AVRant #3: We don’t go to the movies
May 23rd, 2007
The movies come to us! During this week’s Podcast, we’ve got it all for you. Simultaneous theater/DVD/on-demand movie releases, kids+home theater=bad?, home theater calibration options, wireless speakers, and why you don’t need to buy a specific subwoofer cable. I had a moment of Zen when Dina’s mic cut out and I could talk uncontested but that didn’t last long. Oh, and the Velodyne SMS-1 costs closer to $600 than $500. I can’t believe I don’t have these numbers on the tip of my tongue. What a slacker.
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three points from today’s podcast…
1) can’t wait to see how dina is going to “take care of the lea problem” on AVrant…
2) if you talk about shoes with dina, here is what i will sound like- “zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”.
3) why don’t any of my friends throw speaker parties? it could be because i live in a OLD neighborhood where all the outlets in our homes have only two prongs (and we haven’t changed them to the grounded ones) and we could burn up the whole electical system of our zip code by running too many speakers.
hey tom, any father day geek gift suggestions?
That’s a good idea. Let me work with Clint and Gene on a couple of recommendations. To start with, you could spend the whole day saying, “Yes honey, you know, you’re right? I can’t believe how lucky I am to have married such a brilliant man!” Don’t forget to throw in a couple, “Honey, don’t you think we need a bigger TV?” or “Wow, I can’t believe how svelte you are! All my friends (especially that letch Dina) complain how their husbands seem to be succumbing to gravity while mine seems immune!”. Of course, you could always go with the old standby, *on the phone with your husband right before he leaves work* “Honey, could you stop by the store and pick up some more Saran Wrap? I forgot to cover the monster steaks I bought you before I wrapped myself in all we have.”
Ah yes “dress up” is always a fun Father’s Day gift from the wife… You really can’t go wrong with that one!
OK, we now return you to our PG-rated podcast…
PS. Tom, I heard you call out the name of Jesus today during the show and thought you were going to start a religious discussion!
No, I just needed a little of his strength. I meant it in the most pious of ways.
Tom, what’s with the intro music? It sounds like it belongs in a porno 😉
ha haa hahahahhahah
Wow, everyone’s a critic. I’ve had better things to do recently than demo music from random unknown artists, like, oh, deleting every time Dina hits her Mic or the desk, coming up with all the podcast topics, searching for new moderators to replace uppity ones… stuff like that. I’ll see if I can fit it in my schedule.
I DON’T HIT MY MIC ANYMORE!!! The noises this week were me plugging my headphones in and out of the jack since I couldn’t hear you while you went on and on and on about audio calibration. Thus resulting in your talking without interruption for the first (and possibly last) time on the podcast.
BTW- My wife was one of those “nerdy geeks” at that get together! There are female nerds, too!
I told Tom the music sounded like Porn music during the first Podcast and offered him to use Marillion tunes like we do at Audioholics, but did he listen?….. well Bong bong bong it is 🙂
love the suggestions for father’s day, i was thinking something more technical and geeky than the saran wrap, but sometimes, you gotta go back to basics…
hmmm, i didn’t notice the intro music since i thought it was just the top hits of dina’s house coming thru over the speakers…
That’s right, it’s Dina’s theme music. She’s got it blasting over her iPod every where she goes.
For what it’s worth, I’m liking Lea more and more every day 🙂
That does not make me feel better. That’s all I need, you two teaming up.
Girl fight!!!!
Tom, you know Regis had many co-hosts 😉
Disclaimer; I was going to call this one in as I thought it would sound too harsh to be posted publicly. If I could find an email link here I’d do that instead. But it looks like it’s all family and friends here so I guess you can just pull this if you don’t like it. Or everyone can flame me and then you can pull it. Or whatever.
Just heard Episode III (yay for iTunes!). If I could make a suggestion or two: I’m from Iowa so I understand “folksy†as well as anyone but it would be nice to include more content and maybe get to it a little quicker. I was also very sad to hear Tom’s comment that “this is as tech as it gets.†I know I missed the concept meeting replay on C-SPAN but shouldn’t “tech†be at least part of a podcast put on by Audioholics and called “AVRantâ€, with maybe a review or something? Just a thought, that “tech” bit was the most interesting part of the trilogy. I do listen to some technical ‘casts (HTGuys, MacWorld, eMaccast, Nikonians, MLB Fantasy411 and Pottercast[?] among them) but they mostly balance entertainment and the technical aspects of their subject pretty well. It can be done.
I’m sorry dina but there is no amount of vertical lines or high-bit rate DTS sound that will improve an indie and make it woth mentioning, once again, in the context of an AVRant. Let me sum up and support Tom’s position here: it’s all just blather by maladjusted people sitting around smoking (which is not a valid reason to make it NC-17) and talking about their neuroses that could be shot in black and white on 8mm film, for all the difference it makes. Need proof? Try to sit through Sideways one more time. I double-dog dare you (homage to Bob Clark, recently killed here on Pacific Coast Highway by a drunken illegal alien who was not smoking).
I have the impression you may be waiting for topics to discuss, gleaned from callers but this is a chicken and egg thing. If the ‘cast is not interesting enough you will not get many callers so you need to have some compelling topics in the meantime and if you have compelling topics you will get callers.
I know how bad this sounds and I wish we were sitting around talking about it over a beer so I could soften the blow better. I love the Audioholics site (kudos to Ara and Braden for pointing me there), the videos from CES were great! I’d like to see the podcast idea work, too, so please take these as suggestions in the way they were intended. You two sound great together so make it work!
OK, flame me.
Thanks!
“searching for new moderators to replace uppity ones…”
You may get rid of me, But Clint will just give the job to Lea 😛
A few words on Speaker Stands and Kidproofing…
Problem: My fronts are JBL S38ii, a pair of 30lb “bookshelf” speakers with a 12×18″ footprint. Good luck finding speaker stands for those, or so I thought.
Solution: How about a pair of non-resonant, ultra sturdy speaker stands that can hoist a 30lb speaker 40″ off the ground for under $20.
Cinderblocks. A stack of 12x18x8″ fit my speakers perfectly.
Okay, don’t laugh. I defy you to find a better solution. Also works great for decoupling tower speaker from the floor (try concrete patio blocks, for less elevation).
Dress them up with some fabric (my stands match the living room curtains perfectly), or leave them as is for that industrial look (just like Ikea).
Added bonus: They’re kidproof. One run in with your new stands, and your kid will never make that mistake twice (though he may be a little crosseyed afterwards).
Love the podcast, keep up the good work. Check out my podcast if you’re interested in tips for getting real value in HT the equipment that you buy, budget tips and tweaks (real tweaks, no snakeoil), and other info for those on a limited budget, no matter how big or small.
Marshall
The Real HT Info Podcast
http://realht.info