So after a long search, I settled on the Apple iPhone. It met most of my reqs for a phone and in my opinion has probably the best user experience. I am still debating whether to wait for iPhone 3.0 OS to come out in June or to jailbreak, so this review is on the iPhone 3G not jailbroken.
For my review, we’ll start with the basics. Every cell I think should start with good call quality, clear speakerphone, easy texting ability and mp3 ringtone capability.
The iPhone as a phone performs solidly and probably better than I expected. With all the media capabilities and everything it does I expected lower quality on the phone side. But it is actually a solid phone. Clear call quality, probably not as good as my old school Nokia from back in the day but pretty good. The speakerphone is solid, the only complaint is that I wish it were a bit louder, I use the speakerphone a lot when I call family so they can hear my son. Texting is actually easier than initially thought. I had trouble with the texting since I wasn’t used to texting on the touchscreen, but that is something I’ve gotten used to rather quickly. The only thing is I’m not able to feel and text without looking like I used to since it is not an actual keypad. Another thing missing is MMS or picture/video/sound messaging. The iPhone is blocked from doing so unjailbroken (I’m not sure if there is a limitation from AT&T to do so if phone is jailbroken, someone message me about that). The iPhone does have mp3 ringtone capability for select songs you have downloaded through iTunes (I have not downloaded/bought any songs on iTunes, and it does cost extra to cut your own ringtones). I’m sure there is a jailbreak capability to use whatever mp3 you have, so I have yet to delve into that.
Next we’ll go over the extras. Extras I had to have was an above average camera with video, solid internet browser, easy to use email application, and preferably a touchscreen.
The iPhone has a pretty decent camera on it. My non-jailbreak phone has no video capture capabilities, so another complaint there. It seems a pretty standard feature on newer phone, so I don’t see why Apple skimped out on video. The internet is by far the best on any phone out right now, at least the ones I’ve had a chance to play with. You have the option of looking at the mobile version or the actual website (outside of flash sites, the only real weakness to the internet on there). Endless list of applications both free and paid make the experience even better. The 3G connection with AT&T is faster than expected. The speed tests I’ve done clock it at best at right below 1 mbps. When I’m at home I have it switch to my wi-fi connection to download apps. The email app is easy to use, but doesn’t have a lot of features. I use my Gmail account on it and it doesn’t have some of the options like starring or flagging certain emails. And of course the touchscreen on the iPhone is the best in the industry, the only one with the two-finger zoom (I don’t know what they call it so we’ll call it that).
And then I had some specifics that I wanted in a phone: compact size, sleek design, and cool factor.
The shape and size of the phone is almost perfect. I like how it is thin and flat. The design is very sleek and ahead of the game. It is the phone that has the most cool factor with the app store and everything. A few extras that are really cool include Google Maps app since it is basically a GPS since it is able to pinpoint your location and even has the street view feature, and the built-in iPod. I still use my Fifth-Gen iPod at work just plugged into speakers at my desk, but for me on the go it is a great all-in-one unit.
The iPhone is the ultimate toy and I haven’t even unlocked its full potential in jailbreaking. The only complaints I have are the lack of video capture, MMS, and a really basic email app. Although I think that a lot of my complaints will hopefully be addressed with the iPhone 3.0 upgrade coming up (rumors have video capability, MMS). Some of my fave apps include Pandora internet radio (thanks Quach and AD), Facebook (of course), Weather Channel (live radar = the shit), and ScoreMobile (live sports scores and updates). My son loves BubbleWrap, Action Bowling, and Drum Kit Lite. Surprisingly he knows how to unlock my phone and which icons to press to get to those apps. He’s only 2! Just imagine what kinds of phones will be out when he’s a teen, it’ll probably be a frickin chip inserted into our brains or some crap.
So all in all, iPhone = greatness. Other than those three complaints I couldn’t imagine life without my iPhone now. It’s a game-changer that hopefully Apple will continue to advance.
themeatlife.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Meat Life Presents: I Want a New Phone, Volume II - Shopping
Continuing with this series, I going to go over my shopping process. Basically I was prompted by my cell carrier T-Mobile that I was eligible for a phone upgrade. That excited me because it had been a year since I bought an unlocked international phone, the Samsung G-810 camera phone. Solid phone, great call quality, had a 5.0 megapixel camera on one end. The OS was Nokia’s Symbian oddly enough, had basic mobile web capabilities and wi-fi. Good phone, but I was getting bored by it. I thought I would use the camera a lot more than I ended up using it for.
So there it was when I logged into my T-Mobile account, the list of phones available to upgrade to with discounted pricing. G-1, Blackberry Curve, and the Samsung Memoir were the ones that stood out to me at first. It met the reqs I listed in the previous volume. I was leaning more toward the Memoir since it was more of the same as what I had, only with a touchscreen (that and a freakin crazy 8.0 megapixel camera).
As I was looking over my T-Mobile options, my wife, the T-Mobile hater, stated she did not want to stay with T-Mobile for another two years. I’m not sure why she hates T-Mobile, whenever I ask she just says “I just don’t.” Haha so yeah, no pushing that further. But seriously, I had no problem staying with T-Mobile because I have been with them for so long. She has always wanted to go to AT&T because she was with them before we had a family plan together.
So, just for kicks, I looked at what AT&T had to offer as far as phones. Of course the iPhone was one of the ones catching my eye, along with a couple of Samsung phones in the Eternity and Epix, and the HTC Fuze was also a big one that I was looking at. All those had the functionality and a little bit of the fun I wanted in a phone.
So I weighed things in my head. I did stay with T-Mobile since a lot of my friends and my parents and brother had them so I saved on minute with the free mobile-to-mobile. But over the years most of my friends who had T-Mobile had since switched to AT&T…even my parents and brother on their plan switched just last year. And all of my wife’s family is on AT&T, so it would make sense to switch if I did. So I kept that in mind during my phone shopping, that I needed to keep it open to switching and just settle with a phone that I liked.
And even more so, for similar phones the calling plan with features were within $5-10 of each other between T-Mobile and AT&T.
So I went to several websites like wirefly.com and letstalk.com along with t-mobile.com and wireless.att.com to narrow down my phone selection on pricing and what I liked. I also hit up cnet.com and amazon.com heavily for both expert and user reviews. After viewing review, I hit up a few stores both T-Mobile and AT&T to play with the phones myself.
For a bargain, my eye was drawn to the Eternity. On letstalk.com for 2 of them it was free after mail-in rebate (first one was free, the second $99.99 with $100 mail-in rebate). Eternity had good reviews and met most of my reqs, even had some extras like mobile TV and navigation. So there was one option.
I did like the Fuze, attractive, had a pull-out keyboard since I’m more used to a keypad than a touchscreen. Also had a solid camera with flash. I know not a lot of people are big fans of Windows Mobile but I kind of like it, with the limited experience I’ve had with it. Pricing ranged anywhere between free with mail-in rebate to $299 with new contract. So there was another option.
And if I were to stick with T-Mobile, the Memoir was my pick. The G-1 is a great concept, but I didn’t really like the look of it or the design of the keyboard. The Memoir was a sexy touchscreen/camera. Beast of a camera with video capabilities, oh and it did have a phone on it. T-Mobile was offering it to me for $249 with 2-year contract extension. So yeah.
But one thing came to me while I was searching for a phone. I thought about it and thought about it. Why did I feel like I needed a new phone every year? Not that anything was wrong with the phones I had previously, they all still make pretty decent calls. My phone 3 years ago the PEBL still made awesome calls before my wife broke it. What was drawing me to want to get a phone every year.
And I reached an epiphany. I wanted a toy. A new toy to play with every year. Every year it would come down to me getting bored with my current phone. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but I knew all about the phone and already used up all the features it had to offer. There was no real way to add onto the phone unless I bought a game or something to put on it, which occasionally I did. But each phone would reach a certain point where I could do no more with it.
And that is where my decision came in. I needed a toy that had so much on it and so much you could add onto it later on. A toy that was functional as a tool of communication and information, but also awesome to play with.
And so it was the iPhone (!) and the switch to AT&T (to my wife’s delight, she ended up with the Eternity).
In the next volume, I’ll go over my first week with the phone and the new service.
So there it was when I logged into my T-Mobile account, the list of phones available to upgrade to with discounted pricing. G-1, Blackberry Curve, and the Samsung Memoir were the ones that stood out to me at first. It met the reqs I listed in the previous volume. I was leaning more toward the Memoir since it was more of the same as what I had, only with a touchscreen (that and a freakin crazy 8.0 megapixel camera).
As I was looking over my T-Mobile options, my wife, the T-Mobile hater, stated she did not want to stay with T-Mobile for another two years. I’m not sure why she hates T-Mobile, whenever I ask she just says “I just don’t.” Haha so yeah, no pushing that further. But seriously, I had no problem staying with T-Mobile because I have been with them for so long. She has always wanted to go to AT&T because she was with them before we had a family plan together.
So, just for kicks, I looked at what AT&T had to offer as far as phones. Of course the iPhone was one of the ones catching my eye, along with a couple of Samsung phones in the Eternity and Epix, and the HTC Fuze was also a big one that I was looking at. All those had the functionality and a little bit of the fun I wanted in a phone.
So I weighed things in my head. I did stay with T-Mobile since a lot of my friends and my parents and brother had them so I saved on minute with the free mobile-to-mobile. But over the years most of my friends who had T-Mobile had since switched to AT&T…even my parents and brother on their plan switched just last year. And all of my wife’s family is on AT&T, so it would make sense to switch if I did. So I kept that in mind during my phone shopping, that I needed to keep it open to switching and just settle with a phone that I liked.
And even more so, for similar phones the calling plan with features were within $5-10 of each other between T-Mobile and AT&T.
So I went to several websites like wirefly.com and letstalk.com along with t-mobile.com and wireless.att.com to narrow down my phone selection on pricing and what I liked. I also hit up cnet.com and amazon.com heavily for both expert and user reviews. After viewing review, I hit up a few stores both T-Mobile and AT&T to play with the phones myself.
For a bargain, my eye was drawn to the Eternity. On letstalk.com for 2 of them it was free after mail-in rebate (first one was free, the second $99.99 with $100 mail-in rebate). Eternity had good reviews and met most of my reqs, even had some extras like mobile TV and navigation. So there was one option.
I did like the Fuze, attractive, had a pull-out keyboard since I’m more used to a keypad than a touchscreen. Also had a solid camera with flash. I know not a lot of people are big fans of Windows Mobile but I kind of like it, with the limited experience I’ve had with it. Pricing ranged anywhere between free with mail-in rebate to $299 with new contract. So there was another option.
And if I were to stick with T-Mobile, the Memoir was my pick. The G-1 is a great concept, but I didn’t really like the look of it or the design of the keyboard. The Memoir was a sexy touchscreen/camera. Beast of a camera with video capabilities, oh and it did have a phone on it. T-Mobile was offering it to me for $249 with 2-year contract extension. So yeah.
But one thing came to me while I was searching for a phone. I thought about it and thought about it. Why did I feel like I needed a new phone every year? Not that anything was wrong with the phones I had previously, they all still make pretty decent calls. My phone 3 years ago the PEBL still made awesome calls before my wife broke it. What was drawing me to want to get a phone every year.
And I reached an epiphany. I wanted a toy. A new toy to play with every year. Every year it would come down to me getting bored with my current phone. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but I knew all about the phone and already used up all the features it had to offer. There was no real way to add onto the phone unless I bought a game or something to put on it, which occasionally I did. But each phone would reach a certain point where I could do no more with it.
And that is where my decision came in. I needed a toy that had so much on it and so much you could add onto it later on. A toy that was functional as a tool of communication and information, but also awesome to play with.
And so it was the iPhone (!) and the switch to AT&T (to my wife’s delight, she ended up with the Eternity).
In the next volume, I’ll go over my first week with the phone and the new service.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Meat Life presents: I Want a New Phone
Volume I – Intro
Every so often, I feel the need for a new phone. By every so often I mean once a year, and by need I really mean want. I don’t know how it started. Maybe it was back when the cell companies used to have 1-year contracts (man, I miss those). Or maybe I just love new toys…ahem…I mean new useful devices I need.
Cell phones have seemed to grow into more than just a calling device. The evolution into a multimedia multitasking machine in the palm of your hand is quite remarkable. I remember my first cell phone my freshman year of college. I forget what model it was, but it was that Nokia phone everyone had back in the day in ‘01. That tank of a phone, the damn thing would survive almost anything. Back then I only had a calling plan on a joint account with my parents. SMS texting was available back then, but not a lot of people really did it and wasn’t really practically financially (or so I’m told).
You guys know the progression from there. Texting became popular, hell they used to have two-way pagers (back when people used to have pagers). Once that caught on cell companies found ways to make the cell phone cooler…adding cameras (man I remember those early cameras sucked), then someone had a great idea to combine the PDA and the cell phone in one device, then add music and video capabilities, and then finally the internet. Nothing makes the cell more of a usefully tool and a wasteful distraction quite like the internet.
Now if a cell phone doesn’t have picture/video/organizational/internet capabilities, it is not a cell phone. Remember when phones were used to call people? Our short attention spans require more access to more media at a time. I’m as guilty as anyone. Why else would I have ESPN text alerts?
I started to look at phones and became overwhelmed. What do I want in a phone? What do I want it to look like? Since I’m on a family plan with the wifey, I need to think about getting her a new phone too (otherwise it wouldn’t be fair, now would it?).
So to conclude this introduction, I’m going to list specifically what I want out of my new phone. If you want, you can respond on suggestions or phones you have. Next time I update this thing, I’ll go through some of the phones I’ve been looking at and what I’m leaning toward. If you have been looking at my Facebook updates you will know a few of the phones I’ve been looking at.
What the Meat wants in his new phone:
The Basics – Every cell should already have
- Good call quality
- Clear speakerphone
- Easy texting ability
- Mp3 ringtone capability
The Extras – What I gotta have
- Above average camera with video
- Solid internet browser
- Easy to use email app
- Touchscreen preferably
The Specifics – The look and feel
- Compact size
- Sleek design
- Cool factor
So I guess that’s all I want in a phone. I’m not sure what would suffice. I’ve gotten a lot of recommendations so far from Blackberry to iPhones. We’ll see. Next volume will go over my shopping process and realizing what I really want out of a phone.
themeatlife.blogspot.com
Every so often, I feel the need for a new phone. By every so often I mean once a year, and by need I really mean want. I don’t know how it started. Maybe it was back when the cell companies used to have 1-year contracts (man, I miss those). Or maybe I just love new toys…ahem…I mean new useful devices I need.
Cell phones have seemed to grow into more than just a calling device. The evolution into a multimedia multitasking machine in the palm of your hand is quite remarkable. I remember my first cell phone my freshman year of college. I forget what model it was, but it was that Nokia phone everyone had back in the day in ‘01. That tank of a phone, the damn thing would survive almost anything. Back then I only had a calling plan on a joint account with my parents. SMS texting was available back then, but not a lot of people really did it and wasn’t really practically financially (or so I’m told).
You guys know the progression from there. Texting became popular, hell they used to have two-way pagers (back when people used to have pagers). Once that caught on cell companies found ways to make the cell phone cooler…adding cameras (man I remember those early cameras sucked), then someone had a great idea to combine the PDA and the cell phone in one device, then add music and video capabilities, and then finally the internet. Nothing makes the cell more of a usefully tool and a wasteful distraction quite like the internet.
Now if a cell phone doesn’t have picture/video/organizational/internet capabilities, it is not a cell phone. Remember when phones were used to call people? Our short attention spans require more access to more media at a time. I’m as guilty as anyone. Why else would I have ESPN text alerts?
I started to look at phones and became overwhelmed. What do I want in a phone? What do I want it to look like? Since I’m on a family plan with the wifey, I need to think about getting her a new phone too (otherwise it wouldn’t be fair, now would it?).
So to conclude this introduction, I’m going to list specifically what I want out of my new phone. If you want, you can respond on suggestions or phones you have. Next time I update this thing, I’ll go through some of the phones I’ve been looking at and what I’m leaning toward. If you have been looking at my Facebook updates you will know a few of the phones I’ve been looking at.
What the Meat wants in his new phone:
The Basics – Every cell should already have
- Good call quality
- Clear speakerphone
- Easy texting ability
- Mp3 ringtone capability
The Extras – What I gotta have
- Above average camera with video
- Solid internet browser
- Easy to use email app
- Touchscreen preferably
The Specifics – The look and feel
- Compact size
- Sleek design
- Cool factor
So I guess that’s all I want in a phone. I’m not sure what would suffice. I’ve gotten a lot of recommendations so far from Blackberry to iPhones. We’ll see. Next volume will go over my shopping process and realizing what I really want out of a phone.
themeatlife.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Twitter? / More Meat Tracks of the Decade
themeatlife.blogspot.com
E/E - Entertainment / Electronics Section: Twitter? What's the big deal?
So here it comes, my rant. Lately in this thing I've had a couple of rants, I don't know why but certain things bug me. Last year I ranted about the economic stimulus package, not the package itself but the fact that they used part of the money to send out notifications by mail to tell everyone they could get a tax rebate. Not one, but multiple notifications costing millions in paper/print cost. I've ranted numerous times about the BCS and will continue to do so. Last entry I ranted about how the NHL is continually gone downhill since commish Gary Bettman has been in power. This time? Twitter.
Yes, Twitter. Now, I'll have to preface my point-of-view. I'm a Facebook guy. I love it's functionality (usually except for the new layout). I don't like MySpace because it seems so unorganized (although recent changes make it look more like Facebook). That and when Facebook first started as "thefacebook.com" (remember that?) it was for college students. At the time I was a college student so that was awesome. On these social networks, I started out on Friendster. Remember Friendster? Yeah, the OG social network that went no where because all you could really do is become someone's friend. MySpace was a step forward in that you could share stuff with your friends. Facebook was a step forward from that with a more professional look and feel and being able to do so much and communicate.
Now I'm not sure how Twitter started, but according to Nielson NetView it is now the third-largest social network. 7 million people. But I'm a Facebook guy so I look at it from a functionality point of view. So comparing it from my Facebook POV, all Twitter really is more or less is just the Facebook Status Update. The whole site. You can have "followers" who keep up with you like friends, but really all you do is update what you are doing in 140 characters or less. The whole site. That's all you can really do.
My rant is how is this so popular? How are celebs and politicians, the Library of Congress and even news outlets like CNN on Twitter? I would understand if the site did other things...or maybe I'm just too used to Facebook. Another thing is how people sometimes double things and have both Twitter and Facebook and on both their updates state the same thing or have them linked so they will read the same thing. It's like what's the point of having Twitter if all your friends are on something else and updating on something else already.
I really don't understand how stating "eating a ham sandwich" or "this bathroom really stinks" can make up a whole website.
Maybe I'm getting old and resisting change.
Or maybe I want something more than just 140 characters. Is this how things are going to be from now on? Are we just going to be limited to 140 characters? It really confuses me how media/news outlets are on Twitter. So basically just headlines are going to be the info we absorb. No one is going to be familiar with specifics, just snippets. We already have an abbreviated, narrow, and A.D.D. short attention span for everything now, Twitter really just emphasizes that fact.
So I'm making my stand, holding out on joining Twitter as long as possible.
E/E - Entertainment / Electronics Section: Twitter? What's the big deal?
So here it comes, my rant. Lately in this thing I've had a couple of rants, I don't know why but certain things bug me. Last year I ranted about the economic stimulus package, not the package itself but the fact that they used part of the money to send out notifications by mail to tell everyone they could get a tax rebate. Not one, but multiple notifications costing millions in paper/print cost. I've ranted numerous times about the BCS and will continue to do so. Last entry I ranted about how the NHL is continually gone downhill since commish Gary Bettman has been in power. This time? Twitter.
Yes, Twitter. Now, I'll have to preface my point-of-view. I'm a Facebook guy. I love it's functionality (usually except for the new layout). I don't like MySpace because it seems so unorganized (although recent changes make it look more like Facebook). That and when Facebook first started as "thefacebook.com" (remember that?) it was for college students. At the time I was a college student so that was awesome. On these social networks, I started out on Friendster. Remember Friendster? Yeah, the OG social network that went no where because all you could really do is become someone's friend. MySpace was a step forward in that you could share stuff with your friends. Facebook was a step forward from that with a more professional look and feel and being able to do so much and communicate.
Now I'm not sure how Twitter started, but according to Nielson NetView it is now the third-largest social network. 7 million people. But I'm a Facebook guy so I look at it from a functionality point of view. So comparing it from my Facebook POV, all Twitter really is more or less is just the Facebook Status Update. The whole site. You can have "followers" who keep up with you like friends, but really all you do is update what you are doing in 140 characters or less. The whole site. That's all you can really do.
My rant is how is this so popular? How are celebs and politicians, the Library of Congress and even news outlets like CNN on Twitter? I would understand if the site did other things...or maybe I'm just too used to Facebook. Another thing is how people sometimes double things and have both Twitter and Facebook and on both their updates state the same thing or have them linked so they will read the same thing. It's like what's the point of having Twitter if all your friends are on something else and updating on something else already.
I really don't understand how stating "eating a ham sandwich" or "this bathroom really stinks" can make up a whole website.
Maybe I'm getting old and resisting change.
Or maybe I want something more than just 140 characters. Is this how things are going to be from now on? Are we just going to be limited to 140 characters? It really confuses me how media/news outlets are on Twitter. So basically just headlines are going to be the info we absorb. No one is going to be familiar with specifics, just snippets. We already have an abbreviated, narrow, and A.D.D. short attention span for everything now, Twitter really just emphasizes that fact.
So I'm making my stand, holding out on joining Twitter as long as possible.
---------------
The Meat Tracks of the Decade (The 2000s)
It's the continuation of the series I started last month, reviewing my favorites from this past decade before the page on it turns. This edition has more of a rock persuasion. I'll first post last month's list and then go over this month's tracks.
Last Month:
-Fabolous's "Young'n (Holla Back)" (2001)
-Jagged Edge's "Where the Party At? (featuring Nelly)" (2001)
-Clipse's "Grindin'" (2002)
-Jay-Z's "La La La (Excuse Me Miss Again)" (2003)
-Youngbloodz's "Presidential (featuring Lil Jon)" (2005)
-Justin Timberlake's "My Love (featuring T.I.)" (2006)
-T.I.'s "What You Know" (2006)
-Shop Boyz's "Party Like a Rockstar" (2007)
-Rick Ross's "The Boss (featuring T-Pain)" (2008)
-Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" (2008)
This Month:
-Linkin Park’s “Pushing Me Away” (Original 2000, Remix 2002, Live 2007)
Ending track on Linkin Park's debut album Hybrid Theory, this song has always been my favorite from LP. From the strong, guitar-driven ballad of the original track, to the electronic-heavy remix, and then the solemn piano/vocal performance of the live recording, this song has had significance in the background of the goings on in my life.
-Jimmy Eat World’s “A Praise Chorus” (2002)
This song always brings me back to freshman year of college. So idealistic and naive. I never really thought about it until now, but the lyrics of the song sound if they me from now had a conversation with the me from back then. So much I would tell him. That and I always remember me and Ethan singing along to the "crimson and clover" part.
-Mae’s “Summertime” (2003)
Whenever I hear this song it brings be back to the Cali road trip in '05 when me, Adrian, and Mike went to the Holiday Bowl. Actually, any Mae song from Destination: Beautiful and The Everglow, but this song specifically. The Pacific Coast Highway from LA to San Diego, Huntington Beach at night, and "LA Blows." Awesome roadtrip, especially when we survived a 360 on the highway.
-Thrice’s “Stare at the Sun” (2004)
Great song from an awesome CD. Reminds me of Winter '04 going back and forth on I44 from Norman to Lawton and back.
-The Killer’s “Smile Like You Mean It” (2005)
I first heard this song on the once iconic The OC. The band is probably the most successful to ever appear on the show, and was probably helped by the show since it was at its peak at the time. Although "Mr. Brightside" was the bigger hit, this song is my favorite from that album.
-Fall Out Boys’s “Sugar, We’re Going Down” (2005)
One memory sticks out the most whenever I hear this song. My brother Mike singing this song mockingly with an ultra-high pitched voice. Hilarity!
-The Foo Fighters’s “Best of You” (2005)
Brings be back to the craziness that was the Summer of '05. It was the first real summer I spent the majority of my time in Norman since I was taking summer classes and working. This song was sort of described my struggles that summer outside of the classes and work.
-Taking Back Sunday’s “MakeDamnSure” (2006)
Probably my favorite song of the decade. Not sure why I like it so much, maybe because it came out as I was ending my college experience and because of the decisions that lay ahead after that period of my life. That and it's pretty awesome to rock to on the highway.
-The Starting Line’s “Island” (2007)
Another one of those songs that are awesome to rock out to on the highway. That and it sort of describes my need to get away from things sometimes.
-Anberlin’s “Godspeed” (2007)
I'm not sure what the band originally meant by the lyrics of the song, but I interpretted it as trying to avoid losing a hold of childhood. Not necessarily avoiding growing up, but trying not to lose what it feels like to be young. That's probably why I like the song so much. That and Cities is a pretty solid disc.
Next Meat Tracks will be a more mellow list of ten.
Stay tuned.
Monday, April 6, 2009
UT Banner
themeatlife.blogspot.com
Take a look at what the Texas Longhorns have been up to in the offseason:
Longhorns have claimed the 2008 Big 12 title -- with an asterisk
April 5, 2009 6:54 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
AUSTIN, Texas -- The media had their first chance since the end of the season to see the inside of the team room at the Moncrief-Neuhaus training facility following Sunday's Orange-White scrimmage.
Longhorn officials have added a couple of new additions to their list of Big 12 and South Division championships prominently displayed on a wall on the facility.
The Longhorns have included the South Division championship they shared with Oklahoma and Texas Tech in a three-way tie last season.
But they've also included 2008 among their list of Big 12 championships, with an asterisk.
Oklahoma nosed out the Longhorns on a controversial tiebreaker to qualify for the championship game, despite losing to Texas during the regular season. The Sooners then won an unprecedented third-straight championship by beating Missouri -- a victory that was acknowledged everywhere except maybe in the Texas team room.
Intrepid Austin American-Statesman beat writer Suzanne Halliburton snapped a picture of the wall with her cell phone while she was at the press conference. Here's the link of the picture.
Something tells me the Oct. 17 Red River Rivalry game between the Sooners and Longhorns is going to be a good one.
-----------------
The celebrated asterisk banner is coming down
April 6, 2009 4:29 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
I just received word from Texas assistant athletic director for media relations John Bianco that the school plans to remove a display in the team room inside the Moncrief-Neuhaus training facility that credited the school with a Big 12 title -- with an asterisk -- from last season.
Oklahoma nosed out the Longhorns on a controversial tiebreaker to qualify for the championship game, despite losing to Texas during the regular season. The Sooners then won an unprecedented third straight championship by beating Missouri -- a victory that was acknowledged everywhere except maybe in the Texas team room.
The Longhorns also included their shared South Division championship along with their other titles. Texas had a three-way share of the South championship with the Sooners and Texas Tech.
Bianco explained in an e-mail that Texas coach Mack Brown wasn't aware of the 2008* on the Big 12 championship wall at the training facility and will have it fixed.
The Texas decision was a correct one, considering the reaction I've seen from fans on not only rival team message boards, but also on Texas ones.
But I wonder how the decision will be playing among Oklahoma fans.
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Yeah...awesome.
Maybe if their safety catches the INT against Tech they would have had the opportunity to go to KC to play against Mizzou to actually earn that championship. Oh well, I say keep it on there. Even with that they still need three more Big 12 titles to match OU.
Okay, next entry will be a real entry.
Take a look at what the Texas Longhorns have been up to in the offseason:
Longhorns have claimed the 2008 Big 12 title -- with an asterisk
April 5, 2009 6:54 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
AUSTIN, Texas -- The media had their first chance since the end of the season to see the inside of the team room at the Moncrief-Neuhaus training facility following Sunday's Orange-White scrimmage.
Longhorn officials have added a couple of new additions to their list of Big 12 and South Division championships prominently displayed on a wall on the facility.
The Longhorns have included the South Division championship they shared with Oklahoma and Texas Tech in a three-way tie last season.
But they've also included 2008 among their list of Big 12 championships, with an asterisk.
Oklahoma nosed out the Longhorns on a controversial tiebreaker to qualify for the championship game, despite losing to Texas during the regular season. The Sooners then won an unprecedented third-straight championship by beating Missouri -- a victory that was acknowledged everywhere except maybe in the Texas team room.
Intrepid Austin American-Statesman beat writer Suzanne Halliburton snapped a picture of the wall with her cell phone while she was at the press conference. Here's the link of the picture.
Something tells me the Oct. 17 Red River Rivalry game between the Sooners and Longhorns is going to be a good one.
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The celebrated asterisk banner is coming down
April 6, 2009 4:29 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
I just received word from Texas assistant athletic director for media relations John Bianco that the school plans to remove a display in the team room inside the Moncrief-Neuhaus training facility that credited the school with a Big 12 title -- with an asterisk -- from last season.
Oklahoma nosed out the Longhorns on a controversial tiebreaker to qualify for the championship game, despite losing to Texas during the regular season. The Sooners then won an unprecedented third straight championship by beating Missouri -- a victory that was acknowledged everywhere except maybe in the Texas team room.
The Longhorns also included their shared South Division championship along with their other titles. Texas had a three-way share of the South championship with the Sooners and Texas Tech.
Bianco explained in an e-mail that Texas coach Mack Brown wasn't aware of the 2008* on the Big 12 championship wall at the training facility and will have it fixed.
The Texas decision was a correct one, considering the reaction I've seen from fans on not only rival team message boards, but also on Texas ones.
But I wonder how the decision will be playing among Oklahoma fans.
----------------
Yeah...awesome.
Maybe if their safety catches the INT against Tech they would have had the opportunity to go to KC to play against Mizzou to actually earn that championship. Oh well, I say keep it on there. Even with that they still need three more Big 12 titles to match OU.
Okay, next entry will be a real entry.
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