Topping my most useable Christmas gift list this year, (well after the Jameson of course) is the Otterbox for my Ipod Nano with a pair of Waves Waterproof Headphones. For sometime I’ve been dreaming of being able to work on my rolls with a nice back beat holding down the rhythm. Cool. A couple things worth noting if you’re thinking about taking your music on the water;

First Safety. It’s a very bad idea to be listening to music in an environment where you should be paying attention to other traffic on the water. Last thing we need on the water are paddlers acting like drivers with cell phones. It’s bad enough too that the big boats can’t slow down. How much worse then, if you can’t hear them coming!? Or maybe it’s for the better??

The New Ipod Nano second generation is slightly, and I mean very slightly larger than the original. If you got a new Ipod this year be sure you get the right Otterbox. It will say “Next Generation” on it. Sadly this little change may cause issues with all your Ipod gear so watch carefully when you buy new stuff at the moment.

Waterproof headphones sound like garbage. Well, that’s not exactly true. The manufacturer has to decide what they are going for. Sound moves differently through air than it does in water. If they were going for nice underwater sound, then above water the headphones will sound tinny. Most often it seems there has been some compromise made and the headphones sound below average both above and below the surface.

- -

So how was your Holiday? For my part I became quite ill the night before Christmas eve and writing this is almost the only thing I’ve done from a vertical position since my last post. Sadly I spent most of Christmas day wishing for quiet and coveting the couch. ( in hindsight I feel extra bad seeing that over 1000 of you stopped by here on Christmas day! Sorry!!) I spent all of Christmas Eve Night practicing new cleansing technique that would have made Edina Monsoon proud. While at the same time enjoying a crushing headache that made it quite impossible to listen for reindeer on the rooftop. And people wonder why I often feel like Charlie Brown incarnate!?? Chances are I will spend the rest of this Boxing Day back in bed and missing out on the historic Welsh tradition of chasing around servant girls with holly branches.

Ahhh, Wales.