I have just got back from a short run – maybe 3.5KM or so in just under an hour. I did manage to build distance slightly which was good – I did once around an oval 2/3rds of the way into the run. It was slightly humid outside, but that was offset to some extent by spitting rain.

During the run I came to two different conclusions. Firstly is that glasses do actually have a use. They can stop rain getting into your eyes. A couple of times droplets managed to get into my eyes, and I do not entirely like that sensation. It is like having eyedrops. I would prefer not to have glasses if that was the only side-effect, but not having that happen is a good side-effect.

The other conclusion I came to was that Apple’s next iPod is going to be the ‘iPod Nano Sports’ or the ‘iPod Video Sports’. Not sure which one it will be, or it might be both. But let me explain. Whilst running today there was a bit of rain out there – very fine, but there was rain. And I had a rather expensive iPod potentially about to get soaked. This got me to thinking – Why is there no water resistant iPod from apple. Surely it cannot be that hard if you sacrifice the size slightly for a plastic case. I am sure that people would pay a premium for this.

It cannot be too hard to build this either. The only hard parts are the docking connector, and the headphone socket. But I am sure that the apple engineers have ways around that – even if it is a flexable rubber plug that goes into the connector when it is not in use. Or they could go for a new connector just for this product with its own dock.

The Register has a list of the Top 10 Gadgets from the Consumer Electronics Show. Personally, I found the gadgets listed to be rather boring. The most interesting was one that senses when you are exercising if you are watching TV, and turns the volume down if you stop. And even it was not all that great. My brother told me about a device that uses a gyro and a GPS receiever to help you locate stars and planets in the night sky. You can enter a planet (mars) and this device will help you find it.

They are also reporting that companies in the UK have been able claim back VAT on purchases even when the company that they have purchased from has illegally not paid VAT to the tax man but have claimed that they have. In the UK some companies have been bankrupted when their suppliers did not pay VAT, and they were effectively required to pay it twice. This is what I call rude. The European Court of Justice ruled that it was unaccpetable to force the buyers to be liable for VAT when there was no way that they could determine if the VAT had been paid already. I assume that the situation in Australia is that provided that a Tax Invoice has been provided then the buyer is protected.