Nookie Time

I bought my B&N Nook ereader in March.  That has resulted in a couple of changes in my life:

1. I no longer read magazines in the bathroom.
2. I no longer buy books (Nook lets me download ebooks from the library).
3. My TiVo queue has grown quite extensive as I prefer reading to watching TV.
4. I don't mind standing in line at the grocery store at all...it just means I get to read a page or two in my book.

But being the gadget guru, I'm always looking for the newest/best gadget out there.

After months of anticipation, Barnes and Noble finally announced the new version of their Nook ereader today.

Rumors were that it was going to be everything I wanted:

• 7 inches (instead of the 6 of the original Nook)
• Full color e-ink screen (instead of original black & white e-ink)
• Portrait or landscape mode (instead of just portrait)
• Full screen touchscreen (instead of just the 1-inch strip at the bottom)

Well, it didn't matter that my Nook was functioning perfectly well.  I knew I had to have it.  I planned to drive to Akron to pick it up as soon as it was available.

Today, they presented the new Nook Color.  What was announced was everything in the rumors...except...it is an LCD screen instead of color e-ink.

 

Nobody who has ever read on an e-ink screen will ever read books on an LCD screen.  First, you can't even see the screen if the sun is out.  Second, LCD screens flicker hundreds of times a minute...you just don't notice it, but your eyes do.  That's why computer work gives folks headaches.  

 Here's a microscope view of an LCD screen versus an e-ink screen:




Here's a magnified view of an iPad LCD screen




  




 And here it is on an e-ink screen












Plus, you can't read a book out in the sun on an LCD screen.  Go ahead, look at your camera or cell phone and try reading when the son is glaring on the screen.  On e-ink displays...no problem.

So, the bad news is that Nook Color is LCD.
But the good news is that since it is LCD instead of e-ink, I save $250.

So, no new Nookie for me.  I'd like to have color, but since I mostly read novels, black and white is just fine.  I will miss having the landscape orientation, though.  Sometimes, it's just nicer having the display wider than it is long.

Purple Power

Those folks on Facebook are always coming up with new ways to get a bunch of people to do something as a group.

We've had the "bra color for breast cancer" thing where you are only supposed to post what color your bra is (without any explanation other than posting the name of the color) and similarly the "purse placement" where you list the place in your house that you keep your purse (both of which I managed to be as sexual as possible by answering "nude" to the first one and "well, I don't like big ones, so I usually just go without" to the latter).


Today was "Wear Purple Against Homophobia."  With all the lesbians I know, I'm surprised there weren't any "purple-people-eater" comments, but maybe I'm the only one with that sick of a mind.


All four of my family members wore purple, but what surprised me was how many of my friends - married, single, gay, straight, young, and old - did the purple thing, too.  I have amazing friends!

Twilight Dreams

Two years ago, mom offered to make me a quilt.  All I had to do was pick a pattern and chose some colors and she’d do the hard stuff.  Am I lucky, or what?

What I didn’t realize was how hard it would be to find a pattern I liked.  I’m not a “traditional quilt” kind of girl and the concept of “scrap quilting” drives my brain bonkers.  I like things neat and organized and orderly (and for those of you who have seen my housekeeping abilities…hush!).

I scoured mountains of quilting magazines and books, and then I found the one I wanted.  It had the rather boring name of “Strips and Strings” or something like that.  But I fell in love with the picture.  It’s basically just a quilt that starts off in ivory/pale lavender and radiates darker towards the edges.

So, Mom started gathering material in varying shades of purple.

This is the center of the quilt.  

 

See all those strips?  

They become the individual blocks of the quilt.  I watched my mom make this thing from start to finish and I STILL can’t figure out how she could take a bunch of solid pieces of material and create this masterpiece.  She’s a quilting genius, I tell ya!

 

A few more of the darker strips going on the quilt.

The top is done!   

Since the only place big enough to pin together a queen-size quilt is the middle of our living room floor…down Mom goes to her hands and knees.  It’s awfully nice that Harmony and Melody are there to help. 

 

And of course, Harmony wants to help hand-sew the binding on the quilt, too.  (Melody’s there, too, but you can’t see her because she’s our “tunneling” cat and she’s buried herself under the quilt by Mom’s feet.)

 

And here it is…Twilight Dreams.   

Gorgeous doesn’t begin to describe it.  It’s ALMOST worth cleaning my room and making my bed occasionally just so I can admire it.