I believe they will. Why stick with a number? If you buy the latest MacBook, or MacBook Pro, or iMac it doesn’t have a number. The only real way to see the difference is by checking the specs, or periodically, the case may change design slightly.

So, my guess is that the days of the numbered iPhone are numbered!

But, I confess, that upgraditis had a major part to play in this purchase.

It was a matter of everything falling into place. Reilly’s iPad and iPhone were both dropped and needed repair/replacement. Thankfully, our home contents insurance also covers accidental damage. However, they would only accept a quote from Apple itself. So, we had to drive to Robina (between the Gold Coast and Brisbane) to visit the Apple store for a quote. We could think of nothing better to do than spend an hour and fifteen minutes driving to Robina to visit a big shopping centre the day before mothers day.

Now, you don’t just walk in to an Apple store to get a repair quote. You ring apple, and they schedule an appointment for you with someone at the ‘Genius Bar’, where one of their Geniuses will inspect your device and prepare a report. So, we had an appointment with our Genius at 11.30 in the morning. When we arrive at the Apple Store, I cannot help to be amazed at the amount of people there, and my first thought is ‘this is going to take a while!’ Then, as I look around, I notice that there seem to be a lot of people in the same blue shirt, and they are all walking around with iPads. Yes, it would seem that there are as many staff there as there are customers. Still, the seeming frenzy seems to be at odds with the entire Apple experience the store is trying to portray.

We all know Apple as the company that produces beautiful hardware with clean smooth lines, and indeed, the entire design and layout of the store reflects this. It is the amount of people all over the shop, like ants, that seem to be out of place.

Within moments of walking in, however, we are directed to the back of the store, by a lovely you lady who enters Reilly’s name into her iPad. Once we make it to the back of the shop, another staff member tells us to have a seat. ‘someone will be with you shortly’. In the meantime, our six year old daughter Lilly, gets to sit on a cute round stool playing games on an iPad. And yes, indeed someone was with us very shortly, apologizing for the wait (what wait?), and promptly got on with the business of checking Reilly’s iPad and iPhone out. They were both deemed beyond economical repair (an insurance term used to indicate that it would be cheaper to replace then to repair) and the report was printed. All done very efficiently and friendly.

Still, how does that answer the question of how ‘things fell into place?’ Well, that Friday, a friend rang me wanting to know where to best buy an iPad second hand. I mentioned he might want to buy mine. He said he’d love to. So, armed with the knowledge of the fact I could sell my iPad for a certain amount, I suggested to Reilly, on the way to Robina (one has to pick the right moment for bringing up these things), that I upgrade. It was decided I would do what I felt was best, and so I did.

Back at the store, where we had just finished getting the damage reports, I then spoke to another friendly chap in a blue apple shirt and indicated my desire to become the owner of a new iPad. He was more than happy to assist me in fulfilling this desire and started happily tapping away on his iPad. I was told to wait for a minute and ‘someone will be out with your iPad.’ And lo and behold, within a minute, another blue clad Apple man came out with my new iPad. I was then led to the cash register where I was kindly relieved of the required funds, congratulated with my purchase and wished a very nice remainder of my day.

The point of this, somewhat long winded story is, even when faced with a large crowd, not at all reminiscent of the minimalist Apple approach we are used to, the efficiency on display is phenomenal at the Apple store. Their entire customer experience while there feels like it has the same ‘it just works’ approach that their products have! And that is an achievement in itself.

Which brings me to the other part of my Apple experience. The iPad (not 3). So, I had an iPad already. Is the upgrade worth it? Yes it is. In my opinion, the third iteration of the iPad is what the iPad 2 should have been in some ways, but nonetheless a worthy upgrade. From the moment you power the thing up, it becomes clear why Apple still dominates the tablet market. No one comes close to building a device of such high quality and specs at that price point. Here we have a device which runs for about 10 hours straight (or a couple of days regular use), has a display with a 2048 by 1536 pixel resolution (that is 3.1 million pixels in a 9.7 inch screen), a dual core processor and a quad core graphics chip, bluetooth, WiFi a 5 megapixel camera with full HD movie recording, just to name a few features and all this at a price of AUD $539!

The first thing that blows you away when you turn the new iPad on is the screen. It is simply a marvel to look at. How they’ve managed to create that same retina display we love on our iPhone 4 and upwards on a 9.7 inch screen and still have the response be so smooth, simply baffles me. This screen is so sharp, you cannot see see the individual pixels. When reading text, it looks as sharp as it does in print, if not sharper. When using apps that are optimized to take advantage of the screen resolution, there is simply nothing to compare it with. It is astounding.

The iPad response is smooth and fast. There is no lag.

The camera, is in my opinion as much of a positive upgrade as the screen is. The iPad 2 simply was disappointing when it came to the camera resolution. It was fine for things like Skype, but horrible for anything else. The new 5mp camera not only has a higher resolution, but the optics seem to have also radically improved, providing a much better overall result. And what’s more is that you can now do the full 1080p video recording.

Now, yes, at $539, this is still a considerable amount of money and I have been very lucky in that I was able to on-sell my old iPad at a decent rate so my upgrade didn’t end up costing me nearly that much (yes the iPad retains it’s value very well, so you can easily sell it online and get a decent return). But face it, no other manufacturer has been able to match this price and deliver even close to the performance and quality.

Then there is the App Store with hundreds of thousands of apps, both free and paid apps, to add productivity to this device.

I’m a die-hard Windows user, and will continue to use Windows on my laptop (although the Windows 8 preview version has so far left me greatly underwhelmed). But the fact is, that I barely use my laptop anymore and I can only see this use decline with the latest iPad.

Anything still on my wish list? Memory. I’d love to see the option to add memory using an sd card. But, honestly. I’m a happy customer!

It’s hard to believe that around this time 10 years ago, I was preparing frantically to get all my paperwork in order, sort out visa’s and flights back to Australia, while finishing up work. Ready to get married and move to Darwin. Now ten years later, living in beautiful Byron Bay with my wife and daughter, one cat and 3 chooks. For our ten year anniversary, we are planning to go and stay with Shane and Lydia, up near the Whitsundays. Meanwhile, my baby sister is getting married. Time sure does fly!

In fact, it has been very busy.

Needless to say, we had Dad and Karin here for quite a while, but they have now left and are in Darwin.

Over the past few weeks, the mice have been relocated and we are now a mouse free house.

Chook Pen

Since we were now mouse free, it was time to get some pets we actually would like to have. And that is chooks. Ever since we left Eureka, we have missed having chooks. They are a lovely pet to have and as a bonus reward you with beautiful fresh eggs. What more can you ask?!

So, it was decided that the bottom section of the cubby house I built for Lilly, would be converted into a chook pen. With all hand on deck, we transformed it over the past few weeks. Even Dad and Karin chipped in. We created a nice roost for the chooks and a laying box. Then we ended up putting chicken wire all around the bottom section. We cut a hole in the side of the cubby to allow the chooks to get from inside the pen into another steel framed section, which Gary Perram found for us at the side of the road (nice score Gazza!). I also cut a hole in the steel frame to allow the chooks to get in, This section is detached from the actual cubby, so it can be moved to allow for the chooks to enjoy pecking away at the various sections of lawn, while protected from the bush turkeys that are around (they can get quite aggressive with chooks).

Then, last but certainly not least, the chooks arrived. Two brown and one black chook. They are lovely. Still a bit shy, but no doubt that won’t last very long!

The chook pen

ANNIVERSARY

On the 28th of March, Dad and Karin had their 9th anniversary. So we decided we needed to plan something for them. As such, we organised to have Sean’s warehouse for that Friday (30th of March). Reilly put a tremendous effort into converting the warehouse to reflect a nice retro beach theme. She put up a pergola, hired tablecloths and tables, bought beautiful fresh produce, and made a lovely dinner. The whole place had candles lit, we hired nice lighting, and Reilly even bought some second hand chairs and painted them in mixed colors. It looked fantastic. Unfortunately the pictures do not do it justice.

To make it a nice evening we invited the Penfolds and the McTavishes to join us.

We also prepared a bit of a cabaret style show. Myles and I prepared a 3 hour performance. We each did half hour sessions in turn, while the guests had their pre dinner drinks and then leisurely moved onto their dinner and dessert.

It was a night of old crooner style and swing style music with a bit of Elvis mixed in. Everybody had a blast. Especially when we went into our rendition of ‘Me and My Shadow’, the old Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. classic. A lovely nite indeed!

Myles and Seb after a successful performance

BLUESFEST

For an extra bonus, I had free access to all areas during this year’s annual Byron Bay Bluesfest. This is a huge event every year and I’ve been dying to see a couple of acts this year. So on Friday night I took Dad to see Crosby, Stills and Nash. Now these guys have been around for decades now. Having teamed up with Neil Young for couple of years (’69-’70 and ’74 and for the album Looking Forward in ’99), they continued on as CSN for the larger part of their careers while also having very successful solo careers. These guys are definitely getting older (Crosby and Nash both 70 and Stills 67), but don’t for one moment think that they are past it!

Stills’ voice is not what it used to be, but in the harmonies, his deep voice add a beautiful balance to the higher pitched beauty of the harmony that exists between Nash and Crosby. And his guitar playing is second to none!

Their performance was without a doubt one of the best performances I have seen in a long time! When Crosby performed ‘Almost Cut My Hair” he showed his voice was still as powerful as ever and if anything, has gained more depth with age.

And Nash’s voice still has that beautiful polished feel about it.

What impressed me most though, is the fact that these guys looked like they really enjoyed themselves up there. After all these years, they still seem to enjoy entertaining the crowds. The mark of true entertainers.

Not the best photo (iPhone), but that’s them.

That then brings me to Monday and John Fogerty. Again, at 66 not the youngest. While his stage presence may not be as good as CSN (I felt it took him quite a while to get a bit of a decent interaction with the audience going), we were there listening to him performing for almost two hours and I was blown away by the sheer amount of songs this man wrote and had hits with. You don’t really think about it, but most of his songs didn’t go for much longer than three minutes, yet he kept on playing hit after hit. Songs to which we all knew the lyrics. His contribution to music is remarkable. And to be up there, singing songs with that penetrating voice of his for two hours without skipping a beat, that is astonishing.

And then there is his guitar playing. It seemed that every song he played, he had a different guitar, from a Goldtop Les Paul, to a Telecaster (which seemed to have been modified with a stratocaster pickup) to his weird baseball bat shaped guitar. At some stage he even brought out a Rickenbacker. With each and every guitar, he managed to get those true Creedence sounds out of them.

Needless to say, I had a ripper of a weekend!

LEAH

Early next week, Leah, Sean’s girlfriend, will be coming to stay with us. She’ll be living in our garage for a while, until they decide to take the plunge I guess.

So, that’s it for now. Over and out!

Have moved it to a new server.

So, very reluctantly, I went along. The reluctance was partly due to the fact that firstly I was limited to doing the one thing I don’t want to be typecast as, and secondly, there was very poor communication from the organizers prior to the evening, so I really didn’t quite know what was expected of me.

Anyway, it turned out to be a brilliant night. The Beatles were not so great, but Myles and I had a great time, and what’s more, we really got everyone involved. They were all enjoying themselves. Since there was quite a bit of time for us to sing, we decided on some impromptu duets. Songs like, Me and My Shadow, You Can’t Take That Away From Me, etc…

The joviality of our interaction during those duets really seemed to strike a chord with the audience. So much so, that the organizers have now decided to do another event, and have just Myles and I as the line-up. But at least now I am free to expand the repertoire, so I can venture away from the Elvis songs.

So there you have it. It is what it is! No there are no aspirations. No it’s not going to be innovative exciting new music, but hey, it’s gonna be fun. Two guys get to do what they love doing. Sing and entertain an audience.

It’s great to have people of all ages enjoy our performance. They come to have a nice night out, and we get to contribute to them having a good time, with some enjoyable music. A win-win situation.

Just don’t ask me to do a wedding, okay!

Needless to say, this left them less then impressed. Thankfully, Qantas got their bags sent straight away and they have now got them. IT MUST BE NICE TO HAVE CLEAN UNDIES AGAIN!

Hmmm, sounds like the lyrics of a song.……

Anyway, yes it has, yet again been a while since I last posted anything on my blog. Three weeks in fact. Naturally, Having Reilly away for 12 days meant I got busy simply caring for Lilly. She had her first day back at school and enjoys her new class.

Her best little friends from last year are in the same class, and she gets to sit next to her best friend Mali.

Lilly and I had a great time together. She did miss her Mum, especially in the evenings, but overall, we enjoyed some nice father-daughter bonding. Having the CO visit coincide with all this did make it somewhat hectic, but we made it through ok.

The mice we got from Karen and John are definitely a boy and girl, because, while Reilly was away, they had babies!!!

The proud mum and dad!

and the babies

Baby mice are really ugly when they are first born! But, two weeks on they are very cute. We will be getting rid of any boys though, as we really aren’t that keen on having 12 mice in a few weeks time!!!!

Last Sunday, we took a bike ride to the same spot Kellie and Cam took us to. Lilly got all dressed up in her pink outfit. She has got this hideous bike helmet. Pink with a little silver colored tiara attached at the top! Arggghhh. But hey, at that age I guess it’s still cute.

Lilly the pink!

We have now installed the sliding doors in the garage, in preparation for when Dad and Karin arrive. They’ll have a nice glass sliding door and a screen door instead of having to look at a garage roller door all the time.

Since Dad told me that they’re a couple of ‘old timers’ now and they’ll be veggying out a lot, we are having Austar installed for a few months. The Austar guy gave us a no commitment cheap deal, so we can decide to cancel it again anytime. But it’ll be nice for Dad to be able to watch his sports and Discovery Channel.

We’ll be getting the barbie ready for them and I’m sure they will enjoy some nice time at the beach also.

READ HERE

Both Reilly and Lilly were very emotional this morning. Reilly, because she was leaving us behind, and Lilly because she is stuck with me for 11 days!

This Monday school starts and so Lilly will be at school from 9 till 3.30. I’ve arranged to leave work everyday at 3, so we’ll be just fine.

It is currently hovering between –10 and –20 degrees Celsius in Massachusetts, so they better put on some warm clothes when they get there. I expect many snowy pictures!