Sunday, April 05, 2009

Done for the year

So curling is now done until October, so for those of you going "Oh Christ, not another curling post" every time you came to the blog, you're in the clear for several months.

The weekend didn't go quite as planned. We played well yesterday and got another chance at a spot in the finals. We just needed to win this morning. But we played a bit shaky, has a few bad breaks and lost in an extra end. When we played for third place about an hour later we were just toast. Probably one of the worst games I've played all year.

But I managed to continue my streak of winning something at every bonspiel, this time by winning a sports bag. But since I won one last week, I decided to give it to one of my team mates, who didn't win any of the door prizes and to whom I cockily predicted we would win money, so he should join us. Oooops. Kind of feel bad about that. Also, I should have known better. You don't tempt the wrath of the curling gods.

So with curling out of the way, we're gearing up for the trip to Ottawa this Friday. And not a moment too soon. Cathy and I are getting near the end of our respective ropes and after a long, cold winter, even a week or so in Ottawa is going to feel very, very nice. We're not going anywhere else, which is fine. I suspect between restaurants, some window shopping, movies and just general relaxation, we'll have a fine old time.

Although, and here's a quick question for you folks out there. We're thinking about buying an iPod Touch when we're out. The theory being it would be nice to have a small wifi device for checking the internet when we're in Australia. Or that we could use Google maps with. How many of you have an iPod Touch and do you find them good for internet usage? Also, what size would you recommend? We think the 8 gig would be too small, but I'm not sure.

And yes, I know there are netbooks, but that means using Windows. And I remain firmly convinced that Windows is the work of the devil.

Anyway, thoughts on how good they are and ease of use would be appreciated.

Last Five
1. Shadow of a man - Bedouin Soundclash
2. Hard way to fall - Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
3. The real me - The Who
4. True love way - Kings of Leon*
5. Animal girl - Liz Phair

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

We love our iPod Touch! We took it to Florida for a 3 week trip in lieu of a laptop. I know that hubby had a problem one time previously logging onto a hotel wifi network that had username/password, but we had several like that on this trip and no problems. I used it for keeping our itinerary on, confirmation numbers, addresses, checking email, etc. I even used it to map out a route (using the Google Maps app) from the hotel to the airport (while I was still hooked up to wifi, of course). Before we went, I saved detailed maps from Google, with turn by turn directions, etc, so I was able to refer to them on the road. We have the 8GB 1st Generation, and after a year we still have 1.1 GB free. Make sure you order a wall charger at the same time. And I believe if you order through the Aeroplan.ca store, you get extra miles...

Love it, love it, love it! And yes, Windows is evil!

-MK in Iqaluit

Greg said...

Most of the netbooks come with a real simple version of Linux also...and are about $100 cheaper than the XP versions.

Flawless wifi, Firefox web browser and a great email program.

I picked one up the other days for $225 as a gift for someone.

Jackie S. Quire said...

I love love love love love my ipod touch. I bought mine from the apple.ca refurb shop last summer before I went to the UK, and had it instead of a laptop (like MK). Don't expect to use it for *typing* emails longer than a line or two... and I can imagine it'd be even more tricky if you have large-ish fingers. But I had mine in Iqaluit and can see how someone might want an iphone.

I use mine for everything and (in southern canada where wifi is more ubiquitous) is the most *useful* non-necessary purchase I've made in a couple years.

And I would suggest at least a 16gig. Even that's small if you are loading videos.

Ron said...

Definitely - Get the Touch - I got one the last time I was down in Winnipeg and am very pleased with it. I got the 32 gig version and put all my music and about a dozen movies on it for travelling. Also there are a wack of useful/fun apps you can download. Google Maps and the location finder doesn't work in the north but will work in urban areas. The email app works perfectly - I can check my email from my bed in the mornings now. Also Greg is correct you can get netbooks with linux.

towniebastard said...

The problem with Linux is that I know virtually nothing about it. I'm open to learning more, but at some point I'm going to reach maximum capacity for computer OS.

I think we'll end up taking a look at both when in Ottawa and do a little comparison. But I am happy that people seem to like their Touch's...

Jackie S. Quire said...

Final note:
I have both (linux-based netbook and ipod touch) and I would say the ipod is the better of the two.

Even if you get a good linux-based OS the learning curve sucks... and the cheaper ones have tiny keyboards and small hard drives.

Come to think of it. I have a almost-new one for sale... just 2 weeks old... haha

Anonymous said...

what about the Men's World finals? i'm sure you'll have something to say about it.