HTC One M8. I love it. It has been almost a year and a half now and I have no performance drops or anything. I only use it for internet, music, and general phone functions so I am not sure how it would handle me loading a bunch of games on to it. I love the IR Blaster which lets me use it as a remote for any TV. I rarely use the camera except to take pictures of things I need to remember or send to someone else. I know the camera is a big point of contention with HTC M8 and M9. The only thing I wish was that developers kept apps less buggy on android. iPhones always come first because it is a smaller set of devices wit ha large market share of users.If I ever get a map or blueprint for work I send it to my personal phone because the tools are much better with android and a much bigger screen.

I also have an iPhone 5s for work. When I'm at my desk for a few days in a row the battery lasts a few days. I'm not a big fan of it, but it functions well enough as a phone. I find it harder to use when working with advanced settings, but it is great for someone who needs a phone that is simple to use.

Overall, my HTC One M8 is my go to no matter what. Great battery and never has any problems. I'll stick with this until it is no longer supported or is falling too far behind.

I just looked up the book "Them" and I will have to give it a read. It seems like it would be pretty eye-opening since it was published just a few months after 9/11.

Also, what does the badge mean? I see them all the time, but I rarely post so this is a first for me.

Well, it seems that I had a much different experience with high school than the rest of the commenters and I will provide my take on high school because it is always good to see the whole spectrum.

I was much more of a "jock" stereotype, but I was also in all AP/Honors classes so people thought of me differently. I have a very fluid personality and would move between groups depending on my setting. I wasn't faking anything, I just could relate to all different people and there is no point in isolating yourself just because of what is "cool". I brought together the true jocks who were terrible at school and the honors kids who weren't into sports. Our lunch table was one big social Venn diagram.

I honestly had a really good experience in high school which I know is not the same for everyone. I always tried to boost the morale of some people who really didn't like the social dynamics of high school. I had a very close relationship with one of my teachers who became a dean and had me as a student aide. Me and him had a group of fellow students and teachers who tried to limit any bullying and bring people into his office to hang out and escape for awhile during bad days.

I've seen the quietest kids blow up and freak out because they are constantly disrespected by assholes. It will sound super cliche, but just be yourself. There is no point in trying to make friends based off of a false personality. Join a variety of different clubs so you can meet more people and get engaged. I played soccer and baseball all throughout high school and it definitely helps for confidence and making friendships.

Good luck with the sophomore year.

Just passed the 30 day mark at my first "big boy" job after graduating college. Pay is good, plus I get a 2013 Ford Fusion, iPhone, Laptop, and personal use of the car. Obviously, I would love an extra $5000/yr, but I'm 22 and I've been given a great shot to prove I can handle the responsibilities of overseeing construction jobs in 9 states. I get to travel often with a large per diem. I can keep the 100,000+ Southwest Airlines points I will rack up this year and all the hotel and rental car points as well. I'm only making $40k/yr right now, but the bonus is likely to be close to $7k. Despite the lower salary, I have an actual career path and not just a stepping stone towards large increases in salary. My coworkers are all incredibly nice and welcoming. Coming out of college with a LAS degree and a 4 summers of plumbing ended up benefiting me more than I ever thought possible.

All of this is coming after graduating with no real job prospects. Work is work, but if I get everything done by 3:30 then I'm free to go.

My best friend just got engaged and he chose me as his best man. Plus, he is finally going to be around more often.

I have been working out often while maintaining all my relationships so I have an incredibly positive mentality at all times. I have been told that my attitude has been keeping people from getting down on themselves despite mild hardships.

Everyone said leaving a Big Ten party school and working full-time would be terrible, but I finally have some money and a good routine to stay healthy and help out people around me. I am reading more. I am getting asked to do more things by people who I have only met recently. My summer has made a massive turnaround from being a fresh graduate and I could not be happier.

This is a perfect example of how fragile important things can be. If there was some valuable unsaved information on a computer before it was reset than it could have been forgotten about in the wake of new information. Also, if reports came out about a station's computers all resetting at once then Alex Jones and other conspiracy nuts would have a field day claiming that it was an inside job.

In that same vein, the Boston Bomber internet witch hunt contained tons of extra information which was not pertinent, but it was still heavily scrutinized by the conspiracy crowd. How many of those tidbits of information were the results of overhearing a different case on a police scanner or a misunderstanding? Cable News stations seem to have gone the way of reporting any and all information rather than ensuring that the information is both credible and relevant.

News media needs to stop and count to ten as well as news consumers who were ready to start pointing barrels after the first reports of MH17 going down.

"They would rather have something that doesn't work, but is measurable" could be the slogan for American education for some time now. The ideas outlined in the NYT article all require a few years to fully bloom and created a significant impact. However, no political candidate can run on a platform of "let's see what happens" which makes radically changing and improving the education system so difficult. I haven't done any extensive research into all of the problems that plague the education system, but I would definitely recommend Diane Ravitch's book Reign of Errors. Ravitch is a former Secretary of Education for George HW Bush who completely changed her views after getting out of office because she saw what was and was not working.

Normally, I never look at a problem with a defeated demeanor, but education seems to be impossible to radically change in the US due to the need for numbers and data.

This was an awesome read. The author delves really deep into how each interaction shapes us. It reminded me a lot of how there is such a difference in life tempo between metropolitan and rural areas. In a city you are constantly being bombarded with environmental changes because of the dense populations. Rural cities don't have that.

I travel a lot for work and leisure and never took the time to think critically about everything that is happening around me. I get aggravated easily with people who don't know how to move through crowds and efficiently interact with their surroundings. I guess I have been too quick to judge many.

Very interesting. I am in the construction which requires permits for almost everything and huge oversight to make sure that nothing is done without a permit. My company has a few people who are tasked with acquiring permits and licenses, and this has been the same at the other construction company I worked at. Is this something that is often overlooked on smaller budget films? It is just a huge surprise to me that something would be done without the proper oversight.

I can get passed the idea of trying to work without a permit, but the flagrant damage that was done and went unfixed is amazing. It seems that you are more familiar with the film making world. Do you have any additional insight into things like permits/licenses and damage to property?