Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category:
Understanding Snapchat
Do you have trouble understanding Snapchat? Yeah. Us too.
I’m trying to understand Snapchat. All the kids are into it, but it confuses me.
The latest version of Snapchat allows you to make goofy animations of your face. Here’s a video from Buzzfeed of people using… well, they’re called New Selfie Filters.
The new filters were introduced in September but I didn’t notice because I don’t use Snapchat. Mostly this is because it baffles me. That said, these animations are very easy to use and pretty funny. Think Emojis, but animated, and with your face on them. We’re all doomed, but at least we can make short video clips of ourselves puking up rainbows before the inevitable apocalypse.
Want to puke rainbows or put horns on your head? This is how to use the new Snapchat Selfie Filters.
What We’ve Figured Out So Far
First: get the latest version of the Snapchat app on your mobile device (iOS or Android).
Second: switch the camera to Selfie Mode. Usually this is a little symbol with arrows on it in the upper right corner of the screen.
Third: hold your finger over your face. Not your ACTUAL face. The image of your face on your phone or tablet. When you do this, a bunch of little images should appear at the bottom of your screen. Scroll through them until you find one that you like.
Fourth: hold down the red Record button and make your video.
Fifth: send it to someone.
Having trouble? Leave a comment and we’ll try to help. Don’t be embarrassed; it took us way longer to figure out than it should have. But that’s OK. We’re good enough, we’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like us.
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
New Star Trek Beyond Trailer is Brilliant
This may seem weird because I’m linking to a site that says “The Star Trek Beyond trailer has landed and it’s going to annoy the hell out of fans”. But I think the new Star Trek Beyond trailer is brilliant.
Here’s what the other site says:
The first trailer for Star Trek Beyond, the third in the current series, has landed, and it’s very silly. While fans still crave a more cerebral film a la the Picard/Sisco golden years, Paramount looks to be going further in the other direction – the emphasis in the trailer being on comedy and action.
And here is the trailer.
Something needs to be clarified. This quote is also from the linked article: “It begins by shamelessly cribbing from Guardians of the Galaxy, with the crew enjoying anachronistic music, before rifling through one-liners, lurching spaceships and hand-to-hand combat with aliens.” (emphasis added)
That “anachronistic music” is the Beastie Boys’ song Sabotage (arguably the best song ever), and it was featured in the first JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movie.
Remember that? I know it was 2009, but that wasn’t THAT long ago. More importantly, it’s not a random choice of song. It’s a callback to the first of the new Star Trek movies, when a young lad named James Tiberius Kirk steals his stepfather’s car and cranks up Sabotage.
Does the trailer look a little goofy? Maybe. But it’s a first trailer. There’s clearly going to be more Scotty, which I’m in favor of, because Simon Pegg is awesome. He also co-wrote the screenplay, so I don’t mind that he’s giving himself more screen time.
But awful? Really? I think it looks like fun. The other two reboots weren’t perfect but what they did get right is the characters. As long as that continues, we’ll be fine.
Also — and this is very important — IT’S THE FIRST TRAILER. We have no idea what the actual film is going to be like. And that’s great. I’m tired of trailers telling me every friggin’ thing that’s going to be in the movie before I see it. For example, Idris Elba is in the cast. Love Idris Elba. No idea who he’s playing. That’s cool with me.
Spock is logical. McCoy is cranky. Kirk is something of a maverick who will sleep with anything. That’s what matters. After that, give it a chance, people. Don’t judge a film by it’s trailer. Be happy that there’s more Star Trek to consume. I know I am.
Source: The Star Trek Beyond trailer has landed and it’s going to annoy the hell out of fans (Independent)
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Amazon Kindle Trade-In
Got an old Kindle, working or not? Amazon will take it. Welcome to the Amazon Kindle Trade-In.
They might only give you a few bucks for it, but Amazon will take your old Kindle off your hands and give you a credit towards a brand-new Kindle.
Yes, even if you have a 1st Gen Kindle (remember when that was introduced and it was, like, all expensive and stuff?), Amazon will give you five dollars for it, working or not. Hey, it beats throwing it in a landfill, or a poke in the eye.
You get an Amazon Gift Card and a $20 bonus towards the purchase of a new Kindle. Details at the link. Limited time offer, read the fine print, do your homework, be a smart shopper, and hey — let’s be careful out there.
Source: Kindle Trade-In @ Amazon.com
Parents Need Sleep Too
Parents need sleep just as much as their kids do. My good friend Valerie Reiss wrote a great article for Wanderlust offering some tips about how to do that.
Boy toddler. A child running in the park. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This line made me smile: “I now understand why no one says, ‘Sleep while your toddler sleeps.'” Because toddlers don’t always sleep the way babies do. Babies, because they’re, like, babies, will eventually sleep for a decent amount of hours because they really need it, and they haven’t figured out how to belligerently decide that they would rather be playing or talking or just running around, as in the photo above. (A note on said photo: I have no idea who that child is; it’s a public domain image from Wikipedia. Notice, however, that he is not sleeping.)
Then there’s teething. Oh, by the Lords of Kobol, teething. That just sucked. There’s no way around it — you want your kids to have teeth, and those teeth literally push their way through your child’s gums. Think about how insanely painful that must be. You think you could sleep through that? No you couldn’t.
Still. You need sleep. Everyone does, even if they don’t think they do, but parents in particular must, must, must catch some zzz’s. Trust me. I speak from experience. Not sleeping is bad for you, and also bad for your children. Like your kids, you will be cranky if you don’t get enough sleep. This will not be fun for anyone.
Valerie’s article (link below) points out why you need sleep and offers some specific tips on how to get the zzz’s you need, even if only in small doses. Napping is fine. More than fine. Napping is AWESOME. I’d actually like to be napping right now.
All this writing about sleep is making me sleepy. Well, that and staying up late watching Sunday Night Football. Maybe I’ll take a naaaaaaaaaaaaaa……..
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Source: Parents: Power Down to Power Through (Wanderlust, by Valerie Reiss)
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Metallica Onesies On Sale
For the little metalhead in your life, Metallica Onesies are on sale.
100% Cotton, Light Blue, Onesie Design by Tony Squindo
Available in blue or pink. Regularly $19.99, currently $14.99. Price may change at any time.
Actually, everything in Metallica’s online store is 25% off at the moment. “Blackened Friday.” (Get it?) Check it out here.
Source: Eat Sleep Poop – BLUE Onesie – Metallica
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DeAngelo Williams Little Girl on Twitter
It didn’t quite work out the way they planned it, but this picture of Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back DeAngelo Williams little girl on Twitter is adorable.
My little girl drawing up some plays for Coach Tomlin at the mock game #BeatTheSeahawks pic.twitter.com/nLapRfBtlD
— DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) November 28, 2015
$100 iTunes Code For $80
Black Friday 2015 has come and gone but there are still deals to be found.
Like this one I just stumbled across on eBay — a $100 iTunes Code for $80.
$100 iTunes Code for only $80 – Email Delivery in Gift Cards & Coupons, Digital Gifts | eBay
Yes, I’m suspicious as well. But the source is, according to the eBay page I’m looking at right now, PayPal Digital Gifts. eBay owns PayPal. So, you know, there’s that. So why would Apple let them sell $100 iTunes Gift Cards for $80, which is literally like getting free money? (Assuming you want to spend that money in the iTunes store.) I have no idea. Caveat buyor, as we say. But this appears to be legit.
One thing from the comments — you may not get the code right away. This comment amused me: “The description says delivered within minutes. I guess the definition of minutes is loose because technically a year is 525600 minutes…” (Cue Seasons Of Love
To be fair, the item description does say that it could take “up to 24 hours” for the code to show up in your email Inbox. BUT the intro text does say, “Delivered in minutes (Exceptions apply)”. As of this writing, they’ve sold 142 codes in the past hour. Hit the link below for the deal. And happy Thanksgiving!
Source: $100 iTunes Code for only $80 – Email Delivery (eBay)
