Stuff to Think About

Google Voice Text Message (SMS) Delay

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Okay Google, I reeeeeally like your Google Voice service. But there's absolutely no way I can deal with such huge delays in your text message delivery system.

My housemate has slept a total of 2 hours in the past 3 days. Knowing this, I txt'd him this morning to see if he made it to work. Here's our conversation, with a Google Voice time stamp at the end of each line.

He sent me a text message at 9:17, and I didn't receive it until 10:10.

Google, this is completely unacceptable. The entire point of text messaging is that messages are supposed to be small, quick, and easy to immediately respond to. With delays close to a full hour, what's the point of even using Google Voice for SMS?

Makes Me Think

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:04:00 +0000

Today, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe. He said he hadn't eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy. Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating. The first thing the man said was, "We can share it."

From MakesMeThink.com

Go For It

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:56:00 +0000

You don't have to be a professional to build a successful product. Amateurs started Google; Professionals built the Titanic."

Amazing New Coke Machine

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:04:00 +0000

Okay check this out.

Why don't we have these in my area yet?! These machines have flavors of soda that aren't available in other stores.

Amazing.

Bing Toolbar Bundled with Latest Java Update

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:07:00 +0000

Just now, I received notification in my system tray that Java was in need of an update. I clicked through to update it, and to my surprise, this came up:

I wonder how much Microsoft paid Sun for that deal.

The End of the iPhone Era

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:56:00 +0000

I can't believe I fell for it.

Before I bought my iPhone, I considered the purchase long and hard. I knew full well what I was getting myself into. I could choose the iPhone and commit my soul to AT&T and Apple's controlling nature for the next two years. "But the iPhone is so awesome!" I thought. It has a big touch screen, it has apps for everything including Facebook and YouTube. You can check your email, watch movies, listen to music, and browse the 'real' web.

I specifically remember telling myself, "Sure, Apple might reject apps and might be evil, but I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. I want to give them a chance. Maybe they won't be evil."

Up until now, everything was fine.

And then yesterday happened. Apple and AT&T denied the Google Voice app from the iPhone App Store.

I won't get into the details about Google Voice or why it was denied entry. Sure, I can live without a native iPhone app for Google Voice. I guarantee that Google develops a nice web app for iPhone users as a consolation.

The point is, the app was perfectly legitimate. It was created using Apple's own SDK. It doesn't do anything that cannot be done already from google.com/voice (the app just made it easier and faster to use the service). But the overly-controlling Apple and AT&T rejected it. The most likely reason behind the rejection is that AT&T was afraid that Google Voice would steal some precious revenue from its (overpriced) SMS packages.

This is why openness will win the end--when you piss off your loyal fanbase, they turn on you forever. I will never buy an Apple product ever again. When my AT&T contract is over, I will immediately switch to a new carrier, and never give a single cent to AT&T again. When my friends come to me and ask me about my experience with either company, I will do my best to steer them clear of both Apple and AT&T. Apple and AT&T are evil.

It's over. It was fun while it lasted.

PS: I think this Android phone is going to be my next phone:

Google Pushes Chrome Browser With TV Commercials

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:09:00 +0000

Wow, Google is really pushing its browser, Google Chrome. The Google blog just announced that they'll be using TV commercials to further the cause. Here's a clip.

Google has already set up a YouTube channel for Google Chrome, with a collection of videos to explain what makes Google Chrome different from Internet Explorer and Firefox.

I'm excited to see Google pushing Chrome so hard. In my opinion, Chrome is a better browser than Firefox (and obviously Internet Explorer as well). I use it exclusively on every PC I use. It's blazingly fast. If you haven't tried it out yet, give it a whirl:

http://www.google.com/chrome

Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:12:00 +0000

Don't know what Twitter is? This video might clear up some of the confusion.

Get it now?

Dog Training

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:31:00 +0000

I guess the dog really didn't want to be trained.

Found on The Daily "Worse Than Failure".

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:36:00 +0000

Happy New Year everybody! Beside these new year's wishes, I leave you with this video. I hope we begin to see all of the changes proposed in this clip.

New Blog Layout

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:27:00 +0000

I have a new blog layout. What do you think?

If you notice anything weird, or not working right, just leave me a message via the contact form at the bottom of the page. Or just leave a comment on this post.

Thanks, and I hope you like it!

Do Dogs Have Emotions?

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:29:00 +0000

Here's my dog, Monster. Isn't he great?

He loves to put his belly on the cool hardwood floors when it's hot outside. Check out his hind legs:

He's cute and he knows it. I got him in September of 2006, and the little guy definitely lives up to his name. Earlier today, he almost chewed through the cap on the bottle of some Gorilla Glue:

There's no doubt about it: I love my dog. My question for you is, do you think he's capable of loving me back? Do dogs have emotions?

Back in college, I took a philosophy class where I learned that most of the well-known philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Nietzsche, etc) believed that animals were incapable of emotion, or "feelings". Of all the heated topics in that class, nothing even came close to the mayhem that ensued during the debates on this subject.

So, all the "smart guys" think the answer is no. What do you think? Do you have a story that serves as proof? Leave a comment and let me know!

I think you know my opinion. :-)

Wrapped In Bacon

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:30:00 +0000

On Saturday, I attended PADA.org's annual Thanksgiving ultimate frisbee hat tournament in Philadelphia.

I had the pleasure of being elected captain of the team that would become known as Wrapped In Bacon.

Top, from left: Raphael Vangelista, Jim, Brian, Brian Nelb, Casey, Daniel Barroll

Middle, from left: CJ Millisock, Meredith Vangelista, B Lo, Joy Lo, Jake, Clayton, Rich Kelly

Bottom: Regan Dohm

We went 3-0, winning the championship game 15-8. I haven't had as much fun playing ultimate in a very long time. Special thanks to everyone on Wrapped In Bacon. You all are amazing athletes, and it was a pleasure to be part of the team!

Prepare Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:23:00 +0000

Ever since Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, the country feels different. I'm not the only one who feels so. Several of my friends on Facebook are showing excitement through their status messages. My family is exuberant. According to multiple sources, the rest of the world is excited about the outcome of the election.

You might ask yourself, "Why?"

I think the answer is best summed up by this photo:

What you see in the picture above, is a man who is down to earth, and sincere. You can just tell from his body language that he will honestly do his best to work for, not against, the American people. When George W Bush speaks on television, he emits the exact opposite. He appears completely insincere, scrunching his forehead and eyebrows to feign concern almost the entire time.

The country right now is in terrible shape, and many question whether Obama can live up to the promises he's made and fix the nation's problems. The economic crisis combined with the two wars we're facing are seemingly insurmountable. However, I wholely feel that Obama will not only meet his goals and satisfy the American public, I predict that he will completely surpass everyone's wildest expectations.

Prepare to be dazzled.

They All Became Kids Again

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:07:00 +0000

What I loved about the Phillies' victory tonight, was seeing every member of the team simultaneously transformed into a 12 year-old kid on the sandlot. Both arms shoot into the air, eyes wide open, they run towards the pitcher. And then an instant 5-foot dogpile.

Voting Machines That Don't Work

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:11:00 +0000

How in the world is this possible?

The man demonstrates that a voting machine does not work correctly. He says that the machine has not been calibrated, and that it will work properly once he calibrates it.

He then calibrates it, and it STILL doesn't work correctly.

Why is this crappy software used for such an important function? And is there anything anybody can do it about?

Wassup Obama?

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:04:00 +0000

The original Budweiser commercial is here:

I Know Michael Phelps' Secret

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:32:00 +0000

He's not an alien. He's not from the future. His secret is simply this: He figured out how to extract the frog suit from Super Mario Bros 3!

Ha! :-)

Mario + Beatbox + Flute = Teh Win

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:10:00 +0000

I want to give you all my money.

I love stuff like this. :-)

Cuil is a Terrible Search Engine

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:10:00 +0000

That is all.

The Constitution Dies Today?

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:07:00 +0000

This Digg story has over 1000 diggs (within the first 24 hours) and it still has not hit the front page of Digg. What gives?

(It references this article at The Seminal)

Even Michael Arrington at Techcrunch posted about this story. Go to the link and Digg it, and Digg this one while you're at it.

They say "All good things must come to an end." For examples of good things that end, I tend to think of things like a relaxing holiday weekend, or an amazing tennis championship match.

Not THE FREAKING UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. Not AMERICA ITSELF.

Some have already given up hope. From the Digg comments:

"RIP America, the failed experiment only took 200 years, to fold into Fascism. To bad you were only fearful of Communism, and did not keep an eye out for Fascism."

"Everyone allowed their rights to be taken away due to being afraid years ago, this is no surprise and there is no turning back."

Something's gotta change, people. Is it too late?

Christian the Lion

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:57:00 +0000

Christian the Lion was raised by two men in a house in London but when he got to big they released him into the wild.This is what happened when they went to visit Christian in the wild.

Brevity

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:25:00 +0000

A co-worker of mine has a desktop calendar with a daily comic called Brevity. Each day, three of us gather around and rip the previous day's comic off, and read the new one.

This is my favorite one, so I couldn't help but share it here. :-)

The End of the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 01:16:00 +0000

Yesterday, I came across a story on Digg.com. When I read it, the story had a few hundred diggs (a digg is a positive vote, which signifies how popular a story is).

The story now has over 10,000 diggs.

Why such urgency?

Because the Internet itself is on the verge of changing dramatically. In a bad way.

2012: The Year The Internet Ends

From the article:

Every significant Internet provider around the globe is currently in talks with access and content providers to transform the internet into a television-like medium: no more freedom, you pay for a small commercial package of sites you can visit and you'll have to pay for seperate subscriptions for every site that's not in the package.

Can you imagine? It goes on to explain a very grim outlook that will naturally and inevitably emerge:

Almost all smaller websites/services will disappear over time and multinationals who are used to using big budgets to brute force their content into every media outlet will finally be able to approach the internet in the same way.

And now today, Time Warner announces a load of garbage, covered on GigaOm and TechCrunch.

[Time Warner Cable] has set up a pricing plan that ranges from $29.95 a month for something I’d call “barely broadband” at 768 kilobits per second with a 5-gigabyte monthly cap to $54.90 per month for 15 megabits per second and a 40-gigabyte cap. Overage fees will be $1 per gigabyte, and customers will be able to monitor their bandwidth consumption via the company’s web site.

This is just terrible. I agree with Michael Arrington--I usually dislike government intervention, but monopolies are the exception. This CANNOT go down.

Another reason I'm voting for Obama.

Google Android Phones

noreply@blogger.com (CJ Millisock) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 01:50:00 +0000

It looks like these phones will become available during the 2nd half of 2008.

I want one!