All posts by hpshplaid

Entertainment

Cinco de Mayo

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First, before I talk about Cinco de Mayo in Minnesota, here is some basic history about it. If you look into Cinco de Mayo history you will find out that the French did eventually take over the Mexican army. However, Zaragoza {Mexican general} did win the battle on May 5, 1862 against all odds. It was two heavily armed French army soldiers for every one Mexican soldier with few weapons, yet Zaragoza and his men won. Ever since this battle on May 5,1862 each year they celebrate this memorable day.

Here in St.Paul, MN, they celebrate this day with style. They have a half an hour long, and sometimes a full hour long, parade on Concord Street in  West St. Paul. They invite the whole community to participate in the parade.

Following the parade there are fun events you can do for the rest of the day. Bouncy houses for the kids, concession stands for the whole family, and of course there are adult zones. They also have a bunch of food stands selling Hispanic food.

At the end of the day, everyone should leave the celebration tired but happy knowing they had a good day.

If you have never been to the celebration I suggest going. You won’t regret it.

Advice/How To, Entertainment, Movies/TV/Theaters

Beats vs Bose

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In the world of sound and music, people want the best headphones and the best speakers. There are many really, really good speakers. The bad thing is that all the best speakers are huge, so you won’t be able to take them on the go. Beats and Bose both have found a way to get around that size obstacle: there’s the Beats Pill and Bose SoundLink.

Now, let’s talk about the Beats Pill. It does indeed look like an oversized pill, only with a flat foot on the bottom to keep it from rolling off the table. It’s sleek, slightly hip, and it’s available in a bunch of fun colors. A lot of people get the Beats Pill for its bass, which is totally understandable.

The Bose SoundLink isn’t exactly known for its bold design choices, opting for the more safe and reserved look in nearly every example. When the company does try to go for a more “fun” look, you end up with something like the company’s FreeStyle earbuds which sounded nice, but looked more like a pair of pants from the 1990s than something you wanted to wear on your head. Looking at the SoundLink Mini, let’s just be happy the company decided to keep it simple.

Beats and Bose both are very good, but now let’s talk about which one is better. Beats Pill has a decent bass, while on the other hand Bose SoundLink probably has a better bass then the Beats Pill. The Bose SoundLink mid-bass and the lower midrange is much better, and there is a nice depth to most of the lower range of frequencies. Highs are free of the rolloff that is so common on speakers in this size, but still, they never sound harsh or overbearing even as you push the volume higher. And that reminds me, the SoundLink Mini can get pretty loud; impressively so, considering the size.

So, in the end, if you’re looking for a speaker on the go I would go with Bose.

Entertainment, Movies/TV/Theaters

Beats vs. Bose

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In the world of audio and headphones, it’s all about Beats and Bose, the top dogs in the industry. Which is better? Is there even an answer to such a question? As with everything else, they each have their pros and cons. Let’s go over them here.

Beats is the marketing master in the headphones industry. Having professional athletes wearing them in public and in their commercials. Beats are recognized world-wide as a high end brand for audio products. A reputation any of its competitors would do anything for. For this reason, people perceive them as “the best” instead of seeing them for being simply the most popular.

On the other hand we have Bose, the main rival competitor to Beats. They may not have the best appearance out there for headphones (gray, white, silver) but they’re still as good as Beats. Their brand has literally become synonymous with quality, especially for those audiophiles that care for highs, lows, frequencies, and the like. While their bass and volume are more leveled (less dramatic), keen ears will be able to recognize a quality that screams quality and is worth every penny spent.

So in the end, overall Beats and Bose are very similar, however, I would choose Beats over Bose as they are more comfortable and have a better sound, overall, in my opinion.

Baseball, Entertainment

MLBaseball is right around the corner

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With spring training starting up mid-way though February we know baseball season is right around the corner. The 2016 Major League Baseball season is tentatively set to begin on April 3, 2016. The season is going to start with a Sunday night World Series rematch between the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The regular season is scheduled to end on Sunday, October 2, 2016. The schedule was released in September 2015.

At the start of spring training, there’s been movement in the World Series futures as the Toronto Blue Jays now have the best odds of any American League team to win the World Series. Slow down though before placing a wager on the Jays, as history isn’t on their side. Over the last 20 years, only two teams who’ve lost in the ALCS or NLCS went on to win the World Series the following year. That’s only two of 40 teams, giving the Jays a whopping 5% chance based on the results since the Wild Card era began in 1995.