So it seems I've won a 3G iPhone. Should I use it?

A few months back, Neenah Paper sent round a packet of promotional paper samples to the prepress department of my employer, with a sweepstakes entry card or two inside. The prize offered was one of the new 3G Network-capable Apple iPhone models. I filled out the card with no expectation whatever of winning, and sent it off.

A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail in my work inbox purporting to be from Neenah, informing me that I was a winner and would soon be receiving a gift certificate redeemable for my new iPhone. I took it to be a spammer's hoax, having forgotten all about the sweepstakes entry, and decided to wait and see if the promised mailing actually showed up.

This past Thursday, it did. And it looks quite authentic, and I've seen older models of the iPhone in action and been at least somewhat impressed. Problem is, I already have a perfectly good cellphone that does what I need it to, minutes for which I buy as I go without having yet another monthly bill mailed to the house, or any contractual obligation to use a service not of my choosing...which is what I would have to sign up for if I get this thing and want to actually use it, since Apple has an exclusivity deal with AT&T. (And I've read far too many stories of people trying to "jailbreak" their iPhones and use them with other cellular-phone providers only to have them "bricked," i.e., turned into useless hunks of metal and plastic once Apple sent firmware updates, to be casual about attempting to use it with TracFone, my current provider.)

Sooo...I bow to the wisdom of my tech-happy crowd. Who among my readers has one of the 3G iPhones? Have you been happy with it overall, or has it been a curse upon your life? Is the AT&T service as costly as I've been hearing, and is it worth it? Should I redeem the card and give away the hardware to someone who needs it more? Or should I just turn the damn certificate over to InterFilk for auctioning off to some other sucker fellow technophile? Opinions, please.

The folks on US Airways Flight 1549 were lucky their hero pilot can't afford to retire just yet

Please don't misunderstand; I am absolutely thrilled that Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III was able to save every soul on board his US Airways plane two days ago when geese flew into not one, but two of its jet engines and caused him to ditch it in the Hudson River. And I have nothing but admiration for him, his flight crew and all the first-responders who managed to get all 155 people off the plane and safely ashore as it sank into what must have been sub-freezing, strong-current waters (as I have reason to know, having been a NYC resident through seven winters myself).

But the so-called "miracle" of Thursday's controlled crash was only miraculous in that the passengers and crew were lucky beyond belief that Capt. Sullenberger was assigned to be at the controls, instead of some younger, less seasoned pilot. The rest was skill and experience on the captain's part in getting that aircraft to a safe aquatic landing.

They were also lucky that Congress raised the minimum retirement age for pilots last year by five years, from 60 to 65, and that this happened when it did and not three years from now, or Sullenberger might not have been flying that day at all. This story from Mother Jones magazine's website reports on why he and many other older pilots are still in the air by necessity of their employer's disgraceful financial malfeasance. US Airways needs to recognize that letting this courageous and still-sharp professional suffer for their mismanagement of their pilot pension plan would be a PR disaster of the highest order for them...not to mention a scandal to the jaybirds (whom we should hope LaGuardia Airport does a better job henceforth of keeping out of their flight paths).

GAFilk Kenya relief donations: Three in, one on the way

For those who kindly contributed at GAFilk 11 last weekend to the second annual collection for aid to Kenyans still affected adversely by last year's political violence, I am pleased to report that this year we doubled our take and then some: a total of $50.72 USD was raised, compared to last year's $25 as reported in the previous year's LJ entry here.

Kicking in an extra $9.28 on behalf of myself and the Songbird, who first had the idea this time last year, makes a total of $60 that is being divided evenly among the four organizations named in the call: AMREF, UNICEF's Kenya Fund, the International Medical Corps and the Kenya Red Cross. The first three have already received their donations of $15 apiece; the KRC site still seems to have disabled its "Donate" page, so they will be getting a postal-mailed dead-tree check unless my inquiry via feedback form results in an alternative. Each group is getting half again what we gave last year, thanks entirely to you; and the amount of good those small bits of cash can do amazes even me.

Again, from the bottom of my heart and Mary's as well, thank you to all who chipped in; if you couldn't due to current financial straits, we absolutely understand and hope you can contribute something later through the links above when things get better. (And if you weren't at the con and would like to help, please also use the links.) Here's hoping we don't have to do this a third time come next January.