WordSmith = The Magic of Words!

Something about walking into a store with a broken product in hand and walking out with a shiny new one! It's great! I mean sure the feeling of not knowing what's wrong or even if you can get it replaced is tough to swallow, then once the guy in the black shirt emerges from the back room with a new item in hand all is well. *cue the birds*

I had the unfortunate experience of putting this scenario to the test recently. It's been a while since I've been able to use a trade I learned called wordsmithing! But in true customer service fashion I was ready for the product replacement battle! Check my wordsmith resume, I've got history! My craft was first discovered back when I could call Nike, tell em some stitching on my shoes were coming out, nad in a couple days they'd send you a box to send your shoes in and boom! In less than a month you'd have a BRAND NEW pair of Nikes, similar or better than what you sent in. Life at Adam State was great knowing I had a new pair of sneaks either on the way or being processed for approval pretty much at all times!

Then came the good ole Sidekick! Oh the memories! This is where the craft was perfected! Since it's inception the sidekick seemed to be bundled with issues. Sidekick 1,2, and 3 included, none of these were immune to faulty production. I had to make frequent calls to T-Mobile! Not only me, db can vouch that this was nothing out of the ordinary! Between us we probably had around 40+ sidekicks from all generations pass thru our hands. And we learned the lingo, let's get straight to the point! We would call tmo tell them we've already done the soft reset, the hard reset, the press the letter on the keyboard then reset, the resend my system file on the backend reset, we did it all ourselves! We wouldn't even want to waste our time with the Tier1 customer service group, Tier2 also for that matter. Just transfer me directly to the Sidekick Data Group! After repeating everything for about 15mins a new sidekick would be enroute. A great feeling and a job well done (until it had to go back in the coming weeks(days)!

The mastered craft was again tested when we got our Blackberrys and needed to swap them out for whatever reasons. No worries though, we had experience with the tmo folks! Even though they seemed to tighten the ropes on product replace procedures, the proper wordsmithing would net positive results.

It had been a while since I've needed to put these tools to the test. So when my iphone began to randomly reset and lock up I knew a trip to the Apple store was required. Apple has always been good about standing behind their products, I've had to swap out an ipod or 2 (or 5) in my time (sans replacement plan). No worries! I wasn't worried about the phone swap really, I've had it for under a year and recently the phone was locking up expectantly and then the battery all of a sudden dumped and wouldn't hold a charge. With this ammunition I headed to my local AS, wordsmith in tow just in case. A quick appointment/session with DJ at the Genius Bar and then it happened! The guy in the black shirt coming from the back room peeling the wrapping off a new born iphone!! Ahhh.....

UPDATE: i think i spoke too soon.....

almost 50+ wins and still no respect....

The Denver Nuggets are closing in on their preseason team goal of 50 wins. But if things don't go their way, they could also make NBA history as the first 50-win team to miss the playoffs.

No NBA team has reached the 50-win mark and not advanced to the playoffs. But in the highly-competitive Western Conference, the Nuggets, or some other unlucky team, could become the first.

"I've never seen anything like it. I call it the Halley's Comet year of the NBA," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Once every 99 years something like this happens. Why I have to be a part of it, I want to know why."

The Nuggets are 40-28 with 14 games left and 2½ games behind the Golden State Warriors (42-25) for the eighth and last spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

"We're on the outside looking in right now," Karl said Friday. "But if we win 10 or 11 of our last 14, which I think we're capable of doing, we've got to make the other people worry."

The top end of the conference race is also a dogfight, with three teams -- New Orleans, Houston and Phoenix -- within one game of the Los Angeles Lakers (47-21) for the top spot.

"History says that [50] will get us into the playoffs. I'm not sure it will get us to the playoffs," said Karl. "There are days I'm nervous it won't get us in, but to throw more than that out there, you're pushing the power of our positive thinking.

"We've got to do what we're capable of doing. I think 50 would be at the top end of that," added Karl, who in 20 seasons of NBA coaching has taken three different teams to division titles, including the Nuggets in 2005-06 with 44 wins.

"It would be a high level of success but it might not be a high level of success from a playoff standpoint. That's the sadness of what we're dealing with."

the real March Madness

Echoing ESPN, this year the NBA has better players, better games and better story lines than the NCAA tournament. Which will you watch?

db-Coming into this season I said it was going to be a good year and I couldn’t wait and so far it’s proven me right. the west is just so hard to say anyone man, cuz yea there’s 8 spots but to me any of those 8 can make a run or at least the top 5. but I don’t know man, the lakers and kobe, who I love as a player, are playing like they know this is their shot at it but at the same time you’re the champs until you get beaten so yea, spurs might not get a lot of air time but come playoff time they simply do what they do and win. They’re not out here trying to look coo or show off, they just simply win and it is what it is ya know. I feel like dirk might be a great player but sad to say might lack a lil heart feel me? I wouldn’t mind my man tracy going to the second round so everyone can get off his back! And I’m pulling for this to be his year to do so. Utah looks like a young version of the spurs in the making and Deron Williams is shaping up to be great. But as far as the east in my mind it’s simply between Detroit and the Celtics and I love lebron but I’ll just have to see if he can pull it off again this year. I would love to see my man KG finally get a ring. Dwight howard is awesome, just might not be his time. Can you imagine a celtic/laker final? How sic would that be? I don’t know man; I obviously can’t answer this without some deep pondering. Who ya’ll got?

pd-If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that the Rockets (sans Yao) would be sitting atop the western conference with the Lake Show I probably would have told you to "puff puff give!" But it's no lie, at the time of this posting take a look at the west:



No visine needed thats the Lakers and Rockets sitting on top of the western conference! I'm a big fan of this seeding! Truth be told I've never been a fan of the Rockets but I am a fan of the game no less and what the Rockets are doing is history. The shift in power is a great thing to see. The top west contenders are no longer at the top, San Antonio -5, Dallas-7, Phoenix-6. Replaced by a new crop, L.A.-1, Houston-2, New Orleans-3 (no denying ya boy CP3). The battle in the west is anyones game, as a Denver local it's hard to see the Nuggets on the outside looking in (especially when they're carrying a better record than 5 eastern conference playoff teams. The good news is that there is still a lot of ball to play and the top 8 teams are separated by only 4 1/2 games. Not to mention we all know that playoff ball is a whole notha' game!

In the east I have to agree with db, it's kinda hard to bet against the Pistons and the Celtics. Of course we'd like to see King James make another run, but are the pieces of the puzzle the Cav's acquired the right pieces? Other than Chauncey & CO. and the BIG3, sorry to say I really dont see anyone else making noise.

Let the chips fall where they may, hopefully with the correct seeding will see some exciting playoff matchups to nightcap an exciting season.

injury report :(

What’s up world, sad news to report: I went to play ball last night during my break between classes as I do somewhat frequently and messed up my knee pretty bad. I was leading a fast break and it was just 1 dude to beat so I took off but the way I took off to get around him tweaked my knee pretty bad. I don’t know if it was a case of my knee going one way and my body the other or just the pressure from taking off awkwardly. Whatever the case is I was in a lot of pain, took like 30 mins just to gather myself and get dressed and another effort to drive home. But I must admit its feeling a lil better this am and I can at least bend somewhat as oppose to last night when I could barely move. I’m just going to have to shut it down for a while and hope for the best; I’m thinking 2 weeks should do the trick. And a boney-fide 2 weeks this time unlike when I’ve had other injuries and rushed back like D wade J. Some might call me injury prone when it comes to the playing ball cuz I’ve had a history or rolled ankles, many-a-jammed fingers, dislocated shoulders, and back pains all on the court! But I just see it as I go hard when I’m out there like ya boy A.I. J But yea it’s not as bad as Shaun Livingston so I should be good.

Also its looking like I’ll be able to cop the packages that come out this weekend. I was real hesitant because the 14’s that come in them are almost identical to some that I already have, but I want the 9’s so I was half and half. But I’m still on my mission to get 1-23 so I might as well suck it up and just get it because if I don’t I’m already knowing I’ll be kicking myself about it.

Hey who do you think would win in a fight? 300’s king Leonidas or Gladiators Maximus?

shout out to millermothra...

-i'm out

Apple Set to Reveal Road to Third-Party iPhone Apps

The iPhone has received acclaim as cellphone, personal information organizer, web browser and e-mail client. Now, it's about to become a remote control, a game platform, a photo-editing platform, a device for remotely accessing your desktop files, and maybe much more.

Four months of rumors, speculation and giddy anticipation will come to an end Thursday, as Apple prepares to reveal how it will transform one of the most-hyped devices in tech into a full-fledged platform.

"The iPhone is the richest mobile platform that we've ever had," says Creative Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin.

And yet, that platform has until recently been officially open only to web developers. To date, Apple has forced developers to create iPhone applications through one conduit: the phone's browser. While that approach simplified development, it never gave developers access to the truly alluring bits of the device, like its accelerometer, voice capabilities and touchscreen. It also forced developers who wanted to create more sophisticated apps -- like a utility that lets you remotely control a Mac desktop from an iPhone -- to go around the iPhone's security with jailbreaking hacks.

Steve Jobs caved last October and said Apple would release a full-blown software developer's kit once the company could ensure security on the phone. Presumably, that's been accomplished, and the fancy apps available only on jailbroken iPhones may soon be available legitimately on any iPhone.

At this point, it's still not clear whether Apple intends to officially release the SDK at Thursday's event or just make some announcement. At any rate, the SDK will be in programmers' hands soon, and analysts and developers expect a wide variety of applications to blossom in the coming months -- everything from photo-editing apps to motion-sensing games that take advantage of the device's orientation sensor.

The possibilities, as Mac developer Daniel Jalkut recently noted, will be limited only by developers' imaginations.

Those possibilities will be also influenced by a number of outstanding questions about Apple's planned app-distribution method, the vetting process it will use, and any iPhone access restrictions the company imposes on developers. The company is expected to provide answers to those questions as well on Thursday.

At the very least, Thursday's SDK event will involve an announcement about new enterprise features for the iPhone, according to an invitation circulated last week.

While enterprise software may not be as sexy as movie and game apps, its inclusion could be huge for Apple's ability to meet its goal of 10 million iPhone sales by the end of the year.

By adding features like push e-mail and cultivating relationships with corporate-software vendors, Bajarin says, the iPhone could become one of the major communication platforms in business, making it much more competitive with the corporate-friendly BlackBerry.

"Ultimately, that's why I believe [Apple is] confident it can reach its 10 million goal by the end of the year," he says. "With an SDK and major corporate-software vendors backing it, we'll see the iPhone finally transcend the consumer business this year."

UPDATE: Here's a quick recap of what was said

• Apple has 28% of the US Smartphone market, 71% (doubtful) of mobile browser usage is Safari.
• Business users? Check. Full Exchange / ActiveSync support is on the way including push email, push contacts, push calander, VPN, security and more.
• Web apps are great, native apps are better. The SDK is here and it’s ready to party… As long as you’ve got a Mac. Developers using Windows and Linux-based systems need not apply.
• Game developers gave demos of native games built in two weeks without ever having seen the SDK prior. EA showed Spore and Sega showed Super Monkey Ball; sweet.
• App developers had a bit more time to boogie. Salesforce.com showed a very good looking native app tied to its online CRM solution. AOL showed a native AIM app.
• All apps will be distributed through Apple’s App Store only. This is great news for big developers that can afford to pay to have their apps featured, ok news for small developers that have a better chance at more exposure, and not so good news for users who are going to have to dig through the inevitable mess of thousands upon thousands of apps. Hey, at least Jobs’ model keeps Handango out of the game.
• Developers get 70% revenue share (score!), no charge for publishing freeware apps (only $99 for payware!) and a nice little $100 million VC fund to help them get crackin.
• SDK is available now, the rest drops in June with version 2.0 software. Free for iPhones, chargeable for iPod Touches.

gonna need that live08 roster update!

No lie! With all the moves that have been made over the past month, it's been hard to keep up with who's wearing what! Espn has the detailed rundown on who's where and who they got for who. You hear that phrase tossed around all the time 'change is good!' But is it? If that question were asked to Pau Gasol you'd probably get an overwhelming yes! But what about Shawn Marion, think he'd reply with so much enthusiasm? After all being traded to a (currently) 9-43 team could not have been on the top of his request list. I am by far not an trade expert nor do I work in the front office of a team, but I don't think it takes having a seat next to Mitch Kupchak or Danny Ferry to see that change isn't always good for everyone! But that's the life of the game and I'm sure players, sans Kobe Bryant, know that at any given moment they could be traded to another team not of their liking. For me it's gonna take a little while before I get use to seeing the new guys in the new colors. Seriously, Diesel in orange and purple and Bibby NOT in purple, it just doesn't immediately mesh for me sorry. But with a little help from a good friend of mine, NBA Live 08 and a new roster update, things should make sense a little faster for me. I'll be able see how that Phoenix run and gun offense holds up with Superman in the middle. The LeBrons have asked for help and now with Wally World and Big Ben on deck we'll see how this all pans out. It's no secret that the second half of the season will be interesting to say the least. Once players get adjusted to their new homes, this run for the playoffs should not to miss!

its back!

that’s right ladies and gents the dunk contest is back, and i witnessed its return first hand. i say that its back because the dunk contest has gotten a hard time and some criticism from many sports writers and fans for the last couple of years, and i can be honest some, some of it was deserved. but for me personally, the dunk contest is one of the main reasons i get excited for all-star weekend so i never gave up on it or was one of the many that wanted to get rid of it all together. it was accused of not being creative or exciting anymore, but that was definitely not the case this year. you had dunks that included, but were not limited to: rudy gay doing a reverse cradle dunk and switching hands, dwight howard dunking from behind the rim altogether, and gerald green dunking with no shoes on! (do you know how hard that is!). but some of the more memorable and creative of the night was dwight howards superman themed dunk/throw down and gerald greens' candle blow out dunk (which is possibly my favorite). matter fact let me take a quick sec to harp on that. so GG had his teammate place a cupcake on the back of the rim and light it, he then proceeds to jump up, blow out the candle, and then dunk! cut it out! i mean your lips have to be above the rim to do that! dude can simply jump. D. howard ended up taking home the championship honors that night and it was deserved i just don’t want GG efforts or others to go unnoticed because the event as a whole was one of the best in years and like i said half way through the contest, i cant wait to see what they come up with next year.............................dude blew out a candle!!!

good thing we got ours....

Microsoft is seeing shortages of its Xbox 360 video game console in the United States, as the company failed to anticipate strong post-holiday demand, an executive said on Wednesday.

"We are really running short of product here in the United States," Jeff Bell, head of global marketing for Microsoft's games business, said in an interview. "You could say we misjudged demand."

The comments come a day before market research firm NPD is expected to release video game sales data for January. Bell said Microsoft was hoping to "manage expectations."

"We're literally out of stock in many stores. We think this will have an impact on our sales," Bell said. "It may cause the overall industry number to be down a little bit.

"Retailers have been really upset, they are on allocation. It is a lag I think we're seeing in January and that may continue into February, then as spring ramps up, we'll be able to meet that demand."

Microsoft sold nearly 1.3 million Xbox 360 consoles in the United States in December, when the entire video games industry gets a boost from holiday shopping.

love/hate...mostly love

ok so here's my rant about jordans. so those that know me know the love i have for shoes with the special emphasis on jordans. for those of you who dont, the quick run-down is i basically grew up watching MJ and he's simply the best. between watching him and being mentored about the shoe game by my cousin the love grew. it gets a lil deeper, J came into the league in 85, yours truley's birth year, and has released a signature (numbered) shoe every year since. so when i was 1 his first shoe came out, when i was 2 his second and so forth, so you see how it gets a lil more significant? ok lets move on so obviously up untill about highschool and my first job i wasnt able to afford my love and by that time i was way behind the game, so its been a constant drive of mine to somehow attain numbers 1-23 of the series. its a "mixed feeling" because he's hurting the kid! i mean he's dropping 1,2, maybe 3 pair a month that ya boy wants but is just not financially able to keep up with. i mean i know he doesnt hoop anymore and its strictly business for him at the point but ouch J! seriously its become a bill for me, theres: car, phone, school, and J's written in there as a necessity! now dont get me wrong cuz i love getting them and the day of i dont bat an eye as i decide i'm not going to eat for a week to get the newest ones. now the funny part to all this is with all gripes aside, my latest purchase was the first of many packages to be released this year (pictured above) and they came in a box that had on the side a letter to fans if you will from the man himself. the letter basically goes on to say thanks for being there all these years and as a treat to YOU i am releasing all 23 of my shoes in packages of 2 throguhout the year. so basically every month there will be 2 numbered signature shoes released. the shoes in the packages will together e equal to the number 23; so the 10's and 13's will come in a pacakge, the 2's and 21's and so forth. theres that half of me that is like this is it! heres my chance to finally have all 23! but then the other half is like umm where am i going to find $350 every month! ouch man ouch! and on top of that there all basically going to be red,black, and white! i love you man, but you're killing me!....all that said, see ya'll at finishline bright and early for the next pair :) whoo!

Top 20 Internet Millionaires Under 30

Came across this list and pretty much lost my appetite! Thought I'd share so that my fellow 'Thousandaires' could review with the green-eye!

psp 1.0 jus got smashed!

Ok, so i'm just browsing around like usual and I come across these pics of a fan created psp and I'm literally stopped in my tracks. Look at this man! Why is it that some of the sic'est products to come across are made by some cat named Jeremy next door on his $698 dell? I am in love with this psp! Is it me or would it make sense for companies (we'll use Sony for this example) to team up with these up-and-comers and try to intergrate if not use some of the product concept ideals outside of what their own R/D team creates? Not everything out of the Sony camp is a banger!  More pics of this digital euphoria can be found here. And give some credit to the artist, kid has got some crazy rendering skill.  This looks like a actual photo taken from a product page somewhere.  And please don't tell me it's not possible, I'm sure they could squeeze a psp into USB thumb drive if they wanted to.  Note to Sony: Ya boy is sic! Put him on the payroll!!! 

start your engines......

Nothing like 'jeeping' the family down to the local monster truck jam to cap off a Saturday night! (well a blank text is a another way to cap off! nudge nudge 4X) But this weekend we decide to load up the dudes and hit the dirt! We seemed to have no problem enjoying this pastime, not really our 1st pick but I mean it was trucks, bikes, and atvs! (mainly bikes and atvs, but the trucks were parked out there at least!) We showed up, sans sleeveless shirts, beers, and trucker mesh caps, complete with J's, dunks, and L-R-G in full effect! Wasn't that hard to just jump right in and root for our favorite ninja turtle truck or the memorable t-maxx (those were the days). Seeing as how Mr. Grave Digger was there, pretty much just waiting for the trophy to be handed to him, it was a pleasant surprise to see see someone else walk away the victor!

Good to see the twins in attendance!