Necessity is the mother of invention; this is a necessity!

[owlice]

Please, a whole-house noise canceling device, so that noise from outside the house (specifically and at this moment, bad music, loudly played) cannot be heard inside. I would buy such a device.

[geckzilla]

Me too. Maybe if I could live in a vacuum...


...For some perspective, the other day a car horn honked for half an hour straight. I don't know why. Car alarms that get stuck on are a monthly occurrence here. And I live right between LaGuardia and JFK so I get jets pathing over me depending on the wind direction. Toss in a few sirens and a guy who likes to speed down the street on a motorcycle which apparently has absolutely no muffler whatsoever at 3 AM and you've got my house. Oh yeah, and the trash trucks come by four times a day on trash day and trash day is twice a week.

[bystander]

Necessity is the mother of invention; this is a necessity!

Start inventing!

[neufer]

Please, a whole-house noise canceling device, so that noise from outside the house (specifically and at this moment, bad music, loudly played) cannot be heard inside. I would buy such a device.

Noise canceling headphones that hush the world
Last reviewed: January 2009

Whether you want to escape the drone of a neighbor's leaf blower or the roar of a jet engine, the right headphones can offer relief. Any headphones that fit tightly over your ears or inside the ear canal will block some noise simply by creating a seal. Noise canceling headphones go a step further. Those battery-powered headphones use electronic circuitry to eliminate or at least reduce unwanted noise picked up by their tiny microphones.

We tested 10 headphones with active noise reduction. Our Ratings (available to subscribers) list five that stood out for noise reduction and sound quality. All use one AAA battery except the Sennheiser, which uses two. All but the Bose and Panasonic let you listen to music with noise canceling turned on or off. (When it's off, those units work without a battery.) Bose packs the battery and circuitry in the headset; in the others they are in a compartment on the cord.

Over-the-ear models

• Like earmuffs, these noise canceling headphones seal in sound, but you might miss things you shouldn't, like a smoke alarm. Some have openings in the ear cups that let in more sound.
  
  The Bose QuietComfort2, a closed, over-the-ear model, had very good sound and noise reduction. It's a bit larger than the others, but you can use the noise-reduction feature to muffle ambient noise even when it's not connected to any audio source. The soft, leather-like ear cups fold flat.

On-ear models

• Generally smaller and lighter than the over-the-ear type, they press on but don't enclose your ears, so they admit more sound. Most have an adjustable strap; some use ear clips.
  
  The Sony MDR-NC40 was very good at blocking noise and had good sound.

Inserts

• Insert-style earphones fit inside the ear canal, forming a seal that can help keep out extraneous noise. (Earbuds, like those included with iPods, sit in the bowl of the ear outside the canal.)
  
  The Panasonic RP-HC55, a CR Best Buy, was tops for noise reduction and had very good sound. It has replaceable rubber ear tips that come in small, medium, and large sizes. The Koss QZ77 had good sound, is low-priced, and had excellent noise canceling. You pinch the ear cushions before inserting them, and they expand to fit.

[Chris Peterson]

Please, a whole-house noise canceling device, so that noise from outside the house (specifically and at this moment, bad music, loudly played) cannot be heard inside. I would buy such a device.

Perhaps a more effective solution is a whole-house canceling device. Something along the lines of an RPG ought to take care of houses that output loud, bad music.

[Chris Peterson]

...For some perspective, the other day a car horn honked for half an hour straight. I don't know why. Car alarms that get stuck on are a monthly occurrence here. And I live right between LaGuardia and JFK so I get jets pathing over me depending on the wind direction. Toss in a few sirens and a guy who likes to speed down the street on a motorcycle which apparently has absolutely no muffler whatsoever at 3 AM and you've got my house. Oh yeah, and the trash trucks come by four times a day on trash day and trash day is twice a week.

It's a problem here, too. Between the wind in the aspens, the sound of the creek, a dozen different songbird species, the coyotes... well, the noise just makes you crazy! <g>

[geckzilla]

Haha, Chris, don't make me cry! We do have the birds, though. Oh, the birds. They're amazingly loud, much louder than at my dad's house in OK and I think I know why. They're the same sparrows and starlings I had back there. I think the loudness is because there are only trees right next to the house so the bushes and other things they live in or even perch on (like the gutter which is right above my second story window) causes them to tweet in much closer proximity to human dwellings than in a rural setting. It's a little surprising but it makes sense.

[bystander]

Birds in cities 'singing louder' | BBC News

Great tits are tweaking their tweets to be heard in noisy urban areas, but for their country cousins it is like they are speaking a different language.

[neufer]

Birds in cities 'singing louder' | BBC News

Great tits are tweaking their tweets to be heard in noisy urban areas,
but for their country cousins it is like they are speaking a different language.

[list]Oh the buzzin' of the bees
In the cigarette trees
Near the soda water fountain
At the lemonade springs
Where the bluebird sings
On the big rock candy mountain[/list]

[owlice]

What a cute cute bird!

Click to view full size image

The song resembles a wren's teakettle teakettle teakettle. Oh, so cute!

I dealt with the ELAM (extremely loud annoying music) situation by going to sleep; when I awoke, the party was over, yay! It doesn't always work that way.

geckzilla, don't get me started on car alarms! I'll say only that not only have they been a problem here, but I had one neighbor whose car alarm would go off at 5:50 every morning.

Chris, attractive idea; pity about the jail time that would likely result!

[neufer]

What a cute cute bird!
The song resembles a wren's teakettle teakettle teakettle. Oh, so cute!

Oh.....so bystander was referring to a BIRD!

Well...we'll always have Parus/Lutetia.
---------------------------------
Art Neuendorffer

P.S., Congratulations to Judy for joining the 1,000 post club

You get lifetime executive status.
You get to meet the chief pilot, Atticus Finch.
And they put your name on the side of a car insurance agency.

Code: Select all

bystander           3739  / 2.57 ppd since Mon Aug 28, 2006  / Inadvertant Bot Sire
Neufer              3262  / 3.60 ppd since Mon Jan 21, 2008  / Quotidian Quotationist
Chris Peterson      3103  / 2.26 ppd since Tue Dec 07, 2004  / Expert Cloud Angler
Harry               2866  / 1.71 ppd since Fri Nov 18, 2005  / G'day G'day G'day G'day
BMAONE23            2168  / 1.11 ppd since Wed Feb 23, 2005  / Commentator Model 1.23
makc                1768  / 0.82 ppd since Tue Oct 12, 2004  / Best Title in the Universe
orin stepanek       1696  / 0.90 ppd since Wed Jul 27, 2005  / Resident Geezer
apodman             1173  / 1.16 ppd since Wed Aug 15, 2007  / Teapot Fancier (MIA)
geckzilla           1000  / 0.92 ppd since Wed Sep 12, 2007  / Ocular Digitator
...........................................................................
Owlice               997  / 0.46 ppd since Wed Aug 02, 2004  / Hooter Girl
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Qev                  563  / 0.37 ppd since Wed Mar 08, 2006  / Ontological Cartographer
Dr. Skeptic          507  / 0.36 ppd since Thu Jul 27, 2006  / Science Officer

[geckzilla]

Birds in cities 'singing louder' | BBC News

Great tits are tweaking their tweets to be heard in noisy urban areas, but for their country cousins it is like they are speaking a different language.

Heh, yeah, they could also be singing just to hear themselves better! Another side-effect of bird city life is that the mocking birds often sing just like a car alarm.

[neufer]

Birds in cities 'singing louder' | BBC News

Great tits are tweaking their tweets to be heard in noisy urban areas,
but for their country cousins it is like they are speaking a different language.

Heh, yeah, they could also be singing just to hear themselves better!
Another side-effect of bird city life is that the mocking birds often sing just like a car alarm.

• • _To Kill a Mockingbird_ first published on July 11, 1960
  "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em,
  but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
  - Atticus Finch to daughter Scout, Chapter 10.
  
  Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.
  They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs,
  they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.
  That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
  - Miss Maudie Atkinson to Scout, Chapter 10.

[owlice]

Oh.....so bystander was referring to a BIRD!

I googled very carefully for the photo, believe me!!

Last year when preparing for my C&O bike ride, I emailed a couple of friends after a training ride to describe it. In the description, I included a (I thought) made-up URL. Ho, boy, what a lesson I learned that day! Yahoo! mail having turned my made-up URL into a live link, one of my friends clicked on it; it was a real site... a porn site. (I would NEVER have imagined that such a URL would be real!!!)

I've instituted a new policy for myself for URLs I make up -- test them first!!

I love mockingbirds; for a few weeks of the year, they sing through the night. I love the sound. Polyglottis polyglottis, indeed!

[bystander]

Yeah, mockingbirds are my favorite songbirds, their song is always changing. They always seem to sing a bar, repeat it twice, and then go on to something different. The first house I bought, mockingbirds nested outside my bedroom window every year. What a way to wake up in the morning with mocking birds singing to you. And, yes geckzilla, I've noticed they do imitate car alarms.

[neufer]

Yeah, mockingbirds are my favorite songbirds, their song is always changing. They always seem to sing a bar, repeat it twice, and then go on to something different. The first house I bought, mockingbirds nested outside my bedroom window every year. What a way to wake up in the morning with mocking birds singing to you. And, yes geckzilla, I've noticed they do imitate car alarms.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[owlice]

Mockingbirds also imitate other birds, which can be kind of annoying when one is birding!

One of my favorite bird songs is that of the Veery; it doesn't sound great recorded, but oh, to hear it when one is walking (or biking) through the woods is entrancing! It sounds flat in recordings, but in the woods, it has resonance and overtones; it is very flute-like.

I was sitting out back doing schoolwork -- will head back out in a few after my laptop recharges a bit -- and was delighted to hear the burbling of a House Wren. I've had these nest in my bedroom window sill; they likely still would if I didn't have a particular four-legged beastie who scared them off by visiting the window (inside only) regularly.

[neufer]

One of my favorite bird songs is that of the Veery; it doesn't sound great recorded, but oh, to hear it when one is walking (or biking) through the woods is entrancing! It sounds flat in recordings, but in the woods, it has resonance and overtones; it is very flute-like.

"De Veery's song sounds like a spiral."

I was sitting out back doing schoolwork -- will head back out in a few after my laptop recharges a bit
-- and was delighted to hear the burbling of a House Wren.

• And, as in Owlish thought she stood,
  The Jabberwren, with eyes of flame,
  Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
  And burbled as it came!
  

[owlice]

Wow, neufer, thanks!!! That video captures the sound of a veery very nicely! I have not thought of the song as a spiral before (and don't know that I will now); that video appears to be outside a (her?) house. I've heard these birds mostly in deep woods, only once that I recall near a residential area (that an area where I hear Wood Thrushes and see deer regularly). Gosh, that's such a wildly lovely sound; it always thrills me to hear it!

Jabberwren, hmmm? Once I exceed 1000 posts, I may have to change my moniker, as Jabberwren would be a better fit!

[bystander]

Jabberwren, hmmm? Once I exceed 1000 posts, I may have to change my moniker, as Jabberwren would be a better fit!

Is that some kind of comment on those of us already past 1000?

[bystander]

Mockingbirds also imitate other birds, which can be kind of annoying when one is birding!

Yes, I know. That's why I think they are so wonderful. Such a varied repertoire. It's never the same.

[owlice]

Is that some kind of comment on those of us already past 1000?

Not at all!! How long did it take you to reach 1000 posts? I was quiet for years, commenting only a very very few times, with months, sometimes years between comments, and then.. WHAM!

The Jabberwren title ... well, seems I deserve it.

Yes, I know. That's why I think they are so wonderful. Such a varied repertoire. It's never the same.

Oh, yes, I agree with you! I think they are wonderful, too! It's just that sometimes, I hear what I think is one thing and am all excited, only to find out it's a mockingbird mockingme!

[neufer]

How long did it take you to reach 1000 posts?

I was quiet for years, commenting only a very very few times, with months,
sometimes years between comments, and then.. WHAM!

The Jabberwren title ... well, seems I deserve it.

Hush, Little Baby is a traditional lullaby thought to be American
but the author and date of origin are unknown.

The lyrics promise all kinds of rewards to the child if he or she is quiet.

• . Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
  . Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird.
  . If that mockingbird don't sing,
  . Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring.
  . If that diamond ring turns brass
  . Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass
  . If that looking glass gets broke,
  . Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat.
  . If that billy goat won't pull,
  . Mama's gonna buy you a cart and bull.
  . If that cart and bull turn over,
  . Mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover.
  . If that dog named Rover won't bark.
  . Mama's gonna buy you a horse and cart.
  . If that horse and cart fall down,
  . You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.
  . So hush little baby don't you cry,
  . Cuz Mama loves you and so do I.

[owlice]

The lyrics promise all kinds of rewards to the child if he or she is quiet.

No one having made me a similar offer ... ~~~~ sigh ~~~~ ... I suppose I shall have to keep posting.


03/10/10: the day a forum monster was born. RAWR!

[bystander]

Welcome to the Thousand Post Club and all its benefits (see above) to both geckzilla and owlice.