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My curiosity peaked when I got an RSS update on an upgraded photo app for Blackberry phones called LensBoost. Originally only supporting OS 7 phones, this updated version brings support to phones rocking OS 6 (like my trusty old Torch 9800) and brings some much needed ‘pop’ to pictures taken from your phone.

The app has 11 filters, 9 overlays, 5 frames and one-click sharing for Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Blackberry Messenger.

LensBoost does a decent job of adding effects to photos, but beware, if you are running OS 6, expect to see the dreaded hourglass. Here is a very quick example with a filter and frame below.

Why not browse on over to App World and give it a shot? At $1.99, it’s not too bad — heck, ANYTHING to make your photos look better is worth it right? Now if only my Torch had a better camera itself…

Finally, Blackberry has released OS 2.0 for the Playbook tablet!

After reading many rumors insofar as a release date, I woke my Playbook up today, hit the check software button, and saw it there — needless to say, I was downloading pretty fast.

Downloading! Yeah!!

The download itself went fairly quickly — about ten minutes for the 410 MB file — and ten more minutes for the install. Some of you in different countries will receive an update of varying size, some bigger and some smaller.

Rebooting the device took a while — around ten minutes for my best guess — but once it came back up…. WOW!

The first thing I noticed was notifications in the upper-left corner saying I had some apps to update.

Off to App World

So, off to the App World I go, which received a nice face-lift with the OS update.

Hmmm, I spy a new Facebook...

A quick peek at Android apps

Three upgrades later, I was off to check out the biggest improvement with 2.0 — native email.

The word on the reviews was that email setup is quick and painless, simply input your email address and password and you’re all set — mine wasn’t quite so quick. After entering my information, the Playbook was unable to verify my settings. I had to go into advanced settings, enter my server info and presto — email is working!

Email setup screen

Account creation

If you’ve already used a Playbook before, you’ll notice something — a number bar on top of the keyboard for passwords. It’s a nice touch and really helps, especially if your password is complicated (for those of you who are rather paranoid).

Working native email!

Video Store

If you’re in the U.S., you’re privy to the new Blackberry video store! While I’m unsure as to whether this feature will be introduced world-wide, I can only imagine that it will eventually. There isn’t a huge selection as of yet, but it’s nice to have if nothing else to alleviate the lack of Netflix, Hulu and VUDU. I haven’t played around with this much, but I’ll post back on how it works at a later time.

Blackberry Video Store

There is so much more included in OS 2.0 that I haven’t mentioned. I think RIM really nailed it here, and let’s face it, they had to. With iOS 5 and ICS for Android, RIM’s back was against the proverbial wall. OS 2.0 is slick, very fast, responsive, and most of all, it works!

So, pick up your Playbook, grab your update and enjoy!

Ok, I absolutely love retro stuff. From old lunch boxes, oil cans (when they were actually cans), to old diner booths and fuel pumps.

Enter Back In Time Warehouse

Back In Time Warehouse is the coolest site around in my opinion. These guys take old stuff, like pumps, vending machines, diner booths, popcorn and candy machines to jukeboxes and restore them to pristine condition.

Some of their work for the nostalgic folks:

Vending Machines

Coca Cola

Pepsi and 7-UP

Retro Gas Pumps

Sinclair, Pure and Firebird Gas Pumps

Jukeboxes

Wurlitzer Jukebox

I have to be honest — this is the coolest stuff going. I can look at those gas pumps, especially the Sinclair one, and just picture an attendant in a snappy uniform checking my oil and cleaning my windshield. I wonder why that kind of service ended up being considered too costly to continue — someone should seriously bring it back.

Then again, that kind of service should never have been lost in any business… ever.

Remember the scene above? A genetically created T-Rex breaks out of its pen and raises havoc on a group of people led by paleontologist, Alan Grant. It was a terrific scene in a great science – fiction film.

Only now, one man is doing his part to make it science – fact.

Meet Dr. Jack Horner, world renowned paleontologist, Curator of The Museum of the Rockies, and consultant on the film, Jurassic Park. Jack Horner is widely respected in the field of paleontology, as well as being a bit controversial. He advocated that dinosaurs stayed with their nests after laying eggs and even brought food to the little ones until they were big enough to be on their own. He was at the front in arguing against the view that dinosaurs were cold-blooded, and that they evolved into modern birds. The world knows as much as it does about dinosaurs because of Jack Horner.

What he is proposing now; however, is to bring back avian dinosaurs from extinction. Avian dinosaurs include meat-eating theropods like T-rex, Velociraptor, and Spinosaurus. How you may ask?

Instead of cloning — like the technique used in Jurassic Park — Horner has devised a different route.

Use the dormant genes found in a chicken.

You see, chickens — yes, those tasty little morsels made famous by Harlan Sanders — are the evolved distant relatives of dinosaurs. A chickens skeleton isn’t very different from a T-Rex’s. Chickens, and all birds, share distinct similarities with their extinct cousins. Theropod dinosaurs had three-toed feet, so do birds. They even had wishbones.

How would Horner create this Chickenosaurus? See the image below for a rather simplified explanation.

So, what do you think of possibly seeing a Cluckasaurus or Rhode Island Red Rex? Well, you may not have to wait long. Horner believes that Chickenosaurus (Foghornus Leghornus) could be created in as little as five years.

Which begs the question:

Are dinosaurs finger-lickin’ good?

If you’ve ever eaten at The Cheesecake Factory, then you know what excellent food and exceptional service is all about. If you haven’t — you need to.

On a recent trip there to celebrate Amber’s birthday, I decided to change it up a little bit. My usual meal is Cajun Seafood Jambalaya, but this day, I decided on Fish and Chips (that British specialty).

The meal came to us as quick as a flash, which is normal for The Cheesecake Factory, drinks were refilled and the feasting began.

Oh. My. Goodness.

This was so good! And don’t even get me started on the Banana Cream cheesecake we shared before the drive back home…. did I mention I took a slice of Chocolate Mousse cheesecake home for later?

Bliss.

Do you have a favorite device, such as an iPhone, tablet or e-reader? Do you like to stand out in a crowd? If you do, then you need to check out Gelaskins.

Gelaskins is a thin, protective, removable skin for cell phones, tablets, e-readers etc. The kick; however, is that Gelaskins provides you with not only a cover, but also a wallpaper that really tricks out your device. Take a look at some samples below.

iPhone 4 and 4S

Birth of Venus by Brian Despain for iPhone 4 / 4S

Loose Leaf by Derek Prospero for iPhone 4 / 4S

Motherboard by Derek Prospero for iPhone 4 / 4S

iPad 1st Generation

Sunset in Venice by Claude Monet for iPad

Red Metal by DAIM for iPad

Blackberry Bold 9900

Swinging DAIM by DAIM for Bold 9900

Tokyo by eBoy for Bold 9900

The Enamored Owl by Alberto Cerriteno for Bold 9900

Playbook

Swinging DAIM by DAIM for Playbook

Loose Leaf by Derek Prospero for Playbook

Prices vary by device ($20 for tablets and $15 for phones) but considering the “Wow!” factor you’ll get once people see your tricked-out device, it’s well worth it. One more thing, if you don’t like any of the art samples, simply create one yourself by uploading your favorite picture. Gelaskins takes care of the rest — including using your photo as wallpaper to complete the effect.

CHECK THEM OUT!

Super Bowl XLVI is in the books. Even though I don’t really have a dog in the fight, I was happy to see the Giants defeat the Patriots 21 – 17 in Indianapolis. It was a tremendous game, filled with heroes and those who will forever wonder ‘what-if?’

Photo: Robert Beck/SI

The argument over whether Eli is an elite QB in the NFL has raged on for a couple of years now. Both supporters and detractors offered examples for their point and done it well. The supporters will say, “He has two rings, so yeah, he’s elite.” His detractors counter, “He’s too inconsistent. You never know which Eli you’re going to get.”

I say he’s elite for this reason — and if you watched the game you know why — he can make any throw you could ask him to. He threw touch passes accurately, he had major velocity on some throws that he fit in the tiniest of windows, he made good, sound decisions with the football, he put his passes where only his receivers could catch it. He did it all.

I also have to give New England props. They played a heck of a game. Their defense — much maligned — gave New York fits for the most part. Tom Brady looked scary good at times– a Super Bowl record 16 straight completions helps. They neutralized, for most of the game, New York’s fearsome pass-rush and gave Brady all the time in the world. They came up just short in the end.

So the Giants win their fourth championship in team history, and also, became the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl with a 9 – 7 record. To put it in perspective, New York beat the number one seed Packers, number two seed 49ers, and number one seed Patriots. Not too shabby.

Madonna’s Halftime Show

Photo: David Bergman/SI

Ok, if you’re like me, your first thought upon hearing that Madonna would be performing the halftime show was probably something like this; “Great, how many times will she grab her crotch on national TV?”

Honestly though — Madonna rocked it. She threw the gauntlet down to the younger generation of performers in a way that left no doubt that the ‘Material Girl’ still has it. Forget British Hip-Hop star MIA flipping the bird, you can’t take that away from the tremendous job Madonna did. She gave a performance worthy of the Super Bowl.

Mrs. Brady bashes receivers

Photo: Mark Humphrey/AP

While what she says may be true, then she must also place some blame squarely on her hubby’s shoulders. It is his job to put the ball where his receiver can catch it — sounds pretty basic huh? — and Tom Brady did not do that when it counted. The receiver at the brunt of Mrs. Brady’s rant is one Wes Welker, who without, New England probably doesn’t even sniff the Super Bowl. Way to kick a guy when he’s down Gisele.

The NFL season is over — at least until April. Bring on the Draft!! Congratulations to the New York Giants and their fans.

One more thing, in case you’re not really a football fan and are wondering what the big deal is, just take a look at the Packers Super Bowl ring from last season. Serious. Bling.

So the weekend is here and we’re discovering that finding some good entertainment is hard.

We tried Netflix with little luck, the same with Vudu. While reading did a nice job of passing the time, it also ceased when getting a good book proved difficult.

So what’s the answer, a Lockdown marathon of course. You know that show on MSNBC that is all about life in prisons all across the country. As of the latest episode, we’re watching the fate of one gay inmate named “Peaches”.

It seems that Peaches helped clean up the aftermath of a fight — a big no no.

Can Peaches lie his way out of it, or does he break the prison code? Inquiring minds want to know!

It’s almost February in Indiana and the current temperature is… 53 degrees — what?

So far, winter feels a lot like spring and with it comes some confusion. The hounds, for example, are having a terrible time trying to figure out whether they should be huddled up by the heater, or lounging around the warm sun from the window.

Gracie chose the latter.

Tonight, the annual NFL Pro Bowl between the NFC and AFC is being played in Honolulu, Hawaii.

My question is: why?

I understand that you need to reward the fans with an all-star game, but don’t fans deserve to see an actual game? The NFL is a violent game and an all-star game is one played with minimal effort by the participants. The reason being is to avoid injuries in an otherwise meaningless game.

While it’s nice to see players rewarded, it is not fun to see the game ran in “mock mode”.

At least the Super Bowl is next week.