tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53464503818556595912024-02-20T08:37:19.729-05:00Ponderings of a Geek Fishing DadThoughts on fishing, fatherhood, board games, technology, photography, video, cooking, gaming, and eternal issues.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-64197535409241071942013-10-17T22:48:00.001-04:002013-10-17T22:49:09.376-04:00Protecting Yourself from Facebook<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZYIpbc7R4qih6VN16-6CgQm-xdLoboipmBvv2MlReVQOQVtexcA9lRhyB_wczCcNh_eQH6yduAz2PJAEYMQHwBlMh47ysIu5f9Yf9qLfD7JCwlvgxKt2Jm15J7KUQtksiIMsrwnLd8_p/s1600/Facebook-Private.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="What can you do about Facebook privacy?" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZYIpbc7R4qih6VN16-6CgQm-xdLoboipmBvv2MlReVQOQVtexcA9lRhyB_wczCcNh_eQH6yduAz2PJAEYMQHwBlMh47ysIu5f9Yf9qLfD7JCwlvgxKt2Jm15J7KUQtksiIMsrwnLd8_p/s1600/Facebook-Private.jpg" height="193" title="Facebook privacy" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Facebook privacy concerns us all...</td></tr>
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It seems like everyone is worried about Facebook privacy these days. At least everyone seems to be sharing, and by sharing, I mean copy and pasting statuses regarding some sort of privacy issue, from instructions to friends to uncheck notification settings to protect your privacy (doesn't work - see my other post about Facebook privacy settings <a href="http://geekfishingdad.blogspot.ca/2013/02/facebook-privacy-starts-with-you.html" target="_blank">here</a>) to posting that their content cannot be used for <insert legal mumble jumble here>...<br />
<div>
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<h4>
What really works?</h4>
<div>
<a name='more'></a>First off, you might have seen something like this...</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Channel 13 News was just talking about this change in Facebook's privacy policy. Better safe than sorry. As of October 13, 2013 at 4:41am Eastern standard time, I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, or posts, both past and future. By this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute). NOTE: Facebook is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this. If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once it will be tactically allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in the profile status updates. DO NOT SHARE. You MUST copy and Paste</span></blockquote>
This same or slightly modified message, with different dates, has been circulating a while. It's not new. It gives the impression that, if posted to your wall, you can't be held responsible for what you post, or it can't be used against you. One of the first questions I ask myself when I read this is "Who or what is Channel 13 News?" It's a nice authoritative sounding pile of garbage, that's what. It's vague enough to be read by anyone and sound official, but totally unverifiable. Clue #1 it's a hoax.<br />
<br />
Guess what? When you signed up for Facebook, you also agreed to use it and be regulated by their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/policies/" target="_blank">terms and conditions</a>, even when they change, and that you agreed with it's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/" target="_blank">privacy policies</a>. You're stuck. <br />
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<h4>
What options do you have?</h4>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Don't join Facebook.</li>
<li>Lobby Facebook to change it's policies.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account" target="_blank">Delete your Facebook account.</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
Now before you go deleting your Facebook account, here's the other thing - every time I see a "Facebook did this.." post, when I check it, it's a hoax. Unfortunately, people don't tend to check the things their friends post, they just take it as given - hence the new method to get people to post is "don't share, but copy and paste this status to your own status and post." Sharing allows people to see where the post originated. It becomes less personal, and easier to ignore when it's your friend's sister's son's roommate. But your friend wouldn't lie, would they? Not knowingly, anyway. But then, would your friend check the validity of their friend's status update? In many cases, no. So be a good friend and check before you post.<br />
<br />
How do I do that?Google is your friend (or other preferred search engine.) Find a piece of information in the post that you can use to search. Let's use the one above as an example. Let's try the term "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Facebook is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this." </span>in Google. The first thing we'll notice is a lot of sites like Snopes, Facecrooks, Hoax-Slayer, etc... I like Snopes, and hit that link. Immediately I find similar messages like the one above, and the explanation that it is indeed a hoax. Let your friend that posted it know so they can delete the post, and don't pass it on. Be a good friend.<br />
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<h4>
So, what can you do about what you post?</h4>
Here's some quick and dirty tricks to keep you safer on Facebook:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Don't be foolish - don't post what you wouldn't want people to see.</li>
<li>If you have something private to share with a friend, private message them.</li>
<li>If you want your group of friends to see something, but not the public, make sure you post only to your friends. This can be a smaller subset of your friends by making a "close friends' list and posting only to them.</li>
<li>Don't post stuff you don't want people to see.</li>
<li>Don't post cellphone numbers, or other personal information that you might not want getting around to a large group of people.</li>
<li>Use discretion when posting photos.</li>
<li>DON"T POST STUFF YOU DON"T WANT PEOPLE TO SEE.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<ol></ol>
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<div>
Hopefully this will help you understand how to protect your privacy better. Setting your user account settings to limit who can view and interact with your profile is a good start, especially if you have privacy concerns. Limiting what you post is always the best way to protect yourself and your privacy. Let's face it, Facebook is a social platform made to let you tell your friends, or the world, what you are doing. If you don't like that thought, then maybe Facebook isn't for you and you're best not to join.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-67792281361544250262013-03-31T20:13:00.000-04:002013-04-03T12:07:10.899-04:00Spring Walleye and Shallow Water Fishing<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I can't believe it's March already and in a couple months the ice will be melting and walleye season will be getting close to opening. Although for me it's a busy time of year with the start of our tourist season, getting all the <a href="http://www.leisureislandhouseboats.com/" target="_blank">houseboats</a> ready, it's also nice to have open water fishing to look forward to. I love getting out on the water and doing some fishing. So much, in fact, that a couple friends and I started an online fishing show to give <a href="http://www.fishtemagami.com/" target="_blank">fishing tips</a> for the area.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rIex9mIIK4jm9-0eAbHJqWsHz4SQg4xS_NHLJnlh5Vz4MmC_cjOzPR6mt_GXaOWCV1fhyphenhyphenV2ZXM-kqvVbSwhImFEHUVhYIAa7SXfTgb1YEv0EeAljTQoC1Nf5qy71klujbJn-cRvT6Bo/s1600/Rapala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rapala" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rIex9mIIK4jm9-0eAbHJqWsHz4SQg4xS_NHLJnlh5Vz4MmC_cjOzPR6mt_GXaOWCV1fhyphenhyphenV2ZXM-kqvVbSwhImFEHUVhYIAa7SXfTgb1YEv0EeAljTQoC1Nf5qy71klujbJn-cRvT6Bo/s1600/Rapala.jpg" height="177" title="Rapala" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rapala, the staple for trolling shallow.</td></tr>
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During our first few weeks we spend a lot of time hitting the shorelines for walleye coming off the spawning beds and hitting the shallows for the minnows to feed on. Our target area is anywhere from 4 to 8 feet along the shoreline. Just any lure won't do in that kind of situation, so we go with the trusty Floating Rapala, allowing us to get the lure up shallow quickly when we hit those 4 foot areas (or less if we missed our trolling run). I've always run black and silver original and jointed Rapalas in the spring, but with the start of the show, I wanted to try and focus on using low cost alternatives. My motto was "successful fishing on a budget".</div>
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Enter the Storm Lures Madflash Thunderstick in "Gizzard Shad" flavor. I purchased mine at Walmart while looking over lower priced lures and decided to pit it against a Rapala. My buddy used a Rapala during our nights out, and I used my Thunderstick. Our first couple episodes details our adventures. You can see our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZntEOnqKFw" target="_blank">luck with walleye in episode one</a>, and episode two shows more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhynF0BXQmQ" target="_blank">walleye, with a massive northern pike</a> as random catch of the night. By the time we were collecting footage for episode three, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlGa43XzfHg" target="_blank">most of the walleye had moved to deeper water</a> for the most part, and we were picking up bass coming in for the spawn, so it was time to move to a better target area.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdLIeF6UyH8HDQOszSQ_SylMJo13BxzqpXnIoGb4yxwKKxKDclj7AXACqHqIcs-jcHL2dry2GEHOopWqQY1KXG_vkAwYucUmsn7hXIZqf6MigI6hVdDxajjq-Bk3oLPHfkVRh7NHsuSBi/s1600/Thunderstick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdLIeF6UyH8HDQOszSQ_SylMJo13BxzqpXnIoGb4yxwKKxKDclj7AXACqHqIcs-jcHL2dry2GEHOopWqQY1KXG_vkAwYucUmsn7hXIZqf6MigI6hVdDxajjq-Bk3oLPHfkVRh7NHsuSBi/s1600/Thunderstick.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rapala vs Thunderstick - who will win?</td></tr>
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During our time trolling the shallow shorelines we found the cheaper Thunderstick working better than the more expensive Rapala. I was amazed at how well it performed for a budget lure. After fishing with it for a season, the lower grade finish did show more wear, but it will easily stand up to another season or two, and if you lose one, it's not as big a shock to the wallet. A Rapala can run almost twice the cost of the Thunderstick, but the different is in the finish. My Rapalas have been around for years, with teeth marks embedded in the wood and there is no scratched paint, the colors are all there. Not so with the Thunderstick, which suffers from paint scratches from teeth and hook scraping alike. A Rapala will be in your box for years to come, if the underwater dangers don't claim it. A Thunderstick might need replacing after a few years of use. If the success rate of the Thunderstick we had is any indicator though, you might want one in your box to try out. You can follow the link below to get yours from Bass Pro Shops.<br />
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<br /></div>
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<form action="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/interactive" method="get" target="_blank">
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<td valign="top" width="10%"><img alt="STORM ThunderStick with MadFlash" border="0" src="http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/BassPro/10209480_is" /></td>
<td valign="top"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">STORM ThunderStick with MadFlash</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">UV Bright or MadFlash finishOriginal ThuderStick swimming actions and rattleExternal scale pattern3-D holographic eyesThe Original ThunderStick with the added appeal of STORMs brilliant MadFlash holographic or UV Bright finish and external scale patters for maximum flash. Just like the Original ThunderSticks, the ThunderStick with MadFlash delivers the same proven fish-catching action, integrated lip and high-volume rattles. Whether you cast, troll, twitch, rip or jerk the ThunderStick,it will produce the results youre after in most fishing situations. Complete Premium VMC® hooks.</span><br />
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<input name="pid" type="hidden" value="7061907" />
<input name="aid" type="hidden" value="10419257" />
<input name="cjsku" type="hidden" value="10209480" />
<input name="url" type="hidden" value="http://www.basspro.com/STORM-ThunderStick-MadFlash/product/10209480/" />
<input type="submit" value="Buy" />
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<img border="0" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-7061907-10419257" height="1" width="1" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0Temagami, ON, Canada47.0644964 -79.79093790000001746.371031900000006 -81.081831400000013 47.7579609 -78.500044400000021tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-57991829090570836692013-02-26T19:11:00.001-05:002013-02-26T19:22:39.107-05:00Protecting Digital Data - Part 2In my <a href="http://geekfishingdad.blogspot.com/2013/02/protecting-digital-data-part-1.html" target="_blank">previous post</a> we looked at the explosion of digital data coming onto our computers. Photos, videos, movies, and games are all getting bigger and going digital. What was a small part of our hard drive before has grown, and so have our needs for backup. In this post we'll look at cloud based options, easy to use and share network options, and cheaper solutions for small data libraries. With all the options before us, it shouldn't be hard to get a good backup system in place so you can avoid digital loss.<br />
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<b>Online Cloud Backup</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1y83Q9XWWfDz1Pf5rtK712o2dZTCAdgLtp-KJoXzoOTgEeQRYP9puQPEhGpQ_uViA7RI_Qcsww0misHaITF02YKsH9_XJ3obdzRTFAez1TqIKwgGyF67TJiWAwVJL1broC67wrl4U71V/s1600/cloudstorage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1y83Q9XWWfDz1Pf5rtK712o2dZTCAdgLtp-KJoXzoOTgEeQRYP9puQPEhGpQ_uViA7RI_Qcsww0misHaITF02YKsH9_XJ3obdzRTFAez1TqIKwgGyF67TJiWAwVJL1broC67wrl4U71V/s1600/cloudstorage.jpg" height="111" width="200" /></a></div>
With services like Dropbox being around for years and everyone else getting into the game, cloud based backup is getting easier to find. Microsoft launched Skydrive with Windows 8, Apple has iCloud, Google has Google Drive, not to mention several other companies offering similar services. These services allow you to upload files to 'the cloud' and share them between your computers for easy access so you can always have your current project at your fingertips. The ability to share with friends also makes these services a great tool. Most services offer anywhere between 2-5GB for free and space upgrade plans with a monthly fee. Dropbox will upgrade your space as you share the service with friends, both giving you more space and bring them more users. A few other achievements in the Dropbox list will net you a bit more extra space, the total free space you get get for friend referrals stands at 16GB now I believe, an incredible amount of space for a free service. I've used Dropbox for a few years now and it has been invaluable for sharing video work between my partner and I. If you are interested, you can try <a href="http://db.tt/iNUdoRh" target="_blank">Dropbox here</a>.</div>
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<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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<b>Pros:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Syncing (upload and download of data) is automatic in most cases.</li>
<li>Makes work documents easy to transfer between home and office computers.</li>
<li>Ease of sharing between friends.</li>
<li>More than just storage.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>Cons:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Limited space.</li>
<li>Speed depends on required internet connection.</li>
<li>How safe is 'the cloud'?</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>Network Storage:</b></div>
<div>
One solution I'll be trying out shortly is a shared storage unit over my router. Newer routers now sometimes offer the ability to plug a portable hard drive unit into the router to share over the network, making for an easy and cheap method to have full or part time storage available to all the devices on your home network. Watch for routers that include DLNA service and you can stream movies from the device to your PS3, Google, or Apple TV. This brings a localized sharing system right to your network, allowing any computer to access storage, and some offer management of the service via iOS or Android app, as well as local computers. Since most homes have some wireless devices in them and have a router sharing internet access between multiple devices, this option can be attractive when you need to share larger amounts of data, or require streaming for your devices or TV. I'll be testing out the D-Link DIR-645 soon and hope to be able to report good things in the next month or so. If you plan on leaving this storage online all the time, you'll want to make sure you get a unit that either has a fan or runs cool.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Pros:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Easy access to storage for wired and wireless devices.</li>
<li>Storage can be easily disconnected and stored offline.</li>
<li>Storage media can be easily changed.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>Cons:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Most useful when constantly connected, leaving prone to power surge.</li>
<li>Expect to add $40+ on top of a portable storage unit to upgrade your home network.</li>
<li>Faster wireless routers cost more.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>DVD-R</b></div>
<div>
If you have a limited library and don't want to make a huge expense to back it up, and don't trust online sources for free backup, you can always burn your photos to disc. A stack of 100 DVDs is about $30, and that will hold about 470GB of data. In the end, it's better than nothing, especially if your library is under 20GB in size. It's definitely not as convenient as a hard drive option, but it will do the trick.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Pros:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Cheap for small libraries.</li>
<li>Most computers have a DVD burner.</li>
<li>Easy to acquire.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>Cons:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Managing your stored library can be a bit painstaking.</li>
<li>Slow.</li>
<li>Time consuming.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>USB Stick Drive</b><br />
Antoher option for small amounts of data are USB stick drives. They are getting cheaper with higher capacities each year and they are very easy to plug in, backup, and store in a drawer, cabinet, or safe. For small backups, documents, and the like, a USB stick can be a great solution. For best practice, use a second stick to make a duplicate copy in case one stick fails.<br />
<br />
<b>Pros:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Extremely portable.</li>
<li>Cheap.</li>
<li>Reusable.</li>
<li>Easy to store.</li>
</ul>
<b>Cons:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Most sticks are USB 2 drives, which are slower.</li>
<li>Smaller capacity than a hard drive based solution.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>How much is enough?</b></div>
<div>
So now that we've gone through the options, we have to ask - how much is enough? How many copies should you keep? When people talked about external hard drives in the early years, it was often as an option to move data that was taking up space on your main computer drive to the external to make room. Now hard drives are fairly cheap, much larger, and easy to install. Space isn't as big an issue, but as devices are more digital, backing up your data is. Redundant backup means you have a second, or more, copies of what exists on your computer. Whether that means a second copy on a laptop, or a copy tucked away on an external drive in your desk drawer, that's up to you. What you have to ask yourself is, how important is it to keep my data safe? If you don't want to risk losing your digital family photo album, then having a copy on your home computer AND an external is probably a good idea. Having a third copy somewhere else is up to you. You can always do it the old fashioned way and print the best photos and put them in an album. The bottom line is, when it comes to precious memories, it's easier and cheaper than ever to make sure they are safe, two or three times over. Having a spare copy to keep at a family member's, friend's, or storage box can help in case of house fire. No one likes to think of situations like that, but planning ahead with an off-site backup can make the best of a worse case scenario.</div>
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<div>
If you are in the market for backup devices in Canada, you can try Tiger Direct, who often have good prices on computer parts and accessories using this link:</div>
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<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=czWo1Ah0VV8&offerid=234830.10000010&type=4&subid=0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="TigerDirect (CA)" border="0" src="http://images.tigerdirect.com/email/affiliate_new/HardDrives_CA_468x60a.gif" /></a></div>
<img border="0" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=czWo1Ah0VV8&bids=234830.10000010&type=4&subid=0" height="1" width="1" /></div>
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<br />
If you are in the US, you can use this link:<br />
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<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=czWo1Ah0VV8&offerid=272649.10000381&type=4&subid=0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="components" border="0" src="http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/affiliate/banners/components_468x60.gif" /></a></div>
<img border="0" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=czWo1Ah0VV8&bids=272649.10000381&type=4&subid=0" height="1" width="1" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-63881737988529531442013-02-23T18:11:00.000-05:002013-02-26T19:15:22.259-05:00Protecting Digital Data - Part 1I've enjoyed years of watching the digital camera grow from a VGA capable camera that was bulky and wrote to floppy disks to my current (and almost antique in terms of cameras now) Sony A700. As an amateur photographer, I've appreciated the ability to take nearly unlimited photos to practice getting the perfect shot. I'm sure I have many thousands of photos left to continue to hone my skills. Along the way, I've been lucky to get many great photos, and collected many not as great photos of rare nature sightings and special family moments that you just don't want to give up. Eventually, a collection can grow very large, especially after years of shooting. Add to this collection digital video and you've got a very large media library. Sure, my dad's old video camera taped directly to VCR tape. My old SD camera taped to mini tapes. But now my HD camera is adding digital footage to my hard drive at an alarming rate, and much of it I need to keep around for potential video clips in different works. Newer DSLR cameras also allow taking video or photos with the same device, making the switch between photo and video while 'catching the moment' easy and convenient.<br />
<br />
All this can lead to a rather large pile of precious data. As cameras take higher quality photos, file sizes increase and the problem becomes one that must be faced by even casual photographers. In my computer repair hobby business, I've seen a lot of issues, from dying or dead hard drives, to one of the more common issues in our area - lightning strikes coming in through phone lines and causing damage to one or more components. Viruses used to be a big issue, but now most computers ship with antivirus and users, of Windows systems at least, are used to using antivirus to protect themselves. Remember to keep your antivirus up to date! Even with this protection, things can go wrong. How can we protect against data loss due to unforeseen software or hardware issues?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFA5UE_LfTEwKQFt-5qshOtf54RhTFhRatlWeIY1SdoxP0AWfWGu7jOFcbYChXGF584NS20vxqUz-Css4_CYXlyTH97u-8GaMUQfGPMjc_aa4BrMxJbAlPDp8bzb0gDoSA48pTgJxbEO-r/s1600/HardDriveCrash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFA5UE_LfTEwKQFt-5qshOtf54RhTFhRatlWeIY1SdoxP0AWfWGu7jOFcbYChXGF584NS20vxqUz-Css4_CYXlyTH97u-8GaMUQfGPMjc_aa4BrMxJbAlPDp8bzb0gDoSA48pTgJxbEO-r/s1600/HardDriveCrash.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protect yourself from data loss and avoid this...</td></tr>
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Our lifetime of photos and memories is too precious to lose to a random failure. Can we make sure this doesn't happen to us? This is the topic I want to focus on over the next blog entry or two. Nobody wants to lose their special memories or important files. I've seen portable hard drives die, and experienced one go myself. Western Digital's MyBook motto was "Put your life on it!" Yes, you can, but don't let it be your only copy. I lost only a small amount of data when mine died thanks to safe computing practices. What's the most important of those?<br />
<br />
<b>Redundant Backup</b><br />
Hard drive prices are low these days compared to fifteen years ago. There are lots of options for relatively cheap, large backups. For a small home library, you might even be able to get away with a free option for a while. Eventually as your collection grows, you'll probably have to start paying for some sort of backup option, or run the risk of losing data if your main drive data gets corrupted or lost.<br />
<h3>
<b><u>The Options:</u></b></h3>
<b>An Extra Hard Drive</b><br />
As I said, hard drives are cheap, and when on sale, you can get a 2TB drive for as little as ~$100 or less. That's a lot of space, more than you'll likely need for your media, unless you're a pro with lots of photo archives or video footage. This will also allow you to backup your documents, email address book, emails, and other items that may be important to you. Many computers have extra hard drive slots that could house a secondary hard drive that you can use for redundant backup. This hard drive is always available and easy to copy new data to whenever you add to your collection. Because it is directly connected to your motherboard via your SATA connector, transfer speeds are fast. The big fault to this type of backup is that it is vulnerable to system issues like a massive power surge or virus.<br />
<br />
<b>Pros:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Always available.</li>
<li>Easy - nothing to hook up.</li>
<li>Fast.</li>
<li>Relatively cheap.</li>
<li>Can be installed in minutes by a tech savvy owner or friend.</li>
</ul>
<b>Cons:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Vulnerable to main system faults like virus, power surge.</li>
<li>Locked into one system unless shared over network.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>External Hard Drives</b></div>
<div>
There are many external hard drive options on the market that allow you to hook up an external hard drive to your computer to perform backups of important data via a data port. These come in a variety of flavors, from common USB 2 to the new USB 3 standard, eSATA, and Thunderbolt (first launched by Apple, and now coming to newer PC motherboards.) An external drive can be isolated from power and your computer while you don't require its service, allowing it to be stored safely away until the next backup or restore. If you already have a spare hard drive sitting around, you can get an enclosure to use it as an external. Many externals can be found for about $20 more than their internal counterpart, with the price geared to the size of the storage unit. If you're buying a new external, do yourself a favor and at least make sure you get a USB 3 if your computer has a USB 3 port. Older USB 2 external drives are horribly slow for large transfers. Depending on your available ports, higher speed options are USB 3, eSATA, and at the top of the list, Thunderbolt. If your system is older though, you'll likely be stuck with a USB 2 connection and slow speeds unless you buy an expansion card for your computer to add one type of the newer ports. The benefit to externals is the portability. You can take them anywhere, from computer to computer, to share or backup.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Pros:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Easily move between computers.</li>
<li>Easily isolated from your system and power when not in use.</li>
<li>Price isn't much higher than a regular hard drive.</li>
<li>No installation required if you buy an external for your existing computer port.</li>
<li>Most externals come with a form of backup software to make the task easier.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>Cons:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Older connection types are slow.</li>
<li>Most models do not have a fan and some can run very hot.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>More Options: Moving to the Cloud, a Home Network Solution and others...</b></div>
<div>
In the <a href="http://geekfishingdad.blogspot.ca/2013/02/protecting-digital-data-part-2.html">next post</a> I'll look at some more backup methods, including cloud storage and home based network sharing and storage solutions.</div>
<div>
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<div>
If you are in the market for backup devices in Canada, you can try Tiger Direct, who often have good prices on computer parts and accessories using this link:</div>
<div>
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<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=czWo1Ah0VV8&offerid=234830.10000010&type=4&subid=0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="TigerDirect (CA)" border="0" src="http://images.tigerdirect.com/email/affiliate_new/HardDrives_CA_468x60a.gif" /></a></div>
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<div>
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If you are in the US, you can use this link:<br />
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<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=czWo1Ah0VV8&offerid=272649.10000381&type=4&subid=0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="components" border="0" src="http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/affiliate/banners/components_468x60.gif" /></a></div>
<img border="0" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=czWo1Ah0VV8&bids=272649.10000381&type=4&subid=0" height="1" width="1" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-88522877591817573222013-02-19T14:08:00.000-05:002013-02-26T23:11:58.034-05:00Spam, Spam, Facebook, and Email Spam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtwzCbAwI0Q5sZGPHApRa4fZt23OHKy1VRhvxrLNm0VgqXv7dE_4dUCaLD7hEdTqdS1-oaM5z4BhTIPN7zUf1YQgwpp3-8I1JZ603vSweZBiT-gYMdZcYR-_Jou-jHT4xgPE_1PuPSt6M/s1600/facebook-emails1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtwzCbAwI0Q5sZGPHApRa4fZt23OHKy1VRhvxrLNm0VgqXv7dE_4dUCaLD7hEdTqdS1-oaM5z4BhTIPN7zUf1YQgwpp3-8I1JZ603vSweZBiT-gYMdZcYR-_Jou-jHT4xgPE_1PuPSt6M/s1600/facebook-emails1.jpg" /></a></div>
Everyone loves to be in touch, but nobody really likes spam... Except maybe Monty Python's Flying Circus... Facebook can be a downpour of spam emails every day if you let it. I'm going to show you how to shorten the list to a trickle each month. Remember, only follow these steps if you don't like hitting delete on numerous emails a day from Facebook - that's what real email spam is for!<br />
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First off, we need to get to you account settings. In the upper right of Facebook, you'll see your profile picture, name, 'Home', privacy, and a gear. Apparently the gear makes all Facebook work, and it's where you find such things as the ability to logout (who'd ever want to!?!), privacy & account settings, ads, your apps, and the ability to use Facebook as any of the pages you administer. You can see I could use Facebook as myself, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/FishTemagami" target="_blank">Fish Temagami</a> - my online fishing show fan page, or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TemagamiHouseboats" target="_blank">Leisure Island Houseboat Rentals</a>, my business page for our houseboat rental business. Using Facebook as one of these pages allows you to comment and like interests on behalf of your page.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
Now that the great gear menu has been demystified, click on account settings. You'll land on your 'General Settings" page, with the menu shown below on the left. Click the Notifications link denoted by the fat red arrow in the picture. Once there, you'll see the Email notifications on the second row. That's our target. You can see mine is already set to 'Most Notifications'. Click the 'Edit' link shown by the narrow red arrow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2t2qF1LJDkHof6dAmJtGIY6p_XJ6LSX-hrphNmvrOIzLs9yTttqN42O7OwtFr0xgWYySNOEdTGqayR2B57UGfz9Cv5CcSzxl6BbuQ3lgxCmtX0Fsc2DBYT4Rj_7BOZa3E5XmY4JCkWln2/s1600/facebook-emails2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2t2qF1LJDkHof6dAmJtGIY6p_XJ6LSX-hrphNmvrOIzLs9yTttqN42O7OwtFr0xgWYySNOEdTGqayR2B57UGfz9Cv5CcSzxl6BbuQ3lgxCmtX0Fsc2DBYT4Rj_7BOZa3E5XmY4JCkWln2/s1600/facebook-emails2.jpg" height="249" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02Eh0T-fAvn0qfDUfoWzcBVoEZM3Blz8HWyLQY9QeITX0sIjRM28-_TL_Z203OtYNsE00MbDDZg7NrJRlZhWYfeWiA4YC_xKg2oKGX_tAztllY05ZsQpYggg3ggdW_W-NB0_Jpl2A5o9o/s1600/facebook-emails3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02Eh0T-fAvn0qfDUfoWzcBVoEZM3Blz8HWyLQY9QeITX0sIjRM28-_TL_Z203OtYNsE00MbDDZg7NrJRlZhWYfeWiA4YC_xKg2oKGX_tAztllY05ZsQpYggg3ggdW_W-NB0_Jpl2A5o9o/s1600/facebook-emails3.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This will get you into the email notifications settings. You can see I have already unsubscribed on my account from several types of notifications. I still have many each day, and if you really only want the bare minimum, click the radio checkbox shown by the arrow in the picture on the right. This will limit Facebook to emails only regarding your important account alerts. No more emails about your friends and what they eat for supper yesterday night.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
But wait, you might ask... How come you don't have that selected on your account? Well, sometimes it's nice to get notifications about certain things, like private messages, because frankly I find Facebook's message alerts a bit buggy, and I might not get an alert in Facebook until I switch off my news feed, and since I don't do that too often, I can go a day or more without getting a private message alert if it gets bugged. I will get an email about it, and so I do keep that active. This should only be an issue if you don't log out of Facebook or move around pages...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
But wait, you might ask again... How did you unsubscribe from some alerts, but not all? I'm glad you asked that. Facebook has an answer to that, but it's hidden under a '?'... If there's one thing DVDs have taught us, it's to always look under things for hidden Easter Eggs...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWI95ys4HSQxAtBELtF6BUeoE8iEpL5Tgq67PjAVoVFBP0YMrXB6pl001-EZbk6CgX68YIhqbbkvOStk1BjSssAjQMFRTUFWOnnTBXtm9i8j0b4a_HC_T6vLCPX3JETwM3q9PahCRRIpR/s1600/facebook-emails4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWI95ys4HSQxAtBELtF6BUeoE8iEpL5Tgq67PjAVoVFBP0YMrXB6pl001-EZbk6CgX68YIhqbbkvOStk1BjSssAjQMFRTUFWOnnTBXtm9i8j0b4a_HC_T6vLCPX3JETwM3q9PahCRRIpR/s1600/facebook-emails4.jpg" height="67" width="640" /></a></div>
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Oh, yes... All those Facebook emails you get... They have a link at the bottom that says "unsubscribe". Click that on the bottom of the types of notifications you don't want to receive and you can also limit your email alert greatly, without eliminating all of the ones you might want. Enjoy a slightly less full inbox each day! Now you'll only be left with spam, spam, baked beans and spam...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6zJT75aONC67sgiROGmzz3pA0tv4pNHTEhPJMI-cRM4wJxi2mmAiHLiEi5nJFMITfezPqvw3xgy-mb5zCQNrvDKuY6eJDgSkepeEqfvA4iAJ0PaQ6MFt5_DHalJCgeEYsONhh4YN_dqI/s1600/facebook-emails5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6zJT75aONC67sgiROGmzz3pA0tv4pNHTEhPJMI-cRM4wJxi2mmAiHLiEi5nJFMITfezPqvw3xgy-mb5zCQNrvDKuY6eJDgSkepeEqfvA4iAJ0PaQ6MFt5_DHalJCgeEYsONhh4YN_dqI/s1600/facebook-emails5.jpg" height="300" width="640" /></a></div>
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Of course, if you want more spam, you could always watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE" target="_blank">this skit from Monty Python</a>...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0Temagami, ON, Canada47.0644964 -79.79093790000001746.371031900000006 -81.081831400000013 47.7579609 -78.500044400000021tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-33377074578157628702013-02-15T20:20:00.000-05:002013-02-26T23:12:22.843-05:00Blocking Facebook Game AlertsFacebook can be a great way to stay in touch with friends or reconnect with old ones. The only problem is, as your friends list grows, you're bound to start getting a plague of game notifications. So and so wants a something or another in Whateverville. Join your friend playing the newest Facebook game. Hey, somebody just played this in that! And soon you'll find your news feed is nothing more than a pile of game notifications with a random piece of actual news you want to read. Hey, let's face it, those can be hard enough to find without all these crazy notifications, right?<br />
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There are several methods you can use to block Facebook game messages, but some of them still let certain messages through. An example would be to turn off a friend's game notifications in your news feed (hover your mouse cursor over your friend's name, then hover over "Friends" button in the window that pops up, then click settings and uncheck "Games" from the list of your friend's activities that you'll be notified about.) This can help, but I've found that apps can get around them by posting directly to your wall about your friend's activity.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-BKgBCmOg42m5tW-uVaQgEPWke0jbOFwad0w_Ciz026M_ESJiLJUXPpBZbY_ConcIuqEowzJbpa1Uw00bPeCZIBMvBYcND5ai86EFvgHW8Prg6cYMVn2i3zFcNC3ZuBq9BEc2sD5VrwL/s1600/facebook-games.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-BKgBCmOg42m5tW-uVaQgEPWke0jbOFwad0w_Ciz026M_ESJiLJUXPpBZbY_ConcIuqEowzJbpa1Uw00bPeCZIBMvBYcND5ai86EFvgHW8Prg6cYMVn2i3zFcNC3ZuBq9BEc2sD5VrwL/s1600/facebook-games.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Target the App Center...</td></tr>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
The following method works very well, and blocks the app at its source. I'm sure there are other ways to do this, but if you are having this issues, this will allow you to block all those piled up apps in quick succession.<br />
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Look near the bottom of the left hand menu and find the Apps section - the first item in the menu should be the App Center. Click to go there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XdJfCZ2xlxokUwrCxhZFO-7YuAAoppmpzSw2i8oFtrI7bdyHirKb4iYwxj_6y2409wrqeyKRbbx3tAPIIZLaDrNDxJEwVCnvAPYMVQO2L4tWXT8yeSo7B9hgq4EXuRD7ZLrnfyauJkRd/s1600/facebook-games2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XdJfCZ2xlxokUwrCxhZFO-7YuAAoppmpzSw2i8oFtrI7bdyHirKb4iYwxj_6y2409wrqeyKRbbx3tAPIIZLaDrNDxJEwVCnvAPYMVQO2L4tWXT8yeSo7B9hgq4EXuRD7ZLrnfyauJkRd/s1600/facebook-games2.jpg" height="320" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look for the requests link.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once in the App Center, look again to the left menu. The image to the left shows the menu in shortened form. The Requests menu item is near the bottom again, and if you've never been here, it'll probably have a large number beside it indicating the number of game app requests you have active. Click the Requests link and prepare to rid yourself of Facebook game spam!<br />
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Once you are in the Request section, all the apps with requests will be listed in the middle section. Each app will have a "Play Now" button (just in case you wanted to change your mind and join in the fun everyone else is having) and an "X". As they say, "X" marks the spot. Click that and you're on your way to a cleaner news feed. Of course they let you know which of your friends are playing each game in hopes you'll decide that if they play it, you should too. Don't lose your resolve now, you're almost there!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mzBILf-bQ_xbu5VnrjiWfOQUZJn8ssEVkJx5Vc2HrzFBuyNFBZ3jnqn5c2-W-whcWhCq1696a4XwF8N42SzhrKrfiLYwuAqEQ5qZyggULqNFjjUo9FR8wmgXyKSO3GrLtBZSCN1Eg3tm/s1600/facebook-games3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mzBILf-bQ_xbu5VnrjiWfOQUZJn8ssEVkJx5Vc2HrzFBuyNFBZ3jnqn5c2-W-whcWhCq1696a4XwF8N42SzhrKrfiLYwuAqEQ5qZyggULqNFjjUo9FR8wmgXyKSO3GrLtBZSCN1Eg3tm/s1600/facebook-games3.jpg" height="151" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"X" marks the spot...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7cZIeYSof0kgUs4MgsyD94mtM9yZQcdho6Ga_4ImrPD29xoLWPbjGDEGsMmpkJUfRZGMy22ZO2ChffWAeKVEqaXoIDINt0BcDYbpGkVSmjV6-BusM4wQWA5zj6-LGM-O4TXpdoDSHdzy/s1600/facebook-games4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7cZIeYSof0kgUs4MgsyD94mtM9yZQcdho6Ga_4ImrPD29xoLWPbjGDEGsMmpkJUfRZGMy22ZO2ChffWAeKVEqaXoIDINt0BcDYbpGkVSmjV6-BusM4wQWA5zj6-LGM-O4TXpdoDSHdzy/s1600/facebook-games4.jpg" height="142" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Block your friend, or the app - it's up to you!</td></tr>
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When you click the "X", the app gives you a couple choices - block the app itself, or disable notifications from just your friend. If you are playing the game and just have an over-eager friend spamming your wall, you can just block that friend. More likely, you'll want the whole nine yards and a full app block. Click your option. Don't worry, if you block an app and decide to play it later and want notifications, you can always unblock it.<br />
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You'll get the standard popup telling you what you did, and if it asks if you really really want to block the app, simply click yes, confirm, please, or whatever positive option they present you with. Now is not the time to start second-guessing yourself.<br />
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Once you exit the pop-up boxes confirming your blocking of the app you'll hear William Wallace shout "Freedom!" and you'll see the App Request show that you will no longer see new requests from said app. Ok, you'll have to provide the William Wallace yell in your own mind... Use whatever inspires you most... Do this for each app you have requests for and when you return to your news feed you'll find it has become a much quieter place. Enjoy the silence.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRA_QOqNHPWplosa4g2xROlBgQ7y5QJaIxf0-35amUw0diX3yYVZNia5cLlmT7tmaYDWWSq7crMrJBVFVuoI9YN4qaSjtgqhtczpwpzzyXiMB4S4RVrZLh96JZMugIXHZhCFahsQJg_k5G/s1600/facebook-games5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRA_QOqNHPWplosa4g2xROlBgQ7y5QJaIxf0-35amUw0diX3yYVZNia5cLlmT7tmaYDWWSq7crMrJBVFVuoI9YN4qaSjtgqhtczpwpzzyXiMB4S4RVrZLh96JZMugIXHZhCFahsQJg_k5G/s1600/facebook-games5.jpg" height="71" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Success! No more messages from you, Mr. App!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0Temagami, ON, Canada47.0644964 -79.79093790000001746.3710359 -81.081831400000013 47.7579569 -78.500044400000021tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-72359329049249844602013-02-06T20:44:00.000-05:002013-02-26T23:12:39.190-05:00Agricola All Creatures Big and Small - First Play<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpEC8RHUU0ckASeOENj2WHeLpmP9iy-s4mY9l91oP_uMCqWMumijnd2W8czzvo6UkARlo3lIuI2RCnjJ7FFygfnQWujHxs7BXCMPVo5zgm4jF43QwkdLPxmzNNSXCAkwGjOzoLkf7JCgi/s1600/AACBAS1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="My wife snatching the horse for her farm." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpEC8RHUU0ckASeOENj2WHeLpmP9iy-s4mY9l91oP_uMCqWMumijnd2W8czzvo6UkARlo3lIuI2RCnjJ7FFygfnQWujHxs7BXCMPVo5zgm4jF43QwkdLPxmzNNSXCAkwGjOzoLkf7JCgi/s1600/AACBAS1.jpg" height="213" title="Mid-play" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take your hand off the horse I was going to get!</td></tr>
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Gwen and I finally got to sit down and enjoy the first of our three games from Christmas. Abby was asleep for a short afternoon nap, so we picked Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small for a first play. The box says a game can be played in about 30 minutes, and given it was a first play and it took just over an hour, I would say that is a fairly accurate estimation, since it included briefing the rules. Rules are nice and clear, and they encourage play of parents with children, suggesting one parent team with a child against the other parent, letting the child choose two of the three actions and giving input on how to build the farmyard. The box says 13+, but I would think this method would allow a child much younger to play and learn the game.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEian5IXbvQNUP78bP3mr37OGzU-7M5FrIqlLs-yXSi30hq1ilSE7hPDg1ixxMuapmohvmcB6AAk8x0F1UK1e9YEARLwy4PKlhlVbk7vME4gRfAGmJlXwAzlc9wW3tNOKo6Er3OZPMrxiJqj/s1600/AACBAS2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nearing the end with growing farms." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEian5IXbvQNUP78bP3mr37OGzU-7M5FrIqlLs-yXSi30hq1ilSE7hPDg1ixxMuapmohvmcB6AAk8x0F1UK1e9YEARLwy4PKlhlVbk7vME4gRfAGmJlXwAzlc9wW3tNOKo6Er3OZPMrxiJqj/s1600/AACBAS2.jpg" height="163" title="Growing farms." width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our growing farms...</td></tr>
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Unlike the original Agricola, this is a two player only stripped down version. There are eight rounds instead of fourteen, and you have 3 family members to use for actions throughout the entire game. You no longer have to worry about feeding your family. Whew! Even with these changes, gameplay is fast paced and you reach the end of eight rounds very quickly, and realizing you didn't get to do half the things you planned on doing. While I felt like there was a lot of things to do left undone this first game, I'm not sure how I'll feel after twenty games. The original Agricola had decks of cards to add some variety for replay, and this version does not have anything like that. I'll have to see if the lack of random elements will hurt replay value, but for now, it's a fun game that you can fill a small chunk of spare time with.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZPoyfz3iYPdVPGbYviRV50XtTSZ8t0BPAmBkDySCBG9kCZDEj-hc63e2mL0tQ-jCpeaG2HTyF90ltHIrwqyEv2hfKYb4FN8IGNBhZZ-vwDiqiwJd9lyV-ImyWfI32al4cZzTkH0ulzZ7/s1600/AACBAS3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="My final farm layout and animals." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZPoyfz3iYPdVPGbYviRV50XtTSZ8t0BPAmBkDySCBG9kCZDEj-hc63e2mL0tQ-jCpeaG2HTyF90ltHIrwqyEv2hfKYb4FN8IGNBhZZ-vwDiqiwJd9lyV-ImyWfI32al4cZzTkH0ulzZ7/s1600/AACBAS3.jpg" height="234" title="My Final Farm" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My final farm - complete with failed expansion plan...</td></tr>
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<div>
Each round has four phases. The refill phase is first, when you place resources and animals on the game play sections according to the nicely printed picture instructions on the game board. The work phase is second, where you take turns placing your family members on the game board to collect resources or perform actions according to the section of the board you claim with your 'farmer'. This starts with the player with the starting player marker (which can be stolen via a board space) and continues until all 3 farmers from both players is on the board. The home phase is third and easiest - bring all your farmers home to the cottage on your land. The breeding phase is the last phase, and nets you one animal for each type you have two or more of. The rules comically point out that you cannot get more than one of a single type of animal this way each round "regardless of whatever romantic preconceptions you might have." This made me chuckle and compliment whoever wrote the rules...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGGfz1xdsYRlu6-EvxN8ZDy6OUXPJ11oznkM7d0OWufjetIeGCeByCaxkTTdN0qaRN_4Z-roWs19ZefCdlRHTrzH7jp_kLjiUTaYvNM8iWpUQWCWxN7-4UYO7BnwvHAZm0Ee-ZdwAaRc8/s1600/AACBAS4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="My spouse's final farm layout and animals." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGGfz1xdsYRlu6-EvxN8ZDy6OUXPJ11oznkM7d0OWufjetIeGCeByCaxkTTdN0qaRN_4Z-roWs19ZefCdlRHTrzH7jp_kLjiUTaYvNM8iWpUQWCWxN7-4UYO7BnwvHAZm0Ee-ZdwAaRc8/s1600/AACBAS4.jpg" height="320" title="Gwen's Farm" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gwen's final farm - Hey! I think a couple of those pigs are illegal...</td></tr>
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<div>
We both felt the pressure of the last couple rounds to get in all we wanted to. In comparison to the original Agricola, this is a great feeling shared by both games. I always feel that time is short by the time you are in the last stretch, and there is still too much to accomplish. Choices have to be made based on how many point you'll gain, and it gets a bit easier to see what choices are necessary, and what well made plans are bust. I managed to pull off a heavy victory today, but I know I shouldn't underestimate my wife as she picks up strategy. Also, I know I have to watch her closely - if you inspect her farm, she's keeping one extra pig (black figures) than is allowed in an open pasture... Maybe she forgot to place her fence when she bought it... Gwen managed more stables than I did, but I managed more pastures with feeding troughs (orange buildings). Next game I'll try for a better balance and see if it makes a difference. It was always a race for space for the livestock.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAzeOas7xltsMS8k5znZQCxY8dsRNH8ePfzI_CDw0iszxZtyKIQeN0jsq5HuZumUs5A3PXSz91yZkyNMzwErfPvYapNCCcUTk2dc2xut4SGIQy1kRWEdC0_tBERhhJMJ2sVkTcmgV_aJ5/s1600/AACBAS5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAzeOas7xltsMS8k5znZQCxY8dsRNH8ePfzI_CDw0iszxZtyKIQeN0jsq5HuZumUs5A3PXSz91yZkyNMzwErfPvYapNCCcUTk2dc2xut4SGIQy1kRWEdC0_tBERhhJMJ2sVkTcmgV_aJ5/s1600/AACBAS5.jpg" height="248" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the winner is....</td></tr>
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<div>
Scoring is fairly quick and simple, with points for each animal, bonus points according to the number of animals (too few and you get -3), scoring for fully used 3 space expansion pieces, and buildings. A little basic math and... Oh oh... Note to self, be nicer to wifey next time... After our first taste, we're both eager for a next time!</div>
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A quick word of warning, in case you for some odd reason want to ditch the box - the bonus points for the animals are listed on the sides of the bottom part of the box. Don't throw them out!</div>
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I noticed there is an expansion for the game already, adding more special buildings. We didn't manage to use all the special buildings this game, nor could I have seen us coming close with all there was to do. I imagine this expansion will be what will add the random element for replay value with more options in the game, but we'll hopefully see sometime in the future. I linked both the main game and expansion below in case you are interested in delving into the world of Agricola on a small scale.<span style="color: white;"> </span><br />
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For more information about the game, visit <a href="http://www.zmangames.com/" target="_blank">Z-Man Games website</a>.</div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=B008DC5O1W&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00ANUPAQ6&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com1Temagami, ON, Canada47.0644964 -79.79093790000001747.0644964 -79.790937900000017 47.0644964 -79.790937900000017tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-39510910223057254212013-02-05T23:13:00.000-05:002013-02-26T23:21:13.450-05:00Facebook privacy starts with you...If you are on Facebook long enough, you're going to see a friend's status start something like this...<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Warning!!! FACEBOOK HAS CHANGED THEIR PRIVACY SETTINGS!"</span></i></blockquote>
Have you ever received a phone call saying you just won a cruise? Got an email saying you won millions of pounds? Will get thousands of dollars for forwarding a message because you're helping some software company test tracking software? Have you ever been the victim of a practical joke?<br />
<br />
What follows this statement is a list of instructions of what they would like you to do to help them keep their privacy, and it MUST be done by you (sometimes upon threat of becoming an ex-friend)! They suddenly have no control over their account privacy settings because Facebook configured it that way. Ok, stop... Let's think about this a minute. Does Facebook really want to upset people like that? Hmm, they did force Timeline on us despite much outcry... Alright, maybe they could be that dumb... Back in our post, the last request is to copy said post and paste the message to your status and post it and the poster will be kind enough to help you out in the same way. Thanks, you're so kind! But then, you just followed the message, right?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhht1eYssI9nBvUppscsutET825hdJDlM6TKI9rO5OrpikPj4wSjzxXdJvQvGeSp6SDr9a0BI9CquAemFy0hc6OjzLuUPKHwy0koxX7Jv6yNqLpd3GmNSQlEt-HKGiFCzmlUWVE4VumEqnY/s1600/facebook-privacy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhht1eYssI9nBvUppscsutET825hdJDlM6TKI9rO5OrpikPj4wSjzxXdJvQvGeSp6SDr9a0BI9CquAemFy0hc6OjzLuUPKHwy0koxX7Jv6yNqLpd3GmNSQlEt-HKGiFCzmlUWVE4VumEqnY/s1600/facebook-privacy1.jpg" height="171" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Facebook post settings - currently set to Public.</td></tr>
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<h2>
<b><u>Privacy Begins Before Post</u></b></h2>
This message is nothing more than a prank, except it targets your friends more than you. You see, it has nothing to do with your privacy settings... The only one that can control that is you using your post settings. The easiest way to do that is to set your post privacy setting next to the Post button, as seen in the image to the right. The drop down menu gives multiple options to control who can and can not see what you are about to post. Make it public, only for friends, only yourself (hey, some people like talking to themselves), and make it custom, location, or list based. You can specify exactly who to post to in the custom setting, allowing you to post directly to a friend's wall.<br />
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So, what wisdom does the warning impart to solve your privacy dilemma? Let's take a look.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">PLEASE place your mouse over my name above (DO NOT CLICK), a window will appear, now move the mouse on “FRIENDS" (also without clicking), then down to "Settings", click here and a list will appear. REMOVE the CHECK on "LIFE EVENTS" and "COMMENTS & LIKES". By doing this, my activity among my friends and family will no longer become public."</span></i></span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglimKT97sCf7OhBFfoNGM218Lr6Xlr5GE8x7acR3zETZUpPEyvRNgneJUk190KEkrz-H7whTCX_jyBcchnn93QMxOlF5GE33W9UVQhfcT5RAQQBOc_qqvJS5SvlkfeBdy6a3ow0Jwbi1rA/s1600/facebook-privacy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglimKT97sCf7OhBFfoNGM218Lr6Xlr5GE8x7acR3zETZUpPEyvRNgneJUk190KEkrz-H7whTCX_jyBcchnn93QMxOlF5GE33W9UVQhfcT5RAQQBOc_qqvJS5SvlkfeBdy6a3ow0Jwbi1rA/s1600/facebook-privacy2.jpg" height="264" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Facebook 'Friends' settings menu.</td></tr>
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Ok, so let's take a look at what appears when you do this... If you look at the right, you'll see what you get when you hover over your friend's name in your timeline and then hover over the "Friends" button. The first menu is divided into 5 parts. The first one allows you to turn on notifications, just in case you really really want to know everything your friend says and can't bear to miss it... The second section is the one we are dealing with, controlling whether or not your friend's activity gets posted in your wall. The third allows you to add them to a list. The fourth allows you to review your interaction with said friend and suggest friends they might know. The last allows you to kick them to the curb. Sorry, ex-friend!<br />
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Ok, so what does the "Settings' lead to? A big list with check marks. Remember now, this section deals with the topic of 'Showing in News Feed", so all these topics, from Life Events to Other Activity, and all the Games, Photos, Status Updates, and Comments and Likes in between all can potentially show up from this friend on your News Feed - you know, the big central thing with all the so and so did this and that, and here's a picture some people you know general stuff... So, what is the helpful post your friend made telling you to do? Uncheck Life Events and Comments and Likes (the posts can vary and ask you to uncheck different items from this list.) So let's think it though if you follow the directions... You've just told Facebook that you don't want to see various parts of the poster's activity. How does it help their privacy? Well, you won't see what they are doing in those areas, that's for sure! Is that what the poster is really intending?<br />
<h2>
<u>Don't Pass on the Prank</u></h2>
Now they want you to pass it on so all your friends do the same thing to you. I honestly doubt that you joined Facebook and got in touch with all your friends in order to tell them that you don't want them to see anything you're doing. This doesn't solve your bigger privacy issues if you are posting sensitive things to a "public" setting. Protect your privacy by posting things to your friends instead of publicly if you are concerned. Don't make sensitive comments on other people's PUBLIC posts. If you're really concerned, make a list of your close friends using the 'Close Friends' setting and only post to them.<br />
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<h2>
<b><u>Managing News Feed Spam</u></b></h2>
If your friend plays too many games and you're sick of getting updates from them all the time, multiple times per hour, uncheck the Games notifications. You'll thank me for it later...<br />
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Of course, if you want to learn all the ins and outs you can always get the book on Facebook...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=1118095626&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0Temagami, ON, Canada47.0644964 -79.79093790000001747.0644964 -79.790937900000017 47.0644964 -79.790937900000017tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-71657872917320397772013-02-05T17:52:00.000-05:002013-02-26T23:12:58.083-05:00Inspiring creativity in my two year old...My two year old loves to be creative. She's far more creative than I was at her age I think. Much has changed in the 35 years that separate us as far as activities go. At that time, computers definitely didn't fit in your hand, where Abby has shown me how to do things I didn't even know I could do in her little paint program on my Samsung Galaxy Ace. Ok, she's left me with more than one puzzle to try and figure out how to reverse, including disabling my Swype keyboard... But it's fun to watch her not be afraid to push buttons and learn. Ok, replace fun with frightening and you'll have a better picture of my feelings at times.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_8AFgaBHzlDT3ZGERgqY5GBU2ptfKY6Hcfd0CudL5R-9kpX9crb77hSk0_CRu6gOqYLNfT-P9kMZqp85zqzMWr284vXKMjQROkmxdl1Qxc75fcZgRtgOnufTyZTW2tPVZs6gpyDlxq8Y/s1600/Abbypicnic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_8AFgaBHzlDT3ZGERgqY5GBU2ptfKY6Hcfd0CudL5R-9kpX9crb77hSk0_CRu6gOqYLNfT-P9kMZqp85zqzMWr284vXKMjQROkmxdl1Qxc75fcZgRtgOnufTyZTW2tPVZs6gpyDlxq8Y/s1600/Abbypicnic.jpg" height="320" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby packing a picnic in her tackle box.</td></tr>
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How to inspire her creativity though? I want to give her the best experiences I can for her childhood, and I WANT to be a part of it, be it doing puzzles with her, having a picnic, and the like. I don't want to be one of those deadbeat dads that leaves their kids in front of the TV to be raised. It rather frightens me how zombified she becomes when the TV is on and she's watching a show she loves. There's no distracting her. She's pulled right in.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
She's always loved video and pictures, especially of herself. You can play a video of her and immediately on finishing, she's saying "Again." Given her love of videos of herself and my hobby of video editing, I thought I'd try and merge them into something we could share to inspire her creativity and have fun while making memories. Hence the Abby show was born, named "Take a Look" after one of her favorite sayings she uses when she's curious about something, or when I'm filming her.<br />
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I try and let her pick topics to do make into episodes, whether something new or something from old footage. Then I cut it together (she's not quite old enough). Any text used in the episode she gets to pick style and color for, sometimes with a little guidance as to what works and what doesn't - her go-to premade text style is always too big to fit on the screen, but after some concessions, we reach an agreement over something that will work, even if the coloring isn't agreeable to me.<br />
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So far we've got 8 short episodes done, and are working on more, as we get time together. It's always fun to see her enjoy the final product, or get excited to pick a font. Eventually she'll pick transitions hopefully, but so far that hasn't worked out well.<br />
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I know this isn't necessarily something everyone can do, but it's something we've enjoyed. What do you do with your children to inspire creativity, build memories, or spend time together? Sound off in the comments and let us know your best ideas and most fun moments.<br />
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If you want to see one of our episodes, have a look below.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0Temagami, ON, Canada47.0644964 -79.79093790000001746.371031900000006 -81.081831400000013 47.7579609 -78.500044400000021tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-25837448486035718872013-02-03T20:47:00.002-05:002013-02-26T23:14:22.168-05:00Initial thoughts on Village, Agricola All Creatures, and Small World.Well, I've gotten all the boxes open now from our Christmas games I mentioned last post. I have to say the overall quality of the pieces in cardboard and wood, plus game boards have been great as expected. Small world has loads of cardboard pieces, and the other two have their fair share as well. Agricola has the standard wooden pieces like its larger counterpart, and Village comes with a large assortment of colored wood pieces as well. I was a little disappointed by the size of the 'cubes' in Village. They are pretty small, and because of that, will likely be easy to lose. I would have preferred something about twice the size, similar to those in Agricola.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0C7VvyDYkJEvd9keWP3pMNcf8mNCqKZCJxOfq0vCQnQ7RFf6kuLN2GYIqyQItV8F-pzrFPX4JkOssZAHxc7lK3YLp4vm9EjHcRrxPa0Ehn9u4kZr7Q_AdnJAayJ2DxiIk1IRJ7FZOdCWL/s1600/christmasgames4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0C7VvyDYkJEvd9keWP3pMNcf8mNCqKZCJxOfq0vCQnQ7RFf6kuLN2GYIqyQItV8F-pzrFPX4JkOssZAHxc7lK3YLp4vm9EjHcRrxPa0Ehn9u4kZr7Q_AdnJAayJ2DxiIk1IRJ7FZOdCWL/s1600/christmasgames4.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a>Z-Man Games' Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small packs a lot of pieces into a small box, and as such, I didn't expect a lot of ability to organize. They have two ziplock bags of wooden pieces, plus 4 cardboard forms of punch outs. No problem, and I don't think there will be any major setup issues. The rules aren't lengthy, and I expect that this will be a fun go-to game for my wife and I when we have a little time to play. The regular version is always fun, and our only lament is the time it takes to set up. I'm hoping they caught the same magic in this smaller version.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-GB9Bud2G-F6uAQ_r3u1iy7tSQJGv2JAv8MvZmO-uatdvT07TeW_2XffhgTa7ReADlk9MO4FFX6EdfSAKwahxtxjynyxtcj5Qqx8i1ibPZP11PZXAT7JW4HONWeg7U9Cqca0v7JDo_cv/s1600/christmasgames5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-GB9Bud2G-F6uAQ_r3u1iy7tSQJGv2JAv8MvZmO-uatdvT07TeW_2XffhgTa7ReADlk9MO4FFX6EdfSAKwahxtxjynyxtcj5Qqx8i1ibPZP11PZXAT7JW4HONWeg7U9Cqca0v7JDo_cv/s1600/christmasgames5.jpg" height="320" width="315" /></a>I went through Tasty Minstrel Games' Village last post a fair bit. They do include two nice cloth bags for two different random choice parts of the game, one to deal with 'influence cube' placement, and one to do with the 'mass' portion of the game round. All the game boards are detailed and have the necessary visual instructions on them to make gameplay easier without having to consult the rules often, although it is certainly a bit overwhelming at first glance before you read the rules. While the game appears to have a lot of options, which I hope will mean it will take a long time to master, it shouldn't be too overwhelming after the first playthrough. Given the number of different cardboard and wooden pieces, it looks like I might delve into making some sort of cardboard tray in the box for putting them into. This thought brings me to the last game...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGjx9SC5CsRjzTxult6rtgyBfKpqLYWLW-v603DpqYHkyprcayQWPsCU6Xe_XOu8q_nDgT7a6dsaI9Ggh6fModbk_cLTnoU4DS9CkYSbfpRr-kY5Gv6dmuFRWNKQq4r4LBX6duTkwM6KZF/s1600/christmasgames6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGjx9SC5CsRjzTxult6rtgyBfKpqLYWLW-v603DpqYHkyprcayQWPsCU6Xe_XOu8q_nDgT7a6dsaI9Ggh6fModbk_cLTnoU4DS9CkYSbfpRr-kY5Gv6dmuFRWNKQq4r4LBX6duTkwM6KZF/s1600/christmasgames6.jpg" height="263" width="320" /></a>Small World by Days of Wonder (makers of Ticket to Ride) has piles of cardboard pieces and one wooden custom die. What made my day here, and I have to say any game I open with this makes me a little giddy inside, was the box design. So often there is so much thought put into the game, and nice box art, and good quality game pieces... But no thought put into how the game will be stored after you punch out all the pieces and put it away after your first time playing. Village included some ziplock bags to separate out some of the pieces, but Days of Wonder has designed a beautiful plastic storage area in their game box for all the game pieces. <i>*Insert inner squeal of glee*</i> Ok, I have to admit, I like organization... When you have a nicely laid out game box, it makes putting away and setting up so much easier. I have several games that came with nice organization compartments, and I absolutely love the person who sat down and figured out how best to put the game away into the box when the game is done.<br />
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I know German board games can be hard to find, so if you can't find a local retailer, or a favorite online shop, I've included links to the games on Amazon Canada.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0094AE652&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00855FMXM&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0063WZZK4&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0Temagami, ON, Canada47.0644964 -79.79093790000001746.371031900000006 -81.081831400000013 47.7579609 -78.500044400000021tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-48383959792969567052013-02-02T18:18:00.001-05:002013-02-26T23:14:43.199-05:00German Board Games make the best Christmas Gifts...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFVCi0FbnGVyEnEQmtamtSHfCOZrnU-L1cHeUzuJBnaKCtl9702DaUy74ZDF60j-L6uXhKPRO39u8DvFoH3p1IYRr1Vir9MayP_KIZeMCB1Xc1RmDtJ16s_j-1T17eoCYvum1yUTDtQY9/s1600/christmasgames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFVCi0FbnGVyEnEQmtamtSHfCOZrnU-L1cHeUzuJBnaKCtl9702DaUy74ZDF60j-L6uXhKPRO39u8DvFoH3p1IYRr1Vir9MayP_KIZeMCB1Xc1RmDtJ16s_j-1T17eoCYvum1yUTDtQY9/s1600/christmasgames.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>Every Christmas Gwen and I try to get a game we can play together. We don't spend lots on each other, but would rather get something that will help us spend time together. We were first introduced to Settlers of Catan many years ago and our games closet has had less and less room in it each year ever since. Last year was the first year we missed out on the tradition, so we made up for it this year.<br />
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Board games make a great pastime because not only do you get to exercise your mind, you get to have fun doing it while enjoying the company of others. We've introduced our youth group to them and so far we haven't found anyone that dislikes the games we've introduced. There's a German board game out there for everyone, from the complex to the simple. I love introducing people to good board games and have given them for birthday and Christmas presents. People seem to shy away from board games these days - they don't give enough entertainment and are boring is often the claim. Most are thinking of the golden oldie standbys like Risk, Monopoly, Sorry, Clue, and the like that have been around for years and at least one lies in every family closet. Once introduced to the new breed of board games, people realize why there is a growing interest in board games again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitat7XEpgkEZtv0MgTD0NFOzxtn1_Leh8kTarK71V7mXl3BcyHysfcBuxRFb9HTW-HFiA9YCsfGa1Tegi9cnYgCLzONZ9LKWelvujiwWn0-XfC1yE7B8l3CGXoh2iJ_f_1D8k3tRjwzwFM/s1600/christmasgames2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitat7XEpgkEZtv0MgTD0NFOzxtn1_Leh8kTarK71V7mXl3BcyHysfcBuxRFb9HTW-HFiA9YCsfGa1Tegi9cnYgCLzONZ9LKWelvujiwWn0-XfC1yE7B8l3CGXoh2iJ_f_1D8k3tRjwzwFM/s1600/christmasgames2.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>Since we missed out on last year, I decided we'd make up for it this year. I always look for something we can enjoy together, and often look at the games that have managed to win the Spiel des Jahres award, like Village did in 2012. <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/" target="_blank">Board Game Geek</a> is a website that can help find good games based on user ratings and reviews. This year I also stumbled on a Youtube game series by <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/108176814619778619437" target="_blank">+Wil Wheaton</a> called <a href="http://tabletop.geekandsundry.com/" target="_blank">Tabletop</a>. The first episode of Tabletop showed the game Small World in play and it looked like a fun game I could play with some of the older guys from youth group. Agricola has been another favorite of my wife and I, but the game takes a while to set up with many pieces. I am hoping the two player version will allow us to have some quicker games together, especially with having less time to play with our daughter keeping us occupied until she goes to bed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyJCTRR7d6VeD65wkzu54SqWQMl_FsdJlVw0grLscnZakXgFx8I19Oic1vmwCOi_Y9G2tS1HZUUIOo6KRn1Z8mvwi1FvTc4lzmEx3sMoVdx5w8j9u3baaOmsKVcRQnGEmqQJL5y9_in_n/s1600/christmasgames3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyJCTRR7d6VeD65wkzu54SqWQMl_FsdJlVw0grLscnZakXgFx8I19Oic1vmwCOi_Y9G2tS1HZUUIOo6KRn1Z8mvwi1FvTc4lzmEx3sMoVdx5w8j9u3baaOmsKVcRQnGEmqQJL5y9_in_n/s1600/christmasgames3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>The first game we opened was Village. That may have been a mistake, because little did we know that village required a bit more setup than most German board games. Yes, you expect to have cardboard punch outs to pop out of their forms, bags of beautifully colored wooden pieces, and a big, nicely written rule book. This one also included little stickers to be applied to the little wooden family figures much like the meeples of Carcassonne. This was tedious and time consuming, which delayed the reading of the rules and led to our abandonment of playing the game because it had gotten too late after a rule reading. I'm definitely excited to try this game, as it looks like there is A LOT to do, and many options each turn. It also brings an element of time to the game, which will slowly eliminate your 'family members' in the game, leaving you with fewer people to place into areas of interest.<br />
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Be sure you'll see an in-depth review of each game as I get time to play them! If you are interested in them and don't have a local retailer or favorite online shop, you can find them at Amazon.ca below.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0094AE652&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00855FMXM&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0063WZZK4&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0Temagami, ON, Canada47.0644964 -79.79093790000001746.371031900000006 -81.081831400000013 47.7579609 -78.500044400000021tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-84013458108026702782013-02-01T19:49:00.000-05:002013-02-26T23:15:01.260-05:00Family and Hobbies DO mix...<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3t8f6G6Ku69DC_KIcQI2hG4bCQZksuZWm81ED0WLQa5ie8_wsVx4Lo_ZBPcXEvYlrEcv2pmK49md3y2AEgVk1PCSIOwabVUT4Cqu8aGua7BzcE1jN1Lf828gV07zkLFQdPOOGmQlZtYE/s1600/Campsite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Park along the shoreline at your favorite fishing spot in your houseboat." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3t8f6G6Ku69DC_KIcQI2hG4bCQZksuZWm81ED0WLQa5ie8_wsVx4Lo_ZBPcXEvYlrEcv2pmK49md3y2AEgVk1PCSIOwabVUT4Cqu8aGua7BzcE1jN1Lf828gV07zkLFQdPOOGmQlZtYE/s1600/Campsite.jpg" height="212" title="Houseboat at Campsite" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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Two years ago we took a vacation on Lake Temagami where we live. Why go away when you are already in the most beautiful place around? We packed up the family on one of our houseboats at our family <a href="http://www.leisureislandhouseboats.com/" target="_blank">houseboat rentals</a> business. We headed to Cross Lake and found a nice secluded campsite and started to relax.</div>
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Yes, I had an work to do while out there, but it was fun work. That was the first year I had decided to start a small web series on fishing in the area. We're almost finished cutting all the footage we took that summer, and it has been a fun ride. So fun we videoed more episodes this summer...</div>
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Video work is one of my hobbies, of which I have many. It only seemed fitting that one hobby should fit into another hobby, fishing. Thus was born <a href="http://www.fishtemagami.com/" target="_blank">Fish Temagami</a>. It has allowed me to work with one of teens in my youth group closely who has also taken a liking to video work. I'm sure you'll hear much about our work on the blog over time... Or my frustrations when he goes off to school next year and leaves me to work on my own.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp50tERbXCu2tmDGC7IKORkLXWSUlqTuga6dNVLMJjh_Nbk9-6WBOTeUInnLEjCaCYtbiihzvHO1aeg6_2FjhpISJsE6OEJSvgSaK3gJJfJbbzlo5b10ghnW6SHmQCAi7kSHIxMUbQG8v/s1600/AbbyinHouseboat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Our young girl loved watching the lake go by from the window." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp50tERbXCu2tmDGC7IKORkLXWSUlqTuga6dNVLMJjh_Nbk9-6WBOTeUInnLEjCaCYtbiihzvHO1aeg6_2FjhpISJsE6OEJSvgSaK3gJJfJbbzlo5b10ghnW6SHmQCAi7kSHIxMUbQG8v/s1600/AbbyinHouseboat.jpg" height="285" title="9 Month Old Enjoying Nature" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby enjoying the wonders going by.</td></tr>
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This episode was taken on a rainy day. I tell you, a houseboat was perfect that day, allowing us to fish comfortably with our (at the time) 9 month old. We had fun playing with the bass, and even had a fish fry with some of the ones we caught that day and the day previous.</div>
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One of my other passions is food... You'll get rambling on that too, including recipes. This episode features my favorite fish recipe. I love a side dish of a mix of potatoes, bacon, and onion. I boil the potatoes first, usually making extra the day before for supper. Then slice them, add a medium to large onion, and bacon, as much as my wife will allow... :) </div>
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For the fish I use a premade coating called Fish Crisp. I mix the original recipe with some of their Jamaican Jerk recipe for a nice coating with a bit of zip. You can add the Jamaican Jerk to taste. I also make my own tartar sauce using Miracle Whip, green relish, and a bit of lemon juice (or concentrate). To make the meal complete, I let my wife pick a healthy vegetable to balance it all out. The trick with fish is to make sure your oil is fairly hot. Some people prefer butter. I use oil for a higher temperature. You want to get the fish fried faster rather than sitting in the oil soaking it up as it slowly cooks away.</div>
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While the trip was very productive in terms of work on my hobby, it was even more enjoyable spending that time bonding with my family in a beautiful nature setting while blending several of my passions together. I am so thankful to have a supportive family, and one that enjoys at least some of my passions.</div>
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Below are a couple links to the fish coating I mentioned in case you have a hard time finding it. The original recipe I use all the time. They don't have the Jamaican Jerk listed, but I would imagine Cajun will give a good kick too. If you are like me, and don't like it too hot, you may want to mix the two for a milder spicy coating. I've used it on walleye, smallmouth bass, and lake trout all with tasty success.</div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003OC20K4&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-ca.amazon.ca/e/cm?t=fishtemacom-20&o=15&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003OCBEZQ&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0Temagami, ON, Canada47.0644964 -79.79093790000001746.371031900000006 -81.081831400000013 47.7579609 -78.500044400000021tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5346450381855659591.post-20320845000581559942013-02-01T00:21:00.001-05:002013-02-01T00:21:49.463-05:00The Start to a BlogI've long thought about starting a blog. I've thought about starting a lot of things. The problem is time. As a father to a wonderful two year old girl, I want to spend time with her and help shape her into the wonderful woman I know she can become. I already have many projects already on the go. And yet... A Blog.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayaking with Abby</td></tr>
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Often I find myself wanting to write something about a day's events, or some thought that weights heavy on my mind with no avenue to do it. I suppose that's where this blog will come in. Who am I? In a lot of ways, nobody of importance to any of you. I'm just a guy that loves his daughter, fishing, computers and technology, photography, playing with video, gaming, and most of all, God. While I may not be important to any of you, I know I am important to God, because He sent His Son to die for my sins, something I am thankful for each and every day. Because each and every day I realize that I am so very far from perfect...<br />
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So you'll probably see ramblings on many of these subjects... Will they be important to you? Maybe not. But if the ramblings of a geek fishing dad can help anyone, they'll be here.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217553811095979126noreply@blogger.com0