Tralfaz

Day: April 5, 2013

  • Awesome Customer Support – Bose

    A lot of people have complained that Bose is over priced for what you get, and that their quality isn’t that high. But I beg to differ.

    Back in 2004 or so, I got a set of Bose QC-2 headphones for my birthday. I was doing a lot of international traveling, and the headset was a godsend. No, it didn’t eliminate all noise, but it really reduced the jet engine noise, and make listening to music on 12 or 13 hour flights bearable. Of course, I took them everywhere. Probably 500K miles total.

    Lately, I have been using them in the office, to give me some uninterrupted peace and quiet while working. They are great (if a little battery thirsty).

    My well used Bose QC-2's finally bite the dust.
    My well used Bose QC-2’s finally bite the dust.

    Yesterday afternoon, the left ear cup parted ways with the frame. Boo. Geoff very sad. I was majorly depressed, and went back to listening to my earbuds, a much less satisfying experience.

    This afternoon, I figured, what the hell, call Bose support. So I call their support line, get a person almost immediately, and explain the issue. He was super friendly and helpful, and after identifying my model, and the serial number (I was in their system, because a couple years ago, the foam ear cup pads were falling apart, so I ordered a new pair).

    They can’t fix them, but they gave me a 60% discount on a new pair of the QuietComfort 15, two steps up from my current set. I said, let’s go for it. I am expecting a UPS label to ship the current ones back to them on their dime, and once they get confirmation that they are in transit, they will ship my new ones to me.

    So, I wasn’t looking to spend that much money, but I am glad to get a new set.

    Thumbs up to Bose support.

  • What I learned to ride on.

    Probably in 1977 or so, I began my experience with motorcycles. I was too young to have my permit for the street, so naturally, we did the off road thing. Recently I have been reliving my youth, and sharing some experiences, so I thought I would go back even further to the first bikes I rode.

    Hard to imagine a better learning point.
    Hard to imagine a better learning point.

    We had a pair of Honda XL125’s, 1976. Red tank, black plastic, mild steel rims, and the street legal trials tires. The lights were removed, and we did replace the rear tire with a true knobby, but otherwise, the bikes were stock.  Probably had 3″ of suspension travel, and since they were “road/trail” bikes, they had soft-ish suspension for that good in showroom feel.

    They were both bought used. These were pretty common, if you recall the gas crises of the ’70s, that drove a lot of people to riding motorcycles, this class of mild, beginner friendly bike was a good learning platform. But you quickly outgrew the bike, so you bought something bigger, and sold your “starter bike”.

    I do remember my first trip. We went to Metcalf, a riding place south of San Jose, and learned the basics in the big, open parking area. Clutch, shifting, braking, how to steer/turn/stop. Later in the day we tried some of the easier trails in the park, and I was hooked.

    Yes, I fell a lot, got a bunch of scrapes, but there was a thrill factor that was impossible to ignore.

    We rode the hell out of those bikes. I learned all the trails at Metcalf, then we moved on to Hollister Hills (another ORV park), and spent pretty much every weekend riding. During the week I fixed broken levers, did maintenance, lubed chains, checked the valves, etc.

    I wonder whatever happened to those bikes. We rode them hard for probably 7-8 years, most weekends, and with just a modicum of maintenance, they all ran perfectly.

    Next, I will talk about the first bike I actually bought myself.