Bay to Breakers 100th Anniversary: Our Experience

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Adelle and I decided to run the 100th Anniversary of San Francisco's Famous Bay to Breakers 12K 2 weeks ago and here's the report: (sorry it took so long and for that reason this post is extra long) New sponsorship, followed with a new ban of no alcohol on course or ridiculous drunkards running around, Zazzle and the city of San Francisco set out to reduce the mess and ridiculous amount of waste caused by this fanatical race.

The Day Before:

Zazzle held a two day expo where  Saturday would feature a guest appearance by non other than Mr. Ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes.  We, and by we, I meant me, had to get a photo taken with him.  Adelle and our friend Joyce waited patiently in line while I grabbed our race bibs, chips and stuff, then Joyce took this great shot!

He's super nice and was easy to talk to.  He would have kept on talking too but I wanted to keep the line moving so I courteously ended the conversation and left.  Interestingly enough, he just finished running across the continental United States four days prior to this appearance!  What an athlete!  Another tidbit of information would be he's amazing 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days in 50 different states.  If you want to see and read more of his stuff, his wiki is quite extensive too! (Wiki: Dean Karnazes)

The expo itself was setup well, a little chaotic for my taste, but if you wanted to get in and out, it was definitely easy.  We bought some new running belts and Adelle even bought some new Nike Free Livestrong Editions for a great price!  Adelle will review at a later time, hopefully, but until then, that's the two cents.  Overall, Zazzle did a great job for the first time hosting such a large and legendary event.

Following up with a great lunch and carb-load dinner, we ended the night early in preparation for the 12K. Adelle and I actually thought of running this race for reals for little did we know that there would be a lot of walking on the course slowing our pace.  I mean, it's not like we are professional runners or ones that have a set time in mind but we wanted to give it our best.  We're "organized" type folk so this is our bed the night before.

The Race:

Getting to the start line was literally a breeze; cold and forecasted to rain. So Adelle and I hurried up a little bit to warm up and got into our coral with time to spare. It was madness with tortillas flying around, naked men and women (mostly men) amazing costumes and fun. When do you ever see people excited to run 12K that early in the morning!?

Along the race, we ran, we walked, we spectated, smelt some medicinal drugs being shared amongst citizens and were just in awe at the awesomeness that this race still was minus the keg running athletes. There was alcohol sporadically throughout the race, policemen trying their best to take the bottle away, but the porta potties along the course were far and few between. Water stations were present but more not operated that well. All in all, a good race with a mediocre pace. Adelle and I haven't ran a race since the 2007 St. Patrick's Day 10K in San Diego so this was a fun one keep pace together.

All the way through the end, we finished strong by the beach and got our cool finisher medals. It was the first time too that Bay to Breakers was handing 'em out, so yes, we feel special. There was even some small time groups selling food at the finish line so we of course indulged. Hand outs were a plenty and the post race party was a blast. We couldn't really stay long because we had to checkout of our hotel by noon so that was that. Although, along the way back to the car that Marella was so nice to pick us up in, we saw a filipino dood sporting a Manny Pacquiao outfit and that was definitely one of the best we all seen. Good job Mr. Impersonator! Sorry no pic because all of us were just too shy.

Here are screen caps of the waaay too expensive race photos. How come all these race pic companies charge so much anyways?

Running Data: Bib # 46246: 1:26:01 // Bib # 46247 1:26:02 You can actually even see some video of both Adelle and I crossing the finish line at the same time by just typing in our bib numbers on the following link for the actual Bay to Breakers 2011 Live Results Page. (link)

I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but we have officially switched to using tap tap tap's amazing "ultimate photo app" for the iPhone called Camera+. You should definitely check it out. If anything, you can check out adellelijah's stream via campl.us:adellelijah. Instagram is also fun, but there's a bug for iOS 4.1 users that wasn't fixed so I stopped using it. Plus, Camera+ is packed with A LOT more features for those amateur photographers in us. Download it now...we're suporters!

If you want to see some pictures of the craziness along with videos, I found this is an awesome recap. (via nonstophonolulu)

the Legendary White iPhone 4 Case Giveaway

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After nine excruciating months, Apple has finally gotten the right mix of materials in order and has released the once mythological, almost classified as vaporware, white iPhone 4! To think that I almost waited this long for the white version?! Yes, I still want the white iPhone 4 so I'm also willing to say that I'll trade anyone with buyers remorse for my 32GB black iPhone 4 so just drop me a line but back to the facts. Selling for the same price as the black iPhone 4, you'll get the same device albeit with some minor changes to the proximity sensor as well as a purported minor increase in thickness?! Although not mentioned or re-specified by Apple, these new white Apple iPhone 4s should fit all cases alike and in celebration, we're going to give away two brand new awesome iPhone 4 cases!

From left to right, check out the Scosche bandEDGE g4 or the Casemate Horizontal Hipster with Black Lining both made for the iPhone 4 GSM. I believe that they should also fit the Verizon / CDMA variant but unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that it will. Any who, why not just enter cause it's a freaking free giveaway?

No you don't have to own the white iPhone 4 to be elegible or even own an iPhone 4. All you have to do to enter is to tweet this website and mention the giveaway, leave a comment or post / writing a blog that leads back to this post. If you do all three, you receive three entries! (I loved the method that Ray Maker uses on his DCRainMaker Blog that I thought I'd incorporate the same methodology so here it is!) Just make sure to tell me how how many entries you've entered in the comments below and I'll be sure to give you all the credit. Entires are required to be in by Saturday May 7th, 2011 at 11:59PM Pacific and goodluck!

Go Padres!

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Preventing a sweep by the Cincinnati Reds, the San Diego Padres, with bases loaded at the bottom of the ninth pulled through! I had that feeling / intuition that they'd do it so I quickly switched my iPhone 4 into video mode and captured it live then immediately uploaded it to twitter & twitvid! And just in case you're wondering, YES...this is worth a blog post!

Adelle and I (Elijah) hold some awesome 2011 Season tickets to the San Diego Padres and will be holding giveaways now and then. If you are interested in purchasing a pair for a particular game, send an email to us@adellelijah.com and we'll get back to you with what we have and don't have left.

Here's a picture of myself, Adelle, Ester and Jeremiah where me and Jeremiah are sitting in the actual seats, Field Reserve, Section 120, Row 17, Seats 8 & 9. It's the section to be in.

Another “V” Day for History

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Did you take a vacation right after New Year’s and miss out on all the CES news?   If you did, don't worry about it.  However, the biggest news to break out from Las Vegas was nothing that was introduced at the world famous convention but instead trumped its very existence.  More specifically, on Friday afternoon, privileged members of the tech press core, minus one naughty iPhone 4 prototype buying blog, received invitations for a special event in New York with Verizon serving as their host.   A matter of fact, Verizon even held their usual unveiling of products at their CES Press event but completely stayed away from the words iPhone or Apple saving it for a separate day. Insiders privy to this announcement have already drawn conclusions that it will mark the day that Verizon will introduce their version of Apple’s fourth generation iPhone.  Over the last few days, other tidbits have risen about the event.  From data plans said to be remaining “unlimited” at $29.99 a per device combating AT&T recent introduction of tiered data plans and further speculation of what models and whether or not Steve Jobs will show up are floating all over the internet.

Causing various controversy, ranging from Gizmodo’s ban from future Apple press events to the now famous Antennagate scandal, this device is marked to be a breath of fresh air for the iPhone 4.  Not only with the placement of the external antenna but most importantly the capability to take advantage of a network that has yet to experience the deluge of iPhone users and their hormongering data habits.

Questions range from mobile voice and data pricing plans, to Early Termination Fee costs, will the new iPhone have LTE capabilities or come equipped with the standard 3G CDMA technology, will it be capable of simultaneous voice and data and is there something special accompanying the set date of January 11, 2011?  I mean, we've also already read around that the iPhone 4 won't be for sale until the end of the month, so why now?

We’ll all know for sure in less than 12 hours so stay tuned for a summary of today’s exciting event right here on adellelijah.com.

Review: Contour Showcase for the iPhone 4

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Nearly six months has passed since the debut of the iPhone 4 and up until two days ago, I've been forced to either go naked or use Incipio's Silicrylic Hard Shell Case with Silicone Core which, by the way, didn't even prevent the front glass from spiderwebbing from a 3" drop! Lucky for me, Apple has been there time and time again. In case you didn't get it yet, adellelijah is an Apple fanboy/girl but then again, we love anything we can get our hands on to review! Two years ago, I reviewed the Contour Showcase for the iPhone 3G which was the best and only case that I recommended for the iPhone 3G/S.   It wasn't until the day that I took mine off that my iPhone 3G suffered a devastating front glass crack after being dropped.  It was within a 24 hours of taking off the case that I dropped it hat making a $75 mistake.

Onto the review.  Packaging as always remains the same as previous generations and if you don't take a close look at the name of the specific case you are purchasing from Contour, you might just end up with a something else besides the Contour Showcase iPhone 4 offering Premium Protection.  Priced as one of the most expensive offerings, it comes with a holster that doubles as a flip out stand for enjoying movies or FaceTime moments and of course, the case itself.  Made of a light weight polycarbonate, and bordered in a rubberized finish, Contour boasts that its case is shock absorbing.  You can clip it into the holster face out of face in for some privacy vertically or horizontally and whatever your choice, you can't go wrong as this is the best of the best.  Appropriate holes for all necessary access and covers for the sleep / wake button and volume buttons offer superb tactile feedback.

The Showcase protects every edge of the iPhone 4 as well as offering a full clear cover for the back.  Without the White iPhone 4, I guess it doesn't matter whether or not its clear, but it still gives hope to showing the world that you have the latest and greatest mobile phone. Gone is the top quarter plastic layer from the previous generation leaving unobstructed views when using the front facing camera. When plugging in the Apple charger or USB cord, the case doesn't come in the way of the connector although, other connectors might have issue with the spacing available.

One of the biggest differences from the previous generation Showcase is placement of a side latch which effectively does a great job of keeping the device in the case.  The case snaps in closing from right to left which is a little backward but I'm guessing Contour did that so you can properly get snug to the volume buttons. Holding it in your hand actually makes for a comfortable fit and doesn't get in the way. Occupying the space in your pocket, the case doesn't feel too bulky.

A negative change is the absence of a thumb latch which helps you take the phone out of the holster.  This makes it a little harder to remove the device in case and with the holster doubling as a stand, Contour degraded the actual utility of the clip itself.  Since day 1, I've already had the entire phone in holster come off of my belt in the car, on the aircraft while sitting down and even when wearing a jacket bending down to pick up a pen.  Good thing the jacket kept it from falling to the pavement.  I've taken pictures of the clip and if you look closely, it's rounded off which doesn't provide much of a grab to the belt.  I have to admit that this is really bothering me lately as it always feels like the holster + phone can be easily snatched away.  I actually don't like it one bit.  The holster makes for a perfect stand but then again, it might as well not be called a "holster."

Conclusion: Even with the short comings of the holster causing a little frustration, I'm giving the latest Contour Showcase my personal recommendation as the case to protect your Apple iPhone 4. This is my 3rd case housing my iPhone 4 and you can bet your dollar that this is my last. I've included a barrage of photographs below. Click on any of them for a larger shot. Because of the holster not living up to 100% of functionality, I am forced to give it a 9/10.

Apple knew this but we didn't care either

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When did people ever care more about functionality than design; is your iPhone 4 completely useless because of it?  No.  The consumer public has been aware of this issue the last few weeks but are still flocking to Apple stores in droves to purchase the new iPhone 4.  Some of us (females) wear the most ridiculous and uncomfortable shoes sometimes just to look good so that's the same idea right?  We have seen people complaining left and right about the loss of reception under the "Death Grip" but I can't say that I've actually experienced it myself nor have I encountered an individual that is holding out for this very reason.  My fiance hasn't complained much about reception issues greater than her negative AT&T coverage on the previous iPhone 3G, but then again, we both have Apple's Bumpers as our solution to protection.  We're enjoying FaceTime moments and it couldn't have been done without Apple's new iPhone 4.  It also became law this past year that you need a handsfree device to talk in the car, and in other states, you cannot text while driving which might cover browsing the internet and reading up on your tweets.  So what's the big deal?  Put the phone down already while talking. This post is a response to this morning's Bloomberg's article which unleashed a storm startling us out of bed with the inside scoop that one of Apple's senior antenna experts, Ruben Caballero, warned Steve Jobs about how the innovative antenna design might lead to dropped calls.  We all know what the final outcome led to; one of the most beautiful devices on the planet hands-down. Now it's under fire.  Apple's image is under fire being compared to Toyota's recall debacle.  Apple's stock has taken a 9% dive since it's record breaking all time high of $274 and the world doesn't know what to do.  So Apple is finally dealing with this issue.  Stay tuned for tomorrow's event at 10am Pacific Time.  Will Steve Jobs be around?

In the meantime, how do you hold your phone?  Here's how I hold mine

Share photos on twitter with Twitpic

Update: Apple's online store is showing shipping times of 3 weeks from today.  Does this mean a hardware change is in place in their China factories?

The Current State of Apple's iPhone 4

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Warning: I get blunt near the end.

Since the release of the iPhone 4, there has been a plethora of praise and negativity culminating in today's repeal of Consumer Reports recommendation of Apple's latest device due to possible interference and degradation of reception.  On July 2nd, Apple released a Press Report addressing this issue found here upon multiple complaints and initial reports of loss of reception.  Consumer Reports demonstrates the loss of reception when the iPhone 4 is held a particular way in this video below.  Mind you, there are multiple YouTube videos that also demonstrate this but there are also fellow tech bloggers that aren't reporting this issue.

During the first week of the iPhone 4's release, Techworld posted an article how an early adopter figured out a way to "improve" and prevent interference with the addition of scotch tape to the bottom left side of the the critically flawed device.  Since then, multiple lawsuits have been filed, a class action suit has been submitted, and random people and friends are inquiring me asking if I'm experiencing the issue.  (list of lawsuits via @Gizmodo)

Bottom line:  AT&T has always been terrible.  I was always using my iPhone 3G on Edge to save battery coupled with the face that the 3G service was horrible.  I've always had Apple's Bumper on my iPhone 4 since day 2 of ownership and cannot specifically admit that I've experienced this issue.  Sincerely, it's not any worse than my two year ownership of the iPhone 3G.  In fact, I'm loving my iPhone 4 which allows me to do SO much more.  Yes, I'm an early adopter, I love Apple Products but I'm not going to be a little bitch and complain about something that a simple a fix can't solve.  Everyone needs to get over the flawed American Mentality of suing companies for "flawed" products and just don't buy the damn thing.  It's not flawed!  How can it be when 1.7 million people bought the damn thing in the first 3 days! (Apple's PR)

Grow a pair, leave AT&T, dump the iPhone 4 and get an Evo already.  Because of the Apple and the success of their iPhones, I was able to sell my two previous versions (1 black iPhone 3G 8GB and 1 white iPhone 3G 16GB) almost paying for the new phones!  It's ingenious that their hold a certain value on the used market which makes me a happy consumer.  Yeah there might be an asterisk and for some unknown reason when Apple was beta testing the design they missed this detail, but come on, the iPhone 4 is awesome!