I haven't mentioned the iPhones to Dad yet. He's had a rough time after losing his job and there is something immodest about showing off a new toy to someone who is suffering. It just makes it worse when the suffering person is your father. I know that deep down Dad would never be bothered about it and insists that we occasionally reward ourselves for our hard work. I know that he loves toys and would think it's incredibly cool. However, I still can't bring myself to tell him.

I think that generally this is emblematic of the times we're living in.

Ok,

I'm throwing this out there because I distinctly remember (e:matt) being a little defensive when I really laid into smartphones and smartphone users on this journal.

Don't get me wrong - I still feel justified in lampooning people who are WAY too attached to the technology on their person and will continue to do so in this space, but recently some circumstances have lead me to... ok forced me to reconsider this hardline position I've been taking a bit.

My phone recently broke. I've been plotting purchasing a new iPod for a while. The two needs/desires converged and so both (e:jason) and I decided to get iPhones. This summer I negotiated a significant salary increase, which is sort of a magic trick these days, and I've worked my ass off. I haven't taken time off in three years. I needed a reward really badly, and after looking into the new iPhone I totally fell in love with the unit.

I wish I had one of these when I was traveling full time and I CAN'T WAIT until I can get a chance to travel for the company again, at least for part of the time (I have to accept that my role will keep me anchored to the office). You're going to get pictures/video of me, wherever the hell they send me. You're going to get Joshy singing an autotuned break on a T-Pain track posted on Facebook.

I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but I'm way behind on what's possible with phones these days. You have to realize - I've never owned a phone that could take a picture. A lot of this is new to me and finding ways to use my new phone is going to be a learning experience. I am probably going to have a lot of dumb questions but I look forward to it - I can't wait to master this thing. More than anything I just want to get the most I can out of it.

I report and comment on so much Buffalo-related negativity that I thought I should provide some balance and show you this -

Awesome. We need more of this. Little by little, brick by brick, this is how you rebuild a dying microeconomy. This is how you employ people. This is how you lure businesses. Operating in Buffalo isn't a privilege - without incentives people would be crazy to (re)locate here. That is, unless you have the wherewithal and resources to locate anywhere you like, flying the altruistic flag high and all. Renovating existing space makes this deal even sweeter.

Interesting, given the times -

I have a few books I've thought about buying lately and decided to put together an order on Amazon. I hate it when their free super saver shipping conspires against me. I want to buy two books and the order comes to about $23. Granted, both books are discounted around 40%. I feel like asking them to just charge me $2 more for the books so I don't have to spend $10 on shipping.