Hi!

If you happened to get to this blog by finding an iPhone in a Vegas cab, please email me:

truthaboutmike (at) gmail.com

To my regular readers: I’ll be back with a post about the weekend soon.

Thoughts running through my head while I was underwhelmed by Slumdog Millionaire….

It’s time.

I’ve decided to upgrade to a smartphone. I am pretty much down to two finalists: the Apple iPhone 3G and the Blackberry Storm. Both are touch-screen, web-browsing “internet communications devices” that hopefully will make my life easier. I have done a lot (!) of reading lately on these phones and have been asking everyone I know who owns them their opinions. Also, I’ve had hands-on time with both phones in a non-store setting because many of my cousins own iPhones and my cousin Leslie has a Storm. At this point, I’m probably more confused than ever.

The Apple iPhone (pictured above with E.T.) is the best selling mobile phone on the market. It has revolutionized what a cell phone is and is a glimpse at the future of what all cell phones will be. As my friend Mike (a new iPhone owner – Merry Christmas!) says, it has replaced his PC, laptop, mp3 player, digital camera and his Sirius radio. Through iTunes, iPhone owners have access to a myriad of applications that enhance the iPhone experience. It seems like everyone who owns an iPhone instantly becomes enamored with it and becomes very defensive and reverent when speaking about it.  I posted my conundrum as my Facebook status and almost instantaneously, the iPhone gestapo chimed in.  I’ve even heard that the iPhone “changes lives” (I’ve heard this twice, actually).

The Storm is Blackberry’s touch-screen smartphone offering. Compared to the iPhone, it has a better display, better camera (3.2 megapixel with flash as opposed to 2 megapixel with no flash for the iPhone), takes video, runs multiple applications at once and allows “cut and paste” for text. Unlike the iPhone, the Storm is not WiFi compatible. One downside to the Storm is that it is a first generation product. Many of the reviews I have read complain about the bugs that have plagued new Storm owners. I’m not really concerned with this because with any new device there are bound to be problems. Blackberry is known for not skimping on hardware, so I’m sure with updates the Storm will be just fine.

All things being equal, I’d choose the iPhone without hesitation. Who wouldn’t want a mobile device that “changes lives,” right? The rub lies in that the iPhone is only offered through AT&T and the Storm is only offered through Verizon. Currently, I am on Verizon and am very happy with it. My brother and mother are Verizon customers and we can talk on the phone at anytime without worrying about minutes. My last mobile carrier was AT&T and (for me) Verizon’s reception/service has been noticeably better in the Boston area than AT&T.

The irony that lies within all of this is that I hardly ever talk on the phone anymore. I don’t know when it happened, but I have become very averse to making phone calls. I actually wished I called people more and used to be a chatty Cathy. These days, I’d much rather communicate via text/email/IM/twitter/facebook than actually dialing the phone.

Interestingly enough (as Mike once mentioned), while people have become more and more connected (with the increase in popularity of Web 2.0), the interaction has become more and more impersonal. These days you can simply text someone to wish them a happy birthday or email (future blog alert – the worst form of communication ever) someone your thoughts rather than calling them or sending them a card. While the “new” forms of communication are cheaper and faster than ever, nuance and non-verbal expression have been lost and misunderstandings have increased.

I’ll keep you guys posted on which phone I ultimately decide on (I’m sure you’ll be waiting with baited breath). My mind has been changing (what seems like) on the hour.

Meanwhile, you can enjoy this picture I took during my cross-Commonwealth journey in the car yesterday. I couldn’t believe I saw one of these and had to snap a picture of it:

Last night, I had to go to Manchester Airport to pick up my cousin Gail. She is from L.A. and is here visiting for the weekend. I don’t think I’ve been to the Manchester Airport in like 3-4 years. As I do whenever I am heading to an unfamiliar place, I fired up my handy-dandy GPS. I’ve become so dependent on this thing that I always stop people from giving me directions and just ask for the address.

GPS, or Global Positioning System has to be one the best inventions we’ve seen in a long while. I consider myself as someone who has a really good sense of direction. Before I got my GPS, all I needed to do was quickly skim directions I could get where I was going. Even with my acute sense of direction, I still highly recommend one. All you need is a car and an address along with your GPS and you can get anywhere without stress (I should write jingles for commercials).  The best example of how great GPS units are is my stubborn co-worker Dan.  Dan went from “Why the hell would I need one of those” to GPS advocate in precisely one trip to the Gibbet Hill Grill.

Many GPS units have POI’s (points of interest) that you can choose from to find your destination. Surprisingly, the Manchester Airport did not show up in my GPS. I’ve had a GPS for about a year, and this was the first time something like this had ever happened. Strangely enough, smaller airports like Hanscom Field showed up. Luckily, I remembered the address and plugged it in.

As I made the 40 minute drive northward, I began to worry. If the airport wasn’t in the GPS, did it really exist? What would happen when I arrived? Would it just be a blank space of emptiness where the airport should be? Would I arrive at the confluence of the space/time/GPS continuum? Would Gail’s plane just crash into an open field? Luckily, the airport did exist and there was a runway for the Southwest Airlines flight to land on.

As an aside, the Manchester Airport at 9pm on a Wednesday night is like a ghost town. There was only one other car picking someone up. I felt like an intruder on an empty movie set and I literally felt like I was in Dayton (home to the world’s quietest airport). The best thing about the Manchester Airport is that there is an indoor shooting range within about a mile of the airport (Live free or die!). Even though Sundays and Wednesdays are “ladies night” at the range, there is something very wrong about this. If nothing else, Manchester has the closest airport-to-indoor-shooting-range proximity in the nation.

If you’re having trouble thinking of a Christmas holiday (grrrr) present for that certain someone, get them a GPS. They literally improve your quality of life. I wish there was a way to add up all the minutes (hours?) people have saved by using GPS units. I bet the total would be mind-boggling and each day it continues to grow.

In sum:

1) GPS units=good

2) Manchester Airport=good place for target practice

That is the question.

Sitting on Route 128, broken down in the breakdown lane, many thoughts can go through one’s head:

How long will I have to wait for the tow truck? Is this safe? Is the $63 I just invested in AAA going to be worth it? Is a cop going to show up? Is “Secret Millionare” on Fox going to be a good show?

For me, the thought was:

Should I finally bite the bullet and get HD?

It seems like I am one of the few remaining souls that doesn’t have HD. I’ve heard the testimonials (“life changer,” how much people love it, etc.) and I’ve seen the difference. It’s there, I will admit it. While deeply and longingly staring into Michele and Sanjiv’s multiple flatscreens over Thanksgiving, the HD bug hit me for the first time. The Black Friday madness was also fuel on the “I need HD” fire.

Easy fix, right?

Not so fast. I have an HD dilemma. It’s not the cost; HDTVs are pretty reasonable these days. A few weeks ago, I wrote about my love for NFL Sunday Ticket. Even though I am at most of the Patriots games, it is still worth it. I love being able to watch any NFL game, as NFLST provides. After closing on my house, the first thing I bought was a satellite setup.

Here’s the problem: NFL Sunday Ticket is only offered from DirecTV. Although DirecTV offers HD, I can’t get it. The trees behind my house are too tall for me to pickup the HD signal (it is too low in the sky). There are some other reasons to remain status quo. “Friday Night Lights” is only offered on DirecTV. Also, I love my TiVo box. As anyone who has TiVO can attest, it is better than having a regular DVR.

So, it is a new life with HD or my old life with Minka, unlimited access to NFL games, and my TiVO box. In the grand scheme of a faltering economy and uncertain times, this is a conundrum of epic proportions.

Quick back story: I did break down on the way home from work Tuesday night. I did sign up for AAA and got my car towed to my local garage. As an aside, I always miss my car when it is in the shop. I am always so happy to see it when I pick it up. But, I digress. Everything is fine. My car got fixed today, but my dilemma remains.

Stay tuned. Getting HD might be my new year’s resolution.

I don’t get drunk that often, but when I do it really isn’t pretty. I blame this weekend’s debauchery on my cousin Leslie’s poor communication skills. She’s off in St. Lucia for 10 days on her honeymoon, so I can point the finger at her without much repercussion. I blame her because she never told me that her wedding was open bar. For some reason, I thought it was only open bar during the cocktail hour. With gas nearing $4 a gallon and a barrel of oil nearing $130, I figured it would be a good idea to take advantage of the free drinks during the first hour. It was only at the end of said hour that someone informed me that it was open bar all night. Good times.

You know you’re heading to the wedding bar too often when the bartender knows your drink of choice 35 minutes after the start of the reception. In wedding lore, this equates to a one-way ticket to a kneeler in front of the porcelain altar sometime in the near future. You also know you’ve drank too much at a wedding when:

- You get looks of disgust from family members you haven’t seen in months.

- You ask your brother the next day if you were too obnoxious at the wedding and he responds by saying that he’s never seen you drink that much before.

- You’re 35 years old and your mother has to drive you home from the wedding.

(Yes, I am a loser. I know this.)

- You’re trading emails with a relative about the wedding, and she asks you if you remember something she said during the reception.

- You wake up the next morning in your suit. Necktie on.

- You look at the “sent messages” in your cell phone the next morning and feelings of shame and regret overtake you.

I’ll share one of my infamous drunk texts from the evening with you. One. I was IMing my friend Z (also known as Reverend Brown in the comment sections here) after the wedding and I was talking about how much I drank. He responds by saying, “Oh, that explains the text message you sent telling me you loved me.” Good times.

My friend’s father has one of those breathalyzer things in his car. He can’t start it unless his blood-alcohol level is low enough. I need one of those things – on my cell phone! Drunk texting is the new drunk dialing. The worst part about it is, you need some semblance of courage to drunk dial. Even though you are drunk, the thought still crosses your head that you have to actually speak. In a text message, you can say more than you ever would in a phone call. Add text messaging to the words “open bar” and it equals a post-wedding Sunday full of embarrassment, shame and regret. Good times.

I’m either inventing the cell-phone breathalyzer or paying someone a good chunk of change to get this done to my phone. If you ever come across a guy blowing into his cell phone before he can use it, that will be me. Feel free to approach and mock at your leisure.

Good times.

I am missing life because I am too busy text messaging.

It’s true. A few weeks ago, I checked my Verizon bill online. It told me that for my last billing period, I had 1290 texts. 1290! That is an average of about 43 per day. There are teenage girls at the Marshall Simonds Middle School here in Pleasantville that would kill for that number.

Honestly, I don’t blame myself. Texting might be the most effective method of conveying messages on the planet. It’s quick, to the point, and there’s no uncomfortable silence. I also think it is a more courteous way to communicate because you give your recipient as much time as they need to respond. Furthermore, it is great for places where you can’t use the phone (work, sporting events, movies, church, while driving, etc.). I used to say that I’d rather email someone than call them. Now, text messaging has taken over as my current modus operandi of communicating.

My only problem with texting is the abbreviations. Text messaging is turning us into a nation of lazy, idiotic-sounding people. As a “word-nerd,” I’m really not a fan of some of the abbvs. Admittedly, my phone has a full keyboard (QWERTY!). I realize that most don’t and abbvs. save both time and hassle. My thoughts are that if you’re only saving one or two letters, abbvs. aren’t really worth it. I know I am opening myself up to a slew of unfunny texts by saying this, but here’s some stuff that really irks me:

ur – is it really that hard to type two more letters?
b/c – totally annoying in emails and texts
nu – for “new” – are you kidding me? Seriously?? You’re saving one letter!!!
ppl – for “people” – totally lame

So, dear members of Sexual Chocolate nation, please think twice before abbreviating on that next text message. The fate of the entire English-speaking world depends on it.

ttyl