Before I write anything about the iPhone I must express my extreme gratitude and appreciation for my girlfriend Carin, who is the best girlfriend a guy could ever ask for and that I love very much, because if not for her I would not have an iPhone right now nor would I be writing this post. You see, she had the day off from work yesterday, and she voluntarily waited in line at the Apple store all day to get me an iPhone while I was at work. You can read about her experience throughout the day on her blog in an entry called Waiting in line for the iPhone.

I have a ton of iPhone pictures and some video from yesterday’s events, so for organizational purposes I’m going to give a brief rundown of the day, then post the pictures with some information to describe them, and then I’ll insert some videos at the end of this entry.

Upon getting home from work yesterday a little after 6 P.M., I received a call from Carin saying that she had the iPhone and was heading to my apartment. About 10 minutes later she arrived with the amazing and beautiful and wonderful iPhone, and I began the incredibly exciting unpacking process.

Earlier in the day Carin and her brother had stopped by my apartment to grab my Macbook so that they had something to do while waiting in line, but unfortunately they had left the power cord at her house, and the battery was low. Thus, I unpacked the iPhone at my place then had to go to Carin’s house to install the new iTunes 7.3 and perform the activation process (there’s no way I was plugging this thing into a Windows machine).

When we got to Carin’s house we fired up the Macbook, installed iTunes 7.3 (needed for iPhone support), and plugged the iPhone into the dock that came with it. Then I had to go through a series of menus asking for what plan I wanted, did I want to transfer my number, my personal information, etc. If you’re interested in a step-by-step tutorial of activation, Apple has posted an iPhone activation video on their Web site. The whole process took about 5 minutes, with the majority of time spent waiting for the AT&T activation to go through.

Once it was activated (which is required — the iPhone functions are locked until the device is activated) the fun began, as I got to play with all of the amazing features that Borchers, Yasemin and I have been drooling over for quite some time (and David sometimes amidst the criticism). Without going into too much detail about the features for fear of making this post a novel, I want to say that the device is extremely simple to use. The menus perform exactly how you would anticipate, and the screen is very responsive to your touch gestures. Obviously the eye candy is stunning, as is the case with most Apple products.

Favorites features so far are probably the Photos application, the YouTube application, the Google Maps application, Safari, the iPod and how the phone system is set up with your contacts and visual voicemail. Speaking of visual voicemail, what a breeze to set up. Enter your password, select what type of greeting you want, and voila! It’s still very early though so there is some stuff I haven’t gotten around to using yet.

In response to reports from the New York Times’ Pogue and the Wall Street Journal’s Mossberg stating that the keyboard was difficult to use, I find those claims mostly unfounded. Sure, I am misspelling words more than on my T-Mobile Dash, but the learning curve for the iPhone keyboard is much lower than they are reporting. They claim that in 5 days you can get used to it and type with two hands, but I’m already typing with two hands on this my second day. Their complaints about the AT&T EDGE network are spot on, however, as I have seen slugs download Web pages faster. However with WiFi using Internet-powered applications is a breeze.

That’s about it for my first day iPhone summary, now onto some pictures. I apologize in advance for the quality of some of these pictures, as they were taken from a horrible cell phone camera. But you can still get the gist of what’s going on in each image.

1) Tickets to ensure position in line at Apple store for the iPhone.

2) Waiting in line outside the Apple store.

3) iPhone display in Apple store

4) Apple store employees lined up to cheer on people coming to purchase the iPhone.

5) The line outside of the Apple store.

6) Apple employee ringing up the iPhone.

7) Carin showing off the iPhone after getting cheered for being the first one out of the store.

8 ) The iPhone bag finally in my apartment.

9) The iPhone in its packaging.

10) iPhone box just opened.

11) iPhone in plastic wrapping.

12) iPhone and included accessories.

13) First time turning on the iPhone.

14) iPhone waiting to be activated.

15) Beginning of iPhone activation process through iTunes.

16) Select new or existing AT&T customer.

17) Screen to transfer mobile number.

18) Select your desired iPhone service plan.

19) Enter your Apple ID.

20) Authenticating your Apple ID.

21) Customer information for AT&T screen.

22) AT&T verifies your address.

23) Accept Apple iPhone Terms & Conditions.

24) Accept AT&T Service Agreement.

25) Wait for AT&T to process your activation.

26) iPhone waiting for AT&T activation.

27) iTunes screen with iPhone connected.

28) iPhone is activated.

29) iPhone home screen after activation finishes.

OK that does it for the pictures. Now here are a few videos that Carin captured from her phone throughout the day. Again, I apologize for the lackluster quality, but if anyone wants to buy me a video camera they will be better next time!

1) Apple employees closing down the store at 2 P.M.

2) Apple employees setting up black curtains in the front of the store to prepare for the 6 P.M. iPhone launch.

3) iPhone display in Apple store window counting down the time until launch.

4) Apple employees moving through the line giving high 5’s just before the 6 P.M. iPhone launch.

5) The final countdown before the 6 P.M. iPhone launch, and walking into the Apple store to purchase the iPhone.

That about does it for my initial iPhone review. I wouldn’t consider it a far stretch to assume there will likely be many iPhone-related posts from me in the coming weeks as I get more accustomed to this wonderful device. So two gigantic thumbs up to Apple for creating the iPhone, this is easily one of the best electronic devices I’ve ever used.

In the spirit of iPhone day, here is Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert reviewing the iPhone he didn’t get:

Today on the My Word segment of his “The Big Story With John Gibson” show on FOX NEWS, John Gibson gave his two cents on what he dubbed the “Far-Lefties’ Radical Solutions to the Bush ‘Problem’”. Specifically, he brought up and criticized the blog Raw Story, and an entry that was posted which floated the idea of abolishing the vice president position from the system of government, so that no future VP could ever abuse the system like Dick Cheney has been doing.

In a show of massive ignorance, Gibson had the audacity to proclaim that “I realize this is a blog that not many people read.” Now, first off, forgive me for forgetting the names of the fallacies, but doesn’t this fall in line with attacking the person and not the argument? Secondly, Gibson’s attack is absolutely and totally unfounded. He claims that Raw Story has a low readership, yet Alexa and Technorati seem to disgaree. As of the time of this writing Alexa has Raw Story at a traffic rank of 5,857, and Technorati has Raw Story ranked 32 with a nice “Top 100″ image sitting right next to it. Who is the more trustworthy source for Internet traffic metrics, John Gibson or Alexa/Technorati?

Is Gibson really this disillusioned? I seriously wonder if the commentators on FOX NEWS are first brainwashed for months before they are allowed to go on the air, because the amount of horse manure that comes out of their mouths could provide enough fertilizer for all of the Great Plains.

I came across this little display on the street the other day in New York City. Love the cartoon Cheney figure holding a shotgun. Never did like that monkey…

Yesterday I received an email from “Aicha Malik,” a 21-year-old citizen of the Ivory Coast, asking me if I would accept $9 million on “her” behalf. This is at least the second or third such email I’ve received, with the other two coming from Nigerians. Here is the email in its entirety:

Aicha Malik (aicmalik@yahoo.fr) wrote:
Hello ,
Good a thing to write you. I have a proposal for
you-this however is not mandatory nor will I in

any manner compel you to honour against your will.
I am Aicha ,21years old and the only daughter of my
late parents Mr.and Mrs..Mailk My father was a highly
reputable business magnet-(a cocoa merchant)who operated in
the capital of Ivory coast during his days.
It is sad to say that he passed away mysteriously in France
during one of his business trips abroad year 12th.Febuary
2000.Though his sudden death was linked or rather suspected
to have been masterminded by an uncle of his who travelled
with him at that time.
But God knows the truth!
My mother died when I was just 4 years old,and since then
my father took me so special. Before his death
on Febuary 12 2000 he called the secretary who accompanied
him to the hospital and told him that he has the sum of
nine million,United State
Dollars.(USD$9000 000) left in one
of the private security and trust company
He further told his lawyer that he deposited the money in my
name,and finally issued a written instruction to his lawyer
whom he said is in possession of all the necessary but
legal documents to this consignment and the company.
I am just 21 years old and a university undergraduate and
really don’t know what to do.Now I want an a partner overseas
where I can transfer this funds. This is because I have
suffered a lot of set backs as a result of incessant
political crisis here in Ivory coast.The death of my father
actually brought sorrow to my life.
Sir,I am in a sincere desire of your humble assistance in
this regards.Your suggestions and ideas will be highly
regarded.
Now permit me to ask these few questions:-
1. Can you honestly help me as your daughter or sister?
2. Can I completely trust you?
3. What percentage of the total amount in question will
be good for you after the money is in your account?
Please,Consider this and get back to me as soon as
possible.
Thank you so much.
My sincere regards,
Aicha… mailk

The question looming in my mind is why do so many Africans want to give me $9 million? Certainly the money would be much better off with them, where they could enjoy it; or in their country, where they could put it to good use if they really want to unload $9 million that badly. Africa is stricken with poverty and diseases such as AIDS, imagine if all of these $9 million wielders gave their money to good causes such as AIDS prevention and treatment; Africa would be a lot better off.

So please, keep the money, put it to good use. While $9 million could certainly brighten up my day, I’m not inclined to take anything from someone who continuously misspells their own name (I hope you’ve been picking up on the sarcasm of this post). I mean come on guys, certainly you can come up with better schemes than this horribly outdated foolishness.

If spammers are said to reside in the bottom depths of hell, then these Internet scam-artists are pounding on the door trying to join them.

Ever been out on the town and had to go to the bathroom badly? How about being out on the town and having to go very badly? And what about being out on the town and having to go very badly. If you answered yes to one or more of these questions then smile, because going to the bathroom in public just got a whole lot easier.

MizPee is a new service from Yojo Mobile that will find the closest and cleanest toilet for you. And not only that, but it will also provide you with reading material once you get there, for those number 2s that should really be 3s.

There are two ways to use MizPee. The first way is to navigate to www.mizpee.com from your mobile browser. Once there, click on “Find Toilet,” then input your location and click find to browse the results. A second way is via text message. Simply send your city and state (ex: “New York, NY”) to 415-350-2290.

Outside of the humor department I really don’t see much of a use for this, but it will certainly be fun to play with. I am going to have to try it some time to see what kind of reading material I am provided. If it’s something like the Wall Street Journal or New York Times, I just might actually use this thing.

Jessica Alba is arguably the most beautiful woman to ever show up on the big screen (I can say this safely because my girlfriend would agree with me). Although she currently enjoys a significant other, she is not engaged, and thus still technically on the market by default. But what does it take to date such a bombshell as Miss Alba? For that, let’s go to Jessica herself and see what she says.

Alba has recently spoken publicly about her checklist for eligible bachelors, so without further ado let’s examine the criteria. First, to date Miss Alba she says you need to give her space, make her laugh, and *gulp* be in touch with your feelings — no small task for men reading this worldwide.

“Firstly, anyone in a relationship with me has to learn that I’m just not going to be around all the time … I love funny guys and I like a guy to be romantic and to be in touch with his feelings.”

While this can be a major hurdle for a lot of us men to overcome, once you are able to live up to this standard the rest of the way is smooth sailing, as Jessica’s only other requirement is that you are able to be buddy-buddy with her Dad.

“He’s also got to be able to watch sport and hang out with my dad.”

Now that’s something we are all capable of doing. Then again, if her Dad is like the guy in the T-Mobile myFaves commercial who give continuous dirty looks to the boy about to take his daughter out, things could prove to be interesting.

In reality her demands really are pretty easy to meet, as these are pretty much requirements that any respectable woman would ask of a suitor. The key difference here being that, obviously, it’s Jessica Alba. It might as well be a Victoria’s Secret model, as they are very close to the same thing. So buckle down guys, and try to show that sweet, soft side if you are able to find it. The reward for doing so just might be Jessica Alba.

According to an AP story via USA Today, Americans gave nearly $300 billion to charity in 2006, setting a record that even topped giving in 2005, which saw a surge in aid to victims of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma and the Asian tsunami.

Total American donations last year amount to an estimated $295.02 billion, which is a 1% increase over the 2005 amount ($283.05 billion) when adjusted for inflation. Of the 2006 amount, individuals accounted for 75.6%, or $223.03 billion.

Not impressed? Consider it from an alternative perspective, the percentage of GDP given to charity. In this case, the U.S. more than doubles the second place country, Britain. The U.S. ranked first at 1.7%, Britain was second with 0.73%, while France, with a dismal 0.14% rate, trailed countries such as South Africa, Singapore, Turkey and Germany. Who says stereotypes aren’t true?

This is a pleasing article to see, especially given the times we are living. While nearly the entire world hates the U.S. for our current government and its actions, it’s nice to know that we as the general public remain a good, kind-hearted people who maintain an interest in doing the right thing. Now, if only we could do something about that government situation…

In response to Facebook opening up its platform to 3rd party developers, LinkedIn — the social networking site for professionals — has announced that it too will be opening up its platform to 3rd party development to enhance functionality. The announcement came from LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman, who said Friday that over the next 9 months LinkedIn would be delivering APIs to developers to make its platform more like Facebook, and to create a way for users who spent most of their time on Facebook to get LinkedIn notifications.

I think this is a wonderful move on the part of LinkedIn. The site truly is a wonderful tool for professional networking. I’d say roughly half of the professionals I have come across in my career have profiles on the site, and I have received a few job inquiries since signing up less than one year ago. Just as Facebook has seen an explosion in membership since opening up its doors, so too should LinkedIn once it opens up shop.

With summer here my girlfriend’s chihuahua has lost most of its fur. Thus, it has resorted to using 1100W to keep itself warm…