I'm new to the whole Apple Eco system, getting my very first Apple product at the ripe old age of 30, my ipad. It's quite nice and I like using it, it sure does beat using my big clunky laptop for things, sure it's not a total replacement for it, but it is getting pretty close.

I have a couple of websites, and this one little blog, so I was thinking about how easy it would be to update them from the iPad.

Well it can be done, but it is a pain in the ass to log into each site, this is where Blogsy comes into the picture.

What is Blogsy?

Blogsy is a multi format blog update app, it allows to you update your blog from your iPad, and it covers a lot of different types of blogs, the basic layout of Blogsy can be seen in the picture above.

The price

With anything good in life, there is usually a price involved, and Blogsy is no different, this app will cost you $6.49 which is NZ dollars at time of writing, totally worth the money, and you'll see why below.

The formats you can update

• Wordpress hosted
• Wordpress self hosted
• Blogger
• Posterous
• Typepad
• Movable type
• Joomla
• Drupal
• IBM connections
• Tumblr

And with every type of platform, Blogsy has all the common settings there for each one, date of post, tags, comments on and off etc, obviously they are all different for each platform, so you will need to check them out for the ones you use.

Typing

The main use of Blogsy will be to do a lot of typing, typing for your blog, this is nice and easy in Blogsy, you can easily switch between blogs as well, it saves what you have been doing all the time, and you can get posts, drafts or posted ones from your site easily if you need to update anything.

Formatting is covered well, with all your standard stuff, bold, underline, text format, font family. All the standard stuff you are expecting to see and it is nice and easy to use.

For you people that like seeing the HTML on a page, you are catered for as well, click on button and boom, the screen flips around to show you the HTML of the page.

Media

Be it images or video you are well catered for in Blogsy, there are many different services you can use to get the Job done, including:

• Images from your iPad
• Images from the web via the browser
• Flickr
• Picassa
• YouTube
• Vimeo
• Images loaded up to your Wordpress site

All you need to do is to have whatever you want to use all set up, and it is easy as just dragging the picture into the post, you can then tap the image and and alt tags, change size and other image/video options are all there as well.

Conclusion

Blogsy is a great product, especially for people on the go who need to update things where ever they can, and in my opinion it is better then some standard website layouts to update with.

The only thing that would make it better actually has nothing to do with Blogsy at all, but using a separate keyboard paired to the iPad would help speed up things, but that's just a personal thing.

In my current job I am starting to help out with fleet management of the many vehicles we have at work, and part of this is being involved when we get new utes, and new trucks, big trucks, which are quite specialised in how they are set up, and what they are used for.

Now we know what we want, and who can build these things for us, and we go through all the usual business practices etc, but when it gets down to the technical nitty gritty, we use the services of an expert in the truck field, he is the consultant we use to help us when we get technical questions about aspects of what we want.

The problem we had

One of the trucks we need is being built by a new crowd this time, and when we were there it didn't take a rocket scientist to realise that it was pretty fucked, granted it was half finished, but still, the big huge crane on the back, should have been able to work, without trying to break the truck it was mounted on.

The fix

To fix the problem, they said they would weld some bits on and everything would be fine, to us it sounded good, to our expert it was unacceptable, and after pointing out all the problems, some of which were very big problems, we were very glad we had him there.

The truck people will now be pulling things apart and redoing a lot of stuff, just to make sure it is all good now.  But after going through this experience it has made me think about things in general.

If your not an expert, do you take the word of the other person?

If you know nothing about the work or thing you are getting someone else to do, make sure the person you are using to give you advice is worthwhile, and if you don't have a person giving you advice, are you being ripped off, or having a sub standard product or service given to you.

So talk with people, find out who knows their stuff, and some money spent in the short term, could really benefit you in the long term.

I'm slightly bored right now, I am on call for work so can't go anywhere, my flatmate is not drunk so is moping around being the weirdo that she is, and all of this is making me want to get my own place more and more.

Enough about me, I am here to talk about the http://www.thecollectivedairy.com/nz/index.php?link=home

Who on twitter are gr8dairynobull

First off, this isn't a sponsored post, or something I get something for, it is a post by an average (well maybe not so average) person, who likes their presence on Twitter, and likes their product.

Twitter
Like I said in the words above, I like their presense on Twitter, they are friendly, are not broadcasting crap to people, and are engaging people in conversations, and also doing this sorta thing after normal business hours and on weekends.  So whoever you are behind the Twitter account, well done, you are doing a great job.

Products  
I'm not a big yoghurt eater by any means, it just never appeals to me.

But I am one of those people that has to try new things, no matter what it is, and they do just a good job on Twitter, with a lot of people saying how good the product is, I better give it a go.

The only weird thing I can see is that on their website they have this statement talking about their shake and suck product: "The Collective's probiotic yoghurt drinks, in their custom-made takeaway cup with handy straw, are a speedy, healthy hit! just shake and suck, no bull… slurpppp!"

Not sure what the random characters are, and if they only appear for me, or other people as well.

So make sure to check out the website, and keep an eye out for the products at your supermarket.

Two weeks ago while I was having the week off from work, Mum asked me to show her how to use Trademe, they have a lot of random stuff at their place, so it makes sense to try and sell some of it.

I set up the account for her, and showed her how it all worked, and I asked her to get some items to list on there.  A couple of plates and a book is what she chose.  I convinced her to put on the very old excercycle dad had picked up one day, and list it at $1  

Mum said don't be silly, no one will want it, we should just scrap it.

I said I am sure it will sell, even for $1 at least someone will come and take it away, and you might make one doller out of it.

I explained that someone might want to do something else with it, or use it for parts, you actually never know what they want it for, I was correct, but never realised how important is was to some people.

It turns out, more then $1 was to be made from this lonely old looking excercycle.

A few people were bidding on it, and someone won it at $26, they were coming from Taupo, and the bike was at my parents in Rotorua.

Due to my cousin being over from the UK I was in Rotorua today, at the same time the woman came to pick it up.  She turned up in a large transit van, and her daughter was in the passenger seat.  Once the van stopped the daughter got out, even though the Mum tried making her stay in the van.

It turns out that the excercycle was for the daughter, she was handicapped and a year ago they decided to sell her excercycle and get a newer model, ever since then she wont touch the new one, and they have been trying to find one like the one my Mum had.  They just had to have it, and now the girl will be able to excercise again.

Mum gave them a couple of blueberry muffins that she had made, and they were on their way again.

A really lovely trade for my Mum's very first one, it was nice that we could help them out, and as I had said, you never know what or why someone wants something.  It also shows how the value of something you consider junk may be held higher by someone else.

A few weeks ago I came across the website www.unclepercy.co.nz which from the address you would never actually know what it is about.

When I look at a website, I usually scroll to the bottom and check out who made it, the link is almost always there, and what I find is if it is a crap looking website, the designers website is usually pretty crap too.

So I want to know what is NZ's worst looking website?  

The winner will be known as the 2012 NZ Twitter Worst Website 

I may even go to the trouble of actually sending them an award, maybe.

So seeing as I am typing this and making it up as I go, there better be some rules.

• Family friendly sites please
• I want nominations posted as comments on this post, nominations are open until the 20th of Jan, after which time, all nominations will be put into a new blog entry, where voting can take part.
• Look for ugly colour, bad form, tables, whatever.  You decide, and post in the comments below.
• Only websites that appear to have been updated or around since 2005, so nothing prior to that if you can help it.

I think that is all there is to it, spread the word, and lets see what we come up with.

My first nomination is:  http://www.snowlightdesign.co.nz

Let the competition begin.

First up I have to admit I was oblivious to the item often reffered to as Cobb and Co Crunchies.

My brother in law was talking about them, and for the life of him he couldn't remember the name of these little chip like things.  He remembered you could get them from Cobb and Co, and also that you could buy them loose, and deep fry them at home.

Twitter to the rescue  
So I put the call out on Twitter, and a whole bunch of people remembered and loved these things, Cobb and Co called them crunchies, everywhere where else they are taties.  

Also a lot of people remembered them being in supermarkets a few years ago, but no one could confirm that they were still sold at any of them.

Bin Inn has them
Bin Inn confirmed on Twitter that yes they did have these things, and they were either in bagged form, or could be brought loose.

Here is a pic of the bag we got from Bin Inn this cost $4.50

How to Cook 
Deep frying is the usual method of cooking the taties, and they took in about 2 seconds in hot oil, and expand rapidly in size, so cook a very small amount to see how much room they take up.  They cook so fast, you will probably end up with a couple of burnt ones.

I also tried them in a little pot with a small amount of hot oil, which also works, but was hard to get them out fast enough, need something to get them out easily. 

Someone else mentioned a popcorn maker machine can also cook them, I haven't been able to try this method yet, but if it works, it would be the safest way of cooking them,

The cooked product

So my previous post I posted just this morning led me to dispair, as I had saved the post midway through and for the life of me I couldn't find out where to go, to go edit the post again.

The main reason for this is the redesign from Posterous to Posterous spaces.

All the usual help didn't work, couldn't see anything on Google, Twitter was no help, so I actually emailed them and got a very fast response.

How to find saved posts in Posterous 

Go to https://posterous.com/manage#YOURNAME/posts/edit once you have logged into Posterous, make sure to change YOURNAME to your actual posterous user name, so mine was websam.

I asked where to find this from within Posterous as I couldn't see it, the answer I got was:

Unfortunately, for now you will have to use the direct link I gave you. Soon, the issue should be resolved with your posts list displaying correctly and you will be able to click the draft option at the top of that screen to see the drafts instead.

Which I found a bit strange, but thought I would post this for anyone else having trouble out there.

Like many people saving money and budgeting is a New Years resolution that I think about every year.  And I try my best at both, and I think budgeting is the one I am better at, the saving thing sort of goes out the window, due to various things during the year.  And when it comes to Christmas things normally turn to shit to be honest.

Now I know you can just chuck money into an account over the year and earn interest and all of that, but it doesn't work that easily for me, and I am sure I am not the only one out there like that.

So this year is going to be different, it really is, true.  

Christmas schemes out there

There are a couple I thought about, there are the ones run by supermarkets, you save up money with them during the year, usually get some sort of special deals during Christmas and can spend it during a certain period.

All well and good, and really helpful for end of year food shopping, only one slight problem, I hardly buy much food at the best of times, and at Christmas/New Years I am almost guranteed not to be at home, so food is usually in abundance at other parts of the country.  So not really for me.

Then there is the Chrisco Christmas hampers, which a lot of them are food based, but they do have a wide selection of other stuff as well.  I have used them years ago for alcohol, and also a cleaning one which lasted forever.  But to me no matter which one you get there will always be something that you will not use or need.  If you are going with something techy etc, the chances of the thing being out of date when you get it is always there.

The thing I think that puts me off it, is when you do use it, and then decide to not do it again, you get bombarded with pamphlets and crap, and phonecalls asking if you want to sign up to it again.  Moving house 4 times, and not answering phone calls will make them stop.

Hampsta and Loaded for Christmas

After decidng against the food ones, I started seeing the Hampsta logo in a few shops, and then also remembered there was one called Loaded for Christma as well, here are my thoughts on both of them.

Hampsta

Hampsta has come long way from what it used to be like when it first came out.  The concept is that you put money into it over the year, and during a certain period the funds are unlocked, and you can use your  Hampsta  card at a variety of stores it has partnered with.  Unlocked from 1st Dec - 10th of Jan

Pros

• You can choose from a choice of 4 coloured cards
• Has a good range of shops to choose from
• Check balance online

Cons

• Can only use it at the shops they are partnered with

Account Fees

• No transaction fees
• One off $20 joining fee
• Acount maintenance fee of $39 annually
• Account closure fee of $40 
• $15 fee for card replacement

Loaded for Christmas

Loaded for Christmas is the same concept as  Hampsta where you put funds in over the year, and during a certain period, you can use the money in the account, it is run by NZ Post, through Kiwibank and is actually a Visa debit card. Unlocked from 19th Nov - 14th Jan

Pros

• Can be used anywhere Visa is accepted, even buying things online
• Account fee over a year is BLAH
• Check balance online 

Cons

• Seems to only come in the red colour with rudolph on it
• Fees for alerts if you use them

Account Fees

• Card application fee $15
• $25 annual account maintenance fee
• $10 card replacement fee
• Withdrawel fee, free for EFTPOS and free for online if NZD

There are some other fees for checking account balances and stuff, the whole list can be seen at the Loaded for Christmas site here.

Which one am I going with?

Well with an overall cheaper basic account fee (not taking in ATM, and alert fees), and the ability to use it anywhere a Visa is accepted, means I can buy anything I want from anywhere I want,  Loaded for Christmas  is the choice for me.

It is also good to note, no interest is earned while the money is sitting there in either of the schemes.

What do you use to save for Christmas?

I'd love to hear what you do to save for Christmas, or any tips you may have, please leave a comment below.

Firstly, thanks to everyone that took part, there were 702 people taking part this Christmas, and it was great seeing everyone having a good time, and really thinking about what the person would like, and really sending some thoughtful gifts.

It is this time of the year, when I hear from all the people that didn't recieve anything, and it really does suck.

The hard thing is that it is something that is out of my control, I wish I could hunt down everyone and make sure they are sending their gift.  But there are a couple of things to take into consideration.

• A figure I got told about is that 8% of mail goes missing around christmas time, although someone that used to work for NZ Post told me the figure is probably higher.
• Some people haven't got around to it, I know one persons house burnt down, and they are still to send, I also know someone else was let down by an online shop, and it turned up after they left for holiday, it will be sent once they get back home next week.
• And then you have the useless people who for whatever reason haven't sent anything.

This is the risk of this whole thing, having people involved.  It was also one of the main reasons I didn't want the radio station that approached me involved with it, imagine how many "random" people would sign up for it, and not send anything, way more then the Twitter people that have taken part this year.

Suggestions to improve the situation next year is to make sure everyone gets a tracking number etc, but then not everyone has the money to pay for heaps of shipping.

I would love to hear from everyone who hasn't recieved a gift, message me, or email me.  And I will ask your person what the deal is, it is all I can do at the moment, and take their word for it.  If I don't hear anything from them, I will note their name down for next year, and may not let them take part again.

Please feel free to let everyone know, so that I can start contacting people.

Thanks for taking part, and I hope if you are one of the few that didn't recieve anything, this hasn't ruined the spirit of Christmas for you.

Cheers
Sam