The Twitter vs The Verizon

I'm trying to figure out which give me more problems: the Twitter or the Verizon.

Right now, it's neck and neck.

Oh, I'm not stopping using either one. I'm addicted to the Twitter. And the Verizon has the best service in the area, based on where I am and where all I go.

So, I'm stuck.

But, that won't stop me from whining about things.

Like, recently, I became addicted to the Twitter. And, since there are Twitter applications for my BlackBerry, I can use the Twitter on my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry.

For many of the folks I follow on the Twitter, I decided to have it notify me of new "tweets."

Silly me.

Because I don't have an unlimited texting plan. It's a 250 plan. That is, 250 text messages a month.

Now, I don't text a lot. But, if I set up the Twitter to send me notifications when someone tweets off something, I get a text message. And, when someone began following me, I got a text message.

Yes, you see where this is going.

Only, it struck me suddenly, last month. I logged on to my Verizon Wireless account, and looked up usage. In the first little bit of the billing cycle, I had used up 177 text messages. That meant that I was going to go over my allowance.

So, I did some quick math, didn't like what I found, and did two things.

First thing I did was up my text allotment to 500. Next thing I did was find where on my Twitter account I could stop getting notifications when someone followed me. Then, the third thing I did (yes, I know I said two, but once I got started, it was hard to stop, you understand) was to turn off notifications for everyone who I was following, account by account.

That slowed down the number of text messages I got. And, during the remainder of the month, I got just 18 more texts. Mostly, there were messages from Wife asking me if I was ready for lunch.



So, let's do some simple math.

I began the month with a 250 message allotment. I ended the month with a 500 message allotment. And, for the entire month, I used 195 billable messages.

But, that's simple math. Let's use Verizon math.

Because I said to them, "Hey, I'm not giving you enough money. I want to give you more. Move me over to a higher text message plan," they did. They prorated the $5/month charges and the $10/month charges, then prorated the number of messages per day, and determined that, despite the fact that at no time during the month was my monthly allowance below 250, and that my total for the month was 195, I had gone over by 94 messages.

Let's cover that again.

I began the month with a 250/month allowance. I upped it to a 500/month allowance. My total for that month was 195. And I was 94 over.

A quick call, a couple of smart-ass remarks by both me and Mr. Verizon, and Mr. Verizon adjusted things. He adjusted just the charges, not any associated taxes.

This is why I wanted to get an iPhone. And if AT&T had good service around here, I'd have one. But their service sucks, and the iPhones cost too much. So, I have Verizon and a BlackBerry.

Now, I need to put the blog down and get my BlackBerry. I might find something on the Twitter I want to read.

Wx Pix

This whole being without electricity is not fun.

I never imagined the Blackberry would be my emergency communication conduit to civilization, but that's what it's been. More about that in a minute.

First, though, some pictures.

Friday night, we knew that the storm has set a tree against the house. But, being dark and all, I couldn't get good pictures.

Saturday, though, I was able to get a great view of the tree ... from the bathroom.

Not a view I recommend.

Outside, though, we could tell a bit more about things.

I've never seen the bottom of a tree before. Well, not one this size.

Okay, that's not true.

Growing up in southeast Georgia, we got some storms. Tornadoes would sometimes hit the area. Heck, turn on TV and watch the news crews anytime a series of storms hits. They are in the south, and talking to somebody who's "1 green, 1 brown." That refers to their socks, their eyes, and their teeth.

Yeah, we wuz just sittin' there when it sounded like this freight train come through. Got us thinking 'bout my Boxcar Willie 8-tracks. Then, alluva sudden, the winders busted in, and next thing I knew, I was sittin' underneath the dually.

That's not quite what it was like for us, of course. But still, growing up in areas frequented by tornadoes and hurricanes (and hurricane-spawned tornadoes), I'd seen big oak trees uprooted before.

But never up close. And never in the back yard.

The tree wasn't quite horizontal.

The house broke its fall.

The limbs caught the edge of the house, and did damage there. Broke through the roof, letting the rain in. Got water stains in the bathroom. But no actually breaking through the ceiling.

Knew that Friday night, after the worst of the storm passed.

After everyone left -- oh, I didn't mention that, did it?

Right after the tornado did its little part, the family nearby loaded up in their pickups and came over to the house. Seems the storm was upsetting folks, what with all that loud racket that sounded like a tornado, and the lights going out, and the thunder and lightening and all.

So, they came over to our house, where it was safe.

Of course, our house was the only house in the immediate area with a tree on it. So, I'm still trying to figure out what passes for "safe" around here. But, I'll learn, I'm sure.

Anyway, after everyone departed, the flashlights finally gave out. Don't know how old the batteries were, but they died.

So, in order to do a walk-though of the house, I had to use the only light I had: the screen on the Blackberry.

If you open up "Contacts" or "Messages" you get a mostly-white screen. And that can be used as a bit of light. Not a lot of light, but, after being in the pitch-black dark for a while, it's actually useful.

The walk-though showed no limbs through the ceiling or anything. Did see what looked like a slight discoloration, as if an area of the bathroom ceiling was damp. It was.

The next morning, we could see why. What with the tree sitting partially inside the roof.

We could also see why the lights went out.

The tree, although it's downward path was obstructed by the corner of the roof, was large enough so that its limbs extended the 10 or so yards from the house to the power pole that runs through the yard.

Limbs were on the lines there.

Oh, and the limbs between the main trunk (sitting on the house) and the peripheral limbs (sitting on the power lines)? Well, that little line that runs from the power line to the house ... no longer runs from the power line to the house.

No, it sits on the ground.

And, in order for that to happen, the power meter and box had to go. So, the tree took it out, too.

When the lights went out, the TV stopped playing. It does that. I had no idea if the cable went out, or just the lights.

But, Saturday, it became obvious. The power box was right above the cable box.

Cable's that black thing in the photo. The black thing that's hanging off the wall.

Oh, and that gray thing below it? Telephone box.

Which means, like I said Friday, "no phone, no lights, no Internet, not a single luxury."

Except for the Blackberry.

And, of course, the local hotels where we're staying, so we can wash, sleep comfortably, and such.

Today, it's off to Electrician Land to find an electrician. Got to get that power box back up, so the power company can get us power back to the house.

I've got stuff on the TiVo I still haven't watched.

At least I got my priorities straight, huh?

Blackberry, Twitter, and Facebook

I never understood the whole Blackberry thing.

Until I got one.

I was going to get an iPhone, but AT&T's service in Columbus and the area isn't up to par with Verizon's. So, the next best thing? Looked like a Blackberry.

Now that I have one, I'm hooked.

And it has an unexpected ... to me, anyway ... side effect.

I've been on Facebook for a while. And Twitter for a bit, too. Only because I wanted to see what they were all about. My feeling? I can sum it up by "Um, okay, I don't get it."

And I guess that's because I only checked once a day, around suppertime. I'd rather read a blog, than a bunch of "I'm having spaghetti" or "Oh, the sky is so blue today" and such that you find on Twitter.

Facebook is a little more than that, of course. But still, it takes some getting used to, especially with going there just once a day.

But the Blackberry changes all that. Apps like TwitterBerry allow me to quickly access Twitter to update my status, or read others' statuses.

Then, there's the Facebook application for Blackberry. That allows you to access many of Facebook's features quickly. Or, go to Facebook itself.

Then, there's the Facebook Twitter application. That allows you to update Facebook from Twitter. It says you can update Twitter from Facebook, but I never got that to work. But, it does update Facebook from Twitter.

So, if I want to change my status, I do it with the Twitter app (TwitterBerry). If I want to check Facebook, I do it with the Facebook app.

There is one catch. If you update with TwitterBerry, your Facebook status does update. But the status you see on the Facebook app isn't updated. Not sure why. But your actual Facebook status is updated.

It's not perfect. So, if there's another way, I'm wanting to learn.

The Blackberry has done to me what it's done to so many others. It's addicted me to a Blackberry. And, it's making Facebook and Twitter more a part of my life.

Yes, it's silly. I know.

But my name is Basil. And I'm an addict. And I'm going to stay that way.

Subscriptions

Got a Blackberry recently.

Yes, I like it. A lot.

But, it got may attention about something.

I set it up to get my email. I mean, that's one of the things that Blackberrys are for, right? So, I set it up to get email from three email boxes. One for stuff related to the blog (where all blog stuff forwards anyway), one for personal (that is, not work or blog; again, several email accounts already forward to that), and one for the Blackberry itself.

The problem? It seems I'm subscribed to all kinds of things. ESPN, MLB alerts, FoxNews, blog mailing lists, JCPenney, Sears ... heck, all kind of things.

Previously, when I got home at night -- or broke out the MacBook at lunch where wifi is available (Subway, BK, the mall, etc) -- I'd get all my emails. And, getting all those mailing lists at that time is fine. Depending on what time it is, how busy things are, or how tired I am, I'll read them or ignore them. I mean, really, that's how we all treat email subscriptions.

However, they don't all arrive at 7:00 at night, when I check my email. They arrive all throughout the day.

And, now that I have my Blackberry set up to get my email, I get those emails when they arrive. All throughout the day.

That's a problem.

Because, well, picture this:

I'm on the phone with someone in, say, Europe (yes, the Evil Corporation for which I work does business all across the globe). Suddenly, the Blackberry start buzzing. I reach down, pop up the clasp, lift the Blackberry out of the case, look at the screen. There it is. A message indicator.

I open the message, because, heck, it could be important.

There it is: Scott Ott has posted a new blog entry!

Then, it buzzes again. And I discover that JCPenney has all sheets and pillowcases 10% off.

Another buzz. Michael Steele wants money. (How did he get my address? From John McCain or Fred Thompson, I bet!)

Now, I'm not picking on these folks. I'm the one who subscribed. So, I'm getting exactly what I asked for.

However, the Blackberry has thrown a new wrinkle into it: I get my emails when they're sent. Not just when I check them at lunch or after supper.

So, I've come up with a solution.

I still want those subscriptions. Heck, Sears might have a sale I want to know about.

So, I've set up two new email addresses. One for subscriptions for the blog, and one for subscriptions for personal (non-work and non-blog). The Blackberry won't check those addresses. I will. At lunch. Or after supper.

What this means is, if I've subscribed to something of yours, and I suddenly cancel, I'm probably not really canceling. Instead, I'm stopping delivery to that address, and setting it up to another address.

I don't know why I didn't think of this before.

Hand tools

Like a lot of people, I notice things that interest me. And often miss things that don't.

Not that I'm oblivious to things. Not always, anyway. But, if some new interest arrives in my life, I notice that interest in others.

After we bought our Chevy Impala last December, I've noticed lots of Impalas on the road. Prior to that, I didn't notice all the Impalas. But I noticed a lot of Luminas. Of course, that was while we had the Lumina.

Recently, I got a new toy: a Blackberry.

It's my first real smartphone. I've had a PDA, and I've had cell phones. But this is the first smartphone I've had.

And, in the two short days I've had the Blackberry, I've noticed how many others have them.

And just how important they are.

I found that out in the men's room today.

While I'd prefer to not use a public restroom, I do find the need, on occasion. Ballgame, work, mall, restaurant... there are times that I need to use a public restroom.

Today, I went into a men's room, and there, standing at a urinal, was a man with a Blackberry in one hand. I didn't look to see what was in the other hand, but I do assume it was what he should have in his hand.

As much as I'm enjoying the Blackberry, I really don't think that anyone would ever find me standing at a urinal with the Blackberry in my hand.

I like my Blackberry.

But, it's not my favorite tool.