Makiko Itoh : Not a nameless cat.

I have always been an early adopter of non-computer Apple products. I got two (yes, two) Newtons. As soon as I saw the first iPod, I put a pre-order in for one. (Unfortunately that original iPod was lost by someone, not me (cough) on a plane going from Atlanta to Orlando in 2005.) I have owned 3 iPods so far.

While the iPhone is very beautiful, I am not as enamoured of it as many people seem to be. This is partly due to the iPhone itself, and the choices made for it (closed system, grr), and partly due to my reluctance to put so much into a cell phone.

I own a cell phone, of course. It's a necessary evil of modern life. I think my current one is my 6th or 7th - I've lost count. I like it well enough - it is triband, so I can use it in the U.S. as well as Europe, it takes messages, I can text message on it okay, and so on. It even has a Walkman in it if I chose to use it, and I use it quite often as a backup camera. (It's great for sneaking shots in a store that doesn't allow you to shoot pictures.)

I am pretty sure that the ancients started the winter festivals that have evolved into our modern Christmas, New Years and other holidays because winter can be so depressing otherwise. I feel this so much more in Switzerland than I did in New York, even after about a decade or so of living here off and on. Most years, if I had a choice, I'd go somewhere - anywhere but here - during January and February.