One of the complaints that I had with my new PDA-phone is that the volume is actually too loud straight out of the phone. So on top of the headphone port adapter required to use my preferred headphones, I had to get a volume control adapter, which after it was all connected made my headphone cable ridiculously long. This really become a hassle on my latest trip to Asia, as I was using my phone to listen to music and podcasts while traveling.

So while researching a solution, I discovered that bluetooth headphones have become much more common and usable. It was just earlier this year, when I was with Elijah in Hong Kong, we saw some bluetooth headphones in the computer mall, and we commented that we couldn’t see any actual use for them. And here I am seriously considering them.

Some of the advantages of using a bluetooth headphone adapter are that the headphone cables aren’t directly connected to the phone and dragging all over the place and also that as a phone adapter, I can take calls without getting my phone out or taking my headphones off. One of the more recent improvements is that these adapters can also control the music player remotely.

After some searching, I settled on the i.Tech Clip R35 because I could use my own headphones and i.Tech products are much more available in Asia, where I was at the time. I ended up getting them at my second stop in Singapore, because I didn’t have time to search for them in Taipei. Turns out that if I waited to get them in Malaysia, I would have saved a few bucks :p.

Once I got the R35 adapter, I configured it with my PDA-phone and tested it out with different settings and players. Unfortunately, the bluetooth stack that comes with Windows Mobile 5 is not that efficient with the limited memory and the sound quality is pretty bad. I tried some different hacks and eventually got a configuration which required installing a hacked third-party bluetooth stack. The sound quality was better but not optimal (some minor skipping).

For software, I then tried both the included Windows Media Player and Conduits Pocket Player. Pocket Player has better playlist management and saves your ‘last played’ position among other features. But I ended up settling on the included player since it didn’t take up additional memory and the basic operation worked well enough.

As a bluetooth headphone adapter, the R35 itself works pretty well. The sound quality while talking on the phone worked fine, and the battery life is remarkably good. But I guess I expected too much, forgetting to pack the charger on my 30-hr flight back and running out of juice. In the end, the limitation is more with the device that I was pairing it with.

Fortunately, after I got back from Asia, I upgraded my phone operating system to Windows Mobile 6, which has a much improved bluetooth stack, and works as you would expect (good sound quality and no skipping). I still stuck with the included player because for some unexplained reason Conduits Pocket Player didn’t work with the remote bluetooth controls as it did with the old operating system.

One unrelated observation is that I use these a lot more when in Asia than I do back home. The primary reason being that in SoCal, most of my ‘traveling’ is spent in my car where I don’t need to use my PDA-phone to listen to music and I can just connect it to the in-car bluetooth for hands-free phone calling. While in Asia, most of my time is spent walking or in mass-transit and on planes, and with the bluetooth headphone adapter, I have my own self-contained media/phone environment.

For my birthday this year, Rebecca surprised me with tickets to the afternoon concert to hear Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra at the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s new Segerstrom Concert Hall. This was particularly meaningful for a couple of different reasons.

The first was that I have been wanting to go check out the new concert hall since it opened back in September. Unfortunately, we were out of the country at the time, and since coming back, we have been extremely busy catching up on life. As for the concert itself, I really enjoy listening to jazz, particularly, instrumental jazz. So these reasons alone would have made this the perfect birthday gift.

Another reason, is that we had made plans the evening of my birthday to take part in a celebration for a close pastor couple. So we really did not have much time to celebrate my birthday. And it just so happened that this afternoon slot was the only one available in our schedule which also turned out to be the only showing for this particular concert.

And lastly, Rebecca’s been trying to beat a cold for the past week or so, and I know that she really wanted to take me out to celebrate my birthday. I kept hinting to her that it would be alright if we just stayed at home and relaxed, but she did everything to rest so that she would be well enough to take me out in the afternoon, and then to go together to the dinner later in the evening.

I am truly blessed to have such a loving wife who knows me so well as to pick the perfect gift for my birthday, regardless of how life squeezes us and the time that we have together.

• CLIF Mojo Bar – Mountain Mix Flavor: I use these as my universal snack, food of last resort, emergency food (when there’s nothing else good to eat), and even sweet fix. I used to like the Roasted Peanut, but for some reason it started to smell like the peanuts had gone bad, so I had to switch.
• Vitamin Water: These are great chilled or not (except for the dragonfruit flavor which is good chilled, otherwise tastes like diluted cough syrup). Unfortunately, I can’t drink this for my exercise hydration because it uses fructose for sweetening and after some personal testing I determined that I am one of those that have a “negative reaction” to too much fructose.
• Virgil’s Root Beer: my brother-in-law Gordon gave us some great root beer when we were visiting in Taiwan one year and since then I’ve been totally jealous to find something as good here in the US. Well, thanks to Trader Joe’s, we can now enjoy our own great root beer.
• Mike’s Hard Lemonade: this was the first alcoholic beverage that I actually enjoyed and has since led me down the path of imbibing.
• Ricola Original Herb Cough Drops: I hate coughing, it drives me crazy. So finding cough drops that work is a huge deal when I’m sick (you can ask Rebecca). Before, the only cough drops that would work were these ones from Taiwan made from a Chinese cough syrup called Pi Pa Gao. Fortunately, for our sanity, we tried Ricola (I actually got two different flavors to see which worked better) which are much easier to find around town.
• Cepacol Lozenges: these were recommended by Sophia a few years back, and they are my “big guns” when I have a sore throat or can’t stop coughing. Topical anesthetic for my throat, ooh, so nice.
• Maximum Strength Contac Cold+Flu: confession, when I have the flu, I am not a nice person to be a round. These will knock me out so that I can sleep and won’t make everyone around me as miserable as I feel.
• Clarks Shoes: ever since I bought my first pair of Clarks at Off Broadway Shoes, I’ve been hooked. It’s like their model 7 1/2M is using my foot as its mold. And their designs look good too.
• KCRW Radio: I love this radio station. It’s got NPR as well as great music. Not like my commute is all that long, but I sure miss it when we are driving outside of SoCal.

This is more like my daily living list. I have a more techie list, but that’s for another day. I’m sure there are some others, but these are what I could think up. If you guys think of any others or have your own lists, make sure to let me know in the comments.

Here are a few excerpts that I found meaningful:

Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who He is or if He exists, most will agree that if there is a God, He has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives…

But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice; it makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties, it doubts our concern, it questions our commitment… Preventing the poorest of the poor from selling their products while we sing the virtues of the free market…that’s a justice issue. Holding children to ransom for the debts of their grandparents…that’s a justice issue. Withholding life-saving medicines out of deference to the Office of Patents…that’s a justice issue…

A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord’s blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it?. I have a family, please look after them?. I have this crazy idea…
And this wise man said: stop.
He said, stop asking God to bless what you’re doing.
Get involved in what God is doing – because it’s already blessed.

Bono’s organization DATA also has a copy of the transcript. And if you’re not into reading, here’s the CNN video link.

The artist provides some online resources including an MP3 link so you can even download and listen to the song (http://www.chrisnesbitt.com/WorshipLeader.cfm). I’ve also included the lyrics here.

YOUR SONG (Sing Over Me)
Words & Music by Chris Nesbitt

Sing over me
Your serenade of faithfulness
Sing over me
Your song of joy, Your words that bless

Cause it�s like You, Lord, to give me hope
And it�s like You, Lord, to bless my life
And it�s like You, Lord, to fill me with Your song