i L i n d . n e t

The trip to the Apple Store for help in figuring out why Meda’s iPhone wasn’t recognized by her computer turned out as they often do. We were there in lots of time for our appointment at the Genius Bar, as Apple calls it. I described the problem–plug the iPhone in and first there was a low power warning, followed by continual resetting of the connection that prevented the sync from taking place.

So there in the store I pulled out Meda’s Powerbook. The Mac “genius” plugged in the iPhone. And everything worked perfectly, unlike when we did it at home. The only difference–at home, the computer was plugged in. There in the store it was running on battery power. So something with the power supply adapter, or somewhere in that power system, wasn’t up to the new standards required by the iPhone.

I never would have thought of being plugged in as a problem, or unplugging the computer as a solution to a “low power” message. So tuck that away in the unexpected info file.

I was very sorry to see PBS Hawaii kill Howard Dicus’ business program on Friday nights. Although they say he’ll appear in a new segment of Island Insights, his own program was usually better planned and more substantive than the often rambling and unfocused discussions on Island Insights. I would rather have expanded Howard’s slot and put Island Insights on the shelf for a while. Too bad.

The Washington Post added a Punahou profile yesterday, “With Obama’s Rise, Hawaii School Adds to Its Distinctions“.

USA Today ran an AP story on the drop in private jet traffic to Hawaii as a result of the recession.

Meda contacted a colleague on the mainland about a possible joint op-ed on youth crime issues. His response is quite a comment on the state of newspapers. He responded:

…such op-eds are getting virtually impossible to get published. My contacts at the LA Times and NY Times have been laid off in major cutbacks, and both the major and alternative media have become very resistant to publishing positive views of youth in any form.

Editors now demand that we demonstrate that we have a financial interest–that is, we’re pushing a program pitching for more funding, either to grab credit for a crime decline or propose a solution to rising crime, whether or not any of it is factual–before they’ll consider an op-ed on youth. Independent analyses are getting less and less space.

Yesterday’s regular Friday Felines were displaced by photos of our New Year’s feast, so they’re making their weekly appearance on a delayed basis. Mr. Romeo was much in evidence this week, so he’s getting the featured spot. Just click on the photo for more.