iPad weekend

This will be my first post with the iPad, so all typos are mine 🙂

I found out on Thursday that I had been approved by my company founder/owner/CEO that I needed to get an iPad for development testing and demos at upcoming conferences. I had not put too much thought into it yet; but, got pretty excited by the time Friday afternoon rolled around. I had plenty to keep me busy like the big Raven Cliff Falls hike with the elders at Freedom that started at 0730am. We hiked about 4 hrs and saw one of the most beautiful places in SC. We stopped off at Huntin’ Club BBQ hut on N Hwy 25 on the way back for some necessary nourishment. My back did really good on the hike. My calves were more sore than anything after the hike, which I take as progress. I have been borrowing/trying out an inversion board and it’s helping my back and hips a great deal, along with my PT exercises and stretches everyday. I hope to be back in the kayak soon. Here’s some pictures from the hike and fun on Friday.

Raven Cliff Falls 30Apr2010

I made it back in time to get in some quick yard work and take a shower after the hike and BBQ fest. Did I mention I was off on Friday (other than 1 hr teleconference I had to join)? That’s always a bonus. Kinda hard to hike and work at a computer too :-). The 3G version of the iPad went on sale at 5pm on Friday. My local Best Buy has an Apple shop and so I headed there. I was about the 10th in line and was able to wait the 90 minutes fairly easily and joined that teleconference while waiting. I actually got the last one in the size my company would pay for via a ticket system. That was luck and it paid off. So, I’m now an iPad owner. I can tell you this is far more than a big iPhone or iPod. It’s got one of the most beautiful screens you have ever viewed and no booting up is something that still amazes me. It’s not a laptop, but it can do just about everything I use a laptop to for like email, surfing, Facebook (hey Kathy :-)) and even updating my blog. The speed and function really are filling a niche that was missing. More on this device as I continue to learn and play. We do have some changes that need to be updated on our apps before our big Dalllas conference the first week of June. I will be showing some demos via the iPad according to the plans. I am flying to Houston on May 15th to shoot some videos for work where I will be talking about our products and related topics. We are going to be using them on our marketing for the conference and beyond. We have “official” company blogs too. So, it’s gonna be a busy May.

One thing I won’t be doing any more in May is school. I finished my 2 finals yesterday. Took me about 4 hrs to get through both. This was something that was a bit overwhelming back in January and I am so glad to be done. Looking forward to going fishing with Miles and Dylan next week instead of studying and taking tests. Hallelujah!!!

Between exams, we took Dylan to the Mac Arnold blues festival to sing with his school choir and Mac’s band. Mac is a local legend and was once a member of Muddy Waters band. He’s big claim to fame is the gas can guitar he plays. He brings his band Plate Full O’ Blues with him and they pack a mean blues punch. Good and funky and this was his festival to benefit schools that he calls the Cornbread and Collard Greens festival. Dylan did so good yesterday and was dancing and smiling, no signs of his previous “stage freight” we have seen in the past. We were so proud of him and had a good time listening to the music and meeting Mac. Here’s some pictures from the festival and a quick video.

Mac Arnold Cornbread and Collard Beans Blues Festival

After the festival and fun with Mac Arnold, we came back and I finished my 2nd exam. I then spent a few hours playing around with the iPad as I hadn’t had too much time due to studying and test taking.
(I just lost about half of this post somehow on the iPad. I am going to finish on the PC, as that’s frustrating. Looks like I won’t be using that blog app for long posts anytime soon. 😦 Not good. )

Today, we had a great day at Freedom Fellowship with Cliff bringing a new series on what Freedom is all about and what he sees as God’s plans for our church. He spoke today about what true freedom in Christ means and should mean to all believers. We worship with the sound of fallen shackles. We are truly free from sin because Jesus paid that price and we should act like it, not like someone who still lives in prison. I was pumped to also hear a Drive-By Truckers reference and a Mother’s Finest reference all in the same sermon too. Confirms I am at the right church :-).

After church, we took Tricia out to celebrate Mother’s Day. I don’t know about where you live; but, here it’s a mad zoo trying to go out on Mother’s Day. It’s just not worth the 10X hassle. So, we went out this week and plan to go to the park next week with the boys to celebrate away from the long lines at Olive Garden. We went to Copper River and I’m still reeling from the ribs and the massive Moosetracks Brownie that all four of us split as a dessert. Yes Lord!

Tricia and I did some grocery shopping today and we got some tomatoes, peppers and a cucumber plant in the ground of our little garden of 2010. Looks like rain tomorrow in perfect timing. My roses started blooming last week and are completely loaded with buds this week. Oh yeah, I will be getting my own blueberries this year too. My 2 plants that I moved up from Sumter last year are loaded with berries. Looking forward to that harvest. Ok, gotta get ready for Monday. Even 3 day weekends go too fast. Enjoy the full spring boogie and See ya!