Well, today, we’ve had a couple of rounds of Greenwald bashing whether deserved or not with the usual accompanying flesh feast, John having an epiphany about being a dick, and Anne Laurie informing us all of something written by somebody much more witty and erudite than any of us. Also known around here as a day that ends in “day.”
We went and got new cell service and new phones. Samsung Galaxy S4s on AT&T. Verizon seems to have the better reviews over all, but the prices were a wash with a slight advantage to AT&T, and AT&T is unionized. Solidarity forever! The house is complete. All we’re waiting on is the bank. The VA appraisal came in at almost $11K above the contracted price. The housing market here must be heating up more than I thought. Today is my son’s birthday. It doesn’t seem right, me being the father of a 19-year-old.
What’s going on with you fine people?
Old Dan and Little Ann
I nominate Daniel Tosh to host next year’s Correspondents’ Dinner. He is a crazy mother fucker.
NotMax
Obviously a lad of upright character, taste, promise, tolerance and discernment.
Oh, and humility.
(The 11th is my birthday too.)
BillinGlendaleCA
Need to borrow my walker, Sonnergrunt?
You have the phone I’m lusting after. OK, anything to replace my Droid Charge that can’t but upgraded from Gingerbread. My contract is up in November, we’re staying with Verizon(most family and friends are on it) and I’ll get either a S4 or a Note 3 if they’re out.
BTW, have you ever used tasker? Great automation program for Android and now only $2.
Soonergrunt
@BillinGlendaleCA: No, I haven’t used it. I will look at it, though. Currently, I’m playing with the dual screen feature in the GS4. This thing rocks. My productivity at work is going to go through the floor for at least a week.
Steeplejack
@Soonergrunt:
Well, you had a good seven minutes there before Cole stomped you.
Sounds like things are pretty good in Soonertown. Let us know how you like the S4. I am very satisfied with my aging Droid Incredible, but occasionally I feel the stirrings of consumer lust in my heart.
Just Some Fuckhead
sheets
Steeplejack
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Maybe you can advise me on this. I’m with Verizon, currently eligible for a new phone, but I’m almost afraid to check into it because my current plan has unlimited data and I’m afraid they’re going to make me switch to a metered plan if/when I upgrade. Is that a concern, and/or is there a way to buy an unlocked phone somewhere and slide it into the current setup wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more?
Steeplejack
Holy shnikeys, Cole’s next thread just disappeared into the ether. Poster’s remorse?
Yatsuno
@Steeplejack: He must have pulled it back. But coordination has never been one of this blog’s strong attributes.
Thinking of dumping AT & T for T-Mobile, mostly because I can get an iPhone 5 plus they’ll let me pay it off in installments. An I just killed the Crackberry today so I get to go phone shopping tomorrow. Whee!!
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
My oldest graduates from high school early next month.
Gretchen
I didn’t know that ATT is unionized. We use Verizon because, even though Sprint is located here, our house is in a Sprint dead zone and you have to stand on the porch to talk on a Sprint phone here.
Just Some Fuckhead
unsheets
RobertDSC-PowerMac G5 Dual
In tinkering with my Macs and their setup, I hit upon an epiphany. I had an old, and I stress old, boom box in the closet. Digging it out and finding a suitable power cord out of the bin where I keep all of my cables and cords, I then added a couple of audio cables and now have a fantastic sound output device for the old Power Mac. The boom box is 18 years old, lol.
It’s always humorous to me to play stuff from today on old machinery.
p.a.
Vz Wireless is not unionized, but Vz BAU (business as usual) is, and we’ve (IBEW & CWA) been trying to organize wireless. The former GTE management team running the whole show are real pricks.
Nemo_N
Hey look, Job Creators!
I’m sure elites have it in their interest to bring about change.
jrg
@Old Dan and Little Ann: He’s hilarious. Tosh.0 has got to be the funniest show on TV.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Steeplejack: I’ve heard of people staying on the unlimited plan, not sure how. The kid used to have an unlimited plan, but I know she’s on a metered plan with her dad & stepmom(he watched some video and used the allotment all at once). She was pissed off a bit. The wife and I have 2GB each and have never gotten close, but I use WiFi a lot. Newer model unlocked phones can be pricey, but you might find good prices on a S3 with the S4 coming out. Most use EBay, but I’ve heard horror stories about that too. If you could find a good deal on a CDMA/LTE, I guess you might be able to switch SIM cards.
lojasmo
18 years married today.
Ran 63 minutes, walked 45.
Fooled around some./
Watched “strings” (excellend marionette movie) and “bright young things” Both great movies.
Had brocolli cole slaw and reuben meatballs for dinner.
all in all a good day.
Soonergrunt
@Steeplejack:
@Yatsuno: It’s John’s house. He lets me play with the remote, but when he wants to watch something, I watch his show.
All of which is a poor metaphor for saying that it doesn’t bother me in the slightest if/when he* bigfoots me.
*or any of the other smarter, wittier, and better read front pagers (IOW all of them) for that matter.
Steeplejack
@Yatsuno:
I hold no special brief for Verizon. When I first got a cell phone they had much better coverage where I was then, but I think most of the carriers have equalized now. But most of the people I talk to at length are on Verizon, so those minutes are free, and I’m able to go with a plan with a low number of voice minutes. The unlimited data thing is nice, but now that I have wi-fi at home I’m not using 3G on the phone that much. The big thing is Google Navigation in the car, which I presume is pretty data-intensive. (But I could be wrong.) Anyway, I don’t want to lose the unlimited data if I can help it.
Dead Ernest
@Steeplejack:
Steeples, can’t speak to Verizon but I’ve got unlimited data with AT&T. Despite that they no longer offer that I was able to upgrade and be ‘Grandfathered’ and able to keep it.
I suspect Verizon won’t offer to do that but if asked may agree to do the same for you.
Worth asking anyway.
Good luck.
JoyfulA
Isn’t Verizon union? There was a picket line at the Verizon store at the mall maybe two years ago, and I walked along the line thanking them.
I’m one of the oldies with just a landline bundled with Internet, plus an emergency cellphone that’s usually lost.
Steeplejack
@Dead Ernest:
That sounds like a good idea. “Hey, kid, do you want to sell me a new phone and let me keep the current plan, or should I stick with the Droid until I drag the whole network down? Because I can do that; I’m old.” Might be able to pull it off if I look especially flaky that day.
Dead Ernest
@Yatsuno:
Ya, Yu, t’sino-t’suno-t’senum;
Latest review, comparison I saw (recently) claimed that T-mobile’s weakness compared to the Big Three was weak coverage, that it was currently as good (not good) as it was, was due to the access they had to the towers of the others.
How much that might matter where you are might be insignificant but may be worth looking into before you buy.
Soonergrunt
@JoyfulA: The wireless company (VZW) is not unionized. The other companies might be, but the wireless one is not.
JoyfulA
@p.a.: Thanks for the explanation about Verizon unions.
Dead Ernest
@Steeplejack: maybe. Remember: old dress slacks, belted at belly button level. Hat with a triple A sticker stuck on it. Maybe an old, yellowish handkerchief protruding from a pocket.
Oh, and beard stubble.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Steeplejack: You can pre-cache maps for navigation. Of course, you need to have the storage and a somewhat limited driving area. Check to see how much data navigation uses, the really big consumer of data is gaming and streaming video.
Michele C.
@RobertDSC-PowerMac G5 Dual: That rocks, if I may use a phrase that makes me sound 102.
Steeplejack
@Dead Ernest:
Hey, I’m good to go! That’s how I look all the time.
Steeplejack
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I think there is a Verizon applet that will show me my usage, but I haven’t bothered to look it up and figure it out. It would be nice to get a reading on how much data I’m using in any case. I don’t do gaming or video streaming on the phone, just Web surfing and the GPS navigation. (I guess the Web surfing includes the odd YouTube video now and then.)
Suffern ACE
Sitting at tge diner watching the young couples passing by on prom night in the big city. The gowns are ok, but have young women not been taught the importance of slips?
NotMax
@Suffern ACE
It’s early yet. Some of them will slip later on in the wee hours.
dance around in your bones
Yesterday was my oldest grandson’s 7th birthday. We had 30 boys and 3 girls, a new trampoline (with net) and a bounce house. I was on bounce house patrol for several hours to keep them from breaking their necks in new and creative ways. One boy was running around with a blood-spotted paper towel because his front tooth was hanging on by a thread – he eventually swallowed it biting into a cupcake. Ha! Good luck finding THAT tooth, Tooth Fairy!
After all the madness and cleaning up, I am exhausted today. Currently watching a documentary about the young Rolling Stones on the road in 1965 (on AUHD) called “The Rolling Stones Charlie is My Darling – Ireland 1965”. They all look so young (well, kinda like when I first saw them, back in the day).
Tomorrow, a BBQ at mi comadre’s house. Thank Gawd she’s doing it, not me.
BillinGlendaleCA
@dance around in your bones:
It’ll come out the other end.
dance around in your bones
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Yeah, but who’s gonna sift through the *ahem* end result?
NotMax
@dance around in your bones
“Why did the Tooth Fairy leave a tiny pair of latex gloves under the pillow?”
PsiFighter37
Out meeting one last friend in Manhattan Beach for drinks. Have a 6 AM flight back to NYC…expecting to be groggy for most of tomorrow
dance around in your bones
@NotMax: If the latex gloves don’t fit, you must acquit!
I have a feeling said kid will get his simoleons anyway :)
tkogrumpy
Pardon me while I get out my tiny violin and play Happy Birthday for my 52 Y/O son.
NotMax
Well, time to hit the shower and then off to a surprise party for my birthday.
Gotta practice the “Oh wow, you shouldn’t have” expression in the mirror.
Bringing the fixings to treat myself to Black Velvets tonight.
dance around in your bones
@NotMax: Happy Surprising Birthday, NotMax!
Oh, and you too Fuckhead, if it really WAS yer birthday yesterday. We really care, ya know. (I swear I detect a heart of gold under your fucking demeanor online. I might be delusional).
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
Hmm, that sounds intriguing. Would never have thought to mix those two ingredients. I’ll have to give it a try sometime.
Yatsuno
@Steeplejack: It has champers in it. You should be on that like a duck on a June bug.
Steeplejack
@Yatsuno:
Duh. Of course, I am from the school of “Hey, who put orange juice in my mimosa?!”
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Trick is not to mix, but to float the champagne on top of the stout and let it blend as you drink.
Later, gators.
The prophet Nostradumbass
@NotMax: Using cider instead of the cham-paggin (ZAPP!) is also pretty good.
NeenerNeener
@Steeplejack: I spent a few minutes chatting with a Verizon rep yesterday because I, too, lust after a Galaxy S4, but don’t want to give up my unlimited data plan. I have to pay full price for the phone if I want to keep the unlimited data plan, and reminding them that everybody has the same capped data plans for the same prices didn’t seem to move the rep at all.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@NeenerNeener:
Good to know. Were you at a “really run by Verizon” store or a “just affiliated/sort of franchise” store? That might make a difference.
And it might be worth paying full price on the phone to keep unlimited data, if the phone is going to encourage greatly increased data use.
NeenerNeener
@Steeplejack (tablet): If you spend more than 2 or 3 minutes looking at the phones on their web site you get a pop up asking if you want to chat with a Verizon rep. I’ve also talked with a sales rep at the Verizon kiosk at my local warehouse club, and they told me the same thing. I want independent verification from several sources before I drop $650 + tax on a phone. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do yet.
Steeplejack
@NeenerNeener:
Jeez, didn’t realize the S4 was that expensive. I was thinking $500 tops. Maybe I’ll splurge on a new case for the Droid and replace the tatty plastic screen cover.
Actually, I’m still satisfied with it. The only real minus is that the camera lens has a small hairline crack across it. But it doesn’t seem to affect the (mediocre) pictures.
NeenerNeener
@Steeplejack: What I’m really after is the increased screen resolution. My old Galaxy S1 is only 800X400. It still works fine, but it’s a long way away from HD. Maybe the S4 will be cheaper in 5 or 6 months, probably about the time they release the S5.