Everything But The Sync

I'm having some real problems with my iPhone at the moment. And apparently, according to the internet buzz anyway, I'm not alone, not by a long chalk. The phone itself work perfectly, as do all the apps in it - except for the iPod one, which freezes up for no apparent reason if I try to play any playlists - at all, even smart ones created on the fly. I can shuffle through my entire collection OK (which has lead to some forgotten gems getting a hearing again for the first time in ages, so not all bad then)

Now, usually when something like this happens I'd just connect the phone up to my Apple Mac and restore the software, and all will be well. However, iTunes and the iPhone are simply not talking to each other at the moment - like a couple of teenagers having a lover's tiff, all I get is the spinning beachball of death for several minutes and then a failed sync.

Like anyone who lives on the internet, my first inclination was to google to see if anyone else had this problem, and I found out quite a lot of people were going through it too - it appears to be related to a recent software upgrade for the phone. There are workarounds available, I tried one and it didn't seem to have any effect, but I found another which is a bit more complicated (deauthorizing my computer, syncing up, reauthorizing my computer, etc. etc.) so I'll try that one later while I wait for the groceries I ordered to arrive. It's frustrating - especially as I've recently bought some new tracks and apps, and I subscribe to some pretty cool podcasts, and I won't be able to take any of those with me until this problems is fixed - but I'll try and get it sorted.

Incidentally, amongst said groceries will be a bottle of vodka and some Skittles, which I'm going to attempt to turn into Skittles flavoured vodka when I've got a free moment (and can get some glass bottles etc together) Having read an article on the subject, I think it would be something nice to try.

The sharp eyed may have noticed my profile picture has changed slightly - in fact all my avatars on various social network sites have been changed to this particular pic. Most of them carried a snapshot of me from 1994, when I had much longer hair - and a lot has changed in the intervening decade and a half, hasn't it? This is a bid to try and be a little less hard on myself - I still am not convinced I look particularly attractive, but I've been told this is a good photo and so I'm going to just run with it. And yes, the hair is still this red - it was a permanent job, so it'll be with me a while. I may go for purple next - y'all have been warned...

By the way, this isn't my usual musical choice, and it's got nothing to do with this entry - but there's a reason I picked this track which I'm not going into...and I'll leave it at that! :)

BILLY JOEL - AN INNOCENT MAN
(from the album "An Innocent Man", 1983)