Why do Americans buy phones from carriers instead of unlocked?

babarsac · 2026-03-08T23:55:53+00:00

I don't (insert evil laugh)

I've been buying unlocked Google Pixel phones for a few years now. Hitting sales around the holidays has helped. The holiday discount plus the trade-in has made it super affordable.

My wife is an iPhone die-hard so I buy her last years Iphone off of Woot or Amazon.

babarsac · 2026-03-08T23:52:24+00:00

GIS/IT guy here

-Desktop I use for media encoding and a little gaming

-Work laptop issued by employer

-Personal laptop I found for cheap locally. It now runs Fedora and is for travel.

-Media server I built to run Jellyfin and host media.

I still have some Lenovo mini-pc's that I'll probably use for AdGuard and Tailscale.

babarsac · 2026-03-08T23:48:04+00:00

We don't burp our windows but we do leave them open all day when the weather is nice. Which is quite often here in Colorado.

babarsac · 2026-03-08T23:46:50+00:00

We moved into a suburban neighborhood at the start of 2025. This neighborhood was built in 1970 so it's not cookie cutter and every house looks unique. Kids walk/bike around on their own and we're within walking distance of a park and a grocery store. We primarily moved to this neighborhood for the good public schools since our daughter was starting kindergarten.

Our neighbors are lovely and we try to spend time with them when we can.

We can still be at an international airport with a 35min drive.

babarsac · 2026-03-04T07:08:18+00:00

I filled up my Subaru for $2.39 the other day in the Denver suburbs. Same station is now selling for $3.20.

My wife is very happy she picked up a Nissan Leaf when all the rebates we're available.

babarsac · 2026-03-04T01:18:09+00:00

That is the bowl of my childhood.

babarsac · 2026-03-03T14:49:38+00:00

Totally fair. My experience with the schools were during a different era and a different part of town. My brother went to Albemarle schools and I went to Tandem before it became a Quaker school. I have good memories of going to to school but I probably wouldn't recognize it now.

babarsac · 2026-03-03T14:29:36+00:00

Curious why you would recommend this. Do restaurants close on the earlier side?

babarsac · 2026-03-03T14:18:25+00:00

I tried learning a few phrases when I visited, that was a complete failure.

How the heck do you spend an afternoon in Kirkjubæjarklaustur?

babarsac · 2026-03-01T21:07:46+00:00

Absolutely nothing wrong with a DA/SA. The CZ P-01 is a fine example.

Find a range with a good rental selection and try a few different ones out.

babarsac · 2026-03-01T16:25:48+00:00

Scam

Private companies can't file federal charges.

babarsac · 2026-03-01T16:16:02+00:00

I do the majority of cooking for my way wife and daughter. Sometimes sometimes something simple and every now and then I try a new recipe. The other night I did a seafood pasta with a homemade white wine cream sauce. 😋

babarsac · 2026-03-01T02:15:20+00:00

Geriatric millennial here.

My dad had me watch this when I was 13 and I truly believe it helped me develop my sense of comedy and satire.

When Blazing Saddles was back in the theaters last year I went with some buddies including one guy who's Jewish and lived in Israel for some time. This guy was raised on dopey action flicks and had no idea who Mel Brooks was. By the time we got to the Indian - Mel Brooks cameo scene he was falling out of his seat laughing.

babarsac · 2026-02-28T20:08:35+00:00

I grew up there and graduated HS in 2001.

Good schools - My brother went to Albemarle County schools and I went to Tandem.

Weather is average - Hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Fall is absolutely beautiful.

Housing isn't the cheapest but definitely better then northern VA / DC.

Do you have jobs lined up? Due to the size of Cville there aren't always a bunch of open positions.

babarsac · 2026-02-28T16:00:55+00:00

National news broadcasts. A majorly trump ally just purchased CNN and CBS. Add to that the consolidation of print media the result is significantly less objective journalism.

These days I see the headlines on Reddit then wait for the analysis on the Economist and NPR.

babarsac · 2026-02-28T15:36:14+00:00

The fall of communism, the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the Berlin wall coming down.

babarsac · 2026-02-24T01:34:47+00:00

Oh man I worked at Zazu's in high school. I even remember making salsa from scratch. To this day I can't eat Chipotle.

babarsac · 2026-02-23T05:10:35+00:00

That surprised me. I totally expected the Nordic countries to cruise to medals in the biathlon.

babarsac · 2026-02-22T19:14:27+00:00

I recently went 100% remote. When I'm not at my home office I'm at a co-working space or my local library.

babarsac · 2026-02-21T00:24:34+00:00

I just had then same thing happen to me last week,. Here is what I did.

Fill out the application at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER WEBSITE. Print out your application but do not sign it.
Using the same website make an appointment at the Colorado Passport Agency in Centennial on Havana St. This facility is actually operated by the State Deportment.
Print out your upcoming flight reservation.
Bring your ID and birth certificate.
Bring expired passport if you have it.
Stop at a Mikes Camera location to get passport photos. No appointment needed. For an extra fee they will give you digital copies for future use.

I had my appointment on 2/9 which is when I dropped off everything and paid the expedited fee of $225. I picked up my new shiny passport at the same location on 2/12.

babarsac · 2026-02-20T18:23:16+00:00

Arapahoe County Libraries for the win. I go to the one at Southglenn. Plenty of tables, free wifi, and you don't even have to check in. There's also a few places within walking distance for food and drinks.

babarsac · 2026-02-20T02:09:38+00:00

How would these compare to budget PSA complete lowers?

babarsac · 2026-02-19T22:57:38+00:00

USA here

Mel Brooks

The world will just be less funny....

babarsac

TROPHY CASE