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Courtney broke the story first, I recently bought an iPhone. After months of listening to podcasts that ranted and raved about the phone my gadget-aquiring-sensors freaked out and I couldn’t live without it. I bought it a week ago today and I can say that it’s worth every penny I paid for it.

Here’s what I got for my money:

1. Courtney can actually use the phone. I’ve had some crazy phones over the years. With the iPhone being more than just a dedicated phone, Courtney had her reservations about how well it worked as an actual phone. Within 5 minutes she was comfortable with the interface.  I don’t think either of us knew exactly how to dial on my MDA.

2. A new, working iPod. My old 4th generation iPod has been dying a slow death. It’s hard drive developed the “click-of-death”, which could be fixed with a swift whack on any hard surface. While I am grateful that there is a fix for the “click-of-death” I don’t believe it was extending my iPod’s life much longer. The new interface is slick and fun. It’s quicker too, when navigating to shuffle songs.

3. A GPS-esque map system. Google Maps I think is the killer app on the iPhone. While not quite a GPS, as long as I have a data connection through the cell provider I can find where I’m at and where I’m going to. This weekend we were out and about in Green Bay, WI visiting friends and family. Google Maps came in handy when navigating the streets of Kaukauna, WI.

4. A 80% normal web browser. Safari is awesome on the phone. But it’s still short of a full web browser. it chokes a bit when it comes to AJAX. Also, the touch interface gets in the way a little bit when trying to navigate the actual http://maps.google.com . But all in all, it’s the best mobile browser I have used.

Courtney was well aware of my intentions with the iPhone. I wasn’t about to pony up for AT&T service. I’m a very happy T-Mobile customer.  Courtney knew what it was going to take for me to use the iPhone. We were standing in the mall and I was damn-near pleading to get one. She looked at me and said, “You’re sure you can hack it?” “Oh yeah,” I assured her. When we got home I went to town and started researching how to get the phone unlocked and onto T-Mobile.

After an hour I wasn’t having much luck. Court asked me how it was going and I gave her the straight scoop. “You didn’t know how to hack itbefore you bought the phone?” “uh, no.” She called my bluff, I hadn’t done my appropriate research before I bought the phone. I wasn’t sure how easy or hard it was to actually unlock it. It took some time and some alternate instructions but at the end of the day I got it fully working.

So Christmas came early for me. I’m 400 bones down but at least I have traffic conditions in my pocket now.

I wrote this poem in 7th grade and never forgot it. My friend Peter thought I was a god for a semester for writing it:

Shit shot cosmonaut,

Itching sqeezing burning hot,

With ease,

release.

I count calories…well, sort of. I like to attempt to count calories. I try my best to eat right but I’m always cutting corners. Calorie counting helps keep me honest. With that said, I cheat a lot.

I like to try out various websites that help with calorie counting. It’s hard to find a single site that has everything I eat. My recent test-drive has been with Calorie Count Plus, a site provided by About.com. I like that it goes above and beyond just counting calories. It has a decent community side to it as well as a bountiful amount of information about food and general health.

I’m on day 2 of my attempt to count how healthy I eat. I’m not claiming any success, I’m just sayin’.

Last night I was recording what I had for dinner. I crunched the numbers and ran the food log report. 2 out of 7 items were healthy. The rest were given grades of a C+ or lower.

I pondered this for awhile, assessed the situation and proclaimed to Courtney, “Yep. I see my problem. It was the DQ Buster Bar and the mint ice cream that did me in.”

Courtney raised an eyebrow. “The Buster Bar and ice cream? You needed a website to tell you that.”

Apparently some of us know this information off-hand.

I recently informed Courtney that I needed to start budgeting for a new item: coffee. I’ve never been too particular about the type of coffee I drink. Most places I’ve worked have had terrible coffee, but the new place takes the cake on “worst coffee ever”. Luckily Riles convenient daycare situation saves the day, it’s located near a Dunn Bros. coffee shop. Each morning I swing in for my $1.81 medium French roast to power up my morning. So I told Courtney that I will now officially budget 10 dollars a week for my coffee habit. It just can’t be any other way.

I found this via Digg: Last.fm Mainstream-O-meter. It’s a website that uses your Last.fm playlist information to determine how mainstream your music taste is. I came in at a strong 54% mainstream, which is what I would have thought. Finally, the validation I so deserve for my elite music tastes!

Incidentally, I just started using Last.fm with my iPod a few days ago. I struggled with Last.fm for a long time. I didn’t understand why I would want a music player that randomly plays music close to what I want to listen to. If I want to listen to We Are Scientists, then dammit, that’s what I want to listen to. Last.fm plays stuff like We Are Scientists, but not the actual artist. Then I finally figured out the iScroggler, an application that sends recently played tracks from my iPod to Last.fm. Once on Last.fm, it rates, ranks, charts, displays, and ultimately creates a custom radio station for me. The more data Last.fm has the better the radio station. So now I’m psyched to use it. Now I will finally figure out just how cool I am.

It all started when I fell madly in love with your Google Apps for Domains. My mail has never been so organized and spam-free! When I discovered the ability to check my mail on my mobile I was ecstatic.

Next, I started using Reader to manage all my RSS subscriptions. You have made sense and organization out of a closet full of wires and dirty clothes! I love you Google Reader, I really do.

But today you have truly topped yourself. I can now view my GCal through my mobile. Thank you Google, thank you so much. No longer must I be tied to stupid Outlook to manage schedule.

I can carry my online life where ever I go. You have centralized all my data. You have made sense out of the nonsensical.

Coincidently we just picked up the same camera as Jamie. I was quite amused to discover the movie time lapse feature he demoed. I had to try it out myself.

So, here’s Riley and me playing. All 46 seconds of it:
[ev type="google" data="8683128572583772573"][/ev]

Our Riley media setup is slowly being rebuilt. Courtney’s old Canon SD400 mysteriously stopped working after a long night out on St. Patrick’s Day. I’m still trying to remember if I dropped it or not. Lets just say that I *may* have. I’m not going to admit fault though. Shortly after that I lost yet-another-hard drive in my main computer, costing us the ability to archive our photos. After filling up the SLR we finally bit the bullet and replaced her camera. I also have a new hard drive on the way which should get us back up and running.

Update: My dad cued me in to the fact it might be hard to figure out why Riles is moving in double-time. The video is a timespan of about 40-60 minutes compressed into 46 seconds.

Well, it was that time of the decade again, time for my 5 year dental checkup. When I was a child my parents were very strict about our dentist visits. Every 6 months we would get poked, prodded, and chastised for not flossing. To this day, though, I have had very little dental problems.
The fact of the matter is, I should have gotten braces when I was a kid. I should have had my bottom teeth realigned somehow. My parents asked the dentist when I was 14 about it but he said that I should wait until I was 18 to see how puberty shook out. Well, puberty didn’t solve anything.

Fast forward to 2001. I managed to crack my own tooth with my upper jaw. Because my teeth are off kilter the top teeth crunch down on the wrong spot on my bottom teeth. In 2001 I went to the dentist for the first time in 5 years to correct the problem.

Fast forward to September 2006. Because my jaw is still misaligned I managed to chip/crack the same tooth that had the problem in 2001. My jaw began to ache and became sensitive to cold weather.

Fast forward to today, after yet-another-5-year-sabbatical I went back to the dentist today. The hygienist was a little put off by the fact that I hadn’t been to see any dentist in 5 years but after a few minutes she said to her own surprise, “Wow, everything looks good. It’s like you were here 6 months ago.” I chalk that up to my toothbrush.
The dentist was a very large Russian man. He was quite intimidating but also quite nice. He was able to confirm that I had cracked my own tooth yet again. He told me that my filling will need to be replaced and that he felt it was a very “basic” filling (a.k.a. I had a shotty job done last time). I was a little perturbed by his statement because I had gone to a large corporate dentist office last time. I assumed because it was part of my actual insurer’s medical clinics that they would do the best job. According to this dentist, that was not the case. And the lousy job probably contributed to the repeat problem.

So, back I go next week to finish up the job. I hope this time they will heed my warning about Novocaine (I need lots of it).

I’ll be honest, I gained a few pounds during Court’s pregnancy. I’d like to think it was a little sympathy weight. I mean, it’s hard to control yourself when your wife is craving chocolate. But, to be honest, I think she might have gained a little sympathy weight from me.

At one point in the summer, for about a week, Cold Stone was a staple of our evening dining. The corner gas station even implemented a $4-minimum to use a credit card because we’d go in there for snacks regularly. All the while I used the excuse, “Well, it’s because Courtney’s pregnant.”

The truth? Well, I sort of used her whole comfort food situation to get what I wanted. Yeah, I’m a chocoholic. When I get around chocolate I have to eat it until it’s gone. I would say to Courtney “Hey, I’m going to the store. Do you need anything?” I knew full well that she agree with me that chocolate was a necessity.

So I’m a few pounds heavier than I’d like to be. I still hit the gym regularly so if I can keep the food in check the pounds should come off easy.

I am groggy…tired. We have a coupon for a free drink at Caribou hanging on the fridge and I am too tired to go. I stumble into the kitchen and bang around some of cabinet doors. Through the haze I notice with my right eye that we have a coffee maker. A signal travels from my brain to my hand, slowly. It informs my right arm that it must dig for beans, dig for coffee beans like my life depends on it. Slowly yet methodically I begin the hunt for anything resembling coffee beans in the cabinet.

Bingo. I find a 1/4 bag of beans ready for grinding. I fill up the grinder and with as much subtlety as a Mack truck I grind the beans. I pause and listen for any reprecautions of my actions. No dog movement…No Courtney movement….I’m in the clear. Now, all I need to do is throw the ground beans into the maker and wait for ilfe to begin.

I am immediately struck by the curse of Jason of the Past. The Jason of the Now needs coffee but the Jason of the Past didn’t think about this last time he made coffee. Now, I am faced with a full filter of grounds from weeks ago. They have been sitting in the maker ever since my last episode with coffee growing mould. The only problem with our fancy coffee maker is that the filter is fancy too. Reusable filters require cleaning, cleaning that Jason of the Past didn’t want to do and cleaning that Jason of the Now doesn’t want to do either.

I make haste with emptying the filter and giving it a good once over in the sink. I’m not quite sure if it’s clean. I haven’t opened my eyes to look. I finish and begin brewing. I go about my merry way.

Hours pass, it seems like yesterday that I made the coffee. I have enjoyed cup after cup of the good morning brew. As I polish off the bottom of the pot I think to myself, “There was something I should be doing. What is it?” I realize the paradox that I am about to become. Jason of the Now is about to become Jason of the Past. Jason of the Future, who will be Jason of the Now, will curse Jason of the Past for not cleaning out the filter if Jason of the Now, now, doesn’t do it. I struggle to comprehend it all.

I pause. I contemplate. I grab the filter and clean it out cursing Jason of the Now, of the future, for making me do such a thing.