Text 25390, 152 rader
Skriven 2009-06-27 21:41:00 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Nancy Backus
Ärende: CELL PHONE CAMERAS 90627
================================
 -=> Quoting Nancy Backus to Glen Jamieson <=-

 GJ> I used to have a pre-pay service, which I only used occasionally, and
 GJ> cost less than $10 a month, but recently, as competition between
 GJ> suppliers of phone services here has become more intense and has
 GJ> reduced costs, I have changed to a service which gives me 5 hours talk
 GJ> time a month for a flat rate of $20, to anywhere in Australia. Text

 NB> Well, that's 300 minutes, at my calculation, and there's no way, at
 NB> this stage of things, that I would use that many in a month... and

Some of my relatives do rave on for ages!

 NB> usually not even in a year.  Long calls are done on the landline,
 NB> usually local (which is unlimited), or when someone long distance calls
 NB> me... rarely I call long distance on either landline or cell, but those
 NB> tend to be shorter calls.  Obviously, different strokes for different
 NB> folks... :) 

For cellphones, long distance within Australia is the same price as in
the next street, while landline is 18c per local call, of unlimited
length, but long distance is charged by time.  With children and
grandchildren in Darwin and Perth, and other friends in other states,
cellphone costs can be somewhat cheaper.

 GJ> messages cost less than 2 cents in Australia, and under 4 cents
 GJ> internationally. That has enabled me to reduce my use of the fixed
 GJ> phone line, and also to hold phone conversations while on-line with my
 GJ> (dial-up) Internet connection.

 NB> I haven't gotten into text messaging, and we finally went to DSL

With other close relatives in NZ and USA, texting becomes the most
convenient method for almost instant communications.

 NB> instead of dial-up for the Internet connection (usually... although we
 NB> do still have a dial-up service in place for backup).  I can see where
 NB> having another option is helpful when online...  :)   We went to DSL
 NB> when my niece was living with us, and thought that she had to be
 NB> connected almost constantly... at least she helped pay for it then...
 NB> :) 

I understand.  I have a daughter in Perth who wants to get advice
"NOW!" if she is cooking and needs assistance.  Too bad if I am
connected to the Internet at the time!  :)

 GJ> I have been given my succession of ever-better phones by my kids each
 GJ> time they upgrade, as they are the ones who insist on being able to
 GJ> keep in touch with me, wherever I may be.  Even my grandson in Perth

 NB> My sister supplied my mom with her phone, part of said sister's family
 NB> plan... it was originally so that Mommy could call Lydia in the middle
 NB> of the night if she needed help with Daddy... they were living in the
 NB> same house, but in another part of it, and he was more than she could
 NB> handle by herself.  I'm about the only hold-out in the family...
 NB> except for my husband who totally refuses to even have a cell phone.

The modern phones are so small that they can be carried on the person,
everywhere.  There is no escape.  My kids at least allow me a few
hours sleep per night!
 
 GJ> has reached their phone via transmissions across the world from Spain
 GJ> to Australia and back to where they are looking for me in the top of
 GJ> the cathedral tower or in a restaurant 200 metres away.

 NB> I can see where that can be useful (and have seen similar in
 NB> action)... but all one needs is to have one person in each group have a
 NB> phone... if one doesn't have the phone, one just needs to stay with
 NB> someone who does... (G)  Even that fails, though, if one is in an area

Usually when I travel it is with only 1 or 2 others, and everyone has
phones.

 NB> where there isn't service for anyone... :)  Where my extended family
 NB> normally camps, there also is no service, and that is pretty
 NB> comprehensively the case, no matter which service anyone has.

Last weekend I was with family, camping, well out of range of any
phones, no electricity, and the only running water was in the creek.
I normally only get lost in the milling crowds of big cities, where
cellphones can connect readily.
 
 GJ> You only need to have one real emergency for the whole set-up to be
 GJ> worth the cost.

 NB> True, to some extent... :)  However, most emergencies seem to happen
 NB> at night, and I'm home next to the landline phone then... or already
 NB> out on a different emergency...   But I did get my own phone so that
 NB> I'd have something in case I was caught out in an emergency, and only
 NB> later have also used it somewhat as a convenience.  :)   For my mom,
 NB> she's hooked in with lots of other people to contact if she needs them
 NB> quickly... and I'm almost an hour away from where she is, anyway,
 NB> unless she's with me and I'm taking her somewhere... :)

A breakdown or accident on a deserted road at night, far from any
town, can be quite stressful for a lonely driver.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: MULE DRIVERS' BEANS - FEIJAO DE TROPEIRA
 Categories: Mains, Beef, Streetfood, Brazilian, America-s
      Yield: 6 Servings
 
    400 g  Beans- red kidney, dried
    175 g  Beef- dried salted
           ; carne de sol
     75 g  Pork- smoked belly; OR
     75 g  ; smoked streaky bacon
      1    Onions; chopped
      1 tb Olive oil
    175 g  Chorizo; OR
    175 g  ; lingua sausage, chopped
           ; GARNISH
      4    Eggs- hard-boiled
           Parslet sprigs; chopped
           Bacon rashers; fried crisp
 
  One of three classic bean dishes in Brazil, this is still, believe it
  or not, cooked by mule drivers plying their timeless trade in the
  hinterlands of northern Brazil. They would use mulatinho beans
  [literally 'mule drivers beans'], a kind of red kidney bean.
  
  Soak the beans in cold water overnight. Soak the dried salted beef in
  another bowl of cold water, changing the water several times; if using
  bacon, soak it with the beef to remove excess salt.
  
  Drain the beans & salted beef & put them in a large pot with the
  smoked pork or bacon. Cover with fresh water & cook for about 1 1/2
  to 2 hours or till the beans are very tender & easily smashed with a
  fork. [Cooking times will vary with the freshness of the beans.]
  
  In a frypan, fry the onions in the olive oil till soft & yellow. Add
  the chopped sausage, crushing with the back of a fork to smash it.
  Add a few ladlefuls of beans & crush them into the mixture to make a
  coarse puree. Add this to the pot of cookingbeans & cook for a
  further 10 minutes, although you can leave it on low heat to simmer
  fmuch longer if your wish, topping up with water as required.
  
  To serve; remove the chunks of meat, cut into smaller pieces & return
  to the pot of beans. Garnish with hard-boiled egg slices, chopped
  parsley & crispy bacon strips.
  
  From: STREET CAFE BRAZIL By: MICHAEL BATEMAN ISBN: 978-0-753716-37-3
  Scanned by: KEVIN JCJD SYMONS, JUNE 2008
 
MMMMM
 

___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 [NR]

--- FLAME v2.0/b
 * Origin: Braintap BBS Adelaide Australia (3:800/449)