Happy 60th Birthday and Happy Retirement

Cake!

Happy 60th Birthday and Happy Retirement

Handsfree

Beginning in July, California went ‘handsfree'.  Now, I don’t talk on my cellphone often while driving but Farrah does. And so I did some research on a solution that would work for her.

The iPhone comes with a nice standard headset for listening to music and taking phone calls.  It can be used in the car as long as you only use one earbud while driving. I do this often, but it can be uncomfortable, and I think Farrah finds this so as well. Farrah also finds Bluetooth headsets uncomfortable. 

I heard Leo Laporte speak of the BlueAnt’s Supertooth Light Bluetooth Handsfree Speakerphone as a good solution, and so I ordered it from Amazon and let Farrah give it a try.

BlueAnt's Supertooth Light Bluetooth Handsfree Speakerphone

The unit charged quickly, with Farrah being able to try it the next day.  The main unit attaches by magnets to a metal clip you can fit into your car’s visor.  Having the clip allows you to easily move the unit from car to car, or simply detach it from the clip to hide the unit in your glovebox.  To activate the unit, you extend the mic boom.

The sound quality is very good.  I was able to hear Farrah very clearly while she was driving, and she was able to hear me without my yelling.  The unit also comes with a built-in ringer so you won’t have to hear your cellphone ringing unless you have the BlueAnt turned off.  The BlueAnt holds a very good charge.  We’ve only had to charge it twice since having it, but people who talk often may have a different experience. The only negative experience we’ve had with the unit is when pairing it with two different phones. The unit appears to forget the first phone it was paired with, but works fine with the ethe second. If you are the only one using the BlueAnt, then this will not be a problem. Overall, Farrah finds the BlueAnt solid and reliable, as do I.

There is a newer unit available, the BlueAnt Supertooth 3.  I think this unit has a voice-activated calling, but I have no personal experience with it.  You may want to read the reviews on that unit, but it does cost about $30 more.

Belated Congratulations to Lotte and Angche!

Lotte and Angche's Wedding Website

I don’t know how I forgot, but I did.  Angche proposed to Lotte at her birthday celebration several weeks back.  You can relive the moment on their wedding web site (or my almost similar video.)

Congratulations to you both!

Review - The Dark Knight: IMAX Experience

Anyone who knows me knows that Batman is my favorite comic book character.  When The Dark Knight was announced, I couldn’t be more excited to see it.  After all, I think Chris Nolan did a great job with Batman Begins.  With my high expectations - believe me, I tried to lower them - Farrah and I headed into the IMAX theater at the Metreon to watch The Dark Knight.  Did we like it?  What do you think?

Following my standard review format, here’s what I thought of the Dark Knight.

The Netflix summary:

Batman (Christian Bale) teams with Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to continue dismantling Gotham City's criminal organizations in this sequel to Batman Begins. But a psychotic new villain known as the Joker (Heath Ledger) threatens to undo all their good work. The star-studded cast includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Michael Hall, Michael Caine, and Eric Roberts.

What I Liked

The acting all around was great.  By now you’ve heard Heath Ledger does a great job as the Joker.  Farrah and I, as well as probably many others, found this a sad fact. It was such a well-rounded, strong, and memorable performance. It is a shame we will no longer see him on screen. But the acting by Christian Bale, Eckhart, Gyllenhall, and others are on par with Ledger, making this a well-rounded Gotham City.

Gotham City itself is impressive, as is Batman’s journey to other places.  The cool toys are just enough to get by, and the movie moves at an impressive pace.  It does not slow down, making the 152 minutes fly by.

What I Didn’t Enjoy

I still have an issue with Bale’s Batman voice, something I pointed out in my review of Batman Begins. It’s scary, I suppose, but something just does not click with me when he’s talking.

Final Thoughts

I would not think it possible, but The Dark Knight exceeded my expectations.  For me tops Iron Man (**** out of 5) and Indiana Jones (***) as my favorite film of the summer.

Rating: ***** out of 5

Last-minute Las Vegas

Two Sundays ago I received an unexpected phone call from old friends who were traveling to Las Vegas for a vacation they had planned over a year ago. They asked if I could meet them there. It was fairly short notice, but I asked Farrah if I could go to Vegas because I hadn’t seen these friends in over 20 years.  After working out the financial details - after all, have you seen the airfare prices! - I booked a flight on Southwest Airlines, got a hotel room, and made my way out to Las Vegas last Friday.

James (Bubba) and Lisa, my friends from Air Force days long ago, picked me up at McCarran airport.  When Bubba stepped out of their brand new Dodge truck, he didn’t seem to have changed much.  Oh yeah, there were few wrinkles on his face, covered by a scruffy beard that we wouldn’t be allowed to have in the service, but he was the same old Bubba.  I gave him a big hug, then went around the driver’s side to get into the truck.  I greet Lisa, who was driving, with a warm hand to the shoulder as we drove away from the airport.

We first talk about the weather in Vegas - it was about 98 degrees at 10 PM! - and about my flight.  We take care of the things I needed to get done - check into the hotel, dump my stuff in the room, grab a bite to eat - then we head to hit the slots (them) and blackjack (me).

Of course, we talk about the past, about people’s names we can, at times, barely recall.  We talk about things we’ve done together back-in-the-day, the shared memories or how we remember them. We speak of the 20 plus years apart, and the people in our lives now, about family and friends on each side who are unfamiliar to each another.  We convey to each other our individual triumphs and hardships we’ve endured, the journey and battle scars that life inflicted upon us up to this point in time. We spend the next three days sharing all of these memories.

It’s difficult to predict how often we will be in contact with each other after leaving Las Vegas.  We left each other with big hugs and the promise of staying in touch, and I know we’ll try our best to do so. But I recall making such a commitment to my Uncle David in the Philippines when I was eight years old.  I promised I would write.  He said, “You’ll forget me.  You’ll forget to write.  But that’s OK, for we will remember each other until the day we die.  This is just how it is.”

I wrote to him briefly, but I grew up and, as he predicted, forgot to write.  Who knows, with email and the Internet this may change with Bubba and Lisa.  And as they read this, as I hope they read this, I’m sure they are saying, “You’re damn right we’re keeping in touch.”

Welcome Timothy!

Yen, James, and Timothy

Yen and James welcome Timothy into this world. Congratulations!

Update: I just posted the photos we took.

The Sidebar

I’ve incorporated, once again, RSS feeds into the sidebar of the page.  This should give my many visitors - I say this smiling - access to our friends' blogs, as well as updates to my found Tumblr page.  You can simply click on the link to view the blog entry. The sidebar should update as they post more (hint hint!). 

Always Behind the Curve

It’s a fact that when it comes to hi-tech toys you will eventually be behind the curve. Sometimes it can take a year to fall behind. Other times it can be weeks.

I was reminded of this when I read Gizmodo this morning. I found out a new version of Drobo came out. I only bought mine three weeks ago. Should I send back the old one (if I can) and get the new improved one? Actually it would be too much of a pain to do so. I would need to offload the tons of data I already stored on the hard drives, then box up the unit, go to UPS and pay the shipping. I would then be without a unit for some time.

It’s like when I bought the iPhone, or the iMac, or the Powerbook - I knew something better was going to come along. But you can’t wait on your purchase. If you need that hi-tech device, buy it after doing the research. It just needs to do what you want it to do. Waiting isn’t going to stop a newer and better version from coming out after your purchase. Just do it.

Other notable behind the curve moments for me:

  • iPhone - Purchased September 2007. New version July 2008
  • 24" White iMac - Purchased late 2006. New aluminum version mid-2007
  • 12"  PowerBook G4 - Purchased October 2005.  New Intel MacBook Pros release February 2006.

All I can say is keep up with the read the reviews and keep up with the news before buying.

The reasons haven’t changed why I bought the Drobo in the first place. I was tired of buying external hard drives and wanted a simple and secure solution that Drobo offers. So what if it’s only USB 2.0. I did my research and knew this fact going in.

Will You Upgrade?

Are you going to get the iPhone 2.0?

I have been asked that several times the past few days.  As Friday fast approaches the answer is still the same, no I won’t be upgrading.

My three reasons why I won’t be upgrading:

  1. I don't want to pay AT&T the $18 for the privilege of changing phones.
  2. The fact that the data plan cost slightly more, though understandably with the 3G speed and GPS included.
  3. The fact that you have to pay so much extra for text messages, which I have been doing more of since getting the iPhone.

The iPhone App Store will still work with my current iPhone when it goes online.  The only applications I won’t be able to take advantage of - that I can foresee - are those using GPS.  I haven’t really played with GPS enough to say I need it.  Goggle Maps have worked very well for my current purposes.

A year from now when my AT&T plan is up I will consider whatever version of the iPhone is available.  I think I’ll consider upgrading then.

Review - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I wasn’t sure what to expect when Farrah and I sat down to watch the latest Indiana Jones film.  It has been nineteen years since the last movie in the trilogy - well, I guess it’s no longer a trilogy but a series of films - with many action films to wow us during that time.  Could Indiana deliver the ‘wow factor’ still?

The short answer is yes.

OK, here is the Netflix summary of the movie:

Hollywood icon Harrison Ford returns to the role of the adventurous archaeologist Indiana Jones nearly 20 years after he last donned the famous fedora and bullwhip to save the world from imminent peril. Joining Ford for this latest installment of the Steven Spielberg-George Lucas collaboration are Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent, Karen Allen, John Hurt and Shia LaBeouf as Jones's headstrong young sidekick.

Not much of a summary, huh.  The movie takes place 19 years after the last one, placing the movie action in 1957,  This changes the bad guys from the Nazis to Communist Russians. The action begins in Nevada, then moves to the university where Indy teaches, and to parts of South America.  The action is fluid and almost non-stop, just what you expect from an Indiana Jones film.

What I Liked

It’s great to see Harrison Ford back in the saddle as Indiana Jones.  After a string of so so films (e.g. Firewall, Hollywood Homicide, and Random Hearts to name a few), it’s good to see Ford not losing a beat with the Indiana character. He just slips back into the character like a comfortable pair of shoes.

The supporting cast proves pretty solid as well.  Karen Allen is the only returning character from the Indiana Jones mythology, and it’s great to see her next to Ford.  The rest of the actors provide solid support, with Cate Blanchett proving to be a nasty foe.

As I mentioned previously, the action sequences are what you expect in an Indy film.  They were long enjoyable sequences, well most of them were.

What I Did Not Enjoy

Some of the latter action sequences involved a level of CGI which was noticeable. Due to the nature of the film’s content toward the end of the film (it involves some science fiction elements), the use of CGI was difficult to avoid.

Final Thoughts

It’s great to be in the world of Indiana Jones again. I say don’t hesitate and go see it. It may not live up to your previous Indy experiences, but could it really? Believe me, once you hear the theme music and see the iconic fedora on Harrison Ford’s skull, you’ll forget about your expectations and just go along for the ride.

I Know A Little Bit

OK, I have an idea of what I can write in the future on Janella.com. I have always said of myself, “I know a little bit about a lot of things.” I’m a classic example of being a “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Unfortunately, I’m not really an expert in any area, but this fact hasn’t stopped friends and family asking my advice on a few things.

I’m planning on writing a few entries on subjects I am asked about often. I am going to breakdown the what, where, why and how of the subject. I’ll try to make each entry short enough to read within five minutes, so posts won’t be too long.

Most of what I learn on a subject is through everyday application, reading, and listening to podcasts. I claim to be no expert, so please don’t take what I write as the final answer. I hope you find what I write helpful.

Morcheeba @ The Fillmore 4.11.2008

I’m a bit late with my review of the Morcheeba concert Farrah and I went to last week.  The taxman could not wait, taking up all my spare time until today.

I knew of Morcheeba, owning a couple of albums, but to be honest I hadn’t really been into them.  I prefer Massive Attack’s music. Morcheeba has always taken a backseat on my playlists.  They are touring to support their latest album, Dive Deep.  I downloaded the album via Amazon and enjoyed it’s laid back groove.  It’s no Big Calm, but it’s worth a spin.  So when I heard they were touring, I asked Farrah if she wanted to go.  We haven’t been to a concert for awhile so why not?

It was difficult to get into the opening act, who’s name escapes me now.  It just wasn’t my cup of tea. It probably didn’t help that we were a bit tired and they sang in Spanish(?).  About a half hour after the end of their set, Morcheeba took the stage.

Morcheeba @ Fillmore

[Photo by Julien Genestoux]

I wasn’t sure what to expect.  All I knew was that they’ve had revolving lead singers since Skye Edwards was asked to leave.  The lead singer that night was Manda from Nemesea, who flew in from France.  Cool, huh?

Manda sang the new songs and the hits.  Songs I remember from that night, that I enjoyed Part of the Process, The Sea, Over and Over, Tigger Hippie, Rome Wasn’t Built In a Day, and the new single Enjoy the Ride.  I clearly enjoyed a lot of songs for not being a big Morcheeba fan.  This just goes to show you how good the performance was.

Friday night concerts are difficult at times.  You come home from work, you really want to enjoy the weekend starting that night, but an hour drive up to the City, plus waiting time for the band you want to hear, well, it’s just plain tough on the body.  I chalk it up to not being as young as I used to be. But I must say, Morcheeba lived up to what I thought the concert would be.  They put on a very solid performace at the always enjoyable Fillmore in San Francisco.

New York City Recap

Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal

It has been a week since we came back from our trip to New York City. I thought about writing a day-by-day account of our adventures in The Big Apple, but I think the Twitter postings during our trip suffice.

What I will do is point out some highs, and a few lows, on the trip.

Getting Around

Best Experience: Virgin America and walking.  As expected, Virgin America provided an enjoyable airline experience.  The plane is new and comfortable, and you have slight legroom.  You get as many free drinks as you want, but no free food.

You are going to walk if you are in New York City.  You’d be surprised how far your feet can carry you in the city.  So bring a good pair of shoes, and prepare for a few blisters.

That's one big M&M

That’s one big M&M

Fine Experience: The Subway.  Not as clean and easy to navigate at The Tube, but once we figured out where we wanted to go, the Subway was the best method to get there.

OK Experience: Taxicabs. The only time we took a cab was from JFK to Manhattan and back.  It was a $60 investment each way (including toll and tip).  Nice to know the cost upfront, but it seems a bit steep.  I’m not sure how much it would be if it were not a flat rate (of $45).

Eating

Best: Gray’s Papaya.  An amazing birthday dinner experience to have two dogs with onions and drink, only for $3.50!  Also, Katz’s Delicatessen provided an amazing dining experience. If you want a corned beef or pastrami sandwich, you better stop by Katz’s in the Lower East Side.

Katz!!! Yum!!!

Katz!!! Yum!!!

Fine: The Red Flame. A decent place to grab a quick breakfast.  It was convenient, located just down the street from our hotel.  They get you in and out as fast as possible.  Cafe Habana is a very crowded place in Little Italy.  Try the Cuban sandwich and the corn.  Yum.

Bad: Maxie’s Delicatessen.  Overpriced awful food.  Also, how can you not make a good cup of coffee?

The Sights

It's the Brooklyn Bridge!

It’s the Brooklyn Bridge!

Best:  There are so many things to see in New York City.  What still stands out in my mind are the Brooklyn Bridge, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Grand Central Terminal.  I love Grand Central Terminal.  The first time seeing it, and having breakfast downstairs on a subsequent morning, will not leave my memory any time soon.  Times Square is amazing, the first time you experience it, both day and night.

Walking down the spiral staircase at the Apple StoreWalking down the spiral staircase at the Apple Store.

Fine: Top of the Rock, the NBC Studio tour, the Apple Store on 5th Avenue, and SoHo in general.

From the Top of the Rock

From the Top of the Rock

Bad: The third time going through Times Square.  All the people just started getting on my nerves.

Other Things to Note

We also saw Young Frankenstein, our first Broadway play.  The play was funny and entertaining even though Megan Mullally wasn’t performing that evening.

The Sofitel was the hotel we stayed at in Manhattan.  Very nice hotel, with a pleasant room and splendid staff. If we were to go back to New York City and wanted to stay in Midtown again, I would want to stay here again.

Overall, the New York City experience was a great experience.  A big thank you to my beautiful wife for giving me a fantastic birthday present, and memories we can share the rest of our lives.

[Note: For photos of our trip to NYC, please see the Photographs section.]