Well, so much for yodeling. Just when I was starting to think I might be on to something, the crap hit the fan\u2026 It doesn\u2019t seem like there are any shortcuts, or useful talismans, or simple solutions to anything\u2026 Things started off not so good, then went downhill from there. Well, things didn\u2019t exactly start off bad, but soon enough they hit the skids.<\/p>\n
I got up early feeling great! I put the coffee on, cranked up this here portable smart box, did a couple of other necessary things\u2026 then went outside. It was still dark out, but I could tell, mostly by the absence of stars, that there were some clouds about.<\/p>\n
This motel was right across the street from the railroad tracks, and there just happened to be a couple of railroad buildings there. The track maintenance crews were just starting up, back-up beepers on vehicles were blaring their warnings, muffled voices could be heard as they drifted across the road\u2026 Malta, Montana, was coming to life.<\/p>\n
I went back inside to see what was going on in the world by peering through this wondrous electronic window, this absolutely astonishing miracle of modernity.\u00a0 Hmmmm, Hillary had some more embarrassing (at least they should have been) revelations let out about her again, Trump put his foot in his mouth again, and the spin masters were busily telling us \u2018how it really is\u2019 again\u2026 \u201cTheir candidate is even worse than our candidate,” that were reassuring us, “so our candidate is the obvious best choice to lead America forward\u2026\u201d Sheeesh\u2026 politics!<\/p>\n
I decided to keep an eye out for sunrise. Often when there are clouds around, the first shards of sunlight to peek over the horizon can produce some spectacular sights, and I do like to view them\u2026 The various color hues and the myriad variations of colors blend together into a mosaic unlike anything else, and\u2026 well, like I said, I do like to view them.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when things began their descent into purgatory\u2026 I took my iPhone off the charger and turned it on, so I could capture what might be upcoming with the camera feature\u2026 I got a message saying that I was locked out, and that I had to enter my iTunes username and passcode to reactivate the darned phone.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t care about any of that, I never ordered it, didn\u2019t want it\u2026 Do you think I could just pass or opt out? Nope\u2026 had to enter whatever those codes are that apparently the salesman had put in there back when I bought the thing. I didn\u2019t even know I had such an account, let alone had ever used any codes associated with it\u2026 I didn\u2019t have a clue what they might have been, either!<\/p>\n
I came to find out that Apple has this legal dispute thing going with the FBI and other agencies about privacy, security, etc., so they have strict as heck security and won\u2019t give out any personal information to anybody for any reason for ever and ever and for all time, amen… or so I was told repeatedly. I tried several times online to get this sorted out\u2026 no joy. I decided to just go to the next Verizon store I came to. I didn’t get to see the sunrise, either…<\/p>\n
I\u2019m glad now that I had breakfast in Havre, MT, before I went to the store there\u2026 Otherwise I might not have gotten anything to eat! They weren\u2019t actually a \u2018corporate store\u2019, rather those folks actually work for another company that in turn \u2018contracts\u2019 with Verizon\u2026 After a couple of hours of trying possible code combinations, talking to tech reps from both Verizon and Apple on the phone, waiting on hold while being transferred from one rep to another, nothing positive resulted. Again, no joy\u2026<\/p>\n
Long story short, I ended up riding to Great Falls, MT., to that store (a genuine corporate store), and I was basically blown off by the young guy who offered to help (I now seriously doubt his sincerity!). He suggested I go to a local independent cell phone repair shop just down the road. Really? I did, but\u2026 you know\u2026 The guy there told me that, unfortunately, without those codes I was holding a brick!<\/p>\n
After spending a couple of hours standing around in various store lobbies, hanging on the phone with tech reps, yadda, yadda\u2026 I gave up. I\u2019m going to visit the store in Missoula tomorrow and just get a new phone\u2026 NOT an Apple, though!<\/p>\n
While their security is apparently top notch, it\u2019s so good it locked me out and nobody seems able to get me back in!!! I don\u2019t care how good their products are, if I can\u2019t use them\u2026 I can\u2019t use them!<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not all\u2026 A fuse apparently got blown during the ride down there, so the two Cobra spot lights on ALI aren\u2019t working now\u2026 What\u2019s next, will pooperosity strike again more viciously than ever before, and at a time when there is no TP available? Will grits producers stop making that entire product line? I\u2019m so frustrated, I may never yodel again!<\/p>\n
A seemingly long day that got rather hot by midafternoon\u2026 The ride that day was largely through some flat to rolling countryside with very few trees or anything particularly scenic or noteworthy. Still, our girl is running well, no peculiar noises are coming from her drive-train, and I didn\u2019t have any \u2018down below\u2019 issues\u2026 I reckon an optimist would say it was a grand ol\u2019 day indeed! Truth be told, except for all that phone business, it actually was a pretty good day at that\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, so much for yodeling. Just when I was starting to think I might be on to something, the crap hit the fan\u2026 It doesn\u2019t seem like there are any shortcuts, or useful talismans, or simple solutions to anything\u2026 Things …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meanderings-by-ddt-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=609"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":611,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609\/revisions\/611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}