The Blare Blog
Center
of the Bla Bla Galaxy
Interstellar
Background Noise Maker
September
2021
Thursday September 30, 2021 9:54 PM CDT -- The Commission to Add a 31st Day to September --
This
commission was started a little late for this year, so we'll talk about
something else. If you wonder about the history of the Blare OnAir
radio program, which to my knowledge no one thinks about, I'll go ahead
and tell what I remember. Back when KDX was launched in 2007 a talk
program was initiated under the title "Adventures in the 3rd Dementia",
hosted by Carl Blare. Some time later we became concerned that joking
about dementia might be inappropriate and we considered other illnesses
we might exploit, a number of programs were produced under several
titles, none of which I recall without going to the trouble of looking
it up. With input from a dear internet friend in Alabama the
ultimate choice brought us "Blare OnAir", which she said would be good
so long as we ran together the words "On" and "Air". Almost all of the
many programs in the series were produced with little or no preparation
because the host insisted that a hobby pastime shouldn't require
detailed work as one might do for an actual job. The rise of podcasting
took place as a result of our shows and we are pleased that our effort
has been so widely influencial.
Wednesday September 29, 2021 3:59 PM CDT -- Conflicting Sentiments --
The
oldest story in the low power radio hobby is the passion had by the
majority of participants to regress and relive the childhood experience
of hearing hit music on the radio dial. In fact living in the past
through ruminative life styles follows most people to their grave.
Sports is probably the biggest example of forever repeating the same
children's contest over the fate of a ball, so you'd think there'd at
least be a few part 15 low power sports stations, but we've yet to see
one. It's always the hit music. For the handful of transmitter
manufacturers anything will do, so long as people buy the hardware, and
no transmitter supplier will jinx a sale by belly-aching about whatever
programming a customer has in mind. But Artisan Radio and I stand as
the lone voices wondering over the odd lack of maturation in the hobby
community, which could so easily be marked by informative public service messages
intended to enlighten and inform the radio audience for their safety
and well being. But supplying educated useful data must not be fun because none of them are inclined to bother with it.
Wednesday September 29, 2021 12:41 NOON CDT -- Radio From Out of Town --
Of
various slogans and catch-phrases used to identify KDX Worldround
Radio, we've today added "Coming from Out of Town" and variants thereof
such as "KDX is an Out of Town Station". In our location it amounts to
an enormous generality given over 100 cities, towns and municipalities
surrounding our station. We are not just "out of town", we
are outside of many towns.
Wednesday September 29, 2021 8:03 AM CDT -- KHZ Time Station Upgrades --
As
a beacon of science standards KHZ streams Universal Time announcements
every minute with automatic accuracy re-set every 20-minutes, and will
be adding further standards information in the days ahead. Starting
soon KHZ will announce the current day once an hour, eg, Today is Monday.
Also KHZ will carry standard frequency tones including an hourly tone
marker at the start of each hour. The Meta Data Channel of KHZ already
posts current seasonal information, eg, This is the Autumn Season, and, December 21 will be the Winter Solstice.
We also look forward to radio transmissions expected to begin in
October at 1.71 MHz, at the upper edge of the Medium Wave (MW) band and
the low end of the shortwave (SW) bands as authorized under FCC 15.223.
Tuesday September 28, 2021 11:04 AM CDT -- Radio Peace --
Tuesday September 28, 2021 6:10 AM CDT -- An Editorial Opinion --
This
is Carl Blare. From time to time my personal barber, Buster Boatrocker,
requests air time to express his own point of view on current topics,
and his opinion is not necessarily that of me or this radio
station. Now here he is, Buster Boatrocker!
BUSTER: Why couldn't you just ask me like a friend?
Instead you come out with this inter-office memo
requiring mandatory vaccinations by the KDX staff of characters.
You could have just said, "Buster? Would you do me a favor and get a vaccine?"
And I would have replied -- Sure. No big deal.
But no! You don't face us face to face but send this impersonal policy memo
like some kind of dictator too busy and too important to talk to us directly.
Well I'm sending you a memo... it says "No way!" This is Buster Boatrocker.
CARL:
Thank you Buster. I didn't expect this to get blown into an open
dispute, I just thought it would set a good example if KDX showed
support for the President's vaccine agenda, but of course you and the
cast are fictitious characters and probably immune to the virus, so I
don't actually expect you to get vaccinated.
BUSTER: How do we know you're not a fictitious character?
CARL:
Well, you know, philosophers have asked that same question and
there's a possibility we are just projections in a hologram.
BUSTER: So, holograms need vaccines?
CARL: Could we continue this conversation behind closed doors?
Monday September 27, 2021 6:47 PM CDT -- When to Fall Back --
Most of the U.S. and Canada are on Daylight Time, but the 1st Sunday in November is not far ahead.
Our
companion Time Radio Station KHZ-MP3 operates on NIST Time (UTC) and
therefore is not subject to Daylight Time change, but KDX Worldround
Radio is scheduled based on local Central time and we'll be scrambling
to shift the timings shown on our Schedule page. We strongly support
proposals to adopt the same time standard throughout the year.
Monday September 27, 2021 12:35 NOON CDT -- Like a Catalpa Leaf --
Monday September 27, 2021 9:37 AM CDT -- Our Weekend Was Fine How Was Yours --
The
Sunday Blare OnAir show came from September 22, 2016 titled "Title
Shortage" and welcomed some more of our own characters to the program
as we awaited possible real-life visitors in the TeamSpeak Open Room.
Talk show diva
Haughty Shish joined us, speaking at some distance from the microphone
because of her distaste for electronic equipment. We were able to learn
a little more about how Haughty has managed to become recognized as the
diva of talk while never having actually done a talk show of her own.
Then the Switzers stopped by, including Sven "Swat" Switzer fully
outfitted in his riot gear and his wife Susan "Swat" Switzer who shared
concerns that her husband prefers to wear his face mask and battle
gloves during love making. I urged that she hold the
conversation off the air, but she preferred being open about it.
Finally Ned Stedy
the audio board op spoke
with us but he's not very memorable and I don't recall what we talked
about. All were relieved that "chairman" Bob didn't barge in as he said
he might.
Sunday September 26, 2021 10:46 AM CDT -- Unsolicited ZaraRadio Experience --
We
are not aware of anyone who has questions or difficulties utilizing 2
instances of Zara Automation software on a single computer, so have no
reason for sharing our findings, unless you count showing off a bit.
Ya, our 1st instance of Zara keeps KDX Worldround Radio streaming and
broadcasting while Instance 2 puts KHZ Time Station ticking and
clocking. We have determined that 7-settings per instance are apt to
interfere with each other and need continual watching. We made some
changes to the logging utility which switched the output of KHZ to KDX,
needing to be reset. We spotted the name of instance 1 had switched
from KDX to KHZ and something else caused the wrong events file to
attach itself. CurrentSong file from both stations was going to a
folder on the G: drive until we noticed it and turned off the function
on KHZ because the only file played is always the latest time, but it
could change itself again and needs baby sitting. This will all become
part of the past once we put the second Zara on a separate computer.
The bottom line is how well qualified we are.
Sunday September 26, 2021 9:29 AM CDT -- Handbook of Disagreement --
We've
been somewhat outspoken about misconduct among far-right members of the
low power radio community. This kind of frank sharing of internal
personnel dispute is usually reserved for privileged closed-door
executive discussion 'off-the-record', and the more typical way of
handling miscreants is through silent snubbing and disapproving
glances. As a matter of fact the behavioral scientists tell us that
snubbing is the most common way of putting others outside an accepted
inner-circle, even practiced by animals in the wild. These banished
characters carry on as a small blacklisted sub-society and plot
vigilante retribution against the higher tiers of respectable society,
usually petty in nature such as internet trolling and whispered
spreading of malicious gossip. They have tried reversed disapproving
glance but with little effect given their facial distortions brought on
by lifetimes of guilt and shame. As we approach the holidays we remind
everyone that there's plenty of low power to go around, but certain
things do not fit in a civilized world, including poison ivy, covid-19,
and the far righteous.
Sunday September 26, 2021 8:12 AM CDT -- HAM Nation Today --
We
recently noticed that the long running HAM Nation program was no longer
listed among TWiT.tv's offerings, and are pleased to report that the
series remains in production after changing locations. TWiT.tv CEO Leo
Laport appeared on the holiday 2020 show to announce that necessary
cutbacks at TWiT would end their affiliation, but fortunately HAM
Nation enjoys the independence of having their own studio facilities
and has linked up with a new host
Saturday September 25, 2021 3:41 PM CDT -- William Shatner Is Going to Space for Real --
William
Shatner, known as host of RT America's "I Don't Understand" as heard on
KDX Worldround Radio, has booked passage to rocket on Blue Origin.
Saturday September 25, 2021 1:27 PM CDT -- There Was No Need to Worry --
Today's
issue of Blare OnAir took place again from the TeamSpeak Open Room with
a mention that Flaming Bob Flamely might be joining, and that got me
concerned that he might declare the program his and proceed to take it
over the way he did with the ALPB, but he never showed up. According to
anonymous sources Flaming Bob challenged the post office with a claim
that because of the mailbox on the front of his house he owned the U.S.
Postal Service. The next Blare OnAir will be heard Sunday at 1 PM CDT
following the Church of StopShopping from New York.
Saturday September 25, 2021 11:16 AM CDT -- Oh Ya, I Can Tell Them About That --
One
of the most daunting aspects of building a low power radio station is
the transmission antenna. Antenna experts are beyond the pocket book of
most radio hobbyists, and watching YouTube videos gets more perplexing
the more you watch. So let me give some basics. First of all loading
coils don't count as part of the 3-meter limit because coils don't
radiate, and so neither the 144' of wire wound in a coil nor the 3/4
foot extent of the wound coil need to be part of your measurement, even though it doesn't say so in the FCC rules!
Much can be learned from HAM amateur operators who use compact coil
antennas for both reception and transmission when HOAs (Home Owners
Associations) disallow unsightly antennas. To the HOA "unsightly"
means "can be seen". Antennas are reciprical, which means that they can
be used for either reception or transmission, except when they're not
reciprical, such as with ferrite rod coil antennas. You're already
wondering how a coil, which does not radiate, can be used to radiate
when HAMs do it. That's because they are licensed and we are discussing
unlicensed radio. Asking good questions helps get to the point, and one
such (question not point) is: how come we talk of helical antennas when
they are nothing but coils stretched out with plenty of air space
between windings? That's a good question. It must be understood that
spacing between windings of a coil plays a large roll. No pun intended.
But I meant role. For example, if uninsulated wire is wound so closely
that the wires touch each other you will actually have a pipe, and
pipes are sometimes used as straight wire antennas because they in fact
comprise very thick straight wires. Questions arise about grounding,
but coils are used above ground which is the main thing to know.
Saturday September 25, 2021 9:33 AM CDT -- Blare Promoted --
Liking
the re-airings of his longtime radio show, Carl Blare, owner, operator
of KDX Worldround Radio has added his program to the Saturday lineup,
starting today at 12 NOON Central. Today's scheduled program was
originally produced on September 21, 2016 with the title "The Amazement
of Radio", and we have no memory whatsoever about what takes place on
this episode and have not taken the trouble to preview it in advance of
today's airing, so take the risk of being humiliated internationally
across the entire internet.
Saturday September 25, 2021 8:20 AM CDT -- Excess Deaths But Not from COVID --
Friday September 24, 2021 1:23 PM CDT -- Dating Site --
Taking
a small trip into the past we visited The Blare Blog for September 2018
and spotted something we were thinking about at the time... starting a
"Date Station". No, not a station for meeting social hookups, but a
radio service that told the day's present calendar date continuously
and everyday. At the time we abandoned the idea because it appeared
we'd need to update the latest date manually and could not engineer a
means of doing so automatically. The thought is again open for
consideration because of our new KHZ Time Station which opens the
opportunity to insert additional basic information and the current day
and date fits this objective, except again, how could it be done in a
precise and self-running way? By the way, today is Friday September
24th, 2021, but will expire at midnight local time.
Friday September 24, 2021 10:37 AM CDT -- This Dood is a Dull Dud --
I've
already made one critical remark about historic presidents following on
the Artisan Radio Blog critique of "The Worst President in History",
and I'm compelled to make another. If the Office of the President of
the United States is responsible for as many urgent decisions as the
media portrays, in other words if he's more than simply a figurehead,
then I'd say the current occupant of the Oval Office is a slacker well
into a legacy of neglect. While the last President was demonically
active in destructive wreckage, this one seems to fit the
unflattering nickname "Sleepy Joe", as he let's slide vital matters
that pile up unattended.
Everything's
sliding over the precipice while a bowling league reject slurs and
stammers his way through teleprompting without fully grasping what's
being said. Meanwhile we're taking our masks off and on wondering
if there'll be energy enough to survive the cold dead winter.
Friday September 24, 2021 8:13 AM CDT -- Where It All Began --
In
1955 at a Goodwill Store I found a new condition Zenith AM FM radio for
$25 which introduced me to FM and to the station where my career was
destined to begin.
Friday September 24, 2021 8:10 AM CDT -- Kinds of Bands --
Friday September 24, 2021 7:52 AM CDT -- Things That May or May Not Mean Anything --
Just
earlier our focus was interrupted when we spotted a hair between the R
and the T on the keyboard. The power of concentration was suspended
while we sought a tweezers and set about decontamination, but the hair
was no longer visible. The lamp was aimed at several angles in a
determined search to spot and remove the intruder, but it had absconded
and could not be found. It most probably fell from a head, but until we
could inspect it we couldn't be sure. We must remember that we are live
in The Blog and mustn't risk indiscretion as to circumstantials. Call
it off. Stop the hunt. We need to get back to talking about time radio.
Wait, hold it... there it is! Get it! Here it is, let's take a close
look. Mmm hmmm. Alright then. As you were.
Friday September 24, 2021 5:04 AM CDT -- When No One's Home At the Radio Station --
A blog entry dated Sept. 23 at the Artisan Radio Blog
matches closely a few thoughts I carry with me here at KDX Worldround
Radio. He notes that as the primary listener of his own station there's
little point to operating the station 24/7, and that's precisely the
situation here. These low power radio services allowed under both
Canadian and U.S. law are personal radio stations, granting individuals
the opportunity to put something on the dial of interest to themselves.
The fact that others can tune them in on nearby neighboring receivers
gives a few operators a social sense they are broadcasting to an
audience, but that is not much different, given the miniature scope,
than simply passing someone on the walkway and saying 'hello'.
There
is another dimension to this extra communicational thinking, and it has
to do with the sense of disseminating vital information, an instinct
that amounts to alerting the surrounding population to prevailing
conditions, whether they be peaceful or threatening, and this would
define an 'information station', also set out by FCC rules in Part
90.242 as a licensable category of low power radio station variously
known as "Travelor's Information Stations", an evolving form of radio given the impetus of 'emergency circumstances' facing all of us. I tend to see in this a seed of AM radio's future purpose... a radio band devoted to providing vital information.
It
is admittedly a vision of providing key information that has impelled
me to establish KHZ Time Station with it's inbuilt potential to carry
further types of useful data, but doing this reliably and responsibly
depends on how much man-time is spent gathering and inserting timely
messaging. From our 'hatch house' think tank, also dubbed the Nathan B.
Stubblefield Research Laboratory, we demonstrate why it is that the FCC's
brand of info radio is licensable by government entities, defining
'government' as representing the extant population, rather than
trusting the handling of such essential service to ad hoc citizen
efforts, although a whole other form of emergency radio response arises
from the HAM amateur radio community in response to serious conditions.
The book stops here.
Thursday September 23, 2021 8:29 AM CDT -- Sit Down Comic --
That's
a fair description of a radio humorist... given the fact that radio
performers are usually seated at the time. It comes to mind listening
to today's Blare OnAir from 2016 in which I coined a couple of jokes
that I needed to tell several times in an attempt to explain them to
the audience. The first one went like this...
I recited the familiar
claim that 'Women are a dime a dozen". To this I added, "So, I
feel cheated because I paid a lot more than that for my dozen".
The
second joke was about why I lost the job as greeter at Walmart.
Customers enjoyed being greeted by me so much that they'd stop in to
see me and didn't do any shopping.
Thursday September 23, 2021 6:01 AM CDT -- Equestrian Jump --
Blare
OnAir radio programs from 2016 this week was bringing a 3-hour marathon
in celebration of the installation of a new audio mixer taking place
from the ALPB's (now defunct) TeamSpeak Open Room, with guests ranging from Carl's
fictitious characters to actual members of the hobby radio group,
except that Hour 3 exceeds the time available and is skipped. Being
missed is a stop-by from Chairman Felmly who spoke at length about his
numerous radio stations and their mixers, then broke subject to promote
equine massage therapy, which seemed odd considering that this same
person has rejected participants for bringing non-technical topics to
discussions at his now dormant organization and on failed forum sites
he moderates.
Monday September 20, 2021 11:34 AM CDT -- Meet Jacksboro Part 15 Radio --
The recent two Blare OnAir programs welcomed guest Craig F. in Jacksboro, Texas. His station has a strong and friendly website!
Monday September 20, 2021 8:26 AM CDT -- Schlockwood Radio Theatre --
Click the Clouds
Monday September 20, 2021 8:13 AM CDT -- Have Some HAM --
Recently
looked for 'HAM Nation' on TWiT.tv but it is no longer listed among
their program offerings, so we searched for other HAM podcasts and found
Sunday September 19, 2021 2:59 PM CDT -- Loop University --
The contents of this well prepared description of loop antennas is familiar after watching so many loop videos on YouTube.
Saturday September 18, 2021 7:08 AM CDT -- At the Tone --
Boomer calls home -
The announcer lost his tone, that sounds like something that would
happen to a musical instrument, like a guitar or violin. You've
said it before, 'The voice is a (mono) instrument..'
I imagine someone who looks like an announcer walking down the
street emitting a constant 1 kilohertz tone. Would the Doppler
change as he passes by?
Yes.
Glad to hear about your independent work on Part-15 antennas! We
need more of that. I can recall two good challengers to the
monopole-istic thinking on the groups, Jim Henry and BOARDMAKER.
They had some strong ideas and logged their experimentation to the
groups, while the meek had their posts turned into de-motivational
propaganda.
Someone always is out there with THE way to do something, and even
if you bump them off, there's someone right behind them to take
their place. We know this, but it bears repeating, because it's a
challenge to free thought.
- Boomer
We
all need a good tune-up once in awhile. My favorite tone is 333 Hz,
non-standard, not a recognized musical tone, but it makes me feel good.
Maybe the announcer who got fired for losing his tone simply grew up.
Radio today plays to the perpetual 12-year old. Maturity is bore-ring!
Back
to antennas, I watched three more YouTube vidyas early this morning on
building frame loop antennas and was again impressed by the ingenuity
of the world's radio hobbyists. Like rock musicians they let their
grooming go all to hell so they can concentrate on what truly matters,
reception and transmission by radio.
Friday September 17, 2021 3:09 PM CDT -- Rating Presidents --
In
the Artisan Radio Blog a conclusion is reached that Donald Trump is the
worst U.S. president. I would add that another very bad one was Ronald
Reagan who gave us the for-profit medical, pharmacological, health
insurance complex which bankrupts people for seeking healthcare
services and leaves many homeless under the bridge. Prior to Reagan all
these services were not-for-profit and affordably beneficial to the
greater public.
Friday September 17, 2021 7:43 AM CDT -- Take Note --
A local radio
host was "let go" from his morning slot because, as the paper reported,
"According to listeners and radio-biz sources he had lost his tone". There was
no further explanation.
Not mentioned in the paper was the
suspension of Time Station KHZ-MP3 after weeks of very successful
operation, pending installation of new technology which will result in
return of the time-telling service.
We're moving closer to AM
transmission antenna experiments with a goal of developing compact
antennas for application in part 15 low power systems.
Blare
OnAir continues to bring programs originally produced during the ALPB
era (Association of Low Power Broadcasters) when there actually was an
association. Part 1 of a program titled "Strange and Stranger" took
place from the TeamSpeak Open Room while two guests struggled to get
their software configured as Carl kept the ball in the air, and Part 2
will reveal whether the guests managed to make their voices heard,
scheduled Sunday following Rev. Billy's Church of Stopshopping on
KDX-OGG. Blare OnAir is scheduled every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
and Sunday.
White
House Press Secretary Jen Psaki will be sitting in today on The Blare
Blog. She explained that President Joe Biden sometimes speaks in
shorthand, such as "The Unied Sates Mareca", whereas former President
Trump actually has short hands.
Wednesday September 14, 2021 9:57 AM CDT -- Sleeping It Off --
Scientific
research on sleep is still in the dark about fully explaining what we
all know is a critical need for humans and organic life in general.
Experiments in sleep have been taking place for many years and for many
reasons. Sleep inarguably contributes to health and lack of sleep is
observably degenerative. The military has quested for years on a
strategy for prolonging wake time for soldiers in the field but with
little progress. One study holds that lost sleep is unrecoverable
whereas another study says that lost sleep is recoverable but slowly.
My own theory about sleep poses that one can 'sleep forward', that
is, oversleep until a future occasion when sleep surplus opens a window
of opportunity to remain wakeful for prolonged stretches. Even that can
be elusive since not everyone is able to remain asleep for extended
periods. This article is sponsored by the Sleepover Motel with special
rates on Nap Stops.
Tuesday September 14, 2021 12:36 NOON CDT -- Things As They Happen to
be Happening --
I'm using today's 90o(F)
temperature as the excuse for avoiding landscaping duties out on the
campus and am tinkering around with radio stuff, including plans to
re-activate the Ramsey AM25B as the relay for KHZ Time Station, our
very succesfull radio time giver 24-hours a day except tonight with a
70% chance of thunderstorm during which time will stop.
This
link about the Video Toaster is meaningful to us as KDX is the
afterlife of our audio/video company based around a network of Amiga
computers.
Tuesday September 14, 2021 9:17 PM CDT -- Mid-Month Treat --
Today's
classic Blare OnAir broadcast came from a program originally recorded
August 21, 2018 titled "Fade Out" in which the entire program featured
an audio special effect inspired by a Dave Letterman TV show seen in
the 1990s. Letterman was seen late nights on CBS and one night his show
made a 360o spin during the course of 90-minutes
without
Letterman ever mentioning that his show was slowly turning. By the
middle of the show everything was completely upside down and by the end
it was again right-side-up. Wanting to do something equivalent on radio
I first found that audio cannot be spun in a circle, so I applied the
fade-out effect to my entire 55-minute show causing it to slowly get
softer and softer until it finally disappeared. The content of the show
included one of the visits we made to the ALPB TeamSpeak Open Room to
see if anyone else was around to talk with, but no one usually was.
Tuesday September 14, 2021 6:32 AM CDT -- Ghost Ship of the Internet --
Ghost
ships found on the high sea are floating free, unmanned, with no one
aboard. This morning we happened upon a ghost website mysteriously open
on the internet with no sign of current human presence. We first
blogged about DailyCast in February when we learned about it through a
news release received by e-mail, and yesterday decided to give it a
try. It touts a daily 4-minute newscast, a 60-second version, a TV
version, and a 24/7 live news stream, and we were able to download a
4-minute cast. Today we notice the same undated 4-minute cast is still
up, so
we're watching for a fresh edition, also finding that the 24-hour news
stream only runs for 2-minutes, the Subscribe Free link brings up a Not
Found page as does the Contact selector. Check it out yourself.
Monday September 13, 2021 1:46 PM CDT -- A Swiss Army Knife of a Radio
--
Neither KDX nor The Blare Blog are endorsing or
recommending this radio, it just looks like a lot of fun.
Monday September 13, 2021 7:53 AM CDT -- The Storytelling Animal --
We
realize that human beings are story telling animals who don't care much
whether stories are true and tend to believe stories that are
conspicuously fallacious. The publication of stories by book set off
the mass media telling of stories leading to the birth of radio
delivering nonsensical stories directly into the home along with
plumbing and sewage. Then of course motion pictures, television, the
internet while never wiping out the first vestige of story, plain
gossip over the neighborhood fence. When NPR set about filling airtime
with stuff they hit upon "StoryCorps", bringing everyday stories from
the experience of simple common folks.
Out
of this legacy comes Carl Blare with a plan to extend the
microphone to NPR rejects and the low power community for their tall
short tales of unlikely accomplishment, a series called StoryCrock, coming
soon over most of this same station.
Monday September 13, 2021 7:16 AM CDT -- Fryless Vocals --
Boomer responds to Carl's voice criticisms:
You have mentioned how
some of the announcers on your station don't
have radio-worthy voices due to voice fry and other speech distortions.
I like clear voices too, it's something that announcers take pride
in. Actors and actresses do too. I think everyone should talk like
the man who reads the time at radio station WWV. I like this local
newswoman, "Aleasha Z"
and how her voice sounds, like a pleasant telephone operator.
Listen to see if she turns you on. I was waiting to hear
her
again and get the recorder rolling in time.
As
always, Boomer gets it. He knows which way is up and how to get there.
He knows where to go and goes there. He proves that all dogs are
service animals.
Monday September 13, 2021 5:31 AM CDT -- Carl's Favorite Movie --
It's
a Norwegian film with English captions worth every moment of your
watching time, every scene is fabulous pictorial art and if there's a
low budget feel, that will be dispensed toward the center of the film
when events unfold that must have been well beyond the budget of an
average film. The humor arising from very flat situations is
post-graduate in its intelligence. I'd show this with my mother except
that she prefers Johnny Cash.
Monday September 13, 2021 5:27 AM CDT --
Monday September 13, 2021 3:01 AM CDT --
Monday September 13, 2021 2:44 AM CDT --
Monday September 13, 2021 2:41 AM CDT --
Monday September 13, 2021 2:37 AM CDT --
Sunday September 12, 2021 10:44 AM CDT -- The Perils of Zara --
Running
two instances of the ZaraRadio Automation software on a single computer
brings about many criss-cross interferences between the two versions.
We've written about some of our findings, and here's another. We
instructed the KDX-OGG instance to save currently-playing info to the
G: directory, and the KHZ-MP3 instance to the K: directory. Then we
shut down for the night and booted up the next day to find that the
directory instructions had swapped and each station was reporting the
other station's currently playing title.
Sunday September 12, 2021 10:26 AM CDT -- More Part 15 Rule Translation
--
As we read the other day the FCC Rule Part 15.219 says "The total
length of the antenna..."
Note
that it does NOT say the word "wire", therefore the antenna can be any
type , wire or otherwise. If it's a loop antenna, for instance, the
length of the antenna would be the circumference of the loop, not the
length of the wire comprising the loop. Also note that the rule does
not specify whether measurement is made vertically or horizontally,
which means that either or both can apply, providing a 3-meter vertical
and horizontal cube area that could, for one example, allow a wire
L-type antenna 3-meters vertical and 3-meters horizontal.
Sunday September 12, 2021 9:40 AM CDT --
An
interviewer is one who knows enough to ask the right questions
but not enough to answer them.
A commentator is one who knows how to answer questions
without the need of being asked.
- Carl Blare - Nov. 5, 2008
Sunday September 12, 2021 8:19 AM CDT -- Bladeless Wind Energy --
Saturday September 11, 2021 12:55 NOON CDT -- We Finally Had a Parade --
By
sheer luck I happened to be standing on our Parade Review Stand
(formerly the front porch) as a man drove by on a 3-wheel motorcycle.
It was a neighbor from down the way who either purchased, rented or
borrowed the machine for reasons known only to him. What I noticed is a
whip-antenna so there must be an onboard radio of some kind. It seems
to me that the open air noise level would be super loud and can't
believe that a radio could be heard above the din. It all reminds me
that I'd like a golf cart and in fact our auto mechanic says there is
one in the area and come to think of it I recall seing it with about
three people going somewhere. I should count that as a parade, too.
Saturday September 11, 2021 12:40 NOON CDT -- O.K., Here's What We Have
--
The
Playlist file is the heart of the Zara Radio Automation System, but if
you lose track of where it is, good luck to you. The instructions say
nothing about where this file should be saved, and after years have
gone by there's no way of knowing where the original default save
location might have been. The one English language Zara tutorial on
YouTube shows that the tutor created a Playlist folder inside the main
ZaraRadio drawer so that's what we have adopted.
The Zara Events is another matter and the manual says: "When
closing ZaraRadio the current list of events is stored automatically by
Windows in the registry and is restored when ZaraRadio is restarted."
That is true when using a single instance of ZaraRadio, but we've found
that only one of the Events files survives closing both instances. To
further the resulting confusion it isn't known where this "registry"
location exists where we might possibly figure out how to save two
versions of the Event file, and so far it seems that ZaraRadio re-does
what we think might be a workaround solution and as of today we don't
know less than we knew before we thought we might be getting somewhere,
but that may not be what's actually happening.
Saturday September 11, 2021 11:50 AM CDT -- Getting It Right --
If voltage is restored to a broken power line is it a revolt?
Saturday September 11, 2021 11:21 AM CDT -- Paying a Visit to the Top
of the Shortwave Band --
Shortwave frequencies span between 1.7 MHz and 30 MHz, of which the top
5 MHz chunk has some interesting happenings.
Experimental 25 MHz WWV Broadcast
WWV has resumed broadcasting on 25 MHz on an
experimental basis. The broadcast consists of the normal WWV signal
heard on all other WWV frequencies, at the same level of accuracy.
Current 25 MHz Broadcast Specifications
Schedule: typically continuous. As an experimental
broadcast, the 25 MHz signal may be interrupted or suspended without
notice.
Radiated Power: 2.5 kW
Antenna: half-wave vertical dipole.
Just
above that comes the notorious Citizens' Band comprised of 40 2-way
communications channels ranging from 26.965 to 27.405 MHz with power
maximum of 4-Watts.
Recently the FCC decided to allow FM
(frequency modulation) for CB transcievers, so long as the radios also
enable legacy AM modulation.
FCC rule 15.227 permits part15
broadcast between 26.96 to 27.98 MHz, coinciding with CB channels 1 to
6, at a field strength of 10,000 microVolts/meter measured at 3-meters.
It's a legal way of putting music on the CB band, while music
broadcasts are prohibited on CB itself.
Back to what you were doing.
Saturday September 11, 2021 10:42 AM CDT -- You Interpret Your Way I'll
Interpret Mine --
The most oft quoted FCC rule governing low power AM transmitters is:
15.219 Operation in the band 510-1705 kHz.
(a) The total input power to the final radio frequency stage (exclusive
of filament or heater power) shall not exceed 100 milliwatts.
(b) The total length of the transmission line, antenna and ground lead
(if used) shall not exceed 3 meters.
An
interpretation of (a) might hold that the "final radio frequency stage"
is literally the antenna itself. Yet a common way of reading it is that
the final radio frequency stage refers to the input to the final
amplifier stage, resulting in power losses in the final amplifier and
matching coil. But the word "amplifier" does not occur in the FCC text
and the antenna constitutes the absolute final RF stage.
It could be found that (b) is written in legal shorthand which, if
extended to its fullest expression says that
The total length of the transmission line is 3-meters;
The total length of the antenna is 3-meters;
The total length of the ground-lead (if used) may be 3-meters,
for an ultimate combined length of 9-meters.
Saturday September 11, 2021 10:18 AM CDT -- Let's Us Get Smart --
Is a "social construct" the same as an abstraction?
Is an abstraction the same as a fabrication?
Is a fabrication the same as a conjuring?
Saturday Septermber 11, 2021 6:40 AM CDT -- Imagine Our Surprise --
We
so much admire the new KHZ Time Radio Station that we keep it playing
all over the house during the nightime hours. This morning before
sunrise we tuned a 2nd radio to WWV the NIST (National Institute of
Science & Technology) time station in Colorado
coming in at 5 kHz, and their time announcer spoke during the last
seconds prior to the top of the hour, the exact moment marked by a
tone, then KHZ's announcer spoke the latest time. We are right on it!
Now, consider the analog and digital latencies involved: WWV is of
course accurate to a hyper-degree but on their website explain that
because of signal delay traveling over topographic distance and
especially if the skywave is heard echoing from the ionosphere there is
a natural latency in their transmission. Whereas with KHZ, being
digital,
the latency varies all over the world where internet speeds differ
greatly. Here at our location we've calculated that by sending the top
of the hour announcement 14-seconds early, we are actually able to hear
it loop back by the real top of the hour, and from another location
receive it 12-seconds late, for a total latency of 26-seconds.
Saturday September 11,
2021 6:19 AM CDT -- In Memoriam --
Recalling the
Tragic Day in the United States of America Twenty-Years Ago.
Friday September 10, 2021 11:28 PM CDT -- Never Mind All That --
Things
improved when we discovered that within the Zara "Events" settings is
an opportunity to Load and Save the Events Settings. And we thought the
settings simply saved themselves in each closed instance of Zara. We
were able to locate the "lost" settings and loaded them back in to
resurrect KDX putting us fully back in operation. Does the manual say
anything about it? Give us until Monday because there's a 2-day weekend
coming up.
Friday September 10, 2021 8:38 AM CDT -- Awes Come Before Flaws --
We
were quite awed the last few days with our two radio stations running
so smoothly from two instances of Zara running on one computer. Then
came the flaw. Not documented anywhere, it seems that only one set of
"Upcoming Event" instructions get saved and subsequently reloaded after
the two Zaras are closed and restarted. The entire automation scheme
for KDX Worldround Radio became lost and the station is pulled over to
the side of the internet. The new Time Machine radio station is ticking
away because its "Upcoming Events" are still upcoming.
Zara is
famously free and now we know why. It's got bugs. Two so far that have
side-lined our enthusiasm but the program remains stellar for what it
achieves so long as one avoids its quirks. The manual needs some
filling in as it too stands incomplete. One fair but limited YouTube
tutorial exists in English, with heaps of Spanish language videos.
There's a paid version available from Greece called Zara Studio 3, but
the investment would take crossed fingers and a prayer.
After
the process of being stunned we've come up with a plan until a second
computer is pressed into service. But no, wait. We've changed our mind.
There's no plan. We're stuck.
Friday September 10, 2021 5:57 AM CDT -- Folk Wisdom --
If
your medicine makes you sick
that means it's working.
- C. Blare's 'Unknown Knowledge'
Friday September 10, 2021 3:12 AM CDT -- The Plastic Problem --
Thursday September 9, 2021 9:25 AM CDT -- Serious Questions --
Two questions arise about the state of the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.
1.)
We hear that hospitals are filling up with people who've
contracted the very infectious K-Variant. But we don't hear about
anyone turning up with the original form of the virus. Did it
disappear?
2.) We are told that many hospitals' ICU
(Intensive Care Unit) beds are full to capacity, while we also here
that many of the victims are dying. Well, with so many dying
doesn't that free up a lot of beds?
Talk show hosts need to know.
Thursday September 9, 2021 6:59 AM CDT -- Meet the Staff --
KDX Chief Engineer Pierre Linear was walking by just as I logged into
The Blog, and he asked..
PIERRE: Carl, can I see you for a moment?
CARL: Sure, Pierre! I have an open door policy.
PIERRE: I don't get it. What door?
CARL: It's just a figure of speech. Of course we have
everything open here in our Multi Purpose Hallway.
PIERRE: Anyway I had this good idea. Let me run it by you.
CARL: Sure. We always want ideas.
PIERRE: Well, I saw you blog about metdata, you know, that
text that gets sent along with streams...
CARL: Ya?
PIERRE:
So, how about a MetaData station with no audio? It would be a
whole new medium on account of no one else has thought of it.
CARL: What you're suggesting is that we open a station that
sends words in fonty printy text, but with no radio audio?
PIERRE: Ya! Ya! Cool, right?
CARL: Um, say, is your father the inventer of the linear
amplifier?
PIERRE: The what?
CARL: You know, like in transmitters and audio amplifiers...
PIERRE: I've never heard of that.
CARL: Let me think about it, Pierre. Uh, here's my assistant
Flotilla, let me tell her something...
FLOTILLA: I'm busy Carl.
CARL: When you have time would you see about getting a door
for my office?
Wednesday September 8, 2021 2:19 PM CDT -- Rare Unfinished Blare OnAir
--
Numerous
composers left unfinished symphonies like Schubert's famous "Unfinished
Symphony", and the same is true of Bruckner, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and
Mahler. Carl Blare's symphonies are different in that four of them are
abandoned and the 5th is unstarted, but that's not what I want to say.
In airing the final Blare OnAir program from 2015, this morning we came
upon a completely unpolished never heard show that contains an
interesting section about Richard Power's boat at Tybee Island,
Georgia, on which he planned to install an AM transmitter for the extra
advantage of sea water grounding.
Wednesday September 8, 2021 8:09 AM CDT -- Carl Blare Interviewed by
Malcolm Krutz --
MALCOLM:
I'm talking to air personality Carl Blare, group owner of
several
radio stations. Carl, there's a lot of buzz about your new time
station. Why a time radio station?
CARL: Well, it's science.
Time is fascinating and mysterious, and KHZ let's people hear time go
by. Eventually we will sell CDs of past time that took place during
memorable events like weddings, vacations and other landmark events.
MALCOLM: So, I'll be able to hear time from when I was a
famous composer?
CARL:
Yes. It's a very nostalgic thing. I'm getting to where time
is
more appealing to me than news which of course we have on our
other station.
MALCOLM: You're talking about KDX?
CARL: Right.
MALCOLM: Do they have time everywhere, or are some places so
backword that they haven't yet discovered time?
CARL:
Well, we brought time to Afghanistan and now the Taliban is
trying to turn it back. If we could get KHZ to places like that it
might help with modernization.
MALCOLM: Gosh, time is more important than I realized! But
right now our time is up.
CARL: We'll have to do lunch one of these days.
MALCOLM: It's a deal! By the way, how's your love life?
CARL: There's this one time listener that calls. I haven't
met her yet.
MALCOLM: Composing used to set me up with music students but
free-lance interviewing doesn't seem to cut it.
CARL: Try interviewing them.
MALCOLM: You always have good ideas.
Wednesday September 8, 2021 6:57 AM CDT -- Introducing KHZ Time Radio
Station --
Tuesday September 7, 2021 3:41 PM CDT -- The Annual State of the
Station Broadcast --
On
or near every winter solstice Blare OnAir presents 'The State of the
Station' in review of the past year at KDX and the achievements. This
example is so splendid we may reuse it every year by simply changing
the numbers.
As a matter of fact we were so taken by the
program at the time that we followed up with a reaction show:
Tuesday September 7, 2021 2:14 PM CDT -- Be Careful What You Say With
Your Free Speech --
Yes, the individual right of free speech is emphasized by inclusion in
Amendment 1 of the U.S. Constitution.
But
it's also true that we live in a surveillance society that uses every
possible device to spy on citizens including what we say in public
forums such as blogs and neighbors are encouraged to spy and snitch on
each other as a patriotic act, no matter that surveillance equates to
voyeurism which is against the law and punishable by imprisonment where
lack of privacy exposes inmates to absolute intrusive surveillance at
all
times.
Human beings are the worst of animals who at their present
rate of destruction may end up being the last animals in the
final
days of extinction. Otherwise today's going well.
Tuesday September 7, 2021 11:25 AM CDT -- News of Mysterious Radio
Signals in Space --
Tuesday September 7, 2021 10:34 AM CDT -- Womens' March in Defense of
Reproductive Rights --
Tueday September 7, 2021 9:38 AM CDT -- Straight Talk About Gender --
We're
hearing a program on KDX right now going on for almost a full hour
about societal discord over the multiplicity of gender identities.
We've talked about it before and will avoid repeating ourselves, so
we'll pick up one angle from today's discussion not previously remarked
upon here in The Blog. What standards should be upheld in competitive
sports regarding various gender differences? The program now airing has
been needlessly expanding and extending the debate, so I want to step
in and settle it and please never bring it up again. The rules of
competitive sports are derived by rules committees and it is within
their province to draft any rules upon which they decide. We're not on
that committee. So let's hold it in once and for all.
Tuesday September 7, 2021 6:22 AM CDT -- Word Play --
Labor Day is over; back to work.
The
word 'bash' came to mind while hearing a local right-wing hate-radio
talk host spend his time bashing President Joe Biden, actually coming
up with an insult we hadn't heard before: Biden's "undertaker
mentality". Do undertakers have a certain mentality we should know
about? After a solid 10-minutes of bashing I thought that this guy
was 'bashful', but strangely that word doesn't mean "full of bash", as
I might have meant it.
KHZ will be offline while we move the
operation into its own automation room (a 2nd instance of ZaraRadio
automation ware) where it will re-emerge as a Time Station, kind of
like a highly inaccurate version of WWV the U.S. time standard
shortwave station out of Fort Collins, Colorado. Details
of the WWV transmitting antennas is very interesting as is everything
about the NIST service.
Time accuracy from WWV is kept to within less than 0.0001 milliseconds
whereas time accuracy from KHZ varies from + or - 1.1 minute, for a
full floating error range of over 2-minutes, good enough for most
regular people. Every hour KHZ makes a crude correction to bring the
accuracy roughly closer to a "less wrong" state. Of course the natural
latency of internet transmission makes KHZ time completely unreliable.
A
few days streaming KHZ from Zara's Aux 1 Playlist made us aware that
the extra playlists inbuilt the Zara software seem to have no practical
use, especially since every file played saves its title to the same
'CurrentSong file' as the main playlist, a function that has no earthly
reason and in fact is nothing but a flaw. The free version of Zara
originally had four Aux playlists but without mention shaved down to
two Aux Playlists. It probably means something that description of the
aux players comes as the last pages of the Zara Manual and seems to
trail off without completion. If someone knows of a single useful
purpose for these aux playlists please contact me and I'll see that you
are taken to lunch.
Monday September 6, 2021 2:09 PM CDT -- We Forget More Than We Remember
Forgetting --
After
having worked without fail for years, all of a sudden one day the KDX
Tower Top Time Service stopped working. What it was was a Zara
empowered replica of Bureau of Standards Time, featuring a ticking
clock with a voice giving the latest time every minute. We vaguely
remember spending quite a chunk of time figuring out how to write the
coded files that made it work. The day it failed we had no clue as to
what changed nor what to do about it. For weeks we've been going over
remnants of the Clock trying to reassemble all the peices that made it
work.
The first step toward recovery was that the starting
script in the process was calling out to the (O:) directory, but there
is no (O:) directory. Some hunting around determined that the former
(O:) directory is now the (F:) directory. Oh, we discovered, the files
are saved on thumbdrives which often change identity whenever they're
unplugged and replugged, which had happened during a rearrangement of
the USB plugins. From there we traced some more and found other points
of failure and expect to have everything restored before the next 3-day
holiday weekend. Do you happen to have the time?
Monday September 6, 2021 8:58 AM CDT -- Unlost Movie --
Lost
to film noir history was the astonishing case of Carl Blare, Sr,
starring in "Journey to the Underside of a Flat World", a film missing
until last Tuesday when it turned up at an estate sale of one of the
original camera operators. Most of the cast, over 60 cameras, plus all
the lighting was lost due to reverse gravity underneath the
earth.
Once the film is fully restored we'll book a showing on the KDX-TV
page, and before that we'll be able to present the
soundtrack on
the Blare OnAir program. Blare Senior is the father of radio's Carl
Blare who says he'd rather not talk about it.
Monday September 6, 2021 8:56 AM CDT -- Too Different --
-
From NegativeLand
Monday September 6, 2021 7:06 AM CDT -- It's Perfectly Fair to Get
Different Sized Cake Than Others Get --
Once again The Blare Blog brings you Buster Boatrocker with a
Commentary about something going on:
There's a Black News Network on the radio.
No one's complained about it because they haven't
noticed.
But you could never have a white news network.
The Black News Network would report racism if
there was a white network.
This is Buster Boatrocker.
Buster Boatrocker is a barber from South St. Louis Missouri whose
opinions are not necessarilly shared by anyone else.
Monday September 6, 2021 6:52 AM CDT -- The Difference Between
Advertising and Promotion --
Advertising
is promotion. However, noncommercial radio stations cannot advertise
but can promote. What can they promote? They can promote themselves,
their programs, and events in the community. In essence noncommercial
radio stations can advertise themselves and, by way of underwriting
announcements, are able to round-about promote commercial entities that
fund programming but it's not called advertising so long as they don't
describe details of product desirablity. KDX is happy to present this
promotional advertisement to make things clear.
Sunday September 5, 2021 9:54 AM CDT -- Caption Without Cartoon --
Labor Day Sales Deals
for Those Who Didn't Die
Sunday September 5, 2021 8:18 AM CDT -- Stream MetaData --
Scrolling
around in a stream radio directory one finds stations listed by name,
e.g., KHZ-MP3, with a 'Currently Playing' line that usually updates
with the title of each song played or the name of a program. This
latter information is a station's 'MetaData'. Seeing at a glance what a
station is playing is very useful for music radio because music lovers
are apt to select based on favorite songs. But for a talk station it
isn't so obvious whether a program name comes near the same attractive
potential, e.g., 'Blare OnAir' is known to less than 10 people and they
never listen. On the other hand the new "William Shatner: I Don't
Understand" program from RT America is very likely appealing for
obvious reason.
The
technical means of generating MetaData information varies depending on
the streaming software in use, in our case Zara V1.6.2 starts
the MetaData chain by saving the audiofile title of the item
being
played to a "CurrentSong" file. The next step happens in the encoder,
e.g., B.U.T.T. or AltaCast in our case, where a MetaData Window
allows choice between a file or the keyboard entry of a static
MetaData title. This information passes seamlessy through the Icecast
Stream Server and shows up at the receiving end.
Sunday September 5, 2021 6:05 AM CDT -- Logical Error Alert --
I
just heard a logical error on NPR, the public network that touts itself
as a voice of higher intelligence. A female announcer said, "Do we have
free will or is life predetermined (?) Are we in control of our lives
or are we helpless to change what happens to us (?)" Equating 'free
will' with being 'in control' implies that so-called 'free will' is an
absolute positive advantage bestowing mastery upon those who exercise
it. But in reality we have very limited free will, confined to what
choices are open to us at a given time. By free will we make ocassional
wrong choices putting us out of control, and even making excellent
'free' choices can be undone by interfering circumstances outside of
our control. In the same way 'predetermination' continues on its way in
many forms including events so obvious as the passage of time which
constantly wrests us away from any 'freely chosen' success of the
moment. However we sympathize with NPR's problem of having at all times
to outrun dead air by always having something to say. The network finds
itself incapable of signing off from time to time with the message, "We
have no ideas for the next few hours".
Saturday September 4, 2021 8:26 AM CDT -- What Zone Have We Gotten Into
--
KDX-OGG
has been streaming overnight alongside newly inaugurated station
KHZ-MP3, and the OGG station has been broadcasting "Disperse Dispatch",
a lengthy show of very ethereal 'music', until 8 AM this morning when
we started News from RT America. Except that half an hour later, now
8:30 AM, "Disperse Dispatch" is still dominating the signal.
Evidentally an immense latency has built up overnight by which we are
hearing the distant past still happening in the present moment. Somehow
over a half-hour of programming has stored itself somewhere along the
digital pathway between then and now, and we are experiencing the past
as if it had not yet begun even though it actually was much earlier.
There's more Einsteinian Relativity taking place than we know what to
do about. Where did the news go? Will it ever come back? According to
all indications the news ended 7-minutes ago but hasn't started yet.
The RT News finally came through the long latency waiting line at 9:30,
one-and-a-half hours late!
Saturday September 4, 2021 8:12 AM CDT -- An Excellent Program --
Friday September 3, 2021 8:31 PM CDT -- DX Action --
As
a rule we use 89.9 MHz for listening to our audition channel where
program recording and editing takes place under the call sign KEGO "The
Station Where You Listen to Yourself", and the temporary way of doing
it is to re-tune our C.Crane FM2 from 89.5 where our daytime programs
are streamed, up to 89.9, until our FM1 model is repaired at which time
we'll be on both channels at the same time. The frequencies are open
for us because the licensed stations assigned to those channels all
happen to put their outer fringes right at our geographic location,
except tonight a loud and clear ball game is coming in on 89.9 from
Lewis and Clark Community College Godfrey, Illinois. Is there a tropospheric
duct? Or, has somebody cranked up the power(?)
We cut some IDs for
the new KHZ-MP3 streaming service with 8 different voices, each saying:
"Radio...KHZ...Putting you in the Loop."
Friday September 3, 2021 6:18 PM CDT -- How Things Stand --
Artisan
Radio noticed the confusion we were having with Zara's Main and Aux
Playlists both writing 'Current Song' to both streams and he suggested
solving the issue by running 2 instances of Zara thus generating
entirely separate 'Current Song' files. We agree that it would
accomplish what we're after, but before shifting everything around
we've given each stream fixed MetaData messages naming the overall
program format of each stream: 'Schedule Programs' refers to our daily
programmed stream and 'Program Loop' refers to the recurring rotation
of programs from the Aux1 Playlist. In other words, for the time being
we're doing away with detailed 'Now Playing' metadata. It's dinner time
now and we're thinking potatoes and mackeral.
Friday September 3, 2021 4:38 PM CDT -- Who Says KDX Doesn't Have
Religion --
Friday September 3, 2021 4:05 PM CDT -- 3_Day Holiday Weekend --
The
U.S. is headed into Labor Day Weekend, honoring the ordinary
working person and his/her contribution to an orderly society. Through
no fault of the laborer the social order is in tatters because of so
many difficulties that have confluenced all at the same time. 3-day
weekends mean little to the evicted nor the unemployed nor to
flood victems without electricity. For radio these holidays are
essentially all alike. It means an opportunity for part timers to pick
up some hours.
Friday September 3, 2021 2:21 PM CDT -- A Good Read from Engineering
Radio --
Paul Thurst shares a pleasant experience from his popular website.
Friday September 3, 2021 2:07 PM CDT -- As to God --
God
is a grunting sound signifying the ultimate unknown.
-C. Blare - 'Common Everyday Leaps'
Friday September 3, 2021 1:07 PM CDT -- Streaming MisDirectories --
No
one knows how many streaming directories exist. For the novel
independent station it first may seem like being listed on stream
directories is important so as to be 'found' by 'your audience'. But
don't be misdirected. Despite over 100,000 streaming stations estimated
to exist, the very mechanism of streaming is already upstaged by the
more personal packaging of podcasting and Podcast Directories are the
place to be... or to be lost... which is what happens to minnows in the
vast seas and oceans of this rapidly depleting world. The linear
streaming
station has become an anachronism and being listed does about as much
good as trying to hold a conversation with the people at a world series
game; lost in the crowd.
KDX was listed at Icecast's Xiph
Directory and Steamcast Directory but we paid attention to what the
other thousands of stations were doing and decided we were in the wrong
company. The individuality of KDX did not make us stand out and appeal
to the better listener because that fabled better listener wasn't there
in the first place, they were put off by all the undesirable choices.
Inside
the stream encoder is a click choice called 'Make Public' which marks
the stream as available for directory listing. We unclicked ours and
these days KDX can only be found at its own website, making promotion
of the website the primary objective. Life gets simpler.
Friday September 3, 2021 12:03 NOON CDT -- One Radio Station Stream --
KDX-MP3,
today's experimental second stream, has been closed while we analyze a
peculiar problem arising out of the Zara Playlist software. I'll
describe the problem for the sake of idle curiosity. Both of our
streams originate from a single instance of Zara, the programming from
KDX-OGG being sent from the Main Playlist and the programs for KDX-MP3
emanating from Aux Playlist 1. The Main Playlist feeds VAC1 (Virtual
Audio Cable 1) and Aux Playlist 1 feeds VAC 3. Each feed is managed by
two different encoders which send the two program streams to the
Icecast Server. It works very well except for the Meta Data Generator,
which tells BOTH streams that the most recent program from EITHER
source is the 'Current Song'. It seems so far that this might be a flaw
in the Zara Free and otherwise Wonderful software. One attempt to ward
off the (wrong) 'Current Song' from being displayed on KDX-MP3 was
tried by
selecting "External Data: Disabled" in the encoder, but that didn't
stop it from happening to KDX-OGG which continued displaying whichever
feed was the most recent to switch. Are you following me so far? I'll
try a few
things... scratching my head, fiddle with my chin, eat another lunch,
and do some string trimming.
Friday September 3, 2021 8:28 AM CDT -- Two Radio Station Streams
Energized
by the time saved by our new string-trimmer and inspired by Artisan
Radio's various experiments, we arbitrarily re-launched KHZ-MP3, a
second streaming radio station with one central server also carrying
KDX-OGG. If we keep it going you can pay a visit here:
Friday September 3, 2021 8:00 AM CDT -- A Colonel and a General Go Into
a Bar"
What
I'm working on is a black humored jokish short story in which a higher
up military officer gets plastered and starts bragging about what he
could do to the human race if they annoyed him. He might be triggered
by a turn down from a bar hussy, his own secretary, or a neighbor
running a lawnmower before 9 in the morning. He happens to be in charge
of one of the many U.S. biological warfare labs and carries a vile
of deadly virus as a flaunting of his power, along with his
side-arm as further proof of masculinity. The very odd spelling of
"colonel", pronounced "kernel", hints at heavy drinking.
Etymological guesswork learned through higher education tells that the
anomalous pronunciation is "probably" a holdover of an earlier obsolete
form "coronel", the cost of schooling resulting in lifelong
indebtedness for the college loan. It's cheaper never to know how
indefinite and inexact things are. Anyway, the hazardous vile
recklessly breaks and the two commissioned officers get busy planning
to scapegoat China for the resulting pandemic. These are just sketchy
notes and as with any fiction details may change at any time.
Friday September 3, 2021 4:43 AM CDT -- New Definition for Labor Day --
If
women are forced to endure pregnancies they do not want,
the babies
should be arrested in tiny handcuffs for trespassing
immediately upon
birth.
"You have the right to
remain silent...."
"WAAA! WAAA!"
Thursday September 2, 2021 7:25 AM CDT -- Aphorism --
Be
discriminating not discriminatory
-
C. Blare Methods of Success
Thursday September 2, 2021 4:51 AM CDT -- Part 15 Low Power Radio Needs
Its Own Union --
We're
using the term "union" loosely, as it usually applies to wage earning
membership forming a representative organization tasked with
protecting and improving job benefits. Of course the low power field is
manned by hobby volunteers all acting independently with little
inter-releationship among them. So we need to organize together and
form an umbrella organization to represent and protect our interests.
One feeble attempt was made to form what was called an "association" of
low power broadcasters, but a Trump inspired tyrant now laughingly
referred to as "Demolition Bob" neutered the attempt from day one,
fired the last holdouts, and to this day claims to be a one-man
association with no planned agenda. The meetings were little more than
an opportunity for men to meet other men. So never mind the word
"association". What does that leave? I like "society": The Low Power
Radio Society. That's it! Election of officers, who wants to be Head
Cheese? I'd be willing to serve interim. Members? Abra-cadabra you're
ALL members with the right to opt out. This won't be one of those
groups where only the chairman is allowed to sit. You'll all have
chairs but first things first. Probably getting a table is first. How
can you table motions without a table? Yes, furniture lets things
happen. I have an empty cardboard box we can use as a filing cabinet.
RESOLVED -
That on this day of Thursday, September 2, 2021 at 5:25 AM CDT, the Low Power Radio Society
is formed for the purpose of honoring and representing the business and
hobby of legal low power broadcasting under FCC Regulations Part 15,
Carl Blare founder and interim director.
Thursday September 2, 2021 4:27 AM CDT -- Radio Station Wakeup Call --
Most
low power radio stations operating under Part 15 of the FCC Rules are
sleep-walking with their 24/7 hot hits music playlists and zero public
service. Now would be a good time to add some conscious awareness to
offer something in the way of useful information as the surrounding
world plunges into a growing assortment of disastors and catastrophes.
At the very least start thinking of what might be done.
Thursday September 2, 2021 4:16 AM CDT -- The Call Letters KINK Are
Taken --
KINK-FM
is licensed to Portland, Oregon, and operates on 101.9 MHz with ERP of
99 kW and the slogan "Discover Music" in an Adult Album Alternative
format.
Thursday September 2, 2021 3:58 AM CDT -- Why We Capitalize Certain
Electronic Words --
- Amp is named after Andre-Marie
Ampere
- Hertz is named after Heinrich
Hertz
- Volt is named after Allessandro
Volta
- Watt is named after James Watt
Wednesday September 1, 2021 3:20 PM CDT -- Never Would Have Guessed --
Mumbling men may be a turn-on for women. There's been a study.
Wednesday September 1, 2021 2:56 PM CDT -- Simple Things They Won't
Tell You --
Let's
talk about the internet connection. THEY will install a Wi-Fi modem and
you'll let THEM talk you into a Wi-Fi router and when that doesn't work
so well THEY will sell you bigger and more expensive Wi-Fi doohickeys.
What they won't mention is that inexpensive ethernet cables betwixt
modem, router and computer is faster, more secure, and less hastle. But
we must realize that selling things people don't need is what makes
American commerce ascend into larger and larger work spaces. You'd like
it if you were a top level corporate magnate.
Wednesday September 1, 2021 2:01 PM CDT --- 2,000 Foot Radio Tower Came
Down --
Wednesday September 1, 2021 12:46 NOON CDT -- The Definition of Budget
--
A
budget is a small budge.
Wednesday September 1, 2021 10:52 AM CDT -- Morning Mix --
Two
items from Next TV SmartBrief... ESPN plans to stream 500+ football
games. Is there any possibility that there are enough audiences to
support such a number?
And this Quote of the day...
Saddle
your dreams before you ride 'em.
-
Mary Webb, writer, poet
That's
sort of what I was getting at in my earlier post about the woman in a
dream, and me without a saddle.
And
tvtech SmartBrief provides a count from the FCC of radio, TV, and cable
services knocked off by and those surviving Hurricane Ida:
Wednesday September 1, 2021 6:44 AM CDT -- There's No Other Way to Do
It --
Life
would be just about perfect if it weren't for the fact that it's only
temporary.
That kind of gets in the way.
Wednesday September 1, 2021 7:41 AM CDT -- Bottleneck In a Flood --
It's
all too much. The 'flood' is the glut of information that vies for our
attention at all times from every direction. The 'bottleneck' is our
skimpy capacity to pay attention to one thing at a time. The only way
to multitask is to hire a staff and assign each one a single job, but
then managing the staff becomes an annoyance. Even sentences
like these become congested when trying to express too many ideas in a
few words.
This morning I was trying to listen to a news report
on KDX while reading an interesting article and became aware
that I
wasn't comprehending either one and so turned off the radio to
concentrate on the article.
About once a year I try to reset login details at a bank and
everytime, after an hour of typing user
names, passwords, security secrets and account numbers, it tells me my
access is suspended because of failed attempts to log in.
Day
was when I calmly visited such websites as the New York Times but after
a minute was shoved into a corner and told that access was limited for
nonsubscribers but I could sign in and get a daily e-mail. As it turns
out I like the daily e-mail and never take the extra time to visit the
Time's website. Is that the outcome they'd intended? The same thing has
happened with so many other websites that there's never time to read
all their e-mails and the day never comes when I return to their actual
websites.
Postmaster DeJoy's Republican ordered destruction of
the U.S.Postal Service has caused mail service to become spotty and the
pandemic has reduced the delivery force to differing beleaguered faces
on very irregular schedules so I've tried to help by switching all the
professional magazine subscriptions from paper to digital which further
bloats the e-mail box with tech news that I'll never find time to
peruse.
Even dreams have become overly complicated like this
morning when a pleasant woman pulled me into her orbit and made a warm
and romantic opening with no barriers to intimacy, but I held back and
did a deep analysis of what her real motives might be. In a dream for
God sake, where I could have just done it.
Here's
the Plan.
Saturday we go up.
Put the antenna up there.
I'll bring the beer
-
Image from dreamstime.com
