iphone 2.0 is here! sorta...

2008.07.11 9.34

Exactly at the stroke of 8 AM this morning my copy of iTunes stopped telling me that an update wasn't available. Sweet. It's downloading right now. The speed is about 1 MB (megabyte) every 2 seconds with a 218.2 MB total download. Once the download is complete, the iPhone is backed up. You see -- Updates aren't really updates -- they're fresh installs. That's not a bad thing. iTunes will apply your old data to the new update. I typically will backup my photos before running an update. This is done by plugging in the iPhone and looking for the pseudo-harddrive icon to appear under My Compter. As I'm typing this, the backup is still running...

While this was happening, I took some Christmas ornaments that I had lying on the window shelf in my spare room and brought them into the living for proper display next to the Christmas tree. I tried putting them on the tree, but being that it's July 11, it seems less freaky if they are displayed on a shelf. You may recall this is the black Christmas tree that I purchased back in January for immense savings. It's featured in the corner of my living room and is a cool contrast to the white wall. The TV that I have sitting next to it is equally black, so this is all aesthetic decision making.

In other useless news as the update continues, I moved my garbage can into the closet by removing a lower shelf that had previous stored ugly boxes of my stuff (which are now stored in fancy IKEA black cloth covered boxes with bright yellow zippers, labels, pull tabs, and stripes on the top. I'll snap a photo and post that. The question of the day is -- that closet is also my dried foods pantry. Is that a big deal? I put wet / gross garbage down the disposal and not in the trashcan, so that just leaves everything else. I feel comfortable, but the GFF has expressed concern. We may have to relocate once again if she finds that she can't consume the dried foods that are in there because they live next to the garbage can. My thinking was: how come it was O.K. to keep the garbage can in the living room where we live all the time instead of the closet where nobody can even fit? Anyway, I'm willing to lose on this one as there are other hiding places. It's either hide it or get a kick ass stainless steel gull-wing door trashcan that costs too much. See? Credit card debt can solve any problem.

My phone briefly flashed the picture of the USB cable plugging into iTunes. What's this? Oh. No.

Is the iTunes store overwhelmed? I think so. I'm going to keep hitting refresh because my phone is a brick until it can get re-acquainted with iTunes and re-activated. Remember when I said an update isn't really an update and that was a good thing? I was WRONG. It's a clean install so my phone has no idea to whom it belongs. Hmmm. This may be a problem. No, this is a problem. I have to start getting ready for work and it's 8:29 AM. I'll post an update later if this situation changes. Looks like Apple took care of giving downloads enough bandwidth to finish quickly, but the iTunes Store is hosed. As with any emergency, I'm sure there's a bunch of guys on a conference call trying to resolve the situation. Not going to panic.

Update!
Internet options control panel? WTF? iTunes is now telling me that an SSL (secured socket layer) connection is failing. Is Apple adding more servers? How fast can they get an SSL certificate added, I wonder? Or are they so overwhelmed that even their primary SSL authentication is failing now. I see that Apple stores are reporting the same problem with updating via iTunes. Uh oh! Gizmodo has an article on the subject.

Update!
My phone finally connected to the iTunes store at 9:07 AM and now it's restoring from backup. Crisis averted, and all within a short window. Nice. As far as the wording of restoring from backup? I hope that means it's reapplying all my stuff to the phone, only now it's running the iPhone 2.0 operating system. That's what that means? Right? I have to shower and get out of here. I'll update once I get back to work. I haven't even started complaining about what happened when I picked up my car from the shop yesterday.

Update!
I think my iPhone really is reverting back to the old install. There's an ominous message on the screen that says, ''No signal detected. Signal is required to complete activation.'' Great. It's bad enough that you've made me wait for the download, to connect to iTunes to, and now this lame excuse? You know what? I'm going to try this again later. I love abuse!

Update!
9:56 AM -- Restore is done. Verdict? It worked! iPhone 2.0 is installed!

i hate waiting (for iphone 2.0)

2008.07.10 21.47

the piano is gone :-(

2008.07.09 23.36

My phone rang around noon yesterday. I recognized the number. I answered.

Me: (spoken quickly) ''Thisismarkshields.''
Constance: ''Mark, this is Constance from the leasing office.''
Me: ''Hi!''
Constance: ''They're here.''
Me: ''The new iPhones are here???''
Constance: [long pause] ''No.''
Me: ''No, wait, ABBA is here? Holy sh*t!''
Constance: ''Mark, the people who own the piano have movers here.''
Me: ''Oh. Well. I, uh, I'm at work.''

This is a half-truth. I was working from home.

Constance: ''That's okay. I have a key. I can let them in.''
Me: ''Okay, okay. I'm actually here. Um, would you believe I sold the piano on eBay?''
Constance: ''Not really.''
Me: ''Fine. I'll have it waiting in the hallway.''
Constance: ''Thanks!''
[click]

vhs tapes to digital video

2008.07.06 21.48

The GFF is out of town in Nebraska so I've spent the July 4th long weekend trying to get every imaginable errand and task completed prior to her return. Also included in there is cleaning the house, the clothes, and the dog and not necessarily in that order. Chief among my distractions has been the videotape conversion that I've always wanted to carry out. I currently have four 1-terabyte drives that are set up as RAID-1 (meaning they appear as 2 drives in total with the other 2 acting as automatic mirror backups). Very nice! 1-terabyte drives are now below $200 so I figure I'd like to replace all of the remaining drives with them. I know, I know. I'm a hard drive prude.

I *just* got through importing "AE9: VidCam: 93-02/27+ San Antonio Trip;" which in truth means it is VHS tape #320 out of a collection of something like 425 tapes. I'm skipping all of the duplicated movies that are on the tapes, which makes deciding what to import super simple. The rule is: if it's not a movie or a TV show that I can buy on DVD then it's a candidate. The San Antonio tape was filmed in 1993 and features ex-GFF Betsy and I driving to San Antonio where we commit a litany of boring offenses. The haunted house section is the most interesting piece, IMHO. I managed to shower and shave while this gem was duplicating, so I can't really offer highlights. Oh, but wait. Yes I can. The import is done and I can view the clips. Here's what they tell me was worth my precious time:

Saturday, February 27, 1993:

Leaving the hotel and Betsy telling me that her grandparents can never EVER see this video. Oops.
Betsy discovers she's wearing brown shoes and a black belt and must return to the hotel to remediate
Ugly ring shopping. Betsy: "Is this ring ugly?" Me: "Yes."
Lunchbox shopping until the shopkeeper yells at me for videotaping. Betsy was just about to reveal someone's name etched inside a lunchbox.
Clandestinely filming in an antique store while mean shopkeeper lady is looking the other way
Mark rips off Betsy's hand (see this)
Ordering grub at Wendy's and sending back the chili. Betsy: "I can't eat those onions."
Buying Elvis Presley stamps at the post office
Betsy's first time ever through a revolving door. Wow!
Visiting The Alamo and the Alamo store (shortened because you can't film inside the Alamo).
Riding a trolley with me making dumb observations.
Mark buys a Lotto ticket (I didn't win).
Mark buys a piece of jalapeño flavored fudge. Mmmm!
Mark listens to his three voice mail messages.
Betsy notices birds nesting inside and outside of an electrical box
Having our pictures drawn by a caricature artist (this was eventually cut in half after the breakup)
Apparently sitting outside the local Parole Violators Facility (I have no idea)
Betsy plays in a giant wooden playground
Going into The Towers of America observation deck
Getting lost walking back to the hotel

Sunday, February 28th, 1993:

Fictitiously pointing out that our rooms were 335 and 334 (grandparents please take note).
Returning to the post office to mail Rona a letter
Mark plays with a voice changer at the corner store
Betsy applies sun tan lotion in public (apparently this is why we were at the aforementioned corner store)
Donating money to Save Hunger coalition guy on the street. Betsy (to me): "Your shorts are too tight." Ewww.
Looking at a Canadian penny covered car outside the wax museum
Charlie, the wax museum ticket cutter guy, instructs me on video camera etiquette
Wax museum and Ripley's tour. Betsy screams like a banshee at one point.
Late dinner at Garcia's Mexican Restaurant (a second time!) by the Riverwalk
I've locked myself out of my car and Betsy can't find her ring (the ugly one from yesterday?)
Phone calls on the road home (in case we flip the car?)
Riding home into the sunset and chatting while Betsy films me.

See? It's like you were there. Sorta.

brinkerhoff upright piano circa 1913

2008.07.04 16.13

I noticed an abandoned piano in my condo's foyer this past Monday afternoon. The piano was still there when Tuesday morning rolled around, so I took it upon myself to ask the leasing office if I could have first dibs. You can never act too quickly when someone is ditching this type of hardware. I was told that the owner tentatively intended to remove the piano. Eventually. Maybe. On Thursday when the piano was still there, I walked Chewster around to the office upon my return from work and restated my offer of sanctuary. I was informed how lucky I was (really?) as someone else in the building had also inquired about the piano -- after me. I'd lucked out in being an E.D. (early dibber). Good times. The office made one last attempt to call the owner and got voicemail. I rolled that heavy M.F. into the hallway and into my condo right away. It's currently sitting in the short hallway leading to my spare bedroom. All keys work and the condition is good. I found a serial number in the case and did some Googling. One minute later I learned that the Binkerhoff Piano Co. of Chicago manufactured the piano back in 1913. The piano's serial number 82525 matched up with serial numbers produced that year. Wow! 95 years old! I'm thinking about calling it Old Betsy, only problem being that I have an old girlfriend named Betsy that I'm still friendly with and I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate the gesture. That being said, check it out!

Here's a really odd description of the piano from the seldom heard of (try never) Blue Book of Pianos web site:

Instruments manufactured by the Brinkerhoff Piano Company included pianos, player-pianos, grands and reproducers are the products of a responsible Chicago organization, at the head of which was Mr. William T. Brinkerhoff. They are instruments of unquestioned merit, great durability and tone quality of fascinating character being marked features. The case designs are graceful and varied from the elegant plain to the highly ornamental Brinkerhoff pianos are sold by enterprising houses throughout the country and always with most satisfactory results. They are pianos in which the advantages of advanced method of manufacture have the force of experience to guide them' and the personal energies and standing of Mr. Brinkerhoff add greatly to the enthusiasm which mark the sale of these instruments. The Brinkerhoff upright reproducing piano can be played either manually as a regular piano, or as a foot powered player piano, or as a reproducing instrument, in which the exact interpretations of the foremost artists of the world are reproduced. It is a combination of a player piano with special patented devices that automatically regulate the expression. The Brinkerhoff Grand pianos are noted for their tonal qualities, and they are so constructed that they meet the approval of the most critical musicians. This company specializes on Miniature Grands, which are only 5 feet in length, but possess the qualities of a larger Grand. [Source: Blue Book of Pianos].