November 2011

How To Configure Location-Based Reminders on the iPhone with iOS5

by Michael Sheehan on November 29, 2011

in Apple, Application, Cellular, Consumer Electronics, Fix It, Gadgets, General, How To, HTD Tech Tip, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mobile, Software

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I kept hearing about how with iOS 5, you could set up Reminders that would trigger when you arrived or left a particular location. It’s a pretty neat concept. You can program in an address, like your work, and set up a series of to-dos that magically remind you when you are geographically near that location. Or perhaps, you are at a vacation home and need to have a checklist pop up as you leave the location (e.g., did you check to be sure the hot tub was set to low). It’s a smart use of GPS technology to let your brain focus on other items at hand.

So I was very excited to set up some shopping lists that would pop up when I arrived at my local supermarket. Only, I had a problem, I couldn’t figure out how to put in the additional geo-location details to my to-do’s or reminders (and I’m supposed to be good at this stuff). After a bit of digging, I figured it out (and I’m a bit surprised that Apple seemed to bury this functionality into the app).

Here are the steps to create and configure a Location-based reminder:

1) Create a new Reminder. Remember, choose an iCloud-related list. I tried to do this with a Task list that was synced with my Outlook/Exchange profile and the location setting does not show.

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A Street Rocket with Class – 2011 Infiniti G37 Journey Coupe with Sport Package

by Michael Sheehan on November 28, 2011

in Auto, General, Opinion, Review, Video

Post image for A Street Rocket with Class – 2011 Infiniti G37 Journey Coupe with Sport Package

The automobiles that I have been testing over the past few years were very much oriented toward families of 5 or more people (which is how many there are in my family). Typically these are SUVs or Crossovers, and many have 3 rows of seats. Let’s face it, if you have a larger family, you need more space, for warm bodies as well as for stuff (e.g., toys, luggage, car seats, groceries…you get the idea). While a lot of these SUVs or Crossovers are extremely comfortable verging on luxurious, I have been dying to try something just a bit more “sporty.”

Enter the 2011 Infiniti G37 Journey Coupe, or rather “enter screeching around the corner at 90 miles an hour.”

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I spent a week enjoying this 4 seater street rocket as I drove around the San Francisco Bay Area. From trips to Monterrey Bay with my kids to driving to a tradeshow 4 days of the week to simply shooting over to the store to grab groceries, I logged a lot of hours in the G37. In fact, I came up with every single excuse possible to drive it, even around the block.

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Giveaway and Review: Modernizing Monopoly with Electronic Banking

by Michael Sheehan on November 17, 2011

in Consumer Electronics, Family, Gadgets, General, Giveaway, Review

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Show me a family who hasn’t played Monopoly before and I will let you see the dinosaur I keep in my back yard. I would hazard to guess that pretty much any family has, at one point of time or another, played Monopoly. It’s a rite of passage and part of growing up. You have to go through the pains and triumphs of “real life” as you roll your way around the game board. And a monopoly game can last weeks or months. In fact, the longest Monopoly game on record lasted 70 straight days.

Well, times are a changin’ and we are now moving into the modern era. And those young whippersnappers at Hasbro have decided to modernize Monopoly as well. I was pretty much convinced that the game would be spoiled somehow since the banker played such a pivotal role in managing and organizing the game. So, when I got my hands on Monopoly with Electronic banking, I was a bit skeptical of how it was modernized, but after playing it for a while (and being the banker), I was pleasantly surprised.

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For starters, you no longer collect $200 when you pass go, you collect $2M (yes, that’s million). Payments go down to $1000 increments. Also, the pieces themselves have been updated. And there is no paper money. It has been replaced by a gadget that resembles a calculator.

Players are given credit cards of sorts and that is all of the “currency” that you need. All of the banking transactions, fees and payouts, are done electronically.

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Getting Scruffy for Movember – “Real Men Will Grow a Mo” – Cast of Dads Podcast #46

by Michael Sheehan on November 15, 2011

in Audio, Cast of Dads, Family, General, Humor, Opinion, Parenting, PodCast

Post image for Getting Scruffy for Movember – “Real Men Will Grow a Mo” – Cast of Dads Podcast #46

We are halfway through November, I mean “Movember,” and I’ve got this itchy feeling on my face, as do a few of the other dads on Cast of Dads. Why? Because we are donating our liplines and faces to the Movember effort. You can see my post about it here. While I definitely am not quite sporting the crazy mustaches that Brad or Max are doing (and I don’t have the social influence that CC has), I certainly don’t look like my normal self. My dad actually likes it, despite in the past wanting to pay me to shave off any facial hair that I grew. So, in the #46th episode of Cast of Dads, “Real Men Will Grow a Mo” we talk a bit about Movember as well as a lot of other hot topics like Thanksgiving, Penn State, the Occupy Movement, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Incognito mode and much more.

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If you feel so inspired, please be sure to donate to one of the Cast of Dad’s Movember effort like:

Be sure to listen in. If you would like to sponsor an individual episode or a series of episodes, please do let us know. [click to continue…]

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Count ‘Em – 22 Pockets in a Lightweight Vest – Scott E Vest

November 14, 2011
Thumbnail image for Count ‘Em – 22 Pockets in a Lightweight Vest – Scott E Vest

I’m writing much of this review on an airplane right now. And I’m wearing a Scott E Vest (SEV) Classic Men’s Travel Vest. Just a few minutes ago, I lost my free drink ticket in one of the 22 pockets in the SEV lightweight vest. I did manage to find it a few minutes later, [...]

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Growing a Mustache in November for #Movember (Or in my case – Facial Hair) – Men’s Cancer Awareness

November 1, 2011
Thumbnail image for Growing a Mustache in November for #Movember (Or in my case – Facial Hair) – Men’s Cancer Awareness

Facial hair has not really been my big thing. I have sported a goatee a while back and even a “soul patch” but I always ended up shaving it off to the cheers of my wife, parents and even my kids. But for the month of November, I’m getting scruffy again but this time for [...]

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