My 250th post

My lips are quivering, my heart beating fast and my fingers unnaturally tense as I write this. I finally deactivated my Facebook account. It feels sooo good. I never understood why I even got on there in the first place. Sure, it's a great tool to help keep in touch with friends. But most of my friends are hooked up and largely unavailable. And I don't make new friends easily. The couple of friends that are still around are neither ambitious nor energetic. Nothing wrong with that, of course. They are good people but their priorities are not aligning at all with my own increasingly restless nature. I will be there if they need me but its high time I went incognito.

Snow shoeing, flight training and hiking are those activities that I have been enjoying with some regularity in the past couple of years. The lifting will continue. But I have enjoyed them all alone. No one cares or need to care about my thoughts on the way a particular tree leans on a trail, a particular pond looks from an aircraft or the way my pulse quickens when I spot a fine pair of calves on a sultry brunette walking toward me on Salem street. It should, however, be fun to find out the old-fashioned way as to what is going on (or has gone on) in the lives of a friend when I someday meet with him and talk about things in person. A man has to have a purpose. I will find mine soon. Good hunting, my friends!

Four brief product reviews

In the last couple of years, I have refrained from buying anything unless I really needed it. I noticed a lot of my friends had developed this habit much earlier on in their lives. Well, it took me a bit longer. Anyway, I brought four products in December 2012 because I needed them and here are their reviews.

Sennheiser RS120

Wireless speakers are not exactly news. But with 2013 the year of the "clutter free", the regular speakers that I had connected to my laptop were displaced by these Sennheiser speakers. It didn't exactly make it clutter free as I still had to connect the base unit to the laptop and, of course, the power plug to the surge protector. But the wireless headset is simply amazing. Previously if I watched a movie later in the evening, I would have to keep the sound really low. And occasionally put up with the couple upstairs having "fun". Not anymore. Plus I can now listen to music while moving about the place. The reception is clear even in the remotest part of the house. One of my best investments in recent years.

Blondo Men's Mickey 2 Boots

This winter there were some cold days. Or so they said. I never felt it though. There was one really big snowstorm but I went out confidently. No lacing up. No worrying about slipping. No worrying about cold feet. Nothing. I just wear my usual cotton socks or whatever socks and slip these boots on and no one the wiser. They are cozy. They don't make my feet sweat (because I wear light and not wool socks). They are slim enough to not interfere with my pants. Also the toe area is flexible enough that I can move around lightly on my feet, jumping over puddles and landing softly, etc.

Lasko space heater

The little fella in action...killing a New England draft.

I left my old space heater many years ago in a previous apartment because the new freckle-faced kid who was replacing me needed it. Compact with a low-medium whisper, this Lasko space heater heats up a small room quickly. I can't believe that only last Fall I was considering getting one of those electric fireplaces. Not only would that have severely lessened floor space in my small living room but it would also have cost me roughly $800 more. I like  electric fireplaces but they can wait for a bigger space. The little Lasko space heater has allowed me to keep gas heating down during day time. I have been using it every day this winter for a few hours each day. I noticed that the monthly electricity bill has gone up by only a few dollars, while the gas bill has dropped about 15%. Note that I live in a small apartment where you can see such changes. But the real impact is in the ability to quickly heat up cold spaces after coming into my apartment after a few hours of being outside or after waking up in the morning while waiting for the gas heating to catch up.

Fabulous product 4

This product shall remain nameless. Some things should remain private :)