news & views on current technology

what up peeps...bloggin live from the new home.. still renting but moved to Washington DC. Finally moved after talking about it for years.. #1 commute has been very draining.. working in VA - 9 yrs strong

I've finally stepped into cool phone land and divorced Verizon in the process..
newly minted sprint customer w/ an Android Device - Evo Shift - couldn't let go of my keyboard but other than me being a anti-touch screen chick and the nuances that come with it.. the phone is pretty vicious. The android app store def lacks the hollywood apps of Apple but is still very comparable in inventory.

Right now I have the Evo Shift, and 2 BB for work - one including the BB torch.

Today's post is a rant on RIM..inspired by these article in WAPO -"For federal workers, BlackBerry slips as device of choice" & Federal government loosens its grip on the BlackBerry

First let me highlight some other articles who are on the same page of me:

PlayBlackBerry bruised by rivals

4 ways for BlackBerry to stay alive

I lovvvvvvvvvvvvveee my blackberry no doubt.. it gets the job DONE no bells & whistles. BEST EMAIL MGMT EVER!

I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee BBM - though my buddy list is dwindling BUT my first choice of messaging through & through.

I guess im becoming a late apple fan girl not for the cool gadgets but one of my favorites magazines Fortune is exposing me the BUSINESS side of the world - (super weakness for a g33ky gal like myself and being exposed even further working at "big4" /end rant) but you have to admire whats under the hood at a company that was hot in 80s.. cool in 90s and than took off..
respect to Jobs + his mgmt style.

I got caught up w/ the cool app life with my ipod touch..all still while loving my blackberry but I knew times were changing one morning the alarm on the BB was going OFF.. and I'm pressing the screen like mad only to realize hello.. no touch screen LOL!

So that brought me to a point in which I knew after my move I was going to switch my personal phone to Android...I like Iphone but the lack of physical keyboard was a deal-breaker PLUS too redundant to my Itouch.

Sprint had a special $125 credit for switching over.. said good-bye Verizon. That's another future Rant.. I never truly minded paying for the expensive service of VZW however in the last 1 yr myself and one of my homegirls admitted service has not been so peachy aka most dropped calls ever in span of being customer for almost 10 yrs. Given the 3/4G and stability of the other wireless carriers and for the most part I frequent metropolitan areas with good service - I could risk leaving VZW. #1 I was astounded that for 60$ I get unlimited everything .. like I had to keep asking the customer service representative how much was the data? the txt package? She kept reminding me 60$ = all in one LOL

So far given my new bldg cell coverage sucks in general.. I can see where Verizon outside is better.. but Sprint inside works in places I would never get VZW service. Big minus I miss being able to have pretty decent reception in metro- Sprint = total fail.

Ok ok back to my RIM rant-
pretty much RIM is the mobile MS, meaning you had the game on lock but dude check the rear view- your company is flailing..
-OS6 sucked.. like I cannot stand that wack frequent/all/favorite menu system- the thought process was there delivery not so smooth
+Webbrowser is improved but not the true to PC exp like one gets on safari or android
-App store- how about me and paypal aren't in a relationship anymore.. well no paypal = no appstore acess AT ALL- blew me to the worlds end!
+BB Torch very solid much better blend of touch & traditional than Storm

I don't have to keep nitpicking but bottomline RIM just released another weak product (BB Playbook) just google the review..I think it may have more software now but I know it shipped with no email or browser access //like wtf//

Rim needs to realize they need to OVERHAUL their OS or keep faith in this QNX acquisition. I'm no SME but basically QNX is an emulator and RIM has been selling the fact android software can work on the Playbook via QNX...so that's cool to have BBM/BB stuff & cool droid apps but that's admitting some defeat by deferring to another OS granted its somewhat embedded - not the strongest move.

What will kill Rim and seriously I see you Jobs.. I get it.. have everyone embrace your gadgets & computing devices.. rock with your own OS (iOS) your own internal services (mobile me)..shake, stir and ascend to the next level. As announced at WWDC apple has merged a whole mix of things and embraced the cloud (gag- me not a fan of cloud computing- another post).. recap below (wapo)

As one of the core new features highlighted today in iOS 5, iMessages has one purpose: to kill SMS. That is, traditional carrier-controlled text messages. iMessages will do this by replacing SMS with a service that Apple is in control of across all of their iOS devices. And here’s the real death blow: iMessages will be completely free.

Sure, you can argue that iMessages is limited due to the iOS requirement. But as Apple announced today, there are over 200 million iOS devices out there now. That’s a lot. Like Blackberry Messenger before it, Apple now has the strength to create their own device-to-device messaging application. And that’s exactly what they’ve done. And considering what a colossal rip-off SMS is, I can’t help but love this move. It’s exactly what I’ve been waiting for

"iCloud stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes it to all your device. It automatically uploads it, stores it, and pushes it to all your devices." And by "automatically," he means it: in addition to every day content, such as purchased music, iBooks, photos and videos, device settings, and app data that will be automatically backed up over WiFi, Documents in the Cloud will effortlessly sync Pages, Numbers, and Keynote data between all of your iOS devices.

I'd def would embrace and hopefully SOON will embrace once I get an Ipad...my beef w/ cloud -C is.. it is what you put into it.. don't be mad if your world is stolen by hackers but for a person who knows what to keep on-line I have no beef w/ trying this new apple services and trust if you had a Macbook, Ipad, Iphone.. this will make your life simpler and people are gonna eat it up and Apple will get more business. Trust that i-messenger .. What do I need a blackerry for again?

Other than email and honestly Microsoft (wake up) should try making their new win 7 phones use the power of outlook to gain corporate email shares over RIM. Again I can only speak with a DoD voice.. and given the Ipad STIG was pulled LOL.. idk when or how we can say yes to iphone/tablets/android etc on sensitive networks. Trust right now one of my systems is mobile project the old school win ce.net phones - like security holes out the wazoo but we are stuck with using it bc - no "approved" DoD replacement.. but that's a rant on security in form of checkboxes (yet another future blog post)

anyway enufff ranting.. let me get to some fun stuff in my life than I must try get rest.

my move: woot! I never knew why but when I was 14 about the time my mom shot down my dreams with the whole I'm not paying for Howard University.. the ONLY time I give my mother full credit.. sorry HU peeps UMCP >>> HU (costs less & degree just as good if not better) heheh
but I faked, got cold feet.. at the end of the day I'm a small town country girl DC seemed overwhelming & expensive. But seriously the move has been great so far.. I'm broke as heck lol paying this fake Manhattan rent but the goal was to improve the work/life balance.

other stuff:
like people think IT folks be on the ish.. i know i be tired.. like the PCs in my home aren't fly flashy.. seriously they are patchwork jobs overloaded w/ RAM. I bring this up bc I went to my main site to search. I swore I had posted about my basil plant.. wholetime - why do I NOT have a search button on my blog - LMAO - terrible. My blog is stuck in the 90s LMAO! Imma try peeps to upgrade to wordpress & migrate to my own domain- maybe by end of summer or 2011- meanwhile I'll try make some cosmetic upgrades to "blogspot"

new obsession :Keriug Kcups machine- supply of the energy for this post. Blame QVC & 3 easy payments LOL.. its a nice machine w/ a huge variety of refills plus at the end of the day.. anything that takes away the urge to spend 5$+ at Starbucks = FTW

basil:

forgive me I believe the plant before & after growth pics are in the old BB - sorry.. all I have is the harvesting of the plant..not gonna fake it was SCARY to say like ok I can pluck this and throw it into my food LMAO.. but after much research apparently that's what you do.
So I ripped up 3 leaves tossed into this marinade I was making - fresh lemon juice, ginger, garlic & red wine vinny- WOW like it taste so Italian-y lol meaning that fresh basil made it POP.. delish. Next plants I want to grow : thyme, mint








bedtime peeps

tea tour continues

Sat - DC has a taste of spring.. which closed up quickly because Sunday I awake (cold) and it was rainy and cloudy :(

Sux because I've finally upgraded my bike (thanks to my job and their 500% health subsidy) to an entry level pro hybrid. Its an REI special aka purple lightening.. not the vicious cannondale I desired but hey.. I've taken it out twice and it already drives/feels 9million times better than my target special

ok back to Saturday went on a Georgetown walking tour with my tea meet up group.
We visited:
Cha Cha Chang
DC Tea & Spice Exchange
Capital Teas

1. Cha Cha Chang -1063 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W

I've shopped here many many years - they sell the best empy tea bags ever. Its small very very traditional tea house but this time I finally was able to sit down enjoy tea and eat.
I ordered veggie dumplings and broke down got $20 pot of my #1 fav tea ti kuan yin (oolong).

Our group learned a traditional way to enjoy tea via the assemble to the left.
Not pictured but we had a reg kettle filled with hot water
(working off memory here but description about 80% accurate)

1. take hot water and pour into brown(clay) pot that has the tea leaves
2. you always want to discard the 1st brew --> goes into the bigger white/blue pitcher
3. take the discard pour into middle cup
3. take the discard and pour on outside of brown teapot

(2&3 are supposed to keep the pot and cups warm- something like that )

4. hot water poured into clay pot (let steep about 60 secs)
5. pour brewed tea into white/blue pitcher
6. serve in the small cup (bottom right)

repeat

What I most enjoyed what the heavy clay teapot and holder like of course you spilling water everwhere and the bottom part catches everything. Clay pots rock so heavy and unlike ceramics require no soap & water bc chemicals eventually steep into the liquid.

2. DC Tea & Spice Exchange
Small shop in a rowhouse... def worth visiting if you want to check out custom spice blends. Customer service wasn't all that and the Alexandira location is bigger. The tea selection is so-so - I wouldn't necessary be pressed to come here often. Coolest thing was the salt blocks for sale LOL

3. Capital Teas- I've blogged about them already but man these folks keep opening more and more DC stores.. this was my first time visiting the gtown location. The store is in an alley but
same selection as the National Harbor store. Great customer service- and I had to shout these guys out bc after becoming a facebook fan I won a free giveaway- Royal Wedding Tea

A commemorative union of our bold Cream Earl Grey Black and our light and refreshing Cream Earl Grey White, enhanced with the essence of roses. Available for a limited time only. Price is per 4 oz.

I have not sampeled yet- I'm not a big fan of flavored teas but just happy to have won something. DC be on the look out for these guys to overtake Teaism they have 2 more store opening planned Friendship Heights and another NW location.

Remixed-Roasted Plantains

Remixed this recipe from the web:

Vegan Approved -
My lovely naija friends put me onto plantains - and I normally eat them fried but unless im out- i don't fry food in my kitchen. I tried this plantains baked w/ olive oil and loved it- so figured this would be worth trying.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon raw cocoa butter
3 very well-ripened plantains (rinsed) salted lightly
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoons flaked coconut
2 tablespoons agave nectar

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cut ends off plantains; slice through peel lengthwise for easy removal. Remove peel; slice plantains thinly and place in medium bowl (lightly salt). Stir in melted cocoa butter, brown sugar and allspice, gently, until evenly coated. (Remove baking dish from oven.)
3. Spoon plantains into baking dish. Sprinkle with coconut; then drizzle with agave. Bake 12–15 minutes or until coconut is toasted and plantains bubble around the edges. Serve.


I'm not a fan of sweets so I was worried about taste- not bad mix...one thing I did was lace the pan w/ olive oil bc the plantains will burn easy- watch and turn often ! Next time I will use a lighter oil either sesame or coconut - the dish was pretty good but I could taste the EEVO not the best mix


sorry no pics -I got yall next time

dropping recipes like bombs..

Curry Veggie Lentil Soup Overload

Sorry peeps- I'm bad at cups/measurements - normally my style of cooking is to borrow from many variants of the same recipe and conform into own. Not alot of pics either- only decided to capture the moment halfway through the creation process :\


base

1 small yellow onion
2 leeks
half root of ginger
veggie stock/water blend
2 cans diced tomatoes
EEVO


spices:
red pepper flakes
indian curry (alot)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp thyme or fresh sprig
1/2 tsp cinnamin/nutmeg
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
black pepper



veggies:
yellow squash
zucchini
Brussels sprouts
string beans
broccoli
kale

2 cups (mixed) french/green lentils

chop up all veggies to size..add just a lil bit of salt to veggies only

VERY IMPORTANT - when cooking a lentil soup.. salt makes lentils rubbery hence add salt for overall flavor the last 10 mins or so..


The prep is heavy overhead but once everything is chopped up

Get a large pan base with some EEVO warmed- throw in the base dry ingredients first when almost brown add liquid & spices. I don't add water to my veggie stock until i've bought everything to a boil. Retaste make sure flavors are to personal liking.
Toss in veggies let cook good 20 mins on low simmer with top on.
Lentils go afterwards 30-45 mins+

Note I like my veggies soft you can opt to throw those preferred to be more firm closer to the last 20 mins of cooking time.


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TV wise I hate reality TV and the only shows/stations I watch are:

FoodNetwork
Sports
Cartoons
Old Shows (e.g Golden Girls)
MSNBC -
Documentary shows

From the foodnetwork the person I love and adore is Ina Garten aka BAREFOOT CONTESSA



IDK what it is about this lady but her style of cooking just resonates with me.
I love her steezo. She's calm quiet yet vicious when it comes to picking ingredients for cooking, and flavors- plus I love her home and how the incorporates aesthetic value towards picking dishes and decor to match the meal - That's a personal goal of mines when I buy a big house - Although the vegetarian thing will be an obstacle I'm so about hosting dinner & tea parties




Anyway I hope to be back with a few blogs- I have long coming rant against RIM- Blackberry

Work's kicking my butt as usual but check ya later peeps