iPad 2

Tomorrow, or more accurately at 3am this morning, I will be ordering the iPad 2. I’ve been wanting an iPad for a long time. I love my iPhone and would love to have an iPad to blog, browse the net, read books, etc on. Basically, I’ll be using my iPad as a replacement for my MacBook. I rarely do anything besides simple tasks on my MacBook, so I think it will be a great replacement.

My mom has an iPad. I know, how in the world did my mom leap over me in the tech world? I can’t answer that. I do know that she loves her iPad and is almost constantly on it. Whether she’s using it for work or playing her kids in Words With Friends, she never seems to be without it.

One of the biggest things I’ll use the iPad for is reading books. I’ve wanted an e-reader for quite a long time. I love to read books and am one of those odd people that prefer to purchase all my books. I’ve never been a huge fan of utilizing the library. I have no idea why. Anyway, because I love to read and love purchasing the books I want to read, my bookshelves have gotten quite crowded. Having an iPad will help reduce the clutter. They will all be stored on my virtual bookshelf. History books I will still probably purchase physical copies of but novels will be ebooks, I’m sure.

So, in a few short hours I hope to be ordering a 32 GB white iPad 2 and Smart Cover. The hard part will be waiting for it to arrive.

Three In a Year

It’s really amazing to think that 12 months ago I had 4 living grandparents and now I have 1. It has been a rough year, for sure.

With my grandparents on my dad’s side, the deaths were at least somewhat expected. My grandpa was having some health issues and went into the hospital. A couple of days later he was dead. We were at least able to say goodbye to him. With my grandma, we expected her death long before she actually died. She suffered from Alzheimer’s and other health issues that had to do with her being confined to a wheelchair. I’m sure we all thought she would pass before my grandpa, but she didn’t. She survived for 10 months after my grandfather passed.

My grandpa on my mom’s side was a huge shock though. One day he was completely fine and the next he was gone. He died from an abdominal aneurysm. He was a great man and I will miss him dearly.

With all the sadness that my family has experienced over the past 12 months, I really hope that the next 12 are full of happiness. I just can’t help but wondering when the string of bad luck will end.

Rest in Peace Glenn Moss

Last week my grandfather Glenn W. Moss passed away unexpectedly. He was a great man and will be missed by many.

Here is the slideshow I made for his funeral.

Glenn W. Moss 1935-2011 from Mike Schepker on Vimeo.

All Your Likes Are Belong to Us

Facebook is up to their dirty tricks again. Without any type of announcement or way to opt-out, all your likes and check-ins can be used as an ad. If this sounds a lot like their defunct Beacon, it should. It’s almost the exact same thing except that Facebook is now calling them “sponsored stories,” and users won’t be able to opt out of their posts being used to advertise to friends.

Facebook says that the new ads are an effort to help marketers take advantage of what people are saying about them online. “Currently, marketers don’t have the ability to know or plan word-of-mouth endorsements as part of their campaigns,” Facebook’s product marketing lead Jim Squires told the Wall Street Journal. “This gives a way for marketers to increase the visibility of stories about their organization… this is word-of-mouth marketing at scale.”

Here’s the thing, I don’t want businesses to use what I say without my explicit written permission. I’m sure Facebook’s TOS have changed to include this type of advertising over the years and we all blindly agree to them, and that’s the problem. When I recommend products/services to people, it’s because I am completely satisfied with them and think others can benefit. A check-in to Jiffy Lube is not the same thing as my whole-hearted recommendation and I wouldn’t want anyone to think of it as such.

You have to hand it to Facebook though. They turned a social network and flipped it into nothing but a glorified advertising market without anyone really noticing. Everything you see, from interests to likes and check-ins have now been turned into advertising and promotional tools for products.

Here’s my final question, since I’m now a spokesman for all these products, when do I get paid?

Title is a reference to the All your base meme.

Slideshow for My Grandma’s Funeral

I made a slideshow for my grandmother’s funeral. Watch it below.