In case you’re wondering why a Mac girl is writing about an HP product, there’s a perfectly good explanation… In November, the Social Media Breakfast movement kicked off here in Des Moines at Mars Cafe. Verizon Wireless sponsored the event, and the topic of the day was the future of mobile technology. Dennis Dohrmann, manager of data sales for Verizon Wireless in Iowa was on hand to contribute to the conversation, and in line with the conversation, Verizon brought a few phones and gadgets with them for the SMBDM group to demo and check out.

One of the gadgets was the HP Mini Netbook. I’ve heard a lot about Netbooks recently, so I was curious to find out what these little “laptots” were all about. Thanks to Karen Smith, Public Relations Manager at Verizon Wireless for the Great Plains Region, I was able to check one out for a few days to give it a test drive. She had a few models available, including the HP 311 with Windows 7.0 and the Gateway XP Home Edition (smallest of the 3), but I chose the HP Mini 110-1046 with Windows XP.

The first thing I noticed about the HP Mini was how lightweight and portable it is. The HP Mini 110-1046 is 10.3″ (length) x 6.77″ (depth) x 1.04-1.29″ (height) and 2.57 lbs. The Mini’s compact size and versatility make it the perfect mobile/travel companion. It can easily fit in your purse, briefcase or backpack, which means you can simplify your life and even eliminate a carry on if traveling by plane.

It should be noted that upon its arrival, I gave my loaner HP Mini a nickname: Atom. It seemed fitting considering the Powered by energy-efficient Intel Atom processors decal was the first thing I noticed when I opened the laptop. According to my research, the Intel Atom Processor is Intel’s smallest and lowest power processor, designed for a new generation of energy efficient “companion devices,” including smaller/lower-cost PC’s. Speaking of lower cost PC’s, the HP Mini is very affordable - It sells for just $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a Mobile Broadband plan. Customers can select from various price plans for their Mobile Broadband access:

• $39.99 monthly access for 250 MB monthly allowance $0.10/MB overage
• $59.99 monthly access for 5 GB monthly allowance $0.05/MB overage

Here’s a quick video I made while checking out the HP Mini 110:

Music via Rumblefish: Girls On Film “Love Robot”

After test driving the HP Mini, I would say it’s like a cross between a notebook and a super-smartphone. Some of the features that I really like are the built in Webcam, 92% keyboard (largest in this category), and up to 8 hours of battery life. If you use a lot of creative applications or programs that require a great deal of memory and a large viewing screen, this isn’t the ideal laptop for you, but it’s a great device for anyone on the go who uses document creation programs/Internet and needs to stay productive, in touch and connected.

Summary of important features:
Operating system: Genuine Windows (R) XP Home Edition
10.1″ diagonal SD LED anti-glare widescreen display (1024 x 576)
Windows Media Player 11
Audio: HD audio, stereo speakers and integrated microphone
Processor: Intel Atom Processor N270
Processor Speed: 1.60 GHz
System memory: 1 GB RAM
Storage hard drive: 160 GB
HP Webcam with integrated microphone
Integrated 5-in-1 digital media reader for SD, MultiMedia cards, memory stick, Memory Stick Pro, or XD Picture Cards
External ports: 3 USB 2.0, 1 RJ-45 (LAN), 1 VGA (15-pin)
Power: 30 W AC Adapter; 3-cell lithium-ion battery (usage up to 3.5 hours with Windows XP, 3.75 hours with starter)

For more info about the HP Mini 110, visit: verizonwireless.com.

Netbook owners, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how your Netbook is working out for you. If you’re thinking about purchasing a Netbook, what features are most important to you?  Feel free to leave a comment!

1. The Champagne of Beers – Miller High Life (in a can)
Sure, champagne is fancy, but why risk raising a half-filled, dainty glass of traditional bubbly when you can toast to a WHOLE 12 oz. can of the most premium bubbly of all? Your ticket to The BASH at Des Moines Social Club includes a midnight toast to  ”The Champagne of Beers” Miller High Life. Your hand will thank you for filling it with this cold, premium brewed beverage. And the best part is… as long as you raise your pinky, it’s still classy!

Photo via flickr: fincher69

2. Des Moines’ favorite Drag Queen – Champagne Showers
As if the “Champagne of Beers” wasn’t enough, the “Champagne of Des Moines” will also be gracing the scene at The BASH. Voted Best Drag Queen in Cityview’s Best of 2009 Issue, the lovely Champagne Showers will surely pop corks this NYE with another amazing performance like this one.

Tickets are avaiable through iowatix.com:

Bash Bundle – $100 – 5 tickets for the price of 4 (Offer ends Dec. 20th)
The Bash Party Pass – $50 – includes admission and all you can drink Smirnoff Vodka and Goose Island Beer
Bash Pass – $25 for admission

Tis the season when holiday music fills the airwaves and the air. I’ve been completely obsessed with creating the perfect holiday playlist this year. It seems it’s easy to compile a list of jolly holiday classics, but my search for fresh and new alternative/indie holiday tunage has been quite the challenge – until this week, thanks to Nicholas the Saint.

Nicholas the Saint is a holiday music group formed in Des Moines, Iowa in November 2009. Composed of the collaborative talents of Bradford Johnson (The Magazines), Luke Pettipoole (The Envy Corps) and Tony Bohnenkamp (Co-owner The Sonic Factory), the group began writing and pre-production just weeks ago in November, which quickly gave way to the recording of an eclectic four-song EP inspired by lost love during the holidays. You can hear more about the inspiration behind the Where is Christmas EP in this story by John Pemble of Iowa Public Radio.

Where is Christmas was love at first listen for me. After rummaging through hundreds of songs on iTunes and Blip.fm to appease my holiday music cravings over the last few weeks, I finally found some songs worth listening to. While most holiday songs are frivolous and upbeat, these four songs capture a more realistic and emotional essence of the holidays. I think we can all relate to the lyrics on some level, whether you’ve actually lost love, longed for love, or just imagined the feeling during the holidays. Don’t be fooled though – these songs may be about the sad side of Christmas, but they’ll still warm your soul like a hot cup of cocoa on a cold winter’s night.

A digital download of the Where is Christmas EP is available for purchase at Authentic Records Online. All profits from the sales of this EP will be donated to the Iowa Homeless Youth Centers.

The Night Before Christmas Eve Special with Nicholas the Saint
Meet the guys behind Nicholas the Saint and see them perform live next Wednesday, on the eve of Christmas Eve – 12/23 on the JG Faux Show at Des Moines Social Club. RSVP on Facebook and help spread the word!

More holiday music selections featuring local artists
The Nadas – Here Comes Christmas (Weekly Ear Snack/Digital Download)

Do You Ear What I Ear, a holiday compilation for the Association to Benefit Children featuring ”Happy Christmas” performed by The Poison Control Center from Ames, Iowa (download/watch video)

If you’ve listened to the Where is Christmas EP, leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Also, if you have any other holiday music selections that you think I’d enjoy, let me know. . . still working on the playlist.

1. Colourmusic

2. Leslie Hall

3. The Poison Control Center

4. St. Vitus and the Taxi Dancers

5. Christopher the Conquered

And that’s just the first five reasons!

For $25, you will receive over 6 hours of exclusive, unique entertainment all in one space.
Live music, aerial artists, ice sculpting, fire performers, DJ sets, burlesque performers and countless local celebrity sightings will be engaging you all night. Hors d’oeuvres from Gateway Market and a Miller High Life Can, the Champagne of Beers, are included in the ticket price! All proceeds benefit the Des Moines Social Club’s programming.

Live Performances by:
Poison Control Center
Leslie Hall
Colourmusic
St. Vitus and the Taxi Dancers
Christopher the Conquered
Champagne Showers
Aeriel Performers – Ann Stimmel and Julie Betts
Fire Performers
Ice Sculpturers
DJs

What: The BASH
When: December 31, 2009, 8pm – 4am
Where: Des Moines Social Club
Tickets: $25 @ iowatix
RSVP on Facebook and tell your friends!

Holler at your girl if you plan on attending, and tell me what you’re looking forward most to at the DMSC’s premiere NYE celebration.  No, I’m serious – leave me a comment. Do. it.

What: NYE 2010 presented by Flatform w/Alex Brown
When: Thursday, December 31st, 2009 @ 9pm
Where: Vaudeville Mews, 212 4th Street, Des Moines
Tickets: $10 @ iowatix.com
RSVP on Facebook

And now for the best news evah! – You don’t have to wait until NYE to start experiencing this party. Effective immediately, you must arm your mobile devices with a QR code reader (for iPhone / for other phones), and keep your eyes peeled for the NYE 2010 promo posters while navigating the streets, venues, coffee shops and local businesses of Des Moines. If you see a poster, activate your code scanning app and scan the QR code on the poster. What happens next will blow. your. mind. Dramatic? So is your mom. Scanning the QR code will cause your browser to launch and blast off to an event specific URL. You can also follow along at www.nye2010.info to download digital mixtapes, access limited edition prints, win VIP giveaways and more.

If you’re reading my blog, you’re either rad and/or a geek, so you probably already know about QR codes, especially those of you in the Twitter community who have been sporting QR codes on your TweetUp Badge (thanks, @richdrake) since last spring – but just in case, I bring you this explanation freshly swiped from Wikipedia:  A QR code is a two-dimensional barcoding system created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. QR stands for “Quick Response,” as the Japanese creator behind the idea of the code wanted information to be deciphered at an elevated speed (fast like rabbit). QR codes have been widely used in Japan for years now to link information to objects and spaces such as billboards, magazine ads, buildings, etc., but are just recently starting to catch on in the U.S.

So, what does all of this mean? The idea of linking information to spaces and objects is not a new concept, but the innovation behind QR code technology has simplified the process. Like any other communication technology that makes our lives easier and accessing information more convenient, expect to see widespread use of QR codes in the future and lots of innovation and information connected to locations and objects. Can you think of any other innovative uses for QR codes in Des Moines? Leave me a comment!

Photo via fashionindie.com: Giles Deacon’s fashion forward, giant scarves

Searching for the perfect scarf can be burdensome, especially if you’re vertically challenged (like moi). I recently bought a scarf at H&M that is literally 8 feet long (that’s 2 ft + 10 inches longer than my entire body). I didn’t realize this until I got it home, of course. Oh, and trust me, I will wear the darn thing – even if I have to wrap it around my neck 20x, but lacking the proper wrapping technique, this scarf could potentially be a serious walking hazard.

Scarf wrapping 101 FAIL

Style Watch: Tube cowls, snoods, and neckwarmer-beanie combos FTW!

It seems I’m not the only person who has thought, “Sure, necks should be warm, but at what expense?!” While (browser) window shopping for cozy, cold weather trends today, I found myself strangely attracted to knit’s answer to neck warmers with functionality. Check it out:

Handknit Collar Scarf: $136 at thewardrobecincinnati.com (website often down)

Cherry Red Button Up Cowl: $36 YesJess on Etsy.com (Made in Iowa)

Textured Tube Scarf: $65 tortillagirl on Etsy.com

Staring At Stars Open Knit Snood: $34 Urban Outfitters

And for the dudes… It’s a beanie! No! It’s a neckwarmer! No! It’s both!
Tornado Neckwarmer Beanie: $28 Urban Outfitters

What do you think about these neck-warming trends? If you’re a local DIY, crafty gal or guy, what are you knitting this season? Please share in the comments (still at the top of the post, for now).

I was feeling super crafty this Halloween, so I decided to make another fabulous felt creation and dress up as something that I can’t live without – my iPhone. The costume was a huge hit, and people were really feeling the felt (literally), so I thought I should share my iPhone costume recipe with the world. F-yeah for felt!

Supplies:
1. felt. . . lots of felt
2. silver fabric
3. a black t-shirt
4. a white sweatband
5. scissors
6. tacky glue
7. mad, freehand cutting skills (Tweet to Katie B. for tips)
8. band-aids for battle wounds

Instructions:
1. Decide which 20 apps you would like to create. I recommend a good mix of the standard, most recognizable iPhone apps mixed with some of your geeky faves.
2. Cut out the app backgrounds – squares with rounded corners. I divided the felt sheets into fourths to determine the width of each app (approximately the same width as an iphone).
3. Cut out the app icons – This takes a steady hand and patience. If you’re unable to freehand cut the icons, you can print out stencils to use as a guide.
4. Use tacky glue to attach the app icons to the app backgrounds (allow 4 hours for drying).
5. Once the apps are dry, you can glue them to your black t-shirt. Make sure to place cardboard or paper (I used a paper grocery bag) inside of the shirt, so you do not glue the front and back of the shirt together.
6. Every iPhone needs an AT&T signal (or lack thereof). This is where the white sweatband comes into play. Plus, it just looks cool. Cut out the signal bars, “AT&T” and “3G” text and use tacky glue to attach them to a white sweatband (allow 4 hours for drying).
7. And last, but not least – the Apple icon for the back of your t-shirt. I printed out the Apple logo and used a stencil for this because I wanted it to be perfect. You can use double-sided tape or pins to hold the stencil in place while cutting the Apple out of your metallic silver fabric. Use tacky glue to attach the Apple logo to the back of your t-shirt (allow 4 hours for drying).

And, voila! You’ve got yourself an iPhone costume. (Dark fairy aka Jill Haverkamp not included)

Once you’re wearing your iPhone costume, you’ll feel the power of 100k+ apps and might experience a sudden increase in confidence. Don’t be alarmed if you find yourself. . . singing in an all-girl band, or. . .

dancing on tables at a college bar. . . totally normal.

Des Moines Dear Jack screening with & Q/A:
Date: Friday, November 13th
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Fleur Cinema & Cafe
After-party: The Grand Piano Bistro
RSVP on Facebook & help spread the word!

*There will also be a screening for for Dear Jack on November 12th in Ames.

Dear Jack is a documentary that chronicles the year that Jack’s Mannequin and Something Corporate singer Andrew McMahon spent battling acute lymphoma leukemia at the age of 22. (Read the full synopsis here.)

ISU alum Corey Moss co-directed, wrote and produced this 78-minute feature documentary. Moss is an executive producer at Yahoo! Originals, where he created “Primetime in No Time,” the highest-rated show on the Web. He has also written and directed short films starring Jackie Chan, Brett Ratner and Jamie Kennedy. Moss will be in Des Moines for the upcoming screening, and there will be a Q&A with him following the film.

Learn more about Dear Jack and the Dear Jack Foundation:
Film website: dearjackmovie.com
Dear Jack Foundation: dearjackfoundation.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dearjackhq
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/dearjackfoundation

How Andrew’s story hit home for me in 2005:

In 2005, I was working as a Project Manager at A.D.D. Marketing in Los Angeles, CA. My job was to coordinate street teams in major cities all over the nation, arm them with swag, and send them out on the streets to promote movies, music, extreme sports and various other products. There was one project in particular that I was really excited about working on during the summer of 2005 – Something Corporate singer Andrew McMahon was getting ready to debut his solo album Everything in Transit for his side project Jack’s Mannequin, and I was assigned to coordinate street teams to promote the album.

But then the news came. I remember riding my longboard to work that summer day in June (cuz that’s how I rolled in Cali) and arriving at the office to hear the news – Andrew had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I thought, “This can’t be – he’s only 22… and he’s got a new album coming out… and he’s awesome and invincible!” But it was true. Andrew had just told his record label Maverick Records, and they had called us to put the project on hold. Our office, normally high energy and rocking out to satellite radio, was silent that day as we all sat in shock of the news. I remember thinking to myself, “He’s gonna get through this – his fans will help him.”

I’m really looking forward to this screening, and I hope you all will join me. If you don’t know Corey Moss yet, you should come to the screening and meet him. He’s one of the most driven people I know, and he’s representing Iowa like a rockstar in LA with all of the amazing things he’s accomplished and currently working on. I can’t wait to see what he does next!

Hello, bangs.

I’ve got my eye on you. . . just one.

Sometimes it helps if you scream.

For the Vitus gals, my “ooh la la” face.

And last, but not least – my “serious” face, which can also double as my “Are you serious?” face. I think I’ll use this for Twitter, so people know I mean biznass.

What does fall inspire in you? Whether it’s fashion, cravings, hobbies or recipes – share your thoughts on fall with me below.

I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to see Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs who delivered the keynote at the first session during the convention (watch it here), but I did get to take in some Indy culture while I was there, so here are a few highlights from my adventure.

In true Des Moines “International” Airport / Midwest Airlines form, we got to board our airplanes like The Beatles.

Omni Severin Hotel
40 West Jackson Place
Indianapolis, Indiana 46225

We stayed at the Omni Severin Hotel in the heart of downtown Indy. The hotel was classic and beautiful. I learned on Wikipedia that the hotel originally opened in 1913 as the Grand Hotel of Indianapolis. I was obsessed with this phone, which was sitting on an antique boudoir table outside of the elevators on my floor.

Historic Indianapolis Union Station
39 Jackson Pl
Indianapolis, IN 46225

The hotel is located directly across from the Indianapolis Union Station. This building looked really cool at night.

Ike & Jonesy’s
17 W. Jackson Place
Indianapolis, Indiana 46225

On Thursday night, we went to this club called Ike & Jonesy’s which is across the street from the Omni. We paid $5 cover, and then they let us pick out some candy (I chose Skittles, of course). Rumor has it, that 25 cent draws ended right before we arrived. Despite all of those great incentives, I’m pretty sure this place is a cougar bar (evidence to follow).

Sushi On The Rocks
235 S Meridian St
Indianapolis , IN 46225

Thanks to @adangross for recommending Sushi On The Rocks - it… rocked! I would have previously never considered combining sushi and live blues music, but it was pretty badass.

It was a unique set up because the (liquor) bar was the main element with just a few tables surrounding, and the sushi bar was in the back of the restaurant. I ordered the Rock & Roll: It has eel, cream cheese and 2 kinds of fish with masago inside. It is deep fried on the outside with 2 types of chef’s unique blend of special sauces. I also enjoyed a Kirin Light and Green Tea Ice Cream for dessert. Yum!

I loved this painting that was hanging above the tables.

12 seconds of highlights from the last 4 days in Indy: