Archive for April, 2008

The saga of the rabbit ears

Friday, April 11th, 2008

It’s been about a month since I bought my big-screen TV. Since then, I’ve used it only to watch DVDs or videos over the Internet via my computer… The biggest win isLost online in HD!

I really wanted to get a satellite dish, but there’s this small problem: a big tree between my balcony and the satellite. I have a political aversion to getting cable TV through Comcast (the local monopoly) because they’re twice as expensive as satellite, and plus they’re evil. And more evil. And I could go on, but you get the point.

So tonight after work, I picked up a pair of rabbit ears so that I could at least pick up some TV. In many ways, I almost needed not have bothered. Why?

Channels in Spanish that I don’t understand: 3

Channels in Chinese or other asian language that I don’t understand: 3

Channels where the reception is so bad they’re not worth watching: 6

Versions of PBS: 3 (including one in Spanish)

Other: 3

Of the three “Other” channels, one was showing Cops, one was showing Wrestling, and one was showing something that I couldn’t even figure out. None of them had great reception, but at least they were watchable… more or less.

I also find it interesting that none of the traditional “networks” seem to be broadcasting in HD. Almost every Spanish or Chinese channel had an HD version, and all the PBS channels were in HD.

Another University Dream…

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008

I dreamt that I was hanging around with some friends from university right before a final exam. When the doors opened, we all went in and looked for our seats. They all found theirs, but I couldn’t find a seat with my name on it. I then remembered that I hadn’t actually registered in this course; I had registered in another course but never gone to it. So I found the proper room and the chair with my name, and sat down to start reading the exam questions.

There were only three questions: The first dealt with commenting on a paper that I’d never heard of – Perhaps if I’d gone to class, I would have read the paper.

Seeing my confusion, the instructor came over and asked “Do you have a copy of that paper?” When I replied that I didn’t, he told me there were a few extras at the front of the room. So I got out of my seat, and quietly walked to the front of the room. Everybody put their pens down to watch me.

On the table at the front of the room were copies of the paper and a few “mobiles” – not telephones, but those things that you hang over a baby’s crib that have things hanging from sticks. I picked up a copy of the paper and thought “this paper is over 200 pages long; I’ll never have time to read it before the exam is over.” I then started looking at the mobiles, trying to decide whether the one with elephants or the one with airplanes would give me a better chance of passing the exam.

And then I woke up.