2021 calendars

[Heinrich]

How on earth is this a viable merchandising model? Do all you senior homosexuals buy them instead of using your calendar app?

[jumbler]

Good point. Never thought of that... :

[Ollie2UK]

I bought myself a really cool, artsy graffiti calendar the other day to prove how edgy I am,

Put it up in my kitchen and I now feel like an old man wearing converse trainers Gonna style it out though, 

[Parsifal]

How on earth is this a viable merchandising model? Do all you senior homosexuals buy them instead of using your calendar app?

Don't look at me.  I don't buy that shit (they don't even show cock).
I use a Month-at-a-Glance diary (one double-page per month).
If I want a wall calendar then I'll buy something else (dogs, wildlife, whatever ...)

[Heinrich]

It's just that they're so obsolete these days. We have everything and more right here on our phones, including the shoots.

[Ollie2UK]

I fear I'm in danger of becoming a cliche, but I don't actually own a smartphone, 

Had an ECG the other day and the nurse asked me to put my phone on the table. She then laughed and said, "God, I used to have one of them in the 1990s".

Bitch, 

[Heinrich]

You're only 48! Joe Biden and Donald Trump can work smartphones. How do you meet men? Personal ads? Craigslist?

[jumbler]

Maybe he sends a good old Telegram.

[Ollie2UK]

Don't be ridiculous,

I wait to be formally introduced by their chaperone of course, 

[Heinrich]

[Parsifal]

I fear I'm in danger of becoming a cliche, but I don't actually own a smartphone, 

That makes two of us.

I long resisted getting a cell phone.  Didn't want that thing to become the center of my life and I didn't want to be so easily reachable.  (Call my home land line and leave a message on the answering machine if you want too reach me.  I'll call you back.)
Then when telephone booths started disappearing and I was traveling I finally broke down and got one; that was 11 years ago and it cost me just $100.  But I don't give the phone number to anyone except to very few friends and they are under the instruction to never call me on the phone (call the home number) unless we were meeting somewhere and someone had to call and say that he/she was running 10 minutes late.  Besides, if the (cell) phone rings in another room at home then I won't hear it (I won't carry it around with me) while I have land line phones ringing in all the rooms.

As it turns out, that cell phone is always turned off anyway (as it is now in another room), I rarely take it with me when I leave home (so no use calling me on it) and its main function is as a meditation timer (30 minutes 2x per day).

But now I've discovered that the phone isn't receiving text messages (I can send).  T-Mobile isn't solving the problem and they keep telling me that the phone is "old".  So I may have to get something more modern.  (TBH I am impressed that you can find a restaurant, etc., etc. with smart phones when you're out and about)

How do I meet men?  Primarily on dating websites.  When it's time to meet (the first date is usually a coffee shop meet, near my home ) then I give out the phone number with the usual instructions (don't call this number and text only if you're running late).

Go ahead, call me a Luddite. 

I wouldn't use the calendar on the phone anyway.

[jumbler]

You (both) really do need to get an iPhone. Even a basic model like an iPhone SE is more than sufficient. You can still obey the “don’t call this, call that number” rules. I don’t give my own (home or work) number out unless I trust the person I’m giving it to, so completely understand all that.

If my folks can make texting work (and also enabled for forwarding to the iPad, making the whole process much easier and streamlined), then you can too.

Must be very strange in the States - where a mobile number looks the same as a landline number, you can never be sure exactly who’s calling you.

[Heinrich]

You'd be a great match for my mom, Parsi. She's 67 and never boring.

For my generation, I was late to cell phones. I chatted online forever. My first cellphone I think was a flip phone around 2007. Then I went to some bright blue QWERTY slide phone the size of a wallet, then the iPhone. Now I'm on the 11 and I am keeping it until it dies.

[jumbler]

I first had one in 2001, so yeah, 20 years ago. I’ve had the same number ever since. Before I had an iPhone, I had several Ericsson, later Sony models.

[Parsifal]

The cell/smart phone generation is too in-your-face for my liking.  I have fond memories of the pre-answering machine era.   I like my peace.  Leave a message on the answering machine and I'll call you back.

Another reason why I resisted the cell phone was that I already had three landlines into my apartment (two for business) and wasn't too keen on paying for a fourth line.  I've since cancelled one of the business lines.  But then a friend told me about T-Mobil's Pay-as-You-Go plan.  I buy 1000 minutes for $100 good for a year (5 cents per text).  By the end of the year I've used 200-300 of the minutes/texts ($20-$30).  Beats paying $80/month for a regular cell phone line.  And trust me, I have a very busy life, not a loner at all (far from it).  (Today my LinkedIn connections increased by one to 736.  )
My friend tells me that T-Mobile is trying to ditch people like me who have the cheap deal.  I'm suspecting that my text problems may be related.

Even with a smart phone, I don't see myself using the phone's calendar.  I really like my Month-At-A-Glance diary.

---

I don’t give my own (home or work) number out unless I trust the person I’m giving it to, so completely understand all that.

::: ::: :::

Must be very strange in the States - where a mobile number looks the same as a landline number, you can never be sure exactly who’s calling you.

Even the people whom I trust I don't want to be so easily reachable to.  When people call you on a mobile phone they expect you to answer when it rings.  Leave a message.  I'll call you back.

---

Now I'm on the 11 and I am keeping it until it dies.

Don't the iPhones have some sort of security issue (deliberate from Apple)?  I forget.

[jumbler]

I dunno, I figure folks expect an immediate response from a landline, over here anyway. Voicemail works just as well on cell phones too - and you don’t even need an extra device.

$80/month seems a bit steep for rental, though. Sure there aren’t any better value deals around?? Though I believe you guys have to pay for incoming minutes too (we don’t, unless we’re roaming). I get unlimited minutes and texts, and 5Gb for just £20 - that’s on my main phone. Second one is just £10/month, and I get 5000 mins and texts, and 1Gb of data.

The landline I don’t really use any more, except for broadband; but it does have an inclusive call package, which I got free when I renewed the contract. I wouldn’t pay for landline calls now.

[Heinrich]

I've disabled face and voice recognition. An early security concern was cops being able to open your phone by pointing it at your face. Then there was a Maps feature that tracked you whether you used it or not. Another feature I've turned off.

In this day and age, the government has my face, my voice, my car, my fingerprints, my IP addresses. If they want to track me, they will.

[Parsifal]

You better think of something to say about 2021 calendars before Phil wakes up in the morning.

[jumbler]

Hmmmmmm, Google Maps. You know exactly where I’ve been, since forever.. don’t you??

[Heinrich]

I don't use my calendar app, either.

Please post the Hrvy shots when you get them, tpierre.