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Economy in Crisis

Unless you’ve been living under a rock inside a cave located somewhere on the moon you may know that our economy has been in a downturn for about year. It’s especially apparent for the past few months as unemployment rises and stocks tumbling like Britney Spears second attempt at a singing career. The silver lining of this historic event is that gas prices are low. So low that gas guzzling SUVs are looking pretty good, so get your driving on while gas is cheap.

Our government is bailing out the financial institutions and the struggling US auto makers are standing by with their hands out begging to get a piece of that pie. And in the midst of all this economic drama our new President elect promises to heal and restore our economy once he takes office. Also, stock prices are low and cheap. If you’ve never invested or interested in investing now is a good time to buy. If history is any indication investing for the long term at this moment may pay off quite well. But before you go out and throw all your hard earned money into the market. Talk to someone who knows something about investing before you jump into it.

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UFC 91

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Randy Couture is back and this time he’s taking on a mountain of muscle, a juggernaut named Brock Lensnar. Let’s get to the fight picks.

Brock Lesnar beats Randy Couture
Many may see Brock Lesnar as too inexperienced in MMA to beat Couture. It is true that Lesnar is inexperienced, but what those same people don’t know is that Lensar is acompetitive athlete that knows how to use his physical abilities to his advantage. Fighters with a strong wrestling background like Lesnar’s do very well in UFC; Matt Hughes, Mark Coleman, Sean Sherk, Matt Lindland, Frank Edgar, Gray Maynard, and Randy Couture himself. One thing to take notice is that Randy hasn’t fought in over a year. Will he have ring rust? Probably not, but at his age the sharpness of his skills maybe affected. Randy has always had trouble with bigger guys with a decent ground game. Ricco Rodriguez and Josh Barnett beat Randy. Those losses may be ancient history, what did Randy do after those losses? He dropped to 205 and since then he fought fighters who likes to strike rather than take it to the ground. In this fight I see Randy trying to be elusive using hit and run tactics, but as much as I like Randy I see Lensar ending up getting the take down and overpower Randy for a TKO stoppage.

Joe Stevenson beats Kenny Florian
Earlier this week I had Florian winning this fight, but I believe Florian and his camp underrates Stevenson’s striking. Stevenson also has a good ground game and can surprise Florian with well-placed striking and a takedowns. If Stevenson takes Florian down I can see him controlling the top position as Sean Sherk did. This is going to be a very close fight, but I Stevenson getting the slight edge and pulling an upset.

Demian Maia beats Nate Quarry
Nate Quarry is a tough fighter. He has decent striking and wrestling. A jack of all trades, but an ace of none. Demian Maia is a submission machine, and if the fight goes to the ground Quarry’s decent ground game won’t cut it. Demian Maia is not going to stand and will look to take the fight to the ground as soon as he can. Quarry will have to the get the quick KO if he wants to win this fight.

Tamdan McCrory beats Dustin Hazelett
Aaron Riley beats Jorge Gurgel
Jeremy Stephens beats Rafael do Anjos
Alvin Robinson beats Mark Bocek
Ryan Thomas beats Matt Brown
Gabriel Gonzaga beats Josh Hendricks

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Blackberry Bold Review

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This won’t be much of a full detailed review but rather a focal difference between the iPhone and my 8310 Curve. If you want a full detailed review you can go to Endgaget, Gizmodo, or BoyGenius websites. Comparing the Bold to the iPhone isn’t fair. It would be more appropriate if the iPhone was compared to the upcoming Storm which is the Blackberry’s Touch-device.

The Apple iPhone is a gorgeous device. It’s sleek, minimalistic, and solidly built. You can also say the same with the Blackberry Bold. The big differences are their features and functionalities. The Bold can do everything the iPhone can do and then more. Email, SMS, music, video, YouTube, and even browse the internet. But features such as MMS, background apps, video recording, and cut-and-paste are not available to the iPhone. And I’m not sure why Apple hasn’t found a way to implement those features to their popular phone. I must say the iPhone’s web browser is still the King for any mobile phone device. And I hate to say it the Bold’s Browser is not even close, but it’s much better than any of the previous Blackberry devices.

So why did I switch to the Bold from my iPhone 3G? It’s quite simple. It’s the lack of those simple features that Apple has failed to implement. Having the ability to run apps in the background is a must for applications such as Beejive (a multi-protocol IM app). Cut/copy and paste should be a standard in any smart phone device. I work with emails a lot and I sometimes need to copy and paste directions or instructions and send them to someone else without having to forward the entire message. With a Blackberry it is something you can easily perform. Another big reason why I switched is the efficiency of the Blackberry. If you’re a Blackberry Power User then you know what I’m talking about. Shortcut-keys. You can instantly select a contact, text, call, cycle through apps, add a calendar event/ task/ memo, and browse the internet with no more than a couple of key presses. If the iPhone is the King in terms of web browsing then the Blackberry Bold is the King of multi-tasking and efficiency.

I’m sure everyone is familiar with the Blackberry Curve so I won’t go into detail about it. The Bold is slightly bigger compared to the Curve. At first the Bold feels awkwardly huge. Almost as if you were using the 8800 Blackberry. But after about a day of hands-on with the Bold the difference in size is negligible. If you like your Curve then you’ll love the Blackberry Bold. The new beefy hardware and updated 4.6 OS really makes the Bold shine. You can zip through apps, folders, menus without any lag. But the most important aspect of the Bold compared to any previous Blackberry devices is 3G. The updated browser with 3G makes web browsing a much better experience with the Bold.

Some of you may heard about the Blackberry 8900 Curve which will be released early next year. It’s basically the Bold squeezed into the Curve’s form factor. But you need to understand that the 8900 slightly crippled. It comes with a slower processor and it lacks 3G. The latter is a deal breaker. So if you have a Curve and you’re wondering if you want to upgrade and if you don’t mind having a slightly larger phone in your pocket then you should definitely go for it. But if you don’t care about 3G then I suggest waiting it out for the 8900. If money is no object get both. I need to get RIM’s stock to go up. 😀

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I’m Certified Baby!

MCITP

MCTS

For the past six weeks I was studying for 3 Microsoft certifications; 70-640, 70-642, 70-646. Hence the lack of blogging. It’s not like I blog often anyways it was just less than usual. All the studying, practicing, and self-control paid off with a passing score. Whew!

I put off the majority of my running and workout for the last six weeks, so I’m in pretty bad shape. It also didn’t help eating fast food, junk snacks, and the remaining Halloween candy. It’s time to get back to business. Don’t worry, I’ll be posting new MMA stuff soon, and get my review of my Blackberry Bold done.

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The Bold

I’m back, for now. I’ve been busy and haven’t had time to post lately, but I’ll explain it at a later date. As of Wednesday I managed to pick up a Bold. Yes, that’s right. I now have a Blackberry Bold in addition to an iPhone 3G. I love spoiling myself, and its great. Everyone should do it.

The Blackberry Bold is aesthetically pleasing and it’s solidly built. It’s lighter than it looks and the size is slightly bigger than a curve, but smaller than its 8800 brethren. Unlike any other Blackberry this Bold runs on much faster hardware. You can see it in the OS as you can scroll through icons, folders, and open apps without lag. If there’s one thing that makes this device stand out from any other phone, let alone other Blackberry devices, is the screen. The Bold’s screen is amazing. It’s something you have to see for yourself to get a full grasp of what it’s capable of.

I’ll be back later with a full comparison to the iPhone and the Blackberry Curve.

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iPhone 2.1 firmware Review

I downloaded the 2.1 firmware on Friday morning and have been putting it through my daily usage and then some. The new update resolve many of the crash issues, but it doesn’t fix them all. I still have some random app crashes once in a while, but much less than before and much less rebooting. Another thing I noticed is that the scrolling of the main menu seems much faster and smoother. The two main fixes I was looking forward to was the Contacts list and SMS lag. The lag issues were just as annoying as the app crashes. With this update the lag issue is not completely resolved. Instead the lag times have reduced to about 50%-75%. So instead of being frozen for 6 seconds its frozen for 3. Other improvements include faster app installation and a slight improvement on backup times. The update was suppose to increase battery efficiency, but I haven’t notice any differences yet.

Overall, the update provide some relief for those who were having serious app crash problems. But for me it doesn’t cut it. The iPhone seriouly lacking in necessary features. The ability to have cut and paste is a given in every smartphone yet Apple fails to deliver. Also, being unable to run third-party apps in the background makes communication software like IMs useless. I was never impressed with Apple products. They’re are over-priced and their closed-platform limitations are just plain annoying. I thought the iPhone 3G was going to be different and change my mind, but appearently it’s still the same as any other Apple product; over-priced and tailored for the lowest common technophile.

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iPhone 2.1 firmware coming soon

As many of you know the Apple’s “Let’s Rock” event was today and Apple fanboys’ King and demi-god, Steve Jobs, announced several new products. Not actually brand new products, but more like new updates and models to their iPod lineup. Most notably, the iPod nano has a new design. Instead of its square-ish previous design it’s now more slender and longer similar to the first gen model.

Steve-o also announced that an updated iPhone 2.1 firmware will be released soon. This Friday, we hope. It should fix the numerous bugs that plagues the iPhone. Not much info was released about the update, but hopefully it’ll fix the phone’s shortcomings. For me, this is the make-it-or-break-it firmware update. The iPhone’s lagginess and constant app crashes are more of a headache. If the 2.1 update is only a minor fix and doesn’t provide much needed features like cut and paste (Hell, I just wish the upcoming patch fixes the lag issue and app crashes then it’ll all be set) I’ll be dropping the iPhone when the Blackberry Bold is released. Seriously, Apple needs to get it’s shit together. First it was the MobileMe issues, that still doesn’t even work right, and then their iPhone 3G issues. That’s two strikes right there. If this firmware update doesn’t follow through then that’s number 3 for ya. “How do you like them apples?!” in this case, you can have them.

By the way, whatever happen the Apple’s push server for third party apps?

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Gym Memberships

For as long as I can remember I’ve always been against subscription base gym membership. Why pay all this money to workout? There’s so much out there you can do to get a good workout without going to a gym. And best of all they’re free or at least cheaper. I’ve never met anyone who was in good shape because they only workout at a gym. Those who are in good shape that I know don’t even go to a gym. Those people run, bike, hike, climb, and play organized sports. They’re in great shape because they do a variety of activities. Working out exclusively at a gym limits your potential.

Some of my friends swear by it. They go to the gym religiously. It’s the constant in their lives. They workout two hours each day, 3 to 4 times a week with no results to show for it. A few years ago I went with a friend to 24-hour Fitness. He had a pass for me and he needed a workout partner. I was surprise to find out that all he did was a few sets of bench presses and arm curls followed by long stares in the mirror. And his cardio workout is a 5 minute jog on the treadmill before he hit the showers. I always wondered why some people have personal trainers and now I understood. People don’t know how to workout.

But I need to admit in this ironic situation. I have signed up for a gym at Club One Silver Creek Sportsplex (Gasp! I know, I know). It’s a very nice facility and also very expensive. But before I get hoisted by my own petard, I can explain. Before I signed up I thought long and hard about why I should and shouldn’t. And the reasons that I should outweighed reasons not to do it. First, I was signing up through the company I work for and we get a big discount. And the most important reason that I signed up is because it has a great aquatics facility. For the past 5 years my training regiment has been the same. I run about 25-30 miles a week. My training also includes lifting weights and playing pickup sports as a way to cross train. But the one cross-training activity I needed to add to my training regiment was swimming. The last time I did any kind of aquatics training was back in high school for Track and Field. It was great way to mix up the high-impact workout of running and the low-impact of pool training. Now that I’ve sign up with Club One I’ll have the opportunities to add it back to my workout routine.

To be continued…

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Evan Tanner found dead

Evan Tanner was found dead in southern California. He was out on a camping trip in the desert were it was reported that he had run out of gas on his motorcycle and eventually succumbed to the desert heat.

I’ve been following Tanner’s career since his early days in the UFC were he fought at 205 to when he won and loss the Middleweight title. Tanner was well-respected in the MMA community and a fighter who brought exciting fights in the cage. You will be missed my friend.

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UFC 88: Breakthrough

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Chuck Liddell is back. After recovering from a torn hamstring he will be pitted against Rashad Evans. Evans is undefeated but he hasn’t face competition of the likes of Liddell. But Rashad does have a good chance of pulling the win. Evans trains with Greg Jackson’s camp and they produce bad ass fighters. Keith Jardine came from Jackson and he was able to beat Liddell with an effective game plan. Evan will need to mix up the fight if he wants to win throwing punches and kicks to setup the takedowns. Liddell is known to be a tough guy to takedown, but it’s not impossible. As for Chuck he’ll need to keep the fight on the feet and keep his distance.

Rich Franklin is moving back up to 205 and he’ll be facing Matt Hamill. Hamill is strong, but his conditioning isn’t the best and I think Franklin will get the win by the end of the third round by stoppage. A fight that I’m looking forward to see is the Matt Brown vs Dong Hyun Kim. Kim is a dynamic fighter whose exciting to watch. Matt Brown will have his hands full. Luckily for us this fight has been bumped up to the main card due to Karo Paryisan’s bout being injured.

Dan Henderson will be fighting Rousimar Palhares, a fighter who has shown to be very dangerous on the ground. Palhares defeated a very game veteran, Ivan Salavrry, in a quick first round submission. Henderson needs to keep the fight on his fight and use his Greco Roman wrestling control Palhares. This is an intersting fight and it can go either way.

My Picks:

Ryo Chonan beats Roan Carneiro
Kurt Pellegrino beats Thiago Tavares (upset)
Jason MacDonald beats Jason Lambert
Tim Boetsch best Michael Patt
Dong Hyun Kim beats Matt Brown
Nate Marquardt beats Martin Kampmann
Dan Henderson beats Rousimar Palhares
Rich Franklin beats Matt Hamill
Chuck Liddell beats Rashad Evans