There were signs that my iPod’s software was going south about 2 days ago. It would no longer let me sync the apps I downloaded in 2008 like the excellent TouchGrind. Then I could not update anything and even after reboots, it would exit out of some apps. Sadly, I am not as smart as my parents had gambled I would become. The Gattaca-style gene selection programme I was put through when still in the womb failed.

Today, I am the proud owner of an iPod Touch that is as functional as it was in about November of last year – the last time I really backed up my software. While not overly dire, I have lost all of my progress in games that take a few hours: The Sims, Zenonia and my favourite, The Quest. Had I been smart enough to constantly backup my iPod using the handy secondary-click of my mouse in iTunes, I would be the proud owner of an iPod that just works as it did yesterday or the day before.

Sadly, my progress in eBook Reader Pro is gone too. I’ll have to manually find the spot in the giant volume, Last of the Mohicans again – though I was half considering to abandon the book as it just drags on and on and, as was typical of English canon of the time period, is racist and self-serving. At least, however, I found out that it is a far cry from the sappy romance that burns in fans’ minds as the 1992 remake by Michael Mann.

Anyway, as a last word: use the backup tool in iTunes if you don’t have your iPod set to automatically sync. I have about 150GB of music collected from CD’s that stacked without cases, can nearly stretch to my height. I also store some music losslessly, but don’t bother so much. The biggest part of my collection? Armin Van Buuren’s A State of Trance Radio Show. Damn, that is fine work.