How the kids text so fast (T9 mode for dummies)

We’ve come to a time where texting is often easier than calling. Maybe you don’t want to interrupt someone, or maybe you simply don’t want to talk to them at the moment. Either way, texting in traditional ABC mode can be tedious – so much so that it makes it impractical to compose an entire message. Until you get one of the increasingly-popular ‘smart’ phones with a full keyboard, you’re stuck with only 12 buttons.

Ever wonder how the kids seem to get their messages out so fast? They’re not punching buttons repeatedly for each letter – they’ve learned the power of most phones’ ability to use T9 mode. Basically, it allows you to type with 10 keys (0-9) much faster then traditional ABC mode.

In ABC mode, you have to literally spell out each word by choosing each letter from each key it’s on by pressing the key 1, 2, 3 or sometimes 4 times. Here’s the typical layout (your phone may vary):

On this phone the '0' cycles valid words and the '#' is for spaces.

1: symbols and punctuation
2: abc
3: def
4: ghi
5: jkl
6: mno
7: pqrs
8: tuv
9: wxyz

So in ABC mode, if I wanted to type the word ‘school’, I’d have to press ’7′ four times, ’2′ three times, ’4′ twice, ’6′ three times, ’6′ three times (again), and the ’5′ three times. That’s 18 presses to spell a simple 6-letter word. There’s got to be an easier way – Enter T9 mode.

In T9 mode, the phone uses an internal dictionary to basically figure out what word you are trying to type from a library of available words using a given digit sequence. It works on one word at a time. To type ‘school’ in T9 mode, you’d simply press 7, 2, 4, 6, 6, 5. Since this combination doesn’t really spell many other words, T9 mode deciphers and spells out ‘school’ for you.

There are some things to bear in mind. First, it might not look like it’s getting the word right as you type it – since other, possibly more common words may use the same initial buttons as your word, you may see others words or word parts being spelled as you type. Just keep typing – trust it, it’ll resolve your key combination to the word you want. When you hit the space (usually the ’0′ or ‘#’ key) it’ll start the next word for you automatically.

Second, there are some common words that use the exact same key combinations – a fine example are the words ‘good’ and ‘home’, both spelled with 4, 6, 6, 3. If you type these and get ‘good’, but want ‘home’ instead, there is usually a quick correction. On my phone, you simply click ‘down’ on the 4-way pad to cycle through other words that are valid for the current combination (on some phones, this might be another key). You may have to do this more than once to find the correct word for certain (often shorter) combinations – 2, 6, 9 can spell ‘boy’, ‘box’, ‘bow’, ‘cow’, ‘any’, or ‘amy’ so you may have to scroll through a couple to find the right one. Still faster than ABC mode though.

When you come across a word that’s not in the dictionary, most phones will usually give you the opportunity to add it (once you’re temporarily switched to ABC mode to spell it out). Also, it’s pretty smart about punctuation – when spelling “don’t”, simply pressing 3, 6, 6, 1, 8 does the trick for me.

I hope this helps some of you (like myself) who immediately got frustrated when first trying to text and finding T9 mode worthless. Once it was explained to me and with a little practice, it made the sometimes-necessary act of texting a whole heck of a lot easier.

The original Planet of the Apes films (1968-1973)

1963 Pierre Boulle novel

I recently watched all of the original Planet of the Apes movies in order. While the original is widely regarded as a ground-breaking film, especially in terms of make-up effects and prosthetics, the sequels were never as highly revered. Based on the 1963 novel by French author Pierre Boulle, the original film starred Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall (McDowall went on to appear in all four sequels). (buy the entire Planet of the Apes series from Amazon)

In the first film, Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix), Heston’s character George Taylor and his three crew members land on a desolate and mysterious planet after a long trip in suspended animation. They know they’ve gone off course when they find themselves crash-landed in large body of water. One of the crew member’s sleep-chamber has leaked in transit and the others find her dead. The remaining three make it to shore with limited supplies and set out to find sustenance and an explanation to their predicament. They make their way west where begin to see signs of life and finally encounter some human-like inhabitants, though the primitive beings cannot speak at all.

Ape-like creatures attack all the humans, including the crewmen, capturing to killing most. Taylor’s throat is injured and he cannot speak as he and the other primitive humans are herded into the Ape city. He tries to communicate with one of the more compassionate ‘scientists’ among the apes (Zira), who realizes this human is special. Eventually, Taylor recovers his ability to speak and stands trial at what turns out to be a kangaroo court and is sentenced to die. He also discovers the fates of his other two crewmen – one has been killed and the other lobotomized. Zira, her fiancé Cornelius, and her nephew help free Taylor and they seek the truth about the origins of the apes. The movie ends with Taylor finding the dilapidated remains of New York’s Statue of Liberty, realizing that the planet he and his crew crash on was indeed Earth, in a disturbing future.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) was the second film in the series and follows two more astronauts who find themselves in the same place right after Taylor and his crew have been lost. One of the astronauts, Brent soon loses his captain who dies from injuries sustained in the crash. Brent then meets the primitive human Nova wearing Taylor’s dog tags and enlists her help in finding the lost astronaut. Nova take him to Ape City where they meet up with Zira and Cornelius and discover what’s transpired. Brent and Nova then escape Ape City and make their way to a strange cave which turns out to be an ancient subway station, confirming Taylor’s findings. Brent begins to hear voices in his head and almost kills Nova. He later discovers the source as another human-like race using telepathy and worshiping a nuclear bomb. Taylor is jailed here and Brent is forced to fight him. The gorillas launch an attack against the mutants and at the end, Brent triggers the nuclear device, destroying the entire planet.

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix), the third film, sees three of the apes (Zira, Cornelius, and a Dr. Milo) making their way to Earth’s past using the repaired remains of Taylor’s ship, and avoiding the end of the entire planet. After proving to the public that they are indeed intelligent apes from another time, Zira and Cornelius reveal that Zira is pregnant. The Earth’s government fear that Zira and Cornelius and the beginning of the ill-fated future the earth could face and decide to terminate Zira’s pregnancy and steralize them both. They find shelter in a circus run by the compassionate owner Armando, played by Ricardo Montalbán. The ape infant is placed into hiding, and Zira and Cornelius fake its death before being killed themselves.

The fourth installment, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) documents the events leading to the rapid evolution of apes on Earth and the beginnings of their overthrowing of the humans. A strange disease has killed all of Earth’s cats and dogs, leaving humans to begin taking apes as pets. Once discovering the abilities of the apes to learn simple, menial tasks, the humans begin treating them more as slaves than pets. In less than twenty years, apes are clothed, trained, and sold as commodities. After nearly disclosing his true identity, Zira and Cornelius’s son, Caesar, is slipped into the midst of ‘slave’ apes and sold at an auction. Being unable to handle the humans’ cruelty, Caesar begins to organize and ape revolution. The film ends with the revolt against ‘Ape Management’ and Caesar’s compassion overruling his vengeance.

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) is the final chapter and features Caesar as a benevolent ruler of the apes and humans, who he believes should live together in peace, to the behest of his military leader, a gorilla by the name of Aldo. Caesar leads an expedition back into the radiation-plagued city where he can hopefully discover more about his parents. The mutated humans who still reside there attack the explorers and run them off. Caesar’s desire to coexist with the humans angers Aldo who decides to overthrow the leader. In a tree, Caesar’s son Cornelius overhears Aldo’s plan. To silence him, Also kills Cornelius, thus breaking one of the fundamental ape laws, ‘Ape must never kill ape.’ Meanwhile, the mutants from the city launch an attack against the apes, but are ultimately defeated by Aldo’s troops. Caesar prevents Aldo from killing the captured humans and it comes out that Aldo has killed Caesar’s son. The film ends with Caesar killing Aldo and deciding that apes and humans should peacefully coexist.

Tim Burton's 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes

There was a remake of the original Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) in 2001 by legendary filmmaker Tim Burton. It featured many notable actors, including Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Paul Giamatti.

As a whole, here are my quick ratings of all of the original films:

Planet of the Apes (1968)	4/5
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)	2/5
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)	3/5
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)	4/5
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)	2/5

New Food Network show: What Would Brian Boitano Make?

It’s always cool when a celebrity or athlete has a sense of humor about themselves. Too many times a so-called celebrity or washed-up athlete gets sue-happy when someone uses their name or likeness in a parody, often not realizing that it could actually serve to boost their notoriety rather than hurt it. I guess their precious ego ends up bruised somehow – who knows.

Well, not the case with Brian Boitano (who claimed gold in the 1988 Winter Olympics with his excellent long program, featuring eight triple jumps, two Axels, and a triple-triple combination). In 1995′s infamous South Park short, The Spirit of Christmas Stan asks Cartman, “What would Brian Boitano do?” when the battling Jesus and Santa both ask the boys for help. This of course is in the spirit (and parody) of the phrase “What would Jesus do?”

In 1999, the parody was revisited in the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) with an entire song (I recommend disabling the captions) dedicated to asking, “What would Brian Boitano do?” and exploring the skater’s all-around coolness. Rather than be offended by the homage, Boitano showed his sense of humor by skating to a slightly modified version of the song as part of Brian Boitano’s Holiday Skating Spectacular television special later that year.

Now ten years later, the Food Network has decided to try Brian Boitano on a cooking show, cleverly named What Would Brian Boitano Make? I say congratulations to Brian and the Food Network for having a sense of humor and not taking everything so seriously. Boitano’s new show premiers August 23, 2009.

UPDATE (9/4/2009): I’ve watched an episode of What Would Brian Boitano Make? and I’d have to say it’s not quite as appealling to me as I’d hoped. First of all, it’s campy – not acceptable-level Good Eats campy but somewhat over the top, at least for my taste. The situation was too contrived for me – Brian was making a bacon-themed meal for a troop of roller derby gals. Some of the camera-work was interesting, but the scripting, antics, and overall production just wasn’t my cup of tea. Maybe it’ll find a niche once everyone is more comfortable, but for now I don’t see myself DVR-ing it anytime soon.

Movie review: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) is about two music-loving New Jersey-ites in the waning days of high school discover each other and grow close during one hectic night spent looking for an elusive band in New York city. Michael Cera (Arrested Development [buy | rent] Superbad [buy | rent]) plays the lovable but heart-broken bass player Nick, whose recent breakup from a six-month relationship has left him morbidly depressed. While his bandmate friends try to resuscitate his love-life, Norah, a slightly offbeat but lovable daughter of a New York music mogul has her own issues. They meet, they fight, they get to know one another, and they eventually fall for each other. While the plot is somewhat predictable, the movie is generally likeable – you’ll root for the couple to get together. There are many cute scenes, especially with Norah’s too-drunk girl-pal, and Nick’s band’s singer’s new-found “friend”.

Overall, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a warm and charming little slice-of-life story of two endearing youths who turn out to be “musical soulmates”. The film is peppered with a few laugh-out-loud scenes and is definitely worth watching.