Posts

Posted on

An Hour and a Half at Apple Genius Bar

It started with a text at 6:21 am on Saturday morning.

Please fix, possibly today. (Referring to an iPhone 11 Pro with broken screen.)

iPhone 11 Pro with broken screen.

First I thought I should rent Apple Self Service Repair kit (https://selfservicerepair.com/), but t needed to be done today. So I made an appointment with Apple Genius Bar.

Even though it was a Saturday, my schedule was not surprisingly full. I was working on one MacBook Pro failing to start. At the same time, I was trying to figure out why Microsoft Outlook on a particular Windows PC kept crashing.

A few emails and texts came in for appointments. I also was tasked to pick up a birthday present at a particular retailer. It was indeed a busy Saturday.

I went in to the Apple Store 5 minutes before my appointment, and promptly seated at the Genius Bar. Finding out that the AppleCare+ had already expired, I knew it was going to be an expensive repair; $279 Out if Warranty repair vs $29 with AppleCare+.

iPhone 11 out of warranty Screen Replacement costs
iPhone 12 Pro Max screen replacement cost with AppleCare+

Knowing this I made a call to get confirmation for the pricing so I can proceed with the repair; it was approved.

iPhone 11 Pro with broken screen during diagnostic.

One hour later I went back to the Apple Store to pick up the the iPhone 11 Pro, with new screen. I paid $279 + Sales Tax and went on to my next destination.

Posted on

Waiting for Iron Maiden’s New Album: “Senjutsu”

Iron Maiden’s seventeenth studio album, “Senjutsu” (Japanese: 戦術) is scheduled for release worldwide on September3, 2021. Two songs off the album, “The Writing on the Wall” and “Stratego”, were released as singles ahead of the a release date.

As fan of Iron Maiden, I couldn’t wait to hear the album. Luckily, thanks to something called “digital music”, I would be able to listen to them on the eve of the release date. I had also preordered the physical album which is scheduled for delivery a bit later than September 3.

Posted on

Anthrax 40th Anniversary Livestream and then some.

Anthrax 40th Anniversary Livestream is about to start.

Audio mix of the livestream sounds good.

Setlist:

  1. Time (Intro)
  2. Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t
  3. Madhouse
  4. Caught in a Mosh
  5. Metal Thrashing Mad
  6. Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover)
  7. I Am the Law
  8. Keep It in The Family
  9. Lone Justice
  10. The Devil You Know
  11. Be All, End All
  12. Now It’s Dark
  13. Antisocial (Trust cover)
  14. Hymn 1 / In the End
  15. Medusa
  16. Evil Twin
  17. Indian
  18. A Skeleton in The Closet
  19. Aftershock
  20. Blood Eagle Wings
  21. Bring the Noise (Public Enemy cover, featuring Chuck D)
  22. A.I.R.
  23. Among the Living

Other songs performed and recorded, but was cut from the stream:

  • Breathing Lightning
  • Protest and Survive (Discharge cover)
  • Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)

Not a single song from John Bush era.

A random photo from my collection, It’s Binturong!

Posted on

July 3, 2021: The day before the Fourth

One day before the so called “let’s set off tons of firework day” in the United States, which is also known as one of the worst days for house pets. I could hear fireworks throughout the day. It started peaking around 21:00 hour, or 09:00 PM for most, as a local firework show started. One of the pets at home started panicking. One way he was coping with the absolute torture to the ears, is to rip apart one of the throw pillows from the couch. Tomorrow night is going to get worse.

Speaking of fireworks, some of you might have heard about the “controlled-explosion” of illegal fireworks seized by Los Angeles Police Department; that went out of control.

Anyway, I finally got to break the seal off Japan exclusive of Helloween self-titled CD.

Helloween Japan Exclusive CD with “We Are Real” track

It contains total of 14 songs on 2 CDs, with “We Are Real” as Japan exclusive track. Each Packaging comes with one out of seven randomly selected sticker featuring illustration of Helloween mark VII band member. This pack contains illustration of Andi Deris, on of three current vocalists, of Helloween.

The Fourth of July is coming up, and I have to find ways to calm all the pets in the house.

Posted on

July 2, 2021: Piano for Sale

Second day of July 2021 and I’m helping an acquaintance selling a piano. It is not going to be easy because a piano like that sells about $12,000 and who’s buying?

Another thing I’ve been working on is updating a website for a friend. Unfortunately there were some issues with the hosting server that wouldn’t publish the changes. This is going to take longer that I expected.

On music, my friend had secured a few tickets to see Bad Religion and Alkaline Trio this fall. General Admission tickets were about $45 each plus a few hundred dollars in “convenience fee”. Now it has gone up to $85 each, labeled as “Verified Resale Ticket”. I hate the whole ticket reselling scheme.

I also received a CD in the mail.

In case you can’t read the band logo, it is “CADAVER”

I haven’t listen to it yet. CADAVER – “Edder & Bile” was released in November 2020.

Proudly powered by WordPress