Who Needs An iPod?

I miss Muzak, the quiet, the relaxing "elevator music" meant to stay unobtrusively in the background and for the most part be ignored. Muzak allowed you to focus on what you were doing without distracting you from the purpose of your excursion into the marketplace. Muzak knew its place and very politely stayed in it.

I'm not quite sure exactly when or why it happened but Muzak seems to be all but gone now. It's been replaced by actual songs by original artists. Usually these numbers are inappropriate for the venue they're aired in and more often than not played far too loud through a sound system never meant to deliver anything more complex than an announcement about a blue light special with any degree of clarity.

Feel free to dismiss me as an old crank who's out of touch with today's music if you want but I don't enjoy buying groceries while Avril Lavigne is screeching at me through a tinny-sounding speaker in an acoustic tiled ceiling. Just because Katy Perry kissed a girl doesn't mean I need to hear about it while I'm picking out hardware at the home improvement store. And I don't really care about how much back Sir Mix-a-Lot's baby has while I'm shopping for back bacon.

Even songs I like make me clench my teeth when I have to listen to them in these environments. Duran Duran, The Police, Bryan Ferry and countless others have all suffered being sent through the supermarket's sound system. Perhaps the most ironic moment was when I was in the alcoholic beverage section and happened to spot the six-packs of Miller Beer while listening to "Shambala" by Three Dog Night, the song whose guitar riff is currently being used as background music in Miller's TV ads. Talk about a multimedia experience!

Like most faults I find with the world I know this one is too big to change and there's no going back. That's fine, before my next trip to the grocery store I'll stop in my workshop and grab my earplugs.

"Cue the shark..."

“Heroes” Is Working to Win Back Fans - I still like "Heroes" in spite of the bad directions the show has taken. The basic premise is still solid and the characters are still viable enough that I'm hopeful they can steer this thing away from the shark it's been circling around. But then I read stuff like this and my hope fades.

Things That Affect My Blood Pressure

Cheney: Bush should have pardoned Libby - "He was the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice, and I strongly believe that he deserved a presidential pardon." Oh, NOW you decide to mention this?! A few days earlier might have helped a lot more than trying to come to his defense now. People much higher than 'Scooter' Libby committed outright treason by "outing" an active CIA operative and got away with it while Libby can't even wrangle a Presidential pardon for being the fall guy for the whole thing.
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Worm Infects Millions of Computers Worldwide - Oh, crap. I use several levels of software and hardware firewalls and I don't use USB drives or any other portable media but news like this still makes me wonder just how safe I am. I also keep no banking info anywhere near my computer, they aren't even allowed in the same room together. Hackers could probably zombify my computer and use my City of Heroes account if they wanted to. Heck, if they can play better than me I'll take the extra XP. That brings us to our next item...
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City of Heroes Double XP Weekend! - Woot! Some time shall be wasted here.

"You don't know the power of the Dark Side"

Did dark energy give us our cosmos? - space - 17 January 2009 - New Scientist

Dark matter filaments stoked star birth in early galaxies - space - 21 January 2009 - New Scientist

So if you can make up something no one can see or detect then it makes all of the other made-up numbers about how everything else works make sense. Plus we get an infinite universe and variations of String Theory start to sound plausible. Comic book fans have already seen similar cosmic scenarios in the origins of Galactus.

Historic & Hopeful

QuarterFlashback

An ordinary day, I come home, start supper, visit my computer and set my entire playlist to random and click the "play" button on my keyboard. A couple of random disco songs crawl out of some hidden corner of the '70s, a track from the Police plays followed by one from Dukes of Stratosphear. Then I heard the machine gun rapid-fire opening drum riff from an all but forgotten '80s gem, "Take Another Picture" by QuarterFlash.

Like Marcel Proust I'm suddenly transported back in time to nearly 30 years ago when I'd first heard the song. It was the very early '80s and ABC was competing with NBC a night earlier than their rival with their own comedy and musical variety show simply called Fridays. It was not only the first time I'd heard this song, it was the first time I saw QuarterFlash perform. This is the memory that returns unbidden every time I happen to hear this song (my memory has a much better sound and video quality)...

Two Legends Gone in One Day

Ricardo Montalban dead at 88
Actor Ricardo Montalban, star of the hit TV series "Fantasy Island," and the Star Trek film "The Wrath of Khan" died today.

Patrick McGoohan dead at 80
Actor Patrick McGoohan, a British television star best known for two shows that crossed over to American TV, "Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner," has died today.

These are sad reminders that as we lose legends like these no one in the younger generations are worthy of taking their places. Celebrities today can't come close to the recognition that people like Montalban and McGoohan earned and rightfully deserved.

Sister Moon

Another perigee full Moon is in store for this weekend. Just as the one last month was the biggest of 2008 this month's full Moon is to be the biggest of 2009.

We got some freezing rain here the other day that's still clinging to the trees, bushes and rooftops and is really enhancing all of that extra moonlight. Even though the Moon wasn't quite full last night it was stunning to see it's glow reflecting off everything. I doubt there's a camera anywhere capable of doing it justice, it's something that truly has to be seen to be appreciated.

Unfortunately our local forecast is calling for more snow throughout tonight so we'll probably miss the biggest part of the light show here. I'm hoping the skies will be clear again by Sunday evening so we can enjoy more of this spectacle before it fades.

Heroes vs. Villains

Mac users can now join the fun in City of Heroes & City of Villains!



I'm hoping to see my Mac-using friends in Paragon City soon. You'll find me on the Infinity server, my global is Mr. Mercury.

I've Got Your "Winter Wonderland" Right Here

More bad weather is heading our way, I'm keeping my fingers crossed we avoid a repeat performance of last month's ice storm. I'll keep the generator ready, just in case...

Supper's Ready!

Second only to prime rib this is my favorite food, Caroll Shelby's Chili® (no beans, please) over rice with longhorn style colby cheese and Saltine® crackers. Yum! I doubt if even Alton Brown could come up with a better recipe. Okay, maybe he could but his would probably take three days to prepare while Shelby's® is ready in just 30 minutes.

Getting a Jump On the New Year

The snow here yesterday was followed by a cold front that plunged the temperatures into the single digits this morning with a wind chill that dragged it further down into the negative teens. I had to go outside early to move our cars out of the driveway before the guy who plows for us showed up and my car's engine protested by turning over painfully slowly and stubbornly refusing to engage. That's when I realized that my 5-year old Hyundai Accent also has a 5-year old battery in it and it probably won't last through another New England winter.

It's a good thing I was at home and my wife has jumper cables. Even with a jump from her Saturn I still struggled to get my car started. I think the fuel line might have been partially frozen as well. With tomorrow being payday a new battery will have to wait for another day or two. Let's hope I don't have a similar struggle tomorrow morning as I'll be up much earlier trying to get out of here to go to work. Even if it does start okay I think I'll ask Shelly if I can borrow her jumpers to take with me for the day...just in case.