RIM's response to the Iphone Droid Circus [From The BlackBerry Chronicles]

Although blackberry is still the number one selling smart phone in America, according to USA Today, sales fell to 41% in the first quarter as opposed 55% last yr. SOOOOOOOOO, what's RIM's response?

The BlackBerry Torch 9800

This is by no means an EVO, Droid, or Iphone killer, but I can't lie.............my love muscle kinda tingled JUST a liiiiiiiiittle bit when I saw and read about it. I'm still reading up on the tech specs which initially seem not AS competitive as the major big guns out there, but I been a fan of BB functionality since the track was a scroll wheel on the right side and everything was either left, right, up down so this is still a huge innovation of previous models. For example, a 5 mp camera is not as impressive when the you have Iphones and Evo that have HD screens and HD camera's. I must say the lack of HD quality is a bit disappointing. Still kinda anxious to see how this new BB 6 operating system works, and the boost in memory, long battery life, improved browser and retained keyboard and trackpad is pretty sweet. The funny thing to me is that several yrs ago I was at a crossroad and I chose BB over a touchscreen and I always wished I could combine the two. It's like a touch screen phone and a BlackBerry had a baby..........and it sliiiiiiiides.

It's hands down the illest Blackberry to date (I just hope its true touch and not push-touch like the Storm - wasn't a fan of that phone - RIM's mistake as far as I'm concern) and IMO, one of the greatest concepts in cellphone to date. Set to release on AT&T first (wish you had that unlimited plan now huh?) its supposed to release August 12th, just in time for my birthday. I knew there had to be a reason why I been draggin my foot on buying a new phone and have been out of contract for 2 yrs now. I anticipate the Iclone and Droid Does'ers and their needless hate just brewing as we speak. AAAAAAAAHHHHH go charge up your battery!

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COD is CRACK!!! [From the Blackberry Chronicles]

Does COD, WAW (not to be mistaken with WOW) or MW2 ring a bell to you?

First sign that a videogame has reached epidemic proportions: women who don't play videogames know the acronym. My high school homie and many other women have confessed that this game has ruined her sex life. The menace we speak of, of course, is the 6th "Call of Duty" game: "Modern Warfare 2." And I confess, I would blog like everyday were it not for that game...........and Super Street Fighter 4

What man of proper testosterone levels does not want to strap on an m-16 equipped with silencer and red dot, frag, flash grenades, stealth and enemy radar jammer and run a Rambo/Commando on some charlies and tangos? Its like G.I. Joe....except the bullets actually hit ppl. Forget the fact that we are glorifying violence, warfare combat, and the blatant/latent pro-military propaganda, DA SHIT IS FUN SUN!!!

Why to men love this so? All men have some pent up frustration and or animosity that a lavishly successful career, good credit score, a healthy sexlife and/or rabid masturbation just won't alleviate. That's why men do surface level-seemingly stupid shit like hunt, extreme sports, unprotected sex, skydive, customize cars, box and date crazy chicks. Why? Bc society has set up so many social barriers that we cannot permeate. Its socially unacceptable to be violent despite our natual carnal instinct. How often have we seen we seen infants playing and one "Stewie" of a child crack-smacks the pituitaries out of a next child for touching his/her precious toys. Yet we vilify the poor tyrant-to-be as if foreign ppl are supposed to touch your stuff unwarranted (then u wonder why lil Jenny has boys sneaking out ur window while ur at work).

Sidenote: As I'm giving this a final glance over, I can't help but think this scenario sounds familiar........AH YES! We called it the Gulf War. Learn your history!

Sidernote: Ghost is one of the coolest fictional military characters since Snake Eyes and Mister T!

Its socially unacceptable and we frown upon hitting or enacting violence on women, children, old ppl, ppl from Jersey, Ben Afflack, students, puppies, bosses, co-workers, ex's, Redsox or Knicks fans - who coincidentally tend to be some of the most annoying ppl who arguably deserve to be hit the most! Not saying I condone viiolence but sit here and tell me you haven't fathomed pulverizing at least three of these types if not all, then cast your stones. So where does all this frustration go? Nothing vents frustration like calling in an air strike with an Apache chopper gunner attack helicopter or "the angel of death" Lockheed ac-130.

So next time you see your man playing some mw2 or any other game, don't feel jealous. He is simply making deposits into his "I'm not going to whip her monkey ass" account. And for that, you should celebrate having a good man. Get yourself involved. Test his focus.....challenge him and see if he can maintain a positive KD (kill/death ratio where you have more kills than deaths) while his penis is in your mouth. Some of yall are grossed out, but most dudes will go ring shopping for that or at least keep that in mind next time he's tempted to cheat.

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Dont Fall for The AT&T Okie Doke!! [From the Blackberry Chronicles]

I'm always amazed how ape-shit ppl go over new Apple products. You couldn't even load the att website when the new iphone was announced bc all the iphone feens crashed the sight. Att is hilarious. They realized that they are utterly incapable of keeping up with the massive demands caused by the Iphone, so in an attempt fix it, their solution is..............stop using the network so much or we'll nickel and dime you out. But since they cant exactly cut your service against your will, they had to come up with a more alluring, seductive way to do pull this off.

If I believed in the market, I would have invested heavily in att about a month ago when they announced that they were no longer offering unlimited data to new users and revealed the new tiered data structure. Smart users will save a lot of money, but ppl who use their phone ignorantly will get raped. Once I get my new phone that will do all the things I currently don't do, the data calculator estimated me at 4.45 gigs a month. Att's "high end" plan is 2gs and $10 for every 1g over you go. Couple that with them raising the early termination fees on smartphones, (therefore, if you jumped ship just for the Iphone and are dissatisfied with terrible service, you're trapped or have to part ways with a kidney to go back to your old provider) att stands to make a killing.

Remember at one point, phone companies discontinued the unlimited nights and weekends (unless you already had it) bc of usage congestion and only offered 1000 nights and weekends. Remember when long distance wasn't included in your anytime minutes? Calling your neighboring state...and in some cases town, was an additional charge.

Sidenote: My first ever cellphone plan was 200 anytime minutes, long distance not included, unlimited nights and weekends, and I had it for a year before I ever went over (relationships are costly). My first txt msg plan was 200 msg... I average 1200-1700 txt msgs a month now. Can we agree that time and habits change?

Idunno about yall, but I would hold on to a grandfathered unlimited data plan (which they are discontinuing). At first glance, a $15 blackberry plan looks very enticing, but who knows what the internet will look like in 1-3 yrs. Look out for a few things here and on the horizon that will forever alter the next generation of cellphones. Here are a few reasons why you should hold onto your unlimited plan.

Video Calling: Although its currently choppy at best, if you can even connect a call, this is going to be the next mega-craze for smartphone usage. The Evo, Iphone 4 and a small handful others are a few that can video chat now. The quality is about as poor as pre-T1 speed webcam chat but will only get better. Soon, it will be as common as having a camera on your phone. You can't even find a phone today without a camera (they even have flashes that rival your actual camera). I would have preferred companies spent more R&D and fine tuned the concept first, but I credit these folks who pushed to be the first.

Tethering: It's bad enough that att charges you additional fees to do this, while other providers don't but with the tethering option, coupled with an unlimited data plan, you could make a wireless hotspot right at home without a cable or dsl internet plan. You can even use it anywhere with your laptop like an air card. You would definitely need an unlimited plan for this, otherwise whats the point? You think cell phone internet eats a lot of data imagine your computer internet usage? It transfers information to and from your computer even when you're not doing anything.

Video Texting: Att has a phone called "The Shine" and there are a few others that can already insert video into a txt message. Not a hyperlink, not an attachment. Yes. The actual video as streamline as those messages with pictures in it. After thinking "how fricken cool is that?" my inner nerd (shut up Denisha! He's inner I say!) couldn't help but think "that is going to consume a lot of data. Email can't even do that yet w/o youtube.

Wifi: If your wondering why you walk around with 2 spare batteries and bring your charger EVERYWHERE, its bc you probably have your WAP or wifi set to "on". Wifi is much faster than 3G (since its using a different network than what you use for voice) and can handle greater data transfers. This is perfect if you're trying to save $$ bc you can opt out of a data plan and just pick up a reliable wifi signal just like you do with your laptop. So what's the Achilles heal here? See first statement: since its doing more work and constantly checking for more reliable networks, its exorbitantly taxing on battery life, rendering it an unattractive option. As networks get faster and faster, unless companies do something to improve power management, more and more ppl will rely more on their data plans.

Blackberry Messenger: Yall know by now that if bbm was a woman, I'd massage her feet daily. I'm seriously about to get rid of or lower my txt msg plan (I haven't bc I had a conversation similar to this with myself) bc everyone I talk to most is on bbm. You can already have group chats, conference chatting, file sharing, send images, files and even record voice notes back and forth (how's that for a spin on free international conversations; feel free to steal that; you're welcome) its only a matter of time before video chatting is an option.

Multi Media Messages: Show of hands, how many ppl have more than 3 megapixels on their phone cam? Ok, now how many ppl have a phone cam that rivals most digital camera's? I remember when 3.0mp came out in the art/graphics/photography world, that was the death of "point and click" cameras and the 5.0+ was the nail in the coffin for film (outside of industry preference). Now they are making 5-10mp HD cameras on cell phones. Better quality = larger files = more data required to send those picture msg we send so frequently, a la "hey I bought some bomb ass new shoes - CLICK:::SNAP:::SEND- see!!??" You may not exceed 2gigs a month NOW, but 2 phones down the line you may. Which leads me to my last point:

Most users are oblivious of their data usage: Can anyone quantify the txt equivalent of 20 bytes of data?.......... The Final Jeopardy answer, "how are you?" I know this bc I had extensive conversations when trying to figure out an international data plan. Images and attached files are easy bc they tell you the file size but how much data is a 2 minute streaming video, Facebook page or even this blog? Plus these newer phones can do more like view flash, allowing you to watch hulu or netflix on your phone.

Sidenote: wifi and netflix kills my laptop battery life what pillage and desecration will it do to my poor wee lil cell phone battery?

Rumor has it that other carriers are looking to follow suite with the tiered data pricing. If history repeats itself, they may eventually bring back the unlimited plans as data/network supply catches up to consumption demands.....but what if we don't. Do we as consumers need to usher into a new era of limits, restriction, become more cognizant (thanks lady in red) and responsible and considerate about our data ussage?.............................................................MAAAAAAAAAAN, [UGHFFF] DAT!!! As much as we're over charged?!! Shooooot, I'll take a picture of my hand giving a middle finger, attach a voicenote of me singing "lalala," type "how are you" 100 times, and bbm that bitch to Mars if I damn well please!

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PSA: DEATH TO BBM CHAIN MAIL!!!

This was a malice that I thought had passed around freshman year of college. After you curse out enough friends, pretty much everyone in your address book in your email account should know by now not to send pointless spam. Right? WRONG!!

The menace has re-surfaced, transcending the email realm and has infiltrated the once sacred sanctuary of Blackberry Messenger (BBM). For those who don't know, BBM is an exclusive, internal service for blackberries. Since it communicates via the phones pin number through web/data service, you txt in an instant msg platform anywhere in the world for no extra charge. Kinda like VOIP, for txt msging. Unlike gchat, aim or msn, its not inviting a third party application requiring migrated screen names and passwords, and the only way you can establish connection is through direct invite and authorization. Twas once sacred :(

About 3-4 yrs ago, in the golden era, facebook was still private, and the only ppl who had blackberries were actually serious ppl about serious business. But since then, all di damn sidekick babies grew up and realized the fisher price "My first smartphone" made you look like 12 year old at the office, and hopped onto Blackberries.....bringing all their sidekick-ass habits along with them. SN: I ABHORRED!! SIDEKICKS. It all makes sense now! Why did I not figure this out until just now.

Think about this, 4 yrs later, I have over 100 contacts on bbm. Don't dwell on that, just open Friends vs "Friends" in a new tab, keep it moving and read later. Same concept. If the message says, "send this to everyone on your list, except me, bc I did my part" (clever) thats over 100 ppl sending me the same stupid message at once! Sometimes I need to silent, not vibrate, silence my phone bc it sounds like a flipping sex shop in my pocket. Some ppl say I need to calm down, its not that serious, and I agree. One of my biggest pet peeves in the galaxy is repeating myself excessively. So I do not understand that if one person requests that you not include them on something, multiple times, explicitly verbalized dislike and annoyance, what is sooooooooooooooooo difficult about respecting that person's wishes? It gets worse. The latest version of bbm invented the "broadcast" so one monkey-nut gorilla can simply send one pointless foolish msg to the entire list in one stroke.

I kinda understand you want to share a good joke but very few and far in btwn. I dont need "joke of the day." The "send this to 300 ppl or my deity will kill you" msg need to stop, but the worse is the erroneous information that lazy ppl wont even take two seconds of due diligence to confirm before blasting it to everyone. IF there is a number or a email, check the thing before you fwd info that may make you look like a less credible, fraudulent ass. Someone broadcast a number about some discounts that turned out to be a recording telling you how stupid you are for falling for it. Someone fwd' me info about job offers and didn't even realize there was a 9 digit phone number, no email and not even a name of the company hiring :\ A great fact checking, myth-busting resource to double check is www.snopes.com. BBM, facebook, gmail and aol (for the fossils who still use it) is not deleting accounts who don't fwd a blasted msg. It's been almost 15 yrs and I can't believe that ppl still believe that Bill Gates will give you all $$$ for forwarding a msg. "No trust me! It works!"

Fight fire with fire! If I've asked you not to spam me and they don't get the hint, I send ppl photographs and audio clips of things that I will not speak of, but lets just say you wouldn't want to open up on your phone. So please, please PLEASE stop spamming ppl with junk and bbm'ing "wolf" then wonder why no one responds to you when you need them. Keep that up and you're going to find pictures of poop on your phone next time you open it.

Some ppl need to be demoted back to txt msg, email and phone status.

Psa stop using headsets if not visible!

[From the Blackberry Chronicles]

Grandpa Rant # 358-J
You know what grinds my gears? I don't understand. Cell phones are getting smaller n smaller (yet they manage to squeeze a camera and mp3 player in all of em) so why are we gettin lazier and lazier? We had no problem with the coiled kitchen phone (stretching it to the bathroom for privacy), holding it between our shoulder and neck.

Sidenote: were you ever mid conversation and the phone sliped out and went flying across the room?....... Ok I'm really dating myself now. Some readers are all like "when did phones have cords?" Don't get me started on rotary phones.

We had no problem with holding up those Zack Morris satellite phones that look like you're calling in a military air strike. However, our weak feeble hands cannot sustain the 0.4 lbs phone we now own, so we need head sets.

Sidenote: 3.5 yrs ago I bought my mom a phone and it was absolutely impossible to find a phone without a camera. Soon it will be impossible to find a non qwerty phone with web browser, data, mp3 and souljah boy ringtones.

Sidernote: Am I the only one that thinks the bluetooth is not a fashion accessory and undergoes extreme scratch-headedness whenever seeing one when no call is underway?

Yes I'm venting for no reason bc I'm sick of thinking ppl are talking to me or just crazy and talking to themselves. Especially if they have long hair that covers the headset. I'm not talking about driving or course, where its mandated in most areas, I mean regular willy nilly having a convo with you but has his headset on Harry Nelson. Hands-free headsets were designed to.....well.....free your hands, to do other things. If you're using your free hand.......... to hold the phone...well that's kinda counter intuitive now, aint it?

This has been brought to u by "Random Hate Thursdays," and of course loyal support and contributions by "Viewers Like You!"

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PC vs MAC...My $0.02

Today's Corn and Cheese: "Just like my profile pic, I'm back!"

Good news/Bad news:

Good: I got a new laptop after a long and extensive search!!!
Bad: I've upgraded to Windows 7 from XP.

Dont get me wrong, 7 is awesome, for new users, but I feel like it forgets us fossils who have been using windows for 20 yrs. This is only bad bc I feel like a digital encino man, emerging from some comatose hibernation. I successfully avoided windows vista like the plague, and after years of usage and comparative analysis, I can't convince myself to shell out MAC money. I'm sorry, but I refuse to pay Vacay money on hardware for sex appeal. To me, more than half the joy in anything I own is the crackhead price I more than likely paid for it (ask me how much it costs or is worth, not how much I paid for it). I've used both platforms at the highest level of performance (video capture and editing, sound editing, audio production, CAD, 3D modelling and rendering, downloading and viewing porn, web surfing, digital photography, graphic design and video gaming to name a few) and despite what the quirky nerdy, yet lovably cool guy in the commercials would have you believe, MACs have just as much problems as pc's and will crap out on you just the same at the least opportune time. In fact, it may prove even more problematic bc when your mac does have problems, you have fewer ppl around with the knowledge and tools to fix them (sorry, my pc geek squad is to vast n deep - thats what she said). I have a friend who was without his macbook for over 2 weeks for some simple problem that I could have walked down the block and fixed on a pc.

Since I already discpelled the performance objections, here are the major selling points I keep hearing for macs:

"Macs dont get virus' and spyware" FALSE! Technically, the real answer is "yes and no." If you listen carefully, they tend to say macs are safe from "PC viruses".....which is true. They do in fact get virus' malware and trojans. Although it is rarer to non existent compared to pc's, it does happen and when, or if it does, it can be terminal or infinitely more difficult to fix bc the lack of an antivirus program to differentiate good or bad. Kind of like those cities that shut down for half an inch of snow. However, with the increase in mac users of late, there has been an increase, hence the development of mac antivirus and malware programs like Snow Leapord.
REF: (Since Nicole said I dont do any "blasted research")

http://www.switched.com/2009/09/01/apple-quietly-admits-macs-get-viruses/

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_macs_get_viruses

http://www.betanews.com/article/Macs-dont-get-viruses-myth-dissolves-before-publics-eyes/1251493625

Sidenote: She's absolutely right, I dont do research. Ppl get paid to do that, this is fun. My research is life, and occasionally I find and provide supplimentary documentation....for what I already know.

"You can run a virtual PC/windows emulator on a mac" Stupid question, if you want to run a PC so bad, why not get a flippin PC? SURPRISE BISCUITS! PC's can run mac OS too! (The industry or trade lingo for it is "HACKintosh." I think its kinda cute. Dont endorse hacking so you'll have to look that up on your own).

"Its so much simpler" Remember this, "user friendly" = dumbed down. Yeah, and so is a car, but if you give one to a teenager who can barely drive, doesn't know how to handle the transmission, check the fluids and maintenance the car, keep the payments up, obey traffic laws, park properly and stores a bunch of crap in it, can we agree that the problem MAY....just MAY not lie in the car? We should have defensive PC courses.

Folks, I'm not anti-mac, but heres a selling point a MAC user can never use: PRICE. I know ppl with $2000 table settings/paperweights that will never even use $1000 worth of its capabilities.....but sure looks cool. If you browse the internet, email, use office software, listen to music and store photos, you really shouldn't pay more than $500-700 on a desktop or laptop, AND it'll handle ample porn. MAC's are amazing machines for certain applications, but I'm sorry, I can't justify spending 2k on a low end or base model MAC, when 2k in PC boards, and hardware could build a beast of a computer. If you absolutely have to have the MAC platform, be my guest. To each his own, just buy it for the right reasons and not for fad or this false smear campaign going. Reminds me of the cola wars of the 80's.

Sidenote: I'm not a pervert, I'm a realist. Any straight man who has a computer, on the internet, has porn on his computer. If he denies, he's lying or has some serious social, interpersonal issues. He may not feel comfortable sharing bc society demonizes porn, but I have 3 easy steps to expose anyones pc, even the most horndog MIT summa cum laude. Either that or he's telling the truth bc he streams it straight from the net or keeps it in some hidden external drive.

But now back to this windows 7? It's like walking into your room and somebody cleaned and moved all your stuff and nothing is where you put it or know it to be. Can I get some one on one consultation? Apparently the strategy here was to make it more "user friendly" which is simply industry term for "we dumbed it down for dummies...ya big dummy!"....which is why macs only have one button on the mouse, and come in single units at times, bc God forbid you should be burdened with connecting clearly labeled and color coded cables together (they even have little pictures to show you what plugs into what).

Will you be my windows 7 sponsor, hold my hand and walk me through this? Do I need to get a windows 7 for dummies or a Win7 Rosetta Stone to get up to par? They don't even come with books anymore. Off to the internet I go (GO GREEN!). Has it really been 6 yrs since my last pc? I'm getting through, but it seems like everything takes at least 30% more time to do. Saying all this to say, I've been on some real brain flatulence the last few days while I migrate all my files. When that's done and squared away, I'll resume some of the wholesome blog goodness, gems, thingies that I've had in the cue for a while.

My initial reaction:

Sidenote: Ooooh! Now that I have a laptop, can I be one of those pretentious bloggers who sit in coffeeshops, sip drinks with mocha and appachino in it, and blog in public all day long? Bc there is no better productive environment more conducive to creativity than a loud, public, high traffic public area with hundreds of side conversations and distractions.

Sidernote: GRRRRR!!! WHy is a simple copy and paste so difficult!!

Sidestnote: MMMMMM! I looooooove mocha and appachinooooo aaaarrrgghhghgh!!!

Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 5

Previously in My $0.02................... Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 1

Followed by.................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 2

Then..................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 3

and............................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 4

Here's a baby. Look at the baby!! LOOK AT THE BABY!! Cute aint she? (Scientific studies of extensive researching stuff state that cute babies are soothing on the eye and make ppl more susceptible to accepting theories) One of my newest cousins. Can you believe this little jerk doesn't like me? YET!? She's one of those stoosh "Imma play shy in front of company" types. But the one in the back is one of my favorite little girls in planet. Now its one thing to be ignored by the newbie (she'll come around sooner or later), but my fav was in another world bc as you can see, she was enthusiastically programming all her contacts into her new cell phone. This led to a very intriguing discussion btwn us about usage and habits of why a 12 old needs a cell phone. Which leads me to theory #5:


Theory #5: Everyone has cell phones

This might seem minoot, but technology impairs our memories. When I was in high school, I had about 40 numbers memorized at the tip of my tongue at any given time. Now, if you lose you phone, you might as well be in a tunnel on Mars. Pop quiz: without looking at your phone, how many phone numbers do you know by heart? PS, you parents or home phone doesn't count. Don't cheat...well it doesn't really matter bc if you are cheating, its pretty self evident that you failed this little social experiment.

I recall correcting a teachers spelling in high school and I always remembered him saying, "wait until you're out of school and have been using spell check for a few years" and I laughed at his warning. Now, how many ppl can get through a document without that red squiggly line? On top of the mental address book, I also had everyone's birthday memorized. These days, if I didn't sign into Facebook, you more than likely won't get a birthday greeting from me.

Kids do not need cell phones for the same reason students don't need calculators. I'm old school so as far as I'm concerned, until letteration starts popping up and your math class starts looking like some english class typos, you don't need a calculator. WHY? Bc you impair, or rather, stunt your learning growth in the embryonic stages of cognitive thinking. Let's be clear. 70% of what you learn up until grade 12 is utter bs and will be of no use to you in life. It's not the content thats important, its the methodology of learning. If you bifurcate the two and focus solely on content, sans the methodology, you birth a generation of droid who basically are programed with RAM (random access memory) and no hard drive (long term storage) mental computation.

I digress.

Why are cell phones problematic? Other than all the reasons I stated above? The brain is like any muscle, and lack of usage leads to atrophy.......after development. Lack of usage before development can lead to impotence if not paralysis (didn't I tell you guys I had no regard for the english language? It's misuse and mishandleage? - quote from my open mic slam days - TEEHEE!). I mastered 258 ways to cheat and not get caught without technology. Who knows what tomwreckery the youtes are doing these days?

I won't even touch on smart phones. When we have a generation that can't answer a questions with any critical discernment bc we've replaced "thinking" with "googling." Sad forecast. An armada of smartphone in the hands of dunce users.

People who need to stay the hell away from Black Friday

It's this time again. To some ppl, black friday is the only day they shop. It's the day Jesus and Moses tag teams in a match against departments stores nationwide. You've cleared space on your card all year for this one day. You've watched a 13" black and white tube TV with bunny ears all year waiting for this. I first heard of Black Friday around 2005. My lady at the time raved about this and even left our bed at 1, or 2am to go camp with some friends.........awaiting the stores 5am opening. When invited, I said "I'm good."

Sidenote: At first I thought, "what kinda racist sh.." but then I remembered, finance is one institution when "black" has always been a good thing. [MESSAGE!!!]

The following year I participated, regrettably, for the first and probably last time. Despite the range of age and background, the feverish fervor felt like I was amidst adolescent girls on line for free Jonas Brothers tickets. Some people really need to get priorities in order. The same ppl I hear complaining about money all the time are always the first to bring up black friday. I couldn't help think, "why in tarnations am I in this debauchery?" I wish someone had better advised me with such a list:

Sidenote: These are merely suggestions and friendly recommendations with some well intentional humor. Adults will do, what adults will do.

People who need to stay the hell away from Black Friday
-People who hate cold weather (warm states need not apply)
-People who hate lines and crowds
-People with short tempers and tendencies of aggravated assault.
-People who have not played high school, college, and or professional football. You will get "pushed," real talk.
-Fathers who haven't seen their children in over a month and are behind in child support
-People who are unemployed and do not know where your next check is coming from
-People who's credit score dropped this year
-People who will not receive any return or investment on their purchases.....which applies to most ppl
-People who are past due or over drafted in other accounts, bills and credit cards
-People who have more collective debt than the amount they have set aside to spend on Black Friday
-People who owe other ppl money. Forget the banks, where's my money? I'm not FDIC insured! (seriously, I know ppl who owe me money and are buying new shit and travelling the world. WTF!!?)
-People who use the excuse "I'm saving on my christmas gifts" yet everything you buy is for yourself. Kinda like the stripper with the corvette who claims they dance to get through college......

And most importantly, ppl who don't intend to pay in cash or have anything higher than a 0.00% apr.

I joke a lot, but I know ppl who seriously dig themselves into serious financial holes off of this one day. Yes, this one day puts many companies in the black, but it puts many PEOPLE in the red. And you wonder why everyone's new years resolution is to do better with money. Depending on what your apr is, the interest of buying in bulk may offset whatever it is you saved.

One thing I've learned about technology is that something better always comes and the prices only go down. Buying good electronics requires the attention and patients of fishing or hunting. How many times have you researched a computer, camera, phone etc. and when you finally bought it, you found it much cheaper a week later?

Sidenote: Golden rule, once you've purchased, stop looking. Prices will only disappoint you.

Time is money. How much do you value your time? Is waiting 4 hours in the cold and wrestling with the consumers most savage worth saving $50 or getting a 50" bigger tv for the same price as a 40"? Here are the two most important questions:

• Do I ABSOLUTELY need this [insert item you're looking to purchase here] RIGHT NOW?

• What is the MOST VALUABLE usage of my money RIGHT NOW?

I don't remember anything from my 12th grade economics class, not even the teachers name, except for this one quote, that has served me well.

"The costliest thing I ever purchased was something inexpensive that I didn't need"
-Mark Twain.

Best economics lesson ever!!

The True Reason why "50% of all marriages end in divorce"

I have a ton of photos just like this one. You've prolly seen similar sights all over your neighborhood too on and around garbage day. Seemingly mint conditioned tv's just laying around the streets all willy nilly. Some may even have a sign saying "free! take me" like the pic below. I'm pretty sure if you took one and plugged it in, they'd probably work just fine. I too am not without outdated tv, so I cannot cast any stones. As we previously discussed, antiquated technologies (and as it came up again) are being discarded left and right. Last year I too subscribed to the LCD/HD/1080p exodus myself, but cannot bring myself to throwing out a perfectly operable 16 yr old tube TV, one of my first major purchases. I told you guys I'm an admitted pack rat, so bear with me! So what the hell does any of this have to do with marriage? Its about damn time you asked! It's about the ideological Zeitgeist of the times. I came across this article this morning:
Couple Celebrate 81st Anniversary
Now when asked what the tips, advice and pearls of wisdom they may bestow, they sited basic common sensical things:

"We're always here for each other. It is all about give and take on both sides," Frank Milford said last year. "You need a happy outlook and to just get on with it. I don't know where the years have gone to. It's marvelous really."

The couple also credited "a little argument every day" for their long union.

Nothing to write to the Nobel Society about. So why is it that supposedly "50% of marriages end in divorce"???????????????????????????????????? I believe.........BECAUSE SOMEONE STARTED PUBLISHING AND BROADCASTING THAT "50% OF MARRIAGES END IN DIVORCE!!!" Anyone who's successful at anything will tell you that 90% of success is dependent on your thoughts and how you think. You can't toe-dip something like marriage with "fingers crossed" thinking, you have to commit to making it work. So how can you expect your marriage to last when you're partner's hand is stead fast on the emergency eject switch? I once dated a girl who kept sighting this quote (which for the life of me I can't verify) which in hindsight, should have warned me to bail a whole lot sooner than I did. Most ppl give up on or quit on themselves before they even try. How many things or great ideas have you talked yourself out of bc you thought of a billion excuses why you can't do something or it wont work. OR even worse, allowed friends and family to do so?

Sidenote: Our biggest enemies our whole life (in school, relationships, business, work and fun) has been the eyes, ears, words and opinions of other ppl, sometimes even friends and families.

I knew a cable guy who came across a couple celebrating their 50 yr anniversary. Jaw dropped by what sadly today is an anomaly, he asked the secret. The gentleman merely said, "when we have a problem, we sit down and fix it. We work together and we don't go to bed until its worked out." Now what I find ironic is around the same time, some relatives of mine were about to sell and close down a once thriving electronic repair shop bc ppl just weren't coming back to pick up thier electronics. I'm talking huge tv's stereos, etc and rather than repair, ppl would rather buy a new (in some cases leaving the fixed item behind along with a huge deposit).

In most contracts or agreements, there is always an exit clause or window of cancellation, but most brokers, reps and sales ppl will never go over that part of the document with you in the closing. It's there in plain sight so its not illegal to not mention it. The reason being, if you give ppl an out, rather than fight, weather the difficulties and persevere, as Tony Robbins says best: "Human beings will take the path of least resistance over the path of pleasure and pain seven days out of the week." We might want to do some additional research as to where the term "irreconcilable differences" became so proliferate throughout the land.

Killer savings on VCR's, the best darn vinyl records ever and other antiquated technologies going down the tubes.....PART II

Anyhow, so today (actually yesterday), I hear a commercial on the radio for HIGHER RESOLUTION DVD PLAYERS! Not blue ray or hd-dvd, DV fricken D aka the VCR killer.

Sidenote - I have two vcr's, both underneath something in some nooks of my home collecting dust. I have a theory that anyone who still has a vcr thats still connected and not dusty and under the age of 40 (some over) keep it for the sole purpose of porn. Imagine letting go of your 10-20 year stash? Thats quite the collection... but thats another conversation...

The commercial boasts that the player boosts the resolution on your dvd's to match your hd tv. Talk about playing with the band on the titanic! Why would some companies remains so stubborn, oblivious and practice corporate suicide??? And for that matter, why the fragglerock are dvd's still $15-$25!!!??? A cd cost approx. 47 cents to burn back in the late 90's (I'll never forget hearing that on 20/20). Why do cd's still cost $12-$20!?!? Especially when most of the publishing, art and production comes out of the artists pocket....some $3-$8 per cd sold. HD-DVD accepted their fate and are selling movies for $4 :) No wonder so many companies are failing. GREED and no one's watching the trends!!!!

Sidenote - I changed my stance from my previous post! Save DETROIT!! I need to do some more homework bc I'm still not understanding how you rimjob some of the biggest American based companies in the world and the next week bailout a company with trillions in liquid assets that bought out smaller companies that went on sale during first wave of companies failings..... but thats another conversation.

We're actually only a few years out before blue ray is obsolete as well and we're all digital with digital downloads leading the way and I'll prove it. Since the proliferation of ipods, flash drive and portable 120 gig hard drives that fit in the palm of your hand, when was the last time you used a re-writeable cd? Or even burned a cd for anything but music? When was the last time you purchased film? We have websites where you can basically send someone an entire movie or photo album, or music album via websites, email and a link. To truly understand the applications you need to use an xbox 360 or a ps3 beyond the gaming features. Netflix even has a gadget where you can order movies straight through your tv. On demand, tivo...need I go on?

Sidenote - Why does America suck at all the things we invented? You'd figure Kodak would rule and be a leader in digital cameras and Ford would make the best cars on earth.......but thats another conversation.

Physical mediums are tanking in sales. These may one day become only relics or tools of the trade used only and specifically by ppl within certain industries and not daily consumption of the general public. For example, I cant think of anyone who buys film other than photographers. The music and film industry is feeling it heavily. However, they'll survive. Question is, on what level of survival.....but that's another conversation...