Almost two months ago, I mentioned that I have all the intention in the world to get the BlackBerry Storm, when I'm eligible to get a phone upgrade (Feb, 2009) from my 2-year contract with Verizon Wireless. It's been a week now since it was released and wow is there a lot of bad press on the quality of this smart phone. At this point you have to do a lot of digging through actual user/owner comments to get positive feed back about the phone. Most of the reviews are mostly negative, complaining primarily on the touch-clickable screen, the accelerometer is not responsive enough, and the noticeable lag on when some of the features are starting up.

Now I myself have tried out the phone two times now, and I still think it's awesome despite what the detractors are saying. The touch-clickable screen is definitely not as bad as a lot of people are making it out to be. It may not be as smooth as the iPhone, but it's not broken. I adapted to the touch-clickable virtual keypad a lot faster than I expected, and you have to remember that a lot of people had issues with the iPhone's keypad as well when it was first released. Some of the complaints may be from traditional BlackBerry users who can't get over the fact that it's not a "real" keyboard anymore. The complaints about the accelerometer not being very "smooth" about figuring out what orientation you are holding the phone is kinda true though (still not broken). Programs do start up a little slower than when I use my current phone (LG eNV), but it's very liveable.

I still have it in mind to upgrade my phone to the Storm in a few months. All the negative things being said about the phone are overblown IMHO. Unless a better Verizon Wireless phone comes along in the next 2-3 months that has the features I want, it looks like I'm going to be a proud owner of the BlackBerry Storm. As I'm typing this right now, it looks like there is already a firmware update that might solve some of the problems people are having.

links below -
- New York Times : No Keyboard? And you call this a blackberry?
- Times Online : Blackberry Storm, Prepare to be let down
- infoSync review of the Blackberry Storm

videos below -
- mobile burn review of the BlackBerry Storm
- G4TV tech review of the BlackBerry Storm

For once in my life, I actually participated in "Black Friday." Kinda. I did not really go in the stores, but I went ahead and did an early "Cyber Monday" by checking out Amazon.com and actually finding some really good deals. I took advantage of it and bought some DVDs from my "to buy sometime in the future list" that were at minimum 50% to 70% off the regular price with free shipping. Wow, is this what I've been ignoring all these years? No wonder there were people waiting in line as early as five days in advance.

On the negative side of the day however, somebody actually died because of Black Friday. A Walmart worker was trampled to death by the crowd entering the store. Unbelievable.
(link) http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/11/28/2008-11-28
(link) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081129/ap_on_re_us/wal_mart_death

One of the Brightest Random Stars

Roomba driver (video)

Kitten Mirror Jump (video)

Cat Chases Leash (video)

Slinky Cat (video)

All-Out Cat Slugfest (video)

kitty whack-a-mouse (video)

Chickens Break Up Rabbit Fight (video)

Chicken Head Stabilization (video)

Doggie Paddle (video)

Dog Vs Branch (video)

whoopdeedoo! It's Thanksgiving. One of the most abused holidays around. Nobody celebrates it for what it stands for anymore (*edit* see comments below...), as it's just an excuse to eat the meal normally associated with the holiday (like Turkey, usually too dry for my taste), have family/friends gatherings, have a long weekend from work (except me, I'm working for double pay), and have it be the day before "black friday." Just bring on Christmas already, as that's a holiday actually worth celebrating.

It's been just about a week now since Microsoft has unveiled the "New xbox Experience" (NXE), which alters the whole dashboard interface of the xbox 360 game console, and the general consensus is that it's good. It is good, and I'm glad they did this. Although the previous dashboard was not bad at all, it wasn't going to be able to keep up with all the new features that Microsoft wanted to include.

The biggest addition that I'm most pleased of is the unlimited ability to use the xbox 360 with Netflix's streaming video service. Based on how fast your internet connection is, streaming movies in both standard and High definition is a breeze. With a streaming catalog of 12,000+ titles (more titles added monthly), this is like having a virtual video rental hooked up to your TV instantly. Currently right now I have over 400 titles in my "instant watch queue" for use with this feature. However disappointingly and suspiciously, this service does not have Sony's movies available due to some "licensing issues."

Another welcome addition is the ability to browse the xbox live marketplace through your own computer with a web browser. This is a feature that I've been waiting for since xbox live started. With this new ability, it also allows you to queue up items, that will start downloading immediately once you turn on the xbox 360. Going through the marketplace on the xbox 360 itself is now visually more appealing and technically easier to navigate, although I don't think I'm used to it just yet.

Other significant changes and additions are the "avatars," which is the xbox answer to the Nintendo Mii. Just like the Mii, these avatars will be useable as game characters in certain games. Along with that, they also included a "party" interface that enhances connecting with other gamers.

Another feature that a lot of gamers were excited about is the new ability to install a game disc to the xbox hard-drive which theoretically should increase load times. They also added "premium themes" which adds a visual flair to the friends list, although the NXE kind of cripples the previous "multi-blade themes" that now only shows you one or two of the images from those (as oppose to the standard four images).

Also for a great opportunity for regular computer programmers who want to make a game and get the opportunity to sell it, the NXE also has an addition to the marketplace called "community games." If some of those games look like they were made by one teenage boy, it probably was. This is like the youtube for video games, so it's got potential for something great.

With future features like "xbox live primetime" and other things that may pop up, the "New xbox Experience" really is like a re-launch of the xbox 360 for the better.

Random 1973

coolest toys of 2008 (link)

Sarah Palin does not pardon THAT turkey (video)

Not Dirty Cartoons (video)

Hardly Working: Darts (video)

Car Wash Goes Horribly Wrong (video)

buffet at cruise boat hits rough seas (video)

Young Girl Talking About Herself (video)

Bike Hero on Expert (video)

Monty Python's youtube channel (video)

choose your own video adventure (video)

Wow, so that "Twilight" movie did really great in it's first weekend at the box office. As I'm writing this, I'm seeing the report of $70+ Million in gross. Pretty impressive. I was quite adamant about not seeing it, because it quite honestly looks too "chick-flicky" for me. I'm not completey against chick-flicks, but this one looks too much in the melodramatic wish fullfillment romance category. Just basing it on the trailer, I can guess that this is about some awkward teenage girl who falls head over heels in love with some tall dark handsome mysterious boy, and each one of them will tragically go through some glorified hardship in fighting for their love. "oh woe is me, we are not meant to be together, but because of that we really should, and I think it's true love even though we haven't known each other for very long." Sounds a bit too "been there, done that" for me, but then again I don't really fit it's target audience, even though I like vampire related stories.

After seeing the die-hard fandom that looks to try and eclipse the Harry Potter fans, I'm now starting to at least get a little curious as to what the hype's all about (it's in my Netflix queue now). I'm a little turned off by all these teenage girly fans who now wish they could be in some romantic tragic relationship with a vampire. Even more bizarre are the ones who honestly wish they were vampires. Then there are simply the crazies like girls waiting to meet the actors, who
had scratched the side of their necks so they were freshly
bleeding when they came up to get a signature from Twilight star Robert Pattinson ("They were like, 'We did this for you.' I didn't know what to say. 'Um, thanks guys?'"). Great, is this the next level of "emo?" Being a vampire? I think i'll just go back and watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

- wiki of Twilight book the movie is based off from
- Twilight alternate trailer from funnyordie.com
- Watch South Park spoof on the Vampire fad

*edit* I read this online and LOL...

"they've been dating for about 6-7 months, but haven't gone all the way
yet, thinking about it though. she just doesn't feel ready yet I guess.
last night she was obsessing over twilight (still) constantly to him.
he eventually got fed up and said if that vampire walked in here right
now and asked if you would spend the rest of your life with him, what
would you say? she says... "well obviously I'd bang him as soon as he
stepped in through the door, but I don't think I'd spend the rest of my
life with him." she was being dead serious too. obviously he's real
pissed off cause she won't even have sex with him but she will with
that emo vampire. so right now they're in huge fight..."

I got this through e-mail, and I thought it was interesting to see how some companies are getting negatively affected by the bad economy. There are some big stores in this list too, with some I've known for as long as I can remember. Then there are some on that list I'm surprised were still around at all. With the holiday gift season coming up, you really should take a look at this list.

"Just a heads-up if you are a giver/receiver of holiday gift cards, here are just SOME of the stores that are either bankrupt, going out of business, closing their doors, or closing stores nationwide.  You may want to think twice about giving out gift cards from these stores...and if you get any...use them immediately, i.e. before the end of the year!"

Circuit City                (filed Chapter 11)
Ann Taylor                (closing 117 stores nationwide)
Lane Bryant              (closing 150 stores nationwide)
Eddie Bauer              (closing 27 stores immediately and more after Jan 1st)
Talbots                       (closing down their specialty stores)
Pacific Sunwear      (also owned by Talbots)
GAP                            (closing 85 stores)
Footlocker                 (closing 140 stores immediately and more after Jan 1st)
Wickes Furniture     (filed Chapter 11)
Levitz                          (closing all remaining stores)
Bombay                     (closing all stores)
Zales Jewelers        (closing 82 stores and 105 after January 1st)
Disney Store             (closing 98 stores and more after January 1st)
Home Depot             (on the verge of bankruptcy)
Sears                          (on the verge of bankruptcy)
Macy's                        (closing 9 stores after January 1st)
Linens n' Things      (filed Chapter 11)
Movie Galley             (closing all stores)
Pep Boys                   (closing 33 stores)
Sprint/Nextel             (declining sales; closing 125 stores/kiosks)
JC Penney                (closing a number of stores after January 1st)
Ethan Allen               (closing 12 stores)
Wilson's Leather      (closing all stores)
Sharper Image         (bankrupt, closing all stores)
KB Toys                     (closing 156 stores)
Lowes                        (closing some stores)

Random Window Blues

California Wildfires (pix)

Online affair ends in divorce (link)

newest Watchmen Trailer (video)

Sub-Zero vs Superman fatalities uncensored (video)

Every 'Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe' Fatality (video)

GTA IV: Liberty Suburbs - NSFW (video)

Girl Chuggs A Bottle Of Syrup (video)

Bike Hero (video)

Nov 22, 2008 youtube live (video)

Guns N Roses Chinese Democracy full album stream (audio)