Done yesterday (20101029 Fr)

[mdlbear]

1029 Fr
  * up 6:45; drugs, teeth; laundry, 
  * bring Plink, songbook, CDs in to work.  Tech writer: John Cantu
  * call Apple re: PeekabooTranny     Public relations: (408) 974-2042 
    Apple Store (Small Business) (800) 854-3680 - musician, s/w developer
    got a call center, apparently for sales _to_ SBs
    (the last time I sold an album through them was August 2009)
    * hung up on me before providing # to call
    * second time:  sent me to 408-996-1010 (corporate).  No, they can't
      transfer me.
    * third call:  got a human rather quickly.  Non-trivial.
      15 minutes, much of it on hold but got a helpful-sounding young woman
      who told me I wasn't the first to complain.  No surprise there.
      Couldn't find the web feedback form, but I knew where it was.
    * half an hour total; felt like more.
  & no walk. talking to Apple. :( 
  @ Curious Blend -- Curiously Refreshing. (vp of engineering) Mike Pogue
  * Put in another feedback message:
      I recently called to complain about the highly offensive "PeekabooTranny"
    iPhone application which Apple has apparently approved for distribution.
    This would not be a problem, except that Apple exercises editorial control
    over the iTunes store, and claims to reject offensive material, rather
    than doing what most other software and music retailers do and putting it
    into an "adult" category.  This results in "PeekabooTranny" showing up in
    searches with games for children, for example. 
      I have consulted with the lesbian couple who make up the other 2/3 of my
    current band, Tempered Glass.  We have decided that, as long as Apple's
    idea of editorial control means rejecting dictionaries that include "bad
    words" but accepting applications that hold groups to which many of our
    friends belong up to ridicule, we will not be selling our future
    recordings through iTunes.
      (By the way, your form does not include a selection for Linux, which is
    the OS I'm currently running.  And of course it doesn't run iTunes.)
    % adrenalin rush?  Can't tell if it's anger or fear, but probably the
      former.  Then again, it might just be the onset of a blood-sugar crash.
  * 2 verses of QV for Callie via voice mail
    Eyes Like the Morning and The River for Naomi on speakerphone
    % The idea that people find my songs good counseling is delightful but
      mind-boggling. 
  * PAY BILLS!!  Transfer $2500 to svgs.
  % Peppers and lime pickle don't seem to work. Benedryl, phenelephrine,
    horseradish,...  scorned woman hurts my tongue, but not much effect.
  * bath ~midnight; bed ~1am; snuggle

A pretty good day, I think. At work, I finally got the last few bugs out of my code, though it needs some more testing before I'll call it done. I spent my lunchtime on the phone with Apple, registering my complaint about "PeekabooTranny". I went in through their "small business" number, on the grounds that I'm a musician who sells through the iTunes store. The inability of their speech-recognition system to get usable keywords from what I was telling it and the bafflement of their call center people (possibly in India, from the sound of it) when I finally got through to them made for a rather frustrating experience, but the second try got me the corporate number, 408-996-1010, where the word "complaint" got me through almost immediately to a helpful woman who took my comments and also referred me to the website. She had some trouble looking up the url, but I already knew it. Which says something, I guess. Not sure what.

You'll find the text of my second comment, written after I realized that I might have more leverage as a musician than as a random non-customer, up there under the cut.

A little singing, but I stopped after two songs because congestion was making it difficult. Nasal semivowels, in particular, rapidly ran up against the lack of a functional nose. I spent the rest of the evening eating chili peppers and horseradish in hopes that they would loosen things up enough not to need another dose of topical decongestant. They didn't help all that much, but between that, diphenhydramine, phenelephrine, fluticasone proprionate, and a hot bath, I managed. Grr.

Hmm. The only link I see up there is to our new VP of Engineering's a cappella group, Curious Blend.

Comments

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Apparently there were so many complaints that Apple has removed the offending app.

[mdlbear]

Yay! (Though I'd rather have seen them keep the app and open up the store.)

[ravan.livejournal.com]

phenelephrine

You misspelled "placebo"... :D </sarcasm>

Seriously, the stuff does nothing for me, it's like popping sugar pills, without the sugar rush.

[mdlbear]

Heh. Yeah; went out to Walgreen's a little after noon and got myself some of the real stuff (pseudoephedrine, of course). And a pox on the meth-heads for making me have to sign for the damned stuff every time I have to buy a couple of week's worth. Grr.