Dayton is my Middle Name

So, I’m trying to work this out, and I figured here was as good a place to take notes as any other.

I really really really want a new iPhone.  Really.  I do not have a camera, my mp3 player is dying, and my current phone has extremely limited email/chat/browsing features (which is to say, none at all).  So, I figure, for $199 I can just get me one of those hot little gadgets and kill all the birds at once.

So, here’s the question: How much will it actually cost me to switch to the iPhone?

The costs associated with switching are these:

1. The phone itself: $199
2. Monthly data service: $30
3. Monthly voice service for 900 min*: $60
4. 200 Monthly text messages: $5
5. Early termination fee to get out of my current Sprint contract: $200

*I talk to my mom and my boss more than everyone else put together.  They are both on Sprint, so I don’t pay for the time I’m talking to them.  If I change to AT&T, then I’ll have to double my minutes to have enough time to talk without those nasty overage charges.

This means that the first year that I own it, my shiny new iPhone will cost me roughly $1670, including taxes.  Okay, let’s look at the alternative now:

1. The phone itself: Already owned
2. Monthly data: Not applicable
3. Monthly voice service for 450 minutes*: $40
4. 500 Monthly text messages: Free because of my loyalty to Sprint.

So, for a year of staying with Sprint and keeping my non-browsing, non-mp3-playing, non-photo-uploading phone, it will cost me around $530 with taxes.

But wait!  That’s WITHOUT the camera, the web browsing, or the mp3 player, so, let’s get real crazy and add these: an 8G iPod Touch does music and email/web browsing and costs about $323 (price with tax), and a Canon PowerShot 8mp Camera with 4x zoom for $250 (price with tax).

So, in corner #1 we have the new iPhone 3G: $1670 for a year.

In the opposite corner, we have a non-sexy but working phone, a really nice fancy new mp3 player and a pretty decent point and shoot camera: $1103 for a year.

Total difference is an estimated $567.  Is it worth that much to have only one piece of hardware instead of three?  Is it worth that much to have the fantastic conversation piece and status symbol of the iPhone?

And there are other factors.  For example, the camera and mp3 player would not show up as deductions on this year’s tax returns, but the iPhone and associated costs would.  Plus, there’s the obvious increase in photo quality from a phone to an actual camera.  Not to mention the ease and benefit of having a browser in my phone. And also, how crazy is it that it seems like the unlimited mobile-to-mobile inside of Sprint’s network is actually the deal breaker?

In the end, it seems that Apple sort of sold their soul to AT&T.  If the iPhone was open for any mobile provider, this would be a no-brainer for me.  Bummer.

It’s funny, really, how quickly I am able to adapt to my surroundings. I remember moving to Seattle and being so relieved at the culturally-lowered expectations on my appearance, and the raised expectations on my activity and intelligence.

I’m back in San Diego for ten days, and I’ve bought cute summer clothes, had my hair cut and highlighted, worked on my tan, and generally enjoyed being a pretty girl again. (Here’s the evidence–me, with some girls I met, at some club)

Clearly, I have no idea what I’m doing in this life.

The cause: Matt and I broke up a couple weeks ago. It was a rough time, but the months leading up the the split were rougher, so we’re both pretty confident that it was the right thing to do.

So, I’m playing at being a San Diegan for now. It’s really a lovely place to be, especially with Rachel’s generosity allowing me to spend most of my time at the beach.

I have no idea what my next move will be, and I am taking great pains to be okay with that. I’m not one who does well without a direction–normally, I’m queen of making the best of whatever direction befalls me. With a job I love, and virtually the entire world available to me, I’m more terrified than excited about the range of possibilities available to me.

So, where should I go?

Last Saturday was a big day. It started with a bacon, cheddar, onion and spinach omelette.

At 9:15 am, though it was very early for a Saturday, we left the house and braved the rain to get to Everett for a 10am tour of the Boeing factory. If you’ve never done this, I highly encourage it. I’m not one who is particularly enamored of aeronautics or flying, and still the views of the factory floor with airplanes in process is quite astounding. More astounding, I think, is the knowledge that even though the number of parts in one of those things is a completely non-human number (on the order of millions), each one was put there by a human. Crazy.

Also, I’m pleased to report that their new model, the 787 is 20% more fuel-efficient, meaning that the carbon cost of flying these things is LESS than if the passengers drove. Or some such guilt-reducing thing. Nice to know that carbon fiber has some purpose outside of custom Honda Civics.

At the conclusion of the tour, we piled back into the Sub (pronounced soob), headed down to the ferry terminal and hopped on a boat to Bainbridge Island. The ferry, I am happy to say, was more than just transportation. We got seats in the front row, and the view was complimented by the beer and sweet potato fries we got in the terminal. No open container laws on commuter ferries. Awesome.

Once we arrived in Bainbridge, we encountered light showers, a charming diner, and a lovely little town. We explored the book store, the bike store, the yarn store, the toy store, and the bakery, and having everyone’s hobbies addressed, it was time for more beer.

The first round of beer came with one of those spiral doodle kits and some itty bitty markers that we had picked up in the toy store. The second came with dinner. As much as we wanted to stay where we were, it was a small and very popular pub, so we felt guilty lounging in front of so many parched, starving Bainbridgeites.

It’s true that the pub where we had dinner is as far away from the ferry terminal you can be and still be in town. It’s also true that it was probably a 15 minute walk. Of course, once we arrived at the terminal, we could clearly see that there was not a ferry at the doc. Missed it by five minutes? Another one in 50? That’s just enough time for another beer!

This time, instead of heading all the way back to the cozy, crowded, view of the bay pub, we decide to stop at one of the restaurants in town that also has a tavern. Restaurant was empty, but the tavern side was jumpin’. Ted and Matt throw some darts. Some of them stuck in the dart board. Erin and I watched and drank.

Now, all credit goes to Ted for what happens next. Even without a watch, he was very conscientious about keeping track of the time of the next ferry. So, when he insisted, we shotgunned what was left in our glasses and started the 3 block trek back to the boat.

As we turn the corner, down toward the dock, we realize the guy at the gate is waving us emphatically forward. Hm. Okay. We walk faster towards the gangplank.

Next, the adrenaline-inducing blast of the ferry’s air horn.

Ah! They’re waiting for us! Holy shit! The four of us–drunk, stuffed full with beer and fried fish, run at full tilt down the hill, up the ramp, through the tunnel, only to arrive at the top where a man is closing the gate in front of us.

Just kidding. We got on the boat. And, just to make the ride back to the city that much better, it was senior prom. Awwww.

You think that’s the end of my story, but it’s not.

We got back to the car and as we were pulling out of the parking garage, we decided to ask Victoria (my gps) the best way to get to the freeway.  We couldn’t find her!  Also missing, her charger, Ted’s ipod and Erin’s ipod.  Someone had stolen our small electronics, and also the tape to mp3 adapter for the car stereo!  Bastards!

Three things came out of this:

1. We drank lots more.  Ah, solace.
2. Matt took this opportunity to lavish me with gifts and promptly replaced Victoria.  In’t he great?
3. It gave us free license to swear all night.  Lots of swearing.  Favorite phrases included “mother bitch” and “bitch ass piece of fuck.”

Not a day that will be quickly forgotten, and we miss the O’Connors up here already.

I swear, I have nothing to say.  It’s Thursday afternoon, and I’m certain that there are people who will get this in their feed reader and think to themselves, “oh, I forgot that she even had a blog.”  So, I’m basically writing this just to jog your memory.  Like a meaty paw landing on top of an albino’s head

Here’s a moral dilemma for you: Let’s say you pay a good amount of rent to your landlord for a really nice place that you loved.  Let’s say that she installed a coin-op washing machine, “to help recoup some of the costs for water and power.”  Next, imagine you have washed the kitchen rug (red) with your boyfriend’s jeans (now pink), and you are one quarter short of a recovery wash.

Do you:

a) confess, cry, and apologize

b) tear apart the house looking under every cushion and in every bag and pocket for the last quarter

c) immediately get dressed and go two blocks to buy quarters at the nearby market

d) use the maintenance key to the washing machine to initiate a free cycle

That’s right.  I did it.  I found the button, didn’t even have to look that hard.  Just popped open the door to the mechanism, saw the thing that the thing that holds the quarters hits when it gets pushed, pushed it, and went on with my life.  And Matt would never have known, if I didn’t decide this was the best way to entertain you now.  See the sacrifices I’m willing to make?

The real problem, I think, is what I will do the next time that I have to do laundry.

Ted and Erin arrive today for their second tour of Seattle, since the great northern relocation last August.  I always love their visits, as it basically results in more drinking and knitting and less sleep than my normal life.  Friends like them are the best thing in the world, after grandparents: they love you, they’re interested, and indulgence abounds.

1. I made a sweater.  Well, it’s a tank top, but it’s knitted, so it’s kind of a sweater.  It’s my first functional garment.  Pictures with me in it will be coming shortly, but for now, here’s this pretty orange cotton thing:
2. I’m in San Diego.  I wore open-toed shoes for the first time since I was here in January.  Amen, hallelujah and all that jazz.
3. Pursuant to that point, by the time dinner is over, my first three meals in San Diego will have been Mexican food.  Apparently there is something about the shadow of Mt. Ranier that prevents quality Mexican food from being available.  Other theories are always welcome.
4. I am really really over my job right now.  If you haven’t seen me face to face in a little while, you may want to avoid the opportunity.  Actually, I love my job.  It’s people I hate.  People who write dumb things that I have to read. Arg.

or:

What I have learned from moderating WisePrice

User generated content is pure gold in my industry. People write stuff.  Mostly, I think, because everyone just wants someone to listen to them. People write stuff, then those of us who have websites publish that stuff online, put ads next to it, and make pretty good money. This is the idea with WisePrice, and now that we’re well into the beginning stages of growing, it’s time to share some things with you that I am learning. That post about user generated content as a business model will be published some day, in the future, eventually.

For now, here’s what you need to know. Every day this week I have read on the order of 100 user reviews of services that they paid for. The reviews are from all over the country, and (based on grammar and writing ability) from a diverse economic spread. Here’s what I have learned:

1. Never ever EVER pay a “lawyer” that you found online, on tv, or in a newspaper ad. So far, all of our reviews on lawyers (with a single exception) describe stories of giving money to someone who claimed to be a lawyer and then skipped town. Get a referral or call your local Bar Association.
2. Daycare providers all over the country get paid vacations. How? By making the parents who regularly use their services PAY THEM. That’s right. It’s 4th of July. You’re off work and you are hanging out with your kids, and you are paying your daycare provider to take the day off without your kids. Simply stunning.
3. A laptop that has been urinated on by a 2 year old can be repaired for about $76.
4. Some people will take every opportunity they get to throw their spouse/ex/mother-in-law/sister’s two ugly pugs under the bus.
5. Mechanics, as a breed, seem to deserve the reputation they have for lying and manipulating. I continue to feel very lucky to have had such wonderful people work on my car, and if you need a referral for someone in SD or in Oakland, I’m happy to provide.
6. Babysitters don’t make much more now than they did 15 years ago. I got $5/ hour. Now, $6 seems to be the going rate.
7. The price paid for a haircut has absolutely zero relationship to the satisfaction that it brings.  I have more rants about $180 spent and raves about $15 than the other way around.
8. Big shock, this: Unless you know what you’re doing, it’s always cheaper to pay someone else to do work on your home.
9. People pay to have their cats groomed.  Huh?  I thought that the coolest thing about cats is that they groom themselves.

That is all.

For now, anyway.  There’s many more posts in the queue, so I expect this is only part one in a series.

1. I had like ten plantar warts removed this morning. I know it’s gross but it hurts a lot so I feel like I have a right to complain.
2. If you would like to know why you should vote for Barak instead of Hillary, watch this: 
3. If you would like to feel inspired about actually voting for Barak, watch this:
4. If you would like to feel terrified about the possibility of President McCain, watch this:
5. If Larry Lessig is successful in his run for congress, and once there, if he is successful in his efforts to end political corruption, I predict that he will go down in history as one of the most influential and important citizens our country has ever benefited from. Here is Larry’s blog. His anti-corruption efforts are not yet online, but you can give him your email address.
6. Oh my God, there is no place better to live. At the risk of sending the groundhog back into his hole, we’ve had a week of spring-y-ness here in the PNW and is it beautiful. If it’s really spring, then the winter was exactly one week too long. I can totally live with that.
7. Tomorrow, Matt and I embark on a short vacation in Lake Tahoe (well, very near it, anyway) before going to Sparks for some boot-camp-style entrepreneurialism for the remainder of the week. Can’t wait to see the peeps and play with yarn–what with this bum foot, I don’t expect I’ll be going downhill (or anywhere else) fast. Before then, it’s just cleaning, packing, and, oh yeah, finishing my work day before knitting night.
8. A friend of mine created this fantastic site. If you’ve ever known anyone with even the tiniest hope of an internet startup, these are fantastic.

Hooray! I am SO proud of this project, I simply must share! Here is the lovely felted laptop cover that I made for Matt just in time for Valentine’s Day!

There are a handful of other felted laptop cover recipes out there, but I haven’t found them to be detailed enough to duplicate, so I decided to post this here. This is custom-sized for Matt’s 17″ MacBook Pro. If you happen to catch a mistake, or if you adapt this pattern to fit another laptop, please post your findings in the comments so we can all benefit! Thank you!

Yarn

• 2 skeins Noro Kureyon in #185 (multi)
• 1 skein Cascade 220 wool in #8400 (grey)

Needles

• 1 24″ US size 8 circular (Addi Turbos, natch!)

Pattern

• c/o 140 using Judy Becker’s Magic Cast-On: 70 sts on each needle using solid color.
• Knit 3 complete rounds with solid color.
• *Change color, k 2 rounds with variegated color.
• Change color, k 2 rounds with solid color.
• Repeat from * until work reaches 38 cm.
• Bind off 70 sts, aligned with the cast-on row.
• Continue in 2 row stripes until work reaches 50 cm.
• Bind off remaining 70 sts.

Now, you have a choice: it’s up to you if you want to sew down the flap pre- or post- felting. I ended up sewing it down pre-felting, then cutting it out and re-sewing post-felting, so that it would be as snug as possible on the machine.

pre-felting pictures:

Felting

Felt using your preferred method, making sure that it doesn’t get smaller than 25 cm wide. Mine went through two hot wash cycles full of jeans, with me shocking the wool by pulling it out of the machine, wringing it out, and swishing it in a big bowl of ice water every 3-5 minutes during both wash cycles.

Finishing

The construction of the cover is basically a glorified sandwich bag. The top 10 cm or so acts like the flap that you turn inside-out to open, and then turn the other way to close. The advantage of this design is huge: no sewing on fasteners of any kind, and no fear that the fasteners will interact with your laptop in a way you won’t like.

Good news! Matt has received preliminary admission to the University of Washington Law School!  If only he were excited about it…

It’s not that he is definitely NOT going. Or that he definitely is. Let me explain: Matt’s initial interest in law school developed from a few different places. On one hand, he believed that he did not have a talent for management or leadership in his current industry. At the same time, he felt he was rapidly approaching the personal satisfaction/earning ceiling as a coder-for-hire. Finally, in recent years he had been choosing his career path in hopes of getting management experience and opportunity, to no avail.

Add to these things his genuine interest in the intersection of law and technology, and law school seems to be a very reasonable, and even exciting, direction.

Then, just days after the law school applications were complete, January happened. Several things happened in January to make law school look remarkably less attractive than it did in December.

1. The new year hiring scramble. Since the second week of January, Matt’s received calls and emails from at least one recruiter per week. In addition to spawning this brilliant response, it resulted in Matt taking on two more part-time clients, and renewing his excitement for his field.
2. A conversation with Margaret. Margaret was the first employee supervised by Matt during his start-up days at Tomo. It is this experience that taught Matt that he probably wasn’t cut out to be a manager. Margaret’s position was very different, though: “It was a tough job in a young company, and you were far from the worst manager I’ve ever worked with.”
3. Startup Weekend. I still do intend to write a good deal more about this, but essentially, Matt’s title for the weekend was “The Glue.” Translation: he was THE go-between for helping the technical and non-technical sides of the business communicate. He did such a fantastic job during the weekend that he was selected to lead the ongoing development of our business as the Chief Technical Officer.
4. We got serious. He finally heard me when I said that now seemed like a bad time. My position, many of you have heard, is that five years ago or five years from now this would be fine. Starting law school this year would set him up to experience the most demanding part of his career and his family life at exactly the same time. Not exactly ideal.

Let’s review: Matt’s super excited about our startup. He has a leadership position which he is really rocking. He has many many interesting projects for a wide variety of clients. He likes me a lot.

Um, why spend $100,000 for unknown when known is so good?

That’s what I call him. My Yarn Whisperer. He is always, always willing to have fights with the yarn that I am just too tired or unmotivated to have. And he always wins. Always.

Last night was Knit Night. Since Matt had already participated in Snow Boarding Day as well as Afternoon Beer, he wasn’t really interested in Working. Turns out, fighting with this yarn was just the thing to keep him busy. When Courtney pulled it out of her bag, it was plain that she was just illustrating the cause of her day-long lament. As soon as she did, it was plain that Matt wanted to take charge of that yarn and show it who is boss. Of course, he was successful, but not right away.

In fact, Matt’s Yarn Whispering Night started with our Knit Night, went straight through Old Episodes of Project Runway and clear past Girlfriend’s Bedtime. I didn’t look at the clock, when he finally came to bed victorious, but he’s admitting to 3:00am, so I’m guessing it’s closer to 3:30 or 4:00.

While I’m on the subject, I thought I might as well add some of my recent work with yarn here. This is just part of the blanket that I’m slowly making for Matt. I’m only about half way through, based on the number of squares I think I will need for the size. I love getting him to participate in these things, and for this one he wrote a fantastic little bit of code that randomly gives me the next color. I love it, because random usually turns out prettier than my choices.

And these are my new socks! The yarn is beautiful (my Christmas gift from Ted & Erin!) with really subtle color changes, and I’m really happy about how it’s turning out. I had to change the pattern, since it was written for top-down. My position is that toe-up is better, simply because you can knit until you are out of yarn and you’re in control of how tall the sock are!