But Still No Flying Cars

So, Apple changed their podcast handling, and I adjusted with an app that works but not as well as what I had. Google closed Reader, and I switched to Feedly; good, but not as good. Now, iGoogle, is closing and I'll try to cobble something together to replace it.
When I was a kid, I read Enchanted Village by A. E. Van Vogt. In it, a stranded astronaut is trapped in an abandoned alien village that is trying to adjust itself to feed and shelter him. In the end, spoiler alert, he thinks it has adjusted to him, but in reality, he has adjusted to it, he's become an alien. I read that before I knew what metaphor meant, or that we would all be living in an alien village with big snouts and long tails of discarded apps and flip phones.

Reunited And It Feels So Good

I had a friend who always used to have recommitment  ceremonies to renew his vows and declare his love just before, it seemed, the inevitable divorces. I know I've been a little harsh lately about my phone, but talking about my bike trip made me realize the good times that my iPhone and I have had together, so yesterday I bought a new iPhone 5S and I've renewed my promise to stay true to it. And unlike marriage contracts and hearts, which apparently are broken all the time, AT&T has made it clear that until October of 2015, at least, I will be fully invested in this relationship, forsaking all others and plighting the very bejeezus of my troth.

The Things I Do For You

This post is just the stuff you missed on my Twitter feed this week. I hated to post the last one, because I was at 253 tweets, and 253 is basically my favorite number. Now I'm at 254, which is just a useless integer.

NSA motto: "America, land of the free, and we've got the surveillance videos to prove it." #NSA
— David Hart (@hartofak) October 19, 2013

Why does @SpeakerBoehner claim to represent OH, when he clearly represents smug sanctimony? #Congress #shutdown #wefoughtthegoodfight
— David Hart (@hartofak) October 18, 2013

Fox News could not ask more leading questions if they put a ring in their guest's noses. http://t.co/dvOSn4z916 #FoxNews
— David Hart (@hartofak) October 17, 2013

"That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book."

It wasn't me at all that said that, it was Kurt Vonnegut.
But, I did say this. To be fair, I've said it a lot, but this was the first time on NPR.

How Many Mice Must Die Before The Madness Ends?

I downloaded icatcher, and now my podcast woes are behind me. Mostly. People are giving it 5 star reviews, probably because it's at least five times better than Apple's podcast app. That would still give it 0 stars based on the multiplying by 0 property, except 1 star is the minimum allowed. So far, it's not as intuitive as the way I was doing it (which involved me listening to podcasts by saying, "Siri, play A Podcast Playlist") but better than the app Apple foisted on me that thwarted me at every turn:
Me: play a podcast playlist
Siri: no
And, I just downloaded an app called Overdrive that allows me to borrow e-books from the public library for free. So, life is good. Mostly:
They're still talking about killing mice because the researchers have been furloughed, while the Congresspeople that furloughed them get to keep not only their lives, but their jobs.

I Am NOT Comparing Myself To The Good Brother

I'm off this weekend, but I volunteered to work. Because of contractual rules, I can't run my own route, but people who didn't volunteer may run their own routes. I know some people in my situation would be resentful, like the prodigal son's brother, but I sort of identify more with the fatted calf. I'm often fatted,  plus, he did nothing wrong, and got slaughtered.
Our dog just got home from the vet. She's being tested for Addison's disease. I told her, "Don't worry, John Kennedy had Addison's and he became president." That might be a lot for a Shih-Tzu to aspire to (because even though we know she was born in Iowa some might use her breed to raise questions about her nationality), but I just know she could be in Congress.

But I Don't Care, I'll Just Dream And Stay Tan

Now that it's over, I've started watching Breaking Bad. It was so horrifying that after watching one episode, I woke up from a nightmare and had to watch a half hour of cat videos before I could go back to sleep.

When I woke up the next time, John Boehner still wouldn't let the House vote on ending the shutdown. 

Here's Your Sign

In case there was some confusion in the last post about who was the metaphorical robber and the metaphorical innocent victim, I think this post from the Atlantic will make it more clear:
Just 40 GOP hardliners (10% of the House) are holding government hostage. 
In related news, here's a list of ten signs that you are raising a spoiled brat. An eleventh might be that he is holding the government hostage.

We're Going To Rock Onto Electric Avenue And Talk About Tax Policy

People asked me today, why I was working when the government was shut down. This highlights the fact that the government doesn't fund us, if anything, we fund the government via their confiscatory pre-funding requirements. In fact, we would have shown a profit in the last quarter if we weren't funding health care for people that haven't even been born yet, and who, even if they were born, probably wouldn't work for the post office because it won't be there because we funded their health care for their old age before they were born.
Anyway, that wasn't exactly what I wanted to talk about. If the electricity goes out, the meter stops spinning and we don't have to pay for something we didn't get. Now that the Republicans have shut down the government, do we still have to pay taxes?
Someone told me today that, "It takes two to tango," so Republicans and Democrats were equally at fault. I said, "That's false equivalence. In a bank robbery, there's a robber and a teller. Are they equally at fault? I'll help you out here; the answer is no."

Is This True?

Lately, I've been able to use my phone to deposit checks without having to go to the bank. The banks are using the same customer service paradigm that we use at the post office, "Go away, don't bother us." Of course, that means we need fewer clerks and tellers, so as our phones replace our jobs, it's not clear who's going to have checks that need to be deposited.
In a nice retro touch, however, Apple has found a way for me, at least, to fill my time. I'm trying to change my podcasts manually into another file type and then copy them to my phone in the correct order so that I can hear the news. This was something my phone and computer used to do for me, so I guess as they replace us, we can start doing the rote mechanical work they don't enjoy. That's fine for podcasts, but some people are really going to resent having to build catapults to fling real angry birds.
In the meantime, while I've been unable to hear my podcasts, I did hear a rumor that the Republicans, our modern Philistines, have insourced one of their jobs and pulled their temple down on themselves.