Ah, the Magic Kingdom. I think my kids began enjoying the magic first thing in the morning, once they made it to the first attraction. I think my magic started up at about the time we sat down for dinner at the end of the day, with an ice cold beverage.
We walked, and we walked, then we walked some more - over 7 miles per day during our 3 days between Disneyland and California Adventure - chasing after Fastpasses, running to make a parade, hurrying to get a good spot for the parade - you get the idea. Did we have a good time? You betcha. Did we get any rest? Heck no. But maybe that's the point, because why wouldn't you go on Pirates of the Caribbean just one more time, even if the park is only open for 5 more minutes? And when you have the chance to watch Fantasmic on the water near Orleans Square, you better hustle and get a good seat, because you are surely not the only tired parent in the park with the same idea.
Here's the numbers, in a nutshell - no offense to Chip, or Dale
* 21 miles of walk, walk, hustle, hustle
* 87 times having to say "No, we can't buy that" during the 3 days. Not bad, considering that I'm sure I had to say it over 300 times at DisneyWorld a few years ago. My kids are growing up! ;-)
* 14 Gallons - the amount of water that drenched my wife, Renee, from Splash Mountain. How do I know this? Because she told me...over, and over and over.
* 1244 kernels of over-priced popcorn. Of which, at least 324 pieces were dropped on the ground by my son.
* 3 Times in a row that the kids and Renee went on California Screamin'
* 27 times that Ethan yelled "That was AWESOME" after getting off a ride.
* 27 times that our 11-year old, Skylar, was patient with her little brother when he yelled "That was AWESOME" in her ear. Thanks, Sky!
* 124 people that I saw eating Churro's that really shouldn't have been.
* 1 Jedi Training Course that included a battle between my son and Darth Maul. Life changing, (for him) that's all I can say.
* 18 times that we walked up and back through Downtown Disney...Never again.
* 1 small humanoid robot named ASIMO that impressed us all with his performance at the Inoventions exhibit in Tomorrowland.
* $706 for 2 adults and 2 children's tickets for 3 days - I thought we were in a recession?
* 47 minutes - total time spent in the Lego store at Downtown Disney, spread over 3 visits.
* $525 - amount my son would liked to have spent at the Lego store. "Dad, can we get the Death Star?!" See the second line above for my response.
* $49 - total dollar amount actually spent at the Lego store.
* 447 laughs, giggles and smiles that made the trip memorable for Skylar, Ethan and their cousins, Colton and Chloe
* 3 times I caught myself looking at my children, wondering how they had grown up so quickly. OK, maybe it was 34, but close enough.
So there you have it, 3 days of fun in the sun, rides, friends, family, food, drink, laughs, water, sore feet, along with Mickey Mouse and other assorted characters. What a great trip it was, indeed.
I'm going to let Brian Northway take it from here. I'm headed off to the Eastern Sierra's for a pack trip up to some high altitude lakes, in search of some last minute Golden Trout fishing before the weather turns on us for winter. Enjoy the rest of the ride this week and thanks for joining us!
DIY Game Repair Parts
Announcing our new DIY Reapir Parts for the Sony PSP! Every day these hand-held gaming systems get more features and less expensive. We've done a lot of great repairs on these units and, from the beginning, you've asked if we sold individual parts for them. Until now, we've only had a handfull of PSP parts available for sale outside of a full-service repair but, as the times change, so does TechRestore.
From now on, you can buy any PSP part we have in stock (and soon Nintendo DS/DSi parts) without having to get a full service repair! Than means you save on shipping it in to us, having us do the install and shipping it back to you. We even provide documentation that shows how to take the PSP apart, step by step. Of course this also means that we will no longer be offering game system repairs but, we will empower you to fix it your self, and you can do it! All it takes to fix most of this stuff is a small screwdriver and 20-30 minutes. Believe me, it's far less complicated than navigating a treacherous 3D world with 10 buttons and an analog stick, and defeating a two-story tall monster, with a combination of special moves and hi-tech weaponry.
All of our PDF take-apart guides are available for free, before you even purchase a part, so that you can see how easy (or complicated) they may be. Naturally, the deeper you go, the more you'll have to keep track of but a litte hacker spirit goes a long way - and, frankly, the hardest PSP repair is easier than the simplest auto repair. The best part is, you don't even get your hands dirty! (c;
Click here to locate game system repair parts available for your repair.
Future Shock
If you haven't seen it already, our latest video is a tear-down and rebuild of the new, fifth generation, iPod nano. As you might expect, it's done in our usual stop-motion style, but this one begins with a demo of some built-in video effects, shot on the nano 5G. Here's the script:
Imagine that you're a Terminator cyborg or an alien Predator, showing up outside the TechRestore repair center to infiltrate our animation room. With the aid of a heads-up display and thermal imaging, you slip past the receptionist, hidden by your electronic cloaking device. Just to be sure that you weren't seen, you hack the securty camera. Once inside, you see the latest in human nano-technology, sitting on the dissection table. Taking it apart telekinetically, you record all of the inner workings, labeling them for future reference. Suddenly one of our our techs, Ivan, discovers your intrusion, but your mind control beam forces him to reassemble the nano - at warp speed. Mission accomplished, you verify the unit's functionality and beam back to the mother ship, along with the iPod, of course!
Here's a desktop image showing an infinite field of 5G nanos, within nanos, within nanos...made from a frame of the video above, and a splash of color, that I added to liven it up. I know, our last two wallpaper images were of nanos but, with such an exciting new product out, who can think of anything else? Until last week, I actually thought the Flip Mino was a pretty cool device, but now it seems about as interesting as a giant, cold-war era, cassette walk-man, since the new nano does video recording. Way to go Apple! I cant wait to see what the new iPod touch can do - HD video recording perhaps?
This week's screen saver is an updated promo for the Macintosh Computer Expo. This one features NCMUGs fantastic event flier, floating above a Google Earth rendering of the expo location, in Petaluma, California, amid a shower of virtual fireworks. The event is just as free as the screen saver and, if you've never been, I can tell you that Petaluma is a charming little town with lots of restaurants and cafes on the river - great options for a lunch break, or dinner after the event.
Check out this week's specials. Use the links to schedule a service or place your order online. Naturally, you can also call 1-888-572-7372 to speak to a human being that is standing by to help you Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM Pacific Time. Specials are good until midnight, on Friday, September 25th, but don't wait until the last minute to place your order. (c;
Apple's announcement today was, as usual, pretty amazing. The big news was the changes in the iPod nano design. Here's the highlights of the new 5th gen:
video camera with live special effects
FM Radio with pause, fast forward & rewind
voice/audio recorder
pedometer & fitness app
talking menu & player navigation
shiny, anodized aluminum finish
There's other stuff too, but these are the big ones.
The live image processing effects for the video camera are amazing: color replacement, mirror, cyborg...100% fun. I am a bit mystified that there's no still photo option but, since we now have cameras in every gadget but our shoes, I guess VGA snaps on the iPod won't be sorely missed.
FM radio is obviously a welcome feature but the time-shift options (a la Radio Shark) make it super slick. Some recording would be nice though (and it's obviously possible since recording facilitates the pause, fast forward and rewind functionality).
Recording audio through the built-in mic is a long awaited and much appreciated feature as well. Judging by the audio quality in the sample video recordings, posted on Apple's website, this should prove to be very handy, even if it is mono.
The Fitness pedometer is a great for folks who don't want to buy Nike's special electronic shoes, providing the missing link between Wii Fit and the rest of your workout, outside in the real world. Tracking your steps is fun for hiking trips and walking tours, on vacation too.
The talking menus, handy for most people, since you can navigate songs while driving or walking without looking down at the screen, must be a godsend for those who don't have the ability to see or see well enough to read text on the tiny nano screen.
Other announcements include special features for iTunes movies and liner notes for Albums (like the lyrics and photos on records album covers). Also, the price of the iPod touch has dropped to $199, but who wants one of those without a video camera, pedometer or FM radio? Smart buyers will obviously wait to get a touch, when upgrades are announced (or get a new nano now). iTouch and iPhone users alike will welcome the app organization tools, while Home Sharing will make it easy to transfer content between computers and devices.
Here we come! Our world tour has just started and we are coming to a town near you. TechRestore has enjoyed incredible success since our inception in 2004, a testament to our team of technicians, customer service reps, salespeople, marketing folks, designers and not to mention my big mouth. :-0 It's great when you enjoy your work so much that you can't stop talking about it. Except when it starts to drive your friends crazy, which is when you reign yourself in and you come to the shocking realization that not everyone is as excited about taking apart a MacBook Pro Unibody/iPhone/PSP (enter name of shiny new tech toy here), incredible as that may seem. ;-)
We started TechRestore with a simple premise - do things better than we had ever done before. Our team had been working together for years prior to launching TechRestore, developing procedures and methods for repairs and upgrades that we knew we could do even better, faster, stronger.... So, we gathered up the best of the best and started a brand new company - and what a warm welcome we received. Within just a few months we had surpassed our expectations, our projections and we had happy clients throughout the United States telling their friends about TechRestore. We began receiving strange emails from customers with words like "Love, incredible, excellent, wonderful, impressed, great," you get the idea. My favorite all time customer comment came from Shari Bernhardt who told her friends that she was "In love with a company called TechRestore". It doesn't get much better than that.
So, we knew we were onto something and we kept working hard to earn your trust and your business for life. There's been a lot of "firsts" that we are very proud of since our inception. Here's a few highlights:
First overnight flat-rate LCD repair service for Mac laptops - March, 2005
First iPod hard drive upgrade program - March, 2005
First overnight power supply repair program for Macs - May, 2005
First lifetime battery replacement service for iPods - June, 2005
First (and only) free overnight pickup service for repairs - August, 2005
First overnight 160GB hard drive upgrade for Mac laptops - January, 2006
First overnight Sony PSP repair service - April 5, 2006
First overnight flat-rate screen replacement for MacBook systems - July, 2006
First glossy screen upgrades for PowerBook systems - September, 2006
First data recovery service with prices based in reality - January, 2007
First Apple TV hard drive upgrades - March, 2007
First repair center to offer 2000+ local drop-off locations - September, 2007
First 500GB overnight drive upgrade for Mac laptops - June, 2008
First (and only) Matte Finish Upgrade for MacBook and MacBook Pro systems - January, 2009
First overnight glass replacement for MacBook Unibody - March, 2009
First overnight $99 iPhone screen repair service - March, 2009
First 500GB 7200RPM drive upgrade for Mac laptops - May, 2009 and more....
By now your eyes are probably glazed over, so if you are so inclined, you can view our "page of firsts" here. I am extremely proud of our team and all that we have accomplished - and I'm thrilled to announce the official launch of our latest endeavor, TechRestore Canada! We have been working on the details and logistics for the last few months and this week it became official, TechRestore Canada is receiving repairs each day and spreading joy across the Great White North to Mac, iPod, iPhone and PSP owners. We'll have more expansion news for you soon, in the meantime, here's the press release the went out earlier this week for TechRestore Canada:
Concord, California. August 18, 2009
TechRestore, an award winning Mac, iPod and iPhone repair center opens TechRestore Canada location to provide overnight repair services to clients throughout Canada.
TechRestore, the proven leader in Overnight repair services for Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro, PowerBook and iBook laptops as well as iPhone, iPod and Sony PSP systems announced today that they have begun offering nationwide repairs for their customers located in Canada. The TechRestore Canada repair center is now open for business and repairs are coming in daily from all areas of Canada. Repairs are completed within 24-hours of receipt to their repair center, located in Abbotsford, B.C. The new TechRestore Canada repair center is staffed with Apple Certified technicians that have been helping customers with their repair skills for years.
"TechRestore has performed tens of thousands of overnight repairs for our customers in the United States," said Shannon Jean, Founder and President of TechRestore, Inc. "We have a very loyal following in Canada and we are excited to be able to offer our clients a fast, easy and trusted repair solution for their Mac, iPhone, iPod and PSP repairs from within their own country, with no customs hassles or extended shipping delays."
TechRestore Canada is accepting repairs immediately and is fully staffed with certified technicians that are performing repairs on all models of Mac laptops, iPods, iPhones and Sony PSP gaming systems.
"We are thrilled to bring TechRestore's unique service to a Canadian audience," said Aaron Attwater, General Manager for TechRestore Canada. "We love Apple products and being Apple users ourselves, we enjoy being able to breath new life back into them so that our clients can continue to enjoy them. We're committed to the same level of service and practices used at TechRestore USA and we look forward to helping you with your next repair."
We took the wraps off of our brand spankin' new 750 Gigabyte Overnight hard drive upgrade for MacBook and MacBook Pro Unibody systems this week! This incredible new drive is also compatible with all 17" MacBook Pro systems and the 13" & 15" MacBook Pro Unibody models. Our Engineers have been testing this new Western Digital drive and they love it.
This hard drive replacement is compatible with all MacBook and MacBook Pro Unibody systems (2008 & 2009 models) and 17" MacBook Pro systems (2006, 2007, 2008). Service includes installation of a brand new drive within 24-hours of our receipt of your Mac, data transfer and Free return shipping.
Quick Answers to Common Questions - AKA, stuff you should know:
We only use brand new, never refurbished hard drives from manufactures such as Hitachi, Seagate, Toshiba and Samsung. All of the drives we install come with a 3-5 year warranty against defects.
We provide you a full 1-year warranty on labor and drive replacement. Beyond the 1-year period we will assist you with getting the drive replaced directly from the manufacturer during their 3-5 year warranty should you need it.
In over 10 years of installing hard drives into Mac laptops, we have never had a manufacturer warranty declined due to our service. Of course, the manufacturer will not provide warranty service on the drive that we install in your system - we'll take care of that for you.
We will return your old hard drive to you. You can have us install your old drive in an external USB or FireWire enclosure, or just gt your bare drive back for.
When you receive your Mac back and start it up, your system will be exactly as you shipped it to us, only with the larger hard drive installed. All your applications, preferences, documents, etc.. will be exactly as they were before.
The new 750 Gigabyte upgrade service is available today with a price of just $299!
Future Shock
If you haven't seen it on Facebook or on our podcast yet, I've got a fun video for you, this week: 215 iPod nanos getting knocked over like dominoes!
If you like the video, don't forget to rate, comment and share (on Facebook, MySpace etc.) If you don't like it, rate and comment anyway! Also, you can download HD quality .mov files and iPod video versions at our downloads page.
The first time I set them up, there were a few iPods that didn't stand up straight without wobbling. I eliminated a most of them but, just as I was finishing, with only a handful of iPods left to place, one wobbly nano fell over and started the whole thing going! I dashed ahead of the collapsing iPods like Superman rushing to stop a speeding train, but my preemptive strikes only set more iPods to falling over. I really wish that I had gotten video footage of that, as it probably would have been wildly popular on YouTube!
Continuing my mission to 'bring the fun,' I have a desktop image of iPod dominoes as well as a 3D video screen saver for ya.
Enjoy video loops of tumbling iPods amid a shower of virtual sparks! Download your free Mac screen saver here.
Note: In spite of the fact that these iPods look brand new, they were all non-operational units destined for recycling, so I could risk scratching them without the worry of owing Shannon $32,000!
Click here for the deals! Enjoy discounts on repairs for Macs, iPhones and more. Get your kids dialed in with the lowest priced MacBook and MacBook Pro systems on the planet!
The coupons are valid through 8/28 at Midnight Pacific Time. Order via the links or give us a call at 1-888-572-7372.
Here's our latest stop-motion animated tear-down video: a look inside the 4G iPod nano! For size and design comparison, I've included some 2G and 3G nanos as well. Check out the first cross-dissolve to see how the screens are the same size on the 3G and 4G.
Here's the cliff-notes on the new iPod announcements from Apple today: * Tall, oval shaped nano with screen turned sideways and accelerometer to rotate movies/photos, like the iTouch
* New shake to shuffle feature and more colors for nano - 8GB $149
* Slimmer iPod Touch with built-in Nike+ and speaker - pushed as "best portable device for playing games" (look out PSP) - 8GB $229
* iPod Classic available in 120GB only, at $249
So there ya go. For more details see the play-by-play blog of Apples 'Let's Rock' event at engadget.
Ah, the Magic Kingdom. I think my kids began enjoying the magic first thing in the morning, once they made it to the first attraction. I think my magic started up at about the time we sat down for dinner at the end of the day, with an ice cold beverage.
Here we come! Our world tour has just started and we are coming to a town near you. TechRestore has enjoyed incredible success since our inception in 2004, a testament to our team of technicians, customer service reps, salespeople, marketing folks, designers and not to mention my big mouth. :-0 It's great when you enjoy your work so much that you can't stop talking about it. Except when it starts to drive your friends crazy, which is when you reign yourself in and you come to the shocking realization that not everyone is as excited about taking apart a MacBook Pro Unibody/iPhone/PSP (enter name of shiny new tech toy here), incredible as that may seem. ;-)
