The iPod Saga

I hate figuring out new technology. Strange, isn't it? Considering I deal with ever-changing web technology for a living. But I've always been like that. As a musician, if a company I endorsed gave me a new piece of gear it would take me months to finally get around to figuring out how to work it.

About 3 years ago one of my brothers gave me his old iPod, after he got a new one. I was thrilled with the idea of having an iPod. I was now hip...I had an iPod! I was especially excited to be able to use it while dog mushing on those long runs. :-) I started importing my CDs into iTunes so I could put them on my iPod. But before I could finish importing CDs and get around to loading them on the iPod, that computer went bye-bye and so did all the importing I'd done.

After that the iPod sat on my desk, mocking me. Month after month went by. Each fall I would think, "I'm going to import my CDs and load up the iPod so I can use it this winter while mushing." But as a super-busy person I just kept procrastinating and procrastinating and never did seem to find time to do it.

Finally this summer I started reimporting my CDs. And just last week I thought, "OK, it's time to finish this - time to figure out how to work the damned thing." Runs with the dogs were getting longer, and I thought having some music while out on those 6+ hour runs this winter would be a nice thing. Plus I'd really like to take it along on the 250 race to keep myself awake.

So I downloaded the user manual from apple.com and lo and behold discovered that there really was NOTHING at ALL difficult about using the iPod! It's pretty much plug and play. Doh! I didn't even need the silly manual - I plugged it into my computer, it asked me if I wanted to reset it to factory settings, I said yes, then after that it loaded all my tunes. If it were any easier a 2 year old could figure it out.

So yesterday I hit the trail, with my iPod in pocket, all excited to finally have some tunes out there. I'd played with the iPod for a few minutes the night before so I'd know how to use it and wouldn't be fiddling around while the dogs were screaming to go. I get the dogs hooked up, I get on the ATV, and before I pull the snubline I put the ear buds in my ears (OUCH! Those things hurt!!), select the playlist I want, and hit play. Pull the snubline. We take off.

No music.

I spent the first mile alternately watching the dogs and trying desperately to figure out why my iPod wasn't working. It wasn't playing anything. It was just stuck. I couldn't change anything, page forward, backward, select anything. I couldn't even shut it off.

Well that just takes the cake, now doesn't it? It takes me 3 YEARS to finally figure this thing out and get my music on it, and it dies the first time I use it?????

In disgust, I put it away. After the run I tried warming it up in the truck, thinking it was too cold for the battery (not that it was THAT cold out), but it refused to work. All day, it stayed "frozen" on the first song of the playlist I had selected. Plugging it into the computer did nothing to reset it. Hitting every button on the iPod did nothing.

Finally this morning I woke up to discover it'd finally run out of battery power and shut itself down. I recharged it, and viola! It works again. Only time will tell if it will continue to work when I actually want to use it.

But in the meantime, just 5 minutes of playing with the iPod and I already can't understand how I ever lived without it!! Wow, all my favorite tunes are now on this one little unit!! How cool is that? And it fits perfectly in my pocket, weighing nothing, unlike those old bulky walkmans and cd players. Plus the minute I plug it into my computer it automatically loads any new tunes or playlists on there, and I can organize playlists to my heart's content on iTunes, easily, and then just upload them to the iPod (an organizational freak's dream).

I'm already sitting around thinking of all the accessories I need for my iPod... external battery pack, a dock, car adaptor, some COMFORTABLE ear buds (do they make them?). And of course since the iPod I have is probably one of the original ones (and obviously has some quirks), I'm already thinking, "Hmmm, maybe I need a newer iPod..."

I love technology!!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I'll be posting tales from the trail, ponderings, training adventures, and a general weblog of how training for our first ever 250 race is going this season. You can post comments in this blog, which is what makes blogging fun!!

So here goes with my first ever blog...

Training has been going well so far - if you discount things like pad problems, ATV malfunctions, and me rolling the ATV and injuring my back in the process! (But that's a story for the Adventures in Mushing section).

The team has well over 100 more miles on them this season than they have had at this point in any prior season and are looking pretty strong. They are more than ready for the first race of the season up in Stratford in 3 weeks (if we get snow).... they could easily handle a 30 mile race this weekend in fact! We did almost that on the ATV today. It's really the second race of the season that's the bigger concern: the eagle lake 100. That race is 1 month away, so at this point it would be nice if we got some colder weather and snow to train on...at least somewhere!!

Ah well, at least we're not dealing with icy trails or super frozen ground that could injure the dogs' feet & shoulders & pasterns, like in most Decembers.

Well I'm pretty beat after an entire day of mushing, followed by the usual array of client problems (yes, even on a saturday) to deal with. Time for some R&R!

Until next time...

-jaye