Have You Used the “Near Me” Feature on the iPhone App Store App?

Have You Used the "Near Me" Feature on the iPhone App Store App?

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Maybe I need to get out more, or maybe I need to go to some more exciting places, but the other day I started to become fascinated with the “Near Me” feature on the App Store app on my iPhone. Supposedly it shows what some of the most popular apps are around you that people are downloading, and for them most part the people around me are really concerned about the news or how to get from here to there, although it also seems like my neighborhood has a lot of radio legend, Steve Dahl, fans, as his app is displayed prominently among the choices.

I’ve tried it a couple of times at places I’ve been, and usually it’s been a similar result – local news apps, travel times, train schedules, but oddly enough, never seeming to be anything fun. I think I might need to head to some fun parts of the area and see what comes up, but for now I wonder: Have you used the “Near Me” feature on the iPhone App Store app, and what the heck, I’m curious of any wacky ones that might show up near you.

That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!

New TV & Old TV, Sucky Bears & Sucky Shoes, Getting Wet & Getting A New iPhone.

By: The Dude on the Right

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The fall television season has begun, and for this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, Stu Gotz and I break down the return of “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Saturday Night Live,” and my lack of seeing the current “Survivor.” Then there are the new shows, and I explain to Stu that “Pan Am” is a good show, especially because it portrays how a stewardess should be, Stu is worried that some shows like “Up All Night” and “Person of Interest” might easily lose steam if they are even able to build an audience at all, and we discuss “The X Factor” and a naked man.

The Chicago Bears lost even with a trick play that reminded me of my football days, lots of people have seen “The Smurfs” movie and we don’t know why, I can’t decide whether I should see a funny movie about cancer (“50/50”) or a movie about baseball (“Moneyball”), I went shoe shopping and was denied by both Nordstrom and Zappos, Stu Gotz got wet and it didn’t even have to do with his wishing his Lil’ Gotz a happy birthday today, and I recommend you start getting in line now to buy a new iPhone on October 14th.

It was a busy weekend, let alone week!

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Stu Needs a Keg Fridge, Good and Bad Movies, Bears in the Super Bowl, and Did Blossom Ever Get Naked?

By: The Dude on the Right

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As Stu Gotz and I eagerly await what Apple has up their sleeve with their cryptic announcement of “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget.”, to be, well, announced tomorrow at 10AM EST, (I’m guessing it’s The Beatles catalog, just in time for the Holidays, or streaming TV, or cloud based iTunes, or free iPhones to the people who send the most e-mails to Bill Gates telling him to buy an iPhone, but that’s just my guesses), we get back to pondering more important things, like our respective weekends which means it’s time for another podcast episode of Stu & The Dude’s Weekend Wrap-Up!

Me, I saw the movie “Unstoppable” and actually liked it, and I tell Stu why. Stu, he saw “Megamind” and actually didn’t like it, and Stu tells me why. We reminisce about a keg fridge and the scariness of getting some CO2, Stu tries to calm my hopes that the Chicago Bears will be going to the Super Bowl, and did you know that “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows” opens this weekend?

Stu is liking the Blossom girl (Mayim Bialik) on “The Big Bang Theory” and wonders if she ever got naked, I had some alone time from my BFF, Stu knows a lot about tee-pees, and wouldn’t you know it, “Burn Notice” and “Psych” are back, much to the delight of Stu.

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

A New iPhone App, SCUBA-ing, and Frontera Grill is Good.

By: The Dude on the Right

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As our latest episode of Stu & The Dude’s "Weekend Wrap-Up!" podcast starts, I give an explanation of time lords and doctors, and some other stuff about Doctor Who that Stu Gotz wondered, of which I have no clue what I’m talking about (Thanks Mystery Dude!). What I do know what I’m talking about, though, is that A) I made another iPhone app called the "Countdown Clockorrayter," and I’m getting marring in under two months!

So, I tell Stu how the wedding plans are coming along, about my BFF and I getting haircuts, and how Frontera Grill (a Rick Bayless restaurant in Chicago), is really good. Stu tried to film some stuff in 3-D while SCUBA-ing, took the little Gotz’s to "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," and finally saw the ending of "Cool Hand Luke" and now understands how it relates to Cartman on South Park.

Stu likes the iPhone app "Plants vs Zombies," while I still like my "Clockorrayter," (and hey, since I’m shamelessly self-promoting, check out "Make Me Smile" as well), Stu’s camera survived because it has some special Bonica magic, and neither of us figure we will be seeing the movie "Takers."

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

I Don’t Have Too Many Eggs (I think), I Just Lost My Basket!

By: The Dude on the Right

As Stu Gotz couldn’t meet up with me today to do a podcast, rather than do a solo episode I decided to hold off the podcast for a day, especially since I know Stu is dying to find out how my bachelor party weekend went since he couldn’t make the trip to New Jersey.  So, that discussion will hit tomorrow. Instead I decided this might be a great time to do a blog – something I haven’t done for this site in quite some time.

Now I mention “this site,” because as I had some time away over the weekend, and have blogged on some other sites I have recently and neglecting this one, and as I’ve been pondering this for quite a while now, I started to look at all of the things I’ve got going, especially since I started developing iPhone apps, and I suppose getting married, and I guess having four Twitter accounts, and then there is my weight loss blog, and, okay…

So, yup, I’ve got a lot of things going on, and I tried to reflect on them.  I said to myself, “Self, why don’t you prioritize them and knock off a couple to free up some time/space in your mind?” I started to look at some of the projects I’ve got active (on life support in some cases), seeing if I really wanted to axe any of them, and I ended up with the following priority list, rating each thing individually on a scale of 1 to 10 in general importance to me/I love doing it/I miss doing it/I want to do more of it/and general 1 to 10-ness, with 1 being high and 10 being low.

  • My Wedding: Um, it’s a 1, duh.
  • My life with my BFF: 1
  • Other hobbies/things around the house/projects: 1

Yes, seriously, as I looked at my list, and there are a few things missing from the above list, there isn’t one of them that I don’t love doing, don’t get jazzed about when I do get around to working on, and yes, I agree, in actuality all of them should have a “2” next to them and “My life with my BFF” is actually the only “1,” but hey, I think even she understands.

The thing is, as I looked at this list, I pondered the idea of consolidating.  For example, do I really need four Twitter accounts? My contemplation on this is simply would my Twitter followers under whenismile actually care about the tweets that would be appropriate for drewdude, and would my general tweeting in dudeonright really be what those in myweightplan would want to read?  And then there is the fact that, right now, whenismile is a little more private, at least from some friends and family, so I can tweet things there without worrying about what they might say.  In fact, I’ve almost been confused about tweeting sometimes wondering which account to put it under, and if I posted the same tweet under all four accounts, thinking all of my followers would like to read it, and someone followed all four accounts, would they be pissed at getting the same tweet pretty much four times?

Then there are the blogs I have.  Yup, would Entertainment Ave!-land actually care that I have a blog about my attempt at losing weight?  When I Smile, which is geared towards things about my “Make Me Smile” app, really doesn’t seem to be the right place for Stu Gotz and our podcasts every now and then.  And I could go on an on.

I guess my pondering really centers about “To consolidate, or not to consolidate – That is the question!”  And if so, what is the best way to go about it?  Sure, I could leave everything under my Webventure Avenue company moniker, but that doesn’t seem to be right.  I’ve had Entertainment Ave! for over 15 years and hate to put that by the wayside.  I suppose Mostly Entertainment could get wrapped into the Entertainment Ave! site, but should it be separate?  Ugh!

I guess I need to let these thoughts bounce around in my head a little more, since, in coming to a final conclusion, if the answer is to “consolidate” then that creates another issue – total site-redesigns of everything I have to get them under one umbrella, or at least in one basket.  And even if I don’t consolidate, maybe I should actually use some of my organization skills/software/thoughts, to put things into little blocks, workable blocks, so that each project is it’s own little world, yet gets some attention every day, with the most, of course, being my BFF.

At least my wedding will be able to be taken off this list in two months – when the “I do”’s have been said, but I’m sure when that egg has been hatched I’m going to just lay another one – I just hope I can get that one to land in the basket I haven’t found yet.

And sure, if you’ve got any answers for the question “To consolidate or not to consolidate!”, I would love to hear them!

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Secure Your Domain, Movies All Over the Place, 3-D Sucks Except for Maybe Toy Story,Frontierville, and Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon!

By: The Dude on the Right

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Was “Prince of Persia” any good? Should you rent “When in Rome?” Why am I sort of watching “Burn Notice?” Well, you will find out the answers to all of these questions, and more, during this episode of the “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast!

As the podcast starts, though, my weekend was lazing, at least Sunday, and I reminisce with Stu Gotz about the first album I ever bought, Queen’s “Night at the Opera,” while he actually reels me in to a bad joke about Oprah that he heard while officiating the nuptuals of a couple in love. We do discuss TV, because it’s what we do, and Stu finally caught up on the MTV Movie Awards and realizes he’s old, while I was half-interested in “Burn Notice,” although sadly Zynga’s latest game for Facebook, Frontierville, has caught my attention. There is an abundance of movie-talk, also, with my early Blu-ray review of “When In Rome,” Stu went into a theater for “Prince of Persia,” he watched a Netflix movie I had but never watched called “500 Days of Summer,” and Stu is not excited about 3-D movies, anymore, except maybe the upcoming “Toy Story 3.”

Stu wonders when I’m getting a new iPhone, I’m wondering why weddings cost so much, Stu recommends a tuxedo place, and there’s a good lesson as to why you should secure your domain name for as long as possible, especially when the police are involved.

How do we fit so much into 20 minutes of podcasting? No commercials! Actually, I don’t know how, but we do, so sit back, have a listen, and feel free to weigh in with what you think!

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

“Get Him to the Greek” is Good, The BP Oil Spill is Bad; Howie Mandel is Funny, Jimmy Buffett seems Sad.

By: The Dude on the Right

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Our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast is a day late because Stu Gotz was on a fact-finding mission to Key Largo, but I think he just wanted some time away from kids so he could spend quality time with Mama Gotz, or maybe just go diving. As Stu tells it, he was on a mission to check out the reefs in the area prior to them being contaminated by the BP oil spill, but he really seemed to talk more about the local spots he and Mama Gotz visited where the only fish they saw were the ones that ended up in their belly and they serve a lot of Bud Light.

SCUBA diving aside, I tell Stu if “Get Him to the Greek” is any good (It is!), and we both discuss the failings and not-so-failings going on at the launch of the new iPhone at the Apple WWDC. I find out that Stu isn’t a fan of Andy Ihnatko, a tech writer for the Chicago Sun Times, whereas I enjoy his articles, Stu is excited that “Burn Notice” is coming back, and I don’t care, I think Howie Mandel is a great judge on “America’s Got Talent,” Stu likes “Supernatural,” Jimmy Buffett seems sad, and it looks like graduation parties will be a part of my life for many years to come!

And to wrap up the podcast summary, during this podcast you can find out which one of us is excited about the new “The A-Team” movie, if either of us want to see the new “Karate Kid,” and how I’m hoping for the Chicago Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup this year because I need to shave.

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Holy Crap, I Made an iPhone App!

I so wanted my first post announcing my first iPhone app to be filled with gloriousness, with “Hey, go out and get it!”, with “Let me know what you think!”, with “Sure, I know it’s $.99 and you want it for free, but hey, I do have plans for a limited, free version with ads someday, but really, will an ad above a picture that makes you smile really make you smile?”, and “I have lots of ideas for future versions, but if there are any suggestions you have please throw them my way!”, and all kinds of other fun comments like that, but then I downloaded my app when it was officially approved on Monday.

Low and behold, a little bug that I thought I fixed somehow re-appeared. The thing is that it was a bug that might make you frown and not smile, especially if the first “Make Me Smile” picture you took using the app was priceless, because, well, there was a glitch where the app wouldn’t save the first picture it took. All other pictures would be saved to your library, but not that first one. So instead of a joyous “Holy crap, I made an iPhone app,” all of a sudden I was just saying “Oh, crap.” And made my previous post on the When I Smile site.

But alas, I plugged away at truly eliminating the bug (Please, please, please don’t be there anymore!), and Version 1.1 of “Make Me Smile” is available for download in the app store, and it only has one goal: To be able to, when you need one, make you smile.

Yes, I do have a lot more features in my head planned for the app, and heck, I have other ideas for apps floating in my head, even one for the Entertainment Ave! website, but for now, please feel free to visit the When I Smile site, spend the $.99 for the app, and thanks for your support, suggestions, and smiles!