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Super Bowl Sunday
So tomorrow is the Super Bowl. For some it’s just another crappy football game, while others will watch it just for the commercials. Me, I love the game. I am a huge NFL fan. I watch every game possible. Super Bowl Sunday is a pretty big deal for me. I have only missed one Super Bowl since 1983, and I pretty much remember all of them. I was scheduled to work tomorrow, but took it off to watch the game.
I have only been to one Super Bowl Party in my life, and it sucked. Everybody getting drunk, and making a bunch of noise. It was hard to watch the game. A lot of people just use the Super Bowl as an excuse to party. I still make the usual Super Bowl Party foods, but I like to enjoy the game by myself. For me the Super Bowl reminds me of my childhood.
I remember getting all excited for the Super Bowl in elementary school. I was so excited when my favorite team, the Denver Broncos made it there in 1986, 1987, and 1989. I was crushed at the results of those games. It made their Super Bowl wins in 1997, and 1998 that much bigger.
There is so much history in the Super Bowl. Many great games, many crappy games, but all historic. I love reading and watch shows about the history of the NFL. That’s one reason why I like the Super Bowl so much. It’s history being made.
Even when I don’t care much about the teams that are playing, I enjoy watching the game. It’s every kids dream to play in the Super Bowl. Those big kids out there are just living their dream.
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Say Goodbye Classic Coke
Remember back in the ‘80s when “New Coke” came out? I was one of the many that didn’t really care for it. I was happy when “Classic Coke” came back. Remember back when you had a choice of Cokes? When you had to ask for a “Classic Coke”? Those times are long gone, but the cans still say “Classic” on them. Not for long though. Coke is now going to drop “Classic” from it’s label. Soon, nobody is every going to remember what “New Coke” was. -
Solved My Rubik’s Cube
So over the holidays my nephews got a hold of my Rubik’s Cube and messed it all up.
I finally got around to solving it again today.
I didn’t cheat. I did get a little help from YouTube though. Thanks Dan Brown!There is also a cool iPhone app to help you solve your Rubik’s Cube, but sadly it requires a camera, so it is limited to the iPhone and not compatible with the iPod Touch.
I so wish I could play with that app.
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My Favorite iPod Touch/iPhone Apps
I have had my iPod Touch since November and haven’t talked much about it. I got the 32 GB version because I thought it would replace my current iPod. I would have gotten a bigger one if they made one. It would be nice to fit all my music one device. I hate weeding out stuff, but oh well.
The truth is I don’t use my Touch as an iPod very often. The interface on my old iPod is just better. I can control it without removing it from my pocket. I didn’t think that would be a big deal, but it is. I pretty much only listen to my Touch when my other iPod battery is low. I still love my Touch though. I bring it everywhere just to see where I can get WiFi. WiFi is beginning to be everywhere. Most restaurants have it, the Mall has it, and I even found a gas station that has it. I will now drive out of the way just so I can get some internets while I am getting gas. I don’t have a ton of apps on it yet, but I thought I would share some of my favorites.
Must haves – These ones are super popular that most people should know about and everybody should have.
- Google Earth – Just ‘cus it’s cool.
- Pandora – To discover new music.
- Slacker – A lot like Pandora.
- Iheartradio – To listen to radio stations all over.
- Facebook – I find the app easier to use than the site.
- Twitterriffic – There may be better Twitter apps, but this one just works.
Weather – The Touch has a weather app build in, but I like these two for more detailed information.
- The Weather Channel
- AccuWeather
Games – There are tons of games. Here are some of my favorites.
- Topple – One of my first games I bought. I think it is free now.
- Sudoku – Sometimes I get board enough to play Sudoku.
- Labyrinth – Pretty fun game, and much easier than the wooden version.
- Tap Tap Revenge – Fun game to rock out to, just wish it had more songs.
- Adventure – One of my all time favorite games. If you didn’t play it on the 2600 you won’t understand.
- Yahtzee – It’s, well, Yahtzee.
- TapDefense – It’s Desktop Tower Defense for your palm.
- PenguinLite – How can catapulting Penguins not be fun?
Video Watching – The Touch comes with a YouTube app, but these two are cool too.
- Joost – View what Joost has to offer.
- Ustream – Watch Ustream videos.
Misc – Other cool apps.
- Stanza – This is an awesome app if you want to read books on your Touch. You can download and read tons of books for free, or for fee.
- VNC- Because it’s just cool controlling your computer from your iPod.
- Mint – I never used the site until the app came out. It’s nice to get a quick glance at all my banking accounts on my Touch.
- USA Today – I nice app to catch up on the news with.
- Remote – Great for remotely controlling iTunes.
That’s just a few of my favorite apps. Maybe I do have quite a few apps.
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Shift Work
At my job it is required that someone be there 24/7, 356.25 days a year. We work 12 hour shifts, so I either work from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, or from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. We switch shifts every four weeks. For the last few night shifts I have been switching with a co-worker that was working a second job and wanted to stay on nights. I just started my first night shift since August. I forgot how much I like nights. It’s so much slower and quieter. I can get a lot more reading done.
I actually really love my shifts. It’s nice to change it up every four weeks. Days are much busier at work, but it’s nice to be up at normal hours too. Nights are nice and quiet and I get to stay up late on my days off. I am a night and morning person if that is really possible. I love getting up early and I love staying up late. I pretty much don’t like sleeping. I could get way more done if I didn’t have to waste five hours a day sleeping. Am I weird?
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The Water is so Yellow, I’m a Healthy Student
I have been bad at listening to music lately. I have a stack of CDs that I haven’t listened to yet. I have MP3s that I have bought that I haven’t listened to yet. It’s been a while since I have fell in love with a new band. I must be getting old.
A few days ago I came across an awesome cover of the Nirvana song “Drain You” by Straylight Run. I have been a fan of them since the band was formed when John Nolan left Taking Back Sunday. You can go to their site to download it for free, or you can listen here.
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Crazies Can Be Entertaining
It is finally sinking in that we have finally gotten a President that I like. For the first time the guy I voted for won. On is first day in office he is already making some good changes. He froze the pay of White House employees making over $100,000. Treating the White House just like any other company trying to survive the recession. He also vowed to increase openness and improve ethics in Washington. The big thing he did was order Guantanamo Bay to close within a year.
We usually listen to talk radio at night at work because we really don’t have a music station worth listening too around here. I can’t really stand listening to the crazies like Hannity, Ingraham, or Limbaugh though. Last night we listened to Alan Colmes, who is much much better. Most talk radio show caller’s are right-wing nutjobs. They can be pretty entertaining and funny to listen too. Last night crazies were calling in saying Obama’s Presidency was already a failure. They were calling in and encouraging all their fellow crazies to pray for Obama to fail, or better yet, his death. It was pretty entertaining. Good thing praying doesn’t do crap and is worthless.
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Historic Inauguration
So this morning (I guess is was yesterday now) before I went to work I was able to catch the inauguration. I watched it on one computer and followed Twitter on another. It was a historic day. It sure makes you love our country the way we can have peaceful change of power like that. It was also amazing seeing how happy most people I follow are Twitter were. A few thought today was the end of the world, but I never understand those people anyway.
Obama has some pretty high expectations. I doubt he will totally live up to them, but I do believe it will be a well needed change. It’s going to be nice to have a President who believes in science and understands technology. It’s going to be weird actually agreeing with our President on things, but I am sure I will get use to it. He inherits a mess. I don’t envy his job.
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Game Over
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Outliers
I am a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell. I really enjoyed Blink, and The Tipping point, and am currently listening to Outliers on audio book. Malcolm Gladwell is great at getting you to think. Outliers explains how successful people got to where there are. He explains that their success has more to do with their family, their generation, their upbringing, than their actual work. His theory is that if you can do something for 10,000 hours, you will be successful at it.
Bill Gates grew up in a rich enough family that he went to a private school that actually had a computer club back when computers were fall from common. He spent all his free time programing computers. By the time computer use started to spread, he had is 10,000 hours in and was a computer genius. Most of his sucess is luck. He grew up in the right generation, had parents that were able to send him to private school, and had access to computers when most people didn’t.
He also mentioned the Beatles. When they first started playing together the got a gig in Germany in which they played for eight hours a night, four to five days a week. They quickly learned how to play well together. They learned what worked and what didn’t. By the time their popularity increased they had their 10,000 hours in. Their success had more to do with the amount they played than anything else.
I don’t know what it is, but I just love his stuff. Here is an old TED Talk he did back in 2004.