FOR CONTEXT: I am a music producer, but I also do work on zoom etc. So I am used to trying various headphones/sets - some VERY stick-y to your ears, some not so much.I hoGood bits:➡ Clear vocal.➡ Nicely adjustable mic.➡ Clear switch, not a button, for mic mute - no accidentally leaning on a button and confusing your team mates because you're NOT technically on mute....➡ A volume rotary switch - which I prefer, again over buttons! Quicker. RETRO!➡ Even sticking a bit of dance music on from annihilated rodent retains some nice bass - even a tad of sub! Even if they're a bit heavy on the middle, lacking some treble, its not bad, tolerable, even though it's not their function you can sneak a bit of music into your day whilst feeling like a pilot.➡ I went for the WIRED set, and it comes with the Y adapter for separate mic/headphone inputs.➡ Typically, for a sound engineer, I've given these some "welly" volume wise and they held up well! Even the bass, surprisingly, didn't become distorted. I will use these as one of those "test" phones we used in audio to see how our mixes sound on all kinds of different things.➡ NOTABLE: Whilst giving welly, Mrs R, sat next to me couldn't hear a thing from them! I have to say that's impressive.The not so good.➡ Cost - they seem a bit pricey to me➡ The adjustment is a little hard, but to be fair, it does then stay in place, ratchets so to speak rather than smooth. Good/Bad that.➡ Ear phones themselves are fixed, no flexibility and they moderately grip rather than rest. That means they're not comfortable for me for long periods.There's probably better on the market, but I've paid more for worse, and less for better.I'm using them, happy enough for my specific purposes. Some impressive features (like the closed back nature), some areas they could be improved.Kinda liking them more, the more I test them in detail in this review.Was getting a 3, getting a 4 now.

I'd been putting up with an ancient forced-air system with inoperable A/C and a thermostat that was impossible to program and then adjust later. I had been fascinated by Nest, but was concerned that it might not function well in my situation, especially because of the apparent reliance on Apple and Android smartphones. Being Alexa-ready was attractive, and I was satisfied that nest.com can be used from a PC and I could do without a smartphone/tablet app.The TL;DR: This is my favorite in-home technology. I have not yet ceased walking up and checking it every time I am near its hallway location. Although it is still "learning" in the first week of installation, the ease of manual operation and some simple energy-conservation moves are instant rewards. I look forward to a nice rebate from my "energy service" and also future suggestions, at the Nest, for energy-saving and relief of peak demand. And there is the yet-to-be experience of the trained Nest.INITIAL INSTALLATION The video on the Amazon page for the product is very useful, with great tips about removal of the existing thermostat. The Nest package also recommends going to a site for verification that the existing system is compatible and the available wiring can be used. Do that. And follow those instructions carefully.For the connection, the most physically-demanding operation was mounting the white base plate (for covering the marking from the previous thermostat) and the Nest base. The two screws are long and I encountered frightening moments with about 1/4" inch to go and sudden very tight resistence. I overcame that, but the supplied reversible screw-driver was not good enough. I recommend drilling pilot holes, something I failed to do. The built-in spirit level is a wonderful nicety.I had some trepidation about how the built-in Nest first-time setup procedure would go. It was easy and a treat.WIFI, INTERNET, THE APP, AND AMAZON ECHOMy WiFi access point, on a household router, is secured but visible. The Nest found it. It did take three tries to get it to both recognize the WiFi and get the passphrase it needed. Entering the passphrase was challenging, with nothing like a keypad, and it worked. Think dymo labeler.I had created an account on nest.com, even before the Nest order, to satisfy myself that I could do what I needed for internet connection at the nest.com web site. After local setup and Wifi Connection, I adde the device using nest.com through my PC browser. It just worked. The PC use of nest.com provides an equivalent of the phone-based apps. The only thing lacking is a way to have GPS detection that I am away, although this works on my wife's phone. If I travel with my non-GPS laptop, I can at least use a browser to control the Nest via nest.com and my incompatible-smartphone browser might accomplish that too.I wasn't certain that Alexa connection was working and I saw reports of difficulties in other reviews. In my case, difficulties in tying alexa.amazon.com and nest.com accounts was because the nest.com service was down and I couldn't tell that from within the attempt. It also helped, when then the nest.com server was back up, that I was already logged into nest.com over my Internet browser on the PC. I learned immediately that Alexa will tell me what the temperature is at the Nest, if I mention the name ("Hallway") of the Nest. Reports of inability to do that are apparently out-of-date.All-in-all, a great experience and I look forward to more adventures in economizing household energy use with the Nest as the instrument.

Great film with typical Indiana Jones hijinks. At the time of its release, the ending of the film left room for more, maybe with Jones' son taking over the whip and leather coat and hat and khakis in a search for mysterious artifacts for museums. It's been over 8 years now since it's release, and while there are rumors of a new film to be released sometime next year or 2019, one has to wonder: how long are Ford's coattails?This film is great fun with plenty of action and tongue-in-cheekiness to produce a chuckle or two.Don't get caught up in any impossible circumstances, like Jones surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator in one of the fake cities built to estimate what destruction would be seen if/when a blast should occur near a US city.I enjoyed the little connection in the warehouse with the broken crate carrying the ark of the covenant... at a mysterious place in the Nevada desert with a "51" on the inside of the warehouse/hangar doors. :-) In the 1950's, that place was home to the U-2 spy plane which flew only when nuke tests were not being performed in the desert on the other side of a mountain range. Very crazy times, the Cold War.It was great seeing Jones' "one true love" returning to the story of his life.I've always had a feeling that even though a LOT of stunt doubles have been used over the 4 films, Harrison Ford has taken his share of bumps and bruises and broken bones. As a skilled pilot, he has flown rescue missions and has had a few close calls, so his adventurous life on film may not be as dangerous but he can safely land without crashing into the Himalayans.I enjoyed the entire film and thought the ending with the aliens was perfectly appropriate since any crystal skulls that do exist have been purported to exist, with even the British Museum having an example. Stories come and go and people believe what they wish, but it has been found that these skulls are quite possibly not what this film make them out to be. While there are some who believe these elongated (and some not made in that fashion) skulls are mysterious and hold some unexplained power, the scientific community (with many archaeologists) seem to be quite a bit more skeptical.Take the film for what it is: a lot of fun with just the right amount of CGI, special effects, and enough links to true situations to make it more believable (but, it's just a fictional story).Enjoy it and hope for a new one someday.

I've been waiting years for this small LED technology to advance so I cold illuminate artwork in our older house (built 1913). Working in a small attic was going to be a nightmare - so I expected that. Also running power from a newer circuit to bypass the existing knob and tube up there was a challenge, and then finding a suitable switch location and installation was yet another challenge. Once all that fun was over, cutting the holes and installation was quick. I made sure the area I was perforating was clear of wires, insulation and rafters, etc.. by drilling a pilot hole and running #14 wire up so I could see it from above. With a plaster ceiling beam feature, I positioned them so they are mostly not visible from the room (~18") but still provide a good angle. I actually ran the drill in reverse to get things started so it would minimize grabbing and damage to the older ceiling plaster and lathe. The warmth is just right, and being able to dim (used a Lutron LED dimmer) is essential.I have 4 left and will install them the same way in the dining room when I have the time.I hope they last - I am concerned they are integrated systems without the ability to change out the bulbs.Our artwork has renewed prominence and admiration with this lighting system.

I think I have found a new love in my audio life, these Bose QC earbuds II ooze premium quality from the point you open the box. You will need the mobile phone app to get full enjoyment out of these as from the beginning it prompts and teaches you how to wear them to get the full potential from these. Once you find the required fit, the app even has a test for checking whether your ears are correctly sealed by said ear tips and stability bands. I found I had to use the large tips and size 3 stability bands which for me is unusual as I find the default medium ear tip is usually enough.They come with a fully comprehensive set of accessories for tuning the fit into the ear for most people, however there are an extra set for purchase which contain an XL/XS ear tips and size 0 and 4 stability bands. I was a bit disappointed that these weren't included as the premium cost should have covered these also but the amount of people who require the extra sets are probably too few for these to be included in the box, at least in Bose's eyes.These earbuds are build for beautiful sound, something which Bose are very good at, these are the first set of Bose I have owned but I have listened to a lot of Bose headphones/earphones in the past, whether that be a friends or sound testing them in store.The sound signature is like warm melted butter in your ears...smooth, smooth, smooth with impressive sound stage for earbuds. They have a gorgeous response which I was very surprised at as they only support SBC and AAC codecs out of the box, there is however talk of an additional set of codecs being added in the future via firmware update due to an agreement with Qualcomm and the new 'Series 5' custom chip that Bose has integrated into these earbuds...here's to hoping and fingers crossed for Apt-X codec variants.Thing is these earbuds aren't really feature rich...but the features that Bose has used in these are all done extremely well. Bose have taken the fine tuning out of the listeners hands and really set them to auto pilot making these a really friendly set to use.Which brings me to the ANC... is it as good as they say it is? In my opinion - Yes it is, I believe they have actually trumped and beaten the other two very good companies in this field, at least for now!Firmware updating was interesting as the buds and case have a separate installation technique for each firmware. The buds are updated via the mobile app but the case firmware needs to be downloaded and installed via computer through a web interface and piece of software. All required info on this is available at Bose's website or in the app help section.So what am I using them for... Well I stick em' in my pocket and they are ready to go, the case and buds are slightly heavier than the others I own but it is really unnoticeable on comparison. The battery life I have found to be very agreeable and in line with what Bose advertise them at. They pair perfectly well with my android mobile and I am very happy with these. I am sure these will my new go to earbuds for the foreseeable, or until I find something that trumps these...this may take a while though.Recommended.

I have an S90 which I purchased about 6 months ago, it watches our vacation home in the Pacific North West. The solar panel works great, even when covered by a tree canopy, the camera manages to keep a charge. I had to turn off motion detection on the S90 to keep the batteries charged, as it is hanging in a tree that didn't give it a lot (or really any) direct sunlight - if it kept waking up to take video, I was worried the panels wouldn't be able to keep it charged. So when the S600 came around, with the ability to load it with SIX rechargable batteries (it ships with 3, you can order additional batteries easily and cheaply on Amazon) I jumped at it.The solar panel on the S600 is CRAZY big, and with six batteries, my camera should be able to survive even the longest period of grey days in the Pacific NorthWest. The remote panning and tilting control was just a bonus!The S600 seems to have some "image processing" going on that jacks the sharpness, which you can see in the comparison photos. I hung them side by side to take some apples-to-apples photos so as to show how each camera compares. The cheaper S90 is still a great camera - I honestly kind of prefer the softer image quality to the somewhat over-processed S600. The apps on both are pretty easy to set up; weirdly, the two camera use different apps, so you can't easily combine them in the same system. If you want a few, be sure to buy the same cameras.My cabin is in a very rural area with absolutely terrible internet, it's capped at 2mb up, so i have motion detection turned off, and use the camera as a sort of "hey, i wonder if the house has burned down" kind of on-demand check-in. Both work great for this, and now, I can rotate the camera on S600 to see more of my property (and my S90 is headed to my friends cabin). Both cameras record locally, so if you have detection on, you essentially remote into the camera, and can watch recorded images stored on the memory card (the app crashes when you try to download the movie, which is something I hope they fix).Once you get either camera configured, it's essentially bulletproof; the software for the S90 (the "Soliom" app) seems to be a little more polished than than the newer "Soliom +" app that the S600 runs on - I was able to easily share the camera to my wife's phone on the S90, but we can't seem to get it to work on the S600, so that's either pilot error, or (hopefully) the software is still in the process of being updated and that will work better in the future.For a worry free camera that has no monthly fee, either of these are great. The solar panel on the S600 is insane, and the six 18650 batteries means it should absolutely never run out of power. Even on the smaller S90, the solar panel worked really well, even in indirect sunlight - even in the winter, when there was very little direct sun, it would often show maybe 1/3 of a full charge for weeks on end. Both are solid choices.The S90 is easier to mount - the S600 has the annoying flaw of the screw holes being directly BEHIND the camera, so you can't get a drill or screwdriver past the "head" unless you have an insanely long bit. I fixed this on the S600 buy bolting it to a board, and then screwing the board into the tree. Between the two, the S90 is way easier to install (and much less noticeable when hung).