Aviously

Churchill Solitaire

@iAmAviG

February 8, 2016

Churchill Solitaire is the iOS game you’ve been missing.

Donald Rumsfeld (yes, THAT Donald Rumsfeld) was one of a handful of people that knew the game, as taught by Winston Churchill, and he worked with game developers to bring this new version of solitaire to iOS.

The concept is familiar: Stack your cards by suit from A–>K, like regular solitaire, except there’s two decks, the cards on the table are in a pyramid shape, and there are a bunch of cards in an untouchable pile that can only be fed onto the end stacks…and that’s where the wrench is.

This game is fun, and extremely challenging, and free for the starting hands, so no excuse for anyone with iOS not to give it a try!

LINK HERE

Touring in the Winter

@iAmAviG

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February 5, 2016

I’ve mentioned it before, but I love touring in the winter.

Sure it can be cold (see Washington DC 2013), and snow piled 4′ high everywhere (see Boston 2015), but the places are almost always empty (see Niagara 2015).

Throw on some layers, grab a few hand warmers, bring your camera (or phone) and some batteries/chargers (as it all drains faster in the cold) and you’re good to go.

Most pathways are cleared early-on in tourist-y areas, such as Boston, where snow covered every inch of land, except a paper thin path cleared on their famous brick Freedom Trail.

Even indoor locations, such as Smithsonians/Museums, are emptier as people aren’t traveling in to the towns.

And if you are traveling via any method besides car, as well as hotels in the area, are generally cheaper than when they are overbooked in the summer months.

Google Opinion Rewards

@iAmAviG

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February 4, 2016

Do you want to make money to use the Google Play Store?

It’s really quite simple, just install Google Opinion Rewards.

This app will give you occasional surveys, based on where you’ve been, and habits you may have, and award you money (anywhere from a penny to $1+).

And while this sounds like pocket change…it really is just that: Pocket Change.

I use my change for simple things, like renting a movie in the Google Play Store, or more commonly: Game Add-Ons.

For example (which I actually don’t play anymore): Want those new lives in Candy Crush? How about some help in Words With Friends?
Don’t want to drop $$ on it?
Just use these earned coin!

And it doesn’t take much time to earn. These quizzes are generally 5 questions or less (most commonly three questions), and are all multiple choice.

I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than 30-seconds on a quiz.

Super Bowl 50

@iAmAviG

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February 3, 2016

It’s the end of an era. For years, we’ve grown to rely on something to be there for us in the NFL, but this year it is coming to an end.

Nope, I’m not talking about Peyton Manning. I’m talking about Roman Numerals. The NFL has gotten bored of their numbering system from the last 49 years, and changed this year to using actual numbers.

But let’s turn to the actual game, and who to root for.

The options are quite simple: The aging legend, in possibly his final hurrah vs. the charismatic youngster, enjoying the game.

While I would love to see Peyton Manning win one more before he walks away from the game, I’m leaning towards Cam Newton and the high flying Panthers.

My prediction: Carolina Panthers 35 – Denver Broncos 24

Package Thief Exposed

@iAmAviG

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February 1, 2016

Friday afternoon I went to take out the trash, and noticed a guy bent over on my neighbors porch.

As I walked down my stairs, he straightened up, came down the stairs, and walked past me, holding a couple of bags in his right hand (the side further away from me).

My first thought was: “Did he just steal something off their porch?” (as I had heard a FedEx truck earlier in the day).

I ran upstairs and grabbed my coat, and chased after the guy to get a picture of him.
I couldn’t confront him because I had not yet checked the porch to see if he had indeed taken something.

After I got back home I looked and saw that there was an empty box, and when I checked surveillance footage, I saw that he was an opportunist who was walking down the block, saw the package, pulled out a blade, and swooped for the kill.

The ease that he did the act, the calmness that he left with the items and slipped them into his backpack, makes me think this isn’t his first (or last) time doing it.

Here is his picture. Keep an eye out for him, and if you see him, try and keep him in your sights to help keep the neighborhood safe!

Flight Attendants on @SouthwestAir and Dr. On Board

@iAmAviG

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January 29, 2016

I recently flew from Chicago’s Midway Airport on Southwest, and had a few untypical events from the flight crew.

Southwest in general has great flight crew, but maybe because of the 5:45AM (local time) flight, they were still waking up?
They were grumpy, didn’t seem happy to be there, and mostly were uncharacteristic of Southwest.

About 2/3rds of the way through the flight the “Fasten Seatbelt” sign dinged on/off a few times rapidly, and the flight attendant in the back went rushing to the front.
I picked my head up and noticed all the flight attendants and a few other people standing near the cockpit door.
In this post 9/11 age, my first thought was “Did someone just try rushing the cockpit?”.
But then I saw them looking on the floor in the entrance hallway, and the call then came over the system “If there is a Dr. or Nurse on board, can they please come to the front of the plane.”
Three people got up and headed to the front, two of which appeared to be medical students (based on age).
After a couple of minutes those two headed back to their seats, followed a few minutes later by the third guy and the patient himself, with a neck pad of some sort (too far away to see if it was a support piece or a wet compress).
The flight didn’t make any unscheduled stop, no emergency landing, and no emergency units came onto the plane when we reached our gate.

NHL Goes Pro & All-Star 3v3

@iAmAviG

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January 28, 2016

The NHL has had a busy marketing week, and are ramping up for a great weekend.

On Tuesday the league released the Trailer for their new series partnered with GoPro, showing the game (or in Season 1’s case, practice) from the players perspectives.

This video features some of the leagues best players showing off their skills with their skates, sticks and gloves.
This has potential to be one of the most exciting technological advances in sports, since maybe ever.

This weekend is the leagues almost annual All-Star game, in Nashville, TN, this time with a brand new twist.

The game will feature 4-teams, one from each division, and have 3 mini games of 20-minutes a piece.
Game 1 – Team A vs. Team B
Game 2 – Team C vs. Team D
Game 3 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 3
The winners of Game 3 will get $1M.

But the biggest part of these games is that it will be 3-on-3 hockey. Lots of open ice, lots of fast paced play, and, as should be expected in All-Star Games, lots of potential for goals.

Yet the best part for most of us on All-Star weekend will happen Saturday night, during the Skills Competition. It will feature six-events:
– Fastest Skater
– Breakaway Challenge (No rules apply)
– Accuracy Shooting
– Skills Relay
– Hardest Shot
– Shootout (Shootout rules apply)

Mental Health Awareness – #BellLetsTalk

@iAmAviG

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January 27, 2016

Today is the 6th Annual Bell Let’s Talk day.

The day is a Canadian based campaign focused on talking about mental health issues and encouraging everyone to talk their stories out.

Bell Media runs this program, and for every Tweet with the #BellLetsTalk attached to it will raise $0.05 for charity (towards mental health awareness), and similarly, every share of this Facebook post will raise the same.

As of 7AM Eastern Time this post already had over 25K shares.

The networks of Bell Media, which include TSN and CTV News, will feature lots of programming today, all focused on the topic.

Hertz Gold Rental

@iAmAviG

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January 26, 2016

Hertz Gold Rental is the way to go.

With Hertz Gold your car is listed on a leaderboard when you show up, so you can head straight to your car with no issues.

And if you don’t have Hertz Gold…just sign up for AAA and instantly get that money back.

For example here is my rental information from this past weekend, in all cases I was booking a Mid-Size SUV for 3-day weekend rates:

I tried booking with Dollar, and the rate was $250.

Instead I then went and paid $52 for AAA, and with Hertz I rented for $102, a total of $154…a savings of $96 and I now have AAA for the year!

It's Time For Drones

@iAmAviG

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January 20, 2016

Amazon comes closer every day to making drone delivery more of a reality.

A new article, via engadget explains some of the quirks of their high flying delivery machines.

They will have different units based on locale, so that rainy areas and dry areas get their appropriate birds, and the same difference between areas with large fields vs. those with lots of tall buildings.

By tailoring them to where they will be used, this will help the drones keep from crashing and/or getting tangled in phone lines and crashing thru a living room window.

Two great quotes from the article, the first on how these drones will avoid trees:

These drones are more like horses than cars — and let me explain why. If you have a small tree in your front yard, and you want to bang your car into it for some reason, you can do that. Your spouse might not be happy with you, but you can do it. But try riding a horse into the tree. It won’t do it. The horse will see the tree and go around it. Same way our drones will not run into trees, because they will know not to run into it.

The other quote talks about those vigilantes who enjoy shooting drones out of the skies:

There is, however, no avoiding thieves with guns. The company’s hoping that people will get tired of shooting at its drones once the novelty wears off.

They aren’t sure where they will launch Prime Air first, as they continue to work with Federal Agencies to make it legal here in the States.

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