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The death of the blog

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-09-13T10:51:11-07:00

Does anyone even blog anymore? With Twitter, I've found that you people know way to much about what I'm doing anyway....haha. So, if you want to know what I've been up to for the past four months, check out my Twitter page. I think I'll leave this Blog page up for posterity and because I know so many of you would like to go back and read what I'm sure will become famous words many years from now.

And, no, I really don't believe any of that.

Wow...One month later...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-05-22T08:38:50-07:00

Did some updating to my website this morning to make it a little more colorful and summer like. I figured I’d throw up a little blog post and now realize that it’s been a month since my last post. What the ??!!

What started out as daily posts has been replaced by weekly posts and now Twitter. Not that my daily blog postings were that exciting (nor are my twitter posts...really, have you seen them?) so I’m sure y’all aren’t missing out.

Anyone watching the Giro? I’m a little addicted to Universal Sports coverage of the event online. It’s been good and the announcers exaggerated pronunciations of everything are even becoming okay for me. The Giro itself is okay this year. Some good stages, sprints and crashes. I’m really looking forward to the Tour next month.

We’ve got a long weekend here so this is very exciting. I’m planning on getting out on some rides. Food Park tomorrow, maybe another MTB ride to test the new single speed on Sunday and then a long ride on Monday.

Hope you all have a great weekend and I’ll try to post again before another month has past. See ya!

Just try and catch me on that!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-04-21T08:44:44-07:00

I haven’t posted here in awhile and, since I’ve got a spring cold and loopy on medication, I thought now would be a good time to put something down.

My wonderful bail notice came from Irvine PD a few days ago. Ever wonder how much a ticket costs for riding more than two abreast in the bike lane? $245.00. Yep, that’s right. My friend PJ kept telling me it’d be $400 and I didn’t believe him. I just kept thinking, yeah right, no way is it gonna cost that much. He was close. Damn him.

The battle continues though. At the start of Food Park on 4/18, two Irvine piggies, uh, I mean police officers, showed up at the start of the ride to talk to us all. Of course, someone had to start debating the officers and how the law is interpreted. Once this happens, it’s not even worth hanging around. Attention in the group gets lost and people just started rolling away. Interestingly enough, the cops didn’t follow us on that days ride but I think this battle is far from over. I fully expect to see them out again this coming Saturday. The police said that motorists were taking pictures of us and calling in complaints. So, it looks like we’re all gonna have to behave through Irvine for the foreseeable future. It should be interesting to see how far this whole thing goes.

Cycling is NOT a Crime

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-03-26T10:22:20-07:00

Some of you may have noticed my lovely new flash homepage and tribute to the men in blue of the Irvine Police Department. Now, before I get hate mail, let me explain...

Last Saturday, I went out to do the Food Park group ride like I usually do. Recently, Irvine PD has been following our group rides, pulling them over, talking to us before the ride starts, etc. about our behavior on the ride. We’re taking up to much of the road. Or rather, some citizen complained and now they’re out in force to try and shut the rides down. Yes, that’s right, your tax dollars at work.

So, on our ride, there were two motorcycle cops and one in an SUV who set up their sting operation to try and catch us running a stop. We all did stop but once we made a right at a green light, the motocycle pulled out in front of us and made us all stop. Some kept rolling past him but the majority, me included, stopped.

He told us we were all riding more than two abreast and, he couldn’t write tickets to everyone, so he was just going to pick five of us at random and let everyone else go. I happened to be standing right next to him. Gee, I wonder if he’ll pick me.

Now, I will say that when you have 60-80 cyclists out for a group ride, you’re going to take up more than the bike lane. The majority of us are very experienced cyclists. We don’t want to get hit by a car. We also try to leave room, whenever possible, for cars to pass us. There are some who will roll red lights and think the road belongs to them. Believe me, we yell at these riders when they do dumb things like this.

Don’t the police have better things to do? These rides are not going to stop. A ticket is not going to make me stop doing them. So, Irvine PD...get behind these rides cause they’re not going away!

Long Time No Blog

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-03-20T11:48:44-07:00

Haven’t posted a blog entry since March 2nd. Oops! What’s going on there?! Craziness I tell ya. Well, Twitter seems to have really replaced my blog entry. That and the fact that posting a daily blog was just to time consuming and I’m not much of a writer.

I’ve been doing alot of riding, or have just been riding more consistently. The time change has helped alot. I’m getting out in the afternoons for some spins around Irvine and have been feeling pretty good. We’ve also started up the Tuesday night mountain bike rides so the single speed has been getting some good use.

Other than that, not much else to report. Keep following my Twitter updates for more on what I’m doing. See ya!

Limited Edition OC Barbies

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-03-02T13:58:36-08:00

Haven’t posted a new blog post in a bit. My friend sent me this today and I thought it was funny so I’m sharing it with you all:

Mattel recently announced the release of Limited-Edition O.C. dolls for the Southern California market:

Irvine Barbie
This princess Barbie is only sold at The Irvine Spectrum. She comes
With an assortment of Louis Vuitton handbags, a Lexus SUV, a toy dog named Honey, and a cookie-cutter house. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with "augmented"
version.

Orange Barbie
This modern-day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Windstar
Minivan and white silouette stickers of family members on the rear window. Known as a "soccer mom" she gets lost easily and has no full time occupation or secondary education. Has PTA membership and comes with Tupperware accessories. Cell phone sold separately.

Garden Grove Barbie
In addition to perfect English, this Barbie also speaks fluent
Japanese, Chinese, Mandarin and Tagalog. Comes with her own street-racing import car, complete with Japanese animation decals. Large collection of video games sold separately. Careers or homes for this Barbie are not available, because she will stay with her parents until they die. If you purchase a Ken doll, he must move into her family's home and wait for their inheritance.

Buena Park Barbie
This recently paroled former "Porn Actress" Barbie comes with a 9mm
handgun, a Ray Lewis knife, a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a
meth lab kit. This model is only available after dark and can only be paid
for in cash.

Tustin Ranch Barbie
This yuppie Blond Barbie comes with your choice of a convertible
Mercedes AMG55 or a Cadillac Escalade. Included are her own Starbucks
cup, credit card, and Curves membership. Comes also with Giorgio Armani
fragrance, Gucci bag and Kate Spade sunglasses. Additional options for
this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. (You won't be
able to afford any of them).

Yorba Linda Barbie
This brunette Barbie is the sister to Tustin Ranch Barbie and comes
with or without highlights. She comes with a BMW convertible or Hummer H2, Kenneth Cole Sunglasses, a Country Club Membership, and a Pier 1 credit line. Options for Yorba Linda Barbie are the Shiseido makeup kit; the Bvlgari jewelry set, or the Prada shoe collection. Yorba Linda Barbie
has optional yuppie Ken doll complete with Corvette, hair gel and
Rolex watch.

Newport Beach Barbie
This collagen injected, rhinoplastic Barbie wears an Yves Saint Laurent
leopard print bikini outfit and drinks cosmopolitans while entertaining
friends at the beach house. Percocet prescription and monthly alimony
checks are included. This Barbie is only sold in Fashion Island .

Laguna Beach Barbie
This doll comes complete with craft set. She has long straight brown
hair, archless feet, no makeup, and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her " Willow ." She does not want or need a Ken
doll, but if you purchase two Laguna Beach Barbie's, you get a rainbow
flag sticker free.

Long Beach Barbie
This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional
accessories include a GED and a bus pass. Gangsta Ken and his '79 Caddy
were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition
of an infant.

Huntington Beach Barbie
This very tan Barbie comes with string bikini, wet suit, 3 friendship
bracelets and surfboard. An MP3 player, Blockbuster video membership,
pair of Vans and a beach cruiser are also included. Optional is her
Lifeguard Yellow Ford Ranger with board rack (free KROQ sticker
included!) Spicolli Ken can be purchased separately and comes with
Hawaiian shirt and board shorts.

Rancho Santa Margarita Barbie
She 's perfect in every way. Her home is perfect. Her family is perfect.
Comes with a part time job to earn her own spending money and a bible
for church on Sundays. Also has a pre-assigned carpool day. We don't
know who Ken is because he's always away hunting or biking or
something...

Santa Ana Barbie
This Spanish-speaking-only Barbie comes with a 1984 Toyota with
expired temporary plates and three baby Barbies in the back seat, but
no car seats. The optional Ken doll comes with a meat-packer's uniform and
is missing three fingers on his left hand. Green cards are not
available for Santa Ana Barbie or Ken.

OUT OF TOWN BARBIES:

Fontana Barbie
This pale model comes dressed in low rise Levi's, a NASCAR shirt, and a
Tweety Bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Coors Light
and a Hank Williams, Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and
kick mullet-haired Ken's ass when she is drunk. A mobile home is also
available.

Norco Barbie
This tobacco chewing, brassy-haired Barbie comes with her own horse and
dog! Her ensemble includes pair of Wrangler jeans (2 sizes too small),
straw hat, fake rhinestone belt and belt buckle bought from the local
pawn shop. Purchase! her pic kup truck separately and get a confederate
flag bumper sticker -absolutely free!

Hemet Barbie
This aging Barbie is best kept indoors. She comes complete with wire
grocery stroller, Omni Trans bus pass, food stamps, coupon book and
sewing machine. Optional mobile home comes with choice of colored rock
and various cactus varieties.

West Hollywood
Barbie/Ken
This versatile doll can be easily converted from Barbie to Ken by
Simply adding or subtracting the multiple "snap-on" parts

BlackBerry Mania

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-02-19T09:21:38-08:00

Isn’t the BlackBerry a wonderful thing? I mean, really, it’s the best device I’ve ever used. And I’ve used quite a few of them. I frequent a few BlackBerry sites and occasionally check out Pocket PC, Palm and iPhone forums as well. I have a 3G iPhone that I do like alot but I’m not going into an iPhone vs. BlackBerry discussion here.

I thought I’d write about BlackBerry today cause of my recent experience. I’ve been using a Bold which I thought was the greatest thing since sliced bread...until the Storm came out. Ooooh. Touchscreen. Large screen with high resolution. I had to get one of these. But it was only on Verizon and that really sucked. Even though it came out late last year, I waited around for the bugs to get worked out and I had read reports that the phone kinda sucked. There are a ton of them out for sale now (for good reason) and are unlocked. So, I decided to pick one up and give it a try. After loading several beta OS’s on the thing, it’s on the auction block. Here’s why...

The Storm is nice device. It’s got some weight to it and the screen is beautiful. An iPhone it most certainly is not but it does have some nice features to it. I liked the click screen but hated that the screen has some play to it. I really wish there would have been an option to turn off the clicking when typing. As I had read in other reviews, typing on the Storm really does seem like a chore. The clicking to type made me not want to type out an email. It became something I dreaded.

Another thing that bothered me was selecting text to cut/copy/paste. I like a small font on my BlackBerry and trying to select text on it was a royal pain in the butt! I tried switching to a larger font but that only helped a little bit. The iPhone’s method for selecting text is great (with that magnifying glass) but you can’t cut/copy/paste! The Storm is horrible to select text but you can cut/copy/paste...sigh.

The OS is slow. It’s a fact. Play around with a Storm and then pick up a Bold. The OS is so much faster on the Bold. It reminds me of when the Bold first came out. The OS was slow too but it’s come a long way and I think the Storm will go in the same direction. There have been several beta OS’s floating around and I’ve tried them all. With each one comes a very slight improvement and, sometimes, a step back for one feature or another.

I will also say that I’m not sure my experience was hampered by using it on at&t’s network. When you use an unlocked Storm, you have to use it on the EDGE network and not 3G. I read alot of posts online saying they though EDGE was fine. However, I completely disagree. I have good 3G coverage in my area and found that the device crawled along at EDGE. When I went back to my Bold, it was like night and day. I think I lost some of the razzle-dazzle by not being on Verizon’s network while using the device.

So what did I like about the Storm? I loved the screen. Using Google Maps was great. Poynt had just released their Storm optimized version and that was alot of fun to use. As was PocketDay. The click technology was also fun to use (minus the typing) but I think there needs to be more options for how it’s used. I found a cool wallpaper changing app that would switch out my wallpaper at user defined intervals. I change wallpaper alot and this was a very cool app for me.

Even though it had some weight to it, I was okay with it. However, it felt almost to fragile to me. Putting it in my back pocket or tossing it on the seat in my car like I do with my Bold made me wince a little and I stopped doing it for fear of damaging the device.

That’s my two cents on the BlackBerry Storm. In short, I really like the direction they’re heading in with the Storm and am looking forward to checking out what’s new on the Storm in the next couple of months.

Tour of California

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-02-13T09:44:01-08:00

Well, first of all, I haven’t been posting daily blogs recently. I think I’ve found that Twitter has sort of replaced the daily website blog post. Don’t you agree? So, I think I might scale back posts to once a week or whenever there’s something I want to post that’s more than 140 words.

Now then, about the Tour of California. It starts tomorrow! Woo Hoo! Very excited about the race. I had a rep that got me tickets to the Velodrome who has disappeared for some reason. It’s a big bummer cause I typically got tickets to the final stage of the TOC and I’ve left her messages with no return call. I’ve been following the Twitter updates from those in the cycling world and I wish I was up there taking part in all the events. But, I’ll settle for the Twitter updates.

Valentine’s is tomorrow, I’m trying to shake a cold and it’s supposed to rain again this weekend. I really need to be on the bike.

Gotta post something

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-02-05T13:19:04-08:00

I just realized it’s been a few days since I last put something up here. Sorry about that folks! Gotta admit though, Twitter is somewhat becoming a substitute for my blog. I put things up there more often than I do here. I’m trying to work on getting a BlackBerry Storm that’s unlocked for my at&t SIM. Thinking about giving it a good review...if I can get my hands on one. Other than that, check out the Twitter feed for what I’m really doing throughout the day. Until tomorrow!

I'm back!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-30T08:33:59-08:00

Got back the other day but took one more day to rest before hitting the blog posts again. The vacation was great and had alot of fun. My first trip to Oahu definitely made me want to return again soon! The island is beautiful and even though it’s not the peak season, the weather was still pretty good. The first couple of days were sunny and warm but it did get a little chilly with rain showers for the remainder of the trip. We drove around and toured the island and ate alot of really good food that you can only get while your there. Another reason to make a trip back!

I’ll be posting photos soon on my Flickr page so stay tuned!

Super secret training...not really

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-22T11:26:47-08:00

Tomorrow I’m off to a vacation in Hawaii! Can’t wait to get there and get some quality relaxing time in for a few days. It’s not a long vacation but long enough to have some fun. See you all when I get back!

Keep your BlackBerry Mr. President!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-21T09:58:00-08:00

Latest reports show that President Obama might be allowed to keep his BlackBerry after all. He’ll be allowed to use it for personal use only while having to use a brick of a device approved by the NSA for official business. At least they couldn’t make him give it away. What good is being the most powerful man in the world if you can’t keep your BlackBerry?

Hello Mr. President!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-20T06:11:31-08:00

Today’s the day! At 12 noon we will have a new Commander in Chief. It truly is a historic day and I’m pretty excited about watching the events on the web. Since I’ll be at work, I’ll have to pop open a webcam and check things out. It’s funny, I was at a customer site today in Laguna and they were talking about putting it up on a big screen TV in the office. I wonder how many others will be doing the same thing? I have never really watched an inauguration before but and I am looking forward to seeing this one.

Maybe it’s getting rid of Bushie, or the hope that Barack Obama can bring change to this country that really needs it. It just feels like something I should be watching and being a part of; even if it’s across the country at my computer.

Goodbye Bushie!!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-19T08:46:04-08:00

Today’s the day! W’s last day in office. Of course, he does have till 12 noon tomorrow to wreak more havoc on the nation before he exits stage left but, from what I’ve read, he’s pretty much done his last day at the office. Phew!

Are there really 28% of Americans out there that are really going to miss him? The picture above is what Bushie thinks about us 72% out there. All I know is that whether you like Obama or not, you have to be a little excited about the spirit of the country right now. People seem excited and interested in what’s going to happen. I’m an Obama fan so my opinion is biased. I will say that with all this expectation of change and something new and promising comes a very heavy load to bare for Mr. Obama. The honeymoon is still going on and we’ll all celebrate and party like it’s 1999 tomorrow but we’ll see what happens on Wednesday.

Goodbye Circuit City

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-16T09:19:30-08:00

Well it looks like Circuit City has officially bit the dust today. It has filed for bankruptcy and will be liquidating all of it’s assets to close up shop. What’s worse is that the company employs around 30,000 employees. This is horrible news for the economy, job market and brick and mortar retail stores. What really concerns me is the loss of even more jobs in this economy. Do you worry about the security of your job? Does anyone feel ‘safe’ with their occupation?

Winds and websites

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-14T08:16:31-08:00

Very strange. I noticed this morning that my website, this website isn’t loading. On top of that, these blasted winds won’t stop blowing here in OC. This is crazy and it’s seriously interfering in my riding!

Update: And now the site’s back up. Strange.

When the internet goes bad

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-12T08:50:48-08:00

Hope you all had a great weekend. It’s been very windy the last couple of days here in Orange County and the winds continue today. It made for some interesting rides over the weekend.

Recently, I’ve become pretty addicted to Twitter and get many updates from all the people I follow throughout the day. I enjoy reading them and follow everyone from cyclists to geeks and design professionals. It’s all good and I have a fun time doing it. Except when it backfires on you.

I was sitting at home on Sunday night and one of the people I follow decided to Twitter about the Golden Globe awards. No big deal. Except for the fact that this person lives on the East Coast. Ugh.

At first it wasn’t that bad. Small tweets about what the attendees were wearing, how they looked and who was there. Well that was because the show hadn’t started yet. Once it did, I got to find out who won all before the telecast had even started in my neck of the woods. When the show finally started for me, I wasn’t really in the mood to even watch it anymore...since I already knew who won.

I suppose I could have turned off Twitter but I was getting updates from others I follow. I guess I would say that if you’re going to watch a live telecast of something and you Twitter, maybe you should think about others who might want the surprise in another time zone.

Shiny and from Apple, I want it!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-09T09:23:34-08:00

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard
Found this on the Mactropolis website today. This is pretty darn funny. And, considering my gadget obsession, I think I might actually have to get one if Apple ever decided to make one. I’m sick, I know.

Brrr!!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-07T09:08:33-08:00

Alright, I’ve had enough of this cold weather. During summer I wish it were cooler. During winter, I wish it were warmer. I know, I’m a pain in the ass. But, waking up to 40 degree weather definitely does not help with my training. Okay, yes, there are many cyclists here in So Cal who get up in this cold to ride. I’m not one of them. I’ve been sitting on my trainer after work and trying to keep warm. After work today I’m planning on trying another spin class with my buddy, the mayor of cycling at his local 24hr Fitness. We’ll see how that goes. I’m hoping it’s a good class and not to expensive for a non-member. I’ll let you know if this class is any better.

Spin spin sugar

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-06T09:05:21-08:00

Last night I took a spinning class at Sand Canyon Cyclery in Irvine. It’s been a couple of years since I last took a class and wasn’t sure what to expect from this location. I believe they just started offering spinning classes and I’ve seen them as they’re located in a strip center where one of my favorite places to eat is located.

So, I took a chance and went to the 7 o’clock session. What the heck...the first class is free! The facility is nice and clean. They took their shop and dedicated a portion of it to building a workout room. It’s a good sized room that fits 10 bikes. Kudos to them for taking the chance and seeing if this build-out is going to work for them. I got there and found that there were only two other people in the class. One thing I will say about spinning classes...the more people in the class, the better the energy and the better the class. I was a little disappointed to find only two others in the class. But, such is life.

Maleah was our instructor and she did a good job with the class. I’d go to another class but I’m a little concerned that not many people are going to these classes. I asked Maleah after the class if any of the other classes were more full and she said the 5:30am class got pretty packed. 8-9 people she said. They do have a cool onlline reservation system where you can sign up and buy classes. A quick check of their site just now shows only one person signed up for the 5:30am class tomorrow.

My issue with this gym is that the classes aren’t at good times. The 7pm class last night was to late. I got home about 8:30 and it was almost 9 by the time I had dinner. I didn’t want to eat before the class and would rather had the class at 6pm or 6:30. A 5:30am class seems to early. How about 6am or 6:30am?

I think I’ll check around for other gyms and classes. I enjoyed spinning again and would like to continue it but not sure if this is the place for me.

Back to work

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-05T12:01:00-08:00

Back to work and the holidays are over. Those two weeks went by mighty fast! Although I did work much during my time off (what can I say, I’m a workaholic and a BlackBerry addict), it was nice having some time off and being able to just relax. The weather was cold, foggy and wet and that didn’t help getting me on my bike for some rides.

This Monday has been quiet at work. It’s sort of the first major day since our acquisition. We just went through what felt like a shotgun merger and it’s been interesting to say the least. I’m hoping for the best and think we just need to get through these speed bumps before everything settles down.

I’m planning on taking a spin class tonight. My first one in many years. I think I’ll be in lots of pain tomorrow. Last night I found a pair of old cycling shoes and slapped some SPD cleats on them. The spin class is free so I figure, why not? I’ll report back tomorrow and let you all know how it goes. Check the feed for updates tonight. I’ll probably be posting something while I’m there.

It's the end of the week?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2009-01-02T08:09:37-08:00

Good morning everyone. I can’t believe it’s Friday. It really feels like a Monday even though I have the day off. These holidays mess up the whole order of things I tell ya.

The last two days have been extremely foggy here in Orange County. So it’s another lazy day for me with some errands to run and a bike ride later in the day...when it’s warmer!

Some tidbits from the web this morning...

Did you know Usain Bolt beat out Michael Phelps for 2008 Athlete of the Year? I mean, I like Bolt but really?

Louis Mantia, who does some great graphic design work, posted up some of his gripes with the original trilogy of Star Wars here and it’s pretty funny. It also made me think if Star Wars is a movie that could possibly be re-made years from now?

And finally, here’s a list of some resolutions you might want to consider if you’re a mac user.

Have a good weekend everyone!

New Year website change

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-30T09:07:52-08:00

Time for another website re-design. I thought with the new year, it’d be nice to give the site a new look. So, the holiday theme is now gone and I’ve got this new theme on the site.

Hope you all have a wonderful New Year’s and I’ll chat with you all again in 2009!

Another holiday week

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-29T09:55:58-08:00

Another holiday week and it was a long, lazy weekend. It was rather nice actually. The chilly weather in the mornings has made me wimp out and I’ve been sitting on my wind trainer quite a bit over the past week. It’s kinda like two weeks of extreme cold and then it starts to gradually warm up. Just like Summer where there’s two weeks of unbearable heat. I’m gonna start to try and crawl out of bed in the mornings to get out and ride cause, quite frankly, the wind trainer is boring as all hell. And, I’ve got a nice layer of fitness that I don’t want to go to waste. I think I’ve been doing pretty good this off-season (for me that is) and am looking forward to warmer weather and maybe even racing this season!

What'd you get?!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-26T09:48:39-08:00

Happy Post Christmas to everyone! Hope you all got the day off today. I did and am enjoying a lazy day while it’s still a little chilly and windy outside. Did you get everything you wanted from Santa? I had a great time with my family and very much missed my friend who went up North to visit her Aunt and best friend. It’s been 4 days since the last blog post so thought I’d better put something up before people thought I gave up on the whole ‘blogging’ thing. Have a great day everyone!

Christmas week is here!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-22T10:51:07-08:00

It’s finally Christmas week! Have you done all your shopping? Mine’s all done thank goodness. Now to get through one week of holiday cheer...then onto New Year’s!

I mean, come on...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-19T11:25:47-08:00

How many times have you gone to a bicycle race and witnessed something like the picture above? Exactly. If you haven’t heard, there was a fight that damaged alot of expensive bikes and the reputation of bicycle races everywhere at the Kansas City CycloCross Nationals recently (Story here on VeloNews). Behavior like this just doesn’t happen at cycling events. I’m not saying we’re all perfect. We’re far from it. Sure, the aggression gets high during the race and, I’ve been told that as we’re whizzing by during the race, spectators can hear us sometimes exchanging not so nice words from within the peleton. Racers are jockeying for postion, trying to grab a line...it happens. But an all out brawl after a race from a heckler is just crazy and wrong.

Hopefully we’ll all learn a little something from this and people who go to bike races will exhibit better behavior so our sport doesn’t sink to a new level. I mean, don’t we have enough problems from all the doping already?

Brrr!!!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-18T10:31:23-08:00

Okay, I know there are parts of the US that get real winter seasons where it rains all the time and even snows but here in Orange County, California, we’re just not used this cold weather. A day of rain is a very traumatic experience and we all go on Storm Watch and our newscasts are filled for the hour with reports of impeding rain and freezing cold temperatures. Yes, we’re wimps.

At least once a year, Saddleback mountain gets a layer of snow that quickly melts but this morning, after a very chilly night with rain, the mountain had the most snow I’ve seen in a long time. I tried to snap a few pictures of it but there was still a cloud cover hovering over the top. Anyway, here’s a pic and there are a couple others in my Flickr account. Enjoy!

No more Apple at MacWorld

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-17T09:27:42-08:00

All the buzz on the internet yesterday was that Apple will withdraw from MacWorld after the upcoming show this January. And, to top it off, Steve Jobs will not even be delivering the keynote for one last time! Sad news to see but trade shows seem to be losing momentum and the economy doesn’t seem to be helping things.

So, do you think MacWorld will be a bust now that Apple is no longer there? Seems like the end of an era but hopefully, the show will carry on and allow vendors and visitors to experience new technology.

Cyclists on Twitter

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-16T08:11:11-08:00

I’ve found it interesting to see alot of cyclists using Twitter out there. Thought I’d throw up a little post with some of the more popular cyclists out there. If you’re using Twitter and want to check out what your favorite pro-cyclists or cycling personalities are up to, here you go! Know of any others...please share!

George Hincapie (@ghincapie)
Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong)
Dave Zabriskie (@dzabriskie)
Johan Bruyneel (@johanbruyneel)
Ivan Basso (@ivanbasso)
Taylor Phinney (@taylorphinney)

Some other cool cycling related Twitters to follow:

SoCalCycling (@SoCalCycling)
FredCast (@FredCast)
Rich Kelly (@Interbike)
Rock Racing (@RockRacing)
Slipstream (@TeamSlipstream)
Amgen Tour of California (AmgenTourofCali)
VeloNews (@Velonews)

Have you Elf'ed Yourself lately?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-15T06:45:35-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Today starts the week before Christmas. Have you done all your shopping? I’ve barely started. But I am one of those last minute shoppers so this is pretty typical.

If you haven’t seen ElfYourself, I suggest checking it out. I seem to remember it being around last year but they’ve improved the site since and it’s alot of fun.

Traffic and LA on a Friday

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-12T19:44:26-08:00

So I had to go to Woodland Hills today for a site survey at a customer site. I left at 6am to get a jump start on the traffic. Wasn’t completely lucky though. When I hit downtown LA, I found the 101 south completely closed. It was a pretty unusual site to see the southbound freeway empty at 7am on a Friday. But, I did have a nice visit with our new client and some heavy traffic on the way back as well. But such is life. Hope you all have a great weekend!

I got nothing.

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-10T09:24:55-08:00

Nothing new to report today. Which makes me wonder... I try and blog once a day but should I blog if I have nothing to blog about? Hmmm. If I post something, people at least know I’m still around and haven’t forgotten about my website. But on the other hand, who wants to read a blog post like this?

Oh Subaru...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-09T12:16:37-08:00

So here I sit again in the waiting area of my Subaru dealer. You know, for all this talk I hear about Subaru’s being excellent cars, I sure have had some questionable experiences with mine so far. Seems like I’m in here all the time. You know, when people at work notice you’re always taking your car in for service, I don’t think that’s a good sign.

I do love my car. Really I do! I think what annoys me with Subaru is the lack of options for service. I have one dealer that’s close to me. The next closest dealer is almost double the distance and then it just gets worse. My dealership is nice but I used to go have a VW and their waiting area and dealership was very nice. Wi-fi, nice lounge area. My dealership is seriously lacking in amenities. No wi-fi and a lounge area that looks like it was build in the early 80’s.

I think if the dealership was in better condition, it might not make me so pissy about the whole experience. Plus, if my dealership sucks or does something I don’t like, what are my options? I’d have to drive further to get my car serviced.

Sorry, I’m just ranting. This place just gives me the willies.

Lions and tigers and polar bears...oh my!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-08T08:01:16-08:00

Hey everybody out there in cyberworld. Hope you all had a nice weekend. Mine was pretty fun. On Saturday, we went down to San Diego for Snow Day at the zoo. It’s when they put real snow in the polar bear exhibit. The three polar bears are supposed to play and frolic in the snow and us viewers should get a fun show. Well, when we got there, two of them were hardly visible in the back sleeping and the third was in view up front...sleeping. Oh well. We walked around and visited our other favorites and then went back to the polar bears to see what they were up to. This time at least one was digging in the snow and I got some nice photos of polar bear butt. After we left the zoo, we had dinner in Old Towne which was very nice. Lots of people out and about for a Saturday night. The weather was great too!

An interesting idea for flight travel

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-05T09:18:04-08:00

Here’s an interesting idea for your next flight; Take that barf-bag and turn it into something useful...a holder for your media player! Now why didn’t I think of that? Seriously, someone could start modding barf-bags and selling them online. I bet people would buy them!

Story courtesy of Engadget.

Dancing kitties

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-04T13:21:07-08:00

I’ve been so busy in the office today I just realized that I haven’t put up a blog post yet. Still have alot going on at my desk and it looks like a disaster area. So, enjoy the dancing kitties until tomorrow when, hopefully, I’ll be able to post something of substance.

Winter training

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-03T08:38:01-08:00

I’m trying to get back into my training habits this winter rather than being lazy, which is my normal routine during the chilly months. As my friend says, I stay in the cubby getting chubby. So, this week I’m trying to start out right by going out every day and putting some time in on the wind trainer when I get home from work.

So far, so good. I’m off to a good start and the new Garmin 705 is keeping my interest on the bike. I’ve enjoyed using their website for uploading my workouts. Pretty neat stuff. Check it out here.

Welcome back!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-12-01T10:24:58-08:00

Hey all, welcome back from the holiday break. Did you all have a good Thanksgiving? Get in on any good Black Friday deals or are you at work doing a little Cyber Monday shopping right now?

Only 24 more shopping days till Saint Nick arrives! For some that’s either no big deal or the start of some very stressful shopping days. I know people that have done all their shopping, while I on the other hand, have yet to begin. I’m usually like that though...oh well.

The website underwent a little holiday makeover. Hope everyone likes it. My holiday spirit varies from year to year. This year, I’m feeling quite jolly about Christmas so it was fun making changes to the site.

My holiday break was excellent. Got some much needed rest in and had a very nice Thanksgiving. Now it’s back to the grindstone and time to count down the days till Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-27T07:10:15-08:00

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with friends, family and people close to you. Enjoy the day and get ready for crazy Black Friday shopping madness tomorrow!

San Diego Wild Animal Park experience

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-26T08:56:21-08:00

Hope everyone’s having a terrific holiday week so far and not working too hard. Thanksgiving’s tomorrow and we’ve got a little rain going on in So Cal right now. Yesterday, we took the Mothers to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego for a little while. We had a great time and got no rain. It was actually a little hot during our tram tour. I got great pics of the Lion Exhibit. If you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend it.

The lion exhibit was completely redone and is awesome. The old one made it very hard to see the animals. Everytime we’d go, you could never see them because they were hiding in the grass. This one puts them out in the open and there are many places to see them and get great photos.

The above photo is me trying out panoramic photos in PhotoShop Elements. I’m still working on getting good photos and cropping but I really like how easy it is to take a photo.

*Edit* I cropped the photo above to make is rectangular.

It's Thanksgiving week!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-24T08:43:53-08:00

Good morning everyone. Hope you all had a good weekend and are looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday. We went and saw Quantum of Solace on Saturday and the new trailer for the upcoming Star Trek movie.

Quantum of Solace was okay. Can’t say I was blown away but it was your typical James Bond action-filled movie. I do still like the direction they took with the franchise but I miss Pierce Brosnan as 007. He was an excellent Bond and, even though the series did need to re-invent itself, this movie felt very much like Casion Royale. And, I’m still waiting for the line, “Vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred.” Two movies now and nothing....come on!

Makes me want a kitty

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-20T08:37:02-08:00

Morning all. I found this on Engadget this morning and thought I’d share it with you all. I asked my best friend if I could borrow one of his cats to try it out on my Roomba but he didn’t answer me. I don’t think he trusts me with the kitty. Smart man.

This is the coolest photo

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-19T21:08:34-08:00

A gadget guys dream...

Twitter is down...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-18T08:18:41-08:00

Anyone else going through some Twitter withdrawal this morning? I’d read some reports early that the site was down and then back up. Seems it’s down again.

One thing I’ve noticed with Twitter is that it does seem to bounce up and down quite a bit. Also, uploading to TwitPic seems to have it’s problems every now and then. Overall, are you happy with the service or have you given up using it all together because of the problems?

Southern California fires!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-17T20:36:55-08:00

Well it’s certainly been an interesting weekend. Fire season has officially become the ‘norm’ here in SoCal and, once again, the area was burning over the weekend.

Fires started last week in Montecito which is near Santa Barbara. Then, separate fires kicked up in Sylmar, Corona, Anaheim, Yorba Linda, Carbon Canyon and Brea. I’m sure I’ve missed a couple of city names in there so sorry if you live there and I did.

After a weekend of fire storm watching on TV, I’m done. If you’d like information, the OC Register has been doing a great job of updating news and even has a page that pulling Twitter updates from those in OC giving info. I posted a couple photos of what the fire looked like from my place here. Lucky for me, it wasn’t as close to me this time and the wind was carrying the smoke in the other direction. The smell of smoke however was all over Southern California.

I have to say we have the best firefighters in the world! These guys are awesome and did such a great job over the weekend. If you see a firefighter, say thanks!

RSS feeds

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-14T08:15:24-08:00

Happy Friday everyone! I’ve been trying out some different RSS feed programs for my mac and think I’m starting to get a little addicted here. Does anyone else use a dedicated RSS feed program or do you get your feeds the old fashioned way...by going to each website? I find the program makes it nice to see them all in one location. By my compulsion about making sure there are no new items might be my downfall. I can’t stand to see the new item indicator next to all the feed names.

50 things you may not know about Barack Obama

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-13T08:52:05-08:00

Meet your new President, Mr. Barack Obama. But, did you know that he won a Grammy? I certainly didn’t know that! I came across this interesting list of 50 things you might not know about Barack Obama and it was pretty cool. Check it out here.

Have to go to the bathroom?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-12T07:50:01-08:00

Ever find yourself on the road, you drank to much coffee and now have to use the restroom? I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been there at one point or another. And, then you have to figure out where to go. Well, BerryReview posted info on a handy little app call Sit or Squat this morning. They have a website and if you have an iPhone or BlackBerry (with GPS), there are apps for each that will pinpoint the nearest bathroom for you based on your location.

I checked it out and it’s pretty cool. There doesn’t seem to be alot of locations on it but I think that’s because it is still beta but I’m sure more locations will spring up in no time. One thing I’m not sure about yet...you can post photos of the bathrooms. That could get ugly...

Ready for Pixar again?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-11T08:36:13-08:00

Just picked up this trailer from Pixar’s next movie over at Pop Candy and I now I can’t wait to see it. I admit, I’m biased and love everything Pixar does. For only a few minutes of a trailer, I’m hooked already!

New Year's plans

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-10T12:13:50-08:00

Hello everyone. Hope everyone’s having a Happy Monday so far. We’re thinking of spending New Year’s at the Grand Canyon this year. Got me thinking...what is everyone doing for New Year’s. It’s a long way off but never to early to start planning!

Bold or Storm?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-06T08:34:42-08:00

Now that all the election hoopla is over, back to business. The anticipation is building for the Verizon release of the touchscreen Storm. The Bold has finally been released on at&t. So, the question is, would you rather have a Storm or a Bold? Would you be willing to switch carriers for one or the other?

Congratulations Mr. Obama!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-05T08:19:44-08:00

After a seemingly no-end-in-site campaign, the election is finally over and we have a new President-Elect. Love him or hate him, come January he’s our new leader and we should all give him a chance to see what he can do. Regardless or your party choice, whoever won was going to have an uphill battle getting this country back on track.

I watched all the coverage last night and thought BOTH men gave excellent speeches. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the coming days and hope we ALL benefit from our new leadership.

VOTE!!!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-04T05:53:51-08:00

This video pretty much sums it all up. Get out and VOTE!

Sena Cases Ultra Slim Pouch review

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-03T10:30:17-08:00

Just posted a review of the Sena Cases Ultra Slim Pouch for the BlackBerry Bold. check it out here.

One day left!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-03T08:16:23-08:00

There’s only one day left before this long, crazy election comes to a close. Then, we still have a couple more months of that other guy before the new guy takes over. I’ve already completed my ballot by way of being a permanent absentee voter (and recommend it for anyone who never has the time to vote!).

I’m not sayin’ who I voted for and don’t care who you’re voting for...the bottom line is...get out and vote tomorrow!! This election is to important to think your vote doesn’t count. If you think your candidate or prop is safe and you can stay home, you’re wrong.

Anyway, that’s my short rant for today. I’m sure they’ll be another one tomorrow!

LEGO stuff

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-11-01T19:40:24-07:00

This has to be the coolest thing I’ve seen. Follow this link to an article from Gizmodo about a trip to the Lego Vault where they have just about every Lego set ever sold. It’s way cool!

John McCain on the iPhone

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-31T10:36:05-07:00

Courtesy of the Wired blog, there’s a somewhat funny app for jailbroken iPhones that allows you to play around with McCain’s face and make him do some funny expressions. The video’s kinda funny but I think it could get a little old after playing around with it for a few minutes. Check out the video above for a preview of the app.

Some website maintenance

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-30T10:54:50-07:00

Not much to report today. Did some website maintenance last night and this morning. You might notice some small changes. Mainly, I just updated the main page with some newer photos and finally put up the Yosemite photos from the recent trip taken with my digital camera.

Oh no Tarzan...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-29T10:07:34-07:00

http://view.break.com/596146 - Watch more free videos
I picked this up from the Wired blog this morning. Pretty funny stuff I tell ya. If you believe all those urban myths about dirty things showing up in Disney movies, etc., you’re gonna appreciate this one.

Back from Yosemite!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-28T12:18:39-07:00

Back from my weekend in Yosemite and wishing I was still there. It’s beautiful this time of year. I was twittering while I was there but my TwitPics weren’t making it onto my site for some reason. So, I’ve posted the photos from my BlackBerry in the photos section and will post the ones taken with my digital camera later.

Most of the photos are from the hike we did to Mirror Lake and the painful hike to the top of Yosemite Falls. Still a great trip and can’t wait till the Winter trip!

Yosemite bound...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-23T08:16:01-07:00

We’ll be heading up to Yosemite for our Fall trip this weekend. It’s un-usually hot there right now but I think that will make for a little better hiking weather rather than getting really chilly this time of year. Probably our last trip before Winter and I’m really looking forward to it. I could use a little break for a few days. No blog posts till next week and maybe I’ll Twitter something from there if my signal allows. Blog to ya’ll later!

BlackBerry Bold finally coming to at&t

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-22T08:26:22-07:00

Well it looks like all you at&t users out there will finally get a chance to get the BlackBerry Bold on Nov. 4th. This is a according to a release that just came across. I picked it up here from Crackberry. Of course, I already have a Bold on at&t :-) If you were crazy enough like me to get one, you know how great it is. Those of you more sane geeks outs there will find out that it was worth the wait and will love it!

My BlackBerry Bold

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-21T10:08:57-07:00

I’ve made some modifications to my precious BlackBerry. This morning I replaced the silver bezel with an all black one that I got from CNN.cn. I think it looks awesome! The process was very easy too. Check out CNN’s website for parts. They stock replacement OEM parts for all kinds of mobile devices. They are overseas but I, along with many other geeks, have had positive experiences with them. Now I have to think of how else I can customize my BlackBerry...

15 days to the election!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-20T11:58:07-07:00

The election is quickly approaching....has everyone chosen their candidate? Whoever you chose, please get out and vote on Tuesday!!

Sarah Palin SNL rap

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-19T22:35:27-07:00

If you haven’t seen yesterday’s Saturday Night Live, you have to check out the clip above from their Weekend Update. It’s the funniest thing I’ve seen on SNL in awhile. There’s also a clip on hulu.com from the opening that featured Tina Fey imitating Palin again. That never gets old.

Floyd Landis at Food Park again

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-18T19:16:59-07:00

Floyd Landis made another appearance out at our weekly Saturday group ride, Food Park, today. It’s the second time I’ve seen him out and he was looking pretty fit this week. We hit a small climb on PCH and he shot out of the pack like we were all standing still. It definitely made the ride interesting. Anytime a pro is out, everyone tries to show off and it keeps the pace high for the whole ride.

Project Single Speed returns!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-17T20:01:29-07:00

It’s coming back! Project Single Speed is undergoing some changes and will be coming back. I know you’ve all missed it. Look for updates soon.

Joe the plumber

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-15T19:51:27-07:00

Did you watch the debate tonight? What’d you think? I thought it got more heated than the past debates. Nothing Earth shattering but it certainly didn’t change my mind on who I’m voting for. I did think it was more exciting than the past two which always makes it more fun to watch.

New Apple notebooks!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-14T21:47:47-07:00

Well, they’re here! New products from Apple were announced today. New designs for the macbook and macbook pro, re-spec’d macbook air and some new cinema displays.

Head here to check out all the details and pics. Are you planning on getting any of these new goodies?

Is this the new macbook pro?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-13T22:29:24-07:00

Straight from Engadget, is this the new macbook pro laptop being introduced tomorrow at Apple’s special event? Granted it’s the typical blurry ‘leaked’ photo we get all the time. I swear, do these guys have a ‘blurry’ photo setting when they take these pics? I’m not sure if I’m in love with it from the old macbook pro design. The only beef I ever had with the macbook pro was the keyboard. I actually do like the separated keys like the macbook and macbook air. Anyway, we shall find out tomorrow...

Apple Halloween screensaver

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-10T20:50:19-07:00

There’s a very cool screensaver out for mac computers. It’s a 3D Halloween pumpkin that rotates around on your computer screen. I’ve tried it and it’s very cool. Check it out here.

Next Apple Event: Oct. 14th

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-09T17:33:43-07:00

For all of you who have been patiently waiting while Apple rolled through their new iPhones, and iPods, the next Apple event will focus on...macbooks! The rumors have been circulating for awhile now and looks like we’ll all get our answers come October 14th. Should be an interesting day...only 5 more to go!

BlackBerry Storm madness!!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-08T20:27:39-07:00

Today has been a crazy day for BlackBerry Storm news. All the tech sites have been buzzing with tons of information streaming in all day. I’d recommend checking out CrackBerry for the latest. They have links to other sites as well as info posted on their own site. Have fun browsing! Oh, and if someone wants to send me a Storm to check out, I wouldn’t mind at all!

Awesome mountain biking

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-07T13:05:17-07:00

Courtesy of SoCalCycling, they posted this video of a recent Red Bull sponsored challenge in the dirt. This video is awesome! Makes me think twice when I complain about my ribs hurting from my recent crash.

BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-07T09:10:30-07:00

Well check this out. Looks like I’ll finally be able to sync my BlackBerry with iTunes music. Not that it wasn’t possible before but this appears to be an actual RIM product. Awesome! Thanks to Boy Genius for picking this up. Now the only question is...where do I download it?!

Verizon Storm video

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-06T18:42:45-07:00

Straight from Boy Genius, here’s a new Verizon video showing people on the street checking out the new Verizon Storm touchscreen BlackBerry.

Sunday at The Getty

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-06T13:11:23-07:00

On Sunday, we spent a great day at The Getty museum and even made a quick trip to the Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits. I haven’t been to the tar pits in quite sometime so that was alot of fun. The weather was cloudy most of the day and, later in the evening, we got some scattered showers but no rain at all while at the Getty and the view was great.

If you’ve never been, it’s definitely worth a trip. It used to be hard to get there because parking was an issue and you had to make a reservation but that’s no longer the case. There’s a parking structure and a cool tram that takes you to the top of the hill. Oh, and the Getty Villa in Malibu is incredible too!

Will your kids Halloween costume pick our next President?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-05T10:56:30-07:00

According to Amazon’s website, if the election was won based on sales of Halloween masks, Obama would be the next President of the United States. That’s according to TechCrunch.

T-Mobile Android demo

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-04T22:44:02-07:00

For those of you interested in the upcoming T-Mobile G1 Android phone, there’s an online demo of the phone here. I’m still not at all into this phone. But, I realize not everyone wants a BlackBerry and I’m okay with that...ha ha

Sarah Palin Debate Flow Chart

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-03T12:12:26-07:00

I came across this website today that created this hilarious Sarah Palin Debate Flow Chart. Pretty funny stuff and right on target in my opinion.

Rain on Saturday

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-03T11:19:52-07:00

We might actually get our first shot of rain this Saturday. It’s been so hot this past week and now we’ve got a 40% chance of a shower. Crazy weather but might be nice to get a little rain for fun.

New BlackBerry Storm Video

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-02T14:14:22-07:00

Courtesy of CrackBerry, here’s a video for the upcoming touchscreen BlackBerry Storm. It’s not Verizon...Vodaphone this time.

Meet the Halloween ducks

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-02T11:35:11-07:00

It’s October 2nd and that means it’s time for the Halloween ducks to come out on my desk. They’ll be here all October!

Happy Anniversary Yosemite!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-10-01T09:20:19-07:00

On this day in 1890, an act of Congress created Yosemite National Park. Taken from The History Channel website:

On this day in 1890, an act of Congress creates Yosemite National Park, home of such natural wonders as Half Dome and the giant sequoia trees. Environmental trailblazer John Muir (1838-1914) and his colleagues campaigned for the congressional action, which was signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison and paved the way for generations of hikers, campers and nature lovers, along with countless "Don't Feed the Bears" signs.

Native Americans were the main residents of the Yosemite Valley, located in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, until the 1849 gold rush brought thousands of non-Indian miners and settlers to the region. Tourists and damage to Yosemite Valley's ecosystem followed. In 1864, to ward off further commercial exploitation, conservationists convinced President Abraham Lincoln to declare Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias a public trust of California. This marked the first time the U.S. government protected land for public enjoyment and it laid the foundation for the establishment of the national and state park systems. Yellowstone became America's first national park in 1872.

In 1889, John Muir discovered that the vast meadows surrounding Yosemite Valley, which lacked government protection, were being overrun and destroyed by domestic sheep grazing. Muir and Robert Underwood Johnson, a fellow environmentalist and influential magazine editor, lobbied for national park status for the large wilderness area around Yosemite Valley. On October 1 of the following year, Congress set aside over 1,500 square miles of land (about the size of Rhode Island) for what would become Yosemite National Park, America’s third national park. In 1906, the state-controlled Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove came under federal jurisdiction with the rest of the park.

Yosemite's natural beauty is immortalized in the black-and-white landscape photographs of Ansel Adams (1902-1984), who at one point lived in the park and spent years photographing it. Today, over 3 million people get back to nature annually at Yosemite and check out such stunning landmarks as the 2,425-foot-high Yosemite Falls, one of the world's tallest waterfalls; rock formations Half Dome and El Capitan, the largest granite monolith in the U.S.; and the three groves of giant sequoias, the world's biggest trees.

Yosemite is one of my favorite places to go. We’ll be heading up again in a few weeks and most likely again in the Winter. Every season brings something new and the scenery is completely different. If you’ve never been there, I highly recommend it. If you live in California....what are you waiting for??

E*Trade for Bold

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-30T11:57:10-07:00

I have no use for this particular app but some of you with BlackBerry Bold’s might have been wondering when E-Trade would release a compatible version of their software with the Bold. Courtesy of Boy Genius, you can now click on over to their site and get setup with the software that will work on the Bold.

The economy needs you...

Put the phone down...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-29T09:01:26-07:00

Here I’ve spent years perfecting the art of driving while emailing on my BlackBerry and now the Governor has gone and passed a law banning texting while driving in the State of California. I will say though that I’ve become less inclined to do it recently because it seems like drivers are just plain out of control in Southern California. Last minute lane changes, other people texting while driving (and not doing as good a job as me), and people who still are holding their phones up to their ear while driving.

So, come January 1, 2009, I’ll have to put the BlackBerry down and can’t even look at emails while in the car. I think I’ll be going through some serious withdrawals.

Ouch!!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-28T19:58:31-07:00

This morning I went for my weekly Sunday mountain bike ride at El Morro Park in Laguna. Since the off-season’s upon us, I’m now doing this ride on Sunday’s to have a little fun and ride the single speed.

Well, today I crashed. I think I looked something like the picture above but I don’t think it was that bad. We were coming down a singletrack trail that was pretty steep in places. Coming down, I locked up my front brake and in a very nice slow motion, flew over the handlebars. My friend Joe applauded (while asking if I was okay of course) and then told me it looked pretty cool. My handlebars went into my side and I think I bruised my rib. Oh well...time to recover for Tuesday nights ride!

Presidential debates

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-27T07:30:34-07:00

What did you all think of the debates last night? I did fast forward through a couple of parts but really haven’t seen either candidate speak up until last night. I thought Obama was very calm and cool throughout and McCain came across as very anxious and temperamental. Both had interesting things to say but what I look forward to the most are the fact checkers, who afterwards, tell me if what they were both saying was really true. I get a kick out of it. Kinda sheds a whole new light on what we’ve just seen. Oh, and I can’t believe that Biden was on, they extended an invitation to Palin...and she declined?! What’s that all about? How long are they going to keep the VP nominee in hiding??

Cool tool from Pedro's!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-26T09:14:55-07:00

I just read about a cool new tool coming out soon from Pedro’s. If you’ve ever done any wrenching, you know about the chain whip you need to remote cassette sprockets from the rear wheel. Sometimes it’s very easy, sometimes you leave some of your knuckle on that cassette.

Enter the Vise Whip. Why didn’t I think of this?? Oh that’s right...I’m not one of the founders of Pedro’s. I can’t wait to pick one of these tools up when it comes out!

Wacky conspiracy theories

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-26T08:40:39-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! I came across this website from a post on one of my BlackBerry forums and thought I’d share it with you. This site lists the Top 10 Wackiest Conspiracy Theories. Did you know the Royal Family were aliens? That Microsoft has hidden messages in the Wingdings Font? I knew it!! Some of them I’m sure you’ve heard before, others were new to me. Enjoy!

E-motion Roller System

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-25T10:55:38-07:00

Since I couldn’t make it out to Vegas for InterBike, I’m living the experience through several websites that are posting updates, photos and blogs from the show.

Today I read about a new set of rollers that looks pretty darn cool. Check the video below. The only down side is that they’re a little pricey. Very cool though cause I have rollers and they’re not my favorite to use in Winter. The company is Inside Ride, Inc. and you can buy their system for $795 plus shipping from their site.

Diedrich's in disguise

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-24T13:02:28-07:00

I think I went into a Starbucks lull and completely missed this news. Martin Diedrich, founder of my beloved Diedrich Coffee Houses that were absorbed by Starbucks, has setup shop again in OC. Kean Coffee is the new brand and he has opened one location in Newport Beach not to far from the first Diedrich’s on Westcliff Drive.

The latest news is that a second location is set to open in Tustin. The ironic thing is, the new store is going to open where the original Diedrich’s was located. The same store Starbucks bought, converted, and then shut down a year later.

Good for Martin Diedrich! I hope the store does well and I’ll certainly make an effort to get over there. I really did like that store and it always seemed to be busy whenever I went there. Who knows why Starbucks closed it but it’s definitely their loss.

Tour de Lance '08

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-24T06:36:19-07:00

Rumors are running wild this morning in the cycling community. Lance is scheduled to give a speech in New York at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting at 10am EST and then field questions about his comeback at 12pm EST.

Some of the rumors circulating that seem like they could be true include the following:

Team Astana - Lance will join the team next season opening another can of worms with Alberto Contador. He’s said that if Lance joins, he’ll leave.

Tour Down Under - Officials in Australia have confirmed he’ll take part in this event as his first race of the season.

Cyclocross - Participating in cyclocross races this Fall. And, the rumor isn’t letting up at Interbike about him taking part in Thursday’s race.

There’s others as well reported here. I guess we’ll all just have to wait till 12 noon and see what’s the real deal!

Interbike Show in Las Vegas

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-23T10:14:58-07:00

This week is the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas. It’s actually the last year the show will be held in Vegas and then will be heading back to Anaheim. I attended the first two years in Vegas and haven’t been able to make it out since. I’m looking forward to its return in Anaheim though...much closer to me!

T-Mobile Android G1

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-23T09:04:29-07:00

Is it me, or does anyone else think this is pretty ugly?

The web is full of excitement this morning cause the first Android OS based phone has been introduced. The Android OS is backed by Google and the first phone will be making its debut on T-Mobile. I’m excited about the OS but couldn’t they pick a nicer design? I just think the phone looks big and bulky. Hopefully we’ll see some better designs once this hits the streets.

Touchscreen GSM BlackBerry 9530

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-23T08:17:52-07:00

I knew this was coming. Verizon might have the edge on getting the first touchscreen here in the US but there is a touchscreen GSM phone coming out. Specs have leaked on what kind of device it’s going to be and rumor has it, it’s going to come out around the same time as the Verizon device. Read all about it here, courtesy of Engadget.

Jabra BT530 Review

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-23T08:10:29-07:00

I’ve posted a new review of the most excellent Jabra BT530 bluetooth headset. Check it out in the Reviews section.

Verizon Wireless...Now contract free

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-22T13:40:54-07:00

Rumors have been circulating that Verizon Wireless would soon drop the terribly annoying cell phone contract for about a week now. Today, they’ve made it official and you can now get Verizon service on a month-to-month basis with...no contract!

I can’t say that I love Verizon. As a matter of fact, I’m not a big fan of them at all. However, I think this is great and I applaud them for being the first US carrier to eliminate contracts and early termination fees. Let’s see who follows.

You do have to pay full price for your handset of choice and there is a set-up fee but, come on, no contract!

In my part of town that eliminates the hassle of trying to buy a new device with no contract. They always want to get you to renew or sign up for new service. Especially with the hot, new handsets.

The House Bunny

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-20T19:42:12-07:00

I went and saw The House Bunny today. I must say it was actually a pretty funny movie. I was surprised. I wasn’t expecting alot but the movie mad for an enjoyable afternoon. Check it out sometime.

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I want one of these!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-19T20:59:30-07:00

Courtesy of Gizmodo, here’s a very cool Lego built Mac OS computer complete with Steve Jobs mini-man. Very cool. check out the link for more pics and story.

It's Talk Like A Pirate Day!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-19T09:04:49-07:00

Ahoy mateys! It be Talk Like A Pirate day ye scurvy dogs!

Did you know it’s International Talk Like A Pirate Day? Remember, every September 19th, break out your Pirate dictionary and impress your friends to see how can keep up the pirate-talk the longest. check out the website link for lots of holiday information.

Way to go Microsoft

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-18T20:18:56-07:00

I have to give Microsoft some credit here. The latest ads came out this evening and they’re not bad. A total 180 from the Gates-Seinfeld ads (which I actually liked) but these are pretty good. I like this direction they’re heading.

It’s not gonna make me give up my mac though!

The Cactus Cup is in Las Vegas!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-18T12:21:34-07:00

If you ever raced mountain bikes in the 90’s, you’ve got to remember The Cactus Cup that took place every year in Arizona. I have fond memories of going to that race and sleeping in my car because I was broke. It was a great time!

I just read on CyclingNews that the race is returning....to Las Vegas! This is great and I hope it has the same feel as the Arizona original. The article on CyclingNews brought back alot of memories of that time for me. Reading names like John Tomac, Ned Overend, Tinker, Missy Giove and Juli Furtado who were mountain biking greats while I was racing, definitely makes me miss that time.

Head over here for details about the Las Vegas event. If you’re not racing but in the area, stop by and check it out!

Yum! Yum! Cupcakes!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-18T11:23:05-07:00

Courtesy of Mactropolis, I thought this was pretty funny. Above is the winning entry from the Ignite NYC II’s Cupcake Decorating Championship. Hey, where’s the BlackBerry cupcakes?!

BlackBerry Bold for at&t in November?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-18T09:51:33-07:00

Some possible depressing news for you BlackBerry Bold fans out there. The Bold might be released Nov. 1st now. I don’t think this is necessarily a delay though. Has at&t every officially announced a release date? I don’t think they have...those slippery suckers. Anyway, I’m sure it’ll be released...eventually...heck, maybe even this year!

Hey buddy, can you spare 17k?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-17T12:14:25-07:00

All I can say is...wow. This has to be a joke. First spotted on CrackBerry; someone has actually won an ebay auction for the yet to be release BlackBerry Javelin at $17,100.00. Yep, that wasn’t a typo...$17,100.00!

And I thought I was gadget obsessed. This one takes the cake. I gotta find out who this person is...

BlackBerry Bold wallpapers

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-17T08:35:48-07:00

If you haven’t checked out the BlackBerry Bold wallpaper section in Photos, give it a look see. I’ve added alot of pictures and they’re all sized correctly at 480x320. If you’d like to share any or have any requests, feel free to send me an email.

McCain helped invent the BlackBerry? What the frak?!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-16T11:44:54-07:00

Here’s a good one...a top McCain policy advisor aide said that McCain helped invent the BlackBerry while addressing a group of reporters. While waving his BlackBerry, he said. “You’re looking at the miracle that John McCain heled create.” You’ve got to be kidding...

So Al Gore invented the internet and John McCain helped create the BlackBerry. Right. Yahoo News has the full story here.

But, I can’t help wonder about the lack of technical knowledge McCain possesses. He’s acknowledged that he doesn’t know how to use a computer or send email. I mean, come on. If you want to be the leader of the free world in the 21st Century, don’t you think you should know how to do stuff like that? It’s a little concerning for me.

Addicted to your BlackBerry

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-16T08:51:56-07:00

Here’s an interesting survey from BlackBerryCool’s website. Sheraton Hotels did a survey and found that 87% of smartphone users bring their device into the bedroom, and 84% check them before they go to sleep and right after they wake up. Very interesting...

Here are the results:

“Eighty-five percent of business travelers say they sneak a quick peek at their personal digital assistants if they happen to wake in the middle of the night, and 80 percent check their e-mail before they’ve had their morning coffee, the new study by Sheraton Hotels found.

More than a third of those surveyed - 35 percent - said if forced to make a choice, they’d stick with their PDA over their spouse, and 62 percent said that they love their little high-tech companions.”

So, are you addicted to your BlackBerry?

Today in History: Steve Jobs becomes Apple iCEO

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-16T08:43:39-07:00

Today all of us Apple geeks pay homage to Steve Jobs. On this date in 1997, he returned to Apple and became iCEO of the company that was not in great shape. Today we can all see the results with him at the helm and we rejoice! HaHa If you’re an Apple fanboy or girl, take a moment to look at that sleek machine of yours today and think about how much more cool your Apple is than a PC.

Here's the BlackBerry Storm

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-15T19:11:27-07:00

**Update #2**
Boo on Verizon! They pulled the video...again. Apparently the launch site’s been up and down today. So, if you want to be emailed an alert when this thing comes out, check out the site here.
**Update**
I hate it when the corporate weenies pull videos from the net. Looks like the video that was on YouTube was pulled. I mean, aren’t us blogging geeks the ones who are building all the hype for their upcoming devices? Anyway, thanks to CrackBerry for loading it up again!

Well, seems CrackBerry got it first. Here’s the video for Minute with Mike that introduces the BlackBerry Storm to employees. Keep in mind this wasn’t a public announcement. Just a bunch of us BlackBerry geeks that found out about it. Keep an eye out for a formal announcement from Verizon coming soon.

BlackBerry Storm Day

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-15T11:05:00-07:00

So it looks like today’s going to be BlackBerry Storm Day around the internet. Leaks of internal memos and blurry photos are making the rounds on all the sites. Check out the latest set of photos here.

All these leaks and we still haven’t seen any announcements from a guy named Mike at Verizon yet. Maybe it was all just internal announcements?

Improved GPS technology on at&t

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-15T08:30:06-07:00

If you’re on at&t, there’s some good news if you have GPS on your mobile phone. News from BerryReview that at&t has just bumped up their GPS technology and I have to say, I’ve seen an improvement using Google Maps and Windows Live Search.

I’m not sure what they did exactly but both programs find my location much faster. From what I’ve read, the change is that programs will find your location first using cell tower triangulation and then pinpoint via GPS. I’m sure there’s alot more technical jargon behind that but I definitely like the improvement!

Who is Mike??

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-14T22:13:16-07:00

Rumor has it the BlackBerry Storm is going to be announced tomorrow by some guy named Mike at Verizon. Who is Mike? This is the much anticipated full touchscreen BlackBerry that will be exclusive to Verizon.

Don’t rush to your local Verizon store tomorrow though. The phone will just be “announced” tomorrow. And, hopefully, we’ll get a release date tomorrow and maybe even a sneak peak a the device other than what the “ninja” showed us last week.

I’m looking forward to seeing the device but I’ve heard that it uses SureType when you’re viewing the phone in vertical mode. Hmmm...I’ve tried SureType but it never really took. Should be an interesting day tomorrow.

Hard drive replacement

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-14T08:27:03-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to take a chance and replace the hard drive in my macbook pro. I’d been reading in forums about all of the people who have done it and, for the most part, everyone seems to have had success. So, I got a 320GB hard drive to replace the 160GB original hard drive that was slowly running out of space. Figured I’d swap it out before I was really running out of space.

Thanks to ifixit.com, I got detailed instructions on how to take my mac apart to get to the hard drive. I’ll say that, even though it was quite nerve-racking, the process was pretty easy. The only part where I got stuck was removing the front of the keyboard layer from the bottom of the mac. I think there was some kind of glue holding it and it took some work to separate it. I’ve also noticed that I now have a very small gap on the right side because that glue is not holding it together after everything was put back.

The other issue I’m dealing with today is getting everything back to normal. The drive replacement went smooth but I used a Time Machine backup to restore. The restore went about half way in the progress bar and then said it was done. I thought, “Great!”. Then I rebooted, as instructed, and found that stuff was missing. Programs would load but ask for the registration code again. All of my music and photos didn’t restore....sigh...

Luckily, all of that is in Time Machine backups. So, today, I get to go through programs and restore all those missing files.

Was it worth it? You bet! I now have close to 200GB of free space to play with. I’m sure that will go down as I find other data that didn’t restore but it should end up in the 160-180GB range. Awesome!!

Angels game tonight!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-13T07:54:31-07:00

Good morning everyone. Hope you all are getting a jump start on your weekend. Or, you could all still be in bed...I don’t know. My partner at work gave me tickets to great seats at the Angels game tonight but the tickets say the game’s at 12:55pm when online, everything shows the game starts at 6:05pm. So, I guess I’ll trust the internet and show up for the 6 o’clock game. Hope there are people there!

Apple iPhone 2.1 Firmware

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-12T11:26:21-07:00

Did you download and install the new 2.1 firmware for your iPhone yet? If you did, have you noticed any improvements? The new update is supposed to fix issues with 3G in some areas. I have a 1st gen iPhone so haven’t noticed any issues there myself but I do wonder...if all the iPhones are clogging the 3G network, is that affecting my BlackBerry Bold getting good 3G??

Gates-Seinfeld Microsoft ads

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-11T19:32:53-07:00

Have you seen the new Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld Microsoft ads? There’s only been one and the second debuted this evening (see below). I thought the first one was dumb but this one was actually funny. At least I thought so. It’s a tad long at over 4 min. but if you enjoy Seinfeld humor, you should get a kick out of it.

Pick your poison

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-11T09:24:51-07:00

Let’s see if I can recap all these great new BlackBerry devices that are out or coming out soon...

BlackBerry 9000 (Bold): Released just about everywhere in the world except for the US. Should be coming out in October on at&t. Simply awesome device with 3G, wifi, GPS and a beautiful high-res screen.

BlackBerry 8900 (Javelin): Considered the replacement for the Curve. Same size factor but has more of the 9000 look. No 3G but will have wifi and GPS. Since at&t has said they will only have 3G devices in the future, I’m guessing we’ll see this on T-Mobile?

BlackBerry 9500 (Storm): Exclusive to Verizon and RIM’s first touchscreen device. A video is a few posts down on the blog. Looks kinda big in my opinion and since it’s only on Verizon (for now at least), I’m still big on the full size keyboard.

BlackBerry 8220 (Pearl): The first flip phone from RIM. It uses SureType and has a pretty big flip to it if you ask me. There are photos here. Look for this one on T-Mobile in red and black variations.

9/11: Always Remember

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-11T08:42:18-07:00

It’s hard to believe it’s the 7th anniversary of 9/11. For me, it still seems so recent. Do you remember where you were that morning? The event was definitely one where I don’t think anyone will ever forget where they were or what they were doing.

I’m not going to get all political now. If you haven’t yet, take a moment to remember all those who lost their lives that day.

A more upbeat post to follow...

First video of the BlackBerry Storm

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-10T06:44:24-07:00

Good morning all. Last night, courtesy of BGR, we all got to see the new Verizon BlackBerry Storm make it’s debut on a poorly shot video by a guy dressed as a ninja. The “Brew Ninja” who admits he works as a Mobile QA Engineer over at Yahoo! (isn’t the point of being a ninja supposed to be that no one knows who you are?), gives a very dismal review of the new touchscreen BlackBerry about 2:50 into the video.

My opinion is that I read nothing into this other than to get a chance to see the new device live. The guy doesn’t even really review it other than to pick it up, press a couple buttons and then declare that he doesn’t like it. And, as one commenter on BGR said, he does look a little too much like Ralph Macchio ‘Karate Kid’ style. Anyway, if you’re interested in seeing what the Storm looks like, check the video.

**UPDATE**
Thanks to Crackberry for this one. The original video was pulled by the user. Maybe the ninja got in trouble. New video below is just of the Storm...no need to forward 2:50 in to get to the good stuff!

So what do you think of the Apple updates?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-09T11:45:37-07:00

Well, the announcements have been made. What did you think of them? Highlights are iTunes 8 (which should be available at any moment now), new iPod nano’s in pretty colors (see above pic) and one single iPod classic that is 120GB and $249.

The Touch also got an update but I think the new nano is nice. I’m trying to convince myself i don’t need one but the colors are so pretty.

Apple goodies on the way!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-09T08:45:00-07:00

And the Apple Store is down. We’re only 15 minutes away from today’s event that should be bringing us iTunes 8, new iPod nano’s and possibly a little surprise no one knows just yet.

I know people hate it when they take the store down just to add a new product. Personally, I kinda like it. It builds anticipation and makes you keep checking back to see what they’ve added once the store is back online. Should be an interesting day in Apple World...stay tuned!

Lance Armstrong coming back??

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-08T10:25:37-07:00

Wow. This is interesting. Just heard from this VeloNews article that Lance Armstrong will be coming out of retirement to race five events with the Astana team next season. This is pretty big news. Amoung the five events will be the Tour of California and Tour de France. Is Lance going for Number 8?

BodyGuardz Screen Protector review just added

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-08T10:17:19-07:00

My thoughts and review of the BodyGuardz screen protectors have just been added to the Reviews section. Have a look see and hope it helps when the time comes to choosing a screen protector for your device.

Opposable thumbs and BlackBerry

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-08T06:20:11-07:00

While all the US impatiently awaits the release of the BlackBerry Bold, some sites are getting nostalgic and looking back at the devices of old. After all, it is 10 years since the first BlackBerry came out. Here’s a site that profiles the evolution: From Brick To Bold: The Evolution Of The BlackBerry

When did you get your first BlackBerry? I actually got mine in 2003 and hated it. I was a big Treo fan at the time. Silly me. Now I can’t live without my BlackBerry! The article is interesting. And, if you don’t want to read all the tech specs, it’s fun to just look at the pictures. One interesting point is that they didn’t include the 8700. I thought that was a great device and the step right before the Curve came out.

Hope everyone has a great start to their week!

**UPDATE: Looks like I missed the page that had the 8700 listed. Glad to see it made it on their timeline.

New iTunes features?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-07T13:02:59-07:00

Rumors are still circulating about a possible release of iTunes 8 this Tuesday with a bunch of new features. Currently being discussed is a grid view, new visualizer, HD TV programs and, at the forefront, a ‘Genius playlist’ that will analyze the characteristics of that song and generate a playlist with similar songs. Something along the lines of Pandora, which is a great program in itself. Of course, we’ll all just have to wait till Tuesday to see what Mr. Jobs announces.

Bold wallpapers now in the Photos section!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-06T07:38:43-07:00

I’ll be adding more wallpapers to the section as I re-size ‘em. Have a look and let me know what you think. If you’d like to download them, click an image and then right click. It should save as a .png file which will open just fine on your BlackBerry. If you’d like to submit any to the site, feel free to send them to me through the Contact Me page. Visit the gallery here.

When in Rome...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-05T21:03:11-07:00

Is this a leaked pic of the 4th gen iPod expected to be announced (and presumably available) on Sept. 9th? Looks like it could be. Gotta jump on the band wagon with this one and join all the other tech sites that have this splattered on the font page. Looks cool!

Have a frakkn great weekend!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-05T06:46:47-07:00

Any Battlestar Galactica fans out there? Even if you’re not a fan, you might know the meaning behind the word, frak. It’s catching on and all us BSG geeks out there and using it more and more.

The word is brilliant. It allows you to curse without actually cursing. Cool huh? Enjoy this clip below of all the times frak has been said on the first season of Battlestar Galactica. Then go and watch all the shows if you’ve never seen them. Get addicted and then come back and I’ll tell you how this awesome show is down to it’s final episodes the beginning of next year so we can all wallow in sorrow together.

Brandon Gomez is not a jerk

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-04T11:27:28-07:00

I’ve got a secret. I can check online and see how many thousands of people check my website daily. Okay, so it’s not thousands but surprisingly enough, there are a few of you out there. Thanks!

Well, I can also see how you landed on my lovely site. Would you believe someone Googled “Is Brandon Gomez a jerk?” and wound up here? Now, I don’t know who you are out there or why you would think I’m a jerk. Kinda makes me sad. Why would someone think I’m a jerk? I’m a nice guy...really!

Forget Chrome

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-03T08:11:11-07:00

Google’s new web browser, Chrome, was released into beta yesterday and it’s pretty cool and all. But, I want to talk about the Apple media event scheduled for Sept. 9th. All signs are pointing to new ipods. Woo Hoo!!

According to MacRumors, they’ve received intel that, aside from new iPod nanos and changes to the Touch, we’ll also see the introduction of iTunes 8 which will have some big changes and will be a major update.

Let the countdown begin!

Where is everyone?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-02T09:39:44-07:00

It’s a crazy Monday morning here in my office. No one’s here! We have three employees off today, and everyone else is out and about. So far, I’m the only one here. Craziness I tell ya! Has anyone else every had one of those days in the office where everyone is either out sick, on a vacation day or simply not there? It certainly keeps the day interesting!

Website Redux

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-09-01T14:02:32-07:00

The website has undergone a little bit of a makeover this weekend. Hope you all like it and hope you’re all enjoying your Monday holiday!

Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-31T10:17:12-07:00

Hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend so far. Had a short little ride this morning starting out with Como Street and am heading to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific today to look at the fishies. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. It’s a small aquarium but very nice and has cool exhibits. The area has undergone some changes as well and is a nice place to walk around. The convention center is close by and they’ve built up The Pike which has shops and restaurants. There’s also Rainbow Harbor that’s been there a long time with more places to shop and eat.

We’ve had a membership since it first opened and go every now and then. Our favorite time to go it adults-only members only night. Although, adults can sometimes be just as bad as kids there. Anyway, enjoy your hot, humid Sunday and let’s hope this weather cools down a tad today!

So long Summer...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-30T15:50:52-07:00

Can you feel that? Summer slipping away. I know, it’s a bummer. This past week I’ve noticed daylight starting a little later in the mornings and going away earlier in the evenings. On my Tuesday night mountain bike ride, when we get back, it seems to be just a bit chilly and darker. I hate it!

It’s Labor Day weekend and all downhill from here. Although, we’ll see if I can continue my riding and not escape into the cubby again in the off-season. I’m hoping to get out and do more mountain biking this Fall. Single Speed!!!

Labor Day

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-29T09:00:14-07:00

It’s Friday! And, there’s a holiday on Monday! Are you at all curious to know what exactly Labor Day and why we have it or do you just see ‘3-day weekend’?

Well, if you’re at all curious about what Labor Day is, check out Wikipedia for some history on the holiday.

Go Miniman Go!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-28T10:24:11-07:00

LEGO is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Miniman with a special website.

Look out! A Storm is coming...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-28T06:56:11-07:00

Thanks to Engadget, it’s been discovered that the BlackBerry Thunder touch screen is going to be called the BlackBerry 9530 Storm here on Verizon. Those of you attached to that ‘Thunder’ name? Not to worry, just head up to Canada on Rogers and to Europe on Vodafone and you’ll see some Thunder.

This is BlackBerry’s first touch screen device and looks pretty cool. I hope it does well. In my opinion, every touch screen that’s tried to go up against Apple hasn’t done so well. Click the link above if you want to see what that purdy box is gonna look like when released.

New Apple products coming soon?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-27T06:06:26-07:00

Rumors are circulating around the web about a refresh of Apple products coming on September 9th. There’s even talk of an ‘Apple Event’ taking place the same day. Speculation of product releases include re-designed macbook pro’s. ipod nano’s and mac mini’s.

So, if you’re thinking of buying an Apple product, might want to hold off for just a bit longer and see if your intended purchase is getting a makeover.

How 'bout that Michael Phelps?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-26T07:38:04-07:00

Good morning all! I received this from a friend and thought I’d share it with you. Thought it was pretty funny myself.

Oh, be sure to check out the new reviews section. I’ll be posting full reviews of tech gadgets and stuff there from time to time.

YouMail voicemail service

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-25T07:57:04-07:00

For the past few months, I’ve replaced my at&t voicemail service with YouMail. It’s a great service that’s free and I highly recommend it.

Free ringtone generator site

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-24T10:51:56-07:00

Picked up from BerryReview, I thought I’d share this ringtone making website with you all. It’s called Audiko and the unique thing about this site is that it allows you to enter a YouTube URL and convert it to a ringtone. They have a pretty big selection that I’m sure will only increase as more people start using the service. As far as I can tell, there are no ‘extra’ charges for using this site. I downloaded a ringtone to my desktop as an mp3 and had no problems getting it on my BlackBerry. Check it out....I think one’s a keeper.

Sennheiser VMX 100 Full Review

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-23T15:12:24-07:00

Overall, I found the Sennheiser VMX100 to be very comforatable though it does have some minor quirks. Read on for the full review and photos.

Obama, Biden in '09?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-23T07:09:23-07:00

So whadda ya think? Right choice? Wrong choice? Still missing Hillary? I know I am. I’m indifferent about the whole thing to be honest. I did like Hillary alot and was hoping I’d see her name announced this morning. But, I think there was just to much bad blood between the two of them during the campaign.

Now, I don’t think that polls are 100% believable. Seems to me you can swing a poll result anyway you’d like. But, I am surprised to see McCain holding his own against Obama. With all the hype that’s surrounded Obama, I thought he would be way out in front but that doesn’t seem to be the case. We’ll see how Biden changes those polls now...

The iHologram?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-22T17:53:20-07:00

So this is pretty cool. It’s an application that projects what looks like a hologram coming out of your iPhone. The application is from David O’Reilly and is very cool. This is definitely one of those things to file under why the iPhone is way cooler than a BlackBerry.

Now when’s it gonna be available in the App Store?

iHologram - iPhone application from David OReilly on Vimeo.

Sennheiser VMX 100

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-22T08:40:04-07:00

Yesterday I received a cool new toy from UPS. It’s a Sennheiser VMX 100 bluetooth headset! One of the nice things about working for a telecommunications company is that you sometimes get these little treats from your headset vendor.

I’ll be trying it out and posting a full review but so far, I really like it. It’s very comfortable and sounds good. I was using a Jawbone II up until I received this one and I never really liked the fit.

More to come...

Please stand by...

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-22T07:04:54-07:00

I changed my website hosting to GoDaddy this morning so the site’s was offline until now. Sorry about that folks! Took a little longer than I thought.

Website issues...uh oh!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-21T14:25:39-07:00

My blog posts aren’t being published! I just noticed it but hopefully they’ll start showing up again soon. This is really just a test to see if this makes it to the site. Hope so!

It's BlackBerry Bold Day...in Canada

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-21T13:24:18-07:00

Figures. Hasn’t at&t sold enough iPhones already? Rogers officially announced the Bold today but it’s hard to find so far. Reports are that most stores don’t even have them and those that do, only got a couple. Why is this device so delayed? I’d really like to hear the real reason for this. Personally, I think it’s all to do with the iPhone and how many they can sell before they release the Bold. Tsk, tsk at&t...

Ready for the VP's?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-20T20:40:34-07:00

”One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice-president, and that one word is “to be prepared”
~Dan Quayle

Universal instant messaging application

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-20T10:24:00-07:00

Good morning. Yesterday BeeJive released a new version of their universal instant messaging application, Beejive IM. If you’ve never heard of it before, it’s a instant messaging application for BlackBerry, iPhone and Windows Mobile.

I really do like this application rather than using the standard AIM/iChat,Yahoo, MSN, or GoogleTalk, MySpace, Lotus Sametime, ICQ and Jabber apps. This one combines them all into one package where you can setup multiple accounts all under one roof.

The interface is nice, easy to use and the program itself is very stable. I use it on my BlackBerry just about everyday and it helps me keep in touch with contacts while I’m out n’ about. The iPhone version is in Beta and uses Safari to log you in.

Lots to do with the site

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-19T13:42:02-07:00

All of the blog entries have been moved over using RapidWeaver. I really like the software so far but there’s alot to learn with it. I will say that iWeb is truly WYSIWYG which makes it really easy to use.

RapidWeaver does have an easy to use GUI but is not WYSIWYG; nor does it claim to be. For personal pages and those looking to make a quick page for family and friends, I highly recommend iWeb. Unless you really want to get into website design and pure coding, stick to iWeb. Don’t get me wrong, RapidWeaver is great but it’s going to take some learning...and maybe some help from plug-ins...to really get a handle on it.

Harry Potter movie delayed

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-18T11:24:00-07:00

”Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
~Albus Dumbledore

Is it Friday yet?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-18T09:39:00-07:00

”Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it you can never get it back.”
~Harvey MacKay

What's on your fridge?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-17T16:14:00-07:00

”If it weren't for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn't get any exercise at all.”
~Joey Adams

Spoiler alert!!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-16T21:07:00-07:00

”Some say Google is God. Others say Google is Satan. But if they think Google is too powerful, remember that with search engines unlike other companies, all it takes is a single click to go to another search engine.”
~Sergey Brin

My site, now ad free

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-16T07:03:00-07:00

Project Single Speed is complete!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-15T19:03:00-07:00

”Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”
~Albert Einstein

Project Single Speed, Day Two

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-15T06:00:00-07:00

”When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.”
~H.G. Wells

LOST: Re-designed

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-14T11:10:00-07:00

”All television is educational television. The question is: what is it teaching?”
~Nicholas Johnson

The House Bunny

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-13T13:43:00-07:00

”The interesting thing is how one guy, through living out his own fantasies, is living out the fantasies of so many other people.”
~Hugh Hefner

Project Single Speed has begun!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-12T07:00:00-07:00

”The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine.”
~John Howard

Do you Twitter?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-11T10:54:00-07:00

Has anyone heard of Twitter? It’s a social website that asks the question, “What are you doing?” The idea is to be able to track and know what your friends are doing 24/7.

I started using it a few days ago and quickly started thinking, does everyone really want to know what I’m doing all the time? I mean, do you really need to know that I’m on my way to work or sitting at my desk?

I guess there are people out there that find information like that useful but I got a little tired with answering to Twitter all the time.

So, I still use it but now you’ll find less serious updates most days with the occasional accurate update. I’m sure you’ll have no problem telling my believable entries from the little white lies.

I did find it useful over the weekend tracking the US Nationals Road Race. SoCalCycling was updating their Twitter throughout the race which was fun.

To see what I may or may not be doing, check my page.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-10T15:14:00-07:00

”This is not Disneyland, or Hollywood. I'll give you an example: I've read that I flew up the hills and mountains of France. But you don't fly up a hill. You struggle slowly and painfully up a hill, and maybe, if you work very hard, you get to the top ahead of everybody else.”
~Lance Armstrong

Poor little Subaru Outback

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-09T13:18:00-07:00

”We are the first nation in the history of the world to go to the poorhouse in an automobile.”
~Will Rogers

Do you have Olympic fever?

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-08T19:44:00-07:00

Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger)
~Olympic motto originated by Father Henri Martin Dideon

Add your photos

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-07T11:43:00-07:00

”I have an underwater camera just in case I crash my car into a river, and at the last minutes see a photo opportunity of a fish that I have never seen.”
~Mitch Hedberg

Leave mountain lions alone!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-06T12:06:00-07:00

I can’t believe this story. This morning at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, a hiker was attacked by a mountain lion after he....get this...went to pet one of the cougar’s three cubs!

What the frak?!

I mean, seriously. You’re hiking along, see a female lion with three of her cubs and think you should try and pet one of the cubs?? How incredibly dumb is that?!

What really gets me about this story is that, because of this, the policy is to generally put the mountain lion down for coming into contact with a human. Albeit a stupid human. The only good thing about this story is that officials have contacted a San Diego wildlife sanctuary that has agreed to take the lion and her cubs if found. Run kitty, run!!

People, DO NOT try and pet cubs if you’re ever out in the wild.

Read the full story here and you to will shake your head in disbelief.

Oh, and here’s 12 Safety Tips for you all. I love #6...Do not approach a cougar!

A-B-C, Always Be Closing

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-06T09:43:00-07:00

”We’re adding a little something to this month’s sales contest. As you all know, first prize is a Caddilac Eldorado. Anybody want to see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you’re fired.”
~Blake

Free coffee!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-05T08:52:00-07:00

”I believe humans get a lot done, not because we’re smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.”
~Flash Rosenberg

Great wallpaper site

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-05T07:20:00-07:00

”Mac users swear by their Mac, PC users swear at their PC”
~Unknown

AOL radio for mac

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-04T11:25:00-07:00

”AOL is like the cockroach left after the nuclear bomb hits. They know how to survive.”
~Jan Horsefall

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-03T17:56:00-07:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Just thought I’d put up a quick post to recommend a web series that’s been out for a short time now.

There are three 15-minute episodes available through iTunes for purchase. You can also view them for free from Hulu.

The series was created by Joss Whedon (creator of one of my favorite series, Firefly). Although I must admit that I was turned onto Firefly through a friend but I loved it! This series stars Nathan Fillion from that same series, Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day.

It’s excellent, go download it from iTunes! It’s also developed a following on the net. You can go here for the official fan site or here for the official movie site.

Free songs from Starbucks

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-02T11:11:00-07:00

”Starbucks says they are going to start putting religious quotes on cups. The very first one will say, ‘Jesus! This cup is expensive!’
~Conan O’Brien

Palm Springs on a Friday

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-01T23:01:00-07:00

“In Palm Springs, they think homelessness is caused by bad divorce lawyers.”
~G.B. Trudeau

Chumby

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-07-31T11:03:00-07:00

I’m reviving a post from the old blogging website about one of my favorite desktop gadgets...the Chumby!

What’s a Chumby? Well, it’s a cool little device that sits on your desk, nightstand, kitchen counter, bar, well...you get the idea and displays channels of information pulled from the internet. It connects to your wireless network and also has motion sensors for some games and such.

I have mine show news, weather and some cams from Times Square, NYC, various aquariums, zoo cams and some different clocks.

There are other channels that will display audio and video but I don’t play around with those to much. The Chumby also has a touch screen to interact with some of the channels and inputs on the back for external audio.

Finally, there are alarms you can configure to turn on/off your Chumby at specific times or awake to your favorite channel.

Pretty cool huh? At right is what’s being displayed on my Chumby right now. Pick one up here and enjoy!

Earthquake in Southern California

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-07-30T10:02:00-07:00

“I couldn’t help but be impressed by the magnitude of the earthquake.”
~Dan Quayle

My favorite technology sites

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-07-29T21:23:00-07:00

“Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won’t bother you for weeks.”
~Author Unknown

FireFox web browser

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-07-29T10:33:00-07:00

For those of you running Internet Explorer, Safari or anything other than Firefox, I come with a mission. Step away from the browser and head here to download the best browser out there. Firefox 3 was just released and it’s such a great browser to use...I highly recommend it.

Once you’re all setup and running on Firefox, be sure to check out these add-ons that will add even more power to your surfin’ experience.

FastDial - Cool program that can open multiple websites and then show you the thumbnails for them all on one page. I use it as my homepage and then browse from there.
Adblock Plus - Removes ads from the websites you visit.
Foxmarks Bookmarks Synchronizer - If you use more than one PC and/or mac, this will sync your bookmarks across all of them.
Forecastfox - A nice way to show the weather in the bottom status bar of the browser.
ColorfulTabs - If you do any type of tabbed browsing, this is a simple litttle add-on that just makes the tabs different colors and easier to recognize.

New website design!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-08-18T20:36:41-07:00

For the next few days, my site will be undergoing a change. I took the leap and am now using RapidWeaver instead of iWeb to design my site. I thought if I ever started to design sites for others, it’d be a good idea to use another type of design program. Anyway, all of the blog entries will be migrated over and the site will be in shambles for a bit but it will all be back to normal soon. Thanks for your patience!

Must have BlackBerry applications

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-07-28T14:58:00-07:00

Okay, so it looks like the new style of blogging isn’t going to work that well with this iweb template I’m using now. I don’t think you guys were reading it anyway.

Below, I’ve listed out my new favorite applications that I use on my CrackBerry...uhh...I mean BlackBerry. These are great and I highly recommend them. Enjoy!

BB Weather - The latest weather information at your thumbs. I’ve tried other weather apps and they just don’t give you all the information this one does.

JiveTalk - A great instant messaging app. Again, there are several of them out there....pick your poison. This one rules.

Google Maps - They’re indeed taking over the world. This mapping app provides directions, traffic and satellite views.

Viigo - An impressive RSS newsfeed reader. There’s a new Project Tango version out that’s sure to please once it hits the street.

Microsoft Live Search - As much as I am a mac guy, this program does a pretty good job. I love how programs are integrating GPS search into them now and this one has alot of cool features.

It's back!

brandongomez@mac.com — 2008-07-28T14:29:00-07:00

You know it, you love it, you couldn’t live without it. Yep, the Tales of a Gadget Freak blog is back!

I know, you all missed it and, hopefully, I’ll be updating this on a more regular basis. Now to see about transferring the old blog posts to this site...