Eric Krassinger

I was recommended this Yahoo article earlier in the night about things not to buy in 2010. There was a couple items in the list that intrigued me thus I looked it up. Overall, I highly agree with 8 out of these 10 items but totally disagree with the other 2.

I disagree with the Smartphone logic. This articles logic seems to be that you should only buy an iPhone or a Blackberry because they are the market leader. I bet ever consumer electronic company wishes that everyone followed this ideology on market leaders. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The iPhone was once a disruptive product and earned its market share from Motorala and Blackberry. What makes new smart phones incapable of doing this? This topic is even more hot since CES is this week and Google’s Nexus One was unveiled. There are plenty of new phones out there to cut into Blackberry and Apple’s market share.

The other one I disagree with even more is their theory about SLRs. Larger and better cameras have always been around albeit more expensive. Compact camera became popular because their ease of use, good quality, and small size. This concept still holds true today. You can’t tell me that every girl in the world wants to carry around a SLR in their purse instead of a small compact! They even disprove their theory by saying “Canon’s digital compact cameras start at $110, while the SLRs start at $570.” The average consumer is not going to buy a SLR when they can get a good picture out of a $100 camera. What the article fails to call out and which also goes back to the smart phone logic is that I can see the compact camera losing popularity in the years to come as phones are starting to have standard 5MP or more cameras. With that said, I still don’t see people getting rid of the compacts in the next couple years.

5 out of the items I believe should have been on the list for 2009 or earlier. I guess this writer is out of touch with technology….or at least behind. For example, I haven’t had a friend with a home phone line in 10 years.

First off, I have always been a huge fan of Microsoft. Ive own their stock for multiple years and have always been a huge fan of their operating systems. I also was a huge fan of Xbox 360. I thought it has been ground breaking and offered more features than PS3.

Lately, I have been rethinking my stance. Enough that I haven’t installed my Windows 7 that I preordered. The reason for this spite is that my Xbox 360 Elite quit working last month. Everyone knows that Microsoft has experienced a huge problem with defective units due to overheating. I bought an elite almost 2 years ago because it had the new processor that ran at a lower temperature and was quiet. Well, I turned it on last month to watch a DVD and I got two red lights. I looked it up and saw that it was an overheating issue. I knew they extended the warranty to 3 issues for an overheating issue. 2 out of 3 people I know with an Xbox had to send theirs in to get fixed. So I filed a warranty claim to find out that I did not have the “right” overheating problem (i.e. The Red Ring of Death). What is up with that? How can there be more than one over heating issue and have different warranty periods? It cost $100 to send in to Microsoft to get repaired which I thought was totally crazy. Why would I pay for half the cost of a new one to run into the possibility that it would just fail again? My next thing was to take it apart to clean it. I did that and it still overheated. It had no dirt on the fans anyway. I also took off the heat sinks and applied new thermal compound based on possible fixes I read but that did not work either. So that leaves me with a tough decision. I really like having a Xbox and have a ton of money invested in it with Rock Band songs. I also really want to get the new Call of Duty but am struggling with the idea of buying a new one to have the same problem again. I might just buy a Wii because it rocks and a PS3 because I can play COD and also the new upcoming Gran Turismo.

All I can say is how can Microsoft have allowed such a nightmare? They have basically lost a huge fan and purchaser of their products.

I told my brother a while ago that I would post this but I forgot. My brother is selling his 4-wheeler. Here is a link to the craigslist add. Please contact him through craigslist or me if you are interested.

I am not having a very good couple weeks in fantasy sports. I am currently playing the elder Rengel brother in the finals in baseball. We were by far the best two teams in the league. I snuck by as regular season champion while the #3 person in our league was 33 games behind me. The reason for my dominance was two fold. I drafted early for pitching and ended up with a bunch of studs. I got the AL and NL Cy Young pitchers plus a bunch of other solid starters as well as top notch closers. I believe I have 4 or 5 of the top pitchers ranked with quality starts so I think I did well. On the batting side, it could have been a disaster. All my top picks were somewhat busts. I got Hanley Ramirez in the 1st pick which was pretty good but it would have been better to get Pujols based on my team makeup. Nate Mclouth, Verson Wells and Matt Holliday were all 1st half busts but they did step it up in the 2nd half. My three biggest surprises were Mark Reynolds, Russel Branyon, and Adam Jones. All did well and carried my team. Maurer and Abreu did better than expected too. With that said, my late season downfall has occurred partly because of injury. Both Branyon and Jones are out for the year and were major contributors to a lot of hitting categories. On the pitching side, I lost Santanna who was a strikeout king.

All in all, I still thought I had a chance in the finals even though my opponent had over twice as many starters than I had. Because of this, I had to pick up and drop players. I have not done good at this. My opponent last week got lucky with every pick but I have not had the same. Luckily my regular players have been amazing so I am still winning in ERA and Whip but cant compete with K or Wins. Last night was the last straw when my opponent had 4 guys pitching and got 3 wins, 33 Ks and a good WHIP and ERA. He had one guy that I never even heard of get 16 Ks. He did have Arroyo who is part of the Ballgate scandal……lol. I am trying to catch up in assists, wins, and Ks but don’t think I have a chance. Also, my hitters have just all gone cold. Not very many homers or SBs. It funny that I once had 20 SBs in one week and now cant even get 5 in two weeks.

Fantasy Football is a complete disaster. My team scored a combined total in weeks 2 and 3 of what it did in week 1. My strategy of getting defensive players early did not pay off and I ended up with a lot of guys that are not doing well. My wide receiver and running backs are all weak. This will about sum up my experience so far….I dropped  Gores backup running back last week because he was getting no touches even though I just felt like Gore was going to get hurt. I pick up a guy who ends up getting me zero points while Gore does end up getting hurt.

In conclusion, I think I am getting sick of fantasy sports. There is no reason to play anymore. It use to be fun amongst our friends but the fun has died. There is absolutely no “trash talking” between players when we play each other so what is the point. No one even congratulates the winner of the league once the season is over. I thought placing wagers would help but the amount we bet is so low that it really doesn’t make a difference. If I had it my way, we would only have a league of our close friends (no matter how small the league) and have some bet that means something (and I’m not thinking momentary wise). It would need to be something like doing something that they would not want to do or some type of ritual. We need a new commish like David Stern or Gary Bettman to spruce up the league.

So I am back on a new “health” kick. Hopefully it will last. I have really done a poor job with my workout in the last year. It had actually gone downhill ever since I started school but I at least worked out somewhat regularly the first two years but basically gave up the last year. I thought that I would get back into it once I finished in May but injuries, sicknesses, and lack of will have prevented me. To put it in perspective (since I log all my workouts), I have been to the gym to lift weights twice in the past two months. I’ve been twice this week so I already eclipsed my total for a while.

I don’t think I’m on a specific diet so you can call it the Eric diet. It’s a mix of low carb with a lot of fruit.

Breakfast

I normally eat a banana or yogurt first thing in the morning then follow it up with a scoop of protein in a shake around 9AM. I do eat some hard boiled eggs during the week. On weekend, I always make up some omelets.

Lunch

My goal is to bring my lunch 3 times a week which should be easy. I have more of a problem eating at the office on Mondays and Fridays so I am going to allow them. When I go out, I hope to eat a high protein mixed salad. When I stay in, I normally eat “meat rollups” with sharp cheddar and chicken/roast beef combination. The funny thing is that I bought bread for the first time in forever last week for lunch and ended up taking it off. I like the rollups. I also mixed in some hard boiled eggs.

Pre Workout

I having been eating a granola bar but I would like to mix in a protein shake. I realized that this pre-workout meal was one of the main things prohibiting me from working out in the past. There is a dilemma in that I am hungry when I get home so if I eat dinner after getting home then  too full to make the gym before it closes. If I wait, I feel too hungry to workout. So I need something that holds me over.

Post Workout

A protein shake.

Dinner

I am going for a high protein meal at dinner. I have been eating a lot of sirloin kabobs lately. I like the mix of other items with the steak compared to a normal plain steak. As a side, I have been eating either plain broccoli or broccoli with rice and cheddar cheese. I have also been eating a lot of pulled pork salads. I have a ton of vacuum packed bags of pulled pork that I buy from a guy at work. I have been following up these meals with mixed fruit. The good thing about Culinaria is that they sell all these different kinds of mixed fruit containers from $2.50 to $4. They are expensive but I love fruit. They are a variety of Berry or Melon assortments. I am chickened out so will take a break from baked chicken. I keep buying it but never use it.

Goals

I have a couple mains goals in which I do not want to do. They are (1) do not eat out of the refrigerated vending machine at work. I have been eating turkey sandwiches for breakfast the past month which isn’t bad but I want to stay away from that thing since there are so many other good items in there (2) no fast food (3) no eating after 8PM. This rule worked good for me in college but really failed at it since.

Workout

I am trying to keep my workout simple (at least at first) so I stay motivated. My goal is to do three sets of two muscle groups each day then follow that up with a 15 to 20 min run on the elliptical. I am basically cutting out 4 or 5 exercises a day so knocking out another 20 or 30 mins from my previous workouts. I am going to try to go every day that I can. For now, I do not want to lift weights 3 days in a row so I will do abs and run on the third day. My Day 1 workout is chest/shoulder, Day 2 is triceps/legs, Day 3 is biceps/back.

So I fractured my thumb last night in the first minute of our last basketball game. I tried to make a steal and jammed it. It was supposedly really loud. Enough for the ref and the players to question if I was okay. It didn’t hurt at first but it hurt more and more as the game went on. I woke up to it being blue so I went to get a x-ray and they confirmed my suspicion.

• I am talking with a CPA/Tax guy about redoing my taxes to deduct for my entire Wash U tuition. Here is a good article on the subject. I know it will raise a red flag if I refile my last 3 years and get a bunch of money back so want to go through official channels.
• I am officially uninstalling Civ 4 tonight. That game is too addictive. Its taking to much of my time and preventing me from working out and getting other important items done.
• Not sure if this Smoltz pickup is good. I guess it is at least not bad for the Cards since it only cost them $100k. The upsides could be huge with small downsides.
• Does no one want to go floating on August 29th? The Rengler is going with a huge group (25+). Hoff and I reserved a 6 man raft and a cabin with AC that has 3 beds (For Friday and Saturday but we might only use it Friday). The total costs comes to $210 so that would be split amongst whoever goes. Let me know if interested. We are floating the Black River. Were trying to mix it up.
• Going to check out Parties in the Plaza for the first time before volleyball on Thursday.
• Does anyone know a good St Louis cleaning service that will buff hardwood floors? Mine really need it and I do not want to buy/rent the equipment needed to do it.
• I realized that my favorite character is not Kevin Nealon on Weeds. He does offer comedic relief which has gone downhill throughout the season but I realized that Guillermo is not only funny but he makes the show by bringing it back to its original plot line which is more entertaining …. selling drugs.
• Looks like I will finally move/sell my desk tonight. I have posted on Craiglist 3 times and got good responses but everything always fell through. I am still very hesitant about selling stuff on Craigslist. Especially when it is a low cost item.
• I was somewhat entertained with the Shaq Vs show last night. Not sure if any other sports star could pull off that show. I liked it for the same reason the only sports star I follow on Twitter is Shaq….he just says funny things. The staged aspect of the show sort of bothered me.

Does anyone know of a good BB Twitter app because I am tired of the bugs in Twitterberry and the recent changes in 0.9.1.1? They said they fixed two things in the change log. (1) “Fixed an issue when notification icons may not disappear after viewing unread messages.” I had never seen a message notification icon before this update. Now, I only randomly get them and they do not go away until I restart. (2)”Added a new @replies popup. Now you do not need to leave the list screen to post a reply.” This option sucks and the previous version was great. Not only does it look bad, but I lost the ability to spell check and see what my character total is.

I have been using this app since December and loved it then except for Twitpic not working correctly in which it now does. They need to quit messing with the design and fix the bugs. Please correct this and add native support for sending a picture from a Bold so I can send a picture straight from the picture screen instead of having to go to the picture folder to send it.

I signed up for Google Voice this week to see what all the talk about was. I had heard rumors that AT&T was going to block Google Voice and I thought that was the case when I tried to download from my phone and the web address kept giving me a weird error but finally it worked. I got a number with a 314 area code and the last 4 digits are the same as my current cell number which is a plus.

Features

This is a hot app because it allows you to bypass your phone carrier’s bill. What I mean by this is that you could totally cancel your text messaging plan and have people send you texts over your new number via your data plan or WiFi. The same works for your voice plan so you could have the lowest voice plan available. The other big features are that you get a rising credit for international calls (which I don’t understand yet) plus you have visual voicemail.

Below is the list of the complete features.

• A single Google number for all user’s phones
• Free calls and SMS in the contiguous US
• Calling International phone numbers for as low as 0.01 USD per minute
• Call screening. Announce callers based on their number or by an automated identification request for blocked numbers
• Listen in on someone recording a voicemail before taking a call
• Block calls
• Send, receive, and store SMS online
• Answer an incoming call on any of your phones
• Phone routing. Choose which phones should ring based on who calls
• Forwarding phones
• Voicemail transcripts. Read voicemails online and on my BB
• Listen to voicemail online or from a phone
• Receive notifications of voicemails via email or SMS
• Personalized greeting that varies greetings by caller
• The ability to forward or download voicemails.
• Conference calling
• Record calls and store them online
• Switch phones during a call
• View the web inbox from a mobile device/phone
• Set preferences for contacts by group

Here is the main screen. The purple dots are text messages and the blue dots are voicemails. I left myself a couple voicemails and I never got the text to read exactly right but it was close. I could not get it to show the users names like above even though they are in my BB address book.

Making a call or text does take another step so not sure I would use it as it is now. I am use to just start typing a name and it automatically goes to my address book where I can then click the Blackberry button to choose the option to text, email, or call. This app does not allow you do this. To get it to do this you, you have to (1) be in the app and click the Blackberry button (2) select address book (3) scroll to the person you want (4) then you get the options above to call and SMS using Google Voice. I am not sure why it is not directly integrated into the address book but shows up when you initiate through the app. I have a similar problem with sending a picture through Twitterberry.

I do receive texts and calls along with sending texts but I can not get the outbound calling to work. I keep calling my office phone and it rings and rings and rings. I did also notice that voicemails take a couple minutes to show up on my phone where they show up immediately online. I also do like that it says my name when you call my Google number from an outside line. It is a very neat feature that I see all carriers doing. It basically would stop you early from continuing a call if you dialed the wrong number.

In summary, below are my big advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

• Basically free texts and calls
• Visual text voicemails

Disadvantages

• Does not have native commands built into the Blackberry menu
• Is not directly tied to my address book so it only shows numbers in the inbox instead of names. Not sure how the above picture shows names.

Both Twitter and Facebook are reportedly experiencing major issues. I have gotten network errors all day on Twitterberry. I went to the Twitter page and it loaded … eventually. Haven’t seen a tweet in over 8 hours. Facebook seems to be running fine for me through my phone.