I’m fairly pleased with the iPhone 4S announcement the other day. It hit all the points I was looking for on a new iPhone. Granted, my points weren’t really that lofty. I hoped for, at the least:

• A screen as good as the iPhone 4 (e.g. retina display).
• The same or better camera.
• More powerful, processor-wise.
• More memory for less.

What was shown was:

• Yup, retina display. No change in screen size or resolution/
• A better 8MP camera with an aperture of 2.4 (good for low light).
• Dual-core A5 chip = faster!
• Now offering it in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. It meets my more memory for fewer criteria.

I wasn’t expecting or waiting for an iPhone 5. It seems to fit with the pattern or releases (e.g. iPhone 3 to iPhone 3GS). And since I’m on a broken-down iPhone 3GS anything would be much better. Now, what size and color should I get?

I was in my office, packing up for the day when I received a text from my wife. It simply said:

Steve Jobs?!

Sadly, it could only mean one thing.

Apple can announce anything today. Just as long as it’s a new iPhone. I so desperately need a new phone. 

I’ve got problems with mine right now:

• The headphone jack is broken.
• The physical volume buttons are broken.
• The side with the volume buttons is starting t split.
• The top power button, when pressed does nothing. This means I can’t power off my iPhone

I could have gone with an iPhone 4, but I held off for two reasons. The first was to uphold a pledge to skip every other version of the iPhone. We had the First Gen, skipped the iPhone 3G, and got the iPhone 3GS. The second reason I waited was when my iPhone truly started to become unusable as a music device, it happened during that weird window where you know you need a new iPhone, so why get one. Why not wait?

I do hope the new iPhone is better than the iPhone 4, which was something I lusted after for some time. What I hope for in a new iPhone is:

• A screen as good as the iPhone 4 (e.g. retina display).
• The same or better camera.
• More powerful, processor-wise.
• More memory for less.

All that I ask above is doable, very doable. We’ll see what happens later this morning. All I know is that by the end of the month, I should have a new phone.

Photo of Papa, Bixby, and Lucky. Bixby is on the left.

It’s tough when you lose a pet. A pet who’s been a loyal friend and good companion over the years. But, like us and everything on this planet, in this universe, time doesn’t stand still and lets us simply live forever. And so, sadly, we say goodbye to Bixby who succumbed to age this past Thursday morning. He was about 77 years old (11 in human years).

Bixby was a friendly, yet cautious dog. His cautious nature bordered on being shy. He would let his partner, Lucky, determine if any new person was worthy of attention. After the determination, Bixby would warm up and be playful as the next dog. Combine Bixby’s relaxed playfulness with Lucky’s hyperactive playful nature and you’ve got a tiring combination.

Bixby was a slower-moving dog, built more for comfort than speed. It didn’t help that he had an injured front paw making him a little less active. But he’d trot around with Lucky, playing with whoever would stop by.

But now, Lucky is alone again, as he was for a year before Bixby’s arrival. The photos in this post were taken with a film camera on Bixby’s first day in our lives. The photos are dated February 25, 2001.

You’ll be missed, Bixby.

Photo of Papa, Bixby, and Lucky. Bixby is on the left.

I’ve been meaning to write for some time now. I’ve had the desire to do so. But having the desire, and having the opportunity, are two different things. When they don’t sync up, it can make for one cranky person.

Luckily, I’ve been too busy to be cranky.

Commute Map

I started a new job a few weeks back. It’s a job that I was interested in taking. I took a 12% pay reduction and increased my commute by 45 minutes, but to me, it was worth it. At least that’s how I looked at it when I said yes to the opportunity. It is how I look at it now, as well. I’m sure, almost positive, it will also be how I look at it in the future. But sometimes, in the haze of commuting, it is difficult to see the sanity in the decision I made.

I get to spend more time with Farrah and Mia. Granted it is morning commute time, but it is time nonetheless. The evening commute is spent apart. When I get home, which is often after 7pm, I only spend an hour with Mia before her bedtime. Then the time I spend with Farrah is only eating, catching up briefly on the day’s events, then getting our things together for the next day.

For now, it seems like a cycle ride that has no end.

In October, things may change. But October is months away. Who knows if the change will be for the better or for the worse. The optimist in me hopes for the former, and I will continue to think that until October comes to pass.

I’m writing this on my evening commute home, on the CalTrain. It hasn’t been a bad experience on the train. The people are as friendly as can be, for being cramped into a train, going from point A to point Z in such-and-such time. I’ve only had a few delays here and there. Nothing to complain about just yet.

When my job moves deeper into the City – yup, we’re moving downtown – we’ll see what the train commute plus Muni will be like. I’m guessing it’ll be a bear for a few weeks until I get my pattern down.

And so I’ll try to post when I can. I hope I’ll find opportunities to do so, whether it’s writing while I’m on a train ride or when I’m winding down from the day in bed.

I have the desire. Opportunity is the issue.

I upped my Netflix movie discs this month in the hopes of catching up on a few movies. I hope to write a few words about each movie that I was able to view.

I was able to set aside a few moments last weekend to watch an excellent movie The King’s Speech. It would have been a good idea to see this movie before the Oscars. But knowing it had won several Oscars, as well as other awards, did not taint my viewing of the movie.

The film, from its synopsis, seems grand in scope. It tells the story of a man with a speaking issue who would be King one day. But as I sat and watched the movie it felt like a nicely made small film. The movie moved at a good pace, covering a little less than a decade of time very smoothly. It established its characters, relationships, and situations with ease.

The interaction between the actors and their characters was a sight to see. In a short period of time, you could recognize the love and patience that Helena Bonham Carter’s character has for Firth. And you could feel the tension, then later admiration and respect Firth and Geoffrey Rush’s character shared throughout the film. Yes, there was a montage here and there, but how else would you encapsulate all the speaking exercises Firth’s King George VI would go through?

Now, I don’t know the historical accuracy of this film. Heck, I don’t expect any film to be historically accurate. All I can say is that this film proves to be an inspirational piece worth repeated viewing.

If you like British movies and have two hours to spare, and an opportunity to rent this film, I don’t believe you’d be disappointed

Seriously?

“Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained.”

After hearing this news from Sony, I’m wondering if I can ever trust Sony or the PlayStation Network ever again. I was winding down on my console video game play. Perhaps this is a sign to give it up altogether.

The full post is on ://Playstation.blog

You are waiting to hear the news. It might be good news you are hoping to hear, something favorable to your future. Or, perhaps it’s bad news you wish you could avoid, news that can prove to be an obstacle for some time. Either way, you just want to know what is going on, and what is going to happen, so you can take the next step(s) to arrive at a conclusion. You are almost not concerned about the why, you simply want to know the what. But all you can do is wait.

Why do you have to wait?

Well, the decision, the next move to make things happen, may be out of your control. Or perhaps time is a necessity, it needs to pass in order for results to occur. But all you know is that it sucks. And you wait.

I’m in a situation like this now. I’m hoping for favorable news. If a ’negative’ is given as a response, it won’t be the end of the world.  But it will be disappointing.

A friend of mine is waiting for news as well. It could be good or bad. Not sure what it will be, but I’m hoping for a positive outcome.

Waiting, in either case, is the only option.

If you found me - if you are reading these words on this blog - you could have only come here one of two ways. Either you’ve come directly to ://giron.me or you followed a link from my photo site, ://janella.com.

Prior to this new endeavor, I wrote on janella.com. But as you can see, things have changed. Those older blog posts still exist. I didn’t delete those posts. I simply moved them to ://janella.giron.me. They are safely there to search and read.

Why the shell game?

I wanted to keep words and photos separate. Not that I won’t post photos here.  I’m just looking for a little more segmentation, a little separation. When people ask about photos we’ve taken, I’d like to simply point them to janella.com - which would load the photo gallery - instead of a blog where you would need to find the photo link.

Plus, I don’t write often. And I find it a bit embarrassing when I point someone to the blog - again, to see photos - they will inevitably comment that I haven’t written in quite some time.

So, I’m still settling in on this space of the interwebs. Drop on a by every once in a while to see what’s up here, ok?

I wanted to start writing a regular post on Sunday, time permitting of course. I’m not sure what subject it may be. Perhaps it will be about something that happened during the week. Or it could be a summation of the week’s events in total. Or it may simply be another photo. Let us see what comes of this.

Mia turned nine months old this past week. She has been out of the womb longer than she was in it. A fantastic thing to realize this week. If you told me 18 months ago we’d have this babbling bundle of joy to deal with I would have simply replied, “Huh? You’re crazy.” Yes, we’re happily crazy.

Farrah was able to put Mia in short sleeves, sunglasses, and a hat, as the sun finally came out of its hiding place behind the clouds. Earlier that day Mia had some blood drawn—an unpleasant experience for all of us. I was the lucky one to hold her still while the needle was inserted. It’s a task I hope I do not have to do often. But going outside in the sun cheered up Mia immensely.

I had a birthday recently. As a whole, it was a pleasant experience. But there were individual elements, like being stuck on Highway 17 for over two hours, that were unpleasant. A tree was down across the highway, making the trip to Santa Cruz more arduous than normal.

Part of the presents I received was a very cool backpack and tickets to WonderCon. The last time I went to a comic book convention was over 15 years ago. I had never been to WonderCon, a large local comic book convention. This would be Farrah’s first comic book convention, making the experience even more memorable.

The Moscone Center, where the convention is held, was extremely crowded. There were many people in costume, though a majority of the attendees were in everyday clothes. We saw at least a dozen Stormtroopers, a couple of Wonder Women, a Superman, an Alien, a couple of Jokers, and several scantily clad women who were, I’m guessing, some Sucker Punch characters. (I need to watch that movie.)

We were able to attend a talk from one of my favorite comic book artists, Bill Sienkiewicz. I’m not an artist, and not being able to draw is worth a lick. But I enjoy listening to creative people talk about their passion. Sienkiewicz talked with no prepared topics, simply taking questions from the audience. It was interesting to hear about his past experiences which help shape his artistic point of view.

WonderCon was crowded. Moving around the first half of the show floor was like swimming through molasses. When we got to the middle of the showroom floor we had more opportunity to move and breathe more freely. Even with all of this, I think I’d like to go to WonderCon next year as well.

The above photos were taken on April 1, 2011.

I read a lot of things online. I would often read comments that accompany the articles and blog posts. But I’ve grown tired of the often snide and rude remarks people make in the comment section.  Instead of providing meaningful comments, and thoughtful responses that could add to the subject of the article, blog post, or photo, some people choose to make an ugly destructive comment. They make these ugly comments with ease, enjoying the lack of repercussion afforded by their anonymity.

I know my blog doesn’t run into this issue. What I’ve had problems with are spam comments. I receive more spam comments than actual comments each month. And since most people now comment via Facebook, where I crosspost often, having comments enabled on the site appears unnecessary. If you don’t have a Facebook account, I have to ask: “Who are you?”

The iPad 2 was announced last week. It appears to be another cool Apple device, a nice upgrade from the original iPad – which I currently own. Though I love my gadgets, I don’t think the iPad 2 is for me.

My current item of lust is an 11” MacBook Air (128GB with 4GB of RAM of course).  I have to stress that it has 4GB, because, unlike the MacBook Pro, aftermarket RAM cannot be added later on.  But why would I choose a MacBook Air over an iPad 2?

I agree with Vicky Beeching’s take on the two. It comes down to this:

• iPad=consumption device
• MacBook Air=creation device

Now, there are some people who find the current iPad an adequate creation device, but I am not one of them. My primary form of creating is writing, which I find difficult to accomplish on an iPad. I’ve tried using a Bluetooth keyboard with the iPad. I simply find it awkward to use it in conjunction with the iPad.

The iPad 2 appears to be amazingly fast. It also adds the ability to create more content, having added cameras and other software, which allows you to take photos and videos. You can also edit those photos and videos – a by-product of the amazing speed. But I don’t think I’d use the iPad 2 for such tasks. That’s what I would use the monster iMac to do.

To me, the appeal of the MacBook Air is size and weight. It would be easy to lug around with the heavy DSLR in tow. It would also be easy to simply take out, write a few thoughts, and plunk them back into the backpack.

Of course, this blog post is not stating I am getting a MacBook Air. I’m just saying if I had a choice, I’d prefer a MacBook Air over an iPad 2 (for like Christmas or my birthday).

I’m just saying…..