New Sennheiser Headphones...

...okay, so ditched Sony after 3 dead (but *largely* trusty - considering twice daily commute) pairs and decided, on the helpful recommendation of the guy selling me my new Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey Disney Infinity character in Game on Saturday, to try a pair of entry level Sennheisers...not quite sure how he talked me into it...but I'm pleased he did... ;)

Most important new feature - almost total external noise elimination...(yes, now I never need fear actually *hearing* that speeding truck bearing down upon me when nipping across a busy London road before I am strawberry jam, will sit around blissfully unaware of the dismal announcements of delays on the railway cheerfully watching my movie, any commuters frantically alerting me in raised voices that my bag is caught in the train door will be mere whispers...) they also seem to have lots more BOOMING BASS...oh and most important of all, I don't need to turn the volume up quite so high - so I'm actually able to follow manufacturers instructions for a change! ;)

No turning back now! ;)

Thomas learns about headphones...

Well this is potentially quite useful for the holiday flights - over the weekend Thomas almost mastered the art (apart from the odd suck) of wearing a tiny pair of earbud headphones to listen to his baby Einstein...annoyance factor for other passengers -95% if we can get this nailed... ;)

Although, he has (admittedly) had some practice in this area at the drag racing... ;)

Worn out Headphones

I actually think this is a first...not quite sure what this actually says about me, but this, in all my long life (thus far) is the first pair of headphones that I have managed to wear out...

I've seen many, many pairs of headphones come to a premature end *violently*...I've *lost* plenty of them, I've even killed a few pairs trying to re-purpose them (the last set that went in the bin were going to be soldered to phono plugs so I could play my xbox without disturbing Flyingpops), but this is the first pair that has lasted long enough to, through continual use, (they are the pair that have lived with my PSP since I discarded the pair that came with it back in 2006) I have actually worn out...

They have served me so faithfully and for so many years that (oddly) I can't quite bring myself to throw them away...

The Fall and Rise of my Nokia N73 Headphones

So, my (semi-hated) headphones for my Nokia N73 finally gave up the ghost...and not in a terribly peaceful way either...early last week I was rushing for my train (minor delays on the tube, caused by the usual congestion) came haring up the escalator at London Bridge, glanced up at the clock to see if I was going to make it, and in that split second two girls cut past me (from left to right) almost whacking me in the chest with an oversize rucksack causing me to twist to avoid them...however, I didn't quite make it...a stupidly positioned umbrella stuffed into one of the rucksack pockets had managed to loop around my headphone cables!

Everything sort of went into slow motion (one of those "NooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOO!" moments) as I reached (in slow motion) to try (in vain) to untangle the wires, they suddenly flexed and became taught, my head leaning in towards the rucksack to try and minimise the damage, but it was too little, too late, both earphones flew out, followed by the neck strap snapping in half at it's (designed) break point (like those clever controllers for the original Xbox) and finally the connector at the bottom of the phone was torn out, flicking the whole thing up into the air behind the rest of the flaying cables, spinning a few feet (as it lost energy) in the direction of the vanishing vandals...I skidded to a halt next it it, snatching it up from the floor, my indignant gaze boring a hole into their bulging, receding backsides...but when I plugged it back in the right headphone didn't work any more...

Luckily though, as I told my tale of woe in the office (yes, I had moaned quite a lot about those headphones, but it's actually really nice to listen to music when navigating the crowds on the tube), the guy that sits next to me (Olly) said he had a set of brand new ones in his loft that he had never even used...this morning they were coiled up on my desk...thanks Olly! ;)

Nokia Headphones - New heights of embarrasment

My love/hate relationship with my Nokia N73 continues - it's managed to learn a a new trick now, a very, very annoying one...the other day I was merrily continuing my journey through the top 100 classical tunes of all time when I arrived at London Bridge station, tutted slightly at the reduced gate entry for the Jubilee line but joined in the scrum, suffering some inevitable gentle knocks/the odd rucksack in the face/briefcase in the shins...as I shuffled slowly forwards though the neatly dressed queue, the track I was listening to drew to a jolly (kettle drum filled) conclusion and there was a short pause while the gremlin in the phone threw his newspaper to the floor and scrambled to flip the tiny record over...oddly the next track was of noticeably worse quality, but I shrugged and turned the volume up a notch or two (nearing maximum), got to the barrier and slipped in my season ticket and began my two escalator descent into the bowels of London...

The platform was quite busy, I had to wait for around five minutes, surrounded by a crush of fellow commuters but eventually a train with enough room arrived and I "twister"'ed my way into a fairly comfortable position (i.e. one with a good amount of head room and minimal back pain)...as we pulled away from London Bridge (after a couple of attempts by the driver to get the doors to shut without any limbs poking out) I started to notice a young couple peering up at me through the forest of clinging arms, talking quietly and giggling (and then looking embarrassed at themselves as they noticed me noticing them with my slightly confused "is this *really* a laughing matter?" expression)...and then one of my ear buds fell out (as they have a habit of doing) and it immediately became apparent that for the last 10 minutes, not only had I been enjoying Mozart's Klavierkonzert (and whatever had been on before that, and maybe before that) I had also been broadcasting it at full volume through the (excellent) handset speaker to all of those around me...*sigh*...

Face+Palm...(still, at least this time it was pretty far from the worst thing I could have been listening to)...