Cache dump of very brief thoughts, ideas, and recommendations.
2019-09-21: I updated my iPhone to iOS 13 but missed or forgot that iPadOS was moved to September 30th. There were over 40 app updates waiting to be installed after the iPhone powered up post install, making my iPad out of sync with the phone. So App Store apps updating the cloud will be avoided on that device.
2019-09-14: An interesting view about the planet Earth shifting gears is available on ZDNet, in a post by Greg Nichols. Read the post
We May Be Entering A New Geological Epoch. Digitalization, forward?
2019-08-30: I’m avoiding posting about the coming national elections to keep my sanity. I’ve protected myself from doing so by avoiding all election news, so I don’t know what’s going on. Yeah, yeah, I know – that’s never stopped me before.
While in the continuous throes of ridding my home of junk, I found a very old Apple iPod in a drawer. The battery was dead but I was able to find a suitable charging cable in a box of cables, and hooked it up. It took over a minute, but the device came to life displaying the big battery, in the red. After sitting for a few hours the big battery was in full green.
At first power on, a logon prompt was presented, and I realized I was probably not going to get into this device. After trying a number of possible passwords, I was forced to give up. The trip taken over quite a few days to get the iPod working again was tedious, but seeing its out of the box Apple app icons on the main screen was worth the effort. The process of getting it recovered was documented in case it goes fully back to out of the box again. The iPod has been alive since January of 2019 due to making sure the battery stays charged, and that it seems to hold a charge well.
By the model number on the back, it’s a 4th Generation iPod Touch. I was unable to find a receipt or any other record of the actual purchase date, but believe it was purchased it in 2010.
My current iOS devices are on iOS 12.3.1. This iPod is trapped on iOS 6.1.6, the update being installed after it was up and running. This the last available release for this device.
There are zero apps in the App Store available for this iPod due to the iOS version. All Apple apps that came with this release still work as intended. I can see my iCloud email account, and have manually downloaded music from my iTunes library. It cannot interface with the sound system in my car other than with a direct USB connection. This means all music playing has to be initiated from the iPod after the connection is made, making playlists a must.
All the Apple supplied apps that came with the purchase still work: Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Clock, Contacts, iTunes, Notes, Photos (camera roll), Reminders, Videos, Voice Memos, Weather, Maps, and FaceTime. The listed apps may be missing features or settings added through the 6 iOS releases since the iPod’s version.
I have fun with it. Its small size (4.25′ by 2.13′) makes it easy to carry. With tethered ear plugs the music sounds good, and I often use the iPod on my walks. To prevent impacting my data, I don’t allow iCloud access from the device except for my Apple email account. I’m still amazed it can do as much as it does, and that the battery charges last as long as they do. This version iPod is selling on the web for as high as $250, so there must be other folks out there coveting this early device.
I’m going collect as many phone numbers as I can, legally or not. I will then call these phone numbers every day and evening, often multiple times, using an unlisted phone number. I will change this unlisted number often. I will ignore the Do Not Call lists.
If you answer I will try to sell you insurance, a newspaper subscription, or play a recording that will tell you that you are in trouble with the government and you need my help to get out of it. I will keep calling, whether you answer or not.
If I get voice mail, I will leave you as long a tiring message as I can, every time. After a month or two, my voice mail will offer to stop calling if you wire a monthly fee to an account I provide.
How long would you put up with this? Would you call the police? Would you try to have me fined, or arrested?
You would probably succeed. And deservedly so. So why can’t we citizens, harassed daily by unknown callers, call the police and get them arrested?
Adding insult to injury, the Telcos make money providing these miscreants the bandwidth they use, and then have the audacity to offer us a priced, monthly service to stop only some of the calls.
The sale of my condo and subsequent move is no longer the plan. The underlying reasons I thought of moving became clearer and I’ve decided to stay in the condo and make some improvements and needed repairs. I like my condo and the town I’m living in, and have made some new friends on my daily exercise walks around the complex.
Another reason for the change is that the stress of dealing with the open questions and planning around that move started ruining my days. So home I stay, with some changes, and all the joyful memories.
