Shuffle off to wherever I damn well please

So after upgrading from my old 3G iPod to a nice black 30G 5G iPod in a nice protective case, I couldn't imagine why anyone would ever want something as small as a Nano. I mean, really, why would you settle for a 4GB music player when for just a little more money you could have a 30GB player? Didn't make sense to me. I mean, I have a LOT of CDs, somewhere in the 1,200 or so range, so I wanted as much capacity as possible for music when I travel.

Until I started wearing my iPod when I play cards. The 30GB iPod has everything I ever wanted in a music player. It's black and cool looking. It holds a flaming shitload of music, AND it can hold porn for when I get really bored. But it's heavy. And it's big. And did I mention that it's heavy? So for a tableside solution, not so much, unless I can guarantee that I'll be in a cool enough room to wear a long-sleeve shirt with a front pocket for my iPod. What to do? I don't want to lay out the cash for a Nano now that I have the big boy.

Problem solved. World, meet Shuffle. Shuffle, meet world. For $55 delivered (Apple.com has a refurbished store) with a 1-year warranty, I've got about 12 hours battery life and a couple hundred songs to wear on my lapel when I play cards. And the damn thing is just so small and cute! I'm sure it will take some getting used to since the controls are slightly different from the 5G, but at a net weight of around nothing, I'm now able to bring my iPod to games without worrying about a way to carry it. All about it.

Yeah, I kinda wanted the blue one, but for the $30 discount I got for buying the refurb, I'll hang with the silver. After all, $30 is half one night's stay in Vegas next month, baby!