Plenty Of Fury, Not Much Sound

Even though trying to use Apple's Podcasts app to listen to, say, Planet Money, is as effective as trying to discern the Prime Rate in the feces spread on a maniac's wall, at least Apple isn't trying to kill me.
In Fairbanks, however, it's a different story. When the airport up there complained, Apple fixed directions in their Maps app that were directing people onto the runway. And then broke them again.
Sarah told me once that using Apple's devices was like being kept inside a wall, but the wall was around Disneyland. It's starting to look like the patients are taking over the theme park.

The Story Goes That Picasso Had Trouble Learning Arithmetic Because Sevens Looked Like Noses. To Me They Look Like Shovels

By the way, I don't want you to think I didn't perform due diligence before upgrading to iOS 7. I asked around, and the Podcasts app wasn't installed on phones that had already up(?)graded. What I hadn't realized was the clever cruelty of Apple; before you can't listen to your podcasts, you must download their app. That is, before your podcast listening life is over, you have to dig its grave.

Me and Dennis Wilson

Maybe it's better in Stockholm,  because even though the Republicans are holding us all hostage, I despise them a little more each day. 

So I was irritable when I got home after listening to my news podcasts all day. But that's probably not going to be a problem going forward, because tonight I dived right in and updated my phone to iOS 7. Now, in order to listen to podcasts you have to install Apple's execrable Podcasts app which apparently works pretty well except for not updating or playing podcasts. 

Times Change.

So, in that last post, I compared Congress (or the Republicans in Congress, at least) to Al Qaeda. In the olden days, we would certainly have compared them to Hitler, but 670 World War II veterans die every day and their average age is 92. Just trying to keep it real.

Responding To The Call

Ayman al-Zawahri, leader of Al Qaeda since Osama Bin Laden died, has called for attacks on America to sabotage its economy. Kudos to Homeland Security, Al Qaeda has been unable to mount another huge attack here,  and has been reduced to horrifying, but economically meaningless killings of individuals, but...
inspired by President Obama's remark that we don't do pinprick strikes, the Republicans in Congress  have passed a budget that defunds "Obamacare, a budget  that has no chance of clearing the Senate, or surviving a veto. Thus, next month the government may very well shut down with whatever economic consequences that might have. It makes you wonder, whose side are they on?

Asking For Advice

I just replaced the kitchen faucet. I don't see any leaks. Should I call the plumber now, or go shopping first to allow time for the basement to flood?
Also, a postal manager died. Would it be tasteless to tell you that we didn't get along and I'm sorry she died before I had a chance to let her apologize?

Let's All Meet At The Leaky Cauldron

I'm reading The Cukoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith who is secretly J.K. Rowling. It's pretty good so far, but it makes me giggle a little to think that Harry Potter might be having a pint at the same pub as the detective, and the detective would never know that Harry wasn't just another muggle.
What irritates me a little is that in yesterday's post, I used the phrase "refeeding syndrome" twice, and didn't use the more accurate phrase, "refeeding frenzy," at all.

I Am Not Comparing Myself To A Holocaust Survivor

In fact, I am explicitly comparing myself to participants in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. I read about them in my grade school SRA reading lab which really deserves a post of its own. Suffice it to say, that I was reading way ahead of grade level in the color coded booklets and that even now, fifty years later, a certain shade of indigo takes me right back to Airport Heights Elementary School. Anyway, the subjects of the experiment agreed to be starved during World War II in order that doctors could understand how to avoid refeeding syndrome, a potentially fatal consequence of unrestrained eating by victims of famine, harsh prison conditions, or in my case months of adherence to my diet plan.
Last Thursday, I weighed less than I had in years. Friday morning, joined by our daughter Sarah, who had flown in unexpectedly ( I didn't expect it; she knew she was coming to surprise me during my belated birthday celebration) we went to Kava for breakfast. I haven't stopped refeeding since then. I have experienced pain, nausea, shame and distention. But, also breakfast fried rice, ice cream, nachos, barley ice cream, pizza, ice cream drumsticks, corn chips, gumbo and a fried peanut butter sandwich. On balance, I guess, a pretty fair trade. Tomorrow, back to work, back on the diet plan, back to my metaphorical Minnesota.

By the way, here's a draft I never got around to posting because I didn't think it was very good, but if we're going to start using that as a standard, or anything else for that matter, I probably wouldn't post anything:
 According to a report on the New York Times Science Podcast, there are only four groups of animals that have large brains and complicated social lives: elephants, great apes, cetaceans, and people. You'd think we'd have most in common with the great apes, but no, in late August it's whales and people that return to their feeding grounds in Alaska to recharge their blubber.  I'm anticipating my autumnal augmentation to prepare for winter, nature's own metaphor for death.
I'm not saying that I'm in great shape now, but I have felt comfortable wearing horizontal stripes.