Monthly Archives: August 2009

BlackBerry Tour Replaces My Curve 8310

I’ve been using the BlackBerry Curve 8310 (AT&T) at work for almost two years, and it’s been my favorite smart phone thus far.  It was small, light, feature-rich, stable, and went everywhere with me while on the job.  Not much to complain about.

But as with any smartphone, or any gadgetry, there comes a time in its life when it must be retired for the latest and greatest in replacements, which in this case is the BlackBerry Tour (Verizon).  I’m not totally sold on it yet, but I’m sure I’ll come around.  From what I can tell so far it’s pretty much the BlackBerry Storm, but with a keyboard and a trackball and no rotating screen or YouTube application (two things I don’t miss), and is quit a bit lighter than the Storm but doesn’t lack a solid feel when held in hand.  Perhaps the saddest feature is still the BlakcBerry’s underpowered processor — they always seem to be a bit on the slow side

Overall, I’m pleased with the phone.  It’s nice to have a 3G phone for work.  And now I can drop my Verizon/Storm option for personal use and switch to an Android/T-Mobile setup.  We’ll see how that goes…

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Lilith Fair Gone, Not Missing

Seriously, right? Whatever happened to the Lilith Fair? And why doesn’t anyone seem to care? Are we saying more about the music or the listeners, if we’re saying anything at all, and if so, what? I couldn’t say for sure.

I was reading Jim Gaudet’s post Ani Difranco, I Am Drunk Leave Me Alone and it got me wondering where are the new female vocalists, which lead me down a wondering road of vague ideas to a Lilith Fair of performing females from the late nineties.  Not that I ever cared about the concert event itself, but I was a fan to many of the performers (of which, I believe, one Ani Difranco was not).

Now I find myself, many years later, trying to identify the new women of yesteryear who can write, perform, and sing without the help of a computerized sound, but I’m left with nothing.  Is it that they exist and I’m too far removed to know what’s happening on the scene, or have the true songstresses truly been replaced?

Teeth, Behind The Curve

Teeth.  Mammalian teeth.  My teeth.  Don’t make any sense.  Given the advanced state of technology, where I can have face-to-face conversations with folks thousands of miles around the world with a couple clicks on my mouse and such, why are we (humans) still required to be so involved in the upkeep of our teeth?  Or is it that food hasn’t devolved to a point where we can benefit from it without actually having to interact with it?

Seriously, though, I don’t mind brushing my teeth, flossing, and rinsing with that blue crap that burns, but I don’t understand why we have so many tiny nooks, crannies, and crevices (redundant) that are more than a hassle to maintain.  By comparison, staying physically fit is a walk in the park…literally.

Saliva, on the other hand, is very cool, and seemingly far more advanced.  But probably still a little behind the curve only because we’re advancing tooth-decay products faster than we can reproduce.  (Hardly the point.)

I want to see, in the next couple hundred years, a smooth set of continuous teeth (upper and lower), really a top tooth and a bottom tooth — narrow near the front and wider at the back, just like we have now — without all the gaps and such.  This is more important than going without the little toe, so let’s make it happen.  People everywhere will be the happier for it, eventually.

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Help Is On The Way

I was riding an elevator in a government building when a red light began flashing just above a message that read “if this light is flashing, help is on the way.”  Oh really?

It’s funny for obvious reasons, but the worrisome part (at the time) was that it just seemed to be flashing for no reason, or at least not because of anything I had done.  I definitely did not call for help.  I thought for sure I’d be spending the next couple hours trying to figure out how long I could entertain myself while stuck in an elevator.  Nothing so exciting took place.  The elevator did its part and released me to my desired floor.

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Facebook De·sen·si·tiz·ing Us

It’s not limited to just farcebook, but that seems to be where I notice it most, and that’s when the moods of status updates don’t match the moods of profile pictures.  It’s somewhat unsettling to read something like “RIP ” next to a photo of some smiling head.  And then the next status update is something about grabbing a burger at the local soda shop, or other.  You get the idea.  But really, is that the length of this person’s mourning period?  I’m against announcing the death of a close friend or, even forbid, a family member.  I can’t do it.  I just won’t.

The other one that gets to me, is when folks are venting about their days, or going on about how difficult  their lives are, and I read these updates that go something like, “just want to break down and die” but it’s positioned neatly near a large happy face of one or two people getting along all nice and cheery.  What’s the deal with that, and how am I, or others, supposed to interpret such a mixed message?  I can’t do it.  I just won’t.  If you’re picture is happy, then I have to assume you’re playing a silly joke with words.  Body language is the true indicator and it’s been indicated in your personally provided photo.

But the absolute best, which has very little to do with anything, is when the twitterati start angrily hollering back and forth to each other.  It’s like they’re yelling across a crowded room for everyone to hear, and what’s the point.  How can we take anything seriously from any of these online social services when seemingly most of the folks who frequent are just a bit off their rockers?  I can’t do it.  I just won’t.  We can’t feel anything you’re writing as it was meant to be understood.

My pet rodent just died and now you’re  off to the park for a bit of Frisbee flinging.  Text me your twenty and maybe we can meet up, you insensitive clod.

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Driving While Cellphone

Somebody somewhere did a study that concluded driving while using a cellphone resulted in 1,000 fatalities per year.  I don’t know who did it, or what year it was done (nothing, really), but 1,000 seems like an awfully low number.  It’s just not alarming enough to grab folks’ attention have get them to stop participating in mobile conversations whilst driving.  It’s the kind of thing that doesn’t impact a person’s thought process until it affects a person’s life.  (I guess that’s how it is with most death-inducing behaviour.)   Then he goes crazy trying to raise awareness, petition politicians, pass laws, and all sorts of other annoying things to which he otherwise wouldn’t have given two thoughts.

A thousand deaths a year just isn’t alarming enough.  And even if it were, I’m not sure it would change anything.  It wouldn’t even be a big deal if you could just limit the fatalities to just those folks using the cellphones — they probably had it coming.  But other folks get all mangled in the mess and find themselves ceasing to breathe without the help of some assisted-living machinery — that’s just bad publicity.

The point being, people using a phone, or providing themselves with any sort of distraction while driving, have a tendency to slow down without realizing it.  Especially irritating when stuck behind said perpetrator while driving in the so-called fast lane.  “Get off the phone, A-hole!”  The sad part:  I’m not usually in a hurry, but for some reason it still bothers me that anyone in front of me should ever travel slower than I wish to move.

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