Legend says that (when visiting Rome) if you toss a coin over your shoulder into Trevi Fountain, you will one day return to the eternal city.
To this end Cynthia has packed a 2 pence coin left over from our trip to the UK.
We have not even been there yet and we are already planning our return.
Counting the days…
The important thing is this…
In the Jay Lee vs. The iPod conflict, I emerged victorious.
That is why I do what I do.
All the bugs seem to be worked out.
The iPod now successfully interfaces with my laptop and with my camera.
Yesterday I took my Sony DSC f828 camera and shot 228 5 megapixel images on my 512 MB memory stick.
When I arrived home I dined on delicious home made sloppy joes that Cynthia had made for dinner.
I was upbeat and optimistic and ready to take on the iPod for the final round.
My first order of business was to connect the iPod to the laptop and download the 300+ songs Cynthia had ripped (so far) from our CD collection.
*side note; The iTunes software is pretty damn amazing. Cynthia is not all that technically savvy and does not warm up to new software applications very readily. That being said, she has pretty much mastered the ripping process and has even begun to create some nice custom play. This is a HUGE bonus as it has sped up the process of digitizing the music collection.
I connected the iPod and, as it should, the iTunes software fired up. iTunes allowed me to name my iPod and initialized it correctly for Windows use. All 300+ songs were uploaded to the iPod in less than 10 minutes.
The next step was to connect my camera to the iPod and pull off the 228 images. All went as planned and the iPod brought up the proper menus and allowed me to offload the entire memory stick. It took approximately 30 minutes to transfer the whole load and used about 1/3 of the battery charge to do so. I deleted the memory stick using the iPod and disconnected.
Now for the real test. Could I recover the images from the iPod?
I connected to the laptop and looked under the “My Computer” icon. The iPod showed up as an external drive and I was able to browse the contents. There were my images in a folder. I copied the folder to my laptop in under 5 minutes. I then deleted the files from the iPod which took another few minutes.
All in all, a huge success and a much less painful day than the one before.
At this point I feel confident that I made the right choice. I have a solution for handling my pictures while traveling overseas.
And the bonus (as previously mentioned) is that I have an iPod.
I’m sitting at my desk listening to Cat Stevens as I type this.
On top of that Cynthia can use it and she is even excited about it. The idea of having access to some of her favorite music on the flight or when riding on the train has great appeal to her.
So, in the end, I not only have a practical solution for a problem that was presented in the planning for our trip, but I also have a gadget that will enhance the travelling part of the vacation for Cynthia.
First off, to all you Mac users, just save it. I don’t want to hear:
“It wouldn’t be a problem if you owned an Apple computer.”
All that means is that for the cost of the $600 I have invested in the iPod plus accessories I could have had a more hassle free deployment if I had gone ahead and purchased a Mac. And what that means for me is that my new iPod would have cost me over $2000 plus the cost of time and effort transferring my environment from Windows to Mac. Not really a solution, so STFU.
What brings this on, you ask? I’ll tell you.
In researching my options for media storage (I needed a way to offload my digital images while in Europe) I came to the conclusion that I would purchase a Photo iPod.
There are many options available for the price range of $200 - $600. These options include dedicated card readers capable of storing 20-40 gig of data or some type of portable media center device like an IRiver PMC-120 or the Creative Labs Zen.
Drawbacks…
DEDICATED DEVICE
It would be used on the trip and that would be that. I would have the investment in an item I probably would not use again until I went on vacation. And at the rate I take vacations that would be maybe two years from now. Plus the cost goes up for the rechargeable ones versus the ones you plug in.
PORTABLE MEDIA CENTER
These devices usually have a very poor form factor. Usually unwieldy and awkward and again, not much use for it once I am done.
As I am researching my options and time is growing shorter I have a bit of a revelation.
A host of heavenly nerd angels sang unto me! Apple Photo iPod!
Available in 40 gig and 60 gig versions. Compact, lightweight and proven technology. With the optional USB camera connector option it is a simple matter to connect your camera to the iPod and pull off your images for storage. It will hold thousands of pictures!
And the best part? At the end of it all I have an iPod! I can store my CD collection on one device that travels easily! Woo-Hoo!
And so you might well think, what’s the gripe? A solution was found that suits my needs and all is right with the world. Well, you might think that…but you would be wrong.
Step one. Go to Apple store and buy 60 gig Photo iPod along with additional camera connector accessory. Total cost right at $520.00. Suckin it up. Gonna solve my problems. It’s worth it. B-R-E-A-T-H-E.
Step two. Take it home and get it going.
Step three. Connect camera and pull off images to test the functionality. Instructions overly simplistic. Not getting response from the device that the camera is connected. Look at Apple site and see camera is NOT listed in support devices. Sinking feeling.
Step four. Bring full ability of my own nerdliness to bear on the problem. Come to the conclusion that camera must work and it is a defective adapter.
Step five. Go back to Apple store and explain problem. Apple rep suggests updating the iPod software. This fixes the problem and my hopes again soar.
Step six. Go home and connect iPod to laptop. Reading instructions it clearly states USB 2.0 is REQUIRED. All of my PC’s are USB 1.1
Step 7. Go to CompUSA to purchase USB 2.0 PCMCIA card for $39. Go ahead and grab a carrying case for the iPod for another $39.
Step 8. Install PCMCIA card in laptop. Install seems to go ok. Begin install of iPod and system crashes. iPod freezes up and I cannot even soft reset it.
Step 9. Call Apple Support. Get Sanjeet in India who verifies that I do have Service Pack 4 on my Windows 2000 and performs other useless checks on my system that have nothing to do with breathing life back into my one day old DEAD iPod. Sanjeet informs me that I will need to take it back to the Apple store for service.
Step 10. Drive to Apple store. On the way down the Westpark Toll Road I decide to try again to soft reset the iPod. This time it works. I make a u-turn after only passing two toll plazas and wasting a bit of my Easy Tag slush fund.
Step 11. Decide to use another laptop and install the USB 2.0 card on it. Perhaps since it is newer and running XP I will have better luck. Install of card goes well. Install of iPod causes exact same blue screen. Again, using my powers of dorkdom I conclude I have either got a defective iPod or a defective USB 2.0 card. Since CompUSA is closer than the Apple store I decide that the card must be defective and not the iPod.
Step 12. Fish the receipt, bag and packaging from the trash and go to CompUSA to exchange item for a Firewire card and a firwire cable for the iPod. I decided that I would avoid the USB 2.0 in favor of Firewire in hopes that it would work more smoothly.
As I am conducting the exchange/upgrade (this new solution is $100) I discover that somehow or another I have brought with me a CompUSA receipt dated March 23rd 2002 for a Canon ink-jet cartridge. As it turns out Cynthia was cleaning out her office and had just thrown some stuff away. What are the odds?
Step 13. Install Firewire card. Install goes well. Begin iPod install and it works! Huzzah! Start copying music. That works, too! Yippee! Decide to check the stats on the iPod. Total disk space 60 gig. 290 songs on device 15 gig available. WTF?!? 290 songs x 3mb each = lest than one gig. I figure something in one of the failed installs caused the drive not format properly or something. I do a total system reset and regain all my drive space.
Tune in tomorrow night when I attempt to load my songs back on and see what happens. I think I am past the worst of it but it remains to be seen.
We’re through the looking glass here, people.
I have just purchased a 60 gig Photo Ipod.
Cynthia is ripping our CD collection to MP3’s as we speak.
We have entered the 20th century.
Such an inside joke.
The Wee Irish Laddies (myself, Jim Henkel and Greg Henkel) were the official first act of The Gong Show at the Continental Club. (Officially the first gonged as well.)
The house band was Pete Gray, David Beebe, Alan Hill and Jim Henkel playing under the name “The J.P. Morgans.”
Hopefully this event will continue and grow on Wednesday nights.
John Lomax explains why we were gonged…
“There’s no pot of gold at the end of that rainbow”
So, my friend Bill Shirley has announced his “plan” to go to Belgium, Holland and France in June.
I have not even left for my trip (which includes those very same destinations) and I am envious!
Good lord, what is wrong with me?
To say I am amped up about my own trip would be an understatement.
I fear now I may be jinxing myself just talking about it. These next few weeks are going to be tense with stress.
I am knocking on wood and request Dekan and Andrea please do the same (on my behalf).
Distraction is the name of the game. The last two Saturdays have included a trip to The Flying Saucer to be introduced to Belgian and Belgian style beers. Kind of a warm up, if you will. The staff there are quite knowledgeable and during the day very patient while educating the beer simpletons about the various brews.
Cynthia has become a fan of lambic style beers. I have discovered Fin Du Monde.
Our excursions have really only served to heighten our sense of anticipation. Still, it’s been fun. And I have a new appreciation of beer that will, with any luck at all, serve me well in Belgium. I suppose this is why I am envious of Bill’s trip. I am certain once I go I will develop a taste for well made beer and want to return to the land of beer often.
One of the common threads of our trip to the UK two years ago was the sheep. Cynthia thought they were sooooooooooooo cute and commented (with a smile) each time she saw them. When we were crossing the field to go to Hadrian’s Wall we had to walk through a field of sheep to get there. We got more pictures of the sheep than we did of the wall. There is even a tuft of wool in our photo album from the trip.
Being the considerate mate that I am, I made it my mission to find the definitive sheep souvenir to give to Cynthia so she would have it as a keepsake of our time there.
Cynthia hates tchotchkes so a plastic sheep figurine would not do it.
She is not a big fan of the t-shirt so that was out.
My best bet would be a stuffed animal or plushy.
Of course it couldn’t be just any stuffed sheep.
It would have to have “cute-appeal.”
Over the years I have proven myself capable of picking out a good stuffed animal.
It was at the very top of The Royal Mile right as you start the downhill trek from Edinburgh Castle that I hit pay-dirt. We had just browsed around The Edinburgh Woolen Mill and we coming out on the street to go to the next shop when I spotted a wicker basket containing some very cute (and very small) stuffed sheep.
One was quickly purchased and presented to Cynthia and she treasures it to this day.
I was tasked with naming it. We were in Scotland and before I could catch myself I blurted out William Woolace…an unfortunate pun. It stuck.
William will be joining us on our trip to Europe.
He will have his own Journal and I offered to capture him in still life at various locations as we travel.
Something like this:
Yes, I am a sentimental and sappy dorkus malorkus.
It was an awesome day today. The weather is really fantastic. Temps are in the 70’s with lot’s of sunshine and low, low humidity. Cynthia and I decided to go downtown and shoot some pics. She is testing some different film in her camera and we wanted to see how it would do before we leave for Europe.
We headed to The Flying Saucer for some beers and then headed off down Main Street.
Tested the tripod and the timer. Worked well.
Mostly she was just burning film and I was just snapping this and that. Still ended up with a nice one of Cynthia at the corner of Main and Texas.
I was rummaging through some stuff and found my grandfather’s photo albums.
My grandfather, J. Lee Sr., (aka “Jack”) was a Lt. (JG) on board the USS Fanning (DD-37) during the World War I.
Based at Queenstown, Ireland, Fanning and her sister destroyers patrolled the eastern Atlantic, escorting convoys and rescuing survivors of sunken merchantmen.
In the afternoon of 17 November 1917 an alert lookout on board Fanning sighted the periscope of U-58, and the destroyer quickly moved in on the attack. Fanning’s first depth charge pattern scored and as Nicholson (DD-52) joined the action, the submarine broke the surface, her crew pouring out on deck, hands raised in surrender.
Fanning maneuvered to pick up the prisoners as the damaged submarine plunged to the bottom, the first of two U-boats to fall victim to United States Navy destroyers in World War I.
I am rather proud of my grandfather. I never really knew him. He died when I was 6 years old. Needless to say, the military history is precious to me. It is a way of knowing him even though I did not have the chance to do so real life.
There are other tales of “Jack” and I hope to document them later. Interestingly enough, in the photo album were some pictures of my grandfather in Europe. Most interesting to me was this one of him in Venice taken in December of 1919.
My intention is to take a copy of this picture with me when we go to Europe next month.
I want to find that spot and have my own picture taken right there where he is standing (maybe even with a pidgeon on my hand like he has).
I am sure one of the locals will know what and where it is.
It’s my own quest of sorts.
I guess I am bridging the span of time to reach back to the grandfather I never knew.
