20 Things I Use Often


  1. Adium
    My Yahoo/GTalk/AIM/Jabber instant messenger client.
  2. Amazon S3
    File storage in the cloud! I use it as a static farm for my sites (i.e. driftr.com, somah.com, ...etc) 
  3. Aperture
    I love photography and this is my photo editing software. Perfect for handling RAW format and organizing a large library of photos. It's editing tools are great, but not as extensive as Photoshop.
  4. Apple MacBook Pro
    15" 2.8 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB MHz DDR3. Once you go Mac, you can't go back! 'Nuff said. 
  5. Apple TV
    The best way to listen to my iTunes music, view my iPhoto albums and stream from Flickr and YouTube on my 42'' flat-screen TV. A key element in our entertaining parties!
  6. Bloglines
    The best RSS reader out there, in my opinion. I check it twice a day without failure.
  7. Canon DSLR 30D
    When I'm in the mood to take serious photos, this is my tool. I have two lenses that I use interchangeably: Canon 50mm f1.4 prime lens and the 17-40mm f/4L USM. It's the best camera out of there for the money :) 
  8. Canon PowerShot SD880 IS
    The best point-and-shoot camera and takes really sharp, vibrant photos. Always in my pocket and with me wherever I go.
  9. Facebook
    The best way to connect with family and friends. It can be addictive, though, and I'm afraid I fell victim to it. I use it primarily on my iPhone through the FB app.
  10. Flickr
    It might as well be my homepage! I love this site and I upload to it almost weekly. 
     
  11. G-Tech G-DRIVE 500 GB external drive
    My Aperture backup drive. Sturdy, reliable and slick. Voted the best and it IS the best!
  12. Gmail
    I have four email accounts on this service and I couldn't be happier. Conversation grouping is the key feature that made me fall in love with gmail, amongst various other things. I have all my account synced up to my desktop and iPhone through Mail.
  13. iPhone 3G
    Can't live without it. Period. The apps, the UI, the whole experience are superior. 
  14. MobileMe
    Allows me to share my contacts, calendars, email accounts and photos between my two mac machines and iPhone .. instantly!
  15. Moleskin
    High quality notebook that is worth every penny! I have one at my desk at home and another at work. 
  16. Oakley GASCAN Sunglasses
    My too-kool-for-skool shades. I use them almost all the time, except when I'm dressed up a bit, in which case I wear my Lacoste's.
  17. Playstation 3 (80 GB)
    My Blu-ray player and the best game console out there! Love Call of Duty 4!
  18. SmartDisk FireLight 250 GB external drives
    I have two: One for iTunes backup and one for the rest of my files. I have a lot of crap! 
  19. TextMate
    Powerful, lightweight and extendable editor for your programming and other needs.
  20. Twitter
    Micro-blogging, networking, communications and research tool. Very powerful and very addictive. I use Tweetie on both my Mac and iPhone.

McCain's Gestures and Language Expose Him

Not once during the second presidential debate did McCain look at Obama. Not once. His body language told he was agitated and angry (perhaps that Obama was *gasp* challenging him.) What sealed the deal was how he called Obama "that one."

I'm surprised he didn't call him, "boy!" It sad to see a war hero become a sorry excuse for a man, let a lone a maverick. I seriously detest him.

In The News - Monday, October 6th

VIDEO: Keith Olbermann on Palin's Terrorist Ties

Keith Olbermann of MSNBC calling Palin out on her own domestic terrorist ties. It's 11 minutes you need to watch.

The Mavericks Pallin' Around With The Ku Klux Klan

OK, I won't stoop to their level of absurd exaggeration, but their supporters seem to be ready to "lynch" Obama. At his recent rally, John McCain asks a crowd of his supporters, "who is the real Barack Obama?" A question to which one of his supporters yells, "terrorist!" What does McCain do to such an alarming attack on a presidential candidate? Nothing.

Also, when Sarah Pitbull launched her pathetic attempt to tie Obama, a black man with an Arabic middle name, to terrorists, one of her supporters yelled, "kill him." Her reaction? No reaction.

This is a woman that belonged to The Alaskan Independence Party, a successionist party which she addressed earlier this year. Keith Olbermann of MSNBC exposes her once and for all.

So when Sarah says, "Country First," she must be thinking, "dog-garn it! That country shoulda been Alaska!"

McCain and Palin Put the "ick" in Maverick

John McCain and his lipstick pit bull have successfully marred the word Maverick for generations to come. The word is now synonymous with erratic, deceitful, desperate, vile and sleazy, all of which are clearly evident in McCain's pathetic campaign.

First McCain calls Obama a celebrity and compare him to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. It's a cheap attempt that accomplished nothing but show the world how petty the "maverick" is.

Then his scumbag supporter, Rudy Guliani, and his pit bull disparage Barack's community organizing contribution as something not fit for a presidential candidate (good thing these two fucks weren't around in the days of John Adams or Thomas Jefferson!) Again, the backlash was huge yet they never apologized. I guess it's not something "mavericks" do, that apologizing nonsense.

Then the pit bull lied about her record on the bridge to nowhere like she has about most of her achievements, or lack thereof. That too blew up in her face, exposing her for the liar, or should I say "maverick" that she is.

The "ick" in maverick started dripping real bad when the vile duo launched an ad accusing Obama for wanting to teach kinderkartners sex education, which is totally false.

The latest from the "Sleazeball Express" is the pit bull accusing Obama of "palling with terrorists." This is the kind of base, mean and vile strategy the Republicans resort to when they're failing, and these two "mavericks" are no exception.

The McCain/Palin ticket is running on a "Country First" theme yet their actions are screaming "I'll tear ya up first, then I'd shake y're hand." I guess that's not really a paradox considering they're mavericks.

Maybe what the country needs right now from the maverick duo is for them to define the word "country" in light of their actions in the past few months. I betcha we'll get such a maverick answer full of 'er" and "ick."

In The News - Sunday, October 5th

VIDEO: Saturday Night Live - The Vice Presidential Debate

An SNL skit spoofing the Vice Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin.

In The News - Saturday, October 4th

iPhone Apps: The Great, The OK and The WTF!

I love my iPhone and even though I haven't upgraded to the 3G one yet, I've been enjoying all its applications with very complaints about the speed. I've downloaded plenty of applications since June. Some were free and some cost money (in case of OmniFocus, a lot of money) so I wanted to share with you rmy experience with each of these apps. I devided them into three categories and I'll start with the most impressive:

The Great

  1. Facebook (Free): Seriously, hadn't not been for this app, my FB account, which I created back in 2005, would have probably still been stale. Version 2.0 is full-featured and just amazing!
  2. Pandora Radio (Free): Listen to Internet radio customized to your taste on your iPhone even on the Edge network. This app is a full-featured Pandora application. It rarely lags, and the sound is superb. I love it!
  3. Shazam (Free): It's impressive on how it finds the song you're listening to (even in a loud bar) and list it for you allowing you to buy it directly from iTunes. So far, it hasn't let me down once! :D
  4. Stanza (Free): Always have reading material handy. This app offers hundreds of classic and popular books for free!
  5. Obama '08 (Free): The entire campaign putting the iPhone powers to work for YOU! Find out who from your contacts live in a battleground state and call them, find out how you can help out in your area, sign up for campaign updates, check news and local events in real time, view Obama's YouTube channel and learn about Obama's stance on all the issues. Now that's innovation.
  6. Urbanspoon (Free): Find the restaurants nearby that are within your budget and cuisine inclination.
  7. Exposure (Free): The first version was bad, but they improved it. I now browse Flickr using this app :-)
  8. CraigsMobileList ($2.99): It's Craig's List for your iPhone. It's great :)
  9. Labyrinth Lite (Free): The classic labyrinth game taking full advantage of the iPhone's Accelerometer. It's too perfect!
  10. Twitterrific (Free): Using Twitter on the iPhone. You send tweets and reply to them as well.
  11. Summizer ($4.99): Follow the hot topics on Twitter. Put in the tag you're interested in and voila! I used it a lot during the debates to gauge people's reactions :-)
  12. iWik ($0.99): Wikipedia optimized for the iPhone. It's incredible!

The OK

  1. Showtimes (Free): Not too innovative but I still like it :-)
  2. QuickVoice Recorder ($2.99): Great for recording sessions. Drains the battery, though :(
  3. CalorieCheck ($0.99): Slow and not very accurate.
  4. AIM (Free): Being on IM is fun, but still slow.
  5. TypePad (Free): It's very limited and doesn't alert Facebook on publishing a new post. There's an apparent disconnect between the iPhone and online prodcuts.
  6. Loopt (Free): I find myself never using it, but the concept is cool.
  7. Scrabble ($9.99): Slow and the dictionary is limited, but still fun.
  8. AP Mobile News Network (Free): News from the AP. Local news is horrid.
  9. Google Mobile (Free): I hardly use it :(
  10. Weight Tracker (Free): The implementation is lacking. I used it for a week and then stopped tracking!
  11. Pocketpedia (Free): Keep track of your media library. Know who has your Ghost dvd and how long you had it for.
  12. LocalEats ($0.99): Find the best of restaurants in every category. Make sure your city is listed before you buy it. It's good, but I prefer Urbanspoon.

The WTF

  1. OmniFocus ($19.99): This is a scam! I gave it a shot for a week but then I felt stupid for paying $20 over this. A major disappointment in the Omni brand :(
  2. Weight-Charter ($4.99): Buggy and not very intuitive. What a waste of money!
  3. BlocksClassic (Free): Not very smooth. Lost my interest pretty quickly
  4. BlackBook Guides (Free): Again, limited cities with information I don't find myself using on daily baisis.
  5. WhosHere (Free): Slow, unreliable and useless!
  6. gFlash+ (Free): Too pedantic!
  7. A Personal Assistant (Free): Consolidating access to all your account, including banks, in one app controlled by a startup ... thanks, but no thanks!


I noticed that most outstanding applications are free. So I guess the lesson I learned here is to think twice before actually buying an iPhone application that costs more than $0.99. Too often, it'll turn out to be a wast of money ... and iPhone disk space.

Amazon.com Suggests

Google World (Somah)