In an effort to fight #snowpocalypse boredom…

I download apps.  What exactly are the apps that fight said boredom you ask?  I shall expound upon and review my favorites.

First, I must mention that my boss is a firm believer in never closing for anything (Believe me, we have a hard enough time getting him to close for holidays.), and as such we’ve been open for the last week despite the many inches of snow and single digit temperatures.  Needless to say, people don’t get out much when it’s snowy and cold.  For me, that means long days of twiddling my thumbs and wishing the day would go by more quickly.  Then I realized that “there was an app for that.” Actually, there are a lot of apps for that. 

The first day, I went through a downloading frenzy.  I think I downloaded and subsequently deleted at least 15 apps.  It turns out, (and I already knew this about myself) that I’m not much of a game player.  Not even games that seem like I would enjoy playing.  They just make me bored. 

The second two days, I became more selective in my downloading, and in the whole process found quite a few apps that I’m digging. 

This is the part in which I review said apps.  Because I want to review them, that’s why!

Falldown!

I realize that if one were to judge only from the screenshot above, this game would look really lame.  Believe me.  It’s not.  The object of the game is to keep the red ball falling ever downward as the levels get continually more challenging.  If the ball gets stuck and crushed at the top, Game Over.  You move the ball by tilting the iPod Touch/iPhone.  There are no other controls.  It’s a fun game.  Not addicting, but a nice boredom killer.  

Logic Box

Logic Box is more complex than FallDown! In fact, it’s more like a toy box full of logic games/brain teasers.  My favorite part is when the paratroopers turn into piles of blood because you didn’t save them, but the other games are good too.  (I did mention that I’m not good at games, right?)

FreeCell

This is pretty much self-explanatory.  I enjoy playing FreeCell on the computer, and thought I would enjoy having it with me on my iPod.  I do.  My only complaint is that there is no landscape mode and the cards are tiny.  I sound like an old lady, but I have a hard time seeing them.

Star Wars Books and Timeline

In randomly searching for games, I discovered this Star Wars Book app.  It’s amazing. (However, it probably wouldn’t be for anyone who isn’t an avid collector of Star Wars Novels, but since I am one, it is amazing.) I am realizing now just exactly how geeky these app reviews are going to make me sound.  I digress.

The top picture is of my Star Wars novel list.  The list I use to keep track of what books I own.  I tend to keep it on my wall and update it as needed.  To keep track of upcoming Star Wars novels I periodically do Amazon searches to see what I need to look for in the future.

This app changes all of that.  Like I said, it’s amazing.  I have an always handy list of all the Star Wars books I own, plus a list of all the upcoming books, and all the books I still need all in one place.  Did I mention amazing? 

Sleep Cycle

While still excited about the Star Wars app I’d found, I stumbled across this app.  It’s a biorhythmic alarm clock for my iPod, and the second amazing app brought to me by #snowpocalypse.  What Sleep Cycle does is measure what stage of sleep you are in before waking you up.  It doesn’t wake you up until you are in the lightest cycle of sleep.  This makes it easier to get up in the morning, since it doesn’t blast you out of bed if you are in the deepest sleep. 

I got it with the hopes that it would make me be able to get up earlier and be a morning person.  That didn’t work, but it does make me feel more awake and happier to be up when I get up at my usual time. 

Along with the alarm it keeps statistics and provides graphs about your sleeping habits.  It’s well-worth the 99 cents I paid for it. 

Sketchbook

Sketchbook is a drawing app.  It isn’t the easiest app to use, and I’m still learning about all the things I can do with it, but I had wanted to be able to sketch on my iPod for awhile.  There are many drawing/sketching apps in the app store, but most of them aren’t for actually doing technical drawings and stuff.  They are more geared toward letting your 4 year-old niece draw to keep her quiet in a long line.  Sketchbook offers all kinds of bells and whistles.  Layers, colors, brushes… Everything you need for a quick session of sketching.  It certainly doesn’t stack up to a pad of paper or a traditional program for the computer, but for what it is, it is good. 

Google Mobile

I also downloaded the Google Mobile app because in my searching for awesome apps, I read that Google Goggles can solve Soduku puzzles.  That sounds amazing, and I wanted to be able to use it, but there was a hitch.  Google Goggles only works for iPhones.  It does not work for iPod Touches with cameras.  Super bummer.  I deleted it immediately.

Conclusion

This is a ridiculously long blog post.  I apologize.  Hopefully, something in it was worth your while, or you stopped reading way before now.  Anyway, it turns out that #snowpocalypses are entirely too boring to live without downloading a million apps.  You’re lucky I only shared the ones I loved/hated.