A New Age of Wireless?; or, It's Martini Time!

Today is the first official day of my vacation week. A week of rest and trial seperation from work. I couldn't be happier. I needed some time away from that place. Working the hours I do, dealing with the people I deal with, takes it's toll on you after a while. So it's nice to get a little time away, collect myself, and not deal with it. Plus, it's Film Fest week, so I know where I'll be all next week. I hope to have some pictures, as well as good stories to tell. I'm sure I will have at least one of the two.

In other news, I recently heard about a news story that you all might find interesting. Read about it here. Apparently when the FCC is done making all the TV stations convert over to digital, they plan to auction off the 700mhz band to the highest bidder. That's the real reason for the whole switch to digital. It truthfully have nothing to do with High Definition (or HD, if you prefer) at all. They want that band because it's some valuable stuff. It's what TV is on now, and it's good, low frequency, and can go through walls and such. Of course, all the major telecommunications companies (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, et al) are going to bid, but a new player has tossed their hat in the ring.

Google.

That's right, the internet giant has said they will meet the minimum bid of 4.6 billion (billion!) dollars and get into the fracas on the condition that whomever wins the bidding (be it them, or someone else) has to keep it an open platform. In other words, no doing like what the wireless communication companies do now. Google wants it to be open to any hardware and software. And speculation is that if they were to win it, you might see a nationwide free WiFi network,
as well as Google perhaps getting into the hardware biz and making their own device that would work on it, as well as use Google Talk or Skype, some kind of VoIP service and if that were to happen, it would completely change the entire landscape of wireless communications. And be a huge benefit to us, the consumer. Keeps your eyes on this one kiddies.

Well, that is all for now. I'll try to keep up to date during the festival, but I can't make any promises. But check back often, and if you get bored, watch the JerryTown videos posted. They're good ones

Radio Gold; or, My Wednesday Evening

As some of you may know (note: the number of people who read this blog is not gigantic by any means) I have a little radio show about twice a month on the local college radio station. It's my little two hour block of radio gold. That is, they let me play music, talk a tiny bit, and generally think I'm special. It's fun, it entertains me, and I get out of the house and occasionally get to play some music that normally doesn't get on air. If you're in the TC area, listen in on 90.7 fm. It does stream online at wnmc.org.

However, tonight, on my way here, something tried to ruin my mood. Not that I had a particularly good day as it was (work sucked more than usual, it was hot all day, and was my third long long day in a row). I have a flat tire. More annoying that horrific, but still, a pain in the ass to say the least. Now I have to get a new tire, an expense I don't want to make. And with work lately, it will be a day or two before I can get to a tire shop. All in all, Travis is not happy. But I'll survive.

After all, I only need to survive 2 more days of work, and then it's a week's vacation and Film Fest. I've been looking forward to this for a while now. And it's here, and I will relish the time off work, and the company of those crazy bastards at The State Theater.

Well, time to do a break. Only 45 minutes left in my show.

Embracing the Penquin; or, Starting Another Week

On Sunday, July the 22nd, I took the next step in my continuing geek-dom. I installed Linux on my laptop. And I'm proud of it too. The nice thing about it is that the laptop is a little old, so putting Linux on it (specifically Ubuntu) will help it run a bit smoother. I really only use it to surf the internet, and as a device to capture audio with. And finding Audacity for Linux was the icing on the cake. So yeah, I'm a geek. And a proud one. Get over it.

Tomorrow, or later today if you prefer, begins a new chapter in my attempt to take over the world. My new Podcast. The first recording will take place tomorrow (if all goes well), and hopefully be up and available for download by the middle of the week. I will post details on it when it's ready.

Speaking of podcasts, if you haven't noticed, there is a link to the JerryTown video podcast on the side of this here blog. Click on either link to go to the page, or Here, and sign up for it. I will be adding content to this podcast as it comes along, as well as classic skits. So be sure to subscribe and keep up with what's new.

Also coming up, will be my Take on the Michael Vick dog fighting situation. I don't want to go into it right now. But I'm sure I will in the next day or two. So until tomorrow kiddies, download some JerryTown, and get ready for the new audio podcast.

Welcoming the Weekend; or, 5 More Work Days Until Film Fest

It's Friday, which makes me happy. Why you ask? Well, because finally, after another long work week, it's 5pm (well, OK, more like 5:45, but cut me some slack here) and that means, weekend! Hooray weekend! And a weekend with no plans what so ever. Which is the best kind of weekend to have. This week was surprisingly busy given that Cherry Fest is over and all, but I managed to survive.

And, I'm now just over a week out from Film Festival. That's a scary thought, because I know we're not ready. But, I also know that we'll pull it together, and make it come off seemingly problem free. Because that's how good we are. I did happen by the box office today to see a line out the door, and around the corner of the next building of people waiting to buy tickets (today was the first day for the unwashed masses to purchase theirs). And that line had formed before 9am, and lasted out of the door until nearly 2pm, when I drove back by. That was a nice site to see.

In other news, in my continuing attempts to better myself health wise, I have decided today, that I am giving up Soda. I know, I know, it's been said before. But hey, I gave up smoking with sheer will power, I can do this. So today, I had my last bottle of sweet sweet Mt. Dew. My thinking is that if i can cut out all that nasty high fructose corn syrup, I might just live a little longer, and not to mention drop a few pounds. It couldn't hurt, I know i could stand to lose some of this weight. I mean, I'm not Shamu, but I am heavier than I would like. So, I'll let you know the progress of this endeavor.

And with that, I bid you Fondue

Light Alphabet; or, Some very cool photography

Light Alphabet, originally uploaded by floyduk.

This is a picture I found on Flickr. It's from "The Tech Guy" assignment to make a composite photo of the alphabet. Check this one out as well as other submissions to the assignment. Pretty good stuff.

Garfield was right; or, Why Soccer still doesn't matter

Monday. You all know how it goes. The start of a new week, filled with promise and hope. Right, not around these parts either. For me, Monday is a four letter word. It speaks of long hours at work, more stupidity than could choke a moose, and it all gets to start almost an hour early.

And this was no ordinary "I-hate-everything" Monday. No, today I had a new hire with me. Which means, I get to train them. Now while i don't despise this particular task, it's not how I prefer to start off my week. That, and having someone else in the vehicle that I have to talk to and train, means i can't listen to my radio shows/podcasts, and therefore puts me in a crabby mood (I'm a simple creature, with simple needs, OK?)

Oh, and let us not forget, David Beckham has come to the US.
........
Yeah, no one cares. Well, no one except for the myopic US soccer fan. The guy who swears soccer is the next big thing in the country. That somehow, a guy who is a good player, GOOD player, not great, will move the needle. Here's the thing. He won't. End of discussion. David Beckham isn't going to get more kids to play soccer (they all do already), and while some people might take notice for a month or two, it won't take long for them to realize "oh yeah, it's soccer, we didn't watch it before, why watch now?".
And don't tell me about Pele, and the New York Cosmos. Yes, I know that they sold out Giants Stadium once. Big deal. The league they played in, The NASL, yeah, that didn't last too long after that. And the MLS, please. They get ratings below Poker tournaments and even Hockey.

And it's not that I dislike soccer, or Beckham. Far from it. I'm just not convinced it's going to change anything. Soccer is a great game, but with all the other choices out there for sports fans, as well as non sport fans, it's not going to make a big blip in the long run.

There, I said it. For you soccer fans, take your shots. I will take all of them. And if I'm wrong, I WILL be the first to admit it, I promise you that

Looking Ahead; or, Getting a Handle on the Future

As some of you may know, i have been able to crawl my way out of debt recently. Now, granted, i was not in debt up to my eyeballs or anything, but debt is debt, and being able to get rid of it is something I am rather proud of.

Now the plan is to make myself a little nest egg. A fund for when/if I move, or whatever I may need. The plan is I want to have an idea of where I will be, and what I'll be doing by next March 1st.

But, here is my dilemma. I don't know where I will be. Many of the people around here will be moving. Ian is headed to California, Patrick is headed possibly to Dublin, Horvath is talking of San Diego. Oh, and Wardo is either going to be in Florida, or GR.

So, the question becomes, do I stay or do I go? (insert your Clash reference/jokes here)

So, I have something to think about in the coming months. I would like to have it all thought out, planned (at least somewhat), and starting to wheels in motion by March 1st of next year. Any advice out there is of course appreciated, and I will keep all parties concerned posted.

Another Friday; or, How i suppressed my homocidal tendancies

So here we go, a new blog, a new experiment. This one will be updated more frequently than my other blog on MyCrack, so look here for the latest news in the life of me. Now, on to the meat and taters

It's Friday, winding down the Cherry Festival, and believe it or not, I haven't killed anyone. Yet. I'll do my best to keep it this way. Thankfully, no one has tried to run me down either. Maybe I'm not doing something right, because each of the last two years, some sizzlechest has tried to run me over with their giant environment killing SUV as I attempt to do my job during Cherry Fest. Oh well, no new stories on that front.

We are approx. two weeks removed from the Film Fest. And no where near ready. Finally got the schedule of films however, so I will be choosing which i want to see, and making up the schedule for Stage managers soon. Should be an overall exciting and fun week, if not booze filled and stressful.

Lastly, I hope to begin the first recording of the podcast on Monday, with the help of the Hobo Lover. It will be up and ready for consumption as soon as I can get it done, so be prepared for that.

OK, I am off to work. Enjoy your Friday everyone, but enjoy your weekend more. I know I will