A few quick thoughts before I have to run back to my
riveting reading regarding Czech national development in the 14th
and 15th century (trust me, it’s as interesting as it sounds).
Today, I brought my camera to school and during my lunch
break I manned up and asked Tessa if she wanted to take some photos in the park
across the street. I know this is something most photographers need – the
ability to ask people if it is okay to take their picture, even better if you
can ask them to sit a certain way – but I have always been really hesitant
about doing it. I honestly think it has a lot to do with me being a guy and one
who has always struggled with identifying as an artist. Sure, I like making
art. I like drawing, taking photos, and even painting (to a point), but I’ve
never considered myself an artist. Maybe if I did, I would be more comfortable
asking my friends if I could take photos of them and one day even graduate to
strangers. After all, one of my favorite times of photography is very urban,
where it seems like the photographer is simply walking the streets of New York,
sees someone with an interesting face and takes their picture. That’s what I
want to do! I see people all the time where I think to myself, “Damn, that’d
make a good photo” but I don’t have the courage to ask them if I can take it.
Anyway, Tessa obliged, we spent fifteen minutes or so,
playing in the foliage, taking pictures and talking before returning to lunch
and homework. I hope to edit some photos tonight, which means hopefully, some
photos of this journey will actually be available relatively soon. Cross your
fingers, because I have to balance that with reading about Charles IV, and you
know how demanding kings can be.
Changing subjects… I have really bad luck with my
headphones. I don’t know why. I don’t listen to music that loudly, but somehow,
I manage to blow out the speakers on my cheap Apple headphones every month or
so. I call them cheap because they’re right up there for the cheapest
headphones on the market, although I am preferential for the iPhone variant
with the remote built into the wire, so that increases the price a little.
Knowing all of this and my tradition of breaking my headphones, I tried to take
good care of them when I got to Prague. Even my best efforts could not get my
headphones to last more than a month however, and I’m now using headphones that
are pitifully underpowered.
Every now and then I do something that’s smart though. Rare
as it may be, it does happen, and let me tell you, buying AppleCare is one of
those times. Let’s break down apple care for a moment and see how much money
it’s saved me. For $60 I have a two-year warranty on my phone and for a $250 (I
could have sworn it used to be less) a three-year warranty on my computer.
Okay, that’s a chunk of change, but, what have I gotten for my money? Most
importantly, AppleCare provides me with a carefree mind. I know that if I have
a problem, Apple will help me resolve it with a real human being in face-to-face
contact – who else can say that these days? How about specifics? Well, as I’ve
already mentioned, I go through these Apple headphones rather quickly, but
since they’re covered under AppleCare, I can get a replacement if I can
demonstrate that mine are actually broken. I think I’ve done this six times, at
$29.00 a piece, that’s $174 in my pocket. I realized this summer that the Home
button on my phone was sticking more than it used to making it more difficult
to use the new functions of iOS4, so Apple gave me a brand new phone, $499
(without a new contract) saved. The best was for my computer though. I had a
problem with my Ethernet jack because it wouldn’t actually keep my cord in my
computer. This wouldn’t be a problem if I had access to reliable and fast
wireless in my apartments all the time, but as this wasn’t the case, I finally
got around to bringing my computer in. Apparently the Ethernet jack is
connected to the motherboard, so in order to get it fixed, Apple needed to
replace the entire motherboard. If I had done this out of warranty, it would
have cost me a new motherboard, a few hundred dollars at least, plus labor
(Apple estimated the entire thing to total around $600). How much did it cost
with AppleCare? $0, as in Free.99. Not a bad deal if you ask me.
Economists might call this type of behavior the moral hazard
of insurance. A moral hazard being when an insured person acts recklessly due
to the knowledge that any incident that may occur as a result will be covered
by their insurance. I’m going to go ahead and disagree with that train of
thought. Moral hazard theories imply that if I were not covered by AppleCare,
my behavior would somehow change fundamentally. For those of you have ever met
me (I’m assuming just about anyone who reads this blog, though if you don’t
know me, quite honestly I’m impressed I haven’t bored you yet), you know that I
care for my possessions, especially shoes and electronics. If I don’t act
recklessly, then what would happen if I were not insured but still faced these
repairs? Well, one of two things could happen both leading to the same
conclusion: I could fork the money over to Apple for the repairs and be roughly
$1,000 poorer, or I could suffer through the broken goods. Regardless of which
route I take however, my happiness and standard of living would be depressed
from their current levels, which is not the optimal solution.
And with that LONG ad for AppleCare, I bid you adieu for
now. Hopefully to return but in a moment with some photos for you all to enjoy.
Edit: So here’s the problem with stream of consciousness
writing – you forget where you were going.
Why was I talking about my broken headphones? Why is it a
big deal that my headphones are broken? Why? Well because when I’d normally hop
into an Apple store and make full use of my coverage, there are none, as in
zero, Apple stores in Prague. There are a ton of authorized resellers but no
Apple store to recognize my AppleCare. What’s that mean in real terms? If I get
so fed up with my headphones that I NEED (I won’t) to buy a new pair of
headphones, I’ll need to scrounge up 990 Kc, or just under $60. SIXTY! What
happened to purchasing power parity? Why is the exact same good that’s
available in America 100% more expensive here? It’s not production costs, they’re
both coming from China. Shipping can’t be it since Prague is closer to China.
So, unless these stores have to buy them first from Apple and then decide to
mark-up for profit, I just don’t get it. Needless to say, while I’d love it if
my warranty were recognized here, I can wait until I take a trip to a Western
European country with an Apple store.
On another note, last night I gave Czech opera a second
chance and boy am I happy I did! Titled Prodaná nevěsta (which
translates into English as The Bartered
Bride) is a story of true love with a happy ending. You can find more here if you’re
interested. Where Kudykam fell short The Bartered Bride thrived and it was
not lost on me. The Bartered Bride had
a full orchestra pit compared to a small ensemble for Kudykam and while both had capable singers, the music and storyline
allowed those in The Bartered Bride
to really showcase their skills instead of being hidden behind heavy drums and
guitars. Finally, and maybe some Opera aficionados will frown upon this point,
but The Bartered Bride also had
subtitles (in English and German). So not only was the story line coherent for
the foreigners in attendance, but I also got a chance to refresh some of my
lost German skills which is always fun.
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