I cannot resist the lure of lining George Lucas’ pockets with more of my hard-earned dollars in an effort to recapture that which so captivated me in my youth.  Sarcasm aside, even with this being the Lucas-tampered versions of the original trilogy, I am certain to enjoy it in all its high-def glory.

As I was reviewing my bill, I came across the following charges.

I had to scratch my chin here, as I had no idea why my bill had a charge for $16.28.  I clicked on the link in my online bill, and I was shown this:

I now find it quite interesting that I am being billed for Cheap2Dial Telephone, a service for which I know I have not signed up.  Thanks to Google, I find their website and start poking around.  I see that this service offers Domestic Long Distance plans.  I clearly have no need for this plan, as I have the Verizon Freedom plan which covers all my needs.  While reading further on the Cheap2Dial website, I see the following statement:

How am I billed for using Cheap2Dial?
Although Cheap2Dial is not affiliated with your local telephone company, the monthly recurring charges for the plan you choose will appear on your local telephone bill on the USBI portion of your bill on behalf of Cheap2Dial Telephone, LLC. You will continue to receive the monthly recurring charges on your local telephone bill until you cancel the plan.

It is now pretty clear to me that I have fallen prey to “slamming.”  I immediately call Cheap2Dial to have this service turned off.  I also inquired as to when this change was made, and it was made on 7 May 2009.  I find that interesting as I was in the office all day long, and the only person who could possibly have made the change was my houseguest.  I inquired as to if she changed it, and she did not.

My next call will be tomorrow morning to Verizon to have this charge reversed.  I will also be making sure that this does not happen again on my phone bill.  My landline is not going anywhere anytime soon, but I expect to change my calling plan to the cheapest one once my houseguest is no longer here.

Cheap2Dial and USBI have gained a reputation for slamming customers. I can only advise you to ensure you look at your phone bill and are not a victim of slamming.

My current contract with Verizon Wireless expires in June 2009.  If I wait until that time, I am eligible for the “New Every 2” promotional offer.  I spoke with Verizon while reconnecting my old phone to make sure that this had no impact on my current contract status given that I am effectively forced to reactivate.  I was assured that my reactivation should have no impact on my contract status.  So, if I stay with Verizon and wait until my contract expires, I can get a substantial discount towards the purchase of a new phone.

I am also pondering a change of carriers.  While keeping my old number is not an issue, I am looking for a way to avoid paying a potentially substantial early termination fee.  I am also a off-put by the vast difference in network quality between Verizon and the alternatives.  For all of Verizon’s faults, their cellular network is pretty good.  Additionally, it is a pretty good 3G network as well.  I rarely have issues with calls and messages.

I have also come to the decision that I really want a smartphone.  My time with my work CrackBerry has been illuminating.  I like having my calendar and my contacts on my device, and it is unparalleled when it comes to email.  Thus, my first pass on potential replacements have come down to the following three choices:

• Apple iPhone
• BlackBerry Storm
• HTC G1 (The Android/Google Phone)

Phone	Pros	Cons
iPhone 3G	- Integrated WiFi connectivity - Useful Applications - Full-featured browser - Actually recommended by a friend - All the cool kids are doing it - JailBreak makes this attractive - Touchscreen - GPS	- Apple makes it - Requires iTunes - Browser is Safari - Pricing for the phone and plan still suck - AT&T 3G Network sucks - No cut and paste - No MMS messages - on-screen keyboard does not work in landscape mode - Navigation between apps is a kludge - Touchscreen has no tactile feedback
HTC G1	- Integrated WiFi connectivity - Google integration - Touchscreen and hidden QWERTY keyboard - Least expensive of the three phones - Open-source OS - Extremely hackable - GPS - Cut and paste - MMS Messaging	- T-Mobile network makes AT&T network look awesome - Odd form-factor - Largest phone of the three - Swing-out keyboard/display is kind of dated
BlackBerry Storm	- Familiar BlackBerry OS - Touchscreen with tactile feedback - Verizon Network - GPS - Pretty decent browser by BlackBerry standards - Decent application availability - Touchscreen keyboard in both landscape and portrait modes - Cut and paste - MMS Messaging	- No WiFi - Reported slow responsiveness - Yet another BlackBerry to carry - Slightly less-expensive than the iPhone (after a mail-in rebate)

I am leaning in the direction of the Storm.  I have gotten some feedback from friends who are new BlackBerry users, and they like it.  I have also used the Storm, and I like the way it feels.  I do feel its lack of WiFi is a severe weakness when compared to the G1 and the iPhone.  I have played with the G1, thanks to a coworker.  It’s form factor is a bit odd, as it kind of bends at the end where the mouthpiece is.  I like the G1 because, well, it’s open-source.  The problem: T-Mobile.  Finally, the only reason the iPhone makes the list is so that I can hack it via JailBreak.

I will probably make a decision in the next week.  The Storm, though, is a strong contender.

On top of this, I was able to watch one of the people who lurk outside the store trying to sell what I can only guess were stolen DVDs.  Wonderful.

I love my neighborhood, but it’s times like these when I am so glad I choose to shop elsewhere.  No more visits to the Safeway in my neighborhood, that’s for sure.

In the above photos, there are chairs indeed in my dining room!  They work quite nicely with my table, so I will be ordering another couple of chairs to complete the set.  So, my little Indonesian worker will soon be at work on another two chairs.

As I said when I bought my house, the growth in my furniture is a slow burn.  Once I get the other two chairs, the dining room will be complete.

So, in 6 weeks, I will finally be able to sit at my dining room table.  Yes, procrastination was most certainly king on this front for me.  Those of you who have joked will have little reason to do so much longer.

I gave the phone a day, letting it dry out completely. After it failed to come back up, I decided to traipse down to my local Verizon Wireless store to confirm that the phone was dead. I waited to talk to one of the techs and explained the situation. They pretty much confirmed what I thought–the phone was dead and I would have to pay close to full retail to replace the phone. In this instant, I was reminded of the problem with the subsidized cell phone services here in the States.

I decided to wait and talk to Customer Service to see what they recommended, and pretty much my alternative was to pay $50 less than the retail price or to get a different phone. After looking at the potential phones available to me and considering looking online, I decided to go back to my old phone–the trusty Motorola e815.

After getting everything setup on my old phone, I decided to play around with my RAZR2. Something strange popped into my head, and I decided to plug the phone in and let it get charged up. When I plugged it in, I got the usual boot menu the phone gives, and it continued to take a charge.

After some time charging, I decided to power the phone up. Lo and behold, the phone worked. I went online and reactivated my RAZR2, and it has been working just as expected. There appears to be no loss in functionality, and it works just as it did before. The crisis has truly been averted, and I will not have to buy a replacement phone.

One of the lessons here is that apparently, the technical staff at Verizon Wireless stores is not as savvy as I thought they were. Of course, this should not be terribly surprising to me as it is. Secondly, for a long-time customer, I was surprised there was not something else they could do for me.

Wow.  The government wants me to stimulate the economy with $13.85.  Looks like that will either buy me lunch or a couple of beers.  Needless to say, my stimulating of the economy will be slight.

My quest for a new travel mug to add to the assortment begins anew.  Say what you will about Starbucks coffee, but I have found their travel mugs actually tend to be pretty good.  At some point this weekend, I am going to have to pay them a visit and see what they have on hand.

After much hemming and hawing, I was deciding between the Zune2 (the 80GB version) and the iPod Classic.  Indeed, after my railing against Apple, I was considering the very bane of my existence as my new music player.  I needed something for this weekend, as I am heading down to see my grandfather, so I called around to see who had a Zune, and I was disappointed that there are really none to be had.

I made a call to the Best Buy downtown, and I looked to see what they had in stock since they are right next to my office.  I was vanquished again in my Zune search, but they had an iPod Classic in stock, 80GB.  I put it on hold, and I stepped out around lunch time to make the purchase.

I like the form factor compared to my old brick, the Dell DJ. I still find iTunes to be an unwieldly beast, and I will need another day to get used to it.

I will miss my trusty DJ, and I will be taking it apart to see what, if anything, is salvageable.  Heck, it might be interesting to experiment with as an external drive.  Nonetheless, that little piece of electronics is worthy of a Viking funeral.