Eyebeemania

It is quite literally freezing out there this morning. 31°F. Blue sky and sunny when I look out of my front room window. I can pretend it’s summer. Hopefully, we’ll have a good one this coming year. I can’t wait for winter to go away.

Another day at work, but it’s the second best bit.

That’s when I get a break and get coffee and cake!

The best bit? Well, that’s when I get to go home of course.

Anyway,it’s pretty quiet today, and as we go into the evening it will get quieter. It normally does. Not sure about tomorrow though, as that’s New Year’s Eve. WE shall see then.

I have always enjoyed headphone listening, though until recently most of my home listening has been via speakers. It’s quite a solitary thing listening through cans, although it is more immersive, of course.

When I sit down and listen to music, I want to be immersed. I’m not talking about background music, while I am doing something else, but JUST listening to music.

I’ve tried IEMs. I have a set of AirPods Pro 2. They’re pretty decent, but I’m not comfortable walking about with them as they tend to fall out, and it’s super easy to lose them.

I got my first good pair of headphones about thirty years ago, when I got some Sennheiser HD25s. They were about £250 back then - around 1995.

A couple of years ago, I bought a pair of Apple AirPods Max. They’re pretty good, and the Active Noise Cancelling is superb. The best I’ve heard. Thing is, they’re Bluetooth, so they’re not lossless.

Having upgraded the hifi and invested in a Home Cinema system, I wanted to get some wired headphones. Firstly, I got a pair of AKG 701s. Pretty good, but perhaps a little bright.

Next came the HifiMan Ananda Nanos. These are currently my go-to headphones when listening at home. I am really pleased with the audio, plenty of bass for me, with a good midrange and treble that’s clear but not too bright or sibilant.

I wanted something for mobile use, and I found a decent budget pair - JBL 720BTs. They have an option for wired use, though, and after a short while with the Apple DAC Dongle, I got a Fiio KA13 DAC, which is a definite improvement.

For Christmas this year, though, I was given a pair of Fiio FT1s. I wanted these as they’re a closed-back headphone, which is, of course, necessary when out in public.

I”m sitting in a local coffee shop typing this. My wife and I bought each other a folding keyboard and iPhone stand for each other for Christmas.

I’m typing on it now. It’s quite ok. Easy to type on - certainly better than using an on screen keyboard that’s for sure.

It’s warm in here, and I have a hot coffee. I’m looking out through the window and it’s cold and dark outside. I’ve got another 25 minutes in here before I venture outside again though

Judith Owen - Happy This Way

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lsuurLqASR-_q8Od6U9jfM2JWN16yoKKI&si=PCHknzK_58dcbAm0

Having my lunch break. It’s dry outside, although it’s rather chilly at only 42°F

#BoxingDay

I wish you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2026

#Christmas

After a quick trip to the local shops, at the end of the street, and a quick breakfast, we got home and stayed there! The current temperature is 40°F, but a nor-easter is making it feel like 27°. It’s dark by 4 pm in any case!

Some music listening, a pork stir-fry for dinner, and some time spent updating a couple of WordPress sites have been my activities for the afternoon.

Here’s a photograph I took yesterday at Paddington Station.

Once upon a time, these were a regular thing, but these days, I only seem to have them at Christmas!

Sad & Beautiful World from Mavis Staples, the last surviving member of the Staple Singers, who started out in 1950. Mavis is 86, but you wouldn’t think so, when you listen to her singing.

There is a coating of frost on the cars parked in the street. It’s still dark after 7am. The temperature is just edging 40°F.

I’m waiting for the bus to work. I am not relishing the day ahead.

it was a nothing kind of day today. I got up at just after five and went to work and got home around 3 pm and then I eat my sandwiches that I didn’t eat earlier and had a cup of coffee and across a beer and listen to some music and they went to bed and that was it really.

The highlight of my day was probably the chocolate cake I had on my morning break.

No, not an injection OF beer!

I didn’t sleep too well. Kathy was snoring quite a lot during the night. I got up around eight, made coffee and had some of the Dorset Cereals nutty granola.

I got myself ready and took an Uber to West Middlesex Hospital. My appointment was at 11.00, and I was there by 10.40. I had a CT scan and a steroid injection. I have a condition called Bursitis. I got seen promptly and got an Uber back home, getting indoors about 11.40.

Then I went to The Queen’s Head as the Internet was out at home. I had a couple of beers and some Chicken Tikka Tacos for lunch.

My Roon library has been growing somewhat, what with adding a fair amount of audio from both Tidal and Qobuz, ripping CDs, and adding hi-res audio purchases.

I’ve edged past 42K files in over 3,600 albums so I’ll finish the year with plenty to listen to.

My scrobbling has exploded this year, as Roon will scrobble pretty much all the music I play, unlike other services. I still play mixes from SoundCloud and MixCloud, which aren’t added in, but I don’t know any way around that. Vinyl plays aren’t scrobbled either. It’s good to have a better record of one’s listening habits and pleasures, though.

Yes, it’s Monday again. However, today I am off, so I could sit back yesterday and watch everyone else get sombre about Monday Morning. I was a little slow this morning, after I had had a few beers yesterday.

I’ve decided to take a walk to my local, The Queen’s Head, for a couple of relaxing beers and some lunch.

There’s perhaps a feeling Christmas is around the corner, but, having said that, there are another ten days of work to get through yet.

Next week is the Winter Solstice, and that means the shortest day, and the long, slow climb back to the summer!

It’s my last long shift this week. I am working tomorrow but from 9-6 and not 7-6.15. That children of hours makes a difference.

I can get up a little later tomorrow morning, but I’ll probably be awake early. It usually works like that. It’s the body clock thing.

Got a new cable for my JBL headphones in the mail yesterday. That has done the trick. Back to wired with DAC again. Always sounds better than Bluetooth, even with these cheap cans.

It’s a bit conspicuous as its bright sky blue, but it was the only colour option with next day delivery.

The sun is out today. The traffic is much lighter than during the past two days