Episode #069

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Heading South :

  • – I had planned to record this podcast the day before I leave for Cabo San Lucas for a week, but didn’t.
  • – seems catching up with my blogs is still an ongoing effort; someday soon.. that’s always the goal.
  • Bill Ward

  • News – Story 1: Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward trade online rants
  • – back in November 2011, all 4 members of Black Sabbath held a press conference announcing they were making a new album and touring; Bill Ward, the original drummer, was to be part of this reunion, but his contract was in dispute so he bowed out; Rage Against The Machine drummer Brad Wilk was brought in for the new album “13”; fast forward past many tour dates and Bill Ward is again wanting to be a part of the final band, as there’s been talk about doing one more tour and album before the band calls it quits for good; Bill wants an apology out of Ozzy, who called Bill fat and not ready to tour; it’s no surprise that since the late 90’s, Bill Ward has had health issues, but he asked for a chance to get better and be a part of the band’s final musical days; several back and forth jabs at each other, Ozzy and Bill seem to not be in a position to work together anytime soon; for this Black Sabbath fan, I certainly hope they can find a truce and make one final album and tour as a full reunion.
    – Link to article: Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward: ‘I Don’t Know If I’m a Member’

  • News – Story 2: $674K in loose change got left behind at TSA security in 2014
  • – this is pretty common as people are wanting to get past security and they leave all sorts of things behind, including any change that can’t go through metal detectors; it’s been going on for years, but TSA, which controls security at American’s airports has to track each penny left behind; I rarely carry change on me, and if I do, it all gets dumped into my backpack, pretty much leaving nothing in my pockets; in 2005, congress gave the TSA control over where the money goes; some goes to the military members and their families; that figure it just insane to me; a lot of money that just collectively gets forgotten by travelers.
    – Link to article: TSA found $674K in loose change in 2014

  • News – Story 3: Norway to turn off FM radio in 2017
  • – replacing it with DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting); 56% Norwegian listeners for digital radio; in less than two years, there will be no more FM radio signals in Norway; the country is making the switch to digital broadcasting, like satellite radio and internet radio stations; more than half of the 5.1 million population already listens to digital audio broadcasting (DAB); with over 325 million, the US would have a hard time cutting off terrestrial radio. Just over 20 million subscribe to satellite radio like SiriusXM; a lot listen to Pandora and Spotify, but FM radio still have well over 150 million regular listeners nationwide; good to see Norway move forward, although I do lament these classic broadcasting technologies getting completely replaced by digital; guess it’s a matter of time.
    – Link to article: Norway will lead the effort to switch off FM radio

  • RANT: Job postings for Customer Service Rep are really for call center jobs
  • – last year, my daughter switched jobs and started working as a customer service representative, which is generic in of itself; but once she got started, she realized it was just a fancy title for call center employee; since then, there’s been a few other jobs that she’s applied for that ended up being call center jobs; not to demean the position, it’s the new fast food job, with some fast food jobs often looking better, knowing what you are going to be doing responsibility wise up front; these call centers are a big thing, which surprises me given how automated most companies are in their customer service efforts; often a phone call to a company is handled with a never ending “push 1 for sales” list of options, regardless how many times one presses “0” to speak with an agent; the stress level of these jobs for what kind of pay they often offer is something of concern for our future work force; hope patience is part of today’s call center staff.
    Star Wars BB8

  • SHAMELESS PLUG: Star Wars Ep VII droid BB-8 is real
  • – for the upcoming Episode VII Star Wars sequel, there was a trailer that showed new droid called BB-8, which looks similar to a head on a soccer ball; as it turns out, it’s not CGI or computer based; it’s a real working droid; at a recent Star Wars event, the droid was brought out on stage and shown as a fully functional droid; the cool factor about this is how much real tech is going into making this new movie; I can’t wait to see it and I’m sure anyone else that’s see the droid in action is waiting, too.

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iTunes link: Banal Leakage

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