Last Free man

Wrong Number Serenade

2010-07-17T00:04:34-04:00

I have been plagued by a caller from the number (404)550-3225 for months now. They call incessantly at all hours and never seem to understand for hours on end that I am not the object of their dial. Well tonight while hanging out with international music sensation Willo Benno, I just so happened upon this caller. Needless to say they received a wrong number free concert of the song "Detroit City" enjoy:

The Last Stand of SideKick...

2010-07-02T04:52:00-04:00

Sidekick R.I.P. 2002-2010

One of the first "smart" phones of the multi-messaging generation sees it's death today, as the Sidekick leaves T-Mobile's lineup. This was my first foray into digital mobile message spamming, and was mostly designed for my newly found single life. It was a basic device with email, txt, and some decent apps, the 1.3 mp camera always left me wishing for more, but sometimes a limitation spurs creativity. A pixelated somewhat Lomo feel is what most of the shots were built on, it was this mobile format that also spurred me to create a mobile blog, that is taking pictures of randomness constantly in attempt to map out my daily endeavors. This blog reads like an electronic history exhibit as my phones/devices quality improved so did the blog.

The latter years of the Sidekick suffered a rather urban existence with mostly NBA players and smash-and-grabbers using them, this was around the time that I jailbroke an eBayed iPhone 1.0 and moved on. The one great thing the Sidekick did bring, and I hope is not forgotten is the fully programmable tri-LED, the iPhone could stand such an upgrade. You only had to look across the room to see various statuses on the phone that were programmed via the settings. This was a great feature that required little more than a passing glance to get a full update on voice, email, or sms messaging status.

The Sidekick years:

T-Mobile states on the 1st of July: As T-Mobile looks to further innovate and raise the bar for the next iteration of the T-Mobile Sidekick, as of July 2, the Sidekick LX and Sidekick 2008 will no longer be available through T-Mobile, including retail stores, care, telesales and online. While we work on the next chapter of our storied Sidekick franchise, T-Mobile will continue to provide our loyal Sidekick customers with product service and support. Stay tuned for exciting updates in the months ahead, which we expect will provide customers with a new and fresh experience.

MoBlog? (Texting and driving is Illegal in most decent states, it is dangerous and Oprah demands that you stop!)

What is moblog? Simple just as the name would imply its a mobile blog. Harnessing the power of Internet capable mobile devices such as PDA's, PSP, or the huge amount of digital phones. This area of the site is probably the most dynamic, whereas content is uploaded sometimes hourly or more. I use a web enabled phone to upload pictures and snarky comments right from my phone the instant they happen. In many ways it’s a mobile journal of my daily life activities and thoughts.

Then sometimes I drive! Basically the way it works is this: I get in traffic get up to about 80 MPH and reach for my sidekick II and blog. There are numerous spelling, grammar, and other errors, I apologize in advance for all the run on sentences and poor paragraph structure. If this offends you greatly, go deal... I am typing with two thumbs like a monkey all the while trying to dominate the left lane at 80+ mph...

Iphone 4 Sim Card Tray Tape Myth.

2010-07-01T20:17:00-04:00

After experimenting around with the sim card tray, attempting the various tape hacks out there I came to a conclusion, the hack is dangerous and unnecessary. I to date have had no "death grip" problems sim card issues or other phantom problems with my release version iPhone 4. I do however watch the techy blogosphere and have noticed various sim card hacks addressing a perceived short that occurs on the iPhone 4 micro sim tray.

While experimenting around with tape on the back, tape on the contacts, tape on the tray, I never saw a change in signal, no matter which location I took the phone no signal gain was noted. What I did notice which all should take pause and listen very carefully: The additional stress of the tape in various positions does put pressure on the bottom of the sim card, resulting in deep scratches along the bottom of the micro sim. This is not only dangerous, it actually destroyed my brand new, perfectly functioning iPhone 4. It now has sporadic sim failures, and massive signal issues. This means that even a small amount of clear tape may cause too much pressure on the not too forgiving sim contacts. I obviously bent my internal contacts to the point of inoperability.

I also noted while trying to undo the various taping in order to return my micro sim to it's virginal originality that the sim card tray itself on the iPhone 4 has a thin layer of rubberized coating on the perceived short area, so THE SHORTING MYTH IS COMPLETELY FALSE. If you would like to test this yourself, scratch at the area above the gold contacts on the left side of the indention and rubbery tearing will occur, revealing a shinier bottom.

After two new sim card attempts, I have concluded that I destroyed a $600.00 iPhone 4 with a piece or two of tape. Heed this warning would be tape hackers, the continual wear and tear of the sim card tray coming in and out while you adjust the tape can and will destroy your phone, void the warranty and demand replacement.

The dance of the water bug

2010-06-17T18:48:11-04:00

Further testing of the video modes of the Olympus E-P2. I found these great little water bugs near the shore and got some great HD captures. Not sure of the exact variety of these guys but in the warmer months they are quite common, I suspect a water beetle:

A water beetle is a beetle adapted to living in water. Water beetles rise to the water surface and take atmospheric air into their tracheal systems. There are approximately 2000 species of water beetles. The rest marine species tend to live in the intertidal zone. Water beetles are black, brown, or greenish and .08 to 1.57 inches long.

Many water beetles carry an air bubble underneath their abdomens, which both provides an air supply, and prevents water from getting into the spiracles. Others have the surface of their exoskeleton modified to form a plastron, or "physical gill", which permits direct gas exchange with the water. The hind legs are strong like the grasshoppers except it is not for jumping but for swimming. The wing covers are usually grooved on the female and smooth on the male. They have fringed hind legs with hair adapted for swimming. Adults hibernate in underwater soil during a good portion of the year. Water beetles are attracted to lights at night. Most families of water beetles have larvae that are also aquatic; many have aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults.

Speed Dating Ruska

2010-06-10T20:48:28-04:00

My latest adventure in coerced Internet dating:

Good day for you my dear friend!

How are you?

I hope that your day well today.

Today I hasten to write to you the letter. The matter is that today I have received the letter from embassy of your country.

And to me have informed that I should arrive in Moscow to receive my visa.

In the letter to me have informed that I shall receive the visa on June, 14th.

Therefore I can fly to you only on June, 16-17th.

I very much hope that it there will be convenient dates for my visiting.

Please before I to go in Moscow I should know some questions.

I should make sure of it. Ок?

1. June, 16-17th, convenient dates for my arrival?

2. I can remain with you in current of 1 month? Probably only 1 week?

3. You really wish to meet me It important for you?

4. To inform me the name the airport where you could meet me. (I should reserve the ticket)

Now I shall finish my letter because I should collect my things.

Tomorrow in the morning I shall go in Moscow and as soon as I to visit embassy and to be placed in hotel, I shall write to you.

I very much ask you to answer this letter. It is very important for me.

I want know, I can to visit you? And whether there will be you my friend or my love?

The friend which can give me the care and love.

We shall have 10 more days before to have our meeting.

I shall answer all your questions when I shall be in Moscow.

Therefore we can learn better each other.

Have good day today.

Your friend from Russia Olga

P.S I really should know, whether you want our meeting???

It is important, I should know it before to receive the visa.

Please to not play with me in games, I the first time in a life shall visit other country.

I do not wish to be deceived.................... Also I do not want that it was only sex and entertainment.

Only serious attitudes.

For the first, Thanks you for your fast answer to my letter. It's very important for me.

I'm really happy now. I really hope that we will to develop our friendship with you.

As you know I got your e-mail address through Internet dating agency in Glazov.

I addressed to them with my letter and they sent my letter to you. I'm very happy that it was so

simply.

But I really do not know where they took yours e-mail, and probably it was a mistake.

But after you have written to me, I am happy.................. I really to require in the good friend, and decent the man.

My name is Olga. My birthday on September, 22th. To me of 29 years.

I live in Russia, in very beautiful city of Glazov.

I very cheerful and beautiful woman. And I wish to be even happier. :)

I have blond hair, green eyes. My growth 173 sm. Weight 54 kg.

I live and I work in Russia as the children's teacher. I very well understand the literature,

and Russian writing. VERY GOOD :) I'm not smoke and not drink. I have never married and

have no any children.

Still I am engaged in dances.................... Dance this condition of soul :)

I live with my mother in our house in Glazov. This house was bought by my father...

I do not wish to speak about it much :(((

But he not live with me and my mother... They are divorced... I have no any brothers and

sisters...

The daddy has left to live separately many years back....... But we have friendship with him.

I will go to Moscow on this Friday for reception visa. I put documents for reception visa 6

months ago...

Now I got letter from Embassy that I should arrive in Moscow...

So, I will get Visa on next week or later. I will to know date of reception

later.................. but I think it will be June, 11th.

Also I think that on June, 14-15th, I can arrive to your country. You would like it?

So, I can arrive to you and we can to have a meeting with you. What do you think about that?

I addressed to Internet dating agency because I wanted to find man who will like to have meeting

with me.

I understand that it very fast, but we will have with you 10-12 days for learning more about each

other!!!

What do you think about this? I have a holiday from my work till July, 15.

So we can have good time together with you during 1 months!!!

Please, write me as soon as you can with your ideas about my letter. Ok?

Also inform me in what the country you now you live?

My visa will work in the USA, and I hope that you live now in the USA?

Probably we could have a meeting in other country?

But I very much ask you answer on a question.

It is very important.

In what country you live now?

But I understand, that the meeting to which country you will be better to have for you live now :)

It will be very important and interest for me.

I can speak only in English and Russian.

Becouse I ask you to write only in English, Differently I to not understand you.

Therefore I very much ask you to write letters in English, or to use the translator if you

not to understand English language. :)))

I well understand English language, and we should not have a problem in ours with you dialogue.

I as would like to see your photos as much as possible.

Waiting for your letter!!!

Have good day today, and good mood.

Yours friend Olga.

How are you?

I hope that you have are good day today and excellent mood.

I regret that I could not write to you my letter very long, but I had very complex time.

I should find hotel for me, conversation with travel agency. When I have arrived to Moscow.

And then I very strongly to catch a cold, and all these days, I had no access to a computer and the Internet.

But now all is good................. And I am glad that I can to write.

And I visited your embassy. Therefore I can write only today along toward evening here in Moscow.

I just to come back from embassy of your country and I have fine news.

I can receive the visa................... And it will not have what problems.

But all documents will be ready only on Monday, on June, 14th, therefore at 10:00 A.M Moscow time I shall have

a meeting with the ambassador, and the visa will be given out to me.

As I already wrote to you my visa 90 days will work, and it is a lot of time that we could be

together and learn better each other.

I think that one meeting can give us more than even millions letters and consequently I very

much wish to meet you.

I think of you much and I miss without your letters.

I want that you wrote to me as it is possible is more often.

I wish to receive your letters every day.

It is possible to write not one letter to day and more, and I shall be happy to answer

your letters and questions.

Now to write to you the letter I should visit the Internet of cafe, therefore I ask you to

write to me at once as soon as you will receive my letter.

As I shall receive the visa on Monday in the morning, I can already fly to you

to on Wednesday in the evening.

And I wish to settle still time all questions concerning our time.

I have still time some questions, and I ask that you have answered me.

Because I should reserve my ticket as soon as possible.

1. Whether you can meet me on June, 16th? Because I cannot probably fly to week end, but only on

Monday, very exsepnsive ticket on week end..

2. Inform me in what CODE airport I should arrive? (that it was convenient for you)

I ask it once again, because I should know it very precisely to buy the ticket.

3. If I shall arrive to you on Wednesday in the evening, you can be in the airport?

4. Whether there can be I with you 1 month? Or only 1 week?

5. I can live in your house when I to arrive? Or the hotel should reserve?

6. Inform me the home address and telephone number? (if you cannot meet me at the airport)

I can call or find your house.

I very much would like to call to you, but now I in Moscow and to not have any more such opportunity because I to not take a mobile phone with me in Moscow.

And to call in other country very much exspensive for me.

I very much hope that you still time will answer my questions, and to write to me the truth.

Because it is important for me.

And I hope that you does not confuse that that I shall live with you in your house.

If is not present, I can live in hotel.

If you do not want it, I ask you that you have informed me it.

Then I shall find hotel for me initially.

Now I shall finish my letter, and I hope to receive your answer very soon.

Millions kisses for you.

For ever yours Olga.

P.S Would like to know more about you and your life. And I in my following letters I shall speak am more about me.

Please to not be upset if I will not answer all your questions, but I simply not absolutely well understand that you wish to ask.

And I to forget many questions when to read through your letter.

I to answer all that I remember.

Helen Thomas YOU GO HOME!

2010-06-07T10:00:45-04:00

The genocidal racist Helen Thomas has again made anti-semitic statements of an amazing and disgusting degree. This ridiculous attempt at a columnist should immediately be fired from her job at Hearst media organization, be stripped of her White House press credentials, and be shunned as a Holocaust denying, exodus forcing, racist asshole that she is. The reality is the media is so comfortable with the worldwide antisemitic baseline leftist standard that this will all go away in a few days, with a few small heads placed in the sand. The excuse for this behavior will continue to be oh that Crazy old Helen Thomas... Thus the world again slowly emboldens the Syrian peoples whom refer to themselves as the mythological Palestinians, and another 4000 rockets will be fired upon innocent cities in Israel.

If this vulture remains up front and present in any form other than a passing fart in the White House press corp, you President Barack Hussein Obama, must also accept statements such as: Blacks should leave America, women shouldn't vote, Kenyans' should not hold the presidency, and other parody statements I am too angry to coin. I'm not through yet, you Oprah Winfrey must also accept this new reality as your magazine O is published by the same Hearst media group that is fully supporting this 90 year old racist relic that is Helen Thomas.

Quoth the vulture:

Israelis should "get the hell of Palestine." "Remember," Thomas said of the Palestinian people, "these people are occupied. And it's their land." Asked where Jews living in Israel should go, she said "home . . . [to] Poland, Germany . . . and America, and everywhere else."

Here is a great form letter to mail out to your favorite jew hater media friends:

feedback@oprah.com
feedback@hearst.com
rdunham@hearstcorp.com

To whom it may concern:

We are a small media organization based in the Atlanta area, mostly covering the blogosphere and hot topics in the politico arena. When will there be a statement in regards to the racist commentary by your employee Helen Thomas, in regards to her continued employment, and thereby your acceptance of this belief system of anti-semitism and exodus of Jews from their homeland? I would hope that statements/beliefs of this nature would be grounds for immediate expulsion from your large media empire. Otherwise you are condoning the constant state of anti-semitism that persists in this world.

Sincerely,

You.

Woolly Bear Made Good!

2010-06-01T21:10:03-04:00

About four weeks ago we found a woolly bear caterpillar being used as a velcro hockey puck by our local feral kitty, and made rescue. After some great research and setup we placed him in a small enclosure with natural surroundings. We fed him a steady diet of collards, romaine, and spinach. I anxiously awaited the mothy Christmas to come! Being that our woolly bear was obviously in his late spring larval calorie gathering mode, I knew the time was short before we must wish her farewell. The caterpillar began feverishly building a cocoon three weeks ago, and was finished in 48 hours! After two weeks of waiting this gorgeous fully colored Leopard Moth appeared! I have resumed feeding her and nightly placing her outside to attract a mate, so we may keep the moth soap opera ongoing. updates may follow assuming my precious moth is not predated or willfully journeyed on her own.

*The Giant Leopard Moth or Eyed Tiger Moth (Hypercompe scribonia) is a moth of the family Arctiidae. It is distributed throughout the Southern and Eastern United States from New England to Mexico. The obsolete name Ecpantheria scribonia is still occasionally encountered.

This species has a wingspan of 3 inches (nearly 8 cm). The wings of this moth are bright white with a pattern of neat black blotches, some solid and some hollow. The abdomen is dark blue with orange markings, the male has a narrow yellow line on the sides. Its legs have black and white bands. Adult moths are rather strictly nocturnal and do not generally fly before nightfall (Fullard & Napoleone 2001).

The caterpillar is of the "Woolly Bear" kind, with a thick coat of black bristles (setae) and red bands between its segments which become conspicuous when caterpillar rolls into a ball for defense. It should not be touched, as its setae may break off and cause a rash.

More famous moth encounters:

Melatonin Morimoto Man-crush

2010-05-30T11:47:16-04:00

Having been an avid sleeper for many years, I take on most sleep technologies head-on. I have a white noise generator, black-out curtains, and even an alarm clock that simulates the rising/setting sun via a 200 watt neodymium coated lamp. The greatest sleep accoutrement I have found is an herbal supplement called Melatonin. This is a natural compound which the body uses for circadian rhythm alignment, the use of 5-10 mg damn near guarantees extreme sleep and anymore up in the 20 mg range leads to massive REM sleep with vivid dreams. I on occasion use Melatonin to reset my sleep cycle, and whenever I do the dreams are rather noteworthy, or horrific in nature, they certainly tend to be memorable.

It has been a long tradition of mine to dream journal and I have been lax in that subject matter for sometime. While this Melatonin encounter with the ether world was a brief one, I was left with the classic awakening that Cartman (South Park) coined best as the "awwww I'm nobody" dream sequence. This dream was one of those awesome tales of reaching the pinnacle of win only to be awaken by a snoring dog back to the reality of schmuckdom. These are the dreams that we can only equate to the almost having had a great sneeze, but it just didn't fully come to climax. The worst.

In this tidy little dream sequence I find myself at a soiree, dressed rather Bondish, the food seems to be the center and focus of my anxiety. There is a live sushi affair going on around a massive table display of sashimi/nigri pieces, and chefs feverishly rolling this and that. Not much else is apparent, in the cloudy way that dreams are I approach the dining. Standard party fare is the only sushi available, a travesty of California rolls and other fakery, I'm disappointed as I take a long draw off my Kirin IchiBan. I schmooze forth to find a chefs ear...

Upon reaching the rolling station a young man looked surprised as I looked on, wondering if there a spare urchin might be. I started making orders for really exotic, original kinds of rolls, and fresh. Urchings and flying fish and giant surf clam oh my! The news of this mighty request must have made it the nether region of the main kitchen and oft in the distance a large man came, the master chef hath summoned forth to see what all the skullduggery was about.

When the lights adjusted and he came forth it was the grand master Iron Chef his majesty, the great and mighty Morimoto! Yes that Morimoto, the main Morimoto, The Morimoto whom I hope to one day finally put an end to the red-headed shitbag scourge of humanity-menace that is Bobby Flay. In a gruff and rather austere manner, he spoke to the young man whom I had bothered so with my amplitude of requests. He then came forward and squared me, we talked sushi/sashimi/nigri/bird's nests/quail eggs back in forth like we were the gods of all that is raw consumption. In dream my brain was filled with ancient knowledge of tactics and rolling, I was an idea man! A sultan of sushi technology!

My rolls theory was wild and so out of scope; I was mixing culture/ingredients, I was unfolding a new recipe every few seconds. My brain was on fire! A French maki roll with blue fin tuna and frog legs, topped with an oyster mayonnaise. That was the topper, and it stopped him, and the "argument" dead in it's tracks. It was then decided that I was to become the official Morimoto engineer of maki, the head roll wizard was I. My life was complete! Together Morimoto and I rode off into the sunset together, our heads filled with a zest for new sushi, and a burning new quest to hunt and kill Bobby Flay with primitive weapons! Ahhhh... Then I woke up, 35 years old with a dog slobber-farting on my pillow and no life at all, damn you dreamworld why do you taunt me so?!

Philadelphia 2006, the last time I was at the famous Morimoto...

Shawn's Journey

2010-05-24T04:34:00-04:00

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/shawnmcgill

On Tuesday, May 18th, 2010, Shawn was at work just as he was every day. At some point he sat down to take a break and suddenly realized he couldn't control his hands, especially his left hand. He fell over and had to be helped back up as it became apparent that he couldn't use his arms to push himself back to his previous sitting position. After that, Shawn was rushed to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital's ER where he was given a CT scan and an MRI. The CT scan came back normal but the MRI seemed to reveal a bulging disk in his neck. Shawn was in a great deal of pain and by this point had no feeling in the entire left side of his body and only about 25% control over the right side of his body. I feel compelled to take a moment to express how impressed we were with everyone in the ER at Kennestone. Every single professional we came in contact with was caring, concerned and went out of their way to make sure we knew exactly what was going on and that we were comfortable while we waited for the latest updates.

Although Shawn did indeed have a bulging disk, we learned later that night after further diagnosis that he had Guillain-Barre syndrome and would immediately be admitted to the ICU as this was something much more serious than a bulging disk in his neck. While in the ER, Shawn had been complaining of having difficulty breathing. This made perfect sense given his new diagnosis as GBS is sometimes accompanied by this serious symptom.

On Thursday, May 20th, Shawn's breathing had become so difficult that he was sedated and placed on a respirator. His lungs were in good condition, however, the muscles surrounding them responsible for making the chest work properly had become weaker and weaker. He's now resting & recovering in the ICU at Kennestone now, where he will be for at least the next month. His care-givers there are among the best and we are just grateful for the quick diagnosis of GBS as the quicker the diagnosis and the quicker the treatment, the better the prognosis tends to be.

*Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), an autoimmune disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system, usually triggered by an acute infectious process. The syndrome was named after the French physicians Guillain, Barré and Strohl, who were the first to describe it in 1916. It is sometimes called Landry's paralysis, after the French physician who first described a variant of it in 1859. It is included in the wider group of peripheral neuropathies. There are several types of GBS, but unless otherwise stated, GBS refers to the most common form, AIDP. GBS is rare and has an incidence of 1 or 2 people per 100,000. It is frequently severe and usually exhibits as an ascending paralysis noted by weakness in the legs that spreads to the upper limbs and the face along with complete loss of deep tendon reflexes. With prompt treatment by plasmapheresis or intravenous immunoglobulins and supportive care, the majority of patients will regain full functional capacity. However, death may occur if severe pulmonary complications and autonomic nervous system problems are present. Guillain-Barré is one of the leading causes of non-trauma-induced paralysis in the world.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/shawnmcgill

Olympus E-P2 Retro Digital Art Machine

2010-05-23T09:15:46-04:00

Olympus E-P2 PEN 50 year 1959-2009

The throwback instant re-classic Olympus Pen camera has returned after 50 years of cult status. This time cloaked in a powerful digital body, with over 12 million pixels of art power at its command a photographer's point and shoot is born. With art filters enabled you can choose from several fun, and sometimes swanky modes to really spur creativity, a cross process mode that really is the most reliable digital Lomo experience I have seen. Art filters do seem rather lame for the seasoned of Photoshoppers out there, however on board instant filtering is a boon to creativity and spontaneity that really is a fun retro activity. There is a certain satisfaction to heavy limitations on perfect outcomes birthing beautiful shots. The fact that the micro four thirds system is tiny also means many will actually carry these cameras around, and capture real shots unscripted with great frequency, some of the best shots are accidents and candid.

I drank a bottle of wine and took the E-P2 for an art filter test drive, I was pleasantly surprised at the speed and low light performance. I firstly noted the sturdy, heavy feel of the camera. This followed by a great loud shutter sound made for a true retro feel, top it off with the oversized cheezy neck strap and you are one camel hair jacket away from 70's awesome chic. I will continue testing the new firmware and update as the software improves. I was shooting the Lumix pancake style 20mm lens, and hope to score some retro glass soon for further exploration. Some great examples of the exciting new Micro Four Thirds format follow:

From the man:

The stylish retro black metal body of the new E-P2 may be reminiscent of a traditional rangefinder – but there's nothing traditional about this powerful new camera from Olympus. The E-P2 is a 12.3-megapixel interchangeable lens camera, and it blends the high-quality still images of a DSLR with High Definition (HD) video, stereo Linear PCM audio recording and in-camera creativity – all inside an ultra-portable, easy-to-use body. The E-P2 also brings a new twist to the PEN lineup: an accessory port which accommodates the included VF-2 electronic view finder or optional external microphone adapter (SEMA-1).