Great Ideas In Broadcasting

The Science Channel (which, of course, features less and less actual science content each week) has apparently decided to rename itself.

To Science.

In how many ways is this dumb? Too many to count, but the first one to occur to me is - won't this change make it harder to search for content on their website via search engines? You've just changed your name to a generic word, and not one (like Apple or Windows) that you already have a large web presence in.

Oh, and then there's this: "The [new] interactive logo, called 'Morph,' will change shape, texture and sound to represent 'the potential of the future while displaying a willingness to reshape current reality.'" I'm guessing someone doesn't know what the word interactive means; they most likely meant dynamic or something similar. If I can somehow affect the behavior of their on-screen bug with my remote, I'll be mighty impressed.

But it gets even better: "Dropping 'Channel' from the network name was done to better reflect the new programming launched in the first quarter like An Idiot Abroad and Firefly that are on the edges of science, says Debbie Adler Myers, executive VP and general manager of Science."

You are going to 'the edges of science' (whatever that means), and you can better indicate that by....removing all words except Science from your name?

Well, all they had to do was be less stupid than Syfy, so....mission accomplished.

I Told Them So

I gave the Longhorns some advice last week: "Don't make the judge have to think." Last night, they failed to take that advice, and as a result, they will watch the rest of the tournament at home.

It happens that sometimes you will have a referee that can't count to five. I know, I know, it seems like a simple enough task. But you might surprised how many people can't accomplish that single goal - and they're all around you, driving and (shudder) voting.

The fact is: the Horns lost this game back in the first half, scoring a pathetic 25 points. So many games this year, they came out and dominated in the first few minutes, leaving enough slack at the end of the game so that it didn't matter if they had a ref that didn't seem to understand one of the most basic rules there is in the game.

But this time around, they decided to take the first half off and then ride J'Coven Brown during the second half to barely take the lead in the last minute. And that means that the referee's basic incompetency now comes into play, with the result being what happened on Sunday night.

"Don't make the judge have to think." Because more often than not, they aren't really capable of it.

Just Like Old Times

Thanks to a combination of $3.34/gal gas and my running down to the last notch on my fuel gauge, I just had my first $40 fillup since...well, since the last time gas jumped up over $3.00. Of course, back then I had my PT Cruiser GT, which used premium gas, and now I'm back down to regular.

Good Advice

Some griping is taking place about the Longhorns dropping down to a number 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. I do dog obedience training (currently struggling through with the New Fierce Corgi), and the best piece of advice I ever received was "Don't make the judge have to think".

For example, on a retrieval exercise, the dog is supposed to fetch the dumbbell, return to the handler promptly, stop within reach, and allow the handler to take the dumbbell. So....what if the dog stops to look around some? What if I have to lean over a bit to reach the dumbbell because the dog stopped a little too soon? What if...?

"Don't make the judge have to think."

Train the dog to do the correct thing, so that you don't have to worry about these kind of scenarios.

It's the same thing in the tournament. Texas faltered down the stretch, for the second straight year. They were sitting on top of their conference, and on top of the polls, and then they started losing. To teams they shouldn't have lost to.

In short, they gave the conference selection committee an excuse to think. And it cost them.

Maybe sometime, Rick Barnes will figure out how to close the deal with these guys. But it wasn't this year, and now it's cost the Horns.

But...for what it's worth, both Woody Paige and Tim Cowlishaw picked Texas to (gulp) beat Duke in their regional on Around The Horn yesterday. I don't think I'm buying it, myself.

DVD Spending Tab I

My first purchase of the year. I really dialed back last year, but maybe Blu-Ray prices will keep dropping so that even a cheapskate like me will start picking them up.

Memento, 10th Anniversary Blu-Ray, $8.65 at Costco

That's Some Blatant False Advertising

Perusing my Mac news aggregator this morning, I came across an announcement of a new app - CandyLand for iPhone! I've indulged some nostalgia purchases, like The Game of Life, Battleship and Dragon's Lair, so I figured I could probably drop a dollar or two to relive the classic board game for a little while.

Sadly, this is not the original board game. Instead, it appears to be a Frogger knock-off.

Another childhood memory sullied by naked capitalism. Let the lawsuits begin, Hasbro!

Setting Plans

Austin City Council to spend $4.1 million to convince residents to vote on yet another failed rail system. Not that it takes much to get the typical Austinite to vote to spend money on wasted efforts to look more like Portland or Seattle or San Francisco or whichever left-coast city is the current "new hotness".

I see that my next city council vote is going to look a lot like my last few - vote the incumbents out.