iWin
Somewhat ironically, this archaic little gadget (iPod Shuffle) just helped me step up my game! I can already feel the difference in my demeanour. In the last few years up ’til now, I’ve been using my iPhone for pretty much everything: phone, text, camera, videocamera, video games, email, fractal generator, recording studio, painting easel, list-maker, budget calculator, alarm clock, pizza timer… music player.
This is where I started to notice a real problem. The music player in iOS is a piece of crap. In the latest iOS, it headphone command response is unreliable, and sometimes it does this weird thing where a chunk of audio goes missing a few seconds before the end of the song (some sort of buffer problem, I imagine). It seems like every new updated version of the IOS has just as many “un-provements” as improvements.
More importantly, I get sick of touching that stupid little screen all the time. And, MOST importantly, I started to worry about depending on that radioactive little fucker just to have tunes in my earbuds. Wi-Fi, cell data… carrying the phone in the back pocket all the time is bound to be causing some sort of ball cancer, hip deterioration or colon tumour.
Fuck that shit, I say! So I got this iPod Shuffle today. Now I can TURN OFF MY PHONE as much as I want, while still enjoying all my favourite tunes. Alas, this iota of increased independence already feels glorious and it’s only been an hour or so.
Another advantage, because I got the “Shuffle” edition, is that I no longer have the option of browsing through songs in search of that “ultimate song for this particular moment.” This is a good thing. Have you seen that TED Talks video where the dude explains how too many choices make us humans into an unhappy lot? Watch it by clicking here. Do yourself a favour, like I have, and become less scatterbrained. Somehow.
Once upon a time, many years ago and before my acquisition of this Holy Grail known as “smartphone,” I had several devices on the go at the library one day, and my friend and fellow guitar player Darren Wren told me, “Sean, you have too many gadgets in your life.” I agreed. Eventually along came the smartphone into my life and with it, simplification. Of a sort. Everything in one gadget, instead of too many to carry. Now I seem to be going in the opposite direction again? There seems to be a fine line of contradiction here.
Advantage number 748: I can now delete all the music off the phone, which means more room for photos and whatnot. Advantage number 839: my music listening will not be interrupted by notification noises. Booyah!
Craig’s Drum Video
Once upon a time, like 1994 to be exact, and approximately during the unwinding of Sadistic Humor (that old Kamloops thrash metal band that I still brag about to this day), Craig McKay (our drummer) made this kickass epic 20-minute drum solo video that he composed & performed. This was in the days of VHS (pre-YouTube). I digitized & uploaded it a few days ago and you can watch it here.
End of report.
SL
Wandering Prolific 