Huh?

 

Not a sense of dumbfoundedness... rather: "I beg your pardon, I didn't hear that."

I seem to be collecting an assortment of hearing protection devices; well, all kinds of ear plugs.  After 50+ years of riding motorcycles (and scooters) and playing rock 'n roll, my hearing is still in pretty good shape.  Example: I can hear when Joan grumbles at me under her breath.  In the next room.  ;-)

I have tried all kinds of ear plugs to wear when riding.  The cheap foam ones.  The not so cheap foam ones.  Silicone plugs that look like 3 little umbrellas.  Most recently, I have been using my Apple Airpod Pro earbuds, with active noise cancelling - those do the best job so far.

Last week, I saw some "mold your own" ear plugs advertised on a shooting site: Radians, Custom Molded Earplugs.  They get good reviews on Amazon; less expensive than some of the silicone styles I've bought that are marketed to riders.  With these, you get two little containers of material; you divide each material in two, then mash them together until it is a solid color.  Shove that in your ears and don't talk or eat for 15 minutes while it sets up.  Peel it out of your ears, let it cure another 3 hours, and you have custom molded ear plugs...

While they are in your ears, curing, they make crackly noises - the plastic blend is out-gassing.  It reminds me a bit of the brine shrimp chomping on stuff on the bottom of Wild Blue when we were in the berth at night.

I left them in for about 15 minutes then pulled them out of my ears - nice snug fit.  After letting them cure, it was time for a test run.  It took a couple tries to fit them in - that will get better with some experience, 'cause when you have them lined up properly, they slide in like a key in a lock.  You definitely notice the difference with them in.  Out on the scoot - they fit great under the helmet.  At speed over the causeway, they were... blissfully quiet!  Yes, even quieter than the Airpod Pro earbuds.  Next time out, I'll try them with my Nolan helmet with the communicators in it to see if I can adjust the volume on that so I can hear Joan talking to me.  At this point, I am very pleased with how these work.

Joan had gone to the store before I went out on the scoot - she said, "Be careful out there - there's a lot of traffic."  No joke - a lot of the condos and hotels on the island require a 3-day minimum stay around the holidays, so I think we are at the "crossover" between Christmas visitors and New Year's partiers.  Plenty of cars and golf carts out and about; in the time I was out, there were 4 different vehicles that either cut in close in front of me, or pulled out from a side street too close in front of me.  And you can't just flip 'em off like in the good ol' days - too many of them are crazy, with a capital CRA.

Dumbass drivers aside, it was a good ride.  The wind is down a bit from the previous few days; not the predicted 12 mph, but not blowing like stink.  Glorious sunshine.  A light chop on the bay, but there were plenty of excursion boats out and the ones I saw looked plenty full.

When I got home, there was the usual PSA (Public Service Announcement) regarding shooting guns in the air on New Year's Eve: "Remember what goes up must come down - do NOT shoot guns in the air on New Year's Eve.  Let's keep the celebration safe for everyone."  It's not a joke - every year in memory, someone gets hit by "celebratory" gunfire here in the Rio Grande Valley.  They also warn about fireworks: many communities (ours included) do not allow fireworks... apparently they haven't told all those temporary fireworks stands that are open right now.  Life in deep south Texas.