| Requiem for a Radio Station |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|08:51 am] |
Okay, the title is a lie. I'm not going to hold a service, nor do I have any intention of setting this to music.
Yesterday, CBS Radio announced they were shutting down WBCN-FM, 104.1, effectively replacing it with a "sports radio" format. There's a shuffle in frequencies involved as well. While WBCN still has a preset on my car radio and stereo, I haven't listened to the station with any regularity since the mid-1990's.
But when I moved to Boston in 1982, WBCN was "my" music radio station. I woke up to Charles Laquidara, listened to Ken Shelton at noon, tried to catch the 5:05 pm comedy segment in the afternoon, and so on. I based my music buys on what I heard on that station. But my enthusiasm had already begun to wane in 1993, when Ken Shelton left and the station started running Howard Stern in the evenings. The "shock rock" style wasn't to my taste.
For many years, I simply attributed this to changes both the music scene and changes in my own tastes. While there's still a lot of truth in that, I also think that the station lost its way during that time.
So farewell, WBCN. I guess time can change me, but you couldn't change time. Like so many of the rock groups that you used to play, you're just a boring story of glory days. |
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| Tacky |
[Jul. 11th, 2009|01:13 pm] |
I just saw a TV ad starring the late Billy Mays. Normally I hit mute for these, but was too lazy this time.
The commercial was for Mighty Putty, which appears to be pretty standard "knead to activate" epoxy putty at a slightly too high a price. Unfortunately, before issuing the usual end-of-pitch sweetener, Billy chooses to use the words, "But I'm not done yet." |
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| Farewell to a pioneer |
[Jul. 6th, 2009|10:52 am] |
Compuserve Classic was shutdown this month.
(silence)
Since I never used the service, I'll leave it to others to wax nostalgic about it. But the fact that it was still around in June 2009 should serve as a reminder just how long a system can survive once it's deployed. |
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| Kudos (mostly) to Logitech |
[Jul. 3rd, 2009|12:52 pm] |
Today, I got a chilling call from my mother-in-law. "I need help with my computer."
It turns out she has a presentation to give, and wanted to use a webcam. And, in fact, she had a webcam. All she knew was that it was made by Logitech, had a part number and a serial number, and her computer wasn't recognizing it.
So, after spending about 10 minutes talking through the "Scan for Hardware Changes" menu and getting nowhere, I talked her through getting to the Logitech support website. There, I saw the "Search by Image" option.
What a wonderful thing. Within a couple of clicks, she had found her webcam and was on the right support and download page. Alas, the thing is old enough so that Logitech doesn't supply Vista drivers.
I suppose I should be annoyed at the lack of drivers, but I'm not. She's now willing to buy a new webcam, and I'm not spending the rest of the afternoon trying to guess what's wrong. |
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| Congratulations Team USA |
[Jun. 25th, 2009|09:20 am] |
After making the semifinals of the Confederations Cup under improbable circumstances, the 14th ranked U.S. team beat #1 Spain 2-nil.
In the realm of international sports, this was a huge upset. People more knowledgeable than I can argue about where it fits in the all-time rankings, but I think it's the biggest upset of this year so far.
And of course, since it was a professional soccer football game, by tomorrow it will disappear from the U.S. consciousness. |
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| Think of it as money? |
[Jun. 25th, 2009|08:48 am] |
Since February or so, I've been carrying a 20 billion dollar "Special Agro-Cheque" issued in 2008 by the bank of Zimbabwe as a conversation piece. It is, of course, chump change -- I wouldn't risk carrying a 50-trillion or 100-trillion dollar note on the mean streets of Metro Boston. But that's only because they are crisp new bills -- the 100 trillion is worth about 0.23 USD.
Behind the amusement is, of course, a tragedy. Hyperinflation is only a joke when it's happening someplace far away. Knowing this, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) debgeisler pointed me to this story from the Guardian. There's also a Flickr Photostream showing other parts of the campaign. Each brings the point home better than I ever could. |
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| Open Thread #1 |
[Jun. 19th, 2009|01:08 pm] |
... based on a break room discussion today at work.
Today's Topic: "Dung Beetle -- The Musical" |
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| Wanted ... one toy |
[Jun. 17th, 2009|12:24 pm] |
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Does anyone make a 5-disc Blu-Ray changer? That way, I could retire both my DVD player and 5-disc CD changer. |
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| Different States, different standards? |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|08:51 pm] |
Just over a year ago, I wrote about the tragic death of Taylor Michalec in Texas. No charges were filed in that case.
Today, we find a story of the tragic death of Jacob Kadamus in Vermont. Like Taylor he was accidentally shot by a close relative during a hunt. In Taylor's case it was his grandfather, Anton Michalec. In Jacob's case, it was his father, Kevin Kadamus.
The difference is that Kevin Kadamus has now been charged with manslaughter. In theory, he faces 15 years in prison. In Texas, the case was closed without any criminal charges.
In the Vermont case, the shooter is charged with not identifying his target before firing. In the Texas case, the shooter was walking in back of his grandson along a creek, apparently with the safety off. The trigger snagged on "a branch or some type of vine," resulting in a fatal shot. I'm not a hunter, but both acts seem equally negligent to me.
Both Texas and Vermont have a strong history of expecting their citizens to take personal responsibility. While they have very different approaches to gun regulation and "gun control" laws, please debate those laws elsewhere. Both states expect and demand that a hunter know how to keep their gun under control in the field.
So why the different legal results? Is it as simple as the fact that Anton Michalec was an ex-police officer? I certainly hope not. |
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| A Lesson in Brand Name Origins |
[May. 5th, 2009|11:30 pm] |
This Fox News story is about a newly unveiled U.S. Navy ship, the USS Freedom.
The story currently contains the following quote: "Some are calling it the Navy's corvette." A quick search at Google indicates that Fox is not alone in this.
I have to ask. Is the source of this quote trying to draw an analogy to the Chevrolet sports car? Or does the reporter understand that the original meaning of the word corvette was a fighting ship smaller than a frigate or a destroyer?
If the latter, why the "some are calling" language? |
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| I knew times were tough... |
[Apr. 20th, 2009|03:43 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  melancholy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Car Wash Blues | ] |
... but do you want Cinnamon Twists with that top job?
This came up on the Washington Post Website today:
 |
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| Death by Paper Cuts |
[Apr. 8th, 2009|07:16 pm] |
It's been a while in coming, but I will mark today as the day that doomed the Boston Globe.
Simply put, when a company raises prices in order to compensate for decreasing demand, it's doomed. And that's exactly what the Globe did today. My favorite line in this official party line story? "Globe spokesman Robert Powers declined to comment on whether the price increase might result in fewer newsstand sales." Is the Globe really trying to pretend that supply and demand doesn't matter?
Globe columnist Scott Lehigh isn't so careful. In a column today, he talks baldly about the decline in circulation and the fact that the paper has become smaller and the coverage less comprehensive. Yet he seems to imply that it's our civic duty to keep the Globe alive.
He also floats the idea of subscription fees or micro-payments for Boston.com. I have no problem with that concept, but given that the webpage I viewed had 10 different ads on it, I did find it a bit ironic.
I suppose I'll feel nostalgia for the Globe when it's gone, but it's been a long time since I relied on it either for news or local features. I'll occasionally buy the Globe to read on the morning train, but I can't remember the last time I bought a Sunday newspaper of any sort.
But perhaps I'll pick one up this weekend. After all, when one finds out an acquaintance is dying, isn't the first reaction to try to spend a little time with them? |
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