Toney and I have been eligible to upgrade our phones for a month or so, and Verizon is bombarding us with “reminders.” I think we’re going to take the plunge in the next couple of weeks and, as usual, I’m hemming and hawing.
We can get a pair of Droid Razr phones for $150, which is a hell of deal. They were $299 each a couple of months ago. But I didn’t really like the way it felt in my hand, when I played with one at the store. It was so big and flat, it reminded me of a graham cracker. But I’m willing to give it a second look. Do you have the new Droid Razr? What’s your opinion?
Amazon is also offering the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for $99, which is a great price. It costs $299 at Verizon.
And, of course, there’s the iPhone, which continues to tempt me. It’s all very confusing… I’ll have to live with whatever I choose, for two years. And that’s a long time, when it comes to gadgetry. So, I always have a difficult time getting out of the can’t decide phase, when upgrade time gets here.
Do you have any strong opinions about the current Verizon smartphones? Please help confuse me further, won’t you? Use the comments link below.
Toney put a block of dark chocolate in my lunch on Valentine’s Day. It was some sort of fanciness (long gone, of course), with big grains of sea salt mixed-in. It was unusual, and I liked it. I’d never had chocolate with sea salt in it before, but I’m craving more as I type this. Good stuff.
I used to hate dark chocolate, but now I love it. And I can’t really think of too many foods that I changed my opinion about, so drastically.
Oh, I could probably list Long Island Iced Tea. But I never really “loved” them, I just drank ’em to accelerate the get-drunk process. I do, however, hate them now. Just the smell of one makes my stomach churn. But that’s because I got shitfaced on the evil things one night in 1983, or thereabouts, and vomited myself inside-out at a carnival. Almost 30 years later, it still sits high atop the ‘no fukkin way’ list.
Do you have any food or drink that you’ve dramatically changed your opinion about, through the years? We’ll need to know about it. Especially the non-alcohol items.
And I remembered something from the deep recesses of my Long Island Iced Tea-ravaged brain last night, which I hadn’t thought about in decades. If you’ve worked retail (and who hasn’t?) did you ever encounter a quick-change scammer?
You know what I’m talking about, right? Some guy — always a guy — buys a small item with a twenty or a fifty, and immediately starts having second and third thoughts about how he wants his change dispensed. In no time the cashier is confused as shit, and usually ends up giving the guy an extra ten or twenty bucks.
I think I fell for it once, but had it attempted on me multiple times. I hate to be outsmarted in those kinds of situations, and refused to allow it to happen a second time. I always recognized what was going on, and would frustrate them by paying close attention. That’s usually all it takes.
One time, however, at a convenience store in Dunbar, I encountered a real pro. He looked like 2Pac, and was the best I’d ever seen. I ended up closing the cash register and threatening to call the cops. He just smirked at me, and walked out. I’m fairly certain he didn’t get any extra money, but he was good, real good. I think I might have saved myself by refusing to do battle. A man needs to know his limitations…
Do you know what I’m talking about here? Have you ever had someone attempt this scam on you? Usually it just requires a bit of concentration to block, but a professional will flat-out mess with your mind.
And I was talking with a woman at work recently, and she told me about a baby shower she’d attended the previous weekend. She said they played a game in which five disposable diapers were passed around, with a candy bar melted into each. And they were supposed to guess the bar, for fun and prizes.
She said people were putting their whole faces into the diapers, and taking deep whiffs. Supposedly the ones with peanuts almost made her barf, and she was only able to correctly identify one: Kit Kat. “Because of the wafer.” She was appalled by the whole thing, and was reportedly sick to her stomach for an hour afterward. Heh.
And I’m going to call it a day, my friends. I’m struggling with this one… I can’t form no sentences too good. Sheesh.
See ya next time, whenever that happens to be.
Have a great day!
Now playing in the bunker
Buy Jeff a beer, he requires a beer
I get a lot of “Internal Server Error” screens now when I come the the Surf Report.
Anybody else getting these?
It happened to me yesterday, just before the update was posted. I chalked it up to the server being busy getting ready to share the hilarity. Or maybe the server was just kickin’ back, reflecting on the ugly breakups it’s had. I’m not sure how those things work.
I’d say go with an Android phone by HTC, but that’s just my opinion. Take it for what it’s worth.
My neighbor just changed from the Motorola droid to the iPhone 4s, he seems to like it fine, I like asking Siri stupid questions. He is still debating whether or not it’s worth all the fuss. Lots of help in there, your welcome.
I may be the only person who hasn’t worked retail.
Ice, no drips, no runs, no server errors that I’ve seen.
If your current phone works, keep it until it no longer suits your needs.
You are either in the cult or you are not. Get the iphone.
Babies, and their showers, are gross.
I still have the 99 cents with two year contract phone i got 4 years ago. I’m not even on any plan anymore.
I have it so that i am on a month-to-month non-releasable (they can’ release me) non-changable (they can’t change the terms of contract) contract. It stays that way until I get a new phone. Then i have to fall under whatever the current rules and prices are.
I think i heard that Apple was suing Samsung because of the Galaxy, so mebbee go with he 800 lb gorilla and get the iPhone.
Until i was 25 the thought of sushi made me want to ralph, now i love the shit!
Opinion stated previously about the iphone.
Sushi, same thing. I was 30. I don’t love it, but I kind of love it. Pachinko’s and Sushi Neko in OKC are top god damn notch.
And Pachinko’s has a waiter (is run by?) named Ezra. Ahh waaa how! And it’s gooood….
Here in the Pac NW most of the sushi chefs are…. Messican!! go figure
Sushi joints here in NoVa are all run by Koreans.
As far as I can tell, all restaurants have Spanish dudes cooking.
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I hated liver as a kid, I also hated onions except for fried onion rings. Now liver-n-onions is a favorite.
ME TOO! i get made fun of alot
My tastes are changing as I get older. I’m actually losing my taste for…… bacon. Yeah, I know. That’s sick and twisted and I’m looking for a support group.
I’ve also lost my taste for pussy. Ever since I watched my boys come out of that thing…….. ick.
As someone that works cell phone retail (and has for the last 4 years) I can tell you that our service rates on HTC devices are higher than most at about 8%, Motorolas (at least for us) run about 4%, and Iphones run around 3%. Get an Otterbox case and it doesn’t matter what the phone is, the only defect you’ll have is manufacturer or software, because the otterbox protects it like none other. If you buy the Iphone, be sure and get the Applecare on it, as it’s well worth it. And yes, I’ve dealt with a quick change scammer–typically they get pissed off when they have to deal with our two hands system–Anything in or out of the drawer goes through two people’s hands.
Yes, worked in retail…no “flim-flam” ever played on me. Those guys can really get you fubar’d to get a few bucks.
Tequilla…never never never again. Since 1980-something
Tequila is at the top of my list as well, bikerchick. Also from the same time frame.
Just thinking about it makes me salivate….
Sambuca here. Jeeeezuz.
Also, after one memorable night not too long ago, Absinthe. Whoa. As a committed drinker, even that one slayed me.
Yep…Tequilla makes me gag even if I just smell it. I love Long Island Iced Tea’s….but gotta leave the Tequilla out. You could use turds as ice cubes and I’d still smell it. Ever since I found myself behind Blue Lou’s/Mario’s (South Side, Pgh) back alley, barfin into their dumpster after doing Tequilla shooters…I haven’t had that shit since. That was back around 1985/86. Putrid.
Before I read any further.
I love my galaxy nexus.
The girl loves her razr.
We bought both like the thursday or friday after christmas. (Paid it off today).
Fuck the iphone. Everyone in OKC has one and everyone loses it and/or their screens are cracked. The data plan sucks and the insurance is more. Fuck the iphone.
My galaxy is tits. I got the otterbox for it and I can chuck it at a hobo and it’ll be no worse for wear.
Apple can isuck my icock.
MY, MY, YOU DON’T SAY!
Truly and dearly.
I wonder why they even bother to put the word “phone” in any cell devices anymore. Actually talking on these things is about 6th in the pecking order of things you can do. I’m waiting for the ones that can tie my shoes in the morning.
Too funny…
I was in the Verizon store in South Pasadena, California on Saturday to upgrade the wife’s phone and mine. She went with the Droid 4 and loves it. I went with the iPhone 4S and love it. We both had BlackBerries before.
The funny part is that while I was waiting for the wife to decide, our Youngling and I set every phone and Tablet to the WVSR website. We were just cracking up.
People who came in while we were activating the phones actually were reading and commenting on the website. My wife just rolled her eyes at us as we were laughing it up. Serves her right for taking so long to decide.
Chocolate with Sea Salt is awesome!!! Just saying…
I’ve been allergic to beans since i was a kid. Bad allergic like throat swelling allergic. So I’ve basically avoided the legume family my whole life. About a year ago, Beloved was whaling into some red pepper hummus that looked so good, I was ready to sell my soul to the devil for a taste. I made sure I had Benadryl in the house and tentatively put a cracker full to my awaiting pie hole with no ill effects. Obvoulsy, I’m still here and Beloved didn’t need to perform an emergency trache with a broken beer bottle, some garden hose and fishing line.
Still and never will eat egg salad, thanks to a merciless nun at Sts. Peter and Paul Elementary school.
My cell phone is so old, it could be in the Smithsonian. Beloved got the Photon. Both are on my plan through work and I pay a ridiculously low rate. I sit at a computer all day near a phone or I work from home with a landline. I truly don’t need anything more than a “Hello? Employer? I’m stuck in traffic” cellphone. I know I’m an old fuck but I can’t fathom the novelty of yapping on a phone whilst grocery shopping or pumping gas or plunging the toilet.
amen to the phone thing. I can make calls, text, and take crappy pictures. That’s Star Trek enough for me.
I have been using the iStapler since late last year, and am very happy with it.
I’ve been using iBalls for years.
A girl in the office has iTits. Wowsa!!!
Oh, and when I worked in McDonald’s I had a “Slick Willy” con me out of a $20. This was during that stupid,fucking “I Can Go 60 MPH (Meals Per Hour)” campaign. The manager at the time stood there watching it happen and got in my face when my drawer came up short $20. Hello? Asshole? Why didn’t you say anything when you saw a 16 year old greasepit monkey getting conned?
I got a slightly used iBridge I can sell you?
Oh, and unrelated topic.
Reds 10 game ticket packs are starting at $130 in the bleachers and that includes opening day and night. I’m going, who else is in?
Also,
This weekend in Dallas, Slobberbone anyone? Barley House.
I give your comment the Andrew Jackson look.
Would that be the Red Legs??
Yup. Andrew jackson can snork it
Old Hickory is still worth 20 dollars to me. Which was a princely sum, back in the day.
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Bunker Cam is extra disturbing today. Thanks Jeff.
I had someone try the quickchange on me once, and I took him for $10 bucks before I pretended to just catch on, and start to holler about calling the cops and he took off. One of my finer moments.
I would suggest that you use the money you’d be spending on a phone and purchase a tablet with both WiFi and 3G (or 4G if available). Since I got my first iPad a year or so ago I haven’t used my Droid X for much other than making phone calls, and I find that the iPad (or any tablet, for that matter) is much easier for reading email, looking at/sharing pictures, surfing the interwebs, looking for traffic info on maps, etc. And the 64GB version holds all of my music.
That’s my 2 cents. Or has it gone up to a nickle?
I don’t want a nickle
I just want to ride on my motorcycel
exceptin’ Alice
Dude…
FYI…
https://guthriecenter.org/
I see there’s a Historic Garbage Trail Walk on May 22.
jtb
Lots of traditional entertainments. At least once a year, this lady plays there. She can burn down the house…
http://www.roryblock.com/
jtb
I still miss Ruby Starr. Don’t judge her from the Black Oak Arkansas stuff.
RORY! Loved her back in the day (10 years ago). I’ve not sought her out since – does she still rock?
That, my friend, is good stuff. It brings back fond memories of my time in college in New England. I still get tinges of liberalness from time to time (mostly when the alumni magazine arrives), but I get over it. Quickly.
Re: the walk: I wonder if they have an honorary placer-of-the-envelope-at-the-bottom-of-the-garbage-pile. Seems like that would garner quite a donation.
Rory Block made me forget about Kathy Valentine. For a minute. I look forward to hearing her music.
Thanks, jtb.
-Dude
I smoked a joint with him years ago. Sitting on a front porch at a party in Littleton, Mass. We had a great time. Ate everything in site…
I don’t want to die…
i just want to ride on my motorcy
cle
Dark chocolate with sea salt makes life worth living. I discovered it in Chapel Hill at Southern Seasons about 3 years ago. YUM!
My favorite, as well. Can’t get it here, so I’m bringing home a case when I come to the US in April!
Sea salt chocolate is sooooooo amazing!! Trader Joe’s has a sea salt dark chocolate filled with caramel; it is delightful. It is supposedly in 8 squares but they don’t break properly so you have to eat all of it. That’s my story and I am sticking to it.
I used to hate bleu cheese, just detest, despise and now I think its delicious.
bleu cheese can be a little harsh, but paired with the right burger or what not it is goodsies.
Bleu cheese is also good when you dab a little goober of it on a dried apricot. You know, for snackin.
I’m easily amused.
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My friend’s mother loves to host the baby showers in the group. (Although there haven’t been many; none from me!)
Her special game is creating these small diapers out of cloth that you pin to each guest as they come in. Inside is a small dot of mustard that, once folded, smears into a yellow-diarrhea stain inside the cloth. At some point during the shower she will announce everyone needs to check their diapers. The person wearing the empty diaper wins a prize. But usually everyone stares in shock trying to identify the mess inside the small cloths they don’t care about the prize. She said she loves to use Dijon mustard the best because of the small red/brown flecks in the mustard. Adds that extra oomph.
Bleah.
Am I just not paying attention or has Brit vanished? Run off with Buck and AWG mayhaps?
What about the guy that always just spurted? Jimmy Khune?
Jimmy Kuhn. RIP.
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I have an htc Droid and I love it. I’ve played around with my friends’ iPhones, but I wouldn’t switch.
I hate playing games at showers. Give me some good cake and I’ll bring a present. Don’t make me look in diapers or taste baby food. Okay, I take that back, I have seen one pretty good gag at a shower. Someone writes down what expecting mom says as she opens the gifts, and then reads them back saying they are quotes from the moment of conception, “Oh, it’s so sweet and pink!” “It’s so little!”
My phone is a Last Year’s Model HTC Evo Shift, so I’ll be no help with that question. I will say that the touchscreen is, for me, way too easy to fat-finger. And the calibration procedure is completely retarded.
As a kid I hated butter, preferring margarine. As an adult, it’s rotated 180 from that. But I’ve always preferred dark chocolate to the milk kind, even as a child. That stuff with the sea salt is awesomely good.
So far I have never had to work retail, thank bloody Bog. I have zero interest in dealing with the general public.
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Jeff, I got a Pantech Breakout for $50 bucks 2 weeks ago. I am still learning how to use it, but it a great deal from Verizon. Roger
When I was little I thought potato salad looked and smelled like something from the devil’s bunghole. Now I quite like it.
I agree about the dark chocolate – it’s a clear preference these days. I’ve never heard of it with sea-salt. So many good reviews here I’d like to try it.
I got taken by one of those quick-change guys while working in a concession stand years ago. I only realized what had happened as the smirking bastard walked away with his extra ten (or was it a twenty?).
I used to LOVE watermellon. Once when I was around 7 or 8, we went to the Illinois state fair, I ate a huge piece of it, then we sat in the sun on a 90 degree day – watching a rodeo for a few hours. I got sick as hell, ended up in the infirmary. (who knows it may have been the heat, or more likely bacteria from a vendor not practicing good sanitation).
Anyway, to this day – and I’m 52 years old, the SMELL of watermellon makes me gag and nearly vomit.
Maybe I should get hypnotized to get over this psychosomatic reaction.
I have an iphone. I’m out of work so I’m using an old used one that a friend loaned me. Because….
My first iphone (that my last boss bought – and gave to me when I was laid off) lasted exactly 2 years and 21 days. I’ve been told by apple employees that the batteries are rated for 300 charges. WTF? if you use it heavily you need to charge the fucker once a day.
As a salesman who was on the phone constantly, there were times when i’d get less than a full work day’s use out of the POS before it’d go dead.
Planned obsolescence I’d say. your battery craps out after 2 years, just at the end of contract. What to do – go back and get a new phone and new contract! Great business model, but keep me out of it.
I’ll take an Android, or an 80’s Motorola Brick phone, even something Fred Fuckin Flintstone used to use over this POS as soon as I have some money and can get a new one and a new contract.
I won’t eat white dip.
or potato salad
or cottage cheese
or cream cheese
or head cheese
but I only like white (or light yellow) cheese – like swiss
Iis obvious that I have issues.
Allow me to recommend Gruyere and Comte – these are similar to swiss, but with a stronger flavor, almost nut-like. Or before going that far, try a good Emmentaler, which is the real Swiss. All of these fall in the “light yellow” category and have a swiss-like texture.
And what’s wrong with white dip? Just because it looks like semen – wait, I think I just answered my own question.
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Good Evening/Almost Morning Surf Reporters.
In the ‘never again category’, taco’s(or other authentic Mexican food) from Hank’s. They serve ice cream and custard on the other side.
Mind you I was 5 or 6 at the time, and Mom decided we would go. I was psyched. ..until I spewed entire contents of just eaten feast all over the inside of the car.
I’ll leave you to the rest.
I have tried and tried to fall in love with dark chocolate, and, instead, keep falling in love with women with lawyers. And I’m still eating milk chocolate. Can I learn nothing?
jtb
When it comes to milk chocolate, it might as well be crack (too soon, Whitney…?) for me. I’ll eat it until It’s gone.
Dark chocolate I eat for the same reason a wino will drink lysol. It has a key incredient but I’m not crazy about the total package. That key ingredient btw is I believe called OH MY GOD YUM!!!
What about women lawyers? Perhaps the dude can set you up with a colleague? …Women lawyers who love chocolate…
I’m tempted to ask jtb if he’s African American, on account of the last line, but I think I’ll stay away from that.
Never worked retail. As for cellphone, I use a four year old LG touchscreen that was my son’s. I switched to it when he got his first Droid. Works great, really holds a charge and has everything I need.
I had to threaten to quit Verizon when i switched to this from my old ENV3 because they said I HAD to get a data plan. Never use or plan on using data on my phone since i would never get anything done. Once they realized they would lose the account with 5 phones on it, they relented.
My wife was due for an upgrade recently and since she also doesn’t want data plan, the choices for new phones was crap. I think she had three choices and each of them looked like a phone from 10 years ago.
As a kid, I wouldn’t eat anything that a green pepper had touched. One small slice of green pepper on a pizza was enough for me to taste it and pass on it. And I love pizza. Then I started working in a restaurant when I was 18 and that really helped to expand my tastes. Now, I consider green peppers an essential ingredient in a good pizza and also include them in salads and stir fry’s.
I don’t see the appeal to dark chocolate. I’ll eat it but my preference by far, is white chocolate.
I love home-made chip/ veggie dip made from sour cream but I don’t like sour cream on anything else. I don’t hate it enough to remove it from a fast food taco, for example, but I’d prefer mayo on a baked potato or a taco.
No comment on the cell phone. I’ve had my Sanyo flip phone for 6+ years, it doesn’t even have a camera. It is pay-as-I-go, works great as a phone, costs $35 every 75 days and has free texting.
the dark/white chocolate thing sounds a bit racial to me!
Hmmm… do you prefer black bread, or white? Think carefully.
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I prefer brown bread.
I use a Android Optimus v. I love this phone the battery life kinda sucks but,other than that it’s the tits. And it only costs me 55 bucks a month for unlimited talk,text,data,pic messages etc through Virgin mobile i highly reccomend it.
I can’t drink Nyquil any more. I used to drink two bottles a day with a few pills and I would shit green for a week. Can’t even smell it now
Jeff, i finally made the switch back to an iPhone after trying a droid for a couple years. I think you’ll dig the new 4s
Wait… “Johnny Virgil”? This is a Kevin Gilbert reference, so it is. And a rather obscure one at that.
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I may be the only one who isn’t an iPhone fan. My husband and I both upgraded last month, and we BOTH feel like it’s a little…much. Now we’re stuck with them for a year, until our contracts expire. I plan to downgrade to a generic phone at that time. I do, however, second the Applecare package. It’s about $100/per phone, though.
I have lost my taste for pizza these days. Too much grease, I guess.
I stopped drinking all together years ago. I’ve pretty much run out of things to throw up.
I have to pick out a new phone as my old Samsung has this problem where if you talk on it for more than five minutes it causes enough heat to provide secondary burns.
I like the features of the iPhone 4 ,the hubby has one, but I don’t know if I will use it enough to worry about it’s data plan. I flat out will be likely to waste money on not playing with my phone enough.
I have a weird food dislike, apparently I used to stand by the refrigerator and knock my sippy cup on it warbling “Cheeze Cheeze” in my weirdly low Miles Davis baby voice. Now, I can’t stand the stuff in most of it’s forms, no cheese, so sour cream, no creme fraiche, no cream cheese so no cheese cake (gags), the only thing cultured I eat is yogurt which I quite enjoy. The only oddities to this are Cheetos and occasionally really overcooked frozen pizza, the cheaper the better. I can occasionally drink milk but it upsets my stomach, which upsets anyone in a fifty yard radius.
I am such a weird little princess.