I can add photos directly from the iPhone and that may prove to be a valuable feature. On the other hand, formatting is a challenge. Even the simple task of adding a link is troublesome. I would love to see some features like automatically adding the <a href…> tags around URLs. I’m willing to give it a try, though. It is the first version.

By the way, if you try to set up the app with your blog and get the “can’t find the xmlrpc” error, check this iphone app not connecting article.

I believe that this year I’ve made my best one. The subject is pretty simple, but the design is more complex than any previous ones. I chose to use the faces of our puppies and, because I got a fairly large (wide) pumpkin, to put both faces on a single pumpkin. I’m proud of the execution. The photos aren’t great, but you get the idea:

On the left, we have Suzy:

And on the right, we have Boo:

The template I used to create the carving was made by posterizing and editing a couple of photos from my iPhoto collection:

It brings up issues about our limited ability to see things right in front of us and how our attempt to see certain expected things causes us to miss others.

Update: I found another interesting TED presentation from Michael Shermer: “Why people believe strange things.”

The lighting was strong enough to rival the sunshine of a daytime race. In fact, all of the bulbs are mounted with the same orientation in order to resemble the directional characteristic of sunshine. As bright as the city streets may be, the racing circuit stands out even more.

The colors and surfaces of the cars is brought out to a great degree by the contrast of the lighting.

Thanks to a couple of accidents and a long safety-car interruption, Fernando Alonso was able to overcome a poor qualifying and come from way back in the field to win the race.

Purchased Apps

CubicMan Deluxe ($4.99) - an excellent but simple game in which you roll a box shape to reach a target point without falling over the edge. I like this one because it doesn’t require quick movement. Some of the stages require more logical analysis than others. I first tried the Lite version for free and enjoyed it enough to throw down for the Deluxe version.

Spore Origins ($9.99) - the iPhone version of the full-sized Spore game from Electronic Arts. The graphics in the game are amazing, so much so that just creating the appearance of your creature is fun by itself. The stages of the game are incrementally challenging and I look forward to wasting a lot of time as I evolve. 

Trism ($2.99) - a very well-developed spatial game that combines logic, timing, and tilting to create combinations of triangular prisms (trisms). Scores can be shared online with other players. I just recently purchased this and I’ve already spent a good bit of time with it. 

Free Apps

Air Sharing ($6.99) - This allows the iPhone to be mounted as an wireless storage device. As nice as this is, I haven’t really used it yet. It may come in handy at some point in the future. It could prove to be more convenient than transferring via email or flash drive. Note that this app now costs $6.99. I’m glad I got it for free!

Audi A4 Driving Challenge - a clever little accelerometer-based driving game from my favorite auto manufacturer. I haven’t played it much, but it’s free, so it’s worth having for the occasional fun.

Constitution for iPhone - a handy replacement for my CATO pocket version of the U.S. Constitution. I can’t wait to settle my first political argument by looking up an issue!

Cube Runner - accelerometer-based movement game. It’s good for a few minutes of distraction. I’ve also used it as a way to demonstrate the accelerometer when showing off the iPhone.

IM+ - an all-in-one instant messenger client, sort of like Adium or Trillian. This works well, but the interface is very basic.

Kaleidoscope - a visual novelty that generates a dynamic kaleidoscopic image based on selected photographs. Its value is limited, but it is cute. The motion is influenced by dragging and the accelerometer. 

Meet Bubble -a cute level. I wouldn’t build anything based on its accuracy, but it might be nice for quick judgements.

Nearby - allows you to read and post location-based notes. I’ve looked at this, but haven’t used it productively yet. It might be good once users (including me) begin to post more notes. I’ll hold onto it and see how it develops.

Palringo - an all-in-one instant messenger client, sort of like Adium or Trillian. I’m torn between this and IM+. Currently I use Palringo, but if I had to do it over again, I would have chosen IM+ to avoid having to create a Palringo account.

Pandora Radio - streams custom musical playlists. The playlists are generated by a patented algorithm that selects songs that are similar to the one you begin with. You can have multiple playlists that are like your very own commercial-free radio stations.

Remote Desktop Lite - provides RDP services to desktop PCs. I haven’t used this productively yet, but I can imagine it might come in handy. I’m certain that this would be a must-have for tech support or networking specialists.

SolarQuest Lite - a basic accelerometer-based space game, similar to the old Defender game from the arcades.

TanZen Lite - a puzzle game that I haven’t spent much time in. It involves assembling shapes to complete a target composite. It might be a way to fill time with a logical, spatial challenge.

Toy Bot Diaries Free - a dynamic game that involves combining touching, dragging, and tilting to move a robot over, under, and around obstacles. I think there are other challenges and techniques, but I haven’t gotten far enough to encounter them, partly because the responsiveness is awkward.

Tris - a version of the old favorite Tetris or, as Lexie considers it, my iHeroin. I have spent more time with this game than any other feature of the iPhone, including web browsing, email, and the phone. I need this game to be removed but I won’t be the one to do it.

UniCon - a straightforward unit converter. While I haven’t used it yet, it’s one of those utilities that will certainly come in handy at some point. The interface is simple and clear.

WordPress - an iPhone client for managing WordPress blogs. I just downloaded this and haven’t used it yet. It’s probably easier than using browser-based interface on the iPhone.

Removed Apps

I’ve removed a few of the apps I had at that time, including:

Bubbles - useless novelty.

SnapMyLife - I never used it.

Yes|No Free - I did use it to help me decide about calling a poker bet or two, but the novelty has worn out.

To give you an idea of its size, here’s a photo with a newspaper for comparison.

Purchased Apps

Super Monkey Ball ($9.99) - A clever game with amazing graphics. The control of the game (tilting the surface on which the monkey ball rolls) is done by tilting the device, using the accelerometer. I need a lot of practice, but I’m sure I’ll get it.

Enigmo ($9.99) - Another interesting game that consists of directing the flow of water droplets. This one is drag-and-drop rather than accelerometer, but it is fun.

Free Apps

AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) - This is a great IM client that partly replaces the need for costly SMS messages. I look forward to this becoming a standard.

AOL Radio - Sure… I could listen to music loaded from iTunes or carry an old-fashioned pocket radio, but this is a handy alternative with lots of radio choices.

Break - a game like breakout. I haven’t played it much yet, but it works well.

Bubbles - drag your finger around on the screen and bubbles appear along the path.

Google Mobile App - handy access to Google. I’m not sure if I’ll use this since the search is built into the browser, but it’s free, so I’ll give it a try.

Movies - When you need information about what movies are showing where, this is handy. It also provides quick access to IMDB.

PhoneSaber - This is a silly-but-fun application that displays a light saber and when you swing the phone around it makes sounds that Darth Vader would be proud of.

Remote - a handy replacement for the remote control hardware that Apple includes with its media devices (AppleTV and computers).

SnapMyLife - I loaded this, but I haven’t used it yet. I believe it is a way to photo-record your experiences, associating the photos with your location.

Twitteriffic - the great Twitter client made by the IconFactory. I use the Mac client and, not surprisingly, it feels just right on the iPhone if not better because I can report what I’m doing no matter where I am.

Urban Spoon - A fun restaurant finder with a Jackpot-style interface. Within a metro area, you have three criteria - all of which can be random or locked: geographic area, type of food, and price group. You spin the unlocked wheels and see which restaurant it yields. If you don’t like what it gives you, keep on spinning.

VoiceNotes - a voice recorder. I haven’t used it yet, but it seems like I might.

Yes|No Free - the equivalent of a coin-toss. I doubt I’ll keep this, but I want to hang on to it long enough to use it next time I need to decide about calling a poker bet.

YPmobile - a nice Yellow Pages client. I’m glad that AT&T did a good job with this one. I was scared that we wouldn’t have any apps ready for the initial release.

Zenbe Lists - a handy way to maintain lists. It’s perfect for to-do and grocery lists. The online version is just right for updating via the computer and easily syncs with the iPhone client. The interface is well-designed. I added this one to the main row of my iPhone because I want quick access to it.

Removed Apps

I’ve downloaded these apps and given them a try, but decided they weren’t what I needed. So far, all of them are free, so there’s no loss other than time.

Evernote - I thought this would be my note and list manager. It is accompanied by an client application for the computer. Both clients have an awkward interface and it may be good at maintaining complex information, but it is not easy with simple lists. Basic notes are hard to read, for example. The syncing is good, but it all comes down to interface and Zenbe is better. I haven’t yet removed the client from my computer, so I might give it another try.

reQall - This was my second try for a note/list manager, but I can’t quite figure out if its role is to help you keep up with stuff or to improve your natural memory.

Loopt - this app maintains your location and communicates it to other applications. Unfortunately, it does so through SMS and that’s just not practical.

Whrrl - this app lets you share your location with others, but the interface was not clear. I’m not sure if there was a problem in my area, but it never seemed to reflect my location.

I had my iPhone with me, so I took some photos. The millipedes are hard to see so you might need to click on the thumbnails so you can look closely at the full size versions.

This is the view looking down from the back porch:

To get a closer look, I went down to ground level and took a shot through the bushes:

This is the first time we’ve ever seen this. I wonder if it will be the last.