Jonny the Recovering Technophiliac

Rog: dunno what im doing this year

Me: word

Rog: but will def see u guys soon

Rog: just been busy

Rog: love u f**kers

Rog: lol

Me: lol, right back at you guey

…never a dull moment, hah!

Welcome to the Babbler, where I condense and summarize what has happened in a period of time since my last post with brief and random thoughts usually because i haven’t had the time to blog in between. Some of what I say may make sense, some may not.  But that’s the premise, all the babble that’s fit to blog! So off we go:

1. It’s been a while since I went out for Halloween, last year I did not do anything because I never had the time nor did I not want to make the same error I did years ago and buy an expensive costume that I would never use again In my life (I did one time, and It cost a little over $100).  This year I wanted to do something, go somewhere, be In the thick of It…I mean this IS New York.  First thing I did was get a costume, something affordable.  So I dressed up as a surgeon, and the ensemble cost me only $50.  In addition, I plan on giving the costume away to my family abroad as well.  While I was out with my brother and a few friends, I saw many people who really went out of their way to be creative in designing their costumes for close to $0.  In general, people tend to be more creative and inventive when short-funded, which is neat in a way.  Here are the top three costumes I saw that where creative:
1) the serial killer (a black jumpsuit with taped cereal boxes, where each box was blood-stained with a knife)
2) the pin cushion (brown canvas dress with foam tips pinned all over)
3) one of the crazy 88 henchmen from Kill Bill Vol 1 (just a mask covering the eyes, and a suit)

2. I love my iphone, it has changed my life in many good ways.  But before you call me an apple zealot or fan-boy, I must admit that Google is making great strides in their Android OS.  The success of most major-released Android devices proves that open-source software is truly the way to go.  I mean look at Google Voice…Apple stopped the app from hitting the iPhone because someone made a big stink (i’m looking at you AT&T), yet on Android it’s released and used with positive raves.  Then comes the Motorola Droid with it’s wifi, 5MP camera compared to iphone’s 3.2, an interchangeable battery which iphone doesn’t have, a big 3.7-inch 854 x 480 touchscreen which is bigger than the iphones’, expandable MicroSDHC storage compared to the iphone’s static internal storage, AND last but not least…FREE navigation by Google Maps compared to $60+ apps for the iphone that do the same thing.  The only catch is that it’s for Verizon and it’s CDMA network…but there are Android phones on GSM carriers like T-Mobile (which I renewed my contract with recently).  To summarize, Google is slowly doing the things for their Android OS that Apple refuses do for iphone OS.  If Apple keeps this up, then as much as I love their products, I will not hesitate to jump ship and make the switch to Android.

3. not too long ago, my friend Al celebrated his 1st anniversary of his blog with a brief post thanking his readers…it shook me up for one reason and one reason only: I forgot my blog’s anniversary.  Given that I feel I can excuse myself with a first offense…still…I think back to October 10th, 2005…the day I would start something where i’d share a part of my life with you all for five years and counting…

…wow…five years…that’s a lot.  This blog started as a way for me to channel out my stress from mourning the death of my father.  From there it just evolved somehow surviving everything from writer’s block to domain changes.  Five years ago I never saw myself carrying on this blog for longer than a year…but it’s still here, and I’m happy.  The day I decide to stop blogging, you’ll all know.  Until then, the show must go on…and I don’t see the show ending anytime soon.

And this time, I wont forget (thanks Al for the indirect reminder).

UPDATE: Apologies for the uber brainfart as i mistakenly thought this was the 4th babbler rather than the 3rd.  Thanks to Al for noting the snafu! Check out his blog right here.

Welcome to the Babbler, where I condense and summarize what has happened in a period of time since my last post with brief and random thoughts usually because i haven’t had the time to blog in between. Some babbling may make sense, some may not…but that’s the premise, all the babble thats fit to blog! So off we go:

1. i used to be a big fan of voicemail.  back in ye olde days where i had my old pager in high school i’d always check my voicemail diligenty…the thought of having my own personal mailbox was pretty neat.  some people used 60-second song bites as a greeting, others actually said “hello?” while waiting a second before saying “oh im not here, leave a message” in an act of deceptive cruelty.  Either way i hated those two types of VM greetings…i kept mines simple and to the point…i had to!  I mean i was worrying too much about cell minute usage that i had to keep mines short not just for me but for those who called me.  This is where my next grips comes in…I was reading an article from David Pogue of the NY times about how major cell telcos like to pocket up extra cash at your expense by filling up your calls with unnecessary airtime through useless voice mail message instructions before hearing the actual tone.  I liked what he said here:

And then when I call in for messages, I’m held up for 15 more seconds. “To listen to your messages, press 1.” Why else would I be calling!?

So how can we take back the beep?  David writes up a nifty solution in his next article.  I linked it, but i’ll summarize the steps below:

a.) Press 1. If it’s Sprint, you get the beep, and you’re done. If you hear an error recording, go on:
b.) Press *. If it’s Verizon, you get the beep. If not:
c.) Press #. You get the beep for T-Mobile or Cingular.

2. Speaking about voicemails and cells, for those who know me, i am a proud iphone user (not because of my liking for apple, but for practicality/ease-of-use).  For those who know me further, i’m a gadget tinkerer who believes that once i buy something, i own it and have the right to modify it for better use and not for malice.  Case in point, my iphone 3GS is proudly jailbroken and unlocked to t-mobile.  Despite that Apple claims that JB’d iphones can cause an apocalypse in the cell industry, i think they’re just saying it because chances are AT&T are prodding them from behind closed doors.  I think Apple could care less just as long as they make a sale.  So why am i sticking it to the man and jail-breaking my iphone? Here are a few reasons:

a.) because i bought it, therefore i should be able to tinker it…it’s a personal belief of mines.
b.) i am a t-mobile customer and am happy with it.  I don’t need to pay an arm and a leg for voice and data, AND i use MMS too…which works!  I can’t use 3G, just EDGE…but i’m content with it as is.  I dislike AT&T with their bad customer service, poor network reception and their snarky iron-fisted rule over Apple’s App Store.  If AT&T where to improve all of their hiccups, then i’m sure none of this would be happening.
c.) two words: Google Voice.  Granted, i don’t have five numbers tethered to just one universal number, but i think it’s a very convenient way send/receive free text messages, voicemail service and cheap international calls. All which can be managed on a web page too!  Any banned App Store app usually gets bumped to the Cydia Store, the flagship place where any jailbroken iphone user can get apps free (some paid) that really put good use to the iphone.  So when AT&T/Apple banned GV Mobile, the unofficial Google Voice app, the dev simply ported it to Cydia.

3. Ah Beer Garden…it can get crowded …but when having fun for a friend’s birthday, you usually forget it all and just focus on having fun.  After my previous blog post i felt i needed a way to overwrite some memories with fresh new ones.  So i went with the usual entourage composed of Kev, Joe, Candice, Abner, Wayne, and myself.  We meet up with Sherry and her spacious Honda Element and we drive to the Garden where we’d partake on Sam Adams, Sangria, and wings while i played text-based Marco Polo with Alex as he was finding our table.  The rest of the night was fun, and as the night wore out, we all left to have a hot dog by corner enjoying the breezy night of Astoria, NY.  By the time i came home, i was relaxed with a smile on my face…good times indeed

Welcome to what will be the first of a few new additions to my blog…well in this case, it’s more like an organized addition to an existing thing, The Babbler.  This is where i condense and summarize what has happened in a period of time since my last post with brief and random thoughts.  Some may make sense, some may not…but that’s the premise, all the babble thats fit to blog!  So off we go:

- I have always loved the mannerisms of my friends.  sometimes the best quotes don’t always come from Pulitzer prize winners or deities, they come from my friends/family.  I remember re-posting up a facebook status from my friend Roger that caused a flurry of responses, most humorous:

I have always found women to be dificult, I don’t really understand them. To begin with they dont understand themselves and on top of that they make us crazier than we already are. – his uncle

…yet one person had to muck up the fun, so i removed said status.  But on my way to a radio shack to get an adapter for his stereo, i thanked him again for that quote…because i believe there’s still some truthiness to that theory…at least in terms of both sexes, depending on the situation.

- I love my iPhone 3GS, it felt so good to be back in the game with that phone…i planned the purchase and patiently waited for the jailbreak/unlock, and it has paid off.  And especially because of those warm days. i can turn the lappy off and save energy if i just want to check mail…the iphone can handle that task just fine.

- i must admit, i am loving guitar hero…not just because it allows me to return to my drumming roots, but also because it allowed me to release so much stress.

- tonight i saw Oceans 13, one of my favorite movies…this quote i loved in particular:

There’s a code amongst guys who shook Sinatra’s hand! — [Reuben Tishkoff to Willy Bank about being double-crossed, Ocean's 13]

- I’m pretty confirmed that as long as the job hunt is coughing up a spleen, i am pretty much decided on going to grad school…but not for computer science…i’ve grown bored with it.  This time i may be aiming more for journalism…after all, i love to write.

- finally, I hate foreign movies that have dubbing in other languages…i feel it just diminishes the overall quality of the movie and what it represents…i mean what’s wrong with subtitles?  I’d rather watch a film in it’s native tongue with all the raw emotions while following what’s being said below with discrete subtitles rather than canned dubs that talk so scripted like some poorly-made college film.