Life in the Mind of a Modest Genius

I Went to T-Mobile and All I Got Was This Stupid Gel Cover

No matter what, I still enjoy my Blackberry Curve.  Probably even more so after I went and test drove the Blackberry Storm and the iPhone 3G.  As impressive as both of those new joints were, they just didn't offer all of the full capabilities that I have grown accustomed to and appreciate with the Curve.  However, I continue to grow steadily frustrated with the T-Mobile network.  So much so that I finally went down to one of their stores to try to get some assistance with some problems I had been having.

I had noticed that there had been something peculiar happening with my text messages.  Sometimes my phone would randomly reset and I would lose any saved messages as well as not be able to receive any.  When it first started happening, customer service tried to tell me it was because the phone was roaming when I was driving and it changed towers.  It sounded pretty janky but it made logical sense.  I bought it until it started happening even while the phone was just sitting at home not being used.

The guy in their store had no clue what was causing it either.  He tried doing some thing where the reload all the apps and reset the phone to see if that would make a difference.  I'm supposed to be monitoring it over the next 24 to 48 hours to see if it worked so the jury's still out on whether or not that fix truly helped.

The little cassette icon has also been staying on the screen which normally means I have voicemail waiting.  However, even when I clear out the voicemail, it remains there.  Hector (no clue if that was his real name...he just looked like a Hector to me) tried removing the battery and putting it back to see if that would solve it.  Yeah...because I hadn't thought of that idea before.  Of course that didn't work.  He had no answer for that one either.

Lastly, there is this nifty app called Vlingo I wanted to download to my Curve.  It allows you to compose text messages by speaking into the phone and it translates your voice into the text message.  Everytime I tried to download it, I kept getting the message "download failed".  Hector tried every trick he knew and also kept getting the Heisman.

At least I did get a gel cover out of the whole ordeal.  Now I know longer have to worry about my phone getting nicked and having a ratty look to it.  The black glove look also compliments the gold color of the Curve and you all know my affinity for the color black and old gold.  So I guess the hour I spent there wasn't a total wash.  Yeah...because getting a gel cover out of the whole deal was a good trade off.

The Blu Ray Experience

Ever since the PS3 has been in the house, I have been looking forward to finally getting a Blu Ray disc to test out the new technology.  It had to be just the right one though.  One that would have the special effects that would be properly accentuated by the high definition graphics.  The recent release of "Iron Man" seemed to be the perfect candidate.

Hopes were high that the Blu Ray disc would meet all the expectations I had kept reading about.  Apparently I had set them too high myself because it fell short it far too many areas.  So much so that I was disappointed enough to take out the Blu Ray disc and put in a regular dvd.  So where to start...

First and foremost, Blu Ray only offers one format for the screen which is widescreen.  I cannot stand watching a movie in that format on a  television.  It shrinks the picture and doesn't maximize the full use of your big screen television.  I don't care that it supposedly gives you an extra couple of inches on either side of the movie.  The picture itself is so skinny that it still makes the movie harder to watch.

The other problem was the picture was entirely too dark.  I know it couldn't have been my television because it had been just fine before and after I took the Blu Ray disc out.  Plus, it was fine when I put in a regular dvd also.  I shouldn't have to adjust the settings on the television just to watch one dvd no matter how much higher quality it was supposed to be.

Then there is the factor of the quality itself.  Was it really that much more clearer than a regular dvd?  I have to admit that I did not see a huge difference.  It may have something to do with the fact that the PS3 wasn't connected by HD cables to the television.  Or perhaps the fact that this big screen tv is now going on almost five years old so it's not of the same plasma technology that gets the most out of Blu Ray discs.

The biggest issue I had wasn't the Blu Ray disc's fault at all.  Because I had to play the Blud Ray disc thru the PS3, I wasn't able to have the full surround sound come thru my stereo.  That only works when the television is playing on Directv channels or a regular dvd is playing in the dvd player.  I probably could have figured out how to wire the PS3 to the receiver so it could get the sound too; however, by that time, I was so frustrated with the other downsides that I didn't want to invest the time in it.

I couldn't even get all the way thru the movie because I was so dissatisfied with the aforementioned items.  It's a good thing I had already seen it because I was tempted to try to take the movie back I was so upset.  One of these days when can I can afford a more modern television, maybe it will be worth it, but for now, not so much.

On This Day...

Normally, I wouldn't be one to memorialize a random date here.  It just so happens that the TJMS brought up something historic that occurred 41 years ago today that was rather significant.  It would have been a perfect candidate for my Thursday Throwback, but I already had something else in mind for this week.  Too bad it's not near as good as this nugget of which I was just reminded.

It was on October 1, 1966 that revolutionaries Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland, California. The party's Black nationalist attraction forced a belligerent U.S. government to rethink the oppression they tried to subject our people to.

The group initially began on the foundation of a Ten-Point program.  This is so sad but I never knew what all of those 1o points were until today.  I'm guessing several of you didn't know either (or forgot) so I'll take it upon myself to enlighten you:

1. We want power to determine the destiny of our black and oppressed communities
2. We want full employment for our people
3. We want an end to the robbery by the capitalist of our Black Community
4. We want decent housing, fit for the shelter of human beings
5. We want decent education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society.  We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society.
6. We want completely free health care for all black and oppressed people
7. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people, other people of color, all oppressed people inside the United States
8. We want an immediate end to all wars of aggression
9. We want freedom for all black and oppressed people now held in U. S. Federal, state, county, city and military prisons and jails. We want trials by a jury of peers for all persons charged with so-called crimes under the laws of this country.
10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace and people's community control of modern technology.

That wasn't too much to ask for, was it?  During a time when we didn't even have the right to vote, of course it was.  Not only was The Black Panther Party basically demand fulfillment of the "40 acres and a mule" promise, they were also willing to defend themselves and their communities while waiting for it.

The 60s was one of my favorite eras in American history because of how volatile it was and how it forged the conscience of our society.  I often think of what it would have been like for me had I lived back then.  Would I have been a member of the Black Panthers?  Most likely.  Unfortunately, because of my stubbornness, I probably would have also been one of their casualties when the federal government went to great lengths to destroy the organization.

There was a time and place for everything and The Black Panthers definitely served their purpose in that era.  I honestly know very little at all about the New Black Panther Party that has resurfaced within the last decade.  However, I do know that our mentality as a people has shifted dramatically. 

Remember the scene in "I'm Gonna' Git You Sucka" when Jack Spade tries to recruit Black Nationalists and realizes they found that working in corporate America was more important?  It was comedy but there was a lot of truth to that.  That came out during the 80s when money was the driving factor.  In the 21st century, not a whole lot has changed. 

Long story short, I admire the Black Panther Party for what they attempted to achieve and for the things they did accomplish.  Their formation was  very important piece of Black history that helped us to get to where we are today.  Moreover, it helps us to see what still needs to be done to get to where we need to go.

On the Hunt Again

The beloved Maxima has seen its final road trip.  It had a pretty good run though.  It's pushing 188,000 miles so it's not like it was going to last forever.  It still baffles me when I hear people talk about how they have vehicles that have lasted for 250K+ in miles.  Well those folks must not have ever had four children and had to drive all over here and creation.

We've been looking for a different vehicle to trade in the Maxima for about a week now.  At first, we were set on a Pontiac Vibe as we saw some that we thought would be in our price range.  Then we come to find out that old Maxie doesn't have the trade-in value we thought so that limited our options.

For some reason, D got set on Chrysler Sebrings.  They are pretty decent cars.  I'm not usually a Chrysler fan (or even an American model car fan for that matter) but Chrysler had regained my respect over the recent years with their new additions.  I still wouldn't mind getting a 300 and trickin' it out if I ever came into a little money.

Our selections have been narrowed down to a 2004 Sebring at Deery Motors, a 2004 Sebring at Tom's and now a 2000 Jimmy at Bett's.  The Jimmy came into the mix purely by happenstance.  We were looking for something else and came across that one.  Test drove it and everybody dug it right away.  All three vehicles appear to be in very good shape and have been maintained very well. 

My preference would be the Jimmy.  Given the climate that we live in, it makes more sense to have a vehicle like that.  Plus, it was black and had quite the menacing look to it so it would match with my personality perfectly. I forgot to take a photo of any of the cars so you'll have to just use this photo I grabbed off the net to get a general idea.

We'll have to see how everything pans out today as to what the decision will be.  One way or another, Maxie's getting put out to pasture and this her last week with us.  By the end of the week, the Quest will no longer be the new kid on the block. 

Black History Month in Review

Well it looks like our time in the spotlight has come to an end.  Yeah, right.  As Tom Joyner always likes to point out (and even McDonalds too, even though they don't back it up as much), Black History lasts 365 days a year.  For argument's sake, we'll just look back at the month that is nationally recognized as Black History Month.

I have to say it was an overall pretty good month.  The best Black History Month ever?  I don't know about that but only because I don't have a barometer to compare it to.  It's not like I measure each February to the previous one to see how they stack up.  However, look at what this February produced...

1.  The Soul Bowl

That's what many people had rightly dubbed this year's Super Bowl.  It wasn't good enough that we have the first Black head coach ever in the game...we had BOTH coaches being the first Black head coach ever.  One way or another history was going to be made with the championship and Tony Dungy was awarded the distinction of being the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl championship

2.  Barack Obama

Of course it's not the first time that we've had a Black candidate for  the presidency.  Dare I say that it is the first time that we've had one this qualified though?  Sources as credible as CNN are already trying their best to belittle his campaign by saying Black voters are lukewarm on Obama.  Some even say he should just settle for being a VP candidate for now to get more experience and then go for the gold later.  They must not have heard that you can't keep a good brotha down so in the words of the immortal Ludacris..."MOVE!  GET OUT THE WAY!"

3.  The Oscars 

Did you know that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences includes only 110 African Americans out of its 5,830 members?  Yet in spite of that, this year's ceremony featured five of us as nominees in the acting categories.  Forest Whitaker becomes only the second brotha to win Best Actor and Jennifer Hudson walked away with Best Supporting Actress as a rookie.  And to think that Eddie was probably just one "Norbit" away from giving us three winners that night.

4.  Black Ice

I never thought ESPN of all things would be the one medium that would hip me to something I should have already known.  In their  book "Black Ice" George and Darril Fosty (kinda ironic that he's just an "r" away from being "Frosty) found proof that brothas in the late 19th century had formulated the Colored Hockey League that existed from 1895 to just past World War I.  This would have been nearly a decade before the birth of the National Hockey Association which would later evolve into the NHL.  Naturally, there's no mention of this league in the NHL Hall of Fame.  Nevertheless, it's funny that even the one sport we don't dominate owes much to our contributions.

A pretty good February indeed. 

Kih-Kih-Kih...Heh-Heh-Heh...

A little bit of movie trivia, how many of you know that the patented theme music for Jason Voorhees was actually a sound clip looped over from the phrase "Kill her" that Mrs. Voorhees says in the first "Friday the 13th"?  Before I found that out, I always thought the music you hear when he's stalking around was "Ch-ch-ch..ah-ah-ah".  Not that any of you probably care, but I just thought it was interesting.

Anyway, today marks the ubiquitous Friday the 13th itself.  Pretty convenient it should fall in the month of October with Halloween and all.  The number 13 shouldn't be considered an unlucky number in and of itself. I've already briefly touched on that.  But how in the world did the actual day Friday the 13th ever get such an evil connotation?'

The closest thing I could find was that the arrest of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar and 60 of his senior knights on Friday, October 13, 1307 was arrested by King Philip IV of France.  That day, thousands of Templars were arrested and subsequently tortured.  Ten they confessed and they were executed.  From that day on, Friday the 13th was considered by followers of the Templars as an evil and unlucky day.  And apparently, later on by other sheeple everywhere

Today, it's more commonly associated with the actual movie, "Friday the 13th".  When it first came out, it was one of the first mainstream movies to feature such unmitigated gore.  It's just too bad that it spawned so many awful sequels.  The original and even the sequel are horror classics.

Personally, I never understood why it was such an unlucky day.  There are actually people out there who are so frightened of it that it has it's own phobia:  paraskavedekatriaphobia refers to the fear of Friday the 13th.  I wonder when they're going to invent a phobia for the fear of stupid people?

Read This or Your Cell Phone Will Blow Up at the Gas Pump While You Are Eaten Alive By Anacondas After You've Saved a Cancer Patient's Life By Forwarding an E-Mail to 12 Different People

Question:  Are you one of those people who believes every e-mail forwarded to you?  I'm not talking about the ones that are obvious jokes or the friendly ones announcing some news of a family member or friend.  I'm talking about those "WARNING-BEWARE!" e-mails.

Don't feel bad if you are because I used to be to.  The thing is, I really should have known better having a journalism background.  The first thing they teach in you in that discipline is verify your facts.

I was reminded of this again recently when a co-worker received the infamous "Anaconda eats sleeping camper" e-mail at work.  He had never seen it before and swore it was the truth.  It looked believable enough.  It wasn't.  It had also been circulating the internet for several years.

This is why I'm such a huge fan of www.snopes.com.  A VERY user-friendly site that takes the time to not only explain to you why or why not a urban legend may be false, but also provides sources for their resource.

So the next time you get an e-mail telling you Chewbacca was really a woman who was an ex-Green Beret paid to cause 9/11 while giving away Bill Gates money to those who support Target, just make sure you go an extra step and check to see if it's true before contributing to the madness.  It's better to stay informed than to stay in the dark.

Sprecken ze Doich?

I don't even know if I got that phrase right.  I'm about 99% certain I misspelled it.  Hope I didn't offend any of my Swedish and/or German readers out there.  I put that there because it reminded me of what just happened to me.

Amazon had usually been pretty good to me when I ordered things off there.  That's where I would get some of the hard to find movies that I wanted to add to my collection like "Krush Groove" and "Car Wash".  It's only extremely reasonable so it's always the safest bet.

Well I guess I deserved what happened to me.  I was wanting to find a cheap copy of "Me, Myself and Irene".  It kept coming on cable and I remembered how much better the uncensored version was.  I found a very inexpensive copy out there for around five bucks.  Who could pass up a deal like that?!  I should have because I didn't pay very close attention to the small print.  What you see here is what I got in the mail.

What in the world? I look at the package it came in and it was from some company called "In and Out Records" with an stateside address.  How did I not notice that when I ordered it that it wasn't an English version?

I figured maybe it was just the cover and the actual dvd would be in English and be just fine.  I couldn't even get that far. I got a message saying "THIS DISC CANNOT BE PLAYED IN YOUR REGION".  Nice.  Well at least I'm only out 5 bones.  I know next time to pay closer attention when I try to bargain shop online.

Quick Juneteenth Amendment

Don't know how I forgot about this before but Dad inadvertently reminded me.  While I was at the park for Juneteenth this past Saturday, there was a reporter there from the Des Moines Register.  I was minding my own business, taking my photos, when she came up to me and asked if I would mind if she interviewed me real quick.  Of course I didn't mind.  Sure enough, I got my words in the paper.  I don't know how long this link is good for, but here's the online version of the story:

Me dropping knowledge about Juneteenth

The way that Dad reminded me of it was this morning I got an e-mail from him.  In it, he shared that he was at a Juneteenth celebration in Bloomington and a reporter for that local paper stepped to him about doing a quick interview.  Naturally, he obliged as well.  Here's his words:

Dad drops science about Juneteenth

Funny how we're in two different spots yet something about us has the magnetism that draws people to us to ask informative questions.  I can thank Dad for that too.

Not Quite the Magic Number

"Here is the wisdom.  Let him having reason count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.  And its number is six hundred and sixty-six."  -- Revelations 13:18

We have come to a landmark moment in time that will only occur once in our lifetimes.  A date on the calendar that is a very unfortunate event.  And thank God it will never come around again. 6-6-06.

How ironic is that as much evil as the number 666 has associated with it that it's not treated with more abhorrence?  There are still multiple hotels that refuse to have a 13th floor or room 13 because it is considered unlucky.  However, they see no problem having a room 666.  How is the sign of the beast NOT considered unlucky?

As a little sidenote, the number 13 gets quite the undeserved bad rap.  It should be considered just the opposite of evil.  13 is the number of transformation.  The completion of a cycle is represented by 12 and 12+1 is the transformation of the energy that completes the cycle to a higher, more spiritual level.  You can witness this philosophy exhibited with the symbolism of Jesus Christ and the 12 disciples, the sun and the 12 signs of the Zodiac, King Arthur and the 12 knights of the round table and even December 25th and the 12 nights of Christmas.

Instead, 666 should be commonly known as the epitome of bad luck because of what it represents.  Hollywood has even recognized this and attempted to cash in on it.  "The Omen" remake opens in theaters on this date.  How appropriate for a movie about the son of Satan.  The city of Hell, Michigan is celebrating the occasion by holding a party.  Check out their stupidity here.  Also very appropriate given their namesake.

I personally make it a habit to avoid the number at any opportunity I get.  If I'm making a purchase and the total comes to $6.66, I will find something else to buy whether I need it or not.  Likewise if I find out my change is that amount.  Needless to say, I will never live in a place with that number for an address, stay in a room in a hotel with that number or have a phone number with that sequence of numbers.

Did you know there's even a word for people with the condition that have a fear of the number 666? It's called "Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia".  Now I don't profess to have that "condition".  In all actuality, I fear nothing but God Himself.  However, I will always maintain that there is very little more inherently evil than that number as the sign of the beast.  That's alright though because just remember one thing:  Know God...know peace.