The Evil Weed

No, I'm NOT speaking about "Mary-Jane" today.
The entry is about t-o-b-a-c-c-o. Actually it's about SMOKING tobacco.

I started regularly smoking cigarettes when I was 22. Therefore it's now been over 20 years since I started on this road to knowingly destroying my health. Many say that it is a "habit". I've often countered that it is an ADDICTION. Well whether it be an addiction or habit, it's time to stop.

Did you know that it takes 28 days to develop a habit. Yeah, good or bad, habits take less than a month, or more accurately, it takes the entire month of February (sans Leap Year) to do a good thing for yourself. When I started my addictive behaviour, "smokes" cost a whole whopping 65 cents for 20 little cancer sticks. For those mathematically inclined and into ratios and stuff that equates to 3 and 1/4 cents for a rush of nicotine. Cheap really cheap.

I have read a study, well I'm sure by now that it's more like an urban myth, that states that six minutes of your overall life expectancy is gone in that puff of smoke exhaled from your lungs. Again let's do the math shall we? For the sake of this argument, let's assume that I've been smoking 20 cigarettes per day for 20 years. So lemme see...

That's 20 cigarettes in one pack, times 365 days which equals 7,300 cigarettes in 1 year. Now 7,300 times 20 years equals: 146,000 cigarettes! Okay now let's multiply 146,000 by 6 to get the number of minutes removed from my total life expectancy: 876,000 minutes. Okay, so that is what in years? Hmmm, there's 60 minutes to an hour, so that's 876,000/60 which equals 14,600 hours. And there are 24 hours to a day, so that is 14,600/24 which equals 608 days and there are 365 days to a year- So therefore I'm currently missing 1.65 years.

Nah, that can't be right. Then again real math was never my fortay. I rather deal with abstract math, you know solving for 'x'. Algebra, that's what it's called. I'd rather deal with letters in equations like 'a+b=c'. But I digress.

The last time I'd quit smoking was in the early nineties. I had strength, I had stamina, I was able to run and feel my heart pounding in my chest- I felt great. Then two months after I had started my new regiment, I slipped and began smoking again. The reason? A break-up. A rather nasty break-up with my boyfriend at the time led me to stress out. Stress was one of those things that always had me chain-smoking to help calm me down. Well, now there's no BF. Therefore I ought to quit and learn to deal with stress without resorting to lighting up.

Man, what would I do without that emotional crutch? I think I'll start to do something new, like exercise. Perhaps I could find some basic Tai Chi stretches on the web? Some say Yoga is good for relieving stress. I think I'll try that also. Then there's always biking. I LOVE to go biking on urban trails and such. I think I'll do that. Get out in the fresh air. Well fresher air I'm sure.

28 days.

28 days begin tomorrow...

Can One Be Too Independent?

Is it possible to be too independent?

Independence according to Dictionary-dot-com means "freedom from control or influence of another or others". I've been single for awhile. My last relationship broke apart seven years ago. (OMG-!!! it's been that long already?). I've had two short-term dating situations since then, but for the most part it's been "soup for one" for quite some time. I'm an emotionally strong man. An idealist, I don't wear my heart on my sleeve nor am I a touchy-feelie kind of guy, yadda, yadda, yadda.

I contribute my independent nature to my Mom. She's my hero. My mom was a divorcee back when the word "divorce" was spoken in hushed voices. At thirty-two with four kids and no visible signs of income. My mom did what she could to make ends meet which included moving my siblings and I from the family home in New Jersey to my maternal grandparents house in Massachusetts. I was ten at that time. It was 1972 when my childhood ended at 10 years of age. I was (and still am) the eldest child and now there were new responsibilities I had to fulfill. My "sperm-donor" father was a wife-beating excuse of a man who worked as a cop for the New York Port Authority. He often renigged on his child support payments. And even had the audacity to try and "win-over" my siblings and I by becoming a sort of "Sears Wish-Book" to "provide" what our mom couldn't afford. I guess my mom had unwittingly placed her strong willed, self-reliant attitude onto her kids.

I have great difficulty asking anyone for help. I don't want to "burden" anyone. However, I am always at the ready to help others. This trait I can't explain.

So, it it possible to be too self-reliant?

Yes, yes it is. And I don't know how to not to be.

Cellphones

The latest view from the DasBehr Cave...

Cellphones. Why is it that "we" all seem to need one? I have enjoyed having a cellphone for nearly six years. At first I had a huge Kyocera. That phone was in use for almost a year and I loved it! The phone's convenience was exceptional. Keeping track of the minutes I had used was a royal pain in the arse. I was constantly over on my minutes and I was paying through the nose in overages...

Then, I found MetroPCS. No more minutes on my "Freedom Plan". I had signed up for unlimited long distance because I need to check-in now and then with Momma and Papa Behr living out East.
The phone I bought was from some company from Finland called Nokia. The Nokia 3586i cellular phone was a bit smaller than my Kyocera. Yet it had a lot more features, like a color screen and a calendar. I was in love all over again and no minutes to keep track of- SWEET like orange blossom honey!

Did you know that cellphones have a built-in obsolescence? Yup, and it's two years max. My 3586i had developed a problem. It was do-able at first. I mean like I could get around the fact that the '6' key had ceased to function. Saving notes or addressbook names without the use of "MNO" became a cryto-logical game of apostophies ('), pounds (#), and zeroes (0). The real obvious problem with the 3586i was not being able to dial a '6'. The phones' area code is within '408' however I worked within the '650' area code. Yeah, a bit of a disconnect when attempting to dial a new number that wasn't in my addressbook.

I could no longer tolerate using the 3686i. So, as a Yuletide gift to myself, I decided to upgrade from the 3586i to another Nokia. The new clamshell designed Nokia 6255i.

Wow, I was impressed! The bright colour of the screens. Two screens in fact. A main display and a mini display which is located on the front read:closed cover of the 6255i. I shelled out quite a bit-o-cash for my new device. The 6255i wasn't cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Physically it was quite hefty despite it's small size. It was also mainly constructed of metal instead of plastic like many of the other clamshell phones. The on-board camera has a 2.5 megapixel resolution. There's also a voice recorder, alarm clock, and many other features. With the purchase of "enhancements" the 6255i has the capability of playing MP3s and the FM receiver with a graphic equalizer! Yee-Haw!

So, I paid the cost of the new phone and thought that despite the fact that it was rather expensive ($250), it's a Nokia, It's worth it, right?

Then, things get ugly REAL QUICK.

I leave the MetroPCS store, get into my car and power-up the 6255i. While the phone was booting-up, I attempted to call a friend on the 3586i- only to find out that the cell service was already changed from the older model Nokia to my brand spanking new 6255i. Wow, I thunk. That was a fast switch-over! Oh good, the 6255i is powered-up and lookin' fine.
I attempt my first dial out.
"4-0-8" I input.
"2-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-". WHAT THE F*CK!

The damn '9' key was sticking. Oh hell no. I was not about to tolerate this! I got out of the car and marched right back into the MetroPCS store and unleashed my thoughts on the subject at hand.

I got another 6255i.

This one I'll call "6255i BRAVO". It powered up okay. Nice display. And no sticky keys!
I was in joyful bliss. I customized the 6255i BRAVO with screen colors, ringtones etc. I even employed the voice recorder to make new ringtones like the opening riff to "Walk In My Shoes" by Depeche Mode and "China Girl" by David Bowie. All was going splendidly until a month had elapsed and then the problems began...

The keypad has three (3) blue neon-like bars within the keypad separating each of the numbered button rows. (i.e. 1,2,3- blue bar, 4,5,6- blue bar, 7,8,9- blue bar) well the blue bars began to go dark. One at a time over the course of a week. Then the backlight under the keys went dark vertically (i.e. 1,4,7,* then 2,5,8,0 then finally 3,6,9,#) Okay, I surmised, by this time I could dial the phone by touch, no big deal. I am an avid "artsy" photographer. Out of the 6MB of on-board storage, I was within 400KB of maxing out. Lots of stored images. All would be lost should anything happen to the phone. Then it happened. The mini display on the front cover of the phone wouldn't power-off with the rest of the phone. It subsequently killed the battery and prevented the battery from fully re-charging when plugged in.

Good-bye 6255i BRAVO

Hello 6255i THETA

I don't know why. I must truly be an optimist.

It's been a turbulent two months. I've now gone through almost four months of crap with the Nokia 6255i model. Theta was, what I thought to be the LAST problematic 6255i phone, but alas no. The usual host of problems happened all over again sans the mini-display problem. Instead insert a problem with the camera freezing the image- crashing the phone entirely, then the phone would reboot in normal phone mode. It's now mid-July and the phone has crashed for the last time because now the damn thing won't even power-on.

I went to the MetroPCS store here in Campbell. The Bascom Avenue location is an authorized "repair" center. I explained the problem to the perky customer service rep and I also advised her that I've been to the Nokia USA website and read through their FAQ trouble-shoot page.
She then went to her computer and verified my information. Then she began to incorrectly fill-out the "Filing a Phone Claim" form.

"Ah, under the 'original date of purchase', that date you wrote is not correct" I advised.
"No, it's correct" said Ms Perky CSR.
"No, 12/04/03 was when I purchased my Nokia 3586i." I corrected
"Isn't your phone a 3586i?"
"No, it's my THIRD version of the Nokia 6255i" I corrected Ms. Perky CSR. Trying really hard not to become agitated.
"Oh, so it is. You've purchased the phone on 3/6/06. And you've already had a warranty replacement. So you'll need to contact MetroGuard to arrange for repair. You do have insurance on the phone don't you?"
"Doesn't my account list that already? Yeah, of course I have insurance, to the tune of $4 per month."
"Well, there's also a deductible" says Ms Perky.
"A deductible? How much is that?" I ask a bit shocked.
"For your phone type the deductible is 85 dollars, but since your limited warranty may still be in effect, you may be able to get it repaired through Nokia for alot cheaper than 85 dollars".
Too many "mays", I hate that.
"Can you switch my service back to my old 3586i?" I patiently ask.
"No, not from here, you'll have to contact MetroGuard and they'll do that for you."

ARRRGGGHHH-!!!

I wonder if I can a new Kyrocera on the cheap.