Well, we're back from our vacation on Aruba. It was very relaxing and I would definitely like to go back.



While there I was able to test out the international roaming and wifi features of our new iPhones. After a few international calls to AT&T on the first day in Aruba, I was able to clear up some Roaming Activation issues. Call quality was still good over international calls and they were about a dollar cheaper per minute vs. the hotel phone. Wifi was pretty ubiquitous in Aruba with various pay and free hotspots available. The only Wifi snag was thick walls in our hotel room that didn't allow the hotel's open area wifi signal in. The rooms did have built-in ethernet ports, but that hardly did me any good with the iPhone. The only other problem we had was the odd necessity of resetting both our Voicemail systems when we got back to the USA (probably had something to do to the changeover to unlimited SMS Text msging plans while we were in Aruba). SMS Texting worked flawlessly even on the beach under a palapa (thatched umbrellas with small wood tables). I was even able to txt family members while under the caribbean moon lounging on the sand with my wife. She was checking mail on her iPhone at the time. Yes, we're nerds.

I have over 1,800+ images I have to weed through and edit from our trip. I'll hopefully be able to upload them to my photo site by the end of the week.
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Tags: iphone, apple, att, beach, vacation, aruba, cingular

We safely made it back home to the US late Friday Evening. I have tons of photos to go through and edit in Aperture/Photoshop. You'll be able to see them hopefully later this week on my Photo site (link on the left).

During our trip, I was able to stop by the CNBC offices, made a few new contacts, and spent time with some old colleagues. We did quite a bit of window shopping in Singapore, but found little that could beat the prices online back home (surprised the hell outta me, I thought Electronics would be cheaper there). Even the "negotiated" prices for most electronics and Photo gear were more expensive than the usual US online prices.

Most of our time was spent in the Philippines, and I'll definitely relate more about my experiences there over the next few days.

Of course we immediately picked up Ricky Saturday morning and re-activated the RickyCam later that afternoon. Needless to say he was ecstatic to see us. His kennel/Puppy Hotel even gave us a report card of his behavior during his 2 1/2 week stay. He became quick friends with the staff there (after some initial trepidation/sadness from our departure) and only caused them trouble when they tried to trim his nails. This wasn't a surprise because that's his most hated activity back home (far worse than going to the vet for him). Whenever we have to trim his nails, we have to use a muzzle and I have to keep a tight hold on him so he won't scratch my wife or me. They were able to do a few nails, but gave up after struggling with him. We'll finish the job later today. He was able to get 2 playtimes/cuddle times and walks during his stay, as well as a daily snack. His suite even had two rooms with a doggy door between, so that he could "eliminate" on the patio and sleep/play in his more secluded bedroom. He probably had a better time than we did in some of our Hotel Rooms during the trip! The Puppy Hotel actually had various webcams throughout their facility including two in the play areas, but we were never able to catch Ricky when he was in front of the cameras (and we of course constantly checked online while abroad).

Speaking of online, during this trip I was able to stay connected via either a Hotel broadband/wireless connection or by way of my GSM Cell Phone (usually a GPRS connection, though I could occasionally get EDGE) as a bluetooth modem for my PowerBook. Even deep in the rainforests of Eastern Samar along the Pacific Coast, I got a fairly good GSM connection going.

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Tags: rickycam, vacation, philippines, singapore, cnbc, travel, exotic, holiday, resort

My wife and I are traveling with her parents to the Philippines and Singapore for a few weeks. Ricky had to stay, so he's going to be making new friends at a Puppy Hotel/Resort. Needless to say he wasn't exactly a happy camper yesterday (and neither were we), but we'll all be home again in no time.

I'll definitely be taking lots of photos while I'm there, so look for them on the Photo site. I'll also be checking out the Electronic Gadget's scene in Singapore. I wonder what goodies I can find that I can't find in the US. I'm also going to be stopping by the CNBC offices in Asia to visit some old coworkers and check the studios out.

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Tags: seti, rickycam, vacation, philippines, singapore, cnbc, travel, exotic, holiday, resort