• cross-platform support: web, desktop, mobile (including iPhone and iPad) — awesome!
• auto-sync: write once, read anywhere
• iPhone goodies — click to dial, click to map (though mapping could be more automated)

So what’s the big deal? What’s really great (to me) is that I can do research on the web, take some notes, type in info from a regular keyboard and then access it all when I need it from my mobile. Here are a couple of sample scenarios:

• Save recipes, make grocery shopping easier: ever get to the grocery store and can’t remember what ingredients you need to try a new recipe? Type the recipe (or copy from a webpage) into Evernote, and you can easily access it from your mobile while you’re at the grocery store!
• Save retail store info, make it easier to visit a store on-the-go: during our remodel, I would do lots of research on the web and then drive around to look at different stores. E.g., find good tile places in my area and then go visit them. By saving them all in Evernote, I can access them on my phone, click to dial, check out their website, or just drop by a store if I happen to be in the area. No more paging through a physical notebook or printed pages — I always have my cell phone with me!

Need more ideas about how to use Evernote to make your life easier? Check out their suggestions here and on their blog.

btw, I’m not the only one who thinks Evernote is awesome. They’ve already reached 3 million users, and they also just won a Webby Award for Best Mobile App. Thanks Evernote — you rock!

Last week, I posted to the Kodak blog a brief how-to on making handmade christmas ornaments with photos. You can check it out here.

How I spent my summer… in somewhat of a “what were we thinking?!” move, we actually installed our own roof on our house. I’ll add some pics soon, but by the end of August, we essentially had our “hooray we have a roof!” moment…. It’s a good thing it is a 50-year roof!

How we spent September… we quickly installed windows over Labor Day weekend and have moved on to stucco’ing. Someday soon, we will be officially “water tight”!

How I spent the last week of September and the first three weeks of October…I am actually on jury duty for the first time. By orders of the judge, I can’t say anything about it until it is all over, but suffice it to say, I am getting an extended real-life lesson about our judicial system.

More entries coming soon!

We still need sponsors for food and for a temporary network, so please sign up on the DCamp Sponsors page, if you can help. Alternatively, you can contact me or Rashmi directly for more info.

There’s still time to sign up to attend and present. Don’t delay — sign up today!

Participants make an unconference successful. All attendees of an unconference participate in one way or another — presenting, volunteering, etc. Do you have something you want to share? Go to the Presenters page to sign up!

Sponsors make an unconference possible. High-speed internet access and food are currently the big needs. If your company is interested in sponsoring DCamp, you can sign up on the Sponsors page.

We’re looking forward to a great event. Hope to see you there! The DCamp wiki will be the main hub for communications, so be sure to check there for all of the latest updates!

Disclaimer: I am more novice than expert in this area. These tips are provided in hopes that they might help some other diy’ers avoid some of the mistakes and worries that we had when applying our wall texturing. NOTE also: these tips relate to basic wall texturing — no fancy Italian special look or anything like that. However, the tips are for the type of texturizing that goes beyond the bubbly look that you would get from simply using a loop roller.

Tip 1: pick your tool(s). If you have an air compressor, you can buy a wall texturing “hopper” and use a flat trowel or wide putty knife to flatten the spray. You can get such an air paint texture gun at Harbor Freight. If you don’t have an air compressor, the job will take more time and effort by hand, but you can get the job done by simply using a wide putty knife. Either way, you may also want to have a sanding block and appropriate sandpaper for touch-ups.

Tip 2: pick your goo. You can go to Home Depot or your favorite home improvement store and find all sorts of goo related to wall texturing. There’s spray-on stuff, bucket o’ goo, and so on. Truth be told, my husband and I think that these are all mostly watered down (and higher priced) versions of joint compound (i.e., the type used for taping drywall). So, you can purchase the pre-mixed goo labeled for “texturing” if you want, but it is actually cheaper if you buy pre-mixed joint compound or if you buy dry joint compound (NOT the “quick dry” kind!) and mix it yourself (just add water). Note: how thin you mix the goo will determine the amount of texture. You may need to experiment to see how much texture you want (see next tip).

Tip 3: practice. My friend Suzanne is more of a perfectionist than I am, so she actually practiced on spare scraps of drywall. I have to admit, if you are trying this for the first time, it would not hurt to test out your application “technique” on something other than your target wall(s). This will allow you to test everything from how it applies and how it looks to how long it takes to dry.

Tip 4: go for it. Keep in mind that one of the characteristics of wall texturing is irregularity. Wall texturing is designed to be imperfect and inconsistent. Thus, if you are applying your goo by hand, you can put randomly sized and irregularly shaped blobs of goo, randomly onto the wall. I also found it helpful to divide the wall into smaller, more workable, areas. If you are using the hopper/compressor method, you can randomly spray the goo on the wall. Once the goo has started to dry a little, but before it has hardened too much, you should flatten and smooth your goo blobs with a flat trowel or wide putty knife.

Tip 5: touch up. Once the texture has dried, see if there are any areas that need “touching up.” If there are areas where you think more texturing is needed, you can just add some in by hand. If there are areas where you think the texture is too thick or bumpy, you can sand the areas down with a sanding block. (You should wear a mask if you sand, though.)

Tip 6: don’t worry. If, after touching up the walls, you are still concerned about how they look, don’t worry. Most people won’t know the difference. However, if you are super subconscious and want some other “masking” tips to help the job look better, here are a couple of suggestions. First, paint the walls with a lighter color. This is based on my experience and opinion, but I think that darker paint colors seem to expose “issues” with wall texturing more than lighter paint colors. Second, use a ceramic paint additive such as Hy-Tech to your primer or paint. This adds a kind of fine grained look over your texturing and (in theory) has the added benefit of providing more insulation for your room.

Tip 7: paint it up and then stand back and admire your handiwork. When all is done, stand back and enjoy the view