The New Wave of High-Resolution Audio

Appeared:

The Androgynous on June 3, 2014

Ohlin Audio on May 27, 2014

Have you noticed that since switching from listening to CDs to your Ipod or other MP3 player, the quality of the sound of your music has gone down?

Unfortunately, many people might not have even realized, or their ears finally just adjusted to the change so now it just seems normal. Either way you are likely listening to sub-par sounding music. But, even if you didn’t notice the low-quality of MP3s,  audiophiles all over have been pushing for years for higher quality music downloads to become mainstream, and this year might finally be the year for that to happen.

Let’s take a step back and talk about why MP3s don’t sound that great and what High-Resolution Audio (HRA or High-Res) actually is. 

The MP3 format was an amazing technological achievement and it revolutionized the music industry as well as the way we now listen to music; but, like any new product or idea, there are always downsides.  MP3 made it easier to buy, store, and carry all of your music with you, in a way that we had never seen before.  But, in order to do that, some of the quality of music had to go.  Why? MP3 is a file format that compresses the data and in order to do that, it has to basically get rid of some of the higher resolution information in the music itself. It keeps the most important and “necessary” sounds, but you lose some of the depth and intricacies to the music.  Yet, even with the “lossy data compression”, the file format has become the industry standard for downloads because it does make it simple for us to haul around our entire music collections and have it at our fingertips anytime and anywhere. Do you remember hauling around your 200 CD Case-Logic case or am I dating myself?

So why do audiophiles, many major music labels and musicians support High-Resolution Audio over MP3s?   

Simply stated, it sounds much better! If you were a musician, wouldn’t you want people to hear how amazing you sound, too?  I know I would! Yet, until recently there hasn’t been many options for those of us who have wanted better sounding music.  Really, probably the easiest option you had was to buy actual CDs and put them into Itunes (or some other music program) at the highest quality rate available.  Fortunately, the movement for HRA has been growing and over the past few years there have been some updates to the digital resolution formats for audio.  Now you can actually download High-Resolution Audio files, but finding the music you want can be somewhat difficult!

High-Resolution Audio does not have a set-in-stone definition or “requirements” in order for something to be called High-Resolution unlike the requirements that are set for HD video.  Yet, basically everyone will agree that HRA is music that has a higher bit depth and sampling frequency than a regular CD.  A CD is 16-bit and 44.1kHz, while HRA files will have a 96kHZ or 192kHz at 24-bit. (If you want to go in to this information a bit more in depth, check out the High-Resolution Audio Wiki page and bounce around for a minute!) How much better is HRA than MP3? Here’s an easy example: the highest MP3 bitrate is 320kbps, but a 24-bit/192kHz file is transferred at a 9216kbps rate! Huge difference!  Even a CD is transferred at a rate of 1411 kbps, which is significantly higher. So to simplify, HRA is a digital audio file that has higher quality sound than a CD.  It is supposed to be a “lossless” file that has the ability to sound as the music sounded when it was played in real life.

Some of the HRA file formats include FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) which are both compressed in a way that no information is lost (at least in theory).  Other formats available include WAV, AIFF, and DSD (which is used as the format for Super Audio CDs). FLAC tends to be the most popular HRA format available at the moment mainly because it has better meta-data support (which helps ensure that your songs have titles as well as artist information attached to them). All of these file formats have their pros and cons, but the issue you will run into is actually finding them to download (at least legally…) and then having the right player to play them on that  has the capability to play the file.

So where you can download High-Resolution Audio.  The first is a website called HDTracks. This is probably the best one I have seen that has the most “mainstream” music.  The company calls itself the world’s largest catalogue of high-res audio files.  So, this is probably where I would recommend starting if you are interested in moving on from MP3 to HRA files.

Other sites include:

• Bleep.com : which offers mainly independent music
• Bowers & Wilkins : which is a subscription service
• Linn Records

As you can see, the availability is pretty limited as of now if you are looking for High-Resolution Audio, but luckily things are beginning to look up for the HRA movement!

Sony, who seems to be the company leading the Ultra-High Definition/4K video movement also appears to be leading the High-Resolution Audio movement as well.  Sony recently announced a new line of HRA products, and with Sony jumping on the bandwagon it is highly likely that the rest of the industry will feel pressure to move forward with it as well.

Another big development in the High-Res world is the Neil Young company, Pono.  They are currently developing the PonoPlayer which is a new audio player that is similar to an MP3 player, but is specifically designed to support High-Resolution Audio.  Pono Music is currently working on getting everything going and you will be able to download HRA music from all major music company labels from their site.  You can even pre-order a PonoPlayer to help “kickstart” the movement.  Check out their website and read the FAQ to get the entire scoop on the exciting new company.  Pono has reportedly been set to launch later this year.

Not only has Sony jumped on board along with the up-and-coming Pono brand, but some of the new smartphones even support High-Resolution Audio right out of the box including the LG G2 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Not only that, but the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has now put its weight behind HRA. The president of CEA, Gary Shapiro stated last year that

“[t]he time is right for our organization to explore new avenues to help promote this exciting new technology. Recent market trends and research indicates that consumers are poised to embrace high-resolution audio, creating tremendous new market opportunities.”He also further promoted the technology by saying that “every major music label has expressed support for HRA, including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music group, in addition to leading independent labels.”

High-Resolution Audio appears to be the next big wave in audio and music technology, and I for one am extremely excited!

I miss having the high quality sound of CDs everywhere I play my music, yet I am not about to haul around that big piece of luggage full of my old CDs!  I want to hear the deep and intricate textures of my music again yet still have the portability, accessibility, and ease of an MP3 player! I sure do hope that High-Resolution Audio becomes the standard as soon as possible, and if the trends are as they appear, it looks like 2014 might just be the year that happens!

If you would like a quick explanation from someone with a GREAT English accent, check out this video from SonyHowTo:

What questions do you have about HRA files or products?  Are you excited for this new wave of better quality music to come?  I’d LOVE to hear from you!

Do We Deserve a Participation Trophy?

Appeared:

The Androgynous on May 24, 2014

Soccer season just ended for my 8 year old son. They won about as many games as they lost and I was definitely proud of my son for his performances. They weren’t the BEST team, nor were they the worst. Would I say they deserved a medal or a trophy for their season, though? Absolutely not!  But, how did it end? The coach handed him and every other kid on the team a medal. The other coach did the same for his team. There was no rhyme or reason for the medal, and there definitely was no pomp and circumstance.  It was simply handed to them and we went home.  The only reason for them giving the kids medals was because each child’s parents already paid for it since it is included in the over-inflated price to play for the season. Period.

Trophies, trophies, trophies. It seems everywhere a kid goes and everything a kid does these days they are awarded with a trophy (or a certificate, ribbon, plaque, or even a “graduation” ceremony). As a mom of two boys that have started playing recreational sports and doing various activities, it has become apparent to me that the trophies NEVER end.  They get trophies for soccer, basketball, T-ball, baseball, and even for participating in a play. I am aware that I am considered a member of the Millennial generation and that my generation happens to have another name for it, “Trophy Kids.” We are called that because it was with our particular age-group that our parents as well as the presiding organizations of the time decided that everyone should be awarded  for participating (or “showing-up”) rather than promoting any type of competition.  We were the first generation to be told that it’s only about the fun and it doesn’t matter who wins.  We became the first generation to begin to EXPECT an award just for showing up. Now that mentality is intensifying with our own children.

To an extent, sports and activities SHOULD be about having fun and experiencing new things. Instead, by handing out participation trophies, we stop rewarding greatness and that encouragement for children to grow, improve, and strive for something. Thus, bringing those same children crippling disadvantages in the real world later in life.

Now, I am NOT saying that praising your children is a bad thing, when it is earned.You always want to try and support them in their hopes and dreams at least to a realistic extent. I don’t think encouraging a 5 foot tall teenager to aim for the NBA as a center or power forward is the most honest or intelligent thing to do.  I definitely don’t think you should flat out tell your kids that they suck at a particular sport or that their drawing is crap and it’s not going on the fridge! We don’t need to put them down or negatively affect them,

“but praising just for the sake of self-esteem or trying to make them feel “special” is detrimental to their true self-image.”

Whether a child excels at a specific activity or not, there is always some way to honestly praise them.  For example, if they truly don’t have ANY skill when they play basketball, but they are extremely motivated and have practiced every day for hours, you wouldn’t want to give them a false sense of accomplishment by telling them what an amazing player they are. You could praise their determination and hard work!  What happens to the kid who was told repeatedly how amazing he was at soccer, but then tries out for the soccer team multiple times being continually told that he has no skill for the game?

What happens to those kids that are rewarded every day just for existing or just for showing up to school? Do you think their future bosses are going to praise them every day just for showing up? Will they get promoted because their mom or dad told them they deserved it? Sorry, but reality bites!

There is a difference between praising achievement and praising effort.

I believe that trophies and medals should be reserved for those that have truly ACHIEVED something.

Coaches should be empowered to award children for their individual accomplishments like most improved, hardest worker, or even perfect attendance, but do they deserve trophies for that? I’m going to say no.  If we hand out trophies for the smaller achievements, what will the big achievements deserve? What does the MVP get on top of that participation trophy? What does the best all around player or team get? Are they now entitled to cash prizes or huge celebrations to offset the difference between the participation trophy and the big prize?  No! The more awards we hand out for mediocrity, the bigger the rewards need to be for the major achievements. It gets a little out of hand.

The sad thing is is that most sports or activities for kids have taken all of the competition out of it.  Many don’t keep score anymore, and if they do they will only allow a team to get ahead by so many points before they stop awarding them more points! I’ve personally watched players on my own sons basketball team get punished for scoring too many points! I have seen them try to wrap their heads around the fact that they just scored a three-pointer but the scoreboard didn’t reflect that achievement. It can be very disheartening for those kids who work their butts off and excel because of it. Very few leagues offer championship tournaments or even championship games. Everyone just plays the same amount of games with each kid playing an equal amount of minutes and then they are all handed trophies at the end.

That doesn’t sound like the type of culture I want my kids to live in, a world where talent, hard work, and achievement is ignored.

When we stop recognizing that there is such a thing as talent and skill and stop rewarding achievement, it takes away all encouragement and motivation to strive for excellence! When a child doesn’t have the opportunity to ever lose a game because the score is not kept, they never get the chance to learn how to lose! They never learn how to be a good sport and congratulate the team who won (even if they secretly hate them on the inside!).  By taking away all chances of failure and rewarding everyone exactly the same, it lowers the status quo and promotes medioctiry as well as entitlement.  Kids soon expect that they don’t have to work hard nor do they have to excel at anything because no matter how they perform, there will always be a trophy rewarded to them at the end.

It’s Time YOU Switched to Blu-Ray!

Appeared:

The Androgynous on May 23, 2014

Ohlin Audio on May 21, 2014

Anyone with an amazing home theater system will undoubtedly want to show you how the room shakes or how you can almost feel that car drive past you because the sound is so realistic.  Yet, you don’t have to have a brand new, high-end, room shaking subwoofer to be able to enjoy some major bass, nor do you have to have the very best set of surround sound speakers in order to get some amazing sound.  Let me share with you an audio/video “secret”- are you ready?  Not all movies carry the same audio quality, so if you are trying to show off your system you’ll definitely want to pick the right disc! The right movie can make your “show-off” moment, whether you have an amazing system or not.  But shhhh! Don’t tell anyone our little secret, okay? Let them think it’s ALL about your system! Movies come with many different audio formats including Dolby Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital, DTS-HD Master, Dolby True HD, just to name a few.  Those probably don’t mean much to anyone except for audiophiles, but you might recognize some of them from the previews before the movies. Let’s do a quick lesson on what some of the major formats are:

• Dolby Pro-Logic:  An analog format that is built specifically for a four channel (speaker)   system with two speakers in the front and two speakers in the rear.
• Dolby Digital:  A digital format containing up to six separate audio channels.  It is generally set up as five speakers and a subwoofer for lower frequency sound effects (BASS!). Movies with Dolby Digital support audio sample-rates up to 48 kHz.  (Click here for more information on sample rates).
• DTS-HD Master:  A digital format that allows bit-to-bit representation of the original studio recording. Basically that means that what was actually recorded is what you hear on the disc. The audio was not compressed and is considered “lossless” in the quality. This format mainly consists of 5 and 7 channel surround and supports a maximum sample-rate of 192 kHz.
• Dolby True HD: A digital format that also allows for “lossless” quality. It is comparable and a competitor to the DTS-HD Master format.  It generally consists of 5 or 7 channel surround sound and will also support up to a sample-rate of 192 kHz.

Both DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby True HD are available on Blu-ray.  These formats are considered High-Definition sound, much like 1080p or UHD/4K are considered HD video.  Going from Dolby Digital to DTS-HD Master or Dolby True HD for your sound would be the equivalent of jumping from DVD to Blu-ray for your picture.  Blu-ray not only offers better video quality (like most people associate it with), but it also has the capability of five times the audio resolution.  (Higher resolution = finer details in the sound). So if you are trying to “WOW” your friends and neighbors with your sweet set-up, you’ll definitely want to make sure to pop in a Blu-ray. You can now get a pretty decent player for under $100! Here are the one’s that I would recommend!  I absolutely love the Sony BDP line of players including the Sony BDP S3200 with Wi-fi. They are easy to hook up and even easier to navigate (if you have played the PS3, you will know your way around a Sony BDP). 

Another great option would be the LG BP 730 Smart Player with Wi-Fi and 4k upscaling.  Also a good deal is the Panasonic DMP-BDT 210 which also boasts Wi-fi and 4k upscaling capabilities. These particular players can range from $79 to about $199. Not too bad of a price to bring your movie collection in to the 2010’s because these players will also up-convert your DVDs and make them look better than they ever would on your old DVD player! Make sure you get the most out of your home theater system by popping in one of these great movies/shows and make the switch to Blu-ray TODAY!

1. How to Train Your Dragon (DreamWorks, 2010)
2. Batman Begins (Warner Bros, 2005), The Dark Knight (2008), & The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
3. Inception (Warner Bros, 2010)
4. Across the Universe (Sony Pictures, 2007)
5. Iron Man (Paramount, 2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), & Iron Man 3 (2013)
6. Transformers (DreamWorks SKG, 2007), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), & Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
7. The Avengers (Paramount, 2012)
8. Skyfall (EON Productions, 2012)
9. Thor (Paramount, 2011) & Thor: The Dark World (2013)
10. Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros, 2009) & Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Zooey Deschanel + No Makeup= Amazing!

Appeared:

The Androgynous on May 20, 2014

On Saturday, Zooey Deschanel posted up a picture of herself on Instagram with no make-up, and a messy bun, looking somewhat like I do every morning.  I absolutely love this trend of celebrities showing us all that they aren’t what Photoshop makes them out to be- as long as they are actually wearing no make-up! Some of these supposed “natural” pictures I have seen of celebrities are definitely NOT natural.  I can’t always tell if they Photoshopped it or if they are just wearing at least some basic foundation on their faces, but many of them are definitely not au’ natural!

This picture sure seemed completely natural to me, and I love it! My theory about women and make-up is basically this: If nobody ever wore make-up we wouldn’t know the difference because there would be nobody else to compare us to!  So if all the women in the world just stopped wearing it all at once we could all save ourselves the time, money, and pain of buying and applying (and RE-applying) make-up! Doesn’t it sound like a beautiful, amazing, utopian world to live in?  I think so!

So who is going to stop wearing their foundation, mascara, and liner now?!

Who’s with me?

GREAT!!

…….. I’ll let you all go first! 😉

 

Macklemore: Anti-Semite or Completely Oblivious?

Appeared:

The Androgynous on May 21, 2014

Rapper Macklemore (from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis) has been under fire for a costume he wore while giving a surprise performance of his song “Thrift Shop” at a EMP (Experience Music Project) Museum in Seattle.

Now, for those of you who are hiding under a rock and have never heard the song, it is about being cheap/frugal and shopping at thrift shops for clothes instead of paying hefty prices for designer brands.  Historically speaking, the Jewish people have been stereotyped as being “cheap”, unfortunately.  Hence the obvious stereotypical Jewish costume Macklemore wore for his song about being frugal.

Macklemore then came out trying to get everyone to believe that his costume was just random parts and pieces that happened to make up a costume that suspiciously resembled what old anti-Semitic propaganda portrayed Jewish people to look like, which Seth Rogen (proudly jewish) did not approve of.

So, I guess it was just bad luck for him then?  If you believe that response, that’s fine.  You have the right to your opinion and beliefs, just as I do mine. If you do choose to believe that it was just a random costume and it was all a big coincidence, then you have to at least admit that this man is completely oblivious to the world around him including history, stereotypes, and culture. I personally think he is trying to minimize the backlash to the costume (which any good publicist would tell him to do, right?). I’m sure he thought he was being clever when he put on that costume and performed that song. Here’s the apology that he posted on his website on Monday May 19th.

I don’t believe in boycotts or banning a person’s right to free speech in the least. I personally would never choose to dress the way he did, especially while performing that particular song; but, to each his own. I’m sure he is already feeling whatever “punishment” he deserves, so I’ll try to give him the benefit of the doubt and HOPE that he is just an idiot.  I’d prefer that to an anti-semite.  It definitely puts his activism for allowing everyone to be themselves and promoting tolerance in to question, though!

Meditation: How and Why You Should Do It!

Appeared:

The Androgynous on May 17, 2014

Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……………….That’s meditation, right?

Well… I guess you can definitely do it that way, but it’s not just for the hippie-dippie, New-Age crowd anymore! When I started talking to people to find out what they actually knew or thought of meditation, many still did see it as something that only Buddhists, New-Age folks, or hipsters do.  They almost immediately put their thumb and forefinger together in the “gian mudra” position (that you typically see in movies and on TV when someone meditates). Yet, to my surprise there were also many people who responded with considerable knowledge and experience with mindful meditation. Several of them even knew of the many recent scientific studies that back up the many health benefits that can come with the practice! It also appears that it is practiced by a wide variety of people from children (there are even apps available to help your children with meditation), to grandmothers, young mothers, male and female college students, and middle-aged men.  According to Dr. Michael Olpin, Director of Health Promotion at Weber State University (visit his page: http://faculty.weber.edu/molpin),

“[m]editation isn’t a philosophy or a belief system. It’s a process for achieving a quieter mind and mind/body healing.”

Whatever beliefs you may have, whether that is a Buddhist, Christian, or Muslim faith, or no particular “faith” at all, meditation can help you in your goal toward overall wellness or even specific health goals like combatting depression or chronic pain.  There doesn’t seem to be a “typical” person who meditates and I can safely say that none of the people I spoke to are what would generally be described as “hippies”!

So what is mindful meditation really?

According to Daniel Bride, a Clinical Psychology graduate student at the University of Utah:

“[m]indfulness meditation is about awareness of the present moment, practicing acceptance of moment-to-moment experience in a non-judgmental way.”

So in layman’s terms what does that mean?  Basically, however you try to achieve and practice your meditation, the goal is to block out worries and thoughts about the past and the future and distractions from your current “being.”  We always have these thoughts just bouncing around in our minds, many of which cause us stress, pain, anxiety or sadness.  The immediate goal of meditation is to block out those distractions and just focus on being one in mind, body, and spirit.

So why is it such an important thing to become “one” with your mind, body, and spirit?

Why is it essential to our health that we be able to focus on the “now” and cut out our worries of the past and anxieties over the future for at least a short period of time?  There are many, many reasons, but to me all of those studies and scientific facts seem to boil down to one thing: stress!  Likely you have  been taught over and over during your educational pursuits that humans are hardwired to protect ourselves with a “fight or flight” reaction.  When something appears to potentially cause us harm (even if those fears are irrational) our bodies become stressed.  When that happens, chemicals like adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol are released into the bloodstream which in turn causes various biologic responses. Our heart rate goes up, blood flow increases to the muscles and decreases from the digestive tract, our sight sharpens and our awareness intensifies. We are essentially preparing to fight or flight, both psychologically and physically. We are amped up to either stay and protect ourselves to the best of our abilities (fight) or bolt away from the situation as fast as possible (flight).  If we are consistently stressed out, our bodies chronically stay in this state, which in turn can cause chronic pain conditions, hormonal problems, chronic fatigue, and depression as well as lower your immunity.  If we are constantly thinking and worrying (or even subconsciously worrying) about things that happened in our past or things we have to do tomorrow, we can never fully get out of that stressed-out state.  Our bodies, as well as our minds and souls, need a break from some of that stress and a chance to refresh.  That is where mindful meditation comes in.

While I was in college studying Health Promotion and Nutrition Education at Weber State University, I was working full-time, was a mother of a small child, and was attending full-time classes.  Suffice it to say, I was extremely stressed.  I found that mindful meditation (using demonstrative CD’s meant to guide you through the process) was enormously helpful to my well-being.  After doing it consistently for just a few weeks, I found the tension level in my neck and shoulders significantly decreased and I felt like I could handle things much easier.  In discussing experiences with meditation with family and friends I found that the majority of them that had actually given it a shot seemed to get some type of positive result from it.  For instance, Destiny DeLange, who regularly meditates, stated that mindful meditation helped her through a personal struggle she was having with her faith as well as relationships.  She said that she “…tried it out […] and things shifted almost immediately […]” for her because she no longer saw just the painful things that were going on.  She began to see the beauty all around her and the blessings right in front of her face. I found statements like this to be the norm from basically everyone I talked to.

So have I convinced you that you should give it a try? I hope so! If so, I guess you will need to know how!

 Here are some simple “how-to” steps to get you started:

1. Find a comfortable position that also promotes wakefulness.  Most people tend to recommend sitting upright on a sturdy chair, with your back slightly off of the backrest, and keeping your feet flat on the floor. Sometimes placing a small pillow between your lower back and the chair can be helpful.  You can just rest your arms and hands comfortably on your lap. You want to be comfortable, but you also want to be sure that you are aware and awake. The goal of meditation is not to fall asleep (which, honestly, can be difficult to do in my own experience!), but to be relaxed and aware at the same time.  Most sources don’t recommend lying down for that purpose. Sitting also helps with breathing exercises, which is essential for step 3.

2. Do your best to find a relaxing, quiet environment that will have as little distractions as possible. TURN OFF YOUR PHONE for a minute! I know, this is a difficult thing to do, but DO IT! Let others know that you will be needing a few minutes to yourself and limit noises as much as possible. If a quiet place is not possible, you can still do your best to block out distractions in basically any location you have available.

3. With your eyes closed (or open if you feel more comfortable), a simple way to start is to just do a simple breathing exercise.  Focus on just noticing your in-breath, and your out-breath.  Literally just think to yourself “this is my in-breath, this is my out-breath.” If your mind wanders (which it likely will), just quickly do your best to bring your focus back to your breath. One of the most special things about focusing on your breath is the fact that you ARE breathing! You ARE alive and that in and of itself is a beautiful gift. Learning to notice and appreciate your breath by itself can be a wonderful exercise in gratitude and peace.

4. Once you have taken some time to just focus on your breath, try focusing on following your breath from its beginning to end.  This might seem a little odd at first, but I have found this particular exercise to be very calming.  Basically you follow your breath by feeling it first going in through your nose, down your throat, and into your chest.  You can actually feel this if you focus enough. Then you follow the exhale back out all the way through until it has left your body.

5. For starters, try just doing those two particular exercises for as long as you can focus on it. Every time your mind begins to wander, just actively bring it back in to focus on your breath. Allow yourself to appreciate your state of being and block out all other thoughts.

6. When you decide to end your meditation time, make sure you try to slowly and calmly progress from your state of relaxation and focus back into your regular life.  There are many ways you can do this, but since I believe in the power of prayer, I like to close my meditation with a prayer.  Many times I will ask that I can keep the peace with me as much as possible and ask for any other help I might need throughout my day.   This works for me, but depending on your beliefs and your own needs, you may need to find another way to smooth your transition from mindful meditation to everyday life. Perhaps a quiet activity like folding laundry, cooking or washing dishes.

Like I previously stated, mindful meditation doesn’t really have rules you must abide by.  The greatest thing about it is that you can basically do it any way you personally need or want to do it, for almost any purpose, at any time or place.  The options are endless and the benefits seem to be without limit.  Only time and practice will tell what mindful meditation can do for you on a personal level, but I would suggest meditation as a way to help reduce your stress level and increase your overall health and well-being.

 

If you are interested in learning more about meditation, there are millions of resources on the internet available for free.  The following are some great informational resources for you to check out to increase your knowledge on mindful meditation, how it’s done, and the many benefits of it as well as other ways to help with wellness and stress management:

ABC News (video) “Re-wiring Your Brain for Happiness: Research Shows How Meditation Can Physically Change Your Brain” http://abcnews.go.com/US/meditation-wiring-brain-happiness/story?id=14180253#.TrLIc3H9Vgo

Psychology Today “The Mindful Self-Express; Learning to Be Present With Yourself” http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201204/learning-be-present-yourself

What is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction? http://www.mindfullivingprograms.com/whatMBSR.php

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center, Weekly Podcasts for Guided Meditation http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=107

Psychology Today “Get Out of Your Mind” http://www.mindfullivingprograms.com/whatMBSR.php

Prevention “Think You’re Not the Meditation Type?” http://www.prevention.com/mind-body/emotional-health/meditation-match-your-personality

An Initially Reluctant Mother: My thoughts on Motherhood for Mother’s Day

Appeared:

The Androgynous on May 11, 2014

Growing up in an extremely religious community and church that strongly promoted motherhood as the greatest of all achievements of womanhood, I naturally decided I didn’t want to be just like everyone else and wanted to go against the grain.  Now don’t get me wrong, I was never EVER told I should ONLY aim for motherhood and put all other pursuits aside.  On the contrary, I was supported and encouraged to push myself in any which way I wanted to succeed!  Yet, despite that fact, it did sort of feel like that was the one thing I HAD to do in life. So me being me with my deep down tendencies of wanting to do things my own way and forge my own, somewhat different, but not too different path, I decided that motherhood wasn’t going to be in my future.  I never enjoyed being around little kids and my entire life I always preferred the company of adults, or at least people older than myself.  I was never one to “ooh” and “ahh” over babies (especially babies of people I wasn’t related to!) and to this day that part of my femininity is basically absent.  I don’t really have a desire to hold babies and I don’t really find other people’s babies very interesting at all!  But as we all know and likely have experienced, my plans weren’t God’s plans, and little did I know that motherhood was in my future, and MUCH earlier than I could have ever expected!

I met my husband (which I lovingly will refer to as my “Man-Candy”) the summer after I graduated from high school.  At the time, I wasn’t really looking for dating anyone, but my step-mom didn’t seem to care much about that because she knew the PERFECT guy for me to date.  So against my wishes, she sent this guy to my work (yes I was a “sandwich artist” at the time, what’s it to ya?) and he shyly asked me out.  Unfortunately for my “plans”, I knew that first night that this was going to turn in to “something big”.  Suffice it to say, I found myself wanting to get married, and all of the sudden I didn’t find the thought of having kids so unsettling.  It’s a good thing for me that my heart and feelings on motherhood had changed, because I found myself married and within the next six months!

My first son was born after a whirlwind of changes including; getting married, buying and remodeling a new house, and we got a new dog. With all the craziness in life that first year with my Man-Candy and my new baby, it was difficult to enjoy it. My life was changed significantly in a multitude of ways, yet I was determined to be the best mom I could be all while not allowing my dreams to get pushed aside.  I took more than full time classes at the University I was attending, I worked and worked and wore myself thin.  At the time that was what I wanted, I managed to graduate “on time” and wanted to go on to find that amazing career I thought I wanted. I interviewed for job after job in my “field” and continued working hard and then realized that I actually truly did want another child! I know, shocking right? It seemed as though it was a good thing that I didn’t get those jobs I had applied so earnestly for.  So we consciously decided to have another baby.  I worked full time up until two days before I had my second son and then got the opportunity this time to actually take the maximum time “allowed” for maternity leave, 12 weeks.  Those weeks were tough and a major adjustment, but it was during that time that I began to realize that deep down I wanted all of my time right now to be with my children.  I wanted to be there to internalize and truly appreciate those little moments every day while they were little. Yet, I didn’t see any possible way for that to happen for me any time soon, and that was truly heartbreaking.  So, I didn’t talk about it. I just kept dutifully going on with life and just “doing what I had to do.”

I worked for almost four more years at the same job, continually trying to push aside this feeling of wanting to be at home with my kids.  It just didn’t seem possible, until one day, it did! Nothing actually changed in our family life or situation, but something finally clicked on in my brain.  If I truly want it, I need to make it happen and stop being afraid.  You will never get what you want unless you at least ask for it and try.  So, Man-Candy and I worked to get our financial house in order and prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually for the change that we were about to make.  Everything finally seemed to come together to the point where I felt somewhat comfortable that we could make it, and I gave my notice at work.

Last spring I finally got the chance to have what I truly wanted out of this time period in my life.  I finally figured out that although I might not enjoy holding other people’s babies or tending other people’s kids, I truly do enjoy doing so with my own.  I realized that motherhood is truly fleeting and if I didn’t seize the moment and put my all into it now, that I would miss that opportunity.  I recognized that I truly am a “mom” and that I value that more than anything.  That being said, just because I am a “mom” doesn’t mean that everything else in my life stops!  It just means I need to work a little harder to make my other dreams happen and MAKE the time for them.  It means that the majority of the time, my family comes first, and I am thankful to have the chance to do that!  I know that as my children grow, so will my ability to spend more time on my own dreams, but right now my dreams include raising courageous, loving, intelligent, and fun kids!  The sad thing about it is that now that I finally realized what I love and what I truly want to do, it seems as if it is just flying by way too fast.  All I can do is try to focus my energy, time, and talents on the little people I have while they are little. In the past year, I have worked harder and grown more than at any other point in my entire life.  I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be their mother and to take part in this beautiful thing called “motherhood.”

To all of you women out there that have children, my wish is that you will do your best this Mother’s Day to think of the wonderful gift you have been given by being able to call yourself a mom! It is such a beautiful name to be able to bear.

To those of you who don’t have children yet but want them, I really hope you have the chance to be blessed with them!  It will turn your life upside down and inside out, but it is awesome and I know you will love it!

To those of you who do NOT want children or at least don’t think you want them, don’t feel like I believe your life is any less amazing.  You have the opportunity to spend your time being the “fun aunt” or the caring and giving friend that your mom friends can lean on when they JUST CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! You can spend your time being the loving and grateful daughter to your own incredible mother.  You can even go out and conquer the world or cure cancer, and I hope you do! But, I sincerely hope that you can understand and value the remarkable things that the moms around you do, too.

My life started out on a completely different path than the one I am on now. I look back and am so grateful for the fork in the road that I took, but I know that my life would have been an adventure had I gone down that other road, too.  As women, we all make our own choices, and life is hard enough without other women judging us for the path we decide to take.  I hope this Mother’s Day we can truly appreciate and love all of the amazing moms and wonderful women around us and respect them for  the great things that they bring to this world, whether they have kids or not! Being an amazing woman doesn’t necessarily REQUIRE you to be a mom, but I personally wouldn’t trade the title for anything else in the world!

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

 

What is this 4K UHD thing and do YOU need it?

Appeared:

The Androgynous on May 8, 2014

Ohlin Audio on May 8, 2014

Let’s start out by giving you the formal, jargon-based definition of 4K Ultra High-Definition (UHD), then maybe we will try to break that down so that it makes any sense whatsoever.

The Consumer Electronics Association announced in 2012 that the term UHD would be used for displays that have a minimum aspect ratio of 16:9 with at least one digital input with the capability of carrying video at a minimum resolution of 3840×2160 pixels.

There, did that definition answer all of your questions about 4K UHD?  If it did, hooray for you!  Feel free to go check out some other more informative article.  If not, welcome to the club.

So let’s break down that definition a bit.  Imagine you are looking out a screen door. What do you see?  Lines of black going vertically and horizontally in standard patterns, right?  Standard definition (SD) TV (think boob-tubes, bubble-screens, and square box sets) which was the “norm” prior to High-Definition (HD) TVs becoming mainstream in the mid-2000’s, would represent a screen door with larger squares to look through. The pixels are noticeably larger and blockier.  Compare that also to playing an old Nintendo game like Mario 3 (my favorite game of all time, by the way) where edges were blocky and sharp.

Then comes along HDTVs (720p, 1080i, 1080p Full HD) where all of the lines forming those squares have gotten even closer together.  In the video game sense, we could compare that to a PlayStation 3 or XBOX 360 where game play became more life-like and you didn’t realize the people on the screen were made up of tiny little pixelated boxes because they were so much smaller (roughly half the size of SD pixels). HDTV is the mainstream standard for broadcast TV, satellite/cable, as well as most computer screens.  If you have a flat-panel TV, this is likely the type of technology you have.

So, naturally, there needs to be a “next big thing” when it comes to viewing resolutions.  That, my friends, is what we are here to talk about.  In going back to our screen-door example, picture that screen door much like it actually is. Teeny-tiny little boxes, so small that you barely even notice that they are there at all.  This would be how we would describe what 4K Ultra High-Definition is.  Our gaming example is going to be a little bit more difficult to describe.  Currently, there are not any gaming consoles that offer any type of 4K UHD content.  Theoretically, UHD gaming could be so realistic that it would be very difficult for your eyes to distinguish between the game and real life.  However, 4K gaming is currently available on a computer with a UHD screen.

So basically, 4K Ultra High-Definition basically means that you are getting a higher quality image and resolution, which allows you to watch on even bigger screens without pixilation problems.  You can even sit closer to a 4K TV without a noticeable “screen-door” effect.  The less your eyes and brain notice those little boxes and lines, the more realistic the image becomes.

4K UHD Content

So is there actually any content available to watch in UHD?  Well, in a way, kind of! Like I said earlier, there are no gaming consoles that currently support 4K UHD.  There are not even any Blu-Ray players that are native 4K (which means they are actually built to run it), yet there are many that will up-convert your regular Blu-Ray to a 4K image.  Netflix is currently talking about beginning to stream in 4K, but the problem then becomes whether you have the bandwidth to actually play it.  (Or whether cable/DSL providers are going to actually allow Netflix to have the bandwidth to support it!

See this article for more information: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/177073-why-netflix-streaming-is-getting-slower-and-probably-wont-get-better-any-time-soon ).

Sony offers what is called the FMP-X1 4K Media player, which is basically a streaming/downloading player that links to Sony’s library of available 4K movies and content. Again, the content currently available to watch on 4K UHD is very limited, but will definitely be expanding significantly in the near future.

Current 4K UHD Displays

Most major brands of TVs are now offering 4K TV’s in sizes ranging from 50 to 110 inch displays with prices starting at $999 way on up to $150K (Samsung’s 4K TV which is approximately the size of a king-size bed!).  Although Sony appears to be leading the market in 4K UHD TVs with a brand new line available for pre-order right now, you can’t rule out brands like Vizio that will soon be releasing a 50 inch 4K TV for $999. The competition is growing in the UHD market among the many electronics brands, which in turn brings quality up and cost down for you. The same thing happened when HDTV’s came out.  Prices started out ridiculously high until more companies got in on the action and drove prices down so that the average person could actually afford them.  So is now the time to actually buy a 4K UHD TV?

Do you need a 4K UHD TV?

Short answer, no, not yet, at least. Prices are still significantly higher for 4K TVs compared to the HD TVs on the market now and there is hardly any content out there for you to get the most out of the higher definition screen. While the resolution of the UHD screen is technically significantly better, if you’re only able to up-convert HD programming to 4K, to the naked eye you likely won’t spot the difference.

While 4K UHD TVs are definitely the next big thing in television displays, in my opinion I would wait until 4K programming becomes more readily available before purchasing one. At this point you will spend quite a bit more money and not be able to tell much of a difference until you actually have access to more 4K content. However, if you do decide to buy one now, you’ll have it hung on the wall and ready to go when that content finally does become available, and definitely be ahead of the curve!

Media Streaming Devices for Your Entertainment Pleasure!

Article Appeared:

The Androgynous on May 7, 2014

Allow me introduce myself.  I’m Lindsey, wife of a home audio/video expert installer and currently a WORK-at-home mother of two young boys.  Now, unlike my man-candy husband, I may not be able to claim myself as the technology “expert” (much to my chagrin) but, I do have the AWESOME perspective of the typical mom who just wants things to be easy and not take up a bunch of my valuable time. That being said, I am amazed at all of the things out there that, if you know how to actually use them, can make your life easier and bring you and your family a lot of entertainment (much of which is completely FREE! BONUS!).

We decided to purchase a Roku streaming player about six months ago. Now, there are many different makes and models of it, but they all operate similarly. You basically hook it up to your TV and connect it to your wireless (or wired) network. It’s EXTREMELY simple and honestly I was able to set it up myself. Then you can select all of the “channels” or apps that you want to appear on your screen. There are TONS of them. There are even PRIVATE channels that if you belong to certain forums or groups out there that they can give you a code to access their own private information. Basically anyone could make up their own channel, which is amazing! Some of those channels include your basic Netflix, Pandora, VUDU, Crackle, HuluPlus, Amazon, MGo, Flixter, etc, but there are also news channels like Fox, PBS, The Blaze, NBC News, and ESPN. There are children’s stations like Disney, PBS Kids, and even Christian centered stations. They even have an Angry Birds channel! (Yes, I have sat through hours of Angry Birds programming on my Roku!) The variety is wide and the possibilities are basically endless. The beauty of it is that you get to sift through it and select which ones you want to check out. Some of them may require a paid membership to get much out of them, but there are TONS that are completely free. Then as you get the chance to watch them and you decide you don’t like something you can easily remove it from your personal line-up. Simple! I have personally LOVED the Roku. It has been extremely simple to navigate and operate. The next one I want to get has the earbuds that connect to the remote so that I can watch it late at night while my man-candy is sleeping and I won’t disturb him! Anyway, if you are looking for a SIMPLE and SWEET way to get connected to hundreds of channels that you can personalize to your own taste, I would definitely say go for the Roku.

There are quite a few different similar products out there, another is AppleTV (which, if you are in to the whole Apple thing then this might be a fun way for you to integrate your other products all into one big network). If you want a similar effect but you use Android products, then you could look to GoogleTV. There are other brands such as Netgear and Western Digital as well. I can only say that I have dealt with the AppleTV one of the above listed, and it could definitely be something you would like. Since I am not a huge Apple fan, that is not personally the way that I would go.

Last but not least, there is the Amazon Fire TV which is fairly new. It basically has all of the same options as the Roku and the others, but has the great ability of integrating all of your Amazon accounts if you happen to already have them (ie. Amazon Prime, Amazon Instant Video, Mp3, etc.). I have not had the chance to play with one of these yet, but I’m sure based on Amazon’s other products that it is a pretty safe bet as well.

I definitely LOVE using streaming video these days. It has become my “normal” as I no longer subscribe to cable TV or satellite. I save HUNDREDS of dollars a year and am able to pick and choose EXACTLY what stations I want to see (even if I have to pay for them a la cart). If there are stations I am NOT interested in (ie. MLB stations LOL) I don’t have to have them! It’s amazing the personalized world we live in these days. We are free to pick and choose exactly what we want as long as we are actually aware of what is out there! Until next time, I’ll be sitting here enjoying watching Angry Birds and Club Penguin with my 4 year-old on my Roku and LOVING every minute of it!