Fond of rumpots, crackpots, and how are you, Mr. Wilson?

Here's a list of sensory experiences you don't want to encounter upon hitting the "ON" button on your flat-screen television:

* a bug zapper-like buzzing noise
* a small diode of some sort flickering like a basement light bulb in a bad horror flick, visible through the top cooling vent
* the unmistakable smell of barbecued electronics.

So yeah, the TV's hosed. (A list of sensory experiences you don't want to encounter when you're broke: "Honey, the TV's hosed.") A call to Sceptre tech support, once it had been ascertained that we're not under warranty, resulted in a sympathetic sucks-to-be-you and a suggestion to take it to a repair shop. Fun. We've got workarounds for a lot of the TV's intended uses, but it's pretty clear that this development ruins a sizable number of short-term plans. Dammit, I might have to, like, read something. Between this, my computer imploding, and the Internet on my backup Mac suspiciously refusing to load this morning, I'm seriously starting to feel my digital-age white male middle-class privilege chafing at me ("Analog entertainment? What am I, a Mennonite?")

I am writing this post on an iPhone. And the iPhone is mine, and ohh, it is so very shiny and it has that new sexy technology smell and dear gods it took an act of supreme will not to lick the thing fresh out of the box because it is my shiny, shiny new iPhone, so step the back up, Peaches. Ahem. I named it El-ahrairah, but I'm thinking Rabscuttle might be more apropos.

It comes especially handy on a day like today, when I'd otherwise be forced to spend my time counting neurons as they atrophy one by one. I'm nearing the end of my temp gig, which means today is a short work day to begin with, and even so there's zilch to do. A few more days next week and I'll be plunged again into days spent sleeping, hangining in places with the word "Square" in them, and worrying about incipient poverty. Luckily I have a few acquired skills that may stretch this job a day or two, but that's neither here nor there. I like getting a paycheck; I just don't like getting it here.

But! iPhone! Accepting app suggestions! Preferably free ones