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Everything But the Kitchen Sink

July 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

If you know me in real life, you probably have heard me rave about how much I love my iPhone. The only thing that rivals it is my love for my dog. Oh and for Jabari :)

Today, it saved me from a particularly catastrophic kitchen investment. I was at Target this evening pondering the purchase of an electric skillet for this luncheon I’m hosting at work this week. There were 2 skillets I was trying to choose between: a 16″ Rival Electric Skillet with Removable Pan and a 16″ Presto Electric Skillet. Both skillets were equal in size except one had a completely removable, oven-safe pan. The other one? Well it was just $2 cheaper and came in 2 pieces (the pan and the heating element). It really didn’t appear all that great to me actually so I was really leaning more toward the completely removable pan.

Rather than trying to make the decision by myself, I pulled out my phone and asked Amazon which one would be better. The Amazon app is very convenient, letting me search their store online for reviews and pricing (or even purchasing).

The Rival Electric Skillet with removable pan turned out to be a huge dud. Reviewers complained of uneven heating, uneven pans, and food sticking to the supposedly non-stick surface. And believe me, I don’t let a few 1-star reviews scare me away, but for this pan, there was an OVERWHELMING amount of 1-star reviews (47 1-star reviews vs. 3 5-star reviews). Either Rival was the victim of a particularly successful smear campaign or their design team was off their game that day.

So that was a big disappointment. I figured I would check out the reviews for the Presto 16″ Electric Skillet, which were much favorable. Not perfect, but better. I mean, how can you deny 108 5-star reviews to 4 1-star reviews? Of course I ended up going with the Presto cooker. The great thing? It came in a smaller box, was more solidly-packaged than the Rival electric cooker (I picked up that box and I could feel the parts moving around inside), and was $2 cheaper. Yipee! Of course the real test will be when I actually put it to use so stay tuned ;)

Man, where were we before we had easy access to online reviews? Crazy.

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Halfway to Landscape Keyboard Heaven

June 18, 2009 By 1 Comment


Halfway to Landscape Keyboard Heaven, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

Updating my iPhone software right now. There are a number of memorable events in my life: my first new car, my first apartment, graduating from college. Now added to that list: upgrading to the iPhone 3.0 OS.

Copy and paste, here I come!

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Why I’m Seriously Considering Naming My First Born “Apple”

December 7, 2008 By 2 Comments

Seeing as how I’ve had my iPhone for almost 2 months now, I felt it only appropriate to dedicate a post to this little handful of wonder that has become a necessary appendage to my body. I’ve always been a Mac-lover and would buy a bazillion of them if I could afford it, so it was only expected that I would fall in love with the iPhone once I got my hands on it.

You can imagine how many apps I already have on my phone but surprisingly it’s not as many as you would think. So far I’ve only managed to fill up 2 1/2 screens with apps but I imagine the longer I have this phone, the more the collection will grow. In the meantime, these are my…

Top 10 Favorite iPhone Apps (so far and in no particular order)

  1. Shopper by MidCentury Software – Shopping List is basically just that — a shopping list. However, it’s a shopping list on steroids. It allows you to manage multiple shopping lists which is handy if you’re hitting multiple stores in one day. It also allows you to calculate taxes, view sorted by category (for example, it groups all the produce items together, all the meat department items together, and all the dairy items together), and customizable categories. The best part is you can set a price for each item and check them off as you put them in your cart so it shows your overall total as well as your cart total.
  2. Sync in a Blink – Sync in a Blink is the first app I ever purchased and has become the most valuable. After I lost my phone in the car accident, I pretty much lost everything including my contacts. My Gmail address book was the closest thing I had to a decent contact list and even that was neglected. Never again. With Sync in a Blink, I can sync my iPhone contacts with my Gmail address book allowing the data to be mirrored on both. The great thing is I’m not limited to just entering contacts in Gmail, I can also enter contacts on my iPhone and the software will resolve conflicts if any.
  3. Pandora for the iPhone – Not only has Pandora become a staple in my bookmarks, but it’s become a staple on my iPhone. With a set of $10 portable speakers from Bed Bath & Beyond, I’ve turned my iPhone into a radio that plays a radio station that doesn’t suck.
  4. Palringo – Palringo is my preferred IM client for the iPhone. Not only is it free, but it works with multiple chat clients
  5. Google Mobile App – No more typing in searches! Yay!! This is such a cool app and comes in handy if you need to do a quick search and don’t want to fumble around with the on screen keyboard.
  6. Flixster Movies – Flixster is a great way to have movie listings almost instantly (or at least just a click away). Look at weekend box office openings, movie ratings, and a calendar of upcoming movies. Let it find your position and give you directions to the nearest movie theater. It’ll even give you latest DVD releases!
  7. Amazon Mobile App for the iPhone – This is probably the greatest (albeit dangerous app) ever. Comparison shop on Amazon.com while you’re at the store. The best part is it has an Amazon Remembers list that allows you to take a snapshot of something and add it to your list so you can buy it later. If you have an Amazon.com account, you can even track shipments and orders right from your iPhone.
  8. Say Who – Say Who is a neat little app that allows you to call someone by simply speaking their name into the phone. You can even specify “mobile” or “home.” So far I haven’t run into any inaccuracy problems which is good, but it does have a safety feature that shows you who it’s going to call and gives you the opportunity to correct it or call immediately.
  9. Gifts Budget – Gifts Budget is a neat little app that allows you to maintain a gift shopping list. You can use this for multiple gift types (Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.). Set an overall budget and track how much you spend on each person. This has really come in handy this holiday shopping season.
  10. Money Trackin’ – Money Trackin’ is a free online service that allows you to maintain an online “check register.” I’ve set this up to mirror my checking account so that I can review and keep track of my expenses. Until Pearbudget makes a native client for the iPhone, this is becoming my main expense tracking app.
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My New Love

October 12, 2008 By 4 Comments


My new love, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

I didn’t think I would’ve ever been able to replace my first lover. But here he is. Smooth,
sleek, sophisticated and comes with a Apple Protection plan. Sigh. If
only all relationships came with those.

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The Long Road Home

October 11, 2008 By 1 Comment

I drove home to see my parents tonight. Had I not needed to pick up some paperwork from my mom, I probably would’ve just stayed at home and cried under the blankets. That’s how I feel about getting back into another vehicle.

It was stressful to say the least. I spent several minutes pacing back and forth next to the car while Izzie waited for me in the front seat. Eventually, I grew a pair and finally got behind the wheel.

I took back roads the entire way home, avoiding the site of the accident all together. And if you’re in any way familiar with the drive between far north Dallas and Garland, you would know that one would be crazy (or perhaps suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder) to take back roads the entire way.

A trip that would’ve normally taken me 30-40 minutes took a little over an hour, maybe an hour and a half. But that’s because I would have to take occasional breaks to pull over in a parking lot somewhere and cry. Everyone tells me it’ll take some time and not to rush myself, but I don’t want to get too comfortable avoiding getting into a car because the longer I stall, the more difficult it’ll get.

It’s hard to believe that driving, an act that came so naturally to me when I first got behind the wheel at 16, is now a stressful ordeal. I know cars are material things that can be replaced, but when you drive a car for 8 years, it almost becomes an extension of your own body. You know where the boundaries are by heart, so you feel more comfortable in it. Maybe I will feel more at ease when I’m in my own car as opposed to the rental.

On a lighter note, my dad is having a ball with his new iPhone:

Like father, like daughter

He sent me a text message this afternoon that said, “Hi Kristine how are you doing. Daddymac.” :) He still has to get the hang of text message lingo, though that’s not a bad start. He’s also learned how to watch YouTube and was watching videos on it this evening. He even knows how to check his Gmail account on his phone. I showed him how to take pictures for contacts in his address book. It’s so cute, he even stuck the Apple sticker on the back of his cell phone cover :) I love my dad, he’s so funny.

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