Some Life Blog

2024-07-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

For each Olympic cycle, I publish a list of Hospitality Houses that are available for spectators and fans to attend. This year, for the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games, it is no different.

Here are the articles that I have published so far.

Olympic Hospitality House List for Paris Summer Games — Ultimate Guide to Paris 2024.

In addition, there is a specific article for each country for Hospitality Houses at Paris 2024 that include:

Africa — Station Afrique

Austria — Austria House

Belgium — Lotto Belgium House

Brazil — Casa Brasil

Canada — Canada Olympic House — Maison olympique du Canada

Chinese Taipei — Chinese Taipei Pavilion — Taiwan Pavilion

Colombia — Colombia House — Casa Colombia

Czech Republic — Czech House

Denmark — Danish Pavilion

France — Club France

Germany — Deutsches Haus

Great Britain — Team GB House

Ireland — Team Ireland Supporters House

India — India House

International Olympic Collectors — Official Olympic Collectors Area Paris 2024

Italy — Casa Italia

Mexico — Casa Mexico

Mongolia — Mongolian House — “GO MONGOLIA”

Netherlands — TeamNL House (formerly Holland Heineken House)

New Zealand — New Zealand House

Omega — Omega House

Poland — Maison Polonaise — Poland House

Portugal — Casa de Portugal

Pride House

Serbia — Serbian House

Slovakia — Slovak House — La Maison Slovaque

Slovenia — Slovenia House

South Korea — Korea House

Sweden — Sweden Arena

Switzerland — House of Switzerland

United States — Team USA House

JW Marriott Rio De Janeiro Concierge Contact Information / Email Address

2015-02-21T11:46:00.001-08:00

After spending quite a bit of time searching for the JW Marriott concierge contact information for the hotel on Copacabana Beach in Rio De Janeiro Brazil, I simply could not find a way to email the concierge in advance of our arrival. I ended up calling the JW Marriott Rio De Janeiro hotel via Skype to get the email address to contact the concierge.

In case you are looking for it, the email address for the JW Marriott concierge is:
mhrs.riomc.concierge@marriott.com

Other ways people might look for the contact information:
JW Marriott Rio Concierge email
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Conceirge JW Marriott Copacabana Beach e-mail
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Day 1 - Madrid Spain - Tapas and Wine Tour - With Only a Day in Madrid!

2013-09-18T02:02:00.000-07:00

Today is Wednesday, September 19th and we just landed in Madrid, Spain from the United States. Our journey was quite a bit more difficult than we anticipated mainly because our United Global Upgrades that we had submitted for 4 months earlier did not clear in advance of our flights as expected. Despite that huge disappointment, we were happy to finally arrive on our vacation at 10:00am in the morning.

Walking through the Madrid airport (Madrid-Barajas), it seemed much older than I remember from our visit back in 2009 and not at all modern when considering several several other updated European Airports like Heathrow and Frankfurt. Customs was a non-event with a couple of flips through the US passport and on to baggage claim. Our baggage came off the carousel within 5 minutes of showing up at the claim, a far better experience than the 90 minutes we waited in 2011 while in Rome, Italy. We walked out and quickly located our driver with the Madrid airport transfer service "Ares Móbile" to take us to our hotel, the Westin Palace Madrid.

This was our second stay at this hotel in Spain and each time we have been impressed. On each occasion the Westin Place Madrid has had a superbly friendly welcoming staff and had been able to accommodate an early arrival and check-in for us. This time was no different with Celia checking us early to an upgraded suite and and also answering the questions we had. We will continue to stay at the Westin Palace each time we return to Madrid.

Now that we were checked in, we realized that while it was only 11:00am, we were absolutely starving -- not having adjusted to the 9-hour time difference from the West Coast. Given we were only in Madrid for a single day before heading to San Sebastian, we knew we had to make a good choice. Thankfully, Yelp! continues to expand its usefulness in Europe over the past couple of years and we were able to locate a few restaurants with good ratings nearby.

The real challenge was finding one that was open at such and early time. There were just a handful and after checking out the reviews -- we decided that Miranda would be a good choice to have a mix of Spanish and non-Spanish food items -- and the key was that they were open. To the server's surprise when we asked for the lunch menu vs. the desayuno (breakfast) -- we were able to get a good meal where I had the Iberian Ham & Beans and Ashley had an Italian Salad (Arugula, Tomato, and Mozzarella).

After our lunch, we decided to take some afternoon rest before heading out for our big evening, the Tapas and Wine Tour by Insiders Madrid (Trip Advisor Ranking here). However, before our tour we decided to stroll around Madrid in the late afternoon sun since the Puerto Del Sol and the Plaza Mayor are within short walking distance from the hotel. After enjoying an afternoon snack and sangria in the Plaza Mayor (which remember, will be very expensive based on location -- kind of like having beach-front property -- you're paying for the view) and doing some people watching, we headed to Plaza Santa Ana to meet up with Johanna from Insider's Madrid.

Right off the bat, it was easy to connect with Johanna and learn a little bit about her as we were waiting for the other group of 6 to join us. Then, as the other group arrived -- we knew we were in for a special treat since one of the couples had taken the same tour just a year earlier. They enjoyed the tour so much that they came back a year later and brought 4 of their friends! After the initial introductions, we headed out.

The Tapas and Wine Tour in Madrid, Spain from Insiders Madrid consists of 4 varying stops -- including the last one for dessert. In our case, they were all very different and offered very distinct tastes ranging from Sherry to Rioja wine and cured tuna to flash-fried asparagus. We had an excellent time and even better company as we ate our way through the first three stops. To top it off at the end, we completed the night with "Churros and Chocolate" a fitting dessert for a perfect tour.

Johanna was a phenomenal host and we would not only highly recommend her tour to anyone, but also we will choose it again the next time we are in Madrid!

Fixed! iPhone Safari Cookies Disabled: Safari Browser Settings Keep Resetting Cookies to Never Accept in iOS5 (3 3G 3GS 4 4S)

2012-01-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

Recently, I have been running into issues with my iPhone 4 running iOS 5 (5.0.1) where when occasionally using the web browser when logging into Google or another site will tell me "cookies are disabled". Now, I had not made a single change to my settings, but when I browse the app (application) settings for the Safari browser; under Privacy the setting to Accept Cookies is changed to "Never" from either "Always" or "From Visited".

The strange part was that I was not changing the settings and I couldn't figure out for the life of me what was going on. Not to mention it was enormously frustrating that it seemed to happen often and of course at the most important times when I was trying to access something quickly

After researching several sites; it appears that all iPhones (3G 3GS 4 4S) are all impacted by the problem, if they are running iOS 5 and iCloud services. The root cause of the problem appears to be with the Bookmark syncing feature of iCloud. For me, the simple solution was to turn it off in the settings for iCloud. Since I have made the change, my "Accept Cookies" setting in the Safari application has not reverted or reset to "Never" and I have been happily using the browser.

Hopefully, you'll have the same luck.

In case you're not sure how to turn off the "Bookmarks" setting in iCloud -- here's a step-by-step guide on how you can quickly go about it and hopefully alleviate any problems you might have with your iPhone's Safari browser resetting your accept cookies status to never:

1. First, go to settings on your iPhone and select iCloud.

2. Go to the bookmarks options under iCloud settings which should be set to "On" and turn it off.

3. Choose whether you want to accept or delete the bookmarks from your iPhone. I choose "Keep on my iPhone"

4. iPhone will communicate with iCloud and turn off Bookmarks for your iPhone 3 3G 3GS 4 or 4S device.

5. Bookmarks now show as being off for iCloud on your iPhone.

If you're like me and you had problems with the iPhone Safari Browser application having the cookies settings constantly reset to never accept cookies, then this should fix your problems. Best of luck and let me know with a comment if it worked!

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How to get to Maranello, Italy from Florence, Bologna, or other major cities to see the Ferrari Factory and Museum

2011-09-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago on my vacation to Italy, I decided to take a trip to Maranello, Italy to see the Ferrari museum, factory, and test drive a Ferrari F458 Italia on an hour long country drive. Having researched it well beforehand, I was surprised at how difficult information was on how exactly you do go about getting to the town of Maranello, Italy...whether you plan to visit Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagnani, or others. So difficult in fact that it took quite a bit of research and phone call to finally figure out how to do it.

To make it easy for anyone who plans to visit Maranello, Italy -- I wanted to give a quick guide on the choices you have when planning your trip to Maranello. So, here we go...

The first thing to know is that whether you are coming from Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice, or another city in Italy is that you want to get to the Bologna train station first, then connecting to the town of Modeno. From Florence, I found that you could catch a train every 30 minutes or so since Bologna is a stop for just about every train from Rome to Florence or Venice. Depending on the trains you take, the journey can take between an hour and a half to two and a half hours to get all the way to Modena ( from Florence ).

Once you arrive in Bologna, the trains to Modena are generally on the East (OST) tracks, which are set apart from the main tracks. If you have a tight connection, you might need to move quickly.

Then upon arrival in Modena, is when the fun begins. You have two choices of transportation to Maranello which is about 20 minutes away by cab or 30 minutes by bus. Here are how your options look:

1. Taxi -- by far the quickest and most comfortable, but the most expensive. A Taxi from the Modena train station to the heart of Maranello where Ferrari is will cost you $30-40 in euros, but is by far the quickest. Even with a few people in your party, the cost will be 3-4 times the public transportation each way and could also save you up to an hour and a half each way.

2. Public bus. First, take bus number 7 to the main train station...about 3 stops away. The drivers may not speak English and they do not take cash. The ticket will cost you euro $1.20 as of this posting. The machine on the bus does not take bills or give change so be aware. I only had a 2 euro coin, so I donated .80 to the next person to use it. The #7 bus runs every 15 minutes.

Once you arrive at the bus station, go directly to the bus station office across the street. Fortunately, the nice agents I ran into spoke great English and I purchased the continuation fare to Maranello from Modena for euro 2.60. The issue I ran into was that the bus runs only once per hour, on the hour (at the time of this post), so I had 50 minutes to burn before boarding the "80" (Linea 80) bus to Maranello. Once aboard, it should take approximately 30 minutes and you get off at the second Ferrari exit, walk to the corner and turn left to get to the Ferrari Museum and Push Start area.

Tip: If you plan on returning via bus, purchase your return tickets in advance at the bus station as it may be difficult from Maranello.

What did I actually do? On the way to Maranello, Italy -- I took the public bus route to get out to the Ferrari Factory, Museum, etc. On the way back, I took a taxi that I shared with a couple of other folks I met while I was there. The decision for you comes down to time vs. money. In my case, having done the trip now -- I would rather take a Taxi both ways; save at least 1 hour and have more time to spend in the town of Maranello. That'd be my preference knowing you have a limited amount of time to spend and there is so much to see an hear!

Have any questions? Ask in the comments below. Otherwise, good luck and enjoy your trip to Maranello, Italy!

Angry Bird's Seasons HD - Summer Pignic - 3 Stars Guide Videos - Levels 1-5 - Walkthrough

2011-07-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

I recently bought a couple of software applications for my Mac OS X Lion; both iDemo and ScreenFlow. And while I've been using them for other projects; one fun thing I did was record several of the session of Angry Birds Seasons HD and published them to YouTube in High Definition.

This portion of the how to guide provides walk throughs for the first 5 levels on how you can get the 3 start rating: 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, and 1-5. Enjoy!

Angry Birds Seasons - Summer Pignic 1-1 - 3 Stars Walk Thru

This is a recorded session of Angry Bird's Seasons HD Summer Pignic (Picnic) 1-1, level 1. This how-to guide will show you an easy way to get 3 stars in this walk through.

Angry Birds Seasons - Summer Pignic 1-2 - 3 Stars Walk Thru

This is a recorded session of Angry Bird's Seasons HD Summer Pignic (Picnic) 1-2, level 2. This how-to guide will show you an easy way to get 3 stars in this walk through.

Angry Birds Seasons - Summer Pignic 1-3 - 3 Stars Walk Thru

This is a recorded session of Angry Bird's Seasons HD Summer Pignic (Picnic) 1-3, level 3. This how-to guide will show you an easy way to get 3 stars in this walk through.

Angry Birds Seasons - Summer Pignic 1-4 - 3 Stars Walk Thru

This is a recorded session of Angry Bird's Seasons HD Summer Pignic (Picnic) 1-4, level 4. This how-to guide will show you an easy way to get 3 stars in this walk through.

Angry Birds Seasons - Summer Pignic 1-5 - 3 Stars Walk Thru

This is a recorded session of Angry Bird's Seasons HD Summer Pignic (Picnic) 1-5, level 5. This how-to guide will show you an easy way to get 3 stars in this walk through.

3 star
3 stars
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high scores
rankings
manual
guide
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angry birds seasons walkthrough pignic

OS X Lion: VMWare Fusion 3.1 Video Issue Upon Upgrade

2011-07-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Checking in with a quick post on VMWare Fusion as I completed my OS X (OSX) upgrade to Lion just a couple of days ago. What I have noticed, specifically in VMWare Fusion version 3.1.1 is that on an infrequent basis, when I am running Windows 7 in a full screen mode I get what I would consider to be a shimmy, bump, or vibration in the video once in awhile. It occurs frequently enough to be annoying, but not enough to be completely disruptive.

Has anyone else seen this problem?

Wondering if it could be a video driver or potential OS X (10.7) Lion issue with VMWare Fusion. Please post below if you have any ideas / solutions. I'll make sure to update this post once I find something out.

OSX Lion: Fixed! iTunes Library.itl cannot be read issues with iTunes

2011-07-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

Today I upgraded my MacBook Pro from OSX Snow Leopard to OSX Lion. Generally speaking, it was a highly successful in place upgrade vs. a fresh install with some fresh new features that I am already enjoying! (Especially Mail) I did run into one issue, specifically when I connected my iPad (assumed it would happen for the iPhone, too) to the MacBook Pro the first time. I encountered an error message I had not seen before, it was:

The file "iTunes Library.itl" cannot be read because it was created by a new version of iTunes. Would you like to download iTunes now?

My first reaction was, woah...what happened and will my iTunes library need to be rebuilt because the iTunes Library.itl is the database for the songs and playlists that you have created in iTunes. I definitely wanted to avoid losing those at all costs. Still, after little research...I decided to give it a try.

The result was a perfect, in that a new download of the most recent version of iTunes fixed my problem and retained my songs database and playlists. Below is the step-by-step how to guide on how you can do the same.

1. Your first encounter with the message "The file "iTunes Library.itl" cannot be read because it was created by a new version of iTunes. Would you like to download iTunes now?" Click on the Download iTunes button.

2. The Mac OSX Lion will open the Software Updates dialog and start searching for an iTunes download for you.

3. Once the search completes, you get the dialog that "Software updates are available for your computer. Do you want to install them?" Click on the "Show Details" button to make sure you're going to download the right software.

4. In my case, the most recent version of iTunes (10.4) is available for download. I clicked on the Install 1 item button.

5. The 83.4 MB file for iTunes 10.4 will begin to download. In my case, it took about 2 minutes.

6. Once the download completes, the OSX Lion iTunes 10.4 install will prompt you to accept the license agreement once it is done. Read and then click on the agree button.

7. Then iTunes will start up and everything should be as before!

Congratulations, you've likely fixed your first issue with the Apple OSX Lion installation!

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How to: Upgrade your iMac RAM in 2011 with Video Tutorial. 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB Memory Upgrade!

2011-07-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

When recently upgrading the RAM on my iMac 27 (will also work on iMac 21 / 21.5) from 4GB to 16GB, I decided to shoot a quick video to show everyone in one of my standard "how to" formats how easy it is to do this upgrade on your Apple iMac here in 2011. In all it took me just a total of 10 minutes from the time I shut down my iMac 27 until it was up and running full loaded with 16GB of RAM, turning into a processing monster!

The first step, is that you need to get the appropriate upgrade for you iMac. For me, I found the best deal to be from PRO Memory Upgrade where I purchased my 16GB of memory in two 8GB modules. PRO's description has it as:
8GB Apple iMac 27-inch 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 memory 2x 4GB PC3-8500 204-PIN DDR3 1066MHz Small Outline DIMM upgrade

Here's the actual link, http://www.memoryupgrade.pro/8gb-apple-imac-27-inch-28ghz-intel-core-i7-1066mhz-so-dimm.html which at the time of this posting was just costing $87.96 per 8GB pair. Which is extremely inexpensive to super charge your iMac.

Once you have your memory, you're ready to get started! Complete video of the upgrade process including instructions is at the bottom of the guide.

Step 1: Shut down you iMac, after first taking a latest Time Machine or other backup of you iMac. A memory upgrade is a simple and straight-forward process, but it is always best to play it safe. Once the iMac is shut down, disconnect all cables and then set it face (screen) down on a protected surface. I used the packing the iMac 27 came in underneath the screen to further protect it on the carpet.

Step 2: Get a precision tool kit and the #1 phillips screwdriver from that toolkit (or any #1 may do) Locate the panel on the bottom of monitor (closest to the base) and remove all three screws as well as the cover.

Step 3: Using the screwdriver flip out the plastic tabs covering the two sets of memory slots.

Step 4: Pull on the plastic tabs (may require some force) until each of the two tabs release or pop, freeing the memory for removal.

Step 5: Remove the memory, it may be helpful to use both hands with one pulling the plastic tabs to keep the memory out and using the other hand to remove the memory.

Step 6. Install the memory in pairs that are side-by-side between the two slots if you are not using identically matched memory..for example 2x2GB and 2x4GB. If you are using identically matched memory, you have less to worry about. Push in the memory modules until you feel them snap in.

Step 7: Re-insert the plastic tabs to cover the memory modules.

Step 8: Place the memory cover back on the base of your iMac 27 and screw in the 3 screws until they are snug.

Step 9: Power up your iMac and see the new memory and enjoy your new iMac 27 beast with 16GB of RAM memory!

Congratulations, now you have completed the upgrade of your iMac 27! Below is the full video, available in full HD, 1080p resolution with the same steps.

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2011 Lakers vs. Hornets NBA Playoff Video - Round 1, Game 3 - 04/26/11

2011-04-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

I shot this video while attending Game 3 of the NBA Playoffs from Staples Center on April 26, 2011.

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers taking on Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets in Round 1, Game 3 of the 2011 NBA Playoffs from Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. This is the game opening video which includes highlights and a shot of Disneyland before the Lakers beat the Hornets to go up 3-2 in the best of 7 series.

Enjoy the opening video for the "The Quest".

Our Quest.

For Three.

Is Here.

United Together.

Standing As One.

We Bring.

The Reign.

It...Has..Begun...Lakers

2011 Lakers vs. Hornets NBA Playoff Video - Round 1, Game 1 - 04/17/11

2011-04-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

I shot this video while attending Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs from Staples Center on April 17, 2011.

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers taking on Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets in Round 1, Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Playoffs from Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. This is the game opening video which includes highlights.

Enjoy the opening video for the "The Quest".

Our Quest.

For Three.

Is Here.

United Together.

Standing As One.

We Bring.

The Reign.

It...Has..Begun...Lakers

Blogger Blog Disappeared for 14 hours Today

2010-12-13T21:50:00.000-08:00

I had a scare earlier today when I logged into GMAIL around 7:30am. Google informed me that I had "unusual or suspicious activity on my account". They forced me to change my password and I started checking all of my Google apps.

Was my account hacked?

Nothing suspicious occurred in Gmail.

Nothing unusual in AdSense.

Checking Blogger, I logged in only to see 3 of my blogs completely missing from the list.

Poof! Just like that, they were all gone. Including this site, in fact my most popular one. I checked the url, www.somelifeblog.com -- I got a page not found error. I then checked the original blogspot URL ken-hanscom.blogspot.com -- this time I got an attempt to claim it that just dropped me back to my Blogger Dashboard, empty handed.

At first I was shocked, had my account been compromised and the hacker thought it would be funny to delete blogs? Really, is that the first thing they would do?

Anyways, now the research had to go to the Google Blogger help, which is very difficult to find. I finally made my way to the "Something's Broken" webpage and located this thread.

Apparently this was a known issue although it sounded like it happened the previous night which was offset from my timeline of 7:00am. The instructions were to post your URL of your blogspot original URL and they would clean it up.

A few hours went by and nothing...my blog was down, nothing from Google's blogger and you mind starts running...did I really just lose the last 4+ years of blogging and the surprising predictable income stream? Really, just like that?

In addition, the whole Gawker Database hack for registered users of their comments feature (details here) didn't help to ease my anxiety. I knew I had not only visited, but also commented at LifeHacker, Gizmodo, and Jalopnik in the past so I had an account.

The question...was my account one of the ones exposed and had I used my throw-away passwords?

First, I checked the handy tool at Slate, yep my account info had been compromised. I tried to log into a Gawker site and couldn't. The only choice was then to reset my password. To really know, the only choice I would have would be to download the database and see since no online tools really allowed you to see the actual password.

Then my mind is really racing, could it really just be a coincidence that the same day that Google has a number of accounts "compromised" and blogs deleted happened to be the day after large numbers of passwords were revealed from Gawker?

By the time I arrived home, my blog had been down for almost a full 12 hours. I rushed over to find a copy of the Gawker database, and searched the files for my email address. I found it and fortunately, was immediately relieved...I did use a throw-away password as I call it, as I often do with random accounts.

Feeling a little more piece of mind and not having to change a few more account passwords, my attention turned back to Blogger. My blog was down now for 13 hours and not a lot of info was coming from Google. Mainly, a "hey, we're making another pass through the list" which didn't exude confidence that I'd be restore soon.

But, after almost 14 hours...my three missing blogs were finally restored. I still had to re-point them to my custom domain, but I was able to get them in working order. Obviously a huge relief given what I was possibly facing.

Now that things are back and whole again, I have to laugh about the coincidence with the Gawker Database hack and only wish that Blogger would have been more explicit with details so more people's minds could have been at peace.

Were you caught in the Blogger or Gawker issues? Tell me about it.

Solved! iPad IOS 4.2 freezes at Preparing to Sync - Stuck, Stops, & Frozen (4.2.1)

2010-11-26T09:59:00.000-08:00

Like a lot of the modern iPad owner's world, I had anxiously been awaiting the update my iPad from the Apple IOS 3.X to the newest 4.0 version, which was 4.2 (4.2.1). While it was supposed to be originally release on Friday, November 12th...it was held back for 10 days before finally being release on Monday, November 22nd.

I, like many iPad users rushed to my iTunes (after making sure I had the latest version of both iTunes and OS X) to try and upgrade my iPad.

This of course, is when the waiting begins. First you need to download the 500MB+ IOS 4.2.1 update from Apple which can take some time depending on your connection speed. Once that's downloaded, then you are ready to start the upgrade.

For me, the upgrade went very smoothly until the point where iTunes displays the message "preparing to sync" then my Mac Mini (also applies to Macbook Pro, iMac, and other OS X devices) seemed to "freeze" where the upgrade stops, the Apple computer is frozen with the traditional beach ball spinning in iTunes and it appears that your upgrade is completely stuck.

After about 15 minutes, I started to get nervous. Still, with no error messages I decided to let it run...and run...and run.

About 55 minutes was the total time that my iOS 4.2 upgrade on my iPad took before it finally started syncing with the Apple iTunes software. 5 minutes later, the upgrade was completed and I could now use the Apple iPad on iOS 4.2.1.

Checking around to see if my experience was similar, there were a number of people reporting problems with the iOS 4.2.1 upgrade for the iPad (whether it was the 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB versions) freezing, locking-up, and even crashing when attempting to upgrade their devices.

In some cases, people were canceling, stopping, or closing iTunes and starting over after 10 or 15 minutes. Others were restoring factory settings, backing up, restoring, and then trying it all over again with the same results, often failing.

The key here is to LET THE "preparing to sync" run for as long as it takes. It could take anywhere between 5 minutes and 90 minutes (or even longer) depending on how much data (movies, music, photos, apps, etc.) that you have on your iPad. For example, my iPad is running at about 55GB, or 85% of the capacity. Be patient, let the beach ball (or hourglass if you're running in Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7) run for as long as it takes to complete. It will complete, at some point. Just be patient. :-)

The reason? The upgrade is processing all of your data and files during that time and depending on the volume and file size can take a considerable amount of time.

Don't have the time and want to speed it all up? Un-sync or remove all of your Apps, Videos, Music, Emails, Calendar, Notes, and Photos from the iPad so there is less data to process. You can shrink the time of "preparing to sync" down significantly and in some cases to less than 5 minutes if you're in a real hurry.

In any case, do not fret...it is just a matter of time until your iOS 4 upgrade completes!

Did this post help you out? If so, please leave a comment! Along with the amount of files or data and the time to process, if possible.

How to Shrink Windows 7 & Windows Vista Virtual Disk in VMWare Fusion 3.0 on Mac OSX

2010-11-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

On my MacBook, I use VMWare Fusion 3.0 (actually 3.1.1) to run Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Ubuntu Linux. Some of the reasons are simple, such as running Microsoft's Entourage in a corporate environment undoubtedly leads to a host of calendaring issues, especially if you have multiple people managing and sharing calendars. (Don't get me started about the iPhone's interaction with Microsoft Exchange, Entourage, and Outlook.)

Overall, I have been extremely happy with the performance of VMWare Fusion 3.0. When combining that with the great hardware and MacOS, definitely a great improvement over previous Lenovo and IBM ThinkPads I had in the past. Start-up, sleep and shutdown times were so much quicker on the MacBook Pro regardless of the operating system.

There was one thing that I began to notice over a period of a few months, however.

Over time, the virtual disk and virtual hard drive files (VMDK) were growing what I considered to be excessively. In fact, for about 30GB of total data on the hard drive, was now taking almost 75GB of hard drive space and noticeably starting to slow down.

I tried the most logical thing I could think of, the built in "Clean Up Disk" function inside of VMWare Fusion. To get to it, you go to Virtual Machine --> Hard Disk --> Hard Disk Settings to clean up the disk.

However, after waiting for about 30 minutes for the disk to clean-up to run and shrink the disk back to a manageable size...nothing of significance happened. The Virtual Disk and associated VMDK files were all roughly the same and a total of less than 1GB of the 45GB in "extra" space was used up.

Disappointed in the impact of the tool, I turned to Google to try and find another solution. I came across the 41 Technologies blog, which had a great article that described some of the issues and had instructions on how you could easily shrink your Windows Virtual Machine. Unfortunately, the article was dated (2008) and many of the tools like "diskTool" is no longer in VMWare Fusion 2.0 or 3.0 and the vmware-vdiskmanager tool in VMWare Fusion 2.0 and 3.0 doesn't take the same input, especially when your Virtual Machine is within a package.

Still, the article provided some very useful information and pointed me to a path that allowed me to seriously shrink my VMWare Fusion Windows 7 Virtual Machine from 73.27GB all the way down to just 31.62GB, over a 50% reduction.

Here's how you can do it:

First, realize that all this "extra" space in your virtual machine is due to how Windows manages files and uses the virtual hard drive / virtual disk in Windows that uses a lot of space without "erasing it" or "zeroing it out" when it is no longer used. That leads to serious Virtual Hard Disk bloat, especially in Microsoft Windows based Virtual Machines.

Now, follow the following steps:

1. Do the basic disk clean-up that you'd like to do. Delete extra or temporary files, shrink your PST and OST files if you are using Microsoft Outlook, etc. Eliminate any extra space that you can.

2. Defragment the hard drive on your Virtual Machine...in Windows this can be done by going to the command prompt and typing in "defrag c:" or the drive letter of the various drives on your virtual machine.

3. Go to the Microsoft Technet site and download the SDelete v1.51 tool by Mark Russinovich; which will enable you to remove the "held space" in files that were deleted, but not zeroed out.

4. Once you've downloaded and installed the tool, head to the command line, head to the install directory of the SDelete tool and type in "sdelete -c c:" (or the appropriate drive). In approximately 30 minutes or less, all the empty space will be zeroed out on your drive.

5. Now head back to the virtual disk manager and run the "Clean Up Disk" utility that can be found at Virtual Machine --> Hard Disk --> Hard Disk Settings to clean up the disk.

After about 45 minutes, you'll find that your virtual hard drive had been shrunk back down to a reasonable size...as I mentioned in my case, I went from about 75GB down to 30GB, more than a 50% reduction.

Once that's done, you can enjoy not only your reclaimed space, but also a higher performing Virtual Machine in your VMWare Fusion for Mac. If this worked for you, please let me know below with a comment.

VMWare Fusion Versions this works on:
VMWare Fusion 2.0
VMWare Fusion 3.0

Microsoft Windows Versions this works on:
Microsoft Windows XP
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows 2003
Microsoft Windows Vista
Microsoft Windows 2008
Microsoft Windows 7

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Bug: Call of Duty - Black Ops - Hue City - Dark Room - Mason - Stuck!

2010-11-11T07:17:00.000-08:00

I ran into what is an apparent bug, glitch, or easter egg depending on how you look at it (others, too...see here) in the brand new Call of Duty - Black Ops game and I am posting this quick note to help anyone else who might be encountering it.

What is the bug / defect / problem?

It occurs in one of the Hue City missions in Vietnam where you are playing as Mason. You're progressing through the game and get to the objective of Destroying the ZSU gun as your are trying to get to the landing zone (LZ) to complete your objectives. You're asked to help out and push the door in. A car explodes (blows up) and then the entire screen goes dark (black room) and you cannot see anything other than the next checkpoint indicator. You can move around in the room; but no matter what you do, you cannot get any close than 7.0 or 6.8 (if you jump) meters from the location.

This problem ends up being where you are stuck in the room with no way to exit, see or go forward. Even if you exit the game and restart, you end up at the same place in the game, in a black room with no exits even though you can still hear action, voices, guns, and still fire your weapon.

What appears to cause it?

The problem appears to manifest itself when you go to "help" push in the wall before the car explodes and you hold down the square button rather than tapping it quickly. Once the car explodes you are stuck.

Does this just happen on my console?

This problem is reported to happen on the Playstation 3 (PS3), XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, and PC version so it does not appear to be limited to one version or hardware related.

How can I get around this?

Thus far, it appears the only way to get past this is to restart the level and make sure you tap rapidly on the square button rather than holding it down. Several users have reported success with this. Update: I was able to get past this bug, by restarting and pushing through the wall by tapping quickly on the square vs. just holding it down.

Is my game defective, can't I just return it?

This appears to be a software bug rather than a defective game. There are reports of people returning their games only to find the exact same thing on the new version from the store. This would mean that only an update from Activision could actually fix.

Is anything else known about the problem?

Not at this time, but with how new Call of Duty Black Ops is...information may develop quickly. I will post updates as other update me or I learn more.

Finally
Are you having this problem or did you find another way out? If so, let me know with a comment below!

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My Visit to BMW Performance Center: Driving School for the 1-Day M Class

2010-10-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

There's nothing better than an unexpected surprise in your mail.

And that's what I received back in February of this year. An invitation to a free one day M driving school at the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, SC. Free class, free hotel, free food. All I needed to do was pay for my flight and rental car (<$500) and you could have the joy of driving BMW M3's, M5's, and M6's for a day with performance instructors. Pretty cool!

So, I quickly dialed up my buddy Josh (a free guest is included) and we settled on a date, September 27, 2010...7 months down the road. At times, it seemed like the day would never come and then quickly it snuck up on me as we moved houses and all of that kind of jazz.

For me, being the dedicated United Airlines flyer I am, it was not easy to get to even Charlotte, NC about 70 miles north of Spartanburg, SC. (1k with free unlimited first class upgrades helps!)

I awoke on the morning of September 26th in a haze at about 3:45am, just enough time to jump in the shower, get ready, and make it to LAX in time for my flight. Even taking the 6:00am flight out of Los Angeles (oversold, how does that happen on a Sunday 6:00am flight?) I still didn't make it to Charlotte, NC until about 5:00pm where I met up with Josh and we did the 90 minute drive to Greenville/Spartanburg, NC.

The BMW Performance Center puts you up in the Marriott Spa and Resort there in Greenville and let me tell you, they do it right. You get a nice room, free breakfast and dinner for the nights you're there with free Internet and all of that jazz. Compliments of BMW...all with the purchase of a BMW M3.

The only issue on the Sunday night we arrived is that there was no beer being served outside the city limits, due to the local law. So, we headed to the Quaker Steak and Lube and enjoyed some good food, some beer and watched Sunday night football...before getting a great night's sleep.

We got up in the morning, ate our free breakfast buffet and jumped on the shuttle to head over to the BMW Performance Center. The hotel was full of BMW employees from the area and from Germany...although us "tourists" were pretty easy to spot in our casual attire. Once we arrived at the center, it was time to begin. Our lead instructor for the day Matt greeted us by telling us how they change the course and school on days where it is wet like today. They simply tell us to do one thing...that is turn on the windshield wipers.

Rather than walking you blow by blow through the day, below are the picture, video and story from an absolutely amazing day at the BMW Performance Center. I'm definitely going to head back something net year for the 2-day version of the class!

Here we are entering the BMW Performance Center. The fun is just about ready to begin!

Josh shares our first schwag for the day, free BMW M Performance Driving School pens. We're getting ready for our basic introduction and training before hitting the track.

Oh, what a lineup that is! 6 M3's (3 e90 sedans, 3 e92 coupes), 6 M5's (e60), and 6 M6's (e63). It's a little wet out, but that will make things a little more fun.

My M5 for the day. Ready to hit the skipad.
My M5 for the day. Ready to hit the skipad." title="My M5 for the day. Ready to hit the skipad." id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526949607942984018" border="0" />

Josh and I hanging out in the M5; observing and ready to roll.

Here I am in front of my 2011 e90 M3 with DCT and Competition Package sedan for the day, check out the sweet wheels. I was very happy to have the 4-door sedan which basically was the alter-ego for my daily driver; a Jet Black e90 M3 Sedan.

Here are some videos for the driving experience that I've posted on YouTube.

BMW M5 e60 - Full Drift 360 around Skipad - M School BMW Performance Center. Demo by the driving instructors to show us "how it's done!" We also got to go for a ride-along with each one which was a blast!

See the BMW M6 E63 on the cornering and acceleration activities at the BMW Performance Driving Center one day M School. Hear the acceleration and the active coaching from the instructors as the M6 goes around the track. This exercise was a ton of fun being able to open up the M6 down the back stretch.

The latest e90 / e92 BMW M3 with the competition package put through it's paces at the one day M Driving School at the BMW Performance Center in Greenville, SC. This exercise in the morning takes you through acceleration into a double apex turn before getting back on the power as you head up the hill. Great way to get to know your M3!

From the dual skidpad race at the BMW Performance Driving school at the 1-day M-School for BMW M3 owners. This is the final championship run for the "Blue" group with two M6's racing each other 10 laps around the short track. Oversteer, understeer, drifting. Who wins? Watch the Video to find out.

Fixed! Mac Mini Won't Start - No video No chime or Boot

2010-10-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

It'd been a few weeks since we moved into our new house. Amongst all the boxes was my Mac Mini box (luckily I had my MacBook Pro; but haven't ordered my iMac yet) and I needed to pull it out to get to some documents.

So I spent some time unpacking it, finding the cables and then getting it all setup...then I plugged it in and heard the familiar Apple chime. After a few minutes through, all that seemed to occur was that I had a blank grey screen with no icons or indicators. I let it sit for another 10 minutes hoping it was just churning away, but after the time elapsed...I had to hold the power button until the Mac Mini turned off.

And that's when the fun began.

When I powered it back on, the light came on and I heard the super / dvd / cd drive power up, but that was just it. No familiar apple chime, the Mac Mini wouldn't start.

So, I then pulled the power plug for a minute thinking something happened with the whole gray screen during starup. Still, no luck.

Now I was starting to get worried.

I did some Google searches on the problem and came across a couple of possibilities.

1. Reset the PMU or the Power Management Unit, which also resets the PRAM or Parameter Random Access Memory.
2. Reset the SMC or the System Management Controller.

While Apple provides steps on how to do this from their support site, I'll cover it really quickly so you don't have to head over there.

To reset the PMU / PRAM on your Apple Mac Mini, do the following:
1. Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord.
2. Wait 10 seconds.
3. Plug in the power cord while simultaneously pressing and holding the power button on the back of the computer. (approximately 5 seconds)
4. Let go of the power button.
5. Press the power button once more to start up your Mac mini.

In my case, resetting the PMU did not have the desired effect, especially since mine is an Intel-based Mac Mini. The effect for me is that when the Mac Mini started up the fan came on at a high speed and just ran and ran and ran. In fact no chime, no video, just the fan running at high anytime I press the power button to start up the Mac Mini.

Next it was time to reset the SMC, which is recommended for Intel based Mac Mini computers.

1. Shut down the computer.
2. Unplug the computer's power cord.
3. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
4. Release the power button.
5. Attach the computers power cable.
6. Press the power button to turn on the computer.

After resetting the SMC or System Management Controller, the situation with the fan running on high resolved itself, but I was still no better. The Mac Mini would power on, disk and drive would spin up, but no chime, boot up, or display.

Now I was getting a little desperate; having cracked open the Mac Mini in the past to upgrade the Mac Mini hard drive, I decided that would be my next step, just to check all the connections inside and see if anything had come loose.

If you haven't opened up your Mac Mini before, don't worry it is pretty easy -- just grab a spatula (I used a metal one) and you can crack it about 5 seconds. If you need some addition help, check out the video here: Upgrading your Mac Mini; for some easy instruction.

Once I opened the Mac Mini, I quickly went all the way around the computer and made sure all of the connections were snug with my fingers. Nothing was obviously loose, but once I was complete, they were definitely all tightened up.

I put the top back on the Mac Mini and tried to power it up. Surprise, surprise, I heard the chime immediately, saw video and the Mac Mini booted up as expected. Finally, after about 45 minutes of troubleshooting, my Mac worked again!

If you're having problems with your Mac Mini starting up, hopefully this will help you out. In the case you have a MacBook Pro or iMac, perhaps this can help as well!

How to Transfer Apps Between iPads, Computers, and iTunes Guide

2010-06-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

Trying to figure out how to transfer applications on your Apple iPad between two iPads? Or, are you simply changing computers and what to understand how to transfer your applications between an iPad, iTunes, and another computer? Or, are you looking to share app between two iPads or perhaps share apps within a family or two computers with the same or different iTunes accounts?

If you are trying to do any of the above things then this article is for you. It will take you through the step-by-step guide on how you can transfer, move, and/or share app from the Apple iTunes App Store between multiple iPad devices and computers. This guide works in almost every situation, including moving apps between Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows (Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7)

Before you share apps, please make sure you are in compliance with the Apple license agreement.

Here is the step-by-step guide.

If you're on a Mac Mini, iMac, PowerMac, or any other Mac like the MacBook, go to the following location:
User (Your User) --> Music --> iTunes --> Mobile Applications

If you're on a Windows Machine (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7), go to the following location:
User (Your User / My Documents usually found in c:\Users\UserName) --> Music --> iTunes --> Mobile Applications.

Select the Apple iTunes / iPhone / iPad Apps you want (with the .ipa extension) to transfer / share and copy to the same exact location on your new computer or destination computer.

Now open up your Apple iTunes software.

Click on the File --> Add to Library Command.

Select the folder where you copied the applications to.

The new iTunes App Store iPhone / iPad applications will now be added to your iTunes Library and available to the new computer and available to sync between you iPad and iTunes.

Note: If you are using multiple iTunes accounts in which you are transferring, subsequent updates will require the iTunes username / password of the account they are assigned to.

iPad Screen Protectors? #iPad #Apple

2010-06-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today I ditched my iPad's screen protector. Why?

Basically, I found that since Ashley received her iPad -- that the Apple screen itself is a lot more resistant to finger prints than even the screen protector.

Since I have the standard Apple case with the flip over cover, I figure what I'm most protecting against...scratches...is pretty well covered for that. I ripped it off yesterday and seem to already like it better...reduced glare and less fingerprints. So far, so good.

Are you using an Apple iPad screen protector? If so, let me know with a comment how you like it and if you plan to keep it.

Fixed! iPad Disconnects from Sprint Overdrive Wifi Connection

2010-04-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today I was pretty darn excited to get my Sprint Overdrive Wifi Hub / Router in the mail today. That meant, that finally my iPad could have Internet Connectivity wherever I was at...without needing to have the 3G version. Finally my frustrations with the lack of tethering with AT&T with my iPhone would be finished! Even better? Sprint's 3G/4G speeds have the potential (and for all practical purposes are) much fast that AT&T's anyways.

I plugged it in. Easy.

Set it up. Easy.

Connected my iPad to the Sprint Overdrive. Easy.

Browsed the web. Easy.

But, shortly after setting it up, I noticed that every few minutes that connection between the Overdrive router device and the iPad would drop. And it kept happening...and after a myriad of prompts, the connection would finally be restored.

It was time to troubleshoot.

First I noticed the Overdrive was configured for dual band -- Wireless B and Wireless G. Somewhat of a "no-no" for the iPad based on recent news. So, I set it to the single G band.

That didn't fix the issue.

Next I noted that the encryption was set to WEP 64-bit. Also, not the greatest of ideas with Apple products. The iPod Touch as well as other Apple computers seemingly have trouble with that type of encryption...especially only 64-bit. So, I reconfigured it to WPA Personal and setup security.

Problem was immediately fixed and has been stable ever since.

So, if you're having WiFi problems with your Apple iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone and are using a router like the Sprint Overdrive, changing the security from WEP to WPA can very likely fix your issue.

Good luck!

My Favorite Thing About The iPhone vs. Blackberry

2010-04-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

This is an easy one. If I had to pick o e thing that is so much better than the Blackberry, what would it be?

The answer: Meeting invites on the iPhone always have 100% of the meeting invite content.

You don't understand how big of an item that is...or maybe you do?

Depending on what conferencing solution you use for business, you might have been in a similar situation as me. Here's what I would experience. The Cisco Meeting Place solution that is used where I work always appends the conference call number and ID to the bottom of the meeting invites. What seemed to happen several times a week was someone would have a descriptive (you could read long) agenda or meeting purpose. Then I would of course accept the meeting invite and it would sync to my Blackberry, right?

Of course it would. However, when you would bring up the meeting invite on the Blackberry device, you would learn that there was a character limit to the details of the invite. Which in turn would mean that you could not pull up the actual dial-in information for the meeting leaving you stranded.

This seemed to happen 3-4 times a week for me, which is frustrating...especially when you're traveling and do not have any other options. It has been a problem for the Blackberry for a number of years and whether it was a problem with the device or the Blackberry Enterprise Server, it never got fixed.

The fact that the iPhone with ActiveSync actually has the entire appointment is not necessarily novel, but is a major advantage over the Blackberry.

IPad charging via USB or FireWire?

2010-04-11T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my second post directly from my iPad.

And with it, a short post continuing to explore other ways to recharge your iPad Rather than using the 10w wall charger that ships in the box with your iPad. I had previously mentioned my experience with trying to get the iPad to charge on my Mac Mini via USB 2.0 connection, in which it simply did not charge.

Subsequent posts on the Interenet (like this one: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/04/08/confirmed-not-charging-ipad-does-recharge/) say it actually charges, just really slow. Still, my Apple Genius at the Apple Store warned me very specifically when I purchased my iPad...don't use the iPhone 5w wall charger and don't use a USB cable that is not fully powered. Why? Because apparently the lower power and the trickle charging will dramatically reduce the battery life on your iPad. With no known way to fix it, not sure I am ready to test it yet. And the fact that it could either damage you iPad or at least the life of the battery, I do not recommend it for anyone.

Still, an additional option was presented by a reader of this blog...there are some people having succeses using a FireWire cable to not only connect, but also charge the iPad. So, I picked up a FireWire cable for an iPod/iPhone/iPad to test it out. After holding my breath for a moment, I got an unsupported accessory notice on my iPad. Waiting for a couple of minutes, theniPad neither charged nor syncing on my Mac Mini.

Based on that, I am still searching for a way other than the wall charger to charge up the iPad. Any other ideas out there?

iPad charging via USB fails on the Mac Mini

2010-04-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

I am a big fan of my new Apple iPad 64gb, as I am using it to type this post! Admittedly, at first I was a little bit skeptical if in fact it would be as "magical" as advertised. However, after just 5 minutes with my iPad, I was convinced it is quite the impressive tool it promises to be. More on that later...

Thie one issue that I have run into is that I cannot charge it via USB as has been reported at a number of outlets. Most of them reported however that you could charge your iPad if you had a Mac computer. Which, I do.

Still, I cannot get my iPad to charge vi a USB on my Mac Mini, after trying all of the ports on it. Which, I must say is just a little bit disappointing...still, I am guessing there is a higher powered (USB 3.0 ?) hub that should be able to charge it.

Has anyone else found a solution?

IPad won't charge, iPad doesn't charge via USB, iPad does not charge

iPhone: ActiveSync and Contacts

2010-03-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's ActiveSync is one of the ways I am able to get some of my emails onto my iPhone. And generally speaking I have been overly surprised with the connectivity and integration with the iPhone. It is fairly impressive given the tempid history between Apple and Microsoft. While in the near futur I will post a more specific post on my experience with activesync, this particular one focuses on an odd behavior I saw earlier this week.

All of my activesync contacts mysteriously disappeared.

Gone.

Empty.

Nothing.

Even when checking my phone and caller id log, the numbers were there but the names and the contact information bad vanished. Seemingly into thin air.

In actuality what had happened is my iPhone had not been able to connect to the Microsoft Exchange server where all of my contacts were. For about 16 hours or so due to maintenance. Apparently after 12 hours or so, they just expired from the iPhone. Which seems really odd that they were not persisted.

Once the ActiveSync server came back online, everything was restored immediately. But, I still have not found the reason they disPpeared, even running searches.

Which means I am still looking for a reason and perhaps a solution other than MobileMe to make it work. Any ideas out there?

iPhone: Email Importance, Sensitivity, and Return Receipts

2010-03-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

While some may think that I am not enjoying my new iPhone having been a 10+ year veteran of the RIM Blackberry's services, I must say it is quite the opposite. I am thoroughly enjoying the new device, the new user experience, and the availability of working and non-buggy apps that riddled my Blackberry experience.

Still, that being said there is a ton of room for improvement that I discover on almost a daily basis to fully bridge the gap between some of the key functionalities that people need in order to be fully functional.

The one I identified this morning was a lack of email options when composing or replying to an email. Any of us that use Microsoft Outlook or any other email programs know that there are a couple of settings on which you can tag an email to change some behaviors.

They are:

Sensitivity: The ability to set the sensitivity of an email. Common flags are Confidential, Private, Normal and Personal.

Importance: Enabling you to set the High, Low, or Normal importance of an email. Of course we all know what this one looks like, it is that big red exclamation point next to an email that we sometime see too often from certain people.

Return-Receipts: The ability to either request a receipt (or email confirmation) when your email has either been delivered and/or read by the recipients.

Adding some of these basic features to the email capability would be a great way to continue to improve on the features and functionality of the iPhone email. We can always hope for the iPhone V4 software, right?