I Got a New iPhone 6

Part I — Going to the Apple Store

I got a new iPhone this past weekend. I had been thinking about getting a new one every since the 6 had come out. I figured I would get one when I got back from my trip to New York.

The decision was sort of made for me. While in New York all of a sudden my phone kept asking me to log into the cloud. It asked like every 15 seconds or so.

Of course I don’t know what the password is for the account. That’s because it is under my old e-mail address from Earthlink. I went through a long back and forth with Apple a year ago when I couldn’t get into the account. Since I don’t use the cloud, I didn’t proceed any further with trying to solve this problem. I’d spent too much time on it as it was.

But having the log in screen come up every 15 seconds made the phone almost useless. I stopped off at the Verizon Store in Union Station when I got back from DC. Turns out you have to order the phone and it’s delivered directly to you. I didn’t want it sent to my house and I forgot the address at work. So I decided I’d try later.

I had dinner with Stu on Friday. On the way to the subway I stopped at the Verizon store on L Street. They said they didn’t have any but the Apple Store did. I just assumed he meant the Apple Store in Georgetown. I went home and found out when they opened which was 10. I decided I would try and go in the morning. I figured it would be easier to get a parking space early in the morning rather later in the day.

I headed out to Georgetown a little before 9:30 on Saturday. Traffic wasn’t bad and I found a parking space a non-metered parking space no less with ease. Off I headed to the Apple Store. There was a line waiting to get into the store I didn’t know it at the time but the line was for people trying to get a new phone.

The store opened at 10 and in rushed the people. And thus started a less than enjoyable time in the store. Everyone who’d been in the line knew what was going on. But subsequent people who came into the store were given very little information on what was going on. I was one of those people. It looked like the line was for people who’d already ordered the phone.

I waited around for a few minutes to see if I could catch someone’s attention and ask what was going on. I finally went up to someone and asked. The woman pointed to the line and said that was the line for people wanting the new phone. And before I could ask another question she turned and walked away. My question would have been were the people in line people who had already ordered the phone.

I get in line. The line moves very very slowly that was do in part because there was only one Apple guy working with people. He took what service provider you have the phone with. Then he showed you what model of phones were available under that plan. Not sure why they would be different from one carrier to another but that seemed to be the case. Finally he got to me. I’m set up on the same plan I had with Verizon. I got the 64 gig phone. I figured the 16 gig would probably be too small in the not too distant future. Also the 64 gig was only $100 more. I was then sent a text which had a URL in it and that opened a web page which had all the information on getting the phone.

More waiting in line. At one point one of the managers of the store came along and said that we didn’t have to wait in line for our phone to be set up. As it was it would take around 45 minutes to get to everyone. We could come back later in the day until 7 which is when they closed. There were a couple of takers. I wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t going to come back later in the day. This was my window of opportunity to get the phone.

The line moved very slowly. They didn’t seem to have a group of employees dedicated to setting up people’s phones. It seemed as people became through other duties they would take care of one of the people in the line.

Finally they got to me. Chris helped set up the phone. I told him I didn’t want to transfer any of the information from the old phone to the new phone because of the Apple ID problem. He said he’d take a try at it. He brought up the old account. There was some back forth about the information on the account. He came to the conclusion I’d need to call Apple about it. He also added the account was really old. It had been set up in 2003.

I got handed off to another person who helped me get the phone up and running. I headed home. In all it took about two hours. But my adventure was just beginning.

Part II — Restoring the Phone and What a Blunder that Was

I went to Potbelly by my house and had lunch. Then I headed home to complete the set up of my new iPhone.

If I’d thought things through I might not have done what I did next. But in the long run it resolved an on-going problem that I had with the last phone.

I’d set up the new iPhone with my new Apple ID. Once home I backed up my old phone and then I connected the new phone to my computer. Up pops a dialog box. It says do you want to restore the phone or set it up as new. I said restore and this where my problems began.

When I did the restore it restored all of the old setting from the old phone. Including the Apple ID. Thus it was under the Earthlink account which of course I couldn’t gain access to. I was just a very small amount pissed off. Let’s put it this way Charlie and Linus ran upstairs and hid underneath my bed for the next hour or so.

It took me a little while to locate a number to call on the Apple site. After I did I called. I got a guy named Jason. At one point he asked if it was all right for him to call me Jason. And I said Jason it’s fine that you call me Jason. I think he did that in part to try and put me in a better mood.

I went through what had happened. He assured me by the end of the phone call the problem would be solved. We quickly figured out that this problem needed to go to the higher level of tech support. Jason said he was going to put me on hold and get me connected to someone. It took a few around 10 minutes or so to do that. But Jason came on every few minutes to say I’d be connected shortly.

Jason came on again and said that he had Estevan on the line and he’d be helping me. Estevan started by asking me some questions about what had happened. I said it would be probably be better for me just to tell him what had happened.

The big problem was that the find iPhone function on the phone was on. In oder to delete the Apple ID associated with the phone you have to turn off the find iPhone function. But of course to do that you have to know the password to the account. After my story, Estevan said he would be able to help and that he could solve the problem.

I won’t go into all of the details but Estevan was able to solve this problem. The correct ID is now on my phone. The one question I have about this is why I wasn’t able to get someone to help me delete the old ID off of my old phone when I first called about the problem in July 2013.

And that’s my story of how I got a new iPhone.

Skittles Exhibit on the High Line

The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long New York City linear park built on a section of a disused New York Central Railroad spur called the West Side Line.

One of the best things on the High Line is an exhibit by Josh Kline called Skittles. Here’s a little more about it.

Josh Kline (b. 1979, United States) creates sculptural installations that employ the language and strategies of advertising. For Archeo, Kline presents Skittles, an industrial refrigerator containing smoothies produced by the artist using unconventional and poetic combinations of ingredients including kale chips, squid ink, sneakers, phone bills, and pepper spray. Each smoothie stands as a portrait of a different contemporary lifestyle. When grouped together, they evoke a landscape of aspiration, taste, and – at times – deprivation in a metropolis like New York City.

From the New York Times:

Across the bar from the Standard Hotel, Josh Kline takes the most activist stance. Critics of the Bloomberg-era, tourist-friendly “luxury” New York have cited the High Line as a prime indicator of uneven development. (The Arts & Labor group of Occupy Wall Street staged its first action on the High Line.) Mr. Kline’s refrigerator filled with custom-made smoothies mimics the expensive “health” beverages found in delicatessens and gourmet markets. Ingredients listed on the front of the beverage containers veer among the material, political and poetic: “tourism, starbucks, sunglasses, metrocard, hotel soap, cupcake, cheesecake, cronut,” and “sick day, dayquil, redbull, ritalin, claritin, aspirin, advil, aleve.”

From The Bustle:

What it is: a clever play on the juice cleanse craze that so many people seem to be into (and which can actually be harmful, not beneficial, to your health). The rows of juice bottles inside the machine contain colorful blends of liquids and solids. Some of them look normal enough to down in a few sips, while others, with their floating bits of fabric and money, are more obviously different. Emblazoned in white, sans-serif font is a list of ingredients, which range from kombucha and agave to credit cards and yoga mats. As additional food for thought, the exhibition seems to contain a warning against the slick advertising on so many “healthy” products.

Kline’s work is part of the outdoor “Archeo” exhibit, which is an “exhibition about technology and obsolescence” that reflects “on humanity’s continuous fascination and frustration with technology.” According to Kline’s bio on the “Archeo” page, each “Skittles” smoothie is meant to represent a certain lifestyle:

“When grouped together, [the juices] evoke a landscape of aspiration, taste, and – at times – deprivation in a metropolis like New York City.”

Catching Up

Well I've been a way for a while. Had a great trip to New York which I will be posting pictures of shortly. Hopefully I'll get back to a more regular schedule.

Get Out and Vote!

Maybe it should be more like this: Get out and vote? Does it really matter? Yes, I’ve sort of reached that point. Well not entirely.

I did vote and I voted early. I went Saturday to the Turkey Thicket Rec Center. I had to go past all sorts of people wanting to hand out flyers for their candidate. I very nicely said no to all of them.

Once inside the center I went to the main gym to vote. I think there were more workers then people voting. But then again it around 4:30 when I headed down. There was a very slow trickle of people coming in over the time it took me to vote.

And it took me awhile to vote. I had a hard time figuring out who I should vote for for mayor. I had a long internal talk with myself as I was walking to the poling place. The choices Muriel E. Bowser and David A. Catania. I have problems with both of them. I voted for Bowser in the primary because I could not stand Vincent Gray. The problem I have with Bowser is her inexperience. She reminds me of Adrian Fenty in that respect and his term in office did not turn out very well. The problem I have with Catania is he can rather contentious when dealing with people. There are also times he comes off very pompous and condescending. Two qualities that aren’t very good for any politician to have.

I stood for several minutes mulling over what I was going to do. I finally made a decision and voted. I’m not over joyed with who I voted for but am hoping for the best.

In general that last year or so I’ve been rather disappointed with the way things are going politically in this country. I’ve had fewer and fewer posts about politics in general to the blog.

I’m going to do a little more mulling on this just like voting for mayor and try and come up with a post about where my mind is in regards to politics in this country.

Linus and the Great Pumpkin

After blowing the election for class president (sort of like what the Democrats are doing with the Senate), Linus gets down to business and waits for the Great Pumpkin to arrive. I'm a couple of days late with this but it's still very funny.

Happy Halloween, Part II

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone.

Here is a great display of decorations. Enjoy.

Happy National Cat Day!

Yes it is National Cat Day. Here's a great thing that Uber did:

Wednesday is National Cat Day. And in celebration of felines all over, Uber has teamed up with the ASPCA and Cheezburger to bring some kittens to your doorstep.

Uber senior marketing manager Ed Casabian stopped by HuffPost Live on Wednesday, with a few furry friends in tow, to discuss the partnership.

"Today, instead of requesting an Uber X or an Uber black car, you can actually request Uber kittens on demand. So a kitten car will come to your office," Casabian told host Marc Lamont Hill. "You just have to enter the promo code 'KITTENSNYC.' That will unlock a special view to be able to request the kittens."

Each 15-minute cuddle session with a kitten costs $30 -- all proceeds go to local shelters -- but animal lovers can use the Uber app to donate any amount to the cause, and the company will match all donations.

This from the National Cat Day website:

We live to celebrate cats and help them to find forever homes. Through our large social media presence, all year long we're able to partake in the wonderful world of cats and put the plight of cats in shelters, center stage and educate literally millions but on October 29th....it's party time! We encourage you to spoil your fur baby a little more on National Cat Day than any other day (you don't want them to get too demanding do you?) by buying them a new toy drenched in cat nip, giving them something simply scrumptious to eat, offering LOTS more cuddling and making a donation to your local shelter in their honor. The best way you can celebrate though is to save a life! So if you can....ADOPT....don't shop. Estimates reveal that there are approximately 4 million cats entering shelters every year with 1-2 million being euthanized. Often cats are overlooked and under-appreciated because they don't usually have jobs like dogs. But cats still lower blood pressure, offer unconditional love and companionship and alert their owner to danger. Many cats have been named heroes.

So in honor of National Cat Day here are a few pictures of my cats Charlie and Linus.

Linus

Charlie

And here are a few pictures of my wonderful first cat Sam. I miss him still.

The Kalb Report — Woodward and Bernstein

I’m a little behind on this. This happened last Monday, October 20. I have to say it’s one of the more interesting Kalb Reports that I’ve been to. It reinforced how luck or happenstance or fate can greatly influence events.

The reason that Woodward was on the story in the first place was because it was a Saturday and no one else was around to cover the story. Woodward went to the initial hearing for the burglars and realized it was a big story because the lead burglar said he worked for the CIA. And as Woodward added you don’t see many burglars being arranged in suits.

They both talked about how important Ben Bradlee was to the pursuit of the story. He allowed them to continue covering the story when the national desk editor wanted to take over the story. This was just a day before Bradley died.

In an appreciation piece in the Post on Bradley they related this story about how he and Katharine Graham (the publisher of the Post) backed them up. They also told this story at the Kalb Report:

Bradlee was not above using theater to protect his reporters. When the Nixon reelection committee issued subpoenas for our Watergate notes and those of others at The Post as part of a civil suit, Bradlee and publisher Katharine Graham agreed to declare that she — not her reporters — was the legal owner of all the materials, and that any court action would have to be directed at her personally.

“If the judge wants to send anyone to jail, he’s going to have to send Mrs. Graham,” Bradlee told us with palpable glee. “And, my God, the lady says she’ll go! Then the judge can have that on his conscience. Can’t you see the pictures of her limousine pulling up to the Women’s Detention Center and out gets our gal, going to jail to uphold the First Amendment? That’s a picture that would run in every newspaper in the world.”

In their appreciation piece the two added this about Bradley and their relationship with them:

We were just 30 years old when we wrote “All the President’s Men,” and to say that we were impressionable at that time — to Bradlee and his methodology — would understate the case. But as the years of our association turned to decades, and the friendship and the bond forged by a shared, unique experience became unbreakable, we remained just as wide-eyed and impressionable to his wisdom, to the inimitable truth of his example, and still incredulous at the sheer joy and determination he seemed to bring to his life each day, which, when we first encountered him, had invited disbelief. Over the next 40 years we learned again and again that what we had observed was all true.

At the Kalb Report, they talked about how most of the press corp didn’t believe the stories that the Post were printing about Watergate. The Republican establishment went after them. Putting as much pressure as possible on them, Bradlee and Graham to stop writing all these stories about a third rate burglary.

In the end they stuck to their guns and exposed what Nixon and his administration was doing.

An Eclectic Open House on Sunday

I like to go around to open houses on Sunday. It's a nice way to get out of the house and go for a walk. I also like to look at the houses to see how much they are charging for them. I admit I compare them to mine. Some have been completely updated and are really well done. Others have not been updated all that much. I wonder sometimes who is going to pay what's been asked to buy the house.

This Sunday there was a really eclectic house for sale. First off the outside is painted green and I mean a bright almost neon green. The floor level with the street was actually the second floor of the house or as they referred to it upper level 1.

The inside mixed the old with the new. All you had to do was look at the kitchen. A modern stainless steel refrigerator and an oven that looks like the one my grandmother used.

All sorts of art work on the wall. Upstairs was an old fashion Singer sewing machine well at least it was the frame for the machine to sit in. It reminded me of one my other grandmother had.

The master bedroom's bath was more like a small walk in closet. None of the floors were even. It had very impressive what I assume was original wood work. 

In all a very interesting Sunday open house.

Yes it really is that green and red windows.

Exactly like the stove my grandmother had.

An old fashion Singer sewing machine. You had to pump the pedal to get the machine to work.

Middleburg Arts Project — a Visit with Peter and Tom

My friend Peter and Tom have opened up a gallery in Middleburg. It opened a couple of months ago. I've been wanting to go since it opened. I thought it would be great to see them again and great to see the gallery. I'd been following the gallery on Facebook.

So this Saturday they were going to have Jiamie Pyles play music and serve up some refreshments. I thought I need to go and see them. Jiamie was singing between 1-3. I decided to go out a little early and go to Sky Meadows and on the way back stop off at the gallery.

What a fantastic time! It was great to catch up with Peter and Tom and see the wonderful space they have created for some great art.

Here's a little more on the Middleburg Arts Project from their web site:

The Middleburg Arts Project is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with a mission to enrich, educate and inspire the community by providing access to exceptional visual art while creating and supporting opportunities for artists to achieve a sustainable living. 

• MAP is committed to promoting the teaching, understanding and appreciation of the visual arts to students and the public in Middleburg, Virginia.
  
• MAP will partner with other organizations to promote all the arts in Middleburg and the Piedmont region of Virginia. 

Vision
Middleburg Arts Project envisions an engaged community, building a lively and vibrant town with artist studios, galleries and performance venues. 

• Middleburg will be known for the arts
• A town people visit to see and hear the arts in its many forms
• A town where businesses are thriving from the excitement of expressive, imaginative artists
• A town where the community is inspired by artists and their creativity. 

Middleburg Arts Project imagines Middleburg as a vivacious arts town that retains its historic character, its horse and hunt country traditions, while embracing, valuing and supporting its artists.

Again I had such a great time there. If you are in the area you should stop by and see this great place and say hello to Peter and Tom.

Jiamie Pyles entertaining the gallery goers

Inside the gallery. It has a wide range of art from paintings to sculptures to furniture.

A couple of Peter's works

Tom and Peter on the deck of the gallery.

Sky Meadows State Park

What a great place. It's about an hour and half from Washington. It has great trails to hike. When I was there on Saturday there fall festival was in full swing. All sorts of activities for people to do. I will be heading back out there again.

Here are some views from around the park.