Not really.
Maybe.
I just couldn't think of a blog title for today. Unless you somehow figure my round about posting will be of equal value to
Ozzy's song. Dealer's choice.
I was looking at my Verizon bill and account this morning, and my iPhone 6S has a trade in value of $62. Verizon is telling me that's an estimate too. So if I were to go and upgrade to a new phone, Verizon would take $62 off my purchase if I were to trade in my 6S. That's if I end up getting a new phone.
But, the longer I wait to upgrade, surely the lower the trade in value becomes? At what point does my trade in become $0 and I could brick it to use it as an MP3 player only (or, figure out how to use it as an international device and visit some friends outside the US, and only bring this with me)?
I don't know, but Amazon has the phone, still selling amazingly, for
over $120. Why should my trade in be worth half, if I can buy new on Amazon? Yes, it's half of the online retailer's cost, but if I were to get an iPhone X for $1,000... the $62 trade won't help lessen the blow.
I probably should get a new phone, but I don't want a giant (thin) brick hanging around in my pocket. A phone is a phone is a phone. I don't need bells and whistles in it (4K video recording, memoji, 20MP sureshot camera with portraiture apps, etc). Nor do I need all the bloatware that comes with the phone (Garageband, Keynote). I just want a simple phone because I'm not interested in doing editing on this thing nor am I interested in taking quality photographs. I've got a new Canon Rebel 7i for that, and I've yet to fully use it to it's potential.
Sure, I just jumped on the bandwagon and installed Skype and Hangouts on my phone, but that's only because my friend
(Tay) doesn't have a cell phone number but was gifted an old
Samsung Galaxy S5. He uses it only when on WiFi and when he is, it's a workable phone. I've not talked to him in years, and all of a sudden, his friend sends him a phone and "hello, 1980s music in Brockton calling!". My other friends that are on Skype are international, so it's not so easy to just call or text them. The ones on Hangouts are domestic and I can use my laptop to chat (in Gmail), but sometimes you think of something off the chain weirdly funny and have to pass it on (like my friend in New Hampshire who is an Eagles fan. He sent me a 30 second YouTube video this morning... I joked with him that it's his new theme song, since he's creating NFL blasphemy by not liking the Patriots).
However, there's no amazing convenience of anything else that makes me want to run out and religiously get a new phone. Of any brand. Sure, back in the day, there was a Windows based cell phone that took awesome night shots, but I didn't jump on that phone then, why should I now? And if that's the only reason to want a new phone, then I might as well get rid of my DSLRs.
Truth be told, lately, I've been using my phone more for podcast listening and during my lunch at work, I use
Amazon Prime Video. I've cut down on text messages, I basically make phone calls to one or two people, but I listen to podcasts and watch old TV shows at work (that's a feat in itself... hooking up to a flying
Hitachi projector with the use of a
lightning dongle). And I started playing Words with Friends again. But... when is a phone not a phone? Especially if I'm doing limited calls, no photos, but using it as a glorifiedly expensive listening device? Why spend over $500 to get something new in my pocket, when I can just keep my estimated trade in value $62 phone?
Speaking of podcasts, my friend (we lovingly call "Ray Charles") has made a podcast. She's a bit of an eclectic bird, but when you get to know her, she's a cool
kid person woman. I've known her for ages (18 years already) and it's been so awesome to see how we've grown up over the last decade and a half.
The other day she messaged me on Skype saying she has a podcast and it's on most of the apps right now. She's got a strange obsession with ladybirds (aka ladybugs) so there's an
Instagram page, a
Facebook page and a
Patreon page to support this podcast (the podcast is called
Hidden Wings and Bloodlust because one of her friends suggested the title). She's looking for more listeners and thinks one of these days the Patreon page will generate enough money to buy a cup of coffee. Although, she'd really want to use it to keep the podcast going and do more research for the creatures. Go find her and go fund her. She's worth it.
Oh, and fun fact: one of the podcasts I listen to, brought up
Pat Boone and how he has a metal album... and it's weird as hell.
I got trolled again by the JWs mailing service. Apparently they came to my house and are sorry they missed me. What's the problem? I still live in a gated community and they used my initials mailing address, so they were looking for a man and not a woman. But.. they still thought it well enough to spam me. At least this time the return address on the outer envelope matched the generic letter's inside address. Too bad no one knows why they wanted to stop... besides ask me if I found some sort of deity in a pamphlet.
One last thing before I sign off for the day. As unpolitical as I try to be in my posts, I have to throw this out to the readers: With all the major hurricanes forming over the past few years and the ones that are demolishing countries, please find a way to donate and help. I jabbed on the JW spam, even though I don't follow their way of thinking, we all follow something. Someone is out there and is figuring out the science behind nature's wrath. Warmer waters means intense hurricanes. We will see more category 4 and 5 storms over the next few years to decades. Our kids are not going to know what the Bahamas or New Orleans used to look like. They'll only know what the place looks like now.
I know
Amazon has ways to donate, so if you're already shopping, throw a couple dollars their way (or go to your local places and donate if you're out and about). Considering Florida was saved from having another Irma
(September 2017), Dorian
(September 2019) sat on the Bahamas for a few days. Squashed the hell out of the country (much like Maria did to Puerto Rico in 2017).
These places won't recover so quickly. If people flock to America's Wang as a tourist trap, imagine if Key West wasn't spared the heat of Irma and there'd be no more "from this point, it's 90 miles to Cuba"? We'd be done. Yes, Louisianians have recovered a little bit, but there are still parts of New Orleans without power. I think I heard last year that people are still living in below squalor, although some of the city is said to have been rebuilt.
Let's help out the other places we like to visit and help them rebuild. Also, keep donating to other places to help out our local communities.
That's it; happy Sunday.
Cheers;
