The Wall E costume took me about 2 hours to make. I made it from a cardboard moving box (thanks Nick!), spray paint, and duct tape. In this picture, I am holding up the head. Apparently, duct tape is not good as forming lasting joints.

I am not sure if I posted this before, but here is the logo for our basketball team: boom boom pau! The name for the team came from my Laker’s obsessed friend, Eric.  Also, “you’re welcome” for putting that song in your head for the rest of the day.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I am all for fans being able to enjoy the game in their own way.  But, I personally believe that when you purchase a ticket to a sporting event (and especially a ticket in general admission), you have the right to stand up and cheer.  I personally accept that this is part of the game and have never complained about people in front of me doing the same.

The worst part of this situation was the atmosphere created by these fans.  When the opposing team was threatening to score on our end zone, I swear that I could hear a pin drop.  All these “fans” who were content to sit and nag us for standing, did not make a single sound when we were defending the end zone.  Of course, my friends tried to compensate with boistrous cheering.  But, it definitely did not make up for the fans who were sitting on their hands.  This is not a coincidence.  Fans that sit, do not cheer because they are comfortable and lathargic.  And in the end, this is why standing is part of the fan experience for sporting events and why fans should continue to accept this as part of the game.

Yeah, that is pretty big praise.  So, let me qualify it a bit.  In the past year, I have used a number of flavors of Linux and purchased my first OSX machine.  Linux is cool, but the overall experience lags behind its closed source rivals.  I can go on-and-on about how much I like OSX.  It’s stable, beautiful, and simple.  But when it comes to taking care of business, it falls far behind Windows 7.   The new taskbar, peak, snap, and alt-tab features have really upped the ante in OS usability.  When I use the OS, I just feel more productive; and to me, that is the holy grail of OS value.

Have you used Windows 7 yet?  What are your thoughts?

1.  Droid—Motorola’s Droid has quickly risen to the top of my list.  Android 2.0 is looking much better than its predecessors.  Right now, it seems to have everything I am looking for:  a big screen, a fast processor, a QWERTY keboard, and a solid OS with a good browser and a lot of apps.  Since this device has still not been extensively reviewed, I am curious as to how it looks in person and how well the keyboard works.

2. Sony Xperia X3—This device is rumored to be Sony’s first Android phone.  The Xperia X3 1-ups the Droid in form and its UI leaks look pretty amazing.  The big negative for this device is that I do not think it has a QWERTY keyboard.

3. Nokia N900 and N920—If you haven’t watched videos of Maemo 5, then you better hit up youtube.  It is one of the most promising mobile platforms because it features true multi-tasking and a Firefox browser that actually supports flash (good for youtube, bad for ads).  The N900 is the first device to sport Maemo 5 and it looks pretty sweet.  The main problems I have with the device is that (1) it is a from Nokia, and their overall OS strategy is a bit confusing and (2) it doesn’t support multi-touch.  Hopefully both these issues are rectified in 2010, allowing this device to move up my list.

4. iPhone—This is my number 4 phone in the list right now.  And if Droid and Sony’s Android devices are a bust, I could definitely see myself owning an iPhone.  It has the most cohesive UI and large third party app support.  My big problems with the device are that the home screen is pretty much useless less useful—an app menu as a home screen in 2010 seems a bit dated, and I am not a big fan of iTunes.  But, if the device continues to open up like the Mac has, I could definitely see myself owning one.

5. Blackberry Storm 2 or Bold 9700—I have used my friend’s Bold on a number of occasions and really dig it.  The UI is good, and it seems to handle the day-to-day phone operations really well.  I am leaning away from the Bold at this point, because  I think I want to try a new form factor.  The Storm 2 might suffice, but it is a tough sell (versus the iPhone) without a QWERTY keyboard.

Dark Horses—Given that I will not be buying a new device until early-to-mid 2010, there is potential for a few other options to creep in.  The first and most promising is a new Palm device.  I will definitely not be buying a Pre or a Pixie.  While I think Palm by far has the best mobile OS, I think the hardware sucks.  I would much rather have to type on an iPhone than on those rubber keys.  But, if Palm matches its awesome software with some better hardware in 2010, I could be converted to their Web OS platform.  The next darkhorse is Windows Mobile.  Like Palm, I will not be buying their current generation devices.  Windows Mobile 6.5 has the opposite problem as Palm.  They have great hardware, but bad software.  With that said, if Windows Mobile 7 launches early next year and features a better UI and Zune and/or Xbox integration, I would be quickly sold on the new platform.

So there is my top 5 potential phones.  What are yours?

I walked closer to check out the piece, and to my surprise, I saw what looked like the back of one of my friends—Dan “the man” Bockhold.

I am talking about is the gentleman in the blue coat in the corner of the painting. I know what you are thinking—that could be just about anyone. But, I think it is him for three reasons: (1) the tense, arms crossed pose is a classic Bockhold gameday pose, (2) I remember watching that game from that vantage point (although, admittedly the memory is a bit blurry), and (3) the two guys next to him look a lot like the Wrangler and Eric (aka Thundercat).

What do you think?  Am I seeing things or is that Bockhold?

Assumptions. I made a number of assumptions when putting together this concept.  First, I assumed that the next generation E-series would, at the minimum, have the same screen size as the Blackberry Bold.  So, I created the concepts with a 480×320 resolution.  Second, I created the following concepts assuming the device would have a capacitive touch screen.  As a result, the icons are bigger and there are more contextual menu items.  I think the concepts would work without touch navigation, but that is too short sighted for my liking.

The concept. I broke the concept into 3 screens:  the home, the contacts page, and the contacts page with the new launcher.

The home screen is divided into 3 parts:  the top bar, the notifications widget, and the launcher (the bottom bar).  The top bar has the signal information, carrier information, and date/time.  This is pretty standard.  The second piece of the home screen is the notifications widget (the big white box).  This section provides a hub for all your notifications: twitter, gmail, facebook, text messages, IMs, calendar, etc.  It would be completely configurable. From any message, you could jump to the next message using the arrow button or go directly into the associated application by clicking “launch app”.  The final part of the home screen is the launcher at the bottom of the screen.  The launcher acts as both a toolbar (think Windows 7) and a application switcher.  Any apps that are active are highlighted with a subtle white background.  The launcher can hold an unlimited amount of applications and can be scrolled right-to-left with a flick of the finger.  The down arrow on the right of the launcher provides a hot spot to minimize the launcher to get a little more desktop or application space.

The next screen is an example of what the contacts screen would look like.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  You have a simple menu key on the left and a close (or hide) key on the right.  This is consistent with the current e-series.  Of course, screens like this would have kinetic scrolling with the flick of a finger.

What is unique about this concept is that you can pull up the launcher over an running app.  You could do this using the top key of the directional pad or by simply flicking up from the bottom of the screen.  This would allow you easy access to your applications.

Wrap Up. First a few qualifiers.  This is only a concept.  I am in no way affiliated with Nokia or Symbian.  This is a derivative work.  All icons are property of their respective owners.  A lot of these concepts are borrowed.  The home screen is definitely similar to what is currently being shown by Samsung’s Touch Wiz, Motorola’s Blur, Symbian’s s60, and Blackberry’s OS.  Being that is a concept, there are a lot of holes.  But, I definitely think it is a good point of conversation as to how future e-series devices should work in the future.

What do you think?

I started my customizations downstairs.  I painted the place to go with my sofa collection and wall-mounted a TV.  Over the years, I added some art and additional furniture.  I think the end result turned out nice…

As in my desk project, I went with a two tones on the wall. I think for open floor plans this is a must, because it helps to split up the space.

I never realized how much I liked white cabinets in a kitchen until I had them in my own house (although, I probably would think differently if I cooked all of the time).  One of my favorite parts of my kitchen is the wine rack.  It was made for me by my brother-in-law (and master craftsman), Jeremy.  He built it to go along with the spice rack in the corner.  Never underestimate the power of repetition in a space.

A tour of my kitchen wouldn’t be complete without showing off the Dude (another gift, this time from my wonderful fiancé)…

Definitely my favorite project I undertook while at my house was the desk project. My dad helped me on this one and it was a lot of fun. The final results were amazing.

Just like in cribs, this tour would not be complete without a look at the master bedroom.  My mom and Jeremy helped me put together the art above the bed.  We took some cool wallpaper from Naked & Angry and applied it to a frame that Jeremy constructed.

That is about it. There are a few more rooms on the flickr set, but these are definitely my favorite. As an aside, anyone looking for a cool townhouse in St. Charles (MO) send me an email at matt@matthewsmith.com.

Looks great, right?  The project itself was pretty easy.  All you need is some 2×3’s, wood screws, paint, someone who knows what they are doing (in this case, my dad), and a couple hours.

I started with a desk in a cramped space….

… and a hand-drawn schematic.

We then created a basic frame and attached it to the studs in the wall. Did I mention you need a level for this project?

We then nailed two precision cut pieces of MDF to the frame. Fans of industrial design probably would have stopped here…

…but we decided to finish it. I sanded it, cut a hole for cords, pounded down the nails, filled in the gaps with wood putty and caulk, and applied a clean coat of paint.

To finish the project up, I painted the walls two shades of gray (yup, that is an accent wall—watch out Antonio), added a couple successories, put up a threadless print, and setup my massive computer.

Personally, I am all for Google Voice.  It creates competition in an area that has been void of it for years.  It has never made sense to me that year-after-year, voice and texting plans continue to get more expensive.  I think this could be the first step in creating real competition around phone services. What do you think?