Tucker's Tuesday Technology & Tertiary Trollings

BBQ as unfettered patriotism

It is Memorial Day once again - Which means that we are to be berated by editorialists and talking heads for not treating the day and this country's veterans with enough deference. The technicolor yawn of store sales, car dealership blowouts and focus on BBQ’s and beer diminish our appreciation of the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives to protect our freedoms they will shriek from every antenna tower.

While there is something to be said about the over commercialization of and the outright marketing of a date once called ‘Decoration Day’, I feel that the these uber critics may have it all wrong. If point of fact I feel that these distractions are the ultimate form of respect and praise to the service of veterans. Now before some of you get your panites in a bunch understand that I am not calling for complete disregard of the ceremonies and parades and laying of wreaths. All of those who have served should be honored - and I have proclaimed as much previously, especially when it comes to appreciating some of the overlooked hereos. ( see my post " station x...)

Yet, there is something to be said for hard won complacency of celebrating such a day with great orchestrations of distractions.  This was hit home for me while listening to a segment on NPR's Weekend Edition. In the piece a solider recounts spending a memorial day on the Afganistan / Pakistan border with an inpromptu barbecue.  The soilder descibes getting together the fixings, spices and of feeding thirty people non stop - creating a feeling of normalcy, a distance from the war and more like being home. 

In the end is this not what we truly do hope for, to find a time when we do not have to think of such things? We do strive toward a future that sees war as a distant act of antiquity.

So celebrate with bowls of pasta salad,  hamburgers and coolers full of beer ,(please make it a decent beer, none of this Coors or Budwiser nonsense, thanks), with only a passing thought of our troops.  it is what they fought for.

Image source = The Krafteredge

Alexander the Great is Pissed (Again)

Originally posted to rAVe Pubs on March 14, 2012

We humans produce a lot of information - great gobs of it.  So much information, in fact, that we have deforested large swaths of the earth to record and propagate it. We built great institutions called libraries to make these ideas available to anyone and everyone... 

Or, at least we used to.  

Forget the four horsemen of the the apocalypse, Alexander the Great is pissed and is most likely now assembling an army to retake the largest continents once again. The goal? To reestablish the most basic forms of sharing and documenting human endeavors.  

Alexander the Great, or AG to his friends, was more than a military genius, brutal warrior and the handsomest (*cough*) emperor of the known world- he also built the greatest library in human history. You may think the Library of Congress has a lot of books but they are just peanuts compared to what was stored in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.  

If you are of a certain age group, or just a science junkie you will recall walking through the great library of Alexandria as guided by Carl Sagan via the TV show ‘Cosmos’. This collection of knowledge, Sagan told us, was the greatest repository of human thought in the ancient world, and if the stories are true, is almost unmatched in our modern era. Special envoys were sent out  to any newly conquered lands to seek out all writings, screeds or documents to be brought back to the library where they were copied.  The originals were categorized and filed while the copy was sent back to continue enriching the people who created it.  With such a collection, scholars in 300 B.C. could  directly reference the original text of Elements  or the  complete writings of Homer.  Human philosophy and science flourished until, allegedly, Julius Cesar destroyed it, inadvertently, during a siege of the city. We even lost the knowledge of the ‘flush’ commodes for thousands of years.

Fast forward a handful of millennia and we can now access the Library of Alexandria times ten.  We live in a time when information on anything can be accessed from anywhere at anytime. We even have our own personal Bibliotheca’s to archive our beloved material. Yet so much of our knowledge and history are missing from the this networked repository.  

Yeah, I am looking at you technology manufactures. Just why is it so difficult to find information on products you sold only five years ago?! (Don’t even start to look for something ten years old.) Recently I was tasked with the job of putting some of our pre-owned gear up for sale on our own site. The process of collecting and organizing the gear included trying to find verifiable manufactures' specifications on the units. (Yeah, I know somewhat of an oxymoron there). 

Astonishingly I could not find this information on a good number of the manufactures' sites - not even a support documents link -  (you know, where a lot of companies just pile up scanned documents with product names buried in gobbledygook of ampersands, percentage signs and random letters - nice work unpaid intern!). This seemed to be especially true on professional/theatrical lighting sites. What gives, folks? Is it a question of not wanting the riffraff out there getting information on your products?  Fear that used gear will flood the market and dent your coming year sales?  If not - what then?  

I was forced to find information and documents on used gear sites and suspect forum threads. Not to question these forums' belief that the information is true, but it would be nice to use actual science tenets and have a way to verify the information. In addition to wasting my day, the process has me questioning the trust I can put in these companies - what else are you hiding from me? I know this sounds crazy but next thing you know you’ll start proactively start removing documents from my storage accounts.That could never happen right?

There are extremely important cultural artifacts still missing from the collective cloud from one of a kind academic thesis and pop culture philosophy to early recorded history of American music. It  is not to be suggested that the documentation of one product from a single manufacture should take precedent over the aforementioned, yet how do we know that a product - your product - will not wind up on a future remake of the BBC’s ‘The History of the World in a Hundred Objects

I have an associate who has long scanned and saved documents of any product he purchases onto the company's drives - something I smirked at with a confused bemusement. Now I know just how smart he has been and now view my past expectations with chagrin. Heck, even those in Ptolemy’s era knew that denial is not just a river in Egypt.  

And yes, I DO have that cut sheet and manual circa 1995 scanned and stored.  I will be happy to provide you with a copy, but first a question - how much cash to you have on you right now? 

 

Convenience vs Consistency In Marconi’s Magical Ether

Convenience vs Consistency In Marconi’s Magical Ether

Marconi, the fantastical genius (second in renowned and sheer infamy only to Tesla, despite Yahoo Serious's portrayal ) who brought us the ability to transmit information from one location to another without the need for miles of wire would be amazed but quite comfortable with our wireless world. After all  the first wireless phone/mediadelivery system was in use by 1922.  The tools and interfaces would no doubt astound him, yet the process and application would be as natural as reading the newspaper.  The modern 'Golden Age of Wireless'  is mother's milk to most of us - we are as afraid of its presence, with a few odd exceptions, as we are of indoor running water. So why does it so often befoul and frustrate us?

This dichotomy was brought to my attention when, in the process of teaching a class on Ethernet and Wireless essentials this past week,  I opened my #inSSIDer tool to show what our local Wi-Fi looked like.  The plan was to use the live readings as a simple example of just how interference comes about.  Well I was, admittedly, just as stunned as the class.

 

Whoa! This is what the 2.4GHz frequency range looks like in the Secaucus, NJ warehouse where I spend a good deal of my working day - a somewhat isolated space. How could the IT manager let this happen, someone wondered aloud.

I have experienced similar reactions when teaching high school students about Ethernet, specifically Wi-Fi and RF principles. I have found that even many of these Millennials were unclear on just what is going on beyond the very basic setup.  

Why would this be?

Wireless Internet Access is ubiquitous, so much so that it has become an appliance and as such is nearly invisible to most folks - until it ‘stops working’.  In other words, it is like using a telephone, you may need to know whether to dial 9 to get an outside line and the number you are calling but other than that - it just works.  Off the shelf manufactures sell us the instant gratification of ‘pushing the Little Red Button’ to set up and connect - no need to worry about what is going on behind the curtains and in fact, these boxes intimate,  it may just be dangerous to look dear Icarus.

Our own industry, one which prides itself on being the most informed on the multitude of distinct technological disciplines, is still is coming to grips with the world of Wi-Fi.  Six years ago as the install industry was still  making the hard change to Ethernet many manufactures started to introduce Wi-Fi based products. As a technical support manager  I witnessed first hand the confusion from lack of knowledge in the field and in the support room.  The initial thought and assumption was that the technology was fairly common and therefore would be in the general knowledge meme of the installers. We could not have been more wrong.  It turns out that a great majority of our clients had very little experience with wireless Internet setup, let alone Ethernet in general.  This is not a dig at the companies and individuals involved - my discussions with other offices and support personnel at other manufacturers (yes many of us chat in private forums, even with competitors -  we are professional and know where the lines are, get over it) confirmed an industry wide problem.  

As a result of this miscalculation it became common to work hour long support calls-walking an installer step by step through the basics of setting up the Wi-Fi router/ access point.  In my company a great effort was made to teach the client on the other end of the phone line just what we were doing and what each process was for - ‘...teach a man to fish...’. While this total support helped the individual, it did nothing to stem the tsunami.   The recognition that our incorrect presumptions had a detrimental effect on call times pushed us to develop an extensive training and certification program for staff and dealers. The process took about a year to show a decline in calls and service time on the basic concepts but reduce it did. Now we could deal with issues stemming from new technologies like WDS  and general RF interference which, once recognized caused apoplectic fits.   

RF and EMF interference are funny things, if you are unaware or just limited in knowledge it can be a very vexing problem. The question is just where  can you learn the essential techniques and troubleshooting without having to digest electrical engineering text books or RF circuit design manuals?  My personal path started with having the responsibility of testing wireless microphones become part of my job description. 

Unlike wireless data networks which have data detection and correction techniques built into the transmission / reception process,  audio cannot send a request for the vocals to be resent live. This means that the concepts can be learned without getting into the minutia of error checking and checksums.   Many RF mic manufactures publish pamphlets on the basics of best practices. As we gathered more and more material books and tear-sheets   I studiously and obsessively  hand copied the main points, sometimes the whole booklet, into a small sketch book. Remember this was just pre-world wide web days and portable devices were barely smaller than a breadbox. 

I have always found that just as many audio concepts can be more easily taught by first starting with real world applications of Standard POTS (Plain Old Telephone) lines so can many RF basics be explained using wireless microphones.  This may not be the exact connection you may need but it is a start. I would suggest the following primers: 

Crestron Best Practices for Installation and Setup of Crestron RF Products  (shhh, don’t tell anyone I helped write and edit this) 

Wireless Microphones and the Audio Professional

Texas Instruments has a great overview ‘deck’ entitled RF Basics, RF for Non-Engineers

Shure has some interesting documents that discuss some of the tertiary issues 

You could just trust that is will all work but then it is a question of  program or be programmed - which brings us back to the maligned IT manager we 

mentioned above. Looking at the spectrum analysis it might strike you that it  is amazing that any of the connections work at all.  The Truth is that the network administrator, like you and me, can only contain not control  the unwieldy beast of unlicensed RF. 

 

The hAloha Brothers Live!

The hAloha Brother Live - Special performance of Highway to Hell 

  

KoRn Lighting Guy - What He Can Teach Us

I came across this video -Thanks to Stagehand World's Google Plus page -  of the lighting tech for Korn really feeling his job.   Some have made fun of just how involved his is in the performance, but are we not just a little jealous at how much he loves his job and that the  passion is so evident? 

If you are unfamiliar with Korn they are a rock band who are part of the nu metal genre which blends  influences from 80' metal, Hardcore punk, classic rock and New Yorks No Wave movement.  

The influence extends beyond cord structure and double bass drums to the inclusion of the crew,and often the fans, as part of the band.  The lines delineating between the three is thin and often fluctuates.   In many ways they whole operation is similar to the Grateful Dead where the band is seemingly on tour without end complete with fans who travel to multiple shows across the globe.  The band keeps a constant contact with fans through direct response via social media and appearances in smaller of the beaten track events.

In short they have  a community not just a business relationship.

Which do you see in your own work? 

 

 

Presumptions are Dangerous Boomerangs

It would appear that the editor of Daily  DOOH  has taken umbrage at rAVe [Publications] methodology of show coverage.  I posted this to my Google Plus account but after looking around on the DOOH site I found even more sniping on the part of Mr. Adrian J Cotterill, this time about the apparent age and gender of rAVe's journalists.   Really AC?  

While this will not endear me to Mr. Cotterill I posted the below on the rAVe blog post:

An interesting bit of vitriol Mr. Cotterill spits out. I say interesting in that midway through reading his screed I kept thinking his real message is 'Get Off My Lawn You Whippersnappers!"

In my view, this is a classic example of new media vs old.  Industry professionals like myself gravitate to news sources such as Rave because of the timing and format it is presented in.  

Balanced is a funny word, what exactly do you mean by it sir? Balanced in that you decide which exhibitors I get to hear about or is there some preordained hierarchy of who gets coverage or what I should be interested in if I were but a learned AV professional such as yourself? 

I have had the opportunity to work professionally with the American rAVe staff as a manufacturers marketing person and as associates (rAVe publishes my blog and hosts the AV Nation podcasts I am producer for). I have found the individuals Gary hires to be professional, accurate and remarkably interested in the AV industry from all angles no matter how small or large.  The intensity they show translates into interest from the readers - What could possibly be wrong with that?!

I do not write for rAVe nor agreed as one of AV Nations advisory board members to partner with them just for business reason, I admire the sense of community and engagement they foster.  The online community of AV folks gather around them for the same reasons. 

As I read through the article and comments I was reminded of the infamous Bill Gundy episode on Thames Television circa 1976. Whatever happened to good times Bill anyway?

If you are unfamiliar with Bill Gundy you can see the moment he killed his own career ( and the staff at the Thames Television technical staff)  on YouTube.  *Warning the content is not for those who find expletives disturbing *   

 

 Bill Gundy typhooned his career because he engaged in Character Assassination with a group who were more fearless and smarter -(on the whole and despite appearances) then the learned and esteemed journalist.   The video shows an interview with the group 'The Sex Pistols' where the right honorable Bill Gundy proceeds to goad the band with devastating results.  Love him or hate him John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, is a horribly intelligent person  who channels the prolific anger of the situationist  into an artful confrontation.   Even in this interview you can see his eyes alight with the ghost of Guy Debord.  

Mr. Gundy did not know what hit him - presumptions are dangerous boomerangs 

Hoist Meet Petard.

Train Master to my Heart

When does a bad movie become a monumental message?  If you are like me you may have spent many a Saturday morning watching MST3K on comedy central ripping bad movies with Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot and the gang. .  While most films deserve these royal send ups we do tend to forget that someone put their heart and soul into a vision, perhaps emptying themselves into a gasp of creativity.   In the past these films may have been relegated to the trash heap only to be viewed by an archivist or lone affectionado.  Ah but the ‘New’ Media revolution has forever changed this.

The value of these individual voices was recently reinforced by a kids movie we found one rainy day on Netflix when our house was feeling low ebb’d and feverish throughout. Little did I know that a shared movie would break me into pieces.

My four year old is a train nut. From the moment he could express an interest in things trains were always at the top of the list.  He would crawl over to my older songs wooden train sets and spend hours rolling the trains over the tracks.  

We bought him the entire ‘I Love Toy Trains’ DVD collection and spent countless hours watching  them, singing the songs and discussing just what trains he would like to get and set up.  He pours over Lionel catalogs and asks me to read them to him like story books. Yeah, he likes trains.  (Do not get me started on how many times we have watched the ‘Lionelville’ animated video that came with his Scout set. Hey Lionel - Why six years after it was produced is there no conclusion to the story?!)

On this rainy and sickly kinda day my son asked if he could watch a film about trains on the Wii.  My search turned up the film “Train Master”.

The film is about a Train Master- a person who is the top railroad engineer who lives and breaths all things railroad related,  loses his job when an ambitious and morally questionable investor purchases a local freight line. As it would happen the investor’s son Justin and the Train Master’s grand kid ,Thomas, go to the same lower elementary school and the when the former learns that Thomas knows how to drive a train he holds Thoma’s favorite dinosaur ransom. Thomas and 3 other children board an old engine in for repairs and accidentally turn it into runaway engine causing a chain reaction of events

I sat and watched the first 10 minutes of the film to make sure it was what I expected and did not hide an inappropriate theme.  The film is awkward with a story line that feels  like the extemporaneous tales young kids tell excitedly to their friends and parents.  The kind of story whose point is to talk about trains but where a coherent plot is secondary to the fantastical first person.  To be blunt the film is clearly amateurish with jerky story transitions and acting that would can only be kindly called wooden.

My kid immediately connected with scenes that shift from a model train set to real trains. Over the day my four year old watched this movie four times with me by his side for parts here and there -(he would fill me in as to what I ‘missed’). Suffice it to say I was able to see a large part of the movie over the four showings.  While I was fascinated with my son’s enraptured attention to the movie what came at the end took my knees away like being ‘surprised by a left hook’.

Just as the film ends (happily, of course) a picture of a child who looks a bit like the actors in the film, complete with a the childish mop top hair , but is clearly not one of them  fades up with a dedication and a set of dates.  The last name is the same as the Writer / Director of the film.

As the credits rolled home movies of the kid on trains, with model trains and in rail yards played in  the background.  Looking at my son who was still fixed to his spot watching with rapt attention my mental calculation ability finally kicked in.  Seven years old.  Seven. The film is the result of a shared story between a father and son who never made it past seven. I looked over at my four year old and the connection with the filmmakers despair and dedication rolled over me.  The emotions came on so hard, so fast that  I had to excuse myself and turned to find a quiet spot.

As I turned  the corner into our home office I found my wife sitting at the computer -  in her arms I promptly lost it.  I cried, I cried  hard,  at the thought of losing my own son, so like the seven year old shown on the screen and the silent  fear all parents grapple with. Simultaneously  laughing at myself I was almost aghast at the depth of my emotional reaction to a silly kids film, yet the tears and sobs came in waves as I clutched my wife releasing the anguish and trying to find a center and gain control.  

The power of communication and connection can come in the most surprising places.  

I played a long game of trains with my son that day.

42 days/ 1008 hours

Weather Geeks know the year 1816 as ‘The year without a summer’ which most likely was caused by the  eruption of Mount Tambora in Sumbawa, Indonesia  on April 10th 1815.  The resulting volcanic plume which spewed into the atmosphere would make the Mount St. Helen’s eruptions look like a squid ink squirt in comparison and its effect was felt worldwide for years.

If you are old enough to recall the Mount St. Helen’s eruption in 1980 one side effect for  photographers around the world was  the dramatic almost pastel colored sunsets the residual dust in the sky caused. This eruption also showed some affect on climate albeit only on a very regional scale not, the entire planet as Mount Tambora is fairly well determined  to have caused.

The 1816 volcano did indeed cause a year with out summer with average temperatures dropping five to ten degrees below normal.   This may not seem like a great deal of difference but the small drop had economic, progressive, cultural and agricultural consequences.  For example Discovery.com lists some of the following as directly attributable to the eruption and subsequent residual suspend particulates in the air:

• Famine in large parts of northern Europe
• Crop shortages due to shortened growing season worldwide
• Mary Shelly writing ‘Frankenstein’ due, in part, to the miserable weather while on summer retreat at Lord Byron’s estate.
• An increase in seeking out innovations to reduce reliance on draft animals to transport food and goods - in response to skyrocketing grain feed costs. (read steam and combustion engines)

It is almost as prophetic as the movie Americathon!

Setting aside the ‘debate’ as to if what we are experiencing is a natural earth weather cycle or something at least in part exacerbated by human production of CO2’s  it is pretty obvious that  the cycles in weather do seem to be more dramatic just in my lifetime.

This year could reasonably - at least from the mid-west to east coast of America- be deemed the ‘Year Without Winter’.   Last year with all the snow and wet, wet, wet spring my neighborhood had fewer cookouts and picnics over the summer as it was  one of the buggiest ever.  Nothing seemed to work short of bringing in tanker trucks full of DOW chemicals to saturate the area - plus after awhile the smell of insect repellent hanging in the air from night to morning does not really make a burger appetizing.  Any more summers like the last and we will become shut ins who only get to swim at indoor pools and BBQ at McDonalds.

Did Mary Shelly and John Polidori warn us of more than just mans attempt to be a god?   

Six Weeks more winter, or maybe not.  

 

Oh God, not Another Social Media Blog Post!

Originally Posted on rAVepubs.com January 24th, 2012

 

Guru, Sage, most exalted wizard!  Trust me I have been called worse, just ask my first wife <rimshot>.   At the risk of sounding terribly coquettish- I have had these names tagged to me at one point or another usually by some act of willful spitefulness.  To be clear,  I do not cotton to being called such names and if you ever hear me use these terms about me or anyone else run don’t walk, away as fast as you can.  

What I am is a social media enthusiast and I know you should be too.   Yes, I know you think you have heard it all before but this time I want you to listen.  Yes, listen for this blog post is simply an invitation to hear some truly inspirational individuals tell you why. 

AV Nation and rAVe Pubs have a new show, ‘AV Social’.  Social as in a the ole 50’s bobby sock Ice Cream social, or the AV industry version - Social as in single malt scotch sippin. The hosts and panelists are all AV people (and a few celebrities)  who share a passion for the industry and the great things that come of using online social communities to generate new jobs, support your clientele and develop business relationships you may never have had the opportunity or chance to make otherwise.

If you are a fan of AV Nation (and good heavens why would you not be!) the story of its origin may be familiar.  It all  started as a conversation on Google + between some  AV folks making contacts on the newest platform on the block.  Tim Albright  posted the statement -I’ have always wanted to do a show on the AV industry, how about you?’  Do you recall the old 1940’s musicals  where Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney (bear with me Millennials) decided they needed  to put on a show and one says ‘We can use my Dad’s Garage!’.  AV Nation came about just like that; Tim had access to a good recording setup and the rest of us had ideas and lots of opinions and so a show was born. 

Why does this matter to you? 

Because it is about community not just, but sometimes, photos of my fabulous sushi lunch. Community includes not just your associates, team members and clients but the collective online AV industry.   These conversations with AV folks from around the street and across the country and the globe build relationships where you and your company can grow.  

If you know anyone who is an installer and spends time on Twitter then you have undoubtedly seen ‘#avtweeps’ at the end of many messages.  AVTweeps is a group that began to chat on twitter regularly about products, support issues, helpful resources as well as lunch, the game and anything else we thought interesting. The group was given its moniker by the irrepressible Johnny Mota, a designer, programmer, social enthusiast and regular contributor to the growing conversations.  What started out as a small group now numbers well over a thousand and includes major manufactures, trade periodicals  and trade organizations- we even have a prominent presence at trade shows like Infocomm and CEDIA .  If you are not joining in the conversation, or at least monitoring the posts or the monthly#avchat, you are missing out on great opportunities. 

The inaugural ‘AV Social’ show features a special guest who, I think, exemplifies just how powerful and constructive social media is for our industry.   

I am not a marketing type.  I do not have a degree in communications or design, nor have I studied advertising- (unless you consider reading ‘From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor’  or ‘The Clue Train Manifesto’ as  an education in these disciplines).  What I do have is a desire to help others and show the company I work for in the best, but honest, light.  Through my work in building a social plan and framework  from the ground up for a major AV  manufacture I found and helped resolve issues and concerns for clients both famous and reclusive by hearing their ‘cries into the wind’ on social. Most of these cries are an attempt to get the attention of the company an individual presumes to be at the center of an issue.  

This is how I met one Cindy Gallop.  Ms Gallop posted an aggrieved message on the night of the Grammy’s a few years back mentioning how my companies “tower of power” - as she called it- was on the fritz and was preventing her from watching the show.   Because I keep a set of keyword searches open and running on Tweetdeck I picked up on her message within minutes of her posting.  The main concern was to find a way to fix Cindy’s  issue immediately and barring that set the wheels in motion to get her dealer in the loop quickly. 

Only later, after several conversations and following her twitter account did I realize that Ms Gallop is quite famous - even infamous.  She is a world expert in marketing and company branding giving talks on the subject of social media, cultural influence and advertising around the globe and is a TED icon.  Cindy is what we like to affectionately call an influencer, that is a central person whose opinion is respected and attended to by others.  This is not why I jumped to help her when the system she spent a good deal of money caused her consternation but our conversations turned to a relationship that continued long after I departed the manufacturer.  

How important is having a social media presence?  Important enough that Ms. Gallop agreed wholeheartedly to join us on our little start up of a show for the full hour - even when I provided several built in escape hatches for her into the show-  based on a relationship started in a twitter conversation.

Take a listen to the show when it posts Wednesday January 25th  and find out why we are such evangelists about turning customers into clients.

 

 

Dell Computer News Aggregation - Whoopsie

 

A few days ago I re-posted John Huntington's intriguing post about the persistent bad audio grounding issues on the Dell computers - specifically Laptops. 

It would appear that Dell has a blog and news aggregator site which is very interesting.  Unfortunately the site does not seem to have a very good content filter.  As you can see at the bottom of this screen capture my post showed up in its feed.  

Now if Dell contacts me, or better yet the real authority and the original author of the article, John, that would be something. 

Hey Dell, are you listening or simply regurgitating?  

(Do not even get me started on how irked my Dell XPS makes me... the computer has sucked wind from the day I got it).  

You can find the RSS feed here

Dell Computer - Serious Audio Grounding Issue

My friend John Huntington of Controlgeek.net  just posted a video of Dell computer's serious, and I mean serious, audio grounding issue.  

 

Yet another Dell Laptop Audio Grounding Problem from John Huntington on Vime

 

See John's post at Controlgeek.net for more info.  And by the way, if you are not reading John's Blog on a regualr basis you are sorely missing out.   Go now and subscribe to him.

 

Ha!  it appears that Dell Computer's news aggregation tool added my post to their site!  

 

Updated: 1/28/12

I just found out that the above post was in preparation for a more expansive article on whether the vinyl graphics (which many live show now use to hide speakers and advertise for the sponsor) have any adverse effect on the sound.

You can see that post here: http://www.controlgeek.net/blog/2012/1/27/do-graphic-vinyl-banners-affect-sound-transmission.html

 

 

 

This is Not a CES post, Not a CES Post

Originally posted on on Ravepubs, January 19th, 2012

 

This is not a post about CES, No, not at all.  But as you brought it up - just a few thoughts

CES is huge, I mean really huge.  You may think that Infocomm or CEDIA is large but neither one of these have left our dear friend Richard Fregosa curled up in tiny trembling ball on the plush carpet of the LG booth. Actually this did not happen, nor do I suspect Mr Fregrosa exhibits any
public displays of trembling- ever.  It is I who would suffer the ‘who put my knees on backwards today’ walk from canvasing the infinity that is CES.  And yes, I would wind up a puddle on the LG carpet, a booth babe nervously poking at me to see if I was still breathing. Just reading RF’s twitter posts and blog missives for CEPro have me holed up in the corner of my office with the first heat rash symptoms of a  trade show specific agoraphobia.  

When a show can be compared to the infinite universe you know for sure that it is just too damn big.  Watching the Twit.tv folks record iPad Today live walking around the ‘iLounge’ section of the show and twice realize that they had left the section only after someone pointed it out to them -just made me happy it was them not me.

You might argue that the show obviously needs to be as large as it is, just look at all the booths they filled and all the attendees. Phil Swann of TV Predictions.com summed up my feelings when he tweeted:

“@SwanniOnHD: Hard to believe the stuff u see on the #CES2012 floor; much should have been left on the cutting room floor”

Then there is the Gizmodo post by Mat Honan . Gizmodo lives and breaths this stuff so it is worth noting when he says:

“Then it's time for a meeting, so I scuttle out through a maze of ocular and aural assaults, past booth after booth of headset-wearing pitchmen doing their best Billy Mays. Deep in the middle of the din, I meet yet another PR person whom I'll never see again in my life, and settle in for a demo of another product I already know I'm not going to write about.”

With too much space to fill we find ourselves swallowed up in detritus and ephemera.

We, as a culture, are fervently fond our ability to spread out, to take up space. Our homes are a testament to this early pioneer spirit of owning our own spread.  It is also a testament to an entire economy which fuels innumerable bloated shows  full of stuff to fill our abodes with.

In my last post “Knit One, Purl Two”  I touched on the opportunities and advantages of going small - how compression can generate new and exciting ideas. Limitations are liberating, forcing new solutions and even revisiting older ones that we should not have abandoned, Like moderate homes with porches.

I own a fairly modest home, a 1901 colonial which, with the finished attic, is about 1900 square feet.  This is, in reality much too much space.  In reality I only use about half the space for actual living, the rest just accommodates stuff - mostly items I do not need and could be put to better use.  The house was purchased as it fit my other priorities of being near mass transit and within walking distance of a local deli/grocery store/ bara porch, this and the small patch of green in the back.  Given my druthers I would have preferred a smaller house on the same lot with less house  more grass and more porch.  So yes size does matter, just not how we have been taught.  

Recently my wife and I performed the annual post X-mas purge of toys, clothes and other miscellaneous items from the house. Each time we do this, (and we do it at least twice a year which is two times too few for me), I am appalled at the sheer volume of items we have accumulated which we have no real need for.  I think part of the issue is that we actually have the space to keep all this flotsam and jetsam. My parents, most likely subconsciously, purchase too many things for the kids because we can fit it. While anecdotal, when we lived in an apartment the items the grandparents brought in were far less and smaller.

I KNOW it will draw guffaws and hackles but  there is much to said for houses that concentrate on function rather than flash.  I am particularly fascinated with the work of Lugi Colani’s Rotor House concept design or perhaps something along the lines of Normal Projects Origami apartment.  The attraction here is beautiful design with emphasis on natural light and economy of space by creating multifunction without appearing industrial.  While the homes are in the vein of Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie homes these homes far more than ranch homes redux, the point is more environmental rather than ornamental.  

There is a larger social effect beyond taking up less space. In a time before ubiquitous air conditioning folks would spend a great deal of time on their porches and stoops - knowing their neighbors and keeping an eye the general welfare of the area. Even today, communities where people use their porches on a regular basis tend to have  lower crime rates.  These communities also generate less trash and are greener in general in particular, if not completely, because there is less space to accumulate random stuff. The trend may be bad for the folks from ‘American Pickers’ and CES exhibitors but not our industry.

In the cloud based future there is less need to have and store a physical medium, for example our playback and storage devices are small and mostly portable.  The trend is for more personal listening (headphones and headphone amps were everywhere at the show, every online magazine commented on just how pervasive the units were).  Even when a more traditional listening experience is desired the new compact speaker systems are comparable with their larger space hogging brethren -(taking into account economy of scales).   

This would, of course, mean a shift in just what and how home media and automation items are created and sold.  Homeowners will be more interested in controls and media delivery that lives and moves from personal device to the home and back again.  Interoperability, quick replacement transition and customization will be the hallmarks of a new mass market controls.

We may feel a bit pressured by this coming small world but the trends of global urbanization and explosion of multifunction products that incorporate a video monitor, storage, Internet connectivity and control in one box show an inevitable path.. This years CES dichotomy of too much floor space and compact offerings are the rune stones. But then again we were not talking about CES, were we?

DIY Show - I'm a LumberJock and That's Okay!

My AV Nation Podcast "The DIY show" is up- Episode 2 'I'm a Lumberjock & that's Okay!" 

Anthony Zotti, Jonathan Danforth,Michael Francis, andRJ of DIY Light Animation. Episode 2 of the DIY show: Jonathan takes over the helm as host and we discuss Michael’s first Christmas light show, RJ’s great forum, 3D printing, what makes a DIYer and our favorite resources for information and inspiration.

 

 Click the image to access the show

Do you like it? Hate it ? let us know (hey, wanna be on? just contact me and we will make room at the table!"

Dance Yer Pants Off!

It's Friday!  So Dance your Pants off  - Any way you can and in your own Style.  Keep it -Your - Real

 

 

These are my two boys ( who I have since dubbed Rooster, green hat, and Gonzo, Red Hat) working the song  Fire Burning by Sean Kingston this past summer.  

The video Acutally got me Banned in Germany! 

 

Father Time! */shakes fist in air/*

 

 

So this happened.

 

Essentially this is the generic Lipitor
 

• “Livalo (pitavastatin) belongs to a group of medicines called HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, or "statins." Livalo reduces levels of "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL) and triglycerides in the blood, while increasing levels of "good" cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL).
• Livalo is used to treat high cholesterol in adults. Lowering your cholesterol may help prevent heart disease and hardening of the arteries, conditions that can lead to heart attack, stroke, and vascular disease.”

And with it  the last remnants of my youth have drifted away like a silk scarf  in the wind.

I had not been to the doctor in a bit, (yeah I know- typical male),  and being told I had high cholesterol was a bit of a surprise.  I am not a terrible eater but alas I do have my foibles and get way too little exercise.

In fact I was more paranoid that I would be facing a more terrible prospect of colon cancer.  I am not generally paranoid about my health but as it had been much too long between checkups I envisioned some serious malfunctions being present inside me.  We have all heard the stories of a person discovering that they have only months to live after a long overdue checkup. Indeed I have been feeling off lately with an upset stomach (and bathroom issues to boot) and restless sleep.  In general  my sleep is a delft imitation a rock- and after my last bout with insomnia I was on a heightened sense of alert.

Somewhere I read (if it is on the Internet then it’s true, no?) that these could be symptoms related to prostrate cancer and so the seed was planted.  Yet I did not move on getting this checked out sooner. Why? More on the whole prostate exam thing in another post, I am still gauging my emotions. 

To be honest, I was too damn busy.  This and part of me knew that a certain amount of unreasonable paranoia had crept into my brain.   Being  a skeptic at heart I wrangle with what feelings of intuition are culturally fed poppy cock and what is simple attentiveness to my own body and surroundings.  Like many I work long hours at a job, wolfing down my lunch at my desk, then a couple of more on personal projects after the kids have settled into bed and the wife is watching her reality shows. Most of this sitting down.

I used to exercise all the time.  Heck when we lived in Manhattan and Park Slope my transportation more often than not consisted of my well worn in-line skates.  If it was above 40 degrees- I was on my skates making time on the streets of NYC.  Then we moved to the suburbs.  The Ramones line come to mind

“Nothing to do and no where to go”

Good grief people - I may have a nice backyard (small as it is) but there really is nothing to do here that does not require a membership or ten minutes in the car (more sitting) minimum to get there.  To be honest I was a bit discouraged by the lack of outdoor social activity but I had a saving grace:

When I worked as the manager of technical support at Crestron Electronics my job required that I be on my feet, prowling the floor for techs in need or anything that would delay the call queue.   This meant hours standing and wearing a path in the carpet as I moved from one cubicle cluster to another.   Then I was given a real desk job writing copy and building social communities and my arteries never looked back.  

My doctor states that there are no side effects for me to to worried about.  Now this makes me worried about my doctor.   Really Doc! - no side effects... wait what?  You do realize that this is a Statin  don’t you?!  No joke  the warnings include:

• In rare cases, Livalo can cause a condition that results in the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, leading to kidney failure. Call your doctor right away if you have unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness especially if you also have fever, unusual tiredness, and dark colored urine.

• Avoid drinking alcohol. It can raise triglyceride levels and may increase your risk of liver damage   (Emphasis mine )

‘Avoid Alcohol’ !   Hell people, despite what Dr. Keith Ablow says I am an AV guy, beer, whiskey and gin are mama’s milk.  

This has me more determined than ever to work toward getting off these meds.  I have three months to accomplish the task and bring by bad level to under 130. (i am at 140 now).  

I have begun to find that I am closer in age to my dad than I have ever been before. How’d that happen?

 

 

Are You Going Dark tomorrow to protest SOPA/ PIPA?

Are You Going Dark tomorrow to protest SOPA/ PIPA?

   image from: http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/stop-sopa-code-go-dark/

A simple piece of code is helping the entire web (from major sites to even the humblest of Tumblrs) go dark in solidarity. The code, called STOP SOPA, replaces any site’s landing page with a black screen. Using your mouse a flashlight uncovers a message explaining the need to kill SOPA and a link to anti-SOPA site AmericanCensorship.org.

 

http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/stop-sopa-code-go-dark/

Knit One, Purl Two

Originally published on rAVe Pubs December 16th, 2011

 

"If you want to destroy this sweater - Just pull this thread as I walk away...”

- Weezer

Go ahead 'n' pull, you might get what you want or a surprise worth waiting for, depending on yourpoint of view. With the music business  still in disarray and profits bleeding out like a moonshine still at the wrong end of a ATF shotgun, the pundits have declared, yet again, Rock’s demise.

A recent article on CNN discussed the rise of (pop) Country Music sales and radio play as other genres are waning, which *of course* was accompanied buy the hackles of "Rock/ Rap is Dead/Dying.”

There is no denying that modern country music has been on the rise for some time. Hell, NYC has had at least two successful country radio stations.  I have nothing against country music -- well, I do have a lot against country pop, more on that below.  I am a fan of the true roots hillbillies like Hank Williams, the current alt rock decedents of Hank -  Lucero and the rockabilly revivalist Reverend Horton Heat. Unless you want to get caught up in a day long discussion of music history and Situationist aesthetics don’t even hint at asking  me about my Jan Dek fetish.

I do not dislike pop music because it is so prevalent but because it is too easy to like. Top 40 songs are genetically engineered to draw you in and crash your mind on to the rocks of  the island of the Sirens. These songs do not ‘stimulate the little grey cells’ - as Hercule Poirot would say- rather they lull them into a catatonic state suppressing the desire for challenging compositions.  Admit it, you have caught yourself humming along with the muzak in elevator.... and if alone, enjoyed it.  Oh yes you have, and  I’ll bet a dollar bill that you tapped your foot, too.   

It is undeniable that mainstream rock and rap sales have been in decline recently, but  I would not go so far as to start dusting off and updating the obituaries.  These genres have been pushed into smaller spaces - off into the anterooms.  I find this to be an opportunity.

Unlike many I am quite comfortable in small space, the constraints actually promote more creativity by forcing new angles of thought on how to get around them (more about this in my next post).  I could emulate William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch Story telling or Jan Dek’s (I told you I am obsessed) musical interpretations and smash the boundaries à la the 1984 commercial.  Yet, even these follow strict rules and delineation -- just not the ones we have been previously accustomed to.  

Smaller spaces or musical communities can generate more heat - (canned heat?) - confined as they are, once things get cooking.  Underground or regional collectives who have been pushed to the out-lands can grow in what seems a blur and wind up creating  some remarkable sounds and genre bending without the need to seek a more global acceptance.  These tight collectives can also be incestuous and regrettably, (or thankfully depending on how macabre your persuasions are) produce the musical equivalent of the Blue Fugates.  

A well known Alternative/ Punk pioneer often stated that he professionally looked forward to Republican administrations as it stirred up the emotions of the bands and fans (who would often go on to form their own bands).  The message?  Constrictions, or the appearance of, can generate incredible bursts of creativity.  It also generates an exponential explosion of distinct sub-genres.  This would seem counter-intuitive at first unless you have an appreciation for Chris Anderson’s book The Long Tail and the theory of "a thousand true fans." 

The Long Tail upturns a few of the ‘standard models’ of business by showing that a good deal of money can be made in producing not just a few select items, but an entire swath of niche market items, each with their own community of dedicated clientele.

The theory of a thousand true fans postulates - Just how many fans paying (x) amount to you per year would you need to survive and produce your art.  Many independent artists are experimenting with some form of this Kevin Kelly-promoted idea, from Radiohead to Thomas Dolby (have you see his new performances, wow, just wow) to the newUnderground Rap movement.  Think about this for a moment: if you were able to garner a thousand fans who paid you $75 dollars a year, or $75,000, would this be enough?  $75 sound like too much? How about $40 a year, plus concerts/appearance fees. Would this be enough to give you the freedom to create content and access and live comfortably?

While the old school business models may be struggling with a smaller real estate footprint, some are finding opportunity.  Just look at what Louis CK did by providing  a $5 DRM-free product and wound up earning $200k in less than seven days.


My sweater may be undone, but  I still have a stitch in time to create.  Knit one, Purl Two.

 

 

Best. Damn. Music. Show. Ever. Period!

Originally from my Tumblr blog 'Tucker's Tertiary' 

If you are interested in Indie music (or alternative, Punk, proto-punk or what ever other tag you declare your music), I highly recommend listening to The Big Take Over Magazine’s Radio Show this week and next!

Actually you should listen every week and subscribe to the best music magazine ever, yes ever, created. The magazine has been dedicated to the indie music scene for over 30 years with great writing, interviews and reviews of bands you only see there first.

Back to the shows - it is Jack Rabid’s (the publisher of BTO) year in review shows - in two Parts! How could I have missed so much good music?!

The Magazine - http://www.bigtakeover.com
The Radio Show - http://www.breakthruradio.com/#/post/?blog=21&post=1081

 

Some X-Mas Music (better than you think) \m/

Putting out the presents with a little different X-mas music.  "ENOUGH with the #@$%ing Lite FM songs!  Thousands of songs from the Mississippi blues to shred metal and all they can play are the same 20 songs!?  Sheesh.   

Here, cleanse your pallet on these 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forget the Zombies, LinkedIn Snowmen are on the Loose

 LinkedIn gets cute with a winter solstice themed profile "connection"

 If you are a regular user of LinkedIn you have no doubt seen the little box to the right which shows you how many people have  viewed your profile in the last 15 days.  The box also invites you to click on it and see who.  This, of course, is a clever way to entice you into purchasing an upgrade package, which then allows you to see everyone who has tapped your profile -( the 'free' version provides a handy graph and a list of five or six people.  Often this is masked as 'Someone who hires people like you for big, we mean BIG salaries.  Upgrade NOW or lose out in being Rich beyond your wildest dreams!" 

Well, every so often, LinkedIn gets cute in this game.  Today I was told that Snow E. Mann - an independent Snow removal  management  expert - viewed my profile.  Clicking the link brought up a very nice holiday greeting.  

Still think LinkedIn is just a stuffy resume site? 

 

 

I Say a Dirty Word - Redux- A Plan Into Action

  - Ruminations on a Maker Faire Virgin starting a DIY Podcast 
   (from My AV Nation podcast blog)

 

Hello, my name is George and I am Maker Virgin.   Hello George!

I have spent more of my life as an audio visual installer/ programmer and professional live event person than I have not; yet I am intensely interested in the folks who spend months of their personal time creating ‘extreme Christmas lights’ and the Raymond Scott  like creations of Circuit Benders.

(No, this is not me) 

 I have to admit that my first exposure to the  electronics DIY community was a mix of emotions, it intrigued me but I was of the opinion that it was amateur hour stuff - like the folks at bars on New Years eve. The Christmas lights were cute and sometimes impressive, but I had “real work” to do. 

My opinion reflected that of many in the home  AV business - a look down the nose dismissive shrug - and frankly many took the attitude that the DIY market was either a simple annoyance or a place to find new work fixing/ replacing a failed attempt.   

What I (and many of my associates) failed to see was the quality of work, the dedication and sophisticated ability to create ‘a product’ from building the circuits to synchronizing the sequences.  Many of us missed the rise of the Maker movement - Just how could have we done that?  Well ProSound News did not .

 

When I worked as a technical support manager for a major Manufacturer of home automation systems I found many of the techs were, in fact, huge DIY/ Maker folks- and why wouldn’t they be?  Nearly all AV techs entered the industry because they loved to get their hands on these amazing systems. We love to solder, design and program - we did it prior to our official employment, why would we stop now?

Some would argue that we as a group had access to some of the most advanced home AV and automation gear in the industry and would therefore stop playing with toys.   Ahh but there is a great and natural pleasure with crafting something with your own hands.  The satisfaction of building from the ground up a system that operates how you KNOW it should be and doing things that no other product on the market does, well there is no matching that feeling. 

I wrote a blog post for RAVE Publications on this subject entitled ‘I Say a Dirty Word’ advocating for a more aggressive outreach from the ‘Professional’ community. The response was amazing - a few detractors spoke up but overall the Pro community said ‘yes, yes, yes and yes again’.  

Here we found the genesis for the DIY show on AVNation.tv.  The first episode is posted and you have generated more hits for the show in a single week than any other show we have produced so far.  I am awe struck at the positive reactions from folks at DIYLightAnimation  and Do It Yourself Christmas.com  and at Maker Magazine .  We hope to have fine folks from these forums on the next show, scheduled to post on January 11 (and then second Wednesday of each month afterwards. ). 

We want your voice too!  Are you interested in being a panelist on the DIY show?  contact me here or on the show page!

Best Musical Find of 2011- Charles Bradley

~From my Tumblr Blog~

 

Charles Bradley - ‘The Screaming Eagle of Soul’ - and his band the Extraordinaires, Best Musical Find of 2011

I posted this on the Audyssey’s Facebook site in response to a question about the best find of the year. Up until two weeks ago I would not have even known Charles Bradley’s name (i most likely would have thought someone meant to say former NBA player and odd ball personality Charles Barkley or band Narls Barkley ).

Charles Bradley’s performance on WNYC’s local music show ‘SoundCheck’ featured an interview and live performance with the man and his voice. It is just stunning. Breathtakingly so.

Forget that kid who backhanded Micheal Buble. CB is the real deal.

Take my advise - cue up this video, and crank it loud (yes, to 11 wise guy). If you have crappy speakers get a good pair of cans on your head, (I highly recommend Sony MDR-V6’s), and prepare to weep with joy.

Yeah, it’s that damn good.

Next: Go and Buy his album. He may very well blow out his voice before the end of next year - enjoy it while you can. The original Sound Check interview can be heard here.

 

Fast Company No Like Me - Rejects Remote Comments

I rather despise moderated comments, especially on major sites like Fast Company.  I do understand the reasoning though, I mean it IS the wild n' wolly Internet. True, I am a bit Sybil on this.  

Fast Company has an article on the new remote, comparing the histoical content provider (Dish, Cable, etc) supplied units with the new gleaming consumer app driven tablets and smartphones. Granted I did refer to an old post of my that touches on this subject, exepct mine rejects the newy for the old and makes reference to weighted gain knobs as influenced by Miss September 1963.  

This or the comments monitor does not like to counter all the corporate market quotes. 

Alas - here is my commet, for the record. 

I must take a, somewhat,  contrarian view to this article.  While there is a certain allure to the simplified remote and the titanium encased tablet am I alone in feeling that the iPad is well, soul-less in comparison? I am troubled by the frictionless gloss of icons, I miss the tactile feel of a physical interface.  

Perhaps it is simple nostalgia but I long for the clickty-clack-clunk of an 8-track tape, the solid mechanical ka-chunk of open reel tape decks, and the tactile feel and response of weighted gain knobs. I am not sure just why I love these knobs so much, the sheer pleasure of them in my hand – they just feel right, perfectly balanced in my fingers and against my palm. something the smartphones and tablets just do not recreate.

Do not trust the device manufactures to come up with a dramatic method or control experience. Despite claims by the very same that it is the content providers ( Dish, Cable, etc) who are restricting new interfaces by churning out millions of ‘clunky’ remotes into the hands of users - (who have become ‘accustomed’ to it via muscle memory) - no real alternatives have come out.  Does everyone forget the disaster of the Sony Commander? No wonder we stick with tactile response devices provide.  

http://tuckerstuesday.typepad.com/tuckerstuesday/2010/10/8-bit-nostalgia-and-miss-september-63s-influence-on-tactile-controls-.html

 

Huge Mars Water Deposits Found - Davey Martin Being Sought for Questioning

Gizmodo reports  that the European Space Agency's Mars Express Spacecraft has found what appears to be a huge reservoir of water :

"Phlegra Montes mountain range, in a region where radar probing indicates large volumes of water ice are hiding below. This could be a source of water for future missons"

This is astonishing news that has serious implications to our understanding of where life could be, has been or might be supported in the future (i.e. Human colonization).   Not that we should be surprised; this has been predicted, almost to a T in a science fiction story.

If you have been following the Science Channel's  "Prophets of Science Fiction" series you are well acquainted with plethora of predictions made by science fiction writers.  One writer in particular, Arthur C. Clarke,  author of  the story -The Sentinel - which became the  movie 2001, actually invented the communications satellite. 

But we weren't talking about satellites, no, we were looking at the (most probable) discovery of a large body of water just below the surface of  Martian mountain range. The author who predicted this is not yet one of the fine writers featured on the Science Channel show, it was one Chris Gall and the story  is one of my boys favorites, (along with 'Theo and the Blue Note and a reprint of a 1900's version of  'Twas the Night Before Christmas' -(yeah, we read it all year round))

 There's NOTHING to do on MARS" (by Chris Gall)  is the tale of one Davey Martin who, with his family, have sought out the quiet and isolation of Mars.  Davey's parents are content but the Boy is bored with no friends but his trusty dog and no beaches to swim in.  In addition both the Martins and the Marians have no water to bathe in, that is until Davey and  his dog polaris climb  a very unique looking mountain and unleash a bottled up ocean.  

 

Yup,  this gorgeously illustrated kids picture book predicted just how Martian water would be found. Pretty much. 

 I am thinking of starting a petition to the Science Channel demanding this book/author be included in next seasons offerings.   

I also suggest that you check out Mr. Gall's site - I am digging his other works and have a few more books added to "The kids just need these under the tree' list. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is Bobby Valentine Mo Berg Reborn?

Is Bobby Valentine Mo Berg Reborn?

As you may know Bobby Valentine, former NY Mets manager and one of the kookier baseball personalities, is being considered for the manager position with the Boston Red Sox.

Listening to the Michael Kay show interview Al Liter about Bobby V’s possible career move and how Al thought of him as ‘entirely different level of baseball knowledge’ and  how he waxed rhapsodic about Valentine’s intelligence. Suddenly I had the craziest thought - a connection equal in impact to the discovery of a (time traveler?!) using a cell phone in a 1920’s Charlie Chaplin film

Then the thought struck me- Is Bobby V the reincarnation of Moe Berg?

If you are unfamiliar with Mo Berg, he is one of the odder individuals to play the game. A backup catcher who never hit over .234 for his career yet was part of many international all star games rubbing elbows with the likes of Babe Ruth. Why? Mo Spoke Japanese, Russian, German and a host of other languages as well as having a scientific background and an uncanny understanding of the game of baseball. (Starting to sound familiar?). Moe Berg was also the subject of a book and PBS NOVA show entitled - “The Catcher was a Spy”…

It’s about the fate of the free world my friend; the fate of the free wolrd!

 

HR 3261 Will Give You Cancer

An open tumblr letter to my local Congressional representatives.

Nita Lowey, Eliot Engle, Chuck Schumer

I am posting here to voice my opposition to HR 3261. This bill appears to have been written by the corporations (not the individual senators) with the sole purpose of stifling creativity and innovations.

while I understand the underlying motivations for the bill, SOPA is akin to fixing a cut on one’s finger by chopping off the hand.

I will be watching my representatives vote on this very carefully.

STOP HR 3261 contact your Congressionanl representitive and tell them to stop it! 

 

 

Occupy - show the real power of Social Media

Want to see the real power of social media ?  See the live multichannel streaming coverage from the Occupy Wall street protesters.  

Love em or hate em there is a real show of power with their 'leaderless' movement with how they are getting the word out with social media.   ( I wrote more on what I think is going on with the Rhyme and Reason  here -- http://tumblr.com/ZwGBZyATEg5Y

In addition to an army of bloggers who understand how SEO and re- messaging works.  The older white collective that makes up the Tea Party may have an understanding (and love from) the traditional media (read broadcast TV) but the #occupy folks have the new media crown. 

 

the video feed is embeded here: 

 

I Say A Dirty Word

DIY is Your Friend   -(originally published on Ravepubs.com)

 

Now that the noise and overstimulating barrage of products, specifications, digital signage and  the after effects of copious  adult beverages has diminished- I  want to propose what may seem a counter intuitive idea. Blasphemy even. 

 

The DIY home control fan is your best bet for future client growth. Yes I said that out loud. 

 

A few weeks ago AV nations’ podcast AVweekdiscussed how the retrofit market has grown by 23%  over the last year. This is pure economic necessity where new build homes  are becoming rarer than a Javan Rhinoceros, with less new build work coming in you need to find jobs to keep the trucks rolling. In an economy that has flirted with death spirals it is the enthusiasts who will shell out hard cash for such toys.

 

Admittedly, many of us in the install world have viewed DIY’ers  with the same forced tolerance we give a girlfriends yipping little dog. (yeah, I wouldn't allow the damn thing into the bedroom if I could help it either). 

 

For years the press has been abuzz declaring the industry is on the precipice of mass market acceptance, proclaiming that now is the time where integrated home control will be viewed as necessary as indoor plumbing. Perhaps my home sits in an aberration of the space time continuum because it is not happening here. Maybe where you live?  Thought not.

 

Who will drive the push to demand a touch panel in every kitchen? The DIY revolutionists. This push is similar to the early days of radio. When broadcast radio started in the early part of the 20th century most radio receivers were built by hobbyists from purchased plans or kits- it was not until the mid 1920’s that ready built receivers were sold in stores. Who, I dare ask you, started the home computer market?  Some us are old enough to remember being able to buy a home computer only via a build it yourself kit, through the mail only. 

 

The custom install business once was based on a top down supply chain - Manufacturers heard from dealers about a need for a product and added it to an already existing eco-system, usually proprietary and partnered with other proprietary third party manufactures. The standard consumer or ‘pro-sumer’ products lived in their own world and ‘never the twain’ met’. 

 

Now clients are bringing off the shelf products to dealers and asking them to incorporate it into a larger system.  Arguments about audio quality, durability and multi purpose use are pushed aside.  In effect the high and ‘low’ end products are meeting in the middle.  Case in point  the iPod.  Many manufactures of high end products resisted integrating the device arguing that their level of clientele wanted, nay, demanded a higher quality sound source.  Can you name an integration company that does not offer an iPod / mp3 interface?  Where again are the product decisions being made from now? 

 

But then again you and me are DIY’ers, are we not?  I would aim to guess that most of you reading this got your start by installing an off the shelf product then tinkering with it to make it work ‘right’.  

 

Lutron has been selling to the DIY client for over a decade with products available at the Home Depot, Lowe’s and other electronic box stores.  This campaign of using the main company brand has not diminished its commercial  or custom residential market-share. At this years CEDIA the company introduced a a battery powered shade that is available as a consumer installed and CE model that can connect to a larger home automation system.  The units, beyond a bit of extra hardware are exactly the same.  

 

There are issues in reaching out to the DIY community and some  in the group will be unwilling to listen and some will react as if attacked, but if handled properly it can reap the great reward of lifelong clients. To engage the community one has to check their professional ego at the door and remember that you are sharing knowledge not teaching. 

 

How do you find the people who could be come potential clients in this community? 

 

Think about the guy who designs, builds and programs synchronized Christmas lights for their home. I am sure you must have a ton of them in your area, go ahead and reach out to them.  I know, this can seem like the joke about the dog who chases cars - what are you going to do once you catch it?  The Idea is to get them into your shop and into the idea that ‘pro’ gear is something that they want and can afford as well.   

 

How do you entice and work with this community without it interfering and congesting your showroom during business hours?  

 

How about some seminars on the essentials of control with classes such as How Serial works or expanded programming techniques ( what is an variable array, how Boolean logic works) and wiring techniques for proper outdoor use (like how and what to use for an outdoor splice). how about loaning out some work space to the class members for building and checking  their holiday systems?

 

When the conversation comes to  the home I have had success in with discussing these topics:

 

Reliability - especially when connecting to security / fire systems

 

Partner comfort - we all know that at least one partner in the home is a technophobe or has become frustrated with using  a constantly updated DIY system. Why not sell the one system to the non tech in the house that will rarely change or go down. (thereby giving the DIY guy more time to tweak his other projects in peace)

 

Insuring that the system allows for some changes or add-ons to be accomplished by homeowner. Having the ability to change presets, some macros and backgrounds fills the need to feel ‘in control’ for many. Yes, this means some more programming, but I am at loss as to why you would not have this available already.  Do you really make any profit by sending a tech over to a client's home to change one preset channel? ( I used to have a default settings stored in the program, just in case the client managed to get themselves into a corner). 

 

Service contracts -  Yup, I will save your butt when you muck something up for a small fee each month. 

 

Now before you get yourselves in as froth, I am not saying you should teach these folks how to take your job. No sir.  I am suggesting a grass roots community building by teaching and supporting a safer and more educated client base. These folks can be drawn into your shop during non business hours, once a month, where you can show off some of the solutions your company provides. 

 

Tsunamis are more often than not deceptive in the appearance - not appearing as 20-foot tall waves but a powerful and sudden rush. Are you ready to ride the wave?

 

AV Week Episode 10 - "Oh Canada"

we mock our northern neighbors, take one for team ,  have serious moment -(ha' who we kiddin?) #avtweeps

 

Episode 10 of AV Week brings new blood with Adrian Boyd, Matt Scott returns as our international correspondent, and George Tucker joins us.

We talk about AV Week, the InfoComm industry celebration of all things AV. Cheryl Regan from ICIA gives us some tips and ideas on how to promote the industry where you live.

Crestron has killed a long beloved product; we mourn the passing of the Adagio line. How would you like a control system you can control with your brain? We’ll explain. Also, George explains how to build your very own satellite. Plus, we have the next big market for you integrators… senior citizens.

http://www.avnation.tv/avweek-episode-10-oh-canada/

The Greatest Game on Earth

From my Tumblr Blog: http://tuckerstertiary.tumblr.com/

The Greatest Game on Earth

Hockey season is upon but unless you are of an extreme northern clime or in one of the rare ‘hockey towns’ you most likely had not noticed.

The game gets short shrift from many, if it gets any attention at all, despite the drama and unrelenting action three twenty minute periods provide.

I do not come from a hockey family. If we watched sports at all it was the ubiquitous NFL or college basketball, neither of which really drew me to the television or had me checking the sports pages for the latest standings.

I remember the exact moment that the game became more than just something we played when on a frozen pond -(remember when ponds used to freeze over every winter?). I was given the gift of a 13” black and white television as reward for - finally- doing well in school. (Ninth grade was a turning point for me both academic and personal). The TV while in my room had some very strict rules attached to it. It was not be be turned on until my homework was done and would be taken away if my grades fell below a B average. It was just after finishing some geometry problems that I walked over (remember remotes were not a standard item back then) and flipped on the TV only to find it was on channel 9 (WOR-TV) with the New York Islanders battling the Buffalo Sabers early in the second period.

The broadcast was a revelation, even squinting into the tiny colorless screen it was like meeting the love of your life from across a crowded room on a chance glance into her eyes. I must have stood there through the rest of the game because only when it ended did I notice that the clock read 10 pm. I will admit that I did not entirely understand all the rules just then and often lost track of just what was going on but it fascinated me like no other sport. Why am I so enamoured? The action is continuous - it flowed where other sports seem to drag, it is fast and yes aggressive.

Hockey does have some road blocks to gaining a more populist following -

It starts the official season in the midst of Baseball playoffs, the start of Basketball and a critical time of the early football season. The airwaves are congested with sports news and hockey’s third or fourth tier status slides it further to the periphery.

The season is just too damn long. Even for die hard hockey fans the 80 game per team season stretching into late May and mid June boarders on ridiculous. Honestly I would love an October to March season, but the team owners will never agree to a loss of home games.

It is violent. Sure other sports have contact as a main component of the game but hockey is only behind Rugby and Boxing in the degree to which violence is essential to the game. The echos of late 70’s hockey as exemplified by the movie Slapshot! still defines the sport, not entirely unjustly so, for many. The reputation for fighting was so pervasive in the early 80’s that many found truth in the joke ‘ it was an exciting night, I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out”. The league has made a good deal of effort to reduce excessive fighting by officially shunning enforcers ( players whose only role is to be able to skate passably and target other players).

Hockey’s sub tier status can also be a part of its allure, this small semi secret club where fans recognize each other and will commiserate with that nod or a four hour discussion on the merits of one goalies style of play over another. We even have a secret handshake, no really.

Like all other sports it is the drama and personal story lines that drive the emotional connection to each game - I have a favored team, the New York Rangers -(my Islanders fandom is viewed by my friends as a folly of youthful indulgence. Something to rib me about but not hold over my head. Heck, I have friend who has season tickets to both the Rangers and Islanders)- it is the game itself that I am truly fascinated with

I wept openly when Ray Bourque finally won the Cup.

If you are unfamiliar with the story of Ray Bourque- a quick summary. Bourque was a franchise player, a rarity these days, who was associated with the Boston Bruins nearly as much as the City of Boston itself. Passion and dedication showed every time he stepped out onto the ice. This was not just a personal quest, it was a promise to the city, to the fans. Despite Bourque’s, and the teams, best efforts over his 20 year career a championship did not come to the city.

It was with a heavy heart and high hopes that the team and fans released Bourque to play for the Colorado Avalanche a team with extraordinary chances to win. The Avalanche wooed him to play just one more year. It actually took two.

 

 

Watch the video. It shows the presentation of the cup and is as strong stuff as there is in sports. Again if you are unfamiliar with hockey, some things to note. The Cup is given to the captain of the winning team who skates with it first, a tradition nearly unbroken in the modern game. Not here, not this time. Joe Sakic, the captain, nearly yanks the cup out of the commissioner’s hands before the official photo-so eager was he to get it to Bourque. Listen to the crowd roar as #77 gets the cup- this is not just for the city, the man but for the game. again, I wept openly at this as I did with the 94 win with the Rangers, but that my friends is something I cannot begin to describe - the emotions are too great.

This is why I watch.

And if that does not do it for you, we also have Don Cherry one of the most colorful, and may I say snazziest dressers in all of sports.