A Few Words About the French August 9, 2007March 8, 2017 iPHONE Michael: ‘Where did you read that errant assessment of the iPhone battery life? It is entirely (I mean entirely) *wrong*. This is the truth: (In part: ‘If you completely drained your iPhone’s battery every day – which would be a whole lot of use, since Apple estimates the iPhone can offer up to 8 hours of talk time per charge – in about 13 months your battery would only hold 80 percent of its current charge.’) And you all can whine and wail about how dear the iPhone is, you haven’t used one. I’ll never look back.’ ☞ I’m dazzled by how smart and capable mine is. There are a few things I miss from a ‘push-button’ device (like being able to push the buttons without looking at them). But it’s brilliantly designed and basically amazing. I’m hopeful my battery will last a long time. Here‘s another positive report on iPhone’s day-to-day battery life – up to 250 hours of stand-by time, up to 24 hours of music, 7 hours of video, 6 hours of web browsing. Don Hurter: ‘In case this discussion triggers a different debate about the iPhone’s $600 price tag, this article puts that in proper perspective as well.’ FOREVER STAMPS Mike Gavaghan: ‘Rolls of 100 Forever Stamps *are* available. I have a coil on my desk right now. There’s a link to them is on the front page of the USPS stamp store.’ [Well, oops, actually those are NOT forever stamps – see tomorrow’s column.] Jeremy Bronson: ‘Doesn’t the argument that it’s in the USPS best interest to sell all stamps as forever stamps presume that Postal Service costs rise at or below the rate of inflation? I haven’t tracked it, but my sense is that postal rates – which are supposed to cover costs – have risen faster than inflation in the last 10 years. Thoughts?’ ☞ Well, according to this, first-class postage has been pretty constant the past 30 years, adjusted for inflation. TECHNICAL ANALYSIS Dan Stone: ‘I am skeptical of the study cited yesterday, that one technical chart pattern was found predictive of subsequent stock performance. It reminded me of a study done in the medical field that showed the hazards of statistical analysis. A study of a drug given intravenously to abort heart attacks was shown to be of borderline significance. So some playful statisticians divided the study population according to the twelve astrologic signs of the patients. And, as you might expect, two of the twelve groups showed a significant benefit. So, the ‘take home’ lesson was said to be that the first question the emergency room physician should ask the patient when he arrives with heart attack in progress, is, ‘what’s your sign?’ Of course, the real message is that statistics, particularly post hoc analysis, can be quite misleading.’ GALBRAITH George Galla: ‘Yesterday, Mr. Szostak said, ‘I wonder what Galbraith thinks modern liberals are up to with their lack of civility and their intolerance for opposing points of view.’ Has Mr. Szostak ever watched Bill O Reilly or listened to Rush Limbaugh? I wouldn’t call these people examples of tolerance. While there are examples of intolerance on the liberal side Air America is an example, the liberals have not cornered the market on intolerance.’ Kathi Derevan: ‘What is it with the conservatives suddenly finding a lack of civility among liberals? You mean the kind of civility practiced by Limbaugh, Savage, Fox News, et al.? Liberals are uncivil because they point out the sins of the party in power? PUHLEEZE!!!’ Stephen Gilbert: ‘Yesterday’s ‘liberal intolerance’ complaint is telling. We have reached the point where conservative gasbags like Bill O’Reilly shape too much of our public discourse. O’Reilly compares the Daily Kos website to Nazis, and your reader compares criticism to intolerance.’ A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE FRENCH How did I miss this Bill Maher clip? [Warning: Not for children under 18.] (Thanks, Joey!)