A few weeks ago I traded in my trusty old 2003 Toyota Highlander (174,000 miles) for a new 2013 SE model. In addition to all the automotive and mechanical advances in a 10-years’ newer SUV, I finally have built-in Bluetooth and iPod integration! (I know, welcome to 2008, right? 😉 ). Toyota’s Display Audio system has a lot of cool features, but as with any “new” technology, it’s not without its share of end-user frustration.
audio
WIJFR: Life of Pi
After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan—and a 450-pound royal bengal tiger.
We started “reading” the audiobook version of “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel back around Christmas time and on the way to Miami this weekend, finally finished it. Too bad Ang Lee’s movie is out of theaters now, guess we’ll have to rent it.
If you’ve seen any of the trailers for the movie, you probably know that the main plot of the story revolves around a young Indian boy named Pi, shipwrecked and trying to survive on the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat with a tiger. That’s pretty much all I knew going in so the rest of the book really surprised me, in a good way.
GoalZero Rock Out portable speaker
The GoalZero Rock Out portable rechargeable speaker, which I received as a recent birthday present, is the latest addition to my solar-chargeable gadget collection.
The Rock Out unzips around its edges (like a suitcase) to reveal the on/off switch, mini-USB port for charging, audio input jack, and audio output cable. The other half contains a mesh pocket just the right size to hold your smartphone. Fire up your favorite music app, plug in the cable, turn on the speakers, zip up the package, and you’re ready for music on the go. A set of elastic straps along the back make it relatively easy to attach the Rock Out to the handlebars of your bike or just about anywhere. The sound quality is excellent and the speakers are loud, although there are no external volume controls: you have to use the volume on your phone which is a bit of a pain since it involves having to unzip the pouch to access the device (not an easy feat while riding a bike!).
While the Rock Out isn’t a formal part of our hurricane evacuation kit, the fact that it can be charged via the solar panels I already have means it will definitely come with us should that time ever come. For now, though, the Rock Out (plus iHeartRadio on my iPhone) is serving its primary purpose as an entertainment device on our family bike rides.
You kids and your music these days
Driving home with my daughter the other day I was “forced” to listen to 101.5, her current favorite radio station. I really don’t listen to the radio anymore (not since getting my first MP3 player in 2002 and then switching to the iPod in 2006 and discovering podcasts) but she’s at that tweener stage where listening to popular music on the radio is just something kids do to expand their musical horizons.
I just think it’s unfortunate that the current music she listens to is so bad. 🙂
Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!
This evening my wife and I went to the taping of NPR’s “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” radio show at the Straz Center in Tampa. The show is normally taped in Chicago, but it occasionally travels around the country. A few months ago when we heard it was coming to Tampa, we just had to get tickets.
WIJFR: The Hunger Games
In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.
During our recent family vacation road trip, we all “read” (listened to) the audiobook version of Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games.” We spent almost 68 hours in the car, so we had no trouble getting through all 11 hours of it.
Pro Acoustics 2.5″ mini-cube speakers
The week before Easter we painted all of the central rooms in our house (kitchen, dining room, and family room) which had not been painted since we moved in about 8 years ago.
In the family room, where the home theater setup is, we now have much lighter walls, so my old, blocky, and black KLH 9900 satellite speakers (purchased 9 years ago along with my receiver) really stood out and looked … well, old.
I wanted something smaller, and nicer looking to replace those speakers, so I purchased the Pro Acoustics 2.5″ mini-cubes (ceiling mounted version). Installation was quick and simple: I just took down the old speakers and brackets and put up the new ones. Luckily the bracket holes lined up so I didn’t have to do any new drilling. The only minor problem I had was the screw that connects the speaker assembly to the mount pole wouldn’t screw in tightly. This was frustrating since the brackets and speakers come together and should connect seamlessly together.
Once I got them mounted and wired up I did a quick sound test with “The Matrix” DVD and liked what I heard. Our family room has a strange vaulted ceiling: looking at the TV, the ceiling on the left-hand side is about 14 feet tall and then slopes down to about 9 feet on the right-hand side. As a result, the front and rear left speakers are a few feet higher than the right side. Since each speaker consists of two swiveling cubes, I was able to configure the speakers to get the maximum audio coverage of the room despite the strange architecture. I still need to get out my sound pressure meter and Avia DVD to fine-tune the new setup, but for now at least it looks a lot nicer (and sounds about the same).
WIJFR: A Princess of Mars
Ex-confederate army captain John Carter finds himself unwittingly transported to Mars, while fleeing Apache Indians. This new world is populated by a race of monstrous Martians, whose culture is based on the ability to fight for their race. Fortunately for John, the gravitational difference between Mars and Earth has endowed him with the strength that he will need for survival on this hostile planet. John Carter battles ferocious Martian creatures, but gains the respect and friendship of the Barsoomians. He also encounters the beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, and earns her everlasting devotion.
Technically I just finished listening to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “A Princess of Mars” thanks to a free download from audible.com. A neat feature of audio books (at least on my iPod) is the ability to change the speed of the playback. Thus, I was able to “read” the entire book in just a few commutes back and forth to work this week.
I knew, in the back of my mind, that this was classic science fiction, but I had no idea just how old it actually was. Burroughs wrote this first story in his Mars series in 1911, before “Tarzan of the Apes.” So it wasn’t exactly the classic SF I’m used to (like that of Asimov, Bradbury, or even Wells), but more of a pulp sci-fi novel (just check out some of the cover art to see what I mean).
It’s a tale of adventure, swashbuckling, and romance as Virginia gentleman John Carter is mysteriously transported to the red planet and fights to survive amidst the green and red “men” of Mars. He learns their language, their customs, and eventually, their loyalty (no more spoilers here).
While I enjoyed listening to this first of the series (again, it was a free download), I’m not sure I liked it enough to pursue the remaining books (at least, not now). Maybe some time, though, I’ll return to this classic series to see just what John Carter, Dejah Thoris, and the other Barsoomians get into.
Sony 900MHz wireless headphones
For Father’s Day I received a pair of Sony’s 900Mhz wireless headphones (MDR-RF960RK), a perfect companion to my home theater system. Now I can watch TiVo, or a movie, at a comfortable volume (i.e., loud!) without disturbing the rest of the house late at night, or when other people are in the common area reading, or doing other things besides watching what I’m watching.
The base stand connects to any audio device via either the standard (or mini) headphone jack, or standard left/right audio cable. The base also doubles as a charging stand for the headphones’ rechargeable batteries. The stand is “smart” enough only to broadcast its 900Mhz signal when an audio signal is detected, and the headphones only turn on when they’re on my head … very well designed. The headphones are padded and comfortable to wear and contain a volume dial on the right side. The left side contains the rechargeable batteries, but the headphones are still well balanced.
Pioneer Elite VSX-24TX receiver
Over the Millenium New Year’s weekend I was bitten by the home theater (or HT) bug. Since at the time I already had a DVD player in my laptop (using Margi’s DVD-to-Go, now discontinued) and a decent big screen TV, I opted for a receiver. I chose the Pioneer Elite VSX-24TX. It’s a Dolby Pro-Logic/Dolby Digital/DTS/THX 90W receiver with component, optical, and S-video connections and still serving me well today.