The Column
Motto: Bwhaaaaaaaaaam
About the motto - I’m watching Inception. So you might have to take this entire post with a grain of salt.
Maybe a brick of salt.
I have had a surge of productive energy since the end of school. Something about not having homework. Not having homework assignments gnawing at the back of my mind. Not having a cosntant study monkey on my back. Not having any of those things really puts me in a different mindset. Before, free time was spent “actively relaxing”, if such a thing exists. Now that there is no homework. I am doing things with my free time. All those things I wished I had time for during school.
I did some research about cell phone companies. Verizon is killing the unlimited data. The grandfathered in plans from older Verizon contracts. From even older Alltel contracts. I found out that pre-paid phone plans exist right now that offer unlimited text, talk, and data for $50/month… and you can bring in any unlocked GSM phone you want. That means, the unlocked Galaxy Nexus that Google is offering from their Play Store for $400 and pay $50/month for as long or as short as you want. That is much cheaper than the $200 subsidized version at Verizon with $100/month plans. It pays for itself after 4 months of usage and then saves you $50 for every year thereafter.
The other thing I wanted to talk about briefly was my recent Zen moment with Google Plus. The number of friends I have now that actively use Google Plus is growing. It has become a more legitimate option as time has passed and I will continue to back it fully. It truly is what sharing online SHOULD be like. Facebook is mindless chatter. Google Plus is full of things I actually care about.
Last two things:
- I just finished Inception. I now fully subscribe to the interpretation that he was asleep still.
- My new phone background (thanks to my lovely girlfriend) is AWESOME:
The avengers was AWESOME.
Top 5: True realizations I had during my Zen moment
- All of the content I see on Google+ is relevant. I care about everything I see because everything I see was intended for me to look at. This is a stark contrast to Twitter and Facebook where every post is meant for everyone (for the most part). I feel sharing on those networks is like trying to shout something in a loud concert hall. most of what you see wasn’t really meant for you.
- The messenger app for Android and iPhone does have a purpose. When trying to organize a group meetup, there really is no smarter way to do it. I want to use and explore this feature more- but I really love the idea. Google+ is way more than just a social network. They came late to the game and had a few misses along the way, but they really knocked it out of the park when they got it right.
- Sharing exactly what you want with exactly who you want to share it with is a much better system than Twitter and Facebook’s approach. Seriously. Much much better. Having said that, “Public” posts are important every once in a while. People think Google+ isn’t used because the selective share feature works so well.
- The integration with Android is really remarkable. Android has passed the iPhone in terms of successfully integrating a cohesive system (this is beyond Google+, but it is what made me fully realize it)
- Google+ hangouts are fun. They go beyond “Skyping” and can be used for a lot more than video calls. Google Docs editing. Youtube watch parties. Group hangouts. Screen sharing. All of which can be accomplished from any Android/iPhone. Hangouts are a feature I have explored way too little.
Quote:
“You could call it Locii… multiple locust” - Joe Sliter’s (technically wrong) suggestion for Jon’s future dog’s name.