Interesting Autism Related App

by Brian Yamabe on May 15, 2012

I found an interesting app called The Social Express via Smart Apps for Kids. The app uses interactive lessons to help children and young adults develop skills they need to build relationships and navigate social situations. It sounds like it could be of great app for my PDD-NOS daughter. It’s got some great testimonials as well. The only reason I haven’t pulled the trigger yet is that it is $89.99! Right now there is a contest to win a free copy. If we don’t win it, I’ll seriously consider paying.

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Vacation/Road Trip Essential

by Brian Yamabe on May 8, 2012

This past February we went to Disneyland and stressed out the iPhones to check line lengths and text when we split up because the girls wanted to go on different rides. Typically around 2:00 PM my phone would dip below 20% and my wife’s would hit it a little later. The first day we just stayed together, but eventually a 5-year-old and 10-year-old run out of rides they can agree on. So the next day we said we’d take an afternoon break and go to the car to recharge our phones. It just so happened that we were apart and my phone was fading fast it was time for the break. We had some tense moments relaying where we were, where we were going, and I had a 5-year-old who was melting down to top it off.

So for our April trip to see The Mouse, I bought us a pair of New Trent External Batteries. Two because I figured we should have a backup even if we are split up, and to keep in each of our cars as emergency phone power. I decided on this model because it seemed to hold a good charge and the pair wouldn’t be too expensive ($45 ea.). The unit is a about the same thickness as an iPhone and a little wider. Not really small enough to fit in the same pants pocket as the phone, but easy enough in the same jacket pocket.

How did they work? Great! It was so nice to be able to not stress about the battery getting low, I just plugged in the iPhone and got a full-recharge. The device holds 2-3 phone recharges and I was even able to give a charge to someone while we were in line for Space Mountain. Since the trip, I’ve used the device several times when I’ve forgotten to charge my phone.  I’m not sure what more you could ask of a device like this.

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The Overture turned Convention Resolution

April 28, 2012

икона за подарък My proposed overture, which didn’t get out of my circuit but was submitted by a congregation within my circuit (thanks LCOS!), got through committee, made it to a floor vote, and was actually passed at the CNH District convention. It lost any teeth, which was expected, but I feel like it even lost [...]

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This is my Daughter

February 9, 2012

Sometimes I’m better at expressing myself in ways other than writing. This is one of those times. My daughter (PDD-NOS) has been having a tough time coping with setbacks, especially at school. This time has helped me to focus on who she is and not what I expect her to be and to always remember [...]

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Distinguishing Law and Gospel in Everyday Life

February 3, 2012

I’ve had a couple of conversations in the past week on the subject of abortion. One was with a friend telling me about the abortions he was involved in and another was with some people defending the right to choose abortion. The friend who was involved in the abortions was regretfully of them and said [...]

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Quiz App

January 3, 2012

художници на икони Concept: A quiz game where you compete against others. My wife loves playing “Words with Friends” (Scrabble) on her iPhone. You would select the category you want to compete in and challenge friends or random users. There would be leader boards, achievements, and the ability to post victories to Facebook and Twitter. [...]

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There is no god and that’s the simple truth.

December 22, 2011

That’s a part of an excerpt from Penn Jillette’s book that’s making the rounds in the tech blogs I read (via Daring Fireball). Here’s the full excerpt: There is no god and that’s the simple truth. If every trace of any single religion died out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created [...]

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Sermon App

December 22, 2011

Concept: An app that is like iBooks or the Kindle Reader but for sermons. Viability: The concept has proven successful in several different context. As mentioned it works for iBooks and the Kindle Reader, additional examples would be the Marvel Comics app, DC Comics app, and even Free Books. Their revenue comes from in-app purchases [...]

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App Ideas

December 21, 2011

I’m constantly trying to figure out ways to make a full blown business out of developing software that teaches and proclaims the Gospel. I’m still not sure that I can create a compelling enough application to attract enough paying customers to be able to leave my “day job” and focus just on this type of [...]

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Blessings and Curses of Being a Geek

December 16, 2011

I’m a geek and one way that this comes through is how I manage my blogs. I use a DreamHost Virtual Private Server (VPS) account to host this blog, my wife’s blog, Wittenberg Media, The Parental Office, and Joyful Games just to name a few. I do this because I can control plugins and manage podcasts and other [...]

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