Miscellaneous: December 2006 Archives
A commercial for The Good Shepherd quotes Larry King as calling the movie "the best spy film ever" or somesuch. And why would anyone in their right mind care what Larry King says?
My favorite Larry King moment, the one that perfectly exemplifies all that is wrong with him, took place over two years ago. Here is the unedited opening to the interview:
How'd you get the name Cat.
How'd you get the name Cat.
How'd you get the name Cat.
If I ever need a mantra, I think I'd use that.
My favorite Larry King moment, the one that perfectly exemplifies all that is wrong with him, took place over two years ago. Here is the unedited opening to the interview:
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, once he was Cat Stevens, pop music superstar, singing gentle hits about peace trains and moon shadows. Now he's Yusuf Islam, barred from the United States for suspected ties to terrorists, and he says he doesn't know why.
Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens, is here for the hour with his side of the story that made headlines around the world. It's next on LARRY KING LIVE.
It's a great pleasure to welcome Yusuf Islam to LARRY KING LIVE tonight. He was the great Cat Stevens, knew him in the '60s and '70s for an enormous amount of hits. A wonderful entertainer and a great singer.
He was barred from entering the United States last month because of what the Department of Homeland Security says are concerns about activities potentially related to terrorism. We'll deal with all that in awhile, but first, let's go back a little.
How'd you get the name Cat?
How'd you get the name Cat.
How'd you get the name Cat.
How'd you get the name Cat.
If I ever need a mantra, I think I'd use that.
I am getting a DirecTV HD DVR installed this Friday, hopefully.
I keep all my stereo equipment (DirecTV TiVo, two amp/receivers, 5-disc DVD changer, VCR, tape deck, PowerBook 15" w/ various peripherals, etc.) in the front closet out of sight, with IR junk so I can control it all. A snake of cables goes into (coax, Ethernet, phone) and out of (video, speaker) the closet behind the TV through a small hole in the wall.
I had most of it in a little TV cabinet thingy, with backs and sides, and making changes to the system was a huge pain, so I wanted to do something different. Basically, I am using wire shelving.
So since the new HD DVR is coming this week, I figured, now's a good time to do it all. I pulled everything out, put up the shelving, then hooked it all up again. Took me about eight hours to do it all, and I am sore all over. I'm happy with it.
In preparation for Friday I also put in place the cables the HD DVR will use: component, optical audio, and analog (for use on the regular TV in the other room). As I am not entirely sure what will happen with the coax situation, I am not touching that. I have the phone cable ready except that I need to buy a splitter at Radio Shack tomorrow.
I won't be doing HDMI/DVI because I already have the PowerBook connected via DVI. At some point I'll get an IR-controllable DVI switcher, I guess.
I also already programmed my Harmony Remote control and put an IR transmitter in place, so the remote will be ready right away too. So the installer dude just needs to worry about the dish and the multiswitch situation. I think.
Anyway, this afternoon, when cleaning up, and seeing mutliple unused cables strewn across the floor, I came up with Nandor's Law of Cable Conservation: There is no conservation of cables.
I keep all my stereo equipment (DirecTV TiVo, two amp/receivers, 5-disc DVD changer, VCR, tape deck, PowerBook 15" w/ various peripherals, etc.) in the front closet out of sight, with IR junk so I can control it all. A snake of cables goes into (coax, Ethernet, phone) and out of (video, speaker) the closet behind the TV through a small hole in the wall.
I had most of it in a little TV cabinet thingy, with backs and sides, and making changes to the system was a huge pain, so I wanted to do something different. Basically, I am using wire shelving.
So since the new HD DVR is coming this week, I figured, now's a good time to do it all. I pulled everything out, put up the shelving, then hooked it all up again. Took me about eight hours to do it all, and I am sore all over. I'm happy with it.
In preparation for Friday I also put in place the cables the HD DVR will use: component, optical audio, and analog (for use on the regular TV in the other room). As I am not entirely sure what will happen with the coax situation, I am not touching that. I have the phone cable ready except that I need to buy a splitter at Radio Shack tomorrow.
I won't be doing HDMI/DVI because I already have the PowerBook connected via DVI. At some point I'll get an IR-controllable DVI switcher, I guess.
I also already programmed my Harmony Remote control and put an IR transmitter in place, so the remote will be ready right away too. So the installer dude just needs to worry about the dish and the multiswitch situation. I think.
Anyway, this afternoon, when cleaning up, and seeing mutliple unused cables strewn across the floor, I came up with Nandor's Law of Cable Conservation: There is no conservation of cables.
"It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
