2011: My Android Year

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Gadget journalism on the Web seems to be held to the same standard as entertainment journalism, meaning rumors, guesswork and hype make up most of my Google News alerts and Twitter feeds. But (like entertainment journalism, to those who follow it), the hype is strangely addictive. And the hype isn't just about a new device hitting the shelves, but upcoming announcements about devices that won't see a shelf for months, or even announcements about upcoming announcements. It starts with leaked device code-names or Photoshopped concept images, then there are unconfirmed spec sheets and rumored release dates, followed by official teasers and then trade show releases (with the hands-on videos and device comparison sheets). Finally, YouTube starts getting the gadget version of amateur porn: the unboxing videos. It's an information strip-tease, showing just enough to catch the attention and drive the imagination wild with what isn't revealed.

I'm not an early adopter of technology, and when something starts to get exciting, I research it for months before I make the jump. I've been carrying around a Windows Mobile phone (the HTC Touch Pro 2), top-class technology that integrated well with work when I bought it, but it seems that Microsoft as a mobile platform is moribund, while Android is the new market share powerhouse. In early 2010, I started following rumors of a beast of an Android phone called the HTC "Scorpion" and for the next year, I submerged myself in Android hype. By January's Consumer Electronics Show, I was sold on two or three Android devices scheduled to release in the first half of the year.

I'd followed a rumored Motorola Android tablet code-named "Stingray," which was introduced at CES as the "Xoom." The Xoom is the hardware reference for Google's new release of Android, version 3.0 dubbed "Honeycomb," and it boasts a dual-core processor, rear- and front-facing cameras for video chats and HDMI output among its features. When the iPad came out, I couldn't understand where it fit in the gadget ecosystem: was it a bulky smartphone (sans calls), an underpowered laptop or a high-eyestrain eBook reader? Then, as I moved many of my computer activities into the cloud, live-blogged from geek conventions and trips, and grew weary of taking my laptop out of my carry-on at airport security, I began to realize that the tablet was the ideal travel laptop. The more I researched the applications and accessories (like a Bluetooth keyboard) that would be available, the more the tablet's niche solidified:

• Live-blogging
• Travel laptop that stays in the carry-on, through security
• Garmin navigator replacement
• Stream media (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) to any TV
• SSH into my work computers and Amazon EC2 instances
• Portable movies
• Document editing (with Google Docs)

As of this writing, the Xoom is supposed to release on February 24, 2011. But that information comes from the gadget rags: Motorola and Verizon are silent on the topic.

As for the Android phone, up until CES 2011, I was looking forward to the HTC Thunderbolt, billed as "Not your dream phone. The one after that." It's sleek like the Nexus One, thin but with a huge 4.3" screen. It's the first "4G" phone on Verizon's LTE network. But Motorola came to CES with a surprise: the heretofore un-hyped (and unheard of) DROID Bionic, with a dual-core processor (the Thunderbolt's is single-core), more on-board storage and an HDMI-out port. The Bionic's case is not as pretty as the Thunderbolt's, but it seems to be more of a powerhouse. Even if Android 2.2 doesn't utilize dual core processors (and that's a big IF -- I haven't seen it categorically demonstrated that this is the case), Android 2.4 will, and software always evolves to push the hardware. The Bionic will have staying power. My wife surprised me by turning down an iPhone to replace her dying BlackBerry Storm, so I'm going to get her the Thunderbolt and stick with my Windows Mobile phone until the Bionic comes out. I'll be able to do some real comparisons then.

Now, I wait. Neither Verizon, nor HTC nor Motorola have made an official statement about release dates, but the current rumor-mill has the Motorola Xoom releasing on February 24 2011, the HTC Thunderbolt releasing on February 28 2011, and the Motorola DROID Bionic releasing in June 2011. After that, I'll have to wean myself off of Android hype news, and enjoy what I have instead of lusting after the next cool thing.

Amrut Fusion: the acclaimed single malt whisky from... India??

Whisky writer Jim Murray named Amrut Fusion Single Malt the world's third finest whisky, giving it 97 out of 100 points. What's interesting is that Amrut Fusion isn't a product of Scotland, or Ireland or even Kentucky. This whisky comes from Bangalore India, a city known for outsourced information technology rather than fine spirits. As a friend put it, "Beating the English at Cricket or Soccer, well that's just fun... but beating the Scots and Irish at booze... that I have to taste!"

As did I. And this evening, my wife came home from work with a surprise for me. The local Binny's Beverage Depot carries the entire line of Amrut products. "Amrut" in Hindu mythology is the nectar of the gods. I've been looking forward to pouring a glass and sharing the experience with you. Let's begin!

This whisky is a lovely light amber color, and its aroma hits you right as you pour it: the first whiff reminds me of cedar and cherry. It's a very fresh profile, but if you stick your nose in the glass like a wine taster, you can smell an undercurrent of smoke and maybe a hint of peat.

My first sip bites at the tip of my tongue like a super-hot chutney. This is not a whisky I would typically drink neat. It's rough on the tongue, but full of flavors of fruit and vanilla-oak, with cloves and orange rind simmering at the back of the throat after it goes down. I'm not well-versed in whisky, but I've tasted a fair bit of wine, and Amrut Fusion has the same level of complexity I'd find in some of my favorite wines. It changes in your mouth, from the sharp, sweet attack at the tip of the tongue, to a spicy, smoky robustness at the end.

The Indian men of my parents' generation love their Canadian Club, and get excited when they get their hands on a bottle of Chivas Regal. Now, they can drink something light years ahead of their old standards. And best of all, it's from their homeland. Amrut, you've made a drink worthy of the name.

Related articles

• Whisky Bible Awards Ballantine's and Buffalo Trace Top Three 2011 Honors (luxist.com)
• Properly Sauced: Amrut "Fusion" Single Malt Indian Whiskey (chicagoist.com)

Daily Six Ounces: Murphy-Goode "All In" Claret 2005

My calorie-counting has caused me to seriously neglect my wine consumption.  So I resolve to budget for 6 ounces (2.5 Weight Watchers POINTS) of wine every day.

First up: the Murphy-Goode "All In" 2005 Claret.  A "claret" (pronounced with a hard 't') is a British term for Bordeaux red wine, so this is a Cabernet Sauvignon (59%), Merlot (28%) and Petit Verdot blend.  Poured in my glass, I can smell this beast a foot away, all dark red fruit and wood.  After a while, the wood becomes more pronounced, and that overused phrase "toasty oak" feels apropos.  (Mind you, the smell is competing with my wife's dinner of urad dal, but it seems to hold its own against even Indian food.)  At the rim, it's a deep brick red color, deepening to an inky purple inside.  It's a big, full wine in the mouth with a soft texture, notes of vanilla and berry on the tongue, finishing with a bit of peppery spice at the back of the throat.  Maybe it's just ghosts of meals past (in particular, at the now-closed Meritage restaurant in Chicago), but this wine makes me think of venison loin with a sour cherry sauce.  I think it would be great with a big gourmet burger too.  Even though it's so soft, the heft of this wine demands food.  I'm drinking it as a "cocktail", but it's making me hungry.  For meat.  Goode stuff, guys.  Maybe tomorrow I'll get myself a big old Carson's burger for dinner with my next six ounces.

The Alligator on the Chicago River

No dangerous thrill
About the river now that
They caught the gator.



http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/08/alligator-spotted-on-north-branch-of-chicago-river.html

We wore our boots, got our cameras and armed ourselves with sticks -- just in case.
We cut school and set out to the Chicago River, hoping to see the alligator.
We hunted through the reeds, stepping over the broken glass and soggy rubbish, making no noise (except when trying to scare each other).
We saw the river with new eyes.
We spied ducks, geese, some jumping fish and the tail of a beaver as it slid into the water, but our quarry eluded us.
We saw on the news that evening that the gator was captured an hour before we got there.
We secretly hoped it laid eggs.

American Ideals and Islamic Terrorism

Every time America has strayed from the principle of equality under the law for all people, we end up viewing it as a black mark on our history.

Every time Americans compromise their ideals (such as those codified in the Bill of Rights) in response to anti-American terrorism, the terrorists score a victory.

Every time Americans equate radical, Islamic zealots with all Muslims, Osama bin Laden comes closer to his stated goal of instigating a war between the West and the Islamic world.

Every time Americans justify repressive policy on our part by pointing to repressive policy in another country, we erode our claim to moral superiority.

Location, Location, Location

I used to be a regular at a bar near my apartment, "Garret Ripley's".  I'd go there almost every day.  Even when alone, I'd go to read or write over a couple of pints of Boddington's.  The owners and staff knew me by name, and I knew them; someone would start pouring my Boddy's the minute I walked in the door.  Cute servers would chat with me between rounds like we were old friends.  It felt special.  And that feeling of being special, as much as the Boddington's, kept me coming back.

This week, Facebook launched its "Places" feature, in line with social networking technologies like FourSquare and Gowalla.  You, with your GPS-enabled mobile phone, can "check in" to the places you vsit, broadcasting your city-crawling lifestyle to your friends.  You're also rewarded for "accomplishments" both wide (you've visited the most places in your neighborhood) and deep (you're the most regular of the regulars at your favorite pub).  Now, feeling special is easier than ever: these services will express admiration of your worldliness, and show appreciation of your repeat business -- all while providing businesses with valuable customer intelligence as outlined in the fine print of their privacy policies.

Commentators on the State Of Society have the same critique of these technologies as they had for blogging, Facebook and Twitter: they feed our narcissism, they substitute stunted forms of interaction for real human interaction, they publicize things better kept private, they create a barrier to "authentic" experience...  There's truth in all those notions, but that doesn't interest me much.  These aren't technologies that are aimed at solving particular problems, they're technologies that are looking for a use.  And while the initial applications are sometimes bizarre, it's interesting to see the uses people do find for them, and how that causes the technology to evolve.

FourSquare and Gowalla users can leave their friends messages, retrievable only when their friends check into the location it was left.  The messages can be useful, like "try the corn bisque -- it's dynamite", or just fun Kilroy-was-here markers, like finding a friend's initials carved into your school desk.  As the things you can leave for your friends to find become more sophisticated and multi-media, entire parallel dimensions of reality will be created, accessible through your mobile devices, where the public, physical world is only one part of what you can discover.  All the old haunts are new again.  It's easy to imagine "Dungeons & Dragons" types of games, played in a virtual overlay on the physical world.  "London Below", the hidden world existing sideways to the real London from Neil Gaiman's book Neverwhere, seems prophetic.

Of course, if you're technically savvy, there's no reason to even leave your house to explore this virtual world. I have a friend who writes applications against the FourSquare API such that he has generated phantom digital proxies of himself who spend all day wandering plausible routes (plausible, to prevent FourSquare from noticing it isn't a real person, and blocking it) and checking into places around town.  He describes it as the "game underneath the game" of FourSquare.

Digital realities and phantoms who wander a world similar to our own, but invisible without the proper gear and permission.  The craziest science fiction is coming true in our lifetime.

Do you check into places using social media?  If so, what do you enjoy about it?  How would you like to see this develop?  If not, what's your biggest turn-off about it?  What changes would get you to use a location check-in system?

Bedtime, Age 6

    I’m already moving as I bat down the light switch. The dark pushes the light back into the bulb and then swallows it, but I’m flying, my feet clearing any shadowy arms that might snatch from under the bed.  Landing, I scramble to make sure nothing hangs over the edge.  I know the rules for avoiding what lurks underneath.  Following the rules keeps me safe.

    All the monsters in the dark have rules, and six-year-olds know them instinctively.  Light and grown-ups scare them away.  Things that live under beds can’t reach up on top of them.  Blankets protect whatever they cover.  Things that peer in the window won’t come inside if you pretend you’re asleep.  Things that live in closets can’t open doors by themselves.

    Oh, no.

    The closet door is cracked open -- just a little bit, but enough.  The opening is a black slash in the nighttime gloom.  The watching darkness freezes me.  I’m afraid to look, but terrified of looking away.  I carefully sit up, trying to make no sound -- and a bedspring’s creak sends a gasp to squeeze my throat.  The shadows shift around me but I keep my eyes on the closet.  The shapes that flutter at the corner of my vision want me to look at them.  I know better.

    I have nothing but my hands to push the door shut.  I have to reach -- to lean -- over the edge of the bed.  This is part of the rules too.  If you forget to check before the lights are out, whatever happens is your own fault.  That’s when they get you, when you make a mistake.  Mommy and Daddy won't always be there to protect you, you know.  I reach over the edge, trying to watch both the dark slash and the shadowy floor, suddenly forgetting whether something will spring from where I’m looking, or from where I’m not.  I imagine if I push too softly, the door will bounce on the latch and the crack will yawn open like a hungry mouth.

    I forget about whatever is under the bed as I slam my palm against the closet door.  It closes with a too-loud CLACK, and I dive back to the safety zone, burrowing into the warm covers, squeezing my eyes shut so I don’t see the fluttering things that want me to see them.  I lie very still, waiting for my heartbeat to slow.

    The danger fades, and feels a little silly; gentler dreams come out to play like wary mice.  Secure in blankets, all I need to do is act asleep -- until I am.  I'm safe again for one more night.