Archive for December, 2007

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Post-Christmas, Pre-New Years

December 30, 2007

I love the time between the holidays. While Sherry uses it to get things done around the house, typically things that she hasn’t had time for in previous months, I use it to hang out with the kids and play games. Brendon got a new X-Box 360, so we’ve been playing a lot of Forza Motorsports 2. Gelli got a new camera, and she’s been taking photos of just about everything (yay!). She’s even been using the time off from school to write new songs and to play guitar.

I don’t have much else planned for this break… considering it’s almost over. We are going to head over to Manz’s house for the “group’s” annual New Year’s Eve party, and then afterwards is the requisite recovery day and then it’s back to work.

I am looking forward to having a reason to wake up in the mornings, as I’ve been predominantly a night owl for the past two weeks or so. It’s been nice, and it’s been fun, but I need to have a sense of purpose every now and then, to feel like I’m doing something really productive.

So… vacation is good, and vacation has been fun, but it’s time to head back to reality and to get back to the daily grind. I kind of like my coffee/Webb Alert time… I’ve been missing that.

Posted in family, friends, holidays, work | 1 Comment »

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Merry Christmas

December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas to everyone. Our family has celebrated Christmas this year with my Mom and her husband as well as with my wife’s mother and brother. Later tonight, we will celebrate with Stevie and his family.

Of course, I’m kind of sick right now, but that’s just par. Sherry was sick all last week; I guess this week it’s my turn.

Posted in holidays | 4 Comments »

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Bluetooth Tethering

December 21, 2007

Sounds kind of exotic and weird, but as I just received my bluetooth USB transceiver, I took the time to get it installed and working with my Smartphone, the Moto Q9c. Getting the two devices to discover each other was a chore, but once working, it was awesome. I can now tether my computer (eeePC) and my Q9c so that I can use the Internet no matter where I go without having to use a connecting cable. Therefore, I can just put my phone down onto the table, set my computer next to it, get the tethering software to work, and I’m on the Internet, baby!

The benefit of the cable is that the cable keeps the phone charged while tethering, but if I’m tethering without AC power, it’s better to use the Bluetooth. Besides, it works just as well (and without having to connect wires, etc)!

Posted in computers, gadgets, internet | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments »

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PDAs and Me

December 20, 2007

To date, I’ve owned the following PDA’s:

Pilot 1000
Pilot 5000 (two of them, one given to me by USR as a reward for selling more Pilots than anyone else in SoCal at the time [I worked at Egghead part-time while I was in the Marines] )
Palm III
Palm V (gave to my sister)
Zire Z71 (gave to Stevie)
Palm T|X (sitting unused in my office)

Notice that all were Palm products. I preferred them over their Windows powered counterparts mainly due to speed, reliability, and just plain intuitiveness (if that’s even a word). Then along came a product I had dreamed of for years: the Motorola Q Smartphone. Powered by Windows Media 5, it appeared to be the first true competitor IMHO to Palm’s streamlined and polished OS. Sure, the PalmOS is dated, but it just works. Windows CE (all versions) didn’t quite have the zip and zing or even the usability that PalmOS had… until WM5. The phone itself was pretty darned cool, but obviously, it’s the OS that brings the phone to life, and I did really enjoy using it. A few annoyances: I would have to pull the battery to reset the phone every now and then to reset it due to lock-ups, and every so often, the phone would require it’s standard Windows boot-up. In the end, my phone bricked itself one day and put itself into a bootstrap mode that can only be repaired by Motorola. Thank God my Q was still in warranty at the time.

After getting my replacement Q, I looked into the Q9c and was able to get one at a reasonable price. I finally received it, and have been loving it ever since. It’s far more reliable than the Q was, and WM6 is a far better OS. It seems Microsoft really paid attention to feedback from WM5, because WM6 really fixes just about everything about WM5 that I either didn’t like, had problems with, or were buggy. Add to the coolness factor that the Q9c has GPS built in (REAL GPS, not cell tower triangulation) and it’s truly become a device that nearly does it all for me. It truly has become a Hitchhiker’s Guide.

So, the old T|X sits on a small table in my office, forever connected to the charger and not being used. It’s sad, really… I may just have to do something cool with it, or give it as a gift to someone I know who really needs one. We’ll see…

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I must be taking crazy pills

December 20, 2007

Why is possibly the best show on TV (next to Pushing Daisies and 30 Rock) being allowed to go away? How can NBC not give this great show a full season to gain it’s legs like they did last year for 30 Rock? Like Will Farrell’s character in Zoolander said, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

I’ll be writing my letters, emails, and sending my box of Rice a Roni tomorrow. If you haven’t seen the show, go to NBC.com and watch an episode. They are stunningly good.

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Fifteen Years Ago

December 19, 2007

Fifteen years ago today, I became a father. A little bundle of baby was born, and she forever changed my life, showing me the meaning of true love, and becoming a part of my legacy once I’m gone.

I gave her a nickname first and then searched for a name from which her nickname could be derived. I settled on Angelica, and my little girl was given her name.

Her mother suffered from severe post-partem depression, and I was forced to care for her without any help or assistance from her mother. I fed her, changed her, played with her, and taught her everything from her first words to dancing. We bonded through her early years, and the relationship we share is one of trust, respect, and love. She is still very much my little girl, and will always be my baby.

She’s now fifteen years old, and is an amazing little lady who I am very proud of. She’s a hard worker, gets good grades at school, has been in three theater productions and is currently in rehearsals for her first high school play, is a singer/songwriter who plays guitar and has performed in public, and is a sweet young lady who cares deeply for her family.

I am forever blessed to have her in my life, and I am glad that she was born to be my daughter. She’s such a neat person, and I am so proud of her.

Posted in family | 1 Comment »

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The Christ in Christmas

December 19, 2007

It’s always funny to me, seeing all the “Put the Christ back in Christmas” signs. I see them in emails, on envelopes, even on Christmas cards. What’s funniest to me is that Christmas as we know it was invented by Charles Dickens and became popular in Victorian England only about 150 years ago. Before that, Christmas was a pagan holiday, not widely celebrated, and certainly not celebrated in the way we do today (Christmas trees, dinners, gift exchanges, etc).

It turns out Jesus is not the reason for the season. He’s just the modern-day excuse for it. I’m sure someone (or many people) will refute this and/or comment to the contrary (or not… lol). I’m not attacking anyone’s religion or beliefs, but as a historian, facts are facts, and no religious dogma is going to sway me on this one.

This is not to say, however, that putting Christ into Christmas is a bad thing. It’s good to link them, in my opinion, but I am just pointing out the fallacy of the aforementioned statements. Christmas trees are pagan symbols from Germany, St. Nick is from Greece, and the list goes on. The religious linkage came after these traditions and myths were already firmly entrenched. Interesting that they were linked at all.

Posted in holidays, philosophy | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

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Robert Wagner’s Hair

December 19, 2007

Wow… I just watched some reverse mortgage commercial on TV and while I wasn’t paying too much attention to it (actually, I was messing with my eeePC during the commercials), I heard a familiar voice: Robert Wagner. I loved the TV show Hart to Hart when I was a kid, and I often wished I was like him: a millionaire with nothing else to do but solve mysteries and crimes with my hot wife. Add in a cool butler that helps with everything and private jets and vacations in exotic places all over the world, and  you have what was my dream life.

Anyway, I looked over at the TV and was shocked to see some old guy with silver hair instead of the Robert Wagner I’ve known all my life. It seems he’s finally given up the ghost of having pigment in his hair and has embraced his gray. He looks completely different, but I know we all age and we will all hopefully one day be all gray and look different than we did when we were young. It was just a shock to see him this way, since only a month or so ago, I remember seeing him on another commercial looking quite a bit older than I remembered him, but at least with his signature black coif. Oh well.

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Journeyman

December 17, 2007

They’ve gone and done it again. It appears that the December 11th deadline for ordering new episodes of Journeyman came and went without said order being made. NBC isn’t making a big deal out of it; they’re allowing Journeyman to just slip into obscurity. After tonight’s episode, there was no mention that Wednesday night is the last night of Journeyman’s last episode, nor was there any mention of the “end” of the series. That fact alone gives me hope, since there has been no official cancellation announcement, yet the December 11th date came and went without that all important order for more episodes.

I’m quite bummed about this. Journeyman is one of the best new shows on TV, and it’s been the most dramatic and well-written show aside from Pushing Daisies, Boston Legal, and 30 Rock. I’m really surprised it hasn’t done better that it has, but then again, it is quite complex involving time travel, and the noodle that is time, especially when it gets messed with.

So, here I am, mourning the impending loss of one of my favorite TV shows and I’m watching an old Clint Eastwood movie called “Play Misty For Me.” I remember seeing this one the first time it was on TV when I was a kid. I wasn’t supposed to be watching it, but my dad fell asleep on the floor in front of the TV, and I just decided to be very quiet and continue to watch. It’s weird how much I remember, yet how much I don’t.

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From First Wave to Left of Center

December 14, 2007

No, I’ve not changed my political views (although I’m not quite so die-hard Conservative as I thought I was… more on this later). I’ve changed Sirius satellite channels. When I got Sirius for my grandmother, it was so that she could listen to classical music all day since there is no 24/7 classical music channel for her in Florida. A bonus for me paying for her subscription was online access to Sirius programming, so I’ve been listening to First Wave and I have been enjoying it immensely. However, after about two weeks, I started noticing that it really was like listening to a top-40 channel back in the 80’s playing nothing but New Wave. As much as I love that music, I had to change to something else… something fresh… and it took me back to the modern Indie music I love so much.

Enter Left of Center. I’ve gotten past the name and really enjoy the station. They play the music I like, and I’m getting exposed to more new stuff almost every day. An unexpected side effect of listening to Sirius online is that I listen to my iPods less, but the corollary to this listening will be the acquisition of new music for my iPods/library.

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