I acquired a Palm Pre on Friday and have been putting it through its paces. So far, it’s been incredibly pleasing to use particularly compared to Windows Mobile and the UI far more visually appealing than the Blackberry Pearl it replaces. I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the keyboard. I like it just fine and think it’s big enough. One of the reasons I switched to the Pearl from the Curve was because of the larger keys. Switching between open applications makes sense and I like the integration of the web browser into the general UI.

Some of the applications I’ve been using and like: Tweed, Accuweather, Sprint Navigation, Where, and Flixster. The camera app and camera itself are quite good. Web browsing is pretty much perfect. Some things I don’t like: battery life, wildly inconsistent signal strength, inability to customize any sounds other than ring. I also miss my Wall Street Journal application. These issues are particularly hard to stomach coming from a Blackberry with much better battery life and the ability to customize any alert, any time. The notification system on the Pre is clunky and archaic at best. I’m lucky to get a day out of the Pre thus far on an overnight charge, hopefully some software will come along and fix this.

For work purposes, our enterprise Groupwise system has been the bane of my existence and this continues here with no decent way to synchronize calendar, tasks and contacts with the Pre. There’s a third party app called Companionlink that will do this via gmail, but seriously, every enterprise PIM should have solved this issue by now. The only thing that might save me is Novell’s licensing of Activesync, or a switch to Exchange.

I’ve had some students ask me about using the Pre instead of the Windows Mobile devices I’m requiring (Treo Pro, Touch Pro or Touch Diamond), but thus far none have complained after being regaled by my tales of bad battery life and no Epocrates. Really, as a version one product the Pre is great, but just a little more enterprise friendliness would go a long way.

Her: Are you going to work out today?
Me: No, I’m too full.
Me: Give me some of those cheetos

What an interesting journey so far. Four years ago when it was just KT and I the substance of life seemed like it was much less, though also much calmer and simpler. Much more narrow. Our horizons have been widened by previously unfathomable amounts. Other changes have come too, which have really carved new facets into our personalities, most for the better though some not. Our depths of loving have grown and grown, but I think at the expense of some patience. Patience can be restored though while the expanse of love and new formed history continue.

I was so happy to wish you happy birthday this morning. This time that we share is like no other and I am grateful. We’ve all worked hard to be where we are today and that work has paid off exponentially. Watching you form and grow and learn has been a real joy thus far and it’s wonderful to watch your Mom’s sweetness and my curiosity in things grow in you. Now if only we could slow the growth of your Mom’s stubborness and my need for immediacy (read impatience). Whatever you make of yourself though, it’s you and I’m just glad to be an active spectator in it all.

Happy birthday!

Apparently, I really do need to change the name of this blog as I sold my scooter a little while back and the only thing I’m riding now on two wheels is pedal powered. I suppose if I take a figurative translation of the title it could stay, as “Scooters in the Mist” might refer to misty dreams, which for now is the only place my scootering will reside.

I sold my scooter because the only place I was riding was to work and back. A whole mile twice a day doesn’t make for a great riding experience and didn’t help me grow as a rider or feel like it was anything more than a commodity experience that frankly is just as easily replaced by walking. My short travels were also resulting in a growing unease with my own skills as a rider and the trust I had for the equipment I was riding. Without trust, the experience can become a bit unpleasant.

That’s not to say that I won’t go back to it someday, but for now I have kids to raise and little time to spare pursuing solo activity. Which riding really is, it’s yourself, the air and the road. I’ll come back to it. For now though, I feel like my identity as an individual is too strongly tied to KT and the kids to really enjoy individual pursuits.

Perhaps since I now have two vintage espresso machines and a few antique hand grinders which comprise some of the parts of my newfound coffee hobby the theme of this blog could shift to somewhat more caffeinated pursuits.