The Digital Dad

So the new iPhone 3G arrived today. I had ended up upgrading the wife to the new phone since her account was eligible. The plan was then for me to take her iPhone 1st gen and finally switch our numbers so I had the new phone. AT&T store lady assured me they did that all the time.
True. They do switch numbers all the time. But not between iPhones. Apple has the big brother no-no on iPhone swapping. I think it’s a piece of their ” don’t buy iPhones to unlock and re-sell deal. So Missy’s enjoying her new iPhone 3G and I’m rockin’ last year’s model. But hey, at least I got some kind of iPhone. I’m just glad the whole process is said ad done.
Oh, and the MSU discount doesn’t apply to the iPhone at all, FYI. Just one more thing…

Talk about a great day. The Newport Aquarium in Newport, KY, just across the river from Cincinnati, is amazing. It’s a great medium-sized aquarium with some really wonderful exhibits. Sharks, rays, turtles, frogs, penguins, lorikeets. An aquarium with penguins and lorikeets! Wow!
There was so much to do Liam could barely focus on one exhibit before racing to the next. But I think if he had to choose, shark petting would be his favorite exhibit. Shark petting? Let me say that again. SHARK PETTING! I’m telling you man, these aquarium folk are nuts. I mean, how many fingers should you loseWeight Exercise before you decide this particular exhibit may not be the best of ideas? But boy did he love it. Danger is, after all, his middle name.
Afterwards we waited in line for a balloon animal from a guy who looked a lot like Mark Twain. His appearance was apt, as he told stories about the animals as he created them. This guy could make amazingly intricate creations from a little latex and air. I saw a seal bouncing a ball on its nose, a palm tree home to a monkey eating a banana. He even made a seagull with a fish in its mouth. Like, inside the balloon mouth. All of that amazing talent and what does Liam want? A butterfly. I mean, it was a great butterfly and all but come on, kid, lets challenge the guy. At least ask for a space butterfly with rocket ship and cosmic death ray. Not just a plain ol’ Lepidoptera Rhopalocera. (Yeah, I looked that one up. Sue me.) Whatever makes you happy, son. Check out the set on the Pictures page from our adventure.

…I hear banjo music.
Today was a fun day. I can’t imagine a much better time than paddling the Elkhorn Creek with your beautiful wife, your best buddy from high school and his wife. 4 people, 2 canoes, and the open air. Yessir. Not much better. Well, maybe if the creek had WATER in it! No rain in 3 weeks had caused the creek to drop from its already low summer state an additional 7 inches last week. That made for a lot of portaging and scraped knees, but it was still a great trip, one we’ll definitely repeat once the water level rises. Even got a couple t-shirts before we left.
Jump on over to the Pictures page for a few pics from the trip. Tomorrow’s adventure: taking Liam to the Newport Aquarium! Stay tuned.

I know, weird headline, huh? But according to this article an AT&T store in New Jersey who wasn’t one of the fortunate few to be able to sell iPhones has been handing out articles from crackberry.com and PC Magazine about why the iPhone is inferior to other smartphones. Sour grapes anyone? Hilarious!

So there’s no iPhone just yet (It’s coming.), but I did manage to upgrade my iPod touch to 2.0 and have been experimenting with some of the cool new features. By far the greatest new trick is the Remote app. It turns your iPod/iPhone into a remote for the iTunes app on your desktop. And it’s not just some dinky dink stop/start/play this song next deal. No, no. There’s search, playlists, a volume slider, a real-time progress slider, and cover art for everything you’re scrolling through. It’s really slick.
Now pair that with my Airport Express portable AP’s remote wireless speakers feature and I’m upstairs on my iPod playing songs from my laptop downstairs through the speakers in the bedroom. Now that’s wicked.