Xanik’s Blog

Haven’t heard about the new iPhone Apple released yesterday? (Where you in a coma?!) Pretty much fixes all of the flaws in the original iPhone, added 3g speeds, gps, etc. Most importantly, the base model is $199 with a two year contract. I think I wet myself a few times yesterday tracking the announcement! Do I want one though?

I think the hardest thing for me is that I just got a new phone not too long ago, and if my track record holds, I’ll have it for a good while. Never the less, with the price tag, the features and now the right speed, I’m absolutely drooling over the new phone. (And yes, I’d even be willing to spend a little more on the service plan for it.) So, what’s stopping me from getting the phone of my dreams?

Primarily, it’s the deposit I’ll have to end up paying for the service. Well that, and I’m trying to save money for a few other plans down the road. Truth be told though, I’m kind of interested to see what the G-phone will look like when that’s finally released. In the mean time though, I’ll dream what it would be like being able to surf the net, no matter where I am, and using the GPS navigation at the same time.

I read THIS little gem on MSNBC this morning. Basically, it asks if people are truly ready for TV on their portable devices yet? I’m thinking yes, but not the way it’s currently being offered. I think the closest company that I would really start buying episodes from would be Apple, who offers individual shows for about $2 a pop. (With some network shows going a dollar or two more.) Still, that’s kind of expensive, isn’t it? Considering that you can get the entire season for about the same price, better quality, I’d rather get the DVD set and rip it on my own, without any DRM restrictions. In other words, it’s the restrictions of what you can do with the shows that turns me off buying them in their current form.

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It’s kind of the same with other media. For example, Apple and many other carriers charge you twice for music in some cases. Once to listen to it as an MP3, and charged again for the ‘privalage’ to use it as a ringtone for you phone. A lot of times for phone carriers, the music you buy for your phone is often tied to the carrier, limiting how you may port that music to use on another device. Consumers are being punished left and right, while being charged up the ass for content they want. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, especially with TV shows, since they are offered free anyways.

As a consumer, I’d love to have a device that I can watch TV shows on. It would be great for those times when I have literally nothing else to do. Yet, I don’t want the restrictions and degradations that often come with current offerings. Networks and device makers are going to have to realize this, or websites like YouTube will only get more popular, because they are freely available, and free of limitations.

I think one of the most frustrating things I encounter on a daily basis where I work (a call center), is people treating me like a machine. In other words, they are talking over me, not letting me finish, expecting me to provide instant results with 100% accuracy, etc. In essence, they are expecting me to act just like our automated system, but also want something quicker/more human-like. It’s incredibly rude, and incredibly unhelpful when I’m trying to help someone with an issue.

Yeah, call centers get a lot of flack for all kinds of things, but in the end, I’m still a person you’re talking to. At least give me the chance to help you out before you go all cold on me. And, I must admit that I’m very less likely to be more personable to someone who constantly talks over me and treats me like a machine. Of course, I can’t tell people on the phone they’re being rude, but I sure as hell can blog about it here.

The current fight over vaccines is getting pretty silly. No, it wouldn’t surprise me if, at some point, there was a component to vaccines that triggered autism, but how many more countless lives have they saved? Where would we be without vaccines for measles, malaria, flu, etc? (Well, we’d have a less-populated world, that’s for damn sure!) It’s a little scary to see people out there out-right rejecting all sorts of vaccines, simply because there’s a fear that someone might have a remote chance of having an adverse reaction.

Of course, there are other, stupid, controversies over vaccines. Like the one recommended to girls that can help prevent cervical cancer. (Thought to be caused by the human papillomavirus.) In this day and age, where girls are becoming sexually active younger and younger, one would think parents might want to better protect their children. Instead, mothers and fathers claim they are somehow giving their kids a golden ticket to have sex, simply by giving them the vaccine. (Which, is incredibly poor logic.)

On the other hand, why not let people decide for themselves whether or not to get vaccinated? Survival of the fittest, right? If people are so convinced that vaccines are so evil, fine, let them not accept the vaccines. I’m not convinced I want to see their genes passed down to the next generation, anyways.

So, according to CNN, and pretty much any other tech blog out there, the iPhone in its current form is quickly selling out in the US and UK. Of course, rumors are flying that a 3G iPhone is coming in June at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. I have to admit, I’m fairly excited. I love the iPhone, but the current speed it operates at (besides WiFi of course), and the lack of GPS is incredibly disappointing. Rumors have it, the new version of the iPhone will remedy that. If that’s the case, I might give the iPhone another look.

And lately, I’ve been looking at getting an iPod Touch anyways. So, why not get the phone in the package as well? Sure, I’d be paying through the nose for AT&T (unless that changes too), but I’ve always wanted a phone where I could look stuff up on the ‘net on the fly, no matter where I was. (And not that crappy ‘mobile’ version of sites, please!) I’ll have to wait for June to arrive before I make any choices, but I know I’m getting pretty darn excited at the prospect of having a new Jesus Phone.

Original Article HERE On CNN

/facepalm

Ugh. Why, oh why, is this story surprising, anyone? More importantly, why did the parents of Miley not see this coming? Vanity Fair has a history of provocative shots. I’m sure they said and did everything they could to convince the parents that everything would be ‘innocent.’ Now, they’re milking the pictures, and the controversy, for all it’s worth! Meanwhile, everyone seems to be in a hissy-fit on how Miley finally sold out to the Stupid Spoiled Whore crowd. (more…)

Original Article HERE On CNN

The first picture on the CNN page is just disgusting, yet it clearly describes the problem: the facilities at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, need some serious help. It’s yet another example of how our soldiers are treated, and ironically, they’re treated like shit apparently. With images of a soldier battling not enemies but raw sewage, who would want to join up? There’s a video on YouTube that shows pictures from around the building, falling apart from rust and filled with mold. Officials say they are ‘working’ on the problem, but let’s be honest, until this video got out, I doubt it was a ‘primary’ concern. (more…)

Original Article HERE On CNN

So, the saga at the polygamist compound ranch continues. I’ve been reading the various updates, and as expected, it’s turning into quite a mess. This particular story centers on the 437 children taken from the ranch, and how they’re about to enter into foster care. Of course, the article is saying on how Texas is trying to ‘ease’ the kids to avoid culture shock. I doubt very much, considering the depth of the issues at hand, that these kids are going to get ‘eased’ into society. (more…)

On a day to day basis, I of course talk to many different people. Of course, I have a lot of straight friends at various stages of their lives. (Getting married, divorced, having kids, etc.) Today, I thought, maybe for the first time, how I’ll probably never have kids, get married, buy a two story house in the suburbs filled with other families, join the PTA, etc, etc. In other words, I’ll never have the life most ’straight’ people have. You know what though? That’s fine with me.

All my life, I’ve done things differently, experienced things differently, and thought differently. The mere thought of even ‘choosing’ to be straight doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. I don’t want kids, I don’t want a wife, and I don’t want everything that goes with that. I’m quite happy living and being with a man that makes me pretty darn happy. It’s funny that, when I do finally question if I could be straight, my brain immediately goes “…no, that’s not gunna happen!”