Thursday, July 9, 2009

MICHAEL JACKSON, BILLY MAYS AND OTHER PEEVES

Don't forget to click the header.
I think that pic was taken at a dedication to a new High School here.
***********************************************************************************
Michael Jackson was an entertainer par excellence. He was also a child molester. I would've thought the family and his "fans" might have wanted to get the whole thing over in a hurry.
***********************************************************************************
Billy Mays was a loud mouth, offensive person. He was not an entertainer. OTOH, he was not a child molester. But what appeal he had, seemed to lie with those whose IQ was somewhere below 90 percentile points. People I know inform me that they, too, have no desire to be shouted at when someone wants them to do something. Especially by a guy hiding behind a beard.
************************************************************************************
I suppose I shouldn't admit it, but I have friends who have wild senses of humor:
To honour Michael Jackson after his death, Macdonalds is introducing a Mr Jacko burger.
It’s a piece of 50 year old meat stuck between two 8 year old buns.
I don't know why I put this in here. (And no, I will not mention my friend's name. I'm saving it to blackmail the person.)
************************************************************************************
TV Commercials
It is not just the horribly loud commercials, but now cable TV (Comcast, in my experience) allows the volume to vary wildly from channel to channel. Case in point: watching one channel at comfortable sound volume for an hour (muting the too loud commercials) and then switching to another channel, can cause severe pain in one's ears (to say nothing about causing neighbors to consider a call to 911 to report a violence problem in your home).
The failure of the volume control works the other way also, causing some stations to come in so softly they cannot be heard without increasing the volume level. It's a game called sound ping pong. And it's not pleasant. When one complains to Comcast about this problem, one is met with a smarmy, albeit sincere, female voice commiserating with the problem. But she unfailingly denies that Comcast can, in any way, control these volume changes.
Isn't it strange that less than two years ago these problems did not exist? It would seem that Comcast has either destroyed or turned off its control over the volume of broadcast signals. But it has also failed to tell the viewing public or its employees about managements actions.
Comcast, for a number of years controlled the volume of all stations they sold to us. They did not vary in volume. To suggest that Comcast can't control the volume seems a form of idiocy. Philosophically, it seems to be a case of the public be damned.
Realistically, it seems to be a case of ignore the protesters, they'll go away. Our government needs to give the FCC laws with sharp, long teeth and the manpower to act and convict on proof of the failure of control by the Cable and Satellite suppliers. And fines for the networks themselves. As is said: "ignorance of the law is no excuse". (It would be good if we could apply that rule to the illegal invasion of our country, too.)
************************************************************************************
Oh Geeze, look what I found:
************************************************************************************