
Welcome! wxexw - Wired by England by Weird - is the dumping ground for all things Will England - photos, videos, and audio of my family and dog, professional geekery, video and photo tips and my slightly tilted opinions. Enjoy your stay, subscribe to the RSS Feed with your favorite feed reader.
You can always contact me at wengland@gmail.com! - Will England
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Cleaning up the Moto E5 - Sprint Product Ambassadors

Moto E5 Plus Moto Actions and Display Tips - Sprint Product Ambassadors

Hands Free Activation of the Moto E5 Plus - Sprint Product Ambassadors

Thursday, June 21, 2018
Moto E5 Plus Unboxing Video - Sprint Product Ambassadors
- Will England, Sprint Product Ambassador
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Moto E5 Plus Photo Comparison - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Finally, the Moto E5 Plus. A bit darker in the dark areas, but the brightly lit tree has better definition. All in all, the Moto E5 Plus will shoot. I have no complaints about the 12 MP camera outdoors.
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Typewriter Fonts
http://www.1001fonts.com/typewriter-fonts.html
Seems to work well on the Mac!
- Will England
Monday, June 11, 2018
2000 June Blues Fest at Grant Park
Saturday, June 09, 2018
Overdone
Wednesday, June 06, 2018
How to remove the Radio from Subaru Forrester
Subaru Symmetrical AWD vs. Honda, Toyota, and Volkswagen
There's a reason I own a Subaru!
2006 Subaru Forester wind noise solution
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Places to go in Nebraska
A very special treat is the Agate Fossil Beds NM in NW Nebraska. One of the finest Indian relic museums along with the fossils of an ancient savanna water hole. And if you run Hwy 2 in Nebraska, stop in at the Old Spade Ranch Store in Ellsworth, NE. Lots of cool history and the ranch used to be over 500k acres!
Courtesy Randy Collins, ST-Owners group.
- Will England
Friday, April 13, 2018
Tour of Honor 2018 - Iowa
2018 Tour of Honor In-State SS1K
Never did get out and ride this one. But you can still read the trip report for this Extreme in-state Saddlesore 1000 on my Honda CBR250 from 2013!
Monday, April 09, 2018
First College Visit for Alec
Took Alec to K-State today for his first real college visit. My, how time files. I still remember picking him up from Canterbury preschool and hustling to Cub Scout meetings or the Karate dojo.
Now we're at K-State. Alec got nervous the second he stepped out of the Honda. After a bit of a wander we found our group. I got some good notes and poked them into Google Keep to share with him. He shot photos of the key slides and contacts.
Per the previous blog post, I will have to have a sit down and catch up with him on the big three Questions from the session. Campout coming up at the end of the month; should be a good time...
Toured the architecture and Design center - all brand new, 20,000 square feet of workshop space from lathes to laser engraving; from table saws to 3D printers. I was geeked especially compared to the dusty garage at KU. Alec was just overwhelmed.
Toured the wrong dorm complex - all suites, felt like a nursing home from the first step. Nope. Aiming to find a better solution for him - with the anticipated 78 hours a week for class and project work, plus 6 hours (and all day on game day) for marching band, he's going to have to live in the dorms all 5 years. No way to have time to shop, clean, cook and run a 100 hour a week schedule.
But, for his 4th year he can head to Milan, Prague or London among other destination design centers for an international experience in architecture and design. Brilliant!
Great campus with a real quad, excellent library and superb support staff. Very friendly and welcoming from all of the students. Very comfortable sending him there.
- will england
Three Questions
What is your interest / passion / what do like to do?
What are you good at? Are you willing to become great? Significant at it? What are you willing to do to get better at?
What do you value? What is non-negotiable to you?
These were the things that were brought up during the Junior tour day at K-State by the Vice President of Admissions.
Monday, February 26, 2018
How I Packed for Philmont
I used a Deuter 65+10 backpack; not the best choice for heavy loads, but cheap and light.
In the backpack I had 5 dry bags (sea to summit)
- Clean clothes. About 8-10 liters. Can also be used to wash clothes in
- 3 pair wool socks
- 3 moisture wicking t-shirts
- 3 pair Underamour mesh compression underwear
- 1 pair spare shorts
- 'Stank Bag' - dirty clothes that cannot be reworn. This goes up in the bear bag at night.
- First Aid - red bag at the top of the pack
- Jetboil stove for morning coffee
- 8" plastic platter, TI long handled spoon and 8oz plastic cup for coffee.
- Personal care bag - toothpaste, toothbrush, body wipes, diaper pins, Starbucks via packs, etc. This goes up the bear bag at night.
- Night bag - very small, one cotton t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts to sleep in.
In the 'brain' or top of the pack were all three Philmont section maps, a spare compass, lighter with duck tape wrapped around it, pack cover and a journal and pencil, along with my headlamp.
In my chest pockets were second breakfast, 'elevensises', tea, high tea, and snacks. I ate constantly. Left cargo was spare snacks. Right cargo was cell phone.
Sunday, February 18, 2018
1989 WHS Europe Trip
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Managing space on the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Fun Camera Tricks on the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active
Comparing the Samsung S8 Active - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Samsung Galaxy S8 Active SIM and SD Card - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Samsung Galaxy S8 Unboxing - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Thursday, February 01, 2018
Timelapse
Tuesday, January 09, 2018
SM West Band on Twitter
Special thanks to all our former grads who came out for Pep Band Alumni night. You guys sounded great! pic.twitter.com/ZMsg4pWAvX— SM West (@SMWsports) January 10, 2018
Monday, January 01, 2018
Shawnee Mission West at London New Years Day Parade - 2018
But - hey - it's a memory! Alec is in there at about 41 seconds for a half a second or so; he's playing a sax and has earmuffs on. Left center of the screen.
Enjoy!
Happy 2018 - Will England
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
LG V30+ Audio and Video Recording: Steep Learning Curve - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Friday, December 08, 2017
LG V30+ Swipe to See Recent Activity - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Thursday, December 07, 2017
LG V30+ Lock Screen Tip - swipe for more options - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Wednesday, December 06, 2017
Setting up Do not Disturb and Comfort Mode on the LG V30+ - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
LG V30+ Camera vs Note 8 - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Zooming deep in, the Note 8 has a bit more pixelation than the LG, but overall both cameras are quite comparable. Both phones feature dual cameras on back, one for wide angle and one for normal photos. The V30+ offers a 16 megapixel main camera and 13 megapixel secondary camera, while the Samsung pairs two 12 megapixel cameras together.
Which is better? They both offer great features and outstanding image quality. The LG V30+ just edges past the Note 8 with the larger sensor and deeper color rendition in my opinion. Which is your favorite camera?
- Will England
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Friday, November 17, 2017
LG V30+ SIM and MicroSD Card Removal - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Unboxing the LG G30+ - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Sunday, November 05, 2017
Using the smart writing pad on the Samsung Note 8
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Wednesday, November 01, 2017
Screen Off Notes on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Demo of Bixby Vision on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 - Sprint Product Ambas...
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
A discussion on CPNI
So what is CPNI, and is the billing account number CPNI?
CPNI is calling usage for marketing purposes essentially.
An FCC request for comments regarding broadband CPNI , if you like reading these kind of things:
https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-16-39A1.pdf?platform=hootsuite
Summary:
"we consider the following types of information to constitute CPNI in the broadband context: (1) service plan information, including type of service (e.g., cable, fiber, or mobile), service tier (e.g., speed), pricing, and capacity (e.g., information pertaining to data caps); (2) geo-location; (3) media access control (MAC) addresses and other device identifiers; (4) source and destination Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and domain name information; and (5) traffic statistics. "
Or in more customer friendly terms more specific to VOIP / Switched Calling:
"Customer proprietary network information (CPNI) is information related to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location, and the amount of telecommunications a customer uses that [provider] has access to by virtue of the customer-provider relationship. CPNI does not include the Customer name, address and telephone number, nor does it include Internet access services."
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Samsung Note 8 SIM and MicroSD Card installation - Sprint Product Ambass...
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Spigen Thin Armor Case for the Samsung Note 8 - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Unboxing - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Configure the Home Touch Buttons on the LG GPad F2 8.0 - Sprint Product ...
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
LG GPad F2 8.0 Home Screen Demo - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
LG GPad F2 8.0 Camera Overview - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
LG GPad F2 8.0 Tablet Unboxing - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Moto e4 Plus Wrapup - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The e4 Plus offers the same accurate fingerprint sensor as the Force Z2 at the bottom of the screen and the same Moto Gestures for opening the camera (twist twice) and turning on the flashlight (chop down twice) among others. It's very similar to the flagship phones at a much more reasonable price. Improving on the flagship phones is the hand feel - with a metal back and solid build it just feels better to hold than the Force Z2. The large battery may be part of that, adding some heft and solidity to the phone. I didn't get a case for this phone and never felt like I needed one. The phone feels like a premium device at a budget price.
I mentioned I shot some photos on the phone - that's one of my primary uses for a cell phone these days is media capture - photos and videos. While the 13megapixel sensor sounds good, it struggles in low light and indoors, with a bit more added grain. Compared to an older premium phone (Galaxy S4) it is far better with excellent quality. Only when compared to current phones 4 times the price do you notice any dropoff in photo or video quality. Shutter lock time is a bit slower - most likely a factor of the power efficient processor. Plan your shots and don't expect to stop a sporting play in mid-tackle and you'll be fine. Looking at photos or watching videos on the 720p HD screen is fine - bright enough to use in direct sunlight and a fine enough DPI that you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference between this and a super-premium phone.
Audio on the phone is excellent - great call quality, a solid speaker for music or online radio listening and a 3.5mm headset jack to attach any headset or plug into your auxiliary port on your car stereo. Bluetooth audio is supported as well with quick pairing but no audio routing. Once a Bluetooth device is connected, all audio will route to the Bluetooth device until you turn off Bluetooth or the headset.
For a quarter of the price of the current super-premium phones, you're getting longer battery life, a solid hand feel, quality metal build, effective camera, good sound and call quality and enough speed to handle all the daily communication tasks you count on your phone for. Two thumbs up - not just a great kids phone, but a great value in cell phones overall.
- Will England, Sprint Product Ambassador
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Thursday, October 12, 2017
2017 Shawnee Mission West Marching Band at Homecoming Parade
Monday, October 09, 2017
Moto z2 Force Speed - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Nearly 200 Mbps download in the middle of the afternoon near a busy mall. Outstanding speed from the Moto Z2 Force. One of the fastest phones on the network and only going to get faster as 256QAM is turned on.
- Will England
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Moto Z2 Force Clock Widget Demo - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Managing Storage Space on the Moto Z2 Force - Sprint Product Ambassadors
- Will England
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Friday, October 06, 2017
Moto e4 Plus Back Cover Removal - Sprint Product Ambassadors
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Thursday, October 05, 2017
Unboxing the Moto e4 Plus from Sprint
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Moto Z2 Force - Keeping the screen scratch free - Sprint Product Ambassadors
Simple! I put a tempered glass screen protector on it from Illumishield. They offer a hard glass screen cover that directly fits the Moto Z2 Force, providing scratch protection and a fingerprint resistant cover for the screen. Now, this isn't a recommendation for any specific brand; they were just the first ones I found on Amazon that claimed to support the brand new Z2 Force.
The screen on the Z2 force is made from a layered glass and polycarbonate composition, the exact nature of which is secret to only Motorola. It's definitely shatterproof as I have dropped it from 4+ feet directly onto the screen on concrete. But it's not as hard as the Gorilla Glass screens on other phones and keys or other things can leave scratches in the screen. I've been quite careful to keep the phone in a pocket with nothing else hard - usually behind my leather wallet - but even so a few small marks were becoming visible. So I ordered the tempered glass screen protector.
I've had less than stellar experiences with screen protectors, but the 0.3mm thick Illumishield has been an exception to the rule. Installation is simple - just clean the screen well with the included alcohol wipe, peel off the sticky back, align the protector to the screen, making sure the small 'U' (shown) lines up with the home button, and drop it in place.
Once you drop it in place, start pressing firmly with the microfiber cloth from the center out to remove any air bubbles and adhere the protector to the screen. You won't get all the bubbles out at first, but after a day in your pocket the heat and pressure will force the air out leaving a perfectly clear and smooth surface. A word of warning - do not use anything hard to try to push the bubbles out. As you get close to the edge you can (and will) crack the glass protector. Trust me. I'm glad there were three screen protectors in the package; the first one didn't survive my ham-handed installation where I tried to use the back end of a permanent marker to push out the bubbles.
Screen responsiveness and touch have not been impacted with the screen protector on, and after several weeks there's no sign that the tempered glass will peel up or come loose. I'm quite satisfied with the Illumishield protector and recommend it highly.
- Will England
Disclaimer:
The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. #sprintemployee
Moto E4 Plus - Introduction from Sprint Product Ambassadors
Monday, September 04, 2017
Painting Wallpaper
A friend of mine recalls her challenges in painting over wallpaper - https://brownbungalow.wordpress.com/2017/09/04/just-paint-over-the-wallpaper/






