It's Alive! The Ipod that is... I determined that the only source for bringing my Ipod back to life was the Apple store, one of which was conveniently located in the Glendale Galleria not too far from my place of employ. Funny that I had never set foot in the place until today even though it is a well known mecca for upscale shoppers..which probably explains why I have never been there. I limped my way through the mall, up the escalator and into the Apple store. Let me just say that this place was almost a parody of geek heaven. One complete wall was taken up with projections of who was next for appointments to have their electronic problems addressed - wait a minute, appointments!! I didn't have one for sure. One of the worker bees who was about my age took mercy on me after asking me 'who told you to come to the store without an appointment?' and snuck my Ipod to one of the geniuses (this apparently is a job description and not a complement to the employees IQ level) who gave it an MP3 defib shock to jolt its tiny electronic heart back to running the way it should. Miracles of miracles when I brought the thing home and plugged it into the PC it works! In fact I am listening to Paul Simon (Graceland) as I type.
Grouch of the Day: What in the heck were all of those upscale shoppers doing at the Glendale Galleria today, spending money on frivolous trinkets and designer clothing? Don't they know that the President says that the end is near? That they should be ashamed for being upscale? That they are in fact the enemy of the people? I guess they haven't received the memo yet. Too busy shopping.
Ungrouch of the Day: Kudos to the Veteran's administration for the treatment of SGT Kurt since his return from Iraq. He came back with various aliments which the VA has worked to cure. He has received a 10% disability for his hearing loss (it is hard to stop shooting and put in ear plugs when under fire) and they are working to resolve his other medical problems. He has received his VA school benefits on time and in full. The VA has been the favorite whipping boy of the Press and Congress over the last years. It is difficult to imagine that they have concentrated all of their efforts to make his experience 100% satisfactory to the detriment of the other Vets out there which leads me to believe that generally they are doing a good job.
Speaking of Military Matters: I'm on the state promotion list for Lieutenant Colonel! Hurray! Should come through sometime in March.
Knee report: Drove the Jeep today to the train station, took the train to Glendale and mooched a ride from one the mechanics to work. The ladies on the train home were very concerned about my invalid condition and had to warn each person who walked near me on the train to stay away from my injured knee. I was more in danger from the young woman sitting next to me who waved her hands about for the whole trip while describing how abused she is at work. I moved my book so it was inconspicuously between her hand and my knee.
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I didn't comment earlier but I had to come back and say that the picture of Gene Wilder gave me a good laugh! It made me imagine your iPod, with tiny arms in front of it, rising off of the operating table.
ReplyDeleteOur mall is just as crowded as ever, too. I read an interesting article a few weeks ago that talked about some very wealthy people feeling the need to not act quite so rich anymore. I guess they don't want the common folk throwing eggs at their Bentleys or something.
I'll have to call Kurt to get more details about his VA experience. I hope all of his medical problems will be taken care of. He certainly deserves it.
And last but not least, congrats on the upcoming LTC promotion! That's very impressive. My Army Man was told that Major is only 2-3 years away if he goes below the zone. Fingers crossed. I guess it will be a while before he catches up to you in rank.