Summer is an Ugly Season

As I was sitting on my front porch, looking at the falling leaves in their various colors, watching the squirrels running and gathering food, digging holes and chasing others off, savoring the cool Autumn air, I thought to myself "fall is so pretty".

Then I began thinking about the other seasons, and how the outside of my new home is going to look come winter.

Winter is a beautiful season in Michigan. The pureness of the white snow, blanketed and sparkling on the lawn, icicles glittering off of the trees, the crisp bite of the winter air. I will watch my kiddos all bundled up playing in the snow or sipping hot chocolate, throwing snowballs, building a snowman or sledding. The skies are clear, and when the sun is shining and breathing becomes a visible phenomenon, one can be truly level minded... winter is full of beauty in nature.

Spring is fabulous as well. The flowers are all in bloom, the birds are singing, the cool air leftover from the winter is dancing with the sun and warming, so full of scents from the blooms and the growing grass, the smell of overturned dirt and the buzzing of various insects titillating the senses, restless children eager to go outside and run in the sunshine or play in the refreshing rain showers... Gorgeous.

So what can one say about summer? I say it is ugly. Think about it... Come late July and into August the heat is excruciating. Leaves are withering and grass is turning brown from lack of water and overexposure to the sun. The sun is menacingly beating down on rooftops and sidewalks. The smells of car exhaust lingering in the still air are disgusting. Mosquitoes are just as thirsty as the rest of us, and will stop at nothing to get a drink. Then I took into consideration the human population. Men and women dressed in virtually nothing, whether they look good in nothing or not. Sweaty and stinking, humans whine and complain about how hot it is and the size of their electric bills from running the air conditioning day and night.

Yep, summer is an ugly season, and I sure am glad another one is over.

Android

I am a geek. I am a computer person. It is just in my blood. I enjoy my college major (Information Technology concentrating in Web Development and Design). I love everything about computers, so when I found out way back when that the upcoming smart phones are essentially mini computers, I had to have one.

Strapped for cash as always, my husband DJ and I opted to get the buy one get one free Droid Eris. Little did we know they would be soon be at the end of their stock life (in more ways than one). Within a couple of months of buying these tasty little techy treats, they were pulled from the shelves of Big Red, and were no longer sold.

The computer geek in me decided to do as much research as I could on my little smart phone wanna be, and I discovered that these phones could be "rooted", a word to phone geeks with the same meaning as hack. The operating system could be modified with a simple download and a little know how to run faster, have the newest updates that Big Red decided not to give the Eris, and be completely customizable. I was pretty skeptical because I knew nothing about mobile device operating systems, and from what I read, if a replacement phone is needed, rooting voids the warranty, there is the possibility of "bricking" the phone (the term refers to the amount of use your phone would be is comparable to a brick... the phone would essentially be a very expensive paperweight), but I knew deep down inside that after enough research, I would eventually take the plunge.

Then the inevitable happens - my phone decides to take a shit. I contacted Big Red, and they send me a new phone... well, erm... a "like new" refurbished, pre owned phone. Great. Thanks a
lot.

This is when I decided to take the chance. If I damaged my phone beyond repair, I have insurance and I would just run it over with the car or put it down the garbage disposal... Whoops! Naughty kids... but I didn't have to do that at all.

I rooted easily, and flashed my first custom ROM. I started with kaos froyo (now that I had the magical Android 2.2 Froyo that Eris owners who follow the rules would never have a chance to get), and it was all over from there. I learned about the Android operating system, how it is a Linux system and is Open Source (Google it, home slice), and familiarized myself with the recovery menu. I learned how to download and flash newer custom ROMs and I was amazed at the speed that new updates and ROMs became available.

I am now running CyanogenMod 6 with the nonsensikal 8.2 ROM (which is Android 2.2.1), and it is amazing... though I am sure something new will come out soon enough for me to try. I fell in love with rooting and all of the aspects of customizing my superior smart phone.