Self Portrait Whores, this iPhone App is for You

I am way too cheap to buy apps and don’t do product/app reviews, since they are so time consuming (taking screen shots, explaining, etc) but this I have to share. I found this neat iPhone app by GAM products and it’s nothing like I’ve ever seen.

It’s a filter that applies light to iPhone photos.
Confused? Well, see for yourself:
4

1

3

2
Ta-daa
iTunes link: Light . It’s only two bucks.
Images from digitalfilmtools

BTW whoever says the iPhone’s camera sucks is WRONG. Proof is here.

Woes of a Single Girl Geek

q_t_pi_md1jpg-400c397392-pixelsBeing a geek girl rocks, but at the same time sucks. There are way too many assumptions and conversations take too long because I have to start by explaining and or proving myself. Otherwise, people are condescending.

ie:

“Aw, there’s something wrong with your PC? Is it plugged in?”

Please do not address me like a grandma on AOL. I’ve clean installed Windows, set up home networks and  servers. Wha chu kno ’bout that?

“How cute, you like the Palm Pre. Not sure if it comes in pink.”

Pink + mobile = Microsoft’s Pink – and that is not happening. Otherwise, does not compute. I happen to be a huge mobile junkie and interested in more than just its looks.

“You should install this browser called Firefox and rid IE, you know.”

Uh, I switched to Firefox in 2003. Been using WebKit’s nightly build for quite some time now, thank you very much.

…on and on, the rude comments continue.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind AS much but people freak out when I can VPN, know how to get into terminal, troubleshoot CSS (if need be), use Google’s unofficial shell, know that cloud computing isn’t a computer thrown away by tossing into the sky, and hold my own in OpenSource, enterprise convos. I even have Dave Winer’s OPML editor installed and running a beta tool.

And yes, I am aware I wrote a paragraph justifying myself.

Anyway, as if that’s not enough to deal with, it sucks even more being a SINGLE geek girl. Why? Well:

Continue reading

STFU, Valleywag. Just SHUT. UP.

Pardon while I rant really quick but Valleywag’s “Marissa Mayer Sticking to Google Like Icing on a Cupcake” piece pissed me off – check out how it starts:

“Google will never be free of Marissa Mayer, the cupcake-loving gigglepuss VP who oversees the company’s multibillion-dollar search engine. Or so says Marissa Mayer.”

Now I understand Valleywag is a gossip rag and controversy increases page views (read: $$$), so I don’t read them. At all. But today, I did. Why? Rizzn shared it on FriendFeed and despite better judgment, I looked. Big mistake.  As a female in tech, this type of mockery pisses me teh EF off.

Say and think what you want about Marissa Mayer, but she knows her stuff. Her passion for Google’s products / services are clear when she talks, and most importantly, when she is on the mic, she is: PROFESSIONAL.

Whatever, Valleywag’s a bunch of haters anyway.

So why does this bug me so much? Well you see, we females – especially in tech, are categorized itn two groups: the hard ass bitch – where we’re called “butch” or “bitches with balls” behind our backs or cheerleaders. Well, in Valleywag terms:  “cupcake-loving gigglepusses” Read: a no win situation.

WTF are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to act? Truth is, it doesn’t matter, since we (females) get talked about anyway – and Valleywag isn’t helping any. Especially picking on someone like Marissa Mayer.

So Valleywag? STFU. Just SHUT. UP.

How to Survive a Bad First Date (long version)

Ok. I lied. I didn’t run. Running away would’ve been horrible. My foot isn’t healed and the date would’ve caught up to me. Plus I may have been mistaken for a dine and ditcher – a bad date is not worth landing on Inside Edition. But most of all, it would’ve been bad manners.

However, I came up with five ways that’ll keep you occupied on a horrible date.

Get date to talk about themselves. Answer all questions with one word and throw the question back at him/her – this should keep your date occupied until the end of the night, which will give you freedom to:

  • Count ceiling lights.
  • Start a mental game of “I Spy”.
  • Count the number of servers and bus boys.
  • Memorize the menu (Wine menu included).
  • Try to figure out the other patron’s drinks (cocktails are always fun)

And this should be enough to keep one busy through drinks and dinner. Tonight, I was reminded (once again) why I thoroughly screen – more on that later.

PREVENTION = KEY!

(image via nataliedee)

For those interested, details after jump.

Continue reading

FACEBOOK USERS: READ. NOW.

facebook-fail

URGENT: I’ve been robbed and need help.

Imagine logging into Facebook and seeing a friend’s status message set to the above. What would you do?

Joaquin Grech saw his friend’s status message set to an urgent cry for help and immediately logged on to Facebook chat to ask: “What can I do to help?” The “friend” told him how she was robbed at the airport, needed to get back home, and asked him to wire her $600 to a certain address.

Luckily, Joaquin decided to ask questions confirming her identity before transferring the funds. When the “friend” couldn’t answer his questions, he knew her account was hacked and commented on her status message: “XXX’s account was hacked. Don’t send money.”

The hacker, deleted him from the account to prevent him from warning more people. At this time, he and I have no idea if people fell for it or if the scam artist received money. But the fact remains: her account was hacked and people may have been scammed.

The problem with Facebook is this:

Only after I Googled, revealed this phishing scam is old news. TechCrunch covered it on the 20th and WSF (Wall Street Journal) covered it yesterday.

Facebook knew of this scam for over three full business days. Why haven’t we been notified by Facebook?
How many people need to be scammed before Facebook finally notifies us? Well we’ll soon find out — on the six o’clock news. Unacceptable.

Who’s to Blame for Spreading False Information?

mona-n-friendfeed-1

As soon as I saw the URL, I knew The Wired story was fake*. Since I’ve been harping about accountability , news source reliability, retraction, responsibility, question all sources — regardless of it’s trusted journalists and or publications lately, I thought this would be a good chance for me to prove my point: Think before repeating or spreading information.

Turns out, this was the biggest mistake I made. Continue reading

Since I’m Feeling Good Today: 25 Things You May or May Not Have Known About Me.

Here are 25 things about me you may not know because you used to know me more, or didn’t know me then. Here is my open book:

  1. I can choose to live in three countries – legally.
  2. I can recite all 50 states and the capitals alphabetically. (Thank you, Miss Henry!)
  3. Name all 11 players of the first Dream Team (plus the alt) in under 30 seconds.
  4. THE undefeated champion of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo.
  5. Prefer plastic utensils to silverware. The metallic taste disrupts my palate.
  6. Typically atypical.
  7. Pleasantly brash.
  8. Optimistically, realistic.
  9. Relationship retarded.
  10. Innocent yet experienced (the Facebook quiz told me so)
  11. Fragile, but strong.
  12. Politely frank.
  13. Practical yet carefree.
  14. Particular but careless.
  15. Compassionate and insensitive.
  16. Loyal yet flighty.
  17. Easily amused.
  18. Quickly bored.
  19. Super outgoing.
  20. Extremely private.
  21. Sociable but introverted.
  22. Insanely rational.
  23. Consistently random.
  24. A walking paradox.
  25. Simply, complicated.

If you so choose to do your 25, leave the link as a comment, please :)
Happy Friday, everyone!
(crossposted to my Facebook.)

Shut Your Friggin Piehole

chat-transcript-viewer

When a friend of mine said I sounded like this “Carol girl”, I had no idea who he was referencing. When I figured out it was that Carol — you know, Yahoo’s new CEO Carol Bartz? I laughed the fuck out loud. When he linked me to the liveblog from the press conference, I laughed even harder.

Highlights:

Bartz then sharply raised the game, noting that Yahoo and its assets “frankly, could use a little management.”

“the company needs some “friggin’ breathing room” and that it’s time for all those outside the company who are endlessly yammering about what Yahoo needs to do, to shut their pie holes.”

“She noted that she was off to a

management meeting,

which is much more important

than chit-chatting with

annoying press and analysts.”


HOT.

Yahoo finance says: She (Bartz) appears to have exactly the philosophy that Yahoo needs right now“. Which seems like a PC way of stating: Carol Bartz has the balls Yahoo (Yang)’s been missing. I am now a fan.

Bartz-ism FTW

Google had four design choices but picked THIS favicon? WHY?

When I first saw Google’s new favicon, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe the ugliness of the re-design. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I thought of various scenarios. Maybe it’s color blind friendly? Or Marissa Mayer was on vacation? Or perhaps it was uploaded by mistake.

After reading this post on Google’s official blog, I was even more confused. You see, Google encouraged users to submit their designs while incorporating their (Google’s) vision in June of 2008. Seven-ish or so months later, they revealed the new favicon (unannounced). Then the Google team showcased some of the contenders.


Pretty.

These designs are easy on the eyes – soft, subtle colors, unobtrusive “G” logo. It’s almost… dreamy. -sigh- Can you blame me for being so confused at Google’s heinous choice? Look at this:
favicon3

Even the original design looks better than their final design.
Still giving Google the benefit of the doubt, I looked for the author. If Marissa Mayer’s name isn’t included, there could be some hope – right?

favicon4
Sigh. Guess not.

I really dislike the distracting favicon. So much so, I asked the FriendFeed and Twitter communities for an alternative search engine. If interested, there’s TONS of great feedback here.

This particluar solution: “Dude, just adblock that bitch. – Leather Donut !” made me LOL but as PJ and many others said, GreaseMonkey scripts for Firefox seems the most feasible option. That or finding a new search engine. -double sigh-

Do you guys like the new favicon? If not, are you blocking it? Do you even care?

Post “Pre” Hype: Pre is NOT an iPhone Killer

(image via engadget)

I was truly baffled by the buzz surrounding Palm’s Pre.

During the keynote I was glued to my computer reading liveblogs, refreshing every second for new images, while watching Robert (Scoble)’s stream.

  • First impression: Laughable.
    Maybe the Pre is not photogenic but it’s… well… ugly.
  • Second impression: It multi-tasks, has a removable battery, cut and paste, a touch screen… ok? That’s nothing new or revolutionary. Touchstone (the wireless charger) is nice, but that’s… it?
  • Third impression: Dev tid-bits — webOS, HTML, CSS, JS… ok? So it uses a different technology. Uh, and? Oh, it’s on Sprint. That’s nice.

Then the updates halted and people like me who weren’t at the keynote were left baffled. Why Pre was already: “Amazing.” “Simply Amazing” “Palm is Back” “iPhone Killer” etc., etc., crowned the show stealer from trusted reporters of the tech industry and its stock jumping 35% was beyond me. With one demo there’s this much buzz?

WHY?!

Where are the answer to questions like: Will there be third party application? Where is the App Store?  What is this Web-based OS? Would we be able to access the apps even while we’re not online? What about performance? Can the hardware actually keep up? Where are the technical specifications? Developer’s documentations?  HUH? How is this going to work?

What sets it aside from the rest of the handsets?? Continue reading

You Do Not Want To be My Friend. Really.

twitter-_-mona-n_-holy-shit-i-just-made-som-11
So a friend of mine is taking care of me,while my foot is EFd to the UP.  I return her kindness by making her puke. Great. What a fitting way to kick off the New Year.

ANYway, the reason she yacked up her breakfast was over an EFin plant. Now before judging, please allow me to explain.

The other day, I received this um gift that apparently signifies good luck and fortune in my culture (Japanese). I totally thought it was a bonsai tree — ya, it happens all the time. People give me bonsai trees. I know it’s the thought that counts but come ON, be honest with yourselves. Can you genuinely say you’ve never gotten something you wished you didn’t? Well for me, that thing I appreciate but do not want are bonsai trees. I’d rather get a six pack of men’s socks or a box full of fruitcake.

It’s courteous, thoughtful, and flattering that people want to give me something close to my roots (I guess?) but Mister Miyagi (Karate Kid) changed the way Westerners gift my people forever. Bonsais are harder to care for than orchids and if you’re familiar with flowers and gardening,  you know orchids are high maintenance. Those motherfuckers should be categorized outside of gardening and right into horticulture. Yes horticulture. As in, learning about greenery chromosomal genetic make-ups just to keep those things alive. I swear, orchids are more complicated than tending the little green patch clusterfuck app on Facebook. Crap, I digress.

Where was I? Oh right, the gift. Since I was expecting another bonsai, imagine my surprise when I opened the box.  Behold. The most puzzling form of happy thoughts EVER. Continue reading