Ramblings

Being a light sleeper sucks. My mother stayed up late and got up early, and so I got very little sleep last night. Tired girl!

Sometimes I feel like my life is about inaction.
Don't eat anymore, you already had enough.
Don't date that person, it would be too much drama.
Don't go out, you don't have the energy.
Don't be active, or move, it will cost valuable money.
Don't say anything, you might regret it.

Maybe right now that's all the better part of valour. That doesn't make it any more fun. I feel like an automaton, going to work, going home, "escaping" through TV or book, and then sleeping just to wake up and repeat in the morning. I think I feel guilty when I don't do stuff with my evening time, but when I force myself to be active and productive, I get emotionally exhausted and frustrated with the never-ending to-do list. I can't win, but that's probably just the fatigue talking.

I've been reading Katherine Kurtz' Deryni books. They're fun. Her writing style in these books strikes me as somewhat immature and two-dimensional, but I'm enjoying it nonetheless.

This weekend is busy. Firefly/Serenity Saturday, and then Mississauga with friends Sunday. Gaming tonight, assuming I don't pass out from exhaustion beforehand. And next weekend is DC with lariel, and then the weekend after that is TO Kink, and then the weekend after that is NASW/CASW, and then the weekend after that is Samhain.

No rest for this wicked girl, or at least, not during October. Yeehaw!

Hallelujah, the day has come!

Yes, it's BLACK TOILET PAPER, so now you can be goth while you're wiping your ass too!

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/black-toilet-paper-128466.php

Treat for me: My precious clock radio

It's time for me to get myself a treat, and so I present once again to you the iHome, which is already available at Best Buy in Canada, and will soon be hitting a number of other stores.

http://www.ihomeaudio.com

The goal is to have tools which enable me to use my possessions, such as the iPod, with minimal fuss. Plugging in my iPod to the power and stereo jack whenever I get home is really annoying. Having something I can put it in that attaches it to speakers, charging, remote control, and easy-to-use alarm with gradual-wake function would make the iPod way more useful to me.

Known problems/complaints with the iHome:

1. The numbers are too bright even on the dimmest setting
   
2. The buttons are sometimes unresponsive
   
3. The buttons are orange but the numbers are blue
   
4. The gradual awake function is not adequately gradual
   
5. The speaker quality is not ideal


6. Only one alarm on it

1. I can't tell if it will be too bright for me until I see it.
   
2. The button thing is somewhat concerning in terms of quality control
   
3. Although orange is ugly I don't care that much about their colour...
   
4. Since the gradual wake function is one of my motivations for getting this, that does in fact concern me... but I don't know how severe the problem is.
   
5. The speaker quality would have to be pretty bad to bother me. It couldn't possibly come even close to being as bad as the cd alarm clock I have now that I bought on sale at zellers, which is emitting a loud buzzing noise even when it isn't on. Also, this DOES have a "line out" so I could theoretically hook it up to my Cambridge Soundworks speakers, which rock.


6. I usually don't use more than one alarm, quite frankly. I don't know if I'd even notice, but I guess if I had an SO who was staying over frequently, this might get frustrating.

Total price: $150 CAD through Best Buy Canada, or $100 USD through any number of US resellers, plus a little more if I want the remote control.

There ARE other setups I could do that would accomplish similar ease of use, but I'm not convinced that they would be equally economical.

For instance, I could get a radio alarm clock with a gradual wake function and reasonable quality speakers, an iTrip, and a normal iPod dock. This would have the added bonus of connecting the iPod to the computer, but I don't sync my iPod very often because I almost never get new music. I also do almost everything in my bed, so I'd have to get a remote control too. All of these things are useful things I might want to get ANYWAY, but the cumulative cost would be much greater, unless I definitely wanted these other things as well.

At this point, if I can pick the iHome up somewhere it can be returned to, I will probably give it a try, and if any of these issues prove to be too great, I can step back and reconsider at that point, and perhaps return it. But it seems to me that it is the better solution for me if the known issues aren't too... issueful.