iPad release date announced

The new Apple iPad will ship April 3. For those of us waiting impatiently for this new gadget, today's news is quite welcome.
The Apple iPad will be a multimedia experience. Similar to an iPhone, but with a 10 inch screen, longer battery life, and more powerful processing, the iPad will make the entertainment experience more portable, more user friendly, and just plain more fun. According to Apple, nearly all of the 150,000 apps in the iTunes App Store will work on the iPad from day 1. Apps purchased for the iPhone or iPod Touch will be translatable to your brand new iPad.
Ranging from $499 to $829, there's an iPad for most budgets. If you plan to use the iPad at home or only where there is wifi, the cheaper models will be just fine. The more expensive models come with AT&T 3G capabilities, but also with AT&T fees for a data package. For those constantly on the go, the 3G model may be needed, but for most, the wifi only should be more than sufficient.
There are also 3 choices of memory, 16, 32, and 64 GB. For storing movies, music, e-books, etc, the more memory the better. For largely internet surfing or playing App games, the lower memory models are likely just fine. I've yet to fill up my 16 GB iPhone.
This time around, Apple's release of a new product already has some smart accessories available from Apple, not 3rd party vendors. A VGA connector for using the iPad a digital movie player connected to your TV, a keyboard dock for those needing a real keyboard, and a very nice case are all available for purchase.
Add the extended warranty plan for $99 if it is possible the iPad might be damaged during your use. Apple's warranties are one of the few that are really worth the money. If it breaks, they just replace it. My husband's iPhone had a couple of pixels go bad. We took it into the Apple store and they replaced it right then.
With Apple's new iBookstore, browse, purchase, and read books on your iPad. For on the go, just the storage of many books is worth the purchase of the iPad. Anyone like me, who travels with one or two books daily and takes 5-7 for a weeklong trip will appreciate this ability. Read in portrait for one page or landscape for two pages, which looks just like you're reading a book, just without the ink stains on your fingers.
I am beginning to feel that we have entered the age of Buck Rogers. Will when Apple invent the magic medical wand that diagnoses all your ills with just a pass over?

Broccoli Loaf to feed the pups

Cooking for your dogs, like cooking for yourself, can be a joyous expression of creativity and love for those you are feeding. When there are 5 dogs in the house and two humans who really dislike waste, especially wasted food, there is a wonderful opportunity for making up new dishes. A friend suggested to me once that using leftover vegetables, fruits, meats, dairy that may be just a little passed what you would want to eat but by no means spoiled (or even if you're just tired of eating that dish) in doggie dishes would be a great way to not waste food but to also feed your pups a special treat. I decided to give this a go by putting leftover food that wasn't spoiled but maybe a little wilted or just no longer desired by me into the freezer until I had enough to make a dish for the dogs. This first started with the bag of broccoli slaw (shredded broccoli) that I purchased when initially pregnant. Pregnancy food aversions strike very quickly and without seeming rhyme or reason and this one so happened to strike just after I bought the broccoli. I couldn't stand the sight of it so I put the whole bag in the freezer. We then made a turkey and had leftover hearts and livers that I boiled for the dogs, putting the broth and bits in a freezer bag along with the leftover green beans. When my baguette went stale and hard but not molded, I decided that would be a good base for a doggie treat. Here is my made up recipe that has been very much enjoyed by the 5 dogs here.




1 hard baguette
1 bag broccoli slaw--thaw in microwave if needed
1 pint - 1 quart meat broth with meaty bits--thaw in microwave if needed
any other veggies, such as green beans or peas
1 egg
cheese

Use a blender to beat the baguette into bread crumbs. Put bread crumbs in a bowl.
Add the broccoli and meat broth.
Grate cheese (my dogs like cheddar) into the bowl, as much as you think the dogs will like but not so much as to be greasy or gooey. They mostly just want a taste.
Add a whole egg (the shells are good for them too) and bust with a spoon.
Mix well with a spoon.
If the mix is not coherent enough, add flour. Two to four heaping tablespoons should be sufficient. You don't want it to be dry but some cohesion is necessary.
Put mix into a glass baking dish and bake at 300-350 F until brown on the outside and "done" on the inside. For a drier dish, cook on a lower heat for longer.
A light butter coating will allow the loaf to flip out onto a plate.
Cut and serve, letting cool enough to not burn a pup's mouth.
Store in refrigerator and serve with meals.

Hope you try it and your pups enjoy!