jcm's blog

Photo: Living room (part 2).

So I bought a TV. I managed to live for almost 4 months without one, but I finally caved and bought one last weekend. On Friday, I committed the heinous crime of getting Comcastic(!) digital Cable with a DVR (PVR, whatever you want to call it today…). Anyway, I admit that I’ve watched way too much TV already but am now totally sold on the DVR/PVR/MythTV concept since I’m able to join the modern age and just “tivo” all the shows I care about. I already re-watched that Bill O’Reilly segment on Colbert just a few too many times…and discovered how to keep such recordings around for the next time I feel guilt at indirectly paying News Corp.

Next step is to hook this up to a PVR of my own or figure out a way to pull the raw feeds off this box without modifying it. Comcast’s “on demand” streaming TV (doubt it’s actually IPTV, but it’s a similar multicast-like on demand streaming concept, I’ll bet) is a nice touch. I can get hundreds of free movies and control playback just like with pre-recorded shows.

Jon.

I picked up a copy of Ben Franklin’s autobiography (that he never finished) and am enjoying the additional Poor Richard/Silence Dogood material that was deemed a value-add in this compendium. The coolest thing about Franklin (other than the fact that he was perhaps the first true International Statesman) is that (at his request) his Epitaph read simply “Ben Franklin, Printer”. Of all the things he could have listed, he kept it simple.

Jon.

December 16th was the 233rd anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. I was down in the harbor with a friend, drinking tea and reflecting upon what has happened since. Nobody else seemed too bothered – they were busily shopping in the market – and to be honest, I wouldn’t expect many people to have even known of the date, since it’s somewhat slipped into obscurity as just another part of the American Revolution.

I love US history. I’ve really gotten a thing for it. I love the little nuances – and the irony. For example, having Andrew Jackson’s face on the $20 bill. A man who hated banks and who abolished the Second Bank of the United States. Never ever let it be said that the Fed doesn’t have a sense of humor, albeit a somewhat subtle they-probably-didn’t-even-realize-the-irony kind of humor that only history types find even the tiniest bit funny

Not only does Boston rock, but it all started right here.

Jon.

My flight got in last night around 20:00. I was home by 21:00, had a shower and went out shopping. I bought the journals of Lewis and Clark as an aid to jetlag avoidance, though I’ve not really looked at them yet. Wound up crashing out twice – once until 5am and then again this afternoon. I’m still not yet back on US time but at least I made it back in one piece – I was a little concerned after my Motorola Razr decided to power back on in order to sound an alarm, even after being turned off and had to explain to the flight attendant that the sound from the overhead bin was just super extra crappy cellphone software and nothing more sinister. Yanked the battery out.

I ended up spending much of my flight talking with the woman next to me, who is an American married to a British guy (they both write for horseracing magazines and occasional TV/books, from what I gathered). She agreed with me about many of the annoyances I’ve observed with the UK – the cost of living, crappy customer service, resistance to change, willingness to put up with crap, inability to see privacy erosion, that sort of thing. It was interesting to get an American perspective on that. Reminds me, I need to get Liberty onto BAA over the stores in Heathrow requesting your flight details when making purchases. I’d rather pay sales tax and not give out personal information but there’s no such option, and the Boots manager admitted that they sell this data to the airlines…sigh. A classic example right there.

Overall, I enjoyed my trip back to see some friends and family, but I’m glad to be back in the United States.

Jon.

Yet another reason why Turkey must not be allowed to join the EU: prosecuting writers for translating a Chomsky book. Many European countries have lax enough laws on freedom of expression as it is, but Turkey repeatedly takes the biscuit. The EU should get over itself and realize that Turkey is not ready, not now at any rate. A European constitution really would aid things going forward – member states need to be fully aware of their obligation to live in a free and democratic international society.

Jon.