Listen: there's a hell of a good universe next door, let's go

  Today was my second trip to the University of Minnesota campus in a week; today I went to the big medical center where the audiology clinic is and had a bunch of testing done to see if my hearing is still what it should be after the new processors. My last scheduled appointment was for early 2020, and never occurred because of Covid lockdown.  I just never got around to scheduling another appointment, because everything seemed to be working. Then I submitted my request for an upgrade, and the insurance people insisted that I see my audiologist, and when I was in to see her about the upgrade she suggested that about a month after I received and started using my new processors I should go in for a round of testing. So I did, and it was fine - the results were comparable to late 2019, and as noted in the title up above, the audiologist said I really should come in at least every other year. So I will.  And maybe in two years some of the road construction will be finished. ...

  Here I am again - seems like this is my CI summer.  Today I drove into Minneapolis again - I got an email from K at the university, where they're doing studies to learn more about how cochlear implant recipients hear and understand with their devices.  Basically, it's the interface between the implant and the, er, wetware inside the head. Although it was a bit last-minute, I thought, well, why not?  I'm retired and don't have a schedule to speak of.  The only accommodation needed was for us to do our Costco run to St. Cloud yesterday so I could go to the U today.  And the only real drawback was that summertime in Minnesota is when they do highway construction.  Lots and lots of highway construction.  In the area around Shevlin Hall (where the hearing labs are) there are two roads closed for construction, overburdening University Ave, Washington Ave, and Oak St., which are all main arteries on campus.  So I tried to avoid it by going around....

  So as noted, I received new processors a couple of weeks ago.  I've been slowly learning what all they can do (other than sound better) and today I decided to test out the connectivity features. The processors themselves have Bluetooth, so depending on the device I can pair directly and have the sound delivered wirelessly.  I know that Bluetooth isn't new technology, but it's new in my processors, and it's exceedingly cool. First I paired them to my phone.  I have Audible on my phone - I'm not wild about listening to books rather than reading them, but I did it as part of my rehab when I was first implanted, and I kept the app (though I don't subscribe - Audible does too much without telling me, which I don't care for).  But I opened up one of the books that I already had and listened for a bit, and it's incredibly clear and easy to hear!  Maybe I'll consider audiobooks on planes?  Possible.  Though books are portable too. Then I tried to pair t...