Photo of the Day (12.09.08)

by Grant Martin on

Snow came to Michigan early this year, and as I shift from looking out to the back deck to scrolling through the extended forecast, it looks like it’s here to stay. Winter is usually tough around here, but as I get older in the Midwest it seems that every season get a little longer and colder.

Back where I grew up in rural Kalamazoo, I was often confronted with scenes like this on my way to school, cold, foggy snowscapes against a bleak December sky. In a way, it’s peaceful and it reminds me of the pleasures of being home in the silent, motionless winter.

gtetonswy shot this image that looks like it could have been across the street from my childhood home. It brings back a lot of good memories.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr, and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day.

Babykeeper Basic hangs your baby close while you pee

by Mike Barish on

I thought writing product reviews couldn’t get any better than Skymall Monday. But then a product comes along that is so patently amazing that it takes my breath away. I stare at my computer screen, mouth agape, and wonder how I ever lived before experiencing such wonderment. I can only imagine that this is how one would feel upon encountering a unicorn in a meadow filled with daisies and trees that fruit lollipops. Ladies and gentleman, I am pleased to introduce you to The Babykeeper Basic.

Traveling with kids is hard. Or at least that’s what people tell me. I’m single and childless (as far as I know), so I just throw some underpants and toothpaste into a bag and off I go to my next exotic destination. But I imagine that when you travel with kids, you can get a tad flustered. You have your luggage, the kids’ luggage, diaper bags, purses, stuffed animals and other nonsense to carry. That’s a lot to handle. And, at some point, you’re going to have to use the bathroom.

Well, you can’t just ask some stranger, or worse, your spouse, to hold your child while you urinate (or defecate, your choice). That’s where The Babykeeper Basic comes in. Simply select the lavatory of your choosing, place the hooks over the stall divider and overcome the stage fright that you will inevitably encounter as your child stares at you judgmentally while you try to relax and let the river flow. Nope, nothing to see here. Just a baby hanging precariously from the wall of a bathroom stall while you empty your bladder and/or bowels.

Look, I’m not saying that you should just put your kid on the bathroom floor while you do your business. That’s foolish. Your child could then easily abscond with your luggage while your pants are at your ankles. What I am saying is that hanging your child from the bathroom stall in some medieval harness might not win you Parent of the Year at your church’s next family fun day.

For our readers in Japan, I have great news. You can save $25 and just use the amazing public restrooms in your forward-thinking country. They have the baby seat built right in.

[Via Buzzfeed]

Hilarious abuse of the Delta In-Flight Safety Video

by Annie Scott on


So, here’s the Delta Airlines In-Flight Safety Video. Pretty standard, right? Nothing to write home about. A good-looking, vaguely-Southern flight attendant, some poor, dorky guy whose big break was wearing a life vest — all good fun.

Well, someone took that fun a step further …
Did you think that that “smoking is not allowed” moment was a little over-the-top? Somebody did! Enjoy this hilarious slowdown, and re-slowdown.


I can’t believe someone took the time to do this, but dang, it’s funny.

Sounds of Travel: Eddie From Ohio

by Meg Massie on

Here at Gadling we’ll be highlighting some of our favorite sounds from the road and giving you a sample of each — maybe you’ll find the same inspiration that we did, but at the very least, hopefully you’ll think that they’re good songs. Got a favorite of your own? Leave it in the comments and we’ll post it at the end of the series.

Folk musicians are very different from pop stars. They earn their living one gig at a time, and are always on tour somewhere, because if they weren’t, they wouldn’t make any money. They write their own music, and they often draw from their vast experiences on the road, which is why folk music makes great travel tunes.

Eddie From Ohio‘s 2001 release, Quick, is among the best of the best. Just so we’re clear, Eddie isn’t a solo artist — but it is the name of the drummer in this band, not from Ohio but from the commonwealth of Virginia. Got it? EFO has been touring America since 1991, and Quick includes a great collection of travel-inspired tracks.

The tone of this album makes it perfect for the first CD of your road trip. The high energy title track will get you grooving behind the wheel before you’re out of your driveway, and put you in the right frame of mind for an adventure.


A fan favorite from this album is “Candido & America,” the story of a Mexican couple coming to the US to make a new life. It’s a hopeful song about starting over in a new place, and finding beauty where you are. This is one of those songs that entire audiences sing along to at Eddie From Ohio’s live shows.

Another highlight from Quick is “Number Six Driver.” Guitarist Robbie Schaefer wrote this song about the band’s trip back home to Virginia from a west coast tour. They’d been gone for a long time and wanted to power their way home, and Robbie got stuck with the night shift behind the wheel of the band’s RV. Somewhere in Wyoming before the light of dawn, he passed a gas station that offered “Free coffee for the #6 driver.” That is, the sixth driver to stop in during the night. I believe the story goes that travel weary Robbie was lucky driver number six, and from one of his most boring nights, a beautiful song was born, with a little help from a free cup of coffee. Listen to EFO perform the song at the 2003 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (I was in that audience!) in the video above.

There are lots of great travel tunes on EFO’s other CD’s as well. I love “30 Second Love Affair,” about the fantasy one driver creates about another driver while stopped next to her at a traffic light, “Fifth of July,” another track about new adventures and starting fresh, and “From Dacca,” a sweet song about culture shock and adjusting. Then there’s every Edhead’s favorite, “Old Dominion,” bassist Michael Clem’s tribute to the band’s home state. It’ll make you wish you lived here, too.

Click here for previous Sounds of Travel.

Product review – Callpod Dragon V2 Bluetooth headset

by Scott Carmichael on

Welcome to my review of the Dragon V2 Bluetooth headset.

When looking for products to review, I’ll usually stay clear from Bluetooth headsets. There are simply too many of them, and rarely does a headset do anything special. The Dragon V2 is different, and has a long list of features not found on most other headsets.

The Dragon V2 promises a couple of things that made me pay some extra attention to it; amazing battery life, huge range, the ability to connect to other Dragon headsets and use it as a Walkie-talkie, and the ability to pair to multiple Bluetooth devices at the same time. I’ll go over each of these features one at a time.


Battery life

One of the main reasons I’ve never been a big Bluetooth headset fan has always been the lack of endurance from their batteries.

A headset becomes pretty useless on a trip if you need to recharge it every 8 hours. The Dragon V2 has a manufacturer specified battery life of 8 days standby or 300 hours talk time.

Since I wasn’t willing to devote a full week to talking on the phone, I simply left the Dragon paired to my phone in the on position for over a week. After 7 days it was still able to make a phone call for me.

Transmission range

If you have ever been suckered into buying one of those $10 headsets from the bargain bin at your local drugstore, you’ll probably have some experience with the Bluetooth crackle of death. This is when you start to lose the signal as soon as your phone moves more than 5 inches away from the headset.

Improvements have been made with Bluetooth devices, including a newer version of the technology, and most A-name headset companies have switched to this new system.

The Dragon V2 naturally supports this, but takes it one step further with an even larger range. In my test, I was able to leave my phone in one corner of the house, and walk outside to the mailbox before I started noticing a very slight drop in call quality. This extended range is fantastic if you leave your phone in your jacket, and walk away from your desk to get a cup of coffee.

Dragon to Dragon communications

This feature on the Dragon V2 is one that impressed me the most. To use a Bluetooth device with another Bluetooth compatible device, you need to “pair” them. This involves letting each device know who they are allowed to communicate with. In a normal setup, this would be between the headset and a phone, or a laptop computer.

The Dragon V2 actually allows you to pair with another Dragon headset. By pairing 2 headsets, you instantly turn them into a Bluetooth enabled walkie-talkie! The headsets communicate directly with each other, without the need for a phone.

When you are wearing the headset, you simply press the multifunction button to open a voice channel to the other paired headset. This feature is perfect for at the airport, or anywhere else you don’t want to make an expensive phone call.

Of course, the range is limited to the transmission range of the headset (about 330 feet), so don’t expect to be able to talk from one end of Disneyland to the other. One other advantage, is that Bluetooth is an approved system in almost every country in the world, so you don’t have to worry about the legality.

Multipoint communications

Another benefit from the newer Bluetooth standard is the ability to use a headset with multiple devices at the same time. If you are often on the road, you’ll probably have some kind of VOIP or Internet calling program on your PC (Skype is a prime example).

Using multipoint means you can have the headset connected to your PC and your phone at the same time, and don’t have to worry about connecting or reconnecting each time you need to use either one.

The Dragon V2 in day to day use

If you are used to a tiny headset, then you’ll probably find the Dragon to be a bit of monstrosity. It really is quite a bit larger than most headsets on the market today. That said, it is still about a third the size of my very first Bluetooth headset (the Ericsson HBH-10).

The headset has an easy to adjust ear clip, and once you find the right fit, it actually feels very comfortable, without feeling like it will fall out of your ear at any moment.

The headset has 2 buttons; one is a rocker switch/power button on the side, and the other is the multifunction switch on the front. The rocker switch also controls the volume.

The headset charges using a regular mini-USB charging cable, which in my opinion is absolutely brilliant. Almost anyone on the road will have at least one mini-USB charger in their bag. The headset package includes an AC charger, a DC (car) charger, a USB cable and a mini-USB charger tip for the Callpod Chargepod (recently featured as one of our top 25 travel products of 2008).

Also included in the box is an assortment of ear pieces and a carrying pouch with enough room for the headset and all its chargers.

Audio quality on the Dragon V2 is outstanding, and I found it to be one of just a few headsets that is actually able to produce a good amount of volume. The headset features an active noise cancellation system and dual microphones, and not once did I hear any complaints from people on the other end of my calls.

The Callpod Dragon V2 costs $99, but is available from retailers like Amazon.com for around $67.

Final thoughts

The Callpod Dragon V2 has restored my faith in Bluetooth headsets. Good battery life, excellent range and the ability to charge using a common mini-USB charger make it a winner in my books.

Of course, the one thing no Bluetooth headset will ever change, is the “dork factor”, don’t be one of those people wearing their headset 24/7, and remember that there is no need to yell when you are making a call on your headset.