Sun - March 29, 2009
The Jenny McCarthy Body Count Website Is Now Online
Hello.
I wanted to let you know about the launch of the Jenny McCarthy Body Count website at http://www.jennymccarthybodycount.com
In June 2007 Jenny McCarthy began promoting anti-vaccination rhetoric. Because of her celebrity status she has appeared on several television shows and has published multiple books advising parents not to vaccinate their children. This has led to a dramatic increase in the number of vaccine preventable illnesses as well as an increase in the number of vaccine preventable deaths.
During 2008 many people have said that Jenny McCarthy has a body count attached to her name due to her anti-vaccination rhetoric. I wanted to find out what that body count was. Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports I was able to do so: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/
Is Jenny McCarthy directly responsible for every vaccine preventable illness and every vaccine preventable death listed on the website? No. However, as the unofficial spokesperson for the United States anti-vaccination movement she may be indirectly responsible for at least some of these illnesses and deaths and even one vaccine preventable illness or vaccine preventable death is too many.
Thank you.
-Derek
I wanted to let you know about the launch of the Jenny McCarthy Body Count website at http://www.jennymccarthybodycount.com
In June 2007 Jenny McCarthy began promoting anti-vaccination rhetoric. Because of her celebrity status she has appeared on several television shows and has published multiple books advising parents not to vaccinate their children. This has led to a dramatic increase in the number of vaccine preventable illnesses as well as an increase in the number of vaccine preventable deaths.
During 2008 many people have said that Jenny McCarthy has a body count attached to her name due to her anti-vaccination rhetoric. I wanted to find out what that body count was. Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports I was able to do so: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/
Is Jenny McCarthy directly responsible for every vaccine preventable illness and every vaccine preventable death listed on the website? No. However, as the unofficial spokesperson for the United States anti-vaccination movement she may be indirectly responsible for at least some of these illnesses and deaths and even one vaccine preventable illness or vaccine preventable death is too many.
Thank you.
-Derek
Posted at 11:39 PM
Tue - February 24, 2009
Capital One Is A Major FAIL
When I got home last night and read my mail I had
an interesting letter from my Capital One credit
card.
They have decided to raise my credit card interest rate by 5%. Here is what they wrote: "Due to extraordinary changes in the economic environment, we're reviewing our existing credit card accounts. Having considered these economic conditions, your account's current Purchase rate, and the length of time you've had this rate and account, we will be changing your Purchase and Balance Transfer rate." They then continue to say that my rate will be increased to 17.9% in May 2009. I have never had a card with that high of an interest rate since I was in college, and I don't plan on keeping a card with that high of an interest rate now.
I called Capital One customer service and spoke with Steven (ID#FRP945). He then told me that every Capital One credit card customer is having their interest rate increased across the board and then after the rate is increased they would then decide to negotiate lower rates based on each customer's history. So, Steven basically said that the letter was lying when it said that my account history was taken into consideration when they chose to raise the interest rate.
I explained to Steven that this did not make any economic sense for Capital One. The country is in financial crisis, people are losing their jobs, so they decide to raise people's rates which will make them more likely to default and go into bankruptcy and then Capital One won't receive any money at all. Or, they will have customers, like myself, that choose to cancel their Capital One credit cards rather than pay an arbitrarily high interest rate and then Capital One won't receive any money at all.
Very stupid thinking on Capital One's part. I will be paying off the card and canceling it by May 2009.
They have decided to raise my credit card interest rate by 5%. Here is what they wrote: "Due to extraordinary changes in the economic environment, we're reviewing our existing credit card accounts. Having considered these economic conditions, your account's current Purchase rate, and the length of time you've had this rate and account, we will be changing your Purchase and Balance Transfer rate." They then continue to say that my rate will be increased to 17.9% in May 2009. I have never had a card with that high of an interest rate since I was in college, and I don't plan on keeping a card with that high of an interest rate now.
I called Capital One customer service and spoke with Steven (ID#FRP945). He then told me that every Capital One credit card customer is having their interest rate increased across the board and then after the rate is increased they would then decide to negotiate lower rates based on each customer's history. So, Steven basically said that the letter was lying when it said that my account history was taken into consideration when they chose to raise the interest rate.
I explained to Steven that this did not make any economic sense for Capital One. The country is in financial crisis, people are losing their jobs, so they decide to raise people's rates which will make them more likely to default and go into bankruptcy and then Capital One won't receive any money at all. Or, they will have customers, like myself, that choose to cancel their Capital One credit cards rather than pay an arbitrarily high interest rate and then Capital One won't receive any money at all.
Very stupid thinking on Capital One's part. I will be paying off the card and canceling it by May 2009.
Posted at 11:53 AM
Fri - September 19, 2008
2008-09-19 Press Release Concerning Michael Horn And Billy Meier
Hello.
Today (2008-09-19) the IIG has distributed a press release concerning Billy Meier's publicist, Michael Horn, publicly admitting to posting false and misleading documents on his website in order to support the various claims made by Billy Meier. We have also reformatted the Billy Meier section of the IIG website and updated it with what will be about 50-60% of the final report on the case. You can go to http://www.iigwest.org/investigations/meier/index.html to read our findings.
Thank you.
Here is the text of the press release:
Longtime UFO Proponent Admits To Publishing Misleading Articles In Order To Support His Claims
The Various Claims Of Billy Meier Are Now Made Even More Unlikely
Los Angeles, CA - September 19, 2008: The Independent Investigations Group (IIG) is the West Coast's leading Paranormal Investigations group. One of the more prominent cases that the IIG has looked into is regarding the alleged UFO Contactee, Eduard Albert "Billy" Meier. An individual by the name of Michael Horn is the North American Publicist for Mr. Meier.
On August 27, 2008 in a public email Michael Horn sent to the IIG he revealed that he had posted false and misleading articles on his website. When confronted with this revelation Mr. Horn admitted to posting these false and misleading articles on his website in order to try and support the claims of Billy Meier.
Michael Horn also promotes several other claims made by Billy Meier. These claims include tales that Meier has traveled into the past on a flying saucer and took photographs of dinosaurs. However, his photographs turned out to be photographs of illustrations of dinosaurs taken from a book. Meier also published photographs of who he claimed was his extra-terrestrial contact, but it turned out that these were photographs of a singer performing on The Dean Martin Variety Show. Michael Horn also promotes the "prophecies" of Billy Meier. In January 2007 he claimed that one of these prophecies, which concerned the coming of World War III, had actually come true when four Heads of State died within seven days of each other. The problem with this "prophecy" is that the four Heads of State mentioned in the article did not die within seven days of each other like the "prophecy" claimed that they would.
You can read all about Michael Horn's admitting to posting false and misleading articles and other claims made by Billy Meier here: http://www.iigwest.org/investigations/meier/index.html
The Center for Inquiry-Los Angeles is the West Coast home to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), publisher of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. Visit our website at http://www.cfiwest.org/ or call (323) 666-9797
The Independent Investigations Group (IIG) is the West Coast's leading Paranormal Investigations group and offers a $50,000 Challenge to anyone who can demonstrate paranormal abilities under scientifically controlled conditions. Visit our website at http://www.iigwest.org/ or email us at info@iigwest.com
Today (2008-09-19) the IIG has distributed a press release concerning Billy Meier's publicist, Michael Horn, publicly admitting to posting false and misleading documents on his website in order to support the various claims made by Billy Meier. We have also reformatted the Billy Meier section of the IIG website and updated it with what will be about 50-60% of the final report on the case. You can go to http://www.iigwest.org/investigations/meier/index.html to read our findings.
Thank you.
Here is the text of the press release:
Longtime UFO Proponent Admits To Publishing Misleading Articles In Order To Support His Claims
The Various Claims Of Billy Meier Are Now Made Even More Unlikely
Los Angeles, CA - September 19, 2008: The Independent Investigations Group (IIG) is the West Coast's leading Paranormal Investigations group. One of the more prominent cases that the IIG has looked into is regarding the alleged UFO Contactee, Eduard Albert "Billy" Meier. An individual by the name of Michael Horn is the North American Publicist for Mr. Meier.
On August 27, 2008 in a public email Michael Horn sent to the IIG he revealed that he had posted false and misleading articles on his website. When confronted with this revelation Mr. Horn admitted to posting these false and misleading articles on his website in order to try and support the claims of Billy Meier.
Michael Horn also promotes several other claims made by Billy Meier. These claims include tales that Meier has traveled into the past on a flying saucer and took photographs of dinosaurs. However, his photographs turned out to be photographs of illustrations of dinosaurs taken from a book. Meier also published photographs of who he claimed was his extra-terrestrial contact, but it turned out that these were photographs of a singer performing on The Dean Martin Variety Show. Michael Horn also promotes the "prophecies" of Billy Meier. In January 2007 he claimed that one of these prophecies, which concerned the coming of World War III, had actually come true when four Heads of State died within seven days of each other. The problem with this "prophecy" is that the four Heads of State mentioned in the article did not die within seven days of each other like the "prophecy" claimed that they would.
You can read all about Michael Horn's admitting to posting false and misleading articles and other claims made by Billy Meier here: http://www.iigwest.org/investigations/meier/index.html
The Center for Inquiry-Los Angeles is the West Coast home to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), publisher of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. Visit our website at http://www.cfiwest.org/ or call (323) 666-9797
The Independent Investigations Group (IIG) is the West Coast's leading Paranormal Investigations group and offers a $50,000 Challenge to anyone who can demonstrate paranormal abilities under scientifically controlled conditions. Visit our website at http://www.iigwest.org/ or email us at info@iigwest.com
Posted at 03:46 PM
Sat - August 30, 2008
New Jersey School District Commits "Act" Of Terrorism
Hello.
Here is something that is completely outrageous. The Acting Superintendent of Schools and the Chief of Police of Phillipsburg, New Jersey decided to mount an intruder drill at the Phillipsburg Early Childhood Learning Center.
Now, holding various types of drills are fine. We have all participated in fire drills, stormy weather drills, and in today's era some schools are holding armed intruder drills. However, this time no one was informed of the drill and several teachers were traumatized, suffered injuries, and some had to go to the hospital.
Here is the link to the local newspaper report.
Now, what is missing from this report are the details of what happened. I have a source at this school who is willing to talk to members of the press as long as their identity is not revealed because of fears of retaliation from the school district.
This school district has a new acting Superintendent. The previous Superintendent had refused to go along with the following idea. The school has held intruder drills in the past, when students were not present. It is for the teachers to know where to go during an armed attack and where the safe locations in the school are. There have usually been at least two drills per year when students were not present. Like all other types of drills the teachers were always made aware that there would be a drill.
Until yesterday.
On Friday, August 29, 2008 a series of gunmen burst into the school and starting shooting. There were screams and several people appeared to be shot and/or dead in the halls of the school. The teachers and school staff were terrified. Some called 911 and many called their loved ones saying that they were under attack and were afraid that this would be their last day alive. One gunman came into the library and a teacher tried to protect the other teachers in the room by leaping at the gunman. This gunman struck the teacher in the chest with a rifle, shot multiple rounds toward the ceiling, and then pointed the rifle in the teacher's face and said that if he moved again he would "blow his head off".
Now, it turns out that this was just an "act" of terrorism, because the gunmen were a combination of police officers and actors and the wounded and dying people in the halls were also actors. The bullets were blanks, and the grenades were blanks as well.
This "act" of terrorism was entirely made up by the acting Superintendent and the local Chief of Police. They thought that it would be a good idea to not tell any of the teachers about the drill in order to see how they would react. Well, the teacher in the library was beaten and had a rifle put in his face and has been severely traumatized. (It is unknown at this time if the library gunman was a police officer or an actor.) A janitor at the school drove himself to a local hospital because he was suffering from chest pains. And others have been so traumatized that they are nervous about starting the upcoming school year.
The most painful thing is that the teachers and school staff feel as though they cannot come forward and speak openly about what happened because they have been told not to reveal the security plans for the school in case there is ever a real attack.
Like I said earlier, I have a source at this school who wants to talk about this and try to prevent any such thing from ever happening again, but wants to keep their identity hidden because they fear retribution from the school district for speaking out about what happened yesterday. If you are a member of the press and want to discuss this situation with my source please feel free to contact me. My email is listed on my member page.
Thank you.
-Derek
Here is something that is completely outrageous. The Acting Superintendent of Schools and the Chief of Police of Phillipsburg, New Jersey decided to mount an intruder drill at the Phillipsburg Early Childhood Learning Center.
Now, holding various types of drills are fine. We have all participated in fire drills, stormy weather drills, and in today's era some schools are holding armed intruder drills. However, this time no one was informed of the drill and several teachers were traumatized, suffered injuries, and some had to go to the hospital.
Here is the link to the local newspaper report.
Now, what is missing from this report are the details of what happened. I have a source at this school who is willing to talk to members of the press as long as their identity is not revealed because of fears of retaliation from the school district.
This school district has a new acting Superintendent. The previous Superintendent had refused to go along with the following idea. The school has held intruder drills in the past, when students were not present. It is for the teachers to know where to go during an armed attack and where the safe locations in the school are. There have usually been at least two drills per year when students were not present. Like all other types of drills the teachers were always made aware that there would be a drill.
Until yesterday.
On Friday, August 29, 2008 a series of gunmen burst into the school and starting shooting. There were screams and several people appeared to be shot and/or dead in the halls of the school. The teachers and school staff were terrified. Some called 911 and many called their loved ones saying that they were under attack and were afraid that this would be their last day alive. One gunman came into the library and a teacher tried to protect the other teachers in the room by leaping at the gunman. This gunman struck the teacher in the chest with a rifle, shot multiple rounds toward the ceiling, and then pointed the rifle in the teacher's face and said that if he moved again he would "blow his head off".
Now, it turns out that this was just an "act" of terrorism, because the gunmen were a combination of police officers and actors and the wounded and dying people in the halls were also actors. The bullets were blanks, and the grenades were blanks as well.
This "act" of terrorism was entirely made up by the acting Superintendent and the local Chief of Police. They thought that it would be a good idea to not tell any of the teachers about the drill in order to see how they would react. Well, the teacher in the library was beaten and had a rifle put in his face and has been severely traumatized. (It is unknown at this time if the library gunman was a police officer or an actor.) A janitor at the school drove himself to a local hospital because he was suffering from chest pains. And others have been so traumatized that they are nervous about starting the upcoming school year.
The most painful thing is that the teachers and school staff feel as though they cannot come forward and speak openly about what happened because they have been told not to reveal the security plans for the school in case there is ever a real attack.
Like I said earlier, I have a source at this school who wants to talk about this and try to prevent any such thing from ever happening again, but wants to keep their identity hidden because they fear retribution from the school district for speaking out about what happened yesterday. If you are a member of the press and want to discuss this situation with my source please feel free to contact me. My email is listed on my member page.
Thank you.
-Derek
Posted at 11:21 PM
Sun - June 10, 2007
Conservative Truths Nominated For 2006 Koufax Awards
Hello.
I am very proud to announce
that our sister site Conservative Truths has been nominated in the 2006 Koufax Awards for
Most Deserving of Wider
Recognition.
Voting is not taking place yet, but I will
update this posting once the voting begins.
If you enjoy the work
that Conservative Truths does then I hope you will visit the Awards and place
your vote for Conservative Truths.
Thank you.
P.S.
Even though it is 2007 the current awards are the 2006 Koufax Awards. The
process was delayed for a variety of reasons this year.
Nominations for the 2006 award are:
Red
State Son
**note** Now blogging as Dennis Perrin | A Red State
Son
Posted at 07:11 PM
Tue - May 22, 2007
Major Religions Ranked By Size
This has some pretty amazing results. Please
click on this link
for the full details, but here is the major
breakdown:
Christianity: 2.1 billion
Islam: 1.3 billion
Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion
Hinduism: 900 million
Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
Buddhism: 376 million
primal-indigenous: 300 million
African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million
Sikhism: 23 million
Juche: 19 million
Spiritism: 15 million
Judaism: 14 million
Baha'i: 7 million
Jainism: 4.2 million
Shinto: 4 million
Cao Dai: 4 million
Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
Tenrikyo: 2 million
Neo-Paganism: 1 million
Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
Rastafarianism: 600 thousand
Scientology: 500 thousand
Christianity: 2.1 billion
Islam: 1.3 billion
Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion
Hinduism: 900 million
Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
Buddhism: 376 million
primal-indigenous: 300 million
African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million
Sikhism: 23 million
Juche: 19 million
Spiritism: 15 million
Judaism: 14 million
Baha'i: 7 million
Jainism: 4.2 million
Shinto: 4 million
Cao Dai: 4 million
Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
Tenrikyo: 2 million
Neo-Paganism: 1 million
Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
Rastafarianism: 600 thousand
Scientology: 500 thousand
Posted at 06:58 PM
Thu - April 6, 2006
Another Nail In The Creationist Coffin
"Scientists have discovered fossils of a
375-million-year-old fish, a large scaly creature not seen before, that they say
is a long-sought missing link in the evolution of some fishes from water to a
life walking on four limbs on
land."
Here is a topic that will be discussed a lot in the coming days.
Here is a topic that will be discussed a lot in the coming days.
Posted at 08:04 AM
Mon - March 6, 2006
Koufax Awards Voting Has Begun
Hello.
I am very proud to announce that Conservative-Truths and Liberal-Truths have been nominated in the first Round of Voting for the 2005 Koufax Awards for Best New Blog and Most Deserving of Wider Recognition.
If you enjoy the work that Conservative-Truths and Liberal-Truths do then I hope you will visit the Awards and place your vote for Conservative-Truths.
Thank you.
UPDATE (March 6, 2006): Voting in the first round of the Koufax Awards has begun. Please go to the above links and place a vote for Conservative-Truths. I am requesting that you only vote for Conservative-Truths because that site has higher a higher number of viewers and since only one vote is allowed per person I would prefer to not split the vote between the two sites. Thank you.
UPDATE (March 7, 2006): The graphic on the side still says that voting isn't open, but the direct link to the pages say that voting is open. You vote by leaving a comment or emailing Wampum. Thanks.
UPDATE (March 14, 2006): The first round of voting is now closed. The nominees for the final round of voting should be announced in a few days. Thank you to everyone who voted for Conservative-Truths.
UPDATE (March 21, 2006): The finalists in the 2005 Koufax Awards are in. Neither Conservative-Truths nor Liberal-Truths are one of the finalists, but there was an amazing number of sites to choose from. Please go to Wampum and vote in the finals. Thank you again to everyone who voted in the first round of voting.
I am very proud to announce that Conservative-Truths and Liberal-Truths have been nominated in the first Round of Voting for the 2005 Koufax Awards for Best New Blog and Most Deserving of Wider Recognition.
If you enjoy the work that Conservative-Truths and Liberal-Truths do then I hope you will visit the Awards and place your vote for Conservative-Truths.
Thank you.
UPDATE (March 6, 2006): Voting in the first round of the Koufax Awards has begun. Please go to the above links and place a vote for Conservative-Truths. I am requesting that you only vote for Conservative-Truths because that site has higher a higher number of viewers and since only one vote is allowed per person I would prefer to not split the vote between the two sites. Thank you.
UPDATE (March 7, 2006): The graphic on the side still says that voting isn't open, but the direct link to the pages say that voting is open. You vote by leaving a comment or emailing Wampum. Thanks.
UPDATE (March 14, 2006): The first round of voting is now closed. The nominees for the final round of voting should be announced in a few days. Thank you to everyone who voted for Conservative-Truths.
UPDATE (March 21, 2006): The finalists in the 2005 Koufax Awards are in. Neither Conservative-Truths nor Liberal-Truths are one of the finalists, but there was an amazing number of sites to choose from. Please go to Wampum and vote in the finals. Thank you again to everyone who voted in the first round of voting.
Posted at 08:33 AM
Thu - January 26, 2006
Conservative-Truths and Liberal-Truths Nominated For 2005 Koufax Awards
Hello.
I am very proud to announce that Conservative-Truths and Liberal-Truths have been nominated in the first Round of Voting for the 2005 Koufax Awards for Best New Blog and Most Deserving of Wider Recognition.
If you enjoy the work that Conservative-Truths and Liberal-Truths do then I hope you will visit the Awards and place your vote for Conservative-Truths or Liberal-Truths (only one vote per person).
Thank you.
UPDATE: I've noticed other nominees adding links to my sites on their sites. Neither Conservative-Truths nor Liberal-Truths have links to other sites, but here are the nominees for Best New Blog:
I am very proud to announce that Conservative-Truths and Liberal-Truths have been nominated in the first Round of Voting for the 2005 Koufax Awards for Best New Blog and Most Deserving of Wider Recognition.
If you enjoy the work that Conservative-Truths and Liberal-Truths do then I hope you will visit the Awards and place your vote for Conservative-Truths or Liberal-Truths (only one vote per person).
Thank you.
UPDATE: I've noticed other nominees adding links to my sites on their sites. Neither Conservative-Truths nor Liberal-Truths have links to other sites, but here are the nominees for Best New Blog:
And here are the nominees for Most Deserving of
Wider Recognition:
Posted at 09:21 AM
Sun - January 22, 2006
Is The Census Bureau Messing With Me?
Ever since the 2006
Statistical Abstract came out the Census Bureau has been rearranging
their website in a way that is making it harder for me to find the appropriate
links to use for Conservative-Truths and
Liberal-Truths. Until
this year the Census Bureau always had links to the previous years' reports on
the same page. Well, a few weeks ago they removed the links from the main
Statistical Abstract page. Using Google I then found the original 2003
Statistical Abstract page and used the links from that page. Today, while
writing the next posting, I discovered that the links from that page are no
longer working. I've checked the links on the website and they all seem to be
still linking to the correct PDFs, so they haven't removed the pages yet. They
have just made them harder to find. I did find the index page for the 2003
Statistical Abstract PDFs, so I am now using those links to find the correct
PDFs for my postings.
I'm not prepared to start using the 2006 Statistical Abstract yet. There is still a lot of material from the 2003 Abstract that I want to use. Hopefully, the Census Bureau will not remove the 2003 PDFs off of their servers entirely. That would so amazingly suck. I have all of the PDFs downloaded to my computer, but it would be better for the report link to go to the Census Bureau site rather than another location on my site. I would not want people to think that I have altered the Census Bureau documents.
I'm not prepared to start using the 2006 Statistical Abstract yet. There is still a lot of material from the 2003 Abstract that I want to use. Hopefully, the Census Bureau will not remove the 2003 PDFs off of their servers entirely. That would so amazingly suck. I have all of the PDFs downloaded to my computer, but it would be better for the report link to go to the Census Bureau site rather than another location on my site. I would not want people to think that I have altered the Census Bureau documents.
Posted at 07:55 AM
Sat - January 21, 2006
Dish Network Receiver Victim of Demonic Possession
Okay, as a member of the Independent Investigations Group I
have to doubt that my Dish
Network receiver was actually the victim of demonic possession, but if
I was inclined to believe in demonic possession then what happened last night
would have probably reinforced that
belief.
I have a Series 2 TiVo connected to my Dish Network Satellite Receiver so all of my television viewing is time-delayed. Because I have satellite I get the Sci-Fi Channel East Coast feed which allows me to watch the new Battlestar Galactica three hours earlier than anyone else. About fifteen minutes after the start of the program I started to watch it and discovered a Dish Network error message saying that it couldn't acquire a satellite signal. I did some troubleshooting and discovered that the remote control didn't seem to be working properly and also that the receiver couldn't lock on to any channel. I turned off the receiver and while it was off it still displayed the Dish Programming Guide which was telling me that it was updating and downloading new satellite software. I thought that it was rather odd that I was still getting a signal from the receiver with the power turned off, but after the download it seemed to be behaving correctly. I then told the TiVo to record the 10:00 PM rebroadcast of Battlestar Galactica.
A few minutes after 10:00 PM I went to view the new recording of Battlestar Galactica and I got the same error message. Only this time not only did the remote not work at all when trying to change channels or turn the power off the buttons on the receiver wouldn't work either. I called tech support and got instructions on a hard-reset of the receiver. I followed the instructions and it didn't correct the problem. I then spoke with a technician. Here is where the story gets really weird.
The technician had me do another hard-reset of the receiver and that didn't work. I then pulled out the programming card and that didn't work. We discovered that the remote wasn't controlling the receiver at all (and the batteries were working) and that there was a sixty-second delay between pushing the channel button on the receiver and the channel actually changing. BTW, I should mention that I was still viewing this through the "Live TV" function on the TiVo. I was then told to turn the power off on the receiver. I did this and mentioned that I was still seeing the Dish Programming Guide. The technician then told me to unplug the receiver so that no power was going to it at all. I did this and discovered that I was still getting a signal from the receiver. Now, instead of seeing the programming guide it was showing a basketball game.
Yes, you read that correctly. The satellite receiver was UNPLUGGED and was receiving NO POWER AT ALL and yet it was still sending a television signal to the TiVo which was then sending the signal to the television. At this time the technician said that she needed to talk with another technician because she had never had a receiver go "poltergeist" on her before.
While I waited for the technician to come back on the line I decided to put the TiVo into "standby" mode, which is basically like turning the TiVo off. For a few moments after turning the TiVo off I was STILL getting a television signal of the basketball game.
After about 15-30 seconds the television screen turned to black. I then restarted the TiVo and got an error message that the TiVo couldn't detect a signal. This was good, since the satellite receiver was still unplugged. The technician came back on the line and I told her what had transpired while she was away. She was very glad that I wasn't receiving a television signal any more. We then plugged the receiver back in and turned it on. After it connected to the satellites and downloaded new programming information it seemed to behave normally. The remote worked. The buttons on the receiver worked. And, there was no delay in changing the channels any longer. The technician was very relieved to hear that the receiver was not behaving in a "poltergeist" manner any longer. And I was very relieved as well.
Now, if I was more fantasy-prone I'm sure that I would have seen this as an act of demonic possession. Why a demon would want to prevent me from watching television, and specifically Battlestar Galactica, I have no idea. But, I'm sure that I would have believed that this was the act of a demon.
However, there is a rational explanation. Even if it is one that I cannot confirm.
Somehow the TiVo must have been caching the signal from the satellite receiver and even though the TiVo said that I was watching live TV I must not have been, or there was some sort of "feedback loop" that was still going through the TiVo. The system did not correct itself until after I turned the TiVo off. That suggests that it was something with the TiVo even though I cannot explain what it was.
I'll definitely be paying closer attention to the TiVo and Satellite Receiver over the next couple of days and it had better record the Monday rebroadcast of Battlestar Galactica correctly. I don't want to have to download the iPod version of the show from iTunes, but if something happens on Monday that is what I will have to do.
Hey, maybe this was all Apple Computer's diabolical plan to force more people to download television shows using iTunes. That makes a lot more sense than demonic possession.
I have a Series 2 TiVo connected to my Dish Network Satellite Receiver so all of my television viewing is time-delayed. Because I have satellite I get the Sci-Fi Channel East Coast feed which allows me to watch the new Battlestar Galactica three hours earlier than anyone else. About fifteen minutes after the start of the program I started to watch it and discovered a Dish Network error message saying that it couldn't acquire a satellite signal. I did some troubleshooting and discovered that the remote control didn't seem to be working properly and also that the receiver couldn't lock on to any channel. I turned off the receiver and while it was off it still displayed the Dish Programming Guide which was telling me that it was updating and downloading new satellite software. I thought that it was rather odd that I was still getting a signal from the receiver with the power turned off, but after the download it seemed to be behaving correctly. I then told the TiVo to record the 10:00 PM rebroadcast of Battlestar Galactica.
A few minutes after 10:00 PM I went to view the new recording of Battlestar Galactica and I got the same error message. Only this time not only did the remote not work at all when trying to change channels or turn the power off the buttons on the receiver wouldn't work either. I called tech support and got instructions on a hard-reset of the receiver. I followed the instructions and it didn't correct the problem. I then spoke with a technician. Here is where the story gets really weird.
The technician had me do another hard-reset of the receiver and that didn't work. I then pulled out the programming card and that didn't work. We discovered that the remote wasn't controlling the receiver at all (and the batteries were working) and that there was a sixty-second delay between pushing the channel button on the receiver and the channel actually changing. BTW, I should mention that I was still viewing this through the "Live TV" function on the TiVo. I was then told to turn the power off on the receiver. I did this and mentioned that I was still seeing the Dish Programming Guide. The technician then told me to unplug the receiver so that no power was going to it at all. I did this and discovered that I was still getting a signal from the receiver. Now, instead of seeing the programming guide it was showing a basketball game.
Yes, you read that correctly. The satellite receiver was UNPLUGGED and was receiving NO POWER AT ALL and yet it was still sending a television signal to the TiVo which was then sending the signal to the television. At this time the technician said that she needed to talk with another technician because she had never had a receiver go "poltergeist" on her before.
While I waited for the technician to come back on the line I decided to put the TiVo into "standby" mode, which is basically like turning the TiVo off. For a few moments after turning the TiVo off I was STILL getting a television signal of the basketball game.
After about 15-30 seconds the television screen turned to black. I then restarted the TiVo and got an error message that the TiVo couldn't detect a signal. This was good, since the satellite receiver was still unplugged. The technician came back on the line and I told her what had transpired while she was away. She was very glad that I wasn't receiving a television signal any more. We then plugged the receiver back in and turned it on. After it connected to the satellites and downloaded new programming information it seemed to behave normally. The remote worked. The buttons on the receiver worked. And, there was no delay in changing the channels any longer. The technician was very relieved to hear that the receiver was not behaving in a "poltergeist" manner any longer. And I was very relieved as well.
Now, if I was more fantasy-prone I'm sure that I would have seen this as an act of demonic possession. Why a demon would want to prevent me from watching television, and specifically Battlestar Galactica, I have no idea. But, I'm sure that I would have believed that this was the act of a demon.
However, there is a rational explanation. Even if it is one that I cannot confirm.
Somehow the TiVo must have been caching the signal from the satellite receiver and even though the TiVo said that I was watching live TV I must not have been, or there was some sort of "feedback loop" that was still going through the TiVo. The system did not correct itself until after I turned the TiVo off. That suggests that it was something with the TiVo even though I cannot explain what it was.
I'll definitely be paying closer attention to the TiVo and Satellite Receiver over the next couple of days and it had better record the Monday rebroadcast of Battlestar Galactica correctly. I don't want to have to download the iPod version of the show from iTunes, but if something happens on Monday that is what I will have to do.
Hey, maybe this was all Apple Computer's diabolical plan to force more people to download television shows using iTunes. That makes a lot more sense than demonic possession.
Posted at 07:44 AM
Fri - November 25, 2005
New Computer Arrived!
Wow!!!
I purchased a new 15" PowerBook G4 and it was scheduled for delivery on Monday and it came today. I have been playing with it throughout the day. The transfer of files and settings from my old Titanium PowerBook was incredibly simple. The new computer automatically transferred everything and got almost all of the applications to work. There are a few that don't work with 10.4, but many more worked than I thought would.
It's great to finally have a decent computer.
I purchased a new 15" PowerBook G4 and it was scheduled for delivery on Monday and it came today. I have been playing with it throughout the day. The transfer of files and settings from my old Titanium PowerBook was incredibly simple. The new computer automatically transferred everything and got almost all of the applications to work. There are a few that don't work with 10.4, but many more worked than I thought would.
It's great to finally have a decent computer.
Posted at 09:44 PM
Wed - October 26, 2005
Sat - October 22, 2005
White Sox Win First Game And We Get Two Earthquakes
I hope this isn't a bad
omen.
This afternoon there was a 3.1 earthquake not too far from where I live and then just after the White Sox won the first game of the World Series there was a second earthquake in the same area that measured a 3.
I guess we'll see what happens during game 2 of the World Series tomorrow.
UPDATE: The White Sox win Game 2 of the World Series and there were no earthquakes. Now the Series is off to Houston. It would be so sweet if the Sox sweep the Astros, but I kinda want the Astros to win one game so that the Sox win the series in Chicago.
This afternoon there was a 3.1 earthquake not too far from where I live and then just after the White Sox won the first game of the World Series there was a second earthquake in the same area that measured a 3.
I guess we'll see what happens during game 2 of the World Series tomorrow.
UPDATE: The White Sox win Game 2 of the World Series and there were no earthquakes. Now the Series is off to Houston. It would be so sweet if the Sox sweep the Astros, but I kinda want the Astros to win one game so that the Sox win the series in Chicago.
Posted at 09:18 PM
Mon - October 17, 2005
Recovery Update III
Well, today is my first day of work on the
Untitled Video Game Show for Spike
TV.
I'm feeling almost 100%. I'm probably around 90%. My throat still hurts, but I am able to eat pretty normal food now.
Hopefully I can arrange to only do a 3/4 day for the first few days so I don't overdo it.
This project looks like it will be a lot of fun and it should take me through February 2006 when the second season of Mind of Mencia should be starting up.
I'm feeling almost 100%. I'm probably around 90%. My throat still hurts, but I am able to eat pretty normal food now.
Hopefully I can arrange to only do a 3/4 day for the first few days so I don't overdo it.
This project looks like it will be a lot of fun and it should take me through February 2006 when the second season of Mind of Mencia should be starting up.
Posted at 07:47 AM
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Published On: Mar 29, 2009 11:41 PM
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Published On: Mar 29, 2009 11:41 PM