Samsung A900M

I've been thinking about getting a new cell phone ever since Charity got her Treo a year ago but never really bothered since, well, my existing one worked just fine. When her parents decided they wanted to join the cell phone revolution, I took the opportunity of getting a new one (a Samsung A900M) and passing on my old one to them.

The good: this thing is svelte! No more bulging pockets, yay! Double yay for being able to surf the web with a decent browser (Opera Mini) and running Java apps in general (the GMail app is fantastic). But the best feature I've seen so far is its support for GPS navigation. Didn't know it was available until I was fooling around with it last week while driving, and it works wonders. No more getting lost!

The bad: why don't new cell phones have distinct keys? Flushed buttons may look good and all, but they're impossible to use without looking at them.

The ugly: getting nickel and dimed for every little feature. New theme? $2/month. New ring tone? $1/month. If it was a one time fee, I might at least consider it, but a monthly fee? No way. And worse of all, I just learned today that my trial use of the GPS navigation app about to expire. I didn't even know I was in some trial period. If I want to keep using it, it'll cost me $5/month. Are you kidding me? I can just use Google Maps for free, assuming I can figure out where I am, and that's more of a hassle than a problem.

Thanksgiving

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I'm not quite sure what happened, but it was Wednesday night one minute and Monday morning the next. I spent Thanksgiving with Charity's parents in Sacramento, that much I know.

I'm also fairly sure I did the whole Black Friday wait-in-line thing for the first time ever. Proof is in the shiny new 42" plasma TV that just arrived this morning (a Panasonic TH-42PX60U). I've been watching the price of these things for a while now, and Best Buy finally had an offer I just couldn't refuse.

Now I need to upgrade all my other components to match this one... ;)

TV Online

It looks like almost all the major networks now offer a video archive off their website. The exception is the new CW, but then it's not exactly a "major" network now, is it?

Off them all, I like CBS the best. It has the nicest interface, and appears to have at least the last 4 episodes archived. ABC and Fox are pretty good as well, but I have issues with both. ABC because I usually have problems with the video (hiccups, etc.), and Fox because they don't archive any of the shows I'd be interested in.

As for NBC, they have an absolutely horrible interface. It's almost impossible to figure out which shows have complete episodes available, and from what I can tell, they only have the last episode available. Unless you've missed something, it's really not worth visiting their site at all.

Even with all the problems though, it's nice to see progress on this front. I can only that the networks will improve their services and really expand their archives. It's quite nice to be able to join a show mid-season and and catch all the previous episodes.

Slapstick

Slapstick explained.

*rofl*

Too Slow!

Unbelievable... Charity and I were thinking of grabbing the domain name markandcharity.com and discovered that it has already been taken!

*grumble*

Bond, James Bond

I can't remember the last time I've gone to see a movie on its opening night, but I'm glad I did for Casino Royale. In a word: spectacular! Daniel Craig is totally believable as the new Bond, very much in the style of Connery's Bond -- ruthless and physical -- but updated for today's world. And it gets even better: the script is actually quite good. For once the silly one-liners were kept to a minimum. My favorite quote:

Bartender: Shaken or stirred, sir?
Bond: Do I look like I care?

I don't think I can say much more without giving anything away, so I won't. It's a great movie that I would have enjoyed watching again. Easily a 5/5 - go watch it now!

P/S - There's a great parkour chase sequence at the beginning of the movie!

New Shows

Who says there's nothing good on TV? Last season may have sucked in terms of new shows, but they seem to have figured out what they've been doing wrong. I've been very pleasantly surprised by a few new shows this season.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is a reasonably good West Wing replacement, but my top pick so far is definitely Heroes, also on NBC. I watched the first 5 episodes back to back and just did not want to stop.

I also like Jericho, on CBS, but I'm wondering if they can keep up the momentum of the first few shows. There hasn't been much progress/revelations in the last couple episodes, but it's still holding my attention for the moment.

Finally, Day Break just premiered this week on Fox, and it's looking pretty good as well. The premise is interesting enough -- like Groundhog Day except for the fact that the guy who's repeating the same day actually carries over his physical injuries through each cycle. What I want to know is whether this is supposed to be a one season show, or if they really think they can prolong it indefinitely. I'm hoping for the former.

Get Out and Vote!

Tomorrow is election day. Are you ready to vote? Have you done your homework?

If so, you might be interested in watching HBO's Special on Hacking Democracy, which is available on Google Video.

This year I decided to vote by absentee ballot, and it was so convenient that I think I'll be voting like this from now on.

Books

Books are usually the first leisure activity that gets dropped by the wayside when things get hectic at work, but I've managed to continue reading after getting back from vacation despite the work that's piled up. Partly from procrastination, partly from a refusal to get my nose back to the grindstone, but I've managed to finish a couple more that's been sitting on the shelves for a while now.

I haven't read any good books based on the Arthurian legend for a while now, and I'm glad I stumbled over Jack Whyte's The Skystone: The Forging of Arthur's Britain. Believe it or not, it's historical fiction, and it's the first of six in the Camulod Chronicles. It's also absolutely captivating, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Now I've just got to get my hands on the rest.

Also finished Anne Bishop's The Invisible Ring, which I picked up because I've seen good things about her The Black Jewels: Trilogy. I couldn't find the latter, but decided to give the former a shot since it was set in the same world. Any interesting read, but it hasn't really made me want to run out and grab the trilogy either.

Home Sweet Home

It's good to be back...

But it's a little hard to get all the balls back up in the air again. I'm slowly settling back into the old routine and starting to juggle between work, wedding plans, and the remodeling, along with all the other cruft that comes with life as we know it.

It's All Japanese To Me

I'm trying to type on a Japanese keyboard right now, hoping that I don't send it into Kanji mode (I've got no clue what key I hit that pushes it into this mode, but I've already done it twice so far). I also don't know what I've got to do to get it out of Kanji mode, so my only recourse is to just close the window and open a new one. Super annoying. It doesn't help that most punctuation keys are at different locations.

I'm at the LaQua Spa at the Tokyo Dome right now, and just gotten a massage, so I'm ridiculously relaxed. If there's one thing the US needs to import from Japan, it's these onsen type establishments. There's a small one in San Francisco (Kabuki), but it's not quite the same.

OK, gotta run now to catch the last train back to the hotel, and then it's bed time -- gotta get up early to go to the Tsukiji fish market tomorrow for some super sushi.

Unimpressed with Russian Hospitality

I can't say I've been terribly impressed with Aeroflot, and by extension, Russian hospitality. I'm not sure where one ends and the next begins, but I'm sure that I won't be flying Aeroflot again if I've a choice.

• There were flies on the plane from Rome to Moscow. Seriously. Buzzing in the bathrooms, and buzzing in the cabins. I'm not talking one or two, I'm talking a full squadron of them scattered throughout.
• They don't seem to have a solid grasp on how long the flight should actually take. The itinerary says 3:40 hours, the captain says 4 hours, and we actually take close to 4:30 hours. This is with clear skies all the way. How do they anyone to make connections reliably this way? I mean, there were no real delays per se, we should have been able to arrive on time, but everyone just sort of took their time.
• The hotel they put us up in (Novotel) was relatively crappy. There was an empty beer can under the desk when I got in; both bed side lamps had blown bulbs; and the furniture was flimsy - I managed to pop out the back of one of the chairs.
• And worse of all: no one was even vaguely apologetic about the missed connection. Everyone I came in contact with seemed bored and unconcerned, as if this was just the natural course of events, or slightly annoyed, as if it was somehow my fault for forcing this inconvenience upon them!
• I also felt an undercurrent of hostility over the fact that I did not speak Russian. I'd understand it if I was randomly accosting people on the streets, but everyone here worked at an airport -- they should be used to the fact that many people do not speak Russian. I've been in many countries where I did not speak the native tongue before, but this was the first time that I've felt that I was unwelcome because of it (including the French).

Update: The second leg from Moscow to Tokyo was more pleasant. Part of this was because of the plane itself, a Boeing 767 vs. a Tupelov TU154. Even so, as far as long flights go (this leg lasted almost 10 hours), this was probably the worst.

Free International Phone Calls

Got this from Pogue's Tech Blog: Futurephones is offering free international phone calls to select countries (which includes all countries I can think of calling).

For those too lazy to read, the short version is: call 712-858-8883 (that's in Iowa), then when you're connected, dial 011 and the phone number you wish to call.

No one seems to know what the catch is, but they're claiming they want the free publicity and will keep this up till 2010. And for the moment, they can't connect to cell phones.

Stuck in Moscow

*sigh*

My flight from Rome to Moscow was late, causing me to miss my connecting flight to Tokyo. The next flight is in 24 hours, so I'll be spending the night in a nearby hotel, courtesy of Aeroflot. They've put me up in a hotel, along with several others who also missed the flight, but we're pretty much restricted to our rooms since we don't have an entry visa for Russia. Missing the connection wouldn't have been so bad if we were at least allowed to wander around town during the day.

Instead, we can't leave the floor we're on. The elevator is behind a locked door and there's a guard on duty at all times. When I went to the front desk to purchase a passcard for wifi access, I had to be escorted by another security guard. At least they're feeding us, which is sent directly to our rooms. We don't get to pick what we eat. It's all a little surreal.

Oh, and we don't get our luggage either, so yay, I get to spend 48 hours in the same set of clothes.

On the bright side, there's 'net access (only because I've been lugging my notebook around), and I've what's shaping up to be a pretty good book: Stephen Lawhead's Empyrion.

Lost and Found

Had a bit of a panic yesterday. We were supposed to meet Charity at the hotel we were staying at in the morning, but she never showed up. After a wee bit of stressing, she finally appeared at 5pm, and it was entirely by chance. She had thought that we were meeting on Friday morning instead of Thursday morning, and the only reason she was at the hotel at all was because she was in the area and thought to make sure she could find it easily the next day when she would be carrying her luggage.

Anyway, alls well in the world now, and Venice awaits...

Reading Material

I always bring a long a book when travelling, and this time I brought a backup in case I finished the first too quickly. Imagine my surprise on the first day when I learned that the ship actually had a small library with some decent books! And books that I've been wanting to read, at that.

Which sort of explains how I finally managed to read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. I miss his Sandman comics, and this book definitely reminded me of those stories. Highly recommended if you get the chance -- it's a real fast read.

Venice

Spent the day at sea today, and we've just docked at Venice. The thing that excites me most about Venice is that I'll finally be meeting up with Charity tomorrow. Wheee!

Corfu

Another late start again today at Corfu, Greece. There are no major archaelogical sites here; the major attractions are the historical buildings and districts, as well as some scenic locations and beaches in surrounding towns. For George, my mom and I, however, we pretty much treated Old Town as a huge bazaar and spent the day shopping...

Jim and Jeanne had gotten off the ship before us so that they would have time to frolic on a beach. Alas, they reported that they didn't find anything as nice as on Mykonos.

This is our second to last port. At our next stop, Venice, we'll be disembarking for the last time. A shame, really, as I've just gotten used to this whole cruising thing...

Olympia

It's getting harder and harder to wake up early as the cruise goes on... We didn't go ashore to Katokolon, Greece till 10am, some three hours after we arrived. What's at Katakolon, you ask? Nothing. All the guides describe it as a "sleepy town." What it has in its favor, however, is the fact that it's the closest port to Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympics. Even today the flame for the Olympics is lit at Olympia and carried to wherever it is to be held.

The first order of business for the day was finding some breakfast, as we had decided to eat it on shore today. More specifically, I wanted to find a bakery. We'd discovered early that we really like the pastries that could be found in Greek pastries, and when we finally found one, we were not disappointed.

After that, we rented a car and drove to Olympia, which was some 39km away. Of all the major archeological sites we've visited so far, Olmpia feels the least preserved. All that's left are the foundations and a few columns. On the plus side, there's a sense of calmness and serenity here. It could be the fact that there were trees all around, or that we arrived after the morning tourist hordes and left before the afternoon tourist hordes, or some combination of the two, but I definitely felt a lot more at ease here.

The funnest fact I learn today was about the Zanes - statues to Zeus constructed with the fine an athlete had to pay if he was caught cheating. Their name would be carved into the statue's base, along with his crime. There were sixteen of these before the entrance to the stadium as a warning to others.

Athens

Our port of call today was Athens, Greece -- the cradle of western civilization -- and I've been looking forward to this stop the entire trip. The highlight, of course, is the Parthenon in the Acropolis. It's immense. Pictures don't quite convey how large and imposing this structure is. Unfortunately for us they're renovating the entire Acropolis right now, so the structures are incomplete. There's scaffolding everywhere, they've taken down entire columns from the Parthenon, and the Temple of Nike Athena is practically dismantled. Even so, what's left is still awe inspiring. I can't imagine how the ancient Greeks built everything, and the fact that it has stood the test of time is incredible. They sure don't make things like they used to.

We also visited all the surrounding sites: the Agora, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian's Arch, and Syntagma Square (very briefly; we were getting tired and running out of time).

As in Pisa, I was once again surprised at the amount of graffitti around these major historical attractions. I just can't fathom the lack of pride that would allow someone deface their national monuments. True, the graffitti isn't on the sites themselves, but it is on all the approaches to them. It's just sad...