REVIEW: Asus Eee 1005Ha Netbook

Gotta get into the habit of this thanks to the new FTC disclosure regulations: no payment was received either in equipment or monetarily for the product below. In other words, I bought it, I like it, and I want to share my thoughts. So there...

ANYWAY, I have been keeping this review in the edit list for quite a while but I think I have enough experience with it now to share my thoughts. Lugging around my "supercomputer" laptop has become quite cumbersome, especially when flying on AA or SWA. This machine is a 17" widescreen Dell Dual-Core with Vista and is primarily used for photography editing and was used as my primary stormchasing machine as well. All the horsepower is nice when compared to my 8-year old desktop and the laptop is handy for quick edits while in the field. However, this machine is H E A V Y; even in a backpack carrying case, it is quite cumbersome to lug around. When stormchasing, the laptop is also quite big and takes up the entire arm rest leaving little in the way of comfort for long hauls (and no, I'm not interested in a Ram Mount just yet).

With my desktop starting to show signs of it's age, I started to look at how to handle swapping machines around. An iMac is still in my future for a desktop and eventually a MacBook Pro once my laptop gets quite a bit of age on it. Until then, I'm leaning towards leaving the 17" laptop as my replacement "desktop" until enough money is saved up for the 27" iMac. BUT, with all the pain (physically and logistically) lugging that 17" laptop around, I started to look at Netbooks.

Netbooks are technically a different class than a laptop in that the screen sizes are generally limited to under 11-inches. They are based on different processors, different graphics cards, and often times, different hard drives than their bigger notebook brethren. Most are also designed for minimal software options; they are underpowered for the graphics intensive games, for hard-core computations (i.e. photo editing, mapping/GIS processing), and for long-winded typing. However, netbooks are perfect for what I use most on the road when work-related travel takes place; e-mail, web surfing, and an occasional blog entry or quick photo upload. I have two friends with netbooks and one of them has "hackintoshed" his machine. Disappointed that Apple continues to think that a mac-based netbook is unnecessary (the iPad may try to fill this gap), this hackintoshing seemed like a pretty sweet option (especially since OSX was only$29).

ANYWAY, after evaluating my needs for a portable netbook BUT also support for the GRLevelX family of products for stormchasing, I decided to go ahead and stick with a Micro$oft-based machine. Perusing through CNET and a fairly new netbook review website helped considerably in narrowing down all the options. I also opted to cap my spending to at or under $300 as I didn't need a top-of-the-line model but also didn't want something an the bottom end that couldn't handle 3G-cellular internet and GPS/radar data processing. As is usually the case, I wanted the best bang for the buck. With all these in mind, I finally found what I was looking for: the Asus Eee 1005HA Netbook:

Granted, mine is jet black but you get the overall idea. Intel Atom Processor at 1.6 GHz, 1GB RAM, 160 GB SATA HD, 10.1" LCD display, 3 USB 2.0 ports, and built in SD card reader. Best of all, bought this puppy on sale for $279 at newegg.com. Again, it isn't the top-of-the-line but gets the job done for me. I was hoping to get this in by the time I was leaving for home around Thanksgiving but had to wait until after I returned to open it up. So, after having my Eee for a while, a trip to Kansas City under my belt, and finally getting the GPS drivers and radar maps installed for a test-drive home, here are my likes and dislikes:

Likes
LIGHT - weighs in just over 1.5 pounds. Much nicer than the heavy 17" laptop.

PORTABILITY - I LOVE the fact I can carry this in my work bag as opposed to the backpack I carry the Dell around in. It is no bigger than a large book and getting this through TSA checkpoints has allowed me to lose one of the bins I had to have JUST for the 17" laptop.

BRIGHTNESS - screen is backlit by LEDs and I could run the screen at minimum brightness without any problems in an office environment. I'm afraid I would be blinded going full brightness...

COMPUTING POWER - there is enough juice in the processor to handle the GRLevelX applications (including 3D rendering in Analyst with full GIS road support), GIMP, Spectran, iTunes, and OpenOffice without too much drag on the system.

SD CARD SLOT - quite handy for use out in the field when needing to download pictures off the SD card.

THREE USB 2.0 PORTS - more than enough for my needs (GPS, AirCard, and an open port for whatever), two on one side and one on the other. That leaves ample clearance for USB accessories as opposed to a stacked configuration (one on top of the other).

BUILT-IN WEB CAM - if for some reason I ever need to stream while chasing or get into video calls via Skype, the camera is built in.

BATTERY LIFE - I think the longest I have run on battery power alone is 8 hours but much of that was doing easy-on-the-processor web browsing. Most of the time I'll get 6 hours, still not bad on the factory battery.

UPGRADEABILITY - Although the netbook came with 1GB RAM and this seems to be enough for now, the memory port is easily accessed for upgrades. I also got the 160 GB SATA hard drive but this too can be accessed (although not quite as easily as the RAM) for an upgrade if needed. I don't see the need to upgrade storage space with all the external drives I have though...

TOUCHPAD - This is one of the few laptops/netbooks that the touchpad is integrated into the case itself. In other words, it isn't recessed into the top making cleaning SUPER easy. The pad is also set up for multi-touch; you can use two fingers to zoom in/out or scroll pages.

Dislikes
KEYBOARD - my netbook has a keyboard about 90% as big as a "normal" PC/laptop. I knew this going in and the only real complaints I have are the split up/down arrow key (they took one "standard" size key and split it into two) and lack of Home/End/Page Up/Page Down keys. The last four are there...but you have to hold a function key to get them to work.

SOUND - The stock speakers are rather "tinny" sounding. Easily solved by using the external speaker jack with a set of good quality earbuds.

FINGERPRINTS - the case has a glossy finish and being jet black shows every fingerprint and/or smudge. After a couple of weeks, the case looked like I had used it after eating a greasy cheeseburger.

HEAT/CLEARANCE - although equipped with a stout fan to keep the innards cool, the clearance under the case has a lot to be desired. I usually find a way to elevate the back of the netbook to give an extra half an inch or so of clearance to get more air underneath it. However, even at full blast, the fan is able to keep things tolerable on the heat levels. How well this will work in a hot car in the middle of the summer does remain in doubt though. It did get a bit toasty on my pickup arm-rest so I'll have to figure out something for the vehicle to help keep it cool.

DISPLAY - as much as I liked the brightness earlier, it still isn't bright enough to handle certain color combinations...most notably black background with thin blue lines (such as what I have for my GIS display in GRLevelX). There isn't any way to adjust the contrast either, only brightness.

POWER ADAPTER - Although there is a nice catch feature on the power plug going into the netbook to hold it in place, the pin is REALLY small which could pose problems if it is yanked. I already have had one close call tripping over the unusally long power cord and bending the pin a bit. Too bad Apple has the patent on magnetic power cable attachments...

Overall Opinion
I am quite impressed and happy with this purchase. The ASUS Eee 1005HA is on the low-end of the price range but doesn't have the low-end performance I was worried about. With a powerful laptop already in hand for the heavy-duty processing, all I needed was a very portable PC for e-mail and web surfing while on short-length or work-related trips. This netbook has fit that need and surprised me a bit with how much it could actually run. The ample hard drive space allows me to use the netbook as an "emergency" storage medium for photographs if I am in the field and don't have my external hard drive. This was also purchased knowing that there was no optical drive/burner and if worse comes to worse, I can purchase an external one down the road. If all you need on a trip is something to get e-mail or web access with, take a look at a netbook and see if it may fit your needs...

Where are you?

I've been busy, thanks for asking. Have a major workshop I'm helping set up and get going that has taken quite a bit of my time. Then there is trying to diagnose an intermittent check engine light and "Check 4WD" icon on my dashboard status display (and no, it doesn't display fault codes). See, the four-wheel drive has gotten quite a bit of use the last couple of days thanks to yet another snowstorm. Three and a half inches of snow on top of one quarter of an inch of ice. Yeah, not fun to be driving on but 4WD (when it is working) has helped immensely. Add in pricing out parts to finally upgrade the Jeep since I managed to blow a shock on it and I've just had "life" taking up a lot of time. Did I also mention that I had family in town for Christmas (during yet ANOTHER snowstorm), and then a trip home for the last weekend of hunting season? Top everything off with a healthy helping of doing some work around the house and I just haven't made the time to sit down and blog. But there are some thing I have in the edit queue that I'll hopefully get out soon so be expecting a flurry of posts in the next several weeks...

Merry Christmas

Yes, I am still alive; just extremely busy. Went home for thanksgiving, was at work for a week, went to Kansas City for a week-long training, back at work for a week, a couple of days off, and then back at work for Christmas. Family has also come to pay a visit and I had to make the house presentable. Add in shopping for presents, some vehicular fixes, and raking leaves three separate times to make the yard somewhat presentable and there just hasn't been much time for writing on here!

This certainly has been an interesting winter so far; all the snow I had in Colorado (24-38 inches), another two to three inches while I was in Kansas City (along with 50 MPH winds and temperatures in the low single digits), and now another 3 to 6 inches here in the Hub City. This too had a bunch of snow and wind with it:

Yup, there was about 4-6 inches of snow on the Jeep thanks to the wind and drifting. I loved it; the Jeep handled it without any problem thanks to the Interco TrXuS Mud-terrains and the softer compound was able to grip the ice nicely once the snow melted and refroze overnight.

It did cause some problems for my family and I; Southwest canceled all flights from Love Field into the Hub but they didn't make the decision until late. The part of the family hoping to arrive instead had to brave the poorly sanded and cleaned highways from the Metromess out here on top of all the stress from yesterday. However, they made it in and we were able to celebrate a wonderful Christmas night...a first for our family!

I hope that the few readers of this blog have had a blessed 2009 as it comes to a close. Hopefully 2010 will be as good or better.

Merry Christmas!

Review: Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L

Updated 2009/11/12 to include a few sample images

After losing my 10-year old Canon EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 III (and my original Rebel XT 28-80) lens to a dunking in the Big Meadow Reservoir outlet, I had been on the search for a replacement zoom lens. While visiting friends in Albuquerque for the Balloon festival, I borrowed a28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM to see how well it performed and to see if that might be a balance between price and features. The main comparison was how well the Image Stabilization worked to allow for low-light shooting versus the fast 2.8L-series lenses.

Well, after shooting two mornings of bright sunlight and one overcast morning, I was not impressed with the IS lens performance. The biggest issue I had was shooting at full zoom and when the object (in this case the balloons) was moving. I found that the IS would overcompensate the stabilization when moving fast as the gyroscope would continue to move resulting in an "overshoot" of the balloon. It was almost like a pendulum; I had to swing the lens back and forth with smaller movements until the gyro stabilized and I had the subject framed as I liked. This was an annoying feature as some of my photography includes fast moving animals, sporting events, and young children. This is not to say that the lens itself is bad; the pictures I did take were still of good quality but the framing was not what I had hoped as I couldn't figure out the subtleties of the Image Stabilization hardware.

Another reason I explored the IS lens was cost. Although the hardware is a bit more involved thanks to the gyro stabilization, the cost of the IS lenses are still considerably less than those of the top-of-the-line L-series glass. However, as with many things you pay for what you get and I just didn't like the image clarity and quality of the IS lens I tried. One might also say why not just buy the same lens I lost. Well, as with many other hobbies, breaks, dunks, failures, and other mishaps; it is not a time to replace but upgrade. I don't claim to be a professional photographer (although I would like to earn some extra cash on some of the photos) but the pictures I do take have significant personal meaning and are usually taken for immediate friends and family. If I can provide them with the best I have to offer, I need to invest in the equipment to do that.

SO, after that test and a couple of extra dollars from shift differential I saved up, I plinked down for this beauty:
This is the Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L. The fast speed (indicated by the f/2.8 as opposed to a range like f/4-5.6) and the high-quality optic glass (indicated by the "L") allows for telephoto photography in fairly low light conditions. I was able to use this lens in an auditorium at full zoom and ISO 1600 setting had a shutter speed around 1/50 to 1/60 and resulted in useable (although a bit grainy) pictures from my 8-megapixel Digital Rebel XT. This weekend I was also able to use the lens in low-light conditions (almost 20 minutes after sunset) to photograph white-tailed deer again at ISO 1600 with only minor issues with blurred deer due to shooting at 1/40 and 1/50 resulting from both hand shake and subject movement.

There are two downsides to this lens. It is H E A V Y and Canon lists the weight at 1310 grams...or a few ticks under 3 pounds. The lens comes with a mount ring so that you can attach the camera/lens system to a tri/bi/monopod as opposed to the body mount which makes sense based on the lens weight. Holding the lens/body system up for minutes on end waiting for the right moment to take picture of wildlife became quite tiresome and my arm muscles are still sore two days later. Purchasing an additional tripod attachment is an option but I don't see this lens staying on the camera all the time. My second, albeit minor, issue is that although the lens itself is waterproof, the mounting ring does not have a rubber gasket like my 24-70f/2.8L lens. This is a bit disappointing as living out here in the dusty west could mean an increased likelihood of that golden grain of sand getting between the lens mount and body ring, possibly damaging something.

Here are a couple of images that I have taken recently with the new lens:

From my backyard.

© 2009 Jason Jordan, All Rights Reserved

A recent trip to the Hill Country
© 2009 Jason Jordan, All Rights Reserved

Now begins the next great debate...a new body or a new lens to round out the collection. My Digital Rebel XT is approaching 5 years old and after hard use it is starting to have some issues. The autofocus doesn't work, the flash is having some issues, and I might need a higher resolution CMOS sensor (i.e. greater megapixels) should I decide to become a part-time freelance photographer. So, do I keep with the 1.6 crop sensor as in the Canon 7D or do I save up for the middle-range Canon 5D-Mk II (and before the Canon faithful ask; the 1D-MkIII/IV is too expensive for me right now...and I'm a faithful Canon person for those Nikon fans)? OR, do I hold off since the camera is still working and save up for the low-end range lens such as the Canon 16-35 f/2.8L II to round out my collection (16-35, 24-70, 70-200 mm)?

Anyone wanna permanently loan me a 1D-MkIII AND the 16-35 f/2.8L??

Cracks Already Showing at Jerryworld?

One of my sorrows so far is that I haven't been able to attend a live U2 concert on any of their tours of the U.S. of A. as my work schedule always seems to have me on the graveyard shift. I was especially sad since the U2 360 tour was making a stop at the new Cowboys Stadium which would have been quite easy to attend, but alas...midnight shifts one again messed things up.

However, perhaps it was a good thing that I wasn't able to attend. Apparently there are quite a few people upset with the acoustic situation at the new $1,000,000,000 (yes, that is a lot of zeroes; one biiiiiiiiiiiiiiillion dollars in your best Dr. Evil impersonation) Cowboys World that Jerry Built. Those willing to spend the big bucks on first and second level seats are saying the experience is unbelievable while those relegated to the third, fourth, and Mount Everest atmospheric pressure nosebleed seats are reporting problems with the acoustics. I will have to join the chorus of people claiming that Mr. Jones skimped on the planning for the seats that "ordinary folks" are able to get and/or afford.

Back in July, two of my good friends and I were able to attend the Chelsea FC vs. Mexico Club America game of the Football/Soccer World Classic at Jerryworld. Our seats were on the 4th row of the 410 deck which is the aforementioned Mont Everest level but still several rows short of the nosebleed atmospheric pressures. The view was incredible:


Those with a fear of heights need not apply for row 1 seats. It is quite a drop and some fans can attest to that fact when some sunglasses were lost to the inevitable force of gravity. Of course, there is also the controversy of the world's largest hi-definition television screen and how it will affect the few punters wanting to deliberately go for it:


Yeah. I would like one of those for my house if it were able to fit in there...but I digress. There really was only one major issue we had; the sound system was horrible.

As others have said (and my friends and I wholeheartedly agree), it sounds like you are listening to the teacher from all the Charlie Brown cartoons on T.V. Wah wah wah wah, wah wah. Forget being able to sing along with the National Anthem or enjoying any other music up in the "Average Joe" seats. It simply was a cacophony of noise. Some may argue that this was by design; while we were there the roof was closed and the stadium was not packed to capacity so there were ample surfaces to bounce sound around. Perhaps an open roof and ends will alter the acoustics so that the upper seats are somewhat tolerable.

Our experience and those of others are a blessing in disguise; I now know that it is best to get seats for concerts on the lower levels even though it might cost quite a bit more than the cheap seats (for sporting events, the good-grief-do-we-have-air-traffic-controller-clearance seats will be fine). However, you would think that Mr. Jones would have opted to build a stadium that provides the best experience possible for EVERYONE. But I guess the average stiff that isn't willing to pay the big bucks for licenses, tickets, parking, and it is a privilege just to be in the building sections won't help Jerry pay off the mortgage on his new building. Knowing how much he meddles with his football team makes me wonder how much he meddled with the design of his new stadium...

SO, remember kiddos; go for the cheap seats for sporting events. Be willing to pay for the floor or first level seats if you want the best experience for concerts. Don't expect refunds if your experience isn't up to enjoyable standards either should you get the nosebleed seats and cannot understand a word that is being spoken. And feel free to send your complaints to Mr. Jerry Jones...

Review: USA SPEC PA11-GM

When I was looking for a newer vehicle to replace my old and worn-out Exploder, I spent most of my energy looking at price vs. value as opposed to price vs. value AND features. This lead to the purchase of my pickup which came with a factory 6-speaker AM/FM/CD/XM-ready radio. For a factory rig, the sound quality was quite impressive with a CD in the deck but I missed the ability to die directly into my iPod and XM Radio via the 3/32nd audio jack (or headphone jack as most people know it). After much research, I came across this dandy little gem:



Meet the USA SPEC PA11-GM (yes, it is all caps).

This nifty little box, no bigger than the palm of my hand ties directly into the harness of a factory GM radio with no splicing save one wire. Power is drawn directly from the wire harness so no running of a power line to the battery or fuse box. The unit allows one to simultaneously charge their iPod/Phone/Touch while playing music and controlling the Apple product via the controls in the vehicle. Yes, your steering wheel controls (if you are lucky enough to have them, I don't) and buttons on the radio will control play, pause, next, previous, fast forward, rewind, and change play lists all from the factory controls. As a bonus, this box has an additional RCA-In for non-Apple products as well, so I can tie in my non-GM XM radio player into the system.

For about $150 plus shipping, I ordered my PA11 through Crutchfield and the service was very good. Initially they did not have any in stock and I would have to wait for about a week according to the notice on the product page. However, a day later I received an e-mail notification that they were back in stock and I promptly ordered mine. I was in a bit of a hurry...I was going home to visit my parents that next weekend and wanted to get the thing installed for the 4-hour drive. The review on the Crutchfield page were quite helpful in anticipating any problems I might run into and I would encourage any potential buyers to read them to forsee any problems with your individual install. They also send a master install sheet which gives tips and tricks to getting behind the dash and other parts of the vehicle that have audio and audio accessories (such as speakers).

SO, I started to pull the trim from the dash and get behind the radio to see the wiring harness. As I mentioned earlier, my Chevy didn't come equipped with an XM radio installed but was XM-ready. This is of importance because vehicles that do come with and XM radio module require more modification than my system did. Pulling the trim off, a simple plug into the factory wiring harness to the PA11, and reconnecting to the radio took all of 20 minutes to accomplish. Reconnecting the battery and powering on the radio for a quick check showed it in working order. Connecting my 5th generation iPod showed that it did in fact connect and the sound quality was O U T S T A N D I N G. However, the hard part came next.

Upon trying to slide the radio back into the factory mount, the additional cabling from the wiring harness addition kept getting stuck behind the radio keeping it from seating properly. Eventually I had to run the cable connecting the harness to the PA11 box behind the dash and out the bottom to place tension on the harness, keeping the bundle out from behind the radio. Initially I though there was enough cable to locate the PA11 box underneath the dash next to the steering column but the lack of attachment points made this problematic. I spent two hours trying to find a good place to mount the PA11 box and then where to run the connector cables to the iPod and headphone-out/RCA-in line and eventually had to give up.

The next day, I explored options to the passenger side of the radio. Several people made mention of placing the interface box in the location where the XM radio interface goes behind the glove box. As my Chevy didn't come with this interface, I had no clue where it might go. Eventually, I did find a support pillar that ran behind the dash and there was enough clearance between it and the storage box on the dash. After another 2 hours of removing the radio, pulling the inteface wires, and messing with zip ties and velcro tape, I finally gave up and just left the box sitting free against the inside of the dash, propped up by the support pillar. There was also some issue with the iPod/aux cables and how I was going to route those and I nearly bent one of the connection pins inside the iPod 8-pin Mini-DIN cable (think Apple serial port) trying to get it around a zip-tie and into the socket. Leaving the interface box loose made it easier to connect the cables and route them through the bottom of the dash between the air plenum and dash. I was worried about rattling but on-road use shows this to be of little concern for me.

SO, after two days and probably about 6 total hours I had the system installed and was ready to road test it. Again, the sound quality from the iPod is excellent with great frequency range response. The PREV, NEXT, FWD, and REV buttons did in fact control the iPod as advertised There is also a way to set up GM-specific playlists in iTunes which will allow the DISC button on the radio to switch between the various playlists but I did not have time to set this up before hitting the road. Unfortuantely I wasn't able to connect the XM radio data link in which would send song title/artitst information to the radio display either as I didn't have the factory module (which DOES involve splicing into a wire) but this really is a non-issue. Switching between XM/CD/AM/FM works well and the iPod will automatically pause when I do this and restart where I left off when going back to XM.

One issue I did experience is electrical noise on the RCA-in when I hooked in my XM-radio, likely from the cigarette power adapter or a missing RF-choke. This was a problem with in my Exploder but not to the extent I have in my Chevy. The only other complaint I have is the iPod display is not showing "GM" when connected to indicate external control as indicated in the manual but this is not a problem. When plugged in for the first time on any trip, the iPod does appear to run through some configuration issues as the screen will blink several times but again, it is a non-issue.

If you do in fact have an older vehicle that does not come equipped with an iPod interface, I would highly recommend giving USA SPEC a visit to see if you too can get an interface for your radio. They manufacture units to interface with many vehicle brands and years so give it a try. I wasn't disappointed and hopefully neither will you.

David Crowder Band never sounded so good driving down the road at 70 MPH...

Interesting Find

I'm reading The Federalist right now. Why you ask? Well, if I am having a discussion about anything related to politics and the Constitution, I'd really like to read for myself what the founding fathers had to say as opposed to hearing some person or pundit give me their interpretation. It hasn't been an easy read so far; the beauty of the American English has sure fallen by the wayside since the 1770s...

Anyway, I came upon this interesting quote from Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 8:

"Safety from external danger, is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war; the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty, to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they, at length, become willing to run the risk of being less free."

Interesting read, especially in the world we live in today. Still have to finish No. 8 and Hamilton's thoughts but I thought I'd throw that out there before I forgot...

Chiggers are Evil

As much as I love the outdoors, there are a few nasties I have to keep my guard up for. Mosquitoes are quite the annoyance; there is nothing worse than getting bitten on a part of the body that is constantly rubbed by a backpack, sling, a seam in the pants, etc. Down in the Hill Country, the issue becomes imported fire ants. Crawling underneath a vehicle to fix something, grabbing firewood off the bottom of the pile, raking the yard, or any other task that yields the possibility of close contact with the ground and exposed skin is a risky proposition. Those bites do feel like fire! But there is a more noxious pest that results in nothing good when they come in close contact with me. It is something the world might be better off without even if it does have some minuscule part in the food chain; it is the chigger.

This nasty little critter and I just don't get along. Somehow, someway I inherited my Dad's allergic reaction to being bit by these nearly invisible mites. Granted, it isn't anything on the order of severe anaphylactic shock but it still is elevated slightly above nuisance. Most folks after being bit get a welt similar to a mosquito bite. I get this huge red welt that is about the size of a quarter. Add it several bites in close proximity to each other and my ankles now look like I took a 99 MPH Nolan Ryan fastball right at the shoe-line (minus the purple from the bruise). But that isn't the worst part.

The worst part is the itching. The incessant itching that never stop. It is a vicious cycle that the great comic strip Calvin and Hobbes illustrates perfectly from The Days are Just Packed on page 135. You refuse to scratch but then it feels as if ants are crawling all over you, as if you are walking through fire so you relent and scratch. The relief is wonderful, as if the flames are out and the ants are gone. BUT...before you take the next step, the itch comes back with a stronger vengeance. And the cycle continues. My screwed up immune system doesn't help either as the allergic reaction resulting in the red monstrosities around my ankles amplifies the need for a good scratch even more. Again, the slightest bump or brush with an object kicks the reaction into overdrive. Roll over in bed and the sheets moving over the bite sites make them scream "SCRATCH ME!" Running this morning was even worse; the rim of the running shoes were right where the bites are. Agony. Sheer agony. Hot shower afterwords...bad news. Hot water and insect bites that continue to ITCH result in a twenty-fold increase in the itch signal to the neurons in the brain.

I know what you are going to say next: "Why didn't you put on insect repellent?" That is what irks me the most; I DID spray down with Off. Apparently a 7.5% concentration by volume of DEET wasn't enough to kill those little critters or keep them off my skin. There is also a high likelihood that the ankle socks slipped a little bit and exposed the tiniest sliver of skin that they felt they could munch on without concern. Now I'm paying the price. The 7.5% DEET will be used for mosquitoes around the upper-half of the body but the next time I'm heading out to the softball fields I'm taking the big gun: Off! DeepWoods Sportsmen 1 ounce spray bottle. 98.5% DEET by volume baby. This stuff burns the skin when you put it on but it has yet to fail me in the battle against crawling/flying biting insects. I'll likely spray this down before putting on the socks and cleats hoping to prevent another round of red-lumped itching madness.

So I am off to the grocery store now. Part of the trip is to stock up on food for my upcoming work week but to also hunt down whatever ointment has the highest concentration of hydrocortizone to see if it will relieve the maddening itch. Last time it didn't help but I'll remain hopeful. Here is to hoping I can make it through the next seven days or so without tearing off my skin around the bites with my fingernails...

An Open Letter to the US National Soccer Team

Dear US National Soccer Team,

After watching yet another "typical" US National Team performance in World Cup qualification match against Mexico yesterday, I would like to share three points with you.

1) Having one of your star players, Landon Donovan, tell the press "This wasn't a live-or-die game for us. It was for them." after a game is not a good sign. Every game you play is live-or-die especially at the international level. In every organized sport I have participated in throughout my life, my coaches would have firmly planted my rear end on the wooden plank or aluminum known as the bench if I didn't give EVERY game my all, and then more. Assuming that one game is not more important over another breeds apathy. Apparently, there is plenty of apathy on the United States National Team. This apathy better disappear soon or else Team USA will be watching the 2010 World Cup here in the states as opposed to South Africa!

1a) I cannot help but wonder if this apathy comes from the head coach. At times, Bradley has looked brilliant (against Brazil in the Confederations Cup) but at other times his player selection and overall leadership seems to be lacking...which then trickles down to the players.

2) You had an opportunity to make a statement and say that the Gold Cup spanking was an isolated incident, that the 5-0 Mexico win was an off-day. Instead, everyone on that team shows that USA soccer is still relegated to a second or third-tier sport at the "Major League" and international level. You were so close to taking the "big-step" after an amazing performance against Brazil but that level of performance seems to have disappeared. Yet another opportunity to show the world that we continue to improve and will be a force to be reckoned with in international futbol competitions that has been farted away.

3) My final plea is to state that "prevent defense" has yet to work for Team USA. The saying "the best offense is a good defense" doesn't seem to apply to your team and is likely a poor posture in any competitive sport. In both the Brazil and Mexico losses, Team USA had the lead but stopped consistently attacking the opponents half of the field. Your team would fall back and hope that Howard could pick up whatever shots were not blocked by most of the team falling back into a defensive stance. Playing this style of soccer has yet to do the national team any favors and it visually appears as if the players revert back to a grade-school level of performance: lack of sharp passes, clears down-field to nobody, dangerous tackles, etc. etc. Perhaps the lack of physical endurance has something to do with that as not all of the national team players come into matches at game-level performance and the defensive stance means less running and an opportunity to regain some level of stamina. Stay in an offensive posture and take the game to the opponent; don't let them force you to play on their terms.

So men's USA national soccer team, I bid you farewell and good luck. I will still watch your matches, I will still keep my fingers crossed that somehow, someway we can eventually move away from the laughing stock of international soccer to an active, competitive, and highly skilled team feared by opponents as you run onto the pitch. Until then, I will keep my expectations low to keep from being crushed as we continue to languish in mediocrity at the international level of soccer competition.

Sincerely,
-Der Wetteransager

It's Here! It's Here! Read all about it...

Upon arrival at my unnamed employer's office a couple of weeks ago, there was a package waiting in my mailbox. One that I had eagerly awaited for 5 days.

My new iPhone 3GS had arrived.

I opened the box like a lost Christmas present that had been found, wrapped and unopened, awaiting my eagerness to unearth whatever lies beneath. A careful slice of the packing tape with my Leatherman and behold! There it was! My first reaction:

"Is this it?"

You see, the iPhone comes in the typical nifty Apple "minimized" packaging. No frills, no excessive waste on a huge box with such small, precious cargo inside. I was amazed at how small the box truly was. My retired BlackBerry didn't come in nearly such a small, neat box. After wiping the drool off my chin and getting the shift-change briefing, I finally read through the instructions to get the phone activated so I could start playing with all the features.

I was prepared to wait amongst the throngs of people flooding the AT&T support lines to activate the plethora of iPhones that seem to be flying off the shelf. Sure enough, I get on the phone, enter my customer number, and the automated voice stated "All our operators are busy serving other customers. We apologize for this and your estimated wait time is........20 minutes." Eh, not too bad so I was preparing to put the call on speakerphone so I wouldn't have to hold my neck sideways for that amount of time. HOWEVER, a series of beeps occurred and then a new voice came on the line.

"Welcome to the AT&T Premier activation system. Please choose from the following menu." Whaaaaaaaaaaa? Sure enough, the privilege of having a corporate discount came to the rescue and I was able to bypass the 20 minute wait and activate my phone all within 5 minutes. Sweeeeeet. After taking one long last look at the BlackBerry that had served my friend and I well for 3 1/2 years, I switched it off and took the leap into the iPhone era.

The 5 minutes after switching the phone off seemed to take forever. After 5 minutes and 3 seconds (had to be SURE we had passed 5 minutes), I hit the button on the iPhone and the familiar Apple logo popped up. I then synced to my laptop to register the phone with Apple, an all too easy process. The only issue that came up was trying to sync my music as it resides on an external hard drive I typically keep on my desktop. A quick cancellation of the sync and we were off and running.

As for the phone itself, the learning curve and transition from a BlackBerry to the iPhone was quite seamless. My biggest worry was changing from a positive-response keyboard like the blackberry has to the iPhone touch screen but this wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. Especially nice is the landscape mode which provides some extra real estate and allows for larger "keys". The screen is nice and bright but not quite as bright as one of my co-worker's BlackBerry Bold, and the width and depth feel a bit narrow compared to the 8820. Controls took a bit of getting used to; the volume controls were in a slightly different location, the ring/vibrate switch is a change, and my hands-free headsets will no longer work (note: I'm not keen on using Bluetooth headsets both from a security point of view and high-frequency radio waves transmitting awefully close to my gray matter...regardless of how fast the power decays once it leaves the antenna).

The biggest draw to the iPhone was the plethora of applications available which blow away anything available on the BlackBerry. The first apps I downloaded were RadarScope, Bejeweled, Facebook, Lightsaber (hey, you never know when you will run into a Dark Sith), and MotionX GPS. By far, RadarScope has been the most used app as I can finally get (relatively) high-resolution radar data out and about. Whenever family calls, I can finally be able to tell them whether or not to batten down the hatches or be free to roam about without being hammered by mother nature with better accuracy than other radar sites available. MotionX GPS was handy on a recent trip to Colorado by providing elevation information while off-roading in the mountains and will come in handy with future stormchasing and damage surveys. I'm sure there are a few more gems of applications but you have to wade through hundreds, if not thousands, of rifraf applications to find them.

Unfortunately I do have a few gripes. Battery life S T I N K S. Only recently have I had the phone last for about two and a half days as opposed to needing a nightly recharge. A few days on vacation I had to charge it twice a day. Call sound quality is also highly variable with some calls barely audible while others coming in as if they were being fed through an amplifier. Using the included earbuds helped mainly while on the road but has come in handy when at the house and needing to put the phone down to type or look something up. The phone also gets a bit warmer than I thought it would when being used for a long period of time (playing Bejeweled). Preferring to see if it overheats, I did get the white iPhone as a couple of blogs indicate the plastic can turn purple if it does indeed get too hot.

However, I'm quite pleased with the iPhone over all (not to mention the $$ I'm saving on not having a tethered data plan...for now). If Beejive would hurry up and get Jabber chat rooms working, if someone would develop a programmable app to plot weather data/satellite data, and XM/Sirius would decide to allow current customers to listen to their account as opposed to paying extra, I would have almost all of the apps I'd need. The phone is also wrapped in it's Otterbox Defender case to protect it from falls (already happened once), the elements (NOTE: it's not waterPROOF, but weather RESISTANT), and has a nifty belt attachment that fits on my hip like the old BlackBerry holster preventing me from going off-balance.

If anything else changes or a new app comes along, I'll be sure to share. And yes, I'm slowly falling to the Apple dark side...