Brain Dungeon

To my “regular” readers:  I know this post only really targets iPhone users…and to those of you who are iPhone users, it only targets those who use Google Voice. I’m not trying to ignore the rest of you…I just want to share this information. I’ll try to post something soon that’s not so “user specific”.

Recently I posted a review for Meebo for the iPhone because of how seamless it made the transition back and forth between desktop instant messaging to mobile instant messaging. In that post, I mentioned using GVMax with Google Voice. I had put off writing a second post about GVMax because I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to say about it. But today I found a little nugget of information that I just HAD to share.

For those of you who have an iPhone or iPod Touch and have a Google Voice number, you know how infuriating it is that Apple has not only denied the official Google Voice app, but subsequently pulled all apps directly related to GV. Unless your phone is jailbroken, you are stuck using the web app. It works, but let’s face it, it’s a little clunky. I’m using an iPhone 3G and the site just feels painfully slow, even on WiFi. Plus, it uses the phone’s native dialer instead of allowing you to choose which phone to ring, so iPod Touch users are “out of luck”.

Until GVMax.

What you first find out when you read about GVMax is that you can use it to send your Google Voice SMS messages to the IM client of your choice (it uses your Google Talk account). So you can IM back and forth from your computer, from your phone, from wherever, and the person you’re talking to is getting text messages on their phone. Spiffy. Additionally, if you read the user’s manual, you will find that you can (by virtue of your contact groups in Google Voice) send group text messages.

What I somehow overlooked until today is that you can initiate your Google Voice calls from your instant messaging client. I didn’t see this in any articles I read about GVMax, and somehow I overlooked that when scanning the manual. This is an under-emphasized feature! (iPod Touch users…take note!)

So here’s how it works:

First, you have to have Google Voice. You have to sign up for GVMax. I’m not going to go into those details. Once you start working with the text messaging and getting voicemail transcriptions sent to you by IM, you start building up your GVMax contact list on your buddy list. In the initial stages, it’s a little frustrating as you are working on authorizing the contacts to add you to their “buddy list” since each GVMax contact is a new contact on your GTalk account. You can jump start the process if you read the manual and use the gga {number} command to add the numbers to your contact list (hint, don’t use the brackets). By the way, if that phone number is in your Google Voice contact list, it will show up on your buddy list as “ContactName [Phone]“.

So you get a text or a voicemail and you want to call the person back. First you have to designate which phone you want to use. If you don’t already know your phone index (which you probably won’t if it’s the first time you’re doing this), in any GVMax contact type “ggp” (without the quotes) and send the message. This will send you a message that says something like:

“retrieving available forward phones…”

“1. Home Phone 12145551212
2. Cell Phone 12145551314″

So if you want to use “Home Phone” you then type “ggp 1″ (again, without the quotes) and then send the message. You’ll get a response that says something like:

“Foward phone set to : Home Phone”

Now you’re ready to make a call. And as far as I can tell, it keeps that phone selection until you change it, so you don’t have to do it EVERY time you are ready to make a call, just when you want to change the designated phone.

So, if you already have the contact up on your IM client that you want to call (either because you got an SMS or voicemail transcript), you just have to type three little letters – “ggc”. Send the message.

You’ll get a response that says something like: “Placing call to 2145551919, +12145551212 set as forwarding phone”

Then – you wait. Your phone rings. You answer. Google Voice connects your call (the same way it would if you were using a desktop browser to place the call). Awesome.

If you want to call a number that isn’t on your contact list, no sweat! Just open ANY GVMax contact and type “ggc” followed by the number. Like this: ggc 2145558282. It’ll treat it like it did the call to your contact.

How awesome is that?

So using GVMax, you can get true FREE Google Voice SMS through IM. You can initiate calls through that same IM client (even on the iPod Touch!). Oh, and you can play your voicemail, too. The transcription includes a link to the audio. It’s not perfect, but in my opinion it’s more smooth than launching the browser, waiting for the page to load, clicking on a link for contacts, waiting for the page to load, clicking on a contact, waiting for the page to load, etc.

You know, I’ve been using GVMax for SMS and voicemail over IM for several weeks now…and I kept thinking “too bad I can’t just hit a button to call this person back.” If only I’d read the manual thoroughly!

Merry Christmas to all my Braindungeon readers!

It’s been a pretty quiet (blog-wise anyway) several months for me. I’ve been pretty busy and when I haven’t been busy, I just haven’t been sure of what I want to say or how I want to say it. So, if you’re reading this post after my 7 months of silence, THANK YOU for stopping by!

I have a little story to share that warms my heart and I am hoping will warm yours. Before I get started I want you to know that while I am one of the subjects of the story, it’s not about me. It’s about the other person. I don’t really like talking about when I give to others because, to me, it cheapens the experience…but this particular experience just needed to be shared. So please don’t focus on me or my actions in this story…it’s really not about me.

So – rewind a few weeks…

It was early in the morning…it was cold (yes…even cold in Texas). The digital display on the dash of my company vehicle said that it was 34 degrees (Fahrenheit) out. That’s almost FREEZING by even technical standards! I was headed to San Antonio to work for the day, but needed to pick something up at my office before making the 2.5 hour drive. My office is downtown, so it’s not unusual to see (in the wee hours of the morning) a homeless person sleeping under the shelter of our front door (which is recessed such that there is probably a 20 by 40 area that’s under a roof. There are three walls of protection from the weather, but open such that you can see the street from the conference room. Despite the three walls, it’s STILL COLD.

So I drove up to the office and saw a man sleeping on some cardboard, wrapped up in several blankets on the sidewalk directly in front of our office door. I would have had to step ON him in order to get in the door. Under normal circumstances when I come across someone in front of our door like that, I will politely inform them that I need them to leave. Not this day…it was FREAKING COLD!!! I needed to get into the office, though, so I told him that I needed him to move. He said, “Yes, sir” and sat up and started unwrapping the blankets, getting his shoes on, and packing up his gear into a tattered backpack he had with him. As I walked by and unlocked the door, I said “It sure is cold this morning, isn’t it?”

I know…lame. But what else can you say to some poor homeless dude sleeping in front of your office when it’s 34 degrees out and you’re actually in a hurry to get in, get out, and get on the road for the next few hours?

So I walk in, I think about locking the door behind me, but then change my mind. It’s REALLY REALLY COLD outside, and if he feels the need to walk in and warm up for a minute while I get what I need…I just don’t have the heart to refuse him that. My heart was already breaking at the thought of someone having to sleep outside in this kind of weather.

As I finished loading the items into my car, he gets up and starts walking away. This guy can barely walk. I know pain…I experience it all day every day because of my back injury. This guy was worse off than me. He COULD have been faking it…but it seemed real enough to me.

So, I walk over to the door to lock up and he’s stops and says, “Excuse me, sir…do you think you could spare some change? Just a few quarters or something so maybe I can get some coffee?”

Did I mention just how cold it was outside? I think I saw a penguin walk by…shivering…

I am hesitant to give money to the homeless. If someone asks for something, I would much rather give them what they say they need…so if they’re asking for money to get something to eat…I would rather buy them something to eat. That way, they can get something that their body really needs (sustenance), and not go waste it on alcohol. So I said, “You know what…it’s pretty cold out here…let me take you down to (restaurant chain I work for) to get some breakfast?”

“Really?” he asked?

“Yeah…”

“Oh, wow! Thank you! (Restaurant chain I work for) is my favorite!!!”

I think he thought I was going to walk down there with him (it probably would have been a 15 minute walk for me by myself…with him it probably would have been 25-30. But that was never my intent anyway…haven’t I told you? IT WAS COLD!!! My car – THAT was warm…I said, “Climb in!” and unlocked the door for him.

Now let me tell you…I hadn’t really thought this next part through. It was a short drive, I was blasting the heater (especially to warm my guest) and…because of HOW COLD IT WAS…the windows were not going to be rolled down…

…but his aroma was a little south of heavenly…

…ok…a LOT south of heavently…

…ok…heavenly shouldn’t even be in the same sentence as this guy’s odor…

Not that he could help it…he’s living on the streets wearing the same clothes day in and day out, sleeping in who-knows-what when he’s moving from one place to the other…it wasn’t a pleasant smell, for sure. But I didn’t let that discourage me. He wouldn’t be in my car for long.

So, after he put his seat belt on, he offered me his hand and said, “I’m Marco!” (at least that’s what I thought he said). I accepted his handshake and said “I’m Dustin!”

He proceeded to tell me how he used to live in Houston, but that it was pretty rough in Houston. He was hit by a car. He showed me his leg.

People…he was not faking about hardly being able to walk…

His leg looked AWFUL. Looked like the muscle had been ripped right from it, then cauterized, then healed. It looked like he was a severe burn victim, but just on part of his leg. I was truly heartbroken at the sight. All I could say was “Marco, that’s awful!”

He then told me that it wasn’t the only time he was hit by a car. Said he was hit by a second car before he decided to leave Houston. So…he doesn’t have a bum leg…he has TWO. He didn’t show me his other leg, but I had no reason to doubt him at this point. I saw the way he was walking. This guy didn’t have a good leg to stand on.

During the short drive (where I noticed that the smell was either starting to fade, or I was starting to get at least partially used to it), he also told about how he was sleeping on the grass across the street from a nearby church and another homeless person came and just started kicking the crud out of him. Kicking him in the stomach, the head…he said he wasn’t sure why. The other guy was making wild accusations that he had heard that Marco was saying some bad things about him.

I didn’t think my heart could break any further for one guy. Hit by two cars…kicked awake while sleeping…sleeping on a piece of cardboard on a cold sidewalk in weather that was so frigid it would make an ice cube look like a warm ember of coal…This guy had it bad…and I had only talked to him for about 2 minutes at this point.

So we get to (restaurant chain I work for) and I get out of the car. As he’s getting out of the car, I say “Sir, I really don’t mean to offend…but I don’t think they’re going to want you in the dining room.”

Without even the slightest bit of offense in his voice (he sounded merry!) he said, “Oh, NO NO NO…I’ll just wait outside. It’s no big deal at all!”

So…I ask him what he wants to eat…I ask him if he prefers bacon or sausage on his sandwich…what size coffee. He told me that he just wanted the small coffee. I asked him if he was sure…cuz, in case he didn’t realize it…it was just a little bit freezing outside. Nope…he wanted the small. He wanted the warm drink, but could only handle so much caffeine.

So…I went in and bought him a meal…I ordered extra sausage on his sandwich cuz I don’t know how often he gets to eat. I take him his meal. He thanks me again…and again…and I tell him I hope he has a blessed day. He reciprocates the sentiment and I get in my car (which still smells like Marco) and head out to San Antonio.

Even if I didn’t have the odoriferous reminder of the man I met that morning in my car…I would have thought about him during the entire drive. I felt so very bad for him. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I wished I could go back, take him to my house, let him use my shower, wash his clothes…or burn them and get him some new, clean clothes and see what else I could do to better his situation.

By the way…the smell didn’t last the whole drive…

It lasted most of the day…

But that’s just the intro…

Don’t groan…it’s a long intro, but the part I really wanted to share is much shorter. But the intro was important to the story.

So fast-forward to Christmas Eve (yesterday)…I had thought about Marco a couple times in the couple of weeks that passed. I wondered where he was at…I wondered how he was holding up…I wondered if I would ever see him again. I mean…even if I wanted to…how do you drive around looking for a homeless guy who could be anywhere in a city? Especially when he told you he was going to try to move to the other side of the bridge (I left that part of the conversation out…but he wanted to move across to the other side of the harbor bridge. I can’t even imagine how he’d pull that off with TWO bum legs…)

So I was at work…at the office. I was less than happy because it had been a very long couple of weeks, and I was tired, and I was the only one at the office because our office was actually closed for Christmas Eve, but I just had too much that just needed to be done.

I was busy analyzing some numbers when I heard this loud pounding on the front door. It was incessant. I figured it was someone I worked with trying to knock long and loud enough to get my attention to let them in (I had the door locked). I didn’t know WHO would be trying to come in to work besides me…but thought maybe my boss had shown up or something and didn’t have his key in hand or something…who knows?

It was not someone I worked with.

It was a homeless man…in a wheelchair…with the biggest grin on his face you could even imagine.

It was Marco.

I was astonished. First of all, I couldn’t believe I had a second opportunity to see and talk to him since I hadn’t been able to get him out of my mind. Secondly…he was in a wheelchair. Not a very nice one…looked pretty worn…but a functional wheelchair. I unlocked the door and opened it. Before I could even say anything. He grabbed my hand and, with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on a homeless man, he said “MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!” He didn’t just shake my hand. He grabbed my hand like a servant might grab a king’s hand…brought it to head forehead like an act of praise or even worship.

“Marco, right?” I asked.

“No…MICHAEL” he grinned.

“Oops…I had it wrong! But you see how they sound the same…Michael…Marco…easy mistake right?”

“How about Margaret?” he smiled.

“No, Michael…that doesn’t sound quite the same!” and I laughed.

We had a short little reunion and he told me how he had not made it to the other side of the bridge yet, but that he was sleeping under it. Told me how he got hit by yet ANOTHER car. Showed me his foot…he couldn’t wear a shoe on it because it was so swollen. The swelling had gone down some, but he still couldn’t put his shoe on it. My heart broke for him again. He told me that he was blessed though, because he found this wheel chair and was still able to get around.

So, he had seen my car parked in front of the office and recognized it and came to say hi. After our short conversation, he said he didn’t want to keep my from my work, but wanted to wish me a merry Christmas. He did ask me if I could bless him with a couple of dollars. I felt comfortable enough to give him a little money at this point, so I gave him a 5 dollar bill. He thanked me for my generosity and grabbed my hand again. “HAVE A WONDERFUL, MERRY CHRISTMAS” he proclaimed. Then he said “No,” brought my hand to his forehead in that same way a loyal servant might with his king, “have a BLESSED Christmas!”

“Thank you, Michael…you have a blessed Christmas as well.”

And he rolled away, I locked the door, and I went back to work.

I don’t know if he realizes just how much that made my day. Yeah, ok…he got a few of bucks off of me, but so what? A homeless man in a wheelchair stopped by my office on Christmas Eve to wish me a merry Christmas because he recognized my car in front of my office. That really touched my heart in a way I can’t even really describe. I sat at my desk nearly in tears because of how touched I was. Here was a guy who has things so much worse than I have…and he had such joy on his face when he greeted me.

So – that’s my story. I hope it was able to bring some light into your day. I wish all of you out there a safe and merry Christmas.

“Religious” note follows:

Remember why we call this holiday Christmas. Take a moment and forget about all the decorations…the lights…the gifts…and remember the man who came for our salvation, paid the ultimate price, but before His sacrifice told us “Inasmuch as you did to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to Me.” If you ask me, there are few greater joys than sharing the love of Christ with others by doing what Christ would do. To me…that’s what this season is really about.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I am sure that this is true for most, if not all, iPhone users – that is that I’m always on the lookout for apps that I can get some good use out of. Early on, one of the things I found myself frustrated with was the inability to post to this blog from the Blogger website in mobile safari. To my amazement, even the iPhone app for Google only opened up Safari which wouldn’t allow me to post a blog in blogger (unless I am just clueless as to how it works).

A few weeks ago I purchased iBlogger which would supposedly let me create posts for my Blogger account. Unfortunately, I just can’t get it to work. I got it to work on a Wordpress blog, but every time I tried to get to this Blogger blog, iBlogger would just crash. I am confident that the developer can solve the problem, given some time. I only reported the issue last night.

I was going to just wait for a response, but I accidentally came across another app called SkyPetr Lite. I was searching to see what apps existed out there that provided access to Skype. While I found something earlier today that did just that, I was curious what else was out there.

Needless to say, I downloaded SkyPetr Lite (which is free). It’s meant for use with MySpace, YouTube, and of course Blogger. I haven’t checked out the first two yet, but this post has been successfully and entirely composed using SkyPetr Lite.

The only downside I have seen so far is that you are required to register an account with SkyPetr before you can sign in and access the other items. I am not sure I understand that logic other than a means of getting your email address.

Nonetheless, for now I am ok with it. At least I was able to compose this post on my phone!

I showed my last blog post to a co-worker and she used THE GOOGLE to find the mysterious handle…(why didn’t I think of that???)

Wow! Where has the time gone???

What a silly question. I didn’t intend to start my post by contradicting myself, but I got to thinking about that question as I was typing it and thought to myself, “Time doesn’t go ANYWHERE!”

I know – I’m a goof. But it’s true, you know. Time doesn’t go anywhere. Time “stands still” if you will. Time is one of those things that everyone has and you can’t save it or store it. You can just use it or waste it. Hopefully how you’re satisfied with how you’re using your time.

I really didn’t mean to go there. How drab!

Anyway – it’s been yet another month since my last post. What’s Dustin been doing? Where has Dustin been? What’s been on Dustin’s mind???

Lots.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time doing the new-store-opening thing. It can be pretty stressful to work on opening 2 restaurants at the same time. And all I have to worry about is the technical side of things! I did develop a new favorite saying during these last two openings, though. I can’t really remember what the circumstances were surrounding my comment, but the conversation was surrounding the completion of the equipment installations and whether the employees were ready for the store to open or how they were handling the opening or something. I made the comment “I only installed the equipment. I didn’t install the employees.” It elicited a laugh and all was well.

A few weeks ago, I jumped on the iPhone bandwagon as well. I have to admit, I was kind of a nay-sayer when the iPhone thing started happening. I saw the phone, I thought it was kinda cool, but really…what was the big freakin’ deal???

It’s a heck of a phone, that’s what!

Seriously – this thing is fantastic. I have only downloaded 2 paid apps, and everything else I have on my phone I downloaded free. I haven’t jailbroken my phone and I don’t know that I intend to because so far, I’m happy with what I can do with it.

So, I’ve been working, iPhoning and that’s pretty much it.

OH – except for one thing…I just want to whine a little bit about my xbox 360. It got the Red Ring of DEATH. That’s right – my xbox 360 died last week. Well – I’m not 100% sure WHEN it died. All I know is that after about a month of no use (because I’ve been out of town too much to watch movies or play games), we were going to watch a DVD on it last weekend and got the dreaded red ring. The one that lights up 3 of the 4 quadrants with red light and basically means “general hardware failure”. It’s not as big a deal as it could be because Microsoft declared about a year and a half ago that anyone experiencing this problem within 3 years of the original purchase date will have the problem fixed at no charge because apparently they screwed up when it came to putting these things together properly.

We boxed it up and sent it out yesterday. They told me it’ll be 2-3 weeks before I’ll see it again. It could be worse, but now we have to move a DVD player in from a different room to watch our DVDs – and it won’t be as good because our other DVD player doesn’t have composite video or HDMI so now I’m so spoiled that just watching it with a regular dvd player is going to disappoint me…lol

Anyway, I guess that’s all I have to say for now. I just thought I’d check in and let my fans (really, Dustin…fans?) know that I’m doing well and have just been really busy. Hopefully I’ll be around a bit more for a little while and you can hear more from me really soon!

Oh – and happy December 21st everybody!!! Today is the shortest day (daylight hours) of the year. The sun will start shining longer starting tomorrow! (Well, for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere anyway…)