Aviously

Thank You Derek Jeter – #Re2pect #FarewellCaptain

@iAmAviG

September 24, 2014

Yesterday Derek Jeter stepped off the field one last time. Some people are calling him the greatest Yankee ever, while others are arguing that some of the older players (Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle) would rank ahead of him.

But one thing is certain. For anyone younger than around 40 years old, Derek Jeter is the man who helped bring Championships to the New York Yankees.

With his career now over, let’s take a look at what he brought to this team, and to the league:

5-Time World Series Winner (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009)
2000 World Series MVP
1996 Rookie Of The Year
5 Gold Gloves
5 Silver Sluggers
14 Time All-Star
6th All-time in Hits
9th All-time in Runs
And most importantly:
The Captain

Yes, he was never the strongest Yankee in any specific year…someone almost always hit more (or better) than him (except when he lead the league of course), but he was consistent.

And his consistency is why we came to love him, and why the league gave him the farewell it did. When the game was on the line, there is no other player you’d rather have at the plate, then Derek Jeter.

And Thursday night, in his final game at The House That Jeter Built, in his final game as the Shortstop for The Yanks, Derek came up in the bottom of the 9th, and knocked in the winning run, with his signature hit to right field. Add that to a great list of moments in his career, moments including (in no particular order):

The Flip
The Dive
Jeffrey Maier
Hitting a Homerun for Hit #3000
Being named The Captain
Earning the title Mr. November
Becoming the All-Time Hits leader for the Yankees

So thank you Derek Jeter for allowing me to see my baseball team win 5 championships. Others may hate all they want, but no other baseball team has had that success in my lifetime, and I am proud to be a Yankees fan.

Happy New Year 5775

@iAmAviG

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September 24, 2014

Happy Jewish New Year to all my Jewish readers, and to those of you who aren’t but want to be included!

Let’s hope that this upcoming year is full of good things, and everything that you wish for!

Gotham – Reviewed

@iAmAviG

2 comments

September 23, 2014

In a show that lasted for what felt like more than an hour, Gotham started off with a great big bang. Loaded with fresh characters and new info in the ever elusive story revolving around the killings of the great Wayne’s and inevitable rise of Batman.

Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) is as slimy as her name. Cat women is just like a cat…always lurking and always watching. And Penguin, well his story on his rise to evilness is just beginning, and no one will stand in his way (limping joke), as Season 1 is said to focus on his story in particular. And the Riddler’s little appearance just begs for questions about when we will see more of him.

And Det. Gordon, as your main character in this series, is a great focal point, as we start to uncover truths about his girlfriend Barbara Kean (who we seem to know more about then he does).

Oh, and was that girl “Ivy” a glimpse at a young Poison Ivy?

So many characters…so many characters to explore…and so many potential seasons just waiting to be written.

Solid show, 8 out of 10, and I will be back for more next week! (BTW, that is a LOT of blood for an 8PM show…)

How Mayor de Blasio Will Slowly Bankrupt This City – Free Stuff Edition

@iAmAviG

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September 21, 2014

So New York City is going to be giving out “Municipal ID cards”, which is supposed to help New Yorkers’ “regardless of immigration status, to get a government-issued photo identification card from the City” (LINK).

Now while this seems like a great idea…is it really? If you are undocumented, should you be getting the same status that I have?

And does this mean you are now going to be paying taxes, just like everyone else?

But now the icing on the cake: The ID cards will get you “Free membership packages at many of the city’s attractions”.

Let’s take a look at the benefits that these ‘undocumented’s will be getting:

Memberships to:

Lincoln Center
Carnegie Hall
Bronx Zoo
New York Botanical Garden
American Museum of Natural History
Snug Harbor Cultural Center

And yes, you can argue that I can sign up for the card as well, and even so, my argument remains the same, while it is super-nice to give free things to New Yorkers while tourists’ still have to pay, the city suddenly taking on these extra costs is completely unnecessary at this point in time.

Let’s just hope that our next mayor will be able to pull us back out of this mess.

New Phone Thoughts – Yours!

@iAmAviG

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September 19, 2014

For the first time just about ever, I will be eligible for an upgrade. This is possible because in the past I have bought phones at full price when an old phone broke, or someone else used my upgrade on a family plan.

Now that I am on my own plan, after migrating off that family plan 10 months ago, I am finally eligible for an upgrade! So while I am very much in love with Motorola Androids, I am open to suggestions, and reasons why other phones may be better for me.

We can start off by saying that I will NOT by buying an iPhone or any iOS product, even though I already own all the apps for it.

Android is my operating system of choice, but any thoughts on Windows Mobile would be appreciated.

As for the phone…here are the options as far as I can tell:

Moto X (2nd Gen.) (Android) – I have the 1st Gen. and it is one of the best phones I’ve owned. Battery life is incredible, and the phone runs just as fast as Day 1, regardless how many apps I have on it (or am running at the same time), or upgrades the phone has gone through.
Samsung Galaxy S5 (Android) – Based on things that Samsung pushes as “Features” – Dust and Water Resistant, Finger Scanner, Adapt Display
LG G3 (Android)
HTC One (M8) for Windows
Nokia Lumia Icon (Windows) – 4 Microphones, 20MP Camera,

Now while I am interested in owning a Windows phone at some point…and that Lumia looks really good…I did just get an Android smartwatch that I am attached to at the moment, so I am not inclined to switch away from.

I am leaning towards the Moto X, but if someone can make a solid argument for another Android phone, please do!

EA Access Review – @EAAccess

@iAmAviG

1 comment

September 18, 2014

EA Access is the new subscription-based service being offered by Electronic Arts.

While originally going to be offered on all next-gen gaming systems, Sony turned down the offer, leaving it as a Microsoft exclusive service for now.

For only $5 a month, or $30 for the year, this service is a no-brainer for any gamer.

Access gives players a chance to try out new games up to 5-days early, and then gives off 10% when you actually buy the game (if you choose to). Which in reality, offsets the price of the service for the year.

Even better, Access has a library of games for you to download from. These games are the FULL VERSIONS of the game, and once a game has entered the library, it’ll be there forever. So with only a few games there now (more on that in a second), it will be an ever expanding service.

The games offered in the library aren’t the newest games, but to most gamers that really shouldn’t matter.

Sports – Madden 25, FIFA 14 are among the starting games in the library. Sure, they are last years versions of sporting games, but for some users (Read: Me) who don’t care about soccer rosters, but enjoy playing the game once in a while, it’s great to have access to
Battlefield 4 – What’s that? It came out in 2013? Did you play it yet? I know I didn’t. So when my First-Person shooter yearly fix comes around (usually about 2 weeks before a new Call Of Duty comes out) I’ll get to play through this game.
Need For Speed: Rivals – Similar to Battlefield, there are times I just want to sit back and race. But I’ll go out and buy a racing game, play it for a week or two, and then be done with. Cars to me just get boring after a while…I don’t care about unlocking the most expensive McLaren out there. And any N4S is the newest N4S as far as I care.

This really is a great deal, for an extraordinary price. Rating for this service is a solid 10 out of 10.

Licenses, Road Tests, and Handicapped Parking

@iAmAviG

4 comments

September 17, 2014

Licenses are acquired at different ages depending on the state of residence, but regardless where you get it, you need to take a road test that proves you know how to properly operate the vehicle.

Unfortunately, once you passed the test once, you don’t have to ever take it again, even as you age, and renew your license.

Personally, I think a lot of people on the roads can do with refresher courses, especially as they get older, and as new laws and street lines (such as the stop line at intersections, which people clearly don’t know about) come out every few years.

The refresh road test should simply be driving. It doesn’t (based on NYC standards) necessarily need to include K-Turns, but parking might need to be in there, as bumpers are used more often than not for bumping.

Simply enough:

Every 10 years from 18-40 years old
Every 5 years from 40-65 years old
Every 2 years from 65+

Additions

One thing that should be added to a road test, is learning how to pump gas. This is something that could be highly dangerous if done wrong (such as overfilling or not closing it correctly) but most people get 0 training on how to do.

It wouldn’t take that much to add that to a road test, and I am sure that you can get some Corporate Sponsorship, from Sunoco or BP or the likes, which would help either subsidize the tests or at the least bring more income to the cities.

Handicappers Take Advantage

While I am sure many people who use the handicapped placards in their cars truly are handicapped, and shouldn’t be walking long distances, the lines need to be drawn somewhere. Here are two examples that I’ve noticed frequently in my area of people who should have it revoked, simply for abuse of the system (regardless of if they have issues or not…these just aren’t acceptable):

Alternate side parking: The street in front of my house is NEVER swept by the truck, because every time it comes down my block, the neighbor who lives across the street from me, with her handicap card, parks in front of my house.
Now you might think “Well, she’s handicapped, and that spot is open”…but what I didn’t mention was: SHE HAS A DRIVEWAY.
Stop preventing people from doing their jobs properly, simply because you are too lazy to pull into your own driveway.
For the last few weeks I have noticed a handicap carded vehicle parking over the weekends in the “Doctors Only” section of parking outside a nearby hospital. And yes, I am certain that the car doesn’t belong to a Dr. at the hospital.
While this in itself isn’t such a big deal (unless of course a Doctor is rushing in for surgery and can’t find parking because of it), this week the car was parked RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE EMERGENCY ROOM ENTRANCE.
That’s right, where the ambulances are supposed to pull up and unload, this car just parks for the weekend, because they can.

While I am not against people who truly need handicapped cards to receive them, they shouldn’t be allowed to completely abuse the system.

Moto 360 Review

@iAmAviG

5 comments

September 16, 2014

What can I say, besides this is one seriously cool piece of tech. My first purchased wearable is definitely not a dud, and all the negative reviews I’ve read, are just flat out wrong.

The Face

For the first time in a smartwatch, the face is round, instead of square or rectangular. While this does make some notifications or texts awkward, as they get clipped in the corners, I have yet to see a case where it is really an “annoyance”.

One of the big negatives I had read before the watch came out was about it missing a little piece on the bottom of the circle, not giving it the full round look. Now sure, when I look at my watch (depending what face I am wearing) I may notice that the ‘6’ is not there, but I honestly haven’t even realized that it is “missing” unless I am specifically looking at it.

Battery Life

Motorola advertised this watch as a “Whole Day Battery Life”. The Wall Street Journal on the other hand said:

Most days, after charging it overnight, I had to put it back on its wireless charging cradle by 4 p.m.

If I had to guess, the author probably had the “ambient sensor” turned on, among who knows what else.

Me personally, I take it off the cradle at 5AM after an overnight charge, and after using it a full day, until 9:30PM, it has had 40% battery life left (on the worst day). This is with the watch getting notifications throughout the day, and with me getting “new tech fever” and playing with it all day as well.

Sizing

This was my biggest concern when I ordered the watch. While my wrist is not thin, it is not huge either, and I was worried that this watch face would look enormous on me, and that the weight would be undesirable (one of the reasons I stopped wearing my old watch).

Happily, I don’t even notice when I am wearing it. The face is the perfect size for my wrist (and yes, everyone is different), and the weight is light enough for it to feel like a normal watch.

Pricing

The Moto 360 is priced at $250. For a standard watch, that price point is a little high. For a piece of technology, it is right in the middle. Compared to Apple…well in that case it will leave you with plenty of money to buy hot drinks while you watch the Apple-fanatics sit outside on line for their Apple Watch mid-January.

Notifications

In simplest terms, every notification from my phone, now goes to my watch as well. Now you may think that it can get overpowering, as that same WSJ article alluded to:

If I wanted to see every notification on my phone, I’d just hold my phone in my hand all day.

Well, thankfully with the Android Wear app it now gives me the options to mute certain apps, while allowing others to come through. So while I am happy to see my emails/texts/Sports Center notifications throughout the day, it is completely unnecessary for my Dice With Buddies notifications every few minutes.

The biggest question of course is: What do you need that, if your phone gives you the same information? I’ll answer that on the bottom in my Overall (don’t want to get ahead of myself).

Navigation

One of the big issues while driving and trying to get directions is that you need to constantly glance at the phone to see where your next turn is…and if someone else in the car is using your phone, you keep having to ask them to check the next step for you.

With the watch, it is oh so simple.

For starters, you can just tell the watch where you want to go (like I’ll say “Go Home” and it’ll connect with my phone and find the best route). Then as you approach your turns, the watch gives a tiny vibrate on your wrist to notify you of an upcoming move, and when you glance at it, it’ll say straightforward “Turn left in 200 feet at Adams Street”.

Overall

90% of the time I pull out my phone, it is to check the time or to see what that vibrate was for. Of those times that it is an email, at least 80% of them get deleted without being opened. Now I can just look at my watch, get my time, and browse that email or just delete it as it comes in, without ever pulling out my phone.

On a rainy/snowy day, or while biking (for some examples), don’t you wish you didn’t have to pull out your phone?

If you plan on buying a wearable device, this is the one to get. I would give this a 9 out of 10, with room for improvement.

And if you have any questions about the watch, just ask away (on here, Twitter, wherever, I’m not too picky…and I’ll answer it if I can)!

NHL 15

@iAmAviG

1 comment

September 15, 2014

NHL 15 is a fresh start for EA to reboot the franchise.

While it didn’t necessarily need it, a new next generation of gaming systems came out and they decided to rebuild it from the ground up.

Everything below is for the next-gen systems (Xbox One and PS4), while the old systems were simply a roster update this year, and visuals remained fairly static.

So let’s start with the good…

Visuals

The players look amazing, and everyone being involved instead of just those playing the puck, just makes the visuals pop on screen. Because they are all involved, it means goalies will get involved in shoving in front of the goal as well as penalties being called if you get too physical down there when there is no puck around.

Unfortunately, since it is a reboot, there are a few glitches. Simple things like passes towards the front of the net go in, with the goalie not even trying to block it (as he doesn’t read it as a shot).

Presentation

Getting a fresh sound this year with Doc Emrick and Eddie Olczyk from NBC Sports and Ray Ferraro from TSN reporting “between the benches” is nice. Pair that with the full graphics package from NBC Sports, and it is a good recipe.

Unfortunately, ~~yet again,~~ they only have one year of recordings in the game, so lines get stale really fast.

Gameplay

The gameplay feels a little sluggish, but that could just be me getting used to the new system(?). The players are clomping around in the defensive zone, making it hard to actually position yourself in good places.

The gameplay is actually quite nice once you get into it, and you really need to work to get your goals (and on the flip side, not making dumb mistakes on defense, leaving players open in front of the net).

Puck Physics

These have been taken to a whole new level, as the puck will take weird hops if they hit scratches in the ice, and similarly to being able to hit off the stanchions.

Overall

~~I bought this game because I need my yearly fix of NHL action, but if you have a choice, I wouldn’t recommend putting it high on your list as there are better games currently on the market.~~

~~Sadly it is just a 6.5 out of 10 because of the glitches and stale audio.~~

After a few weeks of play, I am happy with my yearly NHL fix, and would recommend this to anyone that wants to play some hard hitting hockey.

Rating has been readjusted to 8.5 out of 10.

Songs Of Innocence by U2 – Review

@iAmAviG

no comments

September 12, 2014

With the big news all day Tuesday being Apple and their new iPhones, people tend to miss the biggest part of that event. That is when U2 came out, played a brand new single, and then announced that they are releasing a new album immediately available for free via iTunes.

Not only was it free…if you had an Apple product, it automatically showed up in your cloud (available worldwide on October 13)!

With the first new album in 5 years from U2, it brought back the old-school U2 and sounds of music that many have fallen for over the years.

Named Songs of Innocence, the album features lots of personal Bono songs, with some flashbacks to older U2 songs, such as mentions of 1970s Ireland and attacks there (which made me go back and re-listen to Sunday Bloody Sunday (and this week I discovered that to be on the “No Play List” for iHeart Radio Stations ever since 9/11)).

For anyone that liked U2 in the past, they will definitely like this album…for haters, well, give it a try anyways, and you may just come to like Joey Ramone (you’ll get the reference after looking at a song list).

But the bright side is that this album is Part 1 of a 2 album release, with the second being Songs of Experience, which will definitely have a price tag on it, and as of now, an unknown release date.

Overall, this is a great album, rated 8 out of 10.

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