Note: this is a re-post from: See the Parks

Disclosure: The good folks were kind enough to send me a promo code to cover the cost of the shoes based upon my offer to review the shoes. I made no promise of a favorable review.

I received these shoes after the trip and wanted to wait to review them until I had a chance to break them in and wear them under a few different conditions. To date, I have worn them around the house, on a few outdoor ventures, and during significant rain events and hiking glen trails.

Comfort: I have found the shoe to be very comfortable. At first, it felt like an odd fit. Not a bad fit, just different than what I was used to wearing. The instep strikes me as the differentiating factor. Because of this, I doubt the shoe will be comfortable for everyone, but what shoes is? I have read other complaints of chaffing and discomfort, but neither has been my experience.

Vibram Sole: Outstanding. I have wore these in slick conditions and had great traction. I wore them hiking in Robert H. Treman State Park in the finger Lakes region of New York and found the soles to do quite well on the wet, glen rock trails.

Support: These don’t strike me as a shoe I would wear for heavy-duty hiking, especially with a pack, but for light hiking, great. I loved how they performed hiking in Robert H. Tremain State Park. I was concerned about the ankle support, since I have exceptionally poor ankles and prefer hiking with boots for the support, but I had no support problems.

Water: I wore the Tawas shoes when photographing an incoming thunderstorm late this summer. I was caught in a downpour that soaked me through from head to toe. I was so wet, I tried ringing out my clothes before I took cover in the car (it was useless.) The shoes drained the water effectively and dried out quickly. No chaffing in the long hike back to the car. The shoes did not get the heavy soaked feel when wet, either. I would say from a water shoe perspective, they were outstanding. I can’t wait to try them out in Zion National Park’s Narrows someday.

Construction/Durability: These shoes seem very well constructed. They shoe no signs of deterioration or defect.

I would recommend these shoes at the sale price, not full price. If you can get them for under $65, I think they are worth the money. I am probably in the minority, but I would love to see these type of water/canyoneering shoes with a high-top for support for those of us with bad ankles. When walking on uneven ground or streams, we need that extra protection.

http://kdka.com/consumer/starbucks.instant.coffee.2.1214489.html

I had a sample of Starbucks instant coffee this morning, a product the expensive Coffee company calls, “Via.” The barista discouraged my calling the product “instant coffee”. She said that they are calling it “coffee in an instant” because it is unlike any other product.

I drank a sample of the Colombian and was given a sample of Italian roast to take home with me to prepare myself. I found the Colombian OK. It wasn’t great and it wasn’t terrible. It is better than the coffee served at Krispy Kreme but not nearly as good as the regular brew. It would work in a pinch, for example camping or in the wilderness areas of upstate NY where they think Starbucks are all located within a Barnes and Noble, but it won’t replace any morning brew.
On a side note: I hit a Dunkin Donuts on my way out of town Saturday and have decided that it is still my favorite coffee stop, and half the price, too.

You may have seen the commercial for the “Peticure” or it’s knock-off “Pedipaws“. 

After going through several clippers on my dog, usually the blade(s) ruined after only one or two uses, I decided to check around the web for reviews of the product I had seen on the commercial, “Pedipaws”.  Both Pedipaws and the Peticure promote filing down animal nails as opposed to trimming them.  Trimming is difficult with dark nailed dogs because you cannot see the quick.  I have yet to meet an owner of a dog with dark nails that has not hit the quick and thus turned nail trimming into torture for the pet and the owner.  Trimming also leads to cracked and even broken nails.  The only alternative is to take the dog to a groomer or vet, which adds up in cost quickly.  I first researched Pedipaws, because it was nearly half the price.  Pedipaws seemed to get consistently bad reviews from owners with comments about the item being cheap and  breaking easily.  After reading those reviews, I narrowed my choices down to a traditional Dremel tool or the Peticure. I chose the Peticure and placed my order. 

Ordering and Shipping

Because the company who makes Peticure is small and the product is in demand, I had to wait several weeks for the product.  I was advised that it would take 4-6 weeks for delivery.  Truthfully, I didn’t count, but it was somewhere in that ballpark.  I was not charged for the product until it shipped.

Introducing the Peticure

The Peticure website recommended a slow introduction period for the Peticure before a full grooming session.  I found that Buddy was not intimidated by it remotely.  This may be a result of giving him pieces of smoked pulled pork as a reward during the introduction period.  The company website included an excellent instructional video for introducing the product, as well as other very good instructional videos concerning using the product.

Grooming with the Peticure

I am amazed at how easy it is to use the Peticure and what a difference it has already made.  Based on the videos, I thought it might take a few weeks to notice a difference, but after this morning’s session, I already noticed a difference (3rd time with the Peticure).  There was noticeably less of the “clicking” sound that Buddy’s nails make against the hardwood flooring.  He even fell asleep while I was doing grooming his nails this morning.  He used to run and cower when I pulled out the clippers.  It will take some time, but the quick will continue to recede and soon he will have beautiful, healthy nails that will no longer crack or break and my floors will be safe.

Sovereign Grace Music recently released a new CD focusing on the Psalms. Here are my thoughts.

Musically

Assuming that SGM is targeting a “pop worship” genre, they have successfully created interesting, creative melodies. If you liked U2, especially in the 80′s (which I did) you will be pleased.

From an arrangement standpoint, I was a little disappointed. The songs have all started to sound the same to me. A friend suggested that mixing up the vocalists more frequently might help that problem. I think could definitely help. Truthfully, I am bored with the Guitar, basic rhythm section and an occasional string arrangement. The guitar solos also sound very similar to me, could possibly from using the same type of effects on the guitar. I am not sure why SGM is not using a broader variety of instrumentation; they certainly have both the arrangement and performance talent in-house. From a completely personal preference perspective, I wonder how many times they will reference trumpets in their songs and not bother to actually use one.

What I do like musically is the use of more “space”, meaning more instrumental interludes.

Album Art

Not crazy about the album art at all. I guess I am too old.

Lyrically

It almost goes without saying that the lyrics are clear in their meaning and sound doctrinally. However, there often seems to be a lack of poetry in the lyrics. Poetry helps the listener remember the lyrics. One well crafted line is from the song. “Out of the Depths”. It is as follows: “…like a watchman for the morning, I will wait for you, oh, Lord…” It is a solid analogy with excellent musical prosody.

Favorites

My three favorites on the album are:

1. Glorious and Mighty
2. I Want to be Where You Are
3. Out of the Depths

Honorable Mention:

1. Taste and See

Many will remember Chris Sligh‘s unique style from American Idol season six. Sligh has released a CCM album, “Running Back to You” and has really lived up to expectations with his first solo album.

The album definitely has more of a “pop” feel than Idol viewers would have expected, but it really works for Chris. I , for one, am glad he went the pop route. He demonstrates some strong song writing skills and the pop genre lends itself to actually being able to understand what he sings. Note: this is CCM music, not a worship album. Overall, I really have enjoyed the album and look forward to his future productions.

The album is available at the Zune Marketplace (although I do not agree with the review), Amazon, or at Music Christian for only $5 this week.

Tracks include:

1. Arise

2. Cry Tonight

3. I’m Clean

4. Empty Me

5. Something Beautiful

6. Let You Know

7. In a Moment

8. Are You Pleased

9. Potential

10. Loaded Gun

11. Waiting for You

12. Love Is Raining Down

13. Vessel

This week American Idol contestants were mentored by Neil Diamond and Diamond wrapped up the show with a single from his upcoming release, After Dark. 

The contestants opened the show with a horrible medley of Diamond songs.  The medley was poorly arranged with way too much unison singing, seemed to be out of the contestants’ ranges, and was riddled with intonation problems as a result.

Predictably, the 11 year old girl favorite, David Archuleta sand “Caroline” and “America”.  Archuleta’s performance were very strong and will probably be what fans remember most from the show.  Syesha Mercado continues to improve each week and with a powerful, yet controlled voice, she ha managed to survive being in the bottom 2 or 3 in votes each week.

“Paulagate”
Paula Abdul was at the center of controversy as the judges were told, only live on the air, that they would be giving their comments after each performer’s second song. Under direction from the show’s executive producer, Seacrest was ordered to get each judge’s comments after the first round of singing. This confusion. plus other circumstances as described here, led to Paula Abdul errantly giving a review of a song contestant Jason Castro had not yet performed, but Abdul had heard during rehearsal.

Diamond’s song, “Pretty Amazing Grace” wrapped up the show.

I know, a product with that many words in title can’t be any good.  However, since I love chocolate covered cherries so much and really enjoy Diet Dr. Pepper, I thought it was worth a try.  If you would like to submerge a couple of Tootsie-Rolls into your Diet Dr. Pepper, than you will probably like the new product, otherwise, stick to the original.

• Silent Night
• Little Drummer Boy – (with Andy Mickee)
• I`ll Be Home For Christmas
• Ave Maria
• Angels We Have Heard On High – (with Brian McKnight)
• Thankful
• Christmas Song, The
• What Child Is This?
• First Noel, The – (with Faith Hill)
• Petit Papa Noel
• It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
• Panis Angelicus
• Come A Ye Faithfull – (with Mormon Tabernacle Choir)

It is so refreshing to listen to a Christmas album performed by a contemporary artist where the traditional carols and songs of Christmas as we know them are not completely butchered. Some people prefer to only listen to Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney at Christmas. But Josh Groban lofts a light, understated Christmas album and leaves the traditional tunes as we know them.

My favorite on this album is “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” I am not sure if it is the sleigh bells gently keeping rhythm or the simplicity of the arrangement, but the arrangement recaptures the beauty of the song.

Listen to samples of the album here at the the Zune Marketplace.

Change in the air for TV viewers – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Some of you know I have been participating in the Verizon FiOS TV trial, as part of a group working out the final bugs to get the service ready for prime time for the general public.  Well, prime time is here and residents of Bethel Park, Franklin Park, Hampton, Indiana Township (Not the real Indiana, of course, McCandless, Mt. Lebanon, O’Hara, Ohio, Township, Peters, Ross, Sewickley, Shaler, Upper St. Clair, and West View.  Verizon expects to be expanding availability to other communities in the Pittsburgh area over the next several months. Check here to see if you can get FiOS and FiOS TV.

When the Verizon techs installed FiOS TV at my house, I was amazed.  I have never been into a quality picture like a lot of people, but the FiOS TV blew me away, and I don’t even have HD yet.  The picture is crystal clear and thanks to the all digital network, I enjoy Dolby Digital on all programming that provides it.  That means if the show was produced with Dolby, I receive it. 

The Verizon menu blows the Comcast menu out of the water.  If you are familiar with the slick Windows Media Center interface, you will be very comfortable with the Verizon menu.  If you aren’t familiar with it, it is easy to learn and there are on-screen tutorials to acquaint you with the menu as well as the other Verizon features.  Let me mention a few of my other favorite things about FiOS TV.  They aren’t deal-breaker items, but they certainly enhance the experience.

Widgets

Widgets display at the push of a button to give you local weather, traffic, and community bulletins. The traffic is much more detailed than most online or even TV provided traffic reports, which is really nice.

Program Information

The info option looks pretty standard, but after a few days I noticed that that there is a little status bar at the top that shows you how much of the program is left and how much has been viewed.

Pressing Info a second time provides a more detailed description of the program and links you to other options, including the future airings, which leads you to the DVR.

Another favorite is the groupings of the channels and their numbers. Guess what channel KDKA, broadcast channel 2 is? That’s right it is channel2! Imagine that! Another thing is that like channels are grouped together. Click here to view the channel line-up in your area. By the way, the NFL Network does not cost more.

On Demand

Does Verizon have On Demand? Yes, Verizon offers several tiers of Demand service, including free on demand. I use the kids on demand the most, believe it or not. Additionally, Verizon Surround gives Verizon customers access to premium live and recorded content. I watched a couple of trailers from Surround and it appeared that they were in HD (yes, my monitor is HD). Last year the NFL Network games were broadcast live on Verizon Surround for FiOS TV customers. Nice for the traveler.

By the way, this is a trailer for “Horton Hears a Who”. I was always a big fan of Horton, so I can’t wait. The sad part is Jim Carrey is starring, and he really gets on my nerves.

DVR

You can have your choice of a couple of DVR options, if DVR is your thing. Verizon offers a multi-room DVR that allows customers to record on one DVR and view on another. This option also gives you the option to access some media form your PC through your TV. I have not tried this yet because I use the D-Link DSM320 (Media Lounge) to accomplish this.

So, there you have it – Jenn’s thought on FiOS TV.

So the Zune update is completely awesome. I love all of the new features. Below is a new feature called Album Bleed Out. This is a screen capture of Zune in bleed out mode. Pretty cool, huh? The wireless sync and new interface are awesome.

I think it will take some time for me to discover all of the new features, there are so many!