Tag Archives: Radio

Refurbed

Posted on by
Reply


Last weekend, in a fit of tbbs WorldHQ tidying, defenestration, and spontaneous combustion abatement, I became distressed at the state of our remote controls for our various home entertainment devices.

I’ll say first that MLB and I don’t have a huge array of devices to control; our home entertainment stack consists of a Sharp Aquos TV, a DirecTV tuner/DVR combo, a slimline Sony DVD player, and a JVC Sirius satellite radio tuner. Each of these has a remote control device. We also have a Sony big-button “universal remote” that isn’t, well, universal. Perhaps Sony defines universal in a more restrictive manner than I do.

Anyhow, with this array of remotes, we’ve observed the following:

  1. The TV remote can operate the TV and most of the DirecTV tuner. It can not, however, pause live TV.
  2. The Sony universal remote can operate the TV and some of the satellite tuner. It can’t pause live TV either.
  3. The remote for the DirecTV tuner is nearly 9 years old, some of its buttons stick; the only one which has consistently functioned is the pause live TV button.
  4. The DVD and Sirius remotes do a credible job on their specific devices.

You can see where I’m going with this, right? We need the DirecTV remote for the pause functionality, and at least one of the TV/”Universal” ones handy to run everything else. One of them has invariably fallen under the table between our chairs, and it falls to me to curse while I retrieve the wayward device.

Last weekend’s cleaning extravaganza was powered by Shiner, so I was in a relaxed and receptive mood when I visited Amazon in search of Daily Deals. To my surprise, the Logitech Harmony 890 was available; a refurbished model could be had for $125 or so. I’d never bought a refurbished anything, so I went off in search of new. Oh, they were available all right, from $250-$325, depending on vendor. Logitech has an exhaustive database of devices the 890 can control out of the box; all our stuff was there, and I clicked “Buy Now” for the refurbished model.

The remote and its charging cradle arrived mid-week; a day of charging up, followed by the installation and upgrade of the 890′s programming software on the Mac laptop, connecting the the 890 to the Mac via USB, knuckling in the device names and model numbers was followed by the 890′s display menu showing Watch TV and Play DVD. And, what a treat. Pressing Watch TV turned on the TV, satellite tuner; beautiful. All the buttons on the 890 did the expected thing. Still no pause live TV; crap. The buttons on the 890 are somewhat smallish for an old guy like me. I adjusted my bifocals, and tried the one labelled pause. Duh. Live TV stopped in its tracks. What a device!

Today, I got the Sirius tuner added to the devices on the remote, and I’m pleased with the results. And there’s now ample room for my netbook on my table, with the 5 other remotes now stored out of the way. MLB even likes it, in spite of her aversion to gadgets.

-k-

RIP, Bill France Jr.

Posted on by
Reply

Bill France Jr, who became NASCAR’s second president when he assumed the reins from his father, has passed away at age 74.

He oversaw NASCAR’s growth from a regional Southeastern US sport, to the coast-to-coast, border-to-border, and even international attraction is has become today.

Just a few of the things that molded NASCAR racing on Bill France Jr’s watch:

  1. All NASCAR races run on paved tracks – 1971.
  2. First live flag-to-flag coverage ov the Daytona 500 – 1979.
  3. First million dollar purse for the Daytona 500 – 1980.
  4. NASCAR’s post-season awards ceremony moved to New York City – 1981.
  5. Anheuser-Busch assumes title sponsorship of the NASCAR Busch Series – 1984.
  6. The Winston Million, a bonus for winning 3 of 4 of the Daytona 500, Winston 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500 is established – 1985.
  7. NASCAR’s top series becomes knows as the Winston Cup Series – 1986.
  8. Every Winston Cup event is televised live – 1989.
  9. Inaugural Brickyard 400 is run from Indianapolis – 1994.
  10. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series runs its inaugural event – 1995.
  11. A demonstration race is run at Suzuka, Japan – 1996.
  12. 2.4 billion TV deal with Fox, NBC and Turner Sports – 1999. Coverage started in 2001.

He passed the presidency to Mike Helton in 2000, but stayed on as CEO. Since then, we’ve seen XM and now Sirius Satellite radio, with 24×7 NASCAR coverage, the unveiling of the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord NC, and the series major sponsor changed to Nextel from RJ Reynolds.

Quite an impressive list. I didn’t always agree with everything NASCAR did; I wish they could have found a way to keep the North Wilkesboro and Rockingham NC facilities open, and I don’t like the way they’ve marginalized the Darlington SC facility.

Still, I’m amazed every time I tune in to a race; I remember the humble beginnings. And all fans owe a large part of what we take for granted about to the sport to the vision and fortitide of Bill France Jr. His contributions were great, and he will be missed.

-k-

[tags][/tags]

Let ‘em Fly

Posted on by
Reply

As dutifully chronicled previously, Maryland State Legislator LeRoy E. Myers Jr., went on a one-man campaign against the display of plastic male body parts from the trailer hitches of Marylanders’ trucks and SUVs.

I heard on the radio today that LeRoy’s bill has been killed, so Marylanders may now let the plastic stindeens flap proudly from their vehicles. Can’t seem to find any linkage to this development.

I also saw my first pair of the plastic blobs that got LeRoy’s Fruit of the Looms in such a twist. Flying from the trailer hitch of a Ford pickup. I laughed.

I’m still giggling. Not buying these for the Saturn1, but I’m giggling anyhow.
-k-

1 – SWMBO wouldn’t allow it, even if I were so inclined.

Technorati Tags: , ,

Advent is Over

Posted on by
1

And on XM Radio, or at least on XM via DirecTV, classical Christmas carols. I’m listening, as I perform my spontaneous combustion abatement exercises in the family room. In the spirit of the season, lyrics from an excellent carol:

Hark the herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled”
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
“Christ is born in Bethlehem”
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ by highest heav’n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris’n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

-k-

Technorati Tags: ,

A Tale of Two Networks

Posted on by
Reply

I’d previously bemoaned the fact that my brother-in-law’s CableCo doesn’t carry the NFL Network, resulting in our not watching the Kansas City Chieves on Thanksgiving night. Scott, aka The Fat Guy, suffered through listening to his Cowpokes on the radio, since he couldn’t get NFLnet.

Only yesterday, I wrote about NASCAR’s HotPass package for 2007.

Let’s compare and contrast the two plans:

Neither the NFL nor NASCAR is ashamed to squeeze the last nickel out of fans, but the NFL’s network is in the position of browbeating CableCos, SatelliteCos, et.al., into carrying it. And the NFL wants the carriers to pay them up front, and oh by the way, please put NFLnet in your base package lineup. The result is spotty coverage for the network at best, and the ones who lose are the fans, who are deprived of the chance to see their team play. To say nothing of market penetration and such.

Now, look at NASCAR. Fox Sports has paid dearly to carry NASCAR events next year; on their own, Fox developed the HotPass idea, ran it by NASCAR, who loved it. Presumably, NASCAR got paid again for HotPass. Fox is providing the additional cameras, equipment, and announcers to make it a reality. Now, Fox has subscriptions to sell, with making a profit in mind. In the meantime, conventional race coverage is not affected; fans won’t miss out on what they’ve had for years. Those who opt-in can have a real value add in HotPass.

So let’s sum up: NFLNet tries to squeeze out more money, by providing just another means to distribute an existing product. It can hardly be argued that Bryant Gumbel and Chris Collinsworth bring much to the microphone to make the telecasts sizzle.

NASCAR, having already been paid, probably twice, provides another way for the fans to enjoy the sport, without taking away what anyone already has.

-k-

Technorati Tags: , , ,

To Whom Do I Complain?1

Posted on by
4

I sat down a couple of hours ago, all primed to watch Kansas Jayhawks basketball. They played the DePaul Blue Demons in Chicago this afternoon.

SWMBO and I buy the ESPN Full Court package each year, at a cost of $100.00 or so for the season. That usually gets us our games of interest. Today, ESPN saw fit to broadcast the game on something called ESPN/U, also one of their channels. DirecTV wants another $12 per month to get ESPN/U, which is part of something they call their “Sports Package.” This package includes 24 or so Fox Sports Channels, any 8 of which are broadcasting the same game simultaneously at any given point in the day.

Not willing to extend our DirecTV plan, we listened to the game on XM Radio, and cringed as the Jayhawks went down to defeat today.

I don’t know if it’s ESPN’s or DirecTV’s policies that resulted in our not seeing the game on TV. It’s not even worth the effort to call either network. What I will say is that I’d be all for kicking TV out of my life entirely, if there were a way to view the following:

  • Prison Break
  • CSI Miami
  • Jericho
  • Friday Night Lights

    • In addition, I’d like to be able to see a few sporting events throughout the year. I’m even willing to buy a Mac Mini, or something comparable, and dedicate it to teevee watching. I’d lash up any kind of gear necessary to make that happen, and pull the plug on the whole bunch. For what we pay DirecTV in a year’s time, we have a good down payment on an alternative.

    -k-

    1 – That headline, proper English and all, is in memory of all the long-suffering English teachers in my life.

    Technorati Tags: ,

    Get Well, Benny Parsons

    Posted on by
    3

    Benny Parsons, NASCAR Winston Cup Champion in 1973, has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and will begin immediate treatment.

    Benny is currently an analyst on NBC/TNT’s NASCAR coverage, and also hosts a racing-related show “Fast Talk with Benny Parsons”, on PRN Radio.

    Amazingly, according to the article:

    He plans to continue his duties with NBC/TNT and PRN throughout his treatment.

    All my prayers and best wishes go out to Benny for successful treatment and recovery.

    -k-

    Technorati Tags: , , ,

    XM Radio Live requires Borgware

    Posted on by
    Reply

    I signed up for XMradio’s Online feature earlier today. I wanted to experiment with it and Audio Hijack Pro. After I sign up and click “Listen Now”, Firefox informs the that “Additional plugins are required to display all the media on this page.” I click Install Missing Plugins.. after which I’m solicited to download Windows Media Player. Ain’t happening – I’m Microsoft-free since Y2K, and plan to stay that way. I guess my XMradio captures will happen another way. Lucky I have plenty of paper to go on the drawing board.

    -k-

    Technorati Tags: