AminSabet.com

Kids first trip to Fenway. It rained, but still a lot of fun!

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 08:08:00 -0400

Kids first trip to Fenway. It rained, but still a lot of fun!

Photo

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 09:18:25 -0400

Photo

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 09:16:41 -0400

Photo

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 07:43:38 -0400

"I’m using as much electronics [as I can] before the power goes out."

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 07:38:21 -0400

“I’m using as much electronics [as I can] before the power goes out.”

- Oliver Sabet, waiting for Hurricane Irene

Funny conversation today between our boys

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:35:41 -0400

Philip (age 6): “There’s a girl who keeps following me around and saying I’m her boyfriend. Tell me how to get rid of her”

Oliver (age 8): “Tell her ‘You deserve somebody better than me’”

Philip wrote his first sentence without help. Turtles hav hrd...

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:28:14 -0400

Philip wrote his first sentence without help. Turtles hav hrd shls :).

OliverSabet.com

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:56:24 -0400

My almost-8-yo son Oliver just started a blog (his idea) with my help. Should be fun to look back on some day. I like how his first ever blog post was talking smack.

Best iPad 2 / Xoom comparison I have seen so far.

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 11:22:44 -0400

Best iPad 2 / Xoom comparison I have seen so far.

Ipad 2 vs Xoom, cont'd

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 09:14:00 -0400

Two posts down, I discussed my difficulty in choosing between iPad 2 and Xoom. Yesterday at the mall, I got a chance to spend 10 minutes with each.

The iPad 2 feels very nice. Like a big iPod Touch. As thin as I expected from all the coverage. The Xoom build also seems nice, but not as nice. In particular, the Xoom feels chunky when holding in portrait mode, although it is tapered to feel thin in landscape. The weight difference was not significant to me.

I prefer the size/aspect ratio of the Xoom. In portrait mode, it feels/looks like a note pad, while the iPad looks like a picture frame. The large glaring Apple on the back of the iPad is ugly to me. It’s just a very trendy symbol which I would feel the absolute need to cover up. I’d much rather have a big ugly “Motorola” on the front pointing at me than an ever bigger, trendy Apple symbol on the back pointing at others.

In using the iPad 2, I was reminded that iOS on a big screen is corny-looking. If the Bondi Blue iMac were an icon, it would be a polished rounded square. Coupled with the late-90s Palm icon arrangement, the overall impact is primitive yet trendy.

In contrast, the overall aesthetic of Gingerbread on the Xoom is edgy, much more to my taste. The dynamic (flip-through and scrolling) widgets add a depth to the experience.

The iPad 2 scrolling/page turning and screen rotation was noticeably smoother. The display also seemed whiter in terms of color temp. Overall, I preferred the quality of the iPad 2 display to that of the Xoom.

On the browser side of things, I preferred the Xoom. The model I tried had the new Flash beta installed, and it seemed to work fine. It was great to have tabbed browsing on the Xoom. I understand from a comment on my other post that one can install a browser with tabbed browsing on the iPad 2, but I didn’t get a chance to try that.

After walking out of the Apple Store, I canceled my iPad 2 order. Still undecided but leaning toward the Xoom now.

The Myth of 'Starvation Mode'

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:07:00 -0400

I’ve started using MyFitnessPal and was intrigued by the suggestion by that app that very low caloric intake would induce something called “starvation mode”. I’m familiar with much of the scientific evidence regarding various diets, and I’ve never encountered this particular term in the scientific literature.

I Googled “starvation mode” and was astounded by the amount of misinformation out there. The basic idea is that a starved body will undergo a metabolic adaptation to conserve energy and thus prevent weight loss or even cause weight gain despite an extremely low caloric intake.

Look at any group of people who have literally starved over a long period of time, and you will not find any obesity. Some of those people may have a hormone problem of one sort or another (eg, underactive thyroid), and all have undergone metabolic adaptation to starvation, but none are able to pull off the miracle of obtaining or maintaining body fat despite a lack of adequate caloric intake.

In fact, patients who undergo weight loss surgery are routinely expected to endure what MyFitnessPal calls “starvation mode”. It’s part of the plan. Of course, they are closely monitored medically in order to ensure adequate nutrition (including vitamins/minerals) and monitor for known risks (eg, gallstones). There are risks associated with a very low calorie diet, and those risks must be weighed against benefits. Without a doubt, such a diet would be very harmful to a normal or underweight individual and should only be considered by a very overweight/obese individual (with proper medical supervision).

Here is a great post by a layperson about “starvation mode”: http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html. In plain terms, the author explains that while there is some underlying truth to the concept (ie, the body does adapt to low caloric intake and weight loss by reducing resting energy expenditure), the common conception of “starvation mode” is a myth.

Struggling to decide: iPad 2 vs Xoom

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:17:00 -0400

I’ve set aside some money for a new tablet, and it’s come down to the $499 Wifi-only iPad 2 or the $599 Wifi-only Motorola Xoom. Either way, I don’t need much memory, and I don’t need a data plan since I can tether via my Nexus S on T-Mobile.

In favor of the iPad 2:

Thinner, lighter, nicer build, slightly better battery life
Lots more apps - Wife and kids would almost certainly enjoy it more than they would a Xoom. I would like to have Netflix, which is currently available on the Xoom only by way of an awkward workaround
Cheaper (since in either case I’m going for the cheapest model)
I already have an Android tab (rooted Nook Color), so this would be something new

In favor of the Xoom:

I like to root for the underdog
Black is more subtle, and the device is less commonly associated with “fun”. I feel like I could bring this thing to a meeting or conference, whereas I’d be embarrassed to bring an iPad 2.
I don’t like Apple’s approach: Weaken the potential for full-featured web apps (by excluding Flash and similar technologies), thus pushing users to buy iOS apps, which are subject to Apple approval and 70/30 revenue split. In the long run, it’s not good for us users who have to pay more for Apple to get its 30% while getting more and more locked into a platform.
Most of my use for the tab will be web browsing. The Xoom seems a bit better for that with tabbed browsing, Flash support (as of today in beta), and wider aspect ratio all contributing to this.

In favor of neither: I like the small size of the Nook Color. Not sure how much I’d use a 10” tab.

Already have an iPad 2 on order but thinking about canceling…

Taken with instagram

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:35:28 -0500

Taken with instagram

Saturday morning (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 08:28:21 -0500

Saturday morning (Taken with instagram)

One of the Worst and Best Things About Android

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 21:10:08 -0500

One of the worst things about Android is that we are at the mercy of the manufacturers when it comes to updates for our operating system. Lately Samsung and T-Mobile have come under fire for announcing a new Vibrant Plus running Froyo (2.2) while current Vibrant owners have been waiting a long, long time for this update.

One of the best things about Android is that we are not at the mercy of the manufacturers when it comes to updates for our operating system. 3rd party developers are bringing the latest Android versions to tons of devices with little delay, adding great features at the same time.

Having just rooted and customized my Nook Color running 2.1, I was thinking of upgrading to Froyo (2.2) and was delighted to learn that CyanogenMod 7 (2.3 with improvements) is in development for the Nook. I’m running an unofficial alpha version of CyanogenMod 7 on my Nexus S and find it to be rock stable with many improvements over the stock OS. Can’t wait to get it on my Nook!

Home screen of my Nook Color

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:18:13 -0500

Home screen of my Nook Color

Video

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:09:55 -0500

(Taken with picplz.)

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:33:34 -0500

(Taken with picplz.)

What are the chances that the Verizon iPhone will look like...

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 22:57:12 -0500

What are the chances that the Verizon iPhone will look like this?

Would you care if it did?

Japanese Paper Marbling Workshop (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:41:27 -0500

Japanese Paper Marbling Workshop (Taken with instagram)