Review: Griffin iTrip for iPod
Im not much for Apple products, but I have to admit that the iPod line is good and its successful for the amount of accessories it has. This is one of the essential accessories if you have an iPod. During my trip to the Desert we were 4 cars and sometimes we would share our music over the radio signal. And there were three iPods which kept getting shared between the vehicles. There were also three different transmitters so we had a good amount of time to test them thuroughly and the Griffin iTrip surpassed all of them.
Positives:
- Very solid build
- Holds the iPod in its case even in rough conditions
- Very powerful signal, able to listen between 4 cars over a 40 meter range
- Detachable and can be used with your home PC to transmit music over the radio
- Works with the new and old generation iPod, and iPod nano
- Very compact and easy to store
- Flexible mounting
Negatives:
- None
Price: $90
Link: Griffin
Rating:
Xtend & Climb Ladder
Posted in Accessories on 22 Jan 2007 at 4:38 pm
Its a heavy duty ladder which is probably the most compact I have ever seen. It looks really good and its made from aircraft quality aluminum, and for some reason I really like it even though I know that I dont have much use for a ladder these days. For $180 you can a really compact and strong ladder which will probably last a while, it seems to have gotten good reviews at Home Depot.
Link: UnCrate
This Day
Posted in Personel on 22 Jan 2007 at 1:08 pm
After getting all the other things done for the day, I have one main goal.
To watch all four episodes of 24! I keep hearing that it is better then all the other episodes so I just can’t wait!
I got a lot of work to do, but I will finish that up. One other thing is I need to organize all the items from the Saudi trip and a few things in my closet. I feel like I have to clean a few things out and reorganize my space. I want to get to them today though.
Respect the Desert
Kilometers travelled: 1385 Km
Filled both tanks on the way, and filled one tank on the way back.
I have to say that this is probably the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in my life. More beautiful then snow, the ocean or the mountains. We left Kuwait around 8:30pm and we got to the border by 9:45pm. We were two Chevy Silverados and One Landcruiser. We packed the Landcruiser and One Silverado until it was full and the leading Silverado had the tanks of fresh water. I met one person for the first time. It seemed interesting and I was going to be completely relaxed and loose!
I was the last car to watch if anything flew out of the back of the Silverado, we were 5 people and two were going to come the next day. It was funny since we had walkie talkie between us so you can imagine all the comments being thrown back and forth. The lead truck had two gps units and a hell of a lot of other tools which certainly were essential for where we were going. I heard horror stories of the Saudi border crossing, but I have to say that we must have been lucky since the person who stamped our paperwork were very decent and nice, maybe we were very lucky. After getting across we made a quick stop at a gas station and took off, and we were averaging between 140 to 170 kph on the highway until we got to our destination Dhanah which showed that we travelled 480 Kms, and we were only 200 to 250 Kms from Saudi. It was around 1:30am and when we stopped before taking our off road route we stopped and for the first time I looked up into the sky and I was mesmirized. I have never seen something as beautiful as a clear night sky and I was happy I will be seeing that every night. There were thousands if not millions of star in the sky and I was completely overwhelmed by the sky. It was in awe of the beauty of Gods creation! And this was just the beginning of this trip.
(This is long and if you dont want to read then just look at the pictures!)
Dead Tired
Posted in Personel on 21 Jan 2007 at 11:56 pm
From the whole trip and full ahead at work my brain didn’t have enough time to shutdown. And then my family was arriving from a trip so I had to go to the airport and then visit my grandparents house where everyone was getting together. It was one hell of a day! I was falling asleep on the couch at my grand parents house. It is the best sleep when you pass out after this kind of day. I’m really looking forward to bed. So much to do and so little time!
MoGo
Posted in Electronics on 21 Jan 2007 at 3:44 pm
MoGo is one cool and interesting laptop mouse. I have seen some creative mouses before, but nothing as creative and useful as the ones available from MoGo. It can go into your Express Card or PC Card slot to store and recharge. It connects via bluetooth and you are good to go. The best part is that it is stored inside your laptop and its very thin. Its priced around $70 and its making a lot of noise at CES. I think I will pick one up and try it out, hopefully its as good as it looks.
Friend’s Accident
I got a call this morning around 4 am and it had a distinct ringtone so I thought it would be important. I picked up the phone to find out a friend of mine had been in an accident. So of course I call up my friend who is still under the influence of morphine and vicoden at home watching 24. I asked for details and what the hell happened.
He was walking out of work into the company parking lot, its an open parking lot shared between two buildings which is a Biotech company (his) and HSBC. He was walking just stepped off from the side walk and his coworkers and friends were waiting for him in the car to go to lunch. As he stepped off the side walk into the parking lot a car came flying down road and over his foot and he hit his face on the windshield while the sideview mirror threw him to the side. All he could rememer was his face getting hit and nothing else. His foot was fractured and not broken, his ribs are bruised, and he has a very fat lip from the windshield which bled a lot. He was taken to the hospital and the police were all over the place. The doctor said he was lucky his foot didn’t shatter because that bone is really strong, but it will take him a while to recover.
Now for the driver, she was driving over 25 mph in a 5 mph parking lot in a Audi A6 2004 model. She has had 4 prior written warnings from security for speeding in the parking lot and she was banned from parking in the parking lot, but some how she was parked in there that day. He was crossing in a cross walk area which gave him the right of way and he didn’t even see her when looking around for any cars.
At this point I was happy that he was at home watching 24 and all drugged up, and I even think he saw the episodes already but that can only help him. This all happened in San Diego so I know that the driver will have nice lawsuit on her hands. I’m just happy he is ok and it could have been much worse but I’m happy he is going to sue. I’m just really pissed at that women, but it made me happy that he sounded ok, and was more then happy to watch 24 for a couple of hours. This all took place in San Diego.
FYI: He was walking and she was in the car.Â
Review:London’s St Martins Lane Hotel
An Ian Shriger Hotel that has a very trendy scene to it in the bustling part of London. Its close to the London’s National Gallery, Leicester Square, and a Waterstones close by. It has a very simple entrance to it that you dont notice it, it has a very clean and sleek look to it. The bar is in front of you as you enter, the reception is no your left, there is table where the concierge sits on the left as well, and Asia de Cuba is at the back left. The elevators are on the left just after the reception, and I missed it a couple of times walking into the restaurant.
My room was on the third floor overlooking the street and there were offices right accross from me, but what I especially liked about the room is the floor to ceiling windows. It gives it a very open feel to it. I loved the look of the room and the large and simple bathrom. I think they need to update their tvs since they are a bit small for the price you are paying for the room, and Plasma screens are relatively cheap these days. The bed was amazing and very comfortable, I love the white linen look with ample amount of pillows. The desk is facing the desk and very artsy looking, but I think the chair needs to be changed for the sake of comfort, after a while of sitting on it you do get a bit uncomfortable. They had wireless internet all over the hotel and you only needed to get a login and password for your stay that you could use everywhere in the hotel which worked very well for me. What I also found entertaining was the different kinds of lighting available to you in the bathroom and bedroom, you can set it to whatever you like. I tend to like the rooms with all the lights lit up.
The people working at the hotel were very friendly and helpful, I was always asking for directions because I tended to walk to a lot of places close by if I wasn’t using the Virgin Limo Bike. Even house keeping is very efficient and quick, I used to ask them to clean early in the morning and clean in the evening again when I would shower up again before going out. The one thing that I kept drinknig out of the little fridge is the Voss water! I love the water bottle and I tend to drink a lot of water so I bought a bunch when going to Selfridges, but I also kept drinking what was in the minibar when I finished my supply. I think that the people at the hotel were friendly and you can carry conversation with them and they were more then willing to give me places to go, even the door man gave me recommendations. I tend to like hotels with friendly people, it makes the stay that much better.
The bathroom is great since it had a lot of warm water and a lot of water pressure which I especially liked, and it was a good amount of space. I really don’t like cramped bathrooms which make you think the bathroom was an afterthought to the architect. This bathroom seemed to be a center point when they were designing it. What I like is the ample amount of towels available throughout the bathroom, I get annoyed with hotels that skimp on towels since you do need them.
Room service was pretty good as well since I had breakfast once and a late night bite after a movie. Both times the food came earlier then expect and it was pretty good. I know this can’t be a complete judge of their room service capability or lack off, but you don’t really eat a lot in your in London since you have such a great amount of choice available to you.
Overall I think this is a great hotel for a stay with a different expereince. The rooms need a few changes, but relative to what is available in London I really like this hotel and especially the staff. It isn’t one of the cheaper ones and I think this is one of the better Ian Shriger hotels out there.
Back from the Desert
There is a lot I have to say about this Desert trip, but for now I’m going to leave you with three statements:
- My Nickname is now Vertical (Reasons will be later)
- It was Cold and Hot
- I loved it (My license plate is in my trunk)
More posts coming soon with alot of pics!
Infinity Motorcycles
This is one of my favorite stops in London! I can’t go to London without making a stop at Great Portland Street, London to see if there is anything I need or should have from new gear! The guy that works there is James and a few other people, and even if I’m not buying anything that time its great talking to them! And its a great feeling to talking to people who love motorcycling as much you do! They even have recommendations or can help you out because they use this stuff too! I got recommended the boots from them and I’m happy that I have my Daytona Boots and I wont ride without them!
For such a small store they car a large amount of gear and accessories from Arai, Shoei, Shark, Alpinestar, Daytona, Kriega, Spidi, Hein Gericke, Data Tool, Disc Locks, Chains, maintanence tools, and cleaning products! You can spend a while there and get all you need, and the people there are nothing short of helpful. I wish they had this much gear and items in Kuwait! You can find gear cheaper online, but you have to try things on, and since the people are really cool I dont mind buying for a slightly higher price. The gear never goes old and some peoeple will buy if they are provided the option! For now I always stop by there when going through London.
Continue Reading…