Aviously

Lumia 640 – Windows Phone Reviewed

@iAmAviG

May 17, 2016

I recently purchased the Microsoft/Nokia Lumia 640, for the sole purpose of trying out Windows Mobile.

The phone layout looks similar to your “Start” menu on Windows 8, with lots of live tiles constantly updating with information. These can range from weather to Tweets, YouTube videos to emails.

While Windows computers generally run smoothly, the phone operating system is a little clunky. Load times on apps can be a little slow (especially compared to its Android or iOS counterparts), and things don’t update in the background as they are supposed to.
A good example is the “Podcast” app, which I use frequently. It is supposed to update in the background, but sometimes you’ll go in and the Podcast hasn’t refreshed in a few days. When you hit the “refresh” button, the app will promptly crash and need to be reopened.
I use this app as an example, because it is a simple app, with no heavy graphics or mass data downloads, that simply can’t keep up with mundane tasks.
Once the apps are open though, they run smoothly.

On the flip side is the look and feel of the phone. It looks classy, it feels good in your hand, and it isn’t weighty.
The power button sits in the middle on the side of the phone, right where your thumb would sit. So once you learn not to hit it by mistake, it makes it much easier to turn it on with one hand, without juggling the phone.

One other feature I like of it, that my phone strangely doesn’t offer, is the FM radio. Having it gives the ability to listen to music/news/sports without using any data.
But when FM radio is the highlight of a phone, you know there isn’t many standout features…
This may be hurt by the relatively small app store.

Overall it is a decent phone, but not something that will become my primary device any time soon.
For now I am sticking with my Moto X (3rd Gen.)….which followed my Moto X (2nd Gen.) and my Moto X…Did I mention that Motorola is supposed to hold announcements today in which they unveil their new line of phones?

Captain America: Civil War #Review

@iAmAviG

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May 16, 2016

Captain America: Civil War is the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie installment, and the Third movie in the “Captain America” series.

The fight and premise of the movie is not necessarily good vs. evil, but rather opinion based, as most political arguments are, and Iron Man thinks sanctions and rules are the best course of action to control the Avengers, while Captain America feels “if my help is needed somewhere, I am going to go”.

“We’re still friends, right?” – Black Widow
“Depends how hard you hit me.” – Hawkeye

Humor and wit highlight the movie, in one of the greatest collections of superheroes ever to grace the screen.
Captain America. Iron Man. Black Widow. Hawkeye. Black Panther. Falcon. Scarlet Witch. Winter Soldier. Ant-Man. Agent 13. Spider-Man. War Machine. Vision. Crossbones.

Spiderman is the cool new kid on the block, but the real standout newcomer star is Black Panther. Panthers’ smooth moves and catlike reflexes dazzle the screen and both of their standalone movies should be great.

This movie is a recommended watch and a 9.5 out of 10.

New York Yankees – All Time Team

@iAmAviG

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May 13, 2016

Starting a new segment today, in which I put out an all-time roster for some teams…according to my views of course.

Here is the New York Yankees roster, based on their time played with the Yankees:

1B – Lou Gehrig – The Iron Horse was a Yankee his whole career, which included 6 World Series Championships, a Triple Crown, two MVP awards and a Captain of the team.

2B – Phil Rizzuto – The Scooter was another lifetime Yankee, with 7 Championships, five-time All-Star and an MVP award.

3B – Alex Rodriguez – A-Rod played 10+ years for the Yankees, including seven All-Star games. two MVP awards a World Series Championship.

SS – Derek Jeter – Jeter spent all of his career in pinstripes, picking up 5 Championships, 14 All-Star games, all-time Leader in Hits for a SS (ML), and a team Captain.

C – Yogi Berra – Yogi played, managed and coached the Yankees in his career, which included 12 Championships with the team, 18 All-Star appearances and three MVP Awards.

OF – Joe DiMaggio – The Yankee Clipper was a lifetime Yankee with 9 Championships, 13 All-Star games, 3 MVP Awards, and a record 56-game hitting streak.

OF – Mickey Mantle – The Mick spent his career in Pinstripes with 7 Championships, 20 All-Star Games, 3 MVP Awards and a Triple Crown.

OF – Babe Ruth – The Sultan of Swat was a 4 time Champion in Pinstripes, 10-time Home Run leader (in Pinstripes) and one of the greatest players ever to play the game.

SP – Whitey Ford – Whitey was a lifetime Yankee with 6 Championships, 10 All-Star games, and a Cy Young Award.

SP – Ron Guidry – Gator’s full-career in Pinstripes had 2 Championships, 4 All-Star games, a Cy Young Award, and the label of Captain.

SP – Andy Pettitte – Andy had 5 World Series Championships, 3 All-Star games, and a wizard in the playoffs, holding records for most playoff wins (19), starts (44) and innings pitched (276.2).

SP – Lefty Gomez – Lefty also had 5 Championships, 7 All-Star games and one of a handful of pitchers to have two Triple Crown’s.

SP – Red Ruffing – Red won 6 Championships and played in 6 All-Star games as well.

CP – Mariano Rivera – Possibly the greatest pitcher of all-time, Mo had 5 Championships, 13 All-Star games, and hold the record for most career Saves (652).

If I was expanding the roster to include a bench, players on there would include:

Roger Maris
Greg Nettles
Bill Dickey
Don Mattingly
Robinson Cano

A bullpen would include:

Goose Gossage
Sparky Lyle

2K16 Fail

@iAmAviG

1 comment

May 12, 2016

I tend to stay away from NBA games, as they bore me easily, but with the playoffs in full swing, and the “Spike Lee story” promise from 2K, I finally bit the bullet and bought 2K16 NBA.

The storyline itself is a pretty cool example of how a great game can be built…if it actually gave you any freedom.
I’m not talking about choosing which college, but what about picking when the time is right to cut your mooching friends loose?

But the biggest issue is: You need to have an internet connection to continue your game, and regardless of the connection, it likes to not load.
It takes about three or four (really slow) tries to log into “My Career” with the system liking to return an error code: a21468b6, and telling you to check their website for service status.
The site always likes to have everything green lit…when clearly it doesn’t work well.
And buying the game 6+ months after release, you’d think they’d have fixed issues such as “Loading your saved game”, which is a pretty common feature.

The game itself is pretty good, once the slow load times are done, although the defensive abilities seem to have declined from previous years’ games.

This game is too all over the place to merit a rating.

More Sports Talk Radio

@iAmAviG

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May 11, 2016

About 13 months ago I stated that I had started listening to Sports Talk Radio, and these days I listen more than I ever have before.

When I leave work, I no longer want to hear “News”, as politics and serious stories have had their fill for the day.
In the same sense, once it gets past 8AM, most sports news is old sports news, as we are all caught up on last nights scores and storylines.

So the focus becomes digging up good sports conversations and talking points, or just plain old chatting about the idiotic things in the world, that keeps me entertained.

With all that in mind, here is what I’m listening to these days on the radio…surprisingly all three shows are from the same station, 98.7 ESPN-NY.

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz – 10AM-12PM – This show is the one that only has two type of people:
Those that hate the show, and those that love it. And it’s the ones who hate it that keep it on the air.
Dan lives off of the hate that spews from the listeners, who mostly just don’t get the show, and Stugotz is the perfect sidekick…because he is the strangest man you will ever listen to.
From regular guests Tim Kurkjian’s infectious laugh to “What He Looks Like” to the weekly mis-timing of Greg Cote and “Back in my Day” this show should pull most people into the insanity and giant mess that ESPN puts on-air.
Hahn and Humpty – 12PM-3PM — Alan Hahn, Newsday writer who used to cover the NY Islanders, and Rick DiPietro, Former New York Islanders goaltender, host this show, which was designed for overnights.
They used to be on late nights, after Rangers/Knicks games, and they had no issue featuring dirtier talk. But when they got moved to midday, they promised to not change a thing…and they haven’t.
It’s your late-night comedy hour airing in noon form. And it’s fantastic.
It also features Bill Daughtry who does the Sports Center “What you need to know” updates, and as a third member of the chat team.
The Michael Kay Show – 3PM-7PM — Michael Kay, Yankees broadcaster, and Don La Greca, Rangers studio host, host this show.
From crazy rants, in which no one is watching, to trying to convince everyone that they don’t just talk about the Yankees, this show really does cover everything.
The addition of Peter Rosenberg, from “Ebro in the Morning” on Hot-97, has brought pop culture and off-sports to the show (like WWE and Boxing).
That doesn’t include what has quickly become their most popular segment: EEN (ESPN Evening News), in which they cover all sorts of oddities that happen in and out of the sports world. This has actually been repeated recently on Hahn and Humpty in the form of a segment called “Afternoon Delight”.

Rebranding And The Birth of Aviously

@iAmAviG

1 comment

May 10, 2016

It is time to change the name of the blog.

#AvisTravels was born when I went on a 17-hour Amtrak ride and documented the trip using the name. It was an ideal name for my blog, as I sub-headlined it “Traveling the World, My Mind, and My Life”. But people liked to think of it as a “Travel Blog” because of the name, and that led to most of my posts being confusing.

So with a new name needed after two solid years, I went with the obvious. A playful mix of my name, Avi, and the fact that I love to state the obvious.

Aviously will continue to be everything it was until now: Reviews, thoughts, and generic gibber-jabber.

And I fully expect to keep my solid 3-4 readers a day entertained 🙂

Begin Again #Review

@iAmAviG

1 comment

May 6, 2016

Begin Again is a 2013 movie about Dan, a struggling music-label-head played by Mark Ruffalo, who is having trouble connecting with his daughter (Violet, played by Hailee Steinfeld), struggles with alcohol issues, and just can’t seem to find the new artist to help resuscitate his career.

After a night of binge drinking, he stumbles into a bar where Gretta (Keira Knightley) is forced by her friend (James Corden) to take the stage and play her song, to try to help her get over her breakup (from Adam Levine’s Dave).

With no label to back Dan, and Gretta ready to fly back to her home country of the United Kingdom, they take to the streets of New York, to put together the sounds of the city mixed with Gretta’s sound.

Keira Knightley is surprisingly cute (and the opposite of her equally awesome but darker role in POTC), Mark Ruffalo is un-Hulk-like in the family role, and ever since I discovered Hailee Steinfeld’s acting career (including Pitch Perfect 2)(which I found out after hearing her music that that was her in PP2…even though it clearly came before) I can’t get enough of her.

This under-the-radar rainy-day feel-good music-based movie is a great 7.5 out of 10.

Two Years and Counting

@iAmAviG

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May 5, 2016

This post marks my two years of writing this blog. Two years since I bought my iPad Air and couldn’t believe how bad Apple Genuises’ were.

Continuing last years blogiversary themes, I am thankful to have 500+ posts, 250+ Likes, and almost 100 Followers. I still can’t believe those numbers were ever reached on a blog I write, and I am looking forward to my third year of posts.

This past year I also took the blog to the next level, removing ads and turning it into an actual website domain.

Among things I am looking to do in the next year:

Change the blog name: #AvisTravels has done really well for me. But it can be confusing, because for most of the time I don’t talk ‘travels’ and people don’t like reading the subheadline of “Traveling the World, My Mind, and My Life”
Add a writer or two: I want to add contributor writers who write regularly on topics of their interest. Particularly things that I don’t have opinions on, but also counter posts to what I’ve said.

How do I plan on doing both of those? Who knows.
But if you or someone you know wants a place to write, you know where to reach me! The same applies if you can think of an avious blog title that I’m missing out on.

A Spark Ignites – Book #Review

@iAmAviG

1 comment

May 4, 2016

A Spark Ignites by Michael Lachman (of the fellow blog www.michaellachmanwrites.com, and previously of this guest post) is a superhero adventure and a the first step in a journey on Lachman’s writing career.

Matt Stone is your standard teenager, facing high school troubles and a typical family life, including an annoying brother.
But when Matt gets into a car accident and subsequently discovers the suit of “Spark”, New York’s superhero, will he take on the role and try to save the city? Or will the suit overwhelm him, leaving him to need the saving?

This book is a solid read and a 7.5 out of 10, and can be purchased HERE.

The Essence of Time

@iAmAviG

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May 3, 2016

Jobs are no longer 9-5, and more people need to realize that.

I know that my work hours are extremely abnormal (4AM-Noon), but more and more people are working crazy hours, without even acknowledging that it’s okay to be outside of ‘9-5’.

Think about it a little:
A Dr. or Surgeon, who is on-call all hours of the night.
PAs and Nurses doing their time on the overnights.
Accountants working until 1AM (or later) during tax time to get things done.
Lawyers staying late night after night preparing for their cases.
Chef/Cooks who do dinner service are there well into the morning hours.

Sure, there are plenty of examples of standard 9-5 jobs. But please, look at the field you are heading into and see how many people there are working the classic American hours.

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