Phones

 As you may recall, I have a tendency to be somewhat "grumbly" about electronic gizmos. While I can admit there are SOME benefits of various electronic gizmos.... I very OFTEN feel they are unneeded, unwanted, warden-like "task-masters" and control too much of modern life.  

Well, not because I wanted to..... I now have a new phone.  I am getting used to the contraption today.  It is a current iPhone (16 Pro).  It is replacing the iPhone 10 I had previously.  The impetus for the change was because my wife (who is MUCH MORE gizmo friendly than me) broke her iPhone 10.  And, she NEEDED a new phone.  Cost-wise there was no difference between replacing her phone and replacing both our phones.... so as to keep us within the same technology realm, I ended up getting a new gizmo too.  Somehow, ALSO as part of the deal, we EACH now ADDITIONALLY have received an iPad.... and our phone bill is ~$30 lower a month to boot.  Even though I suspect there is some inevitable "swindly" aspect to these upgrades.... I have purposefully worked with my mind to "let it go" and just accept this is what we have adopted/adapted to now.  Yesterday, when we acquired all these new beasts, I begged my wife to please allow us a few day reprieve before we have to unbox and figure out how to set up and deal with the iPads.  My mind was already over-saturated with gizmo overload.  I am hoping to postpone the "unboxing" of those new iPad gizmos until hopefully Saturday, at least... so I can recover from the current headaches first.  Neither of us have ever had an iPad. 

Today, I am scrambling around to various U locations to have folks help me get my damnable "authentication" paradigm up to snuff on the new gizmo phone.  Perhaps about 5-6 years ago now, our U adopted a mandatory multi-point authentication system for accessing any aspect of a U electronic gizmo or even accessing the U Internet portal by ANY gizmo.  SUPPOSEDLY this is done to "assure" our electronic safety, but I tend towards thinking that is pure balderdash and it is for some sort of U legalese designed to absolve them of anything for anything as per usual.  

So, I am getting the new phone gizmo setup.  Last night, my focus was on making sure I could pair my new gizmo phone with my "ancient" (in the eyes of my son who donated it to me many long, long years ago as it was too "clunky" for his "needs) gizmo watch so I could have it record mileage and heartrate on my run this morning.  I also had to pair my gizmo phone to my gizmo headphones since iPhone still refuses to bring back a nice, normal headphone jack to their phone gizmos.  

I ran a pleasant 8.3 (~13.3 km) miles this morning. 

I am hoping to get a haircut and beard and mustache trim early this afternoon.  I am looking rather wooly-booly at the moment.... as is our dog.... and I took her into her groomer this morning on my way to the U so she too can get trimmed (and bathed.... fortunately, the haircut place does not bathe me).  We will both look trimmed up and tidy.... though I did remind and request from the groomer that (as usual) she will please keep our dog's beard and mustache still big and fluffy (they cut her fur down one time... so her snout made her look like a mouse, so I remind/mention the request every time since that incident 7-8 years ago).  With my beard and mustache gently smoothed out just a bit, but keeping it big as well, we will continue to be a matching set. :)

During my run this morning, my mind was not well focused.  I kept alternating between four things..... a) I worked hard to focus on praying the roasary, which I was fortunate to complete a full five decades by the time my run was finished, b) thoughts about this Wednesday's foray to the Cigar Shoppe, and my looking forward to it, c) thoughts about a favorite Peterson pipe I stumbled across on Saturday in my desk drawer at home and how it enticed me, and d) about one of my kids who is starting a new graduate program and her search for an apartment in that city.

PipeTobacco