Updated the living and dead links on the side. For the first time ever…the dead list is longer.

Darn you facebook and twitter for the laziness you’ve brought to social networking.

Kurtis is back from the dead, so good for him! He inspired me to get my layout more finished. I think it’s pretty good….though I’d prefer some kind of outline around the whole thing instead of the background just going on forever to each side. Smart people, tell me how.

More posts coming soon. Is bedtime.

I’m not sure I’d call myself a tea party member, simply because I’m not involved in it. However, everything I’ve heard about the movement (smaller government) I support.

Yet for some reason, just because it’s a conservative movement it gets bashed. But those I hear bashing it aren’t even debating the size of government, but that the mere presence of tea party members is “scary.” I heard a talkshow host saying how the media and the left are just waiting for someone to screw up so they can denounce the entire movement.

And this leads to an even bigger gripe I have with people and their understanding of politics. Just like “gotcha journalism,” there is gotcha politics. Just because Glenn Beck says something outrageous and you post a link to it, it doesn’t mean you’ve engaged in a meaningful discussion.

But engaging in meaningful political discussions is a difficult task. I posted on Facebook regarding how many people don’t pay federal income tax, and whether or not we as a society should be concerned that those same people get to vote for the representatives that decide tax policy.

Not a single response. Personally I think that’s because most people have a very shallow understanding of their political beliefs. They know what they’re for or against, but when required to defend them and engage in a meaningful discussion, well, that gets difficult.

A month ago Stacie and I both got Nexus Ones to replace our old phones. We had Motorla W490s before (standard flip phones that were a couple years old). I had broken my outer LCD (though I actually fixed it with some parts off Ebay), but I was ready to enter the smartphone era. And I had to bring the wife along with me.

Hardware

The phone itself is far from flashy. It’s not as unique as the Droid, or as instantly recognizable as the iPhone…but it’s feels great in your hand. It has nice curves that make it a joy to hold.

By far my favorite feature is the 3.7″ AMOLED screen. At 800×470 pixels, it’s very high res, and looks beautiful. Right under the screen are four dedicated buttons that help you move around the OS and access different features. Below that is a little trackball. It’s great for selecting links on webpages with lots of links, instead of having to zoom in so your finger can actually press it. The trackball can also be pressed, so for example it can be used to take pictures. It also flashes to notify you that you have a notification.

Some of my other favorites about the hardware would be the 1ghz processor. Not only is the phone super snappy, but it should handle future updates to Android with little problem. It has a dedicated noise cancelling mic, and the 5 megapixel camera takes pretty darned good pictures (with an LED flash if you’re really in the dark).

Android OS

This is my first experience with Android, and I love it. The Nexus One is currently the only phone running Android 2.1. First, there are 5 main home screens. You can CUSTOMIZE these screens to your hearts content. By default there are some standard apps you’ll probably use a lot, like the browser and gmail, but this is old news on smarthphones. A long press on any home screen gives you the options that really make Android stand out.

Shortcuts – These can be things like a bookmark to a favorite website, a specific contact, a playlist, or even a specific phone number (super speed dial!). I have a shortcut that takes me directly to my different Pandora stations. The cool part being that these can exist on your home screens, and minimize the amount of searching and tapping needed.

Widgets – These are by far my favorite software innovation, and what I think really sets Android apart from its competitors. Widgets are like mini-applications that “run” on your home screens. For example, I have a search bar right on my main screen, a calendar, a settings bar, a facebook box that provides updates and the ability to update my status, and a music control bar that lets me pause/play and skip songs. But this is all without leaving the home screens.

(No, this isn’t my phone!)

Of course you can’t fit all your apps on the home screen, so there is a button at the bottom that pulls up all your installed apps.

Another cool feature is the notification bar. At the top of the screen is a skinny bar that contains useful information on the right like time, battery, signal, etc. But on the left it displays icons when you have different notifications. If you receive an email, text, chat, it shows up on the left. If you have the music player running it has a little play button. Then you just “grab” it and pull it down. If you’ve got an email, you can click it, and it will take you right there. It’s a super quick way to get the information you want.

Comparison to the iPhone

Talk of whether or not the Nexus One is an “iphone killer” began the minute it was announced, so comparisons between the two are inevitable. The comparison though is both a hardware and software issue.

First, I don’t have an iPhone, and my time playing on one is limited, but I think the only advantage the iPhone has over the Nexus One is the library of apps available. Due to the popularity of the iPhone, and the head start on Android, it has a lot more apps available. But with Android phones available on T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon (and soon to be ATT), the adoption rate of Android phones is about to explode. Will Apple have a new iPhone out eventually, and potentially on various carriers? Yes, but I think the competition only started to get serious very recently with the Droid.

But apps aside, I think the Nexus One is a better phone in all aspects. Hardware wise, this shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s newer, and it’s better. The screen has twice the resolution and the processor is twice as fast. Out of the box, the internal storage is only 4gb, but it’s expandable up to 32gb (when available). This option saves the consumer money if they don’t need it, and gives them the option if they do. The battery is user replaceable, the camera is better, and the screen is bigger.

Software wise (sheer number of apps aside), I think the Android OS is head over heels better than what the iPhone offers. The customization of the home screens is awesome, and the ability to run multiple apps is also cool. I can stream Pandora, run a jogging tracker app, and browse the internet all at once (though browsing the internet while I jog would be tough). Multi-tasking is yet another area that Android outperforms the iPhone.

Of course, if there is some must have app on the iPhone that doesn’t have a comparable alternative on Android, then all the advantages of an Android phone might not matter to you.

Conclusion

After using my Nexus One for a month, I can never go back to an old style phone. I think in both hardware and software it excels. If there is any area I think it could do better, it would be the pricing. It’s actually comparable to other smartphones bought out of contract, but if you’re looking to renew your contract and get nice subsidized pricing, you might want to look elsewhere. Right now it’s only offered subsidized with a specific plan (which can be changed later as far as I know), but that would have forced us out of our grandfathered phone and data plans. Again, that might not matter depending on your situation, but for us, buying the phones outright made sense.

For anyone looking for an Android phone, I can’t recommend them enough. The Nexus One is coming to every carrier in the next year based on different announcements, so if you don’t want to switch to T-Mobile to get one, you just need to wait.

If all goes according to plan, this blog post should show up automatically on Facebook. Since not that many people use RSS feeds to check and see if blogs get updated, this is a great way to let everyone on Facebook know that I’ve updated the blog.

Trying out a blog post via wordpress for android. Nice interface…can add pictures, publish to specific categories, and do comments and all that other stuff. Wouldn’t want to write an entire blog this way, but might be a great way to update with minor things or with small discussion items.

I love that people check facebook, but blogs seem so much more focused. It’s a pain in the butt to have discussions on facebook, but a blog can move so much slower that some time can actually be spent on a topic. I guess I need to have my blog auto-update to facebook just so people see new posts. The average person still can’t do RSS.

I posted on facebook this morning that I was starting a journal for Luke, so I thought I’d share what that is here on the blog. I mentioned it back in October, but I actually started it today.

I’m writing a journal to “future Luke” for him to read when he’s older. Right now our conversations are pretty simple, usually revolving around Elmo, our elbow, or bananas. I can’t tell him how cool it is to see him grow or how fun it is to tickle him, and if I wait 25 years…I’ll probably forget all this little stuff. So instead of waiting and having to remember it all, I’m writing it down for him to read some day. I don’t think I would have truly appreciated something like this from my Dad until I was married and on my own, or even until I had my first kid, but some day he can read it and I think he’ll enjoy it.

Today I told him all about the day he came into the world. There’s all these fun little details like how I had to run through the hospital to get the camera from the car, or how it was pretty scary that first day. I’m not sure I’ll forget that stuff, but it’s something that doesn’t come up in regular conversation. Either because we don’t consciously bring it up, or we get so busy in our day to day life that we forget to reminisce and talk about the past.

So now it’s archived for all eternity. It’s a long project that will take years and dedication to keep up with, but it’s also priceless. It would be so awesome to read what my dad was thinking the day I was born, and to read that 20+ years after he wrote it. Not only is it fun to read about yourself, but to get that insight into what your parents were thinking and feeling is something that’s hard to put a price on. I can’t say exactly how it will turn out, but I highly recommend all new parents give it a shot, because once you forget stuff, it’s gone forever.

This story actually starts like 7 years ago, so I’ll start there.

I remember the day vividly. I was sitting in a computer chair at TBWA\Chiat\Day (the advertising agency I was interning at during my junior year of college). As I was sitting there, I felt a twinge in my lower back, and all my lower back muscles tightened up. For the next 5 years, every couple months it would do the same thing, and I’d end up lying on a bed in pain.

This leads up to about 2 years ago when I decided to go to a chiropractor to fix it, and it worked. Between the adjustments and traction (they strap something around your waist and pull, stretching the spine) I felt a ton better. It’s been almost 2.5 years since I first went, and in that time I haven’t had any problems with my back. As part of my visits though, I would also get my mid-back and neck adjusted. It felt good, and for a long time I had no problems.

But back in April or so I started to have some pain in my neck. You know that tension you get in your fingers that makes you feel like you need to crack them? Well I had that in my neck…and bad. It was to the point that I was always moving my neck around trying to make that feeling go away. Something wasn’t right, and for a while I kept going to the chiropractor hoping she could fix it.

Now I don’t know for sure if going to the chiropractor caused my problems, but after a few months I stopped going to see if it would get better. Some days it would start to feel better, but then out of nowhere it would start up again. Finally about 2 months ago I’d had enough and went to my doctor.

He gave me some pain pills and muscle relaxers (which have helped), but I also started going to physical therapy. Here I am, a “healthy” 20-something guy in a room with a man recovering from a stroke, and mostly people who are easily over 60. For the last two months I’ve had my neck stretched, learned stretching exercises, and gotten mini-massages…and I can finally say I am feeling better.

I’m not 100% yet, but for the first time in many months I’m feeling good. It’s actually been kind of scary. I’ve had this pain for so long that I started to think it would always be like this. Chronic neck pain for the rest of my life? That would suck. I did have some x-rays taken, and all they found was “mild arthritis,” but I’m finally headed in the right direction.

If anything it has given me an appreciation for good health. I’ve always told myself that I don’t want to be the 90 year old guy that complains how much everything hurts, but I wanted to share with everyone.

Post like this on facebook? Never!

Luke (and the rest of us) had a very fun Halloween. He liked being Elmo for the most part, though we spent most of the night without our Elmo head on.

I’m working on getting a plugin working that will automatically cross post to facebook, but it wants a higher PHP doober than we have. Then I would just post to my blog, and have it magically appear on facebook to notify people. Best of both worlds!