Before I get to some photos, I want to make certain everyone understands that their tardiness is all the fault of Martin, Elizabeth Minny, and her brother. I am completely innocent.
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Thanks to Misty Dawn Lane (of Makodon.com fame), I now know what’s sitting on the roof of the Seattle Space Needle! According to the Space Needle’s Website:

What’s on the roof?
In celebration for the opening of the Science Fiction Museum, the Space Needle has welcomed the Mother Biomorph to Seattle and offered to let her stay on our roof for the duration of her visit. Like any good mother would, she has come to Earth to check on her baby who has recently moved here to it’s new home on the roof of the new Science Fiction Museum.
http://www.spaceneedle.com/events/special/default.asp

I know, I know, I haven’t posted anything about the REPS showcase yet. That’s because there’s so much stuff going on, I haven’t had the time to slow down yet!

I have been taking bunches of pics, and even have some soundbites I hope to get posted sometime soon, but I’ve got to get back (I’m participating in a panel in 45-minutes or so). Once things wind down a bit (programming runs to almost 10:00 pm Pacific time this evening!), I’ll get something posted, I promise.

We’re here for the 2004 REPS Showcase, a star-studded event that we’ve been looking forward to for months now! The city is beautiful, and I can see the Space Needle from my hotel room.

But for pete’s sake, what the heck is on that thing…I swear it looks like a green frog!

The REPS (Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound) Showcase is this weekend, and as an invited guest I will be recording as much of the festivities as possible, reporting on it right here throughout the weekend. So stay tuned, and remember: This is Mutual!

From Wired: A bill in the House of Representatives, HR107, would overturn a major provision of the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which bars consumers from circumventing encryption on digital media products, even if they only intend to make copies for personal use.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,63876,00.html/wn_ascii

I urge you to write your Congressman in support of HR107, to help bring back a little balance to copyrights/fair use.

Ah, out with the old, in with the new. The television season is dead, long live the next television season. And to prepare for it, I’m going to review new shows as the pilots become available.

Desperate Housewives; ABC, Sunday Nights 9:00 pm

It isn’t every day I get to review a program that begins with a suicide.
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NPR does it again. They are apparently determined to use their “Special Coverage” banner around every event, no matter how non-newsworthy. I mean, I understand that the death of a former President is news, but once you’ve reported the death, exactly what is the point bringing out all the “Special Coverage” nonsense? I mean…what else is there to say, really? (Or as my wife put it, “Oh, please…”)

Oh, that’s right…Kernis and Kompany are determined to show how well NPR can handle “breaking news.” Whether it’s necessary or not. Whether it makes sense or not.

Update: 7:30 pm EDT

Apparently, even NPR figured out how stupid this “Special Coverage” nonsense is…they switched back to calling the programming “All Things Considered” within the last hour (I’m listening to the pacific feed through KSFC Spokane, WA, yet another station who’s manager tells me I can’t be a listener since I don’t live in Washington state). Maybe Linda was able to talk some sense into these pinhea…er…pinstripes.

Ah, out with the old, in with the new. The television season is dead, long live the next television season. And to prepare for it, I’m going to review new shows as the pilots become available.

Life As We Know It; ABC, Thursday Nights 10:00 pm

There are a couple of things we need to get out of the way. First off, I’m old. Yeah, old. I’m finally leaving the “most prized demographic,” so the networks aren’t going to program for me and aren’t going to much care what I have to say…focus groups and demographics are everything, since they figure I’m too old to change the soda pop I drink. Secondly, I love television, and that includes silly shows like Scrubs, action-packed shows like 24, and even the occasional guilty pleasure like The O.C. I was apparently one of the few who enjoyed last season’s Birds of Prey and Lyon’s Den, while I freely admit I cannot figure out the fascination the American public has with American Idol - I mean, they all sound the same, so what’s to choose from? I am constantly arguing with my peers (and even those younger than I am) that there really is good programming on television nowdays, even quality programming, if you’re willing to look for it. I’ve never complained about either sex or violence in television programming, so long as there’s a point to it (and not just the ol’ Bochco “show-a-butt” nonsense). So old or not, I can rarely be accused of being completely out-of-touch, whether or not my taste matches that of the general public (or in some cases their lack-of-taste, but nevermind that now).

After watching the pilot episode to Life As We Know It, I desperately needed a shower.
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The San Diego Union-Tribune’s television critic Robert Laurence comments on “NPR, the pulitzers, and duke ellington”.

I particularly liked the comment, “Edwards, I think, would have known about Ellington (or would have done the research to find out), and would have asked the question.” Yep, the new NPR morning program is a tad light. It’s chased me to the arms of the BBC World Service and the Voice of America.

For more links about Bob Edwards and the bone-headed moves from NPR, select the Radio Today category.

From Wired: A bill floating through Congress could help consumers by forcing automakers to share diagnostic codes with car buyers and independent mechanics.
http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,63615,00.html/wn_ascii

I’m more concerned about the privacy issues dealing with the collection of ABS recording of crash information; for a brief overview of that issue, see this 2003 article from Car and Driver Magazine.