If you buy something from a link, Acorn Talk may earn a commission. See my Affiliate Programs statement.
Fire Blanket
Prepared Hero Emergency Fire Blanket - 1
I hope I never need to use this. I will fully admit to having seen this in an advertisement and immediately added it to my Amazon cart. Essentially, you hang this on a wall near where fires may occur (like a kitchen). In the even of a fire, you pull the tapes at the bottom to remove the blanket and then smother a fire with it.
Fire thrives on oxygen as you know, and this blanket snuffs it out, or significantly reduces the spread. We have this in our pantry (very near the gas cooktop) along with a fire extinguisher. It was $25 USD when I bought one. I’m going to buy one for my father. A fire can start with an electric or induction cooktop as well, so this isn’t just for gas cook-tops. You might want something like this if you go camping and should have a small fire emergency.
Buy Prepared Hero Emergency Fire Blanket - 1
Elgato Wave:3 USB Condenser Microphone
This is a great little USB Type C microphone that definitely improved my audio quality on video/audio conference calls. I bought it during the early stages of the pandemic as I was cycling through options. I went from headsets with mics, and more headsets … constantly trying to find a good combination that I was happy with. I settled on a good pair of very comfortable wired headphones and this mic in the end and have used it for years since. I’d had it on a fixed stand initially, but I changed to a microphone arm (see below) that allows me to get it out of the way when I don’t need it.
Some of the things that I really like:
- It has a tap to mute/un-mute button on the top of the microphone. I don’t have to remember the app-of-the-day keyboard shortcut. Just a single tap and the dial at the bottom turns red indicating it’s been muted.
- Controlling volume levels on the device means I’ve not needed to dig through app settings or computer settings to adjust the volume of the microphone or attached headphones.
- Cardioid microphone pattern which just translates to that it doesn’t pickup audio from every-where in the room when I’m using it. When paired with modern noise-reduction conference calling software, it’s great. Unless you crank up the inputs on this, it’s decent anyway.
- Headphone jack on the back … I can plug in my headphones without awkwardly attaching them to my PC. As I have a standing desk with my PC on the floor, my headphone cable just isn’t long enough to be routed in a reasonable path and tends to get in the way when I’m not using them. Having the plug on the microphone allows me to better route the cable.
- It doesn’t sound like I’m calling from a cavern. Many people don’t seem to be aware of how bad their audio is when they do video calls. Even today. Sometimes it’s the environment and sometimes it’s the equipment. If you’re not sure, ASK someone who will give you honest feedback. Don’t think we don’t know when you’re calling in using the speaker-phone. Do us all a favor and buy a dedicated microphone if you are working from home routinely. Please.
I have a non-Elgato POP filter installed on the microphone. I’ve not done any testing to see if it’s preventing the “plosives” and hisses from being as noticeable in a conference call. It was inexpensive and worth trying.
Elgato Wave Mic Arm LP
I had the above microphone connected to the included stand at first. Then to a floor stand that was right next to my standing desk. Then, this. If you’ve got desk space and the ability to clamp to the back of your desk, I suspect you’ll be as happy with this as I am. When I don’t need it, it pivots out of the way and under my monitor. It has standard microphone mounting screw/attachments so it accommodates many different microphones (up to 2 kg/4.4lbs). It has a cable channel which for some reason I’m only using for one cable … odd. 😀
ESR for MagSafe Car Mount
I’ve had a MagSafe iPhone for 3+ years. I’m embarassed to admit that for an even longer period I’ve had a cell phone sliding around our cars or in a cup-holder. Interacting with the phone according to local laws and being safe while driving is very important to me. The least likely ‘safe’ method is what I had been doing, especially when the phone would slide onto the floor at my feet. 😬
So, I’m very excited that I upgraded to this MagSafe car mount. Installation is a snap: there’s a small dial that tightens the mount to the vent so that it doesn’t move. Once tightened properly it’s solid and won’t move (I did need to loosen it quite a lot for the car I installed it in first). Then, MagSafe snap,and the iPhone is very securely attached. I can’t imagine it ever coming loose unintentionally. And that’s it. I didn’t need a model that offered wireless charging as I already have a charging cable for my phone (or my wife’s phone) ready. I’ve got CarPlay set up and the phone for example can show the next turns while CarPlay shows a map.
It’s inexpensive at under $20 USD and awesome. There are other brands and models that include charging, but I don’t mind attaching a cable when I want the phone to be charged.
Buy the ESR for MagSafe Car Mount
