The Mantuary

Even though my review of the Media Extender was shit on a stick, this list will not be short of cool tech gadgets that you must have this Holiday season.  Next on the list: Night Vision.  If you don’t have a pair already, I highly recommend putting a pair of Night Vision goggles on the top of your wish list.  If you’re wondering what you would ever do with a pair of night vision goggles, you may want to kick yourself in the nuggets and re-evaluate your commitment to being a Man.  Hunting, playing night tag with the kids, scoping out the neighborhood hooligans on Halloween - these are only a few of the reasons every man needs a pair, and you can quickly come up with plenty of others if you try. 

Here are 3 grades of night vision that I personally recommend:

Rookie:  Eyeclops

Flipping through the channels the other day, I actually saw these featured on the Home Shopping Network.  While they may not be tactical grade night vision, they will certainly feed your curiosity.  Great for kids or even grown-ups on a budget, these things are a great starter set. 
Pros: Under $100, you can pick them up on Amazon really cheap.  The perfect first pair of night vision.
Cons:  Big and bulky.  Limited in viewable range (50 feet).  Definitely marketed toward kids.

Novice:  Yukon Night Vision Monocular
Clearly a step up from the Eyeclops.  The only monacle of the bunch, you use this like a periscope.  You can hand carry these or even mount the Yukon on a tripod.  I most often use mine for checking out wildlife or for keeping a late-night eye out for young punks. 
Pros: Small and compact.  250m range of detection with 4x magnification. 
Cons: The monacle is somewhat less “fun” and hands-free. 

Expert:  Night Owl Tactical Binocular Goggles 
These goggles are a very economical top of the line set of night vision.  As you may find out, there is a huge difference in price between low and high-end models.  The added cost is primarily for a next generation product. In other words, you can see a whole helluva lot better with ‘em.  That said, these Night Owls have many of the same perks as night vision that costs 2-3 times as much.  They can be mounted for hands free use or used as binoculars.  They offer crystal clear viewing from over 500 feet and weigh in at just 14 ounces.  Definitely not a pair you want to let the kids borrow.
Pros:  High grade binocular.  Built in infrared illuminator.  Automatic light-protection sensor shuts off unit if overexposed.  Extra wide range of view.
Cons:  A bit pricey to just watch a deer prancing through the woods.  You’re quickly approaching Silence of The Lambs whack-job status.

Be A Man.

-The Founding Father

This weekend was terribly disappointing.  I had to work on Saturday, though by the looks of Sportscenter, I didn’t miss much in the world of College Football.  Saturday night Couture lost to Lesnar, which is surprising and disappointing to say the least.  Later that night I kicked my barrel of Octoberfest so I cut my losses and just went to bed.  

Sunday I had every intention of writing a post about the wonders of the Linksys Media Extender (DMA 2100), marking it the second thing The Mantuary is recomending this holiday season, but unfortunately it might just be the worst piece of electronics I have ever bought.  My hope was to hook up the media extender in my Mantuary giving me full access to my music and video collection currently sitting on our home computer upstairs.  I just got it Saturday and spent the better part of yesterday playing around with it.  Well, by the time you read this post, this piece of shit will be sitting in some UPS hub on its way back to Amazon.  Heres my review:

Out Of The box: The media extender looked sleek and simple.  It had HDMI, component and RCA connections on the back.  I already used the two HDMI ports on the back of my receiver so I was forced to go with a component hookup.  No matter, because I’d still be able to view pictures and movies in 780i resolution.  The only shortcoming so far was the remote.  Thin, cheap and light, this was the biggest disappointment coming out of the box.

Hookup: I connected the Linksys Media Extender to my receiver with relative ease.  I used the component cables for the video and coax cable for the audio.  Some very simple modifications on my receiver and I was quickly able to connect the extender to my wireless router via an easy to use menu through the TV.  One trip to the computer and some simple software installations later, both units were talking to each other in less than 2 beers. 

Showtime:  At this point I was very hopeful for what this media extender could bring to the table.  Judging by its looks and the ease of hookup, this thing was batting 1,000.  That is, until i tried to use it.  As I previously mentioned, it instantly recognized my media library, but accessing it was nothing short of painful.  Like trying to get to head from your wife, this thing would simply not respond!  It took well over an hour for all of the files to be recognized.  Even when the library was sync’d up, moving through the screens was painfully slow - like trying to watch high def porn on dial up, it just wasn’t worth the effort.  To give you some perspective, the first song I attempted to find/play was a tune by Zeppelin.  From the Media Center screen I scanned through my “media library->music ->music library->album artist->Led Zeppelin->Immigrant Song->Play” and it took over one minute!  Once I finally had some music playing I attempted to view some pictures.  If this thing was slow before, it all but froze up on me when trying to do two things at once.

In Conclusion: This piece-o-shite will be dumped quicker than a college girl with a sore on her mouth.  I picked it up for only $100 on Amazon (here: Linksys Media Extender) thinking it would make the perfect holiday gift, but I absolutely cannot recommend it to anyone.  I love the idea of integrating all your media together, and it seems like it should be simple enough, but the boys at Microsoft & Linksys have a LOT of work to do if this is the best they can offer.

Part II of this post: what I do recommend.

Be A Man.

-The Founding Father

The last time I saw Brock Lesnar he was wrestling Goldberg in Wrestlemania XX.  The last time I saw Randy Couture he was floating on a pair of life preservers attached to his wife’s chest in a pool at the Wynn in Vegas (full story for another time).  So I’m not sure what is more surprising: the fact that Lesnar chose to drop Vince McMahon and choke slams for Dana White and rear naked chokes or the fact that Randy would come out of retirement (or that pool for that matter) and get back in the octagon. 

In any event, the two will be facing off this Saturday night at UFC 91 and I’ll be watching. 

Testosterone infused competition is nothing new to Brock:  He was the 2000 NCAA wrestling champion and runner up in 1999 (he lost in the finals to New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal).  Brock moved into the WWE and became the youngest Heavyweight champion in history, he tried out and played on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad in 2004 and most recently started to hone his MMA skills and joined the UFC.  He currently has a 2-1 record and I’m going out on a limb to suggest its not a question of “if” Brock will make it in the UFC, its when?

Randy Couture is no slouch either.  He’s one of my favorite UFC fighters of all time.  In the MMA world, he’s a dinosaur at the age of 45.  While there is certainly more fight in this dog, he need not throw another punch to leave his mark in the MMA world:  Couture, famous for his Greco-Roman wrestling, brought MMA into the spotlight while becoming one of only two UFC fighters to have held a championship title in two different divisions (heavyweight and light heavyweight).  Couture is the only five-time champion in UFC history.  In 2006 Randy became a member of the UFC Hall of Fame.  One year late shit hit the fan when he “retired”/”quit” the UFC after contract disputes with UFC president, Dana White.   Like all men do, the two settled their disputes and Randy is back in the Octagon once again.

Going into this fight, I cant help but pull for the veteran, Couture.  He’s a guy’s guy who’s earned every honor under his belt.  As we can all relate to, for whatever reason, this crazy MO-FO feels like he still has something to prove.  That said, it’s only a matter of time before the moves Brock learned from Vince McMahon are quickly replaced with the bone crushing, joint breaking MMA style fighting Dana White is heavily invested in.  In all, I think theres a bit more Brock needs to learn before he can beat a seasoned veteran like Couture.  And Randy, if you win this f’n fight, by all means- F THE UFC AND GET BACK IN THAT POOL!

Be A Man.

-The Founding Father

We’ve come a long way from the old Sony Walkman that got horrible FM reception, ate batteries for lunch, and had a tuner on a dial. This is the day and age of ipods, mp3s, and blackberries. And though the players themselves have evolved, the headphones that come with them leave much to be desired. Even with my $300 ipod, the “buds” that come with it are no better than the ones they give you on a tourist bus. Man Up Steve Jobs!

With typical cheapo headphones (and a lion’s share of the more expensive ones) you are getting nothing more than a simple plastic speaker the size of a dime.  In fact my curiosity got the best of me and I opened up the casing on my ipod headphones to find a tiny plastic diaphragm and wire so thin I could floss my teeth with it.  The shit-tacular sound coming from my headphones was no longer a mystery.  Even with higher quality buds, you are still forced to constantly compete with the noises around you.  And any real man knows: Slash’s Welcome To The Jungle guitar solo deserves better!  The solution: noise canceling headphones.

Noise canceling headphones do exactly what they say.  By using an electronic sensor to neutralize the drone of cars, planes, crowds, your wife, etc your left with only your music. If you have ever stuck ear plugs in your ears and been in absolute silence you can appreciate how truly amazing it is. That absolute silence is them coupled with a far superior sound driver to give you music utopia that really is hard to describe in words.

I live and die for Bose, but this time I had to say no to the $300 Bose Quiet Comforts and hello to the Sony MDR-NC40 Noise Canceling Headphones. For less than $100 these puppies are comfortable, durable, and best of all they work. Being a frequent guest in coach, these headphones are like my screaming baby, chatty neighbor, arrogant captain… extinguisher.  Try them for yourself and your world will be forever changed.  Taking them off is like coming back from vacation with a lawn thats 8″ high…. you want nothing more than to put them back on.

For frequent travelers, students who need peace, or guys just looking to sip on a scotch in complete silence while kicking back in the comfort of their own Mantuary, these are a must have this Holiday season. 

You can get them at Amazon for under $100.

Be A Man.

-The Founding Father

Thanks to everyone who sent in submissions to our first Mantuary Of The Month contest. It was great to get such a good response and tough to pick a winner, but since there can be only one, October’s MOTM goes to Adam from Pennsylvania.

What we liked about Adam’s Mantuary was the leather couch (probably left over from his days as a bachelor), dim lighting, electric guitar, and Man’s best friend. Pure and simple, it captures the solitude and peace of mind that embodies the true spirit of a Mantuary, in direct contrast to the bastardization of the concept currently being promoted by the HGTV network under the guise of mancaves.

Congratulations once again to Adam, winner of October’s Mantuary Of The Month and some cool Mantuary gear. Keep sending in those entries. We’ll pick another winner next month and every month thereafter, so until then…

Be A Man.

- The Founding Father