Voices from the Web Mines

Bill woke up this morning going "Whaaaa?" hearing his own voice coming out of the clock radio, sounding wide awake, and pitching something called Web Monday. I heard myself coming out of the dashboard on the way to work, sounding very enthusiastic about membership renewal online. This is a routine experience for the on-air staff, but a novelty for us back-room types. Joel, recording us in the production studio, said, "If you try for a little too bright and bouncy, it'll come out just right." Then he said, "Uh--let's try that again." I think he said that a couple of times. Anyway--we each used up a couple of our fifteen minutes of fame.

"Breathe, my Pasty Friend!"

One gift to my wife on her recent birthday was a t-shirt that reads, "breathe." I should have bought one for me, too. These are angry and fearful times. What's going to happen? What will we do if...? What can make us safe? Who can we trust? What can I do right now? That last question, the t-shirt can answer: breathe. When asked about the short route to paradise, Mohammed said: "Don't be angry." When asked, what else? he repeated "Don't be angry." In, then out; in, then out.

That Old-Time Winter

One morning the car doesn't start, next day the fuel oil tank runs dry, minus-40 wind chill--this is the North Country winter I remember. Not these puny puppy winters we've been having, but big mean dog winter, practically endless winter, Is-that-a-glacier-I-hear-coming winter. Stay warm; stay safe. As my friend Allen once observed--"If the woodstove dies, we die."

Toll Booths and Speed Bumps

As soon as some people saw just how fast and flexible and useful the "information superhighway" could be, other people said "All right! Let's build toll booths and speed bumps." Anyone who has dealt with finding and installing the well-hidden "free" version of media players to listen to our live broadcast stream can testify on the matter. And then the relentless commercials pushed by the players--yuk. We have long felt that the intrusiveness and exclusivity of using proprietary players and audio formats to distribute public broadcasting on the Internet was a poor choice. Until recently, we saw no practical alternative. But now our streaming provider, Public Interactive, is offering a universally-playable stream in mp3 format. We are in the process of switching over, and will shortly drop our Real Audio and Windows Media format streams. Those of you who use and like the RealOne Player and the Windows Media Player will see little change; both players play the mp3 format. But then, so does the QuickTime Player, and the WinAmp player, and most of the non-commercial shareware and freeware players, and new PDAs, and cell phones. By next year, you will probably be able to find an mp3-playing necktie. One stream, one format, many choices, no charge. Cool.