Email I received today...

Email I received today...  From Apple:

Dear iMac owner,

Apple has determined that certain 3TB hard drives used in 27-inch iMac systems may fail. These systems were sold between December 2012 and September 2013.

Our records show that you have an iMac with an affected 3TB hard drive. Apple will replace your hard drive with a new one, free of charge.
 
Please visit the iMac (27-inch) 3TB Hard Drive Replacement Program page to learn more about the replacement process.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

iMac serial number: (redacted)

Sincerely,

Apple Inc.

This is not a response to any complaint we raised.  It is a program just announced by Apple.  According to some news sources, Apple noticed the trend in their service data, and took action unilaterally.

I located an authorized service location 10 miles from our home.  I called them, and they knew all about the program.  They said to just bring the computer in, and they would do the replacement.  No charge.  No hassle.  Twenty four hour turnaround.

I cannot recall the maker of any other computer, peripheral, or component that I've ever owned proactively reaching out to me to offer mitigation for a service trend showing a problem.

My service experience to date with Apple computers (8 years now) is quite limited, simply because very little has ever gone wrong.  I've had two problems that I resolved in just minutes with searches of Apple's knowledge base, one hardware problem (a keyboard with a drink spilled on it) that they fixed under warranty in an Apple store, and now this.  Every time, the problem is solved, quickly, and at no cost to me.  By contrast, I used Dell computers for quite a few years.  Initially their service was quite good, but it deteriorated over the years to the point where I would rather buy a new computer than call their service number.

I'm no Apple fan-boy, but I will happily pay a premium for excellent hardware and software backed by excellent service!

A morning in Paradise...

A morning in Paradise...  The dogs and I got out on our walk well before sunrise this morning.  We walked by a sprinkler on a recently mowed alfalfa field shooting water in front of the red sunrise.  It was cool and pleasant at that hour; as I write this (at 8:30 am) it's already in the high 80s and headed for 98° this afternoon.  The dogs flushed a weasel along the road, which as you might imagine got all three of them very excited – especially when the curious weasel came toward them.  It got to within three feet or so before it decided that fleeing was a better option :)

After sunrise, I went out and gathered up Tim D.'s hand line.  I had some help – as I was carrying the first pipe, two of another neighbor's kids (Nick and Abby S.) came out to help.  We made short work of it!  Then I moved the sprinklers in my yard, and got a picture at left of a flower (unknown to me) in our back yard...

What happens when...

What happens when ... a 7 year old kid is playing in a park, within sight of her mom?  Why, you call the cops, take the kid to the police station, and charge the mom with child endangerment, of course!

I have several reactions...

• My parents were serial child endangerers.  Under these rules, they probably would have been executed.
• This happened Westbrook, Maine (on the outskirts of Portland).  What the hell happened to Maine since the '50s and '60s, when I visited so many times?  
• If the same rules were applied here in Northern Utah, every parent I know would be charged with child endangerment – free range kids are the rule here.

I wonder what country will take over the U.S.'s position as the leader of the free world? At the rate we're going, we're likely to be conquered by Mexico...

White-faced ibis update...

White-faced ibis update...  Yesterday afternoon I got a close, front-lit view of the birds that I had previously speculated were white-faced ibis.  With yesterday's better view, I'm going to call that confirmed: they were white-faced ibis.  The one I saw looked very much like the one at right (not my photo)...

“Not payable.”

“Not payable.”  So says the governor of Puerto Rico, about the island's $72B in debt.  The threat of a default looms.  The governor is actively looking for creditors to accede to restructuring, including deferrals and write-downs.  He's also looking for a (U.S.) taxpayer-funded bailout, which isn't likely.

Puerto Rico – as many have predicted it would – has run out of other people's money.  The socialists have ruined another economy.  There are quite a few parallels to the current Greek crisis, but this one is much closer to home.  Though many Americans don't know it, Puerto Rico is actually part of the United States.  It's a Commonwealth, not a state, though there is rising support in Puerto Rico to become a state.

It will be interesting, and instructive, to see what the Obama administration's reaction to this is...