Digital Music

There was a question on the post about Downsizing Audio Equipment.  Did I ever get an iPod?  Well yes, I did get an iPod Touch.  The intent was to minimalize my audio electronics.  But, I still have the monolithic boombox on my desk.  The iPod is being used mostly as a pocket-sized internet browser.  Thanks for reminding me though, I had lost track of that goal.

There haven’t been any radio/speaker sets with ipod dock that I have liked enough to buy.  The iHome has nice features, but some reviews say they’re not very durable.  Also I am concerned about audio quality.  If they say it sounds “good for a clock radio”, then is that good enough to replace a desktop stereo?

Before the boombox is sold I’ll have to go through the boxes of audio cassettes and see if there’s anything I want to keep or convert to digital.  Maybe I can get to that before Winter ends.  I am reluctant to get a iPod speaker radio now because then I’ll have another thing on my crowded desk.

Sharing the Insanity

Now that the “holiday season” busy-ness is over, I’m thinking about how to approach this project for the new year.  Huge gains were made in 2008 towards getting rid of the storage unit.  However it is still there, rent payments are still going out every month, and all the junk is just sitting there on the cold damp cement floor.  It is difficult (but not impossible) to get there in the winter because of the snow and ice build-up on the walkway.  One key success I had last year was getting all the big stuff moved out, so the remaining stuff is in bankers boxes or small furniture that could be moved by me alone with my car.  Many trips, but do-able without renting a truck or getting people to help me.

Therefore I see two ways to approach it.  One is to wait until the Spring thaw to get back there and continue going through boxes, throwing things out, separating things to sell or give away.  The landlord will get another 4-5 months rent out of me this way.  On the positive side it would give me a chance to focus now on reducing the stuff I have piled up here in my rented bedroom.

The other way is to just haul everything out of there and stop renting the space by the end of January.  I’ll still have to sort through the boxes, but at least I wouldn’t be wasting money on storage rent.  Not sure where I’d put it all, probably would have to talk my hosts into letting me use a corner of their basement.  I fear becoming overwhelmed by having all this junk with me in one location.  Having it stored somewhere else seems to make it easier to deal with – bringing 1 or 2 boxes back and dealing with it a little at a time.

After thinking about this dilemma for a long while, sometimes I step back mentally from it and realize how crazy it is to be in a position where I have to make these kind of choices.