State of California - a new stupid sign sighting

I had to get the hell out of Arizona for a weekend! 40+ degree (c) temperatures day and night are nearly as bad as winter in the Midwest. Well, nearly. Not enough to make me want to move back :)

San Diego is an easy six-hour drive from Phoenix. I lucked out - gassed up for $3.97 a gallon at Costco in Phoenix and then found the same price in Yuma. Hopefully I won't have to pay the going rate for gas in California - I saw $4.37 at a couple of stations along I-8.

Getting gas in California is a unique experience for those who've never encountered the emission-control nozzles on the gas pumps. It's like there's a huge condom over the gas nozzle. There is also prominent signage everywhere:

"The State of California has determined that (insert name of obvious product here) causes cancer." It's not the exact wording but you see it in places you don't expect it. Duh. I thought gasoline was healthy. Thanks, California!

I stopped at a rest area where I've never pulled off before and ran across a new sign. It had a toll free number where you could reach the California Highway Patrol and it exhorted readers to "Report Vehicle Theft!"

What *fucktard* would NOT report their car being stolen?!

Mormon Missionaries getting owned, courtesy of YouTube

America's airlines plead with consumers to write Congress re: fuel prices

Today the lobbyists for US-based airlines have issued a B.S. plea that they expect consumers to forward to the US Congress in order to possibly have an effect on their fuel prices.

Um, get #$!@!! real?!

The airlines have been blaming the federal government whenever convenient for delays and whatever customer service abomination their employees have been able to dream up.

In response to all of the CEO's that signed the letter:
Robert Forinaro - AirTran Airlines
Bill Ayer - Alaska Airlines
Gerard Arpey - American Airlines
Lawrence Kellner - Continental Airlines
Richard Anderson - Delta Airlines
Mark Dunkerley - Hawaiian Airlines
Dave Berger - JetBlue Airlines
Timothy Hoeksema - Midwest Airlines
Douglas Steenland - Northwest Airlines (ESPECIALLY to Northworst Airlines!!)
Gary Kelly - Southwest Airlines (you maybe don't deserve it but if you put your name on the same letter as these assholes you've got it coming)
Glenn Tilton - United Airlines
Douglas Parker - US Airways

SCREW all y'all. I'm not writing JACK on your behalf to anyone. YOUR executive offices have made the decision to reduce customer service and blame-it-on-anyone-else. You reap what you sow. Build bridges with your customers instead of extorting and screwing them - why the #$!!! should we lobby for free on your behalf?!

Buh-bye now.
-Tim

A uniquely american way to deal with high gas prices - prayer

Only in the USA... prayer groups have descended upon Washington DC area Shell stations in hopes of divine intervention lowering gas prices.

If it actually works, the phenomenon will be seen next in Brazil with the holy rollers going from church to the nearest Petrobras station. Then it will head south to Uruguay with the Pare de Sufrir folks handing out their "blessed soap" that washes away sins while praying over the pumps at ANCAP.

Ultra-conservative ex-senator Jesse Helms dead at 86: GOOD RIDDANCE!

From the New York times article, "He fought bitterly against Federal aid for AIDS research and treatment, saying the disease resulted from “unnatural” and “disgusting” homosexual behavior."

He died early this Friday, July 4th 2008. Good riddance.

Observation: four-buck per gallon gas lowers traffic

I don't foresee big cities in the USA having to contend with horse-drawn vehicles - but in rural areas I bet it's already happening.

Driving at night has become decidedly easier. There are fewer cars on the road. Afternoon traffic is not as bad. There are fewer cars on the road.

People bitch about the high price, in general. My only complaint is that less of the USA's high price for gas goes for taxes - it's profit for corporations.

Long term this could be a good thing for the USA. Public transit has long been neglected and even looked-down-upon. Perhaps it will blossom into something truly useful as it has in other countries.

All this to run an alarm clock

Finally I have a working alarm clock. Or rather, an imported working alarm clock. When I bought it, I'd no idea how difficult it would be to make it function outside its element.

All this to have a clock displaying 24-hour time. I bought it on a previous trip overseas this year, thinking... naaaaaaaaaahhhhhh, it can't possibly rely on the AC power to keep time.

I won't bore you with the details other than to say that plugged near-directly into American current, it runs fast.

It took a $65 device intended for use in cars overseas to provide it with suitable AC power that allows it to finally keep time. Eventually I will un-mate it from the grid here with a solar panel, deep cycle battery and charge controller but that's a future plan. (Yeah, I'm single, no one around to say no...)

Switching over to digital, well, officially

In reality I've had an ATSC (the US/Mexico/Canada digital broadcast standard) box for a couple of years. Radio Shack had a box on clearance back in October 2005 for about fifty bucks - original price had been like $300. The Rat Shack box has things that the "subsidized" boxes don't - indeed, can't! HDMI output, component video, etc.

The US government is subsidizing the switch to the tune of $80 per household - $40.00 per converter box. The $40 subsidy is not a "coupon" but a "debit card" type of form factor. It has an embossed number, expiration date, hologram for authentication and magnetic stripe on the back.

The converter boxes are pretty basic. The goal here was not for Uncle Scam to subsidize HD setups, just keep basic televisions working. But given that they will send the coupons to any household - I ordered mine a few months ago. I don't necessarily need them. With full subscriptions to DirecTV with all the HD stuff and a subscription to Sky Mexico... It's not like I need an over-the-air converter. I pay taxes so I'm not ashamed to ask for my share of the handout.

The installation experience was very straightforward. If you can connect a VCR to a TV, you can install one of these. It goes through an auto-scan procedure when you first turn it on and choose the default option: "Easy setup."

All that the converter does is output the digital broadcast signal as analog. That's it. Some of the boxes have video/audio outputs but they are still standard definition. Equipment that is specifically excluded has any kind of HDMI or digital audio port on it. The federal government is not going to subsidize your home theater, the focus of the program is to hook up people who don't/can't pay for cable or satellite.

I was a last-minute shopper. Best Buy was the first place that I looked. Their internal "Insignia" brand is really not so bad. They were completely out of stock. Makes sense - July 1st, 2008 would have been the last day any early-coupon-requester could have redeemed theirs.

Target was nearby, then Circuit city, then Wal-Mart. Fortunately Target had two choices of box. One box had no video-audio outputs, it just took in the digital signal and spat out analog on US channel 3 or 4. The other box had the individual video/audio outputs plus the ability to output on US channel 3 or 4. I bought the more expensive boxes, splashing out an extra $20 each on them. Since the dog was in the car waiting for me - and it was still about 100F degrees even though it was dark... I didn't bother looking at CC or Wal-Mart. Had Wal-Mart been my only option - it's quite possible my coupons would have gone unused.

So the boxes were bought at Target. Expect a bit of a hassle at the checkout counter. The cashier had to call one supervisor, then another. That supervisor did something to suspend the transaction and store it in Target's computer system, then had me go over to the service desk to complete the transaction. Each of the $40 cards was then processed as a credit card transaction. A signature was required for the first, but then none for the second. Of course, it's a coupon - so plan on paying sales tax on your federally-subsidized haul.

I haven't had a chance to figure out whether the Rat Shack box is better... the guide works faster on the new "subsidized" one but the picture is a little grainy.

Between February 17th and February 28th 2009, I'll probably try to sell these converter boxes. $35 will be the price, maybe $40. I live in a kind of ghetto apartment complex where people will likely not have noticed ads about the transition.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of publicity happens starting around 1st February 2009 because all of these recently bought boxes and TV's connected to antennas will have to be re-scanned as the actual broadcast channels change.

Religious broadcasters seem to be ca$hing in more than most. The local jesus-wheezing channel on analog is just 1 video/audio combo on analog - but on digital it's five. So yes, the manual that comes with the converter says you'll get more channels - but some of them are just CRAP.