Some Like it Loud

With the wealth of information available on the internet, specs have become even more important when doing shopping research. Which has the most of x at the lowest y and the fastest z is often how decisions are made. This is especially true when it comes to electronics of any description. Speakers, however, remain an art form.

You can read all the specs but the truth is, sometimes it sounds right, and sometimes not. When you are shopping for your own speakers, you have to go to a showroom that is set up like a room in your house might be and you have to give them a listen. Depending on how the box is built and how the sound projects in a certain room can have a huge impact.

That being said there are certain companies which continue to manufacture very good speakers. Paradigm is one of those companies and they sell speakers for a huge range of budgets. For the money, I think a great value (if you like their sound) is the Paradigm Monitor 7s. You should be able to pick them up for around $750/800 and they'll last you for your next three life phases. That is until you have to give them up because of the dog/baby/wife.

Pitch a Tent

If you have never been on a canoe trip, it really is something that you should try. At no other time or place in life will you match the tranquillity of canoeing down a flat lake or sipping dirty coffee while looking over the water.

In order to make that happen, you need some equipment. Two of the most important pieces are your sleeping bag and your tent. If you make sacrifices with either piece of equipment, your sleep will suffer and you will hate everyone around you.

A company that was launched in 2001 called Big Agnes makes some of the best camping gear available. If I were sure that I was only going to be taking the tent on canoe trips where weight is not a huge concern, then I would grab the Big Agnes Big House 4. If weight were more of an issue and I wanted to be able to take it on a hike, then I would grab the Emerald Mountain SL 3. Either tent is a good choice.

Head down to MEC and have a look at them laid out on the floor. The Big House 4 sells for $309. Happy trails.

Banana Protection

When I find a brand I like I stick with it. Especially when it comes to something that I need multiple of. For example, boxers.

Going on about 12 years now I've had only one brand of boxers. I really like the look, feel and fit of Banana Republic boxers. I've got about 2 dozen pairs in my underwear drawer. Next time you're at the mall, slip into a Banana and have a look to see if there are any patterns that you like. I assure you there will be.

They're not inexpensive, but come one, don't cheap out on the stuff that's touching your favourite part of your body. This stuff is important, man.

Flush it Down

I apologize for my conspicuous absence over the past couple of scheduled posting days. I've been reasonably busy but I would have made this a priority were I confident anyone other than my sister is reading. The truth is, I'm not at all sure that is the case. That aside...

I just came home with two new toilets. Both are Toto Ultimate one piece toilet. One is elongated and one is a round bowl. The only difference between the two is the shape of the bowl. The elongated is obviously larger and gives you a little more room, which is important when you're hung like a donkey. The round bowl is good for smaller rooms, like our powder room.

The choice came down to the Ultimate or the UltraMax. The UltraMax has a more heavy duty flushing mechanism (called the G-Max) but the truth is, for residential purposes there is not any need to go heavy. I may live to regret this decision once my sister moves home, but I think we'll be okay. It also replaces an old toilet that has a 3.8 gallon flush with 1.6 gallon flush, which is great. If you have an old high water consumption toilet, you should consider replacing it with a newer model.

I picked up the round bowl for $379 CDN and the elongated bowl for $399, which are both very good prices. I bought them from Tapworks in Scarborough and I recommend them if you need any bathroom hardware.

Wake Up!

Do you have trouble getting your smelly self out of bed in the morning? I think it may be genetic but my family is certainly afflicted by unusually high incidence of snooze-itis. Waking up early is easy, once you're out of bed. It's the crawling out from under the warm duvet that is so problematic.

You may want to invest in this Wi-fi enabled alarm clock. It's called the SnūzNLūz and it will set you back $40 USD. This alarm clock sets itself apart due to the consequences of hitting y ol' snooze button. Using a webpage interface, you set up the alarm clock to send a donation to your most hated charity everytime you say to yourself "five more minutes."

So feel free to be a bit late for work, but you'll only be funding terrorism.

Vibration Makes it Better

I recently spoke with a contemporary who works as a dental hygienist and she informed me of a couple of things. Firstly, hard tooth brushes are not helpful and secondly you only need a pea sized amount of toothpaste.

I had always been under the impression that unless you were actively scrubbing away layers of tooth, then you weren't doing yourself any good. I always bought hard bristled brushes and scrubbed away at my mouth. This friend made it very clear that the different bristles are all marketing. As far as she was concerned, the hard bristles made no sense and no one should ever buy them.

She also mentioned that the best combination is a soft bristle and an electronic toothbrush. After doing a little bit of searching around, it is clear that there is one electronic toothbrush that is superior to all others. The Oral B Triumph 9000. It doesn't come cheap, at around $180 (cheaper if you look around) and I'm sure there are aspects of it that you will never use. On the other hand, dental hygiene is not a place to cut corners. Kind of like underwear. Just ask my sister about her wool underwear.

It Keeps On Giving

Over the past few years, I've taken my body a bit more seriously than in the first 20 or so. I started to think that it's really important to stay fit and to have fitness goals. One of the things that started it off was when my sister (who despite her bad odour is not without good ideas), purchased me a one year subscription to Men's Health.

It is a really well written magazine and it really does give you incentive to go to the gym. I don't think the vast majority of people will ever look like their cover models, but they offer some really good insight into exercise, nutrition and health in general. One of the best features of the magazine, for me, is their summary of scientific findings that have been recently published in journals. The journal articles themselves would be painful to read so it's nice to have it summed up in 100 words.

If you do have a friend whose due for a present, consider getting them a subscription. Though it is called Men's Health, it is also well received by women. The best thing about it is that your friend will be reminded of your generosity almost every month (10 issues a year) upon receipt of a new issue. At about $37 CDN or $26 in the US, it's a good move.

Pray for the Health of your Garden

Costco is currently taking pre-orders for a praying mantis egg case. The praying mantis feeds on the other insects in your garden and is supposed to keep your backyard free of mosquitoes, spiders, moths and whatever else you may find in the dirt. If you've got an insect problem, this may be a viable option.

I'm not a huge fan of introduced species since one can never take into account all of the consequences. On the other hand, if you're going to spray chemicals in your backyard anyway, then I supposed a natural species is a better option. It is also the case that they cannot survive a typical Toronto winter, which inserts a natural control.

I can't say that I've ever employed this method of pest control. The biggest pests around our house growing up were my sisters and I have yet to meet a mantis large enough that it could have been effective. We have been seeing some ants around the house lately though, so I'm going to do my research to see if this is a viable option. If you're interested, the Costco case contains between 40 and 400 eggs and sells for $18.99 but Costco is supplied by Natural Insect Control which sells a case for $12.99.

My (hard drive) Space

We're using up more and more hard drive space to store the crap that we keep on our computers. With music, video, games and who knows what else, my hard drive space requirements have just ballooned. I remember when the first modern computer I got in 1997 had 8GB of hard drive space and I couldn't understand how we would ever fill it up.

With HD seemingly coming on with a vengeance, you're going to need even more space as you begin to store HD video. With that in mind, I think you should look into buying a second hard drive. If you have a desktop, they're really easy to install so don't be intimidated. If you have a laptop, then you may want to consider buying an external drive or looking into buying a regular drive and then purchasing an enclosure. The enclosure will convert the internal drive into an external one with relative ease, and cheaper than buying a dedicated external drive.

Cruising around the internet today, I came across a good price on a 320GB Seagate drive. Dell is selling the drive for $79. With free shipping, the total came in at just over $90 in Ontario. Now, let it be known that I own shares of Seagate - but the reason I bought shares in the company was because it was clear that they made the best hard drives. Still, I thought you should know.

I don't know how much legitimacy there is to the Teflon panic. I actually wrote a thesis on ski wax using Teflon as the generic formula for performance ski wax, and the whole reason that it's effective is that it's almost totally inert. It doesn't stick to anything. That being said, I don't know very much about the debate and I do have a frying pan that now has the Teflon coating peeling up that I have decided to replace.

The real issue for me is that Teflon coated cookware is essentially temporary. It's going to scrape, it's going to peel and you're going to have to replace it. If you buy a more expensive All-Clad stainless steel set, you should be able to hold on to it for life if you treat it well.

After you buy your expensive set, you're still going to need to compliment it with a non-stick pan for eggs and crepes. In my search I found that two brands were pretty good value. Cuisinart makes a Chef's Classic line that hard-anodized and is well respected and seems to perform well. I decided to go with the hard-anodized Emerilware. Though it pains me to have something endorsed by a man as corpulent and annoying as Emeril, his cookware is made by All-Clad and represents some really good value. The hard-anodized is not as non stick as the Teflon but it will last you a lot longer.

Oldie But A Goodie

About one year ago, I turned on my TV on a lazy Sunday morning and saw that The History Channel was playing the entire Band of Brothers mini series. One episode after the other and I decided to watch them all.

I'm now halfway through watching the series for the third time and I just want to sing my praises for Band of Brothers once more. If you haven't had a chance to watch the show, then I highly recommend buying the DVDs ($70 CDN) or at least renting them from Blockbuster. The story, the acting, the cinematography; it's all very good. It follows Easy Company, an elite group of paratroopers, from training to the end of the war.

The same team that created Band of Brothers is currently working on a new mini series chronicling the battles in the pacific. The projected release is in 2009, so you'll have some time to watch the original and decide whether or not you're a fan.

You Are What You Wear. Be Funny

I like T-Shirts a lot. They're comfortable and you can wear them with anything. Admittedly, they are a little casual for most situations but that should stop you from having a personal catalogue of "go to's."

The internet has caused a mass proliferation of T-shirts. Some of them funny, some of them offensive and most of them comfortable. This second go at the internet economy has been fuelled by two things: Advertising dollars and user submissions. YouTube, Facebook, Second Life are all examples of sites that are built by the people who view the pages, not the people behind the pages.

The people who started Threadless applied the same concept to T-Shirt design. The site is really an ongoing design competition and people are constantly submitting their ideas. If the design is selected by the Threadless staff, then it goes for sale on the web site. With so many user submissions, you're sure to get a couple of gems and the shirts available keep changing.

Right now I'm a rather big fan of this particular shirt. It's one of a few that made me laugh. The only issue with these tee's is that they're printed on 50/50 blend shirts. Threadless Select tee's are 100% cotton.

Alberta: So Hot Right Now

I lived in Calgary for almost five years when I was obtaining my Bachelors degree. The city has it's positives and negatives but overall I was extremely happy with my experience there. If you are an outdoors type of person, then Calgary can be a great place to live. It's got access to some of the greatest mountains in the world.

Though Alberta is known for it's support of the oil and gas industry in Canada, it has quite a bit else going for it as well. The Tyrrell Museum is home to some of the greatest dinosaur fossils in the world (that just happens to float my boat), the Calgary Stampede is one of the greatest exhibitions of drinking the world has to offer.

One of the better things that gets exported from Alberta is the beer from a brewery called Big Rock. It was started in 1984 by Calgarian Ed McNally and today brews eight beers. I am not a big fan of the Grasshopper but I really enjoy their Traditional Ale (know as "Trad" in Calgary). It is a dark ale that has a great taste and finish. Fortunately, The Beer Store has started carrying Big Rock so that I can enjoy Trad here in Toronto.

Pick up a case and tell me what you think.

The Best Medicine

Depending on how old you are, you may or may not remember the real Eddie Murphy. Not the imposter that has been walking around for the past ten years making Disney movies for his many children to enjoy. There was a time when he wore red leather outfits, said anything he wanted to. There was a time when he really made you laugh.

In 1983, Eddie Murphy, at the age of 22 waltzed on stage, full of bravado and he made me come quite close to pissing myself when I watched it later on tape. Rumour has it that Eddie did not want to re-release Delirious on DVD because he was ashamed of the things that he said and he didn't want his children exposed to it all. So for years you had to search the earth for VHS copies that were in good working order. It was always rented at your local Blockbuster and if you did rent it, you probably ended up just stealing it so that you could keep a copy. In any event, I don't know what crazy woman Eddie owes money too, but in February, Delirious was finally released on DVD.

Everytime I watch it I'm afraid that it won't be as funny as it is in my memory and everytime I'm wrong. It is comedy gold and you can't place a price on that guttural laugh that you get from watching Eddie in his absolute prime.

Ditch the Hammock

Remember when you were a kid and everyone wore bathing suits with the built in underwear? Remember how uncomfortable they were? Or how about before that when everyone wore speedos? Let's all be grateful that those days are over.

In the last five years we have seen the board shorts become dominant. And with good reason. They look pretty damn cool and they're so much more comfortable than the old school "trunks." They're also versatile. They are designed to wick the moisture away from your body so that you can jump out of the water and be comfortable drinking beer on the dock. Since they do wick the moisture so effectively they're also really great as gym shorts.

There are quite a few good board short designers out there. My favourite is Billabong and they've come up with some nice gear again this year. When you consider that you can wear them to the gym, they're not that expensive at about $65 CDN.

There are many stores online such as Altrec, Moosejaw and Killer Dana that sell the board shorts, but they're all based in the States so they'll charge you duty when it comes over the border. Be careful of companies that ship UPS (such as Moosejaw and Altrec) since they charge huge brokerage fees. Killer Dana ships USPS who are generally very good about charging low brokerage fees. Alternatively, get off your ass, turn off the computer and walk to West 49 or Sporting Life. If you're in Vancouver, you don't need me to tell you where to go since every other store sells board shorts.

Enjoy the dock.

Building a Home Gym

So now that you've got the Powerblocks in the corner of the room how much have you really used them? One of the problems with the home gym is the floor surface. You can't really push yourself if you won't lift heavy weights for fear of dropping them on the hardwood. The good news is that you can replicate the rubber floor of a gym at home without dropping a lot of cash.

You can go to a fitness equipment supplier to get yourself the mats, but you'll be paying more than you need to. The truth is that the rubber mats that are used in the gym are the same that are used for horse stalls to protect the hooves of our equine friends. And their feet are worth a lot more than mine. A company called Northwest Rubber is the foremost manufacturer of all of these rubber flooring systems.

Find a local horse feed and tack store and call them up to find out if they have the rubber stall matting. In my search, I found a supplier in Rockford, Ontario that sells the Red Barn mats made by Northwest Rubber. The 4' x 6' pieces are $49 CDN and the 5' x 7' are $79. One of the great things about these tiles is that you can afford to build your floor one large tile at a time. You can buy more pieces as you expand your home gym and put in more equipment or you can just use one piece for a small space in your apartment.

I Grew Up on NES

I try to post things that are a little bit unusual. Things that people either wouldn't think of buying themselves or at the very least a purchase that would require a fair bit of research in order to identify the best product. This post is a bit of an exception since everyone knows about this product and it differentiates itself quite clearly.

I played the Nintendo Wii on the weekend and it is, in my opinion, the best video game system ever made. It's social, it's fun and it's only a matter of time before I figure out how to use it as a drinking game. The game play is just so intuitive that it sucks you right in. To those of you out there who are reading this and have tried the Wii, you can vouch that it's more fun than you had ever expected. To those who have not yet played with it, find out who among your friends owns one and be really nice to them so they invite you over to play.

In Canada, Walmart has dropped the price to $249 CDN in their most recent flyer. Now all you need is to find a store that has a unit in stock. There is also a report that the supply shortage will be thing of the past come mid April. Here's hoping.

Hit the Bricks

Actually, hit the briquettes. I know that 90% of people who have a backyard or a deck now own a propane BBQ and that's great. I love BBQ. I try to get on the grill throughout the year and I have some very strong opinions about which gas BBQs are the best (not Weber). The convenience of the gas grill has enabled people to grill year round, even when you're only plumping up a couple of ballpark franks. But in the rush for convenience, we've lost a little flavour.

Re-enter the charcoal grill, or as I like to call it, the weekend grill. Summer weekend days are meant to be sipped, not chugged. The charcoal grill is the perfect compliment to the patio lifestyle. It takes a little longer to heat up and once it's going you can't just shut it down, but I assure you, eating a burger will be a much more visceral sensation when said burger is cooked on a charcoal grill. It is not a replacement for your gas unit but it is a great compliment.

Weber still makes the grills that you know from the 70's. I don't think they do the big round grill in a burnt orange anymore, but the basic mechanics of the metal ball o' flame are the same. They are well built and they don't take up too much space. There are three models that you should consider for this summer's BBQ season. The One Touch Gold, One Touch Silver and the Smokey Joe (there are Silver and Gold for the Smokey Joe, but the only difference is a lid lock).

The One Touch comes in 18.5" or 22.5" configurations and the Smokey Joe is 14.5". There is not much difference between the Silver and Gold except that the Gold has an ash catcher for much easier clean up. The Gold is the one pictured above. The Smokey Joe has no legs so you will need a surface on which to place it. After considering how much grill space you need, price should be your primary determining factor.

In my opinion, the One Touch Silver 18.5" unit is the best value at $89.99 CDN.

Kick Ass

My cousin Elana moved out to B.C. a while ago and started roasting organic coffee out of her house. It has since grown to become the largest organic and fair trade coffee producer in Canada. I must confess that I'm not much of a coffee drinker but I always have a pack of Kicking Horse Coffee beans in my freezer and they always go over very well with guests.

Kicking Horse buys all of their beans from organic coffee farming co-operatives and roast the beans at high altitude (3,000' above sea level) in their home town of Invermere B.C. Coffee is grown at high altitude and Kicking Horse claims the symmetry of roasting it way above sea level contributes to its unique taste.

At my house we usually keep a couple of bags of their Kick Ass ($11.95 /1Lb) dark roast variety (if I'm drinking coffee, it's this stuff), 454 Horse Power ($11.95 /1Lb) dark roast and their Three Sisters ($11.95 /1Lb) medium roast variety. They have quite a few roasts now including some international roasts from Africa and South America and have recently added a line of tea.

I'm not just posting this to support my cousin. If you've had the coffee, then you know and you can vouch for this. It's good stuff. You can find it in the organic sections of most grocery stores, by looking up local retailers on their website or by purchasing it directly online. It really is Kick Ass stuff.

Don't Give In To Your Surges

If you have electronic equipment, specifically a desktop computer or high end musical equipment, you should have it connected to a surge protector. Surge protectors regulate the electricity coming in from your local utility in order to ensure that your equipment will not receive any sudden spikes. Spikes can really mess up your gear.

Your traditional surge protectors look just like the power bars that we all know, except maybe a little bit chunkier. Since these days a lot of equipment have built in circuit breakers the plugs are usually quite large. You work away for hours trying to find a configuration so that you can use all six outlets on the power bar, but you end up only being able to plug in three or four. Then along came the squid.

The Power Squid is not a revolutionary product, it is simply a very high quality adaptation of something that's been around for a while. But it is nice to have the flexibility of the Power Squid and when I upgrade my power surge protection I am going to go with this product. As you can see in the picture, the main difference is that the female outlets are not fixed in a bar but come out on a cord. This means you can move them around and plug in the chunkiest damn plugs you have ever seen.

They carry three surge protection products, the Surge3000 Calamari, Surge3000 and Surge1000 ranging from $50 to $75 US (on sale until March 30). They also carry a few models that act simply like an extension cord and are priced accordingly (from $16). You can order them directly from their website and they also have two resellers located in Vancouver.

Time For Some Action

I recently found myself on the ski hill with a digital camera that was not capable of doing what I wanted it to do. As my sister flew over my head I had some difficulty capturing the picture because the camera had significant shutter lag and did not have the potential to shoot a wide angle shot. I ended up getting the picture, but it made me think about the more important elements in sports photography - specifically skiing.

I did some research in order to hunt down an inexpensive camera that was capable of taking quick, wide angle shots and I came up with a few options. An SLR camera is obviously the best but I have no desire to carry that around when I'm out skiing.

In the compact point and shoot universe, there are relatively few cameras that have a wide angle lens. I found three good candidates.

1) Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX30 (~$300 US)
2) Canon SD800 (~$350 US)
3) Ricoh R5/R6 ($~350 US)

The Panasonic would be my first choice based on size, price and most importantly shutter lag. It is only 22mm thick and has an unlimited continuous shooting mode (hold the shutter down and take pics at 3 frames per second until you use up your memory), almost non-existent shutter lag and an image stabilized Leica lens.

The Canon is a well respected camera but is more expensive, has slightly more shutter lag and shoots only 1.7 frames per second. The Ricoh is said to have a fair bit of picture "noise" but has a 7.1x zoom in a small camera, if that's something that would interest you. Incidentally, the zoom of the Panasonic can be increased to 5.3x in 3 megapixel mode.

I think the Panasonic is a great camera to slip into your pocket and take anywhere for any kind of picture; even that elusive action shot.

Keep it Clean

I have a friend who is fond of questioning our modern bathroom behaviour. He feels that if he got a piece of shit on his face, he wouldn't simply wipe it off with a piece of paper, but would instead use some soap and water. Following that line of thought, he is of the opinion that wiping your ass with toilet paper is a little bit outdated. I can't say that I disagree with that line of thinking. Enter the Toto Washlet.

It should be noted that washlet aside, Toto makes the best toilets out there. I can honestly say that there is quite a difference between the standard toilet and a one piece Toto Ultramax. First of all, it's more comfortable, secondly it uses a lot less water than an older toilet (1.6 gallons vs 3.5) and thirdly the flush is cleaner and quieter. Basically, it's just a much better toilet. Upgrading to a Toto will run you in the neighbourhood of $400 but if you really want the ultimate experience, you have to spend around $1500.

That's the price point at which you can get a Toto toilet paired up with one of their "washlets." The washlets will do just about everything your mum used to do when she changed your diaper without the awkwardness of having your bare ass exposed to the world. Attach one of the washlets to your Toto and you'll get warm water washing, air drying, seat heating and an air deodorizing. From what I can tell, the S400 is an S300 with automatic lid and flush mechanisms. I don't personally value those features and would not pay the large premium. Toto even sells a portable version, though I think that's going way too far and may in fact be completely neurotic. For the S300 you're looking at about a grand but can you really place a price on a sparkling piece of ass?

VCRs Are So 1996

Many of you now have Tivo or other similar digital video recording (dvr) devices in your home. I do not have one attached to my TV but I do have one in my computer. There are several reasons that I think the computer option is the way to go.

The hardware required for this to work is pretty straight forward. You need a TV Capture card (I use Hauppauge's WinTV USB2) and maybe an external hard drive for the increase in storage space that you will eventually require. For software, I highly recommend Snapstream Media's Beyond TV.

Beyond TV ($69.99 USD) is really good software for what it does. You can search your local TV listings (works in Canada) for whatever show, movie or sporting event you want. You can elect to watch it live with replay ability, record it once or record all new episodes. I just programBeyond TV at the beginning of the season and all the episodes were digitally recorded on my computer. You can then convert them to DIVX so that the recordings don't take up as much space and you can even burn them to DVD. The software is a resource hog and takes a while to load and shut down, but it is the best out there from what I've sampled.

One of the coolest features, in my opinion, is the remote recording option. If I find myself at work and a colleague informs me that the Victoria's Secret runway show is airing before I get home that night, I can just go to www.snapstream.net (using my user name and password), find the program and ask it to record. A signal will then go to my computer and when the show is aired, it will be recorded and waiting for me at home.

Get Horny

This is a simple post so I won't use up a bunch of words in attempt to glorify anything. The main point is that I don't like tying up my shoe laces. I never have. I would still rock velcro if it were even remotely socially acceptable. As it stands, I just do my laces up tight and then try to slip into my shoes without ruining the heel of said shoes.

The Shoe Horn, a very simple tool that's been around a long time can make a small difference. It will however help you slip into shoes without putting a wrinkle on the heel. Those folds make you look a bit more like a bum than you would like.

Shoe horns range dramatically in price from $0 to $30. Actually, I bet you could find a fancy pretentious one for even more cash. I wouldn't spend more than $12. It's nice to have the longer ones (22" or 24") since you can use them standing up.

So Fresh and So Clean

Sometimes when you're trotting around the globe you get that not so fresh feeling. My sister frequently smells like a rotten turtle shell when we are ski touring because she doesn't have access to a cleaning cloth. Canawipe has created a compact anit-bacterial cloth that takes up so little space that you can take it anywhere.

The product is called the Wysi Wipe. It starts out life with the retail consumer, as a small hockey puck shaped piece of fabric. All you need to do is add 1 oz of water to the puck and it expands into a biodegradable towelette that you can use to wipe your face, armpit or whatever else needs wiping.

100 pieces sell for $11.95 CDN so it won't break the bank. Buy a bunch and keep some in your car, jacket, golf bag and toilet kit. You just never know when you're going to want to wipe down.

My apologies

I have been out of town for the past week and I've been unable to update this site. I apologize for my neglect but rest assured that I have not abandoned this site. I will continue to update things regularly starting Monday of next week.

Have a great weekend (i.e. drink a lot and eat some good food).

Fruit of the Vine

I am by no means a wine snob. I know that I like certain types of wine and that I really dislike other varieties, but I have never in my life noted "a hint of cherry." I enjoy the beefier red wines such as Amarone, Brunello (made from Sangiovese grape) and the Argentinian Malbec.

In Ontario, we are largely limited by the fact that the LCBO controls the sale of all liquor in the province. What you can do is use one of the smaller wine merchants in order to get something that's not on the shelf at your local LCBO. Wine merchants are not only useful in Ontario though and you'll find that there are benefits to using them wherever you reside. Find a wine broker you can trust (a feat) and she can suggest other wines that might be in keeping with your style. I know this all sounds really snobby and pretentious, but I assure you it is not. You can still buy $13/bottle wine through a merchant, the only issue is that they usually require you purchase a case minimum (12 bottles), so be sure you know what you like.

Through Wine Searcher I was able to find a merchant in Toronto who was selling the Righetti 2004 Campolieti Valpolicella, a good ripasso that I can afford at $15.85 CDN a bottle. The Wine Searcher service is really easy to use if you know what you're looking for. You just enter your country and the variety of wine and it will list the vintages available and the brokers selling them.

Apparently the weather is getting colder outside, so go grab yourself a case of nice red wine. It will keep you and your guests warm until this storm passes.

Singing in the Rain

I frequently shower two times a day. Once when I get up in the morning and once in the evening after I get home from the gym. I'm told that this isn't the best thing for my skin, but smelling like my little sister wouldn't be the best thing for my social life, so it's the lesser of two evils.

Since I spend a decent amount of the time in the shower, I find it nice to have a good shower head. I would love it were I able to afford a steam room shower with all the fixings, but that's sometime off in the future. In the meantime, there are some smaller modifications that you can make to your shower to really improve the whole experience.

If you haven't tried one of the nicer rain shower heads, then you probably think it is foolish to spend money on an improved shower head. The one you have installed right now throws water at you, which is really all you need. The problem is, once you have tried one of the better shower heads, you'll know how good it is and you'll want one for yourself. When you do get to that point, you can go one of two routes. You can head over to your local Home Depot and buy a $40-$80 shower head, or you can pick up a more expensive brand at a speciality plumbing dealer like Taps in Toronto.

Among the higher end brands three stand out as offering the best rain shower heads. Those three are Aquabrass, Grohe and Hansgrohe. Each sell showerheads at $80 but the nice rain shower heads are going to run you quite a bit more. The Grohe Rainshower Shower head, for example, retails at around $275 US from a couple of online retailers.

If you can justify the expense, do it. You'll notice the difference and you'll be the talk of all your friends. They will no longer congregate in your kitchen at parties but will be drawn to the bathroom. From there, who knows what might happen.

Let's Go Streaming!

I watch a significant amount of TV including almost every Raptor game of the season. When I was living in Calgary I had to follow the live boxscores on ESPN.com because most of the games were not broadcast nationally (fortunately that is no longer the case). Had the Slingbox been around when I was in Calgary, I could have set it up at my parents' house in Toronto and watched the Raptors games right on my desktop in my dorm room.

The Slingbox is something like the TV equivalent of the Squeezebox that I posted about earlier. You attach the Slingbox to your cable or satellite TV connection and also to a high speed internet connection at home and the device streams your cable content. What that means is that you can watch and control TV from any computer with an internet connection. I could have watched all of the Raptors games from my Toronto cable subscription while I was in Calgary.

The device comes in three versions: Tuner, AV and Pro. The Tuner ($179) can plug right into the cable without having to interface with the digital tuner from your cable or satelite company, but it can only access basic cable. If you have a digital cable subscription then you want to go with the AV ($199) which can access digital content as well as your DVR. The Pro ($299) adds HD functionality to the AV and allows you to connect multiple devices.

Power at your fingertips

I don't think very highly of home gyms for several reasons. Firstly, I think you get a better workout if it's something that you're entirely committed to, so going to the gym helps you get into that state of mind. Secondly, I'm far more into resistance (i.e. weight) training and it's rather obvious that when you buy space saving home gym equipment, such as a Bowflex, you're making sacrifices. A system like the Bowflex will never stress your muscles the same way that iron does.

Now, with those considerations in mind, I do think there is a place for a small home gym in your basement or even your TV room. Sometimes it is just impossible to get to the gym but you still want to get in a quick workout so that you don't drift out of your routine. Two problems with home gyms are 1) cost and 2) space. Most of the work I do at the gym is on a Bosu ball or Swiss ball using dumbbells, which means that my space requirements are reduced with no need for benches. By using Powerblocks in conjunction with the exercise ball I can set up a pretty effective home gym in the corner of a room. The cost, I can't really help you with.

Powerblocks are adjustable dumbbells. They take up very little space but give you access to the equivalent of dumbbells ranging from 5-60 lbs or higher. There are a few different versions of the Powerblock and I recommend the Elite (~$450) because the Personal Set, while less expensive (~$300), can only be expanded to 60 lbs. By purchasing additional weight the Elite can get up to 130 lbs, should you ever find yourself getting as ripped as me/Arnold.

If you've been thinking about getting something for a home gym, look up an authorized dealer near you and head in to see if you like the feel of the Powerblocks. If you do, don't hesitate to drop the $450 on them.

Power in the hands of many

Power tools are pretty awesome. I think I have in common with most people that my first power tool was a cordless drill. It's the perfect power tool for university. We're all putting together cheap furniture while we're away at school and the drill makes that process a little less frustrating. It also has the advantage that as long as you hide the drill bits, it can only cause minimal damage when wielded by immature drunks. The cordless drill has its limitations in the power department.

Recently I was looking to make a shot-ski. The etymology of the word shot-ski is thus - a ski which has in it five holes for the placement of shot glasses so that five people can awkwardly take a shot at the same time. Shot-ski. When you are using a cordless drill, it can be somewhat difficult to penetrate the sandwiched layers of a modern ski. A ski is not the only case where you may find that a cordless drill does not have enough juice. Which brings me to my long winded point, that each tool collection should contain a corded hammer drill.

A corded drill comes in different motor powers. When looking to buy a corded drill, it makes sense to look the half inch drills with motors around 7/8 amps. At this motor power, the drill is capable of doing a lot of things that the 14.4V cordless cannot approach. The "hammer" part of the drill is important if you ever plan on doing masonry (brick, stone, concrete) drilling. It kicks the drill bit in and out which is necessary if you're drilling into harder material.

Two products I looked at closely are the Dewalt and the Milwaukee. Though the Dewalt is listed at $179 at Home Depot and the Milwaukee $219, they were both $179 in store. If you want to look at the tools, then head into Home Depot or Rona. However, if you know what you want I would shop at House of Tools. They're usually less expensive (for example the 6.7 amp hammer drill is $99 at HOT and $139 at HD) and if not they have a price guarantee. Not all of their products are listed on their website, so give them a call if you don't see what you want. They also don't charge PST in Ontario, which is nice.

Give Her the Boot

Last Wednesday, Valentine's day, I wrote about women's propensity for noticing the watch on your wrist and the shoes on your feet. I also gave you my opinion on some watches to consider. Now I'm back to let you know what kind of shoes you should sport.

There is a footwear company out of Australia called Blundstone and they make boots that not only make you look good, but also feel pretty good on your feet. They make several different models of boot, including some for kids. The only models I have eyes for are the Original and the Chisel Toe. If you are looking for a more dressy boot, go with the chisel toe (my choice and pictured above) or the original for more casual. You can get either in black or brown.

These are great boots in my opinion but they're not as dressy as they might have you believe. My only beef with them is the stamped Blundstone logo on the rubber heel. This takes away from the boot a bit and makes it less passable as a dress shoe. Whatever, the boot is still versatile which is a big reason why I'm recommending it. Thought they seem expensive at around $170, that's actually really good value. These things are well made and worth the cash.

In Toronto or Vancouver you can try them on in store at the Australian Boot Company (ABC) or any of the other authorized dealers. ABC also sells a few models online.

Wear protection

I warned you earlier that I have a weakness for Cloudveil products. I went and bought one despite my negative cash flow. I found myself visiting the Toronto Mountain Equipment Co-op and it's like I went in a trance. I remember walking in the doors and the next thing I knew I was standing outside with a new jacket that I didn't need.

The jacket I bought is the Cloudveil Circuit jacket. It's a nice jacket but it's use is reasonably limited. It's essentially a spring jacket and I already have two of those. MEC has several items on clearance though that are not only nice, but make a boatload of sense from a practical standpoint. At the top of the lost is a Cloudveil (shocking) soft shell jacket with a hood. It's called the Black Ice.

In store, the Black Ice has been reduced to $205 which is a great deal if you need one. Now need is a relative term and what I mean by need is if you don't already have one. They're really versatile jackets and they're a great layer to have when you're skiing. Depending on whether you're a radiator like me, or an icicle, like every woman, you're going to want a different number of layers. The soft shell should be universal though since it provides great protection from the elements but lets you stay flexible and breathes incredibly. That's key since it won't make you sweat which can be really uncomfortable/dangerous in the back country. The fact that the black ice has a hood just makes it that much better.

Head down to MEC now while they're clearing a lot of winter gear to make way for the spandex laden bicycling community.

Game Time

Valentine's day is a great night for single men. The bars are rife with women who are looking to get drunk and forget about the fact that they're lonely. So when someone tells you that the holiday was created by women, tell them they're wrong, and that it was in fact created by shallow, single men with few morals.

I'm sure you all have a game plan for this evening, but what about the other 364 days of the year when you aren't getting any? Yesterday I gave out shaving tips for those men already close to women, but what about you guys on the outside looking in. Let me do what I can to help you out.

Women are crazy but they display patterned behaviour. For whatever reason, women seem to take notice of two accessories on a man. Women always notice the shoes you're wearing (even if you never see them cast their eyes downward - it's freaky) and the watch on your wrist. So do yourself a favour, leave the Timex Ironman at the gym and go buy yourself a nice watch.

Nice does not mean expensive, nice just means that it suits your personality and that it's not digital (or if it is, it's a crazy kind of digital). My favourite watch company right now is Nixon. They make a lot of nice men's and women's watches (ranging from $75 to $1,700) and you should be able to find one that suits you. If you have a smaller wrist, you're probably going to want to avoid a square face since they tend to look way too big on dainty wrists.

If you're feeling adventurous, and I think you should, look at the Saishin (about $115 CDN) and other Japanese watches on TokyoFlash.com

Happy hunting.

Be Smooth on Valentine's Day

Women, generally speaking, don't like facial hair. They like smooth skin so that they can cuddle up and annoy the hell out of you by breathing hot air on to your neck. I am not advocating that you let them get away with this on a regular basis, but it may be something you might want to consider on Wednesday.

I'm not overly hairy but I think I have developed a very good shaving routine that can help anyone. It sounds like a long, painstaking process but I promise you, it's really not that difficult. I'll lay it out here in order.

1) Get in the shower. Hot water softens the hairs and makes the shave friendlier.
2) Wash your face with something that exfolitates. This helps by removing dead skin cells and exposes the hair. I use St. Ives but I'm not particularly product loyal on this step. To be honest, I don't always use it before shaving.
3) Apply a shaving oil. I use Cromwell & Cruthers oil that you can buy at Shoppers Drug Mart. It comes in 15 ml bottles, which look small but last a long time since you only need a few drops per shave. Since it's such a small bottle it's also wicked for travel. Since it's clear you can see what you're shaving.
4) Shave. I use a Gillette Fusion but I think the Mach 3 is just as good.
4) Wash your face. Something like Spectro Gel.
5) Apply rubbing alcohol after you get out of the shower. This kills any bacteria that may get in the small abrasions.
6) Cake on some facial moisturiser. I have a Neutrogena Face Lotion and a Nivea for Men Rehydrating Moisturiser (somewhat redundant name). I use the Nivea more because I like the smell better.

So that's it. Easy eh? It makes a difference but it is a bit of a process. When I travel the number of steps gets drastically reduced. Give it a shot at home though and see if it makes a difference. Even if it's for someone else. Even if it's only once a year.

Blogger is messing with me

For some reason a lot of my recent posts have gone up as posted on January 31st. I don't know why and I'm looking into it, but in the meantime, if you're wondering where all my posts have been, click on the January archive on the right side of this page.

Sorry for the screw up.

Update - Logitech Harmony Remotes

Update:

On Friday I posted about the Logitech Harmony remotes. It just so happens that Dell is having a "Scratch & Save" promotion right now so you have the chance to save a little bit of cash. Unfortunately, they have ended the sale on their remotes. The 880 is now up to $199. The 520 is no longer on their website and the 550 is still much cheaper at Futureshop.

You can enter for a coupon at www.winwithdell.com. I did and I got a code for $10 off. I'm not going to use it so...8?MWC89L897DVV

Valid for one time use only until March 2nd. You might have better luck if you go try and get your own coupon. It only takes a couple of seconds.

Family bliss

"If you want your entire family to be able to use the entertainment system to its fullest, the simple layout and one-touch activity buttons make this remote the ideal choice."

The quoted text above is taken from the Logitech Harmony Remote website and it speaks the truth. Back when I was slightly more foolish than I am today, I set up my parents with a nice entertainment system in their bedroom. I thought they would enjoy watching movies with surround sound and all the rest of it. What I did not take into account was the fact that they have difficulty with electronics. What is so intuitive to me, can be totally alien and difficult to them.

As a consequence I would get phone calls from my parents everytime they wanted to watch a DVD in their fancy new set up. This lasted a couple of months before I dropped $100 on the solution. I bought them a Harmony 659 remote control. Although this particular remote is now outdated, it still performs. The brilliance of the Harmony remotes is that they are all programmed through a webpage which makes it really simple. You don't have to enter number codes to get it to control different devices, you just plug the remote into a mini-usb jack and tell it what equipment you have. Then you tell it how you want the equipment to run.

For example, for my parents, I asked the remote to turn on their receiver, set it to CD/DVD input, turn on the DVD, eject the DVD disk drawer, turn on the TV, set the TV to Video 1 and mute the TV speakers. So now, my parents press "Watch a Movie" and all of the above happens. They put the DVD in, close the tray and they're in business. It has made my life a lot easier.

These are expensive remote controls, so don't expect to pay $20 like you did for that RCA universal remote. But I bet you only ever got that RCA to control your TV anyway. These remotes will control anything that has an IR receiver even your fan or your light dimmer. The Harmony 520 is the least expensive at $79 then there is the 550 at $99 but the difference between the two is minor. The next step up would be the 880 at $169. The 880, pictured above, has a different design, colour screen and docking station for battery recharge.

If you want to see the difference between the remotes, I recommend this thread.

This is the second time that I've posted about a Logitech product, but I bought both products before Logitech owned the original manufacturer (Harmony and Slim Devices). Interesting. I don't own any shares of Logitech in case you're wondering. But I'm thinking I like their acquisition strategy.

Tea-zer Tumbler

I don't drink coffee very often, but I take down a lot of tea. It's not entirely my fault, my mother is British. Lately though, I've really enjoyed the proliferation of green teas that has occurred in fancy coffee houses and elsewhere.

Aside from the various health benefits of green tea, I really enjoy the taste. Though I used to be limited to plain old Chinese green tea, you can now get a bunch of different varieties thanks to the yuppieness of the whole scene. I really enjoy the loose leaf which is available in tons of different flavours and is certainly less processed then the bagged stuff. If you're in Toronto, there is a store called The Tea Emporium that carries hundreds of teas, including some really good flavoured green teas.

Now the problem with loose leaf tea is that it's not very practical. In fact, it can be a real pain in the ass - which is why bag tea is so prevalent. In my travels around the internet I came across an invention called the Tea-zer Tumbler. Basically, it's like the portable percolators or coffee presses that the coffee snobs carry around so that they can consume coffee from freshly ground beans. Us tea people can now look just as pretentious for $14. Since these were originally invented for campers and other people who don't have access to modern amenities, you can find the Tea-zer sold at a lot of camping stores like REI in the States. Or you can just order it from L.L. Bean.

Enjoy your tea.

But does your cell phone make breakfast?

My father recently asked me to find him a new cell phone after the old batteries on his ever reliable Ericsson T39m started to fail him. My quest was to find a tough, reliable phone with as little fancy crap as possible. He also wanted really good battery life and a quadband GSM model so that he could use it if he were travelling in Europe.

First of all, it is not an easy task to find such a phone. Most of the quad-band GSMs are loaded with extras like MP3 player and a camera or two. All of those detract from the devices' primary function as a phone, and they also drain the battery life. So for all you people out there who are shopping for parents or just don't want a bunch of crap on your phone (some workplaces don't allow camera phones), I think I found what you're looking for.


Motorola makes two models that meet the above criteria. One has Bluetooth and one does not, but apart from that they're identical. The two models are the Motorola v191 and the v195. I had a tough time finding an unlocked v195, which is the model with Bluetooth, so I got my dad the v191, which is available from PureMobile for $125 CDN (~$100 US). Looking around now, it would appear that the 195 is easily unlocked. Motorola annoyingly makes you buy software called Motorola PhoneTools (MPT) to put a custom background and MP3 ringtone on the phone. With any luck, that will be the end of my involvement. The battery on this thing is a horse so he shouldn't even have to worry about charging it very often; maybe once a week.

The more buttons there are on a gadget, the more phone calls I'm going to get from my fahter asking me to explain their function. This one is a phone. Full stop.

Rocky Mountain Fresh

When you're travelling, working out and skiing, then there will come a point where you start to smell as bad as my sister. It's important that a) you recognize when you start to turn, and b) that you know what to do when that moment arrives.

When I lived out in Calgary, Alberta I frequently went skiing at one of the resorts around Banff. On my way back into Calgary I would stop in the town of Banff looking for places to spend my money. Fortunately, it didn't take long for me to discover the Rocky Mountain Soap Company.

As their web page states they make bar soap by hand using all natural ingredients. I love the smell of a lot of their soaps (Alpine and Mountain Man and others not listed) and there is something extremely satisfying about washing your skin with manly chunks of cedar. It's a visceral sensation.

If you find yourself in Banff, Canmore or the West Edmonton Mall, then you owe it to yourself to walk into the store. I personally can't stand the smell of chocolate stores, but I imagine if I liked chocolate, then the experience would be something like walking into Purdy's.

I'm off to an interview this afternoon. If I am successful, then I may start posting some higher ticket items. If not, then my next post may be about a particular brand of gum I enjoy.

How do you carry your gear?

Yesterday we went shopping for a new wheeled duffel bag. We had unfortunately lost the wheel to one of our older bags and not only was the wheel replacement cost prohibitive at $40, the parts were also unavailable. So the decision to buy a new bag was made for us.

I think the wheeled duffel bag has only been around for about five years. Before that the only bags that had wheels were hard suitcases and the wheels they had were narrow and flimsy. Anyway, I would have never purchased one 'cause I thought people looked like total asses wheeling around their luggage.

When the new wheeled bags came out, they managed to make them look like the traditional duffels, which was awesome for me since it enabled me to relieve my shoulder while maintaining my manliness. I bought an Everest bag in Sweden and it has served me very well.

Yesterday we bought a model similar to my Everest bag with some nice improvements. For me, compartmentalization is important in a bag, and we found a large capacity High Sierra that opens into two compartments. It also has shoe pockets and has an expansion zipper in the middle which gives the thing a ton of room. Of course, it has wheels. Skateboard wheels.

One of the neat added features is the ability to turn the duffel into a knapsack (backpack for those who aren't down with the "knap."). I don't know how often we'll use the feature, but when most of your travelling is done in ski towns, you frequently find yourself on snow where the wheels are less effective. Even if it's only for a few blocks, it may prove helpful.

We were able to get the bag for $130 CDN before tax at Evex in Toronto. The store is stalked with tons of different luggage and the people there seemed to know their sacs. Also, we were able to bargain fairly easily.

Drink more smoothies

This should have been posted on Friday, but I was ski coaching. The good news is that very few people know about this blog yet, so I haven't let many down.

My last post was about compression shirts so I figure it makes sense to follow up with another gym inspired/new years resolution type post.

Smoothies are good. They taste good, they're refreshing/hydrating, they help build muscle and flush away crap from your body. I try to make one right when I come home from the gym so that I can give my body what it needs. Typically, I use the following ingredients:

• Mango
• 1/2 banana
• 2 tbsp blueberries
• 1/3 large container of skim yoghurt
• Whey protein (60 grams)
• Flax seed
• Wheat germ
• 3 oz skim milk

You can really put any frozen fruit you want in the thing and I find it usually tastes pretty good. Some find that two scoops of protein is too much, so they use less. Use whatever, just include fruit, yoghurt, protein powder and a bit of milk.

Now to the consumerist part. You need to blend the ingredients. I currently use a hand blender, which is not ideal. I had a Hamilton Beach counter top blender but it broke. A lot of the less expensive blenders have cheap plastic gear teeth that break and render the blender useless. If you have more money than you should, the Vita-Mix 5000 is unanimously considered to be the best blender available. It will run you around $400 US but it will blend more efficiently than you can stalk on Facebook. Those of us on a more reasonable budget should consider an Oster or Kitchen Aid (still looking at two bills) product. I find Sears is a good place to look for these kind of small appliances but Walmart is carrying the Oster 12 speed for $47.48 CDN

If you're buying any blender under $70 CDN, make sure it has a glass container rather than a plastic one and a metal drive system, such as that in the Oster 12 speed. Plastic parts will break fast.

Compression shirts

Three years ago, there is no way I would have been caught wearing specialized gym clothing. I was sure that it was much cooler and just as effective to wear and old cotton t-shirt and some basketball shorts to the gym. Well every once in a while, I make a complete 180 degree turn. My stance on workout clothing was such an occasion.

When I started boxing I realized that I was working harder in the gym than I had ever worked before. One of the consequences was that I was sweating a profuse amount. It was distracting, and probably smelly, having a heavy, wet cotton t-shirt on. I decided to bite and I purchased a sleeveless Nike Pro compression shirt. It took some getting used to but it's to the point now where I consider not going to the gym without one (of course that could just be me looking for excuses to avoid the gym).

There are several benefits to wearing a compression shirt during a workout. The main purpose of these revealing garments is not aesthetic, but to reduce muscle vibration so that you're workout is more effective. They also keep moisture away from your body and reduce chafing. Since they're so tight, they keep your body warm as well. I have quite a few friends that play rugby and they say that the shirts are really beneficial if you're playing contact sports.

The whole fad was started by Under Armour and has since been copied by Nike, Adidas and others. Any of the brands will do since Under Armour had no patent on the material they first used to manufacture these things and there is little distinction between brands. Two things that I should mention:

1) Under no circumstances is it okay for any man wear a compression shirt without another, looser shirt, over top of it.
2) They're not inexpensive. They usually run around $40 in Canada and rarely go on sale. I find the best place to buy them is at Winners (in the States, that would be TJ Maxx). You can usually find them on the athletic racks for about $15-20. If they don't have any in stock, try Sportcheck or eBay.

Now get your fat ass back into the gym. You know you put on weight over the holidays.

The Down Parka

In my opinion, there are few items of clothing that will do as much for you as a down jacket. I know that women aren't as fond of the genre 'cause they have no desire to look "puffy" but its utility cannot be questioned. For men, women will want to hug you when you're wearing one because they look so appealing. A good down jacket is warm, breathes well and easily doubles as a pillow in the car.

In the last five years we have seen a proliferation of high end outdoor gear. It used to be that you were either wearing Patagonia, or buying something made by Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC). Now we have The North Face, Arc'Teryx (subsequently bought out by Salomon), Marmot, Cloudveil and others. Among them, Cloudveil is my personal favourite for a combination of reasons including performance, comfort, style and value.

As my good friends know too well, I have absolutely no need for a new jacket, but if I were in the market for a down or synthetic parka, I would probably bite on the Down Patrol Jacket at $299 US. I have a two year old version of Cloudveil's Enclosure Parka, which is a similar jacket with an artificial fill, and I can't wear it enough.

Cloudveil does a great job of designing their jackets with purpose in mind. As an example, the arms have extra give so that when I lift my arms, the waist of the jacket doesn't rise up.

I really like their down jacket, but the honest truth is that I like almost everything that Cloudveil makes (except their beanies). If you don't have a down jacket, I would seriously consider buying one and I would look at Cloudveil and The North Face as my first two options. Update: If you're in Canada, the Down Patrol jacket is available at MEC for $305 CDN. Your best bet in the US is to buy it through Cloudveil's site directly. I have used them before without incident.

I cannot really comment on Cloudveil's women's clothing but I do know that my sister just purchased a The North Face down jacket that she has yet to take off. She purchased the thing six days ago. Frankly, she's starting to smell rather putrid but she claims she is more comfortable than she has been in a long time. Down jackets are that good.

Squeezebox

A while ago my sister introduced me to an internet radio service called Pandora. It is unlike any other radio service I've experienced on the internet, because it is extremely customizable and it adjusts to suit your listening tastes.

It was great for me because I have broad musical interests, from Bob Dylan and John Prine to Mos Def and The Strokes. Behind the scenes at Pandora, they've categorized all the music by features that I don't really understand, but that apparently underlie my taste in music. A track by The White Stripes was recently played for me because it has "acoustic rock instrumentation, mild rhythmic syncopation, acoustic rhythm piano, major key tonality and a dynamic male vocalist." Huh? As you can see, it's not a simple case of "Max likes Dylan so he'll like The Band."

Though you can buy a subscription service from Pandora, it is free through any webpage, so it would not make a very good first post in a blog that is meant to be a source of products on which to spend cash. And indeed, it is not the subject of this post. But Pandora directed me to a product called the Squeezebox 3 by Slim Devices, a small company recently acquired by Logitech.

I purchased a Squeezebox last summer for $299 USD and installed it really quickly on my home stereo through RCA jacks. The Squeezebox then wirelessly streams music stored on my computer three floors up through the speakers in my room. Though RCA jacks are not the best quality, I have an older receiver that does not have digital audio inputs. Still, the Squeezebox does a great job delivering great sound using it's superlative digital to analogue converter.

The reason for the Pandora-Squeezebox alliance is that you can also stream your Pandora account (as well as hundreds of other internet radio stations) through your Squeezebox. It is free for the first 90 days, after which it costs $36 US for a 1 year subscription. Well worth the cash since you become addicted after the 90 day "taste."

Another bonus of the Squeezebox is that their software is open source, so there are tons of small useful add ons for the device including weather updates, alarm clocks, nature sounds, satellite radio and even a Netflix ordering screen.

Six months later, I'm really happy with the product and I recommend that anyone looking for a music streaming device heavily consider the Squeezebox.

Additional Links:
NY Times Review (registration required unless you use bugmenot.com)
T3 Review