On 12/10/2015 4:04 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 11:15 AM, Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

The more interesting question, IMO, is how many hours of your life
do you spend at your 9-to-5 (before taxes!) to pay those (after taxes)
rates? Then, asking oneself if it's really *worth* that much of
your time (so you can diddle away even MORE time watching the
boob tube, surfing the web or chatting with others).

About 4 1/2 hours a month. We get enough out of it to say yes, worth
the time working.

On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:


I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )


Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted
music sources.

On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted music
sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations
that surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion
moving between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little
earbuds) suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or
be continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give
good reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal
where they can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the
structures in the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk.

On Thu, 10 Dec 2015 22:01:43 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:


I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )


Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted
music sources.

I use my RF headset at night too. I really prefer it even though the
entertainment center audio is available around most of the house if I
switch over to it. I can also switch those (4) remote amps to local
sources. They all have some way to play MP3s and video from the server
too.
There is about a mile of Cat5, 4 wire shielded audio cable and coax in
the house.

The one redeeming value of the sat boxes Dish has is the RF out ports.
There are 4 "channels" on my internal cable network that can select
each tuner and I have RF remotes to run 2 of them. I also have an
agile modulator on the PC and the RF from my ReplayTV on that cable.
They are on unused UHF channels so my broadcast antenna amp is there
too.

The only reason I am not a TV station (from the antenna) is the amp on
that is "one way".
I did test it.

On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 7:04:42 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Thu, 10 Dec 2015 14:35:41 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

(How many folks do you think express dismay, on their deathbeds,
for NOT having watched MORE TV?)

I want a TV in my coffin. Once I am in that box, I wont be able to do
anything except watch TV.

I have a TV in my living room, family room, shop, main room in the basement,
garage, shed and all 3 bedrooms. There's no TV in the kitchen, but there is a
cable jack hidden in a corner cabinet. There's also a jack on the deck.

It's mainly about football. I can spend all day Saturday and Sunday watching football
and still get stuff done. All I have to do is turn on 4 or 5 TV's and I never miss a play.

The TV in the shed is a 12" portable on a tall end table. It has a long cable and power
cord. Sometimes in the winter I'll move it out by the fire pit, start a fire and watch the
games. "Home games", weather included. ;-)

On 12/10/2015 4:52 PM, Wade Garrett wrote:
On 12/10/15 4:35 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 2:17 PM, Eagle wrote:
Don Y expressed precisely :
On 12/10/2015 11:15 AM, Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

The more interesting question, IMO, is how many hours of your life
do you spend at your 9-to-5 (before taxes!) to pay those (after taxes)
rates? Then, asking oneself if it's really *worth* that much of
your time (so you can diddle away even MORE time watching the
boob tube, surfing the web or chatting with others).

I'm retired, and so is My Wife, so We watch lots of TV when We are not
busy
doing other things. I race My 1968 Chevy C10 short box, and do
estimating on
building projects for private builders.

My comment, that follows, is obviously purely a matter of my own,
personal, point of view -- your mileage obviously may (*does*!) vary:

I'd be "disappointed" if I worked my whole life just to spend
retirement "watching TV". I can understand not being physically/mentally
able to undertake other activities. But, *choosing* to sit in front
of the idiot box seems like such a colossal waste of opportunity;
you're finally at a point where you don't have to answer to someone
else's marching orders... can choose *what* you want to do with YOUR
time... "watching TV" wouldn't be high on my list.

(How many folks do you think express dismay, on their deathbeds,
for NOT having watched MORE TV?)

I am constantly cheating my body out of needed sleep/etc. simply
because there are so many things that I *want* to do with my waking
hours! I regularly lecture SWMBO to take advantage of "opportunities"
as there's no guarantee she'll be able to take advantage of them
in the future (nor that they will present themselves, then).

No interest in learning another killset? Mentoring youth? Volunteering
at a hospice? etc.

[Again, YMMV... I'm just pointing out *my* attitude towards the "MY TIME"
we each are, hopefully, granted]

I'm retired too.

I was a hard-working SOB my entire life-- started working real part-time jobs
around age 14, put myself through college and grad school, worked about 10
years for big companies then went out on my own and ran a lucrative consulting
practice for 35 years.

Traveled regionally and nationally, some international, with 10-12-14 hour days
the norm- and too many consult all day/travel all night weeks- with maybe
Sundays "off."

So I gotta tell ya', I'm damn tired and my head still spins when I lay down at
night. I love nothing better than a mindless veg-out in front of the TV-- or
waste time posting on usenet ;-)

I spend my work time seated with my mind doing all of the "work". So,
for me, vegging-out entails engaging my body and distracting my mind.

As I have a lot of flexibility in how I spend my time, I arrange to have
some suitable "activity" in each day that allows me to get things done
while also giving me a mental diversion and some physical exertion.

E.g., an hour walk. Juicing lemons/limes/oranges. Painting the roof.
Weeding the yard. Washing a car. Changing oil, filters, brakes. Baking.
Shampooing carpets (I don't vacuum! : ). Volunteering. Defrosting freezer
chest. Cleaning refrigerator interior. Sorting cables. Shredding
documents. Framing paintings. Cleaning/smoking/packaging meats. Felling
trees. Sharpening tools. etc.

The idea of sitting -- motionless, unthinking -- in front of the Idiot Box
has no appeal to me.

I dread the prospect of retirement as that will come when I no longer have
the skills/abilities to continue with my primary passion -- my *work*!
There are far too many interesting ideas to pursue while I have the skills
to pursue them!

On 12/10/2015 7:47 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 4:04 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 11:15 AM, Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

The more interesting question, IMO, is how many hours of your life
do you spend at your 9-to-5 (before taxes!) to pay those (after taxes)
rates? Then, asking oneself if it's really *worth* that much of
your time (so you can diddle away even MORE time watching the
boob tube, surfing the web or chatting with others).

About 4 1/2 hours a month. We get enough out of it to say yes, worth the time
working.

I suspect we don't watch 4.5 hours of TV in a month! We *try* to catch the
local weather -- in the last 5 minutes of the nightly newscast. But, tend
to rely on on-line forecasts most of the time (as we can better relate those
to our actual microclimate instead of "forecast FOR the airport"). We long
ago realized that the local news was just a replay of the national news
with some trivial, feel-good, (local) "special interest" story thrown in.
And, we can grab the national news from any of dozens of web sites in far
less time -- and more detail -- than any broadcast outlet.

We have no interest in "reality TV" -- we live our own "real lives",
thankyouverymuch! : And, can pick the movies that we *want* to see
at will instead of hoping someone airs something that we'd like to
watch, *when* we'd like to watch it (or, when we want to sit down and
browse the upcoming schedules to decide what to configure the HTPC to
record on our behalf).

SWMBO sees the most regular "TV usage" with her morning exercise routine
(from DVD or media tank). I'm not sure she would count that as "TV time"!

Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

Up here in Canuck land it costs more.

I have full shebang of HD channels on TV, 2 phones(one is dedicated to
fax), 50/3 Internet. Service over all is excellent. Interruption of
service(down time) is almost none. Tech support is good too.
220.00CAD(~165.00 USD) per month including tax. Our cable is under
ground. Nothing runs overhead, all under ground.

Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 4:52 PM, Wade Garrett wrote:
On 12/10/15 4:35 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 2:17 PM, Eagle wrote:
Don Y expressed precisely :
On 12/10/2015 11:15 AM, Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

The more interesting question, IMO, is how many hours of your life
do you spend at your 9-to-5 (before taxes!) to pay those (after taxes)
rates? Then, asking oneself if it's really *worth* that much of
your time (so you can diddle away even MORE time watching the
boob tube, surfing the web or chatting with others).

I'm retired, and so is My Wife, so We watch lots of TV when We are not
busy
doing other things. I race My 1968 Chevy C10 short box, and do
estimating on
building projects for private builders.

My comment, that follows, is obviously purely a matter of my own,
personal, point of view -- your mileage obviously may (*does*!) vary:

I'd be "disappointed" if I worked my whole life just to spend
retirement "watching TV". I can understand not being
physically/mentally
able to undertake other activities. But, *choosing* to sit in front
of the idiot box seems like such a colossal waste of opportunity;
you're finally at a point where you don't have to answer to someone
else's marching orders... can choose *what* you want to do with YOUR
time... "watching TV" wouldn't be high on my list.

(How many folks do you think express dismay, on their deathbeds,
for NOT having watched MORE TV?)

I am constantly cheating my body out of needed sleep/etc. simply
because there are so many things that I *want* to do with my waking
hours! I regularly lecture SWMBO to take advantage of "opportunities"
as there's no guarantee she'll be able to take advantage of them
in the future (nor that they will present themselves, then).

No interest in learning another killset? Mentoring youth? Volunteering
at a hospice? etc.

[Again, YMMV... I'm just pointing out *my* attitude towards the "MY
TIME"
we each are, hopefully, granted]

I'm retired too.

I was a hard-working SOB my entire life-- started working real
part-time jobs
around age 14, put myself through college and grad school, worked
about 10
years for big companies then went out on my own and ran a lucrative
consulting
practice for 35 years.

Traveled regionally and nationally, some international, with 10-12-14
hour days
the norm- and too many consult all day/travel all night weeks- with maybe
Sundays "off."

So I gotta tell ya', I'm damn tired and my head still spins when I lay
down at
night. I love nothing better than a mindless veg-out in front of the
TV-- or
waste time posting on usenet ;-)

I spend my work time seated with my mind doing all of the "work". So,
for me, vegging-out entails engaging my body and distracting my mind.

As I have a lot of flexibility in how I spend my time, I arrange to have
some suitable "activity" in each day that allows me to get things done
while also giving me a mental diversion and some physical exertion.

E.g., an hour walk. Juicing lemons/limes/oranges. Painting the roof.
Weeding the yard. Washing a car. Changing oil, filters, brakes. Baking.
Shampooing carpets (I don't vacuum! : ). Volunteering. Defrosting
freezer
chest. Cleaning refrigerator interior. Sorting cables. Shredding
documents. Framing paintings. Cleaning/smoking/packaging meats. Felling
trees. Sharpening tools. etc.

No reading? Chunk of my time is spent on reading... No traveling?
Cruising, Flying, Driving, Ttekking....

The idea of sitting -- motionless, unthinking -- in front of the Idiot Box
has no appeal to me.

I dread the prospect of retirement as that will come when I no longer have
the skills/abilities to continue with my primary passion -- my *work*!
There are far too many interesting ideas to pursue while I have the skills
to pursue them!

On 12/10/2015 9:47 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:

As I have a lot of flexibility in how I spend my time, I arrange to have
some suitable "activity" in each day that allows me to get things done
while also giving me a mental diversion and some physical exertion.

E.g., an hour walk. Juicing lemons/limes/oranges. Painting the roof.
Weeding the yard. Washing a car. Changing oil, filters, brakes. Baking.
Shampooing carpets (I don't vacuum! : ). Volunteering. Defrosting
freezer
chest. Cleaning refrigerator interior. Sorting cables. Shredding
documents. Framing paintings. Cleaning/smoking/packaging meats. Felling
trees. Sharpening tools. etc.

No reading? Chunk of my time is spent on reading... No traveling? Cruising,
Flying, Driving, Ttekking....

I spend a LOT of time reading (and writing) -- but primarily technical
issues. My eyes tire pretty quickly so I don't do much "recreational"
reading -- about 500pp/week.

I spent a lot of years doing a lot of traveling so now see it mainly
as an inconvenience. I wouldn't mind *being* other places... just not
*going* to them! And, there needs to be some compelling reason to
be/go there; I have no desire to go sit on a beach (been there, done that)
or "sightsee" (ick), etc.

The places I'd like to go tend to either now be in locations that
aren't particularly safe/convenient *or* would not support the sorts
of activities that I'd like to engage while there (e.g., I'd like
to *climb* The Great Pyramid, not just "look up at it")

On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 9:41:54 PM UTC-6, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted music
sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations
that surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion
moving between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little
earbuds) suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or
be continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give
good reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal
where they can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the
structures in the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk..

Check out this Bluetooth headset that I bought from Amazon. It has about a 60 foot range and I use it to listen to streaming radio from my computer when I roll into the bathroom and I also use it to make phone calls through the computer. The rechargeable headset is of surprisingly good quality for the price. The headset folds up and is the type with the strap goes behind your head. ^_^

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CBNG10C

[8~{} Uncle Headset Monster

On Thu, 10 Dec 2015 20:42:04 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted music
sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations
that surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion
moving between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little
earbuds) suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or
be continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give
good reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal
where they can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the
structures in the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk.

I can't stand ear buds but I have a 900mz head set that works 2 houses
away when I am walking the dog. I did cheat and put the antenna on the
roof. It still works anywhere in the house and yard.
I want to get one of my ham buddies to help me make a better antenna
although 900 mz works pretty good with nothing but a wire the right
length.

On 12/10/2015 9:42 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted
music
sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations
that surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion
moving between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little
earbuds) suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or
be continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give
good reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal
where they can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the
structures in the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk.

You could get a set of hearing aids that is wi-fi enabled and just use
them instead.

--
Maggie

On 12/10/2015 10:06 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 9:41:54 PM UTC-6, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere with
SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music (well, not
*my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted
music sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations that
surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion moving
between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little earbuds)
suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or be
continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give good
reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal where they
can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the structures in
the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably good
reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk..

Check out this Bluetooth headset that I bought from Amazon. It has about a
60 foot range and I use it to listen to streaming radio from my computer
when I roll into the bathroom and I also use it to make phone calls through
the computer. The rechargeable headset is of surprisingly good quality for
the price. The headset folds up and is the type with the strap goes behind
your head. ^_^

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CBNG10C

That *looks* identical to my BT headset -- though I don't see the same logo
on the earpiece. One earpiece has 5 buttons (a 4-way plus a center) that
is used to adjust volume, pair and select programs.

But, it's small (diameter) so not very good on reproducing low
frequencies. It also clips around the *back* of the head (instead
of over-the-top) which isn't comfortable, for me.

I much prefer real headphones (Sennheiser, Koss) unless I'm walking.
For earbuds, I have over-the-ear mounts that don't need to be
WEDGED into the ear canal. But, when seated at my workstations,
the cord gets in the way (physically) as well as limiting my range of
motion (there's no place where it can be plugged in that will still give
me 270 degrees of motion in my chair)

On 12/10/2015 10:07 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 10 Dec 2015 20:42:04 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted music
sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations
that surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion
moving between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little
earbuds) suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or
be continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give
good reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal
where they can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the
structures in the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk.

I can't stand ear buds but I have a 900mz head set that works 2 houses
away when I am walking the dog. I did cheat and put the antenna on the
roof. It still works anywhere in the house and yard.

Range isn't the problem. Rather, there is a difficult to quantify
problem with dead spots -- as if nulls in the antenna pattern.
So, I can move my head and pass through a null (momentarily) which
manifests as a "fuzz out". Or, get up and walk into the kitchen and
have (apparently) "random" fuzz-outs along the way. Yet, never be able
to identify specific places where the problem repeats.

I want to get one of my ham buddies to help me make a better antenna
although 900 mz works pretty good with nothing but a wire the right
length.

I have an old, 900MHz DSS cordless phone:

http://www.amazon.com/EnGenius-SN920ULTRA-Expandable-Cordless-Phone/dp/B000056V7S

that allows me to remain connected to our land line virtually anywhere
in the neighborhood (which is about 400 single family, detached homes)
from a "base unit" sitting in the "furnace closet". I had considered
installing a roof-mount antenna but figured it wasn't going to give me
any more *useable* range (unless I wanted to carry a handset up to the
grocery store??)

This allows each of us (SWMBO + myself) to remain connected to The House
(not just The Phone) so we can "command it" (e.g., "Close garage door",
"Shut off water on lemon tree", etc.) in addition to remaining connected
to each other -- and The Telephone *without* being in the house, at the
time.

E.g., if we're working in the yard and wander over to visit with a
neighbor -- leaving the garage open as we've been fetching yard tools
from within -- we can answer incoming calls as well as command the
garage door closed if the neighbor invites us "in" to see some new
purchase of theirs, etc. Or, if I'm on the other side of the
neighborhood and SWMBO wants to ask me a question (i.e., use the
"page handset" feature) or vice versa. Or, is wondering why I've been
gone so long (ans: encountered another neighbor and am having a visit
with them)

On 12/10/2015 10:41 PM, Muggles wrote:

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk.

You could get a set of hearing aids that is wi-fi enabled and just use
them instead.

From what I've heard about hearing aids, they are anything but cheap!
(and, probably not designed for "high fidelity" given that speech is
a rather narrow band)

On Thu, 10 Dec 2015 23:07:51 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 12/10/2015 10:07 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 10 Dec 2015 20:42:04 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted music
sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations
that surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion
moving between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little
earbuds) suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or
be continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give
good reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal
where they can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the
structures in the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk.

I can't stand ear buds but I have a 900mz head set that works 2 houses
away when I am walking the dog. I did cheat and put the antenna on the
roof. It still works anywhere in the house and yard.

Range isn't the problem. Rather, there is a difficult to quantify
problem with dead spots -- as if nulls in the antenna pattern.
So, I can move my head and pass through a null (momentarily) which
manifests as a "fuzz out". Or, get up and walk into the kitchen and
have (apparently) "random" fuzz-outs along the way. Yet, never be able
to identify specific places where the problem repeats.

I want to get one of my ham buddies to help me make a better antenna
although 900 mz works pretty good with nothing but a wire the right
length.

I have an old, 900MHz DSS cordless phone:

http://www.amazon.com/EnGenius-SN920ULTRA-Expandable-Cordless-Phone/dp/B000056V7S

that allows me to remain connected to our land line virtually anywhere
in the neighborhood (which is about 400 single family, detached homes)
from a "base unit" sitting in the "furnace closet". I had considered
installing a roof-mount antenna but figured it wasn't going to give me
any more *useable* range (unless I wanted to carry a handset up to the
grocery store??)

This allows each of us (SWMBO + myself) to remain connected to The House
(not just The Phone) so we can "command it" (e.g., "Close garage door",
"Shut off water on lemon tree", etc.) in addition to remaining connected
to each other -- and The Telephone *without* being in the house, at the
time.

E.g., if we're working in the yard and wander over to visit with a
neighbor -- leaving the garage open as we've been fetching yard tools
from within -- we can answer incoming calls as well as command the
garage door closed if the neighbor invites us "in" to see some new
purchase of theirs, etc. Or, if I'm on the other side of the
neighborhood and SWMBO wants to ask me a question (i.e., use the
"page handset" feature) or vice versa. Or, is wondering why I've been
gone so long (ans: encountered another neighbor and am having a visit
with them)

Why would you think a head set would "fuzz out" any more than a phone?
Mine doesn't seem to fuzz out until I am down the street a ways.
Anywhere around the house and yard it is locked in pretty well unless
the batteries are dying.

On 12/11/2015 12:11 AM, wrote:

Why would you think a head set would "fuzz out" any more than a phone?
Mine doesn't seem to fuzz out until I am down the street a ways.
Anywhere around the house and yard it is locked in pretty well unless
the batteries are dying.

It's not a question of "think" but, rather, *observing*!

I can put the headphones on and within *seconds* encounter
one of these dropouts. They will persist for an hour or
more -- until I get tired of having my listening interrupted,
thusly. I.e., the batteries are fully charged and I'm within
*feet* of the "base".

OTOH, I can take my phone around the neighborhood and not experience
any dropouts, "fuzz outs", etc.

If I were to purchase a new cordless headphone, I'd select with
very different criteria (the ones I have were purchased long ago
with an emphasis on convenience and comfort instead of concern
for the hostility of my current office environment). But, I'd
rather have *no* headphones -- which I can do during "early"
work hours (e.g., before ~10PM).

I'm working with a firm to modify a COTS BT (stereo) headset to
incorporate a microphone to interface with my automation system
(I present a spatialized audio interface to the user so a BT
*earpiece* is not as effective as a stereo headset -- but, headsets
don't tend to have microphones, very long running times *or* custom
firmware). When this is available, I can use it in lieu of a
COTS solution and have access to *everything* in the home (TV,
telephone, automation system, etc.) instead of just the "stereo".

It also lets the house know where I am physically located so
it can interpret my commands/request in an appropriate context.
E.g., if I'm in the living room, audio from the TV would be
routed to the headset, not the "stereo" that would be used if
I happened to be in the office. Commanding "louder" would mean
the TV's volume should be increased, not the stereo's -- without
my having to qualify that command: "TV louder" vs. "stereo louder".

On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 11:44:13 PM UTC-6, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 10:06 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 9:41:54 PM UTC-6, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere with
SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music (well, not
*my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted
music sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations that
surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion moving
between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little earbuds)
suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or be
continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give good
reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal where they
can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the structures in
the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably good
reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk..

Check out this Bluetooth headset that I bought from Amazon. It has about a
60 foot range and I use it to listen to streaming radio from my computer
when I roll into the bathroom and I also use it to make phone calls through
the computer. The rechargeable headset is of surprisingly good quality for
the price. The headset folds up and is the type with the strap goes behind
your head. ^_^

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CBNG10C

That *looks* identical to my BT headset -- though I don't see the same logo
on the earpiece. One earpiece has 5 buttons (a 4-way plus a center) that
is used to adjust volume, pair and select programs.

But, it's small (diameter) so not very good on reproducing low
frequencies. It also clips around the *back* of the head (instead
of over-the-top) which isn't comfortable, for me.

I much prefer real headphones (Sennheiser, Koss) unless I'm walking.
For earbuds, I have over-the-ear mounts that don't need to be
WEDGED into the ear canal. But, when seated at my workstations,
the cord gets in the way (physically) as well as limiting my range of
motion (there's no place where it can be plugged in that will still give
me 270 degrees of motion in my chair)

I actually hear a pretty good bass reproduction out of the Bluetooth headset I have but there is another larger one that covers the ears and looks like it came from the same manufacturer. I've thought about purchasing those because I can get better isolation from the noise around me. Sometimes it can get as noisy as a grammar school playground around here. I actually wore out a pair of musician's sound isolation headphones that have a 15 foot cord but cord length made them a bit awkward to use when sitting in front of a laptop. (€¢€¿€¢)

http://www.amazon.com/Ausdom-M06-Lig.../dp/B00U5QYVHC

[8~{} Uncle Noisy Monster

On Thu, 10 Dec 2015 21:09:07 -0700, Don Y
wrote:


We have no interest in "reality TV" -- we live our own "real lives",
thankyouverymuch! : And, can pick the movies that we *want* to see
at will instead of hoping someone airs something that we'd like to
watch, *when* we'd like to watch it (or, when we want to sit down and
browse the upcoming schedules to decide what to configure the HTPC to
record on our behalf).

Reality TV is garbage. And that seems to be most of the programs these
days. Other than that there are game shows, which dont interest me. If I
had to rely on the "regular" TV channels, I'd probably only turn the tv
on to watch the weather reports and maybe the local news. Honestly,
there is nothing worth watching on modern tv programming, at least not
for me.

However, I do like to watch the "oldies channels". Mostly Me-Tv. I like
those old westerns and many of the other old shows. I dont spend a lot
of time watching, but when I'm taking a break from my neverending farm
work, (and I do need more breaks than when I was younger), I flip on
Me-Tv, and go on the computer (usually this newsgroup). I do both at the
same time, along with some snacks.

I have to comment about this. What the hell happened to all those great
programs they used to have on tv? I mean the series, like Bonanza, The
Rifleman, Emergency, even some of the light stuff like The Brady Bunch,
or Mr. Ed, Donna Reed show, or Lassie. Dont they have any talented
actors anymore? Isnt there any money to be made by actors making these
series? Or do they just make full length movies now? (Personally, I cant
sit thru a full lenght movie too often. But a half hour series fits my
resting time well).

It's kind of ironic. Back when tv's were only black and white, or the
early days of color tv, there were so many great things to watch. Now we
have all these high tech tv's HDTV with surround sound, and tv sets that
cover a whole wall, AND ALL THEY HAVE ON TV IS CRAP. Who need HDTV for
watching a talk show, or some Judge Judy trying a bunch of total losers
in her court, or that repulsive Springer show, and others like it. Or
who needs HDTV even for the news. ????

Maybe I'm just showing my age, but I cant find any of the modern
programming that I'd even spend 5 minutes worth of my time to watch any
of the crap they have on the tube now.

Funny thing, I feel the same way about the web now. Back in the 90's the
web was alot of fun. Lots of funny stuff and informative sites too,
which were intresting. Yea, some of that still exists, but little. Most
of the web is just advrtising, and poliical bickering, or other junk.
And there seems to be no website anymore that does NOT link to Facebook,
and in my opinion, Facebook is the biggest pile of time wasting rubbish
ever to hit the internet. I briefly tried it, I opened my own page based
on a specific interest (topic) and limited membership to only people who
fit the topic. Within a month, it became nothing but a pile of rubbish,
including political bickering and name calling, people begging for money
or whining about their spouse, or just posting any damn thing they
wanted. One day I just killed the account and will never go back. (and
that dont include all the data mining and identity theft they do on that
miserable piece of worthless garbage).

But I'm not really complaining. Now I spend more time being productive
with my tools and farm stuff, and spend more time with friends and with
my animals too. All of that is far better than staring at a tube, or in
these days, it's a piece of plastic with pixels....

On 12/10/2015 6:06 PM, Eagle wrote:
Frank formulated on Thursday :
On 12/10/2015 4:12 PM, Eagle wrote:
Eagle explained on 12/10/2015 :
After serious thinking DerbyDad03 wrote :
On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 1:15:49 PM UTC-5, Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

That is too broad of a question. If I said $179/month, what would
that tell you? If someone else said $59/month, what would that tell
you?

Am I getting ripped off? Are they getting a great deal?

Don't you really need to know what we are paying and what services we
are getting for that money?

No, If you don't get all three on one bill, then break it down to per
service please.
I pay $200.00 for HD TV and 200 channels [I think, it might be more],
fiber optic access internet, and one landline #. The cell bill is
sepparate...two #'s. My upload speed is 84.3 MBps, download spee is
86.13 MBps.

Do you think #200.00 is about right, or too expensive for HD TV,fiber
optic internet, and one landline?

BTW...that includes the server, the DVR, and three boxes.

That's better.

If I add my land line, I'm putting out the same.

But I have a DVR, an HD box, and three boxes non-HD and get HBO, Starz
and Encore.

Also retired, use services a lot.

I USED to get all those pay extra services [except HBO] but got tired of
paying $225.00 a month, so I cut out the no omercial channels and
dropped My bill to $200.00. After going without the no commercial
channels for a month, the extra $25.00 for no commercials is more
better. I'll prolly see about a new contract and get those channels back
and pay less for one year then drop that service and go with "DISH". I
just got a flyer in My snail mail from "DISH" for $49.00.
I sure miss the days of analog TV and antennas to get channel 2,4,5,7,
9,11 and 13 and not pay a dime for TV.

Any commercial channels, I do what Ralph suggests and DVR any shows I
like and fast forward through commercials.

Wife does not have DRV but watches mostly old movies with few commercials.

I get these low ball offers all the time, mainly from FIOS, when they
expire, the cost is just as high. I could do like my neighbor across
the street and switch every two years but, mainly my wife, would not
like the aggravation of doing it.

On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 6:06:06 PM UTC-5, Eagle wrote:
Frank formulated on Thursday :
On 12/10/2015 4:12 PM, Eagle wrote:
Eagle explained on 12/10/2015 :
After serious thinking DerbyDad03 wrote :
On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 1:15:49 PM UTC-5, Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

That is too broad of a question. If I said $179/month, what would
that tell you? If someone else said $59/month, what would that tell you?

Am I getting ripped off? Are they getting a great deal?

Don't you really need to know what we are paying and what services we
are getting for that money?

No, If you don't get all three on one bill, then break it down to per
service please.
I pay $200.00 for HD TV and 200 channels [I think, it might be more],
fiber optic access internet, and one landline #. The cell bill is
sepparate...two #'s. My upload speed is 84.3 MBps, download spee is
86.13 MBps.

Do you think #200.00 is about right, or too expensive for HD TV,fiber
optic internet, and one landline?

BTW...that includes the server, the DVR, and three boxes.

That's better.

If I add my land line, I'm putting out the same.

But I have a DVR, an HD box, and three boxes non-HD and get HBO, Starz and
Encore.

Also retired, use services a lot.

I USED to get all those pay extra services [except HBO] but got tired
of paying $225.00 a month, so I cut out the no omercial channels and
dropped My bill to $200.00. After going without the no commercial
channels for a month, the extra $25.00 for no commercials is more
better. I'll prolly see about a new contract and get those channels
back and pay less for one year then drop that service and go with
"DISH". I just got a flyer in My snail mail from "DISH" for $49.00.
I sure miss the days of analog TV and antennas to get channel 2,4,5,7,
9,11 and 13 and not pay a dime for TV.

in mmost areas you can still get free tv, generally a outdoor antenna works better

Ed Pawlowski formulated on Thursday :
On 12/10/2015 4:15 PM, Wade Garrett wrote:
On 12/10/15 2:43 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 1:15:49 PM UTC-5, Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

P.S. That's a pretty crappy subject line.


No, not really-- it's concise, descriptive, and says exactly what he
wants to know.


But meaningless information without more detail. I pay $160 and $67. What
does that tell you? How can you compare services unless I tell you more?

OK, what do you pay for internet access? For TV? Do you bundle TV
internet and landline together? Do you have your cell included in your
monthly bill with your TV internet and landline?
Is that a little better, Ed?

laid this down on his screen :
On Thu, 10 Dec 2015 15:06:00 -0800, Eagle no@not now.ever wrote:

I sure miss the days of analog TV and antennas to get channel 2,4,5,7,
9,11 and 13 and not pay a dime for TV.

Sounds like you are in the DC Bal'mer area. I was there for 38 years
and never had anything but a Betamax and an antenna. If I rotated the
antenna and held my mouth right I could get Ch 6 out of Richmond too
(blacked out Redskin games).

You can still get those I imagine and there are probably 3 or 4 sub
channels under each with a lot of reruns of old TV shows.

MCM.com has a pretty good fringe antennas for about $30-40 that will
pull in signals from 70 miles away or so with decent line of sight..

No, I've been in the Los Angles, San Diego and Riverside county areas
for 59 years. I moved here when I was seven.
I don't think the old TV frequencies are available any longer here.

has brought this to us :
On Thu, 10 Dec 2015 13:12:57 -0800, Eagle no@not now.ever wrote:

Eagle explained on 12/10/2015 :
After serious thinking DerbyDad03 wrote :
On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 1:15:49 PM UTC-5, Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

That is too broad of a question. If I said $179/month, what would that
tell you? If someone else said $59/month, what would that tell you?

Am I getting ripped off? Are they getting a great deal?

Don't you really need to know what we are paying and what services we are
getting for that money?

No, If you don't get all three on one bill, then break it down to per
service please.
I pay $200.00 for HD TV and 200 channels [I think, it might be more], fiber
optic access internet, and one landline #. The cell bill is sepparate...two
#'s. My upload speed is 84.3 MBps, download spee is 86.13 MBps.

Do you think #200.00 is about right, or too expensive for HD TV,fiber optic
internet, and one landline?

BTW...that includes the server, the DVR, and three boxes.
I pay about that for high speed cable internet, 2 TVs, PVR, 2 cell
phones - data on one, and phone here in Central Ontario.

You are getting a very good deal for all those services. My cell bill
alone is $190.00+. I'm thinking about dropping the landline and go with
viop. I THINK the cell service can be handled with viop as well, but
I'm not sure about that.

Muggles expressed precisely :
On 12/10/2015 9:42 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted
music
sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations
that surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion
moving between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little
earbuds) suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or
be continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give
good reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal
where they can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the
structures in the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk.

You could get a set of hearing aids that is wi-fi enabled and just use
them instead.

Isn't that called 'bluetooth'?

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page...20head phones

Uncle Monster pretended :
On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 12:15:49 PM UTC-6, Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

I don't pay anything here at the center 25 to 60mbs down depending on load
and 4.5mbs up. At home, my housemate has a POTS line with 3 numbers
business/fax/residence costing around $80 per month. A smartphone ? per
month. Charter Cable basic TV and Internet I think $35 per month for 12mbs
down & 1.5mbs up. I have two magicJacks costing $70 per year, two TracFones
one is a SafeLink phone, Spok digital paging/VM service $28 per month. I've
been with the paging company for 30 years and it's a number everyone has. I
still get calls from people wanting things done and I hate to tell them I
can't work right now. 8-(

[8~{} Uncle Phone Monster

It sux not being able to do the things you did when you were younger
Uncle. :/

Tony Hwang formulated the question :
Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

Up here in Canuck land it costs more.

I have full shebang of HD channels on TV, 2 phones(one is dedicated to fax),
50/3 Internet. Service over all is excellent. Interruption of service(down
time) is almost none. Tech support is good too.
220.00CAD(~165.00 USD) per month including tax. Our cable is under ground.
Nothing runs overhead, all under ground.

Good deal in Canadialand.
Are you on 'cable', or optic fiber?

On Fri, 11 Dec 2015 01:31:43 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 12/11/2015 12:11 AM, wrote:

Why would you think a head set would "fuzz out" any more than a phone?
Mine doesn't seem to fuzz out until I am down the street a ways.
Anywhere around the house and yard it is locked in pretty well unless
the batteries are dying.

It's not a question of "think" but, rather, *observing*!

I can put the headphones on and within *seconds* encounter
one of these dropouts. They will persist for an hour or
more -- until I get tired of having my listening interrupted,
thusly. I.e., the batteries are fully charged and I'm within
*feet* of the "base".

OTOH, I can take my phone around the neighborhood and not experience
any dropouts, "fuzz outs", etc.

If I were to purchase a new cordless headphone, I'd select with
very different criteria (the ones I have were purchased long ago
with an emphasis on convenience and comfort instead of concern
for the hostility of my current office environment). But, I'd
rather have *no* headphones -- which I can do during "early"
work hours (e.g., before ~10PM).

I'm working with a firm to modify a COTS BT (stereo) headset to
incorporate a microphone to interface with my automation system
(I present a spatialized audio interface to the user so a BT
*earpiece* is not as effective as a stereo headset -- but, headsets
don't tend to have microphones, very long running times *or* custom
firmware). When this is available, I can use it in lieu of a
COTS solution and have access to *everything* in the home (TV,
telephone, automation system, etc.) instead of just the "stereo".

It also lets the house know where I am physically located so
it can interpret my commands/request in an appropriate context.
E.g., if I'm in the living room, audio from the TV would be
routed to the headset, not the "stereo" that would be used if
I happened to be in the office. Commanding "louder" would mean
the TV's volume should be increased, not the stereo's -- without
my having to qualify that command: "TV louder" vs. "stereo louder".

You must just have a bad head set

Eagle wrote:
Tony Hwang formulated the question :
Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

Up here in Canuck land it costs more.

I have full shebang of HD channels on TV, 2 phones(one is dedicated to
fax), 50/3 Internet. Service over all is excellent. Interruption of
service(down time) is almost none. Tech support is good too.
220.00CAD(~165.00 USD) per month including tax. Our cable is under
ground. Nothing runs overhead, all under ground.

Good deal in Canadialand.
Are you on 'cable', or optic fiber?

Only main trunk is optics. Into home
it is cable.

Muggles wrote:
On 12/10/2015 9:42 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted
music
sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations
that surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion
moving between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little
earbuds) suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or
be continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give
good reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal
where they can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the
structures in the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily walk.

You could get a set of hearing aids that is wi-fi enabled and just use
them instead.

Hearing aid is designed to emphasize human voice frequency spectrum.
No good for listening to good music(HiFi)

On Fri, 11 Dec 2015 07:27:54 -0800, Eagle no@not now.ever wrote:

laid this down on his screen :
On Thu, 10 Dec 2015 15:06:00 -0800, Eagle no@not now.ever wrote:

I sure miss the days of analog TV and antennas to get channel 2,4,5,7,
9,11 and 13 and not pay a dime for TV.

Sounds like you are in the DC Bal'mer area. I was there for 38 years
and never had anything but a Betamax and an antenna. If I rotated the
antenna and held my mouth right I could get Ch 6 out of Richmond too
(blacked out Redskin games).

You can still get those I imagine and there are probably 3 or 4 sub
channels under each with a lot of reruns of old TV shows.

MCM.com has a pretty good fringe antennas for about $30-40 that will
pull in signals from 70 miles away or so with decent line of sight..

No, I've been in the Los Angles, San Diego and Riverside county areas
for 59 years. I moved here when I was seven.
I don't think the old TV frequencies are available any longer here.

Funny, that is the same channel line up as DC/Baltimore

I bet if you get out your rabbit ears you will find all of those
channels and probably a few more if you speak spanish. They generally
have sub channels under them.

On 12/11/2015 12:39 AM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 10:41 PM, Muggles wrote:

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily
walk.

You could get a set of hearing aids that is wi-fi enabled and just use
them instead.

From what I've heard about hearing aids, they are anything but cheap!
(and, probably not designed for "high fidelity" given that speech is
a rather narrow band)

Hearing aids are very programmable. They can turn up any sound tone and
turn down others. My first set had great wifi and would work to hear
the tv, which is what I connected it to, in just about every room of my
house before it lost the wifi signal. The hearing aids themselves
weren't the best match for my hearing loss, so the Dr ended up
suggesting a different set of hearing aids. It has wifi too, but it's
cumbersome and doesn't work that great. The aids themselves are a much
better solution to my need, tho. I quit trying to use the wifi a long
time ago on these.

--
Maggie

On 12/11/2015 9:39 AM, Eagle wrote:
Muggles expressed precisely :
On 12/10/2015 9:42 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted
music
sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations
that surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion
moving between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little
earbuds) suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or
be continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give
good reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal
where they can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the
structures in the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily
walk.

You could get a set of hearing aids that is wi-fi enabled and just use
them instead.

Isn't that called 'bluetooth'?

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page...20head phones


You're probably right.

--
Maggie

On 12/11/2015 10:24 AM, Tony Hwang wrote:
Muggles wrote:
On 12/10/2015 9:42 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/10/2015 8:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/10/2015 6:26 PM, Don Y wrote:

I'd much rather listen to music but that seems to interfere
with SWMBO's sleep -- she can tune out a movie but not music
(well, not *my* music! : )

Certainly easy enough to do with earbuds, RF headphones and assorted
music
sources.

Earbuds leave me tethered to a spot; I have three "dual" worstations
that surround me while working -- so, I am continuously in motion
moving between them. Corded headphones (much prefered to the little
earbuds) suffer from a similar fate.

I've tried RF headphones but they have "flat spots" where reception
"fuzzes out" -- which means I have to remain in a "sweet spot" or
be continually bothered by the drop outs.

Ir headphones might work. My BT headphones are too small to give
good reproduction -- and not small enough to fit into the ear canal
where they can get enhanced base response by coupling directly to the
structures in the ear.

During daylight hours, the preferred way of listening is with a little
"console" that gives me the freedom of motion coupled with reasonably
good reproduction. Or, with earbuds and a PMP while taking my daily
walk.

You could get a set of hearing aids that is wi-fi enabled and just use
them instead.

Hearing aid is designed to emphasize human voice frequency spectrum.
No good for listening to good music(HiFi)

Well, I guess I don't emphasize the listening to music part because for
me I need the voices more. Hadn't thought of that before.

--
Maggie

On 12/11/2015 9:20 AM, wrote:

You must just have a bad head set

It's an old headphone -- FM. It's silly to replace it, now, as
my new design will do so much more than anything I can ever
buy COTS!

I can't fault SWMBO for wanting to sleep at NIGHT! :

And, as I said, I'd much rather listen to music *without* headphones
or earbuds -- even my new design! That's the reason I've put so many
"network speakers" around the house -- so I can listen to music
(or TV or phone or... ) without having something on my head and
regardless of my location in the house (or yard).

On 12/10/2015 4:40 PM, Wade Garrett wrote:
On 12/10/15 3:16 PM, Frank wrote:
On 12/10/2015 2:35 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 1:15:49 PM UTC-5, Eagle wrote:
What do you pay for TV, internet and phone?

That is too broad of a question. If I said $179/month, what would that
tell you? If someone else said $59/month, what would that tell you?

I have Comcast triple play but have to constantly renegotiate cost.
I also have a FIOS line to the house on a land line. FIOS constantly
begs me to switch and I tell them I will if I get the initial offer for
life.

My neighbor across the street just switches service and when initial
offer expires and he cannot get an acceptable price, switches to the
other.

Cable companies score at the bottom of the list in most all customer
service satisfaction surveys. Around my way, Comcast offers a very good
technology products- but their customer service and rates suck.

You negotiate a rate with them for 6, 9, 12 months or whatever, but then
you only get if for a month or two and they jack your bill back up.
When you call to complain, you wait on hold a long time, then an
offshore CSR that barely speaks English says she has no authority to
adjust rates so they dump you back on hold until you're escalated to
their "Customer Care" person. She says yes, I see you called on X date
but there's no notes from your conversation and we have no documentation
of the rate for the period you say. However, since you're such a good
and loyal customer as well as a nice person, as a one-time special
accommodation, we'll lower your monthly bill a buck and a half-- or some
insignificant amount.

I can understand this happening once, maybe even twice but it happens to
me every damned time-- at least 7-8 repeats in the last few years.

They just jacked up my promotional rate 68 percent. When I called, they
said take it or leave it...so I've been talking to ATT about their
U-Verse service. Service/features are comparable-- though internet speed
is slower but still fast enough-- and the promo price on a 1 year
contract if pretty decent. I'll probably be switching soon.

Hopefully ATT customer service is better...


I doubt AT&T service will be any better. And, the guy across the street
that just switched back to them from Comcast had quit Verizon because
they did not honor their offer after a few months.

The old telephone company mentality still exists as if they are still
the only service in town. I had a tiff a few years ago with AT&T and
will never do business with them.

My wife deals with Comcast.

Last time she needed assistance because Comcast wanted to know serial
numbers on my DVR so I had to go down to the basement family room, back
to the 2nd floor with the wrong number and back again to get the correct
one.

I was being pretty profane and guy told me that he was not using
profanity and I should not either.

I asked him if he would ask his 75 year old grandfather to go up and
down two flights of stairs twice to get a serial number on a device that
Comcast installed but had no record. I told him I was cussing because
Comcast was so stupid and his grandfather would have cussed him too.

On 12/11/2015 3:03 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:

I much prefer real headphones (Sennheiser, Koss) unless I'm walking. For
earbuds, I have over-the-ear mounts that don't need to be WEDGED into the
ear canal. But, when seated at my workstations, the cord gets in the way
(physically) as well as limiting my range of motion (there's no place
where it can be plugged in that will still give me 270 degrees of motion
in my chair)

I actually hear a pretty good bass reproduction out of the Bluetooth headset
I have but there is another larger one that covers the ears and looks like
it came from the same manufacturer. I've thought about purchasing those
because I can get better isolation from the noise around me. Sometimes it
can get as noisy as a grammar school playground around here. I actually wore
out a pair of musician's sound isolation headphones that have a 15 foot cord
but cord length made them a bit awkward to use when sitting in front of a
laptop. (€¢€¿€¢)

Headphones have conflicting goals.

In some cases, you want them to give you a completely private, controlled
listening environment. This prevents extraneous noises from interfering
with the source material for a "better" listening experience.

But, it also isolates you from the ambient sounds in your environment.
E.g., someone approaching you from behind has to tap you on the shoulder
in order to get your attention (as you can't HEAR what they are trying to
say to you).

To solve this problem, you have to let external sounds in along with the
source material -- which deprives you of that private environment. It
*also* means others nearby tend to "overhear" that source material!

What you ideally want is something that mixes the two sources (the
program material plus the ambient) "intelligently". E.g., speaking
while wearing sound-isolating headphones tends to result in talking
louder than normal -- as you don't have the same level of feedback
that you do with an uncovered head. Mixing your speech into the
signal delivered to your ears can result in more "normal" speaking
patterns/volumes -- this is one of the benefits of sidetone in a
telephone.

Likewise, mixing in the ambient sounds -- at a level YOU consider
appropriate -- lets you remain connected to your environment
instead of listening in an "isolation chamber".

On 12/11/2015 10:09 AM, Frank wrote:

I doubt AT&T service will be any better. And, the guy across the street that
just switched back to them from Comcast had quit Verizon because they did not
honor their offer after a few months.

The old telephone company mentality still exists as if they are still the only
service in town. I had a tiff a few years ago with AT&T and will never do
business with them.

My wife deals with Comcast.

Last time she needed assistance because Comcast wanted to know serial numbers
on my DVR so I had to go down to the basement family room, back to the 2nd
floor with the wrong number and back again to get the correct one.

I was being pretty profane and guy told me that he was not using profanity and
I should not either.

I asked him if he would ask his 75 year old grandfather to go up and down two
flights of stairs twice to get a serial number on a device that Comcast
installed but had no record. I told him I was cussing because Comcast was so
stupid and his grandfather would have cussed him too.

Many companies have utter disdain for their customers! As if they are
*annoyed* that they have them!

Where possible, I try to reciprocate -- by not having "suppliers"! I
want to make them HAPPY with the lack of my business. Cuz I'm such
a nice guy...

"Frank" "frank wrote in message
...
Last time she needed assistance because Comcast wanted to know serial
numbers on my DVR so I had to go down to the basement family room, back to
the 2nd floor with the wrong number and back again to get the correct one.

I was being pretty profane and guy told me that he was not using profanity
and I should not either.

I asked him if he would ask his 75 year old grandfather to go up and down
two flights of stairs twice to get a serial number on a device that
Comcast installed but had no record. I told him I was cussing because
Comcast was so stupid and his grandfather would have cussed him too.

So you are admitting that you are so stupid that you could not copy down
the serial number of the DVR and you expected Comcast to keep up with it.

I think that you are lucky that Comcast did not just hang up on you when you
started with the profanites.