Over the past few weeks, I’ve come to the realization that our back deck is one of my favorite spots in the world. It’s not because I want to get away from my wife, despite what countless sitcoms might have you believe; in fact, I’m generally even happier to be there when she’s with me. I think it’s moreso that I get to have my grill, patio furniture, and backyard all in one place. Here, I can sit down, drink a beer and just watch the world go by while I wait for the coals to heat up.

With the first day of Fall upon us, I know there’s limited time left this year for patio evenings – but I’m looking forward to some really chilly nights before winter comes around.

Over the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard about a religious group that wants to do something that most of the country doesn’t agree with. It’s angered those opposed to it, but the group claims it’s their Constitutional right and has no plans to stop it. The leader of the group is getting a lot of media attention, giving interviews to all the major news networks and prompting comments from everyone from the President to foreign heads of state.

Figured it out yet? If you think you have, you’re probably only half right. There are actually two planned acts in the news currently that, while eerily similar at their core, rarely elicit the same response from a single onlooker.

On the surface, the two groups couldn’t seem more different: the Masjid al-Farah mosque in New York City and the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida espouse views that are often in direct contrast with one another. In Gainesville, pastor Terry Jones wants to burn the Qu’ran to tell Islamic radicals that his congregation won’t “bow [their] knees to them,” while Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf wants to build a Muslim Community Center and mosque two blocks from the site of the 9/11 attacks.

There are those who will immediately argue that Jones’ group is spreading a hateful message, condemning another religion and its followers, while those who oppose the Manhattan community center project will point to historical evidence of Muslims building mosques to commemorate victories in battle. There is certainly no shortage of viewpoints on either side of the debate, but I have yet to find another person (outside of my own home) who holds the same view on both issues, and that really bothers me.

While the proposed acts themselves are different, they become more and more similar upon closer scrutiny. Both groups want to exercise their religious freedom by committing an act that is known to be controversial. Both groups point continually to their Constitutional rights, but neither seems to accept feedback from those who suggest the wisdom of these actions might defeat their underlying purpose. And both groups have fervent supporters and detractors who seem to be firmly entrenched on their side of the argument.

In my mind, the problem arises when a person agrees with one of these two actions while opposing the other, creating a bit of a paradox – President Obama is an excellent example of this. In response to the proposed community center, he reiterated the rights of the Imam to build his mosque as he wished on private property, but declined to comment on the wisdom of the act. In response to Rev. Jones’ plans, though, Obama denounced the proposed burning soundly, seemingly forgetting that First Amendment protections apply to their group as well.

According to CNN, the administration has even entertained the possibility of intervening, and the city of Gainesville has denied permits to Jones for his planned event. Why doesn’t this group get afforded the same rights as the Imam’s mosque? To quote Evelyn Beatrice Hall, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Both Jone’s Dove World Outreach Center and Rauf’s Masjid al-Farah mosque have the right to carry out the acts they’ve proposed, and we as human beings have a right to oppose one or the other. But our government has neither the right nor the responsibility to interfere in either case, no matter what those opinions might be.

via www.chompsms.com/main/changelog

This week, many Android users who forego the default SMS interface in favor of 3rd-party replacement ChompSMS were prompted to upgrade their installation via Android Market. The updated version of Chomp, dubbed 3.2, brought a couple of very visible – and mostly unpopular – changes to the interface.

The free app, which has been one of the Market’s most popular, introduced prominent ads into the Messages view and redesigned the pop-up Quick Reply notification box. Prior to 3.2, ads had been found only in the Settings screen of ChompSMS.

Reading the reviews on the Android Market gives one a very clear idea what users think of the new ads – and it’s not pretty. Many users have expressed strong feelings against the new ad placement as well as Chomp’s $3 suggested “donation” to remove the ads. The fee must be paid via PayPal, and a paid version is not available via the Android market. Posts on Chomp’s forums echo the concerns found in the market, with many users wondering how the app will “remember” their donation in the event of OS upgrades and other phone resets.

The other major change – in the appearance of the Quick Reply pop-up notification, has not seen nearly as much backlash. Chomp removed the “X” button in the upper right that closed the notification, requiring users to now press the back button to dismiss. Per the change log, the app’s developers feel the new “Quick Compose and Quick Reply features are now more widget like… Looks really nice.” That’s certainly up for debate, with the slick, smoky-glass appearance of the box being replaced by a much less appealing white and grey mixture.

In the wake of the changes, many users have claimed to be dumping Chomp altogether in favor of its competitor Handcent. I, for one, am really considering trying out Handcent before shelling out $3 for Chomp’s ad-free version. I know that, like everyone else, app developers have to make a living, and the thought of paying for a great program usually isn’t a detractor. But there’s just something about the way that Chomp handled this – pushing the update to its users with no warning and even insinuating in the changelog that the changes were “by popular demand” – that turns me off from supporting their app.

So far, I’m only a couple of weeks into my Android experience, and I’ve seen some big things during that short time, including the Droid getting the 2.1 update from Verizon, the rooting of the Droid Eris, and announcements of some great hardware and software advancements on the horizon. In fact, this is the first real disappointment I’ve had from the developer community. Let’s just hope that the good news continues to outweigh the bad.

As a long-time BlackBerry user (and WinMo before that), I’m definitely one of those people who would have a hard time making it through the day without a smartphone. I thrive on instant access to email, Twitter, Facebook, and the web, both for business and leisure. When I’m out at the store, for example, and want to know what happened to musician Seal’s face, I just bring up Google search and satiate my craving for knowledge.

That said, the Verizon Droid Eris has done a good job of keeping me connected so far. The integrations with Facebook and Twitter built into HTC’s Sense UI provide subtle but useful functionality missing from the BlackBerry experience. In Android, viewing a phone book contact shows you not only their personal details, but their most recent social updates and communications logs including call, email, and SMS history. Another useful feature is HTC’s People widget, which adds a new dimension to speed dial by allowing you to call, text, or email a contact by tapping the according photo in a grid display.

When it comes to email, though, Android is forced to bow to RIM’s expertise. Push email works for GMail, but is limited to one account on Android 1.5. All other accounts must be refreshed at set intervals to pull emails. Not only does this slow down delivery, but it saps the Eris of already-precious battery life. I’ve found myself disabling the mail auto-refresh and manually checking my secondary accounts instead.

While I certainly miss the push email perfection of my ‘Berry, Android wins heartily in pretty much every other category. UI polish on Android blows BlackBerry out of the water both in form and function. Response time is quick, even on the Eris, one of the less impressively specced Droid handsets. On the Storm, one-handed typing was virtually impossible; the Eris generates best-perfect results in portrait mode even for the far-fingered like myself (not to mention the best autocorrect I’ve seen anywhere).

Shots from the built-in camera are crisp, thanks to the 5-megapixel resolution, but I do occasionally miss the Storm’s LED flash. Video isn’t quite as impressive, but is still solid by phone standards.

For me, the biggest concerns about the Eris particularly are battery life and processing power. So far, I’ve been seeing noticeably shorter battery life than with my Berry. The likely culprits? The social integrations, GPS, and “pull” email. With a few adjustments to settings and my charging patterns, though, I can easily make it through a busy day with a little juice to spare.

As for processing power, the Eris performs quite snappily on 1.5, even with multiple apps installed and running. But what about Android 2.0 or higher? Verizon’s promised an upgrade soon – here’s to hoping the Eris can fully utilize its potential.

So what’s the verdict?

Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about a phone 10 days into ownership. With the Android update (and Google Maps Navigation!) just around the corner, I believe I’ll be an Android user for years to come. And it’s likely a safe bet I’ll be in good company.