iThings?!?
Do I need one? No. Not right now. But I know I’ll need one at some point, once my current one’s battery bites it due to too many walks in freezing cold weather. I was worried that Apple would discontinue their iPods due to the fact that their phones do everything that the iPods do and more. But as this article points out, iPods are good for the demographic that can’t afford the phones and/or don’t want to deal with smart phones but still want a music player that can connect to wifi.
So yay! I’m glad there’s at least one more iteration.
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW (sorta)
Hello there.
So it’s the start of a new month today! That means trading out a few of the old things that I’ve been using for a while and starting with some new.
1. New backpack.
This actually isn’t something I’m just starting to use today, but that’s only because the old one was literally unable to be used in its final state and I needed some sort of backpack before today. But it’s new enough, so I’m counting it.
2. New shoes.
Look at these gorgeous Kinvaras! They’re so bright and festive and soon-to-be-demolished-by-my-walking.
3. New iPod!
The iPod I’ve had since February 2012 is finally to the point where it won’t hold a charge long enough to last one of my walks. It’s also to the point where its storage is completely full of music. So I got a new one with double the storage and a new healthy battery. I was also able to find an owl case for it, so that’s really good.
WOO!
iPod Appreciation Day
Well hi there.
It’s my birthday, blah, blah, blah.
(It’s also Mayor Nenshi’s birthday, though, which is much cooler!)
But EVEN COOLER is the fact that I’ve owned my little iPod Touch now for a total of 5 years. That’s a long time for me to have an electronic, and a long time, in my opinion, for an iPod of mine to last, considering how many walks I’ve taken it on and just how much it gets used.
It gets used a lot. In hot weather, in Tucson’s version of hot weather (100 or so), in cold weather, in Calgary’s version of cold weather (-15 or so), in rain, in Vancouver’s version of rain (never-ending torrential downpour), in snow, on the bus, in the gym…and currently, it’s running with its screen on for anywhere between three and four hours per day (for the iTreadmill app to be tracking).
I don’t know the exact mileage because the universe ate my 2012 walking data, but just a rough guesstimate based on 2013-2016 puts my total mileage on this iPod well over 6,000. That’s pretty impressive for a little device like that.
So yeah. I just wanted to acknowledge the awesomeness of my iPod.
And to remind myself that while we tend to overlook it just because it’s a pretty constant and common thing in our lives, technology like this is really pretty damn amazing.
Reparations
My awesome owl iPod case has been with me since February 2012, when I bought this iPod down in Tucson. It’s done surprisingly well, considering I’ve walked about 4,000 miles with it. However, this afternoon I noticed that there was a huge tear in the silicone which would render the case useless if it tore all the way through.
So tonight Nate and I went to a Micheals to get something to repair it. After about an hour, we realized that the best course of action was to just get some duct tape and use that.
So I did.
Now he’s got a badass belt.
[insert nonsensical keyboard mash here]
It’s time for the not-quite-semi-yearly “Claudia feels materialistic” blog post!
(Note: I don’t actually need any of this, I just like to look at pretty things.)
Ready? GO!
iPhone 5s. I’m on the fence about getting a smart phone (not any time soon; when I can afford it, that is). I want one because they’re cool and useful, but I don’t want one because Claudia + constant access to the internet = disaster AND because I would probably damage it somehow within a month or so of getting it. Even so, I’m keeping my eye on the iPhone 5s as an option. I want the iPhone 4 because I love the shape, but no one sells them anymore and the software probably doesn’t even update anymore, either (that’s happening with my 2012 iPod, at least). So if I DO get a smart phone, the iPhone 5s is where it’s at.
The new iPod Touch. I don’t need one (and hopefully won’t for a long while), but I’ve had my current iPod since February 2012. Probabilistically, with all the walking I do (I use it as a pedometer and keep it in my back pocket), it’s going to get broken one of these days. Which would be sad. But if/when that happens, I’d like to get one of the new models. Probably in silver (since I’d just be covering it in a case, anyway). Of course, if I get an iPhone before that, I’d probably just use that as my pedometer, though I’d be really paranoid about breaking it.
I guess the one thing on this list I kind of need is a new desktop computer. Mine died like a month ago—which is okay, considering it survived like 7 moves around the continent and is old enough to still have Vista on it—but I need a new one. Preferably one that can run Fallout 4 once it comes out.
Rainbow socks! My old ones got holey a long time ago and I need replacements.
These two books on the history of statistics.
The end!
iBlog
Woohoo, I finally have money! That means only one thing: new iPod!
My new sleek white iPod Touch is 32 GB in size, which means it’ll probably last me about two more years until it’s completely full, haha. Hopefully it’ll last longer than that; my “download a new song a day” thing is bringing in about 2.3 GB of music a year. Add random videos and such that I dig up and add to my iTunes library and hopefully we’ll still be okay for a bit.
OH, and check out this badass case:
How freaking cute is that? I love it.
Rome was actually built in a day and a half.
When I’m not carrying anything and feel like I could run five miles, I get to the bus stop just as the bus is pulling in.
When I have 50 pounds combined of backpack and groceries and it’s windy and cold, I miss the bus by about 30 seconds.
SUCH IS LIFE.
Anyway.
One gripe I’ve had with my iPod Touch is the fact that, unlike the Nano, it doesn’t have a pedometer. I love Nano’s pedometer ‘cause I’m that type of obsessive person who likes to track progress and estimate changes in my daily patterns and just generally be a number watching weirdo.
But today I found probably the coolest “you’re obsessive so you’ll love this” app: iTreadmill. I will utilize this tomorrow on my walk to whatever the hell mall I decide to go to, but I calibrated it this afternoon and can already tell it’s awesome.
It tracks:
- Steps
- Steps per minute
- Time
- Average pace
- Average speed
- Calories
- Distance
It keeps track of your history and gives you graphs! You can create a playlist to listen to as you go (I just put my whole “Favorites” playlist to play), you can enter your weight to get an accurate calories estimate, and you can set step, calories, distance, or time goals and set alarms to sound for certain milestones to your goals if you like that kind of stuff (I do). It also pauses automatically after 5 seconds of inactivity so waiting at stoplights and such won’t lessen your average speed.
HOW COOL IS THAT?
Download it, dudes.
Also, they should just make this a static claim on CTV weather for Vancouver:
Earlier today when they still had Saturday’s prediction up they actually had words (“light rain,” “rain,” “more rain” (seriously), “rain and snow”), but I guess they ran out of synonyms.
SUCH IS LIFE.
Are invertebrates not allowed to drink Orange Crush?
So I impulse-bought an iPod Touch off of eBay this afternoon for no other reason than “hey look, this auction has 31 seconds left and I have money in my bank account!”
Who does that?
I now have THREE MOTHERFUCKING IPODS. I don’t even have the correct number of ears to justify that. What sane human being needs three iPods?
And I don’t even consider myself an Apple whore. I’ve never personally owned a Mac, the whole iPhone thing seems over-hyped to me, and I still don’t know what the hell the iPad actually is (aside from “a magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price”).
I’d sell Ye Olde iPod Classic, but it’s 80 gigs (SIZE OF OLD VAIO WTF) and it’s the only one compatible with my little car stereo plug-in thingy (meaning it charges as it plays). Plus it’s dented all to hell and I don’t know how I could convince a buyer that it works fine when it looks like a fat dude threw an elbow into its stainless steel.
Shiny new golden Nano is obviously staying, ‘cause I bought him less than a month ago and I adore the color. Nano also works best on the bus ‘cause he’s small and easy to deal with when I’m also carrying book/purse/umbrella/groceries.
And selling new Touch would be dumb.
Best plan of action: wait till Touch gets here, fondle the ever-living hell out of it and its Wi-Fi, then determine what Xbox games I should sell to compensate for my lack of restraint. I need to get rid of that old copy of Fallout 3, anyway.
Well, at least I don’t impulse-buy houses (that would make me my mom).
Today’s song: Mozart’s Mass in C Minor: Kyrie, performed by The Hungarian Radio Chorus
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