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18th
NOV
Theres A Storm Coming…
Posted by Jon under News, Product Review
As many of you I’m sure have heard, on Friday November 21st, the newest member of the Blackberry Family (the Storm) will be released under Verizon Wireless. The European phone service Vodaphone also was given rights to sell the device. For a two-year contract the price will be $199.99, closer to $300 for a one-year and the month-to-month will be around $500. The Vodaphone model was released this past week, which has allowed for some good videos to get us our early exposure.
**All Specifications are taken from Blackberry.com**
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11th
NOV
Tonight’s TV Lineup
Posted by Jon under News
A new episode of House is on tonight as well as some good repeats of The Office.
8-9PM - House on FOX
The Itch
House and the team make a house call when an agoraphobe won’t leave his home, but the patient’s deteriorating condition makes it imperative to get him to a hospital. Meanwhile, House copes with a trouble-some itch.
10-11PM - The Office on TBS
Email Surveillance Tue. November, 11 at 10:00 pm
When Michael begins monitoring their e-mails, he manages to upset all of the employees.
Booze Cruise Tue. November, 11 at 10:30 pm
When Michael takes the Mifflin crew on a motivational harbor cruise, things get out of hand and Michael ends up in the brig.
9th
NOV
Strength & Conditioning Update!
Posted by Jon under Fitness
So the fall season just ended a couple weeks ago, as well as one of my classes. We won’t start practice again until the beginning of January (start of the second semester). Until then its strictly conditioning and lifting to prepare for another long stretch. This year our non conference schedule looks pretty tough but especially in Florida should prepare us for a good run … hopefully to the World Series. This 8 weeks I will be focusing on increase of size so during winter practice, I can pack on at least another 40-50 pounds on my squat and 25 or so pounds to my bench press. This will be our third week of the stuff and so far it seems to be paying off personally.
16th
AUG
Michael Phelps … man, machine or fish?
Posted by Jon under News
This year the Olympics main attraction was without doubt Michael Phelps. After a six medal performance in the 2004 Olympics in Athens the thought of him possibly winning a stunning 8 gold medals in one Olympics. As of Saturday August 16th Michael Phelps holds the record for most gold medals at 13.
| Athlete, Country | Sport | Medals |
| Michael Phelps, USA | Swimming 2004 (6); ‘08 (8) |
14 |
| Carl Lewis, USA | Track and field 1984 (4); ‘88 (2); ‘92 (2); ‘96 (1) |
9 |
| Mark Spitz, USA | Swimming ‘68 (2); ‘72 (7) |
9 |
| Larysa Latynina, USSR | Gymnastics ‘56 (4); ‘60 (3); ‘64 (2) |
9 |
| Paavo Nurmi, FIN | Track and field ‘20 (3); ‘24 (4); ‘28 (2) |
9 |
Phelps could have tied Mark Spitz with 7 gold medals in one Olympics at the 2004 showing however he did not compete in a final event which kept him at 6.
Phelps in the 2008 Olympics looks like this:
• Race No. 2 — 4×100 free relay
• Race No. 5 — 4×200 free relay
• Race No. 6 — 200 individual medley
• Race No. 7 — 100 butterfly: By far the most stunning performance as he outstretched Milorad Cavic by .01 seconds to take the gold medal.
• Race No. 8 — 4×100 medley relay
One thing that must not be forgotten is the fact that Phelps swam multiple races in many of these for semi final races on top of the finals for the medals. That is one thing that Mark Spitz pointed out when interviewed after the 100 butterfly. This has just been a case of pure domination and an ideal case of what preparation can do for you.
With the gold medal win that happened just moments ago Michael Phelps has won the most medals in an Olympics EVER!
10th
AUG
Need a new tv?!?! Learn the differences between LCD vs Plasma vs DLP
Posted by Jon under Product Review
Seeing as how I have had my current tv for about 8 years, I have started to do some research on new technologies. There are three different technologies that one should be able to identify pro’s and con’s based on their needs and budget.
LCD - Or Liquid Crystal Display, has the screen setup with tons of electrodes. Each one is controlled individually and set to a certain color based on the picture. The good thing about lcd’s is you can find them at pretty much any size. They do sometimes suffer ghosting which means there is a slight blur because the picture is moving too fast. This type of set can be bad for video games and watching sports because of that.
- Pro’s: Stylish, Many screen sizes
- Con’s: Ghosting issues, Expensive, Lighter Colors
Plasma - Plasma sets use gases that control electrodes, somewhat like LCD sets. The user is never exposed to the gases and would have to destroy the set to be exposed really. Plasma’s are going to have your movie theatre black colors. The only major problem they have had in the past is burn-in. Burn-in is when you leave a picture with a logo or something permanent on the screen for a long period of time and the picture becomes burned into the screen and cannot be removed. This would be bad for games like Halo 3 that have a radar always on the screen. The good thing is they don’t suffer from ghosting so watching sports produces a great picture. As far as appearance you can’t tell by looking at the tv so you will have to check the information on each tv. A good eye will be able to catch the differences.
- Pro’s: Middle priced, Darker Blacks and better colors
- Con’s: Have had burn-in issues, No smaller versions
DLP - This technology uses a sort of color wheel where different colors are the light projected. I actually have a DLP set so I can speak first hand. I have never seen any ghosting issues because there are none. This is most like original tv’s which still produce the best results. You can hook dlp’s up to computers just like lcd’s and video games look good as well. Companies are cutting down on the back side size of the sets more recently Samsung has released a new 61inch tv with a slim back. Even though their size can be big they are relatively light weight. They start at 50inch but can go upwards of 70inches for lots of times half the price of LCD or Plasma sets.
- Pro’s: Relatively inexpensive, Bigger Screen Size, Long Life
- Con’s: Possible rainbow effect, slightly bulky in size
As you can see there are many choices out there for a new tv. You will not find one of the above in anything but HDTV and more are coming stock with 1080p or “full hd”. Most hd channels today are broadcasted in 720p but you might as well get 1080p if you can. The difference isn’t necessarily noticable below 50inches though. The number refers to the image and how many lines are in hd. A 720p picture on a 1080p set is just stretched out to fit the screen. Most normal tv’s run in what is called interlaced or 1080i is a common number to see with 720p. This means the picture is actually done in two sets. One is taken every other line for the odds and the same for the evens. Every line that does not have picture on it is black and then they are meshed together. On a progressive tv, thats what the p means, the tv will change the whole picture together which causes a more accurate and better picture.
Remember .. prices are always dropping on these sets. I saw a 42inch 1080p LCD by AOC at Costco for $799.99 last month and the more well known brands are also dropping prices at more of a steady rate though. If you don’t want to break the bank and have the room, I would suggest going with a DLP because you can get a huge picture with 1080p for 1-2k that would cost you at least double that in an LCD or Plasma tv.
2nd
AUG
Manny sent packing…
Posted by Jon under Sports
The Dodgers were probably the biggest winners before the trade deadline. Not only did they get Casey Blake for third base from the Indians, they also acquired Manny. Problems definitely had been stirring in Boston so Manny being sent on his way wasn’t really unexpected but at least in my opinion going to the Dodgers was. Manny had a fight early with Kevin Youkilis after their bench clearing brawl with the Tampa Bay Rays and a number of other problems like running through stop signs by Sox third base coach. It was obvious both sides needed to part ways. On ESPN’s Sportscenter last week, Manny said basically he wanted out of Boston. I’m sure he was reminded of when he was almost traded for A-Rod and that wouldn’t sit well with anybody. Anyways the Dodgers should be competitive in post season play seeing as how they got rid of 4 young players for 2 veterans. My beloved Braves parted ways with Mark Teixeria. He could have had a contract extension with the Braves in spring training but passed on that and it seems the Angels only want his services for the remainder of this year. So if there is a team out there looking for a young upcoming star he is a good choice but I am sure he will come with a large price tag.
For more information on winners and losers, check out USA Today.
27th
JUL
Step Brothers is hilarious!!!
Posted by Jon under Movies
On Friday I went to see this movie and oh boy was I pleased. I was skeptical that it might be another Semi Pro but it wasn’t close. The showing I went to (9pm) was sold out and I believe the one before was as well. It is filled with typical Will Farrell humor, I would say close to Talladega Nights and the all mighty ’shake n bake’. If you have seen previews for the movie on tv its similar comedy to those with a few clips that I am sure couldn’t be shown on tv. The basic plot is the two are step brothers (Reilly is 40 and Farrell is 39) that still live at home and have to share a room. Basically they still act like kids but have adult humor incorporated in the movie. I would give this a 5 star rating because of how much I laughed. This is a great comeback movie for Farrell from his disappointment Semi Pro.
17th
JUL
New Blackberries!!!!!
Posted by Jon under News
So this is for all of you blackberry lovers out there. Blackberry will be releasing THREE new models including the Bold, Thunder, and Javelin.
The bold is going to offer a fast 624-MHz processor to make those games or business applications run faster than before. As far as entertainment you will be able to have videos and upload songs from your iTunes to the phone. This allows for playlists for music which is a nice feature. The Bold will include GPS and Wi-Fi connectivity. Overall the look is similar to the Curve but with a few more features.
Next is the Javelin. This phone is going to be designed in 2.5G so the network speed won’t be 3G which is planned to come out sometime in 2009. The bold will come out before the other two phones. There will be a 3.2 megapixel camera for those action shots. Blackberry camera’s are such good quality as well .. wish I had one. I’m not really a fan of the design colors and the bold, javelin and curve look mighty similar.
Now the one many people are looking forward to … especially myself. THE THUNDER! The Thunder will sport the touch keyboard instead of a physical keyboard like all the other blackberries. The Thunder will have 4 physical keys for menu, exit, call and end call. The phone even though seems that it may be a touch bigger than the iphone, the typing will be far easier because of more screen. Changing to the touch screen will be a huge step but with the stable operating systems that blackberry phones run on I see this phone blowing the iphone out of the water. This phone will also operate on a 3G network but nobody knows when it will be realeased.
8th
JUL
Hell’s Kitchen Finale Tonight!!
Posted by Jon under News
One of my absolute favorite night time shows has to be Hell’s Kitchen. Why? Well personally I like Chef Ramsay because he gets so mad at the contestants and is pretty much like Simon on American Idol. Tonight Christina will battle Petrozza in the last episode of the season. I think Petrozza will win but its so funny when Ramsay calls him a slob and a pig. Christina didn’t seem too certain with her side of the restaurant even though she knew how it was being designed and I wonder if that will affect her. Hopefully Jen and Matt cause some more drama though because they are very capable of it. Anyways tonight @ 9/8c the episode will be on Fox and you should all tune in.
vs 
5th
JUL
MLB All Star Rosters Will Be Announced Sunday….
Posted by Jon under Sports
Its time for the Major League Baseball Allstar Game again. Who will be on the team? Well for my favorite Braves, the no doubter is Chipper Jones who is hitting a whopping .389. A-Rod will most likely be the choice for the Ameican League since he is a fan favorite as it is. I am personally hoping for some younger talent to get into the ranks such as maybe B.J. Upton (who is helping lead the division leading Rays) or Robinson Cano even though its probably not going to happen. I don’t expect to see many Mets on the list since they have all been struggling to even have a winning record. If only Willie Randolph could coach the team! haha. Somebody else who I would like to see in the All-star game would be Rick Ankiel just because he started out as a pitcher who lost control, went down the minors, and returned a few years later as an outfielder?!?!?!?! Its such an odd story especially since pitchers rarely are even good at hitting but this guy can play a position as well. You can find mlb.com’s all-star selection page here and you can find ESPN’s version here. Also Bon Jovi will be performing July 12th in New York’s Central Park.
In other baseball news, mlb.com is offereing a chance of a lifetime. You can submit an audition to be a “rookie” reporter in the WORLD SERIES. How it will work is: you submit an application, and then several people will be chose to battle it out in several competitions, and last but not least America will vote for who they think should be the broadcaster. Sounds like a pretty unique opportunity to me but unfortunately I do not have the deep, microphone loving voice that you o so long to hear.
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Recent Posts
- Theres A Storm Coming…
- Tonight’s TV Lineup
- Strength & Conditioning Update!
- Michael Phelps … man, machine or fish?
- Need a new tv?!?! Learn the differences between LCD vs Plasma vs DLP