I’ve been a Motorola guy for quite a while, and boy have I been missing out. After looking at some newer devices, I now realize that my first release Moto V3 Razr is slow, and the UI is lacking. My contract with Cingular expired in April, so with a 2 year contract renewal I was able to buy a refurbished Nokia E62 for $50. No refunds to deal with, it was 50 dollars. Period. It’s a Symbian Smartphone device with a full qwerty keayboard, a fully functional web browser, RSS reader, MP3 player, and the most important feature of all, it can sync with my MacBook over Bluetooth. The thing that really impresses me is the UI. It’s quite user friendly. The HTML browser is also impressive with the ability to zoom images in and out, and it’ll also show you a “thumbnail” of the webpage your viewing to make it easier to scroll to the section of the page you want to view. Oh, it’s also a 3G(UMTS) phone, so its download speeds are pretty fast. If you’re looking for an afforable Smartphone, I recommend you get your hands on one of these little gems.
High Fidelity and iMovie
I recorded a video of my band, High Fidelity at its last show at Chubby’s Lounge and have been editing the footage using iMovie. It’s been a while since I used iMovie (pre-iMovie HD) and I really dig it’s newest effects and features. So far, I’ve released 2 videos to YouTube. The first is us doing a cover of Cream’s version of “Crossroads”, and the other is us doing a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb.” With the latter I made it look like old 60’s film footage. It looks pretty cool. Check out the videos HERE.
Serenity Voted “Best Sci-Fi Movie Ever”
While I would not call Serenity the best sci-fi movie ever, I loved the film, and am glad that it got some recognition.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6517155.stm
If I had to pick the best sci-fi film of all time, it would have to be Forbidden Planet. That movie influenced so much future sci-fi that it deserves the “Best Ever” title.
Van Halen – RaRHoF, and Eddie
Well, Van Halen has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Eddie Van Halen has checked himself into rehab. When asked about a “full-blown” Van Halen reunion at the RaRHoF ceremony, Sammy stated (and I’m paraphrasing) that if Van Halen (meaning everyone in the band) would grow up, they could all get together and do a reunion tour right. He also stated that he hopes Eddie comes though okay. (Meaning, Eddie’s rehabilitation.)
Well, I hope Eddie get’s himself straight, and I hope that Van Halen “grows up.” I’d love to see a reunion tour “done right.” 😉
New Star Trek Movie Prequel – Writers Speak Out
“Kurtzman said, ‘The challenge of the movie is to be 100 percent true to the fanbase but also to bring in a whole new group of people who’ve never seen Trek before.’ ”
Translation – We’re approaching this in the same way Star Trek has been handled since Gene Roddenberry’s death, badly.” You can’t do both. The Trek movies that “non fans” love, the Trekkers hate. You have to make a choice. Trying to accomidate everyone creates a bad Star Trek movie/show.
Dodge Caravan Dead, Santa Fe Takes Its Place
A couple weeks ago, our 1998 Dodge Caravan died thanks to a blown head gasket. Instead of fixing the car, we decided to go look for a new one for Chrissy. We considered a bunch of options : the Kia Rondo, Honda Pilot, Nissan Xterra, Nissan Pathfinder, and the Subaru Outback, but in the end we decided on a user 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. 
(We brought it home today.) It’s a silver V-6 AWD GLS model, with all the options except leather, and sunroof. (Just like my Sonata.) Chrissy’s really excited since she’s been wanting one of these cars since 2003. We almost purchased one instead of my Sonata back in 2004. Anyway, the price was right, the mileage was low, and the dealership was nice. (I recommend checking out Crossroads Ford at Wakefield if you’re ever in need of a Ford, or a used car. They were up front with me in regard to pricing and fast.) This car’s perfect for Chrissy, and is one I’ll enjoy driving with the family on the weekends.
Apple Airport Extreme – Neato
I just purchased the new Apple Airport Extreme wireless router, and the first word that comes to mind is “neato.” It’s hard to get really excited about a wireless router, because it doesn’t really do anything cool like transform into a robot or anything. To honest, the best thing you can say about a wireless router is that “you never think about it.” If you’re not thinking about it, that means it’s doing it’s job. Like many appliances in your life, you take them for granted until they stop doing what they’re supposed to be doing. (Which is what happened to me. My 4+ year old D-Link Wireless Router died over the weekend.)
The Airport Extreme’s very easy to set up (like just about all Apple products) and like most Apple products, you get it setup and it just WORKS. I’m writing this post using the router after about 15min of setup. (If I didn’t configure it on my old eMac it would have taken even less time.) The feature that really sold me on the Apple Airport Extreme is that it supports printer and drive sharing. Using the USB port found on the back of the router, you can connect either a printer or a USB drive enclosure. (Both, if you have a USB hub handy.) This is a great little piece of computer equipment. At $180 it’s a little pricey, but the ease of use, and feature set make it worth it.
New Motorcycle Brand to Replace HD
At a press conference late Monday, the CEO of Johnson Marine, makers of Johnson outboard marine engines and other recreational equipment, unveiled a new line of heavyweight cruiser style motorcycles designed to compete head to head with industry leader Harley-Davidson.
The new line of bikes, marketed under the name Big Johnson Motorcycles, will, according to Long, deliver what Harley has only promised. “Our research show that this, a Big Johnson, is what Harley buyers are really after.”
Manager Long also said that his company would follow the lead of Harley-Davidson and cash in on a huge market for non-motorcycle related products. “We realize that not every guy can have a Big Johnson,” said Long, “But image is very important to people. If they don’t have a Big Johnson, they at least want to project the image of having one.”
One female present at the product unveiling was quoted as saying, “There is no way I will let Lonnie drop 20 grand on another one of those Harleys, but 20 grand to get him a Big Johnson? Well, that’s something we could both enjoy, and it’s something he really needs.”
Sounds like a great product. I’ll be keeping my Honda though. 😉