The usual bits

[susandennis]

It's actually not been your usual day so far... I got up, set Roomba to work, got into the shower and forgot to turn on the 'invisible wall' that keeps Roomba out of the bathroom. So when I turned off the water, I heard the distinct tones of Roomba In Distress - it was bathmat vs. robot vacuum cleaner and there was a stand off. I separated the two and apologized to both.

Then I got dressed and sat down at the computer and the doorbell rang. It was the worker guys who wanted to come fix my walls. I got the two nicest ones of the bunch. Most of the fixer guys are nice but these two are really nice. And they were fascinated by Roomba and they always stop to pet Betty who is always very interested in any work going on.

So it's been a busy morning. They have walkie-talkie things and there was a conversation about one of my neighbors upstairs who does not, apparently, share my fondness for these guys. I wasn't paying a lot of attention but I did hear the building manager tell them that she has now said that no one is to enter her unit without her attorney present. The building manager was saying 'I might go in if there was a fire but maybe not.' Condo owners are not the funnest people to deal with. Honest, I know.

Work is ok. Challenging Guy has been busy with other stuff and off my back so that's been nice. I have an odious task to do today for another client - it's a thing I do every month. I think I'll just do it and get it over with. On the up side, it's 5 nice billable hours.

I was kind of afraid to read my LJ friends and other blogs today for fear I would hit one that would spill the beans about the winner of Project Runway. I saw that kjaz mentioned it so I whipped past his entry. I'll catch up with him tomorrow after I watch it tonight.

I still need a better telephone headset and still have no clue how to determine which one is better. Sigh...

And there is - in case you haven't deduced it yet - zero snow here so far... It's 45 degrees outside and bone dry... I think this little snowman is as close as I'm going to get this year...

Ok to work for me. Later...

Comments

[nanne.livejournal.com]

Humility is apologizing to your doormat.

And I second on the condo owners.

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Ah, but this was a bathmat. You have to be careful with those things -- they have you at their mercy.

[susandennis]

How right you are! (and how much you crack me up...)

[pheon.livejournal.com]

I think we got your snow. There are about 2" here on the ridge and still snowing. And more due tonight.

[susandennis]

I trust you will enjoy it and take care of it... I am envious. We still got nothin.

[geordie.livejournal.com]

Ditto on the telephone headset. The business ones I have had are great, Plantronics and Hello Direct both did things that gave good audio quality at both ends. I am especially pissed off with Bluetooth headsets, if I could find just one that had decent voice quality on both sides I'd pay a couple of hundred for it. I have Plantronics USB headsets for VoIP stuff, both have noise cancelled microphones, so I don't have to stop anything in the background when I use them. But they weren't cheap. From what I've seen, and heard, a boom mike always far outperforms these stubby things that stick out an inch from your ear. Don't these assholes test their products? Or are they all planning on getting out of the business before people find that none of these things work properly?

These were what we were using
http://www.founderstelecom.com/newsuplhewim.html

It is very expensive to find out which headsets are actually any use.

[susandennis]

Thank you. It's nice to know it's not just me. I think actually you kind of cleared up one bit of the mystery. Headsets seem to jump in price when they need that little box like the one you linked to.

I just want one that plugs into my handset that amplifies the sound I going into my ear.

The marketing on these things seem to be all concerned with the mic. Screw that. They can hear me fine.... I need to hear them! Sigh...

[geordie.livejournal.com]

But that's what the box does, it's a decent amp which can offset the crappy voice level coming out of the phone. The Hello Direct 6560 headset amp I am using takes a pair of AA batteries that last months (as I seldom use that phone), but the real issue is that it plugs in to a telephone cord slot and not a headphone socket like you get on cordless phones. I don't know whether the pro cordless headsets are any good. It seems like they want to restrict volume to a level that allows very long talk times, but with the result that you can't hear a bloody thing!

I have an added problem with the consumer stuff, I have big ears so the speaker is never where they thought it would be in their one-size-fits-all cheap ass world.

The Logitech Bluetooth headset that I use with the cell phone is OK, but far too often the person on the other end can't hear, even though someone in the next county can.

The military headsets I used to use gave crystal clear audio in total silence, active noise reduction on the headset and passive on the microphone. We could stand between the exhausts of a 1200hp diesel tank engine and talk in an ordinary conversational voice. It was actually a bit of a trip the first time I got the headset interface working correctly. It's not that you'd want to use one, it's just the frustration of knowing this perfectly working technology is out there, but consumers get sold expensive crap.

[geordie.livejournal.com]

Forgot to say, the headset amp has the volume control on top, but it has mic gain controls on the bottom too. So the main thing is making the sound level right for you, but if people complain you can turn up your outbound volume too.

[susandennis]

ahhh see... now I get it. I don't want to get it cause 'it' is way too expensive... but at least now I understand. Thanks.

My $0.02 on headsets...

[dragonvpm.livejournal.com]

I have a Jabbra bluetooth headset that works really really well as long as I remember to charge it regularly. Wind always seems to be an issue with headsets, but aside from that I haven't found anything that really bugs me about the Jabbra (it's the 250 I think).

I've also had good luck using the Belkin headsets that Wal-Mart sells. My favorite one wraps around my ear and the earphone is easy to place in either ear and adjust for maximum comfort. The flexible boom also works quite well.

I've used both types of headsets for hours on end (the joys of a long distance relationship and working as a contractor) and so far I like them both (and I've tried and rejected many many many other headsets). The Jabbra is a bit of a pain for me because of the battery and having to remember to charge it, but it is a bit louder than the Belkin headsets and the bluetooth connectivity is neat. When everything is said and done, I still use the Belkin headsets and the Jabbra months/years after I bought them. I have one wired Belkin headset in my truck and one in the house and I use the Jabbra when I've remembered to charge it (otherwise I switch back to the wired headsets).

Re: My $0.02 on headsets...

[susandennis]

Good info!!! Sadly, my panasonic desk phone does not have bluetooth but I did a little Belkin looking and that got me to thinking that I really like the headset I have for my Treo - it is stereo so has two earphones... (and, alas, a plug that is not the 2.5 I need for the Panasonic) But, I think the second earphone - even if it did nothing except cover my ear might help. Then I thought - can I use any earphones with a microphone and a 2.5 plug? Hmmmm I have only been looking at landline telephone headsets - but why? A plug's a plug, right? Rambling now - don't feel compelled to answer but thanks for kick starting my sad brain!

Re: My $0.02 on headsets...

[dragonvpm.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... now that's an interesting idea. My cell phone does MP3s and I know Verizon has the nifty 2 earphone headsets for it but I had never really considered how handy it would be to have the 2 earphones for listening to calls on. That could actually be really useful when I'm in noiser areas (which happens quite a bit actually).

I may need to explore this idea further.

You know, if you like the headset for your treo, you could take it down to Radio Shack and see if their tech gurus can help you find an adapter so it would fit on the Panasonic phone. I know they carry tons of really random adapters (I just bought a bunch of RCA to some random-rarely-used-video-plug so I could plug my cameras and DVR into a quad splitter that only came with that random-rarely-used-video-plug) and given how popular cell phones and headsets with 2.5 plugs are now I'd be surprised if they couldn't help you find some solution.

Re: My $0.02 on headsets...

[dragonvpm.livejournal.com]

BTW, Jabra has at least two headsets (the C120s and the C220s) that sound like the one for your treo plus they come with a 2.5 plug. I may have to consider picking up a set myself and seing how they work.

Re: My $0.02 on headsets...

[susandennis]

Now, that I look, I see Jabra has some very interesting offerings. hmmmm

(And, good idea on the Radio Shack adapter hunt... I think the first thing I'll try is a $1.98 adapter and see if that will fix the problem right there!)