Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘iphone’

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iPad

Posted by terrepruitt on March 19, 2011

I have had the opportunity to actually use the iPad.  This is somewhat of an update from my iPad Coolness post in which I said, “Oooo!” but didn’t really get to use the iPad.  This time I inherited one so I have it set up for me.

This version of the iPad does not have a camera nor a phone.  I have a camera and a phone with a camera so I am covered.  But I could see if you carry your iPad around it would be nice to have all of that included.  I understand that you wouldn’t hold your iPad up to your face, as you would a phone, but headset or bluetooth device could make it nice.

I do love the beautiful display.  It is sooo pretty.  I know that might sound simple, but . . . c’mon . . . it IS pretty.  It is crisp, it is clean–well, except for all of the finger prints on it.  Because of its amazing touch-the-screen technology and the fact that the screen becomes the keyboard there is always finger prints and swipes on it.  So some of its clarity gets dulled under all of that.

I was intrigued by the calendar function on the iPad and I have to laugh because I haven’t even looked at the calendar on the iPad this time.  I have been using it to play a game (We Rule) my husband and I play.  Because the iPad is so much larger than the iPhone it is much easier.  I have also been using it to do a lot of my work on the internet.

I had mentioned in my last post that I really like the way the webpages show up.  As you can see in the picture it shows the webpages that are open or easily opened.  There can be up to nine webpages available.  I like that since I am always going to HelpYouWell.com, the NiaNow website, my blog, my e-mail, my Yelp page, Nia Class info, and so on.  It makes it really easy to sit and “watch” TV.  While I am sitting there I can do research for a post.  I do enjoy the ease at which I can quickly surf the web and read things, but I do not like typing on the iPad for any length of time.  I would not choose to write a blog post on it. Often times I turn on a computer to comment on blogs or Facebook.  I am keyboard person.  I need the SENSATION of the keys.  The touch screen has me typing gibberish.  I am still learning, so my next post regarding the iPad could be that I use it for everything.

The iPad is heavy though . . . and I don’t mean it is HEAVY as if I can’t hold it or lift it, but when you think of the position in which you hold it it is heavy.  Now the iPad2—but that is a whole other blog post.  Since I do find myself setting it down a lot I end up looking down at it.  With a monitor (when I am on a laptop or a “regular” computer) at least I am looking UP instead of down—that actually can be another blog post too (hump back)!

I suspect that as time goes on I will learn to use it more and appreciate it more.  Now I am just experiencing the amazingness of mobility.  I am not at the point where I can give up my tower.  I am having to do without my tower at the moment because it is being worked on.  But it is four years old, by the time I need a new tower/computer (I am getting a new one this month), I might be fully integrated into this iPad thing.  It is amazing.  It is fast.  It is pretty.  It is the future.

Do you have an iPad?  Or Tablet or something like it (if so please share information because I would love to hear.  Since we were gifted iPads I have never done any research on the products)?  Do you have a mobile device?  Do you have a smart phone?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Mango and Chicken Kabob

Posted by terrepruitt on July 1, 2010

I had a lunch date after teaching my Nia class on Wednesday.  I had mentioned, in a previous post that I wanted to cook more with fruit since we had a large amount of plums.  So, I was happy to try the mango and chicken kabob.  Obviously, I can’t take credit for cooking and/or preparing this.  I did not cook this kabob.  Worse, I took the picture with my iPhone so it is — well, the quality of an iPhone picture (it was actually so blurry I had to “sharpen” it with Photoshop).  As the waiter was setting the plate down, I thought, “Oh, I need to take a picture.”  But I forgot when the waiter brought another plate of kabobs that we did not order.  I think he just didn’t want her to feel left out.  I remember after I ate one!

Anyway . . . .GREAT way to cook with fruit.  I don’t think I would have thought to put mango on a skewer with chicken, but it actually works perfect because it cooks great.  I have determined a long time ago that it is too difficult to cook meat and veggies on the same skewer because in order to get the meat cooked properly the veggies get too done.  Or vice-versa, depending on the meat and the veggies.  So it is best–for us–to do them separate.  Plus separate allows for different seasonings and it keeps the meat separate from the vegetables in case there are persons who are not eating meat.

The mangos were cooked with the skin on and for the most part that made the skin very edible.  I didn’t even notice the skin until I got to a particularly tough one that was green.

So, yay!  A way to cook with fruit AND another way to use mangos.  I normally only use them in the cucumber mango salad.  I would have thought to make a salsa, but not to put them on a skewer especially WITH the chicken.  You might have noticed that this kabob has onions, red peppers, and tomatoes too.  I even ate the tomatoes (big deal for loath-tomatoes-girl), even though they were cooked.

Do you cook with mangos?  Do you make kabobs?  Kabobs are a nice way to serve food for a cook out, huh?  Have you managed to perfect cooking vegetables AND meat on the same skewer?

Posted in Food, Fruit | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

iPad Coolness

Posted by terrepruitt on April 6, 2010

We do not own an iPad.  I believe that our iPhones are enough for us, at the moment.  But the company Hubby works for runs Macs and they wanted an office iPad.  Not only that, they are so nice they let the employees take it home and experience it.  So I was able to use one for a couple of hours. It is really like a big iPhone . . . a really BIG iPhone.  It does not take pictures nor is it a phone, but it is really pretty.

Apple seems to have a way with picture quality.  I like my monitor, it is fine.  I don’t need another one, but when I go to Hubby’s office I do tend to stare at his monitor.  It is soooo clear and it makes whatever you are working on so beautiful.  I found this to be the case with the iPad.  But like my iPhone since the “monitor” is also your keyboard, you end up having to look “through” a lot of finger prints and smudges.

It was already loaded up with someone’s applications and so I basically just looked at a movie and did some internet surfing.

It ran pretty fast, and as I have already mentioned the clarity is awesome.

Some of the things that I am familiar with on the iPhone were different on the iPad and I thought the differences would be useful.  The calendar program that comes as part of the iPhone was able to be displayed as if it were a book calendar with the note section on the left and the month on the right.  It looked like a regular desk calendar.  With the iPhone’s tiny screen you have to change “pages” for list/day/month.  I can see how having a “regular desk calendar” would be very helpful.  Don’t we all love to look at things “at a glance”.

I LOVED the way the multiple browsers showed.  But I bet I would end up with 16 browser windows like I usually do on my regular computer.  I think that the iPhone only allows eight and the way they are displayed is linearly and you swipe to move them.  But on the iPad they are displayed in a grid format so you can see them all at once.  I found that to be one of the most exciting features that I experienced.

Remember, I only had this for a few hours and the applications loaded on it were not mine or even my husband’s so I didn’t go snooping into them all.

The “keyboard” that pops up is a good sized qwerty keyboard and one could touch type one it.  I have the need for the feel of the keys in order to type with any speed, but I heard my husband typing away on it just like normal.  (And just so you know, he typed REALLY fast!)

I keep coming back to how pretty the “monitor” (display)  looked.  I actually didn’t even get to see the “naked” iPad because it was “vacuum packed” into is neoprene case and, as I have mentioned, it is not ours so I didn’t want to risk scratching it or anything, so I didn’t take it out of its case to look at it.

I did discover a book in the “library”.  It was Whinnie-the-Pooh.  Oh, my heart melted and I thought since I was stuck on the couch with the cat was on my lap I could try reading on the iPad.  Well, four pages into it, my hand started to hurt.  The iPad is very heavy and I could not hold it in one hand and read it like I would hold a book.  But unlike the Kindle it has its own backlight, like a computer.  (Did I mention how pretty the monitor makes everything look?).

Like a netbook, I can see how people could use an iPad.  I can see how business could benefit from it.  Since I work from home I am good with my regular computer and my iPhone, which is just like an iPad, but smaller, and it has a camera and a phone.   But its picture is not nearly as pretty.

Posted in Just stuff | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments »

Used My iPhone For My Nia 5 Stages Practice

Posted by terrepruitt on October 1, 2009

I believe that I cannot say it enough. Nia can be a lot of things. It can be a workout where you just go to class to move, dance, and have fun or it can be a practice, like Yoga. In the practice you can look at some of the elements that make up Nia and work and play with them. One of the movement practices of Nia is the Nia 5 Stages.

I think of the Nia 5 Stages as a practice because you can do it as often as you like and each time you do it you will sense improvement where your body can use improvement or “self-healing“.   And you can even do the 5 Stages with an actual focus on improving something. I am experimenting with it. Since I recently just took the training and want to share it with others in a class format and in one-on-one sessions, I am experimenting with multiple aspects of it. In addition to the DVD and CD that was part of my training, I am using my iPhone to assist me in my experimentation.

I have two applications on my iPhone that I am using. The first one is iDicto. It is a simple recording application. In teaching the Nia 5 Stages we use voice, language, and imagery to allow the participants to move through the stages in their own way. By recording my scripts into my iPhone I am able to do a lot of things, two of which are:

—–I am able to check all of the different points of my speaking that I need to learn and work on, for instance the timing of my speaking

—–I am able to play back my recordings and use them just as I do the CD and the DVD that I received with my training, as if I were taking a Nia 5 stages class

The other application I use is Chronology. First of all let me remind you that I am experimenting with the 5 Stages. So I am doing it different ways. One way is to do each stage until your body tells you to move onto the next stage. Another way is to do each stage for a minute. Now, while I am doing the 5 Stages I don’t want to be looking at the clock and I am not good at sensing when a minute is up, so that is where I LOVE Chronology. It allows me to set up six different timers. I set one up for six minutes, one for five minutes, one for four minutes, one for three minutes, one for two minutes, and one for one minute.

Then I start them all and I begin my practice by just  just relaxing. After a minute, the timer goes off and I move into the first stage, then went the next time goes off, I move into the next stage and so on. This way I know that am spending a minute in each stage. After doing each stage for a minute, I can adjust each timer for any amount of time I would like.

This is just ONE way of doing it. It is up to you if you want to do a timed stage or do it more naturally and move from one stage to the next when you are ready. As I said, I am experimenting and trying all different ways to do it. I think when I do it without a timer I spend more time on the first stage. But I don’t know, I am not being timed. 🙂

What really makes me laugh is I do find myself thinking, “There really IS an (iPhone) application for everything.”

This is just one way to do the Nia 5 Stages.  When I acquired these applications they were free.  Looks like Chronology is $2.99 now, but I bet you can find one for free that does the same thing.  It needs to be able to allow you to set up multiple timers (at least 5) and run them all at once.  And I did a search for iDicto and I don’t see it at all, but there are a lot of recording applications.  And I am sure you can find one that is perfect for you.

If you are interested in learning more about the Nia 5 Stages please let me know.  I am very excited to share this easy to do “exercise” that will allow you to move with ease and grace.

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

My Twitter

Posted by terrepruitt on June 20, 2009

I am not a Twitter expert. But . . . I have picked up a few things from a lot of people who could be considered experts. Plus I have picked up some things from just doing it.

Recently I have connected with a bunch of wonderful people who have less time than I do to spend learning about this.  So, I am going to share a few things that I have learned so that I can just point them at this blog instead of typing it all out individually (on my iPhone, mind you).   Now, here is the catch, this is my opinion and my perception of how it works.  If you have a different opinion or you know that it works differently please kindly share. That would be very appreciated and helpful.

 

For my friends, here is my advice:

-Put a picture up.    Anything, doesn’t have to be you if you don’t want, but don’t leave that twitter box up.  That is not good.  I actually have to be really convinced to follow people that have that (or I have to know them personally and understand that they just haven’t gotten around to putting a picture up).

-Fill out your bio.    Put something there.  If you are Nia person, tell them about Nia, if you can’t think of anything else.  If you have to, read OTHER people’s bios to get ideas.  I have followed people just because their bio has made me laugh.  Make up something funny.  List your likes or dislikes, list what you will be tweeting about, share that you like to work out, share that you loathe exercise . . . .who cares what you write, just put something there.

-Put your web address up.    C’mon, you have a website because you want people to go to it.  Put it out there.  MAKE SURE YOUR LINK WORKS! (Ya, that is a big deal.)

-Tweet.    Oh my, this is the most difficult thing, but the most important.  I am still challenged by it.  But do it.  If you are like me it is kind of intimidating.  If you are following some major people (like I am, and I mean “major” as in they are “celebs” on Twitter) their useful information can make me wonder, “What do I have to add?”  So I started by retweeting other people’s stuff.  Then people would retweet my tweets and start talking to me.  And then I would think of something to share and bam . . . . so it goes.  I still retweet a lot because there is a lot of good stuff out there that I like to share, but I also share my own stuff.  I also like to tweet about stuff happening in the area of San Jose (Willow Glen) in which I teach classes.

The following is easier said than done: don’t worry so much (I still do, sometimes, but I try not to).  The people that you want following you are the ones that want to see what you have to say. Right?  So say what you want and you will get people following you.  People will come and people will go.  That’s ok.

Ok, I will continue this on Tuesday because right now, my word counter is saying that I am way over my self-imposed word limit.  Tuesday I will tell you what I understand about @, RT, and DM.  And of course, if you don’t want to wait, I am sure you can find all of this information out there somewhere else.

Posted in Twitter | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments »

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