Archive for the ‘Mobile Lifestyle’ Category
So forget all that
I was looking for a new, tough phone, and saw this one:
The Intensity III’s ruggedized design passes numerous MIL–STD–810F* military tests, so it’s durable enough to withstand vibration, shock, extreme temperatures and more.
What text hides behind the asterisk?
The Samsung Intensity® III meets MIL–STD 810F specifications except for rain, icing and immersion.
So… not so much.
In which I admit a weakness for fast pixels
While a Mac Mini is technically capable of running some really old video games, I haven’t been able to ignore how non-constant the frame rate is. Even with complexity settings cranked all the way down, the framerate for TF2 jumps from 60 f/s to 0 f/s for a few seconds. So, for that reason alone, I’ve kept the PC powered on.
When I mentioned this to John, he pointed out that the video card he gave me is really, really good, so comparing the PC and the Mac is really not fair. Point taken.
What I will compare is the iPod touch to my Droid 3; I noticed, after a while, that my Droid 3′s screen was looking grainy and washed out. I didn’t know the iPod touch has a high-pixel-density display; it wasn’t until someone pointed that out that the light went on. Non-Retina (I hate that term) displays are doomed.
I’ll have to make a trip
The LeMay collection is going on display shortly; 1500 cars, with 350 on display at any given time. I’ve been hearing out this for many years, and I’m glad to see the museum is finally open.
I think he likes it.
John’s headlights were burned out, so we went to the auto parts store to replace them; I made him do all the work so he could get a feel for how easy modern automobile work is. He picked up some tools which should last forever. Afterwards, we retired to Moghul Palace to kill some curry and chai; Moghul Palace, as it turns out, is within sight of Best Buy.
When John bought his iPad, I said if he didn’t like it after a month, I’d buy it off of him; within 24 hours, we were back at Best Buy picking up stuff one needs for the full Apple Experience: keyboard, mouse, speakers, dock, Apple TV, and some other glue-type cables and adapters. I don’t think I have to worry about buying his iPad.
A spoiled Ice Cream Sandwich
Got refurb Kindle Fire, rooted it, installed a couple different ICS builds, it was total garbage, have installed stock roms. Total time in ICS: under six hours.
If you read the forums, it’s all rah-rah; my experience was stuttering displays and several crashes on swipe-to-unlock. Garbage.
Recovered from the e-cycling bin at work
A Samsung Bang & Olufson Serene, one of 1000 made. It’s easily the world’s most obnoxious cell phone.
At rest again, jigs attached
Left at ~0840, returned at ~2220; drove ~650 miles with a short layover at UltiMAK. Returned +2 kids, +1 bottle Pumpkin Ale, and tired. Time for some zzzzs.
The weather was highly variable, ranging from blinding sun to snow so thick I had to slow to ~35 over Snoqualmie Pass. There is a series of storms coming in; I hope the pass is bare and wet when I repeat this venture at week’s end.
Bakken Shale
Maybe I’ll move to North Dakota.
Class action riches
As settlement for some past sin (having been a Verizon subscriber in 2005), I am getting either 25 additional minutes or 40 calling units. That isn’t 25 minutes a month, that’s 25 minutes total. Considering I use about zero of my plan minutes a month, the first option is worthless. Given that I never use calling units (which are apparently for long distance or overseas calls), the second option is worthless.
At least the lawyers made out.
