What is Helio?

Helio is a joint venture between SK Telecom in Korea and EarthLink. Headed by Sky Dayton, the founder of EarthLink, Helio is what is called an MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator. Now owned by Virgin Mobile.

Also of interest:

• Helio's Ocean of Fans Blogroll
• Helio's Ocean of Fans FanListing
• Wallpapers (screens) for the Helio Ocean
• Ringtones for the Helio Ocean
• How To: Video for the Helio Ocean
• Heliocity forums - resources, tips and other goodies for Helio products
• Heliocity Tutorial: How to upload MMF, Mp3, or MIDI Ringtones to Your Ocean

Currently browsing: Helio

I’m amazed

Sometimes I amaze even myself. I know, that’s really some feat!

My Helio Ocean started acting up recently. One of the buttons has gone a little haywire and the native browser stopped working (the “white screen of death”!). I had put off calling Helio Tech Support because I never seemed to think about it when I had a half hour or so to spare — that, and I had already tried several fix suggestions in the Heliocity forums which worked for others but not for me, telling me that mine probably wasn’t an easily fixed problem.

Ugh.

So Monday morning I finally ‘mustered (mustard) up the catsup’ (nyuck!) to give Helio a call. The tech helping me was very cheerful and when I explained what all I had tried so far, she didn’t insist on putting me through the paces again. So after trying a hard reset, I find that the wacky key is still being neurotic and nothing helps — so they are sending me a new Ocean.

Have I mentioned lately that Helio rocks?

So I’ve been going over a mental “to do” list in my mind of the things I’ll need to re-load on my new device. Email and contacts are easy-peasy, those are stored on the server and are sync’d up very easily. My ringtones and wallpapers I either found via various Helions at the Heliocity forums or made myself … then it hit me: how the hell was I going to find them all again?

A bright idea struck me: I know, I’ll bet I mailed most of them via one of my Gmail accounts. Sure enough, I did. AND at some point (I don’t remember doing this) I had set up a filter to label everything sent to my device with the tag “Helio” … so now I have a nicely tagged collection of every wallpaper and ringtone that I sent myself (or pretty close to it!).

Go me. Go me. Go me.

Zoo pics are up!

I finally got a few free minutes and uploaded the photos I took during my time chaperoning Jessie’s class trip to the Birmingham Zoo. I feel like a complete goober though because I didn’t charge up the camera the night before, so I had to take these on my cell. A lot of them turned out better than I hoped (though the indoor ones sucked). Love to Helio for the good ones!

On the menu tonight

Excuse the self-pimpage, but I’m pretty proud and wanted to show off. :mrgreen:

Tonight I whipped up a Thai style chicken dish and snapped off a few shots:

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Next time I will probably substitute fresh lime juice in place of the lemon juice (I used the “bottled” kind that comes in a plastic lemon-shaped container). Jim loved it and Jessie begged for seconds, so I’d call it a success. :cool:

I snapped off the pics with my Helio Ocean, so they turned out kind of ‘meh’ … reminds me that I need to seriously start looking at digital cameras if I want to take some decent shots in the future!

Helio adds minutes and bill checking to the Ocean

It took longer than we liked, but it’s finally here. You can now check your remaining minutes, bill amount, and other helpful account-related items on your Helio Ocean.

To get here, go to Surf (2) on your menu. When your Helio page comes up, scroll down to the bottom and click Account. (or just click up once to go straight to the bottom)

Once in your account, you’ll see your mobile number, account number, remaining minutes, current amount due (if applicable) and will have access to the following options:

1. View Balance & Payments
2. View Current Voice Usage
3. View Wishlist
4. View Downloads
5. Helio 101 – Help/FAQ

Very handy if you’re on the go and need pertinent account information!

H/T to Justin B of Heliocity for the head’s up and screencap.

New Helio Fanlisting

I recently submitted a petition to TheFanlistings.org to start a fanlisting for Helio. It’s called Helio’s Ocean of Fans — the same as the blogroll.

It’s not “official” yet, but several people have already hopped on board (with mucho kudos to the Heliocity forum residents), so if you’re a fellow Helion and are so inclined please feel free… :mrgreen:

URI: http://www.nitallica.org/helio/

Reflections on Christmas

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. Mine was pretty good.

I worked Christmas Eve and left around lunchtime. I had just enough time to run home and change to go see my parents that afternoon. We had a lovely early supper and hung out a bit with my folks and my brother and his family. Things are slowly getting better with Dad. He and I talked for a little bit. I know he really enjoyed having Jessie over last weekend and for Christmas Eve. (I know he was driving Mother up the wall!) Mother kept pressing the “children” issue again. (not gonna happen) Between her and my aunt Sharon, I don’t know who’s worse. ;P

I know they mean well, but it’s my decision — I just wish they would accept it and stop badgering me already!

Jessie scored big with some cute outfits and a TON of new earrings (much to her delight!). Jim and I scored gift cards. (YAY, shopping!!!) We left around dark. Jessie had to leave shortly after to go to her mother’s house. She spent the night there and came back the next day around lunch. Unfortunately I was way too wiped out Christmas Eve night to finish wrapping the “Santa” gifts and put it off until the next morning. Jessie showed up just as I was finishing up wrapping. Luckily Jim came to my rescue and met Jess at the door and suggested they leave to “pick up breakfast” — which is parent-secret-code for “Nicki’s not done yet and needs someone to buy her some time.” LOL!

Waffle House provided a very lovely brunch of scattered/smothered hashbrowns, toast, and bacon. YUM! (they’re the only place around town open on Christmas Day, and it’s becoming a tradition with us to get breakfast Christmas morning there!)

We had Christmas at our house and Jessie racked up on goodies, a nice jewelry box (for all her newly acquired earrings, LOL!), and several toys and art sets. She gave Jim a DBZ video that he didn’t already have in his collection. She gave me a HUGE bath gift set — lavender, my favorite scent. She had also given one to her mother the night before, but it was only a quarter of the size of mine.

I told a friend about that yesterday morning and he said, “Congratulations! You’ve moved up from stepmom to super mom!” :lol: I dunno about all that just yet, but it was very nice to know that she’s thoughtful enough to know my favorite scent and picked out such a nice gift on her own.

We left to head to Jim’s mom’s house that afternoon and spent most of the day there with her and his brother’s family. Jess spent the night over there last night while I worked on Jim’s website. (His WordPress was WAY outdated and his plugins folder was an absolute MESS!)

I’ve also posted some old family recipes over at my recipe site: Pineapple Cookies, Peanut Butter Balls, Butter Cookies, Sand Tarts, No-Bake Cookies, and Cherry Glaze.

I spent most of last weekend helping my mom make some of those and took the opportunity to snag some snapshots of her recipes with my Helio Ocean. :mrgreen:

I’m finishing up on my newest WordPress themes and will most likely release them all four of them tomorrow. (Yes, I got FOUR done this last week and a half! GO ME! LOL) I haven’t decided yet which one(s) to enter in the LunarPages contest, if any, so I guess I’ll do that this weekend.

Next week marks one year since Hobie passed away. I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately. While I was wrapping some gifts last week, I ran across one of her old toys (a felt mouse) in my supply box and started crying. It hardly seems like it’s been a year already. Late at night I still find myself listening, wanting to hear her feet on the kitchen floor or running up and down the stairs. Honestly that cat sounded like a pack of elephants sometimes, LOL!

It’s weird but sometimes I feel like she’s still here. Sometimes out of the corner of my eye, I’ll think I see her prancing down the hall, or sitting and watching me. She always loved Christmas (or rather, loved Christmas trees since they were fun for her to play with!), and it still feels weird not having her around.

Maybe by next Christmas (or the next at the very latest), we’ll be in a new house and may have another furry friend to share the warmth and joy of the holidays.

I blame John :)

I decided to kill a little time waiting for Futurama to come on, and stole this from John.

1. Are you ready for 100 questions?
Um, sure why not…

2. Do you watch college football?
Absofreakinlutely.

3. Who will fill this survey out after you?
Someone bored.

4. Who was the last person to send you a text message?
Jim.

5. Do you love anyone?
Yep.

6. Are you happy?
Yep.

7. Where was the last place you went shopping?
GoGamer.com

8. How do you feel about your hair?
It’s wild and unruly, it’s pretty cool that way …

9. Where do you work?
UAB.

10. Last thing you ate/drank?
BLT and sweet tea from Hamburger Heaven.

11. Do you wish you were someplace else right now?
Nah … I like living here.

12. Do you have any pet peeves?
Plenty … how much time you got?

13. Do you have any expensive jewelry?
Depends on your definition of “expensive” … I have pretty simple tastes, nothing overly extravagant.

14. AIM or Yahoo?
Neither.

15. Do you like math?
Sure. :mrgreen:

16. How many hours on average do you work a week:
50 (day job + side project)

18. Favorite baseball team?
Haven’t watched it in years.

19. Favorte NBA team?
Ditto.

20. Do you watch the Olympics?
Sure.

21. Last restaurant you went to?
Hamburger Heaven

22. Who was the last person to call you?
Jim.

23. What’s your sign?
Does this look like a bar to you? I didn’t think so.

24. Do you have a favorite number?
Yup.

25. Last time you did volunteer work or made any donations?
Earlier this week.

26. What do you spend the majority of your money on?
Bills.

27. Where does your family live?
Not too far from me.

28. Are you an only child or do you have siblings?
1 younger brother.

29. Ever been called a bitch?
Yep.

30. Got any guilty pleasures?
CHOCOLATE!!!!!

31. Do you drink beer?
Not really.

32. Whats your favorite color?
Blue.

33. Did you ever collect Beanie Babies?
Only kitties, lizards, snakes, wolves, and frogs.

34. Ever bought anything online?
At least once a week.

35. Myspace or Facebook?
Both.

36. Do you have T-Mobile?
Hell no. I roll with Helio, baby!

38. Do you sometimes wish you were someone else?
Who doesn’t?

41. Last time you saw your parents?
At my wedding.

42. Do you have any talents?
A few.

43. Ever been in a wedding?
Yep.

44. Do you have any children?
Yep.

45. Last movie you watched?
Inuyasha: the Movie

46. Are you missing anyone at the moment?
Yep.

47. Did you take a nap today?
I wish.

49. Ever been on a cruise?
Nope.

50. Did you notice number 40 was missing?
Yeah … along with several other numbers.

52. Do you have any wealthy friends?
I wish, LOL!

53. Ever met anyone famous before?
Does someone from “The Real Life” count?

54. Favorite actor?
I have to pick one?

55. Favorite actress?
Hrm, I have several.

56. Are you multi-tasking right now?
Yep.

57. Could you handle being in the military?
I think so …

58. Are you hungry or thirsty?
Neither.

59. Favorite fast food restaurant?
BK.

61. What is your average cell phone bill?
$150

62. Do you own a camera phone?
Yep.

63. Ever had to take a sobriety test?
Nope.

64. Do you believe in Karma?
Absolutely!

65. Can you speak any other languages?
A little Spanish and Japanese.

66. Last time you went to the gym or worked out?
Right before my wedding.

67. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
10 … 21 if you count boots.

68. Do you have a photo hosting site that you use?
Zooomr, baby!

69. Last place you were?
At my desk.

70. What is your college mascot?
An elephant.

71. Ever been to Las Vegas?
Nope.

76. Have you ever been gambling?
Yep.

77. How old are your parents?
21 years older than me.

78. When is the last time you updated your blog?
Today.

79. Do you have your wisdom teeth?
Nope.

80. Favorite place to be?
New Orleans (pre-Katrina)

81. Have you been to New York City?
Nope.

82. Favorite sit down restaurant?
Cajun Steamer

83. Ever been to Disney Land?
Nope. Been to Disney World though, it was way cooler.

84. Do you have a favorite cartoon character?
Yup, several.

85. Last thing you cooked?
Shell pasta with meat sauce.

86. How is the weather today?
Kinda rainy right now, a little warm for this time of year.

87. Do you email?
Every damned day.

88. Last letter/piece of mail you received besides junk or a bill?
Merle Norman catalog.

90. Last missed call?
Telemarketer. (scum sucking maggots)

91. Last voicemail you received?
See #90.

92. Do you drunk dial/text?
God no, this isn’t college.

93. Stupidest thing you ever did with your cell phone?
Not capturing “the perfect shot” when I had the chance.

94. What is the best city in the state that you live in?
The one I’m in now.

96. Did you just die?
:shock: WTF?

97. Are you bored right now?
I’m filling this stupid thing out, aren’t I?

98. Last concert you went to?
I honestly can’t remember at this moment. It was probably Obliviaxe (which should tell you how long it’s been).

99. What do you think about before you go to bed?
Probably work.

100. What are your plans for tomorrow?
Work, make/have dinner, work on side project.

Gmail IMAP on the Helio Ocean

I’ve been browsing the Heliocity forums, trying to catch up on everything I’ve missed — and it seems there’s a LOT! LOL I ran across some great articles: Video Ringtone Tutorial, Tips for syncing your calendar, … and a lot more.

One that I ran across I found particularly helpful, discussing Gmail. Now that Google has so graciously opened up IMAP, we can now use it on the Ocean. How cool is that?

Because between you and me, the current/default Gmail app on the Ocean sucks ass.

So, without further ado (and a world of thanks to peetre001 for posting his settings), here’s what I am currently using to snag my Gmail:

Firstly, check your Gmail account and make sure that IMAP is enabled. To do this, go to Settings, Forwarding and POP/IMAP, and under IMAP Access make sure Enable IMAP is checked. Save your changes and now go to your Helio Ocean.

Go to the main menu and choose Message to access your email accounts. To set up a new account, go to Menu, 2/Setup Email Accounts. Once inside Email Accounts, go to Menu, 1/New Mailbox.

My settings are as follows, but feel free to deviate from the directions where appropriate:

• Set as Default — I left this unchecked, as I want my MyHelio account to stay the default account.
• Mailbox Name — I named mine Gmail IMAP to distinguish it from the other.
• Username – This is your Gmail username (email address): name@gmail.com
• Password – Put your Gmail password here.
• Display Name — Put whatever you want set as your “from” name here.
• Email Address — This is your Gmail address: name@gmail.com
• Use Signature — Check this if you want to specify a signature for your emails.
• Signature – If Use Signature is checked, your signature can be edited here.
• Incoming Mail Server Type — Set to IMAP.
• Incoming Mail Server — Set to imap.gmail.com
• Incoming Mail Server Port — Set to 993.
• Incoming Mail Server Secure — Make sure this is checked!
• Outgoing Mail Server — Set to smtp.gmail.com
• Outgoing Mail Server Port – Set to 465.
• Outgoing Mail Server Secure — Make sure this is checked!
• Outgoing Username — This is the same as your Username: name@gmail.com
• Outgoing Password — Put your Gmail password here.
• Date sort order — Set to your preference. I set mine to Descending.

Be sure to click SAVE! That’s it. You’re all set!

Again, I’d like to thank peetre001 and all the participants in the Heliocity forums for their tireless efforts in sharing Helio and Ocean related knowledge and tips to make our proverbial mobile lives easier!

Hopped up on sweet tea and candy…

Ok boys and girls, it’s meme-lub time! (Don’t ask … I’m hopped up on sweet tea and Halloween candy, LOLOLOL! )

I snagged this from my lovely sis-in-law, Christy:

And how old might you be?
I might be 32 … but then again, I might decide to be 29 again this year!

Where were you at 3:02 AM this morning?
In bed, where were you?

What was the first thing you thought this morning?
10 more minutes, just gimme 10 more minutes!

What did you do last night?
Cleaned, did my nails, worked on a website, had a horrible headache, watched the CSI marathon
(not necessarily in that order)

What do you hope to do this weekend?
SLEEEEEEP!

Have you ever told someone of the opposite sex you loved them?
Yep, I do it every day.

How’s your heart lately?
As the song goes, “Same as it ever was.”

What were you doing this morning at 7am?
Sitting down at my desk at work and reading emails/newsfeeds.

What were you doing this afternoon at 12 PM?
Eating and reading emails/newsfeeds.

What was the reason you last cried?
My feelings were hurt.

Have you ever talked to someone when they were drunk?
More than I’d like to admit.

How many red lights have you ran?
You mean “have you run’? I don’t know, but not too many I hope.

What was your favorite grade?
Let’s not go there, k?

What were you doing at 12:00 last night?
Are you stalking me?

What’s a sure way to catch your attention?
Yes, but if I tell you what it is, you’ll do it just to annoy me.

Have you ever, in any way, been betrayed by someone you trusted?
Yes.

Is there anything that you are craving for right now?
Chocolate!!

When did your last hug take place?
10 minutes ago from my beloved hubby. :mrgreen:

Do people ever make stupid mistakes when spelling or saying your name?
Every damned day.

Have you ever started a sentence with “No offense, but…”?
More than I’d like to admit.

Do you drink tea?
Every damned day. :grin:

When was the last time you saw a cop?
Lunch.

Did you ride in someone else’s car today?
Nope.

Who is the best person in the world?
I have to choose just one?

What would you do if a teacher of the opposite sex hit on you?
Put him in his place.

Right now do you prefer a Strawberry Milkshake or a Banana Cupcake?
Banana cupcake — with walnuts!

Is your phone within a meter radius of you?
Yep.

Wait…are you a guy or a girl?
A guy must’ve written this …

What are you wearing?
Black long sleeve tee, my fave Jack tee (Nightmare Before Christmas), dark blue jeans, boots.

You know, the usual …

What color is the thing you are sitting on right now?
Black.

Are you doing this just because you’re bored?
Nope, I need something to distract me from the baseball game playing in the background. :roll:

What season is it right now? Do you like it?
Fall. No, it’s too f@%$ing cold!

Was last New Year’s Eve enjoyable?
Yup.

What’s something that’s bothering you right at this moment?
This quiz is too damned long, LOL!

Would you ever become a vegetarian or even vegan?
Nope … been there, done that. I like meat. :wink:

What are you doin right now?
Eating dinner.

What is your desktop picture?
Don’t hurt the web.

Can you swim well?
If the occasion calls for it.

Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes.

Would you rather go to Tokyo or Paris?
Tokyo!

How about Melbourne or Rome?
Rome.

Do you have a guitar in your house?
Technically, yes … Jessie’s Barbie guitar. You want it? :lol:

Are you listening to music right now?
I wish.

Do you wish you were somewhere else right now?
Another time and place, maybe.

How long can you go without your mobile phone?
Not very.

Is your bed made of metal or wood?
Both.

Have you ever been to a big concert?
Yup.

Have you been mistaken for a celebrity?
If you count local celebrities, yeah. Someone used to mistake me for Luka back when she was hot shit (or not?).

Have you ever hooked up with a celebrity?
No, but then again it would ruin the fantasy.

What school do you attend?
I don’t.

Where do you want to live?
In a bigger house.

Games, and Gaming

Had a great time at the FSU game, though was a bit dismayed to find that my Utterz posts weren’t going through. (still figuring that out) Had other technical difficulties: I found that my camera’s rechargeable batteries have pretty much gone kaput … so most of the pics I took were on my Helio Ocean. (Have GOT to get me a new camera!) We got in late Sunday afternoon, picked Jessie up from her mother’s, then pretty much crashed. I’ve been having headaches the last couple of days (first ones since the wedding, really), so I took it easy yesterday — outside of doing a little “shopping.”

Jim and I had decided instead of giving “traditional” wedding gifts to each other, we’re upgrading our machines. After all, UT3 is due out in just a couple of weeks!

Jim’s pretty much got his stuff picked out and we’ve started ordering parts, but I decided to “go lighter” … I’m getting a laptop and will be shedding my box. (Shocked, I know! )

I still love my alien green case, but I decided that for the amount of money we’d be shelling out, I could get just as decent a machine as a laptop — and a laptop is mobile. I’d be able to cart it with me where needed and it would make my load MUCH lighter when packing up for LAN parties!

I have *SO* missed my LAN parties, and let’s face it, PCs are heavy!

Now that a new UT is coming out, I’m itching for some FPS action. I’ve been eying this beauty on NewEgg:

ASUS F3 Series F3SV-X1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T7300(2.00GHz) 15.4″ Wide XGA 1GB DDR2 667 160GB 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS

The graphics card is decent enough for some medium/high gaming and design/dev works, but I’ll have to double up on the RAM as it will be running Vista. (and we all know how MS OS’s like to suck up memory!)

I’ve been playing the UT3 demo in my spare time (or what little I’ve had, LOL!) and can’t WAIT until the real thing hits! :twisted:

UT3′s Specs:

Minimum System Requirements

• Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista
• 2.0+ GHZ Single Core Processor
• 512 Mbytes of System RAM
• NVIDIA 6200+ or ATI Radeon 9600+ Video Card
• 8 GB of Free Hard Drive Space

Recommended System Requirements

• 2.4+ GHZ Dual Core Processor
• 1 GBytes of System RAM
• NVIDIA 7800GTX+ or ATI x1300+ Video Card
• 8 GB of Free Hard Drive Space

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