No Title, Just...

A Happy and Healthy 2009 to all.

And peaceful, too, if that's possible.

Here's a Twist

Recently I extolled the virtues of a "paper" paper as opposed to a virtual paper (newspaper, that is). Well, I may have to back off just a bit. We had a lot of snow recently and then it froze and now my driveway is full of ice. So my newspaper was lying in the middle of the icefield as opposed to being on my doorstep as usual. Retrieving it meant not only facing icy temperature but also dragging in a lot of unmelted ice-melter (you know, those white pellets that are supposed to melt your ice, but don't when it gets too cold) plus the filthy cat litter my wife thinks will help us gain traction on icy surfaces. Maybe it works for cats but I don't think it works too well for bipeds. It just tracks dirt into the house.

Anyway, needing my morning news fix with my coffee, I went online to "Times Reader" (I guess that would be me), the NYTimes on the web. I'm not crazy about scrolling through lines of squares to find a story I like but I have to admit I did find one and I read the whole thing. Then it was time to go and I picked up the real paper on my way to a medical appointment. Here's another miracle (must be the season)-- the doctor saw me right away and I was heading home before I could even unfold the paper. By the way, I'm fine.

So, here's the point: When I got home, the story I read on line turned out to be on page one of the newspaper, but I still enjoyed holding the paper in both my hands and turning the pages one by one as my eye scanned the contents, selecting a story here and a story there to read. This is a wonderful way to spend a morning and part of an afternoon. It even consumed a second pot of coffee.

Nice.

Bailout, Shmailout!

Ok, so now President Bush is offering GM and Chrysler emergency loans with very few strings attached. He's given them until March to come up with a plan for long-term profitability. For heaven's sake, they've had 30 years to come up with a plan for that and look where they are now! I don't care how much money you send Detroit it will do no good until you get an entirely new and forward looking management team in place to save these dinosaurs from the ice age.

As soon as the first Toyota or Honda came off the assembly lines Detroit should have gotten the message. Better built cars at lower prices were the signals they all missed. As many writers are pointing out the problem with Detroit is that they build cars no one wants to buy.

Hell-o...!

This mess is going to take a long time to resolve but it has to start with housecleaning at the top.

Giving these guys more money to use in the same old way is paving the highway to hell.

I Am Not Evolving!

I've been reading a lot lately about how the news media is evolving. Newspapers are cutting staffs and bureaus, if they have any. Network TV is losing audience. Even local TV ratings are down (they never should have been up in the first place).

I like to read a newspaper. I like to hold it. I like to turn pages. I complain about the newsprint coming off on my hands but that's a small price to pay for the pleasure of savoring a well-turned phrase or diving into a well thought-out analysis of a complex subject.

I do not enjoy sitting in front of a screen for any length of time. My eyes get tired and my fingers seem to find the wrong key when I have to scroll up, down or sideways to follow a story.

Yes, I am fighting a losing battle against economic realities. And I will dabble --as I am now-- in new media (as I believe it's called) but I still open my door each morning with fresh anticipation when I reach for the newspaper on the front step.

Hey, the delivery guy needs to eat, too.

Hello, Again

Been off the blogosphere for a while, not that I still haven't had problems with my Frequently Infuriating Operating System (This is BIG?). Managed to trueswitch my address book from previous ISP but not all email addresses came through and those that did came through in helter-skelter order. Not alphabetized in any recognizable form and hard to find. Outlook's address book is far superior. Organized my groups but, I don't know, why did I switch in the first place? I know, because Comcast gave me the cold shoulder when I asked for the same incentives they gave new customers. Am I happy about the switch to BIG? Stay tuned.

All the Newsprint that fits the fingers

After a wonderful lunch with long-time friends and a subsequent visit with them to the American Museum of Natural History, I returned home to catch up with the Sunday Times and today's Times.

Does the newsprint come off on your fingers as quickly as it does mine? As you turn the pages, do you sneeze when your nostrils sense the ink-drying substance imposed on the paper as it goes through the presses? I love reading a newspaper. But I just realized that reading the same newspaper on line is a lot cleaner and healthier.

My fingers may get tired clicking through the pages but my nose is clear and the news is the same. They say competition from the Net is causing havoc with print journalism. Maybe so, but a slicker, cleaner paper might help.

Or not.

The DVR Conundrum

People love DVR. I love it too. HOWEVER, there is a glaring flaw in the way it records. It records programs only at the time they are scheduled, rather than when they actually go on the air. Example: Last Sunday's NY Jets football game against Denver ran over by about 30 minutes. I had programmed my DVR to record "60 Minutes" and "Cold Case," which normally air at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. respectively.

Of course, DVR began recording at 7 and I had 30 minutes of the game resulting in all other programs shortened by 30 minutes at their beginning or end.

DVR needs to be flexible enough to recognize that when a scheduled program is delayed it should record that program when it actually airs so we can get it in its entirely. Or else it should allow us to program our DVRs to record a specific time span to account for program overuns.

Thus this note to FIOS, my "Frequently Incompetent Operating System". Get on the stick, guys, and improve the product.