Disconnect to reconnect

Have you ever stopped to think about how plugged "in" we are that you don't realize that life is actually happening right in front of you. I've passed countless people looking at there phones instead of paying attention to their surroundings. I've seen the videos of people to involved in their phone that they walk into traffic or a pool or something that should have been completely obvious if their eyes were watching life instead of watching the phone. Same is true for drivers, I've can't count the amount of times I honked my horn because the car in front of me doesn't notice the green light or is so busy sending a text message that they start drifting into my lane. I've even overheard a Father say to his teenage son while sitting at a restaurant that if he continued to stare at his phone instead of be part of the dinner he can be left at home. My 5 year old nice recently saw a telephone for the first time and wanted to know what it was. She lives in a world where there are only cellphones.

Technology is a great tool but often with great things it can be misused or abused. Facebook is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family but it can also be a time suck. On average most people send about 50 minutes on Facebook alone daily. Add in other social media outlets and that number quickly gets over 2 to 3 hours depending on age.
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This video has over 49 million views on YouTube. I think it shows a perfect example of what we see a lot when we look up from our mobile devices. The simple act of enjoying life has been pushed aside with distractions of the virtual world. So what are we to do?? Well we organize burn parties and destroy all the technology. Okay, maybe that is a bit extreme and bad for the environment but we can minor changes in our days. There are many articles out there that discuss just this idea. Below are some of my favorites.

1.) Digital Diet: Specifically a social media diet. FOMO: The Fear Of Missing Out, and thanks to social media it's real. Turn off alerts on our phone to help limit the amount your online or delete the App completely. While I have Facebook I didn't install it's companion FaceBook Messenger on my phone. Also try limiting the amount you post to every other day or so. Facebook was a way to stay in contact with friends and family not a digital diary to spew your inner most thoughts, well at least in my opinion it isn't.

2.) Chose a day: Tech free Sunday? Mellow Monday? Chose a day where you limit technology. I've done this in the past and found Sunday is best for me. Enjoy morning coffee while reading the newspaper ( yes the actual physical one). Family games in the afternoon or maybe a hike at a local park. Chose a day that works best for you even if you can set aside only part of the day. When I've done this I've been amazed at how productive I am that day.

3.) Device hub: New house rule. No Phone in the bedroom. It sounds harsh doesn't it. Try it and you might just thank me. It's been said many times in recent years. Technology right up to and in bed is bad. You get better sleep when you slow back away from the tech world. Try and give the digital world up at least 30 minutes before bed. It's a great way to reconnect with a love one at the end of the day. I've tried it myself with my husband and we found it enjoyable. We both clearly have each other's attention and focus. What a great way to end the day with a love one by giving them your attention instead of a phone.

4.) Eat without Electronics: That's right you can do it! I know you can! It's simple but sounds hard. Eat a meal without technology. That's right a single meal without a phone check. No email, no social media, no taking a picture of your meal and posting it online. Just eating and being mindful of what your eating. Same goes when you with friends. Come on you know someone in your friend group. You know that one person that can't make it 10 minutes without looking at their phone for some reason. I have a friend that is really good about being in the moment. If we are out getting coffee or getting a meal she often shuts her phone off. OFF! It was shocking the first time I saw her do it but quickly realized that she is completely giving me her attention. Wow, when's the last time you had that with someone.

5.) Make this simple. So you can't make it through a stop light without checking the phone? Make it more difficult to reach the phone. For me, my phone goes in my purse which goes in the backseat of the car. Gentlemen, you probably don't have a purse but if you travel with with briefcase it the same idea or try putting it in the center console of the car. Out of reach out of mind. With the phone not in easy reach I'm more mindful of my surroundings, like the soccer mom in the van coming crossing into my lane of traffic cause she is busy texting and driving.

6.) Inform others: Let other in your life know you are cutting back. Don't send me a message on Facebook if you need my immediate attention, call or text me. If you don't have my number I guess maybe we should work on a few things then. Planning on not answering your phone during certain hours, make it know. I do this and my best friend that loves the idea. When she is working 3rd shift she can get me did bits about her day and know that I'm not being disturbed by alerts. I have the  Do Not Disturb feature turned on my phone from 11pm to 9am daily.


Just trying a few of these ways even if just for a few days or a week to test the idea out and see how it goes. Maybe it's easy for you but maybe you discover how much you're plugged in without realizing it. Disconnecting will give you something real back in you life. You may also know that you feel a little less stressed or that your able to concentrate better at the task at hand. Whatever you find I hope you find a little bit of the real you that may have been missing in the digital world.

Smooth moving on the Grand River

Nothing says Summer in Michigan than enjoying an afternoon on the water. The sun brightly shinning, Birds gliding through a gentle breeze over head and myself and 5 friends making our way down the Grand River via kayaks. A few months leading up to this day my husband and I had been talk about things we would like to try that would get us outside and enjoying with grand local of ours. Kayaking came up. My husband had a friends that enjoyed it, his son included. So my research of local options started. What I found was my options were drive to a river and rent a kayak and be sent down the river. While driving to float down a river isn't something new to me and it wasn't very exciting either. My options were places I often see or have floated down on tubes with friends before. Luckily I came across GRPaddling.com. My options increased greatly. Did I want a lake or a river? How about a Moonlight trip? Dinner or a Picnic? Just these few options left me spinning with glee!

While this was to be our first trip I thought I would take it easy and keep it simple. Simple and close to home. After reviewing many of my options I found an a launch site not far from my own home. Perfect! What could be better than finding something so close to home? How about being driven to the site of the launch by this company. GR Paddling picks you up at a location you chose. Home work or where ever works best for you. So after looking at what they offer I gathered a few friends and book our day on the Grand River.

I booked a trip for myself and 5 other friends. I was able to contact GR Paddling before hand and explained that this would be the first kayaking trip for all of us and in our group was a non swimmer. Jeff responded to my email quickly and professionally assuring me that the selections of kayaks " are quite stable and very unlikely to tip over on the Grand." Life jackets are also provided. 

The day of our trip Jeff arrived with a Van for all of us to fit in and behind it all 6 of the kayaks that we would use that day. While we finished gathering our belongings Jeff setup the Van for us. On the step into the Van a sign greeted up which I thought was a nice touch. Once we were all loaded up we were off to our launch point that I had chosen which was in Eastmanville. 

Once we arrived we were given the obligatory legal forms to fill out and sign and while we took care of this Jeff unloaded the kayaks and brought out drink options that we could bring on the river with us. We were also given the option of a waterproof case for our phones for anyone that wanted to bring their device along. Jeff explained our options in choosing the kayaks. The color of the kayak dictated style. Blue the latest and most stable also meant it would be the slowest. Yellow, our second choice was stable but a little quicker in the water. Our final choice was red, a sleek nimble little number built for gliding quickly through the water. Once we figured out who was what color we were given some instructions and review a map of the route.

After this it was time to get into launch mode. We formed a train to carried the kayaks down to the launch point. This particular launch site had a specialty built assisted launch for canoes and kayaks which made is simpler and safer to launch into the water. Jeff gave a few last instructions on how to use the paddles and then one at a time we glided into the Grand River. 

Once we entered the water we had a chance to get use to the balance and maneuvering to get our momentum which didn't take long and we were off on your 7 mile trip down river. 

It was a beautiful day. Sunny blue clouds lightly dotted with puffy white clouds and just enough of a head wind to slow us down. As we made our way down river, we could not only enjoy the nature around us but each other as well. For 2 hours and 45minutes no one sent a text message, checked Facebook, answered an email. No, we just enjoyed being humans in nature. Spotting multiple turtles taking advantage of the sun, a blue herron come in for a landing and even the majestic bald eagle soaring above us. 


When we reached our half way point, aka opt out point, Jeff was there with his camera snapping shots and making a point to ask each person in the party how we were doing and feeling so far. Our group all agreed to paddle on. Jeff gave us an update on how far we had to go yet and said he would meet us there. The last couple of miles were calmer. The wind was no longer slowing us down and we were feeling more confident in our ability. Once we arrived at our end point Jeff once again met us and as well drift into shore he grab the front of the kayak to make sure we came fully a shore.

Once on land again, drinks and snacks awaited us. Which was incredibly nice because after the trip I could use a boost in calories. Kayaking is a calorie killer! After the kayaks were packed up and we were loaded back into the van everyone discussed what area of their body hurt the most. Shoulders, arms, backs, you name it someone was hurting there.

While we all had our aches and pains everyone of us wanted to go again. One member of the party said that this trip convinced her to purchase her own kayak. The trip was enjoyable so much that we want to turn this into a annual event. GR Paddling gives me plenty of options to try different areas of the Grand River and other rivers and lakes as well.

iPad Pro Review

Apple debuted the iPad Pro last September. A very full size table of 12.9-inch screen size made it nearly the size of the laptop that I use on a daily basis.  Only the iPad Pro came with a more beautiful Retina display for a crisper and cleaner viewing experience. 

After it was introduced, my business partner - and husband - and I took the time to look into the tech specs and read hands-on reviews from other tech experts. When we completed our research, we looked at each other and thought: Is this the iPad we've been waiting for? The iPad Pro seemed powerful enough, and the drawing features kicked it up a notch from finger painting to a much more detail oriented Apple Pencil.

You see, it isn't that we haven't had an iPad before. We had bought the original iPad the year it was released, and we (me) liked it, but a full sized laptop was still a better option to suit our needs. Fast forward to 2016, and we are again talking again about an iPad. While the both of us are heavy computer users, we started to find it almost necessary to have something just as powerful but more compact. We have our phones, but even on the largest phone screen it can be frustrating at time for our needs. 

Enter the iPad Pro… but smaller?

A few months ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced the iPad Pro....again...this time with a smaller, more manageable, 9.7 screen. The size was certainly attractive, but Apple doesn’t just take the same product and shrink it down. Along with a smaller size, the smaller iPad Pro also added better features including a 12-megapixle camera in the back and a 5-megapixle camera on the front. With the better cameras came the ability to shoot 4K video and still work with the Apple Pencil.

So, we caved and bought a space grey 9.7 inch 128GB iPad Pro from $750, and it fits right in with our Apple family. Setup was easy and it seamlessly  integrated into our daily lives. Now I don't have to pack up my laptop when going to clients. My purse is big enough for it to slide in and carry around. 

After purchasing our new work tool, the next logical step involved purchasing the Apple Pencil to take advantage of one of our favorite features - writing and drawing on the tablet. The pencil, costing $99, has some girth and feels like holding a nice, heavy pen. The touch sensitivity allows me to quickly change the pressure with how I write. I can change from a nice fine tip ball point pen with just a light touch to the screen to a much thicker line much like a sharpie when I press harder. Both the pencil and the iPad share by a lightening cable and charge quite quickly. The pencil requires bluetooth to function properly but I find that it lasts several days between charges. 

 

Of course, once we purchased and had the device in our hands, it was natural to set out to find apps that were designed specifically for the iPad Pro. Drawing/Design and writing apps dominated the types of apps we searched for. When looking for a drawing/design app, we went to Adobe for our first choice. 

Adobe Photoshop Sketch creates expressive drawing and painting without opening sketchbook. The artwork can be sent to Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator via the Creative Cloud.  So, if you are already a member of the Creative Cloud family, it's a pretty handy app to have. 

Adult Coloring books have become a recent trend and of course there's an app for that. My favorite is Pigment, this free app comes with several coloring "books.” Each book allows 3 free coloring pages and additional pages can be purchased with either a monthly or yearly membership. I'm currently making my way through the 135 free coloring pages. 

When it comes to writing, searching for a note taking app wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Several of the free apps felt clunky and unrealistic to writing on a sheet of paper. While part of the challenge comes from writing on a smooth piece of glass, the other difficulty is finding an app with the right type of features. A few of the apps gave me the option of just writing on a piece of plain white boring scratch paper. It took me about four different apps before I settled on one designed by Evernote called Penultimate. 

Penultimate states that it “combines distraction-free, natural handwriting and sketching with the power of Evernote's sync and search.” While an Evernote account is needed to utilize their ‘sync and search’ feature, you don’t need to have an account to use the basic program. Penultimates gives many options for writing like note taking, daily planners, graphing paper, music scoring, and even classic games like tic-tac-toe and hangman.

In the weeks since we brought the iPad Pro home, it has become integrated into our daily lives. By day, the iPad Pro is a tool of the trade for an executive assistant (me) to help clients near and far. When the sun sets, it’s becomes a release for my creative side!

Earth Day Tech

Earth Day is a day we are supposed to take time to take care of this planet we call home. We live here, and just like no one likes a messy house, a messy earth isn't something fun to be in. I always try to do my part… I recycle, a lot. My recycling bin is nearly always filled to the brim by the time collection day comes. I donate clothes that are still in good condition but no longer fit my current styles. I even recycle my egg cartons to a neighbor that has several laying hens! 

However, even I can get lazy with recycling, especially when it comes to technology. Technology feels like a little more effort needs to be put forth. Most of our technology goods can be recycled… but where? How? Ugh, I'll just deal with it later.

Well my friends, later is now! This year is the year that we clean up our technology that we have cast aside. We start with Comprenew. This company headquartered in Grand Rapids has over 20 recycle drop-off locations throughout Michigan, including four refurbished electronic retail stores. The revenue generated goes directly back into the community by funding Comprenew’s educational and workforce development programs. 

On Earth Day, Friday, April 22, Comprenew will be in downtown Grand Rapids along Monroe Center in front of Rosa Parks Circle collecting CRT’s, for certified recycling. Residents can drop off unwanted CRTs, for a small fee, from 8am to 2pm.

Best Buy, has a a large recycling program with a goal of recycling 2 billion pounds of electronics - from batteries, cameras, appliances, and even your phone - by 2020. 

Looking to upgrade your phone? Best Buy and certain cellular providers offer trade-in value for you phone.

Have an iPhone that is past its prime? Check out what Apple is doing with old phones they are getting back. Liam was recently introduced to the world and this is a pretty cool recovery robot. Speaking of Apple, through April 24 Apple is donating 100% of the proceeds from participating apps and in-app purchases to help support WWF.

Lastly, if you really want to see the tech behind recycling, make sure to schedule a trip to our own Recycling Facility. Kent County allows scheduled tours of their three facilities to help educate kids on what happens after the recycling truck stops by.

With all this great, new technology coming at us faster each and every year, it’s important to recycle the old once we’ve moved on to the new. Recycle today for a longer tomorrow.

Technology and National Reading Month.

I've had a library card since I was in kindergarten. I have fond memories of visiting my local library with my Dad and checking out books. I would select a few different books for my Dad to read to me at bedtime. I still enjoy reading at night before I fall asleep. There have been more than a few times where my husband has come to bed only to find me asleep with a book in my lap or on his pillow. 

Over time, my choice in books has changed as well as how I choose to read those books. For a while I strayed away from the library and opted to purchase books directly from retailers and Amazon back when books were pretty much the only thing they offered. Then in 2007 Amazon launched a digital reading device called the Kindle. 

The idea of digital books wasn't something exactly new, a patent from 1949 shows the idea for a Mechanical Encyclopedia. By the time of the Kindle, books on Tape/CD had been around for years. However, the Kindle was a game changer. It was the idea of holding something tangible in your hand and reading for enjoyment and knowledge. 

The first Kindle cost $399.99 and sold out in less than 6 hours. It remained out of stock for five months. While I would have loved a Kindle, the digital experience of reading books didn’t seem worth the $400 price tag. 

With that, I rediscovered the library, and soon the library discovered technology. My local library had already placed computers into their realm, but now it really looks like the libraries are catching up with the technological curve. Certain libraries can checkout Kindle or iPads just as easy has checking out the latest James Patterson novel. 

Libraries offer other options through technology as well. There are a handful that I highly enjoy.

The first is called Overdrive, it’s an application which you can download on to your computer or mobile device and "checkout" books from the library. You can even request a book just the same as you would before. If you prefer picking up an album or movie at the library, you should try Hoopla. Hoopla offers movies, TV shows, music, audiobooks, and comics. Like browsing magazines? Take a look at the application Zinio.

I love all three of these applications because they’re so easy. I don't have to worry about returning the item because many of these applications have auto-return. The item simply returns itself after the allowed checkout time. The one downside to auto-return happens when you’re midway through a book and the time is up. You end up having to go through the process of downloading or requesting it again the book again. However, that's something I'm okay with because I no longer have late fees! 

Of course, if you’re an avid reader it can be easy to lose track of what you have read or what you want to read. For this, I like to use the website called GoodReads. I was introduced to GoodReads several years back, and it's something I like to keep in my back pocket to find books from authors I like. 

On top of finding books from authors, GoodReads also offers the ability to check the order of your favorite book series, give notice when a favorite author is releasing a new book, and suggest other authors or books based on your reading history. 

Sometimes when I’m wandering Schuler's Book Store, I pull out the app and scan a book so I can remember the book when I'm at the library next. I also use it to check reviews from what others who have already read the book had to say about it. My reading list currently sits at 41 books and includes everything from classics like The Maltese Falcon and Gone with the Wind, to "beach reads" which will remain nameless. 

I can't write this without making note of a show way back in the day called Reading Rainbow. I watched this show growing up and would often go to my local library to find the book featured on the show. For over 23 years this show aired on PBS and featured specific books or a centered theme which  was explored throughout the show. 

After the show stopped airing in 2014, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to help fund an App. Within 24 hours the campaign reached $5 Million with over 100,000 thousand donators. The campaign set an all-time record for the most backed kickstarter since its inception. It seems that a lot of people still wanted to take a look in a book and see the butterflies in the sky. 

If you don't have the iconic Reading Rainbow theme song in your head by now, you should so here. 

Kathy, my local librarian & Myself,
March, 2016

As for me, I don't think I will ever stop reading. While technology continues to evolve so will my relationship with my local library. I will still pick up an actual book and read it because there is still something real about holding it in my hands. It’s an added benefit that reading an actual book is easier on the eyes than reading a digital screen. Trust me, your eyes need a break from the screen! 

While all this technology is nice, I still take the time to visit my local branch to see the same librarians that have helped me find books all my life. Their help and suggestions helped enrich my life then and continues to do so today. Now, instead of just asking for books, I take time to talk to the librarians that mean so much to a community. They are more important than the books they recommend. 

With March being National Reading Month, take a look and rediscover your local library.

Technology and POTUS

President’s Day, a federal holiday originally meant as a day to remember our first President, George Washington, now is a day in which we remember all presidents that have served the office. In the over 200 years that our country has had a Pre

sident, technology has evolved. In the interest of this holiday and technology, and with 2016 being a presidential election year, here are a few factoids about technology and the leader of the free world.

President Andrew Jackson, the 7th man to hold the position, was the first president to travel by train in June of 1833. President Jackson traveled a few miles down the road, 12 to be exact, from Relay to Mt. Claire Depot, Maryland.

While many of us are familiar with President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th to serve our country, did you know he is the only one to hold a patent? Patent #6469, “A device for buoying vessels over shoals” was revised by Honest Abe May of 1849. A couple of trips on waterways, including the Great Lakes, led him to his invention. You can see the patent details here.

Interesting enough it wasn’t until 1891 that the White House was wired for electricity. We owe our 23rd President, Benjamin Harrison, for pushing ahead with this form of technology. According to The White House Historical Association, while President Harrison may have installed the electricity, it didn’t mean he trusted the fairly new invention. The President and First Lady had the domestic staff operate the switches over the fear they might get shocked.

With social media and cell phones being such an integral part to election campaigns in 2016, I found it interesting that President William McKinley, our 25th president, was the first president to campaign using the telephone.

We blast into the twentieth century with number 26, President Theodore Roosevelt. This Rough Rider seemed to embrace new technologies. The first president to been seen in a car, the first to ride in an airplane and the first president to be filmed on the job.

It wasn’t until June in 1922 that the voice of the President, in this case 29th president Warren G Harding, was transmitted and heard on the radio. Those who listened heard the President dedicating a memorial for Francis Scott Key, the man who gave us our National Anthem.

It was nearly 20 years later that we were able to see the president on a television. In April of 1939, in beautiful black and white, we were able to watch President Franklin D. Roosevelt open the World’s Fair. We would have to wait until 1955 to see the President in “living color.”

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter was responsible for being forward thinking and installed solar-panels on the White House roof. Way to be green, number 39!

Do you wear contact lenses? So did your 40th President Ronald Regan, the first president to do so.

Finally, President Bill Clinton and the internet. He was the first president to have a White House website, to send an e-mail via the internet, and hold an online chat. Interestingly enough, his relationship with a White House intern broke online. You could read the article online before you could see it in print.

Happy President’s Day!