I know with the advances of modern technology we are all more connected than ever to our cell phones (read 'unhealthily attached'?). We text during movies, keep our phones on the table at dinner and drive the streets with one hand on the wheel and the other on the message we're trying to send (Text Laws be damned!). But despite our attachment to our phones, there is a need for a break sometimes. online propecia sales And in my opinion, that break should always apply to the bathroom. That's right folks - cell phones need a potty break too. A blog post on AdAge.com reported recent statistics from Insight Express' Digital Consumer Portrait, a quarterly report detailing when and where Americans use their cell phones. The not-so-shocking (but nevertheless unsanitary) findings: 56% of users admitted to using their phones while in the bathroom. Cue the gross-out germ statistics here. It's bad enough that more than half of us (I'm in the other half by the way) use our phones while on the toilet, but the statistic that truly disturbed me is that 13% are using location-based applications like Foursquare while in this compromising state. (On a side note, is it weird to anyone else that these apps would even locate a bathroom as a potential nearby place?) For those of you 'checking in'? to your current bathroom location, I think there is such a thing as TMI. I beg of you - when you do your business, please keep it your business. This is not meant to serve as an affront to connectivity or modern technology, and I'm the first one to admit that I experience withdrawal whenever I accidentally forget my phone. All I'm saying is there are times that do warrant relieving yourself of your phone ' like when you're relieving yourself in the bathroom.

Drum roll please'?¦.I got the iPhone 4! This is only going to be relevant if you read my previous post on Oct 26th where I was debating between my next major purchase: the iPhone 4 or the Droid X. Less than a week after that blog post, I met someone who had the iPhone 4. I fell hard for its sleek, sexy look and the quality of the HD videos. I felt like my little 3G was inferior and was also completely fed up with having to constantly charge it for it to last through one day. The next day I went to the Apple store in Shadyside, Pittsburgh, PA with a determined look in my eyes. When I walked in I said to the nearest employee, so tell me why this phone is better than the 3G. She didn't know I had just written a blog about why it was better. The Apple store employee was as bubbly as ever and sweetly, but a bit unconvincingly, showed me how to do a video'she filmed me talking about why I was fed up with my 3G. We watched it together and I must say I was very impressed with the quality (sound and picture) of this video. I asked her to explain FaceTime, which she did. She showed me the functionality of being able to listen to Pandora while reading e-mail, using google maps, etc. This is key in my life! The Pandora application on my iPhone may be one of the best things to happen to me. Besides maybe the Facebook application. Did I just admit that? Although, she was unconvincing, I had my mind made up the moment I walked into the door. I have used FaceTime a few times and find the interaction to be very intimate and very real'sometimes a little too real. It is pretty incredible how close you can feel to someone even when they are hundreds of miles away. The downfall with FaceTime? As vain as this may sound, unless you hold it a high angle you are capturing a not-so-attractive, double chin shot. You all know what I am talking about. In turn, you end up holding the phone up fairly high and your arm gets tired. Funny thing is that FaceTime has now become a verb in my life. Hey, you wanna FaceTime? Just add it to all the other technological verbs which have been added to our vocabulary. Did he friend request you? Did you e-mail him? What are you tweeting about? Have you checked in yet? Did he DM you? We are in a poking war. The videos have been my favorite addition. I live quite far from my 5 month-old niece and 3 year-old nephew and I have up close videos of them interacting and talking. Anytime I want I can just watch them to feel closer to them! Also, I haven't tried it out yet but supposedly anyone with a newer Mac laptop or desktop can also download FaceTime and I can talk with them on their computer from my iPhone. I have also being able to continue my most recent addiction--words with friends (free). It is basically scrabble which you can play with anyone who has the application on their iPhone. You play real time with friends but there is no pressure to make the next move. You play on your own time. It keeps me sane on my commute to and from work every day. Other pluses for the iPhone 4: the Nike + is built in. I just need to put the sensor in my shoe, calibrate my walk and run and it records all my workouts including time, distance, calories burned, etc (while jamming out to my Daft Punk station on Pandora). Also, there is a way to view all your emails from various accounts at once, which is a pretty cool addition. Work and personal e-mail all in one thread? Some people have issues with that--but I appreciate it. To each their own. So I am sure you are wondering about the big question: service? My service is better with the iPhone 4 than the 3G. It does randomly drop calls but that is because the service in my apartment isn't fantastic. To be completely honest, my roommate, as you know, has the Droid and sometimes she doesn't get my calls or my text messages'lost in Verizon cyber space? That isn't cool. I stand by my decision for the iPhone 4. I spoke with a friend who just got the Droid X. So far she loves it but said 'they could have made it a bit more direct/user-friendly when it comes to personalizing contacts and doing simple tasks.'? Which phone do you have? And what do you have to say about it? Do you want one? Are you getting one for someone as a gift this Holiday? Until we meet again'?¦