Valerie Makes a Funny
“Doctor! I think I’m loosing my hearing!”
“What are the symptoms?”
“That FOX show about the funny yellow family, but what does that have to do with my problem?”
Radio Coup
Radio coups are always unexpected. No one ever leaks news about WWOZ is about to tank or sell out or come under new management. One day you just flip the dial and find the pop has turned to rock, your favorite morning show is cancelled or sometimes nothing but static is on the dial. One Mobile station bought out another. They forced their new acquisition to play the Macarana 24/7: no commercials, no DJ, no station identification, not even an explaination. Just the Macarana on repeat all day long. Here in Atlanta, just before a DJ is replaced without notice the station destroys any reference to the old DJ on the website. It reminds one of the Ministry of Truth in Orwell’s 1984.
Atlanta has a crappy radio scene. From what I understand, two classic rock stations have been duking it out on the airwaves for the past 25 years. Last week Z93 abruptly changed its format, leaving 96 Rock the undisputed chamption of classic rock in Atlanta.
But what has become of Z93? It is now known as Dave FM. What does it play? Dave Matthews, Dave Bowie, Dave Burn, Dave Hasselhoff …okay so I jest. I am their target audience. They play music rock that was popular during the past decade: a healthy dose of 90s rock, some popular classic rock, a touch of grunge, a hint of selected 80s tunes and just a smidge of pop. The biggest change is Dave has no disc jockies: just music & commercials thus far. Trouble is DJs, B-sides, deep cuts and rarities are what gives a station personality. Dave doesn’t feature any of these thing. They only play the most popular music. There is no one to tell me traffic is backed up west bound on the top end of the perimeteter or quickly brief me in the news or tell me about local weekend events. I will still listen to Dave (and enjoy it), but Atlanta’s radio scene still lacks.
This just in!…oh wait, it seems Dave does plan to put out some DJs eventually. I am happy.
And That is What Worries Me
“The second half of a man’s life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half.”
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821 – 1881)
Chris Can’t Keep a…
Dad-burn it! The ultimate Homestarrunner fanstuff idea came to me in a dream. I would create a paper model of the mythical Trogdor arcade cabinet and submit it to the brother’s chap so it might be featured on their ever-so-majestic site. Mere moments after I had completed the model I dropped my camera. In the words of Mad-man-oh-man-matt, “Oh, man.” Sad times indeed. I had planned to keep it secret (psha-right!) until my camera could be mended, but who am I to horde the majesty? So in honor of the recent announcment of Peasant Quest, I give you all the very means to create your own tribute to Trogdor!
*I pulled the original design from here. Naturally, the graphics come from a website …oh, and extreme pinball (one of Flyin’ Bryan’s favorite video pinball games).
A Picture May Be Worth 1000 Words
My digital camera fell 4 feet onto the carpeted floor of my apartment. Now it coughs and sputters as it tries to extend it’s lens thingy. I think the gears are dislocated or striped. Cost of camera: $250. Cost of repairs: $171.
Excluding camera costs, digital pictures aren’t cheaper to develop nor are they better quality than traditional film. A good “analog” camera tends to be bigger , but so much more durable and cheaper. Heck, you can even get soft copies of analog photos at the developers. So why digital? Two reasons: First, I can see my shot via the LCD screen. Second, I can get to my most recent photos without “finishing off the roll”. When my childhood friend moved away I got a poleroid camera for this same reason. Just this past week I have had two golden photo moments that were perfect for the website. Sure my text is intellegent and witty, but the people want something pretty to look at.
So I scowered the online world to see if I could get a comparable or slightly better model for a similar price. Alas, my camera goes for $250 and the next best thing is $350-$400 . My gadget geek instincts conflicted with my dedication to my frugal budget. In the end I opted to repair the old thing.
That said, let me tell you about Sony’s flat-rate repairs. The closest repair shop is in Texas, so you can imagine how much trouble it would be to get an estimate, approve the repairs, etc. So instead I tell them the model of my camera and they tell me (based on statistics) what it will cost me. The actual cost could be much less–or much more. Devices that are abused are exempt from the flat-rate policy and anyone can opt out of it if they feel they’d be under cost. Very neat idea.
Lastly, Image-Resource is an excellent place for very detailed reviews about digital cameras.