The Canadian cherry tree ...

... also known as the Schubert chokecherry, is planted sporadically along the boulevards that line my street. The trees have beautiful fragrant blossoms in the spring. If that isn't remarkable enough, in summer the leaves turn a deep shade of purple, which is a wonderful offset to the green hues of the leaves and grass that otherwise color our neighbourhood. Then, in mid/late-summer, the chokecherries appear. They ripen and fall to the ground, and are trodden underfoot by passersby. It turns the sidewalks purple!

You can make great wine and jam from these berries, but no one ever does. We city folk think trees are decorative and simply let the berries go to waste. I'd love to embrace a more organic way of life in my community. Not some artsy-fartsy, leftover left-wing hippy philosophy, but a truly creative, innovative symbiosis with my surroundings.

What could that look like in an urban setting?

My thanks to my friend, Camille, who helped me identify these wonderful trees. I took the photo above with my iPhone and emailed it to Camille as we sat on my front porch. When Camille returned home, she grabbed the photo from her inbox and forwarded it to a botanist acquaintance.

If you didn't get an iPhone ...

As shocking as it seems to me, there are some of you out there who didn't rush out on July 11 to get an iPhone 3G. Even more shocking: it's been four days since the iPhone 3G was released and you still don't have one.

For some, it's a financial issue, which is perfectly understandable. Although cell phone ownership is almost universal in Canada, the iPhone is perceived as expensive compared to ordinary cell phones and even other smart phones.

However, the iPhone 3G is reasonably affordable at $199. Also, a very good voice plan combined with Rogers' best data packages (6GB, visual voice mail, etc.) rounds off at $85 a month, all taxes and fees included. Something to think about if you're already in the $55 to $65 range for voice/text only.

I address the rest of this post to the self-congratulatory purists out there, who can afford an iPhone 3G but refuse to defile themselves with the alleged hype and greed associated with the device. You tell yourselves you're above such bald and blatant consumerism.

Maybe. But maybe not. ZDNet tech columnist, Jason Perlow, thinks you might actually be grieving a terrible loss.

In his latest blog post, Jason refers to Swiss psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, who in the 1970's became known for describing the five stages of grief. Jason, who is also iPhone-less, shares his personal journey through these stages:


1. Denial

The initial response was, “Why do I need one of these things if there are so many other good choices out there?” What the flipping hell do I need to spend $400.00 on a goddamned cell phone for? Who the @#$% needs one?


2. Anger

The iPhone of course became extremely popular, and this incensed the hell out of me. So I looked for various outlets to become receptacles for my rage. First I wanted to do bodily harm to the iPhone. Then, when that didn’t fill the void in my soul, I resorted to guilting others with their purchase and their obsession with the device.



3. Bargaining

Me: Hello, good sir. do you have any iPhone 3G’s left?

Storeperson: No, we ran out of them early this morning when all the freakazoids who camped out overnight took them all. You got here too late, dumbass.

Me: But surely, you’re gonna get another shipment of them soon?

Storeperson: Maybe. Possibly tomorrow.

Me: So I can pay $200.00 now and you’ll call me when it comes in?

Storeperson: Not on your life, fat boy.


4. Depression:

Me: Goddammit, the bastards bought all the iPhones. Why am I the only self-respecting geek without one now? I want to kill myself.


5. Acceptance:

Rachel: I really don’t need to buy one of these on the first day, sweetie. Can we go home now?

Me: Sure honey. Really, what the hell was I thinking? Only a complete dweeb with no life whatsoever would actually go out, skip work, and buy one on the first day.

Rachel: And frankly, I can just live with a regular iPod or some generic MP3 player and carry a regular cell phone. It’s not that important.

Me: So can we get an iPhone 3G next week?

Rachel: Okay.



My thanks to Jason for showing us the path to healing.

p.s.: I think Kübler-Ross would have bought an iPhone.

Tweet!

This week I set up a Twitter account for the Godtalk Radio Show. Check it out at twitter.com/godtalk.

The iPhone: geek toy or good value?

I hate inferior quality products. Nothing worse than bad design, bad engineering, and bad build quality. My new iPhone has great design and engineering, but is it built to last? Apparently, yes. Check out the latest stress test video from PC World.