Nah. Not Feelin It.

It's after lunch, I have taken my walk around the block, had my afternoon advil and caffeine. I do not, however, feel like working on my short story. No I do not. And if I aint in the mood, I know better than to force it - the words will just suck my will to live.

So I got the laptop yesterday, or 'notebook' as the kids call them these days. It's glorious and I have no use for it. I need some accessories for it, of course... It has wireless internet built in, I just need a Router to broadcast my existing DSL. That'll run like $100. I'll need AntiVirus software, that'll be at least $50, I'll need a case to carry it around in, on and on. It's going to be a money sink.

I spent last night getting all the needed windows updates for the notebook, which took a few hours over the 56K modem since I don't have the wireless router yet. The notebook is heavy! It's like 8lbs. That's like having a child. Now Cindy is afraid we will be robbed. I admit that I am, too. Just because we have one more gadget in the house does not mean we're gonna get robbed. We have 3 tvs, 2 vcrs, 3 dvd players, a PS2, a GameCube, 3 computers. 2 iPods (Shuffles). We don't have any gold or jewels, all our equity is tied up in consumer electronics.

Speaking of the Shuffles, they rock! They are super tiny, ultra light, (about the size and weight of a small pack of gum) and you can pack them with at least 120 songs. Speaking as one of the people who lugged around a brick-sized, brick-heavy Walkman with batteries, tapes, case, and headphones in the 80's, (Yes I am Old) the Shuffle is a mirace of modern invention. They're only $100! And you don't need to spend money on iTunes buying songs - you can use all the CDs in your collection, and just drag and drop songs from them onto the Shuffle.

The Shuffles are great, I have nothing negative to say about them. I'm pretty critical of products, there's always something I think should have been done differently on a product. But no! Shuffles rock.

Ok, ok you twisted my arm. There is one suggestion I would make to the Shuffle designers. On the back, the 'on / play in order / play random control' is a little flat slidy switch. The slidy switch is smooth, untextured white plastic, like the rest of the Shuffle. There's no friction between your finger and the switch, and if you are a bit sweaty (which I am, since I wear it at the gym while I work out) you cannot manipulate the switch. A few little raised bumpies for friction-texture would have been nice right there. But I understand that the rest of the item is smooth and seamless, and so too should be the switch. Hmn.