IT'S A SCREENSHOT

OKAY DAMMIT GUYS. After trying out multiple screenshot apps, those that promised they could work on unrooted phones, those that worked on rooted phones, etc. I was getting fed up at how freaking COMPLICATED these apps were (you had to go through like ten steps to set up your phone for it to work). Coupled with the fact that some of these screenshot programs were trials, and you would need to spend $4-$7 bucks just to get over the screenshot limit or w/e, I finally came across the BUILT IN WAY TO TAKE A SCREENSHOT.

YEAH. There’s a built in way to take a screenshot in ANDROID. Call me an Android noob, I’ve only had this phone for like a month but JEEZ. DID IT EVER MAKE MY LIFE EASIER DISOCVERING THIS.

Pretty much, hold down the Power button > Take a screenshot. It’ll save it automatically to your Pictures folder, which you can then retrieve through USB or what I prefer – the Dropbox app.

Yeah yeah, laugh if it’s common knowledge, but I’m just hoping I spare some other Android noob pulling their hair out.

Surfing the net today I came across this set of bogu that some crazily skilled person painted. It probably wouldn’t last long in the dojo and I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing it (is there a louder way to scream ‘TARGET’?) but what a work of art!

Yeah this should probably be hung up in a living room somewhere. Epic.

I don’t know who painted it so if anyone recognizes this work let me know and I’ll credit them!

Speaking of bogu, my order from e-kendo arrived last week! Unfortunately I’m not currently in posession of my camera (it’ll be returned to me soon) so expect a review shortly.

It’s been a long time coming, but Threadless has finally accepted paypal as a payment method, and have joined the ranks of every other online store.

To celebrate they are offering $5 off a $30 order (type in YayPal5 at checkout) or $10 off a $50 order (type YayPal10 at checkout) until May 3rd. Head on over and pick up some shirts for the summer!

After spending WAY TOO MUCH TIME trying to figure out how to get excel (>2004) to display DIFFERENT ERROR BARS for values on the SAME SERIES I thought I’d save all you other poor souls looking for an answer by providing an easy step-by-step guide.

Alright, here’s what we have with our graph already made and our data laid out. The blue is one series and the red is another series. We want to apply error bars with different values to EACH bar in the graph.

First thing we need to do is calculate the error for each condition. You can use standard deviation (STDEV) but I need standard error for this case (STDEV/SQRT(COUNT)).

Click on the graph. Under Chart Tools go to Layout > Error Bars > More Error Bars Options…

Select the series you want to work on first.

Vertical Error Bars > Custom > Specify Value

Specify the positive error value…

By selecting the two cells that contain the error you previously calculated. The first cell will apply the error to the FIRST bar, the second cell will apply the error to the SECOND bar.

Do the same for the negative error value if needed and hit OK.

HOLY CRAP! Different error bars! Finally, I know.

Do the same thing for the other series.

And there you have it, an illustrated guide on how to make different error bars for values in the same series in excel!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/liuvincent/ / CC BY 2.0

I took up Kendo about six months ago (it’s known colloquially as Japanese fencing). I’m not a fit person by any means – it’s the first sport-like activity I’ve ever tried IN MY LIFE – but I really enjoy it even though I sometimes find it difficult!

After six months of practising basic footwork and swings, I am nearly ready to don armour (Bogu) and re-learn it all again . Our club unfortunately does not have club bogu for newbies, but I had the chance to try the bogu of a fellow kendoka and even though I winced at each kote strike it got me very excited!

After a LOT of searching online, comparison shopping and research, I decided to order my bogu from E-Kendo.com. I found it considerably difficult to find any online reviews of this place (actually reviews for other major Kendo suppliers are also lacking) so I thought that I would chronicle my purchase online to help anyone else who might be looking at bogu!

I didn’t have a lot of money to plunk down for bogu, and it can get quite pricey. I’ve heard many stories of people quitting shortly after getting into bogu, and while I hope I won’t be added to that statistic buying a cheaper first set would soften the blow. I also wanted to balance price with something of a decent stitch length, as I’ve been told that 6mm will probably fall apart pretty quickly. And to top it off, I wanted a colored do with pretty mune stitching (what can I say, I’m a girl!). I was a little concerned at getting something personalized, as anything too bright and colourful can be frowned upon by traditionalists. However after talking to some higher-ranked kendoka who completely supported this choice and finding out that these personalizations are more acceptable in the West, I decided to get a pretty do!

Because of these reasons, I ordered my bogu set from E-Kendo.com. Specifically, the 4/2mm Machine Stitched Bogu Set. It had many advantages:

the bogu set I'm ordering!

• decent 4mm stitching with 2mm at the men and tare
• good price at just $315
• custom! in that you can provide your body’s measurements and they will make sure the bogu fits you precisely
• FREE mune embroidery choice (some complicated patterns are a little extra)
• FREE do color choice (some fancier designs are a little extra)
• come with free extras: himo set, bogu bag(!), men leather, and a tenugui

small sample of some do colours!

The customer service was excellent! I communicated with one person via email, and though the time zones are quite different he was very quick to respond to any of my?inquiries. There is a language barrier though, and the engrish may make it difficult to decipher a response. However I had no problems sending follow-up emails to clarify.

I ended up asking if they stocked smaller do sizes, as the size they display on their site would be a little too large on me. He told me to send him my waist and height measurements and that he would take care of it. He even entertained my request for white do-himo (I wear a white gi and the navy do-himo would definitely leave stripes all over it). I also made a gutsy move and asked if he could send an extra free kote pair (Kendoshop.com, a competitor, is running a sale where they are offering an extra kote set with each bogu purchase, and I asked if he would be able to match that). He said yes! Fantastic!

The only downside so far is the expensive shipping, priced at around $90.00 for a bogu set. However even factoring this in, it still comes out cheaper when compared to other suppliers (and I have yet to find anyone else who offers free do and mune customizations! Haha this is obviously a big deal for me ). The order process is pretty painless, you’re able to pay by Paypal or credit card (make sure you allow pop-ups). Don’t bother setting up your order in advance though, it seems that your shopping cart automatically empties every night.

So as of now the order is in and I’m assuming the various parts of the bogu are being collected and customized. This process should take around 5-7 days before it’s shipped. I’ll keep you updated on the process, and will especially let you know how badly I get dinged for customs (I live in Canada, they’re shipping from Korea). This was something that was difficult to find on?Google?- I found one thread where the customs charge ranged from $40-$120, so I have my fingers crossed!

Obviously I’m no Kendo expert as this is my first set of bogu, so I’ll be sure to post many pictures when I get it so you can judge the quality for yourself. I’m so ridiculously excited (as I’m sure anyone else who’s done Kendo can remember – oh that first bogu set!!).