Substitute Nigel and the dead iPod
It’s been an eventful day.
Eeeeearly this morning I took Nigel (my beloved Mini) in for service and so that somebody could look at the hatch (one hinge is further out than the other so the latch doesn’t quite align). The dealer warned me ahead of time that they’d probably need to keep it overnight so they’d arrange for a rental.
Now, last time I took him in, I got a nasty-ass Chevy Aveo which I dubbed the “crapmobile”. (Seriously. If you ever want to know why GM is doing poorly, drive one of those for 10 minutes.) I was dreadingexpecting a similar deal as I checked Nigel in…
…so imagine my glee when I glanced at the rep’s screen and saw the blessed word “LOANER”.
w00t. Gotta love loaners.
Substitute Nigel (or, as Fred calls him, Nigel-Wannabe) is a dark blue 2006 Cooper convertible. He’s a nice ride, aside from the near-total lack of visibility in the back when the top is up and the fact that he’s an automatic (eww). I do love driving with the top down — it makes me all giggly — and once I can adjust to the automatic it’s smooth sailing and I look supercool.
My favorite part, though, is the auxiliary cupholder attached to one side of the center console. It has an embossed MINI logo and a printed image of a wine glass with a line through it. As cupholders go, it’s nothing spectacular, but I can’t stop laughing about how they have a “no stemware” icon on there.
So. Quick look over Substitute Nigel to make sure there were no dents/scratches I hadn’t caught; rep hands me the keys; I immediately adjust the seat so I can reach the pedals; I notice lack of clutch; I wince; I get the iPod out and plug in the iTrip; I start the engine; I notice that the iPod screen is completely. blank.
Yeah. the iPod crashed.
It doesn’t respond to any scrollwheel or button input, whether the Hold switch is enabled or disabled and whether AC power is connected or not; and I can no longer see it as a device on either my work PC (running Windows because I don’t get a choice) or this laptop (a Thinkpad T23 running Gentoo because I am hardcore).
I’m researching possible solutions now (take it apart? COOL) but whatever the outcome I am sure glad I made a backup of the contents. The backup wasn’t 100% current, but I won’t get too upset about losing that which might be lost.
And I also have a notable event coming up on Tuesday the 18th, which I will write about after the fact. In the meantime, though, I have lots of Tivo’d goodies to consume.
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Jim do you still find yourself reaching to downshift?? Or looking for the phantom clutch. I always have that problem when I go home and drive one of my folks cars.
YES. I stomped so much for the missing clutch that I think I about wore a hole in the floormat. The shifter does make a nice handrest, though.