The Stuff Report

Here’s the scoop on a bunch of my material possessions. Overall, the week has been a bit mixed.

- Answering machine: Yes, it’s back! K-poo encouraged me to unpack another box and it was inside. This is the old answering machine with the analog tape that beeps after the greeting for as long as it takes to forward past all of the existing messages. On the reverse side of the tape is the message I got from a woman asking me to pay for a new dog since I’d run over her dog (and no, I didn’t hit her dog, it was running in the street in front of my house and somebody else ran it over – I merely did unsuccessful CPR on it and transported the body so she could pick it up and left her a message where she could find it). Anyhow, is it more annoying to have an answering machine with a potentially two minute long beep, or to have no way to leave messages? I’ll let you decide. It doesn’t really matter much since I tend not to listen to the messages anyhow.
- Pictures: K-poo is taking pictures so that I can improve the look of this blog. The reason she’s taking the pictures is 1) she’s the one who keeps complaining about the way it looks, 2) she owns a digital camera, and 3) my photography skills are on par with my carpentry skills. On the other hand, the pictures aren’t on the blog yet, so you know how this is going…
- iPod nano: I like the fact that it’s got 16 GB (which is 4x the size of the last one). I’m embarrassed to admit how long I thought the shuffle feature on the old iPod was broken because it always seemed to be playing the same songs when in fact it just wasn’t able to load all of my music. The color (red) is nice, and it’s also nice that my name and number are etched on the back since you can’t write on that finish with anything. Now if I get run over at night they’ll at least be able to leave a message on my cell phone about my demise, unless someone steals the ipod before I’m found. The new features… I don’t really need pictures of the album covers, and the shaking of the iPod to start the shuffle is just silly. Whatever. It’s still worth the money.
- iTunes: I had to upgrade iTunes for the new iPod, and version 8.0 just isn’t quite ready for prime time. Either the software or the store is broken, and it won’t let me download any more Battlestar Galactica episodes. If it’s not fixed soon, I’ll have to stop working out, since I’ve almost finished watching season one and I can’t work out without something to take my mind off the fact that working out sucks. This is a true crisis. Forget the whole Wall Street thing – this is important! In addition, I’ve had to restart iTunes a few times because it asks for a password and tells me that this computer isn’t licensed to play the video. Then when you enter the password, it informs you that this computer is already licensed. Then it asks for a password again. Apple’s usually better than this.
- Doorknob: K-poo successfully changed the knob on the door to her room. It’s round (instead of a lever) and has a lock. Guido has not yet figured out how to open it, but it’s early days yet…
- Bookshelves: K-poo and I assembled two five-shelf bookcases from Target last weekend. They were only $30 each and look pretty good. However, if you ever see something advertised as “needs no tools”, run away. There are about seventy little pieces of plastic holding everything together and it would have been a lot easier if they’d just used some screws. But they were still a good deal, and I need at least two more…
- My new cell phone: I don't like it. It's hard to use. It's pretty, though, and the battery lasts longer. I think I'll get a new battery for the old one and switch back. Yeah, the old one's a brick and everyone laughs when they see me raising the antenna, but I can dial the correct phone number with it.
- I just got a free box of books. The Pleasant Hill library is giving away thousands of books. Free! At some point it’s just overwhelming.

Anyhow, that’s the state of the stuff.