Hey Hungry Howie's, at least pick the right props for your bad puns.

Hungry Howie's makes fun of ham radio 
with a CB.

A recent commercial for Hungry Howie's pizza includes a reference to ham radio.

1. That's not a ham radio, it's a CB, probably a Cobra 29 LTD Classic, but of course, there's no "CB" topping for pizza, so Howie had to stretch the pun.
2. So why not show a real ham radio?
3. The commercial is mildly insulting, since ham radio has very active (if small) community, and isn't in the same class as rotary phones and fax machines.

BTW, if you're interested, Morse Code was still a requirement for a FCC Technician license up until 1991, and there are some operators today who use a telegraph key on special bands reserved for that use (see "dash dash pizza" reference in the video).

73, Howie

Or should I say, "10-10, good buddy."

--kd8osb

[2014-12-31]

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Wildebeests and zebras >

[2015-01-03]

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Like a wildebeest amongst zebras (we all have guilty pleasures).

Wildebeest and zebras in Serengeti, Tanzania (Serengeti National Park), by Marc Veraart / flickr.com. Zebras are a sort of early warning system for wildebeests, like canaries in a coal mine. When a threat nears, the zebra sees it first.

When you disparage nonsense that most others enjoy, you become the worst sort of judgmental ass who doesn't know how to let others have harmless fun.

Arguing is pointless, since countering a defense of unredeemable entertainment only incurs scorn (like a wildebeest amongst zebras giving a Bronx cheer to a lion).

I'm a wildebeest myself sometimes, but have no zebras to tip me off. My passions however sometimes do invite a "nerd alert" announcement.

We all have guilty pleasures and don't like apologizing for them.

[2014-12-29]

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The closing "We all have guilty pleasures" is an attempt at perspicuity and fairness, which is a conscious effort for me.

How'm I doin'?

[2014-12-31]

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Famous schizophrenics and ancient astronauts.

Russell Crowe as John Nash in 'A Beautiful Mind'

I'm sometimes heard to talk to myself, maybe because I'm among a small few usually interested in what I have to say.

[2014-12-29]

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Why is it that folks who like to hear themselves talk are also the poorest listeners?

[2014-12-08]

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Linda Sapadin, PhD, says talking to yourself is a sign of being sane.[1]

Schizophrenia.com says it's one of the behaviors associated with schozophrenia.[2]

Famous schizophrenics include Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd) and Jack Kerouac (author of On the Road, and of whom it was say by Truman Capote, "That's not writing that's typing"). And you may recall A Beautiful Mind (2001), starring  Russell Crowe as Princeton University professor and Nobel laureate John Nash.

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Don't read too much into this. I'm perfectly sane (as any of us), but I've been interested in altered states and the paranormal since I was a child, a product of a generation fixated by turning on, tuning out, and ancient astronauts.

[2014-12-29]

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[1]

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/07/talking-to-yourself-a-sign-of-sanity/

[2]

http://www.schizophrenia.com/

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I did get a new phone, but lost 16Gb of movies and pictures.

Mimi, Dee Dee, Mommy at Christmas Eve service, Trinity Lutheran, Ada, MI

This is the cutest Christmas picture I didn't lose. The family further down the pew are the Albaitis. Their daughter Lydia is Dee Dee's age and they are very good friends. They are members at Trinity and that's how we came to occasionally visit there.

A closing thought on the last day of Advent [2014-12-24]...

If you don't like Christmas, don't celebrate it, but don't try to change it, it's not yours to change.

[2014-12-24]

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Update: Our IT department was able to resurrect my iPhone 4 (thank you, Bob!) and I was able to get my pictures off of it. I was due for an update, said Bob, so am grateful for the new phone as well.

[2014-12-31]

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Why police body cameras are a bad idea.

Howard Dean, in an enthusiastic moment, rallying supporters in his bid for the White House.

Why are police body cameras a bad idea?

1. Technology doesn't always tell the truth any better than people. Remember the "Dean scream"?
2. Cameras lead us to think that we should be able to see the future as easily as we capture the past.
3. You and I aren't ready to know how brutal police work can be, or separate our emotion from our reason after seeing a human being wrestled or pummeled or shot (black, blue, or otherwise).
4. It dilutes the trust we must have in those that govern and protect. Please note: I DON'T mean those people are trustworthy. I mean only that some dependence on authority, even a corrupt one, is necessary for civil order.

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Former presidential candidate Howard Dean pretty much lost his place in the running when he became a little too exuberant with a microphone in his hand. Those that were there said they didn't hear anything unusual, but the microphone told a different story on TV and he became the fodder for jokes and a national laughing stock.

(And I liked him a lot, I think he'd have made a fine president.)

The Dean Scream (just the scream):

The Dean Scream in Context:

Oh, and Happy New Year :-)

[2014-12-29]

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