A few random observations, the primary benefits of which are to give me an excuse not to start working on our tax return:
- A talking head on The Today Show just referred to the gluten-free nutrition movement as being “glamatized.” Forgive my potential misspelling, but I claim immunity as that’s not, you know, a real word. See also: glamorized
- We have most of our monthly bills set up on auto-pay and the biggest challenge is just remembering to record the deductions in our checkbook. I’m happy that all of our primary service providers offer this service, but some haven’t fully grasped the concept of user-friendliness. Not surprisingly, one of them is our cable provider, whom I won’t name but it starts with “Sudden” and ends with “link.” The problem is that Suddenlink’s email notifying us of the availability of our bill contains only a link to our online account, and no details regarding due date or amount. It’s highly annoying, having to log into their poorly designed website just to find out what they’re charging us this month. I can think of no logical reason for excluding invoice amount from their email notification. See also: get a clue
- According to this Sports Illustrated article, racer Danica Patrick is getting sick and tired of people associating her with the term “sexy.” Now, for the record, I don’t find Ms. Patrick to be all that, but if she wants others to stop viewing her as a sex object, perhaps she should stop taking money from corporate panderers like GoDaddy.com to exude exactly that persona. See also: hypocrisy.
- Sony is apologizing for what it implies was an unauthorized price increase on Whitney Houston’s music purchased from Apple’s iTunes Store. You know, I got no problem with them doing this – the price hike, not the apology. Galleries do it all the time following the death of a famous artist; in fact, it’s expected, especially by private collectors who already own the artwork and see superimposed dollar signs when they look at it. And it’s not like Houston’s music is the equivalent of transplantable kidneys for sick puppies. See also: capitalism.
- Speaking of music, as I write this I’m listening to my new iPod nano via Bluetooth wireless headphones. “But, Eric,” you query, incredulously, “how is that possible, as the nano doesn’t have Bluetooth capability? Is this another of your bloggerly exaggerations?” I understand your skepticism, but for once, I’m not lying. I’m using Kokkia’s i10s (wow – they really invested big time in their creative naming process) Bluetooth iPod transmitter in conjunction with a set of Motorola wireless headphones.
The installation wasn’t without its quirks. First, the iPod displayed a message, “unsupported device.” But shortly thereafter, the music began. The only problem is that what was coming over the headphones wasn’t what was playing on the iPod. (The ‘pod was playing a Beatles tune, while the ‘phones were picking up a song by Eleven Hundred Springs.) I finally tracked the source of the music to my iPad that was in another room; the headphones had paired up with it instead of the iPod. Once I shut off the iPad’s Bluetooth, the i10s suddenly paired with the headphones and things work as advertised. Very cool. See also: Geek lust
I think everyone in Midland posted a photo of the sunset on February 9th, but I just now got around to downloading the pictures from the camera I keep in the truck for just such serendipitous scenes. Anyway, here’s my contribution to the global gallery. See also: God does good work
What’s the Bluetooth headset you use with your new Nano setup?
I sorta considered doing the same thing with my Sony DR-BT21G behind-the-neck headphones that I use with my iPhone. These came with a transmitter than worked great on my old Mini and 2nd Gen Nano. I worried about it being too chunky at about 25mm square and 6mm thick. I was also worried that using the Nano as a watch would seem freakishly large, but it doesn’t seem so in your photo above.
Rob, it’s a set of Motorola S305 behind-the-head earphones. They’re several years old, but still work great. I can’t keep buds in my ears, especially when I’m doing something active.
The nano-as-watch is geekishly stylish. It’s no larger than a Rolex (which I don’t have, btw) and thinner to boot. I’ve got a Belkin silicon band that is quite comfortable and low profile, so after a couple of minutes, I forget I’m even wearing it.
Now, having said that, I likely won’t be taking it everywhere I go. I generally prefer to hear what’s going on around me when I’m away from the house.