GDW #005 - UnBoxing the Pad & Quill Case for MacBook Air 11" (Cartella)

Two months ago, I got myself a MacBook Air 11", a pretty little device that I used far more often than my iPad. I carried it to many places, most of the time in its glorious naked form. And I knocked it on many surfaces.

That calls for a case. I was quite reluctant to get a case as it will "thicken" the MBA and add weight it its sheer lightweight awesomeness. I googled around to find my perfect case.

A week ago, a case that I ordered online came in. That's the Cartella, a bookbindery case for the Macbook Air from Pad & Quill.



It was a rather normal standard packaging with the bubble protection etc. There is no fancy cover for the casing itself.





The Cartella comes with two pieces of paper, good quality ones that made an impression. One of which teaches you how to install the casing onto your MBA.



The casing is not difficult to fit into. Just install the MBA into in with it closed, slide it into grooves and it fits snugly.



A close up on how the side profile looks.



And with the case closed.



Overall, the quality of the case is good. It looks really nice and premium. The cover certainly looks like one that will need to take much more beatings in order for it to look even better. The elastic strap doesn't feel like it will come off anytime and is a nice touch. The red interiors are lovely. What I didn't like about this case is the weight. It feels really much heavier with the casing on. I would say that if I had the 13" MBA, this is not one casing that I would like to use. It makes my 11" MBA a giant book, needless to say for a 13" MBA. And I am worried that it I keep sliding my MBA in and out of the case, the rubber grip will fade with time. I am pretty certain that there will be situations that I want to go unclothed with my MBA.

The only thing that I was annoyed about this case was of the workmanship of this particular case.



Look at the left side of the photo. You notice that the rubber part is more than the right side. It is in fact protuding out of the edges and it is very unsightly. To make things worse, there is supposed to be some spare rubbers in case the fit isn't as tight as you would like. But, I have nothing in my package. Just the box, the bubble wrap, the plastic, the case, two pieces of paper and a receipt.

I emailed Pad & Quill and the response was quick! In fact, the president of Pad & Quill responded to my email and told me that they will send me more rubber stickies for me to mend this. I didn't expect a refund or what but this is a nice gesture. I am still waiting for it to arrive in my mail.

Get this case if you love bookbind casings and do not mind the extra bulk and weight onto the MBA.

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High Chairs and the "Mehhh" Pizza hut new menu

We have never given Jayden to try out sitting on outside high chairs yet till just recently. There are so many types of high chairs out there, mostly ones that does not have any trays on it. For most of the time, Jayden is able to sit up quite properly but he does has his misses or is just plain playful.

Regardless, we had to try it and we did; here in Lot 1's Bistro Delifrance. The high chair there was a little too short for our seven month old baby.



It was a good experience and it taught us one important thing.

**Bring a toy or a teething thing for him to play while the adults enjoy their meals.**

And here's our little boy sitting happily in his pram while we push him around.



It is amazing how well he can balance himself with us pushing the pram around, up and down escalators, over rocky surfaces, he still sits!

But while we are not watching, he likes to do this.



His strap is really full of his saliva. Eww.

And then, we head to the Pizza Hut in Lot 1 for a quick lunch.



This time around, the high chair is a little higher than the one in Bristo Delifrance. Still, as it was on the same day, we did not have anything for him to play and he was a little cranky.

I wanted to try the new menu for some time but did not have the opportunity. It looked really nice from the advertisements and other posts made by popular food bloggers. However, our experience was a little underwhelming.

Hazel decided to try this - The Chicken Steak.



When we left the restaurant, the chicken still looks somewhere similar. She hardly touched it. I grabbed a bit to find out why. The chicken was cold, very cold. The kitchen must have prepared tons of this chicken way beforehand. In fact, this dish just took 5 minutes from our ordering time to serving time. I can understand that they start to prepare the food earlier BUT come on, heat the damn chicken before serving.

For me, I tried the Spicy Seafood Patchment Pasta.



Looks nice from the outside yeah?



A bloody mess on the inside.

Well, it did not taste that bad but still, it did not score enough points for me to say that it is very good. I say that it is just your plain average pasta.

And..spicy pasta? It is not even remotely spicy.

The saving grace was the big fat and fresh mussels, three of them in the pasta, the tons of little sotongs and two prawns.

I will give Pizza Hut one more try since I have not tried their new dessert pizzas. ^_^

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Milestone - Jayden Sits

It started with this - The "Bumbo" seat. Mine is a copy of it though.

Day 127 - Getting more comfy in his chair



This is about a week plus after getting his new chair. Looks much better sitting in it than before. At least, his neck strength has improved!

Day 152 - Starts to sit better without support



He is now able to sit much better without being completely bent over like before. He has managed to keep his body a little higher.

Day 156 - Even better...



Jayden starts to show drastic improvement over the few days. He is now able to almost sit up straight!

Day 177 - Hands Free



Look! No support! Jayden is getting more adventurous. He starts to lift up both of his hands off the bed/ground and attempts to sit without support! Good going!

Day 187 - Collapsing Jayden



As he learns that he can sit without supporting himself using his hands, he keeps trying to sit up. But he will fall back on as his sense of balance is still not very good.

Day 217 - Completely Straight



Jayden is now able to sit up really straight for quite a while to look at things or just for the fun of it. His sense of balance is also getting much much better. Still, he will occasionally lose his balance and fall.

Day 225 - Declared milestone complete



Now, he plays with both of his hands if he wants to and his sense of balance is better. He can sit in his pram while we push him around on rocky surfaces and he still keeps his balance. It is more of whether he wants to keep his balance or he just can't be bother to sit. It is rather evident that he is more than capable of completing this milestone!

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Is watching TV bad for your baby?

I bet you heard this a lot - Watching TV is bad for babies.

I am a skeptical one as usual to all and any urban rumors/legends. This is another statement that we have heard often but I could not make much sense out of it? Why is watching TV bad for baby?

Read this section copied from the American Association of Pediatrics.

It may be tempting to put your infant or toddler in front of the television, especially to watch shows created just for children under age two. But the American Academy of Pediatrics says: Don't do it! These early years are crucial in a child's development. The Academy is concerned about the impact of television programming intended for children younger than age two and how it could affect your child's development. Pediatricians strongly oppose targeted programming, especially when it's used to market toys, games, dolls, unhealthy food and other products to toddlers. Any positive effect of television on infants and toddlers is still open to question, but the benefits of parent-child interactions are proven. Under age two, talking, singing, reading, listening to music or playing are far more important to a child's development than any TV show. For more information on your child's health, visit www.aap.org.

 Wow. No TV for babies under the age of two. And there has been studies on this! In fact, there is a campaign against those that makes video/cartoons for babies!

Both Hazel and I are quite a TV fan I would say. She spends some time daily watching cable television and I spend time watching my episodes of Fringe, MythBusters, etc on the computer screen. So, it was quite natural for us to tune into the "Playhouse Disney" channel for Jayden.



We also realised that Jayden is not really interested in most of the programmes played on the TV except for the Mickey Mouse cartoon. His attention will be far greater when that cartoon is showing. Else, he will just be playing with his toys or biting on his teething stuff while occasionally stealing a glance on what is happening on screen. 

Some extracts from source on the internet -

What are the effects of watching TV at such a tender age?

Babies who watch TV are more likely to have delayed cognitive development and language at 14 months, especially if they're watching programs intended for adults and older children. Babies who watched 60 minutes of TV daily had developmental scores one-third lower at 14 months than babies who weren't watching that much TV. Though their developmental scores were still in the normal range, the discrepancy may be due to the fact that when kids and parents are watching TV, they're missing out on talking, playing, and interactions that are essential to learning and development.

It is bad for the brain??

A child's brain is very sensitive before age 2. It's still developing neural connections and growing in size. Because of this sensitivity, it's important for babies to have a lot of interactive stimulation to learn and develop. The researchers contend that the videos don't provide this stimulation. Experts associate excessive TV watching with a variety of problems in children, among them childhood obesity, ADHD and aggression.

 So, no more TV?

Well, I guess there must be some truth in this. We will start to be more aware of what our daily normal activities might be causing to our little one. So, lesser TV from now on!

We want our Jayden to be healthy, smart and strong!

What do you think? Did you limit your baby/kids for TV watching?

Food for thought.



Here's a video of a 12 month old baby reading after being taught using educational DVD tools.

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Photography tips for taking photos of babies!

Photography was one of my indulgence and hobby during my university days. During then, I spent lots of time taking photos of everything. Now, I still love taking photographs and taking photos of my little Jayden is such a joy.

I am not a professional photographer but I think I should be able to provide some tips for budding photographer mummies or daddies out there.

1) Bring a camera everywhere you go!

I used to lug around my DSLR with some lens and flash when we go out. But then, I hardly bring it out when I am just going to the nearby Jurong Point or hawker center to have our meals. And because of that, I had missed moments where I could really use a camera. No, my iPhone4 camera cannot really make it.

For me, the Canon S95 that I got was the solution.



I think I have never step out without a camera ever since I had the Canon S95.

Else, I would have missed these few shots that I took with the Canon S95!






2) Get a DSLR if you can.

DSLRs are not very expensive now. The lower consumer range can be had for a sub $1000 figure. A DSLR is much faster than your average compact camera and is superior for taking babies as the little ones move around a lot!



Most of my photos in this blog are taken by my trusty Canon 60D, of which I have already snap 5K worth of shots. My latest favorite lens is this Canon EF 28mm F1.8. I absolutely love the "bokeh" produced by this little lens.

You can't get the background like this with your normal average compact camera.



You can't snap fast enough to get silly animated GIFs like this!



3) Snap Snap Snap Snap!

For babies and toddlers, they will not be able to really pose for you. And you will also want to capture the classic candid shots which looks so much more adorable, cute or just plain silly! So, my advice is to just snap and snap!


"Don't touch my pak ci (pacifier)!!"


"STOP! NO MORE PHOTOS!"


The only shot that I got that LOOKS like he already know how to hold his bottle.


Flying Jayden!!

4) Post process your photos!

I don't do major touch ups to my photos. Most of them, I just do a simple level adjustments and unsharpen mask.

But well, when you have a photo like the one just above. I simply can't resist doing this.



My very own SUPER JAYDEN!

By the way, did you notice the finger? LOL

Have fun taking photos!!

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Flu Bugs!

I just realised how long it has been since I last updated. A month. Whoa.

Anyhow, we are all fine except that Jayden is kinda really down with lots of flu bugs, etc. It got pretty bad last 2 weeks till Hazel had to stay at home for a week just to take care of him. His fever goes on roller coaster rides with the median temperature of about 38.5C. It was really quite worrying.

And then, there was an outbreak of rashes! On that day alone, I think we went to the doctor for 3 times??



Thankfully, there wasn't any major cause of these rashes, probably due to certain allergy of a drug that he just starting taking. It subsided in about a day.

Today, he is still having the coughs and flu....and still taking tons of medicine daily...poor boy.

But he is still our very active and playful Jayden! Today, I let him try on a little cap that Hazel bought long long ago. I think he looks really cute with this cap!



Cannot resist not taking a snapshot of him and me!

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