House of Meat

Titled "Slaughterhouse" it's about making a Christmas house, like a gingerbread house, out of meat.  Hilarious music and narration, and it looks tasty...

ESPN OTL: Believeland

Really good article, as OTL usually is.


ESPN Outside The Lines: "OTL: Believeland" at http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=101201/Cleveland

@Gizmodo, 11/20/10 11:34 PM

Gizmodo Watch the world's fastest roller coaster in action http://j.mp/9xS9xR 150mph, 0 to 62mph in 2 seconds. Christ.

This looks amazing.  Wish I didn't have to go to the UAE to ride it...  btw, Fernando Alonso loses his wallet at :33 lol.

The Jeopardy Question No One Could Answer

My Dad forwarded this as an email to me and I thought it was really interesting.

On Jeopardy the other night, the final question was "How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns"---- All three missed it --

This is really an awesome sight to watch if you've never had the chance. Very fascinating.

Tomb of the Unknowns - interesting facts about the honor guard members


1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the Tomb of the Unknowns and why?

21 steps: It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.


2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?

21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1 

3. Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and,if not, why not?

He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path,he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.


5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.


6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10' and 6' 2' tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30.

They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform or the tomb in any way..

After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only
400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.

There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform.. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.

The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid
to rest in Arlington National Cemetery . A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are:

President Taft
Joe Lewis {the boxer}
Medal of Honor winner Audie L. Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WWII and of Hollywood fame.

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, the US Senate & House took 2 days off in anticipation of the storm.. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of  the Unknowns were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!" Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding
the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a service person. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.

Link to offical website:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/tombofun.htm

Scranton

FINALLY got this Friday!




Way too long of a story to explain fully (took me 10 minutes to tell Kyle when he asked why I was so excited).  But, I'll just say it was a Christmas present from my sister and the sizes by brand "ALStyle Apparel & Activewear" run at least one size smaller than you're used to.  I had to get it from her twice, return it twice for exchange, and spend a lot of time with emails and phone conversations with the NBC-Universal store support.  In the end I have my shirt, it's super nice, and fits very well.  Thanks again Amanda.

Gartner

I know I post enough about mobile OS and the intense market but that's not my intention with this link:  http://gizmodo.com/5664170/.  What's cool is that it references a Gartner chart and press release, http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1434613

Gartner is the research vendor I work with daily in my current position in IT Strategy & Architecture.  Most of their publications are very expensive pieces of intellectual property that are their business model.  So this is a good example of something you might be able to understand and a good example of the type of service we leverage Gartner for.  Still too nerdy?  maybe... lol

Stone Total Tap Takeover Tour

Stone Week!

Charlotte was lucky enough to be one of the seven cities selected as part of Stone Week, named "Stone Total Tap Takeover Tour Two Thousand Ten".  Stone Brewing Company is a fantastic craft brewery and makes some of my favorite beer.  Tiffani really enjoys good beer now so she was more than willing to go with me.



We had a great time.  Greg Koch, the founder/owner of Stone, was the host.  He's super friendly and seems to really enjoy meeting and talking with his fans.  I met him once at an event with Adam in Louisville so when I saw him I said hi and he sat down with Tiffani and I and personally signed a DVD to us, awesome!  We each got a commemorative shirt:



Overall, we had a really great time and I absolutely loved sharing it with my fiancee :)

This One Is On Us

Realized this was saved as a draft since 1/5/10...oops

Another Version of the Truth:  The Gift.  Trent Reznor/NIN and his fans being awesome again.  The main article is here:  http://www.nin.com/?id=95355 and he tweeted about it today because now there are a decent amount of formats available and adequately hosted.

Perhaps more recent NIN/Reznor news is his work on "The Social Network" soundtrack/score.

You should definitely check it out:  http://www.nullco.com/TSN/.  there's a 5 track sampler and I the digital download was $3 on amazon when it released, $5 on that site or $8 for the physical CD.  great music, great deal, great success :)

Verizon iPhone part 92

Actually not really a rumor...but the rumors have been running rampant lately.  This is a good article about the current state and differences of Verizon and AT&T's networks.

"Verizon iPhone: What you'll gain and what you'll give up http://bit.ly/d60NjW"

Yep, current Verizon/Sprint CDMA technology doesn't support simultaneous voice and data communication.  I've been after them for the last couple years asking if/when it would happen.  Their answer just seemed to be LTE.  However, the CDMA standards organization ratified EV-DO Rev. B early last year which provides architecture for voice+data transmissions.  Anytime I saw an LTE presentation by VZW I'd ask them if we could get an upgrade to Rev B while we waited for LTE to be built out across the nation.  After all, the legacy CDMA network is HUGE and it would be awesome if it made it to Rev B so that the fall back technology would be adequate, obviously not as fast as LTE but greater functionality is more important than speed sometimes. 

On the topic of speed… CDMA 3G is not the same as GSM/UMTS/HSPA 3G.  EV-DO Rev A from Verizon is not as fast or capable the speed AT&T's 3G network is capable of.  EVDO does have better building penetration and per tower propagation from Verizon because it's on a lower 800MHz block frequency.  Also Verizon's network is already heavily loaded, they're the number 1 wireless carrier with 92 million subscribers.  Current customers experience speeds about 1/4 of what they could be.  I really think Verizon is just as susceptible to the data deluge that AT&T is/was hit by from the iPhone.  Verizon hasn't really lost any ground in the subscriber base, they've kept customers happy with solid phone offerings including the quite successful DROID series.  Oops, better add (TM) to that DROID… wtf George Lucas? 

Anyways, long story short Verizon getting the iPhone may not be the holy grail of device+carrier that everyone is imagining.  And that's not me hating or loving anyone, it's just the reality of current day wireless technology—all carriers have advantages and disadvantages.  Ok, maybe I am hating on big red fanboys a little bit…   

DEC Lights!

In case you don't know I'm kind of obsessed with the new Duke Energy Center (DEC) and the LED lights it has covering the exterior.  It looks really awesome, kind of like a lava lamp or something in the dark night sky.  Anyways, I guess Monday or Tuesday was national coming out day so they lit up a rainbow of lights on the building.  It was really impressive how clear and vibrant it looked.  the colors didn't bleed together and look mashed or fuzzy, distinct and bright.  Here's a story about it I posted to Facebook before:  http://goqnotes.com/8788/

http://cltblog.com/11109

Simpsons + Banksy

kind of weird but y'all probably know i'm a longtime Simpsons fan.



Kind of funny too.  perhaps a bit awkward with the most recent Foxconn report but I think that was just a coincidence.

Jared Look | Cosplay?

yeah, I've never heard of "Cosplay" either... but this is kind of cool/creepy (and has good music!).  Tiffani sent me this article from Huffington Post:

"If you have just six minutes and 27 seconds to watch something style-related this Sunday, this video is for you. A girl totally transforms herself into Jared Leto using makeup techniques we learned in our tenth grade Drama 2 class, but never knew how to put to good use.  Her end look is truly spot-on, but next time, we hope she goes for the blond fauxhawk."




Weird--yes.  Impressive--to each his own I suppose.  Music choice--excellent.

Largest Lego Ship

Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) 10/11/10 8:23 AM The largest Lego ship ever built is bigger than three queen-sized beds http://gizmo.do/d24Dug Truly giganormous

well this is awesome.

The Gizmodo story links to these other impressive lego ships as well:
http://gizmodo.com/279074/lego-aircraft-carrier-has-small-gravitational-pull

http://gizmodo.com/5214510/lego-battleship-yamato-is-biggest-lego-ship-ever

Apparently these giant ships keep getting bigger than the last so i'm sure before too long we'll see an even bigger one.

Babby Monkey

These two videos are hilarious.  I've been quoting or singing them for the last few weeks.  enjoy.





Try and get that out of your head now, lol.  right click and select watch on youtube if you want to see the comments or the sources for the videos.  I can't really explain them anyways...

RIM Playbook

I know I'm a little late with this one but I had some trouble getting the post to forward and save.  An overview, partially from Gizmodo.

  

The BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet:  10 Things You Need to Know

The BlackBerry tablet is here, and it looks astoundingly nice. Nicer than anybody expected it to be. Here's what you need to know about the PlayBook, in 10 easy steps.

It's a 7-inch tablet with a 1024x600 screen that weighs 0.9 pounds

Meaning it's smaller and lighter than the iPad, with a more pixel-dense screen (i.e., text is gonna look cleaner and less pixel-y). It's a little bigger and heavier than the Samsung Galaxy Tab, on the other hand. (Then again, the Galaxy Tab looks more like a really big phone.)

It's running BlackBerry Tablet OS

As rumored, the BlackBerry PlayBook isn't running "BlackBerry 6," but the BlackBerry tablet OS, which is "powered by QNX technology." QNX is a software company RIM bought in April, whose software is used in products by Cisco and GE, among others. The OS is built on QNX's Neutrino microkernel.

It supports a whole bunch of standard platforms and technologies, like POSIX OS, SMP, Open GL, BlackBerry 6, WebKit, Java, Adobe Flash and AIR, along with RIM's new BlackBerry WebWorks platform. Apps written for WebWorks will run on BlackBerry 6 or the PlayBook, while Java makes it easier for developers to port Java-based BlackBerry 6 apps. Oh, and OpenGL means there's serious potential for graphically intense games.

It's got a tablet-optimized UI and multitasks out of the gate, unlike the iPad. And unlike Android, it has a nicer interface for navigating through applications, like a cross between webOS's cards and Apple's CoverFlow. It's got an onscreen keyboard for typing. The snippets of App World in the preview video look a lot like what you have on BlackBerry phones, a grid of tiles. The music player looks a bit like the iPod app on the iPad, but skinned in a slate color.

Dual-core 1GHz processor and 1GB RAM

That means it's got the horsepower to multitask, output 1080p video and run high-powered apps. The 1GB of RAM is particularly important for running applications in the background, and opening multiple tabs in the web browser, as iPad owners know from opening more than a few tabs in Safari and watching them get flushed as the iPad runs out of memory.

It's got "true" multitasking

By saying the PlayBook has "true" multitasking, RIM seems to be pointing at the fact that multitasking on the iPad is still limited in a lot of ways. Apps can't fully run in the background on the iPad like on a full computer, they can simply perform select actions, like playback audio or finish a download in a given amount of time. The implication is that the PlayBook will let things run willy nilly in the background, more like a standard BlackBerry phone.

"Flash-Loving," with Adobe Flash 10.1 and Adobe AIR built in

It runs Flash and AIR, which means Flash sites that don't work on the iPad will at least be viewable on the PlayBook. It'll be interesting to see how well Flash works on the PlayBook versus less powerful Android phones, where it can run into performance issues. AIR, on the other hand, opens the door for some app opportunities. Combined with the WebKit browser, it should be a pretty decent web experience.

Dual cameras with video conferencing and lots o' ports

This is swanky. The rear camera is a 5-megapixel shooter, while the front is three megapixels. From the back, it shoots video and from the front you can video chat.

It supports a handful of video formats—in 1080p—like h.264, WMV, DivX and MPEG, and it'll output video through a mini HDMI port. Also, it's got a standard micro USB port.

There's a Kindle App on the way

The PlayBook is more book-sized than the iPad, so fortunately a Kindle app for reading is already on the way, Amazon confirms. We're very excited about this.

Integrated with BlackBerry stuffs

It'll pair with a BlackBerry phone, so you can use the tablet to look at anything that's on the phone, like email, calendars or BBM without syncing the two. And it connects with BlackBerry Enterprise Server out of the box, along with all that entails.

It's coming out next year, but don't ask how much it costs

Specifically, RIM says it's coming out in the US in early 2011, with other places getting it sometime after March. There's gonna be 3G and 4G models in the future. RIM's not saying how much it's gonna cost yet, but since RIM loves the carriers, expect it to be offered through them for a discount. (In the preview video, it's mentioned that it works with existing BlackBerry smartphone data plans, so we'll see what that means.)

Overall, the PlayBook is a lot more exciting than anybody expected a BlackBerry tablet to be, especially given how thoroughly mediocre their last major product, the BlackBerry Torch, was. In fact, we're a little more amped about it than the Galaxy Tab. Now RIM's just got to carry through the ball forward.

Official Specifications

• 7” LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
• BlackBerry Tablet OS, powered by QNX technology with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• 1 GHz dual-core processor (capable of symmetrical dual-core processing per the OS)
• 1 GB RAM
• Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
• Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
• Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
• HDMI video output via standard Micro HDMI port and DLNA media streaming
• Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Pair with a BlackBerry smartphone via secure Bluetooth connection for full access to:
• Push technology systems/services
• Email, Calendar, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), tasks, documents, more/etc.
• BlackBerry security and data efficiency

• Connectors: micro HDMI, micro USB, charging contacts
• Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX OS, OpenGL, Java , SMP.
• Ultra thin and portable: 
• Measures 5.1”x7.6”x0.4” (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
• Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)

• Out-of-the-box compatibility with BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES)
• Seamless pairing for a secure window into your BlackBerry smartphone
• 3G access via existing BlackBerry smartphone service plan.
• Corporate data access
• Secure and manageable.

• Additional features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook will be shared on or before the date this product is launched in retail outlets.
• RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.

Looks pretty cool.  I currently think the iPad looks useful and a lot of fun so I'm excited to see this as well.  Regardless, I don't have the money for either so it'd be cool if I got one to use for work or something.  I could legitimately use the iPad with all the PDF articles I read.  If I had an iPad, I'd probably want to make it more excessive by getting the ColorWare "Grip". 


Gizmodo's rant about it is kind of funny.

anyone else want a tablet, something in between your phone and computer?

Speedtest.net iPhone Result

WOW.  Ran this test while Tiffani and I were sitting outside at the Stone event on Wednesday. 

-71dBM

Test Date: October 6, 2010 8:20 PM
Connection Type: Cellular
Server: Charlotte, NC
Download: 5307 kbps
Upload: 1237 kbps
Ping: 183 ms

External IP: 166.137.15.197
Internal IP: 10.54.202.217
Latitude: 35.1699
Longitude: -80.8502

A detailed image for this result can be found here:

http://www.speedtest.net/iphone/63980104.png

Ookla operates Speedtest.net using a massive global infrastructure to minimize the impact of Internet congestion and latency. With over a million tests performed every day across hundreds of servers, Speedtest.net is the ultimate resource for bandwidth testing and related information. Visit it on your computer today to find out why.

My signal is quite strong at -71 but wowzers are those results impressive!  1237kbps is about 1.21 Mbps which is what everyone talks about, "megabits" (not megabytes btw).  Anyways, 1.21Mb upload is more than twice as fast as the RoadRunner TURBO that Kyle and I pay $70/mo for.  The download speed is also quite impressive at over 5Mbps.  The RoadRunner Turbo is twice as fast as that but still...  must be that sweet HSPA AT&T has been rolling out.   Also, just for reference, my ping at home was 33ms versus the 183ms on my phone.  I think either the mobile speed is impressive or it's sad that its coming so close to the wired home connection, or both.

Antonov FAIL pt 2

So the biggest plane in the world was back in Charlotte this week, the Antonov AN-225.  It was here near the end of June to drop off some turbine equipment from Thailand to Siemens for repair.  I'm guessing the repairs were completed and the plane was here again to pick them up.

Kyle and I tried going to see the plane take off when it left before but there ended up being some kind of delay or mechanical problem so we waited for about an hour and half before we gave up and came home.  This time it was much less publicized and Flight Aware listed it as having filed a flight plan for 4:00pm departure 10/4/10.  So I got to a good stopping point with work and headed over about 3:40--hoping to just get lucky; get there right in time to see it and then come back home.  I did get to see it sitting on the tarmac on my way in which was cool, but I wanted to see it take off right in front of me!  Of course it was delayed again.  I waited about an hour and then decided I was going to come home, get a hair cut and go for a run.  Stopped by the hair cut place--a new little place two blocks away--but they're only open Tuesday-Saturday.  sigh, my run was alright though.  I'll try getting a hair cut tomorrow or try and convince Tiffani to do it again :)

anyways, here's some pictures I got from my mentor at work--he's also enjoys planes.

phones are cameras or cameras are phones?

Engadget Mobile (@engadgetmobile) 9/30/10 5:39 PM Nokia N8 vs. iPhone 4: camera showdown http://bit.ly/bJXr4A

Really cool article and comparison!  interested in thoughts and opinions of other people that know about photography--kind of goes over my head with some of the stuff they talk about.  But, I can see the pics and do think that the iPhone 4 does look kind of fake sometimes--makes things prettier and better looking than they are.  The N8 definitely looks different, I think its better, I think I'm noticing the extra MP count if that's what makes it look so detailed.  But, maybe there's something to be said for making our memories look better than they actually are?  lol, idk...

The N8 looks like a stunning piece of hardware, wish they'd open up to Android and make both Android and Symbian.

Interesting Chad Johnson Article

@OGOchoCinco: A must read.... http://rock.gs/85fs  great article and so true!  Read it y'all!! actually a good article and i agree with the writer about how he used to dislike Chad.  I was the same way--thought he talked too much and should just play football instead of making news any other way he could.  But, then because of how "real", normal, fun, and accessible Chad is I realized he really is a nice guy just trying to be different and have fun with the game and life.  you might think he's annoying or don't care what he has to say which is cool, sometimes i do too... however, i really respect him for being original and so open to his fans since other celebrities aren't or they fake it when they do.   i guess Rob Dyrdek is too, i like him as well. Chad Ochocinco: Why the Cincinnati Bengals WR Is Ready To Become World-Famous By Kevin Jones (Contributor) on October 1, 2010   Ninety percent of professional athletes loathe the limelight that their high-profile jobs thrust upon them. They hate the cameras, they hate all the interviews, and they don’t understand why fans care so much about their day-to-day activities. These are the guys who consider sports to be a job; any extracurricular activities outside their respected playing fields are like chores to these guys. About 99.9999 percent of professional athletes learn to accept and understand their role in the sport and entertainment society. They make the right public appearances, they stay after to sign the extra autographs, and they grasp the level of their superstardom among fans in their respective cities. Then there’s this one guy. He’s been on the cover of dozens of magazines. He’s changed his last name à la a rock 'n' roll phenomenon. He helped make Twitter.com mainstream in the sports world. He’s starred on a reality show on VH1. He’s launching his own cereal and video games. He is recognized by just one name, similar to Tiger, Elvis, Madonna, and Prince. Ochocinco. Three years ago, I couldn’t stand Chad Johnson. He constantly bitched about the Cincinnati Bengals organization, and I thought he was overrated on the field. His touchdown dances were hilarious, but I thought he was a glorified clown. Two years ago, when he changed his name to "Ochocinco," I, along with millions of others, thought he was headed down the Ron Artest/Mike Tyson "la-la land" road. Football seemed to be the last thing on his mind.  But Ochocinco knew exactly what he was doing; he was becoming a marketing machine. The change of the last name spurred sales for his new jersey. He won over the majority of his nay-sayers in his 2009 Hard Knocks performance. HBO did an amazing job of catching the character of Ocho—his monstrous truck, his McDonald's addiction, and his famous phrases like “Child, please!” and “Kiss the baby.” But what the cameras also caught was Ochocinco’s essence: connecting with all of his fans. Practically every week, Ochocinco will Tweet out his location. It might be a movie theater, a shopping mall, or a restaurant. He will command on the first 80 people to show up where he is. There he will treat them to entertainment, buy beverages, and kick it with his extreme supporters. He literally has "followers" who will respond to him all around the United States. He’s taken two fans out in Baltimore on $10,000 shopping sprees. He gives out his Xbox Live username on the Internet to play video games with his fans. He’s even put up his personal phone number to his 1.3 million Twitter followers.  Who else on the planet Earth would do this?  Chad Ochocinco willingly lets his adoring fans enter his life.  He isn’t a partier. He isn’t a big intellect. In fact, every single time he talks, you think he’s pranking you.  He may be a goofball, but Ochocinco is also a businessman. I’d argue he has strong enough support to become one of the most influential sports figures in America.  Ochocinco is willing to let the world enter his life. This is something we need to take advantage of. So if he follows these two steps below, I think Ochocinco could reach Oprah-esque fame among men in the United States. 1. Launch the OchoCinco News Network (OCNN) Those who follow Ochocinco closely know that he’s a big proponent of "Ustream," a free live video stream available on the Internet—almost like a live YouTube. But this just isn’t enough of Chad. He needs a real camera crew on him majority of his days. The OCNN started as an online stream this past Super Bowl with Chris Cooley, Ray Rice, and Ochocinco participating in media day, asking the players numerous hilarious questions. An exclusively players-run network like this would introduce fans to a whole new side of the modern athlete.  Think about every channel you watch. ESPN, ABC, FOX, etc. are all run by CEOs and executives. Obviously, the OCNN will bring in some television experts, but Ochocinco will have final say on all programming decisions. This type of control from a non-media head could change the way we watch television. The OCNN could start with a morning talk show hosted by Nabeel and I (think Mike and Mike or Dan Patrick), with regular appearances from Ochocinco himself. By bandwagon effect alone, several famous players will want to appear on the “Players Network,” which would be one potential slogan for the new channel. Different NFL players or other influential athletes could partake in a roundtable discussion (think a dude’s version of The View) about the labor dispute, concussions, overrated and underrated athletes—anything! All of Ochocinco’s games would be broadcast later with a camera on him at all times, even in the locker room. There could be a Twitter-based show where fans all across the world could steer the direction of the program.  This type of access would mesmerize his absurd number of current fans and would bring in millions more. It almost would be like a real life version of Jim Carey’s The Truman Show.  The best part about this network is that it would be 95 percent reality. There would be live mistakes and goof-ups, but that’s why we love Chad. He’s as real as us.  2. The OCNN Could Become a Legitimate Challenger to ESPN ESPN forces certain views and opinions down the throats of its viewers. We all love ESPN, because we’re compelled to—we have no other options.  There’s ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPNU. Let’s take an idea from the movie Dodgeball and literally create ESPN the Ocho.  Today’s athletes all need to unite together, opposing the unfairness and scrutiny in which ESPN portrays certain competitors. If Ochocinco were able to bring Nabeel and I onto his staff, we could put together a compelling case on why the monopoly of ESPN has become more like TMZ. The OCNN will give the players' perspective, not the media's. Ochocinco needs to bring together the NFL (just for starters) and tell players and agents to stop breaking news to ESPN.  Imagine if Ray Lewis was retiring and he broke the news on OCNN. This would truly make Ocho’s network an excellent source for news.  ESPN needs a competitor—they have not one character working for their network as charming, as entertaining, as controversial, or as real as Chad Ochocinco. Once OCNN expanded, we could try and purchase rights to actual games, make a magazine, etc. ESPN paved the way for how to make a sports network, now Ochocinco needs to rally his army to challenge their authority.  Ochocinco realizes the direction mass media is going. With the right staff of people in place, I think he could take over our little sports world.

Engadget Mobile Editorial: Firmware, forums, and desperation -- the dark side of Android hacking

Interesting article.  kind of makes me wish I had an Android phone to play with--an extra phone though, this doesn't sound like fun if it's your only/primary phone.  i think that's why the writer actually enjoys it--cuz it is for fun if it's not your daily driver.

Engadget Mobile (@engadgetmobile) 9/23/10 3:58 PM Editorial: Firmware, forums, and desperation -- the dark side of Android hacking http://bit.ly/9eTH1d

www.engadget.com/2010/09/23/editorial-the-dark-side-of-android-hacking/

That picture above is no joke -- that's where I ended up last night trying to revive my Droid X review unit. It was fun, in a hacky mad-scientist sort of way, but it's also really sad -- a testament to how Google approves Android device hacking with a wink and a nod, but doesn't provide any safety nets for its most passionate users.

Let's back up, though. How did I end up in such dire straits? It started when I had the nerve to update this Droid X to the leaked Android 2.2 build -- a simple process that involved installing the file on a microSD card and restarting. Unfortunately, since Motorola refuses to provide a sanctioned upgrade path from the leaked build to the official 2.2 build released earlier this week, I was forced to downgrade back to 2.1 to get back on track. Based on how easy the update was, this would be a piece of cake, right?

Well, no. The original 2.1 build for the Droid X isn't actually available from Google, Motorola, or Verizon, so I was stuck wiping my phone and reflashing it entirely to a leaked build of 2.1, this time with the confidence-inspiring name of the "the_gift.sbf." Where did it come from, and what does it actually contain? I still have no idea -- but lacking any officially-approved options, I held my breath and restarted the phone in bootloader mode to begin the flashing process. Things seemed to be humming along, until, of course, the phone decided it had a dead battery in the middle of the flash and died. Oops.

Yes, the two hours it took me to sort out the hacked flashing software had been too much for my poor Droid X's previously-full battery, and even though it was plugged in the whole time, it doesn't charge when it's in bootloader mode. I'd gone and bricked my phone. At this point there was nothing to do but take a picture and laugh -- things had gotten wildly out of hand.

That's when I hit upon another forum post describing a way to trick the phone into thinking the battery was charged by splicing the power leads from a USB cable to the power terminals. It was late, I'd been drinking, I had a wire stripper handy... you all know what happened. Miraculously, it worked -- I got the phone to re-flash and boot into 2.1, although the flashing utility insisted that it had ultimately failed. (The battery also reported being 75 percent full, so I have no idea what the actual problem was.) Next thing you know, I was pulling the official 2.2. OTA update down, and hey -- we're back in business.

Like I said at the top, I actually had fun doing all of this. It was interesting and nerdy, and, well, come on -- I totally got to hotwire a phone battery with a sliced-open USB cable while reflashing it with leaked firmware. High five. And a double high five for the Android community, which is about as enthusiastic and creative a group of people as I've ever encountered online. But hold up: I don't trust this phone at all anymore. I don't know anything about the system software I've installed or where it came from, and I have no idea what the leaked flashing utility actually did to it. I can't rely on a device that I don't trust. If this was my actual phone and not a review unit, I'd be completely screwed -- I need this thing to do my job.

Of course, hacking any device carries its risks, and I definitely knew them when I installed that leaked build of 2.2. But Google goes on and on about how Android is "open," and the amazing Android community is a proud credit to how tinker-friendly the platform is at its best -- there's a cooked ROM for everything. We wait with bated breath for every Android phone to be rooted and hacked, and every time we review an Android phone and deduct points for a lame manufacturer skin we're repeatedly told by Android fans that it doesn't matter because "real" power users will just hack their devices anyway. Google has to know that its most passionate users are hacking its OS to hell and back -- it's become the defining strength of the platform.

Google can't keep implicitly condoning Android hacking unless it requires manufacturers to provide restore tools for every device.

But hacking can definitely go too far, and Google doesn't provide any way for you to return to the original Android experience that shipped with your device -- you're at the mercy of the manufacturer and the carrier. Some manufacturers are better than others -- HTC provides updaters for many of its phones -- but some, like Motorola and Samsung, provide nothing at all. Once I left the reservation and installed that leaked 2.2 build, I was gone for good -- no official path back to the fold exists. That's not true on other platforms: if I was running a jailbroken iPhone, I'd just restore it with iTunes, and it would be factory-fresh with known software. That's simply not the case with Android, and it's a problem -- Google can't keep implicitly condoning Android hacking and trading on the enthusiasm of its community unless it requires manufacturers to provide restore tools for every device. Sometimes you just want to go home again.

In my ideal world, consumers would be able to download official stock Android builds for their devices directly from Google, but I'm not ignorant of the carrier- and manufacturer-driven reality we live in. For better or worse, Android's only "open" until the carriers get their hands on it. But Google should insist that every Android manufacturer and carrier release images of their customized firmware for every device as well as tools for easy restoration. It's the only fair way to treat the people who are hacking the platform and giving it the amazing momentum it has, and the only fair way to continue promoting the platform as "open" when in reality the carriers and manufacturers are doing everything they can to lock it down.

FW: @Gizmodo, 9/14/10 2:00 PM

Wonderful article about GSM and CDMA from Gizmodo.  http://gizmodo.com/5637136/.  Educate yourself if you want to feel less overwhelmed by the carriers, plans, phones, etc.

Also, while I respect this article:  http://www.tipb.com/2010/09/14/iphone-android-carriers-wrong-wrong-fight/ it's a bit too Apple/iPhone fanboyish for my tastes.  It fails to recognize the power and influence of radio/chipset manufacturers as well as the carrier/customer equipment subsidy business model that has entrenched itself in the US/NA market.  I still talk to people that balk at $100 or $200 for a phone, even a high-end HTC or iPhone—so don't completely blame Google in the Nexus One situation.  To that point, just because they stopped the Nexus One before introducing a similar situation with another phone doesn't mean they won't but would I have I liked to have seen a longer effort, yeah sure. 

Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) 9/14/10 2:00 PM Giz Explains: What's the Difference between GSM and CDMA? http://gizmodo.com/5637136/

close your eyes and let go of the wheel

y'all might have seen this already... pretty ridiculous--that it was perfectly caught by a police car's dash cam and that it was on Dayton's 675, which i'm familiar with as with many people I know.




I actually first saw it posted on Twitter--say what you will about Twitter but if you follow the right people it's useful, worthwhile, and can be the fastest way to find out about news, events, etc.  I even won 2x tickets to a Kiss concert this weekend for following live nation NC, lol.

My Dad forwarded it to me as well; in an email that originated from his work peers (civil engineers) it was humorous that they were worried about the bridge pier and/or impressed by it's resilience.  which honestly, is completely understandable--that's the stuff that challenges them.  Sure they can make bridges withstand weather and normal wear and tear but it's these freak incidents that truly test their work.  One of Cincinnati's bridges was hit by a truck/train a couple years ago, May 2008. (compliments of my Dad, thx)





anyways, Devour is pretty cool--somewhat affiliated with uncrate i guess.  they had the firebird video as well, http://devour.com/video/insane-firebird-crash/

RIM

RIM = Research In Motion = The company that makes BlackBerrys

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/06/30/what-happened-to-research-in-motion-and-where-are-they-going/

Oh, wow.  Boy Genius tweeted this the other night amid some of his rants against the new BlackBerry 9800 Torch and how frustrating the operating system was.  While I haven't personally had any experience with a Torch or BlackBerry OS6 which is on it, it's not hard to imagine.  I actually remember reading this article last summer and there was a brief discussion about this on a CrackBerry podcast last year as well. 

This write up really seems to have come to fruition too.  RIM has hit a plateau and it's noticeable.  Now the BlackBerry is still amazingly solid and really nothing wrong from most vantage points--it's more about the outlook of what's to come in the future.  With the current state it's hard to see as much growth and development that has been and will continue with other platforms and other phones.  It really lends to the fact that it was around this time last year that I started carrying two phones because my BlackBerry wasn't enough and I desired more mobile functionality--and I actually don't really have a wish for one phone right now. 

Anyways, I just thought it was intriguing to read that BGR post a year later and think about it...to think that my BlackBerry hasn't really done anything new in the last year and probably won't do anything new in the next year, lol.  Well, I did get the trackpad in the last year so I guess we can count that--though it's hardware and not software...  when will I be so happy with a phone that I can colorware it again?

lol, and is this the latest news from RIM?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feed: Boy Genius Report
Posted on: Thursday, August 19, 2010 9:37 AM
Author: Boy Genius
Subject: BlackBerry Bold R020 internal overview, replaces BlackBerry Bold 9700

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/08/19/blackberry-bold-r020-internal-overview-replaces-blackberry-bold-9700/

You’d think that RIM would be replacing highest-end product with a brand new device, right? Well, previous rumors suggested that the BlackBerry Bold 9700 would get nothing more than a simple refresh, and we’re able to confirm those rumors. We have a leaked internal document detailing all sorts of fun stuff. Market positioning, technical overviews, and a bunch more. The big picture view? The BlackBerry Bold R020 (9020? 9750 We’re just guessing) will be practically identical to the 9700 visually. Internal changes include a 5 megapixel camera sensor, and 512MB of RAM up from 256MB. It will also launch with BlackBerry 6 — obviously. We’d love to say there is more, but there isn’t, so check out the leaked document and let us know your thoughts, ok?

ICHCheezburger

this is from a few weeks ago but I forgot to publish it from draft...


funny picture that looks like SQ :)

Fwd: How Mark proposed!

Tiffani and I got engaged!  So, the quick and easy way to tell the story is for me to just post a copy of the email she sent out to her family/friends.

be sure to check out the pictures here:  Ring Photos

Thanks for helping with this post Tiffani! :)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tiffani Shoop tiffani.shoop@gmail.com
Date: Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 10:59 PM
Subject: How Mark proposed!


Hello everyone!  I'm so happy to tell you that Mark proposed to me last night!  He proposed August 14th, 2010 and we first met on October 14th, 2009. 

So Mark and I went shopping Saturday (the 14th) and when we got back we went to his place.  While we were out he said he had a couple of surprises for me that may or may not involve Susie Q (that is my cat).  So we got back and walk in his apartment and he has a table right by the door and there was a cash register sitting on the table!  For some reason, I've always loved playing on cash registers and he always jokes that he's going to get me one so I can play with it.  So I'm all excited that I got a cash register and I start playing with it hitting buttons, and then I hit the total button and the receipt pops up and I look at it, and on the top it says, Will you marry me?  I was like WHAAAT?!  Will you marry me??  Then he got down on one knee and pulled a box out from behind the cash register, opened it up, there was my beautiful ring and he asked me if I would marry him and then I said yes!  I couldn't stop laughing I was so happy and excited.  It was a great moment and so original on his part.  I love him, I'm so excited to marry him, and I can't wait for you guys to meet him!  Enjoy the pictures!

Click here to go to Mark's Photobucket and see all the pictures!
Ring Photos

Thanks!  We love you all!

Also, please forward to anyone I forgot, I don't have everyone's email address (Uncle Greg).

xoxox,
Tiffani and Mark


--
Tiffani Shoop
tiffani.shoop@gmail.com

@cltblog, 8/12/10 11:15 PM

CLT Blog (@cltblog) 8/12/10 11:15 PM Video: Duke Energy Center goes blue for the Panthers http://cltblog.com/o7a

Sent from my mobile device

regular update

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a good ‘ol regular update, and I always say it’s been too long or forever so I’ll just skip saying that…

In June I took a week of vacation to go home early before Patrick and Sharon’s wedding because Hanno was coming and I wanted to spend some time with him.  That was a lot of fun however I didn’t feel well most of the time, not completely sick but not completely well either.  Not sure what was wrong with me, perhaps my body was fighting off something more serious and it could have been much worse—so I’ll be thankful I was mostly ok.  Tiffani was planning to work that week so I wondered if she could get a 1 way ticket to fly to Columbus or Dayton on Friday afternoon before the rehearsal/dinner and then drive back with me since I was planning to drive.  Good deals were awaiting…it was about $120 for her to fly to Dayton from Charlotte connecting through Cleveland.  Anyways, the wedding was wonderful and everything basically went perfect.  It was pretty big too, Patrick and Sharon have lots of family and friends.  There were some nice pictures too:

After the wedding there was no time to rest, Tiffani was moving the following weekend!  However, we had been planning it for a while and I had been helping her pack, slowly but surely, for about a month prior.  She has a lot of stuff and I like to be precise and organized so things went well.  She was moving into the Millennium apartment complex, just finished in February/April of this year and across the street and rail tracks from my place.  Not only was I excited to live closer to her, her old place was a good 15 miles and 25-35 minutes depending on traffic, but she would be closer to work—only about 5 minutes away, and living in the neat neighborhood of South End.  Her new place is super nice and I love it.  While it’s smaller, as a studio, it’s set up very well and the space is optimized super efficiently.  To make up for the lack of space in the unit itself she got a storage unit in her building, one floor up and not too far away.  Even with the storage unit she’s not paying more than her old place which was an important factor and wonderful that we could make that work.  I really like having the storage unit—in part because I like to be a packrat and keep everything, like boxes…lol.  She got her keys on Friday June 25^th and we moved a few things that night, the big move was planned for Saturday.  Ended up getting the smaller U-Haul truck, 10 foot box, but not the van style though.  Big thanks to Kyle for helping the entire day.  We had to make two trips and Brandon and Emily joined to help for the second one.  It was very tiring but overall very successful.  I say I hate moving but am always happy about it when it’s over because I’m in a better place.  I need to stop renting and buy a place so I can stay for longer…

The next week and weekend were unpacking and settling which went great.  After that it was time for Tiffani to take a week long vacation with her family in Oak Island, NC on the beach, I was invited too!  It was really nice, one of her Dad’s co-workers has a house about two blocks from the beach.  I haven’t really been to the beach much in my life so I don’t get as excited as other people but it’s pretty cool.  I hate the sand though.  It gets everywhere and can be super hot in the sun.  I couldn’t take too much time off work so I came back Monday evening.  It was nice to spend time with her family too, I like them and we have fun.  She has two younger brothers, Ricky and Calvin, and it was funny to see her as the big sister. It made me imagine that if I had a brother I would have been even more successful terrorizing my older sisters. We actually hope to go back to the house sometime in the next couple months just for fun with friends.

I know most of the stuff I post is tech related.  I actually had a nice post about that iPhone/at&t article but lost it somehow.  It said it saved the post but I think it reverted when I restored my browser session before I was able to publish it.  Oh well, I wasn’t happy about it so I just didn’t re-write it.  Anyways, I think I did post that I got an iPhone 4—after getting a 3GS, signing up for unlimited data, and then exchanging it for an i4.  So, that was successful and I’m pretty happy with it.  The jailbreak and unlock was finally released so that makes it a lot more fun.  It’s really quite impressive that the “iPhone dev team” was able to find a vulnerability that could be exploited through the web browser—meaning the device can be rooted OTA, over the air.  Previously they had very nice, easy to use programs where you would simply plug the phone in, and the program would just be a button “click to jailbreak” and I was always very impressed with that.  I knew it would happen eventually and that I should just be patient and wait—which I was.

I finally got my first visitors besides my parents!  Patrick and Sharon came the last weekend in July and it was really fun.  It was great to see them and I enjoyed showing them around and just doing fun double date things with Tiffani and me.  They flew in Friday afternoon and left Sunday evening.  We went to Common Market, Nix Burgers, Dandelion Market, Dixies, rode the LYNX, Original Pancake House, Concord Mills, Dave & Busters, Penguin, played games, and went swimming in the pool.  Needless to say it was busy with lots of delicious food.  To that note I’ve been trying to run and work out in my apartment’s gym so I can do fun and unhealthy things without feeling to guilty, and it would be nice to be in better shape as well J

Well, I think I need to get working on setting up a Fantasy Football league.  also, here's a cute picture of Susie Q in a basket.

FW: Bad Connection: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown

 a very good article about the iPhone, att, apple, Steve Jobs, etc.

Feed: Wired Top Stories
Posted on: Monday, July 19, 2010 3:30 PM
Author: Fred Vogelstein
Subject: Bad Connection: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown

ATT and the iPhone -- a pairing that truly was too good to be true. Here's how the partnership between ATT and Apple went so terribly wrong.

View article...

FW: BMW supports iPod Out, fills your 2011 auto with 2001's finest user interface

they better have a firmware update!!!!!  the current integration is awful.  i think it really needed this from the start to have a chance.  no album art, no track number, no total time or time remaining, no adaptive scrolling...  why is it so hard to control an iPod from your steering wheel?

Ford did a better job with SYNC, a Microsoft product.  pwnd?

Feed: Engadget
Posted on: Thursday, July 08, 2010 4:38 PM
Author: Tim Stevens
Subject: BMW supports iPod Out, fills your 2011 auto with 2001's finest user interface

If you wish the iPod support in your BMW or Mini was a little less Munich and a little more Cupertino, this latest development from Bavaria will make you a happy little infotainment meister. BMW is announcing that its in-car iPod compatibility will be boosted to support iOS 4's iPod Out feature, which does not enhance your gadget's Ryan Seacrest impression but instead allows it to output its interface to another device. So, the in-car dash will replicate the simple iPod UI, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on whether you prefer Apple's design cues to BMW's. No word on exactly which vehicles will get this support, but this is referred to as part of a "new offer," so it certainly sounds like future autos only. C'mon guys, haven't you heard of a firmware update? Gallery: BMW and Mini get iPod Out Continue reading BMW supports iPod Out, fills your 2011 auto with 2001's finest user interface BMW supports iPod Out, fills your 2011 auto with 2001's finest user interface originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Cnet  |   | Email this | Comments

View article...

iPhone 4 bars to signal strength mapped, antenna issue partially explained

Perfect.  This is exactly the information I wondered about.  Because, in a sense bars mean nothing to me.  They're a graphical representation of signal level and there's only five of them.  The article is really fantastic, http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2, please, you have to read it.  

Honestly, the writer reminds me of myself how I like to test phones repeatedly in multiple environments and average their performance--I imagine we'd be friends in real life lol.  i like how he figured out how to get a numerical dBm reading since field test doesn't exist, Clever.  I asked myself why I didn't think of that!

Feed: Boy Genius Report
Posted on: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 8:33 PM
Author: Kelly Hodgkins
Subject: iPhone 4 bars to signal strength mapped, antenna issue partially explained

The folks at AnandTech just published their review of the iPhone 4 and took a close look at the antenna issue that is plaguing the handset. In true geek style, they mapped the bar representation of the signal strength from -51dB (perfect signal strength) to -131dB (bare minimum to maintain a connection) and measured the iPhone 4 signal strength attenuation in terms of  decibels. The result of the mapping show that over 40% of the signal strength range is represented by 5 bars which means your signal has to drop significantly (over 40dB) to go from 4 to 5 bars and only 10db to go from 4 bars to 3. Pretty big difference. They also found that the iPhone 4 on average loses 24.6dB when tightly held in your hand and 19.8 when held naturally due to the positioning of the antenna and the fact that it lacks insulative coating. These two above factors combined explain why those in strong coverage areas do not see any perceptible drop in bars while those in marginal areas do. If you are sitting pretty at -60dB you can easily absorb a 24dB loss to -84dB and not see any change in bars. But if you are at -91dB and lose 25dB, you will drop from four bars to almost none in a heartbeat. Interestingly enough, they find that the iPhone 4 antenna is significantly improved over the 3GS but is hampered by Apple's choice not to shield the now famous metal band. Be sure to read the full article here:  http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2 Read

View article...

iPad gets MiFi’ed

 awesome.  sounds like a good way to get what you want, and definitely a more versatile iPad since it can get internet access itself as well as act as a router for other Wi-Fi devices.

Feed: Boy Genius Report
Posted on: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 8:20 PM
Author: Andrew Munchbach
Subject: iPad gets MiFi'ed

Do you possess soldering skills and nerves of steel? Do you not care about potentially ruining hundreds of dollars in electronics in the name of science? Boy do we have the tutorial for you. Someone over at dishtvhdstore.com (of all places) has frankensteined a Verizon Wireless MiFi into their Apple iPad, resulting in a EV-DO iPad hotspot sans GPS. Now, under no circumstances are we recommending you try this, but if you are curious hit the read link…there is a step-by-step guide. Read

View article...