Miscellaneous Ramblings....

Sorry about the lack of updates, but life is intervening in an unpleasant way.

On the positive restaurant review side, Chiang Mai Thai is awesome. So far I have had the Chicken Satay as well as the Curry Fried Rice. It has managed to supplant my previous favorite Thai restaurant Magic Thai (side note: the Chicken Satay is pretty fair at Suptra as well, but Chiang Mai Thai is still tops).

Strong rumor has it that Joe Biden has been selected as Obama's running mate for the presidential elections.

If you are one of the many (and happy ) Mac users who make use of the Adium chat client, there is a very simple way to bookmark chat rooms that one visits consistently ( outside of the standard "File -> Join Group Chat" method"). You need to modify the toolbar to add the Bookmark icon: Right-Click on any open chat window toolbar and select "Customize Toolbar" Then select any currently open chat room and click on the Bookmark icon - done!

While chatting with a coworker regarding BBQ joints, we came across what looked like some promising places, at least judging by the reviews on UrbanSpoon (which also makes an awesome iPhone app ).
I tried Scott J-Mamas and he tried QFanatic. Sadly, it seemed that both experiments failed.

When you say that the best part of your BBQ meal is the twice-baked potatoe, that is not exactly a ringing endorsement. I ordered the ribs and chicken combo with mild barbecue sauce. I wasn't a big fan of the BBQ sauce, but probably the most disappointing aspect was that the meat (both the chicken and ribs) was fairly dry and felt like it had been sitting for a little bit and then warmed up. I guess it ended up being fortunate that my appetite is pretty small, so the twice baked potato was enough to fill me up.
Due to my severe disappointment, I will need to level the ship with either Baker's Ribs (which I haven't tried yet) or Big Daddy's (which are incredible).

On an tangent, another one of my coworkers evidently had a good experience at Brasa (as did another coworker, come to think of it ), so that restaurant will definitely be in my del.icio.us dining queue.

Apple has released iPhone software update 2.0.2. Again, details on what is exactly fixed is not forthcoming from Apple, so the end user must look to user comments in various sites (Engadget, TUAW & MacNN). Some users are reporting snappier performance, better 3G signal, fewer crashes, as well as no more annoying contacts or keyboard lags. I have upgraded my iPhone to the 2.0.2 firmware update, so I'll be back with feedback after a little bit more usage. (just a heads-up, the update is 242MB to download). Update ( 08/22/08 ): Perhaps not too surprisingly, some users are still reporting issues with 3G even after the latest firmware update.

Thanks to TechCrunch, I found a couple a good iPhone App review sites: AppVee and App Store Apps. AppVee does more in-depth reviews, while the App Store Apps site is more of a review/tricks-n-tips site. Needless to say, I have both of them bookmarked in my del.icio.us account. Update (08/18/08): Also stumbled across this site today: iPhoneAppPodCast - had a decent review of NowLocal, the new iPhone App that I have been involved in.

This review has been a long time coming, but finally got to see The Dark Knight at the IMAX Theater. I would have to concur with the masses that this sequel is one of the few that lives up to it's predecessor and even surpasses it at some points. And, I also agree that Heath Ledger's Joker was one of those truly inspired performances. This second installment is definitely darker than Batman Begins, but it is just as well written (if not better) as Batman Begins. I am not a Batman fan by any stretch, but I will definitely be picking this one up when it is finally released on Blu-Ray.

Apple has released iPhone software update 2.0.1. Details on what the release fixes are more easily snagged from other sites than from Apple - however, reports trickling in from end users. Unfortunately, the software update does not correct one of my more annoying issues - the excessively long backup times when syncing the iPhone. Too early to tell yet, but the other annoying issue ( intermittent long pauses when accessing the Contacts function ) seems to be improved. In related news, apparently Apple is seeding a third beta of iPhone 2.1 to developers.

iTunes 7.7.1 has been released. This version seems to be a maintenance release, with bug fixes that promise more stability. (Sadly it doesn't fix the infernally long iPhone sync times )