So, I thought I’d post this information for anyone else in my situation.

I was on contract with Alltel (in Mammoth Lakes, CA).  I was given the unlimited data plan through Alltel back in fall of 2010.  Alltel did not offer many smartphones with this deal, so I was issued an HTC Hero (Android) with the plan.  At the time, they told me that AT&T was buying out Alltel in our area, and so our plan would be converted to an AT&T plan when the buyout was complete, but that all plan details (including unlimited data/text) would be preserved.  The buyout took place, and so my old phone stopped working, and the new phone I got from AT&T (an HTC Aria, Android 2.2) was activated (in February of 2011).

After calling AT&T directly to check on my plan status, I found out some interesting details. Apparently, I can’t manage my “Circle” (an Alltel feature that let me have free calls to 10 people I identified as in my circle) any more, now that the Alltel plan is an AT&T plan.  All features of my old plan are permanently locked, and I can’t change my circle, or make any adjustments to my old Alltel plan. I cannot log into the “My AT&T” web portal, and see the details of my plan.  They won’t be adding this in the future.  They won’t convert my old login info to the Alltel portal (which I used to adjust my circle numbers, etc.).  More importantly, the customer service rep at AT&T told me if I ever wanted to upgrade my Alltel plan to the latest and greatest smartphone (or an iPhone) I would have to cancel my Alltel plan and move to a limited-data plan under AT&T.

I didn’t change at that time, since I like having unlimited data, and the Aria was serviceable, if not really up-to-date any more. If I upgraded to any AT&T subsidized smartphone, they would demand I change plans.

So, I ended up purchasing an unlocked iPhone 4s from Apple directly.  That went smoothly. Apple must have phenomenal order fulfillment, because I ordered on a Thursday afternoon at 4:45pm, and received the phone the very next day, at about noon.

Since my AT&T-issued HTC Aria had one of the larger SIM cards, I couldn’t just swap it out into the new iPhone 4s.  I thought about cutting the card down to size, and even bought a SIM cutter. But, I thought I’d stroll on down to the local AT&T store here in Mammoth Lakes to see if they would just swap my info to a micro-SIM card (which will fit in the new iPhone).

Turns out they are happy to do it.  I just told them I needed my info transferred to a new micro-SIM card instead of the one in my Aria.  I told them a story about traveling abroad, so I’d need to buy an unlocked phone.  Since AT&T doesn’t sell carrier-unlocked phones at all, they didn’t give me any flak.  But, I honestly don’t think it matters, so you probably don’t need to make up a story.  Just tell them you are buying an unlocked iPhone from Apple directly.

Anyway, they looked up my info on the computer, grabbed a micro-SIM, scanned it, and voila!  The new micro-SIM was activated with my phone number, and ready to go.  They charged me $29.00 for this service.  Note that whatever phone you currently have is now useless, since the moment they activate the new SIM, the old SIM stops working.

With the new micro-SIM in my hot little hand, I popped out the micro-SIM slot on my new iPhone 4s, and put it in.  It only fits one way, so no worries there.

I connected it to iTunes, and turned it on.  After following the prompts, the AT&T carrier logo popped up on the main screen, it was activated.  I could now send and receive phone calls and text messages on my new factory-unlocked iPhone 4s.

But, there was a problem!  I had used the WiFi on the iPhone 4s to connect online, and so I turned it off, thinking I would use the 3g.  No dice!  I got an error that no data connection was available.  A pop-up came up that said “Could not activate cellular data network.  You are not subscribed to a cellular data service.”  I began to panic.  Did I just screw myself out of unlimited data?  I knew I had a data plan, since it worked perfectly with my HTC Aria just minutes before. Did AT&T have an evil agenda to keep people from upgrading their own phones even though it was purchased unlocked from the factory?

Nope.  Turns out that in order to use 3g data, you must set something called the APN Settings on the new iPhone.  These APN settings allow the handset to use 3g data connection just as you have before.  It took some Google-fu, and there was some confusion about how to set the APN settings.  Some sites said you just had to edit your APN settings by going to “Settings” then “General” then “Network” and then “Cellular Data.”  Well, I didn’t even have Cellular Data, and nowhere to edit APN settings at all!

Turns out you can either use the iPhone Configuration Utility (free download from Apple) or have a website do it all for you!

To use the easy option, on your new iPhone 4s, turn on WiFi and connect to the Internet.  Open Safari, then browse to: http://www.unlockit.co.nz then click “Continue.”  Select “Custom APN.”  Select your country (United States, in my case) and then select the Carrier from the list (I chose “AT&T”).   Click on Create Profile, then Install, and then you’re done.  3g will now work on your phone.

Anyway, I hope that helps anyone else upgrading to a factory-unlocked iPhone 4s from the old Alltel plan, which converted to AT&T.   Cheers!

Yes, it’s been 12 years since our beautiful little girl was born.  She turned 12 on Saturday, and it’s hard to believe that’s she’s now in middle school, and well on her way to becoming a young woman.

I still see her as a little girl, but I know that’s changing fast.  I suppose I’ll just enjoy it while it lasts.  She had her friends Zoe and Xochitl over for a day making ceramic crafts (up in Mammoth at Color Me Mine studio), and a sleepover.  She got some Monster High dolls, a pair of really cool slippers that look like dogs (from Zoe), and we got her a Kindle Fire for reading and such.  Click on the photo for the full gallery of pics from her party…

So I’ve been playing around with Photomatix and HDR photography, just for fun. This is an image of a Ford F250 truck in the parking lot at Mammoth high. It’s an interesting effect that sort of makes it look like a painting. I’ll be trying different settings in the near future, I think.

So the 2nd round CIF game against Desert Mirage high was played yesterday afternoon.  Joey didn’t get a chance to play at all, so naturally they lost, 4-1…haha.  I guess it’s a senior thing, as none of the underclassmen really got called on to play much at all.  The boys were clearly outclassed against Desert Mirage, but they played hard, and the last goal was a result of pulling a defender forward to midfield to get more attacking play.  The irony was that when Bishop actually started playing the passes, they got plenty of chances.  But, alas, it was too little, too late.

But, Joey got his chance to play varsity soccer for the first time, and I think there is a bright future ahead for Bishop High soccer, on both the boys and the girls side.  Click on the photo to see the whole gallery of pics from the last boys match of 2012.

So I’ve been playing with the new Canon 60D I just got for trading in my Canon T2i.  It’s a great digital SLR, and I’m really looking forward to using it more.  I tried out the “merge to HDR” feature in Photoshop, and this is the result.  You basically shoot three images in sequence – one properly exposed, one underexposed, and one overexposed, then merge them in software to one high dynamic range image.  It works best shooting in RAW mode, and then playing with every setting to get dramatic colors or effects.  I’ll have to keep on trying to improve the composition of some pics and try again…

I just thought I’d provide a link to the full gallery of photos from the Bishop Union High School varsity boys team, who won their first-round CIF playoff match against New Community Jewish School, from LA.  They won the match 3-0.  Click on the photo to see the fully gallery of pictures from that match.

I used my new Canon 60D for the first time on this match.  It’s a very nice camera, but I have to be careful with the fast-shutter setting – it can take a LOT of photos in sequence very, very quickly.  I think I had over 400 photos from the game, but had to distill it down to just over 100…

Joey played in his very first CIF playoff game yesterday!  The Bishop Broncos varsity boys played the New Community Jewish School from West Lake (near Los Angeles) yesterday at John Schwab field in Bishop.  The video above is the Broncos just before the start of their game, getting their pep talk from coach John McGurke, and doing their cheer.

The match was quite close – the first half ended in a 0-0 tie.  But, the Broncos came out strong in the second half  Senior Timmy Pejsa scored twice on some blistering runs (he is (*very* fast!), and Fernando “Fernie” Gutierrez scored once.  Joey got to play in the second half as well, so that was great.  Bishop controlled the pace of play for the most part – their midfield possession was dominant.  NCJS had some big, physical players, but didn’t quite have the touch and ball skill that could keep Bishop defenders from winning the ball.  But, they were well disciplined and good sports.  They play again next Tuesday in the second round of CIF playoffs.

So Joey played high school varsity soccer this year, which is rare for a freshman.  He had fun, although I think he really enjoyed playing with the boys he grew up playing with – Elijah, Chris, Jarod, Evan, Alex, Alexis…  The older boys are all nice, but I guess there’s just a closer non-verbal understanding between those younger boys.

Anyway, they played Desert High school  this past Thursday in Bishop, and they completely dominated.  They won the match 8-1 (I think).  The fun part was that in the second half, coach McGurke allowed the freshmen to play together.  They took a few minutes to get organized, but it sure was fun to watch them play again.  Joey did well, making good chances, and even hit a nice shot on the volley, although it did go straight to the keeper.

The Bishop Broncos qualified for the CIF playoffs, so they’ll be announcing when and where the first playoff game will take place next Monday.  So, if Bishop doesn’t get a home game, we’ll be traveling to the playoff game – most likely down south toward LA.

My replacement for the T2i hasn’t arrived yet, so I’m still using the old Rebel XT to take pics.  It does a good job, but I’m looking forward to shooting with the new Canon 60D which will replace it.  The new camera is supposed to arrive on the 15th.

I didn’t get many photos from the boys match, since the Rebel XT doesn’t really do too great a job in low light/artificial light situations.  But, you can click on the photo to see the full gallery of photos I took from the Desert match…

The Bishop Broncos girls varsity soccer team clinched first place (they tied, I believe) in the High Desert League for the first time in at least five years!  They’ll move on to the CIF playoffs starting next week.  The CIF Southern Section playoff brackets and pairings will be announced on Monday Feb. 13th after 12:30pm.  Good luck to the Lady Broncos on their championship, and I hope they do well in the playoffs!  Click on the photo for the full gallery of pics from their last league match against Desert High School from Edwards Air Force Base, which they won handily.

So the last time they played, Bishop traveled to Frazier Mountain high school – it’s about a five hour drive.  Both the Bishop varsity girls and boys tied.  It was the first time Frazier Mountain varsity boys had not lost to Bishop in at least five years…

Well, they came to Bishop to play, and the girls lost a very close match, 0-1.  They played hard, but were plagued by injuries.  Yessenia Mora was out, and she is a big part of their offense.  Indica Morgenstein was out, and she is a very tough defender.  Brenda Gonzalez played, but was clearly still hampered by recent injuries.  While Bishop dominated midfield possession, they just couldn’t get much going in the attacking third of the field.  And unfortunately, they fell prey to a lucky bounce on a high free kick which bounced over freshman keeper Gabi Morales’ outstretched hands.

The boys game was much more one-sided.  The Bishop varsity boys completely dominated possession the entire match.  Frazier did have some very quick-footed forwards, but without any midfield buildup, they were relegated to chasing down hopeful long balls over the top.  The Bishop defenders were more than up to the task, and ended up shutting down the Frazier attack very well.  At halftime, the Broncos were tied, 0-0,  but finished the game very strong, winning it 5-1.  The lone goal for Frazier was a flukey scramble in front of the goal, with Bishop defenders not communicating well, and allowing a shot to roll in…

Joey played well.  He started the match for Bishop, and his pace really stretched the Frazier defense.  He got in several crosses, and caused some panic in the Frazier back four (actually six, at times!).  He also managed to get some more minutes at the end of the match, so hopefully he’ll continue to get some playing time.  It’s hard to get minutes in the varsity when you’re a freshman, so I hope he can stay healthy.  He’s still got back issues, so he needs to keep up his physical therapy…

Anyway, my camera malfunctioned after the girls varsity game, so I only have like four photos from the boys match.  Click on the photo to see the gallery for the varsity girls.  I’ll be switching back to an old Canon Rebel XT that I gave to Joey for any more match photos until my T2i gets repaired.