What not to buy your wife for her bday!

[TheTman]

It all began with an iPhone...
March was when our son celebrated his 17th birthday, and we got him an iPhone. He just loved it. Who wouldn't?

I celebrated my birthday in July, and my wife made me very happy when she bought me an iPad.

Our daughter's birthday was in August so we got her an iPod Touch.

My wife celebrated her birthday in September so I got her an iRon.
It was around then that the fight started...
What my wife failed to recognize is that the iRon can be integrated into the home network with the iWash, iCook and iClean.
This inevitably activates the iNag reminder service.


I should be out of the hospital next week!!

[Deano]

Don't get her golf clubs, 'cause then you'll actually have to play golf with her.

[muggsy]

I just bought my wife a new Ford Taurus with sync. She bought an iPhone and iPad to be in sync with sync. She''ll be out of what little hair I have left for a month trying to figure out how to use it. :)

[Tinman507]

I have an F-150 with Ford Sync. Sync is a Microsoft based system. It will play with iPhones and iPads but very reluctantly. MS and Apple play together but only because they have to.

Suggest taking to Mr. Ford Dealer and say: "Here, your Sync System won't work. Make it function"

Lots of the techs are youngins who sleep and breathe this stuff from the cradle. Why lose hair over it?

[getsome]

Remember the days when you could just get in your car start it up and drive to where you wanted to go? If you got lost there was a map in the glove box and your car didn't talk to you and remind you to buckle your belt, take your meds, ask you if you were lost and needed it's help, remind you of your cholesterol level and that you didn't eat your fiber that morning and then when you get where you are going the d@mn thing wants to take over the wheel and try to park by itself!!!!!!...

WTF....Give me my good old 1970 Chevy C10 that always ran, was bomb and EMP proof, had a 6 foot covered bed I could sleep in or do whatever back there and best of all NEVER TALKED TO ME OR REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING I FORGOT IN A FEMALE VOICE....Those were the days...

[Bawanna]

Amen getsome. Driving is serious business, I don't need to be nagged while I'm doing it.

[wyntrout]

If I got a tool for my birthday... something that I wanted and needed, I would be happy... but women... something else. They don't see "tools" as gifts. My wife didn't seem particularly happy when I bought her the P380 after she handled mine and thought it might work. She definitely would have shown more enthusiasm for a box of candy... especially chocolates!:rolleyes:

I just hope her car being washed, waxed, and polished makes up for all of the work I didn't get to around the house while she was gone!:eek:

She'll probably start a "Honey Do List" on Post-Its as soon as she gets home tonight!

Wynn:D

[Tinman507]

In my house if it's got precious stones or precious metals, it's a gift. Anything else is just a tool or a gadget.

I got my wife an iPhone 4S for Mothers Day so she can use "Face Time" with our kids when they're at college. It was like "Oh, that's nice"

Had it been Saphires and Gold, it would have been a different story. And if had been a gun fugitaboudit!! I'd have been a deadman.

[O'Dell]

Two of my best friends have I-Phones, Milt and Vickie. They both say the same thing - it works great at everything except being a phone. Personally, I'm still using an old flip phone with everything turned off except the TELEPHONE. I'm afraid when it dies, I'll be forced to get some form of smartphone, because that's all that will be available.

[yqtszhj]

My wife bought me a vacuum cleaner for my birthday. What's up with that??? :confused:

[TucsonMTB]

Two of my best friends have I-Phones, Milt and Vickie. They both say the same thing - it works great at everything except being a phone. Personally, I'm still using an old flip phone with everything turned off except the TELEPHONE. I'm afraid when it dies, I'll be forced to get some form of smartphone, because that's all that will be available.
Well, yeah, probably . . . if you insist on buying directly from your cellular carrier.

But, you can put that off for a very long time by purchasing a replacement of the same phone you currently carry from another supplier. My wife and I both carry the same phone, pictured below. Once I realized how much we both liked them, I bought a couple of spares on eBay, activated them, and then put the originals in storage. All it takes is a visit to a Verizon web page to put them back in service. :D

http://imageonecellular.com/store/images/P/motorola-K1m_01.jpg
The way ours are holding up so far suggests it will be a very long time before we have to change to another model. The spares were purchased at bargain prices too. :)

While looking for an image to steal for this message, I couldn't help but notice that the used prices being asked for this model are now higher than the new price we paid. So, if you decide to try this strategy, don't wait too long to acquire your spare or spares. :eek:

[Deano]

Two of my best friends have I-Phones, Milt and Vickie. They both say the same thing - it works great at everything except being a phone. Personally, I'm still using an old flip phone with everything turned off except the TELEPHONE. I'm afraid when it dies, I'll be forced to get some form of smartphone, because that's all that will be available.

I resisted the trend and carried a "dumb" phone for the last 8 years. Finally at Christmas I noticed the iPhone 4 was only $99 after the 4S came out. I got one. Don't know how I ever lived that long without it. I use it all the time to find places, check scores online, look up phone numbers, play addictive word games. Hardly ever use the talk thingy part.

[TucsonMTB]

My wife bought me a vacuum cleaner for my birthday. What's up with that??? :confused:
Time to dust off the maid's costume with the fishnet stockings that's hidden in the back of the closet? http://home.mindspring.com/%7Ejustsomeguy/icon_lol.gif

[yqtszhj]

Time to dust off the maid's costume with the fishnet stockings that's hidden in the back of the closet? http://home.mindspring.com/%7Ejustsomeguy/icon_lol.gif

Maybe, you know she actually joked about that. If she wants to wear it that's OK but me wearing it.... that's getting a little too kinky for me :rolleyes:. Now I could get out my Tarzan costume and we could pretend we're cleaning the tree house. ;)

[Bawanna]

If the fishnets are size medium/husky I'll take em, ..........

Plain brown packaging requested.

Dang it the latch on the closet door came loose again.

[wyntrout]

I never cared for the fishnet kind. I prefer the "Queen" sized pantyhose for my dryer vent's add-on filter for the duct vent which is right next to the heat pump condenser outside. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I HAVE to put them on first to stretch the danged things... I get no pleasure from stretching them... really!:rolleyes:

Wynn:)

[getsome]

TusconMTB thats a real good idea...I have a dumb phone and I like it just fine for what I use it for which is maybe 3-4 phone calls a month or to answer a couple calls from my kids wanting money for something...I think I will take your advice and go to Walmart and buy a couple spares of my $19.95 dumb phones to activate when my current one croaks...

I don't think I could ever learn to use one of those fancy smart phones and really don't need a device that would allow me to use the internet, play a game, check my bank account, pay bills, make dinner reservations for my wife and I at a restarant I don't know about but can find a rating and menu for as well as directions to the place, send my girlfriend flowers, put up a blog, check my other girlfriends facebook page to see if she is still mad at me, book a vacation, check the Braves score, leave a nasty text for my ex, e-mail my daughter to say no I won't loan her the boat again this weekend because last time I did it came back home with a slow no wake sign through the windshield, all at the same freeking time and on and on and on...

I find it somewhat sad that some peoples lives are so busy that they can't let go of their smart phone or check a message every 3 seconds or text somebody a vital message even at church for Gods sake...I have almost hit 3 different people with my truck when they walked right out in front of me in a total fog playing with their little adult pacifier idoit box...I long for the old days when if you were driving and just absolutely had to call someone you pulled over and stopped at a pay phone and dropped a dime....

[TucsonMTB]

Maybe, you know she actually joked about that. If she wants to wear it that's OK but me wearing it.... that's getting a little too kinky for me :rolleyes:. Now I could get out my Tarzan costume and we could pretend we're cleaning the tree house. ;)
Yes! http://home.mindspring.com/%7Ejustsomeguy/icon_lol.gif

[TucsonMTB]

I find it somewhat sad that some peoples lives are so busy that they can't let go of their smart phone or check a message every 3 seconds or text somebody a vital message even at church for Gods sake...I have almost hit 3 different people with my truck when they walked right out in front of me in a total fog playing with their little adult pacifier idoit box...I long for the old days when if you were driving and just absolutely had to call someone you pulled over and stopped at a pay phone and dropped a dime....
Yeah, imagine what it's like when they are driving! :eek:

Still, I wouldn't go back to pay phones. They were not always around when you needed them. But, older cell phones are a gas. I still have an old Motorola V60c with a metal shell and an external antenna that would make better connections almost anywhere because of the ground plane effect of the case.

Admittedly, I do not have it activated right now. But, the last time I used it on a night flight as we taxied to the gate, the kid sitting next to me was amazed at how little light that almost unreadable screen put out and asked about it. I told him it was my "stealth phone". Based on his response, I think he believed me! :eek:

[Bawanna]

I think I'm in love with you getsome. I've found my soul mate.

I was with my wife and daughter when she got her cell phone a few years ago and the only intelligent words I knew about phones was blue tooth. At the time I didn't know what it was but I knew the word. In an attempt to act intelligent I asked the salesman if it was blue tooth capable. He instantly thought he was dealing with someone that had a clue. Big mistake on his part.

By the time I left he'd told me that Smart Phones aren't for everybody.....I felt kind of sad.

My wife recently got me (without request, her normal phone broke so she switched to my identical phone and got me a android? Droid?) Got 4G's whatever that is.

Since I don't hear and can only text it is handier to type on and a little bigger screen to read. It does stuff I'm sure I have no clue about. I'm sure if I had been with her the guy would have refused to sell it to me but I got one.

[TucsonMTB]

Since I don't hear and can only text it is handier to type on and a little bigger screen to read.
Now that makes perfect sense. Well done, sir! http://home.mindspring.com/%7Ejustsomeguy/thumbsup.gif


I'm sure if I had been with her the guy would have refused to sell it to me but I got one.
Hey! That's what a good purchasing agent can do for you! Excellent! :)

But . . . he would have sold it to you too. It's all about money and yours is green. ;)

[getsome]

Yea I guess you are right about the pay phone deal and it is a comfort knowing if you break down in the middle of nowhere you can call for help...

I still have out first mobile phone we got back in the 80's...I came in a 10x12 inch vinyl bag with a shoulder strap with a battery that weighed about 10 pounds and only lasted an hour or so before it died....

I thought that was the coolest thing ever invented and will admit to going out to the car and calling the house phone and thinking it was a miracle come true...Who woulda thunk how advanced things would be now and think about what technology the next 10 years will bring if the world lasts that long...

Think about if all the data flying through the air was visible to the human eye, it would look like a total fog out and will probably cause us all to grow another head out our hind ends or something in a few years....:eek:

[Bawanna]

In my early construction days I had one of them bag phones. The guys were always infactuated with it. I seldom used it but the boss man insisted on them. Wore a pager to tell you to go use the bag phone.

Prior to that I worked putting up fences. Every morning we passed another fence company on the way out. I drove a 1959 Chevy 2 ton flatbed. It was kind of rough, really rough on the outside but fit as a fiddle mechanically.
When cell phones first hit I brought an old play dial telephone to work and threw it in the truck on the dash.
Whenever there were any of the other companies guys out and about I'd grab it and act like I was talking on the phone. Awww, the good old days.

[TucsonMTB]

Yea I guess you are right about the pay phone deal and it is a comfort knowing if you break down in the middle of nowhere you can call for help...

I still have out first mobile phone we got back in the 80's...I came in a 10x12 inch vinyl bag with a shoulder strap with a battery that weighed about 10 pounds and only lasted an hour or so before it died....

I thought that was the coolest thing ever invented and will admit to going out to the car and calling the house phone and thinking it was a miracle come true...Who woulda thunk how advanced things would be now and think about what technology the next 10 years will bring if the world lasts that long...

Think about if all the data flying through the air was visible to the human eye, it would look like a total fog out and will probably cause us all to grow another head out our hind ends or something in a few years....:eek:
I sure hope you are right about this. But, this recent news article describing the difficulty finding funds (http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/10/nation/la-na-weather-probes-20120511) to replace our existing collection of satellites is worrisome.

Unlike you, most of the older guys we have elected don't seem to appreciate the science. And, the new younger ones appear to be too busy saying "no" to everything to be helpful.

As I understand it, a lot of the politicians claim that government help for emerging technologies in the US is a problem. Meanwhile China, who routinely subsidizes emerging industries, is leading the charge to the future.

Have you looked at "going solar" recently? It's popular here in sunny Arizona. However, good luck buying US made panels now that cheap Chinese made, solar panels have entered the market. I'm a bit discouraged myself. :confused:

[getsome]

I have always been told there is a fool proof way to see how the economy really is doing and that is to watch freight shipments...I ride a subway to my job that runs directly along a busy Norfolk Southern freight railway and see many trains every day from my office window overlooking the same tracks...

They run north/south and the north bound trains from the Savannah Ga and Charlston S.C. ship ports all have incoming container modules off the ships from over seas (China) and they are always very long with double stack containers of imported materials....

The Southbound trains heading to the port for export mostly carry lumber and scrap metal which seems to be this countries only valuable materal to sell...

It's a good indicator of how strong China's economy is and how rotten ours has become...He!! even if we did want to launch a new communications satellite or go out and repair one we can't because we have allowed NASA to die...

[wyntrout]

Obama's plan is to focus our whole economy... what's left of it after all of the evil rich are gone and Capitalism is destroyed... on supporting his "base"... the non-productive ones that sit at home and clamor for more "free" stuff taken from the productive ones left in our nation... the ever-dwindling productive "class"... the selfish ones that would keep all of the fruits of their labor for themselves and their loved ones. The part of his base that isn't out "sharing" others personal stuff to supplement their insufficient income from the politicians' payoffs. At some point this scheme will collapse because no one will want to work for what "should be free" to all! That's where the National Police Force can step in and enforce working for the STATE for the good of ALL... especially the "Elite" leadership or exalted rulers at the top. They won't be doing without anything!

THEN the "panels" of un-elected bureaucrats will decide who is worth expending the ever-dwindling medical and health resources on... based on their worth to the STATE. Then we'll see how much the old, retired people are worth to the STATE. I'm more than guessing it will be take two aspirin and don't call the doctor... "comfort care".

Of course, if Obama isn't re-elected as POTUS, this might take a bit longer to accomplish, but too many people think the government should supply all of their needs... their rights... and SOMEONE must be "enslaved" to provide the income to the STATE by force... right after they take the "PEOPLE's" means of self-defense away.

Wynn:)

[O'Dell]

I resisted the trend and carried a "dumb" phone for the last 8 years. Finally at Christmas I noticed the iPhone 4 was only $99 after the 4S came out. I got one. Don't know how I ever lived that long without it. I use it all the time to find places, check scores online, look up phone numbers, play addictive word games. Hardly ever use the talk thingy part.

I can appreciate that, but I don't go to places that I don't know where they are, can't think of a score that I would ever be interested in, I don't call people that I don't know their numbers, and I don't play games. :rolleyes:

Mine isn't really a 'dumb' phone - it's a 3G, but I just have everything deactivated but the phone.

[G8RDave]

WTF....Give me my good old 1970 Chevy C10 that always ran, was bomb and EMP proof, had a 6 foot covered bed I could sleep in or do whatever back there and best of all NEVER TALKED TO ME OR REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING I FORGOT IN A FEMALE VOICE....Those were the days...

I'm calling BS! No way that C10 always ran. I loved my old American cars and trucks but they were a hobby. There was always something wrong with them. Whether it was my GTO's, Chevy/Ford trucks or general muscle cars, they all broke down on a regular basis even with excrusiatingly detailed maintenance (my father was a master sergeant in the Army so we knew about maintenance). It's funny how time changes our memory of reality. If it weren't for all the pictures my mom took of me, my dad and my brother repairing our various vehicles I would probably recall the same as getsome.

[Bawanna]

I'm calling BS! No way that C10 always ran. I loved my old American cars and trucks but they were a hobby. There was always something wrong with them. Whether it was my GTO's, Chevy/Ford trucks or general muscle cars, they all broke down on a regular basis even with excrusiatingly detailed maintenance (my father was a master sergeant in the Army so we knew about maintenance). It's funny how time changes our memory of reality. If it weren't for all the pictures my mom took of me, my dad and my brother repairing our various vehicles I would probably recall the same as getsome.

True but I still long for the days when I could fix it myself without paying 300 bucks for a computer diagnosis only to find they still don't know whats wrong. I had an old 58 Chevy pickup, I carried a little club under the seat, the damn float in the carb would stick. Just get out give it a whack and I was back on the track. Try that with your new Prius.
I don't miss changing plugs and distributor caps and wires every 20 or 30,000 miles though.

[Tinman507]

there are 3 identifiable things under the hood of my F-150:
Dipstick
Washer Fluid
Battery

Aside from those, there's nothing under there. Everything else is some mystery black box thingie. Also, there are no what I would call "mechanics" anymore. They're all "techs" Diagnostic monitor readers/parts changer outers"

[getsome]

Amen to that Tinman....The old 70 C10 I had was my fathers work truck when he owned a service station and when I turned 16 he sold it to me for $300.00 which took me the better part of three summers working for him at the station...The truck was tired when I got it but it ran good for a 6 cylinder 3 on the tree and the only time it broke was because of how I drove it...The truck was uncomfortable to drive, had no A/C and the heater was so-so and the gas tank was behind the drivers seat (There's a good idea, what genius thought that was a good place for it) but it got me around and was easy to work on...

I finally blew the motor by trying to turn 6000 rpm in 2nd gear (who knew a 6 wasn't made to do that)...My dad and I found a 327 V8 and we rebuild it together and I learned alot about how motors work from doing that....It really wasn't that hard to do the work and there was pleanty of room and you could see what you were doing...I drove that old truck for several more years and later bought a new 77 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup that wasn't near as good of a truck as the older one...

Later when the kids came along SHMBO wanted a mini van so we bought a 86 Chevy Astro that was a total POS...It took half a day just to get the stupid dog house/engine cover off and then try to snake your hand and arm down through the engine bay which had been to the secret factory razor sharpening dept just to try and change spark plugs...Everything broke or wore out on that thing long before it got to 75,000 miles and every time a bug hit the windshield the forkin Check Engine light came on for something...I finally did the red neck fix for that and put a piece of black electrical tape over it and when we sold it it was still that way...

I sure am glad we stay on track of the original threads around here and don't venture off subject...I think this one was something about birthday gifts but I really don't remember....Oh well...:p

[TheTman]

I won't buy a phone smarter than I am, I've had the same old phone for about 4 years now, all it does is call and text and play music.

My first pickup was and old Ford F100 with the 292 motor and the 5 speed with granny gear. Man that was a good old truck.

I bought one of those Aerostars, and it was hell to work on, like the Astro. I guess to change the back two spark plugs they had to unbolt the motor mounts and lift the engine up so they could get a tool on the plugs, luckily the plugs last 80k miles. And I had the dealer replace them since I couldnt even see where the back two were.

Now I'm driving a Hyundai Elantra, and its been super dependable. Got it on the last day of cash for clunkers and traded in an old pickup with the tranny about gone and got a 2000 rebate on it, and got into it for around $10k. I looked at the American dealers and they were all sold out of smaller cars, so I bought a Korean car, since Hyundai never built planes or tanks or anything to kill our boys in WWII, unless they were slave labour.

[O'Dell]

I had an old 58 Chevy pickup, I carried a little club under the seat, the damn float in the carb would stick. Just get out give it a whack and I was back on the track. Try that with your new Prius.


I've got about 120,000 miles on two Priuses. So far the carb float has never become stuck. :D

[JFootin]

Now I'm driving a Hyundai Elantra, and its been super dependable. Got it on the last day of cash for clunkers and traded in an old pickup with the tranny about gone and got a 2000 rebate on it, and got into it for around $10k. I looked at the American dealers and they were all sold out of smaller cars, so I bought a Korean car, since Hyundai never built planes or tanks or anything to kill our boys in WWII, unless they were slave labour.

You got a good deal! I bought a new 2006 Elantra Limited six years ago. White with leather upholstery and wood dash trim. Just clicked over 33,000 miles. This car fits me better than any car I have ever owned. Good handling, lots of power, a well designed car. I've gotten up to 40 m.p.g. on the highway. I love it!

http://images.carlotbot.com/pictures/39266338.jpg