook.  Enjoy the experience and the journey.  Do not give up.

Take the opportunity during the journey to learn about yourself.

And be creative throughout the process.  Have fun.

Happy scrapbooking!

"Must Have" Apps for your iPhone and other iOS devices

Last updated: March 1, 2011

I am frequently asked to list my favorite iPhone applications (apps).  I am an avid iPhone app user and have downloaded slightly more than 580 of them in the last two years.  While I have not seen statistics on the number of apps the average user accesses in a given month, my conversations with other iPhone users suggest I actively use a larger number of non-game apps than the typical user.  Most of my apps focus on information, productivity, photography, or music.

This posting:

• Presents a list of apps I recommend as “must have” apps because they add tremendous value...if you are a new iPhone user, get these now to round out your device and make it more powerful
• Recommends a few additional apps to get because they are interesting, although you may not access them that often
• Provides tips on acquiring and maintaining your apps.

This list is geared to the iPhone, but most of these applications are also of benefit to iPod Touch and iPad users.  Some functionality in the apps may not be available with these other devices as the hardware capability may not exist (for example, the magnetic compass is required for some features to work).  Please refer to my posting on hardware capabilities of the iOS devices for more information.

MUST HAVE APPS

I begin with some limitations of my list.   These points do not invalidate the list; this list definitely contains my recommendations and is based on actual usage.   I spend some time each month scanning lists, downloading apps, and reading reviews of new apps to keep current.

First, I have clearly downloaded just a fraction of the apps that are available—actually less than 0.2% of the 350,000 iPhone apps available in the App Store as of March 1, 2011.  I am sure there are some excellent apps I have not heard about.

Second, I have downloaded very few apps that cost money.  This means I have limited exposure to the large number of excellent paid apps.  My focus has been on apps that are free or were free at the time I downloaded it.

Last, some of my “must have” apps may not be beneficial in some places outside of the United States because the content in those locales may be sparse or not available.  For example, applications that provide information about restaurants or traffic conditions are not meaningful unless there is up-to-date content available in that location.

With that said, here is my summary list of “must have” iPhone apps.  Below the list more detail is provided about each app, including a link to the webpage for the app (click on the app name so you can quickly bring it up in iTunes), a brief description, the price (as of September 10, 2010; prices can change at any time), and one or more nifty features that help make it a good app to have.

Search the web... View files and share them... Know the weather... Stay informed... Track your path... Look it up and learn... Talk, not type... Find your recipe... Draw and sketch... Find free hotspots... Listen to music... Participate in social media... Get directions while driving...   Communicate for free/less... "Text" by voice... Know your speed...

Dragon Search Dropbox The Weather Channel NPR News, New York Times, USA Today MotionX GPS Wikipanion, Dictionary.com, IMDb Movies & TV Dragon Dictation Epicurious, BigOven SketchBook MobileX Wi-Fi Finder Accuradio, Pandora Facebook, Twitterific MotionX GPS Drive or MapQuest 4 Mobile Skype, Google Voice, TextFree with Voice HeyTell Speedtest.net

Dragon Search (free) – Search the web by speaking or typing

Nifty features: It provides search results for Google (or Yahoo!), YouTube, Twitter, iTunes, and Wikipedia at the same time. You scroll a horizontal listing of these sites to switch among the search results.  It includes a good built-in browser to view results.

Dropbox (free) – Access and view files "in the cloud" (Dropbox's servers on the web) or files you have downloaded for offline viewing.  Think of it as a "file system" where you can store documents online or offline and access them on your iPhone. BONUS:  If you click this link here to get your free Dropbox account, both you and I will get extra space as a bonus.

Nifty features:  There are many reasons to get Dropbox for your Windows or Mac OS computers even if you do not own an iPhone.  From an iPhone standpoint, you can view many types of files.  You can download files for offline viewing.  You can share links to files from within the app.  You can take photos and videos on your iPhone and then upload it to the cloud.

The Weather Channel (free) – display current weather conditions and forecasts

Nifty features: It provides extended forecasts (hourly, 36 hour, and 10 day) and maps with animation of past cloud movement. It will display snapshots from nearby road cameras if available.

NPR News (free) – listen to news and programs from NPR (National Public Radio in the United States), read NPR stories, and listen to live broadcasts from any of the NPR radio stations

Nifty features: You can create a playlist of stories you want to hear and just listen to those stories.

NYTimes (free) – read and search The New York Times

Nifty features: The latest articles and photos download when you sync so you can view offline.  Perfect for airplane flights and other locations where you do not have WiFi and cell connections.

USA TODAY (free) – read the latest news

Nifty features: You can download all stores to read offline.

MotionX GPS ($2.99) – track your position and your path whatever you are doing outside (hiking, running, cycling) Note:  There is a "lite" version for free (MotionX GPS Lite) that would suffice for a majority of users.

Nifty features:  It contains lots of different types of maps (for example, contour maps, street maps) and you can "cache" (store) some of these maps on your device so you can use them wherever you are and when you are offline.  You can store many tracks and e-mail them.  It records several statistics in realtime, including time, distance, speed (average and max), altitude, and altitude changes.  You can mark spots on your track (waypoints) and attach photos along the way.

Wikipanion (free) – search and view Wikipedia entries

Nifty features:  It contains several features to make Wikipedia easier to view on small screen, including table of contents, expand/collapse, word-wrapping, and font resizing.

Dictionary.com (free) – look up words using a professional and reliable dictionary and thesaurus, with pronunciation, comprehensive definitions, origins, sample sentences, synonyms, and antonyms.

Nifty features: It downloads the information to your iPhone so you can use it anytime, whether you have an internet connection or not. It will pronounce the word for you if you are connected to the internet.

IMDb Movies & TV (free) – search for information on just about any movie or TV show ever made

Nifty features:  It simply has a wealth of content.  It is only a "must have" because you will eventually find yourself asked the question "Who was in that movie?"

Dragon Dictation (free) – speak and it will transcribe it to text that can be texted, mailed, or placed on the clipboard.

Nifty features:  It works very well.

Epicurious (free) – search and view recipes.

Nifty features:  Reviews of recipes are included; always read the reviews first to get ideas on how to improve it or to gauge whether you want to make it or not.  You can e-mail recipes and create shopping lists from recipes.

BigOven (free) – search and view recipes.

Nifty features:  Over 170,000 recipes are available with ratings and reviews.  You can view ingredients in metric equivalents.

SketchBook MobileX (free) – sketch ideas or draw

Nifty features:  Gives you the full screen as the drawing area (that is, it hides menus and toolbars).  You can upload your drawings easily to Flickr. Tip:  Hold down the on/off and home button screen at the same time to take a snapshot of the screen and put it in your camera roll.  This tip applies everywhere in every app on the iPhone.

Wi-Fi Finder (free) – find Wi-Fi hotspots (both free and paid)

Nifty features: This is a database of Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the world (they claim over 320,000 locations in 140 countries).  You can download the database for offline use, which is critical when you do not have online access.

AccuRadio (free) – listen to internet radio with hundreds of channels

Nifty features:  You can skip as many songs as you would like.  You can view the history of songs you have heard.  No audio ads.

Pandora (free) – listen to music from your own personalized radio station

Nifty features:  You create your own "radio station" by selecting an artist, song, or classical composer, and it will play songs by the artist and similar music from other artists.

Facebook (free) – access Facebook from your iPhone

Nifty features: A lot easier to quickly view, read, and update status than booting up a computer.

Twitterific (free) – read and post tweets

Nifty features: Easy to use.  Shows keywords trending on Twitter.

MotionX GPS Drive ($0.99 plus $24.99 for real-time routing and voice guidance) – give a destination and it will set the route and give you directions while driving

Nifty features: Works well when walking, too.  Because it is an online app, everything is updated with access to the latest information, including traffic conditions, maps, and location of newer commercial sites.  You can view the map navigation in landscape or portrait mode. Suggestion:  Get a car charger with enough amps (reviews suggest 2.1 amps) so that the iPhone battery will last on a long trip.  Use of GPS and real-time checks drain the battery.

MapQuest 4 Mobile (free) – give a destination and it will set the route and give you directions while driving

Nifty features:  Voice guidance with turn-by-turn directions is free!  You can quickly display nearby traffic conditions, hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and other businesses.  It automatically reroutes if you miss your turn or decide to take a different direction. Suggestion:  Get a car charger with enough amps (reviews suggest 2.1 amps) so that the iPhone battery will last on a long trip.  Use of GPS and real-time checks drain the battery.

Skype (free) – use Skype on your iPhone...this means you can text and call other Skype users for free over Wi-Fi anywhere in the world

Nifty features: You can call over Wi-Fi or over 3G (although this will use part of your data plan.)  You can display who of your Skype contacts are online.  On the iOS devices that support multitasking, you can keep it running in the background so Skype contacts can contact you anytime.

Google Voice (free) – call and text (only available in the United States)

Nifty features: Call for free any U.S. number and call internationally at low rates.  Send free texts to any United States number.  Get all of the benefits of Google Voice, including voice mail and transcriptions of voice mail.  Your Google Voice number is displayed on caller id.

TextFree with Voice (free) - send and receive texts and pics for free, make and receive calls

Nifty features: TextFree provides you a personal phone number for texting.  There is no limit on how many text messages you can send or receive.  Free texting to several countries.

HeyTell (free) – communicate by leaving voice messages

Nifty features:  A wonderfully strange cross between voice messaging (you leave a voice message), texting (message delivered right after sending), and walkie-talkie (one person talks at a time).  History of voice messages are kept.  If you are in the app, you hear the voice message in near realtime.  If you are not in the app, it will push a notification that you have a message (just like a text message).  Good tool if voice or sound is better than texting (or if you dislike texting) or want someone to hear a little bit of a speech or concert.  If desired, you can have it show the location of where you recorded the message on a map.

Speedtest.net (free) – measure the speed your network

Nifty features:  It tests ping, download, and upload times.  It will store your history so you can compare over time.

MY FAVORITE APPS

All of my "must have" apps are favorite apps.  But not all of my favorite apps are "must have".  I can get along fine without them.  But they are a joy to use, even if I use them infrequently.  Here is a list of some of these favorites, followed by the link and a nifty feature which makes it a favorite.

Star Walk ($2.99) - view the sky in real-time or for any date on any location of the earth

Nifty features:  This is an app to impress your friends and show the power of the capabilities of the hardware.  It takes advantage of the magnetic compass and GPS to show you the sky in front of you in real-time...it moves with you as you turn and face other directions.  The touch screen makes it easy to navigate, zoom in, and view information.  The star information is stored in the app so you can use this app offline in the remotest areas.

SoundHound with the infinity symbol ($4.99) - can recognize the name of the music you are listening to, singing, or humming Note:  There is a free version of SoundHound which limits you to 5 free music recognition IDs each month, as well as unlimited voice and text searches.

Nifty features:  Another app that feels like magic.  When a song is recognized, it will show all information it has available for it, including lyrics, YouTube videos with that song in it, artist biographies, albums with that song in it, other songs by the artist, and additional information.  If your iPhone multitasks, it can recognize what music is playing in another music app.

Google Earth (free) - view the earth from satellite imagery

Nifty features:  Ok, yes another app that feels like magic, this one because of the seamless way you can circle the earth and zoom in to any location.  It is a desktop version of Google Earth in the palm of your hand.  You can search for any city or place (type in "Washington Monument" and it virtually flies you there).  You can tilt the view to see mountainous terrain.  It also has links to Wikipedia entries.  I find the standard Maps app to be faster, but this app is more magical.

TIPS ON ACQUIRING AND MAINTAINING APPS

Sync up your iPhone regularly with your computer.  Synching backs up apps you may have acquired from the App Store on your iPhone.  You also get a back-up of your iPhone in case you lose it or if you ever have to have to reset it.

Download and update apps on your computer and then sync (download) to your iPhone whenever possible.  I have read many app reviewer comments where users complain they updated the app and then it did not work anymore.  Some people mention they had to delete the app on the iPhone and reinstall to get it to work again.  I have never had that problem with the apps they refer to.  I do not know if it is because I always do my updates on my computer and then sync, but it would not hurt to try it this way.

Read the reviews first before updating apps.  You can learn from others if the upgrade has a major bug, if the vendor took away functionality, if the vendor knows of an issue and encourages you to wait for the next release, or if the vendor added advertisements or sign-ups that you do not want to bother with.  Manually select the apps you want to upgrade after reading the reviews.  This is an advantage of not being an early bird.

Download free apps if you think they could eventually be useful to you.  Tomorrow (or even an hour later) that app may no longer be free.  I have several apps I acquired for free although they are no longer available for free.

Use AppShopper (www.appshopper.com) to look for price drops.  This wonderful website keeps you informed of apps that have lowered their price.  It also shows the history of price changes for each app featured.  If you notice an app has had a history of temporary price changes, get it when it is at its lowest historical price.  Here is an example of an app that has changed prices many times.

Do not forget iPhone web apps (web applications).  iPhone web apps are applications designed for the size of the iPhone screen and the iPhone capabilities.  These web apps require you have an online connection because it uses the internet.  You can create an icon for a web app on your home screen.  Open the web app in Safari on your iPhone, tap the plus sign, and then tap “Add to Home screen".  This link to the Apple site on web apps gives you more information.

Here is a link to one example web app on how to write Chinese characters.  Notice how it takes advantage of the iPhone touch screen.

Do not forget you can go to websites with the Safari browser.  The world is at your fingertips.  You may be able to access either a website designed for mobile devices or the original website and access all of the functionality.  Two examples:

• Drugs.com is an excellent site for drug information.  They do not have an iPhone app.  But you can access the website.
• Wolfram Alpha has a paid iPhone app.  But you can access their mobile website for free (m.wolframalpha.com) and have similar capabilities.

I will update this list as I find new "must have" and favorite apps.

Happy apping!

Documenting Your Memoirs with a Life Scrapbook

Scrapbooking is a popular hobby in the United States.  The craft of scrapbooking typically takes an event or a day in the life—a vacation, my son’s first haircut, our anniversary—and places photos and mementos from the event on one or more pages.  Some people do journaling, adding a few words or paragraphs to the pages to describe the event.  Many people place an emphasis on making the pages visually appealing, using a wide variety of techniques and background papers, stamps, stickers, ribbons, buttons, and other items.

Last year, I created a special kind of scrapbook: a life scrapbook or visual memoir to document my life from childhood to the present-day.  I found the process of creating the scrapbook and the end result to be personally rewarding.

This posting:

• Introduces you to the concept of the life scrapbook and reasons to create one
• Provides example pages to give you an idea of the content
• Gives you some tips and steps to take in creating one for yourself.

I will have a separate posting next month which will give you tips on creating this life scrapbook digitally.  (Update: here is the link to the second posting titled Tips for Creating a Life Scrapbook Digitally.)

THE LIFE SCRAPBOOK

I created the term life scrapbook to differentiate its purpose from the typical scrapbooking done today.

A life scrapbook is:

• About you.  It is not about your child, your friends, your social networks.  It is about who you are, where you came from, how you have evolved, what you have done, what you have experienced.
• A life story.  It is not a single event.  It represents the accumulation of several years, perhaps your entire lifetime.
• Visual.  It includes photos, newspaper clippings, documents, and other items that are meaningful to you.
• Reflective.  It includes some text to help give context to the mementos.
• A scrapbook.  It can use the same traditional and modern scrapbooking techniques.

There are several reasons to create a life scrapbook.  I will group them into four key reasons.

The first reason is to organize your mementos.  The process of creating your life scrapbook gives you the opportunity to organize the "shoebox" of stuff you have laying around in the house, in the attic, in storage, and at someone else's house.  It allows you to save the meaningful items and capture them in a single place.  With your mementos organized, you can leave an historical record for your descendants, perhaps starting or continuing a tradition.

A second reason is to enjoy your memories.  Creating and viewing your life scrapbook helps you reminisce on your life experiences.  You may enjoy sharing your experiences visually with others.  It will help you preserve important memories before you forget them.

A third reason is to learn about yourself.  The process of creating your life scrapbook can be highly enriching.  You can take stock in where you have been and how you have evolved.  It allows you to "reframe" or learn from the past so you can move forward.  It can serve as input in planning your future.

A fourth reason is to have fun.  A life scrapbook gives you the opportunity to be creative about a subject you know about.  You can express your own personality in each page you create.  The end result is a one-of-a-kind, personal gift that you can give yourself.  It is priceless.

EXAMPLE OF A LIFE SCRAPBOOK

Below are some example pages from the life scrapbook that I created for myself.  The pages are intentionally displayed in low resolution as I want the focus to be on the ideas and not on the personal content.

I have a preface to my life scrapbook.  It is all text.  It describes why I created the scrapbook.

There are many ways to organize a life scrapbook.  Through the process of creating the scrapbook, I identified seven key themes in my life.  I used these themes to organize my scrapbook, and this key themes page became the table of contents.

I mentioned a key reason for creating a life scrapbook is to learn about yourself during the creation process.  You can do several personal exercises early on in the process.  I created a personal timeline using the History template in the Personal Compass by Grove Consultants International, which helps examine your past places, occupations, ups and downs, dreams, and key learnings.  It is perfect for inclusion in a life scrapbook.

Many people think of scrapbooks as simply lots of photos.  While photos are important, I only have two full pages of photos of me in the entire scrapbook.

I created a consistent section header page for each theme which lists the highlights.  Several pages follow each section header page with the details.

Some of my pages do relate to key events in my life.  This page has mementos from an Outward Bound experience that piqued my interest in nature and adventure travel.

These are just a few of the many pages in my life scrapbook.  They can serve as ideas for you.  Once you get started, your life scrapbook will take on its own unique style that is you.

TIPS ON CREATING A LIFE SCRAPBOOK

Avoid accepting any excuses you may have.

• "My life is not interesting enough."  No one else has ever or will ever live your life.  It is unique.  And once you start uncovering your past, you will be amazed at how interesting it has been.
• "It feels vain to do my own."  No one else has the knowledge you have about yourself.  If not you, who?
• "The task is overwhelming.  I don't have the time."  Take it slowly and in bite-size chunks.  You don't have to go through all of your boxes of mementos in one day.  Spread them out over several weeks or months.  It is the process that you go through, not how quickly you go through it, that enriches and rewards you.
• "I don't have any material from my past."  This is the only good excuse--if it is true.  I have some suggestions below on gathering memorabilia that may help.

There are two components of scrapbooking: the content and the presentation.  The content refers to your life story and the memorabilia available to visually support your life story.  Steps to perform for the content include:

• Determining your audience
• Gathering memorabilia
• Setting the purpose and messages
• Organizing your content

Determining your audience may seem strange, but it is an important one.  Who are you creating it for?  If it is just yourself, you can be more intimate and create a scrapbook closer to a private diary.  If for your close relatives or descendants, and perhaps even for some of your close friends, you can be personal.  If a broad audience, keep privacy in mind.

There are three avenues to pursue in gathering memorabilia.  You should pursue the first two and only use the third avenue if you have no mementos available from the other avenues.

What you have	Papers, letters, photographs, certificates, newspaper articles, yearbooks, trophies, ribbons, items you can photograph or scan
What you can ask for	Items other people have, items organizations have (e.g. school transcripts), items retrievable in a library or archive
What you can recreate (not recommended)	Drawings to substitute, recreations of objects and papers

After you have determined the audience and reviewed the memorabilia gathered, you can draft the purpose and key messages you want to convey about your life.  The purpose and messages can evolve as you continue to go through the process of creating your scrapbook, but this initial draft can keep you focused and structured.

Some of your key messages can revolve around what you have done, where you have been, how you have evolved, and what you have learned.

You should also think about how you want to organize your content.  Most people only think about chronological order.  Other possibilities include organization around key messages, key events in your life, things that are important to you, the people in your life, and how other people describe you.  You can do a combination of these.  I organized mine around key themes in my life and chronological within each theme.

Use the purpose and memorabilia you have available as a guide.  If you keep diaries or journals, reread them to look for patterns.  Through these activities and through introspection, you will be able to determine the best organization method for your life scrapbook.

I will discuss the presentation component and tips on digital scrapbooking in another posting.  (Update: here is the link to this second posting titled Tips for Creating a Life Scrapbook Digitally.)


Happy scrapbooking!

Photography Tips for Amateurs from an Amateur

am-a-teur : ˈamətər; -ˌtər; -ˌ ch oŏr; - ch ər noun a person who engages in a pursuit, esp. a sport, on an unpaid basis. ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from French, from Italian amatore, from Latin amator ‘lover,’ from amare ‘to love.’ Source: New Oxford American Dictionary

I am an amateur photographer.  It is not my profession.  I am not formally trained in it.  I have never owned a single lens reflex camera.  And I am not expert enough to describe f-stops.

But I do enjoy taking photographs; the derivation of the word amateur from the Latin word for lover is fitting.  I find today's point-and-shoot cameras are quite powerful and take great photos.  And I prefer to strive for the perfect shot at the time I take the photo so there is no or limited need to alter the photo after it is taken.

This posting shares some of my tips on taking photographs.  I use photos I have taken as examples.

My tips generally follow the keep it simple philosophy.  While I am not opposed to the alteration of photos after they are taken with tools like Photoshop, and I do find some of these enhancements can be artistic, I personally have not taken that approach except for an occasional crop or auto enhance.  The photos presented below have not been altered.

TIP 1: TAKE PHOTOS, NOT SNAPSHOTS.

That is, give some thought to your photo and do not snap a shot hastily.

I bought my first camera in 1994 just prior to a trip I took to the Amazon in Peru.  It was from this first trip that I learned the difference between the two.

I have saved the following two photos to remind me of this tip.  Below is the photo I took of a fisherman casting a net on the Amazon River.

After coming home and sending out this photo to my tripmates, I received this photo below from a fellow traveler with a note stating she had taken the same photo as I did.

True, we were looking at the same water, the same fisherman, the same scene.  But the two images are quite different.  Her photo is what I would call a "snapshot".  It has several people in the shot in addition to the fisherman of interest.  The net is half-cast.  I am even in the photograph taking the same shot!  (Yes, that is me on the far right with the backpack.)

My photo is focused on the fisherman.  I positioned myself to be closer to him, and I zoomed in more.  I waited until the net was fully cast before taking the shot.  I wanted the expanse of the river so I put him in the bottom right of the frame.

For me, the top one is a photo.  The bottom one is a snapshot.

TIP 2: HAVE THE PATIENCE TO WAIT FOR THE RIGHT SHOT.

The previous example showed that good photographers must have patience and anticipate when it is the right time to take the photo.

There is no question luck can also play a factor in taking good photos.  I have hiked in places where I was able to take a photo of a beautiful valley.  Hikers who came just a few minutes after me saw nothing but fog.

But patience can often help you take better photos even in unlucky situations.  This photo was taken during a cloudy hike on the Inca Trail in Peru.  I saw a slight break in the clouds and waited for it to open just enough and pass by a mountain peak before I took the photo.

TIP 3: GET UP EARLY IN THE MORNING TO TAKE PHOTOS.

Actually, take photos whenever it is the right time.  But do not forget the morning as one of the times to take photos.  Here are just two of the reasons.

First, you can avoid crowds and take shots without people that may distract a shot.  Here is a photo I took of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., USA, early in the morning.  I wanted to take a photo of the memorial without people blocking the symmetry of the shot.

Second, mornings can have some special qualities, just like dusk can give you beautiful sunsets.  Here is a photo of the Washington Memorial in the early morning dew.

TIP 4: TAKE PHOTOS OF THE SAME AREA AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY BECAUSE DIFFERENT LIGHTING MEANS DIFFERENT PHOTOS.

If you have the luxury of visiting a place multiple times, take photos each time.  Do not assume you have already taken the photo.  The lighting can make a difference.

Here is a photo of the Washington Memorial taken later that same day.

TIP 5: INCLUDE A FAMILIAR OBJECT IN PHOTOS IN WHICH YOU WANT TO EMPHASIZE SIZE OR SCALE.

Here is an example of what not to do if you want to convey size.

This is the seed pod of a baobab tree.  While it is a nice photo and has a good composition, it does not convey the size of the seed pod.  Is it larger than a plum?  Smaller than a loaf of bread?  You cannot tell.

Here is a photo of a baobab tree that grows from that seed.  Look at the man to the left of the tree.  It shows that it is a very large tree.  In hindsight, I should have had the guide park his jeep next to the tree to really emphasize the size of the baobab as the man is difficult to see.

The picture of this outcropping from Halong Bay in Vietnam requires the fishing vessel to the right of it to give a sense of how tall this island is.  I was fortunate the boat was there.

The woman in the bottom right gives an indication of how large the red doors are.

Here is another example.  This termite mound is almost twice the height of the man standing next to it on the right.

And here is one more example.  The man on the boulder helps emphasize our small size next to this waterfall.

TIP 6: USE THE MACRO SETTING ON YOUR POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERA.

The macro setting is usually marked with a flower icon. This allows you to take close-up photos of objects like flowers.  Photos taken with this setting give a nice blurry and soft quality to the items in the foreground and background.

These were all taken with the macro setting on a point-and-shoot camera.

Some tips on using the macro setting include making sure you have put it in macro mode, making sure the camera lens is not zoomed so that it can focus correctly, and pressing the shutter button half-way to focus on the portion of the object you do want in focus.

TIP 7: CAPTURE EMOTIONS.

I find this is best done when people are not posing and are being their real selves.  You do not know when vivid emotions are going to be expressed, so you have to be ready.  And have a little luck.

Weddings are wonderful opportunities to capture joy.  Here are a couple of examples I have taken.  I was at the right place at the right time.

TIP 8: IF IT MUST BE POSED, BE CREATIVE SO THE PHOTO DOES NOT FEEL STAGED OR FORCED.

One technique is to not tell the subject when you are taking the photo.

Let them have fun and position themselves as they would like be. These three siblings naturally posed this way, and I took the shot immediately as they settled in before counting to three.

Incorporate other objects in the photo to create a relaxed or whimsical setting.

And for babies, do not wait for a perfect shot.  Take it immediately when they look your way.

TIP 9: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DRAMATIC LIGHTING.

Many point-and-shoot cameras do not do well in low light and the results can be grainy. Oftentimes you need a tripod or they come out blurry.  Experiment with your camera and see what works.  Try different settings, including the night setting.

But don't avoid taking low light photos.  Sometimes they come out in your favor.  Here is a photo with candles.

In the photo below I was trying to capture the silhouette of a baobab tree as the sun went down along with the moon up above. Unfortunately, I could not move the moon lower toward the horizon or get closer to the tree. But the lighting still works to dramatic effect.

TIP 10: TAKE CLOSE-UPS, CAPTURING ONLY PART OF THE SUBJECT.

In the Forbidden City in Beijing, there is a bronze male lion with a ball under its paw to signify imperial power.  I took a photo of the ball and paw rather than the full lion.  Part of the reason was there were too many people posing with the lion. The other part was I thought it made for a more interesting shot.

TIP 11: BE ADVENTUROUS TO CAPTURE SHOTS FROM UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES.

This is a picturesque photo of Machu Picchu, a very typical photo most visitors take and one that should not be missed.

But if you climb the mountain in the back--Huayna Picchu--you can get a unique photo of Machu Picchu from an different vantage point.

TIP 12: HAVE YOUR CAMERA AT THE READY FOR THE UNEXPECTED.

I turned the corner on this hike to encounter this sheep.   We both were startled.  The camera was already in my hand.  I snapped immediately before I came to my senses and reversed my course.

I looked down over a railing into a pool at a temple in Vietnam.  I was surprised to see a turtle down below.

TIP 13: LOOK UP.

Actually, look all around you to find interesting views.  Here is a photo of giant sequoias taken by getting in a patch of these trees and aiming skyward.

Tip 14: REQUEST A WINDOW SEAT AND LOOK OUT OF THE AIRPLANE WINDOW.

When you take photos from airplane windows, turn your setting to landscape mode (the mountain icon) so the camera does not try to focus on the window.  Also put your camera lens right next to the window so it does not pick up any reflections from the inside of the plane.

I was very fortunate to take this photo as we were flying over the Andes.  I had an aisle seat and a woman let me switch with her so I could look out for a few minutes.  Perfect timing.

Here is a sun setting into the clouds.

And one final photo of volcanoes when flying into Managua, Nicaragua.

Happy snapping!