burp.

Messing with fxcamera on my n1

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:55:11 -0700

Messing with fxcamera on my n1

Curlers

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 19:27:11 -0700

Curlers

How I used my mobile devices on trip to LS2010

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:18:00 -0700

Just worked The Learning Solutions Conference in Orlando and decided beforehand that I was going to measure my usage of the three mobile devices I own: a Nokia e63 for phone and texting, a 16GB iPod Touch for media and apps and a Zune 120 for music and media. I wanted to see what processes and systems I developed having these three on me during all my travels and most of my working day. I’m also in the process of making a decision on integrating all three of these devices into a single piece of hardware and wanted to see what conclusions I might be able to draw from this unique opportunity. Here we go, by device…

Nokia E63
I’ve been using this phone for over a year and I chose it because it was available unlocked, has a qwerty style keyboard, can take photos and video, and overall has the stability of the symbian OS, which I’ve been familiar with for years. During my daily activities, it easily got the most use due to all the texting and phone work I needed to do. The camera works well, it connected very easily via wi-fi to the hotel network, bluetooth is always a breeze, and for what it is, works without any problems. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the advanced graphics and features an iPhone or similar type of smartphone has, which is why I carried along an iPod touch and my Zune the whole time. Although there is an app for facebook and twitter for the E63, it’s not near the same experience the iPod touch has. Oh and the battery life on this device rules. Currently I might charge it twice a week and never have to worry about it draining to nothing.

iPod Touch
This device functioned perfectly for my needs browsing twitter, facebook, the web, and checking email. I also used it for apps I used during travel, like a sleep app I used to help me relax on the plane and in the hotel after work, a weather.com app, a TripIt app to keep my travel schedule organized, the custom conference app we developed, and of course, Bejeweled, which I hit up any time I’m bored. I thought I would use it more for media, but as you’ll see below, the Zune 120 took over in that arena. Ultimately, I found that I could’ve left this device in my room most days because I had easy access to laptops or computers on the floor of the conference. While traveling, it was beneficial, but only if there was free wi-fi around. With the exception of the conference app, I was surprised at how little I needed it.

Zune 120
Although this device seems almost antiquated old to me (it’s over a year old!), it really showed its strengths on this trip. At home, it usually sits by itself connected to a stereo or on the shelf waiting for me to take to the gym or similar excursion. Browsing my music collection is so easy, and the flight home went by quickly having several episodes of Caprica to enjoy. I don’t think I really realized how much I listen to music and or view media until going through this little exercise, but there I was, relying on this device almost as much as my phone. The Zune interface itself is so much better than the iPod Touch music interface. The sorting is better, there are more options, and the entire experience feels richer. It reminds me of how lackluster an experience iTunes offers versus the Zune desktop program. I bought some music on iTunes before I left and resisted listening to them on the touch because the Zune is so much better. Although there’s no touch screen, going from song to song is so much easier on the Zune than the touch. I had debated whether to take it with me on this trip, and am glad I did. Only problem…it ran out of battery power before I got back home (I fully charged it at the hotel in Orlando).

Conclusion
I have decided that the ultimate solution to all of this is probably going to be the Windows 7 phone. A good smartphone with social media access, a Zune media interface, apps, email and browser functionality pretty much describe what MS is attempting to produce. Unfortunately, it doesn’t show up until the last quarter of this year, so until then, I’ve decided to get a Nexus One. I believe this will combine the functionality of the E63 and iPod touch, and hopefully at least provide some media relief by not having to rely on iTunes. If the Windows 7 phone functions as promised, it just may be the answer to everything I’m looking for in a mobile device, but until then, the Nexus One should be just fine, especially with its integration into the many google services I use.

"Everything looks like it’s in HD this morning!"

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:38:25 -0700

“Everything looks like it’s in HD this morning!”

- Julianne, over breakfast in the backyard Saturday morning.

At the Harmony Festival. Bad Brains at the end. by Jooj.

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:49:31 -0700

At the Harmony Festival. Bad Brains at the end. by Jooj.

So. Awesome.

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:40:33 -0800

So. Awesome.

Video

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:25:41 -0800

Really beautiful stuff. Called my Mom and Dad to talk about it...

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:12:38 -0800

Really beautiful stuff. Called my Mom and Dad to talk about it and they talked my ears off!

This is a picture of Joey’s roommates, Cliff and Carl. ...

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:06:00 -0700

This is a picture of Joey’s roommates, Cliff and Carl. They came over Saturday to go to Sprite’s Night, an event at a local school. It was a Halloween kinda thing, and we had a good time roving around the school grounds and watching all the mini-plays the students of that school were putting on. Carl (the younger one) was especially taken by an older gentleman walking around dressed like a king. Carl finally walked up to him and asked him where he got his costume. The guy simply said “a friend made it for me”. I myself ended up trading a golden acorn and my old pirate outfit to Carl for a laptop he made out of a shoebox. This shoebox laptop included a screen drawing of a scorpion and a monkey driving a red car.

I effing love this song. Julianne managed to get in for free at...

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:35:35 -0700

I effing love this song. Julianne managed to get in for free at the Fillmore the other night to check him out. Martin Sexton - Women and Wine

Five years ago. Elliot Smith RIP.

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:27:08 -0700

Five years ago. Elliot Smith RIP.

Today was the third time this mystery female cyclist comes out...

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:19:22 -0700

Today was the third time this mystery female cyclist comes out of nowhere and tails me all the way from Stony Point to Sebastopol, about six miles. And of course, I’m not going to let her pass me up! Needless to say, I’m pretty winded when I get home which I guess is a good thing, but still, what the hec? I feel like John Cusack in Better Off Dead and that crazy newspaper boy who would groan in that weird, creaky voice “Two dollars, two dollars, TWO DOLLARS!!!”.

Close Guantanamo

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:32:33 -0700

One of the biggest issues shaping my decision for this election is how the detainees in Guantanamo are being handled. It’s something I find myself thinking about regularly and it weighs on my conscience as an American. Once it’s all said and done, I think it will easily go down as one of the ugliest chapters of America history that I’ve lived through, and I feel sick about it. Closing that place can’t happen soon enough…it’s been open for almost seven years… link that made me think about Guantanamo again The Road to Guantanamo

Ahhhh…finally…Friday!!! And another reason to love...

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:04:24 -0700

Ahhhh…finally…Friday!!! And another reason to love the internets!!!

I can’t help it. I just … damn, this is funny.

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:05:58 -0700

I can’t help it. I just … damn, this is funny.

is it really this easy to make these? I thought it would be at...

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:16:49 -0700

is it really this easy to make these? I thought it would be at least as hard as putting that frickin’ IKEA furniture together!

Although RB and I ended up having some personality difficulties...

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:03:00 -0700

Although RB and I ended up having some personality difficulties and stopped playing music together, I still think he’s a decent guy and liked what he did with this song when I played it for him in his little garage studio. I was just going over some songs I had and he wanted to mess with this one. So he added a guitar track to it and emailed it to me. This was a couple of years ago and I had almost forgotten I had this copy, until I saw it in my email while I was looking for something else. I like how he gave the stars some voice with his guitar. Anyway, here it is, sort of in preparation for some more writing I’m hoping to do very soon (and posting!)

My professional needs require me to occassionally do what needs...

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:17:00 -0700

My professional needs require me to occassionally do what needs to be done, which in this case, become a super nerd. Shirt: Van Heusen, $20; Pants: Target Mossimo (clearance) $6.99; Glasses: Calvin Klein, $200. Special thanks to Missa and Thrift Candy for the inspiration.

Back from Mordor. Here’s my bro-in-law doing something...

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:08:41 -0700

Back from Mordor. Here’s my bro-in-law doing something not so smart. Photo courtesy of Cookie Duster.

Lesson learned: don’t send your video director friend a...

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:25:17 -0700

Lesson learned: don’t send your video director friend a video of yourself enjoying a donut. This is what happens.