So, I finally took matters into my own hands and took the necessary steps to un-install, re-install, update install various versions of WordPress so that it would quit “complaining” that my previous install didn’t go “according to plan.” It all began with me growing tired of my hosting service’s inability to keep up the technology. WordPress bugs had been found that could be devastating if I didn’t upgrade, but my host simply hadn’t made that upgrade available and I became worried. So, I used the “automatic upgrade” feature… made me happy at the time… but made further upgrades through my host much more difficult.

Perhaps I should have waited.

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Henry the 5th

I am currently learning my lines as the “Duke of Exeter” for Iowa City’s Dreamwell Theater production of Shakespeare’s “The Life of King Henry the Fifth.”

I have my “Kittredge: Players Illustrated Edition” by my side, but still… no matter how I attempt to deliver them… my lines come-off as a combination of Brian Blessed (from Kenneth Branagh’s film version) and Sam Elliot. My voice is TOO DEEP! Gaaagh!

Like many from the 80′s refrain: I wanna’ be a cowboy!

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iPhone4

Yeah, I drank the Kool-Aid.

So, I buy the phone…

In my defense, for all you Android fans, I’ve been among the Motorola camp for many years:  switching my Nokia “brick” for the Moto RAZR and then the RAZR2 & its fabulous camera (a cellphone which VZW dropped mere months after I switched… still not sure what THAT was about.)

Alas, I’ve been limping along on the RAZR2′s ORIGINAL battery for 3 years before Apples’s iPhone4 was finally relinquished to Verizon’s expansive network of CDMA towers. Yes, it won’t do data AND voice at the same time… but, neither did the original iPhone… until the iPhone 3G was released. So… Bite Me!

I’ve been impressed so far. Of course, there’s been a bit of a learning curve, but much of that has been setting the phone up to work for me: setting Alarms, Ringtones (which there aren’t many built-in), and organizing my Contacts list. The actual “swap” at the Verizon Store from my Moto RAZR2 to the iPhone 4 was fairly straight-forward. It took some time to finally Activate it, but I suspect it had much to do with the number of Verizon customers doing the very same thing as I that Saturday afternoon.

I had waited a couple weeks before making the switch; I really don’t consider myself an “early adopter”. I watched the multiple Gawker sites and kept a close eye on Engadget to read the general reaction. I read about the similar “Grip of Death” that plagued the AT&T version, but knew that if I picked up a decent case… I wouldn’t be having those issues. Spent some cash on a package of Pure-Gear “Display Protectors” and was impressed with the amount of thought that went into assisting the user on how to best apply the “cover friendly” scratch-guard. The fact that they included a screen wipe (the same I find when purchasing high-end SLR camera lens’s) was most impressive.  Now, I know why they cost $15 for 3 protectors.

As soon as I got it home, I immediately sync’d it to my Windows XP desktop. Even though iTunes can be a little buggy & bloated, it sync’d with no problems and quickly began scarfing my tunes. With that finished, I quickly began downloading applications from the iTunes Store: Find my Phone, PS Express, Labelbox, IMDb, Facebook, Twitter, Remote, Skype, NPR News, CNN, RedLaser, Mint, eBay, Craigslist, SoundHound and as many Free Angry Birds games as possible.

The REAL standouts are:

• Find my Phone – Reports back your phone’s GPS coordinates & will locate your lost/stolen phone
• Remote – Remotely control iTunes from your WiFi Access Point
• RedLaser – Scans barcodes using the camera, identifies the item, how much it costs and where it can be found.
• SoundHound – Hum a few bars or record audio from the radio and it will tell you the name of that song that’s been nagging you all day.

These are really “niche” applications, but they really show the capabilities of the iPhone 4 and how easy it can be to integrate all the gizmo’s inside.

6 Months Later…

Now, I’ve had this phone for 6 months and it’s still running like a champ. I did manage to crack the backside glass shell, though. I’m not sure why Apple decided to surround the iPhone4 in Gorilla Glass, but it was a pretty bad move. My old Nokia or Motorola RAZR would have shrugged-off that waist-high plummet to the concrete with aplomb. The iPhone? Not so much. I’m keeping most of the shards intact by pasting a section of Clear Packing Tape to the back shell.

Obviously, my next case will something a bit more durable than a silicone rubber sock. Although, I enjoyed the anti-slip feature when I placed the iPhone on the dash of my Mercedes. Fortunately for me, replacing the back glass is rather cheap: $20 – $40 bucks on eBay, including tools.

I can count on one hand, the number of times a single charge did NOT last me the entire day. In addition, I’m suprised I didn’t break the glass sooner, as I typically carry the iPhone4 in my back pocket. After all those hours sitting at my desk or driving between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids… I’m amazed I hadn’t bent the thing in half.

I’m also impressed with the fact that I’ve yet to replace the initial screen-protector. Yeah, it’s developed a few tiny bubbles… but, they’ve never impeded the scrolling features. Win!

My ONLY complaint: The front-facing camera sucks. Oh, GAWD, does it suck. I’ve retired my personal digital camera for the iPhone4′s back camera, with built-in HDR recording capabilities. But, that front-facing camera? GAG!

Conclusion

All-in-all… this is one solid phone with more features than I suspect I’ll ever really use. The cell-phone has finally matured.

CRPD Mobile Speed Camera

I usually take 3rd St. SE northward from Diagonal Drive  every morning on my way to work… swinging around 5th Ave to hit the Parking Lot around the corner. Low and behold, several of my team-mates are “chilling” outside along the sidewalk pointing at red Jeep Grand Cherokee parked along the street. It wasn’t until I parked and got to work, when I realized what the commotion was all about: The Jeep parked outside Intermec was the CRPD Mobile Speed Camera. I usually see this thing in all of its “Speed-Camera Glory” sitting along the interstate.

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Well, several weeks ago, discovered a gathering of I-380  Corridor inhabitants tossing their specialties into a hodge-podge of creative individuals… calling themselves IC|CR|eatives, which is actually a pretty cool amalgamation and moniker.

I found them inexplicably through Twitter… which for the 1st time has completely full-filled the reason I joined the “Twitter-verse” in the first place.

This group appears to run the gamut from Artists & Developers, to Engineers & Photographers; all of whom reside somewhere between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, IA.

IC|CR|eatives describe themselves thus (from their website):

The hope here is naively simple: by connecting each one of us, we connect all of us—to design gizmos, make films, paint pictures, write in syntax, share coffee, wear sweet hats, bake pies and scribble crazy ideas on absurdly small napkins—with one goal in mind: to create, however it is you might do that.

Although this concept smacks of “Why didn’t I think of this before”, it’s encouraging that somebody took the time to put this idea into an actual concrete concept. I tip my hat to those behind Cramer Dev and to all those enlisting their passions to the cause. It is quite encouraging to add my own passions to this potentially ever-growing list of the area’s top-notch creative people in the area. My only hope is live-up to expectations of my newly-found peers.

Hat-tip to Chris Grebner for the IC|CR|eatives graphic.

The digital Renaissance Man of Eastern Iowa [Chris Hanel] has finally decided to leave the midwest for the potential glory  on the East Coast (Orange County, no doubt). Chris’s departure weighs heavy upon the many friends he’s made here in Iowa City. Noboy wants to see Chris and Kori leave, but we fully support their decision. A man’s gotta do, what you gotta do. Here’s a man with talent: Exceptional Artist, Video Effects Editor, Coordinatior, Writer, Director, Actor, Improv Comedy Aficionado.

In the three years since he’s been back in Iowa, we’ve been able to put-forth an audience/fan script-submitted MST3K-Style Movie Heckling experience with Riff Raff Theater. When Chris had the time, he’d jump in to a Comics In Action gig… like the one at Coe Collage…

Of coure, this was not the ONLY time he’d worked with Comics In Action.

Then again, there is the multitude of movie we skewered under the guise of Riff Raff Theater. Here’s a clip.

You will be sorely missed, Mr. Hanel. Stay in touch. We’ll always have your back.

Using the “OLD” version of TMA? The version before WooThemes took it over? Still having problems? Well, quit using that antique edition and download the latest version of “The Morning After” from WooThemes and get busy!

I had tried to put the “beat down” on TMA back when I’d first started blogging… it was a rather disappointing endeavor… my PHP and WordPress skills were simply not up to the task. But, I’d blogged about the experience never-the-less. Mr. Spencer, the master behind the men’s fashion website at i.con{blog}, pinged me a few weeks back… asking all sorts of questions regarding “The Morning After” WordPress theme and my experiences. What began as a simple query, turned into a slew of emails on Categories, Tags, SEO, PHP, and The Morning After theme modifications.

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