Accident on the I-95

John·ny-on-the-spot (noun, informal): A person who is available and ready to act when needed.

Lately that's how I've been feeling with my new Samsung A900 phone. Florida has plenty of strange daily happenings to keep me busy with the camera features of this wonderful gadget but today my phone had a much more serious role to play. On my way home from work at about 4:45pm, traffic on the I-95 came to a standstill. Now its not uncommon for traffic to slow down drastically due to the natives' driving habits but a complete stop is rare at that time of day on that particular stretch so I knew something had to be up.

Immediately I turned on the camera on my phone just in time to catch black smoke rising over the car in front of me. From there the situation only got more serious as firetrucks and ambulances raced by me on the shoulder. As I inched my way forward I knew that this was going to be bad. By the time I got to the scene of the accident the fire had been doused, leaving only the smoking hulk of what looked like a Nissan or Toyota truck.

None of the local stations are reporting anything yet on their websites although it's been over an hour since it happened. I sent in one of my pictures to the Florida Today but there's no telling if they'll use it. I can only hope though that nobody was seriously injured in this accident, or worse yet, killed.

New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals

On March 15th, 2006 I accompanied my fellow employees to a match of wits and strength between the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals, formerly known as the Montreal Expos. This has been a yearly event for the organization although this was the first year my particular department was invited.

This turned out to be a real learning experience for me. Firstly, I learned just what the limits of my new camera phone were. But more importantly, I gained valueable insight from my co-workers that would not be so easily accessible at work. As it turns out, several people have put faith in my design for a new web portal and are rooting for my success.

More importantly though, it has become clear that there are many opportunities out there for an IT worker such as myself. I have always managed to inadvertently pick fights with my most immediate supervisor and this organization is no different. My vision for the future differs from management's and I believe mine to be the correct one. I hope to persuade my bosses of the same yet the knowledge that there are companies out there that desire a new and efficient solution has given me a confidence that I haven't felt before. I have no intention of leaving my current organization but it makes me feel better to know that other opportunities exist.

In the meantime, please enjoy the impromptu gallery I have put together. This is my first time using Blogger in conjunction with my cell phone to create one but I think it will more than suffice.

The Samsung A900

Until quite recently I was the proud and happy owner of a Samsung vi660. It was a simple phone in terms of features but had color graphics, was fairly compact and got great reception. Yet as with all clamshell designs, the hinges were susceptible to wear and what started out as a hair thin line last December become a full blown crack earlier this week. Shortly thereafter parts started falling out and thus I was involuntarily placed on the warpath for a new phone.

Because I still had four months until my two-year contract with Sprint matured I was only able to get $75 off any new phone I purchased. My journey started at the Sprint store and as I made clear with the automated survey I responded to earlier this evening, the experience could have been a lot better. The salespeople were not at all knowledgeable about the product as they made several promises, such as being able to transfer the contacts from my old phone, that turned out to be completely based in fantasy.

That leads me into my major complaint about this phone. Though the camera, multimedia capabilities and enhanced web access are all new, the basic applications such as the calendar and address book are virtually unchanged from the vi660. For instance, transferring contacts stored on your computer requires a Bluetooth connection despite the presence of a USB connection. And even then it's considered a small miracle when it works. If you're thinking about synching the phone with your calendar, forget about it. The capability simply does not exist.

Yet despite these glaring feature omissions, this phone is simply amazing in terms of multimedia support, ease of use and looks. And by looks I mean it looks damn fine. In my opinion it's the best looking phone out there, even more so than it's inspiration the RAZR. The swivel camera is a definite plus as it allows you to take pictures or videos of yourself while previewing. And with the USB connection I can easily transfer items to and from my computer without the need for a 3rd party vendor.

Indeed, the past few days have found me using the A900 to watch videos, play games and in general do much more than just call people. It is truly a multimedia wonder for such a small size. And yet I know that I probably haven't even touched on half of the available features. No doubt I will be spending the next month grokking this phone in an effort to maximize its capabilities. I look forward to the surprises in store for me.