Monthly Archives: July 2011
Nice surprise
Usually when I’m in another town the AM dial is filled with news, traffic, or the aforementioned bad talk radio. While in Suffolk, VA I came across this nice surprise: an AM station that just plays comedy sketches. It seems they edit down to the best parts of longer sketches and play one comedian after the other. A wide variety of different styles, some folks I’ve never heard of… enjoyable to listen to. I might continue to listen online.
Not
I am not going to write about politics.
I am not going to write about work.
I am not going to provide in-depth technology coverage.
I will write about things that catch my attention such as:
- “Journalists” getting a black eye…
- Or idiots getting another…
- Or cool things about language…
- Or things like the outrage with the VA cemetery…Or here (not real news)…
- Or other things from my travels…
Not that I am especially qualified to write about any of the above things; however, the universe of people who do read the things I am qualified to write about does not overlap with the universe of people most likely to read this. So, quite simply, I plan to keep this interesting.
The Odessey
Eleven years ago today, RS married me.
The Party: A cowboy with some doctors and lawyers and stuff
The conclusion of the ceremonies marked the beginning of several new Odysseys, but first let us review the sound pieces of marital advice I received:
- The good things get better, and the bad things get worse…
- From this point forward you choose: you may be happy or you may be right,
but you will never be both again… - There’s a great future in plastics! Think about it. Will you think about it?
The advice was mostly good, and I’m really glad that is hasn’t Gotten Way Worse.
Our Honeymoon
~4000 miles: seeing America from a Corolla
Space
Two Space Shuttles ready for Hubble repair on STS-125
July 21st — a date many of us will remember — in 1969 Apollo 11 brought the first moon landing, and forty-two years later the Space Shuttle program ended. One of the announcers referred to the Shuttle as having inspired a generation. Did it really? The awesome, hardworking folks at NASA did amazing things; however, I have not considered the Shuttle program inspiring for the last two decades. Not through any creative fault at NASA, but rather from a lack of imagination on the part of our political leaders.
The Hubble and Mars Rovers were among many things that showed NASA at its best. I can not help but feel that if the political imagination had existed then all those things we expected of 2010 (moon base, Mars visit, etc.) would have come to pass. If outsourcing and Capitalism work out, then maybe we’ll have a better story to tell in 2020.
SSC Tustara
As the last remnant of the Space Race ends, we are at least getting a car that looks like The Jetsons. This 1350hp carbon fiber beauty is expected to set a new production speed record ~270 MPH. That’s cool. Although, I’m still partial to the Tesla Roadster. Its top speed of ~125 MPH is usually enough for me and even if you can’t own a Tesla, you can own their stock.
The Deal
Dog bites man? Man bites dog? Newspaper man writes about newspapers. James O’Shea rose through the ranks to become Editor of the LA Times. He was shuffled out of his job and then wrote his tell-all book about the business: The Deal From Hell
O’Shea had a fantastic story full of interesting characters; sadly, he desperately needed an editor of his own. His book lacked focus and often became bogged down in tedious details and unnecessary repetition. I felt it was a real waste. I was deeply interested in this story and the problems facing today’s newspapers, and yet this author missed the mark.
An update on this: Why We Still Need Jouralism.
AM Radio
Listen to the AM Radio...
I occasionally enjoy AM Radio or Talk Radio. Although I do not always agree with the politics, or the other view points, I find some of the hosts truly entertaining. Some of these hosts are entertainers who became political forces, some of them are just entertainers. There are some local personalities on KLBJ and KAMXthat cover Austin news pretty well.
Despite the often entertaining and usually well-informed hosts, Talk Radio has one big problem that prevents me from really enjoying: The Callers.
Long before Joe Wilson’s Outburst the quality of discourse in this country was already in the gutter from both sides. It seems to me that many of the people with both the time and the inclination to call into Talk Radio shows are empty headed boobs, and that they add nothing to the discussion. Does Talk Radio need better call screeners? Do Talk Radio hosts need to take fewer calls? All the people calling in with nothing to say, looking the hear their own voices, make me turn it off. Are there people out there who actually enjoy listening to these callers? Or is it just all these bad callers who enjoy listening to each other?
Hitler Funny?
Is Hitler funny? Can Hitler be funny? The Hitler film “Downfall” (Der Untergang) became a popular target for satire. There are clips on Youtube with their subtitles changed to cover every possible topic! From Rupert Murdoch to Rebecca Black, BBQ, and Blackberrys pick your topic and you’ll likely find an answer from this odd Youtube-Hitler oracle.
This all started for me with a clip, near and dear to my heart, regarding reenactments of the American Revolutionary War and some of the particulars about being a participant (yes, I do always shave for an event.)
Then this week a news article about Hugh Grant and The News of the World included this clip:
Realizing what was happening, I stumbled across BBQ etiquette:
And since it’s Friday, Friday… here’s what Hitler thinks of Rebecca Black:
July’s Epic
The Family Epic
(A)E - Round Rock
B - Dalton
C - Durham
D - New Orleans
I like to drive. Early this July we traveled ~3000 miles in the VW Bus; family reunion and visiting with friends. An excellent trip.
Texas is huge
One of my favorite spots: on I-10 West shortly after you cross the border into Texas you are provided a clear reminder of how big Texas really is.
We saw lots of things on this trip, including a nasty People of Walmart sighting, and some poor folks who had a bad day with their U-Haul… reminds me of all the fun with the Durham bridge.
Random U-Haul with the roof torn off
In case you didn’t know already, Metal Chickens are all the rage right now!
Rage
I Love Lawn Art
New Orleans, The Big Easy, is back! Maybe not 100% but certainly a destination worth returning to. We saw lots of tourists, and where we had once found mud-covered blight we found newly built housing. Glad to see it!
Breakfast
Outside
BadIdeaJeans.net 