Why My iPod Needs A Fix

I have a rubber protection thing for my iPod classic that I bought off ebay for $3 (including shipping). Further proof that man should be able to live off of ebay alone. It does the trick of protecting the iPod from scratches and dumb stuff while in my pockets or traveling. I get a lot of usage from my iPod while commuting in Taiwan. The catch is that the rubber extends over the click wheel. It's thinner there, but it reduces the effectiveness of the touch required to maneuver through the menus. So when I want to go quickly through the alphabet, it doesn't work. Now I could disconnect my earphones, slide the rubber off, then do it, but when I'm walking - that's a lot of work and risk. So I suffer through it. One of the "tricks" around this is to select one of the functions by pressing the wheel (this works 100% of the time with the rubber on), then backing out and trying again. Enter my problem that needs to be fixed. By pushing the "Play" button while in the main menu, it automatically starts at the first song by the alphabetically first artist. On my iPod collection, the first artist alphabetically isn't AC/DC.... not ABBA.... but A-Ha (the dash is a lower ascii number than any of the alphabettic letters.... here's an ascii table in case you don't beleive me. My nerd friends will have already known this). It's the same reason that 10.xyz comes before 7.xyz when you are putting files in order.

Anyway - so if you know anything about music, you know what song is playing on my iPod when I accidentally hit the "play" button when trying to find something good. Take On Me was cool in 1988. It was funny in the Family Guy. Hearing it at 7:15 as I walk to the bus stop is NOT funny, nor is it COOL. So I must fix this problem after having it happen maybe once every 2 weeks over the past year. Just hearing the introduction is enough to start the day out on a bad note. Literally....

American Idol - no surprises other than Jorge went home maybe a week or two early. I did think the Kanye performance kicked some major ass! That was awesome! Kelly Clarkson was cute and did a nice job, but hard to follow up after Kanye. Sarah's comment was "he needs to pull his pants up" which may be true, but that's the in thing now! New judge rule? I'm ok with it. I still think they should change the format to the "Wheeler Rule" where you vote for the person you want to go home. Makes a bigger difference in these early rounds....

One more thought - I still want to change my English name since they get more time to do that here in Taiwan. Some of the cooler names here are Piano, Eagle, Zoey (girl), Chili, Hawaii, and today I had someone apply who is named Elvis. I'm tempted to give him the job as long as he shows up with a guitar and performs all day. There's a story of a marketing guy who changed his name to Billboard. I could change my name to Godzilla since that's what I'm thought of around here.

Cyclones are done for the season.... no miracle run. Onto next season which will be our 10th "rebuilding" season in a row.