I mentioned last post about a deal for Verizon wireless customers (or any interested parties therein) for the Treo 700 at what ended up to be a reduced price with 2 year (with data) plan. I also mentioned that there was the possibility of new Treos coming out real soon. This has partially been confirmed here:

Treo Nitro and Treo Lennon coming to Cingular in October - Engadget Mobile

Why I say partially is because these Treos are upgrades to the already existing 700s. Plus, these are for Cingular and I've already mentioned the Sprint one. T-mobile and Vodaphone are getting one and since there was alledged to be 4 announced, then last one should be for Verizon. Hence the deal previously mentioned. Basically, they will have more usable memory plus no antenna like the ones that are out do. It has been said that some current 700 power users aren't going to like the fact that there will be a new one with more usable memory than they have, but hey, that's what you kinda get for early adoption. But there is a possiblity that might be worth checking out.

On the Palm website in the Treo store, there is a page where you can find out about trading up your Treo to a new one:

Treo Store: Palm Trade in Program

I've been thinking about this a second. I'm interested in getting a Treo, but I'm torn about waiting to see when a new one would come out for Verizon or grabbing the current one for a reduced price. So here's my thinking: Suppose you took advantage of the previously mentioned rebate and got a Treo. Waited a few months until after the new Treo comes out on Verizon (if you were already a customer), then buy it from Palm's website, which you would have to do to for the trade in, then trade in your old one for whatever the value is on it. It could possibly still work out better than just waiting and buying the brand new one. The only stumbling blocks are 1) There is no guarantee that you will get that much for your trade in but you can get a quote to see what you will get. 2) I'm not sure what Verizon's (or any carrier's) policy on changing phones are. I know most places say that you can get a new phone very two years if you re-up with them. I've also heard of people buying new phones every 6 months or so. I have a cousin who does that and barely knows how to use the one she has.

All in all, it's a curiosity I'm working on. I have until September 10th to decide what I am going to do. Until then, I'm thinking about it. By the way, the trade in program through Palm looks as though it's been in place for a while and can be used at any time in case any of you Treo users want to upgrade. You know who you are!

Technorati Tags: Treo, Palm, Verizon, Cingular, rebate

Need a new cellphone? Would you like the convenience of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with the ability to make phone calls? Are you on Verizon Wireless? Well, if the answers to all of these questions are no, then you may be interested in this "deal".

Treo Store: Promotions: Save $100 on Treo 700 series smartphones with Verizon Wireless service

Basically, you should already know that if you bought a cellphone with no plan you will pay more than if you bought it with a plan. That's because whoever you use for a carrier subsidises the cost, I.E, you get a plan through them, they take a little something off the price of the phone. Incidently, stay away from those "free phones" they off with a plan. They are usually discontinued (old) models. If you don't care for anything other than the ability to make a call, run with it. Anywho, depending on the phone you want, you'll get anywhere from $50 to $100 of it, usually with a one to two year plan activation of course.

Now, if you take that and tack the deal above, it kind of makes for a good thing. A Treo 700, W for Windows Mobile 5 based or P for Palm based OS, sans plan is $500 or more. One with a plan, preferably 2 year, is $400 to $500. Both depending on where you get them. With the above, if you get the phone through Verizon (assuming on or offline) and get their Broadband access data plan (EVDO), you can get $100 from a mail in rebate from now until September 10th. This bring the price of the phone, minus plan, to $299. Not bad. Interested, click the link above and click learn more next to either version.

Treo's are hot amongst certain crowds, and with any popular (read: well sold) phone, the price cuts come after a good milking run. The Razr for example. In this case, I have been hearing lately of new Treo's coming out near the end of this year. In fact, there have been sighting of one in the wild for Sprint users. Coincidence, I think not.

So la couple of weeks ago, my co-worker mentioned something about googling people. I don't know HOW we got started on this, by the way, but he told me that he has googed a lot of people in our department. He said he has seen my name (which is also floating around this site) floating around as well as a couple of other people here. I found this kind of funny at first because having googled myself for whatever reason resulted in more listings for people with the same name as me more than me. The one that stood out is the very first one because if I had a personal website, that is the exact name I would make it and that's funny to me. Anyway, I wasn't too worried about him finding this page because A) I have rarely used anyone's real name without permission or reason and B) Google keeps Blogger blog searches outside of the main area.  I could be wrong, though. I didn't see but one entry for me and it wasn't this blog. Now looking specifically for this blog is a different matter.

Anyway, back to the subject, while I thought it was funny that my co-worker was googling people, it made me start to watch him more than I care to. It also brought up the question of wondering how often people do things like that and for what reason. As a matter of fact, to what extent do people search for info on others. Now, I know, I've searched for myself once or twice and I also know that people do vanity searches, or feeds,  on themselves (don't lie) to see who is mentioning or linking to them. What I find funny is that people search out info on other for craziness like prospective dates or whatnot. Don't get me wrong, I suppose there is a need to check people out, but what if the info that is freely available out on the internet is wrong? What if whoever put the stuff out there was spiteful or a stalker? And you know it's so easy to find info about people. Hell, employers are searching potential employees now. Suppose you are trying to get a corporate job and and you run a site called IHateManagement.com and you are linked to it. You can cancel that interview. And since i'm already way off the subject, let me just say that this should not be taken as an alarm just that if you want not, you'll care not. Take that.

Now that i've completely forgotten why I originally posted this, I'll leave it to you to figure out what I'm saying. And this, folks, is why I try to reign it sooner than I end up doing.


Oh wait:

1) watch your co-workers. you may not think they are not savvy at internet stuff but even
a little info is dangerous.

2) If you are the least bit concerned that someone may google or search you, don't put it
out there. If you don't care, put it in the air!

3) If you think that people won't throw lies about you on the net, then you are fooling yourself. I know of a co-worker who has a Myspace account that he knows nothing about (that I know of). He would want to murder someone if he did.

4) If you don't worry about conseuences and repercussions, see #2.

5) Don't go on and on, unless you are Erykah Badu, on a post that you have clearly lost the train of thought on. And don't blog at work if you have to watch the popcorn. That was for myself. Failed it!

Incidently, upon cheking Technorati, I noticed that I was being linked to two linked sites that I will have to check out a bit. They sound like cool sites, one with an even more interesing name. I'm flattered that I even made the Blogroll. I've only seen that on my home girl, The L's site. Anyway, more on that later.

A new "season" of the Neo Soul Cafe video show has started. First up: Van Hunt. If you don't know who that is exactly (like me), go the the site and click on The Lounge. Then click Podcasts, then video, and finally click on the link for the show. Now was that so hard? Interview + good music videos =  Winner! You can also get any of the other shows you may have missed. It is video so hopefully you have a fast connection. Oh, you can subscribe to the show (with your favorite podcatching client like Itunes or whatnot) and grab it that way.


Technorati Tags: soul, music, neosoulcafe

I figure since I'm sitting here perusing the tubes, I just thought I'd do something that I've been threatening to do for a while now. I used to do a little writing in my day (read: High School and part of College), and I guess now i'm going to share a couple. Let it be known that I don't, or ever have, considered myself a good writer but I wasn't too bad so I've heard. After all, you are your own worse critic. This kind of started back when I asked for some written works a while back. Needless to say, I got no responses. Cool, 'cause I don't get get upset. But what I guess I should have done was made the first step....and here it is.... And I'm stalling.........

um, yeah.....


Alright, nuff BS, here's the first one.

If you die, I don't care.
When they bury you,
I ask where so I can salt the earth
with tears and painful memories of our turbulent past.
At last, I can find the closure
I have sought since we met.
Close the door on the nightmares
I got at night and in my heart.
Release the cares I suppressed for your ignorance.
No longer thrust, am I into melancholy
of giving a fuck and getting it too.

Okay, clearly the uplifting one of the group. Note the syrupy goodness dripping off of the words. I used to think I wrote better when I was upset. then again, that was the main time stuff came to me. go figure. Moving on... I'll let you guess the name of this one, and you don't even need Letterman to do so.

Silent

Ominous

Liberating

Terrifying

Unfeeling

Darkness

Eternal (in lonely hearts)


Hmm, I'm starting to feel a little something. What could it be?Oh I don't know, horrified, maybe?
Don't worry, i'm still here. Funny though, sometimes, I feel like part of that one for some reason. Alright, last one...

You see my heart and soul,
but not my face.
You feel my love and desire,
but not my touch.
Even so much yet so little is done
in a single moment.
The same as galaxies born and die,
give and take.
In a place and time that is here and gone.
Just like if you could see me for flesh
and still want me the same as dying with me,
collides our universes into a what now.
Would you still see me?
Is there a reclamation of universal boundaries?
Or as earth and water mix into near inseparable
not neither being the same or different just
by life for life remanently
conceived each time over until an essential return.

Don't worry, I don't know what it meant it either. It was done on 12/25/99, which could mean anything.Now before I go hide my head forever, I have a question. Would you be surprised if I told you that 2 out of those three poems were about one person? I'm not saying that they are, mind you.
Don't say I never gave you anything. And oh yeah, never speak of this again! I'm going to hide now.



*the views expressed in this post are the thoughts of the poster and owner of this blog(me). I can write anything I like as you might see in a post or two. These views were not necessarily thought out but put out anyway because it's like that sometimes. Don't like it, move on. Note that there is a CC in e-f-f-e-c-t for the works g-i-v-e-n and, as such, are govern by said CC. The fact that today is my Birthday has no bearing on what was posted. Any recreation of said works, with the exception for commercial means, is fine if permission is properly asked for. (Hi Daneita). Any use for commercial means will result in an "did you fucking read this?!!?" by the owner. Torohn, there is your F-bomb. If you've read this far, you are a better person than me. All rights reserved.

Once again, I hit up Walmart early last Thursday morning after I get off of work. Sadly enough, I end up going in there 2 and 3 times a week almost, but that's not the point of this. I've already said last post that I understand why the R V's park there, but what's up with the people in cars? Like I said, I went in Thursday morning to get some stuff for my wife. Quick in and out (No pun implied or expected). There was no car in the space to the left of my car when I went in. When i came back out however,  there was this older model Volvo in the space. When I got into my car, I noticed that there was someone in it. What I didn't notice is that the dude had his eyes closed. I don't know if he was actually sleep, but he was leaned over against the glass like he was. The window was closed, mind you, and it was getting warm. At first, I figured he was waiting for someone and he could have been, but when I started up my car, I figure he would react, but no deal. So I rolled off, but someone help me out. Am I missing something here? I should also point out that both of the cars in both instances had South Carolina plates, not that it should mean anything.  Now I know joker's hang out there on Friday and Saturday night like it's the club (which is why I avoid going on those days) or a Waffle House, but damn. Now, Cat's are just sacking out at Walmart. What's next. I guess Walmart is the place for any and everything to do, huh?

ILLaTV said it best in the comments of the last post, "When you travel into Walmart territory, there's no telling what you'll see. That place is in another dimension". True.

     So I was making my weekly sojourn to Walmart when I noticed this. Now, anyone going to Walmart at any given time (particularly mornings) will notice to RV's parked at the back of the lot. Cool. While I was rolling through the lot, I noticed this little brown Honda with the driver's side window down and a head partially sticking out of it. Sleep. Mouth open too...or not. Anyway, I slow down to make sure I saw what I was seeing (read: being nosy) and, yep, dude was knocked out. I also noticed as I was passing that there was a passenger, also dead to the world and head leaning partially out of the passenger side window.

     Ladies and Gentlemen, it's been in the high 90's all week. Hell, it hit 100 a couple of days straight, which means that around the time I went there (around 6:30am) it was mid 70's easy. That's not that bad, but I sure as hell hope they wake they asses before it REALLY gets hot. Now we come to the payoff. Instead of me just going on about my business, not giving it a thought, I'm sitting here thinking, "Damn, I wish I had a camera, a phone, or preferably a combination of the two because someone won't believe me". Then I thought, "Hey, I gotta blog this". And after I parked, I thought, "It would seem stupid to blog this" followed by, "I now want a camera phone." Nice to know where my priorities are, right? Anyway, if I had a camera or phone, the picture would right....... here:






But it's not and that's that. Oh well, I am now smack dab in the middle of 'Hell Week' at my job. That's when I have to work 7 nights straight (at 12 hours a night). LOVE IT! not. I really don't enjoy these weeks, but it's the last time I can get an easy day of OT, so I can't complain for doing it. Plus, apparently, I have become my co-worker's unofficial Psychiatrist. Hmm, maybe, I should charge him because it's not in my job description. Come to think of it, this is probably the third or forth time within a week I either sat through someone's issues at work (not even pretending to care) and/or had to babysit someone. I believe it's time to work some things out.

Oh well, Iater on. 

Peace.

P.S.
If anyone is on Pandora, I want to hear some different stuff. So either post in the comments or email me and we can go from there. If you don't want to do that, point me to a  good shared station that is not in the top 20.

     I had to spend some time in the room the I used to work at this weekend for some odd reason and the group there spend a good amount on the net. Their place of perusal, Myspace. A couple of them (probably all of them) have accounts. One of them was telling me of some issues one his boys were having with his now ex group, Stuck Mojo, and pointed me to their page to look at something. Well, later on that night and the next day, I starting thinking about how many artists have a page on Myspace. It's kind of REE-diculous.  So, the next night during a lull (read: my co-worker was gone so I could do it with good conscious. That's another story.), I just randomly tried to find pages for artists I knew of on a whim. With the exception of two that were under different names (somebody else had it already), everyone I plugged in, was there. Including a group I thought had broken up (Portishead*), which also was under another name. I have a list. Keep in mind that I had already mentioned a few people myself a while back. Also, keep in mind that I know I could have just looked on Myspace's music page. I told you, there was a lull and for once, I got bored. Wanna see the list? Like to see it here it go:
 

• http://www.myspace.com/mfdoom*
  
  http://www.myspace.com/Fieldmob
  
  http://www.myspace.com/Audioslave
  
  http://www.myspace.com/REM
  
  http://www.myspace.com/Cultureclub
  
  http://www.myspace.com/Thomasdolby
  
  http://www.myspace.com/delasoul*
  
  http://www.myspace.com/talibkweli*
  
  http://www.myspace.com/mosdef*
  
  http://www.myspace.com/dmc*
  
  http://www.myspace.com/originalhumanbeatbox* - Doug E Fresh
  
  http://www.myspace.com/templeofhiphop - KRS One**
  
  http://www.myspace.com/theroots - The Roots**... Wait. When did they get on Def
  Jam?
  
  http://www.myspace.com/lilkim

Those I did that night. These I did while writing up this post.

The aforementioned Portishead

• Fred Hammond
• Kirk Franklin
• Tye Tribbett & G.A.
• Lalah Hathaway*
• Maysa*
• Anita Baker** - My favorite female artist!!! In case you didn't know
• Jaguar Wright

And speaking of Jaguar Wright, she has a song on her latest album, 'Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul', that has a song called,'My Place'. On this song, the hook goes like this:

"Let's go to my place,
Let's go to my place,
Let's go to my place,
Up in my place, Up in my space"

     Or something like that. Is it a coincidence? Yea, probably, but the point is, there are a lot of artists on the site. However, you can't possibly tell me that 90% of the people I listed are that savvy enough to get it. Thomas Dolby? Believe it! MC Hammer? He's been getting it. The Roots, I can see it. But REM? Lil Kim? Anita Baker (I love you but no). Jody freaking Watley? CULTURE CLUB????? NO! Maybe i'm not giving them enough credit. Or maybe I know the real deal.

     Myspace is a marketing wet dream for A & R. This is not totally a bad thing. For them, it's smart. All the kids are there, so that's where they are pushing their artists. Independent and Major label artists alike are flocking there. The independents have good reason. They are trying to get heard. You can tell also because they are 'friending' the artist and you see comments like: "come to my site", "Please listen to my demo", etc. Major's are doing it because they can and it's "free". The thing is, it'll only last until the kids leave and find somewhere cooler and less commercial. It's an Internet fact. So, junkies, enjoy it while you can. In fairness, it is a good source to try out and hear new songs, but the rest of it is bunk and garbage. No disrespect to those with pages. My 'I See Stupid people' colleague, The L, has a page that I have yet to check out there. So do a few other people I know (someone has one they don't know about). I can't do it, but I suppose I can't knock those who do. Some of the pages I have seen are ugly, for real. That's my problem with it, though. Anyway, the catalyst for this tirade was sparked by this article from CNET News.com. Go check it out.

MySpace blurs line between friends and flacks | CNET News.com

and some more food for thought.

In the meantime, here are a few more i've found.

• 4hero - Producer, Jill Scott, Ursula Rucker, Etc.
• Ursula Rucker* - Soul Sista, Spoken Word artist, One Bad Mommy!
• Little Brother*
• N'Dambi
• Roy Ayers*
• Yes, even Prince*, but that's no surprise. He's been net wise since it was the net. One of the first to want to put their music out their, too.

Anyway, Try it yourself. Type in: www.myspace.com/whoeveryoulike and see if they come up. Make it a game if you're bored. Bonus points for the most obscure person you can find. Post in the comments. And no I do not and will not have a page, L Boogie.

* - Hell YEAH!! Seal of Approval

I came across this video just now and I thought this was crazily impressive.... kind of. Check it out. It's in French with English subtitles so you will actually have to read if you want to know what they are saying. The subject's name is David Belle and I guess he starred in a movie written by Luc Besson (Fifth Element, Transporter 1 & 2, The Professional, among others). The clip is from a documentary (also written by Besson) called 'Yamakasi—the modern-day Samurai'. It is supposedly about the 'sport' of 'Free Running' called Parkour. Just watch it to get it. you may have seen this elsewhere and not known what it is.



 I came across it looking at an edited version with Super Mario Brothers sound effects in it that you can find here.