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!

My Top 5 techie gifts

It never seems to fail. Whenever the gift giving season comes around I'm at a loss on what to ask for and what to give. Sure I can ask/give the mundane gift card to a various store, restaurant or iTunes I mean that easy... right.  Do gift cards really say Happy Holidays? Ok, maybe they do but only because it is already literally written on the plastic card.  ;)

So without further to do a quick and simple top 5 gifts of technology, in no particular order.

#1.  A Streaming Media Player.
    Whether you Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime if you're still watching that on your computer or table it's time to upgrade to a media player. Several options are available in a variety of price ranges. As I'm partial to Apple products I can't help but speak to my love affair with Apple TV ™. With the release of the 4th version just in time for the holiday season it worth the while to wonder yourself up to a local retailer for a looky look. I current have 3 Apple TV's in my home and have been using them for several years now. I love the ability to access TV, Movies, Stream music directly from Apple as well as watch Netflix,  Hulu and sample other channels. An entry level device starts at just $69 while the new models start at $149. However if you're dead set against anything Apple a look at either Roku or Chromcast easily give some similar options.


#2 SmartWatch
          Now before you start telling me there is now what your going to buy an Apple Watch. Just take a deep breath. I don't blame you. I don't have one most likely for the same reason you don't. I'm not about to spend $350 for a watch. ( Disclaimer, if you do have an Apple Watch let me know, I'd love to talk to you. ) Any who... there are plenty of other options out there for you. Fitbit and Pebble both have reasonable options for SmartWatches. Want something to help track you in the health and fitness area, Fitbit Charge or Charge HR are great options that connect to your smartphone. Interest in just the smarter part of the smartwatch take a look a Pebble where you can still get you technology notifications and music right on our wrist and at a much more reasonable cost.

#3 Say Cheese!
     Now that most smartphone have camera that can rival most point and shoot camera's. There are a slew of accessories for your smartphone camera . Olloclip has a nice 4-1 lens kit that can slip right over you phone and hug the camera giving the option of Fisheye, 2 Macro's and a wide angle shot. Brilliant!! If your look for the adventure type a quick look over at Optrix gives you not just lenses but cases and mounts for the phone.

#4 Play the funky music caucasian youthful male.

      Remember the BoomBoxes of the 1980's They were HUGE, literally. While those large musical boxes have disappeared from the shoulders it can now be replaced with something that can easily fit in a backpack or purse. Portable Speakers come in all sorts of shapes, colors and size. In fact you can even find some that are waterproof in case you want to bring the beat into the shower.


#5 Super Sleek Storage

    It is probably one thing that is over looked because it is more particle than fun. Extra storage for you digital device. Maybe it's a new larger hybrid hard drive for your son or daughter. It could be an external hard drive case for your sister who has been working on a genealogy of your family. Maybe it's just something as simple as a USB 3.0 32GB Flash Drive for the kids school projects. It doesn't matter the reason or for who. Sometimes the gift has to be about need instead of want.


I could easily list many other gift options but if you didn't know where to start hopefully I've provided a little more clear path to set you out on your shopping journey.

Technology and the Holiday Shops

No sooner than did the ghost and goblins of Halloween get back to their homes to feast on their newly acquired sugar collection that Sleigh Bells start ringing. That's right the big push of the last holidays are upon us and wow has technology changed the ways we celebrate these times.

The holiday's seem to require 3 important ingredients. Shopping, Food, and Family. First let me start off by saying that I have never, ever participated in the Black Friday Madness. I have witnessed it but I haven't gotten up at 3am to make it to a store that was opening 5am so I could buy a $50 Blue-ray player for $15. I will admit to looking through the the black Friday ad's and even looking them up online ahead of schedule. In fact there is a website you can visit that is fully dedicated to Black Friday Ads. https://blackfriday.com post not just the ads for Friday's event but also the Toy books that retailers put out and other deal specific items, extra Kohls cash anyone?

While a lot of people still trek out on that Friday more people are opting out and staying in. They are staying in for Cyber Monday. The first Monday after Thanksgiving is now dedicated to online shopping bonanza of epic proportions. Many of your favorite retail store put on extra sales this day but the online retail giants make there play for your holiday cash. Amazon being one of the biggest names in online shopping makes Cyber Monday a big big BIG event. Certain deals highlighted and change hour after hour. It's enough to make even the most seasoned shopper spin around with glee.

Smack in the middle of Black Friday and Cyber Monday now known as Small Business Saturday. A day in the weekend where your local small business owners hope to attract and entice you. This can be done in  a physical location or through a website as well. Just a quick search using the “shop local” option on Etsy.com allows me to see what some of our own neighbors have brilliantly made themselves. 

When all your shopping is done, the focus goes back on the two most important parts of the holidays, food and family! It seems like a no brainer that your going to need food. Food that you can make while you host the holiday at your home, or something a little easier to transport as you go through the woods to Grandmother's house. If you missed my article on technology in the kitchen you can find it here.

Then there’s family. It suppose to be the most important ingredient in the holiday recipe. While technology can help it can also hinder. Sure, through the power of Skype or FaceTime you can video chat with your niece or nephew who is serving overseas. However, is will also keep your 14 year old niece or daughter from looking up the entire time you're at Aunt Kathy's. 

So, a holiday challenge for you. Can you and yours set aside technology for the holiday gathering? Little to no smartphone or tablets while you are surrounded with extended family. No Facebooking, no tweets to be sent, and no text to be read. Some may find this hardly a challenge at all while others will struggle not to pick up their phone when there is lag in a conversation. Putting the technology aside might be tough at first, but the end result will be lifetime memories with family and friends!

Technology Fit

My sister in law confuses me. She likes to run...without music. I do not understand how she is able to do it. I have to have music in my ear when I'm attempting to run, jog, exercise. I have used several different apps in the past to help get myself in better fitter shape. Just as I've used different apps I've also had different products too.

Before I had a piece of technology to help it was the classic pencil and paper. Log your food and log for work out. Then I got an iPod Touch. My world changed. All of a sudden I had apps that would help me. Log your food in this app. Watch how to do weights on this app. Track your bike ride on this app. Apps..glorious apps everywhere. Then I realized as I was losing the pounds on myself my iPod was starting to become bloated. 

I see a lot of mobile devices in my line of work. What I see a lot when I talking to people about their device is that after a while it feels slow. Sometimes it is due to age but 8 out of 10 times their devices is bloated with data. For example if you have an iPhone 6 that has 16GB of data storage a few of those gigabytes are set aside right away for the software to run your phone. So now that brings us down to about 12GB of space. That is still a lot if you maintain the space. Devices work best when they have breathing room. I usually recommend a minimum of 2GB of free space. Photo's and video take up a lot of room. A LOT OF ROOM. It is probably one of the things I see the must. 600 photo's or more taking up space. and of the 600 photo's you probably only want 120 of them. Cleaning up your photos gives back precious space. Delete them from the phone or what I like to do is download them into my computer and delete them there, I find it to be faster that way. 

How about Songs. When is the last time you took a look through your play list. This is another thing I try and keep up on. I actively keep 3 playlist on my phone. 1 for the gym and 2 for the car. With the addition of iTunes radio and other music streaming services you may not realize that you are not using your playlist anymore. If your not using them get them off the device. 

Then there are apps. As I write to you today I have 50 apps on my phone. I like to review the apps on my phone every couple of months. There are apps I'm more likely to use in the summer than the winter. If I'm going on vacation I have more travel apps on my phone than when I'm just doing my usual business. Sure there are a lot of app that you use frequently and I'm not saying you have to take things down to a bare minimum but I'm suggesting that maybe you don't need to have every app on there. I use a guideline I made up myself. If I haven't used the app in about 1 month then I don't need it on my phone.

Also a reminder all this is true not just for our mobile devices but for our actual computers too. Your laptop or desktop machine store massive amounts of data. Quick! When was the last time you when through and deleted email? Not just the spam or the junk but emails. Imagine if all those emails were printed out and laying around the house. Can you see that in your house? The nice thing is that usually with your computer you have the option of upgrading your hard drive to add more space. Your computer likes some breathing room just like you. 

Our phones( and our computers) are a machine, just like our body, and it needs to be taken care of to run at its peak. Sure, on vacation we like to let ourselves go a little bit and enjoy the trip - taking pictures and downloading new apps - but we don’t live everyday life that way. Watch what you put into your phone and make sure to trim the fat when its needed!

Technically.... in the Kitchen

One to my favorite places to to use technology is in the kitchen.  I've brought my laptop,  an iPad and  my phone in the kitchen to use as a reference while cooking. Just recently we delegated a first generation iPad to the kitchen. While the iPad itself is considered out of date, it doesn't run the current iOS. However some Apps still function on this old piece of technology.

So what still works? Well first the web browser still functions with no problem so I can pull up an cooking website or blog I want. I was also able to download older versions of apps like Pinterest, How to Cook Everything and Allrecipes' Dinner Spinner to name a few.  I was very pleased to be able to access Pinterest so I can access all the great recipe links that people share there. I also have my Kindle App from which I can bring up cookbooks that I have purchased from Amazon's website. The the ones I've downloaded I was able to get as a free download. 

Of course before I even get to the kitchen I try and have my meal plan already in my calendar with links to the recipe I'll be making. I try and list the main dish with 1 or 2 side dishes that I would like to make with it. Sometimes the recipe link is the main dish sometimes a link for the side dish.

While the iPad is a great technology to have in the kitchen it isn't the only one. I also subscribe to a grocery home delivery service. Doorganics is a local company at delivery fresh local and organic food to your home. I took the option to get deliveries every 2 week. The Thursday before my delivery I get an email with a list showing what is planned for my delivery. I can login to their website and change the order or add too it.
I also rely on my digital scale. Everything from measuring the correct amount of flour from Great Grandma's recipe to the correct portioned size piece of steak to have for dinner. 3 ounces isn't as big as you think it is! 

Of course some of the basic apps on your phone can be helpful too. The clock app has a built in timer and when I cooking a lot of items for let say Thanksgiving, I've even used the Alarm setting in the app to keep watch on multiple items. Lastly is the camera that is built into my Phone. Yep I'm one of those people that shares their food. I usually post it on my Facebook page with a link of the recipe. Occasional the picture might be shared on Instagram but I promise it is few and far between. 

*Price changes frequently