madh

Football Sunday Update

hiten — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:30:59 +0000

First off, Sunday Ticket is flat out awesome. Red Zone Channel has changed the way I watch football and, to a degree, has changed my world.

Decent early games: solid Indy win, Denver escaped with a victory, and the Packers smoked the Bears. The Bengals tied the Eagles (boooooo).

Right now it’s a ridiculous 80°F in San Francisco. It’s in the twenties at Lambeau, forties in Georgia, Kansas City, and North Carolina, and hell, it’s even in the fifties and sixties in Florida.

Later tonight, Cowboys at Redskins. Go Cowboys!

The Collective Experience

hiten — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 05:56:03 +0000

Right now I’m listening to the radio. Yes, at my disposal I have iTunes with 24 days worth of songs, XM radio on TV, and Pandora, but I choose to listen to the radio, dealing with ads and DJs. Now the ads are annoying, but the DJs are sometimes interesting or at least, at times, funny.

Radio is a old, traditional medium, but, even in the light of the internet and television, that is extremely popular. Over 90% of the population listens to the radio at least once a week. People like the radio.

I don’t like the ads. But who likes ads? Regardless, a few are entertaining, and the rest are worth getting out of your chair to turn the dial to another station. I little moving is good for you. “Turn the dial?” you ask. Yep, I think a key part of the experience that is radio is dialing a station. Turning a big machined-metal knob, moving through the static interstitial, and hitting a station precisely (and in stereo!) is damn right satisfying. Analog is cool. You have to make a decision, get to take a break, and then you have to not be lazy and get up to do it again. I guess a part of it is that the moving around makes it a more ‘active’ experience for me.

I didn’t even mention navigating the stations, learning where to good ones are (for both music selection and reception quality), learning what type of music they play at different times of the day, and, at a precise moment, which station to be listening to as core parts of the radio experience. Say you’re listening to “Shaft” on the Oldies station. Turn the dial to see if the Classic Rock station is playing “Us and Them”? Are you satisfied with what you have?

(well you can just go to yes.com and get a real-time view of what is playing on basically any radio station in the country. awesome site + three-letter domain name = win.)

But, at last, what really makes the radio interesting is the fact that it’s a collective experience. A Collective Experience. In real-time, in the real-world, when you’re listening to the radio, you’re sharing an experience. Think the transitions from “In Bloom” to “Riders in the Storm” to “Highway for Hell” to, yes there’s more, “Black Dog” was jaw-droppingly brilliant? (It was.) Well, someone else ‘out there’ might have been lucky enough to have been listening at the same time and gone through the same ‘experience’ as you. Radio has such reach, that anytime you’re listening to a major radio station in a reasonably sized market, you’re sharing an experience with thousands, probably more, of people. That’s f&#&*%! cool.

Playlist

hiten — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:56:47 +0000

1. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird
2. Pink Floyd - Speak to Me
3. Guns ‘n Roses - Sweet Child of Mine
4. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man
5. Sublime - What I Got
6. Pink Floyd - Time
7. Pink Floyd - The Great Gig in the Sky
8. Pink Floyd - Money
9. Pink Floyd - Us and Them

Awesome Nike commercials

hiten — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:03:01 +0000

Nike, like Apple, has its core essence rooted in marketing. It knows how to make people feel faster, stronger and more powerful. It took a mundane item–the sneaker–and turned it into a celebration of self-expression.

Nike: Take It to the Next Level
A long-cut Guy Ritchie ad.

Nike: Courage (I’ve Got Soul, but I’m Not a Soldier)
From the Olympics.

Nike: New Jordan Commercial
Jordan earned everything he got.

Nike: Tiger Woods
Classic.

Who has the gold?

hiten — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:54:16 +0000

Interesting wikipedia article on sovereign gold reserves. The U.S. has over 8100 tonnes of gold and keeps nearly 80% of its reserves as gold. Interestingly, China caps its gold reserve percentage at 1%, meaning that most of its reserves are probably in U.S. Treasury vehicles.

I’m unsure of the long-term impact, but all I know is that I’d rather be holding gold right now.

SNL skit uses Palin script

hiten — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:09:09 +0000

I saw last night’s SNL opening monologue with Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. She’d done this once before, but this time, no script was needed because the entire monologue was identical to an actual interview between Katie Couric and Sarah Palin. Seems that SNL writers couldn’t think of anything funnier.

Actual interview:

SNL skit:

hiten — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:07:35 +0000

Deion

A look at the Dallas Cowboys roster

hiten — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:00:37 +0000

So early on the fourth football Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys are unanimously considered the strongest team in the league. The reasons are clear: a blockbuster win against Philadelphia, a convincing win against the Packers, and a stacked roster.

Dallas has a record 13 players from last year’s Pro Bowl and could send even more this year. If you throw in Pacman Jones, Felix Jones and Zach Thomas (7 Pro Bowls), they could maybe even send more.

Tony Romo, QB: 2 Pro Bowls

Marion Barber, RB: 1 Pro Bowl

Terrell Owens, WR: 6 Pro Bowls

Jason Witten, TE: 4 Pro Bowls

Andre Gurode, OL: 2 Pro Bowls

Leonard Davis, OL: 1 Pro Bowl

Flozell Adams, OL: 4 Pro Bowls

DeMarcus Ware, OLB: 2 Pro Bowls

Greg Ellis, OLB: 1 Pro Bowl

Terence Newman, CB: 1 Pro Bowl

Ken Hamlin, FS: 1 Pro Bowl

Roy Williams, SS: 5 Pro Bowls

Nick Folk, K: 1 Pro Bowl

I hate the TVs on Shell pumps

hiten — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:08:36 +0000

I tend to fill my gas tank at a Shell gas station near work because it’s on the way and convenient. Sometime last summer, they decided to install new pumps with TV screens that blare at you while you’re pumping gas.

This sucks. The last thing I want in the morning — when I’m in a rush and trying to get my mind set right for the day — is the Shell weatherman telling me about the weather (he’s always wrong anyway). Heck, there’s even an ad for a Prius, which just seems like poor business sense for an OIL & GAS company.

It would be great if they put in music (jazz would rule) or used the screen to show news or whatever without any annoying sound.

However, I don’t hate it enough to drive past the Shell (location, location, location!), and this annoyance pales in comparison to the lingering SXSW Facebook interview saga. Blogosphere, stop sucking!

…and we’re back!

hiten — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:46:59 +0000

Yes, this blog died. Must of the blame lies with a meltdown at my old host, SteelPixel, but I too hold some of the responsibility. Whatever, happens to the best of us.

Now this sucker is back and out of the fog. Get excited.