My NOOK Love Affair 07/30/2010
 I must admit that I was straddling the fence on this one: torn between Amazon's Kindle and the NOOK by Barnes and Noble. So what did I do to solve my dilemma? I bought both. The Kindle is available through Target Stores, but they never had it on so a person can use it. It is permanently in some kind of demo mode. Not good for making an informed decision. Now there are numerous users of both the NOOK and the Kindle - and both camp's devotees are die-hard loyal fans of "their choice". And if you read too long on either Amazon's or B&N's sites... you too will be convinced to buy the respective e-reader... that is until you read the competing site. I started off with the NOOK. I bought the wi-fi only model. Works great if you are sitting in a wi-fi hot spot - or in the privacy of your own wi-fi networked home - or sitting enjoying a Grande Mocha in the Barnes & Noble lounge. But 3G it is not. In order to make purchases or to update your device - you will need a wi-fi connection. The touchscreen is nice, but I must admit it can be difficult to navigate. And the darn thing dims the screen after a few moments to preserve battery power - by default. This can be changed. I bought the King James Bible. Tried to use it in church. Only way to navigate is by touch screen. Once I found the passage - the passage had already been read and the congregation was on to the next passage. Not recommended for "quick" studies of any sort. As much as I loved the aesthetics of the NOOK... I returned it. And here is why. I took the NOOK with me to Chicago. As my wife drove I read the entire trip. Worked great! Until the trip home. Then the device decided it would not turn on. I tried everything. No go. Boiling mad... I took my NOOK in to a Barnes & Noble store I rarely frequent (for good reason) - and returned it. I had just passed my 14-day return window. The manager asked me the problem and after I told her my story she suggested that she could fix it. I didn't want a fix. I couldn't understand why the device had locked up on me. I told her I would rather return it. And they promptly gave me a full cash refund. I I then rushed across the street to Target and purchased the Kindle. After a few minutes of usage... I hated the thing! Yes it is easy to navigate, but it is so ugly. And the cases for the device are even worse. The Kindle does have some nice features - 3G global. A must have feature. This allows connection to the AT&T network free of charge - no extra costs involved. So downloads are instantaneous irregardless of where the user is at. I love it. The tiny little joystick on the Kindle is cumbersome. The menu seems a bit 90ish and the feel of the unit is nowhere near the feel of the NOOK. I downloaded a few books and did like the feature that allows landscape viewing for uploaded PDF books. Also... I do enjoy browsing the Amazon store better than B&N's. Easier to navigate... but not if you are using the Kindle to do it. Many people complain about the page loads. They say the Kindle is faster than the NOOK. And perhaps it is... by a few half-seconds. So what? This was not a concern of mine. I had made up my decision after having the Kindle for 2 days. I returned it. About this time Barnes and Noble lowered the price of their 3G/Wi-Fi NOOK model. I bought it and I haven't looked back. My library of books was still waiting for me. While you can connect anywhere with the 3G NOOK... to receive updates to the device you need a Wi-Fi network. And updates are FREE. There is a way to turn wireless off completely - airplane mode. This will save battery time and is recommended if you are not going to buy any new books anytime soon. Selling points of the 3G/Wi-Fi NOOK: 1) touchscreen - though sometimes touchy - it is nice to see color views of the books in my library 2) 3G and Wi-Fi - allows the best of both worlds 3) NOOK support groups at a brick and mortar store. Can take my NOOK in to any Barnes and Noble for instant support. 4) exhaustive supply of e-books (though not every book has been converted to e-format - to be fair neither have they for the Kindle) 5) beautiful cases to protect the NOOK 6) free firmware upgrades via Wi-Fi 7) battery is replaceable (not with the Kindle) 8) store coupons just for being a NOOK user 9) can read for 1-hour per day ANY E-BOOK in store 10) contains Android OS 11) comes with chess and sudoku (though I don't play either) 12) can share "some" books with other readers 13) reportedly holds 1,500 books - though the rep at B&N said it is more likely around 600 - however, user can add a micro SD card for unlimited space! Great feature. I absolutely love my NOOK. But it must be the 3G model. The 3G feature is the frosting on the cake. Certified Genealogist - My Journey 06/22/2010
A new page in my life has begun... I've firmly planted my feet on the road seeking certification as a CG (Certified Genealogist). Over the past year, I've gathered a vast amount of know-how concerning the ins and outs of Genealogy - with a specialty toward Dutch heritage. I've become so obsessed with the "hobby" that I can not but continue my journey toward full designation as a professional. It has been said that most people are doing what they absolutely hate - they wake each day with absolute disgust living for the weekend. That's no way to live. There is a great book called "Do What You Love and the Money will Follow". The premise of the book is that we are each here for a purpose - and there is something we all love doing so much that the time seems to pass by quickly where you find yourself wondering just where it went. That "something" is what you should be doing. And my "something" is genealogy. I love visiting graveyards - in search of lost relatives just waiting to be remembered. These are people each with a story to tell - a part that was played - a chain in the link that makes my today possible. For I would not be living were it not for these essential key players in the game of Life. My wife says that I spend more time with the dead than the living. This may be true. And I'm proud that it is. Over the past year I've solved many mysteries concerning my own heritage - a history buried as deep as my ancestors. Now I know where I came from as well as the people that made my life possible. It really gives me a sense of awe-inspired peace to visit the graves of my ancestors. I can't help but think that on that very ground stood other family members who wept mournfully for their loved one. It's great to have a place like a cemetery to be able to visit in remembrance and gratitude. And I know just how important these people - my ancestors - have become to me. And that is the importance of genealogy. I want to help others find that same sense of wonder and feelings of gratitude that I have come to enjoy. Treasured by nearly every ancient culture for thousands of years… Would You Like To…
Click Here My Genealogical Roots 05/11/2010
Last year my paternal grandmother passed away. Post-funeral when the family was looking through her belongings, there was discovered a stash of old photographs. Looking through these I realized that no-one knew who these people were! I decided it was time to uncover my family's history. Who were we? Where did we come from? And why did we come to America? These were questions I needed an answer to. So after months of research and many hours devoted to this cause I have created a website with my genealogical findings. It is posted at right as a link. Not only was I able to discover who the Kruizenga's are as a family, but I was also able to thoroughly answer the other questions: I now know where we came from and I know why we came to America. This was information that would have been lost in time. Thank the internet for allowing this information to be posted and made freely available to all. It is my hope that our family history will touch other branches of Kruizenga's (distant relation) from around the world. In fact, this has already started to happen. I now have people finding this website asking for information. Some I discover are relatives - others are not. But it doesn't hurt to look. I actually enjoy the research. One part of my research that captivated me was the time spent searching for gravestones. Once found, I couldn't help but think that my ancestors once stood where I was standing. My ancestors wept for those who had passed. They mourned at the very spot. So with great feeling and admiration (and all due respect) I painstakingly took photos of the graves and posted them online. Visiting these places firmly planted in my mind the powerful potential of what I was doing. My research was and will always be for family - from this day forward. And when my days are past, this information will remain for future generations of Kruizenga's to look back upon - to reference - and to gain understanding of who they are as a people. I will forever be grateful to those who have gone before. Their lives made my life possible. |
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