Plants vs. Zombies has been one of my favorite games since it originally came out for iOS in 2010. The game has been a staple on my iPhone and iPad since purchasing them and has kept me sane in many a waiting room.
I still love the game and its characters, but it is certainly starting to show its age. I’m super excited to see what PopCap Games has in store for the upcoming sequel.
Toy Story in Real Life (Live Action) is something that I have thought would be cool. Now 18 years after the release of the first movie someone has taken the time to put it together. The film has taken nearly two years (started in 2010) to complete and the director’s have even got permission from Disney and Pixar to release what they have filmed.
So why did I decide to write this post? First, when I saw this video earlier in the week I just knew I wanted to write about it. Second, as I type in the kitchen the pizza in the oven has 10 minutes to go. From the family room in the basement I can hear our son, Conner, laughing.
What is he laughing at you ask? Toy Story 3.
When Toy Story came out in November of 1995, I was a senior in high school. At the time I had already decided that I was going to pursue Computer Science, but drawing was something that I really enjoyed. Toy Story was the first full length computer animated movie (as far as I know) and I was amazed at how two things I enjoyed came together so well.
Listening to Conner laugh and being able to enjoy and share the story with him that started so many years ago is amazingly good.
iPhone 4S – I’ve had my 4S since it shipped to my house on its first day of availability. Two years later it still does everything I need. I still enjoy using it and can say that it has been my favorite phone by far.
iPad 4 w/ Retina Display – Ok, in full disclosure I’ll let you know that this device is actually owned by my employer. While I mostly use it for testing mobile collaboration applications for my day job, I still enjoy browsing the Internet and watching videos from my couch at home.
11″ Macbook Air (2011) – I got a great deal on this refurbished purchase a few months before the 2012 refresh models came out. It would have been really nice to have the option to go with 8GB of RAM, a larger 480GB SSD and even the ability to support dual external displays. The machine has been the best computer I have ever owned. It is super light weight and has been powerful enough to handle any task I have thrown at it.
Communication
Mailplane 3 (Beta) – Between my personal, home business and shared family accounts, I look after 10 different email boxes. Mailplane has by far been my email client choice for years. The new tabbed UI of version 3 has made the product a joy to use.
Apple iCal & Contacts – I’ve been using the default contacts and calendar apps on my Mac since I moved to the platform in 2006. The updated apps included with Mountain Lion along with iCloud make easy work of managing this information. They sync to my iPhone and iPad as well as make calendar sharing with my wife painless.
Messages – I do still use this to communicate with a few Google Talk and AIM users. I also love that Messages can message my iOS friends directly keeping conversations in sync across my devices.
Productivity
Evernote – I’ve been using Evernote off and on for close to two years. The most recent updates from the last few months have really improved my workflow. Lately, I’ve been using the application as hold important information and as a collection point for everything and anything. My wife and I have also recently started using a shared notebook to track our 2013 financial goals.
Things – I’ve played with and used more productivity applications than I care to admit. I’ve also spent more money than I care to admit trying these tools out as well. I’ve finally settled on Things from Cultured Code as my go to application for personal GTD. While there are some features and integration points I would love to see added, the tool does the job that I ask and it looks quite nice while doing it.
Box – I am slowly moving from Dropbox to Box for my sync’d storage needs. For the most part it comes down to the fact that I have five times the storage available to me on Box. Since adding free desktop sync, Box has become my go to for storing files across devices.
Dropbox – I still use Dropbox, but as I move to Box I find myself using it less and less. I’m sure that I will have an account for a long time to come as I don’t picture everyone I work with moving to Box simply because I prefer it.
Social / Sharing
Twitter – I love Twitter. I can connect with all types of people and get a quick pulse on what is trending (regardless of how stupid I think some trends are). Over the next week, I’m going to be pruning my list back so I can start having more useful conversations.
Facebook – I use Facebook all the time. It allows me to keep up with family and (real-life) friends. I’m honestly not sure what the future holds for Facebook, but as long as I know people using it I will likely maintain a profile. If we have never met in real life don’t try to connect with me here.
Tweetbot – When Tweetbot was first released, I honestly didn’t see why I would want to pay for a Twitter client. The official apps were working just fine for me at the time. As I started to use Twitter more the need for a premium client became clear. I’m now bought in to Tweetbot on my iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Reading
YouVersion Bible – For the last three years I have been reading through the Bible. January 1st marked my start of year four. Each and every year God uses this time to continually teach me something new and stretch me as one of his followers. I highly recommend using the YouVersion Bible app for any reading or studying you may want to do.
Apple iBooks – Since getting my first iPad, I have been doing more and more digital ebook reading. While I purchase a majority of my ebooks from Amazon, with some coercion I can read them in iBooks, sync my highlights and notes across my devices and even search for things I remember reading in the past.
Reeder – I have a lot of interests and in order to keep up with them I use Google Reader to follow all type of blogs and news sites. I use the Reeder app on my iPhone, iPad and Mac to keep up with this information as well as keep track of where I left off.
Pocket – As previously mentioned I do a lot of blog and news scanning throughout the day. Sometimes there is an article that I want to dig a bit deeper into at a later point in time. Pocket allows me to grab these articles for reading later. I haven’t done the best job of keeping up with this queue, but plan to start working through it more aggressively.
Entertainment
Amazon Prime Instant Videos – I love Amazon Prime Instant Videos. While the library of free content is not as big as what one gets with the Netflix streaming service, I find it quite adequate as it essentially comes free with the service. I recently watched all six seasons of LOST (the final episode sucked by the way) and the viewing experience was easy and enjoyable.
Pandora – I know that everyone is jumping on the Spotify bandwagon, but I’ve been using Pandora for years and honestly don’t see a reason to change at this point. Pandora is familiar and does what I am looking for in a streaming service.
If you want to discuss any of these apps or suggest alternatives, post a comment here or hit me up on Twitter!
It’s been nine days since 2012 came to an end and for me, 2013 is already looking to be busy and fast paced.
I had a pile of things I wanted to accomplish in 2012 and while I did make some good progress, I certainly did not get as much done as I had originally planned.
Before things get too far along I wanted to sit down and do some forward thinking for 2013. I want to look back a year from now and declare 2013 a “Banner Year”.
So what do I plan to work on this year? Here’s my list …
I will spend a lot more time with my wife — encouraging her, talking about our family goals and more importantly our dreams.
I will spend a lot more time with my kids — encouraging them.
For those of you that actually read through all of that I would encourage you to do some forward thinking for 2013. Life is definitely going to throw you some curve balls this year, but having a plan could help you adjust when the pitch is not what you expected.
Kinyeera Patrick is a name that has been forever burned on my soul. Two years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Patrick and his family while on a mission trip in Uganda. Our team was asked to walk the village of Adak to share the Gospel and the message of Jesus.
Our first and only stop of the afternoon was with Patrick and his family. Sharing with this family was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. The reality of what Patrick had been through when he was younger as a child soldier tore my heart apart. The family issues he was facing at the time: three wives and nearly a dozen children to support, trying to understand how his family situation was viewed by God and his local church. We only just touched the surface of these cultural issues and we certainly didn’t have all (if any) answer to how to address or solve them.
All I know is that Patrick was hopeful. His past was behind him and he seemed determined to move forward. This morning I find myself asking God to continue to help me leave some of my past behind. Praying that God would bless Patrick and his family while the Ugandan Church continues to work through issues of cultural and tribal pasts. I look forward to how God will continue to work in this region and for opportunities to continue to stay involved.
Follower of Christ. Husband to my beautiful wife Kim. Father to my incredible children Conner & Breanna. Son. Brother. Conservative. Godstrong. Martian.
