rafaelromero.info || neat stuff

Android Phone

rafael — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 03:25:03 +0000

I made a pretty crazy move in my phone technology the other day by switching to an android phone. I went and picked up the Samsung Captivate for At&t. The phone belongs to the Galaxy S series, so it’s running on android and has a similar design to the rest of the Galaxy S family.

The hardware on the phone is great, It has a huge screen and a very snappy processor and gpu. You can really see the speed of the unit when you launch applications and shift from one task to another. The video display is very clear and even has auto-brightness. The speakers on the phone are real good too. I can listen to music as if I had a small desk radio.

The software is the most interesting part, mainly because it runs android. Upon switching the phone on you immediately get to take advantage of all of the google goodies provided. Such as , google search, voice google search, google chat, full google account phone integration and many more. The user interaction or navigation is very similar to that of most smart-phones now a days. Theres the touch-screen and screen-tabs that you will find on most phones now.

I really am enjoying how android handles the picture galleries and widgets. The picture galleries show up in a very interactive way and pick up on the motion of the phone to angle the picture collections. The auto-organization is very nice also. The widgets allow for updates and previews of live data such as flight-fares and twitter updates. Most apps that work off live data come with a widget. This widget can be placed on any screen also.

The Android Market place is very nice because of the availability and number of applications. Alot of really good applications are even free. One application that I really liked was the a file manager app called Astro File Manager. This application allows you to use a nice ui to navigate through the directories on your phone and add or remove files. One great feature was the ability to transfer files through the network on-to my phone via the file manager. All of this is possible because the phone is linux based.

I could talk about this phone forever because there is just so much potential and future for the type of phone, but I have to stop somewhere. The phone is definitely a learning experience and great user experience.

Main Home Page

Time widget

A second page loaded with apps and widgets.

The music player.

The official twitter app for android.

Watching a perfume video on the phone.

Photos angle when you tilt the phone.

Photos & videos auto-organize.

Multi-Selecting Photos for sharing or other actions

Transferring files from the home computer to the phone.

Allstar v.s. Manchester United game

rafael — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:43:02 +0000

A humongous soccer game came to Houston the other day. The game was the United States Allstar v.s. Manchester Untited! I wasn’t going to go, but ended up buying tickets and was certainly glad I did.

The match was held at the magnificent Reliant stadium so We tail-gated in the parking lot and had barbeque and drinks. Definitely fun.

The environment was definitely top-notch with lots of people rooting for both teams. A cool thing to note is that some of the players playing that day played in the World-Cup just a few weeks earlier.

Manchester United one the match, but I think everyone had some pretty good sportsmanship about the whole thing (except for a small scuffle I saw in the parking-lot ^0^).

El Chapulin Colorado even made an appearance =).

The Players warming up.

The Opening ceremony

Game on!

Closing Cermenoies, you can barely see it, but there is a Silver Cup/trophy in the picture.

City View from Reliant.

Wicked

rafael — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:54:43 +0000

Broadway is so awesum! I’ve never been to real big-time play before and much less a broad way show, until now. After hearing alot about it, I was determined to buy tickets to see Wicked here in Houston. Wicked is a story and play that tells the story of the witches that appear in the story ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

They were on their second to last week of appearances at the Hobby Center and I managed to score one of the last tickets. Immediately afterward, I prepared by reading the Wizard of Oz and also watching the movie.

From the beginning I knew it was going to be a good show, but nothing could have prepared me on how good it actually was. Everything about the show was magnificent. The lights, sound, acting and singing were just as good as they could possibly have been. The first-half of the play had such an outstanding ending that I almost thought it was the end of the show. The main characters are so significant, that you find yourself relating with or really liking them. The songs are so good and catchy that I had to buy the soundtrack afterwards.

Wicked is a traveling show and also has international showing, so If you ever get a chance, I advise you go.

Tip: From what I’ve understand there is a lottery for tickets 1 hour before the show. If you are selected, the tickets will only cost you $25.00 and will be the best seats in the house.

The Hobby Center’s billboard for Wicked.

My seat, it was real close but almost too much at an angle.

A full house.

Houston Skyline during the Intermission.

Sign on Wall.

A very convincing advertisement.

Wicked loot.

Wicked 5 year anniversary CD (cover).

Wicked 5 year anniversary CD (inside).

Get Wicked ringtones offer.

Wicked Timeline

Picture of the two Witches.

Elphaba

Glinda

Buc-ee’s shirt

rafael — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:19:31 +0000

Just in case you don’t know, there is a gas station store chain named Buc-ee’s in Texas that you should visit at-least once. Since I live in Houston, there is one very close by that I stop at when I am in the area. It’s really big in size for a gas station and has a real ‘feel-good’ environment. There are plenty of Buc-ee’s snacks inside the store and also plenty of logos of the store’s mascot, a beaver with a hat.

I picked up some snacks and also picked up my first Buc-ee’s shirt. I have always wanted one, and this time went for it. It’s real cool. It just makes me smile/laugh when I look at the beaver on the shirt.

If you’d like to learn more about the store’s upbringing and history go here.

Mentha Soap

rafael — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:11:41 +0000

I picked up some Mentha Soap from Bath and Body Works the other day, and I must say … ‘I am exfoliating’. The best things about this soap is that it smells super minty and really tingles your skin when you use it. Before I used It, I couldn’t stop smelling the wrapped soap. When using it, it really tingles your face which feels really good. And then it combines with the smell.. it’s so great.

I really wish smelovision was out, because then you all could really get a whiff of what I’m describing. They also have the body wash and the shaving cream (which I bought also and will review later). Highly recommend these products.

First Dynamo game

rafael — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:14:04 +0000

In the spirit of World Cup 2010 going on, I am totally into soccer right now! So much so, that I attended a Houston Dynamo game at UH’s Robertson Stadium. This is my second time to attend a Major League Soccer Game (MLS), and I had so much fun! The crowd was excellent and everyone was having a good time. Also, yelling at real people is way better than yelling at a tv screen.

At this game they were playing the Colorado Rapids and ended up tying. I am planning on attending more of their home games whenever I get a chance. Next time, I plan on getting there early so I can participate in the tail-gating. Word is that it gets to be real fun.

Houston Skyline from the University of Houston parking

Robertson Stadium

It was a full moon night

The Dynamo fox/mascot running for his mini-truck. I think it broke down halfway though.

3-D tv

rafael — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:55:01 +0000

While walking around the mall I checked out the Sony Style store and was immediately drawn into their 3-D tv section. Since 3-D is really taking off now, it is now available for your own home theater.

I tried on the glasses and it is actually really cool. You definitely want to go with the biggest screen you can afford to really get a good 3-d experience. Although the 3-d is really cool, I don’t find having to wear a pair of glasses to be that cool. How about you? Are you planning on buying a 3-d tv or do you have one already? If you do have one, which one do you recommend?

Hermann Park

rafael — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:12:50 +0000

I went out the Hermann Park in Houston the other day. Hermann Park is located in the museum district of Houston alongside the Houston Zoo. It’s a real nice place to spend an afternoon jogging, playing sports, relaxing and even napping. There are loads of trails for running and other activities such as: paddle-boats, monuments, kiddie-train, kiddie-water park, restaurants, japanese garden, stage-show pavilion and many more. I highly recommend visiting it in the cooler parts of the day, due to the heat.

A photo of down-town buildings I shot on the way to the park. Not bad for rush-hour + driving…

A monument in a grass circle.

The reflection pool. Very nice to sit back and relax on the edge of it. Some people were even getting their feet wet.

A walkway/bridge that takes you to the kiddie water-park.

People on paddle-boats enjoying the cool water.

A nice shot of the greenery.

The entrance to the Japanese garden. I was excited to see this one here.

I haven’t translated this yet. Free translations are welcome.

A Japanese style house inside the garden area. I’m not sure if there was anything inside or if someone actually lives there.

Norah Jones Concert

rafael — Sat, 22 May 2010 19:01:43 +0000

Norah Jones played at the Verizon Wireless Theater the other day and I didn’t miss out. I have always been a huge fan and really enjoyed listening to her play live. She plays just like the record and the mood of the venue is set to accommodate the style of music. The show was sit down only so there was no view issues even though I was towards the back.

Norah on the guitar.

Norah on the piano. She plays so much guitar now that I was afraid she wouldn’t do any keyboard songs… but she did.. and I was happy

Dragon boat races festival

rafael — Sun, 09 May 2010 00:38:10 +0000

I went to the dragon boat race festival in downtown the other day. The dragon boat festival is an annual event that is thrown by the Texas Dragon Boat Association. It’s loads of fun because they have boat races as well as fun booths. They had food booths and even Asia information booths. Since I am totally into Asian culture, this was definitely my kind of festival.

Everyone hanging out on the hill watching the races. Part of the Houston skyline in the background.

A race underway. Once they built up momentum, they really zipped by. The person facing the paddlers bangs a drum to keep the rhythm. The one at the rear steers the boat.

The winners of this round coming back into dock. Tired, but happy.

Traditional Korean dancers. One of them was wearing a mask, didn’t get to take a shot of him/her.

Bollywood dancing. I really liked the dancing and would like to watch & learn some more of it. Do you like to dance? If so, what do you dance too?