My tiny part in this adventure involved learning how to run the board at the radio station and becoming a radio DJ. Yesterday, while unpacking boxes at our new apartment, I found my notes from my 1998 training on how things work, mostly focused on Beat Radio's original Sunday night schedule.
After Beat Radio relinquished most of its control over the former Radio AAHS Network, the network hired a few of us directly to do whatever we wanted. I filled my time with Radparker Radio. A bit later, the stations were finally sold to the "Catholic Family Radio Network" and our time came to a close. I was invited to continue on as a board op for the religious network, but I declined.
Beat Radio how-to from 1998
Back in 1998, I volunteered to help out with Beat Radio, a dance music radio station with an interesting history. It started in Minneapolis as a pirate radio station on 97.7 FM, until the FCC showed up one day to seize the equipment. Then later, a network of radio stations was looking for a buyer and needed content, so the Beat Radio guy got me and a bunch of other folks to volunteer to help fill the network's airwaves with dance music. For more on the history, check out www.beatworld.com.
Dog Found at Loyola Beach
Bark Bark Club reports: FOUND DOG! This pretty girl was found on Thursday 6/16 around 5 pm at Loyola Beach near Albion. She had on a red harness with no tags, is very well behaved, and seems to have had puppies at some point. If you know anything about her, please contact Dan at (616) 291-6808 or by email at dmeidema@luc.edu.
Here's two other pets found recently, more information at EdgeVille Buzz.
Bluetooth at Home
Few statements can be considered more exciting than the following: Finally, I have a use for bluetooth at home!
OK, I'm lying, but still.... We stumbled across a very simple and satisfying solution to an annoying problem. In our new apartment, we have fairly poor cell reception. Believe it or not, with Verizon, not with AT&T. The phones work, but calls drop pretty regularly if you're not actually near a window.
A friend of ours has AT&T and mentioned buying a microcell to solve that problem -- but that's kind of expensive and it irritates me that I have to pay so much to solve the cell provider's issue. So, here's what we stumbled upon instead: The Cobra PhoneLynx Bluetooth Cell to Home Phone Connection System.
What does it do? It connects to your fancy smartphone over Bluetooth, and then it connects to whatever regular telephones you have. We've got ours connected to a cordless phone system with two phones and two base stations. When we're at home, we drop our iPhones into their chargers, conveniently located by the window, where they get great reception. Then, if a cell phone rings, the house phone rings. The house phone is thus an extension for your iPhone. Since the cell phones remain near the window, reception is always great. And the thing supports two phones/two bluetooth connections. Caller ID tells us if phone #1 or phone #2 is ringing.
Wasn't sure if we'd find this all that useful, but it turned out to be a life-saver that we use every day.
And when you pick up one of the cordless phones, you get a dial tone. Dial like normal, and your call goes out over your cell phone.
OK, I'm lying, but still.... We stumbled across a very simple and satisfying solution to an annoying problem. In our new apartment, we have fairly poor cell reception. Believe it or not, with Verizon, not with AT&T. The phones work, but calls drop pretty regularly if you're not actually near a window.
A friend of ours has AT&T and mentioned buying a microcell to solve that problem -- but that's kind of expensive and it irritates me that I have to pay so much to solve the cell provider's issue. So, here's what we stumbled upon instead: The Cobra PhoneLynx Bluetooth Cell to Home Phone Connection System.
What does it do? It connects to your fancy smartphone over Bluetooth, and then it connects to whatever regular telephones you have. We've got ours connected to a cordless phone system with two phones and two base stations. When we're at home, we drop our iPhones into their chargers, conveniently located by the window, where they get great reception. Then, if a cell phone rings, the house phone rings. The house phone is thus an extension for your iPhone. Since the cell phones remain near the window, reception is always great. And the thing supports two phones/two bluetooth connections. Caller ID tells us if phone #1 or phone #2 is ringing.
Wasn't sure if we'd find this all that useful, but it turned out to be a life-saver that we use every day.
And when you pick up one of the cordless phones, you get a dial tone. Dial like normal, and your call goes out over your cell phone.
Alive in Rogers Park
W
ell, we found our fabulous new dream apartment, right here in good ole Rogers Park. Have already connected with a couple of neighbors online and at the corner bar -- and they seem ecstatic that we're replacing the college kids who had a drum set. (There's a diaper-wearing story to be told over beers sometime.) More on how we got that apartment later, but for now, here's a picture of our fabulous new, huge patio.
You can't really tell, but I had just spent a couple of hours sweeping up all the dirt and detritus, followed by a good hosing down. Confirmed: the drain works. Can't wait to load this up with chairs and be able to sit out here drinking wine after dark.
And the deck above it is ours, too.
ell, we found our fabulous new dream apartment, right here in good ole Rogers Park. Have already connected with a couple of neighbors online and at the corner bar -- and they seem ecstatic that we're replacing the college kids who had a drum set. (There's a diaper-wearing story to be told over beers sometime.) More on how we got that apartment later, but for now, here's a picture of our fabulous new, huge patio.You can't really tell, but I had just spent a couple of hours sweeping up all the dirt and detritus, followed by a good hosing down. Confirmed: the drain works. Can't wait to load this up with chairs and be able to sit out here drinking wine after dark.
And the deck above it is ours, too.
SMS Spam from 714-363-6375
I am logging here that I got SMS spam from 714-363-6375 at 8:51 am on Sunday, May 15, 2011. The spam: "Need fast cash in your bank account within 1 hour? Get an instant payday loan now! Text YES for more info, NO to be removed from su.rvey"
Damn spammers.
Damn spammers.
More fun with Sprint 4G/Clear Wimax
Just a couple of months ago, I made the jump to Verizon Wireless, right after they launched the iPhone 4. And let me tell you, I'm loving it. Verizon's network footprint is crazy huge -- way better than the 3G coverage I was getting on my iPad (AT&T) or any of my previous Android phones (on T-Mobile). Recently I had began to use tethering on the iPhone, using its 3g to connect my work laptop to the internet so I could work at the coffee shop (which had horrible wifi) or while on the road. After a while, I decided to see if my work would spring for a modem for me, so I wouldn't have to pay for that out of pocket.
They did, and I ended up with a shiny new Sprint 3G/4G modem a couple of weeks ago.
I've been using it mostly in my neighborhood (Rogers Park) here in Chicago, and the 3G connection is always solid, if a bit slow. But the Sprint 4G connection? Always poor. ALWAYS. Every single time I end up having some problem. The thing drops me after 10 minutes (or 10 seconds), or just doesn't connect at all. And when it's working, the time it takes to establish a connection is painfully long. It takes so long, I can visibly observe my fingernails getting longer before it establishes.
As you might already know, Sprint 4G is really Clear Wimax. We tried it as our home internet connection about a year ago, and immediately switched back to Comcast.
Now, it's a year later, and Clear Wimax 4G still sucks. It is just flat out the worst connectivity I have ever experienced ever. How is Clear still in business? How is Sprint still tied to this dog of a technology? Can somebody explain it to me? Who PAYS for this? I'm getting it free courtesy of my employer and I STILL want to return it.
They did, and I ended up with a shiny new Sprint 3G/4G modem a couple of weeks ago.
I've been using it mostly in my neighborhood (Rogers Park) here in Chicago, and the 3G connection is always solid, if a bit slow. But the Sprint 4G connection? Always poor. ALWAYS. Every single time I end up having some problem. The thing drops me after 10 minutes (or 10 seconds), or just doesn't connect at all. And when it's working, the time it takes to establish a connection is painfully long. It takes so long, I can visibly observe my fingernails getting longer before it establishes.
As you might already know, Sprint 4G is really Clear Wimax. We tried it as our home internet connection about a year ago, and immediately switched back to Comcast.
Now, it's a year later, and Clear Wimax 4G still sucks. It is just flat out the worst connectivity I have ever experienced ever. How is Clear still in business? How is Sprint still tied to this dog of a technology? Can somebody explain it to me? Who PAYS for this? I'm getting it free courtesy of my employer and I STILL want to return it.
Looking for a new apartment
We're looking for an apartment in the East Rogers Park neighborhood if Chicago, preferably a first floor 3bed/2bath that will allow a dog, but we're open to discussing things not exactly matching what we're looking for. Probably looking for June 1 move-in date.
The process is kind of painful, because half of the real estate agents you call don't return your phone calls, and you don't know if it's worth chasing them down or if the listing was just balogna, or if they don't try very hard when it comes to rentals.
The process is kind of painful, because half of the real estate agents you call don't return your phone calls, and you don't know if it's worth chasing them down or if the listing was just balogna, or if they don't try very hard when it comes to rentals.
Anybody got a big apartment they want to rent to us? Click here, then click on "Send an Email" to contact me.
Have you been to the Oasis?
The Oasis, a neighborhood bar in Rogers Park, is quite close to our home. Kate and I have been stopping over there every once in a while, ever since I moved to to Chicago back in 2006. If they call Starbucks the third place, then I guess the Oasis is the fourth place. Gigi, April, Michelle and everyone else working there are always friendly and eager to chat about local goings on. And now they even have free wi-fi!
They've now got a simple website up and running (with a little help from me) at www.rogersparkoasis.com. Check it out. And if you want to stop by and say hi, it's at 6809 Sheridan Road, at Pratt, in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.
They've now got a simple website up and running (with a little help from me) at www.rogersparkoasis.com. Check it out. And if you want to stop by and say hi, it's at 6809 Sheridan Road, at Pratt, in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.
Overheard
A union member, a Tea Partier, and a CEO are sitting at a table, a dozen cookies on a plate in front of them. The CEO takes 11 cookies. He looks at the Tea Partier and says, "Watch out for that union guy, he wants a piece of your cookie."
Virgin Mobile Mifi 2200
Anybody else having a hell of a time getting this thing to work with a Mac? I have a pretty new MacBook Air and am having a hell of a time getting it to play nice with my Virgin Mobile Mifi 2200. The Mac times out when connecting, it won't ever get beyond entering the wifi access password. I was able to connect to the Mifi with my phone, and laboriously reconfigure the wifi to not require a password. No luck. Tried again, turned the wifi from 802.11B/G to B only, then it would connect, but I'd have no active connectivity. So I manually set it to channel 2 and then channel 10, no difference there. Manually changed the DNS to Google's Public DNS servers, and then I could resolve DNS. So....what does that mean? It's really a routing/config issue?
After an hour of messing with it, I gave up. Not worth the hassle. I'll use my wife's USB modem instead (if that'll work) and never top-up the Mifi again.
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