Paperweight

Well, the failed on-line transaction yesterday on the Sprint® site was actually processed. So, another month of pre-paid cellphone service has been procured. By the way, I have disabled all of the Google® "apps" on the cheap "smartphone" except for the Chrome browser. So, surveillance has been minimized, and the device is as close to the spartan Android Open Source Project (AOSP) as possible. Also, the Google® Hangouts "app" has been temporarily removed from the iPad® tablet computer.

I am also reviewing the iPad® "apps" that I installed on the device. Do I really need them? They are all Apple®-branded software. All were "free" (for newly purchased devices). Unfortunately, if the "apps" are uninstalled, they cannot be re-installed without paying the regular price. I discovered that fact the hard way. Anyway, I do not plan to divest the iPad® at this time. However, I believe that the iPad® mini product line will probably be discontinued next year and replaced by more "phablets."

Last night, the den of consumerism (read: shopping mall) in Kahala was swamped with Saturnalia shoppers. I purchased a sandwich at the sandwich shop outside the mall. Then, I procured a greasy "value menu" item at the fast food joint, where I ended up eating my complete dinner and exploiting the free Net wireless "hotspot" with the cheap "smartphone." I could not wait to return to Chaos Manor (read: rental housing) to spend an hour or so viewing [deleted] news on the iPad®.

I departed for town early this morning on the bus. Two locations of Starbucks® in town were crowded, so I ended up at the third location. All of the are within a city block of each other. The coffee itself isn't really good, but it seems to have less caffeine than the equivalent at various fast food joints. The snob appeal, of course, is distasteful to me. I commenced my workout at the gym earlier as well. The gym closed at 2pm this afternoon, and it will not be open for Saturnalia. Oh, what will I do?

By the time I arrived at the den of consumerism in Kahala this evening, all of the stores and eateries were closed. Only the fast food joint was open to serve the residual losers with no place to go. So, more greasy "value menu" items were ordered and consumed, most likely insuring another untimely visit to the emergency room at the hospital. With no other options, I loitered in the dining room until my usual departure time. At least I was able to finish composing the "blog" using the cheap "smartphone" and the free wireless Net "hotspot."

In retrospect, I should have purchased one of those cheap and embarrassing $3 (on sale) "flip" cellphones as I had initially intended. That's all I really needed, along with a cheap "talk" plan that costs only $20 for three months of service. After next month, I may switch to such a device and plan. Then, I can switch the forwarding number for Google® Voice and use the VOIP phone in the Hangouts "app" on the iPad® if necessary. The aforementioned cellphone "gymnastics" are necessary because Voice requires a forwarding number even if call forwarding is disabled. I can subsequently use the cheap "smartphone" as a paperweight or a disposable tablet computer.

Ol' Lavahead Mini-Update®
I made the decision to uninstall the Apple® Pages and Numbers "apps" from the iPad® tablet computer. My one-and-only tax spreadsheet has been archived as an e-mail attachment. And, I experimented with the spartan Google® Sheets "app" on the cheap "smartphone." It will suffice for editing purposes. So much fun to be had by all. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!