Cardamom

What is it thats missing from cinnamon rolls that keep them from being great cinnamon rolls?

The answer is fresh ground cardamom

My wife makes the best cinnamon rolls.

E63 vs E71 keyboards

Because people remain interested in some discussion form about buying an E63 new or a used E71 I would put my vote for the E63 here.

Its often pointed out that on specifications both seem identical. You can compare their specs here.

It is often identified in the quick glancing reviews offered on the web that the E71 has in its favor:

• integrated GPS hardware
• autofocus camera
• a metal exterior shell
• hardware volume keys on the side of the phone (inconvenient for a leftie I might add)

The E63 somehow seems like a cheap alternative to the (now discontinued) E71 which you could pick up if you don't mind the losses.

Firstly the 'metal' of the case of the phone is just a thin coating of metal over plastic. So its still a plastic phone. So only those who are a bit thin on the comprehension would be attracted to that as a 'rugged feature'. So we're down on the list of benefits to the E71.

So aside from the few 'benefits' and the long list of identical aspects to these phones (including CPU, memory and OS) we are down to what's the E63 got that the E71 doesn't.

Well of course there is the 3.5mm audio jack so you can actually listen to music (without buying some sort of adaptor or specialised headphones), and there is the torch (bloody handy thing that).

Yet still IMHO there are some advantages to the E63 in terms of usability (and of course the much lower price new and of course that you can't buy an E71 new anymore either).

If you actually want to use the phone for sending and checking email, then the E63 snots it in for having a better keyboard.

As you can see above the E63 has more useful keys on the board for anyone wanting to type more and navigate around what they've typed.

/ and @ get their own key (rather than sharing one)
( and ) appear on the board (rather than needing to press a symbol key)

= now has a place on the board
Ctl and Chr each have a key rather than them sharing a needing to press Fn to shift between them.

And of course you get a torch on the E63 which the E71 needs you to rummage around and find an app for activating that. This of course can't be tuned to a key which can be used when the phone is locked as can the E63

For instance, if you were writing an email, you could use Ctl X and Ctl V to cut and paste text around.

It would require the dexterity of a Yoga teaching pianist to do that on the E71 where it would be:

• (on the left hand) Fn (that little arrow thing on the lower left)
• and (on the right hand) Ctl
• and then at the same time on the left hand press X

Of course cut and paste in documents is for advanced users, so naturally a phone designed for an on the go communications tool wouldn't need such a thing.

So sure, the E63 needs you to go and buy a GPS as an accessory (and register your maps to gain access to guided navigation) but the benefit is you then don't suck battery out of your phone when navigating (and you can put the GPS in a better spot in the car for reception).

Nokia E63 or E72 maps

People often want this or that phone because its got a bigger screen making it easier for navigation. Well personally if I'm driving I just want the basic facts at a glance. When I look at my speedo I want to see the speed on a dial not as a list of other numbers as on a spread-sheet

So I'm often surprised that people who review phones never point out the most useful screen of the Nokia OVI maps navigation, perhaps most of the reviewers never actually use the phones much or have any technical competence to figure out what it is they don't already know. Seems a bit like asking a Muslim to give me a review of various ham sandwiches if you ask me.

When navigating with my Nokia (well, either of them) I have the choice of 3 screen views, these are:



Normally when I'm driving I want the middle one because I don't want to take my eyes off the road for long and I don't want all the visual clutter of the other streets.


This is the middle one.

So even though the screen is smaller than on my tom tom I can actually see where I'm going by looking at the road and using the phone for directions as to where to turn.

The most important thing is shown (like what sort of turn it is and how far it is.

Backed up by a voice. If I wanted to look at the maps (not while I'm driving, but say when I'm pulled over on the side or walking) then I can do that too.

Clean and simple isn't it.

Why only indigenous peoples

One of the things that bugs me a little is the seemingly unstated premise that only indigenous peoples have any connection to the land. Perhaps this attitude is driven out of the media and the government who (as organizational creatures) seem to derive from the City.

Well as one who comes from a small town, who went to school in the one area, who had strong roots in rural Australia I can say that "its not just the Aboriginal peoples of this land who feel this way". Personally I have a strong connection with the land as well as with the areas in which I grew up in, such as where my school used to be.

I can see why the Aboriginal peoples may think that the 'white Australians' don't care about the land, especially when they see the outcomes we get and when they only meet Government representatives or agro local. But there are plenty of us Australians who were also born here who feel the same way.

It regularly breaks my heart to see paces like the one in this photo turned into wasteland or perhaps worse flooded (for dam construction) for the sake of what is called progress or development.

Personally I can't think of a more perverse word to use for that.

So if you're reading this and you're indigenous then take a moment to reflect on what I've written here and remember that we all live in this land and you can't make assumptions about my beliefs based on my colour or the fact that I look to be similar to those who claim to represent us in what is called Representative Government, thats just prejudice. We all know what sorts of problems that have come from that now don't we