There's An App for That

                  Many among us document their personal histories by means of journals or diaries.  Another popular medium is photographs.  For this writer, the most telling testimony to life and times is a matter of another record:  The '78 rpm record, then the '45 record, followed by the 33 1/3.

As a kid, living in the only upstairs bedroom of our house on San Francisco's Ulloa Street, I was the beneficiary of the family's first-ever record player; a windup RCA Victrola.  Placed in the wrong hands. the tone arm on those machines would have made a formidable weapon, given the weight and the needles used.  Many was the lazy Sunday afternoon when I'd while away time, looking at the contrasting light and heavy dark grooves on the spinning '78 disc.  To the "studied eye" these revealed changes in dynamics and tempo.  "Fortissimo" came across as visually heavy.
              This writer can confess now, without remorse, that he never was really able to find a cure for this sickness I'll call, "audiophilia".  From records, it metastisized into reel-to-reel, cassette tapes, cd's, and into its present state.  That state is right outside the glittering gates of app-nirvana.  It's here that the Apple of our "I-s" is posted, his gold-plated collection plate ever reaching out.

                It was as much a matter of principle as pride that prompted me to declare six months ago that I was determined to be the last citizen of Boring to own an I-pad, an I-touch, or an I-anything.  There is an embarrassment of musical riches in our living room cabinet.  Another is sequestered on my hard drive.  After all, there does come a time and place when a good thing has almost been overdone,  doesn't there?! 

              The plea to "save me from myself" was lost on the Bride.  On Fathers' Day, bless her heart, she became co-dependent.  She gifted me with an I-touch.  Now, all manner of things I never knew I couldn't do without are available....with just a whisk of my I-ndex finger.
             Were my San Francisco Giants able to pull out another win in the bottom of the ninth?  Now to find out, it will no longer be necessary to pull out the laptop, or worse yet, channel-hop during our nightly interlude of tv-togetherness.  For a mere 99 cents, the score is right there every night;  just a vest-pocket reach away.
            A weather app was free for the download, with a couple of cities installed, presumably as defaults.  One of these is Cupertino, California.  "Why Cupertino?", someone might ask.  Well, silly someone, doesn't everybody want to know how hot it is at Apple's corporate headquarters?
             One of my other favorites is the classic movies application.  The Oregonian newspaper has been rather capricious about its TCM channel coverage, of late.  For $1.99, I will forever more have access to the weekly schedule of offerings, together with credits, backgrounds and synopsis that the hard-core, pre-1960 black and white film lovers among us truly care about.    Norma Shearer and Jennifer Jones, you will never be far away from me, ladies.

              I appreciate how Mr. Jobs allows us to pinch that penny with virtually everything he markets.  It's obvious that in this economic downturn, he cares enough not to do the expedient, profitable thing, and simply round up.  He has set the standard which almost all other businesses emulate.  Just take a look at the advertisements before placing your next garbage liner.  Can you find a single sales price that doesn't end with a nine-digit?  What a genius!
                Think of it....all those "9" applications, designed to fill sixty seconds of every disposable minute you have, I-tunes included!!  Does it get any better than that?!  If it does, please don't tell me.