TechieChic

I find it particularly interesting that after one of the most auspicious holidays for the giving of thanks, the American people turn around the very next day to feed into their selfish desires and greed.

This “special” day of the year is called Black Friday, and most recently named so by media and retailers because it is the time of year that these companies are in the financial black. However, I believe the day’s meaning has a much darker undertone…

Wal-Mart Employee Trampled to Death

If you do not want to read the article, the background to this story starts with thousands of shoppers gaining momentum to form a savage mob mentality. Just before the store’s “Doorbuster” 5:00 a.m. opening, the people outside actually broke through the front doors that were being guarded by a handful of employees. These same people trampled an employee to death, and what is worse, they resisted requests to leave even after they were informed that they had killed an employee.

Such blatant disregard for human life causes me to marvel at the grotesque irony of this situation. Here we are, one day after expressing gratitude for all the freedoms, liberty, and relative peace we enjoy in this country–and people are pushing and injuring an extremely pregnant woman so badly she has to go to the hospital! No one looks to notice that they are stepping on a human being so forcefully that they are causing fatal wounds. People grab and snatch and horde their new-found possessions, regarding them as of greater worth than the people around them.

In response, I ask:

• When did such material objects ever come to mean more than a human life?
• How did we become a people who, ironically enough in this day and culture, become less and less tolerant and at the same time more and more isolated?
• Why did we let this happen?

If I had family that died in this situation, not only would I be heartbroken for the meaningless loss that has come into my life, but I would question how this could have even happened. I too, like the real father was, would have been shocked and appalled that the employer made no pro-active attempts to contact me. Not nearly enough apologies. Not nearly enough responsibility.

I would implore all who read this to spend a moment in introspection, examining how they each contribute to or decimate our society. While technology and discoveries of certain truths have been a great blessing to the human race as a whole, we still suffer the same weaknesses and tendencies of ancient civilizations. I would even venture to say that we are, in some respects, worse off in the development of society. The final question that remains is what do you intend to do about this?

Click here to read the full review on the SCH-i760

So we ordered new cell phones today. Let me just say that I love being married to a wonderful wife who appreciates technology like I do. Believe it or not, she was the one to suggest that I work on getting a new phone.

We have Verizon, mainly because both our families use Verizon. I also get a 20% discount through my work, which is always nice. I’ve generally been content with the don’t pay anything free phones that come with the service agreements, but as of late I’ve been wanting to consolidate my PDA with my phone. Simply carrying around all these electronic devices is no fun. Besides, I have the perfect excuse: my PDA is dying…

This guy knows my pain

And so I call Verizon to see what kind of deal I can squeeze out of them. You see, every two years I was eligible to get a upgraded phone, but my upgrade date wasn’t until June 9, and so I thought I would have to fight tooth and nail to get this to go through tonight. Surprisingly, the guy on the other end (a BYU alumni–Woot!) was extremely helpful to us. He got me the phone I wanted…for $200 less than retail! And then he threw in a case for half off and a nice $120 phone for free for Brittny. That definitely raised Verizon’s customer support in my book.

I would rant about all the cool new “specs” and features of my new phone, but I think I will spare you and post it on my upcoming tech blog. Enjoy the pictures instead.

My new baby

Brittny’s new phone

Click here to read the full review on the SCH-i760

Honeymoon pictures!

Well, we made it home from Paris last Saturday, but this is the first time I’ve really been able to update since then. I’ve worked every morning since then until today. So I have a breather from work. Now I get to focus on school work and my application to the Business School!

The honeymoon was great! We just loved taking it easy while we were there. We saw a lot of cool things and places, but most of all we were just happy being together!

The trip home was a mess, though. The one big lesson we learned was to never, ever ever ever ever fly with Air India! As we were landing two hours late in New Jersey, thus missing our connecting flight, the pilot bounced the plane on the runway! First the right wheel hit, then he brought the left wheel down hard…so hard, in fact, that the right side of the plane lifted off the ground, bringing the left wing dangerously close to the ground. We seriously thought we were going to die! The flight attendants also looked extremely scared.

After that, Air India did a horrible job at getting us on another airline. We called their service desk four times, only to be hung up on each and every time. Fortunately, the threat of a lawsuit made the cooperate the fifth time, and we finally made it home.

I know this all sounds like a really bad experience, but the honeymoon itself was wonderful! And now, we have a waay interesting story to tell people!