(no subject)
There seemed to be an "old lady" convention in Scotia Square for the past two days. We are connected to the Convention centre, so will often see conventioneers around the mall. There were dozens, traveling in packs of up to 6 or 8 at a time. Almost all were women that appeared to be over 60 with one or two men occasionally but mostly, older women. I couldn't get a look at their badges to see what the gathering actually was. Their names and home province/state was in large print but the rest wasn't easily readable and yes, there were people from all over North America it seemed.
But today, I saw a couple of people with extra bits and bobs tagged on and it turns out it's a TOPS convention. That is a weight loss support group, standing for Take Off Pounds Sensibly. They charge far less than Weight Watchers and you don't have to buy special food from them like some of the other companies. They basically advocate sticking to the Canada's Food Guide or equivalent which is just an emphasis on healthy eating. I actually did lose weight on it years ago but as always, once off the wagon, it finds me again. Anyway, it does tend to be groups of older women rather than the younger ones who seem to go to WW or Jenny Craig or the like. So that solves that mystery.
I've been thinking about maybe getting an EBook reader. I just discovered that you can actually borrow eBooks from the library now. I like that idea though so far you can't get all the new releases on ebook but it's coming. A book, once borrowed, will expire on your hard drive after the borrowing time so cannot be opened after that but if it's already transfered to the eReader, nothing to stop you reading it past the borrowing period. Some, like the Kindle, use a 3G wireless network but most of the others that i was looking at are loaded by usb cable to the computer. That would be just fine by me and most of the others can read PDF files without any fuss or conversion, also fine by me. I actually think the KoBo reader that Chapters/Indigo sells might be the best option. Few bells and whistles but does what you need it to do and has got quite good ratings. It's also one of the cheapest though at $159 still not cheap. Most of them are 20 to 30 more or even more for the Kindle.
It comes with software so you can also read the ebooks on your computer if you want and the software aids transfer to the reader though if it's a pdf file, you don't need it, just drag and drop. If borrowing from the library you need a different piece of free software to do the transfer. I suppose it is what is needed to keep track of the borrowing time period and licensing stuff.
I do like an actual book but i can also see the advantages of this and really, it's the way things are going. It would be good for travel, bringing books and pdf maps and info documents on places you're visiting. You could put your guidebooks on it too and it's not that big so would still fit in my purse (handbag). Most of them also play mp3s if you like but then i have my ipod for that and even my phone. Some of them show photos too but not in colour. They have a nice screen that is different from an lcd screen, and simulates paper. It's usually bright and clear enough to read outside on a sunny day too, very little if any glare.
The Kobo one comes with 100 classic books which apparently you can't delete though they say you will in a future version. There's also quite a few sites where you can get free eBooks, mainly older classics though, not new releases that are still under copyright. but if you had ever thought about reading all the Jane Austens, you could get them for free (if they didn't already come on the Kobo).
I guess i'm talking myself into it but i think i will wait until later....Might be a good Christmas pressie? (hint!)
But today, I saw a couple of people with extra bits and bobs tagged on and it turns out it's a TOPS convention. That is a weight loss support group, standing for Take Off Pounds Sensibly. They charge far less than Weight Watchers and you don't have to buy special food from them like some of the other companies. They basically advocate sticking to the Canada's Food Guide or equivalent which is just an emphasis on healthy eating. I actually did lose weight on it years ago but as always, once off the wagon, it finds me again. Anyway, it does tend to be groups of older women rather than the younger ones who seem to go to WW or Jenny Craig or the like. So that solves that mystery.
I've been thinking about maybe getting an EBook reader. I just discovered that you can actually borrow eBooks from the library now. I like that idea though so far you can't get all the new releases on ebook but it's coming. A book, once borrowed, will expire on your hard drive after the borrowing time so cannot be opened after that but if it's already transfered to the eReader, nothing to stop you reading it past the borrowing period. Some, like the Kindle, use a 3G wireless network but most of the others that i was looking at are loaded by usb cable to the computer. That would be just fine by me and most of the others can read PDF files without any fuss or conversion, also fine by me. I actually think the KoBo reader that Chapters/Indigo sells might be the best option. Few bells and whistles but does what you need it to do and has got quite good ratings. It's also one of the cheapest though at $159 still not cheap. Most of them are 20 to 30 more or even more for the Kindle.
It comes with software so you can also read the ebooks on your computer if you want and the software aids transfer to the reader though if it's a pdf file, you don't need it, just drag and drop. If borrowing from the library you need a different piece of free software to do the transfer. I suppose it is what is needed to keep track of the borrowing time period and licensing stuff.
I do like an actual book but i can also see the advantages of this and really, it's the way things are going. It would be good for travel, bringing books and pdf maps and info documents on places you're visiting. You could put your guidebooks on it too and it's not that big so would still fit in my purse (handbag). Most of them also play mp3s if you like but then i have my ipod for that and even my phone. Some of them show photos too but not in colour. They have a nice screen that is different from an lcd screen, and simulates paper. It's usually bright and clear enough to read outside on a sunny day too, very little if any glare.
The Kobo one comes with 100 classic books which apparently you can't delete though they say you will in a future version. There's also quite a few sites where you can get free eBooks, mainly older classics though, not new releases that are still under copyright. but if you had ever thought about reading all the Jane Austens, you could get them for free (if they didn't already come on the Kobo).
I guess i'm talking myself into it but i think i will wait until later....Might be a good Christmas pressie? (hint!)