Recently I had to get a new phone because I was stupid and got my other one wet. Wet like I went swimming with it. I had been using a galaxy note 2. It was a fine phone even with the note 5 out so I really didn’t have plans on upgrading. But with a replacement now much needed for work use I had to do a bit of research. It turns out to have been an easier decision than I would have thought. Once I looked deeper at the note 5 I saw that it only had a max of 64gb. Yes i’ve heard the argument that 64 should be enough and that things can be stored in the cloud. That’s all fine if you’re constantly hooked to the internet and you have a lot of cloud space to store on. Travel somewhere without wifi or good cell coverage and you’re screwed. Samsung also chose to go the apple route and not only make the battery non-replaceable but they also took out the slot for the microsd card. The battery thing I could deal with but only putting 64gb with no option to upgrade was a kick in the nads.
Category Archives: Taboo
things i miss going from android to ios
I upgraded recently from a galaxy note 2 to an iPhone 6s plus because of a stupid mistake on my part ruining my note 2. I had planned on going to the note 5 until it came out and screwed up my plans by essentially taking the apple path of being sealed as well as only offering only a max of 64gb (a lot for most people but not enough for me). I don’t mind the apple ecosystem for some things. I’m typing this on a macbook. Perhaps I get too hidebound and just want things to work the way I want them to and don’t like being told something is better when it’s not better for me. Continue reading
a thanksgiving mess
I hadn’t really planned on writing anything while I work on my recent trip photos and writing of the trip but an experience this morning prompted me to through down some thoughts. At breakfast two women in the buffet line were complaining about the meal on thanksgiving. “This is the best they could serve?” was what one of them said. First off, it’s the morning of thanksgiving. I’ve never heard of a morning meal. Second, I’m not in the fittest shape but these ladies could do with fewer sausage links and french toast themselves. I was having a normal breakfast of omelette with vegetables, fruit, granola, and some fingerling potatos. Green tea, guava juice, and water for drinks.
I’m at work over this holiday so others can have the time off. I’m not a big holiday person to begin with. Celebrate every day not just the one day. There are a bunch of family hanging out while I’m not there. I’m ok with that. I’m not bored or lonely and I’ll hang out tonight with people for a short time at least.
But this is thanksgiving. I keep hoping it will stay one of, if not the only, holidays that actually means something. Not the commercial shopping blitz of ‘christmas’ in which christ probably would say to do something good for those less fortunate instead of the spoiled senses of others wondering what new things they are going to get that they don’t really need. Halloween is about candy and not All Hallows Eve or celebrating the dead. The fourth of july, while it should be about independence is generally a time to drink and grill and watch fireworks. I still shudder when I see people mumble through the anthem.
But thanksgiving. Yes it’s not a pure holiday still. Heck it started with a conquest of the europeans against the north american indians. It’s stood though mostly as a time for friends and family to get together even if there is an over abundance of drinking and gluttony. It’s the spirit of caring on this holiday that made me cringe overhearing those women this morning. This feels like another rant but I hope you’ll feel the plea of wanting man to be better towards one another. Maybe use this day as the springboard into the xmas season as the time to show compassion and caring. Turn over the money you were planning on dumping into the latest and greatest whatever and buy someone a meal or take your family and do some volunteer work.
Stick a fork in me, I’m done.
-SFA
moving on
Thanatopsis, Sept 30 2015
Death and dying happen. It has happened and it’s going to happen again, to me, to you, to everyone. This is something that I had been thinking about again recently as I was going through some photos but hadn’t really planned on writing about. Continue reading
WWDC 2015
Apple’s WWDC was probably more directly exciting for the developers, as it should be, than for me. I will benefit from the ‘improved’ apps that will come out. iOS9 will have have stability improvements. As well power use will be decreased and the overall size will be smaller than iOS8 which is good news for a device without a changeable battery nor can you add memory to. As an android/iOS/windows/OSX user, iOS 9 and El Capitan will be bringing ‘new’ features that I already have in android and windows such as being able to have two apps running side by side. Apple Notes will be more like Evernote and Apple Maps will be more like my Google Maps. I don’t use carplay, I don’t develop apps. I don’t have an iwatch (which requires an iphone) so those enhancements aren’t as important to me for now. Apple Music seems to be the biggest thing to come out of this. I’ll wait for it to come out before I decide if it’s worth getting excited over. I still hope to see new ipods and a new apple tv this week at some point.
-SFA
being super
I wondered if I could be a superhero. That really is how this starts, but that’s only the start.
Seriously, I am actually taking the time to ponder this stray thought and the ramifications if I ever come across a glowing green ring or radioactive spiders, perhaps even some gamma ray spewing machine. If there is someone reading this that is super smart and rich, I’d be willing to test drive any new power suits you may happen to design that would fit me. But call my AI Alex, just in case I want to change from a male to a female voice. (Note to Amazon, I want to be able to call my Echo Alex.) (PS: look up ways that supervillains have been made.) Moving on.
Villain or Hero. I can take out the super prefix and this still works.
How would I really decide if I wanted to do good or evil? Now I didn’t say BE good or evil. That would require brainwashing, chemicals, perhaps even mystical powers to change the personality or soul to be BE good or evil. I’m also choosing not to say good and bad. Bad would be putting a flaming bag of poo in front of someone’s door. This pondering requires a higher level of wrongdoing, hence, evil.
While there might be pure souls out there, I’d hazard a guess that most of us float around inside. By that I mean we are capable of doing both good and evil things. I can be humming a merry tune walking down the road and help that little ole lady across the street. Most people would consider that good. I could also choose not to help her. I would put that in the not good but not evil section. Maybe 49% good, 51% evil. If I didn’t see her I’d call it fair at 50/50. And pushing her into street would be an evil thing. I think these distinctions are clear. I do admit that trying to define the boundaries between hero/superhero and villain/supervillain is not so easy. I’m guessing it’s a status thing like being a star vs a superstar. Don’t forget to wash your hands if you found yourself grabbing your armpits.
If I use ‘classic’ ideas on this, the hero is usually self sacrificing and in general what would be called a ‘dogooder’. (Thor)
The villain on the other hand is the one who likes to cause mischief because they take pleasure in it. (Loki)
Setting ants on fire with the magnifying glass as a child may be misguided but seeking out another child to burn slips into the evil side. Think The Good Child. Creepy and good movie by the way. (Note to self, try and watch 7 again, even if it was uber creepy and nightmare inducing.)
The majority of those who walk down one of these paths will continue down that chosen path. The hero will continue to save the cat in the tree and the villain will continue to scare the cat right back up. There may be those rare few out there that switch sides. The hero’s beloved is killed because she was too trusting and shared her secret identity to someone that wasn’t as good about keeping it and now she’s on a murderous rampage. The villain might have had an epiphany and a single seed of rainbow juice crept into them to start them on the path into righteousness. Either could have also been in the closet about their true nature and just went with it. Peer pressure sucks in any situation.
I don’t think I have what it takes to be a villain let alone a super villain. The constant evildoing just seems like an awful amount of work but what do you really get out of it. I’d really need to attend an evil job fair to talk to some folk about this. Yeah the money is probably good but are there secret evil dance clubs or lounges? Where would I get my groceries? I assume the quality would be superb since I would just take whatever I want. Skipping the checkout lane would be a major bonus. Waiting in the 15 items and under lane with a full cart and just walking through once it’s my turn… priceless evil.
Are there many villains that carry secret identities? I can’t imagine that a supervillain would want a secret identity unless it was part of a plan. They would want to flaunt their evilness. The superhero is probably getting sent gifts and invited to cool places and getting into the popular clubs, and getting laid. I almost left that last part out. At first I was thinking that would be an abuse of the position and would relegate said person to hero status instead but on reflection, that would be vilifying sex. (Why does vilifying only have one l?) If two people consensually decide to go for it, that’s an ok thing, even if it might be from ‘hero worship’. Looking up to someone is a gradation and hard for me to define the lower and upper limit. As well, two (or more) people have their own reasons, perhaps dare say, love. Using superpowers to attract the other person would be the no-no and abuse. It would be enough to knock someone right out of hero status. That’s not to say that the villains are being left out. There are assuredly evildoer groupies out there as well for the villain to get some action. Whether or not they need to, they are probably using their powers if they have them, it’s just more evil that way.
As I was pondering on this possible career change a problem occurred. Neither category works for me. Where my thinking went on this was that I would head down a third path. Including the evildoing above (who really wants to change identities just to pick up some milk?), I don’t get announcing myself before appearing to save the day. Doesn’t that just give the evildoers a chance to get away or set something up to harm me? What’s the point in that? Hmm… as I’m writing I’m seeing batman as a possible mentor. (Note to self, find the bat cave.) (PS: Without superpowers this would require me to be in naturally shape. Restart eating better and exercising tonight.) Just to make things clear, I’m NOT looking to be a sidekick. (What the hell is a sidekick, a kick to the side? Note to self, look up what kick might have meant. ?partner?). I’m also not looking to wear spandex. Too many people already wear it.
So where does this leave me? I already have one job. It’s keeps me busy and there is always more to learn within it. I’m tabling this job change for now, until/unless one of the prescribed methods of power acquisition occurs. There would be much more pondering needed should this happen. As well, what if I was given supervillain powers. I would then have to start pondering the intrinsic nature of said powers as to whether it is the power or the user of the power that would define one as hero or villain.
Anyone with superpowers please feel free to comment on this. It would be helpful research.
-SFA
money money money
It started with rolling eyes that a family decided to go through the 15 items or less line with a big cart while I had two items. Who doesn’t get that feeling that you just want to get through the ‘quick’ line. They met the criteria by spreading the purchases 15 items at a time over each family member. What progressed next is something that sits with disquiet inside of me from different angles and for different reasons.
These items were bought using EBT cards. I have nothing negative to say about the intent. At one point in life I was on medicaid when I was making enough. I chose not to apply for the food stamps but that was based on my economics as I felt I had enough to buy what I needed and didn’t need the extra. The health insurance was more than enough to help me at the time until I was making enough to get off medicaid.
But tonight I had that glimpse into the concerns of state and federal officials around the country that are trying to limit the types of purchases that are made. When I did some cursory web research into the food stamp/EBT program, the initial reasons for the program are not where we are at now in a direct manor. Part of the food stamps were for surplus foods. As the government does heavily subsidize farms, an argument could be made that all that corn and the things that are made from it like corn chips and fructose corn syrup could be surplus items and go right along with the idea of being bought as surplus food.
The problem I had tonight was more social in nature. One of the women appeared to call someone to get the pin that she couldn’t remember as it locks out after three wrong attempts. As well about 3 out of 4 of the items appeared to be what people would classically define as junk food. More than that were the two overweight preteen girls which nice smiles that would be even better if wasn’t for all the caps on the their teeth, presumably from a history of cavities. It was for this that I could see why there are those out there wanting the public funds spent on quality food. It does become an elitist idea though that the junk food and sugary sodas should be there for the rich(er) folks that can afford to eat unhealthily but actually, we probably shouldn’t have it to buy to begin with. I still don’t understand why cigarettes are even legal. I can see how it would be difficult for governments to regulate items they think are better or worse. I haven’t researched yet into seeing if there are standard definitions for things like junk food and soda. Should people have to show they are buying a certain amount of nutritious foods? Since the EBT is electronic I’d bet that the information on what is being purchased it being collected, even if anonymously. Some people’s health plan will not reward you if you have worse labs or smoke or such. Perhaps something similar here. A reduced overall amount on the EBT but you get a ‘bonus’ when you buy nutritious things? It’s complicated I get it. I am thankful that there are farmer’s markets that do take EBT cards. I wonder how many people use them there.
From a short term perspective, who cares. Let everyone just do what they want. But then why did we get rid of the trans fats or why even regulate what goes into foods if the customer is the one that gets to decide if they should have access to anything and everything they want, an argument from some that those with EBT cards should not be restricted from ANY purchases.
From the long term view, we are killing ourselves. I’m lump myself in the short term category today. While I was buying fresh fruit tonight, I can’t say the cereal with sugar I had for breakfast was a good choice. I still need to exercise more and take better care of myself. It’s a process that has its ups and downs as I slip in and out of good choices. More of the choices are better these days but it’s still a continual work in progress and one that I don’t think I can ever really relax on or I’ll slide right back down into the easier but worse choices.
I am caught in that dilemma of choices on the EBT cards but I probably would have to say that I’d sway more into the side of saying buy what you want with the public money but with restrictions. For the time being ‘luxury’ items are called that for a reason. In a similar idea, if you’re getting unemployment, should you be able to spend that money on anything you want or should it be just for ‘living’ expenses and work related. For me living is also about traveling and experiencing new things, even if it’s a trip down a local road I haven’t been down in a few years.
A head scratcher to be sure. But I can’t scratch my head too much. There isn’t that much hair left.
http://www.hsd.state.nm.us/LookingForAssistance/Food_Assistance.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Benefit_Transfer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assistance_Program
http://www.gettingfoodstamps.org/faqsaboutsnap.html
https://www.ebt.acs-inc.com/
-SFA
female cowardice
I am both saddened and elated to have had another guy confirm this afternoon my own experiences with female cowardice. This happened at the grocery store of all places. He noted that I was buying a lot and that I must be the cook in the family. I returned that while I enjoy cooking, this wasn’t all for me. He then, without prompting, lamented about his recent experience with a text breakup, lucky guy. He seemed in his late 20’s/early 30’s.
I’m talking about dating and the apparent immaturity and/or lack of communication skills in a wide age range of women.
Some time recently I had met someone once for brunch and I thought things had gone well and we even made plans for a second outing. Alas, she backed out claiming fatigue from medication. I tried again the next day to communicate. No returned phone call or messages. No problem. People are working and busy and just give it some time. And yes, I’m still this naive. As seems the norm to me in the modern, and older, woman in this case, the method of lack/loss of interest is the silent treatment. Now I’m presuming this person lost interest. In truth yes, they may have met someone that very evening and was swept off their feet or got scared with a ‘younger’ man or ran away to join the circus, hopefully not because of me, but I find those options unlikely. Not being interested is not my issue. If it was that easy, people might want to date instead of dreading it.
But why this behavior? I just don’t get it and it makes me a little angry. It’s not even a face to face rejection/let down. That’s a real adult and mature situation. In an age of text messaging and online sharing people seem to be less connected and more impersonal. The online dating process by itself is based on pictures and words and written conversation until they choose to take it to the phone or a meeting. What is so challenging about even saying “Thanks but not interested” by an online or phone message? The only thing less impersonal that I can think of is this silent treatment these women are so fond of. Perhaps their experience with this growing up leads them to think it’s an appropriate adult behavior.
I still can’t believe that I’m coming to terms with the idea that where once I would have become angry with a text message response, I would relish some form of communication, even a text message. Do these women lack so much in their lives that a simple very impersonal confrontation is beyond their coping/life skills? I had hoped in the past that it was reserved to a certain age group of women and that I would be fortunate with someone older and more mature to be able to handle open and honest communication. Alas, again, I have been proven wrong. I do not believe most men in general are wells of confidence overflowing thinking they are gods gift upon the earth. We carry fears as well. Is this a general female method or specific to the women I, and the gentleman at the store although he got a text message, have had the unfortunate luck to meet. I can only hope for this to be a specific group.
These experiences have not been without benefit however. They have weeded themselves out. Not only have they saved me time, money and effort, it reinforces my belief that a quality woman is that much rarer and should be treasured. It brings up the notions: One man’s junk is another man’s treasure and Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some men might not want an intelligent and confident woman. This one seemed fine. Attractive, traveled, educated and teaching at the university but taking time for research, not an easy task. During the one meeting she seemed confident in herself. Perhaps misdirection and deception are skills while practiced by magicians might be second nature to women who may have had to learn these behaviors growing up to deal with other women or previous men in their lives.
Mars and Venus continue to be unaligned and I continue to remain baffled.
-SFA
EDIT: Unsaid but true, men are not immune to this issue as well. I am not immune to this issue and something to work on.
faith
faith is believing. the concept is simple enough. in parts of life for many people, faith can be rock solid and unwavering. hearing and seeing the word faith conjures up notions of something spiritual in nature. something that connects inside of us and resonates. through good times and bad having faith means that one continues to believe. hope is not a negative but something expected, the idea that there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel even if you can’t see it because the path is curved and is blocking the light. Continue reading