Waikiki Sunset

It's that magical time of the day - the sunset. Most of my life I've only seen the sunrise over the mountain. But, I've seen a lot of sunsets. I barely made it to Waikiki to catch it. I could have gone to Sand Island instead but the magic isn't quite the same.

My New Gym Workout

I just bought an AWESOME iPhone app called "iPump: Total Body."

I've been with 24-Hour Fitness for a while but I never studied all the different exercises. So, I kind of randomly did my weight training. The app was only $2.99.
Now, I have a plan. The app is really cool because for each exercises there is also a video with a narrator showing and telling you how each exercises is done. That's PERFECT for me!

The plan in the app is basically circuit training, which I have never done before. So, this is what I did this morning:

• 20lb Dumbell Squats - 10 reps, 3 sets
• 20lb Dumbell Bench Press - 10 reps, 3 sets
• 15lb Dumbell Prone Row - 10 reps, 3 sets
• 15 lb Dumbell Reverse Lunge - 10 reps, 3 sets
• (This is when I began to feel tired.)
• 15lb Lateral Raises - 7 reps, 2 sets
• Reverse Cruch - 7 reps, 2 sets

I was four exercises away from finishing the circuit. But, I was POOPED! It says to do this 10-exercise circuit once a week. I might have to split it up to twice a week and do 5 exercises each. And I have to stick with this first 10 exercises for 4-6 weeks. Something tells me that I'll probably need all 6 weeks.

So, this is what I'm doing in addition to my urban hiking! Hopefully, it will help me to lose weight, make my liver less fatty and make me slimmer!

Mixing Up Alaska & Canada

Being that part of my job is to add content to the web, I found this gaffe at KGMB9.com very funny:

About halfway down, Sarah Palin is all of a sudden Governor of Canada!

T-Mobile G1: Epic Fail

There was a lot of buildup for the first Google Android phone and we get this?!

The T-Mobile G1 was unveiled today. And I'm not impressed.


Check out that picture. The keyboard is even bigger than the screen! It just looks clumsy.


It has a 3.1MP camera, GPS mapping and up to 8GB of storage with a memory card (which means there's either little to no onboard memory and you'll have to get an 8GB memory card).


Now, what surprised me the MOST is that T-Mobile has really bad 3G coverage. In fact, there's NO 3G coverage in Hawaii right now.


Look at the map on the left. There's no dark blue which is 3G. And there's really scattered EDGE coverage, which is horribly slow anyway.

In fact, T-Mobile concedes that when the phone will start selling on October 22nd, only 21 cities (more than likely all on the mainland) will have 3G coverage! And people complained about the 3G coverage for AT&T!

So, if you live in Hawaii and you dreamed of owning a Google Android phone, you have a SEVERELY gimped mobile phone which was supposed to be geared toward using the internet.
Now, I know what you're saying. The iPhone guy is just being negative. Actually, I was hoping for a phone either as good or superior to the iPhone. Better mobile phones on the market will force the iPhone to become better. I really believe that. At least until the Blackberry Thunder comes out, it seems that Steve Jobs can rest on his laurels - unfortunately. The Samsung Instinct, the LG Dare and now the T-Mobile G1 have failed to put forth a serious competitor to the iPhone.

Guess Who's In The Wall Street Journal?

A while back I blogged about doing an interview with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal about iPhone games. Well, some PR dude called me at work saying he saw my article!

Well, here it is:

Once Wimpy, Cellphones Got Game

Mahealani Richardson posted it at work so everyone can know how much of a geek-nerd I am.

Trials & Perseverance

It's either irony or coincidence or both that this morning's Bible verse at church was James 1:2-3,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

During this morning's worship time, I was having an electronic drum crisis. The one song that was supposed to call everyone to worship was horrendous. I couldn't hear the keyboards which the worship leader was playing. Everyone else couldn't hear me and we were all out of sync. And at one point the arm on my snare drum was getting loose and it was unplayable.

I realize that it doesn't matter to God that we play perfectly, but I want to offer up my BEST, which I couldn't because circumstances beyond my control.

So, James, trials produce perseverance, huh? It's hard to keep joy in mind while the trials are going on...

Happy Birthday Day!

It was one of the busiest Saturdays in a long time. Yet, I never felt out of control or overworked. It was all very pleasant.

First up, Shayna Fuller's birthday party in Ewa Beach. I've personally seen Shayna grow up at Kalihi Union Church. She married one of my best friends Tony. Because of a lack of parking space, I organized a carpool betwee myself, Julie, Reyton & Jennifer.

I had a great time with Roman, James, Rodney, their respective families & everyone else who came. Tony & Shayna's 5-month-old son Ezekiel was the star of the party. 3.5 hours there to begin the day. We left around 1:30 pm to get some rest before the next party.

At 5 pm, it was off to the next birthday party in Kalihi Valley for Jennifer Lo. It was at the beautiful Dredla home. I love that breezy porch! So much food! A great night of conversation & eating. Got to see KUC alumnus Tracie. It was also a send off for Julie who is moving to Seattle.


I came home pretty tired at around 10:30 pm. But, tired in a GOOD way.

Knight Rider (2008) Review

iTunes is offering a free episode of the new "Knight Rider" television series. So, I took the bait just to see how it is. The episode I saw is called "A Knight In Shining Armor."

I came away sorely disappointed. Even with my low expectations.


Let's start with the good points. Two actors who stuck out to me: Bruce Davison and Sydney Poitier.

Unfortunately, neither of them had much screen time in this episode. And Poitier doesn't have a juicy character like Jungle Julia in "Deathproof." The acting doesn't get much better than those two.

The actor playing the lead can barely hold his own, much less the entire television series. At least David Hasselhoff was a TV show veteran from "The Young And The Restless" in the first go-around. And this Mike is a more troubled soul. What little personality he has is wasted in one-liner conversations with K.I.T.T.


Speaking of K.I.T.T. , Val Kilmer has nothing on William Daniels (the original voice of K.I.T.T.). Yes, Kilmer's career has descended to doing voice-overs of a car. Unfortunately, he's using that same robotic voice he employed in "Batman Forever." What made Daniels so good in the role of K.I.T.T. is that he didn't try to sound like a computer. He used his normal voice which made K.I.T.T. seem more human. Kilmer sounds like a turn-by-turn GPS device. Even the one in my car sounds better than him.


And, lastly the choice of a Ford Mustang Cobra as the K.I.T.T. car. At least the Pontiac Thunderbird was a hot and classy car in the early 80s. Just to put it plainly, the Mustang is UGLY. And it doesn't exude futurism or hotness. Any black car with a red strobe doesn't make it K.I.T.T. Ford must have paid a high price to get their Mustang to be the K.I.T.T. car.

In fact, a really hot car turned up in this episode that put the Mustang to shame. A blue Spyker C8 Spyder, similar to the one pictured here, made an appearance. The car door hinges upwards, which is reminiscent of a Lamborghini. It even outraced the Mustang in the episode. Spyker is a Dutch automaker.


In the end, I think the show is trying too hard to be an ensemble cast like "24," "Lost," "Heroes," and "Battlestar Galactica." And there are many weak links in the cast.


What made the original show so popular was its simplicity: Michael Knight & K.I.T.T. That's all that you really need.

My Toughest Urban Hike Yet

Today, I did the unthinkable. Walking from my home in Kalihi to Pearlridge. Here's a map of my route I logged with my iPhone 3G:



Yup. About 10 miles of walking. I started early so I wouldn't get too much sun. Anybody know a better route? I had to walk near some homeless near Nimitz Highway and I wouldn't want to take my sister on this walk if I had to go that way again.

iPhone 2.1: Best Update So Far

If you have an iPhone 3G or v1 or even an iPod Touch and are still on the old firmware (2.02 for iPhone, at least) you should download version 2.1 right now.

Even though I have not been one of the people with serious reception problems, internet speed problems, serious crashing problems, serious app problems, etc. the new update has noticable enhancements.

First of all, in my bedroom I could get no more than 3 bars. Now, it's 5 bars all the time.

Backing up is much faster with iTunes and it doesn't ALWAYS backup your iPhone when you sync. I hated that. It looks like I don't have to hack iTunes anymore.

Loading new apps is also much faster. Even on the iPhone with 3G.

A minor tweak is a new logo for 3G and EDGE.

Supposedly the battery life is better, but I haven't noticed anything. The only time I run into battery problems is when I use an app that tracks my exercise because the screen has to stay on for the GPS to work. I'm always someplace where I can charge up my phone.

Other enhancements, most of which are associated with the iPod functions, are nicely detailed in this MacWorld article: First Look: iPhone 2.1. I do like the new Genius playlist function. After you install 2.1, make you sure do a sync so that your Genius playlist will show up.

Also, don't forget to download the new iTunes 8.0 which is another great update.

Now that we may have covered the problems of the BASIC functions of the iPhone, maybe we can get to push notifications and cut & paste. Frankly, I don't care about turn-by-turn navigation. I have one in the car and I believe that will always function better than any GPS on a mobile phone.

My First Spore

I've been waiting for Spore Origins to come out on the iPhone since the desktop version, Spore, already came out today. I've been checking the App Store all day to no avail.

So in the meantime, I downloaded the free trial version of the Spore Creature Creator. And just creating a spore is fun! Here's my first spore. I called him "Cockroach." He looks nasty but he's a softie at heart.

I really don't want to buy the full desktop game for $50. The Creature Creator also costs another $10. I'm sure the iPhone version won't cost more than $20 (I'm hoping for $10).

Hawaii Football iPhone Wallpaper

I've been into making iPhone wallpapers lately. So, I made this Hawaii Warriors iPhone wallpaper. Feel free to download it and use it.

The Producer Gets Interviewed By WSJ

As many of my friends know, I am a local morning news producer. But today, the producer had the tables turned on him when he was the subject of an interview. Let me explain:

I am a frequent poster on the EverythingiCafe forums. It's a place where I can geek out and talk about the iPhone. Well, someone from the Wall Street Journal sent me a private message about interviewing me over the phone about my experience with the iPhone game Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D. The article is about how iPhone games are changing the landscape of mobile gaming.

So today, I did a phone interview with the WSJ. The reporter says it will come out this week sometime. I'll post the article when it is published.

Here's a video of Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D:

Food Review: W & M Bar-B-Q Burger

I was told that a great place to get burgers was a place I had never heard of on Waialae Avenue: W & M Bar-B-Q Burger.

I heard it's ALWAYS busy, so something must be up.

Today, I had to fend for myself when it came to lunch so I decided to take a little drive to Kaimuki.

The parking lot was full and there was even two cars parked illegally with someone inside the car and the engine on. Unfortunately, I was by myself so I had to find a side street to park on.

I was able to get a space nearby on 2nd Avenue. The hard part was trying to cross Waialae on a crosswalk with no traffic signals. Those drivers making left turns out of City Mill!

For $8.43 (tax included), I bought a Deluxe Steak Burger (no onions), french fries and a large drink.
For $1.95, there wasn't much fries. I think the next time I'll pass on it.

The Steak Burger consisted of thin slices of teriyaki beef. By the time I brought the burger home it was kind of cold. But, the teriyaki slices were mighty tasty and the sauce in the burger was very good.

This is a case of quality over quantity. W & M had a sign that said that they had to raise their prices because of the cost of fuel. The Deluxe Steak Burger was $4.15.

Overall, I was satified but not blown away. The next time, I'll try the normal Bar-B-Q Burger.

Can't go tomorrow or the next day because they are closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

"Iron Man" Two-Disc Special Collectors' Edition Cover

Man, this is a SWEET cover!

Even if I didn't see the movie, I'd want to buy this DVD!

You need to pay a little more to get this version. The single-disc version comes with the movie poster on the cover. Mark Sept. 30 on your calendar.

I bet there's a slipcover on this DVD.

When you take the slipcover off, you'll see this:

Not Hulking Out Anymore

This is my first post using an iPhone app called Lifecast. It's basically a way to blog from my iPhone.

One good piece of news. My blood pressure is now at a real good place. My blood pressure used to be high. And since I've been seeing my doctor about it I have lost 9 pounds.

Just waiting for the bus...

Posted with LifeCast

Searching For Free Wi-Fi Hotspots

It's been about 3 weeks since I got my iPhone 3G and I love it!

Now, I'm on a mission to find all the great FREE wi-fi hotspots in Honolulu. I found out a way to get 2 hours of free wi-fi at all the Starbucks basically for free. See details on that here.
I also have a webapp on my iPhone called the JiWire Wi-Fi Finder. I search for only the free ones. My mission is to look them up and actually go there and check out if the free service is still going. I found two great wi-fi hotspots so far:

The first one is at the food court at Pioneer Plaza at 900 Fort Street Mall in the heart of downtown (see picture, left). I went there on a Sunday and although all the shops were closed, but the wi-fi was still going. It had an average speed of 1.7 Mbps! That's fast! There was no special setup needed. Although I'm not in downtown a lot, this might be a great excuse to talk a walk to downtown and have lunch there.

Another one that's easy to set up is the free wi-fi at the Honolulu Academy Of Arts. You have to choose the ShakaNet wi-fi option first. Then, go to Safari and there will be a ShakaNet page. Agree to the terms and conditions and you have FREE wi-fi! This one also has an average speed of 1.7 Mbps. I could even get the wi-fi while waiting at the nearby bus stop. Awesome!

Street Hiking Post-iPhone 3G

I went on my first street hiking trek since getting the iPhone 3G on Friday. Since I spent most of Friday waiting in lines, I was not about to walk to Kahala Mall. I decided to do a more modest walk to Ala Moana.

I also took pictures with my new iPhone and wanted to see how the geotagging worked. Well, it's pretty much exactly what I thought it was. Each photo is embedded with the exact GPS location it was taken. I use this really cool program called "AirMe" which automatically uploads each picture taken straight to my Flickr account. I also found out that the current weather conditions are also tagged on the picture.

Check out my pictures and the map of where each picture was taken: Street Hiking To Ala Moana.

It Is Finished

My Sony Ericsson Z520a has officially logged 59:02:54 of talk time from April 2006 to July 2008.

Goodbye, my friend.

Apps I Want From The App Store

It's a day before the iPhone 3G comes out but people have found a way to take a look and even download new applications from the new Apple App Store on iTunes 7.7.

Here's some of the free apps I'm drooling over right now:

AIM - Yes, it's one of the ancient original instant messengers. America Online Instant Messenger now comes to the iPhone. Now, I gotta dig up my screen names. So, all these people complaining about getting charged for SMS messages and having no MMS support - forget that - use AIM! (But frankly, I can't wait for a Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger or Google Talk app.)

AOL Radio - Wow. Streaming radio on the iPhone. Forget FM tuners on cell phones. This is MUCH more sophisticated. Features more than 200 stations across the U.S. plus the 150+ CBS radio stations.

BoxOffice - I can locate the nearest theaters, check out showtimes and read reviews of the latest movies and even purchase tickets. This app is definitely up my alley.

eBay Mobile - Now we can snipe an auction from ANYWHERE our iPhone is! Great app to have while you're keeping track of that item you really, really, want. And when you win your auction you can pay for it by going to...

PayPal - Goes nicely hand in hand with eBay Mobile.

Exposure - A Flickr app. We'll see how this works. Supposedly you can take picture from within the app itself and then upload them to your Flickr account. I really want to see how the geotagging works with this program.

Facebook - I can go on Facebook from ANYWHERE!

Google Mobile App - Easy way to start Googling before even launching your iPhone browser.

Jott for iPhone - Get this... this app records your voice... then turns it into TEXT! It calls itself the ultimate mobile notepad.

midomi - You can hum or sing any tune and this app will identify it! You can even hold your iPhone up to a speaker and it will tell you what song it is and the artist! Amazing! Another similar app, Shazam.

MixMeister Scratch - You can scratch a virtual vinyl LP over any song in your iPhone.

Pandora Radio - Streaming music with a twist. Name one of your favorite artists, songs or composers and Pandora will create a "station" that plays similar music.

PhoneSaber - Who wouldn't want their iPhone to sound like a lightsaber?

Truphone - Make low cost international calls through Wi-Fi. Or use this for FREE if you're in a poor cell reception area.

YPMobile - Basically it's the Yellow Pages in your iPhone. Plus, it keeps track of community events!

These are just the FREE apps. Wait till I go through the ones you have to PAY for.