Bose SoundDock: The best thing you can do with your iPod

This Christmas I got a Bose SoundDock for "Team Sutton", and I have to say, it's the best $300 I've spent since getting the iPod from my mom last Christmas. In all seriousness: It's fucking amazing. The sound that comes out of that thing is better than my headphones (either Shure E2c earbuds or my Grado SR-60 over-ear headset -- both of which are supposed to be on the low end of what would be considered the "audiophile" range...). You can hear much more detail than I've ever heard from an MP3.

Not only is sound quality good, the quantity (volume) is fantastic, as well. When I plug my iPod into my stereo via a Y-cable, I end up turning the iPod's volume to max and I still have to crank the volume on my receiver. Not so with the SoundDock. Volume and clarity are simply off the charts.

Even though I have never heard any of the competitors, I just can't imagine any of them being this otherwordly in their goodness. I can't recommend the SoundDock highly enough.

Also, if you have an iPod and haven't sorted out your in-car options, I currently use, enjoy, and recommend the Monster iCarPlay for automotive listening with simultaneous charging joy, though the new iTrip Auto looks very interesting.

The only shame in all of this, of course is the amount of money a little gizmo like an iPod can make you burn... Ah, well, such is life, eh? ;)

Boombox iPod, you say?

Apple to tackle consumer electronics; iPod "boombox" planned

One such product described to AppleInsider is an iPod boombox "unlike anything seen in boombox world" and strikingly different from "anything Apple has released in the past."

Huh. Good idea!

(Full disclosure: When first published, my post called it the "iBeatBox", but that would be something else entirely.)

Jake Sutton: MIA

So, yeah... I'm still here. Here's a little catch-up:

• My efforts at work on the superultramegaubercrazy-high priority project have come to a rather frustrating result so far thanks to interoperability problems between ColdFusion 5 and Oracle9. Every time we hit the Oracle9 database it causes the memory usage of the ColdFusion server to climb, with that memory never being released. This eventually causes the connection to the database to die with an S1001 Memory Allocation Error, which requires a ColdFusion restart to fix the problem (until the memory allocation builds back up again). Super-fucking-duper.
• The Big Blue Couches rock. While we are trying to keep the pets off them, it's obviously futile. At least the puddles of Mingus hair come off the ultra-luscious blue microsuede without a problem. I'm just extra-pleased with the fact taht I can lie completely prostrate on the big sofa without touching either arm.
• The Wife and I have been to the hotbox yoga a total of three times so far. I am enjoying it quite a bit, though I think I may have overstretched my back the last time out. We hope to squeeze a couple more classes into our two week trial period.
• My motorcycle wrenching buddy Erik and his wife are inches away from having their baby boy. Very exciting times for them!
• I'll be brining the second turkey of the month for Thanksgiving festivities starting tonight. If you haven't brined a turkey or at least eaten the product of said process, I can't even express how much you need to try it.
• I'm almost done with the Tales of the Otori trilogy. I highly recommend all three books.
• Now let's turn the lens outward a bit:
  • Winners seem few and far between at American Music Awards -- The hour we watched was pretty worthless.
  • BitTorrent to block links to pirate flicks -- Smart. There will always be way to find torrents of pirated material, though.
  • Breastfeeding appears to reduce diabetes risk -- Huh... Of course this is one of those studies that will eventually be conflicted by another study that says "breastfeeding give you brain tumors" or something. Kind of liek the red wine is good/bad for you studies.
  • The Xbox 360 is out - and sold out. Reviews are mostly so-so, and it might have a few bugs still. They call it the "bleeding edge" for a reason, eh?
  • Oh, and Paris Hilton got attacked by her pet kinkajou (which the press generally has been calling a "monkey" - obviously, it's actually a Pokemon). Thankfully, it looks like she may not get to keep the varmint -- Just the fact that she named it "Baby Luv" is a clear case of animal abuse.

And thus concludes today's category smorgasbord.

Sell it to me!!!

I remember seeing the SplashPad probably a year ago, and I desperately wanted one. I still do, but it's still not available yet.

Mine's cooler!

Klipsch announces iJam boom box Not nearly as cool as my idea, but waaaaay more practical.

CaseMod Idea: iBoomBox

1. Take an eighties-style boombox - a big ghetto blaster.
2. Remove tape deck guts.
3. Insert laptop guts.
4. Use a big hard drive (like 120GB minimum).
5. Shield the fuck out of those speakers.
6. Replace tape deck front(s) with an LCD.
7. Also put a laptop trackpad (or, cooler, an iPod click wheel) on the front.
8. Do some outrageous software hacking.
9. Optional/Add-ons:
   1. Replace FM antenna with WiFi.
   2. Add webcam to send shots of your mad breakdancing skillz back to a blog/Flickr. (Repeat #8)

Voila! iBoomBox!

Blasts from the past

Man, it's been a while since I've even seen these old Coleco Frogger and Donkey Kong games. Those things were my best friends when I was a wee tyke.

The only problem with the otherwise wonderful Flickr set to which those belong is that there is a Speak & Math, but no love for my dear Speak & Spell. I'm 67.93% certain it's the only reason I'm even literate.

Left on a jet plane. Now he's back again.

Congrats to "millionaire adventurer" Steve Fossett who has successfully become the first person to fly solo 'round the world. (No word on whether or not he found his lover.) Also, much-deserved congrats to my aerospace hero, Burt Rutan.

The first nonstop global flight without refueling was made in 1986 by Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan, in the propeller-driven Voyager airplane. Dick Rutan's brother, Burt Rutan, is the designer of the GlobalFlyer and the Voyager as well as SpaceShipOne, which last year became the first privately developed craft to soar into outer space.

He is the future of aircraft.

The remote of all remotes

There was an add for these Logitech über-remotes on my TiVo. I want one.

Too bad it costs as much as a TiVo...