Extreme rain activates the Emergency Alert System
[Posted by Dave Haber on Monday, 01/18/10 12:56 am] [Permalink] [Tweet This]If you listen to AM radio a lot as I do, you will frequently hear some stations conduct their regular Emergency Alert System tests (this used to be called the Emergency Broadcast System). Over the years, I've heard many of these tests, but I've never actually heard the system in use.
Until today.
I happened to be listening to KABC on the internet this afternoon when the EAS was activated because of the severe rain Southern California is enduring right now.
  Los Angeles weather EAS alert on KABC
Because I was listening to the stream using QuickTime on my iMac, I could rewind the playback and capture it in a file using another Mac app called Audio Hijack.
It's pouring rain right now in LA, flash-flood warnings have been issued, residents are sand-bagging and 6 inches of rain are expected today, and the rain is not expected to let up until Thursday.
Close encounters of the British kind
[Posted by Dave Haber on Thursday, 12/10/09 8:23 am] [Permalink] [Tweet This] After more than 50 years in operation, the British military quietly shut down its UFO investigation service last week, saying it would save the government money.
Roy Lake, founder of the London UFO Studies group, said "I think it's a stupid thing to do because this could create a threat to national security. We take this quite seriously."
But a Defense Ministry spokesman said, "None of the thousands of UFO sightings reported over the years have ever provided substantiated proof of the existence of extraterrestrials," and stressed that closing down the UFO inquiry unit would not add to the security threats Britain faces.
 | | From Britain's actual UFO files |
I believe there is, however, another possible, logical explanation for this decision. The British government could be shutting down their UFO investigation at this time because they now know, conclusively, that extraterrestrials DO exist, so no further investigation is necessary.
This fits with the military's declaration that this new policy does not pose a security threat. They could only know that for sure if they are now in actual contact with the extraterrestrials, and are convinced the aliens are friendly.
Lake says, "I think the government knows damn well what's going on up there and they're covering it up." I think the UFO watchers are more correct than they know.
Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated
[Posted by Dave Haber on Tuesday, 10/27/09 2:45 pm] [Permalink] [Tweet This] Google Alerts can be very handy. You enter some search terms, and Google emails you any time they notice that the words you requested to follow come up on the internet somewhere. For example, I have a Google Alert set up for my name, David Haber.
Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to find out I had died.
It wasn't me, of course. It was the David Haber who lived in Virginia Beach, Va. He was born in Buffalo, NY, was a Harley enthusiast and a member of the Protective Order of the Elks. He was 46, and passed away after a long illness.
I'm feeling great, by the way...
Warning: A DVD player is not necessarily a CD player
[Posted by Dave Haber on Wednesday, 09/09/09 8:22 pm] [Permalink] [Tweet This] Many moons ago, since DVD players can play audio CDs, I decided I no longer needed a stand-alone CD player. In 2002 I bought my second DVD player, replacing a Sony that worked good until it got warm.
This is my current DVD player, a Panasonic RV31. I know I need to get Blu-ray, I guess I'm just a slow adopter...
Anyroad, I had been assuming all these years that DVD players, and specifically this DVD player, was a fine CD player replacement. However, in the intervening years, my Mac has taken over most CD player functions, having long ago ripped my CDs to iTunes, so very rarely, if ever, did I feel the need to put on the ole' headphones and pop a CD in the DVD player and listen to it on my stereo (that's what they used to call them before they became known as "home entertainment systems"...)
Fast forward to today, and me being in proud receipt of the new Beatles Remasters box sets fresh from Amazon via the UPS truck. I plugged the headphones into the stereo system, popped the stereo Abbey Road remaster in the DVD player and sat back, awaiting to be blown away.
And I wasn't.
WTF? Why's everybody making such a big fuss? These didn't sound good to me at all. I randomly listened to some tracks off various albums, and they just didn't impress me.
About to call it a bad job, I put the Mini Documentary DVD in. Same stereo system, same headphones. AND THE MUSIC ON THE SOUNDTRACK ON THE DVD WAS GREAT! Hold on! This damn DVD player plays DVDs great, but it SUCKS at playing CDs!
So, right now, I am sitting in my home office, with the same headphones plugged into my iMac, listening the Abbey Road CD with the iTunes player.
And really enjoying it!
All I can say is, these are definitely worth the money! And I haven't even cut the seal on the Mono Box yet!
So, moral of the story is, if your CDs sound like carp, it may be the DVD player. Who knew?
(Not me, obviously...)
It's just too darn cool
[Posted by Dave Haber on Saturday, 08/22/09 9:08 am] [Permalink] [Tweet This] I have realized that I now have a problem that currently seems insolvable.
I've been through about 6 computers in the past few decades. In the past, as one computer was retired for the next, I felt nothing for the older computer, and it was relegated to the closet, then storage, then the trash. PCs are just ugly boxes.
Indeed, there are two PCs in the closet of my office right now.
I don't know why I keep them around. I might make one into a web server, or use one for development or testing, I say to myself. But the boxes are old technology now, and getting older by the minute, and those things will be probably never happen.
My problem: Now the computer currently on my desk (and the computer I'm writing this on) looks like this:
This iMac is approximately a year old. It's not my fist Mac, I also have a MacBook laptop. I'm not anywhere near thinking about getting a new computer (which will almost certainly be a Mac), but my problem is, when that time comes, how can I possibly relegate something that is just so darn cool to the closet, or storage?
I suppose I'm just going to have to take the extra time to find the old guy a good, second home. Anyone know of a good Mac adoption service?
Analog TV truly a thing of the past today in Los Angeles
[Posted by Dave Haber on Sunday, 07/12/09 10:55 pm] [Permalink] [Related Posts] [Tweet This] I checked this morning, and they were still on. However, as of 11:00 pm this evening, exactly 30 days since all of the analog TV stations in Los Angeles ceased commercial broadcasts, the final station on the air broadcasting the N.A.B. informational message, KCBS Channel 2, is now totally off the air.
Analog TV broadcasting is now technically, as well as officially, a thing of the past, gone the way of the wax cylinder, the 78 RPM disc, and the 8-track tape. It's a sad day in the history of broadcasting and electronics.
Michael Jackson's spooky sevens
[Posted by Dave Haber on Wednesday, 07/08/09 1:52 pm] [Permalink] [Tweet This] I wasn't planning on blogging about Michael Jackson, but I found this today on TMZ and I just love these numbers things.
Here are some fascinating facts about Michael Jackson:
- Michael Jackson signed his will on 7/7/02.
- Michael Jackson's memorial was on 7/7/09, exactly 7 years after the will was signed.
- Michael Jackson's two biggest hits, "Black & White" and "Billie Jean," were each #1 for 7 weeks.
- Michael Jackson's three biggest albums, "Thriller," "Bad" and "Dangerous," each produced 7 top 40 hits.
- Michael Jackson was the 7th of 9 children.
- Michael Jackson was born in 1958 ... 19 + 58 = 77
- Michael Jackson died on the 25th ... 2 + 5 = 7
- Michael Jackson has 7 letters in his first and last name.
Now that I've posted this, am I Off The Wall? Or am I just Bad?
Kitty double-take
[Posted by Dave Haber on Wednesday, 07/08/09 7:17 am] [Permalink] [Tweet This] This picture has probably already been around the internet a gazillion times, but since it's related to both of the things I do, The Beatles and Harry Potter, I wanted to share it with you here.
(Image thanks to I Can Has Cheezburger?)
Second to last update: The Day TV Died
[Posted by Dave Haber on Saturday, 06/27/09 11:05 am] [Permalink] [Related Posts] [Tweet This] After two weeks, the continuous loop informational announcement, in English and Spanish, supplied by the National Association of Broadcasters, is now gone from all the stations that had been broadcasting it, except for KCBS channel 2.
As of this morning, every full-power TV station that had been on the air in Los Angeles on June 12 is totally off the air, except for channel 2.
So, now we're just waiting to see how long channel 2 stays on the air, after which analog TV will be truly dead in Los Angeles.
As it happens: The Day TV Died
[Posted by Dave Haber on Friday, 06/12/09 6:10 pm] [Permalink] [Related Posts] [Tweet This] The end of analog TV has been taking place gradually all day today.
Here in Los Angeles, as of 6:00 PM, the analog transmissions of KABC channel 7, KCAL channel 9 and KCET channel 28 are totally off the air.
KCBS channel 2 and KNBC channel 4 are still on the air, but are showing continuous loops of an informational announcement, in English and Spanish, with help about the conversion. They are both showing the same program, supplied by the National Association of Broadcasters.
KTLA channel 5, KTTV channel 11 and KDOC channel 13 are currently still on the air, showing normal programming.
[Update: Posted 06/12/09 10:47 pm]
KTLA channel 5 analog just went off the air. KTLA veteran newsman Stan Chambers, who was at KTLA since they first went on the air, threw the ceremonial analog to digital switch.
Now only FOX channels 11 and 13 are left on the air in Los Angeles. They announced during the channel 11 10:00 news that both channels would be discontinuing their analog broadcasts at midnight.
[Update: Posted 06/12/09 11:05 pm]
I witnessed KTLA channel 5 power down at 10:46. Apparently, they have powered back up again. Their analog broadcast is now back on the air, showing the same N.A.B. informational broadcast as channels 2 and 4.
[Update: Posted 06/12/09 11:57 pm]
At approximately 11:56, while airing PSAs following the shows that had just completed, both KTTV channel 11 and KDOC channel 13 powered down in mid PSA.
All the commercial analog TV stations in Los Angeles are now officially off the air.
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