FINAL COLUMN

‘toothing Never Felt So Good: Jabra BT620s

I was actually eyeing these before I bought any of my previously mentioned bluetooth headphones.  If you’re up to date with bluetooth headsets, then Jabra’s no stranger to you.  They make affordable products which are known to be reliable.  But my buddy at the Nokia Daily News disliked these headphones so much, he was kind enough to donate these to my cause.  

Connecting this device with my iProducts was just as painless as the Philips SHB6100.  The range of the headset was ridiculously far, and ridiculously strong.  You could be in another room with a wall between you and the source, and the connection would remain solid.  This was extremely impressive.

Unlike the Philips, the Jabra uses a standard micro-USB connection for charging.  If you lose your charger, grab the nearest USB cable and you’re set.

They’re a bit on the big side…the extremely big side.  Some would agree that it produces a Princess Leia effect when worn.  But if you’re using these in the privacy of your home, who gives a shit?  Another thing that sucks is that the big buttons on both sides are so sensitive they can be accidentally pressed.  So be careful when you’re combing your hands through your long lovely hair.  Lastly, like many behind-the-neck headphones, your ears will feel like they’re being torn off after prolonged use.

I know I’ve complained about blue flashing lights.  Fortunately for these headphones, there’s actually a feature to turn its lights off during use.  My question:  why aren’t more manufacturers implementing this feature?

These lovely buns can be your’s for about $40.

Tags: a2dp, bluetooth, iPhone, ipod, jabra, philips

Reading Never Got So Busy…and Mobile

If you’re like me, you have to have everything at the tip of your finger.  Aside from slaving away everyday at work, I spend most of my time reading the latest news on global events, and the gadgets, gizmos, and thingamajigs that make life more entertaining for the rest of us.  Many people pick up the morning paper, browse for gaming news from Kotaku, and constantly visit their favorite websites.  The very process of shifting your sources around for this information can be time-consuming and very trying on your patience.

Luckily for the rest of us, we’ve discovered Google’s Reader.  It’s been out for quite a while, but I caught on only a few months ago.  If you’re familiar with RSS Feeds you won’t have a problem figuring this out.  However, most of Google’s products are so user-friendly even a chimpanzee can figure it out…or at least escape from its human captors via Segway.  Here’s what it would look like…and I’m not talking about that chimp:

Sackboy!

You can also track your stats in the “trends” section of Reader.  Only there will you be able to witness the numbers climb as you continue to read, star, and share articles of interest with friends.  My top read sites are the BBC and Gizmodo, with 1,644 and 1,460 articles respectively.

Reader can be accessed on mobile devices (i.e. Apple iPhone, HTC G1, etc).  So if you’re really on the go you’ll be able to enjoy reading all your favorite articles on your phone…even when you’re dumping a doodoo in the shitter.  On my iPhone I’m able to read a small batch of articles at a time; this is good.  If I’m skipping through a group of uninteresting articles, I can mark those as read and move on to the next batch.

Somehow I haven’t figured out how to do that on a regular browser, in which I’m forced to view all articles and mark all as read.  To view Reader on a phone all you have to do is point your browser to reader.google.com.  Since my iPhone is linked to my Google account, it automatically logs in for me.  Here’s a preview of it in action:

I know it says "koruptor", Steve. It's myPhone now.

If you’re using an iPhone and you want to set up a button for Reader on your home screen (aka Springboard), do the following:

1. Open Safari
2. Point your browser to reader.google.com
3. Press the “+” button near the bottom of the screen to create a bookmark
4. Select “Add to Home Screen”

To view my shares, see the Google Reader widget on the right panel…or go here.

Update:  Find yourself logging in everytime you access Reader on your iPhone?  Read this article at Ben.geek.nz…

Tags: Apple, bbc, gizmodo, google, google reader, iPhone, news, sackboy

Soundtracks of Our Lives

Many would admit to thinking of themselves, even if but for a glancing moment, as the star of a movie about their own lives. Funny, right? We’re so self-absorbed and egotistical to think our lives are interesting enough to warrant a motion picture … though I’m sure we have all seen movies far less interesting than our own lives. Anyway, in our imaginary autobiographical films, our level of involvement does not stop at lead protagonist; we assume the roles of the director, cameraman, wardrobe specialist, art designer, makeup artist and musical director. Right?! Don’t fool yourself if you think otherwise.

2v and myself are creatives in our own right, and are currently in the process of writing a movie script. While the process has been postponed, slightly, due to some sensitive issues on my part, I cannot help but see a lot of myself in the screenplay, just as I am sure 2v does. It is as close to realizing those passing moments when someone says, “my life is totally like a movie” as one can get. All it takes is…countless hours to get the plot laid out and dialogue set…and then countless extra hours for editing & storyboarding for flow.

While the process often falls into the technical (and pseudo-creative) hands and interpretations of others after it leaves you–just as all authorship does after one’s text reaches print and thereafter detached itself from authority–I still feel essential to the process. And damn it, there are songs I intentionally play or just hear in my head given the circumstance of the plot. And, in order for certain moments to feel more real, those songs must be played, like we sometimes do in our heads.

For example, in the morning when I’m performing the “morning ritual,” you have no idea how many times I’ve hummed “When the S**t Goes Down” by Cypress Hill. While driving, it’s always some fastpaced techno song, like “Sandstorm” by Darude. When about to make sweet love, maybe some Classical Chopin or Beethoveen…or Bluegrass…Hahaha.

I suppose that the point of this blog entry is am examination of the role that music plays in our lives. It sets mood, establishes atmosphere, and eccentuates both the positives & negatives in life. In my case, it is also longed for to echo my mood. I don’t know.

So I leave it up to anyone who cares: how important is music to the movie of your own life? And while you’re at it…how many hats do you wear in the production of your autobiographical film?

The Sacrifice

The cogs are in motion for a full-scale catastrophe. Some will gaze at the debacle in disbelief, jaws dropped to the floor, while drawing breath in short anticipatory pants. I shall hence forth refer to such onlookers as the “bewildered rationalist,” never before have I seen a powder keg the size & likes of this. A potential quagmire, a chimera, the end of days. For some of us anyway…the rest will be saved. Praise Jeebus!

Others will look upon the scene and hold it as a time for celebration. They’ll kneel in their churches & temples, dance in the streets, and exhaust the supplies of large banquet halls.

The sprockets keep on turning, keep on spinning, keep on turning…as though they never remembered having sat idle. And amidst the commotion, a son of Adam and a daughter of Eve will throw themselves into the gears. Like self-sacrificial lambs…the fools. They offer their lives to ages of tradition, standards, conventions–all those irrationalities that distinct man from beast. Indeed any choice dictated by the unnatural order of things is the failure of the cognizant. The failure to recognize our own mammility.

It is a ceremonius event, this holy offering. I, myself, was recently afforded the opportunity to bear witness to one such events from an honored position. I, a bewildered rationalist, was chosen to wear the traditional sacrificial vestments and watch as my life-long friend took the plunge. And while I was flattered to be chosen to bear witness, I just didn’t get it at first. I resisted…and this was the motivation for this piece. It wasn’t until I saw a single tear in my dear friend’s eye, and saw how he gave one last look to his family, his friends, and the life he’d built, that it all made sense to me.

It wasn’t a tear of sadness, not likes the ones we often shed (either out of emotion or for show) but rather a tear of joy and satisfaction. How often can we honestly shed those types of tears?! A tear of both jubilation and content. 

Then it all made sense–we do this because if we don’t, we deny ourselves our humanity. And if we don’t have that, we have nothing for which to aspire. And, so as to carry on in Socratic Method, if we have nothing for which to aspire, then we no purpose outside of carrying on the species.  And that’s a sad thought.

Perhaps someday this bewildered rationalist will join rank.  Perhaps someday, I will take the plunge.  In fact, I know that someday I too will gladly hurl myself into the mills of humanity.

Tags: cogs, rationalist, sacrifice, wedding

The Financial District Pt. 2

Morning faces tell it all. Come the end of the day, you pretty much expect to see the grotesque, but the beginning of the work day should fill us with promise, not self-remorse…unless you just woke up to something or someone uncommonly “sloppy.” This is how I know that we’re doing everything all wrong.

It is my opinion that THIS is perhaps the largest similarity between the haves and the have-nots:

We all hate what we’re doing…at least a little bit.

Those who actually enjoy what they do… I haven’t met one of those in a long time. And, now come to think of it, those who hold that romantic view of professionalism must surely be oblivious as to how unfair life really is. It’s too short to enjoy all this world has to give us, but entitely too long for one profession to keep you interested through the years. Life gets to that point where it stops giving you things and starts taking then back long before you stop working. How and when are we to enjoy life?

San Francisco, my home, my city, is a Mecca for the modern professional ignoramus. We wake up in a shit mood, haul our asses to work, are in misery there, go home unsatisfied, “wash, rinse, and repeat.” My yuppie-filled abode, we have so much…but it’s all come at a great cost. Just look at our morning faces.

Tags: faces, Financial District, iPhone, morning, oblivious, professional, san francisco