Today's Hike

Panorama view from the top of the Wind Cave Trail.

Today's Hike

A crowded Saturday at the top of the Wind Cave Trail.

2 For 1 Hat Deal?

Today's Hike

View form the top of the Wind Cave Trail.

Kindle Fire

Karen and I both bought the new Kindle Fire. Here's a short review of it.

Most of the lukewarm reviews center around it not being as good as an iPad, but as one reviewer noted, it's designed for "media consumption," not "media creation." I bought mine so I don't have to carry around a large tablet and my Kindle 3. There are a lot of reviews out there for the device so here's what I personally like and dislike about it:

Likes
* Flawless integration with all of your Amazon content. If you're already committed to Amazon it's a no brainer.
* Vivid colors and a very bright screen.
* Amazon videos play without any glitches or hick-ups (unlike my Toshiba Thrive tablet.)
* Amazon app store. Nowhere near as complete as the Apple App Store or the Android Marketplace but it can only get better as millions buy a Kindle Fire.
* E-ink is nicer to read but not having to have a lamp turned on to read in low light is even nicer.
* 30 days of Amazon Prime for free. We'll be signing up ($79/year) once the free period expires. Just the access to all the free movies/TV shows makes this worth it.

Dislikes
* My main beef is the power button. They placed it on the bottom (like the Kindle 3) but it's a real button, not a rocker switch. I'm constantly hitting it while holding the Fire and turning it off or prompting a shutdown. I'm sure I'll get use to it but right now it's really annoying.
* No Bluetooth. It would have been nice to be able to use an external keyboard.
* The touchscreen isn't very exact. I have to touch above most objects rather than directly on them. Again, I'm sure I'll get use to it.
* The back of the case is slippery. You have to really grip it to keep it from sliding out of your hands while reading. Not a biggie.

Observations
* Some reviewers had a major problem with the Fire's lack of any external controls. You have to adjust the volume and other settings via on screen controls. I personally don't find that a problem.
* As a Kindle 3 replacement you give up some nice features (E-ink, freakishly long battery life and light weight) but having an almost full function tablet more than makes up for that.

Bottom line, we both REALLY LOVE our new Kindle Fires! For $199 it's pretty hard to beat.

Tempe Town Lake Bridge #1

We got our first look today at the new pedestrian bridge at the west end of Tempe Town Lake. Now we can cross the lake without having to use one of the traffic bridges that span it. Very nice improvement to an already great area!

Tempe Town Lake Bridge #2

Clear view of the bridge over the bladders that dam the west end of the lake.

Awwww!

Panorama App

I found an app for my iPhone that does panorama photography call 360Panorama. It was only $0.99 so I bought it to see what it could do. After playing around I'm fairly happy with the results. It doesn't do as good a job as my Fuji point and shoot camera's panorama function but it's more versatile. The Fuji limits you to 3 horizontal exposures per panorama. 360Panorama allows unlimited exposures, both horizontal and vertical. Here's a sample of a 360Panorama panoramic photo of Pass Mountain I took today.

Utah

On the slick rock just outside Zion National Park.