Your cellphone number is going public! And in other news, the sky is falling

Every year, about this time, we all see the same emails and social network posts. They tend to culminate around or right before the beginning of the new year.

Your cellphone number is going public next (month, year, whatever)!

Make sure you get your cellphone number in the National Do-Not-Call Registry.

Deep breath. It will be okay. I promise.

First, let me assure you, as a professional who works for a major cellphone carrier - your cellphone number is not and will not be made public ...at least not by the doings of the carrier. I'm not saying your cellphone number won't make it into the hands of telemarketers or cold-call lists. That's a different matter. More on that below.

Before I get to the real issue, let me also say that adding your cellphone number to the National DNC registry is never a bad idea. I highly recommend you DO add all numbers to the NDNC registry, including home, business and cell. You can learn more about the NDNC registry and how to respond to unsolicited calls from their site: 

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0108-national-do-not-call-registry

Let's get to the heart of the matter. 

Are you a "cord cutter?" Cord-cutters are people who have eliminated home land-line phone service in their homes in lieu of using a cellphone. Most of the people I know are cord-cutters, including me. I see no reason to pay for POTS (plain old telephone service) in the home, especially since e-911 service mandates and technology improvements have removed that last safety hurdle. Almost everyone has a cellphone so why pay for an extra line of service that's rarely if ever used?

What most people don't think about when they decide to "cut the cord" is what then becomes their "home" telephone number?

Our society still revolves around "home" phone numbers in contact data bases. We see them all the time, student registration, doctor's office, dentist, employer, post office, shipping a package with FedEx, credit card, bank, 401k plan, social networks, job applications... the list of businesses and sites that ask for your home phone number is endless. Many business have "adopted" their customer contact entries to accommodate a cellphone field. And in some cases it makes sense, like emergency contact for your child's school. But few, if any, have eliminated the "home phone" box on the form. 

What happens when you no longer have a home phone at home? 

The problem is not with carriers releasing cellphone numbers to the public. They don't need to. Most if you do it on your own, and you don't even realize that you're doing it. 

Most people wind up giving away their cellphone number to businesses and service providers. Major mistake! Don't be so naive as to think that businesses, even small local businesses, won't sell or market your contact information. It's called being in business. Businesses survive with customers. Large contact clearing houses pay handsomely for new customer contact numbers. This is especially true when it's accompanied with other details and data about who you are, what you like, where you shop, what you buy, where you live, how many kids you have, your age, race, faith, gender, employer, if you like the color blue...on and on. 

Once you list a cellphone on any form, record, application or online site, it's as good as making it public record. You're giving permission for whomever owns that form...or whomever they sell it to... to call you. On your cellphone. As they see fit. Really.

If you're a cord-cutter, but don't like the idea of giving away your cellphone number, I urge you to get a virtual phone number. You can use a virtual number as your "home" contact number in any situation. You can also use a virtual number as a "dummy" cellphone number (think: that pesky dude at the office/bar/club keeps hitting on you). That said, I also urge you to understand how to use it for actual human contact.

There are several virtual phone providers out there. I personally recommend using Google Voice. It's free with a Gmail account. You can make calls with Google Voice from your office or cellphone. Callers will see your GV number on caller ID so they are none the wiser. You can also use GV to manage voice mail, and personal greetings. The best thing about GV is how they allow you to filter callers. Anonymous caller? No problem! Create an automatic filter to drop those calls. Calls from mom, dad, kids or the boss? They can all be added to a group that is automatically forwarded to any actual phone number of your choosing. Or all of them at once. You can even use GV to send and receive SMS (text) messages. See the beauty? 

One of my favorite features of GV is the ability to customize personal greetings. For example, you can create a greeting for mom or grandma that's eloquent and well-spoken...makes them feel all warm-n-fuzzy. Create a special "professional" greeting for unknown callers or businesses, which is especially handy if you're in the hunt for a job. And of course, you want that super-awesome greeting for your besties; "What up bitches?!"

If you've already given away your cellphone number to any business or service, then don't be surprised if you get robocalls or cold calls. There's not a lot you can do about it, other than add them to a "SPAM" contact in your phone. Most cellphone carriers give their customers the DIY tools online to create 'block' lists so make sure you use them.

Adding your cellphone number to the NDNC registry will not prevent businesses from calling with whom you've already given permission to your cellphone (and by 'permission' I really mean 'knowledge of'). But it should help prevent future distribution of your contact info to unrelated businesses. And it certainly doesn't hurt.


Cheers to a little more privacy!

Instead of "saving" Thanksgiving, let's all give thanks.

There's lots of noise being made this year about all the retail stores who are opening on Thanksgiving Day and how they must be evil. There has been no shortage of news stories and social network pages stood up to "honor" or "protect" this day of giving thanks. Examples here and here.

On the outset it seems businesses are degrading the spirit of the holiday. They are "forcing" employees to work on a day when they should be with family. I'm sure, for those employees who are scheduled to work on the holiday, it stinks. I get it, and I wish they didn't have to work. We all want a day off. We all want to enjoy our time away from the J.O.B. After all, the reason why we work is to enjoy time away from work.

For years the American public has shown no mercy to the employees who have to work on Labor Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day weekends, just so the rest of us 'haves' get to enjoy our cookouts, picnics, boating and camping trips, first and last days at the pool, racing events and baseball games. There are myriad other lesser holidays that seem to have no polarizing impact to our moral compass. So what gives? Why now? Why Thanksgiving Day?

How many of the same people clamoring to keep Thanksgiving Day family-sacred, are the same who feel that our capitalistic society and commercial interests should be defended by the Constitution? Business owners deserve to make an honest earning, right? Sure, I guess, unless it's on Thanksgiving Day.

The streets may run red when the first retail store opens on -GASP!- Christmas Day! Okay, they won't run red, but I'd bet plenty of green there will be public outcry. That is until they realize the local stop-n-rob is closed and can't gas up.

It's easy for us for many of us to shake our head at retailers who are sentencing their staff to hard holiday labor. What about the plight of the employee? If they are working that day it's probably because they need that job. They need the paycheck. They are counting on every dollar they can scrape together. Make hay while the sun shines, right? If you don't understand the need to work a holiday, I recommend this quick essay on the matter. Please read here.

I will also offer up the idea that for many, Thanksgiving Day may be the only extra day off they have to get some shopping finalized. The few regular days off are likely spent on tasks around the home, helping with school, kids and myriad duties. What a blessing it will be for them to have other family nearby to occupy the kids so that mom and dad can go get some holiday shopping done.

I don't begrudge anyone who chooses not to shop on Thanksgiving Day. You have every right to relax at home and not get caught up on the shopping madness that will ensue. However, if you are one of those folks who supports any of those boycott petitions, I ask you this:

• Will you gas up the family truckster on your way to Uncle Frank's? 
• Are you counting on grabbing a McMuffin that morning?
• Are you going to watch your beloved Dallas Cowboys or Detroit Lions get mashed amidst the witty banter of turducken-laden sportscasters?
• Are you flying anywhere? If so, who's piloting the plane? And who's loading your bags?
• Will you peruse Facebook, send a tweet or check in on FourSquare at Grandma's Rancharosa?
• Will you send a text or make a call?

I hope you aren't relying on my buddy Dennis, an emergency first responder, to come dowse your annual turkey fryer failure. And I really, really hope you don't have to call my friend, Officer Dorothy G., to break up the belligerent scuffle between Cousin Eddy and drunk Uncle Morty. If you do then I guess you will likely meet my friend, Doc Henry at the ER, along with his staff of hospital administrators and nurses. As for many other friends and coworkers here at Sprint, we're gonna work around the clock to ensure you can surf Amazon and use your iPhone to check in on Facebook. Like any of those hard working, retail employees, I wish they all could be home with their family, too. But we chose the professions we chose, and sometimes that means working the days we wish we didn't.

Maybe you will choose to shop on Thanksgiving Day. Maybe not. Regardless, we will all encounter hard working people on Thanksgiving Day. Among so many blessings we can count, we should be thankful for those people who work on our day off. Make sure give them all a heart-felt 'Thank You' so that we may drive, fly, eat, drink, get well, feel safe and, maybe, even shop on that thankful day.

Be well. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Why do we pay so much for so little?

Why do we, US citizens, pay more for broadband than most (if not all) other 1st world countries? Maybe more important to ask: 

• What are the impacts to our society? 
• What are we doing about it?

A recent article published by the BBC News revealed the cost of broadband is highest in the US of all industrialized nations. They elude to some reasons for the cost differences but leave room to draw other conclusions.

"The price of basic broadband, TV and phone packages - or bundles as they are known - is much higher in American cities than elsewhere, suggests the New America Foundation think tank, which compared hundreds of available packages worldwide."

"This research echoes the findings of another report earlier in the summer by the OECD, which compared countries in terms of their broadband-only prices. Across all 10 download speeds and capacities, it consistently ranked the US near the bottom."

The BBC published their article along with similar articles which are bringing to light the disparity on US broadband cost and access. 

The New America Foundation just released their second annual report on broadband pricing studies. The study is highlighted by Gigaom in their recent publish; "More proof that without competition U.S. broadband costs more and delivers less."

"The report, now in its second year, attempts to compare U.S. broadband offerings to the rest of the world. It found that once again, that based on speed U.S. broadband is more expensive than many other cities."

This got me thinking about their studies and rationale. I can't say I find fault in the conclusions.

"Americans pay so much because they don't have a choice," says Susan Crawford, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama on science, technology and innovation policy."

No one wants big government. No one. However, a Capitalistic society left to its own devices will cannibalize itself. We need regulation, which requires government oversight.

The problem is we don't treat broadband access like a utility. Ergo, it's not regulated like a utility. It's not price or service regulated. There's no guarantee of service. There's no fair or competitive pricing. It's every cable company for themselves, which leads to price gouging and anti-competitive market conditions. The cable companies win. We lose.

"We deregulated high-speed internet access 10 years ago and since then we've seen enormous consolidation and monopolies, so left to their own devices, companies that supply internet access will charge high prices, because they face neither competition nor oversight."

We need to start treating broadband access like a utility; regulating and ensuring everyone has fair and high quality access, citizens, business and government. If we don't then there's sure to be implications that drive societal shifts. Of greatest importance, there will be the (further) degradation of and to our youth and education.

"The 2008 banking crisis demonstrated what happens when we allow banks to act out of pure self interest. The communications crisis in America is less visible but also destructive of America's ability to function on the global stage."

It's already hard enough to compete on a global scale for jobs and industry. Why are we crippling our youth and "cutting them off" at the laptop? Aren't we better than that? Our lack of broadband regulation is creating a digital society of "haves" and "have nots."

"For Susan Crawford, author of Captive Audience, higher prices have created a digital divide which excludes poor Americans from quality internet access. And there are economic implications too."

"Like electricity, she says, internet access should be available equally to all at reasonable prices so that every other sector of US industry and society can flourish."

Eventually, everyone loses.

"The 2008 banking crisis demonstrated what happens when we allow banks to act out of pure self interest. The communications crisis in America is less visible but also destructive of America's ability to function on the global stage."

There are plenty of examples of US cities and municipalities that have dabbled in providing broadband as a public service. Most of these cities are showing glowing reviews and display positively how their community is benefiting. 

The New America Foundation study points out there are a couple of US communities that are in the top running for "best bang for your buck" in terms of broadband. Those communities have all embraced broadband-as-a-utility mindset or embraced alternative broadband providers to their citizens to increase competition and drive down cost.

"Chattanooga, Tennessee and Hong Kong continue to offer world-leading gigabit speeds, but Seoul and Lafayette, Louisiana also joined the speed leaders, along with Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, which were not included in the 2012 report."

Businesses benefit and citizens benefit, which means local government benefits. 

Win, win, win.

Some argue that US broadband companies are reinvesting (some of their mega-) profits to further the technologies at a pace that public or regulated utilities cannot. In their argument, the US "wins" because we force private companies to develop better, faster and cheaper methodologies for broadband service. So far I'm not seeing the proof in that pudding. Take a quick look at South Korea and you will see not only faster in-home broadband, but also access to faster wireless data for their masses.

What are they doing that we're not? Why aren't we doing it?

Edit: ...this just in...

Boston startup scene hurt by poor connectivity options 

More proof that without competition U.S. broadband costs more and delivers less

Wha??

credit: BBC UK News, Gigaom, New America Foundation

You're not the customer, you're the product.

A colleague brought to my attention today a short blog on how to get the most out of cheap cell service. The blog is posted on a respected and popular tech journalist site, so their opinion carries considerable weight.

The gist of the blog was that a "savvy" consumer could stretch an otherwise-limited cellphone contract by using free apps and exploiting contract features that were unintended. Namely, using free VoIP apps to make voice calls that circumvent the limited calling minutes of the cheap plan by using "unlimited" data.

But are they really counting on the "customer" being savvy, or just cheap? Or lazy?

The article highlights the use of free apps like Talk-A-Tone. Talk-A-Tone is essentially an overlay app that taps into other VoIP services like Google Voice. The interface of Talk-A-Tone allows the user to create an account and pull in contacts from a variety of sources like Google and Facebook. That way the user has one common address book. Sounds good, right?

Not so fast.

The author of the blog probably feels pretty smug offering readers a way to loop-hole a limited but cheap cellphone plan. But what's really being sold here?

You. You're being sold. And so am I.

Facebook is selling you, too. So is Google. And so is Apple. So is Talk-A-Tone, and other similar "free" app developers.

Don't believe for a moment that app, device and system developers are somehow charitable organizations and don't require food, housing or hipster messenger bags. Quite the contrary. They get paid, for sure. Just not by you.

Ask a cow, hog or chicken how much they pay to stay in the barn. While you're at it ask how much they pay for feed. They don't pay because they aren't the customer. They're the product being sold.

Not to pick on anyone but for the sake of ease I'll highlight some of the verbiage clearly and openly available in Talk-A-Tone's privacy policy:

• “We receive and store any information you enter on our Website, send to us through the Service or via email or SMS, or provide to us in any other way.” - They gather, store and analyze every number, every call, every contact, every email and every text message to their benefit.

• “Personal Information collected may include your full name, email address, mobile phone number, and any other information necessary for us to provide our services.” - Ditto. Ever wonder how those "Know who's calling you" apps work?

• “Company automatically receives and records information on our server logs from your browser including your IP address, browser and OS information, cookie data (if applicable), and the page or resource you requested.” - They track your internet activity. All of it. Always.

• “…our service automatically collects usage information…”  - Ditto

• “As part of this use of information, we may provide aggregate information to our partners”  - And they share all the data they collect as they see fit.

• “We share this type of statistical data so that our partners also understand how often people use the Service or Website” - See what I mean?

• “Each iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad has a Unique Device Identifier (UDID)” 
• “We may collect device UDID” - Why is this bad? Read here. 

• “Ads appearing through the Service may be delivered to users by our advertising partners, who may check UDID.”  - Ditto: bad, bad news for you. And if that isn't bad enough...

• “UDID allow the ad provider to recognize your device each time they send you an advertisement to compile information about you.” - Wha??

• “Personal Information about our customers is an integral part of our business.“ - Right, because we are the product, not the customer.

• “We anticipate that we may become affiliated with a variety of businesses and work closely with them.” - Fasten your seat belts...

• “In some cases, we may choose to buy or sell assets. In these types of transactions, customer information is typically one of the business assets that are transferred.” - BAM! They sell all that data they've collected on you, all your activity, all your browsing, contacts, contact information and history...to whomever offers them money, for any reason they deem worthy.

When it comes to free apps and services - Remember, if you're not paying, you're not the customer. You're the product!

I highly encourage you to read the privacy policies of all the sites, services and apps that you use and interact with. Make educated decisions on what apps to install and what services to utilize. Always check privacy and security controls and adjust them to their minimum exposure. Make sure you recheck often as site, service, network and app authors can and DO change policies at any time.

Smartphone apps - Modern day checkbooks

Admit it, you hate them. We all hate them. You know...that guy...that lady...those people who write checks to pay for things. They're always in line. In front of you. They hold up everything, while they write out their archaic little IOU...on paper...with a pen. Sheesh! Get with the times people!

Haven’t they heard of the 21st century? We've leapfrogged past the whole ‘paper or plastic’ payment era and right up to paying with apps on smartphones. And it’s all so much faster, right? Right?! Well…

Our smartphones have become modern day checkbooks. Remember checkbooks? Those over-sized wallets we used to carry? Right… We used them to haul around books of blank IOUs, and we stuffed them to the hilt with miscellany like receipts, reward cards and coupons. Coupons…oh, yeah, those printed bits of tattered paper we spent hours cutting from other printed paper in order to save 10 cents here or 50 cents there. Ugh.

Reward card apps like Key Ring are used to digitally store and access the myriad rewards and membership cards we all are forced to carry. We need these “tokens of good faith” at every grocery store, warehouse club, gas station, restaurant and gym. But why do they make it so much work for we consumers to be customers? Most of us carry a driver’s license and some kind of credit or debit card, which is almost always enough “ID” for gov’t process. So why isn't it good enough for retailers to keep track of and reward me? Why do I have to carry yet another card or fob or thingy?

Apps like Snip Snap will allow you to take pictures of, store, and catalog your coupons digitally on your smartphone. Plus you can download digital copies of other coupons you may not have or may have overlooked. It’s a great concept, but my question to retailers is this: Why use coupons at all? If you’re trying to promote your products or grow your customer loyalty, why not just discount your item price for a week or two? Coupons are a two-fold insult to all consumers, even those who don’t use coupons. Here’s why. 

(climbing on my soapbox...)

Coupons have trained us like Pavlov’s dogs to drool, not at the sound of the bell, but at the thought of saving 50 cents. We spend hours scanning through papers, magazines and online sites, in order to cut, tear out, and in many cases PRINT, scraps of paper. We then pack them around to stores, where we scan them (hopefully) for a few cents off here and there. Using coupons is a giant time-suck that benefits the retailer, not the consumer. Those scraps of paper wind up in the trashcan and then the landfill, which is another fail.

The super-double-whammy comes from the growing “black market” for coupons. This market exists because retailers insist on luring new or continued business with scraps of paper that are intrinsically easy to reproduce. It costs retailers too much money to produce complex coupons that are counterfeit proof resistant and support the back-end infrastructure to secure them. This, in turn, has created coupon fraud police task forces and prosecution teams. Everyone loses with coupons when you get down to the tight federal budgets forced to allocate what little funds they have to dealing with coupon counterfeit abuse. Those funds and personnel could be better used for fighting real crime or putting teachers in classrooms.

And then there’s the multitude of payment apps like Google Wallet or retailer specific payment apps like those used at Starbucks. All of which require a special POS (I mean ‘Point Of Sale’, aka register) equipment…which is often “POS” in its own right, even when it works.

Which brings me back to my original point.

How many times have you been stuck behind someone in line who insists on using an app to look up and scan their rewards card? Scan…scan…scan… And then they have to open another app to look up all their coupons one at a time; opening, searching, scanning, opening, searching, scanning, opening…oh wait, Josh just commented on my Facebook status! Back to my coupon app. Opening, searching, scanning… And lastly, they insist on paying for their purchase with yet another app, and another scan, …wait, scan…scan…scan…scan….beep, there it finally took!

I love my smartphone. I love apps. I love shopping. But I’m not sure they’re all designed to work together. Not yet anyway. The system can be better. It has to be better. Or we might as well go back to writing checks.

Constitutional Rights -or- Lynch Mob Rules

It's been less than 24 hours since Dzhokar Tsarnaev was taken into custody in the Boston area. He was found injured and bloody, hiding in a land-bound boat in some back yard. He was hunted down, literally, by local and federal law enforcement agencies under suspicion of the Boston Marathon bombing. Those of us who are wired and socially connected have been barraged, nay, drowned with Headlines, 'Breaking News!' and page after page of social network outcry and memes, all declaring the judgement, sentencing, guilt and possible arraignment of the suspect.

What happened in Boston was an act of terrorism, no question. The various law enforcement agencies partnered with local citizens and businesses to gather and process tons of photo and video evidence so as to help lead them to suspects. The partnership and immediate outpouring of help was nothing less than heroic. Period.

But what happened to Constitutional Rights in all this?

Don't get me wrong. I am fairly confident the cops are on to the right guy, given his older brother and accomplice went out in a hail of gunfire. But let's not lose sight of due process.

We need to make sure we are honoring the rights and Amendments for which our forefathers died. We need to make sure that we duly process Dzhokar Tsarnaev to the fullest extent of law and in light of Constitutional rights. Nothing less. Which means we cannot so quickly dismiss our Sixth Amendment: The right to a fair and speedy trial of impartial peers.

I'm not defending Tsarnaev, or any other goomba who tries the same shenanigans. No way. I want to make sure he's tried fairly, and IF FOUND GUILTY by a jury of impartial peers, sent away for a long, long time. The problem is with our 24x7 "Breaking Headlines!" and always-connected social networks, all pre-judging his guilt, he has no hope for a fair or impartial jury. Which leaves some "wiggle room" in the eyes of the law to throw out vital evidence and data, and potentially lead to a hung jury...or worse, "innocence." Two words: Oh Jay.

We can't let that happen. Again.

I challenge you to clamor and shout for "Fair, Speedy Trial!" Let's find Tsarnaev guilty beyond the shadow of doubt and get this ugly action put behind us all so we can get on with healing.

Google Glass: Modern Technology Mopeds

We've all see the reports about how Google Glass will come with caveats; Google may 'neuter' any Google Glass that is sold or traded without gaining permission to do so in writing. 

Google has confirmed it is barring current buyers of its Google Glass spectacles from passing them on to somebody else. It’s not clear if the restrictions will still apply once the devices go on general sale.

Here's the question: Other than MIT and Stanford grad students, who's really going to wear these ridiculous things? Seriously.

We've seen articles about how Google Glass will be banned in some businesses and locations, like it's some kind of weapon. I get the privacy concerns, but those places aren't banning cellphones with cameras today. Why, all-of-a-sudden, are they getting concerned with privacy?

I can't imagine anyone in their right mind paying $1500+ for "eye tech" that force-feeds everything directly into your retina...except protection from UV rays. 

Why isn't Google partnering with Ray Ban, Oakley or any designer eye wear vendor? These need to be way more attractive before they will be worn en mass. If Google is ever to monetize this kind of technology they need to make them attractive. Which brings me to my point.

Mark my words: Google Glass will be the Moped of modern technology. Totally fun to ride, but no one wants to be caught in the act.

Credit: Geeks are Sexy, Google

Gay Marriage: Separation of Church & State or Denial from Divorce Court?

Gay rights are an incredibly polarizing topic in our culture. Right now, the Supreme Court of the United States are hearing arguments for and against passing law to allow (or deny) same-sex marriage. This is a monumentous time in our Country's history, for sure.

• Where do you stand on gay marriage and same-sex legal unions?

I'm asking whether it should be legal for two people of the same gender to be legally united in matrimony, just like their differing-sex counterparts, in the eyes of the US government...and the IRS. I'm not asking where your church or faith beliefs stand.

Today, all 50 States allow two same-sex people to date, maintain a romantic relationship and cohabit. They can hold hands in public, go out on dates, shop together, vote, pay taxes, co-borrow on a home, attend church (yes, they really attend church...sshhh) and even share a bedroom. Gasp! They get to do all of the same things that straight people do. What they cannot do in every state is take advantage of the same IRS tax code, share medical benefits, take a common sir name, make death-bed decisions or visit divorce court. Today, these are legal "privileges" for the straight and married.

The decision before the Supreme Court has nothing to do with faith, God, the Bible, or what you and I believe from a religious point of view. This is about life, liberties and the pursuit of happiness. This is the essence of our Constitution, through separation of church and state.

Contrary to popular opinion, there is no official Constitutional Amendment specifically guaranteeing any separation between church (faith, beliefs, houses of worship) and state (government, taxes, state and federal laws). The whole 'separation of church and state' reference was made by Thomas Jefferson in 1802 in his letter to the Danbury Baptist Association as to the importance of the First Amendment: "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." 

I couldn't agree more.

If you don't agree with same-sex marriage or legal unions, then why not? What do you think the consequence will be? Some opponents to such laws believe there will be a "result in public schools teaching our kids that gay marriage is okay". Similar and stronger statements have been issued by the Roman Catholic Church and Church of Latter Day Saints, among other mainstream faith organizations. My home church, the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, welcomes any and all who come seeking His word, regardless of sexual orientation, despite the governing organizations (United Methodist Church) decision to not participate in gay marriage ceremonies. But that may change.

There seems to be a lot of deeply faithful people who think our government should protect their tenants of faith through government legislation. This ideology effectively mandates a certain belief system through law. I find such efforts disturbing and frightening. I don't know about you, but I don't want the government telling me what to believe, what faith to have, or how to worship. I don't want a state run church. No one does.

I've heard many people use the logic "The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it." Which is all well and good...if you don't read very much of the Bible. Or, you pick and choose what parts of the Bible you choose to 'believe it' and 'settle it'. The Bible makes far more references to the acceptance of slavery, concubinage, demeaning women, killing children and many other detestable acts, over and above the condemnation of homosexuality. Furthermore, the homosexual acts referenced in the Bible (arguably only five such references exist) have nothing to do with two same-sex people who enter into a committed relationship, and more to do with the cultural norms of the Roman era and how men and boys were hazed and punished, and the sicknesses of immoral communities (which did and DO exist in Biblical times and our modern heterosexual world).

You have every right to believe gay men or lesbian women should not be married in your church. If your church doesn't support gay marriage then they don't have to marry gay people. No argument. It's diverse faiths and beliefs that make our country stronger and a great place to live. But let's not confuse faith practice with legislation of law abiding citizens.

For just a moment, let's take sexual orientation off the table. Let's hold the straight feet to the same fire.

If you think our government should pass laws to protect the "Biblical elements of marriage," then I have to assume you also want repealed any and all laws that recognize marriage outside of the Christian faith. You must certainly want to do away with legal unions based on NO faith, right?

What happens to Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu or Wiccan couples? What about atheists and agnostics? What happens to the marriages of myriad soldiers and sailors who have married their sweethearts at the J.O.P. before they ship off to war? All of those marriages are, and always have been, protected and recognized by all 50 States despite not being done in concordance with "Biblical values."

If two straight people, regardless of faith, can be legally married outside of Christian faith values, then this issue really boils down to legislating faith, or an attack on gays. Or both.

The issue confronting the Supreme Court is not about faith, God's will or the Bible. It's about fairness, equality and justice for all citizens. It's about the rights of ALL citizens. It's about being Of the People, By the People and For the People. Notice the word "straight" is not in the last sentence.

Can we really take faith principles out of the picture; WWJD? Faith principle and practice is matter of personal belief, of course. Here's what I believe: Jesus stated in Matthew 22:21: "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" Jesus made clear His wish to keep faith sacred while still respecting the authority of secular law. As a Christian I try to balance my faith with my patriotism and desire to be a good citizen. I don't see the issue of gay marriage as an affront to my faith or beliefs in any way.

Fair is fair. If we aren't going to make allowances for same-sex marriage, then we should at least adjust all the other laws that benefit one sexual orientation over another. But I'm not hearing any of the Christian conservatives arguing that tax code should be rewritten for straight, married couples and child tax credits negated. I guess some of us have no problems using those extra gay taxes to pay for the schools that our hetero-created children are attending. Even though some of them will "come out" as gay some day when they grow up.

I tremble to think that our country, which was founded on the principals of equality for all citizens despite differences, is so widely divided on this seemingly minor hurdle. If you can't get your head around the equality of gay people being legally united in the eyes of all 50 United States, then maybe it would help you to think about guaranteeing equal access to divorce courts for everyone. :)

Is it just me or do we need to rethink numbers?

It dawned on me this week that we desperately need to revise how we use numbers. The world outside the US has adopted the metric system of weights and measurements. Inside the US we've half adopted the metric system, but still cling to remnants of SAE. Why? Wait...hold that thought.
Then there's the whole time measurement conundrum. We measure time in units of 12 until it's not convenient or precise enough. Calendars have 12 months, our days are broken into 12 hour halves (lets not get into the reasons why important institutions have creatively invented ways to forego the 12 hour clock for a 24 hour time table) and our time measurements are made up of 60 increments. Once those units are not precise enough we break them down into completely different units. Days...28, 30 or 31? Races are measured in minutes, seconds and then 10ths, 100ths or even 1000ths...not divisible by 12. Why?
I'm convinced the tool industry and Timex are behind these long standing and completely wasteful measurement standards. Through their extensive network of lobbyists and hardcore media blitzing we, the unknowing sheeple, continue to buy two sets of tools and myriad time measurement devices.
Lets stand for change.
Step one: The US should get on board with the metric system 100%. Nuff said.
Step two: Lets all rethink this whole time system. Instead of 60 second minutes, 60 minute hours, 24 hour days and variable day months, let's figure out a time keeping system that's easily divisible by 10. Just like the metric system.
Ya,  it will be a huge change. Huge! Calendars, clocks, time zones, watches and even holidays have to be re-invented. Once the dust settles I think we'd all be better off. And it won't hurt that bad to take lunch at 75r units past 52 o'clock.

This is How Tech Support Hears Us...

Props to Shoebox Blog and Chuck & Beans.

Just A Few Minutes

It took just a few minutes for me to drive to the hospital today. My brother-in-law was having his second brain surgery. A tumor had returned.

I parked the car and it took just a few minutes to get inside and up to the waiting room. My sister, mother and nieces were all waiting anxiously while he was being prepped for surgery.

We waited for just a few minutes before the nurse came to take us back and see him and wish him well. His face and head looked like an almost empty bowl of Fruit-Loops. He was in good spirits as the anesthesiologist gave him a run-down.

Back to the prep waiting room for just a few minutes before we were ushered upstairs to the ICU waiting room. Not sure why. The surgery took place downstairs. It was quieter I guess.

In the waiting room next to us was another family. There were many, they almost filled the room. Their loved one was on life support. They were waiting just a few minutes to hear from their doctor as to the future of their loved one.

We waited patiently for update calls to come via the desk phone. They did. Things were moving along as well as could be expected...for brain surgery. The family next door was restless. In a mater of just a few minutes that all changed.

The doctors came to the family next door. With nurses. And in just a few minutes they explained how they could do no more to save their precious loved one. There was no hope and his life was effectively over. He had just a few minutes to live.

It hit like a tsunami. The wails. The cries. The heart-wrenching sobbing. It was hard to listen to. Our room fell silent. They had just a few minutes to call every member of the family who wasn't there and let them know they that life support would be turned off in just a few minutes.

Call after call. Wailing, crying and sobbing into the phone. The hallway echoed their pain and anguish louder than the carpeted waiting room. They only had a few minutes before their loved one cease to live.

In just a few minutes someone very important to these people would be turned off. Like a switch. By other humans. Who would go home and have dinner tonight. In just a few minutes the hope of talking to, walking with, sharing something with that special someone would be over. Forever.

Two be two, just a few minutes apart, the nurses took the family members back to the room so each could say their goodbyes to a lifeless, beeping, whirring, pumping body. Each returned with greater sobs, louder moans and deeper pain.

After the last of them had said goodbye...it was over. They moved on to another room. I assume a grief counselor. In just a few minutes we expected to hear about my brother-in-law.

The phone rang. It was good news. He came through surgery alright. He will be in recovery for a while. I took a few minutes to hug my family before departing to get my son. In just a few minutes I'd be looking into the bright, thriving eyes of my beautiful, energetic son. In just a few minutes.

Stickin' it to 'The Man' is stickin' all of us.

Reading through industry news, I came across this article. It's not the first of it's kind that I've read. I've seen many articles that encourage wireless customers to argue their way out of multi-year contracts w/o paying ETFs (early termination fees) because some government mandate imposes an additional 10 or 20 cent hike to the monthly bill. I attempted to post the following comment (currently being held for approval):

• Before you devise reasons to get out of ETFs first stop and think about WHY mobile carriers have ETFs! Did it never occur to you that you're cheating an American business? Your driving the cost of doing business higher and making it harder on everyone else. Every 1 or 2 year contract comes with $200 - $400 worth of equipment subsidy. That's cold hard cash the carrier is fronting on your behalf so you can be trendy, hip and cool. The "free" phones aren't free. Paying $199 for a $600 phone sure seems awesome until 12 months down the road when you want a newer phone and are looking to stick it to the American business that funded your first round of hip, trendy coolness.
  
  How would you feel if Sprint called you up and argued with you for an hour, day after day, about why you should pay them an additional $200 cash for that BlackBerry you got last year? Maybe you were late one day on your payment - WOOT! BREECH OF CONTRACT!! Pay up sucka'!
  
  It blows me away how many people in this country talk big about "buy American" and "stop sending jobs overseas." Every single mobile carrier in this country has been forced to cut jobs and personnel over the last several years in large part due to people like [those who try to get out of ETFs].
  
  Did you know that every mobile carrier will sign you up on a month to month service contract? All you have to do is pay full retail for the phone of your dreams and you can live contract free -with a clear conscious- w/o trying to devise sneaky, snaky ways to cheat the company. What I think would be more fair is mobile carriers that prorate the subsidy. The longer you honor your contract, the lower the ETF until it's $0 near the end of your agreement.

I'm all about being a smart, informed consumer. I don't like to hear when a working family is taken, cheated, scammed or overpays. Coupons, rebates, store loyalty programs and similar schemes work to the benefit of both consumer and business. It's a partnership. Let's do our best to be honorable consumers, which will in turn help keep American jobs American.

When is a church not a church?

"A religion is any systematic approach to living that involves beliefs about one's origins, one's place in the world, or a responsibility to live and act in the world in particular ways."

A friend of mine posted a Tweet the other day quoting from a blog of the Avangelism Project [a group that thoughtfully feels the need to debunk organized religion, faith and belief in God]:

• "Unlike Santa, parents won't admit Jesus is imaginary when the gig is up and friends don't encourage you to outgrow it."

Then it struck me: They too are a religion and therefore their website is in reality a church, albeit online. Quite the oxymoron.

After sifting through some of the articles on Avangelism's site it becomes readily apparent their staff writers, though intelligent and well spoken, are not knowledgeable or learned about faiths, religion or middle eastern history. Most of their articles target and attempt to debunk the Christian faith as well as the "myth" of God or any deity. Like most arguments against God, faith, Jesus or Christianity, they use no relevant facts or truth to dignify their viewpoint.

Conversely, they do a great job of taking quotes out of context, making assumptions, embellishing the truth and telling outright lies. Though, to be fair, these same characteristics can be used to describe many Christians and church leaders, too. The difference lies in the admission of sin, plea for redemption and gift of grace by God.

Separate But Equal: A Lesson in Consociationalism

"We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all our citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization."
~Franklin Delano Roosevelt, January, 1940

"They (who) seek to establish systems of government based on the regimentation of all human beings by a handful of individual rulers... call this a new order. It is not new and it is not order."
~Franklin Delano Roosevelt, March, 1941

In my lifetime I've seen our country slip away from long standing roots of being a Democratic nation. Our country has stood tall and proud as a Democratic nation for over 200 years. We stood united and existed as the United States. In the last 30 years that has all but unraveled. Though we still call ourselves the United States we hardly stand united.

A more accurate description of who we are is best described as a Separate-But-Equal nation. We've become a nation of Consociationalism where everyone is accommodated. Whereas our nation stood for what was best for the majority, we now are a nation of Least Common Denominator. Our policies and practices have boiled down to being non offensive, non abrasive and all accommodating to all demographics regardless of prevalence. If it offends any ONE then it offends us all.

To put this tongue-in-cheek...

Company Memo:
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 1, 2008
RE: Gala Christmas Party

I'm happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23rd, starting at noon in the private function room at the Grill House. There will be a cash bar and plenty of drinks! We'll have a small band playing traditional carols... feel free to sing along. And don't be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus! A Christmas tree will be lit at 1:00 PM. Exchanges of gifts among employees can be done at that time; however, no gift should be over $10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for everyone's pockets. This gathering is only for employees!

Our CEO will make a special announcement at that time!

Merry Christmas to you and your family,
~Patty


***********************************************

Company Memo:
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 2, 2008
RE: Gala Holiday Party

In no way was yesterday's memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Hanukkah is an important holiday, which often coincides with Christmas, though unfortunately not this year. However, from now on, we're calling it our "Holiday Party." The same policy applies to any other employees who are not Christians and to those still celebrating Reconciliation Day. There will be no Christmas tree and no Christmas carols will be sung. We will have other types of music for your enjoyment. Happy now?

Happy Holidays to you and your family,
~Patty

***********************************************

Company Memo:
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 3, 2008
RE: Holiday Party

Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table, you didn't sign your name. I'm happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads, "AA Only", you wouldn't be anonymous anymore. How am I supposed to handle this? Somebody?

And sorry, but forget about the gift exchange, no gifts are allowed since the union members feel that $10.00 is too much money and the executives believe $10.00 is a little chintzy.

REMEMBER: NO GIFTS EXCHANGE WILL BE ALLOWED.

***********************************************

Company Memo:
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
To: All Employees
DATE: October 4, 2008
RE: Generic Holiday Party

What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20th begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon at this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees' beliefs. Perhaps the Grill House can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party or else package everything for you to take it home in little foil doggy baggy. Will that work?

Meanwhile, I've arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest from the dessert buffet, and pregnant women will get the table closest to the restrooms.

Gays are allowed to sit with each other. Lesbians do not have to sit with Gay men, each group will have their own table.

Yes, there will be flower arrangement for the Gay men's table.

To the person asking permission to cross dress, the Grill House asks that no cross-dressing be allowed, apparently because of concerns about confusion in the restrooms. Sorry.

We will have booster seats for short people.

Low-fat food will be available for those on a diet.

I am sorry to report that we cannot control the amount of salt used in the food . The Grill House suggests that people with high blood pressure taste a bite first.

There will be fresh "low sugar" fruits as dessert for diabetics, but the restaurant cannot supply "no sugar" desserts. Sorry!

Did I miss anything?!?!?

~Patty

***********************************************

Company Memo:
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All F*%^ing Employees
DATE: October 5, 2008
RE: The F*%^ing Holiday Party

I've had it with you vegetarian pricks!!! We're going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the "grill of death," as you so quaintly put it, and you'll get your f*%^ing salad bar, including organic tomatoes. But you know, tomatoes have feelings, too. They scream when you slice them. I've heard them scream. I'm hearing them scream right NOW!

The rest of you f*%^ing wierdos can kiss my *ss. I hope you all have a rotten holiday!

Drive drunk and die,

~The B*tch from H*ll!!!

***********************************************

Company Memo:
FROM: Joan Bishop, Acting Human Resources Director
DATE: October 6, 2008
RE: Patty Lewis and Holiday Party

I'm sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patty Lewis a speedy recovery and I'll continue to forward your cards to her.

In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rdoff with full pay.

Happy Holidays!

~Joan


I truly believe the only way our country will return to the greatness we once knew is to become United once again. Though we will never have all 300,000,000 citizens in unanimous agreement on any issue. What we can do is realize that while we are all unique (education, gender, sexual orientation, background, heritage, native language and faith, along with different views on foreign policy, finance and health care, military and government), we still share many commonalities and goals.

We all share the goal of wanting to do better for ourselves and our children. We all want to worship how and when we choose. We all wish to enjoy the freedoms and rights ensured by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We want to earn a good living and live in a nice home. We want peace. We want health. We want equality. We want respect. We want justice. Sometimes we want to be left alone and other times we want to be included and have a voice.

Diversity is a good thing. It helps us see the world in unique and relevant ways. We all matter and our opinions count but we must realize that everyone can't win everything all the time. We cannot keep accepting that no one will win if everyone can't win. That makes us all losers.

We need to accommodate as many as we can in every decision that we make; as a family, school, church, temple, community, county, state, nation and world. Rather than abandoning any benefit for anyone when everyone cannot benefit we should get back to making decisions that benefit the majority. Even if we all don't win, we all benefit from being one, United.

United We Stood

Eight years ago today something terrible happened in America. Three thousand lives were innocently snuffed out at the hands of those who wished to send a message. It was a moment in time that changed the way we live our lives; changed how we saw ourselves; changed our motivations; changed our focus. Countless tens of thousands since have suffered a multitude of health and mental issues related to that day in the aftermath. May we never forget those who fell and were injured at the hands of the 9/11 terrorists.

On that day, the lawmakers and representatives of our country stood united. UNITED! Every one of the men and women of Congress stood together and vowed to work tirelessly to seek out those responsible for the deaths and massive suffering and fix the cracks in the armor.




On that day the leaders of both political houses pledged to stand united in ending the root cause of so much suffering. There were no partisan messages, no arguing, no shouting, no name calling and no hidden agendas. They even sang a round of God Bless America together on the steps of the Capitol Building. What's more, in the weeks following 9/11 our Congress worked quickly and swiftly in unison with the President to enact the necessary funding and a plan. Not a perfect plan, but a plan to get this country and her resources mobilized.

As a citizen who remembers that day, and the days following, I don't think anyone thought the plan and funding was the perfect solution. But we all knew we needed to act quickly in order to ensure no American citizen would suffer similar circumstance. We needed to hit the ground fast and, if necessary, sharpen and refocus the plan as we went in order to be most decisive and effective. We Americans are pretty nimble in that respect.

Eight years later we face eerily similar circumstances, only from an enemy within. Our country is no longer united. Nor is our Congress. No one stands on the steps of the Capitol Building singing in unison. No one is shelving their political agendas in order to rescue their constituents from suffering and needless death. The leaders of the two major parties would just as soon tear their opponents arms off and beat them with it than sit in the same room and work out a plan for the betterment of most American citizens.

Conservative estimates indicate that approximately 25,000 American citizens die yearly from lack of health care or lack of affordable health care. Hundreds of thousands more suffer daily, weekly and yearly for the same reasons. We stand at the precipice of ending all the suffering if only we can come together united. Our country has the world's finest health care minds and scientists. We have the solutions at our disposal.

If we could throw the same personnel and money resources at a Health Care plan that we've thrown at the War on Terror I'm confident that needless medical suffering and death would be wiped away. I'm also confident that we won't get it right the first time. But again, we are a nimble and resilient country. We persevere. We overcome. We succeed.

Revamping the health care behemoth we have in our country today can overcome the seemingly insurmountable cost and access restrictions standing in the way of proper and decent medical services for the majority of American citizens. It won't be easy or quick but we can do it. That is as long as we all stand united and come together to solve instead of divide.

Why the Kindle Must Succeed

We've all heard about Amazon's Kindle. They are currently shipping the 2nd generation model that's slimmer, lighter, has more memory and a larger screen. The 3rd gen Kindle is already in pre-production and looks to improve yet again upon the original.

The latest Kindle looks to have an amazing, albeit gray-scale only, screen. The use of "E-ink" is the difference between reading a digital file on your laptop and a "print on paper" like reading experience of the Kindle. There are rumors of a color Kindle coming next.

The Kindle isn't alone on the market either. There are a few competitors on the market and it appears more on the horizon. Sony already has their PRS700 and Cybook is coming out with their own 3rd gen Opus. Both use "E-ink" displays for extended reading without the eye strain of digital mediums. Of course, every SmartPhone has some kind of "e-book" reader application though none of them are as easy to use, navigate or read.

I'm not going to discuss the differences or pros / cons of each. What intrigues me more is how important these devices are to the evolution of information distribution...i.e. printed medium.

We, as an internet connected, always on society need a digital information distribution system to work and work well. In order for it to work well it has to satisfactorily suit the majority of printed material needs. This includes not only news and periodicals but also text books, manuals, business cards, credit cards and a whole host of information that we all carry and take for granted on a daily basis.

The Kindle (and it's brethren) are step one. The great thing about the Kindle is Amazon is paving the necessary infrastructure for digital delivery and usage, albeit in the commercial world. We need the public and private sectors to take the baton and go the next lap. This means college, school and business campuses need to adopt the same technology and infrastructure. This not only eases the burden of text book heft and cost but also aligns them to deliver notes, study guides, memos (all the myriad print items created and distributed on campuses and in classes) and emergency alerts. Think how fast a college campus could deliver news alerts about a campus safety incident if all students and staff members carried an always-on, wireless connected information device.

The second step will involve the smaller items we carry and count on every day. Driver's licenses, credit/debit cards, library cards, coupons, airline boarding passes and more. We need a smaller version of the Kindle to replace all the items that represent our personal information. A "digital wallet" so to speak. The technology is available, it just needs refined. The use of OLED screens (small, light, flexible digital displays) will greatly help.

So many newspapers are going out of business. Partly do the economy bust but greatly in part to the shifting of information to a digital medium. People, businesses and educators are realizing that printed material is heavier, more costly, more harmful to the environment and more difficult to share. We must go digital but without sacrificing the quality, variety and availability of information. Furthermore we must protect integrity and propriety, which can all be handled with ease in the digital medium.

What are your thoughts?

Unfacebooked

OK, I admit it. I've spend WAY too much time on social networks...especially Facebook. Don't get me wrong; I think Facebook is a GREAT way to get in touch, keep in touch and stay in touch with friends, family, loved ones, work mates, social connections and so many more. But it can be addicting.

As I write this, I can think of five social networks where I keep active profiles (not counting this blog). That's pared down from ~10 this time last year. I'm wondering if I really need five!

I currently have active profiles on...
MySpace.com - Can't remember the last time I logged on. But it's my only tie to a few of my nephews. I'd like to be able to maintain some degree of contact with them.

OKCupid.com - A "dating" site as well as social portal. I write journals there and keep up with friends across the country. We share dating stories and have a sort of middle-life/divorced-parents support community. There are also tons of personality tests that can teach you a lot about yourself...and others.

Facebook.com - Of course. This is my main social portal and where I spend the most time, of all social portals. I'm officially going on a FB diet. That said, I've tied my Tweets to my FB Status Updates. So it may look like I'm constantly updating FB but in reality I'm Tweeting on my phone which auto-updates my FB status. That's killing two social birds with one geeky stone.

Twitter.com - Quite possibly my favorite of all social tools. I love to Tweet little tidbits about my life. It's easy and quick to "thumb out" Tweets with the ÜberTwitter utility on my BlackBerry.

LinkedIn.com - Designed for professional contacts and networking, I maintain a profile there for obvious reasons. I don't do much with the site other than check updates once in a while. I find it a useful tool for maintaining what I like to call a list of available resume contacts...should I need them. :)

Follow me on Twitter!

This may seem like overkill, given that I'm publishing my Tweets here on Blogger as well as Facebook. But I'm inviting any and all who care to follow my follies on Twitter. I've been reluctant to use Twitter for my own personal updates. So far I've just been using it to track companies and sites that I find interesting. But I'm going to commit to using the social aspect of Twitter as it was intended; for social reasons. Come follow along.

Why they invented texting

I love to text. I think it's an awesome way to send a short little "I'm thinking of you" note or quick exchange of thoughts when calls may be inappropriate (read: "school choir event" or "staff meeting"). My mom, son and many friends are all very text savvy and it works great! But I've often wondered: "Who came up with the idea first?" Today I found out. The hard way.

I visited the Men's room this morning. Normally our restrooms are kept very clean and well stocked. Until today. Maybe there was a strike I hadn't heard about. No signs on the doors to eluded to lurking danger. So I stepped in, dropped trau and did my business. And then I discovered why texting was invented.

The text conversation went something like this...

me: "HLP!!"

Don: "WU"

me: "I'm stuck in a bathroom stall, no TP!"

Don: "LOL"

me: "Rescue me!"

Don: "On my way...wait til this comes up in staff today"

me: "FU"

Moments later he sticks his hand over the stall door with PRINTER paper...bastard!

Cellphone explosion kills man - 9th reported case since 2002

A recent report of another man being killed from his cellphone exploding leads me to the need to remind people about cellphone safety.

Without going into technical details, just know that a battery is designed to store and release energy. When energy is released in a slow, controlled way = good. When released too rapidly and uncontrolled = bad.

The technology that goes into high-capacity, low density batteries is very cutting edge and not cheap. When parts are made with sub-par materials the battery integrity is GREATLY diminished and potentially volatile. The battery charger has equal design consideration and importance. Cheap, replacement chargers can break down the internal materials of good batteries. All of these tragedies stemmed from cheap, knock-off parts and accessories from China. [China has no laws forcing any kind of quality assurance or company liability.]

Important things to know!!

• Deaths were due to the phone being used or kept near vital parts of the body. e.g. Head, organs &/or arteries.



• When your cellphone is NOT in use make sure you keep it away from vital parts of the body; e.g. shirt pockets or front pants pockets (near the femoral artery). It's best to keep your cellphone in a bag, tote, backpack or briefcase that shields your body and could contain any explosion. IF YOU MUST wear a cellphone on a belt holster then be sure to keep it battery side OUT!



• The part that explodes is the battery. In this recent case the victim had just replaced his cellphone battery with a new, cheap, no-name battery.



• At all times you should use a wired or wireless headset to talk on your cellphone. It's not only a good idea when driving (walking, biking, etc), and in many states it's become LAW, but it allows you to keep the phone a safe distance from your body.
  



• If you buy a new battery make sure you purchase an OEM battery, preferably from your wireless carrier's store or direct from a mfrs store. Buying a battery that's labeled "Meets or exceeds OEM specification" isn't the same. Most mfrs have a holographic logo or official seal of authenticity they put on genuine merchandise. Look for it.
  



• Same goes for wall or car chargers! Make sure you are buying a charger made by the mfrs or your cellphone carrier. Look for an authentic logo. Buying a cheap, knock-off charger can deteriorate &/or weaken the linings inside a cellphone battery, turning your cellphone into a time bomb! [I've seen car chargers for cellphones in the Dollar Store. I think your life and health are worth more than $1.]
  



• TEACH YOUR CHILDREN HOW TO PROPERLY USE AND CARRY A CELLPHONE. I can't stress this enough. Obtain for them and teach them how to use a headset. Train them to carry unused cellphones in their backpack or bag. Make sure your child does NOT hold the cellphone next to their head for long periods of time, even when the phone is off. How many times have you seen a toddler pretending to talk on mommy's or daddy's cellphone?
  

A few last comments:
Before you think that it's OK to ignore these common sense tips because you use name brand batteries and accessories, remember there have been dozens and dozens of reported fires and explosions from laptop batteries. Almost every major mfrs has had one OR MORE laptop battery recall campaigns. I mention this to reinforce the fact that battery technology is a) Not perfect, and b) Even when the best materials from top name mfrs are used there still exists a risk from devices designed to store and retain a lot of energy.

That said: Keep in mind the wave of "Green" technology sweeping the country. Many people think it's best to buy a new Hybrid car...which has a HUGE battery on board, made of similar technology as cellphones and laptops. Ask yourself if it's worth an extra $5,000-$10,000 in added cost just to get an extra 2-10 MPG given that you are driving around with a potential bomb on board. And remember I mentioned above that you should never carry your cellphone near vital organs or body parts. The huge battery in hybrid cars is almost always next to the gas tank. Food for thought.

Stay healthy!