Well it is now autumn in the UK. Winds are picking up. Leaves falling everywhere. Temps dropping slightly, but not too bad. Maybe I'm just adjusted to it now. :)
This time of year from Oct to Christmas always seems a bit manic. Lots of new things with kids and school. Birthdays galore in November. Then we're back to the states for Christmas! Yeah! Hopefully we'll see some snow and get some skiing, sledding, snowmobiling, and ice skating in. Whew.
I have done no letterboxing at all since my last trip to Dartmoor. And haven't ventured out for geocaches for a while now. I'm not even sure I'll be the fall meet in Dartmoor this year. It gets dark so early around here in the winter - like 4pm - that it really hits into your available time.
As I've reported on one of my last few entries, I've gotten really involved with Second Life in my spare time. I thought it was initially like The Sims and mostly for 20yr olds. But there is the whole spectrum of people there from every walk of life finding their interests. I think I must be so drawn to it because I really love visual communications. Graphics and printing are my background so I'm just in my element with SL. I've decided to write more about my adventures there, but couldn't decide it I wanted to clog up this blog or not. I've finally decided to keep this blog as it, and create a new one. So, if you want to keep up with my Second Life, check out: ripleysaunders.blogspot.com
Finally, a website I've found to be enjoyable to read: www.darkroastedblend.com. No, its not about coffee. It just has the sort of 'bits and bobs' (as we say around here) I like. Check it out and see what you think.
Tuesday 23 September 2008
Friday 12 September 2008
Madonna!
After 20+ yrs of Madonna, I finally got to see her in concert. Yeah! 
A long trek with delays to Wembley Stadium in N London via Waterloo (remember what I said before, 'all trains lead to Waterloo') and we finally arrived - completely missing the opening act.. Whatever it was. We had good seats. Madonna was great. 
Obviously working out 12hrs a day by her looks. She sang, danced, played the guitar numerous times (does she REALLY play?), and chatted to the audience off and on. We were there nearly 2hrs. The only thing I didn't like was this trend with 40+ celebs - they feel the need to suddenly loudly voice all of their social, political, environmental, etc. beliefs. Many of her new songs were of this vein. Yawn. But other than that, a great show. And they had the roof open which was really great - even after all the rain we had, it stayed clear last night. 
And, while waiting for her start, a scan around the stadium revealed a few notables: Fergie, Gweneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson and Penelope Cruz.
Good to see all the Americans in attendence. :)
A long trek with delays to Wembley Stadium in N London via Waterloo (remember what I said before, 'all trains lead to Waterloo') and we finally arrived - completely missing the opening act.. Whatever it was. We had good seats. Madonna was great. 
Obviously working out 12hrs a day by her looks. She sang, danced, played the guitar numerous times (does she REALLY play?), and chatted to the audience off and on. We were there nearly 2hrs. The only thing I didn't like was this trend with 40+ celebs - they feel the need to suddenly loudly voice all of their social, political, environmental, etc. beliefs. Many of her new songs were of this vein. Yawn. But other than that, a great show. And they had the roof open which was really great - even after all the rain we had, it stayed clear last night. 
And, while waiting for her start, a scan around the stadium revealed a few notables: Fergie, Gweneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson and Penelope Cruz.
Good to see all the Americans in attendence. :)
Sunday 7 September 2008
Putting Your DVD Movies on Your iPhone
Time out for 'TeamKing's Technical Corner'. This episode reviews some software that allows you to put your DVDs on your iPhone to watch.
Since I already listen to my music, podcasts, downloaded TV shows, and one or two purchased movies on the iPhone, the next step was getting my own DVD collection on it. Obviously the memory can't handle tons of movies on these phones, but you can certainly put a few on there. I have about 3 or 4 on mine now along with a few hundred songs. It all fits.
Anyway, putting a movie on the iPhone requires some software to make all the conversions and get the correct file type. I've tried a few different programs. The problem is always the ease of use - most just seem to be a bit complicated. I hate software where I have to go to the manual or users guide to figure out or remember how to use it! Boo.
Finally, I ran across this software and it works like a charm. . .Aimersoft DVD Ripper. It costs $39 but you can use the trial copy which stamps the words 'Evaluation Copy' over the movie if you want to try it first. Since I have a Mac, I was glad to find it work
s with both PCs and Macs. The best part is that it is so easy to use.
Open up the program.
Insert your DVD movie into your computer. The program will automatically scan the disk.
Then it gives you a quick how to on the screen:
Check over the files on the DVD (this is where I like to delete anything but the movie!)
Check the Profile at the bottom reads: iPhone 3G Video MPEG (mp4)
Put in a title if you want.
Then click Convert.
Viola! The program copies the dvd to a mp4 file.
Now you have to get it to your phone.
If you have an iPhone, you must have iTunes. (No if, ands, or buts. Get iTunes.)
Open up iTunes and drag your file into the Movies folder.
That's it!
Now, next time you sync your phone, your movie file will transfer to your phone for you to watch under the iPod icon.
Enjoy!
Since I already listen to my music, podcasts, downloaded TV shows, and one or two purchased movies on the iPhone, the next step was getting my own DVD collection on it. Obviously the memory can't handle tons of movies on these phones, but you can certainly put a few on there. I have about 3 or 4 on mine now along with a few hundred songs. It all fits.
Anyway, putting a movie on the iPhone requires some software to make all the conversions and get the correct file type. I've tried a few different programs. The problem is always the ease of use - most just seem to be a bit complicated. I hate software where I have to go to the manual or users guide to figure out or remember how to use it! Boo.
Finally, I ran across this software and it works like a charm. . .Aimersoft DVD Ripper. It costs $39 but you can use the trial copy which stamps the words 'Evaluation Copy' over the movie if you want to try it first. Since I have a Mac, I was glad to find it work
s with both PCs and Macs. The best part is that it is so easy to use.Open up the program.
Insert your DVD movie into your computer. The program will automatically scan the disk.
Then it gives you a quick how to on the screen:
Check over the files on the DVD (this is where I like to delete anything but the movie!)
Check the Profile at the bottom reads: iPhone 3G Video MPEG (mp4)
Put in a title if you want.
Then click Convert.
Viola! The program copies the dvd to a mp4 file.
Now you have to get it to your phone.
If you have an iPhone, you must have iTunes. (No if, ands, or buts. Get iTunes.)
Open up iTunes and drag your file into the Movies folder.
That's it!
Now, next time you sync your phone, your movie file will transfer to your phone for you to watch under the iPod icon.
Enjoy!
Tuesday 2 September 2008
New Fun & Games
Well, the end of summer is here at last. School starts back this week. I'm another year older. And we're starting year 2 of living in England. Whew.
Summer vacation was 2 wks of fun. We did Disneyland Paris for 4 days. Then back in the UK, we went to: Legoland, Chessington World of Adventure, Coral Reef in Bracknell, Drusillas Park, the London Eye, and the London Zoo. I think of this group, our fav was Chessington. It had the most rides which seems to be the biggest kick.
For my birthday, I got one of the new iPhone 3Gs. Yeah! I really loved my Palm, but this iPhone is cool. I just found some of the new geocaching applications for it, so once I'm up to speed I'll report back on that and let you know how it goes.
And for even more fun & games, I've really gotten into Second Life. (If you haven't tried this before, you should definately give it a go. This is where many future games, socials, and business will head - into the virtual world. Doesn't cost anything to start. But you will spend some money on all the extras down the road - only if you want - like clothes and such.) I'm really enjoying it - have found and/or tried: scuba diving, skydiving, golf, horseback riding, yacht/sailing, cars, pubs, searching for the Loch Ness Monster, skiing, skating, flying helicopters & planes, RPGs of various sorts like Harry Potter/Hogwarts, finding worlds withing this world like mermaids, elfs, gors, etc., and visiting cities from around the world and then going to 'Washington' to discuss politics. Oh, and driving around on my chopper. lol. I mean, it is endless! A neat way to meet people, or just wander about on your own exploring which is more my speed. And celebs are slowly getting into the action - U2, Aerosmith, tons of new bands, and various politicians and others all have been there.
I've tried finding both a letterbox and a geocache in Second Life. More about that in another post.
So. . .its all fun and games for TeamKing - as always. Anything fun happening your way? Let me know if you have any comments on iPhone or SL. Would love to hear from you!
Summer vacation was 2 wks of fun. We did Disneyland Paris for 4 days. Then back in the UK, we went to: Legoland, Chessington World of Adventure, Coral Reef in Bracknell, Drusillas Park, the London Eye, and the London Zoo. I think of this group, our fav was Chessington. It had the most rides which seems to be the biggest kick.
For my birthday, I got one of the new iPhone 3Gs. Yeah! I really loved my Palm, but this iPhone is cool. I just found some of the new geocaching applications for it, so once I'm up to speed I'll report back on that and let you know how it goes.
And for even more fun & games, I've really gotten into Second Life. (If you haven't tried this before, you should definately give it a go. This is where many future games, socials, and business will head - into the virtual world. Doesn't cost anything to start. But you will spend some money on all the extras down the road - only if you want - like clothes and such.) I'm really enjoying it - have found and/or tried: scuba diving, skydiving, golf, horseback riding, yacht/sailing, cars, pubs, searching for the Loch Ness Monster, skiing, skating, flying helicopters & planes, RPGs of various sorts like Harry Potter/Hogwarts, finding worlds withing this world like mermaids, elfs, gors, etc., and visiting cities from around the world and then going to 'Washington' to discuss politics. Oh, and driving around on my chopper. lol. I mean, it is endless! A neat way to meet people, or just wander about on your own exploring which is more my speed. And celebs are slowly getting into the action - U2, Aerosmith, tons of new bands, and various politicians and others all have been there.
I've tried finding both a letterbox and a geocache in Second Life. More about that in another post.
So. . .its all fun and games for TeamKing - as always. Anything fun happening your way? Let me know if you have any comments on iPhone or SL. Would love to hear from you!
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