No More New Timmys

I just saw on CNN.com that Don Herbert, better known as "Mr. Wizard" passed away today. I remember watching his show almost religiously on Nickelodeon. I remember it was the last cable channel we got at the time, 18. He introduced me to fascinating properties of the world and physics. He was probably the second most influential television personality at the time, no one can displace Fred Rogers. The two Misters of children's television. I salute you Mr. Wizard and thank you for all you have done.

Click for the rest of the rambling >>.

The face will make it happen

I’m not sure how long this link will work, but I’m putting it up. For a long time the U.S. Mint has been pushing dollar coins. It makes sense really. Paper dollars cost cents to make but last about 18 months. Coins cost 5-6 times that but last 20-30 years. That makes economic sense. That’s one of the reasons they haven’t redesigned the one dollar bill. It’s not worth enough to counterfeit it, stability of the design denotes stability of the dollar, and any redesign increases cost to produce. I tried to lend support to the Sacagawea dollar when it came out, but my bank was always out when I asked for them. Can’t really replace the paper dollar if you can’t find the coins. Now they are releasing a series of dollar coins with the Presidents’ faces on them, apparently in much greater numbers. If they can get the vending machine industry to make sure all the machines take the coins it will help a lot. But I still hold by what the Robocop TV show said. The dollar coin will be popular when it has Ronald Regan’s face on it. Given that they will get to him about the time the coin’s popularity is coming into its own, it might be right.

Click for the rest of the rambling >>.

That’s right Rebo

There’s a line in the episode “Day of the Dead” from Babylon 5 that Rebo, of Rebo and Zooty fame, delivers. I can’t remember the exact quote, but Rebo and Zooty are a fantastically popular comedy team, and they are thinking of getting out of the business and going into politics. When asked why Rebo explains that they didn’t make a difference, and they had wanted to help during a time the Earth President had declared martial law and disbanded or killed most of the Senate. One of the show’s main characters said that they had made a difference in helping give people strength to carry on. Plus he said they had said things on their show that no one else could say for fear of retaliation from the President. Rebo said that no one paid any attention to them. They said that comedians say serious things in a funny way and everyone laughs it off, but politicians say funny things in a serious way and get support. Anyway, they convinced Rebo and Zooty to stay in comedy.

I thought of that because last week I read an article on Ars stating that a study indicated that “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” apparently has as much real news analysis on it as most of the “real” news shows on television. I have suspected as much, and I have to say, that’s sad. Oh it’s good for The Daily Show, but bad for other news shows. I will admit that I don’t watch the news much. I usually don’t because it only deals with sensational stuff. I really should start checking out some of the few programs that actually teach the audience about the topics that are being discussed. It’s time to get the TV Guide and check out PBS some more. I’m sure Smitty has some good recommendations. I also need to find a way to add more hours to the day or give up sleep. One or the other. But I’m probably going to watch the election coverage that The Daily Show offers again this year. It’s just funnier and I remember more of it.

Click for the rest of the rambling >>.

Not Exactly Reality TV

I don’t normally watch much Reality TV. I have friends who have fallen for American Idol, but I didn’t. I did enjoy the Joe Shmo Show, the first more than the second, but not much else. At least that was until I started watching “Who Wants to be a Superhero” on the Sci-Fi Channel. It was different enough that I have enjoyed it. Hero creator Stan Lee is the host and decider of the contest. Essentially a group of people assemble to decide who gets to be a superhero. They have tasks and are judged on how they complete them. The winner gets a SciFi weekend movie and a comic made from their character. It’s interesting because essentially they have to be really good people in order to win. It’s not based on strength or intelligence. They are primarily judged on character and determination. A “reality” show that makes the contestants learn to be better people is something I can get behind.

Click for the rest of the rambling >>.