So I took the dog out for a piss a few minutes ago, and I saw a flock of pigeons at the end of the little patch of grass we usually take her. I watched them for a moment and then it hit me: I'm seeing a lot more pigeons around here than I used to. When I was a kid, there were hardly any pigeons at all. Pretty sure I didn't really notice one until I was at least a pre-teen, and it was still pretty rare after that. Rare enough that I'd stop for a moment and just look at one when one was around, because it was so weird to see them. Back in the day, all you saw were crows and seagulls. And I was fine with that. I like them because they look neat, they're smart, and I like their calls. Especially seagull calls. But pigeons, I don't really like them. They're dumb, ugly looking, and I'm not a fan of their call. So the opposite of my feelings toward the other two. But I'm seeing more them as of late. I wonder why that is. Unfortunately, I don't care enough to even bother Googling it for a few moments, so I suppose I'll never know.
Here's something else that's been going on: my "smart"phone is a piece of junk. Why are they even called "smart"phones anyway? So the ability to go on the internet and download makes them smart? Or is the fancy new voice command ones that can look things up for you automatically? I was wary getting mine earlier this year, and it's given me nothing but trouble since I got it. It's a Samsung Galaxy Ace II X. Sure, it can do a lot but it sucks at everything it does. The internet is unbearably slow and clunky. I stopped using that function entirely. When I want to look something up, I just use my laptop. The interface, which requires its own OS for whatever reason, is slow and laggy. I go to open up an application and it just sits there, sometimes for more than 10 or 15 seconds, before it opens it up. Even when I'm making a call. The touch screen, that stupid touch screen, is either unresponsive or too responsive. Either it won't register what I touch or it'll open an application that I barely grazed my arm past when I'm moving it around. Typing a text message is a headache and the so-called predictive text is a pile of shit that always brings up the wrong word and never has the right one in the list of similar words. The only things I use it for, besides calling and text messaging, are as a flashlight using the flashlight application and helping me stargaze using the Google Sky Map application. But then things got even worse. This past month, I've noticed the battery life taking a sharp dip in longevity. I only turn on wifi to check my email, screen brightness is low, and power saving mode is constantly on. When idle, the screen is off. But if left overnight, it loses between 20% and 30% of its battery life just sitting there. On top of that, the thing's been constantly freezing. Leave it idle, press the home button to turn on the screen and nothing happens. Stays off. Misses calls and doesn't get messages. Requires a hard reset to get back on. This has been happening multiple times in a day. So I've had it. Moved over my important data to the micro SD, reset it to factory default, put the SIM card in my trusty old Evergreen, boxed it up and put it away. I don't care that my warranty still might be in effect or that this particular phone is not representative of all smartphones. I don't want another one. They're a pain to deal with and I don't understand how you goddamn people can't go a day without them.
Phones should be used as phones. Calls and text messaging. Not all this other extra junk. People pay these $100 phone bills for all this shit that phones don't need to do. All this data and unlimited calling and text messaging to anyone and everyone and shit. Fuck off, I only pay $35 per month and that gets me all I need. Unlimited calling and text messaging to five people of my choice, which is all anyone ever needs, 50 airtime minutes, and I forget how many non-five people text messages I get because I don't text message every person I meet. And data is a fucking retarded thing to have on a phone anyway. You're already paying an internet bill. You want to look something up? Go on your desktop and Google it. You're lost and need to use Google Maps or that GPS feature? Tough goddamn luck, you should have done what normal people do and meticulously plan your trip at home before going. Print out a map, mark your path and major landmarks. You also don't need to livetweet your life or constantly update your Facebook. No one gives a shit. No one. Put down the phone and live your goddamn life. By taking the time to try to memorialize the events in your life, you're missing out on them. Just enjoy and don't get caught up in the other BS. Because you'll look back on those photos and posts and all you'll remember is "Gee, I remember posting about this when it happened!" This stupid interconnectedness fad is really pissing me off and I wish we could just scale it back a bit to how things were before smartphones and social networking were big.
Speaking of things that piss me off, besides phones, tablets. I swear to God, tablets are the most useless pieces of junk on the market. It's like a laptop! With no keyboard. And no processing power. And a shit OS. And no compatibility. And expensive as all holy hell. Anyone who finds those things convenient should be taken out back and shot repeatedly. Anything a tablet can do, and laptop can do infinitely better. They advertise these things as being useful for school or work. But have you tried actually typing on these things? Keys are the only form of input that should ever be used for typing. The raw physical feedback you get from hitting them gives you a sense of what you're typing and when you've made errors. I don't know about you, but when I take notes for university lectures, I type very quickly and in shorthand to get every bit of info being said. With a touchscreen keyboard, there are too many variables at work and you're never sure if you've actually hit the letter or not. Sometimes it takes multiple strokes to make sure your typed character is inputted. I've seen commercials on TV for these tablets with detachable keyboards. Seems convenient, but you know what else has keyboards? Laptops! You also can't upgrade the parts of tablets, either. You pay hundreds of dollars for a piece of hardware that will be obsolete in a few years and that you can't take apart and make better to accommodate the evolution of technology. I have a desktop that I bought on sale earlier this year and once it can't handle what I want to put on it, I'll just order some parts online, open 'er up, and install them. In fact, I've been thinking of ordering a new graphics card soon so I can play some of the more recent PC games that have been coming out.
Anyway, that's it for now. Thanks for reading!
- K
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