Season Greetings
All the best for 2009 to our family and all of our friends.
Seasons Greetings
Merry Xmas to one and all.
Geoff
Smartphones
For the last 2 years or more I’ve used Sony-Ericsson mobile phones - the last being the Z800i. They’ve all been good phones, quite simple to use and they’ve met my needs quite well …. or so I thought. I certainly have never complained about them in any way more than I’ve complained about other phones.
For years I have held a view that menu navigation on all phones left a lot to be desired and in this regard the Sony-Ericsson phones were no better nor worse than any others I’ve had in the past (primarily Nokia or Motorola years ago).
A month ago, after saying I didn’t need one only a few weeks beforehand, I bought a 3G iPhone.
At first I was a bit dubious about it. Now a month later I say, without any concern, that it’s the best mobile connection device I’ve ever used. To call it a phone is to sell it short. To call it any one thing also sells it short. I don’t know how to categorise it to help with its description - which is unfortunate.
Menu navigation and control of user preferences are the simplest and most uncomplicated of any phone I’ve ever seen or used before.
The larger screen is simply wonderful.
Typing on the touchscreen keyboard is far more accurate, for me, than on any keyboard of any previous phone I’ve ever used. At last I can type an SMS without at least 50% spelling or punctuation errors. I mean what I say and say what I mean now - far more often.
Calls are clear and connections consistent.
And it syncs so easily with my AddressBook and Calendar without a hitch.
And I suspect that as Apple continues to evolve the firmware for the iPhone that the experience will only get better and simpler in the months ahead.
So a thumbs up from me for the iPhone.
2006 Honda Accord 3.0 VTEC LEV - For Sale
We’re selling our Honda because we need a vehicle with greater towing capacity for Fiona’s horses.
Roaming Post
This is my first blog post from a smartphone while out and about. Pretty interesting.
Ashes Scattering
Dad requested that his ashes by scattered in Middle Harbour. It took a while for most of us to get together and to fulfil Dad’s wish but we did so on the 24th August. We gathered at Middle Harbour Yacht Club around midday, merged some of Dad’s and Mum’s ashes into an old family urn that had been used to scatter the ashes of Dad’s grandfather in 1939, and then cast them into Middle Harbour from the end of the northern marina. Most appropriate.
We then adjourned for a family lunch to celebrate Dad and Mum.
Family at MHYC 24th August 2008
Genealogy Software
For the last few years I’ve been using, on and off, MacFamilyTree. I found though that it doesn’t seem to handle dates in a consistent manner and the kinship report was quite a bit wonky in the relationships it reported.
So I gave iFamily for Leopard a trial for the last 10 days.
Very glad I did. For me, the way I use software, iFamily for Leopard seems to fit a lot more comfortably and so I will be buying a license, if and when PayPal stops timing out that is. USD $29.95 seems good value to me.
Sheehan Family Tree
I am spending the day today getting the Sheehan Family Tree in a bit better shape. Of course this is a “Never Ending Story”. Fiona plans to watch the Olympics so this’ll give me something to do.
I have published a Family Tree, of sorts, which can be found here. If you find any errors, omissions or have more information don’t hesitate to email me and let me know. It only takes a few moments to update the database and to republish to the web.
All family tree information is stored in a GEDCOM compliant database using the MacFamilyTree application (we are Apple Mac people). If you also have a GEDCOM compliant application let me know and I can send a copy - in exchange for a copy of your GEDCOM database. It is doesn’t matter if you use a Mac, Windows, Vista or Linux with your personal computers - as long as you have a GEDCOM compliant database we can exchange genealogical information very easily.
Cheers
John Edwin Sheehan - Family Fan Chart
Dad’s family fan chart as it shows today.
John Edwin Sheehan
Mary Therese Fairweather - Family Fan Chart
This is a visual representation of Mum’s family as the database is reporting today. There are still a number of errors and omissions - its a big job. I thought this may interest a few in the family.
Mary Therese (Lynne) Sheehan