After eliminating all other possibilities, the one remaining-no matter how unlikely-must be the truth.
Just got the following read receipt:
Your message
To: gmil****@gmail.com
Subject: FS: ECS PT890T-A LGA775 Motherboard for $35 shipped
Sent: 2/15/2007 4:31 PMwas read on 10/6/2009 8:51 PM.
Ungsunghero suggests it may have encountered the same fate as those recent missing UPS packages that have randomly showed up:
So my dad’s been looking to get a smart phone so that he can purchase stocks over the web while he’s at work. Unfortunately the company he works at doesn’t provide internet access to employee’s computers.
Anyway, initially I was looking for mobile broadband solutions, where he could stick an USB or PC Card device into his laptop and just go online like he normally does. Unfortunately, all mobile broadband services at all the service providers I looked at (AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon) all charged $60/mo for about 5GB of bandwidth. Verizon did have a cheaper plan at $40/mo, but only came with 250MB.
I then started looking at tethering options. With tethering, the data plans for T-Mobile is only $20 extra per month. Only certain smart phones allow tethering and if you search online, you should be able to easily find a compilation like this: How To: Tether Your T-Mobile Smartphone as a Modem (2008 Edition)
I asked Derek for his advice in this regard and he mentioned that tethering to the phone is a bit cumbersome and definitely a disadvantage for my dad. He’s not technologically-impaired, but the fewer the components, the better for him. Derek suggested that I consider the iPhone. It unfortunately doesn’t support tethering (yet), but its screen is pretty big and simple to use. I decided to do some research.
I started looking at prices on eBay and then remember that Xyon might actually still have his old phone since he upgraded to the iPhone 3GS recently. I pinged him asking if he still had it and was willing to sell it or not. We reached an agreed upon price and I just needed to confirm with my dad if he was okay with the iPhone. He visited a cell phone store and gave the iPhone a whirl.
He liked it, but wished it had a stylus since he has big fingers. I looked into stylus for the iPhone. I recall the regular stylus don’t work since the iPhone uses human capacitance to detect fingers, it would have to be some special pen. A quick search resulted in the Pogo Stylus, which cost about $10. I went to DealExtreme and found they had several variations of iPhone stylus and I suggested my dad pick up one of these for $3.45 since it had the best reviews/ratings.
Anyway, I got the iPhone today and spent most of tonight trying to unlock it. The same sets of instructions for unlocking the 3.1 firmware were plaster across the web: Unlock iPhone 2G/3G with Firmware 3.1 on Windows. Unfortunately, I hit into the issue where it would be stuck in the “Preparing iPhone for restore” phase and eventually return a 1604 or 1600 error code. Researching this further, it looked like a common issue many people where hitting: How to Jailbreak Unlock iPhone 2G 3G OS 3.1 Custom Firmware.
I tried the suggested solution of getting iH8sn0w’s iREB which would apply some patch to ignore these errors, but never was able to get my screen to flash white/red. It would just remain off.
I gave up after several attempts. I also had issues flashing to an earlier version as iTunes 9.0 didn’t like iPhone firmwares before 3.1.
Before calling it a night, I decided to give it one more try. I installed iTunes 8.2.1 on my laptop (since I didn’t want to touch my existing iTunes installation on my main desktop) and decided to try to flash back to 3.0: Unlock/Jailbreak 3.0.x (iPhone 2G) Using RedSn0w â Windows. It actually worked without a hitch. I inserted my T-Mobile SIM card for testing and was able to make a call to my VoIP line.
Looks like it’s a success!
By the way, the iPhone should come with a paper clip. It took me forever to find something that I could actually stick into that tiny hole to pop out the SIM card holder. Needles and tacks didn’t quite work that well.
I ♥ Kirkland Signature!
From this month’s Costco Connection:
With Kirkland Signature, Costco can:
- Develop popular items with wide appeal to expand sales volume
- Control the quality of the product
- Drive down prices on national brands
- Control the packaging
- Achieve pallet efficiencies.
– Jim Sinegal, Costco CEO
The working rule followed by Costco buyers is that all Kirkland Signature products must be equal to or better than the national brands, and must offer a savings to our members.” – Dick DiCerchi, Costco COO
In the traditional marketplace, brands are build over the years with expensive advertising campaigns built around cornerstone produts. In contrast, the Kirkland Signature brand has grown by this formula: Offer high-quality products at great prices, and let the members decide. – Tim Talevich
Had the weirdest dream last night and can’t believe I still remember this bit.
I believe I was back in LA, hanging out with Darryl and friends. I forget what happened before, but we ended up going to get dessert at some place called Chocolate Pink and I thought to myself, “Oooh, they have one in LA too!” After going in, I was a bit disappointed as it was nothing like Chocolate Pink in Atlanta, Georgia. I now forget what it reminded me of, but it was definitely a different style of dessert shop. Anyway, we sat there, chilled, hung out, drank boba, and tried samples. Before leaving, I decided to pick up something for my mom.
Upon leaving, we find that Darryl’s car had been broken into (window shattered). The next part isn’t quite logical as it turns out my wallet and phone had fallen out of my pocket in his car, and the thief that broke in must’ve saw it. Doesn’t quite explain how I paid my bill at the dessert shop.
Anyway, a bunch of stuff runs through my head. Feeling bad I caused Darryl’s car to be broken into; having to cancel my credit cards; trying to remember how much cash I had in my wallet; remember that I have a emergency $100 bill stuck in there somewhere; having to call Microsoft notifying I lost my smart card; etc.
I don’t quite remember what happened afterwards, but when I woke up, I went to make sure my wallet was still there. I wonder what to make of this dream…
Speaking of dessert, you’ve got to try out the ice cream at Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream if you’re ever in Seattle. The night we went, we actually waited in line for about 40 minutes or so, but it was super yummy. I presume the Capital Hill location would be larger and faster.
So this labor day weekend, I finally went to visit Liam and Denise in Atlanta, GA. I’ve been meaning to visit them for years, but just never really got my act together. However, I decided I really needed a break from work and labor day turned out to be a good weekend to visit them.
My flight was at 7am, which meant I had to leave for the airport at 5am, my usual bed time. The trip was pretty smooth, but I had a hard time falling asleep. The ATL airport was HUGE. It literally took 30 minutes after landing to get to the gate. Even on the way back, it took about the same time after departing the gate to lift off. Compare this to the 5 minute from landing to gate in SEATAC. I don’t even remember LAX being that long. I later found out that ATL airport is one of the largest if not the largest airport in the United States. According to Wikipedia, it was ranked the busiest airport in the world.
After exiting the security gates, I finally met Liam and Denise. First day in Atlanta was pretty much settling down and checking out the city. They have this really neat condo with a rather great view. They took me to an awesome dessert place called Chocolate Pink which had awesome cakes and pastries. Apparently the chocolate is the awesome part, not so much the pink. ;p
Saturday, we want to check out the Georgia Aquarium, known as the largest aquarium in the world. It was pretty awesome. One of their tanks is as long as a football field (from end zone to end zone). They had some giant whale sharks which were really cool. I love sitting in the dimly light room in front of the giant glass display. It’s just so calm and soothing.
I didn’t really plan my trip to coincide with Dragon*Con 2009, but it just happened that way, and it was something else we checked out. We decided Sunday would be the best day to go. On previous nights, we worked on our costumes. Denise came up with the idea of dressing as MNU (Multi-National United) employees from District 9. I personally haven’t seen the movie yet, but was planning on it. I think our costumes turned out great in the end:
(Photos courtesy of Denise)
At Dragon*Con, I got to hear Leonard Nimoy speak. Bill Shatner even showed up at the latter half of the panel. Later, there was a Q&A with Patrick Stewart. Hearing that guy speak is always a treat. It was very similar to An Evening with Kevin Smith, but way too short. Then I got to check out some really cool cosplays and ended my night at the Mad Scientist party where they were playing music via Tesla coils, while having someone stuck inside a Faraday cage. It was really neat!
[Please visit blog post to view streaming video]
I apologize as I didn’t take that many photos, but whatever I took can be found at my Dragon*Con 2009 PhotoSleeve album.
On my last day, we had lunch at Chick-fil-A. Apparently Chick-fil-A is pronounced with a long A instead of a short A. I’ve heard of Chick-fil-(long A) before and always thought it was spelled Chick-Fillet and was different from Chick-Fila. Then they took me to Stone Mountain where we checked out some plantation, hung out on the top of the mountain, and played some mini golf. Before my flight, they took me to a barbecue joint, which is a must to complete my Georgia experience. I’ve got to say, the barbecue was excellent.
I got to try grits for the first time, and it was pretty good. I also learnt 2 new veggies on my trip: okras and collared greens.
The flight home was pretty uneventful. Wasn’t sleepy, so I caught up on some anime. Though when the flight attendant was going over the safety instructions, I heard, “No smacking is allowed on this flight. … Tampering with the smoke detector in the lavatory is a federal offense…” I’m not sure if I misheard or if that was a Southern accent, but I found it amusing.
