Portable Speakers for Outdoor Fun

A lot of people have complimented me on and asked about the portable iPod/iPhone speakers I use at poi spin meetups. I did a lot of research and think the Griffin Journi speakers offer the best combo of sound, price and size for rechargeable portable speakers. The built in folding stand/case is absolutely brilliant. And it's small enough to fit in my poi bag.

They are now discontinued but that just means you can now get them for less than $50. They don't officially support the iPhone, but they work with it just fine if you put the iPhone into Airplane mode.

HOWEVER, when the new iPhones are unveiled next month, I think there will also be a new wave of cool accessories. So unless you absolutely must get something this very minute you might want to wait.

Anything But Silence

I never travel without music or podcasts anymore. My iPhone needed service and so I was to be without media player for three days. It's embarrassing to admit the idea of silence had become a bit spooky. So filled with anxiety was I over the prospect of having to travel the city without the ability to jam sound in my ears I didn't put the iPhone into its shipping container until I'd actually arrived at the drop off.

But New York City is anything but silent, it teems with sound ... people, traffic, machinery. I'd forgotten the sounds of the subways ... the squeal of brakes, the screech of wheels on rails, the hiss of compressors, the lurch of the cars. Mechanical things always fascinate me.

And I'd forgotten the little games we play on public transportation ... "Guess My Ethnicity" ... "How Stupid and/or Crazy Am I?" ... "Eavesdropping as a Public Sport". The small sounds of the passengers and the loud sounds of the crazy passengers were all fresh again, like when I was new to the city. And I remembered what it felt like to feel connected to the diversity of humankind in a city brimming with people.

The experience has been interesting and not so scary after all. I finished reading the book I'd put down a few months ago. And I found a welcome calmness that I'd perhaps forgotten.

On the whole, I prefer having my media. But perhaps in the future I'll leave my iPhone home once a month, just for the human experience of it.

Is Everyone Moist Now?

We need more bathtub technologists.

Me + iPhone = A Very Special Kind of Stupid

Yesterday I went LaGuardia to head to Mexico for my fabulous Mexican scuba holiday. And now ... 24 hours later ... here I sit ... still in America ... at Newark Airport.

I wish I had a great story to tell, like, “A gang of May Kay Stylists hijacked the plane because they ran out Final Net Hairspray on Long Island and it was the fastest way to get to New Jersey.” Alas the explanation is far more mundane.

I am an idiot ... a huge, raving, colossal idiot.

I arrived at the airport a healthy hour in advance and had no problems with check in or security. And then, thanks to listening to music videos on my iPhone, I missed my flight while they paged me repeatedly over the P.A.

I’ve missed subway stops plenty of times thanks to my iPod/iPhone. But never have I missed a plane.

I was terrified that my ultra-not-changeable, not-refundable, frequent-flyer ticket would mean I lost out on my whole holiday. I watched my plane pull away without me. And when I failed to get the standby seat on my last chance to make my connection, I left the airport filled with despair and shame.

But travel gods smiled on me. The airline rebooked me onto a flight the next day, this one non-stop! But it gets even better. I got upgraded to first class and also received $800 from the airline for volunteering to get bumped to a flight 2 hours later. Ever the travel perks schemer, I made them throw in a pass for the first class lounge and a meal.

Stupid never felt so good.

From now on when I arrive at the airport I am setting an alarm on my iPhone twenty minutes before boarding that will interrupt whatever trash, europop boy band videos are conspiring to turn me into a retard.

The Master Showman

I've been watching Steve Jobs' MacWorld keynote addresses and other presentations for years. He is the master showman. Steve Jobs presents the release of each new product as a "Revolution!" And the world believes him. His genius, drive, charisma, magnificent arrogance and showmanship practically bend space and time around him. People call it the "Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field."



His sheer force of personality is the reason why Apple Computer continues to lead the tech industry. Without him, in 1997 Apple would have fallen into an interesting footnote.

People often hate creative geniuses like Steve Jobs and Carl Sagan for their arrogance. This is precisely why I like them. There are few beliefs more arrogant than, "I can change the world." But it is precisely that attitude and that arrogance that is required to create change.

Visionaries are usually arrogant. Because usually only the arrogant can withstand the monotonous, relentless drum beat of the status quo, "You can't. You won't. It shouldn't be. You'll fail."

"I can. I will. It should be. Watch me."

Every time I watch The Jobs, I fall under his spell. No matter what he's selling, while he's selling it, I'm buying. And it's not until a couple hours later and the effect wears off that I go, "Wait a minute! It's not a revolution! It's just a fucking mouse!"

But I love him and admire him for it, for his ability to make me believe and to want.

Years ago, I drank the Apple Kool-Aid. I'm a little older now. And I no longer count myself among the true believers. But I still use Macs. As a computer consultant, I make my living on Macs when I can, and on PCs when I have to. I still have a fondness for The Macintosh Way. And I still like a good technology show.

Steve Jobs' most recent webcast was for the launch of the iPod Nano and iTunes Phone. The "news" in this presentation is, "We made the iPod smaller and we made a cell phone that plays music."

That's it.

Smaller.

Phone.

Period.

But I defy you to remember that while you're watching it. I defy you to not believe that it's a "Revolution!" And I defy you to not want to buy two of everything he's selling by the end of the show.

If you want to see the intersection of technology and art done right, check it out.

Dale Visits The Bronx

This week I decided to go to The Bronx for a couple hours.

Well ... "decided" may not be quite the right word.

I went to The Bronx, at 3:00 a.m., wearing a really, really gay shirt, which made me feel really out of place, really white and really ... well ... gay.

I do this about once a year, in the wee hours of the morning. These adventures are usually the result of alcohol combined with an iPod and Palm games. This deadly trio of distractors tends to cause me to not look at the train when it pulls into the station. Rather, I just blithely climb on board the first train that arrives and ride it for an hour or so until I notice out of the corner of my eye that the stations don't look familiar.

Usually what finally makes me realize I'm far, far, far from anywhere I want to be or should be is the color of the tiles on the walls. This triggers a sinking feeling as I calculate just how long it will take me to get my sorry ass home.

The adventure before this most recent one took me to Queens for about three hours in the middle of the night.

I'm going to have "Look at the fucking train, Dale!" tattooed on the inside of my eyelids.

I am such a space cadet.