IMDb has what seems to be full cast list.

• Neil Patrick Harris will play Johan (the little boy who helps them).
• Katy Perry as Smurfette.
• Anton Yelchin (Chekov from Star Trek, or Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation) as Clumsy Smurf.
• Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman) as Jokey Smurf.
• B.J. Novak (Ryan from The Office) as Baker Smurf.
• George Lopez as Grouchy Smurf.
• Jeff Foxworthy as Handy Smurf.

There’s probably some more I’m not mentioning because they didn’t stand out at first glance, but in general I’m in shock…

When I called in to schedule the installation I got a time slot the next day which was very nice, I expected to be put on a waiting list for at least a week.

As far as the internet goes I have an 18 mbps connection which is the fastest currently available. I am told that AT&T is experimenting with 24 and 32 mbps connections and I am hoping it will be available in my area soon. The connection seems solid and has not given me any issues, and compared to my prior experience with Charter 20 mbps connections I am really not seeing a major difference.

I am rather disappointing with the 2Wire modem/router provided with the service mainly because the router’s capabilities are extremely limited and the built in wi-fi is spotty at best. I recommend to anyone using a 2Wire that you hook up port 1 on your 2Wire to the wan port of a name brand router of your choice (I recommend Linksys or D-Link) and leave the rest of the ports on the 2Wire empty while connecting your networked computers to your router rather than the 2Wire. During this setup I was prompted by the 2Wire web interface to use Router “Behind Router Mode” which was a bit of an awkward prompt but after trying both options I found which one worked for me.

The television service is what got me a little more excited. I currently have the U200 package (200 channels) with Total Home DVR service. I only have one receiver at the moment (the DVR) but I am told that if I add more receivers to my service I would be able to watch anything the DVR records from any receiver (even if it is not a DVR). So my deduction is that it would be silly for anyone to have more than one DVR (because they cost more per month apparently). There is also a web interface that acts as a tv guide and also allows me to manage the DVR’s schedule and recorded shows from anywhere in the world (not just from my home network) and a rather nice iPhone app that also does the same. This way if I want to schedule a recording after hearing about a show I might like I can do it on the spot.

Interesting thing about the tv plans U-Verse offers, the U-family package is 60 channels with DVR service for the same price as the U200 package which is 200 channels and DVR service (so I went with the obvious choice of more channels since the U200 includes 95% of the channels the U-family had anyway). The U100 with a DVR is actually $15 more than either of these options because the DVR is not included in the base price (making this a rather silly choice).

All in all I am very satisfied with the service.

Click to view Full Size

This Saturday, October 31st 2009 starting at 8pm, everyone is invited to come party it up at 1455 Washington Ct (invites are not required, we didn’t have time to get them made up).

THIS IS A COSTUME PARTY! Don’t be the prick who shows up in street clothes unless there is a good reason (laziness is for slackers!)

We will not be providing any alcohol (especially to minors) so if you want to get hammered bring your own hammer (aka BYOB for those who are thick).

I will be DJ/MC using my very wide selection of music on our 3,000 watt stereo system! If you want something specific please let me know before you get here (comment below or contact me however you normally do) so I can try and get it for you.

Important people you should look out for;
Greg C. Locking up valuables while at the party
Kim C. House rules
Alex H. Mike G. Kassi S. Lindsey W. – General Contacts
Eric N. (me) Song requests / all of the above / anything you need
Any of the above can be contacted for directions to the house and all of the above should be respected as the people allowing you to party in their house.

We reserve the right to refuse service to (or kick out) anyone we don’t like!

As an added bonus Google Voicemail apparently allows you to use Google Voice without having to set up a separate Google Voice phone number (so in a way it’s like keeping your original number but switching your voicemail carrier). There are some downfalls to this though, a few features that I personally LOVE about Google Voice would be unavailable like how Google Voice rings all of your phones until you pick one up to answer the call.

In any case it is awesome to see this service evolving into something that seems a little more practical for the every day user.

Google recently updated Google Sync to include support got push GMail. This is very nice but I came across two problems.

First the search feature built into my iPhone does not allow me to ‘search the server’ using the email associated with Google Sync [thanks to Aaron Krill of Krillr.com for finding this bug).

The second problem was one I found a way around. I normally send email from eric@nemchik.com using the GMail web interface thanks to their 'Send From' feature. But Google Sync did not want to let me do this.

Heres how to solve this problem;

• Go to settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > [Your Google Sync Account] > Account Info
• Change the Email field to the email alias you normally send from
• Back out (don’t worry it will auto save what you enter)

Note: Setup instructions below are for iPhone or iPod touch devices running software version 3.0.To configure IMAP for your iPhone or iPod touch, just follow these steps:

1. Make sure you’ve enabled IMAP in your main Gmail settings
2. On your iPhone or iPod touch’s home screen, tap Settings
3. Tap Mail
4. Tap Add Account…
5. Tap Other
What if I tap ‘Gmail’ instead?

Archiving and deleting messages will work differently. Our instructions ensure Gmail works as designed.

6. Tap Add Mail Account
7. Enter your account information, being sure to use your full Gmail address (or full Google Apps email address)



NOTE: Before proceeding replace both the ‘Address’ and ‘Description’ fields with your preferred Alias address (full email address whatever@whatever.com) * see star below

8. Tap Save
9. For Incoming Mail Server:
   • Host Name is ‘imap.gmail.com’
   • User Name is your full Gmail address, including ‘@gmail.com’ (or full Google Apps email address)



10. For Outgoing Mail Server:
    • Host Name is ‘smtp.gmail.com’
    • User Name is your full Gmail address, including ‘@gmail.com’ (or full Google Apps email address)



11. Tap Save
12. Check our recommended client settings, and adjust your client’s settings as needed.

• Once you have done the final save, tap on the account you just created and erase the Incoming Mail Server Host (imap.gmail.com) and leave this field blank (this will prevent you from receiving duplicate email but still allow you to send outgoing from your alias)

Explanation:
The IMAP account you just created will NOT receive incoming mail, so if someone emails you your phone will only show the mail on the Google Sync account. The only reason the IMAP account exists is to provide the SMTP server settings used for sending outgoing mail. The instructions above (when followed correctly) will trick the iPhone into using the SMTP settings for outgoing while still using the Google Sync for incoming, and you should not need to switch the ‘from address’ on the iPhone (the alias address should be used by default).

You will now see 2 email accounts in your Mail app. Mine looks like this:

The top one is the alias ‘Send From’ address and you can completely ignore it. Keep the Google Sync account open and try sending an email to a friend and ask what address it comes from.

* This post has been edited to provide instructions found on this Google Support Document. The instructions as they are seen on this page will NOT be kept up to date with newer material as it becomes available so I recommend checking the official page for any deviating instructions while still following the notes I have made in red above.