Why I Oughta...

I was doing a little thinking/looking at this here online Weblog (or diary as I like to think of it) as it relates to the template.  It has been a number of years since I've done any real housekeeping and moving things around.  As part of that process, I thought I'd let some of the data lead the discovery process to understand how most of you are engaging with my diary.  First...let me say that I continue to be amazed that ANYONE reads any of these posts.  I do ZERO promotion of the blog.  I have no ads and cater the posts/topics to an audience of one:  me.  I write MOSTLY as a resource for my own sanity - and to flex my own publishing muscles.  Seth Godin calls it SUSDAT .  I call it SUSDAP.  Shut up, Sit down and Post.  Every.Single.Day. But, what are *most* of you using to read these diary posts?  By a large margin, you lunatics who are here are reading this post (and everything else) on your mobile device.   And, ...

This arrived in the mail to help me turn my phone into a little stand-up display and push me into the future with wireless charging.  But the biggest issue I've come across with being a *real* wireless charging user?  Driving.  Yeah.  Driving. That's because we have those little car dashboard vent magnetic mounts that require you to slide a little metal plate under your case.  Then you just kind of 'pop' your phone on the mount and it keeps it out our your hands and allows you to use turn-by-turn directions without fumbling around with your phone. The issue?  If I put the metal plate in the middle of the back of the phone, the wireless charging via the Google Pixel Stand here doesn't work.  If I take the plate out, then I don't get to pop my phone on the dash while we drive.  A few weeks in, it seems that I'm choosing the convenience of the magnetic plate over the wireless charging on the stand. Anybody solve this dilemma?

That's the Huawei-made Nexus 6P that showed up earlier this week.  This marks the 7th Nexus phone I've had going all the way back to the original Nexus One.  When I was at Google, I had the S, Galaxy Nexus, 4 and 5.  Since I've left, I went with last year's behemoth the Nexus 6 and now this year the 6P. Nat has been on the Nexus program since the 4, too.  But the 6 was so big, she opted to go with the Moto X Pure last year.  This year, she's back on the Nexus program with the 5X. These just arrived, so we haven't put them through their paces, but so far so good.   The camera - everyone claims - is much improved.  That's always been the sore spot for the Nexus line for me.   Also, the 6 was a bit clunky when it came to the wifi and bluetooth radios.  They were spotty and would kick off every once in a while. I ordered a case, but it hasn't shown up yet, so this thing feels so light and thin.  I know it won't last when I strap the ...

Imagine my delight when I fired up gmail and saw this promo email from the fine folks at Disney.  They're promoting some new mobile apps tied to the new Pixar movie 'Inside Out' - which my girls loved. Squee!  I couldn't wait to open the note and then download some stuff to show off to the girls tonight.  I mean...anything to get them away from watching unboxing videos on YouTube Kids, amirite?!? I open the email and my excitement quickly turns to frustration.  See all those iOS app store logos?  Hrumph.  All three apps that they're promoting are available in the Apple App Store only. What about us Android users?  No apps for you, I guess. Add this round of disappointment to the pile that exists because they rolled out their cute "Disney Side" app that allows you to overlay a Disney character image on a selfie.  We'd love to do that, right? Oh...too bad.  No app for you, Android user.  iOS only. Come on, Disney! ...

This morning, I received a nice surprise:  this thing that I've been carrying around in my pocket for 3 weeks is finally more than just a wifi paperweight.  LTE time!