The Friday 5 for February 26 dealing with telephones. I am not a big fan of telephones yet I have about 6 of them, of which only two are activated. Got 2 landline phones (non-active), a Samsung Galaxy J7 smartphone from 2016 that still kind of works and is connected to TMobile, Alcatel Flip 3 phone through Tracfone (now my primary phone) and two other older, 3G Alcatel smartphones that work but are not connected to any service. They make good radios, streaming music and wifi enabled devices, All of my cell phones have batteries you can easily replace and all have the good old analog headphone jack. That all said, there is not an iPhone in plain sight of me. Too expensive and you cannot easily replace the battery,
1. What is the longest you ever spent on the phone on one call?
I don't like to spend time talking on the phone. I especially hate using the telephone when I have to call one of those places that put you in menu and voicemail hell... and then if and when you get to a real person, you are connected to a call center in India, the Philippines or some other country where English is not very good and they know nothing about Hawaii. I am calling you out Hawaiian Airlines for having a stupid call center in the Philippines (though I haven't used it in years... maybe they moved it back to the U.S.A.)...... The good thing is that due to COVID-19 I am not flying to anywhere.
Getting back to the core question... I hate being placed on hold for 20 to 30 minutes and some places for more than an hour. Arrrrrgh!!! And the dreadful hold music... AAAAARRRRRGGGGGH!!!! Being on the phone for a long time, on hold, listening to dreadful music truly sucks!
2. When you were a teen, how important was the phone in your daily life?
The most important thing to have access to a phone for was to either call someone up to pick me up, or try to be caller #3 or whatever to the local radio station so that you could win the great prize. It was fun back in the old landline only, analog phone days where you could figure out how to be the right caller to the radio station to snag the prize.... usually some record that I wanted for free of course.
3. How much do you use the actual telephone function of your phone today?
Not too often. I used to use it more when 1. my parents were still alive and 2. Lisa was not living with me. I still call my sister, so I guess that counts for quality phone time... and a few of my friends far and between. I think like most people, even in my advancing age, we use SMS texts, email and other less personal, online methods of communicating remotely.
4. How well do you handle phone calls at work?
"Good (morning, afternoon) this is Mel from XXXXX's office. How may we help you?" or something to that effect. And then we listen to what the caller wants and see if we can actually help with whatever question they have or at least take a message and forward to call to someone else who can help. Just have to be pleasant even if the caller is irksome... we get a few of those.
5. What are some good telephone-themed songs?
OK let's try a 5 +5 list for this one.
1. Don't Call Us, We'll Call You - Sugarloaf (1975)
2. Call Me Back Again - Paul McCartney & Wings (1975)
3. 867-5309 Jenny - Tommy Tutone (1983)
4. Hanging on the Telephone - Blondie (1978)
5. Payphone - Maroon 5 (2012)
6. Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) - Jim Croce (1973)
7. Telephone Man - Meri Wilson (1977)
8. Echo Valley 2-6809 - The Partridge Family (1971)
9. Star 69 - R.E.M. (1993)
10. Syliva's Mother - Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show (1972)
This weekend it's all about the BIG GAME... sports fans know it, advertisers love it, the network showing probably loves it the most.... revenue, ratings, money! It's Super Bowl weekend and Scrivener has a game themed Friday 5 for us. So here goes... may your best team win!
1. What item in your house recently ceased (or is likely soon to cease) Operation?
Total failure: Air Bed. Good thing it is backed by a 5 year warranty.
Likely soon to die? My Samsung Galaxy J7smartphone. The back panel is cracked, the battery needs replacement, and today I found a small hairline crack on the bottom of the screen. These damn things are not built to last. For the price you have to pay for them, even on the low end, with my J7 costing $265 back in 2016, it is still disappointing that I may have to replace this smartphone with something else.
Granted for someone who resisted the thought of owning a cell phone of any type over the years until mid 2014, I have to admit, I now have two of them. The Samsung is the primary phone.
Last year I bought an Alcatel flip phone for only $20 at Target. Good thing. The Alcatel has emerged to be my primary carry around phone. Being an old school flip phone device, it is small and convenient to pack away. It seems to be durable, has a removable battery and I don't worry about it breaking. Plus it is 4G LTE compatible and has a low end operating system known as KaiOS.
KaiOS can do internet. So the phone is not as dumb as it seems. It has simplified, web based apps that can stream music, play podcasts, YouTube videos and Twitter among other things. Runs on its own network (TracFone in my case) and can connect through wifi or its own data-stream.
The Tracfone plan is not bad. Unlimited talk and text for only $21.18 a month with a 1GB data plan for each month if you use their network. Unused data is carried over to the next month and the next and the next.... so after several months now, I have close to 6GB of data stashed on the phone. The cheap phone also doubles as a mobile hotspot, so I guess if Spectrum goes down I can use their data to run m Chromebook or something.
The $21 is cheaper than the nearly $30 I was paying for a basic landline. So that went, and I now have two cell phone plans. The other is from T-Mobile and on my shared 55+ account, I pay my portion of $35/mo. Not too bad... Unlimited talk, text and data. Oh well.
I have gone beyond the scope of this question.
2. If someone were to poker ’round in your refrigerator, what item might he or she have questions about?
Whatever forgotten food is fermenting in the back of the fridge will be the item or question. Toss it!
3. What’s in your backPac, Man?
I have never ever owned a backpack. I have played PacMan in the past but I am not good at it. I become lunch for the PacMen very fast. Not good.
4. When did you last run into an old Flame?
I have been lucky enough to avoid "old flames" except for one that I re-connected with on Facebook. I would not consider her to be an "old flame" per se, but she comes the closest for purposes of this question. Luckily for me nearly all of them live far, far away from Hawaii. They are not on social media so that is good.
5. With what object are you frequently playing Hide-and-Seek?
This is worthy of a top 10 list... top 10 items that I frequently can't find when I most need them.
Wallet
Keys
Comb
Scissors
Scotch Tape
Remote Control
Garage Door Opener
Mask
Memory Cards for Cameras
Flash Drives - all in a drawer unlabeled... where did I put the back-up installer for OSX??? That kind of stuff.
11th hour prediction (Sunday 2-7-21 @ 7:30am HST): Tampa Bay by 3. I suck at this stuff. CBS will be the big winner ($$$$) if the game is exciting and the AC Nielsen numbers are high. The advertisers have more to risk than the two NFL teams in the game.
Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we can all check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!
1. What are you listening to?
Most of the time music. As you know I track many of the songs I hear at Last FM. Music plays during most of the time I am not at work. Here are my top 10 artists that I listen to over the years. Today I mostly listened to The Beatles... again.
2. What are you hearing?
Besides Lisa, the sound of the fan running, cars passing nearby and myself typing this.
3. What are you turning a deaf ear to?
Progressive politicians, everyone on the far left and hard core rap music.
This week's Friday 5 questions from Scrivener.. I don't quite get this one, especially the first question... "who"????
1. Who’s the nastiest flavor in the ice cream parlor?
I haven't been to an ice cream parlor in ages. Ice cream is so pricey these days. It is a luxury that I can ill afford at times. That said, if there is such a thing, I would hate Black Licorace Ice Cream with Raisins.
2. Which item in the produce aisle is most likely to spoil the party?
Beets. I hate beets.
3. What’s the most embarrassing song by your favorite musician or band?
Top 5 Worst Songs by The Beatles (in reverse order with #1 being the worst)
5. Christmas Time is Here Again - came out in 1967.
4. Wild Honey Pie - McCartney must have been smoking something funny.
3. Sgt. Pepper Inner Groove - this doesn't even qualify as a song.
2. You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) - when they just goofed around.
1. Revolution #9 - Just taking up space on an album.
4. Which part of your body is always in trouble?
All of it. Getting old sucks.
5. What’s the worst film in your favorite actor’s* filmography?
Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors. Worst films include the following:
Road to Perdition
The Da Vinci Code
Volunteers
Joe vs. the Volcano
I haven't seen everything he's been in, so there may be a few others. Overall though I like many of his movies. My favorites are:
Questions are taken from the weekly Friday 5 blog.
1. Which slang term from your youth, no longer in common use, do you remember fondly?
I think this one is a pidgin term that I haven't heard for a long time. I am not sure how to spell it either.
Footoo - pronounced foo-too - kind of like tutu... maybe even spelled like tutu...Futu.
Definition - 1. Funny, strange, ugly, gross.
Oh look dat car... da paint job is soo footoo.
2. What slang do you still use, ‘though it’s no longer in common use?
I can't think of one right now.
3. Which current (or sorta recent) slang terms do you particularly like?
It is what it is!- Yes.. my favorite. A great substitute way to end all discussion. Can't fix it? It is what it is! Huh! I love the finality of it. And while you may not like it, a lot of people use it to end a conversation or topic. There is no further discussion. It is what it is.
If it ain't broke don't fix it. - Why should I buy the latest Android phone while mine running Android 7 just simply works. Plus it has a removable battery! Ugh. It's not broken. I don't want to fix it. It goes the same for the constant, nagging updates that pop up on MacOS, Android, iOS and even Windows. Ugh. The current version of my software is working perfectly fine... there is no need to update. It's not broken. I don't need to fix it.
4. Which slang terms, past or present, do you especially dislike?
I hated "Puuinsai"... gross! Figure it out if you are not from Hawaii.
"Eh brah!" - I hate when people call out at me with that term. A bra is something women wear. I am not a bra. I am a human being.
5. What slang terms are specific to your geographical region?
The two listed above as well as the kind of obsolete one in question #1 are all generic to Hawaii. Additional Hawaii specific slang terms, most of which I don't like.
Shaka brah. - I don't much like it and when it is combined with brah, ugh! I don't much care for "shaka" by itself either, nor the hand sign.
Da Kine. - I hate it when I occasionally catch myself saying this. Too local! Ugh!
Grindz - I don't much care for this one. What a bad substitute for "food". Name food for what it is. A hamburger... plate lunch... bento are all better terms that "grindz".
Aloha - I guess this overused word has reached epic slang proportions in Hawaii. I use it in professional correspondence, greetings, whatever. I try not to overuse it, but I still do. Be there... aloha! (Jack Lord)
Haole - This slang word for caucasian people has recently become politically incorrect. I try to avoid using this.
Popolo - The opposite of white, is black. This term is sometimes used to refer to black people. I never use it. In today's world it is probably more polite to use the term African American... though I think Black is still OK... Popolo rises about a few steps over the much hated N word.... but is way below other words.
Mahalo - Thank you. Used a lot I think second to "aloha".
Kanaka - It was once frowned upon to call Hawaiian people "kanaka". Many Hawaiian people like to now refer to themselves as "kanaka ma'oli". Whatever. I rarely ever use either terms.
Lua - Toilet. I rarely ever use this term. I just say I am going to the bathroom.
Benjo - Toilet. Same as above though I think this one is Japanese in origin.
Pau Hana - Done working. A popular term to describe that and then the gathering afterwork for "pupus" and drink. I use the term occasionally but rarely ever go out to socialize afterward.
All Pau - Done, finished, the end.
Pake - (pronounced pa kay - short a after p) - Chinese, tightwad, frugal.
OK... that is good enough of a list. There are probably many other words unique to Hawaii. Most of them contribute to our mix of English, Hawaiian and terms from Asian cultures, which turns out to be "Pidgin" that linguists probably argue over or at least study in academic circles. Do they?
I don't have much and they barely qualify as figurines. What you see in the photo above is what I have. Michelin Tire Man, Chinese Lucky Cat (the only one that I think is a figurine), Rubber Duckie with Lei and a small glass floater ball that I found at a North Shore beach more than 35 years ago.
2. What are you trying to figure out?
Life's complexities. Why can't life be simpler?
3. Two circles or one continuous motion: how do you write the figure 8?
For me on continuous stroke.... the same way I do a treble clef. Which brings me to this:
4. How do you feel about Fig Newtons?
I don't like them. Next...
5. What’s a good metaphor to describe your first week of 2021?
Trying to figure life out, related to #2. Plus I have work.... again. Can't think of anything metaphoric to it... it's just all routine. So far 2021 feels the same as 2020, though work is a good thing.
It's a new year (2021) and another round for the ever-going Friday 5.
First questions of the new year:
1. What’s better in its middle than in its edges, beginnings, or ends?
The center aisle seats half way up in a surround sound theater. I think you get the best view of the screen and the sound from all directions. But then it depends also on how large the auditorium is too. The bigger, the better I think.
Also I think the center of hamburgers are better than the outside edges. Ditto for sandwiches of all types.
2. Why is a sunrise better than a sunset?
It is not as crowded during sunrise as it is during sunset at the more popular places. I can't say if the photo opportunities are better during sunrise or sunset. Whatever light you are shooting in, it usually is coming into the golden hour or waning into the twilight hour. Sunrise or sunset. I am not partial to either. I've gotten decent photos at both sunrise and sunset settings.
3. What’s better in retrospect than when you experienced it?
At this point in time, security lines at the airport were better prior to 2019 but not as great as it was prior to 9-11-2001. Before then, security was adequate but over the years things have been tightened down way too much. Now to travel, it takes more effort and sacrifice of personal information, government tracking, additional wait times, health testing and social distancing. All of this has made travel so bad, that at this time I have no desire whatsoever as to go traveling by airplane or any mass transport mover. Easier, safer and cheaper to just stay home.
4. What songs have wonderful endings? Hmm... have to think about that one. OK...here are three in no particular order.
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin - love how it starts as a ballad, slowly builds up and then rocks out for several minutes before settling down and ending on a rather soft and somber note..."and she's buying the stairway to heaven"....
A Day in the Life - The Beatles - Gotta love that sustained full note at the end that holds longer than it should, and then after a few minutes of silence you get the "Sgt. Pepper Inner Groove" which is just a loop of some guys saying some kind of jibberish... Paul, John, George and Ringo I presume.
The Streak - Ray Stevens - Damn funny song about streaking.. you know "running naked as a jailbird" and how the husband is trying to protect his wife Ethel from seeing what's going on... "Don't look Ethel!" ... Too late, ran out of the cheap seats and made the free shot.... Minutes later.... "Here he comes again. Who's that with him? Ethel? Is that you, Ethel? What do you think you're doin'? You git your clothes on!"... oh yes they call him The Streak fastest thing on two feet.... heh. FYI- The song went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on the Billboard Country chart, both in 1974.
5. What was the first thing you unwrapped in 2021?
