Sunsets, Stars, West, Wind
Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly) tweeted at 5:11 AM on Thu, May 09, 2013:
Amazon Warehouse Workers Sue Over Security Checkpoint Waits http://t.co/tKyxMfRLne
(https://twitter.com/PublishersWkly/status/332437707131330561)
More fodder for my Amazon boycott fire.
During my Thanksgiving break, I ordered a new Bluetooth headset. I desperately wanted to assuage my boredom while walking Apollo during the evenings, and if I could listen to music or, even better, audiobooks, I thought it would encourage me to walk longer and get more exercise. Earlier in November, I took advantage of a sale NewEgg had on headsets, but that first pair went over my head and made my ears extremely uncomfortable. My daughter liked them, so I sent them south to her as a pseudo-Chirstmas gift. That first headset had superior sound for music listening, but I couldn’t overcome the ear cartilage torture side-effect.
I’ve had the second LG headset for nearly a month now and I wear it daily. Most of the time, I can’t even tell I have it around my neck. The LG Behind-the-Neck headset is very lightweight and the actual ear buds are nicely unobtrusive. I often wear my sunglasses and a scarf without hampering their usefulness or tangling them up. One of the niftiest features of the headset are the magnetic receptacles for the ear buds. When I remove them from my ear canal and lay them against my body, they will often snap back to their ‘home’ spot.
If I’m listening to an audiobook, which I do quite frequently since acquiring this headset, and I receive a phone call, the headset vibrates on my neck and plays a ring tone in my ear (I always have my phone on silent/vibrate). It automatically pauses my audiobook when I click the answer call button found on the left hand nacelle. When I finish with the call, my audiobook automatically resumes.
The battery life is purported to be ten hours of talk or music listening time. I have only run the battery down once. As a rule, I charge it overnight every two or three days. The range is about thirty feet, so I can leave my phone in the center of the main floor and have good coverage for most of the house. The power switch is simple, and I do love simple designs. Simple works. No holding a button down for a certain number of seconds. Just slide the switch to either ‘On’ or ‘Off.’
Pairing with a Bluetooth device is also exceptionally easy. No need to hold a button down for another second/different designated number of seconds. Once the headset is on, it connects to my cell phone. No muss, no fuss. Again, simple works.
The price was right as well. In fact, if you want your own pair of LG Behind-The-Neck Stereo Bluetooth Headset w/ Music Streaming/ Call Waiting Support (HBS-700), you can still get them (as of December 29, 2012) for the same price I did: $39.99 (including free shipping). My husband liked them so much, I bought him his own pair a couple of weeks ago.
I started wearing my new pedometer the day I received it, on the third of September. Almost a month has passed since then, and I’ve enjoyed and been encouraged by the ease and usefulness of it. I love that it’s rechargeable. I love that it lights up so when I’m walking Apollo during the evenings, in the dark, I can easily track how far we’ve gone. I really like the total step feature, which is in addition to the seven-day memory. But I didn’t pass through September completely unscathed.
About midway through the month I took the lanyard off my old pedometer and attached it to my new one. I wanted a clip to fasten to my pocket opening so I wouldn’t accidentally drop the pedometer. A day or two after doing that I realized the pedometer had somehow reset itself, losing not only the daily stats, but the memory and the total steps stats as well. I determined that because this is a pocket pedometer (with no available belt clip accessory), the new lanyard, with the transitional piece of plastic near the pedometer, can become wedge between my body and the reset button (upper left hand button in the photo above), especially if I bend over repeatedly. I am more careful now about removing the pedometer from my pocket when sitting, driving or doing heavy cleaning and housework. Jeans proved to be the worst about resetting the pedometer. My workout pants, looser fitting and with bigger and deeper pockets, were the best at preventing inadvertent resets of the pedometer’s memory.
I returned to the Pedometers USA website, hoping to find a belt clip for my model. I did not find that accessory but I did notice a price increase. When I purchased the PE-798 model earlier in September, I only spent $16.95. Now, with just three days left in the same month, the price shot up to $29.95. In reviewing other downloadable (but not rechargeable) models, the cute and compact CR-786 model goes for that nearly irresistible price of $16.95. It looks like a thumb drive (and sort of is) but acts like a pedometer.
But back to how well the new pedometer performed in September after nearly four weeks of continuous use (minus the time I spent sleeping). Even though the TrakNote software allowed me to export the data collected to a CSV file, I’m so terrible at using Excel 2010, that I gave up and copied/pasted the relevant information into my SparkPeople fitness web tracking account because I liked the charts better.
If I hadn’t accidentally reset my pedometer on the 13th and 14th, I might have actually reached my goal of 7,000 steps per day for most of the month. The spike you see on September 22nd resulted from cleaning out the garage and an evening of stargazing at Powell Observatory. I had to take it easy on Sunday the 23rd, when I woke up tired, sore and stiff.
I think it’s time to up my goal. On the first of October, I will change my target steps, increasing them by a thousand, for a total of 8,000 steps. I don’t know if I can reach the recommended goal of 10,000 steps by the end of the year (weather permitting of course), but we’ll see how well I do next month with the bar raised a bit higher. I’ve languished at the seven thousand step mark for far too long. Apollo wants me to walking him more often anyways.
∞∞∞
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention an interesting occurrence between my coworkers and I. Yesterday afternoon, my cube mates began discussing and guessing how many trips it would take around our floor to equal one mile. Since I know my stride length and I always wear my pedometer, I volunteered to walk the floor one time to determine the number of steps around the perimeter (the hallway that hugs the exterior windowed offices). Roughly, it came up to three hundred steps (I rounded up for ease of calculation). Once I got back to my desk, I fired up Excel (I can at least do simple formulas, if not complicated fancy pivot tables and charts) and did the following calculations:
So depending on your stride length, six or eight trips around our floor would equal approximately one mile walked.
I can probably retire the post I wrote several months ago. The one that included a flowchart of how to transfer a library ebook from your computer to your Nook. I received so many calls from fellow Nook owners about how to do this process, that I felt compelled to break it down into bite-size easily digested pieces, with pictures to aid memory retention, and post it here at my blog. Thankfully, Barnes & Noble released, this morning, the long overdue OverDrive app, making that flowchart, at least the library lending portion of it, obsolete. Being a fool who rushes in where app angels fear to tread, I downloaded it to my Nook over lunch.
From the OverDrive main menu, I tapped the App Settings icon, where I activated my Nook device via my existing Adobe Digital Editions account. I reviewed but did not change any of the other settings. I returned to the Bookshelf home page, and tapped the Get Books icon from the main menu. At the bottom of the screen on this page, there is a large ‘Add a Library’ button, which I pressed. I typed in the name of the Kansas City Public Library and pressed the Search button. I added my favourite local (literally in the same building) library from the search results. I made sure to star it and save it for future use.
When I clicked on the link to the KC Public Library, I was taken to the Nook’s web browser and the mobile website for the library’s OverDrive system. I entered my library card and pin number, telling the Nook to remember that information for future visits. I clicked on the My Wish List link under the Your Account tab and checked out an ebook I had waiting there (Cat’s Cradle in this instance). I selected the ePub version and pressed the Download button. Success! No USB cable necessary. All done in seconds, wirelessly.
The OverDrive reader software is different from the Nook Color’s primary reading application, and it seems a bit slower. I will need to review the pop-up quick reference guide more closely to see if I’m missing any gestures or configuration settings to tweak performance.
B&N also released a similar app from 3M, which I also downloaded and installed to my Nook. However, my other local library does not use that service, so I may archive that app.
Sixteen or seventeen months after I received my Nook Color, one hurdle to simpler ebook lending achieved. Now, if publishers and libraries could just reach a compromise in their disagreement. Have you read the recently published open letter from the ALA and the response by the Big Six (through the AAP)? The digital divide is widening daily.
My old pedometer finally bit the dust last month. That explains why you haven’t seen any posts here relating to my weekly or monthly step stats. My Omron pedometer decided it needed a permanent vacation. This prompted me to go looking for a new and improved model.
I reviewed the Omrom pedometers at a website I stumbled upon dedicated to pedometers called, not surprisingly, PedometersUSA.com. At a bare minimum, any new pedometer had to do everything the Omrom HJ-113 could do, including resetting automatically at midnight and having a seven-day memory. I didn’t find anything from Omrom that flipped my trigger though.
Using the PedometersUSA.com ‘Best Rated/Accuracy’ web page, I reviewed all the pedometers listed under ‘High Accuracy – Multi-Function’ and decided to purchase the Pedusa PE-798 Tri-Axis pedometer. The number one reason I bought this model? It’s rechargeable, which means I never need to buy another weird small coin battery again or keep track of a small screw driver to access said battery. I couldn’t believe the low price of $16.95 and I appreciated the free shipping as well.
I placed my order on Monday August 27th and I received the package on Saturday, September 1st, which impressed me for free shipping. The pedometer came to me uncharged, so I hooked it up to my laptop to charge for a couple of hours. A small CD came in the package which contained the tracking software, which I installed on the same laptop. Windows 7 had already identified and installed the correct driver when I initially hooked up the pedometer’s short USB cable.
Sunday morning, while working from home on an application upgrade (it’s what I do), I read through the one sheet map-like-folded user’s guide and got the clock set (sort of … more on that later), my stride length and my daily step goal. I got the lanyard attached to the device, but didn’t really see the point since the cord did not include a clip. I will probably steal the lanyard from my old Omrom pedometer, which does have a clip. Since this new pedometer is supposed to ‘highly accurate’ using a tri-axis (instead of a dual axis like the Omrom had), I can just put it in my pocket or my purse. I slipped it into my pocket late in the day on Sunday and recorded about a thousand steps before retiring for bed.
I woke up early on Labor Day and decided Apollo needed a walk. I slipped the pedometer into my pocket without looking at it and headed out the door with Apollo pulling me down the steps enthusiastically. I wanted to stay out at least three-quarters of an hour, if not an hour, so I could enjoy the gradual brightening of the sky as dawn approached. I checked the pedometer when I reach the halfway point, while crossing Main Street at Mary Street and thought it odd I had already surpassed four thousand steps. Apollo and I continued south through the partially developed Lansing Town Centre area down to Sonic and then back north again, retracing our steps to Mary Street.
Once I got back home, I put my reading glasses on and realized the clock was off by twelve hours. This meant that at midnight, the pedometer didn’t reset because it thought it was noon. I adjusted the clock and made a mental note to subtract about a thousand steps from Monday’s total steps.
I no longer have to worry about where I put my reading glasses when I want to record my steps in my fitness log. The software that came with my new pedometer makes this insanely easy. It even allows more than one user to use the software, although I don’t think you can have more than one person per pedometer (how would the pedometer know?). If I were to purchase another one for Terry, he could use the same installation of the software.
The first time I ran the software, I filled out a short user profile. These data points: gender, age, height, weight and stride, help calculate calories burned. The target step I had already set directly on the pedometer, but it’s nice to be able to update it via a computer keyboard. I connected the pedometer to an open USB port on my laptop before running TrakNote (you will get an error message if the pedometer is not connected). I saved my profile and continued to the main screen of the TrakNote software.
I only had one-half day’s worth of data to review on Monday, so I couldn’t explore many of the features available. The longer I use the pedometer and the tracking software, the more data and graphs I’ll be able to review. If I want to really go bonkers, I can download the data to a CSV file and use a spreadsheet or database program to create pivot tables, graphs and other reports.
While I haven’t had the pedometer for very long (just a few days now), I’m excited about the possibilities. I did e-mail customer service asking if a belt clip for this pedometer was available as an accessory.
I’ve also re-ignited my determination to get back on track with my walking and exercising regime. The scorching hot summer de-motivated me. With the autumnal equinox just a couple of weeks away, I’m all fired up to watch the leaves change colors while trying to keep up with Apollo on our evening and morning walks.
I will revisit this review after a few more days, but initially I would give the Pedusa PE-798 Tri-Axis pedometer high marks and a best buy recommendation.
About four hours ago, I received notice (several of them actually from various different venues and feeds) of the highly anticipated software update from Barnes & Noble for the Nook Color (specifically update 1.4.1). When the Nook Tablet was announced last month, B&N also mentioned this software update, probably as a carrot to current owners of the Nook Color. Since I’m a geek by nature and can’t stand to let an update languish, I dived right in and manually installed the update.
I barely glanced at the instructions. I read just enough to confirm that the process for 1.4.1 seemed essentially identical to the last three software updates. I actually didn’t get a chance to manually install 1.3 as it happened ‘automatically’ overnight while I was sleeping. I did manually download and install 1.2 though, but that was back in May when I first received my Nook Color.
Basically, I downloaded the 208 MB file. I made sure I had at least 20 percent battery life left (I had 65 percent), then I connected my Nook Color to my laptop. I copied the downloaded file to the root of the Nook Color’s internal storage area (not the root of my microSD card). I safely disconnected my Nook Color and left it alone for the next couple of hours (I had other things I needed to attend to). The Nook Color will automatically ‘see’ the file, uncompress it and install the software update.
The following is copied directly from the Nook Color Software Updates page:
The NOOK Color Ver 1.4.1 update contains new features and enhancements, including:
I tested out as many of the enhancements as I could find over lunch. I read an ebook in portrait and landscape mode (the latter was not previously an option). The ereader reacted faster to my touch gestures as well. I really like the updated ereader interface, including the progress bar that shows me how many pages are left to read in the current chapter and the ability to lookup a highlighted phrase via Google or Wikipedia.
I checked out the new home for Nook Color apps (relocated to the Library section). The Library got a small overhaul, but nothing that jumps out and grabs me. The new non-beta version of Nook Friends lets you import contacts from Facebook in addition to the other sources previously supported. I connected to my NetFlix account and tested video streaming. The music player didn’t lose my music or my playlists or my audiobooks and the Pandora app still streamed music. All my photos and non-B&N ebooks remained intact and readily available.
The only app I had any trouble with was the GoodReads one.* I contacted them via their Feedback forum as I’m probably one of the first to update the Nook Color and attempt to use their application. I was able to access GoodReads, however, via the web browser.
My initial thoughts on the update are positive. I like what I see, especially in the updated ereader interface. I also like having my Netflix streaming available literally in the palm of my hand (so if I don’t feel like reading at lunch, I can instead watch old Star Trek episodes). The software update will be pushed via wifi starting next week, but if you don’t mind getting your hands a little tech-dirty, I’d recommend you download the update and enjoy the benefits at your earliest convenience. This update takes some of the sting out of not waiting until Christmas to purchase an ereader. If I’d had the patience back in May to wait just six months, I could have had a dual-core processor version in the Nook Tablet. At least now I can enjoy most of the benefits of the software, without the hardware upgrade.
After nearly a full day of use, I’ve found a couple of strange web browser issues that Barnes & Noble customer service wanted to fix with a sledge hammer (i.e., they wanted me to de-register and re-register my Nook Color). I refused and asked for a different less ‘scorched earth’ resolution. By the time I started chatting with them, I’d already cleared my cache, cookies and history and powered off the device twice. The customer service representative asked me to wait a few minutes while he consulted the next tier of support. He came back and asked the I set the browser to ‘default’ mode. I countered asking if he meant the option under Advanced Settings that resets the browser to ‘factory’ defaults. He wasn’t completely sure so while I waited for him to get confirmation, I reset my Browser Mode setting from ‘Mobile Browser Mode‘ (where I had been for months if not from the beginning) to ‘Desktop Browser Mode‘ and returned to my web page. Now, I was able to navigate to my Yahoo Mail mobile web site and the Google Reader page included all the options (some where missing before switching modes).
I still use mobile sites when I can (and had to edit my bookmarks or re-bookmark the mobile versions of my favorites) because I prefer the streamlined interface on the smaller screen. So I’m back to being happy with my Nook Color and still exploring all the new and enhanced features. If I find any more tweaks or tips this week, I’ll continue to add them to this post.
* Update 12/15/2011: GoodReads fixed the application within 48 hours of my initial post to their Feedback forum and last night I downloaded the updated app (press the ‘Check for Updates’ link in the Apps section of the Library) to my Nook Color. The About page displays version 1.7.3 as the currently installed version. I tested the app and determined all the features I’ve come to know and love were again functioning as expected. A DropBox update presented itself simultaneously with the GoodReads update, so I downloaded it as well. The About section of the Settings show version 1.2.7 installed. The application appears to be functioning normally.
Last week I purchased a BookGem book holder for the express purpose of enhancing my Nook Color reading experience. While I could have purchased another protective cover designed to double as a stand, I opted for a multi-purpose product (as I usually do). The BookGem works with hardcovers and trade paperbacks, including an option for easy page turns. I haven’t tried it with the mass market paperback format yet, and probably won’t because the smaller size editions are lightweight and don’t typically cause me hand or arm strain while reading.
In addition to traditional books, the BookGem easily accommodates the Nook, Nook Color, iPad, Kindle or other similar sized ereaders and tablets. I also liked the fact that the BookGem is made and sold in the United States, so I can feel good about supporting American inventiveness, innovation, ingenuity and industry. The BookGem’s compact light-weight design allows me to keep it with me at all times, so wherever I am, my Nook Color and BookGem are sure to follow.
I plan to purchase more of these as gifts for the bibliophiles among my close friends and family. The manufacturer offers nice discounts on quantity orders and shipping is free. I felt the $14.95 price for a single unit was reasonable considering the versatility of this gem of a book accessory product. I give the BookGem four out of five stars.
After accepting an invitation as a guest reviewer at FantastyLiterature.com, I began receiving items to read for future reviews, including three audio books. Audio books have increased appeal to me now (during Spring and early Summer) as I can simultaneously pursue my fitness goals and continue reading. However, I don’t own (nor do I want to own) a portable CD player, so the first thing I do when I receive an audio book is to rip it to MP3 format so I can upload it to my phone.
And about my phone … it makes phone calls well and I can text from it, but other than that, I’m looking forward to moving on to a smarter phone. My current intellectually challenged phone is the Samsung t659 from Tmobile, who are also on my crap list for selling their collective corporate soul to the devil in ATT clothing. Among the myriad items I would change, like a larger clock display, flash for the camera, and larger than 2 GB microSD capacity, the headset that came with the phone, while stereo, cause a nearly instant headache from the pain of placing the ear-buds in my ears for more than five minutes.
And to add insult to injury, the Samsung t659 uses a proprietary headphone jack, so I don’t have the option to use a normal set of headphones. And my older Plantronics Bluetooth headset works great for phone calls, but fails miserably and completely for listening to music or an audio book. So I went on a quest for a set of Bluetooth stereo headphones last week.
I wanted to acquire them prior to a long road trip schedule for a long weekend. With such a short deadline, I found less than a half dozen headphones, with mixed reviews (ranging from just two stars to one with a four star rating), only two of which were available locally through Best Buy. I vainly looked through WalMart’s electronics section, but they only supplied normal one-ear Bluetooth headsets. I ran out of time before I could purchase any headset, so resolved myself to either not listening to the audio book while driving to Table Rock Lake or the excruciating pain provided by my factory-issued Samsung headphones.
During our weekend visit to Branson, my husband and I stopped into a local Best Buy and I impulsively bought the Motorola S10-HD Bluetooth Stereo Headphones. I should have resisted the temptation, especially after reading many of the reviews found on Best Buy’s web site. I have a large head, or at least large compared to the rest of my immediate family, with a circumference of approximately twenty-three inches. According to the instruction booklet (I just can’t bring myself to call it a user’s guide or user’s manual because of it’s tiny size), to wear the headset, you guide them over the top of your head and settle them over year ears (like wearing a pair of glasses backwards). Not only is my head larger, I have very thick hair and on this particular weekend, I had styled it and because of rainy weather, applied enough hairspray to ensure a near impervious hair helmet. It was impossible to follow the instructions as written in the booklet.
I had to expand the headset beyond what I felt comfortable doing, reach behind my head, slip the headset around my neck (like a torque) and then move them up and over my ears. The headset was heavy (probably due to the Bluetooth electronics ‘hovering’ over the nape of my neck), pulled down on my ears and put excessive pressure on my ear canal via the ear buds. All-in-all, not much of an improvement, if any, over the aforementioned OEM headset from Samsung, just a whole lot more expensive. On the drive back home across Missouri in an unseasonably cold May drizzle, I could only listen to my audio book for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time before I had to remove the headset and give my poor ears a break. And how are you supposed to wear sunglasses (see first photo above) with over-the-ear headphones?
I gave the headset another try last night while I walked one of my Rottweilers around the neighborhood. I survived the thirty minute walk with Apollo, but my ears were (and still are) smarting from the uncomfortable fit. I expect more from Motorola, a company I’ve come to trust over the years for their audio equipment. On a scale of one to five stars, I would give this product either a zero or, if that’s not allowed, a one star rating. I will be returning this headset to Best Buy this evening (the one in the Legends, not the one in Branson).