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converse ipod

Filed Under Category Apple and Macs, Randomness, Tech by titanium

I was casually surfing the ‘net recently, and when I swung by apple.com I saw the new PINK ipod nano (shudder). Now, pink isn’t exactly my favouritist colour, but I had a look at the product photos.
I noticed then that all the ipod nanos, except for the black one, all had white control wheels.
[the new pink ipod nano] [the black nano]
[black and white converse all star shoe]
This got me thinking. If the black ipod nano had a white scroll wheel, it would look like the fashionable converse all-star shoe. The rubber shoes were first sold as winter shoes, then were as a sports shoe, with the backing of Chuck Taylor, a basketball player. (source: [wikipedia].) These days, you don’t see these shoes with the striking white sole and toe cap in sports much any more, but rather as fashionable footwear, as they also where in the 1960′s. They come in many colours; red, neon green and bright blue are my favourites, but the ‘staple’ converse all star shoe is black and white.

Why not have an ipod that matches your oh-so groovy shoes? I decided to use my decidedly dodgy skills to photoshop up a black and white ipod nano. (Except I don’t have photoshop, but used seashore, a cocoa adaptation of the GIMP for use on Macs.) Ladies and Gentlemen: I present the converse nano!

[edited image of an ipod nano- black with white scroll wheel.]

What do you think? Maybe apple are in fact more fashionable with their all-black nano instead of following the fickle fashion trends. Or, since the first ipod was all white, did they make the all black ipod to complement it? As always, comments very welcome.

Image credits to apple.com, bodypunks.com, plus my own “photoshopping”

February 22, 2008 | |

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multi-faceted me

Filed Under Category Education, Tech by titanium

I am one person, but I have several identities. They are all me, but are slightly different. For instance, I have my teacher persona. When I am teaching a class, I’m watching the kids, teaching material and maintaining discipline, all while trying to make it fun. I’m still *me* but in a more serious sort of way. Then there is the out of school me- the regular me, I guess you could say. This is in real life, but this sort of multi-identity continues when I’m online.

The “regular me” gets to go online- I have a personal/serious email account that I use to communicate with people I have met in person. Facebook falls into this category, but in a slightly more restricted way. I’m a bit more careful about what goes onto facebook than what goes into a personal email.

However, I also have the “internet me”- also known as titanium, or originally, titanium_geek (TG for short.) I have an email address with this name, and I use it for forums, commenting on blogs, etc. This internet me is helpful to obscure details about me. I never post my exact address, phone number, or other private information. I have communicated with strangers through this account- for the sale of textbooks (via textbookexchange.com.au) or other online-only business.

This is something that I would hope is standard practice for people who are active online. The extra layer of privacy that this pseudonym gives is comforting.

Do you have an internet identity and or pseudonym? What about a “throwaway” email account? Why or why not? What are your strategies for maintaining your privacy? Comments, as always, are very welcome. (Except from you spammers out there who will comment on this post in 6 months time thinking you’re being sneaky…)

February 20, 2008 | |

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late night rescue

Filed Under Category Randomness, Tech, Travel by titanium

Let me tell you about a car-related adventure I have had. It involves laughter, a cold late night, chewing gum and a rescue.

First though, a bit of background. My car has been a bit thirsty lately, not for petrol, but actually for water. There was something wrong with the cooling system. However, I wasn’t letting that ruin my life, I was just used to carrying water in my car, and topping up regularly. This particular day was the day that two of my friends were getting married (I had the privilege of being a greeter), so I wore my nice blue dress and did my hair and make up. While I had nice heeled sandals, but had sneakers in my car to wear for driving. I also had a jacket to keep me warm. After driving to the church (in Mitcham) for the ceremony, I had to get across town to the reception place in Eltham.

I was almost there, when my car started to complain. I pulled over, and after letting it cool, went to top up the radiator. To my horror, I didn’t have enough water in my car, so had to ask at a near by house for some. I then found where I was supposed to go and made it to the reception.

After we had farewelled the happy couple, it was time to go home. I checked the water, and filled my bottle of water in the fountain. This time I had my friend with me- she needed a lift. We got so far, and had to stop again. This time I could see a leak… a big leak in the top hose. I had some gum in my glove box, so we chewed up a piece each, and my friend went and asked for some water. We used a strip of fabric from my old oily rag to tie around the gum patch.

Careful driving got us much closer to home, but still not enough. There was steam everywhere, and so we pulled over and called the RACV. (Free roadside assist for 17,18&19 year olds hooray!) Then came time to wait. We waited, in the cold car, talking about random stuff. (Like whether the RACV repair man would be cute or not.)

The RACV man arrived in his truck, and boy, were we glad to see him! At this point we could see the funny side to things, like chewing gum to repair (didn’t work well) and stealing water from a decorative fountain! (Cuteness? Well, more cute than not.)

He fixed the hose, but noticed a deeper, more troubling cause of the issues- something to do with the cylinder head. He suspected the head gasket. Well, I drove home, dropped my friend off on the way, and went to bed. We took the car to the radiator place, and got a brand new radiator. However, we had issues again, and took it to the mechanic. He diagnosed the problem- not the gasket, but the head itself. I needed a new one. Hooray for Dads and their wallets!

Well, that was the adventure I had- and yes, I love those flashing yellow lights that say “you’re rescued!”

Yes, another half finished draft from ages ago now finished.

February 1, 2008 | |

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