Monday, October 16, 2017

Moron

I feel like a total moron when I can't get things to work, or work in the way that I think they are supposed to work.  Now most of this is about electronics and computery things, and I battle between trying to cut myself some slack because this isn't second nature to me since I didn't grow up with it, and slamming myself because geez Louise, a freaking 8-year-old can figure this out 100 times faster than me.  And also, I swear that even if I do figure it out, I either can't remember what I did the next time I need to do it, or it's been updated and improved (HA) and I have to learn a new way to work something.  Here are just a few of my current frustrations:

My iPod shuffle:  I've had this for years but only recently started using it again for my longer runs.  So sure, I can accept that I have to relearn how to add songs to a playlist, which I did...but then I couldn't reorder the songs, nor could I delete any from the playlist.  And it seems that I can only have one playlist on the shuffle now?  I know I used to have a short run playlist and a long run playlist.

Google Play - music:  Sam has a family subscription to Google Play, and very nicely shared it with us.  I haven't used it much until recently, but love how you can add pretty much any song or album to your playlist.  I wanted to add those songs to my iTunes account so I could put them on my shuffle(!) but after getting partway through that process, I realized that I didn't own the songs, so I couldn't download them without purchasing them.  OK, I get that.  So in reality, I'm not that frustrated with Google Play, I just wish I had a million dollars to buy all the music I'm listening to (and for real, if I already own the album from the olden days, I'm not paying for the music AGAIN).

Sirius XM:  I love having satellite radio in my car.  I got a one year subscription for free when I bought the Duchess, and after that expired, I was able to get a 5 month deal for $25.  OK, sure - I get that much enjoyment out of listening to all kinds of music while I drive, as it's one big sing-a-long in my car, even if it's just me in there.  But god forbid I forget to get back with Sirius before that 5 month deal is up, because they automatically will charge my credit card for a very expensive one year subscription, and then I have to call them and go through a huge rigamarole to get the charge reversed and get the dang 5 month deal again.  So last week when this happened - AGAIN - I just canceled my subscription.  I'm tired of playing their games.

Which leads me back to Google Play - music:  Hey, I thought, since I have this, and I have a super new phone with all kinds of memory, why don't I just make up a car playlist and...wait for it...listen to that in my car, using the Bluetooth connection.  You know where this is going, don't you?  After a full 24 hours of messing with it, I randomly stumbled onto getting it to connect.  And it is pretty awesome.  My only complaint is that I can't use the controls on my steering wheel to skip a song, and we are finally a "hands-free" cell phone state (which is a good thing), so sometimes I have to suffer through a poor choice of songs on my part...not everything translates into good driving music!

And speaking of my car, which I love love love, don't get me wrong - I have to also say that I feel like a moron whenever I need to do something with the onboard computer system.  Because it's not speaking my language, and trying to do something simple like change the color of the interior lights (YES I LIKE TO DO THIS, I'M REALLY TWELVE) ends up being much harder than it should be.  And, in the computer-related complaints, each key fob is different.  So, say, if Jeff and I shared the car, my key fob would have the car settings to my liking (including the radio)(and the interior light colors), while his key fob would be different.  BUT.  Both are mine, and I have one in my regular purse, and one in my running/gym bag.  Do you think I've managed to make them both match?  Of course not.  Sidenote:  why am I driving a computer?

Getting back to that whole iPod shuffle/Google Play music thing - you might be wondering why don't I simply run with my phone, since it has all the music I like on it plus I can have as many playlists as I want.  Well, because I generally don't run with my phone.  I could, especially now that I'm back to wearing my Orange Mud Hydraquiver backpack - it would be easy enough to slip the phone in the zippered compartment - but I like the lightweight tiny shuffle.  If I were a hashtagger, I'd hashtag myself DINOSAUR.  Change is hard for my brain.

#stegosaurusout

20 comments:

  1. I just purchased a pair of wireless headphones because I read that the iPod is being done away with. Pretty soon we will have no choice but to listen on our phones, which I think is pretty sucky of Apple to do.

    We also use Amazon music through our Prime membership. When you buy a CD on Amazon, that same CD is automatically added to your music library. Pretty nice since I often give other people CDs as gifts and then I get the music as well. But like your Google, it won't let me put that CD in iTunes, even though I do own it, technically, as it was paid for. I have to do it the old fashioned way which is to load the CD into my computer and dragging it into iTunes, except that sometimes I don't have the CD as I gave it as a gift. Sigh.

    I totally get your technological frustrations and have pretty much decided I will never, ever use all the technology to its full capacity. Sometimes it just doesn't make sense to me and makes my brain hurt!

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    1. I read that too, that they are getting rid of the iPod - at least the Shuffle, but I'm sure they all are going to disappear soon. :(

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  2. I think I wrote this post LOL

    I have the same iopd shuffle - was my favorite in the day.

    Now it's too complicated so I carry my phone and listen to PODCASTS.

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    1. Glad you could relate! I've listened to podcasts while walking on the treadmill at the gym but never tried that while running. Maybe on one of my long runs, if I have to do it solo...

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  3. What got me most about this was the tricks they play with charging you too much for something. Pretty much when they use the words "auto-renewal" I just won't sign up for the special deal in the first place. Too Irritating. All the other technology you talked about I haven't even tried to do. Sometimes I play music using Pandora...

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    1. Auto-renewal is the devil, I agree.

      I've never used Pandora! Probably couldn't make it work anyway. ;)

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  4. I do like Sirius. What I have done is to request for a paper invoice and I schedule on my calendar one week before my rate expires to call up and request the service to be cancelled. After they offer me several ridiculous offers they still come back to the 5 month offer for $24.99. I have been doing this for the past 3 yrs and most recently last week. I will never give them a credit card. I forgot I how the iPod shuffle looked like. So much for all this technology.

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    1. That is such a good idea about a paper invoice and not letting them have your credit card info at all. If I ever go back to Sirius, I'll have to do it that way.

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  5. I have a shuffle like that; her name is Mrs Pinkus.
    And why does the world think I have to be entertained constantly like while I refuel my car?

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    1. Mrs. Pinkus, LOL! It weirds me out to have a video playing while I'm doing something random (like refueling) - this is a different world now.

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  6. I have the ipod nano but I still have the same trouble you do. I have such a hard time using itunes. I don't listen to music on my phone either when running, it's my ipod al the way (unless of course I get to my running route and can't find my earbuds or the ipod is dead). I actually went to this technology summit last Monday and they were saying how all this stuff we think is "technology" is just a way of life for the kids in elementary school now. They never knew a world without smart phones, bluetooth, ipads, Internet, etc!

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    1. It makes me feel better to hear that you have issues as well, as I know you're a lot younger than me. But yep - elementary school kids can handle it a lot better than us, that's true.

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  7. Oh no, you cancelled Sirius? Be prepared for the high pressure sales calls to rejoin. When I bought my Jeep 7 years ago, it came with 2 years of Sirius. At the end of the 2 years, I got sick of the playlists and cancelled. But they wouldn't let me off easy. I finally had to threaten them with legal action if they didn't leave me alone. It was the worst and I will never ever give them my info again. I use Spotify and I love it.

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    1. Oh man, looks like I will be blocking some more numbers on my iPhone soon...

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  8. My hub uses Spotify to listen to music, you can use it on your phone and laptop.

    I hear you on the car thing, it took me 2 years to found out that I can dial nummbers on my phone from my onboard radio LOL.

    I never go for a walk or run without my phone. Especially since last week the girl in the Netherlands was missing. It was her phone that lead them to wear they first found her coat and bike. I even installed the panic button on my phone last weekend (comes with the Iphone and Samsung Galaxy in the settings). If something happes I push the on button 3 times and R. gets a text with my exact location. Makes me feel more safe when I go on a hike or run alone.

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    1. I've never tried Spotify.

      And see, you are driving a computer as well! ;)

      Don't blame you for carrying your phone in these scary times.

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  9. I am right there with you. My husband is an IT Manager, so I'm pretty lucky; otherwise, I'd be CLUELESS about electronics/computery things.
    Your friend,
    Brontosaur

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  10. I feel like we all have our “things”. You’re right about the shuffle being lightweight - phones are not light at all! We also cancelled Sirius in our vehicles - I wasn’t using it enough to justify the amount.

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    1. I was looking back at my blog posts about the shuffle and saw that I used to clip it to the back of my hat while I ran! Can't do that with an iPhone, LOL.

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