Ace of Spades (I know, totally inappropriate. Oh well).

What I’m about to say might shock some. When it comes to who will be the next President of the United States, I couldn’t give half a damn about the color of the candidate’s skin. Or their gender. Or their sexual orientation. Or their religious preferences. Experience is experience. If you’re qualified, then that is all their is to it. The color of your skin and all the other stuff I just mentioned really doesn’t matter in the least*. It recently came to my attention (while checking out the Times on my iPhone) that John McCain is accusing Obama of playing the race card. I’ll include the link to the article. What Obama did do was respond to the (possibly) inevitable ads that will come out against him. Let’s face it. The Republican party hasn’t exactly been known to play fair (and I’m sure that the ballots from 2000 floating to Cuba would agree). But I digress. As loathe as I am to admit it, the race card will be played. I’d just like to remind those who wish to play it that our current President is white. The same President who increased our national debt by more in eight years than EVERY president before him combined. The same president who started a war in Iraq over nonexistent weaponry. The same President who could not find Osama bin Laden. The same President who started a war, then cut taxes, reducing income and increasing expenditure at the same time. The same President who cannot, for some reason, say the word “nuclear.” The same President who took longer to respond to Hurricane Katrina than to send troops to Iraq. The same President who was vacationing when Hurricane Katrina hit. Republicans, I’m warning you. If you play the race card, and all the facts are laid out, there is the chance that George W. Bush could very well be the last white President of the United States. In conclusion, I’d like to state that while I do not ally myself with any specific political party, I’m voting for the Democrat. Whether a black man named Barack Obama or a white woman named Hillary Clinton, the Republicans have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they cannot do what needs to be done come January 20, 2009. Oh, and if I hadn’t mentioned this earlier, I’m disgusted with the 22nd Amendment. My argument is that it is anti-democratic because it infringes on the people’s right to choose. Let’s face it: George W. Bush or Bill Clinton? Knowing what you do now, is it really a difficult choice?

*Just a little note on the side: Several articles that I had read a while back state that women make more money as gynecologists than men. If my memory serves me correctly, they make around $10-15,000 more per year than their male counterparts. Take that, sexism!

Link to the NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/us/politics/01campaign.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

iPhone: days four (cont.), five and six.

My fascination with my iPhone is almost completely gone. No, I don’t mean that in a bad way, quite the opposite. It does everything that I need or want it to. Except picture messaging. I’d like to know who I should yell at for not making that available. I’ll admit, my iPhone experience hasn’t completely been sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows (haha). An app that I was using the other day (don’t remember which one) crashed. I didn’t lose anything that I hadn’t saved. I also mistook slow loading for a Safari freeze. The latter’s my fault, I’m epically impatient at times. Plus, I keep 3G off, which is also the reason why I was left hastily trying to drain my battery before charging it last night. I’ve also changed what I use my phone for ever so slightly. Instead of Fetch updating my college email every thirty minutes, I’ve elected to forward my college email to a Yahoo account and use Push. I hate my college’s email system. This way is better for me. Maybe one or two more iPhone posts to come.

iPhone: days three and four.

As my active fascination with my new iPhone begins to fade, I’m still passively impressed with the capabilities of this fantastic device. With the iPhone firmly nestled into my daily routine, it began pulling its weight almost immediately. I’ll be straightforward: its battery life doesn’t even come close to the seven days I used to get out of some cell phones I had in past. Then again, those were cell phones that did not also serve as PDAs, iPods, and web browsing devices (which I occasionally use in an attempt to redefine unlimited). After following the steps I outlined in day two, and restoring the phone (I figured, what harm could it do), I could very well squeeze two days of normal use* out of the battery. More to come in the next post!

*I define normal use as 2-3 hours of music, a few texts, a quick (under ten minutes) phone call or two, some IMs on aim, push** updating one email account every thirty minutes, 10-20 minutes of video, and some facebooking. By the way, this post was written from my iPhone.

**Sorry, I meant fetch, not push. Happens to the best of us.

in re: iPhone: day two.

to my readers (and anyone else interested), if you want to see iPhone: day two, it can be found here.

iPhone: day one.

I just got my iPhone today, and I am absolutely hooked. before I continue, I must thank my grandmother for buying me the phone (I would have done it in a heartbeat, but I’m 250 miles away. plus, college student. money ≠ me). Now, this thing is epic. I am using the hell out of EDGE, and wi-fi. Now, the setup after activation was quite easy. Connect the phone to your computer, open iTunes, and you’re pretty much good to go. One thing I would advise is that you select the “manually manage music” box when you get the chance. It makes things easier, well for me, anyway. After tinkering about and using AIM and the like, I nearly drained my battery after 7-8 hours. Oh, since AT&T does charge quite the premium, I’d also advise that you use your iPhone as much as possible in terms of internet use. I certainly feel sorry for anything that has to compete with this. More to come…

iPhonegasm

I am posting this entry from my new iPhone. It is fantastic. More to come when I get to a computer…

iPhone addendum (Yes, I know that I love addendums. And putting stuff in parenthesis).

While purchasing an iPhone without contract may not be the same as unlocking it (I’m not so well-versed in phone hacking) it definitely is costly, but doable. According to an article I’ve read (link at the bottom of this post), you can own an iPhone without the 24-month AT&T tether for the (insert adjective of your choice here) price of $600. Want 16 gigs instead of 8? That’ll be $700. While I definitely do want to own a 16 gig iPhone (I have too much music and stuff to go for the 8), I definitely can’t afford to purchase a contract-less phone, but I’ll be honest: AT&T simply makes it too tempting. As I mentioned earlier, their iPhone plans are quite expensive, and I am starting college in about a month, so I’m definitely left reconsidering the whole thing. I mean, Blackberries cost around the same per month, so they’ll be troublesome as well. Ah, what to do…

 

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950CE5DF1E31F934A35754C0A96E9C8B63

The new iPhone.

Sorry, no creative title this time.

So, as I’m sure you all know, the iPhone has made its debut ten days ago. No, I wasn’t a member of the masses who went to purchase one the very day it came out. Although, I’ll admit that I wanted to be. With iPhones starting at $199, it is a far cry from the $599 that people paid for the 8 gig models just a bit over one year ago. Though I have yet to acquaint myself with one of these devices, I can surely say that they redefine the term “phone sex.” The only disadvantage I see the iPhone possessing is the sizable bill that will come every month for service. Before adding the only accessory I know of to one of these plans (which is unlimited text messaging), they start at $59.99 per month. Realistically equipped, it can run around 110 bucks a month. But, I’m sure it’ll only be a matter of time before unlocked iPhones hit the market, so that shouldn’t be too big of an issue. That issue aside, I’m positive that the iPhone will dominate.

Addendum.

In case all three or four of my readers were wondering why my hiatus-ending post was about banking, I have to admit that it was due to personal trauma. I made the mistake of not keeping track of my spending, which has landed me into a nasty fiscal hole with my bank. It also means that as a result, my parents have gotten involved. Since I’m leaving for college soon, I have the feeling that this will be the first of many ass-chewings i will receive about money. Here’s to hoping I keep better track of my money (regardless of how little the amount) and here’s to hoping you do too.

A fool and his/her/their money are soon parted…

Like most Americans, I possess a checking account. I opened it for some familiar reasons: It’s convenient, it’s safer than dealing with large amounts of cash, and like many, I’m awful with cash. I seem to possess the innate ability to turn a $20 bill into seventeen cents and pocket lint before I know what happened. But, I digress. This form of banking is a panacea for many. However, it possesses a dark side. When you run out of cash, that’s it. The United States doesn’t mint negative money (yet). Now, when an individual unwittingly (I should hope it’s never intentional) overdraws their checking account, the bank can do one of two things. They can formally embarrass you at the cash register, or they can pull a far more sinister trick. They can authorize the transaction. Why is this evil? Well, unless you are lucky enough to have a checking account that doesn’t have an overdraft/insufficient funds fee, the charge that the bank hits your account with could be as high as $50, if not more, for every transaction you perform while you’re in the red. This means that if you only have $3.99 in your account and you spend $4, you have the pay the bank $50.01 before your account has a $0 balance. Do it again? That’s another $50 fee. And that isn’t even the worst part. Your bank doesn’t have to utter a word until you get your statement. It’s unethical, but it’s profitable, and it’s legal, so your bank won’t stop doing it. You think gasoline and cigarettes are expensive? Try charging some gum to your check card when there’s no money in the bank. $50 in gasoline and cigarettes will do a lot more for you than the same in overdraft fees. Technology is supposed to be here to help, not hurt. Use it to save yourself a lot of frustration. Check your balance, and check it often.