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By Johnny, February 25, 2010 8:13 pm

So I attempted to start this post on February 8th but failed to continue putting some words around this. That was a few days after I bought an iPhone. I suppose posting back then would be a bit premature since I didn’t really had the opportunity to use this thing out in the wild. But now it’s been 3 weeks and this thing does rock.

Let’s put this in the context of a car-free-bicycling-riding bachelor. The app that I use most frequently is the Maps application. Wherever I am, I’ve been able to find my way back home or to my destination by pulling up directions on the Maps app. I use this thing religiously to find my way on the Metro, in a car, or on a ride out.

I made it a point to use my Google Voice number when I bought an iPhone. Having this number allows me filter my calls based on a schedule during the week or weekends. During the week at 9am – 6:30pm it will ring my work cell and work phone. From 6:30pm – 9am it will ring my iPhone. Then during the weekends, it will ring my iPhone only. If you tried to visit Google Voice from an iPhone it transforms the site to a web application where you can save to your iPhone dock. The web app let’s you text and call anybody in your contacts. You can have your text sent to your Gmail account as well so you can respond as an email. Once a text is forwarded from Google Voice to your phone, you can simply reply to the unique number. Get this, it will text the originator of the text with your Google Voice number even though you’re texting to this other number. What this means is you don’t need to maintain a conversation within the Google Voice app. You can start it there and continue by other means.

I use the Weather Channel app which gives me an expanded weather report compared to the default Weather app that came with the iPhone. I check this app every morning so I know what to expect.

Other apps I use frequently are Pandora for music discoveries, Yelp for reviews, IMDB for the times I need to know entertainment trivia, NPR News for news programs, Twitterrific to stay in touch 140 characters at a time, Flickr for access to my photos at all time, ESPN for news on my favorite sports teams, Mint to help keep track of my finances, and Words with Friends for ongoing games with friends and family.

It’s my complete all-in-one lifestyle device. I can’t believe I lived so long without one. Alright enough gushing but here’s a video I took with the phone which outlines why it is impossible to swallow cinnamon powder.

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By Johnny, November 11, 2009 12:06 am

I remember about 2 years ago I was oblivious to the Metro network in and around Los Angeles. I was chained to the day to day grind of driving back and forth to work from my parent’s home. Ever since I started riding my bike, I slowly found that not only is bicycling great but the Metro network of buses and trains are an enjoyable way to travel around town. I am still picking up new routes even to this day. Combine both the Metro and bicycling, you can practically get anywhere in Los Angeles. That is why I am excited that the Metro Gold Line will be opening up the expanded route from Union Station into East LA on November 15th.

If you had told me 2 years ago that this was happening, I would have easily dismissed this as anything significant. Why would I care about an expansion of a Metro train? I would not have realized that this opens up a way of getting to a part of LA in which I would not have gone in any other circumstances. This was true about a year ago when I took the Gold Line from South Pasadena to Highland Park. I definitely wouldn’t have been comfortable going there in previous scenarios. I now hang out at that area more frequently than my own town. This new expansion means more business to each of the local communities that is fortunate to have a train stop at their neighborhood. It allows people to be able to mobilize easily between East LA to Pasadena which connects multiple cultures, a multitude of different wealth class, and open up opportunities for the people in the communities that line up against the path of this train track.

If you find the time on Sunday, try to get to a station on the Gold Line and see for yourself. I heard you will be able to ride free that day and may even get to attend a block party to see a Mariachi Festival in Boyle Heights. Heck! They promised a special appearance of Santa at one of the stops. What better way to kick off the holiday season than with Santa?

Photos provided by waltarrrrr on Flickr.