Last Minute Gift Ideas from Small Dog Electronics

This is the craziest Presidential election cycle that I have seen. I first got involved when President Johnson was running against Barry Goldwater and that seemed pretty crazy especially after I lost faith with the President over Vietnam. But this time it would be great comedy if the stakes were not so serious. I have to tell you that seeing Donald Trump ask people to raise their hands in a pledge is one of the scariest things I have seen in a long time.

Voting is so important and our system is messy with primaries, caucuses, super delgates and conventions but it is also the basis of our democracy. I am proud to say that the Vermont legislature passed an automatic voter registration bill unanimously this week, meaning when you get a driver’s license you are automatically registered to vote. You really do not have the right to complain about your leaders if you do not get out and vote. So, exercise your right and go to the polls when the circus comes to your state!

Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

_Don, Emily & Hadley_

No, not some new invasive species, but rather some really cool wireless headphones! BlueAnt audio is one of our newest headphone lines that we have begun to carry here at Small Dog. The “Pump Mini”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/87884/blueant-pump-mini-wireless-hd-audio-sport-buds-purple Wireless HD Audio Sports Buds have become my latest must have! These are lightweight, hold a great charge and come in several colors.

When I first saw these headphones I was a little skeptical. I actually hadn’t ventured into wireless earbuds before trying these headphones and had heard customer complaints in the stores about different varieties over the last year or so. The biggest issue that I had heard was comfort and how well they stayed in your ears, so I had no idea what I about to experience! I charged up the headphones and tested them out on some morning runs before work and was very pleased with them. I easily connected the headphones to my iPhone and enjoyed great sound out of them. They were comfortable and stayed in my ears easily. I was even able to take phone calls with them and those I was talking to could easily hear me. I also connected them to my Apple Watch and as you might guess, preferred this over carrying my iPhone with me.

I’ve begun using these earbuds in the office as well with my MacBook Air. I unfortunately have to wear glasses, so I find that many over the ear headphones (and I’ve used countless ones!) inevitably give me a headache from the pressure the headphones put on my glasses behind my ears. Contacts aren’t an option for me so I have found these headphones have begun to serve a truly universal role!

_Dear Friends_,

Well I didn’t win the Powerball so I guess I have to stick with my day job a bit longer. Vermont finally got some winter weather and more snow is in the forecast. It has even gotten a bit cooler down here in the Keys where when it dips below 70° F the down coats and shoes come out.

I am still struggling a bit with tropical gardening. A large caterpillar ate the leaves off one of my tomato plants overnight and for some reason I cannot get my citrus trees to blossom. I keep feeding and watering them in the hopes that my Key Limes, Myers lemon and Naval oranges will blossom but they seem to just make greenery. We did discover that bananas love coffee grounds and since Grace and I produce a lot of coffee grounds those plants are doing well.

I upgraded myself from the original iPad mini to the iPad mini 4 before I went to Las Vegas and the differences are remarkable. Not only is it thinner and lighter but the screen is much better, the speed is a lot faster and I simply love the Touch ID. I had been trying to activate my old iPad mini with my finger after being used to that with my iPhone so it is a welcome addition for my primary reading device. I prefer the iPad mini to the full-size iPad or the iPad Pro because of the size. It feels like a paperback book in my hand and even on a crowded airplane it is comfortable to use.

Do you know about tethering? I don’t know how many people I have talked out of buying a cellular iPad by explaining tethering. I guess that is a bit against my interests as you pay an extra $130 for cellular versions of the iPad. If you buy that cellular version you also need a cell contract which might be another $30 a month. Tethering is a much better idea. Tethering is where you share the cellular connection from your iPhone with your iPad. You activate Personal Hot Spot and boom you have your own private wireless network over cellular. The other day Comcast had an outage here in the Keys and I used tethering with my Mac to work all day. Most carriers will charge you a little more for tethering but it is less than the $30. With my iPad, I simply choose “donphone” from the wireless setup and I am connected with the same speed as if I had the cellular version of the iPad.

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive is a “**fully configured 13-inch MacBook Air.**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002125/special-save-50-on-apple-refurbished-macbook-air-and-free-hammerhead-case This Apple factory reconditioned MacBook Air carries the same 1-year Apple warranty as new Macs and we are bundling it with AppleCare so you actually get 3-years of warranty protection and 3-years of free Apple technical support instead of the normal 90-days. This MacBook Air is the same as the one I use and love. It features a 1.7GHz i7 processor, 8GB of ram and a big 512GB SSD drive. I am going to take $50 off and include a free Hammerhead neoprene case for this MacBook Air. Regular price is $1639.97 but for Kibbles & Bytes readers this week only (while supplies last) the price for this bundle is “**$1559.98.**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002125/special-save-50-on-apple-refurbished-macbook-air-and-free-hammerhead-case