As a followup to my post about changing the sort order of notebooks in Evernote, here is a rundown of the sort order of various character types on MacOS…

Sort order of commonly used characters:

!"#$%&'()*+,-./09:;<=>?@[\]^_`AaZz{|}~

This was done by creating notes with titles that started with the above characters and then sorting them alphabetically. If I’m not mistaken, the sort order is the same for the Windows client.

Have you ever wished you could change the sort order of your notebooks in Evernote? Well, you can’t. They sort alphabetically, and there’s not anything you can do about it. Or is there?

Well, for starters, you can group notebooks into stacks. This gives you some degree of control over the sort order, though the notebooks are still sorted alphabetically within the stacks, and the stacks themselves are sorted alphabetically.

To gain a higher degree of control over the sort order, you have to resort to the use of special characters. Simply pre-pend a special character to the name to change where a particular item falls in the list.

For example, add a hyphen (-) to make the item sort ahead of all alphanumeric titles. Add an underscore (_) to make it sort ahead of alphanumeric titles, but behind hyphens. Etc.

Note that numbers sort ahead of letters, and that some characters sort ahead of numbers, some afters numbers but before letters, and some after letters.

Update: Here’s a rundown of the sort order of common characters.

Within character types, the notebooks will still sort alphabetically (e.g., -inbox will sort ahead of -notes). With a bit of experimentation, you can achieve just about any sort (no pun intended) of organization that you desire.

Do you ever need to share sensitive computer documents with others? If so, please resist the temptation to send them in the clear via e-mail. Instead, you should take a few simple steps to secure your information.

At the very least you should encrypt your files before sending them — simply password protecting them is not enough. While there are a number of utilities for doing this (e.g., TrueCrypt) perhaps the easiest way is to simply create an encrypted .zip archive.

If you use Windows, you can use a utility like 7-Zip to do this. On a Mac, the simplest (and free-est) way is to issue the following terminal command.

zip -ejr [name] [path to folder]

To do this:

1. Launch Terminal.app (it’s in your applications folder).
2. Type the command as written, replacing [name] with the desired archive name (leave of .zip — this will be added automatically).
3. Don’t type anything for [path to folder] — instead, simply drag-and-drop the file/folder you wish to archive into the terminal window.
4. You will be prompted for an encryption password. Enter it (twice).

That’s it. If you’re a Dropbox user, you can do yourself one better by right-clicking on the resulting .zip archive and selecting “Get link” from the “Dropbox” submenu. You can then send a link instead of the file itself.

The advantage to sharing a link is that you can remove the file after its been downloaded and you don’t have to worry that it will be left hanging around in someone’s inbox (and thus on a mail server somewhere) waiting for a hacker to strike.

As I understand it, the .zip encryption protocol isn’t particularly strong, and there are some known vulnerabilities, but this approach should be good enough for sharing files in a pinch while retaining a reasonable amount of data security.

In the past month, we’ve bought two new vehicles — a Honda Odyssey EX and a Honda CR-V EX. As we always do when we get a new vehicle, we also bought custom floor mats to protect the carpet from our four kids.

The last time around, we went with Lloyd’s RubberTite mats, which are quite durable and custom cut to fit your vehicle. These worked well enough, but though they tended to slip around a bit in the second row and they didn’t have an option for the third row in our Odyssey.

After a bit of research, we decided to give the WeatherTeach DigitalFit floor liners a whirl this time around. They’re not cheap, but boy are they nice. They fit very well and provide much better coverage than the Lloyd’s floor mats.

We’re especially pleased with the 2nd and 3rd row coverage in the Odyssey. It’s a single piece with cutouts for the second row seats. As such, the walk-through (created when you remove the wedge seat from the second row) is well-protected.

For what it’s worth, the layout of the Odyssey LX is a bit different, and my understanding is that the WeatherTech liners are intended for use in the EX. Thus, if you have an LX, your experience may differ considerably from ours.

We also bought the cargo mats for both the Odyssey and CR-V, and these fit equally well. We had previously picked up the Odyssey cargo tray from Honda but ended up returning it in favor of the WeatherTech cargo mat.

As far as the color goes, we went with grey on both sets (both cars have grey interiors) and they look really, really good.

If you’re looking for a edge-to-edge carpet protection — either from the elements or from your kids — I highly recommend WeatherTech’s DigitalFit floor liners.

As I’ve noted previously, I recently bought a new 2012 Honda CR-V EX with 2WD. This vehicle is rated for 23 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway, and I’ve been very pleased with its real-world performance.

Having owned a CR-V from 2005 onward (a 2005 CR-V LX 2WD, to be exact) I have a pretty good feel for how the older generations performed. That model was actually rated for 20 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway. Based on extensive data tracking (using Fuelly), I averaged around 21.5 mpg on a typical tank of gas.

Yes, I do quite a bit of city (or city-like) driving, but this was still disappointing. Surely Honda could do better. Right?

While I don’t have much data for my new 2012 model, I’ve driven it enough to know that the mileage is far better than what I got with the older model. Based on my first full tank (around 300 miles of very normal driving that would’ve given me 21-22 mpg with the old car) I’ve averaged around 25 mpg with the new CR-V.

In fact, the on-board computer had it pegged at a little better than 25 mpg while my own calculations (miles driven divided by gallons pumped) showed just under 25 mpg. To be fair, however, the “full” tank that I received from the dealer probably wasn’t quite as full as if I had pumped it myself, so the computer estimate is probably more accurate.

All in all, I’m very happy with the purchase. It’s a very nice car and, aside from a minor complaint about the driver’s side mirror, I’ve been enjoying everything about it — including the noticeably better mileage.

Having just bought a 2012 Honda CR-V, I wanted to share a tidbit that I first discovered on the test drive… This vehicle now sports an “expanded-view” driver’s side mirror which is actually kind of annoying.

I don’t have a picture of it handy, but when you look at the mirror, you’ll notice a thin black line running vertically about 1.5 inches in from the outer edge. From the line in, it’s a normal side view mirror. But from that line to the outer edge, the mirror is slightly convex.

While this expands your field of view by 5.5 degrees, it also distorts your view making the mirror harder to use. The main problem is that, when I look at the mirror, my left eye tends to focus outside the line whereas my right eye focuses inside the line, resulting in an odd double-vision effect.

To combat this problem, I typically wind up narrowing my view to focus on the flat (inner) portion of the mirror. Of course, this results in a reduced field of view — though, admittedly, the convex portion of the mirror is still there in my peripheral vision, and could still alert me to potential trouble.

The car salesman said that Honda is aware that this change might be unpopular. He went on to say that, if they receive enough complaints, they may switch back to the old style and offer to swap out the mirror on vehicles that have already been sold. That said, I’m not holding my breath. Sounds like salesman-speak to me.

Overall, I have to admit that I really like the new CR-V, especially compared to the 2005 model that I used to own. It’s very polished and gets great mileage, too. The mirror is a minor issue that doesn’t really detract from the car overall. And who knows, I may grow to like it.

Having bought and sold (or traded) a couple of cars recently, I wanted to share some insight on determining the value of a used car. As it turns out, there are multiple sources for this info, including both Edmunds and the Kelley Blue Book (KBB).

But guess what? These sources often give divergent answers, with KBB values typically being significantly higher than those provided by Edmunds. So which is right? How do you know how much your car is worth?

Since KBB typically gives higher values than Edmunds, the answer should be clear: KBB is better if you’re selling, and Edmunds is better if you’re buying.

Just kidding. Mostly. The truth is that used car values can be difficult to accurately quantify and no tool will do a perfect job. There’s just too much variation in vehicle condition, the owner’s skewed perception of their vehicle’s condition, local demand, etc.

In the end, a car is worth what someone will pay for it. But still… You need a list price as a jumping off point. Aim high and nobody will come to look at your car. Aim too low and you’ll wind up selling it for much less than you could have gotten for it.

This is where Edmunds and KBB come in… They give you a baseline for trade-in (and retail) values as well as market values when selling to (or buying from) a private party.

While most online appraisal tools include a geographic correction based on your zip code, I’m not convinced that these effectively zero out the geographic variation in car values. Thus, you should also check the newspaper or Craigslist to get a better feel for you local market.

The same goes for vehicle condition. Edmunds will ask if your car is damaged, rough, average, clean, or in outstanding condition. Likewise, KBB will ask if it’s fair, good, very good, or excellent. These determinations have a major effect on the numbers and, while both sites provide some guidelines, but beauty is often in the eye of the beholder.

Okay, back to the question at hand… My own personal experience has been that values provided by Edmunds are much closer to reality than those provided by KBB. In fact, I’ve found that Kelley Blue Book values are often significantly inflated. In other words, they’re nice to think about (if you’re selling) but don’t hold your breath.

A third source is the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) which is arguably more relevant than either Edmunds or KBB. In my experience, both NADA and Edmunds give similar values which, again, are more reflective of reality than those provided by KBB.

P.S. When talking about Blue Book values, it’s “Kelley” (with an ‘e’) not “Kelly”.

Over the past few days, I’ve been unable to burn DVDs with my MacBook Pro. Every time I try, I get an error and it spits the disc out of the so-called SuperDrive. Frustrating. And I’m not alone. Lots of Mac users are reporting similar problems.

When I try to burn with DVD2OneX, Disk Utility, or Burn, I get the following error:

This disc can’t be burned; it might be incompatible with this disc drive. Please try a different brand of disc, or try burning at a slower speed.

And when I try to burn from the Finder, I get this error:

The disc can’t be burned, because the device failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media.

I’ve tried multiple brands, including both Sony and Memorex, but everything fails. And yes, I’ve tested multiple pieces of media from each brand. I’ve tried slowing down the burn to no avail. And, as noted above, I’ve tried multiple pieces of software. Still no success.

I’m starting to think that my SuperDrive has gone bad, though it struck me that this is also the first time I’ve tried to burn a DVD since upgrading to Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion). I never had problems before the upgrade, so perhaps this issue is related to that? I’m still not sure.

Regardless of the cause, no amount of Googling has helped. I’ve read about issuing terminal commands to delete lock files, blasting it with compressed air, etc. and nothing works.

As I said at the outset: frustrating.

For the record, my SuperDrive is a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-868 and I’m currently running OS X 10.7.3. This drive is supposed to be able to handle just about everything, including CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, and DVD+RW.

I’ve written in the past about problems with the screen on our Sony TV going black while watching a DVD over the HDMI connection. While I thought I had solved the black screen problem with a better HDMI cable, it still happened occasionally.

Well, I’m pleased to report that I’ve fixed the problem entirely now. About six months ago we replaced our old Denon DVD player with a Sony Blu-Ray player and we haven’t suffered a black screen since. This is true whether we’re playing an old school DVD or a new-fangled Blu-Ray disc.

I’m not sure what the difference is, but I suspect that the new unit puts out a better (or at least more consistent) signal such that we no longer suffer the same sorts of dropouts that we used to experience. Regardless of the cause, it’s much more pleasant to watch movies without the occasional blackouts.

Note: If you’re not willing to swap out your DVD player, replacing our el cheapo Walmart HDMI cable with the Mediabridge HDMI cable did help. It’s available in 3 foot, 6 foot, 10 foot, and 15 foot lengths.

I recently ran into a problem with my iPhone. We were out for lunch and it wouldn’t stay connected to the wifi network at the local eatery. Not a huge deal since I have unlimited data, but my wife couldn’t connect either, and she has a low-end plan.

For background, my wife is new to the wonderful world of the iPhone so I was helping her get it set up. As part of this process, I wanted to download a number of apps to get her started. Given that she has just 200MB of data/month, however, I wanted to do this all over wifi instead of burning up her data allotment.

So… I jumped on the wifi network but it wouldn’t connect. It looked like it did, as it displayed a checkmark next to the network in the settings app, but the 3G indicator stayed up there in the menu bar and the phone stayed on the cellular data network.

I then tried with my iPhone and ran into the same problem. I tried resetting the network settings (go to Settings > General > Reset) but that didn’t help. I also tried a neighboring wifi network with the same result. Frustrating.

After a bit of experimentation, I discovered that it was possible to force a connection to the wifi network, but that it wouldn’t last. I did this by turning on airplane mode (which turns off the phone radio) and then re-enabling the wifi functionality.

But… As soon as I switched airplane mode off, the 3G connection overrode the wifi connection. Very strange. I still don’t have a solution, but what I can say is this…

It’s not an absolute problem. Our home wifi network and most others work just fine. It’s worth noting that the troublesome networks both had strong signal, so I don’t think that was the issue. And because it was a problem for two different networks (and two phone), it seems unlikely to be network-specific (or phone-specific).

Maybe it’s a problem on the 3G side of things. Whatever the cause, it sure was annoying — especially for my wife, who needs to be careful about data usage.

Last night, I discovered that all of my WordPress sites on Dreamhost (including this one) had been hacked. I’m not sure when this happened, but I discovered (quite by accident) small text links hidden at the bottom of various pages.

Having been hacked before, this isn’t my first rodeo. Thus, I tried to keep a cool head and not panic while troubleshooting the problem.

It didn’t take long before I discovered the culprit. The following bit of code had been inserted into a php file in the theme of each site:

<?define('USE_DIRA', '/wordpress/wp-content/themes/default/images/'); @eval(@base64_decode("a-huge-long-string-of-gibberish"));?>

That huge long string of gibberish is actually a bunch of code that’s encoded in base64. When that statement gets evaluated the gibberish gets decoded, and you end up with nefarious code on your page. Yuck.

The affected file varied from site, but the end result was the same… Spammy text links hidden on my pages. I searched the databases and couldn’t find any evidence of contamination, nor could I find any extra users. Hackers sometimes create an extra user to serve as a backdoor into your installation — and they’re not always visible from the WordPress dashboard.

Instead of hunting through my entire WordPress installations to look for rogue code, I simply deleted and re-installed all of the core files. This is actually a good thing to do every once in awhile, as WordPress updates often leave old files behind.

Because three of the four sites were running Thesis for WordPress, I went ahead and replaced the core theme files and manually checked the customization files for any contamination. For the fourth site, I had to look a little more carefully because that runs on a custom theme, and I couldn’t just swap out the core files.

Assuming that this was the extent of the hackage (only time will tell), I think I got off lucky. As far as I know, my databases weren’t contaminated. I have changed all of my login passwords, as well as the mySQL password (which is stored in clear text in wp-config.php) and I think (hope!) the trouble is all behind me.

I’ve also cleared out any inactive plugins as well as all themes aside from the one that’s currently active on each site.

As for how it when/how this all happened, I’m not entirely sure. I’ve been pretty bad about keeping WordPress updated, so there’s a decent chance this was all my fault. I did notice a dip in search rankings last fall, but just chalked that up to a Google algorithm change. In fact, it may have been my sites getting hacked and Google penalizing me for the extraneous links.

Another possibility is that this all happened when Dreamhost got hacked back in January. It’s hard to say and, frankly, it doesn’t really matter at this point. Going forward, I’ll have to keep my software current. I’m also considering a better (managed) hosting solution. Maybe something like WP-Engine.

If you’re like me, you have some dormant WordPress sites that have collected tons of moderated comments. Yes, you could delete these manually, but that can get tedious. At the same time, you may not want to delve into MySQL.

Just tonight, I ran into this issue when I discovered ca. 4k moderated comments on an old site. I quickly locked things down to prevent more from piling up (by setting WordPress to close comments on posts over 14 days old), but I still had to deal with those comments — all of which were spam.

Not wanting to spend much time on it, and not wanting to tinker with MySQL, I poked around for a plugin that would handle the dirty work. Guess what? I found one… Here it is: link.

Simply download, install, and activate the plugin. From there, click the Tools menu, click the Bulk Comment Remove link, and click the button to let the plugin do its thing. That’s it. Problem solved.

While the plugin only guarantees compatibility up to WordPress 3.0.5, I just used it on 3.3.1 without any problems. Good luck!

If you’re buying a new iPad and have opted for the 4G LTE connectivity (good move, btw), you might be wondering if you should buy the Verizon or the AT&T version. As it turns out, the two options aren’t as similar as you might think.

First and foremost, you should consider network coverage. Do AT&T and Verizon provide equivalent coverage in your area? What about 4G coverage? You want to get the most out of your new iPad, don’t you?

Next up, data plans. I’ve covered this before, but Verizon is a better deal at the low end, offering 1GB for $20/month vs. AT&T’s 250MB for $14.99/month. In the mid-range, however, AT&T wins with 3GB vs. 2GB for $30/month. At the high end, the two are identical, offering 50GB for $50/month.

And finally, do you want to create a mobile hotspot with your iPad (without jailbreaking it, that is)? If so, then you’ll want to go with Verizon, as AT&T won’t be supporting the mobile hotspot functionality — at least not at first.

According to multiple sources, the mobile hotspot functionality on the new iPad will be included in Verizon’s iPad 4G data plan, but AT&T won’t support it. Of course, if you decide to jailbreak your iPhone, MyWi makes this a moot point. But still…

With yesterday’s announcement of a third-generation iPad, you might be wondering which one you should buy. I know I am. With that in mind, I’m going to walk you through my thought process.

For context, I picked up an iPad 2 last year after having sat out the

Yes, I know they’re not calling it the iPad 3, but that’s essentially what it is, so I’m going to roll with it here.

Should I buy the iPad 3?

If you’re in the market for a tablet, and your budget allows you to consider the iPad, then my answer to that is a resounding “yes”. Like many Apple products, the iPad “just works.”

And with the addition of the Retina display, this thing will be a killer device for media consumption. As compared to earlier models, you’ll also get a significantly better processor, more memory, a better camera, etc.

And if you’re lost in time with an iPad 1, you’ll also be getting a major upgrade in form factor. All in all, the iPad 3 one looks like a winner.

Storage: 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB?

The decision as to which size to buy really depends on your usage. That being said, I’ve always erred on the side of buying as much storage as I can afford. And I can afford the 64GB model, so that’s what I’ll be getting.

While this may be overkill, I’m actually using slightly over 32GB on my 64GB iPhone 4S (thanks in large part to a huge number of photos) so it’s not hard to imagine needing at least that much with an iPad.

Black or white?

This one is a personal preference, but I’m partial to the black model. The main reason for this is that the black “frame” around the screen is (to my eye) much less apparent, and sort of fades into the background, especially in low light situations.

The white frame, on the other hand, is quite apparent when you’re watching a movie (or whatever) on your iPad. Maybe it’s just me, but I find it to be a bit jarring to look at.

Wifi or 4G LTE?

One of my biggest regrets with the iPad 2 is that I bought the wifi-only model. In retrospect, I wish I had the option of toggling on a wireless connection when traveling, etc.

Yes, my iPhone is jailbroken and yes, I use MyWi. But there have been times when it would have been really nice to have seamless internet access via the 3G (now 4G) network.

In fact, if money was the deciding factor, I’d trade storage for wireless connectivity. That is, I would drop down from the 64GB wifi-only model to the 32GB 4G model for (nearly) the same price.

But that’s just me. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether or not it’s worth an extra $130 (or reduced storage capacity) to get mobile connectivity.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re likely aware that Apple introduced their 3rd generation iPad yesterday. In addition to a Retina display, better camera, and faster processor, the mobile-enabled versions are 4G LTE compatible.

But how much will these new data plans cost? Apple didn’t mention this, leading to speculation that they might be different from the old 3G plans. Well, as it turns out, little has changed.

As before, there is no contract to sign. Instead, you simply buy data access on a monthly basis, though you can set it up to auto-renew if you wish.

If you prefer AT&T, you can buy:

• 250MB of data for $14.99/month,
• 3GB of data for $30/month, or
• 5GB of data for $50/month

If you prefer Verizon, you can buy:

• 1GB of data for $20/month,
• 2GB of data for $30/month, or
• 5GB of data for $50/month

There are no overages. If you run out of data, you simply buy another block. AT&T provides e-mail warnings when you’ve reached 65%, 90%, and 100% of your data allotment, whereas Verizon provides warnings when you have 50MB and 25MB remaining.

All else being equal, Verizon looks much more attractive at the low end, whereas AT&T looks better in the mid-range. Of course, coverage in your area is also an important factor to consider. Note that your device will revert to 3G if there isn’t a 4G signal available.

Update: Looks like Verizon will support the mobile hotspot but AT&T won’t. Bummer.

Talk about annoying. About two weeks ago, our LG washer started giving a tE error code and refusing to complete the current cycle. After realizing that this was due to a problem with the thermistor, we decided to call in a professional to fix it.

Because we don’t know any good appliance repair shops, and the ones we’ve found have questionable reputations, we called Best Buy (where we bought the washer) to set up a visit from a “Geek Squad” repairman.

First, the good… The repairman has been very friendly and professional — and punctual, which is important.

Now, the bad… Here we are, two weeks after first discovering the problem, and it’s still not fixed. And the repair guy has been here twice.

We called late in the week and were told that the repair guy wouldn’t be able to make it until Tuesday. Fine. The washer was still working, albeit with intermittent errors, so we could wait.

He showed up as scheduled on Tuesday, but didn’t do anything more than confirm the problem and then order the part. Seriously? We gave them the model # and the error code when we called, why couldn’t he bring the part with him?

Whatever. It was going to take a few days for the part to come in, and he was booked for the rest of the week, so he re-scheduled us for the following Tuesday. He also asked for a $100 payment.

This is their standard fee for a service call, but it covers all visits for a given problem. Once the problem is fixed, we’ll have to pay the balance, which is the cost of the part — around $60, though I’m sure we could get it cheaper ourselves.

Again, whatever. Fast forward a week. He shows up with the part and gets to work. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong part, so… He puts our washing machine back together and heads out.

The part — hopefully the right one — has been re-ordered, and he’s coming out on Saturday to (hopefully) fix the problem once and for all.

All in all, a rather annoying experience.

In a few weeks, I’m traveling to South America. In preparation, I’m trying to figure out what I’ll need in the way of power converters. As it turns out, just about the only things that I’ll need to plug in are made by Apple.

There are actually two issues here… Do I need a power converter? And do I need an adapter to make the plugs fit the outlets? As it turns out, Apple chargers will work pretty much anywhere on Earth without a converter.

As you’re likely aware, the power standard here in the United States is 110V at 60 Hz. Canada and Mexico are the same. But in many other locales*, the electricity standard is 220V at 50 Hz.

Take a close look at your Apple power adapter. In small (possibly very small) print, you’ll see that it works for voltages between 100V and 240V at 50-60 Hz. This is true of all recent iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac adapters.

But will it fit the wall plugs? That’s another question entirely, and the answer is maybe. I’ll be staying at a high-end hotel, and I’ve heard that most of these in the area have U.S.-style outlets available.

I’ll contact them in advance just to be sure, but I’m hopeful…

And, of course, if you have anything else that can be charged via USB, you can simply plug in into the USB ports on your Mac.

*Note: As far as South America goes, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay all appear to use 220V power. Brazil uses both 110V and 220V depending on where you are, and the more northern countries seem to use 110V.

A few weeks ago, I picked up an Aeropress coffee maker and I’ve been playing around, trying to dial in the perfect cup of coffee, ever since. Today, I wanted to share some tips based on my experience with the Aeropress thus far.

For starters, I grind my beans fresh using a Kyocera burr grinder. Mock me if you will, but I’m partial to original blend, whole beans from our local Dunkin’ Donuts. To each their own.

Since I typically make 16 oz. of coffee each morning to fill my Thermos Sipp travel mug, I start by grinding three level scoops of coffee beans. At roughly 12-13 g/scoop, this is on par with the Aeropress recommendations.

It takes about three minutes to grind my coffee beans, so I usually throw my (filtered) water in the microwave before I start. Speaking of water… I heat the water to just shy of a boil, so it’s probably around 195° by the time I use it.

Once the beans are ground, I wet the filter and assemble the AeroPress. I then dump the grounds into the AeroPress (using the funnel to prevent a mess), place it on top of my travel mug, and get ready to make some coffee…

I start the process by gently pouring in just enough hot water to completely cover (and saturate) the grounds. I then stir the grounds for ca. 10 seconds to let them swell up and absorb the water.

From there, I pour in more water, bringing it up to halfway between the “3″ and “4″ on the AeroPress column. I then stir for another 10 seconds, and let the resulting concoction steep for 20-25 more seconds.

And now… It’s time to press. I start by wetting the edges of the plunger to help it slide smoothly. I then insert the plunger into the column and start gently pressing out the coffee.

The pressing process takes around 20 seconds, and I stop shortly after I hear air start “whooshing” through the filter. Note that the plunger won’t have quite reached the “puck” of grounds at this point.

I then remove the AeroPress from the mug and gently pour in the rest of the water, brining it up to the full 16 ounces. From there, it’s just a matter of screwing the top on my mug and enjoying the fruits of my labor.

As an aside, the Thermos Sipp is awesome. Not only does it look cool — kinda like something NASA would use — but it also does a great job of keeping my coffee hot so I can enjoy it at my leisure. And it’s completely leakproof. Completely.

Note that, in my humble opinion, the above process strikes a good balance between under-extraction, which can leave your coffee with a soapy taste, and over-extraction, which makes it bitter.

The end result is a delicious, smooth cup of coffee that anyone would like. Even my wife, who otherwise hates coffee…

If you’re reading this, there’s a pretty good chance that your iPad has become unresponsive. You can’t get it to turn on or wake up, and you’re starting to freak out. Fortunately, there’s an easy fix.

For starters, are you sure that it’s charged up? If not, it (obviously) won’t work. Seems obvious, but you wouldn’t be the first person to have this happen to them.

Assuming that your iPad is charged up, you probably just need to reset (reboot) it to get it working again. The process is actually exactly the same as for resetting your iPhone…

Simply hold down the home and power buttons for 10-15 seconds. Your screen will go black (if it wasn’t already) and your iPad will re-boot. You’ll know it’s working when you see the silver Apple icon appear on the screen.

That’s it. If this doesn’t work, you may need to put your iPad in recovery mode and restore the system software. Hopefully you have a recent backup so you can easily restore your data.