In case you are wondering, Almost Fit is NOT turning into a product review site – But I had the opportunity to take a look at one of the new cord-free MP3 players from Sony, and thought readers who listen to music while exercising might find my impressions helpful. But before I go further, here’s the legal bit:

Disclosure: This post is not a paid review or endorsement, but Sony did send me the product to get my thoughts. I am in no way affiliated with Sony and have received no compensation for my impressions. And also, the legal bit makes me feel weird, like going to the principal’s office for something I actually DID do this time, but it turns out it wasn’t as bad as I thought. OK I feel slightly better.

Several weeks ago I received a note from Melissa, a Community Ambassador for Sony letting me know about a product line that they are promoting: the Sony W series cord-free mp3 players. I receive a fair number of these notes and offers to review products, but to be honest I rarely give them a second thought. In general I don’t do product reviews, mostly because 9 times out of 10 the offer is for packaged/processed foods that I already know how I feel on principle, so I don’t think it would really be fair. (The other exception has been cookbooks which I do review on occasion.)

This product on the other hand, since I’m not eating it , seemed like something I could check out – and the words “cord-free” piqued my interest. Plus I’m kind of a gadget junkie, though I usually take forever to buy them. (Note to Apple: I will gladly write up a review of the iPad or one of the new Macbook Pros if you want to send one to me. No, seriously.)

To provide a little context, lately when I run I use my iPhone with some 3rd party ear buds to listen to music or my ever growing list of podcasts. As many readers know, I am also an active iPhoneography enthusiast, so I generally have my phone (a.k.a. camera/ipod/everything-I-need-in-one-gadget) with me wherever I go. So, my iPhone with headphones is my primary source of comparison, though I am a product of the 80′s Walkman generation, so I have a long history with portable music. In addition, I am also an amateur musician with a home recording studio, so I do use studio-grade headphones for music production – which means I’d like to think I have a reasonable ear for audio quality.

Overall, for readers of Almost Fit I think this product has value as a good workout tool, and as you will see in the review I LOVE not having to deal with headphone wires. The ear buds that I usually use with my iPhone are great both sound and comfort-wise, but I am continually fighting with them pulling during exercise routines. I also find it tough to do things like take photos with my phone along the way, or use exercise tracking applications (of which I’m a fan) while listening to music on my phone. So a separate device makes sense to me in some cases. That said, this device is not without it’s flaws.

With that, here’s the review. Read the rest of this entry »

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Cutting to the chase: Clearly, I’ve been away for a little while. I think that the reasons are fairly mundane, but I will simply say that sometimes life has a way of catching up with you when you are paying attention to other things. All is well, and I do apologize for the mysterious drop-off in posts.

The good news is I have used the break to work on some new pieces that I’m excited about. At this point they are little more than a pile of notes and a lot of ideas, but hopefully they will be something that you’ll be interested in reading, and if I’m lucky, sharing your thoughts on as well.

On the personal health side, my weight has been reasonably stable; I have gained back a few pounds since my last post, but I am not too worried about it. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not thrilled about it; but I’m ready to get back to business, and am very pleased that I’m still 15 lbs lighter than I was at the start of the year.

On the plus side I’ve started a new simple exercise habit that seems to be sticking, all based on keeping my laundry in order. What does laundry have to do with weight loss? I’ll get to that in a future post.

On the real food side, this is the time of year when things start to get easier food-wise in the Pacific Northwest. Every week that goes by in my neck of the woods, more and more farmers markets come back to life; more fruits and vegetables start their journey from the soil to my plate , and the sun starts to make the acquisition of vitamin D much, much easier. All in all this is a great time of year, and I am really, really ready for a break from the winter doldrums.

One last thing: My little family has had a slight change: we find ourselves with a few additions to our house…Nine of them in fact. We’ve adopted a small troop of baby chickens. The chicks are about 4 weeks old now, and are one of the things that has kept me a little busy lately (though truth be told my wife has done most of the work – though I am building a chicken coop this weekend). The goal with the chicks is to eventually harvest eggs, which is a staple in our house. If you are interested in keeping chickens feel free to drop me a note, as I have a few online resources that have been helpful. And tips are very welcome.

All in all, things are on the upswing. Thanks for continuing to read Almost Fit, even if the posts have been few and far between over the last couple of months. Good things are coming. Thank you as always.

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