Jake’s Life

One is good. Five is better!

Wow. I have to say that the full edition is much better than the lite edition. Not only does it include several extras, but it runs much more smoothly. Finger-tapping the close button is still a bit of a pain, but the speed of the menus and applications are much faster now. Without sounding preemptive, this ROM is what the T-Mobile Wing should have shipped with.

Get it here.

Well, if you remember, I had some issues flashing my T-Mobile Wing to get TouchFlo on it. Thanks to a blog reader (seriously, he sent me a really long e-mail with step-by-step instructions on how to do it) I have been running the Touch-IT Lite ROM for about two weeks now. I have to say that overall I’m pretty impressed. TouchFlo is smooth as buttah, very responsive, and almost fully customizable. I do have some minor annoyances worth mentioning though:

• The Lite edition doesn’t come with the HTC Task Manager to close applications from the today screen.
• Stylus taps work great, but when using your finger to hit the close button it triggers the right soft key. Performing the screen alignment in settings doesn’t help this.

Other than these things it runs really well save for some minor slowdowns here and there. Oh, and it doesn’t come with Microsoft Voice Command either. Right now I’m flashing the ROM again so that I can try the full edition. Hopefully it’s done by the time I reach my third beer or the follow-up post will have to wait!

Just ask for the password folks. It’s not that I only want a few to read it, it’s that I don’t want only a few to read it. You pussies know who you are.

I hate the made-for-midgets default on-screen keyboard that Windows Mobile comes with. What’s the point of having a touch screen if you can’t touch the letters? People with fingers that resemble sausages like myself have an even harder time. I’ve tried a few replacements that are commercial, some that are home-cooked, and some that try to re-invent the entire notion of what a keyboard should be. They’ve all sucked so far.

I found CooTek Touchpal the other day, installed it yesterday, and love it so far. One thing that I miss over my old T-Mobile Dash is one-handed texting. While you can with the Wing, it’s harder. Touchpal keeps the layout of the keyboard intact while making the buttons bigger. It looks like the Blackberry Pearl’s SureType system at first but is a lot better. The “Q” and “W” share the same basic key, but when you press it you swipe to the left for “W” and right for “W”. Check the video out and if you have Windows Mobile it’s a free download here from the CooTek web site until December.

Finally, an update to the Windows Mobile Interface! I have nothing against it, because it works for me (and whatever doesn’t work for me you can usually tweak to your heart’s content).

Microsoft patent app shows off new user interface for mobiles - Engadget Mobile

–Benjamin Franklin

I’m going to admit something to you guys: I really like beer. I’m not the kind of guy who really likes beer that will get the cheapest beer with the gold label and wide mouth can just to get a buzz so don’t get me wrong. But, I really like a good beer especially with good food. Seasonal beers are often my favorite, and when a season hits that doesn’t give me a good beer I stick to my staples. Since Fall is here the pumpkin ales and Oktoberfest beers are too, and Winter is right around the corner which also brings some delicious treats.

A great beer to fall back on when nothing seasonal peaks your interest is Blue Moon (Although they do produce season beers like Spring Moon and Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale). My ex-boyfriend (yeah, sorry SP, “This guy I dated for a bit”) introduced me to it. It’s a Belgian White ale that’s great served with orange. They don’t yet have a page completed on Beeripedia for it so you’ll have to settle for the Wikipedia article.

Buttface Amber Ale is served at The Ram, so if you live in Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, or Washington you have to check it out.

Lately I have been enjoying Sam Adams seasonal Oktoberfest and Winter Lager. The first bottle of Oktoberfest I opened disappeared fairly quickly just because it’s that smooth…like the slide of a well oiled firearm.

 
Honorable Mention: A friend suggested Broken Rake to me a few weeks back. I say that it’s good, if you like a largely malty finish, but it’s bordering on too malty for my taste. Definitely an honorable mention though. Another seasonal beer with a malty finish is Snow Cap.  Pyramid Brewery is located locally and has a great restaurant where I first tried their Apricot Weizen, also a great one.

Pacific Beer News Blog is a great blog for beers from my neck of the woods. AW, I know you’ll enjoy reading it.

First off, I really need to start carrying around my actual digital camera with as many pictures I take during the week. That’s my new week resolution.

I had a craving for sushi the other night at work. Of course the only place to get sushi in the middle of the night is a grocery store, and it was slightly disappointing, but it still worked.

Sandro came over and we watched 28 Weeks Later, which was okay, although it seemed to se things up for a third movie. I hope not: The first one was great, this one was okay, the third (if any) I estimate will suck.

Kitty likes to clamp her teeth on my skin somewhere and not let go. It must be a safety blanket reaction.

We went to The Ram for dinner the other night. Their Buttface Amber Ale is one of the best beers I’ve ever tasted, and washed down a garlic swiss burger quite nicely. Their Total Disorder Porter is pretty good too.

This morning (well, afternoon) we went to this little cafe Downtown that we’ve never been to. I’d never even heard of it until Sandro told me that he was making reservations for us for brunch. Overall, it was pretty good, except that he ate a Lamb Burger which makes baby Jesus cry.