Lots of Yellow and Red…Made it to Boston Anyway.

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Nov 072013
 

I slept in a bit today, because I figured I would leave around noon and just toodle on up to Boston. I didn’t have to be there at any particular time, so I took it easy this morning and lounged a bit.

Okay, not really. I lounged for about 20 minutes or so, then got cracking.

Google Maps said it would take 5:45 to get to Boston. I laughed. I’ve made this drive before, and no way will it only take 5:45.

The Quest For Gas

I wanted to gas up at the nearest Costco, because in NC, they’re the cheapest places to get gas.

“Okay Google, where’s the nearest Costco?” 10 minutes later I got there… and they didn’t sell gas. Doh.

“Okay Google, where’s the nearest truck stop?” 10 minutes later, a closed onramp and a long detour later, they were out of gas. *Facepalm.*

“Okay Google, where’s the nearest gas station?” 10 minutes later and I finally found an establishment willing to sell me gas!

Yeah, it was that kind of day.

The George Washington Bridge is Never Green

I was listening to a lot of traffic info on the way up the NJ Turnpike, because I know how NY/NJ traffic is–it changes from minute to minute from smooth as butter to clogged up and not moving at all. “The GWB is green, the GWB is green,” I kept hearing that, so I decided to take the GWB across the Hudson… and hit a 30-minute delay right at the toll booth. Yay.

The whole time I’m driving, I’m also fighting the new version of Google Maps. The old version would let me seek alternate routes. The new version does not. I don’t like this improvement at all, but since I have a new phone, I can’t roll it back.

The phone keeps telling me to take weird routes I’m not used to taking, and I can’t tell if I’m actually going to save any time at all. It’s really frustrating and annoying. I don’t want to take the Merrit across Connecticut. It looks like a big red line of non-moving traffic from the map and from behind the wheel.

So I moved back to I-95. It didn’t move much, either, and Maps was still trying to get me to go back the Merrit. Ugh.

Before I left I-95, I pulled off at a service area to get gas and some food.

I finally got off on to I-91 and things were moving again, but this jaunt across Connecticut probably took 3.5 hours, when it should take two, max. The traffic was horrible on all of the east-west roads.

I got to the Mass Pike, and everything was smooth again, but the drivers were all crazy. And just as I’m pulling into Boston, the GPS drops, and stops giving me directions, and I wind up who-knows-where. When I got out from underground, it kicked in again and figured it out, but it was annoying to have to guess what it wanted to do next.

So my 5:45 trip took about 8 hours.

The hotel is nice. Expensive, but nice.

Nexus 5 Arrived

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Nov 042013
 

My N5 was waiting for me when I got back from Greensboro today.

First impressions: I love the look of Kit Kat. The phone feels good in my hand, too, although I think it’s going to become a grease magnet. I’m not a huge fan of the sharp edges, though. They’re a little sharper than I like, but they help me keep a grip on the phone.

The OS has a lot of changes under the hood, and some cosmetic ones. Google Now is on the left sweep from the main screen. I’m not sure I like that yet. Also, there are only 2 screens to put icons/folders on. I’m not sure how I feel about that, either. I’m used to 4-5.

Stock Android is my favorite version of Android. Very little “stuff” gets in my way.

Compared to the GNex, there is no comparison. It looks better, works faster, and takes better photos.

There’s an auto HDR mode, but it’s slow. Slooooow.

I had to go by T-Mobile to get a new SIM card for it. It uses the smaller SIM cards. I’m wonder if that’s going to be an obstacle for traveling or not. I’ll still keep my orange cave-phone with me, just in case. The T-Mobile folks were nice about making a quick swap of SIMs.

I need to start packing, so I’ll use it more on the road.

Kindle // Nexus 5

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Nov 012013
 

I finally bit the bullet and got a Kindle Paperwhite a few days ago. The first one showed up with a defective screen, and Amazon overnighted a new one out right away.

The display is really easy on the eyes. It’s the sort of thing you can just sit and read for hours. I read a lot on my tablet, but the Kindle makes it so I can read for hours and not feel any appreciable eye strain.

I’m looking forward to taking it with me to Boston and New York.

Oh, a New Nexus!

The Nexus 5 was announced earlier today, and I managed to order a 32GB model before they all disappeared. It was a fluke that I caught the announcement just as it was happening, or else I wouldn’t have gotten an order in on time.

My Galaxy Nexus has been a good phone for the last year and a half, but sadly, it can’t keep up anymore. It won’t be getting any more OS updates, and I’m tired of only hitting the 16GB storage wall. (It’s really less than that with the system overhead.) Some people virtuously declare that they don’t even need 8GB. I’m happy for them. I’m not one of them. I have a lot of music, e-books, and other “stuff” I carry on my phones all the time. I need that extra space, and I wind up using it all.

I hope the N5 arrives before I have to leave for Boston. I want to really put it through its paces on a long road trip.

On the other hand, it would suck if I had to leave it on the front porch for a week while I’m gone…. I better call somebody to have them check my porch in case it doesn’t get here in time.

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