Chan's Garden

I love finding new and exciting Chinese restaraunts. This one, in Ann Arbor, doesn't seem to have heat but you can't beat the price and stereotypical ambiance.

Happy Valentine's Day

Welcome to mobile blogging via Blogger for Android. Here's hoping this will be the way to get this blog off of life support!

Five Rules of Foursquare

I'm not gonna lie, I love foursquare. I've been waiting for an online networking site whose network was based on geography and location rather than solely social connections.

For those of you who live in a cave, foursquare is a mobile app that allows the user to "check in" at "venues", anywhere from liquor stores to baseball games, airports to restaurants.

As great as it is, there is plenty of room for the app to be abused. After searching for the official bros icing bros rules and foursquare rules to no avail, I thought I'd put together a few of my own rules of foursquare etiquette.

Rule 1 : No checking in at work - enough said.
Rule 2 : No more than two check-ins per day at any location - foursquare will let you do this, but I think its cheesy.
Rule 3 : When choosing a venue from a list of duplicates ALWAYS go with the one with the most accurate and complete information.
Rule 4 : No Facebook foursquare spamming - Foursquare has great facebook integration but users need to exercise caution if they are updating their facebook status every time they check-in. My rule - if you really want to TELL people where you are, update facebook but if you don't have a real reason, stick to your foursquare network.
Rule 5 : No retroactive check-ins - If you forgot, you missed your chance.

Do you have any other rules suggestions? What do your foursquare friends do that annoys you?

9 Reasons I Ditched the iPhone and Joined the EVOlution

As an early adopter of the iProducts, this post is particularly difficult to write, just as the reality is difficult to swallow. Apple products really are works of art. I'm anxiously awaiting the next generation of Apple products but the time has come for me to abandon my iPhone.

That being said, generally speaking, the biggest reason I got rid of my iPhone is certainly AT&T but there are several reasons I decided to make the switch to the HTC EVO on the Sprint network.


The EVO's screen is absolutely gargantuan and despite taking a little while to get used to, I feel like the EVO is my communication hub. I always felt that the iPhone was an amazing tool with great apps that doubled as a communication device but it never felt like a true hub, something that incorporates all my social media, email and messages.

So why did I ditch the iPhone and join the EVOlution?

1. I needed a new phone - My original iPhone was showing its age. The smoothness of movement and responsiveness simply wasn't there. Years of numerous applications and use were showing the phone's age. The phone was a great purchase and served the post well but it was a time for a replacement. IPhone 4 would mark the third update since the so called "iPhone 2G"- a name I never liked.

2. The Edge network - The old data network had all but stopped working. It got to the point where I couldn't even do a simple google search reliably - let alone update my PAID apps efficiently.

3. AT&T no longer offering unlimited data plans - Depending on who you ask, this wasn't an issue. I read reports that original iPhone customers with the legacy 20 dollar data plan would, at a minimum lose that (be moved to a 30 dollar data plan) and possibly lose unlimited service. Regardless, with this move, I can no longer trust ATT to honor "legacy" plans.

4. Apple no longer offering support for the iPhone "2g" - Why the hell not? People spent up to 600 dollars to adopt and promote the first iPhone only to have their phones be relegated to the antiquated list by Steve Jobs himself!

5. No iOS4 support - No more updates for the iPhone 2g. They won't even add the functionality to use pictures as wallpaper backgrounds like in the iPad OS and iOS4.

6. Idiotic ATT "Rules" - Still ready to purchase an iPhone4, I went to the ATT store to change my unlimited text plan (20 dollars per month) to the 1500 per month plan (15 per month). Despite having only started the unlimited text plan three months ago, I was told that if I removed the unlimited text plan that I would lose my 20 dollars per month unlimited data legacy plan. This was the straw that broke the camels back. I entered the store, ready to buy an iPhone4 when it came out, I left thinking that ATT had lost a customer.

7. Package deal - AT&T's original exclusive deal with Apple was for a year but was continually re-upped. Even with the announcement that Verizon would be getting the iPhone in 2011, it was too long to wait and too many questions remained for someone who needs a new phone.

8. The EVOlution - A friend of mine had recently purchased the EVO and I was very impressed with some simple functionality that Apple has simply left out. Video backgrounds, widgets (not just apps) and an even sleeker implementation and faster execution of visual voicemail.

9. The Sprint Family Plan - Four members of my family will all be paying less despite having a more robust plan. Two of us left ATT for this reason.


It's been hard to get rid of the iPhone but the EVO is proving to be the perfect tool for someone who wants to escape AT&T and still have a great phone with an affordable plan.

The Niche

I've always struggled with the fact that this blog is of the potpourri variety. I've written about an extremely wide variety of topics which, while fun for me is not particularly intriguing to readers, my friends excepted.

In my desire to learn and write one common theme persists- Geography. So tonight I'm announcing my new niche World Geography Blog. So far I'm pleased with its appearance and I look forward to writing and interacting about a great passion.

Cheers!