Like a Lighthouse, True Love Shines For Everyone

True love--that is, unconditional love--is such a puzzle for so many of us. We give it names like agape or grace, and think it is reserved only for a certain few or that it is so rare that we have little hope of ever finding it.

Yet true love displays many of the same characteristics as the lighthouse, which is neither rare nor all that hard to locate.Indeed, the lighthouse nearly always stands on an elevated promontory, deliberately exposed to all on sea and land. Everyone is supposed to see (and hear) the lighthouse; otherwise it could not fulfill its purpose.

The mission of the lighthouse is to guide us through perils. Night and day, in any kind of weather, its steady light rotates in every direction--360 degrees--illuminating the safe harbor to travelers on sea and land. When fog shrouds its beacon, the lighthouse still shines and adds a loud horn to make sure all those within its range get the message.

Notice a few things about the lighthouse. First, its beam falls on everyone alike. Pilgrim or pirate, saint or sinner, it does not concern the lighthouse. Its rays are available equally to all, without any kind of condition or limitation. The only step they need take is to keep open their eyes (and sometimes ears). It is always their choice.

Second, the lighthouse does not demand that travelers pay heed to its warning. It does not uproot itself, wade out into the ocean, take a ship by the prow, and insist that the vessel steer toward safety. The lighthouse, by its very nature, sets the example of the «tough love» that respects others' free will to follow their own spiritual paths.

Even if a million ships pass by without attending to the lighthouse, it does not become discouraged or start to think that there is no value to its purpose. It keeps shining its light because eventually, someone will notice and will avoid danger thanks to its illumination. That is true faith.

Third, the most brilliant part of its own light falls on the lighthouse itself, demonstrating that light--and love--are a two-way street, to the benefit of both the recipient and the giver. This is perhaps the hardest lesson of the lighthouse-that giving unconditional love (light) to others is not meant to be a painful sacrifice. We deserve to receive as much love as we lavish on others.

So what does the lighthouse teach us about true love? That we all deserve it, no matter who we are or what we have done. That we cannot force our love/light on others because doing so violates their free will. As puzzling as it may seem, others have the right to reject our light/love. And, last but by no means least, that we merit our light/love as much as anyone else to whom we give it.

These are deceptively simple lessons. Simple in this case should not be equated with easy. Most of us have a tough time understanding these lighthouse teachings at even the most basic level. We hoard our love and refuse to give it to certain people or groups. We foolishly rush in where angels (lighthouses) fear to tread because we lack faith in others' free will and thus are certain we know best for them. Or we try desperately to give love while insisting that we are not worthy of it, and giving then hurts because our own cup of love is bone dry.

Yet true love--lighthouse love, unconditional love--is the simplest of all love. Perhaps that is precisely why we don't get it. We're so accustomed to complexity that we discount the validity of anything so utterly simple.

Since complexity doesn't seem to be working for us, why not give simplicity a go? Let's simplify our love and look to the lighthouse as the example of how true love really works for others--and for us.

Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headset Review

Now that technology has made cell phones more popular than watches and handbags, you can’t go much of anywhere without seeing someone engaged in conversation with their hand plastered to their ear. This has become a bit of a problem since it ties up on of your hands and distracts you (while driving). That’s probably why the most popular accessory since the phone charger itself is now the “bluetooth headset”.

What Is a Bluetooth Headset?

Nearly all modern cell phones have “bluetooth” capatibility. Mobile phones equipped with bluetooth have the ability to create a “personal area network” or PAN. A PAN is a short-range radio frequency meant to connect small devices like cell phones, laptops, PC’s, digital cameras, printers, video game consoles, etc. So a bluetooth headset is just a small earpiece with a microphone that connects to your cell phone via this short range wireless frequency on your personal area network. Now you know why you see so many people walking around talking to themselves that look like they’re from the cast of Star Trek because of the futuristic device attached to their head.

What Makes a Good Bluetooth Headset?

A good bluetooth headset is comfortable and made out of quality materials that will last a long time. It has as decent battery life, and hopefully the audio quality doesn’t sound like a semi driving through a tunnel. There are two sides to quality audio and the first is the earpiece. What you hear while talking on the phone through the bluetooth headset is in part determined by the quality of that speaker in the earpiece itself. A very low quality sub-$20 earpiece you bought in a bargain store or flea market is likely to have very tinny audio due to the speaker quality. Without some decent bass and mid-range response you’re likely to have problems listening for any extended period of time. The largest factor of quality however lies in the microphone. It’s garbage in – garbage out they say, and you’ll only hear quality audio if that’s what the microphone picks up. The same for the person you’ve called, the audio they receive on their end is only as good as what your microphone picks up. Often, that quality is affected by your physical location. If you are in a car with an open window, in a subway station, or at a restaurant – the microphone is likely to pickup much more than your voice. In contrast, if it’s a nice sunny day at a quiet park or if you’re inside on your sofa the headset will likely have much better audio.

What is Noise Cancelling Technology?

Noise Cancelling Technology is where a headset attempts to differentiate between your voice and background noise. It then separates the two to the best of it’s ability, canceling out the noise and transferring along only your voice to make the audio quality cleaner. Of course this works with varying degrees of success from poor to stellar. Once again the quality of the noise canceling bluetooth headset (and price paid) are probably pretty good indicators of the audio quality produced. Noise cancelling in bluetooth headsets is also called “Digital Signal Processing” or DSP. Headsets with better noise canceling usually have more than one microphone (two or more) to be able to separate the noise better.

What are the Best Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headsets?
There are a handful that are simply exceptional and really stand out from the crowd you should take note of. I’ll tell you what makes each one unique.

The Eliph Jawbone

The Jawbone has been getting absolutely rave reviews since it was first shown at CES early 2008. The Wall Street Journal, c|Net, engadget, Financial Times, and Macworld all give it stellar reviews. On c|Net the user reviews are a bit lower than what the editor’s gave it, but all in all they are still above average. It uses “military grade” noise canceling technology. You can usually find it new for $80-100.

The Jabra BT800

There are online reviews of the Jabra BT800 going back as far as 2005, which means this headset has been out awhile. Jabra is the world’s largest maker or bluetooth headsets, largely because of their lower pricepoint compared to others on the market. The thing that makes the BT800 popular to this day is what sets it apart – the digital display for caller ID. This is a feature not found in nearly any other bluetooth headset. The DSP in this headset boasts both noise cancelling and echo cancelling. Admittedly since this unit has been out a few years, newer units like the Jawbone will have better DSP, but then again you can get the Jabra BT800 under $40-50 now.

The Blueant Z9

The Blueant Z9 bluetooth headset came on the market in 2007 and retails for about $100. It claims to have advanced noice cancellation that “preserves the natural voice”. They call this their “Voice Isolation Technology”. In addition this unit has 2 modes for noise cancellation, both standard and “Max”. I guess you could be at the market or in a dog kennel and having the options for extreme circumstance can’t be all that bad. It’s highly rated by most users at tech sites, in fact more highly rated that all the Motorola bluetooth headsets we viewed.

The Jabra 8040

The Jabra 8040 is brand new for 2008 and it has some new features as well that make it stand out. It has MultiPoint technology, which gives it the ability to connect to two different devices at the same time (very handy!). It also seems to be one of the only “mono” headsets on the market with A2DP technology for streaming music wirelessly. You usually only see A2DP in full headphones or speakers. It is listed as having intelligent volume settings, and active noise reduction, but also has “Acoustic Shock Protection” which supposedly protects your ear from sudden spikes in volume. For all these features this Jabra model seems to be a bargain compared to some of the high priced models at it’s modest

Be Prudent and Select Swim Spas on Swimming Pools Which is Cheaper and Excellent Alternative

If you are thinking of buying a hot tub, wait a while. Learn more about it before you actually buy one. Literally, hot tubs are nothing but large homemade or manufactured tubs or small pools full of heated water that allows you to have a relaxing soak. However, a true hot tub is a vehicle for hydrotherapy and is fitted with jets that will provide the right type of message to the right spot. They are generally located outdoors, but you can also have them installed indoors if you have enough space.

First thing that you should do is to decide the location of the tub. Following are some of the points that you should consider before deciding on the position:
• Indoor hot tubs provide privacy and you can enjoy them round the year without being bothered about rain or hail.
• Outdoor tubs on the other hand allow you to enjoy the natural surroundings as you relax in the hot water.
• At the same time, you can put an enclosure around the outdoor hot tub to provide privacy from the prying eyes of the neighbors and passersby.
• Indoor tubs last longer since they are not exposed to harsh weather conditions.
• At the same time, if the ventilation is inadequate the indoor ones can damage the structure of the house. There is no such fear in case of out door ones.

You also need to decide, whether you want an underground hot tub or over the ground model. After that comes the size of the hot tub. It will depend on the number of people that you think will be using it at a time. A small hot tub can accommodate two people at the most; bigger ones can accommodate six or more people at a time. How much money you are willing to spend on tubs will also determine the type of tubs you will have.

If money is no problem, you can buy a swim spa instead of hot tub. In fact, swim spa combines the benefit of a swimming pool, a hot tub and a spa. It offers opportunity for relaxation, exercise and therapy. For anyone wanting to improve their fitness, swim spa provides an alternative to jogging and gym training. They offer serious workout minus the hazards of land workouts. Injuries are very rare if you do your daily exercise in your swim spa.

Two crucial points should borne in mind whether one has small hot tub or swim spa. Level of energy efficiency matters most in spas. Be aware that buying home spas are one-time investments and if you don't check energy efficiency you won't enjoy using it most often. Second important factor is sanitation which should be treated on priority basis. Here is a chance of bacteria catching up as they target such conditions. Sanitization should be given equal importance. Always use them carefully to keep water chemistry proper. It solves your purpose and you avail all benefits.

May we talk about energy efficiency in the beginning? Planned installation assures excellent energy efficiency. Installation of spas varies from one manufacturer to other. Few fill whole cabinet with foams whereas some merely fill underside of shell or cabinet. In few cases they fill both hence confusion still exists. Even though some manufacturers reassure of taking special care in installation of tubes but comparative study is not yet done to confirm such claims. Even to this day only option is reposing faith on the words which manufacturer speak.

It is necessary to maintain excellent hot tub water sanitation and chemistry. These arrangements ensure spread of various diseases get prevented timely. You must also keep your tub safe from damaging. Some special chemicals like bromine and chlorine are often preferred in such sanitization process. Mineral sanitization is considered excellent option though in which minerals and metals like silver and copper are used for keeping water properly sanitized. These minerals don't produce foul odor or syndromes such as skin irritation or red eyes. They liquidate pathogens particularly protozoa, viruses, fungi and bacteria properly by controlling contaminations to occur.

Considered best supplements Ozone generator or UV sterilizers are major prerequisite of sanitization method. Stubborn microorganisms can be removed from the tub by using potassium monopersulfate or large doze of chlorine. A precautionary step is that one shouldn't use the spa for minimum eight hours once such chemicals have been used to cleaning it. Appropriate Ph factor of water must also be maintained for keeping chorine best workable. Unbalanced Ph factor may develop corrodes in several portions of the tub which may damage it.

H2X Swim Spa Endless Summer

See how a H2X Swim Spa from Master Spas can make your summer stretch endlessly.