Pete Dudchenko

Finally got some of my pictures up from my trip to Australia. I’m still waiting on some from other people as well as the underwater pictures from the Great Barrier Reef (being developed as we speak) but there’s a lot there already to check out. Even a few videos.

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Australia rocked. Sydney seems to somehow combine the laid-back lifestyle of San Diego with the hussle of big city Chicago living. Something I always envisioned as being the perfect city. I really enjoyed the time I was there and hope to have pictures posted soon. I’m waiting for some from other people to post the best ones but if this weekend is slow I may get mine up. The Great Barrier Reef was the highlight of my trip as I had to Scuba dive while I was there. I really can’t think of anything else I would have liked to do that I wasn’t able to.

I tried Vegemite for the first time today. I brought some back to share at work. Let’s just say its an acquired taste.

Here’s one pic to keep you happy until the rest can be posted. Its a pic on top of the bridge climb of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

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Well, I leave soon for Australia and I can’t wait. Aside from the obvious benefit of just having the time off from work, I’ve always wanted to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. That’s really the only thing that I have to do while I’m there although surfing and seeing the Opera House would be a close second and third.

The one thing I am not looking forward to is the flight. The longest I’ve been in a plane was from Chicago to Hawaii which is a short commute compared to flying half way around the world.

I’m going to try to keep a journal of the days there, which I can add to here when I return. I hear the toilets flush in the opposite direction south of the equator. I’ll be sure to confirm this of course while I am there!

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WARNING: The following comments may cause a strong desire to make fun of me.

I got Motorola’s new Razr phone the other day. I’ve only had about a day to play with it but already I’m impressed. Before this phone I was using a Sony Ericsson 616 which was by far my favorite phone ever owned. I’ve become addicted to Bluetooth ever since Palm added the feature. Its a useful feature as both phones allow me to send and receive contact info without having to manually enter it into the phone. Plus, with my computer’s Bluetooth dongle, I’m able to easily transfer pictures and ringtones to my phone without a cable. I spent the majority of my time last night after work finding clips of mp3’s to add to my Razr. Plus with the Bluetooth connection, I don’t need to buy ringtones, I can create my own.

Advantages that the Razr has over the t616 are size (very slim when folded) , the camera photo quality seems much better, the screen size is larger, and it has mp3 support for ringtones. Both phones would impress the average geek although I think the Razr scores “status” points for owners, considering the current price tag is anywhere from $300-$500. I doubt most people would be able to justify a phone for that kind of money unless it came with Salma Hayek’s number pre-programmed into it. Mine didn’t (I checked) but then again, I got mine for free so I can’t complain.

Disadvantages initially appeared to be the operating system. I’m actully not sure this is a good or bad thing yet as I’m just not used to it but after a while I’ll be able to tell which one I like better. The t616 was very easy to use however and I was somewhat addicted to the mini joystick on the phone, something I miss with the Razr. Another posible disadvantage is that I’m not sure if I can sync my calendar on my phone with Outlook, something I was able to do with my t616. This may not be a big deal because I only did that twice with the t616 but its nice to have the option.

Overall, if I had to pay for this phone I would never upgrade. I actually looked at the phone when it first came out but the price tag was too much to offset the advantages. Getting your hands on a free Razr, athough very difficult, may be the only way to recommend upgrading right now. The phone rocks though and now that I have one I don’t think I can imagine going back to my t616.

**Updated**
Apparently the Razr can sync with Outlook but Mobile Tools (a software app) is necessary and needs to be purchased. Additionally, I was able to send individual appointments/contacts using Outlook’s integration with Bluetooth functionality directly to my phone without this software.

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I was in Indy last week for my friend Chris’ wedding to his fiance Beth. Both had been nice enough to make it out to San Diego for my 30th birthday party. I was glad to be a part of the wedding as Chris had asked me to stand in as a groomsman. It was a very nice ceremony and everything went very well.

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So after two failed attempts of meeting up with my first candidate who needed computer help (she canceled on me both times) I finally met up with another guy who needed help with his resume and using Word. We’ve met twice now and he seems to be thankful for the suggestions I’ve offered although most of me help has been in resume formatting and job search advice rather than actual computer assistance. Either way I am glad to help out and he is certainly appreciative. Soon we’ll be getting into posting resumes on job sites.

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I wish I knew about this in college. But then again, I don’t think I was concerned with the quality of vodka when I drank it in college. Either way this is a pretty interesting and mostly entertaining site about how to easily convert cheap vodka to a higher quality then Kettle One using a Brita filter. I don’t think I want to test it out myself though.

Practical Applications of the Philosopher’s stone. For drunks.

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