My New Phone - Samsung Captivate

I finally broke down and bought a new cell phone. Constantly having to restart my phone to fix its unresponsiveness finally got to me. I've always used Windows Mobile smart phones, but since I use Google for everything else; I opted for an Android phone. I thought about an IPhone (they are such great devices) but being locked into Apple/Itunes turned me off. Also they are pretty expensive. I did want to stay with AT&T since I have always had good coverage.

When I started hearing about the new Android phone coming to AT&T I thought the time had finally come. So I purchased the new Samsung Galaxy S phone on AT&T. The "Captivate". I've had it for a couple weeks now and love it.

It's nice to have a phone that I can purchase apps for, or take advantage of the thousands of free apps.

That's not to say that I haven't had some issues, but supposedly they are going to be resolved soon with a firmware update. Anyway, if you are in the market for a cool phone, don't feel like the Iphone is the only game in town.

Dominica 2010 - Escape Bar and Grill

The Passage - Justin Cronin

If you have enjoyed the "Twilight" books this is probably NOT the book for you, yes it has "Vampires" in it, but these are the blood-thirsty rip a human to shreds "Vampires" not the sparkly angst filled teenager variety. Make no mistake, Mr. Cronin does a great job of describing the violent situations in this not so distant dystopian future, but his prose really shines when describing his characters.

My original intention was to purchase the highly regarded "Mary and O'Neill" by Mr. Cronin (which I still plan to do), but when I saw that "The Passage" had been recently released I purchased that instead. I made a very wise decision, since I have not been able to put the book down.

The book opens a few years into the future, and global terrorism has gripped the planet so completely that the government is funding research into creating a group of Super Soldiers. The scientist in charge of the program is rationalizing his involvement in this program by focusing on the immortality/indestructibility aspects. His obsession with his failure to save one of his loved ones from cancer makes him blind to the danger.

Of course, as they say: "Things go horribly wrong" (I don't feel like I'm giving anything away, by saying that), and we jump 100 years into the future. We meet a group of survivors struggling to stay alive, and trying to figure out what is the best thing to do for their own future and the future of mankind. This is where Mr. Cronin really shines. He has the amazing ability to bring these complex, and sometimes conflicted characters, to life in a way that is almost poetic. You feel yourself cheering for all of them! Even the people that you know are going to succumb to the influence of evil.

It's a great story. I recently heard that it is going to be part one in a trilogy, and Ridley Scott has optioned the movie rights. I say good for Mr. Cronin, and good for Hollywood!

My EBook Reader

I love books. At one point I had a library of probably 200 or more books, some hardcovers, but also lots of paperbacks. Then one day I realized that they were taking up space, and as much as I loved them I would never reread all of them. Slowly but surely I've been giving them away via BookMooch. Of course, I get some books from there myself, but I usually give them back to someone else when I'm done reading them.

So, I'm left with a few books that I don't care that much about, I will probably end up donating them. I still have some really nice Hardcover books, that there is no way I'm going to part with because I reread them frequently or have notes in them. I've cleared up a lot of space, but I still want to read current books when they come out.

I debated about whether I wanted to purchase an EBook reader. I knew people who had Kindles and Nooks, but I thought that ebooks would never replace the "real thing" for me. How could a screen replace paper? Then I saw a Sony Ebook Reader on Woot! for $100 so I decided to give it a try. I was tired of waiting to buy books used when they were cheap.

When I first got it, I hated it. I downloaded some public domain books to try it out, and really thought that I was going to end up putting it on Ebay to try and make my money back. A couple days before I left on vacation, I purchased an ebook from the Sony Store for the trip. I figured it would at least save me some room in my Carry-on bag and I could sell it when I got back. So I started reading the book a couple days before we left, finished it on our trip, and downloaded the next two in the series. I was hooked on the series, and on the reader. It really does read like paper. I bought a cover with a built in light so I can read in bed without annoying my wife.

What it comes down to, is the ideas contained in the book. The physical medium makes no difference, it's really all just ones and zeros in my head anyway. When Stieg Larsson describes a scene where his protagonist is being shot at in the Swedish forest, it doesn't matter if I'm holding something made out of woodpulp or printed circuits, I'm still spellbound. Hopefully my public library will improve their selection of ebooks so I can borrow some too.

I'm not knocking printed books, or people that prefer them over an ebook, but I understand ebook readers now. I will probably still buy used books if that is the most cost effective way to get to read them, but I have another option now, and for new books the price is right in ebook format.

NEVER giving up my comic book collection though. I don't care how good they may look on a screen.

10 Things I Learned on my Vacation

Cocoa Beans in the Husk

10 You don't need to take a deep breath when going under water with a snorkel. If you do, someone will see you doing it, and mock you.
9 After an incredible day, even a simple meal served in a road side shack, after a long wait still tastes delicious, if surrounded by friends and good conversation.
8 Cocoa Beans do not look like, or taste anything like, you would think. They are goo covered, and taste more like Lemony Sweet Tarts.

Wanda

7 Even if your room has one, there is probably no need to setup your mosquito net. I only saw one mosquito the whole time I was there. Setting up the net is way too time consuming, and there are better ways to spend your time.
6 You may think it's a "girlie drink" but mixing rum with any fruit juice is really, really good.
5 If four people share a small rental vehicle for a week in the tropics, and plan on doing any snorkeling, that rental car is going to develop a stink. A foul, foul stink. Sorry Wanda.
4 If you are getting a torrential downpour, don't wait 30 minutes to shut your storm shutters, or you will end up with an inch of water on your bedroom floor.

Linton, our guide for the Brandy Falls hike.

3 If you have to shut your storm shutters in the middle of the night, during a torrential downpour, don't wear your last pair of clean and dry underpants. You're much better off doing it Au Naturel.
2 Don't go to the most highly recommended restaurant until the end of the week, or you will miss out on a lot of other great experiences.
1 HIRE THE GUIDE! You REALLY have no idea where you are going.

Dominica

o today I went hiking. It wasn't just any hike. At least half of it was spent searching for footholds on steep hills. It was 45 minutes to reach our destination. An incredible waterfall called Brandy Falls.

It's not something that I ever thought I would be able to do. My calves and thighs hurt right now, and no matter how good Keen's are, there are still some small blisters on my feet. Soaking in the pool at the bottom of the falls, totally made the adventuresome hike worth it.

There was also a very friendly crab hanging out half way up the waterfall. One of his not so friendly brothers bit my foot as I was walking around in the water. Luckily it left me with only a small blood blister and nothing more.

It was a very good day.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Review

Let me get this out of the way. I LOVED Super Mario Galaxy. I thought it was an all around great game. Great play control, great visuals, amazing soundtrack, and the second player co-op was great for my five year-old (four when we started it). We had so much fun. We still play it occasionally, revisiting levels that we enjoyed. I sort of thought that the sequel would just be more of the same, but pre-ordered it anyway because I thought it would be fun for he and I to play some new levels.

I was really wrong.

Galaxy 2 is not just more of the same. It adds more suits to Mario's wardrobe, including the cloud suit, which I've only used on one level so far, but really adds a new dimension to navigating around the map. The second player can do MORE. They can once again hold back moving objects helping Mario move through the area unimpeded, they can break apart crystals containing the much coveted "star bits"and they can even grab an enemy incapacitating it. Mario still has to deliver the knock out punch, but the feeling of involvement of that second player is so much more. Of course they can still collect star bits, something that my son does with great joy, but now they can also grab hard to reach coins. That is REALLY helpful.

All I really need to say for any die hard Mario Fan was one word. "Yoshi"

Check out this Trailer

If you like platformers, you need this game.

Video Game Reminiscing

I can still remember saving my money for months. Finally, when my parents would make the hour long trip to the mall, I'd purchase the video game for my Commodore Vic20 that I saw advertised in "Byte" magazine. I'd park my narrow buns on a bench and read the manual cover to cover if I was lucky. If I wasn't lucky, I'd get stuck having to try on pants at JCPenney or worse yet, shoes, before I could crack that box open. Looking back on it, those manuals weren't even a feast for the eyes.

I suppose it should come as no surprise then, that I still enjoy the thrill of getting a new game. Now it's much easier to just order the game and have it delivered to your home. But the anticipation is just as sweet,

Super Mario Galaxy 2 has just arrived and I'm making myself wait until my son gets home from school to actually play it, but after lunch I shall sit down and read the manual cover to cover. Just for old times sake.

Sometimes I hear people talk about there being "too much hype" about a product. I agree with that, but there is something to be said for self created hype. I love it.

Streaming Netflix to the Wii

I got my Netflix streaming disk for the Wii on Friday. I had a chance to mess around with it over the weekend, so I thought I'd share my observations.

The setup is incredibly easy, you put the disk in your Wii, and Launch it from the Menu. The first time it starts up it gives you an activation code. Then you just log into your Netflix account and go to the "Instantly on Your TV" button. Type in the code on your TV screen. Done. It's impossible to put into words how easy it is. My simple description actually makes it seem more difficult than it is.

I have a 1.5Mbps DSL connection, and I have my Wii hooked up to my TV via component cables. My TV is a 42 inch Sharp LCD. The Wii can only output in 480p resolution, so you are never going to get Hi Def from it; like you would from a Roku, PS3, or Xbox. None of the streaming options have any better sound quality than just stereo.

I watched a few different things to try and get the best overview. Bolt, Big Fan, and Neverwhere. The reason why I picked these was I was trying to get a good variety of video quality from the original source. "Bolt" definitely looked the worst. Grainy, and even though I only watched 30 minutes, I would have been disappointed (it's a bad movie anyway) in the quality. Grainy, and really pixelated during action scenes.

"Big Fan" was ok. I would compare it to the quality you might see from a VCR. Not great, but watchable.

"Neverwhere" looked just as good as it does from DVD. That show has the lowest original source quality. It's a standard definition TV show that originally aired in 1996.

The choices available from Netflix are decent, and include lots of kids TV shows and movies. "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" looks  pretty good.

There you have it. My incredibly UN-scientific analysis.

To Sum Up, I really don't think there is any reason that anyone with a Wii and a Netflix membership should not get one of these disks, and fill up there "Watch Instantly Queue". It's easy, and it lets you watch something while you and your significant other are trying to find a time to watch that Netflix movie that's laying on your entertainment center, gathering dust.

SNOW!

I recently purchased a Kodak zx1, from Woot! and I LOVE it. I was able to get it cheap, because Kodak announced a new version of the Camera that is actually waterproof to 10 feet. These cameras are very cool for those of us that have kids and want to take videos in the rain and snow!

Of course this video has been compressed for web viewing, still the camera does a good job.