Or, rather, not.

I got an email from DirecTV offering a chance to bitch about their service. I relished the opportunity. I click on the link - and any other link that might have let me vent about their increased service fees, overblown "2nd Year" rip-off, and my inability to tweak my monthly charges to remove unused equipment from the system.

Wisely, though, every single link is dead. The spinner spins for a few minutes, giving you hope for a better future, then it stops and provides a blank screen. Dead.

In a way, it's a pretty apt metaphor for DirecTV anyway. So thanks for that.

[ddg]

Push-ing

I got an updated (i.e., production) Push device last week, and I've been humming away with it. It turns out to have sated many of my looper/keyboard-alternative/control-surface needs, and done so in a very elegant way. I'm going to be spending some time in the next few weeks getting my ducks in a row with designing User Mode user interfaces; we'll see how that all works out.

Tarekith, someone that I bump into a fair amount, has written up his experiences with the Push, and they pretty much echo my thoughts. So instead of yapping about it myself, why don't you read his bits?

First Thoughts
Second Thoughts

Enjoy!

[ddg]

Podcast Mania

I, like many people, have become obsessed with podcasts as a way to plow through the daily grind. There is something about an audio broadcast that is specific to something I'm interested in - it makes me feel like I've put together "Just-For-Me Radio" without doing music (which I can't have playing while I'm operating machinery...) or listening to a ton of commercials.

One of my favorites is the Marc Maron WTF podcast. Marc is a comedian that interviews other comedians, musicians or other creative people, and he reveals a lot about himself in the process. It's really a great way to get into how people do what they do, and to see semi-popular people as real folk.

The one I listened to today was an interview with Alex Guarnaschelli, a TV cook that has been all over the Food Network sorta-reality shows, but she talked about her experiences in cooking in many of the same terms that media artists tend to use for their history of work. Very interesting, and got me thinking about what I do in a completely different way.

You can check it out here: the link

[ddg]

The Only Place We Had To Stop

Just back from my annual family vacation - this one with a twist. Went to see Aunt Karen, took the boys fishing and sliding down the old gravel pit hills. Went to see Josh (brother-in-law) and Kate (spouse of same), and had a great time hanging out in a park and watching a band in one of the most beautiful bandshells ever (Harriet Lake in Minneapolis).

But there was only one place that the entire family felt like we had to stop at: Delight Donuts in Lexington Nebraska. My kids believe in the power of the donut, and have declared Delight Donut to be the best donut shop in the nation. These folks have no significant internet presence, and is the most odd of possible shops: A traditional donut shop located in an old Mexican restaurant, run by a wonderful Asian couple. Donuts to die for, and worth staying in Lexington just to wake up to this treat.

A little side-step from my normal posts, but I did want to mention the highlight of the trip!

[ddg]