Wedding Plans (Chapter 1): Planning Begins

After a lovely vacation in May 2008, Lisa and I have since returned from Hawaii to resume our regularly normal lives back in Phoenix. We have planned to keep announcements about the wedding unofficial, just until we square down a contract and specific date.

Our top choices for locations were to have it in her hometown of Tempe, San Diego, Cabo San Lucas, or Hawaii. For Cabo San Lucas, we decided to eliminate it since passports for our guests would be an issue, and as well as we did not really have any wedding type connections in Mexico. San Diego was also another good idea but we did not know anyone there either. In Tempe, we visited a few places that took care of the whole ceremony and reception package. Lastly, we investigated a few places in Hawaii and found one in particular to our liking called "Turtle Bay Resort" on Oahu's North Shore.

If we were to have it in Tempe, our wedding (out-of-pocket) costs would be significantly higher due to a higher head count (80+ people). This is in comparison to having a smaller destination wedding in Hawaii (40 people and a few thousand dollars cheaper). Hawaii is currently our number one pick and we are probably going to have it here (still unofficial).

We have a deadline to make July 30th, in which we are to sign off to a contract at Turtle Bay Resort. Although, we are fortunate to have assistance from our families, I still believe I have every right to negotiate and obtain the best value for this wedding. Having come from a business oriented background professionally, I have a tremendous issue of paying for this service without the ability to negotiate for the best price and value.

Needless to say, it's certainly one of the cheapest deals around, it's a premiere location on Hawaii, a majority of the planning is being taken care of, and this is to be a very memorable day for both of us. I comprehend that and my willingness to negotiate doesn't make feel any less of the product we are paying for.

If I were to pay for the price sum they are asking for, I feel it would be a better value to simply have a complimentary room for the Bride/Groom for the weekend. That's what I want out of this deal, and if I can squeeze in a round of golf for our groom/bride party, that would be even better.

In our current 2008 economy, leisure travel has been down and thus effecting the hotel industry significantly. I have a colleague in the Hotel industry run the numbers for Hawaii (Oahu) and found that to be true statistically. To make up for lost revenue, Hawaii hotels trend to increase the pricing per night. In Oahu, $175/night is the average price to stay.

I can only imagine the margin made off the catering department for the price we are going to pay. Especially in this hurting economy, I'm sure these resorts and hotels can sure use the revenue. Asking for a complimentary room for the bride/groom to use for the wedding night isn't a whole lot to ask. The worst they can say is "no", right?

For more information about our potential wedding hotspot visit:
http://www.turtlebayresort.com/

Phoenix Suns Official Season Ticket Holder

After one year of being on the season ticket holder list, I've finally received the call to purchase season tickets! Yes, I recall bitching about the fact my recent experience with the sales representative there wasn't par. Fortunately for me, I'm over it.



After investing $200 last year just to be on a waiting list to get Season Tickets, I've recently received a phone call from the Phoenix Suns. I have 4 tickets in the 200 level seating. Unfortunately, good seats require seniority and time to get into the 100 level seating. It's well worth it, as I can probably sell off seats and other games I don't want to be at.

I figure this is a good start nonetheless. I'm in it with a few guys from work so it helps cut down the cost because it was just a little bit expensive.

Phoenix Suns 2008-2009 season, here I come!

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Microsoft Surface

I thought the iPhone was an extraordinary product. With it's user touch-based intuitiveness and integration of multimedia, it is no wonder Time Magazine called it "the Best Invention of the Year."

Secretly, we (the consumer public) forget that technology is always evolving and while Steve Jobs is building his Apple empire, Microsoft is looking ahead to the future....

Meet Microsoft Surface (http://www.microsoft.com/surface), the future of multimedia and interactive technology. Surface is interactive computing taken to the next level. With Surface, users can actually grab multimedia with our hands, and move information between objects simply through touch.

Bill Gates had the opportunity to preview his new project at this past CES. Although, it's not main stream, AT&T stores and T-Mobile stores are soon-to-be launching new Surface displays to display their products. Eventually, Surface would take over retail, restaurants and entertainment. Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas is the first deployment of Surface in an entertainment / bar atmosphere.


Video: Microsoft Surface at the Rio in Las Vegas

And although, the Surface is probably a few years ahead of it's time now, and out of budget for the average consumer, Microsoft Surface is probably the next great technological innovation. Actually, I've tend to keep an open mind; the iPhone did drop $199 after only 1 year of it's first generation. Now only if Microsoft can push product branding and consistency like with what Apple did with the iPhone/iPod products, we just might be able to see a Surface PC in our homes a little sooner.

.MAC / .ME Catastrophe

With the launch of the iPhone 2.0 Update and iPhone 3G, Apple also launched their new service called ".ME." A service in which syncs all devices content info (calendar, address book, settings, media, etc) with your iPhone, Mac, and even PC. Brilliant idea, right?

Theoretically, it certainly is a brilliant idea and helps contribute to my O.C.D. Unfortunately, I experienced (among with other .Mac users) a complete nightmare. I'll accept the fact that this is a new system barely launched by Apple, and it takes a while to work out the bugs. As of the past few years, Apple has done a great job not really having to worry about that, and launching well-tested products during first generation launch.

Unfortunately, it proves that Steve Jobs is merely a man, and Apple (despite their climb vs PC sales) is not 100% perfect.

I've encountered the following:

1.) .MAC to .ME transitions:
I could not login to my previous .MAC account via the new .ME login interface. I followed instructions from the Apple Forums and FAQs but it did not recognize my login/password (despite multiple password resets and the ability to receive email and utilize other functions). To top it off, I couldn't even update my credit card to renew my service which literally expired today. Therefore, I'm loosing my previous .MAC login/email address (which I guess I can really live without).

2.) NEW .ME Trial
More info: http://www.apple.com/mobileme/setup/
So I signed up for a trial .ME account and decided to start new since my old .MAC account had expired today anyway. I initiated the creation of the account, and setup the PUSH/SYNC options.
a.) There is an issue for prioritization of sync. If I just updated an item on my iPhone, and then I update something via web based .ME, it clearly has trouble prioritizing which one goes first.
b.) There obviously is an over-extended lag for the update, it make take a few minutes, or maybe a hard reset for the device to update itself.

3.) iPhone 2.0 update and iPhone 3G server updates stalled
On Friday, when everyone in the world was syncing their new iPhones (and existing iPhones) to iTunes, the Apple servers took a gigantic dump. The fact my iPhone was unable to sync left me phoneless and stranded for several hours.

4.) iPhone 1st Generation is now slow
I haven't tested out the 3G yet but my 1st generation functionality is just slow. It takes forever to load applications, switch from home page to email, text or even phone functions.

In conclusion, I comprehend that new services and new products often come with a trial / clean out the "bugs" moment during the beginning of it's launch. I am also not the one experiencing the issue (as you may see in the Apple Forums). Mr. Jobs, I am disappointed, as the launch of the .ME, updates and the new iPhone technical issues are just NOT up-to-par!

iPhone 3G Release

Yes, it's that exciting. The iPhone 3G comes out Friday, July 11th, 2008, 8PM and I'm contemplating whether to buy one or not.

Common sense says it would be completely worthless to purchase one at this time. The only changes would just be the Microsoft Exchange (which I wouldn't use), the 3G speed (awesome), and Maps with GPS (totally awesome).

According to Apple.com, the latest software update 2.0, claims that current iPhone owners would be able to have Applications Feature. Actually, it doesn't officially say it specifically, so I'm guessing when I plug in tommorrow to update, the applications feature probably wouldn't work. I guess we'll have to find out.

In all honestly, I can't fathom to have an obselete piece of technology. Actually wait, there's a few things I can live with. My plasmas are still 720p, my PC still runs Windows Windows XP on a Pentium D (not core duo), I still mainly use CS2, and I just barely even updated to Leopard. So okay, I take that back, I'm not down with Vista yet, and I really can't tell the differenc efrom 1080p from 720p. But my beloved iPhone which has been my pride and joy the last year, will now just be a thing of tommorrow once the 3G version comes out.

Its absolutely hurts, and quite frankly, pisses me off that non-iPhone users are jumping on the bandwagon tommorrow and paying a considerable amount less money than I did when the price reduction set last year.

My other complaint is on iTunes, they've recently released the new applications. Usually when dowloading music, it gives me an option checkout prior my card. Unfortunately, I've barely hit input to shopping cart thinking it would go into my shopping cart, but itautomatically downloads!!?? Now I've added about $20 worth of stupid applications I would never really want to pay for anyway. What the hell? Okay, I'm over it, but what if the applications update is only applicable for iPhone 3g, and not for the original iPhone. And why doesn't apple.com list the specifications for both versions?

Well, I know the answer; to entice current users to upgrade anyway. Of course, in this economy I could always save money, pay of debt or attempt to invest. Or, I can stand in line at 8AM at the Mac store. I guess we'll have to see.

Parked.com Trials

Today, I'm trying out PARKED.com with 15 domain names I own. I've heard some ups and downs on them and I'm going to give them a try. These 15 domains previously came from SEDO.com another cash parking company. Although, I enjoyed their templates and their keywords, I did not enjoy their payout (which was pretty much nothing). My other 80+ domain names are currently at GoDaddy.com's cash parking and find it to be doing quite well. They've even updated their interface quite recently. Anyway, here I go....