A tale of iffy batteries
The wonderful thing about gadgets is that they don’t (necessarily) come with a “best before” date, unlike food. I have gadgets, but there’s no set rule that says I have to play with them every day, or all at once. I don’t even have to match the date I receive one with the date I actually try it out for the first time.
Today, my schedule included attending a regional concert. Completely apart from the reason why there was a concert (fund raising benefit), it meant that I finally had an occasion to try out one of my toys; a portable recorder. And I was ready and determined. Managed to snag a front row seat, where the debate over why a particular patch cable needed to go through a DI actually had meaning (I could see what the performers were trying to do…)
From where I sat, a straight shot. Little bother with people behind me (there’s always one person who NEEDS to talk through any musical performance). Discretion; the performers weren’t really aware of my effort to capture sound. In fact, everything went swimmingly until the intermission.
I happened to notice that my battery level was down to the iffy level. Those AA cells that I’d borrowed from a photo flash unit weren’t as fresh and full of energy as I had hoped.
Outside, and over to the nearby market. Sold out of AA. Across to the dollar store. Sold out of AA. Down the street to the local gas station. Yes! In trade, I had to repeat my genealogy. No matter. Back to the hall, where the performance I NEEDED to record had already started. Plus, my seat in front was a long way off.
I did manage to grab a recording of part of the performance. I did arrive home with decent content/sound levels. My delay to test the gadget didn’t cause dismay. That’s all good.
