Confessions of an Undercover Geek

Apple Store in GR
Originally uploaded by thorpus.

This morning we woke up early and went to Grand Rapids for the Grand Opening of an Apple Store at the Woodlands Mall.

When we got into the mall, we heard a roar of people. You would have thought that it was the opening of a new Star Wars movie or that there was a geek convention in town. When we got there there were 200-300 people in line. Starbucks was open so we got coffees.

After waiting for about an hour and half we actually made it into the store. My dad picked up an Apple iBook and my mom got some card games software for her laptop. We all got our commemorative t-shirts.

Grand Rapids is gearing up for getting it’s own Apple Store. The Grand Rapids Press writes about some of the preparations at the Woodlands Mall. They say the Apple Store launch will be their biggest store launch yet.

I will be there. I won’t be there when the mall opens at 7am. I will try to take some photos of the grand opening and post them.

Panera Bread is easily my favorite place to eat.

When I was eating there on Sunday with my family, my mom made the observation that at the stations where you put away dishes and throw away trash they should have things of sanitizer.

Your hands get sticky when your throwing away the trash and you need something to clean them off with. So Panera Executives, work on that…

Apparently there is a iPod Linux Kernel out there. If you are tired of Apple’s iPod OS, you can free yourself.

Wow…this is too much, lol.

Check out my first podcast of the Justin Thorp Show. (.mp3 3.5mb)

You can subscribe to it using my blog’s feed.

As my friends can tell ya, it takes a lot for me to stay into a movie. I will usually start to get really tired and start to doze off.

The movie Batman Begins kept me into it everystep of the way. Christopher Nolan directed this series prequel. Nolan brings a stroke of excellence to what most would consider to be a struggling series. Recently, the last two Batman movies had received bismal reviews and disappointing outcomes at the box office.

This wasn’t just some action movie but it had a considerable amount of depth to it. It takes a look at how Batman came about, how Batman’s struggles and his fears brought him to where he is and who he became.

Christian Bale I think is the best Batman yet. He really masters the character.

I hope that Paramount Pictures keeps the Christopher Nolan & Christian Bale team together for a Batman sequel. I would be excited to see what they can do.

Rating - 9/10

I am working on doing a podcast. It will probably just be ramblings about my life. Episode One should be coming soon.

I made dinner last night for the family. It was fun. With going back to Rochester in the fall I need to get better at cooking.

I got a little ambitious and found some interesting recipes of the internet and didn’t want to just make something simple. I made fetta cheese-stuffed turkey burgers. They are served on a pita with romaine lettuce and peppers.

One other plus of being able to cook better is that I will be able to make dinner for Alex and me some time.

There is an Apple Store opening in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on June 25th. I’m pumped.

Who wants to go that Saturday morning and stand in line to be some of the first people that get in?

If your part of the first thousand people in the store, you get a free t-shirt. They are also going to give a bunch of huge prizes away.

Recently two cds have come out that have absolutely knocked my socks off.

One day I was flipping through Apple iTunes, I must have been a little bored or something, I found Shawn McDonald. He has a very fun acoustic raw kind of sound. He is a very talented guitarist. His lyrics are pretty intense. It sounds like he had a pretty intense up bringing. Shawn McDonald’s Live in Seattle album is a must buy.

Coldplay is a band that I had listened to previously but had never really appreciated them. They recently came out with their new album X and Y. It has taken the world by storm. Some are saying that they are the next U2 and I would tend to agree with them. The album has had great internet sales. I was listening to it at work today and had it on loop. I bet I went 3 or 4 hours just listening to that album. Go buy it.