Summer Time Notes: Smartphone, Roku & Golf

Summer time is officially here.  It is a hot day today and suppose to be even hotter tomorrow and the fourth of July holiday looks to be sunny and dry.  Hopefully it all works out that way!  I figured I best get a post up sooner or later or else some will think I have died, but I have been working on another project that, if it comes to fruition, I will have a bigger presence for everyone to enjoy....or hate, your choice.  But here's just a few quick notes:

First, as I posted last fall, I got my first smartphone and I was wildly impressed with it when I got it.  Well, now more than a half year later what do I think?  I think it is still awesome if not even more awesome than before!  There was a recent update that now allows me get Netflix to my phone...are you frickin kidding me?  I can now watch any title in the Netflix library on a device that I can carry in my pocket, plus the picture is really good.  Unbelievable and I love it!  Of course that is just one of the fantastic things this phone can do...I enjoyed getting internet from my phone to my laptop while at my folks' lake cabin where there is no internet...I was the envy of all.  The car dock features are super cool that make using the phone as any number of devices while driving a snap...and with Google Music (beta) I can now stream my entire library of music to my phone...Pandora has been sketchy these past few months and sluggish...Google Music has been very quick and fast.  Needless to say, I can only imagine what the next generation of phones are going to bring in terms of features and I can hardly wait to check them out!

The next item is that I also recently purchased a Roku box and is equally awesome.  I was initially trying to find a solution to get Netflix to an additional television upstairs and this was the solution I chose and it is so much more than I expected.  For those that don't know what a Roku box is, it is basically an internet television tuner...to further simplify, it streams video off the internet to your television.  There are several pay services, like Netflix, that Roku works with but there is also a ton of free channels as well.  You also can stream Pandora and Facebook and updates and new channels continue to roll out all the time.

And then there is my new activity...golf.  When I was young I use to golf all the time but once my parents could no longer afford to get a membership for our family I stopped golfing...that was well over 20 years ago.  I decided this past winter to get back into golf.  I purchased a set of clubs and set out to go golfing.  My first outing went as well as could be expected...not so good.  But I have gone golfing about 10 times this summer and I think I have improved each time.  I am not going out with the intentions of getting good or being able to 'beat' people, just to go out and get some exercise and enjoy the weather.  I have been having a blast.  And of course I am not "hardcore"... I only go golfing when it is nice and I know I will have a good time.

I got some holiday plans lined up for this weekend and if everything works out, it sounds like it will be an awesome time!  I hope everyone else has a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Dick Ebersol Leaving NBC, Sports May Return To Network

I think I might be the only person in the USA that isn't sad to see Dick Ebersol leave NBC Sports.  In almost every article and interview with the guy praise is just heaped upon him... he is given numerous flattering titles and genius like qualities.  But not me.  I have never been a fan of Dick Ebersol because, to me, Ebersol essentially destroyed the NBC Sports that I loved and turned it into the NBC Sports of today, that I hate.

Dick Ebersol first rubbed me the wrong way when NBC gave up the NFL.  Bryant Gumbel and Bob Costas were two of my favorite NFL announcers, now without a sport.  And, if you fast forward to today, all Dick Ebersol has really accomplished for NBC, other than getting rid of all four of the major sports off of their airwaves, and Ebersol's claim to fame, the Olympics.  Well, for the most part, I think the Olympics suck and I especially think the network coverage of the Olympics suck.  What does a person get to watch on NBC during the Olympics?  Gymnastics ... every stinking night.  Sure they will throw some track and swimming in there but for "premiere" events always showcase gymnastics.  And of course there is the opening and closing ceremonies as well.  So, in my eyes, all Ebersol has done is create programming that resembles sports but appeals to mostly women.  Well good for him but it will not earn any praise from me.