Thursday, September 27, 2018

Apple says that they charge so much because they make the best phone.

Apple wants to make the best so that they can have the most margin. It probably costs around $350 to make this phone, and maybe $400 for the maxed out models, but Apple screws the customer on price anyway. They could charge $750 to $800 for any of these phones and be doing well.

This is deliberate. Apple will continue to do this only as long as people are willing to throw their money away. If nobody bought the XS Max, with the ironic name, Apple would be forced to offer discounts and be more reasonable in their pricing structure.

I am still happy with my iPhone 6+, but these prices are so insane that I will not buy the latest models. I could be just as happy with a cheaper 1 to 2 year or model, or a different brand. There are $500 phones that people can be just as happy with.

A dollar per day will not pay for this phone in two years. Maybe three years, but some models would take four years.


Friday, September 21, 2018

This is what I saw on May 7nth, 2015.

This is what I saw on May 7nth, 2015.   Just reminiscing.  After a long trip, seeing this sign got me excited.



This is on I-74 next to the Illinois border.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Googol

Searching for the word "google" on Google did not give me the definition that I was looking for. It turns out the word I wanted was "googol". I assumed that they mean the same thing, but they do not.  

Re: My day.

Facebook posts from yesterday:

Still trying to wrap my brain around the move. I'm not fully settled in yet. Still unpacking and dealing with a few issues. I'm not yet adjusted to my new surroundings.

Having to take a longer drive today to the Greenwood Chess Club, which is a club that I started, felt perfectly natural. I'm already used to driving between New Whiteland and Columbus at least once a week. I traded a 15 minute drive to the Greenwood Club for a 37 minute drive, but I save more than that by being very close to the Columbus Chess Club and being closer to my mother.

However, I did not return straight home. I went from the Greenwood Chess Club to my old house in New Whiteland just as I always have in the past. I needed to do a couple of things at the house and pick up a few items that didn't make it during the move. This very familiar drive back to my old house felt weird because I knew that I don't live there anymore. So did being in the mostly empty home.



Once again this describes my life:






Long John Silvers

On Tuesdays Long John Silvers has some pretty good fish tacos for just a dollar.  One of these restaurants is about a mile from my old house and only half a mile from my new house, so today I ordered five of these things.  However, I only eat one or two of the tacos a day.

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My day.

 A couple of Facebook posts I made:


I now have hot water.

I noticed that my water wasn't very hot, and in fact it wasn't hot at all. It was just that the water heater is in the garage where it is at least a hundred degrees, so I was able to take a shower with lukewarm water. Therefore I assumed that the water heater was working, but not very well and that it needed replacing. However, this morning my shower was pretty cold so I did some investigating.

I discovered that the pilot light on the water heater was not lit, so I read the instructions on how to light it. My first three attempts were not successful. The way this works is overly complicated, but after turning a couple of knobs the correct way you are suppose to press a button several times activating a piezoelectric crystal that sends a small electric spark to the pilot light. On my last attempt I pressed the button about ten times mostly out of frustration, and then I heard the thing light up.

  





My favorite Walmart is in Franklin mostly because it is not too big, nor is it too small. Also the parking lot is fairly straightforward and easy to get in and out of.

Compare this to the Walmart in Columbus off of tenth street, where the parking lot is more complicated with lanes going at weird angles. The same thing can be said of the Walmart in Greenwood, and it is even worse at the Walmart in Southport off of highway 31. When I lived in New Whiteland I didn't like going to either one of these Walmarts and would drive to Franklin instead.

The Walmart in Columbus is so large that it feels more like a chore to shop there. I traversed the length of the store both ways at least three times because I kept remembering things that I needed.  If I want to do this efficiently, I need to plan better.

I ordered so many times from the deli at the Franklin Walmart that they know me by name there.


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