Droid X - Loving It

 It was last month that I posted about getting my first smartphone, the Droid X and I couldn't be happier with my experience with this device so far.  I knew of many of the popular and most liked features of the phone that even the casual user enjoys.  But what has impressed me the most is the versatility of this phone, it is essentially a small computer in your pocket...and built to be easily used.

With the number of apps (applications) - and notably free apps - a person can essentially change everything this phone does to their liking... there are launcher apps where you can change how your phone looks and handles your applications on your desktop.  There are apps that can turn your phone into a plethora of other devices...a level, metal detector, compass, wifi/bluetooth analyzer and so, so much more.

Last night my daughter was laughing at me as I was using one of our Wii controllers (with gamepad) to play Super Nintendo on my phone...Yes, I was using a wireless Wii controller to play games on my phone...that, in itself is pretty cool, imo.  It may not be too cool for younger people, but I once owned a SNES system and now, for absolutely free, I can download and play essentially any and every SNES game I ever wanted and play it on a device that fits into my pocket ... and is a phone.  And futhermore, to set this all up was relatively easy, it is incredible.

Another neat app that I just got is FlashTV where live television can be streamed right to your device. Just like having satellite or cable tv, FlashTV has a ton of channels, most of which I will never watch, but does have CBS, ESPN, USA Network, CNN and tons more.  Streaming is possible without using wifi, but if you are able to get a wifi signal, the video was fantastic and with the large screen the X has looks awesome.

Web browsing is nice.  This phone has a 4.3 inch screen, the largest on the market right now (I do believe), so like viewing videos, surfing the internet is a lot nicer with this phone.  A person can see a lot more of the web page and zoom in easier with a large screen like X has.

Other simple apps that I have that are pretty cool and also just illustrate the potential for this device, is the weather radar (with animation), a scanner (sources are all internet streamed), gas mileage tracker (with nice graphs and stats) and tons of news, sports and information apps - pick the one you like.

Google has a couple of nifty apps namely Google Sky and Google Goggles.  With Google Sky, you can hold your phone up (at night) and the app determines your location and then the location of stars, planets and other celestial bodies in the sky.  So you can point out stars, planets and constellations.  Google Goggles is Google's attempt to have a visual search engine.  You are suppose to take a picture of landmarks, books or whatever and after Google Goggles scans the item it comes back with information and links about your item.  I have yet to try Goggles on a landmark but I have tried it with some brand name logos and scanned some barcodes in and Goggles has done a pretty good job so far.

The wallpapers for the Droid X can be "live" or static.  There are a ton of live wallpapers with varying degrees of complexity.  The (stock) Droid X has 7 "homescreens" where you can store your shortcuts for your apps but as you scroll through your homescreens the wallpaper scrolls as well.  Depending on your interest(s), odds are your could find a cool wallpaper for your phone.

I also bought the car dock for the phone...something at first, I wasn't too sure about.  I live in an area where having GPS navigation isn't really necessary so why would I want or need a car dock, I thought.  But it is nice to have while driving, even if not using the navigation.  I got an app that displays the compass, current conditions and speed and then has several "buttons" to quick launch any of the apps I designate, like Pandora.  Also, having the car dock makes it easy to record video (or take stills) of whatever is in front of your vehicle.

With this phone being extremely popular there are lots of message boards and forums, so it has been easy to find information about apps that might interest me and also get the latest buzz on the newest apps.

Of course there are people who have poo-poo's the Droid X and I would guess that many of these people are iPhone users and devoted Apple users.  The other criticism I have heard/read about from people is that the phone is too big.  To me that isn't even a complaint just a personal preference.  One of the reasons people are purchasing this phone is for its large screen size and once you pull up a HD quality YouTube video to show to these folks they seem to have fewer complaints about the size of the phone.  The phone fits in the front pocket of my pants and I have had no problems with it.

The Droid X has been awesome and I've really enjoyed this phone.  My next question is, with the way technology is advancing, that in two years how much more advanced these phone will become.  I know that after about a year, any phone I have had in the past has become outdated.  Two years ago I don't think anyone even knew what Droid phones were and it will be interesting to see how much more advanced they will become.

Chargers Lose Like Usual, Sloppy - Season's End Nearing

The 2010 season for the San Diego Chargers is almost officially over as they fumbled and bumbled there way to lose to the New England Patriots.  Like in all of the Charger loses, the Chargers are their own worse enemy.

This past Sunday the Chargers literally handed the ball to the Pats...the first time was when Richard Goodman, a guy I have never seen, makes his first catch and was so happy he did so, spun the ball on the ground...which would have all been great and cool except he wasn't down and no whistle had blown so the Pats simply jump on the ball and it is theirs.  Thanks San Diego.  The next ridiculous turnover was on a lateral to Jacob Hester, the ball hit off his hands and then went to the ground.  Because Hester thought it was a pass, he stopped on the play...but there was no whistle, again, so the Patriots picked up the ball and ran down the field...it was ridiculous.

The Chargers had 4 turnovers in all, and despite all of that were still in position to potentially tie the game...but of course a 45 yard field goal turned into a 50 yard field goal because of a Charger penalty...but was missed by newly acquired kicker Kris Brown.

The Chargers are one of those teams that continue to have people baffle...people continue to think the Chargers should be a good team.  You look at the stats and they are the greatest 2-5 team of all time...but you watch them play and it will have you ask yourself how they could have possibly won 2 games?

Chargers won't see an easy team until after the bye in 3 weeks ... next up the Titans - a very disciplined team, should have little problem with the error-proned Chargers.  Then the Chargers travel to Houston and the Chargers haven't been able to beat even a bad team on the road (or anyone for that matter) so the Chargers could very well be 2-7 going into their bye week...and then their season should be all but over.

2-4 Chargers: Quick Assessment

(I posted this on one of the Charger forum's I frequent... I liked my summary so much I decided to c/p it here, I think it is a good synopsis of the Charger team right now:)

The Rams really exposed how bad the Charger receivers are and when Gates went out for a time, it was even more blatent.

The Rams only needed to go man-to-man against one of the NFL's most prolific passing offenses and all out blitz everyone else to essentially stop the Charger passing game. The Chargers offensive line was rendered helpless and because the Charger receivers are mostly ineffective the Rams were free to put as much pressure on Rivers as they saw fit...and they did. The run game has almost been abandoned in every game because the Chargers are behind in almost every game...but even when the Chargers try and run the ball, there has yet to be any sign of an explosive run game....always seem like a no gain or a tough 5-7 yard rush on every attempt.

The defense is a joke. Its easy to finger the special teams and the errors they have committed this season but the defense has gotten a free ride and is easily as much to blame as the rest of the team. Sam Bradford was 3-7 for 26 yards in the second half against the Chargers...but the Rams were playing to not lose and not to win and the Charger defense certainly helped them out. All the Charger defense had to do is stop Steven Jackson from getting a first down ... in 5 plays ... all runs, the Charger defense allowed Jackson to get 28 yards...over 5 yard average when you needed a stop. A complete embarrassment, imo.

Special teams ... can we even say they played better than the previous games? Ok, we will because only a field goal was blocked this game...there's the bright spot...but the dark cloud is that the special teams of the Chargers continue to handcuff this team.

Chargers are in a crappy division...which is really the only thing they have going for them at this time...

ESPN Wanted Timeouts On MNF Blowout For Ads - Ruining Sports Continues

Wow, that's just about all I can say in reading this article.  Apparently ESPN had 2 network commercial breaks it wanted to squeeze into this past Monday Night Football game but because it was a blowout, the Titans were just running clock... when a request - from someone, somewhere, was made to have the coaches call timeouts to accommodate ESPN's need to try and fill 2 more commercial breaks.  Jeff Fischer was not going to oblige but by all appearances Jack Del Rio did.

This just totally disgusts me.  I have hated ESPN for many, many years and this is yet another example of why I can not stand ESPN for any reason anymore and the sooner they stop airing live sports the sooner I can stop watching that worthless network once and for all.  ESPN is all about self promotion, highlights and sound effects...but on their most watched show of the week, MNF, apparently money moves to priority one.

What is so ridiculous about this is the fact that there were probably more than ample opportunities for ESPN to get all their needed breaks in but they may have chosen to run an interview or a feature package, or highlights or whatever during a change of possession or injury or other appropriate times for a commercial timeout.  I have worked many a football game and know that happens on a regular basis, but I have never heard of a television entity requesting for coaches to call timeouts to "help them out".

Will the NFL likely do anything about this?  Probably not because the Walt Disney Company (which owns ESPN) has a lot of money and will probably write a nice big check to the NFL when the tv contracts are due...

But, I would like to iterate at least one more time to make sure it is crystal clear for everyone...ESPN SUCKS!

MNF Blowout Beats ALCS In TV Ratings

How far has baseball fallen in the sports world?  Last night was game 3 of the American League Championship series between the Yankees and Rangers...but that was beaten last night by a crappy NFL game in tv viewership. 

I think most people knew that the NFL is the top sport in this country but to have a dog, regular season game beat a playoff game?  Unbelievable...MLB might not have to worry about this happening next year because of the lockout, but unless MLB does something, I really don't see the trend ending...

Chargers Lose To Lowly Rams

The Chargers are taking a familiar path with this NFL season...a path that most teams and most sane people, would agree is not the easiest path for a team to take in the NFL.  The Chargers lost their 4th straight road game to another lowly team...it's been the Chiefs, Seahawks, Raiders and Rams that have all beaten the Chargers at their home stadium.  Most NFL pundits would agree that all four of those teams reside in the bottom half of an NFL "Power Poll" but they better make some room because here comes the Chargers ready to stake claim to being one of the NFL's dredges.

The game against the Rams has shown how the Chargers can be beaten, and very easily, mind you.  For most of the game the Rams went to single coverage on the Charger receivers and blitzed Phillip Rivers all game long.  The Charger receivers struggled to get open on mostly man-to-man coverage.  When Antonio Gates went out of the game with a toe injury, the Rams could further focus on getting to Rivers and less concern on coverage.  The Charger offensive line was besieged all game long.  The Rams nearly doubled their season sack total in this one game in which Rivers was sacked 7 times.

The Charger defense showed why it is not as good as the stats seem to imply.  With the Chargers down by 3, all the Charger defense had to do is stop the Rams from getting a first down with 3 minutes to go.  The Rams, with the lead the entire game, had resorted to exclusively running the ball on all plays in the fourth quarter...yet, the Charger defense couldn't stop the Rams and the Rams simply had to take a knee for the remainder of the game after the 2 minute warning sounded.

Charger special teams continues to be horrendous.  The coverage was better...barely, but then Nate Kaeding slipped and had a field goal try blocked...which, if made, would have been crucial.

Charger fans can simply sit back and shake their heads and list all the areas at  where the Chargers lack right now.  The Charger's offensive and defensive lines are clearly overmatched by most opponents.  For such an explosive offense, the Chargers are often behind in many games...from the beginning and always need to rally.  The Charger defense relies on other team's mistakes rather then being a presence and forcing the team into making mistakes.  And the special teams have been, quite possibly, the worst special teams unit to ever play...and there are historical stats that back this claim already.

The Chargers "soft" part of the schedule has all but concluded....the Chargers play the New England Patriots this weekend who are coming off a big win against Baltimore.  I don't think anyone would doubt that the Patriots would destroy the Chargers on most Sundays, but maybe because they are flying out west and the Chargers might play with some fire, the Chargers could sneak out an upset ... but it will not add any validity that the Chargers are a good team...they will just get lucky at the right time....

Now if the Chargers get blown out, like they should, no one will even think twice about it.

Merriman To IR, Chargers Have To Release Him

It is being reported that Shawne Merriman will be put on the injured reserve list and because of the injury type, the Chargers will have to release him after he comes off the ir.

I've watched professional football, avidly, for over 30 years now and I have never heard of some of the rules and stipulations that, it seems, the Chargers get themselves into each season...this is one of them...

Not that I am disappointed at all to see Shawne Merriman no longer on the Charger team, but I am just a bit curious as to why the Chargers have to cut him after he returns from the ir?  Just seems like an odd rule but must be in play for some reason and the Charger organization was likely aware of the rule so, I would hope, knew what they were doing...

Bur really, what they are doing is getting rid of an off-field, high profile player that has been injured for the past 3 seasons.  When Merriman ended his holdout, I was less than enthused and had all but predicted his final days with the Chargers were nearing.

I don't think the Chargers had any intention of resigning him after this season and now Merriman will have a tough sell to try and get some team to give him a chance when he essentially hasn't played since being busted for steroids which will be over 3 years ago by the time he is healthy again.  Good luck with that.

Week 6 Of The NFL Looms - Charger Preseason Over

I frequent a few Charger forums and after the week 1 loss to the Chiefs, I posted a sentiment that I have expressed here on my blog...and I am going to simply cut/paste one response here and then elaborate:

As much as the national media likes to emphasize that every game in the NFL is important, it has been demonstrated time and time again where a team no longer needs to start out 4-0 or 5-0 to have a shot at the playoffs.

The first 5, 6 games, imo, are still preseason games.  Sure, a team doesn't want to start out 0-5 or 0-6, but both the Chargers, who started 2-3 last year and the Titans, who started 0-6, turned their seasons around...sure Tennessee didn't make the playoffs but were knocking on the door at the end of the season.

I was totally prepared for a Chiefs victory and won't be surprised if the Chargers drop 2 out of 3 of their next road games against, what seem, inferior competition.  Arizona might be their toughest home opponent, but for me, the season really doesn't start to count for the Chargers until the Patriots game and that's when I will start to gauge how competent this team is.

When I originally posted that, the majority of the responses I got was pretty sour...everyone knows that every game in the NFL is important, that's what ESPN says and that means its true and besides, what if the Chargers don't make the playoffs by one or two games, they are going to look back and say what could have been if they could have simply beaten these easy road teams early in the season...

My rationale doesn't fit into what the sports hypesters want us to believe, but I still stand by my statement and yes, if a team doesn't make the playoffs by a game or two it may reflect as to what could have been, but the NFL has changed so much over the past 10-15 years and the parity is so wide ranging that we have seen teams go 6 and 0 and 0 and 6 and either miss the playoffs or almost make the playoffs.  It was just 2 years ago when the Broncos were leading the AFC by 4 games with 4 games to play and lost the division.  Teams can evolve or devolve as the season goes on and injuries can often doom a team even after a promising start.  Even the San Francisco 49'ers know what I am talking about...they are 0-5 right now and their owner has predicted that they will still win the NFC West ... and you know what?  I don't doubt it either.

I'm sure if the Chargers are capable of reeling off 11 straight wins before choking in the playoffs this year, but if they can get their special teams woes figured out and minimize the turnovers they will certainly be in good shape to make the playoffs (and choke) again this year.

Chargers Give Raiders Win, The Streak Ends

In my wrap up from last week's Charger-Cardinals game, I all but predicted the Chargers loss to the Raiders..."The Chargers play in Oakland this weekend and I think the Chargers have started the season 2-3 the past few years and the Chargers have certainly bumbled, fumbled and stumbled on the road this season...so don't be surprised if the Raiders "steal" this game against the Chargers...they could have very well have beaten the Chargers last year in the season opener."

The Charger special teams continues to be abysmal...on the first two punts the Raiders blocked both and scored a safety and a touchdown on each.  The Chargers were able to rally and keep the game close, but turnovers, along with the sloppy special teams play continue to do the Chargers in.  But even if those two aspects were corrected, the Chargers did take the lead in the 2nd half of this game and the defense, which had been rested for most of the game, couldn't stop the Raiders and their 2nd string quarterback from driving down the field and scoring a touchdown to retake the lead.

Philip Rivers continues to be on fire....it's too bad the running backs of the Chargers continue to fumble the ball away.  The Charger receivers are an odd bunch... The Raiders did do a decent job shutting down Gates, although he was still able to score.  But Malcolm Floyd had a respectable game but then the rest of the Charger receivers were mostly missing...in other weeks, Floyd has been virtually non-existent...it seems that after Gates the Chargers don't have a receiver that can be consistent each week.

The Chargers are on the road again this week and might have a chance...they play St. Louis who just got routed by the Detroit Lions....but then again the Chargers like to make sure they dig the hole they like to put themselves in real deep so if they continue to play hot potato with the football, they could very well lose to yet another lowly team...I know in my survivor league we lost 2 teams so far by those who have picked the Chargers this year...I hope to laugh all the way to the bank...

Clutch Video - 9/29/2010

I have finally managed to get the video off my phone and uploaded to YouTube from last week's Clutch show in Fargo on September 29, 2010 at The Venue...it shouldn't have taken me this long but I've been busy...anyways, I got two videos that I think are fairly good... I hope you enjoy...

Here's the last 2:20 of Spacegrass...



And here's all of One Eye Dollar...

Chargers Destroy Cards

Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates almost single-handedly beat the Arizona Cardinals...and not just barely, but completely.

The Charger defense, which has been pretty stout this season...but still prone to giving up a big play or two per game, easily outmatched the Arizona offense...intercepting, sacking and essentially over powering the Cardinals all day long this past Sunday.

Charger quarterback, Phillip Rivers, continues to scorch opposing team's defense and Antonio Gates continues to prove why he is the best tight end in the NFL.  If there is a problem with the Chargers' passing attack it would be that the wide receivers don't seem to make nearly the impact that Antonio Gates does...but that may be because teams seem to lose track of Gates.  On one of Gates' touchdowns this past Sunday, he was left literally wide open, caught the ball and jogged into the endzone untouched.  A team may blow coverages on particular players from time to time, but if you leave Antonio Gates uncovered, the Chargers will make you pay.

The Chargers play in Oakland this weekend and I think the Chargers have started the season 2-3 the past few years and the Chargers have certainly bumbled, fumbled and stumbled on the road this season...so don't be surprised if the Raiders "steal" this game against the Chargers...they could have very well have beaten the Chargers last year in the season opener.

To sprinkle some 'drama' in the Charger lockerroom, starting safety Steven Gregory is suspended for four games for juicing.  Gregory had an interception this past game and, I thought, was playing well....he tested positive earlier this year so one would think he should be off the juice during the season, so hopefully his play this season isn't artificially enhanced and when he returns from his suspension he can continue to make an impact on defense.

Clutch - Fargo - September 29, 2010

Clutch Playing At The Venue in Fargo, 9-29-2010

Clutch played at The Venue this week in Fargo, ND on one of their one-offs from the BLS show that Clutch is currently on.  I was so happy to hear that Clutch would be playing without BLS and then even more excited to hear that one of these dates was scheduled to happen in Fargo!  I was quite surprised as well because the last time Clutch came to Fargo the crowd was fairly scant.  I was curious to see how large of a crowd would be there for this show and considering it was on a Wednesday night (a school night) I didn't think it bode well for attendance, but the crowd was considerably larger than their last show here...but this show was also a 21 and up show, whereas before it was an all ages show and no alcohol.  I definitely liked that it was 21 and over and alcohol was permitted...

This show has quickly raced up the list of one of the best Clutch shows I have ever been too.  Two of my all-time favorite songs, Regulator and Spacegrass, were both played that night ... very rarely have I heard Spacegrass, so that in itself was a treat, but Regulator is such an awesome tune that I could hear Clutch play that song on repeat for many, many hours...

I took a lot of pictures and you can see them all here.  Phone cameras and concerts never seem to work well together...but the pics seem better than some and I tried.  I also got some pretty good videos that I am trying to get off my phone and encode ... I will post those if I am ever successful.

Clutch took the stage about 10:30ish and played until after midnight ... the crowd, I felt, gave a good 'true encore' type cheer after the band finished their set and walked off the stage...the crowd continued to cheer, loudly, and even a chant of "Clutch" broke out....many times, these days, when the band walks off the stage people just turn around and walk out the door....not that night, though.

The sound was awesome and the band sounded great.  It almost seems like such a surreal experience for me now because it seemed to go by all so fast...but it seems like everything that is a good time seems like it only lasted for moments while the rest of life continues to drag on....

Again, might be one of the greatest Clutch shows I have ever been too...