Weekend happnin's

[greatbear]

Spent a fairly relaxed weekend up in PA with Jeff's 'rents. And Kodi. And, for the first time in a while, Kodi again tossed his doggie biscuits all over Jeff a mere ten minutes from our destination. Perhaps this would not have happened had we not been delayed due to trees being blown into the roadways by a storm that got into town about a half hour before us.

It was also our first visit in quite a while, so we needed to make up in the way of Mother's and Father's Day presents. At our past exploration of a new Best Buy in Columbia (which is basically the same as the old one, which is the same as every other BB you'd wander into), we spotted a Westinghouse digital picture frame. We thought it the perfect gift for his mom, so I loaded it with some of the nicest and most memorable shots I have taken over the year of his family members. Turning the thing on, you are greeted with a configurable slide show of pictures on a very bright and sharp 8 inch diagonal LCD. It was an instant hit! I was later presented with a stack of pictures to be scanned and put into the frame. The thing even does video (actually, more like silent movies. No sound. But that's kinda a good thing here).

We got his dad a pressure washer. He wasted no time trying it out. Another hit. More Gerberra daisies for the front of the house and some other trinkets were bought while wandering about in Lowes.

Went out later that Saturday to do some shopping for the new trailer and to see Shrek 3. We liked it, but it's clearly the weakest of the three flicks.

Got back today and futzed around the house and the trailer. This week, the evenings will be spent doing chores, working on the yard, the truck and whatnot. More busybusy stuff. But we are making nice progress I think.

The trip up and back was accompanied by my new portable GPS, a Lowrance iWAY 600C. This little bugger rocks. In addition to the usual 2- and 3-D maps, it has detailed US waterway charts and topographical overlays, and satellite imagery to boot. It's like Google Maps in a box. Plays mp3s and Ogg Vorbis audio files, and can display photos on it's incredibly bright and sharp 640x480 screen. It seriously kicks ass, and can be used in anything that moves. It's waterproof too. Highly recommended, especially if you are a geek like me.

Off to bed, it's gonna be a long week.

Comments

[sparkygearhead.livejournal.com]

I agree with you that Shrek III wasn't exactly Oscar material. It was a cute movie, but it didn't break new ground. I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be the last one.

I've been looking at the new wave of GPS devices that are under $250. I even saw one the other day that had a 7" diagonal touch-screen. That may even have been too big, if that's possible. I'm bad at navigation, so that might really help me out.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

There are tons of different models available. I wanted on with all the mapping built in, something that a lot of cheaper models dont have. I wanted a decent sized screen with touch entry. This unit was a bit extravagant, but should remain a keeper for years to come.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

The hard drive was a bit of a concern for me too, and I hope it does not become a liability. The thing is ruggedized for marine and offroad use, so that seems like a plus. Downfalls are that it's heavy (a tad over two pounds!) and there is no built-in battery.

[sfmini.livejournal.com]

I don't know that I want a GPS, some of the coolest places I've found to see or drive are places I would have never seen had I known where the hell I was or how to get where I was going. I've moved to new cities several times in my adult life. The way I find out how the city streets work is to just get lost!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

With GPS units like this one, there are lots of points of interest built in. This can be fun for exploring, and handy when you are after something like a gas station or restaurant and are in unfamiliar territory. I too like 'getting lost' and driving around, and I find that having the GPS lets me feel more inclined to explore knowing that I have my position all mapped out. It's an empowering technology think.