Hello, iPhone

So I think my iPod is showing its age. A thick black streak showed up on the screen a few weeks ago, and it doesn’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon. … It was only a matter of time. I’ve worked the little white device hard during the last – let me think about this – seven years, playing it for hours almost daily in my office and home.

Remember when I was so obsessed with simply owning one?

And that brings me to the newest addition to my gadget family. …

I am now an iPhone user.

Remember when I hated the idea of a cell phone being more than a device to simply call people?

The fact that I’m now equipped with an iPhone came about from a lucky turn of events connected to my work. I had been working the last three years with a Blackberry Curve … Yes, some days I fantasized about having an iPhone, but the Blackberry was working just fine for me. I didn’t know anything different, and the thought of trying to type on the iPhone’s touchscreen intimidated me.

Nonethless, I was awarded an opportunity to work with an iPhone – an iPhone 3 – on a trial basis and see how I liked it. … I liked it all right. And, after about a week, through another lucky turn of events, I was upgraded to a brand spanking new iPhone 5.

Cue the angel chorus.

I received it during the morning hours and refused to remove the packaging before I had all of the accessories. I’d seen so many of my colleagues traipsing around with cracked screens that I wasn’t even going to try using my new phone without protecting first.

So, during my lunch break, I went on a search for a case and eventually ended up at the AT&T store, where a perky young woman came to my assistance. I picked out a case I thought would work and the woman offered to put it on for me.

She seemed to share my lust for the high-tech phone. Though I suppose she’s paid to do that.

“Ooooh, you haven’t even taken it out of its packaging yet,” she said.

“No, I wanted to make sure I had it protected first.”

“Absolutely!” she said as she removed the plastic wrapping. Then she began bathing the screen and encasement.

“Have you had an iPhone before?”

“Yes,” I said, totally not acknowledging that I’m still an iPhone newbie and I had just been transformed from being a loyal Blackberry user.

“Which one did you have?”

“An iPhone 3.”

“Ooooh, you’re going to like this!” the woman said.

Having experienced some of the outdated-ness during my trial run with the iPhone 3 and having some knowledge of the upgrades in the newer models, I didn’t doubt she was right.

I smiled. “I can hardly wait.”

Fast forward to a few weeks later and – yes, yes, I am liking it.

I feel like I have my whole world in my hands. Literally.

I can access my email – work and personal – with the touch of the screen, no matter where I am. And all of my social media accounts. I could only access Facebook on my Blackberry.

I can blog on my iPhone.

I can access all of my favorite news and sports sites. At lightning speeds.

I can get instant weather updates with the Weather Channel app.

I can snap pictures and upload them immediately to my Flickr page, or Facebook – although I much prefer Flickr. … The photo part is a good thing because my digital camera had begun showing its age recently, too. Most of my pictures came out blurred on the left side, no matter the lighting or settings with which I was working.

And I have officially joined the Instagram community. …Yeah, Instragram. I have a love-hate relationship with Instagram. …

(Why must people take every photo with Instragram and run those same photos through one of the vintage-styled, sepia-toned filters so that you can suddenly pretend to be some hip, artistic photographer? I believe there are certain times and places to use Instagram. Not all the time. There are photos that are perfectly captured and displayed in their array of colors and don’t deserve to be diluted by Instagram. Respect the art of photography, people.)

Sort of like the love-hate relationship I have with Facebook photo albums …

(Why must people post every blurry, out-of-focus, close-up they take to Facebook? Delete the poor photos, people! And no matter what you post, they all seem to end up in a disorganized mess, never to be looked at again – because you’d have to spend hours trying to figure out where they ended up. Seriously, good luck finding those photos from that one night you and your buddies went to the corner pub that one summer.)

Which all goes back to my preference for Flickr, its ease of use, privacy settings and wonderful ability to organize and display photos.

I’ve digressed.

Now, with my iPhone, I can listen to any radio station I want, wherever I want. … One weekend, I was doing some work in Phoebe’s room and wanted to listen to the Bearcat football game. I downloaded the Public Radio app, and – bam! – I could listen to the broadcast loud and clear on my phone. Later, I downloaded the app for WTMX – the Chicago radio station that Kates and I have faithfully listened to for a decade now; we've regularly accessed it online since moving to The ‘Ville. … And just think about the possibilities from there! I can restore my summer pastime of working in the yard while I listen to Cubs game on WGN or Brewers games on WTMJ, or classic rock on WDRV.

When we made our move to The ‘Ville, Kates and I discussed one of the advantages being that the world was becoming a smaller place and becoming more mobile. But I never imagined this!

And then there's the access to my music library. After a couple weeks of using the iPhone, I warmed up to the idea of testing how it could work with iTunes and my music library. That night, I was walking through our house with the sounds of “Abbey Road” echoing through the hallway. And the next night we were dancing around to Fun. In our kitchen. … My music library grew beyond the capacity my iPod long ago, but I’ve figured out the iPhone has nearly double the capacity – not that I’m going to load my entire music library on the iPhone. Only the really good stuff will go on the iPhone; the iPod remains my preferred music listening device.

I’m just skimming the surface here. But life is definitely good with the iPhone.

Tweet Less, Kiss More

Words to live by from Bob Herbert this morning ...

(I've been pretty vocal about my disgust for texting while driving ... but watching DVDs while driving!? Seriously? It was only a matter of time ...)

Don't text and drive

I saw this report on the news tonight about a new ban on texting while driving ... It infuriates me to see people who don't get the danger of their actions ...

For the sake of myself, my family and all my loved ones, please don't text and drive. Plain and simple.

Sunday reading

... So we just returned from a run to Target where we looked at an amusing number of greeting cards that dealt with farting.

All things considered, it's been a good weekend. Temperatures in the 40s. The rain that forecasts were predicting never came, and we had nothing but sun. Almost all of our snow is gone ...

I got out a few times this weekend -- and didn't have to wear a jacket ...

This couldn't have come sooner. I've been suffering from a serious case of cabin fever the last couple weeks.

Here's some of the stuff that caught my attention -- and kept it -- the last couple weeks ...

Sports ...
a Super Bowl XLIII best ever? Let's not get carried away ... My thoughts exactly. Last year's battle was better than this year's, hands down.
a Positive Drug Tests in Bonds Case ... Just send him away already ... Ah, but then came this.
a Verdict on Bonds is already in ... By the way, not surprised by the news about A-Rod.
a Late-blooming slugger Kent definitely deserves spot in Hall ... The above stories do make Kent's case more compelling. But then again, who can you believe these days?
a Who will be the next Rays? ... Pitchers and catchers. Aw yeah.
a Torre’s Pinstripe Tales Lure Readers on Winter Day
a Citgroup considers backing out of $400 million naming-rights deal for the Mets' new stadium ... And people wonder why banks and corporations are in trouble. Because they've been sponsoring stadiums for millions of dollars the last 10 years! Sick.
a At Citi Field, Swinging for the (Higher) Fences
a A Manny-Pedro Reunion? ... Um, awesome.
a More insight into The Yankee Years

Music ...
a Despite iTunes Accord, Music Labels Still Fret
a Adele’s voice belies her age ... I never would've guessed she's only 20.

Entertainment ...
a Rise of Citizen Dave ... Some of the reasons I've enjoyed watching David Letterman more in these later years than ever before. The show he did after 9/11 and his post-jail interview with Paris Hilton are classics.
a Ferrell's Frat-Boy 'Bush' Freshens Broadway Show
a 'Big Bang Theory' has burst into an old-school hit comedy ... Kates and I have been watching this one since the very beginning, and it's become one of our favorites on all of TV.

Politics ...
a In the Spotlight, And Seared By the Glare ... Interesting stuff about the falls of Caroline, Palin and Blago.
a In Attack on Kennedy, Echo of a Spitzer Tactic
a Tough Times at Obama Inc.

Technology ...
a Can the Cellphone Industry Keep Growing?

Media & the Internet ...
a Dumped by Facebook? 10 etiquette rules ... Good stuff sent to me from my friend Raechel ... I don't know if I'll ever understand how some people fail to 'get' these rules.
a What's behind the '25 Random Things About Me' phenomenon? ... Another story about the random facts, this time from the Boston Globe. Obviously not everyone is so keen on the idea ...
a Oh, the Random Things We Do for the Sake of Facebook ... And here's the Washington Post's take.
a How to Friend Mom, Dad, and the Boss on Facebook...Safely
a All a-Twitter: You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wonder why - all in 140 characters ... I'm delving slowly into Twitter, which I call Facebook on crack.
a Marina City Web site draws board's anger with slate of news, scandal
a Oprah Winfrey, the Chicago Sun-Times' biggest fan, would be its best backer
a Editors and Publishers in a Revolving Door
a Ex-Journalists’ New Jobs Fuel Debate on Favoritism ... With newspapers flat-lining and companies laying off, why wouldn't you go for some of these jobs?
a Why Television Still Shines in a World of Screens

The Onion ...
a Action Figure Fights On Despite Loss Of Dragon Sword

Life & other stuff ...
a Octuplet Mother Also Gives Birth To Ethical Debate

Sunday reading

... I visited a local ski mountain for a story this afternoon. I sooo want to go skiing now ...

Tonight, I arrived home in time to catch a bit of the American Music Awards -- that Beyonce can dance! -- before I got sucked into the "JFK: Breaking the News" documentary on PBS. Even though I saw it last year, once I started watching tonight I absolutely could not pull myself away ...

Oh, and this just in, I think Oklahoma scored a few more touchdowns on Texas Tech ... Holy cow, that was a thrashing last night ...

Here's some of the reads that caught my attention during the last week ...

Sports ...
a Favre won't talk about next year
a Tie Games? Who Knew? Not All of the Redskins ... I find this hard to believe. How can these guys even be playing professional football?!
a It's hard to believe - but Sox always did
a Ryan Dempster admits Cubs were not prepared for playoffs ... Interesting. Lou Piniella disagrees.
a Free Agent Market Is Well Stocked

Entertainment ...
a Totally Over: Last Squeals for ‘TRL’

Politics ...
a Intense security a force Loop reckons with
a Lincoln and the myth of 'Team of Rivals' ... I'm still reading 'Team of Rivals.'
a Time for Him to Go
a Obamas enjoy fine food, wine, but hold the beets
a Game on: Pros and big-league politics
a Madam Secretary?
a Two for the Price of Two
a Let Detroit Go Bankrupt ... Good arguments here. I've sort of been thinking the same thing.
a When the President-Elect Talks, The BCS Should Listen ... Thanks, Wilbon. I couldn't have said it better. ... And by the way, that '60 Minutes' interview last weekend was fascinating to watch.

Life & other stuff ...
a Detective handcuffed to Oswald can't escape photo
a Cellphones in Yellowstone?
a The Moon View

Proposals and ideas

... Two proposed ordinances in Chicago got my attention last night ...

First, a Chicago alderman is proposing that metal bats be banned during organized baseball games within the city ... I think the idea of such an ordinance is absurd. Metal bats are part of the game, and if you can't deal with it -- don't play. There's other ways to get hurt playing baseball, too. It's like asking for an ordinance that bans tackle football. ... And c'mon, wood bats shattering all over the field can be just as dangerous ...

Meanwhile, another alderman is calling for a ban on text messaging while driving ... Let me know where I can sign that one. As I was driving home last night, I caught a kid driving a minivan alongside me, his hands raised over the steering wheel and he was text-messaging -- either that or he was playing on a handheld video game. Either way, the van was swerving all over road, and the girl in the passenger side, with her feet propped on the dashboard, was acting as though it was ok. I should have called the police on them ...

Sunday reading

... Talk about a crazy week ...

... On the heels of my dream week of baseball last week, last Saturday started a string of eight straight days of rain. Not a sprinkle -- long, hard, pouring rain. Luckily Kates and I escaped with only a trickl of water in our basement ... The rest of our area wasn't so lucky, and much of the land to the west of us remained flooded with numerous roads closed and the rivers at record heights ...

... All of that made for a somewhat chaotic and sometimes tense work week ... To ease the tension a littke bit, one of my cohorts delivered this radio snippet ... I'd already heard it a few times before, but it'll have you laughing every time!

Here's some of the headlines and stories that caught my eye during the last week ...

Baseball ...
a Froemming has called 'em like he's seen 'em
a Bouton gives fans a real 'old-timer's day'
a Bonds' uncharted universe: 755 and beyond
a Home run record may bring Bonds neither respect nor adulation
a Angels' Anderson bombs Yankees with 10 RBI
a Gloveless hitters buck the trend
a Happy returns: Cleveland Indians acquire well-traveled Lofton in trade with Texas Rangers ... apparently this happened a month ago, but I just caught it this week. Poor Kenny ... though if he's anywhere, it's good to see him in Cleveland.
a A half-century ago, a baseball era ended in New York and another started in California

Internet & Media ...
a In Month Before Labor Day, Pointless 'Filler' Columns Abound ... so HA-larious. So true.
a Playboy courts college students with online site ... now this is a new one ...
a It came from outer space

Politics ...
a Bill Clinton in '08!
a It's all about priorities for Michelle Obama
a Obama: Presidential Bid at Times Insane ... Kates and I caught this Daily Show. Awesome.
a Huckabee: a Republican who can lead us back home

Entertainment ...
a Her book is Hollywood, according to Courtney
a MTV’s ‘Sweet 16’ show drives fad for lavish birthday parties ... this is just insane ...
a La-La Land lets Lindsay Lohan off easy ... this is insane too ...
a Put the Kids in Bed and Close the Door, the Real Bob Saget Is in the House

Music ...
a This Furniture Rocks
a Music-Selling Rivals Take Aim at iTunes

Other stuff ...
a Cellphone Contracts: Hard to Get off the Hook
a One in Four Read No Books Last Year
a Certified Guaranty Co. puts comics on a slab

Bad customer service

In a story I caught today about The Customer Service Hall of Shame, I found it very interesting that Sprint overwhelmingly ranked as the company with the worst customer service ...

I'm a Kansas City boy. I want to be loyal to Sprint ...

But I'm still bitter about my experience last summer ...

Why bother?

... So I'm watching my evening news (this is a fascinating little read ...) and I just saw a commercial for this.

Interesting.

... But I'll be sticking with my sleek little cell phone for talking only, thank you. And my iPod for listening to my own music collection.

... I don't understand it. Just give me the phone for talking. Don't gook it all up with these other features and charge me $200 for features I'm never going to use ...

...Then again, I didn't understand the reasonsing for putting CD players in cars, when the radio always suited me just fine ... until I got a car with a CD player.

* * *

Back to the news ...

...Has anyone else been wondering if those prophecies about the end of the world are finally coming true?

Let's see ... we've faced 100-degree heat for, well, the month of July. Gas prices are still skyrocketing, along with interest rates and the adjustable rate mortgages. Fighthing is still out of control in the Middle East. And now the media is telling us to watch out for Hurricane Chris ...

Sunday reading

Another round of some of the more intriguing and interesting reads I found this last week ...

Life in general
a 11 "Don't-Tell-the-Wife" Secrets All Men Keep ... a great read for both sexes. Even better if you read it together -- and then laugh at how many you nod and say yep, 'he does that,' or 'yep, she's like that.'
a Ogling Google's doodles: Artist loves challenge of holiday logo tweaking ... this is an old one I stumbled across, but interesting nonetheless for fans of the daily google artwork.
a Greatest annoyance at work? Cell phones, employees say Why the need for collecting?

Baseball
a Outfield save still fresh in Rick Monday's mind 30 years later

TV & movies
a For Amy Sedaris, the weird is weirdly wonderful
a Clip Tease: Trailers As Art
a Series of lies cloud 'The View' ... oh boy, how fun was this to watch unfold all week!?

Music
a When Smokey sings, the audience melts
a Woodstock site rises from its muddy past
a Great year made Keane miserable
a Imogen Heap doesn’t need band for backup

My $125 mistake

Life lesson No. 1,396: Never put your cell phone in a washing machine.

...So I had spent much of the morning working outside. When I came indoors, I changed out of my grungy clothes and then threw them into the washing machine with a load of laundry. I glazed over the pockets and thought I'd removed everything.

But I missed my cell phone.

I started the washing machine and went upstairs. Barely a few minutes later, I wanted to make a call and began looking for my cell phone. I searched every room in the upstairs thinking surely I'd left it lying on a table or desk. Then it suddenly dawned on me -- it was probably still in my shorts!

I bolted downstairs to the laundry machine. Only to open the lid and find water up to the rim, the clothes were soaked. I pulled from the suds my shorts, and there in the pocket was my cell phone. Soaked. Dead. Blank. Nothing.

Words will never, ever -- ever -- express the frustation, the madness, the depression, the stupidity I felt.

Although the trash is about the only place it can go now, it's still sitting upstairs on the desk in hopes it might magically come back on. ... I've always had about perfect luck and affection with my cell phones. I had my first one nearly four years, and only had it replaced because it was getting old and starting to die. This latest one I had used for barely a year, and I figured surely I'd have it for at least four, five years as well. I loved the feel of it, it had all the minimal and necessary functions I wanted ... and I've been with Sprint so long, I'd gotten myself into a low-cost, really nice, plan.

Ugh.

So ... First thing this afternoon, I drove across the state line to the closest Sprint store. I was off from work, and we don't have a landline in our house, so I needed to get a new cell phone, pronto -- especially this week, considering the phone calls and business I needed to take care of.

If I wasn't frustrated enough already, I walked into the packed store and was immediately put on a waiting list to be served. ... What seemed like an hour later (it was probably 15 minutes...), I was called to the counter. My service person: a short woman with dark, wrinkly skin, frizzy blonde hair and Freddy Krueger style finger nails, painted teel of course -- she looked more like she belonged at a psychic fair, not working at a Sprint store.

I told her my problem.

"Do you have insurance?"

"I don't think so..." ... on a cell phone? Of course not. I've never had anything bad happen to my cell phones. I treat them like my iPod, Like my unborn babies.

... Several minutes pass as she pecks on the computer. Watching her with her long nails makes me cringe like fingernails against a chalkboard. ... Finally she figures out I can get a $75 discount on any phone because of my good-standing with the company.

But the new phone I was interested in was $199, and was available for $49.99 with a rebate.

"No, you're not eligible for that," she tells me. "All I can do is upgrade your phone and give you the $75 discount..."

"Fine."

"Or I can give you this phone for free and we can add another line for $60 ..."

What? ... She's starting to have me running in circles here. All I want is a new phone, with my same number -- and I want it for as little cost as possible.

... She proceeds to add that I can't keep my same plan because it's under $30 a month and in order to get the new phone I have to upgrade my plan to at least $35 a month. That way I can keep my number, but I'd be paying $125 for the new phone. Or I can get the phone for free, add a new line and start paying $60 a month, have a different number, and be able to change it back to the old number after 30 days .... And either way I have to take a two-year agreement...

Confused yet? I was.

Just when she was about to begin punching in the numbers for me to buy the $200 phone for free and add another line for the $60 a month, I was catching up and stopped her.

"So wait. You're telling me I can get this phone today for $125 because of the $75 discount, keep my number, and have about the same plan for $40. Or I can have the phone for free, have a new number and be paying $60 a month for the next two years?"

"Yeah."

"Well, no. Go with the $125 phone then."

She rolls her eyes and starts tapping out the corrected numbers. ... "I was just trying to save you some money today?" she murmurs.

"I'm more concerned about saving money in the long run." ... lady!

So I'm waiting patiently for her to hand me the reciept so I can sign it and get the heck out of there ... Until she tells me there's some problem with the computer, and for some reason, it's not accepting the $75 discount I was entitled to on the new phone. She looks at me like I'm supposed to know how to figure out their stupid computer system and says, "So what do you want me to do now?"

"Ah, can you go ask for some help?" ... LADY!!!

She marches past a door and comes back a few second later, saying she asked a manager to come out. ... Good. And then she adds, "We could have had this whole thing done if you would've taken the $60 plan."

I DIDN'T want the $60 PLAN!!

The manager comes out and figures out the error like it was no big deal.

... and finally I was signing my receipt.

I walked out with a new phone and managed to keep the same number I've had for the last 3 1/2 years.

... And at least now I have a camera phone.

Sunday reading

Happy Sunday to ya ... here's some of the stories I found particularly interesting from this last week ...

Life as we know it ...
a Mark Patinkin: Suddenly, there I was, in the land of righteous retailers
a Make as much fun of him as you want ... My parents love listening to John Tesh. And yeah he's inspiring and interesting to listen to (sometimes) ... but, yeah, he's easy to make fun of ...
a 'Fido' is so last year: Everything you need to know about naming a dog
a In Texas, the Biggest Box Gets Mighty Fancy Trimmings ... Sorry. Not buying it. As luxurious as this Wal-mart sounds, I still side with those who percieve it as 'soulless' ... that and I wish life were so easy that I too could have a 4,000 square foot home and earns $145,000 a year ... Then, there's this related news: Cart Blanche? The Megamarket's Savings Don't Come Cheap
a Own the ultimate Elvis collectible ....if only ...
a Last writes: Dead men (and women) do tell tales -- in obituaries that are often full of life ... fascinating.

Tech reads ...
a Finding the hidden costs of downloading music
a At 30, Apple Is Mainstream -- And a Target
a Cell phones find a new calling ...and I hate it. Hey, I love my cell phone as much as the next guy. But -- aside from the Tetris game I enjoy playing to pass time in the airport, on the train or wherevere else -- I want nothing to do with having a cell phone that plays music, shows TV shows and all that other mumbo jumbo, let alone have to pay for it. Just let me use it to make phone calls.

Blogging reads ...
a Productivity Tip No. 1: Check Out the Blogs
a Mother makes room for MySpace ...a fascinating story about a 'cool' mom, her teenage daughter and the adventures of parenting ... and the Internet.
a New Trends In Online Traffic ... interesting stuff. I'm glad to contribute ...

TV reads ...
a Our 'Idol' obsession: The LA Times asked network executives, historians and even a comedian to explain why "American Idol" has come to rule the airwaves. ... I don't care what they have to say, I still haven't caught on ...

Music reads ...
a Blunt's music speaks (softly) for him ... say what you want about his voice. It's a great album ...
a Bedingfield is quietly taking over the charts ... I fell in love with 'These Words' immediately. And the video for 'Unwritten' hooked me immediately as well. But my jury's still out on the rest of the album ... She sure is admirable though ...
a Teddy Geiger is on the edge of stardom at 17 ... Give him credit -- he's extremely mature, he's a self-taught musician, and Ben Folds is one of his heroes. It helps that his music is pretty darn good too. (his CD has been in my stereo and near the top of my iPod's 'recently played' list since I got it a couple weeks ago ...)

Baseball reads ...
a Clubbies turn clubhouse into dollhouse

Now this is just sad ...

Woman swallows cell phone to end fight

Cleaning off my desktop of some links I've saved ...

... Here's two fun reads from Mark Patinkin, a good humor columnist I've recently been turned onto:
a I won't be pedaling up the Alps any time soon
a Dad's lament: Is it me or my wallet?

... I have a couple friends and acquaintances who could benefit from this article (Ignore that ringing cell phone) about cell phone etiquette. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my cell phone. But when I haven't seen you for several months, we have barely a dinner to see each other and you're spending more time on your cell phone with your buddy who lives across the street than you're paying attention to me, I'm going to be a little peeved ... and you'd better study up on why they created voicemail, or better yet, the 'off' button ...

... While researching the legend of Resurrection Mary for a recent story, I came across ghosttraveler.com, a listing of supposedly haunted locations throughout the United States. Fun site. Turns out I've been to quite a few of the spots mentioned in Illinois... Yahoo!

... Anybody remember those little peach figurines from the '80s called M.U.S.C.L.E.S.? Apparently, they were quite popular. I didn't know that then ... If I was so lucky during our family trips to Shopko, I sometimes convinced my parents to buy me a pack of these little creatures. Then I'd come home and set up my own WWF mat on a cardboard box flipped with its bottom up. I accumulated almost two dozen of the figurines ... the memories came rushing back recently when I found the little shoebox deep in a larger box of childhood items. And I found this site ( and this site) as I tried to figure out what the heck the things were so I could put them on eBay ... (...by the way, a new edition of 'I Love the '80s' starts on VH1 next Monday! Woo Hoo!)