Baby on Board

You can fairly frequently come across a car or van with a “Baby on Board” sign in the window. Homer Simpson even wrote a song about them. But I frequently wonder what's the point?

Seriously, are people going to go, “I was going to accidentally rear-end that car, but OH NO! There's a BABY ON BOARD so I guess I can't!” Or maybe it's just a type of bragging. “Look at me, I have a baby and you don't!”

Just as dumb, in my opinion, are those decals I've been seeing more and more lately with stick figures of all the family members. Although I admit I found it hilarious when I saw one that was one stick person and a whole bunch of stick cats.

In the event that I ever have children at some point down the road, there are not going to be any signs and decals on my car...

Not Exactly Nail Trimmers

A number of years back I bought a big box of Q-Tips. I don't know what manicures have to do with Q-Tips, but this box included a free bonus manicure set. There were some tiny tweezers (I still can't figure out what tweezers have to do with manicures), nail clippers, a couple other things I had no clue what they were for, and a pair of scissors with a curved blade. I've always assumed that they were for cutting fingernails, probably for getting more clean and precise cuts than the clippers would provide.

Lately, the screw holding it together wouldn't stay tight so I decided I should buy a new one. While out at the store I checked out all the nail care supplies they carried. I found them, but was surprised to see them labeled as cuticle scissors. One package even specified, “For trimming cuticles and hangnails. Do not use on fingernails as this will dull the blade.”

I don't know what exactly a cuticle is or why you'd want to cut it. I'm not sure I even heard the word until a few years ago. Obviously it's nothing terribly important or obvious, like hair or fingernails, as I seem to have survived the past 3+ decades without ever trimming my cuticles. Maybe it's one of those things that only some people ever do (like guys shaving their chests. I find it funny how boys are told things like, “Eat your brussels sprouts and it'll put hair on your chest,” and when they do actually have hair on their chest they feel compelled to remove it), but there's enough of them to justify including one of these in all manicure sets. Like those other strange tools also included that I can't figure out how they're supposed to be used, but obviously someone out there knows.

But I figured I could save myself a few bucks and skip buying a new one, since apparently I was never supposed to be trimming my fingernails with those scissors anyway. And it gives me an opportunity to do a short research project, to answer the question, “What are cuticles, and why would I want to cut them?” Hmm, my Google search for "why cut cuticles" brings up pages with titles like, “Is it bad to cut your cuticles?” “Is cutting your cuticles healthy?” and, “Should you trim cuticles?” I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the answer is “Don't bother.”

Ready for 2012!

This evening while out for a short walk, I decided to pop in to the dollar store by my house. Unfortunately I didn't even find what I was hoping too, but I did find a 2012 calendar. And it was only a buck twenty nine. And it was of cats. How could I resist? Last year I didn't even get a calendar until near the end of January, and this year I already have one mid-October. And did I mention it's of cats?

Only question now is, do I use it here at home or bring it in to work for all my co-workers to enjoy too...?

468

I'm #468! Hooray! Well, I assume Rogers has separate queues for each iPhone type, so if that isn't an overall position, then at least of all the Rogers customers who reserved a white 16GB 4S this morning, I'm 468. Reservations from Rogers started at 3AM local time (other companies started at midnight... I wonder why the difference?) and what do you know, I just happened to wake up in the middle of the night around 3:30 and made my reservation since I was up anyway!

Of course this doesn't mean I'll get a new iPhone on release day next Friday. Even if they get 1,000 so I get one from the first batch, I think they're going to have them go to the stores a day or two later. They'll be busy enough with people lined up, and getting a cell phone is a little more complex than popping into the store and buying any other electronics. It'll probably be better, actually, going in later when they're not swamped. Much better service when they're not focused on getting as many people through quickly as possible and dealing with a huge crowd that all wants the same thing. And I didn't reserve an iPhone 4S just to try and ensure I'd get one on release day, anyway. I got one to make sure I could easily get one without having to spend hours in lines, running around to different stores all the time, and/or waiting weeks for stores to actually have it in stock.

I, for one, am looking forward to having a new iPhone, in spite of all the hate the 4S got when it was unveiled. I'd wager that all the people who were loudly complaining about it either already owned an iPhone 4, or weren't going to buy one anyway regardless of what was changed and just like to nitpick about everything. I saw pretty much the same thing after the iPad 2 was announced—loads of “It's not good enough. No way I'm getting one to replace my iPad!” whiners. I read an article earlier this week that I think hit the nail on the head. Sure, there's no massive hardware changes between the iPhone 4 and 4S aside from it being faster and having a better camera so iPhone 4 owners will be less likely to want to upgrade. But iPhone 4 owners are not the target audience.

People with an iPhone 4 are most likely still in the middle of their contract, and would have to pay a lot extra to upgrade their phone now. Instead, it'll be owners of older models, who are no longer in a contract as is the case with me, or those who don't own one at all who are most likely to get it. Sure, there's the handful of people who would pay anything to get a new Apple product if it was a whole lot better, but the majority of people will wait for the end of their contract before getting a new phone.

True, the iPhone 4S may be physically identical on the outside to an iPhone 4. Loads of people were complaining about that. But to me, that's actually a huge plus. The second I walk out of the store with my new iPhone, I can go practically anywhere and buy one of probably hundreds of cases and/or screen protectors available for it. When I bought my iPad 2 on launch day, there was just one choice. Apple's Smart Cover. And since I did not want one of those, I had to wait weeks for the first third party case to make an appearance, and even then, there was only a handful to choose from. Fortunately the first batch of iPad cases included one that was exactly what I was looking for.

So now, I have to patiently wait for the arrival of my iPhone. Maybe a week, or maybe two. Hopefully it won't be long before Rogers starts sending out the status emails they promised. But until then I guess I can pass the time browsing the case shelves in the stores!

***BREAKING NEWS!!!***
I just checked again out of curiosity, and now I'm up to 463. I guess 5 people canceled their reservations since this morning.

Feeling Hot! Hot! Hot!

Over the summer, I paid closer attention to the temperature inside my apartment. Mainly, because I had the patio door open as much as possible, but made sure to close it before the temperature outside surpassed what it was inside. I have two thermostats—one in the main part of my apartment and one in my bedroom. I soon noticed a curious phenomenon, where after spending more than a few minutes in my bedroom, the temperature there raised by 2-3 degrees.

Very curious. I know that when you pack a whole bunch of people in a room it can get quite warm and stuffy, but I didn't think just my body by itself gave off enough heat to warm a whole room. But that's what appeared to be happening, and only in my bedroom. I figured the rest of my apartment was large enough that the heat I gave off wasn't enough to raise the temperature noticeably there.

Then finally, sometime last week, I came to realise what the real cause of the apparent heat gain was. What was I doing all those times I was in my bedroom? Doing stuff on my computer. Which can give off a fair amount of heat when it's working hard. And is located about half a foot from the thermostat. Mystery solved! And here I thought maybe I was just such a super hot guy. Oh well.

Indiana Jones and the Search for a New Doctor

I have a confession to make. It's been almost a decade since I last visited a doctor. Well, I did go to the Emergency Room once about a year ago and I have a vague memory of visiting a nearby walk-in clinic maybe 7 or 8 years ago. But that's it. I know for a fact that I definitely haven't had any other doctor visits since moving to Abbotsford.

It's not that I'm afraid of doctors or anything; I just hadn't felt a pressing need to go see one. I did see them regularly when I still lived with my parents, but that was probably primarily because it was my mom making the appointments. I guess that's one sign of a good parent—being extra careful about their children's health. But the other thing is that several various ailments simply stopped after I moved out. And whenever I'd go over to visit, they occasionally would resurface until I went back home. I like to joke that I must be allergic to my mom.

But in any case, in recent months I've been really feeling that regular doctor visits is something I need to get back into. It's important to take care of your health after all, especially so once you get into your thirties like I am. But that's easier said than done, it seems...