Your iPod is your best musical friend. But, not unlike some of your college buddies, you can't take it everywhere. Below are ten places you should avoid iPod temptation and go white bud free.

 

 

 

10. Driving

 

Driving with your iPod in your ears is not a good idea. Depending on where you live, it might also be illegal. Scrolling through an enormous playlist while driving is another situation to avoid. “All Out of Love” might put you in a driving mood, but in the fast lane you need your ears-- and your wits-- about you.

 

 

 

9. Mowing Your Lawn in a Lightning Storm

 

Sad, but true: A guy mowing his lawn in a lightning storm gets backhanded by mother nature. Lightning traveled down the earbud cords, and burned him badly. Local newscasts jumped on the “killer iPods” angle, but experts say there’s nothing specific to iPods that make them more dangerous than any other conductive wires you might hang from your face. It’s been noted that the guy was listening to Metallica at the time. Insert your own Ride the Lightning joke here.

 

 

 

8. At Your Grandparents’ House

 

Last year, researchers at the University of Michigan discovered that your iPod has the potential to screw with pacemakers. The number that showed “inhibited function” (read: stopped working) near an iPod was small, but a third of the pacemakers tested experienced some kind of interference. Leave your iPod home when visiting grandma. She’s still figuring out cassettes, anyway.

 

 

 

7. Saving the Whales

 

Until Apple releases the iPod Organic Shade-Grown Fair-Trade Hemp, keep your music player stashed away next time you’re out cleaning up oil spills or protecting mole habitats or whatever. Apple has made great strides in on the environmental front, but shiny gadgets are still pretty heavy on your carbon footprint, and may contain some gnarly chemicals GreenPeace doesn’t like. Fellas, you should also know that some of those chemicals might mess with your junk. Yeah, that junk.

 

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6. At Home When You Should Be Worshipping

 

If you’ve ever had to get up early for church, you’ve had at least one occasion of longing to stay home listening to Nick Drake and promising never to drink again. Unfortunately, you then run the risk of being smited by your deity of choice. Luckily, many churches are “GodCasting” so that you can get your fill of the divine without having to get up so early.

 

 

 

5. In Redmond, WA

 

A few years back, stories about the abundance of iPods on the Microsoft campus flew across the internets. While we all got a giggles out of that, no doubt the situation still exists. In the post-Zune age, rocking a new iPod Touch in Redmond is probably even more verboten.

 

 

 

4. At Doug Morris’ House

 

Doug Morris is the CEO of the Universal Music Group who famously claimed that iPods and their ilk were “repositories for stolen music, and they all know it.” With that rationale, Morris was able to extort a buck out of Microsoft for every Zune sold. Recently, Morris’ Universal was one of the first labels to sign up with Amazon’s DRM-free MP3 store. Perhaps the $4 a month he makes on Zune sales isn’t cutting it?

 

 

 

3. On Public Transit

 

Without my iPod, I wouldn’t be able to cope with a daily commute on public transit. My earbuds keep crazies from talking to me on crowded trains. Still, that peace of mind isn’t without risk. Reports abound of iPod thefts on public transit. No doubt the tell-tale white earbuds are the best thing to happen to subway thieves in the last decade. A headphone company rep at MacExpo recently told me “Last year, everyone wanted white cables. This year? All black.” Coincidence?

 

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2. Pretty Much Everywhere

 

Everyone’s had to deal with the jerk blaring Journey or Soulja Boy out of their ‘phones. Subjecting others to your musical tastes is bad enough, the real danger here is damaging your hearing. Apple’s even been sued because of the potential for stupid people to mangle their own eardrums. Turn down the volume, folks. Everyone-- and your ears-- will thank you.

 

 

 

1. Walking Down a City Street

 

The third day I had my first iPod, I almost killed myself crossing the street. Let that be a lesson to you. I was enjoying a Shaft moment, strutting down the block with music filling my head. Meanwhile some jerk in a car blew a four-way stop, coming within inches of hitting me. Pay attention out there, people.

 

I wonder if he was fiddling with his iPod while driving....

 

Ray Aguilera is a writer and food geek in the San Francisco bay area.