My dad and I went to the T-Mobile store yesterday because his myriad of phones have all quit on him, apparently one has a broken charging bay and the other has a touch screen that doesn’t work… useless. His office provides him with a free T-Mobile account and pays for any phone he’s going to get, so I went with him to scope out the possibilities. Upon first walking in I noticed the htc G1, it’s Google’s answer to the iPhone sorta. The phone looks pretty cool and has some nifty little features, like google apps, a nice 3.2 megapixel camera, a 5 row QWERTY keyboard and a really easy to use OS. How does it compare to the iPhone? Well I’ve always loved the iPhone for the sort of phone it is, and it’s always been tough to adjust to anything else that is similar, in that it utilizes a touch screen and internet capability, but after messing with the G1 for a little bit I really began to like it and that’s saying a lot. So as of now I’ve basically sold my dad on the G1 seeing as how it’s the only viable phone that provides what it does on T-Mobile, hopefully he’ll see the light and get the phone so that I can play with it =)
Archive for July, 2009
Get the G1
Friday, July 31st, 2009Cancer Beds Are Worse Than Suspected
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Here is a cute couple showing off their newly acquired skin cancer.
We’ve always figured that tanning beds caused cancer or that they were at the very least not very good for you, well now a recent study says that they may be as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas. The study says that skin cancer increases by 75% when people start using tanning beds before the age of 30. Melanoma in young people has risen so much that is now the leading cancer diagnosed in women in their 20′s in Britain. So with all that said you should probably avoid tanning beds, after all it is Florida so just get outside when it’s not raining and you should be fine =)
New Waste of Time
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009I always find a good way to waste time, I mean c’mon what’s better than staying home and not spending money at the bars? I know real life can be a lot more fun but it comes at a cost, a cost that I’m not willing to incur.
This summer has been pretty good, I haven’t really done much during the weeks in terms of friends or adventure but the weekends have always been good, thanks Jayde =). So how do I get through the mindless weeks of work and nothingness? Usually I would love to hang out with friends and just bs, hit the bars or hang out nothing special just something to pass the time and get out of the house. Also I’ve always had a slight interest in video games because I just don’t like to sit at home doing nothing or scout around for something to do all the time, so I combine the fact that I don’t have the money to go out… ever… and I need to pass the time in the least painful way, at least to make it to the weekend.
I have been messing around on video games probably this whole summer. Luckily I know how to use a computer to do whatever I want and have pirated many games, assuring that I don’t have to spend a dime and because of that I don’t really have to be choosy on what I’m playing. I think I started the summer playing Red Alert 3, just messing around and learning about the game. After that came the Sims 3, fun for a few days but it really takes too much time and gets pretty old pretty fast. Finally I downloaded Warhammer Dawn of War 2 and had it sitting on my computer for some time. My friend suggested the game so I got to downloading, after it was finished I tried to get it to work and it wouldn’t budge, kept saying some unexplainable error occurred and I did everything I could to fix it… still no cigar. Finally just the other day I was bored and started messing with it again, I found the appropriate .exe and it opened up like a book. After a few minutes of playing the game I decided that I really was starting to like it. The game combines parts of an RTS with the leveling and personalization of other types of games. You get new weapons with rarity values and can assign points to your troops when they level up to be how you want them to be. Aside from being slightly repetitive the game is fun and the abilities that you get as you level make it even better, plus it was free so I’ll never complain =)
You can get the torrent for the game from the piratebay.org here http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4733484/Warhammer.40.000.Dawn.of.War.II-ViTALiTY you can get bittorent to download it here http://www.bittorrent.com/ and if you need help with installing or wanna know how bittorent works let me know =)
Check out the review of the gameplay and go download it!
Funny People
Monday, July 27th, 2009So Judd Apatow’s third film as director comes out this Friday, I remember being excited months ago when I heard about it but was kind of bewildered by the trailer, it lacked the snappy humor that 40Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up had. Recently as the film has been closer and closer to release they started showing more trailers, this time the trailers completely skipped all the seriousness that was originally portrayed and focused more on the funny clips, of course that’s what everyone is really into. Anyway the film comes out this weekend and I’m definitely going to check it out, so far some of the early reviews are saying that it’s great, that it offers the same level of humor as his previous films and also offers a little more maturity in a plot. I’m just really excited to see Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen as a duo, I know that this team will have something hilarious to offer and really hope that it pays off in the end.
Check out both trailers and you can see how different they are, maybe it’s me but whatever I just hope the film turns out to be good.
Pinball the Home Wrecker
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009I’ve recently been reflecting on how good I’ve got it with my girlfriend, we get along really well and love to do all of the same things. On that note I’ve always liked video games, and when we first met she immediately made it known that she wasn’t really a fan, or that she just wasn’t good at them, that didn’t really bother me because I actually do prefer to do most other things then play video games, however games are always a good way to pass time when you’ve got nothing else to do. This weekend my girlfriend made the journey from Gainesville up here to Jax to hang out, she got off work and came straight here. When we visit each other we usually like to go play tennis or watch movies or just do whatever. We were talking one night and she mentioned to me how we never really fig
ht and we’re never competitive towards each other, I agreed and thought it was pretty cool that I got along with her so well.
The next day while I’m at work she finds the pinball game on my computer, she tells me how she likes it and when I come home I see that she’s actually pretty good at it. I’ve never really played the pre-installed windows games other than skifree and solitaire so I didn’t really know what I was getting myself in to. I remember playing pinball on the computer but can’t remember ever really getting in to it. I start off and I’m doing kinda poorly, I can keep the ball going but I just couldn’t break 500 thousand points, all the while she’s getting over a million every game! So we keep playing it alternating back and forth and I start to notice all the lights and really start to understand the game, granted it’s just pinball but it’s actually pretty awesome, it has missions that you have to complete and added bonuses for hitting things over and over. Finally I get a break and I make it on the top 5 high scores, it might have been the bottom but it was still something.
During this time my girlfriend and I are having fun, we’re encouraging each other to do well and are really getting involved in the game. Saturday morning I wake up and I go right to the game, Jayde is still sleeping and I start playin, bam before I know it I have over 1 million points and I was still on my first ball, I kept strong and finished with over 4 million points, the record on my computer that still stands today! I wake up Jayde and say hey look I’m doing better I got over 4 million, of course I expect to be applauded and really feel accomplished but then she gives me the death stare. All of that talk about the two of us not being competitive and the next day she starts up, I guess it didn’t help that I signed my high score, “can’t touch this – tim”. Well this was a serious problem for our relationship, it seems a bit trivial but she was really mad, she nearly wouldn’t talk to me for a whole hour, meanwhile she was pinballing away trying to beat my score and knock me down a peg. Eventually we worked it out and she no longer hates me, at least openly, we’re even back to encouraging each other to do better. My advice, always let your lady friends win, it may hurt your ego to be humble but man it keeps em off your back =)
*story may have been exaggerated for interests sake.
Goodbye My Love
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009A bittersweet summer this has been, since the start of the fall semester last year my beloved vehicle has been confined to a parking space, unable to roam the streets as intended by the laws of nature and mechanics. It all started February 3rd 2004 when I met the girl of my dreams, a girl that today I’m pained to even look at because I know her fate. I’m talking about my red and white manual transmission 2 wheel drive 1987 Ford Bronco 2 with BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires and a beautiful set of antiquated yet gorgeous truck rims. My dual exhaust beauty with all red interior that is as fine as the cold autumn day that it was placed upon that lot with all the other, then, new trucks.
On this day I’m forced to choose between my, now, antique ride that got me through highschool and into college whilst roaring down the streets, and my newly acquired 2003 Acura RSX with just 20k miles and AC, which is something that I haven’t enjoyed in over 4 years. The choice may seem quite easy to the heartless, but for me it’s a choice between the memories of a past and the uncertainties of a future, a choice that makes me tremble in my wake. Unfortunately the facts chose to give me less and less of a choice then I’d enjoy, my ancient vehicle has suffered a near fatal blow to the head gasket, the sort of clout that could be easily fixed with a little bit of time and a little bit of money. Fortunately my great grandfather has graced me with the use of his RSX, a car that he purchased new in 2003 and has only subjected to the road for 20 thousand miles. So the choice becomes easier, it’s a dog eat dog world out there and the outdated falls by the wayside, alas the choice becomes something different, it’s no longer a choice, it’s a rite of passage, a vessel that will bring me into the future (with half the gas).
So this is my farewell to the vehicle that I’ve loved so dearly and had so many memories with, this may sound a tad cheesey but a man’s vehicle that he bought with his own money and truly appreciated is something that is hard to let go of.
If you’re interested in buying my love check out http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/cto/1270785262.html or the ebay site to check out the pictures.
Click to visit eBay page.
Sunday Night’s Trueblood
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
Ok I’ve been watching the show Trueblood since the end of the 1st season last year, I was told it was good and I had to check it out. At first it kinda bothered me that it was set in Louisiana because I knew the potential of the story and the depth that could really be achieved if it were taken to a larger city with a little more danger and a little less southern accent. I don’t think I really enjoyed the first season like I’ve enjoyed other shows that I like, but I always had a strange feeling that the show would really start to get good as it progressed, the unveiling of new creatures and danger at every corner is always intriguing and the show seems to do a pretty good job of that now that we’re in season 2. Even though this new season is about 10 times better than season one it still sometimes finds a way to disappoint, it seems like every other episode is pretty pointless, I understand that not every show can be introducing new content, and I wouldn’t even want that, but the episodes that aren’t very good don’t necessarily offer anything, they’ll provide one good scene then the rest will be an attempt to further the relationships or build the characters but it often falls flat, giving us more information that we already know and not really leading us to believe that anything has truly happened. With that said I’m still excited every week when Trueblood is on because despite that it has a lot to offer and is probably the best show on right now, at least until Californication comes back on in the fall or It’s Always Sunny again in the fall. If you haven’t had the chance to see Trueblood I suggest you start checking it out, it has a great premise and is always full of adventure in the fantastical vampire world, plus it’s really starting to get good and you wouldn’t want to miss it.
If you like a bit of a spoiler you can check out http://www.tv.com/true-blood/show/74645/episode.html to get a synopsis of the rest of season 2 but be warned there are spoilers.
256GB Flash Drive Unveiled
Monday, July 20th, 2009Yes that title does say Gigabyte and no it’s not a typo. Since when did flash drives have more memory than my 1 year old desktop? Of course memory on things like iPods, computers, flash drives, and memory cards has continued to grow like anything else in the electronics world but when you actually stop for a second and take a look at how far we’ve advanced it’s truly amazing. I can remember when flash drives first arrived and my dad brought one home that boasted a huge 2 gigs of memory, that was huge, and it didn’t even seem like that would get outdone for a while. But nowadays we have a standard iPod video that has a 160 gig hard drive, a hard drive that is about 4 times as large as my last computers. Of course I’ve upgraded to my 300 gig last year which is about 2/3rds full but still, it took me a while to even put a dent in the storage space. The launch of Kensington’s, worlds largest, 256 GB thumb drive clearly demonstrates how far this flash technology has come, and it makes data transfers of any capacity virtually microscopic. Of course it has it’s potential downsides too, I can’t imagine paying the record-breaking asking price of $924 for something that could be so easily misplaced, granted if you did pay almost a grand for a storage device you might take a little better care of it then the norm. For some people this will be a revelation of geekdom but for me it serves only as a milestone. The thumb drive is out now in Europe so if you wanna drop the dough you’d better find it online.
Free Candy OMG!
Friday, July 17th, 2009
I was checkin around the internet and found out that Mars, the makers of M&M’s, Snickers, and 3 Musketeers is giving away free candy! All you have to do is hit up this link Free Chocolate Friday and fill it out, I checked it out and it’s legit so don’t waste time and head to the site because they only give away 250,000 each Friday!
PC Gains Some Traction on Mac
Thursday, July 16th, 2009Everyone knows those, now, old Mac ads where Justin Long, playing the part of the Mac, would point out to John Hodgman, the portly, glasses-toting nerd portraying PCs, that Macs were basically error free and were much more stylish then the standard PC. These ads seemed like they were coming out by the week and they were great and a huge hit for Apple. Microsoft tried to fight back with a campaign where they had people with glasses saying, hey just because I have glasses doesn’t necessarily mean I’m a nerd, right? Oh btw I’m a PC. They later started mixing it up to show that not everyone who used a PC was a nerd.
Well recently Microsoft has hit the television with a slightly more successful campaign strategy, a string of films that you’ve most likely seen. The new ads are there to say that if you were given the money and the choice of any laptop out there that you’d probably walk away with a PC just because there are more choices and overall it’s a bit more personal. So Microsoft has successfully made a campaign that really rivals Mac’s, after all you probably haven’t seen a Mac ad in quite a while, and to top off that news, Microsoft’s COO Kevin Turner unleashed the fact that Microsoft stores are coming out this fall! Of course it doesn’t end there, to solidify the fact that Microsoft’s ads were working Mr. Turner told this story to a group of partners during his Worldwide Partners Conference.
And you know why I know [the commercials are] working? Because two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying, hey — this is a true story — saying, “Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices.” They took like $100 off or something. It was the greatest single phone call in the history that I’ve ever taken in business. (Applause.)
I did cartwheels down the hallway. At first I said, “Is this a joke? Who are you?” Not understanding what an opportunity. And so we’re just going to keep running them and running them and running them.
A funny story, that if true, is a big win deal for Microsoft, afterall they’re not only going to have to worry about Apple in the future as Google is beginning to get into the OS business.
I’ve grown up with Windows so I like the fact that they’re starting to get a little more strength, they’ve never really been in danger but it doesn’t hurt to get ahead. The PC finally got it’s revenge!
