New Phone Time – Dare I go Crackberry?

It's been a while since I've posted, and this after I promised I'd be more regular with this. No problem, when I have something to say, then I'll post.

I've been considering my phone options lately. No, there's nothing wrong with the phone I have now. In fact, as I can't have my phone with me at work any device would go mostly unused during the week. Still, it's those times at home or on the weekend I find myself reaching for my phone. Not just for calls, no I'm one of those that has my phone everywhere I go. Text, twitter, e-mail, even GPS all get used fairly regularly. Can you imagine if I had a Blackberry, you'd never get it away from me.

And that's exactly what I find myself wanting. I had a Windows Mobile device before, a Palm Treo 700w. I loved it, but it wasn't perfect. Blackberrys always seemed too sterile, business like for what I wanted. Newer phones like the Voyager, Dare, and yes even the iPhone were in the right direction, but didn't go where I really needed them to. More than phones, sure, but less than a PDA which is what I really wanted. Even the iPhone, with all the apps available for it, still isn't as open as a full PDA, as only what Apple deems worthy can make it to your device.

This week I'm getting my first glimpse of the Blackberry Storm. It seems to have everything I want: Touchscreen, multimedia, expandable, and custom apps available from a variety of sources. I checked into it, and with a few discounts I'm available for It just might be doable. I have a few days to think about it, but it's looking like that's the way to go.

Want to see what I mean, check this out:

Welcome Back, Tina Fey

The day after Sarah Palin was named as McCain's running mate, one thought came to mind.  Saturday Night Live NEEDS to get Tina Fey on to play her.  Last night was the season premiere, and NBC did not disappoint.  Tina Fey and Amy Poehler together again portraying GOP Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and Senator Hilary Rodham-Clinton.  Enjoy:

Random Musings

So it's been a mixed week so far.  Nothing extraordinary either way, actually I'd say it's been pretty even.

So far we've updated to look of the podcast, Too Old to Grow Up!, officially opened the store, and unveiled our new look, designed by artist Harold Jennett , Trusty Mutsi on The Comic Forums, co-creator of M.I.M.E.S. (See their blog on my blog list).

Then at work I find that the corporate masters have blocked a whole bunch of sites, including this blog.  Fortunately the forums are still running, so I can keep up with the action there.

Last but not least, I've finalized the reservations for our rooms for the CGS Super Show.  I've been looking forward to this weekend for a long time.  I'm more excited by this one than I was the New York Comic Con, and I was very excited for that.  Daytona24 (Art) and I are heading to Reading, PA for the show.  We'll do some recording of our own then, but spend most of our time hanging out with our friends from the forum.

Ok, guys and gals, that's if for now.  Catch you later.

The "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" Blog Post

You know, because I can.

And Dr. Horrible is AWESOME!

A broadcasting sensation?

When I first told my wife that I was going to do a podcast, her first reaction was, "You mean like iCarly?"  The new tween sensation on Nick has been playing off and on around my house lately.  No I said, not like iCarly, like Leo (Laporte) on TWiT.  She gave me a look that basically said, "Be careful honey, your Geek is showing,"

So now we have 19 episodes under our belt.  So what do we do now?  We decided to do Episode 20 LIVE on Stickam.  If you don't know, Stickam is basically a social network, like MySpace, but with a webcam.  You can log on and not only can you follow you friends, you can do with you webcam on for all the world to see.

Mostly it's pretty boring.  The more interesting folks actually perform to a degree.  Most just sit there and type, as I said pretty boring.

Leo has taken it a step further.  He broadcasts all of his TWiT network shows live on Stickam as they are being recorded.  He's basically brought TechTV back on his own.  Well with the help of some friends who join him on his various programs.

Will Too Old to Grow Up! ever be as popular as TWiT?  Probably not, but for the listeners we do have, it will be a fun way to interact.  They can watch us record, interact with us in the chat room.  Maybe we'll even open up Skype and do a call in show.

Let's get through this first recording, okay.  Watch Live at 12:30pm EST Sunday July 27th at http://live.totgu.com.

Some fun with Beaker...

It's no secret that I'm a Beaker fan.  You know, Beaker from the Muppets.  In fact, one year my friend Matt and I spontaneously broke out into a scene from The Muppet Movie with him as Dr. Bunson Honeydew and me as Beaker.

So when I found this on YouTube, I had to share.  Well timed, and a lot of fun to watch.  Consider it your Beaker fix for the day.

“Weird Al” Yankovic

I have not been to a concert in a LONG time. That changed Wednesday night when my friend Art and I went to see one of my favorites growing up, and favorite again more recently, Weird Al Yankovic.

I remember first hearing Al on copied tapes from my friends. Yoda was probably the first song I had ever heard. I'd but the odd album or two here or there. I smiled from ear to ear when I heard Al doing the theme song for one of my favorite movies growing up; Johnny Dangerously with This is the Life. You may also remember he had a song in the Transformers animated movie, Dare to be Stuipid.

After that I was a fan. I eventually "grew out" of his music, thinking it was just for kids. I barely listened to him during the 90s, but then in 1999 I saw a video for his latest parody, based on a movie coming out in May and one of the greatest, most recognizable songs of all time. The Saga Begins told the entire story of Star Wars Episode I to the song American Pie.

That album, Running with Scissors, would be the first Weird Al album I purchased in over 10 years. I now have all the songs he's recorded, and if you ever look at my Zune Card at the bottom of my blog you might sometimes see him in my "Recently Played" list.

The show itself was a great time. Over 2 sold hours of entertainment, described by Al sometimes as, "a rock and comedy multimedia extravaganza" with an audience that "ranges from toddlers to geriatrics" (from Wikipedia). The show was definitely that. He and the band has several costume changes, which I knew about going in and had wondered how the show would maintain it's momentum during these changes. Not to worry, a performer like Al would take care of that by showing clips from "Al TV" on screens above the stage that were used during the performances as well. Projected images included clips from his videos of the song being performed, including Donny Osmond dancing during White and Nerdy.

I'll be talking a lot more about Al with my co-host Art on our podcast, Too Old to Grow Up! this week. Listen in for the latest show on the MP3 player at the top of the blog.

Here's a picture of me and Weird Al Yankovic.