Cholesterol news and I need MP3 player advice!

[sarea]

First, I wanted to say that I am completely and insanely envious of gnrationfo, who is now getting phone calls from Billie Joe Armstrong. Next time, I want you to not pick up the phone and instead let your machine get it. Then you can play it for me when I'm there, and it'll be the next best thing to seeing Green Day in concert.

Second, I wanted to impart a couple of pieces of news -- one good, one ... I can't decide.

#1: I had my bloodwork done the other day (a year since the time I found out I had high bad cholesterol), and the results came back with good news! Hmm, so losing 14+ pounds really did make a difference. Guess that means I have to try to stick w/ a healthier lifestyle (though I've already deteriorated a lot from late last year).

	HDL in mg/dL (good cholesterol)	LDL in mg/dL (bad cholesterol)	Triglycerides	Total Cholesterol	Weight
Recommended Guidelines	Low: < 40 Optimal: > 60	Optimal: < 100 Near optimal: 100 to 129 Borderline high: 130 to 159 High: 160 to 189 Very high: > 190	Optimal: < 150 Borderline high: 150 to 199 High: 200 to 499 Very high: > 500	Optimal: < 200 Borderline high: 200 to 239 High: > 240	Optimal: 104-125 pounds
2004 test	46	140	116	209	139
2005 test	63	112	67	180	115
2006 test	65	122	76	201	??
2007 test	--	--	--	--	--
2008 test	46	139	96	204	132
2009 test	--	--	--	--	--
2010 test	50	--	--	213	154
2011 test	48	107	109	177	158

So I'm still not under 100 for LDL, but at least it's near optimal now, instead of borderline high. YAY that this means I won't have to go on cholesterol-lowering medication.

#2: So, re: the iPod. They don't have a replacement, which I find unsurprising, because how many 20GB iPods are you going to be able to find at that price? So they're going to fully refund my money, and provide a UPS label for me to ship it back, etc. Which is cool -- they have been really great to deal with so far. But, of course, now I'm torn about what my next steps are. Do I invest in another iPod, because those who have them really love them, or do I invest in a different MP3 player, for the reasons I've gone over before (lower price, more space, etc.)? I would really, REALLY love to get your experience/opinions on this. The more, the better. I should have probably done this earlier.

What MP3 player are you using? What's been your experience with it so far? What are the things you love most about it, and what drawbacks (if any) have you encountered?

Comments

[myamyme.livejournal.com]

I have the 1 GB iPod Shuffle and I love it.

Benefits:
-you get to name it
-tiny (it is about the size of a pack of gum, and weighs about as much)
-my normal headphones work with it (currently Panasonic, because earbuds kill my ears, but I love the white cords...they don't seem to tangle)
-long battery life (almost nonstop all day for two days, 'course, doesn't include the night)
-charges off of the USB port on your computer while it syncs and updates
-can charge off of any computer (with iTunes or not) that is up and running and has a USB port you can get to
-gets "80% charge in 2 hours and a full charge in 4 hours" according to Apple's site.
-works like one looooong playlist (but you can Shuffle it!)
-has the "hold" feature (holding the play/pause button for 3 secs)
-can skip to the beginning (or end) of the playlist by hitting play/pause 3 times in less than 1 sec
-battery indicator on back lights up when you turn it on (though you have to wait until it finishes turning itself on)

Drawbacks:
-only works with iTunes (but it's free)
-doesn't have a screen
-tiny (easy to lose in the depths of a purse, but if you find the headphones, follow the cord. hehe)
-cannot just hook it up to a tape adapter in a car kit (but they are supposed to be coming out with something that will let you broadcast to an FM station)
-battery gives no real warning before it gives out, there are no beeps, lights (battery light flashes red, but...), etc.
-some USB ports aren't big enough (I mean to say that the ports on the front of the computers here at my work don't have enough clearance to each side to allow for the width of the Shuffle; the ones in the back do, but then the problem becomes getting to them)
-one loooong playlist (must skip through songs one at a time)

That is mostly all I can think of. I really like it because it doesn't have a HD. It is all Flash and so you don't have to worry about the HD crashing, or it getting bumped or scratched, etc. I usually wrap my headphones around my neck and trail the cord down through my shirt so that it doesn't get caught on things and then shove the thing in my pocket and run around with it all day. It also has an automatic "shut-down" after however long, but I don't know how long it is; I like the feature because then I can still just hit pause and it will pause for one minute, then the light stops flashing and if you tell it to play before it has shut off, it will pick up immediately, but if you tell it to play after it has shut down, it has to warm up again. Luckily, this doesn't take too long; once the light goes off it's ready. I go shopping with it on, I take it to the show (lines are nicer now), and I like being able to study with it. It holds "240 songs"; mind you, those should be approx. 3-min. songs, but I have nearly 200 on mine right now and I still have 200-300 MGs left, I think. But really, that's like 18 hours or so of music! Holy cow.

So basically, I think the iPod Mini is awesome, but it still had a HD, and for me, who is really hard on electronics, it was the best deal. It all kinda depends on your lifestyle and how you would use it. I needed something that could go just about anywhere and everywhere and do it well and easily. And I think the biggest drawback is that you have to go through all the songs one at a time, and the second biggest is the lack of a better battery indicator, but I think the benefits make up for it, especially because I don't have to buy batteries.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Neat, thank you! That sounds really cool, actually. I mean, considering how small and light it is, what it can do -- v. awesome. But I probably wouldn't use my player the same way you use yours (it'd be limited to traveling, mostly, and possibly walking), so it doesn't need to be quite as agile as the player you're describing. But if I were looking for something like that, it sounds like the iPod Shuffle would be the way to go. I do think that not being able to go directly to a song that I want would eventually drive me up the wall, though. ;) Especially since, like I said, I'll actually have time to fiddle with it, theoretically, while traveling.

[myamyme.livejournal.com]

And one more thing, you can use mp3s in iTunes and have the iPod store them as aac(slightly smaller than mp3) when it puts them on the iPod itself.