Avram's journal

I have a iPhone 14 that's about 2 1/2 years old now, maybe a little less, and it's still under AppleCare, so when I got a battery warning, which of course happened when I was traveling, I got it to the Apple Store ASAP, which happened to be on the way home from DFW on Monday. Usually we go to the NorthPark or Knox/Henderson stores but this time the best appointment was available at the Galleria.

I made sure everything was backed up and did all the pre-diagnostics in the car. Then we went to the store and showed them the phone and sure enough, they needed to replace the battery for free. They said they could get it done by the time the stores closed at 8pm so we went off to have dinner in the food court.

We came back at 7:30 and it wasn't ready. We were told to ask again at 8.

When we asked at 8 we were told it had been put in as overnight. The manager was super apologetic and had us stay for an extra 30 minutes so they could put in a new battery on the spot. It was pretty clear one of the two "geniuses" involved in the transaction had made a mistake, which was OK, and we were understanding. I had been traveling for 12 hours so as long as I got my phone back I was set to be "whatever, dude" as long as I had my phone for jury duty in the morning.

The phone is now working though I clearly need to figure out what's eating so much power because it's not lasting as long as I'd like. I have a mag-safe battery and an external that plugs into it, so as long as I'm not away from power for days on end, I should be OK. I'm glad I don't have to replace the phone just yet because that's not in my budget.

Kai. It's an indigenous-centered tasting menu restaurant at a big Sheraton resort. The service was excellent, almost too much so, and the food was delightful. You get five courses with an amuse-bouche to start and truffles afterwards. They had no trouble accommodating my friend's gluten-free needs. The presentation was as good as the food.

For the two main courses I had bison and venison and both were top-notch.

Definitely want to take Spouse here.

Books
Threads of Empire: A History of the World in Twelve Carpets, by Dorothy Armstrong. Popular history of the numbered object type centering on the central, southern, and western parts of Asia and their carpetmaking traditions. I expected all the colonialism around Britain and the US, but was surprised by some of the other stories.
A Peculiar Combination and The Key to Deceit, by Ashley Weaver. First two in a WWII mystery series featuring a young female safecracker gone straight and the officer and gentleman who put her on that path as they deal with Nazi spies and the Battle of Britain. Engaging so far, with two interesting mysteries, and the romantic triangle the author is setting up is sufficiently subtle that it's not ruining the rest of the story.
A Case of Mice and Murder, by Sally Smith. First in a mystery series set in the Inner Temple of London at the turn of the last century featuring a clearly autistic-coded attorney. This one involves the dual mystery of the murder of the Lord Chief Justice and a case centering on who wrote a popular children's book. I'm in for the next one.
Breakout Year, by KD Casey. Queer baseball romance featuring fake dating and two Jewish characters with a complicated history. Light and fluffy when it's not dealing with heavy issues.
Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City, by Bench Ansfield. Now I know why the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. Centering on the historic burning of the Bronx in the 1970s and extending out from there, this is economic history about the insurance industry and the financialization of, well, everything. Definitely worth your time if current events and economic history are your thing.

Movies & TV
The Hobby: Tales from the Tabletop. Watched this short documentary about boardgames on a plane flight. It's all about the subculture around them, which I'm personally not involved in but a lot of my friends are, so I was prepared to like the character types involved. I'm not sure how it would hold up in terms of background material if you didn't already know a little bit about board games.