The Glade 4.0

Given to me by my loving wife.

Various clothing items and a new wallet. I miss my old wallet, had that thing for 15 years, but I have been wanting the new one I got for a while now. Also 200 bucks(which I split with LK) from a secret Santa. Also one of those tins with the different popcorns in it.

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

Honestly, I liked my Nook (original flavor, not that Nook Color nonsense) more than my Kindle 2. It had some disadvantages, like lower battery life, an unreliable touchscreen, and a very buggy OS (it's some proprietary Android derivative, I think, but I don't know what). Subsequent updates offered more stability and improved it. It offers some nice features, like the highly-restricted-but-still-useful "lend" feature, and support for non-proprietary stores

However, I've since reversed my loyalty with the release of the Kindle 3. I like the design better than the Nook, it's lighter with better battery life, super-fast page turns and better contrast than the other ereaders, and Amazon's e-book prices are almost always cheaper (or the same price). Kindle has no problems with drag-and-drop PDFs and other documents, btw. It doesn't support ePub, which is meh, but their selection more than makes up for it.

And honestly, I really, really like the Kobo app on my iPad the best of all the eReader apps (iBooks, Kindle, Nook, etc.). It's just nifty. I can't speak for the Kobo eReader itself, but the app is really cool.

I heart Google, really and truly I do, but I bought a test book from them (my "control" book for testing new e-readers, The Strain), and it was so poorly formatted that I actually requested (and received, quickly) a refund. It was bad enough to have scared me off of their service for a while.

They have a nice app, tho.

I would assume that is a coffee maker? From the future?


For those of you with the ereaders, do you miss the tactility of books?

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Hokanu
Duty is a magnificent blessing because it is the sign of trust from the universe.
END OF LINE.

Keurig one-cup coffee maker. Put down your cup, push a button and you've got a nice brew in 30 seconds.

Yep. Awesome stuff. I'm not a big coffee drinker so this thing is perfect for me. Just fix what I feel like drinking in a very quick fashion.

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

I received a wide screen TomTom GPS (yes, Joining the 21st century)
flannel lined khakis
my girlfriend made an afgan for me.
daughter bought me XBL points
Monty Python Fluxx

Personally, I never enjoyed the tactility of books. They're a pain to hold, IMO. These babies are perfect.

No idea, going to turn it into a white wine cream sauce most likely.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

...

...holding...back...joke...

I really thought I would, and other than waiting for the DRM issues to play out, it was the primary reason that I resisted moving to Kindle. Now that I've read with the Kindle for a few days though, it's lighter and easier to read in bed, and definitely nicer to take with you places. Also, the e-ink screen is surprisingly clear.

GOOMH, FarSky.

There is a certain something about having a book that I do miss, I guess. But compared to the ease of reading one handed (or no-handed, thank you easel-style cover!) while I eat, or with one hand tucked warmly under a blanket in bed, and the portability of multiple ( ! ) books for travel... It's a sacrifice I'm perfectly willing to make. The only time I really sit and go "man, this e-reader is getting in the way of my use of books" is when I read something and want to refer back to an earlier page or whatnot. With a book, I might fan through pages, quickly scanning for the scene I'm looking for, or use a finger as a placemarker for multiple pages as I compare or reference various stuffs, and such activities are not the strengths of an e-reader.

But as a whole? No.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Birthday and Christmas loot combined:

Razer keyboard with backlit keys (which was a decoy present for...)
Widescreen LCD monitor (finally had to give up my 21" 50 lbs CRT)
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
D&D City tile set
Solar powered lawn lights
Dragon Age Origins: Awakening


The monitor was pretty funny. I had mentioned a little bit ago that I was thinking of getting a monitor, but I was immediately forbade from doing so. And since then my wife suspected that I suspected of what I might be getting. Especially when she employed the advice of my brother in law for one of my gifts, and I knew about it. So she got the great idea of buying me an expensive keyboard and giving that to me. We play D&D on Fridays and my birthday was on a friday, so she handed out presents at that time. I was happy to see the keyboard, it's a nice one. And my initial thought was "Well, I was aiming too high thinking it was a monitor. Yeah, they're a bit too pricey to actually expect one."

Once she felt I was disappointed long enough (which I really wasn't disappointed, I'm happy to get even just a card) she brought out the monitor. I was happily surprised and duped. To quote one of my D&D players, "I wish my wife loved me as much as yours loves you." I think she's just been tired of me guessing presents, though it's not something I try hard at doing. We just know each other really well, and my brain just automatically puts clues together when they are presented. But yes, she very much fooled me this time around.

Now I just need to be able to one-up that one to her.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Cool thanks for the info, I'll have to check it out more.

Re: missing real books. Not at all. I rarely read real books much to be honest. I find the convenience of having an entire library at my fingertips, and within arms reach promotes a lot more reading for me.

And the nook just feels really good in your hands.

One thing to remember though, they are NOT backlit, so you will need a lightsource (lamp, reading light, etc...).

I got another Christmas present.. Bought it for myself!! An electric blanket!! It's soooooo warm and it's fuzzy too. So happy

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Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

I think the highlight of my loot was some of the Dwarven Forge 3d terrain for D&D (including a set that was owned and used by Gary Gygax himself. Still geeking out over that.)

A Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

It totally pwns.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Some warm slippers, a compact hair dryer, and a blanket/throw type thing with zippers and snaps to make it into a wrap/robe type thing...very warm and comfy.

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"Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use one!"~ Matthew Quigley

"nothing like a little meow in bed at night" ~ Bruskey

"I gotta float my stick same as you" Hondo Lane

"Fill your hand you son of a *****!"

Re: the ereader questions and discussion.

I'm really enjoying the Sony Touch Reader thus far. The screen is very clear, caused me no eyestrain after reading for about 30 mins, and was perfectly viewable in a variety of different lighting situations in the airport and on the plane. I don't really miss the feel of a book because I travel a lot, and like others have said its really fantastic to have something about the dimensions of a regular book but 90% lighter. It slides easily into my carry-on bag and takes up basically no space. The touch response is actually quite good compared to what I was expecting. It's obviously not as good as the touch surface on an iphone or ipad, but you can't really expect it to be. Honestly flipping pages with your fingertip is just as quick, if not slightly quicker, than actually flipping a paper page. A nice bonus to the Sony Touch, tieing in with what Kaffis said earlier, is the ability to add bookmarks, highlight sections or add text (think notes in MS Excel) or handwritten notes to any pages on the book, and then easily flip back to those bookmarks. You can change the font size to about 6 or 7 different sizes, so its good for people who want a larger font for easier viewing. Battery life seems very good so far. It has an SD and a Pro Duo expansion slot, and has the ability to be a music player if you want, but I don't think many will use that function.

Some cons would be the lack of WiFi in the Sony Touch Reader. It would be pretty handy to have the Reader autopdate overnight with subscriptions or what have you. So books are purchased through the Sony Reader store and then transfered via USB to the device. Transfer speeds were pretty quick. Being that I'm in Canada, a lot of books are not available for purchase due to retarded publishing deals north of the border. But thats more of a con to our media situation than against the Reader itself.

Anyways, I'm very happy with my Reader and would recommend one to anyone who wants a portable version of their books.

Got a late Christmas gift from my great aunt and uncle. They send us some steaks and pork chops and burgers and stuffed potatoes and a cake from Omaha Steaks. The burgers were pretty good, but the stuffed potatoes weren't very good due to the sour cream(which I hate). It's unfortunate, too...since they had cheese and bacon in there too. But the sour cream just overpowered the taste of everything else.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

I think both the Nook and the Kindle offer this, as well. It's just much more input intensive than the finger placemarking, requiring menu navigation and whatnot, so I don't really do this.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Amazon just announced Kindle book lending today.

CCM ice skates and a bread maker. A top year.

And after getting the Kindle, what did I do? Decide to finish reading a print copy of Sense and Sensibility (from my big *** book of Jane Austen). I was too lazy to go download the e-book version for the Kindle that night.

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When he's underwater does he get wet? Or does the water get him instead?