Super Bowl XLIII!

Finally...waiting and waiting...3 days til we head to Vegas for the Super Bowl. Will be staying at our old friend the Riviera (it's cheap) and watching the game at the Rockhouse, outside the Imperial Palace...

We've got roamer, wiseacre, wad, myself (panadero), xaphan, pyro and ed, golgo, lost, kingpin, overdose, freaky, converge, vertigo, and libero and pam, like a mini Defcon. Heading out Friday afternoon, coming back Monday morning (won't get home til 7pm *ugh).

We're pushing for the Steelers, which *should* be a no brainer, but hey, you never know...the Giants did it...

Blade CP Pro...

http://www.e-fliterc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFLH1300

$300 worth of heli, for $120...can't beat it, with 3 batteries, carbon fiber rear prop...some small repairs needed, but great deal...

iPod Touch 2G Jailbreak....

So, word is spreading on a jailbreak for the iPod Touch 2nd generation device. Here are my thoughts...

I own a first gen iPod touch, and it's one of the best things I have ever bought. When the first jailbreak came out, over a year ago, it really made a difference in installing 3rd party apps on the device. Apps were developed that worked, themes were made, life was good.

Then came the App Store. Update the device to use it, then the jailbreak was jail-broke, then another jailbreak, wash, rinse and repeat...however, now you have access to the App Store. Once the App Store was released, all the great developers for the 'Installer' and 'Cydia' almost disappeared. "Hey, why develop for free, when I can develop and sell crappy .99 cent apps and make money." Then they did, and they are...

What do I prefer? Since the App Store showed up, Installer and Cydia have been lacking. I prefer the App Store. I can find just about any app to do what I want, and most are free. I have bought several games for .99 or 1.99. There is only 1 app that I can almost not live without, and that allows me to toggle my Brightness and WIFI with a swipe...Unless the jailbreak community creates more apps and games...App Store for me...

Heli...

So, need to get back into Helis...had one about 2 years ago, it finally quit, the batteries actually expanded and were unsafe to use...

So, decided to get another. Found the best R/C shop I have ever seen in Chantilly, VA. Almost got another heli with tail rotor (as opposed to the dual-rotor design), but decided on the RealFlight G3.5. It is a simulator that allows you to learn and NOT lose money :) The newest RealFlight 4.5 will run you $199, but if you can find the 3.5, it is only $129. "$129 is a lot! Might as well get a heli!" Ahh...but compared to the parts and time and frustration, well worth the investment...

RealFlight G3.5

This is a super fantastic product, one that I would recommend if you are interested in this sort of thing. Lots of add-on packs and a great way to learn.

Some comments on NYC day 1

Just somethings that happened or were done/said on day 1...

We got into La Guardia at about 930am and grabbed a cab to the airport. First thing on the list is lunch, off to the world famous Carnegie Deli. At Carnegie Deli, Yancy strikes up a conversation with 3 guys across the table from us about what one guy was eating... Y: "What is that" G: "Matzo ball soup" Y: "What's a matzo ball?" G: "Errr..."

So later that day, we're walking in the rain/sleet, up 5th avenue...hopping into stores to warm up and try to keep going...we get up to the corner of FAO.Schwarz and the wind absolutely starts howling, had to have been 40mph, rain going sideways. I am holding the umbrella like this (--- with her and I hiding behind, and I am worried it is not going to hold up. We watch people left and right with their umbrellas falling apart and blowing away (lots of people out). We hop in the first cab we can find and go thaw out in the room...

Dinner Friday night was at Bubba Gump Shrimp. Yes, with all the places in NYC to go, this was it. Man...one of the top meals that we had all weekend. The bread pudding for dessert was the BEST that either of us have had...drenched, beaten, wet and tired we head back to the room...soo cold in NYC this weekend...

How to Own the New York City Subway System

This past weekend, the wife and I took a small vacation to NYC. With accumulated points, we were able to stay at the NY Marriott Marquis, in the heart of Times Square. We have been there before several times, but never quite 'figured out' the subway system. Friday evening I sat down with the map one last time, and the light went off...finally...here's the skinny:

When looking at the map, there are lots of letters and numbers, seems kind of daunting:
Let's take a closer look tho:

Let's run a sample trip from Times Square to Canal street (we did this several times for other reasons :)
The Times Sq station lists the "N.Q.R.S.W.1.2.3.7" trains. What does this mean? Well, this is a big station for good reason, so all of these trains will make it into, and out of, this station (at certain times, more on that later).

Let's find our destination, Canal St.:
See that? Any "J.M.N.Q.R.W.Z.6" train will stop and continue out of this station. Wait, aren't there N, Q, R and W trains leaving the Times Sq station? BINGO! That's the "Broadway" line. When you get into the Times Sq station, you obviously want to go "Downtown" on the N, Q or R train.

A few caveats tho:

1. Letters in BOLD will always stop at this station, they are full service trains.
2. Some trains may be express trains. As an example, see the first image up top, the Q train from Times Sq to Canal street will stop at the 34ST station, but DOES NOT stop at the 28th nor 23rd ST stations.
3. Bold letters at each station signify that the train will ALWAYS stop at this station. Non-Bold letters mean that at certain times that train will stop at that station. Us being newbs, we stuck with the Bold letter trains :)
4. If you need to go from a LETTERED train to a NUMBERED train, before your destination you will need to find a transfer station that has the same number and letter, and vice versa. Get off at that station, find the signs for the number you want, wash, rinse and repeat. At the Canal St station, you can hop on the 6 train head Uptown to Madison Ave and others...
   

Find the letter that matches the station you are leaving from, and the letter you are going to. Make sure you are at the platform that is either "Uptown" or "Downtown". When the appropriate letter train shows up, get on it and go! Keep track of the stations you are passing and get off on the one you want!

It really *is* that easy. Cost? Well, you can get a 2hr ticket for $2. We decided on the daily tickets for $7.50 each. Think about it...a cab from Times Sq to Canal St would EASILY be over $7.50, plus you have to get back up there, sit in traffic and TIME. The train from Times Sq to Canal St was literally 5-7 minutes. TRY THAT IN A CAB! With the daily, you can get all over Manhattan for cheaper than one cab ride. I believe 7-day tickets were $25...

Other places we went:

1. From Times Sq, if you go Uptown on the Broadway line, you can take the N, Q or R train up to the 57st station. This is a good spot to get into Central Park.
2. From Times Sq, if you go Uptown on the Broadway line, you can take the N or R train up to the 5 Av/59St station. This will put you almost in from of the Apple store and FAO.Schwarz.
3. From Canal St station, take the J line one stop Downtown to the Chambers St station. That will pop you right up to the steps of the show "Law and Order".

Questions? Just ask, I will try and answer them!

New Blog...

Starting a new blog, need a place to put stuff to remember, or just pass along...oh...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 2 days to go...