Editorial

Save the internet!

I bet that barely anyone knows that the state of the internet is being put in jeopardy today.
It’s just speculations, but the fact that they are trying to regulate something that is supposed to be worldwide is baffling. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“A closed-door meeting of the world’s governments is starting today. The future of the internet is on the agenda. Some governments want to use this meeting of the International Telecommunication Union to increase censorship and regulate the Internet,” Vint Cerf, Google

DON’T REGULATE WHAT IS OPEN TO THE WORLD!

Black Friday 2012 – Recap

Black Friday came and went, and what has become a tradition between Patrick and I, it was a fun, and entertaining way to find some good deals, and just do some people watching.  I normally plan on buying any one specific item on black Friday’s, only stuff that I come across, and see it as a steal.  We did make a short list based on leaked black Friday ads, and we specifically went to grab those items first before perusing for other deals.  I pretty much got most of the items on my list, and knocked off some due to other deals that we came across.

My short list: (Items in Yellow were bought, in Red, it’s still at the store)

best buy

roku hd player $40

windows 8 pro $55

siriusxm onyx $30 (dumped cause of PS3-D Monitor)

walmart 

Brave $9 (dumped for Toy’s R Us Deal) (toys r us 15$)

rival hand mixer $4 (sold out)

storage bench $29 (didn’t bother)

home depot

 head lamp coast $10 

commercial electric led mini work light $4.88 (dumped just because)

husky 2 ton hydro jack $20.00 2x (only bought 1)

Staples

Kingston 120 gb SSD $80 (low end drive, better one can be had from Newegg at around the same price)

lowes

kobalt double drive $20 (only $5.00 savings, can be put on xmas list)

Radio Shack

32gb san disk usb 9.99

klipsch $25

game stop 

ghost recon $25 (can wait for it to drop $20.00 in the future)

preowned knect $40 (dumped because of PS3-D Monitor)

All in all, it was a pretty good Black Friday.  I was able to pick up a handful of Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars to add to my collection, as well as a Hand Mixer, that was not really on sale.

My plans for buying a TV and a Laptop didn’t really come through, as I didn’t see a deal on a TV that was close to what I was looking for, and Laptops or computers in general seems to be the hot ticket item(s) this year.

Let’s see how I do next year.

Sony PS3-D MOnitor $99.00 – Best Buy (from $188.00)
Roku HD Player $40.00 – Best Buy (from $70.00)
San Disk 32 GB Flash Drive $10.00 – Radio Shack
Klipsch S3 Buds $24.99 – Radio Shack
Head Lamp $10.00 – Home Depot
Not shown:
Windows 8 Pro $60.00 – Best Buy (from $$80.00)
2-Ton Floor Jack $20.00 – Home Depot

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all our American readers, we at Just Wrote A Blog would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, and a big THANKS to all of our followers.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

And soon after this post, we shall be going Black Friday Shopping!

Random Photo of the day – November 19, 2012

Unsafe conditions

New Jersey Transit and their genius ideas decides to close down half the platform (Track 5) at Newark Penn Station for some renovation work. I understand the need for that, but they also blocked off a part of where the entrance is to the platform, so it gets bottle necked like crazy coming up the stairs. And what’s worse is Amtrak or whoever is in charge of bringing the trains in to the station, waits a long time to bring in our trains. Massive amounts of commuters, small platform = a recipe for disaster. People push to get to the back area of the platform, and with limited space, it only takes one person to give the right push, and the person in front might have an awkward position, can and will fall to the track. And when they finally bring the train in, it’s a mad rush to get inside the train. There is no order what so ever. Even at NY Penn Station, there are 12 Tracks that the NJT uses, why in the world would you bring a train and have it disembark, on the same track that has a train boarding. You know what happens, a dozen or so people coming off from that train trying to get out while hundreds of commuters trying to get down the stairs. We are all in bad mood already because the train is already late coming in. Seriously, they need to do something about our train infrastructure, it’s a complete joke compared to Europe and Asia, a joke.

HTC Rant: Broken Promises

This is my second Android phone (owner of just about over a year, now), The Droid Incredible 2 by HTC. As a member of the red-eye family, you’d expect the phone to be top of the line, but no. The Droid Incredible 2, at release, was a disappointment. No 4G LTE, apparently HTC decided to give that to the Thunderbolt, a non-Droid phone, which also disappointed many. The feel of the Dinc2 is very premium and sturdy, but it IS a mid-range device, even with the Droid moniker.

Now, being a late adopter of Android, I’m not too disappointed with only having 3G, I don’t travel all that often, so I do get to utilize Wi-Fi, and Verizon’s 3G is no slouch with full service, even at rush hour times.

What DOES disappoint me, however, is Verizon’s (and especially HTC’s) broken promises. The HTC Droid Incredible 2 and the HTC Thunderbolt, after just over 1 year since the release of Android 4.0, still have not received the update to Ice Cream Sandwich. The update was promised by HTC and Verizon to be given before September 1, 2012. It is, at this very moment, November 5th, 2012. Still no update.

The Droid Incredible 2 being a highly capable phone for Ice Cream Sandwich, it shocks me that Verizon still hasn’t rolled out the update. The Incredible S (int’l version of Dinc2) has had the update since July!

I wish I had $250 to spare, then I’d go and pick up a Certified refurbished Galaxy Nexus by Samsung, just like The Big Cheese.

And with the recent release of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean (also the name of Android 4.1), my phone is now three upgrades behind. Thanks, Verizon. Thanks a shit load.

Cell phone conundrum

Nexus 4
Photo courtesy of Google Play

So not having power and what not in light of what has happened in the north east coast of the US, I missed the announcement of Google’s next Nexus phone, the LG based Nexus 4.  Granted I only got into my first Nexus phone a few weeks ago (Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus), and even if it’s a year old (like a million years old in cell phone technology years), it feels very new, very quick, very modern, compared to my  Motorola Droid Bionic, which is only a few months older than the Galaxy Nexus, and I can see how it’s a special phone, being the first one to get any update on the Android OS landscape, and it is basically bloatware free.  It’s also vanilla Android, is as good as it gets (without skins) in terms of Android.  I’ve used Androids with one of HTC’s skins of Android, Sense 2, and Motorola’s watered down version of MotoBlur, and nothing beats plain vanilla Android.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus 
Photo courtesy of Digitaltrends.com

What am I getting at? Well, this version of Nexus will NOT have CDMA variants.  Meaning it will not come out for Sprint or Verizon wireless, the latter of which I am subscribed to.  It will only be out  for T-Mobile, and ATT, using HSPA+ speeds and not LTE.  I did some digging and it seems like Google had problems with the CDMA versions of the Galaxy Nexus, in terms of releasing the hardware, and rolling out Jelly Bean.  Pricing also plays a big part of it, the GSM variants can be sold for $300 off contract, as opposed to the CDMA versions costing $200 more. I got my Galaxy Nexus for $250 off contract, but it’s a certified refurbished unit.  Now, this poses a problem for me when it comes time to get a new handset.  I think I made a good decision to get the Galaxy Nexus.  It didn’t cost a whole lot, and it should last me another 10-12 months.

I was ready to leave Verizon, and perhaps jump to Sprint as they also offer unlimited data (I am still riding on my old unlimited data plan from way back in the day on Verizon Wireless), but I can’t even get the Nexus 4 from them.  I know there are other handsets out there that are just as capable, but, I don’t know, it feels like I have to do less work on Nexus, and it seems to get more support officially, and from the AOSP community.

Only time will tell on where I go from here.  I am really happy with my Galaxy Nexus, and it should keep me happy for many more months, and it shames my Droid Bionic ten times over.  Speaking of my old Bionic, it alone turned me off from getting any Motorola handsets in the near future.  Sure, Google owns Motorola Mobility, so we’ll see what comes out from that partnership.  It’s just funny, that the next Nexus phone is based off of the LG Optimus G, and not a Motorola handset (*CHEESECAKE NOTE! The reason that this is so, in what I have read and what I do believe, if I do remember correctly, is that Google did not want to give Motorola special treatment in the partnership when it comes to Nexus phones, after all, Android is open-source). Why I hate the thing is subject to another rant/post another time.

Motorola Droid Bionic
Photo courtesy of Amazon

Right now though, I do have other issues to think about other than what my next smart phone should be.  But it’s just something else to get my mind on, and a step to moving closer to normalcy.

Links:

http://www.zdnet.com/google-nexus-4-why-im-saying-goodbye-to-verizon-7000006636/

http://www.google.com/nexus/4/

http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/02/nexus-4-review/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Nexus

Refugee’s

Well, still without power, but at least we are now holed up at my GF’s house that has power, heat, internet, and TV, so it’s better than the previous situation.  I hope everyone is holding up just fine, with the gasoline issues, power issues, and what not, especially now that its getting a bit colder.

 

Stay frosty everyone.

Mobil-blog: Normalcy

The lack of heat and lights at my house is getting tiring, but, at least that’s the only thing I have to bitch about. A lot have no homes to even get to.  So for those that bitch and moan about not having power or TV, be thankful. It could be a lot worse.

Having said that it’s nice to have a functioning cell/data service from Verizon and a mall to warm up in.  Sitting here amongst the number of powerless refugees to charge up, warm up and just not be at home. Having a proper cup of coffee helps.

Normalcy is what we all need. Whether its going back to work or just doing Any activity like running or drinking coffee, anything to help us not think of what just happened and sort of move on.

I’m still not at work due to commuting complications and lack of power in our office.  So I’m trying to find my own normalcy.  Coffee helps…

image

My normalcy

Stay frosty everyone.

Something a Mets fan can be proud about.

Being a Mets fan for all my life, I’ve seen them do great, tremendous even. I’ve seen them one step away from the pedestal of victory. I’ve shed tears of despair. I’ve seen their collapse and all the more recent struggles the Flushing bats have gone through.

Winning isn’t everything, but it is important. The Mets haven’t won a World Series since 1986, but they’ve been so close. A fan doesn’t just take pride in winning, however. Especially if you’re a Mets fan. It’s a rare event to be proud of them winning, because of the rarity of a win.

But this year, even if the Mets haven’t made it to the playoffs, this year is a proud year.

First, Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in Mets history.

Then, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey throws several one-hit games, unbelievably close to a no-no every time.

But Dickey was consistent. He won. Numerous times. 20 times, in fact. The guy became an ace. The Mets’ go-to starter. Dickey is the first Mets pitcher in 22 years to be a 20 game winner. That’s something a Mets fan can be proud about. Even through all the struggles, the years since a playoff berth, the World Series championship drought… With this bright (but lets face it, a soon to be fading) light named R.A. Dickey, we can be proud.

Read more at NY Times. Here’s a link. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/sports/baseball/ra-dickey-wins-20th-game-for-the-mets.html?_r=0