nine pairs of headphones for two ears!
Buy nice or buy twice!
sheila used to throw
those words at me regularly, unfortunately I am renowned for my frugality which
leads me to sometimes buy the cheaper products, which can sometimes work out ok,
but mostly ends in me having to buy newer better products to replace the crap I
had previously bought, I have a new mantra for this that goes - if its cheap then somebody
or the planet is paying the price! I say this to myself and
try to stop buying anything that isn't - Eco friendly, fair trade or throw away
disposable, sadly my toy cupboard, shelves, garage, storage boxes and loft are
filled with stuff I have bought twice,
I shall use
headphones in this blog as an example of equipment I have bought that I bought
cheap only to find that what I bought wasn’t suitable for purpose and I ended
up having to buy more, I took a quick count of the headphones I have in Shetland
while there for work spread across my locker, my room, my four bags, (yes bags
are another example) I have nine sets of headphones!
1. Three pairs of cheap crap headphones I had
to purchase because I had forgotten earphones and had some computer-based
training to do, away from home this won’t happen now as they are spread into various
bags for work
2. A medium-priced normal pair from TK maxx I
thought were a bargain turns out if I get all sweaty while running, they start
to fall out my ears then once damp don’t stay in
3. Lesson learned a reasonable pair with the
loops that go over your ears holding them on, much better, but a normal jack
socket with a lead that I would sometimes catch while running especially on the
machine, and also not suitable for my phone which has no jack
4. Two pairs of Bluetooth headphones one
cheap one mid-range priced the cheap ones have the same issue with staying in
my ear once wet they slide out (infuriating) the other pair although slightly
better for staying in still have much the same issue and both pairs allow far
too much surround sound in making them virtually useless for trains or planes
5. One pair of good Bluetooth cans I love
these they mask surround sound and stay on my head even when sweaty they are
perfect for travelling with but not waterproof and you will not hear anything
around you so no good for walking cycling etc
6. 1 pair of apple iPhone headphones with
lightning connector as my new iPhone doesn’t have a jack only Bluetooth or
lightning connector, these are probably
now no longer required but handy if the battery dies on my cans, these also
meant I would sometimes take three sets of headphones to the gym with me as the
running machine has a jack no Bluetooth!
7. A set with a mic and USB connector for use
with the laptop
8. My nice new aftershokz headphones these
were a bit pricier than I would normally spend on something like this, BUT I woke
up one day and had custard in one ear and sponge in the other!? Turns out I’m a
trifle deaf! True story – well the part about being deaf is, I have hearing
which is seriously impaired for a man of my age it says on my medical forms, these aftershokz are good for people like me as they sit
not in your ear but on your cheek bone the vibration through which your brain
translates to sound, you can still hear what’s going on around you wearing them
also, I only recently bought them and they are working out great so far, I even
wore them while outside running something I stopped years ago as too dangerous
for someone with already poor hearing
Being old enough to remember when the Sony Walkman
came out as it was groundbreaking designed for people to listen to music while
running, this was 1979/80 most people couldn’t afford them at the time it was a
while after they were on the scene before seen one my brother Bryan bought one
which was mega cool in the day, I waited a few years and as usual bought a
cheaper version which was rubbish when the batteries went low (reasonably
quickly) the machine started chewing my tapes! I then had to wind the tapes
back up using two pencils, I wasn’t a runner as such in those days anyway then
CD`s came in and eventually you could get a CD Walkman version, yet again no
lessons learned I bought a cheap version which jumped all over the disc when
out running,
Then came the cultural explosion that was
apple iPod the future was here in 2003, these days I can even get my music on
my watch if I wanted to but essentially that’s still just portable digital music
like an iPod, some people (more common among younger runners) won’t go running
unless they have their music these days,
I rarely run outdoors with music on mostly
due to being hard of hearing I like to know what’s going on around me its safer
that way! I do it sometimes though, while cycling down the Danube for the first
time I listened to an audiobook while on a good cycle path away from any roads
all day it was excellent, Cameron likes to listen to his music when we ski and
my nephews liked to listen to music when we used to mountain bike together, I almost
never listen to music while outdoors
I remember once a adventurer I follow on
twitter called anna mcnuff asking her followers on twitter for suggestions for
listening material for her solo run of the length of New Zealand, I suggested she
could get music timed to her running pace or if she is away from the roads and
distractions then audiobooks would be what I would suggest, she liked my reply
but I’ve no idea if she took the suggestion? I should get around to reading her
book about the run the pants of perspective,
Its
mostly for listening to audiobooks that I have bought all these headphones and
that listening was begun for time spent on trains planes and buses, where I cant
concentrate on a book for sightseeing and distractions I now listen to
audiobooks while on treadmills, I approach the treadmill generally with three
pairs of headphones I could be running for an hour my Bluetooth cans may run
out of power! I may want to watch the news, or a film earphone jack required
for that, lightning connector era pieces for the phone,
My recent purchase of aftershokz earphones
was the first time in years I listened to music while running outdoors, it was an
enjoyable experience I could still hear cars traffic and birdsong whilst
listening to some of my favourite music, I gave my audiobook a try but it was
windy and when the wind hit my ears I couldn’t hear the book so had to stop it
and go back a few times
At home
I’ve got even more headphones even a beanie hat with built in headphones, most of
which have just been a waste of money, I have decided to stop now no more headphones will be bought, time=money=stuff you can reverse that equation for life,
fast forward three years- i woke up one morning with custard in one ear and sponge in the other ear ! it turns out im a trifle deaf, i got hearing aids from the NHS they were clunky and didnt look great but they worked, now sadly lost one burned down in the hotel fire another went through the washing machine, i bought a set of iphone ear buds you can use these like a listening device through your phone its cool, way cheaper than proper hearing aids with twice the technology, i hate how companies screw disabled people nobody screws disabled weak or infirm people more than the so called health industry, i muddle through with tese ear buds its fun i can leave my phone at the bar and go to the loo then hear what people are saying about me while having a pee lol, as for equipment things are improving legislation is being made to standardise jacks etc so you dony have to upgrade all the time, system change not climate change watch a short online video called the story of stuff, you will learn about designed obsolescence and how wrong it is
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