My Personal Blog

My Must Have Apps for iPad

admin — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:05:59 +0000

The iPad interface and its ease of operation is out of this world. Personally, the thing I enjoy the most about it is the convenience of picking it up and boom it’s on as needed. I read somewhere there are more than 200,000 apps for the iPad. We’ve tried many of them and here are a few of my favorites. By all means, if you know of a better one, I welcome your input. In my opinion, the following are must haves if you have an iPad.

Remote

I have a media centre hooked up to my A/V system. With iTunes installed, this app allows me to control and browse my music from the iPad. There is also a Dj feature allowing your guests to select their preferred music in sequence. I really enjoy this app.
Flipboard

Remarkable content organized by topic. You may also configure Facebook feeds with this app. My other favorite sections within this app are Bloomberg and Tech.
StumbleUpon

I do enjoy surfing the net. Once configured, this app helps me surf the net based on my specified interests. I often come across neat stuff with it. It also gives me the capability to share with my Facebook friends.
TED

Very compelling speakers with diverse topics of interest. A great platform for Scientists, poets and all sort of interesting people to listen to.
Pulse

Once configured, it organizes News in a very intuitive fashion. Well organized with sliders based on your interests.
PopSugar

If you’re into keeping abreast with tabloids and your favorite stars. Like my wife, you will enjoy this one.
Starwalk

Your kids and friends will fight for this one once you show off this app. The technology is amazing in that while pointing the iPad to any angle up to the sky, it recognizes constellations and stars. I will also help you with a search for any stars, satellites and constellation. This app is lot of fun. I highly recommend it.
Google Earth

My friends, my colleagues will tell you, I am obsessed with Google Earth. And the newest version for iPad works with kmz files!
Dropbox

A must have if you own an iPad. This free app give you access to all your personal files stored in a cloud. A great organizer for your personal forms and information.
Panorama360

Neat application in that it stitches photos you take with your iPad to create a panoramic picture.
Houzz

Gorgeous decorated interiors, fun to browse. And save the ones you like in your own idea book.
U-verse

If U-verse is your cable provider and you have an iPad, this app is a must have. Little tricky in configuring up cable tv receivers, but well worth the effort. Once set up, your iPad becomes your remote to browse and view channels. Neat!
Skitch

Excellent design and simple to annotate your photos and maps. Draw arrows, polygons, rectangles and text on your photos and maps. Very cool.
Numbers

You don’t realize how useful this app is until you download it. I import all my excel worksheets and access files into it. A little cumbersome at first to learn, but indispensable in my opinion.
Pages

You should have a word processor on your iPad.
File Explorer

Clean and intuitive interface to manage content in my dropbox and google docs.
Penultimate

Write with your fingers. Simple enough!

Check back here occasionally as I intend to keeping you up to date with my findings. By all means, if you come across a great app worth mention, please share.

The Mitsubishi LT-55265 – 55″ Unisen LED TV

admin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 03:35:09 +0000

You don’t hear much about or see too many Mitsubichi TVs. But I had the pleasure of setting up a couple of these for friends and family. I am most impressed with its integrated 18 speaker array with immersive sound technology which will envelop you in sound. The Mitsubishi LT-55265 – 55″ Unisen LED TV has all the features you’d want in a modern television. You may hook up a wireless sub-woofer. It is an option I highly recommend to make this set up complete. The quality of the sound is rich without the need of additional equipment and cumbersome wires found in traditional home theater systems. Perfect set up for an apartment.

In addition, this wonderful piece of technology gives you the capability to interface with the internet to check out your Facebook wall for instance. It also offers Stream TV via the internet. One of my friend communicate with the unit with their laptop. It is Bluetooth enabled. Stream your music from your iPhone. They absolutely love it. An awesome TV, I highly recommend it.

Coral Gables – City Beautiful to discover. You owe it to yourself.

chrisbasick — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:57:28 +0000

There are many reasons why my wife and I enjoy living in Coral Gables so much. If you’re looking to move to South Florida, you must look into Coral Gables. I hope this will give you a perspective that warrants your attention to this paradise where we live. Here are a few reasons of many why we love our City beautiful…

The design of the Biltmore Hotel was inspired by the Giralda Tower at the Cathedral of Seville. 350 rooms, with a fifteen-story tower, and two massive seven-story wings. Famous for its pool built to hold 1,250,000 gallons with more than 20,000 sqft. The Tower is visible from as far away as downtown Miami. The Hotel opened in 1926. You must have Sunday Brunch here.

Venetian Pool – A sixty thousand-square-foot, eight-hundred-thousand gallon swimming pool. Would you believe this is a former rock quarry excavated for many of the early homes built in Coral Gables including our City Hall. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was inaugurated in 1924.

Our beautiful City Hall, also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It features a rotunda patterned after the Philadelphia Mercantile Exchange. The structure was completed in 1928.

George Merrick, founder of our City Beautiful grew up in this house. It is open to the Public for tours. It is located at 907 Coral Way. A must see.

Coral Gables has over five miles of Biscayne Bay Frontage and approximately forty miles of lot frontage (+- 12 miles of canal in the City) on its inland waterway system.

The magnificent De Soto fountain. I make it a point to drive by here everyday on my way to the office. It is currently undergoing extensive renovation at a cost of more than $750k.

The Coral Gables War Memorial Youth Center. Children and Adults alike enjoy a variety of programs and activities. The center includes a small theatre, gymnasium, teaching kitchen, a fitness center, indoor playground, and an athletic complex which includes a football field, two soccer fields, three baseball/softball fields, outdoor basketball courts, and a playground.

The new Coral Gables Trolley service began in November, 2003.
It is free, and a very pleasant way of getting around. I never have to wait for more than 15 minutes for a ride. When in need to go Miami Downtown, the trolley will take me to Metrorail and I am in Downtown in less then thirty minutes with no hassle.

I have just completed my quaterly survey of the Coral Gables real estate market. This will give you a good sense of what real estate values are like in our City Beautiful.

The best Bar-B-Q Ribs

chrisbasick — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:30:53 +0000

All right folks, judging from the traffic generated on this blog, I see many of you seem to enjoy food related topics. So, here is another one for you. This one is a crowd pleaser. The recipe is simple and easy to do. The ironic thing about this is that I got this recipe came from a PHD scientist in University of Montreal. It goes to say, simplicity is bliss. So please, give this one a try, you and your guests won’t be disappointed, I guarantee it.

BarBQ Ribs Canadian Style
Recipe courtesy my cousin Pierre Drapeau

Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

5/7 pounds Ribs (I usually get a package Baby back ribs at Costo)
5 garlic cloves crushed
1 medium onion sliced finely
3/4 cup fresh Ginger peeled and grated
1/2 cup chili sauce (you’ll find it in the ketchup ailse)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tbspn crushed red pepper
2 cups ginger ale

Preheat BarBQ grill, Preheat oven 350
Season ribs with salt and pepper
Grill ribs with frequent turning until meat turn a nice golden brown, 20-30 minutes
Prepare marinade with all ingredients (except ribs) in a large bowl and mix well.
Place ribs in a roasting pan, submerge entirely with marinade and cover (aluminum foil will do nicely)
Put in 350 degrees oven for 1hr 30 minutes
Set aside the rack of ribs and put marinade through a sift, I use a wood spoon to facilitate the process.
Cook for 20 minutes or so on the grill with frequent basting with reserved sauce.
by then, the meat falls of the bone and is succulent, guaranteed to please.

Corn on cobs is a great compliment to this dish.

Beef Bourginion

chrisbasick — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:50:28 +0000

I love to cook. Especially when in need to relax a little bit. Cooking is my therapy, if I had an especially difficult day, I’ll take over the kitchen and make it my sanctuary. Plus, I draw great satisfaction in pleasing family and friends with my new found skills. I enjoy watching the food channel and more so surfing the net for new recipes. My father owned a successful French restaurant; my mother is an accomplished chef. We all love to eat. Here is one of my latest try, I made this beef bourguignon for some friends, every one liked it, and they really liked it. So, give it a shot, surprise someone this week end. The recipe is simple and easy to make. Let me know how it went.

Beef Bourguignon
Recipe courtesy my Mom

Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 2 hour 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 15 minutes Yield: 4 to 6 servings

2 pounds beef stew cubed
1 cup all purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp Butter
1 med onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced and finely chopped
3 carrots roughly chopped
3 cups mushrooms
2 cups frozen package perl onions
2 cups of dry red wine
2 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
1 Tbsp Thyme

Serving suggestion: with new potatoes or egg noodles and crusty bread.

Season flour with salt and pepper, roll beef cubes in flour and shake off excess flour.
Melt a tbsp butter combine with equal amount olive oil in casserole (a creuset works great here).
Brown meat on all sides on med heat, do so in different batches if need be. Take out beef and set aside.
Brown chopped onions, garlic and carrots on med heat for more less 7 minutes. Poor in red wine and deglaze bottom of casserole with wood spoon. Let wine cook and reduce for few minutes (5 to 8 min seems to do the trick). Poor in beef stock and put back reserved beef. Add thyme and perl onions. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook for two hours. Saute mushrooms in butter and add to casserrole near end of cooking time. Let cool and skim surplus oil from the top.