FactCheck.Org On The Obama Birth Certificate: It's Real

According to FactCheck.org they have actually handled the Obama birth certificate.

They have high resolution photos of the seal, the certification stamp, the certificate number, and just about everything else that would make it appear, in the absence of compelling evidence to the contrary, that Barack Obama is actually a citizen of the United States and eligible to be elected President.

Of course with all this document scrutiny y'all have ME questioning my U.S. Citizenship and, in fact, whether or not I actually EXIST ...

Axinar's Vs. The Chicago Liberal Front

Rush Limbaugh for the last little while has been talking about Obama being thoroughly a product of the Chicago Liberal establishment, so it was quite fortunate that I stumbled across that PSA in The Nation from this organization called The Chicago Abortion Fund.

First of all I found the name striking. Not, "The Chicago Choice Fund" or something of the sort. No euphamisms - flat out - in your face - '60's style - "We're collecting money to pay for poor women to get abortions."

THEN I discover they have a blog called "My Voice, My Choice, My Blog".

Well, at least the title of the blog is a little more "mild".

The first post I saw was from someone named Gaylon who said, in part, "Every human being should have the right to make their own reproductive health choices."

Now I know Gaylon probably didn't mean to say it this way, so I left a comment to the effect that if EVERY human being should have the right to make their own reproductive health choices, then presumably a man should have the right to abort a pregnancy he caused as well. And, in lieu of the Josef Mengele-esque scene that invokes, I'm thinking men should at least have the right to be absolved of the potentially crippling and incarcerating financial responsibility that comes along with producing children.

Now Gaylon responded - not with claiming to have misspoken or anything of the sort but with, "If you don't want children and you are not taking birth control then don't have sex."

Good heavens! That's a PRO-LIFE attitude.

Someone named Emelda then chimed in with, "... if you are engaged in a heterosexual relationship, you should talk about what choices you both think you would like to make if a pregnancy were to happen."

Of course that line put me in mind of a discussion I once heard about movies where sometimes, in the heat of lovemaking the woman says, "Make me pregnant!" and some have commented this is totally unrealistic, but then along comes a gay guy who says, "That's perfectly possible ... I've said that to MY partner in the 'heat of the moment'."

We'll leave that visual for another discussion of course.

Again, Emelda seems to be expressing a "Pro-Life" type of attitude - only it seems very sexist to me - that reproductive considerations stop at the sheets for men, but, I presume, at labor for women.

Then of course I flat out accused her of being sexist and THEN the high test liberal blood floated to the surface:

"Women do not have systematic power in our culture and therefore, by political definition, can not be sexist."

Horse hockey.

I once asked a very dear African-American friend of mine about this concept once. I said we would call a White person who just doesn't "sit right" with Blacks or some other "minority" words like "prejudiced" or "racist". I asked her what they would call someone from her community who just had a problem with Whites.

She didn't hesitate for a second - "ignorant".

Yes, as we learned in the Star Trek episode Court Martial, it's perfectly natural if a person or group of persons has shown hatred and disresect for you for decades, centuries, or millenia, it is perfectly natural to show hatred and disrespect for that person or group in return, but, in so doing, you have become racist, sexist, classist, etc., yourself.

Now, believe it or not, I don't have a problem with this group existing. However, if they truly believed in "reproductive freedom", they would sit with me a great deal easier if they also collected money to help PARENTS raise their children who wanted to keep them as well.

And, yes, they'd REALLY impress me if they collected money to allow men who have no business being parents move on with their lives without being hunted down by The State as if they had murdered 30 people ...

Paul A. Offit: Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism

General Zod For President

OMG, this General Zod 2008 site is hilarious ...

Dr. William Deagle 16-Part YouTube Conspiracist Presentation

This is part one of a SIXTEEN PART YouTube video that has been making the rounds of some of the Conspiracy Nut blogs.

Now, I haven't had a chance to watch this all the way through yet. I've caught parts about super computers in top-secret installations in Colorado and various other things.

I also have heard there's something in here that's saying that the government has been DELIBERATELY contaminating vaccines in order to CAUSE autism??

Does anyone point me in the direction of a good transcript of these videos??

(And does Part 4 of the Google Video version of this put you in mind of Glen Larson or what??)

All 16 Parts (Dec. 7, 2006 Granada Forum): (YouTube)

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16


The more manageable Google Video version:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

John Kerry DNC Speech - Including Obama's Uncle

Michelle Obama DNC Speech

Kim Kardashian Without Makeup

Believe it or not, there has been yet another Kim Kardashian without makeup sighting.

This time in L.A., close up, and from someone who has a decent camera and knows what he's doing with it.

As a matter of fact, so much does this person know what they are doing with a camera that I find myself wondering if they were using a flash frame or if this picture is cropped.

In any event, without her face covered in six inches of paint, she's still a striking young lady, and she actually looks like someone you might bring home to mom or dad.

And she does bear a certain resemblance to a few people on my mother's side of the family.

I just hope she keeps herself out of trouble.

Okay ... is that a Blackberry she's holding?

As If Anyone Has The Slightest Doubt The Nursing Home System Needs Dismantled

There's a really great article running on The Cincinnati Enquirer about the deplorable conditions at the Westside Health Care Center and how the inspection system has broken down almost completely.

My mother stays at a similar facility in the suburbs of Boise, Idaho and, although her conditions are not as bad as they describe in this article, there is something badly, badly broken about our nursing home system.

It's fascinating the way they mention that this current system was supposed to be an improvement over the state mental hospitals of a couple of generations ago, but really disturbing things continue to happen.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I suspect it's something along the lines of what was done in the dismantling of the orphanages and the homes for the developmentally disabled - something along the lines groups homes and/or foster care needs to be arranged for older and disabled adults who are unable to care for themselves on their own.

Not that there aren't problems with this system too - vis a vis Marcus Fiesel - but if you're too disabled to safely stay in your own home you should at least have A home instead of being treated like livestock.

Wall Street Journal Available On BlackBerry For Free

Mrs. Axinar and I both have cell phone contracts running out at the end of the month and I have been feverishly attempting to figure out what my next move might be in this arena.

Of late I have been quite heavily researching the Blackberry and today I discover that the Wall Street Journal has released a mobile reader application for the Blackberry.

Apparently you can get Wall Street Journal articles for FREE. It also lets you save stories so you can read them on subways and aircraft.

Wicked cool.

Yes, I may have to make the Blackberry my primary avenue of investigation on this switch ...

"Every human being should have the right to make their own reproductive health choices."

So I'm taking a look over a posting on the Chicago Abortion Fund blog called "Whose Agenda is this Anyway?".

There's an intensely fascinating line in this post that says, "Every human being should have the right to make their own reproductive health choices."

Oh really?

Note the phrase "human being".

I would presume therefore that the sentiment applies to men as well?

Not that I would generally spin this point to make the argument that abortion should not be allowed, but, under the current set of rules there is a STAGGERING bit of gender inequality on this issue.

You see, if you are a woman and you decide you don't want to be a parent, you have right up until birth to choose to abort a pregnancy. In fact, even AFTER birth you have the option to give a child to an adoptive family.

If you are a man the MOMENT you hop into the sack with someone you take the risk of JAIL if you don't cough up the amount of money the STATE decides is appropriate to care for your children.

That's unfair.

If we really believe in gender equality, men should have precisely the same rights that women do on this issue. Men should have the right to resign from parental responsibility at ANY TIME.

Anything else would be abject institutionalized inequality.

Your Money Needed For Abortions!

So I'm browsing through the August 18/25, 2008 print copy of The Nation when I stumble across what I suppose constitutes the equivalent of a PSA for something called the Chicago Abortion Fund.

According to The Nation notice this fund "helps poor women pay for abortions".

According to their own "About" page they "fight to overturn economic barriers to reproductive choice".

Wow.

Do you suppose we could start a similar fund to collect money to try to overturn the barriers to reproductive choice for MEN - namely the draconian child support laws rampant in the Western world?

There's a couple of concerning sections on the Chicago Abortion Fund values page, probably the most concerning of which is: "We support a woman's right to have children. This right is not dependent on income and we recognize the necessity for pre- and post-natal care, health care, economic supports and affordable, high quality child care."

Okay, let's do the math here - not to sound TOO terribly much like my estimable padawan, KenDiesel, but if someone has the right to have children without income, that means that person, pretty much by definition, has the right to MY income.

Say what???

Not that, vis a vis Michael Moore in his Bowling for Columbine rant that probably just out of respect for our fellow human beings that we shouldn't help out those who are having difficulties, financial and otherwise, with raising their children, but it is an entirely different matter to say that someone has the RIGHT to pick my pocket - particularly through culpable irresponsibility.

Moving on further to the CAF fact page we find that 80% of their clients were African-American.

Well, I suppose they get a healthy stream of donations from the Klan in that event.

Don't get me wrong. I support publicly funded abortions.

We clearly have too many people on this planet already to take care of, and if you think you're not going to do a very good job raising children, you probably won't.

Hell - my parents thought they were ready for it and look what happened to ME.

On the other hand, there is some scary, scary language on this web site.

If Limbaugh is right that this sort of thing may reflect Obama's true opinions, we may be in a fair amount of trouble ...

Related:
Chicago Abortion Fund YouTube page
Chicago Abortion Fund MySpace page
Chicago Abortion Fund blog

Paul Johnson - "Parable Of The Empty Oil Barrel"

Paul Johnson - "Parable of the Empty Oil Barrel"

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth ... with oil deposits ..."

I swear to you, folks, I'm not making this stuff up ...

Paul Johnson - "Products From Oil" Spot

Paul Johnson - "Products from Oil"


Okay, gang, I think I figured out a way to get the actual spot posted that Paul Johnson sent me.

This is his short list of useful products derived from oil - including heart valves, duct tape, and, yes, the ever-important plastic toilet seat.

Sounds like we shouldn't be wasting such a valuable substance on something like COMMUTING then, eh there, Paul?

Two New Paul Johnson Spots Coming Soon To A Radio Near You

As if there were any doubt that my web production skills are starting to get rusty, the Greater Cincinnati area's favorite insurance salesman / pseudo-politician, Paul Johnson, just emailed me two (count 'em), TWO new spots fresh from his crack production team at 55KRC and I can't for the life of me find a good place to host them and post them here at Axinar's.

So, much like the Joy Rolland cable shows, I'm going to have to DESCRIBE them to you.

The first spot lists a whole mess of stuff derived from oil - roads, fertilizer, detergents, etc., that you may already know about - but did you know your TOILET SEAT was made from oil?

I don't think mine is.

It's made out of 100% U.S. WOOD there, Paul.

You certainly have a more vivid imagination than MINE if for an instant you can envision a PLASTIC toilet seat that could hold ME.

Then the spot shifts quite suddenly to the usual insurance pitch with "Anchors Away" playing in the background.

Spot #2 - well ... I'm thinking they better do some thinking about actually airing Spot #2 because *I* am having trouble keeping up.

It starts out, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth ... with oil deposits."

Oh, dear.

Now, mind you, when I was in 6th grade they asked us to write the story of the Nativity as if we were reporters there at the time and I started my piece out with a section that said, "Now all the animals are asleep - except of course for the ever alert HOGS ..." and I got thoroughly chastised for being "irreverent".

Now Paul Johnson - flag waver, Bible toter - is misappropriating Genesis himself to make some sort of point about oil.

Oh, dear.

Now, if that's not bad enough, he paraphrases the theme song from the Beverly Hillbillies.

Oh, yeah ... they need to pull this spot before it hits air.

Although, while I am on the subject ...

Have any of you actually bought insurance from Paul Johnson or tried to buy insurance from Paul Johnson? What were your experiences?

World War III Conspiracy Video

Actually my favorite Conspiracy Nut friend ought to enjoy this one ... :)

Verizon Offering Visual Voicemail - For $2.99/mo. - That Bites!

Looks like Verizon is finally going to offer visual voice mail, but the S.O.B.'s are going to charge $2.99/mo. extra for it.

This is in stark contrast to the visual voice mail offerings on Sprint's Samsung Instinct and AT&T's Apple iPhone, both who offer the feature with no extra charge.

Yeah ... that Verizon is beginning to worry me. With certain discounts they definitely offer more bang for the buck - particularly with the free in-network calling, but the more I check them out, the more hesitant I am to go their direction.

Robert Picardo And John de Lancie At Cincinnati Pops - June 28, 2008

Yes, I'm just now getting this picture off of Mrs. Axinar's camera.

The concert was pretty good - I think it was mostly arrangements similar to Symphonic Star Trek.

Robert Picardo and John de Lancie were a hoot.

John de Lancie seemed to be healthy that night so no one either bid on nor contracted the "Q virus" ... :)

Orthodox Jewish Slaughterhouse Enslaving Workers?

I saw an interesting article in this week's American Israelite about a blog called FailedMessiah.

The article said the blog was super-critical of the hypocrisy and misuse of power that can run rampant in the Orthodox community so I thought it should certainly be given a look.

The first story of IMPORT is about a place that is no stranger to Axinar's - Agriprocessors. Agriprocessors is something like the largest kosher slaughterhouse in North America and a few years ago they made the blogosphere for employing a slaughter technique with cattle that left something like one in 1000 animals STAGGERING AROUND WITH THEIR THROATS SLIT.

Real appetising, right?

Well, if that wasn't bad enough, a few months ago Agriprocessors was raided over a STAGGERING number of illegal immigrant workers employed at the plant.

So now, to REALLY give Orthodox Judaism the reputation of truth, honor, and fair play it deserves, it now appears Agriprocessors is bringing in temps in large numbers from great distances from their Postville, Iowa location and, essentially, ENSLAVING the workers.

FailedMessiah obtained a check stub from one of the new workers showing how Agriprocessors is taking literally confiscatory rent payments from these $10/hr workers.

Yep ... you got it ... we let them break up the unions and what do we get? The Company Store is back, my friends.

Here it is almost 150 years since reconstruction and we STILL can't get Corporate America to stop trying to turn human beings into chattel.

And to think these particular slave drivers are ostensibly doing this work for ORTHODOX JEWS.

Yep ... I'm going to be keeping an eye on this FailedMessiah site and hoping that its proprietor branches out to covering ALL acts of religious hypocrisy.

Month-To-Month Contracts Introduced On T-Mobile

Here's an interesting tid-bit that almost slipped past me - apparently about three days ago T-Mobile started month-to-month contracts.

Yes, my friends, it sounds like you can do something along the lines of picking up a T-Mobile pre-paid Nokia 2610 or a Motorola V195 for $30 and then swap in a postpaid SIM card and you're up and running.

Here I believe our local Cincinnati Bell Wireless has been doing this for a while, but it looks like T-Mobile is the first national carrier to start month-to-month plans.

Now, I just tried to get T-Mobile on the horn to find out when they will be bringing 3G service to Cincinnati and they hung up on me, so THAT'S not a good sign ...

Sprint Speculated To Be Thinking Of Offloading iDEN Network

Chris Ziegler over on Engadget is thinking that Sprint may be doing some serious thinking about offloading the iDEN network acquired from Nextel.

Say it ain't so.

I have a sneaking admiration for the iDEN network. Back a few years ago when Cingular (now AT&T) was on my ... back ... like flies on a ribroast to abandon my tri-mode, tri-band phone because it had TDMA and analog capabilities, I looked EVERYWHERE for a phone. I practically moved into the nearby Verizon and Cingular (now AT&T) stores trying to find something I thought might work.

Well, practically within walking distance of Camp Axinar at the time was a Sprint/Nextel store and I saw this one phone called the Motorola i355 that I REALLY thought was cool as all get out.

No, it didn't have any iPhone or Blackberry-type features - but it looked like a cell phone you could hammer nails with.

Now, I swear to God, before AT&T's 3G / WCDMA system came out, I swore up and down on a stack of Bibles that iDEN was the clearest signal of anything that was available at the time. Not only that, the Motorola i355 had an absolutely BOOMING speakerphone. I was very, VERY close to going with Sprint/Nextel as a matter of fact.

Actually I even developed quite an interest in Nextel's pre-paid counterpart Boost Mobile, which at that time had the slogan, "Where You At?" Wow ... an advertising slogan in Ebonics ... you can't beat that.

THEN I looked at the iDEN coverage map and started getting a little woozy.

I actually started digging all the way back to the old New York Times archives to try to figure out why the iDEN coverage footprint was so bad and why there was so much talk about bandwidth issues and I found out that Nextel didn't even start out as a cell phone company. They started out as a walkie-talkie company.

Commercial application.

5 second to maybe 2 minute walkie-talkie "bursts" instead of, for instance, the hours-long trivial chatter Mrs. Axinar has on a regular basis with her moms and her girlfriends.

I guess when Nextel decided to try to convert their system into something to compete with the cell phone vendors they really got in trouble.

So, it would be a little sad to see Sprint sell the iDEN network and have it possibly phased out.

Perhaps they would consider spinning it off or something of the sort under the "Boost" name.

I'm looking at the current Boost Mobile web site and I don't see any of the "Where It At?" stuff, but I do see a group of models who put me in mind of the women from the "Just $1.99/minute" they run during Star Trek: Remastered in the middle of the night on WCPO.

Interesting - you know - if the sultry blondes really DO come along with the Boost Mobile phones maybe Sprint SHOULD think long and hard about selling Nextel (oh my God that was a groaner even for me ...) :)

Related:
Sprint Shopping iDEN Network - PC Magazine

BlackBerry Thunder Set For October 13 Verizon Debut

Just stumbled across this tidbit that Blackberry's first touch-screen model, the "Thunder", under the model number BB9530 is set to be released by Verizon on October 13.

Fascinating if true.

I'm having some considerable difficulty figuring out why everyone is going to this iPhone-esque touch-screen format.

As a matter of fact, taking a look at this picture of this device that is clearly half-Blackberry and half-iPhone is a little disturbing.

Now, I have played with the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G for HOURS up at the local AT&T shop. In fact, were it not for the fact that I have been a loyal AT&T / Cingular / Ameritech customer for the last 12 years I'm sure they would have a restraining order on me by now.

All of these touch screen models LOOK cool as all get out - Apple iPhone, LG Dare, LG Voyager, etc., etc.

BUT, Mrs. Axinar having interrogated quite a number of her friends that have iPhones, it's confirmed that it's BLODDY IMPOSSIBLE to compose a text message to say nothing of a blog entry on the thing.

I like the way the LG Dare tried to use the vibrate function to introduce some tactile feedback to using the touch-screen keyboard, but that doesn't seem to work either.

No, gang - keep trying - there must be SOME better way to enter alpha information on these things.

Mother Shocked By Foul Language On CB Toy Bought At Wal-Mart

Here's another example of why we need to start teaching amateur radio at least by high school.

Turns out a mother in West Virginia bought this radio toy for her 3-year-old that apparently had a CB Receiver and the poor, impressionable little tyke overheard trucker conversations about drugs and strip clubs.

The mother is in shock because the radio was supposed to only have a range of 20 feet but it picked up conversations from 275 miles away.

Uh ... a toy radio for a 3-year-old may have a TRANSMIT range of 20 feet, but have you ever heard of a KILOWATT LINEAR amplifier there, ma'am?

Yes, boys and girls, if you ever are brave enough to tune in the CB band (also known as 11-meters to those in the ham radio hobby), you will hear VERY naughty truckers who have bought highly illegal equipment that will boost their transmit signal to something in the range of 1000 watts.

After all, these gentlemen (and a few ladies) have access to a huge diesel plant that can be inverted to run a fair sized VHF television station. All that power on 11 meters can lead to all kinds of deleterious side effects.

Wal-Mart, where the radio was bought, says that model is being discontinued.

Perhaps they'll try something that works on the FRS band - less likely to be populated by foul-mouthed truckers and more likely to be frequented by better behaved golfers and the like.

Or perhaps they'll go to something digital - something perhaps with the "guts" of a 5.8 GHz scrambled cell phone.

Of course I suppose that would involve spending SERIOUS money and we are talking about Wal-Mart here.

In any event - people - get your ham radio licenses. Learn this stuff.

It might save your kids picking up some new words some day that you'd rather they not ...

Related:
Mom claims toy picks up bawdy trucker talk - The Huntington Herald-Dispatch

Ron Moore On Religion In Battlestar Galactica

Can YOUR Cell Phone Carrier Run Opera Mini?

So as I have proceded in my research on the possibility of getting a new cell phone, I've decided I probably ought to concentrate on web browsing.

Now, back a couple of years ago, Cingular (now "AT&T Mobility") was really after me to relinquish my tri-mode, tri-band phone. Of course plans were in place for the analog and TDMA networks to go dark in February of 2008, but despite the fact that I had a phone with a PRIMARY GSM mode, they seemed downright upset I had a phone with TDMA and analog capabilities.

Of course back then there was something of a competition going on between Nate Livingston and myself to see if we could find the "Ultimate Mobile Blogging Appliance". Could one actually come up with something in the form factor of a cell phone that one could use to cover a City Council meeting or a Town Hall with Mean Jean Schmidt or something of the sort?

The short answer to that question is "No" - but you could get awfully close - even back then.

What I found was this little item called the Nokia 6682 that was just about to be discontinued at AT&T. That was cool because it let me grandfather my really cheap Spiderman I calling plan. However, those S.O.B.'s did eventually make me surrender the 100 text messages/month that came with that plan to pick up their $20/mo plan that had unlimited web and 200 text messages/mo. Now they've split up that plan - $15/mo. for unlimited web and $5/mo. for 200 text messages.

Well, along the way I decided it was really cool having an "open standards" phone. At first I could download Yahoo Go! 1.0 and actually have contact synchronization - oh ... and semi-push email. That was cool as all get-out. Of course the *ssh*les at Yahoo decided to discontinue the Yahoo Go! 1.0 software. The current Yahoo Go! application doesn't look very useful at all.

However, along the way I discovered a few other things that WERE quite useful - the Mobile GMail client and the Google Maps application to be sure, but, most importantly, Opera Mini.

Opera Mini ROCKS. It was out quite a while before the iPhone and pretty much only the iPhone and maybe the Motorola Q has ever come up with a half-way decent mobile surfing application.

So the Illustrious KenDiesel tells me last night that he has downloaded Opera Mini on his Sprint phone. I got all charged up. Sprint is on CDMA the same as Verizon. A little bit of digging seems to indicate that Sprint DOES have a semi-open network when it comes to J2ME apps and whatnot, but, apparently, despite a few news stories from a few months ago to the contrary, Verizon DOES NOT.

In fact, from what I have been able to figure out, they are running some sort of off-brand Qualcomm BREW platform that's not compatible with much.

In fact, I read that Opera went ahead and ported Opera Mini to BREW but Verizon still refused to certify it.

From what little I have been able to dig up, it also appears T-Mobile may or may not run Opera Mini.

Oh what a complicated mess this is turning into.

But, yes, for now I think I'm leaning towards staying on AT&T somehow.

I'm also REAL seriously starting to think about unlocked phones.

Anyone have any experience with unlocked 3G phones on AT&T?

The Quest For A Decent Cell Phone

Well, Mrs. Axinar got to comparing notes and we realized that our cell phone contracts are both up at the end of the month.

Now I'm on a grandfathered plan at AT&T that I got around the time of Spiderman I - 250 daytime minutes, 3500 night & weekend minutes for $30/mo., plus a package of 200 text messages and unlimited data that I picked up a few years back for $20/mo. This is running through a Nokia 6682, which actually is a pretty capable phone, but it doesn't have 3G.

Mrs. Axinar is on T-Mobile and is thinking of switching to their "myFaves 600" plan - 600 "Whenever" minutes, unlimited nights & weekends, unlimited calls to the five numbers she calls most for $49.99, then 400 Domestic text messages for $4.99/mo.

So the group math is my $50/mo. + her $55/mo. for a total of $105/mo. before all the nasty taxes.

Now, after a tremendous number of phone calls to Verizon Wireless, we found out we have access to a group discount, so we can get a "Family" plan with 700 minutes and unlimited text messages on both lines, then an additional "V.Cast" package for me for a total after discount (but before taxes) of just short of $105/mo.

Sounds like a deal, right?

Only problem is - I can't find a phone I like.

Now one of my original reasons for wanting to get a new call phone in the first place is that Yahoo Go! stopped working on the 6682 quite a while ago. Unfortunately the new version of this application doesn't seem to do contact sync and doesn't even seem to have a good way to access and work with your Yahoo contacts online so the main reason for getting the thing seems to have disappeared. The Yahoo Go! application also doesn't seem to work on any of the Verizon phones, so this would appear to not be an issue any more.

It's also questionable at this point whether or not Opera Mini will run on Verizon, although, from what I have seen, the built-in browsers on some of these Verizon phones look pretty capable.

The biggest problem is most of the reviews bite the big one.

When I stopped up at the local Verizon company-owned store, I was accosted by one of the reps as usual and he was trying to herd me in the direct of the LG Dare and was telling me how he could get us up and running TODAY and then switch the numbers over when the contracts expired.

Now I took a look over at the date-sorted CNET reviews of the LG Dare and, although a great number of people seem pretty impressed, the bad reviews are REALLY bad.

Basically the LG Dare looks to be an attempt to compete with the iPhone. Actually it's touch-screen does seem to be a little easier to use, but it worries me not having a full keyboard anywhere on the thing.

Speaking of the iPhone, I did start to calculate out what it would cost to move to a "Family" plan on AT&T:

$70/mo for a 700 minute plan with rollover (might come in handy on heavier months), 200 text messages for me for $5/mo., $15/mo. for 1500 text messages for Mrs. Axinar, then $15/mo. for MEdiaNet Unlimited for me. Total: $105/mo. again.

BUT, again, I'm having trouble finding a phone.

There is of course something like an unlocked Nokia N95 that would set me back more than $400. Doesn't sound like a good first option, although it is the closest thing to the 6682 I have seen.

There's the iPhone, but that's $130/mo. for the 700 minute plan ... way over the $105 we have sticking with our separate plans. Then there's this issue of the iPhone not having a user-replaceable battery. Not good.

Now - no question about it - the UMTS voice system for 3G is the CLEAREST signal I've ever heard by a long shot, so I'm thinking maybe the Motorola MOTO(TM)Z9.

But even from the main CNET review of the Z9 I can see there's trouble - for instance the memory card being under the battery hatch. The user reviews are pretty good, however.

Now there are Sprint, T-Mobile, and Cincinnati Bell Wireless to choose from. I've always thought Mrs. Axinar sounded like the inside of someone's colon on her T-Mobile phones, so I've been leaning against them. Mrs. Axinar used to work for Sprint and used to get hit for trumped-up roaming charges on Cincinnati Bell Wireless years ago so we've been leaning against them. T-Mobile and Cincinnati Bell Wireless of course don't have 3G either.

So, pretty much, we may be completely an utterly toast on this endeavor and may simply have to sit back and wait until something better comes out.

Hopefully at least T-Mobile will let Mrs. Axinar change her rate plan and go month-to-month ...