Brandon's posterous

Engaged then Married, Reception Later!

This Saturday I proposed to my girlfriend, Karla, and she accepted. However, this was no surprise to her as she already knew we were going to get married the following day. Seriously? Yes, we were both ready and the process for her to immigrate is too long so we wanted to get started to not be separated any longer. Later, we want to host a reception for family and friends.

I proposed on the top of the tower of La Merced church in Granada, Nicaragua on one knee. Luckily, she didn't hesitate to say yes. Photos are included below. She has a simple gold wedding band and I have a new tungsten ring or as Ruairi calls it "the engineer's choice."
The wedding was this past Sunday, February 21. It was a simple civil ceremony and small celebration after with some Nicaraguan food, music, family and friends.

I'm excited for everyone to meet her and get to know her. If you want an early start, you could friend her on Facebook.

I get a lot of the same questions about us so I thought I'd try to cover them here:
Frequently Asked Questions
How did you meet?
We met through a friend (Suyen) of my college friend (Hailey) when I visited her when she was volunteering in Granada. The place where we met was at the club Cafe Nuit in Granada.

Do you know Spanish? Does she know English?
She knows English and I am learning Spanish.

Were you nervous to get married?
No, not really.

Is it too soon/quick?
No, as Karla says "only we can decide our lives."

What does your family think?
They are all very excited for us.

If anybody adds questions to the comments, I'd be happy to answer them.

P2200199

P2200201

P2200207

P2210246

P2210281

P2210217

Potential iPad Killer Applications

Now that people have come to terms with the features that the iPad lacks, it's time to discuss the killer applications that could make the iPad big:

Home Appliance and Automation
I need information quickly in my home, what's the first thing I reach for? The iPad of course. Quick access to the latest sports scores, news, weather, restaurant locations, and more. Fixing your car? Reach for a how-to guide on your iPad. Sorry Chumby, the iPad is my new digital picture frame.
  • Energy Monitoring
  • Mobile TV
  • Digital Photo Frame
  • Internet Radio
  • Universal Remote Control
  • Multi player Board Games - sign me up for Boggle
Business Appliance
Digital mobile platforms are used in business for things like tracking packages, checking out at Apple stores, and conducting surveys. What might a new multi-touch tablet enable?
  • Interactive Displays
  • Interactive Menus
  • Surveys & Data Collection
  • Electronic Voting
  • Mobile Points of Sale
  • Mobile Knowledge base
Health and Medical
Doctors and Nurses can get quick access to all the information they need:
  • Vitals
  • Medical Records and Images
  • Instrumentation & Sensors
  • Drug Interactions
  • Contact Information
Learning and Education
We've seen what two year olds can do with an iPhone. I can only imagine what one could do/learn with an iPad.
  • Quizzes
  • Flashcards
  • Books and Videos
  • Interactive tutorials
News and Book Reading
I'm ready for Google Reader on the iPhone.

Conclusion
One thing that you can't deny about the iPad is that it is a large form factor mobile multi-touch platform at an affordable price which I think is cool.

Clear 4g WiMax Review, Speed Test & Unboxing

Photo

 

I picked up a Clear WiMAX USB Modem and Clear Spot today from Best Buy.  Clear Spot is a personal hotspot which is a mobile WiFi router that uses the USB Modem for an Internet connection.  The Clear representative at Best Buy was helpful at answering all my questions regarding service cost to add additional modems ($10 each) and contract cancellation costs ($40 per device). They currently have a 7 day trial promotion.

Speed Test via Speedtest.net (Comcast Cable results)
Download: 1.23 Mb/s (20.87 Mb/s) 
Upload: 0.45 Mb/s (2.58 Mb/s) 
Ping: 76 ms (11 ms)

Ping Test via Pingtest.net (Comcast Cable results)
Packet Loss: 0% (0%)
Ping: 109 ms (29 ms)
Jitter: 54 ms (13 ms)
Grade: C (A)

Netflix Movie Streaming & Skype Test
It works. However, the movie I was watching was interrupted once by a "Connection has slowed" error and buffering seemed to take longer.  I completed a Skype video call for approximately for 30 minutes with no interruptions and the quality appeared the same.

Clear Spot
After simply plugging the modem into the device and turning it on, I was able to access the Internet on the personal hotspot.  The wow factor for using this device I think has made me a Clear customer.

Conclusion
While the speeds were not impressive compared to my cable modem, I think it will work adequately for me as a Internet service replacement. For others who enjoying online gaming or downloading very large files, it may not be a viable option as a ISP replacement. I think it will definitely be a good option for people looking into mobile Internet.

Lincoln Park Apple Store Progress

A shot of the progress on the coming Apple store at North & Clybourn.

Photo

I hope they finish soon so I can get my iPhone fixed. What else could Lincoln Park need? A Target someday I hope. Also, the red line station next door won't look so good next to the new Apple store.

Here's the before shot: http://www.windycitizen.com/chicago/business/2009/04/14/photos-of-the-locatio...

How to Make Spherical Ice and Review

The purpose of spherical ice is to reduce ice melting and the watering down of a drink since spheres have a smaller surface area than cubes. I thought this maybe a bit of a gimmick but I was wrong. I've heard they are popular with people who enjoy sipping whisky.

My expectations were exceeded when the spheres lasted long enough to be reused for multiple drinks. They also looked awesome. The spheres melted incredibly slow and they weren't even fully frozen when I used them. I think the future of ice is sphere shaped.

The tray I used is available here at the MoMA Store and some tips on using the tray are below.

The included instructions we IKEA style with pictures only. It requires filling the top half of the sphere through a very small hole which can be a challenge as air was trapped inside and water would not flow into the hole. I had to develop the following techniques:
  1. Submerge the entire tray in water.
  2. Compress the sphere tray multiple times in a pumping motion to force the air out and take water in (preferred). Or I found that if I tilted the tray at the correct angle, air would come out of the tray slowly.

(download)

How To Support the Public Option

A few ways to support the public option: