Pandora, Three Months On

I've had Pandora, my iPad, for three months now. Am I still as smitten as I was at first and, more importantly, how has having her changed me? Am I better in any way for it? Are there any unexpected consequences that I didn't foresee?

Well, yes, yes, and yes. I am still totally in love I must admit. I use her every single day; it's almost as if she's an extension of me. It hasn't exactly been the easiest three months of my life and I haven't accomplished as much as I would have liked, but now that I'm on holiday - and finally sprang for the Pages app - hopefully I will become more productive.

How do I use her? That's surprising me a little. I do read on her, but probably less than I expected to. I'm way behind on my magazine list; ditto for books. I have so many it's a bit overwhelming. To narrow myself down and focus on just one or two at a time is tough. Once I'm into a book, though, I'm into it - a good read is a good read and I see little difference between reading a print version and an iPad version (if one is available). I haven't written much either though I also have the Blogsy app. Like I said, I hope to change that this summer. My rough goal is at least four blog entries (or some other equivalent writing) a week. I definitely like the writing experience a lot better than I expected. I can type pretty darn fast now.

Besides reading and writing, I'm surprising myself with how acquisitive I am. I check three app sites faithfully for new freebies (I've only purchased a very select few apps) and have downloaded hundreds. I just can't pass up a bargain. Even if I'm not sure I'll ever actually need or use an app, if it's free for the day, I'll download it on the off chance I might want it someday. It's so bad I have less than a quarter of what I thought would be a spacious 32gb free! And that's with only one cd and one movie - and even after having removed a significant number of apps. Of course I've discovered some pleasant surprises doing that too - favourite games like Fishdom, Hand of Greed and, just this weekend, Fishdom H2O; a TV Guide, a great web browser, Maven ... there are a few apps I really enjoy and use regularly.

It also surprises me immensely how many games I've amassed. I've never ever been a gaming person, but now I really enjoy playing a variety for a few minutes here and there. I guess I'm basically a games dabbler by nature. I'm especially attracted to a whole new genre for me though: hidden object games like Fishdom H2O, and BigFish's Amazon HD. Sometimes I feel a little guilty playing when I could be doing more practical things, but I also think a little play might be exactly what I need these days. It's nice to be so immersed in a game that I forget everything else for awhile.

Overall I do think I'm a happier, if not a better, person for having Pandora. There's always something new to do or learn or try with her. She's a fun companion and a useful distraction from any bad things. My brain really seems to like the stimulation she provides. At first I felt a bit antsy using her - especially gaming before bed, but that's dissipating a little now. I know how to mange her - and me - better. A quite hidden object game or reading a book, not a magazine, is best. My biggest negative comment would be that it is pretty easy to let yourself get distracted on her. I can be reading along but then stop for a definition, then want to just check out a link or reference online, then want to just pop onto one of my sites to check for new apps for a sec, then just want to play one of my games for a minute ... you get the picture. And I'm a fairly focussed person. I can imagine some kids just hopping all over the place and not accomplishing anything at all. It's hard to resist the allure when you have so much quite literally at your fingertips. But for me that's a small price to pay. For me, Pandora is one of the best things to have happened in quite some time, and I truly love her and expect to be using her for a long, long time (or at least until the iPad 3 arrives next year!)

Stress and the Urban Brain

There was a very interesting item on CBC News a week or so ago on how the stress of living (or having grown up in) an urban environment can cause very real physical changes in the brain. It's disturbing to think how many lives are potentially being compromised, since more and more of us are living in cities. If you think about it, though, it really is a "no-brainer".
Being constantly surrounded by the hustle and bustle of other people, vehicles, noises of all sorts, not to mention being confined by buildings and endless stretches of asphalt and cement can really wear you down. And there is no down-time to speak of. It's a constant assault on the senses 24-7.
I didn't exactly grow up in the heart of a city, and my biggest "stress" as a pre-schooler was attending nursery school a few mornings a week. Yet when we moved from NDG to the more ... spacious ... Valois, it was as if my world lit up. Before then my memories are dark (not in the sense of depression, but actually physically dark as in the absence of light. I'm sure we had plenty of sunny days, but they just didn't register.
As a child and still today I sought out the peace and tranquillity of nature. Whether it was a walk in woods and fields or climbing up and reading in my beloved old willow tree, I craved that contact and escape. Vacations to the true country were even better. It felt so liberating to be able to run for miles along a stretch of beach or empty road, to even just see vast empty spaces.
I am so lucky today that even though I live in what is officially a suburb, I am still exposed to an abundance of nature. I can sit out in my back yard canopied in green listening to songbirds. I can walk barefoot through the grass. I can stare out at the open vista of Lac St. Louis, hear the waves, wade right in if it's warm enough. When I drive down my quiet, sidewalk-less street and hear the crackle of gravel on my driveway and the omnipresent sound of the wind through the trees, it's as though my whole soul breathes a big sigh and my whole body untenses.
Unfortunately millions of people aren't so fortunate. And as this photo shows, their brains may be paying a price. The areas representing fear, stress and anxiety are clearly more active in urban dwellers. Supposedly there are more instances of schizophrenia too. Now I stress enough as it is; possibly due to a genetic predisposition, maybe my earlier more citified years had some influence, most likely just because of the series of unfortunate events that has encompassed much of my last ten or fifteen years. I do know that if I didn't have the contact with nature my soul so craves, I would be infinitely more stressed-out and miserable. Nature, in a way, is helping me stay sane and grounded. Nothing is better after a tough day than a long walk by the lake. I really hope lots of city dwellers heard this story and that they too can find their own little urban Edens for the good of their souls and, ultimately, the good of the world.

Just a Test

Ok Blogsy, you have a new update so we'll try you out while I actually have an Internet connection (sadly no wifi at home since last week's thunderstorm). First thing to check is if images actually get imported at a decent size ... And don't resize themselves after you move them. Secondly -and apparently it could be the CSS on my blog and not Blogsy itself - have to see if alignment works. I want my pics beside my text. Not above. Not below. Not alone in the middle but beside. Here's hoping everything works and that my favorite little blogging program earns an A+!
Well, no, resizing doesn't stay. If you move the image you have to resize it all over again. But I can live with that if the alignment works. I'll take a screenshot just before posting to see if the before and after actually match.

Phew!

That was so stressful. Just a quick followup: sought help at the Blogsy site and found out I wasn't alone. (You rarely are on the Internet.) Others had had just the same issue. And yes, it had to do with their update. Anyway, I had to not just sign in, but delete each and every blog associated with my email address. The scariest one of course was this blog, because as soon as I did that my whole post disappeared. But I re-signed in, my blog names all reappeared, and my entire post showed up in the local category. Hit publish and this time it flew away happily to cyberspace. Worked so well, I'll do it again now!

Second Blogsy Post

Sad to say this is only my second real Blogsy post. They've already had a chance to update the app since last time! And supposedly it's improved. I can (in a workaround kind of way) get photos from my iPad into my blog. First I have to upload them to a service like Picasa, so it's not a perfect situation, but once they're there, you're good to go. I have to admit I was actually quite surprised to discover that I had photos from all my previous blog entries already there waiting for me.

Now I'm wondering about getting the pic in my entry. Last time I had a few frustrations with that aspect. I wasn't too happy either since a picture really enhances a post in my opinion. So ... here goes. Cool! Blogsy made its own little folder in Picasa (or maybe it was the other way around). Whatever the case, my pic was there ready to go. Got it dragged in and placed almost effortlessly too. More than ever I love Blogsy. All I need now are some fascinating topics to start writing about regularly. Who needs a laptop? I've got my Pandora (that's my iPad's name) and Blogsy - two of my newest best friends!
Aaaargh! An error! I happily hit Publish and was horrified to read that I can't. The application doesn't have permission to access the account. Checked settings and everything seems to be correct. Will be copying all my text in case a draft doesn't save right either and trying again. It's probably because of the recent update, but still .... aaaargh! I've tried going to settings and signing in again (had to say create new user account to do this) - I seem to have been signed out, perhaps when I reset my iPad earlier over Internet issues. Hope that does it because I couldn't even save a draft. Fingers crossed, let's try publishing again. Wish me luck!