Monthly Archives: December 2013

This past year we saw some really innovative material coming out of Apple's corner, from iOS 7 for iPhones to two new iPads. Here's a look back at the best that Apple produced in 2013.

Christmas and Boxing Day have just passed by for another year, with 2013 providing one of the most memorable holiday seasons ever. Here's the good and bad.

They meant well.  We all know that, but when you received that bejeweled iPad case, smiled and thanked your loved one. Right at that moment... know that Pad & Quill was thinking about you. We understand the guilt of being appreciative to the gift giver, but...not so much of the plastic iPad case. There is something about bright pink/black plastic and fake diamonds that just does not work with your design ethic.  Yet at the same time you are very appreciative of the giver and their efforts.  It's tough.

You will notice that at Pad & Quill we try to minimize the degree we use plastic material in our construction. When we set out to craft products we use some litmus tests to help us refine what we are about to produce. A couple of those include:

- Is the product largely constructed by hand, by passionate, well trained craftsmen?

- Is our product organic, sourced from natural elements and in

In the last post, we took a look at the first 6 items on Pad and Quill's 12 Days of Christmas, Apple-style. Now, we'll look at the second half of that list.

In the rush and crush of the holiday season chocolate has become my enemy.  Not because it is lurking around every corner and it’s tempting from every store aisle shelf, shouting “indulge!” “indulge!” “I will not add a layer of insulation to your waistline as I did last Christmas!”  No, chocolates seeming omnipresence does not make it the enemy.  Waiting has made chocolate the enemy.  Tis the season of waiting.  Waiting in lines, waiting in traffic, waiting for kids concerts and events to begin.  Waiting for some kids concerts to end (one can really only actively listen to so many sixth grade flugelhorn renditions of Ole St. Nick.) And while waiting I’ve developed the horrible habit of playing Candy Crush, where, at level 51, chocolate has become the enemy.

If you have not been sucked into a Gustav-like addiction to Candy Crush, you would not understand the travesty that is level 51. 

Although Christmas is just over a week away, it’s never too late for a 12 Days of Christmas-styled post—until the day itself, that is. Here is Part I of the 12 most awesome things Pad and Quill likes about Apple and their products.

With Friday the 13th only happening twice this year, it seems like a good time to look at some of the weirdest stories involving Apple (and their users.)

The holidays are upon us and Kari and I are very occupied between the new Pad & Quill product launches and 4 busy Quills. So I thought this post might be a good time to slow down and actually talk to each other while letting you in on the conversation. Our first ever published interview between each other.

Thanks for joining me today Mrs PQ. As you know, I’m a big fan and always appreciative of your time to sit and actually talk to your husband.

 Kari- If talking via email counts.  I can see you in the reflection of my iMac Monitor, so this is  especially romantic.  Adding to the ambiance, Bear the faux fox (our dog), while laying under my desk, is gassing off his Pupperoni snacks and that tang is co-mingling with the bouquet of fast food remains being utilized to live-trap my new furry friends which have taken up residence under my filing cabinet.   Ew.

Question 1

A beard is

The great thing about a Mac is they make life easy. Although it's possible, it's not very often you hear of a Mac getting infected by a virus, being rerouted to malware, spontaneously crashing, or needing to be updated every week. But despite that, there are still a few things you should be doing to make sure your Mac lives long and prospers.

I’ve shipped so many iPad and iPhone cases in the last 72 hours my iPhone 5s no longer acknowledges my thumbprint.  Some artist might take a grenade for you.  Me? I’ll forfeit my IOS identity for you, now that’s undying devotion.

I was talking to my son the other day, we were discussing Huck Finn and he was wondering how Huck knew the body discovered in the river wasn’t his father, as the body was espied floating “face up”.  I explained to him that fat is more buoyant then muscle and that women tend to have a bit more “buoyancy” in the chest region.  He, being a fifteen year-old boy probably knows that.

Then he explained to me that the reason our family grace sung at Thanksgiving dinner sounded so awkward was due to too many individuals singing harmony.  Six distinct voices shouting, “hear me!”  “hear me!” thereby pulling the melody to pieces.