iPhone 5 or Galaxy S III

My dear wife, my oldest and I are due for new phones soon. My honey has had her eye on an iPhone since they came out. Problem is, we are with T-Mobile and they don't sell the iPhone. ( That's another story entirely ). We are due for a renewal soon and that usually comes with a new phone. I know my honey is getting the iPhone, that's a given. My honey deserves it. My oldest is going to get a new phone too but that choice will be easy. Most likely iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S. That choice depends on the deal at the time. Myself on the other hand will be going by choice and by cost. I don't want to spend more than what we spend on the  iPhone for my honey but if I can save some money I will do that as well. Its not easy putting down  money for 3 phones with Christmas right around the corner. So I am looking at the Pros and Cons of the iPhone as well as the Galaxy S III. I am also comparing them price wise, which right now they are about the same.

The two devices are really good. Good cameras, solid devices, and good software. The iPhone has been out longer and is more polished at the moment but the S III is a very strong competitor. 

Along with the phones is the choice of Carrier . Verizon or AT&T. I know that Sprint has the devices as well but around my travel area Sprint does not have the best of signal. Right now, Verizon has the best signal compared to AT&T but they are also more expensive. Do I risk the chance at dropping a call but saving a few dollars. Hmm.. What a thought that is... Everyone knows that you pay for that answer at the moment you need the phone the most.

So help me out readers.. what are you thoughts.. iPhone or Galaxy S III.. Verizon or AT&T...

iPhone  or SII

vJournal for Evernote

I almost always use my iPad for work. If I leave my Bluetooth ear piece home, I am ok without it. If I forget my iPad, I am sure to head back home for it. There are a few iPad apps like notability, note taker, Evernote and even the default note app that I use often. The other day, I found an app called vJournal for Evernote. It looked like an interesting app. I have wanted to keep a journal of my daily en devours.  I thought it would be an easy way to keep a journal of the things i do on a day to day basis. My love for it was a bit short lived. On day one, I thought it was fun. I put a few items in it posted them and I liked it. Then I tried to edit a post found out I could not. I tried to find a pen setting , there is none. I tried to add a picture, no such luck if you don't have the paid version. I did not remember seeing a paid version when I saw it. I did go back and check and saw that there was a paid version. It is not that expensive and after reading the description, it doesn't look like you get more than with the Free version. I did like that I can put a check box next to typed text, but that's is where it ends.

My notes were saved to an Evernote document online so I could access then through my Evernote apps and on the web. That is a good feature of Evernote and nothing new by way of the Journal app. I could now review a posted note and edit a note, all through Evernote. In the end ,I found no true use for vJournal for Evernote. It did not really add any feature to Evernote that it did not already have. Use it if you like, but I will be using the space on my Ipad for something else. In the mean time, I will continue my saving of notes and more, right through Evernote.

To see more information on vJounal for Evernote, Click here
To see more information on Evernote, Click here.

My Cellphone Service Let Me Down...Again

I have had T-Mobile for a number of years. My family have have used these phones on their service: Motorola V360, a Motorola CLIQ, LG G2X and an HTC G2. Each phone has had their issue towards the end of their life cycle.. With the V360, if you were on Bluetooth and the other person put on their speaker phone, you could not hear them. The CLIQ started rebooting on its own after a year. The LG G2X hangs at times and needs to have the battery removed to clear it. The HTC G2 ran down my battery so fast in 4G that an extended battery was necessary and I can not use 4G all the time. These issues have come, except for the V360, towards the end of the phones life cycle. The phones are used so often you have to expect some things to go wrong with them. But, the service should work no matter what. I have found that T-Mobile is not always the best at giving you a strong signal. I am sure that you can say that about Verizon, Sprint and AT&T at times but I don't subscribe to them so I cannot say for certain. I can say that during this past weekend storm and during the time we had an earthquake in South Eastern United States, the people around me with Verizon service were talking but I could not get a call out, or see available service. Just this past weekend my family and I were traveling towards Atlantic City and were stuck in traffic. Power-lines were down, trees were covering some of the roads, traffic was every where. So I turned to my trusty phone with GPS and maps.. NO SERVICE. .. OK, so I tried my GPS on the Cell Phone, but it would not work because it had no service. ... Hmmmm... I looked over and the car next to us and see people on their phones... Verizon customers... I see other people on their phone and complaining. .They were on T-Mobile and Sprint... I tried and tried and tried restarting, going back and forth from air plane mode and also trying to get on WIFI for a minute to use WIFI calling but nothing.. Luckily one of the teens in the car had a bedazzled Verizon phone.. She had a good signal. She was able to get online and get directions for us. She had 2 bars, where we had none. It was embarrassing. 2 hours later, when we finally got signal, it was only 1 bar.. no data.. 1 additional hour and we were in a place that gave us 4 bars and data.. Too late.. I don't want that again. Not for a second time during a time that I really, really needed it to work. When my contract is over, I need to switch. My family is too important to me. Some might think its over kill and I am over reaching but put yourself in my shoes.. If your in a bad place and need help, where do you turn to now a days.. Not to a pay phone. ( Just try and find one ) You turn to your cell phone. Remember, without a signal, your cell phone does you no good at all.

Thanks for the good times T-Mobile, but soon we will be parting ways. I won't be going to Sprint and no way am I going to AT&T. So I hope Verizon has some good phones coming up soon, cause I am gonna be a looking.. Could be an Galaxy III or an iPhone, but only time will tell.

Then and Now

Our house is finally up for sale. Its funny how once I thought that sentence would change my outlook on many things but it did not. Everything that lead up to it did though. We have gone over the whole house and finished up the little projects that were left partially finished before. Its not like we wanted to leave somethings unfinished but when you have 3 kids, you have to change your priorities a few times here and there. A little screw here, some touch up paint there, replace that little board and done. I have found over years that I am good at putting up flooring, installing cabinets, comming up with creative solutions and I really can paint. I look back at that changes done to the house and see memories, changes in my family and in myself, material things that I thought mattered at one time but do not matter so much now. That list goes on and on and on.

We learned a lot besides being able to do things in the house. We learned how to get along in tough times and we learned to communicate more. When your the only male in the house, it helps all the time to communicate. The kids have had their share of projects as well and thats a jungle of time as well. So far we have had several people come and see the house and we have gotten some positive feedback as well. I hope that keeps on comming as well as that one offer that means the house will be SOLD.

I keep this in mind every day and it helps me get through the good and the bad:
-- Everything is possible with God
-- Family should be a priority in life always, not just when it is easy or convenient
-- Never say you can not, keep trying until you have exhausted all possibilities, then ask for help.

I look forward to the future in our new house, wherever that may be, and all the new memories that come with it. Hopefully they are all good, but I understand that a few blah moments always seem to find their way in at times. My Wife, Mom and Dad and our kids have come through on several occasions and I am very thankful for all their help and understanding.

Time with your Family

Christmas is coming soon and so is more time spent with your family. I know, I know. Your hear that phrase and some guys and gals have to find an excuse. I have to..., I am needed for..., I made plans with... If you have ever listened to anyone's advice, this is one of those. Spent more time with your family. Not just at Christmas but all the time. If you don't, you will miss out. I enjoyed some extra time with my family lately. Some Christmas shopping and movie time with my honey, some basketball time with my oldest and middle child, and some cartoon time with my youngest. I have to admit, I don't do that as much as I should. Everyone has things they have to do and responsibilities. I am not saying to drop everything, but I m saying to make some time for the people most important to you. I went with my family to the Koziars Christmas village recently. It was a 2 hour drive and we got lost but we had fun. We saw displays I had never seen before. Christmas was captured in hand made displays and in the spirit of many who where there. We even got to share some hot chocolate, yummy cookies and warm oh so soft pretzels. I will remember most of all the smiles on my family's faces from the first photo till the last wave goodbye of the village. Those are the moments that are priceless and can never be repeated the same way again.

I wrote this post almost a month ago. I tried to follow my own advice and spent more time with the family and friends and this post had to wait. I don't feel bad that it was not posted before Christmas passed, but I do feel happy that in this New Year I remember all the good things of last year, and there is plenty of that.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE