I just posted a few new items to my shared RSS feed. Check it out in the sidebar or by visiting the page on Google.

Don’t worry, I am not trying to compete with Scoble.

I got my invitation to GrandCentral yesterday, and I have been amazed by every minute I have used the service. It is fast, easy, fun, and works as advertised. It is free too, that’s a nice bonus.

GrandCentral is “one number to rule them all”, which is sort of hard to understand until you use it. The idea is, GrandCentral gives you a new phone number and then you add in all your other phone numbers to your account such as your mobile phone, your home phone, etc.

Once your numbers are added in, you import your contacts. This is where the fun begins, because you can set up specific rules for each contact and have them redirected to specific phones. I only have one phone, my mobile phone, but even then I find a lot of use for GrandCentral. Instead of redirecting callers to specific phones, I redirect callers to different voicemail messages - for example all my friends get a more friendly message, my family gets a message oriented toward them, and all other callers receive a business-y voicemail. If I wanted to, I could also personalise voicemail messages for individual people.

Another awesome aspect of GrandCentral is that all voicemails are recorded and stored online. For someone like myself who hates checking voicemail, this is an incredible feature that alone makes GrandCentral a killer app. You can receive notification upon new messages via email or SMS. Unfortunately, unless you have mobile internet you cannot check your messages from the phone (which I don’t mind so much - again, I am not a fan of checking voicemail ). That would be a nice development. Commenter D Murphy points out below that you can simply dial your GrandCentral number and check your voicemail that way, in a more traditional style. Very awesome! Thanks D Murphy.

There are a multitude of features that make GrandCentral a killer app for phones; no wonder Google bought it!

I look forward to continuing to use this service and exploring all the amazing features it has to offer.

In consideration of your use of the Website, you represent that you are more than 18 years of age, and are fully able and competent to enter into the terms, conditions, obligations, affirmations, representations, and warranties set forth in these Terms of Use. This Website is not intended for minors under 18. If you are under 18 years of age, please do not use this Website. You acknowledge that the Website may contain material that is inappropriate for minors, and agree that you will not authorize a minor to use the Website.

That quote is taken from section three of the BlogTV terms of use.

I know you are probably thinking, “Yeah? So?”

Well here’s the thing:

I’m 16. Yeah, 16. I tend not to advertise that much, but I am. I’m still in high school. And on the side, I run a successful web design business, do work with Oratos Media, and I’m collaborating with a friend on a fantastic new startup. So if you take out the whole “high school” part, it seems I’m not doing to badly. If I do say so myself.

That’s primarily why it is so frustrating that a site like BlogTV says I have to wait a few more years to use their service. I am sure they’re thinking “we need to protect against potential adult content” and you know what? Fine. I appreciate the gesture. Think of the kids, that’s all well and good. I know my fellow teens and younger kids; that’s probably a smart way to think in terms of the inappropriate content.

However what about the stuff that is appropriate? Why should I be locked out of participation with that? Why can’t I share my comments in those shows? I see no reason why a site like this can’t implement an age detection system such as YouTube. If you’re between 13 and 18, you can see all non-flagged streams. If you are above 18, you can see all streams, including specially flagged streams. A much more inclusive and yet safe system.

Yes, this is a lot of fuss over what might seem like a small issue. However for someone like myself who interacts with adults on a regular basis, it is frustrating to be locked out of services that are seeing more and more use. BlogTV is a perfect example - Second Life is an even better example (although that is a rant for another day).

I could have lied about my age, sure. A little age detector, in all truth, is hardly a deterrent. But I want to build a legitimate, accurate identity for myself online. Lying about my age is not conducive to that goal. Unfortunately, it’s also locking me out of what looks like a really neat service.

From my Tumblog:

I’ll be out of town for the rest of the weekend (through Monday). Enjoy your iPhones, Pownce accounts, and whatever other shiny things you can find.

I’m not going to Europe, but I decided to plan out a hypothetical journey for fun. It’s a pretty extensive trip and would probably require at least a year to get through all of the locations I put on the list.

The majority of the locations on the list are in Italy, although I have locations as far north as Finland and as far south as Gibraltar and Athens. Because of the Italy-centric locations as well as the locations on France’s southern coast and a few Grecian selections, it would be entirely possible to break that section of the trip into its own “Mediterranean trip”.

Check out the map at Google Maps. I used their awesome My Maps tool.

Also, I did put this link on my Tumblr blog, which is located at http://comitar.com/. I’ve been having a lot of fun with the Tumblog format, so you may want to subscribe to that blog as well!

Chris

Here’s a list of my top favorite musicals. Yeah. Musicals. Get over it and listen to some great tunes.

1. The Last Five Years
   by Jason Robert Brown - A one act music that shows the story of a five year relationship in a rather unconventional manner. Wikipedia explains it best: “The show uses a novel form of storytelling in which Cathy travels backwards in time (beginning the show at the end of the marriage), and Jamie travels forwards (starting with the couple’s first date).”
2. RENT
   by Jonathan Larson - The most talked-up musical of the 1990s, Rent is deserving of its praise. The original cast is fantastic, and you’re at an advantage here as well because most of the musical is sung so the soundtrack is basically the whole show. You get the whole story.
3. Spring Awakening
   by Duncan Sheik and Steven Satar - This season’s most buzzy musical, Spring Awakening is a teen coming of age story - set in 1890s Germany. This is an addicting musical.
4. Wicked
   by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman - Produced by Universal Pictures, this is ultimately a family-friendly version of the novel it is based on: “Wicked: the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West” which is an excellent read. Nonetheless, it condenses the books plot enough so that it is understandable (big plus) and has some really great songs to boot.
5. Aida
   by Elton John and Tim Rice - I’m partial to this because I was in a production of it, but it really does have some great songs and a cool plot. It is tough to get a grip on without actually seeing a production, but trust me - it is cool.
6. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
   by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin - Although this probably won’t serve for any real inspiration, it’s a damn good show with some really catchy (and hilarious) music. This one is addictive too: be warned.

Writer extraordinaire Joel Kelly (a longtime Celtx user and brief collaborator) is working on a brand new podcast - Ingenioustries. The new podcast is a story podcast; currently he’s reading through a story titled “Deltree”.

Deltree is incredibly dark and well written and it appears to be getting even darker. Which can’t hurt, can it? The main character, Dell, is an incredibly sarcastic person who gives the story it’s awesomely unique flavour.

I recommend this podcast to anyone and everyone who is up for a great story. Check the podcast out at Ingenioustries.com.