Posts tagged general

Yep, I finally got myself a new cell phone after effectively staving off my addiction for over a year. I decided it was time to sign another two year deal with AT&T and used the opportunity to get a nice deal on a Samsung Blackjack.

The Blackjack is a nice phone, that’s for sure. First of all, the form factor is amazing. It’s just so compact, yet it has all the features one could look for in a PDA style phone. The QWERTY keyboard is a bit cramped, but I adjusted to it in a day and the screen, while smaller than many other PDA’s, is absolutely gorgeous, especially when you get a picture on there from the built in 1.3MP phone or any other vibrant JPEG from your collection.

The Windows Mobile Smartphone software adds a lot to the experience. The WM5 software, itself, should be pretty straight forward to anyone who has ever used Windows or a cell phone, so, unless you’ve been under a rock for the past 10 years, you’ll be good to go. WM5 is surprisingly intuitive and really leaves room for you to add to your personal experience with 3rd party programs. The problem is, though, it seems as though no one releases any quality software free of charge for the platform. I’m in the process, right now, of trying to figure out what damn IM application to pay for. It’s not a feeling that I am used to. I’m a guy who loves freeware/open source applications and having no opportunity to even check out decent freeware on the phone is a bit disappointing, but, then again, this is an economy based on capitalism.

I do have a gripe with the phone, though. Cingular advertises this thing in commercials acting as a portable media player (in a version of the commercial with the guy walking through the supermarket) and, yet, it doesn’t come with any kind of headphones. To make matters worse, it doesn’t even have a headphone jack (3.5mm or 2.5mm). The only connection is a proprietary USB style connection on the side. I had to order an adapter online so I could connect a pair of earbuds for when I want to listen to music on the way to work (since they aren’t kind to bringing in full mp3 players). I’ve heard the adapter has a tendency to cause an annoying pop when changing tracks, though, which may mean I have to cough up $30 for the official Samsung buds (only decent audio quality) with a built in microphone or spend even more and get a bulky pair of bluetooth headphones. This whole issue seems to be counterintuitive to the commercials themselves.

All in all, though, I do like the phone. I’m surprised I do since I continually swore it off as being too small. Battery life is a bit sketchy, at times, but I knew that going in and they do provide you with a secondary extended life battery so you can choose form factor or longevity. Of course, if you choose the latter, any size dependent cases (like the one I ordered) won’t fit on the damn phone, but that’s a rant for another time.

This is a performance from the Korn unplugged. They asked the band, The Cure, to join them and they mashed up Korn’s “Make Me Bad” and The Cure’s “In Between Days”. I really think it’s a beautifully dark mix.

I’ve been putting this one off because I know some people may not understand my sense of humor. If you think I’m serious, you simply don’t know me well.

Race Relations:
Black people around the country have announced their support for presidential hopeful Barack Obama. He’s half black as opposed to Al Sharpton’s 100 blackness. I guess they chose to settle. My problem with this “I’m voting for him because he’s black” concept is that, well, look at it. These people are doing nothing, but epitomizing what it means to be racist. They are judging him not on the content of his character, but on the color of his half white/half black skin. Somehow, because he’s almost black, it means he’s going to be a better president, I guess. If that’s the case, all George Bush needs is a week in the Bahamas and a really good tan.

Either way you look at it, Obama is good for African Americans. Michael Jackson said, “It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white”. Well, he’s both, so it doesn’t matter times two. Talk about having a dream.

However, there are people who make an entire race of people look idiotic in less than 5 seconds. I’m looking at you Ms. Jones and the crew over at Hot97 FM. I’m not sure why you feel the need to yell out “represent, represent” each morning as you have a bunch of people calling in, but the aforementioned Obama should ask that you stop mentioning his name during your show. The poor bastard doesn’t need to be associated with such nonsense. He’s half white, afterall. So, please, rescind your support for him immediately. Represent, represent Hillary.

Sexual Preference Relations:
I was going to call it “Gay Relations”, but that’s definitely a double entendre in the making. People with homosexual preferences need to realize something: They have a well accepted leader. She’s on TV and people love her. If you’re thinking Rosie, then realize I said that people love her. No, it’s not the angry lesbo from “The View”, it’s the happy, subtle one we know as Ellen DeGeneres. She’s gay, but she’s not in your face about it. That’s what gay people need. Ellen is the perfect example of how to be yourself and not have society treat you as though you just blurted out how sexy Star Jones is. Be gay, but don’t be so loud. When choosing your attire, subtly toned sweater vests are not only stylish, but also a quiet representation of your way of life. Put down the protest signs, I say. Don’t worry about getting married. Tone it down and everyone will be happy. Well, everyone but the guys who make oak tag paper. They love it when you’re loud and proud. For the rest of us, though: Be here, be queer, stop yelling at us to get used to it.

One of my online buddies, StevoFC, recently set up a photo blog and was showing it to me. Honestly, I was blown away by the quality of his shots. I’ve been thinking about getting a mid range camera and trying my hand at it (once hours at work balance out) and this just further motivated me. I really think you guys and girls need to take a few minutes to check it out. Some of those shots are just gorgeous to look at.

StevoFC’s Photo Blog