I really might have one of the best, most eclectic iPods in the world now.

I have more than 6,200 different items in its memory now, from music of all sorts to a dozen or so podcasts to nearly 30 audiobooks to one movie -- "Talladega Nights" -- somewhere in there.

[caption id="attachment_865" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Charles Aznavour"]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/0289624041_s.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-865" title="0289624041_s" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/0289624041_s.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="240" /></a>[/caption]

It's the music that is a lot of fun. In recent months, I have been adding all sorts of artists that strike my fancy. From Dickey Lee and Terry Cashman to Starship and Tim McGraw, from the Andrews Sisters and Helen Reddy to the Association and Charles Aznavour. I've got hundreds of classic music selections and a hundred or so hymns, a ton of country music and seven or eight bluegrass albums with my friend Susan Nikas.

It's really terrific to load up my iPod and go out for a two- or three-hour walk. With the music on "shuffle," I can go from a '60s hit to something by Beethoven to some Kathleen Madigan or Jim Gaffigan standup comedy. I actually end up skipping a lot of stuff because it doesn't seem right for the moment, but I also occasionally come across stuff that I had forgotten was on there.

Think about it. With more than 6,000 songs on the iPod, there are probably some that in all the continuous shuffling, I never hear.

The only thing that sort of disappoints me is that I've got days worth of '60s and '70s music from CDs I used to own that I cannot figure out how to get from my Zune to my iPod. I've also got comedy by guys like Bill Hicks and Mitch Fatel on the Zune, which I have plugged into the home sound system but don't carry with me when I walk.

Yeah, I suppose it's sort of goofy.

But it certainly does make hiking a lot easier, and as my toe continues to heal from its infection, I am certainly hoping to get back into longer walks than I have been doing this week.

[caption id="attachment_867" align="alignright" width="160" caption="Sue Nikas"]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/images.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-867" title="images" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/images.jpg" alt="" width="160" height="218" /></a>[/caption]

I've been eating too much and my weight is closer to 200 pounds than I care to admit, even to myself. I really need to get back into the good habits I formed last summer and fall in Texas and California.

Otherwise, eventually I'll end up in the same mess I was before I went to Texas.

Thankfully, though, my iPod is ready and waiting when I start hitting the road big-time. The music really does make a big difference.