Fox "News" : even more unfair and unbalanced

News item: Bill Orally O'Reilly of Fox "News" threatens Barack Obama. The world yawns.

Bill O'Reilly Warns Obama About "Investigative" Campaign Coverage (with appropriate continued kudos to the News Hounds)

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hello, digital TV

News item:

"full-power analog (NTSC) signals cease in the USA on February 17, 2009"

Stuart Smalley would want to know how that affects him and the answer is "maybe not at all". If you have existing cable or satellite service, your analog TV will be fine. If you've bought a TV in the past few years, odds are it already has a digital tuner, so that's okay. The changes coming in February only affect those of us with an analog TV that gets over-the-air [OTA] signals.

The bulk of my TV watching is either via satellite or DVDs. I have an old TV in the bedroom that my dog used to watch, but I dropped the satellite feed to that set so it's now just a dust magnet. I decided to experiment with digital TV on that box, which means I need to buy a CECB - Coupon Eligible Converter Box.

Weeks ago, I ordered the (free) $40 coupon; a few days ago, I noticed the VALID THRU date (eek!) on my TV Converter Box Coupon, so I decided it was Time To Research. Ideally, my needs are simple:

• perform the analog:digital conversion
• have the analog pass-thru feature
• relatively small
• decent remote control
• built-in antenna
• not cost an arm and a leg

Turns out that NONE of these include a built-in antenna, so I'll have to spring for "rabbit ears" -- the cheapest/basic ones with a coax connector are $6.

Next, I quickly found that only 16 of the available converters have the analog pass-through feature -- which allows me to continue watching analog channels until 17/2/9. The first CECBs that shipped lacked the pass-thru. The list of CECBs that I would thus consider are on the dtv2009.gov website, but I'll repeat it here:

1. APEX DT250
2. Artec T3AP Pro
3. CRAIG Electronics International Ltd. CVD506
4. DIGITAL STREAM DSP7700T
5. DIGITAL STREAM DTX9950
6. DIGITAL STREAM DX8700
7. DISH Network DTVPal
8. Insignia NS-DXA1-APT
9. Magnavox TB-100MG9
10. Memorex MVCB1000
11. Philco TB100HH9
12. Philco TB150HH9
13. RCA DTA800B1
14. Winegard RCDT09A
15. Zenith DTT901
16. Zinwell ZAT-970A

It turns out the only one that's readily available locally is the Zenith DTT901, and the various online reviews were generally favorable, so I waddled over to Circuit City and bought one. After the $40 coupon and sales tax, my out-of-pocket cost was $21.44.

According to antennaweb.org I should get 26 stations - some with multiple digital feeds. So, I connected the cables, turned the CECB on and got exactly ONE digital channel (KTVT-11). Argh! In a way, this doesn't surprise me because I frequently drive past their station and see the antenna (even though most of the local stations planted their towers in Cedar Hill, Texas .. the highest elevation in the area).

It turns out the antenna coming from the wall (presumably hooked to the Giant Antenna in the attic) apparently isn't connected, and the rat's nest of wiring means that debugging could/would be a royal PITA. I decide "life's too short; I'll buy rabbit ears!" AntennaWeb.org tells me that 21 channels will be available if I spring for a "small multidirectional antenna", so .. it's off to the B&M store (probably Fry's for the best selection) in the morning.



Alternate resource: Antenna Point.com/

Abbreviations I encountered:

ATSC Advanced Television Systems Committee
CECB Coupon Eligible Converter Box
DTV Digital Television
EPG Electronic Program Guide
NTSC National Television System Committee
OTA Over The Air
PSIP Program and System Information Protocol
TVGOS TV Guide on Screen

useful: FAQ: The $40 Coupon Digital TV Converter Boxes

there's nothing to see here

It's not often I have trouble with my DirecTV satellite service. The most common problem is when there's Weather in the southern sky, interrupting the signal. That results in temporary pixellation of the image, and when the storm passes everything's back to normal.

With that in mind, I'd never seen this Error Message before today .. as far as I know there wasn't any storm activity when the show was being recorded, and the message doesn't look at all like anything from TiVo*, so ...

*although there was an automatic TiVo software upgrade a few nights ago. I know this because there's a new folder: [Recently Deleted] now lets me recover stuff that I recently watched/deleted. The only documentation on this feature is a screen that says "Here you'll find a list of programs that have been deleted and may be recoverable" .. but that's it.

Naturally, this error ("there is no need to call us") came at The Most Critical Part of the show, and disappeared soon thereafter. Murphy's Law strikes again.

Boycott the AP!

In case you didn't hear, the Associated Press will now charge you a minimum of $12.50 if you use more than four of their words in a blog posting, even if you give them full attribution.

That's easy to address: just use any different source. Henceforce, the AP does not exist (AND I removed all AP articles - I always attributed them - from this blog).

Take Me Home, Country Roads

June is an odd time of year to start the TV season, but .. one of the items on my TiVo Season Pass came to life: the [30 Days] season opener. This episode, Morgan Spurlock personally explored the life of a West Virginia coal miner (most of the time he acts as director, but this time he was in front of the camera).

As usual with Morgan's documentaries, I learned many things, but was left with more questions unanswered; this episode could easily have been two hours instead of one.

Several of the scenes had to be subtitled, due to the miner's mumbling. With that in mind, I was amused to see The Onion delivering this audio item: West Virginia Holds Its First Pronunciation Bee.

Also, none of the miners were minorities; perhaps that's why Clinton did so well there .. one of the few places in the US where it's nearly impossible to find someone who isn't white. West Virginians are clearly terrified of half-black people! I suspect the same is true for all other minorities, too. Worth noting that John Denver's epic song about the state doesn't mention anything about "darkies, Jews, gays, Asians, Latinos ...", none of which apparently exist Up In The Hills.

attention TiVo programmers ...

I programmed TiVo to record the Academy Awards on Sunday night ... even told it to grab an extra 15 minutes at the end. As it turned out, that wasn't enough .. it ran at least 16 minutes long (at least it captured the Best Picture award). Since I'd seen several of those nominated in the category (No Country for Old Men; There Will Be Blood; Juno) I can't say I was too disappointed .. although I did like Blood a wee bit better.

Note to future awards show hosts: unless TiVo finds a way to automagically adjust for delays (starting and ending) please find a way to end on time. More and more of us depend on TiVo and you're going to alienate more of us as the trend away from live TV viewing continues.

During (American) football season, I've learned to program [60 Minutes] to record one hour additional, due to the overtime of so many games. Sometimes, even an hour delay isn't sufficient.

A few days ago, my (tube) television started power cycling all by itself. At first, I assumed it was some practical joker standing outside with a remote on the same frequency. Then I realised that this television was bought in January 1999! I've been holding off on a (plasma HDTV) replacement until it finally kicks the bucket. Last night, it performed normally so I will (temporarily) blame an overheated component, and restrict its duty cycle for awhile. If it weren't such a pain to remove the back and blow out the accumulated dust, I'd do that too. As such, this 27-inch CRT (a Sony KV27V65) is simply too heavy for one person to move without risking serious injury, so .. I wait.

Worth noting: there's no sign of a KV27V65 on Sony's website (I was hoping for a PDF of the user's manual). So much for customer service.

random observations

Texas' primary election is March 4 .. about 30 days away.

observation #1: I personally believe that US Americans .. in the coming four weeks .. Mike Huckabee will pass John McCain to win the Texas Republic [sic] primary (he's behind 33-43 at the moment, but that will change). I also predict that Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic primary (she's ahead 48-38 now), mainly due to the large number of both bigots and poorly-educated religious zealots that somehow got voter registration cards. I know the polls are currently showing McCain and Clinton to win, but with the right's current disgust with McCain, I predict Huckleberry will eke out the victory.

observation #2: I used to like Ben Stein .. when he had the "Win Ben Stein's Money" game show on Comedy Central, or his incredibly boring delivery in the ClearEyes commercials. I didn't even mind (so much) that he was one of Nixon's speechwriters. But, over the past few years I've come to see him for what he really is: a delusional right-wing sociopath. Latest example: Is Ben Stein the new face of Creationism? by Roger Moore, in the Orlando Sentinel.

observation #3: Being the Philip Seymour Hoffman fan that I am, I had to see The Savages (2007) .. which is a thoroughly depressing film about the effect of Alzheimer's on a family. Recommended, but don't screen it when you're feeling blue .. it may send you over the edge.

limited attention spans

I completed my screening of Ken Burns' The War (thanks, TiVo). Some people said this 7-part miniseries (17 hours total) was too long, but .. 17 hours is 70% of 24 - which would be a daily dose of The History Channel, so .. I'm not sure what they're complaining about. I suspect Limited Attention Spans [LAS] are involved here.

My only complaint about the series: they didn't use subtitles whenever a Southerner was interviewed. I couldn't understand about half of what they said.

Speaking of LAS, I took the freeway en route to this afternoon's doctor visit, and only had to travel 3 exits. Before I got to the onramp, I flipped on the AM radio to catch the traffic report (in case I had to use the surface streets). Since AM radio is dominated by talk radio (100% of which is CFRP in Texas - probably a state law) I thought I'd be able to listen long enough for one traffic report, since they update every ten minutes. No such luck. I could only stomach the lies and distortion for about 3 minutes before the blatant stupidity made me turn it off. Pity there's no more Fairness Doctrine, which would require the airing of both sides. Good thing I didn't need a traffic report, as it was moving smoothly during my lengthy exposure.

Remember the V-chip? I think there's a market for an S-chip: a Stupid-Detecting Radio. When enough Right Wing BS is detected, the radio would either change to NPR or (if there was no local NPR affiliate) play electronic cricket chirps. Ideally it would be mandatory in all SUVs - and could not be turned off or muted if there was only one occupant (98.4% of the time).

another winning speech by Bill Moyers

I finally got around to watching the (2 hour, including analysis) speech that Bill Moyers gave to the National Conference on Media Reform in Memphis in January 2007. This link gives you access to the transcript as well as the audio (MP3) and video (stream) .. well worth watching, if you have the cycles.

Tonight, I waddled down to the Granada theatre (south of Mockingbird) to watch PetFlix 2007 (the SPCA's 3rd annual) .. one of the workers told me that 500+ people attended, which ain't half bad. Most of the films (related to cats and dogs, natch) were entertaining, although a few missed the mark. I never was much of a film critic, so I'll wait for the inevitable "official review" in one of the newspapers (probably the Dallas Observer) later this week.

Earlier in the day (1pm?) Judy Bob came by with another can for my Award Winning Spam Collection (actually - canned meat collection would be a better descriptor, since only about 10 cans are made by Hormel - the other are .. uh .. Spam Wannabees). I simply must start documenting these .. perhaps they need a Blog Of Their Own? After making the delivery, we moseyed up to Richardson to sample the Burger Street Café, which is an upscale (?) version of the Burger Street drive-thru, which is sorta-kinda like the In-N-Out Burger chain out west (minus both the Perky Worker Bees and - thankfully - the religious overtones).

flipping the dial

I just might give up on the local TV news completely .. every few months I get fed up with one station or another.

This time, I'm fed up with the local CBS affiliate (KTVT-11). Just in the last month or so, they've undergone some peculiar brain surgery and are now offering "breaking news" for every car crash and/or domestic violence situation within 75 miles. I'm guessing some Rocket Genius read that those sensational stories help ratings, and perhaps they do - for those who didn't do well in school (and hence grew up to be Loyal Bushies). Maybe it's Sweeps Week and they'll regain their sanity, but I'm not holding my breath.

I've now done my part by removing CBS-11 from my (TiVo) rotation and am now sampling the competition (ABC, NBC, Fox, and a couple independents). It's surely a lost cause, because none of them provide much in the way of real news - that takes too much work, and must be lost on the Great Huddled Masses.

My least favorite is the way they handle severe weather .. when a storm is within 50 miles of here, they interrupt the entire newscast and "follow the storm" until it's 50 miles out of town. Needed a news fix that night? Sorry .. can't help you.

Recommended: Countdown with Keith Olbermann

I can't believe it myself. After test-driving Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MS-NBC for the past month, I've decided to add it permanently to my TiVo Season Pass™. This is all the more noteworthy because I'd normally ignore this network altogether -- because it is the creation of The Evilest Empire In The World: Microsoft.

Alas, Countdown is definitely Good Stuff, Highly Recommended, Yadda^3.

More info's on wikipedia if you're so inclined.

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For those of you who like to read Both Sides, here are a couple pro-Keith and anti-Keith sites.

Three Days of the William

I've seen William-Bob 3 times in 3 days, which is a new record. First, it was lunch with he and John-Bob at Snookie's (they still have ostrich burgers on the menu, although I went for The Wednesday Special which was a turkey and guacamole wrap). I was surprised to find No Waiting, which was certainly due to the cold (2C) which turns Texas Natives into cowering wimps. I've surmised that if you dangle about 20 snowflakes in front of a native, they'll go running home to mommy; it's amazing. I watched as drivers clutched their steering wheels with a Death Grip, just in case they encountered an icy spot on the mostly dry roads.

At lunch, the three of us Solved World Hunger, after which W.B. thoughtfully pointed me to the Mister Deity website, which provided a few moments of frolic (the guy's trying to stoke an audience for a half-hour TV show -- uh, Good Luck With That, except maybe on FOX which provides Wholesome Family Entertainment™ - like The Family Guy; American Dad; etc.)

My second Brush With Greatness was at Thursday night's Unix User Group meeting, in their temporary space at BNI in Plano. Their meeting room holds about 40 people, cozily. The speaker was a local Red Hat "Guru" (I use the term loosely) who wasn't prepared for this crowd, which is known to eat presenters alive and toss their carcasses in the dumpster amidst the pizza box remnants. Why some people feel they can face a technical audience with a sales-marketing pitch is beyond me. I'm not sure I learned much about the upcoming (15 March 2007) RHEL5 release that I didn't already know, but did score a 3-pack of Red Hat Golf Balls, to be used at some future time.

I first attended the DFW UUG's meeting at SGI (Silicon Graphics) near Preston/LBJ. When that location closed, the group moved to a nice space in the "JC Penney basement" (near Coit/LBJ) and were there for many years until being forced to relocate to Nerd Books in Richardson. The owner there decided he didn't want to stay late, so the group is meeting in Plano, but seeking a new location. User groups traditionally get the short end of the meeting space stick, fer sher.

Finally (well, the week's not over yet) I got an IM from William-Bob alerting me to the presence of 00E (a/k/a Bryan) who is visiting - one of his monthly trips from Maryland. Bryan was a -Bob until a few years ago. Yesterday, he bought a couple T-shirts from Poor Richard's after we fed there (me: veggie omelet Mit Grits). Only a few times in my life have I felt amused enough to buy a restaurant's T-shirt. Thinking about my current closet, the only ones promoting such places are in support of Dairy Queen (the institution).

Now, it's time to mosey over to Hollywood Video (across the street from Blockbuster) and rent a copy of Three Days of the Condor to see if William-Bob bears (bares) any similarities.

Aside: I finally Bit The Bullet and switched to the New! Improved! Blogger interface; if you spot anything peculiar, let me know. So far, I'm seeing minimal differences in the editor; it appears to post much faster, but that could be a Saturday morning aberration. I do like the improved Spell Check interface. And (oh yes) the Labels. I must make good use of The Labels.

demonizing children

As I left a meeting in Fort Worth yesterday, I flipped on the AM radio to check the traffic report. Instead, I heard Rush Limbaugh talking about how the Democrats were using children as pawns. Not having a clue what he was talking about (and since traffic was moving) I tuned him out, and listened to a CD [Six Feet Under] instead.

I would've listened to Air America for The Opposing View, but they've disappeared from the Dallas airwaves (910AM is now a religious station - the 923rd in Dallas). For now, I'd have to subscribe to XM Satellite Radio, or find a way to get an Internet connection in my car.

Later, when I watched the evening news on the TiVo, I saw what he meant : all the children who were present at the Changing Of The Guard as Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as #3 in our government. Hmm .. have they finally found a focal point for their passion? -- versus the Republicans' focal point of Christian religion. Time will tell (naturally) if this "do it for our children's sake" campaign will work.

I suppose you could foam-at-the-mouth like Rush was doing yesterday, crying foul and spewing "oh how could they?" .. which all leads me to believe the Democrats may be onto something here. Demonizing children is a tricky road, indeed.

what was that? did you see something?

I doubt that I've ever been one to predict The Spark, but I couldn't help but think about this as I watched reports of the crude cellphone video of the moments leading up to Saddam Hussein's execution.

I suspect the transcript is easier for us non-Arabic speakers to understand, but it was clear that the bulk of Those In The Room during the hanging were Shiites exacting revenge on The Lead Sunni. No doubt. True, the members of the judiciary who were there tried to calm them down, abd it wasn't like they knew they were "performing" for a worldwide TV audience .. but this strikes me as The Spark that could truly ignite a genocide of the minority Sunni-Iraqis at the hands of the Shiite-Iraqis, who were subjugated by Saddam's Baath Party for decades.

I sure hope I'm wrong, but this makes me wonder if we've witnessed the Real Spark to an Iraqi Civil War that could make the genocides in Rwanda, Uganda & Darfur look like strolls in the park?

the end of an era

Just about now, Jill-Bob is losing her -Bob status, crossing from Texas into The Great Abyss. Part of this is due to global warming, you see, as the Texas summers just got to be Too Much To Bear. You see, she discovered that it's far more pleasant to run in 40F weather, than 80F. So, she packed up her duds and critters and moved north, perhaps a few miles closer to Medicine Hat.

I've known Jill since, uh .. 1993, when I moved here from Los Angeles. It'll be weird knowing that she ain't within (easy) driving distance. Will The Saucer Crowd fade into extinction without her Maternal Guidance? Time will tell.

I suspect Jill's a pioneer of sorts, as past mass-migrations from the cold northern climes to the sunny beaches begin to reverse. Within our lifetime, we may see the extinction of the polar bear from the wild parts of the world, relegated only to zoos where they may be supplied an uninterrupted food supply. I also heard that the European ski resorts are having a tough time, given both a shorter season and less of their product (snow) to go around.

Politically, I have to wonder if the red-blue divide will turn into a north-south pattern, versus the current coastline-interior split. Those who remain in denial about global warming will stay in the south, sprinting from air-conditioned vehicles to air-conditioned buildings, while scarce energy continues to influence an upward price spiral. Eventually they may realize that there's a price to pay for those lofted ceilings and entryways, in the form of the BTUs needed to keep the human occupants comfortable. Eventually, but not yet. For now, the typically red-voting southerner will be happy to buy another Hummer (or F250 clone) to haul around whatever it is they haul around. Naturally, the elevation of those vehicles provides them ample opportunity to (literally) look down upon The Little People.

And the divide widens.

Back to present day reality: I suspect Jill will be rolling into her new digs around midnight* with Marvin, Simone and the others seeking a warm place to whiz. Good luck with The Grand Adventure, Jill-Bob.

* not being a classic Morning Person, it didn't surprise me that her 7am start time came and went.

Today, it's already 71F and aiming for a high of 81F. In mid-December. Go figure. Meanwhile, I programmed my TiVo to record the 8pm (24 Dec) [Spotlight] on LinkTV (DirecTV 375), titled "Global Warming: Bush's Climate of Fear". Sounds like a cheery way to celebrate The Holidays, eh?

status quo no mo

As of late tonight, the news is that the Democrats control both the House and Senate, for the first time in many years. Now they face the challenge of acting responsibly so they don't find themselves with The Short Straw 2 years from now.

So much for my prediction last week, that the Republican Get Out The Vote Machine would flatten the Democrats again. At least my phone will stop ringing with those (anonymous) Out Of Area calls from Republicans wanting me to vote for their incumbents. Rick "Pretty Hair" Perry was re-elected as Texas Governor (39%), but Democrat Chris Bell won the Dallas County vote 40-35%.

Ref: dalcoelections.org

Even the Right Wing Dallas Morning News (they back Republicans about 70% of the time) had this to say today:

"Voters swept aside years of Republican domination in Dallas County on Tuesday, electing the county's first black district attorney, dumping the favored Republican county judge and giving dozens of GOP judgeships to Democrats. The upheaval was probably a surprise for many Republicans, including Dallas County Judge Margaret Keliher, who lost a squeaker to Democrat Jim Foster."

These "4x4" signs were not uncommon during the election.

Bad news: I still don't have a state Representative, since the ethically-challenged Republican incumbent won 52-46% (after running a smear campaign). Well, he'll show his face in another 2 years when he runs again .. until then, we won't see him (he'll be hiding in his gated community, if anyone cares).

Heck, it looks like even the Virginia racists (led by incumbent Senator Macaca (R-VA)) will lose, while Santorum (R-PA) went down in flames Big Time. Tester (D) beat Burns (R) in Montana. It's too bad Tennessee didn't elect Harold Ford, but the Republican challenger's racist TV ad snuffed that chance: this goes to show that the Deep South still won't elect a non-white to the US Senate, 141 years after The War Of Northern Aggression ended (1865).

Jill-Bob was amused to hear that I voted for quite a few Libertarians yesterday. Turns out that there were only Republican-vs-Libertarian candidates in many local races, so I voted against The Rovians at every opportunity (in those races, Libertarians consistently got 20-25%). Their base remains small, though .. in races against a sole Democratic challenger, they got about 3% on average (only a handful polled more than 10% versus a Democrat).

Me, well .. I'm still in favor of abolishing political parties so that voters will have to choose based on the candidate and not the party. And I'd still love to see term limits for the US Senate and Congress. I know .. dream on.

Finally (not to be missed): Politicians Sweep Midterm Elections / Resounding Victories In All States, Counties, Cities, Towns. Oh, how I adore The Onion!

morally bankrupt

This would be amazing if it turned out to be enforceable:
GOP Dirty Trick Campaign May Finally Backrupt NRCC - Really!
... but the odds of the politicians finding a loophole to exempt them from the National Do Not Call list are very, very high. Still, this particular Republican Dirty Trick (pretend to represent the Democrats, make a very long phone call, with "paid for by the Republicans" at the VERY end) reeks.

Here's another article about it:
Republican Robocall Pretexting Campaign (thanks, /.!)

My state representative (another Republican - surprise, surprise) is running a similar dirty campaign; although his opponent has taken the high road, he's accusing her of saying all sorts of nasty (must be true!) things about him and his family. Although I've heard nothing from her (I guess I'm not on The A List), she's probably telling the truth: that the only time the incumbent's even able to Fog A Mirror is when an election rolls around, or when one of his contributors is about to make a "campaign contribution" (wink-wink-nudge-nudge). The poor dears (in their gated community, on a lake, in a $1.4M home) are probably unable to even face their servants. Oh, the horror.

Unrelated, but worth watching: Fareed Zacharia interviewed Andrew Sullivan on his Foreign Exchange program. Sullivan (there to promote a new book) is one of the few conservatives who really understands why so many of us loathe the current state of the Republican party. If you can find a few minutes, give this interview a look before it's purged (it won't be online until tomorrow).

Texas Governor = US President

Tonight's the night for the Top Secret Debate amongst the candidates for Texas Governor. What makes this absurd (typical Texas) is how the challengers are complaining that incumbent Rick Perry planned this solo debate so as to minimize the audience. After all, it's a Friday night, and that means that 94.3% of the population will be attending the local high school football game, and not glued to the television.

If you dig long enough on the Dallas Managed News website, you'll find:

TEXAS VOTE 2006: THE GOVERNOR'S DEBATE Gubernatorial debate with Gov. Rick Perry and candidates Chris Bell, Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn. The media panel will consist of Wayne Slater (The Dallas Morning News), John McCaa (WFAA-TV), Sara Lucero (KENS-TV/San Antonio) and Christine Haas (KVUE-TV/Austin). KHOU-TV's (Houston) Greg Hurst moderates. Live and commercial-free from Dallas. It will also be available for viewing at DallasNews.com. (7 p.m. Ch. 8.)

Amusingly enough, I found NO sign of this on the local TV station's website: WFAA.com. Welcome to the state of Apathy. America: we're choosing Your Next President down here, so .. pay attention.

Who Wants Fairness?

What's wrong with Fairness? Isn't that something we aspire to? Well, turns out the answer - in Rove-Cheney's America - is a resounding NO.

I was mired in traffic a few days ago and flipped on the AM band. While waiting for a traffic report, I heard a waif whining that "we just HAVE to win in November, or the Democrats will bring back The Fairness Doctrine, and that will mean The End of Talk Radio". Naturally, the host (one of the many right wing sociopaths) agreed.

Turns out several Democrats (including Louise Slaughter) have suggested reinstatement of The Fairness Doctrine (quashed in 1987 - during Reagan's presidency) -- which would force radio stations to give as much time to opponents as to Coulter/Limbaugh/their ilk. Also, since Everybody Knows™ that liberal talk radio always loses money, it would be harder for conservative talk radio to be financially viable.

Completely unrelated (ha!): today is the last day of Liberal Talk Radio in Dallas. The local Air America station (KXEB-AM) is turning into a Christian Republican station tomorrow.

I recently read Don't Think of an Elephant and thus find it humorous that The Left is finally starting to wake up and use the Right Wing's DoubleSpeak tactics. Although he's not the one who coined the term - merely popularized it (newspeak, oldspeak, doublethink) - it makes me want to re-read George Orwell's [1984].

Deep Thought: If only Orwell'd named his book [2004], he'd have hit it on the nose. Then he'd have to change his name to Nostradamus, I reckon.

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Everybody Knows is a trademark of the state-run media (Fox "News"); Rush Limbaugh Productions; and the Christian Fascist Republican Party.

Richardson ambience

It's not often that I find a hole-in-the-wall burger place. Part of the reason is that it's still about location-location-location. Most small burger places just couldn't compete with the chains, and have all but disappeared from the landscape. Or, at least it seems that way. Maybe there are more of these out there, but they're just so .. invisible.

A few Sundays ago I was in Richardson searching for a Japanese snack store that LayWah-Bob told me about (Aji Ichiban is at 201 S Greenville). After taking a wrong turn, I somehow found myself staring at:

Del's Charcoal Burgers
110 S McKinney Street, Richardson

This is one of those places you're unlikely to find unless you're looking for it. It's at the corner of Polk & McKinney - but this is a 3-block long McKinney Street - not in the same league as McKinney Avenue in downtown Dallas. Del's is closed on Sunday, but I promised myself I'd mosey back sometime soon. Today was the day; William-Bob and I met there to discuss The Future of Western Civilization, and feed our faces.

Unrelated: Del's Lemonade, somewhere in Rhode Island


Del's Charcoal Burgers, Richardson

Del's seats about 30 people, orders are placed/received from the counter, yet there is a TV in the corner (not tuned to FOX "News" - thankyouverymuch). The menu's pretty simple, and I have to wonder how they can support 3 employees, but .. it's been there many years so they're doing something right. I was mesmorized by the faux brick (atop concrete blocks) with life-size images of John Wayne, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. The Christmas lights (luminarias?) add additional ambience, and it's obvious many of the clientele are regulars. Somehow, I was hoping Norm would drop in. Also noteworthy: "root beer refills - 50 cents"; green hot sauce at the table; lunch-only hours. Richardson is a dry city, with many restaurants avoiding it.

I wonder when Del's will add WiFi and valet parking?