Android 1.5, Day 1

31 hours since I upgraded the OS on my T-mobile G1. Here's my initial observations:

• Bluetooth stack is improved. Works well with the UConnect radio in my 2008 Dodge Avenger. Previously it was unreliable, although my previous phone (t-mobile Dash) worked great with the same radio.
• Network performance (Edge, 3G) seems improved.
• I like the camcorder and the on-screen keyboard.
• I had to re-install most of my apps.
  

... stay tuned!

ION Television

Being an engineer is a blessing and a curse. For example, ION Television's slogan is "Positively Entertaining". As an engineer I know that ions are free electrons, which are negatively charged. Someone should tell ION they have it backwards. Somehow "Negatively Entertaining" doesn't have the same ring. How about "ION Television - get a charge out of us"?

Bye bye BSG

So BattleStar Galactica is history. For all the hype, in my opinion it wasn't the greatest show of all time. It did deliver good entertainment that held my attention to the end. That said, here are my comments on what I liked and disliked about the show.

I Liked:

1. The general story line is the classic struggle for survival - always good.
2. I was a fan of the original show, so I welcomed it's return.
3. The cast was strong and delivered great performances.
4. The special effects were excellent.

I didn't like:

1. Baltar - after betraying the human race, and setting all this in motion, in the end he gets to settle down with his dream girl and live happily ever after. I needed for him to meet an ignominious end, like killing himself or drowning in his own vomit.
2. Why do scenes in space have to be shown as though they were filmed by a hand-held camcorder? I know that's supposed to make it look "realistic", but do they want us to think that some guy is floating in space holding a camcorder? It actually got nausiating on a big screen.
   
3. The violence was at times over the top. Even though they were cast as Cylon robots, I did not want to see women beaten to a pulp and physically abused. I found that offensive. What ever happpened to "the best story telling leaves something to the imagination"?
   
4. The idea that the Cylons evolved to look like us was a stretch. To the point that not even a doctor could detect them - only extensive DNA testing could. Yet they had long-term friendships with humans, and no one noticed they didn't age? And they could only create 12 Cylon models?
   
5. When they finally got around to electing a president it was a long, drawn out, painful affair. Baltar won, and again put his personal interests above humanity's and almost destroyed the remnant. When they escaped that - Rosslyn just was president again! Too easy.
6. Their past culture was our pop culture. In their past the military had Humvees, celebs rode in limos and people lived in apartments or very nice homes.
   
7. They drank a lot of alcohol. For people just trying to survive, most of their resources must have been spent distillling alcohol and making glass bottles to break when they got mad and drunk.
   
8. The show was 90% drama and 10% science fiction.
   

All that said, I congratulate the show's cast and producers for entertaining us week after week (when the writer's weren't on strike). Thank you and good luck!

Engineer's humor

Someone asked me today "What's new?"

"A letter in the Greek alphabet" I replied.

New, Nu, does anybody else get it?

Department Bowling

Our department at work took time out to go bowling. It was a lot of fun. I bowled 141 and 152, which for me is great. Must be all that practice on the Wii!

Live Earthquake Mashup

I think this is a great combination, Google Maps and USGS earthquake data.

http://www.oe-files.de/gmaps/eqmashup.html

Happy Valentine's Day

Unfortunately, this Hallmark holiday was overshadowed this year by my own 25th wedding anniversary on Feb. 11th.

Rock & Roll

Last night we went to an Apologetix concert. These guys are good - and a lot of fun. They're a parody band that covers hits from the last 40 years, with a twist. If you get a chance check them out. Then we went to our friend's house for some great food, games and fun. What a great night!

Time Travel

It's odd, the time stamps on my posts are shown as 3 hours earlier. Does blogger not know Michigan is on EST or have I invented some form of time travel?

Update: So I had to go into the settings and change my time zone from PST to EST. I may be dumb, but at least I found it!

Makes you think

Watched a thought provoking movie. Ben Stein's documentary about how PC in the halls of "big" science has created an environment where some questions (and answers) are taboo. I'm putting "Expelled - no intelligence allowed" on my recommended list. I won't tell you what to think. Watch the movie for yourself and decide. As an engineer, which is just applying science to real-world problems, I believe there are NO stupid questions, only stupid answers ... and that maybe Darwin can't explain why we're here.

My Playlist

So, what podcasts do I listen to? Here are my favorites right now:

1. The granddaddy of podcasts - TWiT!
2. Buzz out loud - the podcast of indeterminate length
3. The Daily Giz Wiz with Mad's maddest writer
4. Automotive Insight with John McElroy
5. Mosaic podcast with Erwin McManus
6. Puyallup Foursquare Church audio podcast
7. HDTV and home theater podcast
   
8. ExtremeTech's weekly podcast by uber geeks

These podcasts help me pass the long commute to work. Although I think I'll start calling them G1casts instead!

New Toy

I like my phone. It's a T-Mobile G1. I listen to podcasts on my drive to and from work. For a couple of years I've used an iPod Shuffle. It died. I don't miss it because I used to have to boot my home computer and run iTunes, download the podcasts, then sync to the iPod. Now, my G1 directly downloads the podcasts overnight using my home wireless network. I get in the car in the morning, plug it into the stereo and go. No hastle - no more iTunes! Way cool!