Verizon xv6900 Phone Update

It has been a little over a week since I upgraded my cell phone from my old LG 9800 to this new xv6900 phone. I love the new phone (Last Saturday night I upgraded my calling plan and this brought me the ability to use some of the other features on the phone). After using it for a week I have found that this phone actually works the way it is supposed to. I have had three phones of this type and the prior ones would lock up occasionally. This one has not. With the new phone I got a 2 mega pixel digital camera with 2x zoom. The picture above was taken just as a test to see how it would do. Not bad considering it was a gloomy day at the time. All in all I am happy with the upgraded phone.

Maumee Valley Model Railroad Club sale and swap meet 2/28/09

Saturday February 28th from 9am to 2pm will be the 12th annual Maumee Valley Model Railroad Club Train show sale and swap meet at Coliseum Bingo, 911 West Washington Center Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46825. Admission is $3, families $5, kids under 12 are free.


Sponosred for over 12 years by the Maumee Valley Railroad Club. Many large tables of model railroad and railroadiana bargains! Several operating layouts including the newly updated MVRRC DCC modular layout. Hands-On trains display (for kids of all ages). Good food and plenty of free parking available. Handicap accessible.

Get your US manufactured YORK peppermint pattie's while they last

Hershey company has decided to move the production of the YORK peppermint pattie and other candies to Montery Mexico closing it's plant in Reading, PA. The plant in Reading closed on Friday after 23 years of production. This plant also produced other candies like the 5th Avenue and Zagnut candy bars and Jolly Rancher's. A total of 260 employees will be let go.

The Verizon XV6900 Phone

Well, the other day I reported that I got a new phone. After three years and Verizon making me the right offer (FREE with contract renewal) I upgraded my phone. The XV6900 is the phone on the left in the picture above and my old LG9800 is the phone on the right.

The XV6900 is supposed to rival the IPhone. I have no frame of reference on this as I have not seen the IPhone, but the XV6900 has a lot of nice features. The 1500 applications that the IPhone boasts, well I doubt the XV6900 has that many, but it was loaded with what I wanted. I wanted a phone with a slightly larger screen (got it). I was hoping the lock on the phone would be improved (got it). I wanted to be able to post to my blog on the go (mobile - got it). I wanted to be able to update some Microsoft Excel spreadsheets that I use and sync them up with my PC (got it). I also wanted to be able to send short emails via text messaging (got it with a $10 extra charge per month for text messaging -- unlimited in-network and 500 out). I have had several of these smart phones and this is the first one that I have had that seems to work and work well. So far, no problems detected. Yesterday I installed Active Sync program and Synced my Microsoft Outlook contacts, Email, and Calendar with the phone so I now have all my contact information loaded.

Now, I loved my LG9800 and was reluctant to give it up, but I think I will like the new phone better after I get used to it. My LG9800 had one flaw, it was very easy to unlock. When closed the phone has another key pad on the front. To unlock the phone you simply hit the "OK" button twice. It was very easy to do when the phone was near say the seat belt. It also had a tendency to allow for numbers to be dialed with out actually intending to dial those numbers. I had a call last week that happened while I was at work that started at 7:30 and ended about 9am when I discovered my phone was on and there was an active call. 88 minutes of air time expended and my battery was nearly dead (the phone is 3 years old and the battery is weak now). Luckily for me I never use all my 450 anytime minutes so I still have about 150 minutes left until 2/23/09 when it resets.

The good news for my LG9800 is that it will be gone but not forgotten. I have decided to keep it charged. I will be taking off all the pictures and files, and putting on MPG3 music files as many as I can load on it. The phone had a great sound and I feel will make a great MP3 player. I believe in the box is tethered headset that I can use to listen to the music. I have a brand new case with belt loop on it so using it should be easy. I also allowed my kids to use it the last time they were with me to listen to music so sounds like a plan.


If you are interested in the XV6900 phone from Verizon wireless they have them on clearance now while supplies last. They are making room for a whole host of new phones that are coming out. They already have several new phones to choose from that has the Windows Mobile operating systems on it. So, heer is your chance to get a great phone cheep. Hopefully, if it works out as planned I will be posting to my blog a little more often (of course as time permits).

Mobile Posting

Just got my new phone. I have figured out how to post using the phone. The image above was on the phone and I thougt it was cool.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Memories

Memories, we all have memories of things and events in our lives. Even though I would never have my ex-wife back I have recently tried to impress upon her the importance of spending time with our kids. The importance of building fond memories for the kids to look back on. Trace Adkins a country music singer has a single out titled "Your gonna miss this". The lyrics go something like this:

You're gonna' miss this

You're gonna' want this back

You're gonna' wish these days Hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're gonna' miss this

I for one have looked at life a lot lately. My sister wrote in her blog about spending time with us at the Galley in Decatur Indiana recently. I rarely pass up an opportunity to spend time with family. I enjoy these times and I realize some day I will wake up and things won’t be the same. For my kids I try to spend every day with them and make fond memories for them. I have fond memories from my child hood. I always loved it when mom and dad took us to the park. We would visit Foster, Sweeney, or Frankee park. I like the zoo too, but the park was the most fun. I think it was Sweeney were we had the squirrel that would come up to the car and beg for French fries. I remember how mom would always make us something simple for lunch and cook something good for dinner when dad got home. How we would gather around the TV at night to watch shows together. After I was older my dad and I would go to play basketball at the park on Saturday evening and Sunday evenings. I miss those times and wish I could have them back.

Today I spend quality time with my kids. We do things they like to do when I am with them. I have tried over the years to capture some of the things that happened with my digital camera and camcorder so that I have the memories to look at. I try to do something one-on-one with each child, as it will build that special memory that will last it a lifetime. With my son with the exception of last year, we have gone to Deshler Ohio for a railfan trip. I have loved trains ever since I was a kid and now I like them even more than ever. When we first started this trip it stared out about trains. I would do the train thing and my son would ride his three wheeler and play with toys. We might move to the Bloomdale park that was beside the tracks and he would play there. Then as he got to be older it got to be more of a father and son outing and less about trains. Just he and I spending time together. Today I doubt he will find Bloomdale very interesting. It is a small park. He will most likely be more into trains, but I could be wrong. I still think it will be about the one-on-one time with me.

As for my daughter I have opted to take her to the zoo or a park when we have our one-on-one’s. She seems to enjoy it and it is closer to home. This last summer she met up with another little girl named "Ashley" and my daughter’s name was "Ashley". The other parent’s daughter was exactly one year and one day younger than my Ashley. Needless to say my daughter had a friend at the zoo for as long as her mother would allow her to. It made for a special day for her. I am not going to post photo of the two of them I took as it was of my daughter and someone else’s child.

For me it boils down to this, what do I want to remember. How do I want my kids to remember me. They will only be young once and I only get one chance to do it right. There are no "Do-overs" in lie. As Trace Adkins says: "you’re gonna miss this, you’re gonna want this back, you’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast….."

Below is a link to the video for your listening and viewing pleasure to a video for this song.

http://www.cmt.com/videos/trace-adkins/217378/youre-gonna-miss-this.jhtml

I will never understand people!

First, In no way is this post meant to offend anyone. I am just appalled at something that happened yesterday. I was standing in line to clock in talking with a couple of co-workers. The one was recently separated from his wife. He was talking with remorse about not having her any more. He has his kids and he talked about how the kids missed her, then in the next breath made this joke: "I need to find a friend with benefits soon. I don’t know about the whole relationship thing". The other guy said, "Let me know if she has any sisters". Maybe he was just trying to change the subject, but I just dropped out of the conversation at that point. It wasn’t funny to me.

I have always wondered why women think men only want thing from them. After talking with these Neanderthal’s I understand. I have had several conversations with male friends who pretty much verify that most men only want that one thing and don’t care about anything else when it comes to women. I am going to be blunt here, if sex is the only reason to have a woman in my life then I don’t need one!

To me a good relationship should be like a partnership. Both parties working together to get things done. Both are working toward the same goals. I was watching a talk show once and the host said, "What happens when it is time to take out the trash". Exactly, there is more to life than sex, money, and things you can buy and do. It should be about love, trust and respect. Communication is a key thing. Each party should be concerned about the others mental and physical wellbeing. It shouldn’t be about one person controlling the other.
For me, I am happily single. Now, I do what ever I want whenever I want and don’t have to argue about it. My marriage was like prison. I couldn’t go out for any length of time before I would receive a phone call from my wife. I don’t think in a relationship that you need to be together 24/7. I actually think being together all the time is a bad thing. It can go to the other extreme where you are not together enough so a healthy balance is needed. Based on observation I have formed an opinion of what one or two things women want from men. Based on this opinion I will most likely be happily single the rest of my life. I think my co-worker may have made his joke to lighten the mood, but I am sure I would not have made that joke.

Just when you think you have seen it all!

Just about the time you think you have seen everything, then WAM there it is! I had just left eating lunch with my sister, mom, dad, and kids when I spotted this in the Northcreast parking lot. In the past I have referred to my car as a "pile-o-crap", but now I have actually seen one with a pile of crap on the back. I am not sure where the line is between good taste and tacky, but I am sure that this is well beyond tacky. I wish the person who had the money to waist had sent that money to me. I am sure I could have found something more constructive to spend it on. Now get this they have a web site: www.rentcowlimo.com . They suggest having this at say a Birthday, wedding, bachlor, or bachlorette party. So, if you are interested in this see the website. I guess it was drawing attention as I saw two other people take out their camera's and take pictures. All I can say is "YIKES!".

The state of the economy: When can we start using the “D” word!

The state of the economy: When can we start using the "D" word! Yesterday my kids had me take them to the McDonalds in Auburn. Auburn McDonalds has one of the nicest play areas around. While I was there I picked up the front page of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette and started to read it. One of the headlines read "Plunge in spending worst in 25 years". The article said this "Spending cutbacks hit everywhere last quarter. Shoppers chopped spending on cars, furniture, appliances, clothes, food and transportation. Businesses dropped the ax on equipment and computer software, homebuilding and commercial construction. And overseas sales of U.S.-produced goods and services tanked as foreign buyers grappled with their own economic woes.". I also read about the Acme Bar and Grill closing and it has been in business for 68 years. Circuit City is going out of business as well just to list a few.

My question is when can we start saying we are in a depression? No, I don’t mean maybe the current state of mind. I mean the current state of our economy! Recession nothing, every time I turn on my TV or see a piece of news there are more new layoffs. Where does it all end? I, like everyone else, have cut my spending back. I don’t believe people will spend money like the used to even if things recover. I know I have gotten used to the way things are and I am just dumb, fat, and well I would say happy, but with the threat of unemployment…

The problem here is that what I am hearing is business is cutting back to, because they feel they have to. First they lay off people. This takes money out of the economy. Then I start hearing about concessions in salary to avoid more layoffs. This too takes more money out of the economy. What we need is jobs for these people to do and get people back to work, but what do they work at? I am not sure manufacturing will ever be what it was when this is all over. I am not sure the Technology industry will ever be the same. So what is it they do?

Ok, If no one else will say it, were in a DEPRESSION! I have lived through a few recessions and have never seen anything like this. If this is, by chance a recession then it must be the grand daddy of them all! This is just my humble opinion