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Android = tower of babel?

Everything changes in an instant

Buying a cell phone in the 2010 is a completely new and unique experience, and 2011 will probably be the same. But my contact is on November 4th this year, so it is decision time, not to be confused with LeBron's free agency spectacle that aired nationwide on ESPN this summer.

Starting from scratch you need to decide which of the major platforms/OS's you want to go with, each with their own pros and cons. They are:

RIM Blackberry
Apple iOS(iPhone)
Google android
Microsoft Windows Phone 7 (coming november)

Right now I am still on a contract with ATT with my blackberry bold. Its been my first smartphone and has been great for the most part. A couple things it has going for it are reliability, data security, and a great e-mail system. The cons are a pretty outdated OS, underdeveloped application catalog, and the relatively small non-touchscreen.

The iPhone has been the hot smartphone for the last few years and that is probably because they have great hardware and the best applications. However, I'm not a fan of the way apple tries to control everything on their phones and limits applications and customization of its products.

Microsoft Windows Phone 7 is the latest attempt by Microsoft to get into the mobile space before Apple and Google become insurmountably dominant. Early reports are promising, but the first phones are not out yet, but come November we will have a better idea of its viability in this competitive space.

Finally, the google android system is my personal platform of choice. Since its introduction around two years ago it has really matured into a stable platform. The tight integration with the excellent google apps such as gmail, google maps, google docs and google calendar really give it an advantage over the others. The hardware has also evolved from the first touchscreen slider, the G1 to the current wide range of phones produced by several hardware makers including, motorola and samsung. This is also the most open platform which is why each carrier and each hardware maker has their own customizations to the OS and why the consumer is able to personalize most aspects of the phone.

The next decision is what carrier to go with. Unlike most of the rest of the world, phones here are closely tied to carriers which subsidize the price of the phone in exchange for committing to a one or two year contract. The major ones are AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile.

At&T is the largest in terms of subscribers, but common complaints are spotty service and high cost. I can personally attest to the spotty service complaint as I cannot be on a call for the 10 minute drive home through the center of San Diego without dropping my call at least once. My experience with At&t in the bay are was even worse. My parent's house in cupertino, where the Apple headquarters is located, is a dead zone. This is ironic because Apple is the maker of the iPhone which is the bestselling phone on At&t. How could they miss that?

Verizon is generally considered the best in terms of phone service reliability and coverage, but the cost is also high. However, they use CDMA technology on their phones which means no SIM cards which means most of their phones are not world capable for traveling.

Sprint and T-mobile are the smaller providers offering cheaper plans but also having a smaller subscriber base and therefore perhaps less comprehensive coverage.

My personal experience with AT&T has led me towards Verizon in the hopes of not having to constantly worry about my calls being dropped midway through one of my SUPER important phone calls, usually to decide where to go for happy hour that afternoon.

Now that we've narrowed it to Verizon and google android, the available phones are more manageable. The most fully equipped phones at Verizon are as follows:

Motorola Droid X
Motorola Droid 2
HTC Droid Incredible
Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate

Samsung Galaxy S
Best Android Phone

Mango rice Pilaf topped with Skewered Shrimp

We come now to the second installment in Chef Ji's cooking adventure extravaganza. Today's dish is lemon grilled shrimp on a bed of mango and pepper rice.  As you see below the presentation is impeccable and the Chef obviously possesses natural talent in this area.

Moving on to the taste. First the pros:

Great flavor in the rice. The mangoes provide some tanginess, while the peppers provide some crunch and sweetness. The carrots fit in nicely as well.

The skwered shrimp is grilled to a perfect crisp on the outside while keeping the meat juicy. This is key for shrimp, as it is easy to overcook and dry out the meat.

Cons:

The rice is a bit soft, almost mushy, probably somewhat overcooked.

Overall I enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to whatever is whipped up next in Chef Ji's kitchen. Bye for now...

VERDICT: 7.0/10

P.S. great picture!

You stay classy Cleveland....

bitter cavs fans, mad that they are retreating back to obscurity after lebron carried them EVERY GAME for seven years.

Chef Ji's Spectacular Creations - Part 1 Sauteed Atlantic Sea Scallops with Cabbage

Welcome to the first of hopefully many of my reviews of Chef Shashi Ji's kitchen concoctions.

For my inaugural issue I have before me today, Sauteed Atlantic Sea Scallops with Cabbage.  The seasoned scallops are on a bed of light cooked cabbage with tiny dried shrimps.  There is a light vinegar taste to the cabbage and the scallops are sauteed to perfection, not to soft and not too dry; you can see the juices in the picture. The scallops themselves are perfect, the cabbage flavor is a little too strong and overpowers the dish. This would make a great appetizer to share or as a main dish perhaps with a mushroom risotto or other complementary item. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and look forward to more creations from Chef Ji's kitchen!

VERDICT: 7.5/10

There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning. --Louis L'Amour

The end of an era has come and at the end of the Free Agency Summer of 2010 the NBA will look very different than it does today. For the Cavs - coach Brown is as good as gone (deservedly so), Shaq and Ilgauskas are free agents, and of course nobody knows what LeBron will be doing next year. For the rest of the NBA - LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Joe Johnson, Ray Allen, Amare are just a few of the names that are weighing their options and rumored to be on the move this summer. The competitive balance will change unlike any time since Gasol revived the Lakers and the "Big Three" teamed up in Boston.

For me - I am a LeBron fan first so I could care less about "loyalty" to Cleveland. What does that mean anyways? Basketball is his profession...do you and I "owe" it to our hometowns to stay in Cupertino, San Diego, or wherever you hail from.... No.
So I say go wherever you have the best chance to WIN. Whether that is in New York where they have enough cap room to sign to Max players (but terrible recent track record in terms of performance and front office management) or Chicago, where he could join a rising star in Derrick Rose and a solid player, as much as I hate to admit it, in Joakim Noah.

As a LeBron fan, his early exit from the playoffs against the Celtics this series was devastating, but there is a silver lining ("we can build on this!!").  All my fears and unease about the Cavaliers over the past few years surfaced in this series.  It took a resurgent Celtics team that appeared to have filled their Gatorade coolers at the fountain of youth to expose the fact that despite the roster changes this Cavaliers team has not been able to win without LeBron at a 100% every game.

BREAKING UPDATE: Brown out! http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5189101

Just look at the performances in this series of some of the "key players" that were supposed to help LeBron win a championship:

Mo Wiliams (reg. season/playoffs vs. celtics):
fg%: .442/.409
3p%: .429/.211
pts: 15.8/13.3

Antawn Jamison:
fg%: .461/.422
3p%: .344/.188
pts: 18.7/11.8

Anderson Varejao: (not his fault, Mr.Potatohead Brown decided not to give him more than 20min a game)

fg%: .572/.458
reb: 7.6/5.8
pts: 8.6/6.2
min: 28.5/21.5

J.J. Hickson: (another victim of Potatohead despite being one of the most effective players against the Celtics during the season)

fg%: .554/.647
reb: 4.9/1.2
pts: 8.5/4.8
min: 20.9/9.3

anyways, the point is that LeBron doesn't show up for 2 games in a series and you get a "LeBacle". Contrary to popular belief even the best players in the world have "off" games. Look at this list of kobe's high profile "off" games taken from Bill Simmon's article on ESPN.com

THE LIST OF KOBE NO-SHOWS

• Game 6 of the 2003 Spurs series: Lakers eliminated in a 32-point blowout (Kobe scores 20, commits seven turnovers).

• Game 3, Game 4 and Game 5 of the 2004 Finals: Kobe went 4-for-13, 8-for-25 and 7-for-21 as the Pistons finished off L.A.

• Game 7 of the 2006 Suns series: Lakers lose by 32, Kobe mysteriously stops shooting in the second half in a rarely seen Eff You To My Teammates performance.

• Game 4 of the 2008 Finals: Boston rallies back from 25 down to win in L.A. Kobe finishes 6-for-19.

• Game 6 of the 2008 Finals: Boston wins the title with a 39-point blowout, Kobe goes 7-for-22. 

It's bound to happen due to great defence, injuries, whatever...

But when nobody else steps up you are NOT going to win an NBA championship. Teams in the NBA are too good. LeBron may be the best, but he is not better than Pierce and Ray and Garnett and now Rondo. Hell, he's probably not even better than two or three of those players by himself. THAT is the difference. Pierce can not show up for the 4 out of 6 games this series (13ppg, .345 fg%) and the Celtics are still on their way to the ECF.  Kobe can not show up for 4 out of 6 games against the Thunder in the first round (23.5ppg .408 fg% 4rpg 4apg) and still the Lakers win in six.

LeBron goes for 26.8ppg 9.3rpg 7.2apg 2.17steals and 1.3 blocks .447 fg% and the Cavs get convincingly beat in six games...

It doesn't seem fair, but that's how it works out sometimes.

LeBron has definitely been prematurely crowned "king" of the NBA. I completely agree that he needs that ring to legitimize his career.

He's still young at 25 though, and just as quickly as people were to crown him, they are just as quick to dismiss him as a fraud after he fell short this week.

All the cliches about it being "darkest before the storm"...."every end is a new beginning"..."When one door closes another door opens"... they all apply here and I still believe LeBron is the best in the NBA. What jersey he is wearing come November reamins to be seen, and he may or may not be on the cover of SI or maintains his season pass to a place on ESPN's top play's of the night, but I am sure that we haven't seen the Last of LeBron....just the beginning.