When Apple first released their legendary iPhone on June 29, 2007, there were many different reactions toward the device. Some people, such as myself loved the concept of being able to do virtually anything from the simplistic phone...and others thought the device could use major improvements, such as being able to access the networks faster data connections, multimedia-messaging or having a traditional "physical" keyboard which all the original iPhone lacked.

Through further releases of the device and OS updates, the device finally had the programming capability to do many and much more of the above critiques...but a few that the device still lacked in the United States was multi-media messaging. The phone was fully capable of doing so in OS release 3.0, but AT&T restricted use of the multi-media messaging capabilities. Why? Bandwidth.

On Friday, September 25th, 2009...AT&T finally made available multi-media messaging. I think it is absolutely ridiculous for a company such as AT&T to partner with a company and basically bag their users of features because of poor planning on their part. It is my belief that AT&T took off a bigger bite than what they could chew. They had many months before hand to prepare or upgrade their network to be capable of doing such high-bandwidth tasks.

People have said before that you cell phone is only as good as your service provider, and in this case that is true partially. It is of my belief that AT&T has given Apple a bad representation of themselves. The phone works great, the only lacking thing is quality and reliable service. Hopefully, AT&T will get their act together if they are smart and are completely sincere about getting their customers the best quality of service for all users of the iPhone now and in the future.

-Ken

Labels: apple, att, cell phones, history, mobile, revolution, service

I love the captions you guys come up with! Add a caption of your choosing. Let's see who comes up with the best one!
(If you are reading this from Facebook, please click on "View Original Post" to add your comment to the actual blog. Thanks.)

Labels: caption, photography, please, poll

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining with my buddy, Derek for some night photography in Downtown Atlanta. One of my favorite pastimes is photography, and more specifically I love long-expose photography. There is just something about it that is fun and entertaining for me. Night photography is not something everyone is good at, and to be honest, it is quite easy to do.


Don't get scared when I say this, but photography in any form is like a mathematical equation. It is all about compensation. With digital photography, you can easily change the ISO (or ASA) of each image you take. In the digital world, ISO is the CCD's sensitivity to light...it is mimicking the "film speed" in the classic film world. The higher the number, the more sensitive your film is to light. From there, you have the different settings with the lens, such as focal length (measured in mm) and focal distance (the distance you want in focus). What makes this easy for me, is I have captured images on film and compensating the lens just comes second nature to me. I often find myself looking at something and asking "If I were taking a picture of this, how would I shoot it?" That is the eyes of the photographer in me looking observing.


Long exposures are what makes night photography the best it can be. During daytime photography, you strive for the shortest exposure time...but in night photography, you want the longest exposure time. This is how I am able to capture the lights of the vehicles passing by. Doing a long exposure image is what tests your compensation skills the most. You have to be able to manipulate the ISO and f-stop (iris) of the camera to let in the amount of light that you need to "burn in" the image to film or CCD.

Have you ever tackled a night photography image? How did they turn out? What could you have done differently?

-Ken

Labels: compensation, digital, film, focal distance, focal length, long esposure, night, photography

Today is the 8th anniversary of the terrorist attacks upon America. I remember exactly where I was and how I found out about these horrible events. I was in a study hall. Minutes after the first attack happened, I was watching the coverage on CNN there in the library at my school. I remember thinking how horrible these events were, and I was scared to even think that there might be more attacks. Ironic thing is...there were.

September 11th changed the way the myself and many other people...not just Americans perceived this gift of life. It showed me that we are not invincible and are never positive about what today or tomorrow holds. On this day eight years ago, many people lost their lives by doing ordinary and everyday things in which was the norm.

Minutes later, hijackers took over another plane which they flew into the US Pentagon. I do not know about you, but that really scared me. Again, because these are catastrophic events which lead many people to loosing their lives. I have always admired the construction of the Pentegon and this was just as shocking if not more so than the prior events of the day.

This day eight years ago was a very scary day for many Americans, including myself. I will never forget this day intentionally, but even more so, I will always remember how "unified" America was. People were proclaiming "I'm PROUD to be an American" putting up flags and signage everywhere. It was my initial thought that this was going to bring God back into the lives of everyday Americans, but now everything is completely different. People were proclaiming "God bless America" on television and every way imaginable, but eight years later, everything is back to normal everyday life, or so it seems. This leads me to the question, why is it that only when something bad occurs, why is that when people chase after God? Why can't that be an everyday thing?

There are many "reports" out there that are saying that Bush and the Government were behind the attacks on September 11th. I think those are bogus propaganda and stupid. I do believe that there were organizations behind it, but I am not here to say the Government worked hand-in-hand to bring these attacks on the American people.

What are your thoughts? Did September 11th change you? Do you think that things have returned to how they were before or gotten worse? How do you think America can once again be "unified?"

My prayers are with all of the families that lost loved ones in these attacks and in wars defending our great nation. You paid the ultimate price for freedom. For that, I thank you.



-Ken

Labels: 911, America, attacks, change, Change in my Life, CNN, foxnews, god bless america, high school, KHCS, memorial, pentegon, terrorist, unified, world trade center

Each and every night you go to sleep. The thoughts and struggles of the day are passing through your mind, at 100MPH. "Did I make the right decision?" "What would I do differently?" "Will tomorrow be any different?" "If I only had more time..." "If I only could..."

Since God blesses us each and every day with a blessing, what if you woke up and everything was just how you had left it? The sun was set, the outside was dark...the birds were still fast asleep and the grass was dry. The clock says "7:16am" but there were no signs of the day coming. There were only signs of night. People were getting in their cars to go to work, traffic was awful as always but no sun...or no freshness of it being another day.

We all have those days when we question ourselves, but if we step back and evaluate our lives or our situations from the outside looking in, you will notice something. At the end of each day, we go to rest and are awake with a brand new day with the hopes of it being different. When you go outside, you see the glorious sun shining low, just peaking through the trees and the birds chirping their melody to their own song. The grass is pristine with a slight dew affixed on top of them. Each and every day is a miracle from God our Father. Thank goodness for a new day everyday.

This is why God is amazing. God does not live in the past, nor should we. We should not let frustrations or situations we face daily in our lives effect those days and decisions before us. We serve a mighty God...one that is, and was and will be to come. "Cast your cares upon him and He will make your paths straight." He is asking that we give everything to him. That closeted sin, that struggle, that anger . . . that problem that we are too selfish to give over. God is there for you. He wants nothing more than your everything.

To HIM be all glory and praise!

-Ken

Labels: amazing, cares, forgiveness, morning, new, pristine, start, struggles

One of my buddies posted this video to Facebook...




I have head this song before on the satellite radio, and to be honest, I had never really listened to the message that it tells. When you play it and really focus on it, there are many truths we can apply to our lives from this song. One that stood out the most was "Sometimes goodbye is a second chance."

If you think about that, in order for change to occur, you have to say "goodbye" to one way, and "hello" to another. An example I want to speak about real quick is a child. A child grown up and becomes a teenager. The clock is ticking before that teenager needs to get out and be his own person. In order to do that, he must say goodbye to family life at home and therefore say hello to his new life ahead of him. It is more than likely a major emotional step for both parties involved, but it is what is best for the teen and his future.

Is there something else that stood out to you in this song?

-Ken

Labels: change, Change in my Life, future, goodbye, growth, hello, maturity, music, music video, radio

Today, we all live very busy lives...rushing to get forty hours of work in a week, busy planning in meetings, telephone conferences or classes. Whatever state you are in your life, I can guarantee that you have many responsibilities that you must meet on a daily or weekly basis.

A good man (or person) can take their tasks they have each and every day and organize them by priority and execute them in a timely manner. But even further than just responsibilities, an organized person is the most valuable to an employer. The employer will not have to constantly worry about this person loosing things and will be confident in his abilities to follow through in a task when it is assigned to him.

I personally choose to be an organized person. Being anything less or working in an unorganized situation really bothers me...to the point that I find myself fixing the organization prior too or while working on the other projects that I am working on. Organization is definitely a quality of a well rounded person. Great leaders and organized.

My mom tells me time and time again that I am just like her dad. To be honest, I would have to agree with her! Unfortunately, I never got the chance to meet him, but the description that my mom says about him fits my personality very well. She has always told me that I keep my tech things very organized and take the best of care of all of my little toys. But...other things, such as putting away clothes after doing the laundry is not on my priority list. I just thought that was very funny, and yet how very true!

So, a question I want to ask is this. How are you with organization? How do you function in an unorganized environment?

Labels: A New Man in Town, fixing, leaders, organization, question, trends

Information. It is something that is a vital part of each of our lives. You contain a lot of it, but what are you doing to positively impact this world and the people within it with the information that you distribute? Are you too concerned with what people would think about you for your information you contain? Those are some deep questions, but if we look at ourselves, it is really something that we need to evaluate on a daily basis. Not just once.

Whether it be through Twitter, Facebook, a blog or personal connections (just to name a few) we all have made a label for ourselves. Looking at our model, he exhibits information that is positive, encouraging and uplifting to his people in the world around him. Now, I am not saying here that everything has to be serious and life-changing. You can add some stuff in there that is funny, cheery, or even sarcastic...but do so in good taste. Keep it professional.

Odds are high that there are going to be people who disagree with you, but how do you handle that? I have many opinions, thoughts and beliefs that contradict the people around me, but I am not discouraged by that. For example, I like the color blue. My neighbor here "hates" the color blue. He prefers red. Does that make him wrong? Absolutely not. You also have to ask yourself what basis is this opinion disagreed with? Is it a moral issue? Spiritual? Political? If you publicly ridicule someone for a matter of disagreement, then that is not in good taste. If you disagree with someone on a matter, ask yourself why. Do research and find out if your life depended on it, if you believed enough, you would stand firm in your decision. Learn to disagree agreeably.

I have learned much in my time of interaction with people, and I have matured much. We are all wired different and have different beliefs. So, I ask you the same questions now that were above...What are you doing to positively impact this world and the people within it with the information that you distribute? Are you too concerned with what people would think about you for your information you contain?

It is your civil duty to do research and find out what you believe and why. Once you are confident, inform others. Maybe they were wrong, and you can cast a positive change in their life by taking your stand. You never know. Love you guys!

-Ken

Labels: A New Man in Town, agree, disagree, growth, information, informative, interaction

In the world today, a real man will put the needs of others before his own. It is a rarity to find a person which will listen to a person talk more than he will add to the conversation. With that in mind...I will let you ponder on these things. Everything that I would like to say, I have already said.

God gave you two ears and one tongue. You should listen twice as much as you speak.

-Ken

Labels: A New Man in Town, listen, speak

There is something special about a friendly person, that we all desire to be around. I personally find it so much easier to be around a friendly person that a person who is mean, cruel, condescending and negative.

When a friendly man comes into a room, it is as though they are a breath of fresh air that people admire and cling too. A friendly man will focus on the good in people and situations and will not be there to harp on anyone. But even in the tough times, a friendly person can make people enjoy the time they spend together. A friendly person will make people smile, whether it be through sharing a life experience, story or simply making people laugh. There are many other qualities that a friendly man will possess those are just a few of the many examples.

Who is the friendlies person that you know? How has that person influenced you the most?

-Ken

Labels: A New Man in Town, condescending, cruel, happy, laugh, mean, negative, people

To be a smart man, you do not necessarily have to graduate with a Master's degree with a 4.0 GPA, but do not get me wrong that is one type of smart. There is more to smart than being able to study for tests and ace them.

A "smart" man according to my philosophy is one who can think on his feet and use his knowledge is relevant areas to make wise and educated "guesses" in a field that he may not be an expert. I know many people who have graduated from schools with a perfect if not very close to perfect grade. To be honest, in some areas they may not be that knowledgeable.

I, myself have been told many times how "smart" I am, but if you look at my high school transcript or college transcript, those are not 4.0 GPA's, for the reason of I do not test well. So do you think that I person should not be considered "smart" because they may not do well in an academic environment, but are simply stunning in areas that they are amazing in? If you are basing "smartness" on a numerical GPA figure, I think you are missing a large percentage of the equation. Anyone can simply regurgitate answers that are given to them, but how many people can successfully think on their feet when the clock is ticking?

A sincere smart man can take knowledge in an area and use those as a guide to find answered to questions or problems that may arise elsewhere. How do you compare?

-Ken

Labels: A New Man in Town, common sense, education, gpa, knowledge, smart