The NHL on NBC
Could NBC not steal away better talent from ESPN for calling hockey games it chooses to nationally televise? Gary Thorne is apparently still locked in to a contract with ESPN/ABC, having spent last year calling college football games (and doing a damn fine job, if you ask me; Thorne just has a sports announcer's voice through and through). Big surprise that Bill Clement, formerly Thorne's useless and biased color man, is now uselessly and biasedly anchoring NBC's hockey network desk with Ray Ferraro. (Very manly of you guys to be out on the ice in Rockefeller Plaza, sticks in hand, while the peewee team pokes pucks around the rink behind you. This is what is known in the vernacular as a cliché. You'd think you Canadians would know a little French.) So in DFW today we are, of course, getting the Stars-Blues game out of St. Louis. Chris Cuthbert and Peter McNab have zero chemistry. Most of the time, it sounds like McNab's mouth is engaging before his brain. (Taking lessons from Clement, Peter?) Cuthbert sounds like he's about to start hyperventilating any second during the game call. The only redeeming quality of this broadcast crew is Cammi Granato, stuck with the stupidly named "Inside the Glass" position. One improvement with this threesome would be to eliminate McNab and put Granato in his place. I'm not sure where Cuthbert came from, but he needs to go back to being the local team announcer there. You might be wondering why I'm so snarky on this admittedly minor issue. First, when it comes to hockey announcers, we're pretty spoiled here in Dallas. Ralph Strangis and Daryl Reaugh are one of the best broadcast teams in any sport. (Many of us are still hoping Daryl comes to his senses and gets a hair cut.) Second, being a hockey fan, I want to see the sport win more fans, and one area this is going to happen in will be nationally televised games. (Few and far between those may have been these past few years. Great job with those television contracts, post-Fox Sports, Commissioner Bettman.) So if a nationally-televised game is part of your new fan-winning strategy, you better make sure the network you've given the goods to can deliver with top-notch broadcast crews. Those currently employed by NBC are barely living up to the term "mediocre". Like I'm sure many of you do when your home team is being nationally televised, I normally mute the television and flip on the radio, putting up with the satellite delay to hear my local announcers call the game. I tried to give the NBC crew an honest shot today, but they're falling far short. Back to WBAP to hear Ralph and Razor call the last five minutes of the game.
Dell can't compete with Apple
Dell has discontinued its sale of hard drive-baesd MP3 players. John Gruber:
Someone should make a list of all the pundits and tech columnists who, back in October 2003 when Dell first introduced the DJ, predicted that it was the beginning of the end for the iPod.
Calendar hosting
If you find yourself wishing you could have your very own online calendar to sync with iCal, but 1. Have not the resources available to you, or 2. Have not the desire to learn how to set up PHP iCalendar then Tom can help you out with his new calendar hosting service. Just be sure to tell him the Retrophisch™ sent you.
This "Striderweb", I like it
Please note: You're not allowed to call yourselves followers of a "religion of peace" if you riot and make death threats over a political cartoon.
[...]
A lot of people decry such statements, saying that this is the actions of some muslims, but not most of them. I'm still waiting for the major leaders of Islam to rise up and denounce such violence. Until that starts happening on a regular basis, I have a hard time believing those arguments. [Via Jeff.]
Rise of the Core Duo
The 17-inch iMac G5 has been removed from the online Apple Store, leaving only the 20-inch G5 version. If you're looking for a G5 iMac instead of the new Intel Core Duo version, now would appear to be the time to buy. [Via Al W. on the MacJournals-Talk list.] Update: John notes what I missed: the remaining 20-inch iMac G5s have been marked down $200, to $1,499. Apple is definitely clearing out last year's model.
Printing the day's schedule in iCal
Since MacHome doesn't post all of its magazine's monthly content to the web, I'm archiving for my own use this hint from Editor at Large Chris McVeigh, found in the Q&A section of the February 2006 issue.
You can however print an entire day's schedule, complete with any notes you may have added to the event. Choose View > Go to Date and enter the date you want, or to see the current day's events, choose View > Go to Today. Now choose View > Day View to see only that day. Finally, choose File > Print.
You'll see a preview of the print job, which lists appointments along a timeline at the left and the details of these appointments in a separate column at the right. This is a bit awkward, though. In the Print window, choose View > List. You'll see that the events are now listed one after another (there is no timeline) and include the event details. Click Continue and then click Print. In a few seconds you'll have a printed copy of your appointments and notes.
It's nice to know some people still get it
William Blair was recently outed as the secret benefactor to a group of World War II Pacific Theater former POWs, who get together for a monthly breakfast at Bunny's Restaurant in Suffolk, Virginia. I've met a good number of WWII vets in my time, and a few of them were POWs. Mr. Blair is correct in his noting that the Pacific Theater POWs usually get little mention compared to their European Theater brethren. I had the privilege in college of meeting a group of former POWs, including a Bataan Death March survivor. Those men have borne heavy burdens, and still do to this day. Mr. Blair, we salute you for your generosity and patriotism.
Are you registered to vote?
The Free Market Foundation reminds Texans the deadline for voter registration in time for the March primaries is this Monday, February 6th. If you need to register: 1. Click here to download a PDF of the voter registration form you can print out. 2. Fill it out and mail it to your county voter registration office. Click here for a list of registrars by county. As with every election, the Free Market Foundation is providing non-partisan Voters' Guides free of charge. Send them an e-mail with your mailing address and desired quantity. I've taken advantage of these guides in the past, and they are great at distilling voting issues in to clear language, offering pros and cons for ballot propositions, as well as candidate information.
ATPM 12.02
The February issue of About This Particular Macintosh is now available. Ellyn examines Google's noncompliance of demands by the Justice Department, while Wes has the best of the Mac blogosphere's reaction to last month's Macworld Expo. Miraz Jordan, noting his enjoyment of podcasts, chimes in with this month's Pod People. (We're looking for readers to share their own iPod experiences. If you would like to write a Pod People column, please [e-mail the editors](mailto:editor@atpm.com?subject=Pod People).) Ted looks over two outliners new to the Macintosh sandbox. Speaking of sand, Angus Wong dives in to the waters of the Macintosh life and discovers on the sandy bottom the triumph of the Macintosh revolution. This issue's desktop pictures section features numerous reader submissions, ranging from flowers to Mount Baker, St. Louis to Thailand, New Hampshire to the Dominican Republic. Thanks to Torben, Bill, Jerry, Steven, and Grover for sharing! In this month's Cortland, Lisa makes peace with her maker, the other Steve steps in to foil plans of world dominance, Chad returns to the throne at Weiser Graphics, and Cortland decides the fringe benefits are worth going in-house again. Ellyn fools around with Bubblomania, while Tom peers between the sheets of the Cult of iPod. Mark Tennent shares his experience with CyTV, and Chris tests the alliteratory Lapvantage Loft. Finally, Tom asks that if you're going to delve deeply in to the guts of Mac OS X, you do so with a good manual at your side, kid.
Congrats, Oz!
The Ozabs saw Anna pop out in to the world from her warm, cozy womb, back on the 19th. What is it with ATPM staffers and early children? Congratulations, Mom and Dad, and welcome, Anna!
Rock me, Amadeus
I missed blogging about the 300th anniversary of Ben Franklin's birthday, so I knew I couldn't miss today. What's today? Today is the 250th anniversary of the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. While Tom and I agree that Bach is the better composer (and I would rate Handel better, as well), Mozart's body of work is quite an accomplishment, given what he produced before his death at the age of 35. There are composers today, living in to their eighties, who do not produce music with the depth and scope that Mozart did.
Deep Thinking
Things to think about that you probably have never thought about: Can you cry under water? How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered? Why do you have to "put your two cents in", but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to? Why does a round pizza come in a square box? What disease did cured ham actually have? How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours? (Jim and Lissa, take note!) If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing? Why are you in a movie, but you're on TV? Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway. Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural? Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat? If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him? Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane? Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their crotch when they asking where the bathroom is? Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs! If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner? Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride; he sticks his head out the window?! Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune? Why did you just try singing the two songs above? [Via e-mail from my mom.]
Happy News
HappyNews.com. Real News. Compelling Stories. Always Positive. As opposed to the typical "if it bleeds, it leads" attitude of the major news organizations, Byron Reese believes, "News should give you an accurate view of the world." It's not all sunshine and roses, but it's not all doom and gloom, either. The site also offers a weekly online lifestyle magazine. [Via Reader's Digest.]
Shouldn't dynasties win more than one?
Above is the proposed billboard to be placed in a high-traffic area near the USC campus.
LSU grads in the Dallas area, annoyed by the media coverage over USC's attempt at "a third-straight national championship", have raised the necessary $10,000 for the proposed billboard, and are working with a Mobile firm in scouting for a suitable location. As you would imagine, even the Bruins are happy about it.
The message here, people, is that the Bowl Championship Series was created for the sole purpose of providing the means, in lieu of a playoff system, to determine the one, true national champion of Division I-A college football. God knows I have my myriad issues with the BCS, but it is, despite its faults, the system in place, and it should be respected. This is the vein of the message from Onepeat.com.
[Via Hugh via Xon.]
The latest on mobile phone manners
Look, the world is not your personal playground. Do not share with us your musical tastes; do not share with us your latest wheelings and dealings. In public places, you have an obligation to hold up your end of the implied social contract by not imposing yourself on those around you. This is crucial to a civilized society and just because technology allows you to act like a braying ass in public doesn't mean you should do it. Quite the contrary, in fact. You need to be more aware of your surroundings than ever.
I particularly liked one suggestion:
Ditch the ring tone and put the phone on vibrate. The only person who cares about an incoming call on your phone is you. Don't worry, you'll feel it. (It feels go-o-o-od.) Most ring tones are not only intrusive, they're inane.
One feature I like on my phone, and I'm sure it's on most new phones, is the option to have it simultaneously vibrate and ring. My phone vibrates first, then starts the ring tone, so I can usually nab it when only the first couple of notes are playing. It's also dead simple to change from "Vibe & Ring" to "Vibrate" when the situation demands (church, movies, restaurants).
The fact that most ring tones are inane is why I roll my own. My "standard" ring tone is the opening twenty-two seconds of The Who's "Baba O'Riley". When strangers hear it, I always get a knowing smile, or a quizzical look that says, I know that melody, but I can't quite place it... It's certainly unique, and I won't confuse it with anyone else's ring.
Which brings me to my own mobile phone usage tip: change your ring tone from whatever the default is. (If you can; I realize older phones still in use may not have that option.) I don't know why, but I find it irritating when the default Moto or Nokia ring tone goes off. Find something else. Please.
Are you a kept man?
Are you a kept man? Living off the fruits of the labor of your wife, girlfriend, significant other? Married a trust-fund cutie or a wealthy widow? Tell the world with Kept Man Apparel!
Drive capacity envy
Seagate is now shipping 160 GB laptop drives. These are in the Momentus line, and run at 5400 rpm, with an Ultra ATA/100 interface. The Serial ATA version is coming later in the year. What's interesting to note is that the drives are shipping, but no pricing is available. I had thought I would rather a 7200 rpm 100 GB drive, over a 5400 rpm 120 GB drive, should I upgrade my PowerBook. Depending upon pricing, I would gladly run a 5400 rpm 160 GB drive. Lee, who passed on the above link via IM, is hoping this announcement will drive down the cost of 120 GB drives. Update: Lee, again via IM, points to OWC's listing, with a price of cough, cough $399.00.
Every rose has its thorn
If Tiff is feeling old, then I must be positively ancient. Speaking of depressing age news, I have noted that I am now in another, less desirable demographic, what with the birthday last month. Previously, when filling out surveys and such, I could confidently click on the age demographic buttons for 25-34, or 26-34, or however they broke it down. Now, it seems every single age demographic mapping I would fall in to is listed as 35-50. Fifty? Granted, we do grow to be more like our parents the older we get, but from a pop culture standpoint, I can tell you I have little in common with my fifty-something parents. (No, I do not use the term "fifty-something" because I have no idea how old my parents are. I know exactly how old they are, but because they are not the same age, I thought the more generic "fifty-something" was more appropriate.) For the record, Tiff, I've seen the same commercial, and come to the same realization. It's nice to know another closet metal-head is out there.
Hot Potato
Is it not enough that as the father of a two year-old, I already hear "Hot Potato" by The Wiggles in my sleep, that now Special K has to use it for their idiotic diet commercials?