People Meters

They are called LPM’s. That’s an acronym for Local People Meter, and as of January the Dallas/Ft. Worth has become what is known in the television business as a “metered market.” That means that when a program comes on a particular station, the station can at every few seconds monitor a real time sample of the number of viewers watching or…not watching. It’s odd that Dallas has been left out of this type of Nielsen sampling for so long. Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and other major cities have had it for years, and with DFW becoming known as such a “metro” area entering the ranks of those with culture, restaurants, nightlife and so on, it seems that someone has been dragging their…well, ratings books. I thought some of you would like to know that we’ve entered the 21st century and the DFW TV ratings game just got bloody.

current.tv

Many forecasters are hedging their bets on the idea that in the very near future traditional television, newspaper and radio newsrooms will not exist in the way that they do now. More and more content will be provided by who else, but the viewer, reader or listener. Blogs themselves are the spawn of this new way of sharing information, and even though most of us only speak our minds or talk about our day at work, it is this technology that will lead the way to this big change.

Have you ever been a viewer of "current tv?" Current is the latest effort by Google to turn the corner so to speak, with all content featured, provided by the viewer. If you have a DV camera of some sort, a desktop editor and a good eye, current accepts the solicitation of your creative package, evaluates it, and if good enough, puts it on the air. That means that it can end up being sent to satellite systems around the globe.

Tune it in. If you are a DISH or Direct customer it's easy to find. To learn more about the channel and this new media effort head over to current.tv and read more. It will open your mind to what news in media will become over the next 5 to 10.

Paper! Paper!

I have piles and piles of paper on my desk.

Does that make me an unorganized person?

Does it make me look like a dimwit?

I feel like I don't know what to think, when. It's this paper that clogs my mind.

A wastebasket is now full and a Staples box that once held copy paper all crisp and neat is now full as well of this desk clutter. I'll carry it home to sort through.

I'll file till my fingertips dry out.

Then I'll bring it back to my place of work to file again.

Soon there will be more paper.

And just to think. I used to be a writer, and got to use the creative side of my now clogged brain!

The Last Resort

The Eagles "The Last Resort." Meaning of the lyrics? Anyone? Help? I was stunned here. After a daily review for the past two weeks, I'm gettin' it.

Icy Bliss

ice on car
Originally uploaded by banj.

The winter weather hit on Saturday morning. I really enjoyed it. On Friday night after a long day of work, a performance at the local mall, then more work I dropped by "Wing Stop" for some late dinner for myself and Ms. As I sat in the car with the motor running waiting for my order, it hit me that this was indeed winter weather. I had forgotten what it felt like on a truly cold night in February. To actually wear a coat and run the heater and not be able to feel my little fingers because of the cold steering wheel. It was great! The photo is from Saturday morning around 11 a.m.

Guitar, Finally!

Looks like I may have a guitarist, finally. Actually it's a guy that I've been playing on and off with when I sit in with this random band that calls from time to time. He and I have performed at the same festivals over 25 years ago but never knew each other! That sounds wierd, but it's also happend with me and Vince Gill, Marty Stuart and a few others that you probably wouldn't recognize. He's interested in doing the kind of stuff I'm looking to do and he seems easy to get along with, not to mention he's a very good flat top picker, and can't sing some. I'm excited to find out what's in his head. Now if we can come up with a mando and bassist, I might be able to finally make the scene. Actually I have a bassist that's one of the best in the country, which I've played with since I was 10 years old and lives only 4 miles from me. But, that's another story I can't tell because I don't understand it.

Winter Weather or not?

It's cold!! All of Dallas and north Texas were under winter weather watch as of yesterday. I noticed this morning that it had been changed to an advisory. Bridges are freezing up near Sherman, I have no idea what's happening to the south. We alway get hit with some sort of ice or snow in February. In 2004 it was on Valentines Day that we got a few inches. Whether we get the precip or not, probably oughta wear a coat this weekend and not be seen acting an idiot in a t shirt and short trying to defy the weather.

Doing Better

Ms. is doing better this week. She's getting more mobile. Still painful I know, but at least she's in better spirits. I'm hoping she's able to get around this weekend (with my help) to make it to a baby shower she's been planning for months. I told her that I would take her and pick her up. She seems to be able to walk around ok, so I'm figuring it might be good for her just to get out, even though it's supposed to be bitchin cold this weekend!

Cow Band Not in Dallas

Looks like John Cowan (formerly of the New Grass Revival) was booked to play at the Sons of Herman Hall on the 8th of February but it was never promoted. Management pulled the plug on the venue. I spoke with his manager and was told that they will try to rebook somewhere in Dallas soon. www.johncowan.com.

Week of Wild

What a week...

Ms. fell in her garden (they're supposed to be safe and tranquil, aren't they?). The result was two broken ribs and a punctured left lung that led to a 4 day stay in the hospital, three of which were in intensive care. That was proceeded by a followup at a cardiology specialist known as a electrophisiolgist which lasted from 9 a.m. until almost 6 p.m. with no established results of any kind. Funny how you can be happy and healthy one minute and the next it's gone. I'll tell you that most people don't realize this until it happens to them or someone they are close to.

Things are somewhat better now. She's home, and hooked up to a portable ekg (which comes off today). She can be very sore from one minute to the next, after all, she does have two broken ribs. She's also out of the Whole Foods business for up to 8 weeks. I'm probably lookin for a part time job to suppliment. Yes I've been a telelvision broadcaster for 24 years, and I still can't support us all. Can you believe it?

Somethin's gotta give...

Chicks

DSCF1006
Originally uploaded by banj.

I can't help it. They're gorgeous and both mine!

A New Site

I've created a new blog at DFW Acoustics. It's been designed for the sharing of information and discussion on not only the DFW acoustic music scene, but also on anything related to this way of producing your art. I'm really not concerned as to whether it's bluegrass, indie, folk, rock, celtic, whatever. If you've got news on venues, bands, cool guitars, songs, reviews, please make your way over and leave me some stuff. I'll post it. It could be a good place to compile this information, as there's no where else in this city you can go to get it, that i'm aware of.

Weekend and the Kama Sutra

So I got to the post office with the scholarship app with time to spare. Whew! Now we just wait.

I'm looking foward to the weekend. Ms. and I are going to spend Friday out somewhere. We haven't decided on Gingerman, The Flying Saucer or something like that. I'm ready to just do something! We've been doing lots of work lately and working weird hours so it should be a relief. Plus there's more editing coming down that pipe, which I need. That will keep me busy over the next month or so on and off I'm sure.

Have you heard of this computer virus that is supposed to hit tomorrow? If you've opened any mail that is racy like "Illegal Sex" or "Fantasies" it may be sitting on your pc just waiting till tomorrow. It's programmed to hit on the 3rd of every month. So if you don't have a mac and like opening nasty looking spam, you probably ought to have a heads up!

Scholarships

We're in the throws of hunting for scholarship money for my daughters college education. She's spent the last two days working diligently on writing papers in application for a fellowship and a major scholarship at her university of choice. I've been nervous about it all and on top of everything else feel that I may have led her wrong on the topic of one of her papers. It sounds to me like she had something very good that she was working on but because of the fellowship requiring her to write from a particular category, I pushed her into something she knew little about. At this point all I can do is support her and pray. She is a very gifted writer (better than I have been) and can make just about anything sound as though she's educated in it.

I'm also waiting on a letter from our Congressman for her recommendation. It's not here as of yet and that makes me jittery too. All in all if she was selected, these particular awards would pay for books and tuition for around 4 years. We'll wait and pray.