This is what happens...

...when you order a cell phone cover that doesn't quite fit your cell phone. I'm not proud of my (literal) hack job, but I also wasn't going to pay another 13 bucks to get another one. (or argue with Cruzerlite that, despite their claims, online via Amazon, that this fits the HTC One, it's really designed for (per the packaging that showed up) the Samsung Galaxy S3.)

Full disclosure:  this phone is actually an HTC One X, so had I really been paying attention, I shouldn't have gone ordering a cover for the HTC One. And given that I've been an Apple consumer for years, I should be used to this constant flow of new versions of hardware and software, with fundamentally (and irritatingly) incremental/non-essential changes in the end product.

Basically: I'm about three steps from having a full-on old person rant about how there's just too much stuff in the world today, dammit.

And, also this.