kyle’s blog

Day 3 of my iPod free life. The morning was ok. I went out for a run but didn’t miss the iPod because I don’t use one on my runs usually. That way I can notice the dog chasing me or the SUV coming around the corner before it gets too close and/or hits me. After lunch at Mac’s Speed Shop it was off to South Park mall for some quick shopping.

South Park, besides being your typical monument to consumerism and excess, is also the home of one of the three Apple Stores in North Carolina. I swung by of course, because if I’m in a modern shopping mall, I might as well embrace the consumer ethos. I also have a bad case of gadget lust for the iPhone so I figured I might as well see how super cool it really was in person. The Apple store itself was smaller than I figured it would be. Even in limited space, Apple still managed to have a better retail experience than other tech-ish companies, if not a better retail experience than the majority of retailers. Tables were arranged near the entrance with plenty of gadgets for consumers to tinker with. iPhones were emphasized of course, but also on display were the other products Apple sells. Not that anyone noticed. The hordes preferred playing with the iPhone. I was of course one with the horde upon walking into the store.

The iPhone in person is extremely sweet and very tempting. The virtual keyboard was surprisingly good and the screen was amazingly bright and clear. It plays video in widescreen, has good battery life, and somehow manages to cram all the magic into a small shiny package that just screams “buy me”. Stupid awesome magical gadgets tempting my wallet. My only gripe was the lack of IM on the phone. If the iPhone had IM built in, then I would have surrendered my credit card. Even with the limitations of AT&T’s EDGE network, and the quirks/bugs the iPhone is known to have already, a variation of iChat would seal the deal for me. Fortunately, Apple and AT&T haven’t figured this out yet and through this oversight I managed to escape the store iPod/iPhone free. I swung by the iPod “classic” table on the way, but my gadget lust was definitely focused on the iPhone.

The rest of the day progressed pretty normally. I managed to stay busy figuring out my plans for the next few weeks before classes start again. No major iPod withdrawal symptoms…..yet.

They really do need to add IM.

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After what turned into nearly 7 hours of driving due to some heavy rain, I’m not missing the iPod THAT much yet. My car’s cd changer helped maintain my sanity. Sadly, the cd changer is pretty attached to the dash of my car and it doesn’t seem like it’d run for very long outside of my car. Also, I imagine TSA would freak if they saw a box with buttons and wires hanging free anyway. So the cd changer won’t help me in the airport/airplane, but it got me through today at least.

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My iPod (4th generation so no color screen) just died. Instead of playing music, it sits there and gives me a sad iPod face. iTunes has “restored” it 3 times now and it hasn’t done squat. I’ve tried all of the ideas Apple’s support page had and nothing has changed. So its gone for good. But what now?

I could just go and buy another iPod and be done with it. But I’m not sure if I want to, after reading the next generation iPods are coming in August. I’d hate to buy one and realize a newer and better one literally came out less than a month later.

I could buy a nano or a shuffle for the gym. I could see the cable getting annoying while lifting. Also, I like to run on roads and places with dogs running around. If I can’t hear them coming, that’s a bad thing. And if I turn it down so that I can hear things, well, then what was the point? Did I just want a hint of music? The only good thing about the nano is the Nike+iPod setup, which is pretty cool. The main issue is the nano, even the 8 gig, isn’t enough for the amount of music I like to have with me on demand.

There’s of course the nuclear option: go without an iPod until the next generation comes out, then see if I still even want one. That puts off spending money (plus since my loan check hasn’t come yet and tuition is expensive) and might let me see what the next iPod might have in it. At the same time, I risk not having any music over the course of the next few weeks. That ordinarily would be ok if I were near my stereo and iTunes, but I’ll be traveling the majority of the next few weeks. That means mindless hours in the car and at the airport. Not exactly entertaining times. In addition, since middle school I’ve always had a portable music device of some sort with me, be it a Walkman, Discman, MD player, or now the iPod. The music free world scares me.

So my options: 1) buy the iPod now and deal with buyer’s remorse, 2) spend money on an iPod for use while working out even though I don’t think I really want one, or 3) fight the compulsion and see how torturous life really is without portable music. After some thought and questioning of how much of a masochistic tendency I really have, I chose option 3.

Now its off to live this so called iPod free life. Here’s the kicker: I have to drive for 5-6 hours today. I hate driving. It was more tolerable with the iPod. I could get any music I wanted at any moment. Now I’ll have to use the CD changer. I wonder what CDs are even in there…..

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Watch Mark Malkoff do the impossible/insane, visit all 171 Starbucks stores in Manhattan in just one day.

He even ends up paying $80 for a piece of pound cake. That’s dedication to your art.

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Stephen Dunne, a graduate of the recently accredited Liberty University Law School, took the Massachusetts Bar exam in November 2006. One of the questions involved a married couple. Since this is Massachusetts the bar examiners fancied it up and made it a homosexual couple.

Stephen thought answering the question would be tantamount to “affirmatively accepting, supporting and promoting homosexual marriage & homosexual parenting.” Since this bothered him so, Stephen skipped the question. He of course knew what the answer was, its just that he was blinded by the potential implications involved with answering the question.

May 2007 rolls around and Stephen fails the bar exam with a score of 268.866. You need 270 to pass. If you look at the question that offended Stephen Dunne you’ll see its something of a longish question. I would think someone could score the 1.134 needed to squeeze by, if they had bothered to try.

Stephen retook the bar and all was well right? Nope, this is America, where you have the right to sue anyone for anything. Stephen Dunne is now suing the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and four justices for “purposely advancing Secular Humanism’s homosexual agenda.”

Dumbass. You don’t sue the people who decide if you get into the state bar. Ignoring that, given his complaint and demands for $9.75 million from the state, he should be laughed right out of court.

The sad thing is Stephen is a cheapskate. He won’t even help other lawyers with his lawsuit. There won’t be much work for opposing counsel, if any. Stephen is representing himself in this one, so there’s no work for a lawyer even to file the complaint. Therefore no one bills hours. I’m assuming Stephen is just a cheapskate, because I’m also assuming he is representing himself because of financial issues, not because no one in their right mind would take his case.

No. Never.

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Its $43.95 for the coolest tape dispenser ever made. That’s steep, but wow, it makes me almost WANT a tape dispenser.

I know, I’m a sad person.

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You’d think a maker of athletic shoes would want people to work out harder and push themselves. You know, like Nike’s classic “Just Do It” ad campaign.

Not Reebok. They’re ok with you taking it slow. These two pictures speak volumes.

From The Consumerist.

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