| @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 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. |
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Interesting Chad Johnson Article
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
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.
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.
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.
Monday, September 20, 2010
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/ |
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
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/
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/
Thursday, August 19, 2010
RIM
RIM = Research In Motion = The company that makes BlackBerrys
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
Posted on: Thursday, August 19, 2010 9:37 AM
Author: Boy Genius
Subject: 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 :)
funny picture that looks like SQ :)
Sunday, August 15, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
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 25th 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.
Monday, August 9, 2010
FW: Bad Connection: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown
Feed: Wired Top Stories
Posted on: Monday, July 19, 2010 3:30 PM
Author: Fred Vogelstein
Subject: Bad Connection: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown
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.    |
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