Category Archives: Uncategorized

None Naked Writing

It’s been said, probably to others, but somewhere to me as well, that you can’t write anything that anyone will care to read until you learn to write nakedly.  To put yourself out there, and expose yourself in whatever it is you’re saying or sharing.  I don’t agree one hundred percent, but I agree enough to believe it.  Which isn’t to say that I can’t keep folks interested without taking off my pants, but only that people will only truly be interested when I show them my pant-less writing sessions.  That’s right, I have those posts but I’m not inclined nor obligated to post them. So it goes.

In the old days of Internet writing, when it was reasonable to be anonymous, I maintained pages of posts where I wrote more freely, but still kept the more honest words to myself.  Only to admit, my dearest compadres know where to read me. Perhaps someday I’ll be willing to share the same with all of you.   In the mean time, we’ll have to agree and settle on these words I place here.  No hard feelings, no lost emotions.  Just one opinion to another.

Assuming, though, that you’re not hear to read about things of which I’ve never written, but rather to figure out how to write better than you do now — know that exposing yourself is the path to faithful readers.  People want to relate to writers/others that are not perfect.  Share your stories, share your faults.  In the not so famous words of writer/rapper Ice Cube, "do your thang, man, fuck what they lookin’ at."

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Slacker Radio In A Blackberry World

I’d never heard for Slacker radio, but we’ll get to that. First, Blackberry announced, or released, or opened its application store, which they call Blackberry App World . I fiddled with a few downloads, only the free ones of course, and not many stayed on my Storm longer than the day was long. Having said that, I am excited for the store’s opening. But not because it means I can get potentially cool and useless new apps for my smart phone, but because I like to see programmers writing small, efficient  programs for constricted environments. You know, like the days before processors and RAM were in too much abundance.  It’s a food feeling.

Moving on.

Slacker radio, what the heck is that?  (Slacker is more like Pandora than it is like last.fm.)  And why hadn’t I heard of it before?  Your radio everywhere .  That’s what they call it.  I’ve only had a short bit of time to tinker with its service, but what I was presented with impressed me. And I’m talking about what was streamed to my mobile phone.  Buffering was adequate so there weren’t any skips in the song.  Navigation and song or station selection through the app was clean and easy to manipulate.  Not sure what it does to the battery life of my phone since I have logged a lot of consecutive minutes of playback.  And I can say the speaker on the Storm isn’t horrible.

While I think the blackberry app world leads its fan base further from the professional working world,  it’s nice to finally see Blackberry step up on this front.  This opens the doors for developers to create quality apps (enterprise or recreational) on the Blackberry, allowing BB addicts to fully utilize all the cloud 2.0 web services they’re hooked on.

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Market Profiling Or Deep Packet Inspection

What we mean :  Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can, if they choose to, inspect every packet of data passing through its servers or inspection points.   A process known as deep packet inspection that you can read all about over at Wikipedia .  End users are typically okay with this process when the ISP admits doing so to prevent the spread of malware or harmful software potentially moving through its network to subscribers.  (Assuming the users even know this is happening.)  But what if after the ISP was finished inspecting for viruses it continued examining the header to see where you’re spending your browsing hours exploring the Internet?  All of a sudden Google Chrome’s incognito mode isn’t so private and secret —  your wife can’t see you’ve spent hours surfing porn, but someone else can — the ISP now knows which catalogs should be sent to your house, or at least they have the information available for marketing professionals to buy.

The ISP can profile all sorts of traffic information about its users and arrange it by whatever category the highest bidder is willing to pay.  You get the point.

Why it matters: It doesn’t.  It does.  No it doesn’t.  Yes it does.  "Hush a minute, will ya."  Market profiles across broad demographics are horrible, but having a bit of software that can craft unique profiles to each individual is wonderful. (Maybe "horrible" is too strong, but the former should definitely be considered a tool from your grandfather’s marketing toolkit.) And a basket full of accurately tailored profiles is worth a lot more to anyone aiming to make a load of cash by unloading bunch of crap.  So it goes.

At the same time, it’s privacy advocates who have a problem with profiling based on a user’s navigation habits.  Which is why it does matter.  Not because of the privacy advocates, but because subscribers are not paying to be monitored, they are paying to have internet service provided.

In the end: I’m not accusing any ISP of performing such immoral and possibly illegal activities as monitoring its users activity beyond what is "necessary to ensure the safety of its network and users."  But even if they are collecting all the data, I’m not saying it’s being sold to third-parties.  I’m not saying it’s being handed over to law enforcement agencies.  No, none of that big brother looking over your shoulder nonsense.  I’m not saying any of that. I’m not even saying I know anything about marketing or selling stuff.

All I’m saying is, it seems like a good idea to have advertisements presented to me that might actually impress me to let loose of my cash.  Not that it matters much, I’ll only buy a product endorsed by xkcd.com .

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Verizon’s BlackBerry Storm More Of The Same, Sort Of

I have to start by admitting that I’m biased toward BlackBerry devices.  They call my name in the middle of the night, I’m sure it has something to do with the bright blinking light.  No, but seriously, I like BlackBerry for business purposes and I also like that all my Google uses come with apps for the BlackBerry so I don’t have to load the weak web browser.

Before I get on about how I can’t wait for the next Verizon BlackBerry, let me first say that the Storm is everything anyone could want in a latest and greatest gadgetry device.  It feels solid in the hand, it has a large screen without feeling terribly bulky in the pocket, it sports a semi-super fast network connection, and it’s loaded with a bunch of apps for you to tinker with when it’s new or you’re bored.

Which brings me to what I really want to write about, and that’s the shortcomings of the Storm.  BlackBerry, and who knows why, insists on under powering their handhelds with slower than needed processors.  I consistently feel as though I’m waiting for the phone to catch up to whatever it is I’m trying to do.  (Perhaps we’re just too spoiled with desktops that do more by 6AM than the rest of us do all day.)  I wouldn’t expect it to be quick like a computer if it wasn’t trying so hard to act like my computer, what with its email, web browsing, and video games.  Really, must it do everything?

Lag time is my biggest gripe, but I’m also disappointed with how heavy it is.  Feels like I’ve got a pocket full of flat rocks that I’m walking around town with.  (My Curve 8310 is light as a feather by comparison.)

It’s not that I’m unhappy with the SureType so much as I’m not that interested in touch screens.  While I like that it makes for a larger viewable area, I’m usually bothered with the typing inaccuracies.  Practice has lowered my error count, but still is more time needed to send a message than when using a tactile keyboard like the Curve or the Bold.

Long story short, if you need a new BlackBerry with a 3G connection and are stuck with Verizon then go for the Storm, else, if you can handle the torture of waiting for the next, hold out for the Niagra from BlackBerry which should be out by the 3rd quarter this year.  And if you really have it in you to calm your wants, wait till the 4G networks are unloaded on the market and get your new phone next year.

In the meanwhile, this is Justin saying, “write to me if you must, but please don’t call me.”

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Luigi’s Pizza By The Slice

Get there before it closes and check out the fungarden, if you’re into that sort of thing.  Otherwise, just enjoy the pizza.

Update: When I wrote this, I meant get to convey that people should get to Luigi’s before it closed for the night, not before it closed indefinitely. As far as I know, they are doing quite well and are in no danger of shutting their doors for good.  A slice and a soda is still the way to go.

Adam Carolla Podcast Stealing Babies

I only found out last Tuesday that Adam Carolla would no longer be on FM radio with his radio show, which is a bummer for anyone who enjoyed listening (regularly or irregularly.)

Turns out it may not be the end of the world for those of us who have been following Carolla for years through his various shows.  The Ace Man has decided to get with it and go Podcast style.  The upside being there are no program directors screwing with the content so Adam and his guests are free to talk about and say whatever they like.  Which, based on the second show, really gives the feeling of being right there hanging out with the fellas over a couple beers and a pool table.  It’s a good time.

It’s brand new, being that he only went off FM on Friday, but the show has a lot of potential.  The initial response was strong and positive — a very good sign — so Carolla sounded much more enthusiastic in the second show.  (Helped also by the fact that he had Dr. Drew to chat with, as opposed to the first show where Adam was going it alone.)

While I’m not a fan of pre-recorded shows, it’s only a matter of time before the show takes full advantage of all the Internet has to offer, including: Skype, Twitter, and some sort of instant messaging, all making the show more interactive and giving its host more to talk/rant about.  The exact reason we all tune in.

So stop in, check it out, and load The Adam Carolla Podcast into your favorite feedreader (if you’re like me) or use a trusty mobile MP3 listening device (if you’re less like me).  However you choose to consume it, get your daily dose of the Ace Man and company!  You won’t be disappointed.

College Humor On MTV

It’d be so sad except college humor has never been that funny, so it’s rightfully gone to die on MTV.  Jake and Amir on the other hand, is a pretty funny Internet short.  It’s hard to say if it’s the rest of the cast bringing them down, or the fact that they are creating content longer than 3 mintues.  Perhaps a mix of the two.  Either way, College Humor has no place on television.

Facebook Face Tags

I do this thing where when someone tags my face in a photo on facebook I remove the tag as soon as I am reasonably able to.  Which is weird if you consider that I tag everyone I can in my picasa albums.  Except picasa is a tad geekier since it does that facial recognition thing.  I find that makes it worthwhile to play along.  So it goes.

The downside to this behavior is that sometimes people take offense to having their work undone.  (Hey, it’s my face, I’ll have it tagged as I see fit.)  But just maybe someday, or one day, I’ll go back and re-tag those photos.  We’ll see.  In the meantime, keep up with my picasa albums.

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