Using the New iPhone

I finally took the plunge and upgraded my 4-year old iPhone 4S to the 6S last month.  The 4S was getting slow (actually I think the apps were getting more needy), but more importantly the battery was getting unreliable.  Somedays it would work fine, other days it would go from 40% battery to dead instantaneously.  Here's what I think of the 6S after a few weeks of use.

• It's super fast.  I have my 4S upstairs in my bedroom and have been using it to listen to music periodically.  It is surprising how slow the phone had become.  I didn't even realize how slow it was until getting a new one.  Everything from launching apps to switching between apps to browsing the web is faster.
• The screen is bigger, which is great for consuming content.  I find myself using the browser more and reading more news and Twitter feeds on the newer phone, I think simply because it is easier to read the text.  Additionally, I was concerned the bigger size would be bothersome in my pockets but it really isn't.
• The bigger screen makes navigating more difficult.  The two-button tap to bring the screen down towards the bottom is a great idea, but still not as convenient as being able to navigate all of the buttons with my thumb without having to change my hand position.  This is the biggest difference that I've had to get used to, and I'm still not completely used to it.
• The volume buttons are directly across from the lock screen button, so frequently when I'm trying to adjust the volume, I hit the lock screen button, or vice-a-versa.
• The touch ID works great, but sometimes it works a little too well.  It's nearly impossible to just see the home screen without completely logging in.

Overall the 6S has been a good upgrade for me, and probably necessary.  I can see how some people think the 5S is the best iPhone to date.  The screen is a little smaller for easy one hand navigation, while still being large enough to consume content.  Despite its drawbacks, the 6S is a better phone than the 4S, but not perfect.

Marty!

I've built a time machine out of the DeLorean!  I've loved this movie, especially the second one, since I was a kid.  It goes without saying, then, that I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the articles and attention given to the films today.  I hope every October 21st becomes "Back to the Future" day, similar to "May the 4th Be With You".  Please pardon me for cutting this post short.  I need to pre-order my self-lacing shoes.

Great Time of the Year

One of our girls is in complete mimic mode right now.  She's saying several new words per day which is fun but at the same time scary.  We have to censor our selves a bit around the house now to avoid an "F" bomb slip from the toddler at just the right time.  Generally speaking they're both at a great age - just the right time to develop their own personalities and be pretty interactive, while not quite old enough to argue.

Despite the days getting shorter, generally I love autumn.  The weather is cool enough to wear a fleece, but not cold enough to snow.  You've got baseball playoffs (which sucked this year), the start of football and basketball, and the changing of the leave colors, making for a scenic trip to work.  Something else I absolutely love about autumn in Indy is the literal 100s of Indy Scream Park billboards they put up around town.  I just love driving by 40 of these signs every day on my way to work.  Also, it would be great if they took them down shortly after halloween, but they don't.  They usually leave them up several weeks after the season is over.  It's really the icing on the cake for one of my favorite times of the year.

I Didn't See This Coming

As a male in my early 30s, I make up the last generation who did not grow up completely with the internet.  Sure, by the time I was in junior high and high school, we had access at home, as did most of my friends.  But it was dial-up and really more of a novelty than a way a life, as it is now.  Subsequently, Playboy magazine was important to me growing up.  Once I was in college I started receiving the magazine for free (still unsure how this happened).  This free subscription lasted for 3-4 years before stopping.  At this point I was used to getting the magazine and started paying for the subscription, which I have done for the last several years.  If nothing more than for historic reasons, the magazine is still important to me.  Believe it or not, I actually do read the magazine for the articles.  It is well-written and typically interesting, and for the most part I have passed on the nudity content to the internet, like most other people.

Presumably because of the internet, the popularity of the magazine has dwindled.  I've often wondered what would happen to the magazine (and brand) once Hef retired or passed.  I assumed they would stop production on the magazine all together and shift all content online.  The announcement yesterday that starting next year they are going to stop nudity all together in their magazine was quite surprising and one that I didn't see coming at all.  On the one hand I get the decision.  Female nudity is hardly unique this day and age, and if anything likely makes selling a product more difficult.  On the other hand, this aspect of the magazine is its very essence, a first of its kind, something that was initially risque and taboo but aided in social change and revolution by becoming a staple in American culture.  In some ways it feels like the war was won but the last battle was lost.

Physicals That Aren't Physicals and Pharmacists Who Perform Physicals

There is this thing that exists called a medicare wellness visit or medicare wellness exam that isn't really an exam at all.  Once people turn 65 years and qualify for medicare, they get this booklet that informs them of what benefits they have with their new insurance.  Included in these benefits is an annual wellness exam.  The trouble is this "wellness exam" isn't an exam at all.  It's a series of question designed to assess one's health risks, including fall risk.  So now you have people who have been going to the doctor their entire lives, getting annual exams, being told that their wellness exam does not actually involve an exam.  Imagine the confusion.  It's unfortunate nomenclature.  In fact, the "exam" doesn't even have to be performed by a physician (or a nurse practitioner or physician assistant for that matter).

I was sitting in a meeting earlier this week and we were discussing these exams and it was mentioned that one of the clinics now has a pharmacist who would be performing the exams, managing patient's medicines, etc.  I thought we already had a position for people who did such things - it's called a doctor.  What in the world are we doing?!?

On a completely different topic, I did possibly the nerdiest thing I have ever done in my life over this past weekend.  Sarah and I went to listen to an orchestra play music from the Legend of Zelda gaming series.  I've always been a big fan of the games and I absolutely love the music so it was really cool to get to hear it performed by a live orchestra.