In a QWERTY world, is there need for textese?

BEEP BOOP BEEP: We've come a long way
from the days of thumbing the same key
multiple times to send a text.

I've found myself wondering lately: With the proliferation of smart phones, especially last year, with full physical or virtual keyboards, and with said proliferation expected to increase in the coming years, will the use of "textese," which Wikipedia also references as txtese, txtk, and more, gradually fade out of widespread use?

It seems to me that development and use of textese was spurred in large part by keypads on the cell phones of yore, on which you had to tap once, twice, thrice, sometimes four times to access the letter you wanted. Those models are rapidly being supplanted among the general public with ones that make it easier to bang out a professionally worded e-mail of any length, though. So what rationale is there for abbreviating our language in often hideous ways?

Yeah, there's the 160-character limit on SMS messages and the 140-character limit for tweets. But for me, those aren't compelling enough arguments as to the continued need for textese. Sometimes I'll use forms like "tho" or "thru" or "b/c" in tweets, but for the most part I can still send out a message via Twitter and not feel like I've compromised my grammar-beholden soul.

I'm sure some textese abbreviations are embedded in our collective, long-term consciousness, much like the telegraph abbreviation for weather, WX, has continued on even in the Twitterverse. Whether (ha!) the general trend continues will probably be decided in the next five years or so, I would venture to guess.

How my phone helped me become a calendar guy

As always, I thought it would be prudent to have a calendar ordered for me at work.
As always, I hardly use it. I did pay my auto insurance on time, though.

I'm pleased to report that one New Year's resolution seems to be coming to fruition: I'm becoming a calendar guy. Sort of. Since the time I decided to leave my job puncturing New York state with holes to get a master's degree, it just seemed like the organized thing to do.

Ever since I was little, using a calendar was one of those things that seemed to define being an adult for me. I recollect my mother whipping out a small notebook calendar from her purse whenever she scheduled appointments for me as a kid. In it were all sorts of other things she kept track of, too.

However, as I got older, I never felt a real need to use one. I've always been good at remembering when my appointments or other engagements are. Of course, I jotted down important upcoming due dates or examination dates in college and as a grad student. I also kept track of scheduled interviews and such as a reporter, using a giant desk-sized calendar. I'm sure writing these things down and seeing them helped keep dates straight in my mind, of course, but calendars were never something on which I depended.  

They're still not, but now that my cell phone syncs to my Google calendar, which I began using in earnest some time last year, it's easier to say to myself, "Oh, I should mark this on my calendar" and then actually do it. Unlike a physical calendar, I've almost always got my phone with me, so it's easy to input events; conversely, if I enter something onto the calendar via the Web, it syncs right to my phone.

This is much more efficient than my previous method of operation over the past year: "Oh, I should mark that on my calendar," I would think, followed by, "Well, which one?" Then I would make the decision to either jot it down in my notebook calendar, my Google calendar via the Web, or my BlackBerry's calendar. If I felt really ambitious, I would use all three. (I'm not sure why I never synced my old Storm to my G-calendar, now that I think about it. Hmm.)

I've written about my affinity for low tech, old-fashioned methods in the past, but in the case of calendars, modern tech has definitely helped me adopt the habit.

More Android obsession: Mechanized Morse Code Android video and Series 02 figures coming soon

My obsession with Android figures continues. The four I have are part of a collection designed by artist Andrew Bell, in partnership with Dyzplastic and Google. There were several other designs when Series 01 shipped last year, and initially you could get a box of 16 figures for $116.

The Android Series 01 family, which I don't have. Boo.
(Incidentally, I pulled this photo from Maximum PC.)

I was late to the Android party, though, and those packs are long-since sold out. If I wanted, I could plunk anywhere from $40 to $50 (or more) on Ebay or Amazon for one random, unopened box from one of those packs. Some of the designs are definitely cool, and I'd love to have them, but I'm not that obsessed. Really. (Plus, some of those on Ebay may be fake.)

Besides, I may as well save my money: I saw this post earlier today that indicates Android Series 02 figures are coming in early March. With advance apologies to the missus, I may be adding to my Android collection.

While I was able to snap up the four I have from Amazon, a lot of other online retailers I first looked at were sold out. In fact, the first pair I ordered were $8.49 each, and the second were $9.18 each (though after shipping, I ended up paying 22 cents less overall for the second order. Odd). Now, as I write this, they're going for $11.95 on Amzon.

In my mind, that's quite a markup from the original $7.50 each green figure retailed for. I might just snap up Series 02 as soon as possible.

Android obsession and the Photoshop app

I admit it. I'm becoming obsessed with Android. It's partly about the operating system itself (of course, I'm no developer, but the more I learn about some of its technical details, the more I appreciate it) and part of it is that darn cute Android character. As you can see, I've added two more figures to my collection — I just couldn't break up the original duo, so I got two more to bring to work.

These little guys are just so photogenic. I got the first two primarily to display my affinity for Android, but also because I thought it would be fun to take shots of them in different locales. If two are fun, imagine my joy in setting up four! But that's probably enough. Besides, my wife has already had a firm talk with me.

Anyhow, the above photo was taken on my HTC Incredible, previously described, and edited with the Photoshop app with a simple crop, a bump in saturation, and use of the vignette blur effect. When I can get the camera to actually focus on what I want, it's not shabby (though this picture is rather grainy. I suspect it's because the auto ISO set itself to 598). The problem is the phone fights you to focus on something close. Again, maybe it's just a question of figuring out the nuances of the device, which requires more playtime. 

The free Photoshop Express app is easy to use, and definitely handy if you take and share lots of pictures with your phone. I recommend it for any journalist equipped with a smart phone (which should be every journalist). Yeah, it's stripped down, but it will definitely improve the presentation of your pictures. Here's the original of the photo above for comparison purposes: