A rare early November tornado hit the Hampshire area of SE England around lunchtime on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd.  The twister knocked down dozens of trees, tore the roof off several buildings and downed power lines.  At least two injuries were reported.  The tornado’s path appears to be several miles long.  The entire United Kingdom gets about 35 tornadoes per year.  Most are small and do little damage.  On July 28, 2005 a tornado rated EF2 caused 30 injuries in Birmingham.   This has been a quiet year for severe weather in the U.S.  There were only 10 reported tornadoes in the entire country in September, compared to 111 in Sept. 2008.  There has been only one tornado fatality in the U.S. since May 13th.  Of the 22 fatalities in the U.S. this year, 12 of the victims (more than half) were in mobile homes.

Moray+ earphones, a "Swiss Army knife" for gamers on the go. (Courtesy: Razer)

Razer calls the Moray+ the “Swiss Army knife for mobile audio and voice communications.” I have to say, I agree and you don’t have to worry about it cutting you, as there aren’t actually any blades.

Razer actually sent me a pair of both the Moray and the Moray+ for testing. There are some differences between the two sets of earphones, the Moray+ sports an inline microphone and the Moray does not. The Moray+ includes adapters for portable gaming, while the Moray only includes a airplane adapter. For this review, I’ll be writing about the Moray+’s mainly, but in terms of the listening experience the earbuds are identical.

The “Swiss Army knife” aspect of the Moray+ comes into view because included in the packaging is an adapter for your mainline mobile devices, including the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. The standard 3.5mm headset jack plugs into the adapter and the adapter into your device. Both adapters are small enough to not feel cumbersome but large enough that you won’t lose them (unless you lose a lot of things). The Moray+ works without an adapter when plugging into a compatible device, like the iPhone or Palm Pre and other smartphones. When plugging in the earphones to a PC though, you’ll want to make sure you use the included splitter. Plugging in directly did not enable the microphone on the headset.

The Moray+ earphones and carry case. (Courtesy: Razer)

The Moray+ is an “intraaural” set of earphones. You can see in the pictures, they basically go inside your ear, unlike standard earbuds which are supposed to rest on the outside. Because I’m not a professional audiophile, I review sound products like the everyman through normal use. I didn’t measure the accuracy of the frequency response, sound pressure level, impedance or max rated imput, which Razer lists on their site as:

• Frequency response: 20 to 11000 Hz
• Sound pressure level: 110 dB
• Impedance: 17 ohms
• Max rated input: 20 mW

My main criteria are based on two primary factors: “Is the sound loud?” and “Is the sound clear?” I’m happy to report the answer to both questions is yes.

For my testing, I used it on my personal phone (the Palm Pre) and for gaming on my PC. On the Pre, I used it for calls, videos and music. I prefer them in every aspect immensely more than the included headphones that came with the phone, which is to be expected. Everything just sounded better.

Watching a movie (Serenity for the curious) and listening to music were immersive. This is in part to the “passive noise isolation” employed by the headphones. Essentially, they’re little rubber stoppers that prevent other noise from getting to you. The effectiveness was exhibited when I didn’t respond to someone yelling at me in the same room. There are three different sizes included with the Moray+ so that if your ears are larger or smaller you can find an appropriate thickness. I found the medium size most comfortable for me.

Plug in to the device you own. (Courtesy: Razer)

When gaming on the PC, the results were equally impressive. Even though the Moray+ is an earphone, I still felt in competed with larger headsets. It won’t replace them, but if you’re a laptop gamer it might be nicer to have a set of earphones instead of a gaming headset.

I never had any complaints for the microphone. It seemed to work without issue while talking on the phone and while in game for team communication.

Overall, I have to say the Moray+ is a solid set of earphones that would be a great compliment to any gamers lineup. They run $59.99 at the official Razer Store. You can find the Moray for much cheaper online, but again, they lack the adapters and don’t have an inline microphone. Both sets are available in white and blue and come with carrying pouch. There are special PAX-colored editions available for the Moray+.

Have any questions or comments? Shoot me an email at matt(dot)schuler(at)woodtv(dot)com or send me a message on twitter, twitter.com/mattschuler .

<–Click the pic. to enlarge.  Remember it’s the GFS model.  Remember it’s 240 hours out (10 days).  But.  But…that’s snow!  We go to -6 at 850 mb. and at this time of year, we need about -5 to -6 to get snow.   Keep remembering what I’ve said – it’s El Nino – it’s weak and weak El Ninos bring winter to West Michigan.  That would be for Oct. 11-12.  If you haven’t signed up for your snow removal contract – might be a good time to do that before they see this and think about jackin’ up the rates.

The state Senate has passed the corrections bill — it’s now taking up the Michigan State Police budget. The chamber failed to adopt the MSP budget on the first vote; it’s now being reconsidered.

House Speaker Andy Dillon is now on the floor (9:49pm) talking with Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop.

There’s some word on the Senate floor that we may enter the new fiscal year — which starts at midnight — with all the final budgets passed except for K-12 education.

K-12 is one of the most contentious budgets because it would cut $218 in funding for every district for every student they teach. In Grand Rapids Public Schools, the cut would exceed $4 million. Kalamazoo and Forest Hills would see cuts over $2 million and Portage and Kentwood would each see a roughly $2 million cut.

The K-12 budget bill was put up for a vote in the House this afternoon but it didn’t have the votes to pass.

Which brings us back to the talk in the Senate.

Having no K-12 budget could be feasible, people on the Republican side of the Senate are saying, because state payments to schools aren’t due until later in October. The state would have several weeks, in theory, to figure out a school budget and how to fund it.

But a spokeswoman for House Democrats said the idea wasn’t really part of the plan in her chamber.

We’ll keep our eye on it.

–Tony

Save your appetite and mark your calendar.  It’s time to test  the creations of up to 40 Chili Teams taking part in the 28th annual Chili Cook-Off at the Cottage Bar and One Trick Pony in Grand Rapids on September 19th.  The teams are already perfecting their favorite twists to an age old fall favorite.  They signed up back in July and have been chopping chilies ever since.  Each team ponied up $50 to take part and that money, plus cash from outside sales, will benefit Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids, a cancer support community for men, women and children impacted by cancer and their friends and family.  Over the years, the Chili Cook-off has raised over $200,000 for local charities.  LaGrave Street in front of the restaurants will close to make room for the cooks and musical performances Saturday noon to 5:30pm.  Come down, test away, and celebrate the season of the crock pot.  Share your favorite chili recipes here!

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A series of severe storms and tornadoes swept across northern Argentina, southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay last Tuesday killing at least 17 and injuring 131.  The storms were accompanied by winds of 75 mph and large hail that damaged roofs and broke car windows.  The towns of Santa Rosa, Tobuna and Pozo Azul were particularly hard hit in Argentina.  In Sao Paulo three people lost their lives in floods.  Traffic was at a standstill as the storm pushed through and airplanes were delayed up to seven hours.  the Brazilian town of Guaraciaba, a town of approximately 10,000 reports 70% of their homes were severely damaged, with electricity and telephone service disrupted.  Here’s the story in Portuguese along with some excellent pictures from the wonderful METSUL site.

What a beautiful sight!  This is the view in my west side Grand Rapids backyard right now, century old grapevines loaded with goodies turning from green to purple.  Over the years, these vines have yeilded bushels full of concord grapes ripe for the picking.  They’ve become juice, jelly, jam, pie and for the first time last year, a pretty good batch of wine.  What are you making with your grapes this year?  Share a recipe or favorite grape go-to connection.  One I like to keep an eye on is Siciliano’s on Lake Michigan Dr NW at Collindale.  Last year we attended ’stompin’ days’ where their experts helped us through every step of the homemade wine making process safely.  Let’s see what these beauties become in ‘09.

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has proclaimed August 23 – 29 National Community Gardening Week and millions of people are expected to celebrate.  The National Gardening Association says 43 million households put in a garden or joined a community garden this summer, up from 36 million last year.  To celebrate in West Michigan, Fair Food Matters is hosting a public tour of 11 local gardens in Kalamazoo on Saturday, August 29 from 1-5pm, rain or shine.  Start at any one of the eleven gardens on the tour, bring your questions, and enjoy the kinship.  Find out how you can get your Eat Local! passport for the month of September, too, and set aside Sept 6 for the annual Harvest Dinner on the Farm presented by Food Dance. Send photos or stories of your community garening experience to share!

How about one more Staycation Destination before the end of August?  This time, it’s a trip to the Carribbean via Grand Rapids.  The Saint Cecilia Music Center is hosting a four week art exhibit and events, all with Carribbean grove.  It kicks off  with an opening ceremony August 20 from 6 to 9pm including food, an introduction of artists and musical performances by Pa’lo Hondo and Ozzie.  On August 26, check out “Los Muñequitos: The Caribbean in the  Editorial Cartoons, 1898”.  It’s a lecture and visual presentation, followed by a night of dance, prose and poetry on August 27.  Save your appetite for Friday night’s Caribbean Food Tasting and Exhibit August 28th.  Professional and amateur chefs will share Caribbean favorites as closing ceremonies featuring a Salsa Dance Party and Rumba get underway.  In the meantime, here’s a tasty island twist you can try on your own grill tonight.

Caribbean Shrimp Kabobs

32 medium shrimp (about 1 pound), peeled and deveined
2 large red bell peppers, ribs and seeds removed, cut into 24 pieces (about 11/2 inches each)
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grill
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (preferably Madras)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
coarse salt
Cilantro Dipping Sauce

Heat grill to high. Assemble 8 kebabs (using 2 short skewers for each), alternating 4 shrimp with 3 pieces of pepper on each. Arrange skewers in a nonmetallic dish.
In a small bowl, whisk together rum, oil, curry powder, allspice, and cayenne. Pour marinade over skewers, and turn to coat. Let stand 5 minutes. Season with salt.
Lightly oil grates. Place skewers on grill; cover grill, and cook until grill marks are visible and shrimp are opaque throughout, 2 to3 minutes per side. Season with more salt, if desired. Serve with sauce.