The Computer Carpenter: April 2007

I used to be a cheerleader for Sirius Radio. As far as I was concerned, they did everything right. They had GREAT programming, variety, and interesting DJ's. They pulled from more satellites than XM - and generally seemed like they were the underdogs trying to win the battle for superiority in the market.

Then they started talking about bringing on Howard Stern. Now, I despise the guy's radio/tv schtick. It's the worst of what's out there - BUT I gave Sirius the benefit of the doubt. In a competitive market - it was a good move. And I figured, what benefitted Sirius, benefitted me. I don't have to listen to the guy - but if it keeps Sirius in money then MY favorite stations and programming will be around longer too.

Turns out I was wrong...

Howard Stern comes on.. so does Martha Stewarts.. and one of my favorite channels that played the old Swing music got cut. They merged it with the Standards channel. Ouch... ok that hurt, but I could handle it... I didn't listen that MUCH to the Swings channel, so.. sure ok. Then I noticed that Howard Stern didn't just get a channel when he was signed.. he got... TWO channels.

WHAT? Wait... let me do the math on this one. Musical programming that spanned DECADES and featured THOUSANDS of songs and artists (from the past AND today) gets cut from TWO channels to ONE.. but ONE GUY gets TWO? No wonder I hate math...

Wait, it gets worse...

Months pass, and I let it go. I still had my channel and enjoyed the programming. Then they start advertising that MY channel is being changed from "Standard Time" to ... "Siriusly Sinatra". Um... ok. I figure, it's just marketing and branding. A newbie to Sirius might not know at a glance what "Standard Time" means... but "Siriusly Sinatra" will be self explanatory. I need to go to Optimists Annonymous.

I wrote and asked about it - they assured me I would not be disappointed and I would still be able to enjoy all the same music I did before. Well... yes and no. Now that the change was made they are playing all the same songs I loved.. yes.. but only as much as they can between all the Sinatra songs. Sometimes, it's back to back.. other times it's every third song!

I called to complain about it and told them it was more Sinatra than even his MOM would want to listen to. It fell of deaf ears (probably from listening to 24/7 Sinatra). She said, "maybe they will consider adding another station in a year or so.. if the deal with the XM / Sirius Merge happens, I might be able to get more channels for the music I like".

That got me thinking, so I looked into XM radio a little more... They had SEVERAL channels that play the music I like!! I signed up for the free trial - and LOVED IT! I'm hearing old songs I haven't heard in YEARS - the programming is MUCH better than I got on Sirius! Thank you Sirius for having me switch companies. And it's cheaper!! I USED to hope the merger goes through... now I don't. I called to cancel my Sirius account a few minutes ago... they didn't ask why or seem to care.

My XM Radio is now installed and working great! Even less static from the FM transmitter than the Sirius unit - actually there is NONE. Oh, and the web-based radio doesn't crash all the time like the Sirius player does (very important at work).

Viva la XM Radio.

Flipping the channels this morning I see Sheryl Crow and Laurie David on nearly every news station pitching their Global Warming concerts. They sing songs about the environment, tell everyone THEY can make a difference in the GLOBAL problem and for an encore, pass out florescent replacement lightbulbs.

Anyway, if the weakness of their views weren't already appearant - they started claiming (in very well rehearsed answers) that this issue is NOT in the LEAST BIT political, and the time for debate is over. I love how the tolerant left-wingers are tolerate with only their own viewpoints and arguments.. no debating is allowed. If you dare debate them, your intelligence, moralitity, etc are challenged.

Then without citing sources, they claimed the American people are convinced that Man-Made Global Warming is happening, and that we MUST act NOW. They received nothing but softball questions (even on Fox News), and all the reporters stroked their egos, and told Sheryl Crow she was a talented, brilliant, and gutsy musician.

Reading just a couple of her blogs is comical.

"I am always amazed at how savvy young people are today. So much more than we were when we were in college. They are well-informed and they ask the right questions."

It's amazing how intelligent young people seem whey they agree with you, huh? Isn't it amazing to find students on a liberal college campus who latch onto liberal issues? They do get SOME resistance, however.

"We were interviewed live, via earpiece, by a militant sceptic who’s sole objective seemed to be to disprove us and the theory of global warming at every turn.
"Now, I’m not exactly sure what planet this guy is living on (or what planet he thinks he’s living on, perhaps one that is not suffering the extreme weather patterns that planet earth is experiencing) but to argue that global warming does not exist and that the IPCC reports are a political maneuver, is irresponsible and overtly unethical…"
[NOTE: Did you catch that? Global Warming isn't just about WARMING anymore... It also the reason we're getting extreme COLD, too! It's always smart to cover all your bases when you don't know what you are talking about.]

Just a guess here, but perhaps he lives on a planet where Science FACT is more important than Science FAD. A planet where science is done by "scientists" instead of Hollywood elite and Political Pundants - people whose daily lifestyles do more to cause 'global warming' than most small towns in America. They hypocrasy is well-documented and educational.

Perhaps he lives in a world where man-kind is humble enough to know that the SUN has more to do with planet temperatures than SUVS - especially since the world has historically HIGHER temperatures decades, centuries before the internal combustion engine was even created.

Now, I read in the Washington Post she want's everyone to limit their use of toilet paper to ONE SQUARE per sitting... riiiiiiiight. Not only will not NOT 'save the planet' it will also have the effect of making sure that no one will want to shake her hand again. :) Keep in mind, this is also the entertainer whose backstage wish list includes 3 tractor trailers, 4 buses, and 6 cars...

Anyway, on the anniversary of Earth Day, here is a repost of the ever-growing list of articles debunking the whole Man-Made Global Warming Myth. Enjoy!