I was reading reviews of the Shure E4c earphones on the Apple Store and, my goodness, people can be stupid. Half of the reviews were from people who seem to Get It and understand how “in-ear” drivers work, the other half posted reviews either without ever owning the product or after using them for only a day or so. Look, of course you can spend your $200-300 buying a big pair of cans or a speaker system. So do it. But I love my E3cs. I’ve had them since last December and at this point getting them in my ears is almost effortless, they stay very well, they don’t hurt, even after a few hours, and the sound is excellent.

These things are quality, and you have to give them some time. You have to play with the various sleeves until you get the right fit in your ear. You have to play with moving your ear around with your hands until you can seat them properly to get a good seal. And you have to take a week or so to let your ears get comfortable wearing them. And, in my case, you have to offset the weight of the big heavy cable with a few strategically placed alligator clips on your shirt, especially if you are going to use them while running, as I do. But after that, you’ll love them.

Here is my evidence that these earphones work *too* well. I have to worry about wearing them while outside because they form such a good seal and provide such nice sound that I often won’t hear people around me or even ambulance sirens. And when I’m at the gym and someone says something to me, all I see is their lips moving until I can pause my music. I love my Shure E3cs. Give them a real try and you won’t be sorry.

Today I was reflecting on strange coincidences and the way our lives can take turns we would never expect. This isn’t an original theme, of course, but it caused me to remember an email I received on January 31, 2003. It was from a stranger named Kelli who worked for Student Events at Brandeis and wanted to set up a meeting to talk to me about their web site. I had previously met with the person above her in SE, and he had promised to give me certain information. I sent her back a courteous email saying that I would like to have some information to work with before we met. She said she’d get back to me and forwarded the request to her supervisor, who never responded. The next time I met Kelli was over a year later, at Formal.

What would have happened at that meeting? Probably not too much, but maybe we would have realized we had a common friend in Adam. Maybe I would have realized she was an interesting person. Maybe I would have had some type of meaningful conversation with her before our first one, one year and four months later. Maybe not. But its a fascinating missed connection, seeing as what happened so much later. Could the connection have caused subtle but important changes in my life? Is the fact that we got together later an indication that reality is self-correcting? Or does it mean nothing at all, and its just the sort of coincidence that occurs every day?

I’m pretty sure its the third, and there is no deep meaning here. But it is fascinating none the less. Because think of all the times you’ve passed someone or been introduced and forgot a name or not gone to a class or missed a meeting or turned around just as someone may have been approaching you at an event. Think about that phone call you almost made or that person you just avoided running into on the subway. Now imagine if something else had happened. And maybe somehow you found yourself, oh, I dunno, lets say, in a relationship with that person for the better part of a year. It sort of boggles the mind.

Life is pretty amazing.