After replacing you not once, but twice due to screen burn-in issues, and receiving Chinese-make rather than Korean-make models that were worse than their predecessors twice in a row, I was at my wit’s end.  When my job took away the annoying (but reliable) iPhone4 due to lack of use, I was suddenly without a trustworthy phone, which sealed the deal – it suddenly meant moving on.

I’ve replaced my Galaxy Nexus with a Galaxy S3 purchased via the fine folks at swappa.com.  What a great website.

The S3 isn’t perfect, but it will get me through the end of my contract with Verizon no problem.  Having a ton of extra storage thanks to a microSD slot, a battery that isn’t dead 3 times daily, and a signal I can rely upon were the major reasons I had to upgrade… and having AOKP as an option sealed the deal.

This series kind of came to a screeching halt, and that’s primarily my fault – I kind of struggled to find the inspiration to keep writing for a while there, and have mostly regressed into someone who just plays video games or reads all day instead.  I would say the blame is 80% me, 20% Pokemon.  I’m trying to correct that a bit now, but I’m not exactly sure where I’ll be posting.

I want to thank all the people who read this series, and hope I exposed you to cool stuff.  I also want to thank every themer and artist who I featured in it.  You guys made my Galaxy Nexus a beautiful beast, with more outfits than Lady Gaga.

I’ll probably keep this Galaxy Nexus around as a backup in case something horrible happens to my S3.  Hopefully that never comes about, but if it does, maybe I’ll bring the series back from the dead at that point just to make it a complete chronicle.

Anywho, BOO!

I’m testing a theme right now by @jatx2wne (Maker of such stellar themes as Blink, Arancio, and Simple Swagger) that he’s allowing me to essentially build through him.  I asked for a gray and green metal theme – and wow, has he ever delivered.

This theme isn’t even finished yet and it’s amongst my favorite of all time.  I hope when it’s released, you’ll all love it as much as I do.  Maybe I’ll be able to convince him to name it Just Reboot! :D

Alarm goes off.

6:14AM

Wife, annoyed by my snooze alarm, says something borderline-nasty-but-justified that ultimately gets me out of bed, grumbling.  My alarm sounds like banging digital cats together by the forehead.

6:15AM-6:30AM

Eating breakfast while responding as much as I can to tweets to @AOKP_ROM (Usually at least 2, but as many as a dozen or more after a fresh release).  Update my apps and podcasts.

6:30AM-7ishAM

Hygienic rituals, commute to work

AT WORK

(Note about my job: I work in IT.  This means I’m either really, really busy, or bored to tears, depending on what’s broken.  A typical day is a brief periods of both.)

When I have downtime at work, this is my usual priority hierarchy for stuff I do to pass the time:

• Check cool sale sites (1saleaday, woot, teefury) -5min
• Tweet a lot, respond to tweets, both personal and AOKP (probably 10-15min per hour)
• Skim through Rootzwiki, XDA, and reddit, keeping an eye out for trends in reported bugs and other problems users might be having (15min)
• Look for new entries on Google searching for AOKP (2min)
• Chat with Team Kang members on GTalk about anything and everything, more often about non-ROM related stuff (varies)
• Read at least the headlines on nearly every major Android and technology site… BeyondPod/Pulse + work PC browsers get a workout (15-30min, generally at lunch)
• Stare at my blog, Rootzwiki, and UncutAndroid trying really hard to decide upon a topic to write about and failing (constantly, been slumping lately)
• Sometimes have a conversation with the guys at CruzerLite, discussing potential promotions and products with the AOKP logo (5-10min, unless I get Joel on the phone, then kiss at least 30min goodbye)
• Try out different icon and theme combinations, looking for nice ones to feature in the State of my Galaxy Nexus series
• Reach out to themers with ideas/constructive criticism/requests (themers are some of the nicest people in the Android community)
• Hassle various Team Kang devs about the various bugs/issues I’ve heard about or stories/rumors I’ve come across, much to their chagrin (they have lives too, which I’m happily interrupting on GTalk)
• Read web comics (Least I Can Do, Girls with Slingshots, Questionable Content, xkcd, Cyanide and Happiness, Dilbert, Deisel Sweeties, a softer world, etc.)
• Scream at WordPress for eating most of an article I’ve written because I didn’t hit ‘Save Draft’ every 12 seconds (this one was one line away from being finished just above this, and then site exploded)

Work ends at 4PM.

430PM

Arrive home.  Get mail, greet cats, wash work dishes, change clothes.

432PM

Be reminded to clean the litter box and/or take out the garbage.  My wife isn’t nagging me; she just knows I’ll get sucked into the internet and forget if she doesn’t say something.

433PM

Completely forget about the litter box.

435PM – 6PM

If we don’t have anything pressing to do (errands, chores, shopping, training session at the gym) – Catch up on tweets; get on the PC and check AOKP’s G+ and Facebook for anything out of the ordinary.  Stifle internal commentary about how much I hate all the unused white space on G+.  Read the e-mail chains sent around the AOKP devs and pretend I understand more than half of them.  Update my apps again.  Monitor news sites and Twitter and all the things and stuff.

6PM – 730PM

Somewhere in here the wife and I tend to eat our dinner.

730PM – 1030PM

*Take care of the catbox I’d forgotten completely about until now, sometimes even without being told to*

This is where the bulk of my writing gets done, and the wallpapers I make get created.  My wife usually goes to bed around 830-9PM (because she’s a responsible intelligent adult, unlike me) so it is a good time to form ideas and then once she’s asleep, give them my complete focus.  During this time I continue to be active on Twitter and quietly lurking on reddit, G+, and IRC.

If none of the above happens, it generally means my wife and I are sitting on the couch together, either playing with our Nexus 7′s or watching stuff on TV.

1030PM and beyond

I should really be in bed, but I seldom am.  I struggle to get to sleep most every night, as I am a very nocturnal person… I worked overnights for a long, long time.  I can easily be up to midnight or later continuing to goof off online, playing games on my Nexus, finishing articles or wallpapers, watching reruns on adultswim, or talking to interesting people online.

All said, I have no regrets about being a part of this team.  Team Kang members are fascinating people, all characters worthy of their own books in my opinion, and my involvement with this group has definitely expanded my knowledge and opened a lot of doors for me in the community.  Once I do get to sleep to do essentially the same thing all over again the next day, I’m not stressing over the work I put into AOKP – I’m stressing about regular, everyday life stuff.  It’s like a hobby that turned into an obsession morphed into an enjoyable job, and there’s nothing I’d trade it for.  I do wish that I knew how to code, or was better at graphic and web design, or had a larger spark of ambition and inspiration for my writing… but that’s just life.  I’ll get there when I get there if I get there.  Wishes won’t make it happen, but maybe if I keep my energy up, somewhere in this schedule I’ll find the time.  Zzzzzzz….

There’s probably a lot more, but this was all off-the-top-of-my-head writing, and it’s Monday morning.

I’m running AOKP Build 3 on my Nexus 7 and on my wife’s new Nexus 7 – it is awesome.  I highly recommend it.  Bitchin’ features are coming every build, and they’re things I find I can’t live without… such as being able to add shortcuts to the Google Now ring and a toggle for NFC.  I could go on about AOKP for hours, but I won’t because I’m lazy and pressed for time – I’m going to brag about how I’ve finally gotten around to fully exploring the excellent features of Nova Launcher.

Swiping down with two fingers opens the app drawer thanks to Nova Launcher, eliminating the need to waste a dock slot on a button for it. Natemodz Red, by the way.

Nova Launcher has evolved at an incredible pace, especially if you’ve sprung for the Prime unlocker; the only other app out there that has made such intuitive and quick adjustments to the ever-changing Android environment that I’ve seen is Titanium Backup.  It is the ideal launcher to go with Jelly Bean ROMs of all shapes and sizes.  You may notice I don’t rock any widgets these days on the N7 – I don’t even run more than 1 home screen!

This is the feature I’ve recently fell in love with – App Groups.  You can compartmentalize your entire app drawer, making finding exactly what you’re looking for infinitely easy… so easy that it’s eliminated my need for folders full of shortcuts on my home screen.  Takes a little bit of doing, but thanks to being able to back up Nova settings, I won’t have to worry about doing it again for a long time.

Anything I download goes into ‘New Apps’, and from there I can categorize it. Swiping from side to side switches between the groups, making for fantastically easy access to all the things.

Allow me to brag on their behalf: a Kill All button in the recent tasks window.  Backlight settings.  Tablet UI on any device!  DPI Switcher!  Custom vibrations for phone calls!  ADB over network!  National Data Roaming option! Volume music controls! LED Brightness control!  Charging LED! Ability to set color of the digital clock widget! Custom ring targets for the Google Now ring, up to 7 of them!  Alternative music layout on the lockscreen!  Volume zoom for the camera! More more and more!

Er… make sure you follow the directions for changing your dpi closely before turning on Tablet UI.

Well, it’s not all perfect, a few bugs here and there, nothing serious though… but it is a magnificent new beginning, and a sign that even greater is yet to come.

The theme I’m loving to the fullest this week is YABT, a theme by @nmiltner with oodles of help from @c_hale22, and a dash of help from my fine friend and master themer @hooolm in the form of his original CircleMOD battery.  This is a very complete theme, including several apps and gapps and scraps and probably chaps.  Black and white yes, but visually enticing – with a little something special.

How freakin’ cool is that?!

That’s it for now – see you next week,  I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll have yet another fancy theme to try…

The theme I’m using at current is the gorgeous Gold Edge by @c_hale22.  I wanted a diversion from my typical blues, reds, and black and white – and found it.  I’m a lot richer for having experienced Gold Edge.

Locked up like Fort Knox, yo!

It is a very complete theme; Plume widget, GMail, Play Store, MMS, Dialer, tons of icons, great custom animated status bar icons, and a lot more… our featured themer really put a lot of quality effort into this, and I can’t recommend it enough.  Check out a few more screenies below, and when you buy the theme, leave it a 5-star rating saying that JUST REBOOT! sent ya.

Meet the new Nexus, Chinese rather than Korean. Working perfectly, despite being a refurbished model. Featuring the excellent ‘Eminence’ icons by kwes1020 and PCB Cyan ICS + JB theme by scar45, both available on Google Play. Get them!

   I had to reset my best friend to stock and turn it in to Verizon for a refurb after discovering I had some severe screen burn-in as a result from some rather dumb decisions.  Don’t leave Plume running while the phone is charging with ‘keep screen on while charging’ for hours and hours while in a custom color gamma.  Just don’t.

I have a new Galaxy Nexus now… and by ‘new’ I mean a refurbished one from China (rather than my original Korean one).  I’m running AOKP JB Build 1 on it at current, and slowly rebuilding it back to the glory of its predecessor.  It’s amazing how much stuff I had on that damn thing!  I’m still reeling from the loss of all my easy-access wallpapers, music, and files.  I’ll be spending a lot of time on it in the coming weeks.

Long story short, life has gotten busier, and my hard work is beginning to pay off.

My job is a bit more hectic these days, keeping me from shirking it in favor of Android stuff as much as I used to.  My wife and I are on a quest to get into shape, and have been seeing a personal trainer and attending the gym as much as our bodies will allow.  Team Kang is keeping me plenty busy, as it has since I assumed their social media mantle – man, these cats can churn out code.  A LOT of crazy things happening in our camp.  Oh, and yeah – I’m also trying to sleep at night like a normal person, to help with the whole health thing.  There are a lot of things I would like to read/study/create aside from writing here, and I am trying to ensure through all of this I still have downtime to relax and play games and whatnot.

I’ve been invited to contribute to several sites and blogs recently, most notably RootzWiki.  This is a very exciting point in my Android community involvement, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.  This blog has essentially served as my resume for new writing challenges.  I’ve also begun contributing to UncutAndroid, and may expand to contribute to several other blogs I’ve been invited to as well.  I’ve even been interviewed by the fine folks at Android Dissected!

As you can see, I’m suddenly packing every hour full of minutes… and soon, deadlines!

I intend to definitely continue my ‘State of my Galaxy Nexus’ series here.  As for the rest, I may or may not find the time.  In the next week or so I intend to link all my work published on other sites in the site index, and will link all future posts as well.

If it turns out that I find myself too busy to post here at all in the future, I will definitely post a farewell – this isn’t that, yet. JUST REBOOT! lives.

I do however want to thank everyone who reads/who has ever read this blog, because it gave me a massive boost in motivation.  Through honing my writing style here, I’ve landed some fantastic opportunities, and have been able to expand my audience and contacts within the community far beyond what I thought possible when I began writing in earnest this past December.

You guys are awesome – Android is awesome.  Life is awesome.  Awesome awesome.

Right now, I need to get serious and come up with a great first impact article for RootzWiki… time to do some research.  Also, I need to get pumped up for the Big Android BBQ.  Everybody who is anybody will be there, and I get to be too!  I’m beyond excited to get to meet some of these people I’ve spoken to online, and for the opportunity to make new connections.