ThomasRye.com: Writings, dreams, solutions and muses of H. Thomas Rye: Page 5

My beloved new HTC Hero smartphone

By Thomas Rye on February 18, 2010

I’m going to try to keep this page updated a touch… every so often. I wanted to give everyone out there a comprehensive review and breakdown of my HTC Hero. I’ll try to keep it to the point and organized so you can find the information you’re looking for.
I welcome any questions you may have, especially if you are looking at buying one.

Click to Enlarge

There’s a lot you can do as far as customizing the 7 home screens with your own style and productivity tools. This is my home screen, the “1st String Team”, if you will. Has the stuff I access and use most.

Clock

As much as I liked the big clock that the Hero is shown with in all the media photos, I felt like it was taking up more space than I wanted it too. As a good widget should, it offered configurations for smaller sizes and formats. So I shrank’er down.

Weather

The weather widget is great, nice interface, slick graphics. Punch in your city and you’re golden. Also offers several different sizes to suit your home screen layout.

Smooth Calendar

Here is where I had to go with a different app than the native app offered by HTC, but that’s the beauty of the Android Market. Smooth Calendar still had a nice interface (important to me), but allowed for showing more than one event at a time. I keep my calendars pretty full, so only being able to see the immediate next item was very confining.

Apps

Android Market
Facebook Update: Replaced by gTasks
Peep (Twitter)
People (Contacts List)
Messages (Text)
Gmail Update: Using Gmail Unread Count Widget. Native icon didn’t show this
Browser Update: Replaced by Gowalla
Camera

Cons

Sometimes it reacts slowly
I’ve been having a lot of problems with the battery just completely draining out on minimal use after only 15 minutes or so.
Picmail sometimes gives me a “Media size exceeded” and I have to go back and retake the picture (if I’m able to) on a small resolution

Apps & Functionality

Text messaging
Easily the thing I use the most. I thought the touchscreen would really hinder my texting abilities (especially speed), but the word-prediction and auto-correct work REALLY well. So usually I’m still pretty quick on the draw with texting. I will say this though, it’s not quite the same as having a more tactile 10-key. I can’t text without looking nearly as well while I’m driving now. So text messages take a lot longer.

Android Google Connection
I wish that my gmail account was my main email account. Android automatically syncs with your gmail contacts. I’m still working out the merging of duplicate entries and getting everything sorted out properly, but it’s amazing
Update: Got all my old numbers & other email account contacts synced to my Gmail account and, thus, my phone!

Facebook Connection / Import
Connect contact profile pic and birthday
Update: Used a program by @koush to sync my Facebook Friends info with my Google contacts automatically.

	gTasks Google Task List works like a charm
	Gowalla (m.gowalla.com) With the native Android app coming soon, the mobile web version of Gowalla has been working great! It’s such a fun game that you can play in a moment when you arrive somewhere or make a day of it. They’re very responsive to their users and always working on new functionality and fun additions. Be Gowalla friends with me! Update: Gowalla BETA App is out	Coming Soon!
	Backgrounds Phenomenal app for backgrounds. Well categorized, easy to set your background, high quality designs and photos. Top notch, really.
	Facebook It’s ok… actually, no, it’s crap. Aside from the fact that I don’t use facebook a lot these days, you can’t click on links in this version of facebook. So you’ll get notifications about being tagged in a photo, but you can’t click to see the photos! Dumb.
	Peep It’s usually pretty slow, but it works. I’m open to other options. Update: I’m trying TweetCaster, but not sure if it’s much better. I wish TweetDeck would just make an Android App
	Monkey Kick Off
	Shot
	Brain Genius Deluxe
	GeoQuiz

Thanks to Cyrket for the images and barcodes.

Posted in Gadgets, Technology | Tagged android, apps, gowalla, gTasks, htc hero, smartphone, sprint, tweetcaster | 1 Response

Helping the Homeless

By Thomas Rye on February 4, 2010

This is a good post by Nathan Graves. And it’s a big issue I think everyone should know how they want to respond to these interactions with homeless people and why they’re doing it. Read Nathan’s post first, this is a response article.

[I started writing this as a comment on Nathan Graves blog, but realized that it was getting far too long, so it became my own blog post.]

Homeless, anything helps, God bless

I pass the same intersection (West Pennway & I-35) every morning and often see a guy, not always the same one, standing at the corner with a sign. Sometimes it’s as simple as “Homeless, please help.” Other times it has been a bit more verbose, “US Veteran. No job. No food. Anything Helps. God Bless.” I think there are few people in my circle of friends that do not have at least a degree of compassion for the homeless or otherwise less fortunate people around them. The question is ‘how do we respond in the best way?’

No more money
I have made a decision to no longer offer money – almost with no exceptions. This is due to several interactions over the last few years that have left me reconsidering what I give and probing the truths about street beggars. (“Street beggars” might sound like an offensive term, but I think it’s accurate.)

— More than once I’ve offered a part of my lunch (or the food I had with me) to a man at the I-35 / West Pennway off ramp intersection and been asked instead for cigarettes or cash. When I told him I didn’t have either of those but I had an apple and sandwich, he waved me off and rolled his eyes as if to say, “Why are you bothering me? Stop wasting my time.”

— I was once approached by a man while I was at the gas station on 37th and Broadway asking me for money to get him and “his girl” (who was no where in sight) something to eat from inside the convenience store… hard times, explanation explanation explanation. I gave him $5 and he never went inside.

— More than once, I’ve been asked for money to help someone out and when I offer to go inside some place and buy them a meal, they refuse, but usually ask for the money one more time.

— On cold nights I’ve offered to give guys a ride to City Union Mission where I know they could get a bed to sleep in and a warm place out of the elements. I’ve never had any takers. In fact, most have a down-right negative reaction to that.

These are how the majority of the interactions go. And this, to me, says that they don’t want to improve their situation. I don’t want to sound I’m cynical about it, although I probably am. I know that there are hurting people out there and they are struggling to get by and they are held down by addictions and brokenness. I want them to find healing and growth and purpose and the love of Jesus Christ. I just don’t want to perpetuate a cycle of no self-respect and no sense of accomplishment by giving them hand-outs. And I don’t want to reward people for lying.

Bottom Line
I don’t want to contribute to a system that ends up keeping people down just because I don’t have the time to help in a more meaningful way. I’ve decided that if I don’t have time to help in a meaningful and engaging way, then I will just live with looking like a heartless jerk for that moment.

Why I haven’t given up
On the flip-side, I had a guy come up to me at a gas station in Mission, KS a few months ago. He was very sincere, had his family in his car, and asked for some help with gas just to help them get back home to Olathe. “Economic downturn… lost job…” etc etc. I went to the pump and swiped my card and said “go ahead and fill it up.” He declined and said, “No we’ll just take a little bit, thank you very much, we appreciate it a lot.” I went inside to grab some gum. Checked the pump when I came back out and he’d only pumped $7. Man of his word. Not taking advantage, just getting enough assistance to make it. I pray for all the people I get the opportunity to help, but for this man I may have prayed a little more.

In conclusion…
There’s no conclusion to this post, it should be an on-going and open discussion. Most of us live in a city (or close enough to one) that has some sort of homeless population. If you’ve never been approached by or even seen someone begging on the street – you might want to leave your gated community a little more often. We can help. We should help. But we need to be educated and intentional about it. There are several beautiful outreaches in Kansas City that are worth partnering with or donating to.

Feeling guilty for not giving your change? Feel better by checking out these websites and giving to organizations that are making a concerted and organized effort to help the less fortunate.

City Union Mission	Care of Poor People	Kansas City Rescue Mission
reStart Inc	Cherith Brook	Just One – Kansas City Hub

Not in Kansas City? Search out “Homeless Outreach” in your city or get in touch with your local church.

Posted in Blogging | Tagged beggars, faith, giving, homeless, kansas city, ministry, nathan graves | 6 Responses

Martial Arts: Part 1 Knowing your built-in weapons

By Thomas Rye on January 22, 2010

This is the first in an intended series of posts on Exploration & Explanation. The first set is Martial Arts. I will be detailing my experience and exploration in martial arts and self-defense.

I decided to put on Bourne Supremacy today while I did some things around the house. Only minutes into the movie, I remembered my deep love and near obsession with all things “Spy” (See my favorites list on Spy Movies). If you’re familiar with the Bourne movies you will remember that amongst the secrecy, sniper-shots and fast car chases there is a good amount of close quarters hand-to-hand combat (also see Nathan’s Ten Steps: Being a Spy). Bourne and his Treadstone counter parts are all well versed in using their hands, feet and entire bodies to quickly incapacitate their opponents.

Part 1: Knowing your built-in weapons

The human body has been used since the beginning of time as a weapon potent enough to kill. And through the ages many methods and styles have been developed to hone this ability. Some focus on blunt force requiring great strength or multiple strikes to vulnerable targets. Some take a knowledge of anatomy and use of body mechanics to break bones or dislocate joints using leverage. Then there are still other styles that take the knowledge of anatomy to pinpoint pressure points and exploit weak areas of the body into submission.

Today we will start with the basics, though. Striking. There’s 1001 ways to hit a man, but the ones that are extremely efficient comprise a much shorter list. Here are 6 basic strikes to make your hands more useful in combat:

Strike	Best Target
Foreknuckle Punch	Solar Plexus
Half Fist	Trachea
Knifehand Chop	Brachial Plexus
Reverse Knifehand	Filtrum
Palm (Straight Strike)	Solar Plexus/Pubis
Palm Heel (Downward Strike)	Bridge of the Nose

More to come about Martial Arts exploration. If you have a punching bag at home or want to position a good thick pillow against the wall, you can practice familiarizing yourself with your built-in weapons.

Posted in Exploration & Explanation, Martial Arts | Tagged Bourne, Martial Arts, punch, spy | 5 Responses

How To: Be a Spy (10 Steps)

By Nathan on January 21, 2010

Aston Martin DB9 ~ $170,000	1. CARS Drive a car that is laughably and obviously way above your government pay grade. (If indeed you are officially employed by a government.)
Q & some Bond Gadgets	2. GADGETS If you happen to be a spy from the 60s or 70s, you absolutely must have an array of gadgets given to you ahead of time that end up being the following: a) the only gadgets you need other than the tools lying around you at the time, b) the exact gadgets you’ll need for incredibly specific tasks or points of danger requiring more than just the wits and dashing good looks you carry with you the rest of the time, c)each gadget must either fit inside some unassuming object (e.g. a camera case, a briefcase panel, the heel of your Italian leather shoes), be easily deconstructed and hidden, or simply appear to be a normal item of clothing (Note: you must carry with you a watch-based laser/grappling hook/mini-missile launcher or belt-based grappling hook/super-magnet)
Jason Bourne Bank Box	3. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY Always have what we like to call the “MultiDuff” — a duffel bag filled with multiple passports, multiple forms of currency, multiple concealed weapons and multiple medical kits.
Bourne: Newspaper as weapon	4. WEAPONS Possess the ability to assess which items in any given setting are viable weapons. Rooms of importance: kitchen, bathroom and office. (Minimum requirement: we request that you carry a very small, concealed gun)
Vesper's Death	5. WOMEN Stop thinking of women as meaningful pursuits and starting thinking about them as objects to be used and thrown away.
... and taking names	6. FIGHTING You must possess instinctive fighting skills that stretch across all easily conversationally recalled forms of martial arts. This recall must be instinctive, in case of unintentional amnesia.
Bourne speaks the language	7. THE LANGUAGE BARRIER You must be multilingual. (Note: See criteria for Fighting Skills) (Second Note: This is not required.)
Getting information, that's all	8. WOMEN, AGAIN Shortly after arriving at your first destination, it is important to become randomly acquainted with your muse for this mission. She must be worth destroying your career for while also being easy to forget should the need arise. Additionally, you must get close enough to her for your judgment to be clouded to the point of the mission nearly failing. Possibly muliple times. (Note: If you are a government agent and if you’re good, this can happen on the plane en route, or even at headquarters with your boss’ receptionist.)
Vesper Martini	9. ALCOHOL You must recognize alcohol for what it truly is. – Be able to drink it as often as an athlete drinks water. • Possess mundane details about it (e.g. the correct temperature to serve a chilled bottle of Bollinger champagne). • Drink it without looking like you care that you’re doing so. • Know the local cultural specialty drink ahead of time. Order it often while there. • Create complicated drink orders, while gambling, that get the rest of the table to order the same thing. (Note: if this pisses off your host, count it as a win.)
Perfect Accuracy	10. MARKSMANSHIP Be deadly accurate with any weapon that isn’t a sniper rifle. Despite it’s usefulness for accuracy, you need only use its scope to spy on those looking for you from across the street, or miss your target on purpose because she eventually becomes your muse (See: WOMEN, AGAIN).
Madmen & henchmen	11. COUP DE GRAS Appear physically unassuming, sexually dominating, mentally sharp and emotionally vulnerable all while battling to stop one of three things: 1. A madman bent on world domination 2. The government agency trying to kill you 3. Your impending death at the hands of your captors

Posted in Ten Steps | Tagged bond, list, spy, top ten | 4 Responses

Games: Curveball

By Thomas Rye on January 21, 2010

How could I have forgotten Curveball all this time!?

It hits all the requirements: Simple to learn, hard to master, addicting as all get out!

Be sure to comment with your high score!

Posted in Favorites, Games | Tagged addictive, flash, Games, old school | 5 Responses

iPhone, gPhone, Nexus One, Hero, Android, Palm Pre?!

By Thomas Rye on January 20, 2010

*Edit: New Comparison chart includes Google Nexus One & HTC Hero

I’ve long been on the hunt for what my next phone will be. I keep up on my social media, so a decent smart phone was really the only category I was eying. But with all the advances in smart phone technology and offerings from all the different carriers, how was I to narrow it down and make the best choice? Well, here’s a brief look at some of my findings…

Really, BillShrink.com does a great job putting together the specs. Check it out below.

Personally, I’ve ruled out the iPhone because I wouldn’t be able to get a plan I liked for less than $100/mo – too much.

Palm Pre seemed nice for a while, but got nixed because of their lack of apps (although it is growing, it doesn’t have the potential of growth that Android does)

So then the HTC Hero came out – Ooo. Android OS. Full touch screen (which actually worried me because of texting ability).

The inability to have tactile keys for texting worried me enough that I started considering the Samsung Moment (slideout keyboard and full touchscreen). But my colleague at work Mike Merrell told me that the Moment was crap. And I trusted him. He even said to wait for the Google Nexus One.

So I waited til the next day – the unveiling of the Google Nexus One – Ooo Ahh. An iPhone killer if there ever was one. But the Nexus One killers, at least for me, are that it is currently only available on T-Mobile at a ~$80/mo plan. I’m sure it’s awesome, but that’s maybe more than I want to pay each month.

In the end… I think I’m probably going to be getting an HTC Hero… though, I am still eying that Nexus One. Hmm.

Find the best cell phone plans and more graphics at BillShrink.com

Posted in Gadgets, Technology | Tagged android, cell phone, htc hero, iphone, nexus one, palm pre, smartphone | 3 Responses

Games: Canyon Defense

By Thomas Rye on January 15, 2010

Here’s an updated version of a classic (Tower Defense) we spent hours and hours playing back in the day.

“Easy to play. Hard to master.” is what they say.
(I’d suggest muting the sound though – it’s annoyingly loud)

Show/Hide Game (Music will start/stop playing.)

If it doesn’t work you can play it here: Canyon Defense

Posted in Favorites, Games | 1 Response

New Year’s Resolution: More Writing

By Thomas Rye on January 9, 2010

Half Priced Books was a great help today in my first purchases toward my New Year’s Resolution.

The Road

The 10 Best of Everything: An Ultimate Guide for Travelers

Everything Improve Your Writing Book

(Funny that this post is so short on words)

Posted in Blogging, Writing | Tagged books, goals | 1 Response

Games: Dragon Slayers 2

By Thomas Rye on January 8, 2010

This should (and will) be categorized as “Favorite Waste of Time: Simple Addictive Games”.

Here by popular demand is the first of an on-going series – “Games to pass/waste the time”. I have played this one a few times and it’s so simple, yet, shooting down dragons just doesn’t get old. If you can beat level 15 – You’re better than me.

Edit: As it turns out you can’t play past Level 3 unless you actually play it at Addicting Games. So try playing it at Addicting Games – Dragon Slayers 2

(Sadly I am having trouble getting it to run on my laptop)

Posted in Favorites, Games | 3 Responses

Top Ten: Spy Movies

By Thomas Rye on January 4, 2010

Quick List
1. Bourne Supremacy
2. Bourne Ultimatum
3. Body of Lies
4. Spy Game
5. Casino Royale
6. Bourne Identity
7. Mission: Impossible
8. The Saint
9. The Recruit
10. True Lies

I’d say I’m a spy movie junkie. I love the espionage, the con-ing, the martial arts expertise. It’s awesome! If it didn’t take years of training with no room for family or a real social life, I would probably have gone that route long ago. But alas, I didn’t, so I watch the movies to quell my desires to slip past teenaged security at Target and make my way into the “Employee Only” break room and slip someone’s lunch into my coat pocket.

These are my top choices.

Movie	The Awesome Spy (Actor)	Comments
1. Bourne Supremacy	Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) Kirill (Karl Urban)	It’s all there on this one
2. Bourne Ultimatum	Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) Desh (Joey Ansah)	Parkour on the roof and using a book with deadly force
3. Body of Lies	Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio)	Suspense at every turn. Plenty of espionage and tight situations in which DiCaprio has to rely on his stellar spy skills.
4. Spy Game	Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt)	Old spy takes promising new spy under his wing. Espionage on the field and in the office.
5. Casino Royale	James Bond (Daniel Craig)	Gadgets, Parkour, Crack shooting, amazing cars, out witting the bad guy… and of course a ripped up spy dressed to the nines.
6. Bourne Identity	Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) The Professor (Clive Owen)	Dozens of passports, Spy vs Spies, nonstop suspense
7. Mission: Impossible	Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise)	Micro-gadgets, mystery, real looking faces for disguises
8. The Saint	Simon Templar (Val Kilmer)	Multiple disguises and accents. Contraptions and specialized gear.
9. The Recruit	James Clayton (Colin Farrell)	Spy training course
10. True Lies	Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzeneggar)	Comedic elements and completely far-fetched, but tux under a wetsuit, Harrier jet, using spy resources to humiliate a used car salesman – fantastic!