A Note To A Friend

Unfortunately, while in Atlanta, I missed seeing my friend Jodi who was out of town. She had been a producer here in Connecticut and is now high up the food chain at CNN.

Here’s what I wrote.

Dear Jodi,

I hope you had a great Passover. I’m sorry I couldn’t see you while I was at CNN. However, I knew you’d want me to make myself at home. It’s cool that your phone direct dials Burundi.

All my best to you and your family.

Geoff


Post Atlanta Random Thoughts

I can’t believe how exhausted I was coming home from Atlanta. I’m a firm believer that travel is just as exhausting as work – and this is more living proof. From the time I left the hotel until I got home was nearly 8 hours. That includes driving, flying, waiting and even taking the Atlanta Airport subway.

I’m starting to get bugged by the TSA screening at some airports. I’ll use Atlanta as an example. Usually I would take photos to illustrate my points, but the TSA has never shown a warm and fuzzy side to me. To their mind: photo equals full body cavity search.

In order to get to the screening apparatus it is necessary to move through a long circuitous line. I was thinking ‘cattle’ as I walked it, only to hear the woman behind me blurt out just that word!

I never take off my shoes for screening, but was told if I didn’t, I would be searched. My shoes have now been x-rayed and I’ve walked through an airport barefoot. The world’s a safer place.

Exactly what is accomplished by screening everyone? Isn’t it possible to build a system that provides trustworthy people with a modicum of trust? I’ll vouch for my mom.

Why do US Senators need to be hand screened at an airport, as recently occurred? Are we really worried about them? Are we really worried about me or the elderly white haired woman with breathing apparatus and a wheelchair I recently saw being screened at Bradley International?

Maybe it’s just the attitude. There is never a doubt when you deal with some of these screeners that they know they have limitless power over you. Tick them off, pay the price.

I brought a digital camera, laptop computer, cell phone and other wired devices. Do they really know the electronic makeup of these items? Aren’t they better off knowing me – or whomever is being screened?

After arriving in Philadelphia and before boarding my New Haven bound plane, there was a problem. The plane had been ‘overbooked’ and volunteers would be needed.

Each volunteer would receive one round trip ticket for anywhere in USAir’s system plus a ticket on the next available flight – 8:15 tomorrow night, or approximately 27 hours wait.

As we got ready to leave, I noticed the seat next to me and a few others in the plane were empty. What was going on? The flight attendant told me there were weight restrictions.

That seemed very odd. Sometimes in the summer when the air isn’t quite as dense, planes don’t have enough power for takeoff. It was cool today. The wind, which had been gusty earlier, had slacked off. I just don’t get it.

I know a few pilots read my blog. Maybe one of you will explain this to me… better still, explain it to the ‘bumpees.’

On Friday I wrote about being forced to park in a more expensive lot when the long term lot was full. I mentioned this to the cashier tonight and he immediately adjusted the price down to the long term rate. My guess is this had nothing to do with me being on TV (making it an even better find, since it represents a real policy – a smart policy at an airport trying to build a customer base).

Flying from Tweed is a pleasure, and I’m glad that’s how I booked this trip.

Finally, as I left the airport I noted the Sun setting over New Haven Harbor. I drove into a nearby park, but soggy ground prevented me from getting a shot which was totally in the clear. As it turns out, I think the trees in the foreground add nice contrast.


Why Is This Man Smiling?

That’s Jeff Mielcarz on the left. He is the reason I’m in Atlanta this weekend. Tonight at 6:00 PM he’ll be marrying Lauren.

I had told him I wanted to visit The Weather Channel, where he works. He said, “Yes.”

I said, “Jeff, you’re getting married in a few hours. Wouldn’t you rather have someone else take me? Maybe there’s something you need to do?”

He was having none of that.

I met him at The Weather Channel at 1:00 PM. The Weather Channel is located in a nondescript modern office building in the Atlanta suburbs. There is a small sign at the entrance to the parking lot, but no signage on the building itself that I could see.

I snapped a few pictures of their satellite dishes before a guard came out to ask me to stop. He was pleasant, and I understood. I stopped.

Inside, the building is modern and nicely appointed. I’ve always felt you can judge a company solely by its lobby – and their lobby is nice with photos and awards, plus a split screen of some of their programming.

The studio itself is in a working newsroom, very much as it looks on the air. I was a little surprised by how connected it is to the working guts of the newsroom, where people were walking around and staying busy. The forecast area, in the back, is behind glass.

I saw a few people I recognized from TV, including Bob Stokes, Mark Mancuso and Stephanie Abrams. I think Mancuso was there when they went on the air! I also ran into Dr. Greg Forbes, their severe weather specialist.

The facility is very nice, don’t get me wrong. And, Jeff showed me where they’re geting ready to build a bigger studio. But, last night I was at CNN and this just doesn’t compare.

The Trip Continues

Getting to Philadelphia was no problem. It was leaving that seemed to be the sticking point.

I had a long layover in Philadelphia – over an hour and a half. The Embraer Regional Jet to Atlanta was in on time. We boarded on time. And then the announcement.

The pilot came on from the cockpit to tell us thunderstorms around Atlanta were going hold us up. It would be an hour until he found out when we’d be!” And, since the gate was needed for another plane, he’d drive to a quiet spot for us to wait.

I’d like to tell you the passengers protested, or the wait was interminable or some other tragic story of passenger pain, but it wasn’t that bad. We left Philadelphia about an hour and a half late.

I actually found the plane, an ERJ170, reasonably comfortable. Just like the Dash-8 I took from New Haven to Philadelphia, this plane had plenty of legroom in narrow seats. The interior was spartan and somehow European. The interior actually reminded me of a Fokker-100.&#185

Is it just me or is it weird to be on an airplane designed and built in Brazil?

The trip to Atlanta was bumpy, but uneventful. Getting off in Atlanta was another story. The terminal looked like a mall on the weekend before Christmas. It was jammed – as busy as any airline terminal I had ever visited.

Helaine had found a great deal for a medium size car from Avis. That ended up being a Chevy Malibu. It is possible there is a car that has less style, but I doubt it. It looks like it was designed and built with absolutely no anticipation anyone would actually want to own one. They were right.

My hotel is the Hilton Garden Inn – Perimeter in one of the many exurbs that ring Atlanta. This is actually a fairly nice hotel and a good value. And, along with everything else, there’s free high speed Internet service (though not enough signal at the desk in this room to use it from there).

This evening (a late evening) I joined Mark and Annie, both of whom I worked with at Channel 8, for dinner. I left it up to them and we went to Ted’s… owned by Ted Turner and featuring Bison meat!

We all had Bison burgers, which were very good. I also had New England clam chowder (could have been warmer and larger, but it was very tasty). This being Atlanta, Coca Cola’s world headquarters, I broke down and had a Coke, which was served from the glass bottle.

Next stop was CNN, where Mark and Annie now work. This is interesting because there are familiar views in the CNN Center that I’ve seen for years.

Visiting CNN at night, there were no on-air types to be seen. Most of their nighttime programming is from New York or Los Angeles (Larry King).

Actually, that gave me more of an opportunity to look around. Their newsroom, directly behind the news set, may be the most photogenic TV space I’ve ever been in.

Busy day. I’m going to bed.

&#185 – The Fokker 100 is a small, though older, regional jet. USAir used to fly them to Buffalo. They were quite comfortable, except for the low ceilings. They were low enough that I once asked a flight attendant if her assignment in this particular model was penance for something she had done?

On My Way to Atlanta

I’m writing from seat 2F onboard my flight from New Haven to Philadelphia. This laptop’s battery isn’t what it once was, and that will limit my writing time.

The trip to the airport was quick… quick enough to be there an hour early. I was by no means the earliest. Most of the passengers look to be leisure, rather than business flyers.

Tweed-New Haven Airport has changed a little since my last trip through. Delta now flies there, with jet service to Cincinnati. The TSA has moved their gear in, limiting the space in the terminal area and the parking lots have been reconfigured.

Let’s talk parking first, because I went to park in the much smaller long term lot only to face cones and a sign saying “Full.” I’m going to have to pay about $3 more a day because I was forced into the hourly lot. The good parking news is I parked amazingly close. It was literally a 20 second walk from my car to the terminal building.

I’m trying to think about the real cost of passenger screening at an airport like Tweed. There are few flights, each with a limited number of seats. There is no economy of scale here. I’m not sure how the costs are allocated but it can’t really be figured on an actual cost per passenger basis.

The plane pulled up to the terminal right on time. This dark blue USAirways Express plane is a DeHavilland Dash 8. It’s four across seating with a flight attendant. This is a great improvement over the day when 18 seaters flew here. On the other hand, we used to have service using Dorniers to Pittsburgh, a much nice prop plane.

The interior of the plane looks tired. It’s the difference between someone’s home and a summer cabin. Maybe shabby is the right word. I’m hoping USAirways is saving the money it might spend on refurbishing the cabin and using it on… oh, maybe engine maintenance. That would be nice.

If you’ve never flown a smaller plane like this, you might be surprised by the legroom. There’s plenty of it! The seats are narrow, but you’re not bumping into the person ahead of you.

We’re in the clouds now and the flight is a little bumpy. Not terrible, but noticeable. Jets fly above this. It’s also noisy. On the inside, small prop planes are much noisier than jets.

Even with the noise… even with the bumps… even with the shabby surroundings, this flight is worthwhile because of the ease and convenience of Tweed-New Haven. I wish there was more service there.

More later from Atlanta.

Heading South

Today, I started getting ready for a quick trip to Atlanta. My friend Jeff, who used to work here but is now at The Weather Channel, is marrying Lauren. I’m looking forward to this because I like them both.

Jeff is the first of my friends to have met his wife-to-be online. If Lauren represents potential spouses on the Internet, a lot of people are going to be running to find their mate on the net. She’s a knockout.

I haven’t been to Atlanta in about a zillion years. The first time I was there was in the early 70s. I was flying to Charlotte, NC from West Palm Beach, FL. Charlotte got snowed in! Eastern Airlines paid to put me up in a motel. I met a girl from my flight and spent most of the evening with her… though less of the evening than I anticipated.

There won’t be much time to poke around, but a friend at CNN will give me the 50&#162 tour and the groom-to-be is taking me to The Weather Channel (though I still can’t figure out where he’ll find the time).

Part of the fun of this trip is the fact that I can leave and return through New Haven’s little airport. Though Atlanta’s dominant carrier, Delta, now flies to HVN, I’m going on USAir via Philadelphia. My first leg is on an 18 seat prop plane – something I don’t mind… though I know many do.

The advantage of Tweed-New Haven Airport is its tiny size. No crowds… or few crowds and easy access. The disadvantage is the number of flights and choice of non-stop destinations – two, Philadelphia and Cincinnati.

The Best Movie Ever Made

Having the DVR does open up some possibilities. Every once in a while I just scour the listings, looking for something to record. The software on my Comcast issued Scientific Atlanta box makes this a little more difficult than it should (reverting to your current time and channel each time you set a recording). It’s still worth doing.

Often, I record something and never watch it. Hey, that’s life.

Last night, after watching The Daily Show, I looked through the list to see what else had been saved for me. Near the top of the list I saw, “Under Siege.”

“Under Siege” is a classic ‘guy’ movie, starring Steven Segal, supported by Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey and the always inflated Erika Eleniak&#185.

The concept is (this will be the first time ever this is refered to as a concept picture) a disgruntled Gary Busey, the executive officer on board the soon-to-be-decomissioned USS Missouri, conspires with Tommy Lee Jones and his gang of evil doers to steal the Missouri’s contingent of nuclear weapons. First they have to neutralize the crew – often in the most violent of ways.

Of course there is one small thing they never planned for, Casey Ryback. Ryback was a Navy Seal and all around deep sea Rambo until he got busted for striking a superior officer. There’s not much detail, but the brief description given makes it seem like a patriotic, yet emotional outburst from a ‘real man.’ Now he’s a cook, finishing his 20 years in the Navy.

Is there any need to go into the details? There are a hundred other movies that are virtually the same. In fact, there’s another Segal movie, starring Eric Bogosian as the whacko evil doer, which would seem like plagarism if it weren’t from the same group.

There is something eerily attractive about this movie.

Busey and Tommy Lee Jones make great villains. This is espeically true of Jones who plays a psychotic who is genuinely off center in every way.

If I’ve seen this movie once, I’ve seen it a dozen times. And, if given the opportunity, I’d see it again tomorrow. It is a guilty pleasure, to be sure.

What is it that makes action movies like ‘Under Siege’ or nearly any submarine movie so appealing – especially to me a totally non-violent man? Is it somehow wired into my genes? I don’t know and I won’t attempt to fight it.

&#185 – It should be noted that though Erika Eleniak appears topless for a few brief seconds near the beginning of the movie, mostly she is dressed and shot in such a way that her physique is a non-factor… as difficult as that is to believe.

My DVR – It’s Not TiVo

I read an article about DVRs, Digital Video Recorders, in the New York Times this weekend. Like most of the New York radio and television stations and the major news networks, I get many of my best ideas from the Times. Unlike them, I admit it.

The article, like so many on this subject, talked about how DVRs are. I have one and I do enjoy it. Unfortunately, I am nowhere near the TV nirvana experienced by the writers I’ve read.

The concept behind TiVo, Replay TV and the others is pretty simple. Record everything on a hard drive instead of tape, and use computer technology to make it easier, yet more powerful than an old school VCR.

The problem is, all DVRs are not created equal. I think mine, A Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 that I rent from Comcast&#185, is somewhere near the bottom. This is not the device people are clamoring for, though it is marketed in the same way.

I often hear about how TiVo will ‘learn’ about what you watch and then record programs based on your likes. This SA box doesn’t do that. It is the featured I would most like to see.

The menu system within this DVR is disjointed, non-intuitive and difficult to learn. I have programmed recordings based on time, but I couldn’t tell you how… and would have to hit a bunch of dead ends before I did it again.

Recording scheduled programs is easier, but still not simple. The program guide is two clicks of two separate buttons away. Why? Isn’t this the most used feature? It should be directly accessible.

Working back ward through the guide is nearly impossible. Going backward in time through midnight just doesn’t work.

The guide itself is sorely lacking. Movies and programs on some channels don’t show. Channels that I don’t subscribe to do show, adding an extra layer I have to move through before setting the recorder. The text information describing the programs is sparse.

In using the video-on-demand features, the same function on different menus uses a different keystroke! That violates one of the most basic rules of user interface design.

Possibly the most frustrating problem is the propensity of the 8000 to accept a key press from the remote control, but do nothing for a few seconds. Most likely during that time you have decided the machine didn’t get the first press and have pressed again. Now you have screwed up whatever you were attempting.

If Comcast or Scientific Atlanta asked, I’d tell them. I did once send a note to SA, using a form on their website. I never received a reply.

&#185 – As part of my retirement account I have Comcast stock. So, I am not a disinterested party here. However, since I’m talking down their product, you can see that hasn’t affected me.

We’re Loving mlb.com

I just finished watching the end of the Phillies/Braves game. The game’s been over for hours. I already knew the score. That made it even sweeter to watch.

Helaine and I have always felt the Atlanta announcers are the biggest homers on TV. So, I listened to their speculation while smiling.

The fact that I could watch these few minutes of the game (or all of it had I chosen to do so) is one of the reasons I’m so happy we have mlb.com.

When I tell people we watch games on the computer, they all ask the same two questions.

Is it jerky? Sometimes, but mostly no.

Is it tiny on the screen? It certainly isn’t full screen, but you aren’t sitting across the room. On a laptop, or my desktop, the video is a comfortable size and all the screen text is clear.

Skipping ahead to the end of the game was as easy as sliding the timing bar with my mouse. The broadcast picked up almost instantaneously. I had guessed where the bottom of the 10th would fall, and I guessed well.

I only wish we could pick which broadcast we watch. On radio, you can pick the home or away team. With the video telecast, their choice. I’d rather have my homers calling the game than theirs.

Adventures in Spam

I swear by Popfile to rid my inbox of spam – but it’s failing me now as spammers are getting more crafty. Within the past few weeks, messages that look very ‘spammy’ to the naked eye have been buzzing through Popfile. It was easy to figure out how.

Popfile compiles a ‘corpus’, a list of words that normally do or don’t appear in my emails. Spammy words are likely to get an otherwise nice mail kicked out.

These new emails take a paragraph or two of text (it looks like AP wire copy or something similar) and inserts it in the message. The text is so long, it overwhelms the spam content.

The really sneaky part is how this long text is displayed. Unlike the ad copy, these innocuous words are displayed in the smallest possible size. It is so small that the letters aren’t even formed. It’s just a blur of small smudges. I had to copy it into a text editor to see what was really going on.

It’s my guess that Popfile will be strengthened to fight this new scourge. And the spammers will come up with something else. It seems to be a never ending saga.

Here’s the part that I totally don’t understand. Hasn’t everyone who wants Cialis or Viagra, and is willing to blindly buy on the net, already gotten it? I’ve gotten thousands upon thousands of solicitations for this kind of drug. I understand why someone wouldn’t want to go to their doctor or pharmacist to explore this problem, but the numbers can’t be this great.

Then there’s the question who is going to ingest a substance that comes from a website which has to spell Viagra, V1@GR@ and falsifies its return address?

The products sold using spam have changed greatly over time. Bootleg software and prescription drugs seem to be the hot items at the moment. Many things I might have seen advertised a year or two ago are gone.

The quantity has also changed. Since January 6, 2004, 61% of my email has been spam (and that doesn’t count the untold thousands of messages I filter out before they get to my mailbox)

It all boggles the mind.

Blogger’s addendum – This morning, another similar spam came in. Here’s what it looks like:

A new head start for elite women, a new course and an Olympic year couldn’t stop Meb Keflezighi from making it the same old story at the Gate River Run.Keflezighi, of Mammoth, Calif., became the first man to win four consecutive River Run titles, catching Colleen De Reuck on the Hart Bridge and outrunning Abdi Abdirahman to the finish to win by 2 seconds on Saturday.”It was a fast pace from the early going and Abdi gave me a run for the money,” said Keflezighi, 28, who finished in 43 minutes, 10 seconds, to win $15,000, including a $5,000 bonus for being the top finisher.De Reuck, of Boulder, Colo., led most of the race after being one of 25 elite women to get a head start of 5 minutes, 16 seconds, longer than the 5-minute planned advantage because of technical problems. The head start was instituted for the first time to add drama to the race. De Reuck, 39, said she knew her split times were not fast enough to hold off the men.”At least for the first 7 miles, I was just trying to secure the [women’s] lead,” said De Reuck, who finished first among the women in 49:02 and took home $10,000. “When I heard [from spectators] they [the top men] were there, I knew they were going to fly down the bridge.”But the men’s leaders really made up most of the time on the bridge incline, cutting a 40-second deficit in half.Race officials said the finish was one of the closest in the 27 years of the River Run, but did not have records available to confirm where it ranked.A clock problem caused the extra advantage for the elite women, but USA Track and Field men’s championship liaison Mark Zenobia said the problem would have been more damaging if De Reuck had finished first overall and by less than 16 seconds.Race officials said they had to be certain the start was done properly because the race is the U.S. 15K championship. The event had 7,601 finishers, a River Run record.Abdirahman, who finished second last year by 28 seconds, said he ran a strong race but was not happy with second.”I thought I might outkick him, but … he had a little more surge at the end,” said Abdirahman of Tucson, Ariz. “I wish I had another 50 meters.”Catching the women was not important. I knew I would catch them, but I didn’t get the bonus, so it didn’t matter.”But Keflezighi, a late commitment to the race because he was recovering after qualifying for the Olympics in the marathon last month, said he didn’t think he would have caught De Reuck without the 25-year-old Abdirahman pushing the pace.Keflezighi beat the record of Todd Williams, who won three consecutive titles from 1994-96.Race director Doug Alred said the extra 16 seconds made the race more exciting and he might adjust the equalizer bonus based on the field next year.De Reuck pulled away from Sylvia Mosqueda by 25 seconds in the fourth mile and won by 1:06 over the fellow marathon trials qualifier.”I felt OK for the first mile and a half,” said Mosqueda, a Los Angeles resident. “But right around 3 miles, my legs were like lead. I didn’t feel like I was racing; I felt like I was running.”Tatyana Pozdnyakova, a Gainesville resident who won the Los Angeles Marathon on March 7, finished third among women (50:15) and first among Masters women — ages 40 and older. Pozdnyakova, 49, won the $50,000 challenge bonus in Los Angeles where women received a 20:30 head start in the 26.2-mile race. Dennis Simonaitis, 41, of Draper, Utah, was the top men’s finisher in the Masters division. He finished in 48:31.Kim Pawelek, who finished 10th among women (52:54) and is also going to the marathon trials April 3 in St. Louis, was the top women’s finisher from Jacksonville. Zepherinus Joseph was the top Jacksonville runner (23rd, 48:34) and is awaiting word on whether he will be representing St. Lucia in the Olympic Games at Athens.One of the worst runs of his career probably helped Dale Earnhardt Jr. save his season.A week after he nearly was parked for running too slow, Junior zoomed by Jeremy Mayfield with 15 laps to go and sprinted to an easy victory Sunday in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

He also won the season-opening Daytona 500.”Last week was as bad as it ever gets,” Earnhardt said. “But we didn’t get on each other too bad, and we stayed pretty focused.”Rookie Kasey Kahne was third — his third straight finish in the top three — and Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman followed him across the finish line.Defending series champ Matt Kenseth, who had won the past two races, rallied from a lap down to finish sixth.At Las Vegas last Sunday, Earnhardt started 26th and quickly drifted to the rear of the field at the start. His Chevrolet was so far off the pace that NASCAR warned his crew he was right at the minimum speed.After eventually finishing 35th, Earnhardt and the team spent Thursday testing at Kentucky Speedway. Just as their session was ending, they hit on a setup that worked, and Earnhardt was fast all weekend at Atlanta.”We went testing, and we’re going testing this week,” Earnhardt said. “We’re going to test, test, test, until we lap the field.”I’m determined and devoted to running like this every week, no matter what it costs.”He qualified seventh and stayed near the front, then dominated the latter stages. He passed Mayfield’s Dodge for the lead with 60 laps to go and held the top spot until the leaders made their final pit stops under green.Mayfield came in with 26 to go and his crew changed four tires in 14.3 seconds, then Earnhardt followed three laps later. His stop was nearly a second faster, but he came back on the track in third, behind Mayfield and Johnson.With 20 laps left, Earnhardt drove by Johnson on the inside and set his sights on Mayfield. He didn’t take long.Junior ran up high in Turns 1 and 2 to get momentum, then swooped underneath Mayfield down the backstretch, moving into the lead with hardly a struggle.”We had a great car to start with, but it just seemed as the race went on, the tighter we got,” Mayfield said of his car’s handling. “Dale Jr. and those guys got ahead of the track and we didn’t.”Kenseth started 30th and was up to 13th after 15 laps, and eventually got to sixth before the first pit stops. But he made a rare mistake, spinning his Ford as he came into the pits, and dropped a lap down after a drive-through penalty.He made up the ground during the second caution for oil on the track, because he was the first lapped car behind the leader, and got his fourth straight top-10 finish to start the season.Kenseth leads Tony Stewart by 82 points, with Earnhardt another eight points back.

And, here’s what those little lines say:

A new head start for elite women, a new course and an Olympic year couldn’t stop Meb Keflezighi from making it the same old story at the Gate River Run.Keflezighi, of Mammoth, Calif., became the first man to win four consecutive River Run titles, catching Colleen De Reuck on the Hart Bridge and outrunning Abdi Abdirahman to the finish to win by 2 seconds on Saturday.”It was a fast pace from the early going and Abdi gave me a run for the money,” said Keflezighi, 28, who finished in 43 minutes, 10 seconds, to win $15,000, including a $5,000 bonus for being the top finisher.De Reuck, of Boulder, Colo., led most of the race after being one of 25 elite women to get a head start of 5 minutes, 16 seconds, longer than the 5-minute planned advantage because of technical problems. The head start was instituted for the first time to add drama to the race. De Reuck, 39, said she knew her split times were not fast enough to hold off the men.”At least for the first 7 miles, I was just trying to secure the [women’s] lead,” said De Reuck, who finished first among the women in 49:02 and took home $10,000. “When I heard [from spectators] they [the top men] were there, I knew they were going to fly down the bridge.”But the men’s leaders really made up most of the time on the bridge incline, cutting a 40-second deficit in half.Race officials said the finish was one of the closest in the 27 years of the River Run, but did not have records available to confirm where it ranked.A clock problem caused the extra advantage for the elite women, but USA Track and Field men’s championship liaison Mark Zenobia said the problem would have been more damaging if De Reuck had finished first overall and by less than 16 seconds.Race officials said they had to be certain the start was done properly because the race is the U.S. 15K championship. The event had 7,601 finishers, a River Run record.Abdirahman, who finished second last year by 28 seconds, said he ran a strong race but was not happy with second.”I thought I might outkick him, but … he had a little more surge at the end,” said Abdirahman of Tucson, Ariz. “I wish I had another 50 meters.”Catching the women was not important. I knew I would catch them, but I didn’t get the bonus, so it didn’t matter.”But Keflezighi, a late commitment to the race because he was recovering after qualifying for the Olympics in the marathon last month, said he didn’t think he would have caught De Reuck without the 25-year-old Abdirahman pushing the pace.Keflezighi beat the record of Todd Williams, who won three consecutive titles from 1994-96.Race director Doug Alred said the extra 16 seconds made the race more exciting and he might adjust the equalizer bonus based on the field next year.De Reuck pulled away from Sylvia Mosqueda by 25 seconds in the fourth mile and won by 1:06 over the fellow marathon trials qualifier.”I felt OK for the first mile and a half,” said Mosqueda, a Los Angeles resident. “But right around 3 miles, my legs were like lead. I didn’t feel like I was racing; I felt like I was running.”Tatyana Pozdnyakova, a Gainesville resident who won the Los Angeles Marathon on March 7, finished third among women (50:15) and first among Masters women — ages 40 and older. Pozdnyakova, 49, won the $50,000 challenge bonus in Los Angeles where women received a 20:30 head start in the 26.2-mile race. Dennis Simonaitis, 41, of Draper, Utah, was the top men’s finisher in the Masters division. He finished in 48:31.Kim Pawelek, who finished 10th among women (52:54) and is also going to the marathon trials April 3 in St. Louis, was the top women’s finisher from Jacksonville. Zepherinus Joseph was the top Jacksonville runner (23rd, 48:34) and is awaiting word on whether he will be representing St. Lucia in the Olympic Games at Athens.One of the worst runs of his career probably helped Dale Earnhardt Jr. save his season.A week after he nearly was parked for running too slow, Junior zoomed by Jeremy Mayfield with 15 laps to go and sprinted to an easy victory Sunday in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

He also won the season-opening Daytona 500.”Last week was as bad as it ever gets,” Earnhardt said. “But we didn’t get on each other too bad, and we stayed pretty focused.”Rookie Kasey Kahne was third — his third straight finish in the top three — and Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman followed him across the finish line.Defending series champ Matt Kenseth, who had won the past two races, rallied from a lap down to finish sixth.At Las Vegas last Sunday, Earnhardt started 26th and quickly drifted to the rear of the field at the start. His Chevrolet was so far off the pace that NASCAR warned his crew he was right at the minimum speed.After eventually finishing 35th, Earnhardt and the team spent Thursday testing at Kentucky Speedway. Just as their session was ending, they hit on a setup that worked, and Earnhardt was fast all weekend at Atlanta.”We went testing, and we’re going testing this week,” Earnhardt said. “We’re going to test, test, test, until we lap the field.”I’m determined and devoted to running like this every week, no matter what it costs.”He qualified seventh and stayed near the front, then dominated the latter stages. He passed Mayfield’s Dodge for the lead with 60 laps to go and held the top spot until the leaders made their final pit stops under green.Mayfield came in with 26 to go and his crew changed four tires in 14.3 seconds, then Earnhardt followed three laps later. His stop was nearly a second faster, but he came back on the track in third, behind Mayfield and Johnson.With 20 laps left, Earnhardt drove by Johnson on the inside and set his sights on Mayfield. He didn’t take long.Junior ran up high in Turns 1 and 2 to get momentum, then swooped underneath Mayfield down the backstretch, moving into the lead with hardly a struggle.”We had a great car to start with, but it just seemed as the race went on, the tighter we got,” Mayfield said of his car’s handling. “Dale Jr. and those guys got ahead of the track and we didn’t.”Kenseth started 30th and was up to 13th after 15 laps, and eventually got to sixth before the first pit stops. But he made a rare mistake, spinning his Ford as he came into the pits, and dropped a lap down after a drive-through penalty.He made up the ground during the second caution for oil on the track, because he was the first lapped car behind the leader, and got his fourth straight top-10 finish to start the season.Kenseth leads Tony Stewart by 82 points, with Earnhardt another eight points back.

Liking My 8000 Explorer… Sort Of

It is nice to have the DVR (Digital Video Recorder) from Comcast. For the last week I’ve been playing with my Scientific Atlanta 8000 Explorer.

I have been recording like a drunken sailor. Last night I watched Hannah and Her Sisters (which had run at some inconvenient time). I’ve taken to seeing Letterman when I get home from work… even though the show is already in progress. Right now, I’m watching a documentary on water (please, I know how exciting that makes me sound)&#185.

I will have to learn that I’m under no obligation to watch what I record.

The user interface on the DVR to be kludgey at best. There are too many menus which are unreachable directly and must be reached by navigating through other, more general, menus. The listings of recorded or to be recorded show don’t show enough entries at once. As far as I can tell, there is no direct access to see the beginning of a show which is being recorded (In other words, if I walk in at midnight and want to watch Letterman from the beginning, though the recording continues in the background)

Digital TV is always slower in tuning than analog. So the click, click, click of a remote control doesn’t quite have the same speed or satisfaction. I have found this unit even slower than my non-DVR digital tuner. This might be because everything is actually being viewed after having been recorded – even live TV.

Some of the problems have been significant enough to force me to write Scientific Atlanta, who built the box.

Form Confirmation

Thank you for submitting the following information:

name: Geoff Fox

email: me@geofffox.com

submit: Submit

question

My 8000 has shown some strange behavior. Last night, during the playback of a movie (with no other recordings in progress) the playback stopped on three separate occasions. The video just froze – and then returned a few seconds later.

Also, this morning the unit is very slow to respond to channel changes. If, for instance, I enter a “1” on the keypad, it can be nearly 5 seconds before that shows on the LED readout. So, I have no idea whether the signal was even received by the unit.

Thank you, Geoff Fox

I’ll report back on their response… if any.

&#185 – A few seconds after I type that, I had had enough. It’s off and erased.

More High Tech Comes Home

I am a sucker for high tech. The common term is early adopter. I had a PC in 1978 and was on the Internet in the late 80s (though it wasn’t the graphical World Wide Web we know today). Now, I have a DVR.

DVR stands for Digital Video Recorder. A TIVO is a DVR. They’ve been around for a few years but, as far as I can see, they are poorly understood by most people.

Instead of recording video onto tape, DVR’s record video on a hard drive. The disadvantage is the lack of portability – being able to take a tape from your machine to someone else’s, since there’s no tape to take. The advantage is, since this is more a computer than mechanical device, you can integrate database manipulation into the package. That means a DVR can read a program schedule, allowing you to program thing in an easier fashion.

TIVO takes it one step further. If you show an interest in watching people play poker, for instance, TIVO will start recording poker shows – even without you asking!

Now that I think about it, there’s another disadvantage to DVD – the cost. For TIVO, you pay to buy the box and then pay again with a monthly subscription (or a lifetime fee paid when you buy the TIVO).

That’s what kept me away from a DVR, even though I’ve never heard anything but positive reviews. In fact, last week I spoke to a friend who said TIVO was the best purchase he had ever made. That’s quite an endorsement.

People in my business are petrified by the prospect of DVRs. It will make our programming schedules meaningless. More importantly, skipping commercials is simple, and commercials pay my salary and pay for all the programming on over-the-air TV and much of cable.

Recently, my cable company Comcast, started offering their own DVR for $9.95 a month additional. As it is, we’re already paying about as much a month for cable service as I paid rent for my first apartment! I decided to give it a try.

Comcast has an office near where I work, so I stopped by Thursday afternoon to pick one up. There were two customer service reps and eight subscribers waiting in line. No way I’d have that much time. I left.

Thursday evening, after the early news, I headed back to Comcast. The line was shorter. Before long I was leaving with a Scientific Atlanta 8000 Explorer… but not before someone in line recognized me and asked if I was there to pay because my cable service had been cut off. It’s a thrill a minute.

The DVR replaces my digital able box and it was pretty simple. I swapped the power cord, antenna cable, and the three wires that bring the audio (2 channels) and video to the TV set. Inside the box a disk drive began to spin. My DVD was booting up like the computer it is.

Within two or three minutes it was finished. On my TV screen the Scientific Atlanta logo was replaced by some ratty type inside a box telling me my unit hadn’t been authorized, I couldn’t watch anything, and I should call the toll free Comcast number.

It was after midnight when I got the error screen and found out no one’s working at Comcast on the all night show. This is not to say I didn’t get passed around voice mail hell and actually did speak with a real person. What I found out after working my way through the menus was that he wasn’t in New Haven, and not being here there was nothing he could do.

The preceding paragraph would have been acceptable, except I did call back the next morning to fix the problem and did get it fixed… without human intervention! Why couldn’t that have been done the night before?

I don’t have too much experience yet, and I’m not totally won over, but it’s interesting. The Comcast DVR doesn’t have the intuitive ability to guess my viewing preferences like TIVO does. It is programmed by an online channel guide, which is very easy to operate.

Unlike VCRs, the DVR has multiple tuners and will record two shows and play back another, all at the same time. It gives any TV picture-in-picture capability. Since everything goes through the DVR, you’re always watching it and it’s always recording. That means you can pause live TV!

In order to control all of this, and the TV it’s connected to, the remote control has 53 buttons, including two that are multipurpose (channel and volume). It’s a handful, to say the least.

There are a few problems I’ve noticed so far. The channel guide for programming includes all sorts of channels I don’t get, making a long list even longer. I wanted to go through the list of current movies, but the addition of all these channels made it excruciating. On the other hand, at least five or six movie channels we do get weren’t on the list.

The clock on my unit is about 20 seconds slow. So, my recordings start 20 seconds late.

I haven’t notice it yet, but Helaine complained the tuner switched channels when a recording started. That’s fine for the machine, but Helaine didn’t want to watch the Simpsons.

Since the DVR replaces my old cable box I went to return it the next day. This time it was 10 in line for two reps. I’ll try again Monday.

Blogger’s note: As if it knew, as I was filing this entry, the DVR crashed. It was a quick blue screen full of text and then power off! A few seconds later I was able to revive it, though it took at least 30 seconds to start working.