Bummer. Is the door lock damaged? Are you insured for repairs?

Well that's a blessing, then. My experience with car break-ins is that the damage to the vehicle far exceeded the value of the stuff stolen.

wow, sounds like you're living in a hotbed of petty crime! ... which makes my eyes cross, considering a few blocks gets you back to the fashionable side of town. at any rate, I am glad the damage was limited to a stolen cd player and a dent. :/

I don't suppose they do iPod docks for Moby Smurfberrys? Or is that inviting yet more vandalism and theft?

Meanwhile, 1400 words or a little more last night, and more to follow today, consarn it, whether I feel like it or not.

Deja vu! *snorfle*

That should be the next spendy present, now that you've got your splendid knife.

Why, for taking six thousand songs with you in the car, of course! They are most splendid inventions, that way.

Well, you don't use music while out running, it seems, so there's one reason left alone.

And I suspect you haven't got any device to use it in the car. I don't know the Zune interface to know what to suggest for that.

But shuffle + long trips = so very happy. And if you've got someone riding shotgun, the All-Request Music Hour can be very entertaining too. Especially when there are more players.

Oh, and I need to introduce you to a hysterically funny song by the Hub City Stompers called "Skins Don't Cry." Yes, it IS what you're thinking.

They were amusing and charming enough on a small stage at Warped last year that I bought a CD. I do not regret it.

I'm like that: I have an iPod mini (still going strong after about 3 years) and design playlists for it: I have the same issues you describe with random shuffle.

I have found, though, that my preferred playlist length is somewhere around 2 hours, i.e. longer than will fit on a CD. The iPod's great for that. (I have some that are longer, too, but they're for specific things, like a particular focus.)

Dr Autopope prescribes a second-hand 4G iPod 40Gb with a new battery. You can probably pick one up for under $99, and it'll hold about 1000 CDs at MP3 quality, or about 100 at full lossless CD quality. A cheap-o cassette interface (that's what I use with my urban tank/12-y-o Volvo) or one of those FM radio sender thingies will get you hooked up for another $5-25, and it has the advantage that you just shove it in your pocket when you leave the vehicle.

No, I didn't miss it. You could use the Zune as an in-car MP3 player ... but I read what you were asking for as some kind of jukebox to store a bunch of albums that you like to play end-to-end, and as the iPod user interface makes this trivially easy, my working assumption is that the Zune doesn't do that.

Edited at 2008-06-02 12:16 am (UTC)

Ha, you sound like me explaning to people why I do not now and have never had a beeper, cell phone, or Bluetooth thingy, nor will I.

Repeatedly.

(iPods bug me somewhat because I am apparently one of those special snowflake people who can pick up on the difference between CD-quality and MP3-quality. It's the reason I don't buy a lot of stuff from iTunes. I -do- like being read to and hearing books on tape audiobooks, tho, altho I can't do anything else when I do.)

I must admit I prefer iPod to CD because I can listen to podcasts. Not everyone likes being read to, but I do and the BBC also do podcasts of some of the comedy shows, so I can catch up on the ones I've missed.

But without my iPod, I most likely wouldn't have been able to hear your most excellent Tideline. :)

Listening to short stories suits me much better than reading them because shorts need to be read in one sitting and I don't often have suitable chunks of time available, other than during my daily commute.

Oh, yes! Some of us do. :)

Perhaps it's growing up with BBC Radio 4 and the Classic Serial and Book At Bedtime, but I find I will listen perfectly happily to books I wouldn't bother to read in print.

Ah. Yes. Slight flaw in my thinking there *g*

For some reason, I had absolutely no doubt that you own one.

*wanders off, whistling nonchalantly*

Well, that's annoying. Glad they didn't do more damage getting in, anyway.

I've never had good results messing with radios in cars; I don't understand how the dashes work, so I can't get to where I can work on the radios.

When I lived at the old house, I forget whether it was 2 or 3 car CD players we lost in quick succession. We never had a break-in (contractor pilferage being another matter) but the new owners had two break-ins with concomitant loss of electronics and change jars within a month after taking possession.

So color me not very surprised, although disappointed thet you have to deal with the nuisance.

This new one isn't half bad. Not QUITE as walking distance, but Whole Foods (and thus all of Blue Back Square and the Center) are under two miles, and there's a bank even closer. And nobdy's tried for the car audio yet.

Mind you, I went for bottom-of-the-line factory-default radio-only on Gosamer, and have been relying on an iTrip for prolonged music. Nearly 30G of tunes that fit in my pocket? I like living in the future.

Sold the impossible-to-heat pink beast and am now in a cozy duplex in Elmwood. So we now share an official town even though I am further away from you by a few miles.

And I see by your posting that the farmers' market is up and running now. See you there Tuesday perhaps?

Missed it yesterday. I was working in the morning. Cupcakes for a bat mitzvah and cheesecakes for a prom. And then there was a road trip.

I'm actually thinking of going on each market day, and basing menus around the offerings, as the walk will be good for me, likewise the locavore diet, and it might keep me from blowing my budget at Whole Paycheck.

LEMON CUCUMBERS WHEE!

oooh, and my little AeroGarden is giving me dill again. Ancestrsl Hungarian Salad time again!

with a little ingenuity and a few alligator clips you can make a removable cd player. the netcurmugeon or tony lincoln could do it in a few minutes.. Or build it in, disguised as an empty frankenberries box..;-)


We are having a crime wave too.. Next door neighbor got hit for 4 grand a few days ago..

Argh. I'm very sorry to hear that. Even if the loss isn't insurmountable, the feeling of vulnerability is awful. Argh.

Weird how that works.

When we lived closer in to town, we had two cassette players (pre-CDs) ripped off out of the DH's econobox Horizon car. One was even parked under a street light. Nothing from the more expensive pickup truck, nothing from the sports car--just the econobox. You'd think they'd look for the fancier cars with the better stereo systems.

Stereo system number three in that car was a removable. Now we have face plates, and the cars that don't have face plate stereos have alarm systems.

Someone broke into my apartment the other day and stole all of the well-meaning advice I was saving for you. I felt *so* violated.

So, er, neither a borrower nor a lender be. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to make do.

*g*

I award this comment a prize.

I -would- award this comment a prize, except the person who made off with all that well-meaning advice seems to have also taken the prize, as well as the absolutely irrefutable argument that would have made Bear go out and buy an iPod fifteen minutes before she even rad it. Alas.

I guess be thankful that they didn't take your catalytic converter.

ouch. Sorry to hear that. :(

Well that sucks, I'm sorry it happened to you. I had the same thing happen to me (albeit in Florida) and they made off with the factory installed CD player. I wish them luck in trying to do anything with it.

But the worst part was that they damaged the wiring in the car trying to take it out. So my blinker, tail lights, and emergency blinkers all worked a little funny for a long time and I had to judiciously decide when and if I wanted to turn right.

I think the worst part is the lingering sense of rage that you have, because it's just frustrating to know that someone was touching your stuff because they're a lousy thief.

Weirdly enough, my car has been safer in NYC than any where else. Go figure.