This summer I was looking forward to spending a lot more time with my iPod, but as luck would have it, my 3G iPod decided to die a premature death and I ended up having to replace it. From all the choices available, I narrowed it down to a 30GB iPod or the sleeker and smaller iPod Nano. In June I dropped by the local BestBuy and picked up the 8GB Black iPod Nano and began my summer travels. Now after two trips to Maryland and several airports later I can detail just how great Apple’s iPod Nano really is. Note that on September 5th, 2007, Apple will most likely release new iPods.

An MP3 Player That Works

The first thing you notice about the Nano is that it just works. The controls are smoother than first generation iPods and there is not any annoying hard drive noise because it uses flash memory instead. Songs load immediately and volume levels are more than adequate. The iPod interface is now more than just neat, it is almost second nature and you can navigate easily through more than 1500 song titles. Battery life is excellent. I ended up not needing to recharge it at all during a two day trip to the east coast. The most annoying factor about plane travel is that they always ask you to turn off your iPod at takeoff and landings.

The Small Screen

The only feature that the Nano has missing is video playback. The small screen is not at all adequate for video and so the Nano lacks the video playback features of its bigger iPod cousins. You can however view photos from your iPhoto collection. The iPod will also display album art, which I must admit I spend time setting up in iTunes, just so I could see album thumbnails on my Nano.

Accessories

Not being a fan of earbuds, I spent some money on some inexpensive Sony headphones. However, most people will end up considering a case for their iPod. While the choices are vast when it comes to iPod cases, I ended up getting a ToughSkin. This particular case bulks up the iPod Nano’s rather thin design, but for the added protection it can’t be beat. I did not really care for the included belt clip attachment, so if you absolutely don’t need it, I would not recommend attaching it.

Overall

Apple really has an excellent MP3 player in the Nano. Over the years I have owned countless portable devices and the Nano beats them all hands down. I’m sure somewhere a Sony Walkman is dying a slow death. Since I don’t usually carry a cell phone the Nano even helped me out when I got stuck at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. The handy address book is all I needed to give my brother a call and have him pick me up. Without the Nano I would have been stranded.

This summer, the girlfriend decided she was finally getting a dog. She has been wanting one for years now and our two boys are old enough now that they can help out. I tried to convince her that we really did not need a dog, and that instead we should have another baby. Somehow, the 39 weeks of pregnancy with all the throwing up and other personal discomforts did not appeal to her. Sometime in June, she brought home a yellow lab puppy who I ended up naming Butters, after the South Park character. The name fits, cause Butters is not very smart, gets into trouble all the time, and is sometimes a pain.

Butters is now about five months old and is a medium size dog. He has gone through multiple leashes and harnesses (all of which he has destroyed)! However the thing he loves best are my socks! He is absolutely enamored with them. After spending most of the summer with the dog, I have learned the following:

• A dog can add stress to your life.
• A lot of people love dogs, I meet someone new every week just by walking Butters.
• Dogs love socks more than chasing rabbits.
• You have to teach puppies to lift their leg when they pee, this is something they have to be taught!
• Their sense of smell is their most important sense of all. They smell constantly.

I’d have to say, that I’m surprised that Butters has not destroyed the house. My stereo equipment has been left untouched. Katryn has enforced a lot of rules on him and he has followed through on most of them. The hard part of course has been the constant training. I look forward to the day when I can let Butters in the living room and not have to worry about him getting in trouble.

Roar of a GM engine, and gust of speeding metal on interstate road, some times I wonder, limitless is the sky, heavy the chains that try and hold me down, but I am young, strong, and heroic. The hero never falls, he only picks himself up and rams his fist into the wind, only God can calm his fury, but his hunger knows no bounds. I am he. Don’t think too much, just drive on through, miles the summer heat, but by my side my woman lays. The scent of feminine perfume and sweet thighs I have climbed. This is the summer of 91. My car, my girl, the road. My last ride before the storm. The final words to be said before the dawn of manhood and all that lays upon that journey.

Do you agree that in the short term, protectionism can be benefecial as it holds jobs and wages steady but in the long run can be ineffecient and wasteful if others are willing to do the same job for less but in another country? A government has to be very wealthy to afford protectionism for very long. Otherwise prices and wages remain high as a country stagnates.

With globalism, people are forced to be competitive in pricing and may lose their job or high wages but will eventually find something where they can compete with the rest of world on an equal basis. If governments and unions push for high wages and excellent benefits, those industries will not be competitive on a global basis and will only be able to compete within that country if tariffs are also placed on imported products. GM and Ford are only surviving because of American consumer loyalty which continues to erode as their products just don’t match up to foreign competitors. GM and Ford will need to build cars outside of the US if they truly want to compete and regain market share.

The computer industry may go the way of India as prices are much cheaper there as well. China has the edge on low tech products.

Where will the US compete globally in the 21st century? Likely in real estate and banking and in medical research and even agriculture but we may struggle in other areas.