In the car I just can’t wait,
to pick you up on our very first date
Is it cool if I hold your hand?
Is it wrong if I think it’s lame to dance?
Do you like my stupid hair?
Would you guess that I didn’t know what to wear?
I’m too scared of what you think
You make me nervous so I really can’t eat
- “First Date”, by Blink 182

So you’ve picked the online dating site or sites that you would like to join, you’ve created what you think is a fabulous profile, you’re getting “winks”, “nudges”, communication requests or emails from potential matches; you might have even shared a phone call with one or two of them, and you’re starting to think that maybe someone long-term could possibly be just around the corner. Maybe you are right, but then…maybe you shouldn’t be too hasty about pinning your hopes on the first potential who crafts a good email or talks a good game.

This portion of my online dating series is about setting expectations somewhere in the realistic realm and avoiding some of the pitfalls that can be encountered during the early days of online dating. All of this is, of course, assuming that you are serious about meeting someone “serious”, and assuming that you don’t luck into Prince (or Princess) Charming immediately.

I was given quite a bit of advice from Wayne when I started this Online Dating Site experiment, and I also received some good tips from eHarmony and tech guru Jon Westfall; I’ll pepper those nuggets throughout this writeup, and let you know about all the different ways that I either did or didn’t follow their wisdom.

Here are a few common overall rules for successful online dating. These rules aren’t absolute, people who break them can find success. Following the rules generally helps to stack the odds in your favor.

The whole purpose of online dating is to evaluate someone for a potential relationship (usually long term). This is done via meeting face to face. Until you meet someone you have no idea whether you’d be compatible for a long term relationship. Extended email, instant messenger and phone relationships – without meeting in person – don’t fall under the typical definition of online dating. A good rule of thumb is 3 to 6 email exchanges followed by one or two phone conversations – then meet face to face.

That’s right – you must get yourself out from behind the keyboard and in front of the person you are considering dating. And the sooner the better. – Wayne

It’s interesting to note that I was in absolutely no hurry to follow Wayne’s rules about spending time with anyone when I started this experiment, and make no mistake about it – it was just an experiment. I was gung-ho about email exchange, maybe even participating in a phone call or two, but I wanted to keep the actual meeting somewhere in the far-off and murky future. That’s probably because, if the truth be told, I wasn’t really interested in dating anyone just yet. There; I said it.

But it would seem that things never work out the way you plan, and it would also seem that when you aren’t really looking for something, you are more likely than ever to find it.

But I digress…

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CDMA versions of the HTC Diamond and Touch Pro are reportedly due to land at both Sprint and Verizon before the end of this year according to web site Phone Arena. If you’ve been thinking of buying one of these models check out Mitchell’s Touch Diamond review review that he just updated his this morning with concerns about the RF capabilities, battery life and display quality.

Phone Arena via Gizmodo

Don’t forget that Virgin Mobile starts offering unlimited voice services tomorrow – July 1, 2008. Since Virgin Mobile is a prepaid carrier – there are no contracts and no activation fees. Everything is on a month to month basis. Roaming is included in the plan. In most areas Virgin uses the Sprint network to route phone calls. If you want unlimited text messaging you can add that on for another $10 per month. This is the perfect plan for anyone sick of two year phone contracts and early termination fees!

Virgin Mobile Totally Unlimited

Friendfeed is a way to see all of the different online activity of your friends. For example if you check out http://friendfeed.com/mas90guru you’ll see all of my recent postings for GearDiary as well as any of my boring Twitter, Facebook, Google Reader, Flickr and YouTube activity. In a way this is stalker heaven – it’s almost too easy for someone to follow all of your online postings. It’s also a GREAT way to discover cool new sites and share articles with other people. I find it to be an interesting way to keep up with people without having to exchange lots of “how’s it going” emails. The Friendfeed site just added a nice iPhone interface that now automatically comes up whenever you visit them on your iPhone. So if you’re using an iPhone there’s now another reason to start making Friendfeed your one stop for keeping up with friends and their online activities.

Friendfeed

I just picked up the first edition of the Aliph Jawbone. I’d found it earlier on sale at Amazon and I couldn’t resist buying even though I knew the Jawbone 2 had just been released. Overall I’ve been pleased with it (except for when the rubber earpiece fell out and became lost somewhere between my house and the office). If you’ve been thinking of picking up a Jawbone but can’t decide between the two versions head over to Mobility site where Steve Lasserhas a nice review of the new Jawbone with photos comparing it to the first edition.

Mobility Site – The new Aliph Jawbone

Funny, I don’t remember writing to them – but I guess I must have. Netflix just emailed me to say that their popular profiles feature which creates virtual queues for different people in your house are not going to be discontinued after all as they had originally announced back on June 19.

For users of Profiles, I have good news to report: we will keep the feature with no plans to discontinue it.

We were persuaded by the well-reasoned, sincere responses of loyal members who very much value this feature. As someone who enjoys helping his four-year-old daughter manage her one-DVD-at-a-time, G-rated sub-account, I identified with these thoughtful pleas to maintain Profiles.

Netflix Blog

You wouldn’t know it by my lunchtime eating habits (now where shall I get my lo mein today?), but my girlfriend and I like to consider ourselves as at least pseudo-gourmet chefs. And let me tell you, it’s hard work to whip up mess of Pseudos without overcooking them. Especially if you have to keep track of multiple burners and an oven.

Luckily, Tuscan Concepts and your local Target Store have teamed up to help solve that particular problem. The fix is after the jump.
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What are the odds that Astronauts actually eat freeze dried space food out of pouches marked “Atronaut”? I’ve always been skeptical that my local dollar store is selling NASA grade surplus astronaut meals. I’ve never been brave enough to buy these – and thankfully my kids have never asked. If you’re planning a trip to space (or know someone who is) you might want to take this opportunity to stock up. Normally priced at $5 – they’re now $ .99 plus use Coupon Code: 10618000004 For $1 Shipping & Handling.

Miles Kimball via FW

Need a gift for a quirky hard-to-buy for friend? How about this genuine 100% New York City “Walk/Don’t Walk” chair. Artisan John Carter has created a truly one of a kind conversation piece. The signs are authentic and illuminate with “Walk/Don’t Walk” via a remote control. The chair can come complete with all the genuine scuffs and stains of its New York City roots or can come “squeaky clean” with a fresh coat of paint.The seating surfaces have been reglazed with one inch-thick polished resin, cushioned with felt suspension. The chair plugs into a standard 115V AC outlet, and the standard bulbs (included) are replaceable. Handmade in New York City. . Interested? You’ll need to pay $3,700 plus shipping and wait 14 to 16 weeks for it to be made. It’s probably not a good idea to let any of your guest sit on this while in a wet bathing suit.

Uncommon Goods

Dash Express is notifying their subscribers to expect a big update today for their big GPS. These updates arrive wirelessly using either the device’s built-in Wi-Fi or cellular modem. Highlights of the upgrade:

MyRoute – learning of your preferred routes for often travelled to locations.
Search Along Route – to find points of interest around your travel route.
FasterFind – dramatically decreased the time it takes for the Dash to find the GPS.
Performance Enhancements – maps redraw 50% faster and you can toggle between 2D and 3D map views faster, User Interface Improvements.

Unfortunately I didn’t see “Shrink size of device so it won’t flop around dash” on the list of enhancements. Full text of the email after the jump.

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With Windows Mobile devices coming with ever increasing quality of digital cameras built into them, the need for applications to view those photos in a quick and easy way has also increased. While the built-in Photos & Videos application of Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6 does a reasonably good job, it still is somewhat stylus intensive. Fortunately the VITO Technology team has seen this as well and has developed a truly easy to use, simple and finger friendly – not stylus – application to meet the need – EyePhoto. EyePhoto is available through VITO’s iWindowsMobile division and is a simple but effective photo viewing application. EyePhoto does not have any editing tools built into it – it is strictly a viewer both of individual photos and in a slideshow. That said however, it is fast and easy, turning any device into a virtual photo album in a snap.

Figure 1: EyePhoto Main Interface
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From now until July 12, 2008 the Ugobe Pleo Robotic Dinosaur is on sale for $ 235 (with the coupon code from the next page). Judie reviewed the Pleo back in January. The Pleo is a robotic dinosaur that is receptive to touch, interacts with you and is programmable. Check out Judie’s YouTube video of the Pleo in action – including the Pleo “purring” when its neck is scratched and playfully nibbling on fingers. This looks like something of a science fiction movie. Check it out.

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Yesterday here in Connecticut it was hazy, hot and humid. Then thundershowers passed through. Afterwards it was still – hazy, hot and humid. If you’re stuck in an enclosed space trying to fight the heat – check out this do it yourself mini-desktop air conditioner. It runs entirely on batteries and is fueled by ice. If you have a spare hamburg box, some ice and a small battery powered fan – you’re in business. More photos follow.

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As I’m sure many of you will remember, a few months ago Gear Diary suffered a server crash, and a whole lot of data was lost. Fortunately, some of the data (reviews mainly) was stored in Google Cache, a fabulous little repository of lost websites. Whilst very handy for recovery, it’s can also be of use when a website is down for maintenance or their server is temporarily offline.

Today I was trying to look up some information on XDA-Developers, and I found that they are having some kind of service difficulties. I was able to get to the page I wanted to view using a search on Google, then clicking the “Cached” button below the search result. Now while that is pretty easy, surfing between pages on the site can be a bit of a pain.

Since I use Firefox I figure someone will have created an ingenious little extension that takes advantage of Google Cache for surfing, and that was exactly what I found. Called CacheIt!, the extension let you right click on a link and view the last cache, or snapshot, of that page that Google took when crawling around the web for search results. Very useful if the site you need to access is down (or no longer exists).

It’s also compatible with Firefox 3!

The folks over at USB Fever are now offering a 2-in-one car/home charger for USB devices. The nice thing about this one is that it offers swappable adapters for the U.S./Japan, U.K., Australia/China, and Europe, as well as a standard 12v/24v car lighter connection able to charge 2 USB devices at once.

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