Monthly Archives: August 2021
It’s Dead, Jim, errr Jan . . .
Several people let me know that the two Immersive Van Gogh videos that I posted in last night’s blog wouldn’t play. Turns out since the last time I uploaded a video to YouTube they default to Private and not Public. So I could see them, but no one else could. But they’re Public now, so I’m posting them again.
And I was able to reschedule one of our immersive Van Gog performances, the one that was set for our Anniversary on September 28. When I went online I was asked for 3 possible dates, October 25th, which is Jan’s birthday, the 24th, the Saturday before her birthday, and Sunday, the 31st.
So of course, our tickets are now scheduled for Tuesday, November 16th.
When I upgraded my S8+ phone to the new S21 Ultra, Jan got upgraded from her S5 to my old S8+. And we all lived happily ever after.
Well, no.
Yesterday Jan’s new-to-her S8+ died. Well, not really died all the way. Just the display. Well, the display and the associated touchscreen part. The phone would still receive calls, you just couldn’t answer them. Or do anything else really.
So last night I went online to try and switch Jan’s phone number from the slightly-dead one back over to her old S5. But though the Verizon website allowed me to try, it couldn’t find the S5 anywhere in their system, even though I gave them the IMEI serial number.
So this morning I called Verizon Support and tried it that way. Again with no luck. The system still couldn’t find the old phone. So then I sat on hold for 42 minutes until I finally got to talk with a real person. And for some reason she was able to easily find the old S5 and switch Jan’s number over to it.
One complication was that I had to power off the S8+ before she could make the switch. But that was a problem, since after I held down the power button, I was supposed to click on the Power Off icon on the screen.
Oh, wait.
So while the nice Tech Support lady waited, I used my knife to pry off the back and then pretty much just ripped the battery out. All very difficult since the S8+ is not supposed to be opened up, and the battery is not supposed to be removeable. In fact it’s glued in place. Very strongly, in fact.
But with enough force, ANYTHING is removeable.
And a couple of minutes after that, I powered the S5 off and back on and we were in business. Jan still wants an S8+ with its larger screen, so I may try to buy a used one on eBay.
About 2pm Jan and I drove over to Spring Creek BBQ for lunch, our first visit in a good while. The place was really crowded with two large family groups, but they had already gotten their food, so it was clear sailing for us.
Jan went with her usual Baby Back Ribs with Beans and Beans,
but I decided to mix things up with their Brisket and Hot Pepper Sausage.
Like Rudy’s, Spring Creek offers their Brisket either Lean or Marbled, and with or without Bark. (Bark is the charred, crispy, crunchy outside of the brisket.) So I always get mine Marbled with Extra Bark.
Jan’s normally a big rib fan, but when I gave her a taste of my brisket, she said next time she’s getting Ribs AND Brisket.
Thought For The Day:
Duck!
Fully Stacked . . .
Today, SpaceX did the first full stack of their Starship/Falcon Heavy combination. At 390 feet it’s 27 feet taller than the fabled Saturn V, and at 17,000,000 pounds of thrust, the Starship is more than twice as powerful.
But it was only temporary, just for today, so that they could check the alignment and operation of the crane system. But they hope to do a test launch to orbit in the next few months.
Elon Musk says this combo will take us to the Moon and then Mars.
Regular readers know that Jan and I are both big Van Gogh fans, and we were really looking forward to the two immersive performances, one of which is the same one that we saw in Paris in May of 2019.
You can get some idea what these are like here.
And here.
We were supposed to see that one on Sep. 28, next month on our 54th Anniversary, but it’s now been delayed to a later, but unknown date.
And it looks like the other one, the one we were supposed to see on Nov. 21 with Brandi, Lowell, and Landon, has also been pushed back.
Both of them say it’s production difficulties, so it doesn’t look like it’s a WuFlu problem.
We were able to set outside with our coffee this morning, enjoying the cooler weather and the blooms on Jan’s hibiscus tree. And with all the buds popping out, it looks like there’s more to come.
But it looks like the rain and the heat are coming back so who knows about tomorrow.
Thought For The Day
It’s very easy to be thought wise. Just think of something stupid to say, and then don’t say it.
