Flying Spaghetti Monster Sighting at Fremont Summer Solstice Parade!

I went to the Fremont Summer Solstice parade today. It was a truly unique parade. There were naked painted cyclists at the beginning, which was very fun to watch. Hundreds of painted people, most of them nude and the rest mostly nude riding bikes, and other human powered wheeled vehicles. I was smiling and laughing the whole time along with everyone else in the seriously crowded sidewalks. Then the actual parade started, which had some very simple rules...

• No written or printed words or logos
• No animals (except guide dogs and service animals)
• No motorized vehicles (except wheelchairs)
• No real weapons or fire

It made for a very different atmosphere than any other parade I've ever been too, and of course it also helped that there are some very free spirits in Fremont/Seattle. I loved it, and hope that I happen to be in town for another one some day. I really liked how it didn't turn into a platform for one cause or another. It was really about the art, and the art was great.

My favorite part? No, not the cyclists, although that was pretty cool. My favorite was the FSM. He came to bless us with his noodley appendages!

For more info about the parade

http://fremontartscouncil.org/summer-solstice-parade/

For more info about the cyclists

http://solsticecyclist.org/

For more info about the FSM

http://www.venganza.org/

And if you want to see the naked painted cyclists, here are some pics I took. NSFW I say again, Not safe for work, although the pictures aren't very high res either. You can also see a few short videos if you follow the above youtube videos to my account.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boonxeven/sets/72157624188973355/

HTC EVO 4G

I got one! W00T

All the Android apps I have installed on my HTC Hero

I wanted to write all these down in case I forget one when I migrate to the HTC Evo tomorrow, and I thought that since I'm writing it down, I may as well share it with other people. Maybe you'll find an app that you didn't know about. If you see one that's not listed here that you really like, please tell me about it in the comments. I'm going to do some reviews every once in awhile on Android apps, and when I do I'll edit this post to link to the review. Until then, you'll have to guess what the apps do! Ha! All of these are free except for some of the games. I purchased the full version of Buka, Gem Miner, Abduction, and Robo Defense. They were each only a couple of bucks, and I don't regret spending the money at all.

1. Mint.com personal finance
2. Speedtest.net speed test
3. Key ring reward cards
4. Buka
5. Ringdroid
6. Google Goggles
7. Google Translate
8. Google Sky Map
9. Movies (Flixster)
10. Google Maps
11. Gem Miner: Dig Deeper
12. Totemo Lite
13. Shazam
14. Pandora Radio
15. Bubble
16. Amazon.com
17. Robo Defense
18. Mario Soundboard
19. Abduction! World Attack

Doing that list, I just realized that I didn't reinstall Pdanet after upgrading to Android 2.1. Need to do that and make sure it works before I travel again!

Can't wait for the HTC Evo 4G tomorrow!

So tomorrow I'm getting up extra early to go get a new android phone. I already have the HTC Hero, but my wife will inherit that and I will be getting the HTC Evo 4G! So excited. I've been (im)patiently waiting since they started talking about it back in march. I really like the Hero and unless they really mess it up, I'll love the Evo. I'm lucky enough to be in Texas where 4g coverage is actually pretty good, so I'll be able to take full advantage of it. If you haven't seen or heard of the phone, it's well worth a Google.

The only bad things I've heard are that it's too big, doesn't have good battery life, and won't get the newest version of Android anytime soon. I don't think it will be too big for me, but it's a personal preference, so that one is up to you. I've only heard battery life sucked from a few places, and those were not all that reliable, or had unrealistic expectations. All phones are using basically the same battery technology. There hasn't been a huge technological breakthrough that will suddenly give new phones super batteries. Super smart phones are doing so much more than just being a phone, and battery technology isn't keeping pace. I don't expect a hand held computer to do everything and also last for days on end, in fact, I don't even expect all day. If I was only using it as a phone, and had everything turned off, in a place that had good wireless coverage, then I would expect it to last all day, and I think the Evo will. I plan on using it for directions, surfing the web, streaming audio from pandora, and watching videos, and when I'm doing that on top of it still being a phone, then I plan on plugging it in while in the car and at my desk. I also have an extra battery pack that takes double A batteries and plugs into usb phones. If that's too much to ask from you, then the phone probably isn't for you. I suggest a plain old flip phone, its battery will last you nicely.

Lastly, Android 2.2 is already being released, and because HTC packages their phones with an additional user interface called Sense, it takes longer for them to release updates. It will come from the store with 2.1, and probably won't get an update until the later half of the year. There will be a ton of rumors saying it's getting the update on such and such date, but I'm not even going to pay attention and I'll get it when I get it. Would I rather have 2.2 sooner than later? Of course, but it's not a big deal. I like 2.1 on the hero, and it doesn't even have all of 2.1 unlocked. Stay tuned for a review coming soon.