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Astdroid is funded!

It's been a crazy couple days. Long and exciting story made short, Astdroid, my Kickstarter project, reached its funding goal.

To keep up with the project head over to astdroid.com.

Google Voices

I've been using Google voice for a while now and, as with most things Google, I'm a huge fan. The transcription isn't perfect by a long shot but a 10 second visual scan is oftentimes good enough to tell you who's calling and what they're calling about, saving you precious minutes when your friend tends to ramble.

That being said, transcribing your wife's phone call from her purse could use some work. Here's the message that showed up in my inbox today:

For example, bye our company and then bye bye. Yeah. Bye. Yeah them wrong. Wow, Hi Hey Larry, why does Hello, I'm going to bye bye say how evidence. Well fellow nothing. It's when. Listen, this is a vote of Newton point where okay. And here Hey Danny, Hello Danny, This is I'm going to go. Give me a while or yeah, we probably won't be out of work a little bit the vocal piece since Hey Danny, Pier this is you has been working. We're States eve. Okay, Hello, or at work if you could please you go well and he won't work. Lightning out without what Becker do you do. Nick but I wanted to work with us. Hey registering at all. Well, why don't you give me a holler figured out. Anyways, yeah, i think you all right there. Okay, okay. Cos I will write paper. Plus, Yeah, we're really this is as well. Yeah, there's nothing Hello. This is an woman, but you know that 00. How are you. This bye bye bye yeah hey yeah hey so i want to be. Seems like to be this is when. And yeah okay, yes. Talk to you soon. It was last.

Google voice opened up to the public this week (in the US). In spite of the creepiness with which it translates muffled voices and silence, I highly recommend it: Google Voice

The launch (in the Kickstarter sense) of Astdroid!

I just launched my project on kickstarter! Help me send a smartphone into space!

LOST Finale - as if you needed another opinion you disagree with to read

After sending an email to my uncle explaining my thoughts on the show's finale I figured it was a concise enough opinion to repost.  It also helps me in my recovery.

Initially I really liked the ending. Over the last couple days I've come to love it for lots of reasons, not least of which being that it feels ended not merely stopped. It may not have a pretty little bow on it, but it was able to complete things more than any show of its kind (if there are any?) out there.

My wife had complained earlier in the season that they spent so much time trying (futilely) to explain everything on the island (Richard Alpert episode, Jacob and Man In Black episode) that outside of the flash-sideways we weren't at all involved with the characters. I agreed wholeheartedly. Going into the finale I was far more concerned with how they were going to resolve the flash-sideways than why the heck a circle of ash protected you from the smoke monster (but that was also knowing that there was NO WAY everything would get answered).

The finale brought the characters and their relationships into focus in a big, tear-filled lovefest kind of way. Seeing Hugo thank Ben. Seeing Ben apologize to Locke. Jack and Kate, Sun and Jin, Charlie and Claire, Juliette and Sawyer... the very fact that I gave a crap, much less got teary-eyed (ok, ok, maybe bawled my eyes out is a better description), seeing those relationships play out is a huge testament to the show.

If resting on its own merits wasn't enough, compare it to what it could have been. A show, also created by J.J. Abrahms, with a similar sized audience, production value, themes, and hugely successful first season was Heroes. 3 seasons in I couldn't watch it anymore, it devolved to such a degree. They finally canned it this year, having lost 85% of its audience since its first season. Knowing that LOST could have gone that route makes me appreciate its ending even more.

Throw in the music and I think they hit it out of the park. The score of LOST was and has always been phenomenal.

I completely agree, best (dramatic) show ever. It'll be a long time before we see something comperable, especially when Dancing with the Stars and American Idol continue to bring in the $$$ for the networks.

I'll step down off my podium now. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. It has helped me overcome my post-LOST funk for the time being. I'm continuing to avoid jungles, polar bears, and any large black smoke producing kitchen fires while recovering.

-dp

P.S. I'm going to buy the complete series when it comes out (on 8/24), spend another 120 hours watching it a 3rd time around, and change my "Oh, I can't wait until they answer this!" list to a "AHHHH, I can't believe they NEVER answered this!" list-o-rage. I'll probably be singing a different tune then.

Thoughts on Google TV Announcement

Surprise, surprise, Google wants to get into yet another chunk of your daily existence, your television.  (Not that I mind)

Today at Google I/O, Google announced Google TV.  It does lots of cool stuff, particularly if you've got an Android device and there's no shortage of places you can read about its cool features.



I've been using an HTPC with Windows 7 and Windows Media Center for about a year now.  I love it.  Not enough on the DVR?  Switch to Hulu.  Got a documentary you wanna throw on in the background?  Netflix Instant Watch.  Reminded of a HI-LAR-IOUS YouTube where an anchor makes some incredibly uncomfortable sexual innuendo while watching the local news?  YouTube.   Alot of the flexibility that Google TV is promising I already enjoy, but I'm still excited about it.

We're not yet quite sure of what Google TV will allow developers to do, but here's a couple scenarios that only make sense:

• IMDB sidebar during movies.  Face/voice recognition?  Even better.  "What the hell do I recognize that guy from?" is no longer an issue.


• What's that song in the new iPad commercial?  Auto-Shazam provides an iTunes (more likely Amazon MP3) link. Download.  Booyah.


• Rockies playing the Cardinals?  Hmmm... wonder what the stats of their last game was.  BAM!  No need to wait for an announcer.

Google TV has tremendous potential... but then again, so did Google Wave.

Kickstarter

About a week ago I submitted a proposal to Kickstarter.com, an awesome website for creative projects (think donations with benefits). Essentially, I want to, and think I can, send a smartphone into space.

To my great surprise, the proposal was accepted. Currently, I'm doing alot of thinking, ironing out the details, and preparing for tremendous failures. Horray!

So excited for Warrior Dash!

Got this in an email from Warrior Dash today. Can't wait!

Warrior Code of Conduct

1. A warrior's thirst shall always be quenched. The sweet nectar of One Pyramid Brew will be served to each warrior. Thou may bring drink from youre homeland for additional strength (outside alcohol and glass containers will not be permitted; energy drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages permitted).

2. Friend of foe, thou shall respect the plight of fellow warriors through the muddy trenches and blazing wall of fire.

3. The heart of a warrior never slumbers and stands strong in the face of adversity.

4. Those warriors who reach out an empty hand may be thanked by that brother with a frothy cup of brew.

5. The celebration of battle is always open to the friends and family of our fearless warriors... and even better, they're free!

6. Chariots to and from the battleground shall be steered by the sober and valiant mind of your designated warrior driver.

See you on the battleground!

-The Warrior Dash gang

We're running at the 11AM Wave for the Rockies on August 11th. It's gonna be EPIC!

Foursquare Anywhere

Today the announcement was made that foursquare will begin supporting checkins from any geographic location.  I happen to think that this is a big deal.

2009 saw a big increase in location based services and applications.  As GPS becomes nearly synonymous with mobile device, there's no reason to believe this trend won't continue.  2010 promises to be a big year for location based services that are still in their infancy today... and I'm not the only one who thinks so.



Foursquare is one of the companies leading the charge.  Built behind the premise of being a social videogame, it encourages users to go out and explore... or even go on a bender.  However, before today, foursquare was only available in select cities.

In opening up to any location foursquare has tremendously grown it's potential audience worldwide.  It also ups the ante on it's current leading competitor Gowalla who has boasted anywhere checkins for sometime now, but hasn't been able to capture the same audience as foursqaure has.

Coupled with the opening of their API (you can see my forray into this realm at my prototype of www.checkoutcheckins.com and a friend's at www.wheredoyougo.net) foursquare have poised themselves to have a very, very good year.