Thursday, 9/17

 I think my iPod's reading my mind again.

I've discussed this several times before, about now my iPod, when it's on shuffle, does weird things, like play Beyonce's “Crazy in Love” followed by the the Chi-Lites' “Are You My Woman?”, the song from which “Crazy” samples its outrageous horn section. Then there was a Monday morning a few years ago when I went running a few hours after returning from Europe, and the first song that played on the shuffle was Simple Plan's “Jet Lag”.

Then there was this morning. Yesterday, I wrote about when I used to run the old Superior 5K in Marquette. I would often do so while listening to a carefully selected group of songs to help get me motivated. So when I went running this morning, what was the first song that popped up when I hit shuffle?

Def Leppard's “Run Riot”, one of the songs that used to be on the “help Jim run the 5K list”.

Now, I know this is all coincidence. I know my iPod doesn't read my mind (it IS 12 years old, after all, which (I believe) is before Apple put the brain control chip in all of its products (that's a joke, by the way)). I know that given a large enough sample size that what seems to to be my iPod reading my mind is just a random coincidence.

But still. My iPod's reading my mind again.

8-)

I actually don't remember much about the songs I used to listen to while running the race. I remember two of them--'Run Riot”, and Heavy D's “Now That We Found Love”. The others I don't recall, although I suppose I may still have the cassette tape on which they resided somewhere. That's right, by the way. The songs used to be on a cassette tape and I would listen to them on a Walkman while running, which means those race times I mentioned yesterday were done while lugging around an 82-pound piece of equipment with me.

Well, 82 pounds, give or take 81 and a half.

The songs all had approximately the same beat and the same tempo, giving me a cadence with which to run. And even though I don't do races any more, I still have an iPod full of songs that have that same tempo, and whenever I happen to be lagging a bit or feeling a little lack of morning energy, all I have to do is pop one of them on and I'm good to go.

Unless, of course, it's one of those days where my iPod's reading my mind. Then I don't even have to do that one simple act.

(jim@wmqt.com)