July 28 2000
The Day that Napster Died
(Though not quite, according to the latest news.)
I guess it’s no real surprise the RIAA won in its battle against Napster (although this will barely curtail the availability of MP3 files through Napster-imitators or from binary newsgroups). It’s hard to disagree that sharing digital music files cuts into the income of both recording companies and artists. But irrespective of all that, I am simply sick and tired of hearing the RIAA whine. I’ve been hearing those crybabies for as long as I can remember—and it makes me think of a favorite quote, off the back of the Dead Kennedys’ cassette of Bedtime for Democracy. “Home taping is killing the music business. Therefore we have left side two of this tape blank for your convenience.”
Posted by Mickey at 11:53 PM in Music, Tech | Comments (0) | Email this entry
TV Listings
I’m at work right now, so I don’t have access to a TV. But over the weekend I hope to jot down some thoughts about the recent Emmy nominations.
But, for the time being, here’s s list of some of the shows I watch most frequently (somewhat in order of appearance): Late Show with David Letterman, Whose Line is It Anyway?, The West Wing, The Drew Carey Show, the Thursday NBC line-up (which is strong enough to even survive the inclusion of such crap as Will & Grace), Futurama, King of the Hill, The X-Files (though I’m wary of next season), plus whatever’s on ZDTV.
Does this jibe with other Short Fat Guys out there? Or am I out on a limb? (And it sure as hell wouldn’t be the first time my tastes differed from the general viewing public!)
Posted by Mickey at 11:32 AM in TV | Comments (0) | Email this entry
July 26 2000
In Search of Spicy Chicken
This article took so long to write that half of these fast-food items aren’t even being offered anymore. But I think it all began with Wendy’s Spicy Chicken sandwich, which turned out to be so good and popular they made it part of their permanent menu. Arby’s soon followed, with their Truly Spicy chicken sandwich, made with lettuce and mayonnaise but not much in the way of a discernable spicy burn.
McDonald’s tried their hand at it, offering their Cajun chicken sandwich; but McDonald’s is doomed to poultry obscurity unless they can get their chicken sandwiches to stop tasting like hamburgers. Hey, guys, try a different part of the fry table! They truly did a disservice to the “Cajun” name with that attempt, and I can almost imagine the sandwich’s quick demise was less due to its blandness then to claims of false advertising from the Creole PAC.
Burger King came late to the game with their “Spicy Chick’n” sandwich. I can only assume the deliberate misspelling is because no chicken was involved in the making of their sandwich. We grudgingly give them points for at least making the sandwich spicy, but the pressed chicken patty is not terribly appetizing.
Still the champ though is Wendy’s Spicy Chicken. A real breast filet and delightfully spicy breading keep this one a winner. We’ve noticed some franchises have a tendency to make the sandwich more peppery than spicy, but it still beats the others hands down. And, if you’re careful about the tomato, it can be a great car-food too.
A tasty alternative is KFC’s Zinger sandwich. The chicken itself is the same as KFC’s Crispy Strips, but the sauce they add is quite spicy and quite tasty. The shredded lettuce and the sauce make it a dangerous car-food, but it’s a great taste for dining-in. The restaurants around me have a tendency toward rather dry crispy strips, so this might be a problem. However, one benefit of the sandwich is that KFC packs it so full of crispy strips that you can usually put one or two aside, have a tasty sandwich, and then have some “found” food to snack on afterward.
Verdict:
McDonalds & Arby’s = one star (for effort)
Burger King = two stars (for spiciness)
Wendy’s = four stars
KFC = four stars
Posted by Mickey at 03:27 AM in Food | Comments (2) | Email this entry
June 24 2000
Radio, Radio?
It’s been a busy few weeks. Since my last entry I’ve gone through the annual Summer ritual of a Jimmy Buffett concert—so most of my web updates have been geared toward my Buffett page—and I also got a new job. (My coworkers know aboout this site…so I can’t go gossiping about my workplace just yet!)
And it’s because of this job that I might have to say goodbye to one of the most recent features at my site. Because of my hours, it will be difficult to do any myCaster broadcasting. I’ll probably only be able to air shows on weekends, and even that is iffy. We’ll see how it goes, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the little blue square myCaster square eventually disappears.
Update: as predicted, the myCaster broadcasts ceased, and the myCaster logo was removed from the homepage coinciding with the conversion to a weblog. This was what the logo looked like, a small reminder of those all too brief radio shows.
Posted by Mickey at 10:02 PM in Music, Tech, Gadgets | Comments (0) | Email this entry
June 5 2000
Downage
I guess there was some trouble with the old Short Fat Guy domain over the week. I suspect it was too lazy to get up off the recliner and answer the door.
This seems to happen a lot on the weekends. Some part of the Internet always seems to take a dive come Friday afternoon and won’t come back till Monday. Be it e-mail, newsgroups, or web sites, I always seem to have a problem with the Web on weekends.
Posted by Mickey at 03:06 PM in Blogging | Comments (0) | Email this entry
May 4 2000
Tables
I guess the changes speak for themselves. I was bored and restless today, apparently; and I had the sudden yearning to do a little Spring cleaning. The house is still a mess, but at least the homepage is a bit less cluttered.
Changes are due for my Audio Island page as well, but I’m still not sure exactly what. Its background though has been up far too long. And I still need to get around to completing some other page ideas I’ve been thinking of.
Anyway…the myCaster broadcasts continue, every evening from around seven to nine (EDT). As before, any requests can be sent via ICQ at # 24657523.
Posted by Mickey at 02:55 PM in Blogging, Music | Comments (0) | Email this entry
April 19 2000
SFG…On the Air!
Welcome to my latest obsession. At long last (after close to fifteen years) I’ve become a broadcaster again, though myCaster. I toyed around with them a while ago, but I didn’t have a decent Internet connection then. But now, my cable modem has allowed me to go on the air, to all the ships at sea.
This…is Short Fat Guy Radio!
I’ve been broadcasting every evening from around seven to nine. Come visit. And there will be a special broadcast on April 24, which you can read about at my Li’l Stubby & the Disappointments page. And, by the way, requests can be sent to ICQ# 24657523.
Posted by Mickey at 03:01 PM in Music, Tech, Gadgets | Comments (0) | Email this entry
April 15 2000
Changes
At long last I finally got BeOS 5 (the free, personal edition) up to speed on my computer—not only with sound and color but with Internet access and e-mail . My joy is tempered however by the realization my web pages look like crap in the built-in NetPositive browser.
Changes needed to be made. The Java had to go. Actually, the Java got moved, to its own webcam page. The image to the left [the webcam image, now on the right] will be fairly static from now on, but if (for some reason) you’re that determined to see if I’m online, just click on the image to go to a separate webcam page.
I hope the change isn’t too bothersome. But at least this page will show some life beyond Windows.
Posted by Mickey at 02:53 PM in Blogging, Tech | Comments (0) | Email this entry
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