Disqus - Latest Comments for lal_tree

Re: The Best Baby Monitor

lal_tree — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 20:33:44 -0000

Yes, I mostly agree. I just couldn't get over how similar the IO was in operation, menu design, etc. to the discontinued Motorola. It was like they had the same guts and different packages. And that was frustrating when I was spending $270 (unit w/ 2 cameras), 6 years after purchasing the old one.

(I bought a third-party charger for our Motorola for like $11, when we forgot ours on a vacation trip. Works great!)

Re: The Best Baby Monitor

lal_tree — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 21:17:03 -0000

I recently went through a baby monitor comparison ordeal when our trusty old discontinued Motorola MBP36, bought nearly 6 years ago, stopped working. I thought it had been hit by lightning, because the lights were lit on the top, but it was otherwise unresponsive. It had been through the ringer-- I had replaced the power adapter after the first one frayed down to a single wire, I had opened the entire thing to re-solder the power button on after it broke from too much use, I had replaced a camera that fizzled out, and I had replaced the battery several times. I was sad to see it go but was looking forward to how much monitor tech had advanced in that time. Well, I was totally wrong...

I first bought the Infant Optics. I wasn't happy about spending that much, but I figured I'd be getting a much better system than my old one. Turns out, it was nearly identical to the Motorola, except that the video wasn't as good. It also started making a crackling sound, and would cut out randomly in the middle of the night, causing it to beep and wake me up. I sent it back.

Then I bought the Levana 2-camera unit from Costco. Very bad image but seemed ok until I went to look for the scan mode -- didn't have one. Returned it.

Then I thought, ok, maybe I'll get a newer Motorola one, since I liked our old one so well. Bought one, and it was pretty bad all around. Buttons slow to respond, bad video image, loud sounds when moving the camera, and so on. Returned it.

I decided to ask on Facebook if anyone had the Motorola one that maybe they didn't use anymore. Turned out, a friend had a similar model, and when I went to try it, the idea came to be that maybe the battery was somehow beyond dead enough that it was preventing the whole thing from working. I replaced the battery, and behold, the old thing sprang back to life! It's just so much better than those three new ones I tried. I would have kept trying other models but these were the highest rated. Disappointing, frustrating, and a waste of time, but I'm glad to have ours back!

Re: NEEDLE EXCHANGE 102: Doseone’s ‘Art of the Demo’ Mix

lal_tree — Wed, 30 May 2012 10:23:19 -0000

Wait, I've got that Black Tea song on a seven inch --
http://www.discogs.com/Blac...

Re: http://blog.lalitree.com/post/4420185349

lal_tree — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:36:10 -0000

If you click through, there's a bunch more cool geology photos there. This one is from southwestern Jordan, and the photographer is Andrew White.

Re: Fuzzy memory for today

lal_tree — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 09:49:57 -0000

No, thank YOU! In that pre-internet time, getting something like an issue of Option was kind of a life-changing thing for a kid in the farmland states.

Re: http://barthel.tumblr.com/post/2365453083

lal_tree — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:12:25 -0000

It's a shame that they chose that for the front copy. This was indeed an story that shook up the hockey world, but it wasn't really a 'gay' story so much as a human one. Sounds like the actual piece is quite good: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl...

Re: http://blog.lalitree.com/post/1619189163

lal_tree — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:31:17 -0000

I'll put up a download link soon. Right now I'm w/o a way to upload to my server.

Re: http://hometapes.tumblr.com/post/1138666889

lal_tree — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:49:51 -0000

This is gonna be cool, can't wait!

Re: Clinic "Candle Light and All Things Bright"

lal_tree — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:23:15 -0000

Rats. "The file you requested is no longer available".

Re: http://barthel.tumblr.com/post/899032187

lal_tree — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:52:26 -0000

Yeah, I don't fully get how we are supposed to deal with replies either. But you have comments enabled! That's great. What I mean is basically that it's a grand tradition in indie rock (and probably, in rock as a whole) for people of the highest privilege (i.e. white guys) to portray themselves as tortured, forlorn, powerless, etc. in their lyrics and general world-view. And so for arguably the most successful indie band ever to be indulging in a variety of this (replacing gender with, I guess, class) is really not surprising at all. It's not a groundbreaking comment, but I liked how easily I could say it by replacing just a couple of phrases in your sentence.

Re: Partial list of things found while cleaning out a car we’re getting rid of:

lal_tree — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:07:18 -0000

Ha!

Re: Guest Blog: Everything You Know About Concert Photography is Wrong

lal_tree — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:10:32 -0000

"Forget about...Wayne Coyne in his plastic bubble. It’s over."

Ha ha, THANK YOU for saying this. So tired of that one.

These are great tips, even though you'd think (wrongly, of course) that some of them would come with common sense and a little experience. But I don't totally agree on #3 -- because for me, it's more personal, though of course it's different for others. I "bop around, sing along, cheer", etc. when I shoot a show, because I believe strongly in your #1: "Shoot shows, bands, scenes and people that on a gut level you find interesting." For me, it's a worthwhile trade-off to miss a shot or two to enjoy a great song. But again, that's just me. I don't want to be "that guy" taking up someone's spot in a small club who's there to experience the show. For me, what I'm after are the shots that come out of being there fully experiencing, not just observing.

Re: Greetings From the Biblioracle by John Warner - The Morning News

lal_tree — Thu, 27 May 2010 18:22:48 -0000

Ah, Murakami. I enjoy reading him, but his books tend to go into my head and right back out again. Why is that, I wonder?

Re: Greetings From the Biblioracle by John Warner - The Morning News

lal_tree — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:14:39 -0000

Although Of Course.... by David Lipsky
Hold On To Your Dreams (bio of Arthur Russell) by Tim Lawrence
Snow by Orhan Pamuk (didn't really like this one though)
Generation A by Douglas Coupland
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

Re: http://blog.lalitree.com/post/536272214

lal_tree — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:03:09 -0000

I am pretty sure it was going to be a day trip. But I don't remember much beyond that. And yes, it was a great place to be a kid! For being 'poor' in a tiny town, we sure had plenty to keep us entertained.

Re: From Blossoms, Li-Young Lee

lal_tree — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:56:45 -0000

The pleasure is all mine! Thanks for bringing a little piece of awesomeness into my all days this month.

Re: http://staff.tumblr.com/post/484555397

lal_tree — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:35:09 -0000

I got that error message too.

Re: http://blog.lalitree.com/post/399686417

lal_tree — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:01:03 -0000

Yeah, a sunny (& warm) Sunday outing would be great. Maybe if we can't find a good place we haven't been to, we can try to take different equipment to places we've already been?

Re: Fabulous Debris — Did I mention

lal_tree — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:43:25 -0000

Cool, I will pass along the info!

Re: Fabulous Debris — Three Joan Didions in an abandoned house in...

lal_tree — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:36:05 -0000

Yep, I linked to it on the Flickr photopage. It was a great piece.

Re: blog.lalitree — cleversimon: Viewed from the Banana River...

lal_tree — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:54:43 -0000

Awesome! I hope you are liking it. Very cool to meet you too!

Re: Domain names that I own & keep renewing because I like them, even though I don't have any idea how to use them

lal_tree — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:50:29 -0000

That's not a bad idea!

Re: Mike Barthel's Tumblr - Be honest: that is a fantastic picture, right?

lal_tree — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:47:18 -0000

Huh. The first time I saw that NYTimes blog post, it had a version of the photo with a yellow color cast and bad glare. This one's better, but it's still frustratingly centered in the frame, which bugs me.

Re: blog.lalitree - by Charles Krupa - AP YES WE CANES

lal_tree — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:21:19 -0000

There's a lot to like about this year's Broons, but I'm afraid my backup East team is Pittsburgh (though after tonight they're currently in a worse position that the 'Canes right now).

Re: blog.lalitree - by Charles Krupa - AP YES WE CANES

lal_tree — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:30:43 -0000

Ha ha, c'mon Ben! Stranger things have happened. I mean, finding a way to beat the Bruins and then finding a way to beat either the Pens or Caps would be pretty strange, but after that NJ game 7, I'm not ready to count these guys out until they're truly done.