I TOOK  ON RADIOSHACK CORP., AND WON.

Hi, Guys, yes, it's true. Actually RadioShack Corporation of Ft. Worth, Texas, took me on, and lost. Let me explain.

About 14 years ago, I joined a message board system called "RadioShackSucks dot com." At the time. RadioShack was going after the owner and operator of the "sucks" website. I had worked for RadioShack, knew what was going on in the company and loved the idea of running a sucks website. 

I got the keys to the business; and let the former owner go about his business without the company going after him. I became the target. One of the things that I learned was that not everyone was in love with the United States. Not every country subscribed to United States' laws or its legal system. They thought that the United States was the bully of the sandbox. 

I thought that RadioShack Corporation was the bully of my sandbox. 

What's funny was that I was still running the original website, based in the U S.  I had made arraignments with an off-shore web hosting and domain registration facilities that was outside of U S laws. I received a "cease and desist" letter from an attorney representing the company. I was expecting something like that since taking over the sucks site. I phoned the attorney, and told him to look at the website. He did, and noticed something different about the site. 

It had a new banner, new artwork; but, everything else from the old site was moved to the new site. "Try to shut me down," I said. The attorney, going through Whois, discovered that the website couldn't be touched. In the meantime, I had registered a dot net and dot org domains.

But, there was an accident, and couldn't get the dot com domain re-registered in time, and the system went down. RadioShack took over the dot com domain and made it into a redirect to RadioShack's main site. Meanwhile, a couple of users of the sucks site registered a dot biz domain; and, thinking they were clever, registered the site in the United Kingdom. Oh Oh; bad move. The U K is in bed with the U S.  It took quite a while; but the company had the dot biz site shut down.

But, here I am, still holding the dot net and dot org domains. Since the dot biz site was doing OK from where I was sitting, I kept my two domains silent and still registered with my off-shore "friends," untouchable from U S laws. The story doesn't end there. 

A few years ago, I received some very legal looking paperwork. It appears that RadioShack Corporation wanted my dot net and dot org domains. They weren't going to buy them, they wanted me to give them the domains.  In a letter sent to the attorneys, I said that RadioShack was in business to make money; I would like to make money from something that RadioShack wanted. I mentioned a number which (I knew) the company rejected. Hey, at least we were talking. 

Basically I told the company and the lawyers to go (bleep) themselves. If they didn't like it, I had an email ready to go with close to 1,000 links to legal websites containing cases of big corporation going after the "little" guy, and losing; just like Davids versus Goliaths and watching the big guys fall. 

So, what did I win? Absolutely nothing. I held on to my domains until RadioShack itself failed. 

The moral to the story is: if you're attacked by a bully, find their soft spot and let fly. Big corporations are vulnerable. The hacking group Anonymous knows this. Do your research and find the big guy's soft spot. That's what I did, and came out of a fight untouched. 

I'm making changes to my blog.

Friday morning bowling report (on Tuesday morning). A few league members came up to me, and thanked me. "For what?" I asked. Their reply: "For being instrumental in getting oil back on the lanes." For four weeks previously, the lanes sucked because of a lack of oil. I spoke with the head mechanic (who is a friend) and asked him about lane machine problems. He mentioned that it was due to an internal problem with a part that transfers oil from the wicks to the brush. After the fourth week of shitty lane conditions, I really complained. I spoke with the HM, the ass't manager, desk person and anyone who would listen. The HM told me that, if the complaint came from anyone else, he would have ignored it; however, the complaint came from me, and he listened. I didn't scream, use foul language or be an asshole about the problem; I showed league recap sheets. Scores all over the house were extremely low; and not where they should have been. Even the low average bowlers were having problems. I mentioned that, if conditions didn't improve, the league was threatening to bowl somewhere else. This brings up the question where, if the company wants to make cut-backs in expenses, how much would it cost the company's bottom line? Losing a 22 team league in a 40 lane house would cost the company more than an oil cut-back savings. We were just one league that was threatening to quit the center; there were other leagues ready to walk too. This was in one house of 260 others in the chain. If the company lost two leagues in each house, the savings would have been shadowed by the loss in revenue. Not only would the loss be evident in bowling; but, it would be evident in the loss of revenue in the food and drink departments as well. I was thanked for seeing the "big picture." Now, you're wondering, how did I do? I shot a respectable 620, which is about my usual average. I have to repeat that I'm not a guru; I'm someone that understands the various business aspects. In my 73 years, I have seen businesses come and go. I understand how a business runs successfully and what makes them fail. If your customer service is top notch; but, your product sucks, it will take a little longer to lose the business. There has to be a balance. Top notch customer service coupled with an excellent product is a winner in every book. And that's today's lesson.

RadioShack Sucks

I thought that this was interesting, since I own two RadioShack Sucks domains. RadioShack is going to close 1100 stores, due to poor performance. Their Wall Street stock dropped, which makes for a gloomy outlook. They've a new CEO and a new merchandiser; but, the problem with RadioShack is that they have lost their core products. They don't sell radios, nor stereo stuff, nor home theater. What's left are cellphones. Well, in a way, cellphones are two-way radios. But, a cell phone can't hear shortwave radio stations, unless you buy and install a specialized app. I guess that I was right all along - RadioShack really sucks.

Off the top of my noggin.

RadioShack is planning to close 450 to 550 of its 4,412 stores nationwide. This doesn't surprise me. RadioShack has a one-track mind - cell phones. It's time to diversify or get back to the basics. There are too many cell phone stores across the country. On my block, there are 5 cell phone stores, plus a RadioShack. And, there's another RadioShack a mile down the street.

One of the things that I did when shopping for a new cell phone. I went to RadioShack, got a great demo, then bought the phone on-line. I got a better deal from the Internet retailer. First, there was sales tax. Had I purchased the phone locally, I would have had to pay state, county and local sales taxes; which is almost 10%. Buying from the Internet retailer, I saved over $20 in taxes. I paid for the phone, plus a $5 shipping charge.

I will have to complement RadioShack for the salesguy's training. He showed me all of the features of the phone and how they worked. But, when he tried to close the sale, I told him that I was going to buy the phone on-line. He asked why. I said, "Sales taxes." He said, "But you can have the phone today." I said that I wasn't in any hurry, because my original phone still worked.

So, why is RadioShack closing its stores?

Earlier this month, RadioShack’s long-term prospects as a viable company took another hit when its partnership with Target ended after neither side could come up with a mutually beneficial deal. The company had operated mobile kiosks at 1,500 Target locations across the country. Shares of the consumer electronics company are down by roughly 68% over the past year. The company recorded an operating loss of nearly $60 million in the third quarter of 2012. Same-store sales in the quarter dropped by 1.6% year-over-year. Revenue in the quarter fell by 3.8% year-over-year. Between 2010 and 2011, the company closed 2.2% of its existing locations — more than 120 locations in all.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/eight-retailers-that-will-close-the-most-stores-173320796.html?page=all

Is it any wonder why I still own the domains: radioshacksucks.net & radioshacksucks.org

It's not that I hate RadioShack, I hate the way they do business. It's time that they get back to the basics and provide the items that made them a great retailer in the past. I would like to see high-end audio and video systems at lower prices than the competition. I would like to see patch cords to connect all of the components together. The "gold" type connectors don't mean a thing. Silver is the best conductor of electricity. Then, the high-priced cables will be hidden in the back of all of your goodies, and won't be seen by anyone. (I can buy a $50 cable for $5 down the street from RadioShack, and get the same quality.) 

 It's no wonder why RadioShack is having problems.

LABOR UNIONS SUCK

In the wake of "Frankenstorm" Sandy, residents of New Jersey turned away non-unionized electrical workers. The electrical workers traveled from way out-of-state, and the idiots of New Jersey sent the workers packing.

Don't those New Jersey idiots know that you don't look a gift horse in the mouth?  I'm wondering if those New Jersey union lovers buy their clothing, TV sets, appliances and other items of necessity are usually made by non-union workers in foreign countries. That J C Penney polo shirt was made by a non-union worker in Thailand.

New Jersey is a state loaded with morons; with Governor Chris Christy as the head moron.

Hey, guess what! A non-union worker would have gotten power restored faster than a union worker. A union worker gets paid whether he works or not; while a non-union gets paid by the job. The more jobs, the more the non-union worker makes.

It's simple folks, labor unions suck!  

Union Thugs Are At It Again........

From Fox News..........

"The owner of several Connecticut nursing homes is calling for a criminal probe after union workers staged a mass walkout earlier this month, allegedly vandalizing and sabotaging the health care facilities in the process. Among the allegations is that the workers, supposedly disgruntled over protracted labor talks, switched around the IDs of Alzheimer's patients.

The alleged sabotage, which also purportedly included tampering with medication records and removing patient identification bands, occurred in three of the company’s five Connecticut facilities in the overnight hours before the July 3 strike, according to police reports and the complaint HealthBridge Management filed Thursday with the Chief State's Attorney office."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/21/firm-wants-criminal-probe-on-allegations-seiu-backed-employees-sabotaged/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Faffiliates%2Fktla+%28Affiliate+-+West+-+Los+Angeles+-+CA%29

And we wonder why medical costs keep going up. Then the union thugs really care about patient care. NOPE! They only care about themselves.

Latest RadioShack Sucks News

It has come to my attention that RadioShack Corp. has not replied to my latest email concerning their trademark infringement case against myself. What makes this interesting is that RadioShack doesn't have a legal leg to stand on.

Since RadioShack knew that I have had the domain names for the past ten plus years, and they're now getting around to complain that I have owned the domains, it would appear that the statue of limitations has expired.

But, in my opinion, here's what the beef is about. The domains were up for renewal around the first of April. I tried to renew the domains, but my attempts were being rejected by the host computers. In the mean time, RadioShack had their name in the hat to obtain the domains once they had expired. Since my renewal finally went through, the domains reverted back to me; which made RadioShack angry.

RadioShack sent me a "nasty" email and registered letter (through snail mail), threatening me with all sorts of legal problems. They said that I was doing the company wrong because web surfers would confuse my domains with the company's website. That was an impossibility because my domains were not active. If you tried to enter my addresses into a browser's address bar, it would come back with an "Error 404" message (website not found).

Now, I have very little against RadioShack, even though I was once an employee. I retired from the company in 2003. I did, at one time, operate radioshacksucks dot com; however, I lost that after failing to renew the website following a traffic accident. I was hospitalized when the domain and website expired; however, I was able to renew the dot net and dot org domains in time.

And that brings us around to today. RadioShack is silent, since I have proved them wrong. I showed them the errors of their ways. If they want to press the issue further, I have documented about one thousand case laws where the Big Corporations lost their battles with the Little Guys; and I am prepared to forward those cases to the RadioShack lawyers.

One more item. It appears that RadioShack has spent more money on this case than if they bought the domains from me outright. I agree that my asking price for both domains ($10K) was too high; however, it gave me a starting point for further negotiations. I want to see what they have to offer, and go from there. I'm not going to give them the domains free of any charge; I'd be stupid to do so; however, I am willing to come down in price, as long as it's equitable. If RadioShack wants to reimburse me for the money I have spent keeping the domains (approximately $1K over the ten plus years), I'm willing to sell. I would still like to hear from them for the offer.

Enough for now.

Where's AMF?????

The company I used to work for is as intelligent as a box of rocks.

The city: Anaheim, California (almost across the street from Disneyland.) AMF spent upwards of $4 million fixing up a bowling center; turning virtually a dive into party central.

As the photos attest, it's a beautiful center.









Great looking center, right?

OK, so where is it?

AMF's website says it's located at 321 West Katella, in Anaheim.

OK, so where is it? Where are the signs that point the way to the center? There are none on Harbor Blvd., or on Katella.

You would think that AMF has a few million in the bank; so, why didn't they spend a few thousand to put up signs where people could see them.

Inquiring people want to know.

I'm being threatened with a lawsuit.

This is really stupid! I own two "sucks" domain names; and have had them for the past 10+ years. The corporation making threatening noises is RadioShack Corporation. Their claim is trademark infringement. Now, what makes this stupid is that RadioShack Corporation knew about this ten years ago; and they're just now getting around to threatening me with trademark infringement. It would appear that the statute of limitations (7 years) has passed. Therefore, they lost, and are pissed. Next in line is that there is a "fair use" law on the books. This allows journalists the use of company names in their reporting of stories. Then, there's the opinion side of the domain names. Since they are opinions, RadioShack doesn't have a leg to stand on. Opinions are just that, and can be taken with a grain of salt. (Personally, I would prefer having a lime wedge with my grain of salt.) Finally, I have, at least, a thousand case law decisions in my favor. I'm not an attorney; but, I am a retired broadcast radio journalist. It would appear that RadioShack is playing the bully-on-the-playground issue. I don't expect to get rich; but, I do expect to prevail.

Union Thugs At Work

LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — Hundreds of Longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview early Thursday, overpowered and held security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain that is the center of a labor dispute, said Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha.

Six guards were held hostage for a couple of hours after 500 or more Longshoremen broke down gates about 4:30 a.m. and smashed windows in the guard shack, he said.

No one was hurt, and nobody has been arrested. Most of the protesters returned to their union hall after cutting brake lines and spilling grain from car at the EGT terminal, Duscha said.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union believes it has the right to work at the facility, but the company has hired a contractor that's staffing a workforce of other union laborers.
Thursday's violence was first reported by Kelso radio station KLOG.

Police from several agencies in southwest Washington, the Washington State Patrol and Burlington Northern Santa Fe responded to the violence to secure the scene that followed a demonstration Wednesday.
"We're not surprised," Duscha said. "A lot of the protesters were telling us this in only the start."
One sergeant was threatened with baseball bats and retreated, Duscha said. "One officer with hundreds of Longshoremen? He used the better part of discretion."

The train was the first grain shipment to arrive at Longview. It arrived Wednesday night after police arrested 19 demonstrators who tried to block the tracks. They were led by ILWU International President Robert McEllrath, who said they would return.

The blockade appeared to defy a federal restraining order issued last week against the union after it was accused of assaults and death threats.

EGT chief executive Larry Clarke said it was unfortunate that law enforcement needed to make arrests.

I suppose that being union members gives you the right to act like a pack of morons. And the union (Local 770) grocery clerks are threatening going out on strike if their health care demands are not met. This means that if their demands are met, our groceries are going to increase; just to cover the costs that the employers have to pay for insurance premiums. And the grocery clerks are unfriendly to non-union workers. They slash tires, break car windows and other nasty stuff, just like the union thug longshoremen.

MORE ON LABOR UNIONS

Did you know:

a. Labor unions account for a small percentage of the workforce.

b. 82% of non-unionized workers do not want their jobs to be unionized, according to the Center for Union Facts.

c. Unions are too expensive for employers and employees.
1. Employers have to pay into unions for non-insured retirement plans.
2. Employees have to pay an initiation fee, plus monthly dues. If you're making under $14 an hour, this can be too expensive for families.

d. Employees lose their rights to talk to their supervisors or managers about wages and/or working conditions.

e. With union representation, there's no guarantee that you'll end up with more than you started with.

f. During a strike, you'll lose your right to work, costing you money.

Those are just a few things that a union brings into the work place. The main thing is that a union will not help you keep your job during a lay-off or labor dispute. If you belong to a union today, your only guarantee is that you'll lose your money as fast as a gambling casino.

A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

In December, 2009, I had a heart attack at work (a union job) and subsiquent triple by-pass operation during open heart surgery. During my recovery I tried contacting my union representatives for find out what kind of benefits I had. For months afterward, I was handed off from one idiot to another, with no knowledge of my benefits or anything. The most common answer I received was: "That's not my department. You should call such and such," who passed me on to someone else then back to the beginning. Meanwhile, my bills kept piing up even with my insurance company. In fact, just the ambulance company's charge for hauling me less than a mile to the hospital cost me $2,000.My boss wouldn't help pay part of the cost even when I told him not to call an ambulance.

In the meantime, my hospital stay, surgery, angiograms, medications and everything else cost me a $50 co-pay, with my insurance picking up the rest of the tab. The union was nowhere to be found. Today, I'm fighting two types of cancer, and the union is nowhere to be seen.

Back in the 30s, 40s and almost into the 50s, labor unions were excellent. They established minimum wages, working conditions, and child labor laws. Today they're useless. The only good thing about them is keeping an honest employer honest. A crooked employer is going to screw you even with a union present.

If a union representative comes to your workplace, just TELL THEM NO!!

Labor Unions Suck Big Time

Look for a new "Sucks" website starting up soon. I'm pissed at SEIU union and I want the world to know that labor unions suck, with SEIU in particular.

When I had my heart attack and subsiquent tripple by-pass open heart surgery, the labor union, of which I was a member, did absolutely nothing.

BTW: I now have to use hearing aids, thanks to working around jet engines while I was in the Air Force. Since I'm already a disabled veteran, the addition of this "new" disability will be added to the compensation I'm already receiving. I'm still waiting for the percentage amount that will be added; however, the two $1,000 hearing aids were provided by the Veterans Administration. Plus, they'll supply me with a lifetime of batteries.

Gotta Watch Your Diet!!!

On Thursday, December 10th, I suffered a major heart attack while at work. My boss called 911 and an ambulance was dispatched. I was hauled off to Anaheim Memorial Hospital, where I spent the night attached to a heart monitor. Since I was back to full power the next morning, I went home against the doctor's better judgement. Since my health care provider is familiar with my medical history, I contacted her who set up an admission at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. I was admitted that night (Friday, December 11th).

On Monday, December 14th, I had an angiogram which found three blocked arteries. Since they were in areas where stents wouldn't work without causing additional problems, I was consoled about open heart surgery. On Thursday, December 17th, I underwent a tripple by-pass operation. On Mondy, December 21st, I was well enough to be discharged from the hospital.

But, that isn't what I wanted to write about. I wanted to write this as a warning. A warning to those of you who enjoy tobacco products; who enjoy foods high in sodium, cholestrol and other "nasty" stuff. Just because it tastes good doesn't mean it's good for you.

AT RISK

What does it mean to be at risk? You can be at risk of a heart attck or stroke because of your age, if you're a smoker, or have a family history of heart trouble. Any one or a combination of all three can put you at risk.

The wrong diet can put you at risk if you consume the wrong foods. I'm not advocating that you should quit going to your local supermarket and going to a health food store, because I'm not. You can find the wrong foods in a health food store too. The food may be low in fat and cholestrol; however, it's above the danger level with sodium. And sodium increases blood pressure.

SO, WHAT"S ALL THIS ABOUT SODIUM?

Sodium is a preservative used in packaged foods, especially meats and dinners. Look at the sodium content of a can of Spam to see what I mean. We humans need a small amount of sodium in our diets. It helps to regulate a few systems; however, we Americans have a bad habit of overdoing the amount of sodium that we consume. We salt our meats and vegies way too much; so we taste the salt more than what it's sprinkled on. I'm not advocating that we should eliminate salt from our diets; but, what I am saying is that we should cut bck on the amount of salt we use.

SUGAR

Sugar is another substance we use too much of. We sprinkle sugar on our breakfast cerial, which is already sugared by the manufacturer. We add sugar to our morning coffee; and drink sugared drinks throughout the day. Almost everything we consume contains sugar. Sugar isn't bad for you if you use moderation. The same goes for alcohol. It's OK to have a drink or two; however, we have a tendency to overdo the drinking. Alcohol has no nutritional value.

OK - SO WHAT AM I SAYING?

Believe it or not; but, I have more energy now than I have had in the past 25 years, and I'm on a "cardiac" diet. A cardiac diet conists of a major reduction in sodium, cholestrol, cafiene, and sugar. My cardio specialist suggested that it's OK to have a McDonald's burger every once in a while; however, don't make it part of your daily routine or diet. The same goes with the so-called health foods.

Lean beef is a must. The same with lamb, or any other red meat. Pork is OK as long as it hasn't been processed into ham, bacon or pork sausage. Foul (chicken, turkey, duck, etc) is lean to begin with; however, it must be thoroughly cooked to kill any lingering bacteria.

Stay away from packaged meats, meals, canned soups, deserts. Anything packaged is usually loaded with sodium, because it's a preservative. I used to joke about junk foods keeping me alive. Wow, was I wrong! Junk foods were part of the problem. My angiogram showed blockages in areas where stints would create more problems than they would fix; which is why the need for a tripple by-pass operation. All of which was brought on by a poor diet, smoking and a lack of sleep. I was stupid.

This is kinda creepy.

From: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29012946/

SAN FRANCISCO - With an upgrade to its mobile maps, Google Inc. hopes to prove it can track people on the go as effectively as it searches for information on the Internet.

The new software to be released Wednesday will enable people with mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends.

The feature, dubbed "Latitude," expands upon a tool introduced in 2007 to allow mobile phone users to check their own location on a Google map with the press of a button.

"This adds a social flavor to Google maps and makes it more fun," said Steve Lee, a Google product manager.

It could also raise privacy concerns, but Google is doing its best to avoid a backlash by requiring each user to manually turn on the tracking software and making it easy to turn off or limit access to the service.

Google also is promising not to retain any information about its users' movements. Only the last location picked up by the tracking service will be stored on Google's computers, Lee said.

The software plots a user's location — marked by a personal picture on Google's map — by relying on cell phone towers, global positioning systems or a Wi-Fi connection to deduce their location. The system can follow people's travels in the United States and 26 other countries.

It's left up to each user to decide who can monitor their location.

Opinion mode: on.

This can make people's locations known to anyone that can hack into the system. Also, a cheating spouce's location could be learned by the simple click of a button.

At first I thought that this was a cool idea. My wife could track my progress from work to home. But, in the wrong hands, this could cause more problems than what it solves.

Let's say that a school kid is being bullied at school. The kid tries to escape. Meanwhile, the bulley could be tracking the kids location, and can lay in wait for the bullied kid to show up. More harm would follow.

With the lack of ethics, this is a dangerous tool.

Opinion mode: off.

The Day That Music Died

People associate "the day the music died" with the deaths of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J P (The Big Bopper) Richardson; as reflected in the Don McLean ("American Pie") song.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on point of view) the music didn't die. Three entertainers did. The Big Bopper was a one-hit wonder; however, he wrote other material for other singers. Valens and Holly were singer/songwriters, nothing more and nothing less.

Some could say that music died with the murder of John Lennon, which could hold true to an extent; however, most of the Beatles music was co-written by Paul McCartney and Lennon, with George Harrison and Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) writing additional material. Music didn't die, two song writers/entertainers did.

I do agree that it's nostalgic to look back on music in general and rock music in particular. However, as long as song writers continue to produce songs, and entertainers continue to sing them, music will never die.

If this is true, we won't be able to hide.

BY: Jeff Levy

A United Nations agency is quietly drafting technical standards, proposed by non other than the Chinese government, to define methods of tracing the original source of Internet communications, potentially curbing the ability of users to remain anonymous.

The U.S. National Security Agency is also participating in the "IP Traceback" drafting group, named Q6/17. Members of Q6/17 have declined to release key documents, and meetings are closed to the public.

The potential for eroding your rights to remain anonymous on the Internet, which is, by the way, protected by law in the United States and recognized in international law by groups such as the Council of Europe, is setting off alarms for some technologists and privacy advocates.

What's really distressing here is that it doesn't look like there has been any real consideration of how this type of capability could be misused.

Most of us agree that there are, at least in some circumstances, legitimate security reasons to uncover the source of Internet communications. The most common justification for tracebacks is to counter distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks.

But implementation details are important, and governments participating in the process -- organized by the International Telecommunication Union, a U.N. agency -- may have their own agendas. A document recently submitted by China said the "IP traceback mechanism is required to be adapted to various network environments, such as different addressing (IPv4 and IPv6), different access methods (wire and wireless) and different access technologies (ADSL, cable, Ethernet. To ensure traceability, essential information of the originator should be logged."

Another document to be considered by this traceback group holds that if a political opponent to a government publishes articles putting the government in an unfavorable light, the government, having a law against any opposition, will try to identify the source of the negative articles but because the articles were published using a proxy server, can’t do so, thereby protecting the anonymity of the author.

So it looks like we have the same old my rights to privacy” vs. “we need to find the bad guys. On a personal note, I wouldn’t ever support this kind of tracing – Currently we here in the U.S. have methods by which law enforce can and does find individuals on the Net. We just don’t need any more legislation designed to make us more visible to prying eyes.

Off the top of my pointy little head.

As I type this I'm listening to some cool Jazz that I've either downloaded or ripped from CDs. A lot of it is from "unknown" or unsigned artists. Some is from unheard of artists, such as Yoko Kanno (she did the soundtrack music from the "Cowboy Bebop" animated series and movie).

The thing is, why aren't radio stations playing this stuff? Some of my music is from the turn of the 20th Century (yes, it's on composition or bakelite, or whatever they used way back then), and continues up to the present. This is great stuff! It's not being heard, and that's a shame.

Off The Top Of My Head

I've been hearing how good "HD" radio is. Now, the "HD" doesn't mean high definition; it means high density. This means that a radio station's digital signal can carry many programs at the same time. "HD 1" may mean the main channel; while "HD 2" may be in Spanish; "HD 3" may be traffic information; and so on.

The problem is that the "HD" signal can't be heard in some areas, but the main (analog) program can. The "HD" signal creates adjacent channel noise. This means that, if there is a weak station you want to listen to that's next to the "HD" station, the weak station can't be heard over the noise.

The company licensing the "HD" concept, and equipment (iBiquity) has a monoply on everything made, and that ain't right. There's no competition, which means that iBiquity can set the prices of transmitting and receiving equipment.

If that ain't bad enough, the programming on most "HD" channels is a computer playing a few songs in its library, sort of like an iPod on random play. Here, in southern California, the entertainment capitol of the world, the programming sucks.

I'm not going to buy a "HD" radio anytime soon.

Big 22 Doubles Tournament

OK - a lot has happened since my last entry.

Over the weekend, my bowling partner and I competed in a doubles tournament. We went against 28 teams and made the semi-finals. Now it got down to a one-game-beat-the-board semi final. The field was cut in half again, and we were still in it. We went against two other teams for final positions.

My partner had a spare in the ninth, and left the 6 - 10 in the tenth. Going for the spare, he pulled the shot, which went wide missing the two pins. He finished with a respectable 198, ten pins over his average.

I had a clean game, including picking up the 5 - 7 split early on. I had a strike in the ninth, and my first ball in the tenth was a strike. My first bonus ball was a half of a board high, and left a wobbly 7 pin, which I spared, giving me a clean 229 game.

When our handicap was added in, we ended two pins short of making the final match. We ended the tourney in third place, which was good for $500 each.

First place paid $1000 each, and second paid $750. $500 for an afternoon's work was good. The main thing was that we put on a great show. Getting paid for it was a bonus.

You have to read this.....

Received this e-mail from an old Navy pal. Either he received this mail or one of his friends did. Too bad our own politicians don't see our troops as this guy does.



Gentlemen

I am an Australian and my son is an Australian - as far as we are
concerned there is not place on God's earth better than Australia , and
there are no people better than Australians.

That was until the past week or so.

My son is in the Australian Army and he is currently on deployment in
Iraq . I can not go into his duties in great depth, but shall we say
that he and his fellow army buddies are on a glorified guard duty
looking after the Australian Embassy. They don't go out looking for
"action", though it is a different story in Afghanistan , there the
Aussie troops chase the baddies over the hills and into the valleys..

My son and I just ended a long 'phone conversation and here are some of
his comments, believe me this is what he said. We have all seen the
cowpie emails written by some clown in his lounge room pretending to
be at the coal face, but this is what was said.:

"Before I came over here I thought we (the Australian Army) were pretty
[beep] hot..... was I ever wrong!....The Yanks (I hope you don't mind me
using that word) are so professional from the top to the bottom that it
is almost embarrassing to be in their company, and to call yourself a
soldier....don't get me wrong, we are good at what we do but the Yanks
are so much better.....they are complete at what they do, how they do it
and their attitude is awesome....they don't complain they just get on
with the job and they do it right.....I carry a Minimi (SAW) so I am not
real worried about a confrontation but I tell you I feel safer just
knowing that the US Army is close by....If we got into trouble I know
that our boys would come running and we could deal with it but they
would probably be passed by a load of Hummers. No questions asked, no
glory sought, the Americans would just fight with us and for us because
that is their nature, to protect those in need of protection.....We use
the American Mess so you could say that we are fed by the
Americans.....they have every right to be pissed at that but they don't
bitch about that they just make us feel as welcome as possible....what
gets to me is that the Yanks don't walk around with a "we are better
than you attitude" and they could because they are, they treat us as
equals and as brothers in arms. If nothing else, coming here has taught
me that the Americans are a truly great Nation and a truly great bunch
of people.....Let's face it they don't HAVE to be here, they could stay
in America and beat the [beep] out of anyone who threatened them, BUT THEY
ARE HERE because they believe they should be here, and the Iraqis would
be screwed if they weren't here.....When I come home, you and I we are
going to the US, we will buy some bikes and we are going riding...."

The reason why I am sharing this with you is because I realize that you
(as a nation) must get pretty pissed with all the criticism you receive
by the so-called "know it alls" who are sitting at home - safe. The
reality is that they are safe, just as I am, because of America . If the
world went arse up tomorrow there is f**k all we ( Australia ) could do
about it, but I know that the Americans would be there putting
themselves on the line for others. That to me is the sign of greatness.

The most precious thing in my life is my son, I look at him and I thank
God that I am fortunate enough to be able to spend time in his company.
We laugh, we discuss, we argue, we dummy spit, we have the same blood I
am not happy that he is where he is but that is his duty. He joined the
Army to protect and to defend, not to play games. I mightn't like it but
I accept it. My reasons for not liking it are selfish and self centered.
I felt assured that he would be safe because he is in a well trained
army with an excellent record, BUT NOW, I feel a whole lot better
knowing that he is with your sons, daughters, brothers and sisters.

Whilst he was growing up. I was always there to look after him, I would
not let harm befall him and I would always put myself before him to
protect him I can't do that now. When it comes to looking after him now
he and his mates will do the job, but also THANK GOD FOR AMERICA.

Gentlemen, I have rambled on for too long. but as I finish I say to you,
as a foreigner and outsider, a nation is only a collection of its people
and its attitude is the attitude of its people, collectively and as
individuals. I am really glad you are here on this Earth and I respect
you as a nation and as people.

Stand up and feel proud because you deserve it, there is no one else who
will do what America does without question. The next time someone howls
you down, take some comfort in the fact that America is defending their
right to act like an idiot.

Finally, thank you for looking after my son.

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