Mr Marvelous goes to the planetarium

This past Thursday I accompanied Stephanie's 2nd grade class to the planetarium at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. I babysat chaperoned four students around the museum as they attempted to wreak havoc on everything in sight.

In the shot above, my group of kids were hanging out with Stephanie's group. They figured they could cause more mischief in larger numbers.


(one of the students tried to say my name and came up with Mr Marvelous. Who am I to argue?)

World Series tickets? Nope...just wasted paper

Well the Tribe has done it. Wasted a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series. After their complete collapse in games 5 & 6, they pretty much rolled over and died after about 6 innings last night in game 7.

It sucks that they lost, but it sucks even more that Stephanie and I had managed to get tickets to the World Series if Cleveland had made it. Stephanie had signed up for the ticket lottery and was selected. I sat at work this past Wednesday frantically trying to get whatever tickets were left by the time Ticketmaster opened up sales to the public (who had gotten a code from the Indians...or who had bought one of these codes on eBay for $175+).

Games 1 & 2 were completely sold out, but I was able to get tickets to a potential game 6 of the series. Nose bleed seats...but World Series tickets nonetheless.

Could we have sold these tickets and made even more profit than the Hannah Montana tickets?

Unfortunately, now that it's going to be a Rockies v. Red Socks World Series, these Indians tickets aren't worth the paper they're printed on. Maybe next year.

Go Tribe.

About time, Verizon

For those of you who have been heeding my advice and avoiding the Moto Q in favor of a better smartphone on Verizon, looks like VZW is finally going to be releasing some of these long-awaited devices.

And for those of you who jumped ship because you couldn't resist the Jesus Phone, just remember to practice safe phoning.

Navigon Who?

I was just reading latest Fast Company and came across an ad for a new (?) consumer GPS company called Navigon. The ad caught my attention because it showed what they refer to as Reality View instead of the typical 2D or 3D depiction of the map that we're used to from Garmin and Tom Tom.

The Reality View attempts to show you the upcoming road right down to lane lines and guard rails (not to mention cheesy background skylines).

This seems like a really cool concept, but the more I thought about it, it seems like it'd be pretty distracting. For example, in the image above, you are supposed to exit the road to the right. Well the arrow where you're supposed to be going is all the way to the edge of the screen and not something that I would be able to notice at a glance. Is that more easily read and interpreted than a standard 2D or 3D map?

Some of the other features of this GPS really do seem useful, like the included Zagat Guide reviews and free traffic information. Seems like pretty nice features for a $400 GPS.

If you're interested in seeing a demo of this product, check it out here. Watch the demo and then someone please tell me what the heck is up with the "Please Insert SD Card!" screen at the very end.

PMB / Josh Kelley @ HOB

Stephanie and I went to see Pat McGee Band and Josh Kelley last night at the House of Blues. The concert was held in the Cambridge room at the HOB, not the main stage. The Cambridge room is a tiny little venue that probably only holds 300 or so. Stephanie and I got a prime spot in front of the stage for the whole show!



Josh Kelley opened the night and turned out to be the better of the two performances. Pat McGee Band, one of my all-time favorites, doesn't seem to have the same energy that they used to (although this may be in large part due to the recent loss of their drummer, Chris). Josh Kelley, on the other hand, is a great performer and really seemed to have fun with the audience. The keyboardist, Dave Yaden, was having even more fun than Josh - he was either high on something...or just insane.



When Josh Kelley's set was over, a lot of the crowd left. I was surprised that more people weren't there to see PMB...or at least stick around to see if PMB was any good. We kept our front row spot in front of the keyboard stand, now occupied by Jonathan Williams, as PMB began their set.



Near the end of the show, the members of Josh Kelley's band came out and did some jamming with PMB. Dave Yaden sat down with Jonathan at the keys and started playing in his psychedelic style...Jonathan didn't seem to know what to make of him.



Josh Kelley seems to enjoy playing other people's instruments. During his set, he switched spots with his drummer during one song. At the end of the PMB set, Josh was standing at the side of the stage and playing on one of Chardy's bongos. (Note Jonathan laying on the floor of the stage watching)

Overall it was a very fun concert and I'll definitely have to check out more of Josh Kelley's music.

Most pointless software ever....after AOL, of course

I was just checking on my Hannah Montana auction and noticed a post about eBay's new "public Beta" of their eBay Desktop software.

First of all, the concept of a Public Beta is somewhat ridiculous anyway...when did a Beta test become a public event? The whole idea of a Beta release of software is to have a small-ish group of testers evaluate the software BEFORE opening the final release to the public.

But the real reason that I wanted to comment on this new eBay Desktop is that eBay is a WEBSITE! A website that now wants users to download special software to view the same information that you can get already...on their website!

While most companies are trying to move desktop applications ONTO websites, eBay is apparently going in the opposite direction. Can anyone give me any reason at all that a desktop version of eBay would provide any value????

Apparently eBay is subscribing to the AOL school of thought...which apparently is something like "Let's give our users a bloated piece of software that allows them access to the exact same information that they can get already using their web browser." (and yes...the software is indeed bloated: a 15 MB download AND it requires the installation of Adobe AIR as part of the installation)

OK...that's enough ranting for now. Go download the eBay Desktop application so that you can bid up my Hannah Montana tickets even higher!

Turkey X-ing

While driving down Chagrin River Road in Gates Mills this weekend, we had an interesting encounter with the local fauna.

Crossing the road was a flock of wild turkeys! Wild turkeys are native to Ohio but not to the Cleveland area.

The turkeys (probably 8 or 9 of them) moved pretty quickly across the road and into the trees on the opposite side. I was just quick enough to snap a picture with my phone before the last of the birds disappeared from view.

Hannah Who?

After reading about Billy Ray Cirus' daughter who performs as Hannah Montana and her national tour that is selling out arenas in minutes, I was able to snag a couple tickets to her upcoming performance in Cleveland.

So now I'm hoping that these tickets are as hot as the media makes them out to be!

If you know a parent that would like to take their teenage daughter out to a concert, please send them to my eBay listing...because I sure don't want to get stuck with these tickets.

Buffalo Wings

House walkthrough

I had the condo all nice and clean for a party yesterday and thought it would be a good opportunity to snap some pictures. Click on the link below for a guided tour:

2007_09_15_House_Pictures

X-Type on the Same list as the '61 Corvair

Time Magazine recently released their list of the 50 Worst Cars of All time.

On that list, at #46, is the Jaguar X-Type. I've read a plethora of unfavorable ratings on the X-Type ever since I first considered purchasing one. This Time Magazine rating is just more of the same nonsensical journalism that most press seem to give to the X-Type.

See their reasoning for putting the X-Type on this list:

"A business case is not the same as wisdom. Certainly, Jaguar needed an entry-luxury model to compete against the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-class. Yes, the company, owned by Ford, had access to a very successful world car platform, the Mondeo, which Americans knew as the Ford Contour. There was money to be saved. But in its attempt to turn the front-drive compact car into an "all-wheel drive" sports sedan, Jaguar ran smack into the limits of platform engineering. The result was the English version of the Cadillac Cimarron, a tarted-up insult to a once-proud marque and a financial disaster for the company. It hardly matters that the X-Type was not that bad a car. Young affluent buyers had the feeling they were somehow being grifted. They were."

So the rating actually admits that the X-Type "was not that bad" but is still one of the worst cars of all time? Interesting.

From what I can gather, car magazines (and mainstream magazines, apparently) expected the $30-$40k X-Type to have the exact same quality of material and build as the $60 - $70k XJ.

Beyond that, the press is always hung up on the Mondeo / Contour origins of the car and focus on this as a negative trait. I drove a Contour...it was a very capable small car. And the Mondeo is widely regarded as an excellent car in Europe. So why should a car that shares the Mondeo roots be slammed for simply building on a successful platform?

These types of reviews make me wonder if the author has even ever driven in the cars that they rate. Does the car have some plastic trim reminiscent of a Ford? Sure. Does the car share a platform with the Mondeo/Contour? Sure. But is the car an affordable, comfortable, fun-to-drive entry-level luxury sedan? Absolutely. If only that would count for something in the automotive press.

Amish my a$$

Stephanie and I visited Mary Yoder's Amish Kitchen restaurant in Middlefield, OH this weekend. The food wasn't any better or worse than your standard Bob Evan's fare, however the restaurant got its charm from the Amish ambiance.

Only a handful of the waitresses were wearing traditional Amish attire, the rest looked the part of a typical greasy-spoon waitress anywhere else in OH. I assumed that the waitresses that were actually dressed in Amish clothing were, in fact Amish.

Given this assumption, you can imagine my surprise when I noticed that all of the waitresses, even the Amish wait staff, were entering the food orders into the restaurants computer system!

I guess touch-screen monitors and computerized ordering applications are allowed in the Amish community now.

(I know that the restaurant itself isn't governed by Amish rules (or they wouldn't even have electricity), however the wait staff definitely seemed to be authentic Amish)

Overheard at...

...the fireworks following an orchestra performance at Blossom:

"That would kill Jesus!"
- little girl in reaction to a huge firework blast

I don't really know what it means, but it sure was funny

New MotoQ? Might want to skip it

Ever since I got the Moto Q, I've had tons of people asking me if I'd recommend it. My basic answer has been "No, the phone is extremely buggy, wait for the new batch of Windows Mobile 6 phones with WiFi that are coming down the pipeline." (ie. VX6800,

Well, Verizon has finally released one of the new Windows Mobile 6 phones (sans built-in WiFi)...the new Motorola Q9m.

For those of you who were patiently taking my advice and waiting for a WM6 phone, you way want to wait a little longer.

While the Q9m is getting some decent reviews, I've seen others that insult the consumers who purchase this phone:

"Seriously, if you buy this phone, you are dumb."
-Gizmodo

Verizon should be able to do better than this...

Snopes conspiracy?

If like techie humor, check out the other strips on this site...they're hilarious

Simpsonized

Twinsburg ranked again

Twinsburg has been ranked again, this time in a national magazine.

In Money Magazine's Best Places to Live ranking, Twinsburg came in at #93/100.

The only other Ohio cities on the list are Gahanna, Mason, Beavercreek, Highland Heights, and Westerville.

Weekend in NYC/Atlantic City/Philly/Hershey

Stephanie and I toured the East coast this weekend as we traveled to attend a baby naming. We took a plane to LaGuardia, a van to Syosset, a train to Manhattan, a subway to China town, a taxi to Central Park, a car to Atlantic City, a bus to the harbor, a boat on the Pacific, and finally a car ride home.

I think we covered pretty much all modes of transportation...too bad we didn't take a helicopter tour...

Click below for pictures

July 2007 - NY/NJ

Buffalo / Chautauqua, NY

Pictures from Buffalo this past weekend. Stephanie and I decided to stop in Chautauqua Lake, NY for dinner on the way back to Cleveland. What a beautiful area!

Buffalo June 2007

Step away from the Wiimote!

The first diagnosis of "Wiiitis".