Am I a Black Friday shopper? No, not really. I admit that I’ve spent half my day, and half of yesterday, at the computer, tracking good deals on my favorite shopping sites… and I do have five orders pending with Amazon, right now, and a couple with some other random places and I did get in one line this morning, but it was inside a store, and I only stayed in it for about 10 minutes, at which time I saw the item I was interested in, sell out. I laughed at the seven geeks in line outside Half-Price Books, and chuckled when I saw the limousine at the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru… There are definitely parts of the craziness that I enjoy, but I’m not a big shopper. I did exchange my Droid for a new one, because of some weird whistling noise it was making. The set up process was surprisingly easy. I really do like Android. I also went out and cut down a christmas tree, and now it’s time to clean up the tree stand and put that thing up.
The Droid has been pretty awesome, so far. The phone works. I just got my Google Voice invite, so we’ll see how that affects things. It should, at least, open up some cool voicemail options. The web works. The apps work… though, the web apps still seem redundant, with such a good browser onboard. With the push gmail, I get notified on my phone before I even see it on the web; It’s creepy. The navigation does the job. It does need some more options and features built into it… ability to customize routes or at least request shortest vs fastest or non-highway routes would be nice. The audio part is surprisingly functional. I miss the Sound Check and the ability to shuffle by album that I have on the iPod and I don’t know if it has the battery life to use it the way I did on the trains all summer and since it also has to stay on all day as a phone.
This is the month where work usually wraps up… and that leads to the month when we wrap presents… and it will all blur into a month I will call Wraptember.
Those of you who plan on seeing Sarah and I when we’re back east, claim your days now.
This is a test as much as it is a blog. I replaced my phone, today, with a Motorola Droid. This is one of the first android devices on Verizon as well as one of the first with android 2.0. It’s a huge upgrade for me. I barely had web access, before, now I have a honest-to-goodness browser. I waited for android to come to Verizon and resisted the urge to switch to an iPhone, even when my enV’s screen cracked.
The reviews are true. The keyboard isn’t wonderful. The software keyboard isn’t half bad, though… so I find myself flipping back and forth, for now. The app situation is weird. With such a nice browser, are the apps I’m downloading even necessary? I don’t know the answer to this one, either. Another case of “time will tell.” I loaded some music on it, but will it replace my iPod for the train rides to work in the summer or for car rides? Too early to tell. I’ve only used the camera to try out the Amazon price-matching app. I haven’t even tried the GPS yet, and that’s what really eliminated any doubt… the new, free, google-maps based turn-by-turn navigation.
So far, though, it’s pretty awesome. I will keep you posted on my findings
My mom found this. It was somewhere in her house, probably in the basement with a bunch of other old mail. I definitely played Freeway, a lot. Like any good addictive game, it would still be there, long after I stopped playing, when I closed my eyes. Seeing the picture and screenshot in the “Summer 1982 Activision Video Game Cartridge Catalog” made the memories come flooding back. Now I have to figure out what I should put the patch on.
The text of the letter:
Dear Fan of FREEWAY™ by ACTIVISION:
Congratulations! You guided your chicken through traffic at least 20 times, which qualifies you as an official member of the Activision “Save the Chicken Foundation.” We are pleased to reward your traffic dodging achievemets with the enclosed patch.
Your name has been added to our mailing list and we will keep you posted on new Activision game cartridges as they become available.
Thank you for sharing your accomplishment with us. We hope you’ll try other video games by Activision and write us about your experiences with them.
Yours truly,
Jan Marsella
Customer Relations
JM
Enclosure
PS. Please read the enclosed Heat Seal Instructions carefully. Children should not attempt to heat seal the patch to clothing. Improper use of an iron (or related appliance) may result in damage to clothing, or bodily harm. This patch may also be sewn to any fabric.
Also be sure to check out the scans of the Activision catalog at flickr.
So, I’ve had to create and send PDFs to coworkers this week. I hate PDFs. I believe that they are the devil’s file format. Why would I sink to such a level, you ask? Because my boss doesn’t have/can’t operate Excel (and doesn’t have the web savvy to use Google Docs). There’s lots of rumblings about our boss, but that’s really nothing new. I hate the feeling of instability it lends to my job, though. I’d totally go back to a tech job, if I could find one that was in a laid back environment and paid well… on the other hand, I’d really go for a position at a place with high ropes that had steady work for two or three seasons, even if it paid the same as I’m getting, now.
In other news, we’ll be back on the east coast, doing the family thing and trying to catch up with all the people who I’ve neglected to see on my last couple trips that way from the day after Christmas until about the 30th. Let me know if you have time in there and want to reserve a day or evening, now.
I found out, today, that Andy Jones died. I don’t know any details. I don’t know how to feel, yet. I have good memories of Andy Jones from high school. He was a talented dude. He had the ability to do whatever it was he chose to do, very well. He knew how to be excellent. He’ll be missed. I dunno if I have a favorite Andy memory. The first thoughts about him that came to my head were about the band he was in called Split… and then about high school… show choir trips, nights in the barn … and then I remembered running into him once at UMASS … and then the last time I saw him, at a company christmas party a couple years ago, for a company that a couple of other friends worked for, including Drew. What kept popping into my head was how he had an almost word-association type reaction to certain bands. If I mentioned the Pixies, he’d say, “Man, whenever you mention the Pixies, I immediately think, ‘Cariboooooooooooooou…’ and whenever the Dead Milkmen came up, he’d say, “I have nothing against the Dead Milkmen, but there was this kid back in Indiana, and he loved that song Takin Retards to the Zoo, played it on repeat a lot, kinda turned me off to them…” There were so many in-jokes, ridiculous phrases and stuff that have absolutely no meaning, now, rattling around in my head…
I’m not sure if it’s sad or not, but this news totally distracted me from the fact that it’s been four years since my dad died. I think I would have gone the whole day without realizing it, if Sarah had not mentioned it. I’m not sure I realized it last year, but I think Sarah’s mom might’ve mentioned it. The Dad memory that came to mind tonight, as we were driving home from our friend Jessica’s housewarming party was about Dad giving me directions. It was one of those first trips that I took from Woonsocket to my parents’ house. I was going to head back the way I came and I mentioned that there’s probably some other road I could take that winds through Connecticut. Dad suggested a route. It was a couple windy roads that did exactly that. The best part was that he said “and you’ll be on this road, and just about the time you say, ‘where the hell am I?’ you’ll hit Route 44.” And that is exactly what happened. I think I even said it out loud… not realizing that I was fulfilling his prophecy until the moment it happened.
I dunno what is more saddening… but the coincidence is morbid.
Today, I fixed a leaky bathtub faucet. I don’t think I’ve done much in the way of plumbing ever in my life… maybe taken off a faucet handle and then decided the job was too much for me or finding a leak, but then calling someone about it… or pouring drano down something. This was certainly the first time I ever actually fixed a leaky faucet. It was painless enough, even made me feel sort of accomplished.
Every time I see my prescription, specifically, the bottle with my last name on it, I think about my Dad… not some random thought, but something like “is that my Dad’s bottle?” or “Why is one of Dad’s prescriptions out here?” … defying any logical thoughts about Dad being gone for several years now, or the fact that I haven’t lived in the same house as my Dad for eight or nine years. My brain just can’t see a bottle with my name on it and think that it’s mine. Will I ever get used to having a prescription?
The ongoing health issues have prompted lots of discussion about health insurance and Sarah or I needing jobs that have real benefits. Drama being what it is around here, the discussions have often turned into fights or bouts of silent treatment. The whole thing has got me looking back into tech jobs. I cruise craigslist on a daily basis and send an occasional response to interesting looking positions; Haven’t heard anything back from anyone, yet. It’s not something I want to do. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t take another desk job unless I was being paid substantially more than I was in Marlboro… but I was probably overpaid, given my technical qualifications, at the time. Either way, I was not healthy and not happy and I don’t know what the consequences would be if I were to take such a job again. I don’t want to sacrifice my mental well-being for the chance at better physical well-being. It makes me actually take some interest in this health care reform political stuff. I guess there isn’t a chance that we’d have a universal, free-to-everyone system like the rest of the civilized world has, but it would certainly ease my mind of this issue, if we did.
The Palm Pre is out of the running; I got to feel one at work and the keyboard is just too small. I’m a texter with big thumbs. So, it’s back to a waiting game… wait for that first android phone’s price and date to hit Verizon, the phone should be a Motorola with that spiffy new Motoblur UI slapped on top of Android … or wait for the Nuvifone, which isn’t Android and doesn’t have a release date or price yet (or carrier, officially), but will almost certainly have the best GPS and probably handle gmail without any problems, at least. Or give in and get an iPhone; It’s so tempting.
In other news:
Work starts back up soon, one meeting next week and then officially back to a regular schedule the following week. I think we have Fridays off this season.
Got the annoying clicking noise the rear wheel(s) of my car were making fixed… it took three tries, but we got it done. Now I hear every click and creak the car makes when I hit bumps and stuff… still need to do whatever needs to be done about the little ding in the windshield.
And we’ve been using our game consoles a lot over the break… picked up the X-Men Origins: Wolverine for xBox 360 and Fat Princess for PS3 … and I might dig into our most recent purchase, Mini Ninjas during this last week off. Fall TV season be damned, we’re playing our video games!
Getting some stuff done in my seasonal break… including some stuff that’s been on the list for a while. I upgraded wordpress to the latest version last night. Seems that all the other social media sites have made the blog one of the last things I focus on, but it’s nice to be up to date. Still got some car stuff left to check off… and of course the stuff to buy section of the list, which includes a new wallet, watch and phone. Anyway, still enjoying my time off, even if I have gotten on a productive kick here and there.
In case you missed it. I made a silly, random tumblr called backsofpeople.tumblr.com and inserted it into the bottom of the right column of fashiondisaster.org. I made it open to submissions, too. I figure that I’m not the only one who goes through my photos and finds a bunch that I’d put up if they weren’t so monopolized by a view of someone’s back.
I was also approached by a band on Bandmix that needs a bass player, but the audition songs make me thing that I would not like playing in this group… it’s basically country. I thought I specifically said that I’d prefer not to do country in my profile somewhere, but I guess they can’t read. I should’ve known when they mentioned a Wynonna Judd song but said it was by Winona Ryder.
I have time, still nursing along my beaten and broken phone, but it’s on my mind. Do I replace it now, before the work season starts? Do I wait? It seems like the sensible thing to do but not if I really don’t want to carry both a phone and an iPod. How important is good GPS? I really only use it on vacations. Apparently, my phone saw me writing this and ran away… this makes all phones which had “wait” as an option, pretty much not an option, since I need a phone for work… unless it shows up at work tomorrow, that’s the only place I went before it ran away. Phone turned up. Sarah knew where to look, she rocks.
iPhone
Pros:
available now
Apple hardware exclusivity means cooler peripherals possible
definite iPod replacement (only carry one device)
Sirius app
Cons:
switching to AT&T
higher plan cost
GPS apps aren’t as good as a Garmin
no background apps without jailbreaking
no keyboard
Android (undecided on which exact phone, maybe the rumored Sholes)
Pros:
Open source
coming to Verizon in October, probably (no switching)
instant Google-ness
keyboard
Cons:
might not be an iPod replacement – dunno how music players on android are
Waiting for a verizon release or Switching carriers
GPS apps aren’t as good as a Garmin
Nuvifone
Pros:
GPS is as good as a Garmin, it’s a Garmin!
Cons:
probably not an iPod replacement – seems GPS/social-centric
have to wait AND probably have to switch carriers
next version is going to be Android
no keyboard
Palm Pre
Pros:
available now
a couple personal recommendations
Cons:
tiny-ass keyboard
switching to Sprint
