I was thinking about my music progression from my first little record player until now - a hip (in my own mind - let me pretend) empty nester a little late in adopting Bluetooth technology. Once you cross the line into the new technology, you don't want to go back!
After my little Motorola record player (I think I only had a couple albums including the first Jackson Five), I received a cassette player for Christmas one year. I must have been in sixth or seventh grade. My first cassette was the Grass Roots.
When I graduated from high school, I received my highly prized stereo with cassette and turntable - able to play multiple LP disks. That thing earned its keep during my college years. Man there was some good music put out during the 1970's! Though my college roomie used to force me to listen to Barry Manilow as we drifted off to sleep. I still have nightmares about that.
Later, Paul and I purchased a better stereo with a turntable, receiver and speakers. It played cassettes too and we invested in buying all our former LPs in cassettes - so we could listen to them in car. How modern!
Next thing we knew, Compact Discs were the thing and I joined some club to replace all my cassettes with that format. "Best Of" all of my favorites plus a few new bands I liked on CD. After that, folks were sharing free MP3 songs on the Internet. I have to admit I snared a few. I figured I'd purchased many of those songs 3 times already!
Then I downloaded iTunes. Legit! For the last few years I've managed my music that way. I also checked out CDs from a couple libraries too - for my listening pleasure. Some of that music is now on my hard drive. My music library is a mish-mash of tunes purchased from Wal-Mart, the music club, downloaded from iTunes and from library CDs and who knows where else.
Now, I'm pleased to report some of it is on my iPhone organized in Playlists. It was painful figuring out how to upload the music onto my phone. Because I'm not a whiz kid when it comes to this stuff I flail away. It comes to me in fits and starts and stops. I give up and then try again. I used US Cellular points for wireless earbuds. They're linked to my phone. And I have now linked my phone to my car. The magical technology linking the buds and car to my phone is Bluetooth.
I even download most of my reading material to my iPhone. I listen to Audiobooks downloaded via OverDrive Software from the West Des Moines Library. I can listen to books through the car speakers of our newer Subaru while I commute to work and around town (like the two times I drove to PetCo today when I forgot my wallet in my backpack from yesterday's road work trip and they held Odie for ransom until I paid for her toenail trimming).
Once one adopts new technology it's hard to go back. Like flat screen HD televisions. The old ones make my eyeballs hurt. Sometimes I get disappointed with my trusty old Subaru when I realize it doesn't "have the stuff" to emit my books via Bluetooth. I'm spoiled already.
I'm excited to see what technology I flail into next.
Happy Birthday to my dad, Davey B. He would have been 87 today!
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| One of those pics where I am happy to realize that I moved on from that look... |
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| Proud pappa |
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