The Retro Television Network has debuted on Time Warner Desert Cities cable. The channel is part of the digital sub-tier for the local ion channel (formerly PAX). Time Warner slid the channel into the prime location of Channel 14 on most cable systems.
Yay!
OK, so it does appear that the schedule is 50-50. Half is old televieion classics from the 60s and 70s. And half is infomercial. Oh well, you can't have everything. And if the owners need to sell all that time to jewelry scams, roto-slicers, and pressure cookers in order to pay the bills, that's fine by me.
The schedule is a bit heavy on hour dramas with a few 30-minute sitcoms tossed in. Weekday shows include Knight Rider, Perry Mason, Family Ties, and my all-time favorite Get Smart. The prime time lineup includes Magnum PI, Hawaii Five-O, and The Streets of San Francisco. Ironside, The A-Team, Wild Wild West, and Love American Style on Saturdays. Kojak, Mission Impossible, and The Fugitive on Sundays.
Highlights of my viewing week so far: the almost-married-Max-and-99 on "Get Smart" and a nice two hour "MacMillan And Wife" Sunday Mystery Movie (on Friday, of course).
The video quality is quite good. True, most of us are used to seeing well-worn versions of these programs on broadcast TV, but these versions seem crisp and DVD-ish.
Best of all, there is no annoying "bug" plastered on the bottom third of the screen. No crazy revolving promo pics or slidling text or flying icons. KRET has a clean look that makes watching television enjoyable.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
MIchigan And Florida, Florida And Michigan, Michigan And Florida
So I guess we now have a partial "enfranchisement" of 2.3M American citizens. Each state delegate will cast one-half vote. The daylong meeting/battle had a few entertaining moments, but it was mostly what every electoral battle has been since February. Each candidate gets roughly the same number of delegate votes at the 2008 DNC Convention in Denver in August.
Nearly everyone will claim some type of victory. And the race will go on. Puerto Rico will give Hillary a huge boost on Sunday. She may even pull "West Virginia" type margins. Of course, Puerto Rico has twice the population of WV, so her vote count margin will be massive. The pundits will add "hispanics" to the seemingly endless list of folks who won't vote for Obama. Then, finally, on Tuesday, Hillary squeaks by in South Dakota (especially since Obama cannot tell a movie set from a national monument). And then two dozen democrats in Montana will caucus and award Obama the final victory.
And neither candidate will still have 50%+1 of the delegates needed for nomination.
Nearly everyone will claim some type of victory. And the race will go on. Puerto Rico will give Hillary a huge boost on Sunday. She may even pull "West Virginia" type margins. Of course, Puerto Rico has twice the population of WV, so her vote count margin will be massive. The pundits will add "hispanics" to the seemingly endless list of folks who won't vote for Obama. Then, finally, on Tuesday, Hillary squeaks by in South Dakota (especially since Obama cannot tell a movie set from a national monument). And then two dozen democrats in Montana will caucus and award Obama the final victory.
And neither candidate will still have 50%+1 of the delegates needed for nomination.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
June 14, 2008
On June 14, 2008 California becomes the second state in the union to allow marriage for any two individuals, regardless of gender.
On May 14, I told my best pal that the world was going to change the next day. Which it did, once the California Supreme Court issued a strong 4-3 decision ruling that the state could not discriminate in offering marriage to any eligible indiidual.
The ruling becomes effective in thirty days.
June 14 is a Saturday, however many county offices are open on the second Saturday of each month to allow access to those not able to visit during regular weekday hours. And no doubt, many locations will be opening at 1201AM to allow access to those denied access for all those years.
The president of the county clerk's association, Stephen Weir, expects that he and his partner of 18 years are the first in line.
I had the good fortune to be in San Francisco during that drizzly Valentine's Day Weekend 2004 when Mayor Gavin Newsom allowed the issuance of marriage license to all. It was a remarkable weekend that led to the court fight and to the May 15 ruling.
On May 14, I told my best pal that the world was going to change the next day. Which it did, once the California Supreme Court issued a strong 4-3 decision ruling that the state could not discriminate in offering marriage to any eligible indiidual.
The ruling becomes effective in thirty days.
June 14 is a Saturday, however many county offices are open on the second Saturday of each month to allow access to those not able to visit during regular weekday hours. And no doubt, many locations will be opening at 1201AM to allow access to those denied access for all those years.
The president of the county clerk's association, Stephen Weir, expects that he and his partner of 18 years are the first in line.
I had the good fortune to be in San Francisco during that drizzly Valentine's Day Weekend 2004 when Mayor Gavin Newsom allowed the issuance of marriage license to all. It was a remarkable weekend that led to the court fight and to the May 15 ruling.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Carnage At Petco Park
The Beloved St Louis Cardinals sandwiched two 16-hit wins against the fading Padres this week. The middle game was lost thanks to one pitch (resulting in a 3-run homer by studly Padre third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff). The Padres have been in turmoil for most of the 2008 season.
The third inning of Wednesday's game was probably their lowest point, thanks to Cardinals All-Star Albert Pujols. In the space of 10 minutes, Pujols knocked out the battery combo of Chris Young and Josh Bard. Pujols slammed a line drive into the face of the tall Padre pitcher, leading to blood and gore that local Channel 4SD refused to show again "because it was too graphic and this is a family program". Although they did show the video twice on the post-game wrapup show.
The lanky Padre pitcher was able to walk off the field moments later. He was taken to a local hospital where they determined it was a "nasal fracture" and several "lacerations".
Two batters later, Pujols slid into home, scoring from second base on a drive to right field. Catcher Josh Bard twisted his body to catch the ball, block the plate, and tag the runner. He failed to do all three, instead "severely" spraining his ankle. He had to be assisted from the field as 21,122 Padre fans sat in stunned disbelief.
Both players were sent to the 15-day disabled list on Thursday, although it is thought that catcher Bard will be one at least 6 weeks.
With an 11-3 win, the Cardinals took the series and remained just behind the Small Bears Of Chicago, whose imminent collapse is slated for August.
The third inning of Wednesday's game was probably their lowest point, thanks to Cardinals All-Star Albert Pujols. In the space of 10 minutes, Pujols knocked out the battery combo of Chris Young and Josh Bard. Pujols slammed a line drive into the face of the tall Padre pitcher, leading to blood and gore that local Channel 4SD refused to show again "because it was too graphic and this is a family program". Although they did show the video twice on the post-game wrapup show.
The lanky Padre pitcher was able to walk off the field moments later. He was taken to a local hospital where they determined it was a "nasal fracture" and several "lacerations".
Two batters later, Pujols slid into home, scoring from second base on a drive to right field. Catcher Josh Bard twisted his body to catch the ball, block the plate, and tag the runner. He failed to do all three, instead "severely" spraining his ankle. He had to be assisted from the field as 21,122 Padre fans sat in stunned disbelief.
Both players were sent to the 15-day disabled list on Thursday, although it is thought that catcher Bard will be one at least 6 weeks.
With an 11-3 win, the Cardinals took the series and remained just behind the Small Bears Of Chicago, whose imminent collapse is slated for August.
Monday, May 19, 2008
45 Cents
Yup. That was the cost of my ticket to see the San Diego Padres host the World Champion St Louis Cardinals (2006).
I grew up as a Cardinal fan, and although I haven't lived in St Louis for 20 years, I still catch many of their games on TV and trek to many other National League cities to cheer on The Beloveds (a nickname they earned thanks to a teasing pal of mine).
For nearly 15 of the past 20 years, I have included San Diego as a destination to catch at least 9 innings. I lived in America's Finest City for almost half of those 15 years, so watching a game at former home Qualcomm Stadium was easy. In the time since I moved away, the Padres relocated to the gorgeous downtown Petco Park.
The Cardinals are in San Diego for a Mon-Tue-Wed three-night series. A few weeks back, I wandered to the Padres website and perused ticket prices. As is the case with most new(ish) stadiums (stadia?), there are dozens of price variations and "special discounts". As I have bought tickets online in past years, the Padres SPAM me with weekly emails about upcoming offers. Typically, the Beloveds draw quite well wherever they travel. Cardinal fans may not be as devoted as Yankee and Red Sucks fans (nor as delusional as Chicago Small Bears fanatics), but Cardinal Red is in evidence at most of their away games.
Strangely (or maybe not), there were zilch promotions offered for this early-season three night series. Ticket prices ranged from $5 to $50. I had pretty much decided to buy one of the $5 "Park at the Park" tickets, which grants you basically a "standing-room only" ticket. In theory, you lounge on the massive green hill beyond right-center, but you also are granted access to all parts of the park. It is a decent deal and since I tend to wander the park and enjoy multiple viewing points, that seemed like a fair deal to see The Beloveds take on my second-favorite team.
Now, the $5 Park At The Park ticket is the advance price. Day of the game, the cost skyrockers 40% to a lofty $7. And since I was not arriving in San Diego until the Sunday before the game (and the ticket office was closed since the Padres were in Emerald City being crushed by the Mariners), I was looking at a $7 ticket.
I had often heard about ticket availability on craigslist.org, and yes, there are always plenty of tickets posted there. But it's cumbersome to arrange a ticket exchange. And you never really can be sure the tickets are legit. And, worse, the sellers on craigslist seem to believe you should pay above face value or buy their whole lot (2 tix, 3 tix, 10 tix). Hassle city.
Recently, stubhub.com became the preferred ticket exchange provider for Major League Baseball. As a result, they link directly to all the official sites of each team and facilitate the sale of tickets from season ticket holders to interested individuals.
I had been vaguely aware of stubhub, but was annoyed by their fee structure, which includes a 10% commission and a flat $4.95 transaction fee. Then I stumbled upon a couple postings about the "stubhub promo codes". It seems that they had $10, $20 and even $30 promo codes that were available to both new and existing customers.
So I set up a stubhub account, loaded on a couple promo codes, and went shopping.
I checked prices about 10 days before the game. There were roughly 900 tickets being offered, ranging from $8 to $80. The $8 price point seemed to apply to outfield reserved tickets originally priced in the $11-12 range. Not a bad deal. A nice discount for a home team fallen on hard times with the worst record in the major leagues.
I held off, though, thinking my $7 Park At The Park ticket would suffice just as well as an outfield seat.
A few days later, the prices had dropped to $7. And then $6. Finally, three days before gametime, prices hit $5. Mind you, not just one ticket at this plrice, but rather nearly 50 of them. Most sellers wanted you to buy 2/4/6/10 at once, but there were a handful of "singles".
So I bought my ticket. $5.00 + $0.50 commission + $4.95 fee. That brought my total to $10.45. I clicked on the $10 OFF promo, input my credit card, and received my confirmation email in 10 seconds.
Shortly after, a second email with a link to my e-print ticket appeared.
Total cost: 45 cents.
I was a tad paranoid as my printer is not always 100%, so I printed two copies of the ticket, but the bar code scanner at Petco worked like a charm. I arrived just before 6PM and caught the final few moments of Visitor Batting Practice. Like every other "away" game I have attended through the years (Oakland. San Francisco. LA. Tampa. Montreal. Denver. Phoenix.) there were red-clad fans swarming all over the stadium.
And of course, hardly any Padre fans. Being in last place after missing the playoffs by one game last year has definitely dampened spirits. The stadium was barely half full, with an announced attendance of barely 22,000. And that probably includes the thousand or so tickets still available on stubhub (since they were technically sold).
It wasn't a great game, although a victory is always a good thing. The Padres, who for years have complained that Petco is bad for homers, watched three Cardinals go deep (with four homers) on their way to an easy 8-2 win.
Not bad for 45 cents.
OK, truth be told, I also spent $4.00 for my round trip trolley trip. And another $3.75 on the most hideously bad SuperPretzel in ages.
I grew up as a Cardinal fan, and although I haven't lived in St Louis for 20 years, I still catch many of their games on TV and trek to many other National League cities to cheer on The Beloveds (a nickname they earned thanks to a teasing pal of mine).
For nearly 15 of the past 20 years, I have included San Diego as a destination to catch at least 9 innings. I lived in America's Finest City for almost half of those 15 years, so watching a game at former home Qualcomm Stadium was easy. In the time since I moved away, the Padres relocated to the gorgeous downtown Petco Park.
The Cardinals are in San Diego for a Mon-Tue-Wed three-night series. A few weeks back, I wandered to the Padres website and perused ticket prices. As is the case with most new(ish) stadiums (stadia?), there are dozens of price variations and "special discounts". As I have bought tickets online in past years, the Padres SPAM me with weekly emails about upcoming offers. Typically, the Beloveds draw quite well wherever they travel. Cardinal fans may not be as devoted as Yankee and Red Sucks fans (nor as delusional as Chicago Small Bears fanatics), but Cardinal Red is in evidence at most of their away games.
Strangely (or maybe not), there were zilch promotions offered for this early-season three night series. Ticket prices ranged from $5 to $50. I had pretty much decided to buy one of the $5 "Park at the Park" tickets, which grants you basically a "standing-room only" ticket. In theory, you lounge on the massive green hill beyond right-center, but you also are granted access to all parts of the park. It is a decent deal and since I tend to wander the park and enjoy multiple viewing points, that seemed like a fair deal to see The Beloveds take on my second-favorite team.
Now, the $5 Park At The Park ticket is the advance price. Day of the game, the cost skyrockers 40% to a lofty $7. And since I was not arriving in San Diego until the Sunday before the game (and the ticket office was closed since the Padres were in Emerald City being crushed by the Mariners), I was looking at a $7 ticket.
I had often heard about ticket availability on craigslist.org, and yes, there are always plenty of tickets posted there. But it's cumbersome to arrange a ticket exchange. And you never really can be sure the tickets are legit. And, worse, the sellers on craigslist seem to believe you should pay above face value or buy their whole lot (2 tix, 3 tix, 10 tix). Hassle city.
Recently, stubhub.com became the preferred ticket exchange provider for Major League Baseball. As a result, they link directly to all the official sites of each team and facilitate the sale of tickets from season ticket holders to interested individuals.
I had been vaguely aware of stubhub, but was annoyed by their fee structure, which includes a 10% commission and a flat $4.95 transaction fee. Then I stumbled upon a couple postings about the "stubhub promo codes". It seems that they had $10, $20 and even $30 promo codes that were available to both new and existing customers.
So I set up a stubhub account, loaded on a couple promo codes, and went shopping.
I checked prices about 10 days before the game. There were roughly 900 tickets being offered, ranging from $8 to $80. The $8 price point seemed to apply to outfield reserved tickets originally priced in the $11-12 range. Not a bad deal. A nice discount for a home team fallen on hard times with the worst record in the major leagues.
I held off, though, thinking my $7 Park At The Park ticket would suffice just as well as an outfield seat.
A few days later, the prices had dropped to $7. And then $6. Finally, three days before gametime, prices hit $5. Mind you, not just one ticket at this plrice, but rather nearly 50 of them. Most sellers wanted you to buy 2/4/6/10 at once, but there were a handful of "singles".
So I bought my ticket. $5.00 + $0.50 commission + $4.95 fee. That brought my total to $10.45. I clicked on the $10 OFF promo, input my credit card, and received my confirmation email in 10 seconds.
Shortly after, a second email with a link to my e-print ticket appeared.
Total cost: 45 cents.
I was a tad paranoid as my printer is not always 100%, so I printed two copies of the ticket, but the bar code scanner at Petco worked like a charm. I arrived just before 6PM and caught the final few moments of Visitor Batting Practice. Like every other "away" game I have attended through the years (Oakland. San Francisco. LA. Tampa. Montreal. Denver. Phoenix.) there were red-clad fans swarming all over the stadium.
And of course, hardly any Padre fans. Being in last place after missing the playoffs by one game last year has definitely dampened spirits. The stadium was barely half full, with an announced attendance of barely 22,000. And that probably includes the thousand or so tickets still available on stubhub (since they were technically sold).
It wasn't a great game, although a victory is always a good thing. The Padres, who for years have complained that Petco is bad for homers, watched three Cardinals go deep (with four homers) on their way to an easy 8-2 win.
Not bad for 45 cents.
OK, truth be told, I also spent $4.00 for my round trip trolley trip. And another $3.75 on the most hideously bad SuperPretzel in ages.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Six Weeks Later
OK, the mini-sabattical is drawing to a close. So much happens, and so much remains the same. Not sure whether that is good or bad. Perhaps it just "is".
I spent a week near the beach in San Diego. Another week enjoying extreme heat and cold in the Bay Area. Another week in suburban San Diego. And a couple weeks in the dusty dreary desert of Phoenix.
Today I head back to San Diego for a week of baseball at Petco Park and (hopefully) some beach time.
Then it is back to the Palm Springs area for 8-10 days of Memorial Day Weekend Madness and Bear Weekend Adventures.
Yikes, then it will be June!
I spent a week near the beach in San Diego. Another week enjoying extreme heat and cold in the Bay Area. Another week in suburban San Diego. And a couple weeks in the dusty dreary desert of Phoenix.
Today I head back to San Diego for a week of baseball at Petco Park and (hopefully) some beach time.
Then it is back to the Palm Springs area for 8-10 days of Memorial Day Weekend Madness and Bear Weekend Adventures.
Yikes, then it will be June!
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