As part of the Amazon Vine review program,
I selected a pair of
Lift Audio Icon Series 6 mm Premium Earphones
for review. I had two purposes for this... I have an iPad now, and
I thought a decent set of earphones would be nice. And second, with
my kids around, I never HAVE any earphones that seem to stay in one place
for very long. So why not kill two birds with one stone?
Fair warning says I'm not an audiophile
of any sort. I don't listen to a lot of music, so most of my usage
would be watching videos or not disturbing someone around me with sound.
What I *did* want is something that was comfortable, stayed put in
my ear, was loud enough to hear, and if it could drown out a bit of noise
in the process, so much the better. And this item delivered well
on all counts. My first chance to use them was on a flight back from
a conference, and I happened to be in the fussy-baby part of the plane.
I pulled out the headphones (really nice hard case they come in,
too!) and stuffed the earphones in my ears. Even without any audio
coming out, the babies sounded like they moved to the back of the plane.
And once I fired up a movie, it was even better. No babies,
no crying... just me and the movie.
Of course, I found out within 10 minutes
that it's not good to be watching certain scenes of The Girl With The Dragon
Tattoo on the iPad when you're sitting in the aisle seat with people moving
past you... Just sayin...
I don't know that I would rate these
as a great deal at their $79 list price. They're nice, but they're
not THAT nice. But at the Amazon price of $25, they are perfect for
what I needed. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another pair if needed.
But I'll be making sure I hide these, so another purchase will *not*
be needed...
Disclosure: Obtained From: Amazon Vine Review
Program Payment: Free
Book Review - 11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King
Sun, Feb 12th 2012 8:41p Thomas Duff While I end up liking most of the books
that I read by Stephen King, he isn't an author that I salivate over when
something new comes out. I'm not sure why, as I like the genre and the
style of writing. Perhaps I'll chalk it up to having too many other things
to read. :) Anyway, 11/22/63:
A Novel caught my interest in
terms of what it might be like to go back and prevent an event in history
that changed the world. Once I started reading, I was pretty much hooked.
King put a slant on [read] Keywords:
110
The Companion
Sun, Feb 12th 2012 3:50p Thomas Duff The Companion
Never far way, the companion follows.
An unwelcome traveler, tracking my steps.
I know the shadow is there, but I never
know where.
I run fast, but not always fast enough.
I'm caught, and the shadow surrounds
me.
All is darkness, direction is lost.
I know light exists outside the shadow,
but how deep is the darkness?
Will I break out into light with the
next step,
or will the journey out of the dark
be long?
I'll keep moving, keep hoping that the
n [read] Keywords: traveler
71
Book Review - Curse of The Narrows: The Halifax Disaster of 1917 by Laura M. Mac Donald
Sun, Feb 12th 2012 1:31p Thomas Duff I'm always amazed when I run across
a major event or disaster that I've never heard about before. That happened
last year when I was on a cruise that had a stop in Halifax. It was there
that I learned about the 1917 Halifax explosion that nearly leveled the
town. To get more information (and based on the recommendation of a friend),
I went to the library and picked up Curse
of The Narrows: The Halifax Disaster of 1917 by
Laura M. Mac Donald. It's not an easy read due to the overwhelmi [read] Keywords: mac
87
Book Review - How Do You Kill 11 Million People?: Why the Truth Matters More Than You Think by Andy Andrews
Sun, Feb 12th 2012 10:50a Thomas Duff How
Do You Kill 11 Million People
by Andy Andrews is one of those books that, on the surface, has a title
that seemingly begs to get people riled up. The mind quickly goes
to politics, ethics, religion, or a myriad of other issues that cause instant
controversy and division in today's society. But if you take a step back
and clear your mind, the message here is one that is true and transcends
labels that we place on people and groups. In short... how do you
kill 11 million people?
[read] Keywords:
384
Would you like to win a free copy of the IBM Sametime 8.5.2 Administration Guide?
Mon, Feb 6th 2012 6:08a Thomas Duff Do you like to win a free copy of the
IBM Sametime 8.5.2 Administration Guide?
Well, all you need to do is visit IBM
Sametime 8.5.2 Administration Guide
and tell us the one feature that makes you want to own this book in the
comments section below. Make sure to enter your email address, so that
I can in touch with you. Two individuals who have mentioned the best reasons
will be provided with an e-copy each.
This drawing will run through February 19th, and we'll select two winner [read] Keywords: administration
ibm
lotus
sametime
email
Managing your message at a social conference by deleting comments... Really?
Mon, Jan 16th 2012 11:27a Thomas Duff So I'm out on PlanetLotus, looking over
the blogs for today's OGS and such, when I find this blog entry from Avabiz
and ReduceMail: Come
talk to ReduceMail Booth 320: IBM’s Showcase Customer Went to Outlook.
I find that a little odd that a vendor
at Lotusphere would be taking that particular angle as a blog entry to
promote their product. But looking at all their blog entries, I see
the same pattern. People are defecting from Notes, so come talk to
us about our mail prod [read] Keywords: ibm
lotusphere
notes
outlook
planetlotus
156
Book Review - 1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire, and Change Your Life by Linda Cohen
Mon, Jan 9th 2012 7:00a Thomas Duff One of my goals/resolutions for 2012
is to incorporate intentional acts of kindness as a regular part of my
daily life. About the same time I committed to that, I ran across this
title that became available at our library... 1,000
Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire, and Change Your
Life by Linda Cohen. What perfect
timing... This gave me some ideas and inspiration for things I could do
above and beyond the "say something nice to someone" efforts.
It also caused me t [read] Keywords:
170
Book Review - Stories From Jewish Portland by Polina Olsen
Sun, Jan 8th 2012 8:27a Thomas Duff Portland has a colorful past, with varied
influences from multiple ethnic groups and cultures shaping the city over
the years. One group I hadn't seen covered much from that angle is the
Jewish community. How did they make it to Portland? What role did they
play in the city? What struggles and triumphs did they have? Polina Olsen
helps to answer some of those questions in her book Stories
From Jewish Portland. Olsen writes
a column called "Looking Back" for the Jewish Review, and here
[read] Keywords: community
office
897
Book Review - Micro: A Novel by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston
Mon, Jan 2nd 2012 5:35a Thomas Duff It's been a while since I've picked
up a novel by Michael Crichton. When our library put Micro
by Crichton and Richard Preston
into circulation, I grabbed a copy in order to try and catch up a bit.
I was a bit surprised when I read the intro and found that Crichton had
died and Preston took over to finish the novel. I think I probably heard
or knew about his death at one point, but I certainly hadn't remembered.
So how does this Crichton/Preston novel fare? I'll be honest... to
try [read] Keywords:
