For a worst case usage example as you've posted, it might not be such a great deal.
But my typical usage is much different; I often go for several days without using the phone, and then use it relatively heavily on a single day. And my usage tends to be long distance and during peak calling days and times.
I'm weary of having to worry about unused airtime, cheap vs. expensive calling times, roaming charges, minimal monthly payments, and ever more confusing plan contracts. And I paid less for my new phone than what the old provider was going to charge me for a new battery.
Skimmer
JoinedPosts by Skimmer
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12
I Got My First Virgin
by Skimmer intoday i got my first virgin mobile cell phone.
(what, were you thinking of something else?
) and i must say that it's an improvement over the general experience i've had during the last ten years of various plans from a traditional, big-name provider and the three crappy big-name cell phones that they sold to me.
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Skimmer
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12
I Got My First Virgin
by Skimmer intoday i got my first virgin mobile cell phone.
(what, were you thinking of something else?
) and i must say that it's an improvement over the general experience i've had during the last ten years of various plans from a traditional, big-name provider and the three crappy big-name cell phones that they sold to me.
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Skimmer
Today I got my first Virgin Mobile cell phone. (What, were you thinking of something else?) And I must say that it's an improvement over the general experience I've had during the last ten years of various plans from a traditional, big-name provider and the three crappy big-name cell phones that they sold to me.
The phone is an Qualcomm/Vox 8610 and the plan is prepaid: US$0.25 per minute (first 10 minutes per day), then US$0.10 thereafter. No charge for roaming. No charge for long distance. No charge for receiving text. No charge for voicemail, caller ID, etc. Plus a number of other features for which I haven't much use like downloads of music, ringtones, games, jokes, and so forth.
I will save at least US$25 per month with Virgin Mobile vs. the old company which shall remain nameless. (Hint: Who has the most annoying television advertisements?)
The only drawback is that all the print in the manual and on the pre-pay card is rather small and I needed a magnifier to read some of it. Part of this is because of my personal visual disability, and part of it is likely because the target age demographic for Virgin Mobile are those too young to remember Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, or even Freddie "Master Chronologist" Franz.
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/ -
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Skimmer
As I recall from reading the not-so-secret Branch Procedures Manual, all of the annual statistics had to be reported to Bethel by the end of October. So the WTBTS will have everything in by tomorrow.
I'm sure there won't be any surprises to the WTBTS insiders who have the prior eleven months' data along with the knowledge of seasonal variation. -
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Skimmer
In olden days, the disService Year report would appear simultaneously in the January 1 Witchpower and the notAnotherYearbook. As always, I'm hoping for declines across the board, but the unsettled conditions in the Middle East and the fear mongering in the US may prevent this. In any case, I expect fakery in almost all the numbers except for (perhaps) baptism counts. And even these are suspect as most are of minor children coerced into joining.
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The 7000 year "Creative Day"
by Fe2O3Girl inwhen i was a youngster, the creative days of genesis 1 were always referred to as being 7000 years long.
i believe the 1975 hoo-hah was related to this teaching as 6000 years since adam's creation plus a 1000 year reign neatly wraps up a 7000 years seventh day of rest.. in another thread narkissos quoted a wt article from 1983 that repeats the 7000 year day teaching.
i don't think anyone much younger than me, or anyone who bacame a jw in the last 10-15 years is aware of this belief.
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Skimmer
I can tell you that in 1973 the 7,000 year length of a creation day was taught as a fact. It was bundled up with the 4026 BC/1975 AD teaching and presented with just as much authority, if with lesser emphasis, as the 607 BC/1914 AD baloney.
Does the WTBTS still teach 4026 BC as a creation date? If so, I'll bet they haven't mentioned it for a while. -
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Mormons
by meadow77 in.
are there any mormons here, or people familiar with mormon beliefs.
i have some questions regarding their doctrine, including baptising those that have passed away.
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Do you plan to donate your organs when you die?
by LyinEyes ini just saw this movie john q. with denzel washington, and it is a great movie.
the subject is about health care or lack of,,, and the need for organ donations.
i have always felt strongly about this and this movie really made me think about doing something instead of just saying it.
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Skimmer
(I signed up as a donor when I got my first driver's license years ago.)
And to the WTBTS, I, Skimmer, being of sound mind and body, do hereby bequeath the entire contents of my intestines. It is but only fair that I repay them literally for what they figuratively gave me.
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Getting Married as a Catholic
by teenyuck inmy husband and i got into a discussion about joining the local catholic church, signing up for 2.5% of our income and getting married by a priest.
never went to church until 5 years ago.
we agreed to look into it.
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Skimmer
Hello teenyuck:
I am a Catholic and have been for eight years; I joined as an adult in 1994.
The pre-wedding waiting period is a common practice with a usual length of six months. The main intent for this tradition is to provide the participants with the opportunity to demonstrate their sincerity and mutual commitment. A secondary goal is to ensure via the instruction program that the couple is fully aware of the spiritual aspects of marriage including the lifelong nature of the marriage bond and also the responsibilities involved with raising children in the faith.
The waiting period is sometimes considerably shortened for older couples.
In general, a divorce from a prior marriage is not an impediment if the marriage was never sanctioned by the Church.
I have never heard of any parish "requiring" a percentage donation.
For more information about Catholic doctrine and practice, see the http://www.ewtn.com site.
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new service report (upturn)
by whatiloveaboutwater in.
has anyone seen the new figures in the jan 1st watchtower - i have.
what do you think about them?.
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Skimmer
I'm still waiting for LikesToMakeWater to post the efficiency metrics of baptisms/hour and baptisms/publisher so these can be compared with earlier years.
Oh, and let's see the baptisms/study ratio. Another all time low I'll bet, at least in those countries that have Internet access.
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new service report (upturn)
by whatiloveaboutwater in.
has anyone seen the new figures in the jan 1st watchtower - i have.
what do you think about them?.
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Skimmer
Given that the publisher hour totals include a lot of fakery and the fifteen minute change invalidates year to year publisher count comparisons, the real truth, if any, is to be found in the baptism counts. I'll wager that the overall baptisms/hour and baptisms/publisher ratios are near all time lows.