Summer Reading - Stephen Colbert

It used to be that this time of year would bring plenty of references to what to read at the beach or something along those lines.  I haven't seen as much of it this year which is fine because I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to those list anyway figuring they were just paid advertisements in most cases.

Instead I would look for and spend my time on whatever caught my fancy.  This is generally bad for my wallet when I come in close proximity to a bookstore as many things catch my fancy...and the basement is full of boxes of books that didn't retain my fancy...don't tell my wife because most of them still catch my fancy just not at the moment...I am going to read them, I promise...just don't make me come up with a deadline.  Besides, I have learned how to flatten my borrowing card from the library instead of flattening my credit card at the bookstore.

Anyway, I am still reading like crazy and have covered a lot of different topics in a lot of different genres from a lot of different books.  Some are worth the time and effort and many are not.  I think time and experience helps immensely when it comes time to decide your reading material by judging a book by it's cover.

I got sucked in though by Stephen Colbert's 'America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't' book.  I didn't actually read this one, I got the audio book version and made him read it to me.  As this one came out in October 2012 you can tell I am not hung up on having the latest and greatest but I would like to have the greatest.  This one is sadly far from the mark.

I have enjoyed Stephen Colbert's sense of humor for quite some time now and although I don't always agree with his politics (come on people, you have to realize by now that his show is a caricature of a conservative talk show not the real thing) you could still see and appreciate the humor in what he did.  Unfortunately as the show went on he would resort to more crude and vulgar humor.  This book follows that format.

There are some good points made some of which provoke thought but then the low brow stuff is injected and you can't increase the play speed fast enough to get to the next section hoping for better.  Thankfully it is a short book.

Which leads me to wonder what Stephen Colbert will be like as the replacement for David Letterman.  It has been said that he will drop the current character he plays on his show.  Does that mean he will now have a pronounceable "T" on the end of his name?  Since it is Letterman's production company, I am sure he had say in the selection, did David pick Stephen because his politics are more closely aligned and how close will the marching orders be to keep it that way?

You can never replace what you once had and I for one do not believe you should try to.  It is like trying to do a remake of the Three Stooges, it will never match the original so don't bother.  Instead search for the new originality in the same genre and if there is enough love it just might stick.  These two are very smart and talented people who should be able to figure it out as long as they don't egos and self importance get in the way.  Right now I am giving them a 40% chance.  What they do is not easy and lately they have been slacking off a bit but I am willing to give them a shot.  How about you?

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

MP3 Review - Sansa Clip+

I am the proud owner of an MP3 player known as the Sansa Clip+. It is the 4gb size in blue and it has been a wonderful companion on my commutes, walks, and general waiting around times. I have listened to countless hours of music, podcasts and books on tape or rather audio books. It is fairly small, lightweight and has a battery that last long enough between charges not to be a hassle. I am still using the original headphones, which to me means that even though they are not perfect they don’t suck to the point I am willing to put forth the effort to find something else. They don’t shut out the roar of a jet engine on takeoff, and sometimes the wind whistles when there is a good breeze or you are riding a bike but that also lets in traffic noises that you need to hear and that is o.k. with me.

The Clip+ has a small window to navigate from (but at least it has a window) but it is all I need to get to whichever item I am trying to find. It has a simple straightforward interface which means it is very user friendly. That was very helpful for the first-timer that I was. I did not use the provided software or Windows Media Player for synching operations but instead just opened up Windows Explorer and used it like a thumb drive. I was not familiar with the other method and wasn’t ready to take the time to learn although I am sure I could figure it out now. The Explorer method of drag and drop is what I use on a daily working basis and still find it the easiest to operate.

The included FM radio works but I haven’t used it much as there are so many other things to listen to that don’t involve commercials. There is a recording function also which I have not used mainly because I got this unit for other reasons, primarily listening to books and it does that pretty well. There isn’t a bookmark function that I am aware of but it does save your place and starts up there again when you return. In all my uses I have not found a need for more than what this unit delivers…almost.

In fact I only have two things to squawk on with this little gadget in the 20 odd months I have owned it, one small and the other a bit bigger. First the small. I find myself spending too much time untangling the headphone cords. It doesn’t happen all the time (I am just noticing it more often lately) but when I want to put the thing in my pocket, unit headphones and all, I usual just kind of wrap it up and stick it in and carry on. This is fine until you pull it out to use it and find that the cords do not unfold as smoothly. It is a short cord so it doesn’t take long to unravel it but sometimes you are unplugging it to make it untangle faster. I have no idea if there is a better arrangement out there or not but 30 seconds is 30 seconds.

My only real desire that would make me want to get a different player is the ability to adjust the playback speed on the audio books and podcasts. I like to speed things up, sometimes quite a lot. This player will allow you to speed things up with a slow, normal, and fast setting but the fast setting is only about a 15% boost and it does not adjust the pitch so any voices will now have a slight chipmunk effect. The chipmunking is not bad, more annoying really, but 15% is slow on my scale. I searched long and hard for a player that could do better but found very little reference to playback speeds even from e-mailing the manufacturer. Apple has a speed adjustment on their players with a slow, normal and fast setting and they do have a pitch adjustment so that you don’t hear chipmunks. There fast setting is only 40% faster and while that is better in all respects I couldn’t justify paying 3 to 4 times as much and then being a slave to apples system. I still have some items in the Microsoft media player format.

Cost was a factor in picking the Sansa Clip+. I think I paid $40 for mine on sale. Sansa is also a good size company that deals in memory and other items so an MP3 player seemed to match their areas of expertise. And like I said, I could buy 3 of these and still be ahead of getting an Apple.

This brings me to one of the points that led me to the decision to stay on the cost effective end of the MP3 player spectrum. I have talked to several people and read many reports on line that lead me to believe that MP3 players are almost a disposable item in that many users have or have had more than one player over the years. Disposable is not my favorite term when describing something you are wanting to get lots of use out of.

So after all my fond use of a tool that has preformed fully for months without complaint, my Sansa Clip+ stopped dead cold in the middle of a podcasts playback on the way to work a couple of days ago. I was devastated and heartbroken. O.k. that is a little extreme but I was bummed.

I didn’t know why or what would make it stop like that. I had just recharged it over the weekend and knew it had a pretty full charge still. I had loaded it with some new items but kept it 500+ Mb below its capacity. I have heard that you never want to take any memory device to close to its full capacity. True with hard drives so why not small drives? No lights, no screen, no sound…so now what? Was the battery dead, shouldn’t be and as these are sealed units you couldn’t replace it even if you wanted too. Did I pick up a virus somewhere that killed my unit? The only thing I have plugged this into is an AC power adopter and my computer so I ran a full scan on the computer and found nothing.

I figured it was done, like those that I had read about, and I would need to start shopping for another one. I have had good luck with this one up until know so why not stay with Sansa unless of course I could find a new unit that had a better playback speed function. Sansa has a new Clip Zip player that other than a slightly bigger screen that has color appears to be a copy of the Clip+. I went on line to find a copy of the owner’s manual to see if it still had the playback speed function and it did. I was just about to say sign me up when I noticed mention of a reset function. Vaguely I recalled a similar function in my owner’s manual and went in search of it. Eureka a reset is done by holding down the power button for 20 seconds. I had tried that (along with all the other buttons and several combinations and groupings) but not for that long.

I went racing upstairs to find my Clip+ and try this last resort to restore functionality to my player. I pushed the power button for two seconds and lost count on my way to twenty and let go of the button to start again when the lights came back on. My player was working again. I didn’t need the whole reset. Why…I don’t know. The battery was showing a very low charge so I brought it back to the computer, plugged it in and everything appears to be working just fine. I am so glad. If you have read any of my past post you will know that it took me more than 6 months of shopping to settle on this MP3 player (and I am glad I did) but I didn’t want to be without a working MP3 player for 6 days. I understand now why those that have had them are so willing to have another or more than one, these things are great…when they are working.

I will still keep my eye out for a better audio book player but for now I am glad that I still have my Clip+. This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

Have you read The Book of Mormon?

Have you read “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ”? Have you even heard of it? I have and I must say that it is probably the most important book in my life. It has testified to me again and again of the true role of the Savior Jesus Christ. It has added depth and meaning to his teachings, working hand in hand with the testimonies provided by the Holy Bible. It has provided comfort and direction in times when life’s challenges were great. It has been a source of peace and comfort as well as understanding when I needed it most. It is a book that brings truth and clarity, dispelling the clouds that often line the path of life. It builds on the truth and light found from all sources helping me to grow in wisdom and learning as I seek to follow in the Savior’s footsteps, to be like Him and to return to live with our Father in Heaven.

If you have read the Bible or even just parts of it and have felt the richness of the spirit it brings then you owe it to yourself to add unto it by reading The Book of Mormon. If you have felt intimidated by the Bible because it feels awkward to read at times, then start with The Book of Mormon. They both testify of Christ for out of the mouth of two witnesses shall the truth be established.

Fear not what others have told you about the nature of The Book of Mormon either to the good or the bad but rather find out for yourself. The Bible itself was taught by word of mouth for many generations before it was available in printed form by which each person could read and gain testimony for themselves the truth contained therein. The same spirit of testimony that will let you know of the truthfulness of the Bible will let you know of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. It is a promise contained within the book that those that will read this book and ask of God if it is true, that the truthfulness thereof will be made known unto them by the power of the Holy Ghost.

I have done this very thing and know without a doubt that The Book of Mormon is true and is the work of God. If you will read it with real intent you will come to know this also of your own accord. I, like many before me, desire that all partake of this special gift. The book can be found at many book sales sites, new and used book stores, libraries and all the usual places but if you would like a free copy now, you can go to mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon. There you will find links to download the book in written form or as an audio book, or you can have a hard copy delivered to you. It is all free but its value can truly be priceless.

The book is published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The members are sometimes referred to as Mormons and the nickname was given because of this book. I am a member. The web site above will link to other pages that may help answer some questions about the church for those with an interest but what is really important is that you obtain a copy and then read it.

This book is the keystone of our religion. If it is not true then the rest cannot stand, but I know that it is true and I want you to know also, one way or the other, but you must know for yourself, by yourself through the power of God, and the only way to do that is for you to gain possession of this book then obtain that knowledge yourself. One way or the other your life will change by the reading of this book.

May God bless you with this gift as He has me.