I spent the evening looking for cell phones. Again.

I was realizing that the crux of the problem is that, unlike most purchase decisions, cell phone packages are high-dimensional. Consider the monthly payments, the number of anytime minutes, the coverage, reception, and service quality. Then there's the phone. Not all phones work on all networks. Not all phones have the same cool features. The same phone on different networks costs different amounts. Yuck.

All this prevents me, I think, from being able to apply my fundamental rule of purchacing: “If I were an expert in the field, would I buy this?” (BTW: That rule works wonders to avoid Sharper Image catalogs and other trendy gadgets. I may write some more on this topic later.)

I wish there were a good way to display some of this information so I could actually think about it rationally.

It does look like Amazon is a good place to get cell phones, though, particularly if you want to go with T-Mobile.

I'm finding that it's suprisingly easy to get used to a 28.8 modem again. Scary.

I learned today that, as I suspected, the process Ritz uses to develop normal print film is now all digital. That is to say your print is a third-, not a second-generation print. I don't really mind now that I'm just shooting digital, but it seems pretty deceptive to me for them to switch the process on people without telling them. If I bring in film to print I want a copy of it, not a copy of a copy of it. The artifacts are pretty clear if you look closely, particularly the quality of the noise in regions with very-high or very-low spacial frequency.