So I know I’m only basing this off of the ten minutes (approximately) that I spent with Apple’s latest gadget at the Apple store and my readings, but there are a lot of things I could say to elaborate on my disappointment. I guess I’ll start with the good things.

Number One: It has a pretty, glossy, big screen – at least for something of its…type? Anyway, it’s 9.7 inches along the diagonal. Again, it’s pretty. I imagine that, like with any pretty, glossy, big screen, there is terrible glare, but someone is probably only going to be using the iPad indoors anyway, so it’s a neutral thing. And according to Jeph Jacques, author of the comic Questionable Content, Questionable Content looks awesome on the thing. You can read it on his Twitter.

Number Two: The iPad is of course touch screen. And it’s pretty responsive to touch. Like, amazingly responsive. Okay, maybe not amazingly, but still. It’s pretty good. Which means it’s good for games that require touch. I tried out Rock Band; pretty cool, but I still prefer Rock Band with peripheral devices on the Wii or XBox 360.

Number Three: It’s thin, making it easier to carry around so you don’t feel like you’re carrying around two laptops (that is, if you carry around a laptop regularly.) Then again, holding it so that the chances it falls out of your hands are less likely means that greasy fingerprints can make it onto the pretty, glossy screen. Darn.

Onto the bad things. Yeahh, you thought there would be more good things, didn’t you?

Number One: All the iPad is is a gigantic iPod Touch. Literally. It runs on the same system and can utilize the same apps (although developers have the ability to play around with their apps to make them more iPad friendly because it’s definitely not good for tilting back and forth to activate Overdrive on Rock Band or play Need For Speed application style.)

Back to the gigantic iPod Touch idea. Seriously. It really is. When you go to check out your music if you want to listen to a song, you’re pretty much looking at iTunes, iPad style. Again, the touch screen is a nice compliment to this, but it also still makes the iPad a gigantic iPod Touch.

Number Two: At present, the iPad only has Wi-Fi capabilities. You’d think that with all the hype going on about the iPad that it would come with a network pre-installed and crap. More about that in Number Three.

Number Three: Pricing, pricing, pricing. Unless you have the money to dish out for this trinket, or you’re a maniac who has to have the latest gadgets, or something else, just get yourself an iPod Touch or save up for a regular MacBook if you already have a Touch. Or vice versa, I don’t care. Again, at this point in time, the iPad can only connect to the Net through Wi-Fi.

The most expensive model is with 64 GB of memory at $699. Once they release models of the iPad where you can purchase a 3G plan so you can have the Internet anywhere you go regardless, you’ll have 64 GB of memory and 3G…for $829. And remember, these prices are just for the iPad itself and whatever it comes standard with. Accessories (and choices are probably slim right now in regard to manufacturers; I’ve only seen Apple-manufactured accessories released so far and Apple really likes high prices) will add to this, as well as any extended warranty/protection plan, apps, etc. And if you wait for the Wi-Fi and 3G models, you’ll be paying a monthly fee to keep the 3G network.

So far, I don’t think my opinion of the iPad is going to change in the near future. It’s cool, it’s new…but not the greatest thing out there. Comments? Questions? Concerns? Just wanna discuss the iPad neutrally or a totally different subject entirely? Fine. But I won’t be talking to you from an iPad.

Oh, and flamers who dare cross me with your immature and rude textual assaults…buh-bye.

~ Aria

This is going to be a short post because there’s another post I need to make right after this that might be kind of…long.

~ Aria

That story I talked about in my last post (from like, FOREVER ago.) The little short one chapter one. It’s now up on FictionPress, titled What’s The Difference? You can click on the title to read it.

I’m also planning to update FanFiction very soon with some Pokemon inspired stuff. It’ll be short too, but there is a longer fic that I’ve been planning out for a while too (I’m just…really lazy.) I’m hoping that one of the shorts will amuse the dry-humored at least, because that’s what I’m aiming for.

I guess that’s all I have to say for now.

~ Aria

As you can tell, I’m sick and tired of the snow. Amidst all of this, I have/did gain about three to four giant piles of snow in my backyard from shoveling about…oh, say twice or three times on Saturday. They’re about…six feet tall or so. There are “puppy trenches” as I like to call them in my backyard that we dug out so the dog could run around. Puppy trench warfare anyone?

Speaking of the puppy, I did leave a very heated (caps locked) three posts on Twitter, which you can see on the right sidebar of my blog, telling the snow to “GTFO OF MARYLAND.” The story is that I almost lost my dog because my mom almost slipped on ice while we were walking her and the leash came out of her hands. Dog runs anywhere within a ten foot radius (about) of us, eventually getting out to a main road that leads to pretty much highway on either side, provided she ran any further away. I nearly cried and punched my dad about five million times before the dog finally cornered herself on someone’s snow pile surrounded steps.

Grr. And one of my friends almost lost her cat. Thank God he came home the next evening. But yeah, so people, please be careful when taking your pets out into a mess like this.

So what have I been doing while holed up in the house? Got a few hours of Metroid Prime in. Downloaded a very addicting app to my iPod Touch – Fish Tycoon. Do not judge me! I’m a big fan of simulation apps too…very very fun. Hah. I also wrote some new fiction; a one-shot titled “What’s The Difference?” It’s a girl’s thoughts on whether her boyfriend really loves her or not over a silly little thing that was discussed (her height) in the past before she met him. I haven’t typed it up on Word to be uploaded to FictionPress.Com or copied and pasted to Mibba, but when I’m not too lazy, I should (as well as some pictures from the blizzard.)

There’s another original in the works too, but I’m not going to reveal anything about that because I thought it was a really good idea (and watch it already have been done) and I don’t want anyone to take it…I’m paranoid. I’ll definitely include a post when the first chapter’s been uploaded though, and fill you in on some of the details.

I suppose that’s it for now. Grow fish, grow!

~ Aria

So I should probably be doing my homework now instead of writing a pointless blog post. Of course, I haven’t written a completely pointless one in a while. And the fact that integration by substitution is making me mad. I finished reading up to Chapter 6 of Catcher in the Rye, and I probably would go on if there wasn’t a chart that we had to fill out while reading.

So my laptop likes screwing up on me lately. At first, half of my screen would freeze and get all gross and stuff. I’d have to shake the screen violently for several seconds every time I moved. That got solved, although I’m not sure how. Today it decides to not charge as quick as it used to and the little thing is plugged into the back but then the laptop says that it’s not. Though, these things might just be from old age and stuff, but it still bugs me.

Now I pose a question to anyone who is reading this. Netbook or laptop? Or rather, which netbook or laptop? Cause…I need a new one. I know all the general differences between capabilities and such, now I just need opinions on which one would probably be the best for everyday sort of use. Internet browsing, making Word docs, and the occasional assignment that I actually do bring home from Data Structures class that I need to finish coding in JCreator. I figure I’ll probably just get a netbook and wait to get a new laptop when I go off to college, buuuut…just in case. I prefer HP right now, but I’ll leave that to you folks to suggest me something better.

Oh, yep, see, right when I adjusted myself on the couch, the charger happens to “magically come unattached” and the laptop says that there’s only 7% of battery life remaining.

Grr.

I suppose there’s not much more to say for right now. Except that I’m dragging my mom back out of the house when she gets home to go to Best Buy.

~ Aria

We all want/need attention, or else everyone would be lonely and abandoned and outcasted and stuff. However, some people want it too much. Like I already said, no one, and I mean no one is mentioned specifically in this particular post. If you think you are though, dude you have problems.

Who knows, you may be one of those people whose behavior I’m talking about. But I’m not here to trash you. If you know that you’re like that though, or if you think you may be someone I’m talking about, please keep it to yourself. Honestly, I’m not the one calling you out in the end, you’re the one calling yourself out. You’re putting your…issues or whatever out there, not me. You identified yourself. Not me. If I’ve accidentally hinted towards you, I’m sorry. But I don’t think before I write or speak sometimes.

In all honesty, who are you to think that I’d spend that much time thinking about you to write a blog post specifically about you? I don’t think I dedicated it to you. I don’t think I put your name in here. I don’t think know that you don’t know what’s going on in my head. If I thought about you all the time, I’d tell you (although for some people, that might be a little creepy.) You don’t know about the people I think about. You don’t know what I think about at all.

Obviously, there will a few people who fit/kind of fit the mold I’ve attempted to create. I’m attempting to be specific, but it may not have worked as well as I felt it would. Again, don’t come complaining to me (even though I complain all the time because I’m a spoiled brat) because I’m calling you out. If I didn’t mention you specifically, no, I did not call you out.

Then there’s the people who will read this who I don’t know at all and will be offended by a complete stranger talking smack about them. Nope, sorry sweetheart, but I don’t do that. You however, may fit the mold as well. But if I don’t know you, why would you even think about me talking about you specifically.

I’ll admit myself that I know I have crap to fix. I’m not perfect. You’re not perfect. Nobody is perfect. (And don’t give me that quote about how you’re nobody, so you’re perfect; it’s witty, but if you use here, I’ll cut you.) If you’re like me, you’ll read through this and think about yourself and probably think about how you can at least make yourself a better person.

I’m not telling you this and implying that you need to change yourself for someone else. Yours and everybody’s first responsibility is to make yourself happy. And wouldn’t you be happy if you tried to make yourself a better person? I’m also not telling you to conform to society’s definition of a “good” person. But sometimes your kind of good isn’t somebody else’s kind of good. So don’t get mad when someone says they don’t particularly like something about your attitude or personality, looks aside. But if it’s a majority…then maybe something truly is wrong.

Not that you should care about what anyone says either, but I’m completely over analytical and look at things from every possible side.

I’ll probably update/edit this post when I have something else to add or change. But until then…goodbye my dears. Thanks for reading this whole thing if you did.

~ Aria

Woo. So I got home from drumline about a half hour ago. Oh man. The pit had to put together the floor, while the battery was learning drill on the part of the floor that was already put together. That was pretty intense I suppose. First competition is February 13th. We did have to share the gym with the JV cheerleaders however. That was…interesting. I’m not going to say more. And it kinda doesn’t help that we’re a bit behind in learning and memorizing the music. Well, at least some people are. I’m trying as hard as I can, but learning that piano part…oh my goodness. It’s pretty involved. The color guard has however, completed their show. At least, that’s what I was told. Good luck to them.

Errr…I just heard that odd noise from about…three nights ago. Twice. There’s no rain, and no trash for the wind to blow around and scrape across the road. The second time though, I jumped up and noticed a car from across the street was pulling out. That car maybe?

Ugh, so my laptop is beginning to make Firefox lag. I needs myself a new one. But first I need to get a job. And even before that, I need to make sure I have time to get a job. Oy. And I think I’m just about to pass out again tonight, so I suppose I’ll make a byebye. Bye.

~ Aria

Next: I absolutely HATE this “medication” that they’ve put me on. It’s a bit embarrassing, so I’m not going to outright tell you what it is. I suppose I’ll tell you that I have PCOS. Not that you’ll care until you’re a regular reader of mine (if I ever get any) who might be one of those Internet people who think that just because they talk to someone on the Web so much or something else (ex. following their blog) that they know the other. But I’m not gonna go into the whole thing with analyzing the behavior of people on the web again like I did in my previous post. That was already too much. I’m not looking to me totally argumentative, I just want people to think.

But back to the original point (see my whole going off on a tangent thing?) I guess I don’t really hate it. I just don’t want to have to take it. I haven’t felt any possibly side effects yet, which might be a good thing if tonight wasn’t just the second night after starting to take it.

Wow. So I uh…just finished hearing a story on the news about a girl who killed herself (I think.) The police are/were investigating the reason of cyber bullying. And apparently…

She hanged herself.

Reminded me of my friend who hanged himself almost a year ago (a year will be next month, on the 18th.) He was getting bullied and made fun of a lot…just…wow.

A personal note: don’t waste time by laughing and making jokes about someone. You’ll never know how much they actually hurt someone until something like that happens. I’m also not going to defend myself (with the truth) that I never made fun of him because even though I didn’t, it doesn’t matter anymore. He’s gone, and admitting our faults won’t bring someone back, but it can make stuff a little better. You know, unless you’re a cold-hearted person who will admit to hating him and then saying that you “feel bad.” That was also something that happened too, but I’m not going to put something so personal as a petty argument against someone in this blog post. However, I do get tempted to do that and I follow those temptations, mentioning people anonymously of course. They’ll know who they are, as well as anyone who knows them that well or whatever.

I suppose that’s where I’ll finish for now. Man, I really have to get into the habit of putting individual subjects in individual posts. But whatever.

~ Aria

Now, these people are really clean and neat and orderly. So I don’t know whether some idiotic buzzed/drunk driver is coming home or it’s some of the kids from the neighborhood being a bunch of idiots. Kids I used to hang out with. Not that I was a bad kid, I just was friends with them through a former best friend.

I don’t suppose I’ll use this post to lament that fact though. That’s not really the point. Actually, I feel really bad for being someone on WordPress with a blog almost purely related to absolutely nothing at all. I mean, I have stuff, yes, but I don’t make it centered on one particular subject, as I’ve seen with most users on WordPress. Maybe I was better off on LiveJournal…-Goes back to look at LiveJournal.-

Ugh, I don’t even know anymore! I am planning on having more posts that are geared toward actually saying something serious and not rambling about my life. Maybe I’ll even take some posts from my LiveJournal and edit them and put them on here for your reading pleasure. I’ll warn you though that I’m pretty naïve. I’m open-minded though, if that counts for anything. And I’m always up for people teaching me stuff, as long as you’re not a snob about it, or insulting me for my ignorance and then explaining what a concept really means. I think a lot of people know what I’m talking about, whether you’ve witnessed it or been on the receiving end of those people. As for those people, they probably don’t know what they’re doing and keep going on to be self-righteous.

Oops, there I go being rude for the first time on WordPress (sarcasm, if you didn’t catch that the first time.)

Continuing that argument, you could probably even bring it right back around to me, saying that I’m ignorant for saying such things about people who are snobby and rude about telling people they’re wrong or that they don’t know anything of what they’re talking about. You could call me a hypocrite. You know what I’d tell you?

That I know it, and you’re no better than me. Nobody’s perfect, so worry about fixing yourself up while I worry about fixing myself up.

Blarghh. I’ll also let you know now that I tend to go off on a tangent when talking about something. So expect more things to come out of one thing that I say. Of course, what was the main subject of this post in the first place? One could say that it was whatever I was talking about when I started this post, which was my insomnia and late night observances. Oh, I’m not gonna go analyzing this whole post now. I go through everything only to go through my analysis to finish with the original post, the analysis of the post, and the analysis of the analysis of the post all in one post.

Methinks I’m going to stop now before I hurt someone.

~ Aria

So I was kinda miffed that last night, Mirai Nagasu only got second place. Buuut, congratulations to both her and Rachael Flatt on their nominations for the US Olympic team.

Grarr. I also noticed when I logged in today that my SocialVibe thingy that six minutes of ovarian cancer research have been funded by my readers. Unless that was stuff that I happened to do on SocialVibe that linked from my SocialVibe account to the WordPress badge. Either way, it’s all good! There’s a nice reason for why I decided to support this particular cause, but maybe I’ll say something about it if anything else happens. And no, before you think you know it, I DO NOT have ovarian cancer myself.

Haha, don’t you love my excitement over six minutes of research funding?

So I have two more days of “weekend” before going back to school. Grr. I’m not happy about that. I don’t want to be stuck at home with nothing to do. Although, there are tons of things I need/want to think about. Such as why I go from being formal to informal. If you read the descriptions of my fiction on my STUFF! page, I’m really…proper. Come to my blog posts and BOOM! I’m just another girl on the Internet!

Alright, so maybe I don’t really need or want to think about that. It’s just something that I do. I’m the same way in real life. I’m also the same way in real life when it comes to asking myself pointless questions like that above. There is one thing I do need to seriously think about, and that’s college. Still. Mainly deciding where I want to go. I’ve finally accepted that I really don’t know what I want to do yet with my life. I’m constantly changing it.

Thoughts to chew on. See ya until later peoples.

~ Aria