Technology saves my Painting space.

I have always enjoyed listening to music while I paint. Usually through headphones connected to my mini-portable cd-player thingy perched on the edge of my painting table or on a side table.

However I recently caught up with technology (in some ways I am a bit of a technophobe). I bought an Ipod Shuffle. Wow, how things have changed!

For $60NZ I have gone from something the size of a couple of housebricks that plays one CD at a time, to something not much bigger than a large postage stamp that holds about 20 CD albums and will randomly play tracks from all the albums endlessly without stopping or me have to change discs or anything.

Amazing!

And it takes up a fraction of the space as before, so my side table can hold refreshments or other modelling paraphernalia!

Plus I got a set of Skull Ink’d canal-phones. These fit in the ear canal, so effectively block out background sound, like an ear plug, and obviously plays your tunes too. The nice bit is it stays quiet between songs and I don’t get intrusions of SWMBO’s ‘pap*-TV’ breaking through. They're also more comfy than the standard earphones that come with the ipod. Bliss!

I’ve dug out all my old 80’s & 90s rock albums and uploaded them. A trip down musical memory lane indeed.

The only problem now is getting a thick ear from SWMBO when I can’t help break into song at the best bits, as I listen along. ;-)

Oh and it works equally well under my ear defenders when I’m doing the garden – riding lawntractor or using weed-eater (strimmer for you UK types).

So for any of you technophobe-grognards like me out there, go get yourself an Ipod shuffle – it's the ‘Sony-Walkman’ you always wanted ;-)

*pap: “pathetic and puerile!” ;-)

Update 13/11/11

I just went and bought some new ear phones, after getting a recommendation on kiwibiker forum:
Sennheiser 30mmi

I got them from Dick Smiths for $110. Ok thats more than I paid for the Ipod, but these ear phones are smaller fitting, yet better sound quality than the Skull ink'd ones I'd got, and they fit comfortably inside my tight fitting Shoei helmet, so my bike riding has become blissful. I can now ride for hours without stopping, because my ears are sore, or the disc needs changing... just fuel stops and toliet breaks ;-)
I've waited years to be able to enjoy this music and biking combination properly.