Dear Tim Cook

Today is the 1111th day since I got my iPhone 3G (that translates to me getting it back on August 22, 2008). Patience is not a trait one would normally describe me with, yet here I am, still in my monogamous relationship with my slow as all shit 2nd gen iPhone. I've been using this antiquated single tasking phone long past 1) its prime, and 2) my hardware upgrade eligibility timeframe (18 months ago), despite the fact its circuits and solder are so old, it's essentially useless at anything other than making phone calls (like anyone actually does that anymore). All that, despite the ample availability of two full generations of hardware I could've upgraded to. Partly out of sheer stubbornness against subscribing to the 'product obsolescence lifecycle' bullshit pushed on us by manufacturers (my last PC ran Windows ME for 7 years before I went Apple - SEVEN YEARS and WINDOWS ME!!), and partly out of spite that I ended up in a line 3 people too long from getting an iPhone 4 on the day it came (and sold) out, I've been punishing myself this past year and a half with long loading times for everything from checking email to writing a note, to even opening the effing calculator.

I relay the above to you not in an attempt to show you how stupid or stubborn or persistent or tenacious I can be when it comes to NOT doing something most would have expected to be a no brainer, but rather to express this: WHEN IN THE EFF ARE YOU GOING TO ANNOUNCE AND RELEASE THE NEXT iPHONE, TIM??!! I refuse to the be sucker that buys the iPhone 4, only to have it obsoleted in a couple days/ weeks/ months by some new sexy beast of a smartphone that will flush your toilet and butter your toast at the same time.

WHEN, TIM, WHEN?!!

Happy CNY/ V-Day/ Family Day

So this is shaping up to be a pretty crammed weekend considering it's Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, and Family Day long weekend all in one. Unfortunately, both of us work for the Feds, and we don't get Family Day off. Apparently, our public service motto should be 'Your Federal Public Service - NOT giving a shit about families since 1990!'

Anyways, we have family coming in to celebrate the new year, so I'm doing my V-day post a couple days early. Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours... just remember to think twice before you go and buy some overpriced flowers or trinket to express your affection for someone - are you doing it because society dictates that this is the ONE day of the year you must pretend to be lovey-dovey and romantic, or are you doing it because you genuinely want to (in which case, why does it have to be this day?)...



Statue of Cupid and Psyche, the Louvre, Paris. Original photo taken with a Nikon D40x, then processed with an iPhone app.


A shot of the backside of The Basilique Sacre-Coeur du MontMartre, Paris, where I proposed... sappy. Whatever.

The Fauxlaroid Cafe

The best camera you own is the one you have on you. So while sometimes I wish I had my Holga or my D300 with me everywhere I go, that's just plain not practical. Enter the craptastic iPhone 3G and the Shake It photo app from the app store. Instant Fauxlaroid goodness.

This is a quartet of the Calgary firefighters in action during last week's big Chinatown fire. The blaze started at 4 in the morning, and they were still dousing it by 2 in the afternoon.



Alright, gone skiing for the next two days. Have a great weekend!
-G