random catching up

[sarea]

The iPod arrived. It has menu buttons, and the scroll wheel thingy, which I like and is cool. However, I can't hear anything out of the left earphone, and I'm not sure whether it's because of the earphones or because of the unit -- and I can't test it, because the plug for the earphones is not the standard size that every other earphones use. So I've got an assistance ticket open. Thing is, even when it's fixed, I'm not sure I'm going to keep it. I was wavering about this ever since realizing that there are other options out there, because I have so many files already on my computer that are .wma. I don't like being limited to Apple's proprietary file formats. And now w/ the 'special' earphones, meaning if they ever break or I want to replace them, I have to buy them specially. Again, proprietary stuff turns me off. I'm 70% positive that when the unit is fully functioning, I'll sell it on eBay and use the money to buy a non-iPod MP3 player, that may not have the cool scroll wheel, but will let me play .wma files, is less expensive in general, will let me use any headphones I already own, and from what I've seen/read, has better sound quality. But first I have to resolve the issue w/ the left earphone.

So, I saw Kingdom of Heaven. I really enjoyed it. It was very much like Black Hawk Down in the way the story was told ... there wasn't so much a beginning, middle, and end, and the plot, such as it was, was second to the details, the history being told. All the performances were great. And can I just say that I much prefer David Thewlis in his KoH role than as Remus Lupin? By FAR.

Also, I finished Ender's Game. I loved it -- but not as much as I did when I was first reading it. I'm not sure where it started to wane, but at some point, it was no longer the story that I thought it was going to be. Only, I'm not even sure I can articulate what that is -- but I know it didn't happen. <g> Regardless, it was a fabulous book, and I'm not surprised that so many of you love it so well.

I have to say, I suspected fairly early on that Ender was not, in fact, playing games, but was instead actually fighting the real battles, but I was never absolutely certain until it was confirmed. The reason is because ... the time when I suspected it the most was when Petra had her moment of breaking down (since we'd been shown earlier that they kept the Stilson boy and Bonzo's deaths secret), and I thought -- uh oh, she's going to mysteriously disappear because she actually died. See, I had this view that while Ender could command his forces remotely, his sub-lieutenants could not; they'd have to be out there doing it. So when Petra was fine, I thought I was wrong.

The ending was okay. I'm generally not a big fan of giant leaps in time, particularly when they happen over the course of one chapter, and the final chapter, at that (it's one of the few issues I have with The Poisonwood Bible), but it didn't bother me too badly. I guess I was just wigged out at the idea of all Ender had accomplished by the time he was nine years old, and then for 15 years (or whatever) to pass, where he generally did nothing was, well, odd and a bit anticlimactic. He's so going to be on VH1's "Where Are They Now?"

I couldn't ship Ender with anyone, though initially it was Valentine. Mostly because they were very successful at isolating him, and I didn't see him form any particular attachment to any one person. The closest I can come is Alai. But even then ... I enjoy their friendship too much to insert romantic angst into it. Ender's just a loner.

But Peter ... Peter and Valentine ... I thought that dynamic was very interesting indeed. Peter reminds me of Draco; maybe that's why he fascinates me instead of fully repelling me as he should.

I've started Speaker for the Dead, but I'm not sure that I'll be speeding through that one the way I did with EG. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get into it at all, actually, with the way it begins. Like with so many sci-fi novels, I'm always like, "Huh? What? Who?" and it loses my interest pretty quickly. EG was not like that ... and now a few pages into SftD, I think I've grounded myself so I can actually go on.

I love the MTV Movie Awards. It's the fakest awards ever, but also the best. I mean, check out those nominations. It's so bad, it's good. Rachel McAdams for best actress! John Cho and Kal Penn for best musical performance!

Do you have a Jersey Mike's Sub place near you, but have never tried it? I love their roast beef. It's really yummy, you should try it.

I've been hankering recently for angsty-D/G-that-turns-out-well-at-the-end lately. If I ever feel like writing again, I may go for something like that. Or maybe I'll write yet another humor fic that's been on my mind awhile. It's hard to say.

That is, if I ever do anything but play WoW, again. Speaking of ... I am one bar away from lvl 56, which I think Essia has already reached. I can't believe how close we all are to 60. It seems like just yesterday we were encountering murlocs for the first time. *sniff* Now will come the massive money making for armor sets and epic mounts. I get exhausted just thinking about it. (Question: Only lvl 60s get epics, but what the hell do you need with an epic once you're that lvl? You're all in a hurry to ... go where, exactly? Not like you have quests to do.) Also, I have discovered that my true class is the mage. It took me forever to get around to trying, but I think I enjoy playing it the most, and it just feels right. I wish I'd known this when we began ... I wonder what it might have been like. I've played all but the rogue and druid now (though most not to very high levels), and from what I've experienced, this is the order I'd place them in, from most fun to least fun to play (excluding rogue and druid):

- Mage
- Hunter (except in PvP; then I'd put at bottom of list)
- Paladin
- Shaman
- Priest
- Warlock
- Warrior

Comments

[corianderstem.livejournal.com]

Weird about the headphones - I was able to buy a pair of Sony headphones that worked just fine. Do you have a Mini iPod?

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

No, it's a 20GB one.

My coworkers' minis all have regular earphone plugs, but what're you gonna do? Mine doesn't, and there's nothing I can do about it. Alas.

[corianderstem.livejournal.com]

I think you got a bum pod or something. I have a 20 GB, and I can fit any headphones in it that would normally fit into any Walkman or Discman.

[seldon.livejournal.com]

I got a iPod, too, and I've seen more than my share, and I don't remember them ever having a propietary headphone connection... Weird :s My pod uses a common headphone input. I use the same set of Sony wrap-around headphones with my iPod and my computer... :s

Anyway, I'm happy with my iPod. It plays MP3s just fine, which is the format in which I have most of my music. The only songs you'll ever need in Apple's propietary format are those you download from the iTunes store, and you can turn them into MP3 with two clicks and a CDBurner. I avoid .wma like the plague - Microsoft's proprietary formats always make me shiver- and AAC (MP4, which the iPod also supports) gives .wma a run for its money, and it is an open format.

(but yeah, I rip to MP3 - I have the hard drive space, so no need for the extra compression of AAC)

(oh, and I <3 the scroll wheel. Best interface ever. But then again, that has always been Apple's strong point).

Re: Ender's Game - what I liked about the novel was that it proved than an "idea" story - that is, a story that revolves around a single idea or "big reveal" - doesn't have to be trite and plotless. Glad you liked it! Anyway I enjoyed Speaker for the Dead, but I think you'd like Xenocide more, because the "B Story" packs quite an emotional punch.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

I know, I must have gotten one of the ones that has that weird headphone jack, which is why I got a good deal on it. But regardless of whether or not most iPods do or don't have them, the fact remains that I do, and so I don't really want to deal with it. <g>

The other reason is that the other MP3 players are much less costly -- you can get a 30GB retail Creative for $229, while the 20GB iPod is $299 retail. And from all the reviews I've seen, they're all comparable, except that the Creative also has better sound quality (but even if that's not true, I'd be getting more space for less money). The problem is not actually the files I'd rip in the future (MP3 or otherwise) -- it's the fact that I already have a *ton* of .wma files (it's totally true that that's a proprietary format, too, but it's already too late, I have too many of them ... and at least they're better sound quality/smaller files) that I wouldn't have to re-convert.

The only thing the iPod has that's better is the scroll wheel, which, believe me, matters more than it should. <g> It is *so* neato, I don't want to give up using it.

[rainpuddle13.livejournal.com]

Apple is evil. Enough said. *pats*

[selinakyle47.livejournal.com]

I also haven't had problems with the headphone port on my iPod. I use a casette tape adaptor (for the car) and never had a problem plugging it in. Interesting problem...

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Yep. Like I said, my coworkers' iPods have the regular jack also. Everyone's like, "But mine's not like that." And I'm like, "But mine is." <g> So it doesn't really matter if it's like, one of the few dozen ones that Apple made with a weird jack (I don't even know if that's true, just making it up for an example) -- I have it and have to deal with it. Which I don't particularly want to do.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Hmm, actually, I lie. Apparently I didn't say that about my coworkers. I meant to. I so meant to, that I thought I actually did. Weird. Anyway, so yes -- I have already heard lots of testimony that my weird headjack is, well, weird. Is it maybe because it has a remote control thingy, that you can clip to your clothes? But I thought/assumed most iPods have that. Does yours?

[selinakyle47.livejournal.com]

I got one of those, but my iPod was packaged with some extra accessories that the "standard" iPod didn't come with (like a remote and case).

You might want to check out this discussion. Sounds similar to the problem you're having.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link! But now I'm even more O.o -- apparently, I can either re-solder it (yes, let me just use my trusty blowtorch or whatever it is people use to solder things that I keep around the house), or pay someone $119 to fix it. Yikes! That's more than half what I paid for it. Still waiting to hear back from the people I got it from. Hopefully they'll fix it, and then once I have a fully functioning unit the true decision making will take place.

[selinakyle47.livejournal.com]

You mean you don't have a soldering iron lying around like me?

Good luck on getting it fixed. :(

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was something I said in reply to corianderstem. Whew. I thought I was going crazy.

[heinous_bitca.livejournal.com]

If you don't like Apple's proprietary format, don't use it. Use .mp3, iTunes can do .mp3 and .m4a and .mp4 and .wav and .aiff. I can't use .wmas, since I'm on a Mac, and I find .wma to be proprietary.

It's all in what you get used to, I guess. *shrugs*

PLAY A DRUID, THEY ROCK.

Did you see, Ruana got her mount? *glee*

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Woohoo, mount!! Congrats!!!

I don't know why I don't have an interest in playing druid; I think maybe I associate it too much with Jade, and I'm like, no, that's Jade's class. Hee.

As for the file types -- you're totally right, .wma is also proprietary. But it's better sound quality than MP3s and smaller files, which is great when you have a limited amount of space. And more importantly, I already have a ton of them (like 25 CDs worth) on my computer, which means it'd be eons faster to transfer them than to have to re-rip all of those files. So if I'm going to use a proprietary format, I'd rather use the one that I already have. Really, I should just use MP3s from now on, which I might -- except it doesn't solve the problem of those legacy files. So, for me, the option of getting a Creative (or something) is v. attractive -- along with the file stuff, it's also cheaper with more space. But as I told seldon, the click wheel is so, so cool ... and v. hard to give up. If I stick w/ the iPod, it'll be solely because of that. <g>

[gianfared.livejournal.com]

You may want to try Radio Shack. I don't know how helpful they can be with the headphone thingy, but I was able to go in and get a new car adapter for my portable DVD player and they have all sorts of different plugs that fit into the adapter. They even put it together for me so I didn't mess it up. :D It was maybe $15 all told. Bring your headphones in with you and see if they can help, or just call. *is hopeful*

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

If I hadn't purchased it, like, last week, I would definitely go to another source to see about fixing it. However, I kind of feel like it's close enough to the purchase date that it's their responsibility, not mine. <g> And it turns out that they're just going to refund me my money, which is good ... but now I have to decide what I want to get, which is ... well, another story. :D

[significantowl.livejournal.com]

I have a Creative Zen Touch 40 gb, and I love it madly. I've never used the scroll wheel, though, so I can't say how the touch pad really compares.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Oooh, nice to hear of someone who has experience w/ the Creative! I'd love to hear your take on it -- what has been the pos/negs? Where did you buy it?

What I should do is go to Circuit City and see what they have to offer, and see if there's really that much difference in the UI. I've only ever seen/used the iPod (though I've read lots of reviews), and generally people seem to really love that wheel (I know I did). But it might not be worth the expense/space limitation. Oh, and the whole replacement battery thing -- that is not cool. Plus I've heard that Creatives have better sound quality. I only did a little research, though -- I know there are many different models that Creative has, and I don't really know the difference between any of them.

[significantowl.livejournal.com]

I got it from Amazon, at around $315. The only con for me was the headphones - they really suck. (I bought a pair of Sonys for around $35). Oh, and I've not figured out how to make playlists on the fly, although apparently it's possible.

Positives - battery life. That was the real deciding factor for me when buying, and I've not been disappointed. I charge it about once a week, and I use it a lot. Hard to say number of hours, but, every night while I'm cooking/cleaning kitchen (plugged up to speakers - the sound quality really is quite good), five days a week while walking/jogging.

Oh, and I've heard that the Creative is heavier, but having only used it I can't really say.

hope this helps!

[mima-soo.livejournal.com]

on ender's game, the next three are really... interesting. if you do decide to stick with them (i read them over about 2.5 years) i think that you'll like them.

i like the idea of the val/peter shipping but i think that her disgust with him would over power everything else. any way i always saw my val and hermione(hp) as being very similar. i don't know i can't ship hr/dr so i won't do peter/val. c'est la vie