Samsung Blackjack

My new phone is a BlackJack. I have spent the last 2.5 years with a Motorola MPx220 flip-phone so this is a bit of a change. The keyboard is quite a change as well. For having used it for about 10 days, I have a good feel for the phone and it's features. First of all, it uses Microsoft Mobile 5 (I've heard they will upgrade to Mobile 6 at some point) which provides a consistent experience from my prior phone (Mobile 2003). I plugged it into my Vista machine and it worked like a champ. I had my contacts, calendar etc. sync'd with no real effort. The phone itself is wider than I'm used to but about half as thick as my old phone. The sound is really good, including speaker phone. There is a dial on the phone used to scroll through lists - it seems pretty useful, just need to remember it's there. The keyboard is a little daunting at first. The digits are arranged in the normal pattern, but embedded with the rest of the keyboard. On the pic above you can see the gray keys have the digits and letters for the QWERTY keyboard. Typing is actually pretty easy - this creates a problem as I added texting to my plan. We'll see how that works out ;) Samsung seems to like closing the ports with little doors. I've seen this on other phone as well. The power, sync and headset (all one) port has this door that is attached to a string cord or flexible plastic that you open and twist out of the way to plug in. I guess it helps keep the port clean and safe.

I am very happy with this phone. As my old SmartPhone aged, I had visions of spending hundreds on a new one and had not really looked in earnest. The deal I got on this was just too good to pass up so here I am - loving my BlackJack. Now I need to find a BSG theme and I'm in business.

The Deathly Hallows

Well, I was there at midnight last night to get my copy of the last Harry Potter book. This was the second year of doing this and they were two vastly different experiences. The festivities prior to getting the book were similar - both were fun. Plenty of people dressed up, things to do and, well, it is a book store. The problem was the actual handing out of the books. Last year, I was at Books-A-Million and this year I was at Borders - both great stores. The difference - Books-A-Million had prepaid books and Borders did not. Books-A-Million started handing the books out at midnight and I was out of there by 12:10a. Borders started at midnight and I was out of there by 1:30a. Still a fun time, it's just when it's time to get the book - you want to get it and go.

Lesson learned for next time. I just wonder what the next book will be that gets me there at midnight...

Corn Mo

Busey Boy - check it out.

If you can't use your head...

I was again reminded of a phrase my Dad made up when I was a kid.

If you can't use your head, you gotta use your feet.

I'm reminded of this every time I forget to bring or pick up something. Essentially, if you're not thinking when you leave, you're going to have to go back and do it right the second time. This popped up today as I was headed to the AT&T store to look at a new phone. I had a flyer with a discount, not a coupon, but a flyer. As I walked up to the store it dawned on me that I didn't have it on me and knew that it would be a problem. It was. *sigh*

I went back later with the paperwork, met the right guy who took very good care of me and I walked out with a new phone.

Nope, not an iPhone - no thanks. I'll review it soon...

Who are you?

How do you stay plugged into all that is going on out here? I found out about OpenID from the ClaimID wrapper site. What is this? Better web identity management? Should I get one? Am I opening up too much with something like that? I'll need to do some research to see what this is all about. One of the guys who wrote ClaimID seems to have some detail on his blog Unit Structures that I'll check out. Found a few reviews, I'll see where this takes me.

DVDSpot

Looking for a great way to track your DVD's? Look no further than DVDSpot. This is an online solution with a user-maintained database of movies. I've used it a few years now (since the demise of Guzzlefish) and have been most pleased. The submission process is easy, fast and thorough.

The best part about DVDSpot is the community. There is a strong sense of building a great database (thanks to the tireless work of the editors) as well as having fun. The forums cover all ground for DVD's, movies and general fun.

If you are looking for a client side solution, I recommend the following Movie Collector or Movie Library. Both are maintained and provide a great experience. I have drifted away from these in favor of DVDSpot but there are new versions that seem to have some really great features. Movie Library uses an access database that allows direct export of the data. I built a small system that uses Microsoft SQL Server to make the data available via IIS on my home network. That was actually a fun little project. It still runs today - though all my recent movie purchases are no longer in the system.

Bowling Alone

This is the title of a book by Robert D. Putnam (ISBN: 0-7432-0304-6) that focuses on the American community. Specifically it's collapse and subsequent revival. The concept and notion are very interesting to me. It's something that I have noticed and experienced to a degree. I can "look" back to the days where community and organizations seemed to be everywhere and on the surface things seemed better. However, as an adult, this may simply be the illusion of nostalgic glasses. I think I would like to be a part of what this golden era had to offer, but have not really made a real attempt to do so. I suspect that is what the book is about, though I must confess that I am only 25 pages in - and it is already a week overdue from the library. I can tell this is going to require some focus to reach the end of the book and I have not yet committed to doing that.

Anyway, I'll get through it eventually (just like I will finish Diplomacy). It just may take a little time and is probably best suited for a vacation reading list.

The New Seven Wonders of the World

The world voted and here they are in all their glory.

Brazil	Statue of Christ Redeemer
Peru	Machu Picchu
Mexico	Chichen Itza
China	Great Wall
Jordan	Petra
Rome	The Colosseum
India	Taj Mahal

The Great Pyramids of Giza retain their "Wonder" status from the original list of Wonders. They alone remain from the original list.

Family Tree Maker 2008 BETA

I am very excited! I found the link to download the BETA. I just put it on and have the following observations based on my 35 minute look at the product.

• I really like the new layout. There is much more information available on the screen. To me, it is not overly cluttered. I am running on a 17" wide-screen laptop. It looks modern and quite nice in Windows Vista.
• Navigating is made much easier by buttons and tabs across the top of the window. There are also simple shortcuts for main views (Ctrl+1=Plan, Ctrl+2=People, etc.).
• The task functionality is more visible than in prior versions. You can create tasks by person, family and overall. The Plan view shows all your tasks by group. You can do basic filtering. The tasks themselves are still very basic, but that is probably ok (keep in mind this is still fairly new to me).
• "Places" provides a Microsoft Virtual Earth view of the cities and towns that are in your database. This is pretty handy and easy to use.
• When looking at an individual there is a timeline view that can also show family information as well as historical facts near the events of the person's life. Did a quick check for some of the earlier relatives and it has a few facts from the 1600's. I would imagine this is easily extensible.

There are a few things that are not as smooth as I'd like.

• There is no All-In-One chart. This was a key feature in earlier versions of the application and a differentiator from other genealogy applications. It provides a view of your entire file, without page breaks, that you can use to see relationships as well as get a feel for the whole family. I hope it is just not available in the BETA release I am using.
• The mapping functionality only seems to allow you to view one person at a time. It would be interesting to have multiple people selected and have it zoom to the right level to show where they live relative to each other. Also would be helpful to show families in the same area.
• I'll have to play with this a bit more, but it seemed to "import" my data as though it were an external format even though it was a Family Tree Maker file (v16). I understand this is necessary at times, but some data seems to have not been imported. This could very easily be my fault - I'm using a play version of my data. I'll copy a good file and try again.

There is lots more to see and do, this is just my initial impression. I'll write more as I get to know this version a bit better. Here is the link of you want to try it yourself.

Family Tree Maker 2008 BETA

Battlestar Galactica

I was a big fan of the original Battlestar Galactica. I remember watching it as a kid. I even remember Galactica 1980, but good luck tracking that down today. Armed with these memories, I was a bit skeptical about the new series and didn't watch the miniseries until it came out on DVD. Wow! This is one of those shows that just grabs you. I've started watching the series again and just completed season one. Simply excellent. I'm teed up to start season two starting tonight.

If you have not see this and like drama, action and tension - check out this series - it won't disappoint. Click here for more information.

Declaration of Independence

Here is the beginning and end of the Declaration of Independence. To read the entire document, which I recommend, click the image below. I have not read it in a while, but having just read it again, realize what a group of highly motivated, intelligent people can do when they work together for a common purpose. Simply outstanding.

 

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

...

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

57% feels about right...

Not being new to blogging, but trying to be more diligent, I took the addiction survey and it makes sense - I clocked in at 57% addicted to blogging. I am trying to use blogs at work to convey information as well as thoughts, ideas and my philosophy. Where are you? Click below and take the survey...

Patriotism

Today, for the first time, I helped send off soldiers to Iraq. A large group from work met at the USO terminal at our airport. We spent time greeting, talking and having lunch with members of the Army, Marines and Navy. As they were getting ready to board their plane, we formed a line and shook each soldiers hand and offered a brief "Thank You", "Hurray Home", or "Take Care". This was a very sobering experience. Looking these people in the eye as they prepare themselves to head back into the chaos that is war - knowing that they are risking everything to perform their duty. They did this willingly, with dignity and honor. Very humbling.

I hope they were able to take away something from our visit and know that they are respected, loved and fully supported. Always.