26 Jan 2011

Thoughts from the Car

So, as I drive I think about a bunch of things. Here are some from today:

·         I heard a AAA commercial. I really love their service, and Julie and I have used it several times. If you drive anywhere, it’s a good investment even if you don’t ever use it.

·         I’ve been listening to “terrestrial radio” since my Toyota blew up. Before that I was listening to music from my phone and I miss it terribly. I don’t like being forced to listen to commercials. The Pilot has XM/Sirius Radio, and the commercials are just as bad. I will NOT pay a monthly fee to get my commercials streamed from satellite.

·         I’m in the process of getting cable dropped. I have Julie mostly convinced, since all of her shows can be found online, or through broadcast. Once I have a media center PC set up, I’ll be axing Comcast’s cable and getting by on Internet alone.

·         This brings to mind all the technology and services that I would LOVE to pay for if it was offered

o   IPTV – Television streamed over my Internet connection, able to be consumed on any device I choose.

o   A la cart Cable – I would keep cable if I could pick the stations that I actually want to consume. It’s been a pipe dream for a long time

o   No Commercial TV – Right now it looks like downloading episodes from iTunes is the only way to get it, but I would gladly pay for a Netflix-like service to stream TV with no commercials (Similar to IPTV)

o   Car-sized parking spaces – In much of the PNW, the parking spaces are all REALLY small. I would love to pay a bit extra at a garage when I go downtown to know that I will be able to easily get into and out of my car, and that no one will whang up the sides and doors.

·         Voters aren’t stupid, just easy to manipulate through the media. There is no politician who actually wants to make a better world, just a better world for himself or herself. I have never, in my life, seen the government (or anyone from the government) make a sacrifice. Ever.

·         I see a lot of technology and advancement that is done just for the sake of doing it. Someone sat in a meeting and said, “you know, it would be really cool if….”