Friday
I’m finally almost done with my first Sockotta sock. See? I’ve turned the heel, and since it’s going to be an anklet, well, there’s not a whole lot more to go, is there? I’m going to try to get this finished tomorrow. Considering it’s “half” the sock I usually make (again, since it’s an anklet), you’d think one wouldn’t take me so long, huh? But I started this about two weeks ago . . . and still have the second sock to go!See? this is why I like the two-socks-on-Magic-Loop method so much. No second sock syndrome.
My Creative Zen Micro Photo is still in the doghouse. You remember? It failed me on vacation last week. Debbie mentioned that she’d had a similar problem with her Zen Nano, but when she changed the battery, the files all “reappeared.” And, in fact, when I charged the battery, it’s true, the data was still there. So, I figured everything was all right . . . right?
Well, not so much. Sure, the data is there, but . . . now, I know I’m new to this whole MP3 thing, and I know that all computers (and computer-driven things) freeze up and need to be rebooted now and again. But in the past week, I have had this player freeze not once, not twice, but at least seven times. (I’ve lost count.) Freeze so that I had to pull off my handmade little cover, peel back the protective skin I bought it, pry off the unit’s back, and then pop out the battery. Wait five seconds, then replace the battery, slide back the plastic cover, pull the silicon cover back into place, tug the yarn cover back into place, turn it on . . . and then cross my fingers and turn it on. So far the ratio here is that I’ve had to do this about three times in succession before it would actually fully load. This is NOT fun, and really not acceptible in a brand new piece of high-tech equipment. Wouldn’t you agree?
Which makes the next decision . . . what do I do now? Assume that this is a faulty unit and return it for another one? Return it and buy something else altogether? And if so, what?? All my music files are WMV format, so I believe that excludes an iPod (and, really, I’ve got 64 albums copied onto my computer, almost 3,000 songs. I do not want to have to load those cds over again! Sigh.
Beyond that, Chappy’s not at his best today. Last night he was walking around extra carefully, and reluctant to jump up or down off of furniture. And then this morning, not quite himself. Apparently, when Mom vacuumed the living room–not only did he not “help” her, but he lay in the middle of the rug while she vacuumed around him. Literally. Not normal behavior for just about any dog, I think!
I was all set to take him to the vet this afternoon. A couple years ago, he pulled a muscle in his back and spent a snowy weekend sitting next to me on the couch with a heating pad on his back, while taking the cortisone meds the vet had prescribed. I didn’t want this to get that far . . . but when I got home at lunch, he came running to greet me, wagging his tail, even jumped up to lick my nose. And when I got home at 3:00 (got out an hour early for the long weekend, yay), he seemed like he was feeling fine. Not 100%, perhaps, but 80-90%. So . . . I cancelled the vet appointment. He’s been quiet tonight, but more like he’s being careful than like he’s still in discomfort. And, unlike a couple years ago, I don’t think this actually reached the “pain” stage–thank heaven. That time, we got up on a snowy Saturday morning, and he just stood in the middle of the kitchen and shook. There was no question he needed to go to the vet that time. In fact, my Dad–at the worst stage of a bad cold–actually drove us to the vet, during a huge snowstorm which was forcing the vet’s office to close at 11:00.
Anyhow, he seems mostly okay tonight, which is good. Not perfect, but good . . . even if I do miss his usual, cheerful, energetic self. I’m glad that this is a long weekend. I’ve got some errands to run tomorrow, and then Sunday is my niece and nephew’s birthday party–iIt’s always the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. And then on Monday, I’m hoping to stay home and relax. (Why yes, being secure at home IS my way of thanking all the Vets who’ve made it safe.)
Before I forget, check out this string of emails asking a seller a ton of stupid questions about a car he was selling on ebay.
Or, how about these very nifty “seamless” pictures?
These 360-degree pictures may be more your cup of tea.
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Tannenbaum.
House Calls
Hopefully Chappy continues to improve over the weekend!
I would return the Zen and get something else. Yours is NOT the first or second or third tale of woe I’ve heard about Zen players, alas. Maybe you can find a handy conversion utility, to convert WMV to mp3 or m4a?
I had a 40G Ipod and had lots of trouble with it. It was replaced 4 times by Apple but they kept sending me refurbished ones. I feel your frustration because I’ve been there so many times. But, last month I broke down and bought an Ipod Nano. (knock on wood) so far, so good. And, if you do decide to go the Ipod route, Itunes will convert all your files over, you don’t have to reload anything.
Either way, though, I’d return the unit you have for a new one.
Hope Chappy is 100% today.
Hope Chappy is back to his old self soon!!! My oldest has the zen xtra - he’s had some trouble - we sent the first one back via Amazon, they were fantastic with the return/replacement. He’s had one major freezing episode, where he couldn’t get it working at all, then all the sudden it was fine. My youngest and I are both on our second Ipods - not because the firsts gave out, we just went bigger - I love my Ipod. Never had a problem with either one. I don’t know how easy/hard it is to convert files - maybe check out apples website, they may have an easy way to convert. Good luck!
I hope the little guy continues to get better. My pup has had back muscle strains before, too. He’s a big boy at 80 lbs., but the pain is the same. Just give him rest, time and big hugs (at least one from me). I love your anklets. Do you like the Sockotta? And lastly, I agree with the other commenters. Return the Zen.
Hope Chappy’s still doing better. It’s so hard to tell when the vet is really, really necessary. So often they can’t actually offer something that will fix the issue - it just takes time. Have the boy take it easy this weekend. I’m going to try and spend as much outdoor time with the dogs as possible.
iTunes will take the wmas and automagically convert them to aac or mp3 (apples file format) to put them on the ipod without any problem, actually, as long as they aren’t protected with DRM (ie, if you ripped them to WMA yourself, there shouldn’t be a problem).
that said, just shop around and maybe check epinions…
Thinking good thoughts for poor Chappy!