I've recently started wearing earplugs in public, and they have been tremendously beneficial to me -- far more than I ever would have expected. The only drawback, however, is that most other people don't know I'm wearing them, since they're largely invisible. That means that other people still try to talk to me a lot, which is one of the things I'm trying to avoid.
My sweet babboo uses an MP3 player instead, which (I would assume) does the trick better, since it makes clear, even to the casual observer, that you aren't available for conversation.
Now. Since I need to digitize my collection of 130 or so CDs (and sell them), and since I need a more effective way of blocking other people out, doesn't all of that mean that I need to buy an iPod, or perhaps a Sony Clie? Which selling the CDs will at least partially pay for? The Clie is more versatile, of course, but the iPod will hold my entire music collection. I'm not sure how well the Clie works with OS X (or if it does at all -- I would assume it does). I guess I'll have to look into it.
Posted by Zathras at August 22, 2003 04:40 PMYes, the Clie works great for discouraging conversation, that's part of why I use it. :-)
As for compatibility, I have no idea why it wouldn't work with a Mac, given the Clie is PalmOS-based -- so if you can use the Palm Desktop you should be fine. It might depend on the model you get, though... I recommdnd the NX60, but that's because I adore mine so much. Especially as just the other day I figured out how to Hotsync via 802.11b! *bounce*
In terms of storage, which would work better for you depends on how you naturally prefer music. If you like listening to random songs from a supersized playlist (i.e. your whole music collection), then an iPod or mp3CD player would probably be best. If you tend to prefer listening to albums straight through and "favorites" playlists of up to 72 songs (~3 hours) each, then you're going to do better with a Clie.
If you would like, I'll happily loan you my mp3CD player. That combines the best of both worlds, in that you can have permanent storage mixed with removable media. (I *love* mine, so I can think of no better way to use it than share it with you. :) You're going to want to back up your growing mp3 collection on CDs anyway, and this would let you get a feel for what your mobile-playlist prefs are in the process.
LMK if you want any more info...as you can probably tell, you're tapping on one of my big perseverations. *grin*
Posted by: Moggy at August 22, 2003 06:02 PMYou could just put on a pair of walkman style headphones OVER the earplugs, and just tuck the cord into your clothes somewhere. That way, you get the sound insulation, and people will assume you are conversationally unavailable, because they see the headphones. It would be safer also, as you would still be able to hear at reduced volume, whereas music would render you effectively deaf.
Posted by: Matt at August 22, 2003 11:46 PMIf someone came up to talk to you, you could start nodding, lean back, and do a little air guitar... :)
Posted by: Matt at August 24, 2003 04:00 AM