FlasshePoint

Life, Minutiae, Toys, Irrational Phobias, Peeves, Fiber

Why I Stay In Bed

Posted on | June 14, 2008 at 10:33 am | Comments Off

The WhitsundayseMusic Find of the Day: The Whitsundays’ self-titled debut album. If Americans can do BritPop, I guess Canadians should be allowed to also. This is a pleasant little slice of neo-retro light psychedelic pop that goes down very easily. Love the organ sounds. If one song (”Falling Over”) has a guitar riff that heavily brings to mind the vocal melody of Blondie’s “Call Me”, they can be forgiven since the rest of the song doesn’t sound anything like it. Some of the songs are a bit too mid-tempo or slow for me (”I Want It All”), but they have a lot of atmosphere and the bubblier songs make up for it. The penultimate song “Bring It On Home” goes on too long, and along with the needless instrumental closing the album, it sours me a bit on the album experience as a whole. But up until that point, it’s a good short thrill ride. The band reminds me somewhat of Cinerama (one of my favorite bands) but with fewer songs about adultery. Try out: “The Ways Of The Sweet Talking Boys”, “Antisocial”, “Loralee”, “Falling Over”.

Latre.

iPhonies

Posted on | June 13, 2008 at 8:02 am | 6 Comments

I promise this is my last iPhone-related entry for awhile. Maybe.

I’m a dork. I admit it. I’m heading quickly down that road to my fifth decade, and though I still have that desire to appear “hip” and “with-it”, the flesh is willing but the spirit is weak. I have to keep my cell phone with me at all times, for various reasons. I know that you’re not supposed to wear your cell phone on your belt. Only people who are so out-of-touch with human society do such a thing. I tried for several months to keep my iPhone in my pants pocket, but it just wasn’t working. It’s small enough and light enough to fit okay in most pants, although not nearly as well as my old RAZR did. But in my work khaki’s, it just dangles and flops around too willy-nilly, like I’m packing some serious mojo in my trousers. It also bangs up against the stuff in my pocket, some of which is metallic, and I’m afraid the thing will get scratched or damaged. And it takes up too much room in the tighter-fitting jeans, which became uncomfortable when sitting down and all. But worst of all, it’s really hard to remove the phone from my pocket when driving. (Yes, I know one shouldn’t use one’s cell phone when driving, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. I do try to limit myself.)

Holster up! (Click to enlarge)
So, I finally decided to look into getting a case I could hang on my belt. I settled on the Belkin iPhone Slim-Fit Case, which I really like. The major complaint from the Amazon reviewers seems to be that the case is too snug and it’s too hard to get the iPhone out quickly. These people are insane. I’ve had no trouble with that at all, even when I first got it before it stretched out some. I’ve been using it for a month or so now, and it hasn’t started to come apart or anything like other reviewers mentioned. It protects the phone well and isn’t too obtrusive. And in a pinch, I can throw the whole thing in my pocket, phone and case (it’s very slim and lightweight), so I can get back to that hipster look if I’m in a Belmar art gallery or whatever. That’s what I plan on doing when N and I go see the Sex And The City movie.

Latre.

Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “music with feet”.

Runner-Up Search Term: “happy toast tower”.

3G Or Not 3G?

Posted on | June 12, 2008 at 7:08 pm | 2 Comments

In this recent post, I was wondering what Apple’s policy was going to be on upgrading to the new 3G iPhone ($200) for existing iPhone customers. Well, according to this, it’s not that great (surprise). Looks like I’ll be able to buy one of the new phones for the same price as existing customers, without having to wait for my contract to expire. But in addition to paying that same price, I’d also have to upgrade to the new data plan (an extra $10 a month), I’d have to do a new 2-year contract, and I don’t get any credit for my existing iPhone. At least I would get to keep it and I’d be free to sell it to someone else, but I doubt I’d get anything close to the original $400 I spent on it a couple of months ago. Those things will probably be a dime a dozen, especially since people will be able to buy brand new faster ones for half that price. Thanks, Steve!

I know that (as InfK mentioned in the comments to the post above) that I’ll still be able to upgrade the firmware on the old iPhone to the new firmware, which will give me a lot of the functionality of the new ones. That includes the ability to run third-party apps, which I’m really looking forward to. And I’m assuming they’re not going to suddenly start charging me the extra $10 for the data plan if I stick with the old one. However, the faster 3G data speed is very enticing, even though I know that coverage is somewhat more limited than the slower EDGE network I’m using now (3G is available at my work and home, according to the coverage map).

So, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. As InfK reminded me, I knew this was going to be an issue yet I bought the thing anyway. I do know I always have to have the latest and greatest. And most importantly, I need that flush headphone jack.

Latre.

Pet Peeve of the Day: I finally got around to watching my Netflix-rented BluRay disc of Michael Clayton last night – the next in my series of “catch up with last year’s Oscar nominees” movies. Unfortunately, with 11 minutes left in the movie, the disc froze and I couldn’t watch anything beyond that point. It seemed to be a problem with the disc rather than the player. The movie worked fine up until that point, even when I started it over. And I’ve played plenty of other BR discs on the PS3 with no problem. It was especially vexing since it was just getting into the big dramatic climax of the movie, with ¡The Jestaplero! George Clooney facing off against Tilda Swinton. I was screaming at the TV. I needed to see the ending! Oh well, Netflix is sending me a replacement, which should get here tomorrow. Hopefully that one will play all the way through.

Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “sticky stuff coming from buttocks”. (I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. I’m really disturbed that such a phrase points to my blog, however.)

Whatever

Posted on | June 11, 2008 at 10:08 pm | 6 Comments

The “What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas” tagline has generated scads of publicity (and a hit movie!) for America’s Sin City. I think every city in America should have a “What Happens” slogan. Let’s start with Colorado. This is especially important since Denver will be in the national spotlight in a couple of months when the DNC comes to town.

  • What Happens In Denver Never Gets Mentioned By The Elitist East And West Coast Media (until August!)
  • What Happens In Commerce City Smells All The Way Down To Castle Rock
  • What Happens In Greeley Smells Worse Than Commerce City, But At Least It’s Organic
  • What Happens In Boulder Goes Great With Doritos Brand Tortilla Chips
  • What Happens In Parker Happens At 25mph Or YOU’RE BUSTED, Dude
  • What Happens In Lakewood Goes South On Wadsworth During Rush Hour
  • What Happens In Aurora Happens In A Nondescript Strip Mall
  • What Happens in Central City Takes A Bus Back Down To The Retirement Community
  • What Happens In Ft Collins Hopefully Does Not Involve Farm Animals
  • What Happens In Westminster Happens Without An Extra “i”
  • What Happens In Broomfield Wishes It Had Happened In Boulder
  • What Happens In Pueblo Flees To New Mexico With $600 And A Bottle Of Jack
  • What Happens In Evergreen… Oh Wait, Nothing Happens In Evergreen
  • What Happens In Glendale Can Sometimes Be Successfully Treated With Antibiotics
  • What Happens In LoDo Continues On Colfax After 2am
  • What Happens In Golden… Hey, Don’t Bring Your Shit Into Golden!
  • What Happens In Colorado Springs Is Known Only To You And God

Any more?

Latre.

Yes, I know non-Coloradans won’t get most of these.

Only Outlaws Will Have Tomatoes

Posted on | June 10, 2008 at 9:39 pm | 2 Comments

'matersI’m sure my friend Lisa is happy, but the rest of us are bummed that tomatoes have been banned. (Lisa doesn’t like raw ‘maters.) I just can’t believe it. They are such a staple of my life. I’ve got a quartet of tomatoes-on-the-vine in my fridge, and I know they’re supposed to be safe, but I’m still not sure I want to take the chance. I had take-home Mexican for dinner tonight from a little independent place, and afterwards had the panicked thought “Wait! Were there tomatoes in there?” There weren’t, but for a minute I wasn’t sure. Although there was a little cup of some kind of red sauce, and I did put a little of that on the burrito. Oh no!! That’s all I need – a little salmonella on top of everything else.

Isn’t it enough that I have to worry about cilantro? That sneaks it’s way into a lot of Mexican food, as well as into other cuisines. And don’t even get me started on that hidden killer: celery. And just the other day, I accidentally bit into a donut that had disguised (non-white) coconut on top. Yeah, there’s a lot of food dangers out there just waiting to destroy our palate or our bowels.

Doesn’t it seem like the appropriate outlets took awhile to break this story? The first signs of trouble were a week ago, and I might’ve been eating tomatoes or products made from raw tomatoes (salsa, etc) back then. Although I was in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and there wasn’t a lot of Mexican food to go around there. But what about all that pizza I had? Was any of the tomato sauce on them handmade?

Frankly, I think the FDA is probably overreacting and the problem isn’t as widespread as it seems. But they do have to err on the side of caution.

Everything Is Scary Nowadays.

Latre.

Jogged Today: No – back still hurts but it’s a lot better today.

3G Don’t Mean GGG

Posted on | June 9, 2008 at 9:33 pm | 2 Comments

Pet Peeve of the Day: So, as expected, Apple announced its iPhone 3G today, which goes on sale July 11th. And, as expected, it’s zippier and lighter and oh so much better than those old iPhones. But what I didn’t expect was that the price of the 8GB unit is only $199, which is half of what I paid for a non-3G 8GB unit just a couple of months ago. Do I wish that I had held off? Oh yeah, now I do. I can only hope that they’ll offer some sort of upgrade deal, especially for those of us who have had the old model for such a short time. Yeah, my naiveté astounds even me sometimes.

Other Pet Peeve of the Day: I had recorded the latest episode of The Venture Brothers (the funniest show on TV) last night off the Cartoon Network HD channel and watched it during dinner tonight. However, the show obviously started early and I missed recording the first couple of minutes. I don’t know if that was just on the HD channel or if that happened on the regular one too. Luckily, I was able to catch the parts that I missed on the Internet. The episode was the second one of the third season, and was very good (who doesn’t love Dr Henry Killinger and his Magic Murder Bag?), although not quite as good as last week’s Venture-less season premiere featuring the sordid backstory of The Monarch and Dr Girlfriend. It’s a rare show that can keep the principles offscreen for an entire episode and focus on some supporting characters and still be riotous and interesting. But the Venture Universe contains multitudes and is ever-expanding. Just when I think there’s nothing new to learn about the characters, they surprise me. For a show that’s so full of satire and parody, it’s extremely consistent about sticking to a set of rules within its own established universe, and it takes that responsibility very seriously.

In other wonderments, when did banks stop requiring deposit/withdrawal slips? Did I miss the memo on this? I went to my bank today (actually a shared services center for the credit union I belong to) to get some money from the ATM, but the drive-thru was having dispensing problems. So I went inside, totally missing the ATM in the lobby, and couldn’t find any forms at the customer desk with all the pens. So I got in line. When I asked the teller about it, she said “Yeah, we don’t do that any more. Just give me your info and tell me what you want.” I gotta admit, that does save time. Good thing I have my checking account number memorized. Although I guess I would’ve needed that if I filled out a slip too.

Latre.

Jogged Today: Nope – back is still out.

Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “threw out my back”.

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