2 lb beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small jar/can mushrooms
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I use 1 can [...]]]> Looking to get more use out of our slow cooker, I found this beef stroganoff recipe. Chris and I have made it a few times and it comes out GREAT!

2 lb beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small jar/can mushrooms
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I use 1 can and a half cup of milk)
1 packet Lipton onion soup mix (I use store brand)
1/2 cup sour cream (stirred in at the end)

Combine all ingredients except sour cream, cook in slow cooker on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. For immediate meal, add sour cream. I usually make 2 batches and freeze one before I add the sour cream. Serve over buttered noodles or rice.

He was born on Friday, August 6th at 11:59pm. He was a healthy 9 pounds 7 ounces and 20 inches long (or is it tall) at birth.

He was born at Fairview General – the same hospital that I was born at, 3 [...]]]> Please join me in welcoming Grayson Kurt Clemens into this world!

He was born on Friday, August 6th at 11:59pm. He was a healthy 9 pounds 7 ounces and 20 inches long (or is it tall) at birth.

He was born at Fairview General – the same hospital that I was born at, 3 of 4 of my siblings were born at, and my Mom was born at. Everyone there was absolutely wonderful to us and Grayson. The nurses were sad to see us go. We are off to a great start because of them. I couldn’t have imagined Chris or Grayson receiving any better care.

We are now on day 7 of life and everyone is recovering as expected and Grayson is nearly back to his birth weight.

While on the post-partum floor, I overheard another father on the phone talking to his employer, thanking him for allowing a few extra days off while he was caring for his wife and child. I was reminded of how thankful I am to have such a wonderful staff at Acroment who have taken care of things while I was away.

Thank you Tom, Erik, Ian, Tony, Tim and Elizabeth for taking such good care of things so that I could spend that time with my new family!!

HD [...]]]> Personally, I don’t see a 3D TV in my future. I am quite happy with my Samsung LCD TV we bought a couple of years ago. But this post does a good job of giving some background and technical details about this latest home theatre technology. Click the link below to read more.

HD 101: 3D FAQ — Engadget

I have never [...]]]> Yesterday, I picked up a shiney new 32GB wifi iPad. And as predicted by a few, including myself, it is truely an XXL version of the iPod touch. In fact I am typing this post from it as a test of the keyboard (which Steve Jobs claims is pleasure to type on).

I have never owned a iPod touch or an iPhone… So someof my impressions are influenced by several technologies which other people are already familiar with.

In brief, the application of a cell phone (based) operating system into this form factor is the true revolution here. Having the power of small laptop, with better than basic features, in this package is a leap in the right direction. This delivers a computing experience closer to what a netbook should deliver without the bulk or the lure of trying to do too much with so little (speaking about people who try to use a netbook as a laptop replacement).

The iPad is clearly not a replacement computer. For starters, you cannot use it without first plugging it into a computer. Secondly, it’s size and shape doesn’t confuse users about the intent of the device – to supplement your most common everyday computing needs.

This device isn’t for everyone. If you already have an iPod touch or iPhone, I can’t see spending the extra money to simply have a larger screen unless you absolutely have to have it.

My hope is that the iPad encourages other companies to produce similar devices… Ones that are lighter and faster or more customizable for business use. If a competing Android (Google) and/or Microsoft Windows Series 7 (mobile OS) device isn’t released in the next year, it would be a real shame for those companies (having not yet seen Windows S7, I am hoping for a solid google offering)

This is so promising, that I think slate computers will become must have devices for knowledge workers in the next 7 years. But this generation iPad is not mature enough to last.

Ok – I haven’t yet mastered the keyboard to make edits to already typed text, so I am finishing this post on my PC. Steve Jobs was right – the keyboard is a pleasure to type on – even at fast speeds (I can type about 90wpm on a keyboard, I’d guess about 50wpm on the iPad).

What would I change about the iPad? For starters – go on a diet. The device feels heavy (perhaps because I used a Kindle for several months). Second, provide some kind of multi-way switch for finer cursor navigation (a common gripe I have about touch-only interfaces). Finally, make it faster – my Android phone switched windows and accepted input much much faster than this. I’m not sure if that is a hardware or software issue.

If you have or are considering the purchase of a Solid State Hard drive (SSD) – you may want to read it over.

TweakTown’s Solid State Drive Optimization Guide Introduction :: TweakTown

Based on the press coverage I think Apple [...]]]> So the word for today is iPad. After years of speculation and countless rumors, Steve Jobs at Apple announced today the birth of the iPad. Actually, it may be more accurate to say that the iPhone has evolved into the iPad – almost.

Based on the press coverage I think Apple fans have a lot to be disappointed about with this device. I also think that besides the new form factor – Apple is really playing it safe and hasn’t done much to truly inspire people with something new and exciting (yet).

Here is a compilation of stories and information which I have reviewed and based my opinions on:

• The operating system isn’t the same as the iPhone -but it isn’t OS.x either
• 10″ Multi-Touch screen
• Pricing will be $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32BG, and $699 for 64GB includes WiFi (similar to the iPod Touch)
• Optional 3G Cellular wireless is $130 extra and will give you access to AT&T Cellular for $29.99/month for unlimited data access
• Users can download any existing iPhone applications. Applications can run in a iPhone size window or can utilize the whole screen
• A special iPad Software Development Kit (SDK) will be available for developers to write new apps just for the iPad
• The WiFi only model will be available in March, the 3g version will be available in April
• The iPad will sync with your computer via iTunes in the same way your iPhone or iPod does
• http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/apple-ipad-first-hands-on/
• http://www.apple.com/ipad/

I would not go so far as to call this device a failure, but I think this has fallen very short of revolutionary. Here’s why:

1. Let me remind you that the iPod and iPhone STILL do not have a user replaceable battery – neither does the iPad
2. It took the iPhone 3 years to get even the simplest of features like copy/paste and MMS. The iPad doesn’t run multiple applications at once (no multi-tasking).
3. No camera on the device. No video conferencing for you. No cool camera/scanner/face recognition option like the Dell Latitude Z
4. With everything that this device does -WHY NOT have Cell Phone capabilities? You could take the Sim card out of your iPhone, plop it into the iPad and use a bluetooth headset.
5. I think they could have made the bezel (the black area around the screen) smaller. It would be 10x cooler if the screen went closer to the edge of the device.
6. Cellular Data service is only available through AT&T… and we all know how big their network isn’t.
7. Did I mention no multi-tasking?

What I think makes the iPad cool:

1. From the Apple marketing video, the interface does look very cool for performing every day computing tasks (email, calendar etc).
2. The form factor is cool. Thin=Win
3. In my opinion, is a more friendly option than a Netbook for a secondary computer system
4. The Hi-Res screen does look really awesome
5. 10 hour battery life (they note that this is while using WiFi, expect less with 3G Cellular enabled.). Also – it will be interesting to see what the capacity is after 1 year

 

In conclusion:

I think that all of the hype this device has stirred up, and the lack of some really cool features will open the door for other companies to enter this market (quickly). At CES this year, there were a lot of new devices which had a tablet look and feel. I would not be surprised if other Mobile Operating Systems show up on similar devices (Android, WebOS, and Windows Mobile 7), lets hope they are already working on this stuff. Do I want an iPad?Yes – but I think that is just the nerd in me. Will I spend MY money on one – NO. I will wait to see what other venders release and what other enhancements Apple has in store for iPad 2.0

I’ll update this post with real-world hands on video when I find one.

This should be interesting… I will report back my thoughts and impressions.

Can you stump Microsoft’s Windows experts?