Bogieblog

First Full Day of Leisure

My first full day off from work actually worked out well. First, I went to get all my books and stuff from my former employer as I had my bike yesterday and couldn't fit it all on (especially the flat screen monitor I had bought for the laptop they gave me - yes, it was mine, they didn't reimburse me for it). I woke up around my regular time, but took my time and left about 30 minutes later than usual. Would have sworn I was moving an entire appartment's worth of stuff - had 4 boxes, a bag of workout gear and two shoe boxes (oh, and the cooler of food). Tells you how much time I spent there I guess.

The old desktop was 10 years old and groaning and grinding something terrible, and I was afraid that it wouldn't last much longer, so I ordered a new computer last week. I had recieved the new computer, a refurbished higher end HP Thursday, and prior to the lay off I didn't know when I was going to find time to migrate all the stuff from my old computer plus install all the new software (Office and Antivirus plus drivers for printer and wireless mouse/keyboard). So, I spent a lot of today getting it all set up. Just in time for Monday, when I will be filing for unemployment and hitting the interwebz in search of a job.

Also, now have time to take Tory to the vet for his annual physical (I made the appointmet today; he'll go in Tuesday), and I ordered oil as the tank is darn near dry. We figure prices are as low as they'll get, so might as well fill it up. All that and two loads of laudry done, on the line, and folded/hung after they got dry.

Probably won't have time to post this weekend, so wanted to update all as to a few of the doings around here.

Bother

Why does Norton's insist on telling me whe the CPU has high useage from Interned Explorer? If I am using a good percent of my CPU resources, I don't need a program to use even more of those resources to tell me I am looking at several content rich pages. Thanks, I knew that, that is why it is so slow. Quit slowing me down even further!

Kindle Fire Price drop?

Is Amazon set to drop Kindle Fire price to $149?.

Dang, I bought a refurbished Kindle Fire about a month ago for just slightly less than that (and let me tell you, the refurb's do not stay in stock long - I missed out the first offering I heard of). I certainly would have bought a new one for that price.

Future Style

You've seen them in futuristic movies, you've seen limited use in commercials. Pretty soon, I'm guessing, they'll be in general use; glasses that make our electronic gadgets hands free. That means we can take photographs while driving or carrying in the gorceries, without holding a camera, phone or other device. People will be making phone calls, writing in their diaries (or blogs), adding items tp their grocery and to-do lists, all thru the use of these glasses.

I don't kow whether to think that it's a great invention that will keep us from having pocket loads of stuff with us, or to be totally aghast at what is going to be distracting drivers and people walking the aisles in the grocery stores.

Blogger Book Sale

Forgot to mention that John Eddy (part time blogger on Weekend Pundit) has a special price on the Kindle/Nook versions of Methuselah's Daughter for only 99 cents. I downloaded my copy from Amazon (I can read such things off my phone when in line at the store) - I would assume you can download your copy from whatever is your favorite retailer. Really, for 99 cents, you can't go wrong.

I'm unsure of how long this special will last, so download today to ensure you get the best price and help him raise money for insurance for his youngest.

Face Booking It

I created a Face Book acount 5-6 months ago as I wanted to see some pictures from a friend, and I couldn't without being a member. In my first post there, I explained what I was doing, and I would be doing all my posting on my blog.

Thursday I got on to my FB account for only the second time and found that I had friend invites from 5 people (all of them months old). All were from family members and friends, so I accepted, finally.

And before you ask, no, I didn't get the emails telling me of the friend requests. Why? Because I gave them another email account that is only used by that - something I didn't think I ever needed to monitor. So now I guess I have to monitor that one too - 3 email accounts I have to keep up with. Fortunately my phone has several different email programs; I didn't like either of the 2 that came with it, so downloaded K-9 Mail, which is what I use for my normal, every day, email (you can get it thru the Android Marketplace too). I don't really have to monitor the blog email, so that is done thru the desktop anyway. I set up one of the crappy mail apps that came with the phone for the FB mail account so I don't miss anything important.

So, now I guess I need to post to FB every once in a while. Somehow I just don't get their layout at all. I had one conversation from my SIL (she asked me a question) and I couldn't for the life of me find it on the site. I finally had to respond from the email I got - and FB is the poplular method of communication why? Blogs seem so much more user friendly and intuitive.

Guess I'm just showing how flexible I am not.

Sometimes They Do Listen

The local radio station hasn't advertised the IHeartRadio app for several weeks. This morning, on my way in to work, they started advertising it again. I figured that meant that they had a new version out, so I went to the app download page and saw that it is up to version 4.0.2, with "bug fixes", and downloaded the app.

Clear Channel must have gotten enough negative feedback that they performed bug fixes because this time it is working. Haven't used it but a couple of minutes (am listening to it now), so can't say it works as well as the old version did, but it is a huge leap forward over the version I couldn't get to load at all!

Dropping Phones (Not Phone Dropages)

For those of you trying to decide between an IPhone and a Samsung Galaxy SII, maybe this will help make u your mind.

Disclaimer: I have a Galaxy S, not the same phone, but very close. I don't know if the test is repeatable. Nobody paid me in any way, shape, or form to post this. Oh, and I don't give a rat's ass which phone you decide on, I just needed something to blog about!

Good App, Bad App

I downloaded the IHeartRadio app for Android to my phone because a couple of local stations (with the morning show I like to listen to) can be accessed thru that app. I listen to the morning show at work, but some of the machines interfere with the reception on my Walkman (like an IPod, only by Sony, much cheaper, and has a radio feature) so at times the sound is all crackly. The app worked great and I loved the crisp clear sound I got.

About 2months ago, the radio station started advertising the new IHeartRadio app, with all kinds of improvements. I resisted, but then about 3 weeks ago I downloaded the upgrade. The upgrade, like some computer programs, unloaded the first version, then loaded the new version.

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO DISAPPOINTED IN AN APP! the thing does not work - literally. It hangs while loading the permissions. I thought maybe it was me. So, I updated my phone firmware. Tried it again. No dice. Then, I looked and saw that the app (which had previously sported 4.5 stars out of 5 from thousands of users) was suddenly getting 1 star from hundreds of users. It is not me, for a change.

I have left feedback at the app site and at the radio station. And it isn't as simple as downloading another radio app, because owners of radio companies(in this case, ClearChannel) decide which app will carry their stations (or the companies create their own apps - I'm not clear on this). But the point is, I've tried several apps, but I can't access the two local stations that I listen to.

Anyway, this is a word of warning for anyone contemplating downloading this particular app on an Android phone - stay away, it sucks!

Help with Androids

Just in case anyone needs it, there is an Android device forum. I haven't had a chance to really look at it, but from what I've seen, it should be helpful for newbies and those with issues.