Heartburn & Weight

I'm fat. No, not obese but fat. I've also had heartburn trouble for many years. Both problems have been long in coming and I'm sure there is plenty of plaque in my veins and arteries.

Today I did not help myself very much. I ate several large pieces of Mexican sweet bread, a pack of M & M's, two vending machine chocolate cup cakes, a large helping of leftover restaurant beef cheese & chips and other nasties. This did not help either of the aforementioned problems.

I need a system that will keep me eating healthy foods and portion sizes and that will keep me from eating too close to bedtime.

Otterbox Defender Case for iPhone 4 - Review

When I got my iPhone 4 I thought it was a wonderful piece of engineering and great looking too. It also looked like it would break if you stared at it too hard. Based on my experience with prior electronic devices I knew that it would be contacting the ground in the near future.

After some research I ordered a Defender case from Otterbox. (www.otterbox.com) After about a year of daily use and abuse I have not been disappointed. The case has paid for itself several times.

The good:

• Lives up to its name. My phone has been dropped several times. Once from about head height right on to concrete. My Defender case has marks from contacting hard surfaces on three of the four corners (and the corner with no marks is covered in silicone) but the phone looks and works as good as new.
• The belt clip holds the phone in place well yet makes it so that the phone is easy to take off and put on the clip.
• Otterbox's customer service is top notch. See below.

The bad:

• The case adds to the weight and size of the phone. 
• The belt clip is made of a type of plastic that will break if too much pressure is put on it and mine did break. Otterbox replaced the belt clip with no hassle.
• The outside silicone covering makes for a great grip on say your dashboard or in your hand but it makes it difficult to slide the phone into or out of a pocket.
• The screen covering is as good as a screen cover can be but I took it off nonetheless. My eyes hurt from nearly constant computer use so I didn't need one more thing between them and the screen. This is no fault of the case as I don't see how a screen cover could be any better than the one in this case.
• The silicon covering developed a small tear. This time Otterbox replaced the entire case including the belt clip.  
• This is a personal thing but I would prefer that the Apple logo not show through the case. 

Summary:

The Defender case is a top quality case that provides a high level of protection against drops at the relatively small price of a bulkier and heaver phone and is backed up by a company that is willing to stand behind their products.

Getting Simple & Packing Stuff Around

I am attempting to get the junk out of my life. Junk of all types. One battle is the amount of junk I haul around.

I've fought a six year battle with my Targus backpack. (Targus 17” CityGear Chicago Laptop Backpack model number TCG650) It is the most useful piece of gear I've ever owned. It has crossed the country several times and accompanied me to work and just about everywhere else I've gone for at least six years.

It will carry just about anything you could want and more. One of the best features of this particular pack is that it will sit up on its own so you don't have to lean it on anything to keep it from falling over. The problem with it is that it is big and not the most professional looking thing you could haul around. The other problem with it is that one of the main zippers finally broke. It will not stay zipped.


I've tried numerous messenger bags and most recently a Scottevest travel vest. None have been able to replace the backpack. I take everything out of my pack every few weeks and examine whether I've used it or not. I only have in there what I use regularly.

Here is the lowdown / review on the Scottevest after about two weeks of ownership.

The good:

• A nice looking vest. It does not give you the tourist or old man look of a regular travel vest.
• 22 pockets. It took me a long time to even find all of the 22 pockets.
• Can carry a great deal of stuff and not look all that bulky.
• Pockets made just for phones and other gadgets
• A two year warranty.

The bad:

• I am not so sure about the long term durability. Time well tell.
• When it is unzipped it puts pressure on the back of my neck and it is usually unzipped.
• It will likely be too hot for summer wear (Scottevest does make lighter weight vests for hot weather).
• The personal area network is nice but you have to dedicate a set of headphones to the vest to really use it and the earpieces seemed to need just a little more wire to comfortably reach my ears.

Summary:
The Scottevest is a well thought out piece of gear and I will use it frequently. The more I use it the better I like it. However, most of the things I haul in my backpack are things I need nearby but not necessarily on me at the moment. It can't replace my backpack so now I have a vest AND a messenger bag that I've had for years.

The vest does simplify things when I'm say at the kids games. I don't have to carry the backpack with their water bottles and stuff as they fit in the vest pockets. However, it has not simplified my life overall as I'm still hauling the backpack around at least to the car and back.

Dixie

Please don't think of my use of the names of Dixie or Johnny Reb as a racist, redneck, or indicating that I wish to portray a bad boy image. This is not the case.

My heritage is Southern and I love the South thus the name. This blog is about giving back in my own Southern manner to the blogger community and to all of the people who have helped me through their blogs.

My thanks to all of you for writing your blogs and for visiting my blog. My hope is that my blog just might help someone be a little better.